PRESENTED To 
 
 OCT I - 1941 
 
 BY 
 AMY REgUA LONG 
 

 ' l C: vY^ 
 
 ' V 
 
 - 
 
 , 
 
 && 
 
 . -CXI C 
 
 
 - 
 
 ' ' 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 , 
 
 
 v<C /-.. 
 
 
 if 
 
 <_ ( ( C. 
 
America's 
 
 Successful Men of Affairs 
 
 An Encyclopedia of Contemporaneous Biography 
 
 EDITED BY HENRY HALL ; 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE- 
 
 1895 
 
E 
 
 v 
 
 COPYRIGHT 1895 
 BY THE TRIBUNE ASSOCIATION 
 
 THE NEW YORK PRINTING CO 
 
 THE REPUBLIC PRESS 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 This encyclopedia of biographies of "America's Successful Men of 
 Affairs" is the only work of its class ever published. Thoroughly national, 
 covering every part of the United States, it presents sketches of the lives 
 of the most conspicuous of those who have been active in business since 
 the Civil War and have attained the most marked success. While nearly 
 all of the men, whose biographies appear in these volumes are or have 
 been persons of large possessions, they have not been included solely be- 
 cause of their wealth. Works of American biography have so far dealt 
 mainly with the lives of government officials, clergymen, poets, teachers, 
 soldiers, editors, authors, explorers, and other members of professions, who 
 while accomplishing a great work and exercising a useful influence, have 
 done comparatively little directly for the material welfare of their fellow 
 men or the actual development of their country. It is a singular fact that 
 these works have, with a single exception, almost absolutely ignored the 
 business men of the country, whether living or dead. 
 
 It would seem, however, as if the lives of the great pioneers, merchants, 
 manufacturers, railroad builders and other practical men of a nation like 
 America, constituted as important a part of the country's history as those 
 of any other class. In the field of purely material effort, it is these men 
 who have brought the wild lands under cultivation, developed the mines, 
 forests and farms, built the railroads, steamboat lines and canals, set afloat 
 and managed the shipping, organized the corporations, and introduced the 
 new processes in science and mechanics, which have so greatly reduced the 
 cost and promoted the comfort of living while contributing to the power 
 and prestige of the nation itself. They have dotted the surface of nearly 
 every State with manufactories and provided employment, wages and 
 homes for millions of their countrymen. The great cities are largely their 
 creation. In the realm of education, science and art, these men are the 
 pillars upon which the whole structure rests. It is by them that the col- 
 leges, schools, churches and philanthropic institutions are built and main- 
 tained. They found the great museums, provide the means for monu- 
 ments, statues, libraries, reading rooms and researches in science, publish 
 the books, buy the paintings, pay the larger part of the taxes, sustain the 
 political campaigns, and in general provide the subsistence and a stage for 
 the activities of the whole aggregation of other men, to whose lives exist- 
 ing works of biography are generally devoted. 
 
AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 The failure to consider the lives of men of affairs as of historical im- 
 portance is a curious feature of a great many otherwise excellent volumes 
 of biography. It is to remedy, in a measure, a serious omission in the 
 literature of the times that this compilation has been undertaken. 
 
 The majority of men whose lives are presented in this work are yet 
 active in affairs. These volumes are, therefore, almost wholly devoted to 
 contemporary biography. In this respect they are unique. When John F. 
 Slater, Daniel Hand and Seth Low each gave $1,000,000 to the cause of 
 education, and John D. Rockefeller and Daniel B. Fayerweather gave yet 
 larger sums, existing works could be searched in vain for the story of their 
 lives. From time to time, the attention and gratitude of the people of 
 America are powerfully awakened by the princely gift, personal achieve- 
 ment or public spirited labors of some fellow citizen, whose name may pos- 
 sibly be known outside of the circle of his immediate acquaintance but of 
 whose career there is no public record. A laudable curiosity is felt in such 
 a case concerning the new benefactor of his race. It is hoped that the 
 present work will meet in this respect a public want. 
 
 The biographies of prominent business men are of general interest. 
 All are full of instruction, some are replete with romance. One fact to 
 which they call renewed attention is that the vast majority of successful 
 men have made their own way in life, beginning with no capital beyond 
 their own good health, sound common sense and weekly wages in the store, 
 shop, mine, or mill, or on the farm or railroad; They illustrate the encour- 
 aging fact that America is a land in which a man can start from the lowest 
 level of poverty and obscurity and rise, honestly, by his own exertions, to 
 influence and fortune, if he is capable of self sacrifice, untiring labor and 
 intelligent effort. Men born upon the farm or in the country village, 
 orphaned when young, compelled to face the hardships of existence while 
 not yet of age, and forced into the arena with no other education than that 
 of the country school, have been able to educate themselves, to initiate 
 great movements, found institutions of learning and charity, exercise a 
 beneficent influence in the highest social circles, and sway the destinies of 
 a people by their talents in the field of practical affairs. These biographies 
 should teach a lesson of courage and hope to all young men who are start- 
 ing in life under inauspicious circumstances. 
 
 Volume I. is devoted to that cluster of communities known popularly 
 under the name of the Greater New York. 
 
AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 THE CITY OF NEW YORK. 
 
 HENRY EUGENE ABBEY, dramatic manager, descends from Connecticut ancestry, 
 and was born in Akron, O. , June 27, 1846. A student in the public schools of Akron 
 during boyhood, he began life as clerk in his father's jewelry store. He rose to 
 partnership, and in 1873, succeeded to the business. In 1869, he leased the Akron 
 Theatre, which he managed with so much success, that in 1876 he leased the Park 
 Theatre in New York city, and from that time forward devoted his energies entirely 
 to dramatic affairs. He is now the manager of Abbey's Theatre, at 1402 Broadway, 
 and the Metropolitan Opera House, 1415 Broadway, and, in Boston, of the Tremont 
 Theatre. Mr. Abbey was married in 1876 to Miss Kate Kingsley of Northampton, 
 Mass., who died in 1883. In 1886, he married Florence Gerard of Boston. His one 
 daughter is Kate Kingsland Abbey. Mr. Abbey has been elected to membership in 
 the New York, Manhattan, New York Yacht and Larchmont Yacht clubs, and the 
 Ohio Society. 
 
 ABRAHAM ABRAHAfl, a leading dry goods merchant of Brooklyn, was born in 
 New York city, March 9, 1843. His father, Judah Abraham, a native of Bavaria, one of 
 the earliest German settlers in this city, emigrated hither in 1835. The young man 
 learned the dry goods trade in Newark, N. J., as an apprentice, beginning at the age 
 of fourteen. Later he aided his father in a wholesale dry goods store, and then in 1865 
 formed a partnership with Joseph Wechsler, under the title of Wechsler & Abraham, 
 and started a small retail dry goods store on Fulton street in Brooklyn, with a few 
 employes. The partners were practical and extremely industrious, and their success 
 led to repeated enlargements, culminating in the erection of a large store at 422 Fulton 
 street. The interest of Mr. Wechsler was finally bought by Nathan and Isidor Straus, 
 and Mr. Abraham became senior partner of the present firm of Abraham & Straus. 
 He is an excellent merchant and his store is now the leading bazaar of Brooklyn, 
 employing more than 2,000 persons, and covering about thirty city lots. A large addi- 
 tion is now contemplated. Mr. Abraham is married and has four children, three girls 
 
6 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and one boy. He is president of Temple Israel, vice-president of the Hebrew Orphan 
 Asylum, Brooklyn, and director in The Brooklyn Society for Prevention of Cruelty to 
 Children, The Kings County Trust Co. and The Long Island Bank, and member of 
 Chamber of Commerce of New York, the Union League, Brooklyn, Oxford, and Law- 
 rence clubs of Brooklyn, and the Harmonic club of New York, as well as of numerous 
 charitable and other societies in both cities. 
 
 DAVID DEPEYSTER ACKER, founder and head of the house of Acker, Merrall & 
 Condit, merchants of fine groceries, one of the most active, capable and energetic men 
 of his day and an excellent representative of the last generation of the "merchant 
 princes" of New York, was born in Bergen county, N. J., June 13, 1822, and died 
 March 23, 1888. Successful in his plans, the soul of honor in every transaction, kindly 
 in every impulse, and unassuming in manner, his long and honorable record was free 
 from the slightest blemish, and he won the unqualified respect of all with whom he 
 came in contact. 
 
 He was fortunate enough to be the son of a farmer, and in the healthful open air 
 life of the country he gained, during his boyhood days, the vigorous health which fitted 
 him for the arduous labors of later life. He was of Dutch descent, his ancestors having 
 emigrated to America in the early part of the seventeenth century. The family 
 possessed high character but their means were limited, and David was compelled to 
 face the stern realities of life at an unusually early age. He came to New York city 
 in 1833 seeking employment, and found it in the little old store of T. & A. S. Hope, 
 afterwards Thomas Hope & Co., grocers, who then occupied the first floor and base- 
 ment of the Franklin House, on the corner of Chambers street and College Place. At 
 that period the homes of many cultivated people occupied the streets adjacent to this 
 corner, and the brothers Hope enjoyed a large trade among the highest class of patrons. 
 Their new clerk, even in the first years of his connection with the house, gave promise 
 of future usefulness He was honest, thorough, attentive to details, and obliging, and 
 soon rose into the confidence of the firm. He remained with the house for twenty-four 
 years, and became intimately identified with its business, and in time practically the 
 manager. His opportunity came in 1857, when the senior partner retired. Mr. Hope 
 transferred to Mr. Acker the business, which the latter had done so much to build up, ' 
 taking his promises to pay, and Mr. Acker, in partnership with William J. Merrall and 
 John W. Condit, both of whom had been his fellow clerks in the old firm, now organ- 
 ized the new house of Acker, Merrall & Condit, which under the management of the 
 head of the concern, entered upon a career of great prosperity. Mr. Acker was the 
 inspiring element from the first. While the business was systematized and divided into 
 departments, Mr. Acker pervaded every part of the store and directed all of the firm's 
 operations. 
 
 In 1867, under the firm name of Acker, Edgar & Co., a branch store was opened 
 in Yonkers on the Hudson, with a local partner, an undertaking, which, in part, grew 
 - out of the annual exodus of society from New York city to summer homes along the 
 Hudson river. In 1871, the up town movement of population in the city led the 
 firm to establish a local branch at No. 1,472 Broadway, on the corner of 42d street. 
 Another large store was also opened at No. 1010 Sixth avenue, each one supplying a 
 special part of the best residence section of the city with the finest class of groceries. 
 Both to ensure the excellence of their goods and to be in a position to take proper 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AC. 7 
 
 advantage of the markets, Mr. Acker established a purchasing agency in Paris in 1874. 
 These were all judicious ventures and every one of them was prospered. 
 
 The growth of the business finally compelled Mr. Acker to enlarge the wholesale 
 store down town, and in 1887 the old building on Chambers street was reinforced with 
 the addition of another twice its size. The firm were then employing 300 men, 125 
 horses, and 60 wagons in their flourishing trade. 
 
 For many years, Mr. Acker was a prominent figure among the guests at Saratoga. 
 He visited the springs every summer. He was always fond of the country, and he 
 spent every spring and fall at his beautiful country seat of Fairlawn, near Paterson, 
 N. J. During the last few years of his life, he spent the month of March in Florida. 
 
 While taking a lively interest in public affairs, he was never allured by public posi- 
 tion, and he refused positively to accept a nomination for Congress, which was once 
 tendered him by his neighbors in New Jersey. 
 
 Although closely devoted to the business of his firm, he found time to participate 
 in the management of The National Exchange Bank, of which he was vice-president, 
 and he was an interested member of the Produce Exchange and the Chamber of Com- 
 merce. He also belonged to The Holland Society, deriving his eligibility from his 
 ancestry. He was a devoted Episcopalian, and attended worship regularly at St. 
 Thomas's church in New York and St. Paul's church in Paterson. He died March 23, 
 1888, leaving his large fortune to his wife and seven children. Two of them, Charles 
 L. Acker and Franklin Acker were at the time members of the firm. His son, 
 CHARLES LIVINGSTON ACKER, born in New York city, Oct. 13, 1846, died here May 
 26, 1891. He was a young man of great promise, received a sound education, and 
 at the age of seventeen entered the wholesale and retail grocery store of Acker, 
 Merrall & Condit. A thorough apprenticeship made him a good merchant, and 
 when he attained his majority he became junior partner in the firm. When the branch 
 store on Broadway at the corner of 42d street was opened in 1869, he was placed in 
 entire charge thereof. Of sturdy physique and exceptionally good health, he succeeded 
 in his management and had never been detained from businessa single day on account 
 of sickness until he contracted the malady which ended his life. Sept. 2, 1868, he was 
 married to Helena, daughter of the Hon. James J. Brinkerhoff, of New Jersey, and left 
 a son, Charles L. Acker, Jr., and three daughters. He was vice-president of The 
 Hudson River Bank, treasurer of several other corporations, and member of The 
 Holland Society. FRANKLIN ACKER, merchant, son of the late David D. Acker, born 
 in New York city, Feb. 16, 1853, received his education at the public schools and in 
 Weston, Conn. He first engaged in business in 1870, with Acker, Merrall & Condit, 
 and having mastered thoroughly every detail of the business, became a member of the 
 firm in 1888. In 1892 his interest was sold to W. J. Merrall. Nov. 12, 1884, Mr. Acker 
 married Emma, daughter of ex-State Senator James J. Brinkerhoff, of New Jersey. His 
 family consists of two sons, David D. and Irving Fairchild Acker. He is a director of 
 The David D. Acker Co. of this city and The Fiberite Co. of Mechanicville, N. Y., and 
 a member of The Holland Society and Colonial and Hardware clubs. 
 
 WARREN ACKERMAN, manufacturer, born in 1826, died in Scotch Plains, N. J., 
 Aug. 26, 1893. He began life modestly, possessed of sound character, a clear head, 
 and a worthy desire to succeed. During the Civil War he sold rubber goods, and filled 
 some profitable contracts for the Government. Later he became interested in the 
 
AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 manufacture of hydraulic cement, as president and principal stockholder of The Law- 
 renceville Cement Co. In 1876, he married a daughter of Isaac L. Platt, one of the 
 founders of The Chemical National Bank. He retired from business several years 
 before his death, and devoted his time to a large estate, which included the beautiful 
 Glenside Park, or Feltville. 
 
 EDWARD DEAN ADAHS, banker, a man of special gifts and remarkable power of 
 organization, was born in Boston, Mass., April 9, 1846. His father, Adoniram Judson 
 Adams, a merchant, sprang from Puritan ancestry. Edward began his education as a 
 student at Chauncey Hall in Boston, and fitted there for college. He graduated from 
 Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., in the class of 1864, with the degree of 
 Bachelor of Science, and added to the scholarly equipment thus attained by two years 
 mainly spent in travel in Europe. Possessing excellent powers of observation and a 
 studious and retentive mind, Mr. Adams gained greatly by these travels; and the 
 knowledge thus acquired has since been regularly and extensively cultivated by travel 
 in later years both abroad and to all parts of North America, more particularly in the 
 United States, with all sections of which Mr. Adams is now intimately acqiiainted 
 
 The young man wished to become a banker, and gained his first lessons in the 
 requirements of this occupation by service, from 1866 to 1870, as bookkeeper and 
 cashier for a Boston firm of bankers and brokers. In 1870 he assisted in organizing 
 the banking house of Richardson, Hill & Co. , of Boston, which is yet in existence and 
 has always enjoyed a high repute. He remained a partner until 1878. He then 
 removed to New York city to accept a partnership in the old banking house of Wins- 
 low, Lanier & Co., famous for conservative and honorable methods and its relations 
 with important corporate interests. He was successfully occupied with the financial 
 operations of this house until 1893, when he retired to devote his time to various large 
 properties, in which in the meantime he had become deeply interested. During the 
 fifteen years of his partnership in Messrs. Winslow, Lanier & Co. , he participated in 
 many of the government, railway and municipal negotiations of that active period. 
 He was especially occupied with construction and reorganization enterprises, into all of 
 which his personality entered as a moving and controlling factor, and for which he was 
 responsible. Some of the more noteworthy of these may be referred to. 
 
 In 1882-83, ne organized The Northern Pacific Terminal Co., was elected president 
 thereof, provided the funds and constructed the terminal plant in Portland, Oregon, 
 which was afterwards successfully leased to The Northern Pacific Railroad and other 
 companies. 
 
 In 1883, he organized The St. Paul & Northern Pacific Railway Co., provided the 
 capital, and, as vice-president, supervised the acquisition and construction of the ter- 
 minal facilities at Minneapolis and Saint Paul, now leased to the Northern Pacific Rail- 
 road Co. 
 
 In 1885, he organized and constructed The New Jersey Junction Railroad Co., now 
 leased to The New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Co. 
 
 The same year, he prepared a plan for the reorganization of The New York, West 
 Shore & Buffalo Railway, The New York, Ontario & Western Railway, and The West 
 Shore & Ontario Terminal Co., and their allied properties, which plan was carried out 
 in 1886, with hardly any variation from the programme as first submitted by him to 
 Messrs. Morgan and Vanderbilt in 1885. The efficiency of his services in this undertak- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AD. 9 
 
 ing was officially recognized by The New York Central Railroad Co. He received a 
 graceful letter of thanks from Mr. Depew, president of The New York Central ; and 
 Drexel, Morgan & Co., in their circular to The West Shore bond-holders, made special 
 acknowledgment to Edward D. Adams, "who, for nearly a year past, has devoted 
 almost his whole time to perfecting and carrying out the plan which has resulted in 
 entire success. But for his activity and valued assistance, based on information which 
 he alone possessed, the difficulties of the situation would have been greatly enhanced." 
 T. Pierpont Morgan also made a generous and manly acknowledgment upon the success 
 of the great work in reorganizing The West Shore Railroad, which he declared due to 
 the special knowledge and personal devotion of Mr. Adams. 
 
 The rescue of The Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1887 from its receivership 
 was accomplished upon a plan, conceived by Mr. Adams and worked out by him with 
 infinite care and close regard for all the interests involved, as chairman of its Finance 
 Committee. 
 
 Modest, caring nothing for public recognition, but delighting in the solution of 
 intricate problems and the successful execution of carefully concerted plans, Mr. Adams 
 brings to labors of this class a power of analysis, specially his own, and an energy and 
 capacity for work, which bear the unmistakable stamp of genius. 
 
 In 1888, he rendered an important service to The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad 
 in the marketing of the new bonds of the company. The financial world places so much 
 reliance in the judgment and integrity of Mr. Adams that in an enterprise like this, he 
 succeeds where others are likely to fail. The directors of the company expressed their 
 gratitude to Mr. Adams for the service he had performed in their behalf, by a special 
 and expressive resolution of thanks. 
 
 In 1890 he undertook a work, which gave new proof of his abilities. The 
 American Cotton Oil Trust was then on the verge of bankruptcy. Mr. Adams entered 
 upon a close, careful and extended investigation, and, as a result, reorganized the com- 
 pany upon lines laid down and through channels and men selected by himself. He has 
 enforced a severely economical administration and placed in positions of responsibility 
 the men best fitted for their respective duties by natural gifts and experience, and con- 
 tinues to this date to direct the business of the organization as chairman of the board of 
 directors.. He exercises a daily scrutiny of the smallest details, and has rescued the 
 company, by his energetic and untiring labors, from the calamities which threatened to 
 engulf it in ruin. 
 
 The Cataract Construction Co. , at Niagara Falls, has been fortunate in enlisting 
 his co-operation. Of the two great engineering works of the present age, which, while 
 practicable, are tasks of difficulty, and which are destined to bring a distinct fame to 
 those who achieve them, one is the utilization of the enormous water power of Niagara 
 Falls for the purposes of productive industry. In 1890, Mr. Adams was elected 
 president of the company, which is developing the water power of Niagara, and has 
 successfully directed the engineering operations there to the present moment. The 
 Bachelor of Science has in this enterprise shown himself a master not only of science 
 but of finance. 
 
 In 1893, he accepted the proposals of a group of German bankers to represent 
 their interests in America, and formed the Reorganization Committee of The Northern 
 Pacific Railroad Co. , of which committee he is chairman. The fact that Mr. Adams 
 
10 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 has accepted a responsible relation with a scheme of this class at once gains the public 
 attention, inspires confidence in the property, and supplies a guarantee of success. 
 
 Mr. Adams is now occupied as chairman of the directors of The American Cotton 
 
 011 Co., and president of its most important allied organizations; president of The Cat- 
 aract Construction Co., and its associate corporations; vice-president of The Central & 
 South American Telegraph Co., and director of The West Shore Railroad and The 
 Central Railroad of New Jersey and its subordinate companies. 
 
 He is very happy in his family life. His wife is Fannie A., daughter of William 
 E. Gutterson of Boston, to whom he was married in 1872. His children are Ernest 
 Kempton Adams, now an engineering student in Yale University, and Ruth, a young 
 daughter. 
 
 A gentleman of cultivated mind and agreeable manners, well informed, and of 
 spotless integrity, he is as much respected in the social world as in financial circles. His 
 resources for diversion are indicated by the following positions that he holds : Fellow 
 in Perpetuity of the National Academy of Design; patron (with right of succession in 
 perpetuity) of The American Museum of Natural History; trustee of The Metropolitan 
 Museum of Art and the Gift Fund of The American Fine Arts Society; and fellow of 
 The American Society of Civil Engineers. He is also a member of many of the lead- 
 ing clubs, including the Metropolitan, City, Union League, Players', Lawyers', Tuxedo, 
 Riding and Grolier, The New England Society of this city and the Chicago club of 
 Chicago. 
 
 GEORGE TOWNSEND ADEE, merchant and banker, was born in Albany, N. Y., 
 April 7, 1804, and died in New York city, Nov. 20, 1884. He was of English-French 
 descent and son of William Adee, of Westchester. His mother was Clarissa Townsend 
 of Albany. His great-grandfather, John Adee, came from England to Providence 
 Plantations in the early part of the eighteenth century, and thence to Portchester, in 
 Westchester county, N. Y. 
 
 George Townsend Adee's education was gained at private schools in Portchester, 
 N. Y. , and Fairfield, Conn., and at an early age he began his business career in the old 
 firm of Adee, Timpson & Co., of Pearl street, New York, of which firm his father 
 was senior partner. There his close, steady attention to the firm's affairs, his natural 
 aptitude, broad views, probity and good judgment soon made him a partner. In due ' 
 time, he took his father's place as head of the firm and remained an active member 
 until 1850. 
 
 In 1844 he married Ellen Louise, daughter of Philip Henry, merchant, of New 
 York, a veteran of the war of 1812, whose son, Joshua Henry, was the senior of the 
 > firm of Henrys, Smith & Townsend, a leading dry goods house transacting a large bus- 
 iness North and South before the war of the Rebellion. 
 
 Mr. Adee's family, for several generations, had been residents of Westchester 
 county, N. Y. , his father's homestead being now the centre of Westchester town. In 
 1851 he purchased the country seat of Edward Le Roy on Throggs Neck, Westchester, 
 where he dwelt until his death and where his family yet reside. Here, on the border of 
 Long Island Sound, was his chief relaxation from business cares. In quiet retirement, 
 surrounded by his family, he indulged his taste for rural life, enjoying especially the 
 culture of trees, fruit and flowers. Dignified, serene and amiable, he commanded the 
 respect, admiration and regard of that community particularly. Always ready to sue- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AD. II 
 
 cor his neighbors with sound advice, he contributed freely to all worthy objects, and 
 lending his strong support to St. Peter's Episcopal Church of Westchester, of which he 
 was a member and for many years a vestryman, and in whose ancient church yard his 
 remains and those of his ancestors now lie. 
 
 His family consisted of his wife, Ellen Louise, and six children, George A., Clarissa 
 Townsend, wife of M. Dwight Collier, Philip H., Frederic W., Edwin M. and Ernest 
 R. Adee. All of his sons and his son-in-law were graduated at Yale College. 
 
 In 1842 Mr. Adee became a director of the Bank of Commerce, in New York, 
 and afterward, for ten years, its vice-president, and much of that time its acting presi- 
 dent. He was also a founder and one of the directors of The Equitable Life Assuralice 
 Society, the United States Trust Co. and The Republic Fire Insurance Co., and he held 
 and administered many arduous private trusts with unvarying fidelity and success, and 
 greatly to the advantage of the beneficiaries. His good citizenship, his unswerving 
 patriotism and devotion to the government and to the Union cause during the Rebellion 
 were notable. The exceptional success, at the time, of the great hospital for wounded 
 soldiers at Fort Schuyler, on Throggs Neck, was due as much to Mr. Adee's efforts as 
 to those of any one citizen, and his advice, on more than one occasion during the 
 Rebellion, was sought and received by the Governor of the State of New York and the 
 Secretary of the United States Treasury. 
 
 After his withdrawal from commercial business, Mr. Adee became, even more than 
 before, active, useful and prominent in regard to the great financial affairs of the city 
 and of the nation. His high personal character, his large experience and remarkably 
 cool, clear and sound judgment gave to his opinions great weight and influence, so 
 that, not only by the monied institutions with which he was connected, but by officers 
 of the Government and by financiers in other cities of this country and in England, his 
 opinion and advice were highly valued. For several years before his death, he was at 
 his business office at The National Bank of Commerce, daily, and entered it in his usual 
 good health on the day of his death. His wife and six children survive him. 
 
 Mr. Adee was a gentleman of refined, kindly and courteous manner, of dignified 
 bearing, and of commanding influence. He was long and most highly esteemed by a 
 large circle of social and business friends, among whom his name was a synonym for 
 honor and integrity. 
 
 niCHAEL JOSEPH ADRIAN, cigar manufacturer, was born in June, 1826, at Klin- 
 genberg on the Main, Bavaria. He was educated in his native village and in the night 
 schools of New York city. As an apprentice, after his arrival in this city in 1840, he 
 learned to make cigars, and later bought his employer's business for 100,000. Until 
 1865 he remained at the corner of Division and Gouverneur streets, and then removed 
 to 472 Grand street. As soon as he had made sufficient savings, Mr. Adrian began 
 buying unimproved local land and building thereon, and has been successful in a field 
 in which many others have failed. He foresaw the real estate panic, which began in 
 1870, and met it with prudence and advantage to himself. Some of his friends laughed 
 at his predictions and were ruined by their real estate speculations. He is now a large 
 owner of excellent realty. Since its organization, he has been president of The Ger- 
 man Exchange Bank, one of the soundest of local financial institutions, having a sur- 
 plus three times as great as its capital. Mr. Adrian is the father of six children, 
 Charles L., George S., Joseph M., Arnoa M., Marie M., and Frank L. Adrian. 
 
12 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 FREDERIC KIRKHAfl AGATE, capitalist, born in New York city, Jan. 23, 1854; 
 died in Luzerne, Switzerland, Aug. 17, 1887. Of English extraction, his father, Joseph 
 Agate, of Yonkers, N. Y., was a wealthy man. Frederic graduated from Columbia 
 Law School in 1875, but never practiced his profession. Wealth came to him in part 
 by inheritance, but he employed his means with judgment and won a strong position, 
 and, by his character, the respect of all who knew him. In April, 1879, he was mar- 
 ried to Sarah Katharine, daughter of David T. and Elizabeth T. Jackson, who, with 
 two children, Frederick Joseph and Mary Virginia, survive him. They had lived in 
 New York since 1884. Mr. Agate, who had taken his wife and two children on a pleas- 
 ure tour in Europe, passed away while in Luzerne. He was a member of the New 
 York, Manhattan and Lambs' chibs. 
 
 JOHN W. AITKEN, head of the wholesale and retail dry goods house of Aitken, 
 Son & Co., Broadway, corner of i8th street, was born in this city, Jan. 31, 1850. 
 
 His father, John Aitken, born in 1806, in Cumbernauld, Dumbartonshire, Scotland, 
 was an only son in a family of five children. He received his early education in the 
 village school. On the death of his father, John, at the age of twelve, felt a strong 
 desire to come to this country, but repressed the wish until the death of his mother 
 and after the other members of the family had been comfortably provided for, when 
 he emigrated to this country. He landed in New York, July 20, 1833, and soon 
 obtained a situation in the dry goods house of Andrew Mitchell & Co. He filled his 
 place with satisfaction to his employers and credit to himself. A few years later, he 
 started in business on his own account. In 1843 ne entered into partnership with 
 James Miller, under the firm name of Aitken & Miller, on Canal street. Later the 
 firm removed to 405 Broadway, afterward to No. 423, again to No. 473, and finally to 
 Nos. 873 and 875. In 1873 Mr. Miller retired. Mr. Aitken then organized the present 
 firm of Aitken, Son & Co., taking as partners his only son, John W. Aitken, and 
 Archibald McLintock. 
 
 John W. Aitken was educated at the school of Dr. Clark, formerly on the corner" 
 of West 4th and Macdougal streets, and was prepared for Princeton College at the age 
 of fifteen. He graduated in 1869 with the degree of A. B., receiving three years later 
 the degree of A. M. On the completion of his college course in the spring of 1869, 
 he entered, as clerk, the store of Aitken & Miller, passing from one department to 
 another and familiarizing himself with every branch of the business in New York. In 
 1871, he accompanied one of the foreign buyers of the house to Europe for instruction 
 in the foreign branches of the business. In the summer of 1873, J ust prior to the 
 dissolution of the firm of Aitken & Miller, Mr. Aitken went abroad to purchase a 
 diversified stock of new goods for the new house of Aitken, Son & Co. His thorough 
 knowledge of merchandise and close attention to details made the trip a successful 
 venture. He then returned to the active management of the business in New York. 
 In January, 1879, on the death of his father, he became the senior member of 
 Aitken, Son & Co., now widely known for its successful past and present prosperous 
 career. 
 
 As a merchant, Mr. Aitken has been distinguished for considerate treatment of his 
 employes, unbending integrity, sound judgment, quick perception, untiring patience, 
 perseverance and courage. He has, in addition to these personal qualities, a fine taste, 
 the exercise of which, in the selection of merchandise and the general conduct of busi- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AL. 13 
 
 ness, has given his firm a national reputation for goods of the highest excellence in 
 quality and elegance in style. 
 
 Mr. Aitken has never sought or held public office. Although eminently qualified 
 by natural gifts, judicial temperament and liberal education for active leadership in 
 representative assemblies, he has always shunned rather than courted conspicuous 
 places. He has, however, faithfully and often laboriously co-operated with others 
 in matters affecting the welfare of the city and its worthy charities. He is a member of 
 The Chamber of Commerce, a director of The Second National Bank, The Hudson River 
 Bank, and The Broadway Insurance Co., and a trustee of The Bowery Savings Bank. 
 His club memberships are in the University, Union League, Metropolitan, Grolier and 
 City. He retains a deep interest in the affairs of Princeton College and is energetic 
 in the furtherance of its material and educational progress. 
 
 Mr. Aitken was married, Feb. 6, 1877, to Helen F. Powers, daughter of D. W. 
 Powers, the banker, of Rochester, N. Y. He has two children, a daughter and a son. 
 
 HERMAN DAGGETT ALDRICH, merchant, born at Mattituck, L. I., July 6, 1801, 
 died in New York city, April 5, 1880. His family was of English descent, his father being 
 James Aldrich, a resident of Long Island. Herman's early years were passed in his 
 native village, where his opportunities for education were limited. While yet a boy, 
 he came to this city and obtained employment in the store of Stephen Lockwood. He 
 possessed a strong constitution, a clear mind and great firmness of character, and, once 
 launched upon a mercantile career, made his way with admirable energy. Early in 
 life he associated himself with Robert H. McCurdy in the dry goods commission busi- 
 ness, the firm subsequently becoming McCurdy, Aldrich & Spencer. The partners 
 were all distinguished for uprightness of dealing and ability, and the business yielded 
 each partner a handsome fortune. In 1840 Mr. Aldrich was married to Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Samuel Wyman of Homewood, Baltimore county, Md. His children were 
 James H., William W., and Spencer Aldrich, Mrs. J. N. Steele, whose husband is con- 
 nected with Trinity Church, and Mrs. T. N. Dudley, wife of Bishop Dudley of Louis- 
 ville, Ky. He was a founder and trustee of St. Luke's Hospital, and greatly interested 
 in the Protestant Episcopal Church. A striking feature of his life was the close inti- 
 macy between him and his partner, Mr. McCurdy, extending from early youth to a ripe 
 old age. They came to New York at the same time, met as boys in Mr. Lockwood's 
 store, and shared the same room in the attic over the store. Their lives ran on side by 
 side, until the end. For thirty years they lived in adjoining houses, and then died 
 within a few hours of one another. Their funeral services were held in common, and 
 the\" lie buried in adjoining lots in Greenwood Cemetery. 
 
 JUNIUS B. ALEXANDER, banker, born in Virginia in 1814, died in New York city 
 in January, 1893. His father was a large landholder, who employed negro slaves in the 
 cultivation of his plantations. While a youth of 16, Junius went to Hardinsburg, Ky., 
 began life as a clerk in a store, and rose to become a magistrate, president of a bank in 
 Owensboro, and in 1853 cashier of The Southern Bank in Louisville. In 1858, he 
 formed a partnership with H. D. Newcomb, of Louisville, to carry on a wholesale 
 grocery trade, under the name of Alexander, Newcomb & Co. He removed to St. 
 Louis, was a merchant and president of The Exchange Bank there, dissolved partnership 
 in 1863, and moved to New York, where he engaged in private banking. Twice married, 
 he was survived by his second wife and several children. He dwelt on Staten Island. 
 
14 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 WILLIAM C. ALEXANDER, president of The Equitable Life Assurance Society, 
 born in Prince Edward county, Va., in May, 1806, died in New York city, Aug. 23, 1874. 
 He was the second son of Dr. Archibald Alexander, one of the founders and first pro- 
 fessor of the Theological Seminary in Princeton, N. J. Mr. Alexander graduated 
 from Princeton College in 1824, having distinguished himself there both as a writer 
 and speaker. Educating himself as a lawyer, he practiced his profession in New Jer- 
 sey for thirty-five years. Taking an active part in the canvass then being hotly con- 
 tested between Mr. Adams and General Jackson, his fame as an orator and a man of 
 genius soon spread throughout the State. In 1835 he was unexpectedly nominated for 
 the Legislature by the inhabitants of Middlesex county, but declined the honor and 
 warmly espoused the cause of the person substituted in his place. In 1836, without 
 his consent, he was again nominated and elected. On taking his seat, although one 
 of the youngest members, he became the leader of his side of the House, and shortly 
 afterwards, on the nomination of a member of the opposite party, was unanimously 
 elected Speaker. Mr. Alexander's speeches, during the years in which he served in 
 the Legislature, in behalf of education, civilization, the elevation of the workingman 
 and the establishment of common schools, won for him the deserved respect and admi- 
 ration of men of all parties. On several important occasions, he exhibited his inde- 
 pendence by dissenting in debate from the great majority of his party. He continued 
 to grow more prominent until, without his so'icitation, he was elected a member of 
 the Senate and re-elected at the expiration of his term, and was three times chosen 
 President of the Senate on the nomination of the opposition without a dissenting 
 voice. At one time, nominated as Governor of New Jersey, he was frequently urged 
 to allow his name to be used in connection with the United States Senatorship, when 
 an election would have been sure, and was brought forward at the Charleston Con- 
 vention as a candidate for the Vice-Presidency, but his preferences were in favor of a 
 private life. He attended the Peace Congress at Washington just before the late war, 
 and presided over that body during a great part of its sessions. In 1859 Mr. Alexan- 
 der became the president of The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United 
 States, and thereafter his business life was passed in New York city. His fine intel- 
 lect found in the development of this great corporation a duty worthy of his powers. 
 His success was great. 
 
 FRANCIS ALEXANDRE, merchant, born on the Island of Jersey, in Great Britain, 
 Aug. 5, 1809, died in New York city, June 8, 1889. He was the son of a farmer. With an 
 inclination for a sailor's life, he went to sea at an early age, and acquired an education 
 by attending school during his stay in various ports and devoting the spare time on 
 ship-board to reading. At the age of twenty-one he took command of a vessel, which he 
 directed for years, renouncing in favor of his sisters the estate which he had inherited 
 from his father. When about twenty-eight years old, the young captain settled in New 
 York city, establishing a small commission house in South street, paying at first as annual 
 rental the sum of $25. In 1842 he established a line of sailing vessels between New 
 York and Honduras, and subsequently between New York, Vera Cruz and South 
 America. In this enterprise he succeeded so well that, in 1867, he sold the sailing 
 vessels, substituted steamers, and for nineteen years carried mails, freights and passen- 
 gers between New York, Havana and Mexico. Many remarkable ships were built for 
 this line in subsequent years, including among others the City of Mexico, City of New 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AL. 15 
 
 York, City of Havana, City of Alexandria, City of Washington, City of Vera Cruz, and 
 City of Pueblo. The business transacted was large and profitable. His three sons 
 were successive!}" taken into partnership as they came of age, the great house taking 
 the name of F. Alexandre & Sons. In 1888 the firm sold its vessels and retired from 
 business. In 1838 Mr. Alexandre married Miss Civiles Cipriaut, of New York, who 
 died Feb. 13, 1882. Three sons, John E., Joseph J. and J. Henry survived him. The 
 secret of his success lay in his industry, integrity, exactness and justice of method, and 
 natural business ability. He enjoyed a high reputation among those with whom he 
 was associated. His sons have since attained prominence in the social life of the city. 
 
 JAMES P. ALLAIRE, iron manufacturer, born in 1785, died at Howell Works, 
 Monmouth county, N. J., May 20, 1858. He was the founder of the Iron Works, in 
 the quaint and now deserted village of Allaire, N. J., there being deposits of iron in 
 the vicinity, which were smelted at these works. At one time, he carried. on the 
 largest marine engine building shops in the United States. In this business he was 
 very successful, and gained both reputation and fortune. 
 
 GEORGE H. ALLEN, importer of wines, has gained his position in New York city 
 through the arduous labors of mercantile life, coupled with native shrewdness and 
 energy, and his partnership in the importing firm of Paris, Allen & Co., of which he is 
 now senior partner. He has also been, for a number of years, senior partner in W. A. 
 Gaines & Co., distillers, in Frankfort, Ky., incorporated with a capital of $600,000, who 
 control several distilleries in the West. Mr. Allen inherited some means from Marshall 
 Allen, one of the original partners of Paris, Allen & Co. He is a member of The Man- 
 hattan and New York Athletic clubs. 
 
 HENRY ALLEN, stock broker, was born in Lexington, Ky., in April, 1848. He 
 comes from English and Scottish ancestry, and his father was a native of Kentucky, 
 his mother of Mississippi. During early life he found occupation in operations 
 indigenous to the South, and was interested successively in farming, cotton, grain, 
 banking and stocks. During the Civil War, he espoused the cause of the Confederacy, 
 and later came North and opened a broker's office in this city. He is now senior 
 member of Henry Allen & Co., stock brokers, and has built up a large and desirable 
 business, with extensive collateral interests in railroads and railroad stocks. While 
 of social disposition, he is not a club man, but has joined the Democratic club, because 
 that organization represents his political faith. 
 
 JOSEPH JENER ALfllRALL, merchant, was born in Yillafranca del Panades, Spain, 
 in 1840. His early years were spent in his native land, where he received a sound edu- 
 cation. Coming to America, he established the firm of Almirall & Co , importers and 
 dealers of Havana leaf tobacco and general exporters. Competent, honest and per- 
 sistent, he has created a large trade and is now a man of fortune. He is a director of 
 The Chesebrough Manufacturing Co. 
 
 JOHN ALSTYNE, broker, a native of New York city, born March 24, 1801, died 
 here June 3, 1869. Of Dutch ancestry, his father was John Alstyne, a son of Jerome 
 Alstyne, whose father bore the same name. They lived in the last century in a house 
 owned by them at the junction of Maiden Lane and Liberty street, probably purchased 
 with thalers brought from Holland. John Alstyne, sr., lived on a farm called Seaton 
 Place, and afterward at Eastchester, but, after his death, his wife returned to the 
 Liberty street house, and later removed with her family to Madison street. The son 
 
16 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 was educated in the family of the Rev. Platt Buffet, rector of the church at Stanwich, 
 Conn., who, in addition to his church duties, fitted boys for college or business. He 
 found his first employment as clerk for Mr. Beers, a leading broker in New York. 
 Leaving Mr. Beers, he formed a partnership with Mr. Dykers, son of the Governor of 
 one of the West India Islands, under the name of Dykers & Alstyne, Mr. Alstyne's 
 capital being derived from his father's estate. Later, Mr. Jarvis was taken into the 
 firm, which became Dykers, Alstyne & Co. Mr. Alstyne survived his partners. Mr. 
 Alstyne invested his profits largely in real estate in and around New York city, which 
 rose to great value. He was a man of strong will, kindly feelings, pleasant manners 
 and good appearance, and a favorite in social life. He was a strong churchman, and 
 always kind and attentive to his handsome mother, whose common sense was equal to 
 her beauty. His fortune descended, mainly, to his niece, Desier A., wife of George P. 
 Clapp of New York city, and daughter of Jasper Pryer. Mrs. Clapp died Sept. 17, 1881, 
 leaving her property mainly to her husband. Mr. Clapp died in Algiers, Africa, Jan. 
 25, 1884, and bequeathed the Alstyne property to charitable and religious institutions 
 in New York. 
 
 BENJAfllN ALTMAN, dry goods merchant, is a son of Philip Altman, who carried 
 on a moderate dry goods business in New York city, and was for many years well and 
 favorably known in the district devoted to that trade. He died in 1863, the business 
 being afterward continued by his two sons, Morris and Benjamin. 
 
 Morris Altman, Benjamin's eldest brother, was educated in the public schools, 
 entered a business career when quite a young man and founded the house of Altman 
 Brothers. He came into prominence as the moving spirit of the "Early Closing Asso- 
 ciation," which advocated shortening the working hours of the dry goods clerks. He 
 died in the prime of a promising manhood, in 1876, at the age of thirty-nine. A man 
 of fine presence, splendid address and talent as a speaker on economic, social and busi- 
 ness subjects, he was courteous and affable and commanded the respect and admira- 
 tion of those who came in contact with him. 
 
 Benjamin Altman, born in this city, July n, 1843, began his business career when 
 not much over twelve years of age, up to which time he had attended the public schools. 
 Such was his fondness for business, it may here be said, that after school hours he 
 would go behind the counters in his father's store to discharge the duties of salesman, 
 impressing his young mind at the time with all the requirements of a business man. 
 This experience served him well in later years. Under the discreet management of 
 the two brothers the business increased to such an extent that larger quarters were 
 secured at Third avenue and loth street. Shortly afterward yet more commodious 
 accommodations were sought for and obtained on Sixth avenue. Another removal 
 being deemed necessary, the present location, i8th street, i9th street and Sixth ave- 
 nue, was established in 1876. Mr. Altman remains unmarried, and has devoted him- 
 self to the care and education of the children of his brother Morris, to whom he has 
 been as kind as a father. The widow survived her husband only a few months. The 
 tender care bestowed upon these four orphan children cannot be too highly commended. 
 While devoted to his business, Mr. Altman is greatly interested in art matters. He 
 has a valuable and costly collection of art objects and antiques. Porcelains, paintings, 
 objects of Greek art, carvings in ivory, antique rugs and embroideries form part of a 
 collection, many examples of which he gathered while on a voyage around the world, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AM. 17 
 
 during which he enjoyed well earned and richly deserved recreation, the first in seven- 
 teen years. He is also a liberal patron of the works of native artists. He is a con- 
 tributor to philanthropic objects, his gifts, while open-handed, being, however, unos- 
 tentatious. Many generous donations have been bestowed with the single stipulation 
 that the deed should not be made public, so sensitive is he that his generosity should 
 not be misunderstood. His career is an evidence of what application to business, hon- 
 estly and persistently followed, will bring to a young man who devotes his young man- 
 hood unflinchingly to the establishment of a reputation which will serve him in the 
 later years of an honored life. 
 
 QUSTAV AflSINCK, merchant, a sound, energetic businessman, has been for forty 
 years an active spirit in the wholesale trade of this city. In 1861, he became a partner 
 in the firm of L. E. Amsinck & Co., of which Gustav H. Gossler became a partner in 
 1868. The present firm of G. Amsinck & Co., formed in 1874, are importers and com- 
 mission merchants, dealing in almost all kinds of merchandise and with practically all 
 parts of the world, a large portion of their trade being with Mexico. They also trans- 
 act a banking business. The success of the firm has been continuous, and Mr. 
 Amsinck's career has been characterized by energy, decision, integrity and scrupulous 
 exactness in his obligations. He is a director of The Bank of New York and The 
 Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co., and has done much to promote the higher interests of 
 New York city. The Union, Vaudeville, Liederkranz and Down-Town clubs have 
 enrolled him as a member. 
 
 ELBERT JEFFERSON ANDERSON, merchant, born in New York city, in October, 
 1800, died in Newport, R. I., Feb. 13, 1888. Elbert Anderson, his father, a merchant of 
 distinction, served in the War of 1812 as Lieutenant Colonel of militia and army con- 
 tractor. Visiting Troy, N. Y., he purchased beef and provisions for the army, from 
 Zbenezer and Samuel Wilson, the latter of whom was familiarly known as Uncle Sam. 
 Through the mark "E. A.-U. S." on Mr. Anderson's boxes of army material finally 
 arose the sobriquet of "Uncle Sam," as indicating the Federal Government. The 
 boyhood of Elbert J. Anderson was spent in New York city, and at the age of twelve, 
 he had the good fortune to be the first to convey to General Bloomfield, then in com- 
 mand of the troops gathered for the defense of New York, the news of the declaration 
 of war against Great Britain. He was educated in the local schools, and while not a 
 college graduate, became a man of excellent taste and extended culture. In 1820, he was 
 commissioned by Governor Clinton as ensign in the 85th New York Infantry, the crack 
 regiment of the day, and subsequently rose to be its Lieutenant Colonel. In 1827, he 
 became junior partner in the commission dry goods firm of Belah Tiffany & Co. , at the 
 corner of Maiden Lane and Pearl street, in which business he was active for many 
 years and greatly prospered. In 1825, he married Martha Maria, a daughter of one of 
 the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. She died in 1879, an ^ was survived 
 by one son, Elbert Anderson, and four daughters, Mrs. George von Gorrissen of Ham- 
 burg, Germany; Miss Marie M. Anderson; Mrs. John Boker, now deceased; and Mrs. 
 Thomas G. Ford. In 1847, Mrs. Anderson inherited the Redwood farm at Portsmouth, 
 six miles from Newport, and eventually made his permanent residence there. The 
 subject of this sketch was a director of The Manhattan Fire Insurance Co., The Farmers' 
 Loan & Trust Co. and The Phoenix Bank. His high reputation for integrity and 
 capacity caused him to be selected frequently for service on boards of arbitration. By 
 
i8 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 his quick intelligence, uniform courtesy and attractive manner, he won a large circle 
 of friends in Newport. 
 
 JOHN ANDERSON, conspicuous as a merchant, born in New York in 1812, died 
 in Paris, France, Nov. 22, 1881. He began life modestly in a little store, down town, 
 for the sale of cigars and tobacco, was successful in attracting purchasers, and grew 
 into popularity and a large trade. His store became famous through a tragic incident, 
 the heroine of which gave to Edgar Allan Poe the theme of his romance of Marie 
 Roget. Mr. Anderson conducted his business with success for about forty years, during 
 part of that time being a manufacturer. It was he who introduced the use of lead foil 
 as a wrapper for fine-cut chewing tobacco. John Anderson's Solace was known 
 to purchasers throughout the whole country. The income from his business was 
 invested mainly in real estate, and the great appreciation in value of property with the 
 growth of the city brought him a fortune of several millions. In the winter of 1873 he 
 founded The Anderson School of Natural History on Penekese Island, at the mouth of 
 Buzzard's Bay, giving the island and a liberal sum in money to the new institution. 
 The trust was in charge of Professor Louis Agassiz until his death. John Charles 
 Anderson, his son, and Mrs. Laura Appleton and Mrs. Fannie A. Barnard, his daugh- 
 ters, survived him. The family made their home at Tarrytown, N. Y., and Mr. 
 Anderson spent most of his time there during his later years. 
 
 LORINQ ANDREWS, merchant, born in Windham, Greene coiinty, Jan. 31, 
 1799, died in New York city, Jan. 22, 1875. He was of English descent, the pioneer 
 of the family in America having been a companion of John Davenport, who settled in 
 New Haven in the very early days. In the neighborhood of the birthplace of Mr. 
 Andrews, a thick growth of hemlock afforded material for the tanning of leather. 
 With an elementary education, the lad was apprenticed at the age of fourteen to Foster 
 Morss, one of the first tanners who brought leather to New York. With him the youth 
 remained for eight years. He then traveled in the West for two years, in the hope of 
 making a fortune. Finding the search elusive, he returned to Greene county and 
 entered into a business arrangement with Mr. Morss, by which the former was to trans- 
 port the hides and leather to and from the tannery and pay three cents a pound for 
 tanning. Beginning with a capital of fifty cents and a thorough knowledge of the 
 trade, Mr. Andrews was so able and shrewd that in four years he had made $4,000, and 
 then entered into partnership with his employer. In 1829 he came to New York city 
 with $7,000. He soon built up a trade of from 50,000 to 100,000 hides a year. In 
 1832, he formed a partnership with William Wilson, in which Gideon Lee and Shepherd 
 Knapp were special partners. The panic of 1837 swept away the profits of eight years. 
 Nevertheless, by retaining the control of large capital, he continued in business and 
 by prudent methods and close attention laid the foundation of a new fortune. In 1861, 
 Loring Andrews & Sons conducted several large tanneries, and by 1863, handled an- 
 nually 400,000 sides of hemlock cured leather. They ranked as the leading leather mer- 
 chants. Success came to Mr. Andrews as the fruit of untiring industry, perseverance and 
 sterling integrity. Like other merchants, he made conspicuously large purchases of 
 real estate, which proved profitable. In 1839, Mr. Andrews was married to Blandina 
 B., daughter of James B. Hardenbergh, D.D. His family consisted of seven children, 
 William L., James B., Constant A., Loring, Walter S., Clarence and Isabel, the latter 
 now married and living abroad. His -benefactions were systematic and large. The 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AN. IQ 
 
 University of New York received from him $100,000 for the endowment of professorships, 
 and nearly ever}' other leading philanthropic institution of the city enjoyed his liberal 
 support. He was one of the early directors of The Mechanics' Bank, a founder and 
 first president of The Shoe & Leather Bank, vice-president of The Globe Life 
 Insurance Co., and a shareholder in The Atlantic Telegraph Co. His son, CONSTANT 
 A. ANDREWS, banker, was born in this city, Feb. 25, 1844. He was educated 
 in Columbia College grammar school and in Germany. Soon after the close of the 
 Civil War, his father admitted him to partnership. Later, with his brother, William 
 L. Andrews, he continued in the leather trade and held a conspicuous position up to 
 the moment when the partners decided to retire from business. After spending a few 
 years in Europe, Mr. Andrews returned and engaged in banking. The firm of Constant 
 A. Andrews & Co. now occupies the same high position for conservative methods and 
 sound judgment as did the old house of Loring Andrews & Sons, and their advice is 
 sought in investments in street railroads, municipal bonds and business enterprises. 
 Mr. Andrews is president of The United States Savings Bank and The Elkhorn Valley 
 Coal Land Co ; a director of the Second Avenue Street Railroad, and largely influential 
 in other directions, where his interest and counsel are demanded. He was married in 
 1879 to Miss B lanche L. Vance, daughter of ex-Mayor Vance, of this city. 
 
 WALLACE C. ANDREWS, president of The New York Steam Co. , a man of marked 
 vigor and enterprise, is one of a large number of successful Ohio men, now engaged in 
 business in New York city. Mr. Andrews is of New England descent. He is a son of 
 the late Norman Andrews, who moved from Connecticut to a farm on the Western 
 Reserve in Ohio in 1816. 
 
 Mr. Andrews began life iipon the farm, and partly by inheritance, partly in the 
 wholesome life of the country, acquired the physical vigor which enabled him to per- 
 form great labors during his subsequent career. He revealed a talent for business early in 
 life. He succeeded from the start, and, by the strictest economy, managed to save a lit- 
 tle capital. When coal was discovered in the Mahoning Valley, his brother, the late 
 Chauncey H. Andrews of Youngstown, O., and he, invested their savings in explora- 
 tions for coal and the purchase of mines. They developed a large number of different 
 properties. At first, they met with poor success, but finally made valuable discoveries. 
 The two men looked after details themselves, conducted their business economically, 
 and were able to mine coal, even after the profits had fallen to 25 cents a ton. During 
 the petroleum excitement, they became operators in that industry also. They were 
 also promoters of many new enterprises. They built furnaces and rolling mills in Ohio, 
 and now and then a small railroad, and finally became the principal stockholders in a 
 railroad between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. They bought several coal mining com- 
 panies, working the mines themselves, but afterwards selling them at an advance. In 
 this way, in time, they became the largest miners of coal in the State. 
 
 At a later day, they bought the bed of one of the old-time Ohio canals and used it for 
 a railroad between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, a rival to the one they had already built. 
 Their operations were usually profitable, and the two brothers each gradually amassed a 
 fortune. With other capitalists, they finally secured a large area of coal lands in the Hock- 
 ing Valley in Ohio, and were interested in the purchase of The Hocking Valley Railroad 
 and its connecting lines and in the transaction by which the roads were consolidated and 
 the lands purchased. The schemes of Mr. Andrews were usually started with compara- 
 
THE CITV OF NEW YOKK.^-AX. 21 
 
 tively little capital, but the projector threw his whole energy into development, secured 
 the investment of outside capital, made his projects profitable, and then often sold his in- 
 terests. By reinvesting rapidly, working somewhat with borrowed money, making use 
 of his more valuable securities as collateral, he has succeeded remarkably in the acquisi- 
 tion of wealth. 
 
 Mr. Andrews is one of the promoters of the original Standard Oil Co. and was a 
 director of the company for a long period of years and up to the formation of the Trust. 
 He is yet a large stockholder in the company. One of the most important of his enter- 
 prises is The New York Steam Co., a concern which supplies steam for heat and power 
 by underground pipes in various sections of New York city, and has initiated a new era 
 in the management of office buildings, by enabling their proprietors to dispense with the 
 annoyances attending the production of steam in their own premises. Mr. Andrews is 
 president of the company, and has managed its affairs with signal ability and success. He 
 was lately president of The Standard Gas Light Co. of New York and is its largest stock- 
 holder. He is a director in many local corporations, a man of unusual business sagacity, 
 of great power of application, and untiring energy, and his large fortune is entirely the 
 product of constructive talent and commendable business methods. The Ohio Society of 
 this city has enrolled him as one of its members from the beginning. 
 
 ADOLPH B. ANSBACHER, importer, is one of the leading merchants of paints. 
 From the time when he began business on his own account, he has shown himself 
 shrewd, diligent and wide awake, and was able, long ago, to expand his trade to 
 substantial and remunerative proportions. In 1883, he admitted to partnership 
 Maurice E. Ansbacher, who died in 1887, and Maurice D. Eger, thereafter doing 
 business under the name of A. B. Ansbacher & Co. Their trade extends to every part 
 of the United States, and, for a number of years, required the maintenance of a 
 branch office in Chicago. 
 
 EDWARD ANTHONY, civil engineer, born in Xew York, Jan. 31, 1819, died here 
 Dec. 14, 1888. Jacob Anthony, his father, was for many years one of the principal tellers 
 in The United States Branch Bank and cashier of the old Bank of the State of New 
 York. The family derives their descent from Allard Anthony, an immigrant from 
 Holland to New Amsterdam about 1628, who was one of the first five Schepens or 
 Councilmen of the new colony. The pioneer was a man of note and of sufficient stand- 
 ing to be sent as ambassador, on behalf of the new colony, to negotiate with the King 
 of Holland. The coat-of-arms of the Anthony family is the same as that of the old 
 Spanish Antonio family; and it is generally supposed that, during the wars of the 
 Netherlands, one of the Spanish Antonios was captivated, either by the arms of the 
 Dutch soldiery or the charms of a Dutch maiden and settled in Holland, in conse- 
 quence thereof founding the Dutch family of Antoni, whose name, in the course of 
 years, was modified to Anthony. Edward Anthony was in the seventh generation of 
 descent from Allard. He graduated from Columbia Colfege in 1838, with an excellent 
 record. Beginning life as a civil engineer, he obtained employment in building the 
 original Croton Aqueduct, through which New York long drew its supply of pure 
 drinking water from country streams and ponds. Before its completion, he was called 
 to accompany Prof. James Renwick in the survey of the northeastern boundary of the 
 United States, at the time of the dispute with Great Britain. He had for some time 
 amused himself with experiments in the new art of making pictures with the aid of 
 
22 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 sunlight, just introduced by Daguerre. During the survey, he took satisfactory 
 images of the hills along the boundary line, the existence of which had been denied by 
 England. It was the first instance in which the art of photography had been made use 
 of in diplomatic controversy. These photographs are yet preserved in the archives at 
 Washington. After finishing the survey, Mr. Anthony engaged in photography, and, 
 after a short but successful practice embarked in the business of supplying materials to 
 the trade. His practical knowledge proved of invaluable assistance, and soon placed 
 the house of E. Anthony in the front rank in New York. Henry T. Anthony, his 
 brother, joined him in 1852, the firm becoming E. & H. T. Anthony & Co. In 1877, the 
 firm was reorganized as a corporation, with Edward Anthony as president, Henry T. 
 Anthony as vice-president, and Col. V. M. Wilcox as secretary. The corporation is 
 yet in business at 591 Broadway, with Col. V. M. Wilcox as president, Richard A. 
 Anthony as vice-president, and Frederick A. Anthony as secretary. Edward Anthony 
 
 . was married in 1848, to Margaretta R., daughter of James Montgomery, a direct 
 descendant of Count de Montgomerie of France, who accidentally killed Henry VII., 
 in a tournament. The coat-of-arms of the Montgomerie family displays an arm, hold- 
 ing a broken spear. To Mr. Anthony and his wife were born, Richard A. Anthony; 
 Jane Kipp, wife of Charles Soleliac; and Eleanor Montgomery, wife of Louis Soleliac. 
 -His son, RICHARD A. ANTHONY, was born May 24, 1861, in New York city. 
 His parents gave him a careful education for two years in Rutgers College, followed by* 
 two years in Columbia College, from which he graduated in 1881, receiving the degree of 
 B.A. By a subsequent course of study, he gained a diploma as M. A. Attracted by both 
 the scientific and commercial aspects of the trade in photographic materials, he entered 
 the house of E. & H. T. Anthony as an employe, and after the death of H. T. Anthony, 
 in 1884, became secretary of the corporation. Since his father's death, he has been 
 the vice-president. He is an energetic, prudent and capable man and has greatly 
 promoted the trade of the house. Mr. Anthony is a trustee of The United States 
 Savings Bank, was a director of The Second Avenue Railroad for five years, and is a 
 member of the University, Storm King and Central Commercial clubs. 
 
 RICHARD KIP ANTHONY, merchant, born in New York, July 18, 1812, died in 
 Rye, N. Y., June 16, 1886. He was a son of Jacob Anthony, above referred to. 
 Richard received a common school training, and early in life entered the old-time wine' 
 importing house of Robert Gracie & Co. as clerk. While employed there, he acquired 
 the warm friendship of another clerk, William F. Nelson, with whom he went into 
 partnership, under the name of Nelson & Anthony. The firm carried on an extensive 
 business as wine importers and brokers, dissolving in 1861. Early in 1862, Mr. 
 Anthony entered the house of Bowie Dash & Co., coffee merchants, as clerk. Here he 
 
 -became a great favorite, and in 1870 was admitted into partnership, remaining with the 
 firm until 1880. He then retired. Rye, N. Y., formed his home after April, 1862. 
 He was an active member of Hose Company No. 16 in the old Volunteer Fire Depart- 
 ment, and in the great fire of 1835 rendered such faithful service as to gain honorable 
 mention. He was a member of the St. Nicholas Society, and one of seven brothers, 
 who were brought up in the old Dutch Reform church in this city. Mr. Anthony mar- 
 ried Ann Bowie, daughter of Daniel B. Dash, in March, 1849. Their children were 
 Annie, Daniel Dash Anthony, Frances, wife of George C. Park, Laura and Anzonetta 
 Dash Anthony. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AP. 23 
 
 JUAN APARICIO, importer, a merchant of Spanish ancestry, began life as a planter 
 in Guatemala. To market his own productions, he came to New York city and opened 
 an office, and has since been engaged in the importation of coffee and other products of 
 Central America. He controls great plantations in Guatemala, a fruitful and only par- 
 tially developed region, where he has the advantage of low-priced labor. His success 
 in raising large crops and skill as a merchant, enable him to transact an excellent trade. 
 
 REHSEN APPLEBY, merchant, born in 1838, died in New York, Jan. 4, 1886. 
 His father, Leonard Appleby, was a merchant of tobacco and snuff, and an enter- 
 prising member of a very well-known family. While a young man, Remsen 
 engaged in the tobacco and snuff business at Pine and Water streets, where he remained 
 until 1865. His place was well known among the down-town merchants and business 
 men, who were attracted by the genial qualities of Mr. Appleby. Retiring from trade, 
 he became president of The Central Park Fire Insurance Co. When, a few years later, 
 this company went into liquidation, he embarked in the giving of concerts at the Central 
 Park Garden, which afforded great delight to the patrons of that resort. Later, he 
 resumed the tobacco business. He was married to Mattie Bryan, who, with two 
 children, Leonard Fletcher and Kate Remsen, survived him. 
 
 DANIEL APPLETON, publisher, founder of the house of D. Appleton & Co., 
 born in Haverhill, Mass., Dec. 10, 1785, died in New York, March 27, 1849. He began 
 life as a dry goods merchant in his native town, subsequently went to Boston, and in 
 1825 removed to New York. Here he began the importation of English books, in 
 conjunction with the dry goods business. Their original place of business in New 
 York was in Exchange place. Mr. Appleton soon abandoned the dry goods business 
 and removed to Chirton Hall in Beekman street, thereafter giving his attention solely 
 to the importation and sale of books. The growth of the city subsequently made nec- 
 essary several removals to locations farther up town. In 1831 he made a venture in 
 the publishing business by printing a collection of religious extracts, entitled "Daily 
 Crumbs from the Master's Table." Of this work 2,000 copies were sold. From this 
 modest beginning, the house enlarged its operations until they have now extended 
 their publications into the entire field of literature. Mr. Appleton was one of the 
 public spirited merchants of his day and identified with many measures for promoting 
 the welfare of the city and its merchants. He was highly esteemed by his contem- 
 poraries. May 4, 1813, he was married to Hannah Adams, daughter of John Adams, 
 and from that union were born five sons, William Henry, John Adams, Daniel Sid- 
 ney, George Swett and Samuel Francis Appleton. These sons were successively ad- 
 mitted into partnership in the firm, which is yet carried on under the original title of 
 D. Appleton & Co. by the surviving son, William H. Appleton, and several grandsons. 
 
 COL. DANIEL APPLETON, publisher, born in New York, Feb. 24, 1852, is the son 
 of John A. Appleton, and grandson of Daniel Appleton. He received his education in the 
 schools of New York city and Carlsruhe in Germany, and, at the age of nineteen, entered 
 the Appleton publishing house as a clerk. In 1879, he was admitted into partnership 
 in D. Appleton & Co. Possessing fine business qualifications, he has been an efficient 
 member of the firm. Colonel Appleton has long taken an active part in New York city's 
 favorite militia regiment, the 7th, of which, July 18, 1889, he was by unanimous vote, 
 promoted from a Captaincy to the Colonelcy. He is a director of the American Book 
 Co. , and a member of the Union, Century, Aldine, Riding and New York Yacht clubs. 
 
24 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 WILLIAfl HENRY APPLETON, publisher, son of Daniel Appleton, was born in 
 New York, Jan. 27, 1814. Educated at Andover, Mass., he entered his father's 
 store, where he was placed in charge of the book department. In 1835 he was 
 sent to represent the house in London, where the next year he established 
 an agency at 16 Little Britain. In 1838 he was taken into partnership. At 
 his father's death, in 1849, he inherited a moderate estate, which he has since 
 increased by his own energetic prosecution of the business and by active partici- 
 pation in other enterprises. Under his management the house devoted itself entirely 
 to the sale of its own publications and has come to rank among the half dozen 
 leading publishing houses of the United States. They have published the works of 
 the most noted scientists of Europe and the United States, while in general literature 
 their catalogue contains the books of Bancroft, McMaster, Bryant, Cooper, Dickens, 
 Disraeli, Kipling, Caine and other standard authors. The literature of the civil war 
 is represented on both sides by memoirs and biographies of eminent soldiers and states- 
 men. Illustrated works have been printed in large number, comprising many art col- 
 lections of a high order. Their text books embrace every subject taught in American 
 schools, and they have a special department of medical works and another of Spanish 
 books designed for the South and Central American markets. The American Cyclo- 
 pedia issued by this house, the most widely circulated work of its kind ever produced 
 in this country, brought them great reputation. The Annual Cyclopedia, a continu- 
 ation of the great work, is now in its thirty-third year. Mr. Appleton was married 
 in Lowell, Mass., to Mary Worth en, and his children are William Worthen, Kate, 
 Mary and Henry Cozzens Appleton. He is president of The Manhattan Safe De- 
 posit & Storage Co., and a director of The American Book Co., The Central Trust 
 Co., The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, The New York Life Insurance 
 Co. and The New York Security & Trust Co. He is a valued member of the Union, 
 Aldine, Century, Players', Riding and Country clubs, and The New England Society. 
 
 WILLIAM' WORTHEN APPLETON, publisher, was born in Brooklyn, Nov. 29, 
 1845. He is a son of William H. Appleton and grandson of Daniel Appleton. He was 
 fitted in New York for Harvard College. Owing to ill-health he did not enter, but 
 travelled and studied abroad. He entered the house of D. Appleton & Co. in 1865 as 
 an assistant in the school book department, and subsequently took charge of the manu- 
 facturing department, being admitted to partnership in 1868. In recent years he has 
 given more of his time to the editorial department and the London office, and has 
 proved an active and capable member of the firm. He was married April 20, 1881, 
 to Anna, daughter of Henry I. Sargent, of Boston. Their children are Margaret, 
 William Henry, Mary and Sargent Appleton. He is a director in The American 
 Book Co., a corporation founded in 1890, with a capital of $5,000,000, and is actively 
 identified with the New York Free Library, of which he was one of the founders, and 
 has held continuously the chairmanship of the Library Committee. He is also a 
 director in The Bank for Savings and prominent in The Publishers' League, which 
 was instrumental in bringing about the International Copyright Law. A keen busi- 
 ness man, he is in social life a gentleman of courteous manners and a charming- 
 companion. His clubs are the Union, Aldine, Century, Knickerbocker, Grolier and 
 Riding, and he is also a member of The New England Society and Chamber of Com- 
 merce. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AR. 25 
 
 CHARLES ARBUCKLE, coffee importer, born in Allegheny City, Pa., in 1833, died 
 in Brooklyn, X. Y., March 27, 1891. His early years were passed in Allegheny City, 
 where he became a prominent wholesale grocer. In 1871, Mr. Arbuckle, with his 
 brother John, established a factory for the preparation of roasted and ground coffee in 
 Brooklyn, and in 1875 transferred all his interests to that city. The business was at 
 first conducted under the name of Arbuckle Bro's, but increased to such dimensions 
 that it was, at one time, transferred to a stock organization, the Arbuckle Coffee Co. 
 Subsequently, however, the corporation was abandoned, and the old firm of Arbuckle 
 Bro's revived. The firm have imported immense quantities of raw coffee from Brazil, 
 and established a permanent house at Rio. They acquired a wide reputation through 
 the introduction of the " Ariosa" brand of coffee, which, roasted, ground and packed 
 in one-pound bags, met with an extensive sale. Mr. Arbuckle personally superin- 
 tended much of the work of the factory, and to his ability and untiring labor was 
 largely due the success of this house. He added much to the attractions of Brooklyn 
 by operations in real estate. Purchasing the old Dieter building opposite the City Hall 
 in Brooklyn, he built five stories thereon, and made it the largest office structure in the 
 city. He afterwards built an apartment house on Columbia Heights at Orange street, 
 with suites of rooms for thirty-nine families, and owned another in the West Side 
 region of New York. His country place at Brentwood, Long Island, contained 1,100 
 acres. He was never married. 
 
 JOHN ARBUCKLE, importer and manufacturer, spent his early life in Allegheny, 
 Pa. In 1871, he engaged with his brother Charles in the preparation of roasted and 
 ground coffee, their factory being located in Brooklyn, and he is now head of the firm 
 of Arbuckle Bros. He is also a director in The Importers and Traders' Bank, and is 
 president of The Royal Horse Association, a syndicate owning ranches in Wyoming 
 devoted to horse breeding. Several good clubs have elected him to membership, includ- 
 ing the Union League and Hamilton in Brooklyn, and the Down Town in New York city. 
 
 JOHN DUSTIN ARCHBOLD, oil refiner, was born in Leesburg, O., July 26, 1848. 
 His father, Israel Archbold, a Virginian, and a descendant from a Protestant Irish 
 family, which emigrated to America in 1786, married a daughter of Col. William Dana, 
 who removed from Massachusetts to Marietta, O., in wagons in the early days. John 
 was a student in the public schools until thirteen years of age, and gained his first experi- 
 ence in business pursuits as clerk in a country store in Salem, O., 1862-64. I Q l86 4 he 
 joined the rush to the Pennsylvania oil regions, and spent eleven years there in various 
 branches of the petroleum industry. He rose to prominence and has long been the 
 chief proprietor and president of The Acme Oil Co. Since 1875, he has been identified 
 with The Standard Oil Co. , and a director since its organization, and is now vice-presi- 
 dent of The Standard Oil Co., of New York. He is president of the trustees of Syra- 
 cuse University, and a director of The Post-Graduate Hospital and Training School, 
 and St. Christopher's Home and Orphanage. In 1870 Mr. Archbold married at Titus- 
 ville, Pa., Anna M., daughter of Major S. M. Mills, and his children are Mary L., 
 Anna M., Frances D., and John F. Archbold. Mrs. Archbold is a sister of Col. Mills, 
 commandant of West Point Military Academy. Mr. Archbold dwells in a comfortable 
 home at Cedar Cliff, near Tarrytown on the Hudson. He is a member of several ex- 
 cellent clubs, including the Union League, Manhattan, Racquet, Riding, Whist and 
 Twilight, and of The Ohio Society. 
 
26 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 OLIVER HAZARD PERRY ARCHER, capitalist, a native of New York, born 
 Jan. 14, 1825, is a son of Jonathan Archer, who, born in Tarrytown, died in 1832 
 at the age of sixty. The latter was a firm friend of Commodore Perry and named his 
 son after the old hero. Oliver made his entrance into the world of affairs at the 
 unusally early age of ten. While yet a clerk, he bought an existing city express busi- 
 ness and then another, and thereafter operated on his own account. The first baggage 
 express delivery on The Hudson River Railroad, originated with Mr. Archer, at the 
 time the railroad station occupied a site on Chambers street. Later, he contracted to carry 
 on the entire express business of that railroad. Thus launched upon a prosperous 
 career, he has continued in the management of various express, freighting and railroad 
 enterprises, in the prosecution of which he has been successful. At one time he was 
 chosen vice-president of The Erie Railroad. The first fast freight line ever known was 
 started by him over The Hudson River Railroad About 1849-50 he made a contract 
 to divert all the freight business possible to The Hudson River and The New York 
 Central Railroads at five cents per hundred pounds, and became a power in freighting. 
 The New York Central at that time yet consisted of a chain of independent railroads. 
 In 1858, he transferred his operations to The Erie Railroad and handled its freight. 
 The Joliet & Wilmington and The Suspension Bridge & Erie Junction Railroads were 
 built by him. In 1873, he retired from business, but has since become a large owner 
 of real estate. Mr. Archer is a trustee of Syracuse University and a manager of The 
 Board of Home and Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. June 4, 
 1845, he was happily married to Mary Dean. Their children are Oliver H. P. and 
 George D. Archer; Mrs. William P. Abbott; Miss Nellie L. and Dr. Henry M. 
 Archer. 
 
 DANIEL V. ARQUIMBAU, importer and broker, is a respectable Pearl street 
 merchant, who, during an industrious and varied career, has gained a strong position 
 by the ability with which he has conducted his business. Modest and unassuming, but 
 diligent and shrewd, he makes steady progress in the peaceful accumulation of the 
 fruits of his honest vocation. His transactions are largely in the nature of the broker- 
 age of merchandise. He makes his home in the Hotel St. George in Brooklyn. The 
 career of Mr. Auguimbau varies from that of thousands of men who devote their lives 
 to practical pursuits, mainly in the fact that he has succeeded where many others, either 
 from lack of capital or of talent, have failed. 
 
 ROBERT H. ARKENBURQH, tobacco merchant, born in Nyack, N.Y., in 1815, died 
 there, Sept. 20, 1890. He was a grandson of Daniel Arkenburgh, one of the original 
 Dutch settlers of Albany county. In 1836, the young man ventured to begin the man- 
 1 ufacture of cigars in Albany, succeeding from the start. In 1840, he removed to Phil- 
 adelphia for a few years, but in 1 844 came to New York city and established a whole- 
 sale trade in leaf tobacco, as R. H. Arkenburgh & Co. He was a splendid merchant, 
 very enterprising and energetic. Large contracts were awarded to him by the govern- 
 ment, both in this country and in Europe. After 1865, his firm bore the name of R. H. 
 Arkenburgh & Sons. He established branch houses in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Ken- 
 tucky and Connecticut, and is said to have been the first merchant to ship tobacco in 
 hogsheads by railroad car to New York, the older method having been to bring the 
 staple by water from New Orleans. He added to his fortune by judicious investments 
 in local real estate, especially on the West side, and aided in founding The National 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AR. 27 
 
 Park Bank and The Metropolitan Gas Co. , being president of the latter a number of 
 years. His wife and six children survive him. 
 
 HERMAN OSS1AN ARIIOUR, member of a celebrated firm of packers and 
 commission merchants, was born March 2, 1837, at Stockbridge in Madison county, 
 N. Y. His father, Danforth Armour, represented the second generation of the founder 
 of the family in this country, James Armour, a Scotch- Irish emigrant^ and a native of 
 Ireland, who arrived in America about the middle of the last century. James was the 
 father of eight children, the sixth of whom was John, born Feb. 25, 1765. The latter 
 in turn was the father of nine children, the fourth of them being Danforth, born Jan. 
 5, 1799. Danforth married Julia Brooks of Ashford, Nov. 27, 1825. This couple had 
 eight children, the seventh of whom was Herman Ossian Armour. The other brothers 
 were Simeon Brooks, born Feb. i, 1828; Andred Watson, born Jan. 27, 1829, who died 
 in May, 1892; Philip Danforth, born May 16, 1832; Charles Eugene, born Sept. 10, 
 1835, a Union soldier in the Civil War, who died in hospital Aug. 12, 1863; and Joseph 
 Francis, born Aug. 29, 1842, who died Jan 5, 1881. The brothers now living are 
 Simeon Brooks, Philip Danforth, and Herman Ossian Armour. 
 
 The father of the Armour brothers was a sturdy farmer, of remarkable force of 
 character, an upright and worthy man, and the boys were brought up to hard work 
 under strict discipline on the farm. The vigorous health and strong constitutions 
 which nearly all of them have enjoyed are undoubtedly due, in part, to the whole- 
 some life, the habits of self-restraint, and the careful oversight of their physical as 
 well as mental welfare, of those early years upon the farm. As they advanced 
 to youth and early manhood, the restrictions of rural scenes and the limited 
 opportunities for the development of business ability led them, one after another, to 
 seek their fortunes amid more active surroundings. The education of all was neces- 
 sarily limited to the local schools, although some of the children entered the village 
 seminar}-. Early in life, Herman O. Armour was attracted by the business enterprises 
 which were looming into view in the great West. In 1855 he went to Milwaukee, and 
 after a few years of business training established himself, in 1862, in the grain commis- 
 sion business in Chicago. The youngest brother, Joseph, joined Herman in Chicago. 
 The latter in 1865 turned over the business he had established there to the care of 
 Joseph, and removed to New York city, where a new firm was organized under the 
 style of Armour, Plankinton & Co. Herman O. Armour proved himself a most 
 efficient merchant and possessed of great financial ability. 
 
 The firm name of H. O. Armour & Co., produce commission merchants, was 
 retained in Chicago until 1870. As early as 1868 the packing of pork was begun on 
 a large scale. The name of the firm was changed to Armour & Co. in 1870. The 
 following year, a branch establishment was opened at Kansas City with the style and 
 title of Plankinton & Armour, and placed under the management of the older brother, 
 Simeon B. Armour. The failing health of Joseph, who was in charge of the Chicago 
 house, finally led to the removal, from Milwaukee to that city, of Philip D. Armour, 
 who was five years the senior of Herman O. Armour. The brothers had thus been 
 brought together into a common business interest. 
 
 In 1879, The Armour Brothers Banking Co. was established at Kansas City, Mo. 
 One brother yet remained at the old homestead in New York State, namely, Andrew 
 Watson Armour. Having been invited to take charge of the new enterprise in Kan- 
 
28 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 sasCity, he became its president and developed the same high quality of business tact, 
 judgment and energy, which have characterized the other members of this notable family. 
 
 The packing business of the Armour brothers is conducted on a stupendous scale. 
 Their abattoirs in Chicago are of immense capacity. Thousands of animals are slaught- 
 ered there every day. A member of the firm recently said, however, that he did not 
 think there was one of the brothers who could stand and watch the process, without 
 a sense of pity for the animals passing through the runways so innocently to their death. 
 The firm not only supply millions of the people of the United States annually with fresh 
 meats, through the method of distribution by refrigerator cars, but they are the largest 
 shippers of cured goods across the ocean for the supply of Western Europe. They give 
 employment in their several industries to upwards of 15,000 persons, while the auxiliary 
 branches of the business attain to the number of about three hundred. 
 
 Herman O. Armour is now one of the most respected merchants of New York city. 
 He has identified himself thoroughly with the business and social life of the metropolis. 
 His wife is Jeannie P. Livingston, a woman of noble character. The family spend 
 their winters in town and in the summer season occupy a country home near Tarry- 
 town on the Hudson. Mr. Armour has joined the Union League and Republican 
 clubs, and, like his colleagues in those public-spirited organizations, has aided in pro- 
 moting the interests of the great art museums of the city, and other public institutions. 
 
 PHILIP DANFORTH ARflOUR, a brother of Herman O. Armour, was born May 
 16, 1832, at Stockbridge in Madison county, N. Y. Philip's education was derived from 
 the country schoolhouse and in part from the local seminary. As a boy and youth, he 
 was conspicuous for physical and mental energy, as well as for geniality of disposition. 
 
 In the winter of 1851-52, he was seized with the California gold fever, which at 
 that time pervaded the whole country, and, with others, joined in an overland trip to 
 the Golden State. Leaving Oneida, N. Y., in the spring of 1852, the party reached 
 California after a journey of six months, during which they suffered the many trials 
 and dangers incident to a journey through the wilderness as it then existed. For more 
 than three years he pursued the rugged life of a miner. While subject to all the 
 temptations of his vicious surroundings, the strict discipline of life which had been 
 maintained under the paternal roof enabled him to withstand every evil influence tri- 
 umphantly. He returned to the East in 1856 to visit his parents at the old homestead.- 
 He had met with some rewards for his labor; and after a few weeks stay at the old 
 home, he started westward and settled in Milwaukee, where he engaged in the commis- 
 sion business. This was conducted successfully until 1863, when he entered into part- 
 nership with John Plankinton, for carrying on the pork packing industry. Mr. Plan- 
 kinton, the senior of Mr. Armour, recognizing the young man's ability and business 
 energy, induced him to dissolve the old firm and enter a new organization. Upon the 
 removal of Herman O. Armour to New York in 1865, the younger brother, Joseph, was 
 placed in charge of the business in Chicago. Owing to the ill health of Joseph, Philip, 
 in the year 1875, removed to Chicago to assume charge of the business in that centre. 
 
 One of these brothers was recently asked how the pork packing industry began. 
 The reply was characteristic: " It began itself ; it grew up, and we took hold of it and 
 helped it along by the application of hard work and by attending to our business." Of 
 the five brothers originally associated in the several ramifications of these vast enter- 
 prises, two are dead, namely, Joseph F. and Andrew Watson. The oldest brother, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AR. 29 
 
 Simeon B., resides in Kansas City, Philip D. in Chicago, and Herman O. in New 
 York 
 
 Of all the Armour brothers, Philip has probably attracted to himself more public 
 attention than any of the others, by reason of his remarkable personality and his prac- 
 tical philanthropy, in which, however, he has been sustained by the liberality of the 
 other brothers. The Armour Mission, one of the most conspicuous institutions in 
 Chicago, has been developed through his activity, originality and generosity from an 
 humble beginning to colossal magnitude. The youngest brother, Joseph, who died 
 Jan. 5, 1881, bequeathed $100,000 in his will for the founding of a Mission in Chicago, 
 to be conducted on certain novel lines. As the executor of the estate, Philip D. 
 Armour became peculiarly interested in the cam-ing out of the trust imposed upon 
 him. The Mission is incorporated under the laws of Illinois, and is managed by a board 
 of five directors. It is said that the present investment associated with the Armour 
 Mission represents the sum of 3,000,000. It is conducted on a self-supporting plan, 
 the method being to construct flats for occupancy by persons pursuing their business in 
 that immediate locality, who can, with their families, have the benefit of all the educa- 
 tional, religious and social features connected with the mission, and the charities 
 associated with it. A certain standard of care and cleanliness is exacted from every 
 tenant, while a most perfect system of sanitary regulation is observed by those in charge 
 of the trust funds under the law. Philip D. Armour is the moving spirit, and his 
 energy is untiring in the direction of the guidance of the Mission, the Institute, the 
 Manual Training School and other auxiliaries. The object of the institution is the 
 promotion of the highest physical, intellectual and moral improvement of children and 
 youths. 
 
 Philip D. Armour is a man of sturdy figure, a big head and small side whiskers. 
 In appearance he resembles more a Protestant Episcopal bishop than a man possessing 
 such transcendent business ability. He is an attendant of the Congregational Church, 
 but the Mission is conducted on non-sectarian grounds. 
 
 SIMEON B. ARflOUR, the oldest of the Armour brothers, was born Feb. i, 1828. 
 In the development of the vast industry created by these energetic men, he was an 
 active participant. The Kansas City branch came more directly under his supervision ; 
 and for many years he has been the leading commercial spirit in that active and thriv- 
 ing emporium. He lacks nothing of that keen business judgment which is so pre-emi- 
 nently a family trait. He is possessed, also, of that amiability, cordiality and directness 
 of speech characteristic of the family. One of the brothers, when asked to what one 
 quality more than any other he ascribed their phenomenal success in life, replied, "To 
 the distribution among us of the virtues possessed by our father and mother, and the 
 training we received as boys on the old farm at Stockbridge. That comprised the root. 
 What has developed since is the natural growth springing therefrom. We were taught 
 how to work and to work hard. We were taught how to make money and how to use 
 what we gained so as to make more. We had instilled into us as children some 
 of the hard, old-fashioned common-sense of our parents. We have not acquired 
 and held on to what we have without labor and care, and plenty of it, too." 
 
 PHILANDER BANNISTER ARMSTRONG, life insurance president, was born in 
 Brookville, Ind., Feb. 3, 1847. He is descended through the paternal line from a 
 Scotch-Irish family, and through the maternal line from French Huguenots. No less 
 
30 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 than five of his ancestors took part in the American Revolution. His early life was 
 passed upon a farm. When of age, he went to Cincinnati, found employment with 
 The JEtna Life Insurance Co , and in 1869 became general agent in Southern Ohio for 
 The Guardian Mutual Life Insurance Co. Having conceived the idea of mutual insur- 
 ance as applied to merchants and mamifacturers, he founded The Phoenix Mutual Fire 
 Insurance Co., in 1875, with a capital of $50,000, introducing the idea of large lines of 
 insurance upon selected and protected properties. The directors opposed this policy. 
 Mr. Armstrong resigned, and in 1880 came to New York city, where he organized The 
 Mutual Fire Insurance Co., in which two hundred leading business houses subscribed 
 for shares. This enterprise met with success. For many years he was president of the 
 company. In 1888, he acquired a controlling interest in The Fire Association of New 
 York, and, in 1889, organized The Armstrong Fire Insurance Co., becoming president 
 of both. His methods were original, often opposed by conservative directors, but 
 usually successful. In 1893, he organized The American Union Life Insurance Co., 
 the only financial institution founded in New York city during that trying year, and is 
 its president. Although a busy man, he has been identified with The Washington Loan 
 and Trust Co. of Washington, D. C., The Mercantile National Bank, and The Twenty- 
 eighth & Twenty-ninth Streets Railroad, of this city, and The Grand Rapids Hy- 
 draulic Co., of Grand Rapids, Mich. His almond orchard in California is the largest 
 in the world, there being 34,000 almond trees upon the ranch of 1,015 acres, with a 
 total of 70,000 fruit trees, including figs, oranges, olives, peaches, apricots, cherries, 
 pears, prunes, nectarines and lemons. He was married in 1872 to Josephine E., daughter 
 of Henry Nietert, of Cincinnati. He occupies a beautiful house in Brooklyn, and is a 
 life member of the Union League club of Brooklyn, of which he was one of the prin- 
 cipal founders, and The Ohio Society and Sons of the Revolution and Insurance club 
 of this city. 
 
 AARON ARNOLD, merchant, born in the Isle of Wight, in 1794, died in New York, 
 March 18, 1876. He was the son of a farmer. In 1825, he sailed for Philadelphia with 
 his wife and daughter. After a careful study of the comparative advantages of differ- 
 ent cities, he selected New York as the most desirable location, moved to this city, and 
 in 1827, established a dry goods store at the corner of Canal and Mercer streets, with 
 his nephew, George A. Hearn, under the firm name of Arnold & Hearn. On Mr. 
 Hearn's retirement in 1842, his place was supplied by Mr. Arnold's son-in-law, James 
 M. Constable, the firm thereupon taking the name of Aaron Arnold & Co. In 1853, 
 Richard Arnold, his son, and J. P. Baker were admitted to the firm, of which the title 
 has since been Arnold, Constable & Co. The rapid growth of the city, and the uptown 
 tendency of the retail business, led to the removal of the store, in 1868, to its present 
 quarters at Broadway and igth street. In 1877, Mr. Arnold retired. His children 
 were Richard Arnold and Henrietta, wife of James M. Constable. Mr. Arnold's success 
 was attributable to industrious habits, sterling honesty, business sagacity and stead- 
 fast adherence to his friends, whether rich or poor. His son, RICHARD ARNOLD, born 
 in New York in 1825, died here, April 7, 1886. When of age he entered the store of 
 his father. He learned the trade thoroughly in all its details, and in 1853 was ad- 
 mitted to partnership. A man of strong common sense, capable, and foreseeing, he 
 proved .a competent merchant, gave the closest attention to details and directed the 
 affairs of the house with notable skill and success He promoted the investment of a 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AR. 3! 
 
 part of the earnings of the house in real estate on what was then upper Broadway, 
 and the great appreciation in value of this property has proved the sagacity of this 
 venture. He was twice married, first to Pauline, daughter of Noel J. Bicar, and after 
 her death to Georgiana E., daughter of M. S. Bolmer. He left four children, three of 
 them now deceased. 
 
 HICKS ARNOLD, merchant, nephew of Richard.Arnold, was born in England, and 
 first engaged in business in his uncle's store as a salesman. A diligent man, he was in 
 time admitted to the firm of Arnold, Constable & Co. , and has since been an active and 
 capable member of the firm. His wife is Harriette, daughter of Jame3 M. Constable. 
 Mr. Arnold is a director in The Bank of the Metropolis. 
 
 WILLIAM H. ASPINWALL, merchant, born in New York, Dec. 16, 1807, died 
 here Jan. 18, 1875. He came from an honorable line of shipping men, his grandfather, 
 Captain John Aspinwall, having been a captain of vessels hailing from his port long 
 before the American Revolution, and his father, John, being a member of the famous 
 shipping and mercantile firm of Gilbert & John Aspinwall. This latter house dealt 
 largely in cotton, received goods on consignment from all parts of the world, and were 
 large exporters of American products. William attended a local boarding school, and 
 was trained as clerk for his uncles, Gardner G. and Samuel S. Howland. In 1832, he 
 became a partner, the name being changed in 1837 to Howland & Aspinwall. The 
 house transacted an immense business with the East and West Indies, the Mediter- 
 ranean, China and England, owning seventeen or eighteen ships, including several 
 Liverpool packets, and rose to be the largest shipping firm in the city. In 1850 Mr. 
 Aspinwall relinquished the active management to his brother, J. Lloyd Aspinwall, the 
 business thereafter taking the nature of banking, and devoted his attention to the 
 building of The Panama Railroad and creation of The Pacific Mail Steamship Co. In 
 the railroad enterprise he was aided by Henry Chauncey and John L. Stephens, and its 
 pecuniary success was a proof of Mr. Aspinwall's sagacity. The profits of the road 
 were $5,971,000 during the first seven years. The Pacific Mail Steamship Co. proved, 
 especially in its earlier years, very successful. Mr. Aspinwall retired from the presidency 
 in 1856, and devoted his remaining years to well-earned rest. He left five children, Lloyd 
 and the Rev. John Abel Aspinwall ; Anna Lloyd, wife of James Renwick, the archi- 
 tect ; Catharine, wife of Ambrose C. Kingsland, and Louisa, wife of John W. Minturn. 
 Mr. Aspinwall was widely known for his generosity. A liberal patron of the fine arts, 
 he collected a gallery of valuable paintings, including Stuart's head of Washington. In 
 his will, he specifically stated that he left no bequests to public objects, because he had 
 given according to his judgment during life. He enjoined his children to charity. His 
 son, GEN. LLOYD ASPINWALL, born in New York in 1830, died in Bristol, R. I., 
 Sept. 4, 1886. Early in life, he entered the firm of Howland & Aspinwall, of which 
 his father was a member. In time, he succeeded his father and stood at the head of 
 the firm at his death. He inherited large means, and added to them by his own effort. 
 He was married to Henrietta Prescott, daughter of William De Wolfe of Rhode Island, 
 who, with two sons, J. Lloyd and William H. Aspinwall, survived him. His military 
 title was derived from service in the National Guard of New York, which began in 
 1854. In 1857, he declined an election as Major of the 74th Regiment. In 1861, he 
 formed the Minor Grays, afterwards the 22d, with which he went to the front in the 
 fall of 1 86 1, as Lieutenant Colonel. Later, he was made Colonel and led the regiment 
 
32 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 during its three months service in the Gettysburg campaign, serving with credit in 
 other capacities also during the war. In 1865-69, he served as Brigadier-General in 
 the National Guard. Three times president of the Army & Navy club and a promi- 
 nent member of The Military Order of the Loyal Legion and other veteran organiza- 
 tions, he was also a member of the Union League Club, and at one time declined a 
 nomination for Mayor of New York city. 
 
 JOHN JACOB ASTOR, the greatest merchant of his time, and founder of one of the 
 most conspicuous families in America, was born in Waldorf, near Heidelberg, Germany, 
 July 17, 1763, and died in New York city, March 29, 1848. He was the son of Johann 
 Jacob Astor, a respectable village merchant. Nature cast this young man in princely 
 mould and endowed him with a soul in keeping with his outward aspect. He possessed 
 a clear and courageous mind, an honest heart, and a spirit of unusual energy. In early 
 youth, he encountered much hardship, but plain living and toilsome work in his 
 father's store were interspersed with lessons at school and the reading of good books, 
 and the modest circumstances of the family proved an impetus and inspiration, not an 
 injury. His native village having become too small for the spirited and ambitious boy, 
 he resolved to follow his older brother, Henry Astor, to London. He walked to the 
 river Rhine, and voyaged down the river on a lumber raft, much as our American 
 country lads often make their first visit to New York by freight boat on the Erie canal. 
 
 In London he was employed by his uncle, who was the senior partner in Astor & 
 Broadwood, makers of musical instruments. Three years sufficed to teach the youth 
 the English language and a trade. In 1783, before the British troops had fully evacu- 
 ated New York, Mr. Astor sailed for the new world, with the purpose of becoming a 
 merchant there, bringing with him seven flutes and some other articles for sale upon a 
 commission. Landing in Baltimore, Mr. Astor made his way to New York, where his 
 brother Henry had already established himself as a merchant of cattle and meats, and 
 there entered the service of a Quaker merchant, from whom he learned the details of 
 the fur trade. He saved his earnings carefully, gained a little more by his own trading, 
 and then opened a modest store on Water street as John Jacob Astor, fur merchant. 
 
 In a little store on Queen street, he also became the pioneer merchant of musical 
 instruments in the United States. 
 
 Mr. Astor's occupation was the purchase of furs from the Indian tribes and the ship- 
 ment of them to Europe. While he employed many trappers and traders upon the out- 
 skirts of civilization at all times, he was nevertheless compelled to make many trips in 
 person into the dense solitudes of the primeval forests of the North and the region of the 
 Great Lakes. His life at this period was full of romantic adventure. To his honor, be 
 . it said, that his personal aspect, his integrity and justice, and his tact, won the confidence 
 and friendship of the wild tribes of the forests, and they always became his staunch 
 and loyal friends. His unceasing energy resulted in a rapid development of his fur 
 trade, and before the beginning of the present century, he was already worth $250,000. 
 In the North, he was opposed by The Hudson Bay Co., which aimed at an entire 
 monopoly upon that side of the American boundary. Nevertheless, Mr. Astor pushed 
 his enterprise into Canada by way of Lake Champlain and Buffalo and into the West 
 beyond Detroit. He even purchased furs upon the headwaters of the Mississippi and 
 Missouri rivers, which Pierre Chouteau, the founder of St. Louis, regarded as his own 
 especial field. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AS. 33 
 
 The greatest venture of Mr. Astor was the founding of Astoria at the mouth of 
 the Columbia river in 1809. He planted there a fort and a settlement, in person, won 
 the friendship of the Indian tribes, and, during his four years oi control, carried on a 
 large trade. Mr. Astor aimed at securing the whole of the Oregon region peacefully 
 for the United States. In this he would have succeeded, in spite of the determined 
 hostility of The Hudson Bay Co., had not the War of 1812 frustrated the plan. His 
 agent betrayed his interests, dismissed \fr. Astor's Indian allies, and upon the first 
 approach of a British ship of war, struck his flag and surrendered the post. 
 
 The American Fur Co., which Mr. Astor organized, carried on a continental trade, 
 and its sales in New York city were attended by buyers from every part of the world. 
 
 At an early period, it became necessary for Mr. Astor to employ ships of his own in 
 exporting furs to Europe. The return of these vessels laden with merchandise led him 
 into an extensive foreign trade. He gradually acquired a large fleet, and his ships 
 ploughed every ocean of the globe and carried cargoes both to and from England, Ger- 
 many, France, Russia, China and America, the cargoes usually being purchased and 
 sold on Mr. Astor's account. His ships were dispatched to various parts of the world 
 with unerring judgment, and a single voyage sometimes brought him a profit of 
 100,000 or more. For a long period, Mr. Astor invested two-thirds of each year's 
 earnings in real estate. He acquired large tracts of land in Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa 
 and other parts of the West, and purchased many hundred acres upon the Island of 
 Manhattan. He believed that the enterprise of his fellow merchants and himself would 
 yet make New York the centre of a world wide trade and cover the rocks and swamps 
 of this island with the edifices of a stately city. Sagacious in investment, he bought 
 property in the city and its suburbs continually as opportunity offered. It was 
 characteristic of him that he seldom sold a piece of property and never placed a mort- 
 gage on any of his possessions. He constructed many prominent buildings, including 
 the Astor House. The growth of New York from a population of 80,000 in 1810 
 to half a million at the time of his death enormously increased the value of his 
 property and brought to him the greater part of his fortune of $20,000,000. 
 
 A daring enterprise in which he was associated in the early part of this century- 
 was an attempt to purchase Louisiana from Napoleon. Mr. Astor expected to gain 
 $30,000,000 had this purchase been consummated, but he was anticipated by Napoleon 
 himself, who offered the territory to President Jefferson in order that it might be saved 
 from capture by England. 
 
 Mr. Astor was a man of commanding personality and won his way to fortune by 
 intrepid, untiring and honorable effort and his early comprehension of the future of 
 New York city. He was remarkable for his integrity, and won the good will of his 
 fellow merchants by many helpful and magnanimous acts. 
 
 For a time after his marriage to Sarah Todd, whom he was accustomed to describe 
 as the best business partner he ever had, he made his home modestly at the store; but 
 when prosperity came to him, he moved to the lower part of Broadway. His home: 
 there was adorned with works of art and attended by a throng of servants, who were- 
 natives of China and other lands with which he traded. Intellectual and eminent in his. 
 attainments, he enjoyed the company only of men of merit. Albert Gallatin, Wash- 
 ington Irving and other persons of distinction were his intimate friends. He retired, 
 from business in 1822. Thereafter he spent many pleasant seasons in Europe. 
 
34 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 In America, Mr. Astor maintained not only a residence in the city but a summer 
 place in Westchester county. He was fond of the simple and invigorating life of this 
 farm. Public objects enlisted his cordial interest. The village of Waldorf received 
 from him a $50,000 asylum for poor children, and his private charities were noble and 
 extended. In his will, a legacy of $400,000 provided for the founding of The Astor 
 Library. His children were John Jacob Astor, zd, William B. Astor and the wife of 
 Vincent Rumpff. John Jacob Astor, ad, received injuries in the head, while riding, 
 which unsettled his mind. He wrote some creditable verses after that, however, 
 lived for many years on what was then a farm, on i4th street near Ninth avenue, 
 the tract extending through to what is now isth street, and died when about 
 seventy. 
 
 WILLIAM BACKHOUSE ASTOR, son of John Jacob Astor, ist, began and ended 
 his life in New York city. He was born Sept. 19, 1792, and died Nov. 24, 1875. He 
 inherited the self-reliance and eminent character, rugged health and business capacity 
 of his father in a marked degree. His education at the public schools in New York, 
 was finished at Heidelberg and the University of Goettingen. He selected Chevalier 
 Bunsen as his tutor, and with him traveled in various parts of Europe. Napoleon was 
 then in the ascendancy upon the continent and Mr. Astor had the good fortune to 
 witness some of the stirring and memorable events at that time. He saw Napoleon's 
 troops assembling for the invasion of Russia, and later, the rising in Germany, when 
 the French Emperor had been driven back from Moscow. After his return to America, 
 Mr. Astor was married in 1818 to Margaret Rebecca, a daughter of Gen. John Arm- 
 strong, a man of distinction, and successively United States Senator, Secretary of War 
 and Minister to France. 
 
 In 1820, Mr. Astor was admitted to partnership by his father, and became an 
 efficient factor in a trade which extended to every part of the globe. The great fur 
 sales were conducted by him for a number of years. He was president of The Ameri- 
 can Fur Co., and during the latter part of his father's life held his father's general 
 power of attorney. After 1825, he gradually discontinued the commercial ventures of 
 the house, and that field was finally abandoned to other merchants. From his uncle, 
 Henry Astor, a merchant on the Bowery, he inherited the sum of half a million. From 
 his father he received the Astor House property. And by his excellent management 
 of the fur business he gained an independent fortune of his own. 
 
 Upon his father's death, Mr. Astor became the sole heir of an immense estate. 
 Thereafter, he devoted himself to the preservation and growth of his property. He was 
 a progressive man and one of the most active builders of his generation. It was said in 
 1867 that he had inherited and built 720 dwellings and stores in this city. He had also 
 promoted important railroad and insurance enterprises. He was liberal toward his 
 tenants and generous in charity ; and his hatred of wrong doing, his purity of character 
 and modest demeanor won the entire respect and good will of the community. His wife 
 passed away Feb. 15, 1872, and thereafter his private affairs and the enjoyment of his 
 library occupied his entire attention. He loved simple ways of living. Enthusiastic in 
 athletic exercises, he was a good horseman and in early life a fencer, and until the age 
 of seventy-five seldom allowed a day to pass without a brisk walk, regardless of the 
 weather. His children were John Jacob Astor, 3d; William and Henry Astor; Emily, 
 who married Samuel Ward and died early in life, leaving a daughter Margaret, who 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AS. 35 
 
 married John Winthrop Chanler ; Alida, wife of John Carey of England ; and Laura, 
 wife of Franklin Delano, the merchant. 
 
 He added 250,000 to the endowment of The Astor Library, and made a total of 
 $550,000 in gifts to that institution. His estate was divided mainly and equally 
 between his sons John Jacob and William Astor. 
 
 JOHN JACOB ASTOR, third of the name, son of William B. Astor, was born in 
 New York city, June 10, 1823, and died here Feb. 22, 1890. He received a good edu- 
 cation and at an early age went into the real estate business with his father, assisting 
 in the management of the vast property which was later to come in part under his con- 
 trol. In 1846 he married Charlotte Augusta, daughter of Thomas Gibbes, of South 
 Carolina, a woman of noble character, devoted to good works. She died Dec. 12, 
 1887. From this marriage, one son was born, William Waldorf Astor. At the out- 
 break of the Civil War, Mr. Astor enlisted as a volunteer, and served with credit on 
 the staff of General McClellan. After the war, he remained in business with his father. 
 After his father's death, in 1875, Mr. Astor increased his inheritance by continu- 
 ing the purchase and improvement of real estate. He rarely sold. As a result of this 
 policy, he was at his death the largest owner of real estate in New York city, aside 
 from the Trinity Church corporation. He was a director and trustee in many institu- 
 tions, and a vestryman in Trinity Church, in the affairs of which he took a deep interest. 
 He was one of the principal owners of The United States Trust Co., and The Farmers' 
 Loan & Trust Co. , and a stockholder in nearly all the older banks of New York city. 
 
 In Mr. Astor's life, there were no incidents of public interest at all commensurate 
 with his fortune. He was a modest, unobtrusive, well balanced man, exact in business 
 matters, and generous in his charities. A master of both the French and German lan- 
 guages and fond of literature, he devoted his leisure to reading and study. 
 
 His estate was estimated variously between 75,000,000 and 100,000,000, the bulk 
 of it going to his son, William Waldorf Astor, now the head of the family. He gave 
 legacies of 400,000 to The Astor Library, 100,000 each to St. Luke's and the Cancer 
 hospitals, and other sums to kindred public objects. 
 
 WILLIAJ1 WALDORF ASTOR was born in New York, March 31, 1848, married 
 Miss Mary Dahlgren Paul of Philadelphia, June 6, 1878, and succeeded to his father as 
 head of the family in February, 1890. His life has been largely controlled by the 
 influence of two women of noble character. To his mother, in early manhood, he 
 owed his ideal; from his wife, in his maturity, he received an unfailing example of 
 courage, chant}' and good sense. 
 
 Upon the completion of his education, which was directed by private tutors and 
 finished in Europe, young Astor was taken into the office of The Astor Estate at the 
 age of twenty-three, his father having entered it at twenty-five, and his grandfather 
 at twenty-eight. Here, he was instructed in every branch of business routine, which 
 had gradually been developed into an elaborate and comprehensive system. He was 
 sent about the city with a pocket map-book until he knew all the family property. 
 He collected dividends, learned the art and mystery of coupon cutting, and listened 
 to the perennial complaints of tenants. Above all, he had before him the example of 
 his father and grandfather in the clearness, industry and justice, with which their 
 daily task was accomplished. Those were days of incessant labor and of much 
 vexatious routine, which might well have been remitted to a manager. 
 
36 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 In the midst of the fudge which the newspapers print about this family, four mis- 
 takes deserve a passing correction First, it is supposed that the Astors delight in the 
 foreclosure of mortgages. The truth is, that a foreclosure being a disagreeable and un- 
 profitable process, is resorted to only in rare instances. Secondly, it is not true that 
 they are their own insurers against fire. Thirdly, the assumption that much of the 
 fortune was derived from the Astoria enterprise is incorrect, that brilliant and roman- 
 tic venture having resulted in heavy loss. And lastly, the alleged rule never to sell real 
 estate does not exist. Only narrow-minded and impractical men would imagine so silly 
 a rule. The first John Jacob Astor was continually selling houses and lands whenever 
 they could be disposed of at large profit. His son and grandson did the same as they 
 found it expedient. The subject of this sketch sold a million dollars' worth of unprom- 
 ising tenement-house property in 1890; and it is not rash to say, that he is alwavs ready 
 to part with any of his New York real estate for double its value. 
 
 The old office building, 85 Prince street, with all the accumulated ledgers, family 
 settlements, trust papers, letter books, records of the Astoria enterprise, and docu- 
 ments showing the management of the estate for over fifty years, passed in 1876, at 
 the division of the property under the will of William B. Astor, into the possession of 
 his eldest son, John Jacob, who bequeathed his entire estate, real and personal, abso- 
 lutely and in fee simple, to his son, William Waldorf, without any limitations or trusts. 
 He had previously received in 1878 a general power of attorney, by which his father 
 placed him wholly in control over all his interests, giving him authority to do any act 
 in connection therewith which he himself could legally perform. Mr. Astor's first act, 
 upon succeeding his father, was to name his place of business at 21 West 26th street, 
 "The Office of The Astor Estate." His next important decision was to erect at the 
 corner of Fifth avenue and 33d street the hotel, which bears the name of the German 
 home of the family at Waldorf. So successful has this venture proved, that it is about 
 to be imitated upon the adjoining corner. 
 
 Mr. Astor has received a more liberal share of newspaper abuse than falls to the 
 lot of most men. He has been derided and reviled, reported dead and insane, and 
 charged with mean and sordid motives. To all this he has made no reply, thinking it 
 beneath him to enter upon the contradiction of willful misrepresentations, and perhaps 
 knowing that many of his critics are destitute people, who have no other means of live- 
 lihood It can hardly be necessary to remind New York that the Astors have been 
 public-spirited citizens, given to service for the public good in hospitals, in the library 
 which bears their name, benevolent institutions, and works of charity. It cannot yet 
 be forgotten that in war times, John Jacob Astor, father of the subject of this sketch, 
 went to the front and served in the field with the Army of the Potomac. Nor can it 
 lightly be lost sight of that the name of Astor has been a synonym for honesty and high 
 character and pure life in the history of New York. 
 
 In September, 1880, Mr. Astor conceived the project of a London office, The ter- 
 mination of his embryo career in politics in 1881, after an entirely creditable record of 
 three years in the New York Legislature and his more than creditable career of three 
 years as Minister to Italy under President Arthur, turned his thoughts to a residence in 
 England, where he saw the possibility of a broader life than is included within the limits 
 of Wall street, Fifth avenue and Newport. In 1888 and 1889 he represented to his 
 father the advantages of a residence and office abroad, to which the latter agreed that 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AS. 37 
 
 it would probably be conducive to comfort and happiness, and might be expected to 
 add to the security of the estate, though invariably declining to have anything to do 
 personally with his son's "English plan," as it came to be called between them. "I 
 am too old," he said, " for any change; some da}' you will take my place, and then you 
 can do as 3 T ou please. But," he added on the last occasion when the project was dis- 
 cussed, "be quite sure, before beginning, that you have the nerve to carry it through." 
 
 This admonition was deeply laid to heart, and it may be said that Mr. Astor has 
 found the "nerve to carry it through," and to make for himself and his children the 
 opportunity for useful and happy and profitable lives. He cherishes, wherever he may 
 be, the remembrance of his childhood's home, of many kind and loving friends in 
 America, and of the enterprising genius of the great city of New York, where so many 
 years of his life were spent. 
 
 WILLIAM ASTOR, second son of the late William B. Astor, born in New York city, 
 July 12, 1829, died in Paris, France, April 25, 1892. An able and vigorous man from 
 his youth, he graduated second in his class from Columbia College in 1 849. Frank and 
 generous in his nature, self-respecting, loyal to his friends, enthusiastic in athletic 
 sports, he was exceedingly well-liked by all his classmates. He undertook a long journey 
 through Egypt and the East, after his college days were over, and this tour made im- 
 pressions upon his receptive mind which were never effaced and inspired in him a life- 
 long interest in Oriental art and literature. 
 
 Sept. 23, 1853, he was married to Caroline, daughter of Abraham Schermerhorn, a 
 descendant of an old and distinguished family, which was founded in America in 1642 
 and has always been conspicuous in affairs. 
 
 Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Astor entered the real estate office of his father 
 on Prince street, and undertook a share of the management of the vast properties be- 
 longing to the family, and, after half of it had come to him by inheritance, he increased 
 it largely by continual purchases and re-investment of receipts. Competent, judicious, 
 and successful, he possessed the faculty of so regulating his business interests as to leave 
 a portion of his time free for recreation. He was fond of farming and open air employ- 
 ments, and especially enjoyed the company of the sea. Many trips along the coast were 
 taken in his own steam yacht. 
 
 In 1875, a visit to Florida awoke his interest in the vast undeveloped resources of 
 that State ; and it is believed that his enterprise, during the next ten years, accomplished 
 more for Florida, than that of any of his cotemporaries. He built a railroad from St. 
 Augustine to Palatka, constructed several modern blocks of buildings in Jacksonville, 
 and led other men of means to join in the work of re-creating a new Florida in place of 
 the old one. His sendees were so valuable that the State Government voted him a 
 grant of 80,000 acres of land. 
 
 Both Mr. Astor and his wife were prominent in the social entertainments of the 
 metropolis. Their eminent purity of character, discriminating taste, refinement and 
 generous hospitalities made them the unchallenged leaders of the social life of the 
 city. The approval of Mr. and Mrs. Astor ensured the success of every movement 
 which depended in any manner upon the favor of the great and powerful. The}- were 
 both singularly generous in their charities and equally scrupulous in avoiding public 
 notice of them. Their children were Emily, who died in 1881, wife of James J. Van 
 Alen of Newport; Helen, wife of James Roosevelt Roosevelt; Charlotte Augusta, 
 
WILLIAM ASTOR. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AS. 
 
 39 
 
 wife of James Coleman Drayton ; Caroline Schermerhorn, wife of Marshall Orme Wil- 
 son; and John Jacob Astor. 
 
 A reference has been made to Mr. Astor's love of the ocean. The schooner yacht 
 Ambassadress, built for him in 1877, gave him much pleasure during the following 
 seven years. She was the largest sailing yacht ever constructed. In 1884, he caused 
 to be designed and built the Nourmahal, a steamer heavily sparred and capable of a 
 rapid run under sail alone. Mr. Astor projected a trip around the world in this sea- 
 worthy vessel, but did not live to carry out the plan. The Ambassadress was sold to a 
 Boston gentleman for private use, and several years later to a fruit concern in the West 
 Indies. She is probably the swiftest ship afloat in the fruit trade. Mr. Astor was also 
 the owner of the sailing yacht Atalanta, which won two out of three races in which she 
 entered and carried off the Cape May and the Kane cups. 
 
 Mr. Astor was also fond of fine horses and owned many thoroughbreds. Vagrant, 
 purchased in Kentucky in 1877, more than paid for himself before his owner saw him. 
 Another horse named Ferncliff, raised by him, was sold as a yearling for 4,800. A 
 stallion bought in England in 1890 for $15,000 sold within a year for 30,000. 
 
 JOHN JACOB ASTOR, fourth of the name, son of William Astor, was born 
 July 13, 1864, at Ferncliff, near Rhinebeck, his father's country house on the Hudson. 
 He is the most American of all the Astors, both by descent, marriage and patriotic sen- 
 timent. Through the maternal line, he is in the fifth generation of descent from 
 Robert Livingston, who received by royal patent the famous Manor of Livingston on 
 the Hudson River, comprising a large part of the land in Dutchess and Columbia 
 counties. His education, begun in St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H., and prosecuted 
 at Harvard University, from which he graduated in the scientific class of 1888, 
 has been continued by diligent reading and extended foreign travel. Before entering 
 Harvard, he made a trip to the Pacific coast by the northern route, enjoying the novelty 
 of travel by stage through the mountains and many expeditions on horseback and on 
 foot in pursuit of big game. Since then he has visited nearly even- country in Europe, 
 the West Indies, 'and many parts of South America. In Turkey the Sultan, Abdul 
 Hamed, paid him the honor of a personal audience, having first fully satisfied himself 
 that the young American was not an agent of Russia or England, or otherwise bent 
 upon overturning the Turkish throne and convulsing the whole of Europe with the 
 chaos of a general war. His originality has been repeatedly shown by avoidance of 
 ordinary routes of travel. 
 
 Upon his return from foreign travel, Mr. Astor identified himself with the manage- 
 ment of the family estates. He gained a thorough knowledge of the business and has 
 since devoted himself to practical affairs with abilit) r and success. 
 
 In 1891, he was married in Philadelphia to Ava, daughter of Edward Shippen and 
 Alice C. Barton Willing of that city, and thus became connected with a family of dis- 
 tinction, which, besides being notable for its loft}' character, has given birth to many 
 men of high social and official position. Thomas Willing, great-great-grandfather of 
 Mrs. Astor, was Mayor of Philadelphia, Judge of the Supreme Court, and first presi- 
 dent both of The Bank of North America and The Bank of the United States. He 
 aided in drawing up that immortal document, the Constitution of the United States, 
 and it was he who designed the United States coat-of-arms. Another ancestor of Mrs. 
 Astor was Coloney W. Barton, a Member of Parliament in 1653 By this marriage. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AS. 4! 
 
 Mr. Astor gained the life companionship of a charming and congenial woman. His 
 wife is fitted by native refinement, a bright mind, and thorough education for the exalted 
 social position she occupies; and she enters graciously and with enjoyment into the 
 open air recreations for which the Astors have always been noted. She is a good marks- 
 man and with fire-arms made especially for her, has secured wild duck and other game 
 many times during the hunting expeditions of herself and husband. In fact, upon 
 their wedding trip, Mrs. Astor demonstrated the fact that she was a better shot, even 
 than her husband, with revolver and rifle. A piece of slate, completely concealed by a 
 half dollar coin, according to a spectator, was by her shot at and hit four times out of 
 five, at a distance of fifteen paces. Mrs. Astor now owns quite an arsenal. She is as 
 fond, not only of shooting but of open air amusements, as her husband, and frequently 
 plays tennis and golf, and joins Mr. Astor in sailing. Her influence in the promotion 
 of invigorating exercises is certain to prove far-reaching. 
 
 Mr. Astor is a good citizen, a progressive and capable business man, and a gentle- 
 man who has shown himself willing to endure discomfort in the public service. He 
 has served as juryman in the local courts with admirable patience and public spirit. 
 The influence of his name has been sought by financial institutions and he is a 
 director in The National Park Bank, The Title Guarantee & Trust Co. , The Mercantile 
 Trust Co. , The Illinois Central Railway, The Second National Bank, and The Plaza 
 Bank. He belongs to the Knickerbocker, Union, Metropolitan, Tuxedo, City, Riding, 
 Racquet, Country, New York Yacht, Down Town, and Delta Phi clubs, and is one of 
 the governors of the Newport Golf Club and the Newport Casino. It may also be said 
 that he is one of the patrons of the annual Patriarch's Ball, the greatest social event of 
 each winter season in the metropolis. Already the possessor of many buildings in this 
 city, Mr. Astor's civic pride, energy and business sagacity combined promise to place 
 upon the Island of Manhattan several splendid buildings during the long business career 
 which is before him. Various plans are now in. contemplation. 
 
 It is one of the developments of modern times that a talent for practical affairs 
 and literary ability are sometimes found united in the same man. This is the case 
 with Mr. Astor. He is fond of the study of science and philosophy, and he has written 
 a book, entitled, "A Journey in Other Worlds; A Romance of the Future," which, 
 superbly illustrated by Dan Beard under Mr. Astor's direction, and handsomely printed, 
 appeared in 1894 and attracted widespread interest and attention. In this entertain- 
 ing work, Mr. Astor assumes that the conquest of nature has been achieved and 
 that nearly all the forces which mankind is striving, so far in vain, to harness, 
 have been brought under control, while new ones have been discovered, among 
 them the principle of apergy, which tends to throw objects apart, as gravitation 
 draws them together. He indulges in this romance in clever and daring philo- 
 sophic speculation, revels in the luxuriant and wonderful life of Jupiter, makes 
 the flowers sing, creates extraordinary reptiles, discovers a water spider 600 feet 
 long, travels 300 miles an hour by railroad train, and, most marvelous of all, reveals 
 New York as possessing clean streets, rapid transit and a good city government. His 
 heroes visit Jupiter and Saturn and encounter strange and inspiring adventures, which 
 are described with so much force and felicity of language, as to create the hope that 
 Mr. Astor's pen may yet be employed upon other volumes. His first excursion into 
 the realm of literature, judged solely by its own merits, not by the merits of the man. 
 
42 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 which are great, has received the approval of the most judicious critics. The work 
 will soon be published in Paris in the French language. It has already been printed 
 in London, and the sale of the London edition already exceeds the sale in New 
 York, although the book has reached its fifth edition here. 
 
 Mr. Astor has been commissioned a Colonel on the staff of Levi P. Morton, 
 Governor of the State of New York. 
 
 HUGH AUCHINCLOSS, merchant, born in New York, in 1817, died in New 
 Canaan, Conn., June 18, 1890. He was the son of Hugh Auchincloss of Paisley, Scot- 
 land, who in 1805 began in New York the importation and sale of dry goods and cotton 
 thread. At an early age the younger Hugh and his brother John were taken into the 
 firm, which until 1855 displayed the sign of Hugh Auchincloss, but then became known 
 as John & Hugh Auchincloss, later as Auchincloss Bro's. The firm rose to prominence 
 as the American agents for Coates's spool thread, of which they imported and sold 
 enormous quanties. They were also manufacturers of thread in this country, and long 
 held a high position in the mercantile world. Mr. Auchincloss left an only daughter, 
 Mary Baldwin, wife of Lewis P. Childs of New Canaan, Conn. He was a director of 
 various financial institutions, including The Merchants' National Bank and The Bleecker 
 Street Savings Bank. For many years, he was a member of Grace Protestant Episcopal 
 church and a man of the highest probity of character. 
 
 JOHN AUCHINCLOSS, merchant, born in 1811, died in Quebec, Canada, June 26, 
 1876. He was a son of Hugh Auchinchloss, of .Paisley, Scotland. Receiving a training 
 in his father's store, he became a partner, and, after the death of his father, in 1855, 
 joined his brother Hugh in continuing the business of the house, which was developed 
 to large proportions. At the time of his death, Mr. Auchincloss was the oldest dry 
 goods merchant in New York city in continuous management. He was a director of The 
 Merchants' Bank, a trustee of The Equitable Life Assurance Society, and identified with 
 various other institutions. Six sons and two daughters survived him. For many years 
 he had been a member of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church and was highly 
 respected in business and social circles. 
 
 ROBERT FRANKLIN AUSTIN, merchant, born in Brownville, N. Y., Sept. 21, 
 1827, died in Brooklyn, N. Y., March 31, 1885. His parents were of New England 
 descent. At the age of sixteen, the young man entered the general country store 
 of Daniel J. Schuyler at Three Mile Bay, afterwards rising to partnership. Mr. 
 Austin made himself so popular among his neighbors that, while yet a young man, they 
 sent him, in 1855, to the State Assembly for one term. About 1860, he removed to 
 New York, and found employment as a clerk with Earle & Co., grocers. In 1861, he 
 became a partner in Fitts, Austin & Turner in the same trade. Mr. Turner withdrew 
 in 1864. The store, originally in Warren street, was moved, in time, to larger quar- 
 ters in Murray street, and finally to Reade street. In 1878, the firm reorganized as 
 Austin, Nichols & Co. Mr. Austin soon took leading rank among the business men of 
 the city, the new firm being highly successful under his management. In 1880, they 
 removed to. a new store on Hudson at the corner of Jay street. Mr. Austin was a keen, 
 prompt, upright man, just, humane and democratic. In 1875, he was given a seat in 
 the Chamber of Commerce, and often took part in discussions there, being an excellent 
 speaker. In Augtist, 1850, Mr. Austin was married to Miss Anna Schuyler, daughter 
 of his first employer. To them was born one son, D. William Austin, who died Oct. 2, 
 
XBHt 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AY. 43 
 
 1894. Among the institutions with which he was identified were The Importers & 
 Grocers' Exchange, The Mercantile Exchange, The Board of Trade & Transportation, 
 and The Hanson Place Baptist Church, in Brooklyn. 
 
 FREDERICK FANNING AVER, a lawyer of high standing in New York city, a 
 son of the late Dr. James C. Ayer, of Lowell, Mass., was born in Lowell, Sept. 12, 1851. 
 This family have been identified with the history of the country for the last 200 years. 
 Mr. Ayer's paternal ancestors served in the American Revolution and in the War of 
 1812. Through his mother, he descends from Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick, 
 members of the Society of Friends, who were persecuted for conscience sake in colo- 
 nial days in Boston. Their heroic endurance has been commemorated by Whittier in a 
 poem. His mother's mother and the founder of the house of H. B. Clanin & Co , of 
 New York, were children of Major John Clanin of Milford, Mass. 
 
 Frederick F. Ayer was educated, first, in the public schools in Lowell, and in 1863, 
 he was sent to St. Paul's School in Concord, N. H., where he enjoyed a four 
 years' course. 
 
 He then left school for a while to learn a trade. Dr. Ayer, his father, was, at that 
 time, a large owner of stock in various mamifacturing companies. Some of these 
 concerns had met with serious losses, owing to the incompetence of their managers, 
 and the young man inherited from his father a conviction of the imperative necessity 
 of acquiring a practical knowledge of the details of any form of business in which he 
 might be engaged. It was certain that, in time, large manufacturing interests would 
 be entrusted to him ; and he resolved to gain a thorough acquaintance with the details 
 of the work in the mills. He entered Suffolk Mills, therefore, as an operative, begin- 
 ning at the beginning of the processes of manufacture, and working in every room of 
 the mill from wheel pit to belfry, until he had acquired a sound personal knowledge of 
 every process through which cotton passes on its way from the bale to the finished 
 cloth. Then, leaving the factory, he fitted himself for college. 
 
 In July, 1869, The Franklin Literary Association was organized by him and other 
 young men of Lowell. This was at first a large debating club. In that practical school, 
 Mr. Ayer acquired the habit of thinking while on his feet, which served him in good 
 stead in later years. Graduating from Harvard in 1873 with honor, he then spent some 
 time travelling in Europe with his father. In 1874 he entered the Law School at Cam- 
 bridge, being in due time admitted to the bar. In 1875 he began practice in partner- 
 ship with Lemuel H. Babcock. The first service of the young lawyer in court came 
 about in a sudden and unexpected manner. Dr. Ayer was then the controlling spirit 
 in the company formed to supply the city of Rochester, N. Y., with water from Hem- 
 lock Lake. Litigation had arisen between the company and the city. The case was 
 one in which the family were deeply interested, and while yet in the Law School, Mr. 
 Ayer had studied from curiosity the questions involved. When the case came up in the 
 Supreme Court at Rochester for argument, Mr. Ayer was present to listen. To his 
 great surprise, Judge Henry R. Selden, counsel for Dr. Ayer, introduced the young 
 man to the court as his associate from Massachussetts and declared that Mr. Ayer would 
 open the case. Mr. Ayer was taken unawares, but rose, without preparation, faced 
 the court with quickly beating heart and shaking knees, and spoke for half an hour. 
 He acquitted himself with such credit that his father presented to him a check for 
 $10,000, his first professional fee. This experience with the ways of senior counsel 
 
44 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 made him shy of court rooms thereafter. In 1876, the failure of Dr. Ayer's health 
 compelled Frederick to abandon the practice of the law and assume the responsible 
 duty of managing Dr. Ayer's vast investments. He has since been fully occupied with 
 the care of large interests. 
 
 Mr. Ayer possesses the faculty of public speaking and has appeared before large 
 audiences many times. He was never more felicitous in his remarks, perhaps, than 
 upon Oct. 26, 1876, when, in behalf of his father, he made the address of presentation 
 of the new Town Hall of Ayer to the authorities of the town and delivered to them the 
 keys of the edifice. His father's life was drawing to a close and the occasion was an 
 affecting one. Mr. Ayer spoke with fine control and much feeling. 
 
 In 1885, he made an address in Michigan which was followed by important conse- 
 quences. Like his father, he had become greatly interested in corporation reform. 
 Among the first to see the justice and expediency of minority representation and cumu- 
 lative voting in the directory of industrial corporations, he urged this idea upon the 
 attention of public men; and when, in 1885, a bill to secure this result was introduced 
 in the Legislature of Michigan, Mr. Ayer made an argument in its behalf which was 
 so unanswerable that it led to the passage of the law. Similar laws have since then 
 been enacted by other States. 
 
 He has always taken a lively interest in public affairs and studied diligently the 
 various branches of economic science. He has always opposed by voice and pen every 
 successive scheme for debasing the currency, and has always favored a reasonable but 
 moderate tariff. 
 
 Upon his father's death in 1878, Mr. Ayer became the manager of the great proper- 
 ties which his father had created, and for many years was obliged to resort to law and 
 lawyers, as a client, to extricate the estate from dangers with which it was threatened. 
 He has displayed business ability of a high order, and his previous legal training has 
 aided to make him a successful financier. 
 
 Mr. Ayer is a man of generous impulses. Among many philanthropic acts, it is 
 told of him that in 1890 he gave $5,000 for books for a public library in the Town House 
 of Ayer, and later built for the town the Ayer Memorial Library building, at a cost of 
 about $40,000. There had previously been some attempts to maintain a public library 
 in the village. In one case, the library had been so very free, that all of its books had 
 disappeared within the fifteen years of its existence. Other attempts were made under 
 better management, and in 1890 a library of about 2,800 books had been accumulated. 
 Mr. Ayer's gift enabled the trustees to equip the shelves with a large number of the 
 most valuable standard books, and his later generosity gave the town an excellent 
 library building. He has also joined with his mother, Mrs. Josephine M. Ayer, in pre- 
 senting to the city of Lowell a beautiful home for children. 
 
 Mr. Ayer inherited a large interest in his father's property, and has many large 
 investments of his own. The fortune of Dr. Ayer has been more than doubled by the 
 jon by judicious investments. The latter is a director of The Lake Superior Ship 
 Canal Railway & Iron Co., The Portage Lake & River Improvement Co., The 
 Lowell and Andover Railroad, The J. C. Ayer Co., The Tribune Association in New 
 York, and the Tremont and Suffolk Mills. 
 
 In social life he is a man of cultivated taste, and, while not a club man, as that 
 term is generally understood, is nevertheless a member of many social organizations, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. AY. 45 
 
 among them the Harvard, New York, Merchants', Riding, Down Town, New York 
 Yacht, Union League, and Metropolitan clubs. 
 
 MARSHALL AYRES, merchant, born in Truro, Cape Cod, Mass., in 1806, died in 
 New York, Jan. 15, 1888. Receiving a fair education and some training in business pur- 
 suits, he went, in 1835, with Josiah Lombard to Illinois, and passing through Chicago, 
 then a town of 5,000 inhabitants, settled at Griggsville, sixty miles west of Springfield. 
 They participated in the wonderful development of the great Northwest, and came 
 in time to control the agricultural, grocery, dry goods, provision and banking trade of 
 the county in which they had located. Both partners acquired fortunes. They built 
 the first steamboat which ran upon Illinois rivers, and became heavily interested in the 
 steamboat system of the Mississippi. In 1872, they sold their Western interests and 
 made their homes in New York. They were succeeded in business by their sons under 
 the firm name of Lombard, Ayres & Co., a prominent petroleum and lumber firm, 
 having interests in The Sea Board Lumber Co. and The Sea Board Manufacturing Co. 
 at Mobile, Ala. The two life long partners married each other's sister. Mr. Ayres 
 was survived by a son of the same name. The present Marshall Ayres is a director in 
 The Tide Water Oil Co., which is a consolidation of the oil interests of Lombard, 
 Ayres & Co., The Chester Oil Co., The Ocean Oil Co. and The Polar Oil Co., the latter 
 two of New York, and a member of the Harvard and Congregational clubs. 
 
B. 
 
 B. T. BABBITT, manufacturer, born on a farm at Westmoreland, N. Y., in 
 1809, died in New York, Oct. 20, 1889. He received a scant education, his youth being 
 spent in the drudgery of the farm. He first learned the trade of blacksmith, removing 
 to Utica. Saving his earnings, he went to Little Falls later and began the manufac- 
 ture of farm machinery on a small scale with success, and, it is claimed, made the first 
 mowing machine which would mow ever made in the world. Having accumulated 
 about $10,000, he came to New York city in 1843 and began the manufacture of sale- 
 ratus, leaving his business at Little Falls in charge of a manager. The latter proved 
 recreant, and Mr. Babbitt lost every dollar he possessed. Undismayed, he soon dis- 
 covered a new process for making saleratus at a great saving of cost, and in a few 
 years acquired control of the trade of the whole country. He also manufactured soda 
 and potash. In 1858 he began the manufacture of soap, from which he amassed a for- 
 tune. In his factories were used many mechanical appliances of his own invention, 
 and among the curiosities of New York were his six kettles for boiling soap, their 
 aggregate capacity being 3,500,000 pounds, the value of the raw material required to 
 fill them before boiling being $216,000. He had branch houses in Philadelphia and 
 Cincinnati and a number in New York and elsewhere. His children were Ida J., wife 
 of C. M. Hyde, and Lillia E. Babbitt, now deceased. Mrs. Babbitt died Dec. 20, 1894. 
 
 GEORGE HERMAN BABCOCK, inventor, engineer, manufacturer and philanthro- 
 pist, distinguished in each of these fields of activity, a native of Unadilla Forks, a hamlet 
 near Otsego, N. Y., was born Jan. 17, 1832, and died at his home in Plainfield, N. J., 
 Dec. 1 6, 1893. The family are of Rhode Island origin and were always thorough 
 Puritans, sound and reputable people and of the best blood of New England. 
 
 The father and mother of the subject of this sketch both came from families noted 
 for inventive genius, Asher M. Babcock, the former, being well known as a mechanic 
 and inventor of his times. The pin wheel motion in plaid looms, which sprang from 
 his ingenious brain, as well as a shoe peg machine and many other mechanical appli- 
 ances, were widely adopted by the manufacturers of his period and put into successful 
 operation in the industries. The mother of George H. Babcock, nee Mary E. Still- 
 man, was a daughter of Ethan Stillman, who attained distinction in the War of 1812 as 
 a constructor of ordnance for the Federal Government. Her uncle, William Stillman, 
 a lock maker and clock manufacturer, produced a pioneer unpickable bank lock, long 
 before the days of Chubb and Hobbs 
 
 George H. Babcock spent most of his boyhood in the villages of Scott and Homer, 
 both in Cortland county, N. Y. He was a good boy and the pride of his parents. The 
 family moved to Westerly, R. I., when he was twelve years old. George received a 
 fair education, mainly in the public schools, but studied for a year in the Institute at 
 De Ruyter, N. Y., and fhen, a bright, ambitious and earnest young man, seventeen 
 years of age, he acquired a little experience in the machine shop and factory. His 
 father was then a manufacturer of plaids. 
 
 In Westerly, the young man met Stephen Wilcox, a capable mechanic of the village, 
 and later famous as an inventor, destined to be his lifelong friend and longtime partner. 
 

48 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Mr. Babcock's health was impaired to such an extent that he suffered from scrofula 
 and was threatened with consumption. Unfitted for hard labor at a mechanical trade or 
 for serious responsibilities, but unwilling to remain idle, he found occupation in the then 
 aew art of daguerreotypy. Far from being injurious to him, the use of the chemicals 
 required for developing daguerreotype plates proved beneficial. Mr. Babcock always 
 believed that the fumes of the iodine, then freely used in his art, drove the scrofula from 
 his system. At any rate, he regained his health and the cure was permanent. He en- 
 joyed a remarkable amount of physical vigor during the remainder of his long and ardu- 
 ous career. Photography never lost its fascination with him, and he continued to practice 
 the art as an amateur the rest of his life, becoming successful and distinguished therein. 
 
 In 1851 he gave up his gallery, and for three years his active mind found congenial 
 employment in the publication of a newspaper. In the spring of the year named, he 
 started The Literary Echo and Pawcatuck Advertiser, the pioneer newspaper of Wes- 
 terly, organizing the first printing office in that locality. Although only nineteen 
 years of age. the young proprietor carried on his weekly newspaper with success for a 
 number of years as an adjunct to the general printing business, which is an inseparable 
 accompaniment of a country newspaper. The paper is yet in existence, under the 
 more practical title of The Westerly Weekly. Mr. Babcock sold his interest in 1854 to 
 resume the art of daguerreotypy. 
 
 Out of Mr. Babcock's experience as a printer grew his first invention. Until that 
 time, and, indeed, down to the present day, in all except a certain few large printing 
 offices, the production of a sheet of paper, upon which the impression is made in two 
 or more colors, involved as many separate printings as there were separate colors. Mr. 
 Babcock and his father studied the subject of a polychromatic press, by which a sheet 
 could be printed in three colors at once, and, in 1854, they perfected the first machine 
 of that kind ever known. Mechanically, the press performed what was required from 
 it, but it failed commercially, being many years in advance of the times. On the other 
 hand, an improved small foot power jobbing press, which the young man patented in 
 1857, became popular. It proved of direct value to small printers. The Babcock 
 presses were built by The Pawcatuck Manufacturing Co., of Westerly, now known as 
 the firm of C. B. Cottrell & Sons, and the progenitor of a dozen other firms, engaged 
 in manufacturing presses in different parts of the country, some of which are most 
 noted. The patents were subsequently held by Cottrell & Babcock. In 1855 this 
 press took a prize at the Crystal Palace Exhibition, in London, England. Its manu- 
 facture brought to its inventor the capital with which he subsequently engaged in the 
 production of other machines. 
 
 From work upon the perfection of their new presses, the Messrs. Babcock, father 
 and son, went back in 1858 to The Literary Echo, of which they resumed control in 
 company with J. Herbert Utter, changing the name to Tlie Narragansett Weekly. They 
 conducted the paper for about a year, and then the ruling passion again took possession 
 of them. In 1859 the Babcocks sold their interest to the Rev. George B. Utter, a 
 prominent clergyman and writer of the Seventh Day Baptist denomination, who lived 
 during the latter part of his life in Westerly, devoting himself mainly to the manage- 
 ment of The Narragansett Weekly. 
 
 In 1860 Mr. Babcock removed to Brooklyn, N. Y., and spent three years in the 
 office of Thomas D. Stetson, a prominent patent solicitor with a large practice. He 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BA. 49 
 
 was so proficient in mechanical matters that the authorities of Cooper Union engaged 
 him to instruct a class in mechanical drawing, and his evenings were accordingly de- 
 voted to Cooper Union, greatly to the advantage of himself as well as of his pupils. 
 His reputation as a draughtsman and inventor led, in 1 860, to his employment by various 
 persons and firms, among them the officers of The Mystic Iron Works, whose shops in 
 Mystic, Conn., were then taking part in the construction of war vessels for the United 
 States Government. Soon afterward, The Hope Iron Works of Providence, R. I., se- 
 cured his services as chief draughtsman. For these two establishments, he designed 
 the machinery for a number of steam vessels belonging to the merchant marine and 
 the Federal Navy. Several of the latter performed good service in the blockading and 
 other fleets operating on the Southern coast. In this field of work, Mr. Babcock grad- 
 ually drew near the inventions which were destined to bring him fame and fortune. 
 During this period he improved the shrapnel shell, employed during the war in action 
 at close quarters. 
 
 Just before the Civil War, the depressed condition of American industry had led 
 Congress to enact the famous Morrill Protective Tariff Bill. Other laws followed, in 
 which, for the sake of revenue, the duties on foreign goods were largely increased. 
 An immense impulse was thereby given to manufacturing industry, and the subject of 
 boilers and engines became important both to inventors and the proprietors of shops 
 and factories. In 1867, Mr. Babcock and his friend Wilcox formed the firm of Babcock 
 & Wilcox, taking out a patent for a steam boiler, which will be referred to hereafter. 
 They also produced a steam engine, and in 1868 moved to New York city to push this 
 branch of their business to better advantage. Arrangements were made by them for 
 the building of their engines by The Hope Iron Works, of Providence; Morton, Poole& 
 Co., of Wilmington, Del. ; Poole & Hunt, of Baltimore, and The C. & G. Cooper Co., 
 of Mount Vernon, Ohio. The machine possessed some singularly interesting and 
 ingenious elements of novelty and utility. The cut-off was effected by the action of 
 an isochronous governor, the steam valve being operated by a ' 'positive motion" and 
 the cut-off by a small independent steam piston, timed in its action by the governor 
 connection. Babcock & Wilcox incorporated The New York Safety Steam Power Co. 
 in 1868 to build their engines and boilers, and conducted the industry with satisfactory 
 results financially for several years, when, the expiration of the Corliss patents per- 
 mitting the builders of the whole country to flood the market with that form of engine 
 at ruinously low prices, the Babcock & Wilcox engine was withdrawn from sale. In 
 1878 the firm retired from The New York Safety Steam Power Co. and devoted them- 
 selves to their boilers alone. 
 
 Their most famous invention was the Babcock & Wilcox safety, or sectional, tubu- 
 lar steam boiler, based upon an earlier invention of Mr. Wilcox in 1856, and so con- 
 structed, as an earlier and equally famous inventor described it, that explosion would 
 not be dangerous. Mr. Babcock so designed the boiler, however, that anything like a 
 real explosion would not occur at all. The steam and water were confined in com- 
 paratively small vessels, a set of inclined tubes constituting the major part of the heating 
 surface, exposed to the action of the flame and the furnace gases. The larger volume of 
 steam and of water, requisite in all boilers for satisfactorily steady action, was enclosed 
 in steam and water drums above and removed from the localities of high temperature 
 These drums, also, were of comparatively small diameter, and therefore strong and safe. 
 
jo AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 After 1867, when the first patent was taken out, scarcely a year passed by until 
 1883 without witnessing an improvement of some kind in the boiler. In 1869, a new 
 design, first manufactured by the firm at The South Brooklyn Steam Engine Works, 
 found its way to the market and met with instant success. In this design, wrought 
 iron legs took the place of cast iron headers ; the tubes were expanded with the inside 
 sheets ; and hand holes succeeded the large doors. The principal fault of this invention 
 was the large first cost. Year after year, the firm applied for new patents, their pro- 
 gressive improvements culminating in 1883, when, finally, the following principles were 
 triumphantly worked out: ist, Sinuous headings for each vertical row of inclined 
 tubes. 2d, A separate connection with the drum both front and rear. 3d, All joints 
 to be made without bolts or screw threads, thus avoiding leaks from unequal expansion. 
 4th, The absence of stays. 5th, The boiler to be supported independently of the 
 brick work. And 6th, Every part to be accessible for cleaning. Since 1883, the only 
 advance has been to make the whole boiler from wrought steel. The success of the 
 Babcock & Wilcox boilers has been, from the beginning, remarkable, in spite of ever 
 increasing competition and the yet more serious opposition growing out of the inertia 
 and conservatism of the public mind. The boilers have found their way to nearly every 
 part of the world. The large decrease in the number of frightful boiler explosions, so 
 numerous thirty years ago, is undoubtedly owing to the inventive genius of this firm 
 and the efforts of their competitors to produce boilers equally good. Substantially, all 
 explosions of this class occur with the older shell boilers, which the new inventions are 
 displacing; and the inventors of the "sectional" boiler have thus saved to the world 
 lives and property of inestimable value. Such inventions are doubly precious. For 
 many years' the Babcock & Wilcox boilers have been the most extensively built and 
 sold of all devices of this nature. Large works for their production have been built in 
 Elizabeth, N. ]., and in 1881, The Babcock & Wilcox Co. was incorporated, for the 
 the more convenient management of the industry, Mr. Babcock becoming its presi- 
 dent. In 1883, an English branch of the company was established, which met with 
 such an excellent reception that its proprietors transformed it in 1891 into an incorpor- 
 ated company. Works have been established in the city of Glasgow, from which the 
 markets of the world are supplied. 
 
 By a life of diligent and signally useful industry, Mr. Babcock gained both wealth 
 and a world wide reputation. In personal traits he was a strong man. Alert, quick to 
 comprehend, thorough in analysis and prompt in decision, he was, on the other hand, 
 never impulsive ; and if, upon occasion, he could bring tremendous energy to bear up- 
 on any work or operation he had in hand, he was nevertheless guided by previous 
 thought and sound and level headed judgment. He displayed a tenacious memory and 
 the ability to master a subject rapidly and gave new proof of this, after he was 58 years 
 of age, by learning French. He was patient and kindly with every sincere, painstaking 
 and conscientious worker in his employment, but never wasted time upon a man who was 
 careless or refused to follow proved methods of accomplishing work. The latter was 
 promptly dropped. To the cry of distress, he responded with generosity. Unbending 
 in integrity, just, serious and companionable, he attached his friends to him by the 
 strongest ties of affection. 
 
 Of his wealth he made a worthy use. For many years, he gave time, thought and 
 money to the promotion of the interests of the Seventh Day Baptists, the religious 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BA. 51 
 
 body with which he identified himself, and to the advancement of the cause of educa- 
 tion, especially on its practical and technical side. He was deeply devoted to the cause 
 of his denomination. Nothing which concerned their welfare was to him a matter of 
 indifference. He made munificent gifts toward the educational, missionary and re- 
 ligious work of the body and guided its leading spirits with sound advice, which was 
 of even greater value. The American Sabbath Tract Society he served for nearly 
 twelve years as corresponding secretary. During i874-'85 he presided over a Sabbath 
 school in Plainfield as its superintendent, and gave a great impetus to the school by 
 blackboard illustrations. An incident of his career illustrates his love of Bible study. 
 In 1874, some of the commuters, who came from Plainfield daily to New York, used to 
 gather in one corner of the car and study the Bible. At first one double seat was occu- 
 pied, then two, and finally the class grew so large that it was widely spoken of by the 
 religious press. Mr. Babcock was the principal worker in this class. He was presi- 
 dent of the Board of Trustees of Alfred University, to which he gave large sums both 
 during his lifetime and by bequest, and a non-resident lecturer at Cornell University from 
 1885 to 1892 in the Sibley College courses in mechanical engineering. He prepared 
 his most important papers, mainly on the scientific principles involved in the genera- 
 tion and use of steam power and on the best modern methods of boiler construction, 
 for the last named courses. His last engagement, abrogated by his death, was for a 
 lecture in the spring of 1894. His papers were always well planned, thorough, full of 
 facts and useful knowledge and polished in expression. In delivery quiet but im- 
 pressive, he held an audience, whether of college students or business men, interested 
 and attentive to the end, however long the address. He wrote a large number of 
 treatises and in 1878 a " Natural History of the Bible," which possessed scientific 
 value. 
 
 . Mr. Babcock was a charter member and at one time president of The American 
 Society of Mechanical Engineers. He became a life member early in the history of 
 the Society. In 1870 he located in Plainfield, N. J., subsequently being elected presi- 
 dent of the Board of Education, holding this office until his death. He was president 
 of the Public Library of that city and of the trustees of Alfred University. By unceas- 
 ing efforts, he promoted the growth of both. Public spirited as a citizen, he did much 
 to improve the city of Plainfield by the erection of fine buildings and other improve- 
 ments, for which he was personally responsible, as well as by promoting, wherever 
 possible, all public works of value. A block of buildings constructed by him is con- 
 sidered the finest, architecturally, between New York and Philadelphia. His activity 
 and influence in the local congregation of which he was a member were equally marked 
 and effective. The church owes much to his energy and personal liberality. Mr. 
 Babcock was a man of culture and of broad and varied reading. He was devout and 
 honorable, kindly affectioned and thoughtful of others and a model of the good citizen, 
 the loving husband and father and the steadfast friend. In every relation of life he 
 exhibited lovely and admirable qualities. 
 
 Mr. Babcock was married Sept. 28, 1852, to Lucy Adelia Stillman, of Westerly, 
 R. I., who died May 20, 1861. Sept. 25, 1862, he was married to Harriot Mandane 
 Clarke, of Plainfield, N. J. She died March 5, 1881. His third marriage took place 
 Feb. 14, 1883, to Eliza Lua Clarke, of Scott, N. Y., who died March 21, 1891. April n, 
 1893, he was married to Eugenia Louise Lewis, of Ashaway, R. I. His children were 
 
52 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 George Luason Babcock, born Jan. 7, 1885, and Herman Edgar Babcock, born July g, 
 1886, who died Aug. 6, 1886. His wife and one son survive him. 
 
 PAUL BABCOCK, jr., merchant, born in New York city, Aug. :8, 1841, is a son of 
 Paul Babcock, who was a dry goods merchant in this city during all his active business 
 life. The young man received his education in the free schools of New York city, with 
 one year at the Free Academy, when his father's poverty compelled him to begin to earn 
 his own living. He first engaged in business as a clerk, in the old firm of H. J. Baker 
 & Bro., where he continued until the war broke out in April, 1861. He entered the 
 army on the night of the firing on Fort Sumter, joining a volunteer company, which 
 tendered its services to the State of New Jersey and was the first company of organized 
 soldiers raised in the United States with special reference to the late war. He became 
 a director of The Standard Oil Co. in 1880, since which time he has been the president 
 of The Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, and of The Soule & F'aming Manufacturing Co. 
 and of The Liebig Manufacturing Co. In 1865 he married Mary Webster, daughter of 
 Prof. Edwin D. Sanborn, and grand daughter of Ezekiel Webster, and their children 
 were Mary Webster, Emily, Paul and Alice. Mary Webster alone survives of his four 
 children. 
 
 SEflON BACHE, manufacturer, born in Fuerth, Bavaria, July 6, 1826, died in New 
 York, Jan. n, 1891. He was of Hebrew descent, and son of Joel Bach, a native of 
 Fuerth, who fought with Napoleon in Russia, was captured at Moscow, escaped, and 
 suffered so greatly from the cold, that all his toes were frozen, making amputation nec- 
 essary. Coming to this country in 1843, Semon spent a few years in Jackson, Miss., 
 with an uncle named Engelhardt, and removed to New York city in 1846 to seek and 
 find his fortune. In 1847, with a capital of less than $10,000, he established the house 
 of Semon Bache & Co., importers of fancy goods and mirrors. Dependent entirely on 
 himself, he threw all his energy into business, made rapid progress, and gradually with- 
 drawing from the sale of fancy goods added all the different branches of the glass trade, 
 dealing in window, plate and mirror glass. In 1857, Siegmund J. Bach, a brother, was 
 admitted to the firm, and in 1883, Joseph S. Ulmann, a son of his old partner. In later 
 years, Leopold S. Bache, his own son, was admitted. Since 1891, the firm have con- 
 tinued under the original title. In 1890, they consolidated the German mirror plate 
 branch of their business with that of six competing houses, as The German Looking 
 Glass Plate Co. In 1893, they consolidated the plate glass branch with Heroy & Mar- 
 rener and Holbrook Bro's, under the title of The Manhattan Plate Glass Co. In 1849, 
 Mr. Bache married Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Aaron S. Van Praag. His children are 
 Henrietta, wife of Julius Kayser; Sarah, wife of Adolph Thurmann; Blanche, wife of 
 Charles Neukirch; Jules Semon Bache; Leonora, wife of Leopold Rossbach; Leopold 
 Semon Bache ; and Mamie, wife of Siegmund Politzer. Mr. Bache had valuable invest- 
 ments in bonds, mortgages and real estate. He belonged to the Harmonic Club and 
 various charitable societies. It was by the advice of his uncle, Engelhardt, that he 
 Americanized his name by adding the final "e." 
 
 JAMES ANTHONY BAILEY, showman, was born in Detroit, Mich., in 1847. 
 Sacrificing the advantages of a comfortable home, a spirit of enterprise led him at an 
 early age to secure work upon a farm at $3. 50 per month. This occupation proved dull, 
 and he proceeded on foot to Pontiac, Mich., and found employment as call boy in a 
 hotel. An agent of Robinson & Lake's circus, while a guest of this hotel, attracted by 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BA. 53 
 
 the brightness and energy of the boy, then gave him a place in the corps of advance 
 agents of the show. He left the circus business in 1864 to become advertising 
 agent of a theatre in Nashville, then served as clerk to an army sutler, witnessing all 
 the battles from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and finally accepted a place once more in the 
 advance corps of the old circus. Here, he became so valuable that James E. Cooper 
 offered him an equal partnership in the circus business, and the firm of Cooper & 
 Baile)^ was thereupon formed. His enterprise resulted in a tour of the Sandwich 
 Islands, Australia, New Zealand, India and South America with the circus, which 
 proved successful. Upon the return to America, the Great London Circus was bought 
 and added to that of Cooper & Bailey and the firm engaged in a contest with P. T. 
 Barnum, which was conducted with so much shrewdness and energy, as to force Mr. 
 Barnum to abandon his favorite territory in the East. Mr. Barnum then offered Mr. 
 Bailey a partnership, which was accepted, leading to the firm of Barnum & Bailey. In 
 October, 1894, Mr. Bailey bought the interest of the heirs of his partner and so became 
 sole proprietor of The Barnum-Bailey Greatest Show on Earth, which he yet conducts. 
 His winter quarters are at Bridgeport, Conn. In 1868, Mr. Bailey married Ruth 
 Louisa McCaddon in Zanesville, O. He is a stockholder in the Madison Square Garden 
 in this city. 
 
 JAflES STANTON BAILEY, manufacturer, born in Lebanon, Conn., Dec. 9, 1817, 
 died in Brook^m, N. Y., Jan. 6, 1895. His family was planted in America by an im- 
 migrant from Yorkshire, Eng., to Newburyport, Mass., in 1638. In the maternal line, 
 he traced his pedigree to the Stantons and Shermans of Rhode Island, followers of 
 Roger Williams. James received a fair education, and in 1836, found employment as 
 clerk in a grocery store in New Haven, afterward acquiring a partnership. Having 
 saved a small amount of money, he came to New York in 1847, and in 1848, with 
 Charles F. Tuttle, as Tuttle & Bailey, began the manufacture of furnace registers and 
 ventilators. Through his energy, honesty and ingenuity, and various patents, the 
 little industry grew in the course of time to be the leading enterprise of its class in 
 the United States. In 1866, seven years after the death of Mr. Tuttle, the firm incor- 
 porated as The Tuttle & Bailey Manufacturing Co. , Mr. Bailey being its president. 
 Their goods have been sent to all parts of the world. The office is now in this city on 
 Beekman street; the factories in Brooklyn. A genial, kind-hearted, sagacious man, 
 Mr. Bailey enjoyed the respect of every associate. He was a strong Republican and a 
 reader of THE TRIBUNE from its first issue. In 1843, he married Augusta Caroline, 
 daughter of Capt Roswell Trowbridge of New Haven, and lived to celebrate his golden 
 wedding. Of his six children, five survived him He had been for many years presi- 
 dent of the trustees of The South Congregational Church in Brooklyn. 
 
 COL. ANDREW D. BAIRD, merchant, born in Kelso, Scotland, Oct. 14, 1839, is 
 the son of Andrew Baird, a stone mason. He acquired a public school education, and 
 in 1853 came to America with the family, which settled in the city of Brooklyn. 
 Andrew was first apprenticed to a blacksmith, but within a year afterward to the 
 stone-cutting trade in the employment of Robinson Gill in Brooklyn. May 13, 1861, 
 he enlisted in the 7gth N. Y. Vol's, the Highlanders, as they were called, the regiment 
 being composed of men of Scottish descent. He served entirely through the war, 
 taking part in forty-five battles and being wounded three times, and commanded 
 the regiment after May, 1864. After the peace, he returned to his stone yards and 
 
54 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 quarries in 1867, becoming a partner in the firm of Gill & Baird, to whose affairs he has 
 since devoted his attention. The yards on Wythe and Kent avenues are among 
 the foremost in the United States. Colonel Baird is trustee or director of The Nassau 
 Trust Co., The Kings County Trust Co., The Williamsburgh Savings Bank, The Manu- 
 facturers' National Bank and The Twenty-sixth Ward Bank, as well as of other corpora- 
 tions. Greatly interested in municipal affairs, he has served as alderman several times 
 and twice as candidate for Mayor of Brooklyn on the Republican ticket. In 1866 he 
 married Miss Mary Warner, of Brooklyn, and several years after her death, Miss 
 Catherine Lamb, in 1882. He has several children. The Union League Club of 
 Brooklyn claims him as a member. 
 
 OSCAR EUQENE BALLIN, banker and stock broker, a native of this city, was 
 born Nov. 29, 1856, and is a son of Eugene S. Ballin, a German, who emigrated to 
 New York in 1846 and died in New York city in June, 1885. Oscar was educated in 
 Columbia Grammar School, and then, in 1873, found occupation in his father's banking 
 house. After the death of the senior Ballin, the bank was liquidated. The son inher- 
 ited means from his father, which he has increased by his own efforts at the Stock 
 Exchange, in dealing in investment securities. He is head of the firm of Ballin & Co., 
 stock brokers, a director in The Iron Steamboat Co., and a member of the Lotus and 
 Manhattan clubs. 
 
 JACOB F. BAMBERQER, merchant, born in Germany, April 9, 1833, died in New 
 York city, Aug. 31, 1894. After a limited education in Germany, he came to this 
 country with his parents in 1 846, and began life in Louisville, Ky. , as clerk in a dry goods 
 store. Early discipline brought out his qualities, and in 1856 he engaged in a dry 
 goods business in Louisville on his own account. In 1862, in J. F. & L. Bamberger, 
 he undertook the dry goods jobbing trade. In 1872, two firms consolidated as Bam- 
 berger, Bloom & Co., the subject of this sketch being senior partner until his death. 
 In 1872, an office was opened in New York city on Worth street, in the down-town dry 
 goods district, and Mr. Bamberger thereafter made New York his home and became 
 the resident buyer. Diligence, close attention to the wants of customers, and sound 
 methods, brought 'him financial success. He never failed or compromised a debt. 
 Well known among dry goods men, he was active in the several campaigns in which 
 Mr. Cleveland was a candidate for office. He was one of the trustees of Temple 
 Emanu-El, a director in The Hebrew Orphan Asylum and The United Hebrew Chari- 
 ties, and a member of all of the Hebrew charitable and benevolent institutions in the 
 city, in each of which he took an active interest, and to all of which he contributed 
 generously. He was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Harmonic 
 club. By his marriage in 1863 to Pauline Ullman, he had three sons, Leon Jacob, 
 Edward Sanford and Irving Washington Bamberger, all now living. 
 
 WILLIAn DUDLEY BANCKER, merchant, was born in New York, April 19, 1836, 
 and died in Brooklyn, Dec. 29, 1893. He was a son of Capt. Abraham Bancker, a for- 
 eign news collector and at one time an associate of Commodore Vanderbilt. He re- 
 ceived his education in the schools of Brooklyn, where the most of his life was passed. 
 Beginning life as a clerk for Dick & Fitzgerald, book publishers, he became a partner 
 and then engaged in the sale of books and newspapers in Ann street on his own ac- 
 count. His business, in time, assumed the name of The New York News Co. When 
 The American News Co. was formed in 1863 by a union of various wholesale firms in 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BA. 55 
 
 the news trade, he joined the company, became its secretary in 1879 and in 1885 gen- 
 eral superintendent. He was a stockholder in the company and a man of force and clear 
 mind, and aided materially in developing the enormous trade of the concern in news- 
 papers, periodicals and books. Of the Washington Avenue Baptist church in Brook- 
 lyn, he was a deacon, trustee and Sunday School superintendent. Nov. 14, 1860, Mr. 
 Bancker married Jersey A. Huff, in Somerville, N. J. His family consisted of seven 
 children, five of whom survived him, namely: Abraham, Margaret B., William Dud- 
 ley, Edward Huff and Andrew Otterson Bancker. He was a member of the Oxford, 
 Germania, Montauk, Atlantic Yacht and Riverside Yacht clubs. 
 
 JAMES HOPSON BANKER, stock broker, born in New York city in 1827, died at 
 Irvington on the Hudson, Feb. 12, 1885. He was the son of Edward Banker, of the 
 old ship-chandlery firm of Banker, Schermerhorn & Co. Educated in the common 
 schools, he entered business life in his father's employment, succeeded to the business, 
 acquired a fortune and retired in 1869. The panic of 1873 called him from retirement; 
 and as a stock broker he became associated with Commodore Vanderbilt in his Wall 
 street operations. For several years, he served as a director of The New York Central 
 & Hudson River and The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroads, being treasurer 
 of the last named, and when control of The Western Union Telegraph Co. passed into 
 the hands of Commodore Vanderbilt, he accepted the office of director of that company 
 also. During his later years, the Edison inventions interested him and led him to be- 
 come a director of The Edison Electric Light Co. and auxiliary corporations. He had 
 no children. 
 
 CHARLES BANKS, capitalist, born in this city, April 20, 1830, is a member of 
 an excellent family. Educated in private schools and a man of refinement, he has 
 devoted his business activity mainly to real estate investments. Large means have 
 come to him by inheritance, absolving him from the drudgery of daily toil, and he has 
 been able to spend his years largely in travel, cultivation and social enjoyment. He is 
 a member of the Union, New York, and South Side Sportsmen's clubs. 
 
 JAMES LENOX BANKS, fl. D., born in New York city, May n, 1832, died here 
 June 3, 1883. He was the son of William Banks, a well-known shipping merchant of 
 the last generation, and of Isabella Henderson Lenox, daughter of Robert Lenox. He 
 graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1857, studied abroad for 
 two years, and in 1859 began the practice of medicine in this city. He inherited means, 
 but never abandoned his activity in the healing art. March 14, 1855, in this city, he 
 married Miss Isabella Mozier, daughter of Joseph Mozier, the American sculptor at Rome. 
 Mrs. Banks and eight children survived him, the latter being Isabella, wife of Thomas 
 E. Satterthwaite, M. D.; William B. Banks; Josephine Mozier, who married Charles 
 H. Marshall; James Lenox and Henry Lenox Banks; Maria, wife of Walter C. Taylor; 
 J. Fisher S. and Lenox Banks. Dr. Banks was a member of The American Medical 
 Association, The New York State Medical Society, The New York Pathological Society, 
 The Medical Society of the County of New York, The New York Academy of Medicine, 
 The New York Medico-Legal Society, and The New York Academy of Sciences, and 
 at one time president of The Society for the Relief of Widows and Orphans of Medical 
 Men. He served as consulting physician in The Presbyterian Hospital about eight 
 years and occupied a similar position in The Presbyterian Home for Aged Women. 
 He was also a trustee of The College of Physicians and Surgeons and The Lenox 
 
56 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Library, a manager of The American Bible Society, and a member of the Geographical 
 and Historical Societies. 
 
 AMZI LORENZO BARBER, A.H., LL.B., was born at Saxton's River, Windham 
 county, Vermont, on June 22, 1843. His father was the Rev. Amzi Doolittle Barber, 
 whose grandfather, Thomas, and father, Calvin, settled and lived in Townsend, 
 Vermont. 
 
 Thomas Barber, with two brothers, came to this country before the Revolution. 
 One brother, named Joseph, settled in Massachusetts; the other brother went West or 
 South, and of him nothing further is known. 
 
 Mr. Barber's mother was Nancy Irene Bailey, who was born in Westmoreland, 
 Oneida county, New York. His ancestors on his father's side were Scotch-Irish, and 
 on his mother's side French-English, and he has, perhaps, in some degree, inherited the 
 striking characteristics of these four different nationalities. His father was a self- 
 educated Congregational clergyman of great simplicity of purpose and strength of char- 
 acter. He was one of the students who left Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, 
 because the discussion of the slavery question had been prohibited by the faculty of 
 that institution, and he walked across the State of Ohio to Oberlin and entered Oberlin 
 College, from whose theological department he graduated in 1841. Among his class- 
 mates were many men who became distinguished for philanthropy and other qualities, 
 among them ex-President James H. Fairchild and the Rev. Dr. M. E. Strieby of 
 The American Missionary Association. His father is yet (1895) engaged in ministerial 
 work at Castalia, O., and although eighty-five years of age, he enjoys excellent health, 
 retaining all of his faculties except hearing, and is rendering acceptable service to the 
 parish of which he has charge. 
 
 The subject of this sketch at first contemplated a professional career. The family 
 moved to Ohio in 1852 and lived at Bellevue, Huron county, until 1858, then in Cleve- 
 land until 1862, and afterward in Austinburg and Geneva, Ashtabula county. Mr. 
 Barber attended various schools and academies, including the high school of Cleve- 
 land, during his minority, and in 1862 he entered Oberlin College at the head of his 
 class in the preparatory department. An attack of pneumonia compelled him to leave 
 college for a year, which he spent in the wilds of northern Michigan. He graduated 
 from Oberlin College in 1867, taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and subsequently 
 received from that institution the degree of Master of Arts. By working upon farms 
 in the summer time and teaching school in the winter, he saved enough money to meet 
 his college expenses. While pursuing a post-graduate course in the theological depart- 
 ment of Oberlin College, he was invited by Gen. O. O. Howard, then at the head of the 
 Freedmen's Bureau, to take charge of the normal department of Howard University, 
 and in April, 1868, he moved to Washington for that purpose. Subsequently he took 
 charge of the preparatory department, and, later on, was elected to a professorship of 
 natural philosophy in that university. In 1872, he resigned his connection with that 
 institution and engaged in the real estate business in Washington. A year later there 
 followed the panic of 1873, which was commenced by the failure of Jay Cooke's bank- 
 ing house. The depression in prices was very great and continued for several years, 
 during which time many people engaged in the real estate business in Washington lost 
 heavily. Mr. Barber, however, held on to his real estate interests and ultimately sold 
 out to good advantage and realized a handsome profit. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BA. 57 
 
 A dispute has arisen in recent years concerning the likelihood of success of a college 
 man in business. Mr. Barber's career is a signal example of the eminence to which an 
 energetic man can rise when his mind, naturally clear and active, has been trained by 
 years of study and close thinking. 
 
 Real estate operations in the District of Columbia led him to appreciate the value 
 of good streets, and in 1878 his attention was called to and he engaged in the laying of 
 asphalt pavements in the city of Washington. Many miles of streets in the Capital of 
 the nation were paved with the new material by him, and the business growing rapidly, 
 his operations soon extended to other cities. In 1883 he found it necessary to incorpo- 
 rate The Barber Asphalt Paving Co., in order to systematize the work and most 
 efficiently carry out the contracts which were obtained by his skill, energy and hard 
 work. During the four years, 1882 to 1886, inclusive, he averaged one thousand miles 
 of railway travel weekly, and slept an average of one hundred and twenty nights yearly 
 on Pullman sleeping cars. Including about eighty thousand miles of travel upon the 
 ocean, he estimates that he has traveled upwards of four hundred thousand miles in 
 establishing and carrying out the business of which he is the head, the equivalent of 
 circumnavigating the globe upwards of sixteen times. 
 
 In order to obtain under the most favorable conditions an ample supply of the raw 
 material, Mr. Barber negotiated in 1887 a concession from the Government of Great 
 Britain for a lease of the celebrated lake of natural pitch on the island of Trinidad for 
 a period of forty-two years. This reservoir of 114 acres contains an almost inexhausti- 
 ble supply of asphalt. To acquire and operate this concession The Trinidad Asphalt 
 Co. was organized in 1888. Mr. Barber is the leading stockholder, director and officer 
 of the two corporations above named, representing an aggregate capital and surplus of 
 nearly $7,000,000. Down to the present time, there have been laid upwards of 16,000,- 
 ooo yards, or 1,000 lineal miles, of Trinidad asphalt pavements in eighty cities of the 
 United States, at a cost of over $50,000,000. The Trinidad Asphalt Co. has supplied 
 nearly all the material for this work, and The Barber Asphalt Paving Co. has done 
 upwards of one-half of it, the remainder having been done by about thirty separate 
 companies or firms, in which neither of the two companies above named nor Mr. 
 Barber has any interest beyond supplying the material therefor. The pavement as 
 laid by these companies, especially the Barber company, has proved s^ acceptable that 
 it has come to be recognized as the standard pavement of the United States. Companies 
 are now being formed to introduce the pavement into foreign countries. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Barber was married to Celia M. Bradley, of Geneva, Ohio, who died 
 in 1870. In 1871 he married Julia Louise Langdon, daughter of J. Le Droict Lang- 
 don, formerly of Belmont, New York. They have had five children, of whom four are 
 living, namely Le Droict Langdon, Lorena Langdon, Bertha Langdon, and Roland 
 the first three being adults and the last seven years old. 
 
 Mr. Barber retains a strong affection for Oberlin College, and has long served it as 
 one of its trustees. 
 
 In 1875-6 Mr. Barber took the course of lectures in the law department of Colum- 
 bian University at Washington, and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Subse- 
 quently he was admitted to the bar in Washington, but has never made a regular prac- 
 tice of law. 
 
 At one time Mr. Barber was a director of The Citizens' National Bank of Washing- 
 
60 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 many important cases, being noted for his success and acquiring a fortune in his profes- 
 sion. At the age of twenty-three, he had charge of the settlement of claims arising 
 under the treaty with Mexico, from which he received extraordinary fees. His ability 
 to earn large fees was phenomenal. In one instance, he received $25,000 for half an 
 hour's work, which was willingly paid, owing to the magnitude of the interests involved 
 and his great tact in effecting an amicable adjustment. The firm of Bowdoin, Larocque 
 & Barlow was formed in 1852. After the death of the two senior partners in 1868 and 
 1870, Joseph Larocque, brother of the original member, William W. MacFarland and 
 Mr. Barlow formed a new firm, to which was added in 1873 Judge William D. Shipman, 
 Judge William G. Choate in 1881 taking Mr. MacFarland's place. A Democrat in poli- 
 tics, Mr. Barlow was for several years a large stockholder in The New York World, and 
 shaped its policy from 1864 to 1869. He was one of the founders of the Manhattan Club 
 and a member of the Union Club. He had a fine collection of paintings and engravings, 
 and his library of early American history was one of the most extensive in existence. 
 Mr. Barlow's wife, Alice Cornell, daughter of Peter Townsend, survived him, as did an 
 only son. His son, PETER TOWNSEND BARLOW, lawyer, was born in New York 
 city, June 21, 1857. He graduated from Harvard University in 1879, fitted himself for 
 the law at the Law School of Columbia College and in the office of Shipman, Barlow, 
 Larocque & Choate. He was married in 1886 to Virginia Louise, daughter of Edward 
 Matthews. Their children are Edward M. , and Samuel L. M. Barlow. A gentleman 
 of education and fine mind, he has been elected to membership in many of the best 
 clubs in town, including the University, Harvard, Union, Metropolitan, Players', Tux- 
 edo, Racquet, Down Town and New York Yacht clubs. 
 
 ALFRED BARMORE, ice merchant, born in Rockland county, N, Y., June 15, 1807, 
 died in this city, May 13, 1875. Beginning life at the age of sixteen in the leather trade 
 of this city, he did not come into prominence until, after Croton water had been brought 
 into town, he began the sale of ice. Starting on a small scale, he devoted himself there- 
 after exclusively to the development of the ice trade. In 1856 he became president of 
 The Knickerbocker Ice Co., which position he held until his death. Under his energetic 
 fostering, the company grew into a large concern, owning many ice houses on the Hud- 
 son river, and retailing ice to every part of this metropolis. 
 
 ALFRED SHITH BARNES, publisher, a native of New Haven, Conn., born Jan. 
 28, 1817, died in Brooklyn, Feb. 17, 1888. He was descended from Stephen Barnes, 
 an Englishman, who settled on Long Island the latter part of the seventeenth century. 
 His early life was laborious. First a clerk in a shoe store, he then obtained employ- 
 ment in Hartford in the publishing house of D. F. Robinson & Co., and being depend- 
 ent entirely upon his own abilities, he made every effort to learn the business. At the 
 age of twenty-one, he published the mathematical works of Charles Davies in Hartford, 
 and successfully introduced his arithmetics and Mrs. Emma Willard's history as popular 
 school books. In 1840, he went to Philadelphia for four years, and built up a profitable 
 publishing business, which he then removed to New York city. His brother, five sons 
 and a nephew were associated with him under the title of A. S. Barnes & Co. The firm 
 attained eminence in the publication of school books. Mr. Barnes was connected with 
 the Central Branch of The Union Pacific Railroad, The New York Elevated Railroad, 
 The Hanover Bank, The Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn, and The Home Insurance 
 Co. He was naturally attentive to educational interests and identified with Cornell 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BA. 6l 
 
 University, the Fisk University in Tennessee, and the Polytechnic and Adelphi acad- 
 emies, in Brooklyn. He was a member of the Union League Club of New York, and 
 the Hamilton Club, The Long Island Historical Society, and The New England 
 Society of Brooklyn, and trustee of the Clinton Avenue Congregational Church of 
 Brooklyn, which city was his home for many years. To the Good Samaritan and 
 other institutions of Brooklyn, he was a generous donor, and he founded Barnes Hall, 
 one of the most prominent buildings at Cornell University. Mr. Barnes was twice 
 married, first in 1840 to Miss Harriet E. Burr of Hartford, and later in 1883 to Mrs. 
 Mary Matthews Smith. He left ten children by his first wife. His son, Alfred C. 
 Barnes, now represents the house in The American Book Co. The other children are 
 Mary C., Henry P., Sarah F., Harriet E., Edwin M., Richard S., William D., Annie 
 M., and Emilie B. Barnes. 
 
 DEM AS BARNES, banker, born in Canandaigua, N. Y., April 4, 1887, died in 
 New York city, May i, 1888. Leaving public school at the age of fifteen and starting 
 as clerk in a country store, four years later he went into business on his own account. 
 In 1849 h e established himself in New York in the wholesale drug business, and by 
 untiring assiduity became a leading merchant of the city. In the early days, Mr. Barnes 
 crossed the continent in a wagon, making a careful examination of the mineral re- 
 sources of Colorado, Nevada and California. His experiences were afterward related 
 in a series of letters in the newspapers. He was an earnest advocate of The Union 
 Pacific Railroad. In 1866, his neighbors in Brooklyn elected him as a Democrat to 
 Congress, where he served on the Committees on Banking and Currency, and Education 
 and Labor. He was active in procuring legislation for the construction of the Brook- 
 lyn Bridge and a member of the first Board of Trustees. In 1870 he retired from 
 business. That able Democratic journal, The Brooklyn Eagle, at one time belonged to 
 him, and of The Brooklyn Argus he was the founder, continuing publication until 
 February, 1877. He was a director of The Long Island Railroad and several insurance 
 companies, a member of the New York club and prominent in many public institutions. 
 JOHN SANFORD BARNES, lawyer, was born in West Point, N. Y., May 12, 1836. 
 His father, General James Barnes, was a graduate from the Military Academy in 
 1825. John was sent to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, whence he graduated in 
 1854. He served through the Civil War, rising to the rank of Commander, and then 
 resigned, studied law and practiced his profession in Albany and New York. He was 
 for twelve years a partner in the late firm of J. S. Kennedy & Co., bankers, and with- 
 drew in 1879. In 1880, he retired from active business and has since devoted his atten- 
 tion to the- law. He was married in 1862 to Susan Bainbridge Hayes, daughter of 
 Capt. Thomas Hayes, U. S. N. , and grand daughter of Commodore William Bainbridge, 
 U. S. N., who in command of the "Constitution" captured the " Java" in the war of 
 1812, and their children are James, J. Sanford, Edith S., Charlotte Adams and Cornelia 
 Rogers Barnes. Mr Barnes is of social nature and well fitted for a life in which 
 refinement, a bright mind, abundant means and character are essential requirements. 
 He belongs to many clubs, including the Union League, Metropolitan, Union, Univer- 
 sity, Knickerbocker, Down Town, Whist and Westminster Kennel. 
 
 CHARLES TRACY BARNEY, banker, born in Cleveland, O., Jan. 27, 1851, is a 
 son of the late A. H. Barney, president of The United States Express Co. Charles 
 graduated from Williams College and then entered business life. He has been engaged 
 
62 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 in banking in New York city for many years. Mr. Barney is a careful, competent and 
 courageous business man, interested in diverse enterprises. Through loans of money 
 to local builders, he has been led into real estate operations himself, one of them being 
 the purchase of the Donnelly tract on the West Side in this city. He is director of 
 The Safe Deposit Co., The New York Loan & Improvement Co., The Mercantile 
 National Bank, The Hudson River Bank, and The Knickerbocker Trust Co. His clubs 
 are the Metropolitan, Grolier, Century, Players', Union, University, City, Colonial, 
 Whist, Down Town, Riding, New York Athletic, New York Yacht, and Westminster 
 Kennel. 
 
 WILLIAM JOSHUA BARNEY, born at Fort Mackinaw, Mich., in March, 1823, 
 died in New York, Jan. 5, 1886. He was a great-grandson of Commodore Barney, of 
 the American Revolution, and the family yet possesses the sword presented to the 
 Commodore for his defense of Bladensburg in the War of 1812. His father, Captain 
 Joshua Barney, a graduate of West Point, was stationed for many years at Fort 
 Mackinaw. William graduated from Baltimore College with honor, became a lawyer, 
 and assisted his father in laying out the first Government road in Iowa, then a Terri- 
 tory. After Iowa was admitted, he entered the first land warrant. Later, he started 
 a bank at Dubuque, which he closed in 1857, removing then to Chicago, where he 
 opened a real estate office. In 1871, after the great fire, he came to New York to live, 
 although he continued his Chicago office. He acquired a fortune by real estate oper- 
 ations in the West and in New York. Mr. Barney married Georgiana F. Carroll, of 
 Kentucky, and left one son, I. C. Barney. He was a member of the Society of the 
 Cincinnati and one of the founders of the Chicago Club. 
 
 DR. JOHN C. BARRON, capitalist, began life as a physician and a Union volunteer, 
 and then, having inherited wealth, embarked in practical business, in which he has 
 since met with excellent success. 
 
 He is a native of Woodbridge in the county of Middlesex, N. J., where he was 
 born Nov. 2, 1837. He descends from an old and well-known family. John Barren, 
 his father, was a man of fine character and large possessions, prominent in his day and 
 of wide influence. His grandfather, Joseph Barren, was a farmer, merchant, tanner 
 and capitalist, and president of the famous old turnpike roa'd from Woodbridge ,to 
 Philadelphia, a great highway during the period before the advent of railroads, when 
 travel took place on horse-back or by stage-coach and carriage. An uncle, Thomas 
 Barron, was director of the Louisiana branch of The United States Bank; and a great 
 uncle, Ellis Barron, served as a captain of the ist Middlesex Regiment in the war 
 of the American Revolution. The maternal grand father of Dr. Barron was Col. 
 Richard Conner of Staten Island, farmer, merchant and a man of position, and member 
 of State Legislature when it took one week in the saddle to get to Albany from New 
 York city. 
 
 Mr. Barron received an excellent education. Choosing medicine for his profession, 
 he graduated from The College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city in 1861. 
 The war for the Union had then broken out, and Dr. Barron, inspired by a generous 
 loyalty to his country, at once entered the Union army as a volunteer assistant sur- 
 geon. He was assigned to the "Mechanics' Rifles," and, soon afterward, at his own 
 request, to the 6gth New York Inf., then already in the field. One of the first of 
 his profession to volunteer in the four years' war, and enthusiastic in the discharge of 
 
64 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 
 
 his duties, Dr. Barren spared no pains in watching over the health of the Union vol- 
 unteers, going so far on one occasion as to give $1,000 from his own means to the hos- 
 pital department for medical supplies. He took part in the first battle of Bull Run 
 with his command, the 6gth losing two hundred men in killed and wounded in that 
 memorable fight. Soon after the battle he was promoted to the rank of surgeon. 
 
 Returning to civil life at the end of his enlistment, he became a member and 
 surgeon of the famous 7th Regiment of New York city from 1863 to 1871, and, after 
 his resignation, he was appointed Surgeon General of the First Division of the National 
 Guard of New York, with the rank of Colonel. 
 
 After the war, Dr. Barren sought recreation in extended foreign travel. He 
 visited the important countries of Europe, and then, with an energy characteristic of 
 the man, made an adventurous trip of seven hundred miles up the river Nile. 
 
 Upon his return to America, having inherited large wealth, the care of his property 
 and the necessity of safe investment compelled him to abandon the practice of the 
 healing art. Business pursuits thenceforth claimed his attention, and in this field he 
 has proved an enterprising and successful man. He has made large investments and 
 is at the head of nearly all his properties, being now president of The Carpenter Steel 
 Works of Reading, Pa., The Kentucky Coal, Iron & Development Co., The Lyons & 
 Campbell Ranch & Cattle Co., and The Gila Farm Co., and a director in The Brooklyn 
 City Railroad Co., The United New Jersey Railroad & Canal Co., etc. 
 
 A man of refinement and social disposition, Dr. Barron has been admitted to a 
 large number of the most exclusive clubs in the city. He was one of the original 
 members of the Union League club, having joined in 1863. He is also an active 
 member of the Union, Down Town, New York Yacht, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht, 
 Larchmont Yacht, Jekyl Island and Currituck and Narrows Island Shooting clubs, and 
 has been vice commodore of the Atlantic Yacht club, rear commodore of the Sea- 
 wanhaka Corinthian and the New York Yacht clubs, and vice commodore of the 
 Hudson River Ice Yacht club. Dr. Barron is exceedingly fond of yachting, and was 
 the owner of the yacht Wave, one of the American boats, which, for the honor of this 
 country, raced with the Scotch cutter Madge, about fifteen years ago. He built the 
 yacht Athlon, and also owned the cutter Clara. 
 
 Dr. Barron is a patron of literature and art. He has long been trustee and treasurer 
 of the celebrated Barron Library in Woodbridge, N. J., founded by his uncle, Thomas 
 Barron, in 1876, and he is a life member of The New York Historical Society and life 
 fellow of The New York Geographical Society. 
 
 JOSEPH BURR BARTRAM, merchant, born in Black Rock, Conn., May 17, 1839, 
 is a son of Joseph Bartram, a sea-faring man in early life, and later part owner in many 
 vessels in the old house of Sturges, Clearman & Co. of this city. Joseph attended school 
 in Fairfield, Conn., and then, coming to New York in 1857, found a place as clerk for 
 Cartwright & Harrison, at 1 1 1 Front street, where he remained about six years. In 
 June, 1864, with his brother, Thomas W. , he established the firm of Bartram Bros, 
 shipping and commission merchants, with a capital of $20,000, supplied by their father. 
 Since the death of his brother in 1888, Mr. Bartram has continued the business under 
 the old title, but Jan. i, 1894, admitted two associates to partnership, one his son 
 Joseph Percy Bartram; the other his chief clerk. The business has grown to large 
 proportions. Mr. Bartram is extensively engaged in the importation of sugar from the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BA. 65 
 
 West Indies, having plantations on the islands of St. Croix and San Domingo, and con- 
 trolling the product of several others. The sugar is imported by the New York house 
 and sold for cash to the sugar refineries. In 1869 Mr. Bartram was married to Eleanor 
 C., daughter of Benjamin Wardwell, and their children are: Joseph Percy, Rensselaer, 
 Wardwell and Howard Preston Bartram. 
 
 EDWIN BATES, merchant, born about 1830, in Derby, Vt., died in the same 
 place, Xov. 27, 1887. He received such an education as the town academy supplied, 
 and left home at the age of sixteen to make his way in the world, without other 
 resources than the health, energy and character he had inherited from a Puritan 
 ancestry. He located first in Charleston, S. C., as a clerk in a dry goods house. 
 Thrift enabled him within a few years to establish the dry goods firm of McGahan, 
 Bates & Co. Trade brought him a considerable fortune. At the close of the Civil 
 War he came to this city, and with his brother, Charles K. Bates, established the 
 clothing house of Edwin Bates & Co., remaining active therein until his physician 
 warned him that his heart would not much longer perform its functions. His interest 
 in the old South Carolina firm was retained to the last, and he owned 800 acres of 
 land in that State, as well as a horse farm in Vermont. His wife, Mary E., daughter 
 of ex-Mayor Brackett, of Rochester, and two children, survived him. 
 
 HENRY BATTERflAN, merchant and banker, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., 
 where he has always dwelt, Nov. 5, 1849. His parents came to this country from Han- 
 over, Germany. Receiving an education in a business college, Henry learned the 
 requirements of trade as a clerk, and then in 1867, with borrowed capital, opened a 
 small retail dry goods store in Brooklyn. An excellent merchant, he made rapid pro- 
 gress, until the growth of his trade compelled him to build the present large store at 
 the corner of Broadway and Graham and Flushing avenues. He employs 500 clerks, 
 and conducts the most important trade in the Eastern district of Brooklyn. He is pres- 
 ident of The Broadway Bank of Brooklyn, and a member of the Hamilton, Union 
 League, and Germania clubs, and several charities. In 1870, he married Sarah E., 
 daughter of John Cutter, and their children are Harry L. and Adelaide H. Batterman. 
 
 CHARLES ALFRED BAUDOUINE, manufacturer and realty owner, born June 
 i, 1808, in this city, died at his home on Fifth avenue, Jan. 13, 1895. His ancestors 
 were Huguenots, who had fled to this country from France. Having learned the art 
 of furniture making as an apprentice, Charles began on his own account at the age of 
 twenty-one, and became the founder and proprietor of a furniture making industry, 
 which, in 1850, had grown to be the largest of its class in the country. From this he 
 finally retired, and invested his fortune in realty in this city, which is well located and 
 has continually improved in value. He possessed exceptional capacity as a business 
 man, and in recent years was prominent at the annual Horse Show. June 3, 1833, ^ e 
 married Ann P. Postley of this city. A son, Abram, and two grandsons, Charles A. 
 and John F. Baudouine, survived him. 
 
 GEN. HORACE HENRY BAXTER, railroad builder, born Jan. 18, 1818, in Sax- 
 ton's River, Vt., died Feb. 17, 1884, in New York city. His father, Horace Baxter, 
 a man of fine presence, a lawyer and judge in Vermont, intended to call his son to the 
 bar, but the latter preferred a different career, and began business life as assistant 
 bookkeeper in a dry goods commission house in Boston. Less than a year later, while 
 only sixteen years of age, he became head accountant, and served until his health failed 
 
66 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 
 
 on account of overwork. After recruiting among the hills, he opened a store in 
 Bellows Falls, Vt., gave credit to those who could not pay cash, and made his first and 
 last failure in life, closing the store. An athletic man, of towering form, animated, 
 energetic, and capable of handling bodies of men, he found more congenial work 
 shortly afterward, upon taking a small contract to grade the depot grounds at Bellows 
 Falls. This led him into contract work on The Rutland & Burlington and The Western 
 Vermont Railroads. He was noted from the start for thoroughness. He then built The 
 Cleveland, Norwalk & Toledo Railroad, completing it in 1854, and next bought the 
 marble quarries at Rutland, Vt., which he operated until 1863, when he sold them. 
 At the outbreak of the Civil War, he attended the Peace Congress as a delegate from 
 Vermont, and when that meeting failed of its object, he became Adjutant General 
 of Vermont on a salary of $75 a year, and spent a small fortune in organizing and 
 forwarding to the front the volunteer troops of Vermont. After the war, he entered 
 Wall street, and, with Henry Keep, advanced the price of Michigan Southern Railroad 
 stock, gaining thereby a large profit. He followed Mr. Keep as president of The New 
 York Central Railroad, and was the only one of the old managers retained after Com- 
 modore Vanderbilt came into control. It was due to his persistent advice that the 
 Grand Central depot and the grain elevator on the Hudson river were built. General 
 Baxter also had a large interest in The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, the Emma 
 silver mine in Utah, The Baxter National Bank in Rutland, The Pacific Mail Steam- 
 ship Co., The Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, The Panama Railway, The Conti- 
 nental Bank of New York city, and The Pullman Palace Car Co., being a director in 
 these enterprises, and also took part in the construction company which built some of 
 the elevated railroads of New York city. General Baxter was twice married, first, to 
 Eliza Wales, of Bellows Falls, Dec. 21, 1841, who died Sept. 8, 1849 ; an d next, Dec. 
 8, 1851, to Mary E. Roberts, of Manchester, Vt. Two children were born to them, 
 Henry, May 18, 1856, who died March 20, 1860, and Hugh Henry Baxter, born Oct. 
 2, 1861. While New York city was the scene of his principal achievements, he made 
 Rutland, Vt., his home after 1854. 
 
 MOSES YALE BEACH, publisher, born in Wallingford, Conn., Jan. 15, 1800, died 
 there, July 19, 1868. Descended from some of the first settlers of Stratford, Conn., on 
 his mother's side, he was a relative of Elihu Yale, the founder of Yale College. In 
 youth he was apprenticed to a cabinet maker in Hartford, Conn., and by working 
 overtime managed to save $400. At the age of eighteen he purchased his release. 
 Then, with a partner, he began business in Northampton, Mass. A man of inventive 
 mind, he was associated with Thomas Blanchard in the construction of the first stern 
 wheel steamboat used on the Connecticut river. Among his devices was a machine 
 for cutting rags, now a part of the outfit of every paper mill, but he reaped little 
 benefit from this invention owing to delay in issuing the patent. In 1827, he moved 
 to Saugerties, N. Y., to engage in paper manufacturing. Through his wife, Nancy 
 Day, a sister of the late Benjamin H. Day, founder of The New York Sun, Mr. Beach 
 became interested in that paper. He bought a half interest from Mr. Wisner for 
 ^5,200, and later purchased the other half for $19,000. Possessed of rugged abilities 
 and marked traits of character, prompt, energetic and far seeing, he insisted that The 
 Sun should have all the news, regardless of expense, and devised many novel schemes 
 for quick collection as well as for the rapid distribution of the paper after publication. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BE. 67 
 
 Carrier pigeons, express trains, etc., were freely employed by him. He encouraged 
 Mr. Locke in the preparation of the celebrated story known as the " Moon Hoax," which 
 first appeared in The Sun. His children were Moses Sperry, Henry, Alfred Ely, 
 Joseph P., and William Yale Beach, and Brasilia Brewster. His son ALFRED E. 
 BEACH, inventor and editor of The Scientific American, was born in Springfield, Mass., 
 in 1826. He received an academic education, and, in 1846, with Orson D. Munn, 
 founded the firm of Munn & Co., and they became proprietors of The Scientific American. 
 For almost fifty years, Mr. Beach has been active in the editorship of this newspaper 
 and in the extensive patent business of the firm. In 1847 he invented a typewriting 
 machine, from which, it is claimed, the great typewriter industry of the world has 
 arisen. One of these machines, placed in operation at the Crystal Palace Exhibition of 
 the American Institute in this city in 1856, received the gold medal as ranking among 
 the most ingenious and important inventions of the time. The machine had the key 
 board, the pot of type bars, the ink ribbon, the spacing bar, the paper moved by the 
 keys, the separate adjustment for each type bar, etc., all now so generally in use. Mr. 
 Beach sold his patent for a small sum. Prior to 1868, Mr. Beach planned a system of 
 underground railways for New York, and in 1869, legislative authority having been 
 granted, he constructed a section of underground railway under Broadway, New York, 
 extending from Warren to Murray street. This work was executed while all the travel 
 of the street went on overhead, by means of the Beach hydraulic shield, which was the 
 first example of the hydraulic tunneling shield, now in common use by engineers in 
 all parts of the world. The Beach hydraulic shield was used in the construction of the 
 great railway tunnel under the St. Clair river at Port Huron and Sarnia, between the 
 United States and Canada, as well as in excavating the underground railway tunnels 
 in London and Glasgow, the Hudson river tunnel, and other similar works. Mr. 
 Beach is the designer of many other inventions. 
 
 OLIVER THOflAS BEARD, lawyer, born in New York city, Nov. 13, 1832, is one 
 of three notable brothers. His father, the late William Beard, a native of Ireland, 
 came to America in 1825, and through tireless- energy and unusual foresight rose to 
 prominence as a railroad builder and contractor, dying in Brooklyn, Jan. 7, 1886, at the 
 age of eighty-two. A portion of his property in Brooklyn consisted of wharves and 
 stores, now extremely valuable. Oliver studied during boyhood in the local schools 
 and at Nazareth, Pa. Inheriting his father's enterprise, he crossed the plains at the 
 age of sixteen and engaged in gold mining, the construction of wharves and similar 
 enterprises, and in 1852 in railroad building in South America. Returning to his 
 native land, he enlisted in April, 1861, as a private in the 7ist N. Y. Vol's, and rose 
 to be Lieutenant Colonel of the 48th N. Y. Moore's Rebellion Records give him credit 
 for commanding the first body of colored troops actually engaged in battle. During 
 the draft riots of 1863 in New York city, he aided in placing the office of THE NEW 
 YORK TRIBUNE in a state of defense with barricades of bales of paper, etc. After the 
 war Mr. Beard practiced law in Ohio and Michigan with some success, later edited The 
 Post and Tribune, of Detroit, and, being an ardent Republican, took an active part in 
 political affairs. For more than twenty years he served his party in various parts of the 
 Union as a campaign orator, and was chairman of the committee of the Union League 
 of America, which notified Mr. Lincoln of his re-nomination in 1864. He has written 
 much for publication, including novels and short stories, principally of a political 
 
68 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 nature, his "Bristling With Thorns" being a study of Southern character. Mr. Beard 
 inherited a large property, which now occupies his time, consisting mainly of the Erie 
 Basin, Columbia Basin, and Amity and Congress streets warehouses in Brooklyn. He 
 married Elizabeth Mossgrove in Steubenville, O., and has five children, IdaM. Welton, 
 Ula Lanphere, Mary D. Perkins, Anson McCook Beard, and William Mossgrove Beard. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY BEARD, contractor, born in Richmond, Mass., Oct. 12, 1839, 
 died Jan. 31, 1893. He was a son of the late William Beard, and gained an excellent 
 education in private schools and Kinderhook Academy. He then devoted himself to 
 the construction of improvements and public works under contract. Beginning with 
 a section of the brick conduit through which Brooklyn derived its supply of water, 
 he built twenty miles of sewer in that city, excavated Baislie's Pond, constructed parts 
 of The Sea Beach and The Manhattan Beach Railways, and the water works in Middle- 
 town, Conn., and fulfilled numerous other important contracts. The wharves and 
 improvements at the Erie Basin were superintended by him. Mr. Beard inherited a 
 large estate from his father, but his own rugged abilities and energy would have made 
 him a man of fortune without that aid. Contract work led him into various auxiliary 
 enterprises, and he was president of The W. H. Beard Dredging Co. and senior partner 
 in Beard & Kimpland, the largest dealers in wharf building materials in the United 
 States. His brothers and he owned a large interest in wharves and stores in Brooklyn. 
 He was a director in The Kings County Bank, member of the Oxford and Union League 
 clubs of Brooklyn and The Society of Old Brooklynites, a presidential elector and 
 member of the Republican State Committee eight years. His children were William, 
 Edith and Henry S. Beard. 
 
 GEORGE BECHTEL, brewer, born in Germany, Nov. 17, 1840, died on Staten 
 Island, June 16, 1889. While an infant of six months, he was brought by his parents 
 to America. Acquiring an education at the Columbia College grammar school, upon 
 the completion of his course, he entered, at the age of eighteen, as apprentice, the 
 brewery which his father had established at Stapleton on Staten Island in 1853. A 
 strong, hearty, energetic young man, he mastered every detail of the brewing business 
 ajid gained the experience to which, coupled with natural ability, was due the great 
 success which he afterward achieved. 
 
 From 1860 to 1865, he occupied the position of superintendent of the establish- 
 ment, and, while serving in this capacity, erected the first ice house ever operated in 
 connection with a brewery in the Eastern States. In 1865, he leased the property from 
 his father and, in 1870, purchased the entire interest, becoming sole proprietor. Finding 
 the old quarters inadequate to the demands of a rapidly increasing business, Mr. Bech- 
 tel, in 1871, built the present commodious brewery, giving special attention to its 
 thorough equipment. So energetically was the work of erection pushed, that ten 
 weeks after the first stone had been laid, brewing had been resumed. The continued 
 increase of his business grew out of the high excellence of all his productions. In 
 1876, his beer received the award of the Centennial Exposition; in 1877, the medal of 
 the Gambrinus Verein of New York; in 1878, a gold medal at the Paris Exposition; 
 and in 1879, the first prize at the Fair in Sidney, New South Wales. After an analy- 
 sis of his beer, Professor Doremus pronounced it pure and free from all deleterious 
 substances. 
 
 Mr. Bechtel's activity was by no means confined to his own business. He took a 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BE. 69 
 
 leading part in all public and benevolent movements upon Staten Island. During the 
 draft riots in 1863, he sheltered numbers of unfortunate negroes, for which protecting 
 kindness the colored people of the island hold him in grateful remembrance. Upon 
 the incorporation of the village of Edgewater, Mr. Bechtel was elected trustee in the 
 face of strong opposition. From 1871 to 1879 he took no prominent part in politics, 
 but in 1879, he received a joint nomination by the Republican and Democratic parties 
 for supervisor and was elected by an overwhelming majority. Thereafter, the people 
 re-elected him annually for a number of years. When he first took office, Richmond 
 county bonds sold for 80 cents on the dollar, taxes ruled at eight per cent. , and the vil- 
 lage of Edgewater was in debt $125,000. When he retired, his good management had 
 resulted in payment of the village debt, a reduction of taxes to two per cent., and a rise 
 in value of the bonds to 1.12. Mr. Bechtel not only greatly improved the condition 
 of the public highways, but succeeded in refunding the $50,000 war debt at four per 
 cent, and a premium of i 1-2 per cent., a record not equalled in any other county in 
 the state. 
 
 In 1879, he attended the Democratic state convention as the first delegate ever 
 elected from Richmond county, was three times re-elected, and twice its first vice 
 president. While in the convention, he was appointed by the first Congressional dele- 
 gation a member of the state and executive committees of the party. 
 
 Mr. Bechtel's interest in public affairs did not cause him to neglect his industry 
 on Staten Island. He became so noted as a brewer, that in 1879, his establishment 
 was visited by the Japanese Embassy, in company with the Secretary of State and other 
 officials. The foreigners, delighted with what they saw, gave Mr. Bechtel an order 
 for 100,000 bottles for shipment to Japan. Upon reaching their own country, they 
 sent him many flattering letters and a pair of costly vases, in token of appreciation and 
 esteem. By reason of his large investments, he rose to be the largest individual tax 
 payer on Staten Island. Among his possessions, he acquired a water front of nearly 
 eighteen hundred feet, having an average water depth of thirty feet at low tide. He 
 created an extensive and complete brewery plant with commodious offices, handsomely 
 furnished and decorated, their general design being that of the Queen Anne period. 
 A feature of the establishment is the Russian bath house, laid in cement with imported 
 white and blue tiles. The brewery stables, which are models of cleanliness and com- 
 fort, commanded the special commendation of Mr. Bergh, president of The Society for 
 the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, of which society Mr. Bechtel was a member. 
 Previous to his improvement of the Edgewater roads, he was obliged to stable his 
 horses in New York city, employing a steamboat for their conveyance to and from the 
 island. 
 
 To Mr. Bechtel's influence and activity, the growth of Richmond county in his 
 time was largely due. He possessed foresight and judgment, was quick to discern the 
 need of improvements, and prompt to carry them to completion. He was the first to 
 introduce refrigerating machines and the electric light on Staten Island. Personally 
 genial in nature, kind and companionable, he was, like most other men, ambitious for 
 wealth, and acquired it by hard work. He held it with no miser's grasp, however, 
 and was liberal in gifts to public and private charities, ever ready to extend a helping 
 hand to the deserving poor. Many poor families on Staten Island were the recipients 
 of his bounty. It was his intention to found upon Staten Island a hospital for unfor- 
 
70 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 tunates of all sects and nationalities, but his death prevented the completion of this 
 enterprise, upon the execution of which he had already entered, purchasing a house 
 and fitting it up with hospital appliances. The building has since been transferred to 
 The S. R. Smith Infirmary, a worthy institution, which sold the property and with 
 the proceeds erected a new pavilion, which in honor of the donor has been named the 
 "Bechtel" ward. When it was found that several thousand dollars were yet needed to 
 make the ward all which could be desired, Mrs. Bechtel promptly supplied the money 
 for its completion. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Bechtel was married to Miss Eva Schoen, of New York city, who, 
 with four daughters and one son, survived him. 
 
 CHARLES BATHQATE BECK, philanthropist, who died in Richfield Springs, 
 N.Y., in October, 1893, derived a large property in land, in 1887, from his mother and 
 his uncle, Dr. James Bathgate. It consisted mainly of a farm, located originally in 
 what was Westchester county but now included within the northern boundaries of the 
 city corporation and the centre of a thickly populated district. This estate had already 
 become valuable. At his death, Mr. Beck willed the greater portion of his possessions 
 to Dr. Parkhurst's Society for the Prevention of Crime, Columbia College, The Presby- 
 terian Board of Home Missions, and The New York and The Presbyterian Hospitals, 
 making specific legacies of $100,000 to The First Presbyterian Church of West Farms 
 and about $55,000 to various local charities and societies. 
 
 NELSON HARVIN BECKWITH, merchant, born in Cazenovia, N. Y., 1807, died 
 in New York city, Sept. 24, 1889. He was a son of Judge Beckwith, a member of the 
 convention which drafted the State Constitution. In his earlier years, he filled various 
 mercantile positions in Canada and Europe, but about 1835, returned to New York, 
 where he began the importation of coffee and spices, being at one time in partnership 
 with George W. Dunscomb. He was at one time president of The Mutual Fire Insur- 
 ance Co. In 1852, he retired temporarily, but in 1857 went to Hong Kong to become 
 managing partner of the great mercantile house of Russell & Co., remaining there 
 three years. It was due to his efforts that American steamers obtained control in 
 Chinese inland waters. Removing to Paris in 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War, 
 he and Consul General John Bigelow proved largely instrumental in preventing the 
 departure of certain Confederate vessels from French ports. At the Paris Expo- 
 sition of 1867, Mr. Beckwith served as Commissioner General for the United States 
 and won the high regard of Napoleon III., who bestowed upon him the Cross of the 
 Legion Of Honor. In 1876, he represented New York State at the Centennial Expo- 
 sition. He was married in 1842 to Frances, daughter of Colonel Grant Forbes. His 
 wife died in 1885. Their children were Leonard, who married the daughter of 
 Edwards Pierrepont; Arthur, an artist; and a daughter. Vice president of The 
 vSociety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, he was also actively connected with 
 the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a member of the Century and Union clubs. 
 
 HENRY BEDLOW, capitalist, descendant of an old family, was born Dec. 21, 
 1821, on Harman street, now East Broadway, in this city. Isaac Bedlow, founder of 
 the family in America and owner of Bedlow's Island in New York harbor, who immi- 
 grated from Leyden, Holland, about 1639, was a son of Godfrey Bedlow, physician to 
 William, Prince of Orange. In 1668, the island to which he gave his name, came 
 to him by purchase, and there he made his home. One son in each generation has 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BE. 7 1 
 
 since represented the family. William, grandfather of Henry Bedlow, served as one 
 of the commissioners to survey and establish the Military Academy at West Point, and 
 married Catherine, sister of Col. Henry Rutgers. His son, Henry, father of the 
 subject of this sketch, was the heir at law of Col. Henry Rutgers (in the event of the 
 Colonel dying intestate) and inherited property also from an aunt. Henry Bedlow, son 
 of the last named, studied under private tutors at Yale University, and graduated later 
 from Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the bar, but, instead of engaging in 
 litigation in the courts, he then studied medicine, both at home and in France. Early 
 in life he became an attache of the American Legation at Naples. He also served in 
 1848 as assistant physician of the American expedition to the Dead Sea. While 
 thoroughly a New Yorker, Mr. Bedlow long ago made Newport, R. I., his home, and 
 held the office of Mayor of that city in 1875, 1876 and 1877. The local press described 
 him as a splendid Mayor. A Union man during the war, educated, genial, public 
 spirited and clear headed, he is a worthy descendant of a noble family. March 2, 1850, 
 he married Josephine Maria De Wolf Homer, daughter of Fitzhenry Homer of Boston. 
 Their children are Harriet Hall, widow of Lieut.-Comm'r Francis Morris, U. S. N., and 
 Alice Prescott, wife of William Henry Mayer. Mr. Bedlow's clubs are the Reading 
 Room, Casino, Golf and Harvard clubs of Newport, and the Players' and Union League 
 of New York. 
 
 HENRY RUTGERS BEEKMAN, Judge of the Superior Court, a lawyer of recog- 
 nized ability and a member of the well-known Beekman family, was born in the city of 
 New York, Dec. 8, 1845. His paternal ancestors came from Holland and his maternal 
 ancestors from Ireland. He is a lineal descendant of Gerardus Beekman, at one time 
 Governor of New York. Gerardus Beekman was Major under Jacob Leisler and a 
 member of the Council at the time of the Revolution of 1688. After the arrival of 
 Governor Slaughter, when Leisler was condemned and executed for treasonable con- 
 duct in refusing to give up New York, Gerardus Beekmen was one of the eight who 
 were condemned with him but recommended to the Governor's mercy. He gained his 
 liberty, and in 1700 became Lieutenant Colonel under Governor Belmont, afterward 
 becoming a member of Governor Cornbury's Council. 
 
 When Governor Ingoldby was removed, Gerardus Beekman was made President 
 of the Council and acting Governor, filling this position until the arrival of Governor 
 Hunter in 1710. He afterward became a member of Governor Hunter's Council, 
 which office he held until his death, which occurred in 1728. He was also a physician 
 and a wealthy landowner. 
 
 Another member of this distinguished family was William Beekman, who sailed 
 with Peter Stuyvesant to the New Netherlands, and was an officer in the West India 
 Company and an alderman in New York under English rule. 
 
 Judge Beekman's mother was the daughter of William Neilson, a prominent New 
 Yorker. 
 
 At the age of sixteen, the young man entered Columbia College and soon became 
 known as a careful and industrious student. He graduated in 1865 and took up the 
 study of law in the Columbia Law College, from which he graduated, being admitted 
 to the bar in 1867. He enjoyed a lucrative and growing practice almost from the 
 beginning. Previous to his election as Judge of the Superior Court, he was a member 
 of the law firm of Ogden & Beekman. 
 
j 2 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 As a citizen, Judge Beekman is broad-minded and patriotic and widely known as a 
 political reformer. He has held a number of appointive and elective offices, the first 
 being that of school trustee for the Eighteenth Ward in 1884. Then followed his 
 appointment in 1885, by Mayor Grace, as Park Commissioner. In 1886, he was elected 
 President of the Board of Aldermen, for which office he was nominated by the United 
 Democracy. In 1888 he was appointed by Mayor Hewitt, Counsel to the Corporation 
 of the City of New York, to succeed Morgan J. O'Brien, who had been elected Judge 
 of the Supreme Court. He was subsequently appointed by Governor Hill a member 
 of the Commission for the Promotion of Uniformity of Legislation in the United States 
 on Marriage, Divorce and other laws, all of which offices he has filled to the great 
 advantage of the city and the State. As Corporation Counsel, he gained the reputation 
 of being the most forcible and effective official who had ever appeared before the legis- 
 lative committees at Albany. 
 
 He advocated, when President of the Board of Aldermen, the establishment of 
 small parks for the city, and in 1887 succeeded in having a bill passed in the Legisla- 
 ture which embodied his ideas. While a member of the Park Board, he was an ardent 
 worker in behalf of the maintenance of public baths for the poor, to be erected in the 
 small parks situated in the thickly populated portions of the city. 
 
 For some years past, he has taken an active part in attempts to obtain legislation 
 which would enable the city of New York to secure adequate rapid transit facilities. 
 He drew the bill for the Chamber of Commerce which passed the Legislature in 1894, 
 reconstituting the Rapid Transit Commission and authorizing municipal construction of 
 a rapid transit road when sanctioned by a vote of the people, and on Nov. 6, 1894, this 
 measure was ratified by them. He was appointed Counsel to the Board by the Rapid 
 Transit Commissioners. 
 
 Mr. Beekman was nominated in 1894 by the Committee of Seventy for Judge of the 
 Superior Court. He received the support of all factions except Tammany Hall and 
 was elected by an overwhelming vote, his plurality over his opponent, Judge Truax, 
 being 40,019. 
 
 Judge Beekman is a member of the Union, Century, University, Manhattan, City, 
 and Democratic clubs. He was married in New York city, in 1870, to Isabella Law- 
 rence, daughter of Richard Lawrence, an old and prosperous East India merchant. 
 They have four children, Josephine L., William F., Mary E., and Henry R. Beekman. 
 
 JAflES WILLIAfl BEEKMAN, land owner, born in New York city, Nov. 22, 
 1815, died here, June 15, 1877. He was descended from Wilhelmus Beekman, the com- 
 panion of Peter Stuyvesant and was a second cousin of Henry R. Beekman. After 
 graduation from Columbia College, he came into possession of a large property from 
 his father, which was increased by inheritance from his uncle, James Beekman, of the 
 family estate in New York city on East River, near 52d street. Beekman Hill ran 
 from 42d to 5 5th streets on the East River, and thereon stood the old Beekman man- 
 sion, a place of historic interest, by reason of its prominence in the American Revolu- 
 tion. Mr. Beekman made this old mansion his home. He figured to some extent in pub- 
 lic affairs, and in iSsowaschosen State Senator from New York city, serving two terms. 
 Erastus Corning, Thurlow Weed and he attended the Peace Convention in Washington 
 in 1 86 1 as delegates Mr. Beekman made generous use of his means in charitable work. 
 The New York Hospital, of whieh he was vice-president, The Women's Hospital, 
 

74 
 
 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 of which he was president, and The New York Dispensary, of which he was a direc- 
 tor, found him a useful official, in consequence of his careful study of hospital methods 
 in England and on the Continent. Always proud of his connection with the original 
 settlers of the Island of Manhattan, he was a prominent member of The New York 
 Historical Society and president of the St. Nicholas and Century Societies. Two sons 
 and two daughters survived him. 
 
 JULIUS BEER, merchant, a native of Germany, was born Sept. 1,1832. After 
 roaming around the world for a year or two, visiting South America in 1848, and then 
 taking ship for California, he settled in San Francisco in 1849, and in tne firm of Weil 
 &Co., engaged in the tobacco trade. In 1865 he came to New York to manage the 
 affairs of the firm in this city. The San Francisco house was given up in 1874. Mr. 
 Beer is a large importer of leaf tobacco from Havana, and is now sole member of the 
 house of Weil & Co. He has made himself thoroughly at home in New York, is a 
 supporter of Mount Sinai Hospital, Montefiore Home, and other charities, and belongs 
 to several societies. In 1868 he married Sophia Walter, and has six children living. 
 
 EDWIN BEERS, lumber merchant, born in Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y., in 1821, 
 died in Brooklyn, Nov. 18, 1894. While a lad of thirteen, he came to the city of Brooklyn 
 and grew up in the insurance business, first as boy and clerk, and later aiding in the 
 organization of The Phenix Insurance Co., of which he was a director for many years. 
 Later yet, he became one of the organizsrs and secretary of The Montauk Insurance 
 Co. In 1860, Mr. Beers entered the firm of H. N. Conklin, Son & Beers, lumber deal- 
 ers, who were succeeded by Beers & Resseguie. His lumber yards supplied an im- 
 mense quantity of lumber for .the construction of homes and stores in Brooklyn. Pos- 
 sessing the power of acquisition, he gained a fortune, through the investment of which 
 he became, for twenty years, president of The Broadway Railroad of Brooklyn; di- 
 rector of The First National Bank of the Eastern district and The Nassau Gas Co; 
 chairman of the executive committee of The Long Island Loan & Trust Co. ; and trus- 
 tee for The Dime Savings Bank. For many years Mr. Beers served as vestryman in 
 the Church of the Holy Trinity and treasurer of The Church Charity Foundation. He 
 was also identified with The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences and The Brooklyn 
 Art Association, and helped found the Adelphi Academy. An adventurous tempera- 
 ment led him in early life into the militia and gained for him a commission as Lieuten- 
 ant Colonel, when 24 years old. During the War, he served as a captain in the 23d 
 Regiment. His widow, a daughter of the late Seymour L. Husted, and two children 
 survive him. 
 
 JOSIAH BELDEN, merchant, a native of Cromwell, Conn., born May 4, 1815, died 
 in New York city, April 23, 1892. He was a descendant from one of two brothers, 
 who settled in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1645, his mother being Abigail McKee. Left 
 an orphan at the age of fourteen, and entirely dependent upon his own exertions there- 
 after, his early life was full of toil. In 1830, he found a place as dry goods 
 clerk in New York, then learned the silversmith's trade in Albany, sailed before the 
 mast to Liverpool, and drifting South, became a merchant in Yazoo City, Miss. In 
 May, 1841, Mr. Belden started, with a party of thirty pioneers, for the Pacific Coast, 
 taking the overland route and arriving after six months of hardship and privation, liv- 
 ing on coffee and horse meat the latter part of the journey. At Monterey, in 1842, he 
 made arrangements with Thomas O. Larkin to take charge of a branch store at 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BE. 75 
 
 Santa Cruz, and, from that time, was successfully engaged in mercantile pursuits. 
 When Captain Jones, of the frigate "United States," took possession of California for 
 the Government, Mr. Belden was appointed Alcalde of Santa Cruz, and, with his own 
 hands, raised the American flag in California for the first time. He returned to Mon- 
 terey in 1845, and in 1846 removed to San Francisco, then a village of about twenty 
 houses, engaged in business, and two j-ears later opened a store in San Jose. In 1 849, 
 he retired from active business, thereafter investing his means successfully in real 
 estate in San Francisco. First Mayor of San Jose in 1850, he made that town his 
 summer home, building a fine house there in 1855, in a park of ten acres of ground. 
 During the Civil War, his contributions to the sanitary fund were notably large. Mr. 
 Belden was married Feb. i, 1849, to Sarah Margaret Jones, of San Jose, who had 
 crossed the plains in 1846 with her father's family. His children are Charles A. Belden, 
 of San Francisco ; George F. Belden, of Cincinnati ; Mary E., wife of Luis F. Emilio; 
 Laura J., wife of George Rutledge Gibson, and Louise A., wife of Lewis M. Iddings. 
 Mr. Belden established his home in New York in 1881, and was a member of the Union 
 League club of New York and the Pacific Union club of San Francisco, and a director 
 of The New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad. He owned a large amount of real 
 estate in New York, as well as in -San Francisco, and bore a reputation for the highest 
 integrity in all commercial relations. 
 
 fllLO flERRICK BELDING, silk manufacturer, was born in Ashfield, Mass., April 
 3, 1833. He is a son of Hiram Belding, a merchant, and grandson of John Belding, 
 who served in the war of the Revolution. The family is one of the oldest as it is one 
 of the most public spirited and influential in the United States, having been planted 
 here in 1635. The old homestead, built in 1800, is now in the possession of Mr. 
 Belding' s son. 
 
 Milo received an education at the Shelburne Falls academy, and spent his vaca- 
 tions in the wholesome labor of a farm. He began life when seventeen years of age, 
 with $20, borrowed from an uncle. Investing this small sum in sewing silk, bought 
 from a manufacturer in Northampton, he sold the goods in the towns of western 
 Massachusetts. The trip proved a financial success. Believing that the silk business 
 presented an excellent field for his vigorous enterprise, Mr. Belding took a position in 
 the firm of W. M. Root & Co., of Pittsfield, Mass., with whom he remained till 1858. 
 He then purchased a team and again became a travelling merchant in the eastern dis- 
 tricts of the commonwealth. His father and two brothers removed to Michigan in 
 1858, and, in 1860, Milo began sending them small invoices of silk thread to sell. The 
 success of this experiment led Mr. Belding, in 1 863, with two of his brothers, to estab- 
 lish a silk house in Chicago, and, in 1865, one in New York city. Of the latter he took 
 charge in person. In 1866, they started a silk factory in Rockville, Conn., having 
 leased a floor in a mill for that purpose. The brothers were very capable men and 
 pushed their industry with so much vigor that they were able in 1869 to buy the mill in 
 Rockville and occupy the whole of it. Later, it was greatly enlarged. In 1874, they 
 built a second silk mill in Northampton, Mass., and later one in Belding, Mich., the 
 latter a thriving city, founded by the family in Otisco township, which has grown up 
 around the industries they have established. They now have in operation five large 
 silk mills, including, besides the three mentioned, establishments in Montreal, Canada, 
 and Petaluma, Cala. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BE. 77 
 
 Mr. Belding is now at the head of the firm of Belding Bro's & Co., of New York 
 city, the largest silk manufacturing house in the world, and the chief emporium for the 
 distribution of the products of their factories. They employ about 3,000 operatives and 
 consume in the manufacture of various kinds of silk goods about 2,500 pounds of raw 
 silk per day, a daily consumption of raw silk which is not excelled by any firm in the 
 world. Branch houses are maintained in Boston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, 
 Chicago, St. Paul, Baltimore and San Francisco. 
 
 Mr. Belding has built up a city of over 5,000 inhabitants at Belding, Mich., where 
 the family have large real estate and manufacturing interests, including two silk mills 
 and a handsome fireproof hotel and opera house and various minor industries. He is 
 president of The Livonia Salt & Mining Co., at Livonia, N. Y., where salt is mined 
 from native beds in the earth, the works having a capacity of 3,000 tons of salt in 
 twenty-four hours. From his marble quarries at Gouverneur, N. Y. , a beautiful gray 
 marble is produced, resembling granite and splendidly adapted to building and monu- 
 mental purposes. Among his other possessions, are large interests in mining and tim- 
 ber lands in North Carolina and Tennessee, mining properties in the Harlem valley, 
 and a ranch in Montana, besides an ownership in numerous commercial enterprises. 
 He has been since its organization president of The Commonwealth Fire Insurance Co. , 
 and is also president of The American Union Life Insurance Co., both of New York 
 city. Few men display the ability to manage so many independent enterprises with so 
 much skill, energy and success. Strong in personality, sound in judgment, and com- 
 manding large capital, he wields great influence in the world of affairs, and is one of 
 the men of constructive temperament who rank among the best examples of patriotic 
 and energetic American manhood. 
 
 In 1856, Mr. Belding was married to Emily C., also of Revolutionary ancestry, 
 daughter of William Leonard, of Ashfield, Mass. They have one son, Milo 
 Merrick Belding, jr. Too greatly occupied to give any important share of his time to 
 purely social relaxation, Mr. Belding is a charming companion nevertheless in private 
 life, and is a member of the Colonial club, Chamber of Commerce, Sons of the Revo- 
 lution, American Geographical Society, Silk Association, and several other like organ- 
 izations. 
 
 ROBERT LENOX BELKNAP, a gentleman of high social position, was born in 
 New York city, July 23, 1848. The surname of his family is of Norman origin, having 
 been originally spelled Belleknappe. It is supposed to have indicated a "beautiful 
 hill," and is first found recorded in English history about the year 1067, on the roll of 
 the Battle Abbey. Several men of the name achieved distinction in their day. Their 
 lives can be traced through the histories of Kent and Warwickshire. Sir Robert 
 Belknap, Knight, who died in 1400, Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas dur- 
 ing the reign of Richard II, possessed considerable land in the counties of Kent and 
 Sussex. His son, Sir Hammond Belknap, Knight, who died in 1428-29, was made Lord 
 Treasurer of Normandy. Sir Edward Belknap, born 1471, grandson of Sir Hammond, 
 had the custody of Warwick Castle in 1502, and the rank of Esquire of the Body to 
 King Henry VIII. The name cannot at present be found in England, nor has the 
 connection of the American family with the English family been established, except 
 by the fact that the early members in this country used the same arms as borne by 
 the English family. The American family is descended from Abraham Belknap. who 
 
78 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 came to this country about 1625 and settled in Salem, Mass.. where he died in 1643. 
 The subject of this biography is descended from this Abraham Belknap through 
 Joseph Belknap of Boston, Mass, who died Nov. 14, 1712; Thomas Belknap of 
 Woburn, Mass., who died Oct. 15, 1755; Samuel Belknap, who died Jan. i, 1771; Abel 
 Belknap of Newburgh, N. Y., who died Nov. 15, 1804; Aaron Belknap of Newburg, 
 N. Y., who died March 14, 1847; and his father, Aaron Betts Belknap, a practicing 
 lawyer in New York city, who died June 4, 1880. His grandfather, Aaron Belknap of 
 Newburgh, married his cousin, Mary Josepha Lydia Stearns Belknap, who died July 
 20. 1862, and was the daughter of Capt. Samuel Belknap of Woburn, Mass., commander 
 of a, company of the ad Regiment of militia of Middlesex county, Commonwealth of 
 Massachusetts, and took part in the campaign for American independence, which began 
 with the Lexington alarm. Mrs. Belknap's brother, Samuel Belknap, who died May 
 19, 1845, was the father of Gen. William Goldsmith Belknap of the United States 
 Army, who served during the War of 1812 and the Mexican War and was the father of 
 Gen. William Worth Belknap, Secretary of War under the_ Presidency of General Grant. 
 Robert Lenox Belknap's mother was Jennet Lenox, the daughter of Robert Maitland 
 of New York and Eliza Sproat Lenox, his wife, the latter being the daughter of Robert 
 Lenox, a conspicuous merchant of the early part of the present century in New York. 
 Mr. Lenox was the brother of Major David Lenox of Philadelphia, President of The 
 United States Bank, an officer of the Pennsylvania Continental Line during the Revo- 
 lution. Mr. Maitland was of Scotch descent and a direct descendant of Thomas de 
 Mautlant, who died in 1228. 
 
 The subject of this sketch prepared for college at the Collegiate school under the 
 late George Payne Quackenboss, LL.D., and entered Columbia College, from which 
 he graduated in 1869. The same year he received the degree, ad cumici/i, from the 
 college of Princeton, New Jersey, and in 1872, the degree of A. M. from Columbia 
 College. He is a member of the Psi Upsilon and Phi Beta Kappa college fraternities. 
 
 In 1866, while yet a student, Mr. Belknap entered the 7th Regiment, N. G. , S. N. Y., 
 the favorite military organization of this city, which then, as now, contained many 
 members of the leading families of the city. After six years of experience, he was in 
 1872 commissioned upon the staff of the First Brigade, First Division. In 1880 he 
 retired from active service, resigning his commission as Lieutenant Colonel and Assis- 
 tant Adjutant General, and being commissioned Colonel by brevet. During 1875 ne 
 served as Acting Assistant Inspector General of the State of New York. 
 
 Mr. Belknap inherited a large property from his father and mother, which he has 
 since doubled by his own efforts. The management and improvement of various large 
 properties now fully occupies him. His success is frequently pointed to as a proof that 
 the "college man in business " is capable of displaying the highest qualities of the 
 practical and executive faculty. From 1878 to 1888, he was treasurer of The Northern 
 Pacific Railroad Co., and is president of The Northern Trust Co., of Wisconsin, presi- 
 dent of The Duluth Gas and Water Co., director of The Land and River Improvement 
 Co., and trustee of The Real Estate Trust Co., of New York. 
 
 One of the most generous of men in the promotion of philanthropic work in this 
 city, he has lent the influence of his name to several important charitable and educa- 
 tional institutions. His service on several boards has been especially long and credita- 
 ble. Since 1877, he has been a manager of The Presbyterian Hospital, and was its 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BE. 79 
 
 treasurer, 1880-92. He has been a manager of The American Bible Society since 
 1879, and of The New York Lying-in Hospital since 1881. The Presbyterian Church 
 on University Place elected him a trustee in 1882, and he retains this relation to the 
 present time, having been president of the Board since March, 1884. Since 1887, he 
 has been a trustee of the Theological Seminary in Princeton, N. J. 
 
 A man of cultivated tastes, genial in nature, broad and patriotic in his views, 
 animated by generous sentiments, and a charming companion, he is one of the leaders 
 of the social life of the city. His clubs are the Union, Union League, University, Down 
 Town, Columbia Alumni, New York Yacht, and Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht clubs. 
 In the right of his great grand uncle, Major David Lenox, he enjoys the distinction of 
 membership in The Society of the Cincinnati, and by virtue of descent from Samuel 
 Belknap and Abel Belknap, his great grandfathers, is a member of The Sons of the 
 Revolution. He has also joined The Society of Colonial Wars. 
 
 Mr. Belknap was married Feb. 3, 1870, to Mary P , daughter of Henry Rutgers 
 Remsen, and his children are : Robert Lenox, jr. , Waldron Phoenix, Mary Remsen, 
 Jennet Maitland, Elizabeth and Maitland Belknap. 
 
 GEORGE BELL, shipping merchant, born in New York city, April 8, 1804, died 
 at his home, No. 20 West zoth street, Dec. 9, 1881. His life was a busy one, not 
 especially eventful, and prosperous. A partner with his father for a number of years 
 on South street, his mind occupied with ships, cargoes and questions of foreign trade, 
 he carried on the business afterward on his own account and gained a large fortune. 
 He was senior director of The National Fire Insurance Co. , and a director of The Butch- 
 ers and Drovers' Bank, at his death. His estate descended to his daughter, Catherine 
 B. Bell, and various collateral relatives. 
 
 ISAAC BELL, jr., capitalist, born in New York, Nov. 16, 1846, died here, Jan. 
 20, 1889. He was the son of Isaac Bell, a prominent citizen of New York, who held 
 many positions of trust and served for years as Commissioner of Charities and Correc- 
 tion and member of the Board of Education. His mother, Adelaide, was a daughter of 
 Dr. Valentine Mott. Isaac Bell, his grandfather, was an old time shipping merchant 
 of this city in the East India trade. Isaac, jr. , as the subject of this sketch always 
 called himself, was educated in private schools and at Harvard College. He began life 
 as clerk in the bank of Brown Bro's & Co., and proved a competent business man. 
 Becoming finally interested in the cotton trade, first at Savannah, Ga., and afterward 
 as a member of the firm of Arthur Barnwell & Co. , of Charleston, he established two 
 houses, one in New Orleans and one in New York city, under the name of Isaac Bell, 
 jr. , & Co. He inherited means, but was a shrewd, upright and successful merchant 
 and retired with a fortune in 1877. He was married, in 1877, to a sister of James Gor- 
 don Bennett, and in 1880 made Newport, R. I., his home. Three children were born 
 to them, Isaac, Nora and Rita. Mr. Bell took an active part in the campaign of 1884, 
 as a Democrat, and was in 1885 appointed by President Cleveland Minister to the Neth- 
 erlands. He attended the St. Louis Convention in 1888 as a delegate from Rhode 
 Island. The Union and New York clubs of this city claimed him as a member. 
 
 AUGUST BELMONT, banker, born in Alzey, now a province of Prussia, Dec. 6, 
 1816, died in New York, Nov. 24, 1890. His father was a banker and land proprietor. 
 At the age of fourteen, he secured a position as errand boy in the banking house of 
 the Rothschilds at Frankfort, and three years later was their clerk in the branch at 
 
8o 
 
 Naples. He proved efficient, took charge of the Naples branch, and there managed 
 some of the enormous financial transactions of the Rothschilds. At the age of twenty- 
 one, he came to New York as the agent of his employers and settled the affairs of 
 their branch in this city, which had suspended during the panic of 1837. Soon after- 
 ward, he embarked in banking on his own account, with moderate capital, but large 
 experience and abundance of energy, continuing to represent the Rothschilds. His 
 business was greatly prospered. In 1841, he fought a duel over a point of honor, in 
 which he was wounded, with the result of being lamed for life. Becoming a citizen of 
 the United States, he identified himself with the Democratic party. From 1844 to 
 1850 he was Consul General for the Austrian Government, and in 1853 was appointed 
 United States Charge d' Affaires at the Hague. In 1854, he was made Minister Resi- 
 dent, resigning in 1858, having first negotiated a highly important consular convention, 
 for which, with other diplomatic services, he received the special thanks of the depart- 
 ment at Washington. Upon his return to New York, he resumed banking and estab- 
 lished the house of August Belmont & Co., which is yet carried on by other members 
 of the family. He served the National Democratic Committee, 1860-72, as chairman 
 of that body. Mr. Belmont joined the Manhattan, Union, Knickerbocker, American 
 Jockey, Coney Island Jockey and New York Jockey clubs, and, for many years, ranked 
 as a social leader of New York. Wealth enabled him to gratify a liking for fine horses^ 
 his stable sheltering many noted animals. His wife was a daughter of Mathew Gal- 
 braith Perry, brother of Commodore Perry, the hero of Lake Erie. To them were 
 born Perry, August and Oliver H. P. Belmont, a daughter who married Samuel S. 
 Howland, and Jane Pauline and Raymond, who died while young. His son, PERRY 
 BELMONT, lawyer, born in New York city, Dec. 28, 1851, graduated from Harvard 
 College in 1872, and from Columbia Law School in 1876. Being admitted to the bar, 
 he practiced his profession until 1881. Having established his home in Oyster Bay, on 
 Long Island, he was, in 1880, elected to Congress. He served four successive terms, 
 until March 4, 1887. During his first term, he was a member of the Committee on 
 Foreign Affairs, and came into notice through his examination of James G. Blaine, 
 concerning the latter's supposed interests in the guano deposits of Peru, and his media- 
 tion between Chili and Peru while Secretary of State. In 1885, he was made chairman 
 of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, but resigned in 1888 to accept the position of 
 Minister to Spain. Mr. Belmont has an interest in the banking firm of August Belmont 
 & Co., but has taken no active part in its management, his inclinations being in the 
 direction of public and social life. He has joined many of the best clubs in town, in- 
 cluding the Metropolitan, Democratic, Manhattan, Bar, Union, Knickerbocker, Univer- 
 sity, Harvard, Racquet, Coaching, Country, Liederkranz, Fencers' and South Side 
 Sportsmen's clubs. AUGUST BELflONT, banker, son of August Belmont, was born in 
 New York city, Feb. 18, 1853. Graduating from Harvard College in 1875, he entered 
 the bank of August Belmont & Co. where he soon proved a competent, clear-headed, 
 and prudent banker. He is now at the head of August Belmont & Co., the American 
 representatives of the Rothschild bank abroad. In 1881, he married Bessie Hamilton 
 Morgan, and has three sons, August, Raymond and Morgan. The family make their 
 country home at Hempstead on Long Island. Mr. Belmont is a director of the Bank 
 of the State of New York, The National Park Bank, The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 Paul Railway, The Louisville & Nashville Railroad, The Manhattan Trust Co., The 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BE. 8 1 
 
 Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. and The Kings Count}- Elevated Railroad. 
 He was at one time president of The New York Athletic Club, is one of the organizers 
 of the annual Patriarchs' Ball, and a member of more than twenty of the best clubs in 
 New York, including the Union, Manhattan, Knickerbocker, Country, Lawyers', Down 
 Town, Coaching, City, Harvard, and several of the nunting and yachting clubs. 
 
 ELIAS CORNELIUS BENEDICT, banker and stock broker, born Jan. 24, 1834, 
 is a son of the Rev. Henry Benedict. His native place is Somers in Westchester 
 county, N. Y. The family was planted in America by Thomas Benedict, an immi- 
 grant from Nottinghamshire, England, in 1638. At the age of sixteen, Elias, without 
 means and with only a fair education, began to master the mysteries of stock broker- 
 age, as clerk in the employ of Corning & Co., in New York city. In 1857 he opened 
 an office of his own on Wall street, displaying the sign of Benedict & Co. , and for 
 nearly forty years has been one of the most active, ingenious and indefatigable opera- 
 tors in the whirlpool of this centre of speculation. The Gold Exchange Bank, which 
 grew out of gold speculation during and after the war, originated with him. He has 
 always dealt largely in investment securities, and has especially represented transac- 
 tions in the stocks of gas companies. Mr. Benedict is a Democrat in political faith, and 
 an intimate friend of President Cleveland. His clubs are the Manhattan, Players' and 
 City, and several yachting organizations. 
 
 HENRY HARPER BENEDICT, one of the partners in the firm of Wyckoff, Seamans 
 & Benedict, who have attained a world-wide reputation as the manufacturers of the 
 Remington Typewriter, is a man of education and a successful and highly respected 
 citizen. 
 
 He traces his descent through a long line of worthy and capable ancestors, extending 
 back to William Benedict, who was living in Nottinghamshire, England, in the year 
 1500. William's great-grandson, Thomas Benedict, was born in Nottinghamshire, 
 England, in 1617, and came to America in 1638. He lived first on Long Island at 
 Southold, Jamaica and Huntington, and later in Connecticut. The first of the name of 
 Benedict in America, he was a notable man in his day. He was a deacon, and aided 
 actively in the founding of the first Presbyterian Church in America, at Jamaica. He 
 held a number of local offices on Long Island, and was appointed by Governor 
 Nichols a delegate to what is believed to have been the first legislative body ever 
 convened in New York, to settle "good and known laws" for the inhabitants of Long 
 Island. From 1670 to 1675, he served as a member of the General Assembly of the 
 State. Mr. Benedict died in Norwalk, Conn., in 1690. 
 
 His son James constituted one of the eight men who bought the land and settled 
 the city of Danbury, Conn. , and here James, grandson of the emigrant, was born in 
 1685, the first white male child of the place. John, a son of James, was a member of 
 the Connecticut Legislature for many years and acquired the title of Captain in military 
 service. His son James moved to Ballston, N. Y., after the Revolution, thence tf> 
 Auburn in 1793. The men of this line were all pioneers, enterprising and courageous, 
 and they acquired in the life of the frontier a self-reliance of character and sturdiness 
 of constitution which have always characterized the family. 
 
 Elias, the son of James, came to Herkimer county, N. Y., about 1790, and built the 
 
 log cabin in which his son Micaiah, the father of Henry Harper Benedict, was born in. 
 
 1801. Both Elias and Micaiah bore a man's part in the subjugation of the wilderness. 
 
82 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Micaiah Benedict was a remarkable man. He attended school one summer, when 
 about seven years old, and never received a day's farther training in any other school 
 than that of experience. Nevertheless he became a man of extended learning. A local 
 historian says "that which made him erudite was reading, thinking and remembering" 
 through his whole life. He read the best books diligently, and, possessing a wonderful 
 memory, merited more fully than many others to whom the term has been applied the 
 soubriquet of a ''walking encyclopedia." An ardent Democrat, he admired Andrew 
 Jackson, and served as a local magistrate for many years. He cast his last vote as a 
 Democrat for Franklin Pierce, and then became a Republican and remained such until 
 his death in 1881. He was an enthusiastic member of the Masonic order, and lectured 
 much on the subject of Masonry. For several years he occupied the position of Deputy 
 Grand Master in this State. 
 
 Henry Harper Benedict was born in German Flats, Herkimer county, N. Y., Oct. 
 9, 1844. His father, anxious that the boy should receive that scholarly tuition which 
 had been denied to himself, educated Harper at the public schools and at Little Falls 
 Academy and Fairfield Seminary in Herkimer county. Later the young man spent 
 some time at Marshall Institute at Easton, N. Y., and then enjoyed the regular course 
 at Hamilton College, being graduated therefrom in 1869. At college he joined the 
 Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. 
 
 The young man was an excellent student, and aided in his own education by 
 serving during 1867 and 1868 as professor of Latin and the higher mathematics in Fair- 
 field Seminary. 
 
 After completing his college course, Mr. Benedict entered the employment oi 
 E. Remington & Sons, manufacturers of rifles and guns at Ilion, N. Y. , in a confi- 
 dential position. He -won the respect of his employers at an early period, and showed 
 so much zeal and talent that he was elected in time a director of the corporation oi 
 E. Remington & Sons, and treasurer of The Remington Sewing Machine Co. With 
 characteristic energy he identified himself heartily with the local interests of Ilion, and 
 for thirteen years was regarded one of the most valued citizens of the place. He 
 helped to organize the First Presbyterian Church there, and served as an elder, 
 trustee and treasurer therein. He was also president of The Herkimer County -Bible 
 Society. When The Ilion Literary Association was formed, he became one of its lead- 
 ing spirits, and for many years its president. This association held annual courses of 
 lectures, and Mr. Benedict's duties as president brought him the acquaintance of many 
 of the most prominent people in the country. 
 
 In 1882, having been admitted to membership in the firm of Wyckoff, Seamans & 
 Benedict, he removed to New York city to engage in the sale of Remington typewrit- 
 ers. This remarkable invention made slow progress at first, but, once in practical use 
 among a number of firms, won its way rapidly into public favor. The machine has 
 been advertised with great ingenuity and energy, and its sale is now world- wide. In 
 1886, the firm purchased the entire typewriter plant of the Remingtons, including all 
 rights and franchises, and have since conducted the manufacture as well as the sale of 
 the machine, attaining a remarkable success. 
 
 In 1884, Mr. Benedict made a first trip to Europe in the interest of his firm, and 
 "has since been abroad many times, both for business and for pleasure. In his trips, 
 his family usually accompanies him. He has had charge of the foreign department of 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BE. 83 
 
 his firm's business, which is now firmly established, with connections in every part of 
 the world. 
 
 In 1867, he married Maria Nellis, daughter of Henry G. Nellis, and granddaughter 
 of General George H. Nellis, of Fort Plain, N. Y. They have one child living, a 
 daughter, fifteen years of age. Their home has been at 1 1 6 Willow Street, Brooklyn 
 Heights. Mr. and Mrs. Benedict are members of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian 
 Church in New York city, Dr. John Hall's, but attend the Church of the Pilgrims in 
 Brooklyn, the Rev. Dr. Storrs, pastor. Their daughter is a member there. Mr. Benedict 
 is a member of the Hamilton club and Long Island Historical Society in Brooklyn, and 
 of the Grolier, Republican, Delta Kappa Epsilon and Arkwright clubs in New York. 
 
 A man of refined tastes, he has made a collection of engravings and etchings by 
 the great masters, which is of the highest quality, perhaps unsurpassed by any other of 
 its size anywhere. He also possesses a good library and a collection of oil paintings, 
 mostly by American artists, which, like his prints, represent the several artists at 
 their best. 
 
 JAflES GORDON BENNETT, 'proprietor of The New York Herald, born in New 
 York city, May 10, 1841, is the son of James Gordon Bennett, founder of Tke Herald. 
 He was carefully educated, chiefly by private tutors, and prepared for journalism. It 
 was a cherished wish of the elder Bennett to see his son at the head of The Herald. The 
 latter was thoroughly trained in all branches of the newspaper business, and on the 
 death of his father in 1872 inherited both a fortune and The Herald. He has continued 
 the management of his successful morning journal down to the present time, exercis- 
 ing constant and careful supervision over both the business and editorial management. 
 While a resident of Paris, France, during recent years, his interest in the management of 
 The Herald never relaxes, the cable telegraph placing him in daily, almost hourly, com- 
 munication therewith. He has originated many remarkable enterprises, including 
 publication in England of storm warnings transmitted from the United States, the 
 Jeanette polar expedition, and the sending of Stanley to Africa in search of Living- 
 stone. He published for a time a London edition of The Herald, and conducts a suc- 
 cessful Paris edition. In 1883, with John W. Mackay, he organized The Commercial 
 Cable Co., which laid a new cable between America and Europe, to compete with the 
 combined English and French lines, and after a prolonged and anxious war with the 
 older cable companies, scored a triumphant success. Tlie Herald long occupied a site at 
 the corner of Ann street and Broadway but was recently moved to a beautiful building 
 on Broadway at 35th street. Mr. Bennett has always taken great interest in open air 
 sports, being a good horseman and a first rate yachtsman. While a resident of New 
 York city, he was the life of yachting, high class racing on the turf, polo, and kindred 
 sports; and his removal to Paris was a serious loss to the lovers of open air recreations. 
 He retains a home in New York, but owns houses also in Paris, and is a member of 
 the Union, Metropolitan, Racquet, Country, Coaching, New York Yacht, and New 
 York Athletic clubs of this city, the Meadow Brook Hunt, the Eastern Yacht club, 
 and other social organizations 
 
 JOSIAH S. BENNETT, merchant, a native of Connecticut, who died in this city, 
 June 6, 1887, in his seventieth year, was one of the old race of business men, whose use- 
 ful activities did so much to promote the growth of New York during the first half of 
 the present century. A nephew of Jonathan Sturges, he was a partner in Sturges, 
 
84 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Bennett & Co., for twenty years, and retired with ample means about 1865, being there- 
 after occupied with investments and the enjoyment of well earned rest. His wife sur- 
 vived him. 
 
 ADOLPH BERNHEIMER, merchant, born in Buttenhausen in the Suabian Alps, in 
 1833, died in this city, Oct. 19, 1894. Educated in a commercial institute in Bamberg, he 
 secured an apprenticeship in a wholesale dry goods house in Furth, Bavaria. He came 
 to New York city in 1852 and took his place as a clerk in the store of Bernheimer Bro's 
 & Co., a large dry goods house. Three years later, he was admitted to partnership, 
 and, as their buyer, made frequent trips to Europe. He conceived the idea of having 
 certain cotton fabrics made in this country, which he was in the habit of buying in 
 Manchester, and was operating factories in Rhode Island, when the outbreak of the 
 Civil War made the industry unprofitable. After the war, the firm of Bernheimer 
 Bro's was dissolved, and Mr. Bernheimer then began on his own account the manu- 
 facture of dyed and printed cotton fabrics. He was one of the pioneers of this industry 
 in the United States, all such goods having been previously imported from England, 
 and was largely instrumental in introducing American cotton goods into the West 
 Indies, Mexico and Central America. The surviving members of his family are his 
 wife Fannie, and three children, Leopold A. and Rosie Bernheimer and Mrs. Florence 
 B. Walter. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and of the Merchants' 
 Central chib, and conspicuous for his generous contributions to worthy charities. 
 
 ISAAC BERNHEIMER, clothing merchant, born in Jebenhausen, Germany, June 
 n, 1813, died in this country, July 23, 1893. He received his education in his native 
 land, but left school at fourteen to learn the trade of cotton manufacturing. After nine 
 years of toil in this occupation, he came to the United States in 1836 to establish a 
 business connection, and liked the country so much that he resolved to stay, thus 
 becoming the pioneer of his family in this country. In Cincinnati, he engaged in the 
 clothing and dry goods trade, afterward removing to Philadelphia and later to New 
 York, where he joined his brothers in this business. He retired in 1866, devoting his 
 attention thereafter to real estate, mining ventures, and The Central National Bank and 
 The Germania Life Insurance Co., of which he was a director. By his marriage with 
 Isabella W. Arnold of Philadelphia in 1846, he had eight children, Jacques A , Charles 
 D., and Meyer A. Bernheimer, Mrs. Kate Drey, Mrs. Charles Blum, and. Cora A., 
 Blanche A. , and Alice A. Bernheimer Many charitable societies have cause to re- 
 member him with gratitude. 
 
 SIMON BERNHEIF1ER, clothing merchant, was born in Jebenhausen, Germany, 
 Nov. 20, 1819. He came to the land of freedom and business opportunities in 1838, 
 spent two years in Cincinnati, and then in 1840, joined his brothers, Herman and 
 Emanuel, in the clothing trade in New York. Isaac joined them later. Having 
 amassed a fortune, he retired from business in 1866, and since has lived quietly in town 
 in the management of investments. Since its organization, he has been a director of 
 The Central National Bank. By his marriage with Rosetta Gosling, in 1846, Mr Bern- 
 heimer is the father of twelve children, of whom the following are yet living: Jacob 
 S., Mayer S., Irving and Lorin Bernheimer, Mrs. Addie Seligman, Mrs. Lillie Lilien- 
 thal, and Beatrice Bernheimer. 
 
 SIMON E. BERNHEIflER, brewer, born in New York city, Nov. 26, 1849, is of Ger- 
 man descent and a son of the late Emanuel Bernheimer, a merchant and brewer for many 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BE. 85 
 
 years of this city. After graduation from a commercial college, he served a year each in 
 the dry goods and clothing trades to gain experience, and then, about 1865, entered the 
 Lion Brewery, on io8th street. There he learned the mysteries of brewing. In 1878, 
 he assumed charge of the business, when the old firm of Bernheimer & Schmid, com- 
 posed of Emanuel Bernheimer and Joseph Schmid, proprietors of the establishment, 
 were succeeded by their sons, Simon E. Bernheimer and August Schmid, under the 
 same name. When originally started, the brewery was a very small one, but it grew 
 rapidly after the War, and the new partners developed the business to large propor- 
 tions, making it one of the largest in the city. Mr Bernheimer is a bachelor. He 
 takes a lively interest in the societies of the Hebrew race, and is liberal in his charities. 
 
 NATHAN BERNSTEIN, wholesale meat merchant, a native of Nassau, Germany, 
 born in 1830, died in Brooklyn, Oct. 7, 1894. Beginning life as a journeyman butcher, 
 he sailed for America in 1849, settled in Brooklyn, resumed the occupation in which he 
 had been trained, and during over forty years of active promotion of this honest trade 
 attained wealth. The large abattoirs he established in Brooklyn gave employment to 
 many men. He was a Hebrew by descent and a warm supporter of the charities of his 
 race in Brooklyn. 
 
 DAVID BETTnAN, oil producer, a native of New York city, was born July 9, 1848. 
 He is a son of Abraham Bettman, merchant. After graduating from the College of the 
 City of New York, he acquired an experience in mercantile pursuits as clerk for 
 Bernheimer Bro's and, in 1867, for Adolph Bernheimer, the latter a manufacturer of 
 cotton goods. In 1869, he became a partner in Adolph Bernheimer & Co. The house 
 dissolved in 1884 Like his brother Marcus, he invested his savings in petroleum 
 properties in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, West Virginia and Indiana, and his firms 
 of Stettheimer & Bettman, J. Stettheimer & Co., and Bettman & Watson are among 
 the largest individual oil producers in the United States. In 1880, Mr. Bettman was 
 married to Ida, daughter of Herman Bernheimer, and their children are Roland and 
 Harold. 
 
 MARCUS ABRAHAM BETTnAN, merchant and oil producer, was born in this 
 city, June 19, 1845. He is of German Hebrew descent, and a son of Abraham Bettman, 
 by occupation a dry goods merchant in this metropolis, who had emigrated hither in 
 1840. Marcus attended the public schools and the College of the City of New York un- 
 til the age of seventeen, and then found employment as a clerk with Bernheimer Bro's 
 and afterward with Bernheimer & Newman, merchants. A vigorous and capable man, 
 he rose to a partnership and when the firm dissolved in 1870, he joined that of Bern- 
 heimer, Son & Co., remaining until 1890. He was drawn to the oil fields of Pennysl- 
 vania in 1878, and has engaged in producing, with so much animation and perseverance, 
 that the oleic treasures of the earth have brought him a fortune. No less than 850 oil 
 wells belong to him, wholly or in part, in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, 
 Ohio and Indiana, through his connection with the firms of J. Stettheimer and Co., 
 Bettman & Watson, and Bettman, Watson & Bernheimer. His brother David and he 
 are classed among the largest oil producers in America, and they own a machine plant 
 in Belmont, W. Va., in which are made the boilers, engines, tools, and other appliances 
 required in their oil operations. Marcus is also the owner of much improved realty 
 in New York and other cities. In 1874 he was married to Emma, daughter of Herman 
 Bernheimer, and their children are Mabel, Gladys, Edyth and Man-in Bettman. Mr. 
 
; 86 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Bettman is a director of The Fourth National Bank and a member of The Manhattan 
 Club, which occupies A. T. Stewart's old marble mansion on Fifth avenue. 
 
 SOLOMON BEUTHNER, capitalist, born in 1824, died in New York city, June 5, 
 1889. A hard-headed, sturdy, positive man, he went to New Mexico in early life, 
 fought his way through all the trials which beset the pioneers, and was at one time a 
 partner of Lucien B. Maxwell, proprietor of the well-known Maxwell Land Grant. He 
 aided in the development of mining industries in the Territory, and had, besides his 
 office in New York, branches in Toas and Santa Fe. In his later years, he engaged in 
 mining in Germany, and amassed a fortune from his various enterprises. They called 
 him the " king of New Mexico." Self-made, unassuming and honest, he was a sterling 
 citizen. 
 
 ISAAC BIERMAN, merchant, a native of Germany, was born Dec. 31, 1824. He 
 is of Hebrew ancestry. Properly educated in German schools, he turned his face to- 
 wards the new world in 1845 and after a few years of honest occupation on this coast, 
 followed the Argonauts to California in 1849. Two years in that rough region sufficed 
 and he returned, locating in Pittsburg, Pa., as a clothing merchant. Thrifty, indus- 
 trious and capable, he fared so well in the smoky city, that he was able in 1 880 to estab- 
 lish himself in a large clothing business in New York. He is yet a member of Bier- 
 man, Hiedelberg & Co., on Broadway, but gives his time now almost wholly to The 
 Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews, of which he is a director. Various other Hebrew 
 societies engage his attention also. He was married in 1848 to Miss Frowenfeld of 
 Pittsburg. 
 
 ABRAHAM BININQER, wine importer, born in New York city, April 3, 1816, 
 died in New York, April 16, 1894. He was of Swiss descent, his ancestor, Christian 
 Bininger, having come to this country in 1640. His grandfather, a resident of Wash- 
 ington county, N. Y., settled in New York city in 1776, and established the grocery 
 and wine firm of A. Bininger & Co., long and favorably known throughout the 
 United States and Europe. His son, Jacob Bininger, succeeded to the firm, and died 
 in 1737, when he was succeeded by his son Abraham. The subject of this sketch was 
 educated in Bethlehem, Pa., and by private tutors, and then travelled extensively through 
 Europe and the East. Returning, he became occupied with wine and grocery importa- 
 tions in the old firm. He inherited means, and gained a yet larger share of this world's 
 possessions by his own business talents. In 1846, he was married to Elizabeth, daugh- 
 ter of Alonzo Draper, once American Consul in Paris. Mrs. Bininger was lost at sea 
 on. the Ville du Havre, in 1873. His children are Miss E. D. Bininger; Harriet, wife 
 of Frederick A. Post, of London; William B. Bininger, and Frances, wife of the late 
 Francis R. Rives. A man of social accomplishments, he was a member of the Union 
 and New York Yacht clubs and of the St. Nicholas Society, and one of the founders 
 of the Knickerbocker club, of which his son, William B. Bininger, is a member. 
 
 HENRY BISCHOFF, banker, a native of Baden, near Bremen, in Germany, was 
 born Sept. 9, 1827. His father was Bruno Bischoff a lumber merchant and brick 
 manufacturer at Baden and Ohsen on the Weser. Educated by private tutors, he 
 served an apprenticeship with Waltjen & Co., merchants of great prominence at that 
 time in Bremen. He came to this country in 1847, an <l after a careful survey of possi- 
 bilities, began, in March, 1848, the importation of fruit and wines, adding thereto the 
 making of remittances of money and the collection and sale of bills of exchange, a then 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BJ. 87 
 
 prevalent part of the business of all old country merchants. After 1858, he devoted 
 himself exclusively to banking and founded the now prominent banking house of 
 Bischoff & Co., of which he is the head. He owns valuable real estate in the metrop- 
 olis. Mr. Bischoff has always stood well in this city and his family have exerted a 
 strong influence in local affairs. In 1850, he married Amalie Louise Bolte, now de- 
 ceased, daughter of Frederick Bolte, and their children are Emily, now deceased, wife of 
 Paul von Frankenberg; Henry; Ernest, deceased; Franklin J. ; Amanda, wife of Ferdi- 
 nand von Graberg ; and Ottilie, wife of Theodore Brenzing. Henry Bischoff, jr. , is judge 
 of the Court of Common Pleas. The family lives at City Island on the Sound during 
 the summer season. Mr Bischoff is a director of The Union Square Bank; was one 
 of the earlier members of the German Liederkranz; and is among the oldest living 
 members of The German Society. He is also a patron of The Isabella Heimath, 
 founded by Mrs. Ottendorfer. 
 
 GEORGE HENRY BISSELL, founder of the petroleum industry, born in Han- 
 over, N. H., Nov. 8, 1821, died in New York city, Nov. 19, 1884. His family, Nor- 
 man French in origin, was planted in this country by emigrants from Somersetshire, 
 England. John Bissell settled in Windsor, Conn., in 1635. Isaac Bissell, father of 
 George H., a native of Connecticut, traded with the Indians for furs at Mackinaw and 
 Detroit during his earlier years; married Miss Nancy Wemple, daughter of John Wem- 
 ple, who owned a large estate on the Mohawk river, near Johnstown, N. Y. ; and died 
 when George was twelve years old. The latter graduated from Dartmouth College in 
 1845, earning his own support meanwhile, accepted a Greek and Latin professorship in 
 the University of Norwich, Vt., and was then successively Washington correspondent 
 for The Richmond Whig until 1846, a traveller in the West Indies, a journalist in New 
 Orleans, principal of the High School there, and Superintendent of Schools. He re- 
 signed in 1853 to come North on account of his health. During that summer he saw 
 a bottle of petroleum at Dartmouth College, which had come from Oil Creek, Pa. 
 Realizing intuitively the commercial value of petroleum, he went to Titusville and 
 with J. G. Eveleth as a partner leased about 200 acres of land, paying therefor $5,000. 
 In 1854, in New York city, the two men organized The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Co., 
 the first petroleum company ever formed in the United States. By trenching, they har- 
 vested a few barrels of oil per season, selling the product mainly for medecine at one 
 dollar a gallon. In 1855, Mr. Bissell became a lawyer, and was admitted to the bar. 
 The same year, he reorganized the oil company with Prof. Silliman as president. The 
 discovery of small quantities of petroleum in a salt well at Pittsburgh, suggested the 
 idea of boring artesian wells on Oil Creek. Their efforts, at first fruitless, were finally 
 crowned with success. Aug. 28, 1859, the first vein of oil was reached by boring. A 
 natural flow of ten barrels a day was increased by pumping to forty barrels a day; and 
 a new industry then took its place in the commercial world. The excitement which 
 followed is historic. Mr. Eveleth died in 1863. Mr. Bissell retained his connection 
 with the industry for many years, built a railroad in the oil regions and established 
 several banks there. After 1863, he dwelt in New York city, and made large purchases 
 of real estate here. In October, 1855, he- was married to Ophie Louise Griffin, who 
 died in 1867. Their children were Pelham St. George and Florence Wemple 
 Bissell. His son, PELHAfl ST. GEORGE BISSELL, real estate owner, was born in 
 New York city, Dec. 5, 1858. Isaac Bissell and Captain John Wemple, his great grand- 
 
88 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 fathers, served for several years in the War of the Revolution, and other ancestors 
 were also soldiers in that war. Mr. Bissell received an excellent education at Columbia 
 College, graduating in 1880. He then found occupation as a dealer in real estate and 
 has continued therein down to the present time. A large amount of excellent real 
 estate on Broadway and other important streets, has descended to him from his for- 
 bears ; and the continual expansion of this emporium adds fresh value to his posses- 
 sions. The Adirondacks Pulp Co. was organized by him, afterward being merged in 
 The International Pulp Co. Mr. Bissell is a member of the New York Athletic and 
 Columbia Alumni clubs and The Sons of the Revolution, as well as a life member of 
 The New York Historical Society. His wife is Helen Alsop French, daughter of 
 Colonel Thomas J. French, and they have one child, Pelham St. George Bissell, jr. 
 
 JOHN MUNSON BIXBY, lawyer, born in the beautiful village of Fairfield, Conn., 
 in February, 1800, died in New York city, Nov. 21, 1876. He was son of William 
 Bixby, and grandson of Elisha Bixby, a captain in the American Revolution, who was 
 promoted for gallant service at the storming of Stony Point. John began the study of 
 law in Wilkes Barre, Pa. , where he remained about two years, coming then to New 
 York city. Here he enjoyed a large and successful practice, retiring in 1849. He in- 
 vested his means in real estate in New York, from which he realized great gains. His 
 son, Robert F. Bixby, now receives an annual ground rent from the Union League 
 club larger in amount than his father paid for the property. In 1849 ^ r - Bixby mar- 
 ried Miss Mary W. Poe, a cousin of Edgar Allan Poe, the poet. Three children were 
 born to them; Robert F., Grace S., and Berkeley Bixby. Mrs. Bixby died in 1854. 
 Mr. Bixby was a man of scholarly tastes, and the author of two novels, "Standish the 
 Puritan," and "Overing, or the Heir of Wycherly," both of which were published in 
 New York. His son, ROBERT FORSYTH BIXBY, lawyer, was born near Augusta, 
 Ga., April 14, 1850. Through his maternal lins, he is a great great grandson of David 
 Poe, who served from Maryland in the War of the Revolution, and great, great, great, 
 great grandson of Sir William Beverly, Governor of Virginia. Graduating from 
 Trinity College in 1870, he fitted himself for the law at the Law School of Columbia 
 College. His father's death brought upon him the care of a large property, which he 
 has managed with excellent skill. He owns the Casino Theatre and property, the 
 ground whereon the Union League club stands, and a few scattered dwellings, includ- 
 ing a residence on Fifth avenue at 4oth street. He has joined the Union, University, 
 City, Union League, Calumet, Lawyers', Bar, New York Athletic, Trinity Alumni, 
 Liederkranz, Alpha Delta Phi, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht, and other clubs and as- 
 sociations. 
 
 EUGENE GILBERT BLACKFORD, merchant and banker, famous among ichthy- 
 ologists the world over, is a son of Gilbert L. Blackford, a carriage maker, and WHS 
 born in Morristown, N. J., Aug. 8, 1839. At the age of fourteen, the lad found em- 
 ployment in New York city and tried several occupations as a clerk, without finding 
 that which suited him, finally leaving A. T. Stewart's wholesale store to enter the fish 
 market of Middleton, Carman & Co. on Fulton street. In a few years he opened his 
 own stand in Fulton Market, and is now the proprietor of thirteen stands there and the 
 largest dealer in fish, turtles, crabs, oysters and lobsters in the country. In one year, 
 . his sales have amounted to 33,000,000 pounds, about three-fourths of the total of Fulton 
 Market. The now popular idea of signalizing April ist, the opening day of the trout 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BL. 89 
 
 season, with an exhibition of live trout in tanks, originated with him. Since 1879 he 
 has been officially connected with the restocking of lakes and streams, and the hatching 
 of food fish, being for thirteen years president of the State Fish Commission. In spite 
 of the pressing duties of public and commercial life, he finds time to serve as president 
 of The Bedford Bank in Brooklyn and director of The City Savings Bank of Brooklyn, 
 The People's Trust Co., The Hide & Leather Bank, and The Schermerhorn Bank. 
 His clubs are the Manhattan, Reform and Fulton of New York, and the Union League, 
 Hamilton, Oxford, Brooklyn and Montauk of Brooklyn. 
 
 BIRDSEYE BLAKEMAN, book publisher, born in Stratford, Conn., Jan 25th, 
 1824, died in Stockbridge, Mass., his country home, Sept. 30, 1894. He learned the 
 requirements of business in Bridgeport, and began as a merchant on his own account 
 in that city in 1843. In 1844 he moved to Albany, N. Y., and soon afterward to New 
 York city, joining a book house, where his excellent judgment and sound sense soon 
 marked him as a rising man. A few years later, he was admitted to partnership in 
 Sheldon, Blakeman & Co., and remained with them until 1863, when he entered the old 
 book publishing firm of Ivison, Phinney & Co., which after twice changing its name 
 adopted that of Ivison, Blakeman & Co. The firm dissolved Jan. i, 1891, having sold 
 its school book interests to The American Book Co. Mr. Blakeman was made presi- 
 dent, retaining the position until 1893, when he refused re-election, being then succeeded 
 by David Ivison, son of his former partner. He was also president of the Spencerian Pen 
 Co. Mr. Blakeman headed the electoral ticket of the Republican party in New York 
 State in 1 884, being always a devoted Republican in politics. A man of quick discern- 
 ment and accurate judgment, courageous, upright and generous, he enjoyed the respect 
 of every business associate and the affection of a wide circle of friends. To his native 
 village he gave a public library, which cost more than $25,000. He was connected 
 with many of the important clubs of this city, including the Union League, Century, 
 Grolier, Ladies' and Aldine, and The New England Society. The surviving members 
 of his family are, his wife, Anna M., daughter of Dr. John Tomlinson, to whom he was 
 married Jan. 30, 1850, and his children, Louis Henry Blakeman and Marianna, wife of 
 John V. B. Lewis. 
 
 ANTHONY JAHES BLEECKER, auctioneer, born on his grandfather's farm in 
 Xew York city, Oct. 20, 1799, died in New York, Jan. 17, 1884. He was a son of 
 James Bleecker and grandson of Anthony Lispenard Bleecker, and came from the old 
 family which owned the estate through which Bleecker street now passes. Educated 
 in Dr. Eigenbrodt's school at Jamaica, Long Island, he began life as an auctioneer with 
 his father. In 1862, President Lincoln appointed him Assessor of Internal Revenue in 
 this city, and he served for six years. The taxes in his district were larger than in any 
 other in the United States, Alex. T. Stewart alone pa3>ing $460,000. At one time, he 
 also served as United States Marshal of the Southern District of New York. Politics 
 interested him early in life and he was the oldest Sachem in Tammany Hall at the time 
 of his death, although he was one of those who, in 1855, started the Republican party, 
 and a candidate for Mayor of New York in 1856 on the Fremont ticket. Owing to the 
 land proprietorship of his family, he was led at an early day into a real estate business 
 and became one of the noted auctioneers of this class of property. He conducted many 
 important sales. He sold the Tallman estate, near Central Park, for $1,500,000, and 
 Dr. Valentine Mott's property for $1,000,000. The annual sales by Mr. Bleecker 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BL. gi 
 
 amounted to millions, and it was his jocular boast that he had sold the Island of Man- 
 hattan, twice over. He certain!}' knew what the Island was worth, because he appraised 
 its realty in 1871, amounting to $247,000,000. With Judge Jones of Orange county, 
 Mayor William V. Brady, Cornelius W. Lawrence, Collector of the Port, and George 
 H. Purser, he laid out the Hudson River Railroad, and was chairman of the other com- 
 mission which extended Central Park from io6th to noth street, his associates being 
 Richard Kelly, now president of The Fifth National Bank, and Hawley D. Clapp, pro- 
 prietor of the Everett House. One of the stewards of The St. Nicholas Society, he 
 enjoyed the friendship of Washington Irving. Richard Grant White says that he had 
 no rival in his knowledge of Shakspeare. In October, 1825, Mr. Bleecker married 
 Cornelia, daughter of John Van Benthuysen, of Poughkeepsie. The children born to 
 them were, John Van Benthuysen Bleecker, who died during the war ; Sarah Bache 
 Bleecker, who died in 1867 ; Helena, who died in 1833 ; and James Bleecker, successor 
 to his father as an auctioneer. Mr. Bleecker was a vestryman of Trinity Church, as 
 were his father and grandfathers, and is buried in the family vault of that church yard. 
 
 CORNELIUS NEWTON BLIS5, merchant, a man of sturdy physique, clear mind, 
 and unquestioned force and probity of character, has, from a modest beginning, made his 
 way to the front in the business life of the United States and especially of the metrop- 
 olis, by honorable business methods and an unconquerable determination to succeed. 
 
 He was born in Fall River, Mass., in 1833. His ancestry was English, originating 
 in Devonshire and belonging to the yeoman class, which owned and tilled its own land. 
 They were Puritans of sturdy convictions and suffered persecution for conscience sake. 
 Mr. Bliss's immigrant ancestor came to America in 1633, settling first at what is now 
 Weymouth, but becoming later one of the original settlers of Rehoboth, Mass. The 
 father of the subject of this sketch moved to Fall River and died there at the age of 
 twenty-six, when Cornelius was an infant. The mother remarried and moved to New 
 Orleans, but the boy remained in Fall River in charge of his mother's family until he 
 had graduated from the common schools and Fiske's Academy. Thus at an early age 
 he was compelled to accept the responsibility and endure the labors which toughen a 
 man's fibre and develop his manhood. At fourteen, the lad went to New Orleans and 
 completed his school life there in the High School of that city. 
 
 He then entered mercantile life, gaining his first acquaintance with the require- 
 ments of trade in the counting room of his stepfather. After a brief experience there, 
 he returned North and secured a position in the house of James M. Beebe & Co. , of 
 Boston, then the largest dry goods importing and jobbing house in the country. He 
 proved a valuable clerk and solely upon his merits was in time admitted as a partner to 
 the firm succeeding J. M. Beebe & Co. In 1866, he became a member of the dry goods 
 commission house of J. S. & E. Wright & Co. Upon the death of the senior partner, 
 this firm was reorganized as Wright, Bliss & Fabyan; and later, it became Bliss, 
 Fabyan & Co., of Boston, New York and Philadelphia, and as such remains, having now 
 grown to be one of the leading commission dry goods houses in the United States, its 
 members highly esteemed and its trade one of great proportions. They occupy a large 
 store on Duane street at its junction with Thomas street, in the very heart of the down- 
 town wholesale dry goods district, their sign being one of the landmarks of that busy 
 region. The New York house has been conducted under the direct personal super- 
 vision of Mr. Bliss for many years. 
 
92 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Since his removal to New York, Mr. Bliss has entered heartily into every move- 
 ment which would promote the growth and welfare of this town. Few public spirited 
 projects fail to receive his contribution of time or money, and in all the numerous ad- 
 mirable schemes which have emanated from among his colleagues of the Union League 
 Club, he has taken a cordial interest. Mr. Bliss's strong character, high social standing 
 and financial strength have caused him to be much sought after as a trustee in financial 
 institutions in this city, the character of whose directorate is the important element in 
 securing the public confidence. He is a director and vice-president of The Fourth 
 National Bank (once having served as its acting president), The Central Trust Co., 
 The American Surety Co., The Equitable Life Assurance Society, The Home Insur- 
 ance Society, and other important institutions, and is governor and treasurer of The 
 Society of the New York Hospital. 
 
 Always an active and loyal Republican in politics, Mr. Bliss has, however, never 
 sought public office and has never occupied official station, except as a member of the 
 International Conference in Washington, D. C., in 1889-90. A Cabinet position was 
 tendered to him during the term of President Arthur, but he declined that honor as 
 well as the suggestion of nomination for various elective offices. 
 
 While too preoccupied to serve his countrymen in public station, he has, however, 
 labored with energy to promote the practical work of his party. In 1884, he was Chair- 
 man of the Committee of One Hundred, appointed at a public meeting of the citizens 
 of New York to attend the Chicago Convention and urge the nomination of the Hon. 
 Chester A. Arthur to the Presidency. The committee failed to gain their object, and 
 thereupon became loyal supporters of Mr. Elaine. He has been for several years a 
 member of the Republican County Committee in New York, and was chairman of the 
 New York Republican State Committee in 1887 and 1888, as well as treasurer of the 
 Republican National Committee in 1892. He has long been a director, and is now 
 president, of The Protective Tariff League, which carries on a persistent appeal to the 
 reason and patriotism of the people of America in favor of the American system of 
 protection to domestic industry. 
 
 The social standing of Mr. Bliss is exhibited by his membership in the Union, Cen- 
 tury, Union League, Riding, Metropolitan, Merchants', Player' and other first-class 
 clubs, and in several of the public-spirited societies, which have developed the intellect- 
 ual and artistic life of the metropolis and filled the city with great museums and build- 
 ings of public importance. 
 
 ELIPHALET WILLIAHS BLISS, of Brooklyn, manufacturer, born at Fly Creek, 
 in Otsego county, N. Y., April 12, 1836, is the son of John Stebbings Bliss, a 
 physician, whose ancestors were English and settlers of Springfield, Mass. He was 
 educated in the public schools and Fort Plain seminary, and began life as a farmer. 
 Before the age of sixteen, he entered a machine shop in his native county, served there 
 until twenty-one, and then spent seven years in the Parker Machine Shops of Meriden, 
 Conn., as foreman. In 1866 he removed to Brooklyn, N. Y., and then in 1867 
 founded there the machine shops, which have since grown through his ingenuity and 
 constant perseverance into the corporation of The E. W. Bliss Co., now employing 600 
 men. The plant comprises extensive buildings and machine shops for the manufacture 
 of tools, presses, dies, and patented articles of various kinds. Mr. Bliss supplied some 
 of the material for the Brooklyn Bridge, and has had contracts with the United States 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BL. 93 
 
 for projectiles and torpedoes. He has pursued this business with great success, and is 
 largely interested in improved real estate and city railroads in Brooklyn, being vice- 
 president of The Brooklyn Heights Railroad. He is also connected with The Brooklyn 
 Gas Fixture Co. Mr. Bliss was married, June 19, 1865, to Miss Anna E., daughte 
 of Charles H. Metcalf, and there has been born to them one daughter, Eva M., now 
 wife of James Warren Lane, of New York. Mr. Bliss dwells on the heights at Bay 
 Ridge, and is a member of the Manhattan and New York Yacht clubs of New York, and 
 The Hamilton, Atlantic Yacht, Brooklyn, Marine and Field, and Ridge clubs of Brooklyn. 
 
 GEORGE BLISS, banker, was born in the beautiful village of Northampton, Mass., 
 April 21, 1816. 
 
 The Bliss family in America is descended from the best Puritan stock. Tradition 
 represents them as living in the South of England, where they belonged to that staunch 
 class known as English yeomanry. From time immemorial, they regarded with extreme 
 disfavor the lax manners of the clergy and laity, and incurred the enmity of King 
 Charles I. by determined opposition to the court religion and their manifest resolution 
 to maintain their own views. The first, of whom there is trusworthy information, was 
 Thomas Bliss of Belstone Parish, County of Devonshire. A wealthy landowner, he 
 belonged in religion to the Puritans, so called on account of the simplicity and purity 
 of their forms of worship, and was persecuted by the civil and religious authority 
 under the direction of Archbishop Laud, maltreated and imprisoned, and finally ruined 
 in health and fortune by the indignities and hardships heaped upon him. The ani- 
 mosity of the dominant church party extended to the sons of Thomas Bliss, two of 
 whom, Thomas and his younger brother, George, turned their eyes to the new world 
 as an asylum, in which they could enjoy liberty of conscience. In the autumn of 1635, 
 the two young men embarked, with their families, for the wilderness of America. 
 Landing at Boston, Thomas located at Braintree, Mass., whence he afterward moved 
 to Hartford, Conn. He died in 1640, and his widow and children subsequently 
 removed to Springfield, Mass. From this family are descended most of those of the 
 name of Bliss in the old county of Hampshire. George, after remaining for a few years 
 at Lynn and Sandwich, Mass., finally settled in Newport, R. I. They maintained their 
 sturdy independence of character, and bore with fortitude the deprivations and hard- 
 ships which were the lot of the hardy pioneers of the new civilization. From Thomas 
 and George Bliss have descended large families, many of whose members have attained 
 eminence in the various walks of life. 
 
 George Bliss, the subject of the present sketch, is of the ninth generation in de- 
 scent from the original Thomas, and in the eighth from Thomas Bliss, the pioneer in 
 1635. His father was William Bliss, and his mother, Martha Parsons, daughter of 
 Timothy Parsons, of the same place. From these excellent parents, George inherited 
 a strong constitution, great natural ability and stern probity of character. With such 
 educational advantages as were afforded by the local schools, he began life in 1832 as 
 clerk in a dry goods store in New Haven, Conn. Here his diligence, fidelity and 
 intelligence soon won recognition, and after remaining less than five years in a 
 subordinate capacity, he was admitted to a partnership with his employer, the firm 
 taking the name of Sanford & Bliss. He continued in this firm for seven years. In 
 1844, he removed to New York city to become a partner in the firm of Chittenden, 
 Bliss & Co., jobbers of dry goods, which, while it continued, attained a commanding 
 
94 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 position in the wholesale trade. After its dissolution, Mr. Bliss continued in the same 
 business under firm names of Phelps, Bliss & Co. and George Bliss & Co., until 1869, 
 when he retired to engage in banking. 
 
 In that year Mr. Bliss associated himself with the firm of Levi P. Morton & Co. , 
 in the business of banking, under the name of Morton, Bliss & Co. The firm, with 
 their London branch of Morton, Rose & Co., now stand in the front rank among the 
 , financial institutions of this country. While dealing largely in foreign exchange, this 
 house has conducted an extensive business in investment securities and effected 
 numerous important railroad negotiations. Their conservatism, sound business 
 methods and success have won the entire confidence of the financial world. 
 
 Mr. Bliss's excellent judgment and capacity have caused him to be sought after as 
 trustee of important corporations, and he has filled acceptably the office of director of 
 The United States Trust Co., The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, The 
 St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway, The Manhattan Elevated Railway, The 
 Mutual Life Insurance Co., The Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co., The Continental In- 
 surance Co., and The Western Union Telegraph Co. He has also held prominent rela- 
 tions with many other railroad and financial corporations. He has joined a number of 
 the best social organizations in town, including the Century, Union, Union League, 
 Metropolitan and Lawyers' clubs and Down Town Association, and The New England 
 Society. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and, with the same public 
 spirit which animates his colleagues of the Union League club, has given his influ- 
 ential support to the great museums of the city. The purely material result of Mr. 
 Bliss's long career has been financial success. While attaining this end, however, his 
 just and honorable character has gained what is of greater value, the esteem and confi- 
 dence of his associates of the business world. He makes a worthy use of his means in 
 charities, deriving his satisfaction not from heralding his good actions but from the 
 good which follows them. Among the charities of a public nature which have drawn 
 largely upon both his time and means are The Woman's Hospital, of which he is a gov- 
 ernor, The Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled, and The Protestant Half Orphan 
 Asylum, of both of which he is a trustee. He is also treasurer and trustee of The Pro- 
 testant Episcopal Domestic and Foreign Missions Society, and in addition to these; has 
 contributed freely to churches and hospitals. 
 
 Mr. Bliss was married Sept. 29, 1840, to Catherine S., daughter of Hervey Sanford 
 of New Haven. He lost his wife by death in 1862, and in 1868 was married to Augusta, 
 daughter of William M. Smith, a prominent resident of New Haven. Of the nine 
 children born to Mr. Bliss, five are now living, two sons and three daughters. They 
 are George T. and Walter Phelps Bliss ; Mary H., wife of A. Gifford Agnew ; and the 
 Misses Catherine A. and Augusta Bliss. 
 
 WILLIAM BLISS, merchant, born in Chipping Norton, England, July 4, 1833. 
 died in New York city, Jan. 2, 1890. He came to this country with his parents while a 
 young boy, and at an early age entered the employ of Dallett Bro's, shipping and com- 
 mission merchants of Philadelphia. After several years in their office, he went to 
 Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, where he soon became a partner in the firm of Boulton, 
 Bliss & Co. In 1860, after having spent eight years in Venezuela, he returned to Phil- 
 adelphia and joined the firm of John Dallett & Co. , which was established the following 
 year. In 1862 John Dallett, sr , died, and thereafter the responsibilities of the busi- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BL. 95 
 
 ness devolved principally upon Mr. Bliss and his life long friend, William G. Boulton. 
 In 1867, the firms of John Dallett & Co. and Dallett & Bliss, of New York, were con- 
 solidated, and Mr. Bliss thus became a member of the firm of Dallett, Bliss & Co. , as 
 the firm in New York were styled. Mr. Bliss continued to reside in Philadelphia until 
 1 88 1, when the house there was closed and the entire business was thereafter transacted , 
 in New York, under the firm name of Boulton, Bliss & Dallett. The principal business 
 of the firm has always been with Venezuela, from which country coffee, hides, etc., were^ 
 imported and to which American produce of almost every description was exported. At 
 first, small sailing vessels were employed to carry the firm's merchandise, but as the 
 business between the countries increased, steam was employed, resulting in the establish- 
 ment of the present Red " D " Line of American steamships, so called from the private 
 flag which had been used on the sailing vessels. In 1861, Mr. Bliss was married to Miss 
 Athenade Dallett, who died in 1872. He subsequently married Miss Anna Dallett, who 
 with his four children, John Dallett, William, Robert Parker and Anita, survived him. 
 WILLIAJ1 HETCALF BLISS, merchant and banker, born in Troy, N. Y., in 1812, 
 died at Orienta, his home in Mamaroneck, N. Y., Aug. 29, 1893. He sprang from Puri- 
 tan ancestry, his line producing many men eminent in the legal profession, for which 
 Mr. Bliss was himself originally intended. His father, of the same name, a man of 
 marked ability, served as Master of Chancery in Troy, for a long period. Carefully 
 educated, William came to New York while a young man, entered business life, and 
 with George Merritt, established the firm of Merritt, Ely & Co., with whom and their 
 successors he continued until his retirement in 1864. He belonged to the old class of 
 solid, upright New York merchants, having the dignified manners of his generation, 
 and distinguished both for ability and personal character. Nature endowed him with 
 a mind which would have commanded success in any calling, and he rose above the 
 trammels of mercantile life to larger position. Noble in appearance, chivalrous in 
 nature, a charming conversationalist, and a Christian gentleman, few excelled him in 
 the warm friendship and cordial respect which he inspired. He was prominent as 
 president of The Central National Bank, and a trustee of The Equitable Life Assur- 
 ance Society. He was twice married, first to Miss Champion, of Troy, and later to 
 Lucie Ann, daughter of Ellis Baker, of Albany. 
 
 JOSEPH BENJAMIN BLOOfllNGDALE, merchant, was born in the city of New 
 York, Dec. 22, 1842. His father, Benjamin Bloomingdale, had immigrated from Alten- 
 moor, in Bavaria, in 1837, being the first person to leave that section of the country for 
 the new world. The elder Bloomingdale made an effort to establish himself in New 
 Jersey and North Carolina, but finally moved to New York, where he has since resided 
 almost continuously. At the age when boys of the present day are compelled by law 
 to be at their books, Joseph secured a situation as clerk in a dry goods store on Canal 
 street, then the centre of the fashionable shopping district. In 1860, he went to the 
 Pacific coast, where he filled positions variously in San Francisco, Sacramento and Car- 
 son City, Nev. Having saved some money, he became infected with the fever to grow 
 rich suddenly, and invested what he had in mining stocks. This soon wiped out his 
 little surplus; and with this additional fund of experience, he made a fresh start, follow- 
 ing the tide of gold discovery into Oregon, Idaho and Montana, attempting various 
 occupations, including actual work with a pick and shovel on what afterward became 
 the famous Blue Cloud mine, taking off some pay-dirt from the surface and then selling 
 
pfi AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 at what appeared to him to be a splendid profit. The purchaser of the claim made a fort- 
 une, while young Blooming-dale returned to the city of his birth. Here his father and 
 his brother Lyman were engaged in manufacturing hoop skirts, and Joseph secured a 
 position with them as travelling salesman. In this he was very successful, and, a short 
 time afterward, on the retirement of his father, he became a member-of the firm. Un- 
 fortunately, however, hoop skirts were becoming less fashionable. The two brothers 
 did not recognize this fact quickly enough to save themselves from loss, and, in 1871, 
 were obliged to make a compromise with their creditors. This overwhelming misfort- 
 une, however, really inured to their benefit. They established a small retail dry 
 goods store on Third avenue, near the corner of s6th street, under the name of Bloom- 
 ingdale Bros., and thus laid the foundation of one of the most successful department 
 stores in the world. Their success was immediate. In a few years, they were able to 
 pay their former creditors the balance of their claims, although under no legal obliga- 
 tion to do so. Removing shortly to the corner of sgth street and Third avenue, they 
 rented two buildings. Their buildings, which are seven stories high, now occupy 
 twenty-one city lots, with a total floor area of 490,000 square feet, their stock of goods 
 including almost everything required by man, woman and child, a great part of them 
 being manufactured on the premises. Some lines of goods are controlled exclusively 
 by them. Their trade is not confined either to the limits of New York city or State, 
 but includes almost every part of the habitable globe. Mr. Bloomngdale is a member 
 of or contributor to nearly every institution in the city of New York, without regard 
 to sect or denomination, and is vice-president of The Hebrew Technical Institute, and 
 of The United States Savings Bank. Physically, Mr. Bloomingdale is six feet one 
 inch tall, of fine physique, with a face which has been called handsome. He was 
 married in 1875, to Clara, oldest daughter of Lewis Koffman, an old-time New York 
 merchant, and has two children, a son and a daughter. 
 
 LYHAN G. BLOOMINGDALE, merchant, born in New York, Feb. n, 1841, is a 
 son of Benjamin Bloomingdale, a native of Bavaria. Lyman graduated from Smith's 
 Collegiate Institute and then went to Leavenworth, Kan., with his father. In that 
 town, he began life as an independent merchant with about $300 of borrowed capital, 
 starting a crinoline and dry goods store. He was doing well, when he was ordered 
 under arms with a militia company, in which he was a sergeant, to repel Confederates, 
 who were threatening a raid. After this service, he sold his store and came to New 
 York, where he joined his father in the manufacture of crinoline skirts. In 1872, he 
 aided in organizing the firm of Bloomingdale Bros. , to transact a dry goods and general 
 trade, and is senior partner of the firm. He has revealed remarkable shrewdness and 
 energy in adapting his store to the requirements of the dense population, which occu- 
 pies the East Side of the city. 
 
 EDWARD CUSHMAN BODMAN, merchant, was born in Charlemont Mass., 
 March 22, 1840. His father, John Bodman, was a bank president and business man of 
 Northampton, Mass. Edward graduated from Williston Seminary in Easthampton, 
 engaged in the grain trade and banking in central Illinois, 1861-65, an d carried on the 
 same business in Toledo, O., 1865-85, being president of The Northern National Bank 
 there, 1873-82. He came to New York in 1885, and his firm of Milmine, Bodman & 
 Co , have already won a name, ranking as a leading house in the grain trade. They 
 transact a strictly commission business, never speculating. For twenty years Mr. Bod- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BO. 97 
 
 man was largely interested in Illinois lands, at one time owning and cultivating 4,000 
 acres. Jan. 10, 1878, he married Ida M. Berdan, of Toledo, a niece of Chief Justice 
 Waite. Their children are Herbert L. arid George M. Bodman. He is a member of the 
 Union League club and the Ohio and New England Societies. Mrs. Charles H. Park- 
 hurst of New York is Mr. Bodman's sister. 
 
 ROBERT BONNER, proprietor of The New York Ledger, is a native of London- 
 derry, Ireland, where he was born April 28, 1824. His parents were Scotch-Irish. 
 Coming to this country in 1839, he learned the printer's trade in the office of The Hart- 
 ford Courant, and is remembered there as a smart and rapid compositor. He removed 
 to New York city in 1844, worked at his trade, and in 1850, for $900, purchased The 
 MercJiants' Ledger, then an unimportant commercial newspaper in drooping circum- 
 stances. He conducted this paper for four years, at first dealing with dry figures, hard 
 facts and prosaic statistics, without increasing its importance greatly, and then intro- 
 duced many new and spicy features, miscellany, stories, etc , and finally, in i&55> 
 changed its name to The New York Ledger and its contents to romance pure and sim- 
 ple. His first audacious move was the engagement of Fanny Fern, in 1855, to write a 
 continued story at $100 a column. By printing pure and sound romances and contri- 
 butions from the best known writers, and by astonishing enterprise and extraordinary 
 expenditures for advertising, he increased the circulation of Tlu Ledger until the 
 American people from the Atlantic to the Pacific were reading the paper. Staid old 
 merchants of that day shook their heads solemnly over the extravagant advertisements 
 of The Ledger, which they regarded as a new form of humbug, but Mr. Bonrier's cour- 
 age captivated the public mind and led to great success. One idea to which he rigidly 
 adhered was to keep his paper absolutely free from even a suggestion which would be 
 improper for the family circle. His writers included the most conspicuous men and 
 women of the day. At first, The Ledger contained advertisements, but these were 
 gradually withdrawn. Among the famous contributors to The Ledger have been Fanny 
 Fern, Mrs. Sigourney, Sylvanus Cobb, jr., Mrs. Southworth, Prentice, Saxe, Edward 
 Everett, Henry Ward Beecher, Horace Greeley, James Parton, and Dr. John Hall. 
 The abundant means which Tlie Ledger has brought Mr. Bonner have enabled him 
 to make large gifts to Princeton College and various churches and charities and to buy 
 noted horses. He has owned some of the most celebrated trotters in the world. Rigidly 
 opposed to betting and to racing for money, he has withdrawn his purchases from the race 
 tracks and keeps them for his own driving. Among his purchases were Peerless, Dex- 
 ter, and Maud S., for which he paid William H. Vanderbilt $40,000. In February, 
 1888, he presented his sons, Andrew Alley, Robert Edwin and Frederic Bonner, with 
 a large amount of real estate, as an incentive to application, and these young men now 
 have entire charge of the paper, as Robert Bonner's Sons. 
 
 PETER RIKER BONNE IT, merchant, born in Frankfort street, New York city, 
 Dec. 10, 1801, died at his residence in this city, Sept. 4, 1871. He was the son of 
 Peter Bonnett, a prominent leather merchant in " the Swamp," who had a large tan- 
 nery on the corner of Frankfort and Skinner (now Cliff) streets. The family came 
 from Huguenot ancestry. The pioneer, Daniel Bonnet, settled in America in 1 700, 
 after a residence of ten years in Bristol, England, having left Rochelle, France, in 
 1690, a few years after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Mr. Bonnett was 
 educated in the city, and in early life entered the employment of Harper & Arcularius. 
 
98 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 wholesale grocers, in Front street, near Fulton. The firm subsequently became 
 Arcularius & Bonnett, and later Bonnett, Schenck & Co., when their location was 
 changed to Vesey street, where, for many years, they carried on a large wholesale 
 business with the West. Mr. Bonnett devoted his entire time to his business and 
 to home life, never occupying public or corporate office, although often urged to do so. 
 He was connected with St. George's Church. Aug. 17, 1835, he married Maria Salton- 
 stall, of New London, Conn., who, with two sons and four daughters, survived him. 
 
 DAVID AUGUSTUS BOODY, banker and broker, born in Jackson, Me., Aug. 13, 
 1837, is a son of David Boody, by occupation a farmer. He was educated in the public 
 schools, with six months in Phillips Academy, Andover. At the age of eighteen, he 
 found his first occupation as a school teacher. Beginning the study of law at twenty, 
 he was admitted to the bar when twenty-three. A year later, he came to New York 
 and entered the banking house of Henry H. Boody, at No. 12 Wall street. An alert, 
 progressive and able man, he began business on his own account two years later, and 
 has been successfully engaged in stock transactions to the present day, excepting only 
 during a period of three years, when absent from the city. Several large corporations 
 have secured his interest and he has been elected president of The Louisiana & North- 
 western Railway, vice-president of The Sprague National Bank, and trustee of The 
 People's Trust Co. At one time, he served as president of The City Savings Bank of 
 Brooklyn. His wife is a daughter of the late Henry Treat of Frankfort, Me. They 
 have five children. Mr. Boody has taken special interest in public questions and was 
 at one time president of The Civil Service Association of Brooklyn, in which city he 
 makes his home. He is a member of the Reform club and The New England Society 
 of New York city, and the Hamilton, Brooklyn, Montauk and Carleton clubs, New 
 England Society, and Young Men's Christian Association of Brooklyn. 
 
 HENRY AUGUSTUS BOORAEfl, merchant, born at No. 16 Dey street, in this 
 city, Sept. 3, 1815, died in Jersey City, Feb. 18, 1889. He was a son of Hendrick 
 Booraem, an old time merchant of dry goods on Pearl street. The emigrant ancestor 
 of this family, a native of Holland, came to this place in 1666, settling at Newtown on 
 Long Island. Henry went from the private schools of this city and Fordham directly 
 to his father's store, where he received a thorough training, after the fashion of the 
 times. While in Paris, France, just as he was attaining his majority, his father died. 
 Upon his return to New York, he became a member of the firm of L. & B. Curtis, of 
 which Lewis and Benjamin Curtis were partners, and for more than thirty years im- 
 ported French dress goods, silks and velvets to this city. He retired about 1869. Mr. 
 Booraem was justly esteemed for his character, ability and public spirit Grace Church 
 of Jersey City was organized in his parlors, and claimed him as a vestryman, and he 
 was a member of the Committee of One Hundred of Jersey City at the time of his 
 death. In 1838, he married Cornelia, daughter of John Van Vorst of the town of Van 
 Vorst, now a part of Jersey City, and a descendant of Governor Van Vorst, whom The 
 Dutch East India Co. sent out in 1638 as Governor of Pavonia. It is related that Gov- 
 ernor Wouter van Twiller, Eberardus Bogardus, the dominie, and Captain de Vries 
 visited the new Governor of Pavonia upon his arrival to pay their respects, and when 
 a salute was fired from a swivel, upon their departure, a spark set fire to the Van Vorst 
 homestead and burned it down. To Mr. Booraem were born : John Van Vorst Booraem, 
 consulting engineer-in-chief of The American Sugar Refining Co.; Frances D. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BO. 99 
 
 Booraem; Henry L. Booraem, deceased; Josephine B. , wife of Augustus Zabriskie, 
 son of ex-Chancellor Zabriskie; Louis V. Booraem, the lawyer; Augustus Booraem, 
 who has charge of the Booraem estate; Robert Elmer Booraem, lately in charge of the 
 Blue Bird mine in Butte City and the Morning Star and Evening Star mines in Lead 
 ville; and Randolph M. Booraem of Philadelphia. John Van Vorst owned large tracts 
 of land on the west bank of the Hudson. The right of ferriage between Paulus Hook 
 and New York city, now owned by The Pennsylvania Railroad, was bequeathed by the 
 great grandfather of Cornelia Van Vorst to her father. In the settlement of the 
 estate it was transferred to Cornelius Van Vorst, his brother, and by him conveyed to 
 The Associates of The Jersey Company. 
 
 EDWIN BOOTH, the distinguished actor, born near Baltimore, Md., Xov. 13, 
 1833, died at the Players' club in this city, June 7, 1893. He was the fourth son of 
 Junius Brutus Booth, a figure as brilliant in the annals of the American stage as that 
 of Edmund Kean in England. His entrance upon a theatrical career occurred at the 
 Museum in Boston, Sept., 10, 1849, in Tressel in "Richard III." and grew out of a 
 desire to oblige the prompter, who had been cast for the part against his will. That 
 arrangement was made without the knowledge and approval of the elder Booth, 
 who for a long time opposed his son's adoption of the stage. Nevertheless, Edwin 
 drifted into that pursuit and persevered in it, and his father soon became reconciled 
 to his course. Mr. Booth identified himself from the first with the highest class of 
 dramas, and early in his career made a highly successful tour of the South, beginning 
 in Baltimore. It was in Richmond, during this tour, that he met for the first time Miss 
 Mary Devlin, who became his wife in New York city, July 7, 1860. Shortly afterward, 
 they sailed for England. His wife was an excellent musician and a pleasing actress. 
 They remained in England until September, 1862, their daughter Edwina, being born 
 at Fulham, London, Dec. 9, 1861. On their return to America, they established their 
 home at Dorchester, Mass. Mrs. Booth died Feb. 21, 1863. The opening of Booth's 
 Theatre in New York, Feb. 3, 1869, was the most important dramatic incident in the 
 metropolis at that period. Here he appeared in the dramas of Shakspeare, regularly 
 nearly every season, for many years. He was married again to Miss Mary McVicker 
 of Chicago, at Long Branch, X. J., June 7, 1869. Miss McVickers last professional 
 appearance was made at Booth's Theatre in the spring of that year as Desdemona. A 
 son was bom to them July 3, 1870, but died within a few hours. Mrs. Booth died in 
 New York, Nov. 13, 1881. Mr. Booth's long service upon the American stage was 
 never stained by an appearance in any except the most ennobling plays, and during 
 his time there was no greater exponent of Shakspeare than he. His influence was 
 good, his popularity unbounded, and his genius has inscribed his name forever upon 
 the pages of history. Incidentally, his impersonations of heroic characters brought him 
 a fortune. In San Francisco, during one engagement of eight weeks, the receipts 
 exceeded $96,000. While he made more than one visit to England, the most of his 
 career was upon the American stage. His last public sen-ice was his institution of the 
 Players' club of this city. The bulk of Mr. Booth's estate was left in trust for his 
 daughter, Mrs. Edwina Booth Grossman, although a number of societies and friends 
 were remembered. 
 
 HENRY PROSPER BOOTH, shipping merchant, was born in New York city, July 
 19, 1836, and comes from New England ancestry. At the Mechanics' Institute he 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BO. IOI 
 
 gained a sound education, and then, as clerk for a shipping merchant, allied himself 
 with the commercial interests of the port, to which his life had been ably and prosper- 
 ously devoted. In 1856, he was admitted to partnership in James E. Ward & Co., and 
 is now senior member of the firm. Strong determination and great force of character 
 have brought him into prominence in the maritime world. He is a member of the 
 Manhattan and Colonial clubs. 
 
 GAIL BORDEN, manufacturer, born in Norwich, N. Y., Nov. 6, 1801, died in 
 Borden, Texas, Jan. n, 1874. His parents, who were of New England descent, left 
 New York State when Gail was thirteen years of age, settling after a time in Madison, 
 Ind. Gail attended the common schools and at the age of twenty-one removed to Mis- 
 sissippi, where he taught school and engaged in public surveys. In 1829, he pushed on 
 to Texas, acquired some prominence upon the establishment of the Republic of Texas, 
 and was appointed first Collector at Galveston, of which city he had made the first 
 surveys in 1837. In 1849, the need of more convenient food supplies for the emigrants 
 to the Pacific Coast led him to make a few experiments, with the result that he pro- 
 duced "pemmican," afterward used with such success in Arctic expeditions, and the 
 " meat biscuit," a simple and portable form of concentrated food. Though these inven- 
 tions brought him a medal from the World's Fair in London in 1852, and an honorary 
 membership in The London Society of Arts, they proved a pecuniary failure, and he 
 lost all his means. His attention had meanwhile been attracted to the preservation of 
 milk, and in 1853 he applied for a patent for "concentrated milk," which the Govern- 
 ment granted in 1856. This venture proved an unqualified success. Under the title 
 of The New York Condensed Milk Co., he established factories at Brewster Station, 
 N. Y., and Elgin, 111., and extended the operations of these by manufacturing an extract 
 of beef, for which he afterward built a factory at Borden, Texas. There then followed 
 preparations of cocoa, tea and coffee, and in 1862 a patent for condensing the juice of 
 fruits into a small fraction of the original bulk. Mr. Borden amassed a large fortune 
 and dispensed his means with a liberal hand. 
 
 MATTHEW CHALONER DURFEE BORDEN, merchant and manufacturer, a native 
 of Fall River, Mass., was born July 18, 1842. His father, the late Colonel Richard 
 Borden, was a conspicuous leader in all which contributed to the success and large 
 prosperity of Fall River, from the date of the organization of its first and greatest 
 manufacturing enterprises, beginning with the Fall River Iron Works Co. in 1821, down 
 to the close of his eventful and memorable life, in 1874. 
 
 The Borden family is of original French stock, and is traceable back to Bourdon- 
 nay, an ancient village in Normandy, from which it probably takes its name. The 
 first of the family found on English soil entered the British Isles with William the Con- 
 queror. After the overthrow of Harold and the Saxon regime, they were assigned 
 estates in the County of Kent. Giving their name to the estate, they founded a 
 religious parish there, which also bore the name of Borden. In 1635, Richard, then 
 the head of the family, emigrated to America, settling in Rhode Island. The birth of 
 Matthew Borden, in May, 1638, is mentioned in the Friends' Book of Records, and he 
 was the first child born of English parents on Rhode Island soil, thus fixing the date of 
 the first settlement at Portsmouth. From this point, the family descent is authentically 
 recorded down to the present time. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was fitted for a higher range of education at Phillips 
 
i 2 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Academy, Andover, Mass, and graduated from Yale College in the class of 1864. 
 Almost immediately thereafter, he entered the employment of a leading dry goods job- 
 bing house in New York, as stock boy in one of the departments. Three years later, 
 he became a partner in a leading commission" house of New York, where he represented 
 The American Print Works as selling agent, continuing in this capacity until the end 
 of 1879. The American Print Works having failed, his connection with the house 
 referred to ceased. 
 
 Mr. Borden inherited a large share of the enterprise and capacity for management 
 of his worthy father, and mainly through the joint efforts of his eldest brother and him- 
 self, the company was reorganized and resumed operations under the name of The 
 American Printing Co., in January, 1880. At the same time, Mr. Borden made an 
 alliance with the commission house of J. S. & E. Wright & Co., now Bliss, Fabyan & 
 Co., with whom he has remained in the conduct of the business controlled by him 
 ever since. 
 
 In 1887, Mr. Borden bought his brother's interest in The American Printing Co., 
 and from that time has been the capable sole owner of the works, which, in the number 
 of yards printed annually, is probably the largest establishment of the kind in the 
 world. The capacity of the Printing Company required from 60,000 to 70,000 pieces 
 of cloth weekly, and it finally appeared desirable to become independent of the open 
 market, as to a portion of the weekly consumption. In 1889, therefore, Mr. Borden 
 proceeded to build cloth mills in Fall River for this purpose, and, at the end of three 
 years, had erected and equipped in the most perfect manner possible three large mills 
 for spinning yarns and weaving the same into cloth for printing. The plant so estab- 
 lished, under the title of The Fall River Iron Works Co., a previous corporate name 
 having been retained for the sake of keeping the old charter, which is valuable, now 
 consists of the mills named, containing about 200,000 spindles and more than 
 5,000 looms, producing 35,000 pieces of print cloth weekly, or about one-half the 
 whole amount required by The American Printing Co. The two companies are of 
 enormous value to Fall River. They employ an army of well paid operatives, 
 whose earnings, being diffused through the community, quicken every branch of local 
 trade. 
 
 Since establishing his home in New York, Mr. Borden has identified himself with 
 the progress and social life of the city, and has gained the esteem, which is only ac- 
 corded to sound character, public spirit, and good business qualifications. He is a 
 director in The Manhattan Company Bank, The Lincoln National Bank, The Astor 
 Place Bank, The Lincoln Safe Deposit Co. , and The New York Security & Trust Co ; 
 trustee and treasurer of The Clinton Hall Association ; and governor in the Woman's 
 Hospital in the State of New York. In politics, he has been an earnest and uncom- 
 promising Republican for more than thirty years. Mr. Borden has never sought office 
 and never held office, except during one term as Commissioner of Parks, when he gave 
 a large portion of his time for six years to this public duty. Experience in the employ- 
 ment of a large body of working people convinces him of the value to American labor 
 of the protective system, and he advocates the policy which enables him to pay excel- 
 lent wages to his people. His public spirit is also illustrated by his contributions to the 
 support of the great museums of this city. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Borden was married to Harriet M Durfee of Fall River. Seven 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BO. 103 
 
 children have been born to them, of whom the following named four survive : Bertram 
 Harold, Matthew Sterling, Howard Seymour and Owen Ives Borden. 
 
 Mr. Borden is a member of the following clubs : Union League, Metropolitan, 
 Republican, Merchants', Down Town, Players', Riding, New York Athletic, New York 
 Yacht, Seawanhaka Yacht, Yale Alumni, South Side Sportmen's, Jekyl Island and 
 Whist. He also belongs to The New England Society. 
 
 CHARLES HERBERT BOSHER, banker, a native of Richmond, Va., born in 1834, 
 died in New York city, May 19, 1894. He came from a well known and highly 
 respected family. After the civil war he removed to New York city, and in 1872 be- 
 came one of the original members of the banking firm of R. T. Wilson & Co. , with 
 which he continued until his death. Deeply interested in the revival of Southern pros- 
 perity, he aided in re-establishing the railroad systems of that part of the country, in 
 which patriotic work he gained his fortune. The wonderful recuperation of the South 
 from the terrible prostration which followed the war of 1861-65, was in part due to the 
 spirit of enterprise engendered by that historic struggle itself, but was mainly the 
 result of the energetic labor and sagacity of a group of men, among whom the partners 
 in R. T. Wilson & Co. stood in the front rank. They enlisted the interest of capital, 
 rebuilt the railroads, opened the mines, established town sites, and erected furnaces 
 and factories and gave a powerful impetus to the mercantile, industrial and financial 
 enterprise of that whole region. Mr. Bosher took an active part in many notable 
 schemes. He married Miss Ingram, of Kempsville, Va., and to them was born one 
 daughter. He was a member of the Metropolitan, Down Town and Manhattan clubs, 
 and The Southern Society, and had been for years a member of St. Thomas's Protes- 
 tant Episcopal Church. 
 
 IQNATZ BOSKOWITZ, fur merchant, is a native of Floss in Bavaria, Germany, 
 having been born there Feb. 13, 1837. He began life with his uncle, I. L. Honigs- 
 berger, in the cloth business, and when fifteen years of age, found employment in 
 banking in Leipzig. At the age of sixteen, he removed to America. Successively a 
 dry goods clerk, bookkeeper in a clothing store in Chicago, 1855-58, and merchant of 
 fur and wool, he came to New York in 1860, and has since conducted the latter business 
 here, under the name of I. & A. Boskowitz, with his brother, Adolph, as a partner. 
 Here they have gained a good name and a profitable business. Mr. Boskowitz is presi- 
 dent of The Mechanics and Traders' Bank, and finds recreation in the West End, 
 Harmonic, Freundschaft, Progress and Manhattan Chess clubs. His marriage with 
 Carrie Goldsmith, of this city, took place May 5, 1867. 
 
 JABEZ ABEL BOSTWICK, oil producer, a native of Delhi, Delaware county, 
 N. Y. , was born Sept. 30, 1830, and died at his home in Mamaroneck, N. Y., Aug. 16, 
 1892. His ancestors came from England to New England. Receiving a good busi- 
 ness education, he went to Covington, Ky. , when about eighteen years old, and 
 obtained employment in a bank. He subsequently removed to Cleveland, O., and 
 entered the commission and hardware firm of Reynolds & Bostwick, as a clerk, finding 
 occupation later as accountant in the bank of J. B. Tilford, in Lexington. After 
 several years of labor for others, he became a dealer in cotton on his own account in 
 Cincinnati, displaying excellent abilities as a merchant. In 1866 he removed to New 
 York city, and continued his dealings in cotton on a large scale, his firm being known 
 as Bostwick & Tilford. When dealing in petroleum rose into importance, his house 
 
104 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 became receivers of oil and from this went on to undertake the refining business, soon 
 making a name in that industry as J. A. Bostwick & Co. When The Standard Oil Co. 
 was organized, Mr. Bostwick allied himself with its originators, and was for a number 
 of years one of the trustees. In charge of one of the departments of the company, he 
 became well-known on the speculative exchanges, and acquired a reputation as a Stan- 
 dard Oil magnate, which clung to him long after he nad severed his connection with 
 the trust. In 1887, Mr. Bostwick became president of The New York & New England 
 Railroad, resigning in January, 1892. Among his more recent ventures was The Stan- 
 dard Gas Light Co., and he was also interested in The New York Steam Co., and The 
 Gas Engine and Power Co. In 1866 he married Helen C., daughter of Smith Ford, a 
 retired tobacco merchant. The family made their home at 800 Fifth avenue, and at 
 Mamaroneck, N. Y., their house in the country adjoining that of James M. Constable. 
 His three children are Nellie B., wife of Francis Lee Morrell, of New York; Francis 
 B., wife of Captain Alfred Carstairs, of the Royal British Rifles; and Albert Bostwick. 
 His clubs were the Union League and New York Yacht, and he also belonged to The 
 Ohio Society. He gave freely from his large income to charitable objects, in a man- 
 ner always unostentatious. The Suffolk Street Baptist Church is one of the public 
 monuments to his liberality and devotion to the cause it represents, and his private 
 charities were generous and creditable. 
 
 WILLIAM GEORGE BOULTON, shipping merchant, born in La Guayra, Vene- 
 zuela, Jan. 24, 1832, died at his home in Orange, N. J., Sept. 10, 1891. The family from 
 which he descended came originally from the Lake district in England, settling in 
 Lancashire. Early in life, Mr. Boulton was brought to Philadelphia, where he was 
 educated in private schools. He then entered the office of Boulton, Sons & Co., Cara- 
 cas and La Guayra, Venezuela, as a clerk, became a partner, and in 1857 removed to 
 Philadelphia, where Oct. 28, the same year, he married Mary E., daughter of William 
 E. Bowen, banker, of Browns & Bowen. of Philadelphia, and Brown, Shipley & Co , of 
 London. Engaging in a commission business with Venezuela, he soon afterwards en- 
 tered the firm of John Dallett & Co., general merchants and shippers. In 1881, the 
 headquarters of the firm were moved to New York, the style being changed to Boulton, 
 Bliss & Dallett. This house has engaged extensively in a commission trade, the im- 
 portation of coffee, and management of ocean steamers. It controls the " Red D" line 
 of steamers, sailing to Venezuela and Curacao. Mr. Boulton was an excellent mer- 
 chant, a member of the New York Chamber of Commerce and Produce and Maritime 
 Exchanges, and a director of The Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co., of this city, The 
 Delaware Insurance Co. of Philadelphia, and until his removal to New York, vice presi- 
 dent of the Maritime Exchange of Philadelphia. To him were born a daughter who died 
 in infancy and one son, William Bowen Boulton, the latter a member of the firm. Mr. 
 Boulton was an earnest Episcopalian and for many years one of the wardens of the 
 Church of the Epiphany in Philadelphia. On removing to this city, he attached him- 
 self to Grace parish. He was especially noted for the interest he took in young men; 
 and the substantial assistance, which he rendered to many at the outset of their careers, 
 was a conspicuous illustration of his character. 
 
 GEORGE S. BOWDOIN, banker, born in New York city, Sept. 25, 1833, comes 
 from old American stock, and is a son of the late George R. J. Bowdoin, a lawyer. 
 Through the maternal line, he descends from Alexander Hamilton and General Philip 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BO. 105 
 
 Schuyler, both soldiers in tire American Revolution, and through the paternal line from 
 Governor Bowdoin of Massachusetts. The late Robert C. Winthrop was his great 
 uncle. The young man was carefully educated, and had the advantage of three years in 
 the scientific course in Harvard University, His early business experience was gained 
 as clerk for Aymar & Co., shipping merchants on South street. In 1871, he became a 
 partner in the firm of Morton, Bliss & Co., bankers of this city, and Morton, Rose & 
 Co., of London, which relation he continued for thirteen years. In 1884, he joined the 
 banking house of Drexel, Morgan & Co., as a partner, and he is also connected with 
 Drexel & Co., of Philadelphia, and Morgan, Harjes & Co , of Paris. Clear-headed, 
 quiet and capable, he has borne his share of the labors of his great bank, and has been 
 identified with various railroad reorganizations, especially those of The West Shore, The 
 The Philadelphia & Reading and The Baltimore & Ohio Railroads. The New York 
 Life Insurance & Trust Co., The Mutual Life Insurance Co., The Commercial Union 
 Fire Insurance Co. and the Bank for Savings have been glad to elect him to their direc- 
 torates. He is also a governor of the Bloomingdale Asylum and The New York 
 Hospital, to the latter of which he has given a good deal of his time. By culture, 
 education and inherited refinement, Mr. Bowdoin is a man of attractive manners and 
 social temperament. He is a valued member of about twenty clubs and societies, 
 including the Metropolitan, Union League, Union, Knickerbocker, Century, Players', 
 City, Racquet, Tuxedo and New York Yacht clubs, and, by virtue of lineal descent, of 
 The Sons of the American Revolution. His wife is Juiia Irving, daughter of the late 
 Moses H. Grinnell. 
 
 HENRY CHANDLER BOWEN, proprietor of Tlte New York Independent, was born 
 in Woodstock, Conn., Sept. n, 1813. He is the son of George andLydiaWolcott Eaton 
 Bowen. One of his ancestors, Henry Bowen, was one of the twenty -two founders of the 
 town of Woodstock. He was educated in the local schools and the academy in Dudley, 
 Mass. , and began life as a clerk in his father's store. When eighteen years of age he was 
 appointed assistant to his father, then postmaster of the village. In 1833, the young man 
 came to New York by invitation, entered the employment of Arthur Tappan & Co. , silk 
 merchants, and throve so well in this store that several offers of partnership were made 
 to him. In 1838, Theodore McNamee, a fellow clerk, and he founded the firm of Bowen 
 & McNamee, merchants, aided by a loan of $25,000 from John Rankin, who became a 
 special partner. Mr. Bowen aided in organizing The Continental Insurance Co., in 
 1852, by giving the names of nearly forty of the forty-five original directors. So many 
 persons were anxious to serve as directors in that company that, forthwith, The Home 
 Insurance Co. was formed, the corporators and directors being named in Mr. Bowen's 
 office, one of them being Theodore McNamee. In 1848, The New York Independent was 
 founded by five men, of whom Mr. Bowen was one. Unprofitable at first, the property 
 finally came into Mr. Bowen's ownership, and he has been sole proprietor now for thirty 
 years or more. To this newspaper he finally devoted his whole attention and has 
 made it a profitable enterprise. Mr. Bowen is a resident in Brooklyn, but spends his 
 summers at Roseland, in his native town, has created the beautiful Roseland Park 
 there, and for more than twenty years has held public celebrations of the Fourth of 
 July on the grounds. These celebrations have become famous, the most distinguished 
 men in the country gracing them with their orator}-. Mr. Bowen has expended large 
 sums of money upon the Woodstock Academy, the village parks and the churches of 
 
I0 6 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 the town. He is a Republican and a very capable and public-spirited man. His first 
 wife was a daughter of Lewis Tappan, his second a daughter of Hiram Holt. M.D., of 
 Pomfret, Conn. His children are Henry Eliot, Edward Augustus, Herbert Wolcott, 
 Clarence Winthrop, John Eliot and Franklin Davis Bowen, Mrs. Mary Louisa Holt, 
 Mrs. Alice Linden Richardson, Grace Aspinwall, Winthrop Earle and Paul Holt Bowen. 
 CALEB SHITH BRAGG, book publisher, born in North Sidney, Me., May 24, 
 1824, died suddenly from heart disease on a railroad train, near Altoona, Pa., March 8, 
 1894. He was educated in Waterville, Me., and in 1847 began life as a school teacher 
 in Northern Ohio. In 1849, he accepted an agency for W. B. Smith & Co., school book 
 publishers in Cincinnati, and proved so good a merchant that, in 1855, he began busi- 
 ness on his own account in Cleveland, as a bookseller, in Ingham & Bragg. In 1871, 
 however, he removed to Cincinnati and entered the book firm of Wilson, Hinkle & Co., 
 who had succeeded W. B. Smith & Co., and who, in turn, were succeeded by Van Ant- 
 werp, Bragg & Co. The latter soon ranked among the best-known publishers of school 
 books in the United States. Their firm were consolidated in 1890 with Ivison, Blake- 
 man & Co., D. Appleton & Co., and A. S. Barnes & Co., under the title of The Ameri- 
 can Book Co. School book publishing brought Mr. Bragg a fortune. A short time 
 before his death, he established his home in New York, in order to serve as one of the 
 managing directors of The American Book Co. His wife was Mary A. Mills, daughter 
 of Mathew Mills, of Brighton, Canada, and the children born to them were Charles 
 Froom Bragg, now deceased, and Caius Cobb Bragg. 
 
 JOHN BRAND, tobacco manufacturer, a native of Elmira, N. Y., was born Feb. 
 26, 1855. He is of German descent, his parents having come to America in 1850. Re- 
 ceiving his education in the public schools, he began life in 1873 as clerk for his father, 
 a tobacco merchant, in Elmira. In 1879, he was admitted to partnership, and after his 
 father's death, in 1880, rose to the head of the firm. He carried on the trade in Elmira 
 for a number of years, but has lately come to New York city to live, although retaining 
 his factory in Elmira. An enterprising man, he has invested his earnings in properties 
 in Elmira, Buffalo, New York city, and Colorado. By his marriage with Clara E. 
 Woodruff, in 1879, he has three children, John Herbert, Charles George and Walter 
 Henry Brand. His clubs are the Elmira City and Century. 
 
 BENJAMIN BRANDRETH, manufacturer of medicines, born near Leeds, Eng- 
 land, June 22, 1808, died Feb. 19, 1880, in Sing Sing, N. Y. His father, a musician 
 of reputation, having been converted to the faith of the Friends, abandoned his profes- 
 sion for a mercantile life. Of his six children, two sons and four daughters, Benjamin, 
 the youngest, was born after his father's death. At an early age, Benjamin was taken 
 under the care of his grandfather, William Brandreth, with whom he studied medicine, 
 subsequently succeeding him in business at Leeds in making medicines. In 1827, he 
 was married to Harriet Smallpage, and had three children. He came with his family 
 to New York in 1835. His first wife dying in 1836, he married Virginia Graham of 
 New York city in the following year. To them were born ten children. In May, 1835, 
 Mr. Brandreth opened an office in Hudson street. The buildings there soon proved 
 too small for the business, resulting in a removal of the factory to Sing Sing in 1837, 
 where it has been conducted ever since. After coming to this country, he was gradu- 
 ated from the Eclectic Medical College of this city. In 1857, he built the Brandreth 
 House at the corner of Canal street and Broadway, his office being then established in 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BR. IO7 
 
 this building. The secret of the enormous sale of the Brandreth medicines lay in the 
 fact that during the first fifteen years or more, he expended almost his entire profits of 
 $1 50,000 a year in advertising. In politics, a Democrat, Dr. Brandreth was elected to the 
 State Senate in 1849 and served four years. He was frequently a delegate to the con- 
 ventions of his party. In private life he had many friends. He distributed his wealth 
 liberally in acts of charity, especially among the families of his own employes. 
 
 JAMES CARSON BREVOORT, civil engineer and man of letters, bcm in Bloom- 
 ingdale, New York city, July 10, 1818, died in Brooklyn, N. Y., Dec. 7, 1887. He 
 descended from Elias Brevoort, one of the early land proprietors of the Island of Man- 
 hattan, and was a son of Henry Brevoort, who received his mercantile training under 
 the original John Jacob Astor, to whom he was apprenticed as a boy. From his father, 
 Tames C. Brevoort inherited a large property in real estate. The young man received 
 an excellent education, obtaining his diploma as a civil engineer from the Ecole Cen- 
 trale of Arts and Manufactures in Paris. He was employed for a time on the North- 
 eastern boundary survey under his uncle Professor James Renwick, and in 1838, went 
 abroad as private secretary to Washington Irving, then M inister to Spain. After serving 
 a year at Madrid, he devoted himself for a while to European travel. Returning, he 
 married, in 1845, the only daughter of Judge Leffert Lefferts, whose homestead com- 
 prised a large tract of land in the Bedford section of Brooklyn. Mr. Brevoort there- 
 after made his home in the old Lefferts mansion in Brooklyn, in which city he served 
 in the Board of Education and in the Water Commission, when the Brooklyn Water 
 Works were constructed. He was president of The Long Island Historical Society 
 1863-73 and 1876-78, superintendent of the Astor Library in New York, as well as a Re- 
 gent of The L'niversity of the State of New York, a member of The New York Histor- 
 ical Society, The Academy of Natural Sciences and of The American Geographical 
 Society, and numerous other associations. In 1863, Williams College conferred on 
 him the degree of LL. D. He wrote much on history, fish, bugs, and coins, and had 
 perhaps the finest private library in Brooklyn, containing about 100,000 volumes, some 
 of which he had inherited from his father. His collections in entomology and ichthy- 
 ology are now owned by public institutions. He left a son, an engineer, who married 
 a daughter of John Lefferts of Flatbush, L. I. 
 
 HENRY BREWSTER, carriage maker, born in New Haven, Conn., May 19, 1824, 
 died in New York city, Sept. 20, 1887. He came from old New England stock, 
 being a descendant of Elder Brewster, of the Mayflower. His father, James Brewster, 
 a carriage maker of New Haven, trained his boys to the trade, and took Henry and 
 James into the firm of James Brewster & Sons. Henry was finally sent to New York 
 to manage the sales of the firm in this locality, a factory being established in Bridge- 
 port, Conn. The young man started in business for himself in 1856, with partners, as 
 Brewster & Co., and devoted himself to the construction of fine carriages. The firm 
 soon became the largest of their class in the world. At the Paris Exposition, Mr. 
 Brewster won the gold medal arid the cross of the Legion of Honor, and on his return 
 to New York was presented with a testimonial from the carriage makers of the United 
 States. One of the organizers of The Union Leage club, he stoutly espoused the cause 
 of the Union during the Civil War. At the time of the draft riots, he hoisted a flag on 
 his building, and armed his workmen to prevent the mob from tearing it down. His life 
 was threatened, but he never flinched. He was a charming companion in private life. 
 
I0 8 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 CALVIN STEWART BRICE, lawyer and statesman, a progressive and energetic 
 man in private life and one of the most able Democrats of the United States Senate, was 
 born in Denmark, Ohio, Sept. 17, 1845. His father, William Kirkpatrick Brice, was a 
 Presbyterian minister; his mother, Elizabeth Stewart Brice, was a woman of good 
 mind, eminent for the graces and charms of her personal character. The family re- 
 moved to Columbus Grove in Putnam county, Ohio, in .1848. 
 
 Great pains were taken with the education of young Calvin during his early life, 
 and he not only enjoyed the inestimable advantage of being reared under the care of 
 loving, superior and devoted parents, but received the benefit of the scholarly 
 tuition of his father until 1858. At thirteen years of age, he entered the prepara- 
 tory department of Miami University at Oxford, O. , to receive a higher education. 
 
 In April, 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War, the young man, inspired with the 
 generous sentiments, which actuated the flower of the youth of the North, enlisted in 
 Captain Dodd's University Company, and was stationed with his associates at Camp 
 Jackson in the city of Columbus, the capital of the State. Returning to college in the 
 fall, he again enlisted in April, 1862, and joined a university organization under the 
 command of Captain McFarland, which became Co. A, of the 86th Ohio Infantry. The 
 summer of that year was spent in campaigning in West Virginia. 
 
 Later, Mr. Brice resumed the college course, thus interrupted by patriotic labors, 
 and graduated from Miami University in June, 1863. He ranked high as a student 
 and made himself conspicuous in his class for extensive reading of general literature. 
 A voracious reader of the best books, his mind had become richly stored with the 
 thoughts and philosophy of famous writers before he had fairly entered upon his dis- 
 tinguished and successful business career. 
 
 After graduation, the young soldier and scholar removed to Lima, O , and taught 
 for several months in the public schools, finding employment thereafter as clerk in the 
 office of the Auditor of Allen county. 
 
 In July, 1864, Mr. Brice again went to the front to uphold the cause of the Union. 
 He re-entered the Federal service in a company of Union volunteers, recruited by him- 
 self, and received a commission as captain of Co. E, iSoth Ohio Infantry. He served in 
 the field in the 23d Army Corps, in Tennessee, Virginia, Carolina and Georgia, until the 
 close of the war. He was appointed Lieutenant Colonel, but not mustered in. 
 
 In the fall of 1865, he attended lectures in the Law School of the University of 
 Michigan at Ann Arbor. Admitted to the bar in the spring of 1866, and to practice in 
 United States courts, he immediately formed a partnership with James Irvine, under 
 the name of Irvine & Brice, in Lima, O., and for ten or twelve years was actively 
 engaged in the practice of his profession. The partners became noted for high charac- 
 ter, ability and thoroughness, and their devotion to their clients led to a large and suc- 
 cessful practice, which brought to them both a good living and a moderate surplus besides. 
 
 It was during this period that Mr. Brice became interested in traffic enterprises; 
 and by the success which attended his skillful management of their business, he was 
 gradually led away from the law into the realm of practical affairs. His first railroad 
 experience was gained in the legal department of the old Lake Erie & Louisville Rail- 
 road, with which he had accepted a connection. He took an active interest in the 
 work of the company, acquired by purchase a moderate amount of its stock, and 
 played an energetic part in constructing extensions of the road. Through the efforts of 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BR. 109 
 
 himself and associates, the property was greatly developed. His success in this enter- 
 prise led Mr. Brice and his associates to enter upon the construction of The Nickel 
 Plate Railroad, an enterprise which grew out of the refusal of The Lake Shore & Mich- 
 igan Southern Railroad to make satisfactory arrangements for taking care of the traffic 
 delivered to it by The Lake Erie & Western. The construction and subsequent sale 
 of The Nickel Plate is generally supposed to be the dividing line between his status as 
 a comparatively poor man and his later career as a man of extensive means and large 
 investments. With a capital which capable and energetic management had now 
 brought to him, he engaged more largely in traffic enterprises. His reputation and 
 notable skill resulted in Mr. Brice being called into a share of the management of all 
 the important lines with which he formed a connection. Railroads in the region between 
 the Gulf and the Ohio claimed a part of his attention, and he was an active spirit in 
 developing the lines of transportation of the New South. He has been a director in 
 late years of The" East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railway, The Mobile & Bir- 
 mingham Railroad, The Memphis & Charleston Railroad, The Lake Erie & Western 
 Railroad, The Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railway, The Knoxville & Ohio Rail- 
 road, The Pacific Mail Steamship Co., and of other corporations. He is now chairman 
 of the Union Pacific Reorganization Committee. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Brice is an enthusiastic Democrat, and has long been known as one 
 of the most capable, safe, conservative and energetic leaders of his party. He served 
 on the Tilden electoral ticket in 1876 and the Cleveland electoral ticket in 1884. A 
 delegate-at-large from Ohio to the Democratic National Convention in St. Louis in 
 1 888, he was then selected to represent Ohio on the National Committee in the ensuing 
 campaign. As Chairman of the Campaign Committee he conducted the National cam- 
 paign of 1888. Upon the death of William H. Barnum, in 1889, he was elected chair- 
 man of the National Democratic Committee. He was delegate-at-large and chairman 
 of the delegation from Ohio to the National Democratic Convention in 1892. 
 
 In January, 1890, Mr. Brice was elected Senator from Ohio for the term beginning 
 March 4, 1891. In this exalted position, he has wielded a large influence among his 
 political associates. His advice is sought on all important questions and is always 
 judicious, being the result of a long experience in practical affairs, a penetrating mind, 
 extended reading, and a cautious and conservative temperament. His service has been 
 mainly upon the Committees on Appropriations, Pensions, Public Buildings and 
 Grounds, and Pacific Railroads, being chairman of the latter. He is also a member of 
 the " Steering Committee" of his party in the Senate. 
 
 In 1870, Mr. Brice was married to Catherine Olivia Meily, and gained thereby a 
 charming, judicious and valuable companionship for life. Mrs. Brice is a woman of great 
 culture and literary ability and a delightful hostess. She has devoted herself to the 
 education of their children, three sons and two daughters, all of whom have assisted 
 her in a busy social life in Washington as well as in Ohio, New York and Newport. 
 
 Mr. Brice is a man of fine personal presence, straight and commanding, his hair 
 and beard in early life quite red and later a dark brown, framing a face expressive of 
 keen intelligence, dignity and good nature. Slightly reserved in manner and careful 
 in speech, he is nevertheless an agreeable associate in private life, and an attractive 
 figure at public dinners ; and he has been elected to membership in all the prominent 
 chibs in Ohio and many elsewhere, including the Manhattan (the leading Democratic 
 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BR. Ill 
 
 social organization), the Lawyers', Riding, and Whist clubs of New York city. He is 
 also a member of The Ohio Society of this city and of the Delta Kappa Epsilon club. 
 
 ELBERT ADRAIN BRINCKERHOFF, manufacturer, born in Jamaica on Long 
 Island, Nov. 29, 1838, is the son of John N. Brinckerhoff, principal of Union Hall 
 Academy there from 1837 to 1865, and grandson of Robert Adrain, LL.D., a distin- 
 guished mathematician. His ancestry is traced back to the landing of the early Dutch 
 settlers in New Amsterdam in 1638. Elbert graduated from the academy, of which his 
 father was principal, and had turned his face toward college, when an opportunity 
 offered for a voyage around the world in a sailing vessel. In January, 1855, he sailed 
 from New York for San Francisco. The unexpected charter of the vessel in San Fran- 
 cisco for New York, instead of China, changed his plans. Accepting an offer from a 
 commercial house in San Francisco, he entered upon his work and remained in that city 
 from April, 1855, to August, 1860, when he returned home for a visit. Consideration 
 of the long distance from his parents, determined him to secure a position in New York ; 
 and in November, 1861, he was employed as bookkeeper and cashier by the firm of Fox 
 & Polhemus, then the leading commission merchants and manufacturers of cotton 
 duck in the city. In 1865 he became a partner in the house, and a few years later, 
 owing to deaths and retirement, the senior partner. Since 1870, the house has been 
 known as Brinckerhoff, Turner & Co. After more than twenty-five years in the manu- 
 facturing and selling of cotton duck, he retired, in 1887 from an active interest, with- 
 drawing entirely in 1890. In 1869 he married Emily A., daughter of the late Colonel 
 Washington R. Vermilye. Their children are Emily Vermilye, now Mrs. Frederick S. 
 Duncan; Mary E., now Mrs. James D. Armstrong; Elbert A. Brinckerhoff, jr., and 
 four younger daughters. The family live in Englewood, N. J., but business interests 
 call Mr. Brinckerhoff daily to the city. He is a member of the St. Nicholas and Hol- 
 land Societies and the Down Town and Presbyterian clubs; vice-president of The 
 American Bible Society and The Merchants' National Bank; treasurer of The Presby- 
 terian Hospital ; and trustee of The American Seamen's Friend Society. 
 
 ISAAC VAIL BROKAW, merchant, was born near New Brunswick, N. J., Nov. 
 -', J 835. His ancestors were French Huguenots, who settled in New Jersey afc an 
 early date, the first one to come to this country being Bourgon Broucard, who, with his 
 wife, Catherine Le Febre, landed in 1675 Mr. Broucard with a few others established 
 the first French Protestant Church in New York. The name was changed in process 
 of time to Brokaw. On the maternal side, Mr. Brokaw came from the well-known and 
 highly esteemed Vail family of Quakers, of New Jersey, William Vail the most promi- 
 nent. The young man received his education in New Brunswick. Being of an ambi- 
 tious temperament, he decided at an early age to enter upon a business career in New 
 York city. He first found employment as clerk in the well-known house of Wilson 
 G. Hunt & Co., at that time considered the leading cloth importers in this country. 
 By faithful and diligent service, Mr. Brokaw so won their esteem and confidence, that, 
 at the end of a short time, he was entrusted with the keys to the store containing goods 
 valued at a million dollars and over. By application and careful study of their texture, 
 he became an expert in the handling of woolens; and then, recognizing the fact that 
 his opportunity for rapid advancement was limited, owing to the large number of clerks 
 employed older than himself, he formed the plan of starting in business on his own 
 account. Accordingly, with the advice of his kind friend, Wilson G. Hunt, he formed 
 
H2 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 a partnership and began a clothing business under the firm name of Dunham & Brokaw. 
 This business was most successfully carried on from 1856 to 1861, when Mr. Dunham 
 retired, and Mr. Brokaw continued the business under his own name. In 1866 he 
 admitted to partnership his brother, William Vail Brokaw, thereafter adopting the 
 name of Brokaw Bro's. The business has been highly successful down to the present 
 time. No firm are more highly esteemed in the United States, no trade better 
 managed. 
 
 Mr. Brokaw considers his success due to the fact that his business has been most 
 diligently conducted, that the goods purchased have been of the best quality, and the 
 productions of the firm constructed with the greatest possible care and attention. He 
 believes that the great success of any undertaking is accomplished by the greatest 
 energy and most eternal vigilance as to details. 
 
 In political faith Mr. Brokaw has always been a staunch Republican. He has 
 always preferred service in the ranks, however, and although well fitted by character 
 and ability for positions of trust and honor, he has firmly declined several which have 
 been offered to him. Other positions of prominence and places upon boards have also 
 been refused by him, because he has always preferred to devote his time and attention 
 to carrying on his own particular business. He is a member of the Union League club 
 and of The Huguenot Society of America, and was for many years an officer in the late 
 Dr. Howard Crosby's Church, which he attended for many years. Mr. Brokaw, 
 although not having held any political office, nevertheless has always taken the keenest 
 interest in public affairs and municipal government, and has allied himself with the 
 side of truth, justice and honest government at all times. He is a firm believer in 
 charities and religious work, many institutions owing their origin and advancement 
 to support received at his hands. The Bethany Mission of Dr. Kittredge's church and 
 the Brokaw Memorial at Princeton are examples of his generosity. 
 
 HENRY D. BROOKMAN, merchant, a native of Bucksport, Me., died in Brooklyn, 
 N. Y., Feb. 19, 1895. Bucksport is a shipping town, and Jwr. Brookman's father was 
 a merchant. The youth was led naturally into nautical and mercantile enterprises, 
 and* after an experience in his native place and in Boston, he came to New York in 
 1848 to open an office as a shipping and ship chandlery merchant. Having been joined 
 by his brother John, the two men formed the firm of H. D. & John U. Brookman, in 
 1851, and for twenty-three years carried on a thriving business. They became large 
 owners of vessels. The Civil War gave a rude shock to the maritime interests of 
 America, and in 1864, the brothers went out of business. But both had gained fortunes, 
 which they increased afterward by investment. He married Marion, daughter of John 
 N. Prentice, warehouseman, and left three children, Henry Prentice Brookman, Mrs. 
 Amory Carhart and Mrs. Philip Niles. 
 
 JOHN ULHORE BROOKHAN, shipping merchant, was born in Bucksport, Me., 
 Nov. 25, 1830. His father, a Prussian by birth, settled in America about 1800. His. 
 mother came from an old colonial family. His education was finished at Wesleyan 
 Seminary in Kent's Hill, Me. At the age of sixteen, he began life as clerk for his. 
 brother Henry, commission and ship chandlery merchant. In 1851, John was admitted 
 to partnership in H. D. Brookman & Co., the style being changed in 1856 to H. D. 
 & John U. Brookman. The brothers worked hard, gradually gained large interests in 
 vessels and derived large profits, both from their store and in freighting cargoes. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BR. 113 
 
 between the continents of the world. In 1 864, the firm dissolved, selling their vessels 
 as rapidly as possible. Since then, Mr. Brookman has transferred his interests mainly 
 to railroads and real estate. He is a capable, clear headed and successful man. At 
 one time, he served in the directorates of The Evansville & Terra Haute, The Chicago 
 & Eastern Illinois, The Louisville & Nashville and The Northern Pacific Railroads, 
 but retired therefrom when he sold his stock. At present, he operates mainly in real 
 estate and is aiding in the development of Tacoma, Wash. His wife, whom he married 
 in 1856, is Sarah, daughter of Colonel Rowland Carlton of Sedgwick, Me. 
 
 CLARENCE BROOKS, varnish manufacturer, born in this city, Aug, 27, 1826, died 
 in New York, March 25, 1891. His father was James Brooks, leather merchant, and 
 his grandfather, an emigrant from England, is reputed to have introduced the art of 
 tanning leather into this country. Clarence gained his education at Hubbs & Clark's 
 High School in 4th street, and at the age of twenty-eight engaged in business with 
 Tilden & Blodgett, varnish manufacturers. Having mastered the mysteries of the 
 craft, and feeling competent to conduct business on his own account, he established in 
 1859 the firm of Brooks & Fitzgerald, afterward known as Clarence Brooks & Co., 
 which latter name is yet retained. He was for upwards of forty years successfully 
 engaged in this industry, and was always held in the highest regard. The factory 
 stood at the corner of West and West i2th streets. He was married Feb. 22, 1849, to 
 Maria Louisa, daughter of Jacob Bogert, and their two children are Ella Louise, wife 
 of N. W. Anthony, and Warren Ward Brooks. 
 
 ELISHA BROOKS, merchant, born in Rye, Westchester county, N. Y., June 15, 
 1815, died in New York, Oct. 26, 1876. He was the son of Henry S. Brooks, clothing 
 merchant, who founded in 1818 the great business, afterward carried on by Brooks 
 Bro's. Elisha gained a sufficient education in the public schools, and in 1830 entered 
 his father's store as clerk. He received a rigid business training, and being of the stuff 
 from which great merchants are made, he proved so efficient that he became a partner 
 in 1833. After the death of the senior Brooks, the business was continued by his five 
 sons. Elisha represented the firm in financial matters and consequently became director 
 and trustee in several banks, fire and life insurance companies, and other corporations. 
 During the Civil War his firm filled large contracts for army clothing and made large 
 profits. Two sons and four daughters survived him. He was a man of attractive and 
 genial manners, unswervingly faithful, his word as good as his bond, public spirited, a 
 stout Union man and a good citizen. 
 
 JOHN HAHIL BROWER, merchant, born on Gold street in Brooklyn, Aug. 12, 
 1801, died in New York city, June 15, 1881. He came from an old Dutch family, be- 
 ing a descendant of Jacob Brower. and Amantie Bogardus, the latter a grand daughter 
 of Aneke Jans Bogardus His father, Adolphus Brower, followed the occupation of a 
 ropemaker, married Elizabeth Baker, and served in the War of 1812. John left school 
 at the age of twelve to become the clerk of Augustus Wyncoop, a large grocer and gen- 
 eral merchant; and by strict, enterprising and unremitting attention to duty, he ad- 
 vanced from position to position until he became Mr. Wyncoop's confidential manager 
 and finally his partner. Upon Mr. Wyncoop's death, the house was reorganized as 
 Arthur & Brower. From about 1840, Mr. Brower managed the business alone and 
 after 1844, under the name of Brower & Neilson. In 1848, with his son-in-law, Benj. B. 
 Blydenburgh, he formed the firm of J. H. Brower & Co. At first, a grocer and mer- 
 

 ii4 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 chant in the West India trade, he extended his operations to insurance, commission and 
 ship owning. The New York & Texas packet line was his venture and, at one time, 
 fifteen vessels belonged to him and traded to all parts of the world. His ship Harvey 
 Birch, named after the noted spy of the American Revolution, was the first vessel cap- 
 tured and destroyed by the Confederates during the Civil War. Almost the first mer- 
 chant in the trade with Texas, he became the largest, and developed that field of com- 
 merce by his advice and operations. He was at one time Consul for Texas in the 
 United States and among the first to extend credit to the business men of that region 
 after annexation to this country. At the time of his death, he was the oldest merchant 
 in the cotton trade and a prominent member of the Cotton Exchange. During his 
 earlier life, he helped .organize the ;th regiment of this city and held a captain's com- 
 mission. While previously a director of The City Bank, The Bank of the Republic and 
 The Commercial and The Union Mutual Insurance Go's, he resigned from these boards 
 several years before his death and retained a place on the board of The American Fire 
 Insurance Co. only. He was universally respected for his intelligence, high character 
 and abilities. His wife, Ann S., daughter of George Duryee, died before him. Eight 
 children were born to them, Mary E., now deceased, wife of Benjamin B Blydenburgh; 
 Elizabeth B., wife of Morgan L. Smith; Annie B., wife of Mason B. Browning; Maria 
 P., wife of George W. McNeel; Susan R., wife of Joseph R. Pierson; Amanda E., wife 
 of Thomas B. Hewitt; Kate M., who died in 1863; and Morgan L. S. Brower, who 
 died in 1864 at the age of about thirty. 
 
 JAMES BROWN, banker, born in County Antrim, Ireland, in February, 1791, 
 died in New York city, Nov. i, 1877. He was the youngest son of Alexander Brown, 
 linen merchant, who came to this country in 1798, and established a linen store in Bal- 
 timore and afterward a famous bank. The parent house of Alexander Brown & Sons 
 having resolved to put forth branches in various parts of the world, James was sent to 
 New York in 1825 to establish the house now known as Brown Bro's & Co. While 
 their father lived, all the Brown brothers frequently resorted to Baltimore for advice 
 and consultation. James Brown became one of the representative bankers of New 
 York. In the panic of 1837, the English branch of the firm was able to secure a loan 
 of $10,000,000 from the Bank of England, which enabled the local firm to weather th 
 financial storm without suspension, and placed them in the front rank of the banke 
 of the world. The house has branches in Baltimore and Philadelphia in this country, 
 under different names, and in England under the name of Brown, Shipley & Co. Fo: 
 fifty years a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Brown was at the time of hi 
 death the third oldest member, his seniors being Wm. F. Gary and Caleb Barstow 
 His first wife was Louisa, the daughter of Rev. Joel Benedict, of Plainfield, Conn 
 Their three daughters were Mrs. Alexander Brown, of Richmond Hill, England, Mrs 
 Howard Potter, and Mrs. James Cooper Lord. From his second marriage, to Eliz; 
 daughter of the Rev. Dr. Coe, of Troy, two children were born, John Crosby, am 
 George H. Brown, both of whom became members of their father's bank. One othe 
 son, Clarence S. Brown, died early in life. Mr. Brown was noted for public spirit an 
 benevolence, and for a desire to avoid having his good deeds brought into public notic 
 His disposition was frank, generous and charitable. 
 
 JAMES flUNC ASTER BROWN, banker, born in Baltimore, Md., Dec. 8, 1820 
 died at Manchester, Vt., July 19, 1890. He was of Irish descent, and a son o: 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BR. 115 
 
 Stewart Brown, well known in Baltimore in former years. When a young man, he 
 entered the bank of Alexander Brown & Sons of Baltimore, remaining with the firm 
 until 1844, when he came to New York to join the firm of Brown Bro's & Co., here. 
 He was identified with this great firm the remainder of his life, being at his death the 
 senior partner, and always active in the management. Mr. Brown lent his energies 
 and influence in a marked degree to the furtherance of benevolent and Christian insti- 
 tutions in this city, and was president of The New York Hospital and vice-president of 
 The American Bible Society. He supported The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
 to Animals, and succeeded Henry Bergh as its president. An earnest advocate and 
 supporter of The Young Men's Christian Association, he also promoted other charitable 
 organizations. A sturdy, judicious, sound man, he was for many years president of 
 the Chamber of Commerce, an election to that office being the highest compliment the 
 merchants of this town can bestow. He never held public office, but took part in a 
 quiet way in movements to promote municipal reform. By his marriage with Julia E. , 
 daughter of the late Waldron B. Post, he had four children, Waldron P. Brown; Ellen 
 Whipple Brown; Julia Elizabeth, who married James Taylor Soiitter; and Mrs. Sarah 
 Elizabeth, wife of Anson W. Hard. 
 
 JOHN L. BROWN, contractor, born in Vermont in 1805, died in New York, March 
 29, 1875. A poor boy, he was obliged to go to work, with scanty education, early in 
 life, as a blacksmith. But brains, good character and perseverance enabled him to 
 make his way as well as many of the collegians. He came to New York about 1845, 
 and engaged in the manufacture of platform and other scales for weighing. He subse- 
 quently undertook construction work, and pushed ahead until he ranked as one of the 
 largest contractors of New York city. For a time partner of Charles Guidet, he helped 
 build a portion of the Brooklyn Water Works. In 1863, in company with William 
 Devoe and Shepherd L. Knapp, Mr. Brown obtained a contract to clean the streets of 
 New York city for ten years. A year later, the contract was sold to Judge Whiting, 
 who, in turn, sold it three years later to Mr. Brown, who held it until 1872, and then 
 disposed of it to the Police Commission. In 1868, he contracted to grade Central 
 Avenue from Macomb's dam to the Yonkers township line, and accomplished the work 
 in two }-ears. He built the high service tower at High Bridge, which is employed 
 to pump Croton water to the elevated parts of the city, and also contracted for laying 
 the water mains, six feet in diameter, from 92d street for a long distance towards High 
 Bridge. When The Long Island Bridge Co. was formed, with a view to bridge the 
 East River at the lower end of Blackwell's Island, he was made its president. He 
 retired from active business in 1872. A son was his only child. 
 
 WALSTON HILL BROWN, contractor and banker, born in Cincinnati, O., June 
 6, 1842, is a son of Augustus J. Brown, lawyer, who removed from Bangor, Me., to 
 Cincinnati and became a partner there of General Nat. McLean for many years, remov- 
 ing in 1852 with his family to New York. Walston graduated from Columbia College 
 in 1864, and was admitted to the bar in 1868. He never practiced, however. In 1869, 
 his father and he founded the banking firm of Augustus J. Brown & Co., in New York, 
 succeeded in 1877 by Walston H. Brown & Co. This house is yet in existence. Early 
 in his career, Mr. Brown was drawn into railroad building as a contractor. As a mem- 
 ber of the firm of Merriam & Brown, he aided in building in 1870 The Sioux City & St. 
 Paul Railroad, and was a member of a committee comprising David Dows, H . H. Por- 
 
' rltrt*nA<w^/ 
 
 ^ h 
 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BR. 117 
 
 ter and himself to reorganize The West Wisconsin Railroad and create the present 
 Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad system. He was a member of 
 Brown, Howard & Co., who built the reorganized and extended Lake Erie & Western, 
 The Toledo & Ohio Central, The Peoria, Decatur & Evansville, The Buffalo, Rochester 
 & Pitsburgh, The New York, Chicago & St. Louis, and The Duluth, South Shore & 
 Atlantic Railroads. In the firm of Brown, Thomas & Co., in which General Samuel 
 Thomas is a partner, which in 1887 succeeded Brown, Howard & Co., he took a contract 
 from the corporation of New York to construct one half the Croton Aqueduct for over 
 $12,000,000. He was secretary of The Sioux City & St. Paul Railroad for several 
 vears, managing director of The Ohio Central for two years, and receiver and president 
 of The Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw Railway for five years. In 1889, he married 
 Eva, daughter, of Robert G. Ingersoll, of New York, and their children are Eva Inger- 
 soll Brown and Robert Ingersoll Brown. His clubs are the Union League, Down Town 
 and Riding, and The Ohio Society, and a seat has been given him in The Chamber of 
 Commerce also. 
 
 JOHN HAZARD BROWNING, a prominent merchant of this city, was of the 
 sixth generation in descent from Nathaniel Browning, who came from England in 1645 
 and settled at Warwick, R. I., where he purchased a piece of land from the Indians for 
 three pounds of wampum. 
 
 The Browning family were, down to the fifth generation, Quakers. 
 
 The father of John Hazard Browning was William T. Browning, who married 
 Catharine Morey, Dec. 29, 1794, the father of the latter living at Newport, R. I., 
 where he owned ships engaged in the West Indies trade and was considered wealthy 
 for those times After his marriage, he moved to North Stonington, Conn., and bought 
 a farm a few miles east of the village of Preston City. 
 
 Upon this farm, the subject of this sketch was born, July 21, 1801 When very 
 young he met with an accident by falling down a well, some forty feet deep The well 
 was dry of water at the time, so that he ran no risk from drowning, but the fall broke one 
 leg in two places and made a gash in his forehead and a scar which he carried until the 
 time of his death. The village physician insisted that the broken leg should be ampu- 
 tated, but the boy's heroic mother would not consent, and by her care and attention 
 the limb was saved and became perfectly well, so as to leave no mark of the injuries 
 in after life. The lad went on crutches for several years, or until he was fourteen 
 years old. 
 
 He was brought up on his father's farm, attended the district school and received 
 a common school education. He made his first start as a teacher in the same school 
 in which he had been educated. While there, he met the lady who afterward became 
 his wife, Miss Eliza Smith Hull, a daughter of Colonel John W. Hull, who was a farmer 
 and bank president, living in the neighborhood. They were married Sept. 21, 1829. 
 
 The first business venture of the young man, at his own risk, was a general store 
 at Middletown, now North Stonington, Conn. , where he dealt largely in yarns, produce 
 and merchandise, carrying his yarns by wagon to the mills at Providence. About 
 1830, he removed the business to New London, Conn., where he conducted a general 
 store for a few years. Leaving this place, he came to the city of New York in the 
 latter part of 1833, and started in the wholesale dry goods business under the firm name 
 of Browning & Pomeroy, afterward Browning & Hull, and then Browning, Hull & 
 
n8 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Marsh. He continued in the wholesale dry goods business until 1848, being widely 
 known and thoroughly repeated among the substantial merchants of the metropolis. 
 
 In the days of the California excitement, Mr. Browning started a general store 
 near the mines, in company with two partners, he taking charge of the business in this 
 city, his partners at the mines. Very shortly afterward, they removed the store from 
 the mines to the city of San Francisco. The partnership was entitled Jennings & 
 Brewster. Both these men were prominent merchants of New York city. The store 
 in San Francisco was carried on until 1860, when Mr. Browning withdrew from all 
 active business, except that he remained a special partner in the firm of Hanford & 
 Browning, the Browning of this firm being his eldest son, William C. Browning. In 
 politics, he started as an "old line" Whig, afterward identifying himself with the 
 Republican party. He was present at an historic abolition meeting in the Broadway 
 Tabernacle, then located in Pearl street, one of the first ever held in this city, and at 
 which a riot occurred on the assembling of the meeting. He seldom entered into poli- 
 tics more than to cast his vote, always applying himself closely and energetically to 
 his own extensive business. In early life he joined the Presbyterian Church, but after- 
 ward united himself with the Reformed Dutch Church, in which he held a prominent 
 position until the time of his death. In 1865 or 1866, he formed a syndicate for the 
 purchase of The Shelby Iron Co., in Alabama, whose works had been destroyed by 
 Sherman's army during the war. This proved a very valuable investment. He after- 
 ward started a similar industry in Cedartown, Ga. , where he possessed large interests. 
 He died March 21, 1877, leaving three children surviving: William C. Browning, of 
 the firm of Browning, King & Co., New York city; Edward F. Browning, and John 
 Hull Browning, president of The Northern Railroad of New Jersey. 
 
 Mr. Browning was an excellent example of the self made men of the United States. 
 Early acquaintance with the difficulties and trials which young men encounter, devel- 
 oped in his own character the qualities of humanity and sympathy ; and he was noted 
 at all times during life for his liberal spirit and generous nature. 
 
 WILLIAM CHARLES BROWNING, dry goods merchant, born in New York city, 
 Nov. 13, 1833, is a son of the late John Hazard Browning, merchant. The young man was 
 educated in his native city. He began business life as a boy in a broker's office, remaining 
 there a little over one year, when he became associated with his father for seven years. 
 In 1858, he formed the firm of Hanford & Browning, succeeded in 1863 by Wm. C. 
 Browning & Co., in which latter firm he associated himself with two brothers. In 1868, 
 the partners established the firm of Browning, King & Co. , to represent the manufac- 
 turing and retail interests of their clothing trade, their wholesale business being -carried 
 on in Chicago under the name of Henry W. King & Co. At the present time, they are 
 the largest manufacturers of clothing in the world. They have retail branches in Chi- 
 cago, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Kansas City, St. Paul, Omaha, 
 New York (Harlem), Minneapolis, Brooklyn, Boston, Lincoln, Providence and Cleve- 
 land. The firm made large contracts for army clothing during the war, and were 
 pioneers in the method of bringing their material at manufacturer's prices directly to 
 the consumer through their retail houses. Sound in judgment, able in enterprise, Mr. 
 Browning ranks among the leading merchants of this generation. He is a director of 
 The Mercantile National Bank, vice-president of The Northern Railroad of New 
 Jersey, and a large owner in The Cherokee Iron Co. of Cedartown, Ga. In 1861, he 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BR. 119 
 
 married Adelaide a daughter of John D. Scott, and their children are John Scott, Wil- 
 liam Hull and Henry King Brdwning. He belongs to the Union League and Merchants' 
 clubs and is a member of The New England Society. 
 
 GEORGE BRUCE, type-founder, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, was born July 5, 
 1781, and died in New York city July 6, 1866. Coming to America while a young man, 
 he first learned the bookbinder's trade, and then apprenticed himself to Thomas Dob- 
 son, a printer in Philadelphia. In 1798, Dobson's office was burned down and yellow 
 fever broke out, whereupon both George and his brother David left the city. George 
 had vellow fever at Amboy, but recovered. He worked at the printer's trade in Albany 
 for a short time, and then came back to New York. In 1803, he was foreman of The 
 Daily Advertiser, and in November became printer and publisher for the proprietor. 
 In 1806, David and George opened a book publishing office at the corner of Pearl street 
 and Coffee House Slip. Industry and excellent work brought them plenty of orders. 
 In 1809, removing to Sloat Lane, near Hanover Square, they had nine presses in oper- 
 ation, and published occasionally on their own account. In 1812, David went to 
 England, and brought back the secret of stereotyping. The brothers introduced this 
 process in this city, being compelled to cast their own type, so as to give it a deeper 
 shoulder. The}' invented various appliances to aid in stereotyping, and in 1816 gave 
 up publishing to start a type foundry. George gave his attention to type founding, 
 David his to stereotyping. When, in 1822, David's health failed, the partnership was 
 dissolved, and George soon gave up stereotyping for type founding, pure and simple. 
 In this trade he made reputation and a fortune. With his nephew, David Bruce, jr., 
 he invented the only type-casting machine that has stood the test of time, and brought 
 out many new and beautiful styles of letters. Mr. Bruce was shrewd, but benevo- 
 lent, unflinching in his integrity, and prompt and decided in character. He was presi- 
 dent of The Mechanics' Institute for many years, and of the Type Founders' Asso- 
 ciation. Type founding and careful investments in real estate brought him a fortune. 
 
 WILLIAM BUCHANAN, manufacturer, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, was 
 born June 10, 1828. He comes from a notable family, whose names are recorded in 
 the Register's Office, established in his native city in 1745. His father was Peter Bar- 
 nett Buchanan, born in Dunfermline, Scotland, Dec. 8, 1807, who was educated at Hax- 
 ton's School under the tutorship of the late Rev. E. Hawley, chaplain of the New York 
 State Senate. His mother, Isabella Cockburn, was born in Edinburgh. Mr. Buchanan 
 is the heir at law of the late James Buchanan, Councillor of the Sixth Ward of Edin- 
 burgh for about thirty years, whose widow enjoys his large fortune. His uncle, William, 
 served as British Commissary General of the Mauritius Isle of France for about thirty 
 years, and his grandfather was the W. B. of the story of the " Mysterious Disappear- 
 ance " in Wilson's "Tales of the Borders." 
 
 William received quite a cosmopolitan education, having studied successively in the 
 schools of Scotland, Ireland and Canada, and then, through an introdu^ ion from 
 John Sparrow, the great timber merchant of Waterford, Ireland, he got a r' .'nation as 
 clerk in the Montreal branch of the great shipping house of Pollok, Gilm r & Co., 
 where he busied himself with ships and cargoes for six years. In 1853, i'. r iased His 
 Excellency, Lord Elgin, to appoint Mr. Buchanan second lieutenant in tn - Montreal 
 Rifles. Mr. Buchanan then decided, much to the regret of his employer:: t.o remove to 
 the metropolis of the United States, and Mr. Gilmour told him that if .e should ever 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK.. BU. 121 
 
 return to Montreal the best position in the house would be open to him. Coming to 
 Xe\v York in 1853, the young man went on in the shipping business, as clerk for 
 Francis McDonald, whose interests are now merged in the Anchor line, Wallace, Wicks 
 & Co., and Stanton, Sheldon & Co., all well known and influential merchants. Owing 
 to the fact that he never attempted any task which he did not possess the power to per- 
 form, and to the additional fact that nature had endowed him with the faculty of throw- 
 ing his whole soul into every undertaking, Mr. Buchanan is not conscious of ever having 
 had any early struggles in life, because success rewarded him from the start. An 
 illustration of the good will which followed him to New York, is afforded by the cir- 
 cumstance that Gilmour & Co. commissioned him to execute many orders for their 
 firm during one or two years here. One of these orders, which was for tobacco, finally 
 drew his attention to the possibilities of that trade. 
 
 In 1858, with such resources as he could command, he began the manufacture of 
 tobacco in Brooklyn, in partnership with the late W. W. Huse, under the style of Huse 
 & Buchanan. Two years later the firm dissolved, and David C. Lyall, a brother-in-law of 
 Mr. Buchanan, was then in 1860 admitted to partnership under the name of William 
 Buchanan & Co. The most harmonious relations existed between these two men, and 
 they spent thirty-two years in cordial co-operation and successful enterprise, the most 
 of the time under the name of Buchanan & Lyall. The junior partner died in 1892. 
 His interest remains in the business, however, and the old name is retained. The firm 
 operate a factory at Brooklyn, and they also own the Planet mills in Brooklyn for the 
 manufacture of hemp carpets, yarns and binding twine, and now enjoy an extended and 
 prosperous trade. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan was united in marriage, March 4, 1858, with Adele Jaclard, of New 
 York. Two children were born to them, William and Clara. After the death of his 
 wife, Mr. Buchanan married again, June 2, 1863, Mary Josephine Pise, of Brooklyn. 
 This union has brought them one son, Charles Peter Buchanan, who is now a member 
 of his father's firm. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and enjoys the reputa- 
 tion of an upright, driving and clear headed business man. Practical affairs necessarily 
 engage his principal attention, but he finds time for the more pleasant side of life, 
 which is to be found in the company of his family and occasional attendance at the 
 houses of various social organizations to which he belongs. He is a member of the 
 Union League, Manhattan, Tuxedo, New York Athletic, Down Town, New York Yacht 
 and New Rochelle Yacht clubs. 
 
 EDWIN BULKLEY, paper merchant, born in Southport, Conn., Dec. 2, 1817, died 
 in that town, July 7, 1881. He came from old Non-conformist stock, his ancestor, the 
 Rev. Peter Bulkley, having settled in Massachusetts in 1635 to enjoy freedom of con- 
 science. The youth grew up with a fair amount of schooling and a large inheritance of 
 health and brains. In 1837, he became one of the founders of the paper firm of Cross, 
 Bulkley & Goodkin, which was succeeded in 1848 by Bulkley & Bro., and in 1865 by 
 Bulkley, Dunton & Co. His mercantile career was long, honorable and worthily suc- 
 cessful. To extend his trade, he engaged in the manufacture of paper and in 1865, 
 with Colonel Alvah Crocker of Fitchburg, and others, started a mill at Turner's Falls, 
 Mass., a village which ow r es its origin to its water power. He was a large owner in 
 The Montague Paper Co. and The Keith Paper Co., of that place, both noted for the 
 
I22 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 high quality of their productions, and a stockholder in The Winnipiseogee and The 
 Russell Paper Go's, The Crocker Bank, and The John Russell Cutlery Co. He dwelt 
 in Southport, Conn., and was a director of The Southport Bank there, and of The Bank 
 of North America and The Standard Fire Insurance Co. here. 
 
 WILLIAM LANflAN BULL, stock broker, born in New York city, Aug. 23, 1844, 
 is the son of Frederic Bull, and a descendant of that famous Jonathan Trumbull, Gov- 
 ernor of Connecticut and friend of George Washington, to whom the nickname of 
 "Brother Jonathan" was given. Mr. Bull's education was acquired in the College of 
 the City of New York, and he began his business career as clerk in the banking house 
 of Edward Sweet & Co. In 1867, he became a partner. This business was originated 
 by Edward Sweet in Boston over forty years ago, and afterward removed to New York 
 city. Mr. Bull is a brother-in-law of Mr. Sweet. The firm transacts an extensive 
 business in stocks and the investment of money for foreign houses, and has been 
 successful. Mr. Bull has been twice president of the New York Stock Exchange, and 
 is a director of The Northern Pacific Railroad, The East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia 
 Railway and The Metropolitan Trust Co., and is also connected with The Atchison, 
 Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. He was married Feb. 15, 1871, to Tasie W., daughter 
 of Henry R. Worthington, and his children are Frederic, Henry Worthington and 
 William Lanman Bull, jr. Well bred, well educated, courteous and able, Mr. Bull 
 enjoys a wide acquaintance in town, and is a member of most of the best clubs, 
 including the Metropolitan, Century, Union, University, City, Aldine, Grolier, Rac- 
 quet, Riding, Players' Church, Country, South Side Sportsmen's and Mendelssohn 
 Glee clubs. By virtue of lineal descent, he is a member of The Sons of the American 
 Revolution. 
 
 JAMES ABERCROHBIE BURDEN, manufacturer, born in Troy, N. Y., Jan. 6, 
 1833, is a son of Henry Burden, a Scot, who came to this country in 1819 and rose 
 to eminence as a manufacturer. James was educated by private tutors in New Haven, 
 and attended lectures in the Yale Scientific School and the Rensselaer Polytechnic 
 Institute. Inheriting his father's inventive genius, he gained a practical knowledge of 
 the business in his father's shops, where he first served as mechanical engineer and mill- 
 wright. He advanced step by step until he became president of The Burden Iron Co., 
 of Troy and New York. He has obtained eighteen patents for inventions of his own 
 for machines used in the manufacture of iron, one of the most important being that for 
 making horse and mule shoes, this machine producing seventy finished shoes per 
 minute, punched with holes and prepared in every other way, ready for the horse's 
 foot. In 1883, he became president of The Hudson River Ore & Iron Co., with mines 
 in Columbia county, but resigned later on account of ill health. His iron foundries 
 and machine shops give employment to three thousand men. In 1891, he married 
 Mary, daughter of Richard Irvin, of New York. Their children are James A., 
 Richard Irvin, Williams Proudfit and Arthur Scott Burden. He makes his home in 
 New York city about half the year. He has declined nominations as Mayor of Troy, 
 Member of Congress, and other offices, but has been twice a presidential elector on the 
 Republican ticket. He is a member of The American Institute of Mining Engineers, 
 president of The Society of New York Farmers, and member of the Union, Metropolitan, 
 Engineers', Union League and Riding clubs, and of several scientific societies in Great 
 Britain, and one of the influential supporters of the annual Patriarchs' Ball. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BU. 123 
 
 JOHN BURKE, agent for the Guinness ales and porters, born in County Galway, 
 Ireland, Aug. 7, 1829, died Feb. 4, 1892. He was a son of the Rev. John Burke. The 
 boy received an excellent education, although never sent to college. He studied law 
 under private tutors, but did not practice, joining instead his brother Edward in distil- 
 ling liquors. After mastering the details of business, he went into partnership with 
 his brother, and helped found the now well known firm of E. & J. Burke, of Dublin, 
 whose Irish whiskey soon became known all over the world. Later, the firm began 
 the bottling of Bass's ale and Guinness's porter. Both men were energetic and shrewd 
 and met with great success. They maintained branches in Liverpool, New York and 
 Australia, and finally transacted so large a trade with America that, in 1859, John 
 Burke came to New York to take charge in this country, under the name of The E. & J. 
 Burke Bottling Co. The parent house finally took the name of E. & J. Burke, Ld. 
 Edward Burke died about 1889, leaving his entire fortune to John. The latter built 
 the Burke pavilion at the Orange Memorial Hospital in honor of Edward's memory, at 
 a cost of 30,000, adding $16,000 as well as 10,000 for the Hospital afterward. John 
 Burke was a man of warm feelings and generous nature, and gave largely to public and 
 private charities. He was twice married, his second wife being Elizabeth West, daugh- 
 ter of the Rev. John Watson, of Orange. His children were John Burke, jr. ; Mrs. 
 Moor, a resident of England; Edward F., Mabel and Edith L. Burke. 
 
 THOMAS BROWNELL BURNHAfl, manufacturer and social leader, was born in 
 New York city, Jan. 30, 1866. He descends from an ancient and distinguished family, 
 which traces its lineage directly back through English history to Walter Le Ventre, 
 who came from Normandy to England with William the Conqueror. The family was 
 planted upon the shores of the new world by John Burnham in 1635 and bore its part 
 in subduing the red man, bringing the wilderness under cultivation, and creating upon 
 the Western Continent the most progressive nation in the world. Captain Benjamin 
 Church, one of Mr. Burnham's ancestors, was active in the war with King Philip's Indian 
 tribe. Jedediah Burnham, his grandfather, was a land holder and farmer. 
 
 Gordon Webster Burnham, his father, was a remarkable man. Born upon the 
 farm in Hampton, Conn., March 20, 1803, and dying in New York city, March 18, 1885, 
 he devoted over fifty years of his life to large and successful operations in the field of 
 manufacturing industry. Leaving home at the age of fifteen and gaining an acquain- 
 tance with practical business in various employments, during a part of the time 
 being a merchant on his own account at Waterbury, Conn. ; he entered the firm of 
 Benedict & Co., in Waterbury, Conn., manufacturers of brass and copper utensils, in 
 1832. In 1834, in partnership with Mr. Benedict, he established what became The 
 Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Co. , the largest manufacturers of brass and copper 
 appliances and fixtures in the United States, if not in the world. In 1836, Mr. Burn- 
 ham established a depot of supplies in New York city, and, the venture meeting with 
 success, he removed to this city permanently in 1837. A house was also established in 
 Boston. When the New York house was dissolved in 1863 and that at Boston in 1867, 
 Mr. Burnham found himself the possessor of a large fortune. Meanwhile, he had pro- 
 moted other industries and had become president of The Waterbury Clock Co. , The 
 Waterbury Watch Co., The Waterbury Brass Co., and The American Pin Co. He 
 was an ardent admirer of Daniel Webster, and, in 1876, presented to New York city 
 the impressive bronze statue of Webster, heroic size, which was erected in Central 
 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BC. 
 
 I2 5 
 
 Park. To Bishop Brownell, of Connecticut, he also erected a bronze statue in Hart- 
 ford ; and his own monument in Greenwood, built before his death, is one of the finest 
 in that beautiful cemetery. Mr. Burnham was twice married, first to Ann Griswold 
 Ives, of Meriden, their son, Douglas W. Burnham, surviving him. Twenty years later, 
 he married Mary Louisa, daughter of Bishop Brownell, of Connecticut, and their son 
 is Thomas Brownell Burnham. 
 
 Thomas Brownell Burnham was carefully educated by his parents and prepared for 
 Harvard College, but did not enter. He has since found occupation mainly in the 
 supervision of the large fortune bequeathed to him by his father and of various Con- 
 necticut industries with which he is connected. He is a director in The Benedict & 
 Burnham Manufacturing Co., Holmes, Booth & Haydens, brass manufacturers, and 
 The Waterbury Watch Co., all of Waterbury, Conn. He is also a large stockholder and 
 director in The Sixth Avenue Railroad of New York city. Mr. Burnham leaves to 
 competent subordinates the details of management of the properties with which he is 
 connected, and spends much of his time in foreign travel and open air recreation. 
 
 A courteous address, a fine mind and hospitable nature render him a favorite among 
 refined people ; and he is conspicuous in the social interests of New York city and those 
 which centre at Tuxedo, and in the Union, Manhattan, Tuxedo, Racquet, New York 
 Yacht, and Westminster Kennel clubs, of which he is a member. He was married in 
 1885 to Agnes, since deceased, daughter of Henry Havemeyer, of this city, and has 
 one son, Gordon Le Roy Burnham. 
 
 CALVIN BURR, merchant, born in Hartford, Conn., Dec. 15, 1789, died in New 
 York city, Jan. 17, 1887. He was a son of Joseph Burr, at one time a wealthy man 
 who, however, lost his means and left his children in poverty. Calvin began life with 
 few advantages and roved around the world for many years, engaging in various occu- 
 pations. At different times he conducted business in Albany, Cazenovia and Ludlow- 
 ville, X. Y., meanwhile serving in the War of 1812. About 1847 he came to New 
 York city, with considerable means, and invested his money in real estate in New 
 York and South Brooklyn with such good judgment that the subsequent appreciation 
 in value brought him large wealth. 
 
 HENRY AARON BURR, manufacturer, born in Canaan, Columbia county, N. Y., 
 in 1810, died in New York, Dec. 25, 1884. His father was a first cousin of Aaron 
 Burr, and his grandmother a sister of Jonathan Edwards, Educated in the local 
 schools of the village, Henry showed a great inclination for historical and scientific 
 books from boyhood. After service for several years as clerk in a store at Athens, 
 X. Y., he came to New York city in 1831. Finding employment as bookkeeper in the 
 hat store of Elisha Bloomer, he served there for five years, and then opened a hat 
 store on his own account. In 1845 he began to experiment with hat-making machines, 
 finally obtaining a patent and beginning the manufacture of hats. His invention was 
 eminently successful, giving him a virtual monopoly of the industry until his patents 
 expired in 1872. Large means accrued to him from his trade, through the invest- 
 ment of which he became a director of The Mechanics' National Bank and The Loril- 
 lard Insurance Co., and a Trustee of The Metropolitan Savings Bank. He was one of 
 the members of the Union League club, The New York Historical Society and The 
 American Institute, and for seventeen years president of the board of trustees of the 
 volunteer fire department. He took an active part in forming military companies, 
 
I2 6 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 including the Ellsworth Zouaves, and sending them to the front during the war. He 
 left two daughters, Mary Eloise, wife of Frank D. Harmon, and Emma Louise, wife 
 of Cornelius H. Van Ness. 
 
 COL. JAflES BURT, broker, born in Albany, N. Y., Aug. 15, 1836, died in 
 New York city, July 6, 1892. A descendant from Puritan stock, he was a son of 
 Thomas M. Burt, once one of the proprietors of The Albany Argus. The emigrant 
 ancestor, Henry Burt, settled in Roxbury, Mass., in 1637. James graduated from 
 Union College in 1854, engaged in business, and for many years conducted a sugar 
 brokerage business, at 44 Pine street, in this city, with great success. Although not a 
 military man, he gained the title of Colonel by appointment on the staff of Gov. 
 Fenton in 1866, as Commissary General of New York. Service as Assistant Appraiser 
 of this port, 1869-73, rendered him an expert in the dutiable values of imported sugar. 
 A faithful and religious man, he attended the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, helped 
 found the Church club, and was treasurer of both. He also joined the Grolier and Com- 
 monwealth clubs. Col. Burt was married Oct. 18, 1865, to Euretta, eldest daughter 
 of the late Covington Guion, of Kinderhook, N. Y., who survives him, with two] 
 daughters. 
 
 THERON R. BUTLER, merchant, born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in 1813, died in j 
 New York city, Jan. 19, 1884. In 1828, while yet a lad, he went to Ohio, and en- 
 gaged in mercantile pursuits for several years. He returned to New York city in 1843, 
 and entered the dry goods trade, first as junior partner in the firm of Avery, Hilliard 
 & Co., of which he subsequently became the head. For about twenty years he carried 
 on a prosperous trade. In 1865 he was chosen president of The Sixth Avenue Railroad 
 Co., retaining that position until his death. He served for many years in the directorate 
 of The Erie Railroad Co., and was interested in other roads. In 1848 he married Maria 
 Miller of Ohio, who, with one daughter, the wife of Rev. H. M. Sanders, survived 
 him. Mr. Butler entertained a strong liking for fine paintings, of which he made a 
 large collection, including excellent examples of many famous European painters. 
 
 WILLIAH ALLEN BUTLER, lawyer, born Feb. 20, 1825, is a native of Albany, 
 N. Y., and a son of Benjamin Franklin Butler, one of the revisers of the Statutes of 
 New York, and Attorney General in the Cabinets of Presidents Jackson and Van Buren. 
 He traces his family line back to Jonathan Butler, of Saybrook, Conn. His grand- 
 father, Medad Butler, was the first judge of Columbia county, N. Y. The maternal 
 line originated in Nantucket, Mass. Mr. Butler studied at the Albany Academy and 
 in a private school in Georgetown, D. C. , and graduated from the University of the 
 City of New York in 1843. He began practice, with his father, in New York city, in 
 1846. In 1849, he formed a partnership with Hiram Barney, afterward Collector of 
 the Port, and later became head of the law firm of Butler, Stillman & Hubbard, lead- 
 ing commercial and corporation lawyers. Mr. Butler has argued many important 
 cases before the United States Supreme Court. Engrossed in his profession, he has 
 never held civil office except as a member of the Commission on Cities, appointed by 
 Gov. Tilden, but has been president of The American Bar Association and The Bar 
 Association of the City of New York. Mr. Butler is a man of cultivated tastes and is 
 often seen in many of the best clubs in town, in which he is a member, including the 
 Century, Union League, Grolier and Lawyers'. He is a trustee of The Central Trust 
 Co. and The Lenox Library and member of the council of the University of the City 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. BU. 127 
 
 of New York. March 21, 1850, he was married to Mary R. Marshall, and their chil- 
 dren are William A. Butler, jr., Howard R., Charles H., George P., Arthur W., Mary 
 M., Harriet A. and Margaret C. Butler. His published writings include " Nothing to 
 Wear" and other poetical works, many addresses and "The History of the Revision of 
 the Statutes of New York." 
 
 GEN. DANIEL BUTTERFIELD, soldier and banker, was born in Oneida county, 
 X. Y., in 1831, and is a son of the late John Butterfield, one of the originators cf The 
 American Express Co. , who aided in building the first telegraph line from New York 
 to Buffalo and was president of the overland mail enterprise to San Francisco. His 
 maternal grandfather, Gamaliel Olmstead, was a soldier of the American Revolution. 
 Graduating from Union College in 1849, the future soldier studied law, but was too 
 young for admission to the bar, and entered business life instead. When the Civil 
 War broke out, as Colonel ot the i2th N. Y. Militia, he tendered the services of his 
 regiment and himself to the Government and took his command to the front. There- 
 after, he served with distinction and chivalric courage, rising to the rank of Major 
 General, taking part in the campaigns in Virginia and all the battles of the Army of 
 the Potomac, until wounded at Gettysburg in 1863. Later he served in Tennessee 
 and the heavy fighting of the Atlanta campaign. Upon his return to the North, he 
 resumed business pursuits. Latterly he has been engaged in banking. His wife is 
 Julia L. Safford, widow of the late Frederick P. James. Gen. Butterfield is president of 
 The National Bank of Cold Spring on the Hudson. He is a man of courteous manners, 
 fine presence, and high character, and a member of the Union, Church, Sigma Phi and 
 Union Alumni Clubs, and of the Loyal Legion and the Sons of the Revolution. 
 
c. 
 
 HUGH NESBITT CAMP, manufacturer, was born Oct. 14, 1827, in the village of 
 Livingston, N. J., about ten miles from Newark, at the house of his maternal grand- 
 father, Calvin Ely. In the following December he was brought to New York by his 
 parents, and New York has been his home ever since. His parents were Isaac Brook- 
 field Camp and Jeannette Ely, both natives of New Jersey and children of neighboring 
 farmers. Beginning life at fourteen, he was employed in various ways until 1843, when 
 he entered the counting house of James A. Edgar, then of the firm of Booth & Edgar, 
 commission merchants. In March, 1854, at the suggestion of Francis Skiddy, his life- 
 long and much loved friend, he formed a partnership for sugar refining in Bristol, R. I. 
 With $40,000 capital, loaned to the new concern by Francis Skiddy, Booth & Edgar, 
 and William Platt & Sons, of Philadelphia, the firm of Camp, Brunsen & Sherry engaged 
 in business and were highly successful. Within a year they repaid their borrowed 
 capital, and for fourteen years fortune smiled upon them. In 1868, the firm dissolved, 
 Mr. Camp buying the interest of Messrs. Brunsen and Sherry, and forming a new part- 
 nership, taking as partners George Robertson, one of his salesmen, and William McK. 
 Chapman, under the name of Hugh N. Camp & Co. During the war many competitors 
 came into the field, over-production followed, and Mr. Camp succumbed in 1870. He 
 prepared to resume, but finally concluded that the real estate business offered a greater 
 opportunity, and he opened an office in Pine street, as broker and auctioneer, and met 
 with success far ahead of his expectations. In 1880, he began buying and selling on his 
 own account, paying especial attention to lands in the 23d and 24th Wards. In these 
 dealings he has been successful. He is also and has been for many years largely inter- 
 ested in lead mining in Missouri, and in the cement business in Pennsylvania. In 1854, 
 Mr. Camp married Elizabeth Dorothea McKesson, daughter of John McKesson. Of 
 their eight children, six are living Edward B., Maria Lefferts, who married Perry P. 
 Williams; John McKesson, Fred. Edgar, Alice Emily, and Hugh Nesbitt Camp, jr. 
 Their home has been since 1861 at Morris Heights, where in 1863 he built " Fairlawn.' 
 In 1880, Mr. Camp was appointed by Mayor Edson, one of the Committee of Seven, to 
 inquire as to the necessity of an additional supply of water for this city. From the 
 action taken at that time, the citizens of New York are indebted for the magnificent 
 supply of pure water it now has. Mr. Camp has been trustee of The Mutual Life 
 Insurance Co., director of The Mechanics' National Bank, The Continental Trust Co., 
 The Title Guarantee & Trust Co. (and vice-president of the latter), and The Twenty- i 
 third Ward Bank; and trustee of Clinton Hall Association, of which he was secretary 
 about thirty years, The Skin and Cancer Hospital, and The House of Rest for Con- 
 sumptives. At present he is treasurer of The St. Joseph Lead Co., The Doe Run 
 Lead Co. , The Mississippi River & Bonne-Terre Railroad, trustee of several charities 
 and a member of The Chamber of Commerce. His clubs are the Century, Union 
 League, Grolier, Church, Republican and City. In politics Mr. Camp is a staunch 
 Republican, and has been since 1859. 
 
 FELIX CAMPBELL, merchant and banker, a native of Brooklyn, N. Y. , where he 
 is a resident, was born in 1829, of Scotch-Irish parentage. He left the public schools 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK.. CA. 129 
 
 at the age of twelve, to learn the trade of printer in the office of The Brooklyn Daily 
 Eagle, and followed this calling for several years in Brooklyn. In 1848, he entered 
 the factory of Walworth, Nason & Guild, No. 79 John street, New York city, to learn 
 steam heating and engineering. Having mastered the art, he was made foreman at 
 the age of twenty-two, and held this position for ten years, leaving only to go into 
 business for himself. The old firm having removed to other quarters, he hired the old 
 place on John street and established himself in business. A few years later, he pur- 
 chased the building and has carried on the business there successfully down to the 
 present time. Mr. Campell is a Democrat, and has been selected by his party for 
 public position. At twenty-three he was elected to the Board of Supervisors of Kings 
 county, and, although the youngest member, was chosen president of the bod}'. He 
 was a Fire Commissioner during the volunteer days, and, under appointment by Gover- 
 nor Tilden, in 1876, a member of the Centennial Committee. For twelve years a 
 member of the Brooklyn Board of Education, he was, in 1884, elected member of 
 of Congress from the Second District of Brooklyn, being re-elected three times in 
 succession, and ceased to represent Brooklyn at Washington only upon his positive 
 refusal to accept a fifth nomination. While in Congress, he procured an appropriation 
 of nearly 1,500,000 for the new Brooklyn Post Office. The building is probably the 
 only building of its class in this country completed under its original appropriation. 
 As a private individual, Mr. Campbell has done much to promote the efficiency of the 
 public schools. He is president of The People's Trust Co. and The Brevoort 
 Savings Bank and a director of The American Bank Note Co., The Union Ferry 
 Co., The Brooklyn Art Association, and other important institutions. 
 
 GEORGE W. CAHPBELL, manufacturer, born in 1813, died June 4, 1893. In 
 1851, with about $30,000 of joint capital, George A. Thayer and he engaged in the 
 useful and lucrative industry of manufacturing linseed oil in the firm of Campbell & 
 Thayer. For twenty years prior to his death, the firm ranked among the best known 
 manufacturers of this commodity in the country. Mr. Campbell never slept over his 
 business affairs. He was keenly alert, and drove his trade with great energy, and, 
 having attracted attention and commendation, became by election a director in The 
 National City Bank and several insurance companies. The married life of Mr. Camp- 
 bell and Virginia W. , his wife, was a happy one. There were born to them ten children 
 Euphemia; Moses T. Campbell, now deceased; Samuel, George W., Allen W., 
 Catharine, Harriet, Eliza S , Helen K. , and Jane Allen Campbell. 
 
 RICHARD L. CAflPBELL, merchant, who died while at sea, Feb. 3, 1884, in the 
 forty-fifth year of his age, was a lifelong resident of New York. He was sent to school 
 at White Plains, but did not go to college. His first important business connection 
 was with John H. Hall and Augustine Smith, merchants and manufacturers of paper. 
 Starting in early life, he continued a member of this firm until a short time before his 
 death, when failing health compelled his retirement. He owned a large interest in The 
 Chelsea Paper Manufacturing Co., and was a member of the Union League club, but 
 refrained from outside business ventures, devoting his whole time to his business. He 
 married a sister of Henry E. Coe, who, with two daughters, survived him. 
 
 SIR RODERICK WILLIAfl CAMERON, shiping merchant, born in Glengarry 
 county, Canada, July 25, 1825, and educated in a district school in Kingston, came to 
 Ne\v York city in 1852 to charter a ship, in which a party of young Canadian adven- 
 
I30 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 turers were to make a voyage to Australia. The venture proved a success and the future 
 knight decided to establish himself in this city in business as a shipping merchant. 
 Although a novice, he succeeded so well that within the first three years he dispatched 
 to Australia more than 3,000 emigrants and several thousand tons of American prod- 
 ucts, and since then has carried on a commission business with success. In 1870, he 
 admitted to partnership his clerk, William A. Street, then adopting the title of R. W. 
 Cameron & Co., which is yet retained. The firm have branches in Sydney, N. S. W., 
 and in London. Although an ardent admirer of the American Republic and at one 
 time, in 1861, a Union volunteer in the ypth Regiment, Sir Roderick has always 
 remained a British subject. He was knighted in 1883 for his services as an honorary 
 commissioner from Australia to the World's Fair of Philadelphia in 1876, and Paris in 
 1878, and from Canada to those at Sydney and Melbourne in 1880 and 1881. The same 
 honor was bestowed upon his ancestor, Sir Roderick Ivor McLeod, by King James in 
 1713. Sir Roderick is a member of the Metropolitan, Tuxedo, Knickerbocker, Down 
 Town and New York Yacht clubs and of various clubs in London. He was married 
 first to Miss Cumming in Quebec, who died in 1859. In 1861, he married Miss Leaven- 
 worth, of this city, by whom he has had seven children. 
 
 JOHN CAREY, capitalist, born in London, England, May 21, 1821, died in New 
 York city, April 2, 1881. He came to this country when nine years old, with his 
 father, John Carey, who died in 1880. Graduating with honor from Columbia Col- 
 lege, where he had for a classmate John Jacob Astor, he studied civil engineering, 
 and practiced it with success until, in 1850, he married Mary Alida, second daughter 
 of William B. Astor. Shortly after this, he retired from business, devoting himself 
 exclusively to the management of his own and his wife's property. About this time, 
 he purchased the estate in Newport, R. I., known as Grassland, at the corner of Nar- 
 ragansett avenue and Spring street. For several years he dwelt in Europe, spending 
 most of his time in Germany, where his children were being educated, and thereafter 
 lived in New York in the winter season and in Newport in summer, being conspicuous 
 in social life. 
 
 THOflAS FAIR CARHART, merchant, born in 1827, in Warren county, N. J., died 
 in White Plains, N. Y., Dec. 6, 1882. He was a descendant of early Dutch settlers of 
 New Jersey. After an education in private schools, he entered business life as early 
 as 1848, in Newark, N. J., and carried on a trade in clothing in that city, New Orleans 
 and, after 1854, in New York city, until his death. By careful cultivation of the 
 qualities which ensure progress, and the possession of a good mind and character, he 
 achieved distinct success. In 1858 he married Marie Louise, daughter of Lewis. 
 Castera, a leading lawyer of New Orleans, and dwelt for many years with his familj 
 at White Plains, north of the city. His wife, two sons and three daughters survived 
 him. 
 
 RICHARD F. CARMAN, real estate owner, born in 1801, died July 13, 1867, in 
 Carmansville, on the northern part of this island. He began life a poor boy, making 
 packing boxes for merchants. Then, as a carpenter and builder, he gained sufficient 
 means to enable him, after the great fire of 1835, to take contracts for rebuilding the 
 ruined structures. When these contracts were made, labor was scarce and material 
 was high in price, but this fact attracted so large a rush of workmen and selling agents 
 to New York city that wages and prices depreciated and he completed his contracts at 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CA. 131 
 
 great profit. He followed his.vocation for many years and then devoted himself to 
 real estate, founding and creating the beautiful village of Cannansville, fronting 
 the Hudson River, on the upper part of the island. This suburb, then far north of 
 the city, is now surrounded by a dense population, and the land is enormously valuable. 
 His children were Richard, Charles E. and Frances Sage. 
 
 ANDREW CARNEGIE, iron and steel manufacturer, a native of Dunfermline, 
 Scotland, born Nov. 25, 1837, is the son of a weaver. The family came to America 
 in 1848 and settled in Pittsburgh. In 1849, Andrew took charge of a small stationary 
 engine and later became a telegraph messenger and operator. One of the first to read 
 telegraphic signals by sound, he rose to be clerk to the manager of the telegraph lines 
 of The Pennsylvania Railroad. While in this position he joined Mr. Woodruff, 
 inventor of the sleeping car, in an effort to introduce the new car. The success of 
 this venture gave him the nucleus of his wealth. He became in time superintendent 
 of The Pittsburgh Division of The Pennsylvania Railroad. His first large operation 
 was a share in the purchase of the Story farm on Oil Creek, for 40,000. The oil 
 wells on this tract yielded in one year over $1,000,000 in cash dividends. With the 
 capital thus obtained, Mr. Carnegie joined with others in establishing iron bridge shops, 
 and, from this beginning, went on until he had become the controlling owner of the 
 largest iron and steel industry ever developed in the United States. His success has 
 been phenomenal, and is attributable to concentration. Every offer of a directorship 
 has been declined by him. During the Civil War he was appointed Military Superin- 
 tendent of Government Railways and Telegraphs, and he was afterward appointed by 
 President Harrison a Delegate to the Pan-American Conference. A few years ago all 
 his interests were consolidated in The Carnegie Steel Co. (Limited), with a capital of 
 $25,000,000. The plants comprise eleven blast furnaces in Pittsburgh, Pa., capable of 
 producing 1,200,000 tons of pig iron per year; The Edgar Thomson Steel Works at 
 Bessemer; The Keystone Bridge Works, The Allegheny Bessemer Steel Works, The 
 Pittsburgh Steel Works, The Beaver Falls Steel Co., The Frick Coke Co., and other 
 properties. These works rank as the largest producers of pig iron, steel rails and coke 
 in the world, and now make armor plate for war ships. Mr. Carnegie is a good deal 
 of a Scot yet. He long ago owned eighteen English newspapers, which he conducted 
 in the interest of radicalism, and has received the freedom of seven cities of his native 
 land. In 1879, he erected swimming baths for the use of the people of Dunfermline, 
 Scotland, and in 1880, a free library. In 1884, he gave $50^00 to Bellevue Hospital in 
 this city for a laboratory; in 1885, 1,100,000 to Pittsburgh for a public library, music 
 hall and art gallery and a second million to endow the art gallery and museum ; in 
 1886, $250,000 to Allegheny City for a music hall and library, and 300,000 to Edin- 
 burgh, Scotland, for a free library. He has also established free libraries at Braddock, 
 Ayr and Johnstown, Pa., Fairfield, Iowa, and other places. His gifts now exceed 
 5,000,000. Mr. Carnegie is the author of many essays on labor and economic questions. 
 His "Triumphant Democracy, "published in 1886, a review of the progress of America 
 under the Republic, attracted attention, went through eight editions, and has been 
 published in French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and even in Japanese. An essay on 
 "How to Get Rich," in THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE, in which he declared that a college 
 education was not essential to business success, greatly aroused the college men and 
 led to controversy. His other books include " Round the World" and "An American 
 
132 
 
 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Four in Hand in Britain," but the most important essay is the one on "Wealth," 
 which attracted the attention of Mr. Gladstone, and was, at his request, reprinted in 
 Britain under the title, "The Gospel of Wealth." It holds that " Surplus wealth is a 
 sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of 
 the community from which it is derived. It teaches that the man who dies possessed 
 of millions of available wealth, which was free and his to administer during- his life- 
 time, dies disgraced." 
 
 OLIVER STANLEY CARTER, merchant and banker, a native of New Hartford, 
 Litchfield county, Conn., born July 25, 1825, is a son of Hernias and Hannah Booth 
 Carter. Reared upon a farm, he gained an education at the public schools during the 
 winter seasons, and at seventeen years of age obtained a situation as clerk in a wholesale 
 grocery house in Hartford. There being little prospect for advancement, he came 
 to New York early the next year with good letters of recommendation, went from store 
 to store in search of employment, and found it in the store of Civill & Whitlock, grocers. 
 The firm did not employ a porter. That work was expected from the youngest clerk. 
 The business was small and proved of great advantage to Mr. Carter, as it gave him a 
 knowledge of different details of the business. Correspondence was principally done 
 in the evening by the junior partner. The letters being copied by hand instead of by 
 letter press, this afforded advantages to the young man. The senior partner soon re- 
 tired. Mr. Kellogg was admitted and the firm took the name of John W. Whitlock & 
 Co. Mr. Carter made no agreement for salary after the first year. His compensation, 
 at first $150, upon which he had to live, was increased from time to time, and made 
 $3,000 in 1853. Jan. i, 1854, Mr. Carter was admitted to the firm, which then displayed 
 the sign of Whitlock, Kellogg & Carter. The business had now increased about three- 
 fold. After Mr. Whitlock's death, in 1858, the firm took the name of Kellogg, Carter 
 & Hawley, the latter bringing considerable capital. Mr. Kellogg died in 1859, when 
 Mr. Carter admitted a brother of Mr. Hawley with additional capital, and the firm 
 became Carter & Hawley; afterward, in 1868, Carter, Hawley & Co. Jan. i, 1880, 
 George H. Macy, Mr. Carter's son-in-law, was admitted. Mr. Carter retired from 
 business April i, 1884. At the expiration of the co-partnership, Mr. Carter having 
 given Mr. Hawley permission to do business under the firm name of Carter, Hawley 
 & Co., satisfactory terms could not be made between Mr. Hawley and Mr. Macy, in 
 consequence of that permission to him individually, and Mr. Carter then joined Mr. Macy 
 as Carter, Macy& Co., associating with them two employes who had been with the house 
 for many years. The firm have increased the business largely over that formerly carried 
 on, and become by far the largest importers and distributors of teas in the United States. 
 
 Mr. Carter was elected a director of The North American Fire Insurance Co., in 
 1856, and The Home Insurance Co., about 1860, which positions he has since held. 
 He has been trustee and director of several other institutions. In 1874, he was elected 
 director of The National Bank of the Republic, and after Henry W. Cannon had resigned 
 to take the presidency of another bank, Mr. Carter was made vice president. Not 
 being closely confined to his tea business, he displayed rather more interest in the bank 
 than usual for a director. On the death of the president, the Hon. John J. Knox, in 
 February, 1892, Mr. Carter was persuaded to accept the presidency of the bank, which 
 he has since held. He owns the Carter Building at Broadway and 8th street, the 
 Carter & Macy Building at 140-142 Pearl street, and some other realty. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CA. 133 
 
 By his marriage with Elizabeth Hyde Coley, daughter of John H. Coley, of New 
 Haven, he had one son, who died in infancy, and five daughters, who are married and 
 settled in their own homes. In 1887, he was married to Isis Yterbide, daughter of 
 Woodburn Potter, of Washington, D. C. Mr. Carter lived in New York city two or 
 three years, when he moved to Brooklyn. In 1862, by the advice of a physician, he trans- 
 ferred his residence to Orange, N. J. His beautiful home there is the largest in the 
 place. Mr. Carter is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Union League 
 and Down Town clubs of this city, and The New England Society of Orange. 
 
 WALDEMAR CASPARY, cloak manufacturer, born in Berlin, Germany, Jan. i, 
 1841, began life as a salesman in his native city. Doubtful of an advancement, equal 
 to his ambition, at home, he arrived in New York city May 16, 1872, with several trunks 
 full of samples of Berlin made garments, and visited in turn all the large cities of the 
 United States as far west as St. Louis, meanwhile closely observing the shape of 
 American clothing. Laden with orders from importing merchants, he returned to 
 Berlin. In 1873, he opened an office on Mercer street in New York city, for his firm 
 of Hahn & Benjamin, and next year was admitted to partnership. He was the pioneer 
 in the introduction of Berlin made garments to the American market. For several 
 years he imported largely, removing in 1875 to Broadway, and in 1877, succeeding the 
 old firm in the new one of Benjamin & Caspary. The American tariff finally compelled 
 him, in 1882, to undertake to manfacture his cloaks here. He has gradually developed 
 the industry to large proportions. In 1 884, the store was removed to more spacious quarters 
 at Broome and Greene streets. In 1876, Mr. Caspary married Miss Amelia Hexter of 
 this city, and has three children, Alfred, Alice and Howard. He is a member of the 
 Progress Club. 
 
 JOHN CASWELL, merchant, son of William and Mary Buloid Caswell, was born 
 at Newport, R. I., Dec. 6, 1797, and died in New York March 29, 1871. He came to 
 New York in 1811, being then fourteen years old, to serve as clerk for his uncle, Robert 
 Buloid, then in business on Broadway between Maiden Lane and Fulton street. In 
 1820, the business was removed to Front street, near Burling Slip, and conducted under 
 the name of Buloid & Finch. Upon the death of Mr. Finch in 1822, Mr. Caswell was 
 taken into partnership, and the firm became Buloid & Caswell, until the death of Mr. 
 Buloid several years later. Mr. Caswell then carried on the business in his own name 
 for a time, but soon, with his brother, Solomon T. Caswell, and others, formed the firm 
 of John Caswell & Co., about 1836. They remained at No. 87 Front street until the 
 death of Mr. Caswell. They were one of the representative houses in the trade with 
 China. By industry and integrity Mr. Caswell acquired a high reputation and a fortune. 
 He was a modest and retiring gentleman, shrewd and sagacious, and distinguished for 
 his conscientious character and unostentatious charity. A regular attendant at St. John's 
 Chapel, then at the Church of the Ascension, and afterward of Trinity Chapel, he served 
 as a vestryman of Trinity Church for many years. He was also one of the founders 
 of St. Luke's Hospital, a director of The Union Bank, The United States Trust Co., 
 The Continental Fire Insurance Co., and The Second National Bank, and at times 
 held other positions of fiduciary trust. His property descended to his wife and five 
 children. 
 
 JULIUS CATLIN, merchant, a native of Hartford, Conn., born in 1833, died in 
 Quebec, Canada, July 20, 1893. Beginning life with no other advantages than his fel- 
 
AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 low clerks in the dry goods trade, he excelled many of them in spirit, fidelity and 
 power of application and in the courage finally to undertake business on his own 
 account. His house, known successively as Hunt, Catlin & Valentine, Catlin, Brun- 
 drett & Co., and Julius Catlin & Co., was for a business generation conspicuous in the 
 wholesale dry goods districts of New York and Boston. The friendships made among 
 his associates led to his election as director of The United States Life Insurance Co., 
 The Importers & Traders' National Bank and The Greenwich Savings Bank. He was 
 married to a daughter of Seth B. Hunt and to them were born Julia Hunt, wife of 
 Trenor L. Park, and Mary Helen and Edith Raymond Catlin. Mr. Catlin lived in 
 Morristown, N. J , but was nevertheless a member of prominent clubs in New York, 
 including the Union League, Union, City, Merchants', Yale Alumni and New York 
 Yacht. He also belonged to the Morristown Club and The New England Society. 
 Warm hearted and liberal, he gave generously to the worthy poor. 
 
 CHESTER WILLIAflS CHAPIN, railroad president, born in the town of Ludlow, 
 Mass., Dec. 16, 1798, died in Springfield, Mass., June 10, 1883. Although not a New 
 Yorker by birth, he was one to whose memory conspicuous place must be given in any 
 adequate review of celebrities of the metropolis, by reason of the prominence he com- 
 manded in some of the most important traffic enterprises in which this city had a finan- 
 cial and commercial interest. 
 
 He was a typical American, a direct lineal descendant in the sixth generation from 
 Deacon Samuel Chapin, who came from Wales to this country in 1675, and was one of 
 the founders of the city of Springfield, Mass. Ephraim Chapin, grandfather of the 
 subject of this sketch, was one of the principal land owners of the old Bay State, his 
 property comprising considerable portions of the towns of Chicopee, Ludlow and 
 Springfield. The portion thereof lying in the western part of the town of Ludlow, 
 upon which was the old "Torrey house," passed to his son Ephraim, and there Chester 
 W. Chapin was born, the youngest of seven children. 
 
 While he was yet a boy, the death of his father, during the absence of his older 
 brother Ephraim at college, threw upon him the cares of manhood and the manage- 
 ment of the large family estate, thus imposing at an unusually early age a severe but 
 excellent practical training, which was of inestimable service in developing the .enter- 
 prise, self-reliance and prudence, which were his distinguishing traits in after life. 
 His formal education was limited to the district school and the Westfield Academy; 
 but his active mind, rare faculty of observation, and the instructive experience of 
 public life, speedily equipped him with an education so thorough and practical that he 
 was enabled easily to win distinction as a leader among men, both in commercial affairs 
 and legislative councils. 
 
 Upon attaining his majority, Mr. Chapin went to Springfield. There he engaged 
 in mercantile business, married a daughter of Colonel Abel Chapin, of Chicopee, and 
 built, by contract, the paper mill at Chicopee, the first in which paper was made by 
 machinery in this country. This narrow field did not content him. His enterprising 
 spirit sought wider employment and found it, in the interest which has enlisted such a 
 number of the ablest and most progressive of our public men and built up so many of 
 the largest fortunes in this country, that of traffic enterprise. 
 
 Like Commodore Vanderbilt, he began in a modest way, although, perhaps, 
 with some advantage in the matter of capital. The Commodore's first venture as a 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CH. 135 
 
 master of transportation was in a pirogue ferryboat, of which he was commander and 
 crew. That of Mr. Chapin was in a stage coach line between Hartford and Brattle- 
 boro. He not only invested his money in this enterprise, but managed it, and even on 
 occasion held the reins. The stages were well conducted and popular, and the line 
 speedily became profitable, being fully up to all the requirements of that day. Mr. 
 Chapin was not slow to realize that the progressive spirit of the age would soon "make 
 the ancient good uncouth," and by the utilization of steam as a motor, both on land 
 and water, do away with the stage coach in the more densely populated parts of the 
 country. Not a few of the old-time stage-line owners ruined themselves by obstinate 
 contention against the new order of things. Mr. Chapin, however, not only foresaw 
 clearly, but gracefully accepted, and, with characteristic promptness and energy, made 
 the most of the inevitable change ; and he took early measures for transference of his 
 interests to the new and greater field. 
 
 Soon after Mr. Blanchard's demonstration, in 1830, of the practicability of steam 
 navigation between Springfield and Hartford, Mr. Chapin bought the steamboats 
 which were employed in that trade, and for a dozen years controlled that profitable 
 line of water transportation on the Connecticut river. During the same period, he 
 also acquired a large interest in The New York & New Haven Steamboat Line, which he 
 retained the whole of his life. From the stage coach to the steamboat was a long 
 stride in advance, but he realized that it was hardly half which the requirements of 
 traffic would demand. 
 
 The railroad was, in the natural order of things, a necessity of the then immediate 
 future. Mr. Chapin consequently took a leading part in procuring connection by rail 
 between Springfield and Hartford, becoming a director in the corporation, controlling 
 that line when it was formed, and taking an active and most efficient part in the 
 management. 
 
 It is illustrative of his resourcefulness and careful conservatism that in spite of all- 
 these important changes, Mr. Chapin did not allow himself to lose the old stage coach 
 line, which had been the foundation of his prosperity. Its usefulness in the original 
 field was at an end, but demand could be made for it elsewhere. Securing extensive 
 postal contracts in the West, he took these stages out to that part of the country, and 
 established a mail coach line between St. Louis, Mo. , and Terre Haute, Ind. , which 
 proved as successful as all his other ventures. 
 
 In 1850, Mr. Chapin became a director of The Western Railroad, and in the same 
 year resigned that position to accept the presidency of The Connecticut River Railroad. 
 Four years later he was made president of The Western Railroad, also, and in 1855, 
 effected in London a loan of one million dollars to that corporation by English capital- 
 ists. The judicious expenditure of that money, in improvement of the road and ex- 
 tension of its facilities, put the company, for the first time, upon a solid dividend paying 
 basis. The Albany bridges, the iron bridge at Springfield, the continuous double 
 track, the consolidation of The Western \vith The Boston & Worcester Railroad Co. into 
 the Boston & Albany, with magnificent tide-water facilities, a huge elevator at Boston, 
 and a great depot at Worcester, all were due, in great part, to President Chapin's 
 admirable judgment and shrewd management. The development of The Boston & 
 Albany Railroad he made the principal work of his life. Of that company he was 
 president for many years. 
 
!36 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Among the more important of his widely diversified interests outside the traffic 
 lines mentioned, may be noted his directorship in The New York, New Haven & Hart- 
 ford Railroad; his ownership of a controlling- share of The Collins Paper Co., at Wil- 
 braham and The Agawam Canal Co., at West Springfield; his presidency of The 
 Chapin Banking & Trust Co., of Springfield, formerly The Agawam Bank, of 
 which he was founder; and the Manhattan Elevated Railway. 
 
 The diversity and magnitude of his business concerns did not preclude his taking a 
 prominent part in public affairs, wherein his advice and conclusions were always of mo- 
 ment. In 1853, he was a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, and in 
 1874, was elected a representative from his native state to the XLVIth Congress. In all 
 his career Mr. Chapin distinguished himself by a rare blending of conservative prudence 
 with liberal and energetic enterprise, which in many instances seemed impelled by 
 prescient inspiration. In manner, he was cool and decided, but considerate, kind and 
 obliging, never hasty, but always prompt. Of all the various enterprises, traffic, mer- 
 cantile, manufacturing and financial, with which he was connected, and which were 
 wholly or largely under his control, not one failed of important benefit by his shrewd 
 foresight and skillful management. When his long and useful career was ended by his 
 death, the inheritors of his well won honors and name were his three children, Chester 
 W. Chapin, Mrs. William Bliss and Mrs. James A. Rumrill. 
 
 ISAAC F. CHAPMAN, ship owner, born in Damariscotta, Me., April 8, 1812, died 
 in Brooklyn, Jan. 30, 1895. He came from a family planted in this country in 1635. 
 Robert Chapman, his father, was a farmer, the owner of large tracts of timber land 
 and a saw mill, and a ship carpenter, as was his father before him. Isaac spent his 
 youth on the farm and at country school and, learning, in 1828, the shipwright's art 
 in his father's employment, for eight years he helped frame, plank and launch wooden 
 vessels. In 1837, he became a storekeeper in Damariscotta, but, in partnership with 
 Benjamin Flint, soon afterward built a small bark of 280 tons, for general trading 
 purposes. This led the two men into more extended operations. Chapman & Flint 
 located in Thomaston in 1843, opened a ship yard, and thereafter built a wooden ship 
 about once a year, for the general carrying trade of the world. In 1858, Mr. Chap- 
 man settled in Brooklyn, in order to manage the fleet of about fifteen large ships to bet- 
 ter advantage, and, by his energy, close attention to business, and careful management, 
 placed the name of Chapman & Flint in the front rank in American maritime circles. 
 After 1868, Mr. Chapman's ships were constructed in Bath on the Kennebec, under the 
 supervision of John McDonald, one of the best builders in New England. They were 
 among the largest carriers in the sailing fleet of the country. In 1880, the old firm 
 dissolved, to be succeeded by I. F. Chapman & Co., in 1883, Albert G. Ropes, a son- 
 in-law, being admitted as a partner. During the War, Mr. Chapman and Mr. Flint 
 built all the houses on the east side of Montague Terrace, Brooklyn. 
 
 NELSON CHASE, lawyer, died in Ridgewood, N. J., March 18, 1890, at the age 
 of seventy -nine. In early life, while studying law in Saratoga county, N. Y., he 
 formed the acquaintance of the celebrated Madame Jumel, of New York city, and of 
 Mary Jumel, her niece. An attachment to the latter led him to New York, where, in 
 the office of Aaron Burr, he finished his legal studies. Two years later he married 
 Mary Jumel, and later, through his wife, inherited a large share of his mother-in-law's 
 fortune of about $3,000,000, consisting largely of real estate on Liberty street and 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CH. 137 
 
 Broadway, the famous mansion and grounds on Washington Heights, and a farm in 
 Saratoga county. He dwelt in the Jumel mansion until his wife's death, about 1845, 
 and thereafter until 1888, when he removed to Ridgewood, N. J. For fifty years he 
 practiced law in New York city. About 1870, he married again. Three children sur- 
 vived him, Eliza Carye, and William and Raymond Chase. 
 
 ROBERT AUGUSTUS CHESEBROUQH, inventor and manufacturer, while born in 
 London, England, Jan. 9, 1837, is a scion of some of the most patriotic and ancient 
 American families. The paternal ancestor of the family was William Chesebrough, 
 who sailed from Cowes with Governor John Winthrop, March 29, 1630, and settled in 
 Boston, Mass. Here he filled several official positions, and in 1634 was chosen High 
 Sheriff. In 1651, he obtained by grant from Connecticut, about 2,300 acres of land, 
 which grant was confirmed by the general court at Pequot, on which he settled and 
 built a homestead. On this land now stands the present city of Stonington, Conn. , 
 where live many of his descendents. A new commonwealth was here established. 
 William Chesebrough, the first "Comytioner" or magistrate thereof, was in 1664 
 chosen as first representative to the General Court at Hartford to adjust the dispute as 
 to boundaries with the State of Connecticut. Robert Chesebrough, the paternal 
 grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was the fifth son of Nathaniel, who was the 
 grandson of William Chesebrough. 
 
 Henry A. Chesebrough, father of Robert A. Chesebrough, was a dry goods mer- 
 chant of New York city, who lived at No. 7 Bridge street, then a fashionable place of 
 residence, and grandson of Robert Chesebrough, dry goods merchant and founder and 
 president of The Fulton Bank. 
 
 Through the maternal line, the subject of this sketch descends from William 
 Maxwell, founder and president of The Bank of New York, the first financial institu- 
 tion ever established in this State, who upheld the cause of the American Revolution 
 and derived his pedigree from a family prominent in Scottish history. The Maxwells 
 were earls of Nithsdale and barons of Herries. James Homer Maxwell, son of William, 
 married a daughter of the patriot, Jacobus Van Zandt, whose family were driven from 
 New York city by the British occupation and saw much of the operations and experi- 
 enced many of the hardships of the heroic struggle for American independence. Miss 
 Van Zandt became an actual eye witness of the battle of Monmouth, and, as a bride, 
 she had the honor of opening the first inauguration ball as the partner of General 
 Washington. Their son, William H. Maxwell, was the titular earl of Nithsdale at the 
 time of his death in 1856. Mr. Chesebrough's mother was a daughter of Richard M. 
 Woodhull, and granddaughter of James Homer Maxwell, and also a grand niece of 
 General Woodhull of the American army, who fell in the battle -of Long Island. The 
 family Bibles of the Maxwells and Van Zandts are yet preserved in this family, and 
 rank among the most interesting and valuable relics of that time. But there are two 
 others of note, which may be seen in the old Senate House in Kingston, N. Y., being 
 large oil portraits of the father and mother of the wife of William Maxwell, which 
 display a number of holes, punched by the bayonets of the British soldiers, when the 
 latter occupied the Maxwell home on Wall street. They were presented to the collec- 
 tion by Mr. Chesebrough. 
 
 The subject of this biography attended the best schools in New York during boy- 
 hood, and, in 1858, began the manufacture of the products of petroleum. This in- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CH. 139 
 
 dustry, yet in its infancy, had attracted attention for a few years only, and Mr. Chese- 
 brough became one of the pioneers in the utilization of petroleum for the purposes of 
 man. Success attended his efforts from the start. 
 
 As a result of continual experiments in distilling and filtering petroleum, he dis- 
 covered and patented, in 1870, the substance now known as vaseline. When the value 
 and uses of this product had been developed and introduced by him, Mr. Chesebrough 
 engaged in its manufacture, and has introduced it not only to the people of the United 
 States at large, but to the inhabitants of nearly every civilized country under the sun. 
 In 1880, the business was incorporated as The Chesebrough Manufacturing Co., with a 
 capital of $500,000, Mr. Chesebrough acting as president from 1880 to the present 
 time. The production of vaseline has increased steadily, and a growing foreign trade 
 has resulted from the establishment of branch offices and distributing depots in Lon- 
 don, Paris, Berlin and Montreal. 
 
 His discoveries and enterprise having been followed by a suitable reward, Mr. 
 Chesebrough has now become a large owner of realty in the metropolis. In 1881, he 
 erected the huge office building, which bears his name, facing the Battery, and was 
 led by scientific interest to devote his personal attention to its arrangement. He intro- 
 duced heating and ventilating appliances of his own invention into this structure ; and 
 these have since attracted wide attention among architects and owners. The Real 
 Estate Exchange originated with Mr. Chesebrough, and he was second vice-president 
 and one of the building committee of the Consolidated Stock Exchange. The removal 
 of the immigrant station from Castle Garden to Ellis Island in the harbor grew very 
 largely out of his vigorous efforts in that direction. The Battery Park is now no 
 longer flooded with unattractive strangers and emigrants, as in former years. 
 
 The action of Mr. Chesebrough, in 1878, with reference to the Paris Exposition, 
 illustrated his energy and public spirit. The Federal Government had been unac- 
 countably slow in providing for a general display of American products and, finding 
 the inertia of the authorities too great to be overcome, Mr. Chesebrough called to- 
 gether a number of Americans who wished to exhibit at Paris, and, through Frederick 
 R. Coudert, the lawyer, secured from the Duke Descazes permission for a display of 
 products by Americans on their private account. This proceeding spurred the State 
 Department into action, and an American exhibit finally took place under proper 
 authority. 
 
 During the exciting Mayoralty contest in Long Island City, between Mr. Gleason and 
 Mr. Sanford, in 1892, the Street Improvement Commission of that city, of which Mr. San- 
 ford was president, was accused of gross frauds and irregularities. At a citizen's meet- 
 ing, Mr. Chesebrough was elected chairman of an Investigating Committee to ascertain 
 the facts. He employed an expert accountant to examine the books and contracts, and 
 a few days before election made his report, exonerating Mr. Sanford and the Commis- 
 sion, which, being published in the Long Island City newspapers, resulted in the elec- 
 tion of Mr. Sanford by a few hundred majority, showing a marked change of public 
 sentiment against Mr. Gleason. 
 
 Mr. Chesebrough has always shown an interest in public affairs, and in 1894, he 
 received a nomination for Congress from the Republicans of his district in this city. 
 He made a gallant fight, but the time was too short for a suitable canvass against the 
 heavy Democratic majority of the district ; and, although he cut down the Democratic 
 
i 40 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 majority from over 10,000 to 1,300, he suffered the same fate as Levi P. Morton when 
 he first ran for Congress, and was beaten. 
 
 By his marriage with Margaret McCredy, sister of Mrs. Frederick R. Coudert, 
 April 28, 1864, Mr. Chesebrough has three sons and a daughter, Robert M., William 
 H., Frederic W., and Marion M. Chesebrough. Mrs. Chesebrough died April 3, 1887. 
 The summer home of the family was formerly at Legget's Point on the Sound, north 
 of the city, but has now been sold to an English syndicate for division into lots. The 
 family live at No. 17 East 45th street every winter, and usually spend their summers 
 either in travel or in the suburbs. Mr. Chesebrough is a member of the Union League, 
 Riding and Manhattan Athletic clubs, and was president of the Down Town Republican 
 Club in 1890. He is a writer of ability, and author of "A Reverie and other Poems," 
 which were favorably reviewed by the press. A calm, judicious, energetic business 
 man, he has won position by his own efforts, and the general esteem by his upright 
 character. 
 
 SIMEON BALDWIN CHITTENDEN, merchant, born in Guilford, Conn., March 
 29, 1814, died in Brooklyn, N. Y., April 14, 1889. After preparing for Yale College, 
 he was obliged to abandon the college course, which was his ambition, and, at the age 
 of fifteen, he entered a store at New Haven, Conn. Having saved a little money, he 
 carried on business on his own account for a while, and came to New York in 1842, 
 where he opened a dry goods store, and was, until 1874, one of the prominent mer- 
 chants of the city, gaining a large fortune. He was vice-president of the Chamber 
 of Commerce, 1867-69 a founder of The Continental Bank and The Continental Fire 
 Insurance Co. , a director in the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western and other railroads, 
 and president of The New Haven & New London Shore Line Railroad in Connecticut. 
 During the War, he served upon the Union Defense Committee of New York and the War 
 Fund Committee of Brooklyn, and gave generously to the support of the Government. 
 He always dwelt in Brooklyn, and was elected to Congress from that city, serving from 
 Dec. 7, 1874, until March 4, 1879, as an Independent Republican. Mr. Chittenden 
 gave liberally to the Long Island Historical Society and other institutions and, in 1887, 
 presented $125,000 to Yale College for a library building. He also gave the site for a 
 building in Brooklyn to the Young Woman's Christian Association. He married a 
 daughter of Sherman Hartwell, of Bridgeport, Conn. To them were born two chil- 
 dren, a son, Simeon B. Chittenden, who survived him and resides in Brooklyn, and a 
 daughter, now deceased, wife of Dr. William T. Lusk, of New York city. 
 
 JOSEPH HODGES CHOATE, lawyer, one of the leaders of the New York bar, a 
 native of Salem, Mass., was born Jan. 24, 1832. His family is an old and conspicuous 
 one. Graduating from Harvard College in 1852, he studied law and was admitted to 
 practice in Massachusetts in 1855. He came to the metropolis in 1856, and has since 
 attained distinction in the law, public oratory and statecraft. If the fees paid to Mr. 
 Choate are sometimes enormous, his clients are always willing to admit that his serv- 
 ices have been worth the money. He has appeared in many noted cases. One of the 
 old Committee of Seventy, which routed the Tweed Ring, he obtained the reinstate- 
 ment of Gen. Fitz John Porter to his rank in the army after a prolonged struggle, and 
 successfully defended the Cesnola collection of ancient statuary in the Metropolitan 
 Museum of Art against imputations affecting its integrity. He is noted both as a 
 public and an after-dinner orator and for his independence of mind. In 1894, he was 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CH. 
 
 141 
 
 chairman of the Constitutional Convention, and had the pleasure of seeing the work, 
 for which he had labored with great ability and energy, triumphantly ratified at the 
 polls. He is a member of the most important clubs in the city, including the Union 
 League, University, City, Century, Grolier, Bar, Harvard, Down Town, Racquet, 
 Riding, Alpha Delta Phi, New York Athletic and Mendelssohn Glee, and The New 
 England Society, and various other organizations. 
 
 AUSTIN CHURCH, manufacturer, a native of East Haddam, Conn., born Jan 8, 
 1799, died in Brooklyn, N. Y., Aug. 7, 1879. His father, Oliver Church, was a school 
 teacher. Left an orphan at an early age, the youth of Mr. Church was full of hard- 
 ship, but, chiefly by his own efforts, he gained an education in the Yale Medical School. 
 During the practice of his profession in Ithaca, Rochester, Utica and Cooperstown, 
 X. Y., he originated the notion of substituting bi-carbonate of soda in place of the 
 kindred preparation of potash for baking purposes, and, in 1832, established in Rochester 
 the pioneer factory in this line. Success rewarded his enterprise, and, in 1845, he removed 
 the business to New York city, where his firm of Church & Co. rose during the thirty 
 years following to a leading position in the trade. By means of travelling agents, Mr. 
 Church increased his sales year by year, and saw his production increase from one ton to 
 10,000 tons a year. Since his death, the trade has more than doubled. While his 
 office was at No. 132 Front street, the factory was in Brooklyn, in which city he dwelt 
 for over twenty-five years. Mr. Church was liberal in charity and an excellent man. 
 In 1827, he was married to Nancy, daughter of Dr. Elihu Dwight, a prominent physi- 
 cian of South Hadley, Mass., and lived to celebrate his golden wedding in Brooklyn, 
 in 1877. There were born to them James A., Elihu Dwight, and Fannie Church, who 
 live at the old home in Brooklyn, and Mrs. Henry Pease, of Hartford, Conn., now 
 deceased. Mrs. Church died in January, 1 890. The two sons now manage the firm of 
 Church & Co. 
 
 HORACE BRIOHAM CLAFLIN, merchant, a native of Milford, Mass., born Dec 
 1 8, 1811, died in Fordham, N. Y., Nov. 14, 1885. His father, John Claflin, was a 
 country storekeeper, farmer, and justice of the peace. Horace graduated from Milford 
 Academy, and became a clerk for his father. In 1831, with his brother Aaron and his 
 brother-in-law, Samuel Daniels, he succeeded to his father's business. In 1832, they 
 opened a branch dry goods store in Worcester. In 1833, Aaron took the Milford store, 
 leaving to the other partners the Worcester business. In 1843, Horace removed to 
 New York city, and with William F. Bulkley organized the importing and wholesale 
 dry goods house of Bulkley & Claflin, at No. 46 Cedar street. In 1850, the firm built 
 a store at No. 57 Broadway, which they occupied until 1853. Mr. Bulkley withdrew 
 in 1851, the business being conducted as Claflin, Mellen & Co. Meanwhile, the trade 
 had increased rapidly. To obtain larger accommodations, Mr. Claflin, with others, 
 erected the Trinity building at No. 1 1 1 Broadway, whither the business was transferred. 
 In 1 86 1, the great warehouse on Worth street, extending from Church street to West 
 Broadway, was secured, and this gigantic store was for many years one of the curi- 
 osities of New York city. The Civil War found the firm's assets rendered almost 
 worthless ; and they were compelled to ask an extension of time, which was promptly 
 granted. The liabilities were paid with interest long before maturity. Thereafter, 
 the house entered upon a career of unparalleled prosperity. In 1864, the firm assumed 
 the name of H. B. Claflin & Co. Mr. Claflin's sales were enormous, often amounting, 
 
i 4 2 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 in a single year, to $70,000,000. From 1865 to the time of his death, this house was 
 the largest of its class in the world. Mr. Clanin invested large sums in real estate in 
 Brooklyn, and at Fordham in the upper part of New York city. He was a man of 
 domestic habits and of exemplary life, fond of books and of horses. Almost daily he 
 drove from ten to twenty miles. He was a prominent member of Henry Ward 
 Beecher's church in Brooklyn, where he resided every winter. A large hearted and 
 generous man, his readiness to assist young men was a marked trait of his character. 
 Probably no other person in the United States aided so many beginners with money 
 and credit, until they were able to sustain themselves. In politics, an opponent of - 
 slavery and a Republican until 1884, thereafter he supported Mr. Cleveland. John 
 Claflin his son, is now the head of the firm, while Arthur B. Claflin, another son, is a 
 banker. 
 
 GEORGE P. CLAPP, merchant and philanthropist, a native of Woodstock, Vt, 
 born Sept. 6, 1831, died in Algiers, Africa, Jan. 25, 1884. He descended from 
 New England ancestry, and his father, Joel Clapp, was an Episcopal clergyman 
 at Woodstock. Coming to New York city about 1857, he entered the employ- 
 ment of Pinneo & Co. in Chambers street as a clerk. Saving, diligent, and de- 
 ermined to succeed, he was able, in 1862, to found the firm of George P. Clapp & 
 Co., importers and jobbers, in this city, subsequently carrying on the business in the 
 firm of Clapp & Braden, later, Clapp, Braden & Co. In 1877, he retired, after a 
 successful career. He was married in 1867 to Desier A. Pryer, the niece of John 
 Alstyne, then residing at No. 27 Madison avenue. Mrs. Clapp inherited a large 
 property from Mr. Alstyne, and, by her will, gave it to her husband upon her decease, 
 in 1 88 1. During their happy married life, Mr. and Mrs. Clapp gave away large sums 
 of money for benevolent work. The Church of St. Paul's- Within-the-Walls, in Rome, 
 Italy, was one recipient of their bounty, and the Church of the Holy Trinity, in Paris, 
 France, received large gifts. Upon the decease of Mr. Clapp, more than $500,000 
 of the Alstyne property was distributed under his will to worthy religious and charit- 
 able institutions, mostly in the city of New York. A man of great energy and 
 strength of character, a gentleman of cultivated manners and attractive personality, 
 Mr. Clapp earned from the Rev. Dr. Morgan the encomium that he combined, "in rare 
 association, the simplicity of childhood with the wisdom of age." He was buried in the 
 cemetery in Algiers, where a granite monument marks his resting place. 
 
 GEORGE A. CLARK, cotton-thread manufacturer, born in Paisley, Scotland, in 
 1824, died Feb. 13, 1873. He was a son of John Clark and descendant of Peter Clark > 
 who, in 1812, made the first cotton thread ever used in sewing. When Napoleon seized 
 Hambuyg and destroyed the silk in that port, Peter Clark, who had been making silk 
 needle twine in Paisley, found himself obliged to search for a substitute for silk in its 
 manufacture, and made experiments with cotton thread, winding it on bobbins with his 
 own hands, for sale to ladies in Paisley. Convinced that his discovery was valuable, 
 he abandoned the making of twine and founded the great spool cotton industry, which 
 has ever since been carried on by the family. George A. Clark began life in the 
 employment of Kerr & Co., of Hamilton, Ont. Four years later he returned to 
 Scotland, to engage in the manufacture of Paiseley shawls. In 1850, his brother-in- 
 law, Peter Kerr, and he undertook the manufacture of cotton thread, their interests 
 being afterward merged with those of the Clark Bro's. In 1856, Mr. Clark came to 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CL. 143 
 
 New York, to promote the sale of Clark threads here, and, in 1864, was led by the 
 American tariff on foreign thread to start a small factory in Newark. In 1865, The 
 Passaic Thread Co. was organized by him, with George A., Alexander and William 
 Clark and Thomas Barbour as incorporators. Gigantic works were constructed and 
 put into operation in 1866. Their venture was successful. Mr. Clark was a member 
 of The Board of Trade of Newark and The People's Fire Insurance Company. 
 
 HORACE F. CLARK, LL.D., lawyer, a native of Southbury, Conn., born 
 Nov. 29, 1815, died in New York city, June 19, 1873. He was graduated from Williams 
 College in 1833, and in 1837, began practice of the law, attaining distinction as a hard 
 working, prudent and far-seeing practitioner. In 1848, he married a favorite daughter 
 of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. He served in Congress an an anti-Lecompton 
 Democrat, 1857-61. After 1857, railroads occupied his principal attention, leading him 
 into the directorate of The New York & Harlem Railroad and various other lines; 
 and into heavy and successful operations in stocks in Wall street. He displayed great 
 capacity, and, at the time of his death, was an officer in the management of as many 
 miles of railroad as any other man of his day. He was president of The Lake Shore, 
 Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana and The Union Pacific Railroads; and a director 
 of The New York Central & Hudson River, The Harlem, The New Haven, Hartford 
 & Springfield, The Shore Line, The Chicago & Northwestern Railroads, among others, 
 as well as of The Western Union Telegraph Co. He was also president of The Union 
 Trust Co. In the assault upon the Tweed ring, Mr. Clark did valiant work. When 
 the robbers had been driven out he joined Tammany Hall. Mr. Clark had one child, 
 Marie Louise, who was thrice married and died in 1894. 
 
 WILLIAM CLARK, manufacturer, born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1841, is a son of 
 the late John Clark, of James & John Clark, manufacturers of cotton thread. He was 
 educated in the local grammar schools, and at once entered the thread factory founded 
 by his ancestors. Coming to the United States in 1860, he joined his brother, George 
 A. Clark, in the general agency of the Clark threads in America. In 1 864, the broth- 
 ers started a cotton thread factory in Newark, being identified with The Passaic Thread 
 Co. from the start. In 1873, William Clark rose to seniority in the house. A 
 great spooling factory was built and the thread works were enlarged under his adminis- 
 tration. The works now occupy ten acres of ground on the banks of the Passaic 
 river. He is treasurer of The Clark Thread Co., a partner in George A. Clark & Bro., 
 and a member of the Union League, New York Yacht and American Yacht clubs of 
 New York, and the Essex and Essex County Country clubs, of Newark. Numerous 
 public institutions owe much to his generosity. 
 
 BENJAfllN Q. CLARKE, iron manufacturer, born in Easton, Pa., in 1820, died in 
 Antwerp, Belguim, Aug. 12, 1892. Early in life he began business in the iron and 
 steel trade, and remained prominent in the industry until the end of his days. He was 
 a founder of The Thomas Iron Co. , at Hokendauqua, Pa. , one of the largest pig iron 
 concerns in the country, and largely interested in The Lackawanna Iron & Steel Co., 
 The Lackawanna Iron & Coal Co. , The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, 
 The Tilley Foster Iron Co., The Hudson River Ore & Iron Co., The New Jersey Zinc 
 & Iron Co., of which he was president, and eight or ten other pipe, iron or steel com- 
 panies. During the Civil War, Mr. Clarke excelled in devotion to the Union. His 
 advice was often sought on matters of importance by the Government, and he devoted 
 
144 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 much of his time and means to the Union cause, until the War was over. A man of 
 noble presence and generous heart, he took great interest in assisting young men in 
 their early struggles. He was a member of the Union League Club, a member of Dr. 
 Parkhurst's church, and much interested in the local reform movement initiated by that 
 clergyman. Mrs. Mary E. Thompson, Mrs. Julia M. Finck, and Anne M. and Ada 
 Clarke are his children. 
 
 HENRY CLAUSEN, brewer, born in New York city, Aug. n, 1838, died here, 
 Dec. 28, 1893. He was the son of -Henry Clausen, founder of the brewing establish- 
 ments of this family. The lad's education in the public schools and under private 
 tutors was supplemented by four years of study abroad. He grew up in the brewery 
 started by his father about 1857, and became a partner in 1866, and when, in 1870, a 
 corporation was formed, its president. A few years ago when English capital sought 
 investments in the United States, H. Clausen & Son, and Flannagan, Nay & Co., con- 
 solidated and organized The New York Breweries Co., with a capital of $4,500,000, 
 admitting a syndicate of English capitalists to part ownership. Mr. Clausen retained 
 his individual interest. He was at one time president of The United States Brewers' 
 Congress and of The Brewers' Association of New York city, and one of the managers 
 of The Produce Exchange. At his death, he held the positions of vice-president of The 
 Murray Hill Bank and Brewers' Ice Co., and director in The Harvey Peak Tin Milling 
 & Mining Co., The Mount Morris Electric Light Co., and The Consolidated Gas Co 
 The Manhattan and Liederkranz clubs admitted him to membership. In politics, he 
 was naturally a Democrat, and served in the State Assembly, and as Alderman-at-large 
 of this city. Three sons and a daughter survived him. 
 
 HENRY CLEWS, stock broker, banker and author, a native of Staffordshire, 
 England, is the son of a manufacturer of goods for the American market. His parents 
 wished that he might enter the ministry, but temperament fitted him for a more active 
 life. At the age of fifteen, he visited America with his father, and became so fascinated 
 with the animation and opportunities of the new world, that he decided to remain here. 
 After a thorough training in the store of Wilson G. Hunt & Co., importers of woolen 
 goods, he entered Wall street in 1859, as a partner in Stout, Clews & Mason, stock 
 brokers and bankers, afterward Livermore, Clews & Co. During the Civil War, his 
 firm acted as agents for the sale of Government 5-20 bonds, and, with Jay Cooke 
 & Co., were largely instrumental in making that loan a success. After the War, he 
 devoted his attention to banking and a commission, bonds and stocks business. He 
 organized the present firm of Henry Clews & Co. in 1877, the different members of 
 which pledged themselves never to take speculative risks. They deal in investment 
 securities, have excellent connections abroad, and employ over a hundred clerks. A 
 few years ago, Mr. Clews wrote " Twenty-Eight Years in Wall Street," which was well 
 received and is yet frequently quoted. He is a liberal contributor to the support of 
 public institutions, and a member of the Union League and Union clubs. In 1874, he 
 married Miss Lucy Madison Worthington of Kentucky, a grand niece of President 
 Madison. 
 
 WILLlAfl P. CLYDE, shipping merchant, born in November, 1839, is a son of the 
 founder of the Clyde line of coasting steamers. He graduated from Trinity College, 
 and began business life in the office of his father, where he received such a training 
 as acquainted him fully with the management of freight and passenger steamers. He 
 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CO. 145 
 
 has succeeded to the business which is now conducted under the name of William 
 P. Clyde & Co. Mr. Clyde is one of our most respected merchants. He has become 
 thoroughly identified with the life of the city, and is a member of the Union League, 
 Down Town, Riding, St. Anthony, Racquet, New York Yacht, and Trinity Alumni 
 
 clubs. 
 
 GEORGE SinMONS COE, banker, a native of Newport, R. I., was born March 
 27 1817. Anglo-Saxon in his ancestry, he descends from John Alden and Priscilla 
 Mullins, the latter the first female child born in America in the earliest Pilgrim com- 
 pany. His father, Adam S. Coe, a man of strong common sense and religious faith, 
 was a maker of cabinet furniture. George went from the common schools at the age of 
 fourteen, to a country store, where he served for four years. He then entered a bank as 
 general clerk, sweeper and messenger, later being bookkeeper and teller. Meanwhile, 
 bv extra services, he added to his earnings, and by constant reading improved his store 
 of knowledge. In 1838, he entered the bank of Prime, Ward & King, in New York 
 city, where he continued about six 3 r ears, and then removed to Cincinnati, to represent 
 the firm in a banking and commission business. Later, he became cashier of The Ohio 
 Life Insurance & Trust Co., in New York, resigning to engage in banking on his own 
 account, as partner in a house already established. In 1856, he was elected cashier of 
 The American Exchange Bank, of which institution, in a few months, he became vice- 
 president, and, in 1860, president, which office he held until 1894, when he was forced 
 by illness to retire, after a service of nearly forty years. It was Mr. Coe who conceived 
 the idea of combining the local banks in the Clearing House, and of making use of 
 Clearing House certificates. James Punnett, president of The Bank of America, and 
 James Gallatin, of The National Bank, strongly endorsed the young financier's idea, 
 and it was unanimously adopted. Clearing House certificates have since been re- 
 sorted to in the years 1873, 1884, 1890 and 1893, on each occasion with good results. 
 By the same expedient, the banks were enabled to combine their resources so as to 
 subscribe for 150,000,000 of Government bonds at the beginning of the War, which 
 they would not otherwise have done. Mr. Coe has taken an active interest in The 
 National Bankers' Association, and, in 1881, was elected its president. He is treasurer 
 of The Children's Aid Society, trustee of The Mutual Life Insurance Co., director of 
 The Fidelity & Casualty Co., The Commercial Cable Co., and The Postal Telegraph 
 Cable Co. ; an officer in the Presbyterian Church ; and member of The Board of Foreign 
 >ns. Mr. Coe has lived in the beautiful suburb of Englewood, N. J., for a num- 
 ber of years, but is a member of the Reform Club and New England Society. He was 
 married, June 15, 1843, to Almira Stanley, of New Britain, Conn., and on Nov. 5, 
 1887, to Mary E. Bigelow, of Englewood. To him and first wife were born Edward 
 Paine and Alice Stanley Coe. 
 
 CHARLES LEWIS COLBY, banker, a native of Roxbury, Mass., now part of 
 Boston, was born May 22, 1839. He is a son of Gardner Colby, and descends from 
 English ancestry. Graduating from Brown University in 1858, with the degree of B.A., 
 he found his first occupation in the shipping house of Page, Richardson & Co. In 
 1 86 1, he made his home in New York city, and organized the shipping firm of Dunbar 
 & Colby, of which, in 1 864, on the death of the senior partner, he became sole pro- 
 prietor. In 1870, at the request of his father, he interested himself in the construction 
 of The Wisconsin Central Railroad, and finally abandoned business in New York to 
 
I4 6 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 
 devote himself entirely to railroad and mining interests in the West. This resulted, in 
 1874, in removal to Milwaukee, where he became an active citizen, interested in many 
 useful and public enterprises. Gardner Colby, president of The Wisconsin Central 
 Railroad, being obliged by reason of ill health to resign his position before the line was 
 completed, Charles succeeded him in the presidency, finished the railroad, and assumed 
 a leading part in building up the railroad system of Northern and Central Wisconsin. 
 He was president and treasurer of The Wisconsin Central Railroad, The Milwaukee & 
 Lake Winnebago, The Wisconsin & Minnesota, The Chippewa Falls & Western, The 
 Minnesota, St. Croix & Western, The Penokee, The Chicago, Wisconsin & Minnesota, 
 and The Chicago Great Western Railroads. He was also the first to develop the iron 
 regions of northwestern Michigan. The Colby mine, the first one opened, belonged 
 to The Penokee & Gogebic Development Co., of which Mr. Colby was president and 
 treasurer. He afterward became president of The Consolidated Mines and The Aurora 
 Iron Mining Co. Greatly occupied with all these interests, Mr. Colby, nevertheless, 
 found time for charitable religious and educational work. He contributed the larger 
 portion of the funds required for the construction of two churches in Milwaukee, was 
 next to one of the largest contributors of the Y. M. C. A. building, and gave the Babies' 
 Home the land on which their building stands, besides being a regular contributor to,i 
 and efficient friend of, most of the charitable institutions of that society. The Wayland 
 University at Beaver Dam received a large gift from his generous hand. In politics, 
 Mr. Colby is a staunch Republican, and his speeches during the Garfield and Elaine 
 campaigns met with an enthusiastic reception. He was a member of the Wisconsin 
 Legislature in 1876, and was sought for other higher political positions, which, how- 
 ever, he declined on the ground that duty to his associates in business would not 
 permit him to forsake them. Mr. Colby returned to New York in 1890, and has since 
 been senior partner of the firm of Colby & Hoyt, in Wall street. He is a member of 
 the Union League, Metropolitan, Lawyers', Down Town, University, and Brown Uni- ': 
 versity clubs, and the Alpha Delta Phi, The Sons of the Revolution, and The New 
 England Society; and a honorary member of The American Society of Civil Engin- 
 eers. Since graduation, the honorary degree of A. M. has been bestowed upon him, 
 as well as an election as honorary member of . B. K. He has for several years been 
 president of the Brown University club, and is also a Fellow of that University. He 
 has also served at different times as president of the international convention of the 
 Y. M. C. A., vice-president of The American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, trustee 
 of the Y. M. C. A. of New York city, and president of The New York Baptist Mission 
 Society. Mr. Colby is a director of The Mercantile National Bank, and The Farmers' 
 Loan & T*rust Co. 
 
 JAHES B. COLGATE, banker, born in New York city, March 4, 1818, is a son of 
 William Colgate, who came to America in 1798, settled in Harford county, Md., and, 
 in 1804, removed to New York, where he established the now widely known industry 
 of manufacturing Colgate's soaps. James B. Colgate has been for many years a 
 banker and dealer in securities and bullion. Although he makes his home in the 
 adjoining suburb of Yonkers, he has contributed generously to the support of the 
 great museums and art institutions of New York and to the promotion of the work of 
 the Baptist church. One of his latest gifts was a $60,000 house of worship for The 
 First Baptist Church of White Plains. Large donations have been made to The War- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CO. 147 
 
 burton Avenue Baptist Church in Yonkers, Madison University, Rochester University, 
 Rochester Theological Seminary, Colby Academy, Peddie Institute and Columbian 
 University. He is a member of the Down Town and New England Society. 
 
 ROBERT COLGATE, manufacturer, born in 1812, died July 4, 1885. He was the 
 oldest son of William Colgate, manufacturer of soaps, and had the advantage of 
 beginning life in an established industry. While long connected with his father's firm, 
 his greatest achievement was the manufacture of white lead by corrosion for use in 
 paints. About 1845, he organized the firm of Robert Colgate & Co., built works in 
 the city of Brooklyn under the name of The Atlantic White Lead & Linseed Oil Co., 
 and by able management and courageous perseverance, made his factories the largest 
 of their class in the world. His children were Robert, Abner W., Romulus B., 
 .,'iana and Alice R. Colgate. The family made their home in Riverdale on the 
 Hudson. His son, SAflUEL JAMES COLGATE, manufacturer, born in this city, in 
 died here, Feb. 15,1 893. He entered The Atlantic White Lead & Linseed Oil Works 
 at twenty-one years of age, and in 1885, succeeded his father as president, continuing in 
 the office until 1889. While the inheritor of large means, he was a man of enterprise, 
 and conducted his business successfully. In 1882, he married Cora, daughter of 
 Samuel Smith of New Orleans, and his wife, with one daughter, Adele S. Colgate, 
 survived him. Mr. Colgate was prominent in social life, possessing the acquaintance 
 of a large circle of refined friends, and being a member of the Union, Knickerbocker, 
 Racquet, Down Town, Riding, Hudson River Ice Yacht, New York Yacht, Seawanhaka 
 Corinthian Yacht clubs. He was the first commodore of the latter club and the origin- 
 ator of the Corinthian races. At Uplands, his country place at New Hamburg, N. Y.. 
 Archibald Rogers and he managed the Dutchess County Hunt. 
 
 SAMUEL COLGATE, manufacturer, son of the late William Colgate, was born in 
 Xc\v York city, March 22, 1822. At an early age he took a position in the works of 
 Colgate & Co., manufacturers of soap, and has since devoted his business life to this 
 industry, being now senior partner in the concern. Mr. Colgate has been a patron of 
 the benevolent enterprises of the Baptist denomination. In conjunction with his 
 brother, James B. Colgate, he erected the Colgate academy building, in Hamilton, 
 X. Y., at an expense of $60,000. He is president of The New York Baptist Educa- 
 tion Society, and of The Society for the Suppression of Vice, and a member of The 
 Board of the American Tract Society. 
 
 DAVIS COLLAMORE, merchant, born in Scituate, Mass., Oct. 7, 1820, died in 
 Orange, N. J., Aug. 13, 1887. His ancestors were among the first settlers of the town, 
 coming from England in 1640. The pioneer, Peter Collamer, died without children, 
 leaving his estate to his nephew, Anthony Collamer, who was the progenitor of nearly 
 all of the name in this country. About 1700, the spelling of the name was changed to 
 
 , Collamore, although some of the descendants of Captain Anthony, among them the late 
 Hon. Jacob Collamer, of Vermont, have retained the original orthography. Col. John 
 Collamore, father of Davis, a man of the stern old Puritan type, was twice a member 
 of the Massachusetts Legislature and one of the Convention to revise the State Con- 
 stitution in 1820. His wife, Michal Curtis was a woman of sweet and gentle nature. 
 
 ', Davis Collamore, the youngest of twelve children, inherited from his parents that 
 mingling of strength and gentleness so attractive in his character. In 1836, he came 
 to New York and entered the china and glass store of his brother, Ebenezer Collamore, 
 

 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CO. 149 
 
 Xo. 151 Broadway. It had been his earnest desire to study law, but his resolute 
 character appeared in the fact that, having once decided to give up a cherished plan, 
 he entered thoroughly into the vocation chosen for him and pursued it to success. In 
 1842, "he established himself in business, at his own risk, at No. 595 Broadway, and 
 was enabled about a year later to marry Hannah Augusta Fiske, a Bostonian by birth. 
 Thev had four children. Mrs. Collamore died Nov. 13, 1882. Mr. Collamore's refined 
 taste led him to emphasize the artistic quality of his china. He did much to cultivate 
 public taste, and to increase the love of ceramic art. In 1886, the firm of Davis Colla- 
 more & Co. became a stock company, with Mr. Collamore as president. As a young man 
 Mr. Collamore was a member of the 7th Regiment, and on duty at the the Astor Place 
 riot. The recollection of his boyhood home was ever fascinating to him, and as soon as 
 business cares would allow, he purchased a beautifully wooded tract of seventy acres on 
 the eastern slope of the Orange mountains. There he built a country home, which was 
 a constant source of pleasure to him. It was beautiful, not only from its surroundings, 
 but on account of what it grew to be under the direction of a man of true culture and 
 refinement. Mr. Collamore was an active member of The American Jersey Cattle 
 Club, and a founder of The New England Society of Orange, N. J. The members of 
 the society respected Mr. Collamore for the purity of his life, the gentleness of his 
 manners, and the traits which marked him pre-eminently the Christian gentleman. 
 
 WASHINGTON EVERETT CONNOR, financier, one of the most conspicuous 
 stock brokers in Wall street for many years after his entrance to the Stock Exchange 
 in 1871, now occupies an enviable position in the financial world. He was born Dec. 
 i ; . 1 849, on Spring street in this city, in a house standing next to that in which his 
 grandfather had been born, and which, with some adjoining property, had been owned 
 by Mr. Connor's father for more than half a century. This locality was included in 
 the ancient village of Greenwich, whither the city government of New York fled in 
 1822-23, for security during the cholera epidemic. The elder Connor was a well 
 known merchant of the Ninth Ward, and, for over thirty-six years, connected with The 
 Greenwich Bank. 
 
 At an early age, the boy entered the public school in Clark street, from which he 
 graduated to enter the College of New York, then known as the Free Academy. He 
 proved a bright scholar, always ranked high in his class, and especially excelled in 
 mathematics. 
 
 After a year in college, he entered commercial life, having secured a clerkship in 
 the banking house of H. C. Stimson & Co. The head of this firm being a heavy 
 speculator in stocks, Mr. Connor was thus brought into contact with many noted figures 
 in financial circles, among them Commodore Vanderbilt, and secured a valuable train- 
 ing in Wall street tactics. His experience developed the possession of unsuspected 
 talent and determined his vocation for life. Ready, appreciative, and faithful to duty, 
 he soOn acquired a technical knowledge of the stock brokerage business, and, when he 
 came of age, self-reliant, conscious of his own strength, and ambitious, he purchased a 
 seat in the Stock Exchange, and was admitted to membership Oct. 6, 1871. 
 
 From the beginning of his Wall street career, Mr. Connor met with marked suc- 
 cess. Clear headed, prompt, devoted to the interests of his clients, and agreeable in 
 manners, he soon drew to himself a large number of important clients. Having 
 attracted the notice of Jay Gould, Mr. Connor was entrusted by him with various com- 
 
r go AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 missions, which he executed with brilliant energy and entire success. The great 
 financier was a competent judge of men, and, in 1881, he formed a partnership with 
 the young broker, under the name of W. E. Connor & Co., and, in time, pleased with 
 his adroitness, energy and audacity, admitted him to intimate friendship. George J. 
 Gould became a member of the firm upon attaining his majority. For many years, 
 both before and after 1881, Mr. Connor was the confidential representative of Jay 
 Gould, and was entrusted with the management of many important operations in Wall 
 street. He was also a favorite broker of Russell Sage and other leading capitalists in 
 Wall street. By unsparing labor and able and sagacious, management, he created an 
 extensive business, which, with his own operations at the Exchange, brought him an 
 ample fortune. 
 
 The successes of Mr. Connor and Mr. Gould have been world famed. While that 
 partnership existed, financiers marvelled at the secrecy with which they conducted their 
 business. Mr. Connor had learned the art of dealing through a large number of 
 brokers at once, some of them buying, some of them selling stocks for him, and all 
 unaware of the real object of the campaign in which they were engaged. When Jay 
 Gould made his famous campaign in the stock of The Western Union Telegraph Co. , 
 which resulted in the transfer of control from the Vanderbilt to the Gould interest, the 
 purchases of stock made by W. E. Connor & Co. were so well covered that Wall street 
 entertained the impression that the firm were heavily short of the stock, when, as a 
 matter of fact, they were the the principal buyers. Washington E. Connor himself 
 conducted all the operations ; and the manner in which the transaction was managed was 
 always a matter of much satisfaction to Jay Gould, who subsequently frequently 
 referred to the articles published in the newspapers, predicting that he would be 
 defeated. 
 
 During the panic of 1884, it was ascertained that W. E. Connor & Co. were bor- 
 rowers to the extent of $12,000,000; and a combination was promptly formed on the 
 street to force Mr. Connor and Mr. Gould to the wall. Attacks were made on their 
 credit, various brokers and financial institutions were induced to exclude Missouri Pacific 
 securities from their loans, and every pressure which could be brought to bear against 
 them was used as strongly as possible. The policy of the firm, however, of giving twice 
 as much margin for their loans as other houses and of "notifying the loaners of money 
 that they could have more margin if they desired, demonstrated that they were in pos- 
 session of ample security. Wall street, instead of forcing Mr. Connor and Mr. Gould 
 to sell their securities, made heavy losses through being "short" of Missouri Pacific. 
 So great were these losses, that, when the time for reckoning came, there were one 
 hundred and- forty-seven houses on Wall street "short" of and borrowing Missouri 
 Pacific stock from W. E. Connor & Co. The price of the stock was rapidly carried 
 from 64 to par; and the principal t "bears" saw themselves forced to cover at between 
 95 and par, at great loss to themselves and equally great gain to W. E. Connor & Co. 
 In 1886, Mr. Gould retired from Wall street and Mr. Connor followed a year later. 
 
 During recent years, Mr. Connor has gained an interest in The Louisville, New 
 Albany & Chicago and The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroads, and various other corpo- 
 rations, and devoted himself to improving his properties. He has been a director of 
 The American Union Telegraph Co., The Credit Mobilier, The Texas & Colorado Im- 
 provement Co., The Metropolitan, The Manhattan and The New York Elevated Rail- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CO. 151 
 
 way Go's and The New Jersey Southern Railroad, and president of The Central Con- 
 struction Co. 
 
 Wall street draws heavily upon the vitality of the leading spirits in that theatre of 
 exciting competition, but Mr. Connor has preserved his health, clearness of mind, and 
 physical vigor by open-air recreations. He was the owner of the steam yacht Utowana, 
 and has spent much time cruising upon salt water. He is also a regular attendant at 
 the opening nights of new plays and operas, a good billiard player, and a familiar fig- 
 ure in many social clubs, in which his unfailing good nature, clear head, and wide 
 experience render him a popular associate. A reader of excellent books, his mind is 
 well stored with general information. His winter home is at No. 532 Madison avenue, 
 and he maintains a summer cottage at Seabright on the Jersey coast. He has been 
 elected to membership in a number of exclusive social clubs, including the Union 
 League, Republican, Arkwright, Lotus, New York Athletic, American Yacht, Larch- 
 mont Yacht and Boston Yacht, and with praiseworthy public spirit has long been a 
 supporter of various important public institutions, including the three which have done 
 so much to develop the art and educational interests of New York, The Metropolitan 
 Museum of Art, The American Museum of Natural History, and The Metropolitan 
 Opera House Co., having been one of the original stockholders of the latter. 
 
 Mr. Connor also stands very high in the Masonic fraternity. In 1877-78, he was 
 Master of St. Nichola Lodge, 321; in 1879, District Deputy Grand Master of the Sixth 
 Masonic District; in 1884, Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, and 
 in 1885 was made Chief of Staff of the Grand Lodge of New York and Grand Treasurer 
 1887-89. He is now the Representative of the Grand Lodge of England. 
 
 JAHES MANSELL CONSTABLE, merchant, was born in Sussex, England, in 
 1812. While a young man, he was persuaded by an uncle to accompany him on a 
 pleasure trip to the United States. After his return to England, the future of the 
 United States appeared so bright to him, that as a result of thinking the matter over 
 for two or three years, he decided to make this country his future home and in 1840 
 sailed for New York. Upon his arrival, he visited Aaron Arnold, then of the firm of 
 Arnold, Hearn & Co., founded in February, 1827, whom he hadknown on his previous 
 visit, and decided to enter their employment. Two years afterward, in 1842, upon the 
 retirement of the Messrs. Hearn, he became a partner of Mr. Arnold under the firm name 
 of A. Arnold & Co. In 1853, when Richard, the only son of Aaron Arnold, was admitted 
 to the firm, the style was changed to Arnold, Constable & Co., and as such has been con- 
 tinued ever since. Mr. Constable married Henrietta, only daughter of Aaron Arnold, 
 in 1844. Their surviving children are Frederick A., Harriet M., wife of Hicks Arnold, 
 and Amy H., wife of Edwin H. Weatherbee. 
 
 JOHN H. CONTOIT, realty owner, born in 1798, who died Oct. 2, 1885, was a son of 
 John H. Contoit, a native of France, who established himself in this city in the early part of 
 the century as a merchant of confectionery on Broadway between Murray and Warren 
 streets. He was the favorite purveyor of ice cream for the prosperous families of that 
 time. Mr. Contoit gained large means which he invested in real estate. The son suc- 
 ceeded his father in the business and conducted the New York Garden and confection- 
 ery store on Broadway, opposite the old Carlton House, which he made a famous and 
 fashionable resort. He was a very clear headed, capable, and judicious man, and with 
 confidence in the future of New York as the commercial emporium of the United States, 
 
152 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 followed his father's example and invested his means almost wholly in real estate, which 
 afterward increased enormously in value. His children were Maria Hall and Charles 
 H. Contoit. 
 
 HENRY HARVEY COOK, capitalist, a native of Cohocton, Steuben county, N. Y., 
 was born May 13, 1822, and is the oldest surviving son of the late Judge Constant Cook, 
 lawyer and farmer of Warren, N. Y. The family traces its line to persons of noble 
 extraction in England, and was founded in America by Capt. Thomas Cook of Earle's 
 Colne in Essex, England, who settled in Boston before 1637. Henry left the academy 
 in Canandaigua to serve as a dry goods clerk in Auburn and in Bath, N. Y. , a year in 
 each place, and in 1844, engaged in mercantile pursuits in Bath, retiring ten years later 
 with means. In 1854, his father and he organized The Bank of Bath under State 
 laws, reorganizing as a national bank in 1864. Mr. Cook served as cashier until 1874, 
 and then became president of the bank. Mr. Cook came to New York city in 1875, 
 entered financial life, and is now a prominent man in the railroad world. He inherited 
 some means, but has made his way chiefly by his own abilities. Operations in stocks 
 have occupied him to some extent, and his ventures have been exceedingly successful. 
 He is a director of The Union Pacific Railroad, The American Surety Co., The New 
 York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad, The Buffalo, New York & Erie Railroad, The 
 State Trust Co. and The National Bank of North America. His wife is Mary, daughter 
 of William W. McCay of Bath, agent of the Poultney estate, and his children are Mrs. 
 Clinton D. MacDougall, Mrs. M. Rumsey Miller, Mrs. C. F. Gansen, and Mrs. C. de 
 Heredia. Among his clubs are the Metropolitan, Union League and Riding. He is 
 also a life member of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Historical and Geo- 
 graphical Societies. 
 
 PETER COOPER, manufacturer, born in New York city, Feb. 12, 1791, died here 
 April 4, 1883. At the time of his birth, this city contained less than 30,000 inhabitants. 
 His father and his mother's father were soldiers of the American Revolution. The early 
 life of Peter Cooper was full of hardship, and his original schooling was confined to 
 an attendance every other day for one year. To earn a support, he secured employ- 
 ment in a carriage shop in 1808, at $25 a year and board, and when he had become an 
 expert workman, invented a machine for mortising the hubs of carriage wheels, which 
 proved of great value. His earnings were at first spent largely for books and the 
 services of a teacher in the evening. At Hempstead, L. I., he toiled for five years at 
 $1.50 a day, and having saved $500, illustrated the nobility of his character by giving 
 it all to relieve the necessities of his parents. Having invented an apparatus for 
 shearing the nap from woolen cloth, he manufactured a number of the machines and 
 then returned to New York, where he established himself as a merchant of groceries. 
 Prosperity now rewarded his enterprise, and he soon established a glue and isinglass 
 factory. Mr. Cooper was a very ingenious man, and he so improved the manufacture 
 of glue as finally to control the trade of the country. This industry was the foundation 
 of his fortune. In 1828, he purchased 3,000 acres of land in Baltimore, Md., on which 
 he built iron furnaces and a rolling mill and a few locomotives. In 1830, he constructed 
 from his own designs, for The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, what is said to have been the 
 first locomotive constructed on this continent. The Baltimore industry he sold a few 
 years later at a profit. He also built in New York wire works and a rolling mill, which 
 were afterward removed to Trenton, became the pioneer manufacturer of railroad iron 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CO. 153 
 
 in this country, and operated blast furnaces at Trenton and Philipsburg. A supply of 
 iron ore was drawn in part from mines of his own at Andover. In his various 
 industries, 2,500 men found employment. Mr. Cooper possessed remarkable mechanical 
 ability and inventiveness. He was active in the development of the telegraph system 
 of the United States, becoming president of The American Telegraph Co., and The 
 North American Telegraph Association. Marshall O. Roberts, Cyrus W. Field, 
 Wilson G. Hunt and he and a few other associates, laid the first Atlantic cable. Mr. 
 Cooper's greatest philanthophic work was the founding of The Cooper Union for the 
 advancement of Science and Art. Begun in 1854, the building was finished five years 
 later, at an original cost, exclusive of the site, of nearly $1,000,000. The public hall 
 in the basement of this building has since become historic for the large number of 
 great public meetings held within its walls. Mr. Cooper was married in 1813 to Sarah 
 Bedel, at Hempstead. Two children survived him, Edward Cooper and Sarah Amelia, 
 wife of Abram S. Hewitt. His son, EDWARD COOPER, manufacturer, grew up in 
 the counting room of Peter Cooper & Co., and since 1883, has been the senior partner 
 of the house, now known as Cooper, Hewitt & Co. He is a very capable and energetic 
 man, has made his own position, and is a highly respected citizen. Under his admin- 
 istration. The Trenton Iron Works, The Trenton Iron Co., The Pequest Furnace in 
 Oxford, N. J., and The Dunham Iron Works at Riegelsville, Pa., all well managed 
 concerns, have increased their production to about 60,000 tons of pig iron annually, 
 and a large quantity of bridge, roof and other structural iron and steel. Mr. Cooper 
 has taken part in the direction of The United States Trust Co. , The American Sulphur 
 Co., The New Jersey Steel & Iron Co., The New York & Greenwood Lake Railway, 
 The American Electric Elevator Co., The Chrysolite Silver Mining Co. and The Metro- 
 politan Opera House Co. He is a Democrat and has been Mayor of New York. 
 
 AUSTIN CORBIN, railroad president, a native of Newport, N. H., was born July 
 ii, 1827. His father, Austin Corbin, was a farmer and for several years a State Sen- 
 ator in New Hampshire. The son graduated from Harvard Law School and practiced 
 law for two years in New Hampshire, having as a partner Ralph Metcalf, afterward 
 Governor of the State. In 1851, he removed to Davenport, Iowa, practiced law with 
 success, and then engaged in banking, being the only banker in Davenport who did not 
 close his doors in 1857. He reorganized, June 29, 1863, as The First National Bank of 
 Davenport, having the honor to be the first man in the United States to begin banking 
 under the Federal law. In 1865, he came to New York and engaged extensively in 
 banking and the negotiation of mortgage loans on farms in Iowa and other Western 
 States. The Corbin Banking Co., of which he is the head, was established in 1873. He 
 has become famous chiefly through his marked ability and success in railroad enter- 
 prises. His first operation was the reorganization of The Indiana, Bloomington & 
 Western Railroad, which under his presidency was made a paying property. In 1 880, 
 he turned his attention to The Long Island Railroad, purchased a large number of 
 shares, and became receiver and president of the company, Jan. i, 1881. Mr. Corbin's 
 management resulted in payment of the debts, reconstruction of the roadway, and a 
 high state of prosperity. He promoted travel by developing the attractions of Coney 
 Island, Manhattan Beach, Rockaway Beach, Long Beach, and other resorts on the sea 
 coast, gradually placing the road in excellent condition and its traffic upon a profitable 
 basis. Having revealed himself as one of the most capable and practical railroad men 
 
AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 in the United States, he became prominently identified with the reorganization of The 
 Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co., and served as its president from September, 1886, 
 to June 27, 1890. Having been appointed receiver of that company in October, 1886, 
 he repeated his previous successes with great eclat. He is now president of The Long 
 Island Railroad, The Elmira, Cortland & Northern Railroad, The Manhattan Beach 
 Co., The Manhattan Beach Hotel & Land Co., and The New York & Rockaway Beach 
 Railway; and a director of The American Exchange National Bank, The Western Union 
 Telegraph Co., The New York, Brooklyn & Manhattan Beach Railway, The Nassau 
 Fire Insurance Co., and The Mercantile Trust Co. In 1853, he was married to Hannah 
 M., daughter of Simeon Wheeler, of Newport, N. H., and his children are Isabella, wife 
 of George S. Edgell, Anna and Austin Corbin, jr. One other daughter, Mary, the eldest 
 of the family, married Rene Cherennot Champollion, grandson of the famous Egyptian 
 scholar, but she died in Paris, June 5, 1892. The husband had previously died in this 
 country. They left one son, Andre, the only male descendant of the family of the illus- 
 trious Champollion, who is being educated in America. Mr. Corbin's clubs are the 
 Manhattan, Reform, Players', Lawyers', Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht, Meadow Brook, 
 and South Side Sportsmen's clubs. 
 
 JOHN B. CORNELL, manufacturer, born at Rockaway, on Long Island, Feb. 7, 
 1821, died in Lakewood, N. J., Oct. 26, 1887. His ancestor, Thomas Cornell, of 
 Cornell's Neck, born in England in 1595, died in Portsmouth, R. I., in 1655. Reared 
 'upon his father's farm, Mr. Cornell, at the age of fifteen, began to learn the trade of 
 iron manufacturing. In 1847, with his brother, W. W. Cornell, he opened a factory in 
 New York, which subsequently grew to large proportions. At these works the pro- 
 prietors made an immense amount of architectural iron, including the iron for the 
 elevated railroads in New York city. In 1867, Mr. Cornell admitted his son to partner- 
 ship, taking the firm name of J. B. & J. M. Cornell. A devoted member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and a practical" Christian. Mr. Cornell devoted a certain 
 percentage of his annual income to benevolent purposes. As his wealth increased, his 
 gifts grew proportionately. His annual contributions to the Methodist church fre- 
 quently amounted to $50,000. Over 100 churches, within as many miles of New York, 
 profited more or less by his munificence. At the time of his death, he was active in 
 various charitable societies and the Union League club, a director of The Broadway 
 Savings Bank, and the only Christian member of The Hebrew Society for the Improve- 
 ment of Deaf Mutes. Seven children were born to him. His son, JOHN n. 
 CORNELL, iron manufacturer, was born in New York city, Aug. 27, 1846. He left 
 school at fifteen years of age, and then learned a trade in his father's shops. Upon 
 attaining his majority, he was taken into partnership in J. B. & J. M. Cornell, and 
 since 1887, has been sole proprietor of the works. The use of iron and steel in the 
 framework of modern buildings is a new science, to which Mr. Cornell has given 
 patient and careful study, and he has manufactured enormous quantities of these 
 metals in structural shapes. Some of the most conspicuous buildings in New York city, 
 erected since the era of gigantic structures began, about twenty years ago, have been 
 supplied with the interior frame work, which supports all the rest, from the Cornell 
 shops. Among them are the Hotel New Netherland, the Hotel Waldorf, The Times 
 building, and numerous edifices in the lower part of the city. Mr. Cornell is a member 
 of the Reform, Building Trades and Riding clubs. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CO. 155 
 
 PETER CORTELYOU CORNELL, manufacturer, born in Red Hook, on Long Island, 
 X. Y., in 1803, died in the city of Brooklyn, May 5, 1885. He was a son of John Cornell, 
 proprietor of a large flour mill. The family were of English and Dutch pedigree, the 
 Cornells tracing their line to the Cornewells, who ranked among the landed gentry of 
 England several centuries ago. Thomas Cornell, founder of the family here, received a 
 grant of Cornell's Neck from Governor Kieft, in 1646. Peter entered business life at an 
 early age, and promoted a great variety of enterprises. He was for many years prosper- 
 ously engaged in the manufacture of gunpowder, as president of The Hazard Powder Co. 
 on Wall street. He also aided in the establishment of local gas works, ferry lines, banks, 
 and white lead works in Brooklyn. His wife was Elizabeth Bunce. They had no children. 
 
 HANSON K. CORNING, merchant, born in 1821, died in Para, Brazil, April 22, 
 1878. He was one of the leading merchants in the South American trade in this city, 
 and imported rubber and other tropical products for many years with success. He 
 owned a large area of land in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Dakota. Retiring in 1856, 
 he was succeeded by his son, Ephraim L. Corning, who, later, himself withdrew from 
 business, and made his home in Geneva, Switzerland. Three children were born to 
 him, Ephraim L. Corning, Margaretta C. Stone and Anna M. Eraser. An invalid 
 during the last twenty years of his life, he bore his sufferings with fortitude, and dis- 
 played the beauty of his character by large contributions to The Presbyterian Mission 
 in Brazil, The American Bible Society, and other philanthropic institutions. 
 
 FREDERICK H. COSSITT, merchant, born in Granby, Conn., Dec. 18, 1811, died 
 in Xew York city, Sept. 23, 1887. His ancestors, French by descent, enrolled them- 
 selves among the early settlers of Connecticut, going there as early as 1720. Mr. 
 Cossitt received his education in the public schools and Westfield (Mass.), Academy. 
 In 1827, a relative conducting a dry goods store in Clarksville, Tenn., gave the young 
 man employment and a business training. Five years later, Mr. Cossitt removed to La 
 Grange, Tenn., where he managed a dry goods house with an uncle. From 1835 to 
 1842, he was a dry goods merchant in Pontotoc, Miss., and Helena, Ark., and in the 
 latter year started a wholesale dry goods store in Memphis, which he conducted until 
 1861. Finding it necessary to be represented in Xew York, he made his home in this 
 city in 1850, thereafter making the purchases for his Southern trade. His attention 
 having been drawn to metropolitan real estate as an investment, he made heavy pur- 
 chases on Broadway and other important streets, and the increase in value of this 
 property brought him a fortune. He was well informed concerning railroad properties, 
 and served as a trustee of The Mutual Life Insurance Co., vice-president of The 
 Central Trust Co., and director of The Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co., and The 
 Greenwich Savings Bank. Three daughters survived him, May C., wife of George 
 E. Dodge; Helen M., wife of Augustus D. Juilliard; and Mrs. Elizabeth R. Stokes. 
 
 PATRICK CARROLL COSTELLO, tanner, was born in 1829, and is a son of Will- 
 iam Costello, a tanner. He is of Irish ancestry. From the common schools he went 
 into his father's tannery. Having learned the useful art of making leather, he became 
 an operator on his own account in 1848, at Camden, X. Y., in the firm of P. & P. Cos- 
 tello. Success inspired him with ambition, and, in 1873, he became a partner in the 
 firm of Lapham, Costello & Co., of Xew York city. Thoroughly practical, clear-headed 
 and energetic, Mr. Costello has risen to be one of the foremost tanners of these times. 
 In 1886, the house was reorganized as P. C. Costello & Co. He has been a resident of 
 
I5 6 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 New York city since 1881, and his name is one of the most conspicuous in the leather 
 trade in "the swamp." His firm dissolved in 1893, to join The United States Leather 
 Co., one of the greatest corporations in the country, of which he is a director. He is a 
 member of the Hide and Leather and Down Town clubs. 
 
 CHARLES HENRY COSTER, banker, born in Newport, R. I., July 22, 1852, is 
 a son of George W. and Elizabeth Oakey Coster, both of New York. His grandfather, 
 John Gerard Coster, came from Holland at the close of the American Revolution, and 
 rose to prominence as a New York merchant. The maternal grandfather, Daniel 
 Oakey, an Englishman by birth, was also a merchant in this city. Sept. 12, 1867, 
 Charles went down town to enter the office of Aymar & Co., at 34 and 35 South street, 
 as a clerk. Occupied with the importation of tea, coffee, etc., for five years, Nov. i, 
 1872, he identified himself with Fabbri & Chauncey, at 47 and 48 South street. This 
 firm took over the business of Aymar & Co. They were shipping and commission 
 merchants, dealing principally with the West coast of South America and the Philippine 
 Islands. Mr. Coster remained with them until October, 1883. Jan. i, 1884, he was ad- 
 mitted to partnership in the great banking house of Drexel, Morgan & Co., of this city, 
 Drexel & Co., of Philadelphia, and Drexel, Harjes& Co., of Paris, resident in New York. 
 He has since proved a prudent, capable and useful member of these firms. Mr. Coster 
 has joined the Metropolitan, City, St. Nicholas and Reform clubs, and is prominently 
 connected with The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, The Southern Railway, The Elgin, Jo- 
 liet & Eastern Railway, The General Electric Co., and The Edison Electric Illuminating 
 Co. June 2, 1886, he married Emily Pell Coster and has two children, Emily and Helen. 
 
 AMOS COTTINQ, merchant and banker, a native of Boston, Mass., born about 
 1827, died in New York city, May 13, 1889. He was a very enterprising and courageous 
 man, who having spent about fifteen years in the dry goods business in St. Louis, came 
 to New York with large means in 1866 with his partner, Mr Jameson, and established 
 the bank of Jameson, Smith & Getting. Equally as successful in finance as in trade, 
 Mr. Cotting retired Jan. i, 1889. He belonged to the Union League and other clubs, 
 and was one of the most highly regarded men in the city. 
 
 STAflATY COVAS, importer, born in Greece in 1816, died in New Brunswick, 
 N. J , Sept. 16, 1881. He came to this country in 1851, locating in New Orleans as a 
 merchant in the firm of Covas & Negreunde, but in 1861 removed to New York, where 
 for twenty years he carried on a large exportation of raw cotton, and an importation of 
 general merchandise. He was a member of the Produce and Cotton Exchanges, and 
 by a long life of patient industry gained a large fortune. His wife Ethelind, and two 
 children, survived him. The family made their home in New Brunswick, N. J. 
 
 ELLIOT CHRISTOPHER COWDIN, importing merchant, born in Jamaica, Vt, 
 Aug. 9, 1819, died in New York city, April 12, 1880. He was a son of Angier Cowdin, 
 landowner, and came from Scottish ancestry. Capt. Thomas Cowdin, his grandfather, 
 of Fitchburg, Mass., served his country in the American Revolution. Elliot spent 
 his youth in Boston. After leaving the public schools he was employed by Allen & 
 Mann, merchants of ribbons and millinery. Nine years of diligent and progressive 
 service led to his admission as partner to the succeeding firm of W. H. Mann & Co. 
 In 1853, he came to New York, and in the firm of Elliot C. Cowdin & Co., engaged 
 in the importation of silks and silk ribbons, rising to a prominent place in the trade. 
 The panic of 1857 left him almost impoverished, but his coolness, tenacity, and per- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CO. 157 
 
 sistent enterprise finally brought a large reward, and he retired in 1877 a man of 
 means. During his whole life, Mr. Cowdin was remarkable for activity. A member of 
 the Chamber of Commerce, and once president of The New England Society, he 
 aided in founding, and became one of, the vice-presidents of the Union League club. 
 He also joined the Century club. The purchase of merchandise led him constantly to 
 Europe, and, in all, he crossed the Atlantic ocean eighty-six times. In general, he 
 held aloof from political strife, but was, in 1862, defeated for Congress, and in 1876 
 elected to the State Assembly. In politics, a Republican, he spoke frequently on 
 public matters, was vehement in his loyalty, outspoken in his views, and emphatic, 
 though courteous, in their expression. For several years after 1869, he lived in Paris. 
 On the approach of the Prussian army, during the Franco-Prussian war, he was 
 obliged to leave the city. As a Commissioner to the French Exposition, Mr. Cowdin 
 made a report on silk culture which received much praise. In 1853, he married Sarah 
 Katharine, daughter of Samuel Wallis Waldron, of Boston, and their six children were 
 Katharine Waldron, wife of Gaspar Griswold; John Elliot Cowdin; Martha Waldron, 
 wife of Robert Bacon; Winthrop Cowdin; Alice, wife of Hamilton L. Hoppin, and 
 Elliot C. Cowdin. 
 
 ALFRED ABERNETHY COWLES, manufacturer, born in Torrington, Conn., 
 Sept. 28, 1845, is a son of George P. Cowles, vice-president of The Ansonia Brass & 
 Copper Co., until his death in 1887, and springs from English and Scottish ancestry. 
 His mother was a daughter of Gen. R. C. Abernethy, of Scottish descent. Educated 
 in the schools of Connecticut and at the Sorbonne in Paris, he began life as teller in 
 The Ansonia National Bank. Through service in various positions in this institution 
 he gained a thorough knowledge of banking. In 1867, he entered the employment of 
 The Ansonia Brass & Copper Co. , gave close attention to the business, took charge of 
 the New York office, and has risen to be vice president and executive manager of the 
 company. The Ansonia Clock Co., which he took an active part in organizing in 
 1879, is now the largest establishment of its kind in the world. These two industries 
 give employment to thousands of working people. Mr. Cowles has invested his savings 
 largely in other industries, and is vice president of The Ansonia Clock Co. , president of 
 The Birmingham Water Power Co., treasurer of The Ansonia Land & Water Power Co., 
 and a director of other companies. In 1872, he was married to Miss Frances, daughter 
 of William Bailey of Devonshire, England. Their children are Russel A. and Frederick H. 
 Cowles. His clubs are the L T nion League, Fulton, Blooming Grove Park and Suburban. 
 
 LOTTA M. CRABTREE, actress, while certainly not a successful man, is a very 
 beautiful, worthy and successful woman. She was born in New York city, Nov. 7, 
 1847. Her father kept a book store for many years in Nassau street, New York, went 
 to California in 1851, and there engaged in gold mining. His wife and daughter 
 followed in 1854. Lotta made her first appearance on the amusement stage in 1855, as 
 a singer in an amateur entertainment at La Porte. At the age of eleven she plaved the 
 part of Gertrude in the "Loan of a Lover," at Petaluma. Shortly afterward the mother 
 and daughter both became members of a theatrical company, which travelled through 
 California in 1860. The success of Lotta was very great. To a piquant and bewitch- 
 ing manner, she joined vigorous health, a bright mind and dramatic ability; and when, 
 in 1864, she appeared in New York city in spectacular plays at Niblo's Garden, her 
 audiences were large and the receipts profitable. Her reputation was established first 
 
i$8 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 in John Brougham's " Little Nell and the Marchioness." She soon became a favorite 
 with the American public, both in the large cities and the smaller towns, in comedy, 
 and has usually played parts especially written for her. Her chief successes have been 
 as "Topsy," " Sam Willoughby," "Firefly," "Zip," "Bob," "The Little Detective," 
 and " Nitouche." Lotta is a good business woman, and has had the prudence to invest 
 her earnings in real estate in New York city and Boston, the appreciation in value of 
 which has made her rich. 
 
 JACOB CRAfl, merchant and realty owner, born in Exeter, N. H.. about 1783, died 
 in New York city, July 6, 1869. He was a classmate of Daniel Webster and Lewis 
 Cass in the Exeter academy. He began the study of theology, but gave it up for a 
 commercial life, entering a leading store in Boston. Gaining experience, to which he 
 added by a tour of Europe, he returned and engaged in business on his own account. 
 In 1816, he came to New York city, and was long known as a sound, upright, and 
 enterprising merchant, gaining the confidence and esteem of the whole community. 
 His fortune was invested mainly in uptown real estate, which rose enormously in value 
 as the tide of population surged northwards over the island. He also owned property 
 of this class in Chicago. Two sons, Henry C., and John Sergeant Cram, and two 
 daughters survived him. 
 
 WILLIAM CRAWFORD, dry goods merchant, born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, in 
 ' August, 1845, after attendance in the parish schools, began life as an apprentice in the 
 dry goods store of Thomas Chalmers & Co., in Glasgow. In 1866, he came to America 
 and found a clerkship with Hogg, Brown & Taylor, dry goods merchants, in Boston. 
 Three years later, Scottish thrift enabled him to start a store of his own in Nashua, 
 N. H. Later, he added branch stores in Manchester, N. H., and Taunton, Mass. At- 
 tracted to New York by a favorable offer, he joined the firm of Richard Meares & Co., 
 retail dry goods merchants, in September, 1877. He infused great energy into the 
 affairs of the firm. In August, 1879, the house reorganized as Simpson, Crawford & 
 Simpson, to succeed the business of Mr. Meares. Under the new firm, a highly suc- 
 cessful dry goods business has been conducted, and the store on Sixth avenue is one of 
 those which now form a necessary part of the route of ladies on a shopping tour. Both 
 his partners have died, and Mr. Crawford is now sole proprietor, although retaining the 
 previous name. He has joined the Manhattan, Lotus, Colonial, New York Athletic 
 and Larchmont Yacht clubs. He is not married. 
 
 RAMON FERNANDEZ CREADO Y GOMEZ, planter, born in Guines, Cuba, Dec. 
 20, 1825, died in Havana, June 8, 1882. His father was Fernandez Creado, a planter of 
 Spanish blood, owned large estates and was widely known and respected. While 
 Spanish rule in Cuba-had been uninterrupted, it had been frequently disturbed by 
 insurrections, many of which during Mr. Creado's boyhood and youth were extensive 
 and serious. The island abounded with rumor and intrigue, and the elder Creado deter- 
 mined to educate his son in the United States, where he could have the advantage of 
 the finest facilities and political tranquility. Accordingly, about 1840, the young 
 Cuban began his studies in St. Mary's College, Baltimore, where he spent several 
 years. Of an ardent and earnest nature, he early became an admirer of the American 
 republic and qualified as a citizen of the United States. This step, whether entirely 
 due to admiration for his adopted country, or the result of the unsettled condition of 
 Cuba, proved the means eventually of preserving his life and preventing the loss of his 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CR. 159 
 
 estate. Called home by the death of his father, Mr. Creado found himself an object of 
 suspicion. Having quelled the rebellion, the rapacity of the Spanish authorities knew no 
 bounds. They plundered and maltreated wealthy planters at will, and the mere charge 
 of sympathy with the rebellion was sufficient justification for any excess. Conspicuous 
 wealth made Mr. Creado an object of attack. It is true that he freed every slave in his 
 possession and treated those belonging to the undivided estate with great kindness, and 
 that, beholding the outrages to which his friends were subjected, he sympathized 
 secretly with the struggle of the insurgents for liberty in 1868, but well understanding 
 the futility of the catise, he gave it no countenance by word or deed. This, however, 
 was immaterial. The Spanish authorities desired his large estate, proclaimed him a 
 rebel, and ordered the confiscation of his property. Escaping to the United States, Mr. 
 Creado proved his citizenship in the United States, and for many years with slender 
 resources, he struggled in vain to secure his property, William M. Evarts acting as his 
 counsel. After long correspondence between the State Department at Washington and 
 the Spanish Government, the justice of Mr. Creado's contention was recognized, the 
 decree against him was rescinded, and in 1877 his property was restored. As soon as 
 he considered it safe, Mr. Creado returned to Cuba and occupied himself with the mani- 
 fold requirements of his neglected property, which consisted not only of extensive plan- 
 tations but also of large blocks of valuable real estate in Havana. On his plantation 
 ' Xeda," and wherever his influence could be felt, he introduced American improve- 
 ments, and the American system of education. He also made every effort to compel 
 the government to repay the income wrongfully appropriated during the years of his 
 exile, but in this he failed. Mr. Creado made annual visits to New York, which he 
 had learned by many years of residence to regard as home. He never married. 
 
 JOHN DANIEL CRIMMINS, conspicuous as a contractor for the building of private 
 and public works, descends from Irish stock, and was born in New York city, Ma)' 18, 
 1844. His father, Thomas Crimmins, was a man of sound sense and great enterprise, 
 who, having settled in New York in 1837, engaged in contract work in 1849, and retired 
 from business in 1873, the possessor of a fortune. John gained his education in the 
 public schools and St. Francis Xavier College, and then, at the age of sixteen, found 
 occupation as a clerk in the office of his father. The vocation suited his enterprising 
 nature, and he entered upon the master}- of all necessary details with ardor and ability. 
 At the age of eighteen, he was made superintendent of his father's business, and at 
 twenty was admitted as a partner, the firm name being Thomas Crimmins & Son. 
 
 The contracts executed by the firm previous to this date were confined mainly to 
 excavations, water front improvements, heavy foundations, etc. The influence of the 
 junior partner was now seen in an extension of the operations of the firm to the con- 
 struction of buildings under contract. The first work of this nature was performed in 
 1866, and since that year more than 400 houses have been erected in various parts of 
 the city. This branch of the business has always been under the direction of John D. 
 Crimmins, and has given excellent scope for the power of organization, the foresight, 
 energy and good management, which are characteristic traits of the man. The erec- 
 tion of dwellings for others has led Mr. Crimmins into real estate transactions on his 
 own account, and he has gradually become one of the largest operators in the city. 
 
 The influence of Mr. Crimmins was also seen at an early day in the employment 
 of machinery upon a large scale in making excavations. H e was the first contractor in 
 
160 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 New York city to adopt machinery for this purpose ; and his greater promptness in 
 executing contracts and ability to perform the work at a reasonable compensation 
 quickly resulted in a large increase of the general contract work of the firm. To a 
 greater or less extent, Mr. Crimmins has now for thirty years been identified with all 
 the large construction work projected in New York city, especially with operations 
 requiring the highest degree of ability in the contractor. He accepts few if any con- 
 tracts from the city. His work is almost wholly performed for corporations, estates 
 and individuals. He laid the foundations for The Manhattan Railway, built the elec- 
 trical subway, has laid many miles of gas mains, built the tank fotindations for various 
 gas companies, and constructed the Broadway and the street railroads on Lexington, 
 Lenox and Columbus avenues. 
 
 Since 1873, he has been senior member and the leading spirit of the firm. Mr. 
 Crimmins gives to every contract the closest personal attention, and has carried forward 
 to a successful completion every enterprise in which he has been engaged. His work 
 is thorough and satisfactory, and contracts are generally awarded to him without com- 
 petition. He is one of the largest employers of labor in the city, seldom carrying fewer 
 than 2,000 men upon his pay rolls, and often as many as 6,000. He has weathered every 
 financial storm with skill, and has never missed a pay day or disappointed a creditor. 
 
 His influence with his workmen is remarkable. Patient, an attentive and sym- 
 pathetic listener, just in his conclusions, while at the same time ready to defend with 
 reasonable argument his position against unwarranted demands, he has never failed to 
 reach a friendly settlement of every dispute with his own men. He has frequently 
 been called upon to serve as arbitrator in strikes, and in most cases has aided in adjust- 
 ing differences to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. The principal office of the 
 firm, at 50 East spth street, is to-day within half a mile of the spot where Mr. Crim- 
 mins was born. 
 
 Mr. Crimmins is now largely associated with street railroad enterprise in the city 
 and is an important stockholder in The Metropolitan Traction Co., of the metropolis, 
 and The Consolidated Traction Co., of Jersey City. He is allied with the progress, 
 development and commercial life of the city at many points. A member of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, he is a director in The Fifth Avenue Bank and The National 
 Union Bank, president of The Essex & Hudson Land Improvement Co , and trustee 
 of The North-Western Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Milwaukee. He is also a member 
 of several boards of trustees of charities connected with the Roman Catholic church, and 
 of the building committees of three of them, and has superintended the building of 
 various convents, schools, asylums and churches, and the house of the Catholic Club. 
 
 In politics, a Deniocwat, Mr. Crimmins has played some part in public affairs, 
 although too busy a man to enter upon a political career. He was a Park Commis- 
 sioner, 1883-88, and served at various dates as either president or treasurer of that 
 board. At one time appointed by the President a member of the Board of Visitors to 
 the Military Academy at West Point, he has also been a Presidential Elector and 
 member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1894. He has also been a valued 
 member of all the special committees of citizens, formed during the last ten years to 
 represent the people of the city in public commemorations and the achievement of non- 
 partisan objects, in which prominent people are accustomed to co-operate. He is one 
 of the Executive Committee of the Prison Association. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CB Xgj 
 
 In manners, he unites courtesy and refinement with the thoroughness of discussion 
 and quickness of decision of an experienced business man. Several of the best known 
 business and social clubs of the city have elected him to membership, including the 
 Manhattan, Lawyers', Democratic, Catholic, Players', Suburban, Stamford Yacht, and 
 Building Trades; and he is also a contributor to the support of The Metropolitan 
 Museum of Art and The American Museum of Natural History. 
 
 April 1 5th, 1 868, he was married to Lily L. Lalor, a daughter of Martin Lalor. 
 His family now consists of himself and eleven children. He maintains a city home at 
 40 East 68th street, near Central Park, and in the summer dwells at his fine country 
 seat of Firwood on the Sound, near Noroton, Conn. 
 
 FREDERIC CROnWELL, treasurer of The Mutual Life Insurance Co., a man of 
 notable personality and a valuable citizen, was born in the village of Cornwall on the 
 Hudson, Feb. 16, 1843. He is a son of the late David Cromwell, who retired from 
 business in New York city nearly sixty years ago and built a residence in Cornwall, 
 where he died in 1857. The family is of English ancestry, tracing its descent from Col. 
 John Cromwell, a brother of the Protector and third son of Richard Cromwell. John 
 Cromwell, a son of John, emigrated from Holland to New Amsterdam, and in 1686 
 resided at Long Neck in Westchester county, afterward known as Cromwell's Neck. 
 Through his mother, Rebecca Bowman, the subject of this biography is descended from 
 John Bowman, an Englishman, who died in 1661, and whose son Henry joined the 
 Society of Friends in 1666. 
 
 After a full experience in preparatory schools, Mr. Cromwell entered Harvard 
 College, graduating in 1863. Of the following two years, the first was devoted to study 
 of the law, the second to European travel. Every experience is useful to a man of 
 retentive mind and progressive spirit, and while Mr. Cromwell preferred an active to a 
 professional career, his legal studies proved of value to him in later years. In 1865, 
 he established himself in the occupation of importing British cloths, relinquishing this 
 in 1868, in order to devote more attention to other important interests. 
 
 Mr. Cromwell was one of the originators of The People's Gas Light Co., of Brook- 
 lyn, and in 1870 became its president. He was also interested in the gas companies of 
 Baltimore, Md. His experience with the manufacture of illuminating gas led him, in 
 1870, to remove to St. Louis, Mo , where he resided four years. There, under his 
 direction, The Laclede Gas Light Co. constructed its works. He managed the company 
 from its inception and until its affairs were placed upon a firm and profitable basis, one 
 third of the gas used in the city being supplied by these works. After a year in 
 Europe, he returned to Brooklyn in 1875, where he interested himself in a number of 
 corporate enterprises. In conjunction with his brother-in-law, he purchased control of 
 one of the street railroad companies of Brooklyn, and for several 3-ears directed the 
 extension of the lines until an important system had grown into existence. 
 
 The people of Brooklyn remember Mr. Cromwell with affection. While a very 
 active business man, he was much interested in matters of public concern. When a 
 Civil Service Reform Association was formed in Brooklyn, he became its first president, 
 and afterward he served as a member of the first Civil Service Commission. Further, 
 he was active in promoting the higher interests of the people of the city, especially 
 those which center around The Brooklyn Art Association, which he served as president, 
 and The Philharmonic Society, of which he was vice-president. 
 
i6z AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 It was in 1880, that Mr. Cromwell was chosen a trustee of The Mutual Life Insur- 
 ance Co., one of the soundest financial institutions in the metropolis, which occupies 
 the site of the old New York post office, formerly an historic church, on Nassau street. 
 His services in the board resulted in his election, in 1884, to the responsible position 
 of treasurer of the company. Great as are the interests centering- in the city of New 
 York, it may be safely stated that no corporation among its numberless institutions 
 places a heavier burden of trust and responsibility upon its financial officer than does 
 The Mutual Life Insurance Co. All the loans of the company, running into the 
 millions, fall under the guidance of the treasurer. To those unacquainted with the 
 details of the operations of this corporation, an adequate idea of what it is to be its 
 treasurer can only be given by citing a few figures. The assets of the company are 
 $200,000,000 and its annual receipts and disbursements above $50,000,000, while loans 
 have been made upon proper security to the amount of $75,000,000. These trans- 
 actions, stupendous to the ordinary mind, require the supervision of a treasurer and 
 board of directors, calm and sound in judgment, thoroughly acquainted with financial 
 affairs, upright and beyond suspicion, and capable of untiring labor. It is a sufficient 
 comment upon the personal quality of Mr. Comwell, to say that he holds the position 
 of treasurer of this company, and has filled it for ten years to the eminent advantage of 
 the interests he serves and the satisfaction of the trustees, of whom he is one. Upon 
 accepting this position, Mr. Cromwell became a resident of New York city, spending his 
 winters in town and dwelling during each summer upon his farm at Bernardsville, N. J. 
 
 Mr. Cromwell is represented in many prominent financial institutions and bears 
 an active part in their counsels. He is a director of The New York Guarantee & 
 Indemnity Co , The National Union Bank, The Brooklyn Trust Co. , The Bank of New 
 Amsterdam and other institutions, including The New York & East River Gas Co., 
 which recently completed a tunnel under the East River. 
 
 A man of fine presence, large, dark featured, courtly in demeanor, Mr. Cromwell 
 enjoys the acquaintance of a wide circle of the choicest people of the city. He married 
 Esther, daughter of Seymour L. Husted, and has had five children, of whom four are 
 living, one son and three daughters. He is associated with several charities. 
 
 He has joined a few clubs, including the Century, Metropolitan, University, 
 Harvard and Down Town of this city, and the Hamilton of Brooklyn. 
 
 WILLIAM BEDLOW CROSBY, realty owner, born in New York city, Feb. 7, 
 1786, died here, March 18, 1865. His grandfather was Judge Joseph Crosby, his father 
 Dr. Ebenezer Crosby, a leading physician of this city, while his mother was Catharine, 
 daughter ot William Bedlow, whose family possessed Bedlow's Island in New York 
 bay, and of Catharine Rutgers, daughter of Hendrick Rutgers. Left an orphan at the 
 age of two, William entered the family of his great uncle, Col. Henry Rutgers, who 
 adopted him as a son. By inheritance from his mother, the young man received a 
 large share of the old Rutgers estate, which included the greater portion of the Seventh 
 Ward in New York city and became very valuable. Mr. Crosby's time was greatly 
 occupied with the care of his property. He found, however, both time and inclination 
 to engage largely in philanthropic enterprises, taking an active interest in various soci- 
 eties of a public character and giving liberally of his large means to colleges and 
 charity. The American Bible Society especially enlisted his interest. In 1821, he 
 became a life director, and in 1853, a vice-preside'nt. His father having rendered 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CR. 103 
 
 efficient service as a surgeon during the Revolution, William B. Crosby became oy vir- 
 tue thereof a member of The Society of the Cincinnati. He was married, Feb. 7, 1807, 
 to Harriet A., daughter of the Rev. William Clarkson, and grand daughter of William 
 Floyd, a Signer of the Declaration of Independence. His children were William Henry, 
 John Player, Robert Ralston, Clarkson Floyd, who died Feb. 22, 1858, Edward Nicoll, 
 the Rev. Dr. Howard Crosby, a leading Presbyterian minister of New York city, Cath- 
 arine Clarkson, Eliza Smedes, and Mary; and Clarkson, Anna Bancker, and Harman 
 Rutgers, who died in infancy. Mrs. Crosby died Dec. 13, 1859. His son, JOHN 
 PLAYER CROSBY, lawyer, born in New York city, May 22, 1810, died from heart 
 failure while bathing off Fire Island on the Long Island coast, Sept. 19, 1876. Gradu- 
 ating from Columbia College in 1827, he studied law and engaged in the active prac- 
 tice of his profession until his death. He was first associated with R. M. Blatchford, a 
 son of Judge Blatchford, afterward with F. F. Marbury. Yet later, he was a member 
 of the firm of Crosby, Ostrander & Jones, and finally of Crosby, Hoffman & Crosby. 
 During his later years, he attained especial prominence as referee and trustee of large 
 estates. He belonged to the Bar Association and earnestly promoted the work of sev- 
 eral religious and charitable institutions. Nearly all his life he served as an elder in 
 the Presbyterian church. In February, 1835, Mr. Crosby married Ellen, daughter of 
 John R. Murray. His wife died in May, 1836. In 1840, he married a daughter of the 
 late Benjamin F. Butler, Attorney General during part of President Van Buren's admin- 
 istration. Six sons and three daughters were born to him. Franklin Butler Crosby, one 
 of his sons, was killed in the battle of Chancellorsville. Mr. Crosby was a man of 
 singular frankness and courtesy, and his cordial and generous disposition drew about 
 him a large number of warm friends. 
 
 JEREMIAH CURTIS, manufacturer, born in Hampden, Maine, in 1804, died in New 
 York city, March 24, 1883. While a young man, he established a bank in Calais, Me., 
 and later built the first railroad in Maine, from Calais to Middletown, and accepted the 
 Abolition nomination for governor of his State, being, however, defeated. He came 
 : Xe\v York about 1863, and entered the drug business, in which he was remarkably 
 successful. The owner of several formulas for medicines, he manufactured largely, 
 and from the sale of Winslow's Soothing Syrup, Brown's Bronchial Troches, etc., 
 amassed a large fortune. Several years before his death he retired from business, 
 leaving the industry to the conduct of his sons. He was a man of estimable private 
 character, and until age compelled him to retire, he was accustomed to gather around 
 him a circle of choice friends. 
 
 DON ALONZO CUSHflAN, merchant, born in Coventry, Conn., Oct. i, 1792, died 
 in New York city, May i, 1875. The Cushman family was planted in America by 
 Robert of that name, who, in June, 1620, chartered the Mayflower, which brought over 
 the first company of Pilgrims, and who followed them to New England on the Fortune 
 in the following November. Allerton Cushman of this line was a resident of Coven- 
 try, Conn. His son, Minerva, one of the pioneers of Otsego county, N. Y., gave all 
 of his children at least one name beginning with D, and his fifth son was Don Alonzo 
 Cushman. Alonzo grew up on the Otsego county farm, gained what teaching he could 
 in the country schools, and in 1805 entered a store in Cooperstown, N. Y., where he 
 learned to sell dry goods and groceries. He took private lessons in arithmetic, became 
 bookkeeper for Col. Russell Williams, and through the kindness of the latter secured a 
 
164 
 
 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 place in a retail dry goods store on Broadway, New York city, in 1810. He had saved 
 up to that time just $17, and this small sum was soon consumed in New York. Here, 
 thrown entirely on his own resources, he learned at the outset that frugality, industry 
 and merit must be his sole reliance for success. During the War of 1812 he served 
 three months in one of the forts of the harbor. In 1815, Charles Weed, his employer, 
 sold his store on credit to Mr. Cushman and Archibald Falconer, and invested a few 
 thousand dollars as their partner in Cushman & Falconer. The young merchant expe- 
 rienced many and great trials at different times but by perseverance finally built up an 
 immense trade, which after 1824 was confined to the wholesale branch of the business. 
 The house finally became known as D. A. Cushman & Co. In 1855, Mr. Cushman re- 
 tired. He was a pioneer in the development in the Chelsea district, extending a distance 
 of several blocks on Ninth avenue above i4th street. Upon a large tract of land there 
 he created a village of well-to-do families, and established his own dwelling on Ninth 
 avenue, opposite the Episcopal Theological Seminary. Since his death, the house 
 has been occupied by some of his family. This region, once an independent village, has 
 since been swallowed up by the rush of population northwards, and is indistinguishable 
 now from the rest of the densely inhabited region of which it is the center, except that 
 it retains some of the characteristics of the older New York. Mr. Cushman was presi- 
 dent of The Greenwich Savings Bank, and director in several insurance companies. 
 Married in 1815 to Matilda C. S., daughter of Peter Ritter, thirteen children were 
 born to him, Mary Matilda Falconer, wife of Philip F. Pistor, of this city; Alonzo 
 Ritter; Catharine Ritter, wife of N. B. Smith, of New Orleans; Caroline Thomas, wife 
 of James Talman Waters; John Henry Hobart; Angelica B., wife of Gustavus W. 
 Faber; Emily A., wife of George Wilcoxson, of Nyack; Archibald Falconer, Ephraim 
 Holbrook, James Stewart and William Floyd Cushman. Julia Josephine and Elizabeth 
 Emeline died while young. -JAflES STEWART CUSHHAN, fifth of the six sons of 
 Don Alonzo Cushman, born in New York, Nov. 19, 1836, died Nov. 25, 1894. He was 
 educated in the Columbia College grammar school, and began life as clerk for Reed, 
 Drexel & Co. He started in business for himself in the stock brokerage firm of Cush- 
 man & Gignoux, who were succeeded by Christmas, Cushman & Hurlbut, and later 
 by Cushman & Hurlbut. A member of the Stock Exchange and one of the original 
 members of the Gold Board, he became prominent as a stock broker and operator in 
 Wall street, but withdrew about 1880 to confine his attention to the management of real 
 estate inherited from his father. He was a man of solid and sincere character, influen- 
 tial, well known and universally respected. Although fond of fine horses and the owner 
 of several, he was too conservative to become greatly addicted to the race track. He 
 dwelt in his father's old mansion on Ninth avenue, where he maintained the Chelsea 
 traditions and hospitable customs for which the homestead was famous. His clubs 
 were the Union League, New York and New York Athletic. 
 
 FRANCIS BROCKHOLST CUTTING, an eminent lawyer, born in New York in 
 1805, died here June 26, 1870. He was a son of William Cutting, lawyer, and grand- 
 son of the Rev. Leonard Cutting, proprietor of a noted grammar school. Graduating 
 from Columbia College, he entered the law and advanced in the arduous labors of this 
 profession to great distinction, largely on account of his profound acquaintance with 
 commercial law. From 1840 to 1855, few cases were tried in the metropolis, involving 
 this branch of legal knowledge, in which Mr. Cutting was not retained as leading coun- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. CU. 165 
 
 sel. He found time to take an active interest in politics, and frequently gave the Demo- 
 cratic party the benefit of his talents as a public speaker. During- 1836 and 1837, he 
 represented New York city in the State Assembly. The sessions were exciting and 
 Mr. Cutting held a conspicuous place in the debates. In 1853-55, he represented one 
 of the New York city districts in Congress. Kansas and Nebraska were leading topics 
 at that time. Mr. Cutting refused to follow the lead of the pro-slavery Southern Con- 
 gressmen who controlled their part}", and he became involved in a personal quarrel with 
 John C. Breckinridge, which was finally adjusted without a duel. At the outbreak of 
 the war, he supported the Union as a War Democrat vigorously, and aided the second 
 election of Lincoln, thereafter retiring from politics to follow his profession. Wealth 
 came to him in part by inheritance from his father, who was the principal owner of 
 the old Brooklyn Steamboat Co., whose boats plied as a ferry between New York and 
 Brooklyn, and from his mother, Gertrude, daughter of Walter Livingston of Living- 
 ston Manor. He added to his means, however, in the practice of the law and by invest- 
 ments in local real estate. He was esteemed as a man of fine intellect, graceful accom- 
 plishments and kindly manners. His son, Gen. William Cutting is now the only 
 survivor of his children, two other sons, Heyward and Brockholst, having died. 
 
 ROBERT LIVINGSTON CUTTING, sr., son of the late William Cutting, born in 
 New York, in February, 1812, died in New York, Feb. 25, 1887. He graduated from 
 Columbia College, and afterward established himself in a stock brokerage business in 
 Wall street. Attractive and winning in manner, clear headed and capable, he was 
 associated with some of the giants of Wall street in various stock operations and notably 
 aided Commodore Yanderbilt in large transactions, when the latter began to deal in 
 the stocks of The Harlem and Hudson River Railroads. He was, in 1865, president of 
 the Stock Exchange. Aided by inheritance, he became a man of fortune. About 
 1870, he retired from business, and six years before his death, sold his seat in the 
 Stock Exchange. He was prominent in the social and club life of the town, a member 
 of the Union Club, a stockholder in the Academy of Music and a promoter of grand 
 opera. In 1871, he joined the Committee of Seventy and labored efficiently for the 
 overthrow of the Tweed ring. In 1835, he was married to Juliana, daughter of James 
 DeWolf, of Bristol, R. I., and was survived by two children, Robert L. Cutting, jr., and 
 Walter, who lives in Pittsfield, Mass. His son, ROBERT LIVINGSTON CUTTING, 
 broker and banker, born in this city, July 2, 1836, died here, Jan. 13, 1894. He was 
 educated at Columbia College, graduating in 1856, and fitted himself for the law, but 
 finally entered the stock brokerage business with his father. He became a member 
 of the Stock Exchange, May 13, 1864, and later special partner in the firm of John 
 Benjamin Lee & Co., which succeeded his own. At the time of his death, he held 
 a similiar interest in Lee, Livingston & Co. Mr. Cutting was one of the best known 
 men in social life in New York. He belonged to the Union, Metropolitan, Knicker- 
 bocker, Manhattan, New York Athletic, Racquet, Tuxedo and Delta Phi clubs, and 
 the Alumni Association of Columbia College. He was handsome and commanding 
 in appearance, a prominent patron of the opera, a stockholder in the Academy of 
 Music and Metropolitan Opera House, and an epicure of wide reputation, while at the 
 same time a generous giver to charity and a regular contributor to the support of many 
 public institutions. His wife, Judith E. Moale, of Baltimore, a sister of Mrs. I. Town- 
 send Burden, and two sons, James De Wolf and Robert L. Cutting, survived him. 
 
D. 
 
 CHARLES FREDERICK DAflBMANN, merchant, a native of Wiesbaden, Ger- 
 many, died June 26, 1868, in this city, at the age of fifty-five. The family had made 
 their home in Wiesbaden for generations and were reputable traders and merchants. 
 The subject of this memoir might have made his mark in the fatherland, because his 
 friends noted in him from youth the spirit of enterprise, clearness of vision and origin- 
 ality of thought; but these very qualities led him, after a short experience in a mercan- 
 tile clerkship, to come to America while a young man and seek the enlarged opportunities 
 of the new world. He. was a born merchant, and after a modest beginning in New 
 York city, he established his own business, and in the firm of C. F. Dambmann & Co., 
 importers of laces, velvets and kindred fabrics, won a pronounced success. The house 
 first occupied a store on Park Row, later on Franklin street. In due time, when large 
 means had come to him in consequence of the prudent and energetic prosecution of his 
 trade, he made numerous investments of his capital in corporations. Mr. Dambmann 
 was connected with The National Park Bank, various gas companies and other cor- 
 porations, and aided in founding The Continental Insurance Co. , and The Continental 
 Bank, being a director of both until his death. A well educated man, he joined various 
 German societies and clubs, whose members esteemed him highly for his soundness of 
 judgment, well informed mind and probity. By his marriage with Sarah, daughter 
 of George Long, book publisher, he had four children, George John Adolph Damb- 
 mann; Louisa, wife of Gustave Cambefort, now living in Lyons; and Charles Frederick 
 William D. Dambmann, jr., a resident of Baltimore, Md. , and another now deceased. 
 
 CHARLES ANDERSON DANA, editor, of The New York Sun, was born in Hins- 
 dale, N. H., Aug. 8, 1819. The first of the family, Jacob Dana, came from France 
 to Boston about 1640, in consequence of the revocation of the edict of Nantes, and 
 Daniel Dana, great grandfather of Charles, was killed in the massacre of Wyoming. 
 His father, a country merchant, failed while Charles was a boy, and the latter left 
 school at the age of ten. A year or two later, the youth began life in Buffalo -as clerk 
 in a dry goods store, where he stayed several years. Having fitted himself for college 
 under many discouraging circumstances, he entered Harvard in 1839 and remained 
 until the end of the sophomore year, when serious trouble with his eyes compelled him 
 to abandon the idea of finishing his college course. Later he obtained his full degree. 
 
 In 1842, led by sentiment, Mr. Dana became one of those philanthropic souls, who 
 engaged in the famous experiment at Brook Farm, being associated therein with 
 George Ripley, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Theodore Parker, Margaret Fuller, George 
 William Curtis, William Henry Channing and others, who afterwards rose to distinc- 
 tion. These philosophers strove for a high plane of social and intellectual life, but 
 Mr. Dana was their only practical man and the experiment finally came to an end. 
 
 A close thinker, sound in his reasoning, and capable of expressing himself in 
 forcible language, Mr. Dana, then at the age of twenty-seven, began writing for The- 
 Chronotype of Boston, receiving during a year and a half the munificent salary of $5 
 a week He had had previous experience upon The Harbinger, devoted to reform and 
 general literature, and now learned the requirements of a daily newspaper. In 1847, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DA. 167 
 
 he came to New York, procured the place of city editor on THE TRIBUNE at $10 a week, 
 subsequently raised to $14, and made his mark at once. In 1848, he spent eight 
 months in Europe as a correspondent, and upon his return in 1849, became managing 
 editor of THE TRIBUNE at 20 a week and one of its stockholders. This position he retained 
 for fifteen years, his compensation being increased until it reached $50 a week. Mr. 
 Dana brought the force of tremendous energy into the operations of THE TRIBUNE, and 
 labored diligently with Mr. Greeley to arrest the extension of slavery to the Territories 
 and to oppose the acquisition of any foreign domain, which should increase the area 
 of American soil devoted to slave holding. He was especially hostile to the repeal 
 of the Missouri compromise and the attempt to fasten slavery upon Kansas and 
 Nebraska. Between Mr. Dana and his chief, there long existed a most intimate 
 friendship and the spirit of harmonious co-operation. In 1861, Mr. Dana spent con- 
 siderable time in Albany in an almost successful but finally fruitless effort to secure 
 the election of Mr. Greeley as United States Senator. The outbreak of the Civil War 
 led to a disagreement between the two men, and Mr. Dana resigned. 
 
 Called, thereupon, to the service of his country in the War Department in Wash- 
 ington, and employed by Secretary Stanton in special work, his efficiency resulted in 
 his appointment as Assistant Secretary of War in 1863. For the duties of this office, 
 he was fitted not only by natural force and a capacity for untiring labor, but by his 
 trained judgment of men and measures, and accurate information of affairs. Both the 
 President and Mr. Stanton relied greatly upon Mr. Dana during this period ; and it is 
 recollected that the latter's confidence in the abilities of General Grant was very influ- 
 ential in saving that rising officer, at one time, from a concerted effort on the part of 
 his opponents to destroy his prestige and promotion. Mr. Dana spent some time at the 
 front during the war and rode in the saddle during the campaigns about Vicksburg 
 and Chattanooga and in those in Virginia during 1864-65. 
 
 After the war, Mr. Dana edited The Chicago Republican for a short time, which 
 failed, owing to no fault of the editor, and in 1867 he returned to New York to enter 
 upon a career of intrepid endeavor and phenomenal success. With a few friends, he 
 bought from Moses Y. Beach The New York Sun, an independent daily newspaper of 
 the Democratic faith, whose first number under the new management was issued Jan. i, 
 1868. Nearly thirty years have elapsed and Mr. Dana is yet in charge. One of the 
 
 equipped, ablest and most trenchant w r riters in American journalism, he has made 
 the editorial page of his paper famous for its force, purity of diction, and individuality. 
 The Sun has become a tremendous power both in attack and defense. His warfare 
 upon General Grant, by whom he considered himself affronted, was one of the most 
 remarkable to which a prominent man in America was ever exposed. His criticisms 
 of the administration, while General Grant was president, exposed Mr. Dana to an 
 attempt in July, 1873, to t^ 6 hi m to Washington for trial in a police court for libel. 
 The enterprise was frustrated, however, Judge Blatchford of the United States Dis- 
 trict Court in New York city refusing a warrant on the ground that the proposed form 
 of trial was unconstitutional. 
 
 Mr. Dana spends his winters in New York and his summers at Dosoris, an island 
 near Glen Cove on the Long Island coast of the Sound. He finds happiness in direct- 
 ing the operations of his paper, and recreation in the society of his library, rather than 
 in social life. He is a charming, dignified and always instructive and entertaining 
 
i68 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 public orator, and graces every occasion when he is present as a speaker. In conver- 
 sation, in editorial work, and in utterances from the platform, he is concise, forcible, 
 and entertaining in expression, and always impatient of cant and verbosity. By virtue 
 of lineal descent, he is a member of The Sons of the American Revolution, and has 
 been their Vice President General. He also belongs to the New England Society. 
 
 He was married March 2, 1846, to Eunice Macdaniel, and has four children, Zoe, 
 Ruth, Paul and Eunice. 
 
 A number of books have issued from his pen, including " The Black Ant," a 
 volume of stories, translated from the German; a Life of General Grant, in collabora- 
 tion with Gen. James H. Wilson; and the " Household Book of Poetry," a charming 
 collection, of which many editions have been printed. With Rossiter Johnson, he also 
 edited " Fifty Perfect Poems," and with George Ripley he planned, in 1855, and edited 
 the " New American Cyclopedia," published by the Appletons. 
 
 ALFRED B. DARLING, the senior proprietor of The Fifth Avenue Hotel, for many 
 years the most famous and successful of American houses for the accommodation of 
 travellers, is the direct descendant of an English sea captain, who came to the new 
 world from Darlington in the north of England and settled in Kingston, N. H., about 
 the year 1660. Many of the family name had been seafaring men, captains of mer- 
 chant vessels, but in the new world they adapted themselves to the occupations of the 
 pioneers of a new country, and many attained eminence in the various walks of life. 
 Their ancestor, the settler of Kingston, had a large family and all the Darlings in 
 A.merica are believed to be his descendants. 
 
 One of the sons of the English sea captain was Lieut. John Darling, born at 
 Salisbury, Mass., in 1714. His son, Peter, born July i, 1752, married and settled at 
 Hopkinton, N. H. The latter's son, Major Ebenezer Darling, the father of Alfred 
 B. Darling, settled in Caledonia county, Vt., was a soldier in the War of 1812 and after- 
 ward a Major in the State militia. He represented his town three times in the Legis- 
 ture and otherwise took prominent part in public affairs. 
 
 Alfred B. Darling was born March 23, 1821, in Burke, Vt. At the age of fourteen 
 he left home to live with his uncle, Timothy Fisher, a successful farmer, with whom he 
 remained until twenty-one years of age. Mr. Fisher became so much attached- to the 
 young man that he proposed to deed to him the farm they were cultivating, Alfred, in 
 return, to take care of the old people while they lived. But Mr. Darling's views of 
 life and its opportunities led him to seek a wider field of activity and usefulness. 
 
 An expedition to Boston by the two men, both driving teams loaded with produce 
 of the farm, changed the whole current of Mr. Darling's life, as many another unim- 
 portant incident has opened a new career and brought fortune to others of America's 
 successful men. Arriving at Charlestown Neck, the two men stopped at the inn 
 established in earlier years by the Hon. James Sullivan, a sturdy promoter of the 
 American Revolution, a writer and in 1807 Governor of Massachusetts. The proprietor 
 of the house gained a great liking for Mr. Darling during their brief stay at the inn, 
 and the result was that the latter left the farm and went to the hotel on Charlestown 
 Neck for the period of two and a half years. There he formed those plans which 
 he has steadfastly followed and which have made him in later years one of the most 
 famous hotel proprietors in the world. 
 
 He removed next to Boston, where he was employed by Paran Stevens, the lead- 
 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DA. 169 
 
 ing man of his profession, in the old Revere House, famous in that day as a hostelry 
 for eminent men, notable among them being Daniel Webster. 
 
 In 1852, Mr. Darling became associated with Mr. Stevens, as partner, in the man- 
 agement of the Battle House in Mobile, Ala., then one of the finest and most costly 
 hotels in the South. 
 
 It ^Yas finally resolved to engage in the hotel business in New York city. The 
 Fifth Avenue Hotel was then in process of construction. Mr. Darling came to New 
 York in 1858, before the roof had been placed on the building. In 1859, a partnership 
 was formed between Paran Stevens, Hiram Hitchcock and Mr. Darling, under the title 
 of Hitchcock, Darling & Co., and the firm leased the hotel which was destined in follow- 
 ing years to shelter more men of public and social distinction than any other in the 
 United States. 
 
 In 1867,- the interest of Mr. Hitchcock having been bought by Mr. Griswold, the 
 firm name was changed to Darling, Griswold & Co. ; but in 1879, Mr. Hitchcock bought 
 back his interest, and the old name was re-adopted and has ever since been retained. 
 
 The Fifth Avenue Hotel has been a remarkably successful house. Owing to good 
 management, the comfort of the hotel, its excellent table, its location upon the beauti- 
 ful Madison Square at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, and its nearness 
 to the shopping region, the hotel not only soon became the resort of travellers of 
 fashion and social position from all parts of the United States and Europe, but also the 
 favorite abiding place in the town of public men. The successive registers of this great 
 hotel bear upon their pages the autographs of nearly every eminent American and 
 European who has visited New York since 1859 They form a historical record of im- 
 posing interest. The stories of entertaining and important incidents in the history of 
 the house would fill a volume. Political committees have made the place their head- 
 quarters for years, and in spite of the modern rage for the construction of gigantic and 
 beautiful hotels in other parts of the city, the old Fifth Avenue, under its experienced 
 proprietors, retains its prestige unshaken. 
 
 Mr. Darling is a man of decided convictions and of broad views upon all questions 
 of public interest. He has attained a high position, and has become one of the sub- 
 stantial men and highly esteemed citizens of the metropolis, because of his inherent 
 force of character and business ability. His fortune has been bravely and honestly 
 earned by a life of untiring industry. Mr. Darling has served from time to time as 
 director in important institutions, among them being The Second National Bank, The 
 Fifth Avenue Safe Deposit Co., The Union Dime Savings Bank, etc. He is one of the 
 earlier members of the Union League club and of The New England Society. All 
 patriotic and honorable causes receive his sympathy and approval. 
 
 JAHES DARRAQH, merchant, born in Lurgan, Ireland, in 1827, died in Cairo, 
 Egypt, in December, 1889. He emigrated to America while a boy and found employ- 
 ment in New York city in the manufacture of coir mats and matting. Learning that 
 labor was low in price in India and that mats could be woven there at the smallest ex- 
 pense, he sailed for Aleppy on the west coast of Malabar, where, although beginning 
 with small means, he gradually developed a factory, employing a thousand natives in 
 this industry. He spoke the native language with fluency, made friends among the high 
 caste residents, was kind to the poor, and acquired such influence as to earn the title of 
 "King of the Coast." The house in this city took the name of Darragh & Smail, in 
 
170 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 consequence of the admission of Henry Smail, a son-in-law, to partnership. Mr. Dar- 
 ragh was the first person to manufacture cotton spool thread in Travancore. His mill 
 at Quilon cost $350,000 to build and gave employment to 1,500 natives and a few ex- 
 pert Europeans. The Maharajah and his cabinet opened the mill with formal cere- 
 monies. Mr. Darragh's family consisted of his wife and two daughters, the latter 
 being Mary, wife of Henry Smail, and Ellen, wife of John McStay of Belfast, Ireland. 
 
 BOWIE DASH, merchant, born July i, 1834, on Varick street, opposite old St. 
 John's Park in this city, died on his farm at Kingsbridge, Sept. 28, 1895. He was the 
 ninth child of Daniel Bowie and Anzonetta Burke Dash, and grandson of John Balthus 
 and Ann Bowie Dash, all natives of this city. He first attended the private school of 
 Mr. Greenough and then the University of the City of New York, and received a busi- 
 ness training in the firm of Wolfe & Gillespie, hardware merchants. In 1860, he mar- 
 ried Louisa Scott, daughter of William Scott, a coffee merchant well known in business 
 and church circles, and, by her, had seven children. One son and two daughters 
 are now living. Mr. Dash happened to be in Montgomery, Ala. , when Jefferson Davis 
 was inaugurated President of the Southern Confederacy, going there against the advice 
 of John Sherman and others, who said that he would risk his life. Mr. Dash advised 
 his firm of Wolfe, Dash & Fisher, to accept cotton in payment of their claims against 
 Southern merchants, but this they decided not to do. Mr. Dash was a Democrat in 
 politics, becoming a strong Republican thereafter. Unable to enlist in the Union 
 army, he gave his time to raise money to equip a regiment of volunteers, and succeeded 
 Charles Strong as treasurer of the Ladies' Union Bazaar. Forty thousand dollars 
 passed through his hands for the benefit of the families of New York soldiers. About 
 1865, Mr. Dash succeeded the firm of Scott & Wisner, under the firm name of Scott & 
 Dash, and afterward became a large importer of fine teas and coffees, continuing in 
 active business until his death. In his enterprise he met with the varied success and 
 adversity experienced by all merchants. He was honest, capable and constantly 
 sought for as an arbiter by his fellow merchants. Several times, he served as foreman 
 of grand juries and was untiring in his efforts to secure justice for all men. One of 
 the vestryman of Trinity Church, he served that corporation with zeal and loyalty, and 
 was also a vestrymen of the Church of the Mediator at Kingsbridge, where he made 
 his home on a farm of sixty acres, cut in half by Broadway and adjoining Riverdale 
 avenue and Van Cortlandt Park. He belonged to The Sons of the Revolution and the 
 Down Town association; and was a man who pleased not himself but labored for the 
 welfare of his city and country and of his generation. 
 
 JOHN BALTHASAR DASH, merchant,^, born in New York city, Aug. 12, 1818, 
 died here, May n, 1888. The son of Daniel Bowie and Anzonetta B. Dash, and grand- 
 son of John B. Dash, a hardware merchant transacting business at No 145 Broadway, 
 he was educated at Mr. Pond's school in Westchester, N. Y., and left his studies at the 
 death of his father to go to London for a training in the hardware business. He 
 entered the house of Jacob & Co., and under the care of Joseph Farrell, with whom he 
 lived, remained in London a suitable time, and then returned to New York. Here he 
 took charge of his father's business and estate, consisting of property at 145 Broad- 
 way and 86-88 Liberty street, which has now been a family possession for more than a 
 hundred years, and at 70 Cortlandt street, and 219 Fulton street. He was at one 
 time with Wolfe & Bishop, hardware merchants, and later a partner in Wolfe Dash & 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DA. 171 
 
 Fisher. A conservative man, a good financier, and a rare judge of real estate, honest, 
 and of the highest character, he prospered greatly in his business affairs, and was 
 greatly respected. Property which he purchased near Kingsbridge has since grown 
 valuable. He never married, and was for thirty years a member of the Union club. 
 He attended Trinity chapel on West 25th street. Upon his death his estate was left to 
 his brother and sisters, Bowie Dash, Mrs. Margaret B. Bininger, Mrs. Anzonetta B. 
 Wolfe, and Arabella B., wife of Walter H. Lewis. 
 
 JOHN DAVIDSON, lawyer, was born in Berwickshire, Scotland, March i, 1837. 
 He is the son of George Patterson Davidson, a merchant in Berwick-on-Tweed. John 
 came to America when ten years of age. He attended the College of the City of New 
 York, studied law with William R. Stafford, and was admitted to the bar in 1859. He 
 has conducted a large and profitable practice in New York city for thirty years, largely 
 in the field of real estate law. He has bought land and built houses in New York, 
 Brooklyn, and elsewhere, and has large interests in The Sherwood Park and other land 
 companies, The New York & West Shore, The Northern Pacific and other railroads. 
 He has been active in Republican politics in New Jersey. Important public positions 
 were offered to him by Presidents Lincoln and Grant, but declined. Interested in 
 philanthropic work, Mr. Davidson has served as superintendent of a Sabbath School 
 in Elizabeth, N. J., for nearly thirty years. In 1860, he married Adelia S. Wait, of 
 Perth Amboy, N. J. They have one son, William Newcomb Davidson, and two daugh- 
 ters, Jenny, wife of Prof. Hibben, of Princeton University, and Margaret Newcomb 
 Davidson. His home is in Elizabeth, N. J., but he has joined the Republican and 
 other clubs of New York city. 
 
 JAJ1ES MORGAN DAVIS, stock broker, was born on Staten Island, April 10, 1837. 
 Always from youth intelligent and progressive, he left the Episcopal Collegiate Insti- 
 tute, determined to make his way. After an apprenticeship as clerk in the office of a 
 Wall street firm, he joined the Stock Exchange in February, 1860. A partner of Will- 
 iam R. Travers for three years, he retired in 1863, but subsequently entered the firm 
 of Work, Davis & Barton. In 1873, he formed the well known firm of Davis & Free- 
 man. Mr. Davis has been active in the development of Staten Island, especially in The 
 Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad. He belongs to the Metropolitan and New York 
 Yacht clubs. By his marriage with Mary D. Hazard in Brooklyn in 1874, he has three 
 children, Morgan, Edythe and Anna Davis. 
 
 HENRY DAY, lawyer, a native of South Hadley, Mass., born Dec. 25, 1820, died 
 in New York city, Jan. 9, 1893. He came from old New England stock, some of his 
 ancestors figuring as "minute men" during the American Revolution. The family 
 were not rich in this world's goods, and a brother, the Rev. Pliny Da}-, assisted in the 
 education of Henry by sending him to school at Deny. By his own labor, he then 
 earned enough money to enter Yale College, whence he graduated in 1845, supporting 
 himself while studying there by teaching at Fairfield, Conn. One of his pupils was his 
 future brother-in-law, George De Forest Lord. After graduation from the Law School 
 at Harvard, Mr. Day came to New York city, where in 1849 he married Miss Phebe L., 
 daughter of Daniel Lord, the latter taking him into partnership in the firm of Lord, 
 Day & Lord. Through the possession of marked ability, Mr. Day became a noted law- 
 yer and a prominent figure in the social life of the city. An associate of Henry B. Hyde 
 in the organization of The Equitable Life Assurance Society, he was elected attorney 
 
172 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and director of the Society, and was also director of The Consolidated Gas Co. , The 
 Mercantile Trust Co., and The Lawyers' Title and Guarantee Co. Various important 
 estates were entrusted to him, including those of S. F. B. Morse and William Morgan. 
 For many years he managed the legal affairs of the Astor estate. Religious mat ers in- 
 terested him greatly, and he took an active part in the councils of the Presbyterian 
 church, accepting the place of director of the Union Theological Seminary and defend- 
 ing Dr. Briggs in his controversy with the church authorities. Formerly devoted to the 
 "old school" branch of the Presbyterian church, he earnestly advocated union between 
 the old and new schools, and when this was effected, in 1869, he drafted the articles. 
 Mr. Day wrote much for publication, among his works being "The Lawyer Abroad" 
 and "From the Pyrenees to the Pillars of Hercules." At his death, he was the sole 
 surviving member of the original law firm of Lord, Day & Lord. The Union League 
 and Reform clubs both enrolled him a member. He was survived by his wife and three 
 children, George Lord Day, Sarah Lord, wife of R. H. McCormick, of Chicago, and 
 Miss Susan De Forest Day. 
 
 FREDERICK DE BARY, merchant, born in Frankfort, Germany, Jan. 12, 1815, is 
 of Huguenot descent. His father, Christian De Bary, was a banker in Frankfort. 
 Frederick began life as salesman for a large manufacturer of dry goods. In 1852, he 
 established himself in this city as agent of G. H. Mumm & Co. 's champagne and other 
 high class wines. He has been very successful, and since 1869, when Adolph De Bary, 
 a son, was admitted to partnership, has displayed the firm name of F. De Bary & Co. 
 He is the proprietor of several orange groves in Florida and other real estate, is 
 closely devoted to business, and derives his prosperity from concentration and unceas- 
 ing enterprise. In 1843, ne was married to Julia Scherpenhausen. To them have 
 been born two children, Adolphe De Bary and Mrs. Eugenie von Mauch. 
 
 ALFRED DE CORDOVA, stock broker, born Aug. 19, 1848, on the island of 
 Jamaica, is a descendant of Gen. Gonzalvo de Cordova, who annexed Grenada to Spain 
 and stood in high favor at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella. His education, begun 
 in the West Indies, was finished in New York city, whither he removed early in 
 life. First a broker in petroleum, he purchased a seat in the Stock Exchange in, 1875, 
 and his firm of Alfred de Cordova & Son have since been successful in the brokerage 
 of stocks. In 1894, he was elected a governor of the Exchange. Possessing some- 
 thing of the enterprise of his military ancestor, Mr. de Cordova is fond of yachting, 
 fine horses, and carrier pigeons. A large trotting horse farm in New Jersey affords 
 him both pleasure and health. He has been elected to membership in the Lotus, Mer- 
 chants', Manhattan, Colonial, New York, Lajchmont Yacht, American Yacht, New 
 York Athletic, Suburban, Cuttyhunk, Riding and Driving clubs, and was the first com- 
 modore of the American Yacht club. He was married to Mrs. Helene Louise Schroe- 
 der-Loweree, Aug. 19, 1889, at the Church of the Heavenly Rest. 
 
 CORNELIUS VANDERBILT DE FOREST, born in New York city, Aug. 16, 1818, 
 of good old Dutch stock, died here Nov. 9, 1887. He was the son of John De Forest 
 and of Charlotte Vanderbilt, oldest sister of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. After 
 receiving a common school education on Staten Island, where his parents settled during 
 his early childhood, he was apprenticed to his cousin, Cornelius Simonson, a ship- 
 builder. On reaching manhood, he returned to New York and engaged in various en- 
 terprises with more or less success, until he finally settled upon the manufacturing of 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DE. 173 
 
 machinery oils, in which business he continued for many years, becoming widely known 
 through all the manufacturing districts of New England. In 1863, he acquired a for- 
 tune in Wall street through the good offices of the Commodore, who always looked upon 
 him as a favorite nephew and felt for him a strong attachment. Mr. De Forest remained 
 almost constantly at the bedside of his uncle during the latter's last illness, comforting and 
 cheering him to such a degree, that the Commodore desired his continual presence. Dur- 
 ing this illness Mr. De Forest's mother contracted a heavy cold, which soon developed 
 pneumonia and her death followed that of the Commodore within about twenty-four hours. 
 Having retired from the oil business, he accepted the position of purchasing agent of The 
 New York Central Railroad, and for thirteen years served the road with the strictest in- 
 tegrity, doing his best for the corporation and receiving on his retirement, which was due 
 to impaired health, most flattering testimonials from the officers of the road. In 1879, 
 he withdrew from active business, retaining an interest in the firm of Colbron, Chauncey 
 & Co. of Wall street. Always a lover of good horses, he enjoyed for many years his 
 daily brush on the road with Frank Work, Joseph Marker, Wm. Turnbull, Wm. H. 
 Vanderbilt and other owners of fine horses. In early life, he married Miss Katherine 
 Rice, daughter of a sea captain of Nantucket and of old Dutch stock through her 
 mother who was a Van Pelt. Mr. De Forest left an unblemished record and possessed 
 the sincere affection of hundreds to whom he was always ready to extend a helping 
 hand, being of a most genial and kindly nature. He left a son, now living in the West, 
 and a daughter, Isabel De Forest, the wife of Wm. T. Colbron of New York. 
 
 HENRY P. DE QRAAF, merchant and banker, born in Herkimer, N. Y., Nov. 24, 
 1825, is of old Holland Dutch descent. Remarkable even in youth for stature, at the 
 age of fourteen, when he first left home, he had already grown to be over six feet in 
 height. Ambitious to make his way in the world, he learned the cabinet maker's trade 
 in Little Falls, and in three years' time Young & Co pronounced him the best of their 
 sixty workmen. Mr. De Graaf practiced the trade for several years in Albany and 
 Canajoharie. In 1849, he went to California in a ship so crowded that there was not 
 space enough for the whole company to sleep at once. Arriving in San Francisco 
 after a voyage of six months and mine days, he proceeded to the mines. While pros- 
 pecting for gold, he was induced by the high price of provisions, pork then selling at 
 $2 a pound, to hunt for game and sell the meat to the miners. He received 70 cents a 
 pound for venison and a share of the profits of the miners whom he supported, and 
 gained a little capital in this occupation. A thirteen months' stay in California com- 
 pletely satisfied the young New Yorker, and in 1851, he resumed the cabinet maker's 
 trade in Canajoharie. Later, he again visited California, and opened the pioneer ship 
 chandler)' store of San Francisco. This venture was successful. In 1852, he came to 
 Xe\v York city, and found work in the furniture shop of the firm of Wentworth & Sons, 
 and thereafter for many years followed this honest calling. Honest, competent, untir- 
 ing, an excellent workman, and able to deny himself unnecessary luxuries, he gained 
 sufficient capital to venture in business alone, and in 1857, he started a furniture factory 
 of his own on Pearl street. This enterprise was profitable from the start, although 
 exposed to keen competition from a rival store adjoining. The firm of De Graaf & 
 Taylor, founded in 1860, moved to the Bo%very, and in a few years attained great 
 importance. In 1865, this firm shipped a large amount of furniture of their own mak- 
 ing to the Pacific coast. The consignee refusing to accept the goods, De Graaf & Taylor 
 
174 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 promptly established their own branch store in San Francisco. They gained the point 
 they had in view, and then, in 1867, sold the store. In New York city, their trade 
 gradually attained large proportions and brought to its enterprising proprietors ample 
 rewards. When Mr. De Graaf was elected president of The Bowery Bank, he placed 
 his oldest son in charge of his interests in De Graaf & Taylor, and has ever since given 
 his attention to the bank. Upon the death of his son, Mr. De Graaf sold his interest in 
 the factory, which is continued by The De Graaf & Taylor Furniture Co. Mr. De Graaf 
 has been once around the world and has crossed the Isthmus of Panama three times, 
 and visited portions of Central and South America, as well as Europe. He spends his 
 winters in New York city, his summer home being at Oscawana near the Hudson 
 river. By his. marriage in 1843 with Amanda M. Lloyd, of Canajoharie, he had two 
 sons and a daughter. 
 
 HENRY DELAFIELD, merchant, born at his father's beautiful country seat on the 
 East River, now forming a part of Long Island City, N. Y., July 19, 1792, died in this 
 city, Feb. 15, 1875. His father, John Delafield, who had removed from London to New 
 York in 1783, was the eldest lineal representative of his family, who for centuries had 
 been prominent proprietors in the shires of Buckingham and Oxford. Henry prepared 
 for Yale College, but, impatient to enter upon business life, gave up a collegiate course. 
 After a few years of experience in subordinate capacities, he founded, with his twin 
 brother William, the firm of H. & W. Delafield, and conducted an extensive foreign 
 trade with England, India, China, South America, and later with the West Indies. At 
 one time the firm owned the largest merchantman, flying the American flag, sailing 
 from the port of New York. The great fire of 1835, with the consequent ruin of all 
 except two of the insurance companies, reduced their large fortune to such an extent, 
 that they practically had to begin business life anew. Again, . they met with well de- 
 served success. Both brothers were highly esteemed and were identified as directors or 
 officers with many corporations. Both served as privates in the war of 1812 in Captain 
 Swartwout's Iron Grays. When Faustin Soulouque was established as Emperor of 
 Haiti, Henry was appointed Consul for that country in New York, retaining the office 
 during the Emperor's reign and a part of that of his successor, President Jeff rard. Early 
 in the century he inherited a life interest in the Baker estate, a property of over forty 
 acres on the East River, near what is now 75th street, and almost opposite his birth- 
 place on the other shore. This was his summer home, until in consequence of the ever 
 advancing throng of buildings and the heavy assessments for avenues and streets, he 
 united with his brother, who followed him in the entail, and transferred the property to 
 its final owner, The New York Protestant Episcopal Public School. William died un- 
 married Nov. 20, 1853. A few years afterward Henry admitted Tallmadge Delafield, 
 a son of his brother John to the firm, which was thereafter known as Henry Delafield 
 & Co. In 1857, Henry retired from shipping and foreign business, retaining only cer- 
 tain banking and trust interests, which a few years later were transferred to Maturin 
 L. Delafield, a son of his brother Joseph. Both of Mr. Delafield's nephews were suc- 
 cessful in the business so acquired. Two older brothers, Major Joseph and Dr. Edward 
 Delafield, died respectively on Feb. 12 and 13, 1875. The almost simultaneous death 
 of the three brothers, all of them over four score years of age, and their joint funeral 
 from Trinity Church, excited more than a passing interest. Henry married late in life, 
 Mary Parish, daughter of Judge L. Monson of Delaware county, N. Y., and had an 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DE. 175 
 
 only child, Mary Frances Henrietta Delafield, born June, 1869, who died unmarried 
 Oct. 27, 1886. 
 
 JOSEPH RAFAEL DE LA MAR, gold and silver miner, born in Amsterdam, 
 Holland, in 1848, has had a singularly romantic and striking career, of which some 
 account should be given in these pages. His grandfather, a banker in Paris, estab- 
 lished a branch bank in Amsterdam, which he placed in charge of Joseph's father. 
 The latter married a charming woman, a native of Holland, but of German descent, 
 and thus Joseph is of mingled French and German extraction. His father's love of 
 art and painting led him to name the boy after the great painter Rafael. 
 
 Left an orphan at the age of six by the death of his father, Joseph's self-reliance 
 and love of adventure asserted themselves even at this tender age ; and, at seven, he 
 ran away from home, secreting himself on a Dutch vessel outward bound in the East 
 India trade. When the young stowaway was discovered, the captain made him cabin 
 boy and assistant to the cook, without wages. The voyage was an exciting one to his 
 mind. He entered heartily into the work of the ship, gained the favor of the captain, 
 and on the homeward trip earned his first money, his wages being fixed at the munifi- 
 cent sum of one guilder, or 40 cents, a month. He followed the sea for many years, 
 encountering all the vicissitudes of a sailor's life and sailing to nearly every part of the 
 world. His education was gained mainly on shipboard, with the assistance of the 
 officers, whose kindness he recompensed by various services. Only one text-book was 
 available, the " Navigator's Epitome." From this he learned the art of navigation, 
 while acquiring the rudiments of a general education. At the age of twenty, he 
 gained a master's certificate, and at twenty-three, the captain of his ship having 
 died in a distant port, he brought the vessel safely home and obtained a captain's 
 command. 
 
 Although his advance thus far had been reasonable, Captain de la Mar appreciated 
 the fact that his profession held out no very nattering promises of advancement. His 
 alert mind was at this juncture attracted to submarine work, a vocation then profitable, 
 owing in part to the Civil War in America. With characteristic energy, he abandoned 
 the merchant service and became a diver. His success on the surface of the water was 
 repeated in the exploration of its depths. He soon became a submarine contractor on 
 his own account, with headquarters at Vineyard Haven, Mass. , but operating along the 
 entire coast to the West Indies. During this period, he raised not less than forty -one 
 sunken vessels and had many interesting encounters with the inhabitants of the deep. 
 His last successful operation was the raising of a cargo of 1,600 tons of Italian marble 
 from the ship Charlotte, of New York, submerged off the Bermudas, many years 
 before, which had baffled the attempts of three previous wrecking companies. The 
 steamer William Tibbetts, which had grounded on the rocks off Pesque Island, near 
 Martha's Vineyard, led to an adventure which nearly cost him his life. Going down in 
 his diving suit to examine the damage personally, he lost track of the flight of time and 
 failed to observe the ebbing of the tide, when, suddenly, he discovered that the ship 
 had ceased rolling and had settled down in her bed and made him a prisoner under its 
 bottom. There was no chance of escape for hours. He waited until both the wind 
 and tide should cause the ship to become waterlogged again and resume rolling. His 
 armor had been leaking and the water crept in up to his neck. It was the month of 
 February and the water chilled him to the bone. He finally lost consciousness but 
 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DE. 177 
 
 returned to life to find himself on board his own ship, having been rescued by the 
 energy and untiring devotion of his mate, after thirty-six hours' imprisonment in the 
 depths of the sea. This experience, and others which preceded, led Captain de la Mar 
 to relinquish submarine work. 
 
 Having accumulated some means, Captain de la Mar studied the opportunities of 
 trade with Africa, a country which he had visited during his early voyages as a sailor. 
 Finally convinced that Africa held out the promise of both adventure and gain, he 
 assumed charge of a vessel with a cargo of suitable goods and sailed for the land 
 of Ham. Previous to that time, trading companies had confined their operations 
 mainly to the coast, where they met the natives from the interior. They sold to the 
 Africans bars of copper, iron flint lock guns, powder, calicoes, salt beef, flour and 
 tobacco, exchanging these things for ivory, gum copal, palm oil, bees' wax, dry and salted 
 hides, etc. The native goods were brought down to the coast on the shoulders of 
 negroes, sometimes coming several hundred miles and growing dearer in price according 
 to the distance carried. On the other hand, the articles supplied by the traders had to 
 be carried back in the same manner, growing higher in value the farther they were 
 transported. Captain de la Mar had the shrewdness to perceive the value of bringing 
 the t\vo markets together and doing the trading in the interior. The scheme involved 
 danger and hardship. Nevertheless, it was at once carried into execution. A small 
 vessel, capable of navigating the African rivers, was equipped with four small cannon 
 and a dozen blunderbusses, the crew being armed with rifles and ammunition, while 
 about twenty-five fighting negroes were taken aboard. Thus this little vessel was 
 fitted up very much like a man of war. Captain de la Mar pushed on to the interior, 
 exercising constant vigilance to prevent attacks from hostile tribes. The venture was 
 crowned with complete success. By gaining the highest selling prices for his goods 
 and buying from the natives at the lowest prices, Captain de la Mar soon distanced his 
 competitors in the trade. Danger and adventure thronged upon him during this 
 period, but he reaped a satisfactory reward before his imitators had crowded the field. 
 He kept a vessel busily engaged plying between New York city and the coast for three 
 years, and was the pioneer in the section in which he traded, his operations being 
 carried on principally on the Gambia and Great Jeba Rivers, southwest coast of Africa. 
 That which led him to abandon this trade was the climate. Several of the white men, 
 whom he had brought to the coast, died every year from African fever, and_he was 
 himself frequently attacked. Finally, when his men lowered over the side of the vessel 
 the body of his faithful mate, the last of the original white crew, he determined to 
 return to New York, and in 1878, sold his outfit to an English company. 
 
 At this time, the mining excitement at Leadville and throughout the Rocky Moun- 
 tains was attracting the attention of the country. Something in a miner's life appealed 
 irresistibly to Captain de la Mar's adventurous spirit. Repairing to the West, he recon- 
 noitered the country and had the sagacity to decide, without delay, not to be governed 
 by the impulses of the amateur miner and follow the blind rush to new "diggings," 
 but on the other hand to acquire a sound knowledge of metallurgy and chemistry, in 
 order more judiciously to invest his means. He therefore returned to Chicago, engaged 
 the sen-ices of a professor, and devoted himself assiduously to stud}'. At the end of 
 six months, he had become sufficiently educated in mining engineering, analysis and 
 assaying. He then bought the Terrible lead mine in Custer county, Col., for $3,500,. 
 
I 7 8 
 
 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 worked it profitably until 1886, and sold the mine to The Omaha & Grant Smelting 
 & Refining Co., for a handsome profit. Two years of travel among the mining camps 
 resulted finally in locating on a mountain, six miles west of Silver City, Idaho, where he 
 bought a group of claims for a small sum. By filing a number of other claims, he came 
 into control of a property a mile long and three-fourths of a mile wide, covering the 
 whole mountain. Many large veins of gold and silver were discovered on this property 
 by means of tunnels driven through the mountain, and the owner sold half of his 
 interest in 1891, after he had taken about $1,500,000 from the mines, to The De Lamar 
 Mining Co., of England, for $2,000,000. 
 
 He was an active worker for the admission of Idaho as a State and in 1891 served 
 as State Senator in the first Legislature, where he occupied the chairmanships on 
 Finance, Railroads and Constitutional Amendments. On adjournment, he decided to 
 leave Idaho and retire from business, much against the wish of the representative men 
 of his State, who were anxious to have him enter the political field, assuring him of 
 hearty co-operation in securing the highest honors in the gift of the State. But politics 
 being distasteful to him, he removed his residence to New York city, where, May 
 1 8 1893, he married Nellie Virginia Sands, whose mother belonged to the old 
 Virginia Adams family and was a direct descendant of John Quincy Adams, and whose 
 late uncle, Dr. Henry Burton Sands, left behind him a record as the greatest surgeon 
 of his time. 
 
 In February, 1893, Captain de la Mar, concluding that mining life had not lost all 
 its fascination for him, once more embarked in mining, this time in southeastern 
 Nevada, where he made extensive purchases, and is now building large reduction 
 works, telegraph lines and waterworks, and is employing a large number of men. He 
 has also built reduction works in Colorado's great gold field, called Cripple Creek, 
 near Colorado Springs. Occasionally visiting his Western enterprises, he spends his 
 summers on his yacht. He is of a retiring nature, and a member of only one club in 
 this city, the New York Yacht club. Like the great Hiram S. Maxim, he believes in 
 aerial navigation, and is devoting considerable study to this subject, believing that 
 the conquest of this most difficult problem is among the possibilities of the future. 
 In the event of non-success in this special venture, he will leave behind him, neverthe- 
 less, a record of having added many millions to the gold and silver reserves of the 
 world, and of building three prosperous mining towns on sites where he scarcely found 
 more than a man and a dog on his arrival, viz.: Use, Colorado; De Lamar, Idaho; 
 and De Lamar, Nevada. The latter two were christened after him by his appreciative 
 employ6s. 
 
 Although so actively engaged in business pursuits, Captain de la Mar has not lost 
 sight of the refinements of life, and takes especial pleasure in the collection of fine 
 paintings, of which he has now a number of masterpieces, painted by the best 
 European and American artists. 
 
 CORNELIUS HENRY DE LAMATER, manufacturer, born Aug. 30, 1821, in 
 Rhinebeck, N. Y., died in this city, Feb. 7, 1889. On his father's side, his ancestors 
 were Huguenots. His mother was Scotch, her maiden name being Douglas. He was 
 an only child. Beginning life in a hardware store in New York city, kept by a Mr. 
 Swords, he was only there a few years, when he left to become a clerk in The Phoenix 
 Iron Foundry, of which James Cunningham was proprietor. When about twenty-one 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DE. 179 
 
 years of age, he took the f oundry and two years later moved to the foot of West 1 3th 
 street, and about 1851 founded The De Lamater Iron Works. They had run the works 
 about four years when Mr. Hogg, his partner, wishing to embark in sugar refining, sold 
 out his interest to Mr. De Lamater, taking his notes in payment. Before these fell 
 due, Mr. Hogg urged payment of them in cash. Mr. De Lamater complied, in order 
 to accommodate him, and thereby became so embarrassed that he had to ask an exten- 
 sion of five years from his creditors, they taking his notes for that length of time with 
 interest. A little over two years later, the Civil War broke out, giving a great impetus 
 to the foundry business, and work became so remunerative that Mr. De Lamater 
 rapidly made money, and when the notes were two and one half years old he took them 
 up with interest. Owing to an intimate friendship with Captain John Ericsson, Mr. 
 De Lamater built the engines for the ship Ericsson, the largest hot air engines ever 
 manufactured. The ship proved to be both a commercial and a mechanical failure. 
 The investors lost heavily, one of them being ruined. Captain Ericsson and Mr. De 
 Lamater continued to experiment with hot air engines, however, for many years, at 
 heavy cost. About 1875, ^ r - De Lamater designed the present style of Ericsson hot 
 air pumping engine, which is closed, with a vertical cylinder, and uses the same 
 air over and over again. This engine is now in extensive use all over the country. 
 Mr. De Lamater was a pioneer in many respects. The Iron Witch, the first iron 
 wheel steamboat on the Hudson, and the Matanzas, the first iron ocean-going steamer 
 built in America, were both constructed by him, and he led in the manufacture 
 of screw propellers for many years. He also built the engine for the first Monitor, 
 waiting for payment until the boat had been tested in action. Later, he built the 
 machinery for a large number of monitors, and the hull and machinery for the Dicta- 
 tor, at that time the largest of her class. Government work brought no profit, owing 
 to the rapid increase in cost of labor and material, but it did bring reputation and ren- 
 dered his work for private individuals lucrative. A natural sequence to engine build- 
 ing was the acquirement of a large interest in steamship property, and Mr. De Lamater 
 joined with H. B. Cromwell and C. H. Mallory in the lines running to Galveston and 
 New Orleans. One of the undertakings which illustrated his energy was the contract 
 he filled for the Spanish Government for furnishing thirty gunboats inside of eight 
 months. Since 1889, general business has been discontinued at The De Lamater Iron 
 Works, and operations are confined to hot air engines, by a son, William De Lamater, 
 and his brother in law, Leander A. Bevin, the present proprietors. Mr. De Lamater 
 married, when twenty-two years old, Ruth O. Caller. They had seven children, one 
 girl dying in infancy. Six are living at the present time, five daughters and one son. 
 He was Rapid Transit Commissioner, a member of the Union League club, and for 
 many years prominent as a member, and at one time president, of The General Society 
 of Mechanics and Tradesmen. 
 
 JOHN DE LAHATER, builder, born in New York city, July 30, 1792, died here 
 Dec. 21, 1877. His great grandfather came to this country from France, with other 
 Huguenots, about 1700. Learning the carpenter's trade, he followed this industry all his 
 life, and helped build many of the large warehouses and public edifices of his times. 
 He was one of the prominent men who, about 1835, moved from Greenwich, in the old 
 9th Ward, to the i6th Ward. For more than fifty years, after the common schools were 
 instituted in this city, until his death, he was connected with those useful institutions, 
 
180 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 either as founder, commissioner, inspector, or trustee, and he devoted the last twenty 
 years of his life to the schools of the i6th Ward. He represented the 9th Ward as 
 Alderman in 1834 and 1835. He was a charter member and director of The Greenwich 
 Bank, The Greenwich Savings Bank and The Greenwich Insurance Company. By his 
 marriage with Eliza Ostrander, of Walden, N. Y., he became the father of Samuel, 
 Benjamin, Charles H., and John W. De Lamater and Mrs. Eliza H. Allason and Mrs. 
 Harriet Myers. 
 
 JOHN F. DELAPLAINE, lawyer, oldest son of John F. Delaplaine, was born in 
 New York city, April 24, 1815, and died at his home, No. 27 East 63d street, Feb. 14, 
 1885. His father, an honorable, enterprising and successful shipping merchant, like so 
 many others of the founders of families on the Island of Manhattan, purchased large 
 blocks of land in this city when the price was low, both in town and in the outlying 
 districts north of the center of the city, and gained a second fortune from the rise in 
 value of his property alone. He possessed not only the piers on the East River from 
 Burling Slip to Fly Market Slip, but lots and buildings on Broadway, the Bowery, 
 Monroe, Rivington and Pike streets, and some in Brooklyn, New Jersey and elsewhere. 
 The son graduated from Columbia College and studied law but never practiced. His 
 time was fully occupied with the management of his father's estate. While William 
 H. Seward was Secretary of State, Mr. Delaplaine was appointed Secretary of the 
 American Legation at Vienna, which position he held for nearly twenty years. At 
 Vienna, he was noted for his hospitality. Thoroughly versed in the continental lan- 
 guages, he gave many entertainments cosmopolitan in their character. While in 
 Vienna, he made a notable collection of pictures, statuary, clocks and other works of 
 art. He returned to New York in 1884. He died unmarried, and his fortune de- 
 scended in part to two daughters of his brother Isaac, but a large sum was given to 
 charitable institutions. 
 
 DAVID A. DE LlflA, commission merchant in the South American trade, born 
 in the Island of Curacao, Dutch West Indies, Feb. 19, 1837, died in New York city, 
 May 5, 1891. He was of Dutch descent, his ancestors coming from Amsterdam to 
 Curagao in the latter part of the seventeenth century. He received his education in 
 the island, and there also began his business career. He was married in 1860 to Sarah 
 Wolff, daughter of Ralph Wolff and Judith Pinto, who, with five children, survived 
 him. His sons are Elias, Edward and Charles, and his daughters Esther and Lylia. 
 In 1870, Mr. De Lima came to this country, and, with a capital of $10,000, established 
 a commission house, which, by dint of great perseverance, he gradually built up into 
 one of the most important in its line. He was a-sound, conservative and enterprising 
 merchant, limiting himself strictly to his own affairs, and avoiding always all tempta- 
 tions of outside enterprises. Since his death the business has been continued by his 
 oldest son and his son in law, under the firm name of D. A. De Lima & Co. During 
 the years 1870-74, and 1877-78, Mr. De Lima represented the Dominican Republic in 
 this city, as its Consul General. While acting in this capacity, he did everything in his 
 power to secure the annexation of Santo Domingo to the United States. He was a 
 director of the Board of Trade and Transportation, and The Panama Railroad, and a 
 member of the Chamber of Commerce and Coffee Exchange. 
 
 JOHN DELflAR, realty owner, was born in Ireland, Sept. 6, 1838. The family 
 moved to the United States in 1849, locating in Brooklyn. Mr. Delmar's first venture 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DE. l8l 
 
 on his own account was, in 1860, the sale of milk, his office being at the corner of 
 Second avenue and pth street. After three years in this trade, he entered politics, 
 for which his countrymen have a passion (and these two cities present such great oppor- 
 tunities), and became chief clerk to the Superintendent of the Poor in Brooklyn. 
 Elected Justice of the Peace in 1867, and twice re-elected, he became County Clerk in 
 1876. This office gave him an acquaintance with the values of real estate in Brooklyn, 
 and led him in 1881 to open a real estate agency at the corner of Fifth avenue and Ninth 
 street in that city. A large amount of property has been transferred through his 
 office, and by investments of his own, mainly near Prospect Park, he has gained a 
 fortune. He is the leader of the Democrats of the Twenty-second Ward of Brooklyn, 
 and is a director of The City Savings Bank and The Fifth Avenue Bank, and president 
 of The Citizens' Electric Illuminating Co. , all of Brooklyn, and is connected with The 
 Knickerbocker Steamboat Co. and other enterprises. He served in the old volunteer 
 fire department, and was foreman of Hose Co. No. 14, for several years, and for twenty- 
 five years director, and for the last seven years treasurer, of the Widows and Orphans 
 fund of the old department. 
 
 CHARLES C. DELMONICO, restaurateur, born in 1840, died near Orange, N. J., 
 Jan. 5, 1884. He belonged to a family long famous as restaurateurs and wine mer- 
 chants, who came to this country from Switzerland early in this century. The great 
 reputation which the Delmonicos acquired as caterers was largely due to the ability and 
 untiring efforts of Lorenzo Delmonico, who was distinguished for his politeness and 
 the excellent cooking and purity of the wines supplied to patrons. Francois and Siro 
 Delmonico, his brothers, were associated with him in business, Francois, in fact, being 
 the proprietor of the original restaurant on William street. One or two restaurants 
 were always maintained down town, as well as one up town. To this business Charles 
 succeeded, rising to its head after the death of Siro and Lorenzo in 1881. Under his 
 administration, the large banquet hall in the upper part of the up-town restaurant 
 became the scene of many important balls and functions in social life, and of a constant 
 succession of notable public banquets, and famous throughout the United States and 
 Europe. The Chamber of Commerce, The New England Society, and other great 
 organizations have held their annual banquets here for years, and nearly all the most 
 conspicuous men in the United States have been heard at public dinners there. Mr. 
 Delmonico's fortune descended to collateral relatives. 
 
 LORENZO DELHONICO, the most famous restaurateur and caterer of the United 
 States, born in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland, March 13, 1813, died in Sharon 
 Springs, N. Y., Sept. 3, 1881. He came to America at the age of 19. His uncles had 
 established a small candy store at No. 23 William street, and Lorenzo was taken by his 
 unwilling relatives into their employment. This proved afterward of great advantage 
 to them. In 1833, the first Delmonico restaurant was opened, only to be burned in the 
 great fire of 1835. They started again at No. 78 Broad street, with a lodging house 
 attachment. This new restaurant was burned in 1845, and next year a new one was 
 opened on Broadway at Morris street. The finest cooking and finest wines in the city 
 soon made this place famous and the best in the city. About 1856, it was removed to 
 the corner of Chambers street. Later, the famous cafe at the corner of Fifth avenue 
 and i4th street was established, followed by the restaurants at No. 22 Broad street, the 
 one on Fifth avenue at 26th street, and one at No. 112 Broadway. In 1876. the branches 
 
182 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 at the corner of Chambers street and i4th street were discontinued. The management 
 of the great business devolved entirely upon Lorenzo Delmonico, who was distinguished 
 by -his courtesy and business ability. He lost about half a million of money in 1861 by 
 a speculation in petroleum, but paid the debt in full in a few years. While married, he 
 had no children, and his business descended to his brother Siro and his nephew Charles. 
 
 WILLIAM DEMUTH, merchant and manufacturer, born in Germany in 1835, is 
 the son of Zacharias Demuth, who was engaged in the insurance business. After 
 his education, ambition at the age of seventeen led him to the new world, apd in 
 New York he entered the business of importing smokers' articles. After years of con- 
 scientious attention to the interests of his employer, he foresaw the greater possibilities 
 of manufacturing on his own account, and with enterprise opened a small store and 
 factory in Liberty street. These quarters, ample at the beginning, became, through 
 the energy instilled into the business, too contracted, and he found larger and more 
 prominent quarters on Broadway. Here, by honorable business methods and untiring 
 zeal, he has built up a business which is the largest of its kind. Mr. Demuth has 
 demonstrated to the world the superiority of American made smokers' articles, not 
 alone through exhibits at the Centennial and Chicago World's Fairs, but also by enter- 
 ing, as it were, the lion's den, and taking away the gold medal at Paris. His creation 
 , and enlargement of the industry in this country have naturally made him an ardent 
 Republican and protectionist. 
 
 CHAUNCEY MITCHELL DEPEW, LL.D., president of The New York Central & 
 Hudson River Railroad, descends through remote paternal ancestors from French Hugue- 
 nots, who were among those who came to America in the early days of the country 
 and founded the village of New Rochelle, in Westchester county. His mother, Martha 
 Mitchell, was of illustrious and patriotic New England descent, being a member of the 
 family to which belonged Roger Sherman, a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, 
 and he is a lineal descendant of the Rev. Josiah Sherman, Chaplain of the 7th Conn. 
 Continental line, and Gabriel Ogden of the New Jersey militia, both of whom served in 
 the American Revolution. The ancestors of Mr. Depew settled in Peekskill, N. Y., two 
 hundred years ago, and the farm they then occupied yet remains a family possession. 
 
 Mr. Depew was born in Peekskill, April 23, 1834. He received an education in his 
 native village and graduated from Yale College, with honors, in the famous class of 
 1856. Returning to Peekskill, he studied law with the Hon. William Nelson and was 
 admitted to the bar in 1858. Successful from the start, interested in the higher politics 
 and the national issues of the day, and a passionate lover of human liberty, he joined, 
 while yet a young man, the new Republican party, then rising from the ruins of the 
 old Whig organization, and became one of its most active champions. His talents 
 being promptly recognized, he was chosen a delegate to the State Convention in 1858. 
 
 In 1860, Mr. Depew took the stump for Abraham Lincoln. He made many speeches 
 and displayed a solidity of logical argument, a brilliancy of wit, and a power of holding 
 the steadfast attention of an audience, which placed him at once among the successful 
 orators of the period. Elected by personal popularity to the Legislature in 1861 and 
 1862, in spite of Democratic ascendancy in his county, he revealed extraordinary abilities 
 during his two terms in that body, and was seen to be a man with a great and brilliant 
 future. In 1863, he was elected Secretary of State by 30,000 majority, reversing the 
 majority of the year before for Horatio Seymour as Governor. Declining a renomina- 
 
AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 tion, as well as the position of Minister to Japan, tendered him by Secretary Seward, 
 he resumed the practice of law. 
 
 In 1866, his abilities having attracted the attention of Commodore Vanderbilt and 
 of his son, William H. Vanderbilt, Mr. Depew was appointed attorney for The New York 
 & Harlem Railroad. In 1869, he was made attorney for The New York Central & 
 Hudson River Railroad and afterward a director. This was the period of the develop- 
 ment of the Vanderbilt system of railroads. Mr. Depew was a constant adviser of the 
 Vanderbilts, and by his good judgment and excellent advice maintained their constant 
 respect and friendship. In 1875, he was made General Counsel for the entire system 
 and a director in each one of the roads. 
 
 His growing popularity led to his being named, in 1872, by the Liberal (or Greeley) 
 party of New York, for Lieutenant Governor of the State, but he shared in the defeat 
 of his colleagues, and, the Liberal party having run its course, he again became an 
 ardent Republican. 
 
 In 1885, he was prominently named for United States Senator, and, although 
 reluctant, assented to the use of his name in the contest, which took place over filling 
 the vacancies caused by the resignation of Senators Conkling and Platt. In the joint 
 meeting of the Legislature at Albany in the early part of 1885, there was a stirring 
 contest. Mr. Depew's name gradually made its way to the front among those who had 
 been nominated, until on the nineteenth ballot it came within ten votes of an election, 
 and on the thirty-fourth ballot it was yet as near to the goal. On the fortieth ballot, 
 his strength yet undiminished, Mr. Depew withdrew. 
 
 In 1884, he was tendered an election as United States Senator by all factions 
 of the Republican party, and would have been elected without opposition had he not 
 become so committed to business obligations as to be compelled to decline. 
 
 In 1885, Mr. Depew, after three years of service as vice president of The New 
 York Central Railroad, was elevated to its presidency. While thus given a position of 
 great influence in the business world, his growing reputation made him eligible for 
 greater political honors than any for which he had yet been named. In 1888, he was 
 the candidate of the Republicans of New York State at the National Convention of the 
 party for President of the United States. He received the solid vote of the New York 
 delegation, but withdrew his name. President Harrison offered him the position of 
 Secretary of State, to succeed Mr. Blaine, but Mr. Depew again declined. 
 
 He is now president of two railroads of the Vanderbilt system and a director in 
 twenty-eight others, besides being a director in The Wagner Palace Car Co., The Union 
 Trust Co., The Western Union Telegraph Co., The JSquitable Life Assurance Society, 
 The Western Transit Co., The West Shore & International Bridge Co., The Morris 
 Run Coal Mining Co., The Clearfield Bituminous Coal Corporation, The Hudson River 
 Bridge Co., The Canada Southern Bridge Co., The Niagara River Bridge Co., The 
 Niagara Grand Island Bridge Co., The Tonawanda Island Bridge Co., The American 
 Safe Deposit Co., The New York Mutual Gas Light Co., and The Brooklyn Storage 
 and Warehouse Co. 
 
 Mr. Depew stands extremely high socially, and is a member of many of the first 
 class clubs of New York city, including the Union League, Metropolitan, Lotus, 
 University, Century, Lawyers', Tuxedo, Republican, Press, Players' and Quaint. 
 He is also a member of several yacht clubs and societies. He was president of 
 


THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DE. 185 
 
 The Union League Club for seven years, a term longer by several years than that given 
 to any other occupant of this distinguished position ; declining a re-election, he was 
 made an honorary' life member. He was for ten years president of The Yale Alumni 
 Association, and at the close of his decade of service, was elected an honorary member 
 for life. He is president of the local Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. 
 
 While a successful lawyer and business man, Mr. Depew is, if possible, more widely 
 known as one of the most brilliant and entertaining of the orators of this generation. 
 For over thirty years he has been continually in demand for addresses at public dinners 
 and in celebrations of public moment of the most important and impressive character. 
 He has probably been invited more times than any other man in the United States, to 
 speak to public assemblages. His presence as a speaker ensures the success of any cele- 
 bration; and his wit, scholarship, strength of argument and clearness of exposition, never 
 fail to charm and delight his hearers. He is without an equal in America as an after 
 dinner orator. 
 
 FREDERIC JAMES DE PEYSTER, lawyer, born in this city, Feb. 5, 1839, is a 
 son of Capt. James Ferguson De Peyster, and his wife, Frances Goodhue Ashton. The 
 men of the family have been prominent as land holders, and in public affairs for 250 
 years. He graduated from the College of the City of New York, and fitted himself 
 for the legal profession at Columbia Law School. Mr. De Peyster is exempt from 
 the necessity of daily toil, and devotes his abilities to the study of history, public 
 lectures and addresses, and the management of various societies. He is president 
 of The Society of Colonial Wars, The St. Nicholas Society, and an officer of various 
 charitable institutions. For many years president of The Archaeological Society, he 
 took a leading part in the founding and building of an American school of classical 
 study in Athens. Oct. 10, 1871, he married Augusta McEvers Morris, daughter of 
 William H. Morris, of Morrisania. 
 
 JOHN WATTS DE PEYSTER, Brevet Major General, State of New York, was 
 born March 9, 1821, at No. 3 Broadway, New York city, the only child of Frederic De 
 Peyster and Mary Justina, youngest daughter of the Hon. JOHN WATTS, II, and Jane 
 De Lancey. The history of his ancestors on both sides, his blood relatives and connec- 
 tions, was the history of New York, down to the close of the Revolution ; on his father's 
 side, ' 'through six generations, from father to son, each a leader of men in his day, and 
 charged with civic trusts when public life meant honorable fame." The grandfather 
 on his mother's side, John Watts, vir equanimitatis, who was the last Royal Recorder 
 of, and founder and endower of The Leake & Watts Orphan House in, the city of New 
 York, was born in that city, Aug. 27, 1749 (O. S.), and died there, Sept. 3, 1836 (N. S.). 
 He was the second son of the Hon. John Watts, I., president of the King's Council, first 
 president of The New York City Hospital, etc., and in high favor and respect Avith the 
 Home Government, in consequence of which he was put under the ban, and his ample 
 fortune, among other properties his beautiful country seat about Twenty-first street on 
 the East river in New York city, confiscated by the Revolutionary authorities. A por- 
 tion of this property was purchased from the Committee of Sequestration by John 
 Watts, II. (not restored, as often falsely stated), perhaps owing to the fact that his 
 brother Robert married Mary, daughter of William Alexander, titular Earl of Stirling, 
 Continental Major General, whose grandmother was daughter of Johannes, first 
 De Peyster in this country. 
 
i86 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Frederic de Peyster, vir auctoritatis, was born in New York, Nov. n, 1796, and 
 died at Rose Hill, Dutchess county, N. Y., Aug. 17, 1882. He was sixth in descent 
 from Johannes, who was Schepen, 1655-65, Alderman under the English and Burgo- 
 master under the Dutch administrations, Deputy Mayor 1677, and appointed Mayor 
 the same year, but declined. His two sons, Abraham and Johannes, were Mayors of 
 New York, the former 1691-95, the latter 1698-99. Abraham was the most distin- 
 guished of the family, of superior ability and worth: Colonel, commanding Regiment 
 of New York city Troops, horse and foot, 685 men, in 1700, Alderman 1685, Mayor 
 1691-95, Assistant Judge of the Supreme Court 1698, Chief Justice 1700, President of 
 the King's Council and, as such, Acting Governor 1701, Treasurer of the Provinces of 
 New York and New Jersey 1706-1721, confidant of New York's best Royal Governor, 
 the Earl of Bellomont, and friend of William Penn. He was born July 8, 1657, and 
 died Aug. 2, 1728. 
 
 Frederic de Peyster's three grandsons served in the Union Army during the Slave- 
 holders' Rebellion, and two lost their lives in consequence. The eldest, John Watts de 
 Peyster, jr., was Major, ist New York Volunteer Artillery, and brevetted Colonel, 
 U. S. V., principally for distinguished conduct at Chancellorsville. The second, 
 Frederic de Peyster, jr., was brevetted from 2d Lieutenant to Major, U. S. V., and 
 to Colonel, N. Y. V., especially for gallantry, etc , at first Bull Run, 1861; and the 
 third, Brevet Lieutenant Colonel, U. S. V., and Colonel, N. Y. V., for general merit 
 and for having had the signal opportunity of hoisting "the first American flag" over 
 the Capitol of captured Richmond, April 9, 1865. 
 
 John Watts de Peyster is as much a self-educated man as a majority of those who 
 have won that reputation, and through study and observation and reflection, assisted by 
 marvellous memory, his forecasts and judgments in matters to which he has given his 
 attention have proved almost infallible. A catalogue of his literary, historical and 
 scientific works, by no means complete, in the Annual Reports of the American His- 
 torical Association, occupies more than a dozen pages. These works have won for their 
 author all the university degrees, honorary or corresponding memberships or fellow- 
 ships, in historical, literary and scientific societies, at home and abroad, and many val- 
 uable medals and decorations, the latest the "Gold medal, for 1894, of the' Society 
 of Science, Letters and Art, of London," "for scientific and literary attainments." In 
 the military service of the State of New York he rose to the rank of Brigadier General, 
 and is the first officer so appointed by any Governor individually, his every promotion 
 having been made for special services, and, in 1866, he was commissioned Brevet Major 
 General, "for meritorious services rendered to the State^and the United States prior to 
 and during the Rebellion," by special act or concurrent resolution of the State Legis- 
 lature, and he is the first and only officer receiving such a distinction from the State of 
 New York or any State. By inheritance from his grandfather, John Watts, he was the 
 last Patroon or owner of the lower Claverack Manor and other lands in Columbia 
 county, N. Y., virtually confiscated by the Legislature pandering to Anti-Rent, and 
 through his father of extensive hereditary lease-lands in the county of Dutchess, N. Y. 
 
 NICHOLAS DE PEYSTER, who died in New York city, Feb. 17, 1889, was a direct 
 descendant of Johannes De Peyster, first of the name in New York, 250 years ago. 
 Nicholas was educated by private tutors. He inherited large means from the De 
 Peyster estate, but increased it by his own efforts. In 1849, ne went to California, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DE. 187 
 
 where he was exceedingly successful. After his return to the East, he spent much 
 time in foreign travel. In 1870, he was married to Miss Marianna Moore, and his wife 
 and one son, William D. De Peyster, survived him. He was, at different times, a 
 member of the St. Nicholas, New York, Century and American Yacht clubs. 
 
 CHRISTIAN EDWARD DETflOLD, civil engineer, born in Hanover, Germany, 
 Feb. 2, 1810, died in New York city, July 2, 1887. Graduating from a military 
 academy in Hanover, he came to America in 1826, intending at first to enter the 
 Brazilian Army, but subsequently adopting the profession of civil engineer and 
 settling in New York city. A man of very energetic nature and ingenious mind, he 
 made a number of surveys in the South; drew plans in 1828 for the first locomotive 
 engine built by the Messrs. Kemble ; constructed The Charleston & Hamburg Railroad 
 in South Carolina, one of the first in the country; and in 1833 and 1834 laid the founda- 
 tions of Fort Sumter under the direction of the War Department. Later, he con- 
 structed canals in Maryland and Pennsylvania, and built the Crystal Palace in New 
 York city, on the site of what is now the Fifth avenue reservoir, completing it in 
 1853. He then purchased a large interest in coal mines in Pennsylvania, and engaged 
 in manufacturing iron, in which he made valuable improvements. He built the works 
 of The New Jersey Zinc Co., at Newark, N. J., being president of the company, and 
 developed the manufacture of spiegel iron from the residue of zinc ore. Failing 
 health finally compelled him to seek recreation abroad, and he spent a number of years 
 in Paris, returning to New York in 1885. At one time he served upon the committee 
 for investigating the Tweed frauds. He was a member of the Century and Union 
 League clubs, and gave evidence of literary ability by translating the principal 
 writings of Machiavelli. His wife, Phoebe L. Crary, and two daughters, survived 
 him, the latter being Wilhelmina Emilie, wife of Count Gaston d'Arschot, Charge 
 d'Affaires for Belgium, at Washington, and Zella Trelawney, wife of Joseph Lentilhon. 
 
 JACOB GERHARD DETTnER, manufacturer, was born in Piqua, O., Aug. 31, 
 1845. He is of German descent and a son of Justus G. Dettmer, who emigrated to Ohio 
 from Hanover, German}', in 1829. A bright student at the local high school, Jacob 
 learned the dry goods trade as a clerk in Troy, O., and was made a partner two years 
 later, in Steil & Dettmer. In 1866, he moved to St. Louis, to embark in a wholesale 
 woolen goods trade, as junior in the firm of Reiter, Steil & Co. While adherence to 
 one line of business is usually the best guarantee of success, Mr. Dettmer improved 
 his position materially in 1871, by coming to New York and engaging in the- manu- 
 facture of cream of tartar, tartaric acid, baking powder and other grocers' sundries in 
 The Royal Baking Powder Co. and The New York Tartar Co. He retired in 1886. 
 He is a director of The Bedford Bank, The People's Trust Co. and The City Savings 
 Bank of Brooklyn, and now a large owner of excellent real estate. He makes his home 
 in Brooklyn, where he has joined the Hamilton, Union League, Montauk and other 
 clubs and societies. 
 
 CHARLES DEVLIN, contractor, a native of Lurgan, Ireland, born March 15, 1805, 
 died in Xe\v York, Feb. i, 1881. His ancestors had dwelt in the same part of Ireland 
 as he for generations, and had fought and bled in the struggle for freedom. He came 
 to this country at the age of twenty-seven, finding occupation as an apprentice and 
 then as a journeyman baker. By careful saving, he soon gained the capital to start in 
 the baking business on his own account. Honest and hard working, he -was prospered 
 
188 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 greatly. About 1850, through being compelled to finish a piece of work, undertaken 
 by a contractor, who had defaulted and for whom he had given security, he became 
 a contractor himself. His first signal success was a contract for building part of The 
 Hudson River Railroad, and he then engaged in the construction of sewers and other 
 public works, including the greater part of the heavy grading and rock cutting in 
 Central Park. In time, he grew to be one of the best known contractors in the 
 country. In politics a Democrat, he served the city twice as School Commissioner. 
 A famous dispute arose in 1857, when Fernando Wood appointed him a Street Commis- 
 sioner. The Governor having appointed Daniel D. Conover a Street Commissioner at 
 the same time, a conflict of authority followed, celebrated in the municipal history 
 of the city. Such intellectxial giants as Charles O'Conor, James T. Brady and David 
 Dudley Field engaged in the battle. The Mayor's appointee won. The Hackley 
 street cleaning suit against the city, which occupied the courts for upward of thirty 
 years, was carried on by Mr. Devlin as assignee of Andrew J. Hackley, and has been 
 recently argued by the Court of Appeals on behalf of John B. Devlin, executor. Mr. 
 Devlin came into prominence in 1871, as one of Tweed's bondsmen for $300,000. 
 Although then considered worth $2,000,000, his liberality led him into difficulties, 
 which in 1878, ended in his bankruptcy. In the settlement of his estate, upward of 
 $300,000 in notes, for money he had lent to friends, were sold for $39. On receiving 
 his discharge from bankruptcy, Mr. Devlin resumed work as a contractor, paid his 
 legitimate creditors in full, and at the time of his death again ranked as a man of 
 wealth. He was never connected with corporations, but was a large holder of real 
 estate. By his marriage in this country with Mary Mackin of Dromore, Ireland, he had 
 six children, Charles B. , John B. and Joseph A. Devlin, and Mrs. Mary Tully, Mrs. 
 Isabel Bram and Mrs. Frances Croft. 
 
 FREDERICK WILLIAM DEVOE, merchant and manufacturer, is a native of New 
 York city, where he was born Jan. 26, 1828. He descends from a very ancient family, 
 whose share in public affairs has been so conspicuous, that it can be traced back in his- 
 tory for fully eleven centuries. The name has undergone changes in process of time, and 
 has been spelled De Voe, De Veau, de Veaux, de Vaux, and otherwise. It seems to- have 
 been derived from the district of Vaux in Normandy, the original seat of the family. 
 Various possessors of the name were of high rank and related to royalty by marriage. 
 
 The first member of the family to find his way to America was Matheus de Vos, a 
 Huguenot, who found in the new world the liberty of conscience denied to him in 
 France. He was a resident of New Amsterdam with his family at least as early as 
 1653, and came into prominence as a notary and attorney ir/the Court of Burgomasters 
 and Schepens. Daniel and Nicholas de Vaux came to America later and settled in Har- 
 lem. Their brother, Frederick de Veaux, ancestor of the subject of this sketch, a native 
 of Annis, in France, fled from his native land with his father's family to escape massacre 
 by the King's troops. He grew to manhood in Manheim, became a merchant, and emi- 
 grated to New York in 1675. He settled in Harlem with his brothers, and there mar- 
 ried Hester Terneur, daughter of Daniel Tourneur, and thus came into possession of a 
 tract of land, known later as the Cromwell farm, near the Central bridge. For several 
 generations the persons in this line were farmers and owners of land, now enormously 
 valuable. Frederick De Veaux made several purchases, from time to time, and 
 acquired 184 acres, comprising a neck of land at the bridge at McComb's Dam, a farm 
 
190 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 in Morrisania, and two farms at New Rochelle, these last containing 300 acres. He 
 died in 1743 in Morrisania. His oldest son, Frederick de Voe, jr., born in 1684, died 
 in 1753, leaving a large estate. Frederick de Voe, son of the latter, born about 1710, 
 settled upon a farm on the Philipse manor, below Yonkers. When the Revolution 
 occurred, he was too far along in years to bear arms, but his son John was a soldier in 
 the southern battalion in the town of Yonkers. The family suffered the loss of all 
 their possessions for their loyalty during the War. After the peace, John bought 136 
 acres of the old Philipse manor, and there dwelt the remainder of his days.. In 1779, 
 he married Rebecca De Voe, a daughter of his father's half brother Daniel. Eleven 
 children were born to them, of whom John was the father of the subject of this sketch. 
 John De Voe possessed the martial spirit of his father, and served a part of the first 
 year of the War of 1812 in the regiment of Lieut. Col. Jonathan Varian. In 1807, he 
 married Sophia, daughter of Thomas Farrington, of Mile Square, in Yonkers. Of his 
 family of ten children, Frederick William De Voe was the youngest. 
 
 Frederick was educated in private schools, and in 1843 became a clerk in the coun- 
 try store of his brother Isaac, in Spotswood, N. J. The training in these country stores 
 is always an excellent one, and Frederick was well equipped for more important labors, 
 when, in 1846, he returned to New York city to enter the store of Jackson & Robins, 
 drug and paint brokers on Wall street. This engagement proved congenial to him and 
 fixed his occupation for life. His brother John was a junior partner in the firm, who 
 were engaged in the trade of paints, varnish and oils, succeeding the old house of 
 William & Gerardus Post, at the corner of Water and Fletcher streets. 
 
 In 1848, Frederick improved his position by becoming clerk for Butler & Raynolds. 
 He was able, diligent and ambitious, and, by 1852, felt sufficiently confident of himself 
 to undertake business on his own account, and formed the firm of Raynolds & Devoe. 
 In 1855, the firm established their store on Fulton street, succeeding Schanck & 
 Downing in the paint and varnish business. The partners displayed all the qualities 
 which are necessary to business success and made their way steadily. 
 
 In 1864, the firm reorganized as F. W. Devoe & Co. They have made steady 
 progress until the present time and during their history of thirty-one years have, borne 
 a high reputation for enterprise and business honor. 
 
 For several years Mr. Devoe was also engaged in refining petroleum and the ship- 
 ment of it in cans and cases. His product, called " Devoe's Brilliant Oil," enjoyed a 
 very extended sale, and was shipped to Germany, the Mediterranean, the East Indies, 
 Australia, China, and the Pacific coast, besides having a large sale in the United States. 
 This branch of the business was afterward carried on under the name of The Devoe 
 Manufacturing Co. , and was sold, in 1873, to other owners. Although thus largely 
 interested in petroleum, Mr. Devoe was never in any way connected with any of the 
 land companies formed for the production of crude oil. 
 
 Mr. Devoe has a natural taste for mechanics, and much of his machinery and fac- 
 tory plant were built after his own plans, during the early part of his career. In 1890, 
 the business was incorporated under their former name, with Mr. Devoe as president. 
 In 1892, by a consolidation of two concerns, the business assumed the name of The 
 F. W. Devoe & C. T. Raynolds Co. Both firms were on Fulton street, occupying large 
 stores nearly opposite to each other. The present company is one of the leading con- 
 cerns in the country, and Mr. Devoe is its president and treasurer. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DE. 19! 
 
 Mr. Devoe has little taste for political life, but has served his city and State 
 acceptably in several official positions. He was appointed by Mayor Cooper, in 1880, 
 a Commissioner of Education, and was reappointed by Mayors Edson, Hewitt and 
 Grant. He resigned from the Board in 1891. His labors in this position were devoted 
 to such changes and improvements in the course of study, as to render a public school 
 education of more practical utility. His persistent efforts did much towards preparing 
 the way for the industrial schools, which are now a valuable feature of the public 
 school system. 
 
 Governor Hill appointed him in 1890 as a trustee of The Middletown Homoeopathic 
 Hospital for the Insane, in place of Fletcher Harper, deceased. Mr. Devoe is also a 
 trustee of The New York Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital. In 1890, when 
 the "Greater New York" commission came into existence, he received the honor of 
 appointment as one of its members. To the duties of all these positions he pays close 
 attention. The work to which he is most actively devoted is The New York Juvenile 
 Asylum, of which he became a director in 1890, being elected vice-president in 1893. 
 He is now its president. 
 
 He was married in 1853 to Sarah M., daughter of Walter Briggs. This union 
 brought them five children. Two daughters died in infancy, and Henry Meyer De 
 Voe, the only son, when eight years old. The family now consist of Mr. and Mrs 
 Devoe and two daughters, young ladies. They have a charming home on Jerome avenue, 
 in Fordham, now a part of the Twenty-fourth Ward, opposite St. James's Episcopal 
 Church. Mr. Devoe is strongly opposed to social club life, is fond of home life, and 
 enjoys the respect of a wide circle of friends. He is a member of the Holland and 
 St. Nicholas Societies, as well as of The New York Microscopical Society. The family 
 possess cultivated musical taste, and are associated with several musical societies. 
 Finally, it may be said that Mr. Devoe is one of the wardens of The Church of Zion 
 and St. Timothy on West 57th street. 
 
 HENRY DEXTER, president of The American News Co., was born in West Cam- 
 bridge, Mass., March 14, 1813, and is a son of Jonathan Marsh Dexter, a fur merchant. 
 The latter was the oldest son of David Dexter, who, with his younger brother, the 
 well known Dr. Aaron Dexter of Boston, professor in Harvard College, 1783-1829, 
 was born in Maiden, Mass., the original seat of the Dexter family in this country, 
 where land, purchased in 1663, has been continuously held in the Dexter name to this 
 day. They were sons of Richard, son of Richard, son of John, son of Richard Dexter, 
 who seems to have fled from the massacre of the Protestants, which took place in Ire- 
 land in October, 1641, and who was probably descended from Richard De Exeter, 
 Governor of Ireland in 1269. The subject of this biography was educated in West 
 Cambridge, and in publishing houses in Boston and Cambridge. He removed to New 
 York city in 1836, and carried on the hardware business for several years with the 
 Whittemores, the inventors of the famous cotton card making machine. In 1842, be- 
 coming convinced of the capabilities of the wholesale trade in books, magazines, peri- 
 odicals and newspapers, which his brother George had already taken up, he joined the 
 latter and laid the foundations of the eminence, to which he has since attained. Mr. 
 Dexter originated the conception of The American News Co., which he was finally able, 
 with the aid of others in the same business, to realize in 1864. Under the enterprising 
 management of himself and associates, this company has extended its operations to 
 
192 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN 
 
 every part of the United States and Canada, and transacts business in England, France 
 and Germany, as well as South America and the East Indies. Its sales amount to more 
 than twenty-five millions of dollars annually. Mr. Dexter, who has thoroughly grasped 
 the principles of the business, is a clear headed man, of great purity of character. He 
 has travelled extensively, both on this continent and in Europe, Egypt and Palestine. 
 The family own a little less than 2,000 acres in the Adirondacks, which they use for a 
 summer residence. Oct. n, 1853, Mr. Dexter married Lucretia Marquand Perry, 
 daughter of Orrando Perry of Easton, Conn. They have surviving a daughter and one 
 son, Orrando Perry Dexter. 
 
 WATSON BRADLEY DICKERMAN, stock broker, born Jan. 4, 1846, is a native 
 of Mount Carmel, Conn., and a son of Ezra Dickerman. Every drop which flows in 
 his veins is derived from the Puritans of New England. The pioneer of the family 
 settled in Massachusetts in 1635. Receiving an education in Williston Seminary, East- 
 hampton, Mass., the young man found his first employment in the banking house of 
 Jacob Bunn, in Springfield, 111. This engagement fixed his occupation for life. In 
 1868, he joined the Open Board of Brokers in this city, subsequently consolidated with 
 the Stock Exchange, and in 1870, with W. G. Dominick, established the brokerage firm 
 of Dominick & Dickerman. He has been successful both in his business and in win- 
 ning the confidence and entire goodwill of his fellow brokers. In 1890 and 1891, they 
 elected him president of the Stock Exchange. He is president of The Norfolk & 
 Southern Railroad, and director of The Long Island Loan & Trust Co. In 1869, he 
 was married to Martha E., daughter of Samuel and Mary Phelps Swift, of Brooklyn. 
 Their child, a son, died when two years old. The family make their home at Hilland- 
 dale farm, near Mamaroneck, N. Y. Mr. Dickerman has joined the Metropolitan, Union 
 League, Country, New York Yacht, and Brooklyn clubs. 
 
 PATRICK DICKIE, merchant, a native of Balquhine, Scotland, born June 26, 
 1793, died in this city, Nov. 16, 1877. A shrewd, wide awake yoting man, he began 
 life in London, and came to the new world in 1817, establishing here the drug store 
 in which he made his fortune. His trade was very extensive. Samuel Houston 
 received aid from him in the form of medical supplies for the Texan army, and in his 
 gratitude gave Mr. Dickie nearly 75,000 acres of land. This grant was repudiated, 
 however, after the battle of San Jacinto. Mr. Dickie filled excellent contracts with 
 the city government in New York. He was far seeing enough to invest his savings 
 in local real estate; and a public garden, which he bought in 1820, at the corner of 
 Broadway and Canal street, realized a million dollars in profits in the next 
 forty-two years. Married to Susan Orr Perry, his children were Emma D. , wife of 
 Jasper T. Van Vleck; Serena D., wife of Charles I. Turrell; Charles P. Dickie, now 
 deceased; Edward P. Dickie; Helen D., wife of Jay L. Adams; Horace P. Dickie, and 
 Susan Dickie, now deceased. 
 
 JOHN BUMPSTEAD DICKINSON, merchant, born in New York city, June 29, 
 1814, died in Chicago, March 16, 1875. He lived with his uncle, P. K. Dickinson, in 
 North Carolina, until about sixteen years of age, and then came to New York to connect 
 himself with commercial pursuits, in which, from the outset, he was successful to a 
 marked degree. For many years he was a member of the firm of Wakeman, Gookin & 
 Dickinson, in the California trade, and amassed a large fortune. A director of The 
 National Shoe and Leather Bank, The Union Mutual Insurance Co., The Broadway 
 
THE C1TV OF NEW YORK. DI. iq-j 
 
 Insurance Co., and The Brooklyn Dry Dock Co., and at one time president of The 
 Tenth National Bank, he was also president of The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway 
 and largely interested in The Brooklyn Ferry Co. His election to these trusts 
 illustrated the integrity and ability of his character. Though reared an Episcopalian, 
 he united in early manhood with the Methodist Episcopal Church, whose interests and 
 welfare he loyally promoted. Mr. Dickinson was twice married, his first wife being 
 Almira Cocks, sister of John D. Cocks, president of The Atlantic Fire Insurance Co. 
 His second wife, who survived him, was Mrs. Mary C. Lowe, of Massachusetts, a lady 
 of rare culture, well known for her lifelong work along educational, literary and 
 philanthropic lines. Mr Dickinson contributed largely to the benevolent enterprises 
 of his church, and his private charities were numerous and unostentatious. As trustee 
 and director, he managed the affairs of others with the same fidelity and prudence 
 which marked the direction of his own business. Eight children survived him: 
 Platt K., John P., Howard C., and Frank F. Dickinson; and Almira, widow of 
 Benjamin F. Sherwood, of San Francisco; Adelaide, widow of Frank Harrison Carter; 
 and Jane Vance and Mary Dickinson. 
 
 SIDNEY DILLON, railroad president, born in Northampton, Montgomery county, 
 X. Y., May 7, 1812, died in New York city, June 9, 1892. His father was a farmer, 
 and his maternal grandfather a soldier in the American Revolution. From the 
 common school he went, while yet a youth, to a situation as errand boy on The 
 Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, and afterward held a similar position on The Rensselaer 
 & Saratoga Railroad. Next, overseer for the contractors, who were building The 
 Boston & Providence Railroad, later he was employed as foreman and manager of 
 work upon The Stonington Railroad, and foreman in some heavy rock work on The 
 Western Railway of Massachusetts. Acquiring confidence, he made a bid for a section 
 of the latter work, which he successfully completed in 1840. This was the beginning 
 of Mr. Dillon's career as a contractor. He next took a heavy contract on The Troy & 
 Schenectady Railway, employing for the first time a steam excavator; and after that 
 time, either alone, or in association with others, he successfully completed a number 
 of large contracts in the construction of railroads, including The Hartford & Spring- 
 field, The Cheshire, The Vermont & Massachusetts, The Central of New Jersey, The 
 Boston & New York Central, and The Philadelphia & Erie roads. He was remarkable 
 for energy, power of organization, and ability in the management of forces of men. In 
 1865, Mr. Dillon identified himself with construction work on The Union Pacific Rail- 
 road, and meantime filled several other important contracts. In 1869, Mr. Dillon laid 
 the last rail which established railroad connection between the Atlantic and Pacific 
 coasts. He was twice president, at intervals, of The Union Pacific Railroad, and held' 
 that position at his death, and was also intimately associated with various other rail- 
 road systems. He was a director of The Canada Southern Railroad, The Chicago, 
 Rock Island & Pacific, The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, The New York, Lacka- 
 wanna & Western, The Manhattan Elevated and The Missouri Pacific Railways, The 
 Pacific Mail Steamship Co., The Wabash Railroad, The Western Union Telegraph 
 Co., The Mercantile Trust Co., The Safe Deposit Co. of New York, and other corpora- 
 tions. In 1841, Mr. Dillon married Hannah Smith, who died Dec. 6, 1884. Two 
 daughters, Julia D., wife of J. D wight Ripley, and Cora D., wife of Peter B. Wyckoff, 
 survived him. While brusque in manner, as men of force sometimes are, he was clear 
 

 194 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and direct in conversation, kindly and generous in his disposition, and highly re- 
 spected. 
 
 WILLIAfl B. DINSMORE, president of The Adams Express Co., was born in 
 Boston in 1810, and died in New York city, April 20, 1888. Deprived of the advantages 
 of early education, William went to work on a farm at the age of eleven, remaining 
 there for three years, when he returned to Boston and obtained employment in a 
 saddlery establishment. A few years later, he made the acquaintance of Alvin Adams, 
 who sent him to New York to take charge of the Adams express business here. 
 After a hard struggle, Mr. Dinsmore placed the local branch upon a good footing. His 
 energy and power of application were remarkable. He afterward took John Hoey 
 into his employment, and from that time these two men toiled untiringly to build up 
 The Adams Express Co. In a few years, they had extended the route of the company 
 to all parts of the country. Mr. Dinsmore was a large owner in the stock of the cor- 
 poration. He was also a director of The American Exchange Bank, The Pennsylvania 
 Railroad and The New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad, and a member of the 
 Union and New York clubs. A liking for the country led Mr. Dinsmore to establish 
 a stock farm for Alderney cattle, as soon as he gained the means, and he made it the 
 largest of its kind in the United States. His wife, Augusta M. Snow, of Boston, with 
 'two sons, survived him, the latter being William B. Dinsmore, jr., and Clarence Gray 
 Dinsmore. His name, throughout a long career, was a synonym for integrity, manli- 
 ness and energy. 
 
 CHARLES HEALY DITSON, publisher of music, was born Aug. n, 1845, and is 
 a son of the late Oliver Ditson, founder of the house of Oliver Ditson & Co. , in Boston. 
 He was educated in the schools of Boston, and began business life as an employe in his 
 father's store. He showed capacity and was admitted to the firm in 1867. The same 
 year the firm established a branch house in New York city, under the name of Charles 
 H. Ditson & Co. , incorporated under New York laws, and Charles has, since that time, 
 made New York city his home. He is treasurer of the now incorporated firm of The 
 Oliver Ditson Co., in Boston, which owns the branch house in Philadelphia, and is part 
 owner of Lyon & Healy, in Chicago. Mr. Ditson belongs to the Players' club and The 
 New England Society of this city, and The Algonquin club of Boston. 
 
 ALFRED P. DIX, note broker, a native of Massachusetts, was born Dec. 12, 1839. 
 He is a grandson of Gen. Artemas Ward of the Continental army in the American 
 Revolution, and the possessor of a valuable collection of papers and letters, belonging 
 to the period of that war, including letters from George Washington, General 
 Gates, General Ward, Lord Howe, John Winthrop arid others. Alfred left the 
 Lawrence Academy in Groton, Mass., to spend five years in a clerkship in a dry 
 goods store in Worcester, and five years more in the same occupation in Boston. 
 He came to New York city in 1864, and was a partner for five years in Harden 
 & Dix, commission merchants, and five years the representative of the Lawrence 
 aid Pemberton Mills of Lawrence, Mass. In 1875, he engaged in banking, dealing 
 in credits and the purchase and sale of notes. John J. Phyfe joined him the following 
 year. The firm of Dix & Phyfe originated the business of discounting the notes of 
 merchants, who were required to establish a credit with their bankers as well as with 
 their selling agents. This system has since come into general use. The caution and 
 discrimination of Dix & Phyfe cause paper approved by them to be in demand in 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DO. 195 
 
 banking circles. Mr. Dix was married in 1866 to Miss Carruth of Boston, and has one 
 daughter living, Mildred Carruth Dix. 
 
 WILLIAn EARLE DODGE, merchant, born near Hartford, Conn., Sept. 4, i8os > 
 died in New York city, Feb. 9, 1883. His father, David Low Dodge, a cotton manu- 
 facturer in Bozrahville, near Norwich, Conn., gave William employment for a time, 
 after a brief attendance at the public schools. About 1818, the family removed to New 
 York, when the son became the boy of all work in a wholesale dry goods store. In 
 1827 he started a small dry goods store on his own account. Conspicuous from youth 
 for an agreeable presence and high character, about 1830, he was married to a daughter 
 of Anson G. Phelps, who, with Elisha Peck, had established an important business in 
 the importation of metals. In 1833, Mr. Dodge was taken into the office of Phelps & 
 Peck. Shortly afterward, the house reorganized under the name of Phelps, Dodge & 
 Co. , a title which has been retained to the present time. The energetic policy of Mr. 
 Dodge, who, for years, directed the operations of the house, resulted in a trade, conti- 
 nental in its extent and highly profitable to the firm. As he gained the means, Mr. 
 Dodge invested his earnings in important enterprises and was an extensive operator in 
 lumber in Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Texas, West Virginia and Canada, where he 
 owned several million acres of forest lands. He was also a director of The New York, 
 Lake Erie & Western Railroad, and prominently connected with The Delaware & Lack- 
 awanna Iron & Coal Co., The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, and other 
 corporations. Mr. Dodge attained distinction no less through the elevation and purity 
 of his character than through phenomenal success in business pursuits. He was 
 unbending in his advocacy of the sacredness of the Sabbath day and left the directory 
 of The Erie Railroad when the company began to run .trains on Sunday. His contribu- 
 tions to religious, charitable and educational institutions were extensive. The devotion 
 of a portion of his income to philanthropic work began early in life and was with him 
 systematic. For several years, his contributions amounted to from 200,000 to $350,000 
 to worthy objects, and over 300,000 was given in his will to institutions. His wife, 
 Melissa P., and seven children survived him, the latter being William E., Anson G. P., 
 David Stuart, Charles C , George E., Norman W., and Arthur M. Dodge. His son, 
 WILLIAM EARLE DODGE, jr., merchant, born in New York city, Feb. 15, 1832, 
 received his education in this city. Associating himself with his father's business, he 
 was admitted to partnership in Phelps, Dodge & Co. , which afterward became one of 
 the leading houses in the city in the importation of metals. While inheriting a portion 
 of his father's estate, he has increased his patrimony in the management of the old 
 house, of which he has been since one of the senior members. He is a man of marked 
 ability and fine character. His firm control The Commercial Mining Co., at Prescott, 
 Arizona, and valuable mines at Big Bug and Senator, Arizona, including the Hack- 
 berry mines, the Senator gold mines, and The Copper Basin Mining Co. Mr. Dodge 
 is president of The Ansonia Brass & Copper Co., and The Ansonia Clock Co., and 
 director or trustee of The Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Co., The Commercial 
 Mining Co., The Detroit Copper Mining Co., The Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co., The 
 New York Life Insurance & Trust Co. , and The Lackawanna Steel Co. ; and president 
 of the trustees of The Young Men's Christian Association, and of The Evangelical 
 Alliance. The clubs to which a man belongs illustrate his tastes and social standing, 
 and on this point it is sufficient to say that Mr. Dodge belongs to the Metropolitan, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DO. 197 
 
 Union League, City, Century, Down Town, Riding, Reform, Presbyterian, Country, and 
 Commonwealth clubs, and The New England Society. 
 
 ALFRED DOLGE, manufacturer, one of the most remarkable men for whom 
 America is indebted to the mother land of Germany, was born in Chemnitz in that 
 country, Dec. 22, 1848. His father, August, was one of the leaders of the Revolution 
 of 1 848-49, and the honor of being twice tried by court martial was accorded to him. 
 Twice he was sentenced to death, but the penalty of his courageous efforts for liberty 
 was afterward changed to imprisonment for fifteen years. 
 
 Alfred attended the public schools of Leipzig during his boyhood, and then learned 
 the trade of piano making in his father's factory, an art requiring the highest mechani- 
 cal skill. Attracted to America by the greater liberty and more promising opportuni- 
 ties of the new world, he landed at Castle Garden on the gth of September in 1 866. A 
 strongly built, capable and practical youth, he accepted the first employment which 
 offered, and found work on a farm in Wisconsin for one season. Returning then to 
 the East, he spent two and a half years at his trade of piano making. With $500, 
 which he had earned by diligent labor at the bench and saved by careful economy, Mr. 
 Dolge began, in July, 1869, the importation of piano materials from Europe. The 
 felts employed by piano makers in this country were at that time purchased abroad, 
 but Mr. Dolge believed that they could be, and should be, made in America. To 
 believe is, with a nature as energetic as his, to act. In 1871, therefore, Mr. Dolge 
 began the manufacture of piano felts, in Brooklyn, and thus became the actual 
 pioneer of this valuable industry in the L T nited States. In 1874, he moved the 
 works to Dolgeville, in Herkimer county, N. Y. In this beautiful town, a large 
 factory has gradually come into existence through his persistent energy; and at these 
 works Mr. Dolge has also developed the most highly approved felt machinery known to 
 the whole industry. Departments for making the different parts of pianos have been 
 added to the factory', one after another, until Mr. Dolge is now the proprietor of the most 
 complete, the largest and most highly developed piano material manufactory in the 
 world. Employment is given to a large force of skillful operatives; and probably no 
 where in the United States can there be found a finer group of working people than 
 those to whom Mr. Dolge has been both an employer and benefactor. His enterprise 
 has finally put an end to the importation of piano materials from Europe, and rendered 
 America entirely independent of every other land for its supply of these articles. If 
 it be added that the performance of public services of great utility has brought Mr. 
 Dolge a fortune, it must be said on the other hand that he has bestowed far greater 
 benefits than he has received. 
 
 But to say that he is a successful manufacturer, by no means sums up the remarka- 
 ble career of Alfred Dolge. The village of Dolgeville, founded by him, has become the 
 model industrial town of American origin, both in its social and economic aspects. It 
 has all the advantages of modern ideas and city methods, without the disadvantage of 
 the paternalism usually associated with so called ideal towns. A free public school 
 and an academy of the highest order, fully equipped with scientific apparatus and with 
 all the modern appointments, have been built by Mr. Dolge and given to the town. 
 Houses containing from six to nine rooms have been built, many of them wholly or in 
 part by Mr. Dolge, and now belong to the workmen themselves. Mr. Dolge has also 
 converted the woodlands surrounding the town into parks, which will always remain a 
 
198 
 
 permanent and beautiful feature of the place. In all which pertains to making Dolge- 
 ville a model town in its sanitary, educational and picturesque aspects, Mr. Dolge has 
 shown a practical good sense, amounting to real greatness. He is the leader of his 
 people, not their patron. 
 
 The most significant of the new ideas introduced at Dolgeville, and the one whose 
 influence will be the most permanent and far reaching, is Mr. Dolge's contribution to 
 the solution of the labor problem. One of the most depressing features of the present 
 industrial system, apparently the one most difficult of treatment, is the discharge of 
 workmen, when they reach the stage of " diminishing returns," or declining efficiency. 
 It is a complaint against modern capital, that it takes labor when it is young and 
 vigorous, exploits its vitality, and ruthlessly throws it aside, when it has passed the 
 prime of life or approaches old age. The workmen are then too old to learn a new 
 trade. Except in rare cases, they are liable to become recipients of charity or entirely 
 dependent for support upon the younger members of their families. 
 
 It is thus held, and not without force, that a hopeless old age is all the average 
 working man can hope for, unless he dies in the harness. This is made the basis of 
 much of the Socialistic attack upon modern capital. 
 
 For this complaint, Mr. Dolge has, by experiments continued through twenty 
 years, developed a successful remedy, based upon economic and scientific principles, 
 which enables every workman to retire at the age of sixty with a competence for the 
 remainder of his life. It is a system of industrial insurance, which is to labor what a 
 depreciation fund is to capital. It provides for the retirement of workmen when they 
 reach the age of declining efficiency, in the same way that a depreciation fund provides 
 for replacing old machinery with new. This system entirely eliminates the inhumanity 
 hitherto involved in the discharge of old and often faithful workmen. By providing 
 for them a permanent income for the remainder of their lives, the hopelessness of old 
 age is entirely overcome. 
 
 In an article in The Social Economist for June, 1892, presenting the leading features 
 of his system, Mr. Dolge says: " In order, therefore, to obtain the best results from 
 laborers, they must not only live under good conditions while working, but they must 
 be placed beyond the fear of want in their old age. To secure this, a labor deprecia- 
 tion or insurance fund should be made an established part of the cost of production, 
 just the same as depreciation for machinery is provided for now. From these, two 
 important advantages are obtained: (i.) Laborers can be retired without becoming 
 paupers, when they cease to be profitable factors in production, or when they reach 
 what economists call the stage of 'diminishing returns.' 1 ' (2.) Their future being 
 assured, laborers would feel safe in keeping their wives at home, sending their children 
 to school, and otherwise living up to the full extent of their income. Thus, instead of 
 constantly trying to restrict their standard of living to provide for old age, they would 
 have every inducement for extending it, which would tend to increase their intelligence, 
 social character and individuality, and develop not only more efficient laborers, but a 
 higher manhood and superior citizenship among our people." 
 
 Mr. Dolge's plan is entirely free from the slightest taint of paternalism, being based 
 upon strictly economic and thoroughly practical business principles and verified by a 
 test of twenty years. It is susceptible of universal application. If this were made a 
 national policy, as it easily might be, it would tend to eliminate pauperism from this 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DO. 
 
 199 
 
 country, might do it altogether, and would certainly do much to destroy the acri- 
 monious spirit which is creating a social antagonism against present methods of pro- 
 duction. 
 
 In this, Mr. Dolge has proved himself a social philosopher as well as a successful 
 manufacturer, qualities rarely found together. To grow rich, and at the same time 
 to become more democratic towards the masses, is a quality of greatness. 
 
 Mr. Dolge is now the head of the great firm of Alfred Dolge & Son ; a partner in 
 C. F. Zimmerman & Co., manufacturers of autoharps; and Daniel Green & Co., second 
 vice president of The Little Falls & Dolgeville Railroad, and in New York city, trustee 
 of The German Savings Bank, and member of the Republican and Liederkranz clubs. 
 
 By his marriage, Dec. 22, 1868, to Anna Auguste Horn, he has five children, 
 Rudolf, William, Ernst, Henry and Fritz Dolge. His home is now in New York city, 
 where he has become widely known and greatly respected. He is an interesting 
 speaker and has frequently been heard with profit before public assemblages in ex- 
 planation of economic questions. 
 
 JOHN DOLLARD, merchant, born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, March 15, 1840, 
 died in New York city, July 4, 1892. He was the son of Patrick Dollard, prominent as 
 a grain merchant and the owner of large real estate interests in the southern part of 
 this city. The father died about 1890, leaving a valuable estate. John attended the 
 public schools and finished his education in St. Peter's parochial school in the basement 
 of the church on Barclay street. A messenger and clerk in a Wall street bank about 
 six years, he then joined his father and succeeded him in the grain business, which he 
 managed with ability. His office was at 63 Pearl street. He was a vigorous, active 
 man, and at one time a member of Washington Engine Co., No. 20, in the old volunteer 
 days. He was married in 1868, to a daughter of John Galavan ; his wife and five 
 sons survived him, the latter being Patrick A. and Kerrin X. Dollard, both now grain 
 merchants; James J. Dollard, lawyer, John and Edward Dollard. 
 
 WILLIAM PROCTOR DOUGLAS, capitalist, born in October, 1842, in New York 
 city, is a son of George Douglas, gentleman farmer, who, born in 1792 and a descend- 
 ant of the great Scottish family of Douglas, spent most of his life on a large estate 
 at Douglaston, L. I. The family sold their lands in Scotland and bought property in 
 America. William received his education in Edinburgh, Scotland. The town house 
 of the family was at 26-28 Park Place, this property being yet one of the many pieces 
 of realty owned by Mr. Douglas in this city. When Park Place filled up with stores, the 
 family moved to i4th street, where they occupied a large mansion, situated in grounds 
 comprising nine city lots, which, superbly kept, were for years the talk of the town. 
 Every lover of art remembers this mansion as long the home of The Metropolitan 
 Museum of Art before its removal to Central Park. Mr. Douglas inherited from his 
 father the manor of about 270 acres at Douglaston, Little Neck Bay, Long Island, and 
 a large amount of property in this city. He has managed his estate capably and is a 
 director in The Greenwich and The North River Insurance Go's, and a stockholder in 
 several banks. Mr. Douglas is known all over the world for his patriotic efforts in the 
 defense of the America's Cup against British challengers. The Sappho which defeated 
 the Livonia in 1871 was his boat. For a later contest, James Gordon Bennett and he 
 built the Priscilla. In 1879, he married Adelaide L., daughter of Effingham Townsend, 
 the dry goods auctioneer. Their children are Edith Sybil and James Gordon Douglas. 
 
200 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Mr. Douglas belongs to the best clubs of the United States and Europe, including the 
 Metropolitan, Union, Racquet, Tuxedo, Coaching, Lambs', Country, Carteret Gun, 
 New York Yacht, Corinthian Yacht, Douglaston Yacht, Austrian Yacht, Westminster 
 Kennel, New York Athletic, Palmer Island, Rockaway Hunt, and Meadow Brook. 
 
 DAVID DOWS, one of the most distinguished merchants of his time, was born on 
 a farm in Saratoga county, N. Y., Nov. 16, 1814, and died in New York city, March 30, 
 1890. The Dows or Dowse family, which originated in the neighborhood of Colchester 
 and Billerica in Essex, England, was of the strict Puritan type, and one of its members, 
 Eleazar, served as a Colonel under Oliver Cromwell in the army of the Common- 
 wealth. About 1630, Ebenezer and Maximilian Dowse, brothers of Eleazar, sought 
 freedom of worship in the Colonies, and under the leadership of Governor Winthrop 
 aided in the founding of Boston. Later, Ebenezer settled in Charlestown, Mass., and 
 from him was descended Eleazar (father of David Dows), who was born in 1764. Be- 
 coming a soldier in the War of the Revolution, Eleazar served under General Sullivan 
 in Rhode Island and subsequently at West Point under the command of Benedict 
 Arnold. In 1788, he established himself on a farm near Schenectady, in what was then 
 a wilderness. His ability, energy, and decision of character soon brought him success 
 and made him the leading man in his part of the county. By his marriage with Linda, 
 daughter of Capt. John Wright, of Ballston (an officer of the Continental army), he be- 
 came the father of six sons and six daughters. David Dows was the youngest of the sons. 
 
 David worked on his father's farm and attended the district school until he became 
 fourteen years of age. Then, in accordance with the example of his older brothers, he 
 decided to leave home and make his way in the world. His first step in this direction 
 was to obtain a clerkship in a dry goods store in Albany, one of the duties of which was, 
 to open the shop every morning and make as attractive as possible a display of goods 
 in the show window. It is not without interest to note that the compensation for his 
 services, which were rendered with characteristic energy and intelligence, was $100, 
 $150, and $250 per annum respectively, in the first, second and third years of his ser- 
 vice, and that he boarded and clothed himself. 
 
 While David was thus employed, his brother John, a man of remarkable business 
 sagacity and strength of character, was building up a profitable business as a forwarder 
 of grain, first on the Mohawk river, later on the Erie Canal, with headquarters in New 
 York. Feeling that he could make use of his brother's services, John, in 1832, invited 
 David to take a clerkship in his firm of Dows & Gary, which was gradually withdrawing 
 from the transportation business in order to attend to the rapidly growing commission 
 business which had been undertaken. Various changes now_occurred in the composi- 
 tion and name of the firm, and in 1837, at the age of twenty-three, David was admitted to 
 partnership in the newly constituted house of Dows & Cary. In 1844, John Dows died 
 and David continued the business with Mr. Cary as an equal partner. In the following- 
 year, in the midst of the universal money stringency, Dows & Cary were compelled to 
 suspend payment on those acceptances, which, owing to the failure of certain country 
 dealers to forward the produce, had not been covered by shipments of property. Owing 
 to the confidence of their creditors, they were enabled almost immediately to resume 
 business, and in the following year, one of unusual activity and large profits, the firm 
 proved that this confidence was well placed, because it paid all its obligations, dollar 
 for dollar with interest, including those which had been legally compounded. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DO. 2O1 
 
 An important event now occurred. Mr. Gary was forced by ill health to leave 
 active business, and the management of the house fell to Mr. Dows. This was Mr. 
 Dows's opportunity and he grasped it with a firm hand. Following a broad and bold 
 policy, he made large advances on property shipped to him from the interior and suc- 
 ceeded in opening up new and important avenues of trade. His integrity, sound judg- 
 ment and high credit soon made Dows & Gary, and the new firm of David Dows & Co., 
 formed on the death of Mr. Gary in 1854, by the admission of Mr. Dows's nephew, 
 John D. Mairs, the most prominent commission house in New York. Indeed, the 
 business of the firm grew to such proportions that Mr. Dows, in spite of an iron consti- 
 tution, felt the need of relief from detail work, and on this account made certain 
 changes both in the composition and name of the firm, which resulted, in 1861, in the 
 admission of Alexander E. Orr (a nephew by marriage), and the restoration of the 
 name of David Dows & Co., which has been continued to the present time. The pres- 
 tige of the firm was soon yet farther increased by its survival in that fierce struggle for 
 financial existence, which marked the opening of the Civil War, and in which so many 
 business institutions went to the wall; and it was this moral influence, derived from 
 past successes, which made it natural that the agents of the Federal Government should 
 turn to David Dows & Co., for the help of which that government soon stood in need 
 in provisioning the large armies which it had in the field. The task to which Mr. Dows 
 had now to apply himself was the purchase of enormous quantities of provisions with- 
 out permitting the speculators, who sought to make excessive profits out of the govern- 
 ment's necessities, to run up the price of these provisions. This was done with signal 
 success and with absolute secrecy as to the nature of the transaction. 
 
 It was during the progress of these operations, involving, as they did, the disburse- 
 ment of many millions of dollars, that Secretary Chase took the first steps towards the 
 creation of the national bank system, the immediate purpose of which was to create a 
 market for the bonds of the government. The needs of the Treasury were press- 
 ing, and it was of the utmost importance to the country that the system suggested by 
 Mr. Chase should receive the confidence and support of the leaders in the financial 
 world. But when the Secretary came to New York and urged that a prominent 
 national bank should be at once organized, in order to secure the confidence of the 
 country in the new system, he was met on all sides with hesitancy and prediction of 
 failure. In this critical time, for it was indeed such, David Dows and a few others 
 came to the front and at once organized The Fourth National Bank with a capital of 
 $5,000,000. They agreed that the books should remain open just four days, and that 
 they would personally take all the stock which might remain unsubscribed for at the 
 end of that time. This determined support made the undertaking a success and was of 
 inestimable aid to the government in initiating a most admirable financial system. 
 The firmness with which this system has become established, makes it hardly possi- 
 ble for the younger generation of men to realize how much public spirit and pluck were 
 required to put it on its feet. 
 
 In the foregoing sketch, note has been taken of the chief features of Mr. Dows's 
 distinctive vocation, that of a merchant. It remains to make some mention of his 
 connection with the railroads and financial institutions of the country. When Mr. 
 Dows began his career as a merchant, the Erie Canal had just begun to make an 
 Eastern market for the produce of the lake bound States; and two years before he came 
 
202 
 
 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 to New York there were only twenty-three miles of railway in the country. For a 
 time, water transportation sufficed; but it soon became clear to Mr. Dows that the 
 fertility of the great West could be turned to practical account only by the develop- 
 ment of a great system of railways. He therefore began, some years before the Civil 
 War, to apply his restless energies and increasing capital to the construction and 
 development of railways in the West and Northwest, and in time took part in the con- 
 struction and direction of The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (of which he was long 
 vice president and in which he took especial pride and interest as an investor), The 
 Chicago & Northwestern, The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, The Chicago, St. Paul, 
 Minneapolis & Omaha, and The Union Pacific Railroads. He also in time became 
 a director of The Delaware & Hudson, and a promoter of The Chicago & Eastern 
 Illinois as well as of many smaller railway corporations. But it should be clearly 
 noted that Mr. Dows's work as a railway man was the logical outcome of his position 
 as a merchant, and was undertaken primarily as a means of making a great market in 
 the East for the produce of the West and of correspondingly increasing his business 
 as a merchant. And directly in line with this underlying plan was the establishment, 
 from time to time, of branch houses of David Dows & Co. in Chicago, Duluth, St. 
 Paul and Baltimore, the building of elevators in the West along important avenues of 
 traffic, and the erection of the Dows Stores on the Brooklyn water front. Similar con- 
 siderations, too, actuated Mr. Dows in bending his forces to the solution of the rapid 
 transit problem in New York city, for he felt that New York could not become the 
 commercial center of the United States and control the business of the West, unless 
 some provision were made for its more rapid growth, which was hindered by the 
 peculiar shape of Manhattan Island. From the first, he favored the construction of an 
 elevated road to be operated by steam, and after some discouragements with a cable 
 system, took an active part in organizing The New York Elevated Railroad Co. in 1872. 
 For ten years he took an energetic part in the control of this road and for several 
 years more remained a director of the new Manhattan Railway Co. 
 
 The latest period of Mr. Dows's business career is marked by his activity in the 
 world of finance, the natural result, first, of large wealth seeking investment, and, 
 secondly, of the demand of financial institutions for men of large and varied experience. 
 He thus helped to organize and direct The Corn Exchange, The Fourth National and 
 The Merchants' Banks, The Central Trust Co. of New York and The Union National 
 Bank of Chicago. He was identified with the management of many large insurance 
 companies, including The New York Life Insurance Co. and The North British & 
 Mercantile Insurance Co. (American branch), and for many years was president of the 
 New York Corn Exchange, from which developed the present Produce Exchange. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Dows was an unswerving Republican, who never forgot the great 
 work done by his party in the abolition of slavery and the preservation of the Union. 
 Though exceedingly liberal in matters of religion, he was a firm believer in the Protest- 
 ant Episcopal Church, and was for many years Senior Warden of St. George's. He 
 was interested in several charitable works, to which he gave liberally, but without 
 ostentation. 
 
 Hardly anybody came into relation with Mr. Dows, even casually, without being 
 sensibly impressed by his striking personality. The tall and commanding figure, the 
 massive head with its high and slightly retreating forehead, the quick, expressive eyes 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. 1)R. 203 
 
 shaded by their heavy brows, the prominent, well shaped nose and the large, firm 
 mouth, were unmistakable indications of the force, high spirit and intellectual vigor of 
 the man. But the impression which he created was not merely that which comes from 
 the possession of fine physical and mental powers, for his simple and courteous but 
 dignified manner exerted a charm, which it is difficult to describe, but which was the 
 expression of his kindly disposition and inborn refinement of nature. And yet it 
 would be a serious error to suppose that Mr. Dows took the world easily. No man 
 ever felt the seriousness of life more than he, and no man ever put more earnestness 
 into his work or could be more stern and unbending when occasion required. 
 
 Although it is a difficult task, it is always interesting to try to form some estimate 
 of the qualities which have enabled a man to do a great life work. The achievements 
 of David Dows were made possible by the possession of an extraordinarily vigorous 
 and penetrating intellect, of a fine sense of fairness and justice, of a singular combina- 
 tion of boldness and caution, and of an iron constitution, which was preserved until the 
 last by uniform moderation in living. To these characteristics were united an excep- 
 tional insight into human nature, undaunted courage in adversity, and, what is even 
 more rare, a balance of mind wholly undisturbed by repeated successes and due to the 
 entire absence of anything even allied to vanity. 
 
 Such were some of the chief traits of a man whose fortune it was to begin his 
 career in a time when the world was trembling with the impact of new moral, intellec- 
 tual and physical forces, and whose life, while given to commerce, was interwoven 
 with the growing fortunes of his country in such a way that every personal success was 
 at the same time, and in greater degree, a contribution to the material prosperity of the 
 country and the welfare of its people. 
 
 In 1852, Mr. Dows married Margaret E., daughter of Horatio Worcester, of New 
 York city. He was survived by his wife and seven children: Annie L., wife of Richard 
 M. Hoe; Linda, wife of George B. Cooksey; David Dows, jr.; Margaret W. , wife of 
 Dr. Carroll Dunham; Susan, wife of Dr. C. A. Herter; Mary, wife of Dr. E. K. 
 Dunham, and Tracy Dows. 
 
 JOSEPH WILHELtt DREXEL, banker, born in Philadelphia, Jan. 24, 1831, died 
 in New York city, March 25, 1888. His father was Francis M. Drexel, the banker. 
 Joseph was educated in the high school of his native city, and was soon admitted to 
 the bank of Drexel & Co. Shortly afterward, he engaged in business for himself in 
 Chicago. Owing to his popularity there, one of that city's finest avenues, the Drexel 
 Boulevard, was named after him. After his father's death, he returned to Philadelphia, 
 and in 1871, with Junius S. Morgan, of London, established in New York city the 
 banking house of Drexel, Morgan & Co., becoming its head. He was also at the head 
 of the Paris house of Drexel, Harjes & Co., and had an interest in The Philadelphia 
 Public Ledger. He retired from business in 1876, with a large fortune. Esteemed as 
 was Mr. Drexel among his business associates, it is not as a mere amasser of wealth 
 that his memory will endure. Highly cultivated, and deeply interested in musical and 
 artistic affairs, and in charities, he was closely connected with The Metropolitan 
 Museum of Art, and made liberal gifts to that institution, among them bejng some 
 early Italian paintings, collections of Egyptian casts, a collection of ancient musical 
 instruments, and a painting called " Harpsichord." He owned a large and valuable 
 library of books relating to music, which he bequeathed to the Lenox Library, was 
 
204 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 president of The Philharmonic Society, and a director of The Metropolitan Opera 
 House, a trustee of The Bartholdi Statue Fund, and treasurer of The Cancer Hospital. 
 He did much to make The American Museum of Natural History a complete institution 
 of its kind. Mr. Drexel's character and financial strength led to his election as 
 director of The Knickerbocker Trust Co., The American Bank Note Co., The Western 
 Car Co., The Model Tenement House Co., and The Metropolitan Trust Co. He owned 
 a large tract of land in Maryland, and called it " Klej Grange," the name being formed 
 from the initials of his four daughters' names. Having taught poor families how to farm 
 at this place, he would send them West. He kept an agent at the Tombs in New York 
 city to look after the families of poor convicts, and contributed largely to the support of 
 the Episcopal Church. He was married in 1865 to Lucy, daughter of Thomas Floyd 
 Wharton, and his wife and four daughters survived him, the latter being Katharine, 
 wife of Dr. Penrose, of Philadelphia; Lucy, wife of Eric B. Dahlgren; Elizabeth, wife 
 of John Winton Dahlgren; and Josephine Wharton Drexel. 
 
 EDMUND DRIQQS, warehouseman and insurance president, born in Columbia 
 county, N. Y., Feb. 25, 1809, died in Brooklyn, N. Y., July 31, 1889. His father was 
 a Connecticut farmer. First engaged in sloop navigation of the Hudson, then a grocer 
 and provisions merchant in the river trade at New York, he secured a situation after 
 the great fire of 1835 as weighing master and found profitable employment in weighing 
 the steel, wire and metal collected from the ruins of the great fire. Under Jesse Hoyt, 
 Collector of the Port, he was appointed Inspector of Customs. In 1840, he returned to 
 the grocery business at Broadway and Twelfth street, but in 1843 sold his store to 
 accept an appointment as Inspector of potash and pearl ash for New York city. He 
 was the last official of this class under State appointment. He then converted a part of 
 the premises, which he had used for inspection, into a storage warehouse, and this store 
 became the first bonded warehouse established under the United States law of 1846. 
 He conducted this store for three years. In 1848, he settled in Williamsburg, now a 
 part of Brooklyn, and was thereafter intimately identified with the affairs of the village, 
 being elected its president in 1850. In 1853, he helped organize The Williamsburg 
 Bank, which became The First National of Brooklyn, The Williamsburg Savings Bank 
 and The Williamsburg Fire Insurance Co. He was a director in each concern and 
 president of the latter until his death, excepting for a brief period, while serving as 
 Collector of Taxes. He was prominent in securing the consolidation of Williamsburg 
 and Brooklyn in 1854, served as Tax Collector of Brooklyn r 1859-65. 
 
 DENNING DUER, banker, born in Rhinebeck, N. Y., in December, 1812, died at 
 his home near Weehawken, N. J., March 10, 1891. The Duer family has been identified 
 with the history of the country and of New York city from the early Colonial days. 
 William Duer, grandfather of Denning, came to this country from Devonshire, England, 
 and in 1779 married Lady Catherine, daughter of Gen. William Alexander, Earl of 
 Stirling, of the Continental Army. An ardent patriot, Mr. Duer served his country as 
 Deputy Adjutant General of the New York militia and member both of the Provincial 
 Congress and Continental Congress. Judge William Alexander Duer, of Albany, son 
 of the latter, afterward president of Columbia College from 1829 to 1841, was a noted 
 man in his day. He married Maria Denning, their son being Denning Duer. The 
 young man came to New York city in his seventeenth year, to take a place as clerk in 
 the counting room of W. F. Gary & Co. Having, in 1837, married Caroline, daughter 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DU. 205 
 
 of James Gore King, he became a partner in the banking house of Prime, Ward & 
 King, one of the oldest in Wall street. The style of the firm was afterward changed 
 to James G. King & Sons, and later to James G. King's Sons. Of the latter firm, Mr. 
 Duer was senior member until failing health compelled his retirement in 1875. He was 
 a member of the Stock Exchange from 1843 until his death. Mr. Duer never entered 
 public life, but was a strong Republican, and one of the earliest members of the Union 
 club, joining in 1838. Mrs. Duer died in 1863. He left six children, Edward A., 
 James Gore King, William Alexander, and Denning Duer, jr. , and two daughters, and 
 was buried at Jamaica, L. I. , long the home of members of the Duer and King families, 
 where they have owned a large area of land since the days of the Revolution. 
 
 ANTHONY DUQRO, born in Alsace, France, in 1823, died in this city, Oct. 9, 
 1884. He came to America early in life, engaged in contract work, and owned the 
 stage line on Sixth avenue, which yielded him a large return. With a foresight, which 
 did great credit to his judgment, Mr. Dugro invested his savings mainly in real estate 
 in portions of the city, destined to become crowded with stores and residences, and, 
 as a result, left a large property to his children. In 1852, he was elected one of the 
 directors of the Alms House, which then had entire charge of the prisons and charities 
 of the city, being re-elected in 1857. In 1876, he served on the Democratic ticket as 
 elector. His children were Philip H., Jacob W. , and Francis A. Dugro, and Mrs. 
 Dorothea Buttles His son, PHILIP HENRY DUGRO, jurist, born in New York city, 
 Oct. 2, 1855, graduated from Columbia College in 1876 and from Columbia Law 
 School in 1878. He studied law in the office of John McKeon and Recorder Frederick 
 Smyth, and after being admitted to the bar, practiced his profession ably and success- 
 fully. He dealt largely in real estate, of which he inherited much from his father. 
 In 1878, he was elected to the Assembly from the XlVth District, as. a Democrat, and 
 declined a renomination. In 1880, after a sharp contest he defeated William Waldorf 
 Astor for Congress from the old VHth District. He declined a renomination and 
 renewed his practice, but was, in 1886, elected Judge of the Superior Court. In 1888, 
 he sought the Tammany nomination for Mayor, but through Mr. Croker's influence, 
 the office went to Hugh J. Grant. He has lately taken no active part in politics. He 
 is the owner of the Hotel Savoy on the Plaza at the. entrance to Central Park, which 
 was built 1890-92, and has been remarkably successful. Judge Dugro has joined the 
 Manhattan and University Athletic clubs. Married in 1876, he has two children, 
 Charles and Antonia. 
 
 ROBERT GRAHAF1 DUN, sole proprietor of The Mercantile Agency, at 314 Broad- 
 way, has gained his high financial standing by his extended system for reporting on 
 mercantile credits and by investments in real estate. 
 
 Mr. Dun descends from an excellent family of Scotland. For twenty years, his 
 grandfather, the Rev. James Dun, was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland in 
 Glasgow. His father, Robert Dun, received a fine education and was destined for the 
 ministry, but emigrated to America about 1815, settled in Virginia and engaged in 
 practical pursuits, afterward moving to Ohio. He married Lucy W. Angus, who was 
 also of Scotch parentage. Robert Graham Dun was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1826. 
 The young man was educated at the local district schools and academy, and at the age 
 of sixteen, at a salary of 2 a week, began life in the employment of a business house, 
 in which he soon rose to be a partner. In 1850, he removed to New York city, where 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DU. 207 
 
 he entered The Mercantile Agency then conducted by Tappan & Douglass. His zeal 
 in the work of the house, his fidelity to duty and intelligence, resulted, in 1854, upon 
 the retirement of Mr. Tappan, in Mr. Douglass admitting him to partnership under the 
 firm name of B. Douglass & Co. In 1859, Mr. Dun bought the interest of Mr. Doug- 
 lass. Realizing that there must be one controlling head in an organization so com- 
 plex and extended as that cf The Mercantile Agency, Mr. Dun has continued sole 
 proprietor of the business until the present day. 
 
 The immense expansion of the internal commerce of the United States which has 
 taken place since 1859, has rendered increasingly necessary the existence of The Mer- 
 cantile Agency. Under Mr. Dun's ownership, the business of the house has kept pace 
 with the times and grown with the growth of the country. As new cities sprang up in 
 the West and South, their enterprising merchants have felt the absolute necessity of the 
 services of an agency, which should devote its attention carefully to reporting upon 
 credits and incidentally to collections. A large number of branch offices have been 
 established by Mr. Dun, in almost every instance at the request of the local merchants, 
 until now the house is represented in all the distributing centers of the United States 
 and the Canadas and in the leading cities of Great Britain and continental Europe. At 
 many points, the local income is necessarily limited and insufficient to pay the actual 
 expenses of the local offices. Nevertheless, a staff is maintained at each center of trade, 
 thus better to report the locality and make the records for the whole country more accu- 
 rate and complete. An existence of over half a century has enabled The Mercantile 
 Agency of R. G. Dun & Co. to acquire an experience and accumulate an amount of 
 capital, which enable it to fulfil to the satisfaction of the mercantile community the 
 important duties which it is called on to discharge. The whole business world is 
 acquainted, to a greater or less extent, with its general purposes and system. The 
 Agency possesses many distinctive features of great interest, however, and it yearly 
 secures the support of a growing number of those whose business is such as to require 
 them to extend either confidence or credit. 
 
 Mr. Dun has never entered politics, or cared for political preferment. Away from 
 business, he enjoys the pleasures of social life. The winter season is spent by him in 
 New York at a comfortable home in the best residence section of Madison avenue, and 
 in the summer time, he is often seen at his handsome country house at Xarragansett 
 Pier. He is a member of both the Union League and the Manhattan clubs, which 
 are respectively the leading Republican and Democratic social organizations in New 
 York. He is a patron of some of the public institutions of the city. 
 
 DAVID DUNCAN, merchant, born in Scotland in 1819, died at his summer home 
 at Sea Bright, X. J., June 15, 1891. John Duncan, his father, brought the family to 
 America in 1830, and opened a store on Broadway, in this city, for the importation of 
 fancy groceries. David continued in this business all his life, and on his father's death, 
 became senior member of the firm, known as John Duncan's Sons, his partner being 
 his brother, John P. Duncan. In 1851, the retail branch was moved to i4th street. 
 About the year 1887, the firm discontinued the retail department, retaining only the 
 wholesale business. This was conducted for many years in Beaver street and in Col- 
 lege Place, but afterward removed to No. 43 Park Place. Mr. Duncan died unmarried. 
 He was a man of quiet tastes and retiring disposition, and a life long member of Rev. 
 Dr. John Hall's church. 
 
20 8 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 ROBERT DUNLAP, hatter, born in this city, Oct. 17, 1834, is the son of William 
 Dunlap, leather merchant from 1835 until his death in 1858. Robert attended the 
 public schools, and at the age of fourteen began life as an errand boy in a hat store. 
 An apprentice and then a salesman, he learned every branch of the trade, and in 1857, 
 established a hat store on his own account at No. 557 Broadway, and in 1859, when the 
 Fifth Avenue Hotel opened its doors, another store in that building. This was a bold 
 venture for the young man. He overtaxed his resources and fell into embarrassment, 
 but perseverance, industry and integrity won the day, and he has for twenty years past 
 made steady progress. His firm of R. Dunlap & Co., of which he is sole partner, are 
 now the leading hatters of New York city. He has branch stores in Chicago and Phila- 
 delphia, and authorized agents for the sale of his hats in all the principal cities. The 
 factory is in Brooklyn. Having once secured the confidence of the public, he has since 
 retained the lead in style and fashion of gentlemen's hats, and his business is now one 
 of the largest in the United States and very profitable. He is the largest owner in The 
 Lake Hopatcong Hotel & Land Improvement Co. Mr. Dunlap is a very capable man, 
 public spirited, a generous contributor to the museums and public institutions of the 
 city, and a valued member of several New York clubs, among them the New York, 
 Manhattan, Colonial, Lambs', New York Athletic, Larchmont Yacht and New York 
 Yacht clubs. By his marriage with a daughter of Dr. T. H. Burras of New York, Oct. 
 17, 1860, he is the father of four daughters and one son. 
 
 FREDERICK WILLIAfl DUNTON, railroad promoter, was born in Northville, 
 Sullivan county, N. H., June 9, 1851, and springs from a worthy and reputable family. 
 He began life, like thousands of other honest boys, as a farmer, clerk in a store and 
 clerk in a post office, finally at the age of sixteen going to Iowa, where he entered the 
 employment of Austin Corbin, remaining with him as clerk and partner for about 
 twenty years. His association with his intrepid partner has led him into railroad 
 enterprises, and he is a director of The Chicago & Ohio River, The Elmira, Cortland 
 & Northern, The New York & Rockaway Beach and The New York, Brooklyn & 
 Manhattan Beach, and other railroad companies. Mr. Dunton is a man of extremely 
 progressive ideas and untiring energy. His name is a household word on Long Island 
 where he now resides, and in the development of which he has played a prominent 
 part. He was among the first to perceive the merits of the bicycle principle as 
 adapted to railroads, and enjoys the distinction of being at the head of the first and 
 only bicycle electric railroad yet built, a section of which has recently been completed 
 near Patchogue. So fully has this road met the expectations of its builders and the 
 public, and so clearly has Mr. Dunton shown its special advantages for Long Island, 
 that the dream of a few has become the hope of the many, and subscriptions for its 
 extension indicate that it will soon be in active commercial operation between all impor- 
 tant points. In 1891, he served his fellow citizens of Queens county as chairman of the 
 Board of Supervisors. February 13, 1876, he married Emily M. Morgan in Brooklyn, 
 and they have four children, Lois, Emily, William and Katheryn. 
 
 CHARLES W. DURANT, railroad president, born in Hinsdale, Mass., April 23, 
 1821, died in New York city, April 5, 1885. He was the son of Thomas Durant, mer- 
 chant. At the age of fifteen, he entered the office of his uncle, Clark Durant, of the 
 firm of Durant & Lathrop, shippers of grain at Albany, N. Y., and when of age, took 
 the place of his uncle, who then retired, the firm becoming Durant, Lathrop & Co. , 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DU. 209 
 
 known for many years as the largest grain firm in the East. They were among the 
 first owners of towing boats on the Hudson River. In 1859, Mr. Durant became inter- 
 ested in The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and was its president for many 
 years. When his sons, Charles W. and Frederick C. Durant grew to manhood, he 
 engaged in the sugar refining business with them, under the name of Charles W. 
 Durant & Sons, in which he continued until failing health compelled his retirement. 
 His wife, Margaret L. , died in December, 1884. Their children were Thomas F., 
 Charles W., Frederick C., and Howard M. Durant, and Estelle, wife of Henry C. 
 Bowers. 
 
 THOflAS C. DURANT, fl. D., railroad builder, born in Lee, Berkshire county, 
 Mass., about 1820, died at his home in North Creek, Warren county, N. Y., Oct. 5, 
 1885. His father, Thomas Durant, was a merchant and manufacturer, and his grand- 
 father, William Durant, an officer in the American Revolution and a member of th.e 
 Boston Committee of Safety. Selecting medicine as a profession, Thomas entered the 
 Albany Medical College, and graduated at the age of twenty. After practicing three 
 years, he became a partner in the shipping firm of Durant, Lathrop & Co., of Albany, 
 who maintained branches in Boston, Chicago and New York, and agencies in different 
 parts of the country. Besides owning and employing a large number of vessels for 
 the transportation of merchandise, Dr. Durant had special charge of the New York 
 branch, and shipped largely to all the European ports. The business was carried on 
 with unexampled success until the breaking out of the French Revolution in 1848. 
 A knowledge of the resources of the great West induced Dr. Durant then to turn 
 his attention to railroad matters. He assisted materially in promoting The Michigan 
 Southern Railroad, and under contract helped construct The Chicago & Rock Island 
 and The Mississippi & Missouri Railroad. In 1862, after preliminary surveys of the 
 Platte valley for The Union Pacific Railroad, Dr. Durant procured the subscription of 
 two millions of stock, and in 1863-64, obtained from Congress important amendments 
 to the charter. During 1 864, he perfected the financial organization under which the 
 road was carried to completion. Immediately after laying the last rail, Dr. Durant 
 retired from The Union Pacific, and began the construction of the Adirondacks Rail- 
 way, of which he was president and general manager, until, his death. He left a wife 
 and daughter at North Creek, and a son, W. W. Durant. 
 
 GEN. HIRAM DURYEA, manufacturer, born in Manhasset, Long Island, April 
 12, 1834, is a lineal descendant, in the seventh generation, of Joost Durie, a French 
 Huguenot, who, with other refugees, settled in Manheim in the Palatinate and came 
 to this country with his wife, Magdalina Le Febre, in 1660. He died in Bushwick, 
 L. I., in 1727. Hiram's father, Hendrick Vanderbilt Duryea, born at Syosset, L. I., 
 Feb. 23, 1799, died April i, 1891, while his mother, born at Glen Cove., L. I., Sept. 
 12, 1801, died Jan. 9, 1881. The latter was a daughter of Zebulon Wright, a lineal 
 descendant of Peter Wright, who settled at Oyster Bay, L. I., in 1653, having 
 emigrated from Norfolk, England, to Massachusetts, in 1635. Hiram received a 
 common and private school education and gave much time to military studies. At 
 the age of twenty-one, he was taken into partnership with his father, under the 
 name of H. V. Duryea & Son, in the manufacture of starch. His brothers started 
 in the same business later, and the firm then merged their interests with the latter. 
 Located at Glen Cove, L. I., the company was known as The Glen Cove Starch Manu- 
 
AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 facturing Co. General Duryea was vice president of that company for many years, 
 and its president, when, in 1890, it sold and closed its business. He has since devoted 
 his time to personal affairs, except that he served for eighteen months as president of 
 The National Starch Co. He was commissioned by Governor Clark, Feb. 5, 1855, 
 ist Lieutenant of Artillery, 48th Regiment, N. Y. S. M. In consequence of a change 
 of residence he resigned July 22, 1857. Immediately after the firing on Fort Sumter, 
 he tendered his services to the State and was commissioned Captain in the 5th N. Y. 
 Inf., July 4, 1 86 1, and was promoted in August, at the request of superior officers, to 
 the rank of Major, and Sept. 7, 1861, to the Lieutenant Colonelcy. The Colonel of 
 the regiment was G. K. Warren, a grand man and able soldier, who afterward distin- 
 guished himself as a corps commander. For a short time Colonel Duryea commanded 
 the regiment. The sth served as engineers and artillerymen in Baltimore, building 
 there Fort Federal Hill and finishing Fort Marshall. In the siege of Yorktown, it 
 built and served batteries. In the Peninsula Campaign, by reason of its efficiency and 
 high record, the 5th was assigned to the division of regulars and thereafter acted 
 continuously with them until the end of its service. Colonel Duryea had the honor of 
 special mention in official reports for distinguished services in the siege of Yorktown, 
 and at the battle of Gaines Mills, Va., the first of the seven days' fights. He was 
 commissioned Colonel, Oct. 29, 1862, and May 26, 1866, brevet Brigadier General. In 
 consequence of permanent injuries, and serious illness, he resigned in November, 1862, 
 General Butterfield complimenting him highly in special orders. General Duryea is a 
 member of the United Service club and the Loyal Legion. His children are, H. H., 
 C. B., Anna E., and Milicent S. Duryea. 
 
 SAflUEL BOWNE DURYEA, realty owner and philanthropist, born in Brook- 
 lyn, March 27, 1845, died there June 7, 1892. He was the son of Harmanus Barkuloo 
 and Elizabeth Bowne Duryea, the latter the daughter of Samuel Bowne. After an 
 education in the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and the University of the City of 
 New York, he entered the Yale Theological Seminary, but did not finish there, because 
 property interests demanded his immediate attention. By inheritance from the Bowne 
 family, Mr. Duryea came into the ownership of a large amount of real estate in Brook- 
 lyn, which he managed with sagacity and success. He was noted for philanthropic and 
 progressive spirit. All the leading public institutions of Brooklyn were actively pro- 
 moted by him, and his action for the preservation of forests, streams and fish, made 
 him a valuable citizen. He wrote many thoughtful essays on personal character and 
 education. Sept. 23, 1869, he married in Milwaukee, Wis.~~ r Kate, daughter of Walter 
 P. Flanders, a lawyer of position. In his will he bequeathed much property to his 
 wife and relatives, but left a large tract of land, in trust, for schools, churches and 
 societies. 
 
 WRIGHT DURYEA, starch manufacturer, born on Long Island in 1824, died at 
 his home at Glen Cove, Sept. 17, 1889. He was the oldest of seven sons of Hendrick 
 V. Duryea. He began life as a civil and mechanical engineer. In 1855, his father, his 
 brother Hiram and he with others, established The Glen Cove Starch Manufacturing 
 Co. Mr. Duryea was an inventor in various fields, and his originality was shown in 
 the manufacture of starch and discoveries in the science of electricity. Mr. Duryea 
 was twice married. His second wife, and two sons, Louis T. and Frank Duryea, sur- 
 vived him. Mr. Duryea's will provided that his monument should be a large, rough, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. DU. 211 
 
 natural boulder, not less than 4,000 pounds in weight, as in some sense indicating his 
 life, inscribed with his name, age, date and cause of death. 
 
 JOHN BOWDISH DUTCHER, railroad manager, was born Feb. 13, 1830, in Dover, 
 Dutchess county, N. Y. His father, David Dutcher, died June 9, 1853, and his 
 mother, Amy Bowdish Dutcher, died June 5, 1875. His paternal grandfather came 
 to this country from Holland, while his mother's family were Massachusetts people. 
 Mr. Dutcher obtained his education chiefly in the common schools, was reared as a 
 farmer and has always been a farmer. He remained on the farm until April, 1861, 
 when he removed to the adjoining town of Pawling, where he has since resided. In 
 1857, he was made Supervisor of Dover and the ensuing year Justice of the Peace. 
 In politics, originally a Whig, upon the organization of the Republican party, he 
 attached himself to them, and is yet a stout advocate of their principles, having been, 
 during the war, an active and zealous partisan of the Union cause. He was a member of 
 the Assembly in 1861 and 1862, and of the State Senate in 1864 and 1865. Since 1864, 
 he has been a director of The New York & Harlem Railroad, and in 1865 took charge 
 of the department of live stock transportation on The New York Central & Hudson 
 River Railroad. He is president of The Union Stock Yard & Market Co. of New York 
 and prominently identified with other corporations, being a director of The Spuyten. 
 Duyvil Railroad, The Poughkeepsie & Eastern Railroad, The New York & Putnam 
 Railroad, The American Safe Deposit Co., The Fifth Avenue Bank, The Mizzen Top 
 Hotel Co., at Quaker Hill, and president of The National Bank of Pawling. He is also 
 a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Produce Exchange, the Union League 
 club, and the St. Nicholas Society of New York city, and president of the village of 
 Pawling and The New York State Agricultural Society. Not the least of Mr. 
 Dutcher's labors has been a successful effort for the improvement of the village of 
 Pawling. He has devoted a portion of his time to the management of his farm property, 
 and is now the owner of 1,600 acres of fine grazing land in Dutchess county, stocked 
 with thoroughbred cattle and horses. In 1860, he married Miss Christina, daughter of 
 the late Daniel Dodge, of Pawling. To them was born one son, J. Gerow Dutcher, 
 who now manages the stock farms and other interests at Pawling. In April, 1894, he 
 married Helen Titus Willets, daughter of Edward Willets, of Roslyn, L. I. 
 
 AMOS T. DWIQHT, merchant, born in New Haven, Conn., died in New York 
 city, Feb. 6, 1881, in his seventy-fourth year. When a young man, he went to New 
 Orleans and established himself in the clothing business under the firm name of 
 Dwight, Trowbridge & Co. In 1848, he came to New York and started the firm 
 of Trowbridge, Dwight & Co. on Chambers street. About 1865, he became a mer- 
 chant of cotton in Hopkins, Dwight & Trowbridge, and continued in that vocation 
 until 1878, when he retired with a large fortune, although retaining his interest in the 
 firm. He was a director of The Home Fire Insurance and The Commercial Mutual 
 Marine Insurance Co.'s, and a trustee of The Madison Square Presbyterian Church. 
 He left one son, Frederick A. Dwight, and a daughter, Jeannette Atwater, wife of 
 George T. Bliss. 
 
E 
 
 WILLIAM PITT EARLE, hotel proprietor, in his day a famous New York hotel 
 keeper, was born in Worcester, Mass., about 1812, and died in this city, Jan. 2, 1894. 
 Mr. Earle entered upon business life early and made his way with much energy. When 
 he opened Earle's Hotel on Park Row, he began those operations, which, owing to 
 his foresight and sagacity, were marked with almost monotonous success. In recent 
 years, he conducted Earle's Hotel on Canal street at the corner of Centre street, and 
 invested his earnings mainly in real estate in different parts of the city, which advanced 
 greatly in value. He was one of the originators of The National Park Bank and The 
 Consumers' Ice Co. His wife and five children survived him, the latter being William 
 H., Gen. Ferdinand P., Eugene M., and Frank T. Earle and Emma Louise, wife of 
 John L. Chadwick. The sons are all hotel men. Gen. Ferdinand P. Earle, formerly 
 of Earle's Hotel and lately proprietor of the Hotel New Netherland, now conducts the 
 Normandie and a summer hotel of the same name on the New Jersey coast, is a man 
 remarkable for public spirit, and has lately bought the famous mansion of Madame 
 Jumel, in which he lives on Washington heights. He was a member of the military 
 staff of Governor Flower. 
 
 TIMOTHY C. EASTHAN, merchant, born about 1821, died at his home, Tarry- 
 town, N. Y. , Oct. n, 1893. He began life poor, working along the river front, where 
 he became familiar with the handling of cattle in transportation, and showed so much 
 energy that a position was given him on The New York Central & Hudson River Rail- 
 road. In the course of time, he was placed in charge of all the cattle business of the 
 company. Having saved some means, he went into business for himself, and gained 
 fortune by effecting a revolution in the methods for supplying England with American 
 beef. He not only shipped thousands of live cattle to England and whole cargoes of 
 fresh beef in refrigerating chambers by steamship, but promoted retail market stores 
 in all parts of the United Kingdom. In 1889, he founded The Eastman's Co., with a 
 capital of $750,000 to carry on this trade, and was its president, his son Joseph being 
 treasurer. Large abbatoirs were established at the foot of West S9th street. He was 
 a director in The West Side Bank and a member of the Produce Exchange. He was 
 survived by his wife, Mrs. Lucy P. Eastman, and his children, Joseph Eastman and 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Bell. Mr. Eastman belonged to the Manhattan, New York and Law- 
 yers' clubs, and The New England Society. 
 
 THOHAS ALVA EDISON, inventor, was born Feb. n, 1847, in Alva, O. His 
 only schooling was given him by his mother, who had been a teacher. When twelve 
 years old, the lad went to work as a newsboy on The Grand Trunk Railroad, and, 
 during leisure moments on the train, managed to study qualitative analysis and 
 diversify existence in the baggage car with chemical experiments. A grateful 
 station master, whose child he had saved from death at the risk of his own life, taught 
 him telegraphy, and he soon became a skillful operator. While yet a boy, he invented 
 the "automatic repeater." In 1864, the possibility of sending two messages at once 
 over the same wire, suggested itself to his mind; and he perfected an invention for 
 this purpose in 1872, developing it not only to duplex but even sextuplex transmission. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ED. 
 
 213 
 
 
 In 1871, he came to New York, and was made superintendent of The Gold & Stock 
 Telegraph Co., inventing for it the quotation ticker. He established a large workshop 
 in Newark, X. J. , for the making of his machines, but, in 1876, transferred his mechanical 
 interests to the hamlet of Menlo Park, N. J. , where he devoted himself to inventing. 
 Among his new devices have been the carbon telephone transmitter, the microtasi- 
 meter, aerophone, megaphone, phonograph, phonometer, and the incandescent electric 
 lamp. The last he brought out in December, 1879, within a year after leading English 
 scientific men had testified that sub-division of the electric light was an impossibility. 
 His perfection of the small incandescent electric lamp has effected "a revolution in the 
 lighting of business buildings and hotels. In 1878, he received the degree of Ph. D. 
 from Union College, and during the same year was made an officer of the Legion of 
 Honor by the French Government. He is a member of The Ohio Society, Press and 
 Essex Count}' Country clubs, and The Theosophical Society. Since 1885, he has lived 
 in Lle%vellyn Park, N. J. Mr. Edison was married in 1873 to Miss Mary Stilwell, 
 daughter of N. Stilwell. In 1881, he was left a widower, and in 1885, he again 
 married, his wife being Miss Minna M., daughter of Lewis Miller, of Akron, O. Mr. 
 Edison is a director in a large number of companies, founded upon his patents, and 
 owner of works for electrical manufacture and experiment. He is one of the few 
 inventors who have profited by their inventions. His telegraph patents yielded at one 
 time a large royalty, and his electric light appliances have brought him wealth. His 
 latest device is the kinetoscope. 
 
 FRANKLIN EDSON, merchant, was born in Chester, Vt., April 5, 1832, and 
 received a common school education. When nineteen years old, he went to Albany, 
 N. Y., where he was associated with his brother Cyrus in a distiller}' until 1866. In 
 that year he removed to New York, and established himself in the grain commission 
 business, by which and in real estate operations, he has since amassed a fortune. Three 
 times president of the Produce Exchange, namely, in 1873, 1874, and 1878, he has been 
 distinguished for public spirit and active leadership in the movement for free canals. 
 His political affiliations have been with the County Democracy, and in 1882, he was 
 elected Mayor of the city. He is i member of the Manhattan club and The New Eng- 
 land Society, and has been for many years a director of The Bank of New York. In 
 1856, he married Fannie C., daughter of Benjamin Wood, of Bath, N. Y., and has had 
 seven children, Cyrus Edson, M. D., Health Commissioner of New York; David O., 
 Franklin. Henry Townsend, Robert Stewart, Edith, and Ethel Townsend Edson. 
 
 JOHN EICHLER, brewer, born at Rothenburg, Bavaria, Oct. 20, 1829, died in 
 Goellheim, Bavaria, Aug. 4, 1892. Having, in his native place, served an apprentice- 
 ship in the employment of Brewer Ott, he became a journeyman, toiled in various 
 great German breweries, and then, in 1854, came to this country. He obtained 
 employment as brew-master in Franz Ruppert's old Turtle Bay Brewer} 7 on 47th street, 
 in this city. After a time, Mr. Eichler managed to start a little brewery of his own in 
 partnership with a friend. Later, he purchased Kolb's Brewer}', a small establishment 
 which stood where the huge concern of The John Eichler Brewing Co. now does. This 
 company, incorporated Feb. 17, 1888, with a capital of $600,000, owns property now 
 worth far more than that amount and does a very large business. Mr. Eichler married 
 Marie Siegel of Goellheim, in New York, Nov. 2, 1856, and his only child, Minnie 
 Augusta, died when not six years old. He was a member of various brewers' associa- 
 
214 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 tions, the Produce Exchange, the Arion and Liederkranz clubs, and many other social 
 organizations. Honest, straightforward and sensible, he was highly regarded. 
 
 LEWIS EINSTEIN, banker and manufacturer, who originated in Wurtemburg, 
 Germany, was born, Sept. 6, 1812, and died April 22, 1874. Coming to the United 
 States in July, 1835, Mr. Einstein spent nearly forty years in the successful pursuit 
 of banking and the manufacture of woolen goods. He was for many years a resident 
 of Cincinnati. Few men display more enterprise and sound judgment than did he 
 and The Raritan Woolen Mills became an important property under his management. 
 To him and his wife, Judith Lewis of Charleston, S. C., were born six sons and five 
 daughters. His son, DAVID LEWIS EINSTEIN, manufacturer, was born in Cincin- 
 nati, O., May 20, 1839, but has been a resident of New York city since childhood, and 
 has followed his father's vocation all his life. His fortune has been derived partly 
 from the manufacture and sale of woolen goods, but mainly from successful transactions 
 in real estate, of which he is a large buyer. He is a shrewd and capable man, and 
 part proprietor of extensive woolen mills in Raritan, N. J. He has various other 
 corporate interests, and is a member of the Republican club and supporter of The 
 American Museum of Natural History and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. 
 Einstein, in 1870, married Miss Caroline Fatman, daughter of A. Fatman, of this city. 
 Their children are Lewis D. Einstein, Mrs. Theodore Seligman and Amy Einstein. 
 EDWIN EINSTEIN, another son of the late Lewis Einstein, born in Cincinnati, Nov. 
 18, 1842, was brought by his parents to New York, when four years old. Here he 
 graduated from the old Free Academy, and then received a full course at Union 
 College. He began life as clerk in his father's woolen mill, and, when thirty years 
 old was a mill owner. He is yet interested in The Raritan Woolen Mills and the Ivan- 
 hoe, Va., iron mills, concerns which employ about 3,000 persons. It is worthy of note 
 that there has never been a strike among the employes of either. Mr. Einstein has 
 also been largely connected with banking interests. Although not so actively engaged 
 in business as formerly, he is president of The Swan Incandescent Electric Light .Co. , 
 and a director in The Alabama Mineral Land Co., and The Brush-Swan Electric Light 
 Co. In 1878, he was elected to the Forty-sixth Congress, and declined a renomination, 
 which was tendered to him. In 1892, the Republicans of New York city placed him 
 in nomination for the Mayoralty, and gave him 98,000 votes. In 1895, he became a 
 Commissioner of Docks. He is a member of the Union League club and The Union 
 College Alumni, vice president of the Sigma Phi club, and a ^genial, public spirited and 
 agreeable man. In 1877, Mr. Einstein was married to Miss Fanny Hendricks. 
 
 DANIEL RIKER ELDER, merchant, a native of New York city, born July 7, 
 1838, died April 25, 1875. The youngest son of George and Hannah Eliza Elder, he 
 was through the paternal line of English descent, and through his mother's family, the 
 Rikers, of Dutch ancestry. He was educated at Yale college, and began life as a 
 wholesale grocer in the firm of George Elder & Sons, previously known as Elder & 
 Painter. The trade of the firm brought him a fortune. Always genial and popular, 
 he gained by travel a wide acquaintance with affairs and his conversation revealed a 
 well informed mind. He made one tour around the world, and spent two winters in 
 Italy and Austria. The survivors of his family were his sisters, Mrs. Julia Baldwin 
 Adams, Mrs. Mary Louisa Havemeyer, and Jane Painter Elder. 
 
 GEORGE W. ELDER, merchant, who died at his residence in this city, March 25, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. EL. 215 
 
 1873, in his forty-fifth year, was one of the able merchants of New York, and a capable, 
 conscientious and clear headed man. During his active life, he devoted himself to the 
 care of the large wholesale grocery business, founded by his father, George Elder, to 
 the control of which he had succeeded. Toward the latter part of his life, when ill 
 health had compelled him to relinquish the engrossing duties of his trade, he devoted 
 his time, when able, to the affairs of The Old Dominion Steamship Co., of which he 
 was vice president for a number of years. He was a man of quiet and domestic 
 tastes and never cared for public life. His widow and several children survived him. 
 
 JOSEPH LAWRENCE ELDER, sugar refiner, born in Hester street, in this city, 
 Jan. 24, 1832, died in Stamford, Conn., on the isth of August, 1868. ' He belonged to 
 the family of that name, long prominent in this city, which came originally from Man- 
 chester, in England. As a boy, employed in the store of Elder & Painter, whole- 
 sale grocers in Dey street, he grew up in this vocation, became a partner of his father 
 and his brother George in a large wholesale grocery and sugar trade, and distinguished 
 himself by a corner in sugar, which was managed with great skill and success. About 
 1862, he was admitted to partnership by his father in law, Frederick C. Havemeyer, 
 in the sugar refining business, under the name of Havemeyer & Elder, and it was in 
 part through his marked energy and ability that his concern rose to eminence in the 
 refining of raw sugars. Jan. 18, 1858, he married Miss Mary O. Havemeyer, and 
 was the father of Minnie, wife of McCoskry Butt, and Frederick H. Elder. He was 
 thoroughly interested in whatever would promote the welfare of New York city, and 
 served in the Amity Hose Co. and the State militia. 
 
 HENRY ELIAS, brewer, who died in Wilhelmshohe, Germany, Feb. 26, 1888, 
 made his fortune in this city in the brewing trade. The influx of German population 
 to the United States during the last thirty years has created a remarkable demand for 
 malt liquors, and the presence of several hundred thousand Germans in the city of 
 of New York has created an important local market. Mr. Elias gradually developed a 
 large business, which is now incorporated as The Henry Elias Brewing Co. He was a 
 member of the Produce Exchange and was survived by his wife and several children. 
 
 STEPHEN BENTON ELKINS, lawyer, financier, Secretary of War in the Cabinet 
 of President Harrison, and now United States Senator, a man of striking appearance, 
 exceptional ability and unlimited capacity for work, has gained for himself by his own 
 talents and application, an honorably attained fortune. He was born in Perry 
 county, Ohio, Sept. 26, 1841, his father being a farmer. During his early boyhood, 
 the family moved to Missouri. Mr. Elkins received an excellent education in the 
 public schools and at the University of the State, and displayed ambition even in 
 school, where he applied himself so diligently as to attract attention. He graduated in 
 1860, at the head of his class. After fitting himself for practice of the law, he was ad- 
 mitted to the bar in 1863 During the war, he joined the Union forces, and for a while 
 served on the Missouri border, with the rank of captain. 
 
 The spirit of adventure and a desire to practice his profession in a field which was 
 not over crowded, led him in 1864 to cross the plains to New Mexico, then a rough 
 border country, inhabited by a population two-thirds of whom were Spanish. The 
 life of the territory was full of hardship and danger at that time but presented 
 opportunities for success to an enterprising man. Finding it necessary, at once, to 
 master the Spanish language, Mr. Elkins became proficient in that tongue within 
 
- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. EL. 
 
 2I 7 
 
 one year. Stalwart and capable, he soon attracted important clients and a large prac- 
 tice, and gained popularity and influence. In 1866, he was elected to the Legislature. 
 His speeches in that body revealed great force of character and devotion to the welfare 
 of the territory. In 1867. he rose to the position of Attorney General of New Mexico. 
 
 In 1868, President Johnson appointed Mr. Elkins to be United States District 
 Attorney of the territory, and he was one of the few officials of that administration 
 whom President Grant did not remove. In this position, it fell to the lot of Mr. Elkins 
 to enforce the act of Congress, prohibiting slavery or involuntary servitude in the ter- 
 ritories of the United States, and he had the satisfaction of restoring, to liberty several 
 thousand peons, who were then held in practical slavery by the Mexican residents. He 
 was the first public official to enforce this law, and performed his task in the face of 
 serious opposition, against the prejudices of the rich and influential and under threats 
 of personal violence. 
 
 In 1869, Mr. Elkins was elected president of The First National Bank of Santa 
 Fe and held this position for thirteen years His income from law practice and other, 
 sources was large and, being careful in his expenditures, at an early day he was enabled 
 to invest large sums of money in lands and mines, soon taking rank as one of the 
 largest land proprietors in the country and an extensive owner in the silver mines of 
 Colorado. 
 
 In 1873, Mr. Elkins received an election as Delegate from New Mexico to Con- 
 gress, defeating his opponent, a Mexican, by 4,000 majority. In Congress he served 
 his constituents so well, that, in 1875, while travelling in Europe, notwithstanding a 
 positive refusal to accept the office again, his district re-elected him handsomely to 
 the XLIVth Congress. He could do no less than accept the honor thus bestowed 
 and serve a second term. In Congress, he quickly gained prominence by industry, 
 ability and effective support of important measures. During his second term, he 
 was especially untiring in efforts to secure the admission of New Mexico as a State. 
 An elaborate speech, setting forth the resources and claims of the then little known 
 territory, gained for him a national reputation. 
 
 While in Congress, Mr. Elkins married a daughter of ex-Senator Henry G. 
 Davis of West Virginia, a woman of great refinement and social ability. 
 
 Four years of experience in Washington brought Mr. Elkins well into the arena of 
 public affairs. From the beginning, an active, earnest and aggressive Republican, he 
 favored especially the policy of protection to American industry. His advocacy of con- 
 structive measures made him, during his first term in Congress, one of the leaders of 
 his party, and in 1875, a member of the Republican National Committee. Upon this 
 committee, he served during three Presidential campaigns. In 1884, the executive 
 committee elected him chairman. A warm and intimate friendship soon sprang up be- 
 tween James G. Elaine and Mr. Elkins, and the latter was influential in bringing about 
 the nomination of Mr. Elaine for the Presidency in 1884. He was equally instrumental 
 in the nomination of Benjamin Harrison in 1888 and 1892. 
 
 Dec. 17, 1891, he became Secretary of War under President Harrison. He was 
 especially well fitted to perform the duties of this office, having had a large acquaint- 
 ance with the affairs of the War Department in the West. His appointment brought 
 into the service of the army, a man of intellectual strength, an excellent organizer 
 and a courteous gentleman. He was invariably. cordial and obliging to persons engaged 
 
2i8 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 in public business, and exceedingly helpful to Senators and Members. Patient in inves- 
 tigation, prompt in decision, and sincerely desirous of promoting the welfare of the 
 army, he proved a successful and useful Secretary of War. 
 
 Mr. Elkins's reputation does not rest entirely upon his public services. His pro- 
 gress in the field of business and finance has been marked. About' 1878, he removed 
 from New Mexico to West Virginia, and there devoted himself, in company with ex- 
 Senator Davis, to the development of the railroads of the State, and the coal and timber 
 lands of the Cumberland region. While practical affairs soon compelled him to aban- 
 don legal practice in the courts, yet he has always retained his interest in the law and 
 superintends all legal matters connected with his various enterprises. Success has fol- 
 lowed effort in these enterprises, but it should be mentioned, that while adding to some 
 extent to his private fortune, Mr. Elkins has conferred upon the people of his adopted 
 State far greater benefits than he has received. He has been vice president of The 
 West Virginia Central & Pittsburgh Railway Co. since its organization, and of The 
 Piedmont & Cumberland Railroad, and is president of The Davis Coal & Coke Co. 
 Through his agency large amounts of capital have been brought into the State and 
 employment provided for thousands of men. 
 
 In December, 1892, Mr. Elkins received the complimentary vote of the Republi- 
 cans of the Legislature of West Virginia for United States Senator. A forcible or- 
 ator, he has made many public addresses, all of which have shown originality, public 
 spirit, and thorough acquaintance with economic and political questions. During 
 the campaign of 1894, he led the Republicans of West Virginia in the struggle, which 
 for the first time since the period of reconstruction broke the Solid South. Congress- 
 man Wilson, in whose district Mr. Elkins resides, was defeated by a decisive majority ; 
 four Republicans were elected to Congress ; the Legislature was made Republican by 
 twenty-nine majority on joint ballot ; and the State carried by 13,000 majority. Asa 
 result of this revolution, the Legislature elected Mr. Elkins United States Senator in 1895. 
 
 His home is the beautiful country seat of " Halliehurst," at Elkins, in Randolph 
 county, W. Va. This large mansion stands upon a mountain site of unusual beauty, 
 commanding a magnificent view of the valley beneath and the forests and mountain 
 peaks which frame the scene The house, four stories high, with towers, seems from a 
 distance greatly like an old time castle. A porch surrounds the structure on three 
 sides, and the main hall, fifty-eight feet long by twenty-five feet wide, indicates the 
 size of the other apartments. 
 
 During his casual residence in New York, where his Imsiness affairs required 
 him to pass much of his time, he associated himself with many local interests, 
 thoroughly in accord with his energetic nature, and became a member of the 
 Union League, Republican, Ohio, United Service, Metropolitan and Manhattan Ath- 
 letic clubs, and the Southern Society. Like other public spirited citizens, he also con- 
 tributed to the support of those favorite projects of refined New Yorkers, The Metro- 
 politan Museum of Art, and The American Museum of Natural History, as well as 
 The American Geographical Society. 
 
 A man of strong and sturdy build, more than six feet in height, with fine features, 
 and a large head set firmly on powerful shoulders, he is yet in the prime of life and an 
 active force in affairs. His favorite room at home is his library, and he spends most of 
 his time there, in the company of a large and well selected collection of books. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. EL. 219 
 
 JOHN ELLIS, M. D., oil refiner, a native of Ashfield., Mass., born Nov. 26, 1815, 
 is a son of Dimick Ellis, a farmer, and a great grandson of the founder of the family in 
 America, who came from Dublin, Ireland, at the age of twelve. It is supposed that 
 the family originated in Wales After a course of study in the academies of Ashfield 
 and Shelburne Falls, he graduated as a physician from the Berkshire Medical College 
 in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1842. Dr. Ellis practiced the healing art in Chesterfield, Mass., 
 a year; in Grand Rapids, Mich., two years; in Detroit, Mich., fifteen years; and in New 
 York city about thirteen years. After more than thirty years of practice of an honor- 
 able profession and at an age when most men begin to think of retiring from responsi- 
 bilities of an exacting nature, Dr. Ellis, who had learned through his scientific studies 
 many things not connected with the influence of drugs upon the human system, 
 resolved to embark in practical business pursuits. In 1874, therefore, with moderate 
 capital, in union with his son, Wilbur D. Ellis, and his wife's nephew, Theodore M. 
 Leonard, he established an oil refinery in South Brooklyn, under the name of John 
 Ellis & Co., and began refining petroleum by a process of his own invention. The 
 venture was successful. In 1881, the firm bought a plot of land at Edgewater, N. J., 
 directly opposite Grant's tomb, and removed the works to that place and developed 
 them into a large plant. Their production is largely in the nature of lubricating oils. 
 In spite of the risks to which this business is exposed, and an occasional fire, Mr. Ellis 
 has made steady progress, and has gained a fortune, owing largely to the activity of 
 his partners in finding a market for the product of the works. Mr. Ellis has an interest 
 in various corporations but holds no office in them. In 1843, ne was united in marriage 
 in Chesterfield, Mass., to Mary E. Coit, who died in Detroit in 1850. In 1851, he 
 married Sarah M. Leonard, of Troy, Mich. His one child living is Wilbur Dixon 
 Ellis. Mr. Ellis published, in 1859, a work on "Avoidable Causes of Disease," and 
 has written many tracts on temperance and other reforms, in which he is deeply 
 interested and concerning which he discourses with ripened judgment and enter- 
 taining force. 
 
 JOHN WASHINGTON ELLIS, banker, born in Williamsburg, Ohio, Aug. 15, 
 1817, is a son of Benjamin Ellis, and a descendant of the pioneer Ellis, who came from 
 Sandwich, England, in the seventeenth century. Benjamin Ellis emigrated from 
 Sandwich, Mass., to Maine, and went, in 1809, to Ohio, traveling from New York to 
 Pittsburgh on horseback, and rowing a skiff thence to Cincinnati, there being then no 
 steamboats. John was educated in Cincinnati and Kenyon College Grammar School. 
 While a young man he came to New York, but in 1840 returned to Cincinnati and 
 entered the wholesale dry goods business, in which he continued until 1865, making 
 himself, during that time, most favorably known to the importers and commission- 
 merchants of the East. When the National Bank Act was passed in February, 1863, 
 Mr. Ellis organized the first National Bank of Cincinnati, with a capital of 1,000,000, 
 within a week's time. In the estimation of Chief Justice Chase, Mr. Ellis was one of 
 those who ' ' did most to give the national bank system a real start and a firm founda- 
 tion." In 1869, Mr. Ellis was invited to New York to take the management of the bank 
 of Winslow, Lanier & Co., who had been doing a large Western business. This invi- 
 tation he accepted, and this position he retained until 1883, when he retired from busi- 
 ness. The most important operation of his life was the resusicitation of The Northern 
 Pacific Railroad Co., in 1879-80, after the failure under Jay Cooke's management in 
 
220 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 1873. Mr. Ellis formed a syndicate, which took $40,000,000 of Northern Pacific bonds 
 and finished the road to the Pacific. He retired from the directory in 1886. By his 
 marriage, in 1845, with Caroline, daughter of Abraham Lindley, he is the father of 
 Sallie, wife of Professor Postlethwaite, of West Point; Mary, wife of George Hoffman, 
 now deceased, of New York; Helen, wife of Hugh L. Cole, of New York; and Ralph 
 N. Ellis, also of this city. Mr. Ellis is a member of The Ohio and New England 
 Societies and the Down Town and Union League clubs, and a contributor to the 
 support of many charities and public institutions. 
 
 EDWARD ELSWORTH, merchant, born at No. 213 Church street, in this city, 
 Jan. 3, 1811, died at his home, No. 20 West 49th street, June 23, 1886. He came from 
 Knickerbocker stock, being a son of John W. Elsworth, a lineal descendant of Chris- 
 topher (or Christoffel, as the early Dutch records have it,) Elswaerts, who came from 
 Holland to the Island of Manhattan in 1653. Beginning life in New York city as clerk 
 for his brother Henry, he was taken into partnership in 1837, in H. & E. Elsworth, and 
 for nearly thirty years carried on a wholesale oil, drug and paint business. He 
 entered heartily into all the local interests of the city, was a volunteer fireman, and 
 played a valiant part in fighting the great fire of 1835. At one time he had a large 
 interest in clipper ships, being part owner of the Wisconsin and Tornado among others, 
 and also had an investment in the Hudson river steamboat Niagara, which ran to 
 Albany. Later, he was president of Enoch Morgan & Sons, manufacturers of Sapolio, 
 and of The Keyport Steamboat Co. , which operated a number of harbor steamboats. 
 He was also a director of The Commercial Insurance Co., The Niagara Insurance Co., 
 The Merchants' Exchange National Bank, and The North River Bank. By his mar- 
 riage wish Phcebe A., daughter of D. B. Martin, he was the father of fifteen children, 
 of whom twelve survived him. Three of his sons served in the Union army or navy, 
 one being killed at the second Bull Run, another at Port Hudson. 
 
 HENRY ELSWORTH, merchant, born in New York city, Sept. 30, 1808, died 
 there, Jan. 18, 1873. He was in the seventh generation in descent from Christoffel (or 
 Stoffel) Elswaerts, who emigrated from England to Holland, and then to America, in 
 1653, becoming first of his line on the Island of Manhattan, and thus the founder of one 
 of the oldest families in the city. There is some reason to believe that the Ellsworths 
 of Connecticut and the Aylsworths of Rhode Island descended from the same stock as the 
 New York family. The name is derived from a small village near Cambridge in Eng- 
 land, situated upon a rivulet once famous for eels. The Saxon word "worth" signified 
 "place," and the village was called Eelsworth. The family name arose from the circum- 
 stance, it is said, that it was the custom for the first settler in a new place to call himself 
 after the name of the settlement. The descendants of old Christoffel Elswaerts were 
 men of good repute in New Amsterdam and New York, and some of them were prom- 
 inent in their day. Henry Elsworth's grandfather, William J. Elsworth, was a deacon 
 in the Reformed Dutch Church, school trustee, first chief engineer of the fire depart- 
 ment, and assistant Alderman, 1789-91. The parents of the subject of this memoir were 
 John W. and Sarah Hinton Elsworth. Beginning life in the employment of Jonathan 
 Southwick, a merchant of oils and paints in this city, Mr. Elsworth's industry, energy 
 and trustworthiness secured for him rapid promotion, and he became, while young, the 
 head of the business in succession to Mr. Southwick. In 1837, after his brother had 
 become a partner, he adopted the firm name of H. &. E. Elsworth, and for a full 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. EL. 221 
 
 business generation carried on a successful wholesale drug and paint business. An 
 American business man of the best type, he displayed intelligence of a high order, 
 firmness, rectitude and enterprise, and in spite of his marked modesty, obtained distinc- 
 tion without seeking it. He promoted the foundation of The Manhattan Fire Insurance 
 Co. , and the Society Library, served as first president of The Merchants' Telegraph 
 Co., and was a trustee of various charities. May 26, 1831, he married Mary, daughter 
 of William and Mary Morris Ryer. Besides his widow, who survived him nine years, 
 Mr. Elsworth left two daughters, Sarah, wife of John H. Hinton, M. D., and Mary, 
 wife of Edward C. Gregory. 
 
 AMBROSE KITCHELL ELY, merchant, one of the oldest and most highly 
 esteemed among the leather men of the "Swamp," was born in Livingston, N. J., 
 Jan. 31, 1823. The family moved to New York two years later. In 1844, Mr. Ely 
 entered his father's firm of Ring & Ely, leather merchants, at No. 1 7 Ferry street, 
 afterward known as Thorne, Watson, Corse & Co., at No. 18 Ferry street. In 1857, 
 he withdrew, taking out as his share of the capital about $250,000, and went into busi- 
 ness alone, manufacturing and selling leather. At the same time, he engaged largely 
 in real estate transactions. In both lines of enterprise he has been in the highest 
 degree successful. During a number of years past, he has been virtually out of the 
 leather business, but retains an office in the Swamp to manage his real estate interests. 
 He is a bachelor and has never felt any leaning toward club life. 
 
 DAVID JAY ELY, merchant, born in Lyme, Conn., May 5, 1816, died Feb. 24, 1877. 
 He was one of the old class of merchants, and famous for the virtues and characteristic 
 traits of his New England ancestry. The family was planted in this country abou' 
 1650. Mr. Ely came to New York, a boy of thirteen, and began as clerk for Don 
 Alonzo Cushman, was then engaged in business in the South for a few years, and 
 finally located in Chicago during the '405, where he carried on the importation of tea, 
 coffee, sugar, molasses, etc. His firm were known first as Reynolds, Ely & Co., then 
 as D. J. Ely & Co. He was a very wide awake and capable merchant, and saw Chicago 
 develop into a great city. In 1866, he removed to New York and imported coffee on 
 a large scale as D. J. Ely & Co., until his death. He married, Jan. 27, 1848, Caroline, 
 daughter of James Duncan of Massillon, O. The two children now surviving are James 
 R. Ely, and Mary, wife of Charles A. Miller. 
 
 HENRY GILBERT ELY, merchant, born in West Springfield, Mass., March 7, 
 1824, died at his home in Brooklyn, N. Y. Aug. 8, 1877. Gaining an education in West- 
 field academy, he would have entered college, had not his health failed. He came to 
 Brooklyn in 1847 to enter the employment of his uncle, William Kent, in the dry 
 goods trade, and later and up to 1857, was senior member of Ely, Bowen & McConnell, 
 and Ely, Clapp & Bowen. He afterward established, in New York city, the firm of 
 H. G. Ely & Co., leather merchants, of which he was at the head at the time of his 
 death. They were prominent in the trade, and conducted a large and successful 
 business. By his marriage with Mary P., daughter of Samuel Putnam, Feb. 27, 1851, 
 he was the father of Leicester K., Samuel P., Bessie P., and Mary G. Ely. Mr. Ely 
 was the forty-fourth person to join Plymouth Church, and took an active interest in 
 its affairs from the foundation. Quiet and unassuming in manner, but a man of firm 
 and upright character, the foe of all wrong doing, he was highly respected in social 
 and business circles. 
 
222 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 SfllTH ELY, ex-Mayor of New York city, was born at the residence of his maternal 
 grandfather, Ambrose Kitchell, in Hanover, Morris county, N. J., April 17, 1825. 
 His father, Epaphras C. Ely, a leather merchant and a soldier in the War of 1812, was 
 born in this city in 1795. Moses Ely, the grandfather of ex-Mayor Ely, served in the 
 army of the Revolution, and his great grandfather and great, great grandfather, 
 William and Richard Ely, were both captains during the old French war. By virtue 
 of his ancestry, Mr. Ely is a member of The Society of the War of 1812, The Sons of 
 the Revolution, and The Society of Colonial Wars. His maternal great grandfather, 
 Judge Aaron Kitchell, who was Congressman, United States Senator and Presidential 
 Elector at Large, was also a soldier in the Revolutionary Arm}'-. 
 
 The subject of this sketch studied law for three years in the office of Frederic de 
 Peyster, and afterward graduated at the University Law School, but he never practiced 
 the profession for a livelihood, having devoted his middle life to mercantile pursuits. 
 
 Mr. Ely has always been a Democrat. In 1856, he was elected School Trustee of 
 the Seventh Ward, and held the position for four years. In 1857, he was elected a State 
 Senator by a large majority, being the first Democrat ever elected from his district. In 
 the Senate, he figured as the only Democrat on the most important two committees 
 the Committee on Cities and the Sub-Committee of the Whole and he was thus enabled 
 to do much good and defeat much evil in legislation. 
 
 In 1860, Mr. Ely received an election as County Supervisor, one of whose functions 
 was to raise the money and men to carry on the war. He held this office for eight 
 years, and, while a member of the Board, became conspicuous by his opposition to the 
 extravagancies of the Board. In 1867, he was re-elected in opposition to the regular 
 Democratic and Republican candidates. In 1870, a union of the Democratic factions 
 took place, and Mr. Ely was elected to the Forty-second Congress from the Seventh 
 District, and did good service on the Railroad Committee, upon which he was placed 
 by Speaker Elaine. He received a re-election in 1874, and an appointment by Speaker 
 Kerr on the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Public Buildings, and 
 the Committee on the Expenditures of the Treasury Department, of which latter he 
 was chairman. 
 
 In 1876, while Mr. Ely yet held his seat in Congress, the different Democratic 
 elements in New York city united upon him as a candidate for Mayor. The Republi- 
 cans nominated the distinguished soldier and statesman, ex-Governor John A. Dix, but 
 Mr. Ely was elected by more than 55,000 majority. 
 
 Mayor Ely's administration was characterized by wise"-and strict economy. In 
 each of the years of his term the net amount of the city debt was reduced, and, not- 
 withstanding the increase of population, the amount of the tax levy was each year 
 diminished, viz. : 
 
 Net City Debt. Total Tax Levy. 
 
 January, 1877 $119,811,310 $31,109,521 
 
 January, 1878 117,700,742 29,178,940 
 
 January, 1879 113,418,403 28,008,888 
 
 This financial success was never paralleled by any other Mayor. 
 
 Before he left the Mayor's office, the Democratic party in his old Congressional 
 District offered Mr. Ely the nomination for Congress, but he declined the honor, pre- 
 ferring to return to private life. 
 
 In 1867, Mr. Ely was Commissioner of Public Instruction, and in 1880 was nom- 
 inated as one of the Presidential electors on the Democratic State ticket. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. EN. 223 
 
 Mr. Ely is a bachelor. His clubs are the Century, Manhattan, Drawing Room, 
 and the Presbyterian Union. 
 
 JOHN ENQLIS, one of the most famous of the steamboat builders of this port, 
 was born Nov. 25, 1808, and died in the city of Brooklyn, Oct. 25, 1888. His father, 
 of the same name, an honest Scot, came to America in' 1795, and made this city his 
 home. John, the son, derived shrewdness, health and ability from his parents, and 
 received from them a training in character which was of far more value to him than an 
 inherited fortune. The fortune he made for himself. A promising, sturdy and vigor- 
 ous boy, he studied during youth in the schools of New York city, and then, when 
 he had mastered the elements of a sound education, sought the means of earning his 
 own support. This he found on the East river front in the ship yard of Smith & 
 Dimond, who ranked among the most noted ship builders of their times. The occupa- 
 tion suited his active nature, and here, with axe and hammer, he toiled for several 
 years, learning to shape the frame timbers, lay the planking and assemble the various 
 parts of vessels. His progress was rapid, and he decided to adopt marine construction 
 as his vocation for life. In a few years, he had risen to be a journeyman, and soon 
 became foreman for Bishop & Simonson, another conspicuous firm of builders. While 
 he gained a valuable experience in both these yards, it was evident early in life that the 
 fame of the student was destined in time far to surpass that of his teachers. 
 
 In 1837, when steam navigation was being introduced upon the great lakes, Mr. 
 Englis had already earned sufficient reputation to be invited to Lake Erie, to build two 
 steamboats for the northern trade. He constructed the Milwaukee and Red Jacket, 
 both excellent boats, under contract, and then returned to New York. Experience had 
 now brought to him a confidence in his powers, and he opened a shipyard on his own 
 account at the foot of East loth street on the East river. 
 
 While other shipwrights occupied themselves \vith the construction of the clippers, 
 packet vessels, and freighting ships required for the extended foreign commerce of this 
 port, Mr. Englis devoted his own energies to the separate and, if possible, more impor- 
 tant, branch of his art, in which he had begun. Steamboat building, then in its 
 infancy, required the highest talent in the designers of models and the greatest skill 
 and ingenuity in construction. Intended for the navigation of comparatively shoal 
 waters and to be propelled by powerful steam engines, these boats were in model 
 utterly unlike those of the sailing ships, and presented many difficult poblems to the 
 marine architect. It was to this branch of the art that Mr. Englis applied himself. 
 Beginning modestly, but filling every contract with painstaking care and with fidelity 
 to the interests of his clients, he soon attracted attention and commendation among 
 the merchants of New York, and gradually rose to be the greatest builder of steam- 
 boats at this port. It is a noteworthy fact that during the nearly fifty years of his 
 active business life, nearly all the great side wheel steamers for the trade and travel of 
 Long Island Sound, and the finest river steamboats in the world, were launched from 
 his yard. Nor did he confine himself to river boats. Many noble steamships for the 
 ocean trades were produced by him, and scores of vessels for the merchants of other 
 commercial centers. In all, he constructed eighty-nine vessels, propelled by steam, 
 averaging 1,500 tons each, an aggregate of about 135,000 t6ns. He was exceedingly 
 careful in the selection of materials, ingenious in his models and the adaptation of 
 means to ends in the framing of his boats, and thorough in workmanship. His 
 
224 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 methods were studied by other progressive builders, and copied in all parts of the 
 country. During the Civil War, his yard was especially busy. From 250 to 450 of the 
 best class of shipwrights, carpenters, joiners, and other mechanics, earned their liveli- 
 hood in his employment. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to present a catalogue of all the vessels set afloat from his 
 famous yard. A few of the more noteworthy may, however, be referred to. Old 
 merchants and thousands of travellers remember the Drew, St. John, Dean Richmond, 
 Newport, Old Colony, C. H. Northam, Tremont, Falmouth, Columbia, Saratoga, City 
 of Troy, and Grand Republic, which were built for river and Sound service, and the 
 ocean steamers, City of Mexico, City of Merida, City of Havana, City of Vera Cruz, 
 City of Atlanta, City of Columbia, Villa Clara, Gloria, Trinidad and others, constructed 
 for deep water navigation. Many of these boats are yet in existence and giving great 
 satisfaction. 
 
 Seven of his boats were built for service in China, and one of them, the Sumo 
 Nada, is credited with a run of a thousand miles from Hong Kong to Shanghai in fifty- 
 six hours. These boats were the despair of the builders of England, who had expended 
 immense sums in the construction of craft for the same trade, but had never produced 
 one which equalled the creations of Mr. Englis. 
 
 In 1853, he constructed for the Lakes the Plymouth Rock and Western World, 
 which outstripped every rival in speed as well as in beauty for many years, and 
 during the days before the railroads had fairly conquered the West, carried an im- 
 mense number of travellers to and from the West, proving exceedingly profitable to 
 their owners. 
 
 As an illustration of his energy, the construction of the Unadilla may be referred 
 to. This was the first of the gunboats and was delivered to the Federal Government 
 in 1861, in forty-eight days, or twelve less than the time allowed. The Secretary of 
 the Navy expressed great satisfaction with this vessel, and wrote, under date of Oct. 8, 
 1 86 1 : "It gives the Department much pleasure to add that the reports of the inspec- 
 tors are in the highest degree complimentary of the manner in which the wor-k has 
 been executed." An equally remarkable achievement was the building and launching 
 of the steamboat Columbia in forty-two days, or within fifty-eight days from the 
 date of signing the contract. This large and handsome boat was finished, complete, in 
 ninety days. 
 
 The St. John for The People's Line on the Hudson River, trading between New 
 York and Albany, was at her birth the greatest triumph of-the day, and signalized a 
 new era not only in marine construction but in the traffic of the river which was her 
 home. The enterprise which led the proprietors to project this magnificent boat was 
 handsomely seconded by the skill of her constructor. Of 3,400 tons burden, capable oi 
 carrying 1,700 passengers and 700 tons of freight, upon a draft of 6 feet of water, 
 this noble boat usually breasted the swift current of this crooked river and touched her 
 pier in Albany within nine hours of her departure from New York. The cabins were 
 marvels of exquisite workmanship, and the two tiers of state rooms, lighted by gas, 
 
 icated by steam, and furnished in a costly manner, were the subject of flattering com- 
 ment in the travelling world. The consort of this boat, the Dean Richmond, 308 feet in 
 
 ength and 82 feet in width across the guards, took a place on the line in 1867, and 
 proved no less famous and successful. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. EN. 225 
 
 Among the steamers built for the traffic of Long Island Sound may be mentioned 
 the Newport, 340 feet in length, 44 feet beam, and 14 feet in depth of hold, which made 
 the trip to Newport, a distance of 160 miles, in eight hours, a record which has not been 
 beaten even by the gigantic vessels which are now plying upon that route. The Old 
 Colony, 315 feet in length, 42 feet in beam, and 14 feet depth of hold, was also notable. 
 
 Mr. Englis possessed the power of handling large masses of men and of co-ordi- 
 nating their energies with skill and efficiency. He was, in fact, as much of a business 
 man as an expert in marine architecture ; and it came about naturally that, in time, he 
 acquired an interest in many important business ventures. He always preferred navi- 
 gation enterprises, however, and invested a large share of his savings in The People's 
 Line to Albany, The International Line, The Maine Steamship Co., The Charleston 
 Line, The Knickerbocker Steamboat Co., and The New York, The Union and The 
 Metropolitan Ferry Co.'s., and The Brighton Pier Co. Highly respected for sound 
 judgment and high character, he might have shared in the direction of many financial 
 institutions, but he declined every responsibility, calculated to divert his attention from 
 the labors, which were the ruling passion of his life. He was a member of The Gen- 
 eral Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen, and promoted every movement for the welfare 
 of the working classes. 
 
 He was married in New York city in February, 1832, to Mary A., daughter of 
 Abram Quackenbush. His only son, John Englis, jr., a capable and progressive man, 
 now conducts the old ship yard. 
 
 AflOS RICHARDS ENO, realty owner, born in S"imsbury, Conn., Nov. i, 1810, 
 traces his ancestry back to James Eno, an Englishman, who settled in Windsor, Conn., 
 in 1648. The family were men of sturdy character and took an active part in the early 
 wars. Salmon Eno, father of Amos, was a member of the Connecticut Legislature. 
 About 1831, the subject of this sketch came to New York, and with his cousin, John Jay 
 Phelps of Simsbury, opened a little dry goods store on Exchange place. They bought 
 mainly at the large auction sales, paying cash, while others paid in notes, and in a year 
 or two were firmly established in business. Eno & Phelps soon became the largest pur- 
 chasers at auction sales. Their store burned to the ground in the fire of 1835. There- 
 after, they carried on business on Hanover Square and ranked among the soundest and 
 best merchants in the city. The firm dissolved in 1850, and Mr. Eno then engaged 
 largely in real estate transactions, in which he had already become interested. He was 
 among the first to operate on Dey, Warren and Chambers streets and Broadway, and 
 built the Fifth Avenue Hotel at a cost of about a million. His properties have in 
 recent years grown enormously in value. Mr. Eno is a director of The Second 
 National Bank, and a member of the Reform club and New England Society. 
 
 RAflON MARIA ESTEVEZ RODRIGUEZ DE CARDENAS, merchant, born in 
 Matanzas, Cuba, May 16, 1808, died in New York city, March 16, 1888. His grand- 
 father was a colonel in the Spanish army, and his father, Don Jeronimo Estevez, held a 
 very high and honorable position in Matanzas, given to him for life by the Spanish 
 government. He was first cousin of Jose Maria de Cardenas, Marquis de Prado Ame"no. 
 During the earlier portion of his business career, he was a sugar broker in Cuba, and 
 for several years prior to 1857 carried on an extensive business in Havana. Owing to 
 the unsettled state of affairs in Cuba, he came to New York city in 1857, and founded 
 the successful firm of Angulo & Estevez, and later, that of Estevez & Govin & Bro. 
 
226 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 He retired from business during the Cuban rebellion and engaged in heavy transactions 
 in local real estate, his capital in these ventures being re-inforced by that of Felix 
 Govin y Pinto, also a wealthy Cuban planter. Senor Estevez's wife was Louisa San 
 Jorje, daughter of the Baron San Jorje. His wife passed away before him. His only 
 child, Ramon Maria Estevez, jr., also now deceased, married Inez Morales de Mauresa. 
 The only survivors of his immediate family are two granddaughters, sisters, to whom 
 he left his entire fortune. They were Mary Ignacia Estevez, and Caroline Cecilia, who 
 became the wife of Thomas H. Terry, Dec 3, 1890. 
 
 JAflES EVERARD, brewer, the architect of his own fortunes, born in Dublin, Ire- 
 land, in August, 1829, came from a mercantile family and passed his earlier years in 
 the laborious occupations of printing and stereotyping and mason work and building. 
 When the war with Mexico broke out, he joined the American army and fought in 
 many battles under General Scott and General Taylor. After the war, he served for a 
 time on the New York city police force, and resigned to engage in contracting and build- 
 ing. He fulfilled important contracts in the construction of the New York Post Office 
 and with the city for paving, grading, etc., continuing from 1857 to 1868. In 1876, he 
 bought the Whitney brewery for the manufacture of ales and porter, and in 1886 built 
 a lager beer brewery at i33d street, extending at the present time from i32d to ijsth 
 streets, and including extensive bottling works, stables, wagon and blacksmith shops, 
 etc. In 1894, he abandoned the Whitney brewery and built a new one for ale and porter, 
 extending from 134111 to 135111 street, and erecting on the site of the old brewery at 
 West, Washington and loth streets a large warehouse, fourteen stories high, for govern- 
 ment stores. In 1890, he utilized property in West 28th street by building Russian and 
 Turkish baths of great luxury and comfort. Mr. Everard is a director of The Fifth 
 National Bank, has interests in a variety of other enterprises, and is credited with giv- 
 ing away much in charity. He is married and has one daughter, Olga Jule Everard. 
 
F. 
 
 EBERHARD FABER, lead pencil manufacturer, born in Stein, Bavaria, Dec. 6, 
 1822, died in New York city, March 2, 1879. Caspar Faber, the first member of the 
 family engaged in this industry, began the manufacture of lead pencils in 1761, in the 
 little village of Stein, in Bavaria, and the industry has since been carried on by his 
 family. In 1784, his son, Anthony William Faber, took charge of the business, and 
 was succeeded by his son, George Leonard Faber. About 1 849, Lotha von Faber, head 
 of the German house, saw the necessity of establishing a branch of the business in 
 America; and accordingly, in that year, Eberhard, son of George Leonard Faber, who 
 preferred a practical career to the study of the law, which he had been pursuing at 
 several of the German Universities, was sent to New York city. In 1851, he opened a 
 house at No. 133 William street, as the agent of the A. W. Faber lead pencils, and in 
 1852 began the exportation to Germany of red cedar. In 1861, he built the first lead 
 pencil factory in the United States at the foot of 42d street on the East river, and when, 
 in 1872, this was burned, he built another at Kent and West streets in Green point. In 
 1877, the office of the house was removed from William street to Broadway. Mr. Faber 
 also introduced the manufacture of pen-holders, gold pens and rubber goods of all 
 varieties, connected with the stationery trade. He enjoyed a practical monopoly of the 
 pencil industry for many years, and by his enterprise made the A. W. Faber lead pen- 
 cils as well known in every home and school in America as that of the parent house in 
 Germany has made it in Europe. Mr. Faber's surviving children are John Eberhard, 
 Lothair, Bertha, Sophia, Louise and Rosie Faber. His son, JOHN EBERHARD 
 FABER, born March 14, 1859, in New York city, was christened John Robert Faber 
 and was educated at the School of Mines, Columbia College, and in Nuernberg, Ger- 
 many, and Paris, France. He then entered the office of his father, where he learned 
 every necessary detail of the manufacture and sale of lead pencils. In 1879, ne took 
 charge of the business in America, and then received permission from the courts to 
 change his middle name to Eberhard. Several years later, he admitted his brother 
 Lothair to the firm. Mr. Faber is a very capable manager of his business. He 
 operates a factory in Brooklyn, and derives his supply of red cedar from Florida, which 
 State alone grows this wood in perfection. Mr. Faber operates a large cedar yard and 
 factor}' in Cedar Keys, Fla., at which the red cedar logs are sawed into slabs, ready for 
 transportation to New York or Europe. His agents are continually exploring Florida 
 for cedar lands, and have purchased for him large tracts of the standing timber. Mr. 
 Faber is a director of The First National Bank of Staten Island, The American Life 
 Union, and The Mutual Fire Insurance Co., and a member of the Staten Island Cricket 
 and Staten Island Athletic clubs. He was married in 1887 to Abby Boles Adams. 
 
 EQISTO PAULO FABBRI, banker, born Dec. 28, 1828, in Florence, Italy, died 
 there, June 25, 1894. His father, Giovanni Fabbri, was a merchant of silk. His mother 
 was Russian. Egisto received a sound education in Italy and England and planned to 
 be a surgeon. Upon the death of his father, however, he entered a shipping house in 
 Livorno and when it failed went to Paris. In 1851, he came to the new world. In 1852, 
 he returned to Italy, but came to America again in 1854. After a year's search for 
 
22 8 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 employment, he became bookkeeper for John Randall & Co., shipping merchants, was 
 admitted as a partner seven years later and so remained until 1867. Then, he founded 
 the shipping house of Fabbri & Chauncey, which enjoyed a prosperous career, finally 
 becoming extinct in 1884. In 1875, Mr. Fabbri became a partner in Drexel, Morgan & 
 Co. Ill health compelled his retirement Dec. 31, 1885. During his last nine years, he 
 travelled extensively in Europe and purchased a beautiful estate in Florence, upon which 
 he dwelt thereafter. For his services in behalf of Italian independence, King Victor 
 Emanuel bestowed upon him the unusual right of regaining Italian citizenship at his 
 own pleasure. In his amiable, courtly, personal address, his famous hospitality, and his 
 musical accomplishment, he reflected his Italian birthright, and in his business career, 
 revealed financial sagacity and executive ability. He was one of the founders of the 
 Metropolitan Opera House in this city. He was married June 28, 1849, to Mary Kealey. 
 Being without issue, in 1890, he adopted the children of his deceased brofher Ernesto. 
 
 ERNESTO QUISEPPE FABBRI, merchant, born in Florence, Italy, March 17, 
 1830, died at Lake Mahopac, N. Y., July 3, 1883. He came to this city at the age of 
 twenty-three, found employment as a clerk for John Randall & Co., subsequently 
 became a partner, and then married a daughter of the senior partner. The firm was 
 dissolved in 1861. Mr. Fabbri returned to Italy and in Genoa established the firm of 
 Valerio & Fabbri, commission merchants. In 1865, he returned to this city and entered 
 the commission house of Fabbri & Chauncey on South street, of which his brother 
 Egisto P. Fabbri was a partner. In 1876, Ernesto succeeded his brother as the head 
 of the firm. He was a director of The Central & South American Telegraph Co. , The 
 Orient Mutual Insurance Co., and The United States Rolling Stock Co., and a member 
 of the Chamber of Commerce and of The Maritime Association. Active in the Com- 
 mittee on Italian Schools, he befriended his poorer countrymen in so many ways, that 
 the Italian Government conferred upon him the honor of knighthood and the orders of 
 the Crown of Italy and Sts. Maurice and Lazarus. His marriage with Sara, daughter 
 of John Randall, brought him eight children, Egisto P., Ernestine, Marie Pauline, 
 Ernesto G., Alice, Nathalie, Cora, now deceased, and Alessandro. He was a member 
 of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion. 
 
 JOSEPH FAHYS, manufacturer, was born May 23, 1832, in Belport, France. 
 Educated in France, he came to New York city and, in June, 1857, with a few hundred 
 dollars, started the manufacture of watch cases on a small_scale. Afterward, he estab- 
 lished a factory in Carlstadt, N. J. ; in 1866, one in Brooklyn ; and in 1881, one in Sag 
 Harbor, which is the present location of the industry. His enterprise is now incorpor- 
 ated as The Fahys Watch Case Co., making 1,500 cases a day. The business office is 
 on Maiden Lane in this city. Mr. Fahys is the owner of the building bearing his name 
 at No. 54 Maiden Lane; president of The Fahys Watch Case Co. ; a director of The 
 Brooklyn Watch Co., The Montauk Steamboat Co., and The Third National Bank of 
 New York; and trustee of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church and The 
 Homoeopathic Hospital in Brooklyn. The family live near Sag Harbor in the summer, 
 and find delight in cruising in their yacht Alsace. Their winter residence is in Brooklyn. 
 He is a member of the Down Town club of New York, and the Hamilton and Riding 
 and Driving, clubs of Brooklyn. Mr. Fahys was married April 19, 1856, to Maria L. 
 Payne of Sag Harbor, and their children are Marie Louise, Lena M., Maria D., Bertha 
 A., and George E. Fahys. 
 
THE CITV OF NEW YORK. FA. 229 
 
 EDWARD GEORGE FAILE, merchant, a native of Semiston, Roxboroughshire, 
 Scotland, and born Feb. 9, 1799, died at his home at Hunt's Point, Westchester count}-, 
 April 20, 1864. His father, George Faile, was a farmer, while his mother, Joan Hall, 
 was a descendant of the Burrells of Northumberland, England, and of John Burrell, a 
 courtier of Henry V., and bore upon her family arms the sturdy motto, " I adhere." 
 The family came to this country in 1801, settling in Westchester county, where Edward 
 was educated. At the age of seventeen, the youth became a clerk for Abram Valen- 
 tine, wholesale grocer in New York. Remaining in that store until 1821, he then 
 started for himself on the corner of Peck Slip and Front street. Feb. i, 1825, he ad- 
 mitted his brother Thomas as a partner, under the name of E. G. Faile & Co. He was 
 diligent, honest, and untiring, and prospered rapidly. In 1840, the firm bought the 
 store at 181 Front street, moved into it, and for thirteen years carried on a large whole- 
 sale grocery trade, attaining celebrity by their success. In 1853, both the senior partners 
 retired, being succeeded by their sons and Richard Williams, in Faile, Williams & Co. 
 Mr. Faile was always a man of public spirit and a director of The New York & Harlem 
 Railroad in the early days and of The New York Central Railroad, while Erastus Corning 
 was president. It was he who made a suggestion to Richard M. Hoe, which resulted 
 in the invention of the first machine for stamping and dating tickets as issued, ever 
 used in this country. He helped organize The Metropolitan Bank and was a member 
 of the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Faile had a home in Westchester county and was 
 connected with the agricultural school in Ovid, N. Y. , and the Pease Farm Industrial 
 School, and served as president of The New York State Agricultural Society. He was 
 married, Dec. 8, 1821, to An i Delia, daughter of Abram Valentine. Their children were 
 Ann D., Edward, Thomas H., Charles V., Henry, Samuel, Mary E., Harriet and Caroline. 
 
 THOflAS HALL FAILE, merchant, son of the late George Faile of Westchester 
 count}-, was born in Eastchester, Feb. 4, 1803, after the family had made their home in 
 the United States. He died abroad, in Nice, Jan. 13, 1873. From his family he in- 
 herited a fine physique, a noble countenance, a mind sagacious and bold, and a char- 
 acter above reproach. Beginning life as a clerk for his brother, Edward G. Faile, 
 wholesale grocer of New York, he became a partner, Feb. i, 1825, and during the 
 following twenty-eight years was active and prominent in the trade, and a leading 
 spirit in the life of New York city. To secure better opportunities for study to mer- 
 chants' clerks, of whom he had been one, in 1846, he joined The Clinton Hall Association 
 as a trustee, labored to stock the library with good and useful books, and fought every 
 proposition to open the doors on Sundays. He joined the Chamber of Commerce, 
 became a director of The Bank of America in 1839, and was a member of the Union 
 League and Racquet clubs and St. Andrew's Society, and at one time president of 
 The New York State Agricultural Society. During a journey to Europe, taken largely 
 with this object in view, he visited many asylums for the insane, made a special study 
 of their management, and, as a governor of The New York Hospital, and permanently 
 charged with the supervision of The Bloomingdale Insane Asylum, he introduced many 
 improvements in the system of the latter institution. This labor of love occupied the 
 last fifteen years of his life. His public spirit was illustrated by his co-operation in 
 establishing at the old Rotunda the Gallery of Fine Arts, celebrated for its exhibition 
 of Cole's paintings of the Course of Empire and the Voyage of Life. His life was an 
 unbroken record of success, generosity and philanthropy. Mr. Faile never married. 
 
23 
 
 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 BENJAJIIN LEWIS FAIRCHILD, lawyer, was born Jan. 5, 1863, in Sweden, 
 N. Y., and is a son of Benjamin Fairchild, who served through the Civil War and then 
 settled in Washington, D. C., and did not see his son until the latter was two years old. 
 The family are of English descent and long known in Connecticut, where the pioneers 
 settled. Mr. Fairchild's mother was a member of the Schaeffer family and of German 
 ancestry. The subject of this biography was educated in the public schools of Wash- 
 ington, D. C., and the law department of Columbian University. At the age of thirteen, 
 he became a draughtsman in the Patent Office, and from fourteen until twenty-two, 
 held a clerkship in the Treasury Department, meanwhile pursuing his studies. Having 
 been admitted to the bar, he came to New York in 1885, without means, was successful 
 in his profession, and invested his earnings in the development of real estate properties 
 in Westchester county, in compliance with an injunction he had heard in boyhood to 
 buy land by the acre and sell it by the foot. He continues to practice law, his firm 
 being Southard & Fairchild, and has large realty interests at Pelham Heights and 
 Mount Vernon. He has always been a Republican in politics and a popular man. In 
 1894, the tidal wave of public sentiment swept him into a seat in Congress from a 
 Democratic district. He was married in New York city, Feb. 28, 1893, to Anna E., 
 daughter of the late James Crumbie. He is a member The Society of Medical Juris- 
 prudence and the Republican and New York Athletic clubs. 
 
 CHARLES STEBBINS FAIRCHILD, lawyer, born April 30, 1842, in Cazenovia, 
 N. Y., is a son of the late Sidney T. Fairchild, a distinguished lawyer, for many years 
 counsel for The New York Central Railroad, who died Feb. 15, 1889, the possessor of 
 a large estate. Graduating from Harvard University in 1863 and from the Harvard 
 Law School in 1865, Mr. Fairchild read law iii the office of Hand, Hale & Swartz, was 
 admitted to the bar in Albany, and in 1873 became a member of the firm above named. 
 In 1874, he was called into the public service as Deputy Attorney General of the State, 
 and the following year was elected Attorney General as a Democrat. In 1878 he visited 
 Europe. Upon his return in 1880, he established a law office in New York city, and 
 has since become identified with large interests. He is president of The New York 
 Security & Trust Co. , and has been president of The State Charities Aid Association. 
 From March, 1885, to April, 1887, Mr. Fairchild held the important position of 
 Assistant Secretary, and from the latter date, to the end of President Cleveland's term, 
 that of Secretary of the Treasury. He is a member of the Metropolitan, Century, 
 University, Manhattan, Aldine, Lawyers', Reform, Bar, Democratic, Harvard Alumni, 
 and Alpha Delta Phi clubs. He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Columbian 
 and Harvard Universities in 1888. 
 
 ARNOLD FALK, merchant, a native of Germany, and born. in March, 1843, came 
 to the new world in 1858, after an education in the public schools in the fatherland, 
 and was the constant partner of his brother, Gustav, in various enterprises connected 
 with the tobacco trade. First a cigar manufacturer, he gained in that industry an 
 intimate knowledge of the various classes of tobacco leaf, and then, in 1859, joined in 
 establishing the firm of G. Falk & Bro., to import Sumatra and other foreign tobacco 
 and export the native leaf of America. Success came to this house through their enter- 
 prise, industry and good character. Mr. Falk was a member of The German Society. 
 He married Miss Fannie Wallach of this city in 1876, and had two sons, Myron and 
 Kaufman Falk, and died in Heidelberg, Germany, June 18, 1891. 
 

 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. FA. 231 
 
 QUSTAV FALK, importer of tobacco, born in Germany, April 19, 1841, is a son 
 of M. J. Falk, merchant, who came to America in 1858 and settled in New York city. 
 Gustav received an education in the schools of Herford, Westphalia. Most of his 
 success in life has been due to native shrewdness and ability. After a valuable ex- 
 perience as a cigar manufacturer in this city, he entered into partnership with his 
 brother, Arnold, in 1859, as G. Falk & Bro., for wholesale handling of foreign and 
 domestic leaf tobacco. They were the first house to import Sumatra tobacco upon a 
 large scale, and as they had no competition for several years, their business was exceed- 
 ingly profitable. Their trade in Sumatra tobacco is yet large but the house also packs 
 and exports American tobacco also extensively. Owing remotely to Sir Walter 
 Raleigh's office in making the leaf popular, but more' immediately to Mr. 
 Falk's own industrious career of thirty-five years, he has become one of the wealthiest 
 dealers in the trade. He maintains store houses in this city and Lancaster, Pa. In 
 1871, he married Miss Rebecca, daughter of Kaufman Wallach, and has five children, 
 Julia, wife of David M. Frank, Kaufman S. , Sophia, Jesse M., and Milton J. Falk. 
 
 JOHN TEMPLE PARISH, merchant, a native of Virginia, born about 1820, died 
 at his home on Park avenue, in this city, May 13, 1891. Before he had attained his 
 majority, he came to New York to live with his uncle, Lewis Rogers, then a prominent 
 merchant, who acted as agent for the Rothschilds in the purchase of American tobacco. 
 Mr. Parish was admitted to partnership in Rogers & Co. , and conducted so profitable 
 an exportation of tobacco that he was able to retire when hardly forty years old. From 
 that time forward, he was occupied entirely with investments. In 1870, he married 
 Martha, a daughter of Justice Grier of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. 
 Farish was deeply interested in charities, .and expended a large part of his income in 
 philanthropic work. He was a regular attendant of St. Bartholomew's church. His 
 wife survived him. By will, he gave to St. Luke's Hospital the sum of $50,000, to 
 The New York Bible Society $10,000, to The Home for Incurables $50,000, to the 
 Missions of the Episcopal Church $20,000, to The Church Mission for Deaf Mutes 
 $20,000, and to other institutions, $120,000. 
 
 FRANKLIN FARREL, manufacturer, has achieved signal success in varied lines 
 of industrial enterprise and is entitled to a prominent place in the ranks of successful 
 men. He was born Feb. 17, 1828, in Waterbury, Conn. His youth was passed in a 
 mechanical atmosphere, his father being a skilled mechanic, and early in life it became 
 evident that he had himself special aptitude in this direction. His early education was 
 obtained in Waterbury, being rounded out by a course at West Point, where he received 
 the degree of Civil Engineer. Mr. Parrel's first distinct business venture was the 
 organization of The Parrel Machine Co , in Ansonia, Conn., about forty-five years ago. 
 It was a modest beginning, the outfit consisting of a single lathe and planer. For many 
 years Mr. Parrel gave this plant his closest attention, and such business ability did he 
 bring to its management that the results are apparent to-day in an establishment con- 
 taining over two hundred and fifty machine tools, many of them among the largest in 
 the world, and employing in prosperous times over seven hundred men. 
 
 Mr. Parrel is essentially a leader, and, when he lends his personality and efforts to 
 the promotion of a project, success is practically assured. A striking illustration of this 
 is shown at Bridgeport, Conn. In 1883, the western section of the city was undevel- 
 oped, a great part of the territory being covered by a thick growth of underbrush. He 
 
232 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 was able to foresee the possibilities of the section, and the unexcelled rail and water 
 facilities, which could be obtained by proper development. The Bridgeport Forge Co., 
 a concern of which Mr. Farrel is president and principal owner, was organized and 
 located in this seemingly desolate region. The Bridgeport Copper Co. was organized 
 soon afterward through the efforts of Mr. Farrel, and its first buildings erected in the 
 same locality. Owing to the business energy of Mr. Farrel and his associates, these 
 companies have shown constant growth and must now be ranked among the most 
 prosperous concerns in Connecticut. Encouraged by such enterprise, other large firms 
 have since located in this part of the city, fine streets have been laid out and worked, 
 substantial dwelling houses and blocks erected, and, as if touched by a magic wand, the 
 section in a single decade has become one of the most prosperous and flourishing in 
 the city of Bridgeport. 
 
 After earning the reputation of being one of the most expert founders and machin- 
 ists in the country, and establishing several of the largest firms in Connecticut on a 
 successful basis, Mr. Farrel turned his attention in other directions. He embarked in 
 the sugar business in 1879, and from a small beginning has achieved notable success. 
 He selected capable and energetic associates, and wise co-operation and concerted effort 
 have brought about fine results. The sugar estates are located in Cuba and Santo 
 Domingo, and some idea of their proportions may be conveyed when it is said that 
 three of these estates require in their operation over twenty-five miles of fixed railroad 
 and furnish employment to over three thousand men. 
 
 Another industry to which Mr. Farrel has directed his attention, and which has 
 prospered under his direction, has been the manufacture of copper. He became identi- 
 fied with The Parrot Silver & Copper Co., of -Butte City, Mont., and the first mine was 
 worked in 1877. This company has grown under the competent management of Mr. 
 Farrel and his associates, and to-day its product is one of the standard brands of copper 
 of the world. Without further specific mention, it may be said that in every direction 
 one can point to industries, successful to a marked degree, and all the product of brains 
 and intelligence backed by Mr. Parrel's capital and business wisdom. Mines, smelters, 
 metal refineries, forges, foundries, machine shops, brass and copper rolling mills, rail- 
 roads, banks, hotels and sugar plantations are among the industries which claim the 
 care and attention of this remarkable man. In politics, Mr. Farrel has always been an 
 earnest and consistent Republican. Although often urged to allow his nomination for 
 honorable positions, he has felt that he could not justly set aside or neglect the great 
 business affairs entrusted to his keeping. His advice and -assistance, however, have 
 always been sought and given to promote the interests of Republicanism. 
 
 WILLIAH DOUGLAS FARWELL, merchant, born at Big Flats, Chemung county, 
 N. Y. , May 31, 1827, died in New York city, Aug. 30, 1885. His father, Benjamin 
 Farwell, was a man of marked integrity and strength of character and a warm hearted, 
 generous Christian. The young man gained his first experience as a merchant in Steu- 
 ben county. In 1863, he removed to Chicago, and in 1865 entered the wholesale dry 
 goods house of John V. Farwell & Co., as a partner. The same year, he removed to 
 New York to represent the business here as resident partner. As a business man, he 
 commanded general respect. He was a member of the Union League and Merchants' 
 clubs, the Chamber of Commerce, The New England Society and other social organiza- 
 tions. While keen and enterprising as a merchant, money making did not enlist his 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. FA. 233 
 
 entire attention. He was a Christian gentleman and an active member of the Madison 
 Avenue Methodist Episcopal church, to whose prosperity he contributed largely, and 
 of which he was a trustee, serving upon the Executive Committee for the erection of 
 the present church edifice. For the support of missions, he spent a large amount of 
 time and means, and served for many years as trustee of the Drew Theological Semi- 
 nary. In 1866, he was married to Hannah D., daughter of the Rev. Dr. Allen P. Rip- 
 ley, of Buffalo. His one child was a daughter, Cornelia Hannah. 
 
 SIGOURNEY WEBSTER FAY, dry goods merchant, a native of Boston, Mass., 
 was born Feti. 6, 1836. His father was Nahum Fay, also a merchant. The family are 
 of English ancestry and descend from John Fay, who settled in this country in 
 1640. Josiah Fay, great grandfather of Sigourney, born in Westboro, Mass., in 1732, 
 and Elisha Forbes, of the same town, great grandfather in the maternal line, both 
 served in the American Revolution, first at Bunker Hill and then in the ist Conti- 
 nental Infantry. After graduation from the old English High School in Boston, Mr. 
 Fay gained his first training in the dry goods store of Lawrence. Stone & Co., in Bos- 
 ton, and the Middlesex Woolen Mills of Lowell. In 1860, he was invited to New York 
 and in the commission dry goods firm of Stone, Bliss, Fay & Allen began a career which 
 has been attended with uniform success to the present time. Until 1869, this house 
 carried on, it is believed, the largest local commission trade in woolen goods in this 
 city. They were the selling agents of about fifteen New England factories. In 1869, 
 the firm reorganized as Perry, Wendell, Fay & Co., and in 1878, as Wendell, Fay & Co. 
 Mr. Fay is in charge of the New York branch of the business. He is a sound and 
 excellent merchant, energetic, capable and of high character. He is a member of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, a director of The Hanover National Bank and The Exchange 
 Fire Insurance Co., and a member of the Union League, City, Players', Metropolitan, 
 and Merchants' clubs and The New England Society. By virtue of direct descent, he is 
 a member of The Sons of the American Revolution. In 1860, Mr. Fay married Delia 
 A., daughter of Emery B. Fay, of Boston. 
 
 THOflAS FAYE, wall paper manufacturer, a native of Galway, Ireland, 1810, died 
 in New York city, Feb. 24, 1892. His father was French, his mother Irish. After his 
 mother's death, he came to this country at the age of eight, with his father, who, buying 
 a farm near Rochester and losing his money in land speculation, died suddenly in 
 1820 and left the boy to fight his own way unaided. Lacking a good education in the 
 day schools, he so well compensated himself for this by attending night schools and 
 debating societies, and by extensive reading and alert observation, that he became a 
 notably well informed man. While young, he entered the employment of Francis 
 Pares, a wall paper maker on Pearl street, and was admitted to partnership in 1830, in 
 Pares & Faye, but subsequently withdrew and formed a partnership with Lewis Bel- 
 rose, under the name of Belrose & Faye of this city and Philadelphia. The}- had a 
 factory on West 29th street and a salesroom on Broadway. Just before the war, Mr. 
 Faye retired from business with an ample fortune and the distinction of having been 
 ths first to manufacture wall paper by machinery, having won for this achievement the 
 first gold medal of the American Institute. He owned buildings on Broadway, near 
 Franklin street and Grace Church, and about twenty acres on Washington Heights, 
 now covered with private residences. Public office was frequently tendered him but 
 always declined. During the Civil War he espoused the cause of the Union. Mr. 
 
234 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Faye was married in 1839 to Marion, oldest daughter of the late Judge Edward Cope- 
 land. They had four daughters and four sons, namely: Mary, Marion C., Ada M., Ella 
 L., Edward C., Thomas F., Harold, James J., and E. Frederick Faye. 
 
 DANIEL BURTON FAYERWEATHER, tanner and leather merchant, born 
 March 12, 1822, died Nov. 15, 1890, at his home in New York city. He was the son 
 of Lucius Fayerweather, a farmer and a descendant in the fourth generation from John 
 Fayerweather and Abigail Curtis of North Stratford, now Trumbull, Conn. John 
 Fayerweather, a soldier in the Colonial army, lost his life in 1775 in the campaign for 
 the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. He was a farmer. Samuel, son of 'John, served 
 through the whole of the American Revolution. Daniel's early education was gained 
 in the schools of his native town and the academy in Newtown, Conn. Having learned 
 the shoemaker's trade, as apprentice for Capt. Luzon W. Clark, of Trumbull, he joined 
 his principal as a partner and conducted a profitable business for a long period, their 
 market being chiefly in the South. While making purchases of leather in New York, 
 Mr. Fayerweather made the acquaintance of Hoyt Bro's, on Spruce street, and from 
 their mutual appreciation there resulted an arrangement whereby Mr. Fayerweather 
 entered the firm on the basis of a percentage of profits. In this way he became con- 
 nected with the leather business, a trade which placed a limit, neither on Mr. Fayer- 
 weather's business abilities nor his broad and generous views of life. The Civil War 
 gave a great stimulus to the leather trade. About 1862, Mr. Fayerweather was 
 admitted to full partnership. About 1866, the associates divided, William, Oliver and 
 Mark Hoyt continuing as Hoyt Bro's., in the hemlock leather business, while Joseph 
 B. Hoyt, the oldest brother, and Mr. Fayerweather united as J. B. Hoyt & Co., retain- 
 ing the old stand on Spruce street, and the trade in oak leather and belting. Jan. i, 
 1884, J. B. Hoyt & Co. dissolved and the firm of Fayerweather & Ladew was formed 
 by Mr. Fayerweather and Harvey S. Ladew. The new partners were exceedingly con- 
 genial to each other and co-operated harmoniously to extend their trade. They owned 
 a number of tanneries in the oak bark districts of Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, 
 Georgia and Alabama. Their trade was enormous. Mr. Fayerweather was a shrewd 
 investor, and at the time of his death held large amounts of the securities of about 
 twenty railroads, which he had purchased to advantage. Like the rest of his family, 
 he was stalwart in character and physique and of great purity of life. He was married 
 to Lucy, daughter of William Beard Joyce, of Trumbull, Conn. During his energetic 
 career and in honest industry, Mr. Fayerweather gained a fortune of several millions. 
 By his will he gave specifically $3,725,000 to about thirty-frwe colleges and $560,000 to 
 eleven hospitals. The residue, after the payment of those and other specific legacies, 
 was bequeathed to trustees absolutely, to be disposed of to colleges and public institu- 
 tions. Mrs. Fayerweather died in Rutland, Vt, July 16, 1892. 
 
 CHARLES NYE FEARING, merchant, born in Wareham, Mass., March 10, 1812, 
 died at his home in Lafayette Place, New York, Jan. 6, 1886. His father, William 
 Fearing, a prosperous shipping merchant, came from English ancestry and traced his 
 line to John Fearing, founder of the family in this country, who came from Cambridge 
 or Hingham, England, to Hingham, Mass., in 1635. With an excellent education, ob- 
 tained at Brown University, Charles began life in the dry goods business in partnership 
 with Edwin Hoyt, as Fearing & Hoyt. In 1840, he embarked in the commission dry 
 goods business in this city, on Exchange Place, in the firm of Fearing & Hall, and rose 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. FE. 235 
 
 to prominence in this occupation. His house ranked among the leaders of the trade for 
 more than twenty years. He retired in 1861, his life thereafter being a quiet one. He 
 was president of The Auburn Woolen Co, for many years. In 1839, he married Mary, 
 daughter of Benjamin L. Swan. Their children were three sons. Charles F.. a stock 
 broker, William H,, an importer of wines, and Edward S. Fearing, who died in 1881. 
 
 riARTIN S. FECHHEIMER, merchant, was born of Jewish parents, June 24, 
 1835, in Mitwitz, Bavaria. His parents were poor and could not give him a better 
 education than that afforded by the village school. The boy left home in 1847, removed 
 to Cincinnati, and entered the employment of his uncles. He began at the bottom of 
 the ladder, doing the hardest and roughest work, for which he received his board and 
 lodging. Having acquired some experience, at the age of nineteen he started in busi- 
 ness for himself at Toledo, O., and subsequently moved to Madison, Wis. In 1858, he 
 went to California. As a clerk in Sacramento, he saved his earnings, and joined Henry 
 Kronethal, in 1860, in a clothing business. In 1862, Henry Goodkind became associ- 
 ated with them in Fechheimer, Goodkind & Co. From 1862 to 1884, the business was 
 carried on in San Francisco, and they ranked eventually as one of the leading clothing 
 houses of the coast. In 1884, Charles Fishel and Charles E. Adler, having become 
 members, the firm established a store in the city of New York, which soon acquired 
 such proportions that the firm discontinued the California branch. Oct. 31, 1891, Henry 
 Goodkind retired, and the business has been continued since under the name of Fech- 
 heimer, Fishel & Co. They are now one of the leading houses in the wholesale clothing- 
 business. For many years past, Mr. Fechheimer has adopted a modified form of 
 profit sharing, as a result of which and of his fairness to employes, he has never had 
 a strike since coming to this city. He is a director of The Hanover National Bank 
 and a member of the Harmonic social club. He assisted in organizing the first Society 
 for Ethical Culture in this city, under Prof. Felix Adler, and for many years was 
 president and trustee of the society. In 1865, he married Miss Francis Meyer. Of his 
 seven children five are living. 
 
 WILLIAM FELLOWES, merchant, a native of New Pitt, N. C., born April 17, 
 1802, died May 12, 1875, at his home in Richmond county, N. Y. The son of Jonathan 
 and Elizabeth Fellowes, members of old families, he began life with inherited spirit 
 and after an education in Henderson, Ky., made his reputation as a merchant in the 
 dry goods firm of William & Cornelius Fellowes in Louisville, Ky. His trade was 
 largely with the river States and a branch store was established in New Orleans under 
 the style of Fellowes, Jenkins & Co. About 1846, Mr. Fellowes removed to New y York 
 city and managed another branch house, in co-operation with the other firms. He 
 soon became known as a very capable, upright and progressive man. He owned a 
 plantation in St. Mary's parish, La., a farm in Texas, and interests in The Manhattan 
 Silver and The American Mining Go's, and other properties. Having made a large in- 
 vestment in The Panama Railroad, he accepted office as a director of that company. 
 By his marriage with Caroline Davis in Boston, he had nine children : Mrs. Eliza B. 
 Ward well; Caroline, wife of David P. Morgan; William, Clara, Harriet D., Cornelius, 
 Nancy W., Alice and Birney Fellowes. He was a member of the Union club. 
 
 BENJAfllN HAZARD FIELD, merchant, born May 2, 1814, in Yorktown, West- 
 chester county, N. Y., died in this city, March 17, 1893. He was a descendant of an 
 old and gentle English family, one of whom, Robert Field, came to America with his 
 
236 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 neighbor and relative by marriage, Sir Richard Saltonstall, in the company organized 
 in 1630, and settled in Watertown, Mass. Later, he moved to Newport, R. I. The 
 subject of this sketch was the son of Hazard Field. He graduated from the North 
 Salem academy and entered the office of Hickson W. Field, a merchant in the China 
 trade and wholesale dealer in drugs in this city. In March, 1832, he became a member 
 of the firm, and, in 1838, when the senior partner retired, assumed the management. 
 June 9, 1838, he married Catherine W. Van Cortlandt de Peyster, daughter of Frederic 
 de Peyster and noted for her beauty, prominence in society and activity in charitable 
 work They had two children, Cortlandt de Peyster Field and Florence Van Cortlandt, 
 wife of W. W. Bishop. Mrs, Field died in July, 1886. In 1861, Mr. Field was joined 
 in business by his son. Four years later, the firm name was changed to Cortlandt de 
 P. Field & Co., the elder Field remaining a silent partner. He owned a large amount 
 of excellent real estate in New York city, and was a director of The Atlantic Mutual 
 Life Insurance Co., and The Greenwood Cemetery Co., and vice president of The Bank 
 for Savings. Early identified with the St. Nicholas Society, of which he became vice 
 president and president, in 1884 he was elected a life member of the Society. To his 
 efforts was largely due the erection of The Farragut monument in Madison Square 
 and the monument to the poet Halleck in Central Park. He was exceedingly active in 
 philanthropic work and an officer of numerous charities, being also a member of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, and the Century and St. Nicholas clubs, and a life long member 
 of the Protestant Episcopal church. 
 
 CYRUS WEST FIELD, famous for his share in laying the first Atlantic cable, 
 born in Stockbridge, Mass., Nov. 30, 1819, died in Dobbs Ferry, N. Y., July 12, 1892. 
 He was one of eight distinguished sons of Dr. David Dudley Field, a Congregational 
 minister of Stockbridge, and was descended from Zachariah Field, who settled in 
 America about 1630. His education was obtained from his father and in the schools 
 of Stockbridge. At the age of fifteen, he entered the employment of A. T. Stewart in 
 New York, and in October, 1840, became a partner of L. Root & Co. in the paper 
 trade. This firm failed in 1841, and, until 1843, Mr. Field found himself occupied with 
 a settlement of their affairs. In 1843, he organized the firm of Cyrus W. Field & Co., 
 built up a prosperous business, and paid off, in 1853, all the debts he had compromised 
 in 1843. Becoming, in 1854, intensely interested in the possibility of connecting the 
 old and new worlds by telegraph, and having partly retired from business, he devoted 
 himself with enthusiasm to the subject of an ocean cable. In 1858, a cable was laid 
 which worked imperfectly. Entire success was not attained until 1866. No one who 
 studies biography for the elements of character which command success, can fail to be 
 struck with the two fundamental factors, illustrated in this achievement, which won 
 for Mr. Field world wide distinction, namely, first the conception of a useful and 
 practical idea, and secondly the inflexible determination and undaunted pluck which 
 he brought to bear in carrying out his plans in spite of discouragements and obstacles. 
 For the laying of the Atlantic cable, Congress gave Mr. Field a gold medal and the 
 thanks of the nation, and the Paris Exposition of 1867 awarded him a grand medal. 
 In 1866, he again wrote to various creditors who had released him in 1860 and paid his 
 indebtedness in full, with interest, to the amount of $170,897. He helped develop 
 the elevated railway system of New York and was identified with other great enterprises. 
 For several years, the name of Cyrus W. Field was well known in Wall street. Daring 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. FI. 237 
 
 in speculation, upright and competent, he amassed a fortune of several millions, which, 
 however, first reduced somewhat by speculation, at the last shrank to nothing, owing 
 to the necessity of repairing losses for which he was not responsible. Successful in 
 business, he was never more successful than in the triumph over self and the love of 
 wealth, when he devoted the accumulations of a life time toward preserving the honor 
 of his family. At the time of his death, he owned only five shares in The Anglo- 
 American Cable and one hundred acres of land at Irvington on the Hudson, upon 
 which there was a mortgage. Mr. Field was married Dec. 2, 1840, to Mar}- Bryan 
 Stone of Guilford, Conn. Mrs. Field died Nov. 23, 1891. The children born to 
 them were Mary Grace, Alice Durand, Isabella, Fanny Griswold, Arthur Stone, now 
 deceased, Edward Moore and Cyrus William, who died June, 9, 1894. The first named, 
 wife of Dr. D. A. Lindley, died Jan. n, 1892. 
 
 HICKSON W. FIELD, one of the race of old New York merchants, who died in 
 Rome, Italy, Feb. 12, 1873, at the age of eighty-five, laid the foundation of his fortune 
 in the commission and drug business on Burling Slip. He inherited a moderate estate, 
 but the most of his means probably came, however, from investments in real estate in 
 the city, at a time when purchases could be made at a moderate valuation. The rapid 
 growth of the town greatly enhanced the value of his properties. About 1845, he built, 
 in company with a partner, the New York Hotel on Broadway, which, for nearly fifty 
 years, ranked among the most prosperous hostelries in the city, becoming a head- 
 quarters for Southern merchants especially. The uptown movement, it may be noted in 
 passing, finally left this old hotel lagging in the rear. It ceased to pay, and, in 1894, it 
 was levelled to the ground to give place for a modern office building. His son was 
 Hickson W. Field, jr., and his daughter Mrs. Eleanor K. Jay. 
 
 BENEDICKT FISCHER, tea merchant, born March 21, 1841, in Ober Schopfheim, 
 Baden, Germany, has been a resident of the United States since the age of fourteen. 
 Receiving only a limited education in the village school of his native place, he was 
 thrown upon his own resources for his success in life. Beginning as a wheelwright's 
 apprentice, he served his time, and afterward relinquished a salary of $45 a week to 
 become a chemist's assistant at $3 a week with a view to a future career. He then 
 entered a varnish factory, aided in the manufacture, and became a salesman of varnish. 
 Later, he found as salesman for a wholesale grocery house the vocation he has since 
 pursued. In 1861, he engaged in the tea and grocery trade for himself, making visits 
 to buyers during the day, and at night preparing the goods for delivery. Through his 
 own efforts, his present extensive trade is the outgrowth of a modest beginning. With 
 several changes of partners, and with occasional mishaps, such as the burning of his 
 store twice, he has gone bravely on in spite of discouragements, and has won large 
 means by sheer perseverance and persistent enterprise. Mr. Fischer has a thorough 
 knowledge of his trade, bears a good reputation, and has set an example which should 
 prove an encouragement to many young merchants. Mr. Fischer was the first to intro- 
 duce American tiles in the market, and is president of The American Encaustic Tile 
 Co., the largest of its class in the United States. Of The Mauser Manufacturing Co., 
 silversmiths, he is vice president. The Riverside Bank was organized by him and 
 others. Mr. Fischer was married Sept. 21, 1864, to Kathrina Ebling. Of his nine 
 children, five are living, William H., Florence and Irma Fischer, Mrs. Antonia 
 Diefenthaler and Mrs. Leonora Koehler. 
 
238 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 CHARLES S. FISCHER, manufacturer, was born Jan. 30, 1820, in Naples, Italy. 
 His grandfather and father were both military officers in the Austrian army, placed in 
 Naples at the time of the Austrian protectorate, and the latter was one of the founders 
 of the well known house of J. & C. Fischer, makers of the Fischer piano. Charles 
 obtained an education at Naples. The family destined him for the priesthood, but he 
 preferred a business career and learned a trade in Naples, under his grandfather, who 
 was interested in various manufactures, among them the making of pianos. Coming 
 to America in 1839, he started in business with his brother and William Nunns in 1840, 
 as Nunns & Fischer. The senior partner had previously been connected with Robert 
 & William Nunns and Nunns & Clark, piano makers. About twenty-five years ago 
 Mr. Fischer was admitted to partnerthip in J. & C. Fischer, and since 1889 has been sole 
 owner. He is the oldest piano manufacturer in New York city. In the past quarter 
 of a century, the firm have built up a business which ranks among the foremost of its 
 kind in the country and has brought prosperity to the very capable partners. There 
 is a branch house in Troy, N. Y. The office of the concern is on Fifth avenue in 
 this city. Mr. Fischer was married in New York to Helena W. Beilby. Of their ten 
 children, six are living, namely, Charles S. Fischer, jr., M. D., Henry B. , Bernardo F., 
 Adolpho H., Frederic G., and T. Tasso Fischer. Mr. Fischer is an accomplished man 
 and a fluent speaker of four languages, Italian, French, German and American. 
 
 HAMILTON FISH, diplomat, born in New York city in 1808, died here Sept. 
 7, 1893. His father was Lieut. Col. Nicholas Fish, an officer in the American Revolu- 
 tion, the friend of Washington, afterward Adjutant General of New York, and presi- 
 dent of The Butchers & Drovers' Bank of this city. His mother was Elizabeth Stuy- 
 vesant. The family is believed to be a branch of the old Saxon family of Fysche, which, 
 in the tables of German nobility, dates from a remote era. The founder in America 
 was Jonathan Fish, who came to Massachusetts from England about 1635. Hamilton 
 Fish graduated from Columbia College and was admitted to the New York bar in 1830. 
 While he practiced law to some extent, he entered early upon a public career. Absolved 
 from labor by a large inheritance in real estate from his father and his uncle, Peter G. 
 Stuyvesant, he was able to devote his life to public affairs and to fill important positions 
 with fidelity and credit. A Whig in politics, he became a Republican after the forma- 
 tion of the Republican party. He was elected a member of Congress in 1844, Lieuten- 
 ant Governor in 1847, Governor in 1848-50, and in 1851-57 United States Senator. 
 From 1869 to 1877, he was Secretary of State under President Grant and one of the 
 commissioners who signed the Washington Treaty of 1871, which disposed of the ques- 
 tion of Alabama claims. Mr. Fish was for many years president of The Society of the 
 Cincinnati, succeeding his father, and of numerous social, philanthropic and intellec- 
 tual organizations. His wife was Julia Kean. His oldest son, NICHOLAS FISH, 
 banker, born in New York city, Feb. 19, 1846, graduated from Columbia College in 
 1867, and from Harvard Law School in 1869, and entered upon the laborious profession 
 of the law in this city. He has figured to some extent in public affairs, being first 
 appointed as Second Secretary of Legation in Germany, 1871, and First Secretary thereof 
 in 1874. He was Chargd d'Affaires to the Swiss Confederation, 1877-81, and United 
 States Minister to Belgium, 1882-86. In 1887, Mr. Fish engaged in banking in 
 Harriman & Co., as a partner, and has since been identified with financial affairs down 
 town in that firm. Mr. Fish inherited means and a distinguished name, to which he 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. FI. 239 
 
 has done honor by a spotless business record and high personal character. Well bred, 
 well informed, courteous, sound in judgment and thoroughly a man of affairs, he 
 occupies a very high position. His clubs are the Metropolitan, Century, University, 
 Tuxedo, St. Anthony, Lawyers', Players', Down Town, University Athletic, and Coney 
 Island Jockey. He is also a member of The Society of the Cincinnati, The St. 
 Nicholas Society, and The New York Historical Society. He was married in Newport, 
 R. I., to Clemence S. Bryce, and their two children are Elizabeth S. Clare Fish and 
 Hamilton Fish jr. STUYVESANT FISH, railroad president, son of Hamilton Fish, 
 a native of New York city, was born June 24, 1851. After a course at Columbia 
 College, from which he graduated in 1871, he entered the Service of The Illinois 
 Central Railroad in 1871, as a clerk in its New York office, and with the exception of 
 four years has been continuously identified with that company's interests. In 1872, 
 John Newell, then president of The Illinois Central Railroad, made Mr. Fish his 
 secretary. Later in that year, Mr. Fish left to become a clerk in the employ of Morton, 
 Bliss & Co. , of this city, and of their London correspondents, Morton, Rose & Co. 
 Stalwart and clear headed, sound in judgment and physically capable of an enormous 
 amount of work, Mr. Fish made his mark without delay. In January, 1875, he became 
 managing clerk for Morton, Bliss & Co., and held their power of attorney. This posi- 
 tion he retained for over two years. From Dec. 14, 1876, to March, 1879, Mr. Fish 
 was a member of the New York Stock Exchange. He was, in February, 1877, elected 
 a director of The Illinois Central Railroad, and treasurer of the Purchasing Com- 
 mittee of The New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad, and has since given 
 his attention entirely to railroad enterprises. Nov. 8, 1877, he was elected secretary of 
 The Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Railroad, and March, 1882, vice president. In 
 1883, he was made second vice president of The Illinois Central, and rose rapidly, 
 becoming president in 1887, which position he retains to this time. He is also president 
 of The Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad and other corporations affiliated with The 
 Illinois Central. Mr. Fish is a director of The National Park Bank and trustee of 
 The Mutual Life Insurance Co., and The New York Life Insurance & Trust Co. He 
 holds membership in several social clubs, among them the Metropolitan, Union, St. 
 Anthony, Down Town and Players'. Married in 1876 to Marian G. Anthon, a daughter 
 of the late William Henry Anthon, he has three children, named respectively Marian, 
 Stuyvesant, jr., and Sidney Webster Fish. 
 
 ROBERT COCKBURN FISHER, marble manufacturer, born on the Bowery, near 
 Houston street, May 20, 1837, died in New Rochelle, N. Y., Dec. 26, 1893. His 
 father, John Thomas Fisher, came to this country from Dublin in 1829, and his mother, 
 Eliza Bird, was a native of Orange county, N. Y. Robert received his education in 
 the Hamilton Collegiate Institute at White Plains, N. Y., and being a practical, ener- 
 getic young man, joined his father in the marble business in 1854, in a yard at the 
 corner of Houston street and the Bower}'. In 1859, he succeeded his father as senior 
 partner in Fisher & Bird, and continued at the head of the firm until his death, at 
 which time they were known as Robert C. Fisher & Co. His marble and granite works 
 on East Houston street were carried on with great success. He was a member of the 
 Reform and Church clubs and the American Geographical Society, and director of The 
 Oriental Bank, but lived in New Rochelle, N. Y., where he was president of the Board 
 of Education for twelve years. Owing to the gentle and kindly spirit of Mr. Fisher, his 
 
240 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 possessions excited no envy, except from those who envied his ability to do good to 
 others. His presence was a constant benediction among his neighbors in every station, 
 and death came while he was engaged in the practical philanthrophy, which had charac- 
 terized his whole life. He devoted all his leisure time to religious objects, and was 
 vestryman, warden and voluntary organist of Trinity Church, New Rochelle, for thirty 
 years. Mr. Fisher was married May 5, 1859, to Miss Mary, daughter of Samuel Perry 
 Ayres and Henrietta Williamson, his wife. Of their eight children, four survive, John 
 T., Robert C., Thomas R. and Edward H. Fisher. 
 
 BENJAHIN FITCH, dry goods merchant, born June 13, 1805, in New Canaan, 
 Fairfield county, Conn., died in this city, Nov. 7, 1883 He was the son of Stephen 
 Fitch, a merchant, and Charlotte, his wife. The family came from English ancestry. 
 Benjamin left school to become a clerk in New York cit , and began business for him- 
 self at an early age in Rochester, N. Y. A few years later, he removed to Buffalo, 
 joined a dry goods house as partner, and became resident buyer in New York city. 
 Inspired by ambition, he opened a dry goods store on Beaver street, under the name 
 of Fitch & Robinson. His business record was so scrupulously honorable, that, in 1855, 
 when he retired, a number of merchants of New York city presented him with a service 
 of silver plate. Mr. Fitch enjoyed the pleasure of giving and during the course of 
 his career disbursed about half his large estate for public and charitable purposes. When 
 the Civil War broke out, being too old to go to the front, he took an active part in 
 enlisting recruits and made provision for the families of those who might not survive. 
 For this purpose he built an institution at Darien, Conn., known as Fitch's Home for 
 the Soldiers' Orphans. It is yet occupied by disabled soldiers and is in charge of the 
 State of Connecticut. In 1880, he became interested in The Charity Organization 
 Society of Buffalo, N. Y., to which he donated $400,000 to build and maintain what is 
 now known as The Fitch Institute. Somewhat eccentric, Mr. Fitch was self reliant 
 and energetic, and won respect by his sterling honesty and many deeds of charity. He 
 was never married. 
 
 HENRY M. FLAQLER, oil producer and refiner, was born in Canandaigua, N. Y., 
 about 1830, the son of a country clergyman. When fotirteen years old, he went by 
 canal boat to Buffalo and thence by lake to Sandusky, O., arriving there almost penni- 
 less. Ohio promised him no advantages at that time, and he returned to his native 
 State and went to work as clerk in a store in Orleans county at a salary of five dollars 
 a week. He was soon promoted, saved money by self denial, and while yet a young 
 man, removed to Saginaw, Mich., and conducted some salt works there with excellent 
 success. Later, he became a resident of Cleveland and one of the pioneers in the petro- 
 leum business there. When he was finally admitted to partnership in the oil refining 
 firm of Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler of that city, his future was assured. The men 
 of this firm were among the first to discover that, by a union of the interests of different 
 producers, an immense amount of expense might be saved to them all and that divi- 
 dends might be gained simply from the savings, while at the same time light for the 
 poor man might be made cheaper than he had ever known. Out of these considera- 
 tions, The Standard Oil Co. came into existence, succeeding the firm to which Mr. 
 Flagler belonged. He has been prominently identified with its management since its 
 organization. Mr. Flagler is now connected with numerous large enterprises and is a 
 director in The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, The Minnesota Iron Co , The 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. FL. 241 
 
 Duluth & Iron Range Railroad, The Western Union Telegraph Co., The International 
 Bank Note Co. , The Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railway, and other companies. 
 In 1885, a visit to Florida revealed to him the possibilities of the State of the Ever- 
 glades, and at St. Augustine he built at a cost of $3,000,000 those dreams of architecture 
 the Ponce de Leon and Alcazar hotels. He has also built about 600 miles of railroad 
 in the State and otherwise added enormously to the taxable property of Florida. Mr. 
 Flagler has joined several of the best social organizations of New York city, including 
 the Union Leagne, Metropolitan, City, Larchmont Yacht, New York Yacht, American 
 Yacht and The New England Society. 
 
 MAXIMILIAN FLEISCH/IANN, manufacturer, born in 1846, in Jagerndorf, Aus- 
 tria, died on the steamship Columbia, while on his way to this city from Europe, 
 Sept. i, 1890. He was a son of A. N. Fleischmann, by occupation a distiller, and 
 received his early schooling in Budapest, Hungary. Coming to New York city in 1866, 
 he introduced a new process in the manufacture of whiskey, known in Europe as the 
 Fleischmann patent. Then, in 1868, with his brother Charles and the late James W. 
 Gaff, he engaged in the manufacture of compressed yeast in Cincinnati. While not at 
 all the inventor of the use of leaven, he did exercise ingenuity in preparing yeast in a 
 compact, convenient and available form, which immediately addressed itself to the favor 
 of the housewives of the country at large. The business grew to large proportions. 
 Mr. Gaff died in 1882, whereupon his widow became a silent partner in the firm until 
 1883. The firm then dissolved, and Charles and Maximilian Fleischmann succeeded. 
 One of the factories remained in Cincinnati, but Maximilian became a resident of New 
 York city, and took a deep interest in social and business affairs. He was a trustee for 
 Grammar Schools No. 27 and 82, and a member of the Produce Exchange, Merchants' 
 Exchange at Buffalo, and the Liederkranz and Republican Down Town clubs. He was 
 survived by his wife and five children. 
 
 EWALD FLEITMANN, importer, born in Schwerte, Westphalia, Dec. 5, 1846, was 
 educated in a college near Cologne, and in a Prussian cadet school, finishing at a 
 mercantile academy in Antwerp. In 1864, the young man arrived in New York city 
 from the fatherland, and established an importation of European silks and dry goods, 
 under the name of Fleitmann & Co. Their trade is now enormous, amounting nearly 
 to $10,000,000 a year Mr. Fleitmann is a splendid merchant and has identified him- 
 self closely with the interests of the city in which he dwells. He contributes to the 
 support of various institutions and is a member of the Colonial, Merchants', and Mer- 
 chants' Central clubs and the Deutsche Yerein, and a director of The Germania Life 
 Insurance Co. , The German Savings Bank and The Citizens' National Bank. By his 
 marriage with Miss Katherine Johanna Caesar of New Brighton, N. Y., in 1874, he has 
 two sons and four daughters. 
 
 BENJAMIN FLINT, ship owner and merchant, a native of Damariscotta, Me., 
 born Dec. 13, 1813, died in Brooklyn, N. Y. , June 28, 1891. He was a son of Robert 
 Chapman and Lucinda Flint, the latter being a daughter of Dr. Thomas Flint, a surgeon 
 in the American Revolution, who, while serving on one occasion upon a privateer, was 
 captured by the British and taken to England. Benjamin Flint Chapman, by which 
 name he was first known, was adopted by his uncle, Benjamin Flint, a captain in the War 
 of 1812, and at the age of twenty-two, by act of the Maine Legislature, changed his 
 name to Benjamin Flint, in honor of his uncle. Trained to the art of a shipwright in 
 
242 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Thomaston, Me., he possessed a mind which speedily lifted him out of the ranks of 
 those who must spend their lives in manual labor. By investment of his earnings, he 
 was finally drawn into shipping. In 1840, with his brother, Isaac F. Chapman, he 
 formed the firm of Chapman & Flint, to conduct a general store in Damariscotta. In 
 1841, they built the bark Alabama, of 280 tons, and soon thereafter rose to prominence 
 as ship owners and general carriers in the ocean trade. For many years, the firm built 
 a vessel nearly every year, first in Thomaston, Me., but after 1868 in Bath, Me., 
 increasing the size of their vessels year by year until they reached about 2,600 tons. In 
 i8?3, a younger brother, James F. Chapman, who had previously commanded several 
 of their vessels, removed to San Francisco to manage the business of the firm there, and 
 became part owner in many ships. Mr. Flint and Isaac F. Chapman removed to 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1858, in order the better to manage their large fleet. The firm of 
 Chapman & Flint dissolved in 1880, and in 1886 Mr. Flint founded the firm of Flint & 
 Co., with his sons Charles R. and Wallace B. Flint, as partners, with offices at 86 Water 
 street. Their commission trade was mainly with South America, Mexico and the West 
 Indies. While in Thomaston, Mr. Flint and Mr. Chapman bought adjoining lots and 
 laid the foundation for houses exactly alike. In Brooklyn, they lived first in adjoining 
 houses on Fort Green Place, and later bought brown stone houses precisely alike in Oxford 
 street. During the Civil War, while Confederate cruisers were preying on American 
 ships at sea, the firm suspended shipbuilding for a while and constructed a row of 
 houses on one side of Montague Terrace in Brooklyn. Mr. Flint lived in the house at 
 one end of the row, Mr. Chapman, on the corner, at the other end. This property 
 afterward increased greatly in value. It is worthy of note that in thirty-five years, Mr. 
 Flint never lost a ship, nor did one of his fleet meet with a serious accident. Mr. Flint 
 was twice married, first to Sarah Toby, next to Frances E. Scribner. The latter sur- 
 vived him, with his two sons, Charles R. and Wallace B. Flint. Mr. Flint was a sound, 
 clear headed, and very capable man, of strong common sense, unbending integrity and 
 kindly nature. He was universally esteemed in the business world. 
 
 CHARLES RANLETT FLINT, merchant and financier, is one of the men of public 
 spirit, high character and exceptional ability, for whom this metropolis is indebted to 
 the State of Maine. He was born Jan. 24, 1850, in Thomaston, Me., and descends from 
 Thomas Flint, an immigrant from Wales in 1642, who settled in the village of Salem, 
 now South Danvers, Mass. Benjamin Flint, the father of Charles, was a shipowner, 
 who lived and built his vessels in Thomaston during the -early part of his career, and in 
 1858 moved to New York. Charles was educated first at the public schools of Thomaston 
 and Brooklyn, and at the private school of Warren Johnson in Topsham, Maine, and 
 graduated in 1868 from the Polytechnic of Brooklyn. An eager and popular student, 
 he was made president of his class and of the Polytechnic alumni. 
 
 He began his business career in New York city as a dock clerk, and later spent two 
 years as a clerk in a shipping and commission house, engaged in business with the West 
 Coast of South America. In 1871, he entered into the copartnership of Gilchrist, Flint 
 & Co., ship chandlers, and in February, 1872, he united with William R. Grace inform- 
 ing the firm of W. R. Grace & Co. In 1874, he visited the different countries of South 
 America, and, in 1876, he organized the firm of Grace Bro's & Co., in the City of 
 Callao, Peru. Mr. Flint remained on the West Coast nearly a year. Upon his return, 
 he was appointed Consul of Chili at New York; and during the absence of the Charg6 
 
1 
 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. FL. 243 
 
 d' Affaires, was entrusted with the archives and correspondence of the Chilian Legation 
 in the United States. 
 
 In 1878, Mr. Flint organized The Export Lumber Co., Limited, now one of the 
 most successful lumber concerns in the United States, with yards in Michigan, Ottawa, 
 Montreal, Portland, Boston and New York, and handling over 200,000,000 feet of 
 lumber per year. 
 
 In 1 880, he was elected president of The United States Electric Lighting Co. 
 
 In 1884, Mr. Flint visited Brazil and established a large rubber exporting business 
 on the river Amazon. Two years later, in 1 886, he consolidated the leading dealers in 
 crude rubber in this country, and formed The New York Commercial Co., which has a 
 capital of $2,500,000, and is now the largest dealer in crude rubber in the world. 
 
 About this time, he was appointed Consul for Nicaragua, and represented that 
 country in negotiations which resulted in concessions being granted to Americans to 
 build the canal. He has also been, in recent years, the Consul General of Costa Rica 
 in this country. 
 
 In 1883, Mr. Flint married Miss E. Kate Simmons, daughter of Joseph F. Sim- 
 mons of Troy, N. Y. Mrs. Flint is noted for her musical ability. She has devoted the 
 receipts from her musical compositions to charity, and from the sale of the ' ' Racquet 
 Galop " endowed a permanent bed in St. Luke's Hospital. 
 
 In 1885, Mr. Flint retired from W. R. Grace & Co., and became a partner in the 
 now well known house of Flint & Co., then composed of his father, Benjamin, his 
 brother, Wallace B. , and himself. This firm succeeded to the shipping business estab- 
 lished by Benjamin Flint in 1840, and the lumber, rubber and general commission busi- 
 ness, created by Charles R. Flint. For many years, the firm have been large importers 
 of South American products and among the largest exporters of American products to 
 even- part of Latin America. 
 
 The financial ability of Mr. Flint has been exhibited during the last few years by 
 the consummation of several schemes of great importance. In 1 89 v, he united the 
 manufacturers of rubber boots and shoes in this country into one large concern, under 
 the title of The United States Rubber Co., having a capital of $40,000,000. Of this 
 corporation he became the treasurer. 
 
 In 1892, he brought about a union of five companies manufacturing rubber belt- 
 ing, packing and. hose, under the title of The Mechanical Rubber Co., with a capital of 
 $15,000,000, of which concern he is a director. 
 
 During the winter of 1889-90, Mr. Flint was appointed a member of the Interna- 
 tional Conference of American Republics, which was held in the City of Washington. 
 His intimate knowledge of the resources and trade of the South American continent en- 
 abled him to render important services as a delegate of the United States to that Con- 
 ference. In a letter, the original of which is in the archives of the Republic of Brazil, 
 bearing on the recognition of the new republic by the United States, Secretary Blaine 
 wrote to Mr. Flint: "It is important that you return to Washington.as soon as possible. 
 Your services in the Conference are so valuable that we need you every hour, though I 
 am asking much of you to be here so constantly, for your large business demands a 
 great deal of your attention. But just now it must be patriotism first and business 
 afterward." It was he who, as a member of the Committee on Banking, proposed the 
 idea of an International American Bank, with its headquarters in the United States and 
 
244 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 branches in all the other republics. His recommendations were ratified by the Confer- 
 ence, heartily endorsed by Secretary Elaine and President Harrison, and by the latter 
 pressed upon the attention of Congress. As a member of the Committee on Customs 
 Regulations, he proposed the organization of a Bureau of American Republics to carry 
 out the vote of the Conference in favor of a uniform system of statistics and the exten- 
 sion of trade between the Republics. This proposition was favorably received, and has 
 since been carried out by the governments represented in the Conference. 
 
 After the adjournment of the Conference, at the request of Secretary Elaine, Mr. 
 Flint served as the confidential agent of the United States in negotiating the reciprocity 
 treaty with Brazil, the first one which was effected under the Aldrich amendment to the 
 McKinley bill. This work was successfully accomplished. It provided for the conces- 
 sion of tariff duties on American products in Brazil, lower than those imposed by that 
 republic upon kindred products from all other countries. This treaty was the key to 
 the reciprocity situation. It became at once the basis of other treaties with American 
 Republics. It proved of especial value in the negotiations with Spain. Our Spanish 
 neighbor was reluctant at first to open Cuba and Porto Rico to American products, but 
 was, by force of the free admission of sugar from Brazil to this country, finally compelled 
 to agree to a treaty by which American manufactures, flour and provisions were admitted 
 to those islands at greatly reduced and special rates of duty, in consideration of our 
 admitting their sugar free. 
 
 At the time of the trouble between Chili and the United States, the large influence 
 of Mr. Flint led Secretary Elaine to invite him to take part in the efforts for a friendly 
 and peaceful adjustment of the question at issue. In response to a telegram from Mr. 
 Blaine, Mr. Flint visited the city of Washington. There he learned that the Chilian 
 complication was drifting into a position where the relations of friendship and good will 
 between two American republics, which had been so cordially expressed at the Inter- 
 national Conference, were in danger of being interrupted. Mr. Blaine said that while 
 the United States would be able to force Chili into submission, yet he felt that it would 
 be a more gracious action if the differences between the two countries could be arranged 
 upon the more advanced plane of arbitration. The whole matter was then in such a 
 delicate position, that it was not convenient for the Secretary of State to speak officially. 
 Mr. Flint promptly called on the Brazilian Minister, Dr. Mendonca, who said that, if 
 desired by the United States, he would telegraph to his government, suggesting that 
 Brazil offer her services as a mediator. Mr. Flint suggested that Dr. Mendonca might 
 render even a more friendly service, by making the suggestion to his government on 
 his own responsibility. The result was that Dr. Mendonca cabled at once, and advised 
 that Brazil offer her services to Chili and the United States, in a settlement by arbitra- 
 tion under American international law. Brazil graciously complied with this sugges- 
 tion and tendered her good offices. 
 
 During the Da G~ama rebellion in Brazil, Mr. Flint became the agent of President 
 Peixoto in the purchase of vessels and munitions of war. The energy with which he 
 discharged his duties in this crisis was remarkable. He purchased the Ericsson 
 Destroyer and the swift yachts Feiseen and Javelin, and caused the latter two to be 
 converted promptly into torpedo boats. El Cid, a steam merchant steamer of 4,600 
 tons displacement, came into port Oct. 26, 1893, was discharged, placed in dry dock, 
 and fitted out with a pneumatic dynamite gun, 22 rapid fire guns, and four torpedo 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. FL. 245 
 
 launching tubes, and the ship changed so as to receive them. On Nov. i8th, christened 
 anew as the Nictheroy, she dropped down the bay in commission. The Britannia, an 
 iron steamer of 2,600 tons displacement, Norwegian built, came into port Nov. 6th, 
 went into dry dock, and was fitted with 16 rapid firing guns, 4 launching tubes, and 
 the Sims-Edison dirigible torpedo, and, renamed America, was ready for her voyage 
 Nov. 24th. This fleet, capable of discharging 4, 500 pounds of dynamite simultaneously, 
 was of the greatest value to Brazil in suppressing her rebellion. 
 
 Mr. Flint has proved a useful associate in the management of financial institutions 
 in this metropolis, and he is a director of The National Bank of the Republic, The 
 State Trust Co., The Knickerbocker Trust Co., and the Produce Exchange Bank. He 
 is also a director in The Hastings Pavement Co., The Fernbrook Carpet Co., of Yonkers, 
 and various railroad companies. He is one of the Council of the University of the City 
 of Xew York. 
 
 An active, stirring, hard working business man, Mr. Flint maintains his vigor for 
 the work which is pressing upon him by entering with zest into out-door recreations. 
 He spends one day in every week in open-air recreation, either with the gun or rod. 
 He has hunted in South America, the Rocky Mountains and Canada, and has shot 
 moose, elk, caribou, bear and nearly all other big game found on the two continents. 
 He is found of yachting, and was the owner of the Gracie, which has probably taken 
 more prizes than any other yacht in the United States. He was one of the patriotic 
 syndicate which built and raced the Vigilant, which successfully defended the America's 
 cup against the Valkyrie. He is a member of several clubs, including the Union, 
 Century, Riding, Metropolitan, New York Yacht, and the South Side Sportsmen's 
 Club. He is also a member of the New England Society. 
 
 WALLACE BENJAHIN FLINT, shipping merchant, son of the late Benjamin 
 Flint, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., Oct. 10, 1863. He attended the Brooklyn Poly- 
 technic and Collegiate Institute, and began his career as office boy for his father, and 
 being advanced through different stages, gained a thorough acquaintance with commer- 
 cial operations and the management of ships. In 1888, he was admitted to partnership 
 by his father in the firm of Flint & Co., commission merchants, of which he is yet a 
 member, the senior partner being his brother, Charles R. Flint. He is associated in 
 most of the enterprises of the house, and is secretary of The Export Lumber Co., and 
 treasurer of The New York Commercial Co. He has been the Consul of Uruguay in 
 Xew York, and for two years director of the Maritime Exchange. Mr. Flint was 
 married in 1892. 
 
 ROSWELL PETTIBONE FLOWER, banker and public man, was born in Theresa, 
 N. Y., Aug. 7, 1835. His father was a native of Greene county, N. Y., and his grand- 
 father a resident of New Hartford, Conn. The family is of English origin. Roswell's 
 early education was obtained in the public schools of Theresa. First a school teacher, 
 he then served in the modest capacity of a clerk in the Post Office in Watertown, N. Y., 
 his career thus practically beginning in the service of the United States, in which after- 
 ward he occupied a more noteworthy position. Having saved a little money, he con- 
 ducted a jewelry store in Watertown for a number of years. Upon the death of Henry 
 Keep, Mr. Flower became trustee of that estate, valued at several millions, and was 
 thus enabled to exercise the talents, which needed only an opportunity for develop- 
 ment. In 1869, he moved to New York and established the banking and brokerage 
 
246 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 firm of Roswell P. Flower & Co. The firm have been active in reorganization schemes 
 and other operations of Wall street and have attained marked success. They deal 
 mainly with important clients. Mr. Flower's interest in the policies of the Democratic 
 party led to his election to the XLVIIth, List and Llld Congresses. He finally retired 
 from active management of the firm, although retaining a special interest in Flower 
 & Co. In 1891, he was elected Governor of New York by 48,000 plurality. He has 
 been a director of The Duluth & Iron Range Railroad, The Chicago, Rock Island & 
 Pacific Railroad, The Minnesota Iron Co., The New York Security & Trust Co., The 
 H. H. Babcock Co., The Municipal Gas Co. of Albany, and other corporations, and is 
 a member of the Manhattan, Democratic, Press and United Service clubs, and of The 
 New England Society. He was married in December, 1859, to Sarah M. Woodruff of 
 Watertown, N. Y. Their daughter is Emma, wife of John B. Taylor of Watertown. 
 
 WILLIAM HAYES FOGG, merchant, born Dec. 27, 1817, on a farm in Berwick, 
 Me., died in New York city, March 24, 1884. His parents were Joseph and Phoebe 
 Hayes Fogg, and his grandfather a dignitary in the church. He spent his early life 
 upon the farm, then walked twenty miles to enter a village store as a clerk and finally, 
 with two other young men, started a dry goods store in Boston, which proved highly 
 unsuccessful. Many years later, although not legally bound to do so, he paid in full 
 the debts of the firm. In 1847, with his brother James, he founded the firm of Fogg 
 Bro's, and engaged in a dry goods commission business, having connections in China. 
 The exportation of the product of New England looms led naturally to the importation 
 of Asiatic tea and silks. In 1852, the business was transferred to New York city, and 
 the Boston branch closed. James Fogg died in 1855, whereupon the style of William 
 H. Fogg & Co. was adopted. In 1880, the firm reorganized as The China & Japan 
 Trading Co., with Mr. Fogg as president, John F. Twombly as vice president, and 
 George H. Burritt secretary. Mr. Fogg was a remarkably sound, capable and honest 
 merchant, and his trade brought him a large fortune. He maintained branches in 
 Yokohama, Osaca, Nagasaki, Shanghai, and other cities of Japan and China and in 
 London. He was the first to subscribe to the merchants' fund to promote suppression 
 of the rebellion, and one of the founders of the Union League club. He held director- 
 ships or trusteeships in The National Park Bank, The Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co., 
 The Equitable Life Assurance Society, The Mercantile Trust Co., The Gutta Percha & 
 Rubber Manufacturing Co. , The New York Hospital, The Sheltering Arms and The 
 Women's Homoeopathic College. His wife was Elizabeth Perkins of Charlestown, 
 Mass., whom he married in 1849. Mrs. Fogg survived him" but no children. Mrs. 
 Fogg was a woman of great beauty of character and made a noble use of her fortune. 
 Freely giving to charity at all times, she made about forty relatives and friends happy 
 by legacies in her will, at her death Jan. 3, 1891, and gave $535,000 to public institu- 
 tions, mainly in memory of her husband, including $50,000 to Berwick Academy for a 
 library; $40,000 to Union Theological Seminary; $40,000 to Yale College; $55,000 to 
 The Children's Aid Society; $20,000 each to The American Unitarian Association, The 
 University of the City of New York, and The New York Hospital; $30,000 to The 
 National Academy of Design, and $220,000 to Harvard University. 
 
 GEORGE FOLSOM, lawyer, was born at Kennebunk, Me., in 1804, and died in 
 Rome, Italy, in 1869. He was the son of Thomas Folsom, a merchant, and came from 
 English ancestry. Educated in the schools of Portland, Me., to which place the family 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. FO. 247 
 
 had moved, he graduated from Harvard College in 1822 and then became principal of 
 the High School in Biddeford, Me. Studying law while teaching, he practiced for a 
 while in Worcester, Mass., and moved to New York city about 1840. In 1841, he 
 married Margaret, daughter of Benjamin Winthrop, and had three children, Margaret 
 Winthrop, Helen Stuyvesant, and George Winthrop Folsom. Mr. Folsom was a very 
 able man. His practice was large and lucrative, and his strength of character, purity 
 and soundness of judgment, made him a desirable companion. A member of the State 
 Senate in 1846, and Minister to the Netherlands under President Taylor, he was also a 
 writer, and published a history of Saco, Me. , and delivered numerous addresses before 
 historical societies in New York, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. He owned a 
 country home at Brattleboro, Vt., his town house being on Stuyvesant Square. An 
 extensive traveller both in Europe and the East, and a reader of the best books, he 
 was a brilliant talker, and by his geniality and hospitality gained a large number of 
 friends both in his own country and Europe. He was president of The New York 
 Ethnological Society, the Athenaeum club, and The Citizens' Savings Bank. 
 
 JOHN ROSS FORD, merchant, born June 21, 1817, in New Jersey, is a son of the 
 late Josiah Ford, a Judge of Middlesex county courts. His lineage runs back to a 
 pioneer, who came from England about 1600. Mr. Ford attended the school of Mr. 
 Spaulding in New Brunswick, where William H. Vanderbilt, Henry Richmond, 
 Charles D. Deshler and other distinguished men also gained a portion of their educa- 
 tion. Early in life, he entered the dry goods store of C. Smith & Co. , on Maiden Lane 
 in this city, and, before attaining his majority, engaged in the dry goods business for 
 himself in New Brunswick. In 1844, he embarked in the manufacture of rubber goods in 
 the firm of Ford & Co., which he incorporated, April i, 1853, as The Ford Rubber Co. 
 Mr. Ford was the first to aid Mr. Goodyear in introducing the manufacture of rubber 
 goods and in establishing the Goodyear patent. Previous to 1840, India rubber had 
 little commercial value, but following Charles Goodyear's wonderful discovery of a pro- 
 cess to harden rubber, there developed a business of immense value in this country and 
 Europe. Goodyear's patent was obtained about 1842. Soon after its value became 
 known, other persons claimed to have accomplished what he did. Goodyear was unable 
 to defend his rights; and four out of six companies, which had been organized to 
 manufacture rubber, united to carry the case to the highest courts. These were L. 
 Candee& Co., The Ford Rubber Co., now known as The Meyer Rubber Co., The 
 Newark India Rubber Co., and The Hayward Rubber Co. The contest in court 
 lasted for years, those fighting it doing so with money made in violating the patent. 
 Great lawyers took part on both sides of the case, Rufus Choate and Francis B. 
 Cutting for the defendant, Daniel Webster and James T. Brady for the patentees. 
 This was Webster's last case in court, and his great argument secured a decision for 
 Mr. Goodyear. Of all the persons involved, Mr. Ford is believed to be the only sur- 
 vivor. He yet retains his investment in the rubber industry. Mr. Ford is a director 
 of The Home Insurance Co., The New York Mutual Gas Light Co., The Manhattan 
 Trust Co., and The Meyer Rubber Co., and has resigned from a number of other cor- 
 porations. One of the soundest merchants of the city, his character above reproach. 
 He shares the public spirit of his colleagues of the Union League club, of which he is 
 one of the original members, and has in many ways shown himself a sterling and useful 
 citizen, especially by large contributions to charities. Mr. Ford was married Aug. 14, 
 
248 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 1844, to Elizabeth, daughter of James Bishop of New Brunswick, and their surviving 
 children are James B. Ford, treasurer of The Meyer Rubber Co.; J. Howard Ford, 
 president of The Meyer Rubber Co. ; and Harriet, wife of Dr. Everett Herrick of New 
 York. Mr. Ford's second wife is Mrs. Elizabeth M. Horner of this city, to whom he 
 was married in 1875. 
 
 QEORQE JAMES FORREST, railroad president, a native of New York city, born 
 on Pearl street, Nov. 27, 1810, died on West 22d street, May 18, 1889. Robert Forrest, 
 his father, a ship master, came from the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1810, and com- 
 manded the privateer Three Brothers, of which he was the owner of a third, in the War 
 of 1812, suffering" capture and a long imprisonment, thereafter returning to New York 
 city. George was educated in the schools of New York, and began life in 1829 in 
 Alabama, near Montgomery, as a merchant. In 1837, he removed to New Orleans and 
 became a member of the firm of W. P. Converse & Co. While in Alabama the Legis- 
 lature appointed him, in 1834, a director of The State Bank of Alabama. After 1848, 
 he became a merchant in New York city, dealing in cotton. As he gained wealth, he 
 acquired an interest in corporations, partly in association with Commodore Garrison, 
 whose power of attorney he held after the death of W. R. Garrison, the Commodore's 
 son. Mr. Forrest was president of The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad, vice president 
 of The New York & Northern Railroad, director in several other traffic enterprises, and 
 president of The New York Loan & Improvement Co. He served as Commisoner of 
 Emigration and was president of the Board, a number of years. Punctual, energetic, 
 upright and a familiar figure in Wall street, his death removed a highly respected man. 
 The Union, Century and St. Nicholas clubs claimed him as a member. In 1835, Mr. 
 Forrest was married to Sarah A., daughter of Charles Hooks, a planter and State Sen- 
 ator in Alabama, and left three children, Molton H. Forrest, of Philadelphia; Charles 
 R. Forrest, of Hartford, Conn., and Mrs. George Z. Gray, wife of Dean Gray, of Cam- 
 bridge, Mass. 
 
 CHARLES BARNARD FOSDICK, merchant, was born in New York city, Aug. 31, 
 1824. His father, Capt. William Fosdick, was of Huguenot extraction. Charles -pre- 
 pared for Wesleyan University but was obliged to earn his own support early in life. 
 He made a start in a shipping and commission house in New York at the age of twelve, 
 and at fifteen was made bookkeeper. At the age of eighteen, he was called to take 
 charge of the business of his dying brother-in-law, assumed control, and has continued 
 it since. In 1853, he became a partner in the firm of W. R. Fosdick & Co., leather 
 merchants and tanners on Spruce street, and in 1864 succeeded to the head of the con- 
 cern. Mr. Fosdick has operated tanneries in Fulton and Hamilton counties, N. Y. , and 
 sold the leather at his store in this city, which is one of the landmarks on Spruce 
 street. In 1871, the firm of Charles B. Fosdick & Son, was organized by him, and 
 after a very successful career has now retired and is liquidating its affairs. During 
 three years, he was president of The Hide & Leather National Bank, and is now vice 
 president of The Second National Bank and director and treasurer of The Fifth Avenue 
 Safe Deposit Co. and The Hamilton Bank, treasurer of The Training School for Nurses, 
 member of the executive committee of the Union League club, member of the City 
 club, trustee of The Homoeopathic Hospital, and vestryman of The Church of the Incar- 
 nation. Although never in public office, he served his fellow citizens eight successive 
 years after 1884 as foreman of the grand jury. He had the honor to serve on the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. FR. 249 
 
 famous grand jury which, in 1885, indicted the "boodle" aldermen, and on the later 
 grand jury which, in 1889, acted upon the case of Sheriff Flack. Mr. Fosdick married, 
 June 5, 1884, Mary E., daughter of David T. Baldwin. This union brought them. one 
 child, Charles Baldwin Fosdick, who died April 25, 1894. 
 
 FRANCIS PARKMAN FREEMAN, banker and broker, born Jan. 27, 1827, in 
 Boston, Mass., is descended from Edmund Freeman, a resident of Sandwich, Mass., 
 who came from England in 1635 and was vice Governor of Plymouth Colony, 1640-47. 
 Francis was educated in New York city. After nine years' experience as clerk in a 
 French importing house in Maiden Lane, he started a successful trade of his own in the 
 same line. In 1873, at the request of Commodore Vanderbilt, Mr. Freeman opened a 
 brokerage office in Exchange Place, and was the principal broker of the Commodore 
 during the remainder of the latter's life, and represented William H. Yanderbilt in the 
 same capacity during the nine years in which he survived his father. Mr. Freeman 
 yet enjoys the confidence and business of some of the present generation of Vander- 
 bilts. He is a director of The New York & Harlem Railroad and one of the organizers 
 of The Lincoln National Bank and Lincoln Safe Deposit Co. Mr. Freeman, after a 
 residence in New York city from 1829 to 1890, built a home in Lakewood, and now 
 dwells there during eight months of the year, spending the four summer months in 
 Newport. He is a member of the Down Town club of New York city and of The 
 New England Society, and is connected with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and 
 The American Museum of National History. May 2, 1860, he was married on Staten 
 Island to Louisa Morgan Dustan, daughter of Captain Isaac and Phebe Ann Dustan 
 and a great niece of Commodore Vanderbilt. Their only living child is Frank Morgan 
 Freeman, who married a daughter of Adrian H. Muller, jr., and is his father's sole 
 partner and a member of the Stock Exchange. President Cleveland is a descendant of 
 the fifth child of Edmund Freeman, founder of the Freeman family. 
 
 LEONARD FRIEDMAN, leaf tobacco merchant, a native of Burgkundtstadt, 
 Bavaria, born Oct. 26, 1845, is a son of a highly respected cloth manufacturer, whose 
 ancestors had lived for several centuries in Burgkundtstadt. Leonard came to 
 America while a youth, and finished his education in Cincinnati, O. His first business 
 experience was in the trade in leaf tobacco in the West. Coming then to New York, 
 he took the place of clerk for Robert S. Walter, who gave the latter a partnership in 
 1872. This was the foundation of the present firm of Leonard Friedman & Co., formed 
 in 1876, of which Mr. Friedman has always been senior partner. He has been exceed- 
 ingly prosperous and makes a specialty of Sumatra tobacco, which he imports in large 
 quantities. He is a director of The Columbia Bank and a member of the Harmonic 
 and Progress clubs and numerous Hebrew charitable societies. Mr. Friedman was 
 married Dec. 26, 1876, to a cousin, the daughter of Martin Friedman, and has no 
 children. He has travelled extensively and is a well informed man. 
 
 DUDLEY B. FULLER, manufacturer, born in Rutland, Vt., Dec. 22, 1800, died 
 in New York city, May 18, 1868. He was a direct descendant of Samuel Fuller, a 
 Pilgrim in the Mayflower. About 1825 he came to New York city and entered the 
 firm of Varnum, Fuller & Co., dry goods merchants, at 165 Pearl street. In 1831, he 
 married Mary, daughter of Luman Reed, an eminent merchant and art patron. In 
 1846, he engaged in iron manufacturing, and in 1852 became the principal owner of 
 The Boonton, N. J., Iron Works, which his firm of Dudley B. Fuller & Co., and 
 
250 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Fuller, Lord & Co., operated successfully up to the time of his death. Mr. Fuller was 
 one of the founders and original members of the Century club, having been a member 
 of the Sketch club, from which, in 1846, arose the Century. He was also a member of 
 the Union club and a director of various institutions. Elected in 1863 a trustee of The 
 New York Life Insurance Co., he served until his death. His uprightness of character, 
 genial disposition and cordial manners won for him the love and respect of all. His 
 wife and several children survived him. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON FULLER, broker, born in this city, May 20, 1830, died 
 here Dec. 21, 1892. His father, Ebenezer Fuller, was a merchant. Mr. Fuller, when 
 sixteen years of age, entered the sugar firm of Moller & Co., in Front street, as a 
 clerk, and soon became a partner, remaining with the firm until 1868 when he became 
 a member of C. L. Cammann & Co., stock brokers. He remained a broker until 1886, 
 when he retired. He then opened an office on Wall street, and later on Broad street, 
 After 1886, he did little active business. Sept. 2, 1857, Mr. Fuller married Elizabeth, 
 a daughter of Peter Pinckney, formerly president of The Bowery Insurance Co. , and 
 leaves a daughter, Ella F., who is the wife of William D. Guthrie, and a son, William 
 W. Fuller. He was a member of the Union League, Racquet, Down Town, New York, 
 Country, and New York Athletic clubs, and the Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 CHRISTIAN FREDERICK PUNCH, merchant, born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 
 1820, died at the German club in this city, Dec. 8, 1879. His father was at one time 
 Consul for Denmark in Algiers. Christian was well educated, and began life as 
 clerk in a Danish shipping house in Algiers. He was capable, rose to higher positions, 
 and in 1847, came to New York city, where he established the commission shipping 
 house of Punch, Meinecke & Wendt, which reorganized in 1869 as Punch, Edye & Co., 
 and became prominent as ship brokers and commission merchants. Mr. Punch never 
 lost his affection for his native land and spent much time in Copenhagen. He was a 
 member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Produce Exchange and one of the most 
 prominent managers of the Maritime Association, and belonged to several Scandinavian 
 institutions. There were usually from fifty to one hundred and fifty ships in New York 
 harbor, Scandinavian, German and Italian, consigned to Punch, Edye & Co. His only 
 son was John Christian Punch of this city. 
 
 WILLIAM P. FURNISS, merchant, born over a century ago, in Portsmouth, N. H., 
 died at his home on West looth street in this city, Oct. 29, 1871. He came from an old New 
 England family, and inherited the enterprise and excellent qualities of his race. At the 
 age of twenty-one, he began business for himself on the Island of St. Thomas as a shipping 
 and commission merchant, acting as naval agent for the United States Government for 
 many years. His enterprise was successful, and he rose to high social and financial 
 position, entertaining at his own house the most eminent visitors of all nations. His 
 correspondence extended to all parts of the globe. He finally came to New York and 
 invested his means in real estate with so much judgment that the increase of population 
 added large value to his properties. Among his possessions was the Globe Hotel. 
 Even before the war, he ranked among the leading property owners of the city. A 
 Free Mason of high degree, and very benevolent, his charities were as generous as they 
 were private. He married a lady from Pennsylvania, and was the father of Leon, Hart- 
 man K. , now deceased, William, Sophia R. C. , Clementina and Margaret E. Furniss. 
 
G. 
 
 ERNEST QABLER, manufacturer, born in Glogau, Germany, Jan. i, 1824, died 
 in New York city, Feb. 27, 1883. While not so famous as several other of the piano 
 manufacturers of New York, he was a very successful man, and by quiet and persever- 
 ing industry gained an excellent fortune. He came to America in 1852, and two years 
 later began the making of pianofortes. The factory is now on East 22d street, and a 
 large establishment. When his brother Emil became a partner, he adopted the firm 
 name of Ernest Gabler & Bro., which is yet retained. His wife, one son, and several 
 daughters inherit his property. 
 
 THOMAS W. GALE, merchant, a native of Goshen, N. Y., died in New York 
 city, May 14, 1880, at the age of ninety. Coming to New York while a young man, he 
 became a partner in one of the pioneer wholesale grocery houses of this city, long 
 known as Wisner, Gale & Co. They lost their store in the great fire of 1835. ^ r - 
 Gale was a bachelor, and so were his partners, Gabriel Wisner, and Mr. Gale's twin 
 brother, Benjamin. Mr. Wisner died about 1847, and Mr. Gale then retired with a 
 fortune, which he increased afterward by investments, largely in securities of various 
 railroads. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, and for fifteen years was a director 
 of The Erie Railroad, and for along time a director of The Phoenix National Bank and 
 The Howard Fire Insurance Co., and had large interests in railroad securities. 
 
 ALBERT ROLAZ GALLATIN, banker, son of Albert Gallatin, United States 
 Senator and Secretary of the Treasury under President Jefferson, born in 1800, died 
 in this city, Feb. 25, 1890. His mother was a daughter of James Nicholson, first 
 Commodore of the United States Navy. Educated at Princeton College, the young 
 man was admitted to the bar in Uniontown, Pa , near New Geneva, a town founded 
 by his father. The law did not greatly attract him, however, and he abandoned prac- 
 tice, removing to New York, where he entered Wall street as one of the first members 
 of the Board of Brokers. At one time, he transacted business with John Jacob Astor. 
 He had an extended acquaintance among public men, and accompanied his father to 
 France in 1815, and to England in 1826, when the latter was American Minister to those 
 countries, and became the personal friend of the Duke of Wellington and many of the 
 leaders of the French Revolution. Mr. Gallatin inherited means, was the proprietor of 
 much real estate in the city, and during his life honored the city of his home by his 
 sterling character, public spirit, and excellent example. The names of his three sons 
 are, Albert H., Frederick, and James Gallatin, the latter now deceased. 
 
 JAMES GALLATIN, banker, son of Albert Gallatin, once Secretary of the 
 Treasury, died in Paris, Mass., May 28, 1876, at the age of eighty. During his earlier 
 life he dealt in stocks in Wall street, in partnership with his brother, Albert R. Gallatin, 
 but in 1838 succeeded his father as president of The Gallatin Bank, and then gave up 
 even-thing which would interfere with the management of this family institution. He 
 held the position for thirty years, acquitting himself with credit, and retired in 1868, 
 thereafter spending his time in Europe. Although prominent he never held public 
 office. His wife, Josephine, and several grand children survived him. 
 
252 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 ROBERT MACY QALLAWAY, merchant and banker, born in New York city, 
 Aug. 4, 1837, is of Scottish descent, the Gallaways having come to America in 1800. 
 His father, Daniel Ayres Gallaway, was engaged in the iron business, and educated 
 his son at Yale College, whence he graduated in the class of 1858. The young man 
 then found occupation as clerk in his father's store and has since been actively engaged 
 both in mercantile pursuits and as an officer of corporations. He was elected president 
 of The Merchants' National Bank in January, 1892, and has since conducted the affairs 
 of this institution with prudence and success. By reason of his active part in the 
 development of the elevated railroad system of the city, he served as vice president 
 under William R. Garrison and Jay Gould for eleven years. He is now a director of 
 The Manhattan Railway, The United States Rubber Co. , The Bank of New Amsterdam, 
 and The Bowery Savings Bank. Mr. Gallaway was married in 1868, to Miss Elizabeth 
 A., daughter of Dr. Merrill W. Williams, and their children are, Merrill W., John M., 
 and Mary. He has long been prominent and is a member of the Union League, 
 Metropolitan, and Riding clubs, the New England Society and St. Andrew's Society. 
 
 THOflAS GARNER, manufacturer, who died in this city, Oct. 16, 1867, in his 
 seventieth year, was one of the best known and most successful business men of New 
 York during the first part of the present century. At an early age, in partnership 
 with his brother, James, he began the sale of dry goods in this city, but from insuffici- 
 ent capital failed in 1832, afterward paying his obligations in full and re-establishing 
 himself within a few years. His conduct in this matter was an indication of his char- 
 acter, Mr. Garner being everywhere esteemed for his business probity and his upright 
 life. He attained distinction through his energetic and successful efforts to establish 
 the cotton manufacturing industry in this country. Little by little, he extended his 
 enterprise in this direction until his factories had grown to enormous proportions. 
 He owned large mills in Cohoes, Rochester, Little Falls, Pleasant Valley and New- 
 burgh, N. Y., and Reading. Pa., as well as print works at Wappinger's Falls and 
 Haverstraw, N. Y. The product of these mills was marketed by the commission house 
 of Garner & Co., in New York city. Mr. Garner gained a fortune of several millions, 
 which descended to his wife, Harriet, and their children, Thomas and William T. 
 Garner, and Mrs. Josephine A. Graham, Mrs. Frances A. Lawrence and Mrs. Anna 
 James. He gave $100,000 in his will to public institutions. Thomas died shortly after 
 his father. The great business of Garner & Co. is yet conducted by trustees of the 
 estate, who are at present John J. Lawrance and Adrian Iselin. His son, WILLIAfl T. 
 GARNER, born in 1840, lost his life July 20, 1876, in consequence of the capsizing of 
 his yacht, the schooner Mohawk, during a squall in New York harbor. He was care- 
 fully educated and then associated himself with the affairs of Garner & Co. At his 
 father's death, he became executor of the estate and senior partner in Garner & Co. , 
 and managed the widespread and varied interests of the firm with such prudence, 
 energy and sagacity, that he gained a fortune twice as large as his father's. Mr. 
 Garner made an heroic effort to rescue his wife, Mary Marcellite, from the cabin of the 
 Mohawk, when the yacht capsized, and both perished together. Their daughters were, 
 Florence, now Lady Gordon-Cumming, Adele, who died at the age of four, and another. 
 
 CORNELIUS KINGSLAND GARRISON, railroad president, born near West Point, 
 N. Y., March i, 1809, died in this city, May i, 1885. He sprang from families who 
 were among the earliest settlers of the Island of Manhattan. Compelled to seek 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GA. 253 
 
 employment at the age of thirteen, the family having lost their modest fortune, for 
 three years the lad found occupation in the boats navigating the Hudson river. Every 
 winter, when the river was closed by ice, he attended school. At the age of sixteen, 
 he came to New York for three years of study of architecture, and during the next five 
 years lived in Canada engaged in planning buildings and construction of lake steam- 
 boats. He rose to be superintendent of The Upper Canada Co., in those days an im- 
 portant corporation. Then he found occupation at St. Louis and in the vicinity of New 
 Orleans. When gold was discovered in California, Mr. Garrison established a bank in 
 Panama, which was successful. In 1852, he came to New York city to open a branch 
 bank here, but accepted an offer of the San Francisco agency of The Nicaragua Steam- 
 ship Co. , at a salary of $60, ooo a year. Removing to San Francisco, he established the 
 bank of Garrison & Fritz, represented several large insurance companies, managed the 
 steamship line, and became first Mayor of that city, and served practically without com- 
 pensation, giving his salary to the local orphan asylums. After 1859, he made his home 
 in Xew York city. Here he became extensively interested in steamship lines to South 
 America and the Isthmus, acquiring therefrom the soubriquet of Commodore, and also 
 in railroads on the Coast. During the War, he espoused the cause of the Union with 
 enthusiasm. Butler's Ship Island expedition was initiated by him. The old steamship 
 line to Brazil, founded by him, was an illustration of his courage and enterprise. At 
 one time, these ships were the only steamers afloat, carrying the Stars and Stripes 
 in the foreign trade of the United States. A few years before his death, he disposed of 
 his maritime interests. He aided in building the railroad to the Pacific, and became 
 controlling owner of The Missouri Pacific Railroad, when the line was sold under fore- 
 closure in 1876. He finally sold his interest to Jay Gould. He was also largely inter- 
 ested in the elevated roads of this city. The surviving children of Mr. Garrison and 
 Letitia W. , his wife, were William R. Garrison, now deceased, and Catharine M , wife 
 of Barrett Van Auken. A public spirited man, remarkable for his powerful physique, 
 rugged energy, and unbending integrity, he was one of those who contributed greatly 
 to advancing the interests of the metropolis. 
 
 EPHRAIM CHURCH GATES, lumberman, born in Hubbardston, Mas*., March 28, 
 1817, comes from old New England stock. His ancestors were English, and his grand- 
 father, Asa Church, served in the commissary department in the American Revolution. 
 His father, Salmon Gates, moved with his family, in 1823, from Hubbardston, Mass, 
 to Calais, Me., which place he had visited as early as 1807, and thereafter was one of 
 the active business men of Milltown, which was in his time the principal part of Calais. 
 Ephraim attended the grammar schools of the town and for two terms the Washington 
 Academy in Machias. He then found employment with his father, who was developing 
 the lumber industry of the St. Croix river, then a new interest, and in 1840, having 
 saved a little capital, began manufacturing lumber for himself, this industry being the 
 source of the prosperity of this frontier city. For thirty-five years, 1847-82, he was 
 the leading spirit of the lumber firm of Gates & Wentworth, in partnership with his 
 brother in law, the Hon. Giles M. Wentworth. He became, by purchase, a large owner 
 of timber lands in the counties of Washington and Penobscot, Me., and York, N. B. 
 In 1849, Mr. Gates manufactured and sold to a lumber yard in Mott Haven, New York 
 city, the first cargo of spruce lumber ever landed on the east side of the Harlem river. 
 For sixteen years, he continued to sell lumber to this )'ard, which is on i38th street, 
 
254 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and in 1865 bought the yard, which he placed under charge of his son, Church 
 Ephraim Gates, then fresh from the Union army. This proved a fortunate venture. 
 After the death of his son, Mr. Gates carried on the yard alone, being aided in the 
 management by John F. Steeves, imder the old name of Church E. Gates & Co., until 
 1889, when he admitted Henry H. Barnard and Bradley L. Eaton, his sons in law, and 
 John F. Steeves, as partners. The same year he sold his interests in Maine to H. F. 
 Eaton & Sons and removed to Harlem, where he now dwells. He owns a large 
 interest in The Old Dominion Lumber Co. , whose shipping point is Norfolk, Va. By 
 his marriage, Dec. i, 1839, to Vashti Randall Pickens, daughter of Leonard Pickens, 
 he became the father of four children, Church Ephraim Gates, now deceased; Lucy, 
 wife of Henry H. Barnard; Vashti, wife of Bradley L. Eaton; and one son who died 
 in infancy. Mr. Gates is a member of the Harlem club and the Calais club of Calais 
 and a man of conspicuous excellence of character. 
 
 JAMES WATSON GERARD, lawyer, born in this city in 1794, died in New York, 
 Feb. 7, 1874. He was a descendant of French Huguenots, who fled to Scotland after 
 the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Before the American Revolution, his father, 
 William, came to New York city and lived to become a reputable merchant, but left 
 his family with moderate means. James graduated with honor from Columbia College 
 in 1811, studied law in the office of George Griffin, and entered upon practice while 
 quite young. His abilities soon gave him a leading position in the profession. He 
 enjoyed a long and successful practice, during which he strove with all his power to 
 elevate the standard of the profession. When he retired in 1868, his brethren of the 
 law gave him a banquet at Delmonico's, which was attended by many prominent mem- 
 bers of the bench and bar. His marriage with Eliza, daughter of Governor Increase 
 Sumner of Massachusetts, brought him three children, James W. , Elizabeth Sumner 
 Wiggin, and Julietta Ann. Mrs. Gerard died in 1866. The House of Refuge was 
 built mainly through Mr. Gerard's influence and the efficiency of the police force was 
 greatly improved. The adoption of uniforms for the police grew out of his advocacy 
 of the measure. For many years, he identified himself with the public school interests 
 of his city, and rendered efficient service as inspector of schools. A nomination for 
 Congress and another for Judge of the Superior Court were declined by him. 
 
 ELBRIDQE THOMAS GERRY, lawyer, a native of this city, was born Dec. 25, 
 1837. His family was planted in this country in 1730, by Thomas Gerry of Newton, 
 England, merchant, who settled in Marblehead, Mass., and .whose son, Elbridge Gerry, 
 a man of marked abilities, served his country as a member of the Continental Congress, a 
 Signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Vice President of the United States. 
 The subject of this sketch is a grandson of Elbridge and son of Thomas R. Gerry, a 
 naval officer. His mother, Hannah, was a sister of Peter and Robert Goelet. The 
 subject of this sketch lost his father by death, when the lad was seven years of age. 
 He gained a good education, graduating from Columbia College in 1857, and delivering 
 the German salutatory oration. He then studied law with William Curtis Noyes, was 
 admitted to the bar in 1866, and formed a partnership with Mr. Noyes, and later with 
 William F. Allen, Justice of the Court of Appeals, and Benjamin Vaughn Abbott, the 
 law book author. For many years he was actively occupied with the laborious duties 
 of an extensive practice, being retained in many famous cases. In 1867, he served the 
 State as a member of the Convention to revise the State Constitution. Dec. 3, 1867, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GI. 255 
 
 he was married to Louisa M., daughter of Robert J. Livingston and great grand- 
 daughter of Morgan Lewis, once Chief Justice and Governor of New York. A large 
 income from his law practice and a fortune inherited from the Goelets have left Mr. 
 Gerry free to promote important philanthropic enterprises, and he has been prominent 
 in this work for over thirty years. He has secured, in behalf of The Society for the 
 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the principal part of the legislation of the State on 
 this subject. In 1874, he was conspicuous in founding The Society for the Prevention 
 of Cruelty to Children, and since 1879, has been its president. The present system of 
 execution by electricity is due to a report, made by a commission appointed in 1886, of 
 which he was a member. Mr. Gerry has long been actively identified with yachting in 
 its higher forms, and was Commodore of the famous New York Yacht club, 1885-93, 
 during several historic international yacht races. He is a prominent figure in the 
 social life of the city, and a member of the Metropolitan, Knickerbocker, Manhattan, 
 Bar, Riding, Players', Merchants', Country, Atlantic Yacht, New York Yacht, and 
 Larchmont Yacht clubs. He also belongs to the New England Society and is a patron 
 of the annual Patriarchs' ball. 
 
 JOHN GIBB, merchant, a native of Scotland, was born March 14, 1829. He was 
 educated at the local parish school and in Montrose academy, and then, at the age of 
 fourteen, set his face bravely toward the task of fitting himself for a business career. 
 
 He was so anxious to learn that, as an apprentice, he entered a small dry goods 
 store in Montrose, where, in return for the privilege of acquiring what knowledge he 
 could about textures, colors and the business generally, he performed all the drudgery 
 for four years, without pay. At the age of eighteen, having finished the first labori- 
 ous stage of his business education, Mr. Gibb travelled to London, arriving there an 
 utter stranger and feeling somewhat lost in the whirl and excitement of the great 
 metropolis. After a few days' search, however, he found employment in a large retail 
 dry goods establishment. Here, he toiled at the duties assigned to him from early 
 morning until eleven and twelve o'clock at night. Eighteen months of this sufficed 
 for the young man, although it aided to develop the energy with which nature had 
 abundantly endowed him ; and he then greatly improved his position by securing a 
 clerkship in the largest wholesale lace house in London. The duties here were more 
 congenial, and previous training made him a valued accession to the house. The firm 
 advanced him rapidly. 
 
 In June, 1850, under engagement with J. R. Jaffray & Co. of London, Mr. Gibb 
 came to America and took charge of one of the departments in their New York house. 
 In this establishment, he repeated his success in London. No day was too long, no 
 work too hard for him, and promotion followed rapidly, although this was not sufficient 
 to retain Mr. Gibb in a subordinate position. He was determined to become a mer- 
 chant on his own account; and having, by diligent industry and strict economy, made 
 and saved enough money for the purpose, he went into partnership with Philo L. 
 Mills, a fellow clerk, under the firm name of Mills & Gibb, in 1865. The two men 
 signed their articles of co-partnership on the day of the surrender of General Lee and 
 began business in a store at No. 44 White street. 
 
 The new firm made a specialty of laces and goods of like character, which they 
 imported from Europe, and threw so much energy and good judgment into their 
 operations, that they met with success from the start. The business grew to large 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GI. 
 
 2 57 
 
 proportions in the space of a few years and has since extended to every part of the 
 United States. In 1880, the handsome seven story building on the northeast corner 
 of Broadway and Grand street, erected for Mills & Gibb, was occupied by them. In 
 the division of the labor of the house, Mr. Mills lives in Europe, while Mr. Gibb has 
 had the sole management of the trade in the United States. 
 
 Upon his arrival in America in 1850, Mr. Gibb established his home in Brooklyn, 
 and has been a resident of that city ever since. He was married in 1852. Eleven 
 children have been born to him, of whom all except one are living, all of his sons being 
 in business with him. He has always closely identified himself closely with the affairs 
 of Brooklyn. In this respect, his practice differs from that of many merchants, who 
 regard Brooklyn merely as a residence section of the metropolis and fail to interest 
 themselves in the great financial and industrial interests of the city. Mr. Gibb is a 
 director of The Brooklyn Trust Co., trustee of The Adelphi Academy and The Young 
 Men's Christian Association, and a member of the Hamilton, Brooklyn, Crescent, 
 and Riding & Driving clubs. His public spirit has greatly endeared him to his fellow 
 citizens. In 1887, Mr. Gibb added to his mercantile interests by acquiring a controlling 
 ownership in the retail dry goods firm of Frederick Loeser & Co., in Brooklyn, and this 
 extensive establishment has since been managed with great success by Mr. Gibb and his 
 son Howard. The store is now one of the largest dry goods bazaars in the United States. 
 
 Mr. Gibb is fond of home life and domestic in his tastes and habits. The family 
 occupy a spacious home on Gates avenue in Brooklyn, and during the summer time 
 dwell in a beautifully located country seat at Islip, Great South Bay, on the ocean front 
 of Long Island. While Mr. Gibb works hard during the hours of business, he also 
 rests with equal vigor during the hours of relaxation, and spends two days in every 
 week during the summer time fishing and sailing in his yacht, the Bonnie Doon. His 
 success is due to early training, the power of performing a vast amount of work, intel- 
 ligent and upright methods, and sound judgment. 
 
 GEORGE YATES GILBERT, lawyer and lumberman, born in Gilbertsville, Otsego 
 county, X. Y., March 26, 1815, died at the Victoria Hotel in New York city, April 29, 
 1888. He was a descendant of John Gilbert and his wife, Marv Hill (the latter a relative 
 of the celebrated Rowland Hill, the divine,) of Middleton, near Yarmouth, Warwickshire, 
 England. To John Gilbert were born four children, of whom the oldest was Abijah, 
 born in December, 1747, who was destined, forty years later, in 1787, to find a home for 
 his race in the new world and to be the first settler and founder of the village of Gilberts- 
 ville, X. Y. At the age of fourteen, he was the male head of his family, and at twenty- 
 nine, married Mary Yates and lived at Xuneaton in Warwickshire, where he owned 
 lands and did much to aid the poor. On arriving in America, he visited relatives of his 
 wife in Xew Jersey, where he met and became the staunch friend of General Morris, 
 who assigned to him a grant of 1,000 acres of land in Otsego county, for which Mr. 
 Gilbert paid him ,571 sterling, before ever having seen the land. He very shortly 
 doubled his holdings by the purchase of contiguous properties. Decided in char- 
 acter but of courteous manners, he was known as Esquire Gilbert, and recorded in all 
 the deeds as "gentleman." He died in 1811, leaving a large family. The oldest son, 
 Joseph T. Gilbert, known as Deacon Gilbert, was a man of iron will, prominent in his 
 county. George Yates Gilbert, the subject of this memoir, his fifth son, was educated 
 at Hamilton and Yale colleges, graduating from the latter in 1837 in the same class with 
 
258 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 William M. Evarts and Chief Justice Waite. He was one of the charter members of 
 the Yale chapter of the Delta Kappa Phi fraternity. Afterward, he went to New York, 
 where he practiced law with John D. Sherwood. In 1853, he became vice president of 
 The Eau Claire Lumber Co., in Eau Claire, Wis. , a position which he held for ten 
 years. It was a highly successful undertaking. On retiring from its active manage- 
 ment in 1869, Mr. Gilbert returned to Gilbertsville, where he erected the residence 
 called "The Hall," now owned and occupied by his only daughter, Marion. The latter 
 has been twice married, first to James Armstrong Murray of England, and after his 
 demise to Thomas Swinyard, formerly managing director of The Great Western Rail- 
 way of Canada, and The Detroit & Milwaukee Railway, and now president of The 
 Dominion Telegraph Co. Though Mr. Gilbert took a deep interest in politics, he 
 declined all overtures made to him to accept office. He was a staunch Republican, and 
 his career was especially marked by uprightness of character and a strong sense of 
 justice and generosity. He married Mary, daughter of Jabez Fitch, of Marshall, Mich., 
 and left one son, Fitch Gilbert, a resident of Eau Claire, and one daughter, the elder 
 of the two, who succeeded to the estate in Gilbertsville. 
 
 PETER QILSEY, an old time merchant, born in Hobro, Province of Jutland, 
 Denmark, in 1811, died in New York, Aug. 8, 1873. He received a moderate 
 education, and landed in New York city in 1827, a friendless lad, but full of 
 health and inspired with an earnest and manly ambition to win success. Having 
 secured employment in a piano factory, and saving each week some part of his wages, 
 he saved enough at length to go into business for himself. His first venture was the 
 purchase of a retail tobacconist's stock, with which he opened a small store on the 
 Bowery. In this occupation he prospered, and later he moved to the corner of Broad- 
 way and Cortlandt street. Prospering yet more in the new locality, Mr. Gilsey soon 
 gained the means to make investments in real estate, which brought him the bulk of 
 his fortune. The property advanced rapidly in value, making him a rich man, and 
 included the St. George Hotel, the Gilsey House, Coleman House, the Fifth Avenue 
 Theatre, and an office building at the Corner of Broadway and Cortlandt street.- Mr. 
 Gilsey was elected an Alderman of the city in 1873. The children of Mr. Gilsey and 
 his wife, Mary C., were Andrew; Charles, now deceased; Peter; Henry; John, now 
 deceased; Mary, wife of P. Gardner, and Mrs. Pauline Starr. Mrs. Gilsey survived 
 her husband until Sept. 13, 1891. 
 
 HENRY QINNEL, jeweler, a native of Locle, Switzerland, was born Jan. 9, 1821. 
 He was educated in the local schools, and then learned thcTtrade of watchmaking, his 
 town being one of the seats of that industry. At the age of eighteen he came to 
 America, seeking the enlarged opportunities of the new world. In the employment of 
 Frederick Grossclaude, he spent several years at the bench, working overtime in order 
 the more rapidly to increase his savings. In 1847, he bought the shop of his employer, 
 and became a manufacturer and merchant of watches and jewelry, and by energy and 
 good abilities has expanded his trade, until he has one of the leading watch and jewelry 
 stores on Maiden Lane, under the style of Henry Ginnel & Co. He was married 
 Oct. 1 8, 1845, to Miss Clara Langrave. The family make their home in Brooklyn. 
 Mr. Ginnel's career reminds one of the important truth that, in free America, at any 
 rate, it makes little difference how modestly a man starts in life, provided only that his 
 occupation be an honest one. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GO. 259 
 
 PETER QOELET, realty owner, born June 22, 1800, died in this city, Nov. 21, 
 1879. He came from a Huguenot family, which at the time of the fierce and bloody 
 persecution of the Protestants by the Roman Catholic church, fled from Rochelle, 
 France, to Amsterdam in Holland, in 1621, remaining there until 1676 Francis 
 Goelet, youngest son of the family, having lost his wife, came to New Amsterdam in 
 1676. with his only child Jacobus, a boy of about ten. Greatly pleased with the place, 
 he left his boy in care of Mr. Phillips, merchant, and sailed for Holland to bring hither 
 his effects, but was never heard from thereafter, and is supposed to have been lost at 
 sea Jacobus remained in New York, married Jannetje, daughter of Mr. Coessar, a 
 member of a Protestant refugee family from Rochelle, arid died in 1731, the father of 
 six children. Jan Geolet, third son of Jacobus, was married in 1718 to Jannetje, 
 daughter of Jan Cannon, a merchant of New York, who also traced his family line to a 
 Protestant refugee from Rochelle. Dying in July, 1753, he left several children. 
 
 Peter Goelet, fourth son of Jan, born in January, 1727, was the founder of the 
 family fortunes. He carried on a trade in hardware, cutlery, locks, music, brushes, 
 etc., for many years, with Peter T. Curtenius, under the name of Goelet & Curtenius, 
 in a store on Pearl street, Hanover Square, at the sign of the ' ' golden key. " The 
 firm dissolved in 1763, the junior partner engaging in business with a sign of a " golden 
 anvil," while Mr. Goelet went on alone in the hardware trade. He was greatly pros- 
 pered, gained what was then considered a fortune, and invested it almost wholly in local 
 real estate. He was married in April, 1755, to Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Ratse, 
 and at his death lived at No. 53 Broadway. 
 
 Peter P. Goelet, son of the latter, was born in August, 1764, and died in October, 
 1828. He inherited a large part of his father's property, and by the advice of his law- 
 yer, Peter De Witt, invested nearly all of his accumulations in further purchases of 
 real estate. He owned some securities of corporations, however, and was a member of 
 The Western Inland Dock Navigation Co. In May, 1799, he married Almy, daughter 
 of Thomas Buchanan, his brother Robert Ratse having married Margaret Buchanan, 
 her sister. Upon his death, he was survived by four children, Peter, the subject of 
 this sketch; Jean B. Goelet; Hannah G. , wife of Thomas R. Gerry, Commodore, 
 U. S. N.; and Robert Goelet. 
 
 Peter Goelet continued the policy of investing in land and buildings, mainly in those 
 parts of the growing city, where in a few years there was certain to be a dense aggre- 
 gation of buildings of the highest class. The land on which the Grand Central Depot 
 now stands, was once his. 
 
 Mr. Goelet was a lover of fine horses, of which he usually kept as many as six, 
 although when going about his daily business he almost invariably walked or used the 
 stages. He was charitable without ostentation, and during the war took a special in- 
 terest in one of the New York regiments, expending money freely to relieve the suffer- 
 ings of members who returned sick or disabled, and of the families of the killed. 
 
 His recreation consisted largely in working at a forge in the basement of his house 
 on Broadway and igth street, where he manufactured, after the fashion of one of the 
 Kings of France, various sorts of machinery, but particularly locks of curious and intri- 
 cate patterns. He owned many bright plumaged fowls and birds from all parts of the 
 world. During the summer time, some of these were to be seen stalking about the 
 _grounds surrounding the Goelet mansion. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GO. 261 
 
 Mr. Goelet left his real estate equally to his brother Robert and his sisters Jean B. 
 Goelet and Hannah G. Gerry. 
 
 ROBERT GOELET, realty owner, a son of Peter P. Goelet, was born in October, 
 1809, and died at his home, No 857 Broadway, Sept. 22, 1879. He was occupied dur- 
 ing life with the management of properties inherited from his father. He resembled 
 his eccentric brother Peter in many respects and was warmly attached to him, the two 
 men making visits to West Point together every year, and being constantly in each 
 other's society. In October, 1839, he married Sarah, daughter of Jonathan Ogden, 
 and left two children, Robert and Ogden Goelet. The Goelet possessions are now cen- 
 tered mainly in the ownership of these two men. Robert' Goelet, born Sept. 29, 1841, 
 was married in 1879 to Harriette Louise, daughter of George Henry Warren, of New 
 York, and has two children, Robert Walton and Beatrice Goelet. His brother Ogden 
 was born June n, 1846, and married Mary R., daughter of Richard T. Wilson, the 
 banker. Their children are Robert and Mary Goelet. 
 
 JOHN GOOD, inventor and manufacturer of cordage, is one of those men of native 
 genius, who have placed their names on the roll of fame by working as complete a revo- 
 lution in the processes of an important industry, as took place in the homes of America 
 when the slow and tiresome method of hand sewing gave way to the sewing machine, 
 or as took place in the field of transportation when the lumbering old mail coach of the 
 early days was superseded by the railway car. He has lightened the labors of the work- 
 ing classes and reduced the cost of an article of extended consumption ; and the large 
 fortune which has come to him in consequence of his inventions has been worthily and 
 honestly won. 
 
 He was born in Ireland in 1844. At the age of seven, the lad came to the United 
 States with his father's family to seek the larger liberty and the better opportunities of 
 the new world. The family being poor, John was compelled to earn his living as soon 
 as he was old enough to toil. He was blessed with a stout and healthy frame and a 
 happy disposition, and, finding employment in a little old-fashioned rope walk in Brook- 
 lyn, he served an apprenticeship there, whistling as he went to his daily work. He 
 became thoroughly familiar with the then simple processes of rope making, which were 
 slowly and laboriously performed by hand. In this factor}', many young women were 
 employed, whose labor required them to lift and carry loads beyond their natural 
 strength. The good hearted boy came to sympathize with the hard lot of these fellow 
 workers, and at an early age, he began to study what he could do to lighten their labors. 
 Rope making had been practiced in this country at least 200 years. Every ship 
 building city in New England and along the Atlantic sea coast of any pretensions had 
 its "rope walk," a long, low building, several hundred feet in length, in which the 
 hempen fibres were straightened, combed, drawn into strands, and the strands twisted 
 into rope by operatives who performed the whole labor with their hands. All of the 
 processes were laborious and tedious. No material improvement whatever had been 
 introduced in the industry for a period of two centuries. Considering the enormous 
 amount and high cost of cordage used in the rigging of ships during the palmy days of 
 the American marine, it is extraordinary that in America, the very home of mechanical 
 genius, it should never have occurred to any inventive American to patent improved 
 processes for quickening, reducing the cost, and lightening the labor of rope making. 
 This work was reserved for the young man from Ireland. 
 
262 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 After he had graduated from his apprenticeship, he left the rope walk and became 
 a machinist. During the late Civil War, having become an expert worker in this trade, 
 the idea occurred to him to study the possibility of inventing machines to perform the 
 work of the various branches of rope making. He experimented for several years, 
 and finally in October, 1869, took out his first patent. The pioneer machine was a 
 " breaker," for bunching and combing out the tangled fibres of hemp and forming them 
 into a long loose roll called a " sliver. " The fibres used in this industry come from 
 tropical plants and are from three to twelve feet in length. In the old fashioned 
 process, the "sliver" was cut into lengths, and thus the fibre entire was never used in 
 a rope until John Good brought out a machine for the purpose. The first invention 
 was followed by a number of others, until Mr. Good had patented a complete outfit for 
 every branch of the manufacture of ropes and twine. His patents cover a first breaker, 
 a second breaker, a first and second spreader, a first and second drawing frame, a 
 spinning jenny, a laying frame, and a coiling machine. The "sliver" which first 
 comes from the breaker is rough in texture, with the loose ends of many tangled fibres 
 projecting from its surface. The spreaders and drawing frames draw out the original 
 roll into longer and smoother slivers, which are free from the rough ends. The suc- 
 ceeding machines twist the slivers into yarns, and the yarns into ropes, and coil the 
 finished product into packages for shipment. The system is complete in all its parts 
 and has completely changed the manufacture of cordage. The process has many dis- 
 tinctive features. It has reduced the amount of ground space required, and the long 
 tunnel-like rope walk of the olden times has now given place to a compact modern 
 factory of several stories. The factory can be so arranged that the entire process can 
 be performed in one room. The yarn and the strand are twisted in one operation, 
 obviating one great difficulty of the old process, in which the yarn lost a large part of 
 its twist before being formed into strands. The new process utilizes the full length of 
 the fibres, and produces a rope fifty per cent, stronger than the old process. It has 
 also lightened the manual labor of the operatives immensely. 
 
 Until 1885, Mr. Good devoted his energies entirely to the perfection and manu- 
 facture of his beautiful machines. Orders poured upon him from all parts of the 
 United States, because every maker of cordage was compelled to take advantage of the 
 improved facilities for manufacture and supply their factories with his machines. So 
 largely have his patents been adopted, that it is believed that no more than about ten 
 tons of cordage are annually made in the United States, which do not at some stage of 
 the manufacture pass through one or more of his machines. Orders have also been 
 received from abroad. In the United States, he has sold his machines outright, abroad 
 upon a royalty. His factory in Brooklyn has been developed to large proportions, 
 and gives employment to hundreds of skilled machinists. In 1885, he gave a public 
 exhibition in Brooklyn of his complete process, and the occasion was deemed so 
 important that it was attended by the principal rope makers both of the United States 
 and Great Britain. 
 
 Mr. Good then resolved to engage in rope making himself, and in 1886 he built a 
 large factory on Vernon avenue in Ravenswood, a suburb of Brooklyn. The plant 
 included a large frame warehouse and wharves on the river front. Manufacture was 
 begun in 1887, with a large force of operatives and a capacity equal to one-third of the 
 total cordage production of the country. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GO. 263 
 
 When, in 1887, the Cordage Trust was organized under the name of the National 
 Cordage Association, Mr. Good at first entered that combination. The Trust manu- 
 facturers dreaded his competition so greatly that they were willing to pay him $200,000 
 a year to close both of his factories, and they offered him $7,000,000 for his entire plant 
 and good will. They were unable to obtain the amount of the purchase money, how- 
 ever, and finally the whole arrangement proved unsatisfactory to Mr. Good. He had 
 been asked to build a binding twine plant for the penitentiary in Minnesota, and the 
 Trust had refused to allow him to do so. In 1892, he withdrew from the combination, 
 and resumed operations entirely independent of the Trust. He now manufactures, on 
 an extended scale, and besides the establishment at Ravenswood, operates a large 
 cordage factory at Millwall, near London, and another at Great Grimsby. He has in 
 contemplation the building of works in France, Germany and Italy. 
 
 Mr. Good is the inventor of the machinery now in general use for the making of 
 binding twine, and the reduction in price of that commodity in recent years is largely 
 the result of his improved processes. 
 
 On account of his large charities, and his services to humanity in lightening the 
 burdens of the working classes, Mr. Good was honored by the Pope of Rome, in 1887, 
 with the title of a " Count of the Holy Roman Empire." At the time of his jubilee, 
 the Pope resolved to honor a number of prominent men of that church in the various 
 countries of the world, who had contributed to human advancement. Mr. Good was 
 the only American selected for the distinction of being made a Count. The honor 
 came unsought, and was a great surprise. The formal announcement was publicly 
 presented to Mr. Good in Brooklyn, April 19, 1888, in the presence of an immense 
 assemblage. 
 
 Count Good is a man of large and fine physique, erect carriage, and courteous 
 address. He has the firmness and conciseness of speech of a capable business man. 
 He is unassuming in dress. His hair and moustache are nearly white and frame a 
 face rosy with the glow of perfect health. 
 
 BRENT GOOD, manufacturer, born in Rochester, N.Y., in 1837, was taken with the 
 family to Canada when two years old, and grew up on the stoniest farm in Canada at 
 the Bay of Quinte. Leaving country school to seek his fortune in the world of affairs, 
 he served an apprenticeship in the drug trade, in Belleville, Ont., where he gained a 
 thorough knowledge of the profession. In 1856, he came to New York city, with 
 exactly $8. 40 as his entire capital, and here found employment with Demas Barnes 
 & Co. , who ranked among the largest merchants of proprietary medicines in the world. 
 He rose rapidly, became a successful salesman, was made a partner in 1863, and 
 retired in 1869 when the business was sold to John F. Henry & Co. As Good, Root 
 & Co., he then imported wines until 1878. In 1879, Mr. Good became interested in 
 the manufacture of the Little Liver Pills of Dr. Carter of Erie, Pa. The author of the 
 formula, upon which this medicine is made, had fallen into debt and was transacting 
 a small business only, not over $10,000 a year. Mr. Good saw the merit of these pills, 
 bought the right to manufacture them, organized The Carter Medicine Co. , and threw 
 his entire energy into making and selling his remedy. His success has been phenomenal 
 and is due to the spirit and ingenuity with which Mr. Good has advertised the medi- 
 cine and pushed its sale. He has covered the barns, fences and rocks of the whole 
 country with his advertisements, and has not only created a large domestic sale, but 
 
264 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 pushed his trade virtually to the uttermost parts of the earth by unceasing enterprise. 
 He is president of The Carter Medicine Co. A few years ago, Mr. Good invaded 
 England and made contracts with owners of unimproved property in the suburbs of 
 London for the exclusive privilege of erecting sign boards. The staid inhabitants 
 were startled one week by an eruption of signs of Carter's Little Liver Pills. Lord 
 Rosebery aided Mr. Good to introduce his remedy to the English public by bringing 
 a bill into Parliament to restrain Mr Good from "disfiguring the suburban scenery." 
 The incident filled the newspapers with comments, gave a great impetus to sales, and 
 enabled the pushing American to recover through the natural channels of trade, a part 
 ol the $500,000 he had spent in England in advertising. Mr. Good has shared in 
 numerous business enterprises in town, among them The Writing Telegraph Co., of 
 which he was president long enough to sell his interest to excellent advantage. In the 
 building occupied by The North River Bank, which failed in 1890, he established The 
 Franklin National Bank, a sound institution, of which he is a director. He owns and 
 manages The Lyceum Theatre, is president of The Sunbury Wall Decoration Co., is a 
 Mason and Knight Templar, a yachtsman, and a member of the New York Athletic 
 Lotus, Manhattan, New York Yacht, Hardware and Wa-Wa-Yonda clubs, and the St. 
 James club of Montreal. His wife is a daughter of Henry I. Hoyt of Norwalk, Conn., 
 and his children are Henry Hoyt and Kate Hamilton Good. 
 
 GEORGE PHINEAS GORDON, manufacturer, born in Salem, N. H., April 21, 
 1810, died in Norfolk, Va., Jan. 27, 1878. His father, Phineas Gordon, was a mer- 
 chant in Boston, the family being descended from Alexander Gordon, (brother of Lord 
 George Gordon), who emigrated from Scotland in 1697 and settled in New Hampshire. 
 Educated in Boston, George learned the printing trade, and in 1850 started a printing 
 office of his own in Nassau street in this city. His fame arose from his invention of 
 the Gordon job press, a machine for the printing of circulars, letter heads, and other 
 small work. The Gordon Press Works, having a factory at Rahway, N. J., of which 
 he was proprietor, produced an immense number of these machines, which found their 
 way into nearly every job office in the United States. Mr. Gordon was a man of great 
 ability, and while numberless changes in the Gordon model have been made by rival 
 manufacturers, who have striven to compete with the Gordon press, it is nevertheless 
 true that the latter remains practically the model and standard for the ideal small 
 printing press of the present day. In 1846, Mr. Gordon married Sarah E. Cornish, 
 who died, and in 1857, he married Eleonora May. He had one son, George Byron 
 Gordon, and one daughter, Mary Agnes Gordon, both children of the first wife. 
 
 GUSTAV HENRY GOSSLER, merchant, born in Hamburg, Germany, March 
 18, 1842, is a son of Ernst Gossler, by occupation a lawyer and president of the law 
 court. Gustav was educated in his native city, and, after pursuing his mercantile 
 studies in Germany, England, France, Spain and Portugal, he moved to this country in 
 1863, and began life as a merchant. In 1868, he became connected as a partner with 
 the firm of L. E. Amsinck & Co., commission merchants and bankers, who were suc- 
 ceeded by G. Amsinck & Co , in 1874. This house is now widely known and highly 
 esteemed, and has extensive connections in South America and Europe. Mr. Gossler 
 is a good merchant and a successful man, and has been Vice Consul in New York for the 
 republic of Brazil since 1874. In 1869, he was married to Mathilda, daughter of Theo- 
 dore Durrien, and their children are named J. E. Mathilde, Anna S., and Olga Louise. 
 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GO. 265 
 
 Mr. Gossler's social interests in the city are many. He is a member of the Union, 
 Vaudeville and Down Town clubs, and has the public spirit to help maintain the great 
 public museums of the city and other institutions. 
 
 JAY GOULD, financier, gained during his remarkable life a fortune, unique in that 
 it was one of the largest ever acquired by a single individual in the United States by his 
 own exertions. It owed no part of its origin to inheritance. Engaged in many specu- 
 lative operations, Mr. Gould was probably not a gainer, to any great extent, by these 
 labors. The bulk of his wealth came mainly from the leaps in value of many of the 
 securities, which he owned in later life, consequent upon the higher appreciation placed 
 upon them, after they had come under his management. > The story of his life, deeply 
 interesting, affords encouragement to every man, who possesses patience, persever- 
 ance, coolness and acumen, his power of persuasion, analysis and foresight, and his 
 undoubted executive capacity and talent for combinations. 
 
 Mr. Gould was slender in build, and not above medium height, but his face was a 
 striking one. Eyes, hair, full moustache and beard were dark and handsome, and his 
 expression, while kindly and pleasing, was firm, intellectual and penetrating. His 
 purity in private life, his generosity, and his fidelity to friends, were proverbial. He 
 won the enthusiastic devotion of many prominent men of sound judgment and great 
 probity, and his death removed from Wall street a figure which had impressed itself 
 ineffaceably upon the financial history of the United States. 
 
 It was his lot to have less said in his praise than any other successful financier of 
 this generation. Many of the charges were absolutely unjust. His silence, a remarka- 
 ble trait, sometimes sprang from pride, which prevented him from combating a mis- 
 representation when he was the only sufferer, while at other times it grew out of a 
 shrewd knowledge that success would be furthered by concealing his plans. Mr. 
 Gould's answers to many accusations, given years after their utterance, were drawn out 
 only upon the witness stand, coming then too late to change an opinion widely enter- 
 tained. He sometimes suffered on account of the transgressions of others, but always 
 possessed the belief that, in time, justice would be done to him by a fair minded public. 
 This confidence has been justified since his death, by a generous judgment of his 
 achievements and cordial tributes to his memory. 
 
 Mr. Gould was a descendant of two notable families of New England. Major 
 Nathan Gold, the pioneer, was a man of great force of character, who came from 
 St. Edmondsbury, England, to Fairfield, Conn , about 1646. His son, Nathan Gauld, jr., 
 rose from town clerk of Fairfield to become Deputy Governor in 1 706 and Chief Justice 
 of the Supreme Court of the State in 1724. Several of the family were soldiers in the 
 American Revolution. The wife of Col. Abraham Gold, Jay Gould's great grand- 
 father, was Elizabeth Burr, whose ancestor was John Burr, an emigrant to America in 
 1630 with Governor Winthrop, and one of the eight founders of Springfield, Mass. 
 The Burrs included many soldiers, judges, and public officials of good repute. Col. 
 Abraham Gold, the first of his line to spell his name Gould, was killed at the head of 
 his regiment, the 5th Connecticut, at Ridgefield, Conn., while repelling the British raid 
 on Danbury; and his sword, stainedwith British blood, is to this day in the possession of 
 Abraham Gould Jennings, of Brooklyn, N. Y., one of his descendants. Capt. Abra- 
 ham Gould, his son. "a grim, earnest, honest man," settled in 1780 in Roxbury, N. Y. 
 John Burr Gould, his son, the first male white child born in Roxbury, was a man of 
 
266 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 sturdy character, and showed his fibre in 1844 by resistance to the fanatics of the anti- 
 rent agitation. While defending his home against the anti-renters, he found an enthu- 
 siastic supporter in his boy, Jay. A well read man, noted for public spirit, he helped 
 to found schools and advance the interest of the community. He married Mary More, 
 the grand-daughter of John More, a sturdy Scot, who had come from Ayrshire, in 
 1772. From his excellent mother, Jay Gould inherited that religious instinct, which 
 kept alive, in his later years of battle with the world, the gentleness of manner and the 
 generosity of dealing which repeatedly characterized him when he bargained with other 
 men over millions of dollars worth of property. 
 
 Jay Gould, known in childhood as Jason Gould, was born at the homestead in Rox- 
 bury, May 27, 1836. He was educated at 'the district school and Beechwood and Hobart 
 seminaries, and at the age of seventeen learned Latin and Greek in a school in Albany. 
 Application, acute perception and a retentive memory characterized him as a student. 
 He was genial and fond of fun and open air sports but not of rude games. 
 
 Not fitted for farm work, Mr. Gould longed for a business career. To gratify this 
 aspiration, his father exchanged the farm for a hardware store in Roxbury, and here 
 the young man received his first business training. He began as a clerk, was a partner 
 at fifteen, and became chief manager of the business. During this time, he learned sur- 
 veying. Studying his books from 3 to 6 A. M , and practicing with the instruments of 
 Squire Burhans, a prominent resident, the young man became a competent surveyor. 
 
 His first professional work, begun in April, 1852, was the survey and mapping of 
 Ulster county, N. Y. He was employed at this task upon a salary first of $20, then of 
 $30, a month. At the outset, he was an assistant in the venture. His partner failed 
 before the survey was completed, and two other young surveyors being admitted to 
 partnership, Mr. Gould sold his interest to them for $500. 
 
 For several years, Mr. Gould hoped to realize enough from his ventures to carry 
 him through Yale College. This dream was never realized. 
 
 The young civil engineer then surveyed and mapped, 1853-56, the counties of 
 Albany, Delaware and Sullivan, and the town of Cohoes. He also had charge of the 
 mapping of counties in Ohio and Michigan, and the survey of a railroad from Newburg 
 to Syracuse and of The Albany and Niskayuna plank road. Some of the contracts were 
 transferred to a surveyor in Philadelphia before completion and netted Mr. Gould a 
 profit of more than $5,000. The building of the Niskayuna plank road by him in three 
 days and a half was a remarkable achievement. This road yet exists and has always 
 been of great service to the town, even to those who originally opposed it. The enter- 
 prise revealed his characteristic traits. He had prepared to make the survey with the 
 common level. "Imagine my surprise," he wrote to a friend, "when one of the direc- 
 tors came bringing up a monstrous theodolite with its complication of screws and what 
 not, the identical one that served an apprenticeship on the Hudson River Railroad, and, 
 for its valuable services there, was afterward promoted to generalship on the Northern 
 Railroad. I could not for a good while even unloosen the needle, much less adjust the 
 instrument. I was completely knocked in the head." But he kept his own counsel. 
 Fortunately, the snow turned to rain, when the men were ready to begin, and during 
 two stormy days Mr. Gould mastered the instrument. Confronted with other unexpected 
 problems, he met them all victoriously by study in the State library and otherwise, 
 without betraying how they had disconcerted him. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GO. 267 
 
 While engaged in field work in Delaware county, Mr. Gould gathered the material 
 for his famous history of the county. He wrote the work with great care, toiling over 
 its pages when he should have been asleep, resting four or five hours a day only. When 
 completed, it was sent to Philadelphia to be printed. In April, 1856, the young author 
 learned that his manuscript had been burned. The tenacity of purpose which he revealed 
 so remarkably in later life, served him then in good stead. He rewrote the book. A 
 few proof sheets had been saved, and parts of the history had been printed in The 
 Bloomfield Mirror. The greater part he rewrote from memory. He devoted himself 
 to this task by night and day, and saw the book of 400 pages triumphantly issued in Sep- 
 tember, 1856. This history, written ingenuously, was. a remarkable production'for a 
 young man of twenty. The story that he afterward sought to buy the copies, which 
 had been sold, and withdraw them, because the printer had spelled his name "Gold," 
 is untrue. Copies of the book, now in existence, show the name spelled "Gould." 
 
 Mr. Gould now plunged into a larger enterprise. In Eastern Pennsylvania, he 
 founded the town of Gouldsboro' and established a tannery in partnership with Zadoc 
 Pratt. Fifteen miles from any settlement, he felled the first tree with his own hands, 
 sawed it into boards with a portable saw mill, built a blacksmith shop before sunset, 
 and slept in the improvised cabin the first night. Of the tannery, Mr. Gould proved an 
 enterprising and successful manager. He constructed a plank road, organized a stage 
 route and two churches, built a school house, created a bank of which he was a director, 
 and became postmaster of the place. The settlers became his ardent friends. 
 
 Mr. Gould soon bought Mr. Pratt's interest and formed the partnership of Jay 
 Gould & Co., with Charles M. Leupp and D. Williamson Lee, of New York. The tan- 
 nery transacted a large business and stimulated other local industries. Oct. 5, 1859, 
 Mr. Leupp committed suicide in New York, having for years been gradual!}' losing his 
 mind. His brother in law, Mr. Lee, thereupon, as representative of a two-thirds inter- 
 est, conceived the plan of forcing Mr. Gould out of the concern. He evaded a settle- 
 ment, asked Mr. Gould to meet him in New York, Feb. 29, 1860, and, without waiting 
 for him, hastened to Gouldsboro'. Taking possession of the tannery, he threw out the 
 superintendent with bodily violence, barricaded the works, and garrisoned them with 
 about thirty-five armed men. When Mr. Gould learned the situation, he sought advice, 
 ascertained his rights, and repaired to the tannery. Entirely without his solicitation, 
 about 250 residents gathered to support him. Being refused admission to the tannery, 
 he led, unarmed, a squad of twenty-five men to the front door, while a second squad 
 attacked the rear. He was twice repulsed, but the works were stormed on the third 
 attempt, the garrison fleeing in all directions. The only persons wounded were several 
 of the garrison, who were shot by their own mates. Mr. Lee then began legal pro- 
 ceedings, but was completely defeated, and sought refuge, as many another assailant 
 did in later years, in abusing Mr. Gould. Mr. Gould finally sold his interest in the tan- 
 nery and the mammoth buildings then fell into decay and ruin. 
 
 Just before the Civil War, the attention of Mr. Gould was drawn to railroads. He 
 had thought much on the subject from boyhood. In 1860, the young financier met 
 Daniel S. Miller, a great grocer of New York city, who feared failure through being 
 a trustee of the second mortgage bonds of The Rutland & Washington Railway Co., 
 believing that the first mortgage bonds had been cancelled. Mr. Gould offered to 
 assist him, and succeeded in buying up the bonds for 10 cents on the dollar, they being 
 
268 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 considered worthless. He afterward became president, treasurer and superintendent 
 of this road and obtained a thorough knowledge of railroading. The young surveyor 
 carefully inspected every mile of track in person, examined all the bridges, grades and 
 crossings, and estimated the resources of the country tributary to this road. He then 
 began judicious repairs, developed the local traffic, and, by consolidation with other 
 roads retrieved the fortunes of the companies. The rise in value of the shares of these 
 roads, by his own operations, opened Mr. Gould's eyes to the possibilities of railroad 
 management. This also gave him capital of his own for greater operations. 
 
 He then entered the stock brokerage firm of Smith, Gould & Martin in New York 
 city. * One step leads to a longer one in the progress of a successful man. The sur- 
 veyor had become a railroad manager; the manager was now a dealer in railroad 
 shares. Mr. Gould's Wall street career made him profoundly versed in the value of 
 railroad properties ; and led to his buying shares in bankrupt roads and engaging, like 
 others of the strongest capitalists of that day, in bold operations at the Stock Exchange. 
 
 In speculation, Mr. Gould's genius for combination, his brilliant strategy, and 
 untiring tenacity of purpose, blazed forth with great power. He was often a heavy 
 loser, yet, in several ventures he met with notable success. At times, he was the 
 largest, borrower in the United States, perhaps in the world. In obtaining the loans he 
 required, he was aided by a trait, early displayed and characteristic of his whole life. 
 He never broke his promise, but always kept his word. 
 
 It is not practicable here to describe in detail all of the operations in which Mr. 
 Gould was engaged. Only a few of the more striking need be referred to. 
 
 While gold was at a premium, Mr. Gould bought and sold this metal for" a profit, 
 in common with other operators, sometimes, though not always, with success. In 
 August, 1869, a daring speculation was set on foot by a syndicate, controlled by Mr. 
 Gould, in which James Fisk, jr., was a partner, which sought to "corner" the gold 
 market. All the gold which could be had was bought, the price rising slowly from 
 about 138 in August, to 140, then to 150, and finally, Sept. 24, 1869, to 162 The 
 government having resolved to sell gold, Mr. Gould also began to sell, although giving 
 orders not to sell to Mr. Fisk's brokers. The price fell to 134, and brought on the 
 catastrophe of "Black Friday," Sept. 24, 1869. Mr. Gould lost $4,000,000, and was 
 for some time charged with precipitating the panic. Men of position like Alonzo B. 
 Cornell and others, thoroughly acquainted with the story, acquit Mr. Gould of respon- 
 sibility for "Black Friday." They place it upon Mr. Fisk. Mr. Fisk repudiated his 
 contracts. Mr. Gould did not. 
 
 Mr. Gould became interested in The New York & Erie Railroad, when it was a 
 bankrupt property. He bought about 500 shares, because he believed in the merits 
 of the road. His confidence in the future of Erie led to his election as a director 
 and afterward as president. During his management, he was forced into a struggle 
 with Commodore Vanderbilt and Daniel Drew for the control of the road, but was 
 able, by various adroit moves, all of them legal, but for some of which he was 
 criticised by opponents, to retain the management for years. He built up the Erie Rail- 
 road by exactly the same legitimate methods as those employed in Vermont, and made 
 the Erie a great commercial highway and a paying investment. Circumstances asso- 
 ciated James Fisk, jr., with Mr. Gould in this enterprise. He had been buying shares 
 and was elected a director at the same time as Mr. Gould. Mr. Fisk was reckless and 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GO. 269 
 
 unscrupulous in methods, fond of extravagant display, and defiant of public opinion. 
 He undoubtedly did more to influence the young men of his day to evil courses, than 
 any other human being in the field of American finance. Mr. Gould strove to restrain 
 Mr. Fisk. Nevertheless, they were associated in the public mind and Mr. Gould 
 incurred blame for acts for which Mr. Fisk alone was responsible. 
 
 In November, 1872, proceedings were brought against Mr. Gould for the recovery 
 of Erie property, which, it was declared, he had improperly retained. The manage- 
 ment having been changed by the vote of the foreign stockholders, as soon as his 
 successor was elected, Mr. Gould turned over to him these securities, none of which 
 had any market value and all of which had been held by his predecessor as president. 
 Documents were given him, exonerating him from all the charges previously made. 
 
 At various times, a number of combinations were made against Mr. Gould in Wall 
 street. To " corner " him was a favorite attempt, but always exciting and dangerous. 
 He was usually a match for antagonists. Nevertheless, in the panic of 1873, he is said 
 to have lost a larger sum than any other capitalist of that time. 
 
 In The Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad, Mr. Gould showed constructive abilities 
 of high order. Having bought about 25,000 shares of its stock at about $65 and $70 
 a share to oblige a friend, he reorganized the road, developed its traffic to such an ex- 
 tent that while he was its manager it never passed a dividend, brought the stock up to 
 $120 a share, and leased the road successfully to The Pennsylvania Railroad. He was 
 a large gainer by this proceeding. 
 
 As a railroad manager, Mr. Gould was identified most prominently with The 
 Union Pacific, The Texas & Pacific, The Wabash, and The Missouri Pacific Railroads-. 
 He took charge of The Union Pacific Railroad, when it was a discredited enterprise. 
 Beginning in 1873, he bought a large amount of its stock when the price ranged be- 
 tween $15 and $30 a share. In February, 1879, he was the owner of 190,000 shares. 
 On the 1 7th of that month, he sold 100,000 shares for 7,000,000, his profit being about 
 $4,000,000. He built up the road by attention to its requirements, securing proper 
 connections to the eastward, and by consolidation, until it paid large dividends. 
 
 The same constructive ability was shown in his management of the other great 
 lines named above. Intelligent, far seeing, and straight forward, he created one of the 
 most wonderful railroad systems of the world. The controlling interest in The Texas 
 & Pacific, he bought from Thomas A. Scott, for $2,400,000. The Missouri Pacific, 
 which he bought from Commodore Garrison, is a living testimony to his skill of com- 
 bination. The main line of 287 miles from St. Louis to Kansas City has been made the 
 principal factor in a system of about 10,000 miles of road, extending in one direction to 
 Omaha, El Paso, Laredo and Galveston, and to Chicago, Toledo and Detroit in the other. 
 
 Mr. Gould was, at times, the president of his various roads, but the care was too 
 great for one man, and while retaining control and direction, he finally placed able 
 managers in charge of many of them, in order to relieve himself from the details of 
 management. An excellent judge of character, he seldom made an unfortunate selec- 
 tion. In the general direction of these great systems, he repeatedly showed his good 
 faith, when once pledged to a definite policy or when his word had once been given. 
 He was in the habit of watching business closely, especially in a crisis, not only for 
 his own sake but for that of stockholders, in order to prevent a failure. 
 
 An interesting incident was a step, by which he averted a panic in 1882. The 
 
270 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 rumor had gone forth that he was financially embarrassed. To avert a crisis, he invited 
 several of the strongest financiers of that day into his office, including Cyrus W. Field 
 and Russell Sage, and laid before them the contents of his safe, displaying to their as- 
 tonished gaze $53,000,000 in the best securities. This put an end to the crisis. 
 
 Mr. Gould having finally attained an impregnable financial position, withdrew 
 gradually from Wall street to devote his attention to a few great properties. 
 
 In the development of The Western Union Telegraph Co., he showed both organ- 
 izing power and tenacity of purpose. In 1875, he came into control of The Atlantic & 
 Pacific Telegraph Co., whose lines were in bad condition, the expenses outrunning the 
 revenue. Thomas T. Eckert was invited to the presidency and the two men entered 
 upon a carefully aggressive policy. After a laborious and anxious commercial fight, 
 Mr. Gould, with great financial skill, consolidated his concern with The Western Union 
 Telegraph Co. , making it a special condition that Gen. Eckert should become general 
 manager of the united companies. His disappointment was great when the fulfilment 
 of the promise was evaded. In a letter recently written, Gen. Eckert narrates what 
 followed : "It was necessary for me to decide upon other plans for myself. I accord- 
 ingly, after mature deliberation, determined to construct a telegraph line between Bos- 
 ton, Mass., and Washington, D. C. , via New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, and to 
 make it the nucleus of a yet larger system of wires designed exclusively for leasing to 
 firms and individuals for commercial uses. When I had worked out this scheme in my 
 mind, I laid it before Mr. Gould. He listened to me patiently, and then, in half quizzi- 
 cal way, asked if I did not wish to have a partner. I was so absorbed in my ideas 
 that I did not notice the smile with which he put the question; and I blandly answered 
 him "No." He quietly disregarded me and began to write a check for one million 
 dollars, which he said he thought I might find very useful to my credit. Out of this 
 circumstance grew the incorporation of The American Union Telegraph Co. and I 
 became its president." With The American Union, Mr. Gould menaced the older 
 company, displaced its lines from The Baltimore & Ohio, The Union Pacific, and other 
 railroads, and reduced the value of Western Union stock from $116 to $88 a share. 
 This vigorous campaign brought about the consolidation of The American Union with 
 The Western Union Telegraph Co., in 1881, and its preponderance in the ownership of 
 the largest telegraphic system which has ever come into existence. Mr. Gould became 
 a director. His holdings of Western Union stock were then $30,000,000. He reduced 
 them afterwards to about $20,000,000. In 1883, he had absorbed The Mutual Union 
 Telegraph Co., and four years later The Baltimore & Ohio. This made him con- 
 troller of the telegraphic system of the United States, and he was the entire master of 
 of the field until John W. Mackay and James Gordon Bennett appeared with their rival 
 line. Mr. Gould aimed to make his company the only one in America. In this he did 
 not succeed entirely, but he created a great system, with ocean cables to Europe, the 
 West Indies and South America. 
 
 A majority interest in the elevated railroad system of New York city was a posses- 
 sion forced upon Mr. Gould for the rescue of his friend, Cyrus W. Field, from embar- 
 rassment. Mr. Gould had purchased largely of the stock of these roads. Mr. Field, 
 also a large stockholder, entered, in 1886, upon a speculation to advance the price of 
 Manhattan shares to $200 or $300, that being the value of the shares of the surface 
 street car lines. Through his operations, Manhattan rose to $175 a share. He bought 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GO. . 271 
 
 largely as the price advanced, securing the money for new purchases by pledging his 
 holdings as collateral. Mr. Gould warned Mr. Field more than once against the risk 
 of overloading, but the latter continued to buy. At length, Mr. Field found himself 
 carrying 88,000 shares of Manhattan stock, worth at par $8,800,000, which had risen in 
 nominal value to $15,000,000. The price then suddenly fell. If Mr. Field had been 
 compelled to sell, a panic would have ensued with a complete extinction of Mr. Field's 
 fortune. In this emergency, he appealed to Mr. Gould for aid, through John T. Terry, 
 a mutual friend. Mr. Gould first loaned to Mr. Field $1,000,000, in bonds, without 
 security. He then bought from him 78,000 shares, at $120 a share, paying $9,360,000 
 therefor, and later, loaned him $300,000 in cash. Mr. Gould did this at inconvenience 
 to himself, while suffering severely from neuralgia, and saw his purchase drop $3,75,- 
 ooo in value in a few days. Yet this act of unbounded generosity was performed to 
 oblige a friend. The stock fell at one time to $77. 
 
 Mr. Gould's wife was Helen Day, the daughter of Daniel S. Miller. She was the 
 descendant of an English family, which had settled on Long Island, at Easthampton, 
 in colonial days. A company of nearly fifty people were present at Mr. Gould's mar- 
 riage, and four hundred or more attended the reception which followed. This was a 
 happy union. Mr. Gould's home life was a beautiful one. His tastes were refined. 
 He loved books, flowers and pictures, and was surrounded with them. His castle-like 
 country home of Lyndhurst, at Irvington, built of stone, is now owned by Miss Helen 
 M. Gould, but will revert to the estate when the younger member of the family, Frank 
 Jay, attains his majority. It is delightfully situated, commanding an impressive view 
 of the Hudson river. The grounds are beautifully laid out, and a large conservatory 
 supplies the family with flowers and the choicest grapes all the year. At this place 
 Mr. Gould and his family spent many happy days. His marriage brought him six 
 children, George Jay, Edwin, Helen Miller and Howard Gould; Anna, wife of Count 
 Paul Marie Ernest Boniface de Castellane of France; and Frank Jay Gould, all of whom 
 are living. His family were always tenderly devoted to him. 
 
 It was not generally known that Mr. Gould was a man of great liberality toward 
 philanthropic objects, but such was the fact. His gifts were mainly made on condition 
 that no publicity shouid be given to him as a consequence. His charities were silent, 
 and the thousandth part of his beneficence has never become publicly known. For 
 many years, Mr. Gould entertained the purpose of founding a great educational insti- 
 tution for young men of moderate means. Illness and business cares prevented him 
 from elaborating the plan, and his death, Dec. 2, 1892, finally frustrated the purpose. 
 He left equally to his six children his great property, estimated at about $100,000,000, 
 which was invested mainly in The Missouri Pacific Railroad, The Western Union 
 Telegraph Co., The Manhattan Railway, The Wabash, and The Texas & Pacific 
 Companies. 
 
 JOHN PHYLE GOULD, merchant, born Dec. 12, 1817, in Philadelphia, died in 
 New York city, July 5, 1892. He was the descendant of early English settlers of 
 Pennsylvania. Early in life he went to Portsmouth, O., and spent a number of years 
 in a large iron and roiling-mill business with his relative, T. G. Gaylord. Later, he 
 engaged in the iron trade in Cincinnati, and about 1873 transferred his interests to 
 Xe\v York city. He was considered an authority on financial matters, and drew up a 
 number of legislative enactments in the interest of bankrupts and others, and had 
 
272 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 confidential relations with Hoyt, Sprague & Co. May 29, 1845, he married Caroline, 
 daughter of the late Moses Brooks, of Cincinnati. The children born to them were 
 Ella Brooks, who married Volckert P. Douw, member of an old family of Albany, 
 N. Y. , both now deceased; Caroline E., who married J. W. Fiske, of New York; and 
 Moses Brooks Gould, now deceased. 
 
 WILLIAM RUSSELL GRACE, merchant, a man of great force of character and 
 intellect, has, by energy and perseverance, become one of the most prominent mer- 
 chants and financiers of this country, besides having attained a national reputation as a 
 leader in the political affairs of the city and State of New York. 
 
 The Graces were a Norman Irish family, and from the time of the invasion of 
 their ancestor, Richard le Gros, they possessed extensive land-holdings in Queens 
 county. When the English finally gained a mastery over Ireland, the Graces, 
 being Catholics and very probably fighters, had their lands confiscated for disloyalty 
 and were banished beyond the Shannon. The great grand-father of William R. Grace 
 returned to Queens county and fought the claim to the family lands. He was 
 offered a liberal compromise, but he said he would have the whole or none. All 
 the Irish courts gave him the whole, but the English Appellate Court gave him none 
 of the lands. From this time on, the Graces remained in Queens county, and so much 
 did they prosper, that James Grace, father of the subject of this sketch, was left quite 
 a fortune. This money the father lost in South America, whereas the son was destined 
 to make many times more money in the same country. James Grace, when a young 
 man, spent his money and came near losing his life in an expedition organized to free 
 Venezuela from the Spanish rule. He married Ellen Mary Russell, of a well-known 
 Protestant Irish family. They had four sons, all of whom have been successful in 
 life. William Russell is the oldest son. John W. , the second son, is the founder of the 
 San Francisco Grace house, and is one of the directors of the Grace corporation. M. 
 P. Grace is the founder of the London house and the man who negotiated the Peruvian 
 loan in London amounting to $40,000,000. Sir Morgan Grace went to New Zealand as 
 a young army surgeon. 
 
 William R. Grace was born in Queenstown, County Cork, Ireland, May 10, 1832. 
 In early life, he displayed that keen foresight and indomitable will which have since 
 made him famous. At the age of fourteen, realizing that the county district of Ireland 
 offered no future for him. he ran away from school and, working his passage on a 
 sailing vessel came to New York city. After remaining in New York two years, 
 during which time he was employed in various capacities, he returned to Ireland 
 upon a visit to his home. In 1850, he went to Callao, Peru, and entered the 
 shipping house of Bryce & Co., of which he became a partner in 1852, the firm 
 later taking the name of Bryce, Grace & Co., and afterward Grace Bro's & Co. 
 Being the only American house of consequence at Callao, and having agencies in all 
 the principal ports in Peru and Chile, besides excellent connections in the United States 
 and England, the firm soon rose to distinction. They acted as agents for Baring Bro's 
 & Co. for many years. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Grace came to New York, intending to retire from active business on 
 account of ill health. Upon the return of his strength, however, he founded the house 
 of W. R. Grace & Co., shipping and commission merchants, which has since become 
 famous the world over, having branches in London and San Francisco and in Peru arid 
 
274 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Chile, besides agencies in all the principal cities on the west coast of South America. 
 The firm have important contracts with Peru for the importation of guano, and are the 
 largest importers of nitrate of soda in the United States, besides dealing exclusively in 
 the other products of Central and South America. They export large quantities of the 
 manufactures of the United States, and have been instrumental in securing closer 
 relations with the Central and South American republics. 
 
 The relations of Mr. Grace with Peru have been so intimate and his standing as a 
 merchant and financier so high, that his firm were at one time called upon to aid Peru 
 in the conversion of its debt. A contract was entered into with the English bondhold- 
 ers, which was negotiated in London by Michael P. Grace and proved beneficial to all. 
 
 In 1 88 1, Mr. Grace established the New York & Pacific Steamship Co., Ltd., 
 which is the only company conducting a regular steam service between this country and 
 the West Coast of South America. 
 
 In April, 1877, Mr. Grace was appointed receiver of The Continental Life Insurance 
 Co., a position of great responsibility, which he filled with general satisfacton. 
 
 In September, 1859, he was married to Lillius Gilchrist, daughter of George W. 
 Gilchrist,, of St. George, Maine. Their five children living are: Mrs. W. E. Holloway, 
 widow of the late W. E. Holloway, of San Francisco; Joseph P. Grace, Miss Lillius J. 
 Grace, Miss Louise N. Grace, and William R. Grace, jr. 
 
 Mr. Grace has three brothers, J. W. Grace, M. P. Grace and Dr. M. S. Grace, the 
 first two being associated with him in business, while the latter is a surgeon in New 
 Zealand and a Member of Parliament and has been knighted by the Queen. 
 
 Mr. Grace is largely interested in a number of corporations. He is president of 
 The Ingersoll-Sergeant Drill Co. , and The Hamilton Bank Note Co. ; vice president of 
 The Fernbrook Carpet Co.; and director in The Lincoln National Bank, The Lincoln 
 Safe Deposit Co , The Terminal Warehouse Co., The Brooklyn Warehouse & Stor- 
 age Co., The New York Life Insurance Co., The New York & Pacific Steamship Co., 
 The Occident Dock Co., and a number of others. 
 
 In 1880, he was the Democratic candidate for Mayor of New York city and was 
 bitterly opposed on account of his religion. Once elected, he gave the city a business- 
 like administration. It is a notable fact that at that early date he exposed the ways of 
 the Police Department. He took the street cleaning away from them and placed it in 
 efficient hands. He asked the Governor to co-operate with him in removing some of 
 the men, who presided over the department in its worst da^s. From the first, Mayor 
 Grace took his stand against the corrupt elements of the Democratic party, and no mat- 
 ter which way the scale turned, he was always to be found in the same place. 
 
 In 1884, by running for Mayor, he was instrumental in swinging a large independ- 
 ent vote to Grover Cleveland. In that election, the people showed what they thought 
 of'a business administration. When he was unknown, he was elected by a majority of 
 3)3. an d now in a three-cornered fight he was given a majority of over 10,000. 
 
 In 1892, he was one of the men who went to Chicago to protest against the action 
 of the State Democratic machine, and, by his efforts in organizing the protesting con- 
 vention, showed plainly to the rest of the country that New York was for Cleveland. 
 Again in 1894, he was found in his place, lending a powerful hand to throw Tammany 
 out of its entrenchment of city offices. 
 
 Though a citizen of the United States, Mr. Grace yet retains an interest in his 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GR. 275 
 
 mother country, and in 1879, when the famine was raging in Ireland, he contributed 
 liberally for the relief of the poor people, having shipped half the cargo of the U. S. 
 war ship Constellation, besides furnishing the stevedores and clerk hire necessary 
 for loading the cargo. Mr. Grace is a devout Catholic and contributes liberally each 
 year for the support of many charitable institutions. He is also a trustee of St. 
 Patrick's Cathedral. Among the many clubs to which he belongs are the Metro- 
 politan, Manhattan, Down Town, Lawyers', Reform, Catholic, Press and Country 
 club of Westchester. 
 
 COL. JOHN LORIMER GRAHAM, lawyer, born in London, England, March 20, 
 1797, died in Flushing, L. I., July 22,* 1876. He was a' son of Dr. John Andrew Gra- 
 ham, a native of this country and descended from ancient Scottish lawyers, who prac- 
 ticed criminal law in this city during the early part of the present century. The son 
 was brought to this city at the age of four, and received as good an education as could 
 be obtained at that time. Educated to the law, he was admitted to the bar in 1821, and 
 began practice in partnership with his cousin, James L. Graham. His military title 
 was bestowed by Gov. DeWitt Clinton, upon whose staff he served. He had previously 
 been an officer in a local military regiment here. He gained prominence in the prac- 
 tice of mercantile law, being successively at the head of the noted firms of Graham, 
 Xoyes & Martin, and Graham, Wood & Powers. By adding to a fortune inherited from 
 his father, he became one of the strongest men in the city. He was married in 1818, to 
 Miss Emily Clason, a favorite in social circles. A Democrat in politics, the Legislature 
 made him in 1834 a Regent of the University, a position which he held until his death. 
 He also became a member of the Historical, The New England, The St. George's and 
 Bible Societies, and a member of the Council of The University of the City of New 
 York, in which he founded a free scholarship. In 1840, President Van Buren appointed 
 him Postmaster of New York city. Colonel Graham served for nearly four years, with 
 ability and fidelity. Through the instrumentality of General Dix, he was called to 
 Washington, to hold a confidential position in the Treasury Department. He read 
 much, keeping himself well informed on the questions of the day. His wife died 
 several years before him, but his four sons, James, Clinton, Augustus, and Malcolm, 
 all well known in business circles, and a daughter, Emily, survived him. 
 
 ROBERT GRAVES, one of the largest wall paper manufacturers in America, born 
 in Dublin, Ireland, about 1820, died at his home on Lafayette avenue, Brooklyn, Jan. 2, 
 1886. He came to this city when twenty-five years of age, found employment, and 
 later began the manufacture of wall paper in Brooklyn, upon a small scale, becoming 
 one of the pioneers of this industry. He gradually enlarged his factory until he 
 occupied a block on Fulton street at Carleton avenue. There he employed 220 ' 
 persons, and conducted a profitable industry. Shortly before his death, The National 
 Wall Paper Co., in whose organization he took an active part, acquired his factory and 
 trade, Mr. Graves becoming a large stockholder in the new company. To gratify a 
 love for country life, Mr. Graves occupied a beautiful summer home with extensive 
 grounds atlrvington, his graperies there being the finest on the Hudson. In 1885, he 
 began building a spacious mansion on Clinton avenue, designed to be the finest residence 
 in Brooklyn. The noted dwellings of New York city having been studied, plans were 
 then made for a dwelling, which should be chaste, clasically simple and rich, and among 
 other things contain a large art gallery. Mr. Graves did not live to enjoy his new home, 
 
276 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and the property was purchased by Alfred J. Pouch. A handsome man, over six feet 
 tall, with blue eyes and flowing hair and beard, he was attracted by home life more 
 than by public affairs. His second wife, Cesarine, and eleven children survived him. 
 
 RUFUS ROWE GRAVES, cotton merchant, born in Sunderland, Mass., Nov. 6, 
 1807, died in Morristown, N. J., Aug. 17, 1876. He was a son of Erastus A. Graves, 
 and came of old New England and English stock. After obtaining a common school 
 education, he began his business career as a clerk for his father, then a resident of 
 Macon, Ga., in a general store, and soon attained the dignity of partnership. E. A. & 
 R, R. Graves became large buyers of cotton, which they shipped to the Northern 
 States. In 1840, the firm removed to New York city. During the Civil War, the 
 senior partner retired, and his son E. A. Graves, and a son of the junior partner, were 
 then admitted, the name being changed to Rufus R. Graves & Co. They supplied 
 many New England mills with raw cotton, and shipped large quantities of the staple 
 abroad. Mr. Graves accumulated a large fortune, and retired in 1874, thereafter mak- 
 ing two trips to Europe for recreation. He was a man of sterling integrity and up- 
 rightness, utterly devoid of display or ostentation, and his life was a long record of 
 charity and kindness. His gifts were known to no one except himself, but they far 
 exceeded what those who best knew him supposed. He was a director of The Bank of 
 the Republic, The Phenix Insurance Co. of Brooklyn, The Delaware, Lackawanna & 
 Western Railroad, and The New Jersey Zinc Co. For thirty years, he lived in Brooklyn 
 and was long treasurer of Plymouth church. Later, he removed to Morristown, N. J. 
 He was married in September, 1839, to Mary J., daughter of John Arms, in Conway, 
 Mass., and their children were, Arthur B. Graves; Louisa M., wife of F. W. Owen; 
 Carrie A., wife of F. J. Mather; Fannie R., wife of L. C. Lathrop, and Mary Ella 
 Graves. By his will, Mr. Graves left $100,000 for the education of the colored race in 
 the South, and $115,000 to other charitable objects. The bulk of the estate was given 
 to his wife and children, but their best legacy was his beautiful and successful life. 
 
 JOHN ALEXANDER CLINTON GRAY, merchant, was born in Gen. James Clin- 
 ton's house in Little Britain, Orange county, N. Y. , Nov. 2, 1815. His grandfather, 
 Alexander Gray, having been implicated in the unsuccessful struggle for Irish inde- 
 pendence, left Ireland in 1790 for this country, dying soon after his arrival in Philadel- 
 phia. Maria Gray, widow of Alexander, married in 1797, her cousin, Gen. James 
 Clinton, of the army of the American Revolution. John Gray, son of Alexander, died 
 in 1816, as the result of an accident, leaving a widow ^and one son, the latter, the 
 subject of this sketch. The lad attended the academy in Montgomery, Orange county, 
 and, at the age of fifteen, made his entrance into practical affairs as clerk for his uncle, 
 Alexander McLeod Scott, a dry goods merchant in New York city. He was a young 
 man of merit and Mr. Scott made him a partner in 1835. In 1837, he married Susan 
 M., daughter of George Zabriskie of this city, lawyer, Alderman for several years, and 
 Member of Assembly. Mr. Zabriskie died in 1849. After the death of Mr. Scott, the 
 firm of John A. C. Gray & Co. , succeeded to the wholesale dry goods trade of the former 
 firm and prospered therein for many years. In 1855, Mr. Gray retired, the business 
 passing into the management of Buckley, Sheldon & Co. Mr. Gray was a special 
 partner in Bailey, Southard & Co., a dry goods commission house, during 1856-60, and 
 then retired wholly from active business. He has since spent his time largely in travel 
 and the recreations of a gentleman of refinement and intelligence, but has been largely 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GR. 377 
 
 interested in railroad enterprises, among them The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern and 
 The Xew York, Lake Erie & Western, aiding in the reorganization of the latter in 1878. 
 In 1870, he served as receiver of The Memphis, El Paso & Pacific Railroad. He has 
 invariably refused to allow his name to be used as a candidate for public office but per- 
 formed a public service, as vice president of the Central Park Commission, when formed, 
 devoting much time to the creation of Central Park, seeking no other reward than the 
 satisfaction of creating a noble park for the benefit of his fellow citizens. It is owing 
 to the disinterested and earnest efforts of Mr. Gray and his associates, aided by Andrew 
 H. Green, Controller of the Commission, Mr. Vaux and v Mr. Olmsted, that the park has 
 become what it is to-day. He was a strong Whig prior to 1856, and thereafter a Repub- 
 lican. While shunning public life, he has delighted in the company of his friends, whom 
 he has chosen from among men of letters rather than from the leading spirits of the gay 
 world. Men like Horace Greeley, William C. Bryant, and others of that time in 
 America, and Richard M. Milne, Lord Humphrey and Charles Kingsley of England, 
 have enjoyed his intimate acquaintance. His children have been George Zabriskie 
 Gray, late Dean of the Episcopal Seminary in Cambridge, Mass. ; Albert Zabriskie 
 Gray, late Warden of Racine College; John Clinton Gray, Associate Judge of the Court 
 of Appeals in this State; Catharine, wife of H. R. Bacon, a resident of the Isle of 
 Wight ; and Miss Frances Gray. 
 
 flRS. HETTY HOWLAND ROBINSON GREEN, capitalist, better known as Mrs. 
 Hetty Green, was born in New Bedford, Mass., Nov. 21, 1835. She is a granddaughter 
 of the late Isaac Rowland, and daughter of Edward Mott Robinson, a prominent 
 shipping merchant of New Bedford, who, by a life of marked enterprise and strong 
 natural powers, gained a fortune of several millions. Upon his death, June 14, 1865, a 
 large part of this fortune descended to his daughter Hetty. The latter was married in 
 1867 to Edward H. Green, a merchant of New York city. Mrs. Green aided her father 
 in the management of his large estate, and thus, early in life, gained an acquaintance 
 with business methods, which subsequently proved of value. She has retained control 
 of his fortune, and devoted herself with ability to its management and increase. 
 
 By careful investment, she has become a large holder of stock in sound railroad 
 companies in the West and South, in The Chemical National Bank, and in business 
 blocks and other real estate in Chicago and other parts of the country. A woman of 
 remarkable force of character, Mrs. Green displays little taste for the recreations of 
 fashionable life but derives great pleasure from business pursuits. She is shrewd and 
 exceedingly competent, while at the same time animated with a kindly heart and a 
 spirit of unfailing good nature. Her purchases of new properties are made with sound 
 judgment and generally with excellent success. For a number of years, she operated 
 to some extent in Wall street. Probably no other woman in America travels so much 
 as she, but her trips to various parts of the country have business purposes in view. 
 They are not made solely for recreation. She is rather above the middle height, large 
 in frame, with gray eyes, a strong nose, and regular features. Her children are Edward 
 H. R. Green and Sylvia Green. 
 
 EDWARD HOWLAND ROBINSON GREEN, son of Mrs. Hetty Green, the capital- 
 ist, was born in the Langham Hotel, London, England, Aug. 22, 1868. The family came 
 to Ne\v York in 1872. Edward was educated in the public schools of New York city, 
 the High School in Bellow Falls, Vt., and Fordham College, graduating from the latter 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GR. 279 
 
 in 1888. He then studied law, paying especial attention to the statutes pertaining to 
 real estate and railroads. Having been admitted to the bar and thus equipped for the 
 battle of life, he identified himself with his mother's properties and soon revealed 
 excellent business talent. A beginning was made as clerk in the office of The Connecti- 
 cut River Railroad, where he gained an insight into the management of this class of 
 corporations. 
 
 At the age of twenty-one, The Ohio & Mississippi Railroad elected him a director, 
 giving him a larger opportunity for the study of traffic problems. In 1893, he visited 
 Texas, and purchased, on excellent terms, a branch of The Houston & Texas Central 
 Railroad, one of the most important transportation, systems in that State, formerly 
 controlled by his mother. The same year, he took The Texas Midland Railroad, in 
 which he owns a controlling interest, out of the hands of the receiver, and by election 
 as the head of the corporation without his knowledge and during his absence, became 
 the youngest railroad president of the United States, natural ability also making him 
 one of the most competent. With the ardor of youth and the determination of a man 
 who is resolved to know all about the business in which he is engaged, Mr. Green 
 pervades with his activity the whole region traversed by his railroad. Frequent visits 
 are paid to the towns along the line, and the merchants are visited for consultation with 
 reference to everything which will increase the traffic and build up both the country 
 and the railroad. It is not unusual for him to don a suit of overalls, mingle with the 
 employes in the shops, and hold the throttle of an engine in a trip down the line He 
 is not in the least afraid of work. Genial, enthusiastic, considerate and a gentleman, 
 he makes friends everywhere, and is warmly respected by the officers and employes of 
 the road. A large fortune will eventually come under his control, and he is rapidly 
 qualifying himself in the most practical manner for its prudent management. 
 
 Mr. Green is already a stockholder in numerous railroad companies and owns 
 several blocks of houses in Chicago. He has won popularity socially by attractive 
 manners, and the commendation of the judicious for his energy, caution and ability. 
 His clubs are the Union of New York, the Union League and Chicago Athletic of 
 Chicago, and the Dallas of Dallas, Texas Like his father, he is fond of athletic exer- 
 cises, and has gained therein the iron muscles of a well developed specimen of hardy 
 manhood. 
 
 It makes some difference, as these pages clearly show, how a man starts in life, 
 but in free America, early poverty is no bar whatever to success. The essential thing 
 is how a man makes his way, after he has made a start, and this applies to both rich 
 and poor. There is every reason to believe that Mr. Green possesses the constructive 
 and progressive temperament, which promises for him a brilliant future. 
 
 JOHN CLEVE GREEN, merchant, born in Lawrenceville, m N. J., April 14, 1800, 
 died April 29, 1875, at his residence on Washington Square in this city. His father, 
 Caleb Smith Green, was a farmer in Lawrence township in the present county of 
 Mercer, N. J. While young, John entered the house of N. L. & G. Griswold, mer- 
 chants in the China trade on South street in this city, and as a clerk displayed so much 
 sagacity that he was appointed supercargo of the ship Panama, a famous tea clipper of 
 that day, and of other vessels, and made many voyages to China and South America. 
 In 1833, he was admitted to the house of Russell & Co., in Canton, China, and there 
 laid the foundation of his large fortune. In 1839, on his return to New York, he mar- 
 
280 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 ried Sarah Helen, daughter of George Griswold, and carried on the China trade for 
 many years thereafter, acquiring a fortune of about $7,000,000. Mr. Green was prom- 
 nent in the social, business and public enterprises of the city. He had been for many 
 years a director of The Bank of Commerce, a member of the Chamber of Commerce 
 and a manager of several of the leading charitable and public institutions, being always 
 known as a man of clear views, strong convictions and great force of character. He 
 took an active interest in the University of the City of New York and in Princeton The- 
 ological Seminary and Princeton College. His town house was in Washington Square 
 in this city and his large country house with much land at Castleton on Staten Island. 
 Mr. Green was the father of three children all of whom died in childhood. His brother, 
 Henry W. Green, was at one time Chancellor of New Jersey, and his brother in law, 
 Frederick Frelinghuysen, Senator from the same State. By his will, he left $50,000 to 
 the Theological Seminary at Princeton and a large estate to be disposed of by his resi- 
 duary legatees to religious, charitable and educational institutions. Mrs. Green died in 
 May, 1893. 
 
 NORVIN GREEN, M.D., president of The Western Union Telegraph Co., born 
 where New Albany, Ind., now stands, April 17, 1818, died in this city, Feb. 13, 1893. 
 His father, Joseph Green, born near Louisville in 1796, was a soldier in 1812, and 
 took part in the battle of New Orleans, afterward becoming a farmer in Kentucky, 
 tavern keeper, manufacturer and merchant, trading in a coiintry store and in flat boats 
 on the Mississippi. Norvin grew up in the employments carried on by his father, kept 
 the books, and helped manage a fleet of trading flat boats. In 1833, a storm wrecked a 
 number of their boats on the lower Mississippi, and the rest were seized to satisfy a 
 debt for which the senior Green had become surety. Norvin then bought a flat boat 
 in Cincinnati and a stock of goods, traded down the Ohio, and located at the mouth of 
 the Kentucky river, leased a farm, built a store, and in three years had made enough 
 money to pay the family's debts and buy a farm. He then filled a contract to deliver 
 1,200 cords of wood at Madison, Ind. The family now being prosperous, he studied 
 medicine at the University of Louisville, graduating in 1840, and practiced his profes- 
 sion for thirteen years in Kentucky. Dr. Green sat for two terms in the Kentucky 
 Legislature. In 1853, Secretary Guthrie appointed him commissioner and disbursing 
 agent for the building of the new custom house and postoffice in Louisville. The fol- 
 lowing year, Dr. Green became interested in telegraph lines, and in July joined the 
 company which leased The New Orleans & Ohio Telegraph Co. When this company 
 was incorporated in 1854 as The Southwestern Telegraph COr, Dr. Green was chosen 
 president. Under his management, the company built new lines on the railroads from 
 Louisville to New Orleans, and the system was extended throughout Arkansas and 
 Texas. In 1857, Dr. Green visited New York city, met the presidents of the six lead- 
 ing telegraph companies, and with them entered into the Six-Party Contract, the first 
 telegraph deal in America, which lasted thirty years and was never broken. Territory 
 was partitioned and an interchange of business provided for. All later consolidations 
 of telegraph companies have followed the principles of the Six-Party Contract. The 
 North American Telegraph Association was formed in 1857, with Peter Cooper as 
 president, and every telegraph company in the country finally became a member of it. 
 The Southwestern Telegraph Co. , was united with The American Telegraph Co., in 
 January, 1866, and in July following, the latter was consolidated with The Western 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GR. 281 
 
 Union Telegraph Co. Dr. Green refused the presidency, but accepted the vice presi- 
 dency of the new company. Upon the death of William Orton in 1878, he succeeded 
 to the presidency. In this position, he became one of the best known and most com- 
 petent telegraph men in the country. His capacity for labor was immense. He pos- 
 sessed great administrative ability, a thorough knowledge of telegraph law, and 
 remarkable sagacity. The stockholders resisted every effort he made to retire from the 
 head of the company. He was a man of fine culture and both in business and private 
 life his manners were genial and winning. At one time, his friends in Kentucky made 
 him a candidate for United States Senator, and would have elected him, had not a 
 single vote intended for him and cast by a friend been mistakenly given to another. 
 He was at one time president of The Louisville, Cincinnati & Lexington Railroad and 
 later a director of The Gold & Stock Telegraph Co., The International Ocean 
 Telegraph Co., The Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Co., The Dives Pelican 
 Mining Co., The American Speaking Telephone Co., and The Mercantile Trust Co. 
 He married early in life Martha; daughter of James W. English, a well to do farmer 
 near Carrollton, Ky. His four sons are Dr. James O. Green, who married a daughter 
 of ex-Mayor Hewitt; John W. Green, at one time president of the Louisville Cham- 
 ber of Commerce; Pinckney, and Warren Green. He also had several daughters. 
 JOHN QREENOUQH, banker, a native of Boston, Mass., was born March 25, 1846. 
 He is a son of David Stoddard Greenough, and Anna Parkman, his wife. The family 
 are of Puritan ancestry, Capt. William Greenough, who settled in Boston in 1642, being 
 the founder of the family in this country. The subject of this sketch was educated at 
 Harvard College, and entered business life as clerk in the famous shipping house of 
 Grinnell Minturn & Co., and utilized his training there, later, in establishing himself 
 as a merchant in the River Platte trade. His firm of Wilder & Greenough gained a 
 distinct and worthy success. In 1884, he was admitted to the firm of Poor, White & 
 Greenough, stock brokers and bankers in this city, the firm subsequently becoming 
 Poor & Greenough. This house is one of the most conservative and trustworthy in 
 Wall street It has devoted its energies mainly to the negotiation of loans and invest- 
 ment securities. When English capital began to seek investment in America to such a 
 large extent, ten years ago, Poor & Greenough became one channel through which large 
 sums of money found their way into the stocks of American corporations, the firm 
 representing several investment companies in London. They have dealt largely also 
 in industrial and railroad stocks, and are financial agents for The Missouri, Kansas & 
 Texas, The Wheeling & Lake Erie, and The Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Rail- 
 roads, and other corporations, for which they have negotiated more than 50,000,000 of 
 securities within the last few years. Both partners are directors of several railroad 
 companies and financial organizations, including those above named, and The Knox- 
 ville & Ohio, The Sherman, Shreveport & Southern, and The Kansas City & Pacific 
 Railroads, The Bank of the State of New York, The Lawyer's Surety Co , The Lon- 
 don & New York Investment Co., and others. A man of powerful mould and fine 
 manners, Mr. Greenough has a large number of friends, and is a popular as well as 
 successful man. He was married June 4, 1879, to Caroline, daughter of John M. 
 Storey, of New York. The following clubs claim him as a member: University, 
 Harvard, Tuxedo, Down Town and Lawyers', as well as The New England Society and 
 The Sons of the American Revolution. 
 
2 g 2 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 MOSES HICKS QRINNELL, shipping merchant, born in New Bedford, Mass., 
 March 23, 1803, died Nov. 24, 1877, in this city. His father, Cornelius Grinnell, a 
 Huguenot by descent, was a successful shipping merchant of New Bedford. The 
 family was planted in America in 1632 by three brothers, who settled in Rhode Island. 
 On the maternal side, Mr. Grinnell traced his ancestry to John Howland, one of the 
 company of the Mayflower. Moses was one of six brothers, who, educated in the New 
 Bedford academy and their father's counting-room, nearly all became widely known in 
 commercial circles. Henry Grinnell, an older brother, sent the Advance and Rescue 
 in search of Sir John Franklin in 1850, Grinnell Land being discovered by this expedi- 
 tion. Moses began life as a clerk for Wm. R. Rotch & Co., importers of Russian goods 
 at New Bedford, at a salary of $100 a year. He finally engaged in business on his own 
 account, and before twenty years of age sailed as supercargo of a vessel bound for 
 Brazil and thence for Trieste with a cargo of coffee. After a few ) ears with Fish & 
 Grinnell, a partnership was, in 1828, formed by Mr. Grinnell with Robert B. Minturn, 
 known as Grinnell, Minturn & Co., the senior partner being then only twenty-two years 
 old. They grew to be owners, wholly or in part, of about fifty ships, engaged in the 
 trade with South America and foreign countries and the packet service to England. 
 This firm -never failed and never endured a stain upon their name. For nearly forty 
 years, their sign was a landmark on South street. The firm established the Blue and 
 White Swallow-Tail Line of packet ships to Liverpool and the Red and White Swallow- 
 Tail Line to London. It is said that Mr. Grinnell built more ships in his day than any 
 other New York merchant. In 1838, Mr. Grinnell was elected president of The 
 Phoenix Bank, and in 1843 succeeded Robert Lenox as president of the Chamber of 
 Commerce, retaining the position five years. During 1860-65, ne was a Commissioner 
 of Charities and Correction. He was also president of The Sun Mutual Insurance Co. 
 Originally a Democrat and a member of Tammany Hall, he left that organization and 
 in 1838 was elected to Congress as a Whig. In 1856, he served as Presidential elector 
 at large on the Fremont ticket, and in 1869 was appointed Collector of the Port of New 
 York by President Grant. During the Civil War, he joined the Union Defence Com- 
 mittee and gave largely in support of the Union. His first wife was Susan, daughter 
 of Gilbert Russell. After her death, he married, in 1836, Miss Julia Irving, a niece of 
 Washington Irving. They had three children, all of whom survived him, namely, 
 Irving Grinnell; Julia, wife of George S. Bowdoin; and Fannie, wife of Thomas F. 
 Gushing; and their country residence adjoined Washington Irving's "Sunnyside. " 
 
 RANDOLPH QUQQENHEIMER, lawyer, was born July 20, 1848, in Lynchburg, 
 Va. As his name implies he is of German descent. A student in the University 
 of Virginia until he came to New York city, he finished his preliminary education 
 in the University of the City of New York. The modest means of the family 
 brought upon the youth, at an early age, the duty of entering upon active life. His 
 first employment was as clerk for a merchant of woolen goods. Later, he became 
 a clerk in the law office of Martin I. Townsend, upon the modest salary of $r a 
 week. He was the all round useful young man of the office for several years, and 
 meanwhile applied himself with diligence to investigation of the knotty problems of 
 the law. When admitted to the bar, he opened a law office under the name of Guggen- 
 heimer & Untermyer. By making himself thoroughly conversant with the law of cor- 
 porations, he attracted important clients, built up a large and profitable practice, and 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GU. 283 
 
 has been more than ordinarily successful in negotiating large transactions with English 
 syndicates, which desired to invest their surplus means in America. He has brought 
 $60,000,000 of English capital into this country for investment. In 1887, Mayor Grace 
 appointed him a member of the Board of Education, and he was twice re-appointed. 
 Mr. Guggenheimer has met with a suitable reward for his legal enterprise, and is the 
 owner of the site of the old New York Hotel on Broadway, on which he is now con- 
 structing one of the most impressive buildings in New York city. He is also a director 
 in The Yorkville Bank. Mr. Guggenheimer has been favored by nature with rugged 
 health, a strong constitution and brains His succesr is due to incessant labor, tenacity 
 of purpose and the confidence inspired by an honest character and clear head. Various 
 excellent clubs have elected him to membership, including the Manhattan, Lotus, Arion, 
 Suburban, Press and Driving clubs, and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. 
 
 CHARLES GODFREY GUNTHER, fur merchant, oldest son of Christian G. Gun- 
 ther, born on Liberty street in this city, April 7, 1822, died at his home on East i4th 
 street, Jan. 22, 1885. He attended the Moravian Institute at Nazareth, Pa., and com- 
 pleted his studies at Columbia College Grammar School. On attaining manhood, he was 
 taken into the firm of C. G. Gunther & Co. , fur dealers, and for many years was occu- 
 pied in the old store on Maiden Lane. Later, the business was removed to Broadway, 
 near Prince street, and afterward to Fifth avenue, near 2jd street. Mr. Gunther allied 
 himself with the Democratic party in early life, was a member of the Young Men's 
 Democratic General Committee, its chairman for several terms, and one of the founders 
 of the Democratic Union club. In 1855, he received an election as one of the governors 
 of the Alms House, running 5,000 votes ahead of his colleagues on the ticket, the Board 
 of Governors choosing him president. In 1856, he was elected a sachem of the Tam- 
 many Society, and in 1861 he was nominated for Mayor, but was defeated by George 
 Opdyke, the last Republican Mayor the metropolis was destined to see for thirty-three 
 years. In 1863, however, Mr. Gunther became Mayor by a majority of more than 
 7,000. After the expiration of his term, he withdrew from politics, having no sympathy 
 with those who constituted the Tweed Ring and conscious that no one could succeed 
 in politics, who did not obey their behests. In 1878, he consented to become a candi- 
 date for Senator from the Vllth District, but was defeated. For many years a mem- 
 ber of the old Volunteer Fire Department, he was elected later president of the Veteran 
 Fireman's Association. Mr. Gunther saw at an early day that Coney Island possessed 
 natural advantages as a pleasure resort and built The Brooklyn, Bath & Coney Island 
 Railroad, and two hotels, one at Locust Grove on Gravesend Bay, which was afterward 
 destroyed by fire. The Liederkranz and other societies claimed him as a member. His 
 wife was Amelia B , daughter of George Arcularius, and his children were Christian 
 G. and George A. Gunther; Lena, wife of James Miller; and Amelia B. Gunther. 
 
 ERNEST RUDOLPH GUNTHER, retired, son of the late William Henry Gunther 
 and grandson of the late Christian G. Gunther, was born in 1862 in what was known as 
 "Gunther Row," which consisted of six large houses and one enormous house on the 
 northwest corner of Second avenue and i4th street. This row was built about fifty 
 years ago in what was then the fashionable part of New York by Mr. Gunther's grand- 
 father, who came to America in the year 1812 for political reasons and to avoid serving 
 in the German army. 
 
 The name of the pioneer was originally von Gunther and he was the son of the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. GU. 285 
 
 celebrated von Giinther, who was Surgeon to the King of Saxony and of noble birth 
 and a cousin of Prince Giinther, one of the richest German princes. Christian von 
 Giinther brought with him to America two coats of arms and four miniatures, which 
 have been handed down in the family. 
 
 Ernest Rudolph Gunther is a member of many of the most select clubs in New 
 York and lives at No. 9 West 5 7th street. 
 
 He is a clever conversationalist and extremely popular among club men and the 
 people who comprise what is known as the best society in New York. An invitation 
 to one of the frequent musicales, given at his residence, is prized very highly by 
 members of the New York smart set. 
 
H. 
 
 WILLIAM ALEXANDER MADDEN, born in Flushing, Long Island, about 1811, 
 died in New York city, April 2, 1880. He was a son of David Hadden, a native of 
 Aberdeen, Scotland, 1773, and of Ann Aspinwall, his wife. Having gained a thorough 
 knowledge of the linen trade in the store founded by his father, the subject of this 
 memoir devoted his whole life to the importation of Irish linens, and the tranquil, 
 capable and prosperous prosecution of their sale in this country. He was married in 
 1849 to Frances Sanderson, daughter of James Elnathan Smith. Of their three children, 
 two are living, James E. Smith Hadden and Harold Farquhar Hadden. 
 
 GEORGE HAGEMEYER, merchant and manufacturer, a native of Castle in 
 Germany, born in 1837, died in Cornwall on the Hudson, June 14, 1892. His parents 
 were farmers and proprietors of a large grist mill. 
 
 When fifteen years of age and after the death of his parents, the subject of this 
 memoir removed to Rotterdam, and thence crossed the ocean to the United States in 
 1852, by a sailing vessel, the voyage lasting forty six days. He reached New York city in 
 December. The possessor of only a small amount of money, he was compelled to be 
 saving from the start. A short time after his arrival in the metropolis of the new 
 world, his older brother John gave him employment in a saw mill in Downing street, 
 at that time considered the best mill in this city. Older brothers are sometimes incon- 
 siderate, and John restricted the freedom of his younger brother so much, that the latter 
 found he could do better elsewhere. Going to Yonkers, where he had been offered a 
 position in G. Copcut & Co. 's saw mill, he devoted himself diligently to his work, and 
 in less than a year had mastered the proper management of a saw. But, possibly a 
 trifle homesick, he longed to be back to New York, and finally returned to his friends 
 and his brother's mill in Downing street. Six months later, however, he again disagreed 
 with his employer, and leaving his position, this time he had the enterprise to remove 
 to Boston. After a short stay in Boston, and while employed in a saw mill there, he 
 had the misfortune to meet with a serious accident, one of his legs being completely 
 cut off by a circular saw. He was then seventeen years old. To many natures thi= 
 disaster would have proved such a discouragement as to have taken away ambition, 
 blighted all prospect of advancement in life, and resulted in a subsequent career of 
 commonplace and routine effort. But Mr. Hagemeyer was ^lot daunted. The calamity 
 served rather to call forth all the resources of which he was possessed. 
 
 After remaining several months in a hospital, he returned to New York city. As 
 he was then unfitted for laborious work in the mill or for his trade as a sawyer, he 
 undertook the cigar manufacturing business to support himself. After making cigars 
 by hand for two years, he was offered a position as buyer of timber by Cbpcut & 
 Co. , who admired his energy and saw in him the making of an enterprising and sue. 
 cessful merchant. Accepting the offer, he sailed from New York for the Honduras 
 coast and for two years purchased the mahogany timber required by Copcut & Co. 
 While this experience proved of great value to him, financially and otherwise, it was 
 suddenly ended by an attack of fever, and Mr. Hagemeyer returned to New York. 
 
 At the age of twenty-two, he had saved considerable money and was then taken 
 
y 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HA. 287 
 
 into partnership by his brother, Melchior, who conducted a saw mill in Cannon street. 
 He kept the books of the concern after business hours. Having long felt the need of a 
 better education, the young man gave an excellent illustration of his practical common 
 sense and energy by attending the night schools of the city, during his partnership. 
 
 In 1862, at the age of twenty-five, he severed his connection with the saw mill 
 industry and, upon his own responsibility, engaged in the business of dealing in timber, 
 beginning with a little yard about 75 feet by 100 feet in dimensions on Attorney street 
 in New York city. 
 
 In 1864, he was married to Mary Muhlfeld and resided in Broome street for two 
 years. In 1870, he moved his family to Williamsburg, across the East river and a 
 year later to Green Point, both localities having since been incorporated within the city 
 of Brooklyn. 
 
 As a merchant of mahogany, hardwood lumber and veneers, Mr. Hagemeyer made 
 rapid progress. He had served in every branch of the lumber trade and possessed the 
 thorough practical knowledge of every detail, which is necessary to success. His busi- 
 ness grew steadily until the original yard had become altogether too small to hold the 
 huge lumber piles which his trade demanded. In 1869, therefore, he bought four 
 city lots on the East river in this city at the foot of East nth street; and when this 
 enlarged area finally proved insufficient, he extended the property to cover nine lots on 
 East i ith street and nine more on East loth street. 
 
 In 1871, he engaged in the manufacture of hardwood lumber in Peru, Ind., and 
 opened an extensive yard there in which all the lumber purchased in Indiana was col- 
 lected and stacked for distribution to different points, East, West and South. After 
 that, he extended his operations to a number of other States, which possessed supplies 
 of desirable hard wood timber, including Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and New 
 York, as well as Canada. It was his practice to go directly to the woods for his stock, 
 buying from the stump and setting up saw mills of his own, wherever necessary, to 
 operate exclusively in his own interest. He maintained a large distributing yard in 
 Crawfordsville, Ind., and saw mills in Camden, Frankfort, Darlington and Bedford, 
 Ind. ; Laurel Gap, Tenn. ; and Croghan, N. Y. These plants are in operation to this 
 day. The output of the mills and yards found a market in all parts of the United 
 States, Canada, and even in Europe Mr. Hagemeyer's activity gave employment to 
 large numbers of skilled workmen and supplied railroad lines and deep sea shipping 
 with vast quantities of freight. 
 
 Mr. Hagemeyer was the pioneer hardwood lumber merchant of New York city 
 and never lost the position of leading dealer in mahogany, hard wood and veneers, 
 after he had once gained it. In consequence of his intelligence and constant enterprise, 
 many of the new departures in the trade originated with him. He was the first to saw 
 quartered oak, sycamore, cherry and birch for the trade and it was he who introduced 
 the use of these different woods, now so extensively employed in buildings and furni- 
 ture. In every branch of his business, he was always the pioneer, attempting many 
 things, succeeding in all, and following up with energy every profitable development of 
 his industry. Owing to his prominence in the trade, The New York Lumbermen's 
 Association elected him as its president; and his record as a member of that body is 
 remarkable in one respect, if no other, in consequence of the fact that he never made a 
 motion which was not carried unanimously. 
 
2 88 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 In his married life, he was very happy. Two sons and five daughters were born 
 to him : George and Casper, who now carry on the lumber industry which he estab- 
 lished, having been admitted to partnership in 1887 and 1891 respectively; and Eliza- 
 beth, Martha, Mamie, Emma and Eva. Every one with whom Mr. Hagemeyer came 
 in contact liked and respected him. His liberality toward individuals who were 
 unfortunate and toward the public charities was marked, and his sound judgment, 
 clear mind and store of varied knowledge rendered his opinions always of value. Suc- 
 cess came to him through a progressive spirit, untiring perseverance and concentration 
 of his powers upon his chosen occupation. 
 
 JAMES BEN ALI HAQQIN, lawyer, a native of Mercer county, Ky., began life 
 in the practice of law in Natchez, Miss. , and followed his profession in New Orleans, 
 and after 1850, in San Francisco and Sacramento. Having become largely interested 
 in lands and mines, Mr. Haggin finally abandoned his profession. Among the properties 
 which he controls are mines in Utah, the Anaconda copper mines at Butte City, Mont. , 
 and others in the United States and Mexico. His Rancho del Pascoin California is one 
 of the largest and most successful breeding establishments in the world. He is largely 
 interested with Lloyd Tevis in what is known as The Kern County Land Co., owning 
 about 400,000 acres in California, which property is now being divided into farms and 
 sold to settlers at from $50 to $100 per acre. He is also a stockholder in The Belling- 
 ham Bay Improvement Co. At one time, Mr. Haggin maintained a large racing stable, 
 but owing to the death of his son and daughter, his interest in the turf abated and he 
 abandoned racing entirely. He is now a resident of New York city and a member of 
 the Union and Manhattan clubs. 
 
 DAVID HENRY HAIQHT, merchant, who died in this city, April 29, 1876, at the 
 age of seventy-one, came from a local family of merchants. His father, David L. 
 Haight, was first a merchant of saddlery, then of dry goods, and finally, in D. L. & J. 
 E. Haight, of hat and shoe trimmings. The junior David began as a clerk for his father, 
 on Maiden Lane, and became a partner in D. L. & J. E. Haight in 1827. In 1835, the 
 house moved to No. 170 Water street, re-organized as R. & H. Haight, and carried on 
 an enormous business. He retired in 1848, the house then taking the name of Haight, 
 Halsey & Co. Thereafter he devoted himself to real estate. The St. Nicholas Hotel 
 on Broadway and several other buildings were erected by him. Henry Jansen and 
 Edward Clarence Haight, his sons, survived him. 
 
 EDWARD HAIQHT, merchant, a native of New Yo*k city, born on Park Place 
 about 1817, died in Westchester, N. Y., Sept. 15, 1885. He sprang from a race of New 
 York merchants, founded by old Nicholas Haight, the farmer, who exemplified by 
 their genuine interest in everything which went on in town in their day and generation, 
 their activity, good character and success, the old time merchants of the city. After a 
 sufficient education, Mr. Haight entered the firm of Cromwell, Haight & Co., importers 
 of cloth and tailor's trimmings on Maiden Lane, in 1838. He retired in 1854 to a farm 
 in Westchester, but was afterward a partner in Richards, Haight & Co., cloth 
 importers. An organizer and president of The Bank of the Commonwealth 1856-70, a 
 War Democrat and a member of Congress, 1861-63, he suggested the use of fractional 
 currency, and was also a director of The Manhattan Life Insurance Co., and The 
 National Bank of New York. Mr. Haight married a daughter of Dr. William Burgoyne, 
 formerly of Charleston, S. C., and had six children. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HA. 289 
 
 JOHN HUDSON HALL, a native of- New York city, born Oct. 15, 1828, died in 
 Thomasville, Ga., March 3, 1891. He was a son of John V. Hall, whose ancestor 
 came to this country from England in 1700. First, clerk in a bank and then in the 
 store of Elliott, Burnap & Babcock, manufacturers of paper, he became a partner in 
 1850 in Babcock, Dubisson & Hall, and in 1854, in Campbell, Hall & Co., who on Nas- 
 sau street, rose to great prominence. Mr. Hall became senior partner in 1860. Having 
 acquired considerable wealth, he retired in 1881. Mr. Hall was one of those who, July 
 25, 1866, organized The West Side & Yonkers Patent Railway, which built half a mile 
 of elevated railroad on Greenwich street, operated with stationary power and an endless 
 cable. From that time forward, he gave great attention to elevated railroads, was a 
 director of The New York Elevated Railroad Co., which built the first successful line, 
 and shared in the management of The Manhattan Railroad until his death. At one 
 time largely interested in The Oregon & Transcontinental and The Union Pacific, 
 Mr. Hall also made investments in some of the largest railroad systems in the South. 
 He was vice-president of The Georgia Central Railroad & Banking Co., and The Rich- 
 mond Terminal corporation, and director of The East Tennessee Virginia & Georgia 
 and The Richmond & Danville Railroads. In politics a Republican, he never took an 
 active part in public affairs, but was a member of the Union League club. He was 
 more of the typical American merchant and gentleman than politician. Thoughtful, 
 shrewd, and unassuming, his influence was powerful in corporations. By his marriage 
 in 1872, to Cornelia, daughter of Augustus H. Ward, he was the father of four chil- 
 dren, John Hudson, Charles Ward, Cornelia Catherine and Martha Jane Hall. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HALL, merchant, born in Hackensack, X. J., July 21, 1826, 
 died in Budapest, Hungary, June 30, 1894. He was a son of Henry J. S. Hall, of 
 Coventry, England, a watchmaker, who came to America in his youth. William served 
 an apprenticeship as clerk for Bush & Hillyer, and then found employment with Olcott, 
 McKesson & Co. , a leading drug firm. In a short time, he felt competent to manage 
 a store, and, aided by a loan from his father, bought the retail drug store of Dr. Gunn 
 on Bleecker street, in the then fashionable quarter of the city. In 1851, with John 
 Ruckel, he engaged in a wholesale and importing trade in drugs, in the firm of Hall 
 & Ruckel, down town, and reaped great profit from the ownership of certain popular 
 proprietary articles and valuable trade marks. For about thirty years previous to his 
 death, though the old style was retained, Mr. Hall had been sole proprietor. He was 
 president of The L. W. Warner Co., director of The Fellows Medical Manufacturing 
 Co., of New York and London, The Washington Trust Co., and The Terminal Ware- 
 house Co. ; and the owner of choice real estate. Modest and retiring, calm, sound and 
 sympathetic, he was a sterling man and held in affectionate esteem. Mr. Hall was 
 married in 1850, to Martha M., daughter of Curtis Hitchcock, and had several children. 
 
 ADOLPH HALLQARTEN, merchant, born in Mayence, Germany, Nov. 6, 1835, 
 died in Wiesbaden, Feb. 13, 1885. Lazarus Hallgarten, his father, founded the house 
 of Hallgarten & Herzbel, now Hallgarten & Co. Educated at the higher public 
 schools, the subject of this memoir came to New York in 1850 and began life in the 
 Eagle drug store on Broad way, near Grand street. Next year, he entered a wholesale drug 
 house, and several years afterward the employment of D. T. Lanman & Co. , wholesale 
 druggists. For D. T. Lanman & Co., he undertook many long trips to the West Indies, 
 Mexico and South America, which yielded such good returns that he was taken into 
 
290 
 
 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 partnership in Lanman & Kemp, and his persevering endeavors finally brought him a 
 fortune. In later life he devoted himself to charitable institutions, especially to the 
 Hebrew Institute for deaf mutes and the Mount Sinai Hospital, serving the latter for 
 many years as president. A wife, son and two daughters survived him. 
 
 JULIUS HALLQARTEN, stock broker, born in Europe about 1842, died in Dabos, 
 Switzerland, Jan. 7, 1884. In 1851, became to New York city with his family and 
 learned brokerage and banking in the house of Hallgarten & Co. He joined the old 
 Open Board of Brokers and in 1869, the Stock Exchange. The high character, ample 
 capital and able business methods of the firm commanded success and, when Mr. Hall- 
 garten died, he left a fortune of several millions to Matilda, his wife, and his son Albert. 
 Mr. Hallgarten served for several years as president of The Philharmonic Society and 
 displayed especial interest in musical and art matters. His gifts to the Academy of 
 Design and for the encouragement of artists were large, and at his death, he willed 
 $192,000 to philanthropic objects. 
 
 JOHN HALSEY, hatter, born July 19, 1801, died Sept. 22, 1877, in Brooklyn. 
 His mother was a member of the Crafts family of Boston, and his father traced his 
 genealogy back in England to the Norman conquest. The ancient residence of the 
 family was at Gladdesford Park, Hertfordshire. Mr. Halsey's childhood was spent in 
 Boston. The family came to New York about 1811, and young Halsey a few years 
 later entered the store of D. L. & J. E. Haight, merchants of hats and hat furnishing 
 goods. He was rapidly advanced and finally became a partner, the firm then adopting 
 the style of Haight, Halsey & Co. About 1835, Mr. Halsey and his two brothers 
 bought estates in Brooklyn on Clinton avenue near Myrtle. This was then almost a 
 country region and Mr. Halsey's house stood far back from the street. The three 
 brothers married three sisters, the Misses Curtis. None of them had any children, and 
 they adopted three boys and a girl, all of one family. Mrs. John Halsey died in 1875. 
 Mr. Halsey was noted for his liberal spirit and aided many young merchants to gain 
 their start. He was a Christian gentleman and unswervingly devoted to principle. He 
 never held political office but was honored with high positions in benevolent institutions 
 and at the time of his death, was vice president of The Dime Savings Bank of Brook- 
 lyn. He had been a director in The Mechanics' and other banks. 
 
 JAMES HOOKER HAMERSLEY, lawyer, is the present head of one of the notable 
 families of the Island of Manhattan, whose history is worth recounting. His ancestor 
 William Hamersley, merchant, born in England in 1687, died in New York city, 
 August 3, 1752. He derived his descent from Hugo le Ktnge, who came to England 
 from Provence, France, about 1366, and acquired a large estate in England, known 
 as Hamersley, whence the family took their name. Sir Hugh Hamersley, of this 
 line, a notable merchant of London in the trade with East Indies, America and Europe, 
 rose to be Mayor of London in 1627. William Hamersley, his great grandson, served 
 as an officer in the British navy, his letter of appointment, dated March 10, 1700, signed 
 by G. Rooke, D. Mitchell, and George Churchill, all noted men, being now in the pos- 
 session of James Hooker Hamerslsy, together with the original letters of commenda- 
 tion, signed by the commanders of the vessels in which he sailed, advising his prefer- 
 ment. About 1716, he came to New York city, married Miss Van Brugh, of an old 
 Dutch family, and planted here the family of his name. He was prominent as a. mer- 
 chant and a vestryman of Trinity church. His tombstone is in Trinity church yard. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HA. 29! 
 
 His son, Andrew Hamersley, for whom Hamersley street, now West Hous- 
 ton, was named, born in this city in 1725, died May 24, 1819. As an importer of foreign 
 goods, he gained considerable wealth, which, however, the American Revolution greatly 
 impaired, owing in part to his having accepted a British commission. His fortune was 
 restored by a large inheritance from Louis Carre, a merchant in the West Indies. He 
 married Margaret Stelle, a granddaughter of Thomas Gordon, one of the twenty-seven 
 original proprietors of New Jersey and Chief Justice of that State. In their home on 
 Hanover Square, near Wall street the family became noted for refinement and hospi- 
 tality. Mr. Hamersley invested his means mainly in Xew York city real estate. He 
 had three sons, William, Thomas, and Lewis C., and two daughters, Elizabeth and 
 Lucretia. Lewis Carre Hamersley, third son of Andrew, survived all his brothers and 
 sisters, and died Nov. 4, 1853, eighty -six years of age. His wife was Elizabeth Finney, 
 of Virginia, a woman of noble character and presence. They lived in Pearl street 
 many years, and later in Murray street, until the death of Mr. Hamersley; but, when 
 stores had finally grown up all around, the widow moved on to Bond street, then a 
 fashionable street, and later to No. 257 Fifth Avenue, where she died March 30, 1870, 
 at the age of eighty-eight. They had one daughter who never married, and two sons, 
 Andrew Gordon and John William Hamersley. 
 
 Andrew Gordon Hamersley, born in this city about the year 1806, died here Jan. 
 24, 1883. A lawyer by education, he never practiced, owing to inheritance of a large 
 share of his father's estate. He was a cultivated man, of extended knowledge and 
 delightful manners, and might have followed a public career, had he chosen. While 
 Mr. Rives was American Minister to Paris, he served as attache of the legation with 
 credit. Being much in Paris, he saw many stormy scenes in the politics of France, 
 including the Revolution. His marriage with Sarah, daughter of John Mason, 
 brought him one son, Louis C. Hamersley. Mr. Hamersley was a large stock- 
 holder and director of The Chemical Manufacturing Co., which gave rise to The 
 Chemical Bank, and received from his wife a considerable addition to an already large 
 fortune. 
 
 Louis Carre Hamersley, lawyer, only son of the last named, died in the city of 
 Xew York, May 3, 1883. He was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford, Eng- 
 land, and afterward at the Law School of the University of the City of New York. 
 His legal training formed merely a part of his equipment for the management of a 
 property of about five millions, mainly in real estate, left to him by his father and 
 mother. He never practiced. His wife, Lilly W , daughter of Commodore Price of 
 the United States Navy and one of the belles of Troy, N. Y., her native city, speedily 
 became a social leader in the metropolis. Mr. Hamersley joined the famous 7th Regi- 
 ment as a private, atterward becoming captain in the gth N. G. , S. N. Y. Having no 
 children, brothers or sisters, he provided that his wife should enjoy the entire income 
 of his estate until her death, when the entire property, real and personal, should 
 descend to the male heirs of James Hooker Hamersley, his cousin, and in case of lack 
 of such heirs to charitable institutions. In 1888, Mrs. Hamersley became the Duch- 
 ess of Marlborough by marriage in this city, and established her residence in England, 
 where she spent large sums of money in restoring the ancient magnificence of Blenheim 
 castle. The Duke of Marlborough died Nov. 9, 1892, and the Duchess has since 
 married Lord Beresford. 
 
292 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Col. John William Hamersley, lawyer, born on Hanover Square in this city, 
 May 24, 1808, died June 7, 1889, at his home on Fifth Avenue. He graduated 
 from Columbia College in 1826, practiced law successfully for a number of years, and 
 then retired to devote himself to travel and literary pursuits. In the early part of his 
 life, he was presented at the Court of Saint James and travelled extensively through 
 Europe and Asia at a time when few Americans had crossed the Atlantic. He was a 
 man of noble presence and fine character, rugged in physique, capable of great labor, 
 and noted for his religious conviction. Throughout life a devoted Christian, he gave 
 amply from his means to aid the causes he held at heart. He always declined to hold 
 public office, preferring calm retirement and study, "otium cum dignitate," rather than 
 the stormy arena of politics. He collected a fine library, especially rich in rare books, 
 wrote several works, and translated "A Chemical Change in the Eucharist," written by 
 Jacques Abbadie, the Frenchman. Mr. Hamersley was a founder of the Union club 
 and a member of the Century and St. Nicholas clubs. He joined his father in the 
 management of the family real estate, and by his excellent judgment, common sense, 
 energy, ability and foresight, greatly increased the property. His Friday night recep- 
 tions were famous for the number of eminent writers and artists who attended them, 
 and his charities liberal and unostentatious. While a young man, he accepted an 
 election as Colonel of a militia regiment in this city. He came prominently before the 
 public at one time, in consequence of a strong effort, which he made in favor of the 
 Mexican Republic against France. In company with James William Beekman, he gave 
 a famous banquet in New York to a large number of distinguished men, at which earn- 
 est speeches were made in favor of Mexico. The strong expression of sympathy by 
 many of the best minds of the country influenced Congress to recognize the Mexican 
 Republic. European nations followed, and this resulted in the defeat of Napoleon and 
 Maximilian and the establishment of the Mexican Republic. In return for this invalu- 
 able assistance to Mexico, in her darkest hour, Mr. Hamersley obtained a promise from 
 Mr. Romero, the Mexican Minister at Washington, that Maximilian's life should be 
 spared, but popular clamor among the Mexicans was so strong that this was impossible. 
 Captain Mayne Reid, the distinguished British author, was an intimate friend of Mr. 
 Hamersley and made him the hero of his novel "The Lone Ranche." Mr. Ham- 
 ersley was for many years a member of Grace Church, and after his death his. 
 children presented to that church a massive brass lectern in his memory. One of 
 his chief favorites among the charitable institutions was The Children's Aid Society. 
 James Hooker Hamersley has built for this charity, in memory of his father, a library 
 and reading room at the summer home, Bath Beach, L. I. Mr. Hamersley married 
 Catherine Livingston Hooker, daughter of Judge James Hooker of Poughkeepsie and 
 a lady of rare abilities and sterling worth. Their four children are one son, James 
 Hooker Hamersley, and three daughters, Virginia Hamersley, wife of Cortlandt de 
 Peyster Field; Catherine Livingston Hamersley, who married John Henry Livingston, 
 a great grandson of Chancellor Livingston; and Helen Reade Hamersley, who married 
 Charles D. Stickney, jr. 
 
 James Hooker Hamersley, son of Col. John W. Hamersley, born in New York 
 city. Jan. 26, 1844, is the descendant of several conspicuous families. He is in the 
 fifth generation from Judge Thomas Gordon, one of the Council for the province of East 
 Jersey; Deputy Secretary, 1692; Judge of Probate, 1698; Attorney General of East 
 
294 
 
 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Jersey, 1692; representative of Amboy in the Provincial Assembly, 1702-9; and Re- 
 ceiver General and Treasurer of the province, 1710-19. 
 
 He is also in the fourth generation from Joseph Reade, one of the Provincial Coun- 
 cil of New York, 1764, from whom Reade street in this city derives its name. 
 
 There runs in his veins the blood of the Livingstons, also, Mr. Hamersley being in 
 the sixth generation from Robert Livingston, member and Speaker of the Provincial 
 Assembly, 1718-25, and founder of Livingston Manor on the Hudson River. 
 
 From Filyp Pieterse Van Schuyler, captain of the New York provincial forces in 
 1667, he is in the seventh generation of descent. 
 
 He is eighth in descent from Brant Arentse Van Schlichtenhorst, Governor of the 
 colony of Rensselaerwick, 1648, and commandant of the fort and garrison of Rensse- 
 laerstein, whose most conspicuous military operations were in leading his forces against 
 Gov. Stuyvesant, of New Amsterdam, in which he was in the main successful. 
 
 He is also sixth in descent from Henry Beekman, who obtained from Queen Anne, 
 by letters patent, June 25, 1703, a large tract of land in Dutchess county, a portion of 
 which Mr. Hamersley now owns, this property having never been out of the possession 
 of the family since the days of Queen Anne. 
 
 Mr Hamersley began his studies as a boy in Paris, fitted himself for a higher 
 range of education at Poughkeepsie College Institute, and graduated from Columbia 
 College in 1865 with high honors. He obtained an oration at the commencement exer- 
 cises in the Academy of Music. Graduating from Columbia Law School in 1867, he 
 learned the practice of law in the office of James W. Gerard, then leader of the New 
 York bar. His alma mater bestowed upon him the degree of A.B. and A.M. 
 
 During the next ten years, Mr. Hamersley was successfully occupied with the law and 
 had charge of a series of precedent cases, connected with the opening of Church street 
 and involving a principle of great importance to lawyers and property owners. These 
 cases were carried from court to court, and, although the lower tribunal utterly 
 opposed Mr. Hamersley's views, the young lawyer persisted until he had obtained 
 from the Court of Appeals an unanimous decision in his favor. Many kindred cases 
 followed at once in the wake of that decision. The incident illustrates the tenacity, 
 energy and intelligence which Mr. Hamersley has always brought into play for the 
 attainment of his purposes. He finally withdrew from the law to manage his own and 
 the family property. A conservative man, of excellent judgment and character, and 
 heartily interested in affairs, he at one time contemplated a public career, and was sent 
 to the State convention by the Independent Republicans in 1877 as a delegate. Later, 
 he was nominated for the State Assembly from the Xlth District, but withdrew in favor 
 of his friend, William Waldorf Astor, whom he labored successfully to elect. For 
 many years, he served as a director of The Knickerbocker Fire Insurance Co. , one of 
 the oldest in America. 
 
 April 30, 1888, he married Margaret Willing Chisolm of New York, daughter 
 of William Eddings Chisolm and descendant of a distinguished family of South 
 Carolina. Her mother was a daughter of John Rogers, a large owner of real estate and an 
 honored citizen of New York city. The Church of the Holy Communion at the corner 
 of Fourth avenue and 2oth street is a memorial to the memory of Mr. Rogers, built by 
 his widow, who gave both the land and Ihe Church. Mrs. Hamersley is also a great- 
 niece of the Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg, the founder of Saint Luke's Hospital. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HA. 295 
 
 Mrs. Hamersley has charming manners, sweet disposition and great executive ability. 
 Her kind heart and gracious ways make friends for her wherever she goes. She is 
 much interested in charitable institutions. They have had three children, Margaret 
 Rogers, who died in infancy; Catharine Livingston, born May 8,1891; and Louis Gordon 
 Hamersley, born July 20, 1892. 
 
 James Hooker Hamersley has made about a dozen voyages to Europe, and has 
 travelled from the Mediterranean to the Arctic ocean. At the age of twelve, he had seen 
 several crowned heads and nearly a score of v European capitals, climbed Mount Vesuvius 
 on foot and been presented to Pope Pius IX. He is a member of the St. Nicholas 
 Society, The Society of Colonial Wars, the University, Metropolitan, City and Badminton 
 clubs, The New York Historical Socity, The New York Law Institute and The American 
 Geographical Society, and president of the Knickerbocker Bowling club. He is a lover 
 of history and the classics, and spends his leisure hours in reading favorite authors in 
 the original. Time is found for writing upon the live topics of the day, religion, 
 politics, etc., and he thus influences the age in which he lives. Many poems from his 
 pen have appeared in books, periodicals and newspapers, but have never yet been 
 collected in one volume. Among the best known are "The Countersign," "Yellow 
 Roses," "Fog Curtain," "The Midnight Sun," "Ronkonkoma," "Masconomo" and 
 "Voice of the Breakers." A staunch Republican, he believes that every American 
 should labor for the welfare of his country, and he takes an active interest in philan- 
 thropic work, being a trustee of The Society for Improving the Condition of the Poor, 
 member of the executive committee of The Young Men's Christian Association (23d 
 street branch), manager of the Babies' Hospital, an honorary manager of The Protestant 
 Episcopal Society for Seamen and interested in many other kindred charities. 
 
 COL. ALEXANDER HAfllLTON, lawyer, son of Alexander Hamilton, the states- 
 man, born in New York city, May 16, 1786, died at No. 83, Clinton Place, Aug. 2, 1875. 
 He was educated as a lawyer, followed his profession, and after a year in Spain in 1812, 
 served in the War of 1812 as captain of the 4ist Infantry. He then resumed the 
 practice of law. In 1817, he married Eliza P., daughter of William Knox, a leading 
 merchant in this citj r . In 1823, President Monroe appointed him Land Commissioner 
 for Eastern Florida. Both before and after this, he served as United States District 
 Attorney in Florida, and while there received the rank of Colonel. He subsequently 
 made his residence in New York, where he entered into real estate transactions, in which 
 he was successful, and also became one of the leading men in Wall street. In 1835, in 
 company with his wife, he drove in a coach and four over 4,000 miles through the 
 West. Colonel Hamilton was an intimate friend of Henry Clay, and had many other 
 political acquaintances, but never held elective office, excepting that of Member of 
 Assembly for one term. A political contest, however, always awakened his enthusiasm. 
 He left no children. 
 
 COL. JOHN CHURCH HAHILTON, lawyer, born in Philadelphia, Aug. 22, 1792, 
 while his father was Secretary of the Treasury, died in Long Branch, N. J., July 25, 
 1882. He was one of the six sons of Alexander Hamilton, soldier and statesman. 
 His mother was a daughter of Gen. Philip Schuyler. While the death of Alexander 
 Hamilton, in consequence of the historic duel with Aaron Burr, left the family in 
 straitened circumstances, the subject of this memoir was, nevertheless, able to 
 graduate in 1809 from Columbia College. He was admitted to the bar, and engaged 
 
AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 in the practice of his profession. During the War of 1812, he served as an aid on the 
 staff of General Harrison, with the title of Colonel. Originally a Whig, he joined the 
 Republican party before the Civil War, and admired and supported General Grant, and 
 at one time he ran for Congress. Marriage placed ample means at his command, and 
 Colonel Hamilton then gave himself up to study and literary pursuits. In 1834-40, he 
 published the " Memoirs of Alexander Hamilton," in which he brought the life of his 
 father down to the tragedy which ended it, but, with a delicacy of sentiment charac- 
 teristic of him, made no mention of that event. His " Works of Alexander Hamilton," 
 in two volumes, appeared in 1851. In 1850-58, he published a "History of the Republic, 
 as traced in the Writings of Alexander Hamilton," in seven volumes. He was married 
 Dec. 20, 1814, to Miss Maria Eliza Van den Heuvel, daughter of Baron John Cornelius 
 Van den Heuvel, once Governor of Dulde, Guiana, and a leading merchant of his day, 
 who lived at the corner of Barclay street and Broadway and owned a handsome 
 estate at Bloomingdale. Mrs. Hamilton died in 1872 Nine children survived their 
 father: Alexander Hamilton, of Tarrytown; Gen. Schuyler Hamilton, of Jamaica, 
 N. Y. ; Judge Charles A. Hamilton, of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin; William 
 Gaston Hamilton, civil engineer and vice president of The Mexican Telegraph Co. ; 
 Elizabeth, who first married Major General Henry W. Halleck, and after his death 
 Major General George W. Cullum; Mary E. wife of Judge Charles A. Peabody; and 
 Charlotte A., Adelaide and Alice W. Hamilton. 
 
 ANSON WALES HARD, sr., coffee importer, born in Arlington, Vt., Oct. 16, 
 1841, is a son of the Rev Anson B Hard, a Protestant fipiscopal clergyman. Educated 
 in the academy of his church in Philadelphia, Mr. Hard began life, when sixteen years 
 old. as a clerk in his uncle's office in Baltimore. In 1862, he came to New York as the 
 confidential and head clerk of Wright, Maxwell & Co., coffee merchants, and, in 1870, 
 became a partner in Wright & Co. , coffee merchants. Their trade was largely with 
 Rio de Janeiro, and Mr. Hard spent several years in Brazil, actively promoting their 
 interests. He returned to the North in 1874, and in 1875, formed the present house 
 of Hard & Rand, coffee importers, now recognized a leading concern in the business, 
 having branch houses in Santos, Rio de Janeiro, London and Batavia. In 1870, Mr. 
 Hard married Miss Sarah E., daughter of James M. Brown, the banker. Nine children 
 have resulted from this union, seven of whom are now living, James M. B., Sarah A., 
 Julia P., Laura W., Nellie W., Anson W., and De Courcey L. Hard. Mr. Hard 
 is widely known as an honest, able and prudent man. -Jle is a member of the 
 Century. Metropolitan Riding, Rockaway Hunting, Down Town and Church clubs, 
 and a director of The Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co., The Bank of New York, 
 The Seamen s Bank for Savings, St. Luke's Hospital, The Home for Incurables, The 
 Society of St. Johnland, and The American Museum of Natural History and trustee of 
 The ^Norwich Fire Insurance Society of England. 
 
 LOUIS STANISLAS HARGOUS* banker, born in Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 17, 1809, 
 died in New York city, Dec. 24, 1886. His father, Jean I. Hargous, a captain in the 
 Royal Navy of France and a staunch Royalist, came to this country on the Jason under 
 the orders of Count de Grasse> resigned, and married Mile. Marie de Brisson. Louis 
 graduated from Princeton College, of which his cousin was a member of the faculty. 
 At an early age, he was sent to Mexico, where he entered the banking house of La 
 Serna in Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico, afterward known as Hargous & La Serna. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HA. 297 
 
 For seventeen years, he represented the United States as Consul at these cities, and 
 during the Mexican War served as Colonel on the staff of General Worth. After the 
 war, he resumed banking in Mexico, and continued until 1868, when he retired with a 
 fortune. Until 1875, he lived in Richmond, Va., and then settled in New York city. 
 Mr. Hargous was a man of great financial ability and prominently identified with many 
 of the most important financial transactions in Mexico. He spoke six languages 
 fluently. By his marriage to Suzanne Jeannette, daughter of William Gallagher, in 
 1850, he had eight children, Robert L. Hargous; Nina, wife of William Appleton of 
 Boston ; Anita, wife of George B. Deforest of New York ; Sallie J . , wife of Duncan Elliot 
 of New York, and Louis J. Hargous, who died June i, 1883. Three died in infancy. 
 
 CHARLES WILLIAH HARKNESS, lawyer, son of the late Stephen V. Harkness 
 of Cleveland, was born Dec. 17, 1860, in Monroeville, O., and received his education in 
 Yale University, class of 1883, and Columbia Law School, class of 1888. At the age of 
 twenty-four, he entered business life as a clerk and was occupied with the real estate 
 interests of his father. At the death of his father, he was made administrator of the 
 estate, and has been engaged since then in its management. He succeeded his father as 
 director in many business corporations, including The Euclid Avenue National Bank, 
 The Cleveland Arcade Co.. The United Salt Co. s The Ohio River Railroad, and The 
 Monongahela River Railroad; also in The Iron Belt Mining Co., and The Ashland 
 Mining Co. of the Gogebic range in the Lake Superior region and The Spanish Ameri- 
 can Mining Co. of Cuba. In 1890, he moved to New York city and is a member of the 
 University and New York Yacht clubs 
 
 JOSEPH HENRY HARPER, publisher, grandson of Fletcher Harper, one of the 
 founders of Harper & Bro's, was born in New York city, June 23, 1850. He was 
 educated in a school in Germany and Fay's School in Newport, R. I. Entering the 
 publishing house of Harper & Bro's, he began at the case and learned the trade of a 
 compositor and then successively the practical work of each department in the busi- 
 ness. He became a partner in Harper & Bro's in 1877, and was placed in charge of 
 the literary and periodical department. Liberal in taste, socially accomplished, he is 
 prominent in the literary and art life of the city, and a member of the Union League, 
 Grolier, Players, Century, Racquet, Riding and Rockaway Hunting clubs. By his 
 marriage with Mary, daughter of Col. Richard M. Hoe, in 1873, he has six children, 
 Fletcher, Mary Hoe, Richard M. H , Urling, Joseph Henry, and John Harper. 
 
 EDWARD HARRIMAN, stock broker, who died in this city March 24, 1887, 
 belonged to one of the oldest and best New York families, and was the inheritor of 
 considerable wealth, which he largely increased by his own exertions. He made his 
 fortune in early life, in partnership with Leonard W. Jerome, under the name of Har- 
 riman & Jerome, in brokerage and stock operations. About 1867, the parnership was 
 dissolved and Mr. Harriman retired from active business. He enjoyed thereafter a 
 tranquil and retired life, dividing his time between a country home in Hempstead and 
 this city. He was a member of the Union club. 
 
 COL. WILLIAM HAMILTON HARRIS, born in Albany, N Y., June 6, 1838, is a 
 son of the Hon. Ira Harris, formerly United States Senator from New York. Educated 
 in the Military Academy at West Point and the University of Rochester, he retired from 
 the United States army after thirteen years service, 1857-70, during which, while captain 
 of ordnance, he was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel tor ' 'gallant and meritorious service" in 
 
298 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 the Wilderness campaign. Engaging in the manufacture of iron, in 1870, in Decatur, 
 111., and Rosedale, Kan., he filled with credit, later, the positions of treasurer of The St. 
 Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern Rail way and president of The Bucyrus Steam Shovel & 
 Dredge Co., of South Milwaukee, Wis. In 1864, he was married to Miss Emma Hazen, 
 daughter of the late Stillman Witt, of Cleveland, one of the prominent men of that 
 city. They have had two children, Edith, wife of Albert Symington, and Emma Witt 
 Harris, both now living in New York city. In 1890, Col. Harris changed his residence 
 to New York, and is engaged in various manufacturing 1 and commercial pursuits. 
 
 FREDERICK CHRISTIAN HAVEflEYER, sugar refiner, born in New York city, 
 Feb. 5; 1807, died at Throgg's Neck, N. Y. , July 28, 1891. He was a son of Frederick 
 C. Havemeyer, junior partner in the old firm of W. & F. C. Havemeyer, sugar refiners. 
 Frederick left Columbia College in 1823, at the end of his sophomore year, and entered 
 the Havemeyer sugar refinery in Vandam street, as an apprentice. The factory was 
 then producing 1,000,000 pounds of sugar a year, employing less than a dozen men. 
 The young man speedily became a favorite with his uncle William, and under him 
 acquired a thorough knowledge of the industry. He worked in every department of 
 the factory,, from that of supplying the furnace with fuel to the final stages of refining 
 and packing, and later became profoundly versed in the science of this industry. The 
 little old sugar house, only 25 by 40 feet in ground plan, was also a store for the sale of 
 sugar. Ladies in their carriages often came there to purchase their family supply of 
 from one to twenty loaves of sugar or one to twenty gallons of molasses. In 1828, 
 Mr. Havemeyer formed a partnership with his cousin, William F. Havemeyer, in after 
 years twice Mayor of New York, under the name of W. F. & F. C. Havemeyer, jr. 
 They continued refining until 1842, when both partners retired in favor of their broth- 
 ers, Albert and Diedrick. The death of his father entailed upon Mr. Havemeyer the 
 management of a large property, and he was busily occupied therewith for twelve 
 years, his only relaxation being one tour of Europe and the Southern States. In 1855, 
 he returned to sugar refining, organized the firm of Havemeyer, Townsend & Co., and 
 built in Williamsburg the first of the collection of immense buildings, afterward known 
 all over the world as the refineries of Havemeyer & Elder. In 1861, the partnership 
 comprised Frederick C. Havemeyer, his son George, and Dwight Townsend. George 
 Havemeyer died before the end of the year, and Mr. Townsend soon retired. There- 
 upon, Mr. Havemeyer admitted as partners his son Theodore A. Havemeyer, and his 
 son-in-law, J. Lawrence Elder, the firm name being then changed to Havemeyers & 
 Elder. Two other sons, Thomas J. and Henry O. Havemeyer, and Charles H. Senff, 
 a nephew, were also admitted in time. The manufacturing plant of the firm now 
 covers five city blocks, and has a great water frontage upon the East River. It is the 
 largest sugar refinery in the world. Mr. Havemeyer was married March 31, 1831, to 
 Sarah Osborne, daughter of Christopher and May Townsend. Ten children were born 
 to them, including Charles, Theodore A., George W., Henry O., Thomas J. and Fred- 
 erick C. Havemeyer; Mary O., wife of J. Lawrence Elder; Kate B., wife of Louis J. 
 Belloni; Sarah Louise, wife of Frederick W. Jackson, and Warren H. Havemeyer. 
 -His son, THEODORE AUGUSTUS HAVEflEYER, refiner, was born in New 
 York city, May 17, 1839. He entered the sugar refining business of his father in 1857, 
 and was admitted to partnership in 1861. After a successful career as an independent 
 refiner, he joined The American Sugar Refining Co., and is now an active director. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HA. 299 
 
 In 1889, he became a member of the firm of E. C. Potter & Co., bankers. Mr. 
 Havemeyer has taken an active part in real estate operations and owns many impor- 
 tant properties. The great Havemeyer building on Cortlandt street was constructed by 
 him. In 1863, he was married to Miss Emilie de Loosey, daughter of Sir Charles F. 
 de Loosey, and that union has brought him the following children : Charles F. , Natha- 
 lie, Emilie, Blanche, Marie, Theodore, Henry, Dora, and Frederick Havemeyer. Mr. 
 Havemeyer is a man of prominence in social life, owning a residence on Madison 
 avenue and a palatial "cottage" in Newport, and holding membership in the Union 
 League, Tuxedo, Coaching, Metropolitan, Meadow Brook Hunting and New York 
 Yacht clubs. He is Consul General of Austria-Hungary, in this city. 
 
 HENRY OSBORNE HAVEHEYER, sugar refiner, a son of Frederick C. Have- 
 meyer, was born in New York city, Oct. 18, 1847. He received an excellent education 
 in public and private schools and in 1869 was admitted to partnership in Havemeyers 
 & Elder. In a few years, he found himself practically the manager. Enormous as was 
 the business of the firm, Mr. Havemeyer foresaw possibilities muqh greater in a union 
 of the sugar refining firms in different parts of the country, then in rivalry. Mainly 
 through his efforts, the great American Sugar Refining Co. was organized Jan. 1 2, 1891. 
 In that corporation were merged The Havemeyer & Elder Sugar Refining Co., The De 
 Castro & Donner Sugar Refining Co., The Havemeyer Sugar Refining Co., The Brook- 
 lyn Sugar Refining Co., The Moller & Sierck Co., The Dick & Meyer Co., The F. O. 
 Matthiessen & Wiechers Sugar Ref g Co. , The North River Sugar Refining Co. , and 
 several others in Boston, New Orleans, St. Louis, and San Francisco. Purchase has 
 since been made by this new company of the refineries of Claus Spreckels and Har- 
 rison, Frazier & Co., in Philadelphia. The capital stock is now $75,000,000, making 
 this one of the greatest corporations in the country. Mr. Havemeyer has revealed 
 abilities of a high order and manages the affairs of his concern with fidelity and success. 
 Aug. 22, 1883, he was married to Louisine Waldron, daughter of George W. Elder, of 
 The Havemeyer & Elder Sugar Refining Co. They have had three children Adaline, 
 Horace and Electra. Mr. Havemeyer owns a house on East 66th street, corner of 
 Fifth avenue, but since 1883 has been legally a resident of Greenwich, Conn., where he 
 has erected and presented to the town, at a cost of $250,000, a magnificent public school 
 house. He is a member of the Grolier and Riding clubs. 
 
 WILLIAM FREDERICK HAVEMEYER, sugar refiner, and three times Mayor of 
 Xew York, was born in this city, Feb. 12, 1804. 
 
 The name of Hoevemeyer, in which form it appears in the early records of the city 
 of Bueckeburg, Germany, is traced back to Hermann Hoevemeyer, in the year 1600. 
 His descendant in the sixth generation, William Havemeyer, a native of Bueckeburg, 
 who was left an orphan in childhood, went to London, England, at the age of fifteen, 
 where he learned the art of sugar refining. He was a capable young man and became 
 superintendent of a sugar refinery upon attaining his majority. In 1799, he came to 
 New York city to take charge of the sugar house in Pine street, belonging to Edmund 
 Seaman & Co. He dwelt next to the sugar house for several years. In 1807, he built 
 a sugar house of his own in Vandam street, and was successfully engaged in sugar 
 refining, with his brother, Frederick C. Havemeyer, until his death. 
 
 William Frederick Havemeyer, eldest son of William, graduated from Columbia 
 College in 1823, having shown himself a proficient student, especially in mathematics. 
 
300 
 
 . 
 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 His preference for a business career led him to enter his father's office as a clerk, and 
 there he made a patient study both of the art of sugar refining and the management 
 of the mercantile department. In March, 1828, he formed a partnership with his 
 cousin, Frederick Christian Havemeyer, as W. F. & F. C. Havemeyer, and engaged iii 
 this business on his own account, and was occupied successfully for fourteen years. 
 In his financial relations, he exhibited sterling honesty and a high sense of honor. His 
 methods were so prudent, that in the widespread failure and distrust of 1837 no doubt 
 was ever entertained of the strength of his firm. He gained the entire esteem of his 
 fellow merchants by uncompromising integrity, just and honorable dealing, and the 
 care and sagacity displayed in every detail of his business. 
 
 Judicious investments, his high character, and his reputation as a man of sound 
 judgment, resulted in his election, in 1851, to the presidency of The Bank of North 
 America, whose affairs he directed skillfully through the crisis of 1857. In 1857, he 
 was elected president of The New York Savings Bank, resigning, after an able admin- 
 istration, from both banks in 1861. He owned a large interest in The Pennsylvania 
 Coal Co., and The Long Island Railroad, of both of which he was vice president. He 
 was also trustee or director in various fiscal institutions, in which his opinions were 
 always greatly valued. 
 
 After his retirement from the sugar business, public affairs attracted much of his 
 attention. He was a pronounced Democrat and always held it to be a reproach, that 
 influential citizens should take so little interest in their own government. His admira- 
 tion and support of General Jackson brought him into friendly relations with Martin 
 Van Buren, with whom he corresponded concerning his political course as President. 
 
 In 1844, he was elected one of the three delegates from the Eighth Ward to the 
 Democratic General Committee of the city. He was nominated for Presidential elector 
 at the Syracuse convention of his party, Sept. 4, 1844, and cast his vote in the Electoral 
 College for James K. Polk as President and George M. Dallas as Vice President of 
 the United States. 
 
 April 8, 1845, he was elected by the Democratic party, Mayor of New York, and 
 was inaugurated, May 13, 1845. He held office one year, and then declined a renomina- 
 tion, which had been urged upon him by the leaders of opinion in both political parties. 
 In May, 1847, he was one of the fourteen delegates from New York city to the Demo- 
 cratic State judicial convention at Syracuse and was unanimously elected its president. 
 
 In 1847, Mr. Havemeyer made a vigorous effort to remedy the abuses which were 
 then being practiced upon immigrants; and as a result, a law was passed May 5, 1847, 
 creating the Board of Emigration Commissioners, of which he became the first presi- 
 dent, June 15, 1847. He was succeeded by Gulian C. Ver Planck. Many of the 
 wrongs to which immigrants had been subjected were corrected under his energetic 
 management. His German origin and his intimate acquaintance with the wants and 
 manners of the large German element in the immigration to this country, added to his 
 other personal qualifications, made his selection for this position a fortunate one. After 
 holding the office for one year and accomplishing the purpose upon which he was bent, 
 he retired from the Board. 
 
 April n, 1848, Mr. Havemeyer was again elected Mayor of New York, being 
 inaugurated May gth. His administration during this term was again generally satis- 
 factory to the people of the city without regard to party. He was notable for the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HA. 301 
 
 scrupulous care which he gave to all details of administration, his rigid scrutiny of ex- 
 penditures, and his earnest effort to secure the same honest and economical manage- 
 ment of corporation affairs, which is enforced in private business. At the expiration 
 of one year, he retired from office, although again urged by leading men and journals 
 to accept another term of service. 
 
 The police force of New York had its foundation during Mr. Havemeyer's service 
 as Mayor. Night watchmen before that time had been the only guardians of the 
 peace. Thinking that the support of both -parties would be necessary to the success of 
 the system, and wishing its control to be free from partisanship, he displayed his 
 public spirit by appointing as Chief of Police, a Whig, Mr. Taylor. Although con- 
 firmed by the Assistant Alderman, the appointment was rejected by the Aldermen. 
 
 After his retirement from the Mayoralty in 1849, Mr. Havemeyer continued his 
 active participation in public affairs, and in 1859, he was nominated by the Democrats 
 for Mayor, but was defeated by Fernando Wood, the candidate of Mozart Hall. 
 
 During the Civil War, he was an earnest and influential Union man. He believed 
 that the rebellion could not be maintained and expressed his opinions on that point 
 with his usual independence. He always favored a decisive policy, was an early advo- 
 cate of the abolition of slavery as a war measure, and aided in measures for carrying on 
 the war. He presided at one of the four great public meetings held simultaneously in 
 Union Square, April 21, 1861, to give expression to the patriotism of New York city. 
 On one occasion, before the issue of the Emancipation Proclamation, in conversation 
 with Secretary Seward, he urged the necessity of prompt and vigorous measures and 
 said, " If a man has a gangrene, he does not poultice it, or trifle with it; he cuts it out. 
 And so this evil, slavery, ought to be cut out." 
 
 July 10, 1866, Mr. Havemeyer was selected, with Thurlow Weed, to arbitrate a 
 controversy between the Board of Public Charities and Correction and the Commis- 
 sioners of Emigration, relative to claims which had been pending more than ten years 
 and involved more than $100,000. After a patient and exhaustive investigation, the 
 arbitrators reached a decision, which was received as so satisfactory a settlement that 
 they were publicly thanked by both boards. 
 
 Mr. Havemeyer strenuously urged at all times upon his fellow-citizens the neces- 
 sity of active work to secure good government. He grew impatient at the political 
 apathy of many of the respectable and wealthy men of New York. 
 
 In the spring of 1870, he united with other leading citizens in organizing the Coun- 
 cil of Reform, having for its object the exposure of the Tweed Ring. He presided at 
 the meetings of April 6 and Sept. 4, 1871, at Cooper Institute, and was, on account of 
 his public spirit, solicited to accept the nomination for Mayor, but was inclined to 
 refuse, owing to the indifference of the people toward public affairs. It was at the 
 great meeting of Sept. 4, that a number of taxpayers known as the Committee of Sev- 
 enty were selected. His speech on that occasion was one of the most fearless and out- 
 spoken of any in the denunciation of official wrong-doing. He was elected vice 
 president, afterwards president, of the Committee, and was one of the most active and 
 influential members of that body. His long experience in politics rendered his services 
 especially valuable. An address to the people of the State of New York was prepared 
 and issued and an active and successful campaign initiated. 
 
 During the campaign of 1871, Mr. Havemeyer was, on October 2ist, nominated 
 
302 
 
 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 by the Republicans for Mayor; and this action was ratified by the Committee of Sev- 
 enty, and later by the United Reform convention. The nomination was reluctantly 
 accepted. At the ensuing election he was handsomely elected, defeating Abraham R. 
 Lawrence and James O'Brien, and was inaugurated Jan. i, 1872. Under the new charter 
 of 1873, Mayor Havemeyer and the Board of Aldermen were empowered to reorganize 
 the city government. The Mayor's independence of mind led him to select for appoint- 
 ments men of high character and position. Some of his nominations were confirmed 
 by the Board of Aldermen, but others were opposed. It was while these matters were 
 under discussion that, Nov. 30, 1874, while seated at his desk in his office in the City 
 Hall, examining his correspondence, he was stricken with heart disease. He passed 
 away in a few moments. 
 
 Mr. Havemeyer was married April 15, 1828, in Craigville, N. Y., to Sarah Agnes, 
 a daughter of Hector Craig, Member of Congress and afterward Surveyor of the Port 
 of New York. His wife survived him, with six sons and two daughters. The sons 
 were John, Henry, Hector, James, Charles and William F. Havemeyer, jr. The 
 daughters were Sarah C., wife of Hector Armstrong, and Laura A., wife of Isaac W. 
 Maclay. About 1848, Mr. Havemeyer built the house No 215, now known as 335 West 
 1 4th street, where he resided up to the time of his death. He was brought up in the 
 Lutheran faith, but in early manhood attended St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal 
 church. After the building of the Seventh Avenue Methodist Episcopal church he was 
 a regular attendant there, although not a member of any religious body. 
 
 Mr. Havemeyer died at his post of duty. From his youth, he had been an active, 
 progressive, even combative man, finding work a pleasure and rest a task. Rugged 
 and positive in character, his forcible manner did not inspire the affection, but it always 
 won the respect 01 all. He possessed a gentle and charitable heart, and was exceed- 
 ingly helpful to the friendless. Intimate acquaintance with him revealed his genuine 
 kindness ol nature, as well as the undeviating rectitude of his intentions and his earn- 
 est devotion to the welfare of the community. Born when the city contained a popu- 
 lation of only 67,000 souls, he was an active influence in its affairs during the period of 
 its marvelous growth ; and, when its population had increased to 1,000,000, he was for 
 the third time its chief magistrate. His life record is that of the wise and upright 
 merchant, the patriotic and useful citizen, and the practical philanthropist. 
 
 HECTOR CRAIG HAVEMEYER, sugar refiner, born in New York city, July 23, 
 1840, died in Paris, France, Dec. 14, 1889. He was a son of the late William F. Have- 
 meyer, Mayor of New York, and while he gave no evidence of inheriting his father's 
 taste and ability for public life, demonstrated at an early age a very large share of the 
 family aptitude for business. He received an excellent education but left Union Col- 
 lege without graduation. He then studied the methods of sugar refining abroad, es- 
 pecially in Hamburg, and upon his return in 1865, entered the house of Harris & Day- 
 ton, sugar refiners, on Leonard street. Another trip to Europe followed, during which 
 he investigated special branches of the business. He then joined his uncle, Albert 
 Havemeyer, in starting on North Second street, Williamsburg, a model sugar refinery, 
 which was afterward merged into the Havemeyer and Elder concerns. In 1871, he pur- 
 chased the plant of The Greenpoint Sugar Refining Co. , reconstructed it entirely and 
 carried on the business successfully for a number of years. In 1873, ne started another 
 refinery in Jersey City under the name of Havemeyers, Eastwick & Co. These two 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HA. 303 
 
 houses were afterward united under the name ot The Havemeyer Sugar Refining Co. of 
 which Mr. Havemeyer was president, and his brother, William F. Havemeyer, vice presi- 
 dent. These two houses were prominent members ot the Sugar Refineries combina- 
 tion, which can trace its orij^in from this source. Mr. Havemeyer was a member of 
 the Union League club. He never married. He was an excellent performer on the 
 violin, and owned one of the finest Stradavarius violins in existence. 
 
 CHARLES GERARD HAVENS, lawyer, born in Brookhaven, N, Y e , Sept. 27, 
 1808, died Jan, 7, 1888, at his home in East ipth street in this city. He was a son ot 
 Capt. Merodach Havens, a son or Capt. Daniel Havens, who was a well known Long 
 Island ship master. He came to this city while a young man, read law, and aftei ad- 
 mission to the bar, began practice in partnership with the late Charles B. Moore. In 
 or about 1838, he became junior to the distinguished counsellor, George Griffin, In 
 1844, he became a member ot the law firm or Cutting, Moore & Havens, of which the 
 great advocate, Francis B. Cutting, was the head. But six or seven years of the labor 
 of this overtaxed office sufficed to undermine his health. He retired from active prac- 
 tice and thereafter devoted himself to hi. investments in real estate, of which he was an 
 active buyer and seller on a large scale. He was a member oi The American Geograph- 
 ical Society and at one time of the Union League club and also a fellow member of 
 Charles O'Conor, Augustus Schell, Edgar S. Van Winkle j William M. Prichard and 
 Senator Evarts in the "Column." He was a personal friend of Edwin Forrest and as 
 surety, on his appeal bonds, became involved in the divorce suit oi Forrest versus For- 
 rest. Mr. Havens was a man of action rather than a student, quick to decide, and 
 energetic in carrying out his resolutions, his integrity being ot the most sterling sort. 
 He was a staunch friend and an obstinate adversary. In 1871, he caused to be organ- 
 ized The Havens Relief Fund Society, the purpose of which was and is " relief of pov- 
 erty and distress and especially the offering of temporary reliei to unobtrusive suffering 
 endured by industrious and worthy persons." Never having married and considering 
 himself entirely free to dispose as he thought fit oi the fortune, no part of which was 
 inherited, he devoted the major part ot it to the charity thus founded by him. 
 
 WILLIAM SAMUEL HAWK, one of the proprietors of the Windsor Hotel, born 
 in Canton, O., Feb. u, 1859, springs from a family oi hotel men. Both of his grand- 
 fathers conducted taverns in Ohio in their day, becoming favorably known among 
 Eastern merchants and travellers. Samuel Hawk, uncle ot William S. Hawk> a com- 
 petent and enterprising man, grew up in this occupation, and finally left Ohio to take 
 charge of a hotel in Chicago, where he gained reputation as a careful and excellent 
 host. The family thus became well known both in the East and West, and when 
 Samuel Hawk came to New York to take charge of the St. Nicholas Hotel on Broad- 
 way, the name had something to do with his success in making that famous and now 
 extinct house, not only a headquarters for Western merchants, but, for a long period, 
 the most fashionable hotel in New York city. 
 
 While a lad, William S. lost his father> William Hawk, by death, and was educated 
 in New York by Samuel Hawk, who adopted him as a son and trained him for the 
 responsibilities of an active life. The boy went to school first in the family of an 
 Episcopal clergyman in Pelham, N, Y.. and studied later in Graylock Institute in South 
 Williamstown, Mass., and the old Anthon Grammar School and Charlier Institute in 
 New York. In 1875, he made a six months' tour of Europe, resumed his studies, and 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HA. 
 
 35 
 
 then, in 1877, found employment with the dry goods firm of William Knisley & Co., at 
 No. 360 Broadway. Beginning as a stock boy, and compelled to rely upon himself, the 
 young man worked his way up, until Mr. Knisley expressed a desire to interest him in 
 the firm. 
 
 In the meantime, however, in 1873, Hawk & Wetherbee had opened the Windsor 
 Hotel, at that time the most luxurious and aristocratic hostelry in New York. In 1878, 
 Samuel Hawk, whose health had failed, was preparing by the advice of a physician to 
 go abroad and greatly wished the company of his nephew. William left the store and 
 its opportunities, therefore, in 1878, and passed nine months in a beneficial tour of 
 Europe and a long visit to the Nile. When he returned to America, he followed the 
 traditions of his family and entered the Windsor Hotel on Fifth avenue, conducted by 
 his uncle, and gave himself up to a thorough training in all departments of the man- 
 agement. He began in the store room in the back part of the hotel, weighed the meats 
 and groceries, studied prices, and kept the books of the steward's department, going 
 with his uncle on purchasing trips to the markets, and in general permeating this 
 whole branch of the business with his activity. Important as the steward is to a hotel, 
 there are other important features to the business. It is sufficient to say, however, in 
 brief, that under the elder Hawk's sound and thorough training, William gained such 
 an intimate knowledge of every essential detail of the business, that, when finally 
 admitted to the firm of Hawk & Wetherbee, he proved a valuable accession to the 
 management. In 1882, upon his uncle's death, he succeeded him in the business. The 
 training he had received then proved to him of more value than the legacy of a fortune. 
 While other hotels, larger and more magnificent to the eye, have since been established 
 in Xew York, the Windsor has, under the management of the present firm, retained 
 the good will of the travelling public and remained one of the most profitable hotel 
 properties in the country. 
 
 Mr. Hawk has. like other successful men, gradually come to display his public 
 spirit by his interest in various independent enterprises. He is a vestryman in the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church of Zion and St. Timothy, president of a boys' club on the 
 West Side, and a member of The Hotelmen's Association, before which he delivered 
 his first after dinner speech at the annual banquet in Delmonico's in 1894. He has 
 joined the Ohio Society, of which he has been a governor, the Symphony and Oratorio 
 Societies, and the Union League club, in which he has been elected to the Executive 
 Committee, an honor rarely conferred on so young a man. O; The Carnegie Music 
 Hall Co., he was chairman of the Executive Committee, which recently erected the 
 large addition to this edifice on 56th street, containing a large number of studios and 
 music rooms, and was subsequently elected president of the company. He is also a. 
 director of the new Brooklyn Warehouse & Storage Co. In honor of his uncle's memory 
 he has lately fitted up a complete ward in The Aultman Memorial Hospital in his native 
 town, the only hospital of its kind on the railroad between Allegheny, Pa., and Fort 
 Wayne, Ind. He is active in promoting reform work among young men, and interested 
 in art and music. 
 
 By his marriage with Edith Alliene, daughter of William H. Davis, in 1882, he is 
 the father of two children, Annette Catherine and Edith Oliva Hawk. 
 
 Mr. Hawk believes that every American should play a part in affairs, and do 
 something towards making the world better. He shows by his example exactly what 
 
306 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 he means, and he has been especially useful in aiding young men to secure positions, 
 and to plant their feet upon the path, by which, with fidelity, intelligence and industry, 
 it is possible for them to attain a success equal to his. 
 
 HENRY EUGENE HAWLEY, merchant, a native of New York city, is a son of 
 the late Irad Hawley, a New York merchant of high standing, who became a member of 
 the firm of Holmes, Hawley & Co., in 1812 and retired in 1839, thereafter identifying 
 himself with railroad and coal interests. He was for many years a director in various 
 corporations, among them The Boston & Providence Railroad, The Chicago & Rock 
 Island Railroad, The Tradesmen's Bank, and several insurance companies, was for a 
 considerable time chairman of the finance committee of The Delaware & Hudson Canal 
 Co., and subsequently formed The Pennsylvania Coal Co., of which he was first presi- 
 dent. His son, the subject of this biography, graduated from Yale University in 1860, 
 became a partner in the house of Carter, Hawley & Co. in 1864, and is at present 
 the head of that firm, which does an extensive commission business throughout the 
 United States and also in China and Japan, and, through their "correspondents, The 
 Netherlands Trading Society of Holland, with Europe, the East Indies and South 
 America. Mr. Hawley has been a member of the Chamber of Commerce for more 
 than twenty years and a director in several prominent companies. He has also been 
 identified with many of the New York charities, being a trustee of The Children's Aid 
 Society and The Five Points House of Industry. Among the social organizations to 
 which he belongs are the Union League, University and Riding clubs, the Century and 
 Down Town Associations and the Yale Alumni. He was married in 1862 to Elizabeth, 
 daughter of William S. Lockwood, of Norwalk, Conn., and has three children: Sadie 
 Hawley, Henrietta E. Hawley, and Edith, wife of Coleman G. Williams. 
 
 AARON HEALY, tanner, born Sept. 18, 1814, in Hallowell, Me., is a son of Aaron 
 Healy, a manufacturer of hats, and was educated in Waterville, Me. Beginning life 
 as a school teacher, he finally moved to New York city to accept a place as clerk with 
 a firm of tanners and leather merchants. In February, 1852, having saved a small sum 
 of money, he helped form the firm of Smull & Healy and engaged in tanning and the 
 sale of leather. Business prospered, and four years later he formed, with his brother 
 William H. Healy, a new firm under the style of A. Healy & Bro. Time brought other 
 changes in the partnership, and in 1873, the firm assumed the title of A. Healy & Son, 
 the junior partner being A. Augustus Healy. Soon afterward, Frank Healy, another 
 son, became a partner. The business record of the house has been one of uniform and 
 increasing prosperity. A. Healy & Sons until recently owned extensive tanneries at 
 Wellsville and Allegany, N. Y., but have now sold them to The United States 
 Leather Co. They continue in business as merchants of hides, etc. They now own 
 the Healy Building on Gold street and much other valuable property outside the 
 leather business. By his union with Elizabeth, daughter of Stephen Weston, of Skow- 
 hegan, Me., in 1844, Mr. Healy became the father of four children, Stephen Weston, 
 A. Augustus, Frank and Lizzie. The family live in Brooklyn, and A. Augustus is 
 Collector of Internal Revenue there. Mr. Healy is a member of the Hide & Leather 
 club, and an amateur of art, and collected a number of fine paintings from 1864 to 
 1886, which in 1891 he sold at auction for $130,000 
 
 JOHN VALENTINE HECKER, flour miller, born in New York city, Dec. 25, 1848, 
 is a son of John Hecker, a famous flour miller, whose father, John, a native of Wetzlar, 
 
THE OTY 'OF STEW TORK.. - HH. - : " 
 
 Pnusaa, cause to America. in iSwa. John Hecker, jr., born in New York, July 35, 1812, 
 :.._-..-. _:. .,-..:-.:.-:- ~: : . ..-'.--' -. ; - .. i 8j started a bakery at X : Rut- 
 geas street. To n^i^^ floor of feae qualitr, fee traflt a. small mill cm Cherrr street in 
 I&J..3- Meeting; with success, he took hi :r :..-, the late George Valentine Hecker 
 (Swm im New York, Jam. 8, 1818, died 1889), into partnership as Hecker &: Bro., and in 
 the mnauDnfedtJare of fa*^ self-raising flour and other cereal products became widely 
 
 fcmown botih at home amd abroad. He was a man >of active mind, a member of the 
 Board. off Bdimcati'om, The New York Historical Society and several other bodies, and a 
 for Gramgress 5m 1*50 as a Free Sealer and in 1 864 for Mayor on the Citizen's 
 
 IB 1*55, toe received an election as Alderman, and in 1 865 an appointment as 
 Imqp-<rthngr off Sdhools, retaining the latter -office until his 'death. Jan. 25, 1 838, he mar- 
 lied Caliberine J*2*e^ damgjiiter off Sam nel Gorham, of Darien, Conn,., and was the father 
 off Swah. Effibabedi, CUbenme Jaaae, fohn Valentine, and Louise Gorham Hecker. At 
 oote time be edited Tk UmtL, amd at another The Churchman^ and : . "The Scientific 
 Baas off BdMcaMaBn. 1 " and ottiaer iroats. John Valentine Hecker, his son, graduated from 
 aamMa College im 186% enteted the office of Hecker & Bro. in 1870, and in 1874 be- 
 came senator member of the finim T3e same year, he became the associate of his nncte 
 in rtfo*- miaiiBllmiig' toiasiaess, and in iS&j, president of The 'George V. Hecker Co. Snbse- 
 qmemitly, iae effected the organization of The Hecker-fones-lewell Mining COL, a d<sm- 
 tjimattaam of tfflne fflcnar mils <af New Y-ork city, into which are merged The 'G. V. Hecker 
 ., aad Jones* Cot, of Xew York: The Jewell Milling Co.., and The Kings County 
 Miffln^f OIL, off BrooHym, aiud T3ae Staten Island Milling Co. Mr. Hecker is president 
 off 53ae cogpogattttomu He was Inspector of Schools, 1874-75, and is a member of the 
 C&amber of Coammaanoe and the Union League club. Jan. 16, 1872, he was married in 
 Trinity Chapel to Georgianna, daughter of Andrew J. Bell, oi Stamford, Coran. Their 
 are Joto, jd, F^redetici Charles, George Edward, Louise Bell and GeneYiere. 
 WILLIAM HEGEJTAN, merchant, a son of Judge Adrian Hegeman, born in New 
 nary, im iSiifi, died at No. <$ West gist street, OcL 3, 1875. He came from .good, 
 , and at the 'age 'of 15, after 3ais father's death, became a drng- 
 amd later one of the most enterprising and snccessful -drug merchants of the 
 I r. HeeataMished from time to time retail drag stores in seTeral 'different parts of 
 p, as we31 as branches in seTeral cither large cities, Ms name being one of the 
 eoitinicaoas in iffa** trade during his time. He helped establish the College of 
 amd was elected its president manT times, and was actiTe in the Centnry 
 
 aad Uaion Leagroe dmtos and St. Xiicholas Society. A -man of genial humor .and wide 
 TrT'ifii iHiafinBi^ an espertin chemistrr, an artist for his own amusement, and a member of 
 
 ooiigvegatian off ifhe Oanrdu -erf the Incarnation on Madison aTenne, he bore a 
 fc^a icpatotion. for amtegrity and worth. His three children were J, Niren Hegeman, 
 has BnasmeaB paimniifT-, Wiilliam A, <Qgden Hegeman, lawrer, no"w deceased; and Mrs, 
 Ommmcey M. Depew, also now deceased. 
 
 ALFRED SAMUEL HEIDELBACM. banker amd stock biroker, bcrai in New York 
 cady, Nov.. 117, 1*51, was, nmtil idSfiy Uew York member of Heidelbach, Seasongood 
 
 .nnati. Prom Columbia grammar school, Alfred 
 
 mrnt 4 tfflae UttiueuAyof Zurich in Switzerland, and after finishing his studies, returned 
 to Nw Yost. In 1870, he entered the stock brokerage firm of Frank & Garss, known 
 after i&yi as HeidcfflMGb, Prank Jfe Cm. !tn 1-8757-4, toe spent a year in Berlin, Ger- 
 
308 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 many, and after having looked after the interests of the firm in London during the 
 panic of 1873, returned to New York late in 1874. His father died in 1875, and in 
 1876, he helped found the firm of Heidelbach, Ickelheimer & Co., bankers and brokers. 
 This firm have made a specialty of foreign exchange and specie and have been able to 
 secure valuable connections abroad. Their transactions are large and their reputation 
 and standing excellent. Mr. Heidelbach is now senior partner. He is a director of The 
 United States Life Insurance Co. In 1893, the firm admitted Henry R. Ickelheimer, 
 who represented the interest of his father, Isaac, one of the founders of the concern. 
 Mr. Heidelbach was married, October, 1879, in Paris, France, to Miss Julie Picard. 
 He is a prominent member of the Manhattan, Reform and Lawyers' clubs. 
 
 flARCUS GOTTLIEB HEILNER, coal operator, born in Berks county, Pa., July 
 2, 1814, died in New York, Nov. 6, 1892. A descendant of the oldest families in New 
 England, Mr. Heilner was one of the pioneers in the anthracite coal industry of the 
 Schuylkill region. When twenty-three years of age, he became the partner of his 
 father, Samuel Heilner, a dealer in bituminous coal and just beginning to take an 
 interest in anthracite production. Together, they entered upon what were, for those 
 days, extensive mining operations on Wolf Creek, near Minersville, on the famed "Black 
 Heath vein," and, at the same time, worked another mine near Donaldson. When his 
 father retired in 1849, the son formed a partnership with his brother, and, under the 
 firm name of M. G. & P. Heilner, opened up the Miller tract and developed the famous 
 "red ash" viens. That partnership was dissolved in 1853. Thereafter, until 1867, 
 when he discontinued mining, Mr. Heilner confined his operations to his Ashland and 
 Silver Creek mines. Then, he came to New York and engaged in the wholesale coal 
 trade, establishing the firm of Heilner & Son. He was an active and powerful man, quick- 
 witted, prudent, courageous and self-controlled and passed unharmed through the 
 perilous "Molly Maguire" times in the mining districts. Again and again, he escaped 
 plots aimed at his life. In 1839, Mr. Heilner married Sylvina, daughter of Col. 
 Zebulon Butler of the American Revolution, and by her had five children, George C. 
 and Butler, who have succeeded to the coal business; Percy Butler, who is the general 
 sales agent of The Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. ; Walter, who is a practicing lawyer 
 in Philadelphia, and one daughter. His son, GEORGE CARSON HEILNER, born 
 Aug. 16, 1856, in Pottsville, Pa., received his education in Elizabeth, N. J., and began 
 life in a Wall street banking house in this city. A clear head, great force of character 
 and sound judgment guaranteed his success from the start. In 1879, he entered the 
 office of Heilner & Son, coal merchants, and was made a partner in 1890. He is closely 
 devoted to business, but finds recreation in The Society of Colonial Wars and The Sons 
 of the Revolution, of which he is a member. For five years, he served in the 8th N. 
 Y., S. N. G. , holding a commission as first lieutenant, but resigned in February, 1892. 
 
 PETER HENDERSON, florist and seedsman, born in Pathhead, near Edinburgh, 
 Scotland, June 9, 1822, died in Jersey City, N. J., Jan. 17, 1890. His father, James 
 Henderson, was a land steward, and Peter passed his early years in the vicinity of the 
 ruins of Crichtoun Castle, which he often visited while hunting for the nests of jack- 
 daws. At the age of sixteen, he was apprenticed to George Sterling, head gardener of 
 Melville Castle. In 1843, he came to New York, and after a year in a nursery in 
 Astoria, L. I., and a short service in Philadelphia under Robert Buist, a leading seeds- 
 man and florist, he went to Pittsburgh, Pa., and became private gardener for Charles: 
 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK.. HE. 309 
 
 F. Spang. There he remained until 1847, when, having saved $500, he removed to 
 Jersey City and engaged in market gardening. He gradually added to his greenhouse 
 department, finally relinquishing the raising of vegetables, opened an office in New 
 York in 1853, and in 1864 moved his greenhouses to South Bergen, in time covering fully 
 five acres with glass. In 1865, he engaged in the seed business as Henderson & Fleming, 
 and in 1871 founded the now famous firm of Peter Henderson & Co., seedsmen and 
 florists. He wrote much on horticulture for the newspaper press and produced several 
 valuable books on gardening and flowers. In 1851, he married Emily Gibbons, a native 
 of Bath, England. The children born to them have been Alfred; Isobel, wife of Robert 
 M. Floyd; and Charles Henderson. Mr. Henderson was six feet in height, broad 
 shouldered, erect, not over 160 Ibs. in weight, with florid complexion, keen grey eyes, 
 closely trimmed beard and moustache. He abstained from stimulants, was a rapid 
 walker, and won his way by the vigor of his nature, constant industry and uprightness. 
 JOSHUA HENDRICKS, merchant, who died at his home in New York city, June 
 3, 1893, in his sixty -first year, rose to prominence in the firm of Hendricks Bro's, 
 merchants of metal, one of the largest houses of its kind in the country. It was estab- 
 lished shortly before the American Revolution and has been in the family through 
 four generations. Mr. Hendricks belonged to one of the most prominent Hebrew 
 families in New York, and was widely known. He was a member of the Union, New 
 York, Vaudeville, Fulton, and New York Yacht clubs, and various other social bodies, 
 as well as of the Chamber of Commerce. At one time he served as president of The 
 German American Bank. His wife and three sons survived him. 
 
 HENRY HENTZ, coffee importer, was born in 1834. His grandfathers on both 
 sides were Germans, who settled about 130 years ago near Germantown, the first 
 German settlement in the United States. The family removed to Philadelphia, where 
 the lad attended school. Inspired with a love of the sea, by reading "Robinson 
 Crusoe," Capt. Marryat's nautical stories, and other tales of adventure, Mr. Hentz then 
 made two voyages before the mast, encountering the usual hardships, but gaining in 
 self reliance and knowledge of the world. Shortly after leaving the sea, he entered 
 mercantile life, and in 1856 came to New York and established the cotton and general 
 commission house of H. Hentz & Co. He proved an excellent merchant, wide-awake, 
 enterprising, honest and able, and by nearly fort}* years of untiring endeavor has risen 
 to prominence. He has been twice president of the Cotton Exchange and twice of the 
 Coffee Exchange, and is now chairman of the Executive Committee of the Chamber of 
 Commerce. He has been a director of The Bank of New York, The Commonwealth 
 Insurance Co., The Merchants' National Bank, and The Housatonic Railroad, and has 
 joined the Manhattan, Reform, and Down Town clubs of this city and the Hamilton 
 club of Brooklyn. Mr. Hentz has lived in Brooklyn since 1856. His son, Leonard S. 
 Hentz, is a member of the firm, and he has one other son and two daughters. 
 
 COL. SILAS CLARK HERRING, manufacturer, born in Vermont, Sept. 7, 1804, 
 died in Plainfield, N. J., June 23, 1881. He was a self made man, who began life a 
 poor lad in Albany, N. Y., as a grocery clerk and for a time conducted a grocery of his 
 own in that city. In 1834, Mr. Herring opened a wholesale grocer)- store in New York 
 with a partner. They prospered for a time, but were overwhelmed, first, by the great 
 fire of 1835 and two years later by the panic of 1837. In 1840, Mr. Herring met Enos 
 Wilder, who had invented the idea of using plaster of pans as a nonconducting material 
 
310 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 for lining safes. The fire of 1835 had proved the necessity of safes which would 
 not burn. Mr. Herring became Mr. Wilder's agent for the sale of Salamander safes, 
 and, later, purchased the right to manufacture, made many improvements, extended 
 the sales largely, and built extensive works, employing at the time of his death 6oc 
 men. He had paid $154,000 in royalties on the Wilder patent up to 1852, when the 
 rights expired. Mr. Herring rose to the foremost rank in his industry. He gained his 
 military title as Colonel of the 5th Art., N. Y. S. M. He served one term as Assistant 
 Alderman in this city, in 1847, an d in 1849 was Alderman. He was an incorporator of 
 The New York Juvenile Asylum, and director of The Broadway Bank, The Importers' 
 & Traders' National Bank, The Manhattan Life Insurance Co. and other corporations. 
 Mr. Herring's family consisted of his wife, Caroline S., who was the daughter of Elijah 
 T. Tarbell, and three children, Frank Otis Herring, Marie A., wife of Thomas McCaf- 
 fery, and Caroline S., wife of Eugene de Kay Townsend. 
 
 HENRY HERRMANN, manufacturer, born in East Prussia in 1837, began life as 
 apprentice to a cabinet maker, and worked as a journeyman in principal German cities, 
 meanwhile attending free technical schools and serving three years in the 2oth Fusil- 
 iers of Brandenburg. He came to this country in 1866, followed his trade in various 
 cities, and then, in 1867, rented a small shop on Mott street, New York, and started on 
 his own account a small furniture factory, with a partner, their combined capital being 
 $43, representing their wages the preceding week. Their first wardrobes sold readily 
 for cash. Six weeks later, they moved to No. 237 Delancey street, and in 1868 to No. 
 235-7 Bowery. Steam power was then introduced and thereafter the factory made 
 rapid progress. By making a specialty of low priced, beautiful furniture, Mr. Herr- 
 mann developed an enormous business, with a large number of branch factories and 
 saw mills. In 1874, he engaged in the hardwood lumber trade on a large scale, buying 
 from time to time tracts of walnut and other timber in the West, and building saw 
 mills in Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Indian Territory 
 and elsewhere. In 1872, his New York and Indianapolis factories were destroyed by 
 fire. He rebuilt the former at No. 193-5 Chrystie street. These works he vacated in 
 1880 and transferred to Delancey street, renting the block from Tompkins to Mangin 
 streets. In 1885. the Delancey street factory was burned. Meanwhile, his lumber 
 trade had grown to large proportions, so that after the fire he occupied himself mainly 
 with that trade, incorporating his furniture industry in 1887 in Kentucky, as The Herr- 
 mann Dining Room Furniture Co., The Herrmann Bureatn-Co., The Hermann Cham- 
 ber Suit Co., and The Herrmann Desk Co., in each of which he is president and princi- 
 pal owner. One factory in Evansville, Ind , and a store in London, Eng., he removed 
 from the consolidatior. scheme and sold, in 1891, to an English syndicate. In 1889, he 
 organized a concern now known as The Herrmann Glass Co. Mr. Herrmann has been 
 married twice, and has two sons living. One of them, George, is his partner. 
 
 SELFIAR HESS, publisher, a native of Bernburg, Germany, was born Nov. 26, 
 1847, the son of Maurice Hess, a manufacturer of furniture. The family had lived in 
 the town for generations and its men had served as soldiers with honor and been other- 
 wise prominent in affairs. Rosalie, mother of Selmar Hess, was the daughter of David 
 Fabian, a man distinguished for learning and piety. The lad received a high school 
 education, became at the age of fourteen a dry goods apprentice, and emigrated to New 
 York, six years later, arriving in November, 1867. He visited Cincinnati and then 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HE. 31 1 
 
 went to Omaha to engage in the dry goods business, found the climate injurious to his 
 health, removed farther West and dealt in camp supplies along The Union Pacific Rail- 
 road for a year, and then, being stricken with typhoid fever in Omaha, was ill for many 
 months and found himself penniless. Next he joined with fifty others in preempting 
 land in northern Nebraska, taking 300 acres for his share, but after a few months of 
 hard labor, found himself without the means to stock the farm and abandoned a rural 
 career. Coming East, he found in Buffalo his vocation in life upon obtaining a place 
 in the branch house there of Virtue & Co v publishers. Having thoroughly learned 
 this trade, he became a partner in McMenamy, Hess & Co., of Philadelphia, in 1870, 
 solely upon his merits, without capital. That concern continued to exist until Aug. 8, 
 1873, when it was changed to Hess & McDavitt. Meanwhile, at the urging of Mr. 
 Hess, a branch store had been opened in New York city, under his charge, and in 1871, 
 the headquarters were removed hither. May 12, 1877, Mr. Hess succeeded that firm 
 and has continued the business with phenomenal success. He has made a specialty of 
 subscription books and papers and intaglio plate printing, and operates branches in 
 twenty of the largest cities of the country as well as his own printing house on Dey 
 street here. In 1873, he married Josephine, daughter of Joseph Solomon, and has three 
 children, Gertrude Rosalie, Alfred Fabian and Ruth Josephine Hess. 
 
 ABRAH STEVENS HEWITT, LL.D., manufacturer, born in Haverstraw, N, Y., 
 July 31, 1822, is of Huguenot descent through the maternal line. His mother's family, 
 named Gurnee, originally Gamier, settled in Rockland county and in a log house on 
 the land owned by them Mr. Hewitt was born. His father came to America in 1790, 
 helped construct the first steam engine works in this country, and afterward carried on 
 business in New York city as a cabinet maker and lumber dealer, finally losing his 
 means. Abram, brought up on a farm, finally gained a scholarship in Columbia Col- 
 lege, whence he graduated in 1842 at the head of his class as "double first." For this 
 tuition he afterward paid. After graduating, he became acting professor of mathe- 
 matics in the college. In 1844, having saved about $1,000, he visited Europe with his 
 classmate and friend, Edward Cooper, son of Peter Cooper, and upon the return 
 voyage, his ship, the Mobile packet Alabamian, foundered at sea, the company escap- 
 ing in boats. In 1845, he was admitted to the bar. Impairment of vision interfering 
 with his practice, he abandoned the law, and Edward Cooper and he engaged in iron 
 manufacturing, Peter Cooper transferring to them his iron works, not then prosper- 
 ous. The new firm of Cooper & Hewitt were the first to make iron girders and sup- 
 ports for fireproof buildings. In 1862, Mr. Hewitt went to England to study 
 the process of manufacturing gun barrel iron. The result was that his firm became 
 able to supply this essential material to our government during the Civil War, but all 
 profit was declined. From 1873 to 1879, they lost money heavily but thereafter 
 carried on a profitable business. The great plants of The Trenton Iron Co. and of The 
 New Jersey Iron & Steel Co., at Trenton, N. J., owned by the firm, built in 1845, now 
 produce an immense amount of structural iron and wire yearly, and they have blast 
 furnaces at Pequest in Warren county, N. J., and Riegelsville, Pa. Mr. Hewitt has 
 devoted a part of his time to public affairs. In 1867, he served as Commissioner to 
 the Paris Exposition. Originally a member of Tammany Hall, he left that organiza- 
 tion and was a leader of the County Democracy in 1879. Elected to Congress in 1874, 
 his service was continuous, with the exception of one term, until 1886, when he was 
 
3I2 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 elected Mayor of New York. In 1876, he accepted the chairmanship of the Demo- 
 cratic National Committee, and took a conspicuous part in Congress in the creation of 
 the Electoral Commission and settlement of the Presidential controversy. From the 
 time of the creation of the Cooper Union, Mr. Hewitt has been secretary of the Board 
 of Trustees and has practically controlled its educational and financial management. 
 In 1883, he was elected president of the Alumni Association of Columbia College, 
 which institution, in 1887, conferred upon him the degree of LL.D. He has been a 
 director in The Chrysolite Silver Mining Co. , The Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co. , The 
 Montana Smelting Co., The New York & Greenwood Lake Railway Co., The Ameri- 
 can Electric Elevator Co. , The United Smelting & Refining Co. , and The New York, 
 Lake Erie & Western Railway, and has interests in many industrial companies. Mr. 
 Hewitt was married in 1855 to Sarah Amelia, only daughter of Peter Cooper. His 
 children are Mrs. James O. Green, Sarah C., P. Cooper, Edward R., Eleanor G., and 
 Erskine Hewitt. Mr. Hewitt has won success by mental force, sheer resolution and 
 continued effort. His principal clubs are the Metropolitan, Century, City, Church, 
 Union, Engineers', Tuxedo, Players', Riding and South Side Sportsmen's. 
 
 ALVIN HIQQINS, manufacturer, born in Gray, Me., about 1813, died in this city, 
 May 3 1 , 1 890. The son of a boat builder and one of eleven children, he spent several years 
 in Portland in the employment of Brown & Smith, merchants in the West India trade. 
 He then came to this city, and with his brother, Elias S. Higgins, conducted a retai 
 carpet store in Pearl street, as A. & E. S. Higgins. Early in his career, he conceived 
 the idea of manufacturing carpets in this country, and, by carrying the plan into exe- 
 cution, made for himself a permanent and honorable place in the history of American 
 industry. About 1840, his firm started a factory with seven ingrain hand looms in 
 Jersey City. Their works were located at several different places in the suburbs, but 
 finally in New York among the rocks and shanties at 43d street and Eleventh avenue, 
 on the site now occupied by the great buildings of the present firm of E. S. Higgins & 
 Co. About 1855, Nathaniel D. Higgins, another brother, entered the partnership 
 under the name of A. & E. S. Higgins & Co. Alvin retired in 1855, and spent about 
 three years in Europe with his wife. Upon his return, he engaged in real estate opera- 
 tions, and owned Hunter's Island in the Sound, where he lived about twenty years. He 
 was married, but his two children passed away before him. 
 
 ANDREW FOSTER HIQQINS, insurance adjuster, a namesake of old Andrew 
 Foster of South street, was born in Macon, Ga. , Jan. 24,. 1831. His grandmother, 
 Miss Pamela Andrus, of Newark, N. J., was a noted belle of the American Revolution 
 and daughter of General Andrus of that period. The father of Mr. Higgins, a banker 
 in S. & M. Allen, lived for years in Savannah, Ga., and then removed to Macon, where 
 he dealt in bills of exchange on cotton shipped to market by way of Darien and 
 Savannah. The subject of this sketch came to New York in 1844, and entered college, 
 but did not finish owing to family reverses. Going into Wall street, he found employ- 
 ment with Jones & Johnson, average adjusters, and then became adjuster for The 
 Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co. Later, he formed a partnership with Henry W. Johnson 
 to carry on the adjusting and insurance brokerage business and attained celebrity in 
 this calling. Out of at least 10,000 adjustments, he never had twenty appealed from; 
 in such as went into court, Mr. Higgins was invariably sustained. Having been speci- 
 ally engaged to disentangle the accounts of Spofford & Tileston, he performed the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HI. 313 
 
 Avork with great success. He was also retained in many other interesting cases, and 
 as receiver liquidated the affairs of The Columbian Insurance Co., and The United 
 States Lloyds, and started a new concern, under the name of the latter, of which he 
 is the agent, which in twenty years has paid dividends amounting to 2,000 per cent. The 
 old firm of Johnson & Higgins are yet in existence, and a later one, Higgins & Cox, 
 has been succeeded by the present firm of Higgins, Cox & Barrett. Mr. Higgins has 
 been for many years chairman of the Committee on Harbor and Shipping of the 
 Chamber of Commerce and active in the proceedings of the Chamber. He represented 
 Greenwich, Conn., in the Legislature, 1887-89. He is a member of the Century, Down 
 Town, Carroll's Island, Pesque Island, Flanders, and Adirondacks League clubs; treas- 
 urer of The Mexican Northern Railway, and a trustee of The Consolidated Kansas 
 City Smelting & Refining Co., The Knickerbocker Trust Co., and The Campania 
 Metallurgica Mexicana. He married Sarah H., daughter of John H. Cornell, banker. 
 One child lived to maturity, Amelia L., who married John D. Barrett, dying in 1887. 
 
 ELIAS S. HIGGINS, manufacturer, who died Aug. 18, 1889, at Narragansett Pier, 
 R. I., began life with a common school education and little else. His brother Alvin 
 and he carried on a retail store for the sale of foreign carpets on Pearl street. About 
 1 840, they began the manufacture of carpets, and after the practical retirement of his 
 brother Alvin, Mr. Higgins became the directing head of the business. He was a man 
 of rugged energy and strong character, and developed the business until he made his 
 industry the leading one of its class in the country. The firm finally incorporated as 
 The E. S. Higgins Carpet Co., with a capital stock of $2,000,000. Mr. Higgins was a 
 large buyer of real estate, not so much for speculative purposes as for investment, and 
 was also a large shareholder in various traffic corporations. He had been for a number of 
 years a director of Tbe Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. His wife, 
 Emma L., with their two children, Eugene and Josephine, the latter Mrs. Brooks, sur- 
 vived him. Mr. Higgins came before the public during the last few years of his life as 
 an opponent of the tyranny of organized labor. 
 
 EDWARD HILL, merchant, born in England about 1825, died in this city, Aug. 8, 
 1886. He was one of those enterprising men of foreign birth, who, attracted by the 
 splendid markets of America, came to New York, arriving here about 1856, to engage in 
 trade. As the agent of a firm in England, he began the sale of merchandise in this 
 emporium of all America. In time, he became the agent of several other large English 
 firms and carried on a profitable trade during the rest of his career. He was twice 
 president of the St. George Society and made himself widely known in social and finan- 
 cial circles. Five children survive him. 
 
 THOflAS HITCHCOCK, lawyer, born in New York city, Dec. i, 1831, is seventh in 
 descent from Matthias Hitchcock, who came to Boston from London in the bark Susan 
 and Ellen, in 1635, an d settled in Connecticut. He is a son of William R. Hitchcock, 
 a merchant, and of English and Scottish ancestry. After studying in private schools, 
 he graduated from the University of The City of New York and the Harvard Law 
 School, and began the practice of his profession in this city in 1853. Since 1864, he 
 has been largely occupied with journalism, being at present one of the editorial staff of 
 The New York Sun, for which newspaper he writes financial articles under the name of 
 "Matthew Marshall." Mr. Hitchcock has made excellent investments in the stocks of 
 gas, street railroad, and other corporations, but devotes most of his time to The Sun. 
 
AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 He is secretary of that corporation. In 1855 he was married to Marie Louise, daughter 
 of Asa H. Center. Their children are Center, Francis B., and Thomas Hitchcock, jr. 
 Mr. Hitchcock finds his recreation mainly in literary work, music and social life, but 
 also spends an occasional evening at the Century club, of which he is a member. 
 
 WELCOflE GEER HITCHCOCK, merchant, born in Montrose, Pa., Oct 28, 1834, 
 is a son of the late Benjamin Hitchcock, a merchant. Educated in the public schools, 
 he began life as a boy in this city in the furnishing goods store of Joseph F. Sanxey, in 
 William street, in October, 1850. From that day to the present, he has made his way 
 steadily and has never received a dollar from his parents or any one else, except that 
 which he has earned himself . In 1851, he accepted a clerkship with Carleton & Co., 
 dry goods merchants, at No. 202 Broadway, at $100 a year, and in October, 1854, a 
 salary of $600, less than the porter was getting, in the store of Noel J. Becar & Co., 
 importers of handkerchiefs. In 1868, after repeated promotions, he succeeded to the 
 business, when the firm, whose style had undergone several changes, became W. G. 
 Hitchcock & Co. The firm have occupied stores at 187 Broadway, 342 Broadway, and 
 453-5 Broadway, but for the past twenty-four years have been located at 455-7 Broome 
 street. They represent several strong firms of dry goods manufacturers, as well as 
 domestic ribbon and other dry goods firms. Mr. Hitchcock is a good merchant, honest, 
 prudent and energetic, and has attained a worthy and marked success by early habits 
 of economy and application, sound character and good reputation. He is a director of 
 The Second National Bank and trustee of The Franklin Savings Bank. In January, 
 1892, he married the widow of John Ruszits, the furrier. 
 
 RUSSELL HOTCHKISS HOADLEY, exporter and banker, a native of New York, 
 born Aug. 19, 1834, died at his home on West 49th street, June 9, 1891. David Hoad- 
 ley, his father, an old-time merchant, here originated and was for many years president 
 of The Panama Railway. Mr. Hoadley received a fair education at Betts Boarding 
 School. In 1853, he went abroad for two years' travel, joined the Seventh Regiment 
 on his return, became by promotion major of the regiment, and served on Gen. Spicer's- 
 staff during the riots in this city. Having inherited ability, he engaged in the South 
 American trade in 1859, and in 1860 formed the partnership of Handy & Hoadley. 
 Mr. Handy retired in 1865, when Hoadley, Eno & Co. succeeded. In 1869 the firm 
 dissolved, after a successful career, during which they had transacted an immense busi- 
 ness. Hoadley & Co. then succeeded, and carried on a banking and general commis- 
 sion business, with branches in New Orleans and Greytown, Nicaragua. He was a 
 trustee of The Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co., The St. Joseph Lead Co., and The 
 Hanover Fire Insurance Co. He amassed a large fortune, and withal enjoyed the 
 reputation of being a man of integrity and generosity, as well as of great business 
 ability. He was prominent in St. Thomas's Episcopal Church, and a member of the 
 Union, Union League, Riding, and many country clubs. In May, 1863, he married 
 Alice, daughter of David Wesson and sister of one of Mr. Hoadley's partners. Their chil- 
 dren are Edith Howland, Rowland, Russell Hotchkiss, and Charles Wesson Hoadley. 
 
 CORNELIUS NEVIUS HOAGLAND, H.D., born at the family homestead in 
 Somerset county, N. J., Nov. 23, 1828, is a descendant of two old Dutch families. The 
 emigrant on his father's side, Christoffel Hooglandt, who was born in Holland in 1634, 
 came to New Amsterdam in early youth. He entered mercantile life, married Cath- 
 erine Cregier, daughter of Martin Cregier, one of the first Burgomasters of New York 
 
316 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 city, and finally, with true Dutch instinct, bought a farm in Somerset county, N. J., 
 which became the family homestead, and died there in 1684. Christopher Hoagland, 
 great grandfather of Dr. Hoagland, was Justice of the Peace for Somerset county in 
 1776, and two years later a member of the Legislature. Isaac Hoagland, the son of 
 Christopher, was a surgeon in the United States Army in 1796, and died in the service 
 in Florida. His son, Andrew, father of Dr. Hoagland, was born in New Jersey in 
 1795, and married in 1828 Miss Jane Hoagland, a descendant, six generations re- 
 moved, of Dirck Jansen Hoagland, an emigrant from Holland in 1657. This marriage 
 united two families of the same name, not related to each other, in America. 
 
 At the age of eight, the subject of this sketch went with his father's family to 
 Miami county, Ohio, where he settled on a farm of eighty acres near Piqua. Two years 
 later, his father sold this property a~nd purchased an old time stage house or hotel in 
 West Charleston. This inn, widely known for twenty years, was finally burned to the 
 ground in 1875. 
 
 Cornelius, the oldest son, attended village school until 1845 and took private les- 
 sons in Latin in preparation for college. He studied medicine with Dr. E. L. Crane, 
 a leading physician of Miami county, and subsequently attended lectures at The Star- 
 ling Medical College in Columbus and The Western Reserve University in Cleveland, 
 graduating from the latter in 1852. August icth, the same year, he married Miss 
 Eliza E., daughter of Judge David H. Morris. He then engaged in the practice of 
 medicine in Miami county. In 1854, he was elected Auditor of the county, and re-elected 
 in 1856. 
 
 Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, Dr. Hoagland enlisted at Troy, O., in the 
 " Lafayette Blues," which became Company H of the nth Ohio Infantry. He was 
 made first lieutenant and detailed as A. A. C. S. at Camp Denison, but in October, 
 1861, became Surgeon of the 7ist Ohio, in which capacity he served through the war. 
 He took part in the campaigns in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Texas, being 
 engaged in the battles of Pittsburg Landing, Atlanta, Franklin and Nashville. Dur- 
 ing the engagement at Nashville, a bullet plowed his breast, the strong lappels' of his 
 heavy overcoat alone saving him from a fatal wound. He served on the staff of brigade 
 and division commanders at various times, and had charge of the field hospitals, where 
 he did efficient work. 
 
 At the close of the war, Dr. Hoagland returned to Ohio but in 1868 removed to 
 the city of Brooklyn and entered into a partnership for_the manufacture of baking 
 powders and kindred preparations. 
 
 In 1887, he bought the business of The Cleveland Baking Powder Co., a concern 
 which had been doing business in a small way in Albany, N. Y., became president and 
 general manager of the company, and has managed its affairs with success, down to 
 the present day. The factory is in Brooklyn. Dr. Hoagland is a director of The 
 Peoples' Trust Co., The Dime Savings Bank and The Brooklyn Heights Railroad. In 
 1887, he founded The Hoagland Laboratory in Brooklyn for original research in the 
 higher branches of medical science, with special departments in physiology and bac- 
 teriology, the cost, with equipments, exceeding $100,000. Dr. Hoagland has donated 
 another $50,000 as an endowment fund. 
 
 He is a fellow of The Royal Microscopical Society of London, a life fellow of The 
 American Geographical Society of New York, a life member of The New York 
 
ROBERT HOE. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HO. 317 
 
 Genealogical and Biographical Society and The Long Island Historical Society, regent of 
 The Long Island College Hospital, and a trustee of Syracuse University, Antioch, 
 O., College and the Adelphi Academy. He is also a member of the Hamilton, Union 
 League, Oxford, Brooklyn and Germania clubs of Brooklyn, and the Down Town club, 
 Ohio Society, and Military Order of the Loyal Legion of New York city. His three 
 daughters, two of whom are married, are Cora, wife of George P. Tangeman; Elizabeth 
 wife of Charles O. Gates, and Ella Hoagland. 
 
 Outside of his business successes, scientific attainments and gift to science, Dr. 
 Hoagland is a gentleman of refinement, education and pleasing social qualities. 
 
 JOSEPH CHRISTOFFEL HOAGLAND, president of The Royal Baking Powder 
 Co., is of Dutch extraction and descends from early settlers in New Amsterdam. He 
 was born in Miami county, O. , June 19, 1841, and gained an education in the high 
 schools of Troy. Before beginning a commercial career, he entered the Union army 
 in 1 86 1 and served mainly in the quartermaster and subsistence departments, having 
 been detailed by Governor Tod for special service at Camp Chase in Columbus, O. In 
 1866, he founded The Royal Baking Powder Co., and has given the product of this 
 concern such world wide popularity through stupendous advertising, that its trade mark 
 alone is now valued at $10,000,000. He has become, by purchase of the interest of his 
 original partner, William Ziegler, almost sole owner. Mr. Hoagland is president of 
 The New York Tartar Co. , the product of which is largely consumed by The Royal 
 Baking Powder Co., is the principal owner in both companies, and a very capable and 
 driving man. In 1880, he served as Presidential elector but politics have never been 
 an important element in his life. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, 
 Holland Society and Down Town, Lawyers', and New York Yacht clubs of New York, 
 and the Atlantic Yacht and Hamilton clubs of Brooklyn. At one time, he was commo- 
 dore of the American Yacht club and owner of the steam yacht Stranger. Mr. Hoag- 
 land's city residence is in Brooklyn, and his country seat on the Shrewsbury river, 
 N. J. The latter is a beautiful structure, planned in the style of an old English manor 
 house and surrounded by grounds laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted. By his mar- 
 riage, in 1865, with Caroline C., daughter of John Matlack, of Dayton, O., he has three 
 children, Raymond, John Andrew and Fanny L. Hoagland. He is a discriminating 
 collector of paintings, his gallery being one of the most notable in Brooklyn. 
 
 ROBERT HOE, of the well-known firm of printing press manufacturers of New 
 York and London, was born in the city of New York, in 1839. His father, Robert 
 Hoe, to whom he succeeded in business, was born in New York in 1815 and died at 
 his country residence at Tarrytown in the Slimmer of 1884. Associated in business 
 with the latter, was Richard M Hoe, they having succeeded their father, Robert Hoe, 
 an Englishman, who came to America in 1802, from the hamlet of Hoes, near Notting- 
 ham, Leicestershire, England. The name of Hoe is the Saxon for "eminence" or 
 "hill," being the equivalent of the French "haut." The origin of the family is, there- 
 fore, Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 Robert Hoe, the elder, established himself in New York as a manufacturer of print- 
 ing machinery as early as 1820, and was among the first, if not the very first, to make iron 
 printing presses in America. Among his earliest productions was a patented hand 
 press. He also made the first successful single and double cylinder presses, printing 
 from type on flat beds. After his death, which occurred in 1833, his business was con- 
 
318 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 tinned by his sons, Richard and Robert, above referred to, who, in 1846-47, brought 
 out the then world- renowned printing press known as the " Lightning" or type revolv- 
 ing machine, for which patents were taken out by Richard M. Hoe. These presses 
 were used not only in America, but in Great Britain. 
 
 In 1863, Robert Hoe, the present head of the firm, entered the business as a 
 partner. From that time to the present, his labors in connection with it have been 
 unremitting. During the past ten years, at the head of a large establishment, doubled 
 in size and importance since the death of his father and uncle, and including in its 
 personnel a great variety of talent, he has produced some of the most remarkable 
 pieces of mechanism of the century. The number of employes in ordinarily busy 
 times, is about two thousand engineers and mechanics and the New York and London 
 works cover an aggregate of some eight or more acres of floor space, filled with 
 the most modern tools and mechanical devices capable of producing the extremely 
 accurate work required in printing machinery. Every kind of press is made in this 
 establishment, from the well-known Washington hand press, cylinder presses of all 
 kinds and power lithographic presses, to the large sextuple, quadruple and double 
 supplement machines, now used in all the principal printing and newspaper offices in 
 America, Great Britain and Australia. Any one inspecting the vast printing room 
 of The New York Herald on Broadway, or the pressrooms of The World, THE TRIBUNE 
 and other great dailies of this and other large cities, will see in the presses which are 
 nightly at work there, throwing off printed sheets by the million, examples of the 
 elaborate and superb mechanism which owe their existence to the intelligent enter- 
 prise and industry of the past few years. 
 
 Mr. Hoe has associated with him as partners, Theodore H. Mead and Charles W. 
 Carpenter. He is not only a man of ability, but of cultivation and intelligence, possess- 
 ing perhaps the finest library of rare and valuable books in this country, accumulated 
 during what might be styled an industrious leisure. He was one of the founders of 
 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for which he has labored assiduously for a number 
 of years; one of the founders and the first president of the Grolier club, an institution 
 having literary and artistic aims; and a member of the Union League, Century, 
 Engineers', Players' and other exclusive clubs. 
 
 SAHUEL VERPLANCK HOFFMAN, a native of Red Hook, N. Y., born July 2, 
 1802, died in New York, Oct. 6, 1880. He was descended from Martin Hoffman, who 
 came from Holland about 1660, bought land here, became a_ large taxpayer, removed 
 to Albany, and later settled in Ulster county. Nicolaes Hoffman, his son, lived in 
 Kingston. Martinus, son of the latter, settled in Red Hook, N. Y. , and became Colonel 
 of a local regiment, a land owner and a man of wealth. By marriage and otherwise, 
 several of this family acquired possession of large tracts of excellent land in the valley 
 of the Hudson. Harmanus, son of Martinus, the father of Samuel V. Hoffman, married 
 Catherine, daughter of Philip Verplanck. Samuel studied law, and practiced his pro- 
 fession first in Red Hook, but came to New York city in 1826, and in 1828 established 
 the commission dry goods firm of Hoffman & Waldo, in which he was a special partner. 
 He retired in 1842. He was a director of The Republic Fire Insurance Co., and the 
 The Hoffman Fire Insurance Co. ; a member of the Union League club, a trustee of 
 The General Theological Seminary, vestryman of Trinity church, and warden of 
 Christ church in New Brunswick, N. J., where he spent his summers. His marriage 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HO. 319 
 
 with Glorvina Rossell, daughter of Garrit Storm, the wholesale grocer of this city, 
 brought him two sons, the Very Rev. Eugene Augustus Hoffman, D.D., LL.D., D.C. L., 
 Dean of The General Theological Seminary, and a man of notable philanthropy, and 
 the Rev. Charles Frederick Hoffman, D.D., LL.D., both of this city. 
 
 TinOTHY HOQAN, stevedore, a native of Liverpool, England, was born Feb. 17, 
 1835. A son of Michael Hogan, warehouseman, he spent his hours of play during 
 boyhood among the ships and steamers which lay in the docks of that port, learned to 
 love the sea, and at the age of thirteen, shipped as ordinary seaman on the packet 
 vessel St. George, owned by David Ogden of New York city. Until 1854, he followed 
 the sea and then gained the place of foreman for Gale & Brown, stevedores in New 
 Orleans. Familiar with the art of stowing cargoes, he became a partner in Brown & 
 Hogan in 1858. When the Civil War broke out, his occupation vanished. He then 
 1 ook a contract for building pits to defend the approaches to the city on Lake Pont- 
 chartrain, but the capture of New Orleans put an end to this occupation also and left 
 him a creditor of the Confederacy in a large sum. In 1862, he came to New York 
 city, joined the partnership of Finder & Hogan, stevedores, and transacted a profitable 
 business until 1869, having the favor of owners of vessels trading to New Orleans. 
 The firm then dissolved. For a while, Mr. Hogan engaged in the building of English 
 tramp steamers in company with friends in the British Isles, and in 1880 aided in 
 organizing the Monarch line of steamers to ply between this port and London. He is a 
 large shareholder in six lines of ocean steamers and president of The North American 
 Transport Co. The ruling passion has in recent years taken possession of him, and he 
 has resumed the business of loading vessels at this port in the firm of T. Hogan & 
 Sons, ranking as the leading stevedores of the port. He is a member of the Produce 
 and Maritime Exchanges, and of the Marine & Field, Atlantic Yacht and New Rochelle 
 Yacht clubs. His sons, Charles W., Jefferson and Arthur F. Hogan, are all members 
 of the firm. 
 
 DANIEL HENRY HOLMES, merchant, was born in Clermont county, O., near 
 Point Pleasant, April 28, 1816. His grandfather, who emigrated to this country from 
 Ballymena in the North of Ireland, about 1760, married in America and had a numer- 
 ous offspring, his sons taking part in the War of 1812. Daniel's father died April 12, 
 1818, and his mother in the June following. The subject of this sketch lived with 
 relatives on a farm until the age of thirteen, and received two winters of schooling, 
 paying for it at the rate of $1.50 per quarter. He worked at plowing, picking apples, 
 and gathering corn, his wages being always 12^ cents per day and board. In 1832, he 
 applied for a situation as errand boy in the general store of Eugene Levassor, Cincin- 
 nati, secured it, acquired a knowledge of the French language, and was rather a good 
 boy. A desire for travel came upon him in 1836, and he started with his savings of 
 $300 for the East, as the region from Washington to Boston was then called. In the 
 late fall of 1836, he was engaged by Lord & Taylor, dry goods merchants of New York 
 city, who were then in business at No. 63 Catharine street. On account of being able 
 to speak French, he was sent to New Orleans, and sailed in the good ship Yazoo, Jan. 
 8, 1837. The cost of the trip was $100. The Lord & Taylor interest was then repre- 
 sented in New Orleans by Taylor & Medley. This firm, having in 1842 purchased at 
 45 cents on the dollar a bankrupt stock, offered it to Mr. Holmes at 55 cents on the 
 dollar, they to own two thirds of it, he one third. He agreed to this and took charge 
 
320 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 of the goods. In 1845, Mr. Holmes bought the two-thirds interest for $48,000, paying 
 in forty-eight notes of $1,000 each, one note maturing each month for forty-eight 
 months, the interest to be 8 per cent. He went to Europe for a stock of goods in 1846, 
 and opened a regular office in New York in 1852, and has since conducted a large and 
 prosperous dry goods business here. He has spent much time in France with his 
 family, and was in Paris during the siege of 1870-71. In 1872, he made his home on 
 the border of Covington, Ky., but lost his wife by death in 1884, gave the homestead 
 to his son and, had he registered, would have been a voter in the city of New York 
 since 1888. He has never belonged to any political organization, military company, 
 society of any name, or any club. He is a Theist in religion and a Democrat in poli- 
 tics. Having as a boy labored ten hours a day for the old Spanish Escalin bit, or York 
 shilling, he would gladly see silver in more general circulation, even if coined at a ratio 
 of twenty-five to one. 
 
 ROBERT EfiriET HOPKINS, petroleum producer, is a native of the town of Pom- 
 pey, Onondaga county, N. Y., where he was born, March 24, 1833. His parents were 
 Hezekiah and Susan Hopkins, farmers. His grandfather, Hezekiah Hopkins, came 
 from Connecticut in 1802 to Pompey, situated then in what was little more than a 
 primeval wilderness, helped bring the region into some state of civilization, became a 
 man of influence, and during the War of 1812 served his country as Captain of Militia. 
 The father and mother of Robert E. Hopkins died before the lad was nine years old 
 and left their boy to make his way in life mainly by his own efforts The manner in 
 which he has worked out his own destiny should encourage every young man who is 
 compelled to face the stern realities of life at an early age, to put forth his utmost 
 efforts to accomplish a like result. 
 
 After an education in the local academy, Mr. Hopkins left Pompey at the age of 
 seventeen, and began his career, as do so many other men afterward prominent in 
 affairs, in school teaching, first in Ohio and then in Pompey. At the age of twenty, the 
 young man settled in the village of Brewerton on Oneida Lake in Central New York, 
 and spent several years there in the lumber business. The life of the woods and the 
 mill brought to him sturdy health and the spirit of active enterprise. In 1861, he 
 received an appointment as Under Sheriff of Onondaga county, but this place he 
 resigned in 1862 in order to recruit a company of Union volunteers for the i4gth N. Y. 
 Infantry. Receiving a commission as Captain in that regiment, he went to the front 
 with his command, and saw much arduous service in the Army of the Potomac during 
 the next two years. May 3, 1863, he was captured by the Confederates during the 
 bloody battle of Chancellorsville and was incarcerated in Libby prison in Richmond. 
 An exchange of prisoners having been effected, he returned to the regiment July i4th, 
 1863, and commanded the i4gth during the winter of 1863-64, being promoted to the 
 rank of Major, Jan. 20, 1864. Long continued ill health, however, the result of priva- 
 tion in the field, compelled him to resign his commission July 3, 1864, and he returned 
 to the North. 
 
 His place at home had been filled, and after a short delay Major Hopkins went to 
 Titusville, Pa., in May, 1865, to engage in the lumber business and prospect for petro- 
 leum. The petroleum industry was then in the early stages of its development, and 
 he made little progress in that special field until 1869, but he then met with much suc- 
 cess. He continued actively employed in petroleum producing for a number of years. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HO. 321 
 
 One of the great problems with which the people of the oil regions had to contend at 
 that time, was the transportation of their oil to market. Railroad charges were exces- 
 sive and relief was urgently demanded. In 1878, Mr. Hopkins was instrumental in a 
 daring solution of this question, and in the organization of The Tide Water Pipe Co., a 
 corporation having a capital of $2,000,000, the first to lay a pipe line for the transporta- 
 tion of crude petroleum to the Atlantic seaboard. This enterprise was entered upon as 
 an experiment, and the line terminated at first at Williamsport, Pa. ; but its entire suc- 
 cess and great value to the producers were soon demonstrated, and have since resulted 
 in an extension of the line to the Kill von Kull, which flows into the harbor of New 
 York opposite Staten Island. The pipe line now transports 3,000,000 barrels of crude 
 petroleum )-early from the oil regions to the markets of the Atlantic coast. From the 
 beginning of this company, Mr. Hopkins has been one of its managers and its very 
 capable and hard-working treasurer. He remained a resident of Pennsylvania until 
 May, 1890, but then removed his family to Tarrytown, X. Y., which has since been his 
 home. His business headquarters are in this city. 
 
 Feb. 17, 1886, Mr. Hopkins married Fannie W. Chambers, of Newtown, Pa., 
 and has one son, Robert Emmet Hopkins, jr. He is highly esteemed by the business 
 community of New York city, and has been elected to membership in two or three 
 social organizations, including the Loyal Legion and the Union League club. 
 
 LEWIS MARX HORNTHAL, clothing manufacturer, was born in New York city, 
 May 15, 1845. His parents emigrated to this country in 1837 from Bavaria, Germany, 
 and his father was the late Marx Hornthal, merchant of clothing in this city. 
 Lewis attended the public schools during boyhood and after a training in a wholesale 
 notion house, went, in 1867, to his father's store, w r here he was thoroughly trained as a 
 merchant. About 1868, he was admitted to partnership and since the retirement of his 
 father in 1876 has stood at the head of the house, which now displays the sign of Horn- 
 thai, Weissman & Co. The manufacture of clothing has long formed a feature of their 
 operations. They have connections with merchants in the South and West and trans- 
 act an excellent trade. Mr. Hornthal is a school trustee, a director of The Pacific Bank 
 and Mount Sinai Hospital and a member of the Harmonic club and all the Hebrew 
 charities. He is a gentleman of excellent reputation and good standing. June i, 
 1869, he was married to Carrie, daughter of Elias and Eleanor Speyer, and has four 
 children, Milton J., De Witt L., Helen C. and Amy L. 
 
 JAMES flADISON MORTON, manufacturer, a native of Rockville, Orange county, 
 X. Y., was born Aug. 3, 1835. Barnabas Horton, his father, a farmer, served his 
 country in the War of 1812. The family trace their lineage to an emigrant who came 
 from the hamlet of Mousely, Leicestershire, England, to Hampton, Mass., in 1633, in 
 the Swallow. Some of them settled on Long Island, N. Y., and the old Horton 
 homestead, now more than a century old, may yet be seen at Southhold. James M. 
 Horton had an academy education, spent several years in the cultivation of the farm, 
 and at the age of seventeen began buying farm products for shipment to Xew York, 
 and at times selling meat to the contractors who were building the Erie railroad. The 
 $11 profit on these transactions gave him much anxiety, because he fancied that 
 robbers might deprive him of his large wealth. In 1853, he came to Xew York city to 
 en gage in the wholesale trade in milk with a brother and a brother in law. These raw 
 country lads bring into this town so much breezy freshness, independence of character 
 
-22 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 1 
 
 and courage in facing the world, that they often rise to great distinction and certainly 
 no name is better known in New York than that of Mr. Morton. During 1858-69, he 
 served as president of The Orange County Milk Association, and in 1870, purchased a 
 small ice cream business, put out the sign of J. M. Horton & Co., and began to manu- 
 facture upon a large scale. By making ice cream of a finer texture than could be frozen 
 in private houses, using the purest materials, the finest flavors, and various ingeni- 
 ous devices for forming ice cream into curious shapes, Mr. Horton created a business, 
 which has grown every year until the present time. In 1873, the firm reorganized as 
 The J. M. Horton Ice Cream Co., with a nominal capital of $40,000, Mr. Horton being 
 the president and largest owner. Prosperity has rewarded effort and the plant of the 
 company has grown by reinvestment of profits, until the stores, houses and wagons, ice 
 houses, factory, etc., are alone a great property. He has six stores in this city, and 
 two in Brooklyn, and sells to families, confectioners, restaurants and hotels. He is now 
 the owner of a large area of unimproved real estate and several dwellings and pieces 
 of business property, and a member of the Harlem and Congregational clubs. He was 
 for a time a director of The Hamilton Bank, and, when elected director of The Third 
 Avenue Savings Bank, declined to serve. 
 
 DAVID HARRISON HOUGHTALING, tea merchant, born in Kingston, N. Y., 
 May 17, 1834, comes from an old Knickerbocker family and is a lineal descendant of 
 Jan Williamson Hooteyling, who came from Loosdrecht, Holland, to Kingston, N. Y., 
 May 9, 1661. His father was Henry Houghtaling. After leaving his books in Kings- 
 ton academy, the young man found a clerkship in New York city in 1850. A hard- 
 working, honest youth, he made excellent progress, and in 1860 began the importation 
 of tea on his own account. A splendid merchant, he has always been successful and 
 has been prosperously engaged in this trade until the present time. A man of fine 
 character, he has been elected a director in The Bank of North America, The United 
 States Life Insurance Co., and The Third National Bank, of this city, a trustee of The 
 Franklyn Trust Co. of Brooklyn, and director of The Richmond Railway & Electric 
 Co , and many other corporations. He is a Republican in political faith, an'd served 
 two terms as Park Commissioner under Mayor Seth Low, but steadily declined public 
 office afterward. He is the owner of goodly real estate in the city of Brooklyn, where 
 he resides. By virtue of his ancestry, he is a member of The Holland Society and 
 also holds membership in the Metropolitan, Union League and Down Town clubs of 
 this city and the Hamilton club of Brooklyn, and was_president of the Oxford club 
 for several years. In 1858, Mr. Houghtaling married Laura M., daughter of John 
 McAlister, of Waterloo, N. Y. Their children are Warren R and Martha Houghtaling. 
 
 COLGATE HOYT, banker, born in Cleveland, O., March 2, 1849, is a son of James 
 M. Hoyt, a lawyer and man of high position. The young man attended Phillips 
 Academy, Andover, but, owing to the failure of his sight, left school at the end of the 
 first year. He then secured a place in a hardware store in Cleveland, rose by his own 
 merit, and finally joined his father in real estate operations, becoming himself the 
 owner of desirable properties. During 1877-81, he engaged in loans of money on real 
 estate security. In May, 1881, he removed to New York city to become a partner in 
 the banking and bullion firm of J. B. Colgate & Co. He made his way here with 
 marked success and remained an active member until the death of Mr. Trevor, in 
 1890. Banking soon led him into intimate relations with large corporations. A gov- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HO. 
 
 3 2 3 
 
 ernment director of The Union Pacific Railroad, 1882-84, he was thereafter a company 
 director but resigned several years later. In 1884, he joined Charles L. Colby and 
 Edwin H. Abbott in The Wisconsin Central Railroad enterprise, these three men 
 becoming trustees of the entire stock of the corporation, and building a road to St. 
 Paul and one from near Milwaukee to Chicago, thus making The Wisconsin Central a 
 through line from Chicago to St. Paul and Milwaukee. They also built The Chicago 
 & Northern Pacific Railroad as a terminal, with splendid passenger stations in Chicago. 
 Mr. Hoyt has also been a director and active spirit in The Oregon Railway & Navi- 
 gation Co., The Northern Pacific Railroad, and The Oregon & Transcontinental Co., 
 and in 1890 reorganized the latter as The North America Co., with entire success, and 
 under trying circumstances. The American Steel Barge Co., whose shipyard and 
 docks are at West Superior, Wis. , is the creation of Mr. Hoyt, who bought the whale- 
 back patents of Capt. Alex. McUougall in 1888, organized the company with a capital 
 of $500,000, becoming its president and treasurer, and has since employed about 1,500 
 men and constructed about thirty whalebacks and other vessels of importance. 
 Another of his enterprises is The Spanish- American Iron Co., of which he is an organ- 
 izer and treasurer, which, with a capital of $5,000,000, is working the Lola group of 
 iron mines in Cuba. Mr. Hoyt is prominent socially, and is a member of the Metro- 
 politan, Union League, Lawyers', Riding, Fencers', Country, Oyster Bay Yacht, Larch- 
 mont Yacht and Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht clubs, and The Ohio Society. In 1873, 
 he married Lida W., daughter of Judge Charles T. Sherman, and a niece of Gen. 
 William T. Sherman. They have four children living. 
 
 EDWIN HOYT, merchant, born in Stamford, Conn., May 15, 1804, died in New 
 York, May 15, 1874. He came from English ancestry and was a son of Abraham Hoyt, 
 a sea captain. Beginning his highly successful career as a clerk in this city in 1823, he 
 rose by application and ability to the head of the dry goods commission house of Hoyt, 
 Sprague & Co. Mr. Hoyt had the conservatism of a prudent merchant, and took part 
 in the direction of The Manhattan Banking Co., The Bank of Commerce, The Fourth 
 National Bank, The Continental Insurance Co., and The New York Life Insurance Co. 
 He married Susan, daughter of William Sprague, Governor of Rhode Island, and his 
 children were Mrs. Sarah H. Lee, Mrs. Susan S. Francklyn, William S. and Edwin Hoyt. 
 
 GEORGE ALLEN HOYT, born in Stamford, Conn., Aug. 16, 1811, died in the 
 same place, Dec. 3, 1887. He was a son of Darius Hoyt, a farmer, and Harriet, his 
 wife, gained a district school education, and after a period of training as clerk in a 
 clothing store in New York, carried on for a number of years a large clothing store on 
 his own account. In 1852, he accepted the position of treasurer of The Pennsylvania 
 Coal Co., investing largely in its stock and from time to time increasing his holdings, 
 until eventually he became president of that corporation and one of its principal share- 
 holders. A very active man, he became president or director of several other corpora- 
 tions. Real estate was also a favorite field of investment for him, and he owned a large 
 amount of that class of property both in New York city and Stamford. Aug. 25, 1838, 
 he was married to Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of Elisha and Electa Hawley, of Stamford. 
 To them were born four children, Francis S. Hoyt; Georgianna, who married Albert 
 S Swords; Ida Morton, wife of Belden B. Brown, of Stamford, and Elizabeth Hawley, 
 wife of Edward A. Day, of Morristown, N. J. After 1851, the familymade thairhome 
 in Stamford. 
 
324 
 
 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 HENRY SHEAF HOYT, lawyer, born in New York city, died in Pau, Italy, March 
 1 8, 1891, in his seventy-second year. His father was Goold Hoyt, a merchant of the 
 early part of this century in this city in the East India and China trade, owner of 
 ships, and one of the founders of The Merchants' Exchange National Bank, besides 
 being one of the vestrymen of Grace Church, who advocated moving the church to its 
 present site on Broadway at zoth street, and interested in old St. Paul's Church, in 
 Norwalk, Conn. , where a monument has been erected to his memory by the parishion- 
 ers. His grandtather was Goold Hoyt, of Norwalk, Conn. Henry graduated from 
 Columbia College, studied law under Judge Goold, of Litchfield, Conn,, and practiced 
 with success for a number of years. About the close of the war, he retired from busi- 
 ness, and during his last ten years spent most of his time traveling abroad, returning 
 to Newport in the summer time. He was a founder of the Union and a member of the 
 Knickerbocker and New York Yacht clubs of this city. Mr. Hoyt was married April 
 7, 1836, to Frances, a daughter of William A. Duer, LL.D., president of Columbia 
 College, and a sister of Denning Duer, of New York. His wife survived him. There 
 were no children. 
 
 JESSE HOYT, merchant, born in New York city, March 12, 1815, died here Aug. 
 14, 1882. He-was of English and Scottish descent, and a son of James Moody Hoyt, 
 who, for over fifty years a prominent merchant of this city and a man of strict integrity 
 and Christian probity, died at Norwalk, Conn., in 1854. At the age of seventeen, 
 Jesse Hoyt became a clerk in the wholesale grocery house of C. & L. Denison, and in 
 1836, a partner. In 1838, he retired to engage in the flour and grain business with his 
 father, who had formerly been a member of the firm of Eli Hart & Co. Jesse Hoyt 
 continued in business with his father until 1854, when the firm reorganized as Jesse 
 Hoyt & Co., the members being Jesse, his two brothers, Samuel N. and Alfred M. 
 Hoyt, and Henry W. Smith, and rose to great prominence in the flour and grain trade, 
 having business connections throughout the West and in Europe. Samuel N. retired 
 in 1858 and Jesse and Alfred M. Hoyt in 1881. Jesse Hoyt was one of the most ener- 
 getic and enterprising merchants of this city. He promoted every interest .which 
 would develop the resources of the West and make New York city the commercial em- 
 porium of the republic, was a great friend to the Erie Canal, and early displayed an in- 
 terest in the extension of railroads to the West. He bought great tracts of pine timber 
 lands in Michigan, erected sawmills and carried on an immense business in manufactur- 
 ing lumber, and built and owned vessels on the lakes to transport the lumber to a 
 market. He also built grain elevators in Chicago, Milwaukee and Jersey City; pur- 
 chased real estate in promising towns, notably in Saginaw; built hotels, started banks 
 and made other large investments in Michigan and Minnesota. In association with D. 
 N. and A. H. Barney, William G. Fargo, Alfred M. Hoyt, S. N. Hoyt, B. B. Cheney 
 and Angus Smith, he also built and owned The Winona & St. Peter Railroad, now a 
 part of The Chicago & Northwestern system. In building and extending The Flint & 
 Pere Marquette Railroad across the State of Michigan, he was a leading spirit and for 
 years was president of the company. He was also president of, and interested in 
 building, The Milwaukee & Northern Railroad, and projected and built The Saginaw, 
 Tuscola & Huron Railroad. While a director in several banks and insurance com- 
 panies, his private affairs so engrossed his time, that he generally declined these 
 positions of trust. Mr. Hoyt was an era maker and left an honorable record as a 
 
. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HO. 325 
 
 merchant and a citizen of the community in which he was born and spent his life. One 
 of his strongest traits was manifested in his earnest efforts to help young men to help 
 themselves and to become active and energetic, honorable and truthful in all their 
 dealings with their fellow men. 
 
 JOSEPH BLACKLEY HOYT, one of the prominent leather merchants in New 
 York, born Nov. 18, 1813, died in Stamford, Conn., Dec. 27, 1888. He learned the 
 tanner's trade as an apprentice in Connecticut, and at the age of 20, having saved 1,000, 
 went into a partnership in the hide currying "business in New York. In 1848, he formed 
 another partnership, and for six years Rees & Hoyt manufactured leather belting. 
 This partnership being dissolved, Mr. Hoyt, with his brothers, Oliver and William, 
 established the firm of Hoyt Bro's, who made a specialty of fine oak sole leather and 
 belting. This house is yet in existence, and famous. After a few )-ears, the business 
 was divided. Mr. Hoyt withdrew, and with Harvey S. Ladew and Daniel B. Fayer- 
 weather engaged in business as J. B. Hoyt & Co., leather merchants and tanners, con- 
 tinuing xmtil failing health compelled him in 1884 to give up all business, except that of 
 director of The Fourth National Bank. He was a man of remarkable energy and 
 purity of character. Mr. Hoyt was extremely liberal, and his fortune enabled him to 
 expend much for charity. He was the leading member of the Baptist Church at Stam- 
 ford and especially generous toward churches of his own denomination. At one time, 
 he occupied a seat in the Connecticut Assembly. 
 
 MARK HOYT, merchant, partner in the well-known firm of Hoyt Bro's, tanners, 
 an earnest, intrepid and driving man, is one of the few in commercial life who have 
 been continuously successful from their youth. 
 
 He descends from a very old family, which traces its ancestry through the Somer- 
 set branch in England, as far back as Thomas Hoyett of "Sevington Marye," or Seav- 
 ington, St. Mary, in Somerset, whose will is dated Nov. 10, 1576. There are evidences 
 that the English family, in turn, derived its descent from a German duke, Von Hoyte, 
 of Westphalia, referred to in Weigel's "Book on German Arms," printed in 1696. The 
 founder of the family in America was Simeon Hoyt, one of the first settlers of Charles- - 
 town, Mass., in 1628. The emigrant changed his home to Dorchester in 1630, and in 
 1634 or '35 to Scituate, removing in 1636 to Windsor, Conn., where he located perma- 
 nently. There, he became a prominent man in the church and community and a large 
 landholder. His sixth son, Samuel, born in 1643, removed to Stamford, Conn. Inher- 
 iting the ability of his father, he became a man of high standing in Stamford, and was 
 a Deputy at eleven sessions of the General Assembly, and fourteen years a Selectman 
 of the town. For his services as a soldier in the colonial wars, he received large grants 
 of land. The larger part of his estate descended to his son, Samuel, who was born July 
 27, 1663. The eldest son of the latter, born March 17, 1709, was a large landholder, 
 and a sergeant in the American Revolution. The second son, Joseph, born Dec. 12, 
 1739, married Sarah Weed, and their son, Joseph Blackley Hoyt. was the father of Col. 
 Mark Hoyt. 
 
 Mark Hoyt, the youngest of a family of ten children, was born May 5, 1835, m 
 Stamford, Conn. He received a good education in the local district school and a 
 boarding-school in Darien, Conn. His father wished that Mark might be his successor 
 upon the farm, but the boy was ambitious, and early in life showed such a decided 
 adaptation to business pursuits, that when he reached the age of sixteen he became an 
 
326 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 apprentice for five years, three of which were spent in Rees & Hoyt's tannery in Shokan, 
 Ulster county, N. Y., and two in New York city. As a practical workman, he learned 
 every branch of the industry. After three years as a clerk, he was admitted as a part- 
 ner in the leather house of Hoyt Bro's in New York city, which had been formed in 
 March, 1854, by Joseph B., William and Oliver Hoyt, to succeed to the business of Rees 
 & Hoyt and W. & O. Hoyt. The new firm were destined to great success. As rapidly 
 as their earnings would allow, they established tanneries of their own in various regions 
 in Pennsylvania and New York, where hemlock bark was abundant, and finally became 
 the owners of several large establishments and a large acreage of bark lands, and the 
 producers of enormous quantities of leather. They became one of the most extensive 
 and wealthy houses in the leather business, adding to their home trade a large exporta- 
 tion of their products to Europe, principally to England. 
 
 Mr. Hoyt has always been a Republican in politics, and has voted for every Re- 
 publican nominee for President from Fremont down to Benjamin Harrison. During 
 the Civil War, he espoused the side of the Union with all the ardor inherited from an 
 ancestry devoted to the cause of freedom. In 1862, he raised and sent to the field the 
 1 7 6th N. Y. Vols. 
 
 In 1868, Mr. Hoyt engaged in the brokerage business under the name of Mark 
 Hoyt & Co., but relinquished this in 1870 to return to the firm of Hoyt Bro's, of which 
 he is now the head. 
 
 Since the war, Mr. Hoyt has been especially occupied, in addition to his large busi- 
 ness interests, with the cause of education. He is a valued trustee and benefactor of 
 the Adelphi Academy in Brooklyn, the Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., 
 and the American University in Washington, D. C. , which is about to be established 
 by the Methodist Episcopal church. He was elected president of the Board of Trus- 
 tees of the latter, and served for one year, but was obliged to decline on account of the 
 pressure of business duties. He is also trustee and treasurer of the Drew Theological 
 Seminary in Madison, N. J. 
 
 During the six months prior to May, 1893, he was chiefly occupied in promoting tne 
 greatest enterprise ever organized in the leather trade, which, for solidity and magni- 
 tude, has never been surpassed in the business world, and was the leading spirit in the 
 organization of The United States Leather Co. , which is a consolidation of the chief 
 tanning interests of the country for a continuation of the business. It was incorporated 
 with a capital of $120,000,000, one-half of which represents: the actual cash value of the 
 properties purchased. It is believed that in actual value of its properties, this company 
 is superior to any other in the United States. Mr. Hoyt became its first vice-president 
 upon incorporation in May, 1893. 
 
 A large employer of labor, Mr. Hoyt has been, both in the United States and dur- 
 ing extensive travels abroad, a close observer of the condition and needs of the working 
 classes. Deeply interested in their welfare, he has done much to promote it. He is 
 generous in his dealings with men and never slow to assist the deserving, although 
 impatient with those who would impose upon his liberality. 
 
 Mr. Hoyt is as well known by his activity in church work as by his devotion to 
 education and his management of extensive mercantile and manufacturing interests. 
 He is a member and trustee of the Summerfield M. E. Ctmrch in Brooklyn, where he 
 resides, and a member of the Board of Education of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HO. 327 
 
 He is a man of large physique, agreeable in- his manners, and a popular member 
 of various social organizations. Among the clubs to which he belongs are the Union 
 League of Brooklyn, and the Fulton and the Hide and Leather of New York city. He 
 is also a member of The New England Society. 
 
 OLIVER HOYT, leather merchant, born in Stamford, Conn., Aug. 15, 1823, died 
 in the same place, May 5, 1887. He had a common school education and learned the 
 currier's trade. In 1844, he removed to New York, where, with his brother William, 
 he founded the firm of W. & O. Hoyt, afterward known as Hoyt Bro's. Their business 
 was from the start lucrative and eventually became one of the largest in the "Swamp." 
 Investment of his share of the profits in banks and insurance companies mainly rapidly 
 augmented Mr. Hoyt's wealth, so that long before his death he was already a man of 
 great fortune. He served three terms in the Connecticut Legislature as a Senator and 
 during two terms was chosen presiding officer. In 1872, he was a Presidential Elector 
 from Connecticut, and cast his vote for General Grant. The $250,000 Grant fund was 
 mainly raised by Mr. Hoyt's liberality and zeal. Methodist Episcopal institutions and 
 charities he regarded as having an especial claim upon him. One of the founders of 
 TIu Methodist, he was for many years one of the managers of the General Missionary 
 Society of the M. E. Church, and he gave $100,000 to the Wesleyan University, and 
 $2,000 to the Wesley Memorial Church, in Savannah, Ga., contributed largely to local 
 Methodist influences, and in 1881 represented his church at the International Assembly 
 of Methodists in London. His will gave $100,000 to charitable and religious institu- 
 tions. He was a director of The National Park Bank, The Home Insurance Co., and 
 The Phenix Insurance Co. , and a member of the Union League club and The New 
 England Society. Mr. Hoyt left a widow, born Corse, to whom he was married in 1852, 
 and four sons, Edward C., Theodore R., George S. and Walter S. Hoyt, of whom the 
 first three succeeded to his interest in the firm of Hoyt Bro's. 
 
 HENRY WILSON HUBBELL, merchant, born in Bridgeport, Conn., Oct. 30, 
 1805, died in Englewood, N. J., Nov. 13, 1884. The emigrant ancestor, Richard Hub- 
 bell, joined the New Haven colony from England in 1645, and settled in Fairfield, of 
 which town he was one of the patentees in 1685. Of his descendants, thirteen served 
 as commissioned officers and about fifty as non-commissioned officers and privates in 
 the American Revolution. The father, grandfather and great grandfather of Mr. Hub- 
 bell were owners and at times captains of vessels engaged in the China, West India 
 and coasting trades. In the early part of this century, the energetic youth of New 
 England looked towards the sea as the field whence they would reap their fortunes, as 
 in later days they have turned towards the Great West ; and a splendid race of ship 
 masters and merchants arose, who were once the pride of the country and brought our 
 foreign commerce to its zenith in the '503. Capt. Ezekiel Hubbell, father of Henry W. 
 Hubbell, on his three-year voyage around the world in 1800-2, on the ship Enter- 
 prise, carried a ship's company of twenty-five, every soul a native American. It is said 
 that this was the first voyage around the world from the port of New York. At the 
 age of fifteen, the subject of this memoir made a voyage as clerk to Manila in the new 
 ship Ajax, and became clerk for his brother George in a commercial house in Manila. 
 Here he remained five years, serving meanwhile as supercargo of the brig Cadet on a 
 successful voyage to Peru. In 1825, George Hubbell visited the L T nited States and left 
 Henry in charge of the business. Henry returned to New York in 1826, and from that 
 
328 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 time on for several years was employed as supercargo of various ships. George died 
 in 1831, and Henry then became a partner with J. W. Peele, of Salem, as Peele, Hub- 
 bell &Co., of Manila. A few years afterward, he withdrew to establish himself in Can- 
 ton but the name was maintained until the firm went out of existence in 1887, the most 
 ancient house in the East. Russell & Co., established at Canton in 1825, ceased to ex- 
 in 1891. Until 1867, excepting during the unsuccessful venture with unfamiliar do- 
 mestic business in New York city, Mr. Hubbell resided mainly at Canton, representing 
 a part of the time, in addition to his own business, the interests of Howland & Aspin- 
 wall. During his sojourn in the East, Mr. Hubbell saw the voyage to China change 
 from a five or six months' trip round the Cape of Good Hope to a six weeks' trip by 
 steam from New York, interrupted only by transportation in vans from Cairo to Suez. 
 Instead of sending out Spanish dollars to trade with the Orient, credits on London 
 were established about 1829. Supercargoes were abolished about 1840. Mr. Hubbell 
 witnessed the opium war between China and England and the Tai-Ping rebellion. He 
 entertained Commodore Perry and his officers while on their famous expedition to 
 Japan. He was in Paris in 1830, when Charles X abdicated and Louis Philippe suc- 
 ceeded to the throne, and witnessed the coronation of William IV. in West- 
 minster Abbey in 1833, and, when in Peru in 1824, witnessed the struggle 
 of Spain to save the last of her vice royalties in America. In 1856, Mr. Hubbell 
 returned to New York, and after a year's sojourn in Europe, his wanderings ended. 
 He had traveled 370,000 miles and traversed almost every sea, but had never been 
 overtaken by accident, although he had had many providential escapes. His voyages 
 constituted the historic record of a merchant, each one entered upon with a carefully 
 conceived and special object in view, and all done by sailing vessel up to 1840. They 
 are believed to have been unparalleled by any individual in this country. A man of 
 Mr. Hubbell's active temperament could not long remain idle, and he soon found him- 
 self again in the full tide of commerce with the East. In 1865, he was to some extent 
 managing owner of twelve ships and steamers. Among these were the splendid clip- 
 pers, famous in the era of our finest ships, Sweepstakes, Golden State and Winged 
 Racer. His associate, Robert L. Taylor, and he, persisted in sailing their vessels under 
 the American flag. In November, 1863, the Winged Racer, bound from Manila to 
 New York, was burned by the rebel cruiser, Alabama, causing a loss of $400,000 to her 
 owners. This loss, and heavy payments for war risks, later violent fluctuations in gold 
 and a financial panic, rendered ordinarily satisfactory collateral for loans of no 
 account, and caused Mr. Hubbell and Mr. Taylor to make an assignment. Much 
 litigation ensued, but Mr. Hubbell was honorably released. In 1874, he was re- 
 imbursed from the Geneva award for the loss of the Winged Racer, and later for war 
 premiums paid for insurance. Mr. Hubbell was an indefatigable agent in the spread 
 of American commerce, and took pride in its growth. In the Eastern world he stood 
 forth as a champion for America. A considerate and courtly gentleman, his kindly 
 help started more than one deserving but friendless young man on an honorable career. 
 He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce; one of the founders of The Mutual 
 Life Insurance Co. ; a trustee of several institutions, and one of the early members of 
 the Union League club, as well as a liberal contributor to the expenses of the war. 
 He married, March 31, 1836, Jane Maria, oldest daughter of Charles Bostwick of 
 Bridgeport, Conn., and his children were Katherine J., wife of Joseph B. Cumming, of 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HU. 329 
 
 Augusta, Ga. : Capt. Henry W. Hubbell, U. S. Art. ; Elizabeth Bostwick Hubbell and 
 Charlotte B., wife of Win. L. Whittemore, of Englewood, X. J. 
 
 CHARLES I. HUDSON, one of the leading men of Wall street, was born in New 
 York, Aug. 20, 1852, and is one of those whose material success in life was early won 
 and uninterrupted. His father, Isaac X. Hudson, son of a Yorkshire clergyman, came 
 to this country from England in 1830, and was a well known journalist in California 
 and other parts of the country. In 1851, he married in Xew York Miss Cornelia A. 
 Bogert Haight, daughter of John Edward Haight, a prominent Maiden Lane merchant, 
 and their eldest son was Charles I. Hudson. 
 
 The lad was educated in Grammar School No. 13, of which the principal at that 
 time was Thomas Hunter, later principal of the Xormal College. At the early age of 
 fourteen, he left school and found employment in Wall street with the firm of S. M. 
 Mills & Co. His first salary was the modest stipend of $4 per week, but, by the time 
 he was nineteen years old, it had risen to $1,500 per annum. During the time of his 
 employment by Mills & Co., he was a special and trusted messenger between tnat firm 
 and Jay Gould. - In this capacity opportunities were presented for his transaction of 
 several important missions in such a satisfactory manner that Mr. Gould took a par- 
 ticular fancy to him. As a practical evidence of his appreciation, the great financier, 
 in April, 1875, gave to Mr. Mills, for "that active young man," nine hundred shares 
 of Union Pacific stock, which was at that time under his control. Within twenty days 
 thereafter, the sale of that stock netted over $19,000 profit. This sum was the founda- 
 tion of Mr. Hudson's fortune. It enabled him to pay for his seat, purchased in August, 
 1874, in the Stock Exchange, and to make an independent start in business for himself. 
 
 March i, 1876, he went into partnership, under the name of C. I. Hudson & Co., 
 with Mr. H. X. Smith, the former partner of Jay Gould. In December, 1878, the 
 firm, retaining the same name, was reorganized, Mr. Smith retiring and Robert R. 
 Lear and T. H. Curtis taking his place. That partnership continued until May, 1881, 
 when, yet under the old title, the membership was again changed to Mr. Hudson and 
 A. H. De Forest, with Mr. Henry N. Smith as special partner. In October, 1885, Mr. 
 Smith withdrew and, in 1894, Mr. Hudson's brother, Edward J. Hudson, was admitted 
 to the firm. All three of the present partners are members of the Stock Exchange, a 
 fact seldom paralleled in Wall street offices. 
 
 In May, 1891, Mr. Hudson was elected Governor of the Exchange on an independ- 
 ent ticket, receiving over two thirds of the entire vote cast, a satisfactory evidence of 
 his popularity. The term of office is four years. Mr. Hudson has been and is a lead- 
 ing member of the Exchange, and was instrumental in introducing there the so-called 
 trust securities, such as American Cotton Oil, National Lead Co. , American Sugar Re- 
 fining Co. , etc. In one year, his firm handled over two and a half million shares of one 
 class alone of these securities, and in one day have handled as many as 90,000 shares. 
 
 Mr. Hudson was one of the organizers of The Fourteenth Street Bank in 1888, and 
 recently resigned from its directorate. He is a member of the Manhattan, New York 
 Athletic, Colonial, Larchmont Yacht and New York Riding clubs, was an organ- 
 izer and is a director of the Thousand Islands club, and belongs to the St. Lawrence 
 River Association and American Jersey Cattle club and other associations. 
 
 On June 8, 1876, he married Miss Sara E. Kierstede, of Scranton, Pa. (a lineal de- 
 pendent of Anneke Jans), and has four children, Percy K., Hendrick, Kierstede and 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HU. 331 
 
 Alan. Mr. Hudson owns a beautiful country home, "The Ledges," in the Thousand 
 Islands. 
 
 HENRY CARLTON HULBERT, merchant, is a son of New England, whose up- 
 right, energetic and successful life in the metropolis illustrates the virtues of the Puri- 
 tan ancestry from which he descends. He traces his descent from several notable 
 families. His paternal ancestor, Lieut. Thomas Hurlbut, came from England with 
 Leon Gardiner about 1635, and afterward settled in Wethersfield, Conn. He served 
 as an officer in the Pequot War. Through the marriage of John Hulbert, son of the 
 pioneer, Dec. 15, 1670, with Honor Treat Deming, daughter of John Deming, he de- 
 scends from Richard Treat, the father of Gov. Robert Treat, of Connecticut. Both 
 Richard Treat and John Deming were among the patentees of the famous charter, 
 which was granted to Connecticut and afterward concealed in the Charter Oak at Hart- 
 ford. Amos Hulbert, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a soldier of the 
 American Revolution. 
 
 The maternal ancestors of Mr. Hulbert were early settlers in the Plymouth colony, 
 Mass. One of them, William Bassett, came to Plymouth in 1621 in the good ship For- 
 tune, and the town of Bridge water, Mass., was set off to him and others. By the mar- 
 riage of Hannah Hall, granddaughter of Gov. Josiah Winslow, in 1746, to Nathaniel 
 Bassett, of Sandwich, Mr. Hulbert descends from Gov. Edward Winslow, who married 
 in May, 1621, Widow Susannah Fuller White, mother of Peregrine White, the first 
 white child born in New England. Both Edward Winslow and his wife, and William 
 White and his wife Susannah, came to New England in the Mayflower, Mrs. Winslow 
 and Mr. White dying during the first terrible winter in Plymouth. The first marriage 
 ceremony in the colony, May 12, 1621, united in wedlock Edward Winslow and Susannah 
 Fuller White. Gov. Josiah Winslow, their son, was the first native born governor 
 and general. He was governor from 1673 until his death in December, 1680, and, in 
 1675, he was commander-in-chief of the whole military force of the united colonies. 
 
 The other maternal ancestor, Thomas Dymoke, of noble family in England, who 
 emigrated to America about 1631, was, in 1635, selectman at Dorchester, Mass. In 
 1639, the town of Barnstable, Mass., was set off to him and others. Sylvanus Dymock, 
 grandfather of Mr. Hulbert, was a soldier in the American Revolution. Through the 
 marriage of Sarah Hinckley, Oct. i, 1722, to Theophilus Dymoke, Mr. Hulbert de- 
 scends from Samuel Hinckley, the father of Gov. Thomas Hinckley. 
 
 Mr. Hulbert has traced out lines of direct descent from over twenty of the pio- 
 neers who arrived in the colony of Massachusetts before 1640, and, as far as known, none 
 of his ancestors arrived in this country after 1645. He is surely a direct descendant 
 from the best blood of the Puritans, being of New England extraction in an unbroken 
 line of over 250 years. 
 
 His father, Amos Geer Hulbert, was a sound, sensible, sagacious man, a carriage 
 manufacturer in Lee, Mass., and his mother, Cynthia Bassett Hulbert, was a descend- 
 ant of the Dimmock and Bassett families. 
 
 Henry C. Hulbert, their only son, was born in Lee, Mass., Dec. 19, 1831. He re- 
 ceived a good education at the Lee Academy, and, what was of equal benefit, an excel- 
 lent training by intellectual and loving parents. At the age of sixteen, he entered the 
 store of William Taylor, of Lee. with whom he had previously spent six months when 
 thirteen years of age, and became a general clerk. 
 
33 2 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 In May, 1848, upon entering the store of Plunkett & Hulbert, who, in Pittsfield, 
 conducted the largest dry goods business in Berkshire county, the young man received 
 from his excellent and experienced father, that which was better than a legacy, and for 
 the lack of which other young men, who are otherwise qualified to succeed, often begin 
 life aimlessly and make a failure of it. His father told him: "You must now learn 
 to depend upon yourself. After this, I shall never give you another command. Here- 
 after, it will be advice. My last injunction is : ' Wherever you are placed in life, be a 
 man! Never shirk responsibility ! If you get into trouble, pay your way like a man, 
 if you have to sell the shirt off your back, and be smart enough not to get caught a 
 second time ! ' ' This sound New England advice was given to a young man capable of 
 understanding its value and of framing his conduct in accordance with it. He began 
 as errand boy at $150 a year. He soon rose to be a salesman and was then bookkeeper 
 and cashier at $225 a year. The first year his salary paid only for his board and cloth- 
 ing, and when he left Plunkett & Hulbert he gave them his note for $27.51, being the 
 balance of that account. His father offered to pay this, but the young man was 
 spirited, and said, " I will pay my own debts." While the business and social ideas of 
 the firm were of the strictest New England character, yet the main result was to make 
 the clerks solid, strong, honest men, and their after lives bore witness to this fact. 
 
 In 1851, at the age of nineteen, he felt a desire to enter into a larger field of activity 
 and resolved to go to New York. His father sought to detain him with a promise to 
 establish him in business as a merchant in Lee, Mass. But he was ambitious, confident, 
 and resolved to go. Thereupon, he obtained letters of introduction to three leading 
 firms in New York city, and in February, 1851, started for New York to try to obtain a 
 position. He first called upon Cyrus W. Field, who promptly said " I have no place 
 for you. I know your father. You are of good stock. If you need New York refer- 
 ence, refer to me." The next firm to which he applied were White & Sheffield, dealers 
 in paper and importers of papermakers' supplies. Atter a few moments' conversation, 
 they requested him to call at 12 o'clock. Prompt to the minute he entered their store. 
 After an interview of nearly an hour, Mr. Sheffield said: "What is your intention in 
 coming to New York ?" The young man promptly replied : " If I obtain a position in 
 your house, I shall endeavor to make myself so useful that you will give me an interest 
 in your concern." Doubtless amused but evidently pleased with the boy's frank 
 answer, they gave him a position at $400 a year. He returned to Pittsfield, gave his 
 notice of leaving to Plunkett & Hulbert, and, March 17, 1851, started for New York 
 with $15 in money and a determination to accomplish the purpose he had in view. 
 With sound good sense, he resolved to live within his income and he engaged lodgings 
 in a small attic in Willoughby street, Brooklyn, in company with another young man from 
 his native town. At the store, he concentrated his energies upon making his mark. 
 He was willing, energetic, first at the store in the morning, last to leave at night, and 
 alert to opportunities. Although the youngest clerk in the store, he promptly made his 
 usefulness felt. He did not waste his strength in social pleasure, but was always ready 
 for each day's work and brought to the business all the energy of a New England boy, 
 willing to work in any department in which he could serve ihe firm. 
 
 In December, 1851, the bookkeeper was taken sick at the moment when it was im- 
 perative to prepare the quarterly account of sales. Mr. Hulbert volunteered his services 
 and succeeded to the entire satisfaction of the firm. After that, his promotion was rapid. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HU. 333 
 
 By Xew Year's, 1852, he had saved sufficient to pay the note he owed Plunkett & 
 Hulbert, and with $46 in his pocket returned to New York with a light heart and a 
 stronger intention than ever to succeed. He has often said he never felt as wealthy as 
 at the time the note was paid. After two years and nine months of service, a vacancy 
 occurred in the position of head salesman, and he was appointed to the vacant place. 
 He accepted on the condition that he should not be asked to drink with customers or 
 see them around the town. To this he strictly adhered ; and, not willing that his suc- 
 cess should be built upon the ruin of young men, he has ever insisted that his salesmen 
 should follow the same course, with the understanding that they would be discharged 
 if the rule were broken. 
 
 Sept. 13, 1854, on a salary of $1,000 a year, he married Susan R. Cooley, of Lee, 
 Mass. His fortune Jan. i, 1855, consisted of a good wife and 300 due him from the 
 firm. In 1856, he was taken into partnership, the firm name being changed to J. B. 
 Sheffield & Co. Thus was accomplished his original intention; and he proved that he 
 was capable of the performance of a specified task. Let those who lament that life 
 provides them with no opportunities learn from this that it is not the lack of oppor- 
 tunity which keeps them back, but their own inability to make the most of situations 
 presented. 
 
 In 1856, Mrs. Hulbert became an invalid, and for three years was almost helpless. 
 It was seven years before her health was restored. The expenses of her illness, only 
 too cheerfully borne by her husband, were, however, a serious drain upon his income; 
 and the panic of 1857, which swept away a portion of his profits, also added to the load. 
 Yet he preserved his credit unimpaired and was only inspired by adversity to the more 
 active exercise of his powers. 
 
 The partnership with J. B. Sheffield & Co. ended Jan. i, 1858. Both Mr. White 
 and Mr. Sheffield were desirous of a renewal of the arrangement, and they offered to 
 increase Mr. Hulbert's interest fifty per cent. The offer was declined. 
 
 In March, 1858, Mr. Hulbert organized the firm of H. C. & M. Hulbert, with his 
 cousin, Milan Hulbert, of Boston, as general partner, and Otis Daniell, of Boston, as 
 special partner for $30,000, the general partners contributing $5,000 each. Mr. Hul- 
 bert then went to Europe and obtained several exclusive agencies for the sale of paper- 
 makers' materials, some of which are retained to this day. In October, 1858, he 
 opened a warehouse at No. 83 John street, and May i, 1861, moved to No. 13 Beekman 
 street. From that day, Mr. Hulbert's business record has been one of continued prog- 
 ress and prosperity. In 1862, Mr. Daniell withdrew, giving his partners three years' 
 time, without security, to pay for his interest. Milan Hulbert withdrew in 1872. 
 Joseph H. Sutphin and George P. Hulbert, both clerks in the employ of the old firm, 
 were then taken into partnership, and the firm became H. C. Hulbert & Co. It has 
 ever since retained this name. Mr. Hulbert passed successfully through the times of 
 the Civil War, never asking a day's extension of time or a dollar's aid from his special 
 partner. The firm have always borne an honorable reputation, and for years the mer- 
 cantile agencies have given them the highest grade of credit accorded to any house in 
 the city. 
 
 Jan. i, 1891, Charles F. Bassett, a cousin of Mr. Hulbert and of the same New Eng- 
 land stock, who had been brought up under the latter's own training, was admitted to 
 the firm. 
 
334 
 
 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Mr. Hulbert has bravely and honorably won an ample fortune and is now a large 
 investor in enterprises not connected with his mercantile business. Owing to his known 
 abilities, he has been called to aid in the management of some of the largest financial 
 institutions in the country. He is a member of the finance committee of The New 
 York Life Insurance & Trust Co.; has been for more than twenty years a director in 
 The Importers' & Traders' National Bank; is one of the executive committse of The 
 South Brooklyn Savings Institution; member of the loss committee of The United 
 States Life Insurance Co. , and for years has been the only New York director of The 
 Pullman Palace Car Co., a concern having now $36,000,000 of capital and over $26,- 
 000,000 of surplus. He is also a director of The Celluloid Manufacturing Co. , and a 
 member of the Chamber of Commerce. He is connected with none except the best and 
 strongest corporations. 
 
 In August, 1882, Mr. Hulbert lost his wife by death. She was a woman of superior 
 mind and generous sympathies, and had been treasurer of The Brooklyn Industrial 
 School & Home for Destitute Children for many years. Of her two daughters, the 
 older, Susan C., is the wife of Joseph H. Sutphin, one of Mr. Hulbert's partners. 
 The younger is Carolyn B. Hulbert, now the wife of the junior partner, Charles F. 
 Bassett. 
 
 Oct. 1 6, 1884, Mr. Hulbert was married to Miss Fannie D. Bigelow, of Brooklyn. 
 
 In 1881, Mr. Hulbert traveled extensively in foreign lands to obtain the recreation 
 needed after a life of incessant activity for more than thirty years. He visited Egypt, 
 Palestine. Greece and Turkey. In 1886, he again made an extended trip, visiting Den- 
 mark, Russia, Norway, and Sweden, also making the continental trip. He has at 
 other times traveled extensively both abroad and in his native land. In 1889, he began 
 building a fine mansion in Brooklyn, in which city he has always resided. Placed upon 
 an elevated and desirable site, at No. 49 Prospect Park, West, opposite Prospect Park, 
 146 feet above tide water, it is constructed of rock faced Indiana limestone, elaborately 
 carved and molded. It is a beautiful example of the Romanesque style of architecture 
 and is one of the finest private residences in Brooklyn. A stained glass window af the 
 head of the staircase landing is illustrative of an incident in the family history of his 
 ancestors, the Dymokes, who held the hereditary title of "Royal Champions" of Eng- 
 land. The window represents the Lion Gate, an entrance to Scrivelsby Court in Lin- 
 colnshire, the home of the family for many generations; and it depicts the champion, 
 returning in state from a royal coronation, mounted on a white horse and clad in armor 
 as required by law. -- 
 
 Mr. Hulbert is a liberal contributor to every worthy object. An active church 
 member, he was for years the superintendent of the Sunday School of the South Con- 
 gregational and afterward of the Middle Reformed Church ; and on Dr. Ingersoll remov- 
 ing from the Middle Reformed Church, he united, at the earnest desire of his children, 
 with Christ Church, Brooklyn, and is now one of the vestrymen. He is a life member 
 of both the New York and Brooklyn New England Societies, and The Society of 
 Colonial Wars. 
 
 FREDERICK HUHPHREYS, H. D., a distinguished member of an old and honored 
 line traces direct descent from the time of William the Conqueror. The founder of the 
 family, Sir Robert de Umfreville, landed in England with the Conqueror in 1066. 
 Then came the great Humphrey de Bohun, hereditary High Constable of England, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HU. 335 
 
 and related to the Conqueror. From this branch of the family sprang the Earls of 
 Hereford, Essex and Northampton. The American branch of the family proves its 
 direct descent from Michael Humphrey of Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire, England, who set- 
 tled at ancient Windsor Conn , about 1640, and is recorded as a prominent manufac- 
 turer of tar and turpentine near Windsor, in 1643. This renders the Humphreys 
 family among the earliest settlers in America, and from these sturdy pioneers have 
 sprung a race of men who have been at the head of every movement, whether of peace 
 or war, which could benefit and consolidate the great country of their adoption. 
 
 Dr. Humphreys was born March n, 1816, in Marcellus, Onondaga county, N. Y. 
 When his family removed to Auburn, N. Y., in 1823, he finished his studies at the 
 Auburn Academy under the tuition of Josiah Underbill, a Quaker teacher. From four- 
 teen to sixteen he w r as a clerk in a store, and then went South with his uncle and 
 brother and traveled in the clock business. After three years' experience, he returned 
 to manage a farm which his father had purchased, and in 1837 he married Cornelia, 
 daughter of William and Hester E. Palmer, who died in 1840, leaving one son, George, 
 also now deceased. Soon after his marriage, Dr. Humphreys went to help his father- 
 in-law at Chillicothe, O., and there he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. On his wife's death, he returned to Auburn and for five years was an itinerant 
 preacher earning a precarious living, which he eked out by medical practice. Being 
 criticised for this by his ministerial brethren, in 1844 he removed to Utica, gave up 
 preaching and joined his father, Dr. Erastus Humphreys, in the practice of medicine. 
 He studied homoeopathy with enthusiasm and soon gained a profitable practice in Utica. 
 In 1848, he entered the Pennsylvania Homoeopathic Medical College in Philadelphia. 
 He studied diligently for three years with Dr. Constantine Hering, and in 1850 took his 
 degree as Doctor of Homoeopathic Medicine. 
 
 In the meantime, Aug. i, 1843, Dr. Humphreys married Frances Maria, daughter 
 of Alvah Jefferson and Maria Polly Tuttle Sperry of Ludlowville, N. Y. With this lady, 
 he has enjoyed the perfection of domestic happiness, has four children, and only lately 
 celebrated his golden wedding, surrounded by his friends and full of devotion and love 
 for his helpmate of fifty years. In addition to his studies and practice, Dr. Humphreys 
 found time for literary and medical writings. He collaborated with his father a series 
 of " Tracts for the Times," elucidating the new doctrine of homoeopathy. He also wrote 
 "Cholera and its Homoeopathic Treatment," and a monograph on dysentery. Then a 
 more important work, entitled " Proving of the Apis Mellifica, or Poison of the Honey 
 Bee," and " Proving of the Plantago Major;" but the work of which Dr. Humphreys is 
 justly proud is his heraldic and genealogical " History of the Humphreys Family," 
 published in 1883. 
 
 In 1853, the doctor came to New York and at once took the lead in homoeopathic 
 circles. He assisted in forming and was prominent in The Central New York Homoe- 
 opathic Medical Society, which was subsequently transformed into The New York State 
 Homoeopathic Medical Society. He %vas made Chairman of the " Bureau for the Aug- 
 mentation and Improvement of the Materia Medica " of the American Institute of 
 Homoeopathy, and later was called to the chair of Homoeopathic Institutes and Practice 
 of Medicine in his old college. He lectured for three years. 
 
 He then began to introduce his discovery of combinations of medicine for popular 
 use which he has termed Homoeopathic Specifics. This caused a rupture between him- 
 
336 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 self and the college and all his professional friends and associates. But he saw his path 
 of duty clear before him. He fought bravely against jealousy, intrigue, rascality and 
 fraud, and triumphed after a weary struggle of twenty-five years. The work of his life 
 has been completed. The specifics manufactured by The Humphreys Homoeopathic 
 Medicine Co., which he founded, are now being produced upon an enormous scale and 
 are known all over the world. He has been energetic in the management of his busi- 
 ness, and his "Manual," which is printed in English, German, French, Spanish and 
 Portuguese, is being distributed at the rate of 3,000,000 copies a year. The specifics 
 have brought him both fame and fortune. He has also issued a Mentor in the languages 
 named above and a Veterinary Manual. 
 
 Dr. Humphreys has always been active in church work. He organized the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church in West Utica, buying the edifice and securing the pastor. He 
 also helped build Trinity Church at Asbury Park, and rendered efficient service in con- 
 solidating the Church of the Heavenly Rest on Fifth avenue, of which he has been 
 warden for fourteen years. He has for a long time contributed to Henry Bergh's 
 paper, "Our Animal Friends, "and has written many clever verses, both grave and 
 gay. Essentially a home loving and domestic man, Dr. Humphreys belongs to no 
 clubs, but he enjoys himself surrounded by his family in his home on West 39th street. 
 He is loved, honored and respected. 
 
 SOLON HUMPHREYS, banker, born Oct. 27, 1821, in Canton, Conn., is in the 
 seventh generation in descent from Michael Humphrey, who came from England and 
 settled in Windsor, Conn., about 1640. Finishing his education with one year in St. 
 John's College, Annapolis, Md., Mr. Humphreys entered the house of William G. Har- 
 rison, in Baltimore, in 1838, and 1839-44 was a, clerk for E. D. Morgan & Co. in New 
 York city. He then spent nine years in St. Louis in the firm of Humphreys & 
 Thatcher, which he established, and obtained wide reputation as a grocery and commis- 
 sion merchant. In 1853, he returned to New York, and Jan. i, 1854, became a partner 
 in E. D. Morgan & Co., one of the leading firms of the United States in the sugar, tea 
 and coffee trade. Of this concern, now engaged in banking, he is. yet a partner. -He 
 was one of the original promoters of The Ohio & Mississippi Railroad in 1852, and later 
 active in the consolidation of the Wabash system of railroads. His firm have been in 
 recent years largely occupied with the negotiation of railroad and investment securities. 
 . Mr. Humphreys was at one time vice president and for years treasurer of the Chamber 
 of Commerce, and has been a director of The Ohio & Mississippi, The St. Loxiis, Iron 
 Mountain & Southern, The St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern, The Peoria & Pekin, 
 The Pittsburgh & Western, and The Toledo, Wabash & Western Railroads; president 
 and receiver of The Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway; receiver of The Illinois & St. 
 Louis Bridge Co. ; vice president of The Pittsburgh & Western Railroad ; and president 
 of The Painesville & Youngstown and The Pittsburgh, Painesville & Fairport Rail- 
 roads. Sound judgment and fine mind allied with enterprise have made him a suc- 
 cessful man. He illustrates in his own life the best traits of family character handed 
 down through a long ancestry. Nov. 16, 1847, he married Mary Ellen, daughter of 
 Edward Walsh, of St. Louis. His only child, Edward Walsh Humphreys, was born 
 Dec. 15, 1848. The family have made their home at Bergen Point, N. J., since 1856. 
 
 NOAH S. HUNT, merchant, a native of Rah way, N. J., died at the Grand Central 
 Hotel, this city, Nov. 12, 1886, at the age of eighty-four. He came to New York when 
 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HU. 337 
 
 thirteen years of age, served an apprenticeship as a mechanic, and for many years as 
 foreman had charge of the pattern room of Robert Hoe's printing press manufactory. 
 Later he found employment in a hat factory. Finally he had, by hard work, strict 
 economy and clear-headed sagacity, saved enough to go into the hardware business 
 with one of his younger brothers under the name of I. L. & N. S. Hunt, but in two 
 years discontinued this partnership and organized the firm of Ellis, Hunt & Ellis. 
 Retiring about 1856 with a comfortable fortune, he devoted himself to the care of his 
 property and by shrewd investments largely increased his wealth. Hio operations were 
 often of an unusual character, frequently being in the nature of discounting notes, 
 accepting as collateral securities usually supposed to be of little value, but out of which he 
 was supposed to have invariably realized a profit. He was a bachelor and led a retired 
 life, avoiding society and in his business dealings acting through his brokers. At his 
 death, he gave happiness to numerous nieces and nephews by giving them his fortune. 
 
 WILSON Q. HUNT, merchant, a native of New Jersey, born in 1805, died in New 
 York city, Dec. 7, 1892. The son of a farmer, he started in life while a boy as a dry goods 
 clerk in New York. Owing to strong natural powers of body and mind, he advanced 
 rapidly and soon found himself a partner in a dry goods firm in William street. The 
 panic of 1837 swept the firm out of existence, but Mr. Hunt rallied, resumed business, 
 and at a later date gave a dinner to his creditors, at which each found under his plate a 
 check for the amount of his claim with interest. Mr. Hunt rose to great prominence as 
 a wholesale dry-goods merchant and ranked as one of the older generation of business 
 men of the city, among whom he had stanch friends and most of whom he survived. 
 He twice refused a nomination as Mayor of New York but was active in local affairs, 
 and a director of The United States Trust Co. , The National Park Bank, The Consoli- 
 dated Gas Co., The Eagle Fire Insurance Co., The New York Life Insurance & Trust 
 Co., The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, The Globe Fire Insurance Co., 
 The Washington Life Insurance Co., The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Rail- 
 road, and other corporations. Mr. Hunt was twice married, but left no family. 
 
 COLLIS POTTER HUNTINQTON, president of The Southern Pacific Co., stands 
 in the very front rank among the list of our remarkable men of action in America. 
 
 Mr. Huntington was born in Harwinton, Litchfield county, Conn., Oct. 22, 1821, 
 the fifth of nine children. Leaving school at fourteen years of age, he began work for 
 himself at a compensation of seven dollars a month Two years later, in 1837, he was 
 in Xew York city, using the credit, which he had acquired through the letters of mer- 
 cantile friends at home, to purchase goods, which he disposed of at a good profit. The 
 next that his friends knew of him. he was traveling through the South applying that 
 faculty for negotiation, which was to be exercised later in life in the gigantic enter- 
 prises familiar to the whole world. 
 
 At the age of twenty-two, Mr. Huntington with his brother Solon opened a gen- 
 eral merchandise store at Oneonta, Otsego county, New York, but when the gold 
 excitement of 1849 came, young Huntington, who had already found Oneonta too lim- 
 ited a field for his talents and usefulness, sailed on the i sth of March of that year for 
 the Golden State. He was detained with many others three months on the Isthmus, 
 but, unlike many others, he spent that interval in adding to the $1,200 which he had 
 drawn out from his business for the expenses of the trip, and by the time he had 
 reached Sacramento he had $5,000 in hand, in marked contrast with a great many who, 
 
338 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 being less usefully occupied on the Isthmus or for other reasons arrived " dead broke." 
 
 In Sacramento, he commenced business under the name of C. P. Huntington, but 
 afterward established the well-known hardware house of Huntington & Hopkins, 
 which has continued up to the present day. Numerous anecdotes are told of the mar- 
 velous genius for business evinced by Mr. Huntington while trading at No. 54 K street. 
 He studied the market carefully and bought in large quantities when supplies were 
 low and sold in lesser quantities when the prices were high. He was ready to buy 
 almost anything, which was not perishable, at some price or another, and it used to 
 be said of him in those days that if a man could not sell a thing any where else, he could 
 always get cash from Huntington. In 1856 the firm had a fortune. 
 
 Almost from the first, Mr. Huntington had realized the tremendous advantages 
 which would accrue from a railroad connecting California with the East. Believing in 
 its feasibility, he led some of his neighbors in Sacramento to join with him, and these 
 seven men bound themselves to do the initial work of an instrumental survey across 
 the mountain. Early in 1861, The Central Pacific Railroad Co. was organized with an 
 original capital of $8,500,000, and Mr. Huntington started for Washington, armed with 
 maps and charts, to prove to Congress the practicability of the plans devised and to 
 secure from the Government substantial aid. The result of his labors is summed up in 
 the acts of Congress of 1862 and 1864, by which the Government agreed to give lands 
 and bonds to aid in the construction of the road. It was a great triumph for Mr. 
 Huntington and his associates, although the elation of the man, who had done most to 
 achieve it, seems to have been tempered by the thought of what was yet before him. 
 His telegraphic despatch to his co-directors was characteristic : "We have drawn the 
 elephant, now let us see if we can harness him up." 
 
 Mr. Huntington at once came on to New York to enlist the aid of capital; and in 
 this field his persistence, courage, financial ability and knowledge of men were put to 
 an exceptionally severe test. The story of his experiences in Boston in the negotiation 
 of bonds cannot be told in the brief outline of this sketch, but it offers an example of 
 financial achievement, in the face of disbelief in the practicability of the great work 
 and doubt of the value of the security proposed, which stamps the daring leader in the 
 enterprise as one of the greatest financiers of the century. 
 
 The faith of the four men, Huntington, Hopkins, Stanford and Crocker, is illus- 
 trated by the characteristic way in which they solved the first problem of construction, 
 when they agreed to pay personally for the labor of 800 men on the road for one year, 
 and pledged their private fortunes to meet the obligations they assumed. The con- 
 struction race with The Union Pacific, which was rushed westward while The Central 
 Pacific was pushed eastward, created unbounded excitement and enthusiasm as the 
 wires flashed across the continent daily the progress made. The tremendous strain, the 
 anxieties and difficulties of this construction can never be adequately told. Freights, 
 prices of material and wages rose enormously, and the necessity of paying in gold coin 
 in California at a time when gold was at a high premium was an aggravating feature of 
 these difficulties. A hundred discouraging problems arose, under the burdens of which 
 the builders, had they been ordinary men, must have been crushed; but with Mr. 
 Huntington an unlimited capacity for work, natural powers which had never been im- 
 paired by the use of tobacco or liquors, and the rugged physical vitality which was the 
 outgrowth of heredity and early training carried him safely through the ordeal. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HU. 339 
 
 After the completion of The Central Pacific, May 10, 1869, Mr. Huntington and 
 his three associates created and built The Southern Pacific Railroad. When Colonel 
 Scott sought to extend The Texas Pacific to the west coast, Mr. Huntington rapidly 
 threw The Southern Pacific across the desert wastes of Arizona and New Mexico, met 
 Colonel Scott's line east of El Paso and continued building eastwardly until he reached 
 San Antonio. In the meantime, he had acquired lines east of San Antonio, consisting 
 of The Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway, The Texas & New Orleans Rail- 
 road, The Louisiana Western Railroad and The Morgan's Louisiana & Texas Railroad & 
 Steamship Co., which gave his system of lines a tide-water outlet at Xew Orleans. In 
 order to unify the operations of this vast system of transportation lines, so that the pub- 
 lic might receive the fullest benefit therefrom, he organized, in 1884, The Southern 
 Pacific Company, of Kentucky, which unifies in operation a system of transportation 
 lines, consisting of twenty-six distinct corporations, comprising 8,024 miles of railroad 
 and 4,976 miles of steamship lines in the United States, and 573 miles of railroad in 
 the Republic of Mexico. In addition to the foregoing, he is largely interested in other 
 transportation enterprises. He is president of The Guatemala Central Railroad, which 
 is said to be the best built railroad property in the five Central American republics. 
 He has aided the building of railroads and the development of coal mines in Vancouver, 
 B. C. He is president of The Pacific Mail Steamship Co., whose steamers ply between 
 Japan and China, and has promoted steamship lines in Brazil. Mr. Huntington also 
 built and owns a dry dock and ship-building yard at Newport News, Va. , which is pro- 
 nounced to be the best appointed shipyard in the United States. 
 
 HENRY AUGUSTUS HURLBUT, merchant, manufacturer and financier, was born 
 in Hartford, Conn., Dec. 8, 1808. He is the son of Ebenezer Hurlbut, who was a 
 prominent merchant of Hartford, Conn., and of Fanny Brewster Hurlbut, his wife, 
 both members of old New England families. The ancestors of his father had made 
 the Connecticut colony their home since 1637, the year in which Thomas Hurlbut, the 
 pioneer, came to America to settle in Saybrook and Wethersfield. On his mother's 
 side, Mr. Hurlbut is descended directly from Elder Brewster, a pilgrim of 1620, who 
 arrived in the new world in that famous old ship, the historic Mayflower, to become one 
 of the founders of Plymouth colony and a bosom friend of Governor Bradford. 
 
 The death of Ebenezer Hurlbut, when his son Henry was twelve years of age, 
 resulted in the latter having the advantages of a common school education only. But 
 the young man was resolved to rise. By persistent and personal efforts for self-cultiva- 
 tion, he largely broadened his training and laid the foundation of his future success. 
 At the age of sixteen, compelled to earn a living and appreciating the value of a trade, 
 he apprenticed himself to a hat manufacturer in Xew Haven, Conn. He learned the 
 business thoroughly. In 1828, his employer died. The industry, capability and in- 
 trinsic worth of Mr. Hurlbut then led to his promotion to the position of general 
 superintendent and manager of the business. In 1835, having made himself indispens- 
 able to the firm, he was admitted to partnership, without the payment of capital, solely 
 upon his own personal merits. 
 
 After much persuasion, Mr. Hurlbut induced his partner to open a branch store in 
 the city of New York, which was beginning to be the commercial center of the United 
 States. Mr. Hurlbut took charge of the store and conducted it with such marked 
 success that, in 1839, the entire business was moved to New York. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HU. 341 
 
 In 1043, believing his partner too conservative, Mr. Hurlbut associated himself 
 with the late John H. Swift, under the firm name of Swift & Hurlbut, and the new 
 partnership soon took the position of the leading house in this trade in the United 
 States. The Kossuth hat, so popular in 1851, was a novelty originating with him. 
 His firm engaged in its manufacture on an extended scale, receiving great benefits 
 therefrom, and from its adoption dates the popularity of the soft felt hat in this country. 
 In 1860, the firm of Swift & Hurlbut dissolved by mutual consent, Mr. Hurlbut retiring 
 from active business with an ample fortune. 
 
 In 1832, Mr. Hurlbut married a New Haven lady, Susan Rebecca Kennedy, of 
 Scottish descent, and in 1882, their golden wedding was celebrated in Paris by an en- 
 tertainment at which very many old friends were present. Mrs. Hurlbut died in 1888. 
 At an early period in his career, he evinced a decided aptitude for the management 
 of financial institutions. He was a progressive man and was called to many positions 
 of trust and responsibility, in all of which he had the good fortune to make a brilliant 
 record. He was one of the founders of The Second National Bank and its first president. 
 He was also one of the incorporators of The Equitable Life Assurance Society and is now 
 a member of its Finance Committee. He was one of the committee selected to super- 
 intend the building of the present magnificent edifice at No. 120 Broadway. He has 
 long been a trustee of The Mercantile Trust Co., a director in The Home Fire Insur- 
 ance Co. and The Mercantile Safe Deposit Co. , and long a member of the Chamber of 
 Commerce. His name has added strength to every institution with which it has been 
 connected. He has also been active in social life. One of the oldest members of The 
 New England Society and at one time its president, and for many years a member of 
 The New York Historical Society and The American Geographical Society, he was also 
 one of the original members of the Union League club, and has served as a vice-presi- 
 dent. In addition, he holds membership in various other clubs and associations. 
 
 In politics his friends point to his consistent record. He allied himself while young 
 with the old Whig party of the days before the war, and when its successor the Repub- 
 lican party was formed, he became a member of that organization. In the dark days 
 of the late Civil War, he was among the foremost in sustaining the Federal government 
 with voice and purse. As a public duty, he became a delegate to the convention in Phil- 
 adelphia which nominated General Grant for the presidency. At the close of the war, 
 when his friends sought to show their appreciation of his disinterested patriotism by 
 entrusting to him the responsibilities of public office, he persistently refused. From 
 this rule he has never departed, except in one worthy respect. When Governor Dix, 
 his life-long personal friend, urged upon him the position of Commissioner of Emigra- 
 tion, for which his study of the condition and habits of the poorer classes of the old 
 world, during his many trips abroad, had thoroughly fitted him, he consented to take 
 the office, and 1873 the Governor appointed him Commissioner for the State of New 
 York. The Board unanimously elected him chairman, and he held that responsible 
 position for twelve years, when the Federal government took the service under its con- 
 trol. In this field, he had abundant opportunity to exercise the liberal charity for 
 which his life has been distinguished. The record is full of examples of his benevolence. 
 Mr. Hurlbut has been prominent in religious and charitable works for many years, 
 and he is a member and trustee of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, The Amer- 
 ican Seaman's Friend Society and the Demilt Dispensary. 
 
342 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Very often reminded of his own limited school advantages and feeling that a thorough 
 educational training is almost a necessity, he founded a " Hurlbut Scholarship" at 
 Yale University, thereby creating a fund to assist worthy but indigent students ; and in 
 accordance with his earnest wishes, each of his sons received a collegiate education, the 
 elder being graduated at Yale University in 1860, and the younger in 1863 at Columbia 
 College, New York city, although neither one elected thereafter a professional life. 
 
 His career reveals the secret of the illustrious position of the metropolis of America, 
 which possesses citizens who, while building their own private fortunes, are sufficiently 
 public spirited and patriotic to devote a portion of their time to public affairs and the 
 welfare of the city of their residence. His life has been closely identified with the in- 
 terests of New York city, and we must class him among the " merchant princes " whose 
 personal history is a vital part of that of the metropolis. 
 
 SEYflOUR LEQRAND HUSTED, street railroad president, born in Danbury, 
 Conn., Sept. 10, 1810, died at his home on Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn, June 13, 1887. 
 He was a son of Platt Husted and Mary Barnum, his wife, both of whom were born in 
 the same pleasant old New England town. While a mere boy, young Husted was 
 taken from school and employed in his father's business, which was that of the pro- 
 duction of hatters' furs. In 1824, the business and the family were removed to New 
 York. In 1828, the senior Husted died and the entire business devolved upon the 
 young man, who, although only eighteen years of age, proved himself entirely capable 
 of assuming the responsibilities thus thrust upon him. He soon acquired a knowledge 
 of furs, which brought him into requisition among experts in that branch of business. 
 
 In 1836, Mr. Husted removed his manufactory to Brooklyn, where he purchased a 
 considerable tract of land and erected extensive buildings. For a number of years, he 
 carried on the business under improved conditions, save during the financial distress of 
 1837, when, during the general paralysis of all industry, his manufactory was tempo- 
 rarily closed. In 1848, the demand for hatters' furs had so far diminished, owing to the 
 introduction of silk plush, that the manufacture of them no longer yielded a .profit. 
 Mr. Husted then abandoned the industry. Two years previous to this, he had estab- 
 lished a stage line connecting the outlying districts of Brooklyn with the ferries on the 
 East River front, plying to New York city. In 1853, this stage line gave place to The 
 Brooklyn City Railroad, operated by a company of which Mr. Husted became the first 
 president. Under his administration, this railroad grew into importance and the company 
 now controls a more extensive system of street railroads than any other in the country. 
 
 From his earliest residence in Brooklyn, Mr. Husted displayed a deep interest in 
 municipal affairs and bore a prominent part in the progress and development of the 
 city. Besides being for several years an active member of the city government, he 
 was one of the first members of the Prospect Park Board of Control and became a 
 member of the first board of Brooklyn Bridge trustees. His name is found on the list 
 of directors of several of the financial and industrial corporations of Brooklyn and 
 among those of the trustees of many of her charities. 
 
 As a member of the Episcopal Church, he was known as a liberal donor, especially 
 in connection with St. Mary's Church, which as a free church excited his warmest 
 sympathy and which he had carefully watched in its growth from a small gathering on 
 the outskirts of a little town to a large and influential congregation in a great city. 
 He was also active in the work of creating the Diocese of Long Island and at his death 
 
344 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 was one of the trustees of the Cathedral of the Episcopal Church in Garden City. 
 
 During more than twenty-five years, Mr. Husted served as a trustee of The Mu- 
 tual Life Insurance Co. of New York, serving upon its Finance Committee. In that 
 position, his knowledge of real estate, which was quite exceptional, proved of great 
 value to the vast interests which he served. In fact, many millions of dollars were 
 placed in Brooklyn for the extension and improvement of the property of the company 
 through the freely given advice and assistance of Mr. Husted. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was one of the incorporators of The Dime Savings Bank 
 of Brooklyn, was elected its president in 1868, and retained that office until his death 
 in 1887. He devoted his best energies to the performance of the onerous duties of the 
 position, serving without salary, and saw the bank develop from an humble beginning 
 until it had become an institution with nearly 50,000 depositors and notably a great 
 benefit to the working classes. He was also a director of The Nassau and The Mon- 
 tauk Fire Insurance Go's. 
 
 Mr. Husted was tall and of fine physique, dignified and gentle in bearing. He 
 had a face which showed deep thoughtfulness and at times was lighted with a smile of 
 peculiar sweetness and at others beamed with mirth. He was positive in his convic- 
 tions, yet amicable in the careful consideration of questions. Fearless and of unyield- 
 ing integrity, his advice was much sought by others and always given with kindness 
 and tender sympathy. 
 
 In 1832 he married Mary J. Kendall, daughter of William Kendall and Margaret 
 Cochran, and there were born to them three sons and three daughters, William H. 
 Husted, who died July 24, 1890 ; Charles S. and Seymour L. Husted ; Mary Louisa, 
 wife of Edwin Beers ; Esther H., wife of Frederic Cromwell, and M. Katharine Hus- 
 ted. Mr. and Mrs. Husted celebrated their golden wedding in 1882. 
 
 WILLIAfl HENRY HUSTED, born in New York, Oct. 17, 1832, was killed 
 at Broadalbin, N. Y., in the Adirondacks, July 24, 1890, by the accidental discharge of 
 a gun. Upon his mother's side, he was descended from the Cochranes of Scotland. 
 Well educated by private tutors, he then engaged in transportation enterprises with his 
 father. For many years, he held a colonelcy on General Duryea's staff, and aided the 
 recruiting of Union regiments during the Civil War. For several years, he was presi- 
 dent of The Broadway Street Railroad, from which office he retired to become presi- 
 dent of The Bushwick Railroad. Mr. Husted was also a director of The Brooklyn 
 City Railroad, The Long Island Loan & Trust Co., The Brooklyn Gas Co , The National 
 City Bank and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, life member of the Long Island 
 Historical Society and president of the Brooklyn Art Association. Thoroughly inter- 
 ested in all which pertained to the welfare of Brooklyn, he promoted not only the 
 institutions named, but The Philharmonic Society and The Brooklyn Library, and 
 served on the standing committee of the Diocese of Long Island and as vestryman of 
 Grace Church on Brooklyn Heights, where a beautiful memorial window now occupies 
 a prominent place. He collected many fine paintings, and in later life studied German 
 in order to read various authors in the original. He traveled much and spent several 
 years in the capitals of Europe. A devoted Republican, he never held office, but was a 
 member of the Century club of New York and the Hamilton and Riding and Driving 
 clubs of Brooklyn. In 1871, he married Miss Lillias J., daughter of Frederick S. Little- 
 john of Brooklyn, and was survived by his wife and one son, Herbert Seymour Husted. 
 
I. 
 
 ISAAC ICKELHEIMER, banker, a native of Frankfort-on-the-Main, who died in 
 New York city in his fifty-eighth year, April 27, 1893, while the great naval demon- 
 stration in the harbor in honor of the Columbian celebration was in progress, came 
 to America when a lad of fifteen and began, life first as a clerk, and then as a merchant 
 in the jewelry trade. After 1873 he spent three years in Europe. Upon his return, he 
 engaged in private banking with his father-in-law, A. S. Heidelbach, in the firm of 
 Heidelbach, Ickelheimer & Co. He was a clear headed, competent and careful man 
 and slowly amassed a fortune. The Chamber of Commerce admitted him to member- 
 ship and he was a director of The Importers' & Traders' National Bank, and one of the 
 founders and directors of The Fifth Avenue Bank. Henry R. Ickelheimer succeeded 
 him in the firm. 
 
 JOHN HAMILTON INMAN, merchant, was born Oct. 23, 1844, in Jefferson 
 county, Tenn. , and is the second son of Shadrack W. and Jane Martin Inman. His 
 father was of English lineage and his mother of Scotch-Irish descent. From this 
 sturdy ancestry, John H. Inman inherited robust physique and unusual brain power. 
 His father was a rich planter in Tennessee before the war, besides being a banker of 
 pronounced success. The family have been stanch Presbyterians through several 
 generations, and the subject of this sketch is himself a consistent member of that 
 denomination. 
 
 Mr. Inman's scholastic education was ended with the completion of his academic 
 course. He declined collegiate advantages because of impatience to begin his business 
 life. Employment came to him first in the position of an ordinary clerk in a bank, of 
 which his uncle was president, in a small Georgia town. So efficient did he prove him- 
 self, that at the age of sixteen he was made assistant cashier. He resigned this 
 position before he was eighteen years of age, to enlist in the Confederate army with 
 the ist Regiment of Tennessee Cavalry, and served faithfully to the close of the war. 
 
 On returning home, he found poverty where he had left wealth, and widespread 
 devastation in place of prosperity and plenty. His father's fortune had been turned 
 topsy-turvy, and the problem of life through the violence of war had become serious 
 indeed. The impoverished South offered no encouragement, and Mr. Inman, with 
 nothing in his pocket except a soldier's parole, came to New York to make a new 
 start in life. From that day to this, his career has been a campaign of usefulness as 
 well as a triumphal march. 
 
 On coming to New York in September, 1865, he secured a clerkship in a cotton 
 house, which position he held for three years, when he was admitted to full partnership 
 in the firm. Two years thereafter, he organized the now internationally well-known 
 house of Inman, Swann&Co., cotton commission merchants, and has been the presiding 
 genius over the destinies of that firm from the hour of its organization to the present 
 time. About ten years after the house of Inman, Swann & Co. had been established, 
 Mr. Inman turned his attention to the railroad interests of the South and rapidly went 
 to the very foremost position in the management of Southern railroads. Latterly, he 
 has almost completely withdrawn from that field of operations in order to enjoy more 
 
346 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 leisure than grave official responsibilities will permit. He is a member of the Rapid 
 Transit Commission of this city and has been since its creation. For the material 
 development of the New South, he has probably done more than any other one man. 
 It is estimated that more than $100,000,000 have been sent to the South for invest- 
 ment through his indirect instrumentality. He has a large following, having won to his 
 support, through brave undertakings and brilliant achievements, men of brains, 
 character and wealth. His personal fortune is great enough not to need counting. 
 Suffice it to say, he is several times a millionaire. 
 
 He is identified with the management of many prominent financial institutions, as 
 any conspicuously successful man of affairs naturally would be. He is by no means a 
 great club man, but holds membership in several of the leading clubs, including the 
 Metropolitan and Manhattan, only because his prominent position in the metropolis 
 compels him to belong more or less to such organizations. His home is a far greater 
 delight to him than all the clubs on the Island of Manhattan. He has recently built a 
 grand house at No. 874 Fifth Avenue, and its impressive exterior is only a hint of the 
 luxurious interior. He is to-day, when viewed from all sides, the foremost Southerner 
 in New York. 
 
 Mr. Inman was married June 8, 1870, to Miss Margaret M. Coffin, of Monroe 
 county, Tenn. They have six living children, four sons and two daughters. Their 
 eldest son, Hugh Martin Inman, is a student at Yale University, and the other sons are 
 preparing for college. 
 
 ADRIAN ISELIN, banker, is a member of one of the best known Hebrew familes 
 of this city, which has long enjoyed standing and influence. The son of a merchant 
 who was favorably known to the fathers of the present generation, he began life as an 
 importer of dry goods. Under close, careful and energetic management, his business 
 prospered greatly and he finally retired from active mercantile life the possessor of a 
 fortune, although he retains to this day a special partnership in William Iselin & Co. 
 In recent years, Mr. Iselin has been occupied with banking in A. Iselin & Co. , which 
 house was established by him, and with the management of investments in real estate 
 and corporations. He is the owner of coal mines in Pennsylvania, principal proprietor 
 of the Manhattan Athletic club house, the Gallatin Bank Building and other notable 
 realty, treasurer of The Manhattan Storage Warehouse Co. , director of the Metropol- 
 itan Opera House and connected with various other business enterprises. Years, ex- 
 perience and high character have won for him the respect of this community. His 
 popularity, which might be illustrated in many ways, is fully indicated by the fact that 
 he belongs to a large number of the best clubs in the city, including the Union, 
 Metropolitan, Knickerbocker, Century, Country, Union League, Tuxedo, Riding, 
 Reform, Racquet, New York Yacht, New York Athletic, Seawanhaka Corinthian 
 Yacht, and Down Town. He is one of the patrons of the annual Patriarchs' ball. 
 
 GEN. BRAYTON IVES, banker, born in the town of Farmington, Conn., in 
 1840, comes from English ancestry, the family having been planted in New Eng- 
 land several generations ago. Graduating from Yale University in 1861, he entered 
 the Union army as Adjutant of the 5th Conn. Inf. and served throughout the war, 
 being promoted successively to Captain, in October, 1861 ; Assistant Adjutant Gen- 
 eral, with rank of Captain, on the staff of Gen. O. S. Terry, March, 1862 ; Major, ist 
 Conn. Cav., January, 1864 ; Lieutenant Colonel, November, 1864, and Colonel of the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. IV. 347 
 
 regiment in January, 1865. During the last year of the War, he served under Custer 
 and Sheridan and was mustered out in August, 1865, a brevet Brigadier General. In 
 1867, Gen. Ives went into stock brokerage in Wall street and soon became prominent 
 at the Stock Exchange. Elected vice-president of the Exchange in 1876 and 1877, his 
 associates made him president in 1878 and 1879, and he was a member of the Govern- 
 ing Committee for thirteen years. Retiring from Wall street in 1889, he accepted the 
 presidency of The Western National Bank, April i, 1890, and has managed the bank 
 capably until the present time. By diligent study of the problems of finance, Gen. 
 Ives has gained the rank of an authority. He is president of The Northern Pacific 
 Railroad, director of The Mercantile Trust Co. , The United States Guarantee Co. , and 
 The New York Stock Exchange Building Co., and chairman of The Westinghouse 
 Electric & Manufacturing Co. Married in 1867 to Eleanor A., daughter of the Rev. S. 
 B. S. Bissell of Norwalk, Conn., he is father of Winifred, Sherwood Bissell, Eunice 
 and Frances Havens Ives. He is a valued member of the Union League, Metropoli- 
 tan, University, Century, Grolier, Players', New York Yacht, Tuxedo, and Riding 
 clubs and The New England Society and Loyal Legion. The press has published many 
 essays from his pen. He is a collector of books and bric-a-brac, was a Presidential 
 Elector on the Republican ticket in 1888 and chairman of the finance committee of the 
 centennial celebration in New York, 1889. 
 
 DAVID BRINKERHOFF IVISON, publisher, born in Auburn, N. Y., June 28, 
 1835, i s a son f Henry Ivison, a native of Paisley, Scotland, who came to America in 
 1820, learned the book trade in Utica, N. Y., in 1832 established a book business in 
 Aubxirn, and in 1846 removed to New York, where he founded the well-known firm of 
 Ivison, Blakeman & Taylor, publishers of school books. David graduated from farm 
 life to which health and taste inclined him for several years, and in 1857 was given a 
 place in his father's store in New York, in due time becoming a partner. The energy 
 of the son enabled the father to retire in 1880 and spend a few years in the quiet enjoy- 
 ment of life. Competition between school book publishers became so intense a few 
 years ago, that Mr. Ivison 's firm with several others united in 1890 to form The Ameri- 
 can Book Co. If this organization is a trust, it would be well to have more of this class. 
 They have reduced the price of school books, thus benefiting every family in the land. 
 Mr. Ivison is president of the company and is found at his desk daily in the new build- 
 ing adjoining Grace Church, busily administering the affairs of the company. He was 
 married in 1860 to Emeline M., daughter of Daniel Crane. Their children are Sara B. ; 
 Eleanor, wife of W. W. Hill; Henry, an associate of his father in business; and William 
 C., vice-president of The .Cady-Ivison Co. in Cleveland, O. Mr. Ivison makes his home 
 in Rutherford, N. J., but is a member of several clubs, including the Aldineand Union 
 League of this city, and the Union club of Rutherford. He is an elder in the Presby- 
 terian Church of Rutherford, which he helped to found in 1863. 
 
J. 
 
 JOHN C. JACKSON, retired merchant, is a native of Staffordshire Potteries, Eng- 
 land, where he was born April 7, 1809. Growing up in the occupation peculiar to his 
 birthplace, he located in New York city in 1830 as an importer of china and earthen- 
 ware. A capable merchant, he retired in 1869 to enjoy the fruits of well earned suc- 
 cess, devoting himself thereafter to stock breeding in Queens county on Long Island, 
 the presidency of the county agricultural society for a number of terms and other local 
 interests. The turnpike built by him from Hunter's Point to Flushing was such a 
 splendid road that the stockholders of the company presented him with a silver dinner 
 service. In 1834, he married Martha M., daughter of Capt. Andrew Riker. 
 
 THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN JACKSON, lawyer, born in Rockaway, N. J., 
 Nov. 16, 1830, is a son of William Jackson, who was a manufacturer of iron, as was his 
 father Stephen Jackson. The forge worked by the latter before the Revolution is yet 
 in existence in 1895. The family contributed several soldiers to the American Revo- 
 lution. William Jackson, having met with business reverses, removed in 1837 to a 
 farm near Avon, N. Y. , but later removed to Brooklyn, N. Y., where he died in 1872. 
 Theodore was educated at the public schools, left home in 1847, studied law with Judge 
 H. G. Onderdonk on Long Island, became acting deputy in the Queens County Clerk's 
 office in 1851, and was admitted to the bar in 1852. The same year, he opened a law 
 office in Williamsburg, now a part of Brooklyn, as Assistant to Corporation Coun- 
 sel George Thompson, and in 1853, with Paul J. Fish, one of the oldest lawyers in 
 Williamsburg, established the partnership of Fish & Jackson. The firm dissolved in 
 1861, and Mr. Jackson continued practice alone until 1874, when he became a partner 
 in Jackson & Burr. This latter firm continued in existence until 1895, although Mr. 
 Jackson retired from active labor in 1890. Mr. Jackson's life has been passed in 
 Brooklyn and his practice has been mainly in the field of real estate law and the man- 
 agement of estates. He owns a large amount of realty, mainly in the i8th ward, upon 
 which he has expended a large sum in improvements, especially in the construction of 
 a canal and docks at the head of Newtown creek. City affairs have occupied some of his 
 attention and his strong social and financial standing, coupled with his known integ- 
 rity, led to his election in 1889 and 1890 as City Comptroller_of Brooklyn. In 1882, he 
 accepted the office of Registrar of Arrears in Mayor Low's cabinet and performed val- 
 uable public service for four years in that office. In 1861, he married Cornelia, daugh- 
 ter of Jonathan S. Burr, a lineal descendant of Jehu Burr, one of the first settlers of 
 Springfield, Mass., and afterward of Fairfield, Conn. His clubs are the Hamilton, 
 Brooklyn and Hanover clubs of Brooklyn, and the Bar and Racquet clubs of New 
 York. By virtue of lineal descent from Capt. Stephen Jackson, he is a member of The 
 Sons of the American Revolution. He is also a director of The First National Bank of 
 Brooklyn, The Long Island Loan & Trust Co., The Union Ferry Co., The New York 
 & East River Ferry Co. , The Brooklyn Heights Railroad, The Long Island Traction 
 Co., and The Lawyers' Mortgage Insurance Co. 
 
 EDWARD SOMERVILLE JAFFRAY, merchant, born in London, England, March 
 23, 1816, died in New York city, April 23, 1892. His father, John Richmond Jaffray is 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. JA. 349 
 
 remembered as a conspicuous merchant of laces and dry goods in London. In 1809, a 
 branch house was located in New York city by Robert, a brother of John R. J affray, 
 and in 1833 Edward S. Jaffray took a place in the New York store. About 1852, the 
 latter succeeded his uncle and adopted the style of J. R. Jaffray & Sons Soon after 
 the Civil War, the firm reorganized as E. S. Jaffray & Co. The war brought heavy 
 losses upon many New York merchants, but Mr. Jaffray escaped that affliction because, 
 owing to his loyalty, Southern merchants -had withdrawn their custom previous to the 
 rebellion. Mr. Jaffray was a large owner of real estate in the city and he had a farm 
 at Irvington. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Union League 
 and New York Yacht Clubs and a director in The Commercial Union Insurance Co. 
 He married in 1842 Anna, daughter of the Rev. William W. Phillips, pastor of the 
 First Presbyterian Church. The generous nature of Mr. Jaffray responded to the noble 
 influence of his wife, and he disbursed annually thousands of dollars for benevolent ob- 
 jects. His children were Mrs. F. W. J. Hurst; William Jaffray, now deceased; Howard 
 S. Jaffray; Edith, wife of Poultney Bigelow; Ada, wife of James McYickar and Mrs. 
 John R. P. Woodriff. 
 
 DANIEL JAflES, merchant, who died at Beaconsfield, near Liverpool, England, 
 Nov. 27, 1876, in his seventy-fifth year, began life as a clerk for Phelps & Peck, mer- 
 chants of tin, copper and iron in this city. Mr. James subsequently rose to a partnership 
 in Phelps, Dodge & Co., which succeeded the previous firm. In 1831, he made his 
 permanent residence in England being a member of Phelps, James & Co., the Liverpool 
 correspondents of the New York house. As a business man, his career was eminently 
 successful, and he gained general esteem for upright character and superior business 
 capacity. He was a constant and liberal contributor to the best charities, especially 
 during his liter years. Marriage brought him five children, D. Willis James, Olivia P., 
 wife of Robert Hoe, Jr. ; and three sons in England. 
 
 FREDERICK PLUHflER JAMES, banker, born March 26, 1820, in Deerfield, 
 X. H., where his family had resided many years, died in New York city, May 29, 1884. 
 In school, he exhibited marked ability in mathematics. At an early age, he entered a 
 banking office in Wall street, soon after established his own bank, and devoted his life to 
 finance. His house of F. P. James & Co. ranked at his death as one of the oldest in 
 the street. He was a director of The Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad and many 
 other corporations. He divided his attention between the details of his business and 
 the cultivation of his farm at Cold Spring on the Hudson, in which he was deeply in- 
 terested. He was a man of great uprightness and enterprise and strong natural 
 powers which had been cultivated by association and travel, an attentive observer and 
 careful thinker and a liberal contributor to many public works Shortly before his 
 death, he presented a munificent library to his native town and a handsome memorial 
 chapel at Cold Spring also testified to his generosity. An interesting coincidence is the 
 fact that his partner, Horace S. Taylor, died in the office of the firm, just one week 
 before Mr. James. Mr. James was married Dec. 23, 1841, to Julia Lorillard Safford. 
 Their two children passed away before him. Frederick Joseph James graduated from 
 West Point and died from wounds received in the service and Julian James also died 
 after honorable service in the Civil War. 
 
 JOSEPH ADDISON JAMESON, banker, born in Lebanon, O., Jan. 29, 1824, died 
 in New York city, Aug. 17, 1890. He came from Scottish stock and was a son of 
 
350 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Alexander Rankin Jameson, a merchant. For many years a wholesale dry goods mer- 
 chant in St. Louis in partnership with Amos Getting, he came to New York after the 
 Civil War, and, with Mr. Cotting, engaged in the banking business. The death of Mr. 
 Cotting in May, 1889, proved a severe blow to his old friend and partner. Mr. Jameson 
 grieved deeply, and for a long time was afflicted with sleepless nights, and the burden 
 finally became too great to bear. In 1851, he married Miss Fanny E. Story in Pough- 
 keepsie, N. Y., who survived him with four children, Joseph A., Alexander Rankin, and 
 Minor Story Jameson, and Mrs. R. G. Murphy. 
 
 JOHN JAY, lawyer, born in New York city, June 23, 1817, died in New York 
 city, May 5, 1894. His father was William Jay, lawyer, judge and author, and his 
 grandfather, John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States. The subject of this 
 memoir graduated from Columbia College in 1836, and read law in the office of Daniel 
 Lord, jr. He was born to fortune, having inherited valuable real estate in the city of 
 New York, and was able to devote his fine intellect mainly to public affairs. He was a 
 Republican and an active advocate of the abolition of slavery. An address delivered by 
 him in 1856, on "America Free or America Slave" was circulated by his party as a 
 campaign document. During the Civil War, he aided in the formation of the National 
 Union League and later became one of the founders of the Union League club of this 
 city and its president 1866-70 and again in 1877. Appointed by President Grant as 
 Minister to Austria in 1869, he had the good fortune to negotiate treaties of benefit to 
 his country. Mr. Jay was a favorite speaker upon public occasions and contributions 
 from his pen were always welcomed by the magazines and newspapers. Under Gov. 
 Cleveland, Mr. Jay was appointed one of three commissioners to put in operation the 
 civil service laws of the State, and his associates Messrs. Richmond and Schoonmaker, 
 both Democrats, elected him chairman of the commission. It was he who, pursuant to 
 the request of a meeting of Americans in Paris in 1869, suggested to the Union League 
 club the establishment of an Art Museum in New York. This project, carried out by 
 the members of the club, resulted in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. Jay mar- 
 ried in 1837 Eleanor, daughter of Hickson W. Field, and their children are Col. William 
 Jay, the lawyer ; Eleanor, widow of Henry G. Chapman ; Mary, wife of William H. 
 Schieffelin ; and Anna, wife of Lieutenant General von Schweinitz of the Royal Prus- 
 sian Army. Col. William Jay is president of the Coaching and Meadow Brook Hunt 
 clubs, a vestryman of Trinity Church, a governor of the Knickerbocker Club and direc- 
 tor in The Continental Trust Co. , and lieutenant colonel By brevet in the volunteer 
 army of the United States. 
 
 OLIVER BURR JENNINGS, oil refiner, a native of Fairfield, Conn., died in New 
 York city, Feb. 12, 1893, in his sixty -eighth year. First in business in New York city, 
 he joined the rush to California in 1849, an d in company with Benjamin Brewster 
 established himself in the wholesale clothing business in San Francisco and gained a 
 competency. In 1862, he came East, where he engaged in the petroleum business, and 
 with John D. and William Rockefeller and others established The Standard Oil Trust, 
 becoming one of its directors. Large wealth came to him through shrewdness, 
 persistent enterprise, and his unfaltering determination to succeed, and enabled him to 
 gratify the benevolence of his nature and show much kindness to the poor, while also 
 sharing in the management of various large corporations. His clubs were the Union 
 League, Metropolitan, University and New York Yacht. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. JE. 351 
 
 MORRIS KETCHUn JESUP, banker and philanthropist, born in Westport.Conn., 
 June 21. 1830, springs from English ancestry and is in the seventh generation of 
 descent from Edward Jessup, who came from England prior to 1649, settled in Fair- 
 field, Conn., thence moving to Stamford and afterward to Middleborough (since called 
 Newtown, L. I.), finally locating in Westchester, being noted as a very enterprising 
 man. The parents of the subject of this sketch were Charles Jesup and Abigail 
 Sherwood, his wife, the latter a daughtef-of Samuel Burr Sherwood of Saugatuck, a 
 member of Congress, 1817-19, and eminent as a lawyer. Charles Jesup was a mer- 
 chant in his native place and in New York, a Christian gentleman and man of ability. 
 Morris K. Jesup came to New York when eight years old. and at the age of thirteen 
 entered the office of Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor, manufacturers of engines and 
 cotton machines at Paterson, N. J. He was advanced until he had entire charge of the 
 Xe\v York office and of all the buying and shipping. At the age of twenty-two, he or- 
 ganized the firm of Clark & Jesup at 136 Pearl btreet, this partnership lasting about five 
 years. He then organized the banking firm of M. K. Jesup & Co , afterward merged 
 into the firm of M. K. Jesup, Paton & Co., and later into Jesup, Paton & Co. He also 
 established the firm of Jesup, Kennedy & Co., dealers in railway supplies in Chicago, 
 known later as Crerar, Adams & Co. After leaving Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor, he 
 had been offered a partnership if he would give up his business and return to them, but 
 he declined to do this. Afterward, when the firm became The Rogers Locomotive 
 Works, he accepted the vice-presidency of the company in addition to his own business. 
 Mr. Jesup retired from business in 1884, being succeeded by John Paton & Co., in 
 which firm and its successors he has since remained a special partner. Mr. Jesup has 
 long been connected with public institutions and charitable enterprises, aiding them 
 substantially both with his means and with personal thought and labor, giving their 
 affairs, in fact, the same undivided attention as in his busiest days he gave private 
 business. Since retirement from active labor down town, he has had abundant occu- 
 pation of a nature useful to the public. He has long been a member of the Chamber of 
 Commerce and is one of its vice-presidents and upon its Executive Committee. The 
 measures taken by the New York Legislature for the preservation of State forests em- 
 anating from the Chamber of Commerce, were prompted by him, and these laws have 
 been greatly due to his urgent efforts. For many years, he has been connected with The 
 New York City Mission and Tract Society, and since 1881 has filled the office of presi- 
 dent. The Five Points House of Industry has always appealed to his sympathies, and, 
 as its president, he has always been ready to aid it with his means and counsel. One 
 of the founders of The Young Men's Christian Association and for years its president, he 
 gave largely to its present building and is one of its trustees. He is also vice-president 
 of The Society for the Suppression of Vice and The Society for the Prevention of 
 Cruelty to Animals, and fills the same office in the Institution for the Instruction of the 
 Deaf and Dumb as well as that of trustee of The New York Geographical Society. In 
 1881 he built in Rivington street the DeWitt Memorial Church in memory of his wife's 
 father, Dr. DeWitt, and gave it to The New York City Mission and Tract Society. For 
 many years, he has been a trustee of the Union Theological Seminary and contributed 
 a large sum for the erection of one of its principal buildings, now called "Jesup 
 Hall." The American Museum of Natural History has received his attention as its 
 president since 1881 and liberal gifts of money. One of his contributions has been the 
 
352 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 magnificent collection of the woods of the United States, costing about $100,000, which 
 embraces over 400 species of native trees, and as a means of scientific and practical in- 
 formation, cannot be estimated too highly. Among other institutions with which he is 
 connected are The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Trust Co., The 
 Chicago & Alton Railroad, The Savannah, Florida & Western Railroad and other cor- 
 porations, and the John F. Slater fund, established by the late John F. Slatei of Nor- 
 wich, Conn., for the industrial education of the negro, of which he has been a trustee 
 and treasurer since its foundation, and the Hospital Saturday and Sunday Association. 
 During the Civil War, he served as treasurer of the United States Christian Commis- 
 sion. He is also a member of the Century Association, the City and Metropolitan 
 clubs, the Rittenhouse club of Philadelphia and the Metropolitan club of Washington. 
 Mr. Jesup has made large gifts to institutions not named above, among them the 
 Woman's Hospital, Children's Aid Society, and Yale and Williams Colleges. Honorary 
 degrees have been conferred upon him by those colleges. Mr. Jesup has always been 
 foremost in all matters of reform in this city, whether in banking circles, public institu- 
 tions or philanthropic work. By virtue of lineal descent from an ancestor in the war for 
 independence, "he is a member of The Sons of The American Revolution. 
 
 HUGH JUDGE JEWETT, railroad president, was born July i, 1817, in an ancient 
 stone house standing upon the farm of Lansdowne near the present village of Glen- 
 ville, Md., which had been in the possession of the family for several generations. 
 His parents were John and Susannah Judge Jewett. Several of his brothers became 
 men of note. Thomas L. Jewett was for many years Judge of the Circuit Court in the 
 Steubenville district, Ohio, and later president of The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis 
 Railroad, while Isaac W. Jewett, who removed to Baltimore, became president of The 
 Potomac Fire Insurance Co. there. Joshua H. Jewett held a seat in Congress from 
 Kentucky during the terms of Presidents Pierce and Buchanan. The first representa- 
 tive of the family in this country was Joseph Jewett, who came from the West Riding 
 of Yorkshire, England, to Rowley, Mass., in 1639, an d was a member of the Colonial 
 Assembly of Massachusetts from 1650 to 1660. Mr. Jewett's mother, Susannah Judge, 
 an eminent preacher in the Society of Friends, was the daughter of Hugh Judge of 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Mr. Jewett began the study of law in the office of Col. John C. Groome in Elkton, Md. 
 He received his authority to practice in October, 1838, and entered upon his legal career 
 in St. Clairsville, O. His abilities soon made him widely known. In 1848, he removed 
 to Zanesville, O. , a city then coming into prominence and the seat of a busy industry. 
 Banking soon attracted his attention, and his large and varied practice gave him an 
 opportunity of studying the subject of finance in all its aspects. In 1852, the Musk- 
 ingum Branch of The Ohio State Bank elected him its president, and thereafter one 
 honor after another was bestowed upon him rapidly. In 1853, he was elected to a seat 
 in the Ohio Senate and was also appointed United States District Attorney by President 
 Pierce. His service in all these several stations added greatly to his prestige and rep- 
 utation. About this time, Mr. Jewett established a bank of his own in Zanesville in 
 partnership with Charles C. Russell, and then soon became a leading spirit in the pro- 
 motion of railroad enterprise in the State. Elected a director of The Central Ohio Rail- 
 road in 1855, he became vice president and general manager in 1856, and president in the 
 panic year of 1857. Although he resigned all other official positions and brought all 
 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK. JE. 353 
 
 his influence, the powers of a trained mind, his comprehensive knowledge and untiring 
 energy to the management of the corporation named, he could not save it from insol- 
 vency, and in 1859 he became receiver of the road. The duties of this position he dis- 
 charged to the entire satisfaction of the stockholders. In 1861, he leased the line to The 
 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad upon advantageous terms and retained the presidency for 
 several years. 
 
 Mr. Jewett's genial nature, dignity and courtesy of manner and indomitable will 
 made him exceedingly popular in Ohio, and his proved capacity now made him the can- 
 didate of the Democratic party for political honors. He had run for Congress in 1860, 
 spted a nomination in 1861 for Governor of Ohio, and in 1863 was made a candidate 
 ar the United States Senate. While he made a strong and effective canvass in each 
 case for the sake of his party, the State was too strongly Republican to permit of an 
 election. He served his party, however, at various times as chairman of State conven- 
 tions and member of electoral commissions. 
 
 In 1868, Mr. Jewett accepted the vice presidency of The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & 
 St. Louis and the presidency of The Little Miami and Columbus & Xenia Railroads 
 and after a short residence in Cincinnati, established his home in Columbus, O. Now 
 fairly launched upon a railroad career, he undertook about this time, with others, the 
 construction of The Kansas Pacific and other Western railroads. He also became one 
 of the organizers and General Counsel of The Pennsylvania Co., displaying in all these 
 varied capacities the highest qualities of management. After one unsuccessful contest 
 for a seat in Congress from Columbus, Mr. Jewett was elected in 1872 by a flattering 
 majority. These positions were, however, resigned from time to time, after he had 
 removed to New York city in 1874. 
 
 In the year last named, Mr. Jewett accepted the presidency of The Erie Railroad 
 under a stipulation to remain ten years. The company was then in serious straits and 
 went into insolvency, May 26, 1875, when Mr. Jewett became receiver and continued to 
 administer its affairs. 
 
 The Erie was a magnificent property, which however had been exposed to de- 
 structive competition with other trunk lines and to a management which had left the 
 road virtually bankrupt and its stock the football of speculation. In the summer of 
 1876, Mr. Jewett met the English stockholders in London, explained to them the condi- 
 tion of the property and his plans and received from them every mark of confidence 
 and esteem. When The New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad Co. was organized, 
 April 27, 1878, Mr. Jewett became president of the new corporation. At the time 
 when his connection with this road began, the company was involved in serious litiga- 
 tion with James McHenry and other London capitalists and its ruin seemed inevitable. 
 Under Mr. Jewett's direction, all questions involved in litigation were decided by the 
 courts both in England and the United States in favor of the company, although serious 
 losses were suffered. The Erie Railroad was practically rebuilt by him, reduced from 
 a six-foot to the standard guage of 4 feet 8 inches, and laid with steel rails. Access was 
 gained to the anthracite coal field by building The Erie & Wyoming Valley Railroad, 
 to Chicago by The Chicago & Atlantic Railroad, and to Cincinnati by The Cincinnati, 
 Hamilton & Dayton Railroad. The ten years of his connection with the Erie constitu- 
 ted a period of incessant labor, of struggle against tremendous odds, and the pressure 
 of heavy responsibilities. Mr. Jewett was fully equal to the tasks allotted to him 
 
354 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and he displayed ability of the highest order in rescuing the affairs of his company from 
 chaos and placing them on a solid foundation. The story of this anxious and critical 
 period cannot be fully told in these pages, but those whose investments in Erie were 
 saved from destruction by Mr. Jewett's masterly genius, award to him an honorable 
 place among the great leaders of that period in the railroad world. In 1884, Mr. Jewett 
 resigned, owing to impairment of health from an accident from which he never fully 
 recovered. During his active career, he served as a director of The Western Union 
 Telegraph Co., The Metropolitan Trust Co., and other corporations, but in recent 
 years has lived mainly in tranquil retirement, the most of the time upon the old farm 
 near Glenville, Md., which is now in his possession and which he has greatly improved. 
 
 Mr. Jewett was married twice, first to Sarah J., daughter of Judge Ellis of St. 
 Clairsville, O. Of their four children, two are living, John Ellis and George Mony- 
 penny Jewett, Mary and Charles C. having died. April n, 1853, he married Sarah 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Julius Chappell Guthrie. To them were born William Kennon, 
 Helen Pamelia, and Sarah Guthrie Jewett. 
 
 CHARLES JOHNSTON, merchant, a native of County Fermanagh, Ireland, 1845, 
 died in New York city, April 30, 1880. He came to New York at the age of ten, made 
 a modest beginning as errand boy in a dry goods house, became an expert salesman and 
 an authority upon all matters pertaining to silk goods, and during the Civil War, with his 
 his brother John, founded the house of J. & C. Johnston, dry goods merchants. Their 
 store grew into a large and well-known establishment. Mr. Johnston was much beloved 
 by his employes for his generous disposition, and ranked among his friends as a well- 
 informed and interesting man. He had traveled to every part of Europe and as far 
 east as Smyna. For many years, he made two yearly trips to England and the con- 
 tinent in the interest of the foreign purchases of the firm. He gained an ample 
 fortune, which descended to his brother John. 
 
 JOHN JOHNSTON, merchant, born on the west bank of Lake Erin, County Fer- 
 managh, Ireland, about 1834, died in New York city, May 15, 1887. He came to 
 America in 1847, followed later by his brother Charles. They were both clerks in the 
 employment of Ubsdell & Pierson, dry goods merchants, and in 1864 engaged in 
 business on their own account as J. & C. Johnston, with the money they had saved. 
 In the depreciation following the close of the war, culminating in the crisis of 1867, 
 while many old houses succumbed, J. & C. Johnston through the able management of 
 the senior partner, weathered the crisis successfully, meeting-all engagements promptly 
 and honorably. They had a large branch store in Albany. Mr. Johnston was noted 
 for public spirit and for open-handed gifts to deserving persons employed in the store. 
 Self-educated and. well read, he delighted in history and mathematics. In general 
 culture, he attained a breadth which would have reflected credit on a man who had 
 devoted his life to scholarship. 
 
 JOHN TAYLOR JOHNSTON, lawyer, born in New York city, April 8, 1820, 
 died, March 24, 1893. A son of John Johnston, merchant, he came from Scottish 
 ancestry. Mr. Johnston graduated from the University of the City of New York in 
 1839, studied law in Yale College and in the office of Daniel Lord in this city, and 
 entered upon the practice of his profession. From an early period, he was interested 
 in railroads and in 1848 took the presidency of the Elizabeth town & Somerville Rail- 
 road, which developed into The Central Railroad of New Jersey. He remained presi- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. JO. 355 
 
 dent of this company until 1876. Shortly after this date, his active career came to an 
 end, in consequence of ill-health. One of the most public-spirited citizens in town, he 
 aided in establishing the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was its first president, and 
 made handsome donations to its collections. He was an incorporator of the Presby- 
 terian Hospital and for many years one of the council of the University of the City of 
 New York. An incorporator and prominent director of The Niagara Fire Insurance 
 Co., he also sat in the directorate of The- Bank for Savings, The New York Life 
 Insurance and Trust Co., The Central New Jersey Land Improvement Co. and the Dol- 
 phin Jute Mills. By a life of incessant activity he gained a large fortune, which, how- 
 ever, was somewhat impaired by losses toward the last. Mr. Johnston was a member 
 of the Century club and a supporter of various public institutions. His private 
 collection of paintings, sold in 1876, was known throughout the world. 
 
 WILLIAH HCEWEN JOHNSTON, banker, born in Tennessee, July 20, 1850, is a 
 son of Ebenezer Johnston and of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Educated in Washington Col- 
 lege. Lexington, Va., 1866-70, Mr. Johnston began life as a clerk in the banking house 
 of R. T. Wilson & Co. in New York city. In 1879, he was admitted as a partner and 
 has since been an active and progressive member of that enterprising firm, paying 
 much attention to the development of railroad traffic in the South and aiding in the 
 development of the mineral and mining industries of that part of the country. Mr. 
 Johnston has now become thoroughly identified with the life of the metropolis and is a 
 member of the Manhattan, Union, Metropolitan, Tuxedo, Racquet, Coney Island 
 Jockey and New York Yacht clubs. Dec. 31, 1892, he married Miss Flewellyn Reese 
 of Macon, Ga., and has one child Viola. 
 
 DAVID JONES, brewer, born in New York city, March 14, 1811, died here Jan. 
 17, 1881. He had the advantage of growing up in a business established by his father 
 and of succeeding to its management, but his native energy resulted in a great expan- 
 sion of his industry 7 . He had breweries in Newark and Jersey City, N. J., New 
 Rochelle and Williamsburg, N. Y. , and at length built a large brewery in town on 
 Sixth street, which was subsequently destroyed by fire. In all, he operated eight 
 breweries and three malt houses. He was the owner of the Scranton Hotel in Scran- 
 ton, Pa , a director of The Nassau Bank, The Western Union Telegraph Co. , and The 
 Star Fire Insurance Co., and member of the Manhattan and Union clubs. He never 
 married and his fortune of many millions was left to his brothers and sisters. 
 
 EUGENE JONES, flour miller, born in Fairfield, Conn., in July, 1842, is a son of 
 Obadiah W. Jones, also a flour miller, and a descendant of Edward Johnes, who sailed 
 with Winthrop's fleet in 1629 from Yarmouth, England, reaching Charlestown, Mass., 
 in 1630. The pioneer of the family is believed to have come from Bristol on the bor- 
 ders of Wales. In 1644, he settled at Southampton on Long Island, and rose to 
 influence and position. About the end of the last century, the family name was changed 
 to Jones. Beginning life in his father's flour mill in New York city, Eugene Jones 
 succeeded in time to the business, and with his brother, Frederick, under the name of 
 Jones & Co. , carried on The New York City Roller Flour Mills on Broome and Lewis 
 streets. In 1892, Mr. Jones sold his plant and business to a new organization, which he 
 aided in forming, entitled The Hecker-Jones- Jewell Milling Co., a large company having 
 a capital of 7,500,000, of which he became a director and with which he has since been 
 connected as first vice president. Jan. 25, 1888, Mr. Jones married Julie d'Anterroches 
 
356 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Dix, daughter of J. Augustus Dix, of Elizabeth, N. J., and great granddaughter of 
 Joseph Louis, Count d'Anterroches, a French nobleman of ancient family, and a 
 connection of Lafayette, who came to this country during the American Revolution. 
 He has one child, an infant. His home is in Tarrytown, N. Y., and is known as 
 Brookside. He has acquired the property on the opposite side of Broadway, surround- 
 ing the monument to the captors of Major Andre, and has converted it into a beautiful 
 park, known as "Brookside Park," building a number of handsome cottages. The 
 Andre brook, which crosses the property, is the stream at which that unfortunate officer 
 stopped, and it was in the grounds of Brookside that his capture occurred. 
 
 GEORGE JONES, publisher, born in Poultney, Vt., Aug. 16, 1812, died in Poland 
 Springs, Me., Aug. 12, 1891. His father was John Jones of England, a manufacturer 
 of woolen goods, who had for those days a large factory in Poultney and who after a few 
 years emigrated to Ohio, where both he and his wife soon died of malarial fever, leav- 
 ing the subject of this sketch an orphan at twelve years of age. As a young man, 
 George Jones lived in Troy, N. Y., where he met his wife, Sarah M., daughter of 
 Benjamin Gilbert. He afterward came to New York and found employment for a time 
 as clerk in a wholesale dry goods house, and later in THE TRIBUNE office, Henry J. 
 Raymond being there at the same time. In 1842, he moved to Albany and opened a 
 store at the corner of State street and Broadway for the sale of books, magazines and 
 newspapers. Several years later, he left this business to become a private banker. 
 While Mr. Raymond was in Albany, Mr. Jones and he planned a daily newspaper, the 
 result of which was The New York Times. Mr. Jones spent the remainder of his life as 
 publisher of that journal. He exhibited marked enterprise in extending the circulation 
 of his paper, but his greatest act was the exposure of the rascalities of the Tweed ring 
 in 1871. The details of the robbery of the city treasury by the Tweed combination first 
 appeared in The Times, which gained thereby an enormous sale. It is reported, and 
 is believed never to have been denied, that the Tweed conspirators offered $1,000,000 
 to Mr. Jones if he would discontinue his attacks. He had the honor and public spirit 
 to refuse. In time, Mr. Jones obtained a controlling interest in the paper, which 
 brought him a fortune. He was a quiet man, positive in character, tenacious in 
 opinion and a bold opponent, and had the courage to antagonize a large body of his 
 readers by opposing the election of James G. Elaine to the Presidency, finally making 
 his paper Democratic in tone. The Times Building which he. constructed at a cost of 
 about $1,000,000 in 1888 was at the time the tallest in the group of lofty office build- 
 ings which cluster around what is popularly called Printing House Square. He was 
 married to Sarah M., daughter of Benjamin Gilbert. This union brought them four 
 children: Emma, wife of Uzal W. Ireland; Elizabeth G. , wife of Edward J. Lowell; 
 Mary, wife of Henry L. Dyer, and Gilbert E. Jones. 
 
 JOHN QUENTIN JONES, banker, who died in New York city, Jan. i, 1878, at the 
 age of seventy-four, sprang from a long line of Huguenot ancestors, and in his charac- 
 ter and personal traits did honor to his line. Early in life, he learned in the old ship- 
 ping house of Lawrence & Trimble those sound business principles, to which The 
 Chemical National Bank afterward owed its unparalleled success. Mr. Jones was con- 
 nected with this bank from its foundation in 1833 until his death, was its cashier for 
 several years and after 1844 its president. Under his management, The Chemical 
 Bank accumulated a surplus of many times its capital and took the highest rank among 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. JO. 357 
 
 banking institutions in the city. He was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Churcn and 
 generous in his gifts to its institutions 
 
 JOSHUA JONES, lawyer, born in this city Oct. 27, 1806, died here March 23, 
 1888. He was a son of Isaac Jones, from whom he inherited a large amount of local 
 property, including the garden known as Jones's Wood, and in all, over two hundred 
 city lots and buildings. Some of the land lay west of Central Park. Mr. Jones never 
 married. His expenses were moderate, and he bent his energies steadily throughout 
 life, while not engaged in foreign travel, to the improvement of his realty and to 
 accumulation. His brother, John Q. Jones, being president of The Chemical National 
 Bank, the subject of this memoir became a large stockholder in that institution. His 
 friends knew him as a scholarly gentleman of the old school, who preferred a retired 
 and quiet life and careful attention to the increase of his wealth. He left $8,000,000 
 to about forty relatives. 
 
 HENRY T. JOURNEAY, merchant, born in Central New York, died in Brooklyn 
 Dec. 24, 1890, about sixty -five years of age. His forbears were Huguenots in France. 
 When he had saved a little money as a dry goods clerk, Lyman S. Burnham and he 
 established a small retail dry goods store as Journeay & Burnham, in Brooklyn, in 
 1845, employing one assistant. They displayed so much enterprise, that, in the large 
 quarters on Atlantic street, to which the store finally expanded, they carried on the 
 most extended retail trade in that part of the city. Mr. Journeay was noted for con- 
 servatism, and the old methods of selling goods seemed to him the best and to them 
 he always adhered. A curious fact is that owing to some trivial disagreement, friendly 
 relations ceased to exist between Mr. Journeay and Mr. Burnham. For nearly twenty 
 years, the partners were almost complete strangers to each other, and nevertheless 
 carried on the business without friction until Mr. Journeay's marriage, when the 
 partners became completely reconciled. Two children, Henry Perrine and Catherine 
 Journeay, survived him. He was one of the founders of the Brooklyn Library and 
 the Philharmonic Society. 
 
K. 
 
 MARTIN KALBFLEISCH, chemist, a native of Flushing, Netherlands, born Feb. 
 8, 1804, died in Brooklyn, N. Y., Feb. 12, 1873. In 1822, the youth sailed to the island 
 of Sumatra, but finding that the Asiatic cholera was raging there, he promptly returned 
 with his ship to Antwerp Thence he went to Havre, France, and spent four years in 
 commercial enterprise. In 1826, he came to the United States with small means but 
 splendid pluck. In New York city, hard work as a clerk and chemist brought him a 
 little money and, in 1835, he started a manufactory of colors and chemicals in Harlem. 
 After several changes of location, the business, which had prospered under his energetic 
 management, was finally moved to Metropolitan Avenue in Brooklyn. The works now 
 occupy eleven acres of ground on Newtown creek. Mr. Kalbfleisch was a man of clear 
 head, strong common sense and ability. He served in various public offices in Brook- 
 lyn and was elected Mayor in 1861. In 1862, his fellow citizens sent him to Congress 
 and in 1867 and 1871 again made him Mayor. Later, they offered him the nomination 
 for Governor of the State on the same ticket with Horace Greeley. In 1854, he was 
 married to Elizabeth Harvey. Eleven children were born to them: Elizabeth W., 
 wife of Robert Robinson; Frederick W. Kalbfleisch; Helen M. , wife of Rodney Thursby ; 
 Edward L. G., Charles H., Albert M., and Franklin H. Kalbfleisch; Josephine M. L., 
 wife of Robert S. Fleet ; Isabella G., wife of James E. Weaver; and John and George 
 Kalbfleisch. He retired from business in 1868 in favor of his sons, who thereupon 
 organized the firm of Martin Kalbfleisch's Sons, which controlled the business until 
 1886. The sons extended the business and operated not only The Bushwick Chemical 
 Works in Brooklyn, but The Chemical Works in Bayonne, N. j., The Buffalo Chemical 
 Works in Buffalo, N. Y., and The Baltimore Acetate Works in Baltimore. The plant, 
 the largest in this industry in the country, was, a few years ago, sold to a syndicate, 
 composed of men in the clothing business and a few lawyers, who are now operating it. 
 
 JAMES ROBERT KEENE, a conspicuous speculator in Wall street, was born in 
 England in 1838, the son of a London merchant. At an early age, he was placed under 
 the care of a tutor and pursued his studies in Lincolnshire until he was prepared to 
 enter a large private school. Remaining in Lincolnshire for three years, he was then 
 sent to Dublin to prepare for a higher course of education in the home of an old master 
 of Trinity. The father of Mr. Keene met with a serious impairment of his fortune at 
 this juncture through injudicious ventures, and thereupon in 1852 took his family to 
 California and settled in Shasta county in the northern part of the State. 
 
 Although only fourteen years of age, the subject of this biography, who had ac- 
 quired an unusually good English education and a fair training in French and Latin, 
 already displayed all the energy and ambition, which have since contributed greatly to 
 his success. His first employment was obtained at Fort Reading in the modest capacity 
 of one of the guards of the animals of the post, which was then in the Indian country. 
 After three months' service, having earned enough money to buy a miner's outfit, he 
 joined the throng of bold and adventurous men who were prospecting every canyon, 
 gulch and stream in search of gold. For several years, he spent his time in mining, 
 freighting, stock raising and milling with indifferent success, and then edited a news- 
 
360 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 paper for two years. Finding this unprofitable also, he went to Nevada a year or two 
 after the discovery of the famous Comstock lode. Securing some mining property 
 there and reselling it advantageotisly, he went to San Francisco and there plunged into 
 speculation in mining stocks. Within a few months, he made upwards of $125,000. 
 He then married Sara, daughter of Col. Leroy Daingerfield, of Virginia, residing at the 
 time in California with her brother, Wm. P. Daingerfield, Judge of the Ninth Judicial 
 District. 
 
 In the crash which followed the first excitement in shares after the discovery of 
 the Comstock, Mr. Keene lost all that he had made and found himself nearly penni- 
 less in a strange city and with few acquaintances or friends. But he had a spirit which 
 nothing could daunt. Through much hardship for a year or more he struggled, refus- 
 ing every offer of employment, confident that his only chance lay in speculation, for 
 which he felt he had a natural talent. As operations in mining shares were then 
 largely carried on in the street, he secured some business and attracted the attention of 
 Senator C. N. Felton, then a member of the Stock Exchange and a large operator, and 
 transacted Mr. Felton's business for some time. When that gentleman became As- 
 sistant United -States Treasurer in San Francisco, he offered his seat in the Stock Ex- 
 change to Mr. Keene. The latter did not have the money with which to purchase the 
 seat, and took it with the understanding that, if he were elected, he would, when called 
 on, pay the price which seats commanded at the time of the demand. Once in the 
 Board, he rose rapidly to great influence in that organization, made a large amount of 
 money and was elected president of the Stock Exchange. By purchasing the stocks of 
 the California and Consolidated Virginia mines, known the world over as the Bonanza 
 of the Comstock lode, he made in these and other stocks of which he held large quan- 
 tities, a fortune of about $6,000,000. When the Bank of California failed, Mr. Keene 
 became one of the four contributors of a million cash to the guarantee fund of 
 $8,000,000, necessary to secure the depositors of the Bank against loss and enable the 
 institution to continue in business. Largely through his influence in the Stock Ex- 
 change, a resolution was carried through that body contributing $500,000, and his per- 
 sonal exertions secured from the leading brokers a contribution of nearly as much more. 
 The Bank resumed operations and the State was saved by the guaranteeing syndicate 
 from a panic, from which the people of California would have taken years to recover. 
 
 The strain of large operations had now so undermined his health, that Mr. Keene 
 was advised by his physicians to go to Europe for a long rest. Arriving in New York 
 in the Spring of 1877, en route for the old world, he found the stock market here de- 
 moralized and prices as low as they had been in the panic of 1873. Having large cap- 
 ital at his command, he deferred his trip abroad; bought nearly all the leading stocks; 
 displayed all his old energy in advancing the market; and in the Autumn of 1879 sold 
 out with a profit of over $9,000,000. Then, feeling entitled to a rest, he visited 
 Europe. Since his return he has been a resident of New York city. He has since 
 taken part in many daring operations and has engineered large speculations. These 
 have not always enriched him. On the contrary, he has at times met with the expe- 
 rience common to those who contribute to the activity of the street and thereby tempt 
 the unscrupulous to organize against them. Mr. Keene is, however, usually more than 
 a match for all combinations, is a man of large fortune, and one of those who in these 
 later days impart vivacity to Wall street. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. KE. 361 
 
 His home is at Cedarhurst on Long Island and he is steward of the Jockey Club and 
 a member of the Rockaway Hunt Club. His children are Foxhall Parker Keene, who 
 married Miss Lawrence of Bay Side, L. I., and Jessie Harwar, wife of Talbot I. Taylor 
 of Baltimore. 
 
 HENRY KEEP, railroad president, a native of Jefferson count} 7 , N. Y., died in 
 New York city, July 30, 1869, at the age of fifty-one. A part of his remarkable 
 energy can be traced to the fact that his first occupation was farming, in which he 
 began as an apprentice. After experiencing poverty for several years, Mr. Keep found 
 employment in Honeoye Falls as a teamster. By careful saving, he gained a small sum 
 of money which he invested in depreciated currency during the panic of 1837, the 
 return of better times bringing him a handsome profit. He then bought Canadian 
 bank notes, which were at a discount on this side of the border, took them to Canada 
 and received payment for them at par. A bank of his own was soon opened in Water- 
 town, N. Y., and, later, several country banks in that part of the State. A strong 
 mind, practical energy and clear head fitted Mr. Keep for a larger field, and he finally 
 removed to New York city, invested his profits in railroads and thereafter was mainly 
 known as a large and successful manager of this class of properties. In 1861-63, be 
 was treasurer of The Michigan Southern Railroad, and for a while, in 1866, president 
 of The New York Central, and after 1868, president of The Chicago & North 
 Western Railroad. He was also president of The Cleveland & Toledo Railroad and 
 controlling owner of The North Indiana Railroad. Mr. Keep was famous for keen 
 sense of humor, fine conversational ability and whole-hearted liberality. One of his 
 latest endeavors was to start a National Academy for the Advancement of Art, for 
 which he promised 1,500,000. His wife and one daughter survived him. 
 
 CHARLES KELLOGG, merchant, originated in Newington, Conn., where he was 
 born July 24, 1825. He died in this city Oct. 24, 1892. A descendant of Governors 
 Welles, Pitkin and Saltonstall of Connecticut, and the son of Gen. Martin Kellogg, 
 manufacturer and farmer, and of Mary Welles, his wife, Mr. Kellogg traced his remote 
 ancestry to Joseph Kellogg, an Englishman, who settled in Deerfield, Mass., in 1631. 
 At the time of the Deerfield massacre, the Kellogg family were scattered, some of 
 them being captured and when reunited moved to Connecticut. At the age of twenty, 
 Charles Kellogg left school to enter a commission house in Philadelphia. Later, he 
 founded, with James L. Brumley, the dry goods commission house of Brumley & 
 Kellogg in New York city. Failing health compelled him to retire from active labor 
 in 1870. He was interested in The Bowery Savings Bank, The Metropolitan Plate 
 Glass Insurance Co., and several insurance companies, in which he was a director. 
 Married first to Anne M., daughter of Robert Davidson, D. D., after her death in Italy, 
 in 1870, he married Ellen, daughter of John H. Prentice of Brooklyn. His wife and 
 three sons survived him, the latter being Charles Prentice, John Prentice and Martin 
 Welles Kellogg. He was a member of the Union League club, The Genealogical 
 Society, The New England Society and The Sons of the American Revolution. 
 
 EDWARD HENRY KELLOGG, oil manufacturer, is a native of Ira, N. Y., and 
 was born Sept. i, 1828. His father, Silas Kellogg, was a farmer and his maternal 
 grandfather, Capt. James Simpson, a soldier of the American Revolution. Educated 
 in the Victory Academy and the Quaker Seminary in Venice, in his native county, the 
 young man found his first employment as a clerk in Auburn and later in Rochester. 
 
362 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Coming to New York city in 1851 to accept a clerkship in a produce commission house, 
 he rose by application to a partnership in 1854. In 1858, he began the manufacture of 
 lubricating oils from animal and vegetable substances, but when petroleum was discov- 
 ered, he adopted that oil as a base and his firm of E. H. Kellogg & Co., has since car- 
 ried on a safe, sound, and profitable business. A keen and energetic merchant, his 
 prosperity is of his own making. In 1876, he opened a branch house in Liverpool and 
 now sends his cylinder and machinery oils to all parts of the world. He has joined the 
 Union League and Down Town clubs of this city and the Hamilton club of Brooklyn. 
 In 1860, he married Charlotte, daughter of Francis Fickett, an old resident of this city, 
 a native of Maine, whence he came to New York and rose to eminence as a ship 
 builder. Mr. Fickett and his associates built the Savannah, the first steamer which ever 
 crossed the Atlantic Ocean, became an alderman in New York, and was until his death 
 in 1843 confidential agent of John G. Coster with fullest power of attorney. 
 
 EUGENE KELLY, merchant and banker, born Nov. 25, 1806, in County Tyrone, 
 Ireland, died in this city, Dec. 19, 1894. He sprang from an ancient and honorable family. 
 One of his direct ancestors sat in the Irish Parliament of 1585. The father of Mr. 
 Kelly was Thomas Boye O'Kelly, of Mullaghmore. A feud between two branches of 
 his family arose in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who decided against the Mullaghmore 
 branch, much of the property of the latter being confiscated. Becoming greatly im- 
 poverished, the head of this line migrated from Mullaghmore during the seventeenth 
 century to the North of Ireland, where he purchased a small estate. There is a tomb 
 stone of the seventeenth centxiry in a churchyard near the property, which records the 
 burial of the first of this branch of the family in the North. The quaint Latin in- 
 scription thereon announces the fact that William Boye O'Kelly was the representative 
 of the Mullaghmore O'Kellys, a great majority of whom had been buried in the Abbey 
 of Kilconnel, founded by them in the middle of the fourteenth century, the first 
 abbot having been Hugh O'Kelly of Mullaghmore. In 1798, Mr. Kelly's father, 
 having been drawn into the political troubles of that year, decided to drop the 
 distinctive title of O'Kelly of Mullaghmore, which was inscribed upon his tomb, 
 nevertheless. 
 
 The splendid vigor of body and mind which distinguished the subject of this 
 memoir during his whole career, reminded one always of his healthful early life and 
 the intellectual prominence of his ancestors. He remained in Ireland until the age 
 of twenty-four, and then, believing it hopeless to make his way in "his native land, 
 in view of the disabilities to which Roman Catholics were exposed in those days, 
 resolved, like many a son of an old Irish house, upon seeking his fortune across the 
 seas. He expected at first to go to Peru, but, changing his mind, came to this 
 country. He landed in New York city with a letter of introduction to Donnelly 
 Bro's, and a hundred pounds sterling, the proceeds of the sale of some land near Derry, 
 which had been deeded to him by his mother. He secured a clerkship in the house 
 of Donnelly Bro's of South William street. 
 
 After being some years with the Donnellys, who were a well-known importing 
 firm, Mr. Kelly with their aid established a modest business of his own in Maysville, 
 Ky. About a year later he went to St. Louis, where he established a branch dry 
 goods house of the Donnellys, adopting the title of Eugene Kelly & Co. Shrewd, 
 energetic and capable, he prospered greatly in this field. A flood of population was 
 
Eng^iyH-B Hall's 3on::.NewYork. 
 

 THE CITY OF NEW YORK. KE. 363 
 
 then pouring into the Mississippi valley, and merchants of the distributing centers 
 found it easy to extend their trade rapidly. In 1848, the people of St. Louis had 
 already accounted Mr. Kelly a wealthy man. 
 
 When the country was surprised by the discovery of gold in California, Mr. 
 Kelly promptly resolved to extend his trade to the Pacific coast and open a branch 
 store of Eugene Kelly & Co. in San Francisco, the certainty of adding to his fortune 
 being apparent to his acute mind. Late in 1849, Mr. Kelly took a train of mules 
 across the plains, his guide being the famous scout Aubrey, known as the " White 
 Cloud of the Prairies." After numerous dangers and hardships, Mr. Kelly succeeded 
 in reaching San Francisco in Jamiary, 1850, and opened his store in partnership with 
 Joseph A. Donohoe, Daniel T. Murphy and Adam Grant. Payments were made in 
 those early days in gold dust, which everybody carried in bags, and this led Mr. Kelly 
 gradually into the purchase of gold dust and nuggets for shipment to the East, and 
 this, again, led him into a regular banking business. After a successful career of ten 
 years, the old dry goods firm of Eugene Kelly & Co. dissolved, the business being 
 continued by the junior partners, Messrs. Murphy and Grant, under the title of 
 Murphy, Grant & Co. The house yet flourishes as one of the best known and most 
 respected on the Pacific Coast. 
 
 In 1 86 1, Mr. Kelly founded in San Francisco the banking house of Donohoe, 
 Ralston & Co. and in New York the banking house of Eugene Kelly & Co. In 1 864, 
 Mr. Ralston retired, and, associating himself with D. O. Mills, subsequently became 
 one of the leading financiers of the West. The San Francisco bank then took the 
 name of Donohoe, Kelly & Co., Mr. Donohoe managing partner, and so continued 
 until 1891, when the partners incorporated as a joint stock company under the title of 
 The Donohoe-Kelly Banking Co. From the day of its origin, the San Francisco 
 concern enjoyed great prosperity. 
 
 After 1860, Mr. Kelly's visits to San Francisco practically ceased and he devoted 
 his entire time to the New York house. For more than thirty years, he was a promi- 
 nent figure in Wall street, engaged in large operations usually with entire success. In 
 May, 1894, the house of Eugene Kelly & Co., was dissolved, Mr. Kelly having long 
 intended to retire from the banking business in order to devote himself to the manage- 
 ment of his private property. His retirement at the close of an honorable career ex- 
 tending over sixty-four eventful years, elicited from the financial world and the news- 
 paper press of both coasts, comments upon his character and successes, of an exceedingly 
 flattering nature. 
 
 Large means enabled Mr. Kelly to take part in many important enterprises. He 
 founded The Southern Bank of the State of Georgia in the seventies, and helped to 
 rebuild the Town Hall of Charleston, S. C., after the war. He was a director in The 
 National Park Bank, The Bank of New York, The Equitable Life Assurance Society, 
 The American Contracting & Dredging Co., The Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, 
 The Equitable Gas Light Co., The Title Guarantee & Trust Co., and The Atlanta & 
 Charlotte Air Line Railway, and president of The East & West Railway. Mr. Kelly 
 was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and of the American Museum of Nat- 
 ural History, one of the original life members of the Academy of Design, a patron of 
 the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a member of the Geographical Society. He was 
 for thirteen years a member of the Board of Education, and in 1884 was chairman of 
 
364 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 the Electoral Committee of the State of New York. He helped found the Catholic 
 University of America and sat in its directorate at the time of his death, and was also 
 a trustee of Seton Hall College. Public spirit led him also to act upon numerous com- 
 mittees, such as those which built the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the Washington 
 Memorial Arch, and the Bartholdi Statue. A number of excellent clubs elected him 
 to membership, including the Manhattan, Democratic and Catholic. 
 
 Mr. Kelly married first Miss Donnelly, sister of Terence Donnelly, his former 
 employer. This union brought them one daughter, Eugenia, wife of the late James 
 A. G. Beales of New York. Mrs. Kelly died in 1848. In 1857, Mr. Kelly again visited 
 New York, when he married Miss Margaret Htighes, a niece of the late Archbishop 
 Hughes. His wife and four sons survived him, the latter being Eugene, Edward, 
 Thomas Hugh and Robert J. Kelly. 
 
 The subject of this memoir enjoyed an excellent reputation for business ability and 
 integrity. He amassed wealth by honorable means, and used it generously in pro- 
 moting education, in relieving distress and in endowing Roman Catholic institutions 
 and churches. He was broad and liberal in his charities, making no discrimina- 
 tion on account of either creed or race. For a long time, the cause of Ireland 
 enlisted his active interest and he longed for the time to come when the people of 
 his native land might enjoy political liberty. To the $150,000 fund, raised to aid the 
 cause of Home Rule in the elections to Parliament, he contributed $20,000 and was 
 conspicuous as president of the National Federation and treasurer of the Irish Parlia- 
 mentary Fund. America supplies no opportunities for men who do not deserve suc- 
 cess, but for those who are resolved to rise by diligent labor, wise self restraint, good 
 character, and the exercise of the talents with which nature has endowed them, no 
 country in the world presents a more favorable scope for their activities than the 
 United States. Of this, the career of Mr. Kelly is an excellent illustration. 
 
 GEORGE KEHP, merchant, a native of County Cavan, Ireland, born in 1826, died 
 in New York city, Nov. 23, 1893. He was a son of Edward Kemp, a farmer, and 
 traced his ancestry to the Kemps who emigrated from England to Ireland in the time 
 of Cromwell. Coming to the United States in 1834, he was educated in the public 
 schools, and while yet a young lad entered the employment of Murray & Lanman, im- 
 porters and exporters of drugs and merchandise. With this house he remained until 
 his death, with only a short interval in the '4o's when he went to Janesville, Wis , then 
 in the wild west, to found a drug house. With integrity, ability afid remarkable 
 capacity for work, he advanced step by step until he became a partner, and eventually 
 the sole proprietor of the firm which then became and is yet known as Lanman & 
 Kemp. He retired from actual participation in the business in 1867, continuing as 
 special partner only. He invested largely in real estate and owned several important 
 properties up town. With his fellow members of the Union League club, he was a 
 public spirited supporter of leading public institutions. Mr. Kemp married Juliet 
 Augusta, daughter of Francis Tryon, who survived him with four children. 
 
 ISAAC CHOATE KENDALL, merchant, only child of Ephraim and Lydia Choate 
 Kendall, born in Ipswich, Mass., Jan. 27, 1800, died in Newport, R. I., Aug. 18, 1878. 
 His ancestor, Francis Kendall, came from England and settled in Woburn, Mass., 
 in 1640. At an early age, Mr. Kendall went to Boston to begin life, and when 
 twenty-six years old entered into partnership with Lewis Tappen, a leading and success- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. KE. 365 
 
 ful merchant, whose warm friendship continued until the close of a long life. In 1824, 
 Mr. Kendall came to New York and carried on a mercantile business until 1849, being 
 well known among old merchants here. He retired from active business and became 
 largely interested in real estate. He clearly foresaw the possibilities of the then 
 yen- limited city of New York and prophesied its present vast dimensions to friends, 
 who, however, thought his expectations visionary. His was a particularly genial, 
 warm-hearted and unselfish nature, and ^sympathetic understanding of the troubles of 
 others, enabled him to look upon them as his own. His long career was strongly 
 marked by perfect integrity and steadfastness and an indomitable desire and purpose of 
 right doing. " I cannot imagine," he once said to a friend, "any one hesitating to 
 walk right through the fire, if duty so called." A Republican, a member of the 
 Union League club, and a strong Abolitionist, his sincere sympathy with the cause 
 led him to write many articles in behalf of the slaves and to use his influence to right 
 their wrongs. Mr. Kendall was twice married. 
 
 WILLIAM BURRAGE KENDALL, merchant, born in Sterling, Mass., March i, 1831, 
 is a son of Pierson T. Kendall, a physician and of English ancestry. He was educated 
 in a private school and at Groton Academy, and then found employment as a clerk in 
 Boston in the office of Henry P. Fairbanks, the first treasurer of The Bigelow Carpet 
 Co , an important corporation, which now has a capital of $1,000,000 and factories in 
 Clinton, Mass. In 1855, he became the New York agent of The Bigelow Carpet Co., 
 and yet holds this position. Mr. Kendall is an active spirit in financial life and is a 
 director of The Equitable Life Assurance Society, The Mechanics' National Bank, The 
 State Trust Co., The American Surety Co., The Queen Insurance Co., The Long 
 Island Railroad, and The Brooklyn Trust Co. He is a member of the Merchants' and 
 Lawyers' clubs and New England Society of this city and of the Hamilton and Mon- 
 tauk clubs of Brooklyn, in which latter part of the metropolis he resides. His wife is 
 Harriett M., daughter of Luke Fay, late of Boston. They were married in 1855 and 
 they have had two children, William B Kendall, jr., who died in 1893, and Mrs. A. E. 
 Lamb. 
 
 HARVEY KENNEDY, capitalist, born in West Galway, Dec. 28, 1826, died in New 
 York city, Dec. 9, 1889. He was a son of James Kennedy, farmer, and of Scotch-Irish 
 ancestry. First a general merchant in his native town and then a manufacturer of 
 stoves in Albany, he came to New York city about 1859 with a little capital, which 
 he invested in the stock brokerage firm of Durant & Kennedy. A member, first, of the 
 old Open Board of Brokers, he joined the Stock Exchange in 1869. He had various 
 partners at different times, among them his brother, William L. Kennedy and Nicholas 
 Palmer, under the name of H. Kennedy & Co. After the panic of 1873, Mr. Kennedy en- 
 gaged in a heavy speculation in the stock of The Chicago & Northwestern and The Chi- 
 cago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroads. In 1877, disaster overtook him. Creditors compro- 
 mised their debts, however, and Mr. Kennedy resumed. He finally bought stock of The 
 Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad when it was ranging at about 30 cents 
 on the dollar and its subsequent rise in value brought him a large fortune. He was a 
 large owner in The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and The Bank of North America. 
 A part of his fortune was placed beyond the reach of the fluctuations of the stock market 
 by investment in local real estate. His wife, Helene, daughter of Cornelius Vandeveer 
 of Amsterdam, N. Y., passed away before him, and three brothers and a sister alone 
 
366 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 survive him. Fond of the society of young people and a courteous gentleman, tall and 
 dignified, he was one of the most worthily popular of men. His favorite club was the 
 Union League. His fortune descended to Martin Kennedy, his brother, and his sister, 
 Mrs. Lucinda Stewart, the widow of a retail grocer, both of Johnstown, N. Y., and to 
 Lauren O. Kennedy of West Galway and William L. Kennedy of New York. 
 
 JOHN PATTERSON KENNEDY, manufacturer, born in New York city, Nov. 22, 
 1820, died at his home, 38 East 36th street, Feb. 27, 1892. His parents were Scotch-Irish 
 Protestants, born near Belfast, Ireland, and well connected. His father made his 
 mark as an architect and builder in Belfast and passed a few years in this city, finally 
 returning to his native heath, where he died, leaving his family without means. The 
 subject of this sketch, then about nine years old, became the sole support of his mother, 
 with whom he returned to this country. He went to Trenton, N. J., and entered the 
 cotton mill of his uncle, James Hoy. By close application and by study during leisure 
 hours, he became a skillful mechanic and advanced step by -step until he finally became 
 the proprietor. A fire in 1851 destroyed the mill, which he decided not to rebuild. 
 Shortly afterward, he accepted the position of constructing engineer for Perdicaris & 
 Hoy, the latter -his cousin and one of the early pioneers in the gas industry in this 
 country. Mr. Kennedy subsequently became a partner in Hoy & Kennedy, and a few 
 years later, the sole owner. During his career, he erected more gas works plants than 
 any other individual in the country and ultimately reached the highest pinnacle in gas 
 engineering. Prior to 1860, his operations were almost exclusively in the South, where 
 he built and operated a number of works. Subsequently, he built the works of The 
 Metropolitan Gas Light Co. in this city, completing them in 1863, and also built sim- 
 ilar works in Newark, N. J., Brooklyn, N. Y., San -Francisco, Detroit, and numerous 
 other cities. He was joint owner with his cousin, Mr. Hoy, of The Atlantic Dock Iron 
 Works in South Brooklyn, where they built all the apparatus for their gas plants. In 
 1870, he built the works of The New York Mutual Gas Light Co., foot of East nth, 
 1 2th and i3th streets, this city, and became managing director of that company- until 
 1877, when, upon retiring from active business, he was elected president, to succeed 
 Cornelius K. Garrison, and filled the position until his death. In the Mutual works, 
 he introduced apparatus for the manufacture of naphtha gas and through his clever fore- 
 sight and skill as an engineer, the citizens of this metropolis first enjoyed the advan- 
 tages of high quality illuminating gas. The same high standard of quality has been 
 maintained ever since the completion of the works in 1872. Mr. Kennedy was an in- 
 ventor of no ordinary ability. In the course of his career, he executed some railroad 
 work and was frequently consulted about various mechanical and business matters. 
 He was an original director of The Metropolitan Elevated Railroad ; president of The 
 Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad and of The Howe Sewing Machine Co ; director of 
 The Hudson County Gas Light Co., Hoboken, and trustee of The Hazelton Boiler Co., 
 which concern, in conjunction with his sons, he founded early in 1884. In 1849, he 
 married Ruth R , daughter of Edward S. and Maria Townsend, and this union brought 
 them three children Edward S. T., William T. , and Jessie May Kennedy. In 1884, he 
 built the schooner-rigged steam-yacht Viola and was a member of the New York, 
 Larchmont, and American Yacht clubs, and vice-commodore of the latter at his death. 
 Symmetrical and strong in character, his loyalty to truth, devotion to duty, and sound 
 judgment, revealed genuine manhood and inspired the respect of all. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. KE. 367 
 
 HENRY AUGUSTUS KENT, merchant, born in Hudson, Ohio, Oct. 21, 1814, 
 died in Brooklyn, N. Y., March i, 1893. His father, Zenas Kent, of Middletown, 
 Conn., came from the same Puritan stock as the jurist, Chancellor Kent, and his 
 grandfather was a soldier of the American Revolution. In 1835, Mr. Kent came to 
 New York city, became a wholesale merchant, was very successful, and retired in 
 1863 with a fortune. Investment led him into corporations and he sat in the directorate 
 of The Atlantic & Great Western, The Toledo & Wabash, The Delaware, Lackawanna 
 & Western, The New York, Lake Erie & Western, and The Cleveland, Lorain & 
 Wheeling Railroads, The Brooklyn City and The New York Second Avenue Surface 
 Railroads, The Kent National Bank in Ohio and The Bank of North America in New 
 York city, being an incorporator and for years vice-president of the latter. He was also 
 one of the oldest trustees of The Union Trust Co. Mr. Kent served once, in 1851, as 
 alderman and president of the City Council of Brooklyn, and in 1860 as delegate 
 to the Chicago convention which nominated Abraham Lincoln for President. He 
 was twice married, and four children survive him. 
 
 EUGENE KETELTAS, property owner, born in New York city, Oct. 18, 1804, 
 died in Newport, R. I., Aug. 26, 1876. His father, Dr. Philip D. Keteltas, an old 
 Knickerbocker, was a son of the Rev. Abraham Keteltas, a famous preacher and 
 patriot in Revolution times, whose great grandfather came from Holland in 1649 an d 
 made his fortune as a merchant. Eugene Keteltas studied law under Gen. Robert Bo- 
 gardus, and was admitted to practice, but shortly afterward married the daughter of John 
 Gardner and retired. He inherited a large property in real estate on the east side of 
 New York city from his father and received a large amount also through his wife, 
 which, constantly appreciating in value, amounted at the time of his death to a 
 great property. He was married to the daughter of John Gardner, and their ten 
 children were Henrietta, who married C. Bainbridge Smith, a prominent lawyer; Jane 
 and Eugene, who died young; Mary, who died in 1895; Henry, Alice, and Philip D. ; 
 Eugene M., who died in 1886; J. Gardner, and Edith M., who married George P. Wet- 
 more of Rhode Island. His friends knew Mr. Keteltas as a benevolent man, con- 
 stantly engaged in works of charity in an unostentatious way. Retiring in disposition 
 and fond of the scenes of his childhood, he always lived, while in the city, in the old 
 family residence on the corner of 8th street and Second avenue. 
 
 CHAUNCEY KILMER, pioneer in the manufacture of straw paper, was born in 
 Rock City Falls, Saratoga county, N. Y., March 23, 1816. This little hamlet he yet 
 calls his home, although his winters are spent at a residence in New York city. 
 
 The lad received a fair education at the public school, supplementing it in later 
 years by extensive reading and his own activity in the greater school of affairs. His 
 father was a millwright and the boy learned his art, beginning life poor. The build- 
 ing of saw, grist and paper mills under contract occupied him for many years. By 
 giving diligent attention to the details of every contract, he became widely known as a 
 competent and careful millwright. His thorough experience in building for others gave 
 him a knowledge of the operations of the paper mills themselves, which afterward 
 proved of the greatest service. 
 
 In 1840, he was married to a childhood playmate, Miss Mary Jane Ashman, a 
 daughter of the late John Ashman. This happy union brought them four sons and a 
 daughter. A son and the daughter are now living. 
 
dU/Vv 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. KI. 369 
 
 Having saved enough money from his earnings for the purpose, Mr. Kilmer built 
 a small printing paper mill at Rock City Falls and began operations Jan. i, 1845. 
 This mill was burned a short time after its construction, but, possessing native pluck, 
 Mr. Kilmer rebuilt and went on. In 1852, anew process was brought to his notice, 
 which aimed at the making of printing paper from rye straw. He embarked in the 
 venture and built, in his lower mill, the first complete equipment for making printing 
 paper from straw. Costly experiments were necessary but Mr. Kilmer persevered. 
 In 1855, after a long struggle, a quantity of straw printing paper was produced, which 
 was used in one edition of The Saratoga Whig. It was not perfect in quality but, little 
 by little, the product was improved by Mr. Kilmer until sufficiently pliable for general 
 use by newspapers. 
 
 A contract was then obtained from Moses S. Beach of The New York Sun, whereby 
 that prosperous newspaper agreed to take the entire product of the mill. With this 
 powerful customer, the success of Mr. Kilmer was assured, and he has supplied The Sun 
 Association continuously down to the present time. More than 7,000,000 worth of 
 paper has now been shipped to The New York Sun and every dollar of it paid for. 
 
 From 1850 to 1857, Mr. Kilmer held an interest in five different paper mills, which 
 ran continuously day and night, every day of the year except Sunday. His success has 
 been remarkable. He has met panics bravely and has never passed a monthly pay day. 
 
 Although they knew Mr. Kilmer as an acknowledged expert, his competitors re- 
 garded the straw paper enterprise at first with doubt. When it became a success, these 
 competitors were glad to take out licenses under the patent used by him. This is only 
 one instance out of many, in which his sound judgment and unerring forethought have 
 been strongly vindicated. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Kilmer bought a controlling interest in the Congress and Empire 
 Springs at Saratoga and united them under a stock company with 1,000,000 capital, 
 becoming president and treasurer. 
 
 In 1869, The American Wood Paper Co. of Providence, R. I., paid him the high compli- 
 ment of making him general manager of their whole system in the manufacture of wood 
 pulp and paper at their mammoth mills in Manayunk, Philadelphia, and Rover's Ford, Pa. 
 
 Mr. Kilmer has invested some of his savings not only in real estate in Saratoga 
 Springs, but in New York city, Chicago, New Mexico and elsewhere. In these later 
 years, he spends his time largely in the oversight of these investments. The manufac- 
 turing business is carried on at Rock City Falls and is managed at that place entirely. 
 A superintendent is in charge and acts under the daily advice of Mr. Kilmer, when the 
 latter is absent from the mill. 
 
 In 1871, he moved to New York city and built a beautiful house at No. 9 East 57th 
 street. This is one of the occasional broad cross-town streets in the best residence 
 portion of the city, and is filled with fine dwellings. An upright, honorable man, with 
 a spotless record of integrity and fair dealing, Mr. Kilmer has become one of the most 
 valued citizens of this city and State. He is a man of fine presence and courteous 
 manners and is universally esteemed. For many years he has been a director in The 
 First National Bank of Saratoga. His character is without a stain and his life is an illus- 
 tration of the possibilities of this free republic for young men of ambition. 
 
 ARCHIBALD GRACIE KING, banker, was born in Everton, near Liverpool, 
 England, July n, 1821. His father, James Gore King, was a notable banker, who, 
 
37 
 
 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 born May 8, 1791, in New York city, dying in Weehawken, N. J., Oct. 3, 1853, was the 
 third son of Rufus King, eminent as a statesman, member of the convention which drafted 
 the Constitution, and United States Senator from New York, and of Mary Alsop, his 
 wife. Well educated, first in England and France, James Gore King graduated from 
 Harvard College in 1810, studied law and during the War of 1812 served as assistant 
 Adjutant General. In 1815, he founded the commission house of James G. King& Co., 
 which was so favored by fortune and the energy of the senior partner that it sprang 
 speedily into prosperity. In 1818, Mr. King moved to Liverpool and established the 
 English house of King & Gracie, in partnership with Archibald Gracie. Returning to New 
 York in 1824, he declined John Jacob Astor's offer of the presidency of The American 
 Fur Co., and entered the bank of Prime, Ward, Sands, King& Co., which in 1826 became 
 Prime, Ward & King, and in 1847 James G. King& Sons. He was sound, prudent and 
 successful, and in 1837 his bank was quoted as one of the few strong concerns of that 
 terrible year. Mr. King was active in promoting the construction of the Erie Railroad, 
 and served as president without compensation. In 1837, he performed a public service 
 by visiting England and obtaining an advance of _ 1,000,000 in gold from The Bank 
 of England upon the guarantee of the Barings, which being transmitted to this city in 
 coin, enabled the banks of New York to resume specie payments. Mr. King 
 married, Feb. 4, 1813, Sarah Rogers Gracie, daughter of Archibald Gracie, one of the 
 most eminent merchants of his time. There were born to them Caroline, who married 
 Denning Duer; Harriet, who married George Wilkes, M. D. ; James Gore and Archi- 
 bald Gracie King; Mary, who married Edgar H. Richards; Frederick Gore and 
 Edward King, and Fanny, wife of James -L. McLane. Mr. King dwelt during the 
 latter part of his life in Weehawken, and was sent thence to Congress in 1849. He 
 was a member of the New York Chamber of Commerce after 1817 and its president 
 1841-48, and president of The Institution for the Savings of Merchants' Clerks, 
 1848-50. Archibald Gracie King was educated in America and at the school of Herr 
 von Fellenberg at Hofwyl, near Berne, Switzerland, and graduated from Harvard 
 University in 1840 with honors. First, clerk in the banking house of Prime, Ward & 
 King, in 1844 he was admitted to partnership. He has since risen to the head of the 
 house, which has been known since 1853 as James G. King's Sons. Mr. King is a 
 capable, clear-headed and sound business man. He was elected a trustee of The 
 Institution for the Savings of Merchants' Clerks in 1861, treasurer in 1865 and presi- 
 dent in 1873, resigning his connection with the bank in 1881, in consequence of his 
 removal to New Jersey, the laws of New York requiring trustees of savings banks to 
 be residents of New York. He is a trustee in The Metropolitan Trust Co. In 1845, 
 he married Elizabeth, daughter of William A. Duer, and their children are May D., 
 wife of John King van Rensselaer; Sara Gracie, wife of Frederic Bronson and Frederick 
 Gore King. The family live in Weehawken, in a home commanding a splendid view 
 of the Hudson. While having little time for club life, he is a member of the Union 
 and Down Town clubs. 
 
 GEORGE LOVETT KINGSLAND, merchant, born in New York, Sept. 4, 1834, who 
 died in Babylon, N. Y., July 14, 1892, was descended from one of the oldest of the 
 Knickerbocker families, his ancestors having settled in New Jersey before 1780 on a 
 grant of land, ten miles long and three miles wide, lying between the Hackensack and 
 Passaic rivers. The old manor house may yet be seen on this property. Ambrose C, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. KI. 371 
 
 Kingsland, father of George L. Kingsland, is remembered as one of the great mer- 
 chants of New York of the first part of the present century and a Whig, whom the 
 people of this city placed in the Mayor's chair in 1850 by a majority of more than 4,000 
 over Fernando Wood, and who originated Central Park. George L. Kingsland grad- 
 uated from Columbia College in 1856 with high honors, a finished Greek and Latin 
 scholar, and entered the office of D. &. A. Kingsland at No. 49 Broad street, afterward 
 becoming a partner. Commercial business and the management of the Kingsland 
 estate of which he was an executor, occupied him for many years. He had large inter- 
 ests in Maryland and served as president of The Georges Creek & Cumberland Coal 
 Co., and The Georges Creek Railroad. He was also a member of the Chamber of 
 Commerce, commodore of the New York Yacht squadron, and member of the Metro- 
 politan, Union, and other clubs. In 1875, he married Helen Schermerhorn, daughter 
 of Benjamin S. Welles, of Boston, and left one son, George Lovett Kingsland and two 
 daughters. A man of sterling integrity and large knowledge of business, he won an 
 enviable reputation and the sound respect of the prominent men of affairs in this city. 
 
 FRANCIS SHERWOOD KINNEY, manufacturer, was born in New Brighton on 
 Staten Island, Oct. 16, 1839. He is a son of Franklin S. Kinney, a lawyer prominent 
 in New Jersey politics and commissioner to the World's Fair in 1851. The lad attended 
 school in New Brunswick, whence a restless disposition led him to go to sea. He 
 served upon several noted clipper ships and rose to become a mate. He then 
 abandoned a seafaring life and turned his attention to railroads. Under engagement 
 with William Wheelwright, he built, as foreman, the first wharves and the first ten 
 miles of The Cordova Central Railroad. He then took command of an expedition to 
 explore the upper waters of La Plata river and after two years of hardship appeared 
 with a raft built of cedar logs at the head of steamboat navigation, having run the 
 blockade of the Paraguayan war and demonstrated the possibility of rafting on the 
 Uraguayan river. In 1869, he engaged in the manufacture of tobacco at No. 141 
 West Broadway, this city, and founded the firm of Kinney Bro's, afterward known as 
 The Kinney Tobacco Co. In this business, he has been exceedingly successful. His 
 industry is now a branch of The American Tobacco Co. , of which he was one of the 
 incorporators and is a large shareholder and a director. Mr. Kinney has large 
 investments in real estate in New York city. His property on Broadway alone has 
 grown to be worth a million and a half. In New Jersey, his estate of Kinnelon, thirty 
 miles from New York city, comprises 4,000 acres. Mr. Kinney is a member of the 
 New York Athletic, the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht and the principal racing clubs 
 in this city, and is the inventor of the moving seat in rowing boats now so universally 
 used. He has also invented hydro-pneumatic pressure accumulators of value and 
 other mechanical appliances. 
 
 GUSTAV HERflANN KISSEL, merchant, born in Frankfort, Germany, May n, 
 1810, died on Staten Island, July 23, 1876. He descended from a burgher family well 
 known throughout the Palatinate. An uncle was one of the prominent Burgomasters 
 of Frankfort-on-the-Main in the days when Frankfort ranked as one of the free cities 
 of Germany, taking an important part in the history of Germany. Passing his early 
 years in his native town, he came to this country in 1837 and promptly and completely 
 identified himself with its interests, cherishing toward the country" of his adoption the 
 feelings of a native rather than of a stranger. A great merchant, his probity and 
 
372 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 purity in business won the highest esteem of his associates. Although he devoted him- 
 self with assiduity to business affairs, it was not to the exclusion of higher pursuits. 
 He was a man of dignified and courteous manner and of rare natural intelligence, which 
 he had cultivated by a judicious course of reading and study. He took pleasure in the 
 latest productions of modern literature, and his judgment in literary matters was 
 highly respected by men of culture. During the Civil War, he was a prominent aboli- 
 tionist and in the riots of 1863 his house was a refuge for persecuted negroes, whose 
 cause he defended with much personal bravery. Soon after his arrival in New York 
 city, he married Charlotte Anne, daughter of Jeremy Stimson, a distinguished phys- 
 ician of the vicinity of Boston, which increased his acquaintance with a large circle of 
 relatives and friends, and at his death few men held a higher place in the esteem and 
 admiration of both social and business associates than Mr. Kissel. His children were 
 Eleonora, who married Dr. F. P. Kinnicutt in this city ; Gustav Edward, who married 
 a daughter of W. K. Thorn ; Godfrey, who married a daughter of Dexter Bradford of 
 Boston ; and Rudolph Herman, who married a daughter of D. P. Morgan. His son, 
 QUSTAV EDWARD KISSEL, banker, born in New York city, Sept. 30, 1854, was 
 educated in the schools of Charlier and J. H. Morse in New York, subsequently at the 
 Academic of Latisanne, Switzerland, and then for three years at Heidelberg University. 
 Entering business in New York at the age of twenty-five, he became a partner in the 
 banking firm of Kessler & Co., in Wall street in 1883, and has since been occupied with 
 financial operations in which he has been successful. The parent house is in Manches- 
 ter, England, the New York office being a branch. Their business is largely in the 
 line of foreign exchange and bond investment. He was married in 1884 to Caroline, 
 daughter of William K. Thorn, and their four children are William Thorn, Dorothea, 
 Louise Baring and Jeannette. The family make Morristown, N. J., their home, spend- 
 ing their winters in town. Mr. Kissel has joined some of the best clubs in the city, 
 including the Union, Century, Knickerbocker, City, Reform and Racquet, and is inter- 
 ested in the development of The American Geographical Society and Museum of Nat- 
 ural History, being trustee in these institutions. 
 
 SHEPHERD KNAPP, banker, born in Worthington, Mass., Jan. 7, 1795, died in 
 New York city, Feb. 22, 1875. His father, Jonathan Knapp, a farmer, was descended from 
 Aaron Knapp, who came to America with the second Plymouth colony. The subject 
 of this memoir left his father's farm in 1812, came to New York, obtained a clerkship 
 with Gideon Lee, a prominent leather merchant, rose to a partnership in iSfg, and 
 with Mr. Lee, retired in 1833. In 1832, he was elected director of the branch Bank of 
 the United States in New York. He was best known in financial circles, however, as 
 president of The Mechanics' Banking Association, organized under the State law, and 
 afterward of The Mechanics' Bank. He held this position, 1838-73, when he resigned, 
 his management having been attended with great success. During the panic of 1873, 
 he was prominent in measures to prevent the spread of disaster. When he retired 
 from the presidency, to be succeeded by B. B. Sherman, he was presented with a 
 testimonial and many emphatic expressions of regard and good will. Mr. Knapp 
 was elected president of The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen in 1837. 
 He was an original director of The Erie Canal and The New York & Erie Railroad, 
 chamberlain of the city under Mayor Gideon Lee, a director of The United States 
 Trust Co., The American Fire Insurance Co., The Greenwich Savings Bank and other 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. KN. 373 
 
 institutions, one of the seventeen incorporators of the Century Society, better known 
 as the Century club, and a member of the New England and St. Nicholas Societies. 
 In 1819, he married Catherine Louisa, daughter of William Kumbel of this city, and 
 their children were two sons who died in infancy, and Gideon Lee, Peter K., William 
 K., Shepherd F. and Austin Melvin Knapp. 
 
 SMEPPARD KNAPP, merchant, born in Yorktown, Westchester county, near 
 Peekskill, Aug. 30, 1839, descends from, one of the older families of the country. 
 Moses Knapp, born in England about 1655, was one of the trustees named in the royal 
 charter of White Plains, dated March 13, 1721, and died in this country in 1756 at the 
 age of 1 01. The men of the family were farmers and their lands have been handed 
 down from father to son through successive generations. Jacob Frost Knapp, Shep- 
 pard's father, farmer and carriage builder, died when his son was three years of age. 
 Coming to New York in 1852, a lad, Mr. Knapp obtained a clerkship and saved enough 
 to gain a year's course at an academy in Bordentown, N. J. Resuming the fancy dry 
 goods trade in New York city, he accepted later a clerkship in a retail carpet store in 
 Hudson street. In 1855, a fellow clerk and he started a carpet store of their own and 
 carried it on successfully for nine years, then removing to a commodious store on Sixth 
 avenue, near his present location. Seven years later, he negotiated for the erection of 
 a large building, which he now occupies although it has been enlarged. When Mr. 
 Knapp began the sale of carpets, the American manufacture was in its infancy. Mr. 
 Knapp promoted the development of the home industry, and it is largely due to his 
 effort and example that millions of dollars, which were once annually sent to Europe 
 for carpets, are now retained in this country. The Smyrna American carpet almost 
 owes its existence to Mr. Knapp, and he was refused a patent only on a mere techni- 
 cality. In 1863, he married Sarah E., daughter of Hiram Miller of New York. They 
 have five children. Mr. Knapp is an earnest and active citizen, esteemed for his 
 upright and progressive character. He is a member of the New York Athletic club. 
 
 EDWIN FRANKLIN KNOWLTON, manufacturer, the calm, clear-headed, senior 
 member of the firm of William Knowlton & Sons, is a native of West Upton, Mass., 
 where he was born, Feb. 2, 1834. The ancestor of this family came to America from 
 Wales, and William Knowlton, father of the subject of this sketch, is the founder of 
 what is now the oldest, most extensive, successful and best known straw goods manu- 
 facturing house in this country. The industry was begun in West L T pton by William 
 Knowlton about seventy years ago, and his business energy and undoubted integrity 
 in all his dealings brought a success, which has been continued in an increasing ratio 
 under the management of his -sons. The establishment and early upbuilding of the 
 business took place under the difficulties which always attend the starting of a new 
 industry. These were bravely contended with and overcome, until finally success 
 crowned his efforts; and, in the later years of his life, he was able largely to give up 
 business cares to his son Edwin, and devote a considerable portion of his time to 
 matters of public interest. He was a prominent member of the Massachusetts Agri- 
 cultural Society, a State Senator, Presidential elector in 1880, when General Garfield was 
 elected, and held many positions of trust and responsibility in town, county and State. 
 
 Edwin F. Knowlton spent his early life in West L T pton, where his father laid the 
 foundation of the present great business and where the manufacturing department 
 continues to-day. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. KU. 375 
 
 After receiving an academic education at Wilbraham, he returned home to apply 
 himself in every department of the industry where he could make himself useful, and 
 he thus learned all parts of the business thoroughly and fitted himself for his future 
 successful career. After a few years, his father seeing his aptness and good judgment 
 sent him to Montreal to take charge of a branch sales house there, and later to New 
 York, where, becoming a partner, he took the main management of the purchasing, 
 selling and financial conduct of the business. As years have rolled on, continued and 
 uninterrupted prosperity has crowned his efforts. With him in the firm are now 
 associated his brothers George W., Eben J. and Daniel W. Knowlton. In addition to his 
 other business interests, Mr. Knowlton has been able to devote much time to the study of 
 the financial soundness of railroad corporations and has become one of the best judges in 
 New York of that class of securities. He has never been a large holder of real estate, 
 but has been connected with some extensive railroad purchases and reorganizations. 
 He is a director in The Brooklyn Trust Co. and The Phenix Fire Insurance Co. , 
 having withdrawn from and declined election to directorships in other institutions, 
 believing that a man ought not to lend his name unless his personal attention and time 
 can be faithfully given to the care of the interests intrusted to him. He is a member 
 of the Hamilton club of Brooklyn and held in high esteem by all who know him. 
 His kind heart is ever ready to respond to the calls of benevolence and many a young 
 man has received from him aid when unfortunate circumstances have overtaken him. 
 It is by such men that the prosperity of our country is advanced and its character 
 elevated. Dec. 15, 1861, Mr. Knowlton was married to Ella C., daughter of Dr. 
 Elijah W. Carpenter. The children born to them have been a son who died in early 
 childhood and Mary C., who married Count Johannes Sierstorpff and lives in Berlin, 
 Germany. 
 
 Associated with Mr. Knowlton in the business of his firm are his brothers George 
 W., born Sept. 3, 1839; Eben J., born June 23, 1844, and Daniel W.. born Sept. 6, 1847. 
 
 FREDERICK KUEHNE, banker, a native of the city of Magdeburg, Germany, was 
 born Feb. 4, 1824, and died in Paris, France, April 19, 1890. The son of Frederick J. 
 Kuehne, a man of means, his early life spent in Europe was full of the promise of a 
 distinguished career. After receiving a college education and acquiring a knowledge 
 of business methods, he entered the firm of Knauth & Esche, bankers and merchants 
 in Leipzig, Germany, in 1851, where his keen good judgment, sound character, and 
 agreeable personality soon made him a valued accession to the house. A few years 
 later, he was entrusted with new responsibilities, and coming, to New York city, he 
 established, with Theodore Knauth and Jacob Nachod, the banking firm of Knauth, 
 Nachod & Kuehne of Leipzig and New York, at the head of which he remained until 
 his death. Located near Wall street, the financial center of the metropolis, his house 
 rapidly rose to prominence. They dealt largely in foreign exchange and investment 
 securities. 
 
 Mr. Kuehne won many warm friends by the unselfish devotion he gave to every 
 interest entrusted to his care, by his works of benevolence and the deep interest he 
 always showed in the political life of his adopted country. During the late Civil War, 
 he was, on several occasions, the confidential adviser of Mr. Chase, Secretary of the 
 Treasury ; and it was largely due to his advice that the government averted great 
 losses, threatened by the high premium on gold at that time. 
 
tf~1e</. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. KU. 377 
 
 Before the unification of Germany he represented for over sixteen years all the 
 German States excepting Prussia, as Consul General in this city. This was a marked 
 expression of confidence ; and upon retirement from office he received from the princes 
 he had represented many high decorations in recognition of his services. 
 
 In politics, he was always a stanch Republican, like so many others of the chil- 
 dren of the fatherland, a strong friend of the Union of the States, and a prominent 
 member of the Union League club, and twice served his party as Presidential Elector 
 in successful campaigns, first in 1872 for Gen. Grant, and in 1876 for President Hayes. 
 He was several times offered by his fellow citizens a nomination as Mayor of New 
 York city but in each case refused it, preferring to devote his energies to the private 
 trusts committed to his care and to the management of his banking house. A man of 
 Mr. Kuehne's influence, excellence of character and knowTi abilities is always sought 
 for to take part in the establishment and management of financial institutions ; and it 
 is an illustration of his standing in the metropolis, that he was one of the founders of 
 The German American Bank, The Lincoln National Bank, The Lincoln Savings & 
 Deposit Co., and The State Trust Co., and at the time of his death a director in the 
 last three and vice president of The Citizens' Savings Bank. He also served his fellow 
 citizens as a School Commissioner by appointment from Mayor Hewitt and as one of 
 the governors of the institution at Randall's Island. 
 
 In 1856, he married Ellen Josephine, daughter of the late George J. Miller, who 
 with two sons, Frederick J. and Percival Kuehne, and two daughters, Selma Kuehne 
 Hume and Irma Kuehne survive him. 
 
 The city of New York is indebted to Germany not only for a large and important 
 element in its population but for many men of superior talents who, making this city 
 their home, have contributed by their labors to advance the prestige and power of the 
 metropolis. Of these latter, Mr. Kuehne was one and his memory will long be held in 
 grateful remembrance. 
 
L. 
 
 HARVEY SMITH LADEW, leather merchant and tanner, born in Ladew Corners, 
 now Mount Pleasant, N. Y., Jan., 16, 1826, died in New York city, March 9, 1888. 
 The son of Abram D. Ladew, a tanner, he left school at an early age to join his 
 father in this industry. They operated a tannery in Shokan in Ulster county, market- 
 ing the leather in New York city. Harvey was sent here in 1866, to occupy himself 
 with the mercantile branch of the business. He had been admitted to partnership 
 with Hoyt Bro's before this time, and afterward became a full partner in J. B. Hoyt 
 & Co. Upon the withdrawal of Mr. Hoyt in 1884, the firm of Fayerweather & Ladew 
 was organized. These two young men showed so much ability that they rose to a 
 place among the leading tanners and leather merchants of the United States, owning 
 factories in the hemlock and oak regions of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, 
 West Virginia and Tennessee. Mr. Ladew was a man of the highest character. By 
 an integrity beyond reproach, honorable methods and diligent enterprise, he gained 
 a large fortune. He was married in 1849 to Rebecca, daughter of Reuben Krom. 
 Their children are Edward R. Ladew and Joseph H. Ladew, and one daughter, 
 Louise Ladew Williams. His son, EDWARD R. LADEW, tanner, was born in New 
 York, Feb. 18, 1855. Educated in Charlier Institute and Anthon Grammar School, 
 he began his career as assistant to his father and spent much of his early life at the 
 tanneries of the firm of J. B. Hoyt & Co. He became a member of that firm in 1877. 
 When the name was changed to Fayerweather & Ladew, he became more active in the 
 management, and since 1889 has been the head of this old and substantial house. 
 He is a clear-headed, competent and upright man and enjoys the entire respect of all 
 his business associates. The confidence entertained in his ability is illustrated by his 
 election as vice-president of The United States Leather Co., a corporation- with a 
 capital of $120,000,000, and representing more real property than any other industrial 
 interest in the United States. He is also a stockholder and director in The Elk Tanning 
 Co., composed of a union of twenty-three tanneries in Pensylvania, including several of 
 his own. Mr. Ladew was married on Jan. 20, 1886, to Louise B., daughter of Charles 
 Wall, and their children are Harvey S. Ladew and Elise Wall Ladew. Although he 
 would be welcome in every club in the city, Mr. Ladew has joined only a few, namely, 
 the Union League and Carteret, the New York, Larchmont, American, and Atlantic 
 and Hempstead Harbor Yacht clubs and the Fulton and Hide & Leather luncheon 
 clubs. He is also a member of the Liederkranz Society, and owner of the steam 
 yacht Orienta. JOSEPH HARVEY LADEW, tanner, son of the late Harvey S. 
 Ladew, a young man of good ability, was born in New York April 10, 1864. He 
 received his education at Columbia College, and then found occupation as an assistant 
 to his father in the management and operation of the leather business and the man- 
 ufacture of belts. He was admitted to partnership in Fayerweather & Ladew, 
 Feb. i, 1889. He has already shown application and good management and promises 
 to rank among the prominent merchants of this generation. He is a director in The 
 United States Leather Co. , holds a prominent position in the direction and manage- 
 ment of the company, and also conducts the business of Fayerweather & Ladew with 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LA. 379 
 
 his brother, Edward R. Ladew. His clubs are the Union League, Riding, American 
 Yacht, New York and Stamford Yacht, and Hide & Leather. He is owner of the 
 steam yacht Columbia, 380 tons, a beautiful vessel built in 1893, 205 feet in length, 
 and 23 feet deep, having a speed of 18 knots an hour. 
 
 GEORGE GRAHAfl LAKE, merchant, born in Brookfield, Conn., Sept. 19, 1821, 
 died in New York city, Dec. 21, 1884. He began life as an errand boy in this city, 
 later as clerk for Ubsdell & Pierson, dry goods merchants. His salary was so small that 
 for a time he slept on a counter in the store, his food being exceedingly frugal. The 
 firm soon discovered his ability, and at the age of nineteen they made him head sales- 
 man in the silk department under a contract to serve for four years at a salary of $18 a 
 week. When a large importing house offered him a salary for four years, increasing 
 annually from 1,000 the first year to $4,000 the fourth year, he remained loyal to 
 Ubsdell & Pierson and at the end of the four years his firm offered him $10,000 a year 
 for ten years, which he accepted. In 1853, he became a partner, and when in 1863 the 
 firm dissolved, Mr. Lake associated himself with James McCreery as Lake & McCreery 
 and succeeded to the business. In 1869 Mr. Lake retired. Thereafter, he was en- 
 gaged in various important enterprises. He reorganized The Harlem Gas Co. , and be- 
 came a director of The Williamsburg Gas Co. and was largely interested in New York 
 surface railroads. Mr. Lake helped found The Home for the Aged and Infirm, and 
 subscribed liberally to the musical education of Emma Abbott. From his first mar- 
 riage, there were two children, one of whom, a daughter, Mrs. Mary Louisa Thompson, 
 survived him. His second wife, who died in 1862, was the widow of George Steers. 
 Their son, George G. S. Lake, survived his father but has since died. In 1863, he mar- 
 ried Frances E., daughter of James R. Steers. Of their four children, three survived 
 him, James R. S. , Frances E., and Henry S. Lake. 
 
 CATHOLINA LAHBERT, manufacturer, was born in Keithley, Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land, March 28, 1834, and is a son of Samuel Lambert, a papermaker. He was educa- 
 ted in the village schools, a part of the time attending them at night, and at the age of 
 nine began life as a cotton mill boy. Coming to America on a packet ship, he 
 landed in Boston Oct. 29, 1851, and found employment as a generally useful boy in a 
 store, rising to a clerkship in a year's time, and the place of salesman, the second 
 year. He became a partner in Dexter, Lambert & Co., Jan i, 1855, and has devoted 
 himself to the manufacture of silks, in which he has been very successful. The firm 
 are animated with a spirit of enterprise and' have planted factories in Patersou, N. J., 
 and Honesdale and Hawley, Pa. They employ 2,500 operatives in busy times and 
 have diffused great benefits among the people of those three cities. His business office 
 and salesroom are in New York city ; his home in Paterson. He has joined the Union 
 League, Colonial, Republican and Merchants' Central clubs here and has always been 
 a Republican. Sept. 9, 1857, he married Isabella E. Shattuck of Pepperell, Mass. Of 
 his eight children, two are living. Mr. Lambert's career illustrates the opportunities 
 of America for a poor boy. 
 
 CHARLES GRISWOLD LANDON, merchant, born in Guilford, Conn., Aug. n, 
 1818, died in New York, March 23, 1893. The family is of English descent and 
 was planted at Southold, Long Island, about 1640. At the age of seventeen, young 
 Landon going to New Haven entered the employment of Henry Sanford, merchant. 
 There he remained seven years. He came to New York city in 1842 and entered the 
 
380 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 store of Simeon B. Chittenden, wholesale dry goods merchant, afterward being taken 
 into the firm, which then consisted of S. B. Chittenden, John J. Phelps and George 
 Bliss. The firm afterward became George Bliss & Co. In 1864, Mr. Landon severed 
 his relations and became a partner in Benkard & Hutton, one of the oldest dry goods 
 importing houses in the city, and about 1885, changed the firm name to Charles G. 
 Landon & Co. His success was notable. Mr. Landon was long a vestryman and for 
 a few years senior warden of Grace Church. He was a member of the Chamber of 
 Commerce, a director of The Equitable Life Assurance Society, The Central Trust 
 Co., The Bank of America, The Sixth National Bank, The Greenwich Savings 
 Bank, The Gold & Stock Telegraph Co., The Sixth Avenue Railroad Co., The German- 
 American Fire Insurance Co. , and The Hanover Fire Insurance Co. ; a trustee of St. 
 Luke's Hospital; and a member of the Union League, Union, Metropolitan and 
 Lawyers' clubs and The New England Society. In 1849, he married Miss Susan H. 
 Gordon, a member of an old Virginia family, and a descendant of the Hunts and Hunters. 
 She died in 1885. Five children survived him, Henry H., Edward H., and Francis G. 
 Landon, Annie L., wife of L. Townsend Howes and Mary G., wife of Dallas B. Pratt. 
 
 WOODBURY LANQDON, merchant, a native of Portsmouth, N. H., was born 
 Oct. 22, 1836. His father, of the same name, followed the vocation of ship master and 
 merchant, and his great grandfather, also of the same name, was active in the agitation 
 for American Independence, a member of Continental Congress and a judge of the 
 Supreme Court of New Hampshire. The present Woodbury Langdon fitted for college 
 but finally chose a business life. In 1853, he entered the dry goods store of Frothing- 
 ham & Co. , in Boston, where he displayed so much ability that he was placed in charge 
 of the New York city branch of the business. In 1870, the firm reorganized as Joy, 
 Langdon & Co., under which name they are yet known. They are the selling agents 
 for several of the leading cotton mills in New England, in which the partners have an 
 interest. Mr. Langdon is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, having been one 
 of the Executive Committee since 1888, has served as a Rapid Transit Commissioner 
 and is a director of The National Bank of Commerce, The Central National Bank, The 
 German- American Insurance Co. and The New York Life Insurance Co. Since 1888, 
 he has been one of the vice-presidents of the Union League club. The Merchants' 
 club was organized by him and others, and he belongs also to the Lawyers', City, 
 Racquet, Riding and New York Athletic clubs and The New England Society. He 
 married March 28, 1894, Edith E., daughter of the late David B. Pugh. 
 
 JAMES FRANKLIN DOUGHTY LANIER, banker, born in Washington, N. C., 
 Nov. 22, 1800, died in New York city, Aug. 27, 1881. The founder of his family, 
 Thomas Lanier, a Huguenot, came to America with John Washington, great grand- 
 father of George Washington, settled in Virginia and married a daughter of John 
 Washington. James Lanier, grandfather of the subject of this memoir, was a planter 
 and a captain of cavalry in the American Revolution, while Alexander Chalmers Lan- 
 ier, his son, served in the War of 1812 and in the Western campaign under Gen. Harri- 
 son, with the rank of Major, dying from the effects of the service. James F. D. Lan- 
 ier, son of the latter, studied in the village school of Eaton, O., the academy of New- 
 port, Ky. , and in a private school and refused an appointment to West Point, to save 
 his mother from the distress of his leaving home. Graduating from the Transylvania 
 Law School in 1823, he settled in Madison, Ind., and began practice. Next year, he 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LA. 381 
 
 was appointed assistant clerk of the Indiana House of Representatives, serving- until 
 1827, when he was elected chief clerk. His practice and his salary gave him an excel- 
 lent income. In 1833, he became president of the Madison branch of The State Bank 
 of Indiana, being one of the organizers thereof and its largest stockholder and in its 
 management attaining distinction. In 1 849, he removed to New York city and here, 
 with Richard H. Winslow, founded the firm of Winslow, Lanier & Co., for the negotia- 
 tion of Western railroad securities and a general banking business. This concern has 
 survived the shock of panics, wars, and other public calamities for nearly fifty years and 
 is yet in existence. In 1847, Mr. Lanier went to Europe to arrange for a settlement of 
 Indiana's State debt of $12,000,000, a mission which he performed to the entire satis- 
 faction of the State. During 1849-54, his bank negotiated a large quantity of railroad 
 securities, often bought railroad iron on commission, and sold the first Western rail- 
 road bonds ever offered in this market. After 1854, they confined their attention to 
 banking and took part in many large schemes. A strong Union man, Mr. Lanier 
 loaned $640,000 to the State of Indiana for the equipment of troops. Dec. 8, 1819, he 
 married Elizabeth Gardner of Kentucky. To them were born Alexander Chalmers 
 Lanier of Madison, Ind.; Elizabeth Lanier, widow of Gen. W. M. Dunn, U. S. A. ; 
 Mrs. Drusilla Lanier Cravens ; Mary Lanier, widow of J. Cameron Stone , Louisa 
 Lanier, deceased ; Charles Lanier, the New York banker ; and Katharine Lanier, wife 
 of Miles Standish, the sixth. His son, CHARLES LANIER, banker, born in Madison, 
 Ind., Jan. 19, 1837, was educated in New Haven. In 1860, he was given an interest 
 in the banking house of Winslow, Lanier & Co., and has since been identified with its 
 affairs, having risen to the head of the house. This bank, established in 1849, has 
 negotiated many important railroad loans and railroad reorganizations. As a result 
 Mr. Lanier has been called into the management of various corporations. He is a 
 director of The Central Railroad of New Jersey, The West Shore Railroad, The 
 Western Union Telegraph Co., The Central Trust Co., The Central & South American 
 Telegraph Co., The Madison Square Garden Co., and The National Bank of Commerce. 
 One of the most capable bankers and business men in town, his success is mainly the 
 result of his own clear head and energy. In 1857, he married Sarah E. , daughter of 
 the late Thomas Egleston, and this union has brought them four children, James F. D. 
 Lanier; Sarah Egleston, wife of Francis C. Lawrence, jr.; Frances L. , wife of Francis 
 R. Appleton; and Elizabeth G., wife of George E. Turnure. His wife and he are hos- 
 pitable entertainers and welcome in the most cultivated circles. Many of the leading 
 clubs have elected Mr. Lanier to membership, including the Union League, Union, 
 Metropolitan, Knickerbocker, Century, Tuxedo, Players', Lawyers', Riding, New York, 
 and Mendelssohn Glee. 
 
 HENRY GRIFFITH LAPHAfl, leather merchant, a native of Danby, Vt , born 
 Feb. 24, 1822, died in New York city Jan. 28, 1888. The family of which he was a 
 distinguished member trace their lineage to John Lapham, a pioneer, who sailed to 
 the new world from Devonshire in England and settled in Rhode Island in 1637. 
 They were members of the Society of Friends, and in 1699, John Lapham and three 
 others built the first meeting house erected in Dartmouth, Mass. The great grandfather 
 of the subject of this memoir was born in Smithfield, R. I., in 1722, and his grandfather 
 in the same town in 1761, moving thence to Adams, Mass., and later to Danby, Vt. 
 
 Jesse Lapham, father of Henry G. Lapham, was born in Danby and engaged in 
 
382 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 mercantile pursuits and milling both there and in South Wallingford in the same State 
 and in Troy, N. Y. He was a man of marked purity and natural force of character 
 and great influence in his community, and as president of The Danby Bank and one of 
 those who promoted the building of The Western Vermont Railroad, he rose to prom- 
 inence and reputation. 
 
 Educated in the schools of Rutland county and the Columbia Friends' School in 
 Chatham, N. Y., Henry G. Lapham located, and later had charge of his father's in- 
 terests, in South Wallingford, consisting of a general store, saw mills and grist mills 
 and a foundry. The varied experience which he had there proved of great use to him 
 in his later business life. In 1849, the young man visited the West, attracted by the 
 possibilities of that region, with an idea of settling there; but, after a careful exam- 
 ination, he returned the same year and resumed his place in charge of his father's 
 interests. But he was ambitious, and in 1854 removed to New York, where, as a clerk, 
 he entered the employment of his uncle, Anson Lapham, then a prominent leather 
 merchant in the " Swamp." Already trained in the discharge of responsible duties, he 
 rose by prudence, diligent labor and capacity, to important positions in the house and 
 soon displayed , every qualification of a successful merchant. After a few years, a 
 partnership was formed between the uncle, the nephew, and Joseph E. Bulkley, as 
 Lapham & Bulkley, and Mr. Lapham was principally engaged thereafter for the rest of 
 his life in the tanning and lumber business in New York State and Pennsylvania. 
 He had various partners at different times and his firm became known successively as 
 Bulkley & Lapham, Lapham & Bulkley, H. G. Lapham & Co., and Lapham, Costello 
 & Co. In 1887, the firm name of H. G. Lapham & Co. was finally adopted and has 
 been retained to this day. 
 
 In 1880, with F. H. Rockwell of Warren, Pa., he formed the firm of F. H. 
 Rockwell & Co. , and engaged in the manufacture of leather and lumber in northwestern 
 Pennsylvania. Later, with Mr. Rockwell, he took an active part in the production of 
 petroleum in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He was also interested in ranching in Mexico. 
 
 Mr. Lapham was one of the old race of solid, upright and progressive merchants 
 of this city. He was widely known and highly respected. In all matters affecting the 
 business to which he devoted his life, his judgment was held in the highest regard, 
 and his advice was continually sought by his associates in the trade. He retired from 
 active management of the firms in which he was interested several years before his 
 death, surrendering the labor to his sons. Most of his time thereafter was spent in { 
 travel, except that he incidentally gave some attention to a general supervision of his 
 varied interests. He gave liberally to charity. To his generous contributions, the 
 Schofield School for Colored Children in Aiken, S. C., largely owes its success. He was 
 a member of The Charity Organization Society and The New England Society. Mr. 
 Lapham was never active in politics and never held office, although he was a public 
 spirited man and always deeply concerned in whatever affected the welfare of his 
 fellow men and his country. The temperance cause enlisted his especial support. 
 Not only did he practice temperance himself, a natural outgrowth of his purity and 
 firmness of character, but he used his influence at all times to promote the growth of 
 a sentiment in favor of it, this in turn being the result of his benevolent disposition 
 and long observation of the intolerable evils which spring from the vice to which he 
 was opposed. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LA. 383 
 
 His marriage in 1846 to Semantha, daughter of John and Ruth Vail of Danby, 
 brought him two children, John Jesse and Lewis Henry. That portion of his extensive 
 business connected with the tanning of leather has been in recent years merged in 
 that of The United States Leather Co., one of the greatest corporations in America. 
 
 FRANCIS W. LASAK, merchant, born in Leipsic, Dec. 2, 1799, died in Dobbs 
 Ferry, X. Y., Feb. 13, 1889. The name of his family was Wlasak, but the subject of 
 this memoir used the first letter of the surname as an initial. The Wlasaks were of 
 Bohemian origin, dating back three centuries or more. Most of them were soldiers. 
 At the age of nine, Mr. Lasak went, after the death of his father, Albert, to learn the 
 furrier's trade in Prague with a maternal uncle. Later, he spent two years in London 
 and then, in 1822, migrated to New York city, where, after a year in the employment 
 of Jacob Wendell, fur merchant, he established his own trade in furs in Maiden Lane. 
 Prosperity attended his enterprise and he rose to great prominence in the trade. His 
 profits were invested at an early day in real estate both in this city and in Westchester 
 and Kings counties, and the advance in value of this property to more than ten times 
 its original cost price, brought him a fortune of several millions. Mr. Lasak sat at one 
 time in the State Legislature, but, as a rule, preferred a private life. He married 
 Harriet Fawcett and was the father of nine children. Two died in childhood. Of the 
 others, Edgar F., George W., and Frances H. are now deceased, and those living are 
 Cordelia D., wife of Eugene Chauvet of Nantes, France; Ophelia J., wife of Edward 
 Cuthbert of Tennessee; Antoinette Lucinda, wife of John W. Schermerhorn of New 
 York, and Victoria Adelaide, wife of John D. McKenzie of Brooklyn. 
 
 GEORGE LAW, railroad builder, born in Jackson, Washington county, N. Y., 
 Oct. 25. 1806, died in New York city, Nov. 18, 1881. John Law, his father, a native 
 of County Down, Ireland, who came to America in 1784, settled upon a farm in Jack- 
 son, became noted as a dairyman, and died the owner of 500 acres. George spent his 
 early life upon the farm. He heard the cannon firing during the battle of Lake Cham- 
 plain and saw the prisoners of war march through the village, guarded by American 
 troops. The youth gained his education in night schools and from books which he 
 read at home by candle light, and at the age of eighteen, with $40, which he had saved, 
 walked to Troy, 36 miles away, sought employment, and began life with a hod upon 
 his shoulder. A quarryman in the York mountains in Pennsylvania in 1826 and in Port 
 Deposit in 1827, a workman on the Harlem Canal in 1828 and the next year on The 
 Delaware & Hudson Canal, he then engaged in contract work on his own account. 
 By diligent stud}-, he made himself a good draftsman and engineer. He helped build 
 the Croton Aqueduct, took the whole contract for the High Bridge, and then revived 
 the fortunes of The Dry Dock Bank, The Harlem Railroad and The Mohawk Railroad, 
 buying their stock at nominal figures and bringing the price up nearly to par. Next, 
 he turned his attention to the sea. In 1843, he bought the steamer Xeptune and in 
 1845 launched the Oregon, selling them in 1847. He founded a line of steamers to ply 
 between New York and Panama, and at one time operated a line upon the Pacific in 
 opposition to The Pacific Mail. After a lively war, The Pacific Mail Steamship Co. 
 bought his steamers on the Pacific in 1851 and he bought theirs on the Atlantic, and 
 thereafter they co-operated in harmony. In 1851, Mr. Law bought stock to the amount 
 of $500,000 in The Panama Railroad, and in 1853 built the Eighth Avenue Railroad 
 in this city, of which he remained president until his death. Later, he purchased the 
 
384 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Staten Island ferry, built the Ninth Avenue Railroad and at his death owned the 
 Grand and Roosevelt street ferries to Brooklyn. At one time, he ranked as the fourth 
 richest man in America. 
 
 JOHN WATSON LAWRENCE, merchant, born in Flushing on Long Island in 
 1800, in an old house, famous in the American Revolution, which was burned in 1828, 
 died in Flushing, Dec. 20, 1888. His ancestor, William Lawrence, settled in Flushing 
 in 1645, having come to this country from England with his two brothers in 1635. At 
 the age of sixteen, Mr. Lawrence entered the mercantile house of Hicks, Jenkins & Co. 
 of New York as a clerk, and remained there until he had reached his majority. He 
 then formed a partnership with a fellow clerk under the firm name of Howland & Law- 
 rence and became a prosperous shipping and commission merchant on his own account. 
 He gained a fortune partly in business and in real estate and partly by inheri- 
 tance. He was married in 1826 to Mary King, daughter of Walter Bowne, afterward 
 Mayor of New York. In 1845, Mr. Lawrence was elected to the Assembly and declined 
 a renomination. He subsequently served in Congress, 1846-47, declining a re-nomina- 
 tion. Having amassed a sufficient fortune, he retired from business in 1848 and later 
 became president of The Seventh Ward Bank. He was also for fifteen years president 
 of The Queens County Savings Bank and director of the local branch of The United 
 States Bank, and for more than thirty years president of The Lawrence Cement Co. 
 His home was at Willow Bank, a beautiful place in the village of Flushing, on the site 
 of the house where he was born. 
 
 WILLIAM BEACH LAWRENCE, lawyer, a native of New York city, born Oct. 
 23, 1806, who died March 26, 1881, was a grandson of Dr. Beach, assistant rector of 
 Trinity Church before the American Revolution, and son of Isaac Lawrence, president 
 and principal owner of the branch of The United States Bank in this city. Graduating 
 from Columbia College in 1818, Mr. Beach pursued legal and historical studies at 
 Litchfield, Conn., and in Paris, and in 1823, began the practice of law in this city. In 
 1826-27, he became secretary of legation at London, while Albert Gallatin was 
 Minister, and in 182728 acted as Charge d' Affaires, making a popular and successful 
 representative of his country. When Andrew Jackson became President, Mr. Lawrence 
 returned to America to resume practice, and soon gained a prominent position. He 
 actively promoted the construction of The New York & Erie Railroad, was vice- 
 president of The New York Historical Society, 1836-45, and between 1841 and 1850, 
 .published various historical works and a number of articles in the reviews. In 1850^ 
 he removed to Newport, R. I., where the Democrats in 1851 elected him Lieutenant- 
 Governor of the State. During a part of his term he acted as Governor. In 1853, he 
 served as member of the Rhode Island Constitutional Convention. Mr. Beach pub- 
 lished in 1855 a new edition of Wheaton's "Elements of International Law," with 
 annotations, having undertaken the work for the benefit of the author's family. He 
 was an eminent jurist, a member of many learned societies and a prolific writer upon 
 legal subjects. Inheriting some wealth, he displayed such ability in its management 
 and in his law practice as to accumulate a handsome fortune. The purchase of seventy 
 acres of land at the Cliffs in Newport was a fortunate venture, an investment of 
 $15,000 becoming worth $700,000 in time. He also possessed much real estate in New 
 York on Broadway and in the Murray Hill region. Mr. Lawrence married a daughter of 
 Archibald Gracie and was the father of Gen. Albert G. Lawrence and five other children. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LA. 385 
 
 WILLIAM EDWARD LAWRENCE, merchant, born in Concord, Mass., July 4, 
 1812, died in New York city Feb. 7, 1882. He was a son of William Lawrence of 
 Lincoln, Mass., and Abagail Flint of Concord, Mass. His father died while William 
 was young and left the boy to care for himself. Coming to New York city with his 
 mother, he attended the private school of Flint & Kidder on Amos, now West toth, 
 street, and then secured a situation as errand boy in a dry goods store in Pearl street 
 and in 1825, a place in a retail dry goods store in the upper part of Bleecker street, 
 then known as Greenwich village. WHen he reached his majority, he started a dry 
 goods store on that street and conducted a successful business there until his death. 
 He was first vice-president of The Northern Dispensary and a trustee of The Irving 
 Savings Bank, and had served as director of several insurance companies. Although 
 his early education was limited, Mr. Lawrence grew to be an accurate scholar, a close 
 student of history and a man of sound judgment. He was for more than twenty-five 
 years an elder in the Reformed Dutch Church. His wife and one daughter survived 
 him. 
 
 JAMES DANIEL LEARY, ship builder and contractor, is one of those enterprising 
 and active minded men, who, coming from another part of the continent, many years 
 ago, and making a modest and unnoticed entrance to the world of affairs, has grad- 
 ually pushed his way in the metropolis, solely by his own merits, to standing, fortune 
 and influence. He was born near Montreal, Canada, Sept. 25, 1837. After an educa- 
 tion in private schools, he sallied forth at the age of sixteen to begin the battle of life, 
 in which few men have more bravely played a man's part. Coming to Williamsburg, 
 now a part of the city of Brooklyn, he entered the shipyard of his uncle, Thomas Stack, 
 and spent an apprenticeship of four years in learning the art of building and repairing 
 vessels. A strong desire for a sound education led him during this period to continue 
 his studies by attendance at the night schools. 
 
 While favored by his relationship to the proprietor of the yard, the young man did 
 not depend upon that for advancement. He knew that he must make his own way. 
 Ambitious to learn, willing, self denying and energetic, he applied himself with such 
 diligence that his employer made him foreman of the shipyard in 1855. In 1861, Mr. 
 Leary started in business on his own account, as proprietor of a small yard for the 
 building and repair of vessels at the foot of North Thirteenth street, Brooklyn. Suc- 
 cess comes to those who deserve it. The young constructor speedily made his reputa- 
 tion. In 1862, he was appointed assistant Superintendent of Construction and Repairs 
 for the United States Revenue Marine. He gave the closest personal attention to his 
 business and being endowed with perfect health, an intelligent mind, a pleasing man- 
 ner and determination to succeed, the consequence was exactly what might have been 
 expected. To secure proper facilities for his work, Mr. Leary moved, in 1866, to a 
 larger yard at the foot of North Fourth and North Sixth streets, extending a distance 
 of three blocks along the river front. 
 
 The government work, performed by Mr. Leary, produced one result which was 
 of lasting benefit to him. It brought him into contact with public men, who, pleased 
 with the qualities of the earnest young man, pointed out other government work which 
 he might obtain and thus led him to compete for and secure many important contracts. 
 
 Early in his career, Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping selected him 
 as its surveyor in the United States, retaining him in this responsible position for 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LE. 387 
 
 nine years. It is the duty of a surveyor to give a rating to vessels, based upon their 
 age, condition and seaworthiness, and the service requires the constant examination 
 both of vessels newly built and of those which have been damaged or are growing old. 
 Labors of this description occupied a great deal of Mr. Leary's time. This appoint- 
 ment bore eloquent testimony to Mr. Leary's ability and honor. Ship masters and 
 owners, the most leisurely men in the world at certain times, are, when the vessel is in 
 port, the most hurried. They are anxious to put to sea again in the shortest possible 
 time and secure the best possible rating for their ships, and a surveyor has opportun- 
 ities thrust upon him for betraying the confidence of his principals to his own advan- 
 tage. Nothing more need be said than that Mr. Leary's record has always been one 
 of unblemished honesty. 
 
 In 1871, having gained sufficient capital to enlarge his operations, Mr. Leary bought 
 the plant of The Williamsburg Mill & Lumber Co. , as an auxiliary both to the ship 
 yard and to other work in which he had become engaged. He had now entered upon 
 an entirely new phase of business activity, but, it may be said here, that while im- 
 portant work, not connected with the mercantile or official marine, gradually claimed 
 more and more of his attention, he has never ceased to perform a large amount of 
 building and repairing of vessels. Steamboats, lighters, barges, sailing vessels, tugs, 
 and other craft in great variety have been launched from his yard. He also con- 
 structed the Hercules dredges and lighters used by The American Contracting & 
 Dredging Co. in the excavation of the Panama Canal. The total number of vessels 
 built by Mr. Leary is about 390. A large plant has come into existence for the per- 
 formance of this work, the ship and lumber yards combined having a water front of 
 1 100 feet and covering an area of four city blocks. Xor is this all. Small saw mills in 
 Florida and Georgia belong to him, which supply his yards with vast quantities of yel- 
 low pine lumber for sale and use in his various works. 
 
 Shortly after the War, Mr. Leary's practical abilities led him into another field of 
 operations, where there was abundant scope for a man of his energy, namely, contract 
 work. In 1868, he obtained a contract for transportation of all supplies for the army 
 purchased in New York city to the trains and boats by which the goods were forwarded 
 to the different army posts. This contract he held until 1880 and fulfilled with fidelity 
 and success. He also devoted himself to the construction of improvements and public 
 works. He has built water batteries, piers and dikes and dredged harbors for the 
 United States Government, and during the Virginius excitement in 1871-72, when it 
 was believed that the United States might soon be at war with Spain, he built a large 
 number of beds for heavy guns for all the fortifications both on the Atlantic and Pacific 
 coasts. This service brought him once more into contact with important public officials, 
 and he gained the friendship of such men as Generals Grant, Hancojk, Ingalls, Newton 
 and Gilmore. 
 
 On the Brooklyn water front, under his skillful direction, piers and bulkheads have 
 grown into existence for the Havemeyers and Dick & Meyer sugar refineries, The 
 Pennsylvania Railroad Co., The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co., Charles Pratt, 
 The Standard Oil Co., and other concerns, this work aggregating over 3,000,000. Mr. 
 Leary never fails to give entire satisfaction to his clients, and, as a rule, finishes his 
 work ahead of the specified time. His reputation in this respect not only testifies to 
 his driving energy, his power of organization and effective management of bodies of 
 
388 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 men, biit continually brings him new contracts. In Long Island City, he has improved 
 the water fronts of the property owned by Union College, The Mutual Life Insurance 
 Co., the Hon. Roswell P. Flower, The Barber Asphalt Paving Co., The New York 
 Terra Cotta Co., The Warren S(?harf Paving Co., John Good (the cordage manufact- 
 urer) and B. T. Babbitt (the soap manufacturer), as well as performed a large amount of 
 construction work for many other important concerns. 
 
 During 1873-82, he engaged extensively in the coal trade, having secured contracts 
 for supplying all the public schools and charitable institutions of New York city and 
 all the army posts and navy stations of New York harbor with coal. 
 
 Since 1882, Mr. Leary has been largely occupied with contract work along the 
 Harlem river. The first considerable task in the improvement of the water front in 
 that vicinity was from issth to isSth street for H. A. Cram, and Third to Fourth 
 avenue for J. H. Cheever. For Morris & Adams, he improved the river front from 
 1 44th to 1 49th street, and then secured from John Jacob and William B. Astor, a 
 contract for continuing these improvements from i4gth street as far as Cromwell 
 creek. Although given three years in which to complete this undertaking, he ended it 
 in less than a year and a half at a cost of $928,000. These were all profitable opera- 
 tions. Mr. Leary has lately been building bulkhead walls, excavating the rocks and 
 dredging the river, in order to create the United States Harlem River Ship Canal. 
 He is now constructing the first section of the new Harlem driveway, which will be 
 completed at an expense of about $850,000 during 1895. The immediate supervision 
 of the details of the work is entrusted to his son, Daniel J. Leary, a graduate of 
 Columbia College and a competent civil and mining engineer. His son has been of 
 great assistance, and has since 1882 relieved his father of a vast burden of the details 
 of construction of public works. 
 
 A novel enterprise in which Mr. Leary at one time engaged, attracted public 
 curiosity for its originality and courage. This was the towing of large rafts of timber 
 from Nova Scotia to this city by way of the Atlantic Ocean. Seven huge rafts have 
 been brought to this port in safety. 
 
 Mr. Leary is a director of The North Side Bank of Brooklyn, The New York & 
 Long Island Railroad Co., The Hoffman House Co., and The Morris & Cummings 
 Dredging Co. ; vice-president of The John Good Cordage & Machine Co. ; and a 
 member of the Manhattan club. 
 
 He was married Sept. 28, 1859, to Miss Mary C. Fallen, daughter of James Fallon 
 of Brooklyn, long known as a builder and dealer in brown stone and marble. They 
 have three sons and one daughter, Daniel James, Sylvester Napoleon, George and 
 Marie C. Leary. The latter, at the age of six, christened the steamer City of Gloucester 
 built by her father. Mr. Leary is very happy in his family life, and every hour which 
 he can spare from his engrossing labors is spent amid this loving home circle. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Leary is an independent, never having joined either of the two 
 great party organizations. Deriving no part of his success from inheritance, his life 
 affords an excellent example of the self-made man, and illustrates the possibilities of 
 free America for those who begin a business career without capital. 
 
 WILLIAM FOSTER LEE, merchant, born Sept 20, 1820, in Brimfield, Mass., died 
 in New York city, March 8, 1888. His father was Daniel Foster Lee, a dry goods 
 merchant, and his ancestors on both sides were Puritans who settled in America the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LE. 389 
 
 early part of the seventeenth century. Educated in the University of the City of New 
 York, Mr. Lee began life in the dry goods business in St. Louis but -soon aftenvard 
 removed to New York and made a fortune in the dry goods business here. He retired 
 before the War and after that devoted his money and energy to charity. He was one of 
 the earliest members of The Young Men's Christian Association, and chairman of its 
 Employment Committee, and connected with many other institutions. Among them were 
 The Half Orphan Asylum, of which he was superintendent; Grace Chapel, of which he 
 was assistant superintendent ; Mr. Moody's Boy's School at Northfield, Mass. , of which he 
 was treasurer; and The Society for the Suppression of Vice, being a member of its 
 executive committee. He was also interested in The Home for the Friendless, and the 
 Leake and Watts Orphan House and was an officer in Rev. Dr. Howard Crosby's 
 church. His wife was Helen L. Althause of New York. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY LEE, merchant, born in New Britain, Conn., May 19, 1818, 
 died in New York city, April 9, 1895. He was a son of Thomas Lee, and in the fifth 
 generation of descent from John Lee, who came from Colchester, England, to America 
 in 1634. His great grandfather, Isaac Lee, was a Colonel in the American Revolution, 
 a member of the State Assembly and chief magistrate of his town until incapacitated 
 by old age. The subject of this sketch began life in Troy, N. Y. , came to New York 
 in 1842 and spent three years in the employment of J. R. J affray & Co. His name 
 appeared first as a principal in 1845, when he organized the firm of Lee & Case for 
 importing and jobbing dry goods, the other partners being Watson E. Case, John J. 
 Phelps and Amos R. Eno. Later, the firm became Wm. H. Lee & Co., Lee, Bliss & 
 Co. and finally Lee, Tweedy & Co., in each house Mr. Lee being senior partner. 
 They have always carried on an enormous trade in the importation and jobbing of dry 
 goods, maintaining an agency in England and representing important mills in Man- 
 chester and elsewhere. Mr. Lee was a merchant of fine character and high position, 
 and won success by deserving it. He sat in the directorate of The Fifth Avenue Bank 
 and The Hanover and The National Fire Insurance Go's, was a charter member of the 
 Union League club, and a member also of the Insurance and Merchants' clubs, the Cham- 
 ber of Commerce, The Sons of the American Revolution and The New England Society. 
 
 ABRAHAM LEQQETT, merchant, born in Mount Pleasant, Westchester county, 
 X. Y., in 1805, died in Brooklyn, N. Y., Sept. i, 1878. This family are of English 
 descent, the emigrant ancestor having been Gabriel Leggett, who came to this city 
 from the Barbadoes over 200 years ago, settling in Westchester county. Abraham 
 Leggett found his way to New York city when twenty-one years of age, and with his 
 twin brother Isaac, engaged in the grocer)' business under the Fulton Market. In 
 1848, he bought the premises at No. 205 Front street and carried on a large wholesale 
 grocer}' trade under the name of A. Leggett & Son, until 1871, when he retired. His 
 son, William, succeeded him. Mr. Leggett was one of the founders of The Produce 
 Exchange. His wife was Sarah, daughter of Richard Lee and he left four sons, 
 Richard L., William A., Francis H. and Theodore Leggett, the latter dying in 1883. - 
 His son, FRANCIS HOWARD LEQQETT, wholesale grocer, born in New York city, 
 March 27, 1840, was a student in the local schools until the age of sixteen and then, in 
 1856, entered the produce commission business of R. L. Leggett & Co., in which his 
 father was a partner, to acquire a training in business pursuits. He became a part- 
 ner in 1862. The young man having saved about 18,000 borrowed about as much 
 
39 AMERICA 3 SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 more from his father in 1870 and with Theodore Leggett established the importing and 
 jobbing grocery house of Francis H. Leggett & Co. This concern has by perseverance, 
 sound methods and fine ability, created a business extending to all parts of the United 
 States and now ranks as one of the strongest houses in the trade. It occupies a large 
 building of its own on West Broadway, as well as a warehouse on Laight street. Mr. 
 Leggett is a member of the Union League, Grolier, Tuxedo, Metropolitan, Riding and 
 Merchants' clubs, the Chamber of Commerce and the Cotton and Produce Exchanges. 
 
 EHANUEL LEHflAN, merchant, a native of the village of Rimpar, near Wurz- 
 burg, Germany, was born Feb. 15, 1827. His parents, who were of German-Hebrew 
 descent, gave their son a sound training both at home and in the high school in Wurz- 
 burg and the lad then entered upon the practical work of life. At that period, many 
 Germans had learned of the better opportunities presented by the new world and were 
 exchanging homes in the fatherland for a residence in the Southern States. Following 
 this movement, Mr. Lehman sailed for America in 1847 and joined his brother Henry, 
 a merchant in Montgomery, Ala., since 1844, in the management of a general store. 
 They were diligent and hard working men, and as they prospered drifted naturally 
 into a factorage and cotton business. To enable a cotton planter to cultivate his crop, 
 it is necessary for him to resort to some neighboring general merchant, who will 
 advance to him 'a large amount of supplies and carry him along to the time when the 
 crop can be harvested and sold. The intimate relations of the Lehman Bro's with 
 the cotton planters resulted in the development of an extensive trade, both in supplies 
 and in cotton. The staple they shipped to the north and to Europe. 
 
 In 1856, the Lehman Bro's found themselves compelled by a growing bxisiness to 
 establish a house in New York city, and Emanuel Lehman was placed in charge of it. 
 The Civil War caused a serious interruption in the operations of the New York house, 
 but, in 1865, it was re-established by Emanuel Lehman, the younger brother, Mayer, 
 remaining in Montgomery for a while in charge of the Southern business, which is yet 
 conducted under the name of Lehman, Durr & Co. They also established a com- 
 mission business in New Orleans in 1865 under the title of Lehman, Newgass & Co., 
 now known as Lehman, Stern & Co. All three firms are now prominent in their 
 respective cities and deal in cotton, sugar, coffee, etc. Emanuel Lehman, senior 
 partner in the firm, has made his home in New York since 1856. 
 
 After the War, the brothers Lehman devoted themselves to a task which has en- 
 listed the sympathy and active interest of every progressive and public-spirited man 
 in the South, namely, a revival of the interests prostrated by the War and a develop- 
 ment of the theretofore scarcely exploited natural resources of the region. In 1865," 
 the State of Alabama being impoverished, the Lehman Bro's furnished $100,000 to 
 defray the expenses of the first convention, held under the reconstruction act, and 
 afterward acted as fiscal agents for the State, retaining this relation until Alabama 
 came under the control of the Radicals, about 1871. By their investments, they 
 promoted the reorganization of railroad companies, the improvement of real estate, 
 the building of iron furnaces and other factories, and the opening of coal mines. 
 They now have large interests in these properties and have aided largely in building 
 several Southern railroads. They are also principal owners of two excellent and 
 prosperous cotton mills, one operated by The Tallassee Falls Manufacturing Co. , near 
 Montgomery; the other, the Lane Mills in New Orleans. 
 
392 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Mr. Lehman is a director of The Mercantile National Bank, The Queens County 
 Bank on Long Island, The Alabama Mineral Land Co., The Berry-Boice Cattle Co., 
 The Metropolitan Ferry Co., and The Tenth & Twenty-third Streets Railroad Co., and 
 The Third Avenue Railroad. He displays the marked philanthropy so characteristic of 
 his race, and cordially supports the Hebrew charities of the city and serves as president 
 of The Hebrew Orphan Asylum. 
 
 In May, 1859, he married Pauline, daughter of Louis Sondheim of New York. 
 His wife died in 1871, leaving four children: Milton; Philip a partner in the firm; 
 Harriet and Eveline. Mr. Lehman is a member of The Southern Society and highly 
 respected in business circles in this city. 
 
 flAYER LEHflAN, merchant, next to the senior partner in the conspicuous firm 
 of Lehman Bro's, was born in Rimpar, near Wurzburg, Germany, Jan. 9, 1830. He 
 had the advantage of a sound education in the public schools of Wurzburg, and in 1850 
 followed his brothers, Emanuel and Henry, to the United States. After a year of ex- 
 perience in the store of Lehman Bro's in Montgomery, he resolved to engage in busi- 
 ness on his own account, and in January, 1851, started a store of his own in Mont- 
 gomery, which he carried on until 1853. He then joined his two brothers in the partner- 
 ship of Lehman Bro's. Henry died in 1855, and from that time to the present the house 
 has carried on a prosperous trade under the direction of Emanuel and Mayer Lehman. 
 
 Mr. Lehman saw much of the operations of the Civil War, and experienced the 
 wild excitement of that period which strongly moved every resident of the South. 
 Montgomery was the theater of stirring scenes. In 1864, the Governor of Alabama 
 appointed Mr. Lehman a Commissioner to visit and look after the interests of Alabama 
 soldiers, held prisoners of war in the North. Other tenders of office were made to 
 him frequently but declined. 
 
 In 1867, Mr. Lehman came to New York and has ever since made the metropolis 
 his home He was one of the organizers of the Cotton Exchange and has been actively 
 identified with its management, as a director and otherwise, until the present time. 
 His brother and he are naturally proud of a business career, which, extending 'over a 
 full half century, has been attended with success from the day of its first small begin- 
 ning Mr. Lehman has been active in the railroad, land, industrial and mining enter- 
 prises of his house, and was one of twenty men who established the first important iron 
 furnace in the South before the war. He is a progressive, clear headed and capable 
 man, and is a director of The Hamilton Bank, The American Cotton Oil Co., The^ 
 Union Oil Co., of Providence, R. I., and The N. K. FairbankCo., of Chicago. Highly' 
 esteemed in private life, he takes an active interest in philanthropic work, is a member 
 of The Harmonie club, was a trustee of Temple Emanu-El and of a number of chari- 
 table societies, and is a generous giver, being especially active in Mount Sinai Hospi- 
 tal and Training School. 
 
 Married in 1858 in New Orleans to Babetta, daughter of Isaac Newgass, he is the 
 father of several children, of whom those living are Sigmund M., Hattie, Settie, Clara, 
 Arthur, Irving and Herbert. 
 
 JAflES LENOX, founder of the Lenox Library, died in this city, Feb. 17, 1880, 
 in his eightieth year. The Lenox family, which has been conspicuous on the Island of 
 Manhattan for more than a century, was planted here by Robert and James Lenox, 
 brothers, natives of Scotland. James engaged in business here after the American 
 
394 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Revolution as a cooper in company with Joshua Jones. Robert Lenox supplied the 
 British troops on this island with provisions, etc., during the Revolution, and after the 
 war became a great merchant. He lived in Pearl street, and his standing is shown by 
 the fact that he was president of The Mutual Insurance Co., the oldest in the city, 
 dating from 1787 ; a director in the old United States Branch Bank, The Marine Insur- 
 ance Co., and other corporations; president of the Chamber of Commerce, and at one 
 time president of The St. Andrews Society. He married a daughter of Nicholas 
 Carmer. Mr. Lenox bought real estate upon various parts of the island and gained a 
 fortune of several millions by the increase in value of his land. This fortune at his 
 death, Dec. 13, 1839, descended to his son, James Lenox, the subject of this memoir, 
 and his five daughters, four of whom married into the Kennedy, Donaldson, Banks and 
 Sheafe families, Henrietta Lenox remaining unmarried. James Lenox spent his life 
 largely in the administration of his fortune. Among his possessions was a farm be- 
 tween Fourth and Fifth avenues, near 7 ad street, which after 1864 he divided into city 
 lots. He was generous in gifts of charity, and he founded at a cost of $2,000,000 the 
 Lenox Library, fronting Central Park on Fifth avenue, between 7oth and yist streets, 
 which he dedicated to the service of the public. Always fond of rare books and works 
 of art, he devoted much of his time to collecting them. By his will, Mr. Lenox gave 
 $300,000 more to the Lenox Library, and, excepting $153,000 in specific legacies, left 
 the residue of his estate to his sister, Henrietta A. Lenox. Although a man of agree- 
 able manners and a fine raconteur, he shunned fashionable society and never married. 
 
 WILLIAM LIBBEY, merchant, retired, and financier, for many years the only 
 partner and general manager of the dry goods firm of A. T. Stewart & Co., noted for 
 his upright, industrious and successful business life, was born March 7, 1820, in New- 
 burgh, Orange county, N. Y. He is a son of William Seavey Libbey, formerly of Rye 
 Beach, N. H., and a lineal descendant of John Libbey, who came from the west of 
 England in 1630, settled in Maine, and became one of the founders of the town of 
 Scarborough. Mr. Libbey's great grandfather and grandfather in the paternal line 
 served during the Continental and Revolutionary wars. His father moved to 'New- 
 burgh about 1 8 10 with a colony from Salem, Mass., having married just previously 
 Sarah Farrington, of that place. 
 
 When a lad, Mr. Libbey attended the Newburgh academy and prepared for col- 
 lege in the classical school of the Rev. Joel Phinney. Vis'ting Schenectady, he had 
 arranged to enter Union College about 1835, when circumstances shortly afterward 
 obliged him to enter at once upon a commercial career. William S. Libbey's inability 
 to send his boy to college grew out of his failure as an architect and builder while 
 living in Newburgh. The impression made upon William's mind, induced the latter, 
 being the only son, to form a resolution that, if he were ever able, he would make up 
 any deficiency resulting from his father's failure. He requested the assignee, after 
 paying all that could be obtained from the assets, to deliver to him all books and 
 papers of the estate. Subsequently, after a period of thirty years, he caused to be 
 prepared a statement, showing each of these unsettled claims and then paid them in 
 full, with seven per cent, interest, to the persons or heirs of the estates represented. 
 These receipts of payment, bound in book form, he presented to his father, upon the 
 latter's seventy-ninth birthday. 
 
 In the fall of 1835 at the age of fifteen, William Libbey came to New York city, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LI. 395 
 
 and entered the store of W. & J. Van Buskirk. jobbers in dry goods at Xo. 9 Pine 
 street. The position not being satisfactory, he remained there only thirty days. He 
 then engaged with Clark & Myers, dry goods jobbers, at No. 66 Liberty street, and re- 
 mained with them about seven years. 
 
 In 1842, Mr. Libbey became connected with the old and well known firm of job- 
 bers, known as Hunt Bro's, at Xo. 18 Exchange Place, who were among the pioneers 
 in establishing the principle of selling goods for cash. 
 
 At the close of 1849, Mr. Libbey left-the firm of Hunt Bro's and, Jan. i, 1850, be- 
 came one of the firm of Hastings, Libbey & Forby, located at Xo. 37 Xassau street. 
 Three years later, he withdrew from this connection and became associated with Arnold 
 Graef, who represented a large number of foreign woolen and silk accounts. The two 
 men formed the firm of William Libbey & Graef of Xo. 56 Liberty street, Xew York, 
 and of Philadelphia, and Arnold Graef & Libbey, Dresden and Aix la Chapelle, Ger- 
 man}'. This connection was successful up to 1857, when the disasters of that year 
 largeh" delayed remittances to their correspondents abroad and resulted the succeeding 
 year in a liquidation of the business. The consignors, whom the firm represented, em- 
 powered Mr. Libbey to liquidate their affairs and make remittances, voluntarily agree- 
 ing to accept the results of such liquidation as in full of all demands for their respective 
 claims. It was characteristic of the scrupulous sense of honor of Mr. Libbey, that after 
 having paid from the assets all that could be obtained, he remitted the balance, prin- 
 cipal and interest of all claims against him, about nine years later. Gold being at a 
 premium of 32 per cent., he added one half as his equitable share. 
 
 In 1859, his abilities and character attracted the attention of A. T. Stewart, whom 
 he had never personally met, and he was invited in September to an interview. This 
 resulted in the acceptance by Mr. Libbey of the position made vacant by the death of 
 Mr. Stewart's partner, W. H. Burrows, involving charge of the credits of the house, 
 engagement of employe's and general management. The character of the business of 
 A. T. Stewart & Co.. commencing with 1860, changed materially, growing out of 
 the fact that previous to that time, it had been made up principally of the sale of 
 choice and expensive foreign fabrics, and had been built up by Mr. Stewart into a 
 large and successful retail business, including a moderate amount of wholesale trade 
 with the large retailers throughout the country. The firm also enjoyed to a large 
 extent the trade of old families located throughout the States. About the time of 
 and prior to the outbreak of the rebellion, Mr. Libbey, in reorganizing the department 
 of credits then under his immediate control, closed about 800 accounts of this class 
 as a matter of precaution. Conditions and circumstances existing at that time forced 
 a discussion of the question, frequently brought before Mr. Stewart's mind, of either 
 retiring from the business altogether, and, as he repeatedly said, " Putting out the red 
 flag and liquidating," or determining on a great change in a different direction. Mr. 
 Stewart was much in doubt during 1860 as to the results of the impending war. His 
 health was broken and the complication of doubtful conditions was further increased 
 by the discovery of a large defalcation by a former partner, in whom he had placed 
 every confidence. Mr. Libbey's long experience in the domestic jobbing trade of this 
 country enabled him to suggest a possible alternative, which was subsequently 
 accepted by Mr. Stewart, and resulted in an organization whereby the home fabrics of 
 the United States and a popular trade were substituted for the finer and exclusive 
 
396 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 fabrics of foreign manufacture and a select trade. From time to time thereafter, by 
 engaging competent and able assistants and organizing new departments, a large and 
 successful business was developed. 
 
 One marked feature of the work of the house was that of the bureau of credits, 
 in the basis of which Mr. Libbey had been much interested, and with which he had 
 been familiar from its initiation in the house of Arthur Tappan & Co. about 1830, and 
 in The Mercantile Agency of Lewis Tappan & Co. in 1841. 
 
 In the firm's new bureau of credits, started in 1860, a system was created whose 
 efficacy was tested by Mr. Stewart at a time of panic, when he desired to know 
 whether they were not getting into deep water by making large sales on credit. He 
 was not personally informed about the details and did not usually desire to be, but now 
 sought information as to the facts. It was provided for him by Mr. Libbey, who 
 prepared a statement of net loss upon the last hundred million dollars of all kinds of 
 credit sales made by the house. The result, when obtained, showed that the losses 
 were within a fraction of one mill per cent. 
 
 During their business connection, and particularly during the last ten years, Mr. 
 Stewart placed nearly the whole management of affairs under Mr. Libbey's control. 
 The transactions of the house, included in purchases and sales, had increased from 
 about fifteen millions per annum, prior to 1860, to about one hundred and ten millions, 
 and, incidentally, an organization had been evolved probably unequaled in the world. 
 
 In 1873, during a severe attack of illness from which he never fully recovered, 
 Mr. Stewart made his will, making Mr. Libbey, his only surviving partner, one of his 
 executors. Subsequently to Mr. Stewart's death in 1876, the business was continued 
 for a few years, in partnership with Judge Henry Hilton, and then liquidated, Mr. 
 Libbey retiring. 
 
 Notwithstanding the impressions and opinions formed, which grew principally 
 out of the jealousy and envy characteristic of competitive trade, it is proper to say, as 
 Mr. Libbey has often stated, that after an association with Mr. Stewart during a period 
 of nearly seventeen years of the closest personal and business intimacy, he always 
 found him intensely loyal to all his surroundings, infallibly true to his word, and a 
 most agreeable associate and companion. One of the marked traits of his character 
 was that of implicit reliance on those in whom he placed confidence. 
 
 July 8, 1850, Mr. Libbey married Miss Elizabeth Marsh, of Fausse Point, La., 
 daughter of Jonas Marsh and Elizabeth Morse, the latter a member of the Morse 
 family of New Jersey and Louisiana. This union brought them three sons, William 
 Libbey, jr., married, and a professor in the College of New Jersey, Princeton, N. J. ; 
 Jonas M. Libbey, unmarried, and from 1877 to 1884 editor and proprietor of The 
 Princeton Review ; and Frederick A. Libbey, married, and associated with Jonas M. 
 and their father in looking after various investments. 
 
 Retiring in 1883 from active labor in the dry goods business, Mr. Libbey contin- 
 ued to take a lively interest in financial affairs. Among other institutions and corpor- 
 ations, he is a director of The National Bank of Commerce, The New York, Lake 
 Erie & Western Railroad, and The American Pig Iron Storage Warrant Co. ; trustee of 
 The United States Trust Co., and The Sun Insurance Co., of London ; a member of 
 the Chamber of Commerce ; and life member of The New England Society, The New 
 York Historical Society, and The American Geographical Society. He is also a trus- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LI. 397 
 
 tee of the College of New Jersey and of the Princeton Theological Seminary. There 
 are many others in which he has borne a part but with which at the present time he is 
 not associated. Since 1840, he has been a member of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian 
 Church and for several years was a trustee. 
 
 In connection therewith, he took a prominent part in the organization, in 1842, of a 
 society of which he was afterward the president and which subsequently developed in 
 the formation of Young Men's Christian Associations in this country and Europe. 
 He was for many years in active association with Sunday school and other benevolent 
 work and is identified with The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, The Northern 
 Dispensary and many hospitals, charities and educational institutions, to which he has 
 been a liberal contributor. 
 
 Mr. Libbey spends his leisure time in the enjoyment of his beautiful home on 
 Washington Heights on the upper part of this island overlooking the Hudson. 
 
 BENJAMIN LICHTENSTEIN, merchant, was born in Hollstadt, Bavaria, Aug. 
 16, 1839. His father was Salome Lichtenstein, a merchant. Educated in New York 
 city, the young man served as errand boy and clerk in various stores, beginning with a 
 salary of $1.25 per week. In 1862, he ventured to engage in the wholesale jobbing of 
 tobacco and cigars in New Orleans and met with excellent success, but illness caused 
 him to abandon business in the South and he started a manufactory of cigars in New 
 York city under the name of Lichtenstein Bro's & Co. Energy, determination and 
 business skill brought him rapidly to the front. He is now president of The Consoli- 
 dated Cigarette Co. and a trustee of The Lichtenstein Bro's Co. His means have been 
 judiciously invested in real estate, which is constantly growing in value and is already 
 worth about a million dollars. He owns 13 and 640 Broadway, 442-6 loth street, and 
 135-141 Avenue D, free of incumbrances. He lives quietly, is a member of the 
 Freundschaft club, and is a worthy man. Nov. 29, 1863, he married Sara Katten of 
 New Orleans and has six children : Salome K. , Alexander, Melvin, Eleanor, Stella and 
 Harry Everett Lichtenstein. 
 
 EDWARD FRANCIS LINTON, realty owner, was born in Mattapoisett; Mass., 
 Feb. 7, 1843. He is of English descent and his father, Edward D. Linton, was a con- 
 spicuous abolitionist, associate editor of The Liberator, and was on one occasion, in 
 1848, driven by violence from the lecture platform in New Bedford. Edward gained a 
 fair education, and, being poor, learned the art of pyrotechnics at Weymouth, Mass., 
 in the employment of E. S. Hunt. When South Carolina seceded, he was in the city 
 of Charleston, whence he worked his way to New York on the last sailing vessel to 
 leave the port before the firing on Fort Sumter. Led by inherited sentiment and this 
 experience, he enlisted in the nth Mass. Inf., being the first man in Weymouth to 
 enlist, and served through the war. Coming to New York in 1868, he established a 
 small factory for making fireworks, which proved successful. The industry grew 
 enormously and was incorporated, with Mr. Linton as president. The warehouse is 
 on Park Place, a street devoted in part to this class of enterprises. Mr. Linton retired 
 from this business in 1884. Since then, real estate transactions in Brooklyn have 
 occupied his principal attention. He has been the agent for the sale of an immense 
 amount of property and has bought and sold on his own account large tracts of 
 land in the 26th Ward. In four years' time, he built over 400 houses on these prop- 
 erties. He is senior partner in the bank of E. F. Linton & Co. in Brooklyn, secre- 
 
398 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 tary of The D. & M. Chauncey Real Estate Co. , president of The German-American 
 Improvement Co., director of The Brooklyn Real Estate Exchange and member of the 
 Brooklyn and Union League clubs of Brooklyn. By his marriage with Julia A. Baker 
 of Weymouth, Mass., in 1866, his children are Edith, Alice and Enid. 
 
 JOSEPH JAflES LITTLE, printer, was born in England, June 5, 1841. He began 
 life in modest circumstances, the son of James Little, a tailor who emigrated to the 
 United States in 1847. The family settled soon afterward in Morris, Otsego county, 
 N. Y. Joseph left district school at the age of fourteen to learn the trade of a printer 
 as an apprentice. Three years later, he came to New York and found employment in 
 the printing office of Rennie, Shea & Lindsey, rising to the foremanship about 1864. 
 Two years later, Mr. Little began business on his own account in a small way, having 
 for a junior partner his former employer, Mr. Rennie. A third associate joining in the 
 venture, the three with the combined capital of $5,000 started the printing office of 
 Little, Rennie & Co. on Broome street, in 1867. Being practical and hard working 
 men they made their way by inches. In 1873, William Jennings Demorest joined the 
 firm and brought them the printing of his fashion papers. The business finally grew 
 quite large and in 1871 was moved to an uptown location. In his present large quar- 
 ters on Astor place, they do an enormous business in the printing of books, magazines, 
 etc., employing about 500 persons. The present title of J. J. Little & Co. was adopted 
 in 1876 The success of Mr. Little is due to sound business methods, steady persist- 
 ence, and the adoption of the most modern processes in the work of his house. He is a 
 member of the Aldine, Manhattan, Players' and Democratic clubs, and of the Chamber 
 of Commerce, The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen, The American Geo- 
 graphical Society, The American Institute. Lafayette Post, G. A. R., and Kane 
 Lodge, F. & A. M., and Colonel of the Veteran Association of the 7ist Regiment, N. 
 G. , S. N. Y. He is also a director of The Astor Place Bank and trustee of The New 
 York Infant Asylum. He saw service in the Civil War and has been a member of 
 the Board of Education, resigning to take a seat in the 52d Congress, to which he was 
 elected by a plurality of over 8,000. He has served on several public committees. In 
 1866, he married Josephine Robinson. Of their eight children, six survive: Edith 
 Agnes, Arthur W. , Louise S. (now Mrs. Thompson), Estelle R., Raymond D., and 
 Elsie Little. 
 
 ANSON LIVINGSTON, lawyer, born at No. 37 Broadway in this city, May i, 
 1807, died on Staten Island, Aug. 4, 1873. His father was Judge Brockholst Living- 
 ston of the United States Supreme Court, who was the son of William Livingston, 
 Governor of New Jersey, the third in descent from Robert, founder of the Livingston 
 family in America. The mother of Anson Livingston, Ann Ludlow, the second wife of 
 Judge Livingston, died shortly after her son's birth, and the child was named after her, 
 Anson, i.e., "Ann's son." He graduated from Columbia College and after his father's 
 death traveled abroad. Always enterprising, he attempted the ascent of Mt. Blanc, 
 but was driven back by a great storm. At the age of twenty-two, he married a rela- 
 tive, Anne, the daughter of Henry Walter Livingston, and for a few years thereafter 
 lived in Columbia county, N. Y. About 1836, he removed to New York city and lived 
 there until 1861 when he established his home on the north shore of Staten Island at 
 what is now Livingston. Although a lawyer, Mr. Livingston did not practice his pro- 
 fession. His principal business occupation lay in taking care of the estates of his 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LI. 399 
 
 brothers and sisters who resided abroad. He inherited a modest fortune from his 
 father, which he increased by judicious management and steady application. Mr. 
 Livingston combined in his character two opposite traits, strongly marked. He was 
 brave almost to rashness, and tender almost to weakness. He was ever ready to for- 
 give and forget. Throughout his entire life, he was a sportsman in the higher 
 sense of the term, and enthusiastic about fast trotters, many of which he owned and 
 drove. He was a yachtsman also, and owjied several of the well-known small yachts 
 in the New York Yacht club the Annie. Whitecap, and Vixen. He took a great 
 interest in the famous America and was a friend of John L. Stevens. As to his per- 
 sonal appearance, a remark is recalled made by Commodore Stevens at a dinner given 
 to him on his return with the "Queen's Cup," at which Mr. Livingston was present. 
 When asked whom Prince Albert looked like, Commodore Stevens glancing round the 
 table answered: "He looks like Anson." As the Prince Consort was exceedingly 
 handsome and Mr. Livingston exceedingly modest, the latter blushed like a girl at the 
 compliment, and a laugh went round at his expense. In intellectual endowments and 
 in beauty of character, he also much resembled Prince Albert. Mr. Livingston was 
 greatly gifted in birth, opportunity, intellect, personal prowess, and deep and earnest 
 purpose. He used these gifts well. His example was a good one to all the young 
 men who knew him, and they honored him. He left a son Ludlow, who died a few 
 months after his father, and two daughters who are yet living, Mrs. Mary L. Harrison 
 and Ann L. Livingston. 
 
 ROBERT EDWARD LIVINGSTON, born in Clermont, Columbia county, N. Y., 
 died in New York city, Jan. 20, 1889. The descendant of an eminent family, on his 
 mother's side, he was a grandson of Robert R. Livingston, one of the drafters of the 
 Declaration of Independence, and on his father's, a grandson of Philip R. Livingston, 
 one of the Signers of the Declaration and a member of the first Continental Congress. 
 He was a son of Edward P. Livingston, at one time Lieutenant Governor of New York. 
 Educated at Clermont by private tutors, he managed the estate which came to him by 
 inheritance with the ability of a business man and the graciousness of a gentleman. 
 He promoted the welfare of his tenants, constantly building churches and school houses 
 for them and otherwise displaying his interest in their affairs. In 1854, he married 
 Susan, daughter of James F. De Peyster, and lived a part of every year in New York, 
 where he became a vestryman in Grace Church, president of The New York Dispensary, 
 and vice president of the St. Nicholas club. Mr. Livingston was connected with many 
 old families of the city, among others the Beekmans, Schuylers, De Peysters, Van Cort- 
 landts, Reades and Stuyvesants. His wife, three sons and a daughter survived him. 
 FREDERICK LOESER, merchant, a native of Mergentheim, Germany, and of 
 Hebrew descent, was born Dec. 23, 1833. His father, a silversmith, was a worthy 
 man but of moderate means. Frederick left the Latin school at the age of fourteen 
 to become an apprentice for three years to a maker of dress trimmings and buttons in 
 Wurzburg. He learned the art, became a journeyman, and, in accordance with cus- 
 tom, spent three years practicing his trade in Vienna, Munich, Zurich and Berne. In 
 November, 1853, in order to escape military duty, which at that time meant six years' 
 service, he emigrated to New York city. His trade had not been developed in the 
 United States and Mr. Loeser made his way to distant relatives in Morganfield, Ky., 
 where he traded in furs and learned the American language. In 1855, he accepted a 
 
4oo AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 position as traveling salesman in the employment of a wholesale clothing house in 
 Louisville, Ky. In 1857, the panic caused his house to liquidate and he came to New 
 York, where he found employment with S. M. Peyser, importer and retailer of dress 
 trimmings and worsted embroideries. Three years later, with Moritz Dinkelspiel, his 
 brother-in-law, as a partner, and with a capital of about $1,200, he opened a small 
 store at No. 277 Fulton street, Brooklyn, for the sale of worsteds, embroideries and 
 trimmings, under the name of Frederick Loeser & Co. Thorough knowledge of the 
 business brought to him many customers, who had formerly made their purchases in 
 New York city. The Civil War brought trying times to the firm, but by dint of energy 
 and by dispensing with salaried clerks, they met every liability without failure. In 
 1863, they established a branch store at No. 737 Broadway in New York, but Jan. i, 
 1866, the partners separated, Mr. Loeser retaining the Brooklyn store, and Mr. Dinkel- 
 spiel the one in New York. For six years, Mr. Loeser traded under his own name, 
 but in 1872, admitted Louis and Hermann Liebmann, and in 1876, his brother, Gustav 
 Loeser, to partnership under the old name of Frederick Loeser & Co. In 1887, the 
 store was sold to the Liebmanns at a competitive sale, and the Loesers, associating 
 with themselves John and Howard Gibb, opened a new general dry goods store on 
 Fulton street, opposite the junction with DeKalb avenue, under the time-honored 
 name of the old firm. In this new location, the business has assumed dimensions 
 which have surprised the partners themselves. Mr. Loeser is a member of the 
 Brooklyn and Liederkranz clubs. He was married, Sept. 30, 1860, to Matilde Dinkel- 
 spiel, by whom he had two children, Charles Alexander and Robert M. Loeser. His 
 second wife is Emilie Viet, his cousin. 
 
 EDWARD VICTOR LOEW, lawyer, builder and insurance president, born in this 
 city, March 18, 1839, is a son of Frederick and Salome S. Loew, who came to this 
 country from Strasbourg in the province of Alsace, France (now included in German 
 territory) where the family name had, for many years, been prominent in the manu- 
 facture of woolen goods. The young man attended the old public school, No. 14, in 
 this city, of which Leonard Hazeltine was principal, but, on account of the death of his 
 father, was compelled to leave his books when only twelve years of age and begin to 
 earn his own support. 
 
 Having obtained employment in a real estate office, he applied himself to acquiring 
 a full knowledge of every detail of the business, and rose by application and merit to 
 be chief clerk, and only left that position at an early age to make a start for himself in 
 the same vocation in partnership with his brother, Charles E. Loew, now deceased. 
 During his leisure time, he mastered the rudiments of law and after completing his 
 studies under Samuel P. Bell, a well known real estate attorney, he was admitted to 
 the bar in 1868. By making a specialty of real estate conveyancing and other office 
 business, he soon created a large and lucrative practice. He then engaged in impor- 
 tant land and building operations, which soon required his undivided attention and 
 which he conducted with such excellent judgment and ability as to win distinct success. 
 He has been interested in the construction of over 300 buildings for residence purposes 
 in this city. 
 
 Mr. Loew has also won the reputation of a shrewd and careful financier. He be- 
 came an incorporator in 1867 of The Eleventh Ward Bank, which has been highly suc- 
 cessful and of which he is yet a director, and in 1869, of The Eleventh Ward Savings 
 
402 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Bank, of which he was the first president, filling the position with so much efficiency 
 and success, that upon his retirement very complimentary resolutions of respect and 
 appreciation were adopted by the trustees. 
 
 Mr. Loew in 1870 aided in the incorporation of The Manufacturers' & Builders' 
 Fire Insurance Co., becoming its president and serving for twenty-three years. He 
 made the company one of the best and most prosperous in the city. In 1873, Mr. 
 Loew became an incorporator of The New York Real Estate Guaranty Co. , of which 
 he is now president. He is a director in The Seaboard National Bank, The Knicker- 
 bocker Trust Co., The Standard Gas Light Co., and The New York Mutual Savings 
 & Loan Association, and first vice president of The American Savings Bank, The Iron 
 Steamboat Co. , and the Batopilas Mining Co. It is seldom that one meets with such 
 marked and continuous progress as that which has attended the persistent enterprise of 
 Mr. Loew. 
 
 Although ever ready to do his full duty as a citizen, Mr. Loew has declined many 
 offers of public office. In 1884, however, he accepted from a combination of reform 
 organizations a nomination for Comptroller of the City of New York and was elected by 
 a flattering majority. During his three years in office, man}' opportunities arose for an 
 upright, independent and intelligent official to serve the public interest against the 
 best laid schemes of public plunder, and it is sufficient to say that the reputation which 
 secured Mr. Loew's nomination was confirmed and strengthened by his acts as Comp- 
 troller. In 1887, he was urgently pressed by a large number of the most prominent 
 men in the city to accept a renomination, but was obliged to decline. 
 
 Mr. Loew was married in 1872, to Julia, daughter of Thomas Goadby, a retired 
 manufacturer of this city, and has a family of three sons, Edward Victor Loew, jr., 
 Wm. Goadby Loew and Frederick W. Loew, and two daughters, Edna Goadby Loew 
 and Marguerite Salome Loew. His tastes are thoroughly domestic and he belongs to 
 only three clubs, the Manhattan, Riding and City. He finds his greatest pleasure in- 
 promoting the happiness of his family and dispensing a refined hospitality to a host of 
 friends. 
 
 Mr. Loew has acquired wealth and position by ability, perseverance and upright 
 methods and has given employment to thousands of men and improved the city in which 
 he lives. The path of many a struggling friend has been smoothed by his acts of 
 kindness, and he has shown by his success that "where there is a will there is a way." 
 He gives with discrimination, and is a good citizen, whose life record is an heritage for_ 
 his children and should be full of inspiration to every honest youth who is determined 
 to succeed. 
 
 ALFRED LEBBEUS LOOfllS, M. D., born in Bennington, Vt., in 1831, died at 
 No. 19 West 34th street, in this city, Jan. 23, 1895. Graduating from Union College in 
 1851 and fitting himself for the practice of medicine at the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons in this city, Dr. Loomis established himself as a general practitioner in 
 1855, after having spent two years as assistant physician on Ward's and Blackwell's 
 islands. Diseases of the respiratory organs were adopted as his specialty from the 
 beginning and in his later years his associates in medicine conceded to him the rank of 
 one of the leading authorities in the United States in that branch of medical science. 
 His consulting rooms were thronged with patients, who paid him large fees for his 
 advice, and Dr. Loomis was one of the few who accumulated a large fortune in his 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LO. 403 
 
 profession. Bellevue, Mount Sinai, the Charity and other hospitals gave him a place 
 on their staffs, and he belonged to all the principal medical societies of America and 
 Europe and the faculty of the University of the City of New York. No other man 
 did more than he to promote the prominence of the Adirondacks as a health resort. 
 He was a large contributor to the medical literature of the day, some of his larger 
 works being " Lessons in Physical Diagnosis," "Diseases of the Respirator}* Organs, 
 Heart and Kidneys," "Lectures on Fevers," "Diseases of Old Age," and "A Text 
 Book of Practical Medicine." Dr. Loomis married twice, and his second wife and 
 two children by his first wife survived him. 
 
 DANIEL LORD, lawyer, a native of Stonington, Conn., born Sept. 2, 1795, died 
 in New York city, March 4, 1868. He was a brother of Rufus L., Thomas, and David 
 X. Lord, the latter a notable merchant of this city and prominent promoter of The 
 New York & Erie Railroad and also of Eleazer Lord, president of that road. 
 Graduating from Yale College and being admitted to the bar in 1817, this countrv lad 
 rose in time to be the greatest mercantile lawyer of New York city. Few great cases 
 in either the New York or United States courts came to trial without his appearance 
 on one side or the other, and his practice brought him a fortune. He was a 
 distinguished orator and his indignant speech at a public meeting held in the Broad- 
 way Tabernacle over the brutal assault upon Charles Sumner in the United States 
 Senate so stung the Slidell family, that one of its members challenged him. Mr. Lord 
 disposed of the challenge with contempt. 
 
 SAflUEL LORD, dry goods merchant, born in Yorkshire, England, died at his 
 home, Ashton-on-Mersey, Cheshire, England. May 23, 1889, in his eighty-sixth year. 
 The youngest of five children, he was left an orphan while young. He served an 
 apprenticeship in the trade of iron-moulder, rising to be master of the craft. In 
 1824, he came to New York and engaged in the dry goods business, and in 1826, was 
 joined by his young wife and child, whom he had left in England. His wife's cousin, 
 George W. Taylor, entered the business with him in 1834, under the firm name of 
 Lord & Taylor, but withdrew in 1845, and was succeeded by James S. Taylor, Mrs. 
 Lord's brother. The}" continued in business in Catherine street until 1854, when they 
 moved to the corner of Grand and Chrystie streets, and in 1860, established a second 
 store on Broadway at the corner of Grand street, later removing the latter to the 
 corner of Broadway and 2oth street, the present location of the up-town store. 
 Mr. Lord retired in 1862, making his home thereafter at Ashton, Cheshire, England. 
 He was a special partner in several firms. He never forgot those who helped him in 
 his early struggles. His two sons, G. W. Taylor Lord and Samuel Lord, jr., succeeded 
 him in the firm. 
 
 THOflAS LORD, merchant, born in Norwich, Conn., about 1795, died in New 
 York city, Feb. 8, 1879. He was one of a notable family, the men of which were 
 all prominent in this city, the early part of the present century. In 1822, he became 
 a partner of the old firm of Lord & Lees, great importers of dry goods in this city, 
 famous in every part of the country. He married a daughter of Elbert Anderson and 
 had several children. He was president at one time of The Columbia Marine In- 
 surance Co. Receiving a large inheritance from his brother Rufus, he added thereto 
 until his wealth was conspicuous. Real-estate, which he bought at what would now 
 be regarded a low price in the heart of the business portion of the city, afterward 
 
404 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 rose to a high value. In 1841, he was Naval Officer of the port. His first wife died 
 in 1872. Dec. 31, 1877, he was married to Mrs. Annette Wilhelmina Hicks, a leader 
 in the social life of the city. 
 
 PETER LORILLARD, tobacconist, who died at Saratoga, N. Y., Oct. 6, 1867, in 
 the seventy-second year of his age, succeeded his father in a well-established tobacco 
 business in this city about the middle oi the century, ana after many years of strict 
 frugality and untiring industry in the manufacture and sale of tobacco, became the 
 richest person in the trade in the United States. Long before the many dealers whose 
 names are now familiar as leaders in the business had become known in commercial 
 circles, Mr. Lorillard accumulated a fortune which enabled him to rule the market. 
 The business and house, which his children inherit, are one hundred years old. The 
 most conspicuous representative of the family at the present time is Pierre Lorillard, 
 who is a large stockholder in The P. Lorillard Co., incorporated, which, with a capital 
 of $5,000,000, employs about 3,000 persons in large factories in Jersey City. He is the 
 founder of Tuxedo Park and a very public-spirited man. 
 
 PHINEAS CHAPflAN LOUNSBURY, statesman, financier, and for many years 
 president of The Merchants' Exchange National Bank of New York, was born Jan. 
 10, 1841, in Ridgefield, Conn., of good old colonial stock. His grandfather was a 
 farmer but fought bravely throughout the War of the Revolution, while his father, 
 who yet enjoys a hearty old age, devotes himself to agricultural pursuits. 
 
 The young man received his early education in the schools of his native State 
 and showed a marked fondness for and proficiency in the classics, elocution and debates, 
 his favorite study being mathematics. When the Civil War began, he enlisted as a 
 private in the i7th Conn. Vol's, but was stricken down by sickness, which compelled 
 his retirement. He was recommended for a pension but refused it. In spite of the 
 fact that bad health debarred him from participation in the battles in which his regi- 
 ment distinguished itself, he has never lost interest in his former comrades in arms 
 and is an active member of Edwin D. Pickett Post No. 64, G. A. R. of Ridgefield 
 
 When his old regiment dedicated a monument on the battlefield of Gettysburg, in 
 July, 1884, the former private was orator of the day and delivered a touching and elo- 
 quent eulogy over the graves of the comrades, who gave up their lives in that hotly 
 contested fight. His peroration was worthy of the occasion. It was couched in these 
 words : 
 
 "If in the years to come, the North and South shall vie with each other in the 
 bloodless battle of industry and patriotism, of social justice and political freedom, of 
 intelligence and virtue, as gallantly and truly as on this field they fought in fratricidal 
 strife, to gather the harvest the battle's red rain has made to flow, who shall regret 
 the price paid ?" 
 
 Governor Lounsbury's political career has been an enviable and brilliant one, char- 
 acterized as it has been by perfect purity and fervent patriotism. His first vote was 
 cast in 1862 for Abraham Lincoln and from that day he has always been a devoted 
 Republican. In 1874, he served in the Connecticut Legislature, representing his native 
 place, and his services in that body, both on committee work and as Speaker, won such 
 unanimous commendation that he soon became a leader in his party. It was largely 
 through his efforts that the local option laws, which were passed in the State, were en 
 acted, and however they may have antagonized certain classes, it is certain that they 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LO. 405 
 
 elevated him in the esteem of all whose esteem is worth having. It was by his speeches 
 in favor of temperance that he first won the reputation of being one of the orators of 
 the State, and in the Elaine campaign of 1884, he added largely to this reputation. 
 
 At these State conventions, he was brought forward as candidate for Governor. In 
 1882, he requested that his name be withdrawn in favor of the Hon. Wm. H. Buckley, 
 but four years later he was unanimously nominated on the first ballot. 
 
 His administration of the high office -during 1887 and 1888, was characterized by 
 wisdom and patriotism and firmness, such as entitle him to rank high compared with his 
 predecessors. A notable instance ot how his influence was felt was shown in the " In- 
 corrigible Criminals Act." This provides that a person who has been twice convicted 
 of an offense, involving a term of not less than two years in prison, shall on the third con- 
 viction be sentenced to imprisonment for twenty-five years. Governor Lounsbury be- 
 lieved that a life sentence should be imposed in such cases, and said so in a message in 
 which he brought the subject to the attention of the Legislature, his strongest argu- 
 ment being that the State prison is primarily for the protection of society, an idea which 
 has resulted recently, in one State at least, in the imposition of a life penalty, although 
 it was thought best not to impose the life sentence, the twenty-five year term in most 
 cases amounting to practically the same thing. 
 
 Politics ran high during Governor Lounsbury's time, yet when his term came to an 
 end, even his most bitter political foes could find no peg upon which to hang a just 
 criticism, and on nearly all sides it was admitted that he was one ot the best executives 
 the State had ever had. His integrity was beyond question, his courtesy to all never 
 failing, and his splendid business tact and his evident inclination to administer State 
 affairs on purely business principles gained him the admiration of friends and antag- 
 onists alike throughout the commonwealth. It is seldom that a man retiring from a 
 public office is enabled to cany with him such universal esteem and commendation. 
 
 Even The Hartford Daily Times, the leading Democratic newspaper of Connecti- 
 cut, was impelled to say of him editorially : 
 
 " While our political preferences did not favor his election to the Chief Magistracy 
 of the State, and while we had at the outset some doubts as to the probable methods of 
 his official course, we very frankly say that he has been one of the best Governors 
 Connecticut has ever had. Governor Lounsbury unquestionably retires from office with 
 the respect and hearty good feeling of every one, irrespective of party, with whom he 
 has been brought into official personal relations." 
 
 Governor Lounsbury married Miss Jennie Wright, daughter of Neziah Wright, 
 one of the founders of The American Bank Note Company, in 1867, and his domestic 
 relations are of the happiest. In religion, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, having been a lay delegate to the General Conference in 1886. He has been 
 for many years a trustee of the Wesleyan University at Middletown, Connecticut, which 
 conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws upon him in 1887. 
 
 Among the organizations to which he belongs are the Colonial and Republican 
 clubs of New York, and the Mystic Tie and Jerusalem Lodge, F. and A. M., Ridge- 
 field, Conn. He is a Royal Arch Master of Eureka Chapter, Danbury, Conn. , a Knight 
 Templar of Crusader Commanderv of the same place, and a noble of the Mystic Shrine, 
 attached to Pyramid Temple, Bridgeport, Conn. 
 
 Governor Lounsbury is a trustee in The American Bank Note Co. and chairman 
 
406 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 of the executive committee of The Washington Trust Co. and holds official positions 
 in several other financial institutions. 
 
 ABIEL ABBOT LOW, merchant, a native of the old seaport town of Salem, Mass., 
 born Feb. 7, 1811, died in Brooklyn, Jan. 7, 1893. The oldest son among the twelve 
 children of Seth and Mary P. Low, he went from the grammar schools directly into the 
 office of Joseph Howard & Co., merchants in the South American trade, and grew 
 naturally into a commercial career. In 1829, the family moved to Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 Abiel assisted his father, a drug merchant, for three years and then sailed to China to 
 become a clerk for Russell & Co., of Canton, in which his uncle, William H. Low, was 
 a partner. Admitted to partnership in 1833, he returned to New York in 1840, opened 
 a store in Fletcher street and became an importer of tea. Josiah O. Low, his brother, 
 joined him in 1845, and in 1852, his brother-in-law, Edward H. R. Lyman. The firm 
 name of A. A. Low & Bro's, then adopted, yet adorns the building in Burling Slip, 
 in which a general business is carried on. With the expansion of his trade, Mr. 
 Low found it necessary to possess his own ships. He had a large fleet and employed 
 them in the trade with China. Mr. Low not only possessed the money-making faculty 
 and a resolute spirit in emergencies, but a strong and broad mind, a generous heart, 
 a desire to promote the interests of his brother merchants, and a character which com- 
 manded public confidence. He entered the Chamber of Commerce in 1846 and was its 
 president, 1863-67, resigning then in order to enjoy a voyage around the world. He 
 was president of the trustees of the Packer Institute in Brooklyn for many years, 
 and a patron of nearly all the philanthropic institutions on that side of the East river. 
 During the War, he proved a stanch and active supporter of the Union. Investment 
 and the habit of giving personal attention to every important interest led him into the 
 directorate of The American Fire Insurance Co., The Central Trust Co., The Delaware 
 & Hudson Canal, The Greenwich Insurance Co., The Low Moor Iron Co., The Nassau 
 Fire Insurance Co., The National Bank of Commerce, The Old Dominion Land Co., 
 The Greenwood Cemetery Co., The Home Life Insurance Co., The Union Trust Co., 
 and The Washington Life Insurance Co. He was a large owner of The Brooklyn 
 City Railroad and The Franklin Trust Co. Although amassing great wealth, he bore 
 himself with quiet modesty and was universally loved. In March, 1841, he married 
 Ellen Almira, daughter of Josiah Dow. Their four children were Harriette Low, 
 Abbot Augustus Low, Seth Low and Mrs. Henry E. Pierrepont. Mrs. Low died 
 Jan. 25, 1850. Feb. 25, 1851, Mr. Low was married again to Ann D. B., widow of his 
 brother, William H. Low. She died in 1891. His son, Seth Low, president of Colum- 
 bia College, has recently made the munificent gift of $1,000,000 to the college. 
 
 JOSEPH TOflPKINS LOW, merchant, was born in Louisville, Ky., in August, 
 1846, and is a son of James Low, a native of Massachusetts, and Emeline Van Buskirk, 
 of Louisville. He was educated in the schools of New York city and began life as a 
 clerk in the dry-goods jobbing house of Wicks, Smith & Co. In January, 1867, he had 
 gained sufficient experience and confidence to go into the firm of Low, Harriman & 
 Co. , dry goods commission merchants. They have always represented various factories, 
 especially the New York Mills of Utica, N. Y. , and by diligent enterprise have in- 
 creased their transactions to several million dollars a year. In 1888, the style of the 
 firm was changed to Joseph T. Low & Co., Mr. Harriman having retired. The senior 
 partner is not simply a competent merchant. He is a gentleman of fine cultivation and 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LO. 407 
 
 high character and is highly esteemed both in business circles and up town and enjoys 
 the acquaintance of a large number of pleasant friends. He married Mary, grand- 
 daughter of Dr. Valentine Mott, in February, 1870, and his children are Joseph T., 
 Oliver H., May and Laura Low He has joined many of the best clubs, including the 
 Union League, Manhattan, Country, Merchants', and Lawyers', and The New England 
 Society, and is a director of The Equitable Life Assurance Society, The Hanover Fire 
 Insurance Co., The Safe Deposit Co. of New York, and other institutions. 
 
 JOSEPH S. LOWREY, merchant, born in Newark, N. J , died at his home in this 
 city, July 27, 1885, at the age of sixty-four. He came to New York when seventeen 
 years old, and for several years was employed by the dry goods firm of Edmund J. 
 Kingsland, one of the largest in the city. In 1855, he organized the firm of J. S. 
 Lowrey & Co. , importers of furnishing goods and rose therein to fortune. Mr. Lowrey 
 was one of the organizers of The Fifth Avenue Bank, of which he was president, and was 
 a director in The Importers' & Traders' Bank, The Hanover Fire Insurance Co. , The 
 Missouri Pacific Railway and The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. 
 He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and was for some time chairman of 
 the executive committee of the Union League club. For thirty years, he had been one 
 of the most active business men of New York. His wife and one son survived him. 
 
 WILLIAfl LUnniS, banker and stock broker, born in New York city, May 2, 
 1841, is a son of William Maxwell Lummis, a dry goods merchant, and Ann O'Brien, 
 his wife, the latter the sister of William and John O'Brien, the famous bankers. In the 
 veins of Mr. Lummis flows the blood of a mingled ancestry, both patrician and demo- 
 cratic. His paternal line is traced back to a Puritan pioneer, who emigrated to the new 
 world from England in 1636. The Maxwell family originated in the north of Ireland 
 and was planted in this country about the year 1700. The maternal line descends from 
 French Huguenot and Irish stock and the grandfather of Mr. Lurnmis was Lord 
 O'Brien, Earl of Inchiquin. In his own character and career, Mr. Lummis has exem- 
 plified the elevated spirit, the enterprise and the sterling qualities of his forbears. 
 He had the advantage of beginning life with an excellent education and is one of those 
 to whom his associates point with satisfaction as typical of the success of the "college 
 man in business " From private schools in this city, Mr. Lummis went to Columbia 
 College, whence he graduated in 1859, with the degree of A. B., receiving three years 
 later, from his alma mater, the degree of A. M. 
 
 Destined at first for the law, he studied the text books of that profession for two 
 years in the offices of Augustus Schell, Waldo Hutchins and Judge Henry E. Davies. 
 But an active spirit and opportunity combined led him to decide, finally, upon a differ- 
 ent career, and he then entered the banking office of William & John O'Brien in Wall 
 street. The vocation proved congenial and he made himself useful at once. He pur- 
 chased a seat in the Stock Exchange in 1864, and in 1865, was admitted to partnership 
 by his uncles. Mr. Lummis has spent his whole life in the world whose interests 
 center in Wall street He retired from William & John O'Brien in 1878, and formed a 
 partnership with Henry Day, previously of Gwynne & Day, and conducted a banking and 
 brokerage business on Wall street, under the title of Lummis & Day until 1885, when 
 he retired from active business, his brother succeeding to his interest in the firm. 
 
 At the Stock Exchange, Mr. Lummis b2came prominent in a very few years in 
 consequence of his soundness of judgment, personal popularity and courteous address. 
 
AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL HEX. 
 
 He served as a governor of the Stock Exchange ,8 74 -S6, and was elected vice president 
 in ,884. For a time after the resignation of A. S. Hatch, he was the acting president 
 of the Exchange and thereafter declined farther office. 
 
 He has since been occupied with investments. He is an excellent judge of cor 
 porate properties, is cool, keen and successful in their management, and n or has been 
 a director of The Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg, The Uticaft Black Hirer The 
 Xew York & New England, The Xewburgh, Dutchess & Connecticut and The South 
 Carolina & Georgia Railroads, The Washington Trust Co., The Emigrant Industrial 
 Savings Bank and The Bond & Mortgage Guarantee Co. AH of these are important 
 msbtntions and derive much strength from Mr. Lummis's connection with them. 
 
 To some extent, he has served his fellow citizens of the metropolis in public 
 
 affairs, although too busy a man to make politics much of a feature in his Hfe He 
 
 served as a member of the Board of Education for seven years and was chairman of 
 
 the Finance Committee of the Board for several vears, succeeding Jacob D. Vermilve. 
 
 e resigned m 1893. Mayor Grace paid him the compliment of appointment as Com- 
 
 Mssoner of Taxes but Mr. Lummis found himself reluctantlj compelled to decline. 
 
 is as deeply interested in the welfare of the city, however, as anv other old Xew 
 \ orker and has promoted its prosperity in many ways. 
 
 He was married in 1886 and is the father of William Maxwell, CharksP Rnthand 
 
 t Lummis, and while greatly preferring home life to that which is found beneath 
 
 f a club house is nevertheless a member of the Manhattan club up town and 
 
 for the sake of its facilities of the Lawyers' club down town. He is also, bv virtue of 
 
 the services of Capt. John Maxwell of Xew Jersey, in die War for Independence, a Son 
 
 of the Revolution. 
 
 EDWARD HUTCHINSON BOBBINS LYflAN, born in Northampton, Ma*. Feb 
 
 !2j!!!Lf JL!^J1 JOSep!l Lyman * hwyer ' J^^ P****, andamemberof the 
 celebrated Hartford Convention. His father's family were English, his mother's. Scot- 
 Fhe paternal ancestor, Richard Lyman, left England for this country about i6 
 and from his three sons, Richard, Robert and John, originated all of the name of 
 Lyman in this country. The subject of this sketch attended die schools of Xorthamp- 
 
 r 1 " 1 ^:^* '^ HC ^ f0tmd 1** in Boston in the store of 
 
 Z^t?? 6 ' ** g00dS ^P " 6 * 5 - Fo *r rears later, when the firm dissolved, 
 
 two houses were formed. Mr. Lyman continued with one of them, that of George B. 
 
 Jlake& Co., and m , 838, went to England as their representative. Hebecameapan- 
 
 nerin,84i, and ertahHshed a branch in Xew York city under the name of NermT& 
 
 Co. Remaining abroad as the representative of the two howes until fte fall of 1847 
 
 he returned to occupy himself in Xevins& Co. In ,85*, Mr. Lyman became a partner 
 
 he firm of A. A. Low & Bro's, merchants in the China trade, and thereafter devoted 
 
 ^totheof.erationsof flrisfirin. He was an excellent merchant, spirited, up- 
 
 ^^ ! t^ f gtM ^SL aad l** rfweil "* P *"** over forty yean, of active 
 
 ^^^J^^^ * ** Lyman " S Dame * been * bV several cor- 
 ponitaoo^and he has been second vice president of The Seamen's Bank for Savings, a 
 director in The Atlantic Trust Co., The New York Mntnal Inanee Co.. Tn^w 
 100 ^*'^ rieDt Matnal ** Co., The Xassau National Bank of 
 
 toook^n^TheBrooldyn Trust Co. He is not attracted by club We and has joined 
 only the Brooklyn and the Down Town clubs, die latter a favorite resort of thesab- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LY. 409 
 
 stantial men of the lower part of New York city for luncheon. His home is in Brook- 
 lyn. He was married in August, 1846, to Sarah Elizabeth, a sister of A. A. Low. 
 This union brought them four children, Edward Robbins, who lived four months; 
 Joseph, who died in September, 1883; Anna Jean, who married Alfred T. White, and 
 Frank Lyman. His wife died in April, 1863 In August, 1865, he married Catharine 
 Amelia, daughter of Dr. Alfred Tredway, of Hart's Village, Dutchess county, N Y. 
 
 WILLIAfl HEATH LYON, a most successful wholesale merchant, born in the town 
 of Holland, Hampden count) , Mass. , Oct. i8,"i8i9, traces his descent from William Lyon, 
 one of the early English settlers of Massachusetts, who located at Roxbury in 1635. 
 
 Mr. Lyon spent his early life in work upon a farm, attending the district school 
 during every winter. When fourteen years of age, he was sent to a school in Hart- 
 ford, Conn., and after graduation went to Wayne county, N. Y. where for five years 
 he engaged in teaching, the last two years as principal of the Clyde High School. 
 
 While principal of this school, the enterprise of Prof. Morse, who had put a tele- 
 graph line into operation between Washington and BaUimore, attracted his attention. 
 Mr. Lyon was deeply interested in the subject of telegraph}', and, in the course of some 
 experiments of his own, constructed a printing telegraph machine, or rather demon- 
 strated, by means of a model which he had made, that type and ink could be used in 
 conveying messages by telegraph wire. This no doubt was the basis for the construc- 
 tion of a machine, w r hich has since been utilized throughout the world. The Clyde 
 Eagle, a paper published at Clyde, in its issue of July n, 1844, Volume i, No 9, 
 printed a two column editorial article in full explanation of Mr. Lyon's telegraphic 
 experiments, which was copied and commented upon by The New York Evening Post, 
 Tlie Commercial Advertiser, The Boston Traveller and other journals. Mr. Lyon was 
 one of the earliest electricians in the United States, and had he chosen to pursue the 
 investigations, upon which he entered fifty years ago, he would undoubtedly have risen 
 in time to the front rank in this science. But commercial pursuits appeared to be 
 more agreeable to him and to offer a wider field for advancement than electrical or 
 scientific investigations. He therefore decided to engage in the former. 
 
 In 1845, he came to New York city and for two years found occupation as salesman 
 in the wholesale dry goods business. He then changed from dry goods to what was 
 then termed ' Yankee notions and fancy goods. " After organizing the firm of Wm. 
 H. Lyon & Co., his brother, Warren W. Lyon, being the "Co.," he began business at 
 his own risk with a very limited capital on the second floor of the building at No. 169 
 Pearl street. Mr. Lyon proved a splendid merchant, energetic, upright and sound, 
 and he had the satisfaction of witnessing a gradual but constant growth of his trade. 
 Larger quarters were soon needed. In 1851, they moved to No. 4 Dey street, in 1860, 
 to No's 15-17 Cortlandt street; in 1864, to No. 371 Broadway and in 1870, to the large 
 double store No's 483 and 485 Broadway, fifty feet in width, running through the 
 entire block to Mercer street. A business conducted with intelligence and energy 
 advances with accumulating speed and in the new location the trade of Mr. Lyon 
 increased rapidly. The firm remained there for twenty years, when Mr. Lyon having 
 reached the age of three score and ten, decided to close the business of the firm and 
 retire from mercantile pursuits. During the forty-three years of existence of the firm, 
 several valued employe's were admitted to partnership, but the name of the house was 
 never changed. 
 
410 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 The firm of Wm. H. Lyon & Co. were ever in the van of progress. Mr. Lyon had 
 the spirit and sagacity to be the first New York merchant in his line of business to visit 
 Europe for the purpose of procuring a better assortment of fancy goods, small wares, 
 etc., than could be obtained at the time from New York importers. The first trip 
 took place in 1848. He had intended, after completing his purchases in England, to go 
 directly to France, but was prevented for the moment by the revolution in progress 
 there. He visited Belgium instead. While there he heard of the flight of Louis 
 Phillipe to England and the establishment of the provisional government of the 
 French Republic under Lamartine. Leaving Belgium immediately for France, he was 
 the first American merchant to enter Paris after the insurrection. Confusion reigned 
 throughout the city and the trade of the commission houses and manufacturers was 
 prostrated. Goods then ruling at low prices, Mr. Lyon purchased liberally and made 
 arrangements for future shipments. These ventures earned their own reward in large 
 profits. The house afterward imported large quantities of goods from all the leading 
 commercial cities in Europe, and from India, China and Japan. Few firms in New 
 York became better known throughout the commercial world than Wm. H. Lyon & 
 Co. Their sales extended to every State in the Union, and to Canada, Mexico, the 
 West Indies and South America. 
 
 Although Mr. Lyon always gave to all his business affairs the strict and pains- 
 taking attention characteristic of a thorough business man, he found time nevertheless 
 for social enjoyment, public duties and the management of corporate enterprises. He 
 is an old member of the Chamber of Commerce of New York, and a member of The 
 Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, The Long Island Historical Society, and the 
 Oxford and Union League clubs of Brooklyn. He is also a director of The New Eng- 
 land Society, The Brooklyn Life Insurance Co., and The Bedford Bank and vice 
 president of The Hamilton Trust Co. , of Brooklyn. 
 
 An important public service has been performed by Mr. Lyon with respect to 
 those scattered tribes of the original possessors of this continent yet surviving in the 
 West. During General Grant's administration, Congress authorized the President of 
 the United States in his discretion to organize a Board of Indian Commissioners, select- 
 ing men noted for intelligence and philanthropy, to serve without compensation. Mr. 
 Lyon was appointed by General Grant one of the members of this Board. He was im- 
 mediately assigned to the Purchasing Committee and served as its chairman under six 
 Presidential administrations. The purchases of Indian annuity goods and supplies had 
 previously been conducted in a way which did not give general satisfaction. Mr. Lyon 
 organized a system of bids and awards under which an animated competition in bidding 
 took place between the largest merchants and manufacturers in the country, and there- 
 after the goods and supplies required for the Indians were obtained at very low prices. 
 During several summer vacations, Mr. Lyon, as a member of this board, visited and 
 held councils with the following Indian tribes : The Chippewas and Pembinas in Northern 
 Minnesota; the Sioux, Mandans, Arickarees and Gros Ventres in Dakota; the Poncas 
 in Nebraska; the Utes in Colorado; the Northern Arapahoes and Cheyennes, Bannocks 
 and Shoshones in Wyoming; the Pi Utes in Nevada; and the Mountain and Yellow- 
 stone River Crows in Montana. He also visited Chicago, St. Paul, St. Louis, Denver 
 and San Francisco in the interest of the government for the purchase of Indian goods 
 and supplies. It may be mentioned that at the various councils with savage tribes, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. LY. 4H 
 
 the Indians fell into the habit of addressing Mr. Lyon as General, it being their con- 
 ception that persons in authority were war chiefs, and Mr. Lyon has long enjoyed the 
 distinction of the soubriquet of General. 
 
 Many years ago, Mr. Lyon invested a portion of his means in large tracts of real 
 estate in Iowa, Minnesota and Dakota at very low prices. This property has continued 
 to increase in value and proved to be an excellent investment, but since retirement from 
 mercantile pursuits he has confined his investments mostly to bank and trust company 
 stocks and real estate mortgages. He has never manifested any desire for political 
 office; but while in California on Indian business in 1878, he was nominated for Con- 
 gress on the Republican ticket from his district in Brooklyn, which usually gave a 
 Democratic majority of 8,000. His candidacy reduced this majority about one half. 
 
 Mr. Lyon and his family were always fond of traveling, and after closing up his 
 business, they made a long journey through several countries of the old world. Having 
 previously visited the principal cities in Western Europe, they went directly upon this 
 occasion to Italy and after visiting Florence, Rome and Naples, sailed for Egypt, 
 where they met William H. Lyon, jr., then fresh from a voyage around the world via 
 California, Japan, China, India and the Red Sea. After spending several weeks on the 
 River Nile in Egypt and Nubia, they went to Jerusalem and other places in the Holy 
 Land, and then visited Damascus, Baalbek, Beirut, Smyrna, Athens, Constantinople, 
 Vienna, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, and Brussels and 
 came home, via London. 
 
 Mr. Lyon has long been a resident of New York avenue in Brooklyn. His large 
 double house, with all modern improvements, surrounded by grounds covered with 
 many kinds of shade trees and flowering shrubbery, is liberally furnished with mate- 
 rial selected by his family in Oriental countries expressly for that purpose, and many of 
 the fruits of a long, busy and prosperous life can be seen in his very pleasant and com- 
 fortable home. He was married in 1853 to Ellen M. Gaylord, daughter of Marvin J. 
 Gaylord, of Bristol, Conn., and there have been born to them Alena F. , Adela J., Wm. 
 H , jr., and Marvin T. Lyon. 
 
 A man of genial temperament, strong, calm and sedate, Mr. Lyon enjoys to the 
 uttermost in his years of rest the friendship of a wide circle of friends won by an hon- 
 orable, sympathetic and useful life. His energy and integrity have contributed to the 
 glory of the metropolis and the decent administration of the affairs of the government. 
 While fortune has rewarded his practical labors, the crown of his life grows out of 
 those elements of his character which have won for him the esteem of his fellow citizens. 
 
M. 
 
 DAVID HUNTER McALPIN, whose name is known wherever the brands of tobacco 
 he manufactures are used, and that is nearly everywhere, was born in Pleasant Valley, 
 Dutchess county, N. Y. , Nov. 8, 1816. His father, James McAlpin, came to this coun- 
 try in the early part of the nineteenth century, with Jane Hunter, his wife, and estab- 
 lished himself in a small way as a grocer. James McAlpin came from Belfast, County 
 Antrim, Ireland, and sprang from the Scottish stock which emigrated from Ireland in 
 Cromwell's time, his father being among those who were driven from Ireland by the 
 Rebellion of 1798. From such ancestors descend many of the Scotch-Irish race, who 
 have been so instrumental in building up the fortunes of this country. 
 
 Mr. McAlpin was the fourth of eight children and found his first employment in a 
 cotton factory when he was only ten years old. His father had been ruined by busi- 
 ness reverses and by a fire which destroyed all his property. Until 1836, the youth 
 worked at various occupations in Dutchess county, but removed during that year to 
 New York and ^embarked in the cigar business in Catharine street. There are many 
 New Yorkers yet alive, who well remember the store. He also opened and operated a 
 branch store at No. 305 Broadway. He retained these places of business until 1857 or 
 1858, when he became a partner in the firm of John Cornish & Co., manufacturers of 
 tobacco. Four or five years later, he was able to buy the interest of his partners and 
 establish the firm of D. H. McAlpin & Co., of which he remains to this day the head. 
 By dint of persistent enterprise, strong common sense, sound business methods and 
 knowledge of the public tastes and wants, acquired by years of experience, Mr. 
 McAlpin has brought his house to the front, and it now holds a leading position 
 among the tobacco manufacturers of the country. He makes the well known brands of 
 Virgin Leaf and Navy chewing tobaccos, which are known wherever tobacco is used. 
 
 The firm of D. H. McAlpin & Co. were incorporated in 1894, retaining the old name 
 and with a nominal capital of $500,000. Mr. McAlpin is the president of the company. 
 The large factory on Avenue D gives employment to over 250 persons, many of whom 
 have been employed for thirty years or more. It has been a practice with Mr. McAlpin 
 throughout his life never to discharge one of his employe's without the gravest cause 
 and always to take a deep personal interest in the people who work for him. He has 
 always shown himself solicitous for their welfare, and, as a result, there are few em- 
 ployers more highly respected and honored by their working people. 
 
 From the first day when his business began to prosper, Mr. McAlpin has always 
 had the conviction that real property would be the best investment, and to-day he is 
 largely interested not only in New York but elsewhere in real estate. One of his prin- 
 cipal holdings in this city is the Alpine block on Broadway between 33d and 34th streets, 
 which is occupied by a splendid apartment house. Besides this and his factory build- 
 ings, which are very valuable, he owns a large establishment in West 23d street and 
 considerable property in residence neighborhoods. In 1866, he was compelled, owing 
 to the stress of increasing business and the temporary failure of his health, to take a 
 long rest in the country. Morristown, N. J., having been commended to his attention, 
 he finally selected that town as his place of residence for a time. He remained there 
 about a year, and then, becoming impressed with the healthfulness of the place and the 
 

414 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 rare opportunities it offered for investment, he purchased a country seat, which is now 
 his home for several months every year. He has been constantly adding to this estate 
 for nearly thirty years, until he now owns 1,500 acres of land around the city in addition 
 to his well-appointed country home as well as a large block of property in the business 
 center of Morristown, upon which he has recently erected several new buildings. He 
 takes an active interest in the welfare and prosperity of Morristown, and is noted for 
 his public spirit and demotion to the progress and prosperity of the place. 
 
 Despite the fact that his boyhood from his tenth year was spent in hard labor, Mr. 
 McAlpin is a gentleman of intelligence and culture and the possessor of a splendid 
 library, among whose treasures are a large number of rare books on Scottish gene- 
 alogy, including many volumes devoted to the family name. Like all other members 
 of the Irish branch of the family, he spells his name without the final "e," while most 
 of those who descend from ancestors who came to this country in the seventeenth cen- 
 tury and settled in the South, call themselves McAlpine. They all descend from the 
 clan Alpine, which is frequently mentioned in Sir Walter Scott's works, and the 
 subject of this sketch is proud of his derivation. 
 
 Busy as he always is, he finds time to attend to other duties and is a director of The 
 Home Insurance Co., The Manhattan Life Insurance Co., The National Bank of the 
 Republic, The Union Trust Co., The Rutgers Fire Insurance Co., The Standard Gas 
 Light Co., The Eleventh Ward Bank, and The First National Bank of Morristown. 
 He is also a member of The American Museum of Natural History and The American 
 Geographical Society, and a patron of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and a director 
 of The Union Theological Seminary. 
 
 Mr. McAlpin was married to Miss Adelaide Rose, daughter of Joseph Rose, on 
 the i6th of April, 1845, at the old Market street church, now the Church of Sea and 
 Land. Ten children were born to him, of whom two died in infancy, while eight at- 
 tained their majority. These were Edwin A., formerly Colonel of the yist Reg't, 
 N. G. , N. S. Y., of this city, who was recently appointed Adjutant General of the State 
 by Governor Levi P. Morton, and who assists his father in the management of his 
 business; Joseph Rose, who died in 1888; George Lodowick, who graduated from 
 Yale in 1879; William Willet; Frances Adelaide, who married James Tolman Pyle; 
 Dr. David Hunter, who graduated from Princeton in 1885 and is now a professor in 
 Bellevue Hospital Medical College; Charles W. , who graduated from Princeton in 
 1888, and John Randolph McAlpin, of Princeton, 1893, who died the same year. 
 
 From his earliest days, Mr. McAlpin has been an indefatigable worker, but despite 
 his labors, he has found time to form a collection of masterpieces of American and 
 European art, to which he is making constant and judicious additions. He has traveled 
 extensively both at home and abroad and during his frequent trips to Europe and for- 
 eign lands has acquired a vast amount of practical knowledge and experience, which 
 furnishes a fund of entertainment, both interesting and instructive. He has always 
 been an active and generous supporter of all charitable and reform movements, and 
 has recently erected the Olivet Chapel, a handsome edifice situated on zd street, oppo- 
 site the Marble Cemetery, in memory of his lamented son, Joseph R McAlpin. 
 
 Mi. McAlpin is the possessor of a robust constitution, and a cheery and happy 
 disposition, and he personally attends to the details of his great business. He ranks 
 among the eminently successful self-made men of the metropolis. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. H A 
 
 415 
 
 GEN. EDWIN AUGUSTUS McALPIN, manufacturer, puolic man, and now Adju- 
 tant General of the State of New York, was born June 9, 1848, in New York city, the 
 son of David H. McAlpin, founder of the tobacco house in which both men have risen 
 to prominence. In early life, the subject of this biography attended the public schools 
 of New York city, and later, during the first year of the Civil War, graduated from 
 Phillips academy in Andover, Mass. Like others of the youth of his time, General 
 McAlpin felt strongly moved by the patriotic impulses which then stirred the people of 
 the North, and he strove to go to the front "and take part in the great war for the pres- 
 ervation of the Union. His longing to take part in that national drama could not, 
 however, be gratified; and, although he twice actually enlisted as a drummer boy, 
 parental authority came into play, wisely, to restrain the enthusiastic boy from that for 
 which the immaturity of his strength unfitted him. When he had become old enough 
 to go, the War was over, but this did not quench his military ardor, and, although upon 
 his return from school to New York, he had found occupation in a clerkship in the great 
 tobacco manufactory of his father on Avenue D, he was determined in time to ally him- 
 self with some military corps. The yth regiment is one of the commands toward which 
 the sons of good families in this town turn instinctively when they desire a military 
 experience, and in this corps the future general enlisted as a private at an early age. 
 After a term of service there, he was elected Lieutenant of Co. E, 7 ist N. Y. Promoted 
 soon afterward to be Captain of the company, he rose in two years to the rank of Major 
 and not long thereafter to that of Colonel of the regiment. His energy resulted in a 
 great improvement of the discipline of this command ; but increasing business respon- 
 sibilities made such demands upon his time and strength as to compel him to resign, 
 June 30, 1887, after eighteen years of service in the National Guard. 
 
 In 1870, he was admitted to partnership in D. H. McAlpin & Co., and has ever 
 since been an efficient factor in the prosperity of the concern, aiding materially to make 
 his house the largest fine cut tobacco industry in the country. He is at present prac- 
 tically the manager of the business. A good disciplinarian, he is, nevertheless, a kind 
 and considerate employer, and his numerous acts of friendliness have greatly endeared 
 him to the working people in the factor) 7 . Further than that, he has become popular 
 with working men at large and their regard has been invariably shown whenever Gen- 
 eral McAlpin has been nominated for an elective office. 
 
 General McAlpin established his home in Sing Sing on the Hudson in 1878. He 
 has always been an ardent Republican in political faith and of too active a nature to 
 refrain from participation in movements which awaken his interest. In 1884, the Re- 
 publicans of the 1 4th District nominated him, a week before election and in his absence,, 
 as the most meritorious man they could select, to lead the local fight for a seat in Con- 
 gress. The district being strongly Democratic, the odds were appalling, but Mr. 
 McAlpin sprang into the fight with vigor, and although defeated by 1,200 votes ran 
 2,000 votes ahead of his colleagues on the Republican ticket. 
 
 At one time postmaster of Sing Sing, he was during 1 886-88 a trustee of the vil- 
 lage and in 1889, its president. Thrice his name has been placed on the Republican 
 ticket of New York State as Presidential elector and, in 1888, he received the largest 
 vote of any one on the ticket in the entire State. For many years, he has been espec- 
 ially identified with the movement for the organization of Leagues of Republican clubs, 
 and during 1889-92 was for four years president of the League in New York State. 
 

 a. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. M'C. 417 
 
 Through his energy, that organization became an effective force in the party, arousing 
 new activity on the part of the older members and increasing the enthusiasm of the 
 younger. When the national meeting of Republican clubs was held in Denver in 1894, 
 at least 1,000 of the 1,500 votes in that convention rallied to his support for election as 
 president of the National League. With characteristic modesty and a coolness of judg- 
 ment, which enabled him to act with deliberation in spite of the exceedingly compli- 
 mentary character of the support tendered him, he declined in favor of Mr. Tracy of 
 Illinois, who had more time to give to the practical work of the League and was accord- 
 ingly elected. Gen. McAlpin became president of the League, however, in 1895. 
 
 In 1895, he accepted from Governor Levi P. Morton an appointment as Adjutant 
 General of the State of New York, and has since given a large amount of time to 
 the duties of this office. A long service in the National Guard has fitted him for the 
 position, and while the appointment was a compliment to General McAlpin's untir- 
 ing work for the Republican party, it has given the State an Adjutant General, who 
 knows what is required from him and is fully competent to perform his duty. During 
 the railroad riots in Brooklyn in 1895, he was constantly at his post and made several 
 personal visits to the scene of action, his arrangements for the preservation of order 
 being made with calmness and prudence. 
 
 His business interests are now quite diversified. He is not only active in D. H. 
 McAlpin & Co., but is president of The McAlpin Tobacco Co., of Toronto, The 
 Manhattan Hotel Co., and The Ossining Electrical Railroad, and director of The Sixth 
 National Bank, The Eleventh Ward Bank and The State Trust Co. of this city, of the 
 latter of which he was an incorporator. 
 
 By his marriage in October, 1870, with Annie, daughter of Dr. Benjamin Brand - 
 reth, he is the father of Benjamin B., Edwin A., David H., 3d, Kenneth R., and J. 
 Roderick McAlpin. The family make their home in Sing Sing on the Hudson. Gen. 
 McAlpin has been elected to membership in the Union League, Lotus, Republican, 
 New York Athletic, Seventh Regiment Veteran, United Service, new Manhattan 
 Athletic, Hardware, and the New Rochelle and Sing Sing Yacht clubs, and several 
 trade and charitable associations. He is fond of open air amusements, has pluck, 
 energy, enthusiasm and a clear head and gives his services and means loyally and gen- 
 erously to every cause which he espouses. 
 
 JOHN McCONVILLE, merchant, born in Ireland in 1813, died in this country, July 
 24, 1875. He was a son of William McConville, weaver of linens. After the usual 
 education of a young man who must follow a practical career, he began business life in 
 1848 as a jobber and merchant of dry goods in a small store in Catharine street, New- 
 York, removing some time afterward to Cedar street. All the energies of his mind 
 were devoted to an expansion of his trade, and his career was an excellent illustration 
 of the rewards which attend honest} 7 , perseverance, ability and continual reflection upon 
 the opportunities of the commercial world. At the time of his death, he occupied a 
 large store at 12-14 Walker street, and his firm of John McConville & Co. were known 
 from Maine to California. He sold only for cash and acquired large means He was a 
 generous and kind hearted man, who gave freely to the unfortunate while living and 
 remembered them in his will at his death. 
 
 ROBERT HcCOSKRY, banker, a native of Scotland, who died in 1867, in this city, 
 was a successful merchant in the wholesale hosiery trade, located for many years in 
 
418 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Maiden Lane, and one of the founders of The Chemical Bank. One of the wittiest men 
 of his day, his excellent humor, sound sense, sterling integrity and kindliness of feeling 
 made him everywhere a welcome guest and most entertaining companion. His wife 
 was Catherine M., daughter of Arba Read of Troy, N. Y. She survived him and 
 died April 22, 1886, leaving $50,000 to Williams College and large sums to charity. 
 
 NATHANIEL L'HOfiriEDlEU McCREADY, born in this city, Oct. 4, 1820, died at sea 
 upon the steamer Etruria, Oct. 3, 1887. Thomas McCready, his father, died while 
 Nathaniel was a child, and the lad went to Mobile, Ala., at the age of eighteen, to fill a 
 clerkship in a shipping house. Returning to New York city when twenty-one, he estab- 
 lished the shipping firm of N. L. McCready & Co., engaged in the coasting trade, and 
 remained at the head of his house a quarter of a century. An earnest, practical man, 
 he prospered in business and became widely known, In 1865, he retired to associate 
 himself with Livingston, Fox & Co. and two years later, organized The Old Dominion 
 Steamship Co., which he managed as its president until his death. He was a director 
 of The Farmers' Loan & Trust Co., The Empire City Fire Insurance Co., and The 
 Washington Life Insurance Co. ; for a time president of The Missouri, Kansas & 
 Texas Railroad Co. ; and a prominent member of the Union and St. Nicholas clubs. 
 He was a good merchant, exemplary in habits and noted for his firmness in support of 
 what he deemed to be right. His wife was Caroline Amanda Waldron, a descendant 
 of Resolved Waldron, who came to America with Peter Stuyvesant. Of his five 
 children, Nathaniel L. McCready, jr., and Mrs. William Ward Robbins survived him. 
 
 ROBERT H. flcCURDY, merchant, born in Lyme, Conn., April 14, 1800, died in 
 New York, April 5, 1880. He sprang from an excellent family and by his own life 
 conferred honor upon the name. Coming to New York, a youth, he entered a dry 
 goods store as a clerk and it was there that he met Herman D. Aldrich, with whom a 
 friendship was contracted, which continued throughout life. In 1820, he opened a 
 branch store in Petersburg, Va. , for his employer and remained there several years. 
 About 1828, with Mr. Aldrich, he established in this city the commission dry goods 
 firm of McCurdy & Aldrich, which enjoyed a prosperous existence. After 1840, the 
 house was known as McCurdy, Aldrich & Spencer. The senior partner retired about 
 1857. Mr. McCurdy married Miss Gertrude Mercer Lee, niece of the late Theodore 
 Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, and was survived by five children, Richard A. and 
 Theodore F. McCurdy and Mrs. Gardner G. Hubbard, Mrs. Elias J. Marsh and Mrs. 
 Charles M. Marsh. ,He was one of the founders and a trustee of The Mutual Life 
 Insurance Co., trustee of The Continental Insurance Co., director of The Merchants' 
 Exchange Bank and The American Exchange National Bank and member of the 
 Chamber of Commerce. He aided in founding the Union League club, and always 
 took pride in having organized the Union Defense Committee at the outbreak of the 
 War. The life-long association between himself and Mr. Aldrich, honorable to both 
 and romantic in its nature, is referred to more fully in the sketch of Mr. Aldrich. 
 
 CHARLES HcCLUNG McGHEE, railroad president, was born Jan. 23, 1828, in 
 Monroe County, Tenn., at the junction of the Little Tennessee and Tellico rivers, near 
 old Fort London, the point first settled by the whites beyond the Alleghanies. He is 
 the son of John and Betsy Jones McGhee, the latter born McClung and a niece of 
 Hugh Lawson White, United States Senator from Tennessee, 1825-40, and a candidate 
 for the Presidency in 1836. He is of Scotch-Irish descent on both sides, his great 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. Sl'G. 419 
 
 grandparents having emigrated from Ireland about 1746-47, to Lancaster county, Pa., 
 whence his grandfather, Barclay McGhee, moved to Blount county, Tenn., to become 
 one of the leading citizens of the State. John McGhee, the father of Charles M., born 
 Oct. 15, 1788, ranked as one of the most successful businessmen in Tennessee. He 
 was throughout life a planter, owning about 15,000 acres in the valley of the Little 
 Tennessee. Charles M. McGhee, the youngest of three children, graduated from the 
 University of East Tennessee in 1846 -On the death of his father, he came into a 
 large inheritance of land and negroes. After conducting for about ten years a large 
 plantation in Monroe county, he married Miss Cornelia White, great grandaughter of 
 General James White, founder of Knoxville, and grand niece of Hugh Lawson White, 
 mentioned above. When the Civil War rendered secluded estates insecure, he moved 
 into Knoxville and cast his lot in with the Confederacy, being commissioned in the 
 staff department, owing to ill-health. At the close of the war, without previous train- 
 ing, he embarked in banking and became president of The People's Bank of Knoxville. 
 Success attended him. Later, he conceived the design of controlling the disjointed 
 system of railways traversing Tennessee, and having secured the co-operation of men 
 of financial ability, became actively engaged in developing the mineral, coal and rail- 
 road interests of East Tennessee. Surmounting all obstacles by his capacity for labor 
 and organization, in the course of a few years he had built a railroad to give the city of 
 Knoxville a direct connection with Cincinnati, and had with R. T. Wilson and others, 
 consolidated the disjointed roads, running out from Knoxville, into The East Tennessee, 
 Virginia & Georgia Railroad. About ten years ago, he retired from active business, 
 having accumulated a large fortune, by enterprise, foresight, and never failing faith in 
 the resources of his section. In 1875, he was elected to the State Legislature as a 
 Democrat and served for two years, but has since resolutely refused public office. He 
 was for many years president of The Knoxville & Ohio and The Memphis & Charleston 
 Railroads, and was constantly a director in The East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia 
 Railroad. He is now a director in The Texas & Pacific and The Cincinnati, Jackson 
 & Mackinaw Railroads, and has been connected with the development of most of the 
 principal railway properties of the South. Compelled to spend a large part of his 
 time in New York city, he moved his residence here in 1886. He is to-day one of 
 the most influential of the colony of enterprising Southerners, whose financial interests 
 have compelled them to gravitate to the metropolis as their natural abode. In June, 
 1892, General McGhee accepted the senior receivership of the great system of lines, 
 which had been consolidated in The East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad. 
 During the last ten years, he has made large donations to public objects. To the city 
 of Knoxville, he has given the Lawson McGhee Library building as a memorial to a de- 
 ceased daughter, and he has been the constant friend and benefactor of the St. John's 
 Orphanage of that city. He has also bestowed large sums in the way of charity. 
 Wherever he is known, his name is a synomym for inflexible honesty. 
 
 GEORGE WARRINGTON McGILL, inventor, born in Lancaster, O., March 9, 
 1844, is a son of Peter McGill, civil engineer and author. Beginning life himself as a 
 civil engineer, Mr. McGill had turned his attention to invention and become the patentee 
 of useful devices before he had attained his majority. Since then, he has made a dis- 
 tinct reputation as an inventor and for devices originating with him has received over 
 200 letters patent from the United States government Some of these inventions are 
 
4.20 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 exceedingly ingenious and his brass fasteners for documents and law papers have met 
 with an especially large sale all over the world. His patents cover spikes, spike 
 machines, railroad gates, pins and pin machines, button machines, electric wires and 
 wire machines, stapling machinery, chains and chain machinery, the well-known McGill 
 fasteners and a great variety of other articles. Mr. McGill is a large stockholder in The 
 Holmes, Booth & Haydens Brass Co., of Waterbury, Conn., director or stockholder in 
 several industrial companies, and president of The McGill Fastener Co. His inventions 
 have given employment to thousands of people at home and abroad during the last thirty 
 years. By his marriage with Mary Peebles Harry, he is the father of W. Harry 
 McGill, his only child. Mr. McGill is a firm believer in protection to American indus- 
 try, a man of genial presence and fine character and a member of the New York Yacht, 
 Racquet, Lawyers' and American Yacht clubs, and The Ohio Society, as well as of the 
 Waterbury club of Waterbury, Conn. 
 
 HENRY KING McHARQ, stock broker, originated in Albany, N. Y., and was born 
 Feb. 6, 1851. His father, John McHarg, a Scot by descent, and a wholesale dry goods 
 merchant by occupation, gave the young man a good education at Albany academy and 
 the Walnut Hill school in Geneva, N. Y. At the age of fifteen, Mr. McHarg secured a 
 clerkship with Lockwood & Co. , bankers in New York city and at twenty-one a seat in 
 the Stock Exchange. He has since been active at the Exchange and a member of the 
 governing committee for eight years, is now associated with railroad and mining enter- 
 prises in the West, and has been, since 1882, a director and since 1893, vice president 
 of The Manhattan Company Bank His clubs are the Union League and New York 
 Yacht. 
 
 THOFIAS ALEXANDER McINTYRE, merchant, born in New York city, Oct. 19, 
 1855, is a son of Ewen Mclntyre, a druggist. The family are of Scottish ancestry. 
 First a clerk in the employment of David Bingham and later with David Dows, both 
 prominent grain merchants, young Mr. Mclntyre made his first venture on his own 
 account in 1878, in the firm of Mclntyre & Bingham. May i, 1879, Henry L. Wardwell 
 who had been a fellow clerk under David Dows and thoroughly understood the grain 
 and flour trade, joined forces with Mr. Mclntyre. They were able to muster 
 about $40,000 between them. With this capital, Mclntyre & Wardwell began a com- 
 mission grain business at the Produce Exchange, which they have carried on with 
 great success down to the present time. The firm have long purchased all the grain 
 for The Hecker-Jones-Jewell Milling Co , the largest flour millers in New York, and 
 Mr. Mclntyre formed and is treasurer of that company. Some younger men have 
 latterly been taken into the firm and upon them is now placed much of the burden of 
 the work. Mr. Mclntyre is a director of The Corn Exchange National Bank and vice 
 president of The Hudson River Bank. He is also a member of the Colonial, Reform, 
 Manhattan, New York Yacht and Down Town clubs and the Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 THOMAS ricKlE, merchant, born in New York city, Feb. 28, 1800, died at No. 6 
 West 37th street, March 27, 1875. The son of John McKie, a native of Scotland, and 
 a classmate of Mayor Havemeyer, he began life as clerk for his worthy father in 
 the lumber trade, succeeded to the business, and carried it on with success. In 1840, 
 he retired and thenceforward was fully occupied with the management of a considera- 
 ble property in real estate and with investments. He never held public office, unless 
 his position as lieutenant in the 5ist regiment of militia, given him by Gov. Joseph C. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. M L. 421 
 
 Yates could be called such. Dec. 30, 1823, he married Eliza Brown, had seven sons 
 and four daughters, and found his greatest happiness in the home circle. 
 
 JOHN flcLOUGHLIN, publisher, a native of New York city, was born Nov. 29, 
 i&2-. He comes from Irish stock. With an education gained in the public schools, 
 he chose the profession of a wood engraver and toiled at this calling for years. In 185 2, 
 lie began the publication of illustrated books. In 1857, Edmund McLoughlin joined 
 him, under the name of McLoughlin Bra's, and the two men devoted themselves to the 
 manufacture of illustrated and toy books for young people. In the sale of their goods, 
 they have met with excellent success, and have risen to the head of this trade in the 
 United States. Edmund retired in 1886, but John has continued, under the old name, 
 down to the present time. The factory is in Brooklyn and the office on Broadway in 
 this city. Mr. McLoughlin is a member of the Harlem and Liederkranz clubs. 
 
 JOHN WILLIATl flACKAY, president of The Commercial Cable Co., was born in 
 Dublin, Ireland, Nov. 28, 1831. He came to America with the family in .1840 and 
 settled in New York city. Upon leaving school, he was apprenticed to the trade of 
 ship building, but when the term of his apprenticeship had expired and he was his own 
 master, in 1851, he went to California, and, with his miner's outfit, hurried to the gold- 
 fields, where he became an expert in mining. 
 
 About 1 860, Mr. Mackay went with the tide which swelled toward the new State of 
 Nevada, He took as prominent a part in the founding of the commonwealth of Nevada 
 as did the Livingstons in the establishment of New York or the Penns in the creation 
 of Pennsylvania. It was the time of war. The Pacific States were swept by the fierce 
 rivalry of sentiment, which echoed the strife and battle of the East. The Union and 
 Secession were striving for mastery on the Sierra Nevadas as well as on the Blue 
 Mountains. Mr. Mackay had a passionate love for the Union, and in all that movement 
 for the preservation of the Pacific States to the nation, he was a leading spirit. 
 
 While doing his part toward building Nevada and the salvation of the Pacific 
 States from disunion, Mr. Mackay continued to extend his mining operations. His for- 
 tunes advanced and he became a member of what was to have historical memory as 
 the ' Bonanza firm." This was composed of William S. O'Brien, James G. Fair, James 
 C. Flood and John W. Mackay, the latter owning a two-fifths share. 
 
 In 1872, the financial and commercial world was startled with the discovery of what 
 was called the "Bonanza Mines." They were found on a ledge of rock in the Sierra 
 Ntvadas at Yirginia City. The burden of the precious quartz, containing silver and 
 gold in almost equal parts, was lodged in what was called a " pocket," about as large in 
 area as the City Hall Park of New York, which was Mr. Mackay 's playground in boy-, 
 foood, and perhaps 300 feet in height. From the principal mine, there was taken out 
 $150,000,000 in gold and silver. 
 
 This discover}- was followed by the establishment of The Nevada Bank, owned by 
 Mr. Mackay, Mr. Flood and Mr. Fair. It remains one of the leading financial institu- 
 tions of the Pacific coast to this day. 
 
 His mining done, Mr. Mackay looked out for new fields. During a summer on the 
 
 - ra, his attention was drawn to the cable relations between the United States and 
 
 oe. He was impressed by the fact that the cable lines were in foreign ownership 
 
 and that the transmission of business and social intelligence was in the hands of a mo- 
 
 opaly . While reflecting upon the situation, he made the acquaintance of James Gordon 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MA. 423 
 
 4 
 
 Bennett. That gentleman held strong views as to telegraph monopolies, and the result 
 of many conferences between the two gentlemen was a resolution to build an independ- 
 dent American cable, landing on American soil and under American control. 
 
 The Commercial Cable Co. was formed, being virtually composed of Mr. Mackay 
 and Mr. Bennett. Mr. Mackay gave the enterprise personal attention and went into it 
 with his accustomed caution, intrepidity and enthusiasm. It was a grave undertaking, 
 and he made his way slowly. The cables should be of the best materials ; there should 
 be no imperfect wires or doubtful machinery. Above all, there should be no watering 
 of stock, no issue of fancy bonds, no financial quagmires to ensnare and ruin innocent 
 investors. By reason of this vigilance, when the cable was finally laid, it was the best 
 of the kind in existence, and the company's finances had been so prudently guarded 
 that it began operations without a dollar of unnecessary debt. 
 
 The laying of the cable involved Mr. Mackay in a war with the existing com- 
 panies. When The Commercial Cable Co. began operations, the late Mr. Gould, as 
 representing the older companies, proposed that fifty cents should be the common rate. 
 Mr. Mackay, however, had given an assurance to the public of cheaper rates as well as 
 better service. He therefore proposed forty cents per word. Mr. Gould declined and 
 at once reduced to twelve cents. He would lose a few millions, for no cable could pay 
 under such conditions, but he would destroy his rival and name his own rate in time. 
 Mr. Mackay reduced to twenty-five cents, and at the same time published a calm state- 
 ment of the situation. Mr. Gould conducted his war with all the energy, skill and 
 fertility of resource, characteristic of that extraordinary man. It was long and earnest 
 and cost him a large sum of money. Mr. Mackay held his lines with no hint of truce 
 or surrender. He watched every phase of the business with the earnestness and 
 tenacity applied to his former enterprises. There was no conquering such a man and 
 in time Mr. Gould proposed a truce. He would accept the original proposal of Mr. 
 Mackay and make the rate forty cents per word. Mr. Mackay, however, had won the 
 victory. It was now his place to dictate terms. He replied that, having tested the 
 twenty-five cent rate, he was satisfied with the results and had no wish to advance to 
 forty. The war ended by Mr. Gould accepting the twenty-five cent rate. The public 
 now save twenty-five cents on every word they send by cable and The Commercial 
 Cable Co. has become a good paying investment. 
 
 To ensure the success of the cable and make it independent of rivals, and, further, 
 to secure to the American public fair rates and good service over the land lines, Mr. 
 Mackay resolved to construct an extensive and well equipped system of modern lines 
 and operate them in competition with The Western Union Telegraph Co. The Postal 
 Telegraph -Cable Co., with its 200,000 miles of wire, is the outcome, thus far, of Mr. 
 Mackay's resolution. It reaches all the important points in the United States and 
 Canada, and it yields a good revenue, which, however, is used in the work of extension, 
 which yet goes on. 
 
 In May, 1894, Mr. Mackay opened to the public a new building on the corner of 
 Broadway and Murray street, New York, which he had erected for the accommodation of 
 his telegraph business. This building, in the neighborhood of Mr. Mackay's early home, 
 is one of the finest in the country. Mr. Mackay celebrated its opening by a banquet 
 to the officers and chiefs of departments of both of his telegraph systems, on 
 May 24, the fiftieth anniversary of the sending of the first telegraph message between 
 
424 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Baltimore and Washington. The spread of the telegraph during those fifty years is 
 scarcely more marvelous than the luck that attended Mr. Mackay in his "Bonanza" 
 venture, enabling him, almost at once, to become possessed of that enormous wealth 
 and power which he is using so wisely. 
 
 But Mr. Mackay's sudden rise to vast wealth, by which the thoughtless are apt to 
 measure worth and true greatness, has not, as it apparently has in many similar cases, 
 resulted in a corresponding elevation of himself and lowering of others in his own 
 opinion. Mr. Mackay is not only a gentleman of refinement but of cultivated tastes 
 and he has an intimate knowledge of art. He owns specimens from some of the best 
 masters, American and foreign. He is an earnest Republican, and on terms of inti- 
 macy with Republican leaders. His relations with General Grant were close and 
 affectionate and his admiration for Grant tinged his political career. While active in 
 politics, he has never held office. When the Senatorship of Nevada was offered him in 
 1888, by both parties, he declined, although earnestly urged to accept by Senator 
 Conkling and others with whom he was in close relations. Mr. Conkling was especially 
 strenuous, advising his acceptance upon the ground of public duty. It was the belief 
 of those who tendered this honor to Mr. Mackay, that his varied experience, his char- 
 acter, insight and courage would add weight to the deliberations of the Senate. Mr. 
 Mackay while appreciating the high and delicate compliment paid him by both parties 
 of his State, believed he could serve her better by following the bent of his life, in 
 rounding out those purposes, whose development has given him world-wide reputa- 
 tion and in whose consummation he will find his surest title to fame. 
 
 Mr. Mackay is somewhat slender, compactly built, above the medium height, with 
 a fine, strong head, keen, earnest eyes, and a gentle, cordial manner. His splendid 
 physique, added to a temperate and well-regulated life, enabled him to recover from 
 the wound of an assassin in California, who, in a moment of insane frenzy, shot him in 
 the back in 1893. 
 
 ROBERT flACLAY, merchant, a native of New York city, born June n, 1836, is 
 a son of Robert Haldane Maclay, M.D., and grandson of the Rev. Archibald Maclay, 
 D.D. , the latter of Glasgow, Scotland. After graduation from Judson College in Illi- 
 nois, Mr. Maclay spent six years on a farm in that State and then came to New York to 
 engage in the real estate business. Having, in 1865, married a daughter of Alfred 
 Barmore, ice merchant, he became associated with his father-in-law in the business of 
 supplying New York city with pure ice, rose to the actual management, and June i, 
 1875, was elected president of The Knickerbocker Ice Co., into which the business had 
 be'en merged. He is yet at the head of the company. For many years, a supply of ice 
 was obtained from the Hudson river and vicinity but in recent years Mr. Maclay has 
 extended his operations to the State of Maine and now has several ice houses on prin- 
 cipal rivers, thus ensuring the company against any failure of supply. Mr. Maclay has 
 latterly been conspicuous in matters not connected with the ice business. He has been 
 a Commissioner of Education, and a Rapid Transit Commissioner, and is president of The 
 Knickerbocker Trust Co., vice-president of The Bowery Savings Bank, director of 
 The People's Bank, treasurer of the Manhattan club, and member of the Grolier, 
 Metropolitan, Down Town and New York Athletic clubs, and connected with various 
 charities and societies. July \, 1895, he was elected president of the Board of Educa- 
 tion with a view to entering upon a campaign of reform. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MA. 425 
 
 JOSIAH flACY, merchant, born in Xantucket, Mass., Feb. 25, 1785, died in Rye, 
 near Xe\v York city, May 20, 1872. Thomas Macy, founder of the family, emigrated 
 about 1635 from Chilmark, near Salisbury, England, and settled at Salisbury, Mass. 
 While prominent in the early life of the town, he was a Baptist. When religious per- 
 secution compelled him to remove to another locality, he bought the Island of Nan- 
 tucket, which formed the home of the family for many generations. Josiah Macy left 
 school at fifteen for a voyage on one of his father's ships. He followed the sea for 
 many years, at first on his father's ships, later in vessels owned partly or entirely by 
 himself, including various splendid Liverpool packets, and encountered the troubled 
 times of the war of 181215 with courage and prudence. After leaving the sea, he set- 
 tled in New York city in 1828, and embarked in a shipping and commission business 
 with his son, William H. Macy, as Josiah Macy & Son. In 1829, Josiah Macy, jr., was 
 taken into the firm, the name thereupon changing to Josiah Macy & Sons. The other 
 sons were admitted to the house as they came of age. In 1853, Mr. Macy retired from 
 business to Rye, N. Y., where his house occupied a pleasant site overlooking the waters 
 of Long Island Sound. He was one of the organizers and from 1833 a director of The 
 City Fire Insurance Co. , and a director of The Tradesmen's Bank for many years. In 
 religious faith, a Quaker, he was admired by his generation as a conscientious and up- 
 right man. Feb. 6, 1805, he married Lydia Hussey of Nantucket, who died Sept. 
 25, 1861. He left four sons, William H., Charles A., Josiah G., and Francis H. Macy, 
 and two daughters, Lydia H. and Ann Eliza. His son, WILLIAfl HENRY flACY, 
 banker, born on the island of Nantucket, Nov. 4, 1805, died in this city, May 
 19, 1887. Educated on the island, he entered a shipping office in New York city 
 in 1823 and, in 1826, had the courage to begin business on his own account. Shipping 
 men from the eastward brought their commissions to the Nantucket boy and he 
 made his way rapidly. In 1828, his father joined him and they placed over their 
 doors the sign of Josiah Macy & Son. Mr. Mac}' gained a very high reputation, a 
 fortune, and the respect of his fellow merchants. In 1834, he joined the Chamber 
 of Commerce and was afterward its vice president. In 1845, he became a director 
 of The Leather Manufacturers' Bank, and on March 5, 1855, president. Of The 
 Seamen's Bank for Savings, he became a trustee Jan. 12, 1848, vice president in 1851, 
 and on Ji.ne 3, 1863, president, and so remained until his death. He was also vice 
 president of The United States Trust Co., and director of The Bank of Commerce, The 
 City Fire Insurance Co., The National Fire Insurance Co., and The Atlantic Mutual 
 Insurance Co. , and owing to his conspicuous integrity and qualifications as a manager, 
 the executor of several estates and trustee of many charities. His wife was Eliza L., 
 daughter of Sylvanus F. Jenkins. Mrs. Macy and four children survived him, the lat- 
 ter being Mary J , wife of William M. Kingsland, Cornelia M., wife of Isaac H. 
 Walker, Sylvanus J. Macy of Rochester and William H. Macy, jr. 
 
 GEORGE CALVIN HAGOUN, banker, born in Cambridge, Mass., Aug. 23, 1841, 
 died in New York city, Dec. 20, 1893. He prepared for Harvard at the Cambridge 
 High School, but abandoned a college course in favor of a business career, and began 
 life at the age of eighteen, as clerk for Lawson Valentine & Co., varnish manufacturers. 
 In 1865, he secured a better place in the office of Kidder, Peabody & Co , bankers, of 
 Boston, and when, in 1886, Kidder, Peabody & Co. established a New York house, Mr. 
 Magoun became a member resident here. The firms in New York and Boston were 
 
426 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 agents of Baring Bro's, of London, probably the largest banking house for merchants 
 in the world. May i, 1891, the New York members of Kidder, Peabody & Co., with- 
 drew from that firm in order to enlarge their operations and organized the new firm of 
 Baring, Magoun & Co. Mr. Magoun had long been prominent in the affairs of The 
 Atchison, Topeka & Santa F< Railroad, and at his death was chairman of the board of 
 directors, having especial charge of the company's financial affairs, He was a direc- 
 tor of The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, The Equitable Life Assurance 
 Society, The Union Trust Co., The Colorado Midland Railway, The American Sugar 
 Refining Co., and The Don Enrique Mining Co. In 1862, Mr. Magoun married Miss 
 Adelaide Louisa Tisdale of Taunton, Mass. To them were born three sons. He was 
 a member of the Union League, City, Tuxedo, Lawyers', Down Town, Riding, New 
 York Yacht and South Side Sportsmen's clubs and The New England Society. 
 
 JOHN DOWS MAIRS, merchant, who died in Irvington-on-the-Hudson, Oct. 3, 
 1881, in his 54th year, was a native of Utica, N. Y. , and a nephew of David Dows. 
 He began life as a clerk for Mr. Dows, who entertained a sincere respect for his 
 competent young nephew. He was drawn away to California for a time but returned to 
 New York and ,by invitation of the senior partner entered the firm of David Dows & 
 Co. in 1854. In the affairs of this house, he spent the rest of his life, gaining a fortune 
 and the esteem of the whole mercantile community. He was a member of the Prod- 
 uce Exchange from its organization. 
 
 WILLIAM H. HAIRS, manufacturer, a native of Utica, N. Y., was born June 29, 
 1834. The family was planted in America by his grandfather, a Scottish Presbyterian 
 clergyman, who came from the North of Ireland about 1790 and settled in Gahvay, 
 Saratoga county. The maternal branch of his family is an older one, dating back to 
 Jan Franse Van Hussam, a Hollander, a resident of Fort Orange, now Albany, N. Y., 
 as early as 1645 and a large landholder. The Claverack lands, on which the city of 
 Hudson now stands, were bought by honest Jan from the Indians for 500 guilders in 
 beavers. The family of Mr. Mairs came to New York city in 1845. William was 
 taught at the Mechanics' Institute and then spent seven years with his father in the 
 fancy goods trade. In 1857, he began the manufacture of wall paper on a small scale 
 and promoted his business so well that he is now the proprietor of a large factory at 
 Sackett and Van Brunt streets in Brooklyn and of a trade which extends to every part 
 of the United States. The business was finally merged in that of The National Wall 
 Paper Co., but not until it had brought him a fortune, which is now largely invested 
 in real estate. Mr. Mairs was married, June 13, 1866, to Ellen A., daughter of Dan- 
 forth K. Olney of Catskill, N. Y., and they have several children. 
 
 THOMAS nAITLAND, merchant, born in England in 1848, is a son of Stuart and 
 Margaret Lynch Maitland. Educated in Europe and removing to New York city in 
 1865, Mr. Maitland entered business life and rose to considerable prominence therein 
 and in the social world. About 1879, he became connected with his father's firm of 
 Maitland, Phelps & Co., an old mercantile house, founded in 1795 by William Maitland. 
 He retired in 1892 to Wimbledon, England. He was a director of several corporations 
 and a member of the Century. Manhattan, Knickerbocker, Tuxedo and other clubs. 
 
 CHARLES H. HALLORY, shipping merchant, lived until his ?2d year and died in 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., March 21, 1890. In early life, active in the shipyard of his father, 
 Charles Mallory of Mystic, Conn., he purchased an interest in various vessels as he 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MA. 427 
 
 gained the means to do so, and slowly acquired large interests in this class of property. 
 During the Civil War, the family sold several of their steamers to the Government, and 
 Charles H. Mallory served his State in the Legislature. At the close of the War, Mr. 
 Mallory removed to New York city and established a line of steamers to ply between 
 New York and Galveston. The New York & Texas Steamship Co., which he organ- 
 ized, had at the time of his death ten fully equipped steamers in the trade. His firm 
 took the name of C. H. Mallory & Co. Mr. Mallory was always a man of overflowing 
 patriotism, pluck, energy and activity. Broad in his views, an intense American and 
 a loyal Republican, his life proved useful to his countrymen and an honor to his native 
 State. He was charitable without ostentation, a member of Plymouth church in 
 Brooklyn and a Free Mason. His fortune descended to his wife Eunice C. and five 
 children, Charles, Henry R., Kate and Robert Mallory and Mrs. Frances W. Williams. 
 FREDERICK MARQUAND, merchant, born in Fairfield, Conn., April 6, 1799, died 
 at his home in Southport, Conn., July 14, 1882. When a young man he came to New 
 York city, where he learned the trade of a jeweler and in time engaged in business on 
 his own account. His firm of Marquand & Co. ranked for a long period among the 
 most noted jewelers and silversmiths in New York city. In 1852, Mr. Marquand 
 retired from business, being succeeded by Ball, Black & Co., whose members had been 
 his employes. The most of his means sought investment in real estate in New York 
 city. After his retirement, he traveled a great deal, spending his winters usually in 
 the South and for a few years before his death making his home in Southport, Conn. 
 He was a man of exceedingly fine character and cultivated tastes. Philanthropic move- 
 ments alwa3 T s awoke his interest and he made many generous gifts. Chapels were 
 built by him for Union Theological Seminary in this city and Yale University, while 
 he bequeathed a large sum to philanthropic objects. 
 
 CHARLES HENRY MARSHALL, shipping merchant, born in Easton, Washington 
 county, N. Y., April 8, 1792, died in this city, Sept. 23, 1865. His ancestors were sea 
 faring people in Nantucket, and his father, Charles Marshall, a well known sea captain 
 in his day, retired to a farm, as old salts are fond of doing, on the Saratoga patent 
 in 1785. Charles was born in a log cabin, spent his youth on the farm, and then be- 
 came a sailor as his forbears had been before him and as his four brothers were also. A 
 man of stern common sense and strong mind, he rose to become the master of a ship, 
 made many famous passages, and finally became one of the most trusted captains of 
 the Black Ball Line of packets to Liverpool. He left that line in 1834 to assume the 
 management of the Old Line of packets and later became its proprietor. He managed 
 this fleet with success for thirty years, superintended the building of new vessels, and 
 aided materially to make American packet ships the swiftest, most powerful and most 
 successful vessels in the world and the despair of their English rivals. He was a member 
 of the Chamber of Commerce, one of the organizers and third president of the Union 
 League club; president of the Marine Society for twenty years; trustee of the Sailors' 
 Snug Harbor; in 1851-55, a Commissioner of Emigration; and from 1845 until his 
 death a Pilot Commissioner. He lived to see the Union, which he loved so well, tri- 
 umphant in the Civil War. He was married in 1822, to Fidelia, daughter of Dr. Lem- 
 uel Wellman, and left a large fortune to his children, Charles Henry Marshall, Elizabeth 
 Robertson, wife of Charles Lawson, Mrs. Mar}- Russell Butler, and Malvina W. and 
 Helen Wyckoff MarshalL 
 
428 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 JOHN THOriAS flARTIN, capitalist, born in Baltimore, Md., Oct. 2, 1816, is a 
 distinguished representative of an old family. Educated in St. Mary's School, he 
 entered the store of Birckett & Pearcc, merchants of Baltimore, while yet a lad, and 
 there gained the training to which his subsequent life did so much honor. At the 
 age of seventeen, he removed to St Louis and engaged in the clothing trade, a venture 
 beyond the powers of most men of that age, but Mr. Martin was a man of unirsual 
 abilities, and when he retired fifteen years later, he came to Brooklyn with large means. 
 During the Civil War, large contracts for army clothing were awarded to him by the 
 Federal Government, which he filled to the satisfaction of the authorities. He then be- 
 came a stockholder in financial corporations and joined a few large syndicates in im- 
 portant reorganizations of railroad companies. He has latterly done much for the 
 improvement of the water front of Brooklyn and has been a director in The Home Life 
 Insurance Co., The Brooklyn Trust Co., The Long Island Loan & Trust Co. and The 
 Nassau National Bank and other corporations. A man of noble features, large nose, 
 large mouth, his side whiskers now silvered with advancing years, and with shrewd, 
 keen, t at kindly eyes lighting an expressive face, Mr. Martin's nature is fully in keep- 
 ing with his distinguished personal appearance. He is fond of art and has made a 
 notable collection of paintings. Of the Polytechnic Institute, he was a founder and 
 first treasurer. 
 
 JOHN W. MASURY, born in the old town of Salem, Mass., Jan. i, 1820, died in 
 this city, May 15, 1895. He was the second of four children, the progeny of John 
 Masury and Priscilla Carroll. The father was of French descent, a Huguenot of the 
 Le Mesuriers, who are of world-wide celebrity as engineers and in the development of 
 the useful industries. They were, moreover, sturdy advocates of civil and religious 
 liberty and that trait to-day is prominent in the character of every surviving member of 
 the family in America. The father of the subject of this sketch was more than ordin- 
 arily impressed with the necessity of a good secular education and placed his three boys 
 under the tuition of James S. Gerrish, who was acknowledged to be the best instructor 
 of boys in the Old Bay State, which was then the center of learning in the new world. 
 Under the tuition of this excellent teacher, the second son, " Masury Secundus," as his 
 master always called him, developed an aptness in the acquisition of book knowledge 
 which was almost phenomenal. Mr. Gerrish was a severe man, exacting, rigorous and 
 a great disciplinarian, never given to exaggeration or hyperbole in writing or speech, 
 and he ruled by fcc.r rather than love. 
 
 On the severance of this relationship, which came about because of the removal of 
 the family to a distant city, the master proffered the departing pupil a letter, addressed 
 "to whom it may concern," which read as follows: 
 
 "This may certify that the bearer, John W. Masury, has been under my tuition for 
 more than three years. He is a lad of a high order of talents, strict honesty, integrity 
 and uniformity. He carries with him the best wishes of his friend and instructor, 
 
 JAS. S. GERRISH." 
 
 After this parting, the grateful and loving pupil never met his friend and instructor. 
 The certificate mentioned above bore date of 1831. 
 
 After a short sojourn in their new abode, the family returned to Salem and reoc- 
 cupied the old homestead, where the good mother lived to the ripe age of eighty-four 
 years. Mr. Masury remained at home until he was twenty-two, when he, like many or 
 

430 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 most of the Salem boys, sought abroad the honor which did not seem to be within easy 
 reach at home. The metropolis was his objective point, and Brooklyn, then a city of 
 about 45,000 people, received him as an adopted son. The residence in his adopted 
 city continued without interruption for more than forty years. Early in his Brooklyn 
 life, he accepted a clerkship in the then only paint house in the growing city. In his 
 position as clerk, he enjoyed the esteem and confidence of his worthy, good, generous 
 benevolent, cheerful and happy employer, the late John D. Prince. After some years 
 of this most delightful relationship, Mr. Prince listened favorably to a proposition of 
 his clerk to establish a factory for the making of ground colors, which business was 
 then in its infancy. This project soon became a real fact and the business has been 
 continued under several names and changes up to date with ever-increasing prosperity 
 and profitable results. The business was started under the firm name of John D. Prince 
 & Co. Later, a Mr. Weeks, a very clever and popular salesman, was admitted as a 
 partner and the business continued under the name of Prince, Masury & Weeks. Later 
 yet, the junior partners bought the interest of the senior and the firm continued as 
 Masury & Weeks up to the time of the decease of Mr. Weeks, which occurred about 
 1857. To pay for the interest of the deceased partner's estate, Mr. Masury found it 
 necessary to seek another partner who appeared in the person of Frederick L. Whiton. 
 With the money thus acqiiired, the Weeks interest was settled and the business was, 
 under the name of Masury & Whiton, continued until 1871, when Mr. Whiton died of 
 consumption at Aiken, S. C. 
 
 Up to this time, the business had been carried on in connection with the sale of dry 
 colors, brushes and painters' materials of every name and description. The dissolution 
 of the firm consequent upon the decease of the junior partner left Mr. Masury sole pos- 
 sessor, and with prescient wisdom he made up his mind to divorce the shop-keeping 
 branch from the manufacturing department and devote all his energies and talents to 
 the development of the latter. For twenty-five years, Mr. Masury had given his almost 
 undivided time and attention to the success of the concern. His working days, almost 
 without cessation or intermission, were given to the work. Nor did his labor's cease 
 with the close of the day, as midnight often found him at his library table deeply en- 
 gaged in study. He early developed a taste for letters, was a great reader, and his 
 wonderfully retentive memory enabled him to retain not only the sense but the words 
 of all his extensive readings. His perfect familiarity with English and French classical 
 literature was the marvel of all who had the pleasure of his society. The late 
 Edward Van Winkle, a prominent member of the New York bar and a writer on 
 Shakespeare, paid him the high compliment of saying, that Mr. Masury was the best 
 Shakespearean n on -professional scholar he had ever met. 
 
 Unlike most men deeply devoted to business pursuits, Mr. Masury never gave up 
 his reading, but continually kept it fresh to the end of his life. In or about 
 1870, his book on house painting was issued from the press of Messrs. Appleton & Co., 
 and was a decided success from the time of its appearance. It has passed through four- 
 teen or fifteen editions and is in constant demand at this date. Other works of similar 
 nature followed this and were received with favor by all interested in such matters. 
 
 Mr. Masury's inventions, most of which were patented, were all in the interest of 
 his business. The first and most important and valuable was a new mode of putting 
 up paints ground in oil. No one better than he appreciated the difficulty of arriving at 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MA. 431 
 
 the contents of a sealed can of color in the then universally adopted mode of packing or 
 putting up. After years of thought given to this very important question, he conceived 
 the idea of making a can, one end of which should be composed of thinner metal than 
 the rest of the vessel, so thin that it could be easily severed with an ordinary pocket 
 knife blade. This idea at once took tangible shape and was a complete success from 
 the start. The house enjoyed a monopoly, with lawsuits for infringements, of this in- 
 vention for twenty-one years. 
 
 The next invention of importance was" a mill for grinding colors in quick drying 
 varnish to an impalpable fineness. To accomplish this, the mill-stones must be forced 
 into clos2St contact and this in the nature of things would produce an amount of heat 
 sufficient to spoil the thinning material. This was overcome or obviated in the inven- 
 tion in question, by the introduction of a stream of cold water, which was made to pass 
 over the outer surfaces of both upper and lower stones thus preventing the heating of 
 the paint in the process of grinding. This invention was also an entire success from 
 the moment of being started. Paints and colors used in carriage and car painting 
 had up to this time been wholly prepared in the several shops by the use of a slab and 
 muller or by the common iron hand-mill and, as a rule, at the moment of consumption. 
 The invention made an entire revolution in the trade and the demand for paints pro- 
 duced by the new mode was immense and unprecedented. Two years after the goods 
 were fairly in the market, the demand for Ivory Black ground in Japan varnish called 
 for more than 300 tons, and this article alone realized a profit of more than 100,000 in a 
 single year, and at this the consumer got twice as much for his money as he could have 
 received in any other way. Other inventions followed, less important yet of vast benefit 
 to the painters and conducive to economy, cleanliness and saving of costly material. 
 
 A few years after the dissolution of the firm, caused by the decease of Mr. Whiton, 
 Mr. Masury's son-in-law, Lieut. F. L. Miller of the United States Navy, became a 
 partner in the business under the firm name of John W. Masury & Son, which name is 
 continued at the present, although Mr. Miller died several years ago. 
 
 JOHN HATTHEWS, patentee of soda water apparatus, born in England in 1808 
 and educated in London, died in New York city in 1870. He was christened John 
 Henry Matthews but never used the middle name in business affairs and it finally 
 became obsolete. An inventor and mechanical genius of rare ability, he emigrated to 
 America in 1832 and established at the corner of Fulton and Gold streets, New York 
 city, a machine shop of modest proportions for practical and experimental work. 
 While thus occupied with mechanical pursuits, he discovered a special field for his use- 
 fulness in repairing and manufacturing machinery for making soda water. Many 
 inventions and patents resulted and the business developed to a wonderful extent. 
 Both among the manufacturers and the retail purveyors of soda and mineral waters 
 throughout the United States, his inventions came into general use, and he can unques- 
 tionably be regarded as the originator and introducer of the soda water trade on a large 
 scale in this country. Previous to his removal to America, he was married to Eliza 
 beth Chester of Bristol, England. To them were born John Matthews, 2d; Mary, 
 wife of Karl Muller, the sculptor; George Matthews, ist; Thomas, Emma, and 
 Chester Matthews. Mrs. Matthews died in 1889. The sons carried on the business 
 established by their father with energy, ability and success. John Matthews, 2d, died 
 March 13, 1883, leaving his one-third interest to his cousin and adopted son Frederick 
 
432 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and two nephews, George Matthews, 2d, and John H. Matthews, sons of George, ist,. 
 the business being conducted under the name of The Firm of John Matthews. Fred- 
 erick died in July, 1883, and George, ist, died Feb. 15, 1885. His sons George, ad, 
 and John H. Matthews, who are the only living descendants of the line are now sole 
 proprietors of the business. The men of this house have always borne a high repu- 
 tation both for ability and character, and by their energy and success have added much 
 to the happiness and health of the people of the country. The apparatus branch of 
 their industry was, in 1891, transferred to The American Soda Fountain Co., in which 
 the firm are stockholders. 
 
 EUGENE LASCELLES MAXWELL, manufacturer, a native of Brooklyn, 1854, 
 died in that city, Feb. 9, 1895. He was one of the three sons of John Maxwell, the 
 banker. Eugene was educated as an engineer at the Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn, 
 became associated with Henry S. Manning & Co., dealers in railroad supplies, and, 
 being taken into partnership in Manning, Maxwell & Moore, carried on for fourteen 
 years a large and profitable wholesale trade in railroad and machinists' supplies. He 
 was known as an energetic, upright and successful merchant, and by investment 
 became president of The Pond Machine Tool Co., of Plainfield, N. J., and The Ash- 
 croft Manufacturing Co., of Bridgeport, Conn., vice president of The Shaw Electric 
 Co. of Muskegon, Mich., and an officer in other manufacturing concerns. He made 
 his home in Brooklyn, and was a member of the Engineers', Rembrandt and Lawyers' 
 clubs of this city and the Atlantic Yacht, Riding and Driving, Montauk, and Hamilton 
 clubs of Brooklyn. His wife and two daughters survived him. 
 
 HENRY W. flAXWELL, banker, a native of Brooklyn, and born Dec. 7, 1850, is 
 a son of the late John Maxwell, a banker. Well educated and fortunate in beginning 
 life in a family of means, he has been active in the field of finance which centers around 
 Wall street and wields considerable influence therein. A member of the Stock Ex- 
 change, he is also junior partner in the banking firm of Maxwell & Graves, who have 
 gained an excellent reputation for solidity of character and conservative and upright 
 methods, and is largely identified with the railroad enterprises of Austin Corbin. The 
 Brooklyn Trust Co. has elected him to its directorate. Mr. Maxwell is a member of 
 the Lawyers', Atlantic Yacht, Excelsior and Hamilton clubs and lives in Brooklyn, 
 with the public institutions of which city he is associated. The Memorial Industrial 
 School has been built by him in honor of the memory of his mother and his wife. 
 
 EDWIN HIRAM MEAD, coal miner, born on Broadway in this city, died Feb. 3, 
 1895, in South Orange, N. J., in his seventy-third year. An outbreak of yellow fever 
 drove his family to Berkshire county, Mass., while he was an infant, and there he was 
 educated and brought up. In early life, he served as a clerk in Harnden's express 
 office in Albany, N. Y., and in a coal office there, leaving a year or two afterward to 
 enter the employment of The Pennsylvania Coal Co. in New York city. With this cor- 
 poration, he remained for the rest of his life. In 1852, he was elected secretary of the 
 company and served as such and as treasurer until the death of President Hoyt, when 
 he became president of the company, thereafter rising to prominence as one of the best 
 known men in the trade in the United States. He was also the managing director of 
 The Erie & Wyoming Valley Railway, a director of The Washington Life Insurance 
 Co., and a member of the New York Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Mead was always a 
 public spirited man, and greatly promoted the interests of South Orange after 1868, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ME. 433 
 
 when he made that locality his home. A well-read, genial, kindly man, he made friends 
 everywhere and was highly esteemed. His wife and three children survive him. 
 
 FREDERICK HEAD, merchant, was born Sept. 12, 1817, in Greenwich, Conn., in 
 the old Mead homestead, which is yet in possession of the family, on the brink of Put- 
 nam Hill, celebrated as the scene of General Israel Putnam's "break-neck ride.". He is 
 a descendant from ancient and gentle English stock, one of his ancestors having been 
 the official physician of Queen Elizabeth. Of this family two brothers, Puritans, emi- 
 grated from England to the continent of America in 1642, one of them, John Mead, set- 
 tling in Greenwich, Conn., the other in Virginia. 
 
 Darius Mead, M.D., father of the subject of this biography, was born in Greenwich, 
 July 9, 1787, and died there Jan. 28, 1864. He graduated from Yale College in 1807 
 and then studied medicine in Philadelphia under the celebrated Dr. Rush. In 1809, he 
 married Lydia K., daughter of Elisha Belcher, M.D., of Round Hill, Conn., a promi- 
 nent physician and surgeon in the army of the American Revolution. Six of Mrs. Mead's 
 brothers and brothers in law were physicians, all Christian men and of high standing in 
 their profession. Mrs. Mead died Jan. 15,1848. She had been the center of an affec- 
 tionate circle at home, and by a singularly beautiful and useful life had become univer- 
 sally respected and beloved. Dr. Mead settled in Greenwich in 1810, and there spent 
 the rest of his active and useful professional life. He was blessed with remarkable 
 health and was never absent from his post of duty until his death. Owing to his strong 
 intellect, clear and accurate judgment, and power of endurance, his practice became 
 extensive and he attained a high reputation, while, through strong Christian principle, 
 he became a leader in church and society and greatly useful in promoting every good 
 object. He was ever considerate of the poor, giving them faithful and laborious attend- 
 ance without expectation of reward. Among the people of Connecticut, Dr. Mead was 
 widely kno'.vn and greatly revered. In 1845 and 1846, he represented his district in the 
 State Senate, having been nominated for this honorable place without seeking it and 
 even without any knowledge of the intention of his fellow citizens. 
 
 Frederick Mead, son of Dr. Mead, enjoyed the almost inestimable advantage of 
 growing to young manhood under the careful training of parents of noble character and 
 strong minds. The training and principles he received from them have proved a price- 
 less heritage. He received a sound education at the Greenwich academy and then, at 
 the age of seventeen, began the battle of life for himself. At that time, two of his 
 brothers, Zalmon S. and Robert W. Mead, were established in New York as wholesale 
 grocery merchants at No. 27 Water street, under the firm name of Z. and R. Mead, and 
 it was thought advisable that Frederick should become a dry goods merchant. He 
 obtained a clerkship therefore in the wholesale dry goods house of Crosby, Mead & 
 Candee. By earnest and faithful attention to every duty, he acquired a good, practical 
 knowledge of the business and soon occupied a responsible position with the firm. The 
 health of his eldest brother, Zalmon, senior member of Z. & R. Mead, having become 
 impaired, Frederick was induced to join his brother in the grocery business. In 1842, 
 Zalmon died and in the same year Frederick entered into partnership with his brother 
 Robert under the firm name of Mead & Co. The great panic of 1837 and the continu- 
 ance of very depressed times had seriously affected the business of the firm and the 
 new partner found himself in a position, which involved heavy burdens and great diffi- 
 culties. He grappled with them, however, with grit and determination. When, owing 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ME. 435 
 
 to failing health, his brother Robert retired, the whole responsibility and management 
 of the business fell upon the young grocer and in very adverse times. He proved equal 
 to the emergency and through his sound judgment, untiring energy and perseverance, 
 the trade gradually increased and became large and lucrative. 
 
 In 1862, Mr. Mead associated with him in partnership, under the firm name of 
 Mead, Lacey & Co., Frederick Lacey, for many years a leading and much respected 
 grocer. Their business continued to expand and their operations in tea, coffee and sugar 
 grew to large proportions, often widely influencing the markets. Mr. Lacey died in 
 1869. Subsequently, James Voorhis, a valued employe, and Frederick Mead, jr., son of 
 Mr. Mead and a graduate of Yale College, were taken into the firm under the name of 
 Frederick Mead & Co., and this title has remained unchanged to the present time. The 
 business is now confined to tea importing and commission and their sign on Water and 
 Pearl streets is one of the landmarks of the older part of New York. 
 
 A strong Republican in political faith, Mr. Mead has nevertheless always refused 
 to enter practical politics or accept political honors. As was his father, so is he, a man 
 of stern integrity and unbending uprightness, despising equivocation, insincerity, osten- 
 tation and cunning policy. Possessing strong will and earnest convictions, he is at the 
 same time modest and self denying. Through spotless purity of character, vigorous 
 enterprise, and an honorable and successful career, he is an excellent type of the old 
 merchants of New York and has won the confidence and esteem of this community. 
 He has been a director in The Fourth National Bank for more than twenty years and is 
 now senior member of the Board and was a director in The Old Dominion Steamship 
 Co., The Corn Exchange and International Insurance Go's and other institutions. 
 His home is at No. i West 56th street, and his country residence in Greenwich. 
 Mr. Mead was married in 1841 to Mary E., daughter of Samuel Scribner of Balti- 
 more, Md. They have three children living, Frederick and Herman R. Mead, and 
 Mary Gertrude, wife of Edwin A. Abbey, the well-known artist, now residing in 
 England. 
 
 RALPH MEAD, merchant, born in Greenwich, Conn., April 24, 1789, died in New 
 York, July 23, 1866. He was a man of sterling integrity, high religious principle, and 
 a genial social nature and is remembered with honor and a respect akin to love by all 
 who kno\v him. His ancestors were prominent among the early English settlers of 
 Connecticut, and Mr. Mead was the sixth in direct descent from John Mead, one of the 
 twenty-seven original proprietors of the town of Greenwich. During the American 
 Revolution his father, Edmund Mead, was a member of the Greenwich Committee of 
 Safety. Edmund Mead married Theodosia, daughter of Benjamin Mead, 2d, Feb. 15, 
 1776. Of the eleven children, Ralph was the seventh. Until his fifteenth, year, he 
 remained at home. When he decided to start in life for himself, he spent his spare 
 time in the winter in trapping game, then abundant in the woods, and by spring had 
 secured the means for his new venture. Embarking at Saw Pits, now Portchester, on 
 a vessel bound for New York, he reached this city after a week's voyage. He was 
 fortunate in securing employment with Samuel Tooker, a grocer, to whom he appren- 
 ticed himself. The employer and clerk became life-long friends. While a mere lad, 
 Mr. Mead was sent as a supercargo to Passamaquoddy, Maine. Here, he not only 
 disposed of his own cargo but that of another vessel to the great satisfaction of his 
 employer. In 1810, Mr. Mead began business for himself, with capital consisting of 
 
436 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 thorough business ability and small savings. The gratifying fact was soon evident, 
 that the leading importing houses of that day were ready to trust him to any amount 
 he would ask, because of his good judgment, integrity and uprightness. Of this, there 
 were several notable instances. 
 
 In 1813, he married Sarah Holmes, of Cranetown, now Montclair, N. J., who 
 illustrated in her life the virtues of the wise woman of the book of Proverbs and whose 
 sympathv and co-operation in her husband's plans helped to ensure their success. 
 
 During the War of 1812, Mr. Mead served for two years in the ad N. Y. Art, the 
 7th Regiment of that day. He was stationed at Castle Garden, then called Battery 
 Fort, and was permitted to make daily visits to his home and store. Late in life, he 
 received from the Government land warrants for 240 acres as compensation for his 
 clothing and musket. After the troublous times which succeeded the War, his business 
 career was a wonderful success. It was a matter of grateful pride to him that during a 
 long life he was able to meet every business obligation, notwithstanding financial 
 revulsions, and to help others less fortunate than himself. Just before the panic of 
 1837, Mr. Mead had contracted for the erection of a row of fine houses on Second 
 avenue, near 7th street. During the anxious months which followed, the contractor 
 came to him in fear, expecting that his contract would be canceled as others had been. 
 "Go on," said Mr. Mead, "I will do my part and pay, if you will do your part and 
 give me good work." The result was more than satisfactory to all concerned. In 1846, 
 he made a long journey West to secure a debt, which except for his energy and tact 
 would have been lost to the firm. He found the debtor to be owner of a large flouring 
 mill, which, owing to pecuniary difficulties, could not be worked to advantage. Mr. 
 Mead bought a half interest for the amount of indebtedness, gave credit for the pur- 
 chase of grain, and the flour was consigned to Ralph Mead & Co. for sale in New York. 
 The profits for the year were equally divided between the / irm and the miller. They 
 were so large that the original owner was enabled to buy back the half interest in the 
 mill that he had sold, with a fair margin of profit on the transaction. 
 
 Mr. Mead's firm were first known as Mead & Holmes, but for many years he did 
 business under the name, which was so long honored in nearly every State of the Union, 
 of Ralph Mead & Co. He first rented and afterward purchased the building at 13 
 Coenties Slip, and finally erected the large stores at 13 and 15 Coenties Slip which for 
 more than sixty years were the headquarters of the house. In 1859, he retired from 
 active mercantile life, and the firm, composed of his nephews whom he had trained, his 
 son and his son-in-law, became known as E. & R. Mead, jr., & Co. 
 
 Mr. Mead was early interested in promoting railroad connections with the interior 
 and was an active director in both The Erie Railroad and Long Dock Companies until 
 his death. Over the Erie Tunnel through Bergen Hill, his name is inscribed with 
 those of his associates in the great work carried to completion through their energy. 
 He was among the first to recognize the necessity of securing direct and cheap 
 transportation of coal from the Pennsylvania mines to New York and the Eastern 
 States. With characteristic sagacity, he aided in the organization of The Delaware, 
 Lackawanna & Western and The Warren Railroads. 
 
 Unlike many of his fellow merchants, Mr. Mead passed through the great fire of 
 1835 without the loss of buildings. The fire was checked on the opposite side of 
 Coenties Slip. So widespread was the conflagration that nearly every insurance com- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ME. 437 
 
 pany of the city was swept away. The City Fire Insurance Co. , of which he was a 
 director, voted immediately after the fire to make the capital stock $70 per share instead 
 of $100, but within a day or two more than the lost 30 per cent, was made up in new 
 premiums. Mr. Mead was also connected with The Howard, Hanover, Phoenix of 
 Brooklyn, The Merchants', The Corn Exchange and American Exchange Fire Insur- 
 ance Co's, in nearly all of them as director. Among the banks he helped to support by 
 his efforts and influence were The North River, The Metropolitan, The Union, and 
 The Mechanics' Banking Association. He would never accept office however urgently 
 desired, unless he felt he could give the time for efficient, faithful service to its best 
 interests. A Whig in politics in early life, his last Presidential vote was cast for 
 Abraham Lincoln. In the early days, the Washingtonian movement secured his 
 sympathy. At the risk and with the apparent certainty of loss, he and his partner, 
 Edwin Mead, agreed to give up the sale of spirituous liquors. From that time in all 
 the history of the house, its business was conducted on temperance principles. 
 
 Mr. Mead loved New York and made its interests his own, liberally supporting its 
 libraries and institutions with influence and money. Only a small part of his charities 
 and benefactions were known to the world. He was, however, one of the managers of 
 The American Bible Society, The Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society and other 
 organizations for Christian work. Although brought up a Congregationalist, he became 
 one of the most prominent laymen in the Methodist Episcopal Church and was one of 
 the founders and trustees of the Mulberry Street Church. After the financial troubles 
 of 1837, he was its treasurer and for nearly twenty years made good enormous deficits 
 in its running expenses from his own income. He bought and held for the acceptance 
 of the other members of the Board of Trustees, refusing tempting offers to sell at large 
 advance price, the lots at the corner of zad street and Fourth avenue, whereon St. 
 Paul's M. E. Church was afterward built. He was a pillar of strength to the 
 church until his death. For more than fifty-three years, he filled the office of class 
 leader and many of New York's prominent merchants, bankers, lawyers and clergy- 
 men were enrolled upon his record. He was one of the original syndicate who, about 
 1829, bought the buildings and grounds of the Partridge Military Academy, at Middle- 
 town, Conn., and founded the Wesleyan University. 
 
 The Greenwood Cemetery enlisted his interest. He was one of the original plot 
 owners, and in 1842 laid to rest there the remains of his beautiful and always beloved 
 wife. In 1846, he married Ann E. Van Wyck, daughter of Gen. Abram Van Wyck 
 o Fishkill, N. Y. Mr. Mead left five children and a goodly number of grand- 
 children. His children were Samuel Holmes Mead, of Florida, now deceased; 
 Melville Emory Mead, of Norwalk, Conn.; Elizabeth A., wife of Edwin Hyde but 
 now deceased ; Lydia A., who married Nathan J. Bailey; Harriet A., wife of Philip 
 J. A. Harper, Hempstead, N. Y. , a son of James Harper; and H. Caroline, wife of 
 the Rev. Archibald C. Foss, of Baltimore. Two other children died in infancy. 
 
 ISRAEL JOHN HERRITT, wrecker, was born in New York city, Aug. 23, 1829, 
 of ancient stock, his grandfather having served with honor in the War for Inde- 
 pendence. With a limited education, young Merritt began life as driver on a canal, 
 but tried various other vocations as opportunity occurred until he had reached the 
 age of fifteen, when he secured employment with a wrecking captain. At the age of 
 twenty, he had command of a fine coasting schooner. In 1853, he was appointed 
 
438 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 agent for the Board of Marine Underwriters and later agent for The Coast 
 Wrecking Co. In 1865, he invented a pontoon or dry dock for raising 
 sunken vessels. By his perseverance, pluck and peculiar energy, Captain Mer- 
 ritt eventually established the largest organization in the world engaged in the 
 wrecking business. In the process of time, a son, Israel J. Merritt, jr., grew to man- 
 hood and became a co-worker in the business and a partner of his father. The firm 
 is known as Merritt' s Wrecking Organization, not incorporated. Besides the main 
 office in New York and large storehouses and wharves on Staten Island, they have 
 storehouses and wharves in Norfolk, Va., and own a fleet of steamers, sailing vessels 
 and pontoons, specially built, rigged and fitted for their work. They do all the heavy 
 wrecking on the Atlantic coast, employing from 150 to 200 men, including skilled 
 divers for submarine work and the best of sailors and mechanics. Captain Merritt has 
 saved hundreds of lives and millions of dollars' worth of property. One of his prin- 
 cipal achievements was the rescue of the French steamer L'Amerique, which had 
 been driven high and dry on the beach near Sea Bright, N. J., in January, 1877. In 
 1853, he married Miss Sarah L. Nicholson, of New York, who died June n, 1879. To 
 them were born two sons and four daughters. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER MEYER, manufacturer, born in Hanover, Germany, Oct. 15, 1818, 
 died July 31, 1888, at 617 Fifth avenue in this city. He was a self-made man. When 
 a lad of fourteen, he came to this country alone, remaining in New York two years, 
 working at first merely for board and shelter. All his spare time was devoted to study- 
 ing the language. In 1836, he secured employment in a Newark machine shop and in 
 two years had charge of the erection of the Ramapo Mills. His next engagement was 
 to put up some machinery for Horace Day, then the leading rubber manufacturer of the 
 country, in New Brunswick, N. J. Mr. Day liked the young man, took him into his 
 employment, and in a short time made him superintendent of the factory. Mr. Meyer 
 invented several processes, which added largely to the capacity of the mills. One day, 
 he came to the conclusion that if he could make money for others, he could for himself. 
 He designed his own machinery, borrowed $300 from James Bishop, and set up'a mill, 
 which later he sold, starting then another mill and selling that. By this time, he had 
 accumulated a little capital. Securing a good site with water power at Milltown, three 
 miles from New Brunswick, he erected a factory there. It was successful and soon gave 
 employment to a thousand persons. Mr. Meyer possessed talent of a high order. At the 
 time of his death, he was president of The Meyer Rubber Co. ; general manager and prin- 
 cipal owner of The New Jersey Rubber Shoe Co., which employed about i,ooomen; owner 
 in a rubber factory in Edinburgh, Scotland; president of The, Nashawanick Rubber 
 Manufacturing Co., and of The Glendale Elastic Fabric Co., of East Hampton, Mass.; 
 director of The Old State Bank of New Brunswick ; owner in The Painesville & Youngs- 
 town Railway, and director of The New York & Boston, New York & Northern, and 
 The Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroads, The German-American Fire Insurance 
 Co., The Municipal Gas Light Co. and The American Bank Note Engraving Co. Mr. 
 Meyer was a Methodist. He was first married in 1840, to Miss Margaret Evans, of 
 Belleville, N. J., who died in 1877. He then married, in 1886, Erne, daughter of 
 George K. Chase of New York city. His first marriage brought him seven children, of 
 whom six survived him, Martha, widow of William A. Gray of New York; John C. 
 Meyer, who was connected with The New Jersey Rubber Shoe Co. and died Nov. 12, 
 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK. HI. 439 
 
 1 888 ; Catherine Louise, wife of George Lowther, of this city ; Clara A. , wife of Charles 
 Greer of New York city; Margaretta, wife of Fulton Paul of Hudson, N. Y. , and How- 
 ard Meyer, his father's confidential secretary and now deceased. The Meyer factories 
 are now merged in The United States Rubber Co. 
 
 SETH FIELLEN fllLLIKEN, commission merchant, one of the numerous sons of 
 the Pine Tree State, who have risen to prominence in the metropolis, was born in 
 Poland, Me., Jan. 7, 1836. He is a lineal descendant of Hugh Milliken, who immi- 
 grated to America from Scotland in 1650 and settled in Massachusetts. John Milliken, 
 grandson of the pioneer, born Dec. 27, 1691, carried on business in Boston as a saddler 
 for a number of years "at the corner going down Wentworth's Wharf," and married 
 Sarah Burnett, of Boston, Jan. i, 1718. It was he, who, having purchased a farm in 
 the town of Scarborough, Me., planted his branch of the family in that province. He 
 died upon his farm, Sept. 8, 1779, during the stormy period of the American Revolution. 
 From him, the line of the subject of this biography comes down through his son, John 
 Milliken, farmer (born Feb. 17, 1723, in Boston, died 1766), and Eleanor Libby Sallis, 
 his wife, the latter being the widow of Benjamin Sallis; Benjamin Milliken, son of 
 the latter, farmer and tanner (born in Scarborough, 1764, died Sept. 20, 1818), and 
 Elizabeth Babbridge, his wife; to his son, Josiah Milliken (born Jan. i, 1803, died in 
 Portland, Me., 1866) and Elizabeth Freeman, his wife, the latter dying in Portland, 
 1890, at the age of eighty-seven. Josiah Milliken lived in Mina, Me., for a time after 
 his marriage, and later in Poland, where he carried on a farm, a tannery and a lumber 
 business. 
 
 Seth M. Milliken is the fourth of the five sons of Josiah Milliken, being fifth of his 
 seven children, and is in the seventh generation of descent from the pioneer of the fam- 
 ily in the new world. The sons of Josiah Milliken have all made their mark in affairs 
 and set to their fellow men the example of useful and successful lives. Weston F. has 
 been a member of the Maine Legislature, a lumber merchant, a banker and the presi- 
 dent of a line of coasting steamers, besides being active in promoting other interests of 
 the State of Maine. Charles R. is president of The Portland Rolling Mill and The Po- 
 land Paper Co. The career of Seth M. Milliken, will be related in fuller detail. 
 
 He attended the public schools of Poland during boyhood and then enjoyed a three 
 years' course at the academy in Hebron, followed by two years in the academy in Yar- 
 mouth, Me. Since leaving his books, his life has been eventful and prosperous. Des- 
 tined to a practical career, he obtained his first experience as a flour miller in Minot, 
 Me., beginning at the age of seventeen, and, after a few months' service, took charge 
 of the mill. In the fall of 1855, he accepted the charge of a winter school in Poland 
 and taught until the spring of 1856, when he displayed his versatility and enterprise 
 and fairly began life as a merchant on his own account, by starting a general country- 
 store in Minot, Me. These general stores are capital schools for the education of a 
 merchant and Mr. Milliken derived from his five years' experience there not only a lit- 
 tle surplus capital but a valuable training. In 1861, he moved to the city of Portland 
 and engaged in a wholesale trade in groceries in the firm of True & Milliken, in com- 
 pany with his brother in law, Daniel W. True. It is recollected that the first occasion 
 upon which Mr. Milliken ever saw Xew York city was during this period, when he vis- 
 ited the metropolis to sell a cargo of potatoes from his native State. 
 
 In July, 1865, he entered the firm of Deering, Milliken & Co., wholesale jobbers of 
 
44 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 dry goods in Portland, becoming interested later in various factories of cotton and woolen 
 goods in Maine. The prosecution of the trade of this firm required frequent visits to New 
 York city, and in 1867, Mr. Milliken established here the commission dry goods house of 
 Deering, Milliken & Co. After 1874, he became a permanent resident of New York city, 
 thereafter giving little attention to the business in Maine. Exhibiting his active and in- 
 dependent nature at the very threshhold of life by starting in business alone, and making 
 his way steadily by perseverance, intelligence and thrift, he had now after nearly twenty 
 years of courageous endeavor made a place for himself among the wholesale commission 
 merchants of New York city. His progress here has been unchecked, in spite of the trials 
 which beset all business men, and he now conducts on Leonard street one of the leading 
 houses in the wholesale dry goods district of the city and is a man of wealth. Largely in- 
 terested in manufactures, he owns The Farnsworth Co. , makers of flannels in Lisbon, 
 Me., and is president of The Pondicherry Co., woolen manufacturers in Bndgton, Me., 
 The Cowan Woolen Manufacturing Co., of Lewiston, Me., and The Dallas Cotton Man- 
 ufacturing Co., of Huntsville, Ala., and a director of The Forest Mills Co. (woolens), of 
 Bridgton, Me., The Lockwood Co. (cotton goods), of Waterville, Me., and The Spartan 
 Mills (cottons), of Spartanburg, S. C. Some of these are great corporations. 
 
 Mr. Milliken has entered heartily into the affairs of the metropolis since coming 
 here and is widely known among the progressive elements of the city as a public spirited, 
 honest and competent man. He is a director and large stockholder of The Mercantile 
 National Bank, director of The Mutual Fire Insurance Co., a supporter of the Metro- 
 politan Museum of Art, and in politics every one knows which side he is on. He is a 
 strong Republican and was honored by his. party in 1892 with a place upon the Elec- 
 toral ticket in New York State. Various leading clubs have elected him to member- 
 ship, including the Union League, Republican, Driving, Riding, Suburban and Mer- 
 chants', of this city, the Algonquin of Boston, and the Cumberland of Portland, Me. 
 He also belongs to The New England Society of this city. 
 
 Oct. 14, 1874, Mr. Milliken was united in marriage in Dover, N. H., to Margaret 
 L., daughter of Dr. L. G. Hill. Mrs. Milliken died Jan. 14, 1880. Their three children 
 are Seth M., Gerrish H., and Margaret L. Milliken. The family live at 990 Madison 
 avenue. 
 
 DARIUS OQDEN MILLS, banker, born in North Salem, Westchester county, N.Y., 
 Sept. 25, 1825, descends from an old family founded in America by a pioneer, who 
 came from the North of England near the Scottish border, some time before the Amer- 
 ican Revolution, settling first on Long Island and then in Connecticut. James Mills, 
 father of D. O. Mills, was a Supervisor from North Salem and a Justice of the Peace 
 and held various other local offices. He was a man of influence, owned considerable 
 land and was successfully engaged in various forms of business, but by unfortunate 
 investments finally lost the most of his property. He died in Sing Sing on the Hudson 
 in 1841. The sons of James Mills were thus compelled at any early age to rely upon 
 their own energies for their positions in the world. D. O. Mills inherited rugged 
 health and from boyhood showed himself to be cool, clear headed, capable, self- 
 reliant and spotless in character, and from the day in which he first entered practical 
 affairs, he made his way with marked success. 
 
 He received his education at the North Salem academy and at the Mount Pleasant 
 academy in Sing Sing, leaving the last named instillation at the age of seventeen to 
 
442 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 begin work as a clerk in New York. A few years later, in 1847, at the invitation of 
 his cousin, E. J. Townsend, he went to Buffalo to serve as cashier in The Merchants' 
 Bank of Erie County and also to become a partner with Mr. Townsend. The bank 
 was one of deposit and issue under a special charter, and when, in December, 1848, 
 Mr. Mills went to California, Mr. Townsend agreed to maintain in any business which 
 Mr. Mills might undertake in California, the same relative interest as that which they 
 had in the Bank and to protect all drafts Mr. Mills might make. Like his two brothers 
 who had preceded him, Mr. Mills was attracted to California by the gold excitement. 
 
 He arrived on the Pacific coast in June, 1849, and buying a stock of merchandise 
 laid his plans for a trading expedition to Stockton in the San Joaquin valley. In 
 partnership with a fellow voyager, he bought a small sailing craft, stocked it with 
 merchandise and went to Stockton, where the cargo was sold. Mr. Mills and his part- 
 ner then separated, and the former finding Sacramento the best place for carrying on a 
 trade with the miners, settled there. He sold general merchandise, buying gold dust 
 and dealing in exchange on New York. By November, 1849, he had saved $40,000 
 from his business and finding his work so congenial and profitable, he decided to go 
 back to Buffalo, close out his interests there and make California his home. This he 
 did, and in 1850, he was again at work at Sacramento. After having disposed of a large 
 cargo of merchandise, which he brought from the East, he had enough profit to start a 
 bank, which at once became and to this day remains the leading banking institution of 
 Sacramento. It is called The Bank of D. O. Mills & Co. He had a branch bank 
 agency in Columbia, managed by his brothers James and Edgar. 
 
 In 1857, a too energetic devotion to business having impaired his health, Mr. Mills 
 visited Europe for relaxation, and upon his return resumed business with renewed 
 energy. 
 
 It was owing to his reputation for judgment, rapid decision, boldness and absolute 
 integrity, that in 1864, when The Bank of California was organized, Mr. Mills was 
 naturally turned to as the man to take its presidency. The institution started with a 
 capital of $2,000,000, but, under the stimulus of the times and the confidence inspired 
 by its management, the business soon assumed such proportions that its capital was 
 raised to $5,000,000. The bank became one of the best known in the country and in 
 high credit in all the cities of the world. It was one of the leading factors in the 
 development of the State, furnishing facilities for manufacturing industries and com- 
 mercial operations. Mr. Mills had taken the presidency reluctantly, and although he 
 had intended to serve for only a short period, he continued at the head of the bank for 
 nine years and then, in 1873, insisted upon retiring from active business. He left the 
 bank in a flourishing condition with capital secure and a large surplus, but in two years 
 he was called back to save it from utter ruin, brought on by his successor's bad man- 
 agement. William C. Ralston, the cashier, had been made president when Mr. Mills 
 resigned, and, shortly before the bank closed its doors, he asked Mr. Mills to save him 
 from individual failure. Mr. Mills arranged to let him have $900,000, and it was subse- 
 quently learned that there had been an over-issue of about 12,000 shares of the bank's 
 stock, which were taken in and retired with Mr. Mills's money just before Mr. Ralston 
 failed. Two days after this, Mr. Mills discovered that the bank was in trouble and the 
 next day, Aug. 26, 1875, The Bank of California closed its doors. A meeting of the 
 Board of Directors was called and Mr. Ralston was asked to resign. His resignation 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MI. 443 
 
 \vas handed in at once, and before the directors had adjourned Mr. Ralston's body was 
 found floating in the Bay. Mr. Mills again became president, serving without compen- 
 sation. At the time of suspension, the Bank's liabilities were $19,585,000, including 
 5,000,000 capital stock and $1,000,000 reserve, while it had on hand $100,000 in cash 
 in addition to its general assets Mr. Ralston's personal indebtedness was fixed at 
 $4,500,000. Mr. Mills and other directors raised by subscription a fund of $7,895,000, 
 of which Mr. Mills subscribed $1,000,000. The Oriental Bank Corporation of London 
 consented to protect the outstanding drafts and credits of the Bank if D. O. Mills, 
 William Sharon and Thomas Bell would guarantee the payment of the same. This 
 they did, and on Sept. 30, one month and five days after the suspension, the Bank 
 resumed business. By Mr. Mills's timely and skillful management, a general financial 
 crash on the Pacific coast was averted. After having re-established the institution on a 
 firm and prosperous basis, Mr. Mills retired in 1878. 
 
 During his residence in California, Mr. Mills identified himself quite extensively 
 with the business affairs of the coast, and is yet a large owner in gold, silver and quick- 
 silver mines, land ventures and industrial enterprises. But practical engagements 
 never so absorbed his time as to render him indifferent to the higher interests of the 
 population of the coast. It gave him great pleasure to accept the positions of regent 
 and treasurer of the University of California, and he endowed a professorship in that 
 institution. He also became one of the first trustees of the Lick estate and the Lick 
 Observatory and in other ways promoted the growth of popular taste and intelligence. 
 
 A good idea of Mr. Mills's character is given in a letter which he wrote to the 
 board of regents of the University of California at the time of the endowment of his 
 professorship. This letter was in part as follows : 
 
 "My interest in the institution over which you preside, and a desire to contribute 
 to the benefit and support of good learning, prompt me to propose to you the establish- 
 ing of a permanent foundation in the nature of a trust fund, of which the income shall 
 be applied to the maintenance, in the University of California, of a professorship of 
 Intellectual and Moral Philosophy and Civil Polity. While I propose to commit the 
 trust to the keeping of the regents of the university and would limit it by no narrow 
 boundaries of transient opinion, I desire to record my views as to the nature of this 
 professorship and the character of the man who shoiild be called upon to discharge its 
 duties. The studies included under the general title pertain especially to man, his in- 
 tellectual, moral and social being, and can never cease to hold a high place in human 
 learning, nor to have a great influence on human welfare. In the widest and most 
 liberal meaning, they underlie laws, manners and religion, and, in effect, form the 
 public opinion of the world ; and their teacher should not be one who resorts to them, 
 takes them up or incidentally adopts them, but one of philosophic spirit, who shall 
 devote his life to this appropriate field of influence and noble labor." 
 
 Mr. Mills gave $75,000 to establish the professorship and recently the regents of 
 the university announced that the fund had increased to $100,000. 
 
 In 1880, he transferred his home and part of his capital to New York city and has 
 ever since been a resident of the metropolis. One of his first investments was in the 
 construction of the superb building in Broad street, known by his name, which is now 
 the headquarters of the greatest aggregation of important corporations in New York 
 city. A similar building has since been erected by him in San Francisco. 
 
444 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Mr. Mills was married Sept. 5, 1854, to Jane T., daughter of James Cunningham 
 and their children are Ogden Mills and Elizabeth, wife of Whitelaw Reid. He has 
 joined a number of the best clubs in the city, including the Metropolitan, Century, 
 Union, Union League and Knickerbocker. 
 
 His benefactions are discriminating and unostentatious. The Training. School for 
 Male Nurses near Bellevue Hospital was founded by him, and his other actions for the 
 relief of the poor are as generous as they are gracious and creditable. He is a trustee 
 of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Natural History and an active 
 and public spirited worker in many other important institutions. 
 
 GEORGE MILMINE, grain merchant, a native of Grimsby, Canada, and born Sept. 
 13, 1828, is a son of Alexander Milmine, a farmer, and of mingled Scotch-Irish and New 
 England ancestry. He was educated in the public schools and left the farm in 1856 to 
 go to Wisconsin. In 1859, he engaged in Illinois in the grain business, for which ex- 
 perience in agriculture and a natural aptitude for trade had fitted him. In 1861, he 
 joined with Edward C. Bodman in establishing the firm of Milmine & Bodman, grain 
 commission merchants at Bement, 111. He moved to Toledo, O., in 1865, and to New 
 York in 1885, establishing here the house of Milmine, Bodman & Co., commission- 
 merchants in the grain trade. He has been very successful and the house is one of the 
 safest and most important at the Exchange. Mr. Milmine is a director of The Seaboard 
 National Bank and a member of the Union League club and Ohio Society. In 1858, 
 he married Emma Goble in Canada. 
 
 ROBERT BOWNE MINTURN, merchant, born in New York city, Nov. 16, 1805, 
 died here Jan. 9, 1866. His grandfather William, a prominent and prosperous mer- 
 chant of Newport and New York, died in the latter city in 1799, leaving a large fortune, 
 which was lost by William Minturn, the younger, in the disasters to American shipping 
 during the War of 1812, and the latter died in 1818, leaving the family in straitened cir- 
 cumstances. Robert, then only fourteen years of age, thereupon left school and gained 
 a business training as clerk for Charles Green, meanwhile spending his evening hours in 
 stvidy. Mr Green made him a partner in 1825. In 1830, Mr. Minturn joined the old firm 
 of Fish & Grinnell, shipping merchants, which, founded in 1815, had brought fortunes to 
 the original proprietors, who now retired, leaving the business to younger men. The 
 old sign, then changed to Grinnell, Minturn & Co., displays the latter name on Broad 
 street to this day. 
 
 Mr. Minturn possessed all the qualities which make a successful merchant. 
 Upright, enterprising and capable, he extended the operations and increased the pres- 
 tige of his firm, whose ships ploughed the sea in the trade to Europe and China and 
 carried the American flag on every ocean in the world. Scores of clerks graduated 
 from this house to become eminent merchants, and the name of Grinnell, Minturn 
 & Co. was favorably known in every port upon the globe, to which a deep sea ship 
 traded. Mr. Minturn was proud of his country and always felt gratified that it fell to 
 his lot to do much to increase its reputation abroad. The esteem in which Mr. 
 Minturn was held and his public spirit are illustrated by his appointment as the first 
 Commissioner of Emigration in this city, his large share in founding St. Luke's 
 Hospital, the Church of the Holy Communion, The Association for Improving the 
 Condition of the Poor and other institutions, and his election as first president of the 
 Union League club. 
 
THE CITY or "NEW YORK. MO. 445 
 
 In 1835, he married Anna Mary, daughter of Judge John Lansing Wendell of 
 Albany, and the children born to them were Robert B. Minturn, jr. ; Susan Carter, wife 
 of Thomas Charles Baring of London ; John Wendell Minturn ; Edith, wife of Mahlon 
 Sands; Anna Mary, wife of the Rev. Charles Penrose Quicke of Somerset, England; 
 Sarah, Eliza Theodora and William Minturn. Of the countless loving testimonials 
 to his character brought out by his death, a few words from the editorial of George 
 William Curtis in Harper's ll'eekly \\i\\ serve as a type: "Gentle, just and generous; 
 modest, humane and sagacious; honored by- the most successful and prosperous, beloved 
 by the poorest and most forgotten ; his sense of responsibility growing with increasing 
 fortune, until his devoted life was that of an humble almoner of the Divine bounty 
 this was the New York merchant, the American gentleman, the serene Christian, whose 
 life was a public blessing and whose death is a universal sorrow." 
 
 JOHN GODFREY flOORE, senior member of the New York Stock Exchange firm 
 of Moore & Schley, who gained national prominence as the plaintiff in a suit contesting 
 the constitutionality of the Income Tax law, was born in Steuben, Washington county, 
 Maine, July 7, 1847. His father was Capt. Henry D. Moore, a shipmaster, who spent 
 most of his time at sea, and retired from active service, owing to severe injuries received 
 during a storm. 
 
 Mr. Moore's preparatory education was that of the majority of youths born in the 
 Pine Tree State, the district schools, but a few years later he enjoyed a winter 
 at the Cherryfield Academy and another at the East Maine Conference Seminary at 
 Bucksport Thus equipped, he came to New York when eighteen years of age. 
 His first employment in the city was as a clerk in the office of Thomas Mahew and 
 Wilson Godfrey, lumber merchants, at No. 117 Wall street. There, he gathered his 
 first experience of trade in New York, although presumably like most natives of 
 Maine he had previously acquired some knowledge of the business. Within a year, 
 he bettered himself by accepting a position with Bell Bro's, lumber dealers, at the foot 
 of \Vest 23d street, and with this firm he remained until the summer of 1868. In that 
 year, during which he attained his majority, he started in business on his own account, 
 at Xo. 96 Wall street, in the occupation in which he had served an apprenticeship. He 
 rapidly extended his connections, and finally, in company with John O. Evans, executed 
 several important contracts with the War Department. His constructions consisted in 
 part of piers and breakwaters at Buffalo and Cleveland and improvements along the 
 Delaware river from Philadelphia, Pa., to Wilmington, Del. To carry out these 
 projects, he and his associates organized The National Dredging Co. of the city of 
 Wilmington, Del. 
 
 In 1880, when The Western Union Telegraph Co. had apparently absorbed all its 
 rivals, Messrs. Evans and Moore entertained the idea of constructing lines connecting 
 the principal cities and of leasing wires to bankers and merchants during business hours 
 and to newspapers at night. Abundant capital was forthcoming for the purpose 
 and the projectors had soon stretched wires, connecting the cities of New York, 
 Boston and Washington. Later, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Paul, Kansas City and 
 other important points in the West and Northwest were connected and the competition 
 thus established materially reduced rates. Finally, The Western Union Telegraph 
 Co. purchased the lines of The American Union Telegraph Co., and then Mr. Moore 
 organized The Mutual Union Telegraph Co., the prospectus of which announced that 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MO. 447 
 
 it would stretch wires all over the United States. From the inception of this enter- 
 prise, the work was pushed with energy and perseverance. Its construction was of the 
 most perfect character and its lines were rapidly extended through all parts of the 
 country. Mr. Evans as president of the company attended to its finances, while Mr. 
 Moore had charge of the work of construction and equipment. 
 
 Before all the lines had been completed, Mr. Evans died and Mr. Moore succeeded 
 him as president. Under his administration, the lines of The Mutual Union Co. were 
 leased to The Western Union Telegraph Co. for ninety-nine years. Soon after 
 the making of this compact, Mr. Moore became one of the directors of The Western 
 Union Telegraph Co. His management of The Mutual Union brought him into 
 prominence as a financier, and when he returned to New York on February i, 1885, 
 after a vacation taken to recruit his health, he became a member of the stock brokerage 
 firm of Moore & Schley, which at once became one of the most prominent on the Stock 
 Exchange. 
 
 In recent years, Mr. Moore has taken an active interest in railroad affairs, especi- 
 ally in the South. In 1886, he acquired a large interest in The Chase National Bank 
 on Nassau street and takes an active part in its management. He is also a director 
 in The Manhattan Trust Co. 
 
 He is a director in The Western Union Telegraph Co., and The Missouri Pacific. 
 The Texas & Pacific, The Lake Erie & Western, The Louisville, New Albany & 
 Chicago. The New York & New England, and The Norfolk & Southern Railroads, 
 and The Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. , and is interested in many other industrial 
 and manufacturing concerns and companies. 
 
 Mr. Moore owns a fine private library, is a supporter of the great public museums 
 of the city, and extends discriminating aid to charity. Among his clubs are the Union 
 League, Manhattan, Lotus, New York and Riding. 
 
 The courageous and determined opposition of Mr. Moore to what he considered an 
 unconstitutional and unjust law attracted wide attention. Actuated by the prin- 
 ciples which have guided his business career, he announced soon after the Income Tax 
 clause had been added to the tariff bill his antagonism to the measure, and declared he 
 would exhaust every legal means to defeat the act. His success is well known to every 
 citizen of the United States. 
 
 JOHN PHENIX nOORE, merchant, born Dec. 28, 1799, in New York city, died 
 Aug. 27, 1881. He was a lineal descendant of Jonathan Dayton, Speaker of the House 
 of Representatives, 1793-97, and after that United States Senator. At the age of four- 
 teen, the subject of this memoir was apprenticed to Benjamin Cooper, the leading gun 
 merchant of New York city and learned the trade thoroughly. When able personally 
 to make a good gun, he became Mr. Cooper's partner, then being twenty-three years of 
 age. and began a prosperous career. After a few years, he separated from Mr. Cooper 
 and conducted business alone, rising through his practical knowledge, sterling integrity 
 and close attention to business, and leaving as successors two sons and a son-in-law, who 
 continued under the name of John P. Moore's Sons and maintained the reputation 
 established by the founder of the house. Mr. Moore was eminently a self-made man, 
 and the soundness of his judgment and the fact that under no circumstances could he be 
 influenced to depart from the strict line of integrity and impartiality caused his advice 
 to be sought for freely. He was a firm Republican but would never take political 
 
448 AMKRICA'S SUCCKSSFUL MEN. 
 
 office. Although a man of public spirit and quite willing to undergo labor for the public 
 good, he disliked any great notoriety. Married to Eliza Jane Vanderpoel in 1820, he 
 was survived by his wife and three children, Hannah M. Bowron, Elizabeth M. West 
 and George G. Moore. President for many years of The General Society of Mechanics 
 and Tradesmen, he also served upon the School Board and as director in leading 
 insurance companies and banks. 
 
 CHARLES MORGAN, founder of Morgan's steamship and railroad lines, a native 
 of Killingworth, now Clinton, Conn., born April 21, 1795, died in New York city, May 
 8, 1878. He came from an old shipping family and illustrated by his career what may 
 be accomplished in America with no other aid than a man's own perseverance and en- 
 terprise. His ancestor was James Morgan, a native of Wales, who settled in Massachu- 
 setts in 1636. 
 
 The subject of this memoir came in 1809 to the city of New York, where he found 
 employment as clerk to a retail grocer. In a few years, having saved a little money by 
 strict economy, he opened a ship chandlery and grocery store in Peck Slip. He was 
 practical, determined and diligent, and his rise was rapid, one enterprise growing 
 naturally out of that which had preceded it and all being successful. While a ship 
 chandler, he ^began importing fruit from the West Indies and South America and 
 became part owner in a brig in this trade and later sole owner of a line of swift sailing 
 craft, plying between New York and the West Indies. This led him into shipping 
 enterprises and he sent to Charleston harbor the first steamer, which ever entered that 
 port from New York. Under his energetic management, this ship was succeeded by 
 others, forming a regular line in the Charleston trade. In 1836, he sent the first 
 steamer from New Orleans to Texas. His interests were then centered in steamships 
 and he added to his fleet almost yearly, establishing a service from New Orleans to 
 several Gulf ports. As an adjunct to his shipping interests, he founded and later 
 became principal owner of the large machine shops, known as The Morgan Iron Works 
 on the East River front at pth street, for casting and making the machinery of steam 
 vessels. During the Civil War, most of Mr. Morgan's steamers were chartered by the 
 United States Government. 
 
 After the War, he established a line of steamers from New York to New Orleans and 
 other ports on the Gulf and enjoyed almost a monopoly of that trade. Later, he became 
 sole owner of The Opelousas Railroad, which he renamed as Morgan's Louisiana & 
 Texas Railroad, and of a road from Indianola to Cuero, Texas. He dredged a ship 
 channel in Atchafalaya Bay; built a wharf 2,500 feet long at Indianola; traded with 
 steamers to Panama and Nicaragua ; and engaged in many other enterprises subor- 
 dinate to these schemes. Morgan City, La., was named in his honor. Mr. Morgan 
 managed all these enterprises himself and gained a fortune of $13, 000,000 by brave and 
 honest enterprise. A few weeks before his death, all his interests were merged into a 
 corporation, named The Morgan Louisiana & Texas Steamship Co., part of the stock 
 being distributed among his family. 
 
 While taking great enjoyment in business pursuits, his noble nature made him 
 generous in his charities, and he gave liberally to worthy objects. He was twice 
 married, first Dec. 20, 1817, to Emily Reeves, who died April 9, 1850, and then, June 
 24, 1852, to Mary Jane Sexton. His children were Charles W. and Henry Morgan, 
 both now deceased; Mrs. Charles A. Whitney and Mrs. George W. Quintard. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MO. 449 
 
 DAVID PIERCE HORGAN, stockbroker, born in Tecumseh, Mich., Aug. 4, 1831, 
 died in Washington, D. C. , Jan. 24, 1886. The son of Amos and Betsey Morgan, he 
 was descended from James Morgan, the pioneer, who came from Wales in the early 
 days of New England. His first occupation in life was school teaching. At length, 
 finding his way to the metropolis, he entered the employment of James Hewitt & Co., 
 merchants, in the provisions and tobacco commission trade, and, at the end of the 
 Crimean War, made a successful trip abroad to purchase from the allied armies a large 
 stock of supplies which had been left upon their hands. It was in Wall street, how- 
 ever, that Mr. Morgan made his fortune and reputation. About 1857, he joined the 
 firm of William Fellowes & Co., prospered in this relation, retired in 1869, and about 
 1873, resumed business with his wife's brother as a partner, and established the stock 
 brokerage house of D. P. Morgan & Co. In 1878, failing health forced him to abandon 
 the excitements of Wall street. He was noted for generosity, especially to brokers, 
 always being ready to give them orders in the market, the result being that his deal- 
 ings were enormous and always promoted active trading. A large operator, it was 
 he who, with C. J. Woerishofer and Charles J. Osborn, managed the famous corner in 
 Chicago Northwestern, in which they caught Jay Gould short and forced him to settle. 
 To prolong his life, he went, in 1879, to Paris. The spirit of enterprise gave him no 
 rest, however, and he became a prominent operator on the Paris Bourse, where, it is 
 said, he was extremely successful. Mr. Morgan was adroit, active, cool and courageous, 
 and generally labored for an advance in prices. Returning to this country in 1883, he 
 passed his summers thereafter in Newport and his winters in Washington. He was at 
 one time a director of The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and long a member of 
 the Union club. In 1858, upon Staten Island, he married Caroline, daughter of William 
 Fellowes. Of their seven children, six are living, William Fellowes and David Percy 
 Morgan; Mrs. Ina Morgan Kissel, Mrs. Alice Morgan Carter, and Lewis Henry and 
 James Hewitt Morgan. 
 
 EDWIN DENISON HORQAN, War Governor of the State and a distinguished 
 merchant, originated among the Berkshire hills in Washington township and was born 
 on a farm, Feb. 8, 1811. He died in New York city, Feb. 14, 1883. In the eighth gen- 
 eration of descent from James Morgan, a native of Wales, who emigrated to Boston in 
 1636 and finally settled in Connecticut, Governor Morgan was a son of Jasper Morgan, 
 a farmer. A bright and capable boy, he began life with a limited education. The lack 
 of formal schooling never hampered Governor Morgan, however, in making his way. 
 His strong mind craved knowledge and he gained it by observation and reading, while 
 a tenacious memory and marked intellectual readiness placed his resources instantly -at 
 command in all situations in life. Apprenticed at the age of seventeen to his uncle, 
 Nathan Morgan, a merchant in Hartford, Conn., as errand boy and clerk at a salary of 
 $50 a year, he showed energy, boldness and ability from the start. His salary was 
 raised more than once and in 1831 he was admitted to partnership. In 1836, he came 
 to New York city, served a short time as a clerk, and then with Morris Earle, en- 
 gaged in a wholesale trade in groceries on Front street on his own account. For 
 the first six years, he lived in Brooklyn. His firm dealt mainly with houses in Connec- 
 ticut. Mr. Earle retiring a year later, Mr. Morgan went on alone. In 1843, with his 
 cousin, George D. Morgan, and another partner, he founded the firm of E. D. Morgan 
 & Co. While continuing the importation of general groceries for many years, he extended 
 
450 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 his operations beyond the routine of trade, made tea, coffee and sugar a specialty, and 
 speculated boldly but prudently in those products. Much of his time was passed in 
 the tropics, especially in Louisiana, where he often bought the whole of the crop of a 
 large plantation. He was successful in all his operations and made money rapidly. 
 Cool, deliberate, patient, and energetic, of stern integrity and a man of courtly 
 presence, he took his place among the great merchants of the city. In the latter part 
 of his life, E. D. Morgan & Co. confined their operations mainly to banking. Mr. 
 Morgan's fidelity to every trust led his fellow citizens to select him for various public 
 offices. At the age of twenty-one, he became a member of the City Council of 
 Hartford. In New York city, he was in 1849 elected Assistant Alderman, and 
 in the same year State Senator, serving two terms, a part of the time as 
 president pro tern. The bill establishing Central Park was carried through by him. 
 Identifying himself with the Republican party upon its formation, he attended the 
 Pittsburgh convention in 1856 as a delegate and was president of the Philadelphia 
 convention the same year and chairman of the Republican National Committee. He 
 was Commissioner of Emigration, 1855-58; Governor of the State of New York, 
 1859-62; and, United States Senator, 1863-69. During the Civil War, he organized the 
 forces of New York State and was appointed a Major General of Volunteers, Sept. 30, 
 1 86 1, serving without compensation. Twice he refused a place in the cabinet of Presi- 
 dent Lincoln as Secretary of the Treasury, and although upon President Arthur's 
 nomination he was confirmed unanimously by the Senate for the same position, 
 he felt obliged again to decline. Governor Morgan always prided himself upon not 
 having made money out of the War. He sat in the directorate of The United States 
 Trust Co., The New York & Erie Railroad, The Western Union Telegraph Co., The 
 National Bank of Commerce, and numerous other institutions. In the Union League 
 club, of which he was a prominent member, he exerted an important influence. A 
 Presbyterian in religious faith and exceedingly philanthropic, his time and means were 
 employed to promote the leading institutions of his church. He served for eight years 
 as vice president of The American Tract Society and as an incorporator, governor and, 
 after 1877, president of The Woman's Hospital. Among the institutions which grate- 
 fully acknowledged the receipt of large gifts from him were the two named, The Ameri- 
 can Tract Society, The Union Theological Seminary, Williams College, The New York 
 City Mission, The Presbyterian Hospital, of which he was president, and The Manhat- 
 tan Eye & Ear Hospital, but there were many others to which he contributed from time 
 to time. For Williams College, he built a dormitory and in his will gave about $750,000 
 to public objects and charities. Governor Morgan married, Aug. 19, 1833, Eliza 
 Matilda, daughter of Capt. Henry Waterman of Hartford, and was the father of Dr. 
 Edwin D. Morgan, born Sept. 8, 1834, who died in October, 1881, leaving an only son, 
 Edwin D. Morgan, jr.; Frederick Avery, who died at the age of three; and Gilbert 
 Henry, Caroline Matilda, and Alfred Waterman Morgan, all of whom died in infancy. 
 GEORGE DENISON MORGAN, merchant, born in Hartford, Conn., March 3, 1818, 
 died in Irvington-on-the-Hudson, June 13, 1891. He was a son of Denison Morgan, 
 brother of Jasper and Nathan Morgan elsewhere mentioned in these pages. George 
 joined his cousin in business in New York city and gained prominence as a partner in 
 E. D. Morgan & Co. After accumulating a fortune, he gave his attention to charita- 
 ble and missionary work. In the Civil War, he represented Gideon Welles, Secretary 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MO. 451 
 
 of the Navy, in the purchase of vessels for the government, and by his sound judgment 
 and abilities saved millions of dollars to the National Treasury. On Sept. 3, 1838, he 
 married Caroline A. Hale. The children born to them were George Hale and the Rev. 
 John Brainard Morgan; and Mary Caroline, wife of Gen. J. S. Fullerton of St. Louis. 
 He was at one time a director of The Equitable Life Assurance Society, besides hold- 
 ing a similar place in several banks, life insurance companies and public institutions. 
 A Christian, a princely merchant, philanthropic and just, he spent the last years of his 
 life, happy in the respect of a large circle of friends. 
 
 HENRY TITUS MORGAN, stock broker, born in Lee, Mass., Oct. 18, 1816, died 
 in New York city, Jan. 27, 1883. Coming to this city in 1836 while a young man, he 
 engaged in business as a stock broker in Wall street, purchasing a seat in the Stock 
 Exchange, of which he became one of the most prominent members. He dealt largely 
 in in vestment securities and retired from active business in 1881 with a fortune. He 
 expired suddenly from heart disease while in the carriage on his way home from Del- 
 monico's. His wife passed away before him. Homer Morgan was his brother and his 
 nearest surviving relative. A part of his fortune was left to charity. 
 
 HOF1ER nORQAN, real estate broker, born in West Springfield, Mass., Nov. 14, 
 1807, the third son of Archippus Morgan, died in New York city, April 16, 1887. His 
 ancestor Miles Morgan was one of the pioneer settlers of Springfield under Gov. 
 Pynchon. He began life as a clerk in the wholesale dry goods house of John Olmstead 
 in Hartford, and in 1830 came to New York city, continuing in the dry goods business 
 until 1834, when he engaged in banking with his brother E. M. Morgan and Morris 
 Ketchum, the firm being known as Morgan, Ketchum & Co. After a hard struggle, 
 the firm finally failed in 1837. In 1842, Mr Morgan engaged in real estate operations 
 and became one of the most prominent agents and brokers in the city. He was a 
 Christian gentleman, whose practical philanthropy brought happiness to a great many 
 people. Several families of superannuated clergymen received their support from him. 
 He was twice married, first in 1836 to Frances, daughter of Thomas C. Morton, by 
 whom he had three children, none of whom survived him. Mrs. Morgan died in 1841. 
 In 1850, he married Caroline Louise, daughter of Benjamin Ferris. Their two daugh- 
 ters are Alma Louise, wife of James W. Fellows and Annie Taylor Morgan. 
 
 JUNIUS SPENCER HORGAN, banker, a native of West Springfield, Mass., born 
 April 14, 1813, died in Monte Carlo, April 8, 1890. He was a son of Joseph Morgan, 
 farmer and early settler of Springfield and a descendant of Miles Morgan, a native of 
 Wales, who removed to Massachusetts in 1636 and was a brother of James Morgan, 
 from whom were descended Edwin D. , Edwin B. and Charles Morgan, all conspicuous 
 men. Educated in Hartford, Conn., Junius S. Morgan learned banking with Alfred 
 Welles in Boston. In July, 1834, he removed to New York and joined the banking 
 house of Morgan, Ketchum & Co. Returning to Hartford, eighteen months later, he 
 spent seventeen prosperous years, first as a dry goods merchant in Hartford, Conn., in 
 Howe, Mather & Co., and Mather, Morgan & Co., and next in Boston as a partner of 
 J. M. Beebe, in Beebe, Morgan & Co., which became one ot the largest houses in the 
 Lnited States. While in England, in 1853, Mr. Morgan accepted an invitation to join 
 George Peabody in banking and became his partner in October, 1854. Ten years later, 
 he succeeded Mr. Peabody in business, as J. S. Morgan & Co., and created one of the 
 largest banking houses in the world. He married May 2, 1836, Juliet, a woman of 
 
45 2 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 unusual force of character and daughter of the Rev. John Pierpont of Boston. His 
 children were John Pierpont Morgan; Sarah Spencer, wife of George H. Morgan; 
 Mary Lyman, wife of Walter H. Burns; Junius Spencer, who died at the age of twelve, 
 and Juliet Pierpont. He was a generous donor to Trinity College and numerous other 
 public institutions. Mr. Morgan was a man of distinguished appearance and broad 
 mind, who loved the country of his birth and rendered it substantial service during the 
 Civil War. His son, JOHN PIERPONT MORGAN, born in Hartford, Conn., April 17, 
 1837, inherited from his parents both their purity of character and exceptional abilities 
 and from early boyhood showed great promise. After graduating from the English High 
 School in Boston, he took a complete course in the University of Goettingen. Return- 
 ing to America at the age of twenty, he entered the bank of Duncan, Sherman & Co., 
 in New York city, in order to obtain a thorough knowledge of banking. This house 
 was at the time one of the most prominent in New York. In 1860, he was appointed 
 American agent and attorney of George Peabody & Co., of London, a relation which he 
 has since maintained with J. S. Morgan & Co. In 1864, Mr. Morgan engaged in bank- 
 ing on his own account in the firm of Dabney, Morgan & Co., who, confining their 
 attention to legitimate investment securities, soon became known for conservatism, 
 ability and success. In 1871, Mr. Morgan became junior partner in Drexel, Morgan & 
 Co. By the death of the older members, he has now risen to the head of the greatest 
 private bank in America. Located upon Wall street within sight of the Stock Exchange, 
 this bank has been regarded for over twenty years as one of the most powerful influences 
 for good in the street. Important reorganizations of railroad properties and negotiations 
 of loans have been entrusted to the house. Mr. Morgan received a large property from 
 his father, but his fortune had been safely established long before that time by his 
 own exertions. He is a large investor in important enterprises and a valued director 
 in many, inchiding The Manhattan Railway, The Mexican Telegraph Co., The New 
 York Central & Hudson River Railroad, The New York, Providence & Boston Railroad, 
 The West Shore Railroad, The Western Union Telegraph Co. , The Central & South 
 American Telegraph Co. , The Madison Square Garden Co. and The Manufacturing 
 Investment Co. He has been twice married, is a man of fine presence, courteous and 
 refined, and occupies a high position in the social world. Grand opera and every 
 movement which will promote popular education and the fine arts are cordially sup- 
 ported by him and he is a valued member of the Metropolitan, Union League, Century, 
 Union, Knickerbocker, Tuxedo, Riding, Racquet, Lawyers', Whist, Players', Sea- 
 wanhaka Corinthian Yacht and the New York Yacht clubs. 
 
 GIOVANNI P. HOROSINI, stock broker and operator, is a native of the beautiful 
 city of Venice, Italy, where he was born June 24. 1834. His father, Paul P. Morosini, 
 came from old Venetian stock, while his mother was born in Cadore in the Carnic Alps 
 on the extreme northeastern boundary of Italy. The young man received an education 
 in the best civil and military training schools of the queen city of the Adriatic, gradu- 
 ating as a military cadet. He then became a soldier of the Italian army in Venice. 
 
 Aug. 28, 1849, after the capitulation of Venice to the Austrians, he sailed from his 
 native city to seek his fortune in the world at large. After traveling to Greece and 
 Turkey, he shipped at Smyrna before the mast on an American vessel, homeward 
 bound across the Atlantic ocean, and landed in the city of Boston in 1850. The navi- 
 gation of the sea engaged his time for several years, but Mr. Morosini was fitted to 
 
454 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 play a more important part in affairs than he found scope for in the merchant marine. 
 
 In the spring of 1855, while his ship lay in the harbor of New York, Mr. Morosini 
 dwelt during the stay in port in a sailor's boarding house. He was a youth of splendid 
 build, great muscular strength, and a courage corresponding with both. One day, 
 while walking along a road on Staten Island his attention was drawn to a group of boys 
 near the curbstone, in which there were signs of an exciting struggle. He hastened 
 to the scene and there saw a dozen or more boys beating one smaller than any of them, 
 although the latter was making a gallant struggle against the crowd. Mr. Morosini 
 forced his way into the melee and took the part of the victim of the assault, who was 
 then lying on the ground. Immediately, the entire pack attacked the sailor, but the 
 latter drew his sailor's knife, shook it menacingly, and using it as a bayonet, made a 
 charge, which scattered the hoodlums like chaff. Mr. Morosini then helped the injured 
 boy to his feet and accompanied him to his home. It happened that the lad was the 
 son of Nathaniel Marsh, then secretary of The Erie Railroad. Mr. Marsh promptly 
 sought the rescuer of his boy and offered him a sum of money in gratitude. This Mr. 
 Morosini refused. Mr. Marsh then asked if he could be of service in any way, and Mr. 
 Morosini replied that he was tired of the sea and would like employment in New York. 
 
 As a result, May 29, 1855, he entered the employ of The Erie railroad, Mr. Marsh 
 having recommended him for a position as office boy. Eager to make himself useful, 
 the handsome, dark featured young man soon endeared himself to everybody by his 
 industry and winning manners. He was placed in the auditor's office and by strict 
 attention to work made his way by his own efforts through the various grades, until 
 he became chief clerk to the auditor. In 1869, the directors elected him General Au- 
 ditor of the company. 
 
 While an official of the railroad company, Mr. Morosini came under the observa- 
 tion of Jay Gould. The keen eye of the financier noted the diligence, application and 
 activity of Mr. Morosini, and inquiries were made concerning him ; and in the end 
 Mr. Gould gained a strong liking for him. Sept. 30, 1872, Mr. Morosini became the 
 private secretary of Mr. Gould. Here he began to gain an insight into the gigantic 
 operations, in which Mr. Gould was then engaged. In 1879, he was admitted to part- 
 nership by Mr. Gould and remained in that relation until they both retired from active 
 operations, Jan. i, 1886. In the tremendous stock transactions of that period, Mr. Moro- 
 sini was in some respects more intimately identified with Mr. Gould than any other man. 
 
 It was after the big deal in Erie, the Black Friday panic and the corner in Chicago 
 & Northwestern stock, that Mr. Morosini began to develop the remarkable business 
 qualities which fitted him for the part Mr. Gould wished him to play in his trans- 
 actions. It is a notable fact that, prior to this time, Mr. Gould had largely gained his 
 strong position by aiding to depreciate securities he wished to buy. He now began to 
 develop values. Mr. Morosini was actively connected with the transaction, which put 
 Mr. Gould into control of The Western Union Telegraph Co., in 1879, when, with the 
 assistance of The American Telegraph Co., of which Mr. Morosini was treasurer, The 
 Western Union saw itself forced to consolidate with The American Union and The At- 
 lantic & Pacific companies. In the combination between Mr. Gould and Cyrus Field 
 in 1879, when the Kansas City and Wabash roads were consolidated, Mr. Morosini 
 played an active part, as well as in the campaign which placed Mr Gould in control of 
 The Missouri Pacific Railroad. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MO. 455 
 
 The records of the Stock Exchange tell how Mr. Gould came into control of the 
 Manhattan Elevated Railroad Company, but they do not mention the fact thas Mr. 
 Morosini was the man who carried on Mr. Gould's speculations and brought them to a 
 successful close. To-day, Mr. Morosini is a director in The Manhattan Elevated Rail- 
 road, and he never tires of talking of the advantages of that system over all others for 
 solving the rapid transit problem. 
 
 After Dec. 31, 1885, Mr. Morosini devoted himself to private affairs and invest- 
 ments, having his office at No. 71 Broadway with Washington E. Connor. 
 
 To-day, Mr. Morosini, while his locks are whitened with advancing years, shows 
 the same sparkle in his eyes and the same flush of health on his cheek, which were there 
 in his early days and the same aptitude for business and keen knowledge of the future 
 of opportunities, which have been factors in his successful life. He is not tired of the 
 busy work-day life of the metropolis, although he no longer engages in outside enter- 
 prises. He is at his desk early in the morning and gives his affairs the careful consider- 
 ation, which characterized his work when he was poring over figures in the auditor's 
 office of the Erie. 
 
 The possessor of large means, he has used them with liberality and judgment in 
 works of philanthropy. In the fall of 1893, he endowed a free bed in the Seton Hos- 
 pital at Spuyten Duyvil at a cost of $5,000, in memory of his wife; and his daughter 
 Julia Morosini has presented an altar at a cost of $2,000 to the Seton Hospital chapel in 
 memory of her mother. Although a member of the Roman Catholic faith and an 
 attendant at the chapel in Spuyten Duyvil, he is liberal in his views and gives gener- 
 ously to the charities of both the Catholic and Protestant churches. His idea of happi- 
 ness is to be congenially and actively employed and to be temperate in habits and enjoy- 
 ments. He is a member of the American Yacht and Manhattan Athletic clubs. June 
 6, 1857, he was married at the Jesuit church in i6th street, to Julia Chaussee. Mrs. 
 Morosini passed away Dec. 3, 1893. Four children have been born to them, two boys 
 and two girls. 
 
 JOHN A. flORRIS, capitalist, a native of Jersey City, N. J., born July 29, 
 1836, died at his ranche, near Kerrville, Texas, May 26, 1895. He was a son 
 of Francis Morris, treasurer of The American Telegraph Co. and the largest owner 
 of the patent of The House Printing Telegraph Co., through which corporation 
 he made a large fortune, spending a great part of it afterward in an effort to 
 develop the Nicaragua canal. Graduating from Harvard College, John A. Morris 
 began life as a chemist and in 1857 went to Texas with a fellow worker with the 
 expectation of delivering fresh beef to the markets of the world. At one time, a 
 resident of New Orleans, during the last thirty years or more he had been a resident 
 of Westchester county. He spent a portion of nearly every winter in New Orleans and 
 was one of the largest owners of the Louisiana State Lottery, during the existence of 
 the charter. He was at one time interested in The Caffrey Central Refinery at Frank- 
 lin, La., costing more than $500,000, and in The Ashton Plantation & Manufacturing 
 Co. Mr. Morris was a lover of fine horses and the great racetrack at Morris Park, just 
 north of New York city, costing about $2,000,000, was originally his enterprise. Ai 
 one time he had other investments in the interest of the American turf. He joined 
 various important clubs in New York city, including the Manhattan, Vaudeville, 
 Country, American Yacht and Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht and The Southern Society. 
 
456 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Sept. 9, 1857, he was married in London, England, to Cora Hennen of New Orleans. 
 His children are Alfred Hennen, Frances Isabel and David Hennen Morris. 
 
 RICHARD nORTIflER, owner of realty, born in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, England, 
 in 1791, died in New York, May 30, 1882. His father was William Mortimer, a 
 prominent citizen of Cleckheaton and a man of independent means. Richard Mortimer 
 came to the United States in 1816 as the agent of his brother-in-law, William Yates, 
 who was a manufacturer of woolen cloths, the firm being one hundred years old. In 
 1821, he married Miss Harriette, daughter of William A. Thompson of New Haven, 
 Conn. Retiring from business in 1834 on account of ill-health, he went to Europe, and 
 on his return did not re-enter business life but made a fortune by judicious investments 
 in real estate. Among the many structures owned by him are the Mortimer Building, 
 No 1 1 Wall street, which is the third house on this lot since it was bought by Mr. Mor- 
 timer; No. 935 Broadway, corner of 22d street and Fifth avenue; and No. 825 Broad- 
 way, a large granite building which for many years was his residence. He was a 
 director of The Standard Fire Insurance Co. and The Sixth Avenue Railroad. One 
 son, William Yates Mortimer, two grandsons, Richard and Stanley Mortimer, and 
 one granddaughter, Marie, who married Count von Oriola of Berlin, Germany, sur- 
 vived him. William Yates Mortimer, who was educated in Europe, married Elisabeth 
 Thorpe, daughter of Aaron Thorpe of Albany. He inherited the bulk of his father's 
 estate and by clever management greatly increased his property. He died in 1891, 
 leaving a large sum to charity, and survived by his widow and two sons, Richard 
 Mortimer, who married Miss Eleanor Jay Chapman, grand-daughter of the late Hon. 
 John Jay, and Stanley Mortimer, who married Miss Tissie Hall, daughter of the late 
 Valentine Hall. 
 
 LEVI PARSONS MORTON, LL. D., banker and statesman, Vice President of the 
 United States, 1889-93, and since Jan. i, 1895, Governor of New York, a representa- 
 tive of the flower of New England manhood, was born in Shoreham, Vt. , May 16, 1824, 
 and springs from old Puritan and Green Mountain stock. The Rev. Daniel O. Morton, 
 his worthy father, a Congregational clergyman, traced his ancestral line to 'George 
 Morton, who came to this country in the good ship Ann, of famous memory, in 1623. 
 The mother of Levi P. Morton was Lucretia Parsons, whose brother, the Rev. Lev{ 
 Parsons, was well known as the first American missionary to Palestine. 
 
 The subject of this sketch grew to man's estate in a family of loving, high- 
 minded, and intellectual people and received from his parents the careful training, 
 which constitutes the best equipment for life a human being can receive. The lad left 
 school early to learn an occupation, the modest income of his father making it incum- 
 bent upon the boy to lessen the burden of the family's expenses. At the age of 
 fourteen, when other lads are usually thinking of college, the lad began life in the 
 village store, the preparatory school in which many of the greatest merchants not only 
 of New York but the country at large have received their primary training. His 
 employments led him to Enfield, Mass., and for a time to Hanover, N. H., in which is 
 located Dartmouth College, and finally having gained an experience, which his active 
 mind had promptly utilized, he took the first stride forward in his successful career, 
 by securing a place in a dry goods store in Concord, N. H. Here, by concentration of 
 his attention, he soon gained a thorough knowledge of every essential detail of the dry 
 goods trade. At twenty-one, he became a merchant on his own account in the same 
 
458 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 city. It was a proud moment for the young man when the sign placed over the door 
 announced to his fellow citizens that Levi P. Morton had taken his place among the 
 merchants of Concord. The progress of an honest, hard-working, prudent and 
 ambitious man resembles that of a victorious army. There is no stopping anywhere 
 along the route, except for time sufficient to gain all the advantages of a lately acquired 
 outpost. Mr. Morton's purchases led him to Boston, and in 1849, there grew out of 
 this an opportunity to enter the employment of James M. Beebe & Co., one of the 
 leading dry goods houses of the metropolis of New England. Mr. Morton accepted 
 and became so valuable at once, .that, to secure his permanence with the firm, he was 
 admitted to partnership in 1852, together with Junius S. Morgan, who subsequently 
 joined the banking house of George Peabody & Co. , London, and succeeded that firm. 
 
 From the day he started for himself, something within himself constantly impelled 
 Mr. Morton onwards ; and, in 1854, he moved to New York city and founded the 
 wholesale dry goods commission house of Morton & Grinnell on lower Broadway. He 
 soon managed to make his establishment well known. It was thronged with buyers 
 from all parts of the country and for nearly ten years transacted a large business. 
 
 In 1863, Mr. Morton established an office in the financial center of the city, as 
 L. P. Morton & Co., and engaged in banking and negotiation of investment securities. 
 His partner was W. H. Burns and his honorable conduct soon brought around him 
 many of the substantial men of the town, and his business gradually grew to large 
 proportions. In 1868, George Bliss, a successful merchant in the dry goods district, 
 entered the firm, which then assumed the name of Morton, Bliss & Co. The same 
 year, a branch bank was opened in London, under the style of Morton, Rose & Co., 
 the junior partner being Sir John Rose' previously Finance Minister of Canada. 
 
 From 1873 to 1884, the London house was the fiscal agent of the United States and 
 took part in some of the largest negotiations in the history of American finance. It 
 headed the syndicate, formed in 1871, to float a five per cent, loan of the Federal Gov- 
 ernment and aid in the resumption of specie payments, and, with Drexel, Morgan & 
 Co., J. S. Morgan & Co., N. M. Rothschild & Sons and Jay Cooke, McCulloch & Co., 
 successfully placed the loan, saved the Government $70,000,000 in interest and pro- 
 moted the resumption of specie payments. One transaction in which Morton, Rose & 
 Co. joined, was the payment of the Geneva award of $15,500,000. With another check, 
 Morton, Rose & Co. paid $5,500,000 for the Fishery award. 
 
 While in Wall street, Mr. Morton has never been of it, in the sense of engaging in 
 general speculation in stocks and placing the savings of one day at the mercy of the 
 fluctuations of the market on the next. A calm, far seeing, conservative banker, he has 
 confined his attention to legitimate banking, the negotiation of investment securities, 
 and those other operations in finance, which are useful to the public and tend to pro- 
 mote stability in affairs and the progress of the country. His success is due to a thor- 
 ough knowledge of the principles of finance, an intrepid and spotless character, and a 
 clear and sagacious mind. 
 
 In political faith, Mr. Morton has always been a Republican. His entrance to prac- 
 tical politics was involuntary. Late in 1876, the Republicans of the nth District, a 
 noted Democratic stronghold, nominated him without consultation for a seat in Con- 
 gress. The time was then too short for a proper canvass of the district, and Mr. Morton 
 was defeated, although he had the satisfaction of reducing the Democratic majority by 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MO. 459 
 
 400 votes. In 1878, his fellow citizens of the district paid him the compliment of a 
 renomination. This time, his popularity and an energetic canvass led to his election by 
 a majority, which was virtually equal to the whole vote of his opponent. While Mr. 
 Willis received 7,060 votes, 14,078 were cast for Mr. Morton; plurality, 7,018. Sent to 
 Congress by an overwhelming vote, his record there fully justified the compliment paid 
 him. Familiar with financial questions, sound in judgment, and terse in the expression 
 of his views, he made an excellent record. His opinions were always listened to with 
 respect, even by those who were arrayed against him politically. In the contest over the 
 unlimited free coinage of silver in 1879, he made two speeches so sound, straightforward 
 and clear, that, backed as they were by an unblemished personal character and sturdy 
 patriotism, they established his position as a commanding authority on finance. His 
 whole course in Congress was characterized with so much independence of judgment, 
 moderation and tact, that he won the confidence and attachment of both sides of the 
 House. In the social life of the capital, Mr. Morton was no less successful than in the 
 House. He purchased the house of Samuel Hooper of Massachusetts and there spent 
 two seasons, surrounded by the most brilliant men in public life and bestowing even 
 greater pleasure by his cordiality and hospitality than he received. 
 
 In 1880, when the Republican national convention had nominated General Garfield 
 for President of the United States, the Ohio delegation urged Mr. Morton to accept a 
 nomination for the Vice Presidency. This offer, although equivalent to an election, 
 was, however, declined. In 1881, President Garfield cordially tendered him a seat in 
 the Cabinet as Secretary of the Navy. This offer he also declined. He did accept an 
 appointment as Minister to France, however, and in this position certainly conferred 
 especial honor upon his country. He removed the offices of the Legation of the 
 greatest republic on earth from their old place and located them in a mansion, which 
 he rented at his own expense for the purpose. Situated in a good neighborhood and 
 presided over by a man deeply in sympathy with the French people, the Legation 
 soon became the one place in Paris where the leaders of French politics and social life 
 could meet upon friendly terms. 
 
 A devoted friend of the French republic, his cordial counsel to Ferry, Gambetta, 
 De Freycinet, and others, secured their earnest attachment, while his hospitality, tact 
 and purity of life secured the good will of the royalists. Mr. Morton desired that his 
 official term might not only add to the prestige of his country but be productive of prac- 
 tical good. His efforts to secure a repeal of the prohibitory edict against the American 
 hog were unceasing. He succeeded, but the House of Deputies subsequently insisted 
 on a renewal of the old law. The Minister of the United States in France, if popular 
 with the people, is in demand for a conspicuous place in patriotic and social functions. 
 Mr. Morton was continually sought for, for services of this class. He hammered home 
 the first nail driven in the construction of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, 
 which was the gift of the people of France to the United States; and, June 15, 1884, he 
 publicly accepted the statue in behalf of the United States. Until the advent of Mr. 
 Morton in Paris, the tomb of Lafayette had never been honored with a statue of that 
 gallant friend of American Independence. Mr. Morton took a public part in the cere- 
 monies at the unveiling of a statue at Le Puy, the birthplace of the French soldier. 
 He was a commissioner to the Paris Electrical Exposition as well as a representative 
 of the United States at the Submarine Cable Convention. As a Minister, Mr. Morton 
 
460 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 certainly won golden opinions. He was extremely obliging both to Frenchmen and 
 Americans, was graceful, dignified and cordial in social intercourse, and by his truly 
 American faculty of adapting himself quickly to his new environment, was able to retire 
 at the end of his term with the hearty good will of every important element in French 
 society and politics. Such was the prestige which Mr. Morton attained and so grate- 
 ful were the French for his sympathy with the struggling republic, that the municipality 
 of Paris formally named the square upon which he had established the hotel of Lega- 
 tion, "Place des Etats Unis." 
 
 During this period, the degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon Mr. Morton 
 by Dartmouth College in 1881, and by Middlebury College in 1882. 
 
 Upon his return to the United States in 1884, Mr. Morton resumed his desk in his 
 banking house ; but his friends continually insisted upon his return to public life and 
 twice they made him a candidate for a seat in the United States Senate. In January, 
 1885, he was strongly supported in the Republican caucus in the State Legislative, the 
 vote being William M Evarts 51, Levi P. Morton 28, Chauncey M. Depew 3. In 1887, 
 the vote on the first ballot was Warner Miller 43, Levi P. Morton 33, Frank Hiscock 
 ii. In 1888, on June 25th, Mr. Morton was nominated for Vice President of 
 the United States on the ticket with General Harrison. Upon the first ballot, he 
 received 591 of the 825 votes cast, or 178 more than a majority. He was a quiet 
 source of strength to the campaign; and New York, which had been carried by Presi- 
 dent Cleveland four years before, now gave a Republican majority of about 15,000. 
 Other States were redeemed by the Republican candidates; and Harrison and Morton 
 were triumphantly elected. As Vice President of the United States, Mr. Morton 
 scored an unmistakable success. His rulings in the Senate, his absolute fairness 
 toward the Democratic side of the Chamber, his calmness, poise, and moderation, not 
 only left absolutely no ground for complaint but gained the cordial and outspoken 
 praise of his political opponents. His retirement elicited a non-partisan expres- 
 sion of friendship. Feb. 16, 1893, a complimentary letter was addressed to him by the 
 eighty-eight members of the Senate and the Sergeant-at-Arms, tendering to him a 
 banquet at the Arlington Hotel, on the evening of Monday, Feb. 27. Mr. Morton 
 accepted and was made the subject of much cordial and deserved eulogy at the banquet. 
 The book, entitled "Testimonials of the United States Senators to Vice President 
 Morton," is no doubt one .of the most highly prized in his library. As if resolved to- 
 show that a politician may be a gentleman and an American above all, Mr. Morton gave 
 a reception in honor of Vice President Stevenson upon the latter's arrival in Washington. 
 
 Mr. Morton's greatest political success, however, was his election as Governor of 
 New York State, in 1894. While he was in Europe, the suggestion was made that Mr. 
 Morton should be selected to lead his party in the coming campaign, which was 
 regarded as of the utmost importance not only to the State but the country. This 
 magnificent commonwealth had been, since 1882, under the control of an unscrupulous 
 body of political adventurers, who had debauched its politics, mismanaged its finances, 
 and robbed the Republican party and the people of a Legislature by political crimes 
 meriting the righteous judgment of the State. So firmly were the Democratic authori- 
 ties entrenched, however, that it was the unanimous sentiment of the Republicans in 
 New York, that success in 1894 would depend to some extent upon the nomination 
 for Governor. The suggestion that Mr. Morton should lead the party in 1894 met 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MO. 461 
 
 with acquiescence. The ex-Vice President arrived from Europe Aug. 26th, and 
 upon Aug. 3ist gave to the United Press a letter, in which he announced that 
 while not seeking the nomination he was ' ' a soldier in the Republican army, ready 
 to receive the commands of his fellow-citizens of like persuasion in public policy, 
 whether those commands involve leadership or services in the ranks," and while 
 desiring to spend the remainder of his days in retirement, yet should he be called 
 to fill the office of chief executive of the State, he would strive "earnestly to serve the 
 people with steadfastness of purpose and to faithfully administer a public trust." He 
 pledged to the successful candidate in case some one else should be nominated his 
 "hearty and unwavering support." This letter made his nomination a foregone 
 conclusion, although other most brilliant and conspicuous Republicans of the State had 
 been to some extent considered for the office. The convention was held and Mr. Mor- 
 ton nominated on the first ballot. His letter of acceptance, dated Oct. 9, 1894, 
 revealed thorough acquaintance with the affairs of both the Nation and the State. He 
 discussed the spoliation of cities, the imperative need of honest elections, the im- 
 portance of preservation of the canal system, the condition of the highways and farming 
 interests, freedom of worship and other cardinal Republican principles. The campaign 
 was conducted with energy. Mr. Morton spoke on a few public occasions, did not make 
 a single mistake, and on Nov. 6th was elected by the phenomenal plurality of 156,000, 
 reversing a Democratic plurality of 45,518 in 1892. Mr. Morton began his service as 
 Governor under the happiest auspices. 
 
 In 1856, Mr. Morton was married to Miss Lucy Kimball, daughter of Elijah H. 
 Kimball and a member of an old Long Island family. Her death in 1871 was a severe 
 blow and Mr. Morton was for a time disposed to abandon social life altogether and seek 
 distraction in the cares of business. In 1873, he was married to Miss Annie, daughter 
 of William I. Street, a member of one of the old families of the Island of Manhattan. 
 This union has brought them five daughters Edith, Laura, Helen, Alice and Mary. 
 The estate of Fairlawn, at Newport, which had been bought in 1870, was sold, and 
 when the William Kelly place at Rhinebeck came into the market, Mr. Morton bought 
 " Ellerslie," and established there his home This is a beautiful spot. The farm com- 
 mands a fine view of the river and the valley and the blue summits of the mountains 
 beyond. In the neighborhood, are located a number of the ancient manors, famous in 
 the history of the State. Claremont, from which Chancellor Livingston first saw the 
 pioneer steamboat of the Hudson River, slowly making its way up the stream, lies a 
 few miles away, and other noted homes occupy eligible sites in the vicinity. The old 
 house was removed and replaced with a modern country house built in the English 
 renaissance style. A part of the estate is devoted to a park, surrounding the mansion, 
 the rest is cultivated as a farm. Mr. Morton is fond of fine cattle and his Guernseys 
 are noted throughout the country. They pasture in the meadows in the summer time 
 and in winter are housed in a huge barn, three hundred feet in length. Their pedigrees 
 are carefully kept and hang over their stalls in the barn. There is a flock, also, of about 
 four thousand of feathered inhabitants of buildings devoted to their protection. 
 
 Mr. Morton has always made a worthy use of the means which have been placed 
 at his disposal. His charities are manifold. Some of them have been conspicuous. 
 In 1880, Congress, moved by the suffering in Ireland, placed the ship Constellation at 
 the disposal of any one willing to send relief to that afflicted land. A few weeks after- 
 
462 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 ward, Mr. Morton learned that no offer had been made to load the vessel. Thereupon, 
 he addressed a letter to The New York Herald, in which he said: " You are authorized 
 to announce that a gentleman known to you, who declines to have his name made 
 public, offers to pay for one quarter of the cargo of the Constellation if other parties 
 will make up the balance. " At the same time, he had determined to furnish the entire 
 cargo if there were any delay in securing other aid. The proprietor of The Herald and 
 W. R. Grace contributed each one quarter and others furnished the remainder. 
 
 The people of this city will probably recall the Rockaway Beach Improvement 
 troubles in the summer of 1880, when 500 workmen were unable to obtain their wages 
 because of the financial ruin in which the gigantic hotel enterprise had been involved. 
 Certificates of indebtedness were issued to the workmen, but they were useless to the 
 men, who needed food for their wives and children. At this juncture Morton, Bliss & 
 Co. joined the house of Drexel, Morgan & Co. and each contributed $50,000 for the 
 relief of the workingmen. They paid the full amount of the certificates and declined 
 to accept any discount. 
 
 In 1885 Mr. Morton gave to Dartmouth College a house and lot near Rollins 
 Chapel to enable the college to erect an art gallery and museum. 
 
 How thoroughly American he is in sentiment may be ascertained by a visit to Mr. 
 Morton's home in this city. Portraits of Washington, Lafayette, Count de Rocham- 
 beau, President Arthur, and others prominently identified with American affairs hang 
 from his walls, and his books, among which he spends much of his time, are very strong 
 in American history. His clubs include the Union League, Union, Metropolitan, 
 Century, Lawyers', Republican and Press. He is a member of The New England 
 Society and by virtue of lineal descent from a soldier of Independence, of The Sons of 
 the American Revolution. 
 
 HOPPER STRIKER flOTT, realty owner, born in New York city, April 19, 1854, 
 and a son of the late M. Hopper Mott, an owner of realty, springs from one of the oldest 
 families in America and is, by the inter-marriage of his ancestors with old Knickerbocker 
 stock, allied to the Hoppers, Strikers, Schuylers, Von Slingerlandts, Van Rensselaers 
 and Van Dorns. The pioneer of his paternal line, Adam Mott, arrived in Boston har- 
 bor in 1630, settled later in Rhode Island and in 1640 was a resident of Long Island, 
 N. Y. , where he became a Dutch citizen through taking the oath of allegiance and ac- 
 quiring real property. He founded an important family, which has been conspicuous 
 in the history of New York city for many generations. The late Dr. Valentine Mott 
 was one of his direct descendants. 
 
 Hopper S. Mott was carefully educated, first in General Lockwood's private school 
 in Tarrytown, the military academy in Peekskill, and Charlier's French school in New 
 York and finally in Columbia College and the Law School, which he left on the advice 
 of Professor Dwight, prior to graduation, on account of the death of the last previous 
 male heir of the Mott estate and the amount of business suddenly thrown on his hands. 
 In 1873, therefore, he entered practical affairs as manager of the family estates, having 
 succeeded in that year, together with his brother, Alexander Hosack Mott (named for 
 Dr. Hosack, after whom Hosack Hall is calledjn the New York Academy of Medicine) 
 as tenants in common, through their uncle, Jordan Mott, to the ownership of a large 
 part of the old Hopper farm on the northwestern part of the Island of Manhattan. 
 The original owner of this famous tract, John Hopper, the elder, was a Hollander, who 
 
~? : :f-:- 
 
464 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 spelled his name Hoppe and was the great-great-grandfather of the subject of this 
 biography. The Hopper farm extended from near Fifth avenue across the island to 
 the Hudson River and beyond to the uplands on the New Jersey side. The property 
 was acquired by grant from the Dutch in 1642, and confirmed by the English in 1667. 
 Portions of the farm, dotted here and there from Sixth avenue to the river, are yet in 
 possession of the family. This tract is famous in the annals of the city and has been in 
 litigation so continuously that almost every lawyer is familiar with its title. The extreme 
 western confines comprised Slaugh's Meadows on the New Jersey side of the river, so 
 called from the authenticated circumstance of the hanging of a man of that name 
 thereon in early times. Part of these lands were sold to The New York, Ontario & 
 Western Railroad in 1884. 
 
 The burial plot of the Hopper family occupied a part of this farm near soth street 
 and Ninth avenue and, as late as 1883, a heavy stone wall surrounded a small portion 
 of the lot at the southwestern corner of these streets, about six feet above the level of 
 the highway. The lower side of the lot was reserved for the burial of the negro slaves 
 of the family. Slaves nursed all the children of the last generation, and the remaining 
 ones were given their freedom by Mr. Mott's grandfather, Jordan Mott, in his will. 
 Lately, the family remains have been removed to Trinity cemetery and the plot is now 
 the site of an apartment house. The vaults of the Reformed Dutch Church at Bloom- 
 ingdale, which the family attended, were used later. This church, built in 1816, stood 
 on the corner of 68th street and Bloomingdale road and was demolished in 1868 to make 
 room for the widening of Broadway into a boulevard. James Striker, one of the 
 founders of this church, was Mr. Mott's great-grandfather, the father of Gen. Garrit 
 H. Striker and Winifred Mott and his homestead was at Striker's Bay, a portion of the 
 mansion yet standing at g6th street and Riverside Drive. 
 
 The Mott homestead, built in 1796, on the site of private fishing and bathing 
 houses, stands on a spot which has always been known as Mott's Point, a rocky 
 promontory jutting out into the Hudson River, the upland covered with old forest trees. 
 The mansion is large, rambling and low studded. A beam runs in the old-fashioned 
 way below the ceiling across the drawing-rooms from the main hallway, almost low 
 enough to touch one's head. The west wall of the cellar is hewn from the solid rock 
 .and forms the foundation for that portion of the house above. The mansion is reached 
 from Eleventh avenue by means of Mott's lane, once a shaded and graveled way, lead- 
 ing through a wide gate to the grounds. The season of 1895 is expected to witness the 
 destruction of this old landmark, the city authorities having ordered that West 54th 
 street, in the centre of which it is located, shall be opened, assessments having 
 already been levied therefor. Mr. Mott's ancestors occupied the homestead continu- 
 ously till 1884, when the growth and character of the neighborhood suggested the 
 desirability of a change. The possessors of this old mansion and grounds kept them in 
 the finest condition known to the art of the times down to within fifteen years of the 
 present date. Scores of antique pieces of porcelain, furniture and silver, and a multi- 
 tude of family portraits, books, and parchments, adorned this old mansion, and the 
 hospitable Dutch customs of the olden time were observed as late as the last generation. 
 The family always kept open house for the tenantry on New Year's Day. In later 
 years, and until the homestead was abandoned, Christmas was substituted for the 
 .annual celebiation and a tree provided for the entertainment of the tenants' chil- 
 
mm, 
 
 'HiltonStN.Y. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MO. 465 
 
 dren. The family treasured, among other things, a tablecloth, which was reserved 
 for honored guests and was a gift of gratitude to Mrs. Anne Mott, great-grandmother 
 of Hopper S. Mott, from British soldiers confined in the old sugarhouse, lately de- 
 stroyed, in return for food and care bestowed upon them during imprisonment. Mrs. 
 Mott was in the habit of calling upon the prisoners with Mrs. Brevoort and other 
 women charitably inclined. In the grounds, stood hundreds of fruit trees selected by 
 Mrs. Winifred Mott at Ward's Island and planted under her supervision. 
 
 In the thirties, 55th street was opened through the Hopper farm and in 1848, a dock, 
 called Mott's Dock, was built to the northeast of the homestead. On account of the 
 rocky approach thereto, a bulkhead with some two hundred feet front was constructed 
 by Garrit S. Mott, an uncle, in 1852, and the land filled in up to high water mark. The 
 ownership of riparian rights in front of the mansion formed the subject of a controversy 
 for four years, begun by the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the city of New 
 York, who brought an action in 1888 against Mr. Mott and others to eject them there- 
 from. This proved one of the hardest fought cases in the experience of the city in its 
 efforts to acquire the water front of the island and was eventually compromised. 
 
 Mr. Mott gives his attention to the management and improvement of a large 
 property, which he directs from an office on Eleventh avenue, situated on a portion of 
 the original farm. His time has been fully occupied to the exclusion of outside busi- 
 ness matters, and he has never felt like assuming other responsibilities, although often 
 importuned to do so. He is a competent, clear-headed and progressive business man 
 and cultivated gentleman, and his personal qualities and social nature have gained for 
 him admission to the Union League, Metropolitan, St. Nicholas, Country, Lawyers' 
 and Psi Upsilon clubs and The Holland Society. In 1875, he was married to May, the 
 only child of Dr. Edwin S. Lenox, of this city. Dr. Lenox died Jan. 7, 1895. They 
 have one son living, Hopper Lenox Mott, who was born April 28, 1876, and represents 
 the eighth generation of the name in this country. 
 
 JORDAN LAWRENCE MOTT, first of the name, manufacturer, born in Man- 
 hasset on Long Island, Oct. 12, 1798, died in the city of New York, May 8, 1866. The 
 family of which he was a distinguished member is now a large one in America and has 
 given birth to many men, who have played their part with ability in affairs. The 
 founder was Adam Mott, a native of England, who, born in 1580, emigrated to the new 
 world, settling in Boston in 1636. He qualified as a freeman in Hingham in 1637, 
 and thence moved to Newtown on Long Island, N. Y., and later to Hempstead, which 
 became the seat of the family. At the time of the conquest of New Amsterdam by the 
 English in 1664, he had attained consequence and served as a member of the commis- 
 sion which arranged for the transfer of the Dutch possessions to the English govern- 
 ment. At his death in 1686, he left a wife, Sarah, and six children, John, Adam, 
 Joseph, Elizabeth, Nathaniel and Mary, who established several branches of the family. 
 
 Adam, son of the foregoing, was born in England in 1629, and came to America 
 with his father. He was twice married, first to Phebe, whose maiden name is unknown, 
 and then to Elizabeth Richbell. He was blessed with fourteen children : Adam, James, 
 Charles, John, Joseph, Gershom; Elizabeth, wife of Henry Coder; Henry, Grace, 
 Richbell, Ann, William, Mary, and Hannah, wife of John Seaman. The third son, 
 Charles, founded the Rockland county family of Motts, while William was the ancestor 
 of Dr. Valentine Mott, famous in after years as a surgeon in New York city. James 
 
466 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 has many descendants in Westchester county. Joseph was probably the father of 
 Joseph Mott of Dutchess county, who owned a farm on the patent of Nine Partners, a 
 village famous as the site of a school conducted by the Society of Friends and for in- 
 habitants who ardently sustained the cause of Independence in the Revolution. 
 
 Jacob Mott, son of Joseph, son of the second Adam, named above, was born Aug. 
 9, 1714, and died Oct. 6, 1805. He remained upon Long Island, married Abigail Jack- 
 son, and was the parent of eleven children, Joseph, Samuel, Jackson, Isaac, Miriam, 
 who died in childhood; Ruth, wife of Jordan Lawrence and after his death of Stephen 
 Coles; Samuel I., Jacob, Miriam, wife of Benjamin Birdsall; Richard and Joseph. 
 
 The eighth child of the family last named was Jacob Mott, born June 30, 1756, 
 who died Aug. 16, 1823. A resident of Long Island during his early life, he married 
 Deborah, daughter of Dr. William Lawrence, whose ancestor, John Lawrence, was one 
 of the commissioners to arrange the boundaries of New Amsterdam in 1664. By this 
 union, Mr. Mott became connected with a family, who have always been conspicuous as 
 land proprietors on Long Island and have given to New York city many successful 
 merchants and members of the legal profession. Removing from his native village of 
 Hempstead to New York city in early life, Mr. Mott engaged in the grocery trade here 
 and for a long period was prominent and highly respected as a merchant and citizen. 
 An interest in municipal politics led to his election as Alderman of the 7th Ward, 1804- 
 1810. He served as president of the Board when De Witt Clinton was Mayor and at 
 one time was Deputy Mayor of New York. The city authorities paid him the honor of 
 giving his name to Mott street. He rose to affluence by his own honest efforts but 
 toward the end of his life met with heavy .losses. Five children were born to him : 
 William L. Mott, born Jan. 16, 1777, who married Dorothy Scudder; Richard L. Mott, 
 born June 6, 1782, who married Elizabeth Deal; Jacob L. Mott, born Sept. 13, 1784, 
 who married Hannah Riker and settled in Tarrytown, rising to prominence as a 
 preacher of the Society of Friends; Jordan L. Mott; and Mary, wife of Ezekiel G. Smith. 
 
 Jordan L. Mott, the subject of this sketch, was born during a temporary residence 
 of the family at Manhasset on Long Island, whither they had repaired in consequence 
 of a prevalence of yellow fever in the city of New York. During his youth, the pros- 
 perity of the family enabled him to receive an excellent education and to indulge in a 
 gratification of the constructive temperament with which nature had endowed him. He 
 made many experiments with mechanical apparatus, and at the age of fifteen he had 
 already invented a machine for weaving tape, which was successfully introduced into 
 operation. His father's affairs having been thrown into confusion by business losses, 
 Jordan was confronted at the age of twenty-two with the necessity of contributing 
 not only to his own support but that of the family. He began his business career in 
 New York city, in 1820, as a grocer, but after 1829, for the remainder of his life, he de- 
 voted his attention to iron founding and invention. At that period, the old-fashioned 
 baking ovens attached to open fire places were being supplanted by iron cooking and 
 heating stoves, in which wood was used for fuel. Upon the discovery of anthracite 
 coal in Pennsylvania, Mr. Mott foresaw the adaptability of the new fuel to household 
 purposes and invented the first cooking stove ever known, in which coal could be 
 burned for cooking purposes, and thereupon began to manufacture them in this city. 
 While this invention was followed by important financial advantages to the enterprising 
 inventor, yet the blessings bestowed by it upon the community at large in promoting 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MO. 467 
 
 the comfort and convenience of households were inestimable and entitled Mr. Mott to 
 rank as one of the benefactors of his age. 
 
 Stove castings were at that time made at blast furnaces in Pennsylvania. They 
 were rough to the touch and clumsy in appearance. Mr. Mott's highly refined mind 
 rebelled at the crudeness of the early cooking stoves and bent itself to the task of im- 
 provement. A cupola furnace was built in the rear of his store on Water street and 
 here special attention was paid to the smoothness of the castings and the beauty of the 
 designs. The furnace was a small one, capable of melting a ton or two at a blast, and 
 while absurdly small in comparison with the later works, this little old foundry was the 
 foundation of the extensive industry and world wide trade, to which Mr. Mott subse- 
 quently gave his name. 
 
 The success of the Mott cooking stoves finally compelled a radical step for the en- 
 largement of manufacturing facilities, and Mr. Mott purchased a tract of land in the 
 southwest corner of the old manor of Morrisania on the Harlem River, adjoining the 
 Harlem Bridge at Third avenue. At this place, then far north of the city, he built a 
 new and larger foundry. The buildings were at first of wood and were twice burned to 
 the ground. Each time they were rebuilt on a larger scale. Mr. Mott's promptness 
 and energy were illustrated at the time of the second fire. While the firemen were yet 
 fighting the flames at one end of the building, Mr. Mott, whose determined mind 
 moved rapidly and who would not quietly submit to a serious interruption of his busi- 
 ness, organized a party of workmen, and before the flames had been subdued he set 
 them to work laying the foundation of a new building at the other end of the old 
 structure. Business was resumed within nine days. Ill later years, all the edifices at 
 the works were reconstructed in the most substantial manner. Mott Haven, his ship- 
 ping point on the Harlem River, received its name from him. 
 
 The village of Morrisania, while in part the outgrowth of Mr. Mott's foundries, was 
 also the product of his own foresight and specific efforts. Perceiving the fact that New 
 York city would eventually extend as far as the Harlem river and beyond, Mr. Mott 
 formed an association with Col. Nicholas McGraw and Charles W. Houghton. who en- 
 tered into an agreement with Gouverneur Morris for the purchase of a tract of 200 acres 
 of land, situated on the ancestral domain of the Morris family, the price being fixed at 
 $175 per acre. The tract comprised lots No. 1 6 to No. 23, both inclusive, "as laid 
 down on a map of Morrisania made by John Randall in 1816." This property was laid 
 out in streets and city lots, and the latter were transferred to settlers and workmen by 
 deed direct from Gouverneur Morris. The village of Morrisania thus established is 
 now almost indistinguishable from the thickly settled section of the city, comprising the 
 23d Ward, which surrounds it. 
 
 Mr. Mott had the good fortune to live to witness the entire success of the industry 
 created by him. The foundries rose to be among the largest of their class in the United 
 States. His cooking stoves found their way into hundreds of thousands of American 
 homes and freighted ships to all parts of the civilized world. From first to last, he took 
 out more than fifty patents for his own inventions, and his familiarity with the law re- 
 lating to new inventions led President Buchanan to tender him the position of Commis- 
 sioner of Patents. This honorable office he declined in order to devote his time to his 
 own affairs. He was, however, a man of public spirit. Among his acts was the build, 
 ing and presentation to the congregation of the Reformed Dutch church in Mott Haven. 
 
468 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Mr. Mott's wife, Mary W. Smith, was born Sept. 6, 1801, and died Dec. 24, 1838. 
 She was a woman of superior mind and great nobility of character. They had two 
 children, Mary J., wife of Matthew Dyckman Van Doran, and Jordan L. Mott. His 
 old homestead, built in the early days in Mott Haven at the corner of Third avenue and 
 1 34th street, is yet in possession of his son. 
 
 JORDAN LAWRENCE MOTT, jr., as he long called himself, was born in New 
 York city, Nov. 10, 1829. Owing to the death of his mother, while he was nine years 
 old, the lad was sent away to school, first at Irving Institute in Tarrytown and later 
 in the University of the City of New York. He knew little of a mother's care and per- 
 haps on this account gained early in life the self reliance which has always been a 
 marked trait of his character. While greatly interested in his studies, a distraction 
 occurred in 1849, after the discovery of gold in California. 
 
 Mr. Mott, then not twenty years of age, wrote to his father, who was in Washing- 
 ton, asking permission to seek his fortune on the Pacific coast, whither so many other 
 young men were flocking with high hopes. The senior Mott did not lose his charac- 
 ter as a kind and indulgent father by being practical and shrewd in his judgments, and 
 he sent to his son a pithy reply, which made a strong impression on his mind. He said: 
 "You can have the privations and profits of a miner's life without going to California. 
 You shall live in a tent in my garden, without seeing any of your friends or rela- 
 tives and holding no communications with them except by mail and at long inter- 
 vals ; you shall do your own cooking and washing and mending. You will be deprived 
 of all that makes your life now enjoyable, and in return I will pay you the average 
 wages of a miner, about fifteen dollars a day; or, you can remain at home in posses- 
 sion of the comforts you enjoy, with the prospect of succeeding to the business I 
 have established." 
 
 The argument proved unanswerable and the recipient of the letter then tran- 
 quilly finished his education. In 1849, when he left college, Mr. Mott entered the office 
 of his father and applied himself there to preparation for the responsibilities, which 
 were in time to be placed upon him. For four years, he served as a clerk and in 
 1853, when The J. L. Mott Iron Works were incorporated, he was taken into the 
 business and has remained identified with it to the present day. In 1866, he suc- 
 ceeded to the management. Long and faithful attention to every detail and a progress- 
 ive and inventive mind have enabled Mr. Mott to expand the business enormously. He 
 has added to the works a brass foundry, which operates many lathes, consumes large 
 amounts of copper and other metals and now occupies as large an area as that devoted 
 to iron founding. The enameling of ironware is also a new branch, added since Mr. 
 Mott came into control, having been introduced about 1870. A large factory employ- 
 ing several hundred men is now engaged in this especial enterprise. In addition to 
 stoves, the works produce a large variety of ornamental fixtures for fireplaces and use 
 in houses, and the trade has extended to every part of the United States and almost to 
 every land under the sun occupied by civilized man. Mr. Mott is now the proprietor 
 of the largest manufactory of its class in the United States, which gives honest employ- 
 ment to a large force of skilled workmen and disburses enormous sums of money for 
 supplies. The two tons of iron per day, which were melted in 1853, have grown to 
 seventy tons a day. Besides being president of The J. L. Mott Iron Works, Mr. 
 Mott is now president of The Stax Foundry Co. , The North American Iron Works, and 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. MO. 469 
 
 The North River Bridge Co., the latter organized to bridge the Hudson river, and 
 vice president of The New River Mining Co., in Virginia. He is also director of The 
 Central Gas Co , and The Forty-second Street & Grand Street Railroad. 
 
 In politics a Democrat, he was honored with an election as Presidential Elector 
 on the Democratic ticket in 1876, and cast a direct vote for Samuel J. Tilden as Presi- 
 dent of the United States. He served as Elector also for his party in 1888. While too 
 much occupied with the management of the works to spare much time for municipal 
 affairs, he nevertheless accepted an election- as Alderman for the 23d and 24th Wards 
 in 1879, and served as president of the Board, acting Mayor during the illness of 
 Mayor Cooper, and a member of the Board of Apportionment. He retired from the 
 Board of Aldermen amid the regrets of his associates and bearing a nattering testimo- 
 nial signed by even' member of the Board. He also served as one of the trustees of 
 the village of Morrisania before annexation to the city and as president of the Board of 
 Survey, appointed by the State Legislature to survey and map the territory now em- 
 braced in what is called the annexed district in the northern part of the municipality. 
 Having been appointed a member of the Rapid Transit Commission by Mayor 
 Wickham, he took an active part in the proceedings under which the present rapid 
 transit roads were chartered and built. 
 
 An upright, sterling and vigorous man, he is greatly respected in this city and is 
 prominent in social life and a member of the New York, New York Yacht, Ameri- 
 can Yacht, Engineers' and Fulton clubs. Of the latter, composed mainly of men in 
 the metal and kindred trades in New York, he has been president. 
 
 In 1853, he married Marianna, daughter of James V. Seaman of Westchester. 
 Their children are Marie M., wife of Charles F. MacLean; Jordan L. Mott, jr., who 
 married Katharine Jerome, daughter of Fay Purdy of Sodus Point, N. Y., whose son 
 Jordan L., is fourth of the name; and Augustus W. Mott. The family dwell on upper 
 Fifth avenue, near the Harlem river. 
 
 VALENTINE MOTT, M. D., surgeon, bora at Glen Cove, L. L, Aug. 20, 1785, died 
 at his home in New York city, April 26, 1865. His father, Dr. Henry Mott, was for 
 many years a practicing physician in New York city. The son graduated from Colum- 
 bia College in 1806, and then spent some time in Europe increasing his knowledge. In 
 1809, when twenty-four years of age, he was called to the chair of surgery at Columbia 
 College and remained there until 1813. In 1826, with several others, he established 
 Rutgers Medical College and about 1830 began to give most of his time to lectures and 
 instruction. His position as a surgeon was second to none of his day and earned from 
 the renowned Sir Astley Cooper this eulogium: '' He has performed more of the great 
 operations than any man living or that ever did live." Dr. Mott was the author of 
 several works of great value to science and his profession, and his investments in real 
 estate brought him a fortune. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY MUNN, lawyer, born in New York city, June 2, 1802, died 
 here June 25, 1878. He came from Connecticut stock and his father, Stephen Bull 
 Munn, who removed to this city early in life, rose to prominence as a merchant and 
 real estate speculator and left to his family a fortune large for the times. Part of the 
 Loubat property, south of the St. Nicholas Hotel, was one of the Munn farms. William 
 H. Munn studied law with John Jay, engaged in practice, and cared for his father's 
 large estate at the office, 503 Broadway, for many years. After the death of his father, 
 
47 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 he retired from practice to manage his own property. He was a stockholder in The 
 Chemical Bank and lived at 24 West 26th street. By his marriage with Mary Wells in 
 this city, he became the father of William and Russell Munn, both deceased, William 
 H. Munn, M. D., James Tredwell, Mary, Effie, Emily, Alice and Cora Munn. His 
 son, WILLIAM HENRY MUNN, M. D., a well-known physician of this city, was born 
 Feb. 22, 1843. While attending school and college, he spent the hours not devoted to 
 study in his father's real estate office. Having graduated in 1868 with a diploma, he 
 entered upon the practice of medicine and has followed his profession to the present 
 time. He is a diligent student and investigator and by his experiments and success in 
 practice has made for himself an excellent position. Dr. Munn has never taken any 
 part in politics and is not a club man, but is absorbed in his profession and is only seen 
 in public in the County Medical Society. He has one child, Rebecca. 
 
 JOSE MARIA MUNOZ, merchant, born in Panama, Nov. i, 1833, died in New 
 York city, Oct. 4, 1893. His father was a Spanish general, serving in South and Cen- 
 tral America, and his mother a woman prominent in the Roman Catholic Church in 
 Panama. Educated in Kingston, Jamaica, Mr. Munoz began life as clerk in a dry 
 goods house in Panama. When the gold fever broke out in 1849, ne repaired to the 
 California mines and prospected with success. In 1860, he removed to New York city, 
 and with Jose J. Ribon established at 157 Water street, the South American cammission 
 firm of Ribon & Munoz. Later, they occupied premises on Pine street. When the 
 senior partner retired in 1875, Mr. Munoz admitted his confidential clerk, Mr. delaEspri- 
 ella to partnership, and the house has borne the name of Munoz & Espriella since that 
 date. They handled large quantities of coffee, hides, rubber, cochineal, and cocoa nuts, 
 and exported hardware, provisions, machinery and flour. Both partners ranked as excel- 
 lent merchants and courteous gentlemen, and were highly esteemed. Since 1878, the 
 office has been at 59-61 Liberty street. Mr. Munoz was Consul General of Costa Rica and 
 Bolivia for a time, and a member of the Union, Down Town and Coney Island Jockey 
 clubs. Oct 15, 1 86 1, he married Leontine Celeste, daughter of Ferdinand Thieriot, 
 importer of watches in Maiden Lane. He had no children. Since the death-of both 
 partners, the house has been continued by their respective wives under the old name. 
 NORMAN LESLIE MUNRO, publisher, a native of Millbrook, Pictou county, 
 N. S. , born in April, 1842, died in New York city, Feb. 24, 1894. The son of a farmer, 
 he aspired to a more ambitious life than agriculture afforded, and came to New York 
 city in 1864, a strong, rugged, clear headed young man, with a few hundred dollars in 
 money, to fight the battle of life alone. Employed by a publishing house in this city in 
 a small capacity, he learned the business with wonderful rapidity, mastered every 
 essential detail, and in 1873, had the courage to embark at his own risk, on William 
 street, in the publication of The New York Family Story Paper, inspired by the success 
 of Robert Bonner and Street & Smith. The paper was bright and attractive and, be- 
 ing placed upon the newstands, gained buyers from the start, and in less than two 
 years was a financial success. Mr. Munro then moved to a building on Beekman 
 street, and started other story papers, lost his plant by fire in 1876, resumed business 
 with characteristic energy, and in a new location on Vandewater street soon had new 
 presses busily at work striking off hundreds of thousands of copies of his various papers. 
 The Family Story Paper was undoubtedly his greatest success, gaining a sale of 325,000 
 copies a week. He had other publications, however, including Boys of New York, Our 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ML". 47 1 
 
 Bovs, Golden Hours, and Munro's Library. He was an immense advertiser, spending often 
 about 350,000 a year. Prosperity enabled him to construct a large building, devoted 
 mainly to a great publishing business. He also owned the Boston flats on West 59th 
 street, the Xorma apartment houses at 8zd street and Park avenue, and, in Brooklyn, 
 the Berkeley and Grosvenor flats, 109-117 Montague street, the Clermont avenue rink 
 and a large livery and boarding stable. Mr. Munro loved the salt sea, and grew dur- 
 ing his later years enthusiastic on the subject of yachting. It was his ambition to own 
 the swiftest boat in the world. The Xorma, a 150 foot steam yacht, notable in her day, 
 was his first. Then followed successively those famous productions of the Herreshoffs, 
 the Now Then, the Henrietta, the Say When, the Norwood, the Vamoose, and the 
 launch So So. Mr. Munro was married in July, 1879, to Henrietta E., daughter of 
 Henry Hume. Their children are Henry and Xorma L. Munro. 
 
 COL. KENNETH MACKENZIE flURCHISON, merchant, born Feb. 18, 1831, was 
 educated at the University of Xorth Carolina in the class of 1853. The early part of his 
 life was spent near Fayetteville and business pursuits did not claim his attention until 
 just before the Civil War. After the secession of the South, Mr. Murchison joined the 
 8th X. C. Inf. as second lieutenant. He happened to be absent when his regiment was 
 captured by the Federal forces during the early part of the War, and he then raised a 
 company in Cumberland county for the 54th X. C. With this regiment, he saw a great 
 deal of active duty in the Virginia campaign and took part in many hard fought battles, 
 rising to the rank of Colonel and the command of the regiment. After the War, he 
 came to Xew York city and here engaged in business, founding, in 1866, the present 
 firm of Murchison & Co., merchants of cotton and naval stores, and carrying on at the 
 same time a large business in Wilmington, X. C. , under the name of Williams & Mur- 
 chison. Although a resident of Xew York, Colonel Murchison has many interests in 
 Wilmington, among other things having recently erected a large hotel, the Orton, a 
 model of beauty and convenience. He also owns the Orton rice plantation, of 9,000 
 acres, near Wilmington, an historic spot, the plantation having been the site of St_ 
 Phillip's church, built in 1735 an d the first ever erected by the English in Xorth Caro- 
 lina. The place has been improved to such an extent that to-day it is one of the most 
 beautiful spots in the State and is a typical Southern homestead. Colonel Murchison 's 
 hunting preserve of 20,000 acres near Asheville, X. C. , embraces Mt. Mitchell, the 
 highest point east of the Rocky Mountains and is celebrated for the excellence 
 and abundance of its deer and trout. The Colonel is a member of The Southern 
 Society. 
 
 THEODORE WALTER FIVERS, for six years Comptroller of the city and county 
 of Xew York, has spent his whole business life in the field of finance. A banker and 
 broker in Wall street, keen, shrewd, the possessor of business talent of a high order, 
 he has had the good fortune to win the respect of the community as much by probity 
 of character and the value of his public services as by his success in business. 
 
 He was born in this city Jan. n, 1844, the son of Lawrence Myers, a successful 
 merchant, who previous to his death in 1874, had long been recognized as a leading 
 spirit in commercial circles. Theodore prepared for college in private schools in this 
 city and in France and Germany, but was prevented by ill health from taking a college 
 course. At the outbreak of the War, although a Democrat, he espoused the cause of 
 the Union. He became a captain in the 3d Regiment of the Sickles brigade and was 
 

 47 2 -AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 connected with the City Guard for many years. Later, he oecame a captain in the 9th 
 Regiment, one of the crack military organizations of the city. 
 
 In 1864, Mr. Myers secured a position in the house of Polhemus & Jackson, 
 bankers and brokers. He made himself acquainted with all the details of business 
 in Wall street, and then engaged in business on his own account in Camblos & Myers. 
 The firm were quite successful, but several years later, Mr. Myers carried on the 
 business in his own name. He was also for several years a special partner in the 
 firm of M. E. De Rivas & Co. 
 
 To secure needed recreation, Mr. Myers traveled in Europe, for a year or two, 
 and then, in 1884, organized the bank of Theodore W. Myers & Co., of which he 
 has ever since been the head. This firm has met with a remarkable success. It 
 has always transacted a large commission business, with branches in Philadelphia 
 and Chicago. It became known early in its career as a conservative, trustworthy 
 and honorable house. 
 
 Mr. Myers first took an active part in politics in 1884. In that year, he organ- 
 ized a Cleveland campaign club among the Democrats of the Stock Exchange and 
 was the leader in arranging for a great open-air rally in Wall street at the steps of 
 the Sub-Treasury. He aided to secure the interest of the business men of New 
 York city in Mr. Cleveland's candidacy for President and the great parade of busi- 
 ness men and political clubs of that year which, in part, grew out of his work, was 
 the master stroke of an exciting and hotly contested campaign. 
 
 In May, 1887, Mr. Myers was appointed a Park Commissioner of this city and 
 was elected by his associates treasurer of the board. In the fall of the same year, 
 he was elected Comptroller of the city by 45,000 plurality, receiving the largest vote 
 of any man on the ticket of the United Democracy. He was re-elected in 1890, 
 having been nominated by all the leading parties on account of his honest record 
 and personal popularity, and he received 207,011 votes out of a total of 213,199 cast. 
 The services of Mr. Myers to the city in this important position were great. He 
 faithfully guarded the interests of the taxpayers and his excellent judgment and 
 scrupulous honor won the general commendation. It may be said to his credit, that 
 his political opponents have been as frank in recognizing his entire fidelity to the 
 interests of the city as have his own party associates. A notable incident was his 
 negotiation of a loan of $14,000,000 for the city at 2 1-2 per cent, interest. This was 
 the first loan ever made by any municipal government at that low rate. 
 
 He was married in 1870, to Miss Hart, a grand-daughter of Bernard Hart, a promi- 
 nent merchant of fifty years ago, one of the founders of the Stock Exchange and an 
 original member of The Tontine Society. They have one son, George Lawrence 
 Myers, a graduate of Columbia College. 
 
 Mr. Myers is a man of refinement, a lover of the fine arts, social in nature and 
 exceedingly well liked. He is a member of the Manhattan, Reform, Democratic, New 
 York, Rockaway Hunting, New York Athletic and New York Yacht clubs and of many 
 musical societies, as well as a member of the Geographical and Historical societies. 
 
N. 
 
 BENJAMIN NATHAN, stock broker, who died by the hands of an unknown assas- 
 sin, July 29, 1870, at the age of fifty-seven, was of Hebrew descent and well known in 
 business circles. Entering Wall street early in life and transacting business for many 
 clients, he began later to operate on his o_wn account, and, although seldom, if ever, a 
 leader in the market, managed gradually to accumulate a fortune. One of the founders 
 of the Stock Exchange, a large, fine looking man, keen in judgment, honest and 
 shrewd, he was the center of a large circle of very warm friends. Through investment 
 and executive ability, he became a director of The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad 
 and several insurance companies and was also the holder of many shares in The Ninth 
 Avenue Railroad Co. About 1860, he practically retired from active business, although 
 retaining an office in Wall street. Mr. Nathan was connected with several of the lead- 
 ing Jewish families of the city and noted for his generosity toward the institutions of 
 his race. He made a large contribution toward the erection of the new Mount Sinai 
 Hospital and presided over its board of directors. The death of Mr. Nathan remains 
 one of the imsolved mysteries of the metropolis. The tragedy occurred at night at his 
 house in West 23d street, where he was living alone temporarily, his family being at 
 their summer home in Morristown, N. J. 
 
 ELKAN NAUMBURQ, banker and broker, born in Treuchtlinger, Germany, Jan. 
 i, 1835, is a son of Wolf Naumburg, a well known Hebrew clergyman of that place. 
 Educated in the common schools at home, Elkan began active business life as a 
 clerk in Baltimore, Md , in 1850, having come to this country at the age of fifteen. 
 In 1856, on his twenty- first birthday, he was admitted to partnership in the highly 
 respectable firm of his employers, Simon Frank & Co. In 1863, he removed to New 
 York to become resident buyer for the firm and in 1868 aided to organize the firm of 
 Stadler & Co., clothing merchants. Here he soon made his mark as a cool, keen and 
 successful business man. In 1876, the firm of Naumburg, Kraus, Lauer & Co. suc- 
 ceeded to the business, Mr. Naumburg remaining the senior partner and an active 
 member until 1893, when Mr. Lauer and he retired from the firm, forming a new part- 
 nership, Jan. i, 1893, for a banking and brokerage business, making commercial paper 
 a specialty. He is part owner of the old store at 657-659 Broadway and of other 
 realty, senior director in The National Citizens' Bank and a member of the Chamber of 
 Commerce. In 1866, he married Bertha, daughter of Gottlieb W T ehle, and their chil- 
 dren are Walter W. and George Washington Naumburg, the latter having been born 
 July 4, 1876. He is a member of the Reform, Harmonic and Insurance clubs and of 
 various charities and originated, in 1890, by a handsome subscription, the pension fund 
 for retired musicians of the Philharmonic Society, of which he is honorary member. 
 
 DAVID LEOPOLD NEWBORQ, clothing manufacturer, born Feb. 19, 1834, in 
 Oberndorf, Wurtemburg, is of Hebrew descent. First a clerk for his father at home, he 
 came to America in 1851, made his pioneer venture as a merchant in the West, and 
 in 1862, sold his Western trade and removed to New York to engage in the manufac- 
 ture of clothing. In 1874, he admitted his brother Joseph to partnership under the 
 name of D. L. Newborg & Bro. Their management being characterized by prudence 
 
474 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and sagacity, the firm prospered to a remarkable degree. In 1882, Joseph L. New- 
 borg, a son of the senior partner, became a partner, the firm then adopting the title 
 of David L. Newborg & Son. A close, shrewd, careful merchant, Mr. Newborg has 
 continued to increase his property both from current profits and wise investment. He 
 is identified with Temple Emanu- El and various charities. In 1861, he married Caro- 
 line, daughter of Samuel Cole. The children born to them have been Bertha, wife 
 of Ansell B. Falk; Matilda, wife of Henry Leerburger; Addie, wife of Samuel G. 
 Hess; Joseph L. Newborg; Rosalie, wife of Charles Schwartz; Hilda, Leo and Sidney 
 Newborg. 
 
 HORATIO VICTOR NEWCOMB, railroad president and banker, is one of the 
 group of vigorous spirits who have come to the metropolis from the Southern States 
 during the last fifteen years and identified themselves prominently with financial 
 affairs. Born in Louisville, Ky., July 26, 1844, he springs from New England ances- 
 try, being, through the line of his father, Horatio D. Newcomb, a descendant of Hez- 
 ekiah Newcomb and Jerusha Bradford, who were married Nov. 4, 1716, the latter 
 being a daughter of Thomas Bradford and great-granddaughter of Major William 
 Bradford, who came to America in the good ship Mayflower in 1620 and for many 
 years ruled the Plymouth colony as its governor. Through the line of his mother, 
 Cornelia Washington Read, Mr. Newcomb is collaterally descended from George Wash- 
 ington, the father of his country. The Newcomb family traces its line back through 
 the history of America and England as far as 1189. In Kentucky, it has always 
 belonged to the ruling class in the South, being conspicuous both in public affairs 
 and business enterprises. 
 
 Victor received an excellent education, beginning in schools at home and con- 
 tinued in England and France. From his books, he brought an active mind and 
 earnest nature into the counting room of the firm of H. D. Newcomb & Bro., commis- 
 sion merchants in Louisville, Ky. , and, when fitted for the responsibilities of a career, 
 became a partner in Warren, Newcomb & Co. in New York city. He proved a 
 bright, competent and active business man, and his firm, which subsequently took the 
 name of Newcomb, Buchanan & Co., at Louisville, enjoyed a large trade and a pros- 
 perous career while he was at the head of it. 
 
 Horatio D. Newcomb, father of the subject of this sketch, is remembered as 
 one of the most enterprising of the residents of Louisville, being largely engaged in 
 Southern trade, the operation of steamboats on the rivers, the management of a large 
 possession in land and, as president of the corporation, in the direction of The Louis- 
 villj & Nashville Railroad. Upon the death of the senior Newcomb, Aug. 24, 1874, 
 Victor entered upon a short but extremely successful career as a railroad man. Hav- 
 ing been elected a director of the railroad company, a little later he became vice presi- 
 dent and then president. To the development of The Louisville & Nashville Railroad 
 as a property, the new officer devoted a vast amount of labor and untiring energy and 
 contributed largely to make the system the great property it is to-day. 
 
 Upon his resignation in 1880, a series of extremely complimentary resolutions were 
 adopted by the directors of the corporation, some of whom were older railroad men than 
 he, who attributed to his foresight, energy and progressive spirit, the great growth and 
 prosperity of the Louisville & Nashville system. Mr. Newcomb was the youngest ex- 
 ecutive officer of a railroad during his time and bore the title of the "boy president.' 1 
 
476 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 The best evidence of the estimation in which he was held and the great services which 
 he rendered to The Louisville & Nashville Railroad, may be found in a series of reso- 
 lutions passed by the board of directors upon his retirement in 1880, of which the fol- 
 lowing are extracts : 
 
 " Mr. H. Victor Newcomb having, for reasons relating to his personal health, ten- 
 dered his resignation as president of this Board, the Directors cannot permit the occasion 
 to pass without an expression of regret at the loss of his valuable services as the head 
 of this company. The name of Mr. Newcomb is intimately associated with the origin, 
 the subsequent growth and the rapid development of The Louisville & Nashville Rail- 
 road. His father, H. D. Newcomb, was one of its founders. From the organization 
 of the company to the day of his death in 1874, he was continuously in its services in the 
 capacities, successively, of director, vice-president and president. 
 
 " In'i874, upon the death of his father, H. Victor Newcomb was elected a director 
 to succeed his father, later vice-president of the company and then president. When 
 Dr. Standiford became president, he was an active member of the board of directors 
 and an efficient adviser and coadjutor of the president. During the incumbency of Dr. 
 Standiford, the services and exertions of Mr. Newcomb were invaluable to the company 
 toward the acquisition of the additional lines of road, which have supplemented and com- 
 pleted the great Louisville & Nashville Railroad system. The continuation of the line 
 by the way of Montgomery and Mobile to New Orleans and the establishment of the 
 Southern terminal stations of the road upon the Gulf of Mexico at Mobile and upon 
 the Mississippi levee in New Orleans, was his special project, and its successful accom- 
 plishment was substantially the result of his sagacity and energy. 
 
 " The accomplishment upon a solid and substantial basis of close and friendly rela- 
 tion with The Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad company, was also specially the 
 result of his intelligent exertions, resulting in great mutual advantage to both com- 
 panies. His short career as president has been a triumph probably without precedent 
 in the railroad's history. Whereupon, 
 
 ''Resolved, That we accept with regret the resignation of H. Victor Newc'omb as 
 president of this Board ; and upon his termination of our official relations with him, 
 made necessary by causes beyond his or our control, we most cheerfully bear testimony 
 to his ability and fidelity in the discharge of his laborious duties and responsibilities as 
 chief officer of this company. To his acknowledged wisdom and foresight and to the 
 courage of his convictions, the stockholders of the company are substantially indebted 
 for the late valuable additions to the property of the company, resulting in the perfec- 
 tion of the present great railway system of The Louisville & Nashville Railroad Com- 
 pany ; and he is entitled to and receives the hearty thanks of the stockholders and of 
 this Board for his kindness and manly bearing toward us, his associates, officially and 
 personally. We render to him our kindest wishes for all the future." 
 
 In 1880, Mr. Newcomb removed to New York city and organized The United 
 States National Bank, of which the stockholders elected him president. In this insti- 
 tution, he was associated with Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Morris K. Jesup, William R. 
 Travers, Col. John J. McCook, and other well-known men. Within fourteen months 
 from the time this bank had opened its doors, the deposits had grown to $7,000,000, an 
 achievement the like of which had never been heard of before. He was, it is believed, 
 the youngest bank president in the United States; and whatever may be said of the 
 
THE CITY OF XEW YORK. XO. 477 
 
 subsequent history of the institution, it is a fact that while Mr. Xewcomb held the posi- 
 tion of president, the bank never sustained a single loss. 
 
 Mr. Xewcomb has been at times a large and active operator in Wall street. He 
 began dealing in stocks before he left Louisville and became conspicuous for the brill- 
 iancy of his manoeuvres. He thought quickly, acted without hesitation, and generally 
 succeeded in his ventures. The manner in which he developed the value of the stock 
 of The Louisville & Nashville Railroad was the subject of much flattering comment. 
 
 As a director in The New York & "West Shore Railroad at its organization, Mr. 
 Xewcomb was an active factor in the construction of that line. 
 
 Dec. 26, 1866, he was married in Louisville to Florence Ward Danforth. Two 
 children have been born to them, Herman Danforth Newcomb, and Edith, wife of 
 Reginald Henshaw Ward, formerly of Boston. The family dwell in a handsome house 
 at 683 Fifth avenue and have figured prominently in the social life of the city. The 
 introduction of their daughter Edith to society was the occasion of a brilliant function. 
 Mr. Newcomb is a member of the Union, Tuxedo, New York Athletic. Suburban, 
 Driving, .Riding and other clubs, and an active supporter of every public spirited 
 and philanthropic enterprise which commends itself to his judgment. 
 
 ADAH NORRIE, merchant, one of the oldest, best known and most thoroughly 
 esteemed of New York's citizens, born in Aberdeen, Scotland, died in this city, June 
 6. 1882, in his eighty-seventh year. Beginning life in the manufacture of iron in 
 Sweden, he came to New York in 1820 to investigate the iron trade of this country. 
 The visit decided him to remain and he entered the firm of Boorman, Johnson & Co., 
 large merchants of Swedish iron. The firm carried on the business with great success. 
 Mr. Xorrie retired in 1875. After the year named, corporations and lands occupied his 
 principal attention. He was one of the original stockholders in the canal between 
 Lakes Michigan and Superior and a promoter and large stockholder of The Milwaukee, 
 Lake Shore & Western Railroad. He was also vice president of The Bank for Savings 
 in Bleecker street, a director of The Bank of Commerce from its organization, a director 
 of The Royal Insurance Co. , one of the founders of St. Luke's Hospital and for ten 
 years president of St. Andrew's Society. In 1872, he succeeded John David Wolfe as 
 senior warden of Grace Church, having previously succeeded George Barclay as junior 
 warden. Mr. Norrie presented one of the most conspicuous examples of commercial 
 integrity of his day. An even-tempered, pleasant and considerate man, liberal but not 
 ostentatious in his charities, in every w r ay a Christian gentleman, he left a host of 
 friends and no enemies. His wife died about 1872. Four children survived him, 
 Gordon. Ann Margaret Van Home, Mary Van Home and Julia Clarkson Norrie. 
 
 ECKSTEIN NORTON, banker, born in Russellville, Ky., Dec. 16, 1831, died in 
 New Brighton, S. I., Jan. 12, 1893. When twenty years of age, Mr. Norton had 
 charge of a store in his native place. Four years later, he went to Cairo, Ills. , and 
 engaged in the forwarding of freight for The Illinois Central Railroad along the 
 Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, under contract, and in 1857, formed, with his brother, 
 W. F. Norton, the banking firm of Xorton & Bro's in Paducah, Ky. He arrived in 
 Xe\v York in 1864 and established the bank of Norton, Slaughter & Co., making a 
 specialty of attention to railroad enterprises. He reorganized The New Orleans & Ohio 
 Railroad in 1870, and consolidated it with The Mississippi Railroad under the name of 
 The Paducah & Memphis Railroad, his connection with the line continuing until 1881. 
 
478 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 In 1884, he interested himself in The Louisville & Nashville Railroad and infused so 
 much energy into its affairs that he was elected president. When he resigned in 1891, 
 he formed the firm of Eckstein Norton & Co. , for the benefit of his oldest son, who 
 took the active management. He always signed his name " Ex. Norton." In his later 
 years, his time was divided between his New York house, 8 1 1 Fifth avenue and his 
 country home on Staten Island. Mr. Norton felt a great interest in the prosperity of 
 Staten Island and was one of the group of prominent New Yorkers, who maintained 
 handsome residences there before Lenox and Newport had risen to their present 
 popularity. He was a member of The Southern Society and the Chamber of Com- 
 merce ; and a director of The Mexican National Railroad, The Louisville & Nashville 
 Railroad, The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, The Kentucky Central Railroad, The 
 Bank of the State of New York, The Mechanics' National Bank, The Manhattan 
 Trust Co. and The First National Bank of New Brighton, S. I. While a young man, 
 Mr. Norton attended the Baptist Church but later in life joined the Brighton Heights 
 Reformed Presbyterian Church on Staten Island. He succeeded George William 
 Curtis as president of the Smith Infirmary on Staten Island and gave larg-ely to its 
 support. In ^864, he married Miss Lucy Peyten Moore at Hopkinsville, Ky. , who 
 survived him with six children, William P., Eckstein and George F. Norton, Elizabeth, 
 wife of A. J. Outerbridge, Lucy M. and Mary H. Norton. 
 
 JOHN NORTON, shipping merchant, born in Eastport, Me., died in Brooklyn, 
 Oct. 30, 1890, at the age of seventy-three. Eastport is an ancient shipping town and 
 Mr. Norton grew up in the field of maritime enterprise. He came to New York about 
 1840, and after thirty-years with Russell & Norton, merchants in the West India trade, 
 took his sons into partnership under the name of John Norton & Sons. During the next 
 twenty years, they ranked as one of the largest and best known houses in the shipping 
 trade to southern and tropical ports. Mr. Norton was twice married, and left a son 
 and four daughters. 
 
 JULIUS MILO NOYES, banker, born in Morrisville, Vt., March 25, 1827,. died in 
 this city, May 22, 1889. He was a direct descendant of the Rev. James Noyes, who 
 emigrated from Wiltshire, England, to New England, in 1634. Receiving a good 
 education and graduating from the University of Vermont, Mr. Noyes began business 
 life as a clerk in a country store in Burlington. He next obtained a situation in Platts- 
 burgh, New York, and rose to be cashier and president of The Mercantile Bank of that 
 city. In 1866, he came to New York and entered the banking firm of Harriot, Parker 
 & Co., at No. 19 New street, who in 1870, were succeeded by Harriot & Noyes. In 
 1872, Mr. Noyes joined the Stock Exchange. In 1884, the house was reorganized as 
 J. M. Noyes & Co., and retains the name to the present time. May 23, 1849, Mr. Noyes 
 was married in Burlington, Vt., to Cornelia, daughter of Nathan B. Haswell. Of his 
 five children, the two now living are Charles P. Noyes, at present sole partner in J. M. 
 Noyes & Co., and Mrs. Harriet N. Andrews. Mr. Noyes was fond of business life, 
 abstained entirely from the strife of politics, and joined few if any clubs, and in his 
 chosen occupation was a successful man. 
 
o. 
 
 THOMAS FLETCHER OAKES, railroad president, born in Boston, July 16, 
 1843, came from old New England stock, his father, Francis Garaux Oakes, being a 
 shipmaster, and his grandfather, Daniel Oakes, a soldier of the American Revolution. 
 Educated in Boston, and well trained for an active career, he secured a position as 
 clerk to the contractors engaged in the construction of The Kansas Pacific Railroad, 
 and in June, 1863, entered the service of this corporation as purchasing agent in St. 
 Louis. Having won the confidence of the officers of the road by conspicuous energy 
 and ability, they advanced him through the positions of assistant treasurer, general 
 freight agent and vice president to that of general superintendent. During this period, 
 his home was in St. Louis and Kansas City. In April, 1879, ne became general 
 superintendent of The Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf and The Kansas City, Lawrence 
 & Southern Railroads, but was called in May, 1880, to the responsible post of vice-presi- 
 dent and general manager of The Oregon Railway & Navigation Co., with head- 
 quarters in Portland, Ore. A year later, he identified himself with The Northern Paci- 
 fic Railroad, was elected vice-president, and in November, 1883, general manager in 
 addition. In 1888, Mr. Oakes became president of The Northern Pacific Railroad, and 
 continued as such until October, 1893, when having been made one of the receivers of 
 the corporation, he retired from the presidency. His executive ability has been 
 of great service to this important system. Mr. Oakes is a hard worker and a thoroughly 
 trained and competent railroad man. He is a trustee of The Manhattan Life Insur- 
 ance Co. of this city. In 1864, he married Abby R., daughter of Henry Haskell, and 
 their children are Grace, Zillah, Georgiana and Prescott Oakes. Mr. Oakes resides at 
 Mamaroneck, but is a member of the Metropolitan, Union League, New York Yacht 
 and Riding clubs, and a life member of The American Geographical Society. 
 
 JOHN O'BRIEN, banker, now, in 1895. seventy-nine years old, is a native of New 
 York city and a son of William O'Brien, insurance adjuster, who, born in Dublin, was 
 a direct descendant of the Earl of Inchiquin, known in history as a lieutenant in the 
 Irish Rebellion, his estate being confiscated in consequence of his services and ^Tioo 
 offered for his head. John O'Brien being placed at the outset of his career in The 
 Manhattan Go's Bank, as a clerk, rose through intermediate grades to be assistant 
 cashier. In 1844, he purchased a seat in the Stock Exchange and after that, with his 
 brother, William O'Brien, was exceedingly successful in a brokerage and investment 
 business. The brothers conducted their business affairs with the same affectionate 
 unity which always characterized their other relations, and were long known in 
 Wall street as " The Twins." After the death of William in 1885, John continued the 
 business under the old name of W. & J. O'Brien. For many years, the inseparable 
 brothers lived together on the north side of Madison Square in New York, their house 
 being their only club, but after the death of William, John O'Brien married and now 
 spends most of his time in Newport at his villa, Inchiquin, named after the family 
 estate. He has been treasurer of The Second Avenue Railroad and has always taken 
 an active interest in charitable undertakings. He was one of the founders of the New 
 \ ork Catholic Protector}- in Westchester and is treasurer of the Foundling and St. 
 Vincent Hospitals. 
 
480 
 
 WILLIAH O'BRIEN, banker, born in New York city, died at his home in town 
 Jan. 2, 1885, in his seventy-fourth year. Trained to the field of finance in The 
 Mechanics' Bank, which he entered about 1835, as clerk, then as teller and assistant 
 cashier, he then, in 1842, with his brothers, John, Robert, Charles and Joseph, started 
 in banking on his own account. After the death of Charles in 1855, the other brothers 
 continued together until 1864, when Robert and Joseph withdrew to start a separate 
 banking house. The old firm then took the name of William & John O'Brien and is so 
 known to-day. The firm transacted a large business, particularly among Roman 
 Catholics. William O'Brien was esteemed as a man of good judgment, strict honesty 
 and undoubted ability. He was a chosen friend of Cardinal McCloskey and a member 
 of St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church, besides being interested in a number of other 
 churches. For many years, his office was a favorite headquarters for financial news 
 and many writers for the daily press looked to this firm for information. Mr. O'Brien 
 never married and left the bulk of his possessions to his brother John. 
 
 DANIEL O'DAY, manufacturer, born Feb. 6, 1844, is a native of Ireland and came 
 to this country when an infant. His father, Michael O'Day, came to this country in 
 1845. Daniel-secured an education at the public schools of Buffalo, N. Y., and, when 
 twenty years of age, went to the oil regions in Pennsylvania and obtained a position in 
 the oil transportation business. In 1873-74, Mr. O'Day began constructing pipe lines 
 in the producing regions. The first one was from Emlenton, Venango county, Pa., to 
 the producing fields of Clarion county and was known as the American Transfer line. 
 After that, he built other lines. By consolidation with other interests, the American 
 Transfer lines became merged into the United Pipe lines system, and the latter is in 
 operation to-day as the gathering system of The National Transit Co. The latter cor- 
 poration was organized about 1883 and now owns a network of trunk and local lines, 
 extending over a large part of the country. Of this company, Mr. O'Day has been 
 vice-president since 1888. As the projector and senior partner in The Oil City Boiler 
 Works, an exceedingly successful enterprise in Oil City, Mr. O'Day has added largely 
 to his property. In 1888, he organized and became president of The Northwestern 
 Ohio National Gas Co , having a capital of $6,000,000, and owning oil wells, gas lands 
 and gas lines. He is also president of The People's Bank of Buffalo and director of a 
 number of other banks, including The Seaboard National of this city and several in 
 Buffalo and Oil City. Mr. O'Day is respected for his ability as an executive officer 
 and as a safe and sagacious business man. He lives at No. 128 West 72d street in this 
 city and is a member of the Engineers', Manhattan and Lotus clubs here, the Buffalo 
 club of Buffalo, the Duquesne club of Pittsburgh and other social organizations. 
 
 JOSEPH JOHN O'DONOHUE, merchant, and Chamberlain of the city of New York, 
 was born at No. 40 Peck Slip in this city, Jan. 8, 1834. He is the son of John O'Don- 
 ohue, an Irish gentleman, who, well educated and a man of strong mind, resolved 
 during his young manhood to leave his native land and seek his fortune in the free 
 republic across the sea, whither so large a number of his countrymen had gone before 
 him and where many of them were doing well. John O'Donohue located in New York 
 city, established a grocery and ship chandlery store on Peck Slip, and, after the fashion 
 of the old-time merchants, lived over the store. Enterprise and native force of charac- 
 ter made him successful. He finally gave up the retail branch of his business, con- 
 fined himself to the wholesale trade, and rose to prominence and the general good-will 
 

 ":"' 
 
482 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 as a merchant. In 1858, with his son Joseph and other associates he organized The 
 Long Island Ferry Co., whose boats plied between Williamsburgh and New York city 
 and became so effective in their rivalry with The Brooklyn Ferry Co., owned by the 
 late George Law, that in 1864, the two companies consolidated as The New York & 
 Brooklyn Ferry Co , Mr. O'Donohue retaining a large interest in the new corpora- 
 tion. By his marriage, he gained the companionship cf a gracious woman of superior 
 mind. Her kindness to the poor in the Eastern District of Brooklyn is yet remem- 
 bered affectionately. To this worthy couple were born several children. 
 
 Joseph J. O'Donohue, the third son, entered upon an active career at the 
 unusually early age of ten, as boy and clerk in his father's store. He did not, how- 
 ever, suspend his studies entirely, an arrangement being made whereby his brother 
 James and he should attend the store on alternate days and go to school in the inter- 
 vals. The senior O'Donohue gave his boys a thorough training in business and made 
 them understand the paramount value of time both in work and study. As a result, 
 they all became competent merchants. Joseph and James were admitted to partner- 
 ship before they were twenty-one years of age, their father then adopting the firm name 
 of John O'Dojiohue & Sons. Another son, Peter, became a partner in 1861 and John 
 and Thomas were admitted in 1868. After their father's death in 1868, a reverent 
 respect for their father's memory impelled the survivors to adopt the firm name of 
 John O'Donohue's Sons. The store, originally on Peck Slip, had meanwhile been 
 transferred to No. 239 Front street. Nov. i, 1889, Joseph J. O'Donohue withdrew 
 and, with Atherton Foster as a partner, resumed the importation of coffee and tea at 
 No. 101 Front street. After 1882, his firm was known as Joseph J. O'Donohue & Son. 
 They conducted numerous branch houses in different parts of the country and a large 
 trade. In 1889, Mr. O'Donohue retired, leaving the practical management in the 
 hands of his sons, Joseph J. O'Donohue, jr., and Thomas J. O'Donohue. His 
 commercial record, extending now over a full half century of incessant activity, has 
 never been marred by failure or dishonor. On the contrary, his story is that of a 
 progressive, judicious, upright and successful merchant. 
 
 Reared in Williamsburgh, across the East river, Mr. O'Donohue identified himself 
 closely at an early day with the affairs of that part of the present city of Brooklyn, and 
 although he has made his home in New York city since 1869, he has retained his inter- 
 est in Brooklyn down to the present time. When he became president of The New 
 York & Brooklyn Ferry Co., he conferred great benefits on the public of the two cities 
 by the energy and intelligence of his management. He has built eleven new and 
 handsome boats, enlarged the ferry houses and other facilities, reduced the fares and 
 taken many other steps of an equally progressive character. The 23d street line is 
 Mr. O'Donohue's especial pride. His labors have given a great impulse to the growth 
 of Williamsburgh. He was a member of the old fire department of that community 
 and interested in every movement for the welfare of the city. 
 
 When a successful merchant enters politics, he is always warmly welcomed, his 
 character and abilities giving to his neighbors the assurance that, so far as he can affect 
 the administration of affairs, it will be in the direction of good government. Mr. 
 O'Donohue has always been a Democrat, and while yet a resident of Brooklyn displayed 
 considerable activity in the politics of the city and State. He was honored for eleven 
 years in succession with election as delegate to the Democratic State convention from 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. O ? D. 483 
 
 Kings county. At one time, he served as vice president of the Democratic General Com- 
 mittee of that county. During the War, he espoused the cause of the Union. Although 
 fitted by character and abilities for public place, he has refused various tenders of office. 
 Upon his removal to New York city in 1869, the Democrats of the city gained a 
 valued accession to their ranks and they promptly made him a member of the Tammany 
 General Committee and in 1871 tendered him the Mayorality of the city, which, how- 
 ever, he declined. The iniquities of the Tweed ring offended Mr. O'Donohue seriously, 
 and he not only resigned from the General Committee but joined the Committee of 
 Seventy, appointed at a mass meeting in Cooper Union, and took an active part in the 
 overthrow of the corrupt ring, which had plundered the metropolis and dominated the 
 Democratic party for several years to its great injury. After Tweed and his associates 
 had been swept out of Tammany Hall, Mr. O'Donohue again became, in 1874, a mem- 
 ber of the General Committee from his district, the i gth. He is a liberal contributor 
 to the legitimate campaign expenses of his party and his influence has always been 
 thrown in favor of clean government. In 1874, Mayor Wickham appointed him one of 
 the Park Commissioners of the city, and he served with credit for two years but 
 resigned in 1876, to become a Presidential elector. He was an especially earnest sup- 
 porter of President Cleveland in the campaigns of 1884 and 1888, and, during the famous 
 parade of merchants of the Democratic faith in 1884, which revealed that New York 
 city would probably go heavily Democratic in the following election, as it did, Mr. 
 O'Donohue displayed his loyalty by marching at the head of the column for several 
 hours in a pouring rain without even the protection of an umbrella. Even his sturdy 
 constitution was not proof against the exposures of that famous day, and he was 
 obliged to spend some time in foreign travel for the sake of his health. President 
 Cleveland felt under obligations to Mr. O'Donohue for his services in these campaigns 
 and, after reinauguration in 1893, tendered to him the position of Assistant Treasurer 
 of the United States in New York city, but the offer was courteously declined. 
 
 It was through Mr. O'Donohue's instrumentality, that the hospitals and orphan 
 asylums of New York city were exempted from water taxation by legislative enactment. 
 For this measure, he contended for six years. At his request, the exemption was first 
 provided for by the Aldermen of the city, who passed a resolution to that effect, but 
 Mayor Cooper vetoed the measure. Mr. O'Donohue then appealed to the Legislat- 
 ure, and after prolonged effort secured the law which was signed by Governor Hill. 
 In April, 1893, he was appointed Chamberlain of the city by Mayor Gilroy. 
 
 Mr. O'Donohue has numerous interests not connected with the import trade. In 
 1883, he joined a syndicate which bought the stock of Daniel Drew in The People's 
 Line of steamboats to Albany, and has since been a large stockholder and director in 
 that concern. He is one of the founders and ex-vice president of the new Coffee Ex- 
 change, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade & Transportation, 
 a director of The Twenty-third Street Ferry, The New Jersey Steamboat Co. , The 
 W illiamsburgh City Fire Insurance Co. and the Evergreen and Calvary cemeteries, and 
 president of The Monmouth County, N. J., Horse Association. 
 
 The cause of charity has always enlisted his interest and his contributions to 
 worthy objects and individuals are creditable. For many, years he has been a trustee 
 of the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Little Sisters of 
 the Poor, The Foundling Asylum and other institutions. 
 
484 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Sept 7, 1858, he married Teresa M. J. Riley, daughter of Peter Riley. Of their 
 seven children, the survivors are Joseph J. O'Donohue, jr., and Thomas J. O'Donohue, 
 who now carry on their father's business. 
 
 Mr. O'Donohue has been a member of over sixty clubs, including the Manhattan, 
 Reform, Down Town, New York Yacht, Democratic, Travelers', Catholic, New York 
 Athletic, Hardware, New York Jockey and Brooklyn Jockey. 
 
 HERMANN OELRICHS, shipping merchant, born in Baltimore, Md., June 8, 1850, 
 is a son of Henry Oelrichs, a merchant of German descent, long prominent in Balti- 
 more, who removed with his family to New York while Hermann was a boy. The 
 elder Oelrichs was a shipping merchant and agent for the North German Lloyd steam- 
 ships. Under his careful guidance, his son received a thorough education, which he 
 completed in Germany. In 1871, the son took his place in Oelrichs & Go's office, being 
 admitted as a partner in 1875. The young man was conspicuous for athletic strength 
 and superb physique, which in his case were accompanied by a mind of equally virile 
 power. Since 1887, when Gustav Schwab retired, Mr. Oelrichs has been the head of 
 the house, the firm remaining American agents of the North German Lloyd line. Mr. 
 Oelrichs is a stockholder in The Madison Square Garden Co. and a man of untiring en- 
 ergy and resource. He retains a fondness for athletic exercises and is conspicuous as a 
 boxer, fencer, polo player and swimmer, in which latter pastime he probably has few 
 rivals in America among either amateurs or professionals. In 1890, he married 
 Theresa Alice, a daughter of the late Senator James G. Fair, of Nevada, one of the 
 "bonanza kings " of the Pacific coast. They have had one child, Hermann. Mr. 
 Oelrichs was for a time prominent in politics, being a member of the Democratic Na- 
 tional Committee for New York but resigning for personal and independent reasons. 
 He has been pressed repeatedly to accept a nomination for the Mayoralty of the city 
 and was obliged in 1888 to publish a card enforcing his refusal. Much of his time is 
 spent at Newport or on the Pacific coast, but his name appears as an active member on 
 the rolls of about twenty New York clubs, including the Metropolitan, Manhattan, New 
 York, Players', Lawyers', Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht, Racquet, Union, and 
 Liederkranz. 
 
 WILLIAM BUTLER OQDEN, railroad president, born in Walton, Delaware 
 county, N. Y., June 15, 1805, died at the Villa Boscobel, near High Bridge, New York 
 city, Aug. 3, 1877. He was a descendant of the Ogdens of New Jersey, conspicuous in 
 the early history of the State. Intended for the law, his father's sudden death, when 
 William was sixteen years of age, threw upon him the management of his father's estate 
 and he became a business man. At the age of twenty-one, he entered a mercan- 
 tile firm, became prominent in Delaware county, and iA 1834 was elected to the State 
 Legislature, where he helped pass a bill for the construction of The New York & Eric 
 Railroad. Shortly after this, he removed to Chicago and in 1835 established a land and 
 trust agency there. In that city, his energetic influence was so widely felt that, in 
 1837, he was elected its first Mayor. Although, in 1860, elected to a seat in the Illinois 
 State Senate, he never took much pleasure in politics and frequently declined sugges- 
 tions of office. Mr. Ogden permeated the West with his activity. He owned at 
 Peshtigo, Wis., the largest lumber mills in the world at that time. His real estate 
 transactions were also extensive. He aided to bring mowing and reaping machinery 
 into general use and it was at his suggestion that the first reaper was sent to the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. OL. 485 
 
 London exhibition in 1851. He was president of the national railroad convention held 
 in Philadelphia in 1850, with reference to a transcontinental line and and served as first 
 president of The Union Pacific Railroad and' president of The Galena & Chicago 
 Union, The Chicago & Fond du Lac, The Chicago & Northwestern, The Illinois & 
 Wisconsin and The Buffalo & Mississippi Railroads, besides being connected with 
 numerous other enterprises and taking part in the organization of The Northern 
 Pacific Railroad Co. He was first president of the trustees of Rush Medical College 
 and a member or trustee of the Theological Seminary of the Northwest, The Histor- 
 ical Society of Chicago, the Academy of Sciences, the Astronomical Society, the Uni- 
 versity of Chicago and the Chicago Women's Home. In 1854-55, he visited Europe 
 and his observation of the canals of Holland led him to become an advocate of the 
 Sturgeon Bay and Lake Michigan Ship Canal. He had large interests in real estate in 
 Chicago, and in the great fire of 1871, his capacious house, in which many great public 
 works had been planned, with much other property, was destroyed. At this same 
 time, his lumber mills at Peshtigo were destroyed by fire, involving a loss of $1,500,000. 
 He immediately rebuilt the mills. Mr. Ogden was a Democrat of the Madisonian 
 school, but never a partisan. During the w r ar, his sympathies were on the side of the 
 Union. For many years, he traveled between New York and Chicago, making the 
 former city his home in 1866. He was a personal friend of Governors Dix and Tilden 
 and associated in business enterprises with ex-Comptroller Andrew H. Green, who is an 
 executor of his estate, and was one of the first to advocate and at a large expenditure 
 promote an underground system of rapid transit for this city. In 1875, he married 
 Marianna, daughter of John Arnot, of Elmira, N. Y. They had no children. Mr. 
 Ogden 's great fortune was left to his wife, the members of his family, and charitable 
 organizations. 
 
 FREDERIC P. OLCOTT, banker and broker, born in Albany, N. Y., in 1841, is a 
 son of Thomas H. Olcott, a prominent citizen and president of The Mechanics' & 
 Fanners' Bank of Albany for many years. His mother was Caroline Pepoon. Fred- 
 eric's early education was secured at the Albany Academy. At the age of sixteen, he 
 entered his father's bank as a clerk, later carried on a lumber business in Albany, and 
 then became connected with the house of Blake Bro's & Co. in New York city, and 
 Phelps, Stokes & Co. , at one time serving the State of New York as Comptroller at 
 Albany. In 1884, he became president of The Central Trust Co., of this city. 
 In this position, he has displayed excellent ability. Mr. Olcott is highly esteemed and 
 is a man of many interests, being a director of The New York, Chicago & St. Louis 
 Railroad, The Bank of America, The Sixth Avenue Street Railroad, and The Union 
 Bank. He was married in 1862 and has two children. Among his clubs are the 
 Union League, Riding, New York Yacht, Down Town and Metropolitan. 
 
 HUGH O'NEILL, merchant, proprietor of a large and successful dry goods and 
 millinery emporium, was born near Belfast, Ireland, in Newtownards, County Down, 
 July 15, 1844. His family moved to America when he was fourteen years of age. 
 Here he attended the old Grove street school at night and spent his days in the em- 
 ployment of his brother Henry, who had founded a dry goods business in 1837. Faith- 
 ful to every duty and attentive to details, he was admitted to partnership by his 
 brother in H. O'Neill & Co. in 1867. The senior partner retired in 1879 and Mr. 
 O'Neill went on under the old name as head of the house. Every buyer who entered 
 
486 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 his doors was treated with courtesy and attention, and in a short time, Mr. O'Neill 
 found himself in the enjoyment of a growing trade, which in three years' time was too 
 large for the original store at 905 Broadway. In 1870, he selected an eligible site at 
 No. 325 Sixth avenue and removed to the new location. Originally limited to the 
 sale of millinery, his trade was soon extended by the addition of lace and other depart- 
 ments, one after another, until, after repeated enlargements, the original store had 
 grown to an enormous mercantile establishment, occupying several buildings and em- 
 ploying a force of 2,500 people. Mr. O'Neill is at the store early every day and is one 
 of the last to leave at night. The system of collecting for goods on delivery originated 
 with Mr. O'Neill. His trade is no longer confined to the metropolis alone but now 
 extends to all the suburbs and beyond. He is the father of three children, Hugh 
 O'Neill, jr., now at school, and two daughters, and is a man of handsome presence, 
 with a strong physique, heavy iron gray hair and beard, blue eyes, and cordial manner. 
 QEORQE OPDYKE, banker, a native of Kingwood, Hunterdon county, N. J., born 
 Dec. 7, 1805, died in New York city, June 12, 1880. He was descended from one of 
 the old Dutch families of New York, his ancestor, Louris Jansen op Dyke, having 
 owned residences in Albany, Flatbush and New York under the Dutch Government of 
 New Netherlands. The family settled in New Jersey later. George began life on a 
 farm and taught district school for a while. At the age of twenty, he went to Cleve- 
 land, O., then a frontier trading post, to open a general store and thence removed to 
 New Orleans to engage in the wholesale clothing business. In 1832, he transferred 
 his enterprise to New York and, in 1850, began the importation of dry goods, in which 
 he continued until 1867, when he withdrew. In company with his sons and others, he 
 then started the banking house of George Opdyke & Co. The business prospered rap- 
 idly and was in the full tide of success when the panic of 1873 came on. At this time, 
 they were fiscal agents of The New York & Oswego Midland and St. Louis & South- 
 eastern Railroads, and had placed most of the bonds of these and other railroad lines, 
 aggregating more than 1,000 miles in length. Owing to depreciation of values, later, 
 Mr. Opdyke voluntarily sacrificed, for the sake of the bondholders, $2,000,000 in addi- 
 tional advances to these companies. Yet such was his ability that he weathered the 
 storm as he had the panics of 1837 and 1857. His later business was very successful. 
 Mr. Opdyke retired a few months before his death with a large fortune. For nearly 
 twenty years, he took an active part in politics. In his younger days, he was a Democrat 
 but opposed to slavery and became a candidate of the Free Soil party for Congress and 
 later for United States Senator, but was defeated. In 1858, he was elected to the As- 
 sembly from New York city. In 1859, he ran for Mayor on the Republican ticket but 
 was defeated by Fernando Wood. As a delegate to the national Republican conven- 
 tion at Chicago in 1860, he became instrumental in securing the nomination of Abraham 
 Lincoln and was active in the ensuing campaign. After election, President Lincoln 
 offered him the Collectorship of the Port of New York, which, however, he declined. 
 He was elected Mayor of New York the following year and did much to aid the re- 
 cruiting of troops. While he was Mayor, the city became alarmed at a report that the 
 Confederate ram Merrimac was about to raid the harbor of New York. Mayor Opdyke 
 promptly called a meeting of prominent men at his house, where it was resolved to load 
 a large vessel with stone and, on the appearance of the ram, to sink it in the narrowest 
 part of the ship channel. The vessel was prepared and towed to the spot chosen, while 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. OR. 487 
 
 a steamer cruised off Sandy Hook to give notice of the approach of the Merrimac. 
 Fortunately, the emergency never came. Mr. Opdyke was Mayor at the time of the 
 draft riots in 1863, and was in danger of violence or assassination. He was urged to 
 leave the city but firmly refused to do so and remained to preserve order. In 1 868, 
 he served as delegate at large to the Constitutional Convention and was a Constitutional 
 Commissioner, 1872-73. A great student of national finance and political economy, 
 Mr. Opdyke wrote numerous excellent essays and articles on these subjects. In 1829, 
 he married Elizabeth H. Stryker, a descendant of the old Knickerbockers. Six chil- 
 dren were born to them, Emeline O. , wife of Edward C. Strobell ; Mary Elizabeth, 
 wife of George W. Farlee ; William S. , Charles W. , George F. and Henry B. Opdyke. 
 ALEXANDER ECTOR ORR, merchant, is a native of Strabane, County Tyrone, 
 Ireland, and a descendant of the clan McGregor. Born March 2, 1831, and at first 
 intended for the service of The East India Co., an injury to his foot disabled him 
 for several years and changed his plans. A visit to the United States by way of Wil- 
 mington, N. C., in 1850, so captivated him, that in 1851, he removed to this country, 
 settled in Xew York city and obtained a clerkship with William Ralph Post, shipping 
 and commission merchant. Later, he served in the office of Wallace & Wicks, and in 
 1858, entered that of David Dows & Co. His success then became merely a question 
 of time. In 1861, the firm made him a partner and in the enormous commision trade 
 of David Dows & Co. , in cereals and other products, he soon rose to fortune. He has 
 always been active in the affairs of the Produce Exchange, several times both director 
 and president, and one of those whose zealous labors resulted in building the present 
 magnificent home of the Exchange. It was he, who, with H. O. Armour, Franklin 
 Edson and others, perfected the Produce Exchange Gratuity system and he has been 
 for years chairman of the Arbitration Committee. He is a director of numerous banks, 
 insurance companies, railroads, etc. , a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Down 
 Town, City, Hamilton, Atlantic Yacht and other clubs, and the promoter of almost every 
 important public institution in Brooklyn, where he lives. In 1856, he married Juliet 
 Buckingham, daughter of Ammi Dows, and in 1872, after her death, Margaret Shippen, 
 daughter of Nicholas Luquer. His three children are Jane Dows, Mary Moore and 
 Juliet Ector Orr. 
 
 CHARLES J. OSBORN, stock broker, originated in Quogue, L. I., and died in 
 Xc-w York city, Nov. n, 1885, less than fifty years of age. His first experience was 
 in the leather trade as clerk and later as partner of Israel Corse in the " Swamp." He 
 entered Wall street about 1865, and, as member of the Gold Board, made his fortune 
 in the great speculations of that time. In 1869, he formed a partnership with Addison 
 Cammack, as Osborn & Cammack, and operated on an enormous scale in gold for Jay 
 Gould. The firm were Mr. Gould's most trusted brokers, their transactions amounting 
 to hundreds of millions. This partnership terminated in 1872. Mr. Osborn then 
 formed the firm of C. J. Osborn & Co., of which John W. George and Edwin S. Chapin 
 were general and Jay Gould special partners. They passed through the panic of 1873 
 successfully. In 1 883 Mr. Osborn retired, and was at the time of his death a special 
 partner in the firm of E. S. Chapin & Co. Thereafter, he devoted some time to the 
 settlement of the affairs of the broken Wall Street Bank, as receiver, saving enough 
 from the wreck to pay the depositors in full and giving his services without recompense. 
 He was a member of the Stock Exchange 1869-83, serving on the governing committee 
 
488 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 at one time, and was also a member of the New York, American Yacht and Coney 
 Island Jockey clubs. He owned the famous yacht Dreadnaught and the steam yacht 
 Corsair. He married Miss Miriam A. Trowbridge, who with his son, Howell Osborn, 
 survived him. The latter died Feb. 5, 1895. 
 
 GEORGE ARCHER OSQOOD, stock broker, born in Baltimore, Md., died in New 
 York city, Nov. 13, 1882, at the age of 62. His father, Robert H. Osgood, a native of 
 Salem, Mass., was descended from the original English colonists of New England. 
 George graduated from Harvard College in 1811, came to New York, and established a 
 coal yard on Staten Island, near the quarantine station, and carried on a profitable 
 business in supplying steamboat and steamship lines. Through intimate relations with 
 Commodore Vanderbilt, he furnished coal to the steamboat lines which the Commodore 
 controlled. About the beginning of the Civil War, he entered Wall street and was at 
 different times a partner in several important firms. Fowler, Osgood & Co. were well 
 known, as were Osgood & Co., in which one of his brothers and he were engaged. 
 During the panic of 1873, Mr. Osgood became seriously involved, but, later, paid all 
 his debts in full. He was never a member of the Stock Exchange but was a bold oper- 
 ator although prudent in his speculations. In the last years of his life, he was one of 
 the largest stockholders of The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad and a 
 trustee of The New York Life Insurance Co. Extremely fond of yachting and one of 
 the oldest members of the New York Yacht club, he built the Fleetwing, a famous 
 vessel, and later the steam yacht Stranger. He married Eliza, daughter of Commo- 
 dore Vanderbilt, but left no children. 
 
 NORTON PRENTISS OTIS, manufacturer, a native of Halifax, Vt., and born 
 March 18, 1840, comes from New England stock and is a son of Elisha Graves Otis 
 and a descendant of John Otis, who came from Hingham, England, to Massachusetts 
 in 1635. Owing to various removals of the family, his education was gained in the 
 schools of his native town, and in Albany, N. Y., Hudson City, N. J., and Yonkers, 
 N. Y. Then, a promising, earnest youth of eighteen, he found work in a small 
 elevator factory established by his father, learned the trade, and, with his brother 
 Charles, assumed the responsibility of management after his father's death in 1861. 
 Their capital was small, not exceeding $2,000, which they had saved by dint of hard 
 labor. The Civil War discouraged them at first, but they had conceived the principle 
 of applying to passenger elevators certain devices for insuring safety and, with the aid 
 of various patents, they finally began to make some progress. In 1862, they transacted 
 a business of only $15,000 but thereafter they made rapid progress and have since made 
 the name of Otis known throughout the world. For ten years, Mr. Otis spent his time 
 mainly in visiting the large cities of the United States, introducing his safety elevators 
 to the notice of proprietors of large buildings. In 1864, Otis Bro's & Co. incorporated 
 their business, with a capital of $225,000, the subject of this sketch becoming treasurer 
 of the concern. In 1882, the capital was increased to $500,000. Since 1890, when 
 Charles R. Otis retired, Norton P. Otis has been president. The factory is in 
 Yonkers and covers several acres of ground, employing about 600 men. The beauty 
 and convenience of the elevators now produced by the Otis concern are remarkable. 
 Artistic taste has been employed in shaping the iron work of the cages and safety de- 
 vices are employed which render them almost proof against accident. Some of the 
 largest elevators in the world are the product of these works, including the one in the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. OT. 489 
 
 Washington monument; the one in Weehawken, used by The North Hudson County 
 Railroad, which lifts 135 persons at a time; the one employed by The Otis Elevating 
 Railroad in the Catskill mountains, which draws a train up an incline of 7,000 feet in 
 ten minutes; and the famous elevator in the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Mr. Otis was 
 elected Mayor of Yonkers in 1880 and State Assemblyman in 1883. By Iris marriage 
 in 1877, to Lizzie A. Fahs of York, Pa., he has six children, Charles Edwin, Sidney, 
 Arthur Houghton, Norton P., Katherine Lois, Ruth Adelaide and James Russell 
 Lowell Otis. He is a member of the Engineers' and Fulton clubs, The Metropolitan 
 Museum of Art and The Westchester County Historical Society, and lives in Yonkers. 
 
 OSWALD OTTENDORFER, journalist, public leader and philanthropist, is one of 
 those progressive and high minded sons of old German}', who have attained in the life 
 of this metropolis during a long professional career not only the affection of large 
 masses of their own countrymen now resident here but the respect of the native born 
 population. He is a native of Zwittau in Austria, a village on the border of Bohemia, 
 where he was born, Feb. 26, 1826. His father, Vinzenz Ottendorfer, was a manufac- 
 turer of woolen goods in excellent circumstances. 
 
 Having received a sound preliminary training, Mr. Ottendorfer became a student 
 in the University of Vienna for a year, during which time, being destined for a public 
 career, he paid especial attention to jurisprudence. After a short stay in Prague, 
 where he learned the Czech language and studied law, he returned in 1 848 to Vienna 
 and at once espoused with all the energy of an ardent nature the movement among 
 the patriotic youth of Austria to secure by agitation, and force if necessary, the lib- 
 erties of the people. An uprising in March, 1848, in which Mr. Ottendorfer was prom- 
 inent, led to the downfall of the Metternich government. Thus launched upon a pub- 
 lic career and baptized in the struggle against despotic power, and now desiring 
 military experience, he soon became a volunteer in the Von der Tann corps and took 
 part in the Schleswig-Holstein war against the army of Denmark. Oct. 5, 1848, the stu- 
 dents of Vienna rose in arms against the detachments of the Austrian army then in the 
 city, the local force having been weakened by the departure of several regiments to 
 Pesth to take the field against Kossuth. Upon that occasion, Mr. Ottendorfer served as 
 first lieutenant in the battalion of the late Robert Blum. The students drove out the 
 troops, to be in turn, a few weeks later, themselves overpowered by the Austrian 
 forces, who, after a severe battle, regained the city. Of the few students who escaped 
 in safety from the Austrian capital, Mr. Ottendorfer was one. After three days and nights 
 of hiding in the chimney of an old book store, the young man made his way to Saxony, 
 only to return, under an assumed name, with others, to the capital of Bohemia to concert 
 another uprising The movement was discovered, however, and the students fled to 
 Dresden, where, in May, 1849, they took part in another revolution and held possession 
 of the city for nearly a week. This was' a serious affair and ended in the recapture of 
 the city by Prussian troops, hastily summoned by the King of Saxony. The students 
 sought to escape to Thuringia, but those who left the city were all taken. Like their com- 
 patriots in Vienna, many were put to death and others sentenced to long imprisonment. 
 Mr. Ottendorfer escaped by an accident. He had spent several days and nights with- 
 out rest and, owing to physical exhaustion, did not awaken until noon, when he found 
 Dresden full of Prussian soldiers. After a few days of concealment, he managed to 
 reach Frankfort unobserved. But agitation continued and Mr. Ottendorfer would have 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. OT. 491 
 
 taken part in the battle of Waghaeusel had he not been stricken down with typhoid 
 fever in Heidelberg. His last exploit, undertaken after three months of hiding, was 
 the rescue of Steck, who had been sentenced for life and incarcerated in the castle of 
 Bruchsal. With his comrades and Steck, he escaped safely to Switzerland. 
 
 At twenty -four, Mr. Ottendorfer had passed through scenes of tragic adventure, 
 such as fall to the lot of few men of his age. His hopes had been frustrated and he 
 then resolved to begin life anew in Vienna. From this he was dissuaded by friends, 
 who predicted certain death should he return to the scene of his revolutionary labors. 
 In this emergency, he finally decided to emigrate to the United States. With the aid of 
 friends, he passed through Poland and in 1850, landed in New York city. His means 
 were small but he found a large, liberty-loving, German element in the city, who wel- 
 comed the young agitator with great cordiality. Promptly securing employment in the 
 business office of the Stoats Zeitung, Mr. Ottendorfer now found a field for the exercise 
 of his undoubted abilities, which promised success; and he applied himself to second- 
 ing the efforts of the proprietor, Jacob Uhl, in the management of the newspaper. 
 Founded Dec. 24, 1834, as a weekly on Nassau street, and printed in the German language, 
 the Staats Zeitung had been bought in 1844 by Mr. Uhl, who, with the aid of his wife, a 
 woman of superior mind, had made it a daily and already given it the position of the lead- 
 ing German journal of the city. Mr. Uhl died in 1851 and Mrs. Uhl then assumed the 
 management. She was a woman not only of unusual sweetness and beauty of character 
 but intellectual, energetic and sagacious. She foresaw a great future for the Staats Zei- 
 tung, refused various offers to sell, and, aided by Mr. Ottendorfer, conducted the paper 
 for eight years with constantly increasing success. In 1859, Mr. Ottendorfer was hap- 
 pily married to Mrs. Uhl and thereafter became the leading spirit in the management, 
 although for many years he enjoyed the co-operation of his competent and distin- 
 guished wife. Failing health finally, in 1881, compelled Mrs. Ottendorfer to relinquish 
 her share of the duties of management. She died April i, 1884, making many public 
 gifts and leaving $30,000 to be distributed among the employes of the Staats Zeitung. 
 
 During the nearly half a century of his connection with the Staats Zeitung, Mr. 
 Ottendorfer has contributed materially toward making his paper a successful property, 
 a strong influence for pure government and the leader of the German element in the 
 population of the city against inefficient and demoralizing local rule. A Democrat in 
 political faith, although now independent in local affairs, he has been a supporter of 
 Samuel J. Tilden and Grover Cleveland and an advocate of sound currency, civil ser- 
 vice reform, a moderate tariff and the improvement of the public schools. As a mem- 
 ber of the Committee of Seventy, he joined in the successful effort to crush the Tweed 
 ring. During one year, he served as an Alderman of the city, but refused the salary of 
 $4,000 a year, considering it out of proportion to the services expected, and has since 
 refused a nomination for Mayor more than once. The large stone office building at the 
 corner of Park Row and Centre street, which is the home of the Staats Zeitung, at one 
 time included among its tenants the Tax Department of the city government. The 
 hostility of Tammany, which Mr. Ottendorfer had the honor to incur, in consequence 
 of his attacks upon corrupt municipal rule, finally led that organization to remove the 
 department to another location. This puerile effort to injure a public spirited and 
 courageous man has met with the public ridicule which it deserves and proved abso- 
 lutely powerless as a punishment. 
 
492 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Mrs. Ottendorfer during her lifetime, and Mr. Ottendorfer since, both became con- 
 spicuous for their generous use of the wealth brought them by their very successful 
 newspaper. Among their gifts have been more than $500,000 to the Isabella Home for 
 aged men and women and chronic invalids at Fort George in this city, founded in 
 memory of a daughter of Mrs. Ottendorfer; $500,000 from Mr. Ottendorfer to build and 
 endow a school, orphan asylum and other institutions in his native town ; $50,000 for the 
 Ottendorfer Free Library on Second avenue; $100,000 to the German Dispensary; 
 $75,000 to a pavilion in the German Hospital and a large sum for other institutions. 
 For her generosity, the Empress of Germany conferred upon Mrs. Ottendorfer a gold 
 medal in 1883. 
 
 Few if any other of the adopted citizens of the United States have made such a 
 remarkable record for success and good citizenship as the subject of this biography. 
 Mr. Ottendorfer is a member of the Manhattan, Reform, Century, City and Common- 
 wealth clubs, and now spends several weeks every summer in visiting Europe. 
 
 THOMAS OWEN, merchant, born in New London, Conn., in 1800, died Aug. 13, 
 1881, in New York city. When eleven years old, this enterprising youth went to 
 Cuba, gained a, valuable experience in business and upon his return to New York 
 engaged in the sugar trade when twenty-three years old and soon formed the partner- 
 ship of Holt & Owen. This house rose to great prosperity and soon acquired good 
 standing and the respect of the community, doing a very large business up to the 
 beginning of the Cuban rebellion. Meantime, the firm had been changed to Thomas 
 Owen & Son. In 1866, Mr. Owen retired, whereupon the name was changed to 
 Thomas J. Owen & Son. Both his son and his grandson, however, died before Mr. 
 Owen. The subject of this memoir was thrice married. His first wife, Elizabeth 
 King, dying at the age of twenty-three, he married Maria Power Dyas and after her 
 death, Elizabeth Magee, who survived him. Mr. Owen was an attendant at the 
 Broadway Tabernacle, and was also connected with The Society for the Prevention of 
 Cruelty to Children, The Society for Ameliorating the Condition of the Poor and The 
 Metropolitan Museum of Art. He made many gifts in a quiet way to the charitable 
 societies of the city. His children were Thomas J. Owen, Mrs. Adelaide Thompson, 
 Angelina T., wife of O. B. Smith, and Charles B. Owen. THOHAS JEFFERSON 
 OWEN, merchant, son of Thomas and Elizabeth King Owen, born in New York 
 city, Dec. 31, 1825, died at his home, No. 37 West 34th street, May 15, 1881. 
 Beginning as clerk for his father, doing business at No. 65 South street, under 
 the name of Holt & Owen, he revealed so much energy and capacity that at 
 the age of twenty-three the entire charge of the business was entrusted to him. 
 He became a splendid merchant and made a fortune in the importation of sugar 
 from Cuba. The senior Owen often said that he owed his own good fortune to 
 the ability of his son "Tom." One of the founders of the Union League club and a 
 member of The New England Society, Mr. Owen was also a director of The Market 
 National Bank, The Mechanics' & Traders' Fire Insurance Co. and The Pacific Mail 
 Steamship Co. March i, 1849, he married Emilie Ketchum Platt and his children 
 were Allen Miner, Thomas J., Francis Thompson, Anita, Thomas J., 3d, and Emilie 
 Owen. The serenity of his life was disturbed by the feverish atmosphere of Wall 
 street and he lost his health, dying at fifty-six. His character was beyond reproach. 
 
p. 
 
 COURTLANDT PALHER, merchant, born in Stonington, Conn., Nov. n, 1800. 
 died at his home in New York' city, May 10, 1874. A son of Amos Palmer, a promi- 
 nent citizen and at his death Mayor of Stonington, he was a descendant of Walter 
 Palmer, one of the two founders of the town. Courtlandt gave to his sisters his share 
 of their father's moderate property, and with $100 of capital came to New York at the 
 age of eighteen to seek his fortune. Securing employment in a hardware store 
 belonging to an older brother on Maiden Lane and Pearl street, he continued there until 
 he was about twenty-one years of age when, determined to start for himself, he 
 obtained a small credit from each of three auctioneers with whom he had become 
 acquainted, bought a stock of hardware, and established a store for himself. His 
 energy and capacity won speedy success. Several flattering offers of partnership were 
 made to him, and he finally allied himself with Stark & Whiting and established a 
 branch house in New Orleans. This firm soon became one of the leading houses in 
 the United States. The panic of 1837 proved disastrous to them, however, and they 
 met with heavy losses, but Mr. Palmer emerged with a small amount of capital, which 
 he invested in real estate. By judicious purchases thereafter, he became a wealthy 
 man, holding much valuable city real estate as well as Western land. His property 
 included the Manhattan Market on the West side, between 34th and 35th streets. 
 Many positions of trust were bestowed on Mr. Palmer, including the first presidency 
 of The Stonington & Providence Railroad, which he held 1844-1848. He was a director 
 and one of the founders of The Safe Deposit Co. and a director of a prominent savings 
 bank and The Mutual Benefit Trust Co. About 1872, he was appointed commissioner 
 to appraise the real estate owned by the city, and all disputes were referred to him for 
 settlement by his associates. In 1824, Mr. Palmer married Eliza, daughter of Gov- 
 ernor Thurston of Connecticut. She died in 1828 without issue. In 1832, he married 
 a daughter of .Richard Suydam. Mrs. Palmer died in 1867. Four children were born 
 to them, Courtlandt and Charles Phelps Palmer, Mary Ann, wife of Henry Draper, 
 and Richard S. Palmer, the latter dying before his father. His son, COURTLANDT 
 PALMER, lawyer and author, born in New York city, March 25, 1843, died at Lake Dun- 
 more, Vt., July 23, 1888. Mr. Palmer attended Mount Washington Institute for a time, 
 entered Columbia College, and left in his junior year to enter Williams College. 
 He studied law at the Columbia College Law School, and graduated, May 19, 1869, a 
 LL.B. While the law interested him greatly, he found abundant occupation in the 
 management of his father's estate. Mr Palmer's tastes were strongly literary. He 
 was an advocate of technical education and liberal ideas, an earnest student and 
 thinker, becoming advanced and radical in his beliefs and a positivist of the school of 
 Auguste Comte. He established the Nineteenth Century club in 1880, and as the 
 president of that organization delivered many addresses and contributed largely to the 
 literature of free thought. In 1865, he married Catharine Amory Bennett, daughter 
 of Joseph Bennett, and their children were Robert Amory, Mary Ann Suydam, Court- 
 landt and Evelina Palmer. 
 
494 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 HENRY PARISH, banker, born at No. 12 Beekman street, New York city, March 
 3, 1830, is a son of the late Daniel Parish, a conspicuous dry goods merchant during 
 the first part of the present century, who carried on a large trade with the South in the 
 firm of H. & D. Parish, with branch houses under other names in Charleston, Mobile, 
 New Orleans and Columbus. From his excellent stock, Mr. Parish inherited health, 
 honesty and good judgment. After completing his education at Columbia College and 
 the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris, France, he took charge of The 
 New Jersey Zinc Works in Newark, N. J., as superintendent of the concern. In March, 
 1871, he became president of The New York Life Insurance & Trust Co., and has 
 managed the affairs of this well-known and prominent institution until the present 
 time. Mr. Parish is a man of public spirit and especially fitted for social life and is 
 a valued member of several well-known organizations, among them the Metropolitan 
 club, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Academy of Design, The 
 American Geographical Society and The American Museum of Natural History. 
 
 JOSEPH PARK, merchant, born in Rye, N. Y., May 24, 1823, has long been 
 known in New York as an active spirit in the old firm of Park & Tilford, who con- 
 duct the leading stores for the supply of high class groceries in this city. Beginning 
 his career modestly, Mr. Park, aided by his original partner and those who have been 
 in more recent years admitted to the firm, gradually made his store the headquarters 
 of a large and exceedingly desirable business. Branch stores were established at 38th 
 street and Sixth avenue in 1873 and sgth street and Fifth aVenue in 1885. In 1890, the 
 firm incorporated with a nominal capital of $500,000, and Mr. Park has been president 
 until the present time. 
 
 TRENOR WILLIAfl PARK, lawyer and railroad president, born in Woodford, Vt., 
 Dec. 8, 1823, died at sea, Dec. 13, 1882. He sprang from substantial New England 
 stock, the family deriving descent from Richard Park, who emigated from Hadleigh, 
 Suffolk county, England, about 1630. Taken to Bennington, Vt. , in early childhood, 
 given a meagre schooling, and compelled to earn a part of his own support from his 
 earliest years, the lad grew up to a capable manhood. After five years in a law office, 
 he was admitted to the bar in 1844. Having married Laura V., a daughter of ex-Gov. 
 Hiland Hall of Vermont, who became chairman of the United States Land Com- 
 mission in California, Mr. Park removed to the Pacific coast in 1852, became a partner 
 of General Halleck in the law firm of Halleck, Peachy, Billings & Park, and rose to 
 eminence in his profession. Through making a specialty of land titles, the firm were 
 drawn into investments in lands and mines, which yielded fortunes to them all. 
 With John C. Fremont, Mr. Park was especially interested in the Mariposa estate 
 and s:old mines. At one time, his name was presented to the California Legislature 
 as candidate for the United States Senate, but he was not elected. In 1863, he retired 
 and returned to Bennington, Vt., but after a short period of inactivity, engaged in 
 banking and railroad undertakings. With Russell Sage, he obtained control of The 
 Western Vermont Railroad about 1860, by buying its first mortgage bonds, and after- 
 ward bought Mr. Sage's interest and reorganized the company as The Bennington 
 & Rutland Railroad. He was one of the projectors of the famous Emma silver mine 
 and foremost in effecting its sale to an English syndicate, winning, in 1872, the legal 
 proceedings, which had grown out of his management. For several years, Mr. Park 
 was a director in The Pacific Mail Steamship Co. He bought a controlling interest in 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK.. PA. 495 
 
 The Panama Railroad, was president from 1874 until his death, and sold the road for a 
 large sum, in 1889, to The Panama Canal Co., obtaining $4.000,000 for 15,000 shares. 
 Mrs. Park died in 1875, an d in 1882, Mr. Park married Ella, daughter of A. C. Nichols 
 of San Francisco. Three children were born to him, Trenor L. Park, Eliza, wife of 
 Gen. John G. McCullough and Laura Hall, wife of F. B. Jennings of Jersey City. Mr. 
 Park was a public spirited citizen. He founded an art gallery at the University of 
 Vermont and presented Bennington with a free library and a home for destitute children. 
 JAflES HENRY PARKER, H. D., born in Johnston count}*, N. C , Jan. 4, 1843, is 
 a son of Matthew Parker, a planter. He enlisted in the Confederate army at the age of 
 nineteen and resigned a commission as lieutenant, in 1864, to become a county clerk. 
 After a short experience in business in Beulah and Fremont, he studied medicine and 
 practiced for two years, but the profession did not satisfy him and, in 1870, he removed 
 to Charleston, S. C., where he soon took a prominent place as cotton factor and mer- 
 chant of naval stores. In 1882, he came to New York and carried on a cotton and 
 commission business with success, serving for two years as president of the Cotton 
 Exchange. In 1890, Dr. Parker was elected vice-president of The National Park Bank 
 and brought the institution a large Southern business. In 1891, The United States 
 National Bank called him to its presidency and he is yet at its head. Dr. Parker is a 
 gentleman of high standing and integrity, popular and public-spirited. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Manhattan, Tuxedo, New York, and New York Athletic clubs and The 
 Southern Society, and has been president of the latter as well as president of the Con- 
 federate Veterans' Camp for one year. 
 
 ELEAZAR PARMLY, dentist, often called "the father of American dentistry," 
 born in Braintree, Vt., March 13, 1797, died in New York, Dec. 13, 1874. He was the 
 son of Eleazar Parmly, a farmer of more than ordinary ability and of considerable 
 mechanical skill, who presented each of his daughters at their marriage with a set of 
 furniture made by his own hands. Like his neighbors in the quiet town of his birth, 
 Dr. Parmly was of English Puritan descent. Educated in the district schools, an apt 
 student and mature for his years, he was himself at the age of sixteen a candidate for 
 the position of district school teacher and passed the examination so successfully that 
 the School Board voted him extra compensation, in spite of his youth. After one year 
 of teaching, an experience which he always regarded as the crisis of his career because 
 it convinced him that w-hatever he did must be done thoroughly, he went to Montreal 
 and served in a newspaper office as a compositor and general assistant. 
 
 Soon afterward, he joined his brother, Levi S. Parmly, a young dentist living in 
 Boston, and acquired a thorough knowledge of the profession. Later, the two brothers 
 practiced successfully in the South, traveling from city to city, from Louisville to New 
 Orleans. During this tour, Dr. Parmly met with many interesting experiences, one of 
 which indicated his character and determination. After attending a ball, one evening, 
 he was escorting a lady to her home, when he was jostled on the staircase by a young 
 man prominent in local society. Dr. Parmly did not submit tamely to this insult. He 
 was tall, athletic, and finely proportioned, and the aggressor received a severe blow in 
 punishment. The following day, Dr. Parmly received a challenge. Turning to the 
 gentlemen who had brought the challenge, he said: "You are as well aware as I am 
 that your friend's conduct was unwarranted and unjustifiable. B}- bringing me this 
 note, you have made yourself a participator in his insolence. I propose to thrash you 
 
496 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 with your own cane, and if your friend will call I'll thrash him also, after which I am 
 entirely willing to fight a duel with him." Whereupon, the young Vermonter seized 
 his visitor's cane, administered a sound drubbing and put him out of the house, after 
 which he sought the nearest magistrate to report what he had done Instead of placing 
 him under arrest, the judge looked admiringly at him, patted him on the shoulder and 
 said: " Young man, you did right. You are perfectly safe in this city from this time." 
 
 In 1821, the two brothers went to Europe, studying in Paris and London under 
 the most famous dental surgeons. After a year or .two in London, where he quickly 
 attained prominence, continued poor health led Mr. Parmly back to America. He 
 settled permanently in New York city, and for half a century stood at the head of his 
 profession in the metropolis. During his later years, Dr. Parmly gratified his literary 
 tastes by addresses and essays on professional and other subjects. He possessed from 
 his earliest years a maturity of thought and an earnestness of purpose which contributed 
 in large measure to his success, and he never regarded work as complete unless 
 perfectly done. His large income was shrewdly invested in real estate in New York 
 during the period of greatest municipal growth and his property became very valuable. 
 He married Ann Maria V. Smith of Charleston, S. C., Aug. 22, 1827. The children 
 living to maturity were : Anna Ehrick, wife of Theodore P. Rossiter and now deceased ; 
 Ehrick Parmly; Mary Montagu, wife of Charles H. Ward; Julia, wife of Frederick 
 Billings, and Louisa C., who died in 1845. 
 
 WILLIAfl HENRY PARSONS, manufacturer, was born July 7, 1831, on Staten 
 Island, N. Y. His father, Edward Lamb Parsons, member of an old family of War- 
 wickshire, England, came to America, when about twenty-one years of age. His 
 mother was of New England descent on the paternal side and Dutch through the 
 maternal line. Educated in Rye, N. Y., and prevented by ill health from taking a 
 collegiate course, Mr. Parsons began life at the age of twenty -four in the office of the 
 agents of an English shipping house. About two years later, he secured a clerkship in 
 a paper warehouse and became a partner a year afterward, establishing his own inde- 
 pendent business two years after that. During his first few years in business, he was 
 compelled to work very hard, often from twelve to fifteen hours per day, and was not 
 especially successful. Feeling that the paper business was one of the staple industries 
 of the country, however, he determined, if it were possible, to secure success. During 
 1857, with other merchants, he experienced great difficulty in meeting his obligations, 
 but was able to do so as they matured and has done so up to the present time. Up to 
 about 1880, Mr. Parsons sold paper on commission, and then became satisfied that 
 business tended in the direction of bringing the consumer into closest alliance with the 
 producer, whereupon he became interested in the manufacture of paper. In 1891, the 
 firm of W. H. Parsons & Co. was changed into a corporation of the same name, the 
 stockholders being mainly members of Mr. Parsons's family. He is now president of 
 The Lisbon Falls Fibre Co. , Lisbon Falls, Me.; The Bowdoin Paper Manufacturing 
 Co., Brunswick, Me., and of W. H. Parsons & Co., Maine and New York; director of 
 The Pejepscot Paper Co. , Pejepscot, Me., and trustee of The Bowery Savings Bank 
 of New York city. A man of enterprising and active spirit, he is also associated with 
 other institutions, and is president of The National League for the Protection of Ameri- 
 can Institutions, vice president of the Board of Trade and Transportation, member of 
 the Chamber of Commerce, and one of the managers of the Presbyterian Board of 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PE. 497 
 
 Publication and Sabbath School Work of Philadelphia, president of The Westchester 
 County Bible Society and the Apawamis club of Rye ; trustee of the American Yacht 
 club, and member of the Atlantic Yacht, Metropolitan and City clubs of New York. 
 In October, 1857, Mr. Parsons married Laura C., daughter of John Palmer, who was 
 the son of Judge Palmer of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. His wife was a 
 lineal descendant of Gov. Bradford, first Governor of Connecticut, and of Miles Stand- 
 ish She died in April, 1893. He has had five children: W. H. Parsons, jr., Matilda, 
 wife of Davis S. Cowles, Marselis Clark, John Palmer and Margaret Rainsford Parsons. 
 DENTON PEARSALL, banker, born at Hempstead, L. I., about 1810, died in 
 Westchester, N. Y., April 6, 1879. He was a son of Benjamin Pearsall, a carpenter of 
 Rockaway, L. I. The young man came to New York in 1812 and engaged himself as 
 apprentice to Henry Astor, brother of John Jacob Astor, in a butcher's stall in the old 
 Fly Market at the foot of Maiden Lane. Mr. Astor moved to more commodious 
 quarters in Fulton Market when it was first opened. Mr. Pearsall remained with him 
 until 1833, when, having attained his majority, he started in the same business for 
 himself. He soon created an excellent trade and supplied large quantities of meat and 
 provisions to the best families in the city and the packet and steamship lines, sailing 
 from the port. One of his principal patrons was the famous Collins line of steamships, 
 the American rival of the Cunard line. His trade finally extended to the wholesale 
 business. About 1855, Mr. Pearsall retired from mercantile life to devote himself to 
 other affairs. In 1847, with Jesse Marshall and others he had started The Bowery 
 Bank, and in 1857, he became one of the founders of The Manhattan Life Insurance 
 Co. In 1852, he helped organize The Second Avenue Railroad Co., serving as its 
 president 1852-56, and securing the charter for the first bridge over the Harlem at 
 Second avenue. He also bore a part in the foundation of The Stuyvesant Fire Insur- 
 ance Co., of which he was a director until his death. About 1852, he took a prominent 
 part in organizing The Manhattan Savings Institution, becoming a director, and he also 
 sat in the directorate of The Bowery Fire Insurance Co. He was best known as presi- 
 dent of The Butchers' & Drovers' Bank on the Bowery, of which, becoming a director 
 in 1864, he succeeded Mr. Perrin in the presidency in 1876, holding the office until his 
 death. He was a large owner of stock in his different organizations and of valuable 
 real estate in this city. He also owned a tract of land in Westchester county, adjacent 
 to what is now Morris Park, which has attained high value in consequence of the 
 growth of New York city. In 1834, he married Elizabeth Underbill of Westchester, 
 and lived first on 2d street, fronting toward the Marble Cemetery. About 1850, he 
 bought a large property in Westchester and removed thereto. His children now living 
 are Denton, Charles Benjamin, D'Anjou and George H. Pearsall, Mrs. Mary Louise 
 Baisley, Mrs. Esther E. Sparks, Mrs. Margaret A. Humphreys, Sarah A., wife of 
 Patrick H. Fay, and Nora E. Pearsall. Mrs. Pearsall died Nov. 28, 1889. 
 
 GEORGE L. PEASE, manufacturer, born in June, 1835, in Painesville, O., died 
 Feb 25, 1895, in Brooklyn, N. Y. When he was about nine years old, the family 
 moved to Detroit, Mich. First a teacher in New York State, and then a civil engineer, 
 he saved about $500, and inherited $300 more, and lost it all in a speculation, thereby 
 gaining a lesson which he never forgot. Returning to Detroit, he entered the station- 
 ery business as clerk for his father, became a partner, bought his father's interest, and 
 organizing the business as The Detroit Paper Co., carried it on with success for a num- 
 
498 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 ber of years. In 1868, he came to New York and entered into partnership with Wil- 
 liam B. Boorum, for the manufacture of blank books and stationery, disposing of his 
 interests in Detroit about two years later. The New York venture was successful and 
 for years the house has been prosperous and widely known. In January, 1892, the 
 business was incorporated as The Boorum & Pease Co., with a capital of $750,000, 
 although so far as ownership is concerned it remained practically a partnership. Mr. 
 Pease was president of the company. The large factory is in Brooklyn. Mr. Pease 
 was a director of The Washington Trust Co. , The Shoe & Leather National Bank, 
 The People's Trust Co., The Wallabout Bank and The Keith Paper Co., and a member 
 of The Ohio Society, and of several charities, as well as president of The Stationers' 
 Board of Trade. His wife and one daughter, Mrs. Allan McNaughtan survived him. 
 
 WILLIAfl A. PEHBROOK, merchant, was a man of large build and fine personal 
 appearance. Composed in manner, shrewd, kindly and judicious in speech, he pos- 
 sessed great energy of mind, and was the soul of honor in business transactions and 
 distinguished through life by a loyalty to principle, which won the unqualified regard 
 of every associate and friend. 
 
 He was born in the township of Shrewsbury, N. J., Dec. 9, 1833. After receiving 
 a fair education in the local schools in the neighboring villages of Keyport and Shrews- 
 bury, he found himself compelled to begin the battle of life, and having a small capital, 
 he started in business for himself at the age of twenty, with a dry goods store in Key- 
 port. There, early in life, he not only acquired an excellent acquaintance with the 
 retail branch of the dry goods business, but developed a character in which shrewdness, 
 tact, absolute integrity and untiring energy were the leading traits. Five years later, 
 he accepted the position of salesman in the dry goods house of Turbell, Jennings & 
 Co. , of New York city. His duties to this firm compelled him for a while to live in 
 the city. He soon became a trusted employe" of the firm and was selected by them for 
 the work of disposing of the stock of a retail dry goods store in Raritan, N. J., in which 
 the firm had an interest. To Raritan, therefore, he repaired to discharge this duty. 
 
 It was while in Raritan that Mr. Pembrook met Miss Sarah Crane Kenyon. Their 
 acquaintance led to a deep attachment, and the couple were married at the residence 
 of David P. Kenyon, father of the bride, in Raritan, Dec. i, 1858. This union brought 
 to his side a most excellent woman, who proved a strong inspiration to him to do his 
 best in life. They have had two children, both sons. One, William Augustus, was 
 born April 14, 1860, and died in the fourth year of his age. The other, Theodore K. 
 Pembrook, born in 1863, now succeeds his father in business. 
 
 In the spring of 1860, Mr. Pembrook established his residence in the city of Eliza- 
 beth. He was fond of his native State, and while he often spent a winter in New York 
 city at some one of the better hotels, yet even in the days of his subsequent great pros- 
 perity, he was never tempted to establish his permanent home among the fascinations 
 of the metropolis. 
 
 In 1863, he entered the dry goods house of George A. Weeks & Co., as one of their 
 leading salesmen. Understanding the principles of success, and moved by natural im- 
 pulse to be thorough in his work, he showed himself remarkably attentive to the busi- 
 ness and familiarized himself as speedily as possible with the methods of the wholesale 
 trade, becoming a successful salesman. His high qualities both as a merchant and a 
 man finally attracted the attention of John H. and George D. Sweetser, and they invited 
 
500 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 him into a partnership with them in the same business. This offer he accepted, and, 
 in 1868, Sweetser, Pembrook & Co. began their career. Now established in business 
 on his own account, Mr. Pembrook threw his whole energy into the development of 
 the trade of his firm. He was thoroughly practical and an excellent judge of the needs 
 of the times, proved a most valuable partner, and his active life of twenty-five years 
 resulted in his firm becoming one of the most prominent and successful in the city. 
 The beginning was small, but progress was rapid, sales increased, a larger store became 
 an imperative necessity, and finally, moving to 374-8 Broadway, the firm took possession 
 of the large building, which has ever since been their home. Each one of the partners 
 has since then amassed a fortune. 
 
 A man of active nature must always be interested in public affairs, and this was 
 true of Mr. Pembrook, although he cared nothing for office. His advice was constantly 
 sought in the local affairs of Elizabeth, and he consented once, much against his own 
 wish, to serve as Alderman in the Common Council of the city and was handsomely 
 elected. At the end of his term, he firmly declined any further political honors, and 
 although strongly urged at different times to accept the nominations of Mayor and 
 State Senator, he was unable to oblige his constituents in the matter. He was never- 
 theless greatly interested in the municipal affairs of Elizabeth and did much to pro- 
 mote the prosperity of the city. Local charities and philanthropic institutions received 
 marked benefits from his liberality, and he became one of the especial supporters of 
 The Elizabeth Hospital and The Elizabeth Orphan Asplum. He joined the First 
 Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth as a member at an early period in his residence 
 and served as a Bible teacher in its Sabbath School. 
 
 Much of his leisure time was devoted to the order of Free Masons, of which he was 
 an enthusiastic member. He was admitted to Solomon's Lodge, of Somerville, N. J., 
 Feb. i, 1859. Dec. 17, 1862, he transferred his membership by demission to Washing- 
 ton Lodge, of Elizabeth. In this body, he was elected successively to Junior Warden, 
 Senior Warden, and in 1867 and 1868 Master of the Lodge. His reputation as a 
 worker and his impressive manner as a speaker and officer led to his selection as 
 Grand Master of New Jersey in 1874 and 1875. He first entered the Grand Lodge 
 in 1867, and is remembered as one of the most energetic and devoted workers in 
 that field. He served his order in many ways. In 1874, the Grand Lodge of Vir- 
 ginia appointed him its representative near the Grand Lodge of New Jersey, and in 
 1876 he received a similar appointment from Dakota. In 1877, the trustees of the 
 Grand Lodge elected him their chairman and he served in that capacity for five 
 years. From 1883 until his death, he was a member of the important Committee on 
 Jurisprudence and Charity of the Grand Lodge and chairman of the committee from 
 1885 In 1887, he reported a manual for ceremonies in both the local and Grand 
 Lodges, which had been, by appointment, laboriously prepared by him, and which 
 has been considered for its beauty, simplicity and force second to none in the country. 
 
 Mr. Pembrook joined the Merchants' club in New York city but was not attracted 
 by club life, and joined no other organizations of this class. He was a supporter of 
 The Metropolitan Museum of Art in this city. 
 
 He died Sept. 5, 1893, widely regretted. 
 
 FOSTER PETTIT, -capitalist, born in Hempstead, Long Island, April n, 1812, 
 died in Brooklyn, Jan. 8, 1894. He was a modest but meritorious citizen of Brooklyn 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PH 501 
 
 and owed his marked prosperity to his own honest and judicious endeavors. His formal 
 education, obtained at the village school, was widened later by two years of teaching in 
 the school in which he had been a student. At the age of twenty-two, he became a 
 night watchman at Fulton Market in New York city. Prompt, energetic and honest, 
 he won the regard and confidence of the market men, and his ambition was clearly 
 shown by the admirable use of his time between the hours of w T ork. Study of the best 
 books and determined labor qualified him soon to rise to a higher plane. By denying 
 himself luxuries, he saved a few hundred dollars, and, in 1845, engaged in business for 
 himself in a modest restaurant at the corner of Wall and Water streets. The market 
 men came to him and by 1854, he was enabled to erect a building of his own at No. 136 
 Water street, and here for thirty-seven years he conducted a successful business, from 
 which he retired in 1890. He invested his means mainly in securities and real estate in 
 Brooklyn. In 1834, Mr. Pettit married Clarissa, daughter of Stephen C. Bedell, of 
 Hempstead, Long Island, a farmer, and their children are Stephen B. , Carolina A., and 
 Winfield Pettit, all of whom are living. He was vice president of The Fulton Bank; a 
 director in several insurance companies ; at one time supervisor from the Fifth Ward of 
 Brooklyn, being defeated for re-election because the local ring could not use him ; a life 
 member of The Young Men's Christian Association, a member of The Long Island His- 
 torical Society and The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, a stockholder in The 
 Academy of Music, and a member of the Washington Avenue Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. The Pettit Memorial Mission on Park avenue was improved and entirely 
 freed from debt by him. Mr. Pettit was in many ways a remarkable character, earnest, 
 ceaseless in activity, an early riser, persevering, and an excellent judge of men. 
 
 ISAAC NEWTON PHELPS, a distinguished merchant and banker, born in Wind- 
 sor. Conn., Feb. 22, 1802, died in Saratoga Springs, N. Y., Aug. i, 1888. He was a 
 son of Joseph Phelps, a farmer. The young man attended Dr. McClure's school in 
 early boyhood and entered a general country store in Suffield, Conn. , as a clerk. Dili- 
 gence, application and good character commended him from the start to his employer, 
 who, however, in accordance with the practice of the times, paid him no salary at first, 
 upon the ground that a thorough education in business principles was sufficient com- 
 pensation. This experience taught Mr. Phelps the habit of careful economy and de- 
 veloped his manliness and self reliance. At the end of eight years, he received $120 for 
 his services and the offer of partnership, which he accepted. 
 
 Nov. 10, 1828, Mr. Phelps was united in marriage to Sarah Maria, daughter of 
 Sylvester Lusk, of Enfield, Conn. , and then, removing to New York city, he entered 
 upon a career of phenomenal success, which soon lifted him into the front rank among 
 the business men of the city. Having established himself in the hardware business, he 
 prosecuted this occupation with great energy for a number of years, first with Mr. 
 Pickering as a partner, later with William Sheldon, and finally alone. For a time, he 
 lived in the city of Brooklyn, but finally transferred his home to New York city. 
 
 Retiring from mercantile pursuits in 1853, he then established a banking and 
 brokerage office at No. 45 Wall street in partnership with John J. Phelps, a merchant 
 of reputation. Well known among the substantial business men of the city, they trans- 
 acted a large and profitable business. In 1858, his partner withdrew but Mr. Phelps 
 continued alone until 1879, when the famous banking firm of Phelps, Stokes & Co. was 
 formed by him. At that time, James Stokes and Anson Phelps Stokes, the latter Mr. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PH. 503 
 
 Phelps' son-in-law, were his associates. Six years later, James Stokes died and this led 
 to a dissolution of the firm. Thereafter, Mr. Phelps gave his attention to private in- 
 terests. One of his favorite investments was real estate, of which he was a large owner. 
 The reputation of Mr. Phelps as a business man came from his spotless character, 
 persistent application, tireless energy, and excellent judgment. He was noted as one 
 of the best judges of financial standing and the soundness of a business enterprise in 
 Wall street. Strong in his convictions, quiet, firm and decisive in negotiation, pos- 
 sessing a clear mind and excellent memory, regular in his habits and liberal in his 
 charities, he was an excellent type of the men who have made New York the metropolis 
 of the nation. A man of this stamp is always greatly sought after for positionsof trust 
 and it fell to his lot to be an active spirit and the largest stockholder in The United 
 States Trust Co.; a founder of The Mercantile and The Second National Banks; and 
 a director of The Central, The United States, and The Metropolitan Trust Co's, The 
 United States Life Insurance Co. , The Mercantile Fire Insurance Co. , and The Second 
 National and Mercantile National Banks. He had in addition large interests in rail- 
 roads and manufactures, and at one time sat in the directorate of The New York & 
 Erie Railroad. In politics, he espoused the Republican faith and joined the Union 
 League club early in the history of that historic organization. An affable man and 
 fond of the society of a small circle of chosen friends, he took delight in his later years 
 in discussing reminiscences of the early days of the city. With his family, he attended 
 the Brick Presbyterian Church. 
 
 By his first wife, Mr. Phelps was the father of Helen Louisa, the wife of Anson Phelps 
 Stokes, who survived him, and of Sarah, now deceased, who married the late Henry L. 
 Ring, of Albany. His second wife, whom he married in 1874, was Mrs. Anna Frances 
 Maullin, of Troy, N. Y. 
 
 ROYAL PHELPS, merchant, born in Sempronious, Cayuga county, N. Y., March 
 30, 1809, died in this city, July 30, 1884. He was descended from English ancestors, 
 who settled at Westfield, Mass , about 1670. His mother was a daughter of Col. John 
 Spofford of Tinmouth, Vt., and his father a Presbyterian clergyman of Lowville, N. Y., 
 and greatly respected there. Misfortune befell the parents when the lad was fourteen, 
 and he was sent to the house of his grandfather at Lowville. Shortly afterward, he 
 was placed under the care of General Northrup with the intention of making him a 
 tanner, but he did not like the business and ran away, when fifteen, coming to New 
 York. Aided by an old friend of his father, he attended commercial school for a few 
 months and then went to Santa Cruz in the West Indies, where he remained for a year 
 or two, going thence to the republic of Colombia. At Puerto Cabello, after a long 
 apprenticeship as clerk, he finally engaged in business on his own account. By 1840, a 
 large trade had been created with connections in the United States and Europe, and 
 Mr. Phelps finally became a partner in an old house in La Guayra. His correspondents 
 in New York, the merchants Maitland, established about 1796, invited him in 1847 to 
 come to this city and undertake the management of their business. He accepted, 
 whereupon the name of the firm was changed to Maitland, Phelps & Co. The rest of 
 his life was spent in New York city in the management of this house. A capable 
 merchant, he rose to a very high position. Mr. Phelps held many positions of trust, 
 but always under protest because he wished to give his entire time to his own business. 
 In 1849, he was elected to the Chamber of Commerce and in 1855 he became first vice 
 
504 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 president for seven years, refusing re-election. He was also a trustee of The Royal 
 Insurance Co. from 1857, and of The Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co. from 1858; presi- 
 dent of The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary, 1866-84; president of The New York 
 Association for the Protection of Game, 1867-77; trustee of The Roosevelt Hospital 
 after 1866 and vice president from 1875; member of the executive committee of The 
 Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, from 1872, and a trustee of Greenwood 
 Cemetery from 1878. A Union Democrat, he accepted a seat in the Legislature by 
 election in 1862 but refused renomination to any other political office. To his 
 energy, this city owes the erection of the statue of Washington on the steps of the Sub- 
 Treasury in Wall street. In 1835, he married a lady of Spanish descent in Puerto 
 Cabello by whom he had one daughter, who, in 1856, married John Lee Carroll of 
 Maryland, Governor of that State, 1876-80. In 1872, Mrs. Phelps died in New York. 
 
 WILLIAM PICKHARDT, a merchant in this city for nearly thirty years, originated 
 in Burghausen, Germany, Oct. 22, 1834, and died in the city of Cologne, June 23, 
 1895. He studied architecture in youth and might have followed a profession, had not 
 the death of his father led him to change his mind. When of age, he made a visit to 
 New York city and remained here in association with Frederick Brett & Co. , importers 
 of dye stuffs, colors and chemicals. In 1867, he returned to Germany for a time, but 
 soon returned to New York and in 1871, formed a partnership with Adolph Kuttroff, 
 under the name of Wm. Pickhardt & Kuttroff, to import foreign colors and dyes. 
 Although neither of the associates had much capital at the beginning of their career, 
 they were men of sterling character and good ability and experienced little difficulty 
 in creating a profitable trade, About 1878, a highly advantageous arrangement was 
 made, whereby the firm became the American agents of the Badische Aniline & Soda 
 Fabrik, a German corporation and the largest producer of aniline dyes in Europe. 
 This relation is yet maintained. Mr. Pickhardt had the faculty of making friends and 
 was greatly respected. He belonged to the Chamber of Commerce, the Manhattan 
 club, the Liederkranz and other societies, and was married to Miss Beresford Strong of 
 County Wicklow, Ireland, by whom he had several children. He was fond of 'a good 
 horse and bred fine animals at a farm at Schroon Lake, N. Y. Several of the horses 
 of his stud, which he called the Walbrook, have excellent records. Mr. Pickhardt's 
 experience in building a house on Fifth avenue at 74th street attracted attention for 
 twenty years. Resolved to surpass the marble mansion of the late A. T. Stewart, he 
 selected a plan after an international competition among architects, caused a foundation 
 to be excavated forty feet deep and a well to be dug designed to operate a $50,000 
 organ, which he imported, and brought brownstone and other materials for the house 
 from Germany, the cornerstone coming from his native town of Burghausen. Many 
 changes were made in the plans and at one time two stories were torn down to be re- 
 placed in accordance with a different design. The great mansion was finally com- 
 pleted, but Mr. Pickhardt did not like it and never lived in it. although it had cost him 
 over $1,000,000, and, by his orders, it was sold in February, 1895, for $472,500. 
 
 HENRY EVELYN PIERREPONT, realty owner and a public spirited citizen, was 
 born Aug. 8, 1808, in Brooklyn, in a house famous as the headquarters of Washington 
 and from which the order of retreat from Long Island was given. It was then known 
 as the Cornell mansion but was bought by Mr. Pierrepont's father in 1803. He was the 
 second son and one of the large family of Hezekiah Beers and Anna M. Constable 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PI. 505 
 
 Pierrepont and was educated in New York at the school of Louis Bancel, a French 
 emigre. While traveling abroad in 1837, knowing that Brooklyn was soon to be 
 mapped as a city, he visited several places to study the best arrangement and, on his 
 return, acted as one of the committee to lay out the streets and squares of the city. 
 His plan included a park on the heights near the river and a cemetery on Gowanus 
 Hills. Being unable to carry out his plans for the cemetery at that time, he continued 
 them as a private enterprise and succeeded at last with the help of his friends in found- 
 ing Greenwood, of which at the time of his death he was the president. Devoting his 
 time to the settlement of his father's estate and to the improvement of his native city, 
 he built a home on nearly the site of the old mansion, in which he lived until his death, 
 March 28, 1888. He filled in and opened Furman street and then built the warehouses 
 known as the Pierrepont Stores. In order that Brooklyn might have proper ferry facil- 
 ities, he labored long and brought about the incorporation of The Union Ferry Co. , of 
 which he became vice president. It is an interesting fact that he was a direct descend- 
 ant of Cornelis Dircksen of Peck Slip, who in 1638, established with row boats the first 
 regular ferry between New York and Brooklyn. Mr. Pierrepont inherited means from 
 his father, who was a successful merchant in the foreign trade and the owner of a large 
 amount of realty in Brooklyn and of wild lands in the northern part of this State. This 
 patrimony was greatly increased by his own judicious endeavors. As director and 
 stockholder, he was interested in all the important local corporations of Brooklyn, in- 
 cluding The Brooklyn Savings Bank, The Brooklyn Trust Co , The Long Island His- 
 torical Society, The Brooklyn Library, The Brooklyn Hospital, The Church Charity 
 Foundation, The Academy of Music, the Brooklyn club, The Art Association, etc. He 
 was a member and senior warden of Grace Church (Episcopal) in Brooklyn and treas- 
 urer for over twenty years of the General Theological Seminar}- in New York city. 
 He married in 1841, Anna M., daughter of Peter A. Jay of New York, son of Chief 
 Justice John Jay, and had a family of three sons and three daughters, including Henry 
 E. and John Jay Pierrepont. 
 
 JAiiES ROBERTSON PITCHER, insurance manager, the son of Dorlon H. 
 Pitcher, tanner of sole leather, and Philira Robertson, his wife, was born in Windham, 
 X. Y.. near the Catskill Mountains, March 5, 1845. His paternal ancestors came from 
 England, the maternal line originating in Glasgow, Scotland. Educated in Whitestone 
 Seminary and deprived of his father by death in 1857, the young man at the age of 
 eighteen entered the office of the firm in which his father had been interested and 
 became a clerk, bookkeeper and manager. In 1866, he sold his interest and came to 
 Xt-\v York city. He found occupation for two years as salesman for H. B. Claflin & 
 Co., and later junior partner for thirteen years in a wholesale clothing house. In 
 . he originated and founded The United States Mutual Accident Association. 
 During the early stages of this enterprise, Mr. Pitcher performed all the clerical work 
 himself. He promoted with energy' the novel idea upon which the form of accident 
 insurance was based, which, by the way, originated with himself, and the company 
 finally took its place as a prosperous and important concern. Large quarters are now 
 occupied and a large force of clerks employed. He finally sold his interest for 
 upward of $1,000,000 cash. He was one of the first incorporators and directors of The 
 Lawyers' Surety Co. and The Merchants' Credit & Guarantee Co., and has made his 
 way from a modest beginning with energy. He is now president of The Cachiri Co. 
 
506 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and a large investor in real estate also. At Short Hills, N. J., where he lives, he owns 
 about seven hundred acres of land, a nursery and fifty greenhouses. The latter grew 
 out of~Mr. Pitcher's love of orchids and other flowers but are now conducted as a 
 commercial enterprise by Pitcher & Manda. In 1870, Mr. Pitcher married Helen K. . 
 Sweet, and their five children are Bessie K., Julia K., Georgiana, Philira Robertson 
 and James Robertson Pitcher. Though residing out of town, Mr. Pitcher is a loyal 
 citizen of New York in all essentials and is a popular member of the Players', Man- 
 hattan, Merchants', and Tuxedo clubs, as well as of the Essex County Country club. 
 
 HENRY BRADLEY PLANT, president of the Plant System of railway and steam- 
 ship lines and of The Southern and The Texas Express Go's, was born in the pleasant 
 village of Branford, Conn., Oct. 27, 1819. His ancestors, who were among the early 
 settlers of Connecticut, came from England about 1636. The subject of this sketch 
 is a direct descendant of John Plant, the pioneer, and that branch of the family has, 
 lived continuously in the town of Branford, Conn., the Plants being intelligent, indus- 
 trious farmers, orthodox in faith, upright in character, and useful citizens in their 
 respective days and generations. Mr. Plant's great grandfather on his father's side was. 
 attached to Washington's army as a private when that general was stationed at New- 
 burgh, and was one of the guard of the unfortunate Major Andre at the time of his. 
 execution. His great grandfather on his grandmother's side was a major in Washing- 
 ton's army at the same time. 
 
 Mr. Plant's education was a limited one, confined largely to the common schools, 
 and to private instructions from the late Rev. Timothy P. Gillette, Congregational 
 clergyman, and was finished at the Lancasterian school of New Haven under the- 
 tuition of the late John E. Lovell. In 1837, he entered the service of The New 
 Haven Steamboat Co., and was shortly afterward placed in charge of the express, 
 business upon the steamboats between New York and New Haven and upon The New 
 York & New Haven Railroad after its completion between these two places. Mr. 
 Plant liked the freedom of this life and imbibed therefrom the spirit of adventure 
 which has since tinged all his life. He remained in charge of the business until the 
 formation of The Adams Express Co., when he went South. In the autumn of 1854, he 
 was appointed superintendent of the Southern division of The Adams Express Co., with 
 headquarters at Augusta, Ga. , and was also made superintendent of Harnden's Express. 
 
 In 1842, Mr. Plant married Ellen Elizabeth Blackstone, daughter of the Hon. 
 James Blackstone, and has only one child living, Morton F. Plant, -who is associated 
 with his father as his assistant, vice president of The Southern Express Co. and vice 
 president and manager of The Canada Atlantic & Plant Steamship Co. Mr. Plant's 
 first wife died in 1861, and he was remarried in 1873 to Margaret Josephine Loughman, 
 only daughter of Martin Loughman of New York city. 
 
 Until 1 86 1, Mr. Plant had charge of the Southern division of The Adams Express. 
 Co., and in that year organized The Southern Express Co., of which he has since been 
 president continuously. In the autumn of 1863, in consequence of failing health, he 
 received from the President of the Confederate States a passport and permission to 
 leave the South by whatever route he might select. Sailing from Wilmington, N. C., 
 the same year, in the ship Hansa, he went to the Bermudas, thence to Europe, where 
 he passed a year, and in the autumn of 1864, with health restored, he returned and re- 
 sumed charge of the express business in the South. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PL. 507 
 
 In 1867, he became president of The Texas Express Co. and has held the position 
 up to the present time. When in 1854 Mr Plant first visited Florida for the sake of 
 his invalid wife, access to Jacksonville could be had only by steamboat up St. John's 
 river. The mild climate of that city prolonged Mrs. Plant's life for years and Mr. 
 Plant made many yearly visits thereafter to the place. He saw the need of railroads 
 in the State, but, although buying stock in various Florida and Georgia companies from 
 time to time, he could not engage in railroad enterprise actively until 1879. 
 
 In 1879, with others, Mr. Plant purchased The Atlantic & Gulf Railroad of Georgia, 
 and subsequently reorganized the company as The Savannah, Florida & Western Rail- 
 way, of which he has since been president. After this reorganization, he shortened the 
 line to Florida by constructing the road from Waycross to Jacksonville, which was fol- 
 lowed by an extension of the line by way of Live Oak to Gainesville, and from Bain- 
 bridge to Chattahoochee in Florida, connecting with The Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad. 
 Later on, the road between Thomasville and Monticello was constructed. 
 
 In 1880, Mr. Plant purchased with associates and rebuilt The Savannah & Charles- 
 ton Railroad, which had been in the courts for many years and as a property had dete- 
 riorated. He improved the rolling stock and made it a solvent concern. It is now 
 known as The Charleston & Savannah Railway. 
 
 In these enterprises, it was the purpose of Mr. Plant and his associates to extend 
 and add to the various properties, and they believed this could best be accomplished 
 under a single organization with ample powers. With this object in view, several of his 
 associates being residents of Connecticut, the birth place of Mr. Plant, a charter was 
 obtained in 1882 from the Legislature of that State and The Plant Investment Co. or- 
 ganized. Mr. Plant became president and remains such to the present time. Among 
 his associates were W. T. Walters and B. F. Newcomer of Baltimore, E. B. Haskell of 
 Boston, Henry M. Flagler and Morris K. Jesup of New York, and Lorenzo Blackstone, 
 Henry Sanford, Lynde Harrison, H. P. Hoadley and G. H. Tilley of Connecticut. 
 Since the formation of The Plant Investment Co., several properties have been acquired 
 by purchase. In 1885, they bought The South Florida Railroad, at the time running 
 only between Tampa and Kissimmee, which was changed from narrow to broad gauge 
 with an extension of the line to Port Tampa, Fla. , which is the port of entry for the 
 West India fast mail steamers (Plant Steamship line) between Port Tampa and Havana, 
 Cuba. Subsequently, the line was extended north from Lakeland to a connection with 
 the Gainesville division of The Savannah, Florida & Western Raihvay at High Springs, 
 thus completing the line from Charleston, S. C., to Port Tampa, Fla. Thereafter, the 
 company acquired, in 1887, The Brunswick & Western Railroad between Brunswick 
 and Albany, Ga.,via Waycross, which road was rebuilt; in 1889, The Alabama Midland 
 Railway from Montgomery, Ala., to Bainbridge, Ga. ; and in 1892, The Silver Springs, 
 Ocala & Gulf Railroad, extending from Ocala to Homosassa and Inverness, Fla. In 
 1893, The Tampa & Thonotosassa Railroad was constructed from Tampa to Thonoto- 
 sassa, and The Winston & Bone Valley Railroad purchased to accommodate the people 
 of the phosphate mining districts. In 1894, The Abbeville Southern Railway from 
 Abbeville, Ala., to a junction of the line of the Alabama Midland Railway was built. 
 The system has been extended in 1895 by purchase of The Florida Southern Railway 
 and The Sanford & St. Petersburg Railroad, both narrow gauge roads. Preparations 
 are being made to change them to standard gauge. 
 
508 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 In addition to the railway properties enumerated, Mr. Plant established t\vo lines 
 of steamboats, one in 1880 to run between Jacksonville and Sanford, which was discon- 
 tinued upon the completion of the railway between these two points; the other on the 
 Chattahoochee river, known as the People's line, plying between Columbus and Bain- 
 bridge, Ga. , and Apalachicola, Fla. In 1886, he established The Plant Steamship Line 
 for regular service between Port Tampa and Key West, Fla., and Havana, Cuba, under 
 contract with the United States Post Office Department for carriage of the Key West 
 and Havana mails and for occasional service between Port Tampa and the Island of 
 Jamaica, with regular service between Port Tampa and Mobile, and Port Tampa and 
 points on Manatee river. 
 
 Subsequently, the line of The Canada Atlantic Steamship Co., Ltd.. running 
 between Boston and Halifax, was acquired by purchase and chartered under the Dominion 
 Government as The Canada Atlantic & Plant Steamship Co., Ltd. In 1893, the North 
 Atlantic line of steamers was added to the line through purchase, and the route be- 
 tween Boston, Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island is now operated by the company 
 referred to. 
 
 Finding it to be desirable to furnish good accommodations to tourists and travelers 
 in Florida and en route to points beyond, the Inn was constructed at Port Tampa and 
 is kept open all the year, while the Tampa Bay palace at Tampa, known far and wide 
 as a modern wonder, and the Seminole at Winter Park, Fla. , are open for guests during 
 the winter season. 
 
 Mr. Plant's career is a remarkable example of what can be accomplished by untir- 
 ing industry and indomitable will. His enterprises have contributed largely to the 
 growth of the South and are a monument to his genius, energy and perseverance. The 
 people of Florida cheerfully acknowledge the great obligations under which they have 
 been placed by the labors of this energetic and capable man. In recent years, he has 
 made his home in New York city, spending each summer in Branford, Conn. He is a 
 member of the Union League club and The New England Society here, a man of 
 commanding appearance, genial nature, dignified and courteous manner, and as modest 
 as he is competent. 
 
 JOHN RUTHVEN PLATT, merchant, born in New York city, Oct. 18, 1820, is a 
 son of Isaac L. Platt, one of two brothers, twins, the other being Jacob S., born in 
 Freehold, Greene county, N. Y. , April 5, 1793, who came to New York city about 
 1806-7, rose to success as business men, and, among their other ventures, opened 
 Platt street and built the stores there. Isaac L. Platt was one of the founders of 
 The Chemical Bank and The Pennsylvania Coal Co. The family is an old one, 
 the name of Isaac L. Platt appearing in the original charter granted by Governor 
 Nichol to the town of Huntington, L. I. The line descends to the present generation 
 through Epenetus; Major Epenetus; Dr. Zophar (Jan. 30, 1705-Sept. 1792); Ebenezer; 
 Israel, a captain in the American Revolution; Stephen, a lieutenant in the Revolution, 
 and Isaac L. Platt. The latter married Marion E. Ruthven, and had three sons, John 
 R , Samuel R. and Isaac S. Platt. John R. Platt spent two or three years in Prime's 
 school in Sing Sing and finished his education under the tuition of Forrest & Wyckoff 
 in Warren street in this city. At the age of fourteen, he took his place in the store of 
 Stephen Conover, 327 Broadway, as a clerk, and toiled from 7 A. M. to 9 p. M. for $100 
 a year. About 1836, he found a better position with Latourette, the fur merchant, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PL. . 509 
 
 corner of Pine and Pearl streets, but when, in the crash of 1837, every one in Pearl 
 street failed, Mr. Latourette went with the rest and Mr. Platt lost his employment. 
 Joining his father then in the importation of plate and looking glass and bolting 
 cloths for flour mills, Mr. Platt stayed with him, succeeded to the business, and 
 carried it on until 1873, when he retired. After his father's death, Oct. 22, 1875, he 
 succeeded that exceedingly competent man as a director of The Pennsylvania Coal Co. , 
 and is no\v senior in term of service in the board. He is also a director of several 
 insurance companies. June 15, 1850, Mr. Platt married Mary E., daughter of Lemuel 
 Pomeroy, owner of the Copake Iron Works in Columbia county. Their two children 
 are Aurelia P., wife of William J. Cassard, and Mary A., wife of E. V. S. Pomeroy, 
 no\v resident in Nebraska. Early in life, 1838-39, Mr. Platt joined the 5th company of 
 the 27th N. Y. Art., now the 7th Inf., signing the roll in the office of Carpenter & 
 Vermilye, opposite the present Custom House. This regiment had seven companies of 
 foot, a troop of horse and park of artillery. Mr. Platt carried a flintlock musket in this 
 organization for seven years and was discharged in 1846. He was also active in the old 
 fire department, being a volunteer in No. 5 Engine Co., before he came of age, and, 
 in January, 1847, No. 36 Hose Co., composed of merchantsand merchants' clerks. He 
 was one of the originators of No. 28 Engine Co., and its foreman for several years, and 
 afterward foreman of Hose Co. No. 29, first at Fifth avenue and 2ist street and later 
 on 1 8th street. When the old companies were legislated out of existence in 1865, he 
 was president of the organization, which was continued as a beneficiary institution 
 and yet exists. He is a member of the New York Yacht club, and for twenty years 
 was treasurer of the Olympic club, the oldest in existence as a country club. 
 
 SAMUEL REYNOLDS PLATT, manufacturer, born in New York city, July 4. 
 1828, died here Dec. 2, 1884. He was a son of Isaac L. Platt. With a fair education, 
 he entered the employment of Walsh & Mallory, dealers in hardware in Pearl street, 
 while yet a young man, and later with his brother-in-law, John P. Adriance, formed 
 the firm of Adriance & Platt, for the importation of hardware. Having become inter- 
 ested in the patent for the Buckeye mo\ving machine, this branch of their business 
 proved so important that they devoted themselves entirely to the manufacture of 
 the machine, building large works at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., for the purpose. Follow- 
 ing his father's death, about 1875, Mr. Platt became largely interested in The Penn- 
 sylvania Coal Co. and was also a director in The Chemical National Bank. He was 
 an enthusiastic yachtsman, served at one time as rear commodore of the New York 
 Yacht club, owned the famous schooner Montauk, which was built for him, and made 
 several extended cruises with this boat. Mr. Platt never forgot the obligations of wealth 
 and was liberal and discriminating in his charities. He and his brother, John, joined the 
 Union League club when first organized, and were liberal in contributions to equip 
 troops raised in the city. He was also a member of the New York club. June 23, 
 1852, he married Susan A., daughter of Peter Neefus, an old merchant, and was 
 survived by one son, Furman Neefus Platt. 
 
 HENRY D. POLHEMUS, banker, who died at No. 88 Remsen street, Brooklyn, 
 Feb. 14, 1895, in his sixty-fifth year, enjoyed the honor of descent from the Rev. 
 Johannes Theodoras Polhemus, minister of the Dutch Reformed Church of Flatbush, 
 L. I., in 1654. For generations, the family lived at Flatbush upon a farm which is 
 now thickly covered with homes. Mr Polhemus was born in the old homestead in 
 
510 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Gowanus Lane, the son of Theodoras and Rebecca B. Polhemus, and was the last of 
 his line, his brothers, Theodore and Ditmas, having died before him. He grew up a 
 handsome, athletic young man and an enthusiastic lover of base ball and woodland 
 sports. He was at one time a volunteer fireman. At the usual age, Mr. Polhemus 
 entered business life in New York city in the employment of Fox & Polhemus, manu- 
 facturers of cotton duck. When he became a partner, and, later succeeded to the 
 business, he infused great spirit into the trade and carried it on with marked success. 
 As his means increased, he became by investment a director of The Long Island 
 Bank, The Brooklyn Gas Light Co., The Brooklyn Heights Railroad, The Delaware, 
 Lackawanna & Western Railroad, and other corporations. A sound, sensible, busy 
 man, loyal to the city of Brooklyn in which he dwelt, and active in promoting the 
 public welfare, he won the cordial regard of every one who knew him. He was a 
 director of the Brooklyn club twenty-seven years, vice president for three years and at 
 his death its president, as well as president of The St. Nicholas Society of Brooklyn, 
 the Cuttyhunk Fish club, vice president of the Robbins Island club, a member of 
 the Montauk, Hamilton, Germania, Riding and Driving, New York, New York Yacht 
 and Larchmont Yacht clubs, and honorary member of the Excelsior club, organized by 
 members of the Excelsior ball team, to which he once belonged, and trustee of the 
 Long Island College Hospital, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Eye and Ear 
 Hospital and The Long Island Historical Society. His wife, Caroline D. , daughter of 
 William S. Herriman, alone survived him. 
 
 EDWARD ERIE POOR, merchant and banker, is an excellent type of that class of 
 sound, prudent and progressive men, who have come to the metropolis from New Eng- 
 land, and filled so large a place in the affairs of this city. He is a native of Boston, 
 Mass., and was born Feb. 5, 1837. His father's family derives its origin in this country 
 from John Poor of Wiltshire, England, who in 1635 settled in Newbury, Mass. An 
 excellent genealogy of this family has been published by Alfred Poor of Salem, Mass. 
 The subject of this sketch is in the seventh generation of descent in the direct line from 
 John Poor. His maternal ancestor, Lieut. Francis Peabody, also an Englishman, 
 moved to the new world from Hertfordshire in 1635, settling in Ipswich, Mass., and 
 founding another important family. From him descended George Peabody, banker and 
 philanthropist, whose cousin, Jeremiah Peabody, was the grandfather of Mr. Poor. The 
 history of the Peabody family was published by David Clapp & Son of Boston, in 1867. 
 
 Graduating from the public schools of Boston, Mr. Poor entered in 1851 the dry 
 goods commission house of Read, Chadwick & Dexter on Milk street in Boston. In 
 1864, he removed to New York city and at No. 32 Barclay street opened a commission 
 dry goods house, having made such connections as insured him a trade from the start. 
 The sign over his store bore his own name only until 1865, when it was changed to 
 Denny, Jones & Poor, later to Denny, Poor & Co. Time has wrought the usual 
 changes in the personnel of the firm, but the name of Denny, Poor & Co is yet re- 
 tained at their location 114-116 Worth street, in the heart of the present wholesale dry 
 goods district, but Mr. Poor is the senior partner. A large business is transacted, re- 
 quiring the maintenance of branch stores in Boston and Chicago. The firm are agents 
 for various important manufactories in New England and The Passaic Print Works of 
 Passaic, N. J., of which latter corporation Mr. Poor is a director. 
 
 An unwritten law, based on personal character, makes the merchant who is sue- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PO. 51! 
 
 cessful in the best sense a desirable accession to the governing boards of banking 
 institutions, and Mr. Poor has been drawn into finance, as have been so many of his 
 colleagues in the wholesale dry goods trade. He was one of the incorporators of The 
 Dry Goods Bank, and a director until its voluntary liquidation. In 1888, the stockhold- 
 ers of The National Park Bank elected him a director of that famous institution. Experi- 
 ence proved him a valuable coadjutor in the board, and in 1893, he was chosen one of the 
 vice presidents of the bank. The duties of this position are by no means nominal. 
 They exact from Mr. Poor constant attention, and his best thought and his time are 
 equally divided between his financial and commercial interests. 
 
 Always a Republican in politics, Mr. Poor votes for the candidates of the party 
 when they meet with his approval, but has refused every suggestion looking to a nom- 
 ination for public office. He is pre-eminently a man of practical affairs and finds 
 enjoyment and ample scope for his ambition in their management. He has been a 
 member of the Chamber of Commerce since 1872, and of the Union League club since 
 1870. He is also a member of the Manhattan and Merchants' clubs and a life member 
 of The New England Society. 
 
 In 1859, he was married to Mary Wellington, daughter of Washington J. Lane of 
 West Cambridge, Mass. This union has brought them seven children : Edward E. 
 Poor, jr., and James Harper Poor, who are partners in their father's firm; Dr. Charles 
 Lane Poor, who, after taking the degree of Ph. D. in Johns Hopkins University, has 
 been appointed associate professor in astronomy in that institution, and has won 
 distinction by lectures and papers upon this science; Frank Ballou Poor, a banker; 
 Horace F. Poor; Helen, wife of William C. Thomas of South Carolina, and Emily 
 Clark Poor. The family make their home in town in the winter but spend the sum- 
 mers in the country or in travel. 
 
 HENRY WILLIAH POOR, banker, stock broker and author, a man thoroughly 
 American in sentiment, an authority of world wide reputation in railway matters 
 and statistics, and for character and accomplishments highly regarded, was born in 
 Bangor, Me., June 16, 1844. All of his ancestors on both sides of the family originated 
 in England and established themselves in Massachusetts in the earliest colonial times, 
 where they shared in all the activities of their day for subduing the wilderness and the 
 Indian tribes, planting a commonwealth, and creating in the new world a representative 
 form of government Ezekiel Merrill, great-grandfather of Mr. Poor on his father's 
 side, held a commission as an officer and wielded a sword bravely in the American Rev- 
 olution. He served in Colonel Gerrish's regiment, April 19, 1775, when the Minute 
 Men in New England were summoned, at the time of the Lexington alarm, to with- 
 stand the aggressions of the British troops, and had the honor to be present in the Ameri- 
 can army at the time of Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga, Oct. 17, 1777. In 1785, this 
 old Revolutioner moved to Andover, Me., situated among the mountains of Oxford 
 county near the Rangeley Lakes and there, in 1791, built the Merrill House, an old 
 homestead of the colonial style, w r hich is now owned by the subject of this biography 
 and occupied by him as one of his country seats. 
 
 Benjamin Franklin, great great uncle of Mr. Poor on his mother's side, performed 
 sen-ices in the period of the struggle for independence, which are historic and require 
 no further mention. On his mother's side, also, Mr. Poor is a grandson of the Rev. 
 John Pierce, who presided over the first parish church in Brookline, Mass., for over 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PO. 513 
 
 fifty years and was a. prominent figure in the annals of Harvard University, his picture 
 occupying a conspicuous position in Memorial Hall at Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 His father, Henry V. Poor, a graduate, in 1835, of Bowdoin College, Maine, was a 
 lawyer in Bangor, Me., until 1849, when he moved with his family to New York and 
 was well known in this city in railway affairs and as editor of The American Railroad 
 Journal, which he conducted until 1863. In 1865, he retired from active life and moved 
 to Brookline, Mass. Since then, he has become the author of various financial and sta- 
 tistical works of great value and is yet living in a hale, hearty old age, greatly respected 
 by all who know him. 
 
 Mr. Poor received a preliminary education in New York city, to which place he was 
 brought when five years old, and graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1865. 
 He entered upon the serious work of his career immediately on graduating, returning 
 to Xew York city in August of 1865, and has ever since made the metropolis his home. 
 Finding occupation at once as clerk in the then stock brokerage firm of Henry Fitch & 
 Co., he learned in that house all the technicalities of the brokerage business and soon 
 gained sufficient confidence to engage in business on his own account. Any man of 
 receptive and tenacious mind, who is inspired with the least particle of determina- 
 tion not to remain in a rut but to make his own way in the world, will in due time leave 
 a subordinate position and display to the world the sign, which announces that he is in 
 business for himself. Mr. Poor's period of probation was an unusually short one, and 
 in 1868, he established himself in business under the firm name H. V. & H. W. Poor 
 in this city as a dealer in railroad securities. He then associated with himself the Hon. 
 C. E. Habicht, Consul General of Norway and Sweden, in the importation of railroad 
 iron as correspondent of the firm of Tiden, Nordenfelt & Co., of London. Mr. Norden- 
 felt became the maker of the heavy ordnance known as the " Nordenfelt gun " for 
 the British Government. Mr. Poor's connection with this branch of the business, 
 through the necessity of keeping a record of all railway companies and new construc- 
 tion undertaken by them so that he might be the first in the field in negotiation for the 
 rails needed by them, led to the establishment by him, in 1868, of the now famous 
 annual publication known as "Poor's Railroad Manual," which has ever since filled an 
 important place in the railroad world. Embodying as it does, exhaustive financial in- 
 formation concerning every railway company on the continent, it is an absolute neces- 
 sity to every manager of an American railroad, every operator in railroad shares and 
 even- statistician and writer on economic questions and is as well known in Europe as 
 in this country. Mr. Poor gave extremely close study to the subject to which the Manual 
 was devoted, and soon rose to the position of an authority upon railroad statistics. The 
 firm of H. V. & H. W. Poor is yet in existence at No. 44 Broad street, as publishers of 
 the "Railroad Manual" and other statistical works, Henry W. Poor having been the 
 sole partner, however, since 1883. The period in which Mr. Poor made his entrance 
 into affairs was one of great activity in financial circles. The Civil War had come to 
 an end, railroad building was the order of the day, the country was animated with a 
 spirit of restless enterprise and Wall street became the centre of exciting operations. 
 The firm of H. V. & H. W. Poor prospered from year to year and undertook the 
 construction of several lines of railway, and the junior partner gradually gained the 
 capital to engage in a regular banking business. 
 
 The now well known banking firm, of which Mr. Poor is the senior partner, was 
 
514 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 organized in 1880, under the name of Anthony, Poor & Oliphant. They located their 
 office at No. 19 Broad street and attracted important clients from the start. Various 
 transmutations have since occurred in the personnel of the firm. In 1881, they organ- 
 ized as Poor, Oliphant & Co., changed to Poor & Oliphant in 1882, and taking the name 
 of Poor, White & Co., in 1883, upon the addition to it of B. Ogden White, who had been 
 for twenty years the secretary of the New York Stock Exchange. In 1884, the name 
 was again changed to Poor, White & Greenough by accession of John Greenough, a 
 classmate of Mr. Poor in Harvard College, and who formerly had been a leading 
 merchant in the South American business, in which he had accumulated a fortune. 
 
 In 1886, the name was changed to Poor & Greenough, the title of the present firm. 
 The house has always managed its affairs with prudence, energy and ability and is now 
 prominent in Wall street, both partners being rated as millionaires. It represents a 
 number of important foreign interests and corporations, has extensive English and con- 
 tinental connections, deals largely in railway and other securities, having issued upward 
 of $100,000,000 of railway loans, has borne a part in important railroad reorganizations, 
 and has acted as financial agents of The Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railway, 
 The New York, Ontario & Western Railway, The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway 
 and many other corporations. 
 
 Mr. Poor purchased a seat in the Stock Exchange, Oct. 2, 1890, and individually 
 has made investments in and been active in the management of a large number of 
 corporations, in which his counsel has been desired. He is at the present time presi- 
 dent of The Kansas City & Pacific Railway; an active director of The Missouri, Kansa 
 & Texas Railway; a director of The Bank of the State of New York, and chairman of 
 The Sherman, Shreveport & Southern Railway; and a director of The United States 
 Casualty Co., and the Consolidated Ice Co. He has also been connected at various 
 times with many other corporations in an official capacity. 
 
 Mr. Poor is a man of refined and scholarly tastes and prominent in the social life of 
 the city. He is an ardent student and a great lover of books and has, by careful and 
 gradual accumulation, collected one of the finest private libraries in the city of New- 
 York ; and he maintains his vigor for business pursuits by recreation in the open air, 
 having been distinguished in youth for prominence in athletic sports and great physical 
 strength. Among the clubs of which he is, or has been, a member are the Union 
 League, Harvard, University, Players', Tuxedo, Country, Lawyers', Down Town, Rid- 
 ing, Racquet & Tennis, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht, American Yacht, Rockaway 
 Hunting, Oval, Aldine, Grolier, Barnard, Lotos, City, Vaudeville, Arkwright, Law- 
 rence, New York Athletic and Mendelssohn Glee of this city, and the Algonquin of Bos- 
 ton. He was the first president (1894) of Good Government Club F, and is treasurer 
 of the Parmachenee club, a sporting club in Maine. By virtue of lineal descent from 
 Ezekial Merrill above referred to, he is also a member of The Sons of the American 
 Revolution in this State, and from public spirit and interest in their objects he became 
 a member of The New York Historical Society, life member of The New England So- 
 ciety and The American Institute of Fine Arts, a member of The New York Geograph- 
 ical & Statistical Society, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The American Museum 
 of Natural History and The Hakluyt Society of London. He is also a director of The 
 Symphony and Oratorio Societies and a member of The Musical Art Society. He 
 was married Feb. 4, 1880, to Constance Brandon, and is the father of four children, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PO. 515 
 
 Henry V., born 1880; Edith, born 1882; Roger, born 1883, and Sylvia, born 1892. 
 
 GEN. HORACE PORTER, orator and man of affairs, was born in Huntingdon, Pa., 
 April 15, 1837. His ancestors were long identified with the early history of Pennsyl- 
 vania. His grandfather, Andrew Porter, born in Worcester, Pa., Sept. 24, 1743, and 
 the proprietor of a scientific school in Philadelphia, left the arts of peace in 1775 to J om 
 the forces of the American Revolution, as captain of marines and then of artillery, 
 served entirely through the War, and was promoted from rank to rank until he became 
 Colonel of the 4th Continental Art., and later Brigadier General. After the War, he 
 was commissioned Major General of militia and, after service as Commissioner for sur- 
 veying the boundary lines between Pennsylvania and Virginia, declined the positions 
 of Brigadier General in the regular army and Secretary of War, tendered by President 
 Madison. David R. Porter, son of the latter, an iron master, located in Huntingdon, 
 served for a number of years in the Senate of Pennsylvania and was twice Governor of 
 the State. Horace, youngest son of David R Porter, was educated at the scientific 
 school of Harvard University and graduated from the West Point Military Academy 
 in 1860 He served in the field during the Civil War and during the four years of that 
 struggle rose through every grade of the regular army up to that of brevet Brigadier 
 General. Promotion by brevet was accorded to him on six different occasions for 
 "gallant and meritorious services." He served during the latter part of the War upon 
 General Grant's staff and as private secretary to General Grant when the latter was 
 President. Since the War, he has become conspicuous in civil life by his management 
 of important and successful business enterprises and by the display of ability in the field 
 of oratory and literature. He has been president of several railroad companies, vice- 
 president of The Pullman Car Co., and a director in a number of prominent financial 
 institutions. He is president of the Union League club, The Grant Monument Associ- 
 ation The Society of the Army of the Potomac, and The National Society of the Sons of 
 the American Revolution, commander of the New York Commandery of the Loyal Le- 
 gion and of the Washington Post, G. A. R., vice president of the Chamber of Com- 
 merce, and a member of the Metropolitan, University, Lotos, Grolier, Century, Play- 
 ers', Lawyers', and Authors' clubs of New York city, and many other organizations, 
 including geographical and historical societies. In 1894, he received the degree of 
 LL. D. from Union College. In 1864, he married Miss McHarg of Albany, and to them 
 have been born Horace M., Clarence, William and Elsie Porter. General Porter has 
 in recent years become one of the favorite after dinner and public orators of New York 
 city. He is greatly in demand and has delivered orations on many occasions of public 
 moment as well as innumerable speeches and lectures upon other occasions, social, lit- 
 erary, patriotic and commercial. He speaks several of the modern languages, and 
 among his literary works are a number of books and magazine articles, which have 
 commanded public attention. 
 
 CLARKSON NOTT POTTER, LL.D., lawyer, born in Schenectady, N. Y., April 
 25, 1824, died in New York city, Jan. 23, 1882. He was the oldest son of Alonzo 
 Potter, Bishop of Pennsylvania, and a descendant of colonists who settled at Warwick 
 Neck, R. I., in 1640. His grandfather, Joseph Potter, removed from Warwick to 
 Dutchess county, N. Y., soon after the American Revolution and represented that 
 county in the Colonial Legislative Mr. Potter graduated in 1842 from Union College, 
 . and in 1843, from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. For some time, he followed 
 
516 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 surveying in Wisconsin. He studied law in that State and after his admission to the 
 bar came to New York in 1848 to practice. He soon rose to great prominence and 
 during his last ten years practiced exclusively before the Court of Appeals and the 
 United States Supreme Court. In 1848, Mr. Potter entered politics as a Free Soil 
 Democrat, and although he held extreme State's rights views, was active in raising 
 troops during the War and aiding the soldiers. He was elected to Congress from the 
 Westchester district in 1868, 1870, 1872 and 1876. Qualities both brilliant and sound 
 made him easily a leader and he promoted with success all reform measures and 
 opposed legislation which had for its object the favoring of private or personal inter- 
 ests, including Southern war claims. Although re-nominated for Congress in 1878, he 
 declined. In 1879, he declined to be a candidate for Governor, but was nominated for 
 Lieutenant Governor and defeated by only 230 votes. At his death, he was president 
 of the National Bar Association, a member of various societies and director or trustee 
 in a number of public institutions. In appearance, he was tall, erect and well built, 
 with dignified manners. In 1873, Columbia College made him a Doctor of Laws. 
 
 ORLANDO BRONSON POTTER, LL. D., lawyer, manufacturer and financier, was 
 the author of the national banking system of the United States and a man, who, 
 beginning life without capital, rose from the farm by useful and legitimate enterprise 
 and the exercise of an indomitable determination to great prosperity and influence. 
 
 The founders of the family were Puritan pioneers of New England. John Potter, 
 the emigrant ancestor, was born in England in 1607 and came to the New Haven 
 Colony in 1638, signing the "Plantation Covenant" of June 4, 1639. Samuel Potter, 
 Orlando's father, was born in Hamden, grew to young manhood in Northford, New 
 Haven county, Conn., and removed to Charlemont, Mass., in 1819, transporting his 
 effects thither with the aid of two ox teams. Settling upon a farm, he was married 
 soon afterward to Miss Sophia Rice, a descendant of Edmund Rice, who came from 
 Barkhamstead, England, in 1638, and became a resident of Sudbury, Mass. Moses 
 Rice, her great grandfather, the first settler and principal proprietor of the town of 
 Charlemont, was killed by Indians in 1755, while defending a fort he had built to protect 
 the settlement. 
 
 Orlando B. Potter, the third of ten children, was born in Charlemont, Suffolk 
 county, Mass., March 10, 1823. During his early life, he found occupation in the work 
 of the farm and for six years was virtually manager of the farm, his father being absent 
 a large part of the time on public business. The lad acquired his powerful physique 
 and unfailing good health during those early years of cultivation of the soil. Every 
 fall and winter, he attended the country school and in 1841 entered Williams College. 
 For two years, he was one of the foremost students in his class, but ill health and lack 
 of funds compelled him to withdraw in his sophomore year. Mr. Potter experienced 
 more than ordinary hardship in gaining his start in life. A commonplace man would 
 have been turned back by the difficulties which confronted him, but he was resolved 
 to succeed and persevered in spite of all obstacles. After a short mackerel fishing 
 trip for the benefit of his health, he taught school for a while in the academies of East 
 and West Dennis on Cape Cod. Choosing the law as his profession, to obtain the 
 money with which to begin his studies, he arranged, in the spring of 1845, to teach a 
 class of young ladies every afternoon, and he then rented several acres of ground, 
 fertilized the land with sea weed cut from the rocks with his own hands at low tide, 
 
 

 
518 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and cultivated this tract as a garden every forenoon. In August, 1845, he closed the 
 school, harvested his garden produce, sold all that he could at home, and then trans- 
 ported the residue by a fishing schooner to Providence, where he sold his produce from 
 house to house with a horse and wagon. With the money thus laboriously earned, he 
 entered Harvard Law School in the same class with Rutherford B. Hayes and also 
 studied in the office of Charles G. Thomas in Boston. When his scanty supply of money 
 was exhausted, he taught school for two terms and a part of the time lived in bachelor's 
 apartments in an attic, buying and cooking his own provisions. He was admitted to 
 the bar in 1848. Mr. Thomas had formed a great liking for the young man and offered 
 to admit him to partnership but this he declined and he opened an office on Court 
 Square in Boston. He attended this every day and another in South Reading, ten 
 miles away, which he visited every evening. He displayed considerable energy and 
 skill in the collection of bad debts, and in two years' time had created a profitable prac- 
 tice. From this time forward, fortune sped him on his way. Having been retained 
 to defend William O. Grover and William E. Baker, two young men engaged in the 
 manufacture of sewing machines, against an unjust claim, he soon entered into partner- 
 ship with them in the firm of Grover, Baker & Co. , and took charge of the legal and 
 financial branches of their business. In partnership with these men, Mr. Potter rose 
 in due time to wealth. 
 
 He was married, in 1850, to Martha G. Wiley, daughter of Benjamin B. Wiley, of 
 South Reading, Mass. This union brought them seven children, of whom four are 
 living, Frederick, his son, and three daughters, Mary, the wife of Walter Geer, Blanche 
 and Martha. Mrs. Potter died in 1879. Mr. Potter was again married to Mary Kate 
 Linsly, a daughter of Dr. Jared Linsly. 
 
 In May, 1853, Mr. Potter moved to New York to establish an office for his firm 
 and the following year incorporated the business as The 'Grover & Baker Sewing 
 Machine Co. Mr. Potter became its first and only president. He was the general 
 manager and selling agent of the Grover & Baker machines and directed the policy 
 of the company in all its details. When, in 1876, the active life of the company ended, 
 Mr. Potter retired permanently from commercial pursuits the possessor of an ample 
 fortune. From that time, he was occupied with public affairs and investments. 
 
 Mr. Potter was always the financial manager of The Grover & Baker Sewing 
 Machine Co., and the extended business of his concern which penetrated to every part 
 of the Union, brought him face to face with the unsatisfactory nature of the money of 
 the old State Banks, then in circulation. Bills issued in one State were at a discount 
 in another, and Mr. Potter was compelled to pay a heavy premium for drafts upon New 
 York. While other merchants were confronted with the same situation, Mr. Potter 
 was the first man to propose a solution of the trouble. Atig. 14, 1861, shortly after the 
 first battle of Bull Run, he wrote to Salmon P. Chase, then Secretary of the Treasury, 
 a letter, too long for insertion here, which may be found in the files of the Treasury 
 Department, in which he suggested for the consideration of the government a plan 
 for the creation of national banks, whose circulation should be based on the deposit of 
 government bonds. He outlined the whole system, answered various objections, and 
 placed before Mr. Chase a complete system of banking, which should obviate all the 
 loss and confusion inherent in the old State banks plan. A few extracts from his 
 letter will show how accurate was his comprehension of the subject: 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PO. 519 
 
 "First. It is obvious that the bills thus secured will have in whatever State 
 issued, a national circulation, and be worth the same in all parts of the country; nay, 
 these bills will be worth their face wherever commerce is known. A ready medium of 
 exchange would be always at hand throughout the country and between all parts of it, 
 and all fluctuations and trouble in this respect would be forever ended. 
 
 "Second. The fact that in this way banks and bankers could obtain a national 
 circulation for their bills would make United States stocks eagerly sought after by 
 them, and their price would be always maintained at or ab&i>e far, though they bore only 
 a low rate of interest. Four per cent's could never fall below par after the system is 
 fairly understood and at work. 
 
 "Third. This will enable capitalists in the older States, by investing in United 
 States stocks, to engage in banking and furnish a currency to the younger States, 
 which will be equally serviceable to them as if issued in their own States. A bill thus 
 secured, issued in Boston, will circulate as well in Oregon as if issued in Oregon, and 
 probably better. * * * * 
 
 "If it is thought more prudent, but ninety per cent, of the stocks deposited may 
 be issued in bills, and thus all fluctuations in the stocks be provided against. * * * * 
 
 "The adoption of this plan could not fail to put an end to all financial troubles 
 during the war, and be an increasing benefit and blessing ever after; while it would 
 supply all the means required for the war, it would instantly enable the older and 
 newer portions of the country to increase their trade with each other, by supplying to 
 such newer portions an abundant and perfectly safe currency. " 
 
 This letter was addressed to one of the most eminent and patriotic of the financiers 
 of the day, and was carefully considered both by Mr. Chase and by President Lincoln. 
 The subject being presented to Congress, Mr. Potter's plan was adopted with slight 
 modifications, and was enacted Feb. 25, 1863, in the National Banking Act. This 
 important public sen-ice has forever identified the name of Mr. Potter with the 
 history of his country. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Potter was in his early life a Whig and he voted for Mr. Lincoln in 
 1860. But, always independent in mind, he became a Democrat after 1861, in order 
 to oppose centralization of power in the Federal Government. He was nominated for 
 Congress from New York city in 1878, but was defeated. Renominated in 1882, he 
 was then elected and performed efficient service for the next two years. He served on 
 the Committee on Banking and Currency and the Committee on Expenditures in the 
 Treasury Department. He voted against even' proposition which aimed at centraliza- 
 tion of power and was conspicuous in various important debates. The extension of 
 free carrier delivery in towns and cities not then supplied with that service found him 
 a successful champion. May 1 4, 1 884, he opposed a reduction of salaries of American 
 Ministers and Consuls, in order that the doors of the foreign sen-ice should not be 
 closed to men of moderate means. He was almost the only member of the Democratic 
 side who urged that power should be given to the President to acquire control of the 
 route for the Nicaragua canal. In opposition to the Democratic party in Congress, 
 he favored successfully the Senate amendment to pay American ships for carrying 
 the ocean mails a price equivalent to that paid foreign ships for the same service. 
 
 Mr. Potter was offered a nomination to Congress in 1884, but declined. In 1886, 
 he was nominated unanimously for the Mayoralty of New York by the committee of 
 
520 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 one hundred citizens, engaged in an independent movement. He declined the honor 
 and cordially co-operated in electing Abram S. Hewitt, who was then placed in the field. 
 From the beginning of his residence in New York, Mr. Potter displayed a degree 
 of public spirit which was remarkable. He had an abiding faith in the future of N.e\v 
 York as the commercial emporium and the financial and social center of the continent. 
 He labored steadily for the good government of the city and was prominent in all re- 
 form movements. He was a member of the Council of Political Reform after the 
 exposure of Tweed, and originated and secured the enactment of the laws, under which 
 the debt of New York city is being refunded at a low rate of interest. When the Leg- 
 islature passed a law for the destruction of the Croton reservoir at 426. street, he con- 
 tested the proceeding stubbornly, proved the unconstitutionality of the law, and 
 received a vote of thanks from the Common Council for his valued services. He was a 
 member of the first Rapid Transit Commission. 
 
 By degrees, Mr. Potter became a large owner of real estate. His confidence in the 
 destiny of New York city was illustrated after the panic of 1873. At a time when in- 
 dustry and business were paralyzed, he was bold enough to buy the large property on 
 the southwest corner of Astor Place and Lafayette Place, upon which he erected a large 
 building. He was the owner of the building formerly occupied by The New York 
 World at the corner of Beekman street and Park Row, extending through to Nassau 
 street, which burned down in 1882, and, at a period when scarcely another large build- 
 ing was being constructed in New York city, he erected on this site the eleven story 
 Potter Building for office purposes, then the tallest of the kind in the city and ever 
 since a profitable investment. There were few years in which his workmen did not 
 make some substantial addition to the city's taxable property, either in the form of 
 stores, warehouses or office buildings. 
 
 In 1870, Mr. Potter bought a farm of several hundred acres on the Hudson river, 
 a mile and a half above Sing Sing, where he established his summer home. He spared 
 no expense in improving this property, and a large part of the flowers, milk and other 
 products were given to the poor of New York city. He was fond of bringing poor 
 children from the city to enjoy a little of the life of the farm. He was president of The 
 New York State Agricultural Society in 1891-92. 
 
 In May, 1892, Mr. Potter bought at auction, at a price above their real value, the 
 open lots on Convent avenue between i42d and i43d streets, on which stand the thir- 
 teen gum trees planted in 1802 by Alexander Hamilton, in commemoration of the 
 union of the thirteen original States. The shoots for these trees were cut by Mr. 
 Hamilton from trees at Mount Vernon on the Potomac. Mr. Potter's only purpose was 
 the preservation of this historic memorial, and it was his intention to present the land 
 on which the trees stand to the city for a park. 
 
 He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Williams College in 1889. 
 A member of the New York Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade and 
 Transportation, Mr. Potter was also a trustee of The Bleecker Street Savings Bank and 
 vice president of The Hospital for the Ruptured & Crippled. He did not care for clubs, 
 except in so far as they might be useful in public undertakings, and he joined only the 
 Democratic, Reform, Patria and Commonwealth clubs, and the Civil Service Reform, 
 Bar, and Williams Alumni Associations. He was a member of the American Institute 
 of Civics, The Sons of the Revolution, and The New England Society. With charac- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PO. 521 
 
 teristic public spirit, he was a supporter of those useful institutions, The Metropolitan 
 Museum of Art and The American Museum of Natural History. 
 
 Mr. Potter died suddenly Jan. 2, 1894. His death removed from this city a man of 
 fine natural endowments, spotless probity of character, and useful influence, but he left 
 behind him a record which should prove an inspiration to every American boy who can 
 emulate his perseverence, self denial, honesty and genius. 
 
 ADRIEN ALEXIS POTTIER, manufacturer, born March 9, 1845, in Paris, France, 
 died in New Rochelle, X. Y., Aug. 14, 1891. He was a son of Alexis Pettier, a 
 cabinet maker, and of Adeline, his wife, both natives of France. Brought to this coun- 
 try an infant and educated in the public schools, he was apprenticed to Dubois & Co. 
 to learn the carving trade. In 1870, he began to manufacture chairs and sofas for the 
 trade, and in 1873 entered the corporation of The Pottier & Stymus Manufacturing Co. 
 as a salesman. This house, organized in 1855, had been made a stock company in 
 1869. From 1855 until 1884, the business was carried on at the large factory on Lex- 
 ington avenue between 4ist and 42d streets, but warehouses were opened at Fifth 
 avenue and 4zd street in the year last named. In 1886, August Pottier, uncle of the 
 subject of this memoir, withdrew from the presidency and Adrien A. Pottier succeeded 
 him, holding the place until his death. The great Lexington avenue fire of March, 
 1888, destroyed their immense factory, causing a loss of a million dollars. The cor- 
 poration then erected a new fire-proof factory upon the old site. In 1869, Mr. Pottier 
 married Laurena, daughter of John Magendie. No children were born to them. 
 
 FREDERIC A. POTTS, merchant, born in Pottsville, Pa., April 4, 1836, died in 
 New York city, Nov. 9, 1888. A member of an old New Jersey family, belonging to 
 the Society of Friends, he was a son of George H. Potts, president of The National 
 Park Bank and one of the first shippers of Pennsylvania coal by canal to the seaboard. 
 At the age of nineteen, the subject of this memoir became a salesman for Louis Auden- 
 reid & Co., coal merchants, of which firm his father was a partner. In 1865, he was 
 admitted to partnership and on the death of Mr. Audenreid, in 1874, continued the 
 business under his own name for five or six years, when he adopted the title of F. A. 
 Potts & Co. The firm were selling agents for The Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., The 
 New York, Susquehanna & Western Coal Co. and the Lehigh & Wilkesbarre Coal Co. , 
 and Mr. Potts also had coal mining interests of his own. He was a man of strong 
 mind, clear judgment and fine abilities and gained the affectionate esteem of a wide 
 circle of friends. At various times, he was a director of The Central Railroad of New 
 Jersey, a stockholder of The Jersey Midland Railroad, president of The New York, 
 Susquehanna & Western and The New York & Sea Beach Railroads; vice president of 
 The National Park Bank and a director of The Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. 
 of Newark and other associations, as well as a member of the Union League, Union 
 and Century clubs. Defeated for Congress in 1872 and 1878 in a strong Demo- 
 cratic district, he was, in 1874, elected State senator from Hunterdon County, N. J., 
 and served the Republican State Committee of New Jersey as chairman for many 
 years. In 1880, he was defeated for Governor by a small vote. 
 
 ALFRED J. POUCH, merchant, born in Brooklyn in 1844, began his prosperous 
 career as clerk for Wallace & Wickes, wholesale merchants of provisions in New 
 York city. In 1866, he associated himself with the late Jabez A. Bostwick in the 
 petroleum trade and largely through his own energy and untiring labors, finally rose 
 
522 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 to a prominent position in the financial world. Mr. Bostwick having opened a branch 
 house in Cleveland, in which city oil refining was then mainly carried on, placed his 
 young assistant in charge of it, and during Mr. Pouch's stay of five years in Cleveland, 
 he made the business the largest of its class there. In 1871, he returned to Brook- 
 lyn and identified himself with The Standard Oil Co. , as a shareholder and active man- 
 ager, and has since been at the head of the crude oil export department. He is now 
 president of The American Dock & Trust Co., which with a capital of $1,000,000 was 
 organized to build warehouses for the storage of cotton and to loan money on cotton. 
 It has been exceedingly successful and handles about one third of the cotton stored in 
 this port. He was one of the chief promoters of The Brooklyn Elevated Railroad and 
 treasurer of the construction company, and followed that enterprise by purchasing 
 large parcels of real estate in the i8th and 25th Wards and other parts of Brooklyn. 
 He has since sold much of this property to advantage. He has been a director of The 
 Hamilton Trust Co., and is a member of the Union League club of Brooklyn and 
 notable for his purchase of the Graves mansion and its conversion into an art gallery. 
 CHARLES PRATT, merchant, born in Wilbraham, Mass., Oct. 2, 1830, died at his 
 office, No. 26 -Broadway, New York, May 4, 1891. He was one of the ten children of 
 a hard working cabinet maker. At the age of ten, the lad found work on a farm near 
 Boston and spent three years in this employment, attending school in winter. After a 
 year in Boston as clerk to a grocer, he learned the trade of a machinist and earned 
 money enough to secure a year of schooling at the Wilbraham Academy. At the age 
 of nineteen, he entered the office of a firm dealing in paints and oils in Boston and then 
 began a remarkably successful career. In 1850, he came to New York and secured 
 employment with Schenck & Downing, merchants of oil, paint and glass. He worked 
 hard, saved his money, and in three years joined C. T. Raynolds and Frederick W. 
 Devoe in buying his employer's business. For ten years, the firm of Raynolds, Devoe 
 & Pratt were active and growing merchants. In 1864 Mr. Devoe withdrew, and in 1867 
 the business was divided, Mr. Raynolds going on with paints and Mr. Pratt taking the 
 oil business under the name of Charles Pratt & Co., and becoming a refiner of petro- 
 leum. He built a large factory at Greenpoint on Long Island and the name of Pratt's 
 Astral Oil soon became well known as a trade mark. When a general consolidation of 
 oil refining and producing led to the creation of The Standard Oil Co., Mr. Pratt was 
 admitted to the trust on favorable terms. From that time forward, he was a leading 
 spirit in The Standard Oil Co., and was its vice president at his death. Mr. Pratt in- 
 vested his surplus income in real estate, street railroads, Western lands, banks and 
 other successful enterprises. The name of Mr. Pratt has been permanently enrolled in 
 the annals of Brooklyn by his gifts to education. For the sake of his own children, 
 he fostered an existing school, caused its incorporation as the Adelphi Academy, and 
 after 1879, was president of the board. Through his generosity, the school building at 
 Lafayette avenue and St. James Place was doubled in size in 1880, and in 1886, he 
 donated the means for putting up a handsome new building at Clifton and St. James 
 Places, connected with the older part of the school. His gifts to the institution amounted 
 to over 250,000. In 1889, he founded the Pratt Industrial Institute on Ryerson street, 
 near Adelphi Academy, to provide both manual training and a high school education 
 and afford instruction in trades and useful arts to apprentices, clerks and others, who 
 are employed during the day. Mr. Pratt expended over $3,000,000 upon this enter- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PR. 
 
 prise. The income of the great Astral apartment house, at Franklin and India street ;, 
 built on the plan of the Peabody buildings in London, is devoted to the support of th^ 
 Institute. He also honored the memory of his father by establishing the Asa Pratt 
 free reading room in his native town. He was a thoroughly domestic man, a Baptist 
 in religion and one of the founders of Emanuel Church in Lafayette avenue, to which 
 he gave $1,000,000. He was al^o a liberal contributor toward other charities. -Mr. 
 Pratt was married first to Lydia A., and then to Mary H., daughters of Thomas 
 Richardson, and his children are Charles M., Frederick B., George D., Herbert Lee, 
 John T., Harold I., Lillie R , wife of Frank L. Babbott and Helen Pratt CHARLES 
 MILLARD PRATT, son of Charles and Lydia A. Pratt, oil refiner, born in Brooklyn, 
 Nov. 2 1855, graduated from the Adelphi Academy in 1875 and Amherst College in 
 1879. He then engaged in business with his father in The Pratt Manufacturing Co., 
 128 Pearl street, relieving the latter of much of the care of his vast business trans- 
 actions. He quickly became a trusted assistant, developing the shrewdness and energy 
 which had brought such large measure of success to the head of the family. In 1891, 
 upon the death of his father, the management of the complicated interests of his 
 father fell to his lot, and he has since demonstrated his own ability. He conducts the 
 Pratt Astral Oil business, is a director of The Standard Oil Co., here, and first vice 
 president of The Standard Oil Co. of Kentucky, vice president of The Long Island 
 Railroad, president of the trustees of Pratt Institute, and director in The Mechanics' 
 National Bank and The Brooklyn Trust Co. He is deeply interested in the welfare of 
 Amherst College, and has presented the institution with a spacious and perfectly 
 equipped gymnasium known as the Pratt Gymnasium, costing nearly $50,000. May 
 8, 1884, Mr. Pratt married Mary Seymour, daughter of ex-Gov. Luzon B. Morris of 
 New Haven, Conn., and his children are Morris, Theodore, Margaret R., Kather- 
 ine E. and Richardson Pratt. He is a member of the Alpha Delta Phi, Montauk, 
 Hamilton and Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht clubs and The Amherst Alumni 
 Association. 
 
 DALLAS BACHE PRATT, banker, born Feb. 4, 1849, in New York city, is the 
 son of the Rev. Horace L. Edgar Pratt, an Episcopal clergyman, and of Kate Martin, 
 his wife. The family are of English descent. Mr. Pratt 's education was obtained in 
 Trinity School and, at the age of sixteen, he secured employment in the banking 
 house of Brown Bro's & Co. After sixteen years of service there, he became cashier 
 of The Bank of America, resigning the position ten years later to enter the firm of 
 Maitland, Phelps & Co., bankers and merchants. He is second vice president of The 
 Ohio Falls Car Manufacturing Co. of Jeffersonville, Ind., a large concern with a capital of 
 $1,800,000. In May, 1881, he married Minnie G. , daughter of Charles G. Landon, and 
 four children have been born to them, Katherine Griswold, Alexander Dallas, Con- 
 stance and Beatrice Pratt. Mr. Pratt is an earnest, able and judicious man, and very 
 popular in the metropolis, and a member of three of the most exclusive clubs in the 
 city, the Metropolitan, Country and Union League. 
 
 JULIUS HOWARD PRATT, manufacturer and railroad builder, was born in 
 Meriden, Conn., Aug. i, 1821. Graduating from Yale College, Mr. Pratt engaged in 
 business in Meriden with his father, Julius Pratt, a manufacturer of ivory goods, and 
 was employed in the selling department in New York, where he remained for eighteen 
 years. The business grew to enormous proportions. Of ivory combs alone, the firm 
 
524 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 manufactured $500,000 worth annually, their sales extending to all parts of North and 
 South America. Among their other products, were ivory handled cutlery and piano 
 keys. In 1857, Mr. Pratt made his home in West Bloomfield, N. J., now known as 
 Montclair, at that time merely a hamlet amid extensive farms. Mr. Pratt was fore- 
 most in promoting immediate local improvements and aided in building The New York 
 & Greenwood Lake Railroad to provide competition and reduce the transportation 
 rates. This road cost about $5,000,000, but saved Montclair and the neighboring towns 
 $200,000 a year. Mr. Pratt impaired his fortune by unfortunate ventures, but in 
 1888, he proposed a new water system for Newark, to be operated on the principle of 
 gravity and to draw a supply from the Pequannock river, a distance of twenty-five 
 miles. To accomplish this, he formed The East Jersey Water Co., secured a contract 
 and regained his fortune. He married a sister of A. S. Barnes, the publisher. 
 
 FRERERIC PRENTICE, president of The Prentice and Excelsior Brown Stone Go's, 
 can look retrospectively over a career diversified by fluctuations of fortune such as fall 
 to the lot of few men. Several times he has, by his own efforts, amassed independent 
 wealth and seen everything he possessed swept away by circumstances beyond human 
 foresight. The magnitude of his transactions may be realized from the fact that 
 although he started as a poor boy, with nothing except a merely rudimentary educa- 
 tion, he has earned and lost by business reverses over twelve millions of dollars, has 
 paid in full with interest all his indebtedness, and yet now finds himself possessed of 
 large properties, with certainties in his grasp greater than ever before. 
 
 Mr. Prentice's forefathers were among the earliest English settlers in Connecticut. 
 His father, Joseph Prentice, mother and two brothers moved to Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 During the War of 1812, Joseph Prentice was largely engaged in Government contract- 
 ing, amassing from seventy-five to one hundred thousand dollars, which was in those 
 days considered a fortune. After the war, he, with Major Oliver M. T. Williams and 
 others, formed an association for purchasing lands at the mouth of Swan Creek, Ohio, 
 where Toledo now is, and appointed Mr. Prentice manager. There they laid out a 
 town, to which they gave the name of Port Lawrence. In its first house, on December 6, 
 1822, Frederic Prentice first saw the light of day and was the first white child born on 
 the town plot. Six years later, the senior Prentice, deeming the project for building 
 a city premature, withdrew from the company, receiving as his share in its enterprise a 
 tract, partly cleared by the Indians, in the southwestern part of the common territory. 
 There he began maintaining his family by farming and working at the carpenter's trade, 
 but a few years later he received a fall, which permanently disabled him and threw the 
 burden of family care upon the mother and boy Frederic, then only thirteen, the father 
 having expended and lost his money in trying to build a city before the growth of 
 the country warranted. 
 
 The responsibility thus thrust upon the lad would, under any circumstances, have 
 been serious, but was exceptionally so under the conditions prevailing in that portion 
 of the West. Everything was high in price, except labor. Pork cost $60, and flour 
 $25 to $30 a barrel, calico cost 60 to 75 cents per yard, and all other necessities of life 
 were in proportion, while wages were only 75 cents to $i per day. The boy had, how- 
 ever, a stout heart, indomitable energy and Yankee resourcefulness. With the help of 
 his mother, of whom he speaks with fervent affection as " one of the best mothers and 
 housekeepers who ever blessed a son," he managed to get along. Having been from 
 
526 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 
 
 infancy associated with Indians and speaking 1 their language as well as Lis own, he 
 often acted as interpreter between them and traders or government agents. He was, 
 indeed, the only interpreter the Indians would trust in serious matters. It was through 
 him, acting in this capacity, that the Indians ceded the territory in the vicinity of To- 
 ledo, upon part of which Toledo now stands. The Indians set aside a tract of 320 
 acres of land, which is now included in the City of Toledo, for his services on that occa- 
 sion, but his father would not allow him to accept the gift, saying that he did not want 
 it said he or any of his family had been enriched by the poor Indians ; he believed that 
 a man should not be awarded more than a fair compensation for doing his duty. When 
 not employed as an interpreter, Frederic spent his time hunting, fishing and trapping 
 wolves. The wolves were so troublesome that it was impossible for the few farmers 
 to raise sheep successfully, and to rid the country of the beasts the county and State 
 gave a bounty of $7.50 for each scalp. This was a great help to young Mr. Prentice, 
 as he would sometimes in a single day during the winter capture a large number. His 
 education was gained in four winters' attendance at a district school, two miles from 
 home, and during the same time he cared for a small herd of cattle, provided firewood 
 for his family, and did the many outdoor "chores" of the farm. 
 
 At the age of eighteen, Frederic Prentice engaged in the lumber business in a 
 small way, supplying wood for steamboats, etc. , and was married when only nineteen. 
 His business prospered, and he soon began getting out ship and black walnut timber on 
 a large scale, making extensive purchases of timbered land. After clearing off the 
 timber, he resold the land in small tracts to actual settlers, thus aiding largely the de- 
 velopment of that section. Before long, he was widely known as a large and prosperous 
 dealer in timber and deservedly reputed a rich man. 
 
 In 1849, he was largely interested in the third train that crossed the plains to 
 California after the discovery of gold, but his large investment was entirely wiped out 
 by the great fire in Sacramento in 1850. His lumber business, however, increased 
 largely. The close personal attention which its magnitude demanded made serious in- 
 roads upon his health, and he found it necessary to divide his business into two large 
 companies to prosecute the trade, and he sold one half of his interest and tempo- 
 rarily retired from business. He went to Lake Superior to regain his health, and while 
 there, in 1854, engaged in new enterprises, which seemed to be inviting. He interested 
 himself in copper mining, banking and the purchase of lands, which he deemed 
 valuable for timber and brownstone and suitable for the location of large cities in the 
 future. One of the tracts he acquired was one mile square and located where Duluth 
 now stands, but owing to an error in drawing the deed, it has brought him nothing 
 except litigation with persons seeking to deprive him of his rights and a great outlay of 
 money. Another purchase comprised a portion of the lands, whereon the city of 
 Ashland, Wis. , is now built, and the great brownstone quarries of Houghton, Wis., and 
 Wilson or Prentice Island, Wis., now being operated by him. 
 
 In 1856, Mr. Prentice believed himself worth several millions of dollars. But the 
 panic of 1857 left him in debt to the extent of over half a million dollars, mostly incurred 
 by indorsements for friends and with no assets except unsalable land. By Herculean 
 exertions he struggled along until 1859, when he borrowed a sufficient sum to start in 
 the oil business, and soon achieved such success as to enable him to make a compromise 
 with his creditors, paying fifty cents on the dollar. Within three years thereafter, he 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PR. 527 
 
 was able to call his creditors together again and pay them not only the remaining fifty 
 per cent, but interest thereon. 
 
 Mr. Prentice may justly be considered the oldest successful oil operator. He 
 drilled the third well for petroleum in Pennsylvania and thereafter drilled over fifteen 
 hundred wells in the State, forming The Producers Consolidated Petroleum Co., 
 which paid in dividends over three million dollars; also, with others, founded The 
 Producers' Land & Petroleum Co. on lands they bought on Oil Creek, with a paid up 
 capital of $2,350,000, for which the great refineries at Bayonne, N. J., were built in 
 1873 by himself, Oliver Ames and others of Boston, associated with him. 
 
 In 1888, Mr. Prentice started The Prentice Brown Stone Quarries at Hough- 
 ton, Wis , on lands bought by him in 1854. The success of this company was so great 
 that he decided to secure all the good brownstone land around, which he did not then 
 control. He effected this, and in 1891 organized The Excelsior Brown Stone Co. The 
 two companies now largely control the supply of this excellent building material, and 
 Mr. Prentice expects to make up his former great losses. He yet owns large tracts of 
 lumber, coal and oil lands, which must in time be of great value. 
 
 Mr. Prentice was a warm friend of President Lincoln during his life time and 
 personally contributed over $300,000 to the national cause during the Civil War. He 
 is a member of the Union League club and The National Academy of Design. 
 
 EDWARD PRIHE, banker, born in 1801 at No. 54 Wall street, in this city, died 
 at Riverdale, N. Y., Aug. 22, 1883. He was a son of Nathaniel Prime, founder of 
 the banking house of Prime, Ward, Sands, King & Co , and received part of his early 
 education at a boarding school in Morristown, N. J., where his father and others of 
 the family had been educated. When a young man, he entered his father's banking 
 house as a clerk and, in 1 846, became a member of Prime, Ward & Co. , consisting of 
 Nathaniel Prime, John Ward and Edward Prime. When his father died in 1848, he 
 established the firm of Prime & Co., consisting of himself and his four sons. Mr. Prime 
 retired in 1867. He was one of the founders of The New York Eye & Ear Dispensary. 
 In his younger days, Mr. Prime was an active sportsman and is said to have been the 
 first to bring to this country a pack of fox hounds, which he employed on Long Island. 
 He left three sons, Nathaniel, Edward and Henry, and three daughters. 
 
 RUFUS PRIHE, banker, born in New York city, died in Huntington, L. I. , Oct. 
 15, 1885, in his eightieth year. He was a brother of Edward Prime. Graduating from 
 Yale College, Mr. Prime afterward engaged in business as a stock broker and banker 
 in Wall street. After his father's death, he devoted himself to the care of the latter 's 
 large estate. Long experience made him an expert in all questions relating to trusts, 
 although he had no legal training, and excellent qualities as a business man brought 
 him a fortune. He was a member of the Union club and a man of fine literary tastes. 
 
 JOSEPH PULITZER, journalist, born in Hungary in 1847, was educated by a tutor 
 and came to America at the age of seventeen. Entering a cavalry regiment in the 
 Union army, he served with credit until the end of the Civil War. He then settled in 
 Missouri, where for a few years he met with much hardship. He was a man of spirit, 
 however, and during a period of service in various employments steadily made his 
 way, finally studying law. The law did not suit his enterprising mind, however, and 
 in 1868, he became a reporter for the Wcstlicke Post in St. Louis, a German newspaper 
 conducted by Carl Schurz. In this field of work, Mr. Pulitzer found his vocation for 
 
528 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 life and soon made his mark. He rose successively to the positions of city editor, 
 managing editor and part owner of the paper. In 1878, he founded The St. Louis Post 
 Dispatch, by buying The Dispatch and uniting it with The Evening Post. The snap, 
 spirit and incessant enterprise of this paper soon made it a profitable property. Mr. 
 Pulitzer retains the ownership to the present day. Although he had made his journal 
 one of the leading organs of public opinion in St. Louis, Mr. Pulitzer aspired to a yet 
 larger field, and in 1883, he bought The New York World, a newspaper of high standing 
 but then much reduced in quality and circulation, and has since made The World the 
 passion of his life. The same methods which he had employed in St. Louis soon made 
 The World one of the best talked about papers in New York city. Its circulation 
 increased with rapid strides and Mr. Pulitzer brought it to a condition of extra- 
 ordinary prosperity. Within the last few years, he has been enabled to construct the 
 Pulitzer office building, adjoining the New York terminus of Brooklyn Bridge, a 
 structure eighteen stories high, and has removed to the basement, street floor and 
 upper stories thereof the various departments of his newspaper. The intermediate 
 stories are rented for office purposes. The enterprise of The World is ceaseless. Its 
 attacks upon Richard Croker and the Tammany ring have been fearless and one of 
 the most creditable features of Mr. Pulitzer's management. He has always been 
 interested in politics, although not an active politician. In 1869, he was elected to the 
 Missouri Legislature, and in 1884 was sent to Congress from a New York city district. 
 The latter seat he resigned in order not to be diverted from the work of his two 
 newspapers. Among the clubs to which he belongs are the Manhattan, Reform, 
 Press and American Yacht. 
 
 PERCY RIVINGTON PYNE, merchant and banker, born in England about 1821, 
 died in Rome, Italy, Feb. 14, 1895. Well educated, he arrived in New York city, in 
 1835, and entered the office of Moses Taylor & Co., as a clerk. In 1842, Mr. Taylor 
 made him a partner and he was thereafter an energetic factor in the operations of this 
 famous house until his retirement in 1887. He married Albertina, the oldest daughter 
 of Mr. Taylor, in 1855, and leaves three children, Moses Taylor and Percy R. Pyne 
 and Mrs. Archibald D. Russell. Although to some extent less well known than his 
 partner and father in law, Mr. Pyne was a man of strong character and very decided 
 abilities and rose to wealth in consequence of his own qualities. He succeeded Mr. 
 Taylor as president of The National City Bank and was vice president of The Delaware, 
 Lackawanna & Western Railroad; a director of The Farmers' Loan & Trust Co., The 
 Consolidated Gas Co., The Central Trust Co., The Lackawanna Iron & Steel Co., The 
 New Jersey Zinc & Iron Co., The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, The Western 
 Union Telegraph Co., The Harvey Steel Co., The Mexican Telegraph Co., and a 
 member of the Metropolitan, Century, Grolier, Down Town and Country clubs. 
 
Q. 
 
 ABRAH QUEREAU, merchant, born in Brooklyn, Oct 22, 1822, died at his home 
 on South Portland avenue in that city, Oct. 24, 1889. He belonged to an old Huguenot 
 family. In youth, he entered the employment of a shipping and commission house, and 
 through application and talent, rose to responsible positions and was sent by the firm 
 in 1850. to California. After a sojourn of five years there, he returned and was admit- 
 ted to partnership, the firm taking the name of Mailler, Lord & Quereau. He con- 
 tinued a member until his death, the house then being known as Mailler & Quereau. 
 For forty-five years, they were located on Stone street and then moved to Wall street. 
 The firm aided in founding The Old Dominion Steamship Line. Mr. Quereau was a 
 thorough, competent, shrewd and excellent man. He belonged to the Church of the 
 Mc"iah in Brooklyn, the Chamber of Commerce, the Produce and Maritime Exchanges, 
 The Society of Old Brooklynites and The Long Island Historical Society^ was a life 
 member of The Brooklyn Young Men's Christian Association, and in every relation 
 enjoyed the sincere respect of his associates. Several children survived him. 
 
 JOHN WILLIAMS QUINCY, merchant, born in Boston, Mass., died in this city, 
 Jan. 21, 1883, in his sixty-ninth year. In the public schools of Boston, he fared so well 
 as to obtain the Franklin medal. Beginning life at the age of fifteen as clerk in a 
 hardware store, he devoted the remainder of his life to this trade and made therein 
 a special and creditable reputation. At the age of twenty-two, he engaged in the 
 hardware business in New York city, and in 1837 entered the partnership of Daven- 
 port & Quincy. This house devoted itself wholly to American hardware, then little 
 dealt in, and by means of branch stores extended its trade to all the principal cities of 
 the North and South. A change of partners took place in 1847, and after 1852, the 
 firm were known as John W. Quincy & Co Energy, shrewdness and honorable 
 methods brought their natural rewards. Mr. Quincy married first a daughter of the 
 late Stephen Allen, and to them was born one daughter, who married E. Hayes Trow- 
 bridge, jr., of New Haven, Conn. His second wife was a daughter of Charles Perkins, 
 and she survived her husband with a son and a daughter. 
 
 GEORGE WILLIAH QUINTARD, manufacturer, and president and director of 
 corporations, is one of the vigorous sons of Connecticut, who, beginning life in this 
 metropolis at an early age, have risen to fortune and position by their own native 
 abilities. He was born in Stamford, April 22, 1822, and came from a family of French 
 descent, which had been resident in the town for several generations and played well 
 its part both in private life and public affairs, being distinguished for excellent ability 
 and character. Isaac Quintard, father of George W., was a merchant of Stamford. 
 
 Having studied the text-books of the day at the public schools until the age of 
 fifteen, the subject of this biography then followed the example of other ambitious 
 youths in Connecticut, who at that time were looking to the rising city of New York as 
 the field in which they were most likely to find their fortunes. Coming to the city, the 
 young man found employment as a clerk in a grocery house, then prominent in the 
 trade, and from this firm learned the first principles of business management. Unlike 
 many other lads of his age, but in strict conformity with the rules by which alone a 
 
;:& 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. QU. 531 
 
 young man, beginning life without fortune, can make his way, young Mr. Quintard 
 saved his earnings, allowed no temptations of pleasure to distract him from honest and 
 diligent prosecution of business, and after five or six years of labor in a subordinate 
 position was able to embark in business on his own account. For four years, he carried 
 on a successful trade of his own. 
 
 Meanwhile, Feb. 15, 1844, he had married Frances, a daughter of the late Charles 
 Morgan, and this circumstance finally -gave another direction to his life. He had 
 already shown himself to be a sound, upright, progressive and capable man, and, in 
 1847, he gave up mercantile pursuits to enter one branch of that field of enterprise, in 
 which his energetic father in law had already made a reputation. In the year named, 
 the no less energetic son in law identified himself with T. F. Secor & Co. , owners of 
 The Morgan Iron Works on the East River. This establishment was engaged in the 
 manufacture and repair of engines for steamboats and ocean shipping and the produc- 
 tion of heavy castings and machinery. In its operations, Mr. Quintard found a con- 
 genial field of labor. In 1850, he became one of the proprietors of the works in 
 partnership with Charles Morgan, and remained in the active management until 1867, 
 with the exception of a period of two years. 
 
 At these works, Mr. Quintard built a large number of ponderous engines for 
 coasting, lake and river steamers, mainly of the walking beam type, and others for 
 ships of war both for the American and foreign governments. During the Civil War, 
 these shops were of great service to the Federal authorities, who employed them to 
 construct the engines of the following Navy vessels: 
 
 Onondaga, Chenango, Ascntney, 
 
 Wachusett, Ticonderoga, Idaho, 
 
 Seminole, Ammonoosuc, Tioga, 
 
 Muscoota, Katahdin, Kineo. 
 
 For the merchant service, up to 1867, Mr. Quintard also built the engines of many 
 famous steamers, including those of the 
 
 Golden Rule George Law, Golden Age, 
 
 Herman Livingston, Orizaba, Nautilus, 
 
 Manhattan, W. G. Hawes, Villa Clara, 
 
 Raleigh, Flushing, Peruano, 
 
 Albemarle, Rapidan, Ocean Queen, 
 
 Cambridge. De Soto, Peiko (China). 
 
 City of Hartford, Hatteras, Yang See (China), 
 
 Everglade. Island Home, Fah Hee (China). 
 
 Mississippi, Alabama, Bienville, 
 
 Charles Morgan, Eastern Queen, Southern Michigan (Lakes). 
 
 Granite State, Continental, Western Metropolis (Lakes), 
 
 San Francisco, Villa Clara, Northern Indiana (Lakes), 
 
 Fulton, Cosmopolitan, Crescent City (Lakes), 
 
 New Brunswick, Commonwealth. 
 
 Mr. Quintard was essentially a manager. He had received no mechanical train- 
 ing and was far from able to execute personally some of the simplest mechanical oper- 
 ations. But he knew how things should be done. His mind grasped broadly the 
 general principles of construction, and he was able to direct the energies of others in 
 order to accomplish what he had in view. He never attempted to do that which he 
 could employ a draftsman or a mechanic to do better than he, but devoted himself 
 entirely to the general direction of the operation of the works, with marked success. 
 

 532 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 In 1867, Mr. Quintard sold The Morgan Iron Works to John Roach, the ship 
 builder, in order to devote his own attention to The New York & Charleston Steamship 
 Co., of which he had become president and part proprietor. He managed the company 
 well, but did not find in its operations sufficient scope for his overflowing energy. In 
 1869, accordingly, he established The Quintard Iron Works, occupying a site at No. 
 742 East i2th street, extending through to East nth street, on the East River, a few 
 blocks above The Morgan Iron Works. Here he resumed the construction of marine 
 engines and machinery, and in a short time developed the plant into an extensive 
 establishment, making it in time one of the most prominent in the United States. 
 
 Mr. Quintard finally retired from the active management of the works, retaining, 
 however, an interest in the firm of Nicholas F. Palmer & Co. , the present proprietors. 
 He is at present occupied with the management of banks and corporations, in which he 
 has investments and into the direction of which he has been invited, owing to his 
 financial strength, ability and uprightness of character. He is a director of The 
 Manhattan Life Insurance Co., The Butchers' & Drovers' Bank, The New England & 
 Nova Scotia Steamship Co., The Eleventh Ward Bank, and The New York, Lake 
 Erie & Western Railroad, and holds that relation with The Pennsylvania Coal Co. , The 
 Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co., The State Trust Co. and The Union Ferry Co. 
 
 It fell to the lot of Mr. Quintard to become one of the assignees of his old friend, 
 John Roach, the great ship builder, whose fortunes had been impaired by the hostile 
 action, since repented of, of the Navy Department under William C. Whitney. Mr. 
 Quintard was, with his colleagues, able to extricate the affairs of Mr. Roach from diffi- 
 culties, to reopen The Morgan Iron Works and the iron ship building establishment 
 both of which had been closed, and place them once more upon a prosperous basis. 
 
 Mr. Quintard has served his fellow citizens in the positions of Emigration Com- 
 missioner and Park Commissioner, but has declined all other tenders of public office. 
 A few years ago, he resigned from all his clubs except the Lawyers', New York and 
 American Yacht, but has retained membership in the former for the sake of luncheon 
 privileges down town, and in the latter two on account of his fondness for the sea. He 
 is a man of dignified bearing and spotless personal character, and at the age of seventy- 
 three, preserves unimpaired the vigor of his earlier years, owing to his judicious mode 
 of living and an abundance of occupation in the open air. Mr. Quintard is the father 
 of three children, Frances Louise, who died July 28, 1863, in her eighteenth year; 
 James W., born Sept. 3, 1848, and Laura Adele, born June 7, 1852. Mrs. Quintard 
 died Nov. 14, 1894. 
 
R. 
 
 JOHN SY/1ONDS RADWAY, H. D., manufacturer, born Feb. 17, 1858, in New 
 York city, is a son of the late Dr. John Radway and Anna E. Lewis, his wife. The 
 senior Radway came to New York in 1832 from Chedworth, England, where he was 
 born in a manor house, which had been in possession of the family for generations. 
 The family name is derived from a parish in Warwickshire. In 1848, Dr. Radwa)-, in 
 conjunction with Dr. Pierre C. Van Wyck, a druggist friend, began in a small way, 
 under the name of Radway & Co., the manufacture of Rad way's Ready Relief, a medi- 
 cine which is now known throughout the two Americas and beyond. His brother, 
 Richard G. Radway, was also a member of the firm. Dr. Radway died in 1870, his 
 brother in 1884, and Dr. Van Wyck in 1883. After the death of the last of the three 
 founders, the business was incorporated under the presidency of John S. Radway. The 
 latter began life with an excellent education, having graduated from the University of 
 the City of New York and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, receiving from the 
 latter the degree of M. D. He has continued the business founded by his father with 
 marked success. One of the largest advertisers in America, he has left no newspaper 
 reader in any part of the various countries, in which his remedy is sold, unaware of its 
 merits : and his prosperity is based largely upon his liberal expenditures in this direc- 
 tion. Dr. Radway is a member of the Delta Phi and Manhattan Athletic clubs. He 
 was married in Xewburgh, N. Y., Oct. 18, 1884, to Man,' A. Mailler, and their children 
 are John Oakley, Gladys C., and Edward Mailler Radway. 
 
 JAflES IRVING RAYilOND, merchant, head of the importing house of A. A. 
 Vantine & Co., was born in Bedford, Westchester county, N. Y., Aug. 23, 1843. His 
 father was Edward Raymond, a prosperous farmer. The boy attended the public 
 schools and academy of his native town and spent his time, not needed for study, in 
 the work of the farm. In 1864, he came to New York city to enter commercial life, 
 
 i equipped with a good education and a determination to merit success. His first and 
 only engagement was with the house of A. A. Vantine & Co. Here, he applied himself 
 earnestly, studying the details of the extended business of the firm and evincing a 
 rectitude and capability, which soon brought promotion. In 1875, he became a partner. 
 After the death of Mr. Vantine, founder of the business, Mr. Raymond purchased 
 
 1 the entire interest. He is now sole owner of an unequaled establishment. The house 
 has been and is to-day the greatest of the kind in the United States, making a specialty 
 of the finest rugs and other goods of China, Japan, Turkey, India and other Oriental 
 countries. A retail and wholesale business is done, extending to every section of the 
 country and requiring representatives in nearly all the markets of Europe and Asia. 
 While Mr. Raymond is personally of modest and retiring temperament, the fame of 
 his business is world wide and the reputation of the house for solidity and exact busi- 
 ness methods is enviable. In 1875, Mr. Raymond married Grace, daughter of Col. 
 John Quincy Adams of Brooklyn, the union resulting in one son, Irving Edward Ray- 
 mond, now eighteen years of age and preparing for a collegiate course. Mr. Raymond 
 is a member of the Presbyterian church and lives in Stamford, Conn., in a home which 
 exemplifies all which is artistic and tasteful. He is a member of the Union League 
 club and the Stock Exchange, and a director of The New York Real Estate Trust Co. 
 
534 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 WILLIAfl GARDNER READ, merchant, was born Oct. n, 1823, in Newport, R. I. 
 The family was planted in America by two brothers, William and John Read, who ar- 
 rived from England in 1636 at the request of Governor Winthrop, one settling finally 
 in Vermont, the other in Connecticut. From the former, William G. Read descends. 
 After an education at Newport and Kingston, R. I., the boy engaged as clerk in a retail 
 store in Georgetown, S. C., with his father. Coming to New York in September, 
 1839, he entered the employment of D. A. Cushman & Co., dry goods merchants, and 
 later had the courage to embark in the dry goods business at his own risk. Later 
 yet, he entered into partnership with Jasper T. Van Vleck in the banking business on 
 Wall street and in this field met with great success. The house was successively 
 known as Van Vleck & Read, Van Vleck, Read & Drexel, and Read, Drexel & Co. 
 During the war, Mr. Read bid most successfully for government bonds and in his 
 prime was well known to all the prominent bank officers in the city. He retired in 
 1863 and has since led a quiet life with his family, refusing many positions of trust. 
 He was, however, a director of The National City Bank for twelve years and of The 
 Fireman's Insurance Co. for thirty years. In politics, he has always been a Republi- 
 can. His father and grandfather were Whigs. In 1855, Mr. Read married Emeline 
 G., daughter of James Taylor and member of an old and highly esteemed family. 
 Their children are Kate Wilson, wife of Valentine A. Blacque ; William G. Read, jr. ; 
 and Helen S., wife of William Oothout, jr. The family live in Mamaroneck but Mr. 
 Read is a member of the Union League and Lotos clubs of this city. 
 
 JOSEPH RECKENDORFER, manufacturer, who originated in Furth, Bavaria, 
 Sept. 18, 1836, dying in Long Branch, N- J., July 7, 1883, made his reputation and for- 
 tune by coming to the United States at the age of eighteen and embarking in the lead 
 pencil industry. While the beginning was exceedingly modest, he succeeded so well 
 that in a few years' time he was able to compete with foreign manufacturers strongly 
 and forced a reduction of the prices of lead pencils. For many years, he manufactured 
 only the well known cheaper grades of his goods, but in 1878, added patented automatic 
 action and aniline pencils to his productions, the latter proving especially popular. The 
 industry grew rapidly and to large proportions. For many years, the business occupied 
 a factory on East i4th street, covering nearly an entire block. Mr. Reckendorfer lived 
 in a handsome residence at No. 20 East 74th street. The year before his death, he 
 took great interest in Russian emigration and acted as treasurer of a society which has 
 the matter in charge. He was a devoted student, spending his evenings over his books, 
 and was one of the directors of The Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews and of the 
 Harmonic club. In 1860, he married Babette, daughter of Samuel Frank, and was the 
 father of Mrs. Daisy R. Strauss and Louis J. and Samuel J. Reckendorfer. 
 
 JOSEPH W. REINHART, railroad president, born Sept. 17, 1851, in Pittsburgh, 
 Pa. , is the son of Aaron Grantley Reinhart, by occupation a merchant, and Katharine 
 McHenry, his wife, both descended from old families in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and 
 Maryland. 
 
 Tutored in the Western University of Pennsylvania, at the age of eighteen Mr. 
 Reinhart became a clerk for the division superintendent of The Allegheny Valley Rail- 
 road at Pittsburgh, and by his ability, integrity and strict attention to business, soon 
 rose to great prominence in the field of railroad transportation. By hard labor and in- 
 telligence of mind, he gained promotion, and, in 1875-80, was advanced to the position 
 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK. RE. 535 
 
 of superintendent of rolling stock of that road. He grasped the requirements of rail- 
 roading intuitively and soon became known as a thoroughly competent railroad man. 
 During 1880-83, he served as Auditor for The Richmond & Allegheny Railroad at 
 Richmond Va., which position he filled with such ability that, in 1883-86, he was made 
 General Auditor of The New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railway, with offices in Xew 
 York city, and the following year for the receivers of the road. During 1886-87, he 
 was General Passenger and Ticket Agent of The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern 
 Railway at Chicago. His service in this position reflected increased credit upon him, 
 and in 1887, he established his headquarters in New York city as a railroad expert in 
 the service of many different corporations. 
 
 Nov. i, 1888, under contract with important foreign and American financial inter- 
 ests, Mr. Reinhart became associated with the The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Rail- 
 road system, with offices in Boston, as expert and as General Auditor. It was upon 
 his recommendation that the then scattered properties of that great aggregation of capi- 
 tal were brought together under practically one central management, thereby saving to 
 the parent or controlling company many hundreds of thousands of dollars per annum in 
 operating expenses alone. Under authority and direction of the board of directors, 
 Mr. Reinhart personally carried out the whole and complete detail of this great work. 
 
 As General Auditor and Vice President of the Company, he formulated in 1 889 the 
 plan lor financial re-organization of The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, and 
 carried it out with such success that the company, recognizing his sagacity and fore- 
 sight, advanced him through different stages to the presidency in 1893. 
 
 Mr. Reinhart is now president of The Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe, The St. Louis, 
 Kansas City & Colorado, The Atlantic & Pacific, The Colorado Midland, The Wichita 
 & Western, The Southern California, The New Mexico & Arizona, and The Sonora 
 Railroads. 
 
 His abilities in organization and concentration, for effective and economical results, 
 of great forces and large bodies of men, led to his selection in 1893, by the United 
 States Government, as Chief Expert of the Commission to revise the methods of the 
 Departments in Washington. He was given full power of selection of his assistants, 
 and the results of the work of his small corps of experts is an annual saving to the 
 United States of over $600,000 per annum in the expense of carrying on the vast work 
 of the Government. 
 
 He was married October 21, 1875, at Sewickley, Pa , to Miss Lizzie Taylor Allison, 
 and his children are Caroline Allison, Katharine McHenry, Mary Anderson, and Fran- 
 cis Ormond Reinhart. He is a member of the Riding, Manhattan, New York, Vaude- 
 ville, Lawyers' and Westchester Country clubs, and of Mecca Temple, Mystic Shrine, 
 in Xew York, the Algonquin and Myopia Hunt clubs, of Boston, the Union County 
 Country club of Plainfield, N. J., the Commonwealth club of Richmond, Va., the Chi- 
 cago club of Chicago, and the St. Louis club in St. Louis. 
 
 WILLIAM RE/ISEM, realty owner and trustee, born Jan. 13, 1815, in New York 
 city, died at his home, 26 Waverley Place, March 3, 1895. He belonged to an old 
 Knickerbocker family, known in old times in Germany and the Netherlands by the 
 cognomen of Vanderbeeck, a title which signified Vander's Brook. In 1162, the Em- 
 peror Frederick Barbarossa granted to Mr. Remsen's ancestor, a knight, a coat of arms 
 displaying the waving lines which suggested the waters of the brook. The pioneer of 
 
536 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 the family in the new world, Rem Jansen Vanderbeeck, from whom, it is said, all the 
 Remsens in this country descend, emigrated, probably from Westphalia, in the early 
 days of settlement and after living some time in Albany, N. Y., married, in 1652, 
 Jannette, daughter of Joris Jansen de Rapalie. Removing afterward to Wallabout on 
 Long Island, he settled upon a farm which has descended in the family and is now 
 owned by Jeremiah Johnson, his great great grandson. The pioneer was a magistrate 
 during the second occupancy by the Dutch. He died in 1681, survived by his wife and 
 fifteen children. In accordance with a custom of. the times, which is in fact yet prev- 
 alent in the Scandinavian countries of Europe, the sons of the pioneer adopted their 
 father's Christian name as a surname, adding the suffix which indicated that they were 
 his sons, and thus became known by the name of Remsen. Several of the family were 
 prominent in early days in New York city. From the pioneer, the line descended to 
 Henry Remsen in the sixth generation. Henry Remsen, born in. New York, Nov. 7, 
 1762, dying in February, 1843, was in early life private secretary to John Jay, Secretary 
 of Foreign Affairs, and later to Thomas Jefferson, while Secretary of State. In 1790, 
 he became a partner in the firm of Henry Remsen & Son, and in 1793, the teller 
 of The United States Bank. June 3, 1799, he entered the bank of The Manhattan 
 Company as cashier, with which institution he remained for twenty-seven years. In 
 1808, he married Eliza, daughter of Capt. Abraham R. De Peyster, and the same year 
 became president of The Manhattan Bank, retaining this position until 1826. To 
 Henry Remsen were born nine children, of whom Willliam, the subject of this memoir, 
 was one. William Remsen received his preliminary tuition in New York city and gradu- 
 ated from Princeton College in 1835. In 1838, after study with Johnson & Kent, he 
 was admitted to the bar. Five years of active practice followed, and he was then com- 
 pelled to abandon his profession to devote himself to the management of his father's 
 large estate. This property, a portion of which became his by inheritance, consisted 
 largely of real estate, improved and unimproved, scattered throughout the city, some of 
 it in the region of Cherry Hill. Mr. Remsen was an excellent manager and materially 
 increased his possessions by the sound and cool judgment and careful foresight 
 which always characterized him. He was a director of The Third Avenue Railroad, 
 The Farmers' Loan & Trust Co., The Harney Peak Tin Mining & Smelting Co., 
 and The Holland Trust Co., president of The Cannelton, W. Va., Coal Co., first 
 vice president of The Greenwich Savings Bank, and interested in other institutions. 
 Jan. 13, 1841, he married Jane, daughter of John Suydam, and to them were born 
 eight children, of whom five are living, Robert George Remsen; Charles Remsen 
 M.D. ; Jane, wife of Joseph Todhunter Thompson; Elizabeth, and Sarah, wife of 
 William Manice. Mr. Remsen was one of the founders of the St. Nicholas Society, 
 and chairman of The American Geographical Society. He shunned the strife of 
 politics and had little taste for clubs, but was warden and vestryman of St. Mark's 
 Church and found his greatest enjoyment in travel and the company of friends. 
 
 JAHES RENWICK, architect, born in this city, Nov. i, 1818, died at his home, 28 
 University place, June 23, 1895. Graduating in 1836 from Columbia College, in which 
 his father, James Ren wick, LL.D. , was professor of chemistry and mechanics, Mr. 
 Renwick devoted himself to the profession of engineering and architecture, beginning 
 work while yet under age upon the Erie Railroad and later serving as assistant engi- 
 neer on the Croton Aqueduct. The reservoir on Fifth avenue and 42d street was 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. RE. 537 
 
 built under his supervision. At the age of twenty-three, he drew the plans, which were 
 accepted, for Grace Church on Broadway at East loth street and had charge of the build- 
 ing of that structure, completing it in 1845 with the exception of the spire. From that 
 time forward for more than thirty years, Mr. Renwick was associated with the building 
 of important edifices. Among those which he designed are the Smithsonian Insti- 
 tution and the Corcoran Art Gallery of Washington; St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth 
 avenue, begun in 1853; Calvary, St Stephen's, St. Bartholomew's, and the Second 
 Presbyterian churches, the Church of the Puritans in Union Square and the Church of 
 the Covenant in this city; St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn; Vassar College; Booth's 
 Theatre, The Young Men's Christian Association building on 23d street, public 
 buildings on Blackwell's and Randall's islands, The Fulton Bank, and the new front of 
 the Stock Exchange, as well as many private residences. One of his latest works was 
 the restoration of the old Spanish Cathedral at St. Augustine, Fla. Mr. Renwick 
 amassed a fortune and filled his house on University place with treasures of art. By 
 will, he left a part of his collections of paintings to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
 His wife died before him, leaving no children. 
 
 WILLIAfl RHINELANDER RENWICK, merchant, who died in this city, May 13, 
 1883, in the sixty-seventh year of his age, was a member of the firm of Battelle & Ren- 
 wick, manufacturing chemists, established in 1840, at No. 163 Front street. He was 
 prominent in the wholesale drug and chemical trade, owing to his large interest in The 
 Niagara Laboratory in Jersey City, The Brooklyn Sulphur Works and The New York 
 Dyevvood Extract & Chemical Co. Mr. Renwick did not confine his enterprise to the 
 field of chemistry, however, but was president of The New York & Saugerties Trans- 
 portation Co., and a director of The Gallatin National Bank. He was largely inter- 
 ested in city real estate, also, being one of the heirs of William Rhinelander, and owned 
 wharf property between Barclay and Canal streets, although it should be said that his 
 fortune was mainly of his own making. In 1841, he married Eliza S. Crosby, a sister 
 of Chancellor Crosby. She died in 1877. Five children survived their father, William 
 C. and Philip R. Renwick; Emily A., wife of Ed. Abdy Hurry; Mrs. Helen S. Schaff 
 and Mrs. Mary C. Strong. 
 
 WILLIAfi RHINELANDER, born in New York city in September, 1827, is a 
 descendant of Philip Jacob Rhinelander, a Huguenot and first of the name in America, 
 who, driven from France by religious persecution, settled in New Rochelle in 1686 and 
 bought a large tract of land there. Prior to the American Revolution, the pioneer 
 moved to New York city and engaged in business. William Rhinelander, grandfather 
 of the subject of this sketch, inherited property from two brothers and augmented his 
 possessions by importing and refining sugar. He left a large property in real estate 
 in New York city to his sens, William C., Philip and Frederick, which included almost 
 the whole area bounded by 86th and 93d streets, Third avenue and the East River, and 
 large tracts in Chrystie, Canal, Broome, Rivington, Allen, Cherry, Monroe, William, 
 Spruce, Beach, Washington, West Greenwich and other streets. William C. Rhine- 
 lander, who died June 20, 1878, at the age of eighty-eight, was an officer in the War 
 of 1812 and a trustee of the entire Rhinelander estate, which has been kept together 
 more than a hundred years. The old " prison house," in which the patriots of the 
 American Revolution suffered such horrors, had always been owned by the family, who 
 kept it as an interesting landmark until compelled by the city government to demolish 
 

 538 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 it, a few years ago. The subject of this sketch, a son of William C. Rhinelander, re- 
 ceived his first business training in his father's office and has since been active both in 
 the management of his own properties and in a fiduciary capacity for others, being a 
 trustee under his father's will. Although never negligent of his duty as a voter and 
 always interested in the welfare of the city, Mr. Rhinelander has never held public 
 office. He married in 1853, Miss Cruger Oakley, a descendant of the famous Colonel 
 Cruger family, which held prominent positions of trust in the early days of the city for 
 nearly a hundred years. Her grandfather, Henry Cruger, was Mayor of Bristol and 
 Member of Parliament under George III., while her father was Chief Justice Oakley, 
 whose decisions are yet remembered on account of their soundness, and who served for 
 many years in the State Legislature and in Congress. 
 
 ENOS RICHARDSON, manufacturer, born in 1819 in Attleborough, Mass., now 
 one of the principal seats of the manufacture of jewelry in this country, entered this 
 trade at the age of sixteen. Going to Philadelphia with his employer, he toiled in the 
 factory for a time and, in 1838, became a traveling salesman, making two trips to the 
 West, every year. In 1841, he engaged in the manufacture of jewelry in Attleborough 
 in partnership with S. S. Daggett and took charge of the New York office of the firm 
 at No. 9 Cortlandt street. In 1848, the firm name was changed to Palmer, Richardson 
 & Co., and upon Dec. 31, 1865, to Enos Richardson & Co. With different partners, 
 Mr. Richardson has continued in business down to the present time. Since 1848, he 
 has manufactured in Newark, N. J., under the name of The Richardson Manufacturing 
 Co., and since 1849, the office of the house has been in Maiden Lane. Mr. Richardson 
 is now one of the most prominent makers of popular jewelry in the United States. 
 Frank H. Richardson, managing partner in the firm, is his son. 
 
 JOSEPH RICHARDSON may truthfully be said to have been the architect of his 
 own fortunes to an extent rarely achieved by those to whom that credit is accorded. 
 Born in England, Sept. 7, 1814, he came to this country at a very early age and when 
 only ten years old was apprenticed to a mason in Albany, N. Y. While yet, a young 
 man, he established himself in business as a master builder; and, although expanding 
 interests, attendant. upon enlarged capital and liberal investment in various directions, 
 have necessarily diverted his attention in some degree, he yet regards as his serious oc- 
 cupation that in which he laid the foundation of his fortune. A builder he has been 
 for more than half a century and a builder he intends to be while he lives. Practically 
 all of New York, as it is to-day ; has grown up under his observation. Wall street, for 
 instance, he has seen rebuilt three times, with the exception of the United States 
 Treasury building and Custom House, and the latter is the second edifice he has seen 
 on that ground. In promoting these changes, he has done much important work. 
 
 But his building operations have not been confined to this city. In 1852-53, he 
 erected the water works at Bridgeport, Conn., the third in this country, the first and 
 second having been respectively in Philadelphia and New York. Of all those associ- 
 ated with him in the corporation, which built the Bridgeport works, he is the only one 
 now living. 
 
 All new enterprises promising material advancement in the progress of civilization 
 have found in Mr. Richardson earnest sympathy and liberal aid. His money helped 
 the first trans-Atlantic steamship, the Great Western, when that enterprise was looked 
 upon as so chimerical that means had to be sought on both sides of the ocean to defray 
 
JOSEPH RICHARDSON. 
 
540 
 
 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 the cost. He also invested liberally with Cyrus W. Field to aid the laying of the first 
 Atlantic cable. The first elevated railroad in New York, the "one-legged " structure 
 on Greenwich street from the Battery to Cortlandt street, the small and then much 
 ridiculed beginning from which our present magnificent elevated railroad system has 
 developed, was partly due to Mr. Richardson's prescient faith in its future and his gen- 
 erous backing of the enterprise. 
 
 Thirty years ago, he established a line of steamboats between New York and 
 Bridgeport, Conn., which he yet controls, and which, notwithstanding the sharp rail- 
 road rivalry it encounters, he has made profitable through keeping it fully up to all the 
 requirements of modern traffic. 
 
 Mr. Richardson was a liberal investor in the Credit Mobilier, which supplied the 
 means for building the Union Pacific Railroad, and not only aided that gigantic 
 national enterprise in this manner, but also gave for its furtherance the not less impor- 
 tant service of building at Laramie City, on the summit of the Rocky Mountains, the 
 mill in which a portion of the rails for the road were rolled. It was the first rolling 
 mill west of the Missouri river. The water works at Laramie City are another monu- 
 ment to his enterprise, he having been their originator and builder. He also built the 
 water works at Houston, Texas. 
 
 Vigorous in mind and body, at an age specified by the Psalmist as the limit of 
 active human life, Mr. Richardson is an excellent demonstration of the preservative 
 effect of a well regulated and well occupied life. He has been twice married and is 
 deservedly cited by those who know him best as a model of conjugal fidelity. In various 
 good ways, Mr. Richardson may be deemed an exceptional man, but in none more so, 
 perhaps, than in his ability to affirm, as he does, that if he had his life to live over again, 
 with all his experience consciously retained, he would not wish to live otherwise than 
 he has lived. 
 
 EDWARD RIDLEY, merchant, born in Leicestershire, England, who died in New 
 York city, July 31, 1883, in his sixty-seventh year, was the son of James Moseley Ridley, 
 gentleman. While educated for the law, the young man preferred a mercantile career 
 and, obtaining his father's reluctant consent, began life as apprentice to a merchant. 
 When he finally opened a dry goods store in his native town, he learned a sharp lesson 
 by endorsing the paper of other business houses, which resulted in an obligation to pay 
 various debts for which he was not responsible. Having settled honorably with 
 creditors, he removed to America, located in Albany, N. Y. , opened a dry goods store, 
 made excellent progress and soon established a branch store in Saratoga. He closed 
 both houses in 1849 to bring his capital to New York city, where he established a little 
 retail millinery and dry goods store at the corner of Grand and Allen streets. At the 
 end of the first decade, he was worth not over $50,000. In 1869 and 1875 respectively, 
 he took his two sons, Edward Albert and Arthur John Ridley, into partnership, with 
 the happiest results. The business prospered exceedingly and soon became one of the 
 most prominent in the trade. When Mr. Ridley died, his store covered four and a half 
 acres of ground, employed 1,700 clerks and salesmen, and ranked as one of the most 
 conspicuous retail houses on the east side of the city. He was twice married first to 
 Miss Elizabeth Smith of Leicestershire, England, Oct. 23. 1837. The children born to 
 them were James Moseley Ridley, deceased ; Edward Albert and Arthur John Ridley, 
 now the proprietors of the store; Fannie Louise Hughes and Emma Elizabeth Ridley. 
 
&w,w i 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. RI. 541 
 
 After the death of his wife, Mr. Ridley married Caroline Wilhelmina Yevance of 
 Philadelphia. Their daughter is Clara W. Ridley. Mr. Ridley was an upright, 
 chivalric, public spirited and enterprising man. He lived in Gravesend on Long Island. 
 
 DANIEL 5. RIKER, merchant, born at the old Riker homestead on Bowery Bay, 
 died at his home, Bowery Bay, L. I., June 10, 1890, in his fifty-fifth year. After com- 
 pleting his education, he entered the drug commission house of Benjamin H. Field 
 & Co., where he remained a long time. He was next placed in charge of the St. Louis 
 branch of Hall, Bradley & Co. of this city, dealers in paints. In 1861, he returned to 
 New York and formed a partnership with his brother, John L. Riker, in the commission 
 drug and chemical business and was occupied in extending and managing their very 
 prosperous trade until his death. The firm were known as J. L. & D. S. Riker. Their 
 sales amounted to about $5,000,000 a year and the house has long held a leading 
 position in its field. Mr. Riker was married about 1866 to Miss Field of Poughkeepsie. 
 This union brought them five children, three sons and two daughters, who with his 
 wife survived him. He owned a winter home at No. 303 Madison avenue, which he 
 occupied for twenty-four years. 
 
 FRANCIS ROBERT RIVES, lawyer, born in Albemarle county, Va., Feb. 16, 
 1821, died at his country house, New Hamburg, Dutchess county, N. Y., July 16, 
 1891. His father, William C. Rives, studied law under President Jefferson, was twice 
 appointed Minister to France, and three times elected United States Senator, twice for 
 incomplete terms, and served as an aid de camp during the War of 1812. Graduating 
 from the University of Virginia in 1841, Francis R. Rives served as secretary of lega- 
 tion in London under Mr. Everett until 1845, anc ^ then came to New York city to prac- 
 tice law. For many years, he was associated with Alexander Hamilton, especially in 
 real estate cases, and met with so much success as to be enabled to retire thirty years 
 before his death. His home in the city was at No. 8 Washington Place. He was a 
 prominent member of The Southern Society and once its president, a member of the 
 Knickerbocker, Coaching and Farmers' clubs, and actively interested in the annual 
 Horse Show in this city in Madison Square Garden. His wife, Matilda, was the only 
 daughter of George Barclay, a prominent old merchant. She died several years before 
 him. His children were George L. Rives, a well known lawyer and Assistant Secre- 
 tary of State under Thomas F. Bayard; Francis R. Rives, who died in January, 1890; 
 Reginald W. Rives; Ella R. , wife of David King, of Newport; Constance, wife of John 
 Borland, of New Hamburg, N. Y., and Maud, wife of Walker B. Smith, of Tuxedo. 
 
 JOHN ROACH, shipbuilder, was an historic figure and has left the impress of an 
 elevated character and extraordinary powers of mind upon the thought and history of 
 the nation. He was born in Mitchellstown in County Cork, Ireland, Dec. 25, 1813, and 
 traced his early ancestry to gentle blood. His father, once a prosperous merchant, had 
 bsen financially ruined by endorsing for friends ; and so great was the adversity, which 
 this disaster brought upon the family, that John Roach, the son, was denied the advan- 
 tage of even a fairly good education. With a meagre equipment of book knowledge, 
 the lad came to the United States at the age of fifteen, in the steerage of a sailing ship, 
 landing in New York to find himself unknown, without friends, without capital, in 
 the crowds and rush of a great city. The sturdy Irish lad, who thus made his modest 
 entrance into the metropolis, was destined, however, to become an eminent, patriotic, 
 and remarkable citizen of the new world, and, by his genius and indefatigable 
 
542 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 exertions, to bestow a prestige upon the flag of his adopted country at sea, conferred 
 during the prime of his life by few, if any, of the descendants of the oldest families of 
 the country. 
 
 His first employment was in The Howell Iron Works in the woods of Monmouth 
 county, New Jersey, then owned by James P. Allaire. He dwelt in the quaint little 
 village, which had grown up around that furnace and foundry, accepted such work as 
 he could do, learned the iron worker's trade and spent his nights in diligent study. He 
 was noted then, as always in after life, for his overflowing energy, his honesty, good 
 nature and strictly temperate, almost abstemious, habits. He was saving and placed 
 all that he could spare of his wages in the keeping of Mr. Allaire, with whom he 
 remained for ten years. Then, affected by the Western excitement, he made his way 
 to Illinois to explore the possibilities of that region. Drawing a few hundred dollars of 
 his money from Mr. Allaire, he purchased a farm where the city of Peoria now stands 
 and made a payment upon it. Sending East for the balance of his money, he then 
 learned that Mr. Allaire had failed. Mr. Roach thus lost every dollar he had in the 
 world, including what he had paid on the farm, and was obliged to work his way back 
 to New York, having no money to pay his fare. It may be said here that while he 
 failed in his first attempt to become a farmer, he succeeded in later life and became the 
 owner of ten or more farms in Westchester county and along the Hudson river. 
 
 Upon his return from the West, too sturdy to be discouraged, Mr. Roach then, in 
 association with other mechanics, started what was practically a co-operative foundry 
 pn Goerck street in this city. It was a business which involved competition with well 
 established rivals but was pushed with energy and was successful. Machine work and 
 boiler making were in due time added to the foundry; and, through Mr. Roach's in- 
 cessant activity, his ingenious management, honesty and excellence of his workman- 
 ship, The ^Etna Works began to make an enviable reputation. At this juncture, their 
 boiler exploded. Overwhelmed with the disaster, most of his partners withdrew. Mr. 
 Roach was left alone. His ability and integrity enabling him to borrow capital, he 
 resumed the business and soon created a large, profitable and increasing industry. 
 It was he, who, in 1860, obtained the contract for and then constructed the bridge over 
 the Harlem river at Third avenue, only recently removed. A massive iron drawbridge, 
 it was- one of the most important works of its class at the time, and its strength and 
 perfect working during its thirty-three years of existence afforded conclusive evidence 
 of painstaking and thorough workmanship. 
 
 At the end of the Civil War, Mr. Roach was in possession of a flourishing busi- 
 ness. His mind, ever busy with the opportunities of his industry, strongly inclined to 
 large and important affairs, was then considering the condition of the American mer- 
 cantile marine. He was especially struck with the predominance of the British flag 
 among the shipping of this great American port, and came ardently to desire the res- 
 toration of the American merchant marine to its once proud position in the trade to 
 Europe. Inspired by the thought of playing a part in securing for American ships a 
 share of the enormous foreign commerce of the United States, he began the realization 
 of his plans in 1868 by buying The Morgan Iron Works and thereafter The Neptune 
 Works, The Allaire Works, and The Franklin Forge, all in New York city, some of 
 them devoted to marine engine building. They were all consolidated under the name 
 of The Morgan Iron Works. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK.. RO. 543 
 
 During this period, he was investigating minutely and carefully the methods of 
 iron ship building on the Clyde. In 1871, he purchased the ship yard of Reaney, Son 
 A: Archbold at Chester, Pa., and engaged in iron ship building. Mr. Roach then 
 entered upon that career of intrepid effort and inspiring achievement, which has made 
 his work forever a part of our country's history. In February, 1872, the yard took 
 the name of The Delaware River Iron Ship Building & Engine Works. 
 
 His first iron vessels were built for the coasting trade, and later he launched many 
 large and costly steamers for the service to foreign ports. It was characteristic 
 of a man who did nothing hap-hazard, that every ship he built was the product 
 of previous thorough investigation and careful reflection. If a steamer were desired 
 for the trade to a shoal water harbor on the Southern coast, or for Long Island Sound, 
 or for a transoceanic line, the exact practical depth of water, the distance from port to 
 port, the nature of the traffic, the tonnage and bulk of the cargo, and even- other con- 
 ceivable fact which would govern the shape and speed of that particular vessel was pre- 
 viously ascertained; and the ship was designed and built for its own especial service. 
 As a consequence, his ships were successful; and with growing experience, he pro- 
 duced successively better and better vessels, until his reputation as a builder was 
 securely established. Large contracts were awarded to Mr. Roach by the Federal 
 government as well as by the various American steamship lines. In the nearly twelve 
 years of his active work, he launched from his yards 126 steam and war ships. 
 
 As orders came to Mr. Roach's yard, he enlarged his works until they covered a 
 space of twenty- three acres, were superbly equipped, employed more than 2,000 men, and 
 represented an investment of about $3,000,000. His sons as they successively reached 
 their majority became assistants of their father in the business. Another exceed- 
 ingly valuable coadjutor of Mr. Roach was his confidential practical man of affairs, Mr. 
 George E. Weed, who became associated with him in 1861. Mr. Weed's ability, cool- 
 ness, clear judgment and untiring energy led to his promotion to the practical man- 
 agement of The Morgan Iron Works and he remains to this day one of the most valued 
 officials of the company. 
 
 During all this period, Mr. Roach was active with voice, pen and personal influ- 
 ence, in awakening a public opinion, favorable to the establishment of American steam- 
 ship lines to foreign lands. He was the author of many pamphlets of great value, made 
 several important addresses, promoted the holding of conventions, and pressed his views 
 strongly on public men, with many of the most distinguished of whom he had an inti- 
 mate acquaintance. It may be said here, that to the end of his life, Mr. Roach felt 
 keenly the lack of some of those details in a finished education, which can only be sup- 
 plied by the schools; but, in a strange way, nature had made up for the deficiencies 
 of his formal training by endowing him with a mind, strong, penetrating and original, 
 and with a rare ability to array facts in an orderly grouping, to comprehend their 
 broad bearings, and to utilize them so as to awaken the interest of others. Having 
 learned early in life to think and act for himself, his active mind was continually pre- 
 senting to his contemplation new, fresh and vigorous ideas. It was impossible to con- 
 verse with Mr. Roach for an hour, without being powerfully impressed with the nobility 
 of character inherited from some gentle ancestor, the fertility of mind, the greatness of 
 the man and his absolute loyalty to the flag of his adopted country. In the long and 
 hard fight for recognition of the American mercantile marine by the American people 
 
544 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and their Congress, upon which he entered in 1871, he became the most influential, 
 most active and most highly respected authority on this subject in America. 
 
 Mr. Roach did not live to realize his ambition to found a line of splendid steamers 
 to ply between New York and Liverpool, but he did aid the establishment of various 
 lines of American steamships, which carried the American flag to Brazilian and other 
 foreign ports. At his death, ninety per cent, of the American steamers in the foreign 
 trade of the United States had been built by him. 
 
 Of the occurrences of the three years preceding his death, it is difficult to speak 
 with moderation. Mr. Roach had long been a Republican, a consistent advocate of 
 Protection to American labor, and the author of "An Unanswerable Argument " in 
 defense of that policy (which remains unanswered to this day) and had often subscribed 
 generously to Republican campaign funds. In 1884, a Democratic President and 
 Cabinet, then newly installed in Washington, immediately entered upon a policy 
 apparently designed to crush that brave, true and able patriot, John Roach. He had 
 built the beautiful dispatch boat, the Dolphin, for the navy. A partisan Secretary of 
 the Navy refused to accept this ship, alleging " structural weakness, " withheld pay- 
 ment of large sums of money due, made war upon Mr. Roach, and compelled him to 
 assign and close his works. There was never a particle of structural weakness in the 
 Dolphin. She proved her strength and sea-going qualities triumphantly upon many 
 trials, and, when too late, was duly accepted. But, meanwhile, the heart of John 
 Roach had been broken by the closing of his works. His depression of mind developed 
 a fatal malady and he died Jan. 10, 1887. The cruelty shown to him, although since 
 repented of, will never be forgotten by the American people. 
 
 Mr. Roach was married, in 1836, to Emeline Johnson and the union brought them 
 nine children, William H. Roach, now deceased; John B. Roach; Sarah E. Roach; 
 Garrett Roach, now deceased; Garrett Roach, 2d, now deceased; James E. Roach, de- 
 ceased; Stephen W. Roach, deceased; Stephen W. Roach, 2d, and Emeline Roach. 
 His sons, with George E. Weed, now conduct the business which he established. 
 
 ELI ROBBINS, merchant, born Sept. 22, 1821, in West Cambridge, Mass., on the 
 road famous as the route of Paul Revere, died in Brooklyn, N. Y., June n, 1883. At 
 an early age, Mr. Robbins began his career by visiting the country towns with horse 
 and wagon, and buying poultry, which he dressed with his own hands for the Boston 
 market. Nathan and Amos, his brothers, were marketmen in Faneuil Hall. In 1836, 
 when Simeon Boyden of Boston, a hotel keeper, came to New York to take charge of 
 the Astor House, that gentleman suggested to the brothers Robbins that the New York 
 market lacked a supply of the best poultry and might be a good field for them. Amos 
 came on at once to New York to establish the business here. Eli joined him in 1839, 
 and the firm of A. & E. Robbins, formed with only a few hundred dollars of capital, 
 enjoyed a long and honorable existence. They located at the old Fulton Market, 
 dealt in poultry on a large scale, and found their fortunes in catering to the public 
 demand. Mr. Robbins made his home in Brooklyn. He was a director of The Mon- 
 tauk and The Firemen's Trust Insurance Co's, and used his means generously for pub- 
 lic objects. May 13, 1845, he married Maria C. Farmer, of his native town. He had 
 two children, Warren and Clinton, who died at the ages of 23 and 14 respectively. Mr. 
 Robbins gave about $300,000 to public institutions, and his wife, who survived him, 
 became noted also for the extent of her gifts and the beauty of her character. She 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. RO. 545 
 
 paid the debts of the Church of Our Father, in Brooklyn, gave large sums for philan- 
 thropic work, and by her will left $150,000 to finish a public library, at Arlington, 
 Mass., which she had already begun. 
 
 HARSHALL OWEN ROBERTS, merchant, born on Oliver street, New York city, 
 March 22, 1814, died in the United States Hotel, Saratoga Springs, Sept. n, 1880. His 
 father, Owen Roberts, a Welsh physician, came to New York in 1798, with his wife, 
 Miss Newell, of Birmingham, England. Marshall, the fourth and youngest son, began 
 life as boy and clerk in a grocery house at Coenties Slip. Later, he served as clerk 
 first to a saddler and then to a ship chandler. In 1830, before coming of age, his prox- 
 imity to the wharves, a love of ships and his native enterprise, led him to open a ship 
 chandlery store on his own account, in partnership with another youth. Through a 
 contract with the Government to supply oil to Navy vessels and his own foresight in 
 anticipating a fall in the price of oil, he made what was at the time considered a large 
 sum of money. In 1841, he became Naval Agent at New York under appointment by 
 President Harrison. Successful as a merchant from the start, he soon accumulated 
 sufficient funds to engage in independent operations. He bought lands on the flats of 
 the Xe\v Jersey shore, across the river, at a nominal price, which he held for many 
 years and 'finally sold to a corporation for $1,500,000. Engaging in the steamboat 
 traffic of the Hudson, he met with success and built for service in the line the Hendrick 
 Hudson, the largest steamer then employed upon that river. Later, he became an ad- 
 vocate, a large owner of the stock and influential director of The New York & Erie 
 Railroad, and in The Long Dock Co., which provided that company with terminal 
 facilities in New Jersey. The Scranton coal mines were in part developed by him and 
 Mr. Roberts always considered himself the projector of The Delaware, Lackawanna & 
 Western Railroad. Moses Taylor and he were associated in many different enterprises. 
 One product of his energy was The Aspinwall Steamship Co., known later as the United 
 States Mail Steamship Co., and finally as The Pacific Mail Steamship Co., which took 
 part in the early struggles for the control of the California service. He lost consider- 
 able money in these rivalries, but at last obtained from Congress a grant of $1.000,000 
 in payment of his claims. He was at one time president of The North River Bank and 
 also joined Peter Cooper, Cyrus W. Field and others in building a telegraph line to 
 Newfoundland to obtain the first news of maritime arrivals and was also interested in 
 the Atlantic cable. When the Civil War broke out, he bought all the rosin in the mar- 
 ket and disposed of it at a large profit. He was a strong Union man, and the 
 Star of the West, sent in January, 1861, to provision Fort Sumter, was his steamer. 
 Mr. Roberts took great pride' in displaying the flag of the Star of the West thereafter 
 from his private residence. Later, the steamship America was sent with 1,500 men to 
 Fortress Monroe at his own expense. All of his vessels were placed at the service of 
 the Government during the War. He invested $2,000,000 in The Texas Pacific Rail- 
 road, had large interests in other transportation lines, and was the leading spirit of the 
 Tehuantepec Canal enterprise. A great admirer of Abraham Lincoln, he sent $10,000 
 to Mrs. Lincoln at her husband's death. Politics always awakened his interest, and in 
 recognition of the material aid he had given the party, the Republicans nominated him 
 in 1865, for Mayor of New York. He was, however, defeated. Mr. Roberts was vehem- 
 ent, driving and energetic as a business man. His ventures often cost him large sums 
 of money, but he saw the way to recoup his losses and steadily amassed wealth. A dis- 
 

 
 546 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 position affectionate and benevolent and an unusual knowledge of human character 
 made him indulgent in judging others. His charities were innumerable, especially 
 toward the institutions of the Episcopal church. Although a member of the Union club, 
 he preferred home life and surrounded himself there with a splendid collection of paint- 
 ings and a fine library. He was three times married, first to Miss C. D. Amerman of 
 New York; next to Miss C. D. Smith of Hartford, Conn., and then to Susan Lawrence 
 Endicott. His children were Mary M., Isaac K., Caroline M., wife of Ames Van Wart, 
 the sculptor, and Marshall, the first two of whom survived him. Isaac K. Roberts died 
 in February, 1888. 
 
 MAJOR JOSEPH L. ROBERTSON, banker, broker and dealer in investment 
 securities at No 7, Nassau street, is a representative Southern man, to whose compre- 
 hensive knowledge of a special field of enterprise, energy and personal influence, is to 
 be credited a great share of the material progress in development of the resources of 
 the South and Southwest through the aid of Eastern capital, in recent years. He may 
 be regarded one of the important links uniting the large financial interests of the me- 
 tropolis with the most conspicuous enterprises, which distinguish the "new South" at 
 the present time. 
 
 On the maternal side, Mr. Robertson is a descendant from the old Huguenot 
 nobility of France, one of his ancestors having been the gallant Marquis de Calmeis, a 
 pioneer of the ' 'dark and bloody ground. " A granddaughter of the Marquis was Miss 
 Emily Richardson, who was Mr. Robertson's mother. The Robertsons were promi- 
 nent among the early settlers of Kentucky and Tennessee. From that family, sprang, 
 the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Robertson was born Oct, 4, 1838, on the family estate in Montgomery county, 
 Ky. His schooling was confined to the local educational institutions but was sufficiently 
 thorough to qualify him for admission to the Military Academy at West Point, to which 
 he was appointed by the Hon. John C. Mason. His career as a cadet was, however, 
 destined to be abbreviated by the breaking out of the Civil War. He was one of those 
 to whom the theory of State's rights appealed strongly, and his convictions impelled 
 him to renounce the advantages he enjoyed that he might give himself to the cause 
 with which his sympathies were enlisted. Returning to his native State, full of youth- 
 ful enthusiasm, he aided in enlisting for the Confederate service a company which was 
 mustered in as Co. H, 4th Ky. Vols. He became its First Lieutenant. Technical mil- 
 itary knowledge was not abundant in the early days of the War on either side of the line 
 and Lieutenant Robertson's training was so far above the average that, added to his 
 natural capacity for the service, it speedily won distinction for him. Very soon, he was 
 made Adjutant of the regiment, the first step in his rapid promotion. In a short time, 
 he was appointed Assistant Adjutant General of the brigade, commanded by Gen. John 
 C. Breckinridge. All his service was active in the field but in its hazards uniform 
 good fortune attended him. In 1863, he was ordered to the Trans- Mississippi Depart- 
 ment, where he served on the staff of General Hawes of Kentucky, afterward on that 
 of General Waul of Texas and finally with General Magruder, to whose command he 
 was attached until the close of the war. 
 
 Upon the restoration of peace, Major Robertson realized that the condition in which 
 the South had been left by the War was such as to offer little immediate choice for con- 
 genial and profitable employment; but, fortunately, in view of his later career, he 
 


 548 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 elected to identify himself with Southern railroad interests. His first connection was 
 with The Sehna, Rome & Dalton Railroad Later, he joined The Virginia & Tennes- 
 see Air Line Railroads. During his association with the management of those import- 
 ant lines of traffic, he enjoyed ample opportunities for becoming thoroughly conversant 
 with the natural resources of the most favored parts of the Southern and Southwestern 
 country and of attaining a perfect comprehension of their requirements for develop- 
 ment. This knowledge was not merely general but specific, and included information 
 upon promising enterprises already in being but languishing for lack of energetic 
 direction. Armed with knowledge and confident of his ability, he came to New York 
 in 1877 and established himself as a broker and dealer in investment securities, princi- 
 pally those based upon enterprises in sections, concerning which he was well informed 
 and upon which his representations were speedily recognized as authoritative. He 
 influenced the investment of millions of dollars in development of the iron and coal re- 
 sources of Alabama and Tennessee. It is not too much to say, that the present great 
 importance of those industries as factors in the prosperity of the " new South " is due 
 in a great measure to Major J. L. Robertson. His aid has also been valuable in build- 
 ing up the railway systems of the South, notably in connection with The Chattanooga 
 Southern Railway, for which, as financial agent, he procured the means for construc- 
 tion and equipment. He was also president of the construction company by which the 
 road was built. Incidentally, Major Robertson has amassed a fortune for himself in 
 these large enterprises by legitimate interest in substantial enterprises. All the mani- 
 fold directions in which his energies have been applied have tended to enhance the 
 prosperity of the country by bringing forth its hidden wealth, providing new fields of 
 profitable employment for labor, increasing its facilities for traffic and encouraging the 
 development of the productiveness and consequently the larger settlement of formerly 
 sparsely populated districts. To such service, he has not only brought the aid of 
 others' capital but has applied his own. 
 
 Major Robertson is not only one of the most successful Southern business men 
 resident in New Ycrk, but enjoys high social standing. His personal worth, geniality 
 and culture command for him the esteem of an exceptionally wide circle of acquain- 
 tances among the best people of the metropolis. Of course, he has been prominent 
 in The Southern Society of this city, as one of the highly respected members; and 
 not a few gentlemen from the South, coming here to repair fortunes damaged by war, 
 have found in him their most considerate, influential and efficient friend. He is also a 
 member of the New York club. Naturally, as a Kentuckian, Major Robertson has a 
 decided penchant for fine horses, and his ample means have enabled him to gratify his 
 tastes in the raising of thoroughbreds on his splendid "Meadowland" stock farm, in 
 Monmouth County, N. J., as satisfactorily as he might in the famous "blue grass" 
 region of his native State. 
 
 Major Robertson was married on Jan. 5, 1869, to Miss Mary Webb Pollard, of 
 Montgomery, Alabama, daughter of William H. Pollard, and niece of Charles T. Pol- 
 lard, two of the most prominent citizens of that State. By this union he has four chil- 
 dren, William Pollard Robertson, Benjamin J. Robertson, jr., Miss Mary Elizabeth 
 Robertson, and Miss Clara Pollard Robertson. 
 
 JEREMIAH POTTER ROBINSON, merchant, born Aug. 18, 1819, in South Kings- 
 ton, R. I., died in Brooklyn, Aug. 26, 1886. His family had been residents of Rhode 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. RO. 549 
 
 Island for many generations and one of his ancestors Governor of the State. His 
 father was captain of a ship in the trade with China. Brought up as a child on his 
 grandfather's farm, the boy left at the age of twelve to become a clerk and bookkeeper 
 for his uncle, Stephen A. Robinson, a grocer in Newport. In less than three years, he 
 returned to the farm. In 1836, he came to New York with $50 in money and, after a 
 long search, found employment with E'. P. & A. Woodruff, merchants of fish, provi- 
 sions, groceries and salt. Hard work resulted at the end of four years in his admission 
 to partnership, the firm finally taking the name of A. Woodruff & Robinson. Having 
 become interested in the warehouse business, the firm gradually abandoned all their 
 former trade, except the importation of salt. Later, he engaged in the storage busi- 
 ness for himself under the name of J. P. & G. C. Robinson. The firm are known at 
 present as J. P. Robinson & Co. About 1843, Mr. Robinson entered upon the develop- 
 ment of the South Brooklyn water front, where he bought large blocks of unimproved 
 land and built warehouses and piers. The Robinson stores were built by him. A few 
 years later, with William Beard, he began to develop the region now known as the Erie 
 Basin but sold his interest therein later to Mr. Beard. Mr. Robinson was a director 
 and first president of the Brooklyn Bridge and a friend of every other enterprise having 
 in view the welfare of Brooklyn. He belonged to the Chamber of Commerce, the 
 Produce and Maritime Exchanges, and the Brooklyn and Hamilton clubs. By his mar- 
 riage with Elizabeth De Witt, of Cranberry, N. J., he was the father of four children, 
 Isaac R., Jeremiah P., Elizabeth De Witt, and Harriet W. 
 
 JOHN DAVISON ROCKEFELLER, one of the founders of The Standard Oil 
 Co., was born in Richford, N. Y., July 8, 1839, tne oldest son of William Avery and 
 Eliza Davison Rockefeller. The family removed to Cleveland, O., in 1853, where John 
 completed his studies at the age of sixteen at the high school. As clerk in the forward- 
 ing and commission house of Hewitt & Tuttle, he then entered modestly upon a career, 
 possible only in a country like ours, which gives free scope to the talents of every 
 young man and binds no one to a life of obscurity, who has the ability to rise above 
 it. After fifteen months, he became cashier and bookkeeper in charge of the office of 
 the firm. When not yet nineteen years old, he engaged in a commission business on his 
 own account in partnership with Morris B. Clark, as Clark & Rockefeller, continuing 
 with various partners until the spring of 1865. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Rockefeller had entered upon the enterprise, which the com- 
 mercial genius of himself and his associates was to develop to worldwide proportions. 
 As early as 1860, the firm of Clark & Rockefeller, with others, had established the oil 
 refining business of Andrews, Clark & Co. Selling his interest in the commission house 
 in 1865, Mr. Rockefeller, with Mr. Andrews, bought the interest of their- associates in 
 oil refining, establishing the firm of Rockefeller & Andrews. This business developed 
 with great rapidity. With William Rockefeller as an added partner, the firm of 
 William Rockefeller & Co. was established in Cleveland and shortly thereafter all the 
 partners united in founding the firm of Rockefeller & Co. in New York, for the sale of 
 the products of their refineries. Two years later, these companies were consolidated 
 under the name of Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler, in association with Henry M 
 Flagler. with whom the Rockefellers had had several years of pleasant intercourse. 
 
 In 1870, The Standard Oil Co. of Ohio was organized with a capital of 1,000,000, 
 with John D. Rockefeller as president, William Rockefeller vice president and Henry 
 
55 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 M. Flagler secretary and treasurer. Many other refineries in Ohio, Pennsylvania and 
 New York associated themselves with The Standard Oil Co. from time to time, and in 
 1882, The Standard Oil Trust was formed with a capital of $70,000,000, afterward in- 
 creased to $95,000,000, which, within seven or eight years, came into possession of the 
 stocks of the companies controlling the greater part of the petroleum refining business 
 of the United States, and, in addition, of large oil producing interests. In 1892, the 
 Supreme Court of Ohio decided the Trust to be illegal, and it was dissolved, the business 
 being now conducted by the separate companies, in each of which Mr. Rockefeller is a 
 shareholder. The Standard Oil companies have been able to reduce the cost of oil to 
 consumers, and they now own thousands of acres of oil lands, an extensive system of 
 wells, refineries, pipe lines, oil steamships, and business houses in all the principal 
 cities of the United States and the representative cities of nearly every civilized 
 country on the face of the globe. They control the greater part of the petroleum 
 business of this country and export much of the oil used in other countries. They give 
 employment to a vast army of men, among whom strikes are unknown. 
 
 Mr. Rockefeller has invested largely in various other industrial enterprises, thus 
 contributing in many directions to the prosperity of the country. He is moreover a 
 man of public spirit. From the time he began life as a boy, he has in each year en- 
 larged his contributions to philanthropic and religious work throughout this and other 
 countries. His benefactions are as a rule not made public, and their consideration has 
 for many years required more time and attention than his business affairs. His largest 
 gift to any one institution has been over $4,000,000. He is actively engaged in church 
 work, enjoys home life and belongs to few clubs or other social organizations. 
 
 WILLIAM ROCKEFELLER, president of The Standard Oil Co. of New York, 
 born in Tioga county, N. Y., May 31, 1841, is the second son of William A. and Eliza 
 Davidson Rockefeller. He received his education at the academy in Owego and the 
 public schools in Cleveland, O. The family moved to Cleveland early in the '503. Be- 
 ginning his business career in 1858, modestly, as a bookkeeper for A. Quinn, a promi- 
 nent miller of Cleveland, with whom he remained for two years, Mr. Rockefeller then 
 served in the same capacity the forwarding and commisson house of Hughes & Lester. 
 At the end of the second year, upon the retirement of Mr. Lester, Mr. Rockefeller 
 became his successor in the firm under the name of Hughes & Rockefeller. For 
 several years, he carried on a successful produce commission business and gained 
 therefrom the means to engage in the famous operations, with which he then became 
 identified. This firm dissolved in 1864, and he formed a co-partnership with his 
 brother, John D. Rockefeller and Samuel Andrews, as Wm. 'Rockefeller & Co., to 
 engage in oil refining, and built the Standard Oil Works in Cleveland. His brother 
 and Mr. Andrews were already in the same business under the name of Rockefeller & 
 Andrews, conducting the Excelsior refinery. In 1865, Mr. Rockefeller came to New 
 York and established the firm of Rockefeller & Co. to sell and handle in this market 
 the oils of the two concerns in Cleveland. The success of his operations bore elo- 
 quent testimony to his ability as a merchant. In 1867, all three firms were dissolved 
 to be succeeded by Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler of Cleveland and New York city, 
 William Rockefeller taking charge of the business in New York. In 1870, the firm of 
 Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler dissolved and organized The Standard Oil Co of Ohio, 
 with John D. Rockefeller as its president and William Rockefeller, vice president, the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. RO. 551 
 
 latter in charge of the mercantile and financial business in New York. In 1881, The 
 Standard Oil Trust was formed and with it The Standard Oil Co. of New York. 
 William Rockefeller was elected vice president of the Trust and president of The 
 Standard Oil Co. of New York, and has continued to be president of the latter until 
 the present time. In the creation of the enormous business of this company, Mr. 
 Rockefeller has played an important part. He is famous for exact knowledge of all the 
 details of the operations of the >company, close discrimination and clear and correct 
 judgment, and his opinions have always had great weight in the affairs of his corpora- 
 tion. He was married in 1864, in Fairfield, Conn., to Miss Almira Geraldine Goodsell, 
 and has four children living, Emma, Wi'liam G., Percy A very and Ethel Geraldine. 
 In 1875, he built the house on the northeast corner of Fifth avenue and 54th street, 
 which has ever since been the family residence. His splendid country seat is on the 
 North river between Tarrytown and Scarborough, upon the old Aspinwall estate, of 
 which he is now owner. Large wealth has enabled him to extend his interests and he 
 is a director of The Consolidated Gas Co. of New York, The United States Trust Co., 
 The National City Bank, The Hanover National Bank, The Leather Manufacturers' 
 National Bank and The New York, New Haven & Hartford, The Delaware, Lack- 
 wanna & Western and The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroads. He is a man of 
 retiring disposition, an enthusiastic horseman, and a member of the Union League, 
 Metropolitan, and Gentlemen's Riding clubs. 
 
 CORNELIUS VAN SCHAICK ROOSEVELT, merchant, born Jan. 30, 1794, died 
 July 17, 1871. He was a conspicuous member of an old Dutch family, which has pro- 
 duced many men distinguished both in private life and public affairs. The first repre- 
 sentative of the name, Claes Martinsen Van Roosevelt, came from Holland to New 
 Amsterdam in 1649. From Martinsen, the line came down by direct descent through 
 Nicholas, Johannes, Jacobus, and Jacobus I., (known as James), to Cornelius V. S. 
 Roosevelt. Jacobus I. Roosevelt, father of Cornelius, was a Commissary during the 
 entire War for Independence, giving his services without reward, and Nicholas, an 
 uncle of the subject of this memoir, brought out the steamboat simultaneously with (the 
 family claim before) Fulton and ran vessels of this class on the Mississippi river while 
 Fulton was operating them on the Hudson. Cornelius V. S. Roosevelt was one of the 
 most eminent of this family and in his day was one of the four or five richest men in 
 New York city. He was for many years engaged in the importation of hardware and 
 plate glass, and also the inheritor of large means from the Roosevelt family. In the 
 judgment of his contemporaries, he ranked as a man of the soundest opinions and most 
 accurate discrimination. He was one of those who founded The Chemical Bank on the 
 single principle of honesty, a trait not so common as it should have been in banks in 
 those days, and the institution has never failed to pay its obligations in gold. During 
 the War. it redeemed its notes at one time at 280 in greenbacks. He introduced in 
 business a principle even more rare, by giving out no notes. The United States Bank 
 he fought from start to finish. While a very rich man, Mr. Roosevelt never valued 
 money for its own sake. He made money through the power of his own mind and then 
 gave it away to his family and in unknown charities. By his marriage with Margaret 
 Barnhill, he was the father of Silas Weir Roosevelt, an excellent lawyer and famous 
 wit, who died about twenty years ago ; James A. Roosevelt ; Cornelius V. S. Roose- 
 velt, who died Sept. 30, 1887, in his sixtieth year, without issue; Robert B. Roosevelt; 
 
552 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Theodore Roosevelt, Allotment Commissioner, now deceased; and William W. Roose- 
 velt, the latter dying while young. 
 
 JAflES ALFRED ROOSEVELT, banker, son of Cornelius V. S. Roosevelt, was 
 born in New York city, June 13, 1825. Educated at home by private tutors, he began 
 business for himself at the age of 21 as a member of Roosevelt & Son, importers of 
 hardware and plate glass, but soon abandoned the hardware branch of the business as 
 unprofitable. For a number of years, the firm continued the importation of plate 
 glass, being the leading house in that business. Mr. Roosevelt and his brother Theo- 
 dore both acquired a fortune. After his brother's death, he established in 1878, with 
 his two sons, Alfred and William Emlen Roosevelt, the bank of Roosevelt & Sons, 
 under the old firm name, at No. 33 Wall street. Alfred died July 3, 1891, in conse- 
 quence of a railroad accident, but the remaining partners yet conduct the bank at the 
 location above named. Mr. Roosevelt is one of the best known citizens of New 
 York, and is vice president of The Chemical National Bank and director in The New 
 York Life Insurance & Trust Co. , The New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, The 
 Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad, The Delaware & Hudson Canal Co., and 
 The Eagle Fire Insurance Co , president of The Roosevelt Hospital, and trustee of The 
 Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He has extensive holdings in real 
 estate, and was once president of The Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway. He 
 possesses shrewd judgment and fine executive ability, which have made his services 
 valuable in all the corporations with which he is identified. He is sound, conservative 
 and much admired "in the street." During the Civil War, the Government received 
 his cordial support, and he served on the Committee of Seventy at the time of Tweed's 
 overthrow. By appointment to the Park Board under Mayor Strong, Mr. Roosevelt 
 has recently entered the public service. He rides much on horseback in the Park and 
 promises to make as good a public official as a business man can. Several of the best 
 clubs in town bear his name upon their rolls, including the Metropolitan, City, Century, 
 Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht, Riding and Down Town clubs. Mr. Roosevelt .married 
 in 1847, Elizabeth N., daughter of Wm. F. Emlen, of Philadelphia, and there have 
 been born to them, May, Leila, Alfred, and William Emlen Roasevelt. The summer 
 home of the family is at Oyster Bay, on Long Island. 
 
 JAflES I. ROOSEVELT, lawyer, born in this city, Dec. 14, 1795, died at his home. 
 No. 836 Broadway, April 5, 1875. He was a son of James I. Roosevelt, plate glass 
 and hardware merchant, and brother of Cornelius V. S. Roosevelt. In 1815, he 
 graduated from Columbia College, and was admitted to the bar in 1818. He took 
 part in much notable litigation, and was remarkable as a cross-examiner. Inherited 
 means then enabled him to devote his time almost wholly to public affairs. He identi- 
 fied himself early in life with the Democratic party in the days when Tammany Hall 
 was good, and was fora time treasurer of the Tammany General Committee. In 1828, 
 he was elected to the Common Council and re-elected in 1830, and served for several 
 years upon the Public School Board. In 1835 and 1840, he was elected to the Legisla- 
 ture, serving both times upon the Judiciary Committee. Going to Congress in 1841, 
 he entertained splendidly while there and declined renomination. In 1851, he became 
 a Justice of the Supreme Court by a large majority and filled this responsible position 
 on the bench for eight years, during one year being ex-officio a member of the Court of 
 Appeals. At the close of his judicial career, President Buchanan appointed him to the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. RO. 
 
 office of United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which he re- 
 tained until the close of that administration, when he retired to private life. Judge 
 Roosevelt possessed a purity of character which was stainless and an integrity which 
 was unimpeachable. His wife was a leader in society. A large farm in Westchester 
 county formed his favorite retreat from the cares of business. 
 
 ROBERT BARNWELL ROOSEVELT, lawyer and banker, born at No. 31 Cort- 
 landt street in this city, Aug. 7, 1829, is a son of the late Cornelius V. S. Roosevelt and 
 springs from pure Holland Dutch stock. 
 
 As a boy, Mr. Roosevelt gave early indications of marked ability and at sixteen 
 years of age had written a play, which was accepted by John Brougham and would 
 have been produced, had it not been destroyed in the fatal fire in Winter Garden 
 Theatre. He wrote several contributions for the press, among them an account of the 
 Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, then hardly known, which appeared in the old Knicker- 
 bocker Magazine. The first article for which he ever received pay was written for THE 
 TRIBUNE. At the age of twenty-one, Mr. Roosevelt was admitted to the bar and prac- 
 ticed law with success for about twenty years, thereafter relinquishing his practice to 
 his son. Inherited wealth then enabled him to devote his time largely to literature and 
 public affairs. His property has consisted largely of real estate, an investment greatly 
 in favor in his family since the days of the Roosevelt farm on this island in the neigh- 
 borhood of Roosevelt street. He is a large owner and director in improvements at 
 Brigantine Beach, N. J., and has been an officer of various companies, including The 
 Jefferson Insurance Co., and for several years president of The Holland Trust Co., 
 and of The Shenango & Allegheny Railroad, The Brigantine Beach Railroad, The 
 Mercer Mining & Manufacturing Co., and The Broadway Improvement Co. 
 
 Always fond of field sports, Mr. Roosevelt was among the first to visit some of the 
 then more remote portions of the United States in pursuit of wild game. He wrote, 
 "Superior Fishing," "A Trip to the Laval," and a number of kindred works, and took 
 an active part in the organization of societies for the protection of game. For many years, 
 The Xew York Association for the Protection of Game made him its president and in 
 1868. he became, with Horatio Seymour and Seth Green, a member of the first Com- 
 mission of State Fisheries. Mr. Roosevelt served on that Commission for twenty 
 years, writing all the reports and supervising the work, a part of the time being its 
 president. His repeated successes in winning first prize in the annual fly casting tourna- 
 ments were the despair of his competitors. In recent years, he has served as one of the 
 Commissioners of New York State to codify the game laws. While a member of Con- 
 gress, to which he was elected in 1872, he proposed the creation of the United States 
 Fishery Commission and secured the passage of the law. In 1888, Mr. Roosevelt re- 
 signed from the State Fish Commission to become American Minister to the Nether- 
 lands and filled this position for nearly two years. He has been an Alderman and one 
 of the Commissioners of the Brooklyn Bridge. Various public positions have been 
 declined by him, including those of Mayor of New York, Judge and Assistant Treasurer 
 of the United States. 
 
 Among his published works are "Game Fish of North America," "Game Birds," 
 "Fish Hatching and Fish Catching." -'Florida and the Game Water Birds," "Five 
 Acres Too Much," a satire on scientific farming; "Progressive Petticoats," a satire 
 on female strongmindedness; and " Love and Luck," an idyl of the Great South Bay. 
 
554 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 In politics always a Democrat, he has been a leader in every reform movement since 
 1862. Loyal to the Union during the War, he became one of the founders of the Union 
 League club and joined the thirty days men who went to the support of Washington. 
 He served on the Committee of Seventy, which brought about the downfall of the 
 Tweed ring, and was one of the two Democrats who spoke at the meeting when the 
 committee was organized. Of his speech in that famous movement, half a million 
 copies were printed by the committee for distribution. He has been the founder and 
 godfather of half a dozen clubs, first vice president, later president, and always one of 
 the most enthusiastic members of The Holland Society, president of the Arcadian club, 
 manager of the Manhattan and Lotos clubs, first vice president of the Reform club, 
 and member of the Century, Press, New York Yacht and Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht 
 clubs. He is also vice president of The Sons of the American Revolution in New York. 
 
 In 1850, he married Elizabeth Ellis, daughter of John S. Ellis. To them have been 
 born Margaret, John Ellis, Helen L., who died while young, and Robert B. Roosevelt, 
 jr. After the death of his wife, he married, in London, Marion T. Fortescue, widow 
 of R. Francis Fortescue and daughter of John O'Shea of Nenagh, Ireland. 
 
 THEODORE ROOSEVELT, merchant and philanthropist, born in New York city, 
 Sept. 22, 1831, died at his residence, No. 6 West 57th street, Feb. 9, 1878. He was a 
 son of Cornelius V. S. and Margaret Barnhill Roosevelt, from whom he inherited a 
 fortune which, added to his own, acquired by diligent enterprise, made him a man ot 
 large wealth. For many years and until 1876, he was engaged in the importation of 
 glass with his brother, and was, perhaps, the first to start the idea of a trust. He made 
 a combination in the glass trade, which he kept up to taw by a dinner every Saturday at 
 Delmonico's and which brought to book any member of the combination chargeable 
 with underhand work. One or two such experiences was enough for the most recalci- 
 trant. Although a millionaire, when the Civil War broke out and it was discovered that 
 families of many volunteers were destitute, he organized the Allotment Commission 
 and visited personally every regiment of every corps from the East and saved millions 
 to the destitute women and children. He served without compensation in an almost 
 desperate cause and the tremendous labor which he performed was never recognized by 
 the public, although for that matter he never sought to have it recognized. He did it 
 because it was the right thing to do. In January, 1876, he devoted himself to banking 
 as head of the firm of Theodore Roosevelt & Son. For many years, he was promi- 
 nently identified with public charities. He was especially interested in The Newsboys' 
 Lodging House which he founded and for a time he supported the uptown branch 
 entirely. He was also interested in The Young Men's Christian Association and a liberal 
 giver to many charities, always interested in increasing their efficiency. He was one of 
 the founders of the Union League club, the Patriarchs, and The Orthopedic Hospital 
 and The Children's Aid Society, one of the organizers of The Bureau of United Charities, 
 and a member of the State Board of Charities. Although not a professional politician, 
 Mr. Roosevelt was always active in political life as an anti-machine Republican. When 
 nominated by President Hayes as Collector of the Port of New York, he was rejected by 
 the Senate because he was a Civil Service reformer. In 1853, he married Miss Martha 
 Bulloch, who with four children survive him, the latter being Anna L. ; Theodore, long 
 United States Civil Service Commissioner and now head of the Police Commission 
 of this city; Elliott, now deceased; and Corinne, wife of Douglas Robinson. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. RO. 555 
 
 ELEAZER WMEELOCK RIPLEY ROPES, merchant, usually known as Ripley 
 Ropes, born in Salem, Mass., Sept. 30, 1820, died in Brooklyn, May 18, 1890. He 
 was a son of Benjamin and Frances Wilkins Ropes and the youngest of five brothers, 
 and began to earn his living at the age of ten, as a newspaper carrier for The Salem 
 Register, the delivery route being owned by his four brothers. At the age of 12, he 
 was apprenticed to Taylor & Fox, the leading tailors of Salem, and spent three years in 
 their employment, thereafter traveling in the South upon mercantile business. At 
 the age of 20, he settled down in Salem and with his brother Reuben engaged in the 
 South American trade. At one time, he was an alderman of the city. The growth of 
 their interests compelled the brothers, in 1863, to remove their business to New York 
 and their homes to Brooklyn. Ripley was a good merchant, energetic, clear-headed 
 and upright, and prosperity attended his enterprise. The firm dealt in hides, grain, 
 wool and leather, and owned large interests in vessels. Although a Republican in 
 political faith, he believed in non-partisan government locally and, as a reformer, 
 was elected an Alderman of Brooklyn, being re-elected in 1874. In 1877, he was 
 appointed to a vacancy in the Board of Supervisors. In 1871 and 1881, he 
 became a member of the State Board of Charities and served thereon until, a few 
 weeks before his death, he declined reappointment. In this office, he cut off useless 
 expenses, exposed the abuses practiced by the local bureau of charities, and saved the 
 county nearly $2,000,000. In 1881, he was nominated for Mayor of the city but with- 
 drew in favor of Seth Low, whom he placed in nomination himself and helped to elect. 
 He accepted the position ot Commissioner of City Works under Mayor Low. 
 Conscientious in the performance of every duty, he never wearied in trying to bring 
 good out of evil. In 1873, he became president of The Brooklyn Trust Co., and held 
 this position iintil his death, and was a member of the Brooklyn club and The New 
 England Society. By his marriage, Oct. 22, 1846, to Elizabeth Graves, he was the 
 father of Grace Frances, Elizabeth Graves, Frederick, Albert Gardiner, Alice, Charles 
 Arthur, Walter Pierce, Lincoln and Louis Wheelock, twins, and Anna Caroline Ropes. 
 
 REUBEN WILKINS ROPES, merchant, born in Salem, Mass., July 16, 1813, who 
 died in Brooklyn, N. Y. , July 30, 1890, came from an old English family, his ancestors 
 having settled in Salem in 1632. The family originated in America with two of the 
 Pilgrim Fathers. Captain Benjamin Ropes, 1772-1845, a shipping merchant of Salem 
 and father of Reuben, fought at Lundy's Lane in Canada against the British in the War 
 of 1812, as Captain of the 2ist Inf., while the grandfathers of the subject of this 
 memoir, on both sides of the family, Benjamin Ropes and Reuben Wilkins, were offi- 
 cers in the American Revolution. Reuben W. Ropes began life in the pursuits in 
 which his father was engaged, and, later formed the shipping firm of R. W. Ropes 
 & Co., in Salem, in which his brothers were interested. The firm operated a packet 
 line between Salem, Boston, New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Finally, the 
 firm removed to New York city, where they carried on a constantly increasing business 
 in the building known as the old colonial stage house at 73 Pearl street. Mr. Ropes 
 retired from business about fifteen years before his death, and devoted his life there- 
 after to charitable work. He was of a modest and retiring disposition, and his many 
 acts of charity were done without ostentation. He supported many poor families 
 through periods of distress, often going among them and searching out cases where his 
 sympathy and money would bring relief It was his favorite idea to aid the poor with- 
 
556 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 out degrading them. He was one of the founders of The Brooklyn Eye & Ear Hos- 
 pital, vice president of The Long Island College Hospital, president of The Seaman's 
 Friend Society, and for over a quarter of a century president of The Association for 
 Improving the Condition of the Poor. In all these offices, as in less responsible ones 
 in many other societies, he proved himself a careful man of business, a wise counselor 
 and a valuable executive. For many years, he was a member of the Chamber of Com- 
 merce and The New England Society. When Mr. Beecher began preaching in Brook- 
 lyn in 1847, Mr. Ropes was greatly impressed with him and joined Plymouth Church, 
 with which he remained connected until his death. He was a trustee and a deacon, 
 and one of the most constant attendants upon church services. Mr. Beecher said that 
 he had not in his congregation a more saintly man. Mr. Ropes sent his Bible class at 
 Warren street mission to the front during the Civil War. All returned in safety, and 
 he gave each one a bank account and established them in business. In 1849, he mar- 
 ried Maria L., daughter of Judge Jacob Thompson, a prominent resident of Monson, 
 Mass. Two sons and one daughter survived him, their names being William, Edward 
 Wilkins, and Fanny, wife of George R. Hallett Thorn, of New York. 
 
 ALBERT S. ROSENBAUM, merchant, a native of Cassel, Germany, who died in 
 this city, Feb. 17, 1894, in his sixty-fourth year, came to this country while young and 
 settled in California. Engaging in business there, he accumulated means by dint of 
 business tact, shrewdness and industry, and invested a part of his capital advantage- 
 ously in San Francisco real estate. After he had made this city his permanent home, 
 he engaged in the importation and manufacture of tobacco, taking a leading position in 
 the trade and becoming one of the richest Germans in America. He was a director in 
 The Manhattan Trust Co., The Fulton Market National Bank, The Third Avenue 
 Railroad, The Twenty-third Street Railroad, and other corporations, and owned the 
 Hotels Albert and St. Stephens and other important realty. A man of energy and 
 ability, well informed on all economic and public questions and personally attractive. 
 he enjoyed the acquaintance of a large circle of friends. 
 
 JACOB ROTHSCHILD, merchant, a native of Rothenkirchen, Hessen, Germany, 
 was born May 26, 1843. He came from a family of trades people of moderate means 
 "but of excellent character and reputation. Two of his maternal uncles were men of 
 great learning. In 1856, at the age of thirteen, he came to the .new world and was ap- 
 prenticed to a jeweler. This trade was too confining and he found more congenial em- 
 ployment in mercantile business, and finally established a store at 333 Sixth avenue and 
 entered upon the importation and sale of millinery. His success has been marked. He 
 now has branch stores in New York, Boston, Brooklyn and Philadelphia, each one 
 under the direction of a member of his family. The period from 1874-79 is well re- 
 membered in this city on account of a reaction in the values of real estate. Many 
 men wanted to sell and few had the courage to buy. Mr. Rothschild foresaw that 
 the growth of New York city would revive values and invested largely in lots and build- 
 ings on the best business streets, acquiring some property also near Central Park. His 
 judgment was proved by the subsequent great appreciation in value of his proper- 
 ties. His most notable venture has been the construction of the building on the corner 
 of 72d street and Central Park West, known as the Hotel Majestic, twelve stories in 
 height, at a cost of about $3,500,000. Mr. Rothschild married his cousin, Regina, 
 daughter of H. Rothschild, and is the father of Joseph Jacquin, Helene Rosalind, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. RO. 557 
 
 Florence Sylvia, and Elsa Beatrice Rothschild. His contributions to charity have been 
 generous, and his name is a tower of strength to the Montefiore Home, Mount Sinai 
 Hospital, Hebrew Benevolent Orphan Asylum, United Hebrew Charities, St. John's 
 Guild and other institutions. He belongs to the Progress and Freundschaft clubs. 
 
 VICTOR HENRY ROTHSCHILD, manufacturer and merchant, has attained a 
 deservedly high rank among the self-made men of America. Born at Nordstetten, in 
 the depths of the Black Forest, Wurtemberg, Germany, April 6, 1835, he was the 
 oldest of a family of seven children. He received at that place a public school educa- 
 tion and then entered the employment of his father, a retail dry goods merchant. He 
 remained with him four years, working hard and devoting his spare hours to study and 
 self-cultivation. Like hundreds of other young Germans, however, he longed for a 
 more extended sphere in which to display the business ability, which he felt he pos- 
 sessed, and, preparatory to his starting for this country, devoted himself industriously 
 to the study of English. Thus, when he emigrated, in 1852, he had a fair command of 
 the language, and this he continued to improve by study and practice at his new home 
 in Fort Wayne, Ind. 
 
 By dint of unwearying energy and the knowledge of American business methods 
 he had managed to acquire, aided by the strictest economy (his purse contained only- 
 eight silver dollars on his arrival in Fort Wayne), he was enabled in a comparatively 
 short time to start in business on his own account. His first independent essay as a 
 merchant was in the sale of optical goods, with which he traveled from town to town in 
 Ohio and Indiana, his modest wagon being his store and warehouse. Gradually, he 
 added fancy goods and notions to his stock in trade and before long was in a condition 
 to sell with advantage to consumers and small country stores. In 1854, he was induced 
 by his brother-in-law to go to Mount Carroll, 111 , where the latter established a dry 
 goods store in Mr. Rothschild's name. Meantime, the young merchant, determined 
 not to abandon his old business because of his change of location, continued his sales of 
 optical and fancy goods in the then new West, and prospered so well that he sent for 
 his younger brother, Marx, to join him in the new world. But, while he prospered, 
 his brother-in-law met with disaster, and in the panic of 1857 went into bankruptcy, 
 causing Mr. Rothschild the loss of about $18,000 which he had advanced from 
 time to time, as well as $38,000 of debts contracted in his name. Undaunted by 
 disaster, Mr. Rothschild and his brother Marx started South as soon as they could 
 get clear of the wreck, and finally settled in Georgia, trying Macon first, and then 
 Hawkinsville. In the latter place, they opened a general store, stocking it with dry 
 goods, groceries and miscellaneous merchandise, and were soon once more on the road 
 to prosperity. 
 
 This was just before the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion. At about this time, 
 news was received from Germany of the illness of their father; and Marx instantly 
 started for his old home, although his presence here was greatly needed. 
 
 Then came the War with all its horrors, and Mr. Rothschild was compelled to 
 abandon his prosperous business and go to New York. Here, finding that the indebt- 
 edness of $38,000, accumulated in his name by his brother-in-law, had not been met, 
 he settled it at great personal sacrifice, dollar for dollar, out of his Southern savings. 
 For a year or more, his business activity was suspended, but in 1863, and through a 
 mere coincidence, he began the manufacture of neglige 1 shirts, then an entirely new 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. RO. 559 
 
 industry, at No. 122 Chambers street. This enterprise was markedly successful from 
 the very start and has gradually attained large dimensions. 
 
 About this time, his brother returned from Germany and for the next four years 
 their trade increased with wonderful rapidity. In 1868, they found it necessary to 
 enlarge their plant greatly and accordingly rented additional quarters at No. 48 Leon- 
 ard street, which were further supplemented in 1870 by another addition at No. 46 
 Leonard street. This gave their establishment a frontage of seventy-five feet and 
 added largely to their manufacturing facilities. Up to 1869, the firm did business 
 under the name of Rothschild Bro's, but. in that year, Simeon Gutman was admitted 
 to partnership and the name changed to Rothschild Bro's & Gutman. In 1877, the 
 partnership dissolved by mutual consent, V. Henry Rothschild liquidating its affairs 
 and continuing alone until 1880, when Isaac Dreyfus was admitted as a partner, and the 
 firm became V. Henry Rothschild & Co. 
 
 During this year, 1880, The Central Real Estate Association erected the building 
 at the corner of Leonard street and West Broadway, especially designed for the manu- 
 fa^ture of shirts, and this building was leased by the firm for a term of years. In 
 1892, Mr. Rothschild bought the building, and realizing that yet more room was needed, 
 the firm rented a large modern factory building, Nos 5 to 15 Sullivan street, to be 
 used for manufacturing, warehousing and shipping. The premises at West Broadway 
 and Leonard street were then changed into a well equipped office building, the 
 firm retaining the second floor for their sale and counting rooms. It is now known as 
 the "Rothschild Building," and ranks high among the spacious, costly and convenient 
 office buildings, with which New York is equipped. Mr. Rothschild is also a large 
 holder of other valuable real estate in the city of New York. The firm in recent years 
 have added largely to the variety of goods they manufacture, and now make shirts of 
 every kind, trousers, ladies' waists, etc. , etc. Some idea of the vastness of this business 
 may be gathered from these figures: The salesrooms at Leonard street and West 
 Broadway and the factories on Sullivan street employ directly and indirectly over 1,500 
 people, while an additional factory at Freehold, N. J., gives employment to over 1,500 
 more. In addition to this, the Board of Trade of Trenton, N. J., contemplate the con- 
 struction of another factory, which, when completed, will employ as many hands as the 
 Freehold factor}-. It may safely be said then that the firm gives work directly and 
 indirectly to about 7,000 persons. Mr. Rothschild has always taken a deep and kindly 
 interest in the welfare of the people who work for him, and many of the Freehold 
 operatives live in modern houses, built expressly for them, each accommodating a family 
 of six or eight persons. These are let to employes at a nominal rental of $6 or $7 a 
 month, according to size. 
 
 While Mr. Rothschild has been too busy a man all his life to take any active inter- 
 est in politics, no man is more keenly alive to the affairs of the city, of which he is 
 one of the highly respected citizens, wielding a commanding influence in the 
 business world. In the recent fight for reform in New York, he was not backward in 
 lending aid to the good cause. During 1889, he served as a director of The Seventh 
 National Bank, but resigned as soon as the year expired, explaining that the demands 
 of his enormous business were so pressing that he had no spare time at his disposal. 
 He has often been solicited to take part in the management of prominent financial 
 institutions, but for the same reason has been compelled to decline. But he does find 
 
5&o AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 time for charity, and in a quiet way has done a large amount of good among the poor, 
 during the last quarter of a century. Since 1872, he has been a director of Mt. vSinai 
 Hospital and the Montefiore Home for Incurables and is interested in many other lead- 
 ing institutions. 
 
 He married Miss Josephine Wolfe, daughter of Jacob Wolfe, a retired merchant of 
 New York, in 1866, and lives at No. 4 East 57th street, and his handsomely appointed 
 home, his fine library, and collection of paintings bear witness to his artistic tastes. 
 
 His eldest son, V. Sydney Rothschild, is a graduate of Harvard and will later be- 
 come a member of the firm. A daughter was married April 3, 1895, to Mr. S. R. Gug- 
 genheim, president of The Great National Smelting Co. , of Monterey, Mexico. The 
 other members of the family are the Misses Gertrude and Constance Lily, two excep- 
 tionally attractive girls, the latter at present a student at Wellesley College, and Clar- 
 ence G., a younger son. 
 
 Mr. Rothschild is essentially a home man and has never been what is generally 
 called a club man. He has, however, long been a member of the Harmonic and Play- 
 ers' clubs and the Board of Trade & Transportation. He is a man of strong presence, 
 with a determined will and a kindly manner, which carries everything before it. His 
 imtiring energy and his enthusiastic manner of forging ahead, always into new and un- 
 explored fields, are the envy of the younger men about him. Stern and severe at times, 
 asserting his opinions whether right or wrong, by a kindly smile he at once dispels any 
 ill feeling and adds his recent opponent to his large retinue of steadfast friends. 
 
 JOHN RUSZITS, merchant, a native of Baja, Hungary, died at St. James, Long 
 Island, Oct. 18, 1890, at the age of eighty-one. His parents being poor, the boy, at 
 the age of twelve, went to London, England, found employment in the furrier's trade 
 with difficulty, and after a period of poverty and hard work found himself finally, at 
 the age of thirty-five, the owner of about $2,000 saved from his earnings and a master 
 of his craft. Partly to gain a renewal of his health and partly to improve his position 
 he came to New York city in 1851. Here, after looking about, he engaged a loft at 
 No. 99 Maiden lane at a small annual rental, and in this modest place became the 
 pioneer manufacturer of seal skin garments in America and founder of The John 
 Ruszits Fur Co. He met with great success in his industry and became a prominent 
 merchant, the owner of a warehouse and other realty in this city and a rich man. 
 Having made his home in Brooklyn, he took a strong interest in the public affairs of 
 the city, but declined many offers of public office. He was a director of The Pruden- 
 tial Fire Insurance Co., a member of The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to 
 Animals, and otherwise active. Clara Frederica, his wife, survived him. The family 
 had a country residence at St. James, Suffolk county, Long Island. Mr. Ruszits was 
 always liberal in his gifts to charities and by his will left about $125,000 to public in- 
 stitutions. Mrs. Ruszits is now the wife of Welcome G. Hitchcock, president of The 
 John Ruszits Fur Co. 
 
 THOMAS RUTTER, a native of Holywell, Wales, died in this city, May 3, 1895, in 
 the seventy-first year of his age. Oldest son of Thomas Rutter, he came to America 
 while a boy, and after leaving Mount Pleasant Academy, in Sing Sing, began life as a 
 civil engineer. This occupation he followed for years and until ample means 
 led him into the management of corporations. Through the execution of contracts for 
 the excavation of the Allegheny and other railroad tunnels, and the building of 
 
'!<>/. . 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. RY. 561 
 
 important railroad works in various parts of the country, he was aole finally to retire 
 from labors of this class. At the time of his death, he was a director 'of The 
 Louisville & Nashville Railroad, The Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. , The American Pig 
 Iron Storage Warrant Co., The Bank of the State of New York, The Housatonic 
 Railroad Co. , and other corporations. Some of the best clubs in town admitted him to 
 membership, including the Metropolitan, Union League, Down Town and Church 
 clubs, and he belonged also to the Chamber of Commerce and St. George Society. 
 His wife, Georgina Renaud, and four children survived him. 
 
 THOflAS F. RYAN, is one of the younger Southern men, who came North at the 
 close of the Civil War to make fame and fortune and succeeded. He was born in Nel- 
 son county, Va., on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge, Oct. 17, 1851. His ancestors 
 on his mother's side were the McAlexanders, of Scotch-Irish descent, who settled in 
 the famous Valley of Virginia, which comprises the counties of Rockland and Augusta. 
 His paternal ancestors came from the North of Ireland, while America was yet an 
 English colony, and settled in the section which is now Nelson county. 
 
 Losing his mother at the age of five, young Ryan went to live with his maternal 
 grandmother on the old family estate, where he remained during his boyhood. At the 
 age of fifteen, he assumed charge of his grandmother's estate and managed it as well as 
 the disastrous consequences of the Civil War permitted. For two years, the young man 
 struggled manfully to raise the property out of the slough of despond into which the 
 entire section had been plunged by the great War, but, at the end of that time, was 
 forced to realize that the attempt was hopeless. In 1868, therefore, he left the ances- 
 tral homestead and, although penniless, too proud to seek aid from family friends, he 
 set forth to make his own way in the world. Reaching Baltimore at the age of seven- 
 teen, he found scores of other Southern boys in like condition seeking employment of 
 whatever kind. Day after day, he walked the streets, applying at store after store in 
 vain, until his last dollar was reached. Finally, when prospective starvation was fast 
 giving way to despair, he was fortunate enough to find a vacancy in the large commis- 
 sion dry goods store of John S. Barry and was told to report for work on the following 
 morning. Experience had already taught the danger of an opportunity neglected, and, 
 taking off his hat and coat, he calmly announced his attention to begin work at once. 
 For two years, he subsisted on a small salary but at the end of that time, his employer, 
 attracted by his fidelity and persistence, offered him a place in a banking house, which 
 he was about to establish in New York. He accepted gladly and in the two following 
 years learned the first principles of finance, which formed the foundation of his subse- 
 quent success as an executive financier. 
 
 Upon attaining his majority, Mr. Ryan secured a partnership with a member of 
 the Stock Exchange and did so well that, two years later, he was able to buy a seat for 
 himself on the Exchange and materially broaden his sphere of activity. His capacity 
 won quick recognition and he soon numbered among his business and personal friends, 
 William R. Travers, Samuel J. Tilden, John R. Garland, John B. Trevor, Robert L. 
 Cutting and many other large Wall street operators of those days. During the next 
 ten years, operating through his firm, he carried through many of the largest trans- 
 actions of that time. 
 
 In 1885, although retaining his membership in the Stock Exchange, he retired from 
 business for the purpose of taking a much needed rest, but before a year had elapsed 
 
 
562 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 he joined hands with William C. Whitney in securing and consolidating the various 
 street surface railroads in New York, which now comprise the large system owned by 
 The Metropolitan Traction Co. His attention having been turned in this direction, 
 he also acquired and held control of the Milwaukee street railroads long enough to 
 make a large amount of money. Subsequently, he became associated with A. J. Cassatt, 
 Frank Thomson, John D. Crimmins and others in building tip the vast Consolidated 
 Traction Co. of New Jersey. 
 
 After the downfall of The Richmond Terminal Co. , which controlled The Rich- 
 mond & Danville, The East Tennesse, Virginia & Georgia, The Georgia Pacific and 
 other Southern railroads, he became a director in these companies and ultimately took 
 an active part in the successful reorganization of the roads into the great Southern 
 Railway system of to-day. He also acquired control of The Columbus, Hocking Valley 
 & Toledo Railroad, and is at present effecting a reorganization of The Central 
 Railroad & Banking Co. of Georgia. 
 
 He is a director in The Southern Railway, The Hocking Valley, The Flint & Pere 
 Marquette and The Georgia Central Railroads, The Metropolitan Traction Co., The 
 Consolidated Traction Co., The Bank of New Amsterdam, and many other corporations 
 of like nature. 
 
 The success of his business career, culminating in a fortune estimated at several 
 millions, is obviously due to indomitable will power, unrelenting perseverance and 
 breadth of mental vision. Not only has his strict integrity won the esteem of all with 
 whom he has been associated, but it is universally conceded that, as an executive rail- 
 road and corporation financier, he is probably without a superior to-day in the United 
 States. Mr. Ryan married, Nov. 25, 1873, Miss Ida M. Barry, daughter of his first em- 
 ployer in Baltimore, and his family consists of five sons. He has always been a stanch 
 Democrat and has taken an active interest in National and State politics since 1876, 
 and is a member of the Union, Manhattan, Riding, Lawyers', Catholic and other clubs, 
 and The Southern Society, chairman of the Finance Committee of the Roman Catholic 
 Orphan Asylum and an active supporter of many charitable organizations. 
 
s. 
 
 RUSSELL SAGE, financier, railroad president, stockbroker, public leader, and 
 man of affairs, is one of the mqst unique personages in Wall street. The circum- 
 stances even of his birth were unusual, and, while these pages speak of many other 
 entertaining and remarkable careers, it will be hard to find a life story in which the 
 interest is more sustained from the beginning. 
 
 The War of 1812 having ended and tranquillity having returned to the country, 
 there occurred about 1816 an exodus of population from the East to the new regions of 
 the West. During that year, a company of Connecticut farmers might have been seen 
 making their way by ox team through Mohawk valley in New York State, bound for 
 distant Michigan. Elisha Sage and Prudence Risley, his wife, were of this company. 
 During a halt at the hamlet of Schenandoah in the township of Verona, Oneida county, 
 X. Y., Aug. 4, 1816, there was born to Elisha and Prudence Risley Sage, in one of the 
 houses of the hamlet, the subject of this biography. Before his wife could recover 
 strength to resume the journey, Elisha Sage discovered that he had already reached a 
 goodly land and he settled in the town of Verona. Two years later, he removed to a 
 farm near Durhamville, where, after an honorable and useful life, he died at the old 
 homestead, April 23, 1854. 
 
 Russell Sage spent his early boyhood, a bright, careless, hearty lad, upon his 
 father's farm, attending school in the winter time and occupied at home in summer 
 with the work and sports of the farm. While gaining inexhaustible physical Vitality in 
 the healthful existence of the farm, the boy already displayed a talent for trading, which 
 marked him as a born business man. 
 
 At the age of twelve, he began life without means as a hard working errand 
 boy in the grocery of his brother, Henry Risley Sage, in Troy, N. Y. The hours of 
 duty were long and full of humdrum occupation, but the boy had his evenings and im- 
 proved them by studying useful books. When he had gained in knowledge and experi- 
 ence, his brother made him a clerk and salesman. Mr. Sage made many trades of his 
 own during this period, and, both from enforced economy, resulting from a small sal- 
 ary, and his ingenuity in bargaining, gained a little capital of his own, so that at the 
 age of twenty-one, when he became the partner of another brother, Elisha Montague 
 vSage, in a retail grocery, he was already in the possession of a small surplus. Shrewd, 
 active, saving and courageous, he soon bought his brother's interest, became sole pro- 
 prietor, expanded his sales and finally sold the business to excellent advantage. In 
 '839, with a partner, he established a wholesale grocery store of his own at No. 139 
 River street, in Troy. His partner, John W. Bates, was a good merchant. In a short 
 time, the firm became commission merchants of produce, which they shipped to New 
 York, employed several sailing vessels of their own on the Hudson river, and by their 
 enterprise came to control the markets of Troy and Albany for Canadian and Vermont 
 horses. Mr. Sage never spared himself any labor necessary to bring to a successful 
 issue any transaction in which he was engaged. In 1844, he bought his partner's inter- 
 est and carried on a large wholesale grocery trade on his individual account. One fea- 
 ture of his enterprise consisted of extensive operations in beef, pork, flour and grain 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SA. 565 
 
 and to some extent in the packing of meats in the West. Mr. Sage was successful 
 from the start but not without a struggle with rivals in trade, the temptation to expend 
 one's savings, and the influences which lure a man to a commonplace existence. 
 
 Mr Sage rapidly became one of the best known merchants in Troy, and his genial 
 and spirited manner, lively interest in affairs, clear head, and sturdy character produced 
 the result of making him a leader in local politics. As a Whig, his fellow citizens made 
 him, in 1845. in a Ward which had long been Democratic, an alderman of the city and 
 later treasurer of Rensselaer county. He held both offices for seven years He also 
 became one of the founders and directors of The Commercial Bank of Troy. 
 
 Every public spirited man in the State was at that time interested in the project of 
 uniting the cities of the Mohawk valley and those beyond, as far as Lake Erie, with a 
 series of short railroads. The Erie canal had been of immense benefit to the State, but 
 the new transportation projects promised to be of greater value. When The Albany & 
 Schenectady Railroad was finally opened for travel, Mr. Sage accompanied the official 
 party in a tour of inspection on the first regular train. Captivated with what he saw, 
 he arranged affairs for a long absence and then made an extended trip through Central 
 New York, during which he inspected road beds and the work of construction and 
 studied the probable advantages of the new railroads. From that time forward, the 
 subject of transportation filled his mind. About 1852, The Troy & Schenectady Rail- 
 road, then the property of the city of Troy, was sold to E. D. Morgan of New York city 
 for a low figure, only to be sold later to the company into which the chain of connect- 
 ing railroads, extending to Lake Erie, was consolidated, known as The New York Cen- 
 tral. Mr. Sage, at that time a member of the Common Council of Troy, bore a 
 prominent part in this transaction. In order to induce Senator Morgan to purchase 
 this road, which had never earned a dollar (and has not to the present time, 1895), Mr. 
 Sage agreed to purchase a portion of the stock with Mr. Morgan and relieve the tax 
 payers of the city of a heavy burden. His original interest in railroads grew out of a 
 desire to obtain the best facilities for promoting his mercantile interests, and his success 
 in the sale of a small railroad property, and various loans which he made at a later date 
 to a Western corporation, finally resulted in Mr. Sage devoting, for a time, his almost 
 exclusive attention to this class of properties. 
 
 During his stay in Troy, Mr. Sage continued to be active in politics. In the 
 summer of 1847, he was appointed with Recorder Olin of Troy to go to New York to 
 meet Gen. John A. Wool upon the latter's return from the Mexican War. At the 
 dinner table upon the Hudson river steamboat, North America, a toast was offered, 
 accompanied with a short and brilliant speech, proclaiming General Wool as the "real 
 hero of Buena Vista," to which the General modestly responded, without objecting to 
 the compliment named. Alderman Sage was then called upon to speak and said he 
 would not permit anyone to surpass him in cordial feelings towards their distinguished 
 guest and fellow townsman, General Wool, but the fact was that another general in 
 command of the American army in Mexico was entitled to the reputation which had 
 been given to General Wool. In justice to his superior officer, Gen. Zachary Taylor, 
 the real and acknowledged hero of Buena Vista, Mr. Sage proposed three cheers for 
 the latter, which were given with enthusiasm by the company. In 1848, Mr. Sage 
 attended the national convention of the Whig party. Of the 32 delegates from New 
 York State, 28 were for Mr. Clay. Mr. Sage held strongly for Mr. Clay until General 
 
566 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Taylor attained a majority of the votes, when the full strength of the delegation was 
 brought to General Taylor, who was then nominated and afterward elected. 
 
 The night before the day of the decisive struggle, Mr. Sage went with Thurlow 
 Weed to see General Taylor's brother, who answered fully for the General. Mr. Sage 
 and Mr. Weed were assured that the General, if nominated and elected, would faith- 
 fully carry out the wishes of the Whig party. The anti-slavery feeling had grown to 
 a marked degree, especially among the delegates from Massachusetts and Western New 
 York and Ohio, and the claim had been made that General Taylor would not support 
 the Whig platform. Mr. Sage was positively assured by the General's brother that this 
 was not true; and next day, when he saw that Mr. Clay would be outstripped by Taylor, 
 Mr. Sage made the motion to nominate Taylor unanimously. While the vote was not 
 entirely unanimous, it was carried. 
 
 These incidents gave Mr. Sage great influence with President Taylor, which he 
 employed later for the benefit of Senator Seward. The "Silver Grays" of the Whig 
 party were jealous of anti-slavery leaders, such as Seward, Weed, Sumner, and Chase, 
 and, seeking to prevent the nomination of Senator Seward's men for important offices 
 in Albany, Troy, Rochester, Buffalo, and other cities, had managed to influence Presi- 
 dent Taylor to such a degree that he was ready to appoint men opposed to Mr. Seward. 
 Alexander H. Stevens and Robert Toombs, members of Congress from the South, had 
 been especially active in prejudicing the President by assertions of Mr. Seward's insin- 
 cerity in avowed support of the administration. Mr. Sage, then a young man, age 
 thirty-one, had never visited Washington, but was chosen as the best representative of 
 the Seward element to change the attitude of the members of the Cabinet and the 
 President. He accepted the responsibility, repaired to Washington, and pointed out 
 the dangers of the course so successfully that his full mission was accomplished Mr. 
 Sage never did anything by halves. It was not in his nature to be faint hearted in 
 anything he ever undertook. The directness of his labors on this occasion, his intre- 
 pidity, the shrewdness and convincing nature of his arguments, and his success, were 
 thoroughly characteristic. Reverdy Johnson, Thomas Ewing and Jacob Collamore, 
 members of the Cabinet, favored Mr. Seward's appointments, but the rest of the Cabi- 
 net were against them. President Taylor recognized the zeal and ability of the young 
 politician and frequently spoke of him afterward. The full list of Mr. Seward's selec- 
 tions was finally approved. 
 
 In 1850, the Whigs of Troy nominated Mr. Sage for Congress, but, owing to the 
 defection of the Silver Grays, could not elect him. They gave him a small majority in 
 1852 and in 1854 a majority of 7,000, the most emphatic ever known in the district. 
 During his four years in Congress, Mr. Sage served upon the Ways and Means and 
 other important committees, and labored diligently for all the famous measures of 
 Whig policy then under discussion. He advocated the homestead law, the effort to 
 organize Kansas and Nebraska as free territories, and the election of Mr. Banks as 
 Speaker; opposed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, making a speech of some 
 ability on the subject in August, 1856; and was active in all the exciting struggles of 
 the four historic years, which led to the final disruption of the Whig party and the 
 organization of its greater successor, the Republican party. While, as a soldier in the 
 ranks, Mr. Sage did excellent service for his party, the incident of his Congressional 
 career which actually brought him the most fame was the appointment of a committee 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SA. 567 
 
 by Congress, due entirely to his efforts, which reported upon the condition of Washing- 
 ton's old estate of Mount Vernon in Virginia. Out of this action, The Mount Vernon 
 Association came into being, followed by the purchase of Mount Vernon and its dedica- 
 tion as a permanent memorial of the father of his country. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Sage was too prudent to neglect his practical interests at home. 
 He made many flying trips to Troy, and it was during one of these that, in the railroad 
 station in Troy, he first met Jay Gould, then on a visit to Troy in the interest of The 
 Rutland & Washington Railroad. The two men made an impression upon each 
 other, which afterward deepened into a friendship, famous in financial history. 
 
 The interests of Mr. Sage had become widely extended and now demanded his 
 entire attention. Shrewd, cool, untiring and persistent labor, coupled with keen good 
 judgment, enabled him to pass through the disasters of that period almost unscathed; 
 and when the Civil War broke out, he was already worth more than three quarters of a 
 million dollars. The panic of 1857 led him, however, to relinquish public life and 
 mercantile business, and devote his attention to finance. This change came about 
 through advances which he had made to The La Crosse Railroad. To protect his loans, 
 he found himself obliged to advance yet larger sums, and, through legal proceedings 
 in which he engaged to save his investments, he became an owner of the stock of the 
 road, now forming The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system, and then a director 
 and vice president of the company. 
 
 About 1 86 1, Mr. Sage began to operate in Wall street, and in 1863 he removed to 
 New York, and thereafter gave himself wholly to operations in stocks and the con- 
 struction and promotion of his own and other railroads. Establishing a business 
 office on William street, he gave his first attention to Milwaukee & St. Paul securities, 
 but later to those of other railroads and finally to nearly the whole range of stocks at 
 the Exchange. He purchased a seat in the Stock Exchange in 1874. While it should 
 be noted that Mr. Sage has himself seldom been seen on the floor of that wild whirlpool 
 of speculation, the fact remains that for more than thirty years he has been one of the 
 most notable figures "in the street." A large operator at different times and an asso- 
 ciate of Jay Gould and other giants in finance in several historic and successful cam- 
 paigns, his methods have been as a rule mainly his own. He has seldom incurred the 
 tremendous risks to which others have exposed themselves, but has preferred a rapid 
 succession of moderate risks and quick returns. About 1872, Mr. Sage originated the 
 sale of privileges, and he has dealt upon a large scale in what are known, in the vocabu- 
 lary of the street, as "puts," "calls," and "straddles." Cool in the period of most 
 frantic excitement, cautious, never losing his head, serene as a rock on shore lashed by 
 the waves, he has made his way with dogged persistence and almost unvarying success 
 from the day of his debut in Wall street. Scarcely a day has passed upon which he has 
 not been able to record some accession to his capital. It is believed that only upon one 
 occasion, that memorable day in 1884, upon which the failure of Grant & Ward was 
 announced, did Mr. Sage ever meet with a considerable loss in Wall street. It is 
 reported that the crash cost him $6,000,000. The excitement of that day and his per- 
 sonal anxiety were very great, but he promptly met all demands with cash as they 
 came, and endured his losses like a man. His operations require the possession of a 
 large amount of ready capital, but he has always kept his resources well in hand, and 
 in an emergency commands almost unlimited means. He has been exceedingly help- 
 
568 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 ful to his brother brokers in the way of loans, has never repudiated a contract, and is 
 one of the few men in Wall street who have been willing to give a valuable "point" to 
 a friend. Several men of position unhesitatingly ascribe to the friendship of Mr. Sage 
 the origin of their fortunes. It would be impossible to relate in the brief space here set 
 aside all the striking incidents, which could be told of Mr. Sage's long Wall street 
 career. Suffice it to say, that beginning life a poor boy and winning his first success 
 in mercantile pursuits, he has now spent more than thirty years in the fierce life of 
 Wall street, and accumulated a large fortune, estimated at various sums, by straightfor- 
 ward business methods. 
 
 Mr. Sage early became an intimate friend of the late Jay Gould and, after 1866, 
 these two men maintained offices adjoining each other, first at No's 78-80 Broadway, 
 now the site of The Union Trust Co., afterward at No. 71 Broadway, Mr. Sage's 
 present .office, the most famous corner in the financial center of the city. They co- 
 operated in the development of lines of transportation in the West and elsewhere, and 
 Mr. Sage has, in fact, taken an active part in the construction of over 5,000 miles of 
 American railroads. He was called the father of the railroad construction companies 
 in Wisconsin and Minnesota, being president of more than 25 corporations for the 
 construction and extension of railroad lines. His fortune, like that of Mr. Gould, has 
 risen mainly from the advance in value of the securities of corporations, after they had 
 come under their joint management. The friendship between those two men was 
 remarkable. Each had implicit confidence in the other. Each aided the other in 
 gigantic schemes, and the fortune of each was at the instant command of the other in 
 times of need. If the facts could be fully known, it would probably be found that Mr. 
 Gould was saved in critical moments by the help of Mr. Sage. The two men were 
 associates in telegraphic enterprises, also. Mr. Sage was especially active in the pro- 
 motion of The Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Co., and its consolidation with The 
 Western Union. He is now connected with 27 corporations, embracing over 40 
 railroads, is a large shareholder in all, and president of The Iowa Central Railway; 
 director of The Missouri Pacific, The Union Pacific, The Wabash, The St. Louis, Iron 
 Mountain & Southern, The Texas & Pacific, The Manhattan, The Troy & Boston, The 
 Troy & Bennington, and other railroads; The Pacific Mail Steamship Co.; The Im- 
 porters' & Traders' National Bank, The Mercantile Trust Co. ; The Western Union 
 Telegraph, The Gold & Stock Telegraph, The International Ocean Telegraph, 
 The American Telegraph & Cable and The New York Mutual Telegraph CD'S; The 
 New York Bank Note Co., and The Standard Gas Light Co Of The Fifth Avenue 
 Bank, he is a director and the only surviving founder, and has been for four years the 
 only living original director of The New York Central Railroad. He has also been a 
 director of The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, The New York, Lackawanna & 
 Western, and The Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul railroads. 
 
 An incident which startled the United States, occurred in Mr. Sage's office Dec. 4, 
 1891. Upon that day, he was visited at No. 71 Broadway by Henry F. Norcross of 
 Boston, a man of unbalanced mind, who demanded an immediate gift of $1,200,000 
 for himself. When the offer was refused, Mr. Norcross dropped a dynamite bomb 
 upon the floor, the explosion of which blew Mr. Norcross to atoms, killed one of the 
 clerks, and wrecked the whole office. Mr. Sage was severely injured by the explosion. 
 His recovery was a marvel but was due to a vigorous constitution, strengthened by 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SA. 569 
 
 his early life and maintained by judicious living and the entire abstention from stimu- 
 lants. 
 
 Mr. Sage is tall and spare, with heavy eyebrows and keen blue-gray eyes, which 
 are often lighted with a sense of humor. He wears no beard. He is genial in manner, 
 prompt and decided in action, clear headed, sagacious, and in speech reticent. One of 
 his peculiarities, the plainness of his attire, has prompted harmless merriment at his 
 expense among the wits of Wall 1 street. Wall street brokers are proverbially the best 
 dressed men in the city, but Mr. Sage looks more like a quiet farmer ; and this entire 
 lack of display has led several times to attempts by bunco men to beguile him. The 
 surprise of these gentlemen upon discovering the identity of their illustrious victim 
 has afforded Mr. Sage much entertainment, and has been frequently paralleled by 
 the sensations of rivals in Wall street, after an attempt to engineer a speculation to Mr. 
 Sage's disadvantage and upon being confronted by the results of their attempt. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Sage have long attended the West Presbyterian Church. Mr. Sage 
 has been married twice, first in 1841 to Miss Maria Winne, daughter of Moses I. Winne 
 of Troy. His wife died in New York city in 1867; and in 1869, he married Margaret 
 Olivia, daughter of the Hon. Joseph Slocum of Syracuse, N. Y., a merchant of high 
 character and man of marked spirit. They have no children. On her father's side, 
 Mrs. Sage is in the eighth generation of descent from Capt. Miles Standish of colonial 
 fame and was inspired by her lineage to become one of the founders of The Society of 
 Mayflower Descendants of New York city. Through the maternal line, she is in the 
 eighth generation from Col. Henry Pierson of Sag Harbor, N. Y., conspicuous in found- 
 ing the public school system of America about 1787. Mrs. Sage is a woman of fine 
 education, intellectual force and gracious manners, notable for her tact and sweetness, 
 and prominent in advocacy of suffrage for women. She is a member of The Women's 
 Suffrage League and active in the agitation to secure the ballot for her sex. 
 
 Among the thousands of people, scattered throughout the United States, who 
 revere the memory of Mrs. Emma Hart Willard, founder of Troy Female Seminary, 
 no one has been more sincere than Mrs. Sage. She is a graduate from that institution 
 and during her stay in school enjoyed personal instruction under Mrs. Willard. In 
 honor of his wife, Mr. Sage has recently presented a handsome dormitory to this 
 seminary at a cost of $120,000. This structure was dedicated to the service of educa- 
 tion, May 16, 1895, with public ceremonies, and in the presence of thousands of people. 
 Dr. Taylor, president of Yassar College, made an exhaustive and able address in the 
 morning at the unveiling of the Emma Willard statue. President Stryker of Hamilton 
 College made the address presenting the Sage dormitory on behalf of Mr. Sage, and 
 Chauncey M. Depew delivered an eloquent oration. The enthusiastic and prolonged 
 applause with which Mr. and Mrs. Sage were greeted convinced them of the public 
 appreciation of their generous gift. Russell Sage Hall, as it is called, is four stories 
 in height, the lower story being made of New Jersey sandstone, the upper three of 
 buff colored pressed brick. The construction is fire proof and in beauty of design, 
 within and without, the building exceeds the finest ever before erected in Troy. The 
 two parlors are finished in ivory white woodwork, and the hallways, library, dining 
 room, dormitories, kitchens and other apartments are models of their class and designed 
 with reference both to architectural effect and the uses to which thev are assigned. 
 The citizens of Troy planned an evening reception, complimentary to Mr. and Mrs. 
 
570 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Sage, endorsed by the Common Council of the city, and committees of prominent 
 people were appointed to make all necessary arrangements. The reception was 
 attended by a large concourse of people, who were presented in regular order for over 
 two and one half hours. An interesting incident occurred about 9:30 p.m., when the 
 venerable Father Haverman of Troy, accompanied by two assistants, was pre- 
 sented to his old time friend. While Mr. Sage shook his hand, the company present 
 cheered and waved their handkerchiefs. Father Haverman in his ninety-first year 
 yet has a parish in Troy. He has originated and built more hospitals and churches 
 than any other man in that city. 
 
 JAflES HENRY SALISBURY, H.D., born in Cortland county, N. Y., Oct. 13-14, 
 1823, descends from mingled Bavarian, English and Welsh ancestry. His grandfather, 
 Nathan Salisbury, engaged in the attack on the Gaspee just before the American Revo- 
 lution as a lieutenant in Captain Burgess's company. A student in Homer Academy 
 and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1846), Dr. Salisbury graduated from Albany Med- 
 ical College in 1850 and received the degree of A. M: from Union College in 1852. His 
 scientific studies were begun before that time, however, in the State Geological Survey 
 as an assistant to Prof. Ebenezer Emmons, whom he succeeded in 1849. Having en- 
 tered upon the practice of medicine, Dr. Salisbury made a study of diseases of the diges- 
 tive organs and carefully evolved a system of treatment based upon the relation of 
 alimentation to disease, which demanded skillful management of the diet and included 
 the drinking of hot water. This as set forth in his work, now finally perfected, has 
 gained for him a reputation and an extensive practice. He is prominent as one of 
 the earliest American students of microscopy and was elected president of the Ameri- 
 can Institute in 1878. He laid bare the germ theory of disease in 1849, anc i i n '865 
 Hallier of Jena confirmed his deductions, thus antedating Pasteur, Huxley, Tomasi 
 and the later experiments. He owns a farm and park in Cleveland, O., where most 
 of his experiments are conducted. Several prizes have been awarded to him by medi- 
 cal bodies for essays on "Malaria," "Morphology," "Investigations in Diphtheria and 
 Scarlet Fever," etc., and he is a member of The Philosophical Society of Great Britain 
 and The Antiquarian Society, and numbers among his correspondents and personal 
 friends Mivart, Beale, the Duke of Argyle, Huxley and Pasteur. In 1860, Dr. Salisbury 
 was married to Clara, daughter of John T. Brasee of Lancaster, O. They have two 
 children, Minnie B. and Trafford B., the latter a medical student in New York city. 
 
 HENRY BERTON SANDS, M.D., eminent as a surgeon, born Sept. 27, 1830, died 
 Nov. 18, 1888, in this city. His preparatory education was obtained in a high school 
 in New York city, and, in 1854, he graduated from the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons. After a medical and surgical course in Bellevue Hospital, he went abroad for 
 eight months, returning in 1857 to assume the demonstratorship of anatomy in the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons. He was subsequently professor of anatomy and 
 then of surgery. For about ten years, he was associated with the late Dr. Willard 
 Parker, and although he had a large general practice in the early part of his pro- 
 fessional life,, his interest was always in the achievements of surgery a work which he 
 was able to enjoy to its fullest extent the last twelve years of his life. He was success- 
 fully attached as attending surgeon to The New York Eye Infirmary, St. Luke's, 
 Bellevue, and The New York and Roosevelt hospitals, and in the latter he had for five 
 years previous to his death the largest surgical service in this city. Dr. Sands was 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SA. 57! 
 
 among the first in this country to recognize the significance and value of antisepsis in 
 its application to surgery. In the revolution which it produced in the surgical art, he 
 was among the foremost and most zealous spirits, doing more perhaps than any of his 
 contemporaries to perfect the technique and demonstrate the success of antiseptic 
 operations. His career as a teacher began with his entrance into professional life, his 
 interest being so keen in this work that he was able to lay, by his precept and 
 example, the foundation of the success of many of the most distinguished surgeons in 
 this city. None of his predecessors or contemporaries, excepting the late Dr. Willard 
 Parker, numbered so many private pupils, and it was always gratifying to him that 
 among them were the ablest students of the college. Although his whole life was 
 devoted to his profession, it was always a pleasure to come in social relation with him, 
 as he was possessed of a most responsive mind and an unusual magnetic power. In 
 his leisure moments, he derived the keenest enjoyment from music, and in his early 
 life was an excellent pianist. Dr. Sands was a member of The New York Academy 
 of Medicine, The County Medical Society, The Pathological Society, The Physicians' 
 Mutual Aid Association, The Society for the Relief of Widows & Orphans of Medical 
 Men and of The Medical & Surgical Society. He was also connected with The New 
 York Philharmonic Society. Although his contributions to surgical literature were not 
 voluminous, they were of great value as detailing the results of a remarkably extensive 
 practice. Dr. Sands was twice married, his first wife being a Miss Sarah M. Curtis of 
 Brooklyn, by whom he had four children, two surviving him Robert Alfred and 
 Josephine S. His second marriage was to Mrs. Alice Reamey (born Hayden), by 
 whom he had one son, Henry Hayden, who alone survives him. Dr. Sands outlived 
 both his wives. 
 
 SAMUEL 5TEVENS SANDS, banker, born in 1826, died in New Hamburg, 
 X. Y., July 24, 1892. His family was one of the earliest and best known in New York 
 city, several of the name being conspicuous at the time of the American Revolution and 
 later as merchants and men of affairs. Mr. Sands entered business life at an early age 
 and having married a daughter of Benjamin Aymar, the shipping merchant, formed a 
 partnership afterward with Benjamin R. Aymar, his brother-in-law, as S. S. Sands & 
 Co., and engaged in banking and stock brokerage. For more than forty years he was 
 the controlling spirit of the house, after 1854 a member of the Stock Exchange, and for 
 thirty years the principal banker of John Jacob Astor. He shared in the management 
 of The Colorado Midland, The Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Southern, The Boston & New 
 York Air Line, and The Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield Railroads, and The 
 Lehigh Valley Coal Co., and in all relations displayed perfect integrity, rare judgment 
 and fine ability, enjoying in a high degree the confidence of those whose affairs were 
 entrusted to him. He was the father of ten children, of whom eight survived him. 
 
 EDWARDS SEWALL SANFORD, born in Medway, Mass., died at the country 
 home of his son-in-law, N. W. T. Hatch, at Glenholden, near Philadelphia, Sept. 9, 
 1882, in his sixty-sixth year. His father, a clergyman, belonged to an old New Eng- 
 land family. In 1842, Mr. Sanford became an agent in New York for Alvin Adams, 
 of Boston, founder of the express business, and displayed such energy and ability that 
 Adams & Co. selected him to superintend the extension of their business to Washing- 
 ton. After this task had been completed, he was sent as general agent to Philadelphia 
 and soon afterward made general superintendent there. Thereafter, he became one of 
 
572 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 the recognized powers in the express business, and when, July i, 1854, The Adams 
 Express Co. was organized, with Alvin Adams as president and William B. Dinsmore 
 as vice president, Mr. Sanford was given a seat in the small board of directors. In 
 1867, when Mr. Adams died and Mr. Dinsmore succeeded to the presidency, Mr. San- 
 ford became vice-president, which position he held until his death. At the outbreak 
 of the Civil War, Mr. Sanford, then at the head of The American Telegraph Co., was 
 appointed supervisor of military telegraph lines and in this position exercised absolute 
 censorship over all dispatches. After the absorption of his company by The Western 
 Union, he became a director of the latter. , He was also a director of The International 
 Ocean Telegraph Co. and had coal mining interests in Nova Scotia. Mr. Sanford was 
 a man of remarkable executive ability, circumspect and correct in all his business 
 relations, and greatly admired for his uprightness of character and kindly disposition. 
 He was liberal, fond of society and a lover of books. 
 
 GEORGE HENRY SARGENT, manufacturer, is a native of Massachusetts but has 
 long been a resident of New York city. Among the hardware manufacturers and hard- 
 ware merchants of the country, the name of Sargent has now been prominent and pop- 
 ular for forty years and reasonably so, because earnest and zealous endeavor, promo- 
 tion of the welfare of one's country, continuity of purpose and persistent application in 
 any given line of honest effort, always win attention and are entitled to approval. 
 
 Mr. Sargent descends from Puritan stock and traces his line to William Sargent, 
 lay preacher, who emigrated to Maiden, Mass., in 1638, and to the Denny, Jones and 
 Baldwin families. He is the son of Col. Joseph Denny Sargent and Mindwell Jones, 
 his wife, and was born Oct. 29, 1828, in the county of Worcester, Mass., in the town of 
 Leicester, in the organization of which hamlet early in the last century his ancestors 
 were prominent and helpful. The descendants of the Puritan pioneers of the family in 
 the next generation equaled their fathers in brain and brawn and were active and stead- 
 fast in the affairs which led up to the War of the Revolution, doing duty as soldiers 
 when the ' ' war was on " and sharing in the honors and glory which came to the ' ' heroes 
 of '76." Of such ancestors one may reasonably be proud and from such blood should 
 come, and in the case of Mr. Sargent did come, the sterling qualities of industry, in- 
 tegrity, frugality and temperance combined with ambition, nervous energy and sagacity. 
 
 Mr. Sargent was educated at Leicester Academy and Harvard College, being a 
 member at Harvard of the somewhat famous class of 1853, having for classmates men 
 who have become noted in their professional, literary and business callings. Inherit- 
 ing a strong constitution and remarkable physique and observing ' ' temperance in all 
 things," he began life under promising auspices and has since accomplished such re- 
 sults as come to one possessed of an industrious and patient disposition, an active and 
 well stored mind, persistent application, a genial manner and pleasing address. Re- 
 moving to New York city in 1853, he joined his brother, Joseph Bradford Sargent, in 
 the manufacture of hardware. Comparatively little hardware was then produced in 
 this country, but now the reverse is true, and this assertion can have no illustration 
 more marked and convincing than the fact that the original shop of the Sargents 
 in New Britain, Conn., in the fifties, was but a "wart on Olympus" compared with 
 their present extensive works in New Haven. These latter factories were established 
 in 1863, and being enlarged from time to time now represent an investment of millions 
 of dollars and stand as a monumental instance of the progress and growth of American 
 
574 
 
 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN 
 
 manufactures during the past forty years. They manufacture a great variety of hard- 
 ware and disburse large sums of money annually for raw materials and wages. 
 
 The business of Sargent & Co. in New York city is now chiefly confined to the sale 
 of the ever increasing variety of goods made at their New Haven factories, although 
 they are large distributors at their stores of such articles, produced* by other manufac- 
 turers, as are requisite for a complete assortment in any line of their own production. 
 
 For many years, Mr. Sargent, in partnership with his brothers, Joseph B. and 
 Edward, was engaged in the manufacture of cards used for carding cotton and wool by 
 hand, at their factory in Leicester, Mass. , a town noted for more than a century as the 
 place of origin and continuance of the card making industry. This business was in- 
 herited from their father, whose name as a careful and painstaking manufacturer, was 
 well known and highly honored by all dealers in these articles of domestic economy. 
 
 Mr. Sargent is a Republican and Unitarian. Close attention to business has kept 
 him out of any effort for public office. He is a member of the Union League, Harvard 
 and Hardware clubs and The New England Society, and a director in The Mercantile 
 National Bank. He was married in 1855 to Sara Shaw, daughter of the Hon. John 
 H. Shaw, of Nan tucket, Mass. 
 
 EDWARD CHARLES SCHAEFER, brewer and banker, born Dec. 16, 1850, is 
 a son of Frederick Schaefer, especially successful as a brewer. The senior Schaefer, 
 a native of Wetzlar, Prussia, came to New York in 1838. Edward obtained a public 
 and private school education and graduated at Bryant & Stratton's Business College in 
 1868. He then entered a Broadway commercial house, and later, in 1874, the employ- 
 ment of Messrs. F. & M. Schaefer. Upon the opening of The Germania Bank, he entered 
 that institution as a clerk, leaving in 1873 and going into business for himself for one 
 year, since which period he has been continually in the brewing business although yet 
 connected with The Germania Bank. Of the latter he was elected president, twenty- 
 three years to the day after his entry in this institution as a clerk. In 1878, The F. & 
 M. Schaefer Brewing Co. incorporated with a capital of $650,000 and in 1884, Edward 
 C. Schaefer became its president. Associated with him in the management are Emil, 
 Rudolph J., George G. (who is treasurer), Frederick and Max Schaefer. This con- 
 cern was one of the pioneers in introducing lager beer to America. It was established 
 in 1842 and now carries on a large business. Their brewery at Park avenue, 5ist and 
 52d streets, attracts the attention of every traveler entering New York from the north- 
 ward. Mr. Schaefer is president of The Germania Bank and a member of the Lieder- 
 kranz, Arion, Manhattan, Democratic, and Terrace Bowling clubs. 
 
 AUGUSTUS SCHELL, lawyer and financier, a native of Rhinebeck, N. Y., born 
 Aug. i, 1812, died in New York city, March 27, 1884. Christian Schell, his father, a 
 merchant of German descent, was during the War of 1812 an officer in a New York 
 regiment. Augustus Schell's brothers, Richard, dry goods merchant and Wall street 
 operator, who died in November, 1879, Edward and Robert all rose to prominence. 
 Graduating from Union College in 1830, Mr. Schell studied law and being admitted to 
 the bar attained prominence in his profession. Early in life he went into politics, being 
 chairman of the Tammany General Committee in 1852, and in a race with Horatio 
 Seymour for a nomination for Governor, losing the prize by two votes only. In 1852, 
 he became chairman of the Democratic State Committee and was twice re-elected. In 
 1854, his Tammany associates tendered him the Mayoralty of New York but he de- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SC. 575 
 
 clined. He rendered active service in the campaign of 1856 and received the appoint- 
 ment as Collector of the Port of New York, which office he held until the election of 
 Abraham Lincoln. He was one of those who went upon the bail bond of Jefferson 
 Davis. After the war, Mr. Schell gave his attention to railroads, becoming a director 
 of The Harlem Railroad in 1872 and of The Hudson River Railroad in 1874 and an in- 
 timate friend of Commodore Vanderbilt. The consolidation of The New York Central 
 & Hudson River system brought him large means and he became a director 
 successively of The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, The New York, New Haven & 
 Hartford, The Chicago & Northwestern, The Union Pacific, and The Canada Southern 
 Railroads, as well as of The Union Trust Co., The Western Union Telegraph Co., and 
 The Manhattan Life Insurance Co. He was also a trustee of many philanthropic in- 
 stitutions. Politics continued to exert a strong fascination upon Mr. Schell. A mem- 
 ber of the State Constitutional Convention in 1867, he helped reorganize the Tammany 
 Society in 187172, accepting the office of Grand Sachem in 1872 and holding it until 
 his death. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1872 and 1876 
 and a member of the new Constitutional Convention in 1872 In 1877, he was defeated 
 for the State Senate by Mr. Morrissey and in 1878 for Mayor by Edward Cooper. Mr. 
 Schell helped organize the Manhattan club in 1865, and was manager 1865-71, presi- 
 dent 1871-77, and vice president 1878-84. He was also a governor of the St. Nicholas 
 club. His wife, Anna M., survived him They were married in 1873 and had no 
 children. Mr. Schell was a man of kindly disposition, easy of approach, calm in 
 temperament, with many friends. Several public bequests appeared in his will. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY' SCHIEFFELIN, merchant, born Aug. 20, 1836, in New York 
 city, died in town June 21, 1895. His family traces its ancestry for seven centuries 
 back to Norlingen, Germany. One branch of the family became conspicuous in 
 Switzerland as owners of land and Syndics of Geneva. The pioneer in America, Jacob 
 Schieffelin, sailed from Germany to Philadelphia in 1740 and returned to the father- 
 land, but his son, Jacob, came to Philadelphia in 1745 and remained in the new world. 
 Jacob, son of the latter, served on the staff of Gen. Henry Hamilton and won the affec- 
 tion of a beautiful American girl, whom he married. He settled in New York city in 
 1780 and here established on Pearl street, after a time, what subsequently became the 
 famous wholesale drug business of the Schieffelins. His wife was Hannah, daughter 
 of John Lawrence, land holder of Queens county, and Mr. Schieffelin took John B. 
 Lawrence, his wife's nephew, into partnership in the drug business. Mr. Schieffelin 
 wished to own ships as well as sell drugs and a disagreement on this point resulted in a 
 separation of the partners. After the retirement of Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Schieffelin 
 carried on business on his own account. In 1813, his son Henry Hamilton Schieffelin 
 succeeded to the management under the name of H. H. Schieffelin & Co., to be in turn 
 succeeded, in the '505, by the four sons of the latter, Samuel Bradhurst, Sidney Augustus, 
 James Lawrence and Bradhurst Schieffelin, as Schieffelin Bro's & Co. In 1849, the 
 stock and business of Hoadley, Phelps & Co., were acquired by purchase. William H. 
 Schieffelin was the only son of Samuel B. and Lucretia Hazard Schieffelin. He grew 
 up in his father's firm and was early admitted to partnership, but enlivened his career 
 with early exploration and adventure. In 1860, he crossed the Rocky Mountains in 
 Montana with a party of men, who, being captured by the Indians, came near losing 
 their lives. In 1862, Mr. Schieffelin went to the front with the 7th N. Y. militia, re- 
 
576 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 ceived a commission while in Baltimore as Major of the ist N. Y. Mounted Rifles, and 
 served until July, 1863, under General Wool, near Suffolk, Va. , being- often in action. 
 He then returned to New York in time to aid in suppressing the draft riots and there- 
 after applied himself to the wholesale drug business of his firm. Since 1854, the house 
 has occupied a site at the corner of William and Beekman streets. A large laboratory- 
 has been developed there and the firm make a specialty of synthetic drugs, in which 
 they have an extended trade. Mr. Schieffelin had been senior partner since 1865. 
 Originally a Republican and a member of the Union League club, Mr. Schieffelin be- 
 came a supporter of President Cleveland in 1892. He belonged to the Century and 
 City clubs and the Loyal Legion. Oct. 15, 1863, he married Mary, daughter of the 
 Hon. John and Eleanor Jay. 
 
 CHARLES A. SCHIEREN, merchant, a native of Rhenish Prussia, was born in 
 1842 and came to this country with his parents in 1856. The future Mayor of Brook- 
 lyn took his place behind the counter of his father's cigar and tobacco store on Atlantic 
 avenue in that city, when old enough, and, in 1864, became clerk for Philip S. Pasquay, 
 manufacturer of leather belting in New York. In 1868, with a capital of only $2,000, 
 he started a leather belting and tanning business of his own and has been active in that 
 trade ever since. He has invented many improvements upon the old style of leather 
 belts. In 1882, Jacob R. Stine and Fred A. M. Burrell, two faithful employe's, became 
 his partners, the former retiring in 1887. The firm are known as Charles A. Schieren 
 & Co., and under skillful management have extended their operations widely and now 
 have branch houses in Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago, with large tanneries both in 
 Brooklyn and in Adamsburg, Pa., and Bristol, Tenn. Mr. Schieren is an authority 
 upon belting and has written a number of excellent essays on the subject for publica- 
 tion. He is vice-president of The Hide & Leather National Bank and a member of 
 the Commonwealth and Hide & Leather clubs of this city and the Union League and 
 Hamilton clubs of Brooklyn and the Chamber of Commerce. Always active in 
 affairs in Brooklyn, especially in the leading charities and politics, the Young Men's 
 Republican Club, the erection of the Beecher and Stranahan statues, etc., he was elected 
 in 1893 Mayor of Brooklyn by a combination of the Republicans and reformers. 
 
 JACOB HENRY SCHIFF, banker, was born of German Hebrew ancestry in Frank- 
 fort on the Main, in 1847. His father was a successful merchant. Jacob went to 
 school in Frankfort and at the age of eighteen came to the United States, where, at an 
 early age, he associated himself with the brokerage firm of Budge, Schiff & Co. Few 
 of his countrymen have made their mark more rapidly than he in this bustling city. 
 In 1875, ne became a member of the private banking house of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., 
 which gave wide scope for the exercise of his abilities. This house has good connec- 
 tions abroad and has placed large issues of government bonds and investment securities 
 among European and home investors. Since 1885, Mr. Schiff has been the head of the 
 house. He has been prominent in The New York, Lake Erie & Western and The 
 Louisville & Nashville Railroads, and is at present a director of The Great Northern 
 Railroad, The Equitable Life Assurance Society, The Bond & Mortgage Guarantee 
 Co., and a large holder of real estate in New York city. He is also president of the 
 Montefiore Home for Chronic Invalids, treasurer of The New York Free Circulating 
 Library, a trustee of Barnard College and numerous philanthropic institutions and a 
 member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Committee of Seventy (1894-95) as well 
 
THE CITY OK NEW YORK. SC. 577 
 
 as of the City, Reform, Lawyers' and Liederkranz clubs. With praiseworthy public 
 spirit, he contributes to the support of various museums and public undertakings 
 and has served for a number of years on the Board of Education. In 1875, he married 
 Theresa, daughter of Solomon Loeb, his senior partner, and has two children, a son and 
 a daughter. 
 
 GRANT BARNEY SCHLEY, banker, born in Chapinsville, N. Y., Feb. 25, 1845, 
 conies from Dutch ancestry and te a son of Evander Schley. a retired merchant of dry 
 goods and wool of Canandaigua, N. Y. From the academy of Canandaigua, the future 
 banker went to Syracuse, N. Y., in 1861, and secured a place at $30 a month in the 
 express office of Wells, Butterfield & Co. A year and a half later, the firm sent him 
 to its office in Suspension Bridge. Unusually bright, intelligent and quick in compre- 
 hension for a young man and faithful in performance of his duty, he was soon promoted 
 to a salary of 30 a week. 
 
 In 1866, The American Express Co. was formed by the consolidation of a number 
 of companies, among them Wells, Butterfield & Co., and four years later, Mr. Schley 
 was transferred to the consolidated company's money department in its head office in 
 Xe\v York. In 1874, he retired from the service of the express company to accept a 
 position with The First National Bank of New York, where he remained six years. 
 When he left the bank, he was in charge of its foreign exchange department. That 
 department was abolished soon after his retirement. 
 
 In 1880, Mr. Schley was elected a member of the New York Stock Exchange, and 
 with Ernest Groesbeck, another member, formed the firm of Groesbeck & Schley for 
 the transaction of a general stock brokerage and banking business. The new firm 
 soon became prominent on the Stock Exchange. In 1885, Moore & Schley succeeded 
 to the business, the senior partner being John G. Moore. The house has enjoyed an 
 exceedingly successful career, and is now one of the wealthiest and most active of those 
 represented on the Stock Exchange. The firm's customers are men of large means, 
 and the house has many business connections of the first importance and has more than 
 once been entrusted with the conduct of enormous transactions and delicate negotia- 
 tions, involving the control and financing of corporations. In all these matters, as 
 well as in the management of the large business of the firm, with its connections in 
 Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and other commercial centers, Mr. Schley's 
 quick, yet invariably sound judgment and his forcefulness, combined with great patience 
 and unfailing good humor, to say nothing of his marvellous capacity for work, have 
 been of inestimable value to his principals and have contributed largely to the fortunes 
 accumulated by himself and his associates. 
 
 Mr. Schley is a member of several of the principal clubs of New York, including 
 the Manhattan, Union League, New York, Riding, Lotos, New York Athletic, New 
 York Yacht and Vaudeville. 
 
 In 1879, Mr. Schley married Miss Elizabeth Baker, daughter of George E. Baker, 
 who at one time was private secretary to William H. Seward. Mrs. Schley is a sister of 
 George F. Baker, president of The First National Bank of New York. The home of 
 the family is a handsome country seat at Far Hills, N. J. Mr. Schley also has a town 
 house in Madison avenue. 
 
 FRANCIS P. SCHOALS, banker, born in Lancaster, Pa., died in New York city, 
 Oct. ii, 1881, in his eighty-first year. Having learned the bookbinder's trade, he came 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SC. 579 
 
 to New York in 1882 and engaged in the business here with success. The American 
 Bible Society was one of his profitable patrons. About 1850, he retired with a comfort- 
 able fortune, and then devoted himself to real estate investments and to The Broad- 
 way Savings Institution, with which he had been connected since organization, serving 
 as president without compensation. He was a director and large stockholder of The 
 National Broadway Bank and of several insurance companies and a trustee of several 
 charitable and educational institutions. A man of unimpeachable integrity, keen in 
 judgment and careful in investment, he was conspicuous also for benevolence and gained 
 the general regard of the community. His wife, Ellen B., survived him, but they had 
 no children. Under the will of Mr. Schoals, the public institutions and charities of the 
 Presbyterian Church were enriched by$285,ooo. He gave $25,000 each to The Ameri- 
 can Tract Society, The American Home Missionary Society, and The American Bible 
 Society, and $5 0,000 each for home and foreign missions. 
 
 ABRAHAM SCHOLLE, merchant, a native of Bavaria, born in 1817, died in New 
 York city, March 15, 1880. Having learned the trade of a weaver, he emigrated to 
 America in 1839. Finding no occupation in his trade and being a born merchant, he 
 invested the little money he had in small wares, which he peddled among families in 
 the suburbs of the city. When, in 1847, he had accumulated sufficient money, he 
 opened a small dry goods store on Division street, taking his brother William into part- 
 nership shortly afterward under the name of Scholle Bro's. The keen, shrewd, push- 
 ing ways of the brothers gained for them a good trade, and in 1850, in need of better 
 accommodations, they moved to a store on the Bowery. In 1857, they went into the 
 clothing trade in John street. A younger brother, Jacob, came into the firm the same 
 year, and a branch house was opened in California. The firm prospered rapidly, and 
 Mr. Scholle's business and investments brought him a fortune. In 1863, he retired. He 
 was a man of strict probity and a leading member of the Temple Emanu-El, and bore 
 a high reputation among business men. His wife, Babette, and four children, Matilda, 
 Samuel, Charles and Flora Scholle survived him. 
 
 FREDERICK A. SCHROEDER, merchant, born in Trier, Prussia, March 19, 1833, 
 is the son of Michael and Salome Abel Schroeder, the former a civil engineer and sur- 
 veyor of taxes. The family came to this country in 1848 in consequence of political 
 troubles in Germany and settled in Brooklyn. Frederick began life as a cigar maker,, 
 worked early and late to better his condition, and fared so well that, at the age of nine- 
 , teen years, he started a cigar factory on Norfolk street in this city, and carried it on 
 subsequently in Cortlandt street, corner of Greenwich, and for twenty-nine years at No. 
 178 Water street. The panic of 1857 interrupted his prosperity, but he struggled 
 through and by hard work and strict economy met his liabilities and established a large 
 business. In 1863, he entered into partnership with Isidore M. Bon, late president of 
 ;The Wallabout Bank, and engaged in the importation of leaf tobacco, transacting a 
 -thriving and lucrative business for many years. Mr. Bon withdrew in 1893, since which 
 time the partners of Mr. Schroeder have been his son, Edwin A. Schroeder, and his 
 ;son-in-law, Frank M. Arguimbau, the firm being Schroeder & Bon. In 1867, when The 
 Germania Savings Bank of Brooklyn was founded, Mr. Schroeder took the presidency 
 nd yet retains that position. In 1870, he was elected Comptroller of Brooklyn by the 
 Republicans and in that office introduced simpler and improved methods of book- 
 teeping, greatly to the public welfare. His high character, experience and public 
 
S 8 
 
 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 spirit led to his election as Mayor of Brooklyn in 1875. In 1878, he was 
 elected to the State Senate In 1854, Mr. Schroeder married Mary Jane, 
 daughter of John Rusher, and has seven children living Edwin A. ; Harriet Louise, 
 who married Frank M. Arguimbau; Leonore, married to W. A. H. Stafford of 
 New York; Mary Jane, married to William T. Anderson of Brooklyn; Adelaide, 
 married to Knowlton Ames of Chicago, and two unmarried daughters, Alice and 
 Frances. Mr. Schroeder has traveled much with his family and is an unusually well-; 
 informed man. He belongs to the Riding & Driving club, The Institute of Arts and 
 Sciences, and The Long Island Historical Society. 
 
 JACKSON 5. SCHULTZ, merchant, born in Hyde Park, Dutchess county^ 
 Nov. 9, 1815, the son of a farmer, died at No. 303 East i?th street in this city, March 
 i, 1891. In 1824, his father, Abraham I. Schultz, went out into the woods at Middle- 
 town, Delaware county, and built the Lafayette tannery and there the son toiled fo: 
 three years to learn the trade. In 1827, the lad went to New York to enter the sto 
 of Smith & Schultz, his father's firm. No leather came to New York in the winter 
 months, and this enabled the youth to attend Gould Brown's Academy for six seasons| 
 He then spent two years in Waterville College in Maine, returned to Smith, Schults 
 & Co. in 1836, and when, in 1837, the firm failed, he became the assignee. He settled 
 all debts at about 98 cents on the dollar. In 1838, with $5.000 which he had saved, 
 he joined Edmund M. Young, formerly bookkeeper for Smith & Schultz, who had 
 borrowed $3,000 for the purpose, and established the leather and tanning firm of 
 Young & Schultz. Union sole leather originated with Mr. Schultz. His combination 
 of hemlock and oak bark, enough of the latter being used to give the leather a beau- 
 tiful color, proved a happy conception and laid the foundation of the fortunes of 
 the house, of which for forty-seven years Mr. Schultz was the master spirit. In 
 1861, John C. South wick was admitted to Young, Schultz & Co, and warehouses were 
 opened at No. in Cliff street. After Mr. Young's death in 1864, Theodore Schultz 
 joined the firm, which became known as Schultz, South wick & Co. Through all 
 changes, the house kept extending its btisiness to all parts of the world under the 
 guiding genius of Mr. Schultz. In May, 1882, Mr. Schultz established the business of 
 extracting tannin from hemlock bark at Daguscahonda, Pa. Oct. 17, 1883, he retired 
 from business. His son, Louis H., succeeded him, and the firm took the name of 
 Schultz, Innes & Co. Mr. Schultz was a man of massive build, tall and well formed. He 
 wore no beard. He was unselfish, public spirited and always highly respected. During 
 the Civil War, he performed valuable work in promoting the cause of the Union, giving 
 liberally from his means and being active in organizing two negro regiments, the 
 2oth and 26th. In March, 1866, he was appointed by the Governor a Sanitary Com- 
 missioner for the Metropolitan Police District, was president of the Board, and later 
 became a member of the Committee of Seventy which overthrew the Tweed Ring. 
 Originally a Democrat, he became a Republican later and was for many years a 
 member of the Union League club, at one time its president, and was also a member 
 of the Reform club. While a Commissioner to the Vienna International Exposition in 
 1873, Mr - Schultz upheld the dignity of his country with sincere earnestness and 
 refused to dine with the Emperor on one occasion, 'because the Emperor would not 
 receive Mr. Schultz's official associate, a Hebrew. He was married twice, and his 
 second wife, Mary F., and three children survived him, the latter being- Louis H. 
 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SC. 581 
 
 Schultz, Kate C., wife of E. W. Richardson, and Gertrude, wife of William K. Baxter. 
 
 QUSTAV SCHWAB, merchant, born in Stuttgart, Germany, Nov. 23, 1822, who 
 died at his home near Morris Heights, Aug. 21, 1888, came from a family, well known 
 both in America and Germany for their attainments in science and literature. His 
 grandfather, John Christopher Schwab, was called by Frederick the Great to be 
 a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and professor in the Military School at 
 Berlin, but declined, preferring to remain professor of philosophy and mathematics in 
 Stuttgart. The father of Mr. Schwab was well known to Germans as a writer of prose 
 and verse and the center of a circle of literary men. At the age of seventeen, young 
 Mr. Schwab entered the counting house of H. H. Meier & Co., merchants of Bremen. 
 In 1844, became to New York to enter the employment of Oelrichs & Kruger, who 
 were closely connected with the German firm, and about five years later, established 
 himself in business in the firm of Wichelhausen, Recknagel& Schwab. In 1859, he en- 
 tered as a partner in Oelrichs & Co., successors of Oelrichs & Kruger, who soon after- 
 ward became agents of the North German Lloyd Steamship line. The original suc- 
 cess of that company in this country was largely due to Mr. Schwab, who was an able, 
 active and competent man. While business engaged the most of his attention, he 
 found time, nevertheless, to interest himself in The German Hospital and other phil- 
 anthropic works. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, at one time Com- 
 missioner of Education, one of the managers of the Produce Exchange and a trustee 
 of its gratuity fund, and a director of The Central Trust Co., The Washington Life In- 
 surance Co., and The Orient Mutual Insurance Co , and the oldest director and vice 
 president of The Merchants' National Bank, and warden of St. James' Protestant Epis- 
 copal Church in Fordham. In 1850, he married Catherine Elizabeth, daughter of the 
 late L. H. von Post, of New York, who with a large family survived him. 
 
 ALFRED BOWNE SCOTT, merchant, born Feb. i, 1846, in Orange county, N. Y., 
 is a son of Thomas B. Scott, a farmer, and descends from English ancestry. Begin- 
 ning 1 ife as a farmer's boy and gaining his education in country schools near his home, 
 he came to New York in 1867 at the age of twenty-one to seek his fortune. In 1873, 
 he established the firm of Scott & Bowne, druggists and chemists. Their means were 
 small, not exceeding $1,000, but after several years of experiment and labor, they 
 made a commercial success of an agreeable preparation of cod liver oil, known as 
 Scott's Emulsion, and thereafter rose rapidly to prominence. They have since added 
 , to their catalogue several other medicinal preparations and have copyrighted a number 
 of valuable trade marks. The sale of their preparations now extends virtually to 
 every part of the civilized world. The London business finally became so large, that, 
 in 1892, their branch house there was incorporated with a capital of $500,000. They 
 have factories in London, Paris. Barcelona, Oporto, and Milan. Scott & Bowne now 
 consume about one-half of all the medicinal cod liver oil, imported from Norway. 
 The success of their preparations is due to their excellence and to persistent, ingenious 
 and lavish advertising. It is said that they have spent over half a million a year, for 
 this purpose alone. The firm have recently completed a building at the corner of Rose 
 and Pearl streets, at an expense of about $600,000, and now occupy the premises with 
 their laboratory and sales rooms. Mr. Scott is a member of the Colonial club and a 
 supporter of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1873, he married Ella, daughter 
 of A. D. Puffer, of Boston, and they have two children, Alice and Alfred. Mr. Scott 
 
 I 
 I 
 
582 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 has recently retired from the active management of the firm and taken up his residence 
 abroad, leaving its affairs entirely under the control of his partner, Samuel W. Bowne. 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER, publisher and bookseller, born in New York city in 1821, 
 died at Luzerne, Switzerland, Aug. 26, 1871. His grandfather was a Congregational 
 minister and a graduate of Yale College, and his father, Uriah R. Scribner, a prosper- 
 ous merchant of this city. After graduating from Princeton College in 1840, Mr. Scrib- 
 ner spent three years in the sttidy of law. Owing to delicate health, he reluctantly gave 
 up the profession and, in 1846, formed a partnership with Isaac D. Baker for the publi- 
 cation of books. The firm of Baker & Scribner occupied a store on the site of the old 
 Brick Church property, where The Times office now stands. Mr. Baker died in 1850, 
 and Mr. Scribner carried on the business alone until 1857. when he purchased the Eng- 
 lish importing trade of Banks, Merwin & Co. , taking in Charles Wclford as a partner. 
 His sales steadily increased until the business became one of the largest in the country. 
 Under the name of Charles Scribner & Co. , the firm engaged largely in the publication 
 of American books, while as Scribner, Welford & Co. , they ranked as the chief house 
 importing the productions of the English press. In 1865, Mr. Scribner began the pub- 
 lication of a monthly magazine entitled Hours at Home, which in 1870 was merged into 
 the well-known Scribner 's Monthly, the latter being founded by Scribner & Co. , a stock 
 company in which Dr. J. G. Holland and Roswell Smith were also interested. The 
 death of Mr. Scribner in 1871 came as a shock to hundreds of literary and business 
 men, who had learned to honor him for his intelligence, uprightness and sympathetic 
 temperament. In 1848, he married Emma C., daughter of the Hon. John I. Blair, of 
 New Jersey. To them were born John Blair Scribner; Emma L., who married Walter 
 C. Lamed; Charles and Arthur H. Scribner, and Isabella, now Mrs. Carter H. Fitz- 
 Hugh. 
 
 GEORGE J. SEABURY, manufacturing chemist and pharmacist, born Nov. 10, 
 1844, was reared and educated in New York city. His ancestors were of the revolu- 
 tionary class, which has contributed its share to human progress and modern 
 civilization. 
 
 After graduating from the public schools, the young man studied medicine, 
 chemistry and pharmacy. When the Civil War threatened the life of the nation, he 
 enlisted in 1861, served in the New York Volunteers in several positions a^id was twice 
 wounded in the Peninsular campaign at the battles of Games' Mills and Malvern Hill. 
 After the war, he continued his studies at home and abroad, and became in the course 
 of a few years the pioneer of an original American industry, founding the firm of 
 Seabury & Johnson, of which he is president, and which is known to-day throughout 
 the world as manufacturers of medical, surgical and antiseptic materials of exception- 
 ally excellent quality. 
 
 Mr. Seabury will be known in history as the father and organizer of his branch of 
 pharmaceutical chemistry, chiefly for his original work, inventions and improvements 
 on old methods. The great success achieved by him has made his name familiar to 
 every physician, surgeon and druggist throughout the world. His firm have invariably 
 received the highest awards over all American and European competitors, notably in 
 Paris, London, Vienna, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Liverpool, Melbourne, 
 Montreal and at many other world's exhibitions, forty-nine gold medals and special 
 diplomas having thus far been awarded. The Seabury pharmacal laboratories are 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SE. 583 
 
 larger and better equipped than any others known in their class. In 1885, Mr. Seabury 
 became the sole owner of the works and trade marks of the firm. He also introduced 
 in this country the lithographing on tin for commercial purposes and organized the 
 successful firm of The Mersereau Manufacturing Co. in that specialty, of which he is 
 president. 
 
 He is an aggressive Republican, and a member of the Republican City and State 
 clubs, and was one of the Committee of Thirty which re-organized the Republican 
 party in the city of New York into a solid phalanx by election districts. He has been 
 a delegate to National, State and County conventions and is a member of a score of 
 scientific, educational and benevolent societies, having held every position within their 
 gift from committeeman to president. He was president of The Drug, Chemical and 
 Paint Organization during the centennial celebration and a vice president of the 
 Republican Business Men's Association, which has paraded in Presidential years over 
 60,000 strong. 
 
 The demoralized relations betwen the pharmacist and the public and the public and 
 the pharmacist led Mr. Seabury into labors, which resulted in the creation of pharmacy 
 laws in nearly every State in the Union, so that to-day no person can practice unless 
 he has graduated from a college of pharmacy or passed an examination before a legally 
 appointed board of druggists For this service, he has been made an honorary member 
 of many State societies. He is a member of the New York College of Pharmacy and 
 president of The New York State Pharmaceutical Association. He is a voluminous and 
 versatile writer on economic, trade, political and public questions and problems and 
 has won reputation as an author on the protection of industrial and productive interests. 
 Several forcible and convincing pamphlets have been written by him, notably: "The 
 Tariff Bugbear," "Prosperity versus Poverty," "The Tariff is Not a Tax," "How a 
 Protective Tariff Protects the Farmer and Wage Earner, and Cheapens the Cost of 
 Home Products to the Consumer," and "Low Tariff Destroys our Manufactures and 
 Introduces Fraud and Undervaluations by Importers," as well as many articles on 
 allied topics. 
 
 Mr. Seabury is a sharpshooter and enthusiastic rifleman, and was honorary secre- 
 tary and a director of The National Rifle Association when Generals Grant and Han- 
 cock were its presidents. He was instrumental in bringing rifle practice in the National 
 Guard to its present state of perfection, and took great interest in the Creedmoor 
 range. He is a member of the New York Athletic club and of the famous "Old 
 Guard " of New York city. 
 
 With all of his devotion to practical affairs, he is nevertheless gifted with the attri- 
 butes of the poet and has worshipped the muse in an "Ode to Black Bass," in two 
 cantos, to the delight of every true disciple of Isaak Walton. His affection for pisca- 
 torial pleasures has called forth many meritorious articles on the protection, behavior 
 and habits of game fish. 
 
 His life thus far has been an unusually busy one, overflowing with energy and 
 vivacity. He is popular, liberal in every direction, enthusiastic in art and music, of 
 sterling character, one of the successful men of affairs, whose "word is as good 
 as his bond," aggressive in a good cause, and an orator. Summed up, he represents 
 a typical New Yorker, and one of the characteristic products of self-made metro- 
 politan life. 
 
584 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 CLARENCE WALKER SEAMANS, manufacturer, the son of Abner Clark Sea- 
 mans, also a manufacturer, was born in Ilion, N. Y., June 5, 1854. He attended school 
 in his native town until the age of fifteen, and then secured employment with The 
 Remington Arms Co. , the principal industry of the village and then the main source 
 of its prosperity. He has since attained celebrity in the firm of Wyckoff, Seamans & 
 Benedict, formed in 1882 to manage the sale of the Remington typewriter. When, in 
 1886, his associates and he incorporated under the old title, Mr. Seamans became 
 treasurer and later general manager of the concern. Since the recent death of Mr. 
 Wyckoff, senior partner in the old firm and president of the incorporated company, 
 Mr. Seamans and Mr. Benedict have been the principal managers of the business 
 The story of the house is told more fully elsewhere in these pages. 
 
 JOSEPH SEIDENBERQ, one of the leading manufacturers of cigars in the United 
 States and pioneer of the industry in Key West, Fla. , originated in the northern part 
 of the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, in the little town of Schwetzingen, where he 
 was born, Nov 2, 1832. His early youth was .spent quietly in the fatherland, but in 
 the early forties he crossed the Atlantic ocean, located in New York city, and soon found 
 occupation here in the cigar business. To this industry, he has applied himself ever 
 since and with marked success, and he now occupies a strong position in the front rank 
 of those energetic sons of old Germany, who have made New York city their home. 
 
 Mr. Seidenberg began life with a good store of physical health, mental energy, 
 and common sense. Feeling a very strong desire to make a good place for himself in 
 the business world, he soon created by diligent enterprise an excellent trade in cigars, 
 imported them in considerable quantity from Germany, soon became able to extend his 
 enterprise to other channels, and finally became extensively interested in the industry 
 in Florida. 
 
 Through his relations with the sponge fishing industry on the Florida coast and 
 the shipment of groceries to the then small island city of Key West, his attention was 
 at length attracted to the quality of the cigars, which were being made upon, a small 
 scale from Cuban tobacco in Key West. 
 
 Mr. Seidenberg was an excellent judge of a good cigar, and when, after a 
 careful study of the subject, he realized the fact that Key West possessed special 
 advantages for the manufacture of Cuban tobacco, he established upon the island, in 
 1867, its first regular cigar factory. It may be said here that this bold venture was 
 regarded with curiosity and interest by the whole tobacco trade of the country, and the 
 example of Mr. Seidenberg, being promptly followed by other manufacturers, led in 
 a few years to the development of a great cigar making industry in Key West. Before 
 that time, the population of Thompson's Island, upon which the city is located, had 
 derived their subsistence chiefly from the sponge and coral industries and the gathering 
 of other products of the sea. A new and valuable industry was now established among 
 them, which came in time to give employment to more than 6,000 operatives and 
 sustain perhaps half of the residents of the city of Key West. 
 
 At first, Mr. Seidenberg spent a great deal of his time in Key West in personal 
 supervision of the factory and organization and management of its operations. The 
 sale of his productions was carried on wholly by the firm of Seidenberg & Co., 
 in New York city. The energy, skill and good judgment of the head of the 
 firm made the new enterprise prosper exceedingly, and Seidenberg & Co. rapidly rose 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SE. 585 
 
 to a prominent position among the leading and most reputable purveyors of cigars in 
 the United States They were among the first to manufacture pure Havana cigars in 
 the United States, and while, as above intimated, various energetic men resolved that 
 Seidenberg & Co. should not occupy this field alone, yet they have been able easily to 
 maintain the lead; and their immense factories in Florida and New York city have 
 finally come to manufacture more cigars, all grades considered, than any other firm in 
 the country, perhaps in the world. 
 
 For more than twenty-five years, Mr. Seidenberg carried on the industry in Key 
 West with great profit to the town, and with results satisfactory to himself. But, in 
 1894, foreseeing a broader field, Mr. Seidenberg resolved to remove the Florida branch 
 of the industry to the city of Tampa, Fla. Ground was broken for a large new brick 
 factor}- there, and, pending its completion, a frame building on Lafayette street was 
 occupied for the making of clear Havana cigars, and in another building on Franklin 
 street a large force was set to work producing Sumatra wrapper cigars. The new factory 
 was supplied with the best of modern facilities and the Florida industry is now consoli- 
 dated in this structure. The entire product is forwarded to New York city for sale. 
 
 In Tampa, Seidenberg & Co. now employ about six hundred excellent operatives 
 and manufacture about 15,000,000 cigars a year from the finest Havana tobacco, which 
 the money and experience of a skillful and well informed buyer can secure from the 
 planters in the famous Vuelta Abajo district of Cuba. In Havana, at 171-5 Estrella 
 street, they maintain a large warehouse and employ about two hundred operatives in 
 stripping the enormous amount of raw material, required for the manufacture of 
 50,000,000 cigars a year by the Tampa and New York houses. It has been discovered 
 that the aroma of the leaf is improved by stripping the tobacco in Havana. The New 
 York factory, located at the corner of First avenue and East 74th street, now employs 
 about twelve hundred operatives and manufactures about 40,000,000 cigars from mixed 
 tobacco every year. While low priced cigars are made at the New York establishment, 
 the Seidenbergs allow none to go out of inferior quality. The filler of every cigar 
 consists of pure Havana tobacco, the wrapper being made from Sumatra leaf. The 
 Figaro five cent cigar, made by Seidenberg & Co. in New York, has proved a popular 
 brand and the sale now reaches about 25,000,000 a year. The Lillian Russell and Duke 
 Orlando cigars, also made in New York from pure Havana tobacco, both enjoy a large 
 sale. In Tampa, La Rosa Espanola is the principal brand and has given the house a 
 special reputation, but Librador and Lorenzo cigars are also made in large quantities, 
 all from the purest Havana leaf. 
 
 Success in the commercial field does not depend entirely upon the excellence of the 
 goods sold by a particular firm, although quality is, of course, an important element. 
 In modern times, great success depends partly upon the vigor, ingenuity and extent of 
 the advertising done by the firm. It is a fact of interest that Seidenberg & Co. are 
 undoubtedly the greatest advertisers among cigar manufacturers in the United States, 
 and there are probably no brands of cigars more extensively and ingeniously pressed 
 upon the public notice than the Lillian Russell, Figaro, La Rosa Espanola, Librador, 
 and Lorenzo. The name of Seidenberg is borne upon at least ninety-five per cent. 
 of the boxes and is now known in every part of the United States. 
 
 In recent years, Mr. Seidenberg has made his home in New York city. William 
 J. Seidenberg, his son, is an active member of his firm. 
 
586 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Mr. Seidenberg married Theresa M. Dooley, daughter of John Dooley of St. John, 
 .N. B., and to them have been born seven daughters and one son. 
 
 JAMES SELIQMAN, banker, born in Baiersdorf, Bavaria, April 14, 1824, is one 
 of the eight notable sons of David Seligman, a woolen merchant. In 1841, he canie to 
 America at the suggestion of his brother Joseph and engaged in business. In 1848, 
 several of this remarkable group of brothers removed from widely separated parts of 
 the country to New York city, James among the number, and here established the 
 importing firm of Seligman & Stettheimer. Beginning life with no advantage of cir- 
 cumstances but guided by conspicuous native ability, Mr. Seligman aided materially 
 in making the new enterprise successful. In 1865, the Seligmans retired from mercan- 
 tile life and transferred their capital to a banking business on Wall street. The name 
 of J. & W. Seligman & Co., then adopted, has been retained until the present day.J 
 Branches were established in Europe, with various of the brothers in charge of each. 
 Joseph, James and Jesse remained in New York. Leopold and Isaac took charge of 
 the London branch, William the one in Paris, and Henry and Abraham the bank in 
 Frankfort on the Main. James is now the head of the New York house. In 1851, he i 
 married Rosa, daughter of Simon Content, and is the father of eight children : De Witt 
 J., Samuel, Washington, Eugene, Jefferson, Fannie, Angeline and Florette. 
 
 JESSE SELIQflAN, banker, born in Baiersdorf, Bavaria, Aug. 1 1, 1821, died at the 
 Coronado Beach Hotel, Coronado Beach, Cal., April 23, 1894. He was fourth of eight 
 notable brothers and came to America in 1841. Investing his little means in a peddler's 
 outfit, he started to sell small goods through the suburbs of New York city. By hard 
 work he saved $1,000, and joining his brother Joseph, then went to Selma, Ala., tc 
 open a general store. In 1848, he came north to Watertown, N. Y , where he remaine 
 a short time, and then, settling in New York, opened a wholesale clothing store or 
 Church street In 1850, upon the discovery of gold, he opened a general store in San 
 Francisco, Cal., soon amassing a fortune. While on the coast, he became a member 
 of the famous committee of twenty-one, formed to obtain clean and efficient govern- 
 ment in San Francisco. In 1854, in Munich, he married Miss Henrietta Hellman. 
 After his return to California, he saw a wider field in New York city and in 185; 
 joined his brothers, Joseph and James, here in the wholesale clothing and importing 
 business. Although the Civil War contracted their business, the firm did not suffer 
 severely, because they took a number of army contracts. In 1865, the brothers 
 joined in organizing the banking house of J. & W. Seligman & Co. They paid particular 
 attention to national finance and soon became known among the ablest bankers of 
 their time. Jesse Seligman took a personal interest in many of the financial schemes 
 of the Government, and was a trusted adviser of more than one Secretary of the 
 Treasury. He was largely concerned in placing United States bonds abroad, and 
 when, in 1879, Secretary Sherman offered $150,000,000 of refunding bonds for sale, 
 the Seligman brothers took $20,000,000. They have since been prominent in every im- 
 portant syndicate. In the '703, Mr. Seligman invested some of his means in prominent 
 commercial enterprises. He was a prominent Republican and for many years a mem- 
 ber of the Union League club, a trustee and patron of The Metropolitan Museum of 
 Art and The American Museum of Natural History and a member of The American 
 Geographical Society. In religion, a conscientious Hebrew and a prominent member 
 of the Temple Emanu-El, he helped to found The Hebrew Orphan Asylum and gave 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SE. 587 
 
 liberally to the charities maintained by the people of his faith. Well known and liked 
 in social, club, charitable and business circles, he left many friends. His family con- 
 sisted of his wife, Henrietta, daughter of A. Hellman, and six children, David Theodore, 
 Max Henry, Joseph Albert, Frances Alice, Emma and Madeline. 
 
 JOSEPH SELIQMAN, founder of the Seligman banking house, born in Baiersdorf, 
 Bavaria, Nov. 19, 1819, died in New Orleans, La., April 25, 1880. A graduate of the 
 University at Erlangen, he came to this country in 1838, the pioneer of his family. 
 Finding first a place as private secretary with Asa Packer, who was then entering upon 
 his career as a contractor at Neshquehoning, Pa. , he became later cashier of a small 
 bank owned by Mr. Packer. When of age, he embarked in mercantile business 
 in Greensborough, Ala. As soon as he had the means, he generously sent home for 
 three of his brothers, whom he urged to come to America. Others came later. Jesse 
 and Henry settled in Watertown, N. Y., Joseph remaining in the South. In 1848. the 
 brothers all gave up their business in small cities, and opened an importing clothing 
 house in New York city, and after the Civil War established the banking house of J. &W. 
 Seligman & Co., which soon became famous. Joseph was the head and inspiring genius 
 of this enterprise. In 1872, he went to San Francisco, and for a time conducted a 
 branch office, which subsequently united with The Anglo-Californian Bank. As the 
 counsellor and leader of the brothers and the founder of their great banking house, Mr. 
 Seligman illustrated many phases of personal character which excited admiration. He 
 was a director of The St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad, The Equitable Life Assur- 
 ance Society, The Real Estate Trust Co., The German American Bank, The Shoe & 
 Leather Bank, and The Home Fire Insurance Co. Generous in charity, he founded 
 the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, gave 70,000 to The Society of Ethical Culture, and pro- 
 moted industrial schools and kindergartens, and was a genial, refined and courteous man. 
 At one time, vice president of the Union League club, he also joined the Harmonie 
 club as a member. He was married in 1848, and to him were born David J., George 
 W., Isaac N., Edwin R. , and Alfred L. Seligman; Frances, wife of Theodore Hell- 
 man, of New Orleans; Helen, wife of E. Spiegelberg, of New York; Sophia, wife of 
 M. Walter, of New York; and Isabella, wife of Ph. Lilienthal, of San Francisco. 
 
 ISRAEL SHELDON, merchant, born March 22,^ 1797, originated in Pawtucket, 
 R. I., and died in Orange, N. J., Sept. 23, 1884. The descendant of an old and patriotic 
 family, he graduated from the academy in Woodstock, Conn., and entered mercantile 
 life first in Providence and then in Wilmington, N. C , as clerk for S. & A. B. Arnold, 
 shipping merchants. Energy, good sense and honesty secured for him speedy recogni- 
 tion, and caused him to be sent while young to the West Indies as supercargo of a pro- 
 vision ship. Trading expeditions to South American countries led to exciting adven- 
 tures, owing to local revolutions He was once taken prisoner. Returning to North 
 Carolina, he made his name there a synonym for honesty, sagacity and energy. Dur- 
 ing eight years, he was clerk of the court in Hyde county, N. C., and in 1834, emi- 
 grated to Alabama, and engaged in business, with success. The outbreak of the Civil 
 War sent him North and he lost much of his property in consequence. In New York, 
 he resumed business with characteristic energy and his knowledge of the cotton market 
 and the value of corporate shares enabled him to gain a second fortune. He was a large 
 operator in Western lands and gas stocks. Mr. Sheldon was married several times. 
 He had no son. Four daughters were born to him, Mrs. Robert W. Aborn, who died 
 
588 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 in 1860; Mrs. Woolsey R. Hopkins, Mrs. William M. Franklin, and Georgianna E., 
 wife of John S. Tilney. 
 
 JAMES OWEN SHELDON, merchant, banker and farmer, retired, descends from 
 an old and excellent family of the State of Connecticut, planted in the beautiful village 
 of Windsor in the early days by a lineal descendant of Archbishop Sheldon, founder of 
 the Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford, England. He was born in Windsor, June 25, 1823. 
 During early youth, he studied the text books of the period first in the schools of Wind- 
 sor and Suffield, Conn., and later in New York city, to which place his father, James 
 Sheldon, a merchant, had removed to enter business life. The senior Sheldon was 
 active in affairs here and well known to all the older generation of merchants. 
 
 The best opportunities of that time were afforded by mercantile life in New York 
 city, and Mr. Sheldon entered upon a practical career and received his first instruction 
 in business principles as clerk in a wholesale dry goods house, with which he remained 
 until the age of twenty-one. 
 
 Connecticut has been frequently called the " land of steady habits," but this pithy 
 phrase does not entirely indicate why it was that, during the period in which the 
 subject of this sketch made his entrance into affairs, there came forth from the 
 ranks of the Connecticut men, who came to New York city in such large numbers, so 
 many merchants, who, during their active and useful lives, became conspicuous for 
 success and the qualities which ennoble human nature. Steady habits are good, but 
 that which promoted them was the character of the old American element in Connecti- 
 cut, its intelligence and religious earnestness, the sound home training the people gave 
 their sons and the spirit which led them to fasten the minds of the young upon mental, 
 moral and physical excellence, as of far more importance than wealth. During the 
 first half of the present century, a throng of young and capable men came to New York 
 from Connecticut, among them Edwin D. Morgan, the Meads, the Hoyts, Junius S. 
 Morgan, and others, who became conspicuous for their character, energy and position. 
 Mr. Sheldon began in the same modest way as did the other sons of his native State, 
 and, in the same short time, displayed the soundness of his training, the vigor of his 
 mind and body, and the perfect probity of his character. 
 
 At the age of twenty-one, Mr. Sheldon entered mercantile life on his own account 
 as member of a wholesale grocery firm, and succeeded so well that, five years later, he 
 became a banker and commission merchant. In this field, also, he conducted his 
 business with energy, skill and profit, and was rapidly rising into prominence, when, 
 in 1855, illness in his family compelled him to give up his residence in New York 
 city and retire to a rural home in the central part of the State. 
 
 In the year named, he purchased the celebrated White Spring farm near Geneva, 
 N. Y., upon which he dwelt for sixteen years. Here, he devoted himself to the improve- 
 ment of his property and the breeding of Short Horn cattle from his own importations 
 and from purchases from other American herds. About 1856, he bought the bull, Grand 
 Duke of Oxford, from Lord Ducie of England, who owned the finest herd of Short 
 Horns then existing, and in 1867 Mr. Sheldon acquired for $42,300 about forty animals 
 from Samuel Thorne of Thornedale, N. Y., whose herd also was derived from that of 
 Lord Ducie. Mr. Sheldon purchased other Short Horn cattle from Lewis G. Morris. 
 He was very successful in the business part of this enterprise and accomplished a great 
 deal for the improvement of the breed of cattle in this country. His splendid herd of 
 
59 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Short Horns gained a world wide reputation. The sales made therefrom are historic 
 and should be referred to. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon sold nine sound and excellent young heifers and bulls from the herd 
 of Mr. Thome to go to England for from $2,000 to $3,000 each, and, in 1867, to English 
 buyers the young bull, 3d Duke of Geneva, for $2,750, the white heifer, 7th Duchess 
 of Geneva, for $3,500, and six Oxford heifers at an average of $2,290 each. Owing 
 to the heavy mortality among English Short Horns during this period, the stock upon 
 Mr. Sheldon's farm suddenly attained great value. Breeders in the British Isles looked 
 to his farm as the source upon which they could recruit their own stocks. In 1870, 
 he sold the roan bull calf, 8th Duke of Geneva, for $4,000, and two heifers, Duchesses 
 of Geneva, for $2,500 each in gold coin, gold being then at a premium of 40 per cent. 
 These large prices were for the cattle delivered on board the ship in New York harbor. 
 Two other animals of Mr. Sheldon's breeding were sold at auction to go to England, 
 one for $40,600 and the other for $35,000, while several brought from $20.000 to 
 $30,000 each. Late in 1870, the entire herd was bought by a firm at New York 
 Mills, Oneida county, at an average of about $1,000 each for eighty head. 
 
 While opportunities so profitable as that which made Mr. Sheldon's farm historic 
 do not often come to American farmers, yet the story here narrated should remind them 
 that he who works his farm with brains is likely to attain the best results. 
 
 While a resident at Geneva, Mr. Sheldon took an active part in the management 
 of the State Agricultural College and was for several years one of its trustees. He 
 also devoted considerable time to the management of the State Agricultural Society, 
 being a vice president and a member of the executive committee for some time and in 
 1864 accepting election as president of the society. The farming interests of the State 
 were fortunate in enlisting the interest of a man so capable and of such extended 
 experience in affairs. 
 
 In 1870, having parted with his herd of Short Horns, Mr. Sheldon sold the White 
 Spring farm, constrained so to do by the health of his family, and spent several years 
 thereafter in Europe. 
 
 In 1878, he returned and made his home in New York city, where he has since 
 resided. While not now engaged in active business, he is sufficiently occupied with 
 corporate enterprises and is a trustee of The Manhattan Trust Co. and The Kings 
 County Elevated Railroad, in which he has investments. He is too vigorous a man 
 to remain idle and devotes much time to public spirited work and is a governor of The 
 New York Hospital and The Bloomingdale Asylum, trustee of the Institution for the 
 Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and The Protestant Half Orphan Asylum and the 
 promoter of other philanthropic enterprises. Strong and sturdy in frame, a gentleman 
 of courtly demeanor and spotless character, his mind stored with entertaining informa- 
 tion, and a member of the Union League and Down Town clubs and New England So- 
 ciety, he enjoys the friendship and respect of a large circle of cultivated acquaintances. 
 
 ELLIOTT FITCH SHEPARD, lawyer and publisher, born in Jamestown. N. Y., 
 July 25, 1833, died in New York city, March 24, 1893. He came from old American 
 stock, and was a grandson of Theodore May, a surgeon in the American Revolution, 
 and son of Fitch Shepard, who rose to be cashier of The Jamestown National Bank and 
 president of The National Bank Note Co. of New York city. Mr. Shepard graduated 
 from the University of the City of New York in 1855, studied law, and being admitted to 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SH. 591 
 
 practice in 1858, devoted himself to his profession. During the Civil War, he was 
 appointed an aid upon the staff of Gov. Edwin D. Morgan and given charge of the 
 recruiting station in Elmira, N. Y. While Colonel Shepard held this position, 40,000 
 men were enrolled and sent to the front. He presented a flag to the 5ist New York 
 Vols., which took the name of the Shepard Rifles. Declining a commission as Brigadier 
 General tendered by President Lincoln, he spent much time in recruiting for the gth ' 
 Army Corps, and aided in securing laws permitting soldiers to vote in the field and the 
 allotment of their pay to their families. He also promoted the great Fair in New York 
 city, which earned $1,300,000 for the Sanitary Commission. After the War, he prac- 
 ticed mercantile and municipal law, and with E. B Shafer codified the city ordinances, 
 their version going into effect Jan. i, 1881. In his latter years, Colonel Shepard was 
 known as an editor. He bought The Mail and Express, March 26, 1888, from Cyrus 
 W. Field." The management of this Republican journal excited his enthusiastic inter- 
 est, and he was its real as well as nominal head. It was he who introduced the idea 
 of printing a text from Scripture every day upon the editorial page. He was 
 liberal in charity, a Presbyterian, and a strong advocate of Sunday observance. Active 
 in the formation of The Bar Association, he became its president in 1884, and helped 
 secure the legislation to create the Court of Arbitration of the Chamber of Commeice, 
 of which he was a member. Colonel Shepard made several visits to Europe, explored 
 his native land thoroughly, and frequently related the story of his travels in public 
 lectures. He wrote several pamphlets, one of which, entitled ' ' Labor and Capital are 
 One," was translated into various languages and had a circulation of 250,000 copies. 
 Among his clubs were the Union League, Republican, Lawyers', Twilight, Riding, 
 Congregational, Pi'ess, New York Athletic, New York Yacht and Adirondack League, 
 and he also joined the Bar Association, The Sons of the American Revolution, Presby- 
 terian Union and The New England Society of this city and the Union League club of 
 Brooklyn. He married Feb. 18, 1868, Margaret Louisa, daughter of William H. Van- 
 derbilt, who survived him with five children, Maria Louisa, wife of William Jay Schieffe- 
 lin; Edith; Alice Vanderbilt, wife of David Hennon Morris; Margaret and Elliott F. 
 Shepard, jr. By his will, he left $100,000 each to the Presbytery of New York city and 
 St. Paul's Institute at Tarsus, Asia, and $50,000 to the Seventh Presbyterian Church. 
 
 FREDERICK MICHAEL SHEPARD, manufacturer, a native of Norfolk, Conn., 
 born Sept. 24, 1827, is a son of the late John A. Shepard, farmer, hotel keeper and 
 postmaster, and of Margaret J. Mills, his wife. Edward Shepard came from old England 
 with his family in 1638 and settled in Cambridge, Mass., and one of his sons, removing 
 to Hartford, Conn., there established the branch of the family from which Frederick 
 M. Shepard springs. The subject of this sketch spent his ear'ylife in Norfolk, attend- 
 ing school, aiding his father and serving as clerk in a country store. Finally, how- 
 ever, Norfolk became too small for a young man of his motive power and he found em- 
 ployment in Hartford and later in New York city. In 1853, he was elected treasurer 
 and secretary of The Union India Rubber Co., and from that time to the present has 
 been active in the manufacture of rubber goods. He is president of the company now 
 and of The Rubber Clothing Co., The Goodyear Rubber Co., of New York, and The 
 Goodyear Rubber Co., of Middletown, Conn., all of which are owned and controlled 
 by him, and a director of The United States and The National Rubber Go's. He is 
 also a director of The Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co., The Orange Water Co., The 
 
59 2 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 East Orange Safe Deposit & Trust Co. , The East Orange National Bank, and The 
 Norfolk, Conn., Water Co. and has been Commissioner of Juries and of Parks in Essex 
 county, N. J. Mr. Shepard has proved a very able manager of the large interests con- 
 centrated in his hands. He has read THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE from the day of its first 
 publication. Sept. 28, 1854, he married Annie C. Rockwell and is the father of six 
 children, Annie Rockwell, Frederick M., Clara Margaret, Joseph Minott, John Andrus, 
 and Edith Mills. 
 
 SIDNEY SHEPARD, capitalist, long prominent in the commercial life of Buffalo 
 but in later years closely identified with financial affairs in New York city, was born in 
 the village of Cobleskill, Schoharie county, N. Y. , Sept. 28, 1814. He died in New 
 Haven, N. Y., Dec. 26, 1893. He was descended from a line of hale and upright 
 ancestors, which reached back to the earliest days of the settlement of the new world. 
 Ralph Shepard, the first of his father's family to remove from England to this country, 
 came in 1635. William Hamilton, his mother's ancestor, a Scot, came later, and 
 emigrated from Glasgow in 1668. His grandfather, Hosea Hamilton, in this line, was 
 a surgeon in the American Revolution and a personal friend of George Washington. 
 Jesse Shepard, Sidney's father, was a physician, who practiced the healing art for many 
 years in Cobleskill and the farming towns surrounding. A worthy representative of 
 these two families, the young man thus had the good fortune to begin life with a 
 vigorous nature, an upright character, and a strong intellectuality, inherited from a 
 sound ancestry. During boyhood, he gained only the education which falls to the 
 usual lot of the youth of a country town, but he was compensated in subsequent years 
 for lack of a college education, by his receptive mind, constant reading, extended 
 travel, alert observation and retentive memory. 
 
 The lad found his first employment at the age of fourteen, as clerk in a hardware 
 store in Dansville, N. Y. He entered upon his duties there with youthful enthusiasm, 
 was quick to learn and faithful to duty, and the liking which he gained then and there 
 for the hardware trade decided his vocation. After additional experience in a store in 
 Rochester, N. Y., he went to Bath, in 1831, and associated himself for three years with 
 his brother. 
 
 He made his first mercantile venture on his own account in 1835, when not yet 
 twenty-one years old, assuming the responsibilities of a merchant, by purchasing a 
 hardware store in the same town. From the very beginning, he showed his quality, 
 by energetically devoting to his business all the time which was necessary to ensure 
 success. He was resolute in a determination to make his way, honest in all transac- 
 tions, and able to deny himself the luxuries, upon which many other young men, less 
 wise than he, expended their savings. Five years of mercantile life in Bath brought 
 him a little capital. 
 
 Aspiring to a larger field, he then, in 1836, removed to Buffalo. He first bought 
 an interest in a hardware store on Main street, the oldest business house in that city, 
 which was changed to Crane & Shepard. In the following year, he became sole pro- 
 prietor under his own name. This enterprise soon developed into the firm of Sidney 
 Shepard & Co., which rose from local to much wider distinction. A manufactory of 
 sheet metal ware was established at the corner of Clinton and Union streets. The young 
 merchant soon won the good opinion of other men in the hardware trade and pushed 
 the sale of his productions with such persistency and energy, that before ten years had 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK.. SH. 
 
 593 
 
 passed his business had become thoroughly established. Not only did the thriving city 
 of Buffalo and the counties tributary thereto supply him with a ready market, but the 
 West spread out before him, inviting him to extend his enterprise in that direction 
 also. During his early years, he made several prolonged trips through this region and 
 established business connections in the then comparatively uninhabited but rapidly 
 growing States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, opening business houses in 
 Detroit and Milwaukee. About, 1840, he made one tour by way of Chicago and St. 
 Louis to New Orleans, returning through Mobile, Savannah and Charleston. In 1849, 
 he became the proprietor of The Shepard Iron Works, on Ohio street, and thereafter 
 gradually added to his undertakings, until he finally became one of the largest im- 
 porters of tin plate, manufacturers of stamped metal ware, and dealers in hardware and 
 tinners' supplies in the United States. 
 
 Mr. Shepard's activity was not confined to his industry in Buffalo. As he gained 
 the means, he embarked in other important enterprises. He was one of the earliest to 
 realize the advantages of the electric telegraph to the merchants of the country, and he 
 not only promoted some of the pioneer lines in the West, but, by gradual investment, 
 became one of the largest owners of the stock of The Western Union Telegraph Co., 
 tinder which the earlier lines were consolidated. Until within a few weeks of his death, 
 he was a director in that corporation, resigning on account of his illness. He was 
 prominent also in railroad affairs and for many years a large stockholder and director 
 in The Alabama Central, The Mobile & Ohio, and The New Jersey Central Railroads, 
 having declined a similar position in many others of equal prominence. He accepted 
 only a few of the proffered places of trust in religious, banking and other institutions. 
 
 He was married June 12, 1851, in Buffalo, to Elizabeth De Angelis Wells, daughter 
 of Chester R. Wells. This union brought them three children, Elizabeth Wells Shep- 
 ard, who died at the age of ten; Charles Sidney Shepard; and Ralph Hamilton Shepard, 
 who survived his farther a few months only. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Shepard relinquished the active supervision of the details of his 
 business to his partners and spent several years with his family in foreign travel and 
 recreation. He visited nearly every capital in Europe, besides Egypt, the Holy Land 
 and Asia Minor. Upon the family's return, the} r settled in the homestead of his wife in 
 the village of New Haven, Oswego county, N. Y., and made that his country residence 
 the remainder of his days. In 1885, he transferred to C. Sidney Shepard, his son, his 
 interest in the old firm. Though urged to be a candidate for important offices, he 
 studiously avoided such publicity. 
 
 Mr. Shepard's success should be an inspiration to every young man cf ability and 
 character. It was due to the good name which he established early in life, a clear head, 
 sound judgment and untiring energy. Keen powers of observation guided him in his 
 enterprise and investments and his habit of mastering every new question thoroughly 
 saved him from errors. His capacity for organization amounted almost to genius. His 
 judgment of men was remarkable and he was seldom deceived in his estimates. In integ- 
 rity, he was rigid and unswerving. Capable of continued exertion, his courage also 
 was equal to even- emergency. In private life, he was a sincere Christian gentleman 
 His faith in divine things was strong and for about twenty -five years he was an elder 
 in the First Presbyterian Church of Buffalo. Wealth brought him the ability to bestow 
 happiness on others less fortunate and he did so freely but quietly and with the same 
 
594 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 discretion which had regulated his whole life, often in such a way that even the recipi- 
 ents did not know the source. He aided liberally several institutions in Buffalo, but his 
 principal benefactions were distributed over this and other countries, while his private 
 charities were large. His name is greatly honored. 
 
 ISAAC SHERMAN, manufacturer and banker, born in North Adams, Mass., died 
 in this city, Jan. 21, 1881, in his sixty-third year. After studying law in Albion. N. Y., 
 for a year, Mr. Sherman abandoned the prospect of a legal career and went into busi- 
 ness. He became interested at an early age in the making of staves in Buffalo for ex- 
 port, and was in the habit of going to Michigan and making contracts for the purchase 
 of staves, while the timber stood in the forests. If there were sufficient snow to haul 
 the staves from the woods, they were drawn out in the winter time. If not, they some- 
 times remained standing for a year or two. This practice led to a discussion on taxa- 
 tion with the Attorney General of Michigan. The statutes of the State exempted prop- 
 erty in transit and Mr. Sherman claimed that his staves were legally in that condition, 
 until they were taken out of the woods and started for Port Huron, his usual point of 
 shipment to the East. He finally induced the Attorney General to accept his view of 
 the matter and frequently referred to this case as one of his earliest triumphs. He re- 
 tired from business in Buffalo, at the age of thirty, with large means. Coming to New 
 York about 1856, he then established a private bank, remaining in its management until 
 1865, after which time he devoted himself to investments. The only railroad securities 
 he ever bought were first mortgage bonds. His knowledge of railroad law was inti- 
 mate and extensive. In politics originally a Democrat and prominent in the Barn- 
 burner movement, Mr. Sherman took a prominent part in the founding of the Repub- 
 lican party. During Mr. Lincoln's administration, he was one of the President's con- 
 fidential advisers, and it is generally understood that he declined the offer of Secretary 
 of the Treasury. He was a genial and courteous man, generous in charities and very 
 modest. His wife and one daughter, the latter, Mrs. Bradley Martin, survived him. 
 
 WATTS SHERHAN, banker, born in Utica, N. Y., Feb. 22, 1809, died on the 
 Island of Madeira, Feb. 20, 1865. A descendant of one of the oldest families in the 
 State, his first important position was that of cashier of a bank in Geneseo. Removing 
 to Herkimer, he conducted a banking institution there. Later, he removed to Albany 
 and became cashier and general manager of The Albany City Bank, which became one 
 of the soundest institutions in the country xmder his management. In 1851, he came 
 to New York and in partnership with Alexander Duncan founded the well known bank- 
 ing house of Duncan, Sherman & Co., in the active management of which he continued 
 until about eighteen months before his death. Cultivated and refined in mind and 
 liberal in disposition, he had a large circle of devoted friends. In politics, he sided 
 with the Democrats. His wife, Sarah M., a daughter of Henry B. Gibson of Canan- 
 daigua, N. Y., with four sons survived him, the latter being William Watts, Duncan, 
 Harry Gibson and Frederic Sherman. Mrs. Sherman died in March, 1878. 
 
 JOHN HINF1AN SHERWOOD, merchant and realty owner, a native of Guilford, 
 Chenango county, N. Y., Feb. 3, 1816, died in New York city, March 17, 1887. 
 Energetic from youth, he began life at home as a shoemaker. At the age of twenty, 
 he established a hide and leather business in Monroe, Mich. Three years later, he 
 returned to Greene in Chenango county, and carried on a dry goods store, but removed 
 in 1852, to New York, to enter the firm of Wesson, Vanderhoff & Co., in the boot and 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SH. 595 
 
 shoe trade. In 1857, he withdrew and opened a real estate office, applying his means 
 to operations which ultimately made him a rich man. First and last, more than a 
 hundred business and residence houses were erected by him. The Sherwood apart- 
 ment house was one of his ventures and, with several associates, he built the block of 
 houses on Fifth avenue between 43d and 44th streets, upon the site of the Colored 
 Orphan Asylum, burned by the mob during the draft riots of 1863. Some of his prop- 
 erty lay north of the Park. Principal owner and an officer of The Fifth Avenue Bank, 
 he also shared in the management of The Mutual Life Insurance Co. , The Washington 
 Life Insurance Co. , and The Real Estate Exchange, and was a stockholder of The 
 New York Sun, being a warm friend of Mr. Dana. An Episcopalian, a Republican, 
 liberal in his charities and a man of sound qualities, he was highly esteemed. His 
 wife, Nancy L. , and one daughter, Mary E., wife of J. H. A. Blodgett, survived him. 
 
 HENRY F. SHOEMAKER, banker and railroad president, had the advantage in 
 his earh- career of an influential and prosperous father, but his great success in life is 
 due mainly to his own undisputed ability. He was born March 28, 1845, in Schuylkill 
 county, Pa. His ancestors came from Germany, landing in Philadelphia, June 20, 
 1683, and forming part of the settlement of Pastorius, the German Quaker and friend of 
 William Penn. The family has been prominent in Philadelphia and the Schuylkill and 
 Wyoming valleys of Pennsylvania for several generations. John Shoemaker, his great 
 grandfather, served in the American Revolution ; both his grandfathers were soldiers 
 of 1812 ; while Henry F. Shoemaker himself was a Union volunteer in the Civil War. 
 The men of the family engaged at an early period in the mining for anthracite coal, 
 and Col. George Shoemaker, of Pottsville, Pa. , a great uncle, was the first to introduce 
 this fuel to market, bringing it to Philadelphia by wagon. His father was John W. 
 Shoemaker, an operator of anthracite coal mines at Tamaqua, Pa , his mother being 
 Man- A. Brock, daughter of William Brock. 
 
 Mr. Shoemaker was fitted for an active career by education in the schools at 
 Tamaqua, Pa., and in the Genesee Seminary in Lima, N. Y. He acquired a liking 
 for the coal business at an early day, boyish curiosity leading him to visit his father's 
 colliery almost daily during his vacations. He was a young man of great promise and 
 his manly nature was shown in 1863. when Pennsylvania was invaded by General Lee 
 and the Confederate army. Governor Curtin called for volunteers to defend the State. 
 The young man, then only eighteen years of age, went to his father's mines, gathered 
 together a company of sixty volunteers and took them in haste to Harrisburg Although 
 elected captain of the company, he exercised the good judgment characteristic of him 
 in after life, and declined, owing to his youth, in favor of an older man, accepting 
 the rank of first lieutenant instead. The company was mustered into the Federal 
 sen-ice as part of the 2 7th Pa. Vols. attached to the 6th Corps, and served until the 
 Confederate army had been beaten at Gettysburgh and retreated south of the Potomac. 
 The emergency over, the detachment from the mines returned to their homes. 
 
 At the age of nineteen, Mr. Shoemaker went to Philadelphia and entered the 
 wholesale coal shipping house of Hammet, Van Dusen & Co., where he mastered the 
 mercantile department of the coal business. He then began the coal shipping business 
 on his own account under the firm name of Shoemaker & Mclntyre, succeeding from the 
 start. A progressive man, he formed in 1870 the firm of Fry, Shoemaker & Co., and 
 engaged in the mining of anthracite coal at Tamaqua, Pa. The property consisted of 
 
/ 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SH. 597 
 
 the Newkirk colliery, one of the largest in the locality. Mr. Shoemaker continued to 
 reside in Philadelphia in charge of the shipping and sales branch of the business, while 
 his partners devoted themselves to operating the mines. The Philadelphia & Reading 
 Railroad Co. having entered upon a policy of acquiring control of the mining of anthra- 
 cite coal along its lines by an ownership in the collieries, Mr. Shoemaker disposed of 
 his coal interests to the railroad company in 1875. 
 
 Early in 1877, he entered the world of transportation as secretary and treasurer of 
 The Central Railroad of Minnesota, and late in that year removed to New York city. 
 In 1878, he became interested in the construction of The Rochester & State Line Rail- 
 road, now known as The Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh, and was largely instrumental 
 in its extension to the coal fields of Pennsylvania. In 1881, he embarked in Wall street 
 and established the banking house of Shoemaker, Dillon & Co. The firm made a 
 specialty of large issues of railroad bonds and met with great success in several exten- 
 sive negotiations. In 1886, Mr. Shoemaker entered a syndicate which assumed control 
 of The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad, and thereafter he pushed on and became an 
 active spirit in a number of important roads. In 1887, he was elected president of The 
 Mineral Range Railroad, and in 1888, he bought a large interest in the Cincinnati, 
 Hamilton & Dayton Railroad, and later, with others, became one of the dominant 
 spirits in the company and was made chairman of its executive committee. In 1893, 
 for himself and associates, he purchased a majority of the shares of The Cleveland, 
 Lorain& Wheeling Railroad, which under the new management has become one of the 
 most prosperous coal roads in Ohio. Several lines in which he is interested are coal 
 carrying roads, and Mr. Shoemaker is largely interested in the mines adjacent thereto. 
 
 He has been successful in his undertakings and is now president of the The Day- 
 ton & Union and The Cincinnati, Dayton & Ironton Railroads; chairman of the 
 executive committee of The Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad, and a director 
 in The Cincinnati, Hamilton & Indianapolis, The Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas 
 Pacific, and The Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railroads, and The Alabama Great 
 Southern Railroad, Limited, of London, England. He was also at one time engaged in 
 the mining of bituminous coal in the Kanawha valley, W. Va. He was a large owner 
 and director in The New Jersey Rubber Shoe Co., whose factories are located at New 
 Brunswick, N. J., with a capacity of 10,000 pairs of boots and shoes per day which 
 has now become a part of The United States Rubber Co. , one of the largest mercantile 
 and manufacturing corporations in the country. 
 
 Mr. Shoemaker was married April 22, 1874, to Miss Blanche, daughter of the late 
 Hon. James W. Quiggle of Philadelphia, at one time Consul at Antwerp and later 
 Minister to Belgium. As a result of this union, there are three children, two sons and 
 one daughter. He resides in New York city, and by reason not only of his financial 
 standing, but his refinement of character, courteous manners and spotless record, has 
 gained the confidence and esteem of the business world. 
 
 He is a member of the Union League, Lotos, Riverside Yacht and American 
 Yacht clubs of New York city, The Sons of the Revolution, and Lafayette Post, No. 
 140, of the Grand Army of the Republic. 
 
 JOHN H. SHOENBERQER, manufacturer, a native of Huntington county, Pa., 
 died in New York city, Nov. 12, 1889, in his eightieth year. He was a son of Dr. 
 Peter Shoenberger, who began the manufacture of iron in Pittsburgh in 1824. The 
 
AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 son succeeded to the business, owned The Huntington furnace and was for many years 
 the head of John H. Shoenberger & Co., and a driving, able and successful man. 
 For several years, he managed The Exchange National Bank of Pittsburgh as its presi- 
 dent, and became largely interested in The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago and 
 The Allegheny Valley Railroads. He was a leading member of the Episcopal Church 
 in Pittsburgh, and the wealth due to his incessant enterprise enable him to make large 
 gifts in its interest and help build St. Peter's and Trinity churches. About 1880, he 
 removed to New York city. By his will he left $35,000 each to The Church Home in 
 Pittsburgh and The Bishop Seabury Mission in Minnesota; $30,000 for Episcopal mis- 
 sionary work in Pittsburgh; and $50,000 for The Domestic and Foreign Missionary 
 Society of the Protestant Episcopal church, as well as $900, ooo and a large tract of ground 
 in Pittsburgh for St. Margaret Memorial Hospital, in memory of his deceased wife. 
 
 GEORGE GARRETT SICKLES, merchant, born in William street, New York 
 city, Sept. 10, 1800, died in New Rochelle, March 18, 1887. After an experience in 
 this city as a printer and dry goods clerk, he went to Philadelphia at the age of twenty 
 to enter the employment of The A urora, one of the best known papers of that period. 
 Subsequently, he started a newspaper of his own in Belvidere, N. J., called The Bclvi- 
 dere Apollo. Later, he made a little money in New York in the publishing business at 
 Broadway and Liberty street, but lost it all in a mercantile venture in Glens Falls, 
 N. Y. When he returned to New York, he had only ten cents in his pocket. Making 
 a new start, he entered the real estate business and followed it for a quarter of a cen- 
 tury, realizing a fortune. He gradually came to own about thirty houses in New York 
 and Brooklyn and various other properties, including a farm at New Rochelle. For- 
 tunate operations in Wall street added to his means. When about forty years of age, he 
 studied law and practiced it for twenty-five years, becoming an expert in patent cases. 
 The Democratic party won his earnest allegiance and he was one of the oldest Free 
 Masons in the city, being a charter member of Kane Lodge. By his first marriage 
 with Miss Susan, daughter of Edgar Marsh, he became the father of Gen. Daniel E. 
 Sickles. In 1881, he married Mrs. Henry Sheridan Sawyer, and their children are 
 Roma Meade, Perie A. and Alta H. Sickles. 
 
 BENJAHIN DOUGLAS SILLIMAN, LL.D., lawyer, was born in Newport, R. I., 
 Sept. 24, 1805. His family removed to New York when he was a child, and since that 
 time he has been a resident mainly of the city of Brooklyn. He descends from Pil- 
 grim stock, and on the side of his father's mother, traces his lineage to John Alden and 
 Priscilla Mullins. Gen. Gold Selleck Silliman of Connecticut was his grandfather. 
 Gold S. Silliman, his father, died in Brooklyn, N. Y. , in 1868, at the age of ninety-one. 
 Benjamin D. Silliman was sent in 1820 to Yale College, received his diploma in 1824, 
 and is now sole surviving member of that notable class. Having studied law in the 
 office of Chancellor Kent and his son, Judge William Kent, Mr. Silliman was admitted 
 to the bar in 1829, and began practice in New York city. Among the clients who 
 placed their legal business in his hands were large corporations, and in the course of his 
 sixty years of active professional life, Mr. Silliman ranked among the leaders of the 
 bar and practiced both in the highest courts of the State and the United States. His 
 industry was remarkable, his success almost unbroken. It is said that he never lost his 
 temper in court and he won his cases by none except dignified and honorable methods. 
 The esteem of his professional associates was exhibited at the time of his retirement by 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SI. 599 
 
 the voluntary tender of a public banquet at Delmonico's, May 24, 1889. In early life a 
 Whig, Mr. Silliman represented his party in the Legislature from Brooklyn in 1838 
 and was often a delegate to local, State and National conventions. In 1854, as a 
 Republican, he accepted the office of United States District Attorney for the Eastern 
 District of New York, but resigned in 1866, because the duties of the office interfered 
 with his practice. In 1872, he became a member of the commission for revision of 
 the State Constitution, and in 1873 was defeated as candidate for Attorney General. 
 In 1873, Columbia College, and in 1874, Yale College, conferred upon Mr. Silliman the 
 degree of LL.D. He is a director of numerous literary and benevolent associations, 
 and was for nearly twenty years a manager of The House of Refuge for Juvenile 
 Delinquents- in New York city, as well as one of the founders and vice president of the 
 Bar Association. He was for twenty years president of the Brooklyn club and long 
 president of the Yale Alumni Association. He is unmarried. 
 
 J. EDWARD SIMMONS, one of the most prominent and highly respected bankers 
 of New York city, began life with the intention of devoting himself to the law. 
 There is every reason to believe that he would have reached a high position in that 
 profession, but his tastes led him into the field of practical business and he has made 
 therein a record of which he may be proud. 
 
 He was born in the city of Troy, N. Y., in 1841. The remote paternal ancestor 
 of the family came from Holland and settled in the new world about 150 years ago. 
 On his mother's side, his descent is from an old New Hampshire family, his great 
 grandsire having been one of the sturdy supporters of Independence in that State and 
 a soldier of the American Revolution. 
 
 Mr. Simmons was educated first in the public schools and the academy in Troy. 
 He spent three years at a well known boarding school ?.t Sand Lake, and then enjoyed 
 the advantage of a four years' course at Williams College, graduating in 1862. Thus 
 fitted for the battle of life, he studied law at the Albany Law School. The Bachelor 
 of Arts of Williams College then became a Bachelor of Laws ; and it may be said that, 
 later, in compliment to his services in the cause of education, he became a Doctor of 
 Laws by act of a New England university. 
 
 Until 1867, Mr. Simmons lived in the growing city of Troy. He practiced law for 
 two years, and then engaged with his father in the more profitable business of a whole- 
 sale grocer. Ambitious to rise, he finally determined to settle in New York and try 
 his metal in the field of banking and brokerage Locating in Wall street, he succeeded 
 from the start but in 1872 a too devoted application to business compelled him to seek 
 rest from overwork in Florida. In that pleasant clime, he gained renewed vigor. 
 
 In 1874, he returned to Wall street thoroughly restored in health and devoted him- 
 self anew with all the ardor of a vigorous mind to his old business of banking and 
 brokerage. His transactions in the exciting field of finance were remarkable for sturdy 
 integrity, ability and honor. A sound, successful man, with large resources which he 
 had accumulated by his own efforts, he soon became one of the most respected and 
 popular members of the Stock Exchange. June 2, 1884, he was elected president of 
 the Exchange. He was chosen for this place at a time when the country was trembling 
 upon the verge of a crisis, owing to a panic w r hich had taken place in the street and 
 the suspension of the firm, of which the previous president of the Exchange was a 
 member. So great was the confidence felt in Mr. Simmons, that he was elected by 
 
600 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 a vote remarkably large. His services restored confidence and won the most cordial 
 approbation. He occupied the position of president for two terms, and was asked to 
 accept it for a third, but declined. His intense application to business then compelled 
 him to rest and he spent some time in foreign travel to recruit his health. 
 
 In 1888, Mr. Simmons was called to the presidency of The Fourth National Bank, 
 one of the most important financial institutions in the country, having a capital of over 
 $3,000,000 and deposits averaging the enormous sum of $30,000,000. His services as 
 president of this bank have been brilliant and successful. 
 
 Partly because of his legal training and partly from natural predilection, Mr. Simmons 
 has always been greatly interested in public affairs. He is an ardent Democrat of the 
 old school of Jefferson and the fathers of the Republic. In 1881, he consented to serve the 
 city as a Commissioner of common schools of New York city, and in 1886, he was made 
 president of the Board of Education, in which capacity he served for five successive terms. 
 
 He has always taken an active part in the larger politics of the day, especially in 
 national contests, but has persistently refused to hold office. 
 
 In his chosen profession of banking, Mr. Simmons has made an unusual record. He 
 has never failed to keep a contract, never suspended, and never been sued. In the 
 exciting field of Wall street finance nothing is said except to his credit. In the panic 
 of 1890, he was one of the valued members of the Executive Committee of the Clearing 
 House, and in the panic of 1893 a member of its Loan Committee. His high standing 
 led to his selection as receiver of The American Loan & Trust Co., when that organ- 
 ization was forced to suspend. 
 
 Mr. Simmons is president of The New York Infant Asylum, one of the largest and 
 most beautiful charities of the city. He is also a governor of the New York Hospital, 
 vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, president of The Panama Railroad, and 
 of the Columbian Line of steamships, and a director in some of the largest and most 
 successful corporations of the country. 
 
 Mr. Simmons is a Free Mason of high rank. In 1883, he was chosen unanimously 
 Grand Master for the State of New York, and in 1885 was advanced to the Thirty-third 
 Degree, the highest degree known to the Masonic order. 
 
 In this city, his social position is indicated by membership in some of the most 
 exclusive of its first-class clubs, including the Manhattan, Riding, Metropolitan, 
 Players', University, Lawyers', and New York Athletic. He is also a member of the St. 
 Nicholas Society, The New England Society and of the Williams Alumni Association. 
 
 He was married in 1866 to Julia, daughter of George Greer, of New York city. 
 Of the seven children born to them two survive : a son, Joseph Ferris Simmons, and 
 a daughter, Mabel Simmons. 
 
 A man of serious aims, shrewd in business, broad in views, cherishing generous 
 ideals, entertaining in society, conscious of the dignity of life- these are traits which 
 shine in his character and make him an object of universal esteem. 
 
 WILLIAH SIHPSON, pawnbroker, born May 2, 1837, at No. 21 Chatham street 
 (now Park Row), New York city, upon the site of the present entrance to Brooklyn 
 Bridge, is a son of the late William Simpson, a native of Cumberland, England, and of 
 Ximena Hains, his wife. William Simpson, sr., came to America about 1827 with his 
 brother, John B., and, after a short experience as a dry goods merchant on Chatham 
 street, bought from a cousin, about 1836, a small money loaning business, which had 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SI. 6oi 
 
 been established as early as 1822 by Walter S. Simpson, his uncle. The new proprietor, 
 with his brother John B., who soon joined him, developed the business greatly. Both 
 men became famous and from their loan offices on Chatham street and the Bowery 
 realized fortunes which they invested largely in real estate. William died at West 
 Farms in Westchester county, April 8, 1879. William Simpson, jr., received a private 
 school education, and at first engaged in the furniture business and later in the manage- 
 ment of a general store in New Hudson, N. Y., and in importing and breeding Jersey 
 cattle. During the Civil War, he saw service in the Union army. In 1865, he embarked 
 in the loan business in New York city, at No. 27 Chatham street and No. 181 Bowery, 
 and has ever since followed this occupation. "Simpson's," seen on more than one sign 
 board, is now certainly one of the best known names in the city. Mr. Simpson retains 
 his breeding business on a farm of 1,200 acres at New Hudson, with training stables at 
 Cuba, both in Allegany county, N. Y., but now devotes the establishment in part to 
 trotting horses, under the name of the Empire City stud. He also owns a farm of one 
 hundred acres at Hunt's Point, N. Y. He is a veteran of the 7th Regiment and 
 a member of Lafayette Post, G. A. R., a Republican and in religion an Episco- 
 palian. In 1864, he married at Dryden, N. Y., Sarah Jane McGraw, who died in 1876, 
 leaving two sons, William J. and Frederick B. In 1887, he married Teresa L. Allen 
 of this city. 
 
 JOHN SINCLAIR, merchant, originated in Belfast, Ireland, where he was born 
 Jan. 4, 1841. He is a son of the late Thomas Sinclair, merchant of meats and pro- 
 visions. The family are of Scottish and Irish ancestry. Thomas Sinclair gave his son 
 a careful education in Belfast and Liverpool and then an apprenticeship in the pro- 
 visions business in Belfast, which, while it had not yet attained the magnitude of these 
 later years, was already well established. A ready, earnest, capable young man, Mr. 
 Sinclair learned every requirement rapidly and, after a few years, took a place in the 
 office of a large firm in Liverpool in order to increase his range of experience. It was 
 during this period that Great Britain began to depend upon the United States of 
 America for supplies of food. Ireland had produced immense quantities of meats and 
 grain for generations, but the low-priced lands of America developed new sources of 
 supply, which England could not overlook, and her merchants found it to their ad- 
 vantage to establish connections in the United States. Accordingly, in 1862. the 
 parent house of the Sinclairs in Belfast sent Thomas Sinclair, jr., and Thomas M. 
 Sinclair to New York city, where they established the firm of Sinclair & Co. , for the 
 exportation of produce to England. In 1864, John Sinclair came to New York and 
 associated himself with the business. Here he quickly made his mark. In 1866, the 
 present firm of John Sinclair & Co., composed of John and Thomas M. Sinclair, suc- 
 ceeded to the one first established. They are now extensively engaged in packing 
 meats in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the house there having been started in 1871, by the 
 junior partner of the firm. Mr. Sinclair is an upright, driving, straightforward and 
 capable merchant. He has entered heartily into the spirit of the life of the metropolis, 
 has gained the respect of a large circle of friends, and while a member of those excel- 
 ent social organizations, the Century, Reform, City, Riding, Presbyterian and Down 
 Town clubs, has shown his public spirit by joining Good Government Club A. 
 
 WILLIAM LL'DLAM SKIDflORE, at present the oldest coal merchant of the city, 
 was born on a farm in Foster's Meadows, beyond Jamaica, Long Island, Sept. 25, 1822. 
 
602 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Jeremiah Skidmore. his father, a native of Valley Stream, then known as Rockaway, 
 born March 23, 1797, had moved into New York city the early part of the century and 
 become a coal merchant. The youth of William L. Skidmore was spent partly on the 
 farm, partly at the family home in this city on Orchard street. Educated in the public 
 schools, he began life at the age of thirteen in the employment of his father's coal firm 
 of Lang & Randolph. He ran on errands, swept the office, and performed a variety 
 of other modest duties. When the senior Skidmore succeeded to the business, he took his 
 boys Joseph and William into partnership, as Jeremiah Skidmore & Sons. In 1877, the 
 young men became the proprietors and thereafter adopted the title of Jeremiah Skid- 
 more's Sons, which is yet preserved. Joseph died Dec. 30, 1882, and William L. Skidmore 
 then became head of the house. He retired a few years ago but retains a special interest, 
 and is the only one of the thirteen partners of the three coal firms above named who 
 is living, as well as the only member of his branch of the Skidmore family. He is a 
 Republican in politics and in personal appearance closely resembles the late James G. 
 Elaine. Until about 1890, Mr. Skidmore held many directorships in the city and had 
 declined similar positions in many others. He resigned from all about five years ago. 
 He has also been a member of many prominent public institutions and charities. He 
 married, June "15, 1847, and became the father of two sons, Alfred Tremont Skidmore, 
 who died at the age of nineteen, and Jeremiah, who died at the age of twenty-three. 
 Mr. Skidmore became early in life a member of the old Rutgers Street Presbyterian 
 Church, but in later years he has been a member of Dr. John Hall's church on Fifth 
 avenue. He is liberal in his gifts, and has done much to promote the happiness of 
 his fellow men. 
 
 HENRY BARTHOLOMEW SLAVEN, capitalist, who has won fame and fortune 
 by his wonderful enterprise and work in connection with the great Panama Canal, was 
 born near Pictou, Ontario, Oct. 19, 1853. He is a son of Patrick Slaven, a farmer 
 and stock raiser, and his early education was gained in the common schools. 
 
 Leaving the farm when he was thirteen years of age, he secured a posjtion as 
 druggist's assistant, and after his day's work, spent the evenings in study at the local 
 school. He was a graduate of the Ontario College of Pharmacy at the age of seven- 
 teen, and in order to take a further course in medicine, he went to Philadelphia and 
 attended a university there for nearly two years, but was too young to graduate. 
 
 He then accepted a position in a large wholesale and retail drug house in the 
 Quaker City, which gave him his first experience in mercantile life. Returning to 
 Canada in 1873, he took the management of a large wholesale drug concern there, 
 remaining with it for a period of three years. Early in 1876, the young man joined a 
 party of engineers, who were making a trip to the British Northwest. The journey was 
 made by way of the great lakes to what is now Port Arthur, and thence to Winnipeg, 
 Manitoba. As this was an entirely unexplored country, inhabited only by Indians, the 
 dangers and hardships of the undertaking were great, but Mr. Slaven and his party of 
 twenty-five men arrived safely at their destination. Making a short stay in Winnipeg, 
 he traveled further west through Manitoba and the British Northwest, returning again 
 to Winnipeg and journeying thence to St. Paul. From the last named place he went 
 to San Francisco, where he arrived in the fall of 1876. 
 
 In San Francisco, he established a large drug and manufacturing business, 
 which proved to be a successful venture. The business grew with amazing rapidity 
 

604 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and in time became the most widely known concern of its kind on the Pacific coast. 
 
 In 1878, Mr. Slaven became interested in public works, with his brother, M. A. 
 Slaven, who was a successful contractor in California and the far West. It was about 
 this period that Ferdinand De Lesseps paid a visit to San Francisco in the interests of 
 the Panama Canal. The fame of the Slaven Brothers, as successful contractors, having 
 reached his notice, he determined to seek their aid in carrying out the vast and diffi- 
 cult work he had in hand. The acceptance of this proposition practically shaped Mr. 
 Slaven's future life. The brothers assumed entire control of the American Pacific 
 coast business, besides contracting for the buildings and other preliminary work on the 
 Isthmus, which involved millions of dollars. 
 
 Mr. Slaven went to Panama in 1880, to initiate the work, taking a large force of 
 men and sent supplies and materials sufficient to fill two steamers. Work was at once 
 begun on the line of the canal. The undertaking was attended with great hardships 
 and suffering on the part of the men, who were afflicted with malaria, of which many 
 died, while others sickened and returned to their homes in the States. Their places 
 being filled with native labor, the great work prospered. 
 
 In the year 1882, the firm of Slaven Brothers closed a contract for the actual con- 
 struction of the Atlantic division of the Panama Canal from Colon or Aspinwall to 
 Bohio Soldado, a distance of sixteen miles, as well as for the difficult and seemingly 
 impossible task of changing the course of the great Chagres River for a similar dis- 
 tance. The magnitude and importance of this contract rendered it necessary for the 
 contractors to remove their headquarters to New York city. 
 
 In September of the same year, they organized The American Contracting & 
 Dredging Co., and associated with them the late Eugene Kelly. The officers of the 
 company were H. B. Slaven, president; Eugene Kelly, treasurer; M. A. Slaven, 
 general manager, and Jas. J. Phelan, secretary. They began work on the construction 
 of the plant, which was necessary to the successful carrying out of the contract, the 
 principal piece of machinery being what is known as the Slaven dredge, the largest, 
 most effective and most expensive dredge ever built. Eight of these mammoth ma- 
 chines were constructed at an average cost of $150,000 each. The plant was completed 
 and placed on the Isthmus in a few months and the actual digging of the Panama 
 Canal was begun by an American company. During the period of seven years, from 
 1882 to 1889, most of Mr. Slaven's time was spent on the isthmus, where he personally 
 superintended the enormous enterprise. 
 
 The result of his operations constituted one of the greatest industrial and financial 
 successes of modern times. The stock of The American Contracting & Dredging Co. 
 became worth more than four times its face value, and shares which were at one time 
 offered and sold for $30 were in great demand at $400 and over. 
 
 When a crisis came in the affairs of The Panama Canal Co. , and it failed in 
 1889, Mr. Slaven had successfully completed his contract and his company had been 
 paid about $25,000,000 and was about to be awarded a contract for finishing the entire 
 canal. After the failure, all work having come to an end in Panama, Mr. Slaven 
 removed his great plant to Nicaragua and became treasurer of the company there. 
 
 The Panama Canal scheme takes rank among the greatest engineering and con- 
 tracting enterprises in the history of the world, and the progress of the work was 
 watched with absorbing interest by every civilized nation. Had the other interests in 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SL. 605 
 
 connection with the project been handled as skillfull}- and judiciously as the part 
 operated by Mr. Slaven and his company, the canal would have been, in the judgment 
 of Mr. Slaven, carried to a successful completion and have resulted in revolutionizing 
 the shipping and commercial interests of many countries. 
 
 Mr. Slaven has been heavily interested in American railroads and a director in 
 several banking and financial institutions, but of recent years has largely withdrawn 
 from active connection with these concerns. He is president of The Chase Granite Co. 
 Bluehill, Maine, and is the principal owner and a director in The American Union Life 
 Insurance Co. 
 
 Mr. Slaven, who is in the prime of life, is a man of quiet and domestic tastes. He 
 has been an extensive traveler, both at home and abroad, and there are few parts of 
 the world which he has not visited. He speaks several languages. His career has 
 certain!}- been full of unusual interest, and the great success that has attended his 
 labors has been the result of his untiring enterprise and remarkable ability. 
 
 WILLIAfl SLOANE, merchant, born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, who died 
 in this city, May 23, 1879, in his sixty-ninth year, came to America in 1834 and founded 
 here an important mercantile house and a conspicuous and influential family. He 
 began life modestly in the employment of a carpet firm in this city. Nine years of dili- 
 gent attention to business made him a proficient merchant and enabled him to accumu- 
 late sufficient means to start a carpet house of his own in 1843 on Broadway. A few 
 years later, he admitted his brother John to partnership, and the firm name of W. & J. 
 Sloane, then adopted, has never since been changed. Ability, good character, great 
 natural shrewdness and persistent enterprise brought the brothers a growing and prosper- 
 ous trade. The uptown movement led them finally to No. 501 and then to No. 597 Broad- 
 way, and in 1867, they erected an excellent building at 649-655 Broadway, which they 
 occupied. Mr. Sloane retired about 1 864, but his brother carried on the business until 
 within a few years of his death. At the time of his death, Mr. Sloane was a director 
 and shareholder in The Bigelow Carpet Co. and in The Alexander Smith & Sons Carpet 
 Co., t\vo of the leading establishments in the country. He was a member of the Fifth 
 Avenue Presbyterian Church after 1845, and during his last four years was its treasurer. 
 He steadfastly refused to accept positions in the management of corporations, on the 
 ground that he could not allow his name to appear, unless he were in a position to vouch 
 for the entire management. A just man, of spotless character, he was highly esteemed. 
 His wife survived him with five children, John, William D., Henry T. and Thomas C. 
 Slone, and Euphemia, wife of Edmund Coffin, jr. Mr. Sloane left $140,000 to philan- 
 thropic objects. The old firm has in recent years become incorporated with a capital of 
 $3,000,000. John Sloane is president, William D. Sloane, treasurer, and Henry T. 
 Sloane a director. Thomas C. Sloane was a member of the firm, but died June 17, 
 1890, leaving $200,000 to Yale College and other institutions. 
 
 GEN. HENRY WARNER SLOCUfl, lawyer, a native of Delphi, N. Y., born 
 Sept. 24, 1826, died April 14, 1894, in Brooklyn. He was the son of Matthew B. and 
 Mary O. Slocum and the family had originally for three generations lived in Newport, 
 R. I. A school teacher and clerk in a post office in early life, he graduated from West 
 Point in 1852, entered the army, and while on duty at Fort Moultrie, S. C., read law. 
 He resigned in 1857 to practice law in Syracuse, N. Y., where he soon attained a reputa- 
 tion. From the manufacture of salt in that city, he gained some capital and Syracuse 
 
606 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 gave him a seat in the Legislature in 1858. The Civil War called him to the front in 
 1861 as colonel of the 27th N. Y. Vols. He proved to be a gallant, fearless and able 
 officer. Severely wounded at Bull Run, he was then promoted to be a Brigadier General 
 and commanded a brigade under General McClellan. After the seven days' fight 
 before Richmond, he received a commission as Major General and took part in the 
 historic actions of South Mountain, Antietam and Gettysburgh. Later, in consequence 
 of consolidation of the i2th Corps with another as the 2oth, he was placed in command of 
 the Department of the Mississippi at Vicksburgh. He marched into Atlanta at the head 
 of the 2oth Corps, led Sherman's left wing in the march to the sea, and commanded the 
 army of Georgia until the end of the war. In 1865, he resigned and in 1866, after declin- 
 ing a colonelcy in the regular army, made his home in Brooklyn, N. Y., where he re- 
 siimed the practice of his profession. He was thrice sent to Congress from Brooklyn, 
 namely in 1868, 1870 and 1883, the last time as Congressman at large. In 1876, Mayor 
 Schroeder appointed him president of the Department of City Works of Brooklyn. 
 He was one of the stockholders in the Brooklyn Bridge and in 1875 entered the board 
 of trustees of the bridge, being reappointed several times. In local corporations, he 
 was especially active and served as president of The Cross Town Railroad of Brooklyn 
 for several years, besides being director of The Chatham National Bank, The Wil- 
 liamsburgh City Fire Insurance' Co. , The Brooklyn City Railroad, The Hecker-Jones- 
 Jewell Milling Co. , The Coney Island & Brooklyn Railroad and The Phenix Insurance 
 Co. By his marriage with Clara R. , daughter of Israel Rice, he was the father of 
 Henry W., Clarence R., and Florence E. Slocum. General Slocum was popular 
 and a member of the Hamilton and Brooklyn clubs and The New England Society. 
 
 ADON SMITH, merchant, born in Troy, N. Y., June 4, 1804, died in New York 
 city, March 23, 1874. The son of Samuel Smith and a descendant of a pioneer who 
 came to America from Scotland in 1662 and settled near Boston, Mass., Mr. Smith 
 was educated at the public schools and began life as a farmer. Later, he came to 
 New York city and engaged in business ar: a produce merchant. Energetic, t:ntiring 
 and shrewd, he made his way with great success and retired a few years before his 
 death, a man of fortune. A love of liberty, inherited from his ancestors, made him 
 prominent and active as an abolitionist from the beginning of that movement. For 
 many years, he was a member of the Tabernacle Congregational Church. He was also 
 president of The Hamilton Bank of Hamilton, N. Y., from its organization until his 
 death. He married Louisa Fuller of Troy, and left five children, Jonah D. F. Smith 
 of Hamilton, Mrs. Dr. McMurtrie, and Adon, Harlan P. and J. Hunt Smith. 
 
 CHARLES STEWART SMITH, merchant, long senior partner in the dry goods 
 commission firm of Smith, Hogg & Gardner, is a progressive and highly respected resi- 
 dent. He began life a poor boy, and by talent, industry, and honorable methods has 
 bravely won his way to fortune, position and the highest honor in the gift of the mer- 
 chants of New York, the presidency of the Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 His family, founded by English emigrants, settled in the valley of the Connecticut 
 in early times. His mother was a daughter of the Hon. Aaron Dickinson Woodruff, of 
 Trenton, N. J., a distinguished lawyer, for many years Attorney General of that State, 
 and his father was a minister of the Congregational church in Exeter, N. H. In the city 
 last named, Charles was born, March 2, 1832. He had the advantage of early training 
 in a cultivated family of superior minds and character, and from his father learned 
 
" ; " " 
 
608 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Latin and Greek. After a course at the public school and the academy, the youth at 
 fifteen years of age taught a district school in Connecticut. Coming then to New York, 
 he secured a place as clerk in a dry goods jobbing house. He proved industrious, 
 learned the business thoroughly and rose rapidly. At the age of twenty-one, he was 
 admitted to partnership in the well known house of S. B. Chittenden & Co. For sev- 
 eral years, he lived abroad as their European buyer. His experience in Europe has 
 proved of great value to him in later life as a man of affairs. 
 
 Returning to America, he formed the firm of Smith, Hogg & Gardner, which came 
 by succession into the dry goods commission business of A. & A. Lawrence of Boston, 
 and for a quarter of a century was actively and successfully identified with the whole- 
 sale dry goods trade in New York and Boston. In 1887, he retired from active 
 labor, although retaining his interest in the firm. 
 
 Interested in public policies, though never desirous of office, Mr. Smith has 
 labored always for the welfare of the metropolis. His ability was recognized in 1884 
 by his election as vice president of the Chamber of Commerce. In 1887, he became 
 the twenty-sixth president of that influential body and was unanimously elected to the 
 office seven times. At one time tendered a nomination to the Mayoralty of New York, 
 he declined the honor. 
 
 An excellent financier, Mr. Smith has been prominently connected with a number 
 of prominent corporations. He was one of the founders of The Fifth Avenue Bank 
 and of The German American Insurance Co. He is a director in The United States 
 Trust Co., The Fourth National Bank, The Merchants' National Bank, The Fifth 
 Avenue Bank, The Greenwich Savings Bank, and The Equitable Life Assurance 
 Society. He is also trustee of The Presbyterian Hospital and of the Broadway 
 Tabernacle Church. 
 
 Mr. Smith belongs to many of the most exclusive clubs, being vice president of 
 the Union League club and a member of the Merchants', Metropolitan, City, Law, 
 Players', and the Century, and of The New England Society. He is highly esteemed 
 in them all, possesses the savoir faire in a marked degree, and has repeatedly been 
 called to preside at public dinners at that famous old resort, Deimonico's. 
 
 Mr. Smith owns a small but choice and well known collection of paintings, 
 including fine examples of the old masters. He is a life member of The National 
 Academy of Design and a trustee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. On a recent 
 visit to Japan, he purchased the remarkable collection of Japanese porcelains and other 
 objects, made by Captain Brinkley during a residence of twenty-five years in Tokio, and 
 presented them to the Metropolitan Museum. 
 
 Mr. Smith is one of the regular writers for The North American Review. His 
 topics are those which would naturally be looked for from a man of affairs. They 
 relate to emigration and public policies, and indicate close observation, sound judg- 
 ment, and an ardent patriotism. He has two sons. 
 
 FRANCIS S. SfllTH, publisher, born on Division street in New York city, Dec. 
 29, 1819, died in town, Feb. i, 1887. Capt. Moses Rogers Smith, his father, a native 
 of Huntington, L. I., followed the sea from the age of nineteen, became a large ship 
 owner, married Mary Reed Wall and during the War of 1812 served as a paymaster in 
 the Navy. Anxious to earn his own living, Francis S. Smith learned the trade of a 
 printer, beginning in 1833 m the office of The Albion, a literary and political weekly, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SP. 609 
 
 and practiced it in the composing rooms of The Spirit of the Times, THE NEW YORK 
 TRIBUNE, The Globe, and The Sunday Dispatch. Of the latter newspaper, he became a 
 reporter and his vivid narrative style soon gained many compliments from his employer, 
 Amor J. Williamson, and opened his own eyes to the possibility of a literary career. 
 Promoted to an editorial chair, he wrote many poems and stories in addition to his 
 editorials Later, Mr. Smith became the editor of The New York Weekly, a paper 
 devoted to fiction of a high order, founded in 1843 by Amor J. Williamson, as The 
 Weekly Universe, and later known as The Weekly Dispatch. With the bookkeeper of 
 the establishment, Francis S. Street, Mr. Smith bought the paper in 1859 for $40,000, 
 without payment of cash. The two men could muster scarcely $100 in cash between 
 them, but Mr. Williamson agreed to wait for his money until the new proprietors had 
 earned it. Street & Smith devoted themselves with the greatest energy to their paper, 
 Mr. Smith being the editor, and paid their debt before five years had elapsed. After 
 1859, especially, they met with great success, having in that year bought from Mrs. 
 Mary J. Holmes, for their paper, the story of "Marian Grey," at an expense of $50,000. 
 This story increased their circulation in two months time from n,ooo to 47,000 copies 
 a week. They were printing about 100,000 copies when the Civil War broke out. 
 Their sales fell off during the War, but on the return of peace, a rapid expansion fol- 
 lowed and they printed 200,000 copies a week. Circulation was promoted by securing 
 famous writers and paying them enormous prices. The firm also printed a weekly, 
 Good News, and various serial issues of books. In 1853, Mr. Smith married Mary 
 Jellette Duff, daughter of George C. Duff, and was the father of Francis S., George C., 
 Ormond G. and Cora A. Smith. Mr. Smith was a devoted Christian, and his poems and 
 stories bore the stamp of a fertile fancy and manly, charitable and sympathetic nature. 
 His poems will be long remembered. Artless and ingenuous as a child, with many 
 merits and few faults, a staunch friend, detesting shams and meanness, fearless for the 
 right and an affectionate husband and father, he played well his part, and is borne in 
 affectionate memory by a multitude of friends. 
 
 HENRY FOSTER SPAULDING, merchant, born in Brandon, Vt, April 24, 1817, 
 died July 17, 1893, universally regretted in business and social circles in this city. He 
 was a son of Samnel G. and Anne Grey Spaulding. Arriving in New York city at the 
 age of fifteen, with less than $20 of capital, he sought employment from store to store 
 and found it in the house of Clark, Weyman & Co., importers of woolen goods. Hav- 
 ing thus secured a foothold, he rose by unsparing labor from one position to another. 
 About 1850, his name appeared in the title of the firm, which then became Weyman, 
 Spaulding & Co. When the firm reorganized as Spaulding, Vail & Fuller, the clerk 
 had at last risen to the head of a house into whose employment he had entered a poor 
 lad. Owing to changes in the partnership, the house was known later as Spaulding, 
 Hunt & Co., and Spaulding, Swift & Co. Mr. Spaulding was the first president of 
 The Central Trust Co., and held the office for eight years. His salary went entirely to 
 charity. He remained a director the rest of his life and was also a director of The Con- 
 tinental Insurance Co. and The Mechanics' National Bank and a member of the Cham- 
 ber of Commerce and of the Committee of Seventy. The stone upon which the bronze 
 statue of Washington stands at the Sub-Treasury building is the identical one, upon 
 which Washington stood at his first inauguration. It was traced and rescued by Mr. 
 Spaulding from a place in the walls of Bellevue Hospital. He was exceedingly phil- 
 
6io AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 anthropic and served as treasurer of the fund for the pedestal of Bartholdi's statue of 
 Liberty, president of The Home for Incurables and Commissioner for Appraisal of 
 Lands for the new Croton Aqueduct, and belonged to the Century, Manhattan, Reform, 
 Country and Down Town clubs and New England Society, and aided in the support of 
 the public museums of the city. In 1850, he married Rose Thompson, of Penn's 
 Manor, Pa., who died four years afterward. Of her three children, two are living, 
 Thomas Hunt Spaulding and Margaret Thompson, wife of Dr. J. M. Schley. In 1857, 
 he married Miss Kate Devereux Beckwith, of Petersburgh, Va. 
 
 ELIHU SPICER, shipping merchant, born in Mystic, Conn., April 13, 1826, died 
 Feb. 15, 1893, in Brooklyn, N. Y. He was a son of Elihu Spicer, shipmaster, and 
 Jemima Fish, his wife, both members of old Connecticut families of English descent. 
 At the age of sixteen, the young man sailed as a cabin boy from the same pier in the 
 East River, at which he subsequently located to engage in business, on the ship John 
 Minturn, and at the age of twenty-four, was given command of the bark Fanny, owned 
 by Charles Mallory and others, which sailed in the Mobile line of packets. In 1850, 
 this bark was chartered by A. A. Low & Co., and Captain Spicer sailed in the Califor- 
 nia and China trades until 1862. Having bought an interest meanwhile in several 
 vessels, he then left the sea to engage in the management of ships in partnership with 
 Charles H. Mallory. During the War, he was a captain of government transports. In 
 1865, Mr. Mallory and he established the Galveston line of steamers as The New York 
 & Texas Steamship Co. Of this company, Mr. Spicer was president at his death. The 
 line was well managed and brought the owners good returns. By his marriage with 
 Mary M., daughter of Lyman Dudley of Mystic, Conn., Captain Spicer was the father 
 of three children, none of whom survived him. He was noted for his shrewd, keen, 
 kindly, sensible character, his charities and public spirit. He belonged to the Oxford, 
 Brooklyn and Hamilton clubs and New England Society of Brooklyn and the Chamber 
 of Commerce and Produce and Maritime Exchanges of New York. He was at one 
 time a Pilot Commissioner and a trustee of Sailors' Snug Harbor. He gave away a 
 great deal of money, including $30,000 to the Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn, a $25,000 
 library to Mystic, Conn., and a farm with buildings at Groton, Conn., for the Indigent 
 Poor. Various other sums were granted to public objects by his will. 
 
 PAUL SPOFFORD,, merchant, son of Joseph and Mary Chaplin Spofford, farmers, 
 born in Georgetown, Mass., Feb. 18, 1792, died at Elmwood, his country home, Oct. 
 28, 1869. John Spofford, his first American ancestor, a descendant in the twenty- first 
 generation from Gamelbar de Spofford, whose estates in England were confiscated by 
 William the Conqueror, occupied a farm in Massachusetts, a part of which has been 
 owned by the family for 250 years. Paul Spofford began life as a clerk in Haverhill, 
 Mass., and in 1818, with his friend, Thomas Tileston, an editor of the same place, 
 came to New York and established the commission house of Spofford & Tileston. The 
 export of domestic manufactures to Cuba brought them almost immediately an import 
 trade in coffee, sugar, etc. , and resulted, first, in their employment of the vessels of 
 other merchants and next in the possession of several of their own. The firm sold 
 large quantities of cotton from the Southern States and in 1846 launched the steamship 
 Southerner, which they employed in the trade with Charleston, adding the Northerner 
 and two other steamers to the line soon afterward. This was the first successful ven- 
 ture with an American line of ocean steamers. In 1848, they bought the Liverpool 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SP. 6ll 
 
 packets Roscius, Garrick, Siddons and Sheridan and increased the fleet by the addition 
 of the Webster, Henry Clay, Calhoun, Orient and other large and handsome clippers. 
 The firm had now become one of the most influential shipping houses of this port. 
 When gold was discovered in California, they were among the first to send their ships 
 and an agent to San Francisco, and during the Civil War they established a steamship 
 line to New Orleans. During the War, their steamship Nashville was captured by the 
 Confederates. Mr. Spofford was an energetic man, keen in judgment, quick in move- 
 ment, slow of speech, but telling in repartee. Closely devoted to his business and 
 always opposed to taking part in public life, he was a member of the Chamber of 
 Commerce and director of several financial corporations. His wife, a daughter and 
 five sons survived him. 
 
 COL. NATHAN TURNER SPRAQUE, banker, born in Mount Holly, Yt, June 22, 
 1828, is the son of a father of the same name, a merchant, bank president, and long a 
 member of the Vermont Legislature. The family descends from William Sprague, 
 who came from Dorsetshire, England, to Salem, Mass., in 1629. At the age of 
 eighteen, young Mr. Sprague took charge of a general country store in Brandon, Yt , 
 but abandoned mercantile business in 1851, and for five years from 1852 devoted him- 
 self to farming. Then he returned to Brandon to aid his father in the management of 
 the latter's property, but continued to farm and maintained his interest in agriculture, 
 being president of the Brandon Farmers' & Mechanics' club for nine years and of The 
 Vermont Merino Sheep Breeders' Association five years. In 1864, he helped organize 
 The First National Bank of Brandon In 1867, he succeeded his father as its president 
 and holds the office down to the present time. In 1870, he took part with H. H. 
 Baxter and others in organizing The Baxter National Bank in Rutland, and held a seat 
 in the directorate for twelve years. For ten years after 1867, he was the successful 
 president of The Brandon Manufacturing Co., now known as The Howe Scale Co., and 
 was for a time president of The Northwest & Florida Railroad, whose shares doubled 
 in value under his management. Colonel Sprague's financial undertakings having 
 brought him constantly to the metropolis, he finally became a resident, and in 1883 
 established The Sprague National Bank of Brooklyn, of which he is president, and in 
 1886 The City Savings Bank of Brooklyn. He now divides his time about equally be- 
 tween Brooklyn and Brandon, Vt., having a home in each city. He owns real estate in 
 Brooklyn, is a member of the Chamber of Commerce in New York, president of The 
 East Greenwich, R. I., Water Supply Co , and interested in the water company 
 which supplies Patchogue, Sayville, Islip, Bay Shore and Bayport with water, and in 
 several other companies of this class. He has been a member of the Vermont Legis- 
 lature for several terms, was elected a State Senator in 1872, and has been a colonel 
 on the Vermont military staff. Colonel Sprague has been thrice married, first on Nov. 
 i, 1849, to Minerva M. Hull of Wallingford, Yt., who died in 1856 leaving one daugh- 
 ter; then to Melinda J. Evans of Springfield, O., in October, 1857, who died Jan. 28, 
 1885, leaving one son. Colonel Sprague's present wife is Miss Elizabeth Harrison. 
 
 JOHN HENRY STARIN, proprietor of Starin's City, River & Harbor Transporta- 
 tion Co., was born in Sammonsville, N. Y , Aug. 27, 1825. Nicholas Starin (or Stern, 
 as he spelled his name), who founded the family in America, an emigrant from Ger- 
 many in 1720, settled in the Mohawk valley upon the German Flats. Ten of his 
 lineal descendants fought in the American Revolution under Washington. Myndert 
 
Oi2 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Starin, father of John H. Starin, born in Glen, Montgomery county, in 1786, an enter- 
 prising man, built the factories which formed the nucleus of the village of Sammonsville, 
 and, later, laid out and established Fultonville, now one of the most charming places 
 of residence in the State. His wife Rachel, whom he married in 1810, was a daughter 
 of Maj. Thomas Sammons of Johnstown, N. Y. The Sammons family supplied many 
 soldiers for the War for Independence. The subject of this biography left the Esper- 
 ance Academy in Schoharie county to study medicine under Dr. C. C. Yates of Albany, 
 but his tastes tended in a different direction and he finally accepted a clerkship in the 
 drug store of his brother Delancy at Fultonville. He was postmaster of the village 
 1848-52. In 1856, he came to New York city and began the manufacture of medicines 
 and toilet articles, and next conceived a general agency in New York to solicit freight 
 for the trunk lines. This innovation was welcomed by the railroad managers, and Mr. 
 Starin succeeded so well therein, that he soon sold his drug business and devoted himself 
 to freighting and harbor transportation By re-investment of his earnings, Mr. Starin 
 gradually came into the possession of a fleet of harbor and river vessels, now second in 
 extent probably to no other in the world. It includes steam tugs, passenger steam- 
 boats, propellers, lighters, barges, floats, grain boats and other vessels. His fleet 
 of excursion boats is operated in conjunction with several parks and picnic grounds on 
 the Hudson river and Long Island Sound, which are under his control. To maintain 
 his fleet, Mr. Starin has established a ship yard, dry dock and iron works on Staten 
 Island. He has retained a home at Fultonville, N. Y., with an observatory, a farm of 
 about 800 acres, and a stock raising establishment. The district in which Fultonville 
 is situated sent him to Congress as a Republican in 1876 and 1878. In New York city, 
 he has long served on the Rapid Transit Commission, and is conspicuous by reason of 
 opposition to schemes in the interest of the elevated railroad monopoly. Mr. Starin's 
 liberality is well known. Every summer, he gives free excursions to veterans of the late 
 War, to newsboys and bootblacks, and to other classes of the population, and his private 
 acts of generosity are numerous. He is a member of the Lawyers', Down Town, New 
 York Athletic and New York Yacht clubs, New England and Holland Societies, and The 
 Sons of the American Revolution, and helps support the public museums of the city. 
 
 WILLIAM STEINWAY, a man of marked ability and purity of character, and 
 president of the old house of Steinway & Son, is one of the best known, most useful and 
 most highly respected citizens of New York. He was born in Seesen, near the city of 
 Brunswick, Germany, March 5, 1836, and came from a family of good reputation, some 
 of whose members had served their country with distinction as soldiers and magistrates. 
 His father, Henry Engelhard Steinway, was a prosperous piano manufacturer of Seesen. 
 William was educated at the excellent and thorough schools of his native town, finish- 
 ing at the celebrated Jacobsohn High School. At the age of fourteen, he was proficient 
 in English and French as well as in German and had already begun to display remark- 
 able aptitude for music, a trait which, in practical America, is often a token of weakness 
 in a busy man, but with him was an indication of genius. At fourteen, he could play 
 the most difficult compositions upon the piano, and his unerring ear enabled him to 
 tune the instrument perfectly. 
 
 His father, Henry E. Steinway, a successful artisan and manufacturer of pianos in 
 Seesen, a man of active mind and extended reading, was awake to opportunities, and 
 he conceived the idea of transferring his business to the new world. In 1849, nc 
 
614 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 his second son, Charles, to the United States to investigate. Charles returned with a 
 favorable report. After full consideration, Mr. Steinway removed his business and his 
 family to New York city, leaving his oldest son, C. F. Theodore Steinway, to succeed 
 him in the business in Seesen. They reached New York, June 9, 1850, and became 
 residents of a city in which they were destined to win fortune and a world wide renown. 
 William Steinway, then fourteen years of age, was offered the choice of a trade or an edu- 
 cation as a musician. He preferred the former and was apprenticed to William Nunns 
 & Co., of 88 Walker street. March 5, 1853, his seventeenth birthday, he joined his 
 father and his brothers, Charles and Henry, in founding the house of Steinway & Sons. 
 
 Father and sons had sufficient capital to manufacture on an extended scale, but 
 they wisely began in a small way in a rear building on Varick street, rented for the 
 purpose. Many cultivated people then thought no piano good which was not imported 
 from Europe. With four or five workmen, the Steinways built one square piano a 
 week, father and sons taking part, as artisans, in their production. William made the 
 sounding boards. Their pianos soon attracted the attention of musicians and the pub- 
 lic, and the beauty, power and fine workmanship shown in the instruments were recog- 
 nized at once. The Steinway pianos conquered their way by their own indisputable 
 merits, and the demand for them rapidly increased. More extensive quarters soon 
 became necessary and were engaged in 1854 at No. 88 Walker street. Mr. Nunns had 
 failed and the Steinways rented the quarters he had occupied. It may be said here 
 that William Steinway lost $300 by Mr. Nunns' failure. He forgave the debt, how- 
 ever, and through affection and respect even assisted Mr. Nunns with monthly 
 contributions until the latter's death about 1864, at the age of eighty, thus early 
 in life displaying the largeness of heart and generosity of character, which have 
 always been conspicuous traits. 
 
 The growing magnitude of the business now compelled father and sons to resign 
 the fascinating work at the bench and to devote their whole attention to the general 
 management of the affairs of the rising house. It fell to the lot of William Steinway 
 to conduct the mercantile and financial affairs of the firm ; and he brought to his 
 department an ability and force which insured the continual triumphant growth of the 
 business. In 1859, the Steinways built their present factory on Fourth avenue from 
 52d to 53d street, taking possession in April, 1860. In March, 1865, Charles and Henry, 
 jr., died; and Theodore, giving up the flourishing business in Brunswick, Germany, 
 came to New York and became a partner in the New York house. In 1866, the firm 
 began the construction of the large marble building, known as Steinway Hall, on 
 i4th street, to be used as headquarters offices for the firm and containing a large Music 
 Hall, which, until 1890, when the space was rebuilt for their growing business, was 
 famous in musical annals. 
 
 The Steinway pianos soon began to challenge the attention of the world. After 
 being awarded thirty-five American medals, they won a first prize medal at the World's 
 Fair in London in 1862. In 1867, at the Paris Exposition, they won the first of the 
 grand gold medals of honor for their square, upright and perfect grand pianos, after a 
 close and exciting contest with the best makers of Europe. This was a remarkable 
 success; and the Steinway system of construction thereupon became the standard with 
 the piano makers of the world. Not only did large orders for Steinway pianos but 
 distinguished honors now pour in upon the firm from all quarters. The Steinways 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ST. 
 
 became successively the court piano manufacturers to the Queen of England, the Queen 
 of Spain, the Emperor of Germany, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Queen of 
 Italy. Illustrious composers and artists bought and used their instruments, inchiding 
 Liszt, Wagner, Helmholtz, Rubinstein, Paderewski, Theodore Thomas, Patti, Gerster, 
 Joseffy and others. The public of America were conquered, and the firm prospered 
 in fortune and in reputation with each succeeding year. 
 
 The completion of piano N,o. 25,000, made for the Czarowitz of Russia, was cele- 
 brated by the firm and its one thousand workmen, May 4, 1872. Piano No. 50,000, 
 believed to be the finest grand ever produced by the house up to that time, was bought 
 by Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild of Vienna, and dispatched by the Hamburg steamer 
 Bohemia, Sept. 15, 1883. 
 
 Henry E. Steinway died in 1871, at the age of seventy-four, and Albert Steinway, 
 the youngest son, died in 1877. The firm have, however, admitted the grandsons of 
 the founders to membership, one after the other, and have always retained the time- 
 honored name of Steinway & Sons. C. F. Theodore died in 1889, and William now 
 remains alone at the head of the house. 
 
 In 1872, the firm were compelled to establish additional works in Steinway, Astoria, 
 for the constant open air and kiln drying of 7,000,000 feet of the finest lumber for the 
 cases of their pianos, and for making each grand piano case of bent wood of one con- 
 tinuous length, as also the vibrating parts of each. Model houses have since been, 
 erected with good ventilation, pure water, perfect drainage and gas. Always high 
 minded and public spirited in the treatment of their men, the firm built a public school 
 for one thousand children in Long Island City in 1877 and have maintained, at their 
 own expense, in addition to the English course of instruction, which is furnished by 
 the city, a teacher for free tuition in the German language and music. There are also 
 a free circulating library and a model free kindergarten. In 1881, a public bath was 
 built at the expense of the firm at Steinway, Long Island City, with fifty dressing 
 rooms, and, surrounding the same, a fine park was opened, with a fountain of drinking 
 water, the whole lighted by gas. The Protestant L T nion Church there has also been 
 endowed by the firm and presented with the cathedral organ from Steinway Hall. 
 
 Besides his educational benefactions at Steinway, Long Island City, William Stein- 
 way has, by his influence and pecuniary assistance, made it possible for many young 
 people of both sexes to enjoy a thorough musical training. In his native town of 
 Seesen, he has founded six annual prizes for the best three male and three female 
 students, and pays the annual school money for the children of no less than seventy-five 
 parents. He has also presented that city with a lovely park, which the grateful in- 
 habitants, by official vote, call "Steinway Park," besides making William Steinway an 
 honorary citizen. 
 
 William Steinway has also, in 1894, founded two annual prizes, gold watches of $75 
 value each, one to be awarded to the most proficient student in German, and the other 
 to the student showing the greatest progress in the same language. He has also 
 founded two annual prizes of $30 and $20 at St. Paul's School, in Garden City, Long 
 Island. Besides a number of charitable societies, he is also assisting schools and 
 libraries with annual contributions in money and has presented many educational 
 institutes with piano fortes. 
 
 The relations between Mr. Steinway and his great army of employes are pleasant 
 
616 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and harmonious. The mechanics are all highly skilled and intelligent, and they appre- 
 ciate the fatherly care which he bestows upon them and their families. 
 
 It is an important and striking fact that the success of the Steinways has put an 
 end completely to the importation of pianos to America. It is also a remarkable fact 
 that seventy per cent, of the pianos now exported to Europe are made by the Steinways. 
 The house has created a large foreign trade, and is compelled to maintain warehouses 
 in London, Hamburg and other European cities. 
 
 It would fill a goodly sized book to mention and describe the many honors and 
 distinctions, which have been showered upon William Steinway in person. Want of 
 space prevents the mention of more than a few of them. 
 
 In 1867, after the close of the Paris Exposition, William Steinway and his brother, 
 C. F. Theodore Steinway, were unanimously elected members of the Royal Prussian 
 Academy of Fine Arts at Berlin, Germany. 
 
 In the same year, the Grand Gold Medal was bestowed upon William by His Majesty, 
 King Charles of Sweden, accompanied by an autograph letter of Prince Oscar of 
 Sweden, now King. 
 
 June 12, 1892, Emperor William II. of Germany, appointed William Steinway 
 piano forte manufacturer for the imperial court of Germany. During a pleasure trip 
 abroad, an audience was granted to him by the Emperor and Empress of Germany, in 
 the marble palace in Potsdam, Sept. n, 1892. The Emperor presented Mr. Steinway 
 with his portrait and the imperial autograph, "Wilhelm, German Emperor and King 
 of Prussia, Marble Palais, n-ix, 1892," written in the presence of his guest. The 
 Empress also wrote him an autograph letter, thanking him for his gift to the Emperor 
 William I. Memorial Church building at Berlin. This honor was followed, June 12, 
 1893, by the bestowal upon him by the Emperor of the Order of the Red Eagle, third 
 class, the highest distinction ever conferred upon a manufacturer. 
 
 In April, 1894, William Steinway was elected Member of the Royal Italian 
 Academy of St. Cecilia of Rome, the oldest and most renowned academy in the Old 
 World, having been founded by Palestrina, the celebrated composer, in 1584.' The 
 diploma of membership is in itself a work of art. 
 
 Mr. Steinway has prospered in his individvial fortune with the growth of the great 
 house, which he has done so much to establish. But he has never been so closely 
 identified with practical business affairs as to be oblivious to the public interests of the 
 city and country in which he became a resident June 9, 1850. Always a lover and a 
 patron of the fine arts, he has also taken an active and successful part in public affairs. 
 In 1871, he was an active member of the Committee of Seventy, appointed by the 
 citizens of New York, to bring to justice the Tammany ring, which had robbed the 
 city of millions of money. The magnificent success of the prosecutions of William M. 
 Tweed and his associates is now a part of the permanent history of New York city. 
 
 Oct. 29, 1886, Mr. Steinway presided at an immense meeting of citizens at Cooper 
 Institute, which endorsed the nomination of Abram S. Hewitt for Mayor. He made a 
 fine address and conducted the meeting with great tact and success. The triumphant 
 election of Mr. Hewitt crowned its efforts. 
 
 In 1888, he was the member of the Democratic National Committee of the United 
 States, representing the State of New York, and a delegate to the convention which 
 nominated Mr. Cleveland for a second term. 
 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ST. 617 
 
 In February, 1889, under his guidance as president, a large fair was held at the 
 American Institute for the benefit of the German Hospital. This enterprise was a 
 most unprecedented success. The receipts were $i 18,000, and the net profits $i 12,000. 
 
 In February, 1890, he was one of the committee of the citizens of Xew York 
 appointed to secure the World's Fair of 1893 for New York city. At a meeting at the 
 City Hall, he opened the subscription list for a fund to secure the Fair with a subscrip- 
 tion for $50,000. When Congress finally decided that the Fair should be held in 
 Chicago, his patriotism and liberality were exhibited by a subscription of $25,000, 
 which he subsequently paid, toward the success of the great exhibition there. 
 
 Oct. 27, 1892, Mr. Steinway presided at the immense mass meeting of German 
 Americans at Cooper Institute, Grover Cleveland, Carl Schurz, Oswald Ottendorfer 
 and Dr. Joseph Senner being the other speakers. Upwards of 20,000 people were 
 assembled. Mr. Steinway 's speech was reported in full all over the United States 
 and in synopsis cabled to Europe. 
 
 In the Presidential election of 1892, Mr. Steinway was one of the Democratic 
 electors for the State of New York ; and he was unanimously elected president of the 
 Electoral College at the capitol at Albany, when it met Jan. 9, 1893, to cast the vote of 
 the State of New York for President of the United States. His activity, influence and 
 ability were recognized by President Cleveland by the offer of a number of important 
 Federal offices, which, however, he preferred not to accept. 
 
 Of the grand Music Festival in New York, at Madison Square Garden, June 24-28, 
 1894, he was the honorary president, and on June 23 made a splendid opening address, 
 and introduced Gov. Flower and Mayor Gilroy to the audience. 
 
 As Rapid Transit Commissioner of the city of New York, the name of Mr. Stein- 
 way has been on every tongue in this population of nearly 2,000,000 souls for several 
 years. The problem the Commissioners have been called upon to solve is one of the 
 utmost public importance. It is a difficult problem. A number of rival interests 
 have presented conflicting propositions. Patient, far seeing and patriotic, Mr. Stein- 
 way has given to them all a profound and willing study. The labors of the Commis- 
 sion are far from being ended ; but it is, meanwhile, the verdict of the public, that the 
 Commission has been the gainer by the uprightness, ability and discretion which Mr. 
 Steinway has shown in its counsels. 
 
 In the new Rapid Transit act, which became a law Ma}' 22, 1894, among other 
 things abolishing the old Commission. Mr. Steinway was unanimously reappointed by 
 the Legislature as a member of the new Commission. 
 
 Mr. Steinway has been twice married. He lost his first wife by death in 1876. His 
 second wife, Elizabeth C. Ranft, died March 4, 1893, while he was himself confined to 
 his bed by a severe illness. His married life has been a happy one. His children are 
 George A. Steinway; Paula, wife of Louis von Bernuth; William R., Theodore E. and 
 Maud S. Steinway. 
 
 A man of strong financial standing and of varied talents, his activities in the busi- 
 ness world have not been confined to the labors of Steinway & Sons. He was 
 one of the founders of The Bank of the Metropolis, and is is now a director. He is also 
 vice president of The German Savings Bank, New York, and The Queens County Bank 
 of Long Island City, a director in The Steinway Railroad Co. of Long Island City and 
 The New York & College Point Fern- Co. He is also president of The New York 
 
618 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Pianoforte Manufacturers' Society. His social standing is illustrated by his member- 
 ship in the Manhattan club; the Liederkranz Society, of which he has been twelve 
 times president; the Arion, of which he is an honorary member; The American Geo- 
 graphical Society, and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Berlin. More than a dozen 
 musical societies have elected him an honorary member. 
 
 A sound, enterprising, clear-headed, benevolent and versatile man, and a ready 
 speaker in both English and German, the metropolis is constantly the gainer by his 
 remarkable abilities. 
 
 PARAN STEVENS, hotel man, born in Claremont, N. H., in 1803, died in New 
 York city, April 25, 1872. Modest circumstances compelled Mr. Stevens to rely upon 
 himself from early youth, and discipline and natural gifts made him shrewd, sensible, 
 practical and energetic. Having learned the hotel business in Boston, he acquired con- 
 trol of the Revere House there and conducted it successfully, and then extended his 
 enterprise to the management of the Tremont House in Boston, the Continental Hotel 
 in Philadelphia and the Battle House in Mobile, Ala. In 1858, with associates, he 
 leased the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York city and from this fashionable and success- 
 ful house derived a large income for many years. New York became his permanent 
 home after 1862", and he purchased the residence at No. 244 Fifth avenue, which after- 
 ward became one of the centres of the fashionable life of the city. As Tie accumulated 
 means, he invested them mainly in real estate. One of the first to adopt the fire proof 
 plan of construction, he built shortly before his death the Fifth Avenue apartments on 
 2 ad street, from Fifth avenue to Broadway, which were notable for beauty and solidity. 
 This building took the name afterward of the Stevens Apartment House and later of 
 the Victoria Hotel. He also owned a large amount of other city real estate as well as 
 property in Lowell, Mass., and a house in Newport. He was a liberal man, refined in 
 tastes, a patron of art and a kind and genial gentleman. At his death, he gave $40,000 to 
 Claremont, N. H., for a Stevens High School. Mr. Stevens was twice married. His 
 first wife died while he was yet a young man and left one daughter, Ellen, wife of John 
 Lowell Melcher. A few years later, he married Miss Marietta Reed of Lowell, who 
 survived him for many years, dying in New York, April 3, 1895, after a long and event- 
 ful life. She made her home the scene of many fashionable entertainments and had 
 become a leader in social life. Her two children were a son, Henry Leiden Stevens, 
 and a daughter, Mary Fiske, who married Col. Arthur H. F. Paget of England. 
 
 DAVID STEVENSON, brewer, born in New York city, Aug. 2, 1846, died at No. 
 7 East 26th street, Oct. 6, 1892. He grew up in the Ninth Ward and at an early age 
 went to work in his father's brewery at 39th and 4oth streets and Tenth avenue. On 
 the death of his father, he became sole heir of the property and managed the brewery 
 with great success the rest of his life. He owned a malt house in Oswego, and pro- 
 duced about 175,000 barrels of beer annually. He was one of the founders of The 
 Mutual Bank and its president from its organization in June, 1890, until his death. 
 He was also a trustee of The Excelsior Savings Bank and a member of the Man- 
 hattan, Phoenix and Lotos clubs. Mr. Stevenson invested his savings largely in real 
 estate, especially on and near West sgth street. He left a widow, Sewannee M., and 
 several young children. 
 
 ALEXANDER TURNEY STEWART, merchant, in his day one of the richest men 
 in New York city, born Oct. 12, 1803, in Lisburn, near Belfast, Ireland, died in New 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ST. 619 
 
 York city, April 10, 1876. While of Irish birth, he descended from Scottish ancestry. 
 Left an orphan before the age of eight by the death of both his parents, he lost his 
 other near relatives also before he left Trinity College in Belfast at the age of twenty. 
 The lonely young man then emigrated to America, arriving in New York in 1823. 
 Being entirely without experience in business, he began life as teacher in a private 
 school in Roosevelt street. At the end of the year, he spent his vacation in Ireland, 
 obtained a small inheritance, and returned to New York in 1825 with a carefully 
 selected stock of Belfast laces, opening a store at 283 Broadway at a rental of $250 a 
 year, Sept. 2, 1825. Success came to Mr. Stewart from the first as a consequence of 
 his indefatigable labor and his keenness as a merchant. In 1826, he moved to a larger 
 store at No. 262 Broadway and shortly afterward to No. 257 Broadway. From 
 the start, he established the rule of fair but invariable prices and made a great hit 
 therewith. 
 
 In 1848, having gained a fortune, he built the handsome marble store at the corner 
 of Broadway and Chambers and Reade streets. This was the most notable building in 
 the city at the time and proved a tremendous advertisement for him. Mr. Stewart 
 was a large importer of the finest qualities of foreign goods and gradually added an 
 extensive wholesale business to his operations. In 1862, the center of retail trade 
 having moved up town, Mr. Stewart completed a retail store on the site bounded by 
 Broadway, Fourth avenue, gth and loth streets, at a cost of nearly $2,750,000 and this 
 magnificent building for many years ranked as one of the finest retail stores in the 
 world. After this time, Mr. Stewart was perhaps the wealthiest and most influential 
 merchant in the country. He established branch stores, warehouses or mills in all of 
 the principal trade centers of the world and for many years until his death carried on 
 an enormous and profitable business. In his later years, he invested large sums in 
 business and residence property in the city and owned the Grand Union Hotel in Sara- 
 toga Springs. His marble mansion on Fifth avenue at 34th street, considered a 
 wonder in its day, was adorned with one of the finest art collections in the country. 
 
 During the Civil War, he was a supporter of the Union and an admirer of Gen- 
 eral Grant. In 1867, he went to the Paris Exposition as chairman of the United States 
 Commission. This was the only public office he ever held. He was nominated in 
 1869 by President Grant for Secretary of the Treasury, but declined the office, because 
 of the law prohibiting an importer in active business from holding that position In 
 his public charities he was always liberal. At the time of the Irish famine in 1846, he 
 chartered a ship and sent it to Ireland loaded with provisions, bringing back a cargo 
 of selected emigrants, for most of whom he had provided situations before they 
 reached New York. After the Franco-German war, he sent a cargo of 3,800 barrels of 
 flour to the sufferers in the manufacturing districts of France. He gave $50,000 for the 
 relief of the sufferers in Chicago, after the great fire, and in many other ways displayed 
 the philanthropy of his nature. Shortly before his death, he built the iron building on 
 Fourth avenue, now known as the Park Avenue Hotel, which he designed originally as 
 a home for working women, and he expended large sums of money in purchasing the 
 land and developing the village of Garden City on Long Island, which he designed for 
 the benefit of the working classes. Here he built schools and other structures. The 
 village has since become a place of residence for the prosperous. In early life he 
 married Cornelia, daughter of Jacob Clinch. His wife survived him, without children. 
 
620 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 JOHN AIRMAN STEWART, banker, was born in Fulton street, New York city, 
 Aug. 22, 1822. John Stewart, his father, a native of Lewis Island, in the Hebrides, 
 and descendant of the famous Highland clan of Stewart, emigrated from Stornaway to 
 the new world, in 1815, worked for a while as a ship carpenter and then established 
 himself in business. He died in 1849, at the age of fifty-eight. John A. Stewart 
 graduated from Columbia College in 1840 in the literary and scientific course and 
 found occupation in an engineering corps, engaged in building The New York & Lake 
 Erie Railroad. In 1842, he was appointed clerk of the Board of Education and 
 remained in this position until 1850. After three years' service as actuary of The 
 United States Life Insurance Co., Mr. Stewart resigned in 1853 and devoted himself to 
 organizing The United States Trust Co., which he has since made a sound, conserva- 
 tive and influential corporation. A charter was secured from the Legislature largely 
 through Mr. Stewart's labors and he became secretary of the company. Well fitted 
 for this position, he devoted himself with fidelity and great energy to the opera- 
 tions of his company and became known as a careful and successful financier during 
 his eleven years in this position. Thrice urged to accept appointment as Assistant 
 Treasurer of the United States, Mr. Stewart complied in June, 1864, at the sacrifice of 
 personal interests, solely as a patriotic duty, and had the satisfaction of being able to 
 perform public services of value. After the War, Mr. Stewart felt anxious to return 
 to his former occupation. At this time, Joseph Lawrence, president of The United States 
 Trust Co., having resigned his office on account of age arid impaired health, Mr. 
 Stewart was in 1865 unanimously elected to the place and thereupon withdrew from 
 public life. He has remained at the head of the institution down to the present time. 
 He is a director of The Equitable Life Assurance Society, The Merchants' National 
 Bank, The Greenwich Savings Bank, The London & Liverpool & Globe Insurance Co., 
 The Bank of New Amsterdam and The Delaware & Hudson Canal Co., and a vice 
 president of the Chamber of Commerce. His interest in religion and education, a 
 marked trait, has led him into the directorate of The New York E) e & Ear Infirmary 
 and he is a trustee of The John F. Slater Fund, The Brick Presbyterian Church, and 
 Princeton College. His clubs are the Metropolitan, Union League, Lawyers' and 
 Riding. In May, 1845, Mr. Stewart was married to Sarah Youle Johnson of New 
 York. To them were born William A. W. and John A. Stewart ; Mary, wife of George 
 S. Sheffield; Emily S., wife of Robert Waller, and a child who died in infancy. Mr. 
 Stewart was married again in 1894 to Mary Olivia Capron of Baltimore. 
 
 JAFIES STILLMAN, merchant, a native of Brownsville, Texas, was born June 9, 
 1850, during a temporary stay of his parents in that city. He traces his line to George 
 Stillman, who, born in London in 1654, came to Hadley, Mass., removing later 
 to Wethersfield, Conn. His maternal ancestor, John Goodrich of Bury St. Edmonds, 
 Suffolk county, England, emigrated to Wethersfield, Conn., in 1640. All four of his 
 great grandfathers fought for Independence in the War of the American Revolution, 
 two as officers, and his father, George G. Stillman, made a fortune as a merchant and 
 operator in Southern railroads. Mr. Stillman's youth was spent in Hartford, Conn., 
 and at a private school in Sing Sing, N. Y. In 1871, he joined the firm of Smith, 
 Woodward & Stillman, commission cotton merchants in this city, and in 1873, their 
 successors, Woodward & Stillman. Mr. Stillman is now the senior partner. He has been 
 successful as a merchant, and now has various additional interests, being president of 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ST. 621 
 
 The National City Bank and director of The United States Trust Co., The Farmers' Loan 
 & Trust Co., The New York Security & Trust Co., The Hanover National Bank, The 
 Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, The Consolidated Gas Co., and The 
 Queen Insurance Co. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Cotton 
 Exchange, and the Union, Metropolitan, Century, Union League, Manhattan, Reform, 
 New York Yacht, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht, Eastern Yacht, St. Augustine 
 Yacht, Jekyl Island and Storm King clubs, The New York Historical Society, and 
 the Metropolitan club of Washington. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON STOCKLY, retired manufacturer, born in Cleveland, 
 O., Dec. 20, 1843, is a son of the late John Gait Stockly and a descendant of John 
 Stockly, who came from England and settled in Virginia in 1609 at the first occupation 
 by John Smith. Ayres Stockly of this family settled in Philadelphia about 1783, where 
 John G. Stockly was born in 1799, the latter going to Cleveland in 1838 and dying there 
 in 1863. The subject of this sketch left the public schools of Cleveland to spend five 
 years in the law office of Willey & Cary and in the transportation business in Cleveland. 
 For seven years, he served as teller of The Commercial National Bank. In 1873, he gave 
 up banking to undertake the management of The Telegraph Supply & Manufacturing 
 Co., of which afterward he became president. In 1876, Mr. Stockly called the atten- 
 tion of Charles F. Brush to the subject of illumination and subsequently arranged with 
 him to undertake the production of a system of electric arc lighting. The first Brush 
 plant was made and tested in the factory and at the expense of The Telegraph Supply 
 Co., and an arrangement was made whereby the company took active control of the 
 business under the Brush patents, paying Mr. Brush a royalty. During the next four- 
 teen j'ears, The Brush Electric Co. , which succeeded The Telegraph Supply Co. , with 
 Mr. Stockiy as president and manager, achieved immense success as pioneers of public 
 electric lighting. During 1880-90, the profits exceeded $2,000,000 in cash. In 1890, 
 the proprietors sold the entire stock of the concern to The Thomson-Houston Electric 
 Co., of Massachusetts, for about $3,000,000 in cash. The business has since been 
 merged in The General Electric Co., of New York. Mr. Stockly was probably the first 
 man of business to appreciate the importance of the telephone. Long before the first 
 practicable instrument was publicly exhibited, he applied to Gardiner G. Hubbard for 
 and obtained control of the business in Ohio and Indiana. He introduced the telephone 
 in Ohio and built and operated the first telephone exchange in the country. The Brush 
 Electric Co. was also a pioneer in electric railways, and built the first experimental line 
 in Cleveland. There are now over a thousand such railways in the country, represent- 
 ing an investment of about $600,000,000. In 1890, Mr. Stockly retired from business 
 and removed to Lakewood, N. J. Of too active a nature to remain idle, he has latterly 
 resumed business in New York city. He is a member of the Lotos club here, The 
 Society of Mechanical Engineers and The Society of Electrical Engineers. 
 
 JAHES STOKES, merchant, born at No. 45 Wall street, New York city, Jan. 31, 
 1804, died at his home on Orange Mountain, N. J., Aug. i, 1881. His father, Thomas 
 Stokes, a wealthy merchant in England and founder of The London Missionary Soci- 
 ety, emigrated to America in 1803, coming in his own ship. He settled in New York 
 city, led a quiet life for many years, and lost the greater part of his fortune by lend- 
 ing money on bad security. Later, he opened a clothing store on Broadway and took 
 his son James into partnership. About 1837, James Stokes married Caroline Phelps, a 
 
622 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 daughter of Anson G. Phelps, senior partner in Phelps, Dodge & Co., metal import- 
 ers, and about a year later became a member of the firm. In 1879, he withdrew to 
 form the banking house of Phelps, Stokes & Co., the firm consisting of Isaac N. 
 Phelps, James Stokes, Anson Phelps Stokes, and Frederic P. Olcott. He was a man of 
 marked ability and energy and prospered in all his business transactions. Public life 
 never tempted him from the field of practical pursuits and in 1857 he declined the 
 nomination for Mayor on the Democratic ticket. He was at first a strong Whig and 
 afterward a Democrat. With Peter Cooper and other citizens, he did much to promote 
 the old Public School Society. In religion at first a Baptist, he afterward became 
 a Presbyterian. The charities of the city and of the religious body to which he 
 belonged, received from Mr. Stokes liberal gifts. He was at one time president of The 
 Ansonia Brass & Copper Co., and The Ansonia Clock Co. , and had an interest in several 
 other firms, being also director of The Liberty Insurance Co., and The Mercantile 
 Trust Co. He had a house in Ansonia, several stores in the lower part of the city and 
 lands in Michigan and Pennsylvania. His wife survived him with seven children, 
 Anson G. Phelps Stokes, James Stokes, jr., Col. Thomas Stokes and William E. Dodge 
 Stokes; Dora, now deceased, wife of Henry Dale, and Caroline Phelps and Olivia Stokes. 
 There were numerous bequests to charity in his will. His son, WILLIAH EARL 
 DODGE STOKES, realty owner, born Jan. 5, 1884, descends through the maternal line 
 from Lieut. Thomas Phelps of the Continental army in the American Revolution. 
 Graduating from Yale College in 1874, Mr. Stokes received his first training as a clerk 
 in the New York branch of The Canadian Bank. He was then admitted to the count- 
 ing room of Phelps, Stokes & Co., and later to partnership, remaining a member until 
 the house retired from Wall street and went into liquidation. Mr. Stokes was born to 
 fortune and prepared himself carefully for the responsibilities which were to fall upon 
 him. A large property came into his possession in due time by devise from his father 
 and mother. He has shown ability in its management and made a fortune for himself 
 by aiding to develop that now attractive part of the city lying west of Central Park. 
 When city lots in that region ranged in value from $4,000 to $5,000 each, he "bought 
 largely and has since built many residences for rental to substantial residents. Prop- 
 erty in that part of the city has more than tripled in value since he began operations. 
 Mr. Stokes was among those who labored for the location of the World's Fair in 1893 
 in New York city and was secretary of the local Committee on Organization and Site. 
 He helps sustain the great public museums of the city, and is the father of the plan of 
 introducing asphalt pavements to this metropolis. Jan. 3, 1895, Mr. Stokes was married 
 to Miss Rita Hernandez De Alba De Acosta, daughter of Ricardo De Acosta. He is a 
 man of cultivated tastes and courteous manners and a number of the best clubs have 
 been glad to admit him to membership, including the Union League, Manhattan, 
 Colonial, Country, St. Nicholas, New York Yacht, Meadow Brook, Seawanhaka 
 Corinthian Yacht, Down Town and Lawyers'. He is also a member of The Sons of 
 the Revolution and The New England Society. 
 
 AUGUSTUS STORRS, merchant, born in Mansfield, Conn., June 4, 1819, died at 
 Oak Grove Farm, Mansfield, March 3, 1892. Early in life, he became a merchant and 
 carried on business in Mansfield, Willimantic and Hartford, Conn., until 1851, when 
 he removed to Brooklyn, N. Y. Shortly afterward, in 1854, he united with his 
 brothers, Charles and Royal O. Storrs, under the firm name of Storrs Bro's, to carry 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ST. 623 
 
 on a commission business in staple American goods in New York city. This business 
 was conducted by him and his brother Charles, under the same firm name for twenty- 
 five years, with excellent and enlarging success. Agriculture awoke in Mr. Storrs an 
 enthusiastic interest and led him to purchase and cultivate the old homestead at Mans- 
 field, Conn., comprising over 500 acres. The Storrs Agricultural School at that place, 
 which owes its foundation to him and to his brother Charles, lies just north of this 
 farm, its lands adjoining; and his well managed country home showed its students what 
 care and tillage would do for Connecticut fields. Soon after coming to Brooklyn, 
 Mr. Storrs united with Plymouth Church, of which for many years he was treasurer 
 and a trustee, being an intimate and trusted friend of Henry Ward Beecher. He also 
 contributed liberally to the church at Mansfield. He left one daughter, Mrs. Marie A. 
 Storrs Valentine, wife of Benjamin Eyre Valentine. Their home is in Brooklyn. 
 
 CHARLES STORRS, merchant, born in Mansfield, Conn., Jan. 24, 1822, died in 
 Brooklyn, Sept. i, 1884. He was the son of Royal Storrs, a hard working farmer, and 
 gained what little schooling he could in the intervals of farm work. For one or two 
 winters, he taught school himself. In 1842, six months before he was of age, he 
 obtained a substitute to take his place on the farm, and, without a dollar of capital, 
 engaged in the sale of American made sewing silk on commission, his native town of 
 Mansfield being then one of the chief places of its manufacture. He was so engaged 
 for three years, and his success in this venture laid the foundation of a subsequent large 
 fortune. Removing to Hartford, Conn. , he became agent for a large manufacturing 
 and commission house, and in 1850, transferred his residence to Brooklyn, retaining 
 the agency. The firm made him a partner in 1853, but the panic of 1854 overwhelmed 
 the house, whereupon Mr. Storrs assumed its liabilities of over $300,000, and paid 
 them in full. In December, 1854, he began business for himself as a commission mer- 
 chant, forming a partnership with his brothers, Augustus and Royal O., under the 
 firm name of Storrs Bro's. The latter remained in the firm only a short time, but the 
 others continued a large and profitable business, with Charles Storrs as the active head, 
 until 1879. Then, his health having become impaired by the many years of active 
 work, Mr. Storrs retired from business. A warm friendship existed between Horace 
 Greeley and the subject of this memoir, and when the former died, Mr. Storrs was one 
 of his executors and helped settle the complicated estate. He was a man of cultivation 
 and charity and great nobility of character. His home in Brooklyn was a storehouse 
 of rare works of art and literature, and his library, one of the finest in the city, became 
 a favorite resort for literary men. He gave to the State of Connecticut an endowment 
 fund, which his brother Augustus supplemented with lands and buildings, to establish 
 and maintain the Storrs Agricultural School in Mansfield, his native town. July 4, 
 1844, he married Miss Maryett M. Cook of Coventry, Conn., who, with one daughter, 
 Sarah Maria, wife of David Choate Proctor of Henniker, N. H , survived him. 
 
 RUFUS STORY, merchant, born in Milan, Dutchess county, N. Y., Feb , 6, 1813, 
 died at his home at Bergen Point, N J., Oct. 6, 1887. When a boy of thirteen, Mr. 
 Story came to New York city and entered a grocery house as a clerk and in a very 
 short time engaged in the grocery business for himself, later giving his attention 
 mainly to the trade in pepper and spices. His energy made him one of the leading 
 merchants of the city. Judicious purchases of real estate which he made proved 
 for him a profitable investment. He was a director of The Broadway National Bank, 
 
624 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and conspicuous in a test lawsuit against The Manhattan Elevated Railway, brought in 
 consequence of the elevated roadway shutting out the light from his buildings. The 
 case was carried through several courts and finally won by Mr Story. Although never 
 in politics, Mr. Story was always ready to uphold the cause of good government. He 
 was twice married, first to Eliza Rue and later to Ursula Ayres. Four daughters sur- 
 vive him, Mary Elizabeth, wife of the late Walter B. Palmer, and Emily Louise, wife 
 of John Paret, daughters of his first wife, and Alice, wife of David Hall Rowland, and 
 Abbie, wife of Charles Marshall. 
 
 ANDREW VARICK STOUT, merchant and banker, a native of this city, died in 
 Bernardsville, N. J., Sept. 5, 1883, in his seventy-first year. At the age of eighteen, 
 Mr. Stout was appointed an assistant teacher in old Public School No. 2, and of 
 Public School No. 13, in Madison street. After several years of pedagogy, he accepted 
 the management of the New York Orphan Asylum for a few years. He then entered 
 business life and engaged in the wholesale shoe trade in Stout & Ward, later known as 
 A. V. Stout & Co. , and in this vocation met with excellent success. While yet a merchant, 
 he accepted the vice presidency of The Shoe & Leather Bank, and on April 3, 1855, 
 the presidency. Retiring from mercantile life, he held the position of bank president 
 for twenty- eight years, failing health then compelling his resignation. Among his 
 other trusts were seats in the directorates of The New York Mutual Gas Light Co., 
 The Phenix Fire Insurance Co., The American Bank Note Co., The New York and 
 Brooklyn Ferry Co., The Broadway Fire Insurance Co., and The Loan & Improvement 
 Co. He was at one time a member of the Board of Education, and while Fernando 
 Wood was Mayor, City Chamberlain. During the disturbances over the police 
 force at that time, he had the spirit to pay the salaries of the policemen from his 
 private funds, being afterward reimbursed by the city. Originally a Democrat, during 
 the War he became a Republican and was ever afterward a staunch supporter of that 
 party. A few years before his death, he gave $40,000 each to Wesleyan University 
 and Drew Theological Seminary, of which institutions he was a trustee. He was also 
 a member and trustee of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church at Fourth avenue arid 
 22d street. The survivors of his family were his wife, Almira H.; a son, Joseph S. 
 Stout, head of the firm of Stout & Co., brokers, and two daughters, Jane K. , who 
 married John N. Ewell, a banker of New York, and Almira H., who married A. 
 Francis Southerland. Mrs. Stout died July 26, 1890. His son, JOSEPH SUYDAH 
 STOUT, banker and stockbroker, born at the home of the family on Ridge street, New 
 York city, Dec. 27, 1846, attended the local schools during boyhood and, for two years, 
 the College of the City of New York. Before the age of seventeen, he was given a 
 clerkship in The Shoe & Leather Bank and at the age of nineteen was made assistant 
 cashier. At the age of twenty-one, he began business for himself in Wall street and has ever 
 since followed the vocation of banking. Successively a member of the firms of Wiley 
 & Co., Stout & Dickinson, and Ewell, Stout & Co., he has been since 1876 the capable head 
 of Stout & Co. His reputation has never been tarnished by wrong doing, and he has 
 on the contrary won the confidence and regard of the whole financial world by excellent 
 abilities and elevated character. He is vice president of The New York Mutual Gas Light 
 Co. , and a director of The National Shoe & Leather Bank, The American Bank Note Co. , 
 The Broadway Insurance Co., The Holland Trust Co., The Toledo, and The St. Louis 
 & Kansas City Railroads. He is also a member of the Union League and Metropolitan 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ST. 625 
 
 clubs, The New England Society, the Stock and Produce Excnanges and the Chamber 
 Commerce, and The Methodist Episcopal Hospital of Brooklyn. While devoted to 
 Dusiness pursuits, Mr. Stout has given important aid to education and the Christian 
 religion. He is a trustee of Wesleyan University and Drew Theological Seminary, 
 
 reasurer of the Board of Education of the Methodist Episcopal Church and of the 
 Madison Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, and by no means passive in the work of 
 those institutions. April 21, 1868, he married Julia Francis Purdy of this city, and is 
 the father of Newton E., Andrew V., Joseph S. and Arthur P. Stout. 
 
 JAflES SAFIUEL THOHAS STRANAHAN, financier, whose name is identified 
 
 rith the creation of Prospect Park and Brooklyn Bridge, is in so many respects the 
 foremost resident of the city of his home, that the " First Citizen of Brooklyn" is his 
 recognized title in the leading newspapers as well as in ordinary allusion. 
 
 Pre-eminent influence in the history of the United States is due not to the Puritan 
 ilone. Without detracting from the qualities which the austere followers of Cromwell 
 lisplayed in founding a new nation, due credit must also be given to the hardy and 
 
 idustrious Scotch-Irish, who, at the close of the seventeenth century, fled to the new 
 
 rorld in considerable numbers from the increasing oppression of the British crown. 
 
 ?hey settled in the New England colonies and what are now the Middle States. They 
 brought to the struggling communities of the new world those three secrets of success 
 which have made the Scotch-Irish famous the world over : skilled labor in its truest 
 sense, unflagging industry, and deep and intelligent religious conviction. From this 
 sturdy stock have sprung many large minded and large hearted men, whose names are 
 prominently identified with American progress, among them, James S. T. Stranahan. 
 His ancestor, James Stranahan, born in 1699, settled in Scituate, R. I., in 1725, and 
 removed later to Plainfield, Conn. , where, a prosperous farmer, he died at the advanced 
 age of ninety-three. Samuel, the fifth son of James of the second generation, removed 
 to Peterboro in Madison county, N. Y., then a wilderness, and there amid the rude 
 surroundings of a pioneer's life, his son James Samuel Thomas Stranahan was born, 
 April 25, 1805. Samuel Stranahan died in 1816. 
 
 Early in life, the subject of this sketch was awakened to the stern necessities of his 
 career. His boyhood was spent in school and upon the farm. Later, he attended the 
 local academies. The first money he ever earned came from teaching. He fitted him- 
 self for the profession of a civil engineer, but this pursuit he abandoned, in 1827-28, 
 to become a frontier trader, and he made a trip to the great lakes, then the far western 
 wilderness. After several interviews with Hon. Lewis Cass, then Governor of the 
 Territory of Michigan, and after several adventurous explorations of the forest regions, 
 during which he found no desirable field for his enterprise, he resolved to return east. 
 In 1832, there was presented to the young man an opportunity for the display of 
 his especial talent for organization. Gerrit Smith, the well known land owner and 
 famous abolitionist, invited young Stranahan to aid him in founding a manufacturing 
 village in a town owned by the former in Oneida county. The flourishing village of 
 Florence to-day attests Mr. Stranahan's success. From this village, in 1838, the 
 tireless young founder was sent to the Assembly, having been elected on the Whig 
 ticket from a Democratic county. In the Legislature, he was associated with many 
 men of exceptional ability, who afterward became eminent in public affairs. 
 
 In 1840, Mr. Stranahan removed to Newark, N. J., and engaged extensively in rail- 
 
626 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 road construction, in which he was exceedingly successful. By shrewdly accepting a 
 portion of his compensation in the stock of his various roads, he laid the foundation of 
 a subsequent large fortune. In 1844, he removed to Brooklyn, where he has since re- 
 sided and with whose interests he has become intimately identified Here he engaged 
 largely in real estate improvements. A man of striking ability and exceptional popu- 
 larity, he was elected to the Board of Aldermen in 1848; nominated but defeated for 
 Mayor in 1850, and elected to Congress in 1854. In 1857, when the first Metropolitan 
 Police Commission was organized, covering New York city, Brooklyn and Staten 
 Island, Mr. Stranahan became a member of the board and was a participant in the 
 famous struggle, which took place between the new regime and the old municipal 
 police, the latter led by Fernando Wood, then Mayor of the city. He was a member 
 of the Republican National Convention of 1860 and urged the nomination of Abraham 
 Lincoln. He was also a member of the Convention of 1864, again voting for Mr. Lin- 
 coln, and later a Lincoln and Johnson Presidential Elector. The cause of the Union 
 received his ardent support during the War and he was chosen to the position of presi- 
 dent of the War Fund Committee of his city. His wife was at the same time president 
 of the Woman's Relief Association. These organizations were of enormous service to 
 the country. They not only raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Union 
 cause, but they performed a much more notable service in rallying public opinion, en- 
 couraging enlistments, rendering practical aid to the volunteers, and sustaining the 
 government in its efforts to carry on the War. The War Fund Committee was com- 
 posed of one hundred of the most prominent and loyal men of Brooklyn. From its 
 councils, originating in the determination that there should be at least one loyal news- 
 paper in the city of Brooklyn, was called into existence The Brooklyn Union newspaper. 
 Since 1865, Mr. Stranahan has been identified with almost every important im- 
 provement in his adopted city. He was at the head of the Brooklyn Park Commission 
 for twenty-two years, becoming its president by act of the Legislature in 1860. He 
 remained at the head of the Commission until 1882. To him, Brooklyn is indebted 
 more than to any other man for Prospect Park, the Ocean Parkway, Eastern Parkway 
 and the city's beautiful system of boulevards. The plans were matured entirely tinder 
 his direction and carried out by him. As president of the Commission, which laid out 
 and developed the Park, he displayed a foresight and a capacity of patient waiting for 
 results, which revealed a remarkable nature a "longanimity" it has been aptly termed. 
 His management of the Park employes for twenty-one years was a practical exhibition 
 of civil service reform. Many who began service in its opening work were found yet 
 employed at the end. No man ever won an unsolicited tribute to his public services 
 by labor more disinterested than Mr. Stranahan; and it was no more than a proper 
 recognition of hard endeavor in many lines of benefit for his city, that on June 6, 1891, 
 a bronze statue of Mr. Stranahan of heroic size was unveiled at the entrance of Pros- 
 pect Park. Designed by Frederick McMonnaies, a pupil of St. Gaudens, and erected 
 by the gratified citizens of Brooklyn, it stands for all time a permanent memorial of 
 useful service wisely performed. The founder of the Park and his wife were both 
 present at the unveiling. 
 
 Mr. Stranahan also foresaw the future of Coney Island as a seaside resort ; and it 
 was due to his energy and arguments, that in spite of much opposition, Brooklyn 
 claimed the Atlantic Ocean as her southern boundary. Coney Island Boulevard and 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ST. 627 
 
 the Concourse are tributes to his sagacity, judgment and public spirit. Mr. Strana- 
 han's genius for large planning and undaunted effort to attain results evident to his 
 foresight, are now prompting him to the consolidation of the group of towns lying 
 adjacent to New York harbor into the 'greater New York. " 
 
 For many years, he was president of The Union Ferry Co., which owned the ferry 
 franchise between New York and Brooklyn and transacted an enormous business, 
 being one of the most profitable companies of its class in the harbor of New York. 
 
 The Atlantic Docks, on the lower water front of Brooklyn, and the warehouses 
 surrounding the same were built at his suggestion and by a corporation, which he 
 was successful in organizing and in which he was the largest owner. It was always 
 characteristic of the man, that he should engage in operations which, while judiciously 
 planned as commercial ventures, should confer upon the community in which he dwelt 
 even larger benefits than upon the stockholders. Thus, appreciating the value of the 
 enterprise to his adopted city, although its construction would be injurious to his own 
 business interests, he was one of the first subscribers to the stock of the Brooklyn 
 Bridge. He became a member of its first board of directors, and also served continu- 
 ously as trustee and president, after the bridge came under the more immediate con- 
 trol of the two cities, until 1885. In the work of the board he exerted great influence. 
 His ideas were always original and far reaching. Among other improvements upon 
 the earlier plans of which he is the author, was the raising of the middle trusses of the 
 bridge to a height sufficient to permit the passage of a Pullman palace car of full size. 
 He has been associated as director with various financial institutions. 
 
 Mr. Stranahan was married in 1837 to Mariamne Fitch, daughter of Ebenezer R. 
 Fitch of Westmoreland, Oneida county, N. Y. This union brought them two children. 
 Mrs. Stranahan was active in patriotic enterprises during the war and figured promi- 
 nently in charitable, religious and social circles for many years. Her noble nature 
 and philanthropic toil hastened her death, which occurred in August, 1866. The 
 present Mrs. Stranahan was Miss Clara C. Harrison, a native of Massachusetts. Prior 
 to her marriage, she was well known in Brooklyn as one of the principals of an import- 
 ant private seminary for young ladies. Possessed of fine natural powers developed by 
 a most careful and thorough education, combined with great executive ability and 
 a desire to serve, as she may, in promoting human welfare, Mrs. Stranahan has filled 
 important roles in philanthropic, civic and social relations. Some of her receptions 
 take historic rank in the social life of Brooklyn. She is a trustee of Barnard College; 
 vice president of the alumnae association of her alma mater, Troy Female Seminary, 
 the pioneer in the higher education of women ; president of The State Charities Aid 
 Association for Kings county, and vice president general for New York State of The 
 Daughters of the Revolution. She was also vice president of the New York State 
 Board of Women Managers for the Columbian Exposition. Mrs. Stranahan has also 
 won honor as an author, her chief work, "A History of French Painting," having 
 received complimentary notice in both Europe and America, one English quarterly 
 giving it thirty-six pages of review. A critic says, "Were it called ' The History of 
 French Painting, ' it would abundantly sustain the title. " It occupies the rank of a 
 classic on the subject. 
 
 At the advanced age of eighty-six, Mr. Stranahan, in vigorous health, retains an 
 active interest in the financial and political affairs of his city and country. His long 
 
628 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 life has included the rise of his country from infancy to its present marvellous pros- 
 perity. To this, beginning as a frontier trader in the wilderness of the Northwest, he 
 has contributed in no mean degree. A man of fine personal appearance, of a nature 
 so genial and sympathetic as to possess a rare magnetism, refined and ctiltivated, his 
 business life free from the slightest blemish, he has long enjoyed the absolute confidence 
 and highest esteem of the community. 
 
 WILLIAfl THOMAS ALBERT STRANGE, manufacturer, known in business 
 circles by the shorter name of William Strange, was born March i, 1838, in Chichester, 
 England. He is a son of the late Albert B. Strange, well known in this city as a 
 merchant and manufacturer, who removed to the United States to engage in business. As 
 a youth, William Strange received a sound and thorough education in America, France 
 and Germany. He made his first acquaintance with the elements of business manage- 
 ment as clerk in the employment of Naylor & Co., merchants, on John street, New 
 York. A few years later, he became identified with the firm of Strange & Bro. 
 
 The wholesale house of Strange & Bro. was started in 1838, at the corner of 
 William and Beaver streets, New York, and is at present located at No. 96-98 Prince 
 street, to which premises it removed from those formerly occupied at Park Place, the 
 corner of Broadway and Reade street, Walker street, and No. 423 Broome street 
 respectively. In the incipient stages, the proprietors of the house were E. B. and 
 Albert B Strange, the latter the father of William Strange. 
 
 After thirty years of mercantile experience as silk importers and dealers, the 
 Stranges became manufacturers of silks, convinced that they could successfully produce 
 in this country the class of goods which they had been importing. Their first factory, 
 started in 1863, occupied a site in Williamsburg. Five years later, the works were 
 transferred to Paterson, N. J., and there conducted under the name of William Strange 
 & Co., and the management of William Strange. At the death of A. B. Strange, in 
 1887, E. B. Strange having died previously, the firm incorporated under the style of 
 The William Strange Co. William Strange has always been the president _of this 
 concern, and William C. Kimball is treasurer, Mr. Strange being also now the sole 
 representative of the firm of Strange & Bro. in this city. 
 
 An anecdote exemplified the habitual and just confidence of the Stranges in the 
 future of their business undertakings. While the great Paterson factory was yet in its 
 infancy, William Strange attempted to sell its products to a leading New York ribbon 
 house, but was told that it was impossible to make as good ribbons in Paterson as abroad 
 and that there was no use in seeking the custom of the concern for such goods, because 
 they purchased only the best quality. To this objection, Mr. Strange replied: "All 
 right, gentlemen, we shall see in the future." The event justified his expectations. 
 For many years now, the concern which then declined to buy American goods has 
 ceased buying ribbons exclusively from abroad and has purchased largely from the 
 Strange factory in Paterson. 
 
 The growth of America during the last century has been marvellous. In the 
 transformation which has taken place, no incident has been more remarkable and no in- 
 fluence more potent in producing the result, than the creation of new American indus- 
 tries and the transplanting of foreign branches of manufacture to this continent. The 
 United States have now passed from the condition of buyers, dependent upon other 
 countries for articles of necessity or luxury, to that of independent producers, relying 
 
N 
 
 THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ST. 629 
 
 on the skill of their own citizens and upon native materials for supplies. One of the 
 most striking of the new industries is that of the manufacture of silks During the 
 past few years, American products have attained such excellence as to dispute the palm 
 with those of the most celebrated establishments of Lyons and other manufacturing 
 centers in the old world. These industrial transplantations have not been the result of 
 chance or the accidental outcome of the labors of adventurous tyros in the realm of 
 mercantile endeavor. They are the fruit of the deliberate and patriotic enterprise of 
 men of great experience, who have seen an opportunity of saving, for American 
 account, the profits which had been made by foreign manufacturers in the American 
 market. In the silk industry, Mr. Strange and his father ranked amorg the pioneers 
 and the subject of this sketch is now one of the leading men in the trade. 
 
 Mr. Strange devotes his time mainly to the industry, founded by his house, but is 
 also part proprietor of The Read & Lovatt Co , and a director of The Paterson National 
 Bank and The Paterson Safe Deposit & Trust Co. He is a man of cultivated mind 
 and agreeable manners and in social life exceedingly popular, a fact which is illustrated 
 in part by his membership in the Union League, Republican, German Liederkranz, 
 United Service, Princess Anne, Orange County Country, Merchants' Central, Hamilton 
 and Amebelish Fishing clubs, and The Blooming Grove Park Association, Joppa Lodge, 
 Xo. 29, F. & A. M. and Cataract City Chapter, No. 10, R. A. M. In consequence of 
 his interest in their objects, he is also connected with The American Protective Tariff 
 League, The Paterson Board of Trade, The Paterson Ribbon Manufacturers' Associa- 
 tion, The Silk Association of America, and The Washington Association of New Jersey. 
 He is president of the Park Commission of Paterson and Lieutenant Colonel of the 
 Division staff of the National Guard of New Jersey. Mr. Strange married Mary 
 Elizabeth Read and is the father of Albert Breslin and Blanche Louise Strange 
 
 ISIDOR STRAUS, merchant, oldest son of Lazarus and Sara Straus, was born in 
 Rhenish Bavaria, Feb. 6, 1845, and came to this country with the family in 1854. At 
 the age of sixteen, in Georgia, he enlisted in the volunteers and was chosen lieutenant, 
 but the Confederacy refused to accept him on account of his age. A clerk, first in a 
 paper mill in Columbus, Ga., and later in his father's store, he finally went to Europe 
 as secretary for Hon. John E. Ward, of Savannah, whom the Confederacy had dis- 
 patched to purchase supplies for the army. In 1864, Mr. Straus took a clerkship in the 
 office of a ship owner in Liverpool, but in 1865 joined his father in New York city to 
 engage in the china and crockery business of L. Straus & Son. In 1874, this firm en- 
 larged their operations by taking charge of a glassware and china department in the 
 store of R. H. Macy & Co. on i4th street. This venture met with much success and 
 in 1888 Mr. Straus and his brother Nathan became partners in R. H. Macy & Co., 
 with Charles B. Webster as head of the house. Mr. Straus retains his interest in the 
 old china and crockery firm, but devotes considerable attention to R. H. Macy & Co., 
 and has helped develop the i4th street establishment into a large department store. 
 He was a member of the committee of fifty New York importers, who went to 
 Washington in June, 1890, to protest against the McKinley bill. Mr. Carlisle, then a 
 Senator but now Secretary of the Treasury, declared that the speech of Mr. Straus 
 was the best made by an opponent of the McKinley bill. During the silver agitation, 
 Mr. Straus addressed the Coinage Committee of the House ably in favor of a sound 
 currency. A member of the original World's Fair Commission in New York and 
 
t>3 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 of the committee in charge of the local Columbian celebration of 1893, he has also been 
 a Hudson River Bridge Commissioner from the beginning. For his active part in the 
 campaign of 1892 in favor of Mr. Cleveland, he was prominently named for the place 
 of Postmaster General, a position, however, for which he had no aspirations. He 
 was led finally, in 1893, owing to the fight over the Wilson tariff bill, then at its hot- 
 test, to accept a nomination at a special election for member of Congress, and after a 
 hotly contested campaign was elected. In 1892, Mr. Straus became a partner in the 
 dry goods house of Abraham & Straus in Brooklyn. He is a memher of the Chamber 
 of Commerce, president of The Pottery & Glassware Board of Trade, a director in The 
 Hanover National Bank and The New York County National Bank, vice president of 
 The Birkbeck Investment, Savings & Loan Co., and a member of the Manhattan, 
 Reform, Commonwealth, Nineteenth Century and Free Trade clubs. He married in 
 1871, and has six children, Jesse Isidor, Percy S., Sara, Minnie, HerbertN. and Vivian. 
 
 LAZARUS STRAUS, merchant and a prominent Hebrew, comes from a learned 
 family, his father having been one of the Sanhedrim selected by Napoleon Bonaparte 
 as advisers, when that emperor was considering the emancipation of the Hebrew race 
 in his dominions. Born in Otterberg, Rhenish Bavaria, in 1809, Mr. Straus began life 
 as a farmer and prospered in this occupation until the revolution of 1848. That 
 struggle awakened his sympathy and absorbed most of his property. He gained many 
 recruits for the revolution, and was one of a committee to assist Carl Schurz and Pro- 
 fessor Kinkel, when they came to Otterberg in the interest of a famous uprising. Mr. 
 Straus made a patient effort to regain his prosperity, but in vain, and in 1854, he landed 
 in America, accompanied by his wife and four children. Settling in the little village 
 of Talbotton, Ga., he began business there as a dry goods merchant, made money, and 
 in 1862 removed to Columbus, Ga. In 1865, he came to New York, the most of his 
 modest fortune having been swept away by the Civil War. He brought with him about 
 $25,000, however, paid his debts, and for the third time, began the world anew. In 
 1865, almost without capital, he started a china and crockery store at No. 165 Chambers 
 street. Close attention to his business, untiring labor and the good will won by 
 honest payment of debts, soon brought him a large reward. To his stock of staple 
 goods, he soon added costly foreign china, clocks, vases and bronzes. The firm of 
 L. Straus & Sons now control three large factories in Europe, which produce fine ware, 
 namely at Rudolstadt, Carlsbad and Limoges. They have also entered upon the do- 
 mestic manufacture of cut glass. The business has expanded to large proportions 
 and the warehouses on Warren street occupy several buildings. Although advanced 
 in years, Mr. Straus yet takes an active interest in his business and visits the store 
 daily. His sons, Isidor, Nathan and Oscar S. Straus are members of the firm and 
 relieve him from much of the labor of actual management. 
 
 NATHAN STRAUS, merchant and philanthropist, was born in Otterberg, Rhen- 
 ish Bavaria, in 1848. He came to America with his father, Lazarus, and his brothers, 
 Isidor and Oscar, in 1854. His education was obtained at Collinsworth Institute, at 
 Talbotton, Ga., and Packard's Business College in New York. He then entered the 
 china business with his father and brother, Isidor, and the name of L. Straus & Son then 
 became L. Straus & Sons. His early work in the interest of the firm was as a travel- 
 ling agent. He became a member of the firm of R. H. Macy & Co., in 1888, and of 
 Abraham & Straus in Brooklyn in 1893. He is a member of the Manhattan club, was 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ST. 631 
 
 made one of the Park Commissioners of New York city by Mayor Grant, and had pre- 
 viously been offered a seat in the Board of Education, which he declined. Among the 
 well known charities which Mr. Straus has originated and maintained at his own ex- 
 pense is the providing of stations in various parts of the city, where the poor can obtain 
 at less than cost sterilized milk and modified milk sterilized for infants. This work has 
 reduced the mortality among infants in the tenement house district, and Mr. Straus 
 intends that it shall be permanent. In the winter season, Mr. Straus maintains stations 
 where the poor can obtain coal at cost price. He has also opened cheap grocery houses 
 and supported numerous other charitable enterprises. At one time he owned a number 
 of fast horses, including the well known Majolica. His horses were frequent winners, 
 and all the profit he made from them he devoted to charity. He has built a cottage at 
 the Trudeau Sanitarium, at Saranac Lake, X. Y., which is devoted to invalids. The 
 hotel at Lakewood, N. J., owned by The Lakewood Hotel Co., of which he is the 
 president, was built because the other hotels at. that winter resort excluded a 
 certain class of guests, thus depriving many invalids who were compelled to go to 
 Lakewood for their health of suitable accommodation. Mr. Straus's indignation was 
 so thoroughly aroused that he invested a large sum in the Lakewood. which is open to 
 all respectable persons, irrespective of race or religion. He is an energetic man, and 
 his brain is constantly devising new schemes, which he puts into shape for practical 
 purposes. In 1894, he was made the Democratic candidate for Mayor of New York 
 city, but declined to run because David B. Hill insisted that his name should remain 
 at the head of the Independent Democratic ticket. On this ticket w r as a name, similar 
 to Straus at a hasty glance, and Mr. Straus concluded that this deal would defeat the 
 Democratic municipal ticket if he remained upon it. 
 
 WlLLIAfl A. STREET, merchant, a native of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. , born in 1843, 
 descends from the Rev. Nicholas Street, a dissenting clergyman of England, who came 
 to the new world in 1630. The Rev. Samuel Street, son of the latter, was a graduate 
 of Harvard College, receiving his degree in 1661. Caleb Street, great grandfather of 
 the subject of this sketch, was a merchant in New York city. Through the maternal 
 line, Mr. Street derives descent from Joseph Reade, his great grandfather, who was a 
 warden in Trinity Church from 1721 to 1770. His father was a well known lawyer 
 and brother of Albert B. Street, the poet, while on his mother's side he is related to 
 the Stuyvesant, Watts, Livingston and Kearny families. Major Gen. Phil. Kearny 
 was his second cousin. The sister of Mr. Street married Levi P. Morton. After a 
 proper education, and at the age of fifteen, Mr. Street entered the office of R. W. 
 Cameron, shipping merchant in this city, as a clerk. The modest salary of $50 a year 
 was paid at the start, but young Street displayed so much interest in the labors of the 
 house and was so honest and capable, that the firm were repeatedly obliged to write a 
 larger sum against his name in recognition of his merits. In 1862, he visited Australia 
 to fulfill certain missions, and spent three years in travelling to China, the Straits 
 Settlements, Singapore, Java, the Malayan Islands, New Zealand and South America. 
 This excursion resulted in greater knowledge of the world, which has since proved of 
 service. In 1870, his employer and he established the shipping and commission firm 
 of R. W. Cameron & Co., and have since been actively engaged in trade, mainly with 
 Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Street is a member of the Chamber of Commerce 
 and the Union club, and a supporter of several important public institutions. 
 
632 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 WILLIAH L. STRONG, merchant, born on a farm in Richland county, O., March 
 22, 1827, began life as a dry goods clerk in the employ of Lake & Jones in Wooster, 
 O., at the age of sixteen. After two years in the trade in Wooster and eight more in 
 Mansfield, O. , he came to New York, arriving in December, 1853. Here, he made a 
 start as a salesman for L. G. Wilson & Co., dry goods commission merchants, to whose 
 affairs he gave the closest attention, mastering every detail of the business. In 1857, 
 his employers were swept down by the panic. Next year, Mr. Strong entered the 
 commission dry goods store of Farnham, Dale & Co., a highly successful firm, and re- 
 mained with them until the close of 1869. Jan. i, 1870, he engaged in the dry goods 
 commission business upon his own responsibility, founding the firm of W. L. Strong & 
 Co., which succeeded to the trade of Farnham, Dale & Co. He has met with excellent 
 success and the house has branches in Boston and Philadelphia. Mr. Strong is a 
 Republican and has always taken a lively interest in public affairs, but until recently 
 has refused public office. Preferring to work in the ranks, he has been especially 
 active in the organization of campaign clubs. In 1894, a combination of the Repub- 
 licans and reform Democrats of the city elected him Mayor of New York. Mr. Strong 
 is president of The Central National Bank, The Homer Lee Bank Note Co. and The 
 Griswold Worsted Co., vice president of The New York Security & Trust Co , and a 
 director in The New York Life Insurance Co. , The New York, Lake Erie & Western 
 Railroad, The Adirondacks Railroad, The Hanover Fire Insurance Co., The Plaza 
 Bank, The Mercantile Trust Co., The Nassau Fire Insurance Co. and other corpora- 
 tions, and a member of the Union League, Metropolitan, Merchants', Republican, Ohio, 
 Colonial, Law, Riding, Racquet and Players' clubs. His sympathy with men who 
 must earn their living by labor has been repeatedly shown in arbitrations of disputes 
 between labor and capital. The fairness of his decisions have never been questioned. 
 
 JOSEPH STUART, banker, born in County Armagh, Ireland, Nov. 25, 1803, died 
 in New York city, Nov. 18. 1874. Emigrating to this country in 1827, Mr. Stuart 
 settled in Philadelphia and established the dry goods firm of Stuart Bro's in 1828. In 
 1833, he removed to New York and took charge of the house of J. & J. Stuart & Co., 
 which had been started here in 1831, showed himself to be an excellent merchant and 
 prospered through diligence, force and sagacity. In 1851, the firm changed their occu- 
 pation to banking. Mr. Stuart was trustee of The Emigrant Savings Institution until 
 the passage of the law prohibiting the holding of official positions in more than one 
 institution. He was a director of The National Mercantile Bank and connected with 
 The Hanover National Bank, and was vice president of The Fourth National Bank and 
 various insurance companies. A large circle of friends esteemed him highly. By his 
 marriage with Anna, daughter of Robert Watson, he was the father of Anna Whiteside 
 and Margaret Stuart Eakin and Joseph and Robert Watson Stuart. 
 
 ROBERT L. STUART, sugar refiner, born at No. 40 Barclay street, in this city, 
 July 21, 1806, died in town Dec. 12, 1882. Kinloch Stuart, hisfather, was a Scot, anda 
 manufacturer of candy, who, failing in business in Edinburgh, came to America in 
 September, 1805, and resuming business here with a capital of $7,000, had the satis- 
 faction of finally paying his debts, and, at his death in 1826, of leaving about $100,000 
 and a profitable business to his two sons. Robert was the older one, Alexander Stuart 
 being the younger. The latter was born about 1810, and died at his home, No. 167 
 Chambers street, Dec. 23, 1879. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ST. 633 
 
 Robert had not yet attained his majority when his father died, but he took charge 
 of the business as administrator of the estate, and, when legally free to do so, organized 
 with his brother the firm of R. L. & A. Stuart, which became in time one of the most 
 prosperous in the city. To candy making, they added, in 1832, the refining of sugar 
 by steam, and, after 1855, the latter industry engaged their entire attention. The use 
 of steam in refining was an innovation and called forth predictions of disaster from 
 friends. They made the process work, however, and carried it on successfully for 
 forty years. Their office at 169 Chambers street occupied a building erected by them 
 in 1831, the first dwelling in the city into which gas was introduced. The business in- 
 creased so rapidly, however, that they were compelled to build extensive quarters, 
 first at the corner of Greenwich and Chambers streets, and in 1849, at Greenwich and 
 Reade streets. They were aided in their enterprise by the fact that their product ranged 
 in price from twenty-two to twenty-four cents per pound only, while imported sugar, 
 no better in quality, cost forty-four cents a pound. Three stores on the north side of 
 Reade street, and a large warehouse on the south side of Chambers street, were finally 
 aided to their plant. Their force of 300 men manufactured about 40,000,000 pounds of 
 refined sugar annually. When the store houses at the Atlantic Docks were unroofed 
 by a storm, they had 1,000,000 worth of sugar there. Alexander had charge of the 
 actual work of manufacture ; Robert, of the finances of the firm. In 1872-73, both 
 brothers retired with large fortunes. They were always kind and considerate to em- 
 ployes, and at the time of the draft riots in 1863, their men stood by them and pre- 
 pared the sugar houses against a threatened assault, which, however, was not made, 
 owing to the precautions taken. During the War, the Stuarts were staunch supporters 
 of the Government and large subscribers to the first million of the War loan. 
 
 After 1852, the brothers set aside a certain sum each year for charitable purposes. 
 Up to 1879, they had given 1,390,000 in benefactions, and, after that year, Robert 
 L Stuart gave over 500,000 more, devoting himself almost entirely to philanthropy. 
 He was a Presbyterian, a member of the Union League club from its organization 
 and of the Century and Union clubs, an officer of various public institutions and a 
 liberal patron of art. Alexander Stuart never married, and lived during his whole 
 life in the old fashioned three story brick dwelling at No. 167 Chambers street. His 
 fortune descended to his brother Robert. The wife of the latter was Mary, daughter 
 of Robert Macrae, an old merchant of New York, who had a different partner in 
 several different cities of the United States. Mrs. Stuart died Dec. 31, 1891. She 
 had made large gifts to public institutions during her life time, amounting to about 
 $1,500,000, and nearly the whole of her fortune of about 8,000,000 was, at her death, 
 distributed among schools, colleges, religious bodies and charities. 
 
 JOHN JAY STUDWELL, merchant and banker, born in North Salem, West- 
 Chester county, N. Y., Dec. 2, 1813, died in Brooklyn, Dec. 12, 1884. Baird's History 
 of Rye, N. Y., records the fact that his earliest American ancestor, Studwell, was one 
 of the eighteen original proprietors of Rye. His father, Joseph Studwell, was a car- 
 penter, and his mother, Rebecca Mead, who came from the Mead family of Greenwich, 
 a type of New England character, full of faith and good works. Trained to his father's 
 trade, he went from the plain old homestead with a Puritan mother's blessing and in- 
 junctions, and by his own labors, coupled with a good constitution and equally sound 
 principles, rose to position and fortune. Occupied with his trade above the Harlem 
 
634 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 River, he finally received an offer of capital and influence from a resident of Harlem, 
 and availed himself thereof to the pecuniary advantage of both. Early in the '405, he 
 became a lumber merchant on Third avenue, near 12 8th street, selling his business 
 later to William Colwell, who continued it for about fifty years. In 1842, Mr. Studwell 
 moved to Brooklyn and resumed there the lumber business, which he managed with 
 profitable results. About 1857, he became president of The Montauk Insurance Co., 
 and later bought a controlling interest in The National City Bank of Brooklyn, of which 
 he was president until his death. He was also one of the original directors and 
 vice president of The Mechanics' Bank of Brooklyn and a director of The Brooklyn 
 Gas Light Co., The Atlantic Avenue Railroad, and The Citizens' Gas Light Co. He 
 joined no clubs and was for more than forty years a member of Sands Street Methodist 
 Episcopal Church and steward and trustee at his death as well as trustee of The Brook- 
 lyn Hospital. During the Civil War, he served on the local Committee of Relief. For 
 twelve years he sat in the Board of Supervisors of Kings county, being most of the 
 time Chairman of the Committee on Accounts. In 1836, Mr. Studwell married 
 Elizabeth La Farge Moore, daughter of Peter Moore, of Woodbridge, N. J. Their 
 only child, Sarah Frances, is the wife of George W. Mead, the lawyer. 
 
 JONATHAN STURQES, merchant, born in Southport, Conn., March 24, 1802, 
 died in New York, Nov. 28, 1874. His family was founded in this country by a 
 pioneer from England prior to 1640. After a period of probation in the employment 
 of R. & L. Reed, grocers in Front street in this city, beginning in 1821, Mr. Sturges 
 became a partner in 1828, the house taking the name of Reed & Sturges. In 1843, the 
 firm name was changed to Sturges, Bennett & Co., and in 1865 to Sturges, Arnold & 
 Co. Mr. Sturges was an excellent merchant, reached the position of leader in the tea 
 and coffee trade, and retired in 1868 with large means. He promoted several enter- 
 prises with his capital and was a founder and director of The Bank of Commerce, The 
 Illinois Central Railroad, and The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. A 
 strong Union man during the Civil War, he was active in organizing the Union League 
 club, served as its president in 1863, and, like other prominent business men, labored 
 actively to break up the Tweed Ring. He was twice elected vice president of the 
 Chamber of Commerce and, loving fine art, became one of the founders of the Century 
 club. During his whole life, he gave liberally to Christian work and charities. In 
 1829, he married Mary, daughter of John Cady, and was the father of Virginia R.. 
 wife of William H. Osborn; Frederick Sturges; Amelia, first wife of J. Pierpont Mor- 
 gan ; Edward, Arthur P. and Henry C. Sturges. His son, FREDERICK STURGES, 
 merchant and financier, born June i, 1833, was educated in the local schools. In 
 1849, he entered the office of his father and followed mercantile life prosperously until 
 1868, when he retired simultaneously with his father. He has, however, since been 
 active in financial affairs and is a director of The National Bank of Commerce, The 
 Atlantic Trust Co., and The Seamen's Bank for Savings, and was for many years direc- 
 tor of The Illinois Central Railroad. 'This family has always been noted for its good 
 works, and Mr. Sturges devotes much time to the Presbyterian Hospital, The Hospital 
 for the Ruptured and Crippled, The American Bible Society, The Seamen's Fund 
 Society and other institutions. He is a member of the Century, Down Town, and 
 Grolier clubs. In 1863, he married Mary Reed, daughter of Dudley B. Fuller, and is 
 the father of Jonathan, Emily M., Arthur P., Mary Fuller and Frederick Sturges. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SU. 635 
 
 ALFRED SULLY, capitalist, a gentleman of education, refinement and marked 
 ability, has risen by his own exertions to an enviable position in the financial world. 
 The majority of men who climb to the top are those who begin at the foot of the hill. 
 Early disadvantages serve merely to inspire an ambitious spirit and forceful character 
 with heroic energy and unconquerable resolution to overcome all obstacles. In such 
 cases, the man is trained from his youth to the subjugation of adverse circumstances, 
 and he usually becomes a capable, progressive, and successful figure in his field of 
 action. There are few more conspicuous examples of this among prominent men of 
 affairs in Wall street, than is furnished by Alfred Sully. He was not born rich, nor 
 was his path in life smoothed by good luck and favorable circumstances. He blazed 
 his own way from the first step he took, and can look back over a life of endeavor, 
 which courage, energy, and ambition have made triumphant. 
 
 Mr. Sully was born in Ottawa, Canada, May 2, 1841. His first salary was six 
 dollars a week, when, although a mere boy, he served as night watchman in a railroad 
 yard. He studied law in the office of Bellamy Storer in Cincinnati, afterward gradu- 
 ated from the Cincinnati Law School, and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1863. He 
 began the practice of his profession in Davenport, Iowa, succeeding Austin Corbin in 
 the old law firm of Corbin, Dow & Brown, Mr. Corbin retiring from the firm and from 
 the practice of law at that time to enter the banking business Mr. Sully remained 
 active in the law in Davenport until 1872, enjoying a large and lucrative practice. He 
 came to New York in 1872 as cashier and general manager of The Corbin Banking Co. 
 
 His first connection with railroads was as counsel to The Davenport & St. Paul, 
 now part of the St. Paul system. In 1878, he became connected with The Indiana, 
 Bloomington & Western Railroad as secretary, and soon afterward became one of its 
 principal owners and chief managers. 
 
 In 1876 and for several years thereafter, he was largely interested in building and 
 operating The Manhattan Beach Railroad, and in connection therewith organized The 
 Eastern Railroad of Long Island, for the purpose of extending the Manhattan Beach 
 road the entire length of the Island. In this enterprise, Austin Corbin was associated 
 with him. After two years of continual warfare with The Long Island Railroad 
 people, Mr. Corbin and Mr. Sully united in buying a control of the entire Long Island 
 Railroad system from Drexel, Morgan & Co. The stock of the road was then selling 
 at from 1 8 to 20 cents a share. The property was in the hands of a receiver and utterly 
 bankrupt. Nearly all the different issues of its bonds were in default. The equipment 
 was almost worthless and the track in dangerous condition, and it was thought impos- 
 sible to resuscitate the road without a complete reorganization. But as soon as Mr. 
 Sully and his associates obtained control, a new 5,000,000 mortgage was placed upon 
 the property and the proceeds therefrom used in putting the road into first-class condi- 
 tion. The stock was at the same time increased from $3,200,000 to $10,000,000 and 
 has paid regular dividends ever since, despite the increased capitalization. These 
 operations brought Mr. Sully large profits. 
 
 In 1 88 1, he purchased a coal road in Ohio, about 130 miles in length, reorganized 
 it as The Ohio Southern, put the property into first class physical condition, and estab- 
 lished it on a paying'basis. He was elected president in 1883 and held that position 
 until his retirement in April, 1892. What he accomplished by a wise and vigorous 
 administration of the affairs of this company is best illustrated by the statement that, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. SU. 637 
 
 without any addition to the mileage, the net earnings of The Ohio Southern were 
 increased from a surplus at the close of the first fiscal year of $599 in excess of first 
 mortgage interest, to a surplus of nearly $200,000 in excess of such interest in the final 
 year, the annual net earnings being nearly trebled in the space of eight years. Upon 
 the retirement of Mr. Sully and his associates from the management of this property, 
 the stockholders, in annual meeting assembled, embodied in resolutions an unqualified 
 expression of their appreciation, of the high standard of credit and efficiency resulting 
 from the ability, zeal and fidelity of the retiring management. 
 
 In 1885, Mr. Sully went into the Reading property and was at one time the 
 largest individual owner of its stocks and bonds. At that time, Franklin B. Gowen 
 was president and Mr. Sully his principal supporter. Mr. Gowen's remarkable fight 
 with the Drexel-Morgan syndicate, which proposed to reorganize that property on a 
 plan, which he thought was without due regard to the rights and interests he repre- 
 sented, attracted much attention among railroad men all over the United States. The 
 property involved was second of its kind in the world, its actual cash value being esti- 
 mated at nearly $200,000,000. More than 160,000,000 have been expended in the 
 Reading Railroad and its coal and iron properties. After a year of bitter warfare, the 
 Drexel-Morgan syndicate were brought to terms by Mr. Sully and Mr. Lauterbach, 
 who represented Mr. Gowen, and the security owners of the Reading property, elated 
 by this victory, initiated a boom in Wall street which lasted for months. 
 
 In 1886, The West Point Terminal Co., then capitalized at 15,000,000, was in 
 debt over 3,000,000, and the president, William P. Clyde, had given notice to the 
 stockholders that unless they supplied him with means, the property would have to be 
 sold for its debts. Mr. Clyde and all the directors of the Terminal were members of 
 The Richmond & Danville syndicate and also members of The Richmond & Danville 
 board of directors, and it seemed to them that the Terminal Company had become a 
 useless appendage. A committee of Terminal stockholders worked for over a year to 
 re-establish their property, but made no progress. Seeing the stock in imminent dan- 
 ger of being annihilated by a trustees' sale of its assets, these stockholders induced 
 Mr. Sully, through mutual friends, to join their committee as chairman, and, within 
 ninety days thereafter, The Terminal Company was renewed in its strength and credit. 
 Soon afterward, The Richmond & Danville and The East Tennessee, Virginia & 
 Georgia Railroads were merged into the company, which thus became the greatest 
 railroad power in the South, absolutely owning, controlling and operating over four 
 thousand seven hundred miles of railroad. In acknowledgment of his valuable ser- 
 vices and consummate ability, Mr. Sully was elected president of the entire Terminal 
 System, from which position he retired early in 1888, finding himself opposed on ques- 
 tions of policy to a majority of the board of directors. Subsequent events demon- 
 strated fully the wisdom of Mr. Stilly's views. 
 
 In recent years, Mr. Sully has devoted himself quietly to the development of sev- 
 eral properties in which he is a large owner with his associates, notably The Cincinnati, 
 Hamilton & Dayton Railroad, The Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railway, and The 
 New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad. 
 
 To give anything like a comprehensive account of Alfred Sully is not to the 
 present purpose. Who and what he is have been hinted at only. The breadth of his 
 usefulness, the scope of his influence, the brilliancy of his success and the strength of 
 
AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 his character cannot be dwelt upon within the limits of the present work. He is a 
 man of ample fortune and possesses the talent for accumulating more. He is generous 
 but not prodigal. He has no extravagant tastes but on the contrary delights in habits 
 and mode of life extremely modest. In manner, he is reserved and thoughtful. In 
 talk, he is impressive but never wasteful of words. He is patient and untiring in work- 
 ing out a plan. He has no special aptitude for unimportant and minute details, but his 
 genius asserts itself in solving the perplexing problems of conflicting interests and ad- 
 justing wisely the controlling forces for gigantic organizations. These combined qual- 
 ities fit him for large undertakings and positions of high trust and grave responsibility. 
 WILLIAH J. SYriS, a native of New York city, who died in town April 2, 1889, 
 in his seventy-first year, was a son of John Syms and, when a youth, became a member 
 of the firm of Blunt & Syms, for many years well known gunmakers. After thirty 
 years of successful prosecution of this industry, the partnership dissolved and Mr. Syma 
 retired. While actively engaged in business, Mr. Syms helped found The Metropolitan 
 Gas Co., and The 42d Street & Grand Street Railroad. In later years, he was presi* 
 dent of The Franklin Telegraph Co., vice president of The Atlantic & Pacific Railroad 
 Co. and a director of The Western Union Telegraph Co., being at the time of his death 
 a large stookholder in each of these concerns. His profits were invested largely in. 
 real estate, of which he owned a large quantity. He was liberal to charities and re. 
 spected for his judgment in art matters. During his later years, he traveled exten. 
 sively in Europe. He was twice married, and his second wife, Catherine E., survive? 
 him. He left no children and Roosevelt Hospital received a legacy of $350,000. 
 
T. 
 
 EDWARD NEUFVILLE TAILER, merchant, born in the city of New York, July 
 20, 1830, is a grandson of Sir William Tailer, for seventeen years lieutenant governor 
 of the colony of Massachusetts before the War of the Revolution. He is a son of 
 Edward N. Tailer, born at the 'family home on lower Broadway in 1796, and of Ann 
 Amelia Bogert, his wife. The ancestors of the latter came from Harlem in Holland, 
 settled in Harlem on the upper part of the Island of Manhattan, and had large poses- 
 sions in land in that vicinity in the i8th century. Mr. Tailer's father, a member of 
 the firm of Tailer & White, brokers in W T all street, retired with a fortune in 1837. 
 
 The subject of this biography was educated at Penquest's famous French school in 
 Bank street in this city, which was resorted to not only by the children of New Yorkers 
 but by the sons of prominent families from Cuba and South America. 
 
 He began his mercantile career, Dec. 8, 1848, as a clerk with the well known firm 
 of Little, Alden & Co. at No. 29 Broad street. This region was then the center of 
 the wholesale dry goods trade of New York and was occupied by the stores of many 
 merchants, famous in their day and active factors in establishing the commercial 
 supremacy of this metropolis. During his early business career, Mr. Tailer was con- 
 nected as buyer and salesman with the firms of W. & S. Phipps & Co., of Boston and 
 New York, Fanshaw, Milliken & Townsend, Reimer & Meche, and Sturges, Shaw & 
 Co. , and the experience gained in those concerns enabled him in due time to found the 
 successful importing and commission house of Winzer & Tailer, now known as E. N. & 
 W. H. Tailer & Co. During his business career of thirty-six years, he has witnessed great 
 changes upon the lower part of this island, not the least notable of them being the 
 removal of the wholesale dry goods trade from Broad, Pine, Cedar and Pearl streets, 
 Exchange place and lower Broadway, to its present location, extending from Duane to 
 Spring streets. 
 
 After a business life of great activity, Mr. Tailer retired from practical affairs, 
 Jan. i, 1892, not, however, worn out in the service, but to give the benefit of his busi- 
 ness experience to the management of some important trusts and large estates, of 
 which he is the executor. 
 
 His first business voyage to Europe was made in the steamer Arago of the Fox 
 & Livingston Line in 1857; his last one with Captain McMicken in the Umbria. He 
 has crossed the Atlantic Ocean more than forty times. 
 
 In December, 1855, Mr. Tailer married Miss Agnes Suffern, daughter of Thomas 
 Suffern, who lived for over fifty years at No. 1 1 Washington Square. Mr. Tailer is 
 the father of Mrs. Henry L. Burnett, Mrs. Robert R. Livingston, Miss Fannie B. 
 Tailer and Mr. T. Suffern Tailer. He has never held political office, but is a director 
 in The German-American Bank and The Northern Dispensary and a member of the 
 vestry of Ascension Church. His social standing is shown by his membership in the 
 Union, Union League, Tuxedo, Country, Westchester Polo, and Merchants' clubs and 
 The New England and St. Nicholas Societies. In 1874, he joined the Patriarchs, 
 succeeding the late James A. Hamilton, who was one of the founders of that 
 organization. 
 
< 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. TA. 641 
 
 FREDERICK LYflAN TALCOTT. born Feb. 22, 1813, who died in New York city, 
 Nov. i, 1884, was a member of the Connecticnt family which gave birth to Noah 
 Talcott, Governer of Connecticut, 17 24-41. Graduating from Columbia College in 
 1832, he was in 1834 with a brother, Daniel W., taken into partnership by his father, 
 Noah Talcott, an old merchant of cotton, sugar, coffee, hides, etc. The sign of Noah 
 Talcott & Sons indicated a store in which gentle manners, keen business ability and 
 great enterprise characterized the proprietors. Noah Talcott died in 1839, and the sons 
 continued the business until 1858, when Frederick retired. He acquired the title of 
 "cotton king "from the fact that, before 1850, he was the only man who had ever "cor- 
 nered " the cotton market. About 1859, with two of his sons, Frederick L. and August 
 Belmont Talcott, he established the stock brokerage and banking house of Talcott & Sons, 
 which continued in business until 1880, when Frank Staley and Edward B. Talcott be- 
 came partners. A. B. and E. B. Talcott are members of the Stock Exchange. Mr. 
 Talcott was at one time a director of The Pacific Mail Steamship Co., and president of 
 the organization of cotton merchants, which finally developed into the Cotton Ex- 
 change. In 1842, he married Mrs. Harriet Newell Burnham and his family consisted 
 of four sons and three daughters, Frederick L., August Belmont, Edward Baker and 
 James Carleton Talcott, and Mary Alice, wife of Charles F. Palmeter, Harriet Elliott 
 and Florence Louise. They are all now married. 
 
 JAMES TALCOTT, merchant, a native of West Hartford, Conn., born in 1835, i s 
 the son of a manufacturer and farmer. The family traces its line to John Talcott, of 
 Colchester, England, 1558. John Talcott, third of the name, came from Braintree to 
 Massachusetts in the ship Lion in 1632 and was one of the founders of Hartford, Conn. 
 At the age of nineteen, James Talcott left the farm and established himself in New York 
 city, without previous apprenticeship, as agent for a knitting mill in New Britain, 
 Conn., managed by his older brother. The present dry goods commission house of 
 James Talcott, which originated in this modest manner, forty-one years ago, having then 
 only a single account, now includes nine distinct departments, devoted to underwear, 
 domestic hosiery, woolens, cotton goods, satinets, broad silks, ribbons, dress goods, etc., 
 represents a number of the leading mills of the United States, and maintains stores at 
 1 08 Franklin and 66 Greene streets and several warehouses. Mr. Talcott is a member 
 of the Chamber of Commerce, a director of The Manhattan, The Broadway National, 
 and The Broadway Savings Banks, and a member of the Republican, Riding and Patria 
 clubs and The New England Society. In 1860, he married Henrietta E., daughter of 
 the Rev. Amzi Francis, of Bridgehampton, L. I., and has five children living, the Rev. 
 J. Frederick, Francis Edgar, Grace, Edith Charlotte and Arthur W. Talcott. 
 
 J. HONROE TAYLOR, manufacturer, born in Pompey, N. Y., Dec. 13, 1818, 
 died in New York city, May 22, 1892. He was a son of Richard and Phoebe Clark 
 Taylor, farmers, and came from Norman stock, which emigrated from Count}- Kent 
 in England to London and thence to New Jersey in 1692, where the family owned a 
 large possession in land including Sandy Hook. Judge John Taylor, grandfather of 
 the subject of this memoir, was a prominent jurist and politician of Saratoga county, 
 N. Y. At a very early age, Mr. Taylor began to earn his own support, engaging while 
 a minor in business for himself as a dry goods merchant, finally establishing and carry- 
 ing on at the same time several stores in Onondaga county and the first wholesale gro- 
 cery store in Syracuse, as well as the first saleratus factory in this country. Beginning 
 
642 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 life at a time when energy, self dependence, and personal activity were of more impor- 
 tance than capital, he successfully overcame all difficulties and when necessary prac- 
 ticed the most rigid economy with an energy which overcame temporary reverses. He 
 was a natural born trader, shrewd and quick in judgment. Indomitable will made him a 
 leader in all his enterprises. The saleratus industry proved so successful that Mr. 
 Taylor finally removed it to New York city. While in Syracuse, he served as Alder- 
 man for four years for some local personal object. In New York, he founded The J. 
 Monroe Taylor Chemical Co., and his large soda factory in Brooklyn, erected in 1878, 
 grew into a valuable industry. While interested in various enterprises, he devoted 
 himself during the latter part of his life to real estate in this city, owning at the time of 
 his death the handsome twelve story Taylor office building on the site of the old Mer- 
 chants' Hotel at 39-41 Cortlandt street, constructed in 1892, and several apartment 
 houses, including the Gramercy Park Hotel, where he lived. He was also one of the 
 largest owners in the Gramercy apartment house. Mr. Taylor was a lover of fine 
 horses, and, being conspicuous on account of his striking resemblance to the late Henry 
 Ward Beecher and the old fashioned blue coat with brass buttons and ruffled shirt, 
 which he always wore, became a familiar figure on the drives in this city. He was 
 married Jan. 15, 1840, in Delphi, N. Y., to Charlotte E., daughter of William Davis, 
 and was survived by one child, Laura Maria, wife of Charles C. Pope. Charlotte E., 
 wife of George Doheny, of Syracuse, N. Y. , is now deceased. 
 
 flOSES TAYLOR, merchant and banker, born in New York city, at the corner of 
 Broadway and Morris street, Jan. n, 1806, died here May 23, 1882. He was in the 
 third generation of descent from an Englishman of the same name, who came to 
 America from London in 1736. Mr. Taylor, his father, and his grandfather, carried on 
 business all their lives practically within a stone's throw of one spot in this city. Mr. 
 Taylor's father started in business as a cabinet maker, and in later years became known 
 as the confidential agent of John Jacob Astor, in whose service he died. Moses Taylor 
 began life at fifteen as a clerk and was soon transferred to the firm of G. G. & S.. How- 
 land, a conspicuous mercantile house. Always active, zealous and self-reliant, he 
 started for himself about 1832, as a broker of Cuban sugar. The cholera epidemic 
 retarded his success the first year and in 1835 the great fire swept away his store. 
 While saving nothing except his books, he opened an office, nevertheless, the next day 
 and was ready for business among the first. In the profitable years which followed, he 
 prospered so rapidly that he was finally able to turn aside to other fields of enterprise. 
 During this period, he became a large owner of vessels. In 1855, he was elected pres- 
 ident of The City Bank, a position he retained until his death. During the war, Mr. 
 Taylor was a warm supporter of the Government and chairman of the loan committee 
 of the Clearing House Association in 1861. It is said that he was offered the posi- 
 tion of Secretary of the Treasury, after the resignation of Mr. Chase, but refused it. 
 
 A prominent trait of his character was reluctance to enter into any enterprise until 
 after exhaustive investigation. If the venture commended itself to his judgment, he 
 stood ready to back it to the full extent of his ability. Such matters he regarded as 
 permanent investments, not as speculations, and the results proved the wisdom of his 
 course. His interest in The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, amounting 
 to virtual ownership, was gained by the purchase of large amounts of the stock at a 
 low price, some of it at $5 per share. Within seven years, the shares were worth $240 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. TE. 643 
 
 each. He operated also in The Lackawanna Coal & Iron Co., and The Manhattan Gas 
 Light Co., with similar success. Mr. Taylor had many business transactions with 
 Commodore Vanderbilt but was never associated with him in any large operations. 
 He had investments in banks and many other companies and was one of the five men 
 who formed the company to lay the Atlantic cable. Throughout life, Mr. Taylor was 
 noted for the close attention he gave to the affairs in which he was interested. He 
 was remarkable for activity and' promptness, being always at the bank by 9 A.M., unless 
 prevented by sickness. Although known to be a man of large wealth, it was not until 
 after his death that the public learned that he had amassed a fortune of $36,000,000. 
 In 1832, he married Catherine A Wilson, who, with five children, survived him, the 
 latter being Albertina S., wife of Percy S. Pyne; Mary Lewis, Catherine Winthrop, 
 George C. and Henry A. C. Taylor. Mrs. Taylor died Dec. 31, 1892. 
 
 CHARLES HENRY TENNEY, merchant, a native of Salem, N. H., bora July 9, 
 1842, descends from an old and excellent family, founded upon this continent in 1638 
 by Thomas Tenney and his wife Anne, who sailed from the port of Hull, England, in 
 the company of the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers and, landing at Salem, made a settlement in 
 Rowley, Mass. , so named after their former home in Yorkshire. The descendants of 
 the hardy pioneer assisted in subduing the wilderness and the red man and in creating 
 amid the primeval forests the commonwealths of Connecticut, New Hampshire and Ver- 
 mont. They took a prominent part both in civil and military affairs. Gen. Daniel J. 
 Tenney, a soldier of the American Revolution, who left Connecticut to make his home 
 in Xew Hampshire, was a lineal ancestor of the subject of this sketch. The father of 
 the latter was John F. Tenney, merchant and farmer. 
 
 A sturdy, wide awake and wholesome lad, young Mr. Tenney gained his prelimi- 
 nary education in the Xew Hampshire Conference seminary in the then village of Til- 
 ton, and, until the age of sixteen, was employed in his father's pursuits Then, for a 
 business training, he entered the thorough primary school, from which have graduated 
 hundreds of the best business men of the United States, namely, a general country 
 store. After five years therein, Mr. Tenney determined to learn the art of manufactur- 
 ing hats of wool. This industry engaged his attention until the age of twenty-five, 
 when, in 1868, having become intimately acquainted with the trade, he established him- 
 self in the city of Xew York as a commission merchant of woolen hats. His success in 
 this city has been almost unexampled. Thoroughly versed in methods of production, a 
 close observer of the markets, clear headed, enterprising, sagacious, and prompt, he has 
 added to these qualifications an attractive presence and genial nature and his progress 
 has been rapid from the start. While owning an interest in the hat industry, he is pre- 
 eminently a commission merchant ; and in this capacity, he now represents upward of 
 forty hat manufacturing concerns, among them the largest not only in the United States 
 but in the world. He occupies a large store at No. 8 Washington Place and is among 
 the most enterprising and highly respected merchants of the metropolis. Mr. Tenney 
 displays excellent public spirit as a citizen and supports every movement which com- 
 mends itself to his judgment, without regard to partisan considerations. He is an 
 active member of the Union League, Manhattan, Reform, and New York Athletic 
 clubs, the Chamber of Commerce, New England Society , and many scientific and 
 benevolent associations and contributes to sustain The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
 
 The town of Methuen, his summer home, has been largely benefited by his gener- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. TE. 645 
 
 osity and public spirit. This lovely town, a few miles from Lawrence, already orna- 
 mented by the library building erected by the Nevins family, has been greatly beautified 
 by Mr. Tenney. His magnificent estate, laid out by the best masters of modern land- 
 scape, is a beautiful park, which extends over a large area and is always open to the 
 public. The mansion, modeled after the chateau Yquem, the ancestral seat of the 
 learned Montaigne, crowns the crest of a hill and is approached by a terraced drive- 
 way, half a mile in length, winding by easy grades up the slope. Southwest of the 
 mansion is an unenclosed quadrangle in the Italian style, two sides of which form an 
 open corridor, its roof supported upon pillars of richly colored marble, from which a 
 wide expanse of beautiful country is seen, the view stretching over and beyond Law- 
 rence and the historic Andovers. Prominent in the town is a shaft in granite and bronze, 
 erected by Mr. Tenney, at a cost of $20,000, to commemorate the memory of the men 
 of Methuen who fell on Southern battlefields. The town supplied a company of the 
 6th Mass. Inf., the first regiment to pass through Baltimore for the defense of Wash- 
 ington upon the outbreak of the war. 
 
 Nov. 23, 1866, Mr. Tenney was married to Fannie H. Gleason, daughter of Daniel 
 Gleason, and has one child, Daniel G. Tenney. 
 
 JOHN TAYLOR TERRY, banker, a native of Hartford, Conn., born Sept. 9, 1822, 
 comes from the best Puritan stock, being descended through both parents directly from 
 Gov. William Bradford, of Mayflower fame. He also traces his line to John Haynes, 
 Governor of Massachusetts in 1635 an ^ Governor of Connecticut in 1639, and to Samuel 
 Wyllys, Governor of Connecticut in 1642. Various others of his lineal ancestors were 
 conspicuous in official life in Connecticut and Massachusetts as Senators and Represen- 
 tatives and as officers and soldiers of the War of the Revolution from the two States 
 named. His father, Roderick Terry, was a merchant of Hartford, Conn., and Presi- 
 dent of The Exchange Bank. 
 
 The young man gained an excellent education in the schools of Hartford, West- 
 field, Mass. , and Ellington, Conn. , and then with the thrift and resolution, which char- 
 acterize the best type of the people of New England, applied himself to work, as clerk 
 for his father, in Hartford. After a trip to Europe, he came to New York city in 
 December, 1841, to enter the employment of E. D. Morgan, who was then engaged in 
 extensive commercial enterprises, and made such rapid progress that he was admitted 
 to partnership in 1844, and has now rounded out a full half century as an active spirit 
 in this great house, having been a partner since the date above. In time, the opera- 
 tions of this house were extended to banking, the negotiation of railroad securities, and 
 the reorganization and promotion of important lines of transportation, in addition to 
 the importation of merchandise from every part of the w r orld. 
 
 Mr. Tern- has taken a conspicuous and successful part in many large transactions. 
 It was he who aided Cyrus W. Field, during the latter's famous speculation in Manhat- 
 tan Elevated Railway stock, in obtaining the friendly support of Jay Gould, which 
 saved Mr. Field's fortune at the time from annihilation. He is vice-president of The 
 Mercantile Trust Co., and director of The Western Union Telegraph Co., The Ameri- 
 can Exchange National Bank, The Metropolitan Trust Co., The Bank of New Amster- 
 dam, The American Fire Insurance Co., The Texas & Pacific Railroad, The Wabash, 
 St. Louis & Pacific Railroad, The International Ocean Telegraph Co. , The American 
 Telegraph & Cable Co., The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, The 
 
tHE CITY OF NEW YORK. TE. 647 
 
 Commercial Insurance Co., of London, The American Fire Insurance Co., of New 
 York, and other corporations. 
 
 While Mr. Terry was not burdened in his earlier life with the serious struggles 
 which retard the progress of many young men, his success is not due to that fact, but 
 to the purity of character, the self reliance, clearness of mind, sound judgment and 
 energy, which were the noteworthy features of his subsequent career. He has 
 made his own way, borne many responsibilities and passed many critical periods with 
 entire prudence, calmness and 1 success. Few among the bankers of the city now enjoy 
 so completely the respect and confidence of the financial world. He is a strong sup- 
 porter of philanthropic work in town, and a trustee of The Presbyterian Hospital and 
 The New York Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, as well as a member of the Union 
 League club, The New England Society, and, by virtue of lineal descent from several 
 ancestors, of The Sons of the Revolution. In 1846, he was married to Elizabeth Roe 
 Peet, of Brooklyn, and has two sons living, the Rev. Roderick Terry, D. D., of Brook- 
 lyn, and John T. Terry, jr. 
 
 LEWIS GREENE TEWKSBURY, banker, a native of Manchester, N. H., was born 
 March 31, 1862, the son of Elliott Greene Tewksbury, a bookseller, and Submit Roberts, 
 his wife. Graduating from the local High School, Mr. Tewksbury secured a place as clerk 
 in Perry's drug store in his native city, at the age of fifteen, at $100 a year salary, and 
 entered upon labors, which kept him busy about sixteen hours a day. Three years 
 later, by means of a loan of $9,000 from his family physician, he bought the store, 
 \\orked harder than ever, paid off the loan, and built up the second largest prescription 
 trade in New England and probably the largest drug business in New Hampshire. 
 Then, selling on favorable terms, he made a tour through the West, investing most of 
 his money in real estate in Kansas and Nebraska. Later, he settled in New York city, 
 where he opened a stock brokerage office on New street. Beginning with no assistants 
 except an office boy, he advertised his business with so much energy that in a few years 
 increasing business compelled him to move to the Tower building on Broadway, of 
 which he was the first tenant, and he now occupies a whole floor and employs a force 
 of about seventy-five clerks. He now conducts an extensive and lucrative business 
 and is a man of fortune. His success is due to adherence to the old maxim that if a 
 man does not attend to his own business no one else will perform that favor for him. 
 He has established excellent connections abroad. Mr. Tewksbury is not married and 
 is a. member of several prominent clubs here and elsewhere. 
 
 EDWARD VINCENT THEBAUD, merchant, born at the corner of Greenwich and 
 Albany streets, New York city, Jan. 29, 1824, descends from an old family of shipping 
 and commission merchants, established by Joseph Thebaud, a native of France, who 
 carne to America about 1793, as agent for The East India Co. of France and of various 
 other French merchants. He settled first in Boston, later in New Haven, where he 
 married a daughter of Philip Le Breton, a Martinique merchant, and finally removed 
 tj New York city. Here he engaged in foreign trade, rose to high rank as a merchant, 
 an.l, in his home on Beekman street, became noted for his hospitality and passionate 
 love of flowers. He owned extensive greenhouses on Orchard street. Of his two sons, 
 John J. and Edward Thebaud, the latter, after a training in the house of Gardner G. 
 Howland, engaged in foreign trade with Joseph Bouchaud, his step father, in the firm 
 of Bouchaud & Thebaud. The firm imported native goods from France, shipped 
 
648 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 abroad large quantities of American products, and also owned many vessels in the 
 trade with France and Mexico. Edward Thebaud married in 1823 Emma, daughter 
 of Vincent Classe van Schalkwyck de Boisaubin, a noble exile from France, member 
 of the body guard of Louis XVI., who settled in Madison, N. J., in 1793, coming from 
 the Island of Guadaloupe. His son, Edward V. Thebaud was educated in St. Mary's 
 College in Baltimore and then entered the counting room of Bouchaud & Thebaud in 
 1841. In 1850, he was admitted to partnership, the firm then being Bouchaud, Thebaud 
 & Co. The senior partner retired shortly afterward, when the house took the name of 
 Edward Thebaud & Son and in 1858 became, through the retirement of the then senior 
 partner and the admission of Paul L. and Delphin E. Thebaub, Edward Thebaud's 
 Sons. In 1859, the business was united with that of Moller & Rieva as Rieva & The- 
 baud. The connections of the house were originally with France, but as time went on 
 their operations extended gradually, and for many years they transacted an excellent 
 trade with Mexico, South America, etc. Various changes took place in the personnel 
 and title of the firm, and in 1874, the three brothers again united under the new name 
 of Thebaud Bro's. These gentlemen have commended themselves by their fine char- 
 acter and excellent abilities. The senior partner retired Dec. 31, 1892, and now spends 
 his time in well earned leisure at a country seat in Madison, N. J., near which place 
 his father dwelt before him. First married to Julia Moller, he had three children, 
 Louisa, Edward and Emilia. In 1889, Mr. Thebaud was married to Elizabeth Hewlett, 
 daughter of Townsend Scudder, of the law firm of Scudder & Carter, and they have 
 one son, Leo Hewlett Thebaud. 
 
 GEN. SAflUEL THOnAS, financier, manufacturer and soldier, is a native of Ohio. 
 His parents were from Eastern Virginia and. of Scotch-Irish descent. Capt. James 
 Thomas, his father, a man of marked ability and great force of character, settled in 
 Lawrence county, Ohio, in 1807, and married a daughter of Capt. John Callihan, 
 whose family emigrated from the banks of the Potomac to Ohio soon after the War 
 of 1812, in which he was engaged. 
 
 After his school life in Marietta, the subject of this biography, at the age of seven- 
 teen, accepted a position as junior clerk with The Keystone Iron Co. During the four 
 years of his service with the company, he won the commendation and confidence of 
 his employers and was promoted to the highest position except one in the service. 
 
 The exciting political questions of this period, from Fremont's campaign in 1856 
 to that of Lincoln in 1860, made politicians of the young men of the State. General 
 Thomas became an ardent Republican when that party was formed and has been a 
 zealous opponent of the Democratic party and its principles to the present time. Since 
 his removal to New York, he has been prominently connected with Republican politics, 
 as a member of State and National conventions, treasurer of the State Committee and 
 member of the County Committee. 
 
 In August, 1 86 1, he enlisted with one hundred of his associates, most of whom 
 had occupied positions in the iron works under his control, and was elected First 
 Lieutenant of the company. This became subsequently a part of the 27th Ohio Vol's, 
 forming afterward a part of the famous Ohio brigade, commanded by Gen. John W. 
 Fuller. General Thomas served with distinction in this regiment until the spring of 
 1863, when he left the command, having in the meantime become a Captain by pro- 
 motion, to engage in the organization of colored troops, previously authorized by the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. TH. 649 
 
 War Department. In Sherman's famous "march to the Sea," he was with the reserve 
 forces, which probably did more hard fighting than those who formed the victorious 
 advance. He organized the 6jd and 64th United States Colored Infantry, and was 
 promoted to the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the former and afterward to the position of 
 Colonel of the latter regiment. So successful was General Thomas as Provost Marshal 
 and commanding officer, that he was warmly recommended by Gen. George H. 
 Thomas, and this resulted in his promotion to brevet Brigadier General. When, after 
 the War, the United States Government appointed a Commission for the care and pro- 
 tection of the freedmen in the Southern States, General Thomas was made Assistant 
 Commissioner for Mississippi and acted in that capacity during the first year of the 
 reconstruction period. In May, 1866, he became Assistant Adjutant to General O. O. 
 Howard, who was then in charge of the Freedmen 's Bureau in Washington, which 
 position he held until January, 1867, when he resigned and returned to civil life. 
 
 He began business again with Gen. M. Churchill, who was extensively engaged in 
 the iron industry in Zanesville, Ohio. 
 
 In 1872, the coal and iron interests of the Hocking Valley having assumed im- 
 portant proportions, he was selected by the late Governor W T illiam Dennison to go to 
 Columbus and take control of the construction and operation of rolling mills and blast 
 furnaces at that point. 
 
 He soon became prominent in Columbus as a member of the city government, 
 banker and manufacturer, and was active in all efforts to promote the welfare of the 
 city and State. Through the management of large iron interests, he became engaged 
 in mining and was the leading spirit in developing the coal and iron properties of the 
 Hocking Valley. This work brought him into contact with prominent railroad men, 
 and, in 1878, he joined a syndicate of Columbus capitalists and engaged in railroad 
 building in the South and West. He was one of the originators and constructors of 
 the "Nickel Plate " road, The Ohio Central from Toledo to Charleston, the roads from 
 Columbus to Toledo, from Columbus to Gallipolis, Springfield and Pomeroy, and The 
 Lake Erie & Western, as well as many other lines in Kentucky, Virginia and Georgia. 
 Owing to his large interest in railroad properties in the South, he accepted -the presi- 
 dency of The East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia, The Knoxville & Ohio and The 
 Memphis & Charleston Railroads, and saw these roads grow from insignificant prop- 
 erties to one of the most important and extensive railroad systems in the country, 
 reaching almost every point of the South and operating over 3,000 miles of line. He 
 became president of The Cincinnati Southern and The Alabama Great Southern, and a 
 director in The Richmond & Danville, The Georgia Central and The Richmond & 
 West Point Terminal systems. He took an active part in the reorganization of these 
 properties as The Southern Railway Co. 
 
 During this period, also, he became a leading contractor in building the Croton 
 Aqueduct for New York city, and in connection with The Canadian Pacific Railway, of 
 which he is a director, he built The Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad and 
 became its president. He is also president of The Louisville, New Albany & Chicago 
 Railway -and The American Straw Board Co. . and a director in The Texas & Pacific, 
 The Knoxville & Ohio, The New York & New England, and The Southern Railway 
 companies, The Pacific Mail Steamship Co. and The National Linseed Oil Co 
 
 Business interests induced General Thomas, in 1881, to remove to New York city, 
 
650 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 where he is largely engaged in banking. He is a director in The Chase National Bank, 
 and The Manhattan and The Metropolitan Trust Go's, and a member of the Stock 
 Exchange. He belongs to many of the best clubs in town, including the Union League, 
 Republican, Riding, Lawyers', New York Yacht, and Adirondack League, and The Ohio 
 and Southern Societies, as well as the Loyal Legion and Grand Army of the Republic. 
 
 COL. WILLIAM P. THOHPSON, manufacturer and financier, a scion of one of 
 the excellent old families of Virginia, and born in Wheeling, then in Virginia, Jan. 7, 
 1837, is of Irish extraction. His father, the Hon. George W. Thompson, member of 
 Congress, and from 1852 to 1861 Judge of the Circuit Court, was a man of brilliant 
 abilities, being not only a jurist but a student of philosophy, an extensive reader and 
 the author of refined and graceful verse. Although a supporter of the Union of the 
 States, Judge Thompson came into conflict with the Federal authorities in 1861 on 
 questions growing out of the Civil War and was in consequence deprived of his judicial 
 office. The mother of Colonel Thompson, a daughter of the Hon. Daniel Steenrod, 
 long a member of Congress from the Wheeling district, was a social leader in her city 
 and noted for her beautiful character and superior talents. 
 
 Colonel Thompson's delicate health during boyhood gave no promise of the robust 
 physical vigor,- into which he grew in time. He possessed an active mind and was fond 
 of books and, in the Wheeling public schools and at Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, 
 where he spent one term, showed a marked aptitude for study. Failing health com- 
 pelled him to leave college before graduation ; and he then spent a year profitably in 
 recruiting his vitality in the backwoods life of Marshall county, Va., where he engaged 
 in lumber operations. The woods suited his adventurous nature and gave him 
 agreeable employment until larger affairs pressed upon his attention. 
 
 In every Southern family, politics has been from time immemorial a theme of con- 
 stant discussion, but Colonel Thompson was especially born to politics, owing to the 
 fact that his father and uncle had been Congressmen, active leaders of their party, and 
 keenly interested in public affairs. He grew up in an atmosphere in which politics 
 was constantly talked and was honored with his father's entire confidence in these mat- 
 ters at an early age. While in Marshall county, the young man's kindness to the rough 
 farmers and country people of the woodland region and the many homely services he 
 performed for them in writing their letters, drawing up their legal documents, and aid- 
 ing them with sagacious advice, so endeared him to the people, that his friends volun- 
 tarily brought his name forward in 1856, for a nomination to Congress. The young 
 man was in reality ineligible to the office, not having yet attained his majority; but his 
 friends made his candidacy a serious one. As a result, a strong combination was 
 formed in opposition to him, and the usual slanders upon a rising man's reputation 
 came into circulation. When he heard that his opponents had set afloat various mis- 
 representations, the young man traded a work horse for a spirited mare and galloped 
 to the district school house in which a caucus was being held, determined to meet his 
 opponents in open battle and have it out with them. He met the people just leaving 
 the school house, where, in response to hostile oratory, they had agreed to oppose 
 Colonel Thompson's nomination. At his request, the meeting reconvened to hear his 
 defense. He declared that he had neither sought nor desired a nomination, but that 
 he did demand a vindication of his character from those who knew him. The meeting 
 reversed its action. Later, after a spirited contest, the Democratic convention of the 
 
652 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 district finally placed him in nomination for Congress. Colonel Thompson then came 
 before the convention, thanked the delegates for the honor conferred upon him, but 
 declined to accept, and commended to the suffrages of his friends another nominee. 
 His stiggestion was promptly ratified, much to the chagrin of his opponents. 
 
 The life of Marshall county having restored his health, Colonel Thompson fitted 
 himself in Wheeling for practice of the law and in 1857 was admitted to the bar. 
 Resolving to establish his office in a part of the State over which his father had no 
 jurisdiction, in order to relieve both father and son from embarrassments during the 
 trial of cases in court, Colonel Thompson removed to Fairmont in Marion county and 
 formed a law partnership with Alpheus F. Raymond, and here he spent the next four 
 years in the tranquil pursuit of his profession. 
 
 The agitation which preceded the Civil War found both Judge Thompson and his 
 son strongly opposed to secession. They favored an appeal to reason and a fair com- 
 promise of the questions at issue between the North and South. When, however, Vir- 
 ginia had taken the decisive step and declared her withdrawal from the Union, both 
 father and son cast in their fortunes with their native State and Colonel Thompson 
 enlisted in the Confederate service. His first service took place upon the staff of Gen. 
 Thomas S. Haymond of the West Virginia militia, as aide de camp; and in that and 
 other positions he served until the end of the war. It was he who bore to the author- 
 ities at Richmond the suggestion, made by a private conference of leading citizens of 
 West Virginia, that a demonstration should be made to save their part of the State, 
 which ended in Stonewall Jackson's famous descent upon Harper's Ferry. Returning 
 from Richmond to West Virginia, Mr. Thompson organized the Marion Guards, became 
 their captain and developed a boldness and energy, which foreshadowed the brilliant 
 career which fate had in store for him after the War. He took possession of Fetter- 
 man with three companies, and later led the Marion Guards in the battle of Phillippi, 
 and took part in the engagements at Laurel Hill, Cheat Mountain, Greenbrier River, 
 and Alleghany Mountain. In this last battle, his brother, Lewis S. Thompson, was 
 killed while gallantly leading a charge. He served in the memorable campaigns of 
 Stonewall Jackson, Breckinridge and Early; and, as colonel of the igth Va. Cav., 
 established a reputation as a daring and brilliant commander, figuring in the hottest 
 engagements in Virginia and around Richmond until the return of peace. 
 
 After the War, he resumed the practice of the law but was diverted therefrom by 
 an unexpected difficulty. West Virginia was yet moved with the passions of the civil 
 conflict, and Colonel Thompson's sympathy with the Confederacy aroused so much antag- 
 onism that Judge Stewart of Doddridge county was the only judge in the State who 
 would allow him to practice; and when the residents threatened this courageous official 
 with impeachment, Colonel Thompson withdrew, unwilling to bring persecution upon 
 his friend. But this unforeseen occurrence did not daunt the Colonel or compel him to 
 retire from active participation in affairs. A good lawyer is always more than half a 
 capable business man, and Colonel Thompson now threw himself with energy into com- 
 mercial pursuits. 
 
 In July, 1866, he removed to Parkersburgh and engaged in the petroleum business 
 in company with his brother-in-law, the Hon. J. N. Camden, United States Senator, and 
 with W. N. Chancellor, under the style of J. N. Camden & Co. Owing to the preoc- 
 cupation of Senator Camden and his necessary absence from the State on public busi- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. TH. 653 
 
 ness, the practical management of the works soon devolved almost entirely upon 
 Colonel Thompson. Through his enterprise and excellent management, the petroleum 
 interests of the firm were greatly promoted. When a vein of lubricating oil was dis- 
 covered near Parkersburgh, J. N. Camden & Co. bought the land and soon became the 
 largest dealers in oil suitable for lubricating purposes in the world. They established 
 refineries of their own, and rose to such importance in the industry as to attract the 
 attention of The Standard Oil Co. In 1875. the firm allied their interests with the great 
 corporation named, and re-organized their own business under the name of The Cam- 
 den Consolidated Oil Co. , Senator Camden taking the place of president and Colonel 
 Thompson that of vice president. The latter now found ample scope for the energy, 
 organizing ability and power of management, the possession of which in a marked 
 degree had been disclosed by experience. He bought practically all the refineries in 
 Parkersburgh and Marietta, aided in securing desirable connections throughout the 
 West, and otherwise greatly extended the operations of his company. 
 
 In 1882, Colonel Thompson became secretary, and in 1884, succeeded Oliver H. 
 Payne as vice president of The Standard Oil Co., having general charge of the affairs 
 of the company throughout the States west of Buffalo. The growing business of the 
 corporation compelled his removal to New York city in 1887, and \vhen The Standard 
 Oil Trust was formed by a union of a number of separate companies, he became chair- 
 man of the Domestic Committee, having charge of its internal affairs. He identified 
 himself heartily with the financial and social life of the metropolis, and although a very 
 busy man soon gained a large circle of friends here. In 1889, he sought to retire from 
 business, but this intention, long cherished, circumstances forbade him to carry out. 
 
 A few years before, arrangements had been made for a consolidation of all the 
 leading factories of white lead, red lead and litharge, sheet lead and lead pipe, and 
 several smelting plants and linseed oil factories, scattered throughout the United States, 
 into The National Lead Trust. But the affairs of the combination were not in satis- 
 factory condition, and the leading spirits of the trust united in inviting Colonel Thomp- 
 son to undertake the task of re-organizing the new corporation. Having with some 
 reluctance accepted the presidency of the corporation, with its enormous responsibilities, 
 he engaged in the very delicate and important task entrusted to him. The trust had 
 been capitalized with $90,000,000 of stock, a sum four times as great as the actual value 
 of the properties, which were assessed at about $23,000,000, and the combination had 
 been effected under an agreement, which the managers feared would not stand in law. 
 The duty of reorganization involved protracted labor, great tact and a talent for organi- 
 zation, but Colonel Thompson was equal to the occasion. He succeeded in reducing 
 the capital stock to $30,000,000, and Jan. i, 1892, organized The National Lead Co. 
 to take over the assets of The National Lead Trust and carry on its business. 
 By energetic labors, every dollar of indebtedness was soon liquidated, and the 
 company placed on a solvent basis; and dividends have since been paid to the amount 
 of several millions of dollars. The net earnings in 1892 were over $1,900,000. The corn- 
 pan}' now controls over ninety-five per cent, of the white lead production of the United 
 States, and a number of allied industries. Unprofitable plants have been closed, and 
 matters have been managed with so much prudence, that an active competition, which 
 was at one time threatened, has vanished. 
 
 Colonel Thompson has accepted a share in the management of various other cor- 
 
654 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 porations and is a director of The United States National Bank, The Southern National 
 Bank, The Ohio River Railroad, The Monargough Railroad, The Monauga Coal Co., 
 and The Huntington & Big Sandy Railroad, and is a charter member of The American 
 Pig Iron Warrant Co. 
 
 In the spring of 1893, he bought the beautiful estate of Brookdale, in Monmouth 
 county, N. J., including 840 acres of land, 140 head of fine horses, and a 1 large number 
 of cattle, belonging to the late David D. Withers, who had created there the most per- 
 fect breeding establishment in the country. The present proprietor lays aside the 
 cares of business and finds recreation in the agreeable task of managing this property. 
 
 In 1864, Colonel Thompson was married to Evelyn, daughter of Col. Henry Moffat 
 of Virginia, a member of one of the oldest families in the State. Three children have 
 been born to them, two sons and a daughter. The family spend their summers at 
 Brookdale, their winters at their home on Fifth Avenue in this city. The Colonel is 
 greatly liked in social life. A tall, dignified, affable man, eloquent in speech, a good 
 deal of a philosopher, and one who while never hesitating a moment to encounter and 
 defeat opposition, nevertheless prefers to moderate the friction of life as far as possible, 
 he has won the cordial respect and affection of a very large circle of friends. He is a 
 member of the Manhattan, Lawyers', Players', Tuxedo and Racquet clubs and The 
 Southern Society. 
 
 JONATHAN THORN E, merchant, a native of Washington, Dutchess county, 
 N. Y., born April 20, 1801, died in New York city, Oct. 9, 1884. His father, Samuel 
 Thome, was originally a merchant, later a farmer, living at Thornedale in Dutchess 
 county. The family were members of the Society of Friends. Jonathan, the only son, 
 was destined for a mercantile career and left his school books and the farm to learn 
 the dry goods business in the city of New York. A few years later, the leather trade 
 presenting greater opportunities, in consequence of his marriage with a daughter of 
 Israel Corse, he learned the art of tanning leather and devoted the larger part of his 
 active life to the management of large tanneries in the States of New York and Penn- 
 sylvania, and the sale of leather in this city in that part of the municipality known as 
 "the swamp," first in Jacob street, where the firm were known as Israel Corse & Son, 
 and finally in Ferry street, under the name of Thorne, Watson & Co. He was long at 
 the head of the latter firm. By his sound judgment, spotless character and great 
 ability, Mr. Thorne commended himself to the entire respect of the business community 
 and he was elected to the direction of a number of business corporations. Of The 
 Leather Manufacturers' National Bank he was forty years a director. The Sixth Avenue 
 Railroad, The Central Trust Co. , The Pennsylvania Coal Co. he was also associated 
 with for many years, as well as The Mutual Gas Co. From his father he inherited a 
 large farm in Dutchess county which was at one time stocked with a valuable herd of 
 imported cattle, he being one of the pioneers of their introduction into this country. 
 Mr. Thorne was survived by his second wife, Eliza Fox, and five children by his first 
 marriage, Edwin, Samuel, Jonathan, William and Phebe Anna Thorne. His son, 
 JONATHAN THORNE, jr., merchant, was born in the city of New York, April 5, 
 1843. After graduating from Haverford College in Pennsylvania, he went into the 
 leather business in this city with James McFarlan. This copartnership lasted a num- 
 ber of years. Then, having gained a thorough knowledge of the leather industry, 
 Mr. Thorne, with his brother William, established the firm of J. & W. Thorne. Highly 
 

 THE CITY OF NEW YORK. TI. 655 
 
 respected for his character and abilities, he remained an active and successful member 
 of the firm until he retired from business two years ago. The firm sold their tannery 
 properties at that time, as did the majority of others in the trade, to The Union Tanning 
 Co., a union of twenty-seven concerns of Pennsylvania. Mr. Thorne is a gentleman well 
 known among substantial residents of the city and is a member of the Metropolitan, 
 Union League and Down Town clubs. His summer home is in Black Rock, Conn. 
 SAflUEL THORNE, retired merchant, son of the late Jonathan Thorne, sr. , was born 
 in Dutchess county, N. Y., Sept. 6, 1835. He was educated in the schools of New York 
 city and began business life as a leather merchant. After the death of his father, Mr. 
 Thorne succeeded to a number of the latter's trusts and has since managed them with 
 the well known ability of this conspicuous family. He is a director of The Sixth 
 Avenue Railroad, The Pennsylvania Coal Co., The Bank of America, The New York 
 Mutual Gas Light Co., and The Central Trust Co. In 1860, he was married to Phebe, 
 daughter of William Van Schoonhoven of Troy, N. Y., and their children are Edwin, 
 Margaret B. , William V. S., Joel W., and Samuel Thorne, jr. An agreeable com- 
 panion, Mr. Thorne has been elected to membership in several of the leading clubs of 
 the city, including the Metropolitan, Union League, Down Town, Riding, Tuxedo, and 
 Westminster Kennel. 
 
 DANIEL FAWCETT TIEMANN, manufacturer, was born on Nassau street, near 
 Beekman, in this city, Jan. 9, 1805, and is a son of Anthony Tiemann, a native of Hesse- 
 Cassel, Germany, and manufacturer of paints in this city. His mother came from Cam- 
 bridgeport, Mass As a lad, he first attended the school of the old Lutheran Church at 
 Frankfort and William streets, and later, when his father had moved up to a small farm on 
 23d street, the school of Ebenezer Whiting. Jan. 31, 1818, his father brought him to the 
 city and found him a place as clerk in the wholesale drug house of the Schieffelins at 
 No. 193 Pearl street. There he remained six years, boarding in the meantime with the 
 other clerks in Mr. Schieffelin's house. In 1824, a customer of the Schieffelins from 
 Georgia offered him a clerkship and 250 a year with his board, but his father made 
 him a similar offer and he therefore entered the employment of A. Tiemann & Co. 
 After a year of carting goods, he was assigned to duty in the factory and devoted him- 
 self earnestly to the labor of learning every essential detail of the manufacture of paints 
 and colors. He increased the production of the works materially, was given charge of 
 the factory, discharged every man addicted to drinking, and in 1827, when his uncle 
 went to Germany, became a partner in the firm. In 1848, his father retired, and Mr. 
 Tiemann then organized the firm of D. F. Tiemann & Co. to succeed to the business. 
 Their factory in the old village of Manhattanville, now almost indistinguishable as a 
 locality from the rest of the city, has grown into a large establishment, which gives em- 
 ployment to a large force of workmen and is an important local industry. The office 
 is on West Broadway. Mr. Tiemann was for forty years or more greatly interested and 
 active m local politics as a Democrat. Elected from the i6th Ward as Assistant Alder- 
 man, he became an Alderman in 1839. One of his acts was to stop the sale of liquor 
 in the City Hall. In 1840, he moved up town to Manhattanville, from which place, 
 after refusing office for some time, he was elected Assistant Alderman in 1849 and 
 Alderman in 1850, holding the office until 1855. A Governor of the Alms House, 
 1854-57, he accepted reluctantly in the latter year a nomination for Mayor by the 
 Citizens' Committee and defeated Fernando Wood in the election. As Mayor, he was 
 
656 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 noteworthy for non-partisan appointments and with him originated placing the names 
 of streets upon street lamps. In 1871, he became a State Senator. Mr. Tiemann is a 
 member of the Chamber of Commerce, The New York Historical Society and The St. 
 Nicholas Society, and a trustee of The Eye, Ear & Throat Infirmary and since its or- 
 ganization of Cooper Union. Aug. 30, 1826, he married Martha W. Clowes, a niece 
 of Peter Cooper. The names of their children are Peter Cooper, Mary Newell, Julia 
 Antoinette; Mary Clowes and John Anthony, both deceased; Sarah Cooper; Robert 
 Pettigrew, deceased; Martha Clowes, Daniel and Benjamin Field Tiemann. 
 
 CHARLES LEWIS TIFFANY, founder of the house of Tiffany & Co., a man of 
 great force of character and of remarkably quick and accurate judgment, is a prominent 
 representative of the sixth generation of descent from Squire Humphrey Tiffany of 
 England. The family lived for several generations in Massachusetts. Comfort Tiffany, 
 the father of Charles L. Tiffany, married Chloe Draper and moved to Danielsonville, 
 Conn., to engage in the manufactiire of cotton goods, and here Charles L., his oldest 
 son, was born, Feb. 15, 1812. He received his primary education at Danielsonville in 
 a typical New England school, followed by a course at the Plainfield Academy and the 
 Brooklyn, Conn., school. His first business training young Tiffany received in his 
 father's cotton mill and country store. In 1837, at the age of twenty-five, he conceived 
 the idea of going to New York, then a city of 200,000 inhabitants, to join his school- 
 mate and friend, John B. Young, who had six months before obtained employment in 
 a stationery and fancy goods store in that city. Mr. Tiffany's father agreed to loan the 
 young men $1,000, and they formed a partnership. Sept. 18, 1837, under the firm name 
 of Tiffany & Young, in the face of perhaps the greatest commercial crisis in the history 
 of the metropolis, they opened a little fancy goods and stationery store at No. 259 Broad- 
 way, in the lower half of an old-fashioned double dwelling house, with a front of about 
 fifteen feet. From this small beginning has sprung the present house of Tiffany & Co. 
 
 Mr. Tiffany was quick to see the artistic and popular value of the Chinese and 
 Japanese goods, which at that time began to be imported into this country at Boston, 
 and he was the first to introduce them prominently before the New York public. In 
 addition, the store was stocked with many other novel and unique goods, umbrellas, 
 walking sticks, cabinets, fans, pottery and curiosities of every description. His idea 
 proved a success from the start. Although the first three days' sales amounted only to 
 $4.98, the following year saw a steady growth of the business, and early in 1841 it was 
 necessary to rent an adjoining store on the corner of Warren street. Bohemian glass- 
 ware, French and Dresden porcelain, cutlery, clocks and fancy Parisian jewelry, in the 
 order named, were added to the display. 
 
 In 1841, J. L. Ellis was admitted to the firm, which then took the name of Tiffany, 
 Young & Ellis. The business had now assumed such proportions that the disadvantage 
 of importing, without thorough personal knowledge of the European markets, made it 
 expedient to send one of the members of the firm abroad annually, to secure the choicest 
 novelties for their exclusive trade. In 1847, continued growth led to a removal to 
 No. 271 Broadway. The firm undertook the manufacture of their own jewelry and 
 silverware in 1848, and soon made this an important branch of their business. Their 
 productions were, from the beginning, unique, fashioned with the highest skill, and 
 designed to appeal to the best taste. 
 
 Diamond jewelry, watches, clocks, silverware and bronzes soon became the lead- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. TI. 657 
 
 ing elements in the sales. The year 1848 was a notable one with this firm. Political 
 disturbances in Paris caused diamonds to depreciate about fifty per cent, in value. All 
 the available funds of the house were invested in diamonds. Large and valuable pur- 
 chases were made abroad, and Tiffany, Young & Ellis at once took 'first rank as dia- 
 mond merchants in the United States. This first large purchase of precious stones was 
 followed by many others. In 1887, at the sale of the crown jewels of France, they 
 bought for 500,000 one-third of th'e entire quantity offered. 
 
 In 1850, Gideon F. T. Reed, formerly of Lincoln, Reed & Co., the leading jewel- 
 ers of Boston, was admitted into partnership, and immediately afterward the first 
 branch house was established at 79 Rue Richelieu, Paris, Mr. Reed becoming the resi- 
 dent partner and conducting the branch house under the firm name of Tiffany, Reed 
 & Co. This branch house proved an invaluable acquisition to the firm, Mr. Reed's 
 residence abroad enabling him to take prompt advantage of fluctuations in foreign 
 markets, and it developed a large and profitable local trade in Paris. The Parisian 
 branch now occupies spacious quarters at Avenue de 1'Opera 36 bis. Since the retire- 
 ment of Mr. Reed, it has been continued under the name of Tiffany & Co. 
 
 One of the first of Tiffany & Go's innovations was to use the highest practicable 
 grade of silver in all their productions. They introduced the English standard of 
 sterling siver, 925-1000 fine, and their example was immediately followed by all the 
 other leading silversmiths of that period. Under the direction of the late Edward 
 C. Moore, the originality and artistic beauty of the Tiffany silverware soon became 
 so marked that prizes and extraordinary commendation were won at every successive 
 World's Fair. At the recent Columbian Exposition, the house received fifty-six 
 awards. Mr. Moore was a thoroughly practical silversmith and an artist of the highest 
 order. His work created a new school of art metal workers, whose products were 
 marked by an individuality and strength of character wholly different from that of any 
 other manufacturer. The house developed a large business in the making of special 
 presentation pieces. The modest little shop in which manufacturing was begun has 
 grown to almost an entire block in Prince street, giving employment to about five 
 hundred men. 
 
 In 1853, Mr. Young and Mr. Ellis retired. New partners were then admitted, 
 and from that day the firm has been known as Tiffany & Co. In 1854, they moved 
 to 550 Broadway, and then, in 1861, leased the adjoining building at No. 552. During 
 the War, Mr. Tiffany was a staunch Union man and his store became a large depot 
 for military supplies. In 1868, the firm were incorporated, with Charles L. Tiffany, 
 president and treasurer; Gideon F. T. Reed, vice president; Charles T. Cook, general 
 superintendent and assistant treasurer; and George McClure, secretary. Upon Mr. 
 Reed's retirement in 1875, Mr. Cook succeeded as vice president. Charles T. Cook's 
 connection with the house, of which he is now vice president, dates back to 1847, and, 
 with forty-seven years' service to his credit, he heads the list as the oldest employ^ of 
 the company. He entered the employ of Tiffany, Young & Ellis at the age of twelve, 
 his business capital consisting of an extraordinary capacity for work, a marvelous 
 memory, and uniformly good health. Since the incorporation of the business, he has 
 shared with Mr. Tiffany the responsibility of its general management. To his execu- 
 tive abilities and judgment, Mr. Tiffany attributes much of the success which has come 
 to the house. 
 

 658 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Tiffany & Co. established a branch house in London in 1868. In 1870, they 
 erected their present building at Fifteenth street and Union Square. Other new de- 
 partments were added to the business, and the manufacture of electro-plated silverware 
 was undertaken at works in Newark, N. J. There seems to be no limit to the expan- 
 sion of the business of this great firm. Its operations are a marvel of the day. They 
 are all, however, -simply the outgrowth of the discriminating sagacity, the originality, 
 and the energy exercised in the management of the business. 
 
 Mr. Tiffany is universally esteemed. He has never aspired to public office but has 
 risen to a high position in the financial and social life of the city. A founder of The 
 New York Society of Fine Arts and of the Union League club, he has also been a 
 patron of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and a trustee of The American Museum of 
 Natural History. His strong financial standing has caused his name to be sought by 
 financial institutions, and he is a director in The Bank of the Metropolis, The Pacific 
 Bank, The American Surety Co., and The State Trust Co. He is also a member of 
 The National Academy of Design, American Geographical Society, New York His- 
 torical Society, the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations. In 1878, whea 
 the house was awarded the Grand Prix at the Paris Exposition, he was created 
 Chevalier of the National Legion of Honor, and from the Emperor of Russia, Mr. 
 Tiffany received the Gold Medal Praemia Digno, an exceptional tribute. The list of 
 royal appointments is a long one, and practically includes all the royal courts of 
 Europe. 
 
 SAMUEL JONES T1LDEN, lawyer, born in New London, N. Y.. March 15, 1814, 
 died Aug. 4, 1886, at Greystone on the Hudson river. He came from Saxon stock and 
 Nathaniel Tilden, his ancestor, was one of nine Puritans, who sailed from Kent for 
 America in the ship Ann in 1634, and as commissioner aided in locating the town of 
 Scituate, Mass. Joseph, his younger brother, was one of the consignors of the May- 
 flower. Mr. Tilden entered Yale College in 1832 but overtaxed by study returned 
 to the old homestead. An open air life restored his health and he made several speeches 
 upon President Jackson's contest with The Bank of the United States. In 1834, he 
 entered the University of New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1841, began prac- 
 tice on Pine street, and, owing to his interest in politics, soon made his office the resort 
 of the leaders of the Democratic party of this city. In 1844, with John L. O'Siillivan, 
 he started a Democratic newspaper called The Morning News and paid personal atten- 
 tion to that journal for several months. After election, he gave his interest to Mr. 
 O'Sullivan, declined the New York naval office, and resumed the practice of law. Mr. 
 Tilden was one of the ablest and most respected leaders of the Democratic party of this 
 State, and, although defeated for Attorney General in 1855, was elected Governor by 
 the Democrats in 1874, in recognition of his services to the party. In 1876, he nar- 
 rowly failed of election as President of the United States. No extended account of the 
 excited controversy over that famous election is necessary here. But mention may be 
 made of the fact, that Mr. Tilden and his friends declared indignantly that they were 
 beaten in 1876 by fraud and maintained the claim so strenuously for years, that the 
 public mind was in doubt as to the right of the matter until THE NEW YORK TRIDUNE 
 obtained possession of several hundred cipher dispatches, which had passed between th< 
 Democratic leaders North and South during the campaign. These were translated b) 
 THE TRIBUNE and revealed an actual attempt to buy the electoral votes of severa 
 
rE CITY OF NEW YORK. TI. 659 
 
 States in favor of Mr. Tilden. During his active business career, Mr. Tilden gave his 
 attention chiefly to railroad and corporation law. He received large fees for his ser- 
 vices and by operations in stocks gained a large fortune. His funds sought the securi- 
 ties of The Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad, The International & Great Northern Rail- 
 road, The Delphic Iron Co, and other corporations. In the days of the consolidation 
 of the elevated railroads, he was a heavy owner in their stocks also, but sold his 
 shares in exchange for their bonds. He also invested largely in mineral lands in the 
 Northwest, and being remarkably shrewd in investment, rarely lost money. He was 
 never married. Mr. Tilden left a part of his fortune for a public library in this city. 
 The will was not sustained by the courts, but by agreement among the heirs, the sum 
 of 2,000,000 was set aside for this purpose. 
 
 WILLIAfl TILDEN, manufacturer, born in West Lebanon, N. H., died in New 
 York city, June 26, 1869, at an advanced age. The family moved to Oneida county, 
 N. Y., when William was a lad. During early life, he was a trusted friend of 
 DeWitt Clinton, and aided him in the work of completing the Erie canal. In later 
 years, he became widely known as a conspicuous manufacturer of varnish in New 
 York city. Previous to 1830, all the finer varnishes seen in America came from Eng- 
 land and France, but, in that year, Mr. Tilden began their manufacture here and until 
 1836 was the only producer of varnishes in America. As the pioneer and a successful 
 one, he maintained the lead in the industry during a long period, although thirty or 
 more competitors sprang up, one after the other, as soon as he had demonstrated the 
 possibilities of the industry. He was the largest consumer of copal gum from Zanzibar 
 and Africa and the first exporter of American varnish to South America and Mexico. 
 William Tilden Blodgett, a nephew, was admitted to partnership in 1847, under the 
 name of William Tilden & Nephew. After 1862, a branch house was established in 
 Canada. Mr. Tilden served The Pacific Bank for many years as its president, and was 
 largely interested in real estate, doing much to improve many of the newer parts of 
 the growing metropolis. His greatest service to the public was the establishment of 
 the Tilden Female Institute in West Lebanon, N. H. , his birthplace. 
 
 THOnAS TILESTON, merchant and banker, born in Boston, Mass., Aug. 13, 1793, 
 died in New York city, Feb. 29, 1864. He was born amid humble circumstances, and 
 at the age of thirteen learned the trade of a printer in Boston, beginning on a salary of 
 $30 a year and board. He grew up with the firm, rose to positions of responsibility, 
 and when, in 1815, the firm became embarrassed, having meanwhile removed to Haver- 
 hill, he took charge of the establishment. By energy and good management, the debts 
 were paid off in a few years' time and the business placed upon a profitable basis. In 
 1818, he came to New York with Paul Spofford to represent a number of the manu- 
 facturers of Haverhill and established the firm of Spofford & Tileston. In 1822, 
 Spofford & Tileston accepted the agency of a line of packet vessels, trading between 
 Boston and New York, and soon began trading on their own account to Cuba and South 
 America, exporting American goods and importing coffee and tropical products. 
 Next, they bought vessels of their own for this trade, many of them clippers, and in 
 1850 engaged in the trade with Liverpool as owners of the Dramatic line of packets, 
 for which they constructed many beautiful and famous clipper ships of the largest 
 size. They were among the first to employ steamers in their Southern trade and 
 became in time large owners of ocean tonnage, well known in Europe and America, 
 
660 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 both partners gaining large fortunes. Upon his election as president of The Phoenix 
 Bank in 1840, Mr. Tileston entered the field of financial affairs and was as succcessful 
 therein as in other pursuits. He actively promoted the formation of the Clearing 
 House Association and was long a director of The Atlantic Insurance Co., whose 
 affairs he closed up in 1859. 
 
 FRANK TILFORD, merchant, is the youngest son of the late John M. Tilford, one 
 of the founders of the widely known mercantile corporation of Park & Tilford, and of 
 his wife Jane, daughter of William White. He was born in New York city, July 22, 
 1852. He attended the schools of the metropolis, completing his education at the 
 Mount Washington Collegiate Institute. Inheriting his father's aptitude for trade, he 
 manifested a proclivity in this direction in his early youth ; and although other avenues 
 of usefulness were opened to him, had he desired to pursue them, he followed the 
 natural bent of his mind in selecting the field in which his father had gained a con- 
 spicuous place among the great merchants of the country. 
 
 Animated by a laudable desire to emulate his father, he entered the store of Park 
 & Tilford, at the corner of pth street and Sixth avenue, accepting the humblest position 
 among his fellow workmen. The value of a thorough knowledge of the business, such 
 as his father had himself acquired by systematic apprenticeship, was so great, that the 
 son of the proprietor was required to begin at the right place, to do his work thoroughly 
 and to look for advancement only when he had become perfectly familiar with each 
 successive department. In this practical manner, the young man employed his time 
 until a new store was opened at the corner of 38th street and Sixth avenue, in October, 
 1873. He was placed in charge of this store and found himself in a position of 
 responsibility, such as was well calculated to try the mettle of a young merchant, who 
 was then only twenty-one years of age. His careful training had well fitted him, how- 
 ever, for the task. He paid the closest attention to the business and proved himself a 
 capable and successful manager. Mr. Tilford soon attracted attention by his fine 
 character and business ability. In 1874, he had the honor to be elected one of the 
 directors of The Sixth National Bank, being at that time the youngest bank director in 
 the city. For ten years, he served in this capacity. At the death of Francis Leland, 
 the president of the bank, he resigned. 
 
 In 1876, he joined the Real Estate Exchange, and, from that time to the present, 
 has been an extensive operator in real estate, both in Harlem and on the West Side 
 above 59th street, displaying in this field a keen business foresight and discriminating 
 judgment, which have been rewarded with success. In 1885, he was elected a trustee 
 of The North River Savings Bank. During the same year, Park & Tilford opened a 
 branch store at 59th street and Fifth avenue, and Mr. Tilford was placed in charge of 
 this establishment. Even this additional increase of labors was not sufficient to employ 
 all of his active energies; and in 1889, together with George G. Haven, he organized 
 The Bank of New Amsterdam, of which Thomas C. Acton is president. Mr. Tilford 
 has been vice president of the bank from the day it opened. 
 
 The business of Park & Tilford had developed to such large proportions that, in 
 1890, it was thought advisable to conduct it thereafter as a close stock corporation. 
 The change was consummated in October, 1890. John M. Tilford was elected vice 
 president of the company, but he died Jan. 7, 1891, and his son Frank was then elected 
 to succeed him. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. TI. 66 1 
 
 Mr. Tilford leads a busy life, but his work is congenial to his tastes, and he is so 
 well adapted both mentally and physically for his labors, that he finds nothing except 
 enjoyment in his activity. Besides his grocery, banking, and real estate business, he 
 is a director in a railroad and gas company, treasurer of The Hancock Memorial Asso- 
 ciation, president of The New Amsterdam Eye & Ear Hospital, a school trustee, and, 
 since 1887, an active member of the Chamber of Commerce. As a member of the 
 Executive Committee of The Grant Monument Association, Mr. Tilford did much able 
 and successful work in raising the money for the completion of the monument. For 
 the past fifteen years, he has been a regular attendant and vestryman of the Rev. R. 
 Heber Newton's church. He is also a trustee of two summer homes for children. 
 
 As a business man, Mr. Tilford posesses ability of a high order. In energy, execu- 
 tive force, quickness of business conception, and that rare power necessary to the suc- 
 cessful management at the same time of complex and varied interests, he has shown 
 himself a worthy successor of his father. While his time is so thoroughly taken up 
 with the engrossing demands of his business, he treats with unfailing courtesy the 
 humblest claimant upon his time and attention. A man of natural kindliness of heart, 
 his sympathies are easily excited and are never appealed to without generous response. 
 He finds time even amid business cares to become interested in public questions, and 
 cheerfully contributes both his time and means to advance whatever in his opinion is 
 in the interest of the public good. He has, however, disregarded all suggestions for 
 entering political life, preferring the more congenial field of a strictly business career. 
 He is of a social and happy disposition but plain in his tastes and avoids everything 
 which partakes of the least appearance of ostentation. 
 
 He was married Nov. 16, 1881, to Miss Julia Greer, daughter of the late James A. 
 Greer, and granddaughter of the late George Greer, who was for many years a sugar 
 refiner in this city. They have two daughters. Domestic in his tastes and devotedly 
 attached to his family, Mr. Tilford, although a member of many clubs, can always be 
 found at his home after business hours, preferring the enjoyment of the home circle to 
 any other place on earth. By hard work, close application and genuine merit, he 
 gained for himself, early in life, a well recognized position in the mercantile world. 
 Not only has he proved worthy of the name he bears, but judged by his past he will 
 add to the power and success of the great business house which his father aided to 
 found and did so much to establish. 
 
 He is a member of the Union League, Colonial, Republican, Vaudeville, Rocka- 
 way Hunting, and other clubs and of The Sons of the Revolution. 
 
 WESLEY HUNT TILFORD, director in The Standard Oil Co., a representative of 
 one of the old families of Kentucky, was born in Lexington, Ky., July 14, 1850. His 
 father, John B. Tilford, was a banker there and in New York city for over twenty-five 
 years. Wesley came to the metropolis at the age of fifteen and attended the school of 
 George Payne Quackenboss, well known on account of his numerous school text 
 books, and afterward became a student at Columbia College. He engaged in business 
 in New York city at the age of nineteen, first entering the employment of his brother, 
 who was a partner in the firm of Bostwick & Tilford, petroleum merchants. In 1872, 
 the firm was dissolved and a new one succeeded under the title of J. B. Tilford, jr. & 
 Co., composed of the two brothers Tilford. They transacted a large business, and in 
 1875, had become of so much importance that they were invited to identify themselves 
 
662 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 with The Standard Oil Co. Mr. Tilford is now an officer and director in a number 
 of corporations, which act in harmony with The Standard Oil Co. Of The Standard 
 Oil Co., of Indiana, which controls petroleum production and refining in Indiana 
 and Illinois, he is the president. Mr. Tilford is popular among his associates, a 
 Democrat in politics, and a member of the Metropolitan and Manhattan clubs and 
 The Southern Society. 
 
 WILLIAM JAY TINGUE, manufacturer, born in Fort Plain, N. Y., on March 21, 
 1837, entered the arena of life with an excellent constitution and a good education 
 received at Canandaigua Academy. The school of experience through which he passed 
 in young manhood aided him to attain the success which has attended his later years. 
 
 His father, Simon Tingue, one of the early settlers of Fort Plain, N. Y., and a 
 leading merchant of the place, was one of the foremost in all enterprises which built up 
 that village and gave it^the standing, which it now enjoys as the most successful town 
 of the Mohawk Valley. 
 
 Behind the counter of his father's store, the son took his first lessons in business, 
 and there displayed an interest in the welfare of the store which was soon appreciated. 
 After two years' trial, his father gave him a share in the firm and, at the age of nine- 
 teen, the sign of S. Tingue & Son appeared. 
 
 Business grew each year under the new management. Three years later, the 
 lather retired and the firm became Tingue Bro's, composed of the subject of this sketch 
 and his younger brother, John H. Tingue. The retail trade having become the largest 
 in the Mohawk Valley, a jobbing trade was finally added. Jobbing of goods then 
 became the ambition of the firm and New York city was to be the point. A customer 
 was soon found to take the stock with the good will of the well established business at 
 a fair price, and this accomplished the brothers brought their capital to New York and 
 the firm of Tingue, Harbison & Shiner, jobbers of cloths, was established in 1866. 
 Five years of success led the subject of this sketch to the manufacturing of woolen 
 goods. The mills at Glenville, Conn., were bought from Hoyt, Sprague & Co., the 
 firm taking the name of Tingue, House & Co., in 1874. 
 
 The purchase of the mills at Glenville caused Mr. Tingue to take up his residence 
 at Portchester, N. Y. , in order to be near his works. The mills had been standing 
 idle for two years and the resumption of operations was felt in the extra trade it gave 
 to Portchester, while the development of property by Mr. Tingue in and around 
 Portchester opened up some of the most beautiful locations for country residences 
 which are to be found about New York. His foresight in discovering the availability 
 of the crags and rocks, which skirt Long Island Sound near Portchester, has resulted 
 in the construction of beautiful suburban residences, which grace the shore and which 
 through his efforts have been established there. Among the prettiest of these is the 
 summer residence of Mr. Tingue. " Glen Airlie " on the Sound is known far and wide 
 for its beauty and the hospitality of its occupants. 
 
 Mr. Tingue is senior member of the firm of Tingue, House & Co. ; president of The 
 Hawthorne Mills Co., having woolen mills at Glenville, Conn., and The Tingue Manu- 
 facturing Co. , having plush mills at Seymour, Conn. ; president of the board of 
 trustees of the Clinton Liberal Institute at Fort Plain, N. Y , and the Church of the 
 Divine Paternity (formerly Dr. Chapin's), New York; and member of the Union League 
 club. New York. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. Tl. 663 
 
 CHARLES ALMERIN TINKER, a descendant of John Tinker, one of the early 
 settlers of Windsor, Conn., was born in Chelsea, Vt., Jan. 8, 1838. Taken to Michigan 
 in infancy, he grew up in that State, tried to gain a good education, and left Seabuiy 
 College in Vermont before graduation, owing to illness. Securing a place as post office 
 clerk in Northfield, Vt., in 1852, he learned telegraphy and after 1855 served as oper- 
 ator successively in Boston, on Cape Cod, and in Pekin, 111., and after 1857 in the 
 employment of The Chicago & Rock Island Railroad. In 1859, he became bookkeeper 
 and operator for The Galena & Chicago Union Railroad. During the War, he declined 
 a Lieutenant Colonelcy and served as operator at the front under Generals McClellan, 
 Banks and Wadsworth, later becoming in turn cipher operator at Washington, manager 
 of the military telegraph lines, and manager of the Washington office of The Western 
 Union Telegraph Co. In January, 1872, he removed to St. Albans. Vt., to take charge 
 of dispatches for The Vermont Central Railroad, but in 1875 was called to the higher 
 position of general superintendent of The Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Co., giving this 
 up in 1879 to become superintendent of the lines of The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. 
 He aided Jay Gould and J. N. Bates in organizing The American Union Telegraph Co. 
 and took charge of one of its divisions. In 1881, he entered the service of The Western 
 Union Telegraph Co., with which he has since remained. He is interested in various 
 telephone and telegraph companies. In 1863, Mr. Tinker married Miss Lizzie A. Simp- 
 kins of Ohio, who died in 1890, leaving three children. 
 
 DANIEL TORRANCE, banker, a native of Montreal, Canada, died in New York 
 city, Nov. 19, 1884. His father was an importer of tea in Montreal and later in New 
 York city. Daniel grew up in the mercantile business of his father and carried on the 
 trade here. He was a capital merchant and met with marked success. Through 
 his marriage with Sophia, daughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, Mr. Torrance gradually 
 came to take an interest in transportation enterprises, and was at one time vice presi- 
 dent of The New York Central Railroad, but gave up that position after the consolida- 
 tion with The Hudson River Railroad. Afterward, he was president of The Ohio & 
 Mississippi Railroad. He retired from business in 1876, and spent his latter years 
 principally in Europe. He was a man of excellent ability but quiet tastes, and spent 
 most of his spare time quietly at his home in this city and at Newport. His wife sur- 
 vived him. 
 
 SINCLAIR TOUSEY, president of The American News Co., bora in New Haven, 
 July 18, 1815, died in New York city, June 16, 1887. He came from a New England 
 family. His father was Zerah Tousey, and one of his ancestors was the Rev. Thomas 
 Tousey, a graduate from Yale College in 1707, the first clergyman in Newtown, Conn., 
 and for many years a man of note. Left an orphan when a boy and thrown upon his 
 own resources, Sinclair received a common school education only and at different times 
 during his early career lived in Poughkeepsie and Pleasant Valley, N. Y. In 1853, he 
 became a wholesale news agent and bookseller in New York, in the firm of Ross, Jones 
 & Tousey, and the later firm of Ross & Tousey, afterward becoming sole proprietor. 
 In 1864, Mr. Tousey helped form The American News Co., which bought the trade of 
 himself and several other wholesale dealers. Elected president of the new company, 
 Mr. Tousey occupied the office until his death. He joined the Republican party when 
 it came into existence, and at one time declined the nomination for Mayor of this city. 
 He was an enthusiastic anti-slavery man and with all his power aided the cause of free- 
 
664 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 ing the slaves He enjoyed the acquaintance and friendship of Gerrit Smith, Horace 
 Greeley and other prominent anti-slavery men, and was a member and at one time 
 vice president of the Union League club, vice president of The Hahnemann Hospital 
 and a member of The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and The 
 Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. For many years, he was chairman 
 of the executive committee of The Prison Association and devoted a large portion of 
 his time to its work. A good speaker and debater, Mr. Tousey was also the author of 
 " Papers From Over the Water," a series of letters from Europe, and of " Indices," the 
 latter being letters and articles on questions of the times. 
 
 HENRY ROBINSON TOWNE, manufacturer, a native of Philadelphia, and born 
 Aug. 28, 1844, is a son of John Henry Towne, mechanical engineer and proprietor of 
 the Southwark foundry and part owner of the Port Richmond Iron Works, both of 
 Philadelphia, and famous for having given $1,000,000 at his death, in 1875, to the 
 scientific department of the University of Pennsylvania. The family descends from 
 William Towne, who emigrated from Yarmouth, England, to Salem, Mass., about 
 1640. Educated in a private school and the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Towne 
 entered the Port Richmond Iron Works, represented the firm in building the engines of 
 the monitors Monadnock and Agamenticus, made a trip to Europe, was for a time with 
 William Sellers & Co., of Philadelphia, and then rejoined the Port Richmond Iron 
 Works. In October, 1868, Linius Yale, jr., and he established a small factory in Stam- 
 ford, Conn., to manufacture the inventions of Mr. Yale. The Yale & Towne Manu- 
 facturing Co., whose works are yet located in Stamford, with others in Branford, Conn., 
 was practically founded and has been entirely developed, by Mr. Towne. Mr. Yale 
 died in December, 1868. The principal products of the company are the celebrated 
 Yale locks, which have proved a safeguard against thieves, are immensely popular, and 
 have an extended sale. The present works cover more than twenty acres of ground, and 
 employ about 1,200 men. Mr. Towne is interested in The American Dredging Co., and 
 is a director in several corporations, and member of The American Society of Civil 
 Engineers and The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 1868, he' was 
 married to Cora E., daughter of John P. White, of Philadelphia, and their children are 
 John Henry and Frederick Tallmadge Towne. He is a very capable and clear headed 
 man. He spends much of his time in Stamford, but, since 1892, his winters in New 
 York city, and is a member of the Century, Engineers', Reform, St. Anthony, Lawyers 
 and Hardware clubs. 
 
 SAnUEL TITUS TOWNSEND, realty owner, born in this city at the corner of 
 Duane and William streets, April 20, 1830, died at his home, No. 108 Pierrepont street, 
 Brooklyn, Jan. 29, 1893. His father, Benjamin Townsend, was a general provisions 
 and shipping merchant, an Alderman of New York city and a member of the Tammany 
 Society, while his mother was Mary A. Bennett. The family is a branch of the one in 
 Norfolk county, England, of which Marquis Townshend of Raynham Hall is the head. 
 The American founders of the family came to Massachusetts Bay early in the seventeenth 
 century and were first settlers of Oyster Bay, L. I., and prominent during the Revo- 
 lution and subsequently. Samuel was well educated at Nazareth Hall, Bethlehem, 
 Pa. Being left an orphan before reaching his majority, he devoted himself with much 
 good judgment and foresight to the care and development of the family estate, com- 
 posed in part of many pieces of business property in the lower part of New York city, 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. TR. 665 
 
 keeping step with progressive real estate advancement. He was never engaged in 
 purely mercantile pursuits, but, governed by faith in the national resources, took an 
 active interest in railroad and other important enterprises and was the holder of a large 
 amount of securities. He was a life member of The Long Island Historical Society. 
 April 20, 1852, he married Antoinette Augusta Olmsted, of Hartford, Conn., and was 
 the father of Mar}- E. F. , wife of W. G. Frazee, and Nora A. and Sherman B. Town- 
 send. A gentleman of much leisure, he partook rationally and freely of the pleasures 
 of travel and hospitality. 
 
 WILLIAfl R. TRAVERS, stock broker, born in Baltimore, Md., in July, 1819, 
 died at Hamilton, in Bermuda, March 19, 1887. Educated in part at West Point and 
 a graduate from Columbia College in 1838, Mr. Travers then spent some time upon 
 a farm to recruit his health. Fully recovered, he returned to New York, and both 
 here and in Baltimore carried on a trade with the West Indies and South America as a 
 commission merchant, with much success. In 1853, reverses came and he was forced 
 to discontinue. He then came to New York and connected himself with a stock 
 brokerage firm, becoming a member of the Exchange in 1856 At first, success did 
 not crown his efforts, but later, in partnership with Leonard W. Jerome, he gamed a 
 fortune. He continued in Wall street until his last sickness. Mr. Travers met with 
 as much success in the social world as in Wall street, and he left an indelible mark on 
 his generation. He was a born club man, and to him the Racquet and the New York 
 Athletic clubs owed much of their prosperity. He was a member of about twenty 
 other clubs and sporting organizations and the life of all. Famous as a raconteur, re- 
 markably quick at repartee, his slight impediment in speech brightened the wit of the 
 numberless anecdotes told by him, which are yet current. In early life, he married 
 Maria Louisa, the fourth daughter of Reverdy Johnson, who, with a family of nine 
 children, survived him: Man' Mackall Travers, wife of John G. Hecksher; Maria 
 Louisa, wife of James W. Wadsworth; Harriet, wife of George R. Fearing; John 
 Travers; Ellen T.. wife of William A. Duer; Matilda E., Susan B., William R., and 
 Reverdy J. Travers. 
 
 JOHN BOND TREVOR, banker, born March 27, 1822, in Philadelphia, Pa., died 
 Dec. 22, 1890, in New York city. His father was John B. Trevor, a life long resident 
 of Philadelphia, a member of the Legislature for several terms and a man of high 
 character. The son attended private schools and gained a knowledge of business 
 methods during five years as clerk in a wholesale dry goods house in Philadelphia. 
 He came to New York in 1849, and, Jan. 15, 1850, obtained a seat in the Stock Ex- 
 change, where he soon gained prominence for his brilliant abilities. In 1852, James 
 B. Colgate and he associated themselves as Trevor & Colgate, stock brokers and bank- 
 ers. Five years later, the house engaged in bullion dealings also and carried on bnsi- 
 ness for nearly thirty years at No. 47 Wall street, upon the site now occupied by The 
 United States Trust Co. Mr. Trevor was an adviser of many prominent capitalists, 
 and, while adverse to acting in boards of directors, his influence was felt in the mould- 
 ing of policies and the promotion of financial schemes. He was charitable in disposition 
 and several institutions enjoyed his especial benevolence, the principal ones being the 
 University and the Theological Seminary of Rochester. The Madison University also 
 received gifts from him, and in conjunction with his partner, Mr. Colgate, he contrib- 
 uted the funds for building the Warburton Avenue Baptist Church in Yonkers, of 
 
666 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 which he was a member, one of the most handsome places of worship in the country, 
 His benefactions amounted to several hundred thousand dollars. In early life, he was 
 a member of the Sansom Street Baptist Church of Philadelphia. He was fond of liter- 
 ature and of travel, modest, sagacious, a charming companion and a Christian gentle- 
 man. Mr. Trevor married twice, his first wife being a daughter of Lispenard Stewart. 
 His second was Emily, daughter of A. G. Norwood of the firm of Norwood & Lock- 
 wood. His wife and their four children survived him, the latter being Henry G. 
 Trevor; Mary T., now Mrs. Grenville L. Winthrop; Emily H. and John B. Trevor. 
 The family home was " Glenview," Yonkers on the Hudson, which he built in 1878. 
 THOflAS EDWARD TWEEDY, manufacturer, born Nov. 4, 1832, in Danbury, 
 Conn., died in New York city, Nov. 4, 1887. He started in business with his father, 
 who was an extensive manufacturer of hats in Danbury. After his father's death, the 
 business was carried on by a corporation called The Tweedy Manufacturing Co. , and 
 Mr. Tweedy was treasurer of the concern until his death. For twenty-five years, he 
 represented the business in New York city as head of the sales department. For the 
 last twenty years of his life, he was an invalid and unable to walk but was well known 
 and highly esteemed in the hat trade. In 1862, he married Anna M., daughter of 
 T. P. Richards, of New York. Their daughter, Edith, married James W. Pryor. 
 
u. 
 
 EDMOND URQUHART, manufacturer, one of the pioneers in the creation of the 
 valuable cotton seed oil industry in the United States, is a native of the old city of 
 Kingston, in the province of Ontario, Canada. He was born outside, but under the 
 guns, of Fort Henry, April 5. 1834. His father, Edward Urquhart, was a conspicuous 
 officer in the British army and held the rank of Quartermaster General. Both the 
 father and Elizabeth, the mother of the subject of this biography, as indeed all of his 
 ancestors, were natives of Scotland and Wales, and from them he inherited the spirit of 
 restless enterprise, the purity of character, and keenness of mind, for which he has 
 always been distinguished. 
 
 The lad applied himself to his books in the district schools of Kingston until he 
 had reached the age of twelve. Destined to a practical career, his father having died 
 when the boy was quite young, he was apprenticed to a forwarding and shipping firm 
 in Hamilton, Ont. This early start in practical affairs proved of very great advantage 
 to the ambitious youth, because, at the age of eighteen, when his apprenticeship was 
 over, and when such lads as are favored with wealthy parents are yet attending school, 
 young Mr. Urquhart had already become well grounded in the requirements of busi- 
 ness pursuits. He then entered upon the career which was to lead him on to fortune. 
 At the end of his five years, released from his indenture, he secured a position as con- 
 tractor's paymaster during the construction of The Great Western Railroad from Sus- 
 pension bridge at Niagara Falls to Detroit, Mich., a very responsible position for so 
 young a man. The Great Western Railroad is now the Southern division of The Grand 
 Trunk Railroad. During the three years of this service, Mr. Urquhart gained a valua- 
 ble experience and acquired the habit of accuracy and the strength to endure respon- 
 sibility. After leaving The Great Western Railroad, he established the shipping house 
 of Urquhart & Bowen in St. Catherine's, Canada, where be built several vessels to 
 engage in the grain trade between the upper lakes and Montreal. 
 
 Mr. Urquhart then removed to St. Louis, Mo., and engaged in the rectifying of 
 liquors until 1861, when he went to Memphis, Tenn., in which city he remained during 
 the great four years' war. After the surrender of the Southern armies in 1865, he was 
 one of the first to apply himself toward a revival of the prostrated interests of the South 
 and promptly undertook the hardware business and the manufacture of cotton seed oil 
 in Memphis. He met with excellent success from the start. For the latter industry, 
 he utilized an old government building in the Navy Yard, which was fitted up with 
 special machinery for crushing and extracting oil from the cotton seed. He paid the 
 closest attention to his business, developed it step by step, spared himself no labor of 
 any kind, and had the satisfaction of witnessing the constant growth of his trade. 
 
 Finally, finding it necessary to increase his operations, he removed to Little Rock, 
 Ark., in 1876, and there established The Little Rock Oil Works, becoming president 
 of the company and among the pioneers of the cotton seed oil industry in Arkansas. 
 His energy produced an effect almost electrical in this old State. Cotton fields 
 covered a large part of the territory of Arkansas and cotton seed could be obtained 
 in ample supply. His mill in Little Rock provided a local market for the seed, gave 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. UR. 669 
 
 employment to a number of workmen, and by its expenditures for materials and labor 
 quickened every other form of business. The results were so satisfactory, that the 
 establishment of mills in other parts of the State speedily became a foregone conclusion. 
 
 In 1878, Mr. Urquhart built a third mill, the second in Arkansas, under the name 
 of The Argenta Oil Works at Argenta, and became president of this company also. 
 Even this did not suffice, and Mr. Urquhart then rapidly added to his plant a fourth 
 cotton seed oil mill, which he built in Arkansas City on the Mississippi river, in 1879; 
 another, under the ownership of The Fort Smith Oil and Compress Co. , in 1 880 ; the 
 mill of The Texarkana Oil & Manufacturing Co., in 1881 ; and, in 1882, the mill of The 
 Newport Oil & Manufacturing Co. In all these companies, he was the motive power 
 and inspiring spirit. Refining was begun at the Little Rock plant in 1880. At several 
 of the points where mills were located, Mr. Urquhart established cotton compresses 
 and ginneries. 
 
 Since 1882. he has extended his manufacturing interests yet further, and was 
 elected president of The Anchor Oil Co., of Helena, Ark., in 1885; of The Brinkley 
 Oil Co., of Brinkley, Ark., and The Emma and The Xeel Oil Co's, of Pine Bluff, Ark., 
 in 1886. Mr. Urquhart is now president of no less than twelve excellent companies in 
 this industry, having an aggregate capital of $2.088,400. All of them have been, with 
 numerous others in the United States, merged into The American Cotton Oil Trust, 
 which came into being Oct. i, 1885. The consolidation of the cotton oil industry into 
 the hands of this trust took place in Mr. Urquhart 's office in Little Rock, and he has 
 been the vice president and a trustee of the trust from its organization down to the 
 present time. He is also at present vice president of several large associations, having 
 a combined capital of many millions. At the time of the consolidation, his Arkansas 
 properties were utilizing 500 tons of cotton seed daily and producing 20,000 gallons of 
 oil per day, 250 tons of oil cake and 10,000 pounds of lint cotton. 
 
 This industry has proved of immense value to the South and its pioneers and pro- 
 moters are entitled to be known as benefactors of their race. While other enterprising 
 and energetic men have devoted themselves to utilizing the immense unexploited mineral 
 resources of the South, the reconstruction of its railroads, the operation of cotton mills 
 and tobacco factories, and the revival of trade, those who established the manufacture 
 of cotton seed oil have performed a service of direct importance to those engaged in the 
 especial branch of production which at present overshadows all others in that region. 
 Previous to the building of oil mills, cotton seed was thrown away by all the planters. 
 It is now scrupulously saved, finds a ready market, and it is so valuable that it repays 
 planters for hauling it long distances by wagon to shipping points and for transporta- 
 tion by rail and water to the mills. The American Cotton Oil Trust now grinds about 
 sixty per cent, of all the seed ground in the South, which amounts to millions of tons. 
 The additional employment given to workmen in the South and the new forms of food, 
 which have been added to those previously known, are not the least valuable of the 
 benefits conferred by the cotton seed oil industry. 
 
 While the industry, which he has done so much to promote, occupies his principal 
 attention, he has taken an active part in organizing other important enterprises. 
 
 In Memphis, where he lived for fifteen years, Mr. Urquhart became known as a pro- 
 gressive, public spirited and valuable man. He aided in organizing and for a number 
 of years held a seat in the directorates of The Fourth National Bank and The Home 
 
670 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Insurance Co. After his removal to Little Rock, the impulse of his energy was felt in 
 various ways. He organized and served as president for several years of The Ladies' 
 Building & Loan Association, one of the most successful ever known in Arkansas. He 
 also organized a company with a capital of $125,000, became its president, and built 
 the Quapaw Cotton Mills, and served for some time as a director of The First National 
 Bank. He was also drawn into extensive cotton planting interests and yet owns the 
 beautiful Cummins and Maple Grove plantations in Lincoln county, Arkansas, having 
 an area of 10,000 acres and nine miles of frontage upon the Arkansas River. Here 
 300 to 400 negroes are employed. Some extensive sawmills are now operated upon 
 this property. The Varner branch railroad, of which he is the owner, connects the 
 saw mills and plantations with The Missouri Pacific system Mr. Urquhart is also 
 president of The Wilcox Lard & Refining Co., having offices in the Produce Exchange 
 building, New York city, but the cotton oil industry, in which he has a large pecuniary 
 interest, engages his principal attention. 
 
 Since 1887, Mr. Urquhart has found it necessary to live in New York city, owing- 
 to the magnitude of his interests in the Cotton Oil Trust, of which he is one of the active 
 managers. It is scarcely necessary to say, in view of his distinguished success, that he 
 is a man of more than ordinary business ability, shrewd, intelligent and systematic, a 
 born organizer, and possessing an almost boundless capacity for work. Although he 
 has the faculty of selecting valuable assistants and managers for his own properties, the 
 large responsibilities now imposed upon him exact his constant attention. He wastes 
 no time on politics or clubs, but is a qualified voter of New York City and casts 
 his ballot in every election, intelligently, for men of clean records irrespective of party. 
 
 Oct. 12, 1864, he was united in marriage in Memphis, Tenn., to Miss Henrietta 
 Blood, who, while born in Hamilton, Ont. , is the daughter of a native of Worcester, 
 Mass. They have two children, Lizzie Haywood and Maggie Mackenzie Urquhart. 
 A third daughter, Minnie Simmons Urquhart, died in infancy. 
 
V. 
 
 HENRY HOBART VAIL, a descendant of Jeremiah Vail, who was one of the 
 
 early settlers of Southold, Long Island, N. Y., was born in Poinfret, Vt., May 27. 
 1839. His father, Joshua Vail, was a farmer. Henry was educated at Middlebury 
 College, taught school for several years, and served one summer as a Union soldier in 
 the Civil War. In 1867, he entered the service of a publishing house in Cincinnati, 
 O., and later became a partner in the firm of Wilson, Hinkle & Co., publishers of 
 school books, and one of the partners in their successors, Van Antwerp, Bragg & 
 Co. This house rose to great prominence in the West. When the leading school 
 book publishers of the country united under the name of The American Book Co., the 
 Cincinnati firm joined in the enterprise. Mr. Vail is now a director and chairman of 
 the board in that organization, and has made his home in New York city since 1890. 
 He is president of the Aldine club, and a member of the Grolier, Colonial and Twilight 
 clubs, and The New England, Ohio, and New York Geneological and Biographical 
 Societies and The Society of Colonial Wars. 
 
 THEODORE NEWTON VAIL, born July 16, 1845, in Carrolton county, Ohio, 
 belongs to the Morris county family of Vails in New Jersey, descendants of John Vail, 
 a Quaker preacher, who settled in New Jersey in 1710. The family has always been 
 one of position and influence. Lewis Vail, civil engineer, grandfather of Theodore N. 
 Vail, early went to Ohio and was a pioneer in the building of canals and highways. 
 Stephen Vail, an uncle, founded The Speedwell Iron Works, near Morristown, N. J., 
 at which was built most of the machinery for the first steamship which crossed the 
 Atlantic Ocean, sailing from Savannah, Ga. Here, also, Morse perfected and first 
 successfully operated the magnetic telegraph, Stephen Vail and his sons, George and 
 Alfred, supplying Morse with the money, and Alfred the mechanical ingenuity. 
 Alfred Vail invented the dot and dash alphabet, which has always been used in tele- 
 graphing. William P. Vail of this family was a leading physician and church worker 
 in Northern New Jersey at Blairstown, and George Vail represented his section in 
 Congress and was one of the lay Judges of the New Jersey Court of Pardons. 
 
 Davis Vail, son of Lewis Vail, and father of the subject of this biography, born in 
 Ohio, came East at an early age, was connected with The Speedwell Iron Works, and 
 married Phoebe Quinby, daughter of Judge Isaac Quinby of Morris county. By this, 
 marriage, he became related to three notable brothers in law, General Quinby, a grad- 
 uate of West Point, a leading mathematician, Professor of Mathematics at the Roch- 
 ester University, and general in the Civil War; Dr. William Quinby; and Dr. 
 Augustus Quinby, all sons of Judge Isaac Quinby. After marriage, Davis Vail went 
 to Ohio, remaining there several years. His son, Theodore, was born during the stay 
 of the family in that part of the country. When the lad was about four years old. 
 Davis Vail returned to the East and was again connected with The Speedwell Iron 
 Works. In 1866. he removed to Iowa, where he operated a large farm. 
 
 Theodore N. Vail was educated in the old academy in Morristown, and then 
 studied medicine with his uncle, Dr. William Quinby, but, having learned telegraphy 
 at the telegraph office in Headly's drug store in Morristown, he left medicine and went 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. VA. 673 
 
 to New York, where he became manager of a local office, being afterward attached to 
 the staff of J. C. Hinchman, then general superintendent of the metropolitan and east- 
 ern divisions of The United States Telegraph Co. He went West with his father in 
 1866. and engaged in farming, but in the fall of 1868, went yet farther west and was 
 made operator and afterward agent at Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, on The Union Pacific 
 Railroad. Pine Bluffs was at that time the principal supply point for wood for The 
 Union Pacific, which had not then been completed. 
 
 In the Spring of 1869, Mr. Vail received an appointment as clerk in the railway 
 mail service between Omaha and Ogden, and in August, 1869, he married Miss Emma 
 Righter, of Newark, N. J. He devoted himself with great diligence to the improve- 
 ment of the railway mail service, then in its infancy, and his good work in the perfec- 
 tion of schemes for the distribution of the mails, and especially his services in forward- 
 ing the mails during the long snow blockade of 1870, called the attention of the Depart- 
 ment to him, with the result that he was assigned to duty between Chicago and Iowa 
 City in the railway post office. On this line, the entire distribution of overland mails 
 was made prior to the establishment of railway post office cars on The Union Pacific 
 Railroad. When the railway post office was established on The Union Pacific, Mr. 
 Vail was assigned to duty as head clerk. 
 
 In March, 1873, the Department called Mr. Vail to Washington and assigned him 
 to duty in the office of the General Superintendent of Railway Mail Service, where he 
 was charged with special oversight of distribution of the mails and arrangement of 
 "schemes" or charts of distribution. During this period, the questions of the compen- 
 sation of railroads and carriage of merchandise in the mails were being agitated in 
 Congress, and the Department placed upon Mr. Vail the responsibility of preparing 
 the post office statements, statistics and answers to Congressional inquiries. His 
 intimate knowledge of the service, energy and capacity were recognized in June, 1874, 
 by his appointment as Assistant Superintendent of Railway Mail Service. In 1875, ne 
 was assigned to duty as Assistant General Superintendent, and when, in February, 
 1876, Mr. Bangs resigned to go into other business, Mr. Vail was appointed General 
 Superintendent. He had thus reached the highest grade in this branch of the Federal 
 employment. Mr. Vail was the youngest of the officers of the Railway Mail Service, 
 both in years and terms of service, and when the final appointment was handed to him 
 by Marshall Jewell, Postmaster General, the latter said that his only objection to Mr. 
 Vail was his youth. 
 
 As General Superintendent, Mr. Vail established upon a firm basis the civil service 
 policy, which had been initiated by Mr. Bangs. The superiority of the results attained 
 under the rules adopted for the railway mail service were recognized by all the civil 
 service commissions in Washington, to the extent that until very recently the employe's 
 of the railway post offices were not included in the general civil service laws and regu- 
 lations. Mr. Vail established the system of six months' probationary appointments, 
 which have since been so generally adopted. It was during the incumbency of Mr. 
 Vail that a reduction took place in the pay of the railroads for mail transportation. In 
 the controversy which followed, some of the railroads threw the postal cars out of their 
 trains. Within six months, however, relations were re-established with all the leading 
 lines and increased car and train service obtained. Thereafter, more cordial relations 
 existed between the Post Office Department and the railroad managers. 
 
674 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 An incident of this time may be referred to. Senator Beck of Kentucky was 
 much interested in having the southwestern mails go over Kentucky routes, and made 
 many efforts to induce the Postmaster General to order them so sent. Being referred 
 by the head of the Department to Mr. Vail, Mr. Beck accused Mr. Vail of being under 
 the influence of certain railroads. In an interview with Mr. Beck, Mr. Vail explained 
 the situation and gave the reasons which governed him. Mr. Beck left apparently not 
 satisfied. Soon after, however, when a proposition to reduce Mr. Vail's pay was pend- 
 ing in the Senate, Senator Beck took occasion to compliment Mr. Vail very highly, and, 
 in a five minutes speech, said that if there were an honest and efficient officer in the 
 employment of the Government, Mr. Vail was the man. 
 
 After the invention of the telephone and its reduction to practice, The American 
 Bell Telephone Co. was organized by Gardiner G. Hubbard, father in law of Prof. 
 Alexander G. Bell. Mr. Hubbard had been engaged against the Post -Office Depart- 
 ment before Congress on the question of merchandise in the mails and was chairman 
 of the commission appointed by Congress to investigate methods of payment to rail- 
 roads for mail transportation. Believing Mr. Vail to be the right man for the place, 
 he tendered him the position of general manager of The American Bell Telephone Co. 
 Believing in "the futiire of the "toy," as it was then termed, and against the protest 
 of all his friends, he accepted the position in 1878 and devoted himself to the work 
 with his accustomed zeal and ability. The task was at times discouraging. The public 
 were slow to recognize the great value of the instrument, and strong opposition was 
 manifested by The Western Union Telegraph Co., which denied that Professor Bell 
 was the inventor and set up opposition exchanges at every point. Mr. Vail introduced 
 the methods which have proved so successful and have resulted in The American Bell 
 Telephone Go's phenomenal growth. A settlement was finally effected with The 
 Western Union Telegraph Co. after years of fighing and negotiating, in which The 
 Western Union conceded every point of importance. 
 
 Mr. Vail established the long distance telephone service, against the opposition of 
 all his associates in the company. The first line which was built to New York was 
 called the "Vail's side show." He also introduced the use of copper wire in telephone 
 and telegraph lines, since so generally adopted, having in this matter the assistance of 
 Mr. Mason of Bridgeport, whom he induced to experiment with drawing copper wire in 
 such a way as to give it the tensile strength necessary to withstand the stretching from 
 pole to pole. 
 
 In 1888, Mr. Vail retired from the telephone business after having occupied the 
 managing position for ten years. He has since traveled most of the time abroad and 
 has introduced the telephone in many countries. Farming in Vermont now occupies a 
 part of his time and upon his estate of 1,500 acres, called the "Speedwell Farms," he 
 raises French coach horses, including some of the finest in the United States, Jersey 
 cattle, Shropshire and Dorsett horned sheep, and Welsh ponies. He is a member of 
 the Union League club of New York and the Algonquin club of Boston. He has one 
 son, Davis R. Vail, a student in Harvard Law School in Cambridge. 
 
 COL. JOHN DASH VAN BUREN, lawyer and merchant, born in New York 
 city, March 18, 1811, died suddenly at his home in Newburg, N. Y., Dec. 2, 1885. His 
 father, Michael Van Buren, was a merchant on Dey street, and a relative of President 
 Van Buren, the family being of old Dutch pedigree. John graduated from Columbia 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. VA. 
 
 675 
 
 College, studied law and began practice as early as 1835 on Pine street. The same 
 year, he married Elvira Lynch, the oldest daughter of Benjamin Aymar, and in 1836 
 was taken into the firm of Benj. Aymar & Co., and identified himself with the ship- 
 ping interests and West India trade of that house. In 1841-43, he became secretary of 
 the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Van Buren prospered to such an extent that he 
 retired before forty years of age. He was well known among politicians of later times, 
 and during the Civil War accepted the office of Paymaster General of the State troops 
 under Governor Seymour, holding that office from May 26, 1863, to Jan. 2, 1865. 
 The New York Evening Post and The Albany Argus printed many contributions from 
 his pen. He was private secretary to Governor Hoffman from Jan. i, 1869, to Jan. i, 
 1873, and served under Governor Hoffman as a member of the Constitutional Conven- 
 tion of 1872. John D. Van Buren, jr., was State engineer from Nov. 2, 1875, to Nov. 
 5, 1877, and also one of the Commission to investigate the management of canals in 
 1875. Another son, Robert, was chief engineer of the Department of City Works of 
 Brooklyn, 1877-95. His other children were Aymar, who became a farmer on account 
 of ill health; Frank Roe, a lawyer, now deceased; and Elizabeth A., who married Dr. 
 Thomas H. White, of New Haven, Conn 
 
 CORNELIUS VANDERBILT, railroad president, known for more than forty years 
 as Commodore Vanderbilt, was born on Staten Island, May 27, 1794. Port Richmond 
 and Stapleton both claim the honor 6f having been his birth place, but there is no 
 doubt that Port Richmond was the spot. He died in New York city, Jan. 4, 1877. 
 
 The first of the name in America, Jan Aertsen Van der Bilt, a worthy Protestant 
 from Holland, settled upon a farm on Long Island near the present city of Brooklyn 
 about 1650, and planted there the race of farmers, from which the Vanderbilts derived 
 their descent. In 1715, a grandson of Jan, great grandfather of Commodore Vander- 
 bilt, removed to a farm on Staten Island near the little hamlet of New Dorp and is 
 said to have owned considerable land. In religion, he became a Moravian and the 
 cemetery at New Dorp now occupies a field on the Vanderbilt farm. 
 
 During the early boyhood of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who was the oldest of nine 
 children, his father changed his residence to Stapleton, at which place the family grew 
 up. The senior Vanderbilt was a farmer, who owned a tract of land near by and who 
 found it to his advantage to devote his fields to the growing of vegetables for sale in the 
 city of New York, then a rising town of 80, ooo inhabitants. Like other market gar- 
 deners on Staten Island, he was his own boatman; but, unlike others, he had the thrift 
 to carry to New York not only his own produce but that of several of his neighbors, 
 and, between the island and the city, an occasional traveller; and this was the origin 
 of the Staten Island Ferry. Cornelius made many trips in charge of his father's boat. 
 The young man was one of the most handsome lads upon the island. He was tall, 
 athletic and brave, not over fond of books, but devoted to open air life and sports, a 
 fine swimmer and a good oarsman and horseman. At the age of six, he had already 
 driven a race horse at full speed, a fact which he often referred to in later years. In 
 the quiet life of the farm, the sailing of boats, fishing and other amusements, the future 
 railroad president gained the physical and mental vigor, which, added to his striking 
 appearance and a steady and resolute character, made him a prince among men. 
 
 The constraints of his early life were keenly felt by Mr. Vanderbilt, and, with a 
 view to gain greater independence, he finally offered to plow, harrow and plant an 
 
676 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 eight acre lot for his mother, if she would lend him $100, with which to buy a boat of 
 his own. His mother, the financier of the family, had, upon one occasion, saved her 
 husband's farm from sale for debt, by making use of $3,000 from her own savings. 
 Mrs. Vanderbilt agreed to the proposition of Cornelius, provided that he should com- 
 plete his contract before his seventeenth birthday, then only twenty-seven days away. 
 The time was short, the undertaking a physical impossibility for one youth ; but 
 Cornelius, with a spirit all his own, quickly secured the aid of a number of playmates 
 and earned in 1810 the $100, which led him on to splendid fortune. His new boat, a 
 better one than his father's, began its career inauspiciously by running against a rock 
 on its first trip ; but it was repaired, and by sailing it back and forth between New York 
 and Staten Island, its owner earned in three years over $3, ooo. Most of this money he gave 
 to his mother, but a small part being retained was invested in two other boats; and Mr. 
 Vanderbilt thus became the master of three handy vessels, one of them a periagua, one 
 capable of carrying twenty people and the best of her class in the harbor. This 
 ' 'musquito' ' fleet he continued to operate for several years. The fare for a passenger at that 
 time was eighteen cents. When the War of 1812 occurred, a large increase of travel to 
 Staten Island followed, owing to the placing of garrisons at the Narrows. In 1814, Mr. 
 Vanderbilt secured a contract to carry men and supplies to the harbor forts, after a 
 lively competition with others. He was not the lowest bidder but his reputation for 
 energy brought him the contract; and trips between Ward's Island, Hell Gate, Harlem 
 and the Narrows occupied him constantly for many months. 
 
 At the age of nineteen, he married Sophia Johnson, a second cousin, and, inducing 
 his mother to relinquish her claim to the principal part of his earnings, he saved $500 
 and moved to New York city. He continued to employ his sailing boats on the Staten 
 Island ferry route ; but the originality and vigor of his mind soon displayed itself in 
 plans, which he made and carried out, for employing vessels in the trade to various 
 cities on the Hudson river and Long Island Sound. His first schooner, the Charlotte, 
 built in 1815, in partnership with a brother in law, went into this coasting trade and in 
 winter he sailed the vessel himself. He owned several boats, sloops and schooners, 
 sailed them to every point in the harbor and the waters contiguous thereto and learned 
 to know every inch of the geography of this coast. 
 
 It was during this period that Fulton on the Hudson and Roosevelt on the Ohio 
 were developing the steamboat as a carrier of freight and passengers. Nothing which 
 occurred in the harbor ever escaped the eye or failed to awaken the interest of Mr. 
 Vanderbilt. When the steamboat had passed the experimental stage, he saw that the 
 time had come to adapt himself to a new order of things. In 1818, therefore, he ac- 
 cepted the place of captain of the steamboat Bellona, operated by a company of which 
 Thomas Gibbons of New Jersey was the head. The salary of $1,000 a year was less 
 than he was then earning, but diminishing receipts from his Hudson river sloops 
 warned him of the coming triumph of steam. He remained with Mr. Gibbons for 
 twelve years. The Bellona was employed in conveying passengers from New York to 
 New Brunswick on their journey to Philadelphia, the rest of the trip being made in 
 stage coaches to Trenton and thence by boat to Philadelphia. For the first six years, 
 Mr. Vanderbilt had many exciting experiences The State of New York had granted 
 to Fulton and Livingston the exclusive right to navigate the waters of this State with 
 steamboats and trespassers were liable to arrest and their boats to confiscation The 
 
tHF. CITY OF NEW YORK. VA. 677 
 
 Gibbons line fought the grant with great vigor, carrying the case to the Supreme 
 Court of the United States, where, in 1824, they gained a decision from Chief Justice 
 Marshall, declaring the grant unconstitutional and void. Mr. Vanderbilt entered into 
 this fight with enjoyment, and invented many schemes and stratagems to outwit the 
 adversary and secure unmolested landings in New York city. 
 
 In 1827, Mr. Vanderbilt leased on his own account the ferry between New York 
 and Elizabeth, N. J., and built for it new and improved boats. 
 
 In 1829, having saved about $30,000, he refused favorable offers of partnership, 
 etc., and resolved to engage in the navigation of the Hudson river. His first boat, the 
 Caroline, became in later years the basis of an international incident in connection with 
 the Canadian insurrection of 1837. Having passed into the hands of the insurrection- 
 ists, she was captured by the Canadian authorities, while at her wharf upon the Ameri- 
 can shore, and a citizen of the United States was killed in the encounter. An apology 
 from Great Britan resulted from the ensuing negotiations. 
 
 At first active on the Hudson river, he finally parted with his interests there to 
 Robert L. Stevens, and confined his steamboat enterprise for a while to Long Island 
 Sound. For twenty years, he devoted himself to the establishment of new lines in the 
 river, sound and coastwise trades, in the face of strong competition. During that 
 time, there were built for and operated by him in the neighborhood of a hundred steam 
 vessels, and it was at this time that as commander of his fleet, he acquired the title of 
 Commodore. This remarkable man never feared opposition. On the other hand, he 
 seemed to love and court it and always knew how to meet it. His boats built 
 largely under his own plans and supervision were swifter, finer, and more attractive 
 than those of his rivals, and were in the main successful. He gained the goodwill of 
 employes by treating those who were capable generously, while merciless in replacing 
 with better men those who were incompetent, and he pleased the public by the superior 
 facilities supplied. He operated his own foundries and repair shops, and by shrewd 
 and energetic management gradually gained considerable means. 
 
 The discovery of gold in California heralded the dawn of a new phase of maritime 
 enterprise in America and led all the bolder spirits to engage in ocean transportation to 
 the Pacific coast by way of the isthmus. A monoply of the traffic by way of Panama 
 having been gained by various companies, and the fare to California being 600, Com- 
 modore Vanderbilt resolved to establish a competing line. Having built the steamship 
 Prometheus, he sailed in 1850 for Nicaragua, personally explored a new route to the 
 Pacific and secured a charter from the Nicaraguan government. In 1851, a semi- 
 monthly line, of which Mr. Vanderbilt was at first agent and later president, began opera- 
 tions on this route In 1853, he sold his interest upon excellent terms and then, a wealthy 
 man, prepared to enjoy a vacation, to which he deemed himself entitled after more than 
 thirty years of incessant labor. In accordance with his own plans, the splendid steamer 
 North Star was built for him, and, with his family, he made an extended European tour, 
 lasting four months and covering fifteen thousand miles of travel. The British isles, 
 Copenhagen, St. Petersburgh, Moscow, and other regions in the North of Europe and 
 the Mediterranean as far as Constantinople were visited in turn, and both the native and 
 American residents of several cities were entertained in the most hospitable manner. 
 In some ports, the arrival of the North Star caused public agitation, it being at that 
 time difficult for Europeans to conceive the possibility of a private citizen of the United 
 
678 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 States traveling- in such magnificence, unless as a cover for dangerous political designs. 
 
 During Commodore Vanderbilt's absence abroad, the management of The Nicara- 
 gua Transit Co. passed out of his hands to Cornelius K. Garrison and Charles Morgan, 
 and upon his return, he found the purchasers of his interest in the Nicaragua steam- 
 ship line disposed to evade the conditions of sale. This called forth a display of char- 
 acteristic energy. A line of steamers between New Orleans and Galveston was at 
 once established, and, in 1854, another line from New York to Aspinwall. A sharp 
 and merciless struggle forced the rival corporation into bankruptcy, and Commodore 
 Vanderbilt regained possession of The Nicaragua Transit Co. During the eleven 
 years which followed, his profits were $11,000,000. 
 
 Upon the breaking out of the Crimean War, Commodore Vanderbilt resolved to 
 establish a line of American steamers to ply between New York and Europe, intending 
 to engage in a determined campaign to secure to the American flag the Atlantic carry- 
 ing trade. The Government did not accept his offer to run to England, alternately 
 with the Collins steamers, and thereupon he started a line to Havre. He believed that 
 the energy which had been resistless in American waters would triumph over the com- 
 petition with foreign rivals, but, if he did not overlook, he certainly underrated the 
 power of his English adversaries. He did, indeed, drive the old Collins and Mills lines 
 of American steamers from the sea by offering to carry the United States mails without 
 compensation, but, when this had been done, he found that he could not operate his 
 ships at a profit against the heavily subsidized European lines and his short but bril- 
 liant campaign failed. During this period of his life, Commodore Vanderbilt con- 
 structed the ocean steamers Prometheus, Ariel, Daniel Webster, Star of the West, 
 Northern Light, North Star, Grenada, Ocean Queen, Galveston, Opelousas, Vander- 
 bilt, Magnolia, Matagorda, Champion, Costa Rica, Port Jackson and New York. 
 During the Civil War in 1862, the Vanderbilt, which had formerly plied in the ocean 
 ferry to Havre and was the swiftest and best appointed steamer afloat, was pre- 
 sented to the Federal Government as a patriotic gift. This vessel gave valuable 
 service as a cruiser during the War, and its donor received, in 1866, the thanks of 
 Congress and a gold medal, inscribed " A grateful country to her generous son. " 
 
 In order to set free his capital, then amounting to at least $30,000,000, Commodore 
 Vanderbilt began to sell his steamboat interests on Long Island Sound about 1856-57, 
 and later sold or chartered to the Federal government all his then remaining vessels. 
 
 As early as 1854, he had begun quietly to buy shares in The New York & Harlem 
 Railroad, a large number of which he bought as low as $8, $9, and $10. In the same 
 silent manner, while shares were low in price, he acquired a large interest in The 
 New York & New Haven Railroad. Among his first operations in Wall street was a 
 corner in Norwich & Worcester railroad stock. In 1860, he sought control of The 
 New York & Harlem Railroad, and in 1863 was elected its president, The stock, then 
 $30 a share, rose to $92 in July and in August, to $179, in consequence of a campaign 
 planned by John Tobin and Leonard W. Jerome. Commodore Vanderbilt's plans, which 
 contemplated several street railroads in this city, connecting with his road, including 
 one on Broadway, aided to advance the price of the stock. But a combination was 
 made against him by a group of acute men in Wall street, who put forth strenuous 
 efforts to induce the Common Council to cancel the grant for a line on Broadway. As 
 a result, the stock of the Harlem road fell heavily in value Speculators made enor- 
 

 tHE CITY OF NEW YORK. VA. 679 
 
 mous short sales. The Commodore's brokers bought steadily until they had purchased 
 the entire stock of the road. Opponents were compelled to settle at "two prices." 
 The next year, he managed another corner, this time in the stock of The Hudson River 
 Road. Having bought a controlling interest, he proposed to unite the line with the 
 Harlem under one charter, and sent a bill to that effect to the State Legislature. 
 Once more, a combination was made against him. The stock, then held at $150 a share, 
 was depressed by the bears to a low figure. Again, Commodore Vanderbilt bought 
 every share offered until his 'purchases covered 27,000 more shares than the road had 
 ever issued. He had cornered the market and could have dictated any terms but to 
 avert a panic settled at $285 a share. Both operations brought him enormous profits. 
 
 Once in possession of The Hudson River Railroad, he united it with the Harlem 
 and instituted vigorous reforms in the management. 
 
 A campaign planned by Commodore Vanderbilt in the winter of 1865. enabled him 
 to buy at a reduced price a controlling interest in The New York Central Railroad. 
 In 1867, he became president of the road, and in 1869 of the consolidated New York 
 Central & Hudson River Railroad, placing 1,000 miles of track and over $100,000,000 
 of capital under his control. In 1868, an 80 per cent, scrip dividend was declared on 
 the stock of both roads, in spite of which shares rose to $200 each. The control of the 
 entire line between New York and Chicago was secured when, at the annual meeting 
 of the Lake Shore Railroad, it was shown that the Vanderbilt party had possession of a 
 majority of the stock. 
 
 Commodore Vanderbilt possessed the constructive temperament in a marked 
 degree, and his great wealth came mainly from creating corporations, which, under his 
 management, were made to yield large dividends, the capital then being increased in 
 harmony with the earnings. To accomplish these remarkable results, he brought into 
 play all of the hard sense and Dutch thrift inherited in his blood. Useless expenses 
 were stopped, ornaments and decorations were stripped from locomotives and cars, and 
 idlers were discharged. New trains were established, new depots built, and tracks 
 were doubled ; and he made the railroads under his control one of the great trunk line 
 systems of the country. The erection of the Hudson street freight depot was his first 
 great work on this system and the adoption of the four track plan his last. 
 
 His fight for the control of The Erie Railroad is historic and supplied one of the 
 most stirring chapters in the history of Wall street. The Erie was the one line necessary 
 to enable him to gain complete control of the railroad system of the State, and he went 
 into the market with a resolution to obtain it at any cost, backed by the prestige of pre- 
 vious triumphs. At the outset, his success seemed a foregone conclusion. Daniel 
 Drew, his most powerful adversary, seemed to have been won over to his side on 
 promise of restoration to the board and even,- indication pointed toward success. Mr. 
 Drew did not keep his promises, however, and then Commodore Vanderbilt resolved to 
 "corner" the Drew interest, an undertaking the more difficult because Mr. Drew and 
 his friends had control of the company and could issue stock in any amount to meet 
 emergencies. A war ensued both in Wall street and the courts, in the midst of which 
 50,000 shares of Erie stock were issued and placed on the market. Mr. Vanderbilt 
 bought all the new stock, before the trick was discovered. The result was that Erie 
 dropped from $83 to $7 1 a share. The Erie directors fled to Jersey City with their prof- 
 its, taking 7,000,000 of the Commodore's money, and extraordinary legal complica- 
 
680 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 tions ensued. Mr. Vanderbilt had 100,000 shares of Erie, and one court would appoint 
 a receiver of those shares only to have his hands tied by another court. Injunctions 
 and counter injunctions were issued and the Erie litigation fell into a hopeless maze. 
 In the end, Mr. Vanderbilt and Mr. Drew were compelled to adjust their differences 
 between themselves, and the control of the Erie road passed into the hands of Jay 
 Gould and James Fisk, jr. In this campaign, Commodore Vanderbilt lost $7,000,000 
 but recovered nearly $5,000,000 by legal proceedings. 
 
 In later years, his operations in Wall street were not conspicuous, although he re- 
 mained constantly on the alert to protect his interests. 
 
 His faith in The New York Central & Hudson River Railroad was strong to the 
 last, and he advised his friends always to buy and hold that stock. In 1872, he became 
 a large buyer of the securities of The Western Union Telegraph Co., also. When he 
 rested from his labors he had accumulated an enormous fortune, estimated variously at 
 from $60,000,000 to $100,000,000. 
 
 As he felt his end approaching, Commodore Vanderbilt made thorough prepara- 
 tions and left his great properties carefully disposed of. He was a man of great 
 physical vigor and striking personality, six feet tall, handsome and with clear com- 
 plexion. He dressed plainly but was fond of white cravats and was abstemious in 
 his tastes. For the last twenty-five years, he lived in a plain brick house in Washington 
 Place. He was a man of few words. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress was one of his 
 favorite books, and " There is rest for the weary " his favorite song. Politics did not 
 interest him. He was fond of driving fine horses and was frequently to be seen driving 
 in the Park or on Harlem lane and on trotting days at Fleetwood Park. His 
 stables contained some of the best roadsters in the country, among them his favorite, 
 Mountain Boy, Post Boy, Plow Boy, Mountaineer, Mountain Girl, Doctor, Princess, and 
 the Flying Dutchman. He derived great enjoyment from a social game of cards both at 
 Saratoga, whither he repaired every summer, and in town as member of several whist 
 clubs. Among large gifts which he made may be mentioned $1,000,000 to Vanderbilt 
 University in Nashville, Tenn., and the edifice of the Mercer Street Church in ,honor 
 of the Rev. Charles F. Deems, its pastor. He was the father of thirteen children by 
 his first wife: Phebe Jane, wife of James M. Cross; Ethelinda, wife of Daniel B. 
 Allen; Elizabeth, wife of George A. Osgood; William H. Vanderbilt; Emily, wife of 
 William K. Thorn; Sophia J., wife of Daniel Torrance; Maria Louise, wife of Horace 
 F. Clark; Frances, and Cornelius Johnson Vanderbilt; Mary Alicia, wife of Nicholas La 
 Bau; George W. Vanderbilt; Mrs. Katharine Johnson, wife of Smith Barker, jr.; and 
 George W. Vanderbilt, zd. The latter died in 1866 from disease contracted in the 
 Corinth campaign. Mrs. Vanderbilt died in 1867, and the Commodore in 1868 married 
 Miss Frank A. Crawford, a Southern lady, who survived him. 
 
 WILLIAH HENRY VANDERBILT, railroad president, oldest son of Commodore 
 Vanderbilt, born in New Brunswick, N. J., May 8, 1821, died at his New York house, 
 Dec. 8, 1885. For nine years after his birth, the family lived in New Brunswick, then 
 a small town. William attended country school for a while, but, after the removal of 
 the family to New York, was sent to Columbia Grammar School until he had acquired 
 a sound elementary education. He then found employment in a ship chandlery store, 
 kept by a relative, and at the age of eighteen, became a clerk in the banking house of 
 Drew, Robinson & Co., at a salary of $150 for the first year, which was increased to 
 
THE CITY OF XEW YORK. VA. 68l 
 
 $300 the second year, and $1,000 at the beginning of the third. When twenty years of 
 age, he married Miss Maria Louisa Kissam, the daughter of a clergyman of the Dutch 
 Reformed Church at Albany. By diligent attention to the interests of his employers, 
 Mr. Yanderbilt won their regard and an offer to make him junior partner. Sedentary 
 occupation had begun to affect his health, however, and he was forced both to decline 
 the offer and give up his position. It is said that Commodore Vanderbilt did not fore- 
 see the splendid business man which his son was destined to become, and it is certain 
 that, at that period, he thought' farming better suited to the young man's ability. He 
 therefore helped William to buy an unimproved farm of seventy acres near New Dorp, 
 on Staten Island, and there the latter established himself with his young wife to enter 
 upon the laborious life of a farmer. After various trials, so successful did he become 
 in the cultivation of this land that, within a few years, he had two hundred and 
 fifty acres under cultivation and was making 12,000 per year from the sale of produce 
 Here he remained tranquilly and prosperously employed until the time had arrived 
 for him to take part in the management of some of his father's properties. A farmer 
 of middle age seldom succeeds in financial and corporate undertakings, unless he has 
 had previous training in their management ; and it is a remarkable illustration of the 
 energy, soundness of judgment and capacity of William H. Vanderbilt, that, from his 
 first association with any of his father's interests, he not only did not let them suffer 
 under his management but made them prosper. 
 
 In 1853, he visited Europe with his father and the rest of the family. Three years 
 after this, The Staten Island Railroad, from Stapleton to Tottenville, was chartered, 
 with Commodore Vanderbilt as principal stockholder. Finished in 1858, the road 
 proved a losing investment from the start and in two years was bankrupt. William 
 H. Vanderbilt, then one of the most prominent men on the island, was made receiver of 
 the road, in compliance with the wishes of the stockholders. This little line was only 
 thirteen miles long, but it served to acquaint Mr. Vanderbilt with the details of railway 
 management and to show his ability. He quickly mastered the situation. By reducing 
 expenses, stimulating excursion travel from the city to the fishing grounds, establish- 
 ing an independent ferry from Stapleton to New York and systematizing the business 
 of the road, he rescued the company from bankruptcy within two years and became its 
 president. He had demonstrated his ability in the most unexpected manner. No 
 living man at that time was a better judge of the value of such services than Commo- 
 dore Vanderbilt, and although he was slow to acknowledge the greatness of his son, 
 yet he did in time. 
 
 In 1864, William H. Vanderbilt was elected vice president of The New York & 
 Harlem Railroad and entered upon a career in which he gained distinction. From 
 that time forward, until his father's death in 1877, Mr. Vanderbilt was responsible in 
 large part for the oversight and execution of many of the great operations undertaken 
 by his father and gained an intimate knowledge of the mysteries of railroad manage- 
 ment. In 1877, he succeeded to the presidency of The New York & Harlem, The 
 New York Central & Hudson River and The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- 
 roads and to the possession of nearly nine-tenths of his father's fortune, with its 
 tremendous responsibilities. But he was well fitted for the position. One of his early 
 acts was to add to the bequests of his sisters a personal gift of $500,000 each, delivering 
 it to them himself, when he gave them their shares under the will. 
 
682 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 From the beginning of 1877 to the fall of 1881, the business history of Mr. Vander- 
 bilt was identical with that of the system of roads which bears his name and was a sea- 
 son of great activity in railroad matters. During 1877, he bought The Canada Southern 
 and The Michigan Central Railroads and added them to the Vanderbilt system. He also 
 took part, the same year, in the vigorous war over westward bound freight rates between 
 the trunk lines. This war had hardly subsided before the historic railway strikes and 
 riots of 1877 began. On account of the rate war, the companies had not been able to 
 maintain their scale of wages, and, in July, The New York Central made a reduction 
 of ten per cent. As there were 12,000 men in the employ of the system, it was feared 
 that trouble and violence would ensue. Mr. Vanderbilt, at the time in Saratoga, acted 
 with prompt decision. He summoned to his presence in August a few officers and 
 directors of the road, laid before them his plan of action, and after a brief conference 
 sent out by telegraph a proclamation, that the company would give to its employes the 
 sum of $100,000 to be divided among them pro rata, and at the same time promised a 
 restoration of the ten per cent, as soon as the business of the road would warrant. 
 The result was that none of the men struck, and the old scale of wages was eventually 
 restored. This was only one of the numerous instances, many of them of far greater 
 importance, in which he showed himself capable of meeting an emergency. 
 
 During his active career, Mr. Vanderbilt engaged in many large operations in 
 stocks, especially in Philadelphia & Reading and Chicago & Northwestern, which were 
 undertaken mainly to sustain the properties in which he was especially interested. 
 Clear headed, sagacious, and resolute, and possessing abundant capital, he was usually 
 successful in these and other undertakings and practically doubled his fortune. 
 
 In November, 1879, Mr. Vanderbilt, to protect his road from the attacks of great 
 rivals and at the same time change the character of a part of his investments, in 
 order to make them more ready of distribution in case of his death, made the largest 
 sale of railway stock in history by an individual owner. He sold, at this time, to a 
 syndicate representing a number of foreign capitalists, 250,000 shares of New York 
 Central stock at $120 a share and invested the proceeds in Government bonds. ' He 
 was known to be the holder of 400,000 shares, worth, in the market, $130 each. 
 
 In the midst of the next great railroad war, that of 1881, Mr. Vanderbilt withdrew 
 from the actual labor of railroad management and transferred the financial administra- 
 tion to his son, Cornelius, and oversight of the practical operations to his son, William 
 K. Vanderbilt. 
 
 May 4, 1883, Mr. Vanderbilt finally surrendered the presidencies of his various 
 railroads, making arrangements, however, for harmony in their management and a 
 continuance of the policies, which had theretofore met with the approval of the stock- 
 holders. Under the reorganization, he provided for election of a chairman of each 
 Board, who, in union with the executive and finance committees, should have immedi- 
 ate and constant supervision of all the affairs of the companies. James H. Rutter was 
 elected president of the New York Central, retaining the office until his death, when 
 he was succeeded by Chauncey M. Depew. Shortly after completing these arrange- 
 ments, Mr. Vanderbilt sailed for Europe to recruit his health, which had become 
 undermined by the labors of preceding years, and during the remainder of his life 
 spent more time in the enjoyment of his horses and art collections than in the financial 
 world. His last achievement was the leasing of the West Shore road in order to put 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. VA. 683 
 
 an end to competition, and this was accomplished only a day or two before his death. 
 
 Mr. Vanderbilt was a man of large physique, nearly six feet in height, erect, 
 sturdy, well proportioned, and active in movement Sometimes abrupt in speech, he 
 was as a rule genial in business affairs and easy almost to graciousness in social conver- 
 sation. He was a hard worker, an excellent judge of character, quick in intuition, 
 generally correct in his judgments, fearless of the dangers which surround a man of his 
 prominence, and exceedingly regular in his daily routine. He had that quality, 
 inherited from his father, of being able to select the right man for any position and to 
 leave its work to him with confidence that it would be well done. He was a domestic 
 man, fond of the society of his wife and children, and enjoyed family gatherings at his 
 house. His family life was always of the most pleasant character; and his wife, upon 
 whom devolved the duty of bringing up their large family of nine children, only one of 
 whom died in youth, was the same loving spouse and mother amid the magnificence 
 which surrounded their latter days as in earlier times on the Staten Island farm. He 
 never attended any large social gatherings or many big dinners. 
 
 One of his later undertakings was the building of his Fifth Avenue mansion, which 
 was the most handsome private dwelling in America, and contained, besides numerous 
 works of art, a magnificent collection of paintings, most of which had been selected by 
 himself or painted to his order. His taste ran mostly toward brilliant historical pictures, 
 although many other subjects were represented, and upon many occasions he permitted 
 the public to view his collection. Like his father, he was a great lover of fine horses 
 and was spoken of by the older set of horsemen as one of the best drivers who ever 
 lived. His stable at 5zd street and Madison Avenue was a model of elegance, and 
 sheltered at different times some of the best trotting stock that could be procured. 
 Every clear afternoon, he could be seen on the driveways of upper New York behind 
 his favorite team. One of his first feats was to drive Small Hopes and Lady Mac, a 
 mile to a top road wagon in 2. 23^ on Fleetwood Park track. This time had never 
 been deemed possible and created a sensation in the trotting world. Later, he bought 
 the celebrated Maud S. , and one time drove her with Aldine to a top road wagon over 
 the same course in 2.15^, the fastest time ever made by a trotting team under any cir- 
 cumstances. Mr. Vanderbilt kept Maud S. for several years and then sold her to 
 Robert Bonner. 
 
 While a liberal donor to philanthropic work (some of his gifts being too great to 
 remain unknown), Mr. Vanderbilt avoided publicity wherever possible. Many of his 
 benefactions have never been made public. On the presentation of the obelisk to this 
 city by the Khedive of Egypt, Mr. Vanderbilt defrayed the entire cost of its transpor- 
 tation and erection in Central Park. He also gave $100,000 to the Vanderbilt Univer- 
 sity at Nashville, Tenn., for the erection of a Theological Hall. His other gifts to this 
 institution at various times amounted to as much more, and he left it $200,000 in his 
 will. He was also a large contributor to the Deems fund for the education of indigent 
 students at the University of North Carolina, and made several generous gifts to the 
 University of Virginia In 1884, he gave $500,000 to The College of Physicians & 
 Surgeons of New York for a site and the erection of a new building. His generosity 
 towards General Grant at the time of the disastrous failure of Grant & Ward, is well 
 known. By his will, he gave $100,000 to the Metropolitan Museum of Art; $300,000 
 for Episcopal missions; $100,000 each to St. Luke's Hospital, The Young Men's 
 
684 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Christian Association, and The United Brethren's church on Staten Island; and 
 $500,000 more to other institutions, a total of a million dollars. His religious feelings 
 were strong and well founded. He was a life long communicant of St. Bartholomew's 
 church, having become a member of that body when he first came to the city. For 
 many years he served as a vestryman. When that church removed up town, he was a 
 member of the building committee for the new structure and gave liberally of both 
 his time and money to this work. His children were Cornelius, William K., Frederick 
 W. . and George W. Vanderbilt ; Margaret Louisa, wife of Elliott F. Shepard ; Emily 
 Thorn, wife of William D. Sloane; Florence Adele, wife of Hamilton McK. Twombly; 
 and Eliza O , wife of William Seward Webb. 
 
 CORNELIUS VANDERBILT, railroad president, oldest son of William H. Vander- 
 bilt, was born Nov. 27, 1843, on his father's farm on Staten Island. After an academic 
 education, he left his books to enter The Shoe & Leather Bank as a clerk, and, after 
 a time, became clerk for the Wall street firm of Kissam & Co. Even at this early 
 stage of his career, it was evident that he possessed the remarkable business ability of 
 his family and would make his mark in any calling. 
 
 In 1865, his father called him to a clerkship in tne office of The New York & Har- 
 lem Railroad, in order that his training in railroad management should begin at the 
 beginning and be thorough and comprehensive. Making himself perfectly familiar 
 with the system of accounts, he became, in 1867, treasurer of the company, a position 
 he held for ten years. In 1877, he was elected vice president of The New York & 
 Harlem Railroad and first vice president of The New York Central & Hudson River 
 Railroad. In these important stations, Mr. Vanderbilt displayed excellent capacity for 
 dealing with important subjects, sound and keen judgment, and the ability to decide 
 safely and without hesitation. During the following years, before his father's practical 
 retirement had placed upon him the weight of enormous trusts, he served in an official 
 capacity in the direction of others of the Vanderbilt railroads. He was treasurer of 
 The Michigan Central Railroad, 1878-83; vice president, 1880-83; an d treasurer and 
 vice president of The Canada Southern Railway, 1878-83. Delighting in the study 
 of railroad problems, systematic, industrious and rapid in the execution of work, he 
 discharged every trust committed to him with fidelity and success; and when, in 1883, 
 he became the especial represetative of the Vanderbilt interests, he was universally 
 recognized as a trained and competent railroad man. 
 
 In 1883, he was elected president of The Canada Southern Railway and chairman 
 of the board of directors of The New York Central & Hudson River and The Michigan 
 Central Railroads, and in 1886, president of The New York & Harlem Railroad and vice 
 president of The Beech Creek Railroad. He is now connected in an official capacity 
 with every one of the magnificent system of railroads, founded by his grandfather and 
 developed by his father and himself. Of all the persons in the service of these corpor- 
 ations, no one labors with closer application or more conscientious spirit than the man 
 upon whom, in reality, rests the principal responsibility of directing the policy of 16,000 
 miles of railway line and the labor of nearly one hundred and twenty thousand men. 
 He pervades the whole system with his activity, deals with a great variety of prob- 
 lems, is thorough in his investigation of each one, and, while aided by men of distin- 
 guished ability who have charge of various branches of the service, is himself the in- 
 spiration of most that is done. He is now president of The Canada Southern & 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. VA. 685 
 
 Michigan Central Railroad, and director in about forty-five different companies, among 
 them The New York & Harlem, The West Shore, The Dunkirk, Alleghany Valley & 
 Pittsburgh, The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, The Chicago, St. Paul, Minne- 
 apolis & Omaha, The Pine Creek, and The New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroads, 
 and is also a director of Union Trust Co., The New York Mutual Gas Light Co., and 
 various other corporations. 
 
 While practical affairs necessarily absorb the most of his time, Mr. Vanderbilt has 
 made himself one of the most useful and public spirited residents of this city by his 
 sympathetic interest in and cordial support of every institution, which will advance the 
 prestige of the metropolis or carry on a noble and philanthropic work. He is a trustee 
 of Columbia College, The General Theological Seminar}-, the Cathedral of St. John the 
 Divine, and The American Museum of Natural History, and chairman of the executive 
 committee of St. Luke's Hospital and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. These insti- 
 tutions, most of which have received from him generous gifts, would alone consume all 
 the time a busy man could ordinarily spare for public labors, but his attention to these 
 interests does not comprise a moiety of his activity in the field of philanthropy. He is 
 a devoted churchman, a regular attendant of St. Bartholomew's P. E. Church on Madi- 
 son avenue, of whose vestry he is a member, and a manager of The Board of Domestic 
 and Foreign Missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and The Seaman's Mission- 
 ary Society, vice president of The Young Men's Christian Association and The Eye & 
 Ear Infirmary, and director of The Home for Incurables, The College of Physicians & 
 Surgeons, The Sloane Maternity Hospital, and The Hospital for the Relief of the Rup- 
 tured & Crippled, and a contributor not only to them but to many other societies and 
 charities. He is also chairman of the railroad branch of The Young Men's Christian 
 Association, founded by him in 1877, for which he has erected a most attractive build- 
 ing on Madison avenue at the corner of 45th street at an expense of several hundred 
 thousand dollars. 
 
 In the social life of the city, he occupies a Very eminent position. His wife is 
 Alice Gwynne, daughter of the late Abram E. Gwynne, and the children born to them 
 have been Alice G., William H., Cornelius, Gertrude, Alfred G., Reginald C., and 
 Gladys. Mrs. Vanderbilt is a devoted mother and a gracious and charming woman, 
 refined, dignified and cultivated in mind, and a worthy companion of her distinguished 
 husband. While not especially fond of the life of clubs, Mr. Vanderbilt belongs to 
 manj- and is occasionally seen in the houses of the Metropolitan, Union, Union League, 
 Tuxedo, Knickerbocker, Grolier, St. Nicholas, City, Players', Century, Riding, Country, 
 Racquet, Lawyers', New York Yacht, Westchester Polo and Down Town clubs, of 
 which he is a member. He is also a member of The St. Nicholas Society and various 
 other social organizations. 
 
 He is happiest in his home life and has contributed in the construction of his 
 dwelling to the splendor of the metropolis. He has occupied for many years a house 
 on the northwest corner of Fifth avenue and 57th street, the latter being the most 
 desirable side street up town, owing to its greater width, the beauty of the mansions 
 with which it is lined, and its nearness to Central Park, only two blocks away. This 
 house was, in 1893-94, greatly enlarged, and the yard extended through to 58th street, 
 several dwellings and the house of the Seventh Regiment Veteran club having been 
 removed to make way for the new portions of the mansion. In its completed form. 
 
686 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 the mansion is now the largest private residence in America. It is of brick, five stories 
 high, its ornaments, pinnacles, sills and trimmings made of light colored stone. In 
 style, it follows the architecture of the Chateau du Blois in France, and, while impres- 
 sive from its size and beauty, avoids ostentation and possesses an air of substantial 
 comfort which is very pleasing. Within, Mr. Vanderbilt has spared no pains to endow 
 his house with every attraction within the range of the powers of the architect, the 
 sculptor, the artist, and the decorator. Carpets have been woven and furniture de- 
 signed especially for each of the principal rooms by a celebrated firm of Paris. " Hos- 
 pitality " is inscribed upon one of the walls and pervades the conduct of the estab- 
 lishment. A strip of lawn borders the Fifth avenue side of the mansion, and a garden 
 and an impressive carriage porch adorns the s8th street front. The building is a not- 
 able contribution to the architecture of the city. 
 
 ABRAHAfl R. VAN NEST, merchant, a native of Somerset county, N. J., who 
 died in New York city, June 25, 1888, in his seventy-ninth year, was Dutch in ped- 
 igree. In early life, he came to the city and engaged in business with his uncle, 
 Abraham Van Nest, son of William Van Nest, and a well known dealer in saddlery and 
 later a manufacturer. To this trade the young man succeeded and his firm of A. R. 
 Van Nest & Co. became one of the strongest in the city. The old house is yet in business 
 and completes the one hundreth year of its existence in 1895. Mr. Van Nest has never 
 sought public office, but in the business world, in which he was active for sixty years, he 
 held many trusts At the time of his death, he was a director of The Farmers' Loan & 
 Trust Co., The Delaware & Hudson Canal Co., The New York, New Haven & Hart- 
 ford Railroad, The Western Union Telegraph Co. , The Sixth Avenue Railroad, The 
 Seventh National Bank, The Stuyvesant Safe Deposit Co., and The Greenwich, Fire- 
 men's, Mercantile, Pacific and Guardian Insurance Go's. He had also served at various 
 times as a director of The Illinois Central, The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, and 
 The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroads. His children were a son and three 
 daughters, Alexander, Mary, Anna and Jane. 
 
 WARNER VAN NORDEN, president of The National Bank of North America, is a 
 descendant of two of the oldest families on the Island of Manhattan. There are few 
 residents of the United States more thoroughly American than he, his family having 
 lived in his native city continually since the year 1633 or more than 261 years. On his 
 father's side, Mr. Van Norden is a representative of one of the ancient Holland Dutch 
 families, so many of which have been conspicuous in the history of the State, the Van 
 Nordens having come to America from Amsterdam about the year 1640. On his 
 mother's side, he is descended from the famous Rev. Dr. Everardus Bogardus, who 
 began preaching the gospel in the old church within the fort on what is now the Battery. 
 He was the first regular Presbyterian pastor in the United States. Dominie Bogardus 
 was a fearless preacher of the gospel and a determined champion of the people in their 
 conflict against the arbitrary rule of the Governor, William Kieft. In 1638, he married 
 the rich widow Anneke Jans, who owned what is known as the "Trinity Church pro- 
 perty." Two of Mr. Van Norden's mother's ancestors were Abraham de la Noy and 
 Jean Mousnier de La Montagnie, French Huguenots, who had fled from religious per- 
 secution to Holland and who with other colonists came to New Amsterdam in the 
 early days. De La Montagnie belonged to the ancienne noblesse of France and was a 
 man of great learning, unusual accomplishments and elegant manners. His three 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. VA. 687 
 
 daugnters were the most charming and attractive women in the colony. He was 
 Councillor to Governor Kieft, a sort of prime minister. After Petrus Stuyvesant 
 became Governor, de La Montagnie was Vice Governor and ruled the northern portion 
 of the province, establishing his seat of government at Fort Orange, now Albany. 
 
 Other old New York families, with whom Mr. Van Norden is connected by blood 
 and marriage ties, are the Roomes, Kiersteds, Kips, Van Nests, Waldrons and 
 Vermilyes. His great great grandfather, Adriance Hoghland, once owned all the land 
 now occupied by Riverside Park and Drive and long known as the De Kay farm. 
 
 Mr. Van Norden was born in the city of New York, July 2, 1841. He was edu- 
 cated in the preparatory school of the University of the City of New York, in the 
 grand old building, recently removed, which stood opposite the Washington parade 
 ground. His father was a wholesale produce merchant on the west side of the city, 
 and the young man entered a house engaged in a similar line of business at No. 3 
 Front street. This concern was the largest of its kind in the country', the principal 
 part of the business being with English shippers. Here, Mr. Van Norden received a 
 thorough training in commercial life. He was noted for his fidelity to duty, diligence 
 and intelligence. In a brief period, he had risen to be a partner in the house and later 
 he became its representative in the South. His mercantile career was attended with 
 marked success. Untiring, upright, commanding the respect and confidence of all 
 with whom he came in contact, he was able to enlarge the trade of his firm and he 
 shared in the prosperity which he was instrumental in creating. In 1876, he retired 
 from mercantile business and engaged in private banking, becoming interested in a 
 variety of railroad and other enterprises. 
 
 In the early eighties, the subject of this sketch became interested, with some 
 Pacific coast friends, in the Plymouth gold mine of California and was the president of 
 the company. The Plymouth was then the best gold mine in the United States and 
 produced in the entire period of its existence over six millions of dollars. Visiting such 
 a mine, sixteen hundred feet under ground, is attended with risks and casualties are 
 frequent. Though dangerously near to accident a number of times, Mr. Van Norden 
 was never injured. The same Providence has watched over him on more than a score 
 of long ocean voyages and in travels through many lands. His most thrilling experi- 
 ence was in August, 1864, when voyaging up the Mississippi on the passenger steamer 
 Empress. At Games' Landing, Arkansas, a hidden Confederate batten- suddenly 
 opened fire on the steamboat. Over one hundred shots were fired. The captain and 
 a number of passengers were killed and many wounded. The boat was disabled and 
 was on the point of being captured, when the United States gunboat Prairie Bird, 
 coming to the rescue, drove off the enemy and towed the Empress to a place of safety. 
 The surgeon came aboard, and, with the help of Mr. Van Norden and other passengers 
 who were unhurt, cared for the injured. At sundown, a little group tenderly laid away 
 in newly made graves under a great cypress tree the remains of those whose lives had 
 been taken, and offered a prayer for their loved ones at home. 
 
 In January, 1891, Mr. Van Norden was elected president of The National Bank of 
 North America, one of the oldest financial institutions in the country, and has since 
 remained at its head. Besides conducting the affairs of this bank, Mr. Van Norden has 
 been led by his progressive nature and intelligent interest in affairs to become a mana- 
 ger in other important corporations. He is president of The South Yuba Water Co. ; 
 
688 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 president of The Land & River Improvement Co. ; vice-president of The Holland Trust 
 Co. ; and a director of The Home Insurance Co. , American Savings Bank, The North- 
 ern Trust Co., of Superior, Wis., and several other organizations. He is also a receiver 
 of The Chicago & Northern Pacific Railroad Co., and of The Norfolk, Albemarle & 
 Atlantic Railroad Co. He is president of The Holland Society and a member of the 
 Metropolitan and Lawyers' clubs as well as of the Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 Like his famous ancestor, Dr. Bogardus, Mr. Van Norden is a Presbyterian church- 
 man and is active and prominent in religious circles. He is a trustee both of his Pres- 
 bytery and Synod. He ranks among the foremost of ruling elders, has frequently 
 served in the judicatories, and is president of The Presbyterian Union of New York 
 city. He has been active in the Presbyterian General Assembly as well as in the 
 Presbytery and Synod, and is a member of the Assembly's Committee on The Church 
 Magazine and the Presbyterial Committee on Church Extension. Besides this, he is a 
 prominent member of The Board of Foreign Missions, and a director of The American 
 Tract Society and The New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor. 
 
 Mr. Van Norden has been specially fitted for the great burden of work imposed upon 
 him by his extended interests, by the possession of a magnificent physique and robust 
 constitution, inherited from his sturdy ancestors. Moreover, he has never irritated these 
 natural powers by the use of tobacco or ardent spirits. In addition to shrewd business 
 ability and religious activities, Mr. Van Norden is possessed of rare social qualities. 
 Refined, agreeable in manner, with a mind well stored with information by travel, 
 observation and reading, and possessing a racy humor, he is in demand both as a con- 
 versationalist and an after dinner speaker. His home is beautified with rare works of 
 art, showing a cultivated taste, but the atmosphere of family affection which pervades 
 it is its rarest and most enviable adornment. He is deeply devoted to the welfare of the 
 metropolis and has contributed his share in maintaining those two notable institutions, 
 The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The American Museum of Natural History. 
 
 CORTLANDT SCHUYLER VAN RENSSELAER, lawyer and realty owner, born 
 in Albany, N. Y., Nov. 20, 1859, is a son of Gratz and Catherine Van Cortlandt Van 
 Rensselaer and in the seventh generation of descent from Kilian Van Rensselaer, who 
 bought from the Indians the land now comprising the counties of Albany, Rensselaer, 
 Delaware, Greene and Columbia and became first patron of Rensselaerwyck. The parents 
 of the subject of this sketch removed to New York city, while he was a lad. Graduat- 
 ing from Hobart College, he afterward attended Columbia Law School in New York, 
 but, before graduating, went to Eau Claire, Wis., and was admitted to the bar there. 
 He practiced law with success for a while but returned to New York city in 1884 and 
 entered the office of Elihu Root, then United States District Attorney. He became 
 Assistant District Attorney under William Dorsheimer, Mr. Root's successor, and later, 
 under Stephen A. Walker and Edward Mitchell. A delegate to various State conven- 
 tions of the Republican party, Mr. Van Rensselaer once ran for Congress against 
 General Spinola in the Xllth District, and, although defeated, made a vigorous and 
 determined campaign. In 1891, he became counsel for The American Surety Co., and 
 yet holds that position, being an active, sound and capable lawyer. He is the proprietor 
 of considerable real estate, mainly acquired by successful investment, the basis of which 
 was an inheritance from John Van Rensselaer, his grandfather, and Stephen Van 
 Cortlandt, his great grandfather, and has managed hi? properties with excellent judg- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. VA. 689 
 
 ment. In 1891, he married Miss Horace, daughter of William Macaulay, a Scot and a 
 writer of distinction and a descendant in her mother's line from Capt. John Underbill. 
 He is a member of the Metropolitan, Country, University, St. Nicholas and Sigma 
 Phi clubs, The Society of Colonial Wars, The Colonial Order, The Sons of the Revo- 
 lution and the Huguenot Society. 
 
 ASHLEY ABRAHAM VAN TINE, one of the most notable of the up-town mer- 
 chants of this city, was born Oct. 12, 1821, in Chazy, N. Y., and died at his home, No. 
 153 West 57th street in this city, Jan. 25, 1890. He traced his family line back to old 
 Holland stock, and his father, David Van Tine, followed the occupation of a farmer. 
 It was upon the farm that Ashley A. Van Tine began life. He grew up rugged in 
 health, practical and energetic, and, with a country school education, took the first step 
 in the way of bettering his condition by becoming captain of a canal boat, while yet 
 under age, graduating from this latter service to engage in teaching a school in Platts- 
 burgh. This latter experience was useful to Mr. Van Tine, and by constant study he 
 became a well informed man. 
 
 Early in life, the subject of this memoir joined the throng of residents of the 
 Eastern States, who were pouring into California, drawn by the glowing tales of dis- 
 coveries of gold. Being detained on the Isthmus of Panama, a hundred days, he 
 followed a custom usual with him and not often followed, of making the most of every 
 minute of time, and at once began to study the Spanish language, becoming so pro- 
 ficient that the Alcalde offered him great inducements to remain. But the glitter of 
 California gold proved too tempting to the New Yorker, and he pressed onward to San 
 Francisco. For a number of years he carried on a profitable trade in general mer- 
 chandise in the cities of Marysville and San Francisco, during which period he experi- 
 enced some of the hardships of life in a region in which the comforts of civilization 
 had not yet been introduced, but steadily gained ground and made his way without 
 serious interruption. 
 
 It was during his mercantile experience upon the Pacific coast, that Mr. Van Tine 
 became acquainted with the beauty of the ceramic and textile productions of the two 
 great nations beyond the western ocean. About 1866, he came to New York city and 
 with small capital began to import Chinese and Japanese goods, and to introduce the 
 beautiful productions of Asiatic art to the attention of local buyers. He may thus be 
 said to have become for the second time a pioneer, and, as before, in an almost unex- 
 plored field. Little was then known by the public at large concerning the variety and 
 beauty of Chinese and Japanese goods, because scarcely anything of this nature had 
 ever been received in New York up to that time beyond a few invoices of silk, por- 
 celains and lacquered ware. Mr. Van Tine entered upon his new enterprise with his 
 accustomed good judgment and after prudent study of the markets. A love of beauti- 
 ful objects, formerly cherished by a few, had finally taken possession of the people of 
 New York city and the American public at large, and the adornment of the home was 
 leading to the purchase of every article, which would gratify a refined taste, including 
 hangings, pictures, decorated pottery and elegant trifles of all kinds. 
 
 Mr. Van Tine opened his store just at the right time and throngs of buyers 
 rewarded his enterprise. His first day's sale amounted to $50 only. Although insig- 
 nificant in itself, this result was a surety of success to his mind and he prosecuted his 
 business with vigor and confidence. When he finally began to order hundreds and 
 
&' 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK.. VA. 69! 
 
 thousands of the various articles which composed his stocks, the Japanese merchants 
 looked at him with amazement, while buyers in New York were captivated by the 
 variety and extent of the goods he spread before them. In time, he finally added the 
 importation of Turkish rugs to his business and rose to be the leading merchant in this 
 field in New York city. His operations compelled him to maintain branches and 
 representatives in every part of the United States and in many countries abroad. At 
 one time, he had customers in every State of the Union. 
 
 In 1870, he admitted to partnership, under the name of A. A. Van Tine & Co., 
 James F. Sutton, who remained with him for twelve years and then retired. James 
 I. Raymond was made a partner in 1875. Various other changes took place in the 
 firm, and finally, in 1887, Mr. Van Tine retired, after an honorable career of nearly 
 fifty years in practical business He was able to enjoy a few years of well earned rest 
 before his death. His wife and two daughters survived him. 
 
 PHILIP VAN VOLKENBURGH, merchant, a native of Ghent, Columbia county, 
 N. Y., born May 14, 1813, died in New York city, Feb. 18, 1889. He received a 
 common school education and, at the age of twenty-one, took charge of the business of 
 J. & B. Marshall at Stockport, N. Y. At the end of two years, he had saved enough to 
 purchase the business outright. Having carried on the store with success until 1844, 
 he then came to New York and entered the employment of Rufus R. Skeel & Co., and 
 after two years became a member of the wholesale dry goods firm of Skeel, Hurburt & 
 Sweetser, continuing as a partner through various changes until Jan. i, 1885, when a 
 new sign announced the firm name as P. Van Volkenburgh & Co. Marked probity of 
 character, courteous demeanor and persistent enterprise made his firm conspicuous in 
 the dry goods trade. Edward and Thomas, sons, became members of the firm in course 
 of time. Mr. Van Volkenburgh was one of the founders and first president of The 
 Fifth Avenue Bank, a director of The Importers' and Traders' Bank, a trustee of The 
 Greenwich Savings Bank and The United States Life Insurance Co. , and one of the 
 governors of The Women's Hospital He possessed to a marked degree the confidence 
 and respect of the business community. To him and his wife, Ann S., were born four 
 children, Edward, Thomas S. and Philip Van Volkenburgh, and Emma, wife of 
 Edward S. Rapallo. 
 
 JOHN DAVIS VERflEULE, merchant, banker and manufacturer, was born Sept. 
 21, 1822, in Plainfield, N. J., to which place his great grandfather, formerly of Bergen, 
 had removed in 1736. His father and grandfather both bore the name of Frederick 
 Vermeule, and the latter for many years served as Presiding Judge of the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas of Somerset county Judge Vermeule's father was Cornelius Vermeule, a 
 large land owner, proprietor of an estate comprising over one thousand two hundred 
 acres. He was a member of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey and an active patriot 
 in the Revolution. His four sons, including Judge Vermeule, were all in the service as 
 soldiers or officers. Cornelius was a son of Adrian Vermeule, Voorleser and Town Clerk 
 at Bergen, N. J., and a grandson of Jan Cornelissen Vermeule, town officer, church 
 elder and a prominent citizen of Vlissengen in Zeeland. Adrian came to America orig- 
 inally on a visit, but was persuaded by his friends to remain and accept the position of 
 Voorleser at Harlem. He was afterward called to Bergen and there married Christina 
 Cadmus, whose paternal grandfather, Thomas Fredericksen Cadmus, and maternal 
 grandfather, Anclries Hopper, were both residents of New Amsterdam and owners of 
 
692 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 real estate, prior to 1650. Including- Jan Cornelissen, representatives of six successive 
 generations in the Vermeule family and of the name have served as elders in the Church 
 or ministers of the gospel. 
 
 Until eighteen years of age, John D. Vermeule was a student of Morton's School 
 in Middlebrook, N. J. He then decided to become a merchant and entered a dry 
 goods store in New Brunswick. Since acquiring his business training there, most of 
 his time has been spent as a manufacturer and banker. In 1844, The Goodyear 's India 
 Rubber Glove Manufacturing Co. was formed to carry on the manufacture of rubber 
 boots, shoes and clothing. For the past thirty-five years, Mr. Vermeule has success- 
 fully managed the affairs of this corporation, and is the principal stockholder and presi- 
 dent and treasurer of the company. As a merchant, he is capable ; as a manufacturer, 
 he is enterprising, vigorous and practical ; as an executive officer, efficient and thorough. 
 Under his direction and supervision, The Goodyear's India Rubber Glove Manufactur- 
 ing Co. has developed its operations and extended its trade until the business is conti- 
 nental. To meet its requirements, large factories have been built in Naugatuck, 
 Conn., employing 2,000 operatives in what is now the largest industry of its class in 
 the United States, manufacturing 18,000 pairs of boots and shoes per day and in addi- 
 tion a large amount of rubber clothing and other articles. The capital of the company 
 is $500,000, and its surplus largely in excess of this amount. In devising new and 
 valuable applications of rubber to the production of clothing and the manufacturing of 
 boots and shoes, Mr. Vermeule has led the trade. His success has resulted from the 
 exceptional combination of a clear mind with tenacious perseverance, a high character 
 and unceasing enterprise. 
 
 Notwithstanding the great scope and responsibility of his principal occupation, 
 Mr. Vermeule has also been associated with other important institutions in New York. 
 He is president of The Holland Trust Co., vice president of The American Savings 
 & Loan Association, and a director in other money institutions. He is also president 
 of The York Cliffs Improvement Co., The York Water Co., and of other industrial 
 corporations. 
 
 As a busy man of affairs, he has found in public life few attractions. He has not 
 cared to neglect the great business interests under his management, because he finds 
 greater happiness in the field of legitimate enterprise than can come to a man of his 
 temperament in public office. While he once consented to serve as Supervisor of the 
 town of Castleton in Richmond county, he has refused other suggestions looking to his 
 selection for the public service 
 
 Mr. Vermeule was married, April 15, 1846, to Mary C., daughter of John W. Kelly, 
 a merchant of Philadelphia, from which union there are no children now living. He 
 has joined a few of the best clubs in town, including the Manhattan, Reform, Riding, 
 Commonwealth and Merchants' Central. He is also an interested member of The 
 Holland Society, being associated there with numerous other descendants of the early 
 Dutch inhabitants. 
 
 JACOB DYCKMAN VERMILYE, banker, born July 15, 1817, on John street in this 
 city, died at his home on 5ist street, Jan. i, 1892. He was descended from Huguenot 
 stock, and began life, at the foot of the ladder, as clerk in an office on Wall street, 
 where, and in a clerkship in The Merchants' Exchange Bank and later in The Hide & 
 Leather Bank, he gained a knowledge of the elements of finance. Although repeatedly 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. VE. 693 
 
 promoted, he finally left to become paying teller of The Bank of the United States. A 
 better offer led him finally to Newark, N. J., to become cashier of The Newark State 
 Bank, where he served with credit until 1858, being also for four years cashier of The 
 Newark Banking & Insurance Co. Recalled to New York in 1858 as cashier of The Mer- 
 chants' Bank, he became president of that institution in 1868, retaining this office until 
 his death. During the Civil War and the issue of Government bonds and later, Mr. Ver- 
 milye shared in many of the largest financial operations of the day. He was one of the 
 originators and, at the time of his death, treasurer of The Equitable Gas Light Co. ; 
 for many years chairman of the executive committee of the Clearing House; and a di- 
 rector of The Bank of North America, The Central Trust Co., The Royal and The Con- 
 tinental Insurance Go's., and about twenty other banking and insurance corporations. 
 At one time, he declined an offer of appointment as Assistant Treasurer of the United 
 States in New York city. An active nature and vigorous health permitted him to extend 
 his activity in many directions, and a philanthropic nature ensured his interest in labors 
 for the public good. He served on the School Board, 1873-90, gave largely to the 
 Rober^ College in Constantinople, and the Theological School of Princeton College, and 
 was useful in the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, the Boards of Home and Foreign 
 Missions, and The Home for Incurables. He delighted in private acts of benevolence. 
 Married in 1840 to Mary Cornelia, a daughter of Gerard Lathrop, he was the father of 
 William G. Vermilye and Mary Ann, wife of Henry W. Baldwin. After the death of 
 his wife in 1879, ne married Mrs. Annie C. Baldwin, who survives him. 
 
 COL. WASHINGTON ROMEYN VERfllLYE, banker, born in New York city in 1810, 
 died at his home in Englewood, N. J. , Dec. 23, 1876. He was a son of William W. Ver- 
 milye, and a brother of the Rev. Thomas E., Jacob D., the Rev. Robert G. and William 
 M. Vermilye, and through his father of Huguenot and by his mother, Mary Montgom- 
 ery, of Dutch ancestry. First a clerk for The New York Bible Society, he afterward 
 entered the office of Rufus Nevins in Wall street, where he remained until he went into 
 business for himself, shortly after he became of age. Later, he formed a partnership 
 in banking with George Carpenter under the name of Carpenter & Vermilye, which 
 continued until shortly after the breaking out of the Civil War, when the name was 
 changed to Vermilye & Co. The house is yet in existence. Having military tastes, 
 Mr. Vermilye in 1830 joined the sth Company of the 7th Regiment of militia. Pro- 
 moted to be a captain in 1833 and major in 1840, he became colonel in 1845. He also 
 was a member of the Veteran Association down to the time of his death, being at one 
 time its colonel. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a private in the Sth 
 Company for a three months campaign in 1862. After long service in the regiment, 
 he retired, but retained his interest and took an active part in the building of a new 
 armory. He was president of The Greenwich Savings Bank and a director of The 
 Merchants' National Bank and The Presbyterian Hospital, a member of the Board of 
 The American Bible Society and The Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, and an 
 elder in the Presbyterian Church at Englewood. He made liberal bequests in his will 
 to religious and charitable organizations In 1834, Col. Vermilye married Elizabeth 
 D., daughter of the Hon. Samuel Lathrop, of West Springfield, Mass. Two children 
 survived him, Washington Romeyn Vermilye and Emily A., wife of Elbert A. Brincker- 
 hoff. He was the soul of honor, a good friend, a useful citizen, a staunch patriot and 
 a trusted banker, and as a Christian, sincere and devout. 
 
w. 
 
 JOHN BRISBEN WALKER, Ph. D., LL.D., editor and publisher, born on the 
 Monongahela river, Pa., Sept. 10. 1847, springs from an old American family. His 
 grandfather, Major John Walker, was the first commissioner for the improvement of 
 Western rivers, and established the first ship yards west of the Alleghanics. Gen. S. G. 
 Krepps, his mother's father, was a conspicuous figure in the Pennsylvania Senate 
 between 1817 and 1827. From Georgetown College in 1865, Mr. Walker went to West 
 Point. He resigned in 1868 to accompany J. Ross Browne, the United States Minister, 
 to China, where he entered the military service of the Empire. In 1870, he returned to 
 his home and engaged in manufacturing in West Virginia, his popularity there resulting 
 in 1872 in a nomination by the Republicans for Congress. He was not, however, elected. 
 The panic of 1873 rediiced Mr. Walker to poverty and he began life anew as a special 
 writer for The Cincinnati Commercial. He was shortly afterward made managing 
 editor of The Pittsburgh Telegraph, and in 1876, managing editor of The Washington 
 Daily Chronicle." In 1879, ne removed to Colorado and engaged in alfalfa farming. 
 He was the first to introduce alfalfa farming on a considerable scale into Colorado, 
 and, during the following ten years not only developed this interest but redeemed from 
 overflow a large tract of bottom lands on the Platte river within the city limits. The 
 Berkeley Farm became the largest plantation of this perfumed giant clover in the 
 State. These enterprises brought him a second fortune, which was due to his own 
 efforts. In 1889, he came to New York, purchased The Cosmopolitan Magazine, then 
 an insolvent property, having a circulation of 16,000 copies, infused great life into the 
 magazine, and brought its circulation up to nearly 400,000 copies a month. In 1871, 
 he married Emily Strother, daughter of Gen. David Hunter Strother, of Virginia, 
 famous under the nom de plume of "Porte Crayon," and their children are, John 
 Brisben, jr., David Strother, James Randolph, Justin, Harold, Wilfred, Ethel and 
 Gerald. Mr. Walker is a member of the Century and Aldine clubs of New York, and 
 the University club of Chicago. 
 
 ANTHONY WALLACH, manufacturer born in Freystadt, Hungary, May 13, 
 1834, is one of the men of foreign birth who have made a conspicuous success of life 
 in New York city. He received a thorough education at a private school, and learned 
 from his father the trade of manufacturing jeweler. At the age of nineteen, he became 
 associated with his brother, who had preceJed him to this cotintry by five years, in the 
 manufacture of gold chains. Commencingin a small way and pushing the sale of their 
 goods with the greatest skill and energy, they gradually enlarged their business until 
 they became one of the largest firms in that specialty in the country, employing from 
 two hundred to three hundred hands. They established a reputation of their own for 
 their class of goods, by adopting a uniform price for the various patterns and weights 
 and being careful of the quality of all their productions. During his thirty years' expe- 
 rience, Mr. Wallach enjoyed uninterrupted success. He was known throughout the 
 entire business community as a man of the highest probity. He passed through more 
 than one great financial crisis, but his paper was never once dishonored, because he met 
 all his financial obligations promptly. 
 
696 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Every man of European birth, who is upright, practical and of good repute, and 
 who identifies himself cordially with the affairs of the country, finds opportunities in 
 America for making his mark, fully equal to those enjoyed by the native born. In 
 New York city especially little else is asked concerning a business man. except this. 
 Is he competent, honest and judicious? Mr. Wallach's career is one more proof of this: 
 He became a director in The Importers' & Traders' National Bank in 1875, and in 
 The United States Life Insurance Co. in 1876, in both of which institutions he is yet 
 associated with many of the most prominent business men in New York city, who 
 recognize his business ability and sound judgment. 
 
 During a period of over a quarter of a century, Mr. Wallach has been also identified 
 with various benevolent and charitable organizations and has been especially active in 
 aiding his compatriots, who have sought an asylum under the free government of the 
 United States. He gave employment in his works to a large number of them, among 
 them being the secretary and personal friend of the distinguished Kossuth. 
 
 Mr. Wallach visited his native country in 1866, where he married Emma Sessler, 
 a highly educated and accomplished lady, whose brother is yet a prominent officer in 
 the Austrian army. Mr. Wallach has contributed liberally from his own means to 
 various benevolent enterprises, and during the great inundation at Szegedin, in Hun- 
 gary, raised the largest amount of money for relief of any individual. 
 
 He retired from business in 1883, and has since devoted his time and energies to 
 aiding his fellow men. He has been for many years connected with the Masonic fra- 
 ternity, in which his moral and social qualities are highly appreciated. 
 
 JAMES EDWARD WARD, shipping merchant, a native of New York city, was 
 born Feb. 25, 1836, and died at his country home at Great Neck, L. I., July 23, 1894, 
 in the prime of a creditable and successful life. His father was James Otis Ward, a 
 shipping merchant. The founder of his family in America was William Ward, born in 
 Derbyshire, England, in 1603, who came to America before 1639, represented Sudbury, 
 Mass., in the General Court of the colony in 1644, and died in Marlboro, Mass., Aug. 
 10, 1687, 
 
 Suitably educated in the schools of New York city, Mr. Ward began his active 
 career at an early age as a clerk in his father's office. The young man displayed 
 marked force of character from the outset and started, in 1856, at the age of twenty, 
 on his own account, a line of sailing packets from this port to Havana, operating them 
 under the name of James E. Ward & Co. This name is retained to the present day. 
 Mr. Ward was an excellent manager, soon gained almost a monopoly of the carriage of 
 freight and passengers between New York and Cuba, and by 1875 had afloat about 
 forty sail of vessels, including a few steamers, employed mainly in the trade of the 
 West Indies His ships were always model carriers. After the war, Mr. Ward resolved 
 to employ steam in the Havana trade and became indeed the pioneer therein. In 
 1866, he launched the steamship Cuba and with her established the first regular steam 
 communication between New York and Havana. The use of steam justified the enter- 
 prise so promptly, that Mr. Ward then chartered the Liberty and later yet a number 
 of freight steamers. About 1875, he began disposing of his sailing tonnage, and, after 
 1877, confined his operations almost wholly to steam. 
 
 In 1877, John Roach built for him under contract the two iron steamers, Saratoga 
 and Niagara, of 2,300 tons each, both in all respects greatly in advance of any then 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WA. 697 
 
 afloat under the American flag. The Saratoga, bought shortly afterward by the Russian 
 government, is yet in service, an object lesson of the value of the merchant marine as a 
 naval reserve. Her place in the line was taken in 1878 by a new iron steamer of the 
 same name. The Santiago was added to the fleet in 1879 and employed in trips to the 
 South coast of Cuba. The Newport of 2,800 tons was built in 1880, and in 1883, the 
 Cienfuegos, the latter for the trade to the south side of Cuba. In 1888, he bought the 
 excellent steamers of the Alexandre line and gradually extended the service of his fleet 
 to Mexico, Honduras and Yucatan, until to-day the line comprises ten iron and steel 
 steamships aggregating about 30,000 tons, all flying the flag of James E. Ward & Co., 
 and the banner of the United States. Mr. Ward made his office at No. 113 Wall street 
 and was for forty years a familiar figure in that part of the city. 
 
 In 1857, he married Harriet A. Morrell, daughter of William Morrell, and was sur- 
 vived by one daughter, Florence A., wife of Alphonse H. Alker of this city. He spent 
 every winter in New York city and the summer season either in travel or at his country 
 home on Great Neck, L. I. The New York, Manhattan and Down Town clubs elected 
 him to membership. 
 
 Always a strong advocate of the American flag over the American built ship, Mr. 
 Ward took a most active and patriotic interest in every effort to promote the extension 
 of the American merchant marine in the foreign trade, and was an active promoter and 
 supporter of the American Shipping and Industrial League, an intimate friend of John 
 Roach, the veteran ship builder, and a stirring, intelligent and successful man, loyal to 
 his country, a staunch friend and an upright citizen. 
 
 WILLIAM T. WARDWELL, oil refiner, originated in Bristol, R. I., where he 
 was born Feb. i, 1827. He is descended from William Wardwell, an English immi- 
 grant, who settled in Boston in 1633 and planted here a family, which has given birth 
 to many influential men. When he was nine years of age, the family of the subject of 
 this sketch moved to a farm near Niles, Mich., and the lad began life as a farmer 
 and mechanic. At the age of thirteen, he went to Buffalo, N. Y., to become a clerk 
 for his uncle, Samuel W. Hawes, then engaged in the oil business. When of age, Mr. 
 Wardwell embarked in the same business on his own account. The discovery of petro- 
 leum effected an entire revolution in the oil trade of the country. Mr. Wardwell 
 adapted himself to the situation, started a refinery in Buffalo, and by his energy and 
 commercial ability made the enterprise successful. To enlarge his operations, he came 
 to New York shortly afterward, bought an old building and established the pioneer oil 
 refinery at Hunter's Point on Long Island. The works soon became the largest on 
 Newtown Creek and in 1875 were purchased by The Standard Oil Co. Mr. Ward- 
 well then became a controlling owner and treasurer of The Devoe Manufacturing Co. 
 This is one of the largest oil refining concerns in the country and exports hundreds of 
 shiploads of oil to foreign countries every year. He is treasurer of The Standard Oil 
 Co. and a very active and energetic man. Mr. Wardwell joined the Prohibition party 
 in 1884 and has since become prominent by his advocacy of abolition of the sale of 
 liquors. He has been nominated several times for office, and was in 1886 candidate of 
 his party for Mayor of New York city. By his marriage in 1852 with Miss Eliza W. 
 Lanterman, of Binghamton, N. Y., who died in 1887, he had eight children, of whom 
 only two survive, a son and a daughter. In 1889, he married Martha Wallace, daugh- 
 ter of Dr. Samuel Wallace Ruff, U.S.N. 
 
698 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 DR. LUCIEN CALVIN WARNER, manufacturer and philanthropist, is one of 
 those energetic descendants of old families in New England, who have forced their 
 way to the front in commercial pursuits in New York city, and, by their talents and 
 character, won not only a commanding position in finance but the good will of busi- 
 ness associates and the cordial respect of the public at large. On his father's side, he 
 traces his lineage to Abel Warner, who was born about 1760 and lived in Harwich, 
 Mass. Through Abel Warner's wife, he descends from Francis Cook, a Pilgrim of the 
 Mayflower and a relative of Capt. John Cook, the celebrated navigator. His family 
 has produced many men of distinction, among whom may be named Charles Dudley 
 Warner, the author. 
 
 Dr. Warner was born in Cuyler, N. Y., Oct. 26, 1841. His father died when the 
 boy was three years old, leaving the mother with less than $500 of worldly goods and 
 with two sons to rear and educate. As in the case of many another of America's suc- 
 cessful men, Dr. Warner's early life was one of struggle. He obtained an excellent 
 education, although with difficulty. Preparing for a classical course in the district 
 school and local academy, he graduated from Oberlin college in 1865, defraying the 
 entire expense of his education with the proceeds of his own labor. Resolved to 
 become a physician, he spent two years in the medical department of New York 
 University, and graduated in 1867, practicing medicine thereafter for six years with 
 marked success. 
 
 In 1873, he decided to follow the natural bent of his mind and go into business. 
 Removing to New York he began his career here with his brother, Dr. I. De Ver 
 Warner, of Bridgeport, Conn., as a partner, in the manufacture of corsets, and founded 
 the now eminent firm of Warner Bro's, and has always had the financial management 
 of its business. When they began, the entire capital of the two brothers did not ex- 
 ceed $5,000. Their operations were at first conducted upon a modest scale, but met 
 with great success, and, in five years, they had taken the place of leading manufac- 
 turers of corsets in the United States. Their business has been managed with sagacity 
 and business address, and has expanded steadily until, at the present time, the firm of 
 Warner Bro's employ about 2,000 operatives in their large factory in Bridgeport and 
 enjoy an enormous sale of their productions The two brothers have both amassed 
 large fortunes by legitimate enterprise in their chosen field and by that diligent, un- 
 tiring and intelligent industry, which is the corner stone of worthy success. Their 
 principal factory is in Bridgeport, but they are also interested in another in McGraw- 
 ville, N. Y., and have a depot in Chicago for the sale of their products in the West. 
 
 Dr. Warner is the master of his business. He has never let his business be the 
 master of him. He has pushed his enterprise into many lines of outside effort. In 
 addition to the active management of the business of Warner Bro's, he is president of 
 The McGraw Corset Co. and The International Phosphate Co., vice-president of The 
 Twelfth Ward Savings Bank, and director in The Hamilton Bank, The Mount Morris 
 Bank, and The Home Fire Insurance Co. He is an interested member of the Chamber 
 of Commerce of New York. 
 
 He is widely known for public spirit, although never desirous of political office, 
 his preference being for philanthropic work. For ten years, president of the Harlem 
 branch of The Young Men's Christian Association, he has also been chairman of the 
 State Committee of the order, and a member of the International Committee. He is a 
 
700 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 trustee of his old college at Oberlin, and of local, State, and international Young 
 Women's Christian Associations, besides being a member of the executive committee of 
 The American Missionary Association and one of the trustees of Congregational Church 
 Building Society. 
 
 His gifts to public objects have been generous. He gave a $100,000 building to 
 his alma mater at Oberlin for a Conservatory of Music ; was active and liberal in the 
 erection of a $150,000 building for the Harlem branch of The Young Men's Christian 
 Association ; and in partnership with his brother, has built an admirable club house in 
 Bridgeport, Conn., at a cost of $100,000, for the use of the girls in the employment of 
 the firm. 
 
 Dr. Warner was married in 1878 to Keren S. Warner, a daughter of the late Judge 
 Noah Humphrey Osborne and a descendant of Michael Humphrey, an Englishman who 
 settled in Windsor, Conn., as early as 1643. This union has been a happy one, and has 
 brought them four children, Agnes Eliza, Franklin Humphrey, Lucien Thompson and 
 Elizabeth Converse Warner. His home is too attractive and his life too full of con- 
 genial occupation to permit him to become an extreme club man, yet he has found it 
 convenient to accept membership in those excellent organizations, the Merchants', 
 Harlem, Congregational and Patria clubs. He spends his winters in the city of New 
 York at his residence at 2,042 Fifth Avenue, and his summers at a fine country house 
 at Irvington on the Hudson. 
 
 JAMES MONTAUDEVERT WATERBURY, manufacturer, born Sept. 5, 1851, in 
 New York city, and member of an old family, descends through both the maternal 
 and paternal lines from early Puritans of England, who emigrated to the new world in 
 1631 and settled in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He is in the seventh generation 
 of descent. His father, Lawrence Waterbury, was a manufacturer and capitalist. 
 
 The subject of this biography graduated from Columbia College in 1873, receiving 
 his diploma of Master of Arts three years later. He enjoyed the advantage of beginning 
 life in an established business, and, in 1874, joined his father in the industry, then car- 
 ried on under the name of L. Waterbury & Co., which is now changed into a corpora- 
 tion, called The Waterbury & Marshall Co. Having served his probation in a subordi- 
 nate capacity, he became in due time a member of the firm and has for years been 
 senior partner in the house. The office of the concern is on Front street, while the 
 factories managed by them are in Brooklyn. 
 
 During the early history of this house, the industry was carried on prosperously, 
 exposed to no trials more severe than those to which all others were subject. But, 
 about the time that Mr. Waterbury made his entrance into affairs, new conditions 
 arose, which called for the exercise of greater sagacity and energy than the founders 
 of the house had ever been called on to display. The success of a few well established 
 old concerns, the adoption of binding twine for use in harvesting grain, the invention 
 of labor saving machinery and the general growth of the country, had brought into 
 the field after the Civil War an increased number of firms, engaged in the manufacture 
 of cordage. Originating in the seaport towns of the Atlantic coast, this industry has 
 spread to the grain growing states of the West; and in 1880, no less than about thirty- 
 five concerns were competing for the business of the American market. The growth 
 of the industry, fostered by a protective tariff, had resulted in practically excluding 
 from the American market all cables and cordage made abroad. It had given employ- 
 
.THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WA. 701 
 
 ment to a large force of American operatives, kept at home large sums of American 
 money, and gradually reduced the price of cordage to every consumer. But, while 
 thus conferring positive benefits upon the public, the manufacturers themselves had 
 been forced into so keen a competition, that the industry had ceased to be as profitable 
 as formerly. This state of affairs was finally solved by an arrangement whereby 
 various leading manufacturers united under the name of The United States Cordage 
 Manufacturers' Association. Mr. Waterbury took an active part in bringing about 
 this arrangement. There remained in business, however, about thirty-five independent 
 concerns : thirteen in New England, seven in New York, four in New Jersey, four in 
 Pennsylvania, four in Ohio, one in Illinois, one in Kentucky, and one in New Orleans. 
 To absorb these companies, The National Cordage Co., was formed is 1887 to succeed 
 the previous association and promptly took in fifteen of the independent concerns. In 
 1891, it absorbed fourteen more, only five remaining outside in the whole country. 
 Again, Mr. Waterbury was active in these proceedings and was made president of the 
 company. The corporation fulfilled its mission for a time, but the-growth of new con- 
 cerns and the panic of 1893 caused the company to go into receiver's hands and be 
 re-organized. Mr. Waterbury's concern now continues the distribution of cordage for 
 the company. 
 
 An excellent man of business, clear headed, enterprising and alert, Mr. Waterbury 
 has not confined his activities to cordage, but is president or director of many corpora- 
 tions both here and in Canada. 
 
 In the social world, he has long been conspicuous. He was president of the Coun- 
 try club of Westchester for ten years and is yet a member of the governing committee, 
 and is a governor of the Metropolitan club and life member of the Knickerbocker and 
 New York Yacht clubs, his uncle having been one of the nine founders of the latter, July 
 30, 1844. He is also a member of the Union, Calumet, Players', Riding, Racquet, Down 
 Town, Rockaway Hunting, Meadow Brook, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht, the Patri- 
 archs and other clubs. He was married in 1874 to Kate Anthony Furman, daughterof 
 John M. Furman, and their children are Catherine Livingston, James Montaudevert, 
 Lawrence, John Cunningham, Elsie, Cleveland Livingston, Grenville and Reginald Fur- 
 man Waterbury. The family have a country home at Baychester, N. Y., having 
 recently sold their house in Fifth avenue. 
 
 COL. JOHN WATSON, merchant, born in Rensselaerville, Albany county, N. Y., 
 in 1807, died at his home in Montrose, South Orange, N. J., June 13, 1891. He came 
 from old Colonial ancestry and was the son of Wheeler Watson. After a common 
 school education, he was taken into his father's tannery, and remained there until of 
 age, when he removed to Prattsville, to enter into partnership with Col. Zadoc Pratt, 
 the tanner, his brother in law. This firm built up a large business, so that when the 
 partnership was dissolved in 1846, Colonel Watson possessed what was then a large 
 fortune. He then removed to New York, and at once organized the business in which 
 he attained his later success. The firm displayed the sign of Thorne, Watson, Corse 
 & Co., and was established at No. 18 Ferry street, where they remained for over a 
 generation, becoming one of the most successful leather houses in this city. The 
 personnel of the firm changed several times, but there was always a Thorne or a 
 Watson in the membership until the final dissolution in 1879, when Colonel Watson 
 retired. Colonel Watson was a member of Grace Church until 1875, when he removed 
 
702 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 to a country seat at Montrose, which he laid out in the finest style, living there until 
 his death. Retiring and modest, averse to clubs and fashionable life, he was fond 
 of flowers and devoted much time and pains to their cultivation. Many fine horses 
 found a home in his stables. He received his military title while a resident of Pratts- 
 ville, in the command of a Greene county regiment. He was a life long Democrat and 
 served one term in the Assembly while residing in Prattsville. Married early in life to 
 Miss Mary Watson, who died about 1873, he was survived by two children, Miss Emily 
 A. Watson and Mary J., wife of Evan T. Walker. 
 
 WILLIAH WATSON, merchant, who died at his country home in Westchester, 
 N. Y., Sept. 28, 1877, at the age of sixty-six, was, in his day, one of the most conspic- 
 uous men in the wholesale dry goods district of this city. He rose by perseverance, the 
 power of organization, and scrupulously honest methods into great prominence. Fol- 
 lowing the example of other judicious merchants, he invested his savings mainly in real 
 estate ; and the growth of the city, which he did so much to promote, gave his holdings 
 large value in the course of a few years. Also the possessor of some excellent land 
 north of the city, he occupied a farm of about 240 acres in Westchester county, and it 
 was his desire that all of his children should establish their own homes upon this 
 beautiful estate. To him and his wife Maria were born nine children, Lydia, wife of Dr. 
 Henry G. Houghton, of England; Anna, wife of W. H. Caswell; Mrs. Maria C. Foster; 
 Mrs. Emily Williams; Eliza G., Robert C., Francis A., Henry R. C. and William Watson. 
 
 HENRY WALTER WEBB, railroad official, was born May 6, 1852, in Tarrytown 
 on the Hudson, N. Y., and is a son of the late James Watson Webb. He was educated 
 in Mr. Churchill's school in Sing Sing and the School of Mines and the Law School 
 of Columbia College, and began life as an ambitious young lawyer in the firm of 
 Webb & Sprague. In 1882, he joined the banking and brokerage firm of W. S. Webb 
 & Co. in Wall street. In 1886, he entered the service of The Wagner Palace Car Co. 
 as vice president and in this responsible position displayed such unusual executive 
 ability that three years later, in 1889, Mr. Depew, president of The New York Central 
 & Hudson River Railroad, made Mr. Webb his assistant. Having in this capacity 
 rapidly gained a thorough acquaintance with the details of administrative management 
 and revealed anew his sound judgment, coolness and power of work, he was in 1890 
 elected third vice president of The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad and 
 continues to occupy this position until the present time. The burden of a vast amount 
 of labor and responsibility has been placed upon Mr. Webb during the past five years, 
 but he has discharged every duty and met every emergency with firmness, ability and 
 success. He has recently became identified with a number of financial corporations 
 and is a director of The Terminal Warehouse Co., The Mutual Life Insurance Co., 
 The Lincoln National Bank, The City National Bank, The Hudson River Bank, 
 The New York Security & Trust Co., The Lincoln Safe Deposit Co., The Common- 
 wealth Insurance Co. and a number of railroads. Quiet, genial and well informed, 
 he is a pleasant companion in private life and a valued member of the Union, Metro- 
 politan, Calumet, Century, Engineers', City, Commonwealth, Riding, Country, Univer- 
 sity, Racquet, Westminster Kennel and Lawyers' clubs, and by virtue of lineal descent 
 from Col. Samuel Blatchley Webb of Connecticut, a member of The Sons of the Ameri- 
 can Revolution. In 1884, he married Leila Howard Griswold, daughter of John A. 
 Griswold of Troy, and their children are Henry Walter and John Griswold Webb. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WE. 703 
 
 WILLIAM H. WEBB, veteran ship builder and successful man of affairs, is one of 
 those Americans of original genius and unusual force, whose stainless character, broad 
 mind, public spirit, and splendid services in the practical arts, his countrymen are glad 
 to recognize as typical of the best of their race. 
 
 He was born in the city of Xe\v York, June 19, 1816, the year in which Robert 
 Fulton died. A descendant of old American families, he was reared in a city which 
 has gradually become cosmopolitan in its population and foreign in its tastes, but his 
 nature has always been too sturdy and his patriotism too intense to yield to any influ- 
 ence not American; and he has, from the very beginning of his remarkable career, 
 been distinguished for his affection for his native land and his ardent efforts to promote 
 its fame and prosperity. The emigrant ancestor on his father's side, Richard Webb, 
 was made a freeman in Cambridge, Mass., in 1632. The family moved to Connecticut 
 in early days, and its branches settled in the vicinity of Norwalk and Stamford. Col. 
 Charles Webb, ancestor of William H. Webb, was a prominent officer in the American 
 Revolution. His mother's family were Huguenots and settled in New York in the 
 very early days of the country. 
 
 Mr. Webb inherited his love of shipbuilding from his father, and his life, in fact, 
 connects the race of builders, who produced the famous ships of the War of 1812, with 
 their able successors of the period before the Civil War, when American ship building 
 was in its prime. His father, Isaac Webb, was first an apprentice and afterward a 
 partner of Henry Eckford, a famous ship builder of the first part of this century. 
 
 The boy was educated at Columbia College Grammar School and displayed a 
 marked talent for mechanics, construction and mathematics. He was fend of playing 
 around his father's ship yard on the East River, and built his own skiff, when twelve 
 years old. During his vacations in the next two years, he built other boats, one of 
 them propelled by paddles. His father would have been glad to see his son choose 
 some other vocation in life than his own, but the boy was resolved to become a ship 
 builder ; and he studied the scientific and practical features of the art for six years, not 
 only by day in the ship yard but by night over his books and drawing table. Isaac 
 Webb saw that William had talent, and finally entrusted him with the direction of 
 various branches of the work of the yard. While yet a young man of twenty, he entered 
 into a sub-contract with his father to build for the latter the Liverpool packet Oxford. 
 This work was successfully accomplished to the satisfaction of all concerned. He then 
 became sub-contractor for the construction of other vessels, including the Havre packet 
 Duchesse d'Orleans, the Liverpool packet New York, and two smaller vessels. At the 
 age of twenty-three, his health had become impared by intense application, and he went 
 abroad to seek relief from overwork in travel. He was suddenly recalled by the death 
 of his father. 
 
 Soon after his return, he formed a new partnership with Mr. Allen, his father's 
 associate, under the title of Webb & Allen, in order to retain for a while the name of 
 Mr. Allen. Three years later, the firm was dissolved, and Mr. Webb then entered alone 
 upon a successful and remarkable career. His ability was recognized from the start. 
 Afraid of no problems in construction, untiring labor and faithful performance of con- 
 tracts soon won the confidence of the best merchants of the city. Orders poured in upon 
 him for every species of vessel afloat, from fishing smacks to barks, brigs to packet ships, 
 and ferry boats to steamers. There were at all times several vessels building at once 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WE. 705 
 
 in his large yards on the East River, and one ship was launched from the ways into the 
 stream merely to witness the stretching of a keel for a new one. On one occasion, two 
 ships ard one large steamer were launched from his yard on the same tide, all within 
 twenty minutes, a spectacle never seen before or since. The first vessel was the brig 
 Malek Adhel, which was built in 1840 for Peter Harmony, of New York, and the next 
 was the ship James Edwards, for James O. Ward. These two merchants, as well as 
 Charles fl. Marshall, Fox & Livingston, N. L. & George Griswold, Rowland & Aspin- 
 wall, and other houses famous in the annals of the city, were his constant clients. 
 
 Mr. Webb employed hundreds of skilled workmen, and during the twenty-eight 
 years ^>f his active management disbursed millions of dollars in the city of New York 
 for labor and supplies. His packet ships were among the most handsome and popular 
 of their day. 
 
 The era of the clipper sailing ships brought to America world- wide renown. These 
 wonderful vessels scoured every sea in the world, distanced every foreign competitor, 
 won the yearly tea races from China, and finally attained such absolute preeminence, 
 that every European maritime nation stood aghast at the ruin which threatened their 
 commercial prestige, and every warlike nation looked to America as the producer of 
 the fleetest and most powerful vessels of war. Mr. Webb built man}- famous clippers 
 for the California and other trades during this period, among them the Young America, 
 Challenge, Comet, Sword Fish, Flying Dutchman, Black Hawk and Invincible. Every 
 one of these was a good, swift and beautiful ship. The Young America, the most 
 famous of them, was 235 feet long on deck, 44 feet beam, and 25^ feet in depth of hold, 
 and was a popular ship, the idol of her owners, the delight of the underwriters, and the 
 reliance of the owners of her cargoes. The Young America ran repeatedly from three 
 hundred and forty-five to three hundred and seventy knots in twenty-four hours. She 
 made the passage, loaded, from San Francisco to New York in ninety-two, ninety-eight 
 and ninety-nine days; from New York to Liverpool in eighteen days; from San Fran- 
 cisco to Liverpool in one hundred and nine days; and from Liverpool to Melbourne in 
 eighty-one days. This ship made more very rapid passages than any other ship ever 
 built. The Comet made the trip from San Francisco to New York in seventy-six days 
 and many other very rapid trips, and was a most beautiful ship, appearing like a yacht. 
 
 In May, 1847, Mr. Webb built the steamship United States of 3,000 tons, the first 
 one for the trade between New York and New Orleans, which was subsequently sold 
 to the German Confederation and converted by Mr. Webb into a powerful man of war. 
 
 In 1848, he built the Cherokee, the first steam packet which ran from New York 
 to Savannah, which presented new problems in construction, owing to the shoal water 
 in the Savannah river. He also launched in 1848 the large ship Guy Mannering, the 
 first full three decked ship ever built in the United States. 
 
 The discover}' of gold in California and the rush of population thither brought a 
 great deal of work to Mr. Webb's yard. He built the first and several subsequent 
 steamers for The Pacific Mail Steamship Co. The California, the first steamer to enter 
 the Golden Gate, was his; and he also built the Panama, San Francisco, Golden City, 
 Sacramento and Constitution, and finally the China to run across the Pacific Ocean to 
 the Celestial Empire. 
 
 His versatility was remarkable. No problem connected with nautical science 
 ever daunted him, and he produced vessels for the deep sea and shoal water trades, 
 
yo6 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 and both the argosies of peace and ships of war, with equal ease and success. Among 
 his productions were the two famous Long Island Sound steamers, Bristol and Provi- 
 dence, which embodied novel points in construction, and upon which experts withheld 
 their judgment until the boats had been put under steam and compelled their praise. 
 They each ran twenty miles an hour continuously, carried 1,000 tons of freight on 
 deck, and were fitted with sumptuous accommodations for 1,200 passengers, and 
 proved to be two of the most popular, profitable and successful boats on the Sound, 
 and are not excelled, except in size, up to this date. 
 
 One of his sailing vessels was the ship Ocean Monarch, 2,145 tons, the largest 
 wooden carrier ever built up to that time. It was 255 feet long with 46 feet beam, 
 and 30.25 feet depth of hold. This ship was an enormous carrier, having taken on 
 board over 7,000 bales of cotton with 18 1-2 feet draft of water. 
 
 The contract to build the steam revenue cutter, Harriet Lane, was awarded to Mr. 
 Webb after a severe competition. There were eighteen models offered by various 
 builders, but the government narrowed the choice down to three, and finally gave the 
 order to Mr. Webb. During the Rebellion, this famous boat was captured by the Con- 
 federates and converted into a blockade runner. 
 
 About 1850, Mr. Webb conceived the idea of building a war ship, on new and im- 
 portant plans of his own. The government took great interest in his proposals but 
 Insisted on having the ship built in a government yard. Mr. Webb refused to build the 
 ship anywhere except in his own yard and under his own direction. Application was 
 then made to the Emperor of the French, but precisely the same difficulty presented 
 itself. The Emperor entertained Mr. Webb's proposition favorably, but finally said 
 the opposition was too great for him to surmount. Determined to carry out his idea 
 and build the ship himself, Mr. Webb sent an agent to St. Petersburg in 1851, to 
 confer with the government of the Czar, and in 1853, he visited Russia in person. 
 Nicholas, then Czar, was at first influenced against Mr. Webb by Mr. Bodisco, Russian 
 Minister at Washington, who had previously had trouble with Americans with reference 
 to certain other contracts. The American Minister at St. Petersburg was absent and 
 the American Consul advised Mr. Webb to abandon the scheme as hopeless. A long 
 delay followed, but it was written that that ship should be built. Mr. Webb was not 
 the man to abandon his lines upon the first fire of the enemy. He made new pro- 
 posals, now with the concurrence of Mr. Bodisco. The Grand Duke Constantine 
 finally promised to bring the subject to the attention of the Czar, if Mr. Webb would 
 build his ship and agree to deliver it at Cronstadt, an arrangement which involved 
 enormous risk and responsibility for an individual. But it was made to a dauntless 
 man. He agreed to the terms. Six weeks later, he left St. Petersburg with several 
 orders, one of them for a large steam line-of-battle ship, to be built upon his model 
 and after his design. Preparations were begun at once, but the Crimean war then 
 broke out in Europe, and it was a question whether neutrality laws would permit the 
 building of the vessel. Mr. Webb received the consent of President Pierce and 
 Secretary Marcy to continue the work; but he pursued the plan of arranging with 
 Russia for a suspension of the work until peace was restored rather than proceed with 
 the construction of a vessel of war and involve his own Government in questions of 
 neutrality with England and France, then at war with Russia. After the peace, he changed 
 his model and proposed to construct the ship upon new and improved designs, with larger 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WE. 707 
 
 guns and fewer decks. Russian officers who had been detailed to watch the construction 
 of the ship, alarmed at the bold and audacious changes, withheld their approval, and 
 Mr. Webb completed the ship at his own risk. When she was launched, the Russian 
 officers were delighted at her draft, and her subsequent behavior at sea won their 
 unqualified approval. She was completed as a steam frigate, rigged as a ship, and 
 named the General Admiral, in honor of the Grand Duke Constantine. She was of 
 7,000 tons burden, the largest then built, and 72 guns, and proved the fastest ship 
 afloat. Mr. Webb delivered^his powerful craft at the port of Cronstadt in person in 
 1859, after a remarkably rapid and successful voyage, and received valuable testi- 
 monials from the Russian authorities for his success. 
 
 The General Admiral attracted the attention of all the foreign powers, and resulted 
 in Mr. Webb bringing more millions of money to New York city for the construction 
 of ships of war for foreign powers than can be placed to the credit of all other builders. 
 The General Admiral completely revolutionized the construction of vessels of war, 
 other governments adopting the design immediately. Spain made a large contract with 
 Mr. Webb soon afterward, but revoked it at the outbreak of our Civil War, influenced 
 by Mr. Preston of Kentucky, then Minister to Madrid. 
 
 Italy then ordered two ironclad screw frigates, each of 36 guns of large calibre 
 and 6,000 tons burdens, the Re d'ltalia and Re don Luigi di Portugallo, each 282 
 feet long, 54 feet beam, and 22 1-4 feet draft. Many difficulties attended the progress 
 of these vessels during the Rebellion in the United States, but they were surmounted, 
 and the ships were finished and delivered in time. The Re d'ltalia was the first iron- 
 clad steamer which ever crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Her sea going qualities and 
 speed were remarkable for that day, and she ran from New York to Naples, a distance 
 of 5,000 miles, in the winter time, in 18 days and 20 hours. Victor Emanuel was 
 greatly pleased with the two powerful ships which American genius had placed in his 
 possession, and he bestowed on Mr. Webb the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus,, 
 one of the oldest in Europe. 
 
 Mr. Webb now planned his masterpiece of naval architecture, the ironclad ram 
 Dunderberg. His models and plans, carefully matured, were laid before the Navy 
 Department at Washington ; and the naval constructors, intensely jealous of a civilian 
 who could build better than they, condemned his plans heartily and promptly. This, 
 did not disconcert him, however. He had conquered opinion before. He persevered,, 
 until Secretary Welles gave him a contract. The ship was then begun. She was a 
 monster, 378 feet long, 68 feet beam, and 32 feet hold, with a displacement of 7,200. 
 tons, and the largest ironclad ever yet built, having more room inside and floating on a, 
 lighter draft of water than any of her class. The Rebellion in the United States having 
 ceased before the completion of the vessel, and the Government not being in special 
 need of her, questions between the Government and Mr. Webb arose ; and finding the 
 jealousy and hostility of the officials of the Bureau of Construction great, Mr. Webb 
 finally became disgusted, and he applied for an act of Congress which would release 
 him from his contract on return of the $1,025,000 which had been advanced on ac- 
 count. General Grant, Secretary Stanton and others opposed this, believing that so 
 powerful a vessel of war should never be allowed to become the property of any foreign 
 power. But Mr. Webb secured his release ; and he sold the ship to the Government of 
 France for nearly double the sum that the United States had agreed to pay. He de- 
 
78 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 livered the ship in person at Cherbourg after a rough voyage of fourteen days, and she 
 took her place in the French navy, under the new name of Rochambeau, and afforded 
 to all Europe an impressive lesson of the originality and ability of the ship builders of 
 America. This steamer was shown in all the dock yards, that she might be examined 
 and copied by the builders of the navy of France. 
 
 In 1869, he launched his i35th ship, the Charles H. Marshall, and this was his last. 
 He had earned fame and fortune, and he now retired permanently from the art in 
 which he had won a distinguished position. 
 
 About this time, Mr. Webb was extensively engaged, as a large owner of ocean 
 tonnage, in the importation of guano from several islands in the Pacific Ocean, dispos- 
 ing of the cargoes in the Southern States and in Europe. The opposition to the sale 
 of this guano (purely phosphatic) in Europe by the Peruvian guano interests was so 
 great, that Mr. Webb was obliged to build his own warehouses in Bordeaux, Havre 
 and Hamburg, in which to store his cargoes. Mr. Webb triumphed over all opposition 
 and his guano was sold freely in Europe, chiefly on the Continent. The breaking out 
 of the Civil War in the United States entailed extraordinary risks for American ships 
 and increased insurance and other unusual expenses. This, with the loss of a market 
 in the Southern States, finally caused Mr. Webb to abandon this business, which has 
 not since been resumed by anyone. 
 
 For several years after 1869, Mr. Webb operated steamships in the ocean trades, 
 becoming one of the largest owners of ocean tonnage in the United States. He ran a 
 line of steamers from New York via both Nicaragua and the Isthmus of Panama to 
 San Francisco, in opposition to The Pacific Mail for several years, finally merging his 
 interests with that company. He next operated the then only American line of 
 steamers in the European trade, and sent the first American passenger steamer which 
 ever traded to the Baltic. 
 
 He afterward owned a line of steamers which plied from San Francisco to Australia 
 by way of the Sandwich and Samoan Islands, a route of 6,500 miles, the longest of 
 continuous steaming in the world. The success of this venture required government 
 aid, however, which Congress refused, although urged by President Grant. In this 
 enterprise he persevered at a loss for two years and then withdrew. 
 
 In 1872, Mr. Webb retired from active business. Although pre-eminently a ship- 
 builder, he was also a man of affairs, and had had many investments in other lines of 
 enterprise. He was one of the original directors of The Pacific Mail Steamship Co., 
 and is now the only survivor of the original board. He subscribed as much money as 
 any other individual toward the building of The Panama Railroad. Like all his invest- 
 ments, except the line to Australia, this one yielded him a large return. He sold his 
 interest in 1872 for $316 a share. 
 
 Mr. Webb has always been deeply interested in public affairs, but has steadfastly 
 refused public office. Three times the Mayoralty of New York was offered to him, twice 
 by the Republicans, once by the Democratic party, but declined. For fourteen years, he 
 was president of the Council of Political Reform in this city, which succeeded the famous 
 Committee of Seventy. He attacked many abuses and secured better laws on taxation. 
 
 One of his greatest achievements was the defeat of a scheme which had been 
 planned by Tammany officials, for building a great dam at the mouth of the Croton 
 river to increase the water supply of New York city. His argument was that the vast 
 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WE. 709 
 
 body of water which would be collected behind this dam would receive all the impuri- 
 ties of the Croton watershed and endanger the health of the city, while the expense of 
 the dam would be enormous. He fought the scheme for five years, insisting that small 
 reservoirs should be created at the headquarters of the source of supply. He won the 
 fight and with it the gratitude of the people of the city. 
 
 Mr. Webb's philanthropy has recently been exhibited by the purchase of fourteen 
 acres of land on Fordham Heights and the building and endowment of "Webb's 
 Academy and Home for Ship Builders," where young mechanics can learn every branch 
 of ship building and marine engineering, free of cost for tuition and board, and in which 
 old and decrepit ship builders can spend their remaining days in comfort, amid noble 
 surroundings, in company with their wives. He is a large owner of real estate in the 
 city, including the large Hotel Bristol, at the corner of Fifth avenue and 4zd street. He 
 lives in the winter at a comfortable home on Fifth avenue, and in the summer at a 
 beautiful country house near Tarrytown, surrounded by ninety-seven acres of grounds. 
 This charming place he calls "Waldheim." 
 
 He is a director in The Central Trust Co., The Pennsylvania Coal Co., The Atlan- 
 tic Mutual Insurance Co., The New York Balance Dock Co., The Third Avenue Rail- 
 road Co. , and other important corporations, and a member of the Union League and 
 Republican clubs and the New England Society. He is also a trustee in The Hospital 
 for the Ruptured and Crippled, an original trustee in The Society for the Prevention of 
 Cruelty to Children, and also (until lately) a trustee, for nearly a quarter of a century, 
 in The Hospital for the Diseases of Women for the State of New York. 
 
 WILLIAM SEWARD WEBB, M.D., president of The Wagner Palace Car Co., 
 born in New York city, Jan. 31, 1851, is a son of the late James Watson Webb, and 
 his wife, Laura Virginia, the latter a daughter of Jacob L. Cram. General James 
 Watson Webb, editor of Tlie Courier and Enquirer, was a very able and distinguished 
 man, who, after refusing appointment as Minister to Austria and to Turkey, accepted 
 the mission to Brazil and performed valuable service for his government during his 
 official term abroad. The family is an old one. It was represented in the American 
 Revolution by that splendid soldier and favorite of Washington, General Samuel 
 Blatchley Webb of Connecticut, and has given birth to many other men of reputation. 
 
 In his early youth, Dr. Webb was educated by private tutors, followed by five years 
 at Colonel Churchill's Military School at Sing Sing, N. Y. He then spent two years 
 at Columbia College, leaving there to go abroad and study medicine in Vienna, Paris 
 and Berlin. Returning to New York, he took a regular course at the College of Phy- 
 sicians and Surgeons, graduating in 1875, when he entered St. Luke's Hospital and 
 remained for two years in charge of that institution. He then began practice in this 
 city, but finding that professional life offered no attractions for his active spirit, he 
 entered Wall street as a stock broker in the firm of W. S. Webb & Co., in company 
 with one of his brothers. He was doing well at the Stock Exchange, when, in 1883, at 
 the request of William H. Vanderbilt, his father in law, he retired from Wall street to 
 accept the presidency of The Wagner Palace Car Co. This corporation needed an en- 
 ergetic head, and Dr. Webb took hold of its affairs with great earnestness, improved its 
 rolling stock, extended its territory, and largely increased its earnings. He is yet its 
 president and maintains the company in a highly prosperous condition. He has also 
 engaged in railroad construction in the Adirondack region, and, as president of The 
 
710 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Adirondack & St. Lawrence Railway Co., built 233 miles of track in the northern part 
 of this State. His interests are now quite extended, and he is a director of The Lin- 
 coln Safe Deposit Co., The Continental Trust Co., The National Life Insurance Co., 
 The Fitchburg Railroad, The Bennington & Rutland Railroad, The Central Vermont 
 Railroad, The Findlay, Ft. Wayne & Western Railroad and other corporations. He 
 owns a large amount of land in the Adirondack region, and a. beautiful farm at Shel- 
 burne, Vt., finely cultivated and carefully laid out. 
 
 In 1881, Dr. Webb married Eliza Osgood, daughter of William H. Vanderbilt, and 
 his children are Frederica Vanderbilt, James Watson, William Seward, jr., and Van- 
 derbilt. He is a member of most of the best clubs in town, including the Metropoli- 
 tan, Union League, Republican, University, Manhattan, Knickerbocker, Calumet, 
 Players', Church, Country, Jockey, Racquet, New York Yacht, Coaching, Riding, 
 Tuxedo, Westminister Kennel, and Down Town. By virtue of lineal descent, he is a 
 member of The Sons of the American Revolution and was President General of the 
 order for three terms, thereafter declining re-election. He is also a member of The 
 Society of Colonial Wars, and has been secretary and treasurer of The American 
 Hackney Horse Society since its organization. He is an aide-de-camp on the staff of 
 the Governor of Vermont, with the rank of Colonel. A sanitarium for persons suffer- 
 ing from pulmonary diseases is about to be built in the vicinity of Saranac Lake, N. Y., 
 upon 100 acres of land contributed for the purpose by Dr. Webb, whose gift has finally 
 made the project practicable. 
 
 THURLOW WEED, editor, born in Cairo, N. Y., Nov. 15, 1797, died in New York 
 city, Nov. 22, 1882. He sprang from an obscure but respectable family and began life 
 at the age of nine as cabin boy on a Hudson river sloop. This life occupied him for 
 three years and he then became a printer in the office of The Catskill Record. The family 
 moved soon afterward to a farm in Cincinnatus, N. Y., and went to farming. The 
 vocation did not suit him. Soon, he found his way to another printing office, served 
 as a volunteer at Sackett's Harbor in the War of 1812, then found work as a printer 
 in New York city, and, at the age of nineteen, having already seen a great deal of 
 life, started a weekly newspaper in Norwich, N. Y. In 1821, he moved to Manlius, 
 N. Y., started another weekly, sold it in 1824, went to Rochester and established there 
 The Daily Telegraph. All of these ventures were prosperous. 
 
 The Rochester enterprise made him famous. Taking an active part in politics, he 
 joined the Anti-Masonic party and was especially outspoken concerning the disappear- 
 ance of William Morgan, who was supposed to have been assassinated by the Masons. 
 Shortly thereafter, the body of a drowned man was found on the shore of Lake Ontario. 
 It was recognized as that of William Morgan, but at an official inquest, various wit- 
 nessed came forward, who swore that it was not. When asked by the lawyer of the 
 Free Masons, what he would do for a Morgan now, Mr. Weed replied, "This man is a 
 good enough Morgan, until you produce the man who was drowned." Henry O'Reilly 
 declared in The Rochester Advertiser that Mr. Weed had said, "He is a good enough 
 Morgan until after election. " The saying, repeated in this incorrect form all over the 
 State, created tremendous excitement and originated the proverb yet in common use 
 in political literature. Mr. Weed was magnanimous enough to forgive the slanderer 
 and even to aid him with loans of money and influence. 
 
 In 1831, Mr. Weed established The Albany Evening Journal, and during the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WE. 711 
 
 following thirty-five years ranked as one of the great Republican leaders of the State. 
 His paper acquired an extended circulation and brought him a fortune. Until 1860, 
 the political destinies of New York State were swayed by the famous partnership of 
 "Seward, Weed & Greeley." The junior "partner" withdrew in 1854. Mr. Weed 
 promoted the aspirations of William H. Seward, and aided to make him Governor of 
 the State and United States Senator. 
 
 In 1861, Mr. Lincoln sent Mr. Weed with Bishop Hughes of New York and 
 Bishop Mcllvain of Ohio, as commissioners to France and England to propititate 
 public sentiment in those countries in favor of the American government, and they 
 rendered important services in that direction. After the War, Mr. Weed moved to 
 New York, where he received "the freedom of the city." He enjoyed a large income 
 from his newspaper, a portion of which he invested carefully every year in stocks and 
 securities, making purchases when prices were low and gaining a large accretion by 
 subsequent advances in value. He was a large owner and director in The Dry Dock, 
 East Broadway & Batter}', The Third Avenue, The Central Park, North & East River, 
 The Twenty-third Street, The Christopher & Tenth Street and The Broadway & 
 Seventh Avenue Railroads, and at one time a director of The Erie & Kalamazoo Rail- 
 road, which was leased to The Lake Shore. 
 
 April 26, 1818, he married Catherine, daughter of Moses Ostrander of Utrecht, 
 Holland. She died July 3, 1858. Their four children were James Weed, who died 
 young ; Harriet, who never married ; Emily, the wife of William Barnes of Albany, 
 N. Y. ; and Maria, who married Ogden M. Alden, of the Puritan family. A memoir 
 of Thurlow Weed, written by his grandson, Thurlow Weed Barnes, has been published 
 by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. of Boston. His other grandson, William Barnes, jr., of 
 Albany, has succeeded Mr. Weed as editor and proprietor of The Evening Journal. 
 
 As a boy, Mr. Weed saw Fulton's first steamboat on its first trip up the Hudson. 
 In 1830, he rode on the first railway train in this country, from Albany to Schenectady, 
 and later, he witnessed Morse's experiments in telegraphy. 
 
 JACOB WENDELL, head of the dry goods commission house which bears his 
 name, is one of the prominent business men for whom New York is indebted to New 
 England. He was born in Portsmouth, N. H., July 24, 1826. He traces his descent 
 from Evert Jansen Wendell, who immigrated to the new world from Holland in 1640. 
 His father was Jacob Wendell, a native of Portsmouth, and a highly respected mer- 
 chant of that city. 
 
 Mr. Wendell received his education at the academy of his native place, under the 
 tutelage of William C. -Harris, then one of the most efficient instructors in New Eng- 
 land. At the age of sixteen, having finished his course there, he entered the office of 
 Goodwin & Coues, in Portsmouth. The former of these gentlemen became well known 
 later, as New Hampshire's war governor. This firm had the management of seven 
 ships, six of which were engaged in carrying freight from Southern ports to Europe, 
 the other sailing in the East India trade. It was in this office that Mr. Wendell re- 
 ceived the rudiments of his mercantile training; and in August, 1843, he left Ports- 
 mouth to seek a place in Boston. 
 
 Recommended as he was by his first employers, he had no difficulty in obtaining 
 a position with an active dry goods jobbing house. Upon the dissolution of this firm, 
 which occurred not long afterward, a new partnership was formed, in whose employ- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WE. 713 
 
 ment Mr. Wendell continued for several years, leaving it, finally, to take advantage of a 
 better position which had been offered to him by another firm in the same line of 
 business. He was an earnest and faithful clerk, and a hard, conscientious worker, and 
 rapidly acquired a full knowledge of the dry goods trade. 
 
 He left this concern, at the expiration of about two years, and accepted an offer 
 which had been made to him by the domestic commission house of J C. Howe & Co., 
 which was widely known at that time in mercantile and financial circles. The firm 
 was composed of Jabez C. Howe, George O. Hovey, Samuel R. Payson and John B. 
 Hutchinson. Mr. Wendell remained with them in the capacity of salesman for several 
 years, and on the ist of January, 1854, he was admitted to partnership. 
 
 In the autumn of 1857, at the request of his partners, Mr. Wendell came to New 
 York, and had general oversight of the business here during the panic of that year. 
 In the course of the next few years, the sales of the New York branch increased so 
 largely that, again at his partner's request, he" removed with his family to this city in 
 the autumn of 1863 and became a permanent resident. 
 
 Mr. Wendell and Mr. Hutchinson continued to manage the business in New York 
 until the close of the year 1873, when, upon the death of Mr. Howe and the retirement 
 of Messrs. Hovey and Payson, the firm of J. C. Howe & Co., was dissolved. It had 
 been in existence about forty years, during which time it had always maintained the 
 highest mercantile credit, the partners being conspicuous for their ability and integrity. 
 
 The firm of Wendell, Hutchinson & Co. was then formed, and had a successful 
 career until Mr. Hutchinson's retirement in 1880, when the firm name was changed to 
 Jacob Wendell & Co., under which style it yet exists, retaining the high and honorable 
 commercial standing which ever characterized its predecessors. 
 
 Mr. Wendell was married on Oct. 24, 1854, to Mary Bertodi Barrett, daughter of 
 N. A. Barrett, of Boston, and they have four sons, one of whom, Gordon Wendell, is 
 a member of his father's firm, and another, Barrett Wendell, is a professor in Harvard 
 University. The others are, Evert Jansen Wendell and Jacob Wendell, jr. 
 
 Mr. Wendell is a director in The Merchants' National Bank, The Continental Fire 
 Insurance Co., The North British & Mercantile Insurance Co., The New York Real 
 Estate Association, and The Manhattan Real Estate Association. He is president of 
 The. Merchants' Real Estate Co., and has various commercial interests in other sections 
 of the country, notably, in New England. He is a member of the Union League, 
 Century and Metropolitan clubs, and of The New England Society, The New York 
 Historical Society and The Holland Society of New York, and is a supporter of various 
 public institutions of the city. 
 
 JAMES MONROE WENTZ, capitalist, is one of the class of the older merchants, 
 who, by their integrity and energy, have done so much to establish the commercial 
 prosperity of New York city. His paternal ancestors emigrated to this country from 
 Germany soon after the close of the American Revolution and settled in eastern Penn- 
 sylvania. His father, William Wentz, born in 1788, resided there until about the age 
 of thirty years, when he removed to New York State and located at the then village of 
 Binghamton, in Broome county. Here, upon the death of his wife, he married Abigail, 
 a daughter of Joseph Manning, who was descended from an old and highly respected 
 New England family, this union resulting in the birth of James M. Wentz, the subject 
 (if this sketch, Dec. 15, 1824. The boy's education was limited to the common schools. 
 
714 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 His preference for an early business life and the ambition to embark on a mercan- 
 tile career induced him to accept a clerkship in a village store, which he continued to 
 fill until his eighteenth year, when, with the best of credentials, he left home and went 
 to New York city, where he was destined to meet with success. 
 
 His first employment in the metropolis was with a wholesale dry goods jobbing- 
 house in Hanover Square, at that time the heart of the wholesale district. He remained 
 with this concern for six years, gaining a practical experience in the dry goods busi- 
 ness, which was to be of benefit to him in later years. He then accepted a position 
 with the new house of E. T. Tefft & Co., and continued there for a period of eighteen 
 years, during the last nine of which he was a partner in the firm. 
 
 In 1866, he formed the firm of Wentz, Hartley & Co., which style was maintained 
 for four years and then became J. M. Wentz & Co. This business was successfully 
 conducted until 1879, when Mr. Wentz retired from active mercantile life, after a 
 business career which had been characterized by energy, able and skillful management 
 and the strictest integrity. By close application and provident management of his 
 business, he had accumulated a competency. During all these years of business, in 
 which he saw many and vast changes in the commerce of this city, his firm stood 
 invariably high in credit and justly earned an enviable reputation among the best 
 houses in the trade. For many years now, he has resided on his estate at Balmville, 
 near Newburgh, N. Y., overlooking the Hudson River, and his time is chiefly occupied 
 in the conduct of his private affairs. 
 
 While Mr. Wentz is a staunch Republican and an ardent believer in the policy and 
 principles of that party, he has never sought or held public office. He is a director in 
 The Mercantile National Bank of New York and- has been for many years one of the 
 trustees of The Newburgh Savings Bank, and is first vice president of that institution 
 and gives much time to its business interests. 
 
 Mr. Wentz was married, March 15, 1848, to Miss Amelia L., daughter of James 
 De Le Ree, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and has two sons and a daughter, James G., The- 
 odore and Mrs. Thomas F. Balfe. Mr. Wentz is quiet and domestic in his tastes and 
 is essentially a lover of home. During his whole business life, he has been steadily 
 successful and enjoys wide acquaintance in the commercial and financial world. In 
 addition to wealth, he has won the higher regard of the business community by a 
 reputation for honorable dealing, prompt fulfillment of all his engagements and a ready 
 and honest discharge of liabilities. These qualities, combined with keen judgment 
 and caution, carried him safely through all financial troubles and kept him in the tide 
 of success throughout his whole career. 
 
 GEORGE WEST, manufacturer, Member of Congress and a man of affairs, although 
 of English birth, has spent nearly his whole active life in the United States and is 
 now even more warmly attached to his adopted country than some of those who are to 
 "the manner born." He was born in Bradnitch in Devonshire, Feb. 17, 1823. At eleven 
 years of age, he was apprenticed in a paper mill in his native land, and began life a 
 sturdy, hearty lad, with a large head and striking personality, giving promise from the 
 start of a future career of great interest. No labor was too hard for the lad, and he 
 soon learned all the different processes for making paper of all grades and kinds, includ- 
 ing writing and colored papers. He had a progressive spirit and determined early in 
 life to become the master of his own business. Great energy and will power, close 
 
716 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 application, correct habits, and marked proficiency, won for him advancement; and, 
 at the age of eighteen, he was placed in charge of the most important department of 
 the mill. His genial temperament and athletic strength made him a favorite with all 
 classes, and an acknowledged leader in the sports and fun of the day. 
 
 Had Mr. West remained in England, he might have risen to an important position 
 in spite of the trammels and social conventions of the old world. But he finally decided 
 to remove to America. His employer strove to detain him, first, by offers of salary, 
 and next by painting the terrors of life in America, where, he said, people were shoot- 
 ing each other every day. Not in the least shaken in his decision, Mr. West reached 
 the United States as a steerage passenger in February, 1849. He found employment 
 at once in a New Jersey paper mill, remaining about a year, and then removed to 
 Tyringham, near Lee, Mass., where he entered a writing paper mill. It was in this 
 establishment that he attended the machine which, in February, 1850, made the first 
 water-mark writing paper in the United States. With an early development of talent, 
 Mr, West became the inventor of the machinery for cutting the water mark. In the 
 Summer of 1852, he left Tyringham on account of ill health, and in the Fall, with his 
 vigor fully restored, took charge of a mill in Russell, Mass., owned and operated by 
 J. R. Smith & Co., remaining there until March, 1858. Meanwhile, he had become 
 widely known for superior qualifications as a paper maker, and, by carefully saving his 
 earnings, had finally gained the means to operate with on his own account. It is thus 
 that the workman becomes a proprietor. In March, 1858, Mr. West heard of a paper 
 mill in Cummington, Mass., whose owners wanted to arrange with a practical man to 
 buy a share and run the mill. Mr. West visited the property and after examination 
 bought a quarter interest, took entire charge of the mill, did the buying and selling 
 and conducted affairs with excellent results until October, 1860, when he sold his inter- 
 est to his partners. 
 
 When, in May, 1861, an interest in the old Empire mill at Rock City Falls, in 
 Saratoga county, was offered to him, he declined at first to buy; and, although he had 
 been the proprietor of his own mill, he resolved to work in Rock City Falls on wages-, 
 until he could judge of the excellence of the bargain. Within a year, he had made up 
 his mind to buy, and in June, 1862, as proprietor of the Empire mill, he entered upon 
 a most prosperous and successful career. 
 
 Untiring labor and skillful management having brought some surplus means, Mr. 
 West was enabled to extend his enterprise, and with excellent judgment ho invested 
 his savings in the business which he thoroughly understood. In fact, he did not go 
 outside of the paper industry for investment for many years. In 1866, he built the 
 Excelsior paper mill in Rock City, and in the fall of the same year joined the Messrs. 
 Taggart in the ownership of a paper mill in Watertown, N. Y. In the latter enter- 
 prise, while associated with men of the highest character, who enjoy the deserved 
 respect of every inhabitant of their part of the State, Mr. West was anxious to control 
 his own business, and he accordingly sold his interest in Watertown in 1870. In the 
 summer of the same year, he bought the ruins of the old Pioneer mill at West Milton 
 in Saratoga county, rebuilt and enlarged the structure, fitted it up, and set a large 
 force to work therein making paper. The same year, he also formed a partnership with 
 Robert Gair, as Gair & West, to carry on a commission paper trade in New York city. 
 Having secured the object he had in view, he sold his interest to Mr. Gair in 1876. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WE. 717 
 
 During the financial depression of 1874, Mr. West bought what is now known as 
 the Eagle paper mill in Factory Village, Saratoga county. It will be noted that his 
 manufacturing enterprise has been largely confined to this beautiful county, its near- 
 ness to the Adirondack forests ensuring him an abundant supply of low priced fibre 
 for his operations. In August, 1875, ne bought all the cotton and woolen factories of 
 all kinds in Ballston Spa, including the Glen, Union and Island mills. From that 
 time forward, Ballston Spa became his summer home. Mr. West now owns eight 
 paper mills in Saratoga count}-, including the seven above named and one at Hadley 
 Falls, on the North river above Palmer's Falls. At Luzerne, on the Hudson river, 
 he also owns and conducts the largest factory of manila paper in the world. 
 
 When he bought the little Empire mill, in 1862, he had ten employes and a 
 monthly pay roll of about $300, and produced about half a ton of paper a day. The 
 capacity of the nine mills of which he is now the owner is forty tons a day, and the 
 paper bag factory is capable of producing 2,500,000 bags a da}*. He employs 400 
 men, women and children, the pay roll amounting to more than 14,000 a month, has 
 no partner and is sole owner of the business. Through his incessant activity, his 
 liberality and public spirit, Ballston Spa and other communities in Saratoga county 
 have in thirty years materially increased in prosperity. Their people are busy and 
 happy and regard Mr. West as a public benefactor. He himself shares with all about 
 him the rewards of his energy and enterprise. His uprightness of character is pro- 
 verbial. He has been an active member of the Methodist Church for many years but 
 a generous giver to all churches and deserving organizations. Few appreciate all that 
 he has done, because, though his gifts are free, they are never given with ostentation. 
 Among other gifts which are known, was the contribution of half the cost of a new 
 Methodist church structure in Ballston Spa, which, dedicated in December, 1893, by 
 Bishop Newman, is the largest and finest edifice of its class in the city. As treasurer 
 of The Round Lake Association, he devotes much time to the interests of Round Lake, 
 and at one time saved the camp meeting grounds from the auctioneer's hammer. 
 Time and again, he has aided other denominations. 
 
 In later years, Mr. West's interests have become more extended. He is a stock- 
 holder and director of The Utica Herald, owns The Schenectady Union, and is a stock- 
 holder, one of the original incorporators, and, with D. S. Walton, one of the two 
 proprietors of the firm of D. S. Walton & Co., wholesale merchants of paper, paper 
 bags, etc., at the corner of Varick and Franklin streets in New York city. One of 
 those who helped establish The First National Bank of Ballston Spa, he became its 
 vice president in 1876 and in 1880 its president, which position he yet holds. Mr. 
 West makes a very good banker as well as a successful business man and is known to 
 be sound and conservative in his management. He is also a director of The National 
 Folding Box & Paper Co. , of New York, and owns a creosote factory, mines in the 
 West and excellent real estate, and has various other interests of consequence. He 
 spends much time in New York city, and is a member of the Republican club, Board 
 of Trade & Transportation and American Geographical Society. 
 
 But there is another side of his career, which must be mentioned. In political 
 faith a Republican and a believer in the protective tariff, not only for his own sake but 
 for that of his employes, Mr. West is qualified for public office both by his sentiments 
 and his clear head ; and he has been five times elected to the State Assembly from Sara- 
 
718 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 toga county, namely, in 1871-75, and by steadily increasing majorities. In 1876, 
 the Speaker of the House appointed him chairman of the Railway Committee. He has 
 also sat in Congress three times, having been elected in 1880, 1884, and 1886 respec- 
 tively, as Representative from the XXth district of this State. In Congress, he served 
 on the Committees on Agriculture, Manufactures, and Enrolled Bills. The business 
 man in politics seldom makes a strong display as an orator but is always capable of 
 a large amount of work. Mr. West left to the political giants of the House all active 
 part in the debates, but was always present, shared in the labor of his committees, 
 voted to the entire satisfaction of his constituents, and increased his reputation as a 
 wise Representative steadily during his three terms. Congress needs a quota of just 
 such alert and far seeing business men. His district sent him in 1880, 1884, and 1888, 
 as a delegate to the national convention of the party. In his campaigns in Saratoga 
 county, Mr. West has showed himself to be a ready and well informed speaker, and, 
 while making no claims to classic excellence in oratory, has repeatedly surprised his 
 friends by his force and ease on the platform. 
 
 April 7, 1844, he was married in Devonshire, England. Of his six children, two 
 are yet living, the oldest and the youngest, George West, jr., born in England, Feb. 
 16, 1845, who is associated with his father in the general management, and Florence 
 Louisa, born in Russell, Mass. , and now the wife of D. W. Mabee, the right hand man 
 of Mr. West in the actual oversight of the paper mills. A few years ago, Mr. West 
 visited the place of his birth in England, spending many pleasant hours in recalling 
 and recounting the scenes of his boyhood. The homes of several of his fellow workmen, 
 who had met with little success, were brightened by substantial aid, which will not be 
 forgotten, while the city of his birth now contains many a monument of his generosity 
 and regard. In 1883, during a visit to Brandnitch, the city tendered him a public recep- 
 tion and banquet, surpassing anything of the kind previously given to a private indi- 
 vidual there. Upon his return home, he received a public welcome from the citizens of 
 Saratoga county without regard to party, not less flattering than that given him abroad. 
 For a few years past, he has combined pleasure with business, travelling much, and 
 proving an interesting companion to those who have shared his company. His busi- 
 ness has been so systematized that he can direct it without being present in the places 
 where it is conducted. 
 
 A man of sound and liberal views and wide range of knowledge, he commands 
 respect among all who know 'him. In personal appearance, he is short and stout, with 
 full beard, broad shoulders, large mouth and large head, and is remarkable for genial 
 humor and exuberant spirits. He is fond of telling that many consider him the home- 
 liest man in the Empire State, although he is not that in the least. He is, however, 
 one of those men, in delineating whom the caricaturists have loved to employ their pen- 
 cils. At one time, an effort was made to defeat him for office by circulating a grotesque 
 portrait, representing him asleep in a chair with his feet on a desk. Nearly ten thou- 
 sand of these caricatures were distributed in his district, inscribed, "Hon. George 
 West, as he appears daily, legislating for his constituents." Upon this occasion, his 
 opponents overreached themselves by their own cunning policy. Thousands of voters 
 who had never seen Mr. West thronged to his meetings to see him, tempted by the por- 
 traits. They stayed to hear him speak, were captivated by his witty and apposite re- 
 marks and sound sense, and went home only to increase his next majority. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK.- WE. "19 
 
 GARDNER WETHERBEE, one of the proprietors of the Windsor Hotel, born 
 Nov. 8, 1838, in Harvard, Mass., is of English ancestry and descends from a family of 
 hotel men. His father, Zophar Wetherbee, his grandfather and several uncles all con- 
 ducted hotels in the States of Massachusetts and Ohio during their life times, covering 
 a total period of seventy-five years. 
 
 After graduating from Lawrence academy in Groton, Mass., Mr. Wetherbee entered 
 mercantile life for a while, acquiring there an acquaintance with business methods and 
 habits of economy and thrift. This experience lasted a short time only and he then 
 accepted a position in the Gibson House in Cincinnati, of which an uncle was one of 
 the first proprietors. He continued his apprenticeship in the American Hotel in Phila- 
 delphia and from close application gained a thorough knowledge of the elementary 
 requirements of hotel keeping. 
 
 The opportunity which gave him his first distinct promotion came with the con- 
 struction of the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York city in 1859. Messrs. Hitchcock & 
 Darling had taken a lease of this magnificent building, aided by the experience and 
 capital of Paran Stevens, and they opened the hotel in August of the year named. Mr. 
 Wetherbee was offered a position in the hotel where he remained in charge of the office 
 until 1867, performing the duties allotted to him with great success and winning an 
 excellent reputation by untiring attention to the desires of guests and his unaffected 
 cordiality of manner. It was not an uncommon thing for visitors to say that they 
 would rather take "No" from Mr. Wetherbee than "Yes" from other men. 
 
 In 1867, he crossed the continent with a fellow clerk, and entered upon a two 
 years' experience as manager of the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco, then as now 
 one of the best known houses on the Pacific coast and enjoying a virtual monopoly of 
 the patronage of Australian and New Zealand travellers. 
 
 Mr. Wetherbee had now obtained a thorough, all round experience in hotel keeping, 
 and felt himself qualified to engage in business on his own account. For four 3'ears, 
 1869-73, he conducted the Revere and Tremont Houses in Boston, receiving a suitable 
 reward for his enterprise. The poor boy, relying entirely upon his own efforts, and 
 pressing constantly forward, with a vigor of ambitious youth, had now reached a 
 position of influence in the hotel world and was recognized as a rising man. 
 
 In 1873, he returned to New York to lease from John T. Daly the Windsor Hotel 
 on Fifth avenue at 47th street, in partnership with Samuel Hawk, under the firm name 
 Hawk & Wetherbee. This was a new and exceedingly handsome hotel, situated in 
 the heart of the fashionable residence section of the city, requiring skillful management, 
 but promising good returns to a firm, competent to conduct one of the finest public 
 houses in the metropolis in a proper manner. The entire success of the Windsor 
 Hotel is a sufficient commentary upon the excellence of its management. 
 
 Mr. Wetherbee has never taken any part in politics, but is active in less conspicuous 
 fields, a director of The Fifth Avenue Bank, a trustee of the Kensico Cemetery and 
 The New York Infant Asylum, and a member of the Union League club, New England 
 Society and Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
 
 He was married in Sandwich, Mass., in 1868, to Hannah G., daughter of Thomas 
 Nye, and to them have been born Grace D. and Alice N. Wetherbee. 
 
 Mr. Wetherbee is of medium height and sturdy build. He is one of the most 
 courteous and affable of men, his warm heart and cheerful disposition making many 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WE. 72! 
 
 friends and greatly promoting the success of his hotel. He is a public spirited man, 
 also, as may be attested by examining the rolls of the supporters of the great public 
 museums of the city, and many other important institutions. 
 
 APOLLOS RUSSELL WETMORE, merchant and philanthropist, born in Dan- 
 bury, Conn., Nov. n, 1796, died in this city, Jan. 21, 1881. The family was founded 
 in this country in 1635 by Thomas Wetmore, an Englishman, who settled in Hartford, 
 Conn. The Rev. Noah Wetmore, grandfather of Apollos R. Wetmore, married Submit 
 Russell, became an ardent patriot and chaplain in the American Revolution, was pastor 
 of the Presbyterian church in Bethel, Conn., and later wascalled to Brook Haven, L.I., 
 where he died in March, 1796. Noah Wetmore, son of the latter, married Winifred 
 Smith, Feb. 14, 1792, and was long superintendent of The New York Hospital. Com- 
 ing to New York in 1808 with his family, the subject of this memoir spent two vears 
 in Columbia College, but ill health forced him to abandon his studies, and he entered 
 the hardware store of Kip & Ingraham in 1815. In 1818, he engaged in the hardware 
 trade at his own risk, forming a partnership with his brother, D. W. Wetmore. Wil- 
 liam Green, jr., was admitted six years later, the firm adopting: the name of Green & 
 Wetmore. They carried on business at the corner of Washington and Vesey streets, 
 until Mr. Green retired in 1835. Mr. Wetmore continued the firm of Wetmore & 
 Co., removing in 1869 to 363-7 Greenwich street, with his son, George C., and his 
 nephew, David Wetmore, as his partners. He retired in 1875. In 1830, he became a 
 member of the Laight Street Presbyterian Church, changing in later life to the Madison 
 Square Presbyterian Church, of which he was a member and trustee. He was perhaps 
 most widely known from his interest in benevolent institutions. He helped found The 
 City Mission & Tract Society, and acted as its president for seven years, and was also a 
 governor of The Women's Hospital, The Presbyterian Hospital and The Hospital for 
 the Ruptured and Crippled. He was president of that institution, a founder of The 
 Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, and chairman of the Board of 
 Managers of The Home for Fallen and Friendless Girls, but his greatest work was the 
 founding and, by his large collection of funds from those who had confidence in him, 
 establishing The New York Juvenile Asylum, whose extensive buildings at i?5th street 
 usually contain over 1,000 children. Mr. Wetmore was president for over thirty years. 
 He married Miss Mary Carmer, of New York, April 30, 1822, and celebrated his golden 
 wedding in 1872. Mrs. Wetmore died in 1876. They had six children: Henry, who 
 died before him; George Carmer, Theodore Russell, William, Elizabeth Carmer, widow 
 of Henry Mesier, who died in 1881 at Wappinger's Falls, and Mary Russell, wife of 
 Charles E. Carryl. 
 
 ROBERT CHARLES WETflORE, merchant, native of Pequannock, Conn., died in 
 South Orange, N. J., May 9, 1890, at the age of ninety-one. His family was an old 
 one in Connecticut and his ancestors were clergymen for five generations. Educated in 
 a private school, he lived in Bridgeport until 1819, when he came to New York and 
 entered the employment of his brother in law, Tredwell, a dealer in crockery. In 
 1830, he formed a partnership with his brother, Gen. Prosper Montgomery Wetmore, 
 and carried on the crockery business under the name of R. C. Wetmore & Co. until 
 1849, when, having amassed a fortune, he retired. During the Harrison and Tyler 
 campaign, Mr. Wetmore was a recognized leader of the Whig party and served as chair- 
 man of the general committee of Whig Young Men. President Tyler appointed him 
 
722 
 
 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Naval Agent at New York. Mr. Wetmore was a warm personal friend of Henry Clay, 
 Daniel Webster and other well known men of that generation, and his literary attain- 
 ments caused his house to be the resort of Bancroft, N. P. Willis and many other 
 writers of reputation. To him and his wife, Adeline, daughter of Seth Geer, were 
 born three children, two daughters and one son, who survived him. 
 
 JEROME BYRON WHEELER, merchant, smelter and financier, was born in the 
 city of Troy, N. Y., Sept. 3, 1841. Both his parents were born in New England and 
 of English descent. His mother, whose maiden name was Emerson, is of the family 
 which produced Ralph Waldo Emerson, of Concord. They were both excellent people 
 of strong minds and good character, and their boy grew to young manhood under ex- 
 cellent influences. During his early youth, the family moved to Waterford, a small 
 town four miles north of Troy. Jerome was educated at the public schools, and at 
 fifteen became a clerk in one of the village stores. Later, he found employment in one 
 of the factories of Waterford. Thus early trained in the practical work of life, he be- 
 came ambitious, self reliant, energetic and capable. His business career was inter- 
 rupted by the War for the Union. 
 
 When Sumter was fired upon, the young man, in common with generous and 
 patriotic youth all through the North, was anxious to go to the front with the first 
 volunteers and impatient because he could not. Sept 3, 1861, the day he came of age, 
 he joined Co. D, 6th N. Y. Cav., and proudly marched to the front with his regiment. 
 The service of this regiment was a brilliant one, lasting until the end of the war. Mr. 
 Wheeler was with the command in all the great campaigns of the Army of the Potomac 
 and with Sheridan in the Shenandoah valley, at Gettysburgh and Appomattox. En- 
 listing as a private, his business ability was too valuable not to be utilized, and he was 
 promoted successively to sergeant in the quartermaster's department, second lieutenant 
 on the staff of Colonel Devin, acting quartermaster of his regiment, first lieutenant, 
 brigade quartermaster, and then, before the end of the war, to captain and brevet 
 major. The young quartermaster won an enviable reputation by his services in the 
 field. He displayed dash, ability, and determination in all his work, repeatedly at- 
 tracted the attention of general officers who did not know him, and was complimented 
 many times in official reports, especially by Colonel Devin, who was greatly attached 
 to him. It is said that after an engagement or forced march, Quartermaster Wheeler 
 was usually the first man to bring up his trains of supplies for the relief of the half 
 famished men. His service as a staff officer was without a flaw, and when, in Septem- 
 ber, 1865, the 6th N. Y. Cav. received its muster out, the young officer returned to 
 Troy, without a dollar indeed in the world but with an honorable discharge and a 
 reputation which had preceded him, and promptly gained him a position. 
 
 Accepting what was offered, he became a bookkeeper in Troy. He had not been 
 long in this place, however, before the man of action and adventure found that his 
 nature had been broadened and his mind awakened by the war, and he aspired to a 
 larger field. He came to New York seeking occupation and was fortunate enough to 
 find it with a comrade of his regiment, John F. Barkley, then engaged in a small grain 
 business. The place was not remunerative but it gave him an opportunity to learn the 
 business, and finally, in response to the friendly suggestion of General Devin to Robert 
 S. Holt, of Holt & Co., flour and commission merchants, that firm offered him a desir- 
 able clerkship. He accepted the appointment, threw his whole energy into the work 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. \VH. 723 
 
 of the house, was rapidly promoted, and remained with the firm until 1878, meanwhile 
 having been admitted to partnership. His first capital was gained in the business of 
 this house. 
 
 In 1879, through the death of his brother in law, R. M. Valentine, Mr. Wheeler 
 became connected with the great uptown dry goods firm of R. H. Macy & Co. Hav- 
 ing been made executor of Mr. Valentine's estate, Mr. Wheeler finally joined with 
 Charles B. Webster, the senior partner, in the purchase of the entire business of the 
 firm. In R. H. Macy & Co., Mr. Wheeler became exceedingly successful. One of the 
 best known and most progressive retail dry goods firms in the city, the house transacted 
 an enormous business and brought large profits to its proprietors. 
 
 In 1882, while on a visit to Colorado for recreation, Mr. Wheeler became interested 
 in behalf of a friend in the new mining camp at Aspen, then a rough frontier settle- 
 ment of about six hundred inhabitants. Mining interests were then at a low ebb. Mr. 
 Wheeler bought a controlling interest in two mines, without looking at them, as an act 
 of friendship, and gave a share of his holdings to the friend in whose behalf he had 
 made the investment. The following year, the possibilities of Aspen having gradually 
 dawned upon him, he returned to Colorado with his friend, Robert S. Holt, for a careful 
 and serious inspection. The result was that he bought an abandoned smelter and an in- 
 terest in the Spar mine and then organized The Aspen Smelting Co., with a capital of 
 150,000, in partnership with Charles B. Webster and Robert S. Holt, and entered upon 
 the energetic development of Aspea. After due deliberation, he began the purchase of 
 ore from the miners, taking all that came, good, bad, and indifferent. This created a 
 market for the ore of the Aspen mines and proved the especial stimulus to the mining 
 camp, which had long been needed. Mr. Wheeler had now embarked upon an enter- 
 prise, which was destined to dissociate him from New York city and secure for Colorado 
 the exclusive services of a financier of great ability. 
 
 One problem which confronted Mr. Wheeler at the start was the question of fuel 
 supply. It was necessary at that time to bring coke one hundred miles from Crested 
 Butte on the backs of mules. Coal having been discovered at Jerome Park, however,, 
 suitable for coke, thirty-five miles from Aspen, Mr. Wheeler purchased land there,, 
 opened a coal mine, and in 1884 built coking ovens, the most costly ever erected in 
 Colorado, and from them has since obtained a continuous supply of excellent coke for 
 the smelting works. This investment insured the success of The Aspen Smelting Co. 
 
 With wise judgment, Mr. Wheeler added to his investments by the purchase of an 
 interest in many of the mines at Aspen, some of which afterward proved among the 
 bonanzas of the camp. He had an interest in the Aspen mine, one third of which,, 
 before it began to pay, was sold for a load of lumber, but which, in January, 1885,, 
 reached a rich deposit of silver and yielded 500,000 ounces of the metal in six weeks, 
 and has since produced as high as $225,000 monthly. He also became an owner in the 
 Emma mine, which produced $411,000 in fourteen months, and in the Spar, Vallejo, 
 Hidden Treasure, and many others, all of them paying properties. Largely through 
 the stimulus given to enterprise by Mr. Wheeler's investments, and in part by the 
 compromise of 1888 in the litigation in which the mines were involved, the output of 
 the camp sprang from $850,000 in 1887 to $7,500,000 in 1888 and has since continued 
 at the rate of many millions a year. With the prosperity of the camp, Mr. Wheeler 
 has risen to a position of great financial strength. 
 
724 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 But there was yet more to be done for Aspen. Railroad facilities were needed. 
 Largely through his active influence, The Colorado Midland Railway Co. was indiiced 
 to extend its line to Aspen; and this road, begun in 1886, was in 1888 finished to Aspen 
 and Glenwood Springs. Mr. Wheeler made an investment in the company, became its 
 first vice president, and was its earnest and untiring promoter. The benefits which 
 this road has conferred on Aspen could not be described in moderate language. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler gradually became deeply interested in the interests of Colorado, and 
 he has extended his investments in the State in many directions and always with excel- 
 lent judgment and success. The Grand River Coal & Coke Co., an outgrowth of his 
 pioneer effort at Jerome Park to obtain a supply of coke for his smelting works, has 
 now become a most important enterprise. The company was organized by him as 
 president and now owns 5,000 acres of coal lands, possessing veins of unusual thick- 
 ness, one of them forty-five feet in width, and yielding coking coal of excellent quality. 
 The product of these mines finds a market as far east as the Missouri river. 
 
 At an early day, Mr. Wheeler established The J. B. Wheeler Banking Co. at 
 Aspen and has since founded The J. B. Wheeler Banking Co. at Manitou. He has 
 also built an opera house at Aspen. He aided actively to develop the Glenwood hot 
 springs on the western slope of the range as a resort. Surrounded by noble mountains, 
 possessing an inspiring climate and springs of great medicinal value, this beautiful 
 spot is destined to a brilliant future. He has also engaged in land operations at Colo- 
 rado Springs, Pueblo, Ogden and Salt Lake City. 
 
 For six years, Mr. Wheeler made the 2,000 mile trip from New York to Colorado 
 several times a year, in order to retain his connection with R. H. Macy & Co. Bur- 
 dened with business cares, he was finally confronted with an ultimatum from his 
 physician, who declared that he must abandon either Colorado or New York. Fas- 
 cinated with Colorado, he chose the former, and on Jan. i, 1888, retired from his New 
 York firm and has since devoted his undoubted abilities to his Western investments. 
 
 In 1870, Mr. Wheeler was married to Harriet Macy Valentine, of Nantucket, 
 Mass. , who had become a resident of New York city. This union has brought them fo'ur 
 children, two sons, who passed away at an early age, and two charming daughters. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler maintains a business office in New York, and yet has large interests 
 in the city. An agreeable associate in social life, he is a member of several important 
 clubs, including the Union League, Goethe, Manhattan, Lawyers' and Commonwealth. 
 He is also, by virtue of his descent, an interested member of The New England Society. 
 Mr. Wheeler is yet in the prime of life. A man of fine presence, he is public spirited 
 and philanthropic, given to acts of unostentatious charity, and particularly mindful of 
 his old comrades of the 6th N. Y. Cav., many of whom have been placed by him in the 
 avenues which open to them the road to success. 
 
 WILLIAM ALflY WHEELOCK, merchant and financier, for fifteen years presi- 
 dent of The Central National Bank, is a man who is held in the highest esteem for his 
 undoubted probity and high character. He has won his way to a high position in New 
 York city by a long life of untiring labor and legitimate methods. 
 
 He was born in the thriving city of Providence, R. I., March 23, 1825, and passed 
 his early youth there, attending the excellent schools of the place. His father, Joseph 
 Wheelock, a native of Westboro, Mass., having been born there, June 25, 1788, was of 
 Welsh descent and for many years cashier of The Merchants' Bank of Providence. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WH. 725 
 
 His mother came from an English family and was born in Groton, Mass. , April 9, 
 1788. Her maiden name was Amelia Ames. The family moved to New York city 
 when William was a boy of twelve. The boy was educated at the University of the 
 City of New York, graduating in 1843 m the same "class with William Allen Butler, 
 Aaron J. Vanderpoel and other young men who afterward rose to prominence. He did 
 not find the road to learning an easy one, however, and was indebted to his own exer- 
 tions for the advantage of a college course. He was obliged to support himself during 
 the larger part of his four years in college by teaching. In the last year of his course, 
 he was the assistant classical teacher in the University Grammar School. 
 
 At the age of nineteen, the young man took a clerkship in the dry goods importing 
 and jobbing house of Merritt, Ely & Co , sen-ing for two years without compensation, 
 in order to learn the business. This was a period of hard labor and self sacrifice for 
 Mr. Wheelock. His expenses were met with borrowed money. But his hard appren- 
 ticeship not only taught him the elements of the business in which he was destined to 
 make his fortune, but made him energetic and self reliant. In three years more, he 
 became a partner in the firm, the title of which was then changed to Merritt, Bliss 
 & Co. His character, energy and shrewdness led to his being commissioned to make 
 the foreign purchases of this firm, and he resided from 1850 to 1855 in Manchester, 
 England, where both of his children were born. As the resident partner abroad, his 
 record was one of great success. 
 
 During this period, in February, 1850, he was happily married to Miss Harriet 
 Efner, daughter of Elijah D. Efner, then one of the oldest residents of Buffalo, N. Y. 
 
 In 1858, his firm was re-organized as Bliss & Wheelock, and in 1863, Mr. Wheelock 
 retired with ample means to enjoy a period of rest. 
 
 Too active and efficient to be contented with a life of pleasure, Mr. Wheelock 
 accepted, in 1865, the position of a director in The Central National Bank, and in June, 
 1866, became president of the institution. The bank was a new one, and required the 
 services of a driving and judicious head. Mr. Wheelock proved to be an admirable and 
 sagacious president; and he developed its business and conducted its affairs with great 
 success for a period of fifteen years. To secure needed recreation, after a long and 
 laborious service, and to obtain the time required by the management of his own pro- 
 perty and of several estates which had been entrusted to him, he then, June i, 1881, 
 resigned his position. A vigorous effort was made to secure a reconsideration, but 
 Mr. Wheelock's decision was unalterable, and he retired, followed by testimonials from 
 the bank of the most complimentary nature. 
 
 If possible, Mr. Wheelock has been more actively employed since that period than 
 he was before. Philanthropic work has occupied much of his time but he has con- 
 tinued to perform effective service in the direction of great corporations. 
 
 He was for two years president of The American Surety Co. , one of the largest and 
 most progressive enterprises of recent years. He accepted the office reluctantly and 
 only until a suitable successor could be found, but yet remains the chairman of its 
 Executive Committee. He has for many years been a director of The Equitable Life 
 Assurance Society and chairman of its Committee on Investments. He is chainnan 
 of the finance committees of many large institutions, has been a director in The New 
 York, Lake Erie & Western Railway for the last ten years, and is a director in The 
 Gold & Stock Telegraph Co., The Central National Bank, and other corporations. 
 
726 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 A man of refinement, high character, and social disposition, Mr. Wheelock would 
 at any time be regarded as an acceptable member of any first class social organization, 
 but he has no taste for club life, pure and simple, and he has allied himself only with 
 the Union League and Lawyers' clubs. He is an interested member and ex-director 
 of The New England Society, and is fond of the annual reunions at which the descend- 
 ants of New England in this city meet to regale themselves with choice oratory and a 
 banquet. He has been a member of the council of the University of the City of New 
 York for twenty-five years and was treasurer for about fifteen years. At present, he is 
 chairman of the finance committee. He is honorary vice president of The American 
 Tract Society now, and has been an elder in the Presbyterian Church on Washington 
 Heights for thirty-two years. He has also been an active member of the Church Exten- 
 sion Committee of the Presbytery of New York, being vice chairman and chairman of 
 the finance committee. For many years, he served in the directorate of The Deaf and 
 Dumb Institute. 
 
 He lives in a beautiful residence on the Heights, with ample grounds covering the 
 space of two city blocks, and commanding a noble view of the Hudson river. His 
 country residence is at East Hampton on Long Island. 
 
 Mr: Wheelock has two children, Dr. William E. Wheelock, who married the only 
 daughter of the Rev. John Hall., D. D., pastor of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian 
 Church, and Harriet E., wife of George A. Strong, a partner in the law firm of Martin 
 & Smith, lawyers, at 54 Wall street. 
 
 ALBERT TREDWAY WHITE, merchant, born in Brooklyn, May 28, 1846, is a 
 son of Alexander M. White, a merchant of furs of long standing, who in the firm of 
 W. A. & A. M. White, and in operations in real estate and railroads, has gained alarge 
 reward for his enterprise. The subject of this sketch received his education in the 
 Brooklyn Polytechnic and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institutes, graduating from the 
 former in 1862 and the latter in 1865, with the degree of civil engineer. He has not 
 followed engineering as a profession, however, but began business life as a clerk in his 
 father's firm in 1866, and became the partner of his father and of his brother, the 
 present William A. White, in 1868. This old house, founded over sixty years ago, by 
 William Augustus White, uncle of Alfred T. , imports its own goods, manufactures in 
 a shop in Danbury, Conn., and has two stores in this city at 130 Water street and 24 
 Washington Place respectively. Mr. White is an efficient factor in the operations of the 
 house. He is conspicuous for his interest in philanthropic work and has been for many 
 years president of The Brooklyn Bureau of Charities and other societies. The attention 
 of Mr. White having been drawn by his work in this field to the need of better homes for 
 the working classes, he built in 1876 dwellings for forty-four families upon an improved 
 plan. These proved successful, whereupon Mr. White enlisted other aid and the asso- 
 ciation thus formed built the Tower, Home and Riverside buildings, with apartments 
 for 550 of the families of workmen. These structures have attracted attention as the 
 largest and most successful experiment of the sort in the United States, and, for his 
 part in creating them, Harvard University has bestowed upon Mr. White the honorary 
 degree of M. A. His acceptance of the Commissionership of City Works in Boooklyn 
 tinder Mayor Schieren has now temporarily withdrawn him from active participation 
 in the interests of previous years. Mr. White belongs to the Hamilton, Montauk and 
 Riding & Driving clubs and the Century and Down Town clubs of New York. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WH. 727 
 
 STEPHEN VAN CULEN WHITE, stock broker, is a native of Chatham count}-, 
 N. C., where he was born, Aug. i, 1831. His mother, Julia Brewer, was a direct 
 descendant of Oliver Cromwell and a member of an old North Carolina family, while 
 his father, Hiram White, was a farmer and on his mother's side descended from mem- 
 bers of the Society of Friends in Pennsylvania, who moved South after the American 
 Revolution. In 1831, the family being hostile to slavery, moved to Jersey county, 111., 
 and Stephen spent his boyhood in what was then a wilderness. His first earnings came 
 from the sale of furs, the product of his own traps. Graduating from Knox college in 
 1854, he went to St. Louis, served as a bookkeeper in a wholesale store, studied law, 
 and was admitted to the bar, Oct. 4, 1856. He practiced his profession with success in 
 Des Moines, Iowa, until 1856, and then removed to New York and helped Charles B. 
 Marvin establish the stock brokerage and banking, firm of Marvin & White. Two years 
 later, the firm retired from business. Mr. White joined the Stock Exchange in 1869 
 and went on alone until 1882, when the house of S. V. White & Co. was organized 
 with several partners. Meanwhile, there had been in 1872 a serious setback and a 
 recovery of lost ground, with full payment of debts. Mr. White's operations in stocks 
 were for a long period among the most daring and successful in the street. One specu- 
 lation in Lackawanna stock made him a rich man. In 1891, he failed for a million dol- 
 lars. He resumed business with 50,000 capital, being released from obligations upon 
 a verbal promise to pay, made about a million dollars in 1892 at the Stock Exchange, 
 paid every debt in full, and found himself again a man of fortune. This was one of 
 the most extraordinary incidents in Wall street. In politics a Republican, Mr. White 
 has figured since 1856 in public affairs. He has been a Park Commissioner of Brook- 
 Ivn and became a member of the Lth Congress. He has been receiver of The Grocers' 
 Bank and The Sugar Trust, and long treasurer of Plymouth church in Brooklyn, and 
 is a member of the Stock Exchange, the Union League, Lincoln, Hamilton and Brook- 
 lyn clubs in that city and the Lawyers' club of New York. Feb. 24, 1857, he was 
 married to Eliza M., daughter of Hiram Chandler, and their children are Jennie 
 Chandler, who married Franklin W. Hopkins, and Arthur White. 
 
 WILLIAM WHITLOCK, born in New York city, Jan. 23, 1791, died at his resi- 
 dence here, July 10, 1875. He was a son of William Whitlock, prominent as a ship 
 owner and ship master, and was descended from Thomas Whitlock, who came from 
 England in 1640, and after a few years of residence in Massachusetts, became one of 
 the first settlers of Gravesend, Long Island, in 1646. William Whitlock, jr., received 
 a fair education, and, in 1812, entered the shipping business and soon created a large 
 trade. At one time, he ranked among the largest individual owners of ocean tonnage 
 in the United States. He did not have the control of as large a number of vessels as 
 some others but owned most of his ships entirely. In 1825, he established a line of 
 packet ships between New York and Havre, which flourished until the beginning of 
 the Civil War, when the competition of steamships drove it from the sea. Mr. Whit- 
 lock exported cotton extensively and imported East India goods, particularly Manila 
 hemp. He was a director of The Bank of America and had high credit in the chief 
 commercial cities of the world. He retired in 1872. In 1818, he married Miss Eliza 
 H. Scott of Catskill. N. Y., and had one son and four daughters. Religious and chari- 
 table work occupied much of his time. For many years, he served as treasurer of St. 
 George's Church and an officer of The American Bible Society. 
 
728 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 SAMUEL WILLETS, merchant, born in Westbury, L. I., June 15, 1795, died in 
 New York, Feb. 6, 1883. The son of Robert and Mary Willets, respectable farmers, 
 he came to this city early in life. A clerk with Robbins & Hicks, flour dealers, for 
 three years, he engaged in the hardware business, at the age of twenty, with his elder 
 brother, Amos, under the firm name of A. & S. Willets. These two, by economy, 
 prudence and good management, gradually built up a concern, well known and re- 
 spected, and the house at No. 303 Pearl street, was regarded as an example of deserved 
 mercantile success. In 1850, the elder brother withdrew, and Samuel, with his 
 brother, Robert R. , and others of the family, organized the firm of Willets & Co. 
 Samuel remained senior partner until the close of 1867, when he retired, having 
 spanned fifty-two years with an uninterrupted and honorable career. For a few years 
 more, his name appeared as a special partner. Starting with general hardware, the 
 firm had gradually added interests of a different nature and became prominent as 
 owners and agents in the whale fishery. California connections came later, with exten- 
 sive consignments of the staples of that State, while a Mexican trade, embracing ship- 
 ments of cotton, was also developed. A line of business with Texas was a subsequent 
 acquisition, and, in 1862, the hardware department was relinquished, and exclusive 
 attention given to the commission business, which, with the addition of a large leather 
 interest, continues the calling of the house to this day. At the age of twenty-one, Mr. 
 Willets married Sarah, daughter of Benjamin Hicks, a neighbor of his father. Mrs. 
 Willets died in January, 1881. Their children were Jacob H., Robert, Amelia and 
 Edward, all now deceased. 
 
 In early manhood, Mr. Willets was an active and courageous member of the 
 " Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves and Protecting such of them as 
 have been or may be Liberated," was exceedingly active in its affairs, freed many 
 slaves, and united with his friend, Isaac T. Hopper, in an effort before the Legislature 
 to secure a law, granting to persons claimed as slaves a trial by jury. Early called 
 into many corporations, he was for over thirty-five years a director in The American 
 Exchange Bank and at one time its president. He was one of the trustees of The 
 Union Trust Co. , a director of The Second Avenue and Third Avenue Railroads, vice 
 president of The Stuyvesant Insurance Co., and president of The Williamsburgh Gas 
 Light Co., governor of The New York Hospital, president of The New York Infant 
 Asylum, The Working Women's Protective Union, and The New York Infirmary for 
 Women and Children, and one of the advisory committee of The Association for the 
 Relief of Colored Orphans. To the support of all of these he generously contributed. 
 He also aided The Woman's Medical College and was especially generous to Swarth- 
 more College. Industry, energy and punctuality were conspicuous in his administra- 
 tion of business, and an indomitable will nerved him with uncommon spirit. He was 
 upright and conscientious, prompt and decisive, and a good friend and neighbor, and 
 his familiar garb and figure will long be missed from the walks of life. By his will, he 
 left $25, ooo each to The Association for the Benefit of Negro Orphans, The Society for 
 Improving the Condition of the Poor, The New York Juvenile Asylum, The Children's 
 Aid Society, and The Working Woman's Protective Union; $50,000 each to The Society 
 for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled, The New York Infirmary for Women and 
 Children, and The New York Hospital; $100,000 to Swarthmore College, and $85,000 
 to other charities; total, $460,000. 
 
CITY OF NEW YORK. WI. 729 
 
 GEORGE GILBERT WILLIAflS, banker, one of the soundest, most conservative 
 and best known financiers in New York, is the worthy president of the famous old 
 Chemical Bank. This great institution was founded in 1824 as The Chemical Manu- 
 facturing Co., with banking privileges, by a number of leading members of the drug 
 trade in this city. In 1844, its original charter expired and it was then at once reorgan- 
 ized as The Chemical Bank. During the war, the institution became a national bank. 
 Of the original company, John Mason was one of the most prominent presidents. John 
 Quentin Jones was made first president of the bank in 1844, and Mr. Williams succeeded 
 him in 1878, and during his long, wise and successful management, the institution has 
 become the soundest, as it is the most famous, in the city. 
 
 Mr. Williams was born in the town of East Haddam, Conn., in 1826. He descends 
 from Welsh ancestry. His family is the one which gave birth to Roger Williams of 
 colonial fame. His own ancestor was Robert Williams, who came to America about 
 the time of the Pilgrims. The family has always been distinguished by its high social 
 position and the public spirit of its members. More than thirty of its men held com- 
 missions in the armies of the American Revolution. The father of Mr. Williams was 
 Dr. Datus Williams, a practicing physician of East Haddam for more than forty years. 
 George first aspired to the career of a lawyer, and during his early years of careful 
 education at home, in the district school, and the village academy, he kept this object 
 in view. But a different career was opened to him by circumstances. Among the 
 patients of his father was a brother of the cashier in The Chemical Bank in New 
 York city. The lad attracted the attention of Mr. Jones, who offered to secure for him 
 a position in the bank. The arrangement was made, and young Mr. Williams came to 
 New York in December, 1841, and entered the employment of The Chemical Manufac- 
 turing Co., then established on the site of the present National Park Bank. He began 
 as assistant to the paying teller. Honest, ambitious, and clear headed, he applied 
 himself to his work with so much intelligence and success, that, at the age of twenty, 
 he was made paying teller, and was the youngest man in the city occupying such a 
 responsible position. Among the directors and depositors of The Chemical Bank were 
 many of the foremost men in New York, including A. T. Stewart, Robert and Peter 
 Goelet, John D. Wolfe, Cornelius S. V. Roosevelt, Robert McCoskrey and Japhet 
 Bishop, a fact which renders apparent the nature of the compliment, when, in 1855, 
 Mr. Williams was elected cashier of the bank, and when on Jan. i, 1878, after the 
 death of John Quentin Jones, he was elected to the presidency of the institution. 
 
 Mr. Williams has always made finance the subject of diligent study and has proved 
 a capable and valuable manager of his great institution. Its deposits have now reached 
 the sum of 30,000,000. His judgment and conservatism have won the implicit confi- 
 dence of leading merchants and capitalists and he has been called to many positions of 
 trust outside of his bank. He is now director in The Union Trust Co. , The Fidelity & 
 Casualty Co., The United States Life Insurance Co., The Eagle Fire Insurance Co., 
 The Title Guarantee & Trust Co., The Institution for Savings of Merchants' Clerks, 
 and The Pennsylvania Coal Co. 
 
 Modest, reserved and quiet in demeanor, Mr. Williams is a cultivated gentleman 
 and an agreeable companion in social life. He has little taste for club life, but has 
 joined the Metropolitan and Riding clubs for certain advantages they afford, and is an 
 enthusiastic member of The New England Society. His public spirit has been shown 
 
73 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 by his support of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The American Museum of 
 Natural History, and in many other ways. 
 
 Nov. 14, 1867, he was married to Miss Virginia King, daughter of Aaron King of 
 New York city. His wife is a woman of great cultivation and refinement. Their 
 union has brought them five children, one of whom is living. 
 
 Mr. Williams is a prominent member of St. Bartholomew's P. E. church on 
 Madison avenue and one of the governors of The Lying-in Hospital. 
 
 JAnES WINSLOW, banker, born in Hartford, Conn., Feb. 17, 1815, died at his 
 residence, 44 West 2oth street, New York city, July 18, 1874. This energetic and 
 capable man was of New England ancestry, and a lineal descendant of a brother of 
 Gov. Edward Winslow of the Plymouth colony. He started in life as clerk in the 
 hardware store of Erastus Corning, in Albany. Removing to New York shortly after- 
 ward, he engaged in the hardware business, which he carried on for several years with 
 excellent success. He then entered the banking firm of Winslow, Lanier & Co., which 
 had been established by his brother and father-in-law, and rendered important service in 
 the promotion of Western railroad enterprises, and the negotiation of war loans for the 
 government during the administration of President Lincoln. He was subsequently con- 
 nected with national banks, and at the time of his death was vice president of The Third 
 National. By his marriage in 1847, with Margaret, daughter of James F. D. Lanier, he 
 became the father of Margaret Lanier, Edward, James Norton, and Annie Gardner 
 Winslow. His son, EDWARD WINSLOW, banker, was born in New York city, Jan. 
 14, 1850. His mother traced her line to Huguenot ancestry, and thus, in the veins of 
 Edward Winslow flows the best blood of the Puritans of New England and the Hugue- 
 nots of France. Receiving a thorough education in his native land, Mr. Winslow en- 
 tered the banking house of Winslow, Lanier & Co., in Wall street in 1873 and has ever 
 since remained identified with the firm. They are now one of the largest houses in the 
 street and active" in the re-organization of corporations. Founded, in part, to promote 
 railroad enterprise in Indiana, this house has continued to transact a large and conserva- 
 tive business in investment securities to the present day. Mr. Winslow is a cultivated 
 gentleman, exceedingly well liked in social life, and is a member of the Metropolitan, 
 Reform, Country, City, Tuxedo, and the Larchmont, Atlantic, New York, and Corin- 
 thian Yacht clubs. He is public spirited and philanthropic, and a trustee of The New 
 York Skin & Cancer Hospital. By his marriage with Emma Corning Sweetser, 
 daughter of J. A. Sweetser, in 1873, he has one child, Marguerite Lanier Winslow. 
 
 FREDERICK SEYflOUR WINSTON, insurance president, a native of Ballston Spa, 
 N. Y., born Oct. 14, 1806, died in Fernandina, Fla., March 27, 1885. He was a son 
 of Frederick Winston, a Virginian, and of Susan 'Seymour, of Connecticut, who settled 
 early in life in Saratoga county, N. Y. The Winstons came originally from Wales and 
 settled in Virginia. Patrick Henry's mother was a member of this family. Educated in 
 the academy in Utica, Mr. Winston began life at fifteen as clerk for Halsted, Haines & 
 Co., wholesale dry goods merchants of New York. A breezy vigor and purity of charac- 
 ter greatly enhanced his success, and led the firm to take him into partnership. In a few 
 years' time, he opened a store of his own on Pine street, opposite the present building 
 of The Mutual Life Insurance Co. While at one time among the most prominent 
 wholesale dry goods merchants of the city, he finally failed. In 1846, he was elected 
 a director of The Mutual Life Insurance Co., organized four years before, settled the 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WI. 731 
 
 affairs of his firm, and thereafter gave his undivided attention to the insurance com- 
 pany. In 1853, he succeeded John B. Collins as president, and held this position till 
 his death, a period of over thirty years. In 1864, he transferred the offices from the 
 Trinity Building on Broadway to a home at the corner of Liberty street and saw the 
 assets increase under his administration from $2,000,000 in 1853 to $100,000,000 in 
 1885. Mr. Winston was a staunch Union man during the Civil War. In 1866, he 
 became a Commissioner of Emigration for five years, discharging this duty from con- 
 scientious motives. A member of the Protestant Episcopal chuich, he was also vice 
 president of The American Bible Society and of The Protestant Episcopal City Mission 
 Society, and otherwise an active influence in philanthropic work. A thick set, genial, 
 man, with ruddy face, heavy iron gray hair and side whiskers, he was a notable figure. 
 In 1833, he married Lucy Cotton, of New York, who died March 14, 1886. Of their 
 children, four survived him, Gustavus S. Winston, M.D., Frederick M., James Sands, 
 Mary Hoadley and Sarah Cotton. 
 
 BENJAMIN ROBERT WINTHROP, realty owner, born in New York in January, 
 1804, died in London, England, July 26, 1879. He traced his descent from John Win- 
 throp, the first English Governor of Massachusetts, and, on his mother's side, from 
 Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dxitch Governor of New York. Occupied in early life as 
 clerk in the' banking office of Jacob Barker, he there met the poet Halleck as a fellow 
 employe. Mr. Winthrop inherited a large estate from both his father and mother, 
 which he increased by his own labors, investing his means almost wholly in real estate. 
 He was president at one time of a marine insurance company, a trustee of the old 
 Public School Society, and up to the time of going abroad a vice president of The New 
 York Historical Society. He had an interest in The Bank for Savings of Merchant 
 Clerks and at the time of his death was its first vice president. He also served as one 
 of the governors of The Lying-in Hospital and had been for many years its treasurer. 
 In the performance of official duty, Mr. Winthrop was extremely punctilious, often 
 making long journeys to attend a board meeting, and once coming from Europe for 
 that purpose. Twelve years of his life were spent abroad. By his marriage with 
 Elizabeth A. C., daughter of William Neilson, merchant, he became the father of five 
 children, Egerton Leigh and Neilson W T inthrop ; Eliza S. , wife of William Kernochan ; 
 Benjamin R. Winthrop; and Mrs. Anne Neilson Curtis, of Boston. 
 
 SILAS HEMINWAY WITHERBEE, manufacturer, born in Bridport, Vt, not far 
 from the shore of Lake Champlain, Jan. 27, 1815, died at his home in New York 
 city, June 8, 1889. Of the large family of his father, Jonathan, a farmer, the subject 
 of this memoir was next to the youngest child. The Witherbees are of English 
 descent, and their ancestors were rewarded by the crown for valiant services during 
 the Cromwellian period, receiving recognition by the gift of a title. Some of the 
 family removed to New England in the earliest days of settlement. 
 
 Mr. Witherbee received a common school education, such as most farmers' sous 
 began life with at that time, and as soon as he was old enough to work engaged as 
 apprentice to a blacksmith. While his first experience was not without influence in 
 determining his' subsequent career, he did not like blacksmith's work. After a year or 
 two, he accepted a position as clerk in the store of his brother in law at Port Henry, 
 N. Y., just across the lake from his former home. Here he remained for ssveral years, 
 until he took a position as clerk with The Bay State Iron Co , whose furnaces were 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WI. 733 
 
 located in Port Henry. About this time, June 23, 1842, he married Sophia C. Goff of 
 Orange county, N. Y. , and began housekeeping on a salary of $600 a year. After a 
 few years with The Bay State Iron Co., he was removed because of the jealousy of the 
 superintendent. Mr. Witherbee had been making himself too valuable to the com- 
 pany and people had come to prefer dealing with him, rather than with the man 
 actually in charge. He then went to Westport, N. Y., remaining for a while at the 
 blast furnace located there, but The Bay State Iron Co. soon sent for him and gave him 
 the place of the superintendent who had dismissed him. 
 
 After a few years, he formed an alliance with his nephew, J. G. Witherbee, to 
 engage in a small way in the transportation business on Lake Champlain, and a little 
 later the}' bought an interest in the iron ore mines near Port Henry, which, largely 
 through their exertions, became famous as iron properties. Successively, the firms 
 organized were, S. H. & J. G. Witherbee, Lee, Sherman & Witherbee, and Witherbees 
 & Fletcher; and finally George Sherman and he, having bought all other interests, they 
 organized the firm of Witherbee, Sherman & Co., which has always had the highest 
 standing for integrity and financial soundness, not only in the iron trade, but through- 
 out Northern New York. At his death, Mr. Witherbee was yet at the head of this 
 copartnership. He was vice president of The First National Bank of Port Henry; 
 director of The Port Henry Iron Ore Co., and president of The Lake Champlain & 
 Moriah Railroad, besides being interested in other business ventures, local and other- 
 wise. He became, in 1887, president of The Port Henry Furnace Co., successors of 
 the original company, from which he had in his early life been dismissed by the super- 
 intendent. 
 
 In 1868, Mr. Witherbee removed to New York, and in the following year bought 
 the house in which he lived until his death. He early joined the Union League club, 
 and was one of its regular although unostentatious supporters, and a member and 
 trustee of the Brick Presbyterian Church. In the '705, he became interested in prop- 
 erty in Westchester county, near New Rochelle. Largely through his instrumentality, 
 the attractive suburb of Pelham Manor came into being. Part of his property was 
 taken by the city for the Pelham Bay Park. He never held public office, being of an 
 unobtrusive nature, but was always a staunch supporter of the Republican party. Of 
 a most generous disposition, man}' men were helped by him in a quiet way. It was a 
 boast of his early life, that, if he ever had more than $20,000, all sums above that 
 should go towards educating young men; and while this was not literally fulfilled, 
 many young men and boys had reason to thank him for their start in life and his 
 continued encouragement. Mr. Witherbee had three children, Elizabeth V., wife of 
 the Rev. Lewis Francis; Mary G. W., wife of Robert C. Black, and Walter C. 
 Witherbee. 
 
 DAVID DUNHAM WITHERS, born Jan. 22, 1822, on Greenwich street in this 
 city, died at the Brevoort House, February 18, 1892. He was a son of Reuben 
 Withers, a Virginian, who came to New York a boy and made a fortune in the trade 
 with China and was at one time president of The Bank of the State of New York. 
 The family lived at one time in a little white cottage on the site of the present statue 
 of Washington in Union Square, then away out in the country. Graduating from 
 Dr. Muhlenberg's school, the young man went South as a representative of the 
 shipping house of Rowland & Aspinwall, making his home in New Orleans and man- 
 
734 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 aging their whole Southern business admirably. Alive to the opportunities of the 
 South, he acquired an interest in a cotton plantation near Natchez, borrowing $20,000 
 for this purpose on notes endorsed by his father. Later, he bought more land and in 
 all finally owned about 2,000 acres in Louisiana and Mississippi. Several speculations 
 in cotton resulted favorably and gave an impetus to his fortune. Investing his surplus 
 means in corporations, gas works, railroads, etc., he finally retired from active business 
 to enjoy the fruits of his labors. During the Civil War, he lived in Paris and elsewhere 
 abroad, and after the return of peace established his home in New York city. Mr. 
 Withers began in 1866 to take a lively interest in the amusements of the turf, and in 
 1870, in the breeding of fine horses. From the latter date, he discontinued betting on 
 races. The Brookdale stable in Monmouth county, N. J., which he created, soon 
 became famous as one of the most complete and excellent establishments of its class in 
 the East. Mr. Withers invested probably $1,000,000 in turf interests. The racing 
 track at Monmouth Park in New Jersey came into existence largely through his efforts 
 and expenditures. He was a member of the Knickerbocker, Metropolitan, Union and 
 Whist clubs. No family survived him, other than his brothers and sisters. 
 
 CHARLES FREDERICK WOERISHOFFER, banker, originated in Glenhausen, 
 province of Hesse, Germany, where he was born, Aug. 5, 1844. He died in Manhat- 
 tanville, May 10, 1886: His family were worthy and reputable people but very poor 
 and did not possess the means to give their boy a start in business life. Confronted 
 with the stern struggle for existence at an early age, he was compelled to depend upon 
 himself from boyhood; and this circumstance no dotibt did much to develop the self 
 reliance, the habit of thinking for himself, and the enterprise, which distinguished his 
 subsequent career. 
 
 Trained to the requirements of business in Frankfort and Paris, he sailed for the 
 new world in 1865 to seek his fortune. Settling in New York city, he entered the 
 office of August Rutten as a clerk. His native capacity brought him rapidly forward, 
 and Mr. Rutten soon made him the cashier. Not long after that, he pushed out for 
 himself and in 1868 associated himself with M. C. Klingenfeldt, and a year or so later - 
 with others, finally becoming a member of the Stock Exchange. He then transacted 
 very important business for L. von Hoffman & Co., who found their trust in him amply 
 repaid by his energetic, prudent and successful ways. With them, he began to lay the 
 foundation of a fortune. Emboldened at last to engage in business under his own 
 name, he established in the summer of 1870 the firm of Woerishoffer & Co., stock 
 brokers and bankers. The house was prosperous from the start, and two of the origi- 
 nal partners soon retired rich. 
 
 The firm have always been noted for their enterprise and influence. One of the 
 operations which won reputation for Mr. Woerishoffer was a fight he waged in 1879 
 with Jay Gould, Russell Sage and others for the control of The Kansas Pacific Railroad. 
 Woerishoffer, representing a ntimber of Frankfort investors, contracted to sell certain 
 Denver bonds to the Gould-Sage syndicate at 80 on the hundred, but the latter repu- 
 diated the contract and named $70 as their price. Mr. Woerishoffer made prompt and 
 effective use of the telegraph cable to Europe, and before the syndicate had fully pre- 
 pared for his campaign, he had safely gathered within the hands of The United States 
 Trust Co., more than a majority of the bonds, which the syndicate were after. He then 
 had the satisfaction of telling his rivals, calmly, that as their foreclosure scheme de- 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WO. 735 
 
 pended on securing control of the bonds, they would have to pay full price for their 
 coquettishness. The syndicate failed to shake his determination and were obliged to 
 pay par value for the bonds. This operation made Mr. Woerishoffer famous in Ger- 
 many and London as well as in New York. From that time forward, he enjoyed the 
 implicit trust of every German investor in American securities; and as a result of that 
 successful deal, Frankfort came largely into the New York stock market. About 
 $6,000,000 were involved in the case. 
 
 Mr. Woerishoffer was also identified with a famous campaign in Wall street, over 
 Northern Pacific Railroad securities. While the stock of that road ranged at a high 
 price, he declared that the earnings of the company did not warrant the fancy quota- 
 tions at which the stocks were held. With the courage of his convictions, he openly 
 sold the w r hole line short, standing in this operation single handed against many influ- 
 ential men and heavy bankers. Seeing that arguments were of no avail, his opponents 
 decided to whip Mr. Woerishoffer into line; and a syndicate was formed to buy 100,000 
 shares of the stock and squeeze him out of the market. That speculation proved a 
 merry dance for the street, but Mr. Woerishoffer led the way. Nothing seemed to 
 daunt him. No rise or fall in quotations provoked more than a look of indifference. 
 Countless friends assured him that he stood iipon a volcano, which might wreck his 
 fortunes and those of his friends. With a rush, the 100,000 shares were bid up to a 
 high quotation. The whole order was filled by his own brokers, and he had cleared 
 millions by his allegiance to the fact that stock cannot be sustained for any length of 
 time with net earnings out of the question. 
 
 Mr. Woerishoffer led to success a dozen noted campaigns which followed in Wall 
 street. He was conspicuous in The West Shore Railroad settlement, and his transac- 
 tions in special speculations ranged at tremendous figures. Where others bought or 
 sold thousands of shares, he handled tens and hundreds of thousands. Cool, reticent, 
 and observing, he possessed a judgment of values intrinsic and speculative, which sel- 
 dom erred and was usually exact. He knew all the resources of speculation and em- 
 ployed them with success both in bulling and bearing stocks. Operating through many 
 different offices, his brokers were often ignorant of the fact that other members of the 
 Stock Exchange, with whom they were at cross purposes, had the same client. 
 
 Fortune came to him in large operations and his generosity was proverbial. His 
 clerks were the envy of every office in Wall street. Thousands went even- month to 
 help other men ; and Mr. Woerishoffer is credited with the unexampled liberality of 
 giving over twenty Stock Exchange seats, without reserve, to men whom he had found 
 faithful to his interests. It was not exceptional for him to give $1,000 checks as 
 Christmas presents to his clerks. The charities of the city also received from him 
 frequent and large contributions. To The German Hospital he was a large donor. 
 
 At the time of his death, he had been a power in Wall street for over twenty 
 years. His speculations were noted for their dash, fearlessness and success. No great 
 operator in Wall street was ever more popular among those with whom he came in 
 contact. His life was full of dramatic incidents and his career in Wall street paralleled 
 by few. Starting as a poor clerk, without friends or influence in America, at the age 
 of twenty-one, at forty-three he had risen to be a power in money centres, a ruler of 
 corporations, a maker of markets and possessed of a fortune of millions. Every iota of 
 his far reaching influence he made for himself. 
 
736 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 He retired from active partnership in the firm of Woerishoffer & Co., Jan. i, 1886, 
 but retained a special partnership and gave the succeeding firm the benefit of his 
 frequent advice. He was also a special partner in the firm of Walsh & Hackman, at 
 27 William street. In 1873, he was married to Anne, the daughter of the late Mrs. 
 Anne Ottendorfer. He had two daughters. 
 
 JOHN WOLFE, son of the late Christopher Wolfe, wholesale hardware merchant, 
 was born on Fulton street in this city, opposite St. Paul's Church, in December, 1821. 
 Educated in leading private schools of this city and in France, he succeeded his father 
 in 1842 in the wholesale hardware importing and jobbing business. The trade of the 
 house was mainly with merchants of the Southern States and the late Civil War made 
 it necessary in 1864 to liquidate the business, then carried on under the name of Wolfe, 
 Dash & Fisher. Mr. Wolfe then travelled extensively in Europe, visiting Egypt, the 
 Holy Land, Constantinople, etc. He lived for several years in Dresden, Germany. 
 He gratified a taste for the fine arts while in Europe, by the purchase of many original 
 oil paintings, principally by leading artists of the modern French schools, a number of 
 which are now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is a member of the Century 
 and Tuxedo clubs and a strong supporter of the public museums of the city. He was 
 married in 1866, to Miss Angonetta B. Dash, daughter of the late Daniel B. Dash of 
 this city. Their children were three sons and three daughters, only two of whom at 
 present survive, Christopher Wolfe, his oldest son, and Margaret, married to Grenville, 
 son of the late Pierre Kane of this city. 
 
 JOHN DAVID WOLFE, merchant, a native of this city, born July 24, 1792, died 
 in New York, May 17, 1872. He bore the name of the founder of the family, who 
 emigrated from Saxony to this city during the sixteenth century and died in 1759. 
 David Wolfe, son of the pioneer, was an assistant quartermaster in the American army 
 during the War for Independence and thereafter carried on a hardware trade in this 
 city on Maiden Lane. John David Wolfe, his son, succeeded to his father's business 
 and carried it on with success. At the age of fifty, he retired. By investment of his 
 means in real estate, he gained a large accession to his fortune. Mr. Wolfe was a - 
 strong Episcopalian, a vestryman of Trinity church and later senior warden of Grace 
 church, and one of the most liberal donors of his time to the institutions of his church 
 and the new 'dioceses beyond the Mississippi river. With Mrs. Peter Cooper, he 
 founded the Sheltering Arms in New York City. Wolfe Hall, a school for girls in 
 Denver, Col., was also founded by him, and he built the theological seminary of Ken- 
 yon College, gave the fund for the College of the Sisters of Mercy in Topeka, Kan. , 
 and built homes for crippled children and destitute Christians in Suffolk county, N. Y. 
 He aided many other charities and was first president and an organizer of St. John- 
 land, president of The Working Women's Protective Union, and vice president of The 
 .New York Hospital. His wife was Dorothea Ann, daughter of the second Peter Lor- 
 illard, and two daughters survived him. One of them, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 
 inherited a large fortune from her father and grandfather. Born in New York, March 
 28, 1828, she died April 4, 1887. Cultivated, serene, and a Christian woman, her life 
 was one of the strong influences for good in this city and a long record of gracious 
 kindness. During her last fifteen years, she gave away more than $4,000,000 to col- 
 leges, churches, charities and schools, not only in New York City, but in various other 
 parts of the country. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WO. 737 
 
 BENJAMIN WOOD, journalist, or, as he is almost universally known, the Hon. 
 Ben. Wood, whose life affords one of the most interesting examples of successful 
 journalism in the metropolis, originated in Shelbyville, Ky., where he was born, Oct. 
 13, 1820. Henry Wood, the first American ancestor, a Quaker, immigrated to this 
 country in 1616 and after enjoying persecution by the Puritans in Massachusetts, 
 settled in New Jersey, where he purchased from the Indians a large tract of land, a 
 part of which is now occupied by the city of Camden, opposite Philadelphia, Having 
 preceded William Penn, it' was Henry Wood who smoothed the way for that eminent 
 man and assisted in the negotiations with the Indians which followed. It may be 
 mentioned that the name of Benjamin appears to have been a favorite in the family, in- 
 asmuch as it is found in every generation in Colonial and Revolution times. 
 
 The subject of this sketch entered active business life when a youth and as super- 
 cargo of a trading vessel made several voyages to the West Indies and Central America. 
 Subsequent!}-, he had occasion to visit every State in the Union, and it was during this 
 period of travel that he acquired a knowledge of human nature and habits of inde- 
 pendence, which served to qualify him at the threshold of his career for the successes 
 of his maturer years. He was engaged in various business enterprises for a number 
 of years, with much success, and finally, in 1860, bought The New York Daily News, 
 with which he has ever since been identified. This newspaper has always been governed 
 by intensely Democratic convictions, and its proprietor and editor, Mr. Wood, has 
 never hesitated, at whatever cost to himself, to champion extreme Democratic doctrines. 
 At the time of its purchase, a national election was pending, and as events subsequently 
 proved, the editor of the newspaper was destined to play no inconspicuous part in the 
 struggle. Mr. Wood was quick to recognize the situation. He had already become an 
 active factor in the field of politics, being a member of the Democratic State Central 
 Committee, chairman of the committee appointed to unite the divergent interests of 
 Stephen A. Douglas and John C. Breckinridge in their candidacy, and likewise chair- 
 man of the convention of Democratic editors, which met in the Astor House in this 
 city to determine upon the policy of their party. Through these various circumstances, 
 the eyes of public men came to be concentrated upon him as one of the important 
 leaders in the struggle which was about to ensue. 
 
 In the autumn of 1860, Mr. Wood was elected Representative in Congress from 
 what is now the Vth District of New York. No man in that body pleaded more 
 strongly with voice and pen than he in behalf of the unity of the nation and against 
 armed coercion of the South. His bold language and aggressive attitude attracted 
 general attention throughout the Union, and it is not a matter of surprise, that, 
 under the conditions of the time, Tlu Daily News was denied admission to the United 
 States mails and for eighteen months remained under the ban of the Federal author- 
 ities. That the people of his district were with him, however, is shown by the fact 
 that in 1862, Mr. Wood was re-elected to Congress by an overwhelming majority, and 
 had he not positively refused to accept the honor, he would have been again nominated 
 in 1864. In 1880, his constituents would not accept a declination, and, for the third 
 time, he was triumphantly elected a Representative of his district. He was never 
 defeated when running for office, but has repeatedly refused political honors. 
 
 That the influence of The Daily News must have been powerful during the War 
 is indicated by the ability and character of its editorial staff, which comprised such men 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WO. 739 
 
 as John Mitchell, the Irish patriot, ex-Governor Wall of New Jersey, Wiliam Mann 
 and Isaac G. Pray. Among the contributors whose names did not appear were James 
 A. Bayard, Charles O'Conor, Samuel J. Tilden, Robert Garrett, sr., Jeremiah Black 
 and Josiah Randall. 
 
 After the War, Mr. Wood was instrumental in establishing on their feet several 
 of the journalists of the South, who had been ruined, and it was due to his liberal ad- 
 vances of funds that they were enabled to resume publication. The Cliarleston News of 
 South Carolina, now The 'News and Courier, was one of the offspring of this generosity. 
 
 Mr. Wood now believed that opportunity was ripe for a new departure in American 
 journalism. Accordingly, April 29, 1867, The New York Daily News made its first 
 appearance as a one cent evening newspaper, and in the form now familiar to more 
 than half a million daily readers. The cost of printing paper was then ten cents a 
 pound. Notwithstanding the heavy expenses, Mr. Wood made the venture a success, 
 and it is believed, from that time until the present, Tlie News in point of circulation 
 has distanced every other morning or afternoon journal in the United States. In 
 fact, it may be safely said that with the exception of the Petit Journal of Paris and 
 The London Telegraph, it probably leads the press of the world in point of circulation. 
 
 About five months prior to the change of price, Mr. Wood decided to publish a 
 Sunday News at a price which would bring it easily within the reach of the masses. 
 The other great Sunday newspapers had more or less of a circulation in the country 
 towns and villages, but in not one were the columns wholly devoted to subjects of 
 special local and personal interest. The field was comparatively unoccupied and invit- 
 ing. Advertisers who aimed to reach the largest possible number of metropolitan 
 readers, appreciated the value of the new medium and flocked to its standard, while 
 an enormous circulation attested the welcome with which the paper was received by 
 the public. 
 
 Yet farther enlarging his system of low priced newspapers, Mr. Wood began the 
 publication of the New Yorker Tagcs Nachrichten in March, 1870, and when the Franco- 
 Prussian war broke out, the German population of this city, who had no evening jour- 
 nal, were for the first time able to read dispatches from the fatherland in their own 
 language in a one cent paper. Two years later, in 1872, the New Yorker Sonntags- 
 Naclirichten, an eight page German weekly, was issued. All these publications have 
 since moved smoothly in their several channels of prosperity and have afforded an ex- 
 ample, which has been followed in many parts of the country. 
 
 One of the reasons why The New York Daily News has proved so successful is to 
 be found in the fact that it has always been in close touch with the common people. 
 It aided reforms and the election of public men with large, broad and wholesome 
 ideas; and those who find it important to discern public opinion accurately cannot now 
 neglect Tlie Daily News. During a quarter of a century, every candidate it has sup- 
 ported for Mayor of New York, save one, has been elected. Over and over again, its 
 influence in public affairs has been acknowledged, and more than once men of Demo- 
 cratic faith in the metropolis have had occasion to be grateful for its decisive strokes in 
 periods of grave concern. 
 
 With lightning presses capable of printing 150,000 copies an hour, and in pos- 
 session of every other detail of mechanism necessary for the rapid production of a 
 newspaper, no occasion has yet arisen when Mr. Wood's facilities have been overtaxed. 
 
74 AMERICA S SUCCESSFUL TVIEN. 
 
 Mr. Wood's first wife died in 1849, leaving him two sons. In 1867, he married 
 Miss Ida E. Mayfield, daughter of Henry T. Mayfield. The early records spell the 
 name Maifield. On her mother's side, she is of distinguished Scotch ancestry, a 
 descendant of a branch of the Earls of Crawford. By this second wife, Mr. Wood had 
 one daughter, a beautiful, distinguished looking girl, who inherits to a remarkable 
 degree her father's traits of character. Although Mr. Wood's wife is many years his 
 junior, the marriage proved a happy union; he is a most devoted husband and indul- 
 gent father, and is very proud of his accomplished wife and daughter. In person, Mr. 
 Wood is of robust and sinewy frame, a trifle above medium height. In his early years 
 he must have been a man of powerful muscular development. Strength of character 
 is conveyed in the firm lines around the mouth. During the draft riots in this city, 
 Mr. Wood performed signal service on several occasions in facing and turning back the 
 angry and unreasoning crowd. On one occasion, Mr. Wood drew his revolver, and 
 in tones whose meaning was unmistakable shouted to the crowd: " Men, you know 
 that The Daily News has always been with you for the maintenance of your rights, 
 but it is not your right to destroy the property of your fellow citizens, and you shall 
 not pass here while I am alive to prevent it." Recognizing the old editor and knowing 
 his determination, the leaders fell back, and in the pause which ensued the police found 
 an opportunity to secure control. It would require many pages to chronicle the inter- 
 esting incidents which form a part of the story of the venerable editor of The Daily 
 News, but enough has been told to indicate the character of the oldest active proprietor 
 of a New York newspaper, who from the start has been continuously and unchangeably 
 true to the journal which has been the passion of his life. 
 
 SAflUEL WOOD, merchant, born in East Rockaway, Long Island, died in this 
 city, March 20, 1878, eighty-three years of age. He was one of four brothers, the others 
 being David, Abraham, and Epenetus, all of them bachelors and sons of a farmer. 
 The boys came to this city about 1816 and began business 'as grocers on Fulton street 
 on the site of what is now Fulton market. When their store burned down, they moved 
 across to No. 6 Fulton street. Later, they imported liquors on a large scale. The 
 brothers were plain men but they made a great deal of money. Epenetus died first, 
 leaving his accumulations to his brothers. David invested his means in bonds and 
 mortgages largely, and when he died, leaving his property to Samuel and Abraham, 
 Samuel called in the mortgages and engaged in real estate investments, becoming a 
 large owner in this class of property. Abraham died next, leaving a life interest in 
 his estate to Samuel. Thus by his own efforts and inheritance from his brothers, 
 Samuel Wood became possessed of a large fortune. He founded the village of Woods- 
 burg on Long Island, about a mile west of his birthplace. A large portion of his estate 
 was devoted by his will to the establishment of The Samuel Wood Benevolent Insti- 
 tute in this city. He had contemplated the endowment of a Free College of Music but 
 changed this intention by a codicil. The will was declared void by the courts. Abra- 
 ham Hewlett, a nephew, was his only heir at law. 
 
 WILLIAfl WOOD, one of the oldest and best known residents of this city, born in 
 Glasgow, Scotland, Oct. 21, 1808, died in New York city, Oct. i, 1894. His father 
 was John Wood, a banker, of the firm of Buchanan, Wood & Co., in Charleston, S. C., 
 with headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland. William was expected to enter the law and 
 received an excellent education at the Universities of Glasgow and St. Andrew; but 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WO. 741 
 
 he preferred a practical career and came to New York city in 1828 to start a branch 
 of the Glasgow house. The firm name then was Dennistoun, McGregor & Co., but 
 Mr. McGregor soon withdrew, Mr. Wood taking his place. He had been in New York 
 two years, when he married Harriet A. Kane, daughter of John Kane, of New York. 
 He then returned to Glasgow and thence to Liverpool, where he remained for several 
 years before becoming a New Yorker for life. His banking business prospered and 
 before the War there was hardly a house better known in this city than Mr. Wood's. 
 At one time, he took an active part in important public movements and was interested 
 in politics, although not an office seeker. In 1869, he retired from business. He was 
 appointed hi that year, a Commissioner of Education by Mayor Hall, and, on the 
 passage of the new city charter the same year, the Mayor appointed him a Commis- 
 sioner of the Dock Department. He always labored for the cause of education and 
 was the founder of the Normal College. Before and during the late Civil War, Mr. 
 Wood was an Abolitionist, in so far as he was always in favor of free trade, free 
 speech, free religion, and of course of free labor. In 1860, the Collegiate Reformed 
 Church of this city made him an elder. From his mother, who had inherited the 
 place from her father, William Wood, the subject of this memoir inherited the 
 ancestral home at Elie, Fifeshire, Scotland. The place was built about 700 years ago 
 and has been in possession of the Wood family over 100 years. It faces the Firth of 
 Forth, a tributary of the North Sea, and now passes to J. Walter Wood, jr. , a grandson of 
 William Wood. Mr. Wood was a member of the St. Andrew's Society and at the time 
 of his death its oldest member. His death was due to old age. He was thrice married, 
 his second and third wives being Miss Margaret Lawrence and Miss Helen Mason. 
 The names of his surviving children are, J. Walter Wood, Charlotte M. Bell, Elizabeth 
 D. Kane, Harriet M. Wood, Helen W. Watts, Dennistoun Wood, H. Duncan Wood, 
 Chalmers Wood and V. H. L. Wood. 
 
 LORENZO GUERNSEY WOODHOUSE, merchant, retired, and capitalist, was 
 born at Westmoreland, N. H., July 16, 1839. His father was the late Rev. Charles 
 Woodhouse, a well known Universalist minister. His parents moved with their family 
 in 1844 to Clarendon, Vt. , and in 1849, to Fitchburg, Mass. It was here in the common 
 schools that Lorenzo, the youngest son, received the greater part of his education. 
 His preference for an early business life induced him at the age of thirteen and a half 
 years to leave home and take a position in the store of his uncle, L. G. Guernsey, of 
 the firm of Guernsey & Terry, at Hudson, N. Y. 
 
 He remained there a little over three years, when he sought a larger field of oppor- 
 tunities and came to New York city in January, 1856. where he entered the employment 
 of George Bliss & Co., one of the leading dry goods jobbing houses of the metropolis. 
 The experience gained here proved to be of great benefit to him afterward, and helped 
 to lay the foundation of his future success. He remained for seven years with this 
 firm, where his services were highly appreciated. 
 
 When Sumter was fired on in April, 1861, with the patriotic enthusiasm of youth 
 he enlisted in the 7th Regiment, New York National Guard, and followed the fortunes 
 of this regiment in its campaigns of 1861 and 1862, and saw subsequent service in riot 
 duty. He served his full term and resigned his commission in 1868, since which time 
 he has been one of the most active members and officers in the 7th Regiment Veteran 
 Association. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WO. 743 
 
 In the summer of 1863, he associated himself with the dry goods firm of Cooley, 
 Farwell & Co., of Chicago, as their New York representative. He continued with 
 their successors, Farwell, Field & Co. , Field, Palmer & Leiter, Field, Leiter & Co. , and 
 Marshall Field & Co. , covering a period of twenty-seven years, retiring from the latter 
 firm in 1890. During all this time, he was their representative and for many years the 
 manager and resident New York partner. This firm developed from a modest begin- 
 ning into a mammoth concern, conducting an enormous business which is equaled by 
 very few mercantile houses in the world. Their trade reaches every section of this 
 country and their fame and reputation extend over several continents. The New 
 York end of the business was under the management of Mr. Woodhouse and an 
 important factor of this vast industry. Since his retirement from active business, he 
 has spent much time in travel both at home and abroad. 
 
 Mr. Woodhouse was married in 1866 to Miss Emma D. Arrowsmith, daughter of 
 Dr. J. E. Arrowsmith, of Keyport, N. J. He has always lent discriminating aid to 
 charity, and a recent gift, worthy of special mention, is the sum of $3,000 for an organ 
 which he had built and placed as a memorial in the church in Fitchburg, Mass., of 
 which his father was formerly the pastor, and which is known as the Woodhouse 
 Memorial Organ. 
 
 Mr. Woodhouse enjoys a wide acquaintance in financial circles and possesses 
 shrewd judgment and fine executive ability, which have rendered his services valuable 
 to all the corporations with which he has been connected. He is now thoroughly iden- 
 tified with the commercial and social life of the metropolis, and a member of the Union 
 League, Players', Lotos and Seventh Regiment Veteran clubs and The New England 
 Society. Genial, courteous and clear in his judgments, he is a most agreeable associate 
 in private life and ranks with the eminently successful, self-made men of the time. 
 
 FRANK WORK, stockbroker, born in Chillicothe, O., Feb. 10, 1819, is a brother 
 of the late John C. Work. At the age of ten, he became a clerk in a general store. 
 This was the period of State canal building in Ohio, and the lad secured a place in 
 1835 as a civil engineer in the construction department, remaining in that employment 
 until, the funds of the State being exhausted, all the engineers were discharged. In 
 1838, Mr. Work came to New York city and entered the dry goods jobbing house of 
 Clark, Smith & Co. , as a clerk. In two years' time he was made a partner, under the 
 name of Clark, Work & Co. In 1851, Mr. Work retired from the dry goods district 
 and entered Wall street as an operator in stocks, establishing a stock brokerage office 
 of his own in 1859. In 1870, the name was changed to Work & Co., bankers and stock 
 brokers, and in 1875 to Work, Strong & Co. This well known house was for forty 
 years active in the operations which center in Wall street and always bore a very high 
 reputation. Mr. Work retired in 1891. He has been conspicuous on the American 
 turf and the owner of many thoroughbreds. His stables, finished in oak and brass, 
 illustrate the taste of a man of refinement, who loves the noble animals which are 
 sheltered in that enclosure. Mr. Work is a member of the Manhattan, New York 
 Yacht, and South Side Sportsmen's clubs and The Ohio Society. 
 
 JOHN CLINTON WORK, merchant, bora in Baltimore, Md., died in this city, 
 Nov. 29, 1887, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. Beginning life at the age of 
 fifteen, as clerk in the dry goods store of Robert W. McCoy, in Columbus, O., he 
 made every effort to fit himself for promotion, received it, and became a partner of 
 
744 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 Mr. McCoy at twenty-one. By close economy and faithful application, he gained a 
 little means, and coming to New York city in 1843, he formed the dry goods firm of 
 Baldwin, Dibblee & Work, the store being then on Chambers Street. He was success- 
 ful as a merchant and transacted a prosperous business until 1867, when the partners 
 all retired. A member of the Union League club and fond of social life., he was con- 
 spicuous for his fine manner and vigorous health. 
 
 EBENEZER KELLOGG WRIGHT, bank president, rose by the possession of an 
 unblemished character and business ability of a high order to become the honored 
 head of one of the strongest financial institutions in the United States. He was born 
 July 28, 1837 in Wright Settlement, a suburb of Rome, N. Y. and died in New York 
 city, August 4, 1895. His father, Ebenezer William Wright, was a farmer, whose 
 ancestors were among the earliest settlers of Wethersficld, Conn. In 1789, they 
 removed to New York State and settled in Oneida county. Sophia Denio, mother of 
 the subject of this sketch, is a sister of the distinguished Judge Denio of the Court 
 of Appeals of New York State. One of Mr. Wright's ancestors was a signer of the 
 original charter of Connecticut, while Benjamin Wright, a cousin of his father, was 
 associated with Gov. Clinton in promoting and constructing of the Erie Canal. 
 
 From capable, upright and worthy parents, Mr. Wright inherited a sound constitu- 
 tion and an honest nature, while, from his early life upon the farm, he gained a phys- 
 ical vitality, which enabled him in later years to perform an amount of labor appalling 
 to a man of lesser strength. He attended the local district schools in this State and 
 Connecticut during boyhood, enjoyed one year at the academy in Rome, and then, in 
 1855, exhibited his ambition by making his entrance into business life for a few months 
 as clerk in a store. He then became clerk in The Utica City Bank in Utica, N. Y. , of 
 which his uncle, Judge Denio, was president. The salary was small, only $100 a year, 
 but the new clerk proved himself a willing, ambitious and faithful youth. He gained 
 a strong liking for the banking business, soon winning the entire respect of the officers 
 of the bank. In 1859, Mr. Wright came to New York and secured the position of 
 assistant teller in The Park Bank, then located at No. 5 Beekman street. He paid the 
 strictest attention to every detail of his work and discharged every duty in his usual 
 painstaking manner. In 1865, the institution was reorganized as The National 
 Park Bank of New York. By 1863, the income of Mr. Wright had become sufficient to 
 warrant his marriage, and he was united to Josephine L. Hamilton of New York, a lady 
 of distinguished parentage, whose family were prominent in colonial times and the 
 American Revolution and bore their part bravely in the early wars. This union 
 brought them four children, of whom three are living: Blanche Denio, wife of Edward 
 Bright; Beatrice Orne, and Lawrence Worth Wright. 
 
 In 1866, the bank promoted Mr. Wright successively to the positions of receiving 
 and paying teller, and two years later, moved to its present location on Broadway. 
 Mr. Wright's abilities having attracted attention, he was promoted in 1876 to the im- 
 portant post of cashier. In this responsible position, he acquitted himself with great 
 credit. To his untiring labor and watchfulness, his genial manners, cool judgment, and 
 thorough understanding of finance, the subsequent success of the bank was largely 
 due. In 1878, the stockholders elected him a director; in 1888, second vice president; 
 in 1889, vice president; and on June 20, 1890, president. After the recent death of 
 Eugene Kelly, Mr. Wright became the senior director of the bank. This great insti- 
 
^ 
 
746 AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 tution has now risen to an important position. Its capital is $2,000,000 and its surplus 
 $3,000,000, while its deposits, which are upwards of $37,000,000, are not excelled in 
 magnitude by any other bank in the United States. It has often been said that The 
 National Park Bank is emphatically an institution of the people. Its accounts are 
 largely those of merchants, manufacturers and firms in practical business, and on this 
 account its periodical statements are watched by the public as a faithful indication of 
 the condition of general business. Mr. Wright's connection with the bank brought 
 him opportunities for legitimate investment. He was a member of the Chamber of 
 Commerce and trustee of The State Trust Co., of which he was an incorporator, and 
 of other important organizations. Although not a graduate, he was honored by Ham- 
 ilton College, at Clinton, N. Y., in 1894, with the degree of M.A., owing to his general 
 culture and qualifications. In politics a Republican, he was in religion an Episcopalian, 
 and a vestryman of Trinity Church of this city, a member of the Church club, The 
 Empire State Society of Sons of the American Revolution, and The Society of Colonial 
 Wars. Mr. Wright's whole career was passed in the field of finance. He never allowed 
 social organizations or the attractions of public life to interfere with his devotion to 
 the bank. His success was due to concentration of effort, high character, and com- 
 plete mastery of his chosen occupation. 
 
 JAMES HOOD WRIGHT, banker, born in Philadelphia, died suddenly in this city, 
 Nov. 12, 1894, at the Rector street station of the elevated railroad, in the fifty-ninth 
 year of his age. While a youth, he learned the methods of business as a dry goods 
 clerk, and remained in the dry goods business for several years, leaving it to become 
 a clerk in the Philadelphia banking house of Drexel & Co. He showed ability as a 
 financier and the managers of the firm evinced their appreciation of his capacity by 
 frequent promotions. About 1864, he was taken into the firm as a partner. When 
 the house of Drexel, Morgan & Co. was established in this city in 1871, he became 
 one of the partners and soon removed to New York. Mr. Wright was interested in 
 many business corporations and accepted the place of director of The Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul Railroad, The New York & West Shore Railroad, The Southern 
 Railroad, The Edison Illuminating Co. and The New York Guaranty & Indemnity 
 Co. He was also president of The Manhattan Hospital, in which he took a great 
 interest, and a member of the Union League, Metropolitan, City, Riding and New 
 York Yacht clubs. He married Mrs. Mary P. Robinson, widow of John Robinson, 
 a former partner in Drexel, Morgan & Co., who survived him. Always public spirited 
 in life, he left generous bequests for public objects, including $100,000 for the public 
 library on Washington Heights, and a yet larger sum to The Manhattan Dispensary. 
 
 WILLIAfl OZHUN WYCKOFF, manufacturer, born on a farm in the town of 
 Lansing, Tompkins county, N. Y., Feb. 16, 1835, died at the Thousand Islands, N. Y., 
 July n, 1895. He was a son of Ira Wyckoff, a prominent citizen and farmer. His 
 mother was Julia A., daughter of William Ozmun, a farmer of the same town, while 
 his early ancesters were Holland farmers, who came to this country about 1675, settling 
 on Long Island. Mr. Wyckoff spent his early life in farming, receiving a common 
 school education, and attending the Ithaca academy a few terms. In 1856, he settled 
 upon a quarter section of land in Blue Earth county, Minn., with a view of securing 
 means to attend college; but the reaction of 1857 put this out of the question, and he 
 returned to Ithaca and took up the study of law. During the Civil War, he served two 
 
v THE CITY OF NEW YORK. WY. 747 
 
 years in the 320! N. Y. Inf., going in as a private and rising to the rank of captain. 
 He was admitted to the bar, Nov. 16, 1863, and in the meantime had attended and 
 received a diploma from Ames Business College in Syracuse. In 1866, he became 
 official court stenographer of the Supreme Court for the 6th Judicial District of the 
 State and held the position for sixteen consecutive years. The purchase of a Rem- 
 ington type writing machine, in 1875, for use in transcribing court reports, drew his 
 attention to the machine itself, and, obtaining an agency for their sale, he found that 
 he could dispose of them so successfully that he resolved to turn from professional 
 pursuits to a practical career. First, a salesman for The Remington Standard Type- 
 writer Co., of Ilion, he finally, about 1882, established the firm of Wyckoff, Seamans 
 & Benedict, with about $20,000 of capital, and made a contract with E. Remington & 
 Sons, whereby the firm became sole agents for the sale of the machines. They were 
 successful from the start. In 1886, they bought the whole plant and patent rights of 
 the Ilion concern. Their business continuing to expand, Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict 
 were incorporated May 19, 1892, with a capital stock of $3,000,000. Mr. Wyckoff was 
 president of the company, which manufactures the Remington type writing machine. 
 He was for years a resident of the metropolis and after that made his home in Brooklyn. 
 He was a member of the Republican club and the Loyal Legion of this city and the 
 Union League club of Brooklyn, and for several years a member of the executive com- 
 mittee of the latter; and a trustee of The Union Type Writer Co., and a member of the 
 executive committee. He was married Oct. 20, 1863, to Frances V., daughter of 
 Almon C. Ives, of South Lansing, N. Y., and their children are Edward G., now a 
 prominent merchant of Syracuse, N. Y., and Clarence F. Wyckoff, of the class of '98, 
 Cornell University. 
 
 Ubriy 
 
Y. 
 
 JOHN SHERLOCK YOUNG, merchant and financier, born in Baltimore, Md., 
 Aug. 24, 1814, died in New York, June 24, 1880. A son of William Loney Young, 
 shipping merchant, in partnership with Robert Gilmore, a prominent citizen of those 
 days in Baltimore, John S. Young came to New York when fourteen years of age, 
 and as a boy entered a wholesale grocery house. When eighteen years old, he estab- 
 lished a shipping house as Palmer & Young, and for the forty or more years during 
 which he remained in business was distinguished for unceasing activity and honorable 
 dealing. He retired from mercantile life soon after the close of the Civil War, and 
 later became a special partner in the banking house of J. B. Summerfield & Co., in 
 which he continued until his death. Investing his fortune largely in real estate, he 
 gave his attention to the care of this property during the closing years of his life. Mr. 
 Young was one of the founders and original directors of The Marine Bank, and a mem- 
 ber of Adelphic Chapter, F. & A. M. He married Ann Smith Post, daughter of Peter 
 R. Post, an importing merchant of this city, and was survived by his wife and four 
 children, the latter being John Day and William Henry Young; Annie P., wife of 
 Charles E. Bogert, and Caroline Amelia, wife of M. T. Brundage. 
 
 ANTONIO YZNAQA DEL VALLE, merchant and planter, born in Cuba, Sept. 8, 
 1823, died in this city, May 6, 1892. He came to this country while a boy, and obtained 
 his education near New York, his early training making him thoroughly American in 
 feelings and sympathies. Although he returned to Cuba and remained there for sev- 
 eral years, he finally came back to the United States in 1847 or 1848. He then estab- 
 lished a commission business, trading exclusively with Cuba, and for twenty-six years 
 had his office on Broad Street. He was also a large sugar refiner. Though he owned 
 a great deal of real estate in Cuba, including large sugar plantations on the south side 
 of the island, he took no part in the political affairs there. When the first signs of the 
 civil strife appeared in this country, he at once became an enthusiastic supporter of 
 the Union. He had large interests in the South, but cast his whole influence in favor 
 of the North. He was one of the first merchants who subscribed to raise $60,000,000 
 when Mr. Chase, then Secretary of the Treasury, came to New York to obtain this 
 amount. 
 
z. 
 
 ANDREW CHRISTIAN ZABRISKIE, realty owner, born in New York city, May 
 30, 1853, is a son of Christian A. Zabriskie and Sarah Jane Titus, his wife. 
 
 The founder of this family in America was Albert Zborowski, a nobleman, who emi- 
 grated from Holland in 1650, having previously fled from Poland, his native land, to 
 escape political tyranny. He settled on the banks of the Hackensack river in New Jer- 
 sey and married a daughter of one of the Dutch settlers. His five sons founded the 
 numerous branches of the Zabriskie family in this country. The evolution of the sur- 
 name was effected through a long series of years, until the present spelling was finally 
 adopted. The paternal grandfather of Andrew C. Zabriskie, after whom he was named, 
 was a well known New York merchant in the early part of this century and Adjutant 
 of a squadron of horse in the county of Bergen, N. J., in 1798. The maternal grand- 
 father, William M. Titus, also for many years a well known merchant in New York, 
 served during the war of 1812 in the nth Artillery of New York, and was on duty 
 in the forts which guarded the mouth of New York harbor. Subsequently, he became 
 a Captain in the same regiment. The State authorities renamed this regiment in after 
 years as the 27th N. Y. Inf. and it is now known as the 7th Regiment, N. G., N. Y. 
 
 Christian A. Zabriskie never engaged in active business but preferred the quiet 
 enjoyments of country life, spending much time at Paramus, N. J., upon a farm which 
 comprises part of the estate which has now been owned by the family for more than 
 two hundred years. His death, which took place in July, 1879, was particularly sad 
 as he was instantly killed by the cars at Central Morrisania. One of the New York 
 papers in its notice of the event called attention to the fact that sudden death was a 
 mysterious heirloom in the Zabriskie family, both uncles of Andrew C. Zabriskie 
 Martin and John Jacob having died suddenly. It also remarked that their family had 
 always exerted a potent influence for good both in its native State and New York City 
 in Church and Sunday School work. The wife of Christian A. Zabriskie was well 
 known for large hearted charity and liberality. Possessed of an ample fortune in her own 
 right, which she inherited from her mother, who was a daughter of Thomas Gardner, 
 she took delight in assisting all good works, both within and without the Episcopal 
 Church. Her devotion to her children was also one of her marked characteristics. 
 
 Andrew C. Zabriskie received an excellent education in private schools and Co- 
 lumbia College and early in life assumed charge of the large real estate interests of his 
 family, a portion of which he inherited. He is a capable and enterprising man, the 
 soul of honor, and highly regarded for ability and character by all who are admitted to 
 his acquaintance. Possessing the military tastes of his family, he now has a long record 
 of military service to his credit. He enlisted in 1873 in Company B., 7th Regiment, 
 N. G., N. Y., and served over seven years in that historic and favorite organization. 
 Subsequently, he was elected Captain of Company C, 7ist Regiment, N. G., N. Y., 
 which position he resigned only to accept, a few years later, the position of Inspector of 
 Rifle Practice on the staff of the same organization. Captain Zabriskie is the donor 
 of a handsome bronze trophy, which is annually shot for by the various companies 
 of the 7ist Regiment and is known as the Zabriskie Trophy. 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ZA. 7$I 
 
 Although a Republican, he has held aloof from active participation in practical 
 politics, his only appearance in that arena having been in 1879, when he served as 
 treasurer of the Independent Republicans in the revolt against Governor Cornell's re- 
 election. He has joined a few good clubs and is a member of the Metropolitan, City 
 and United Service clubs, The Holland, New York Historical, and American Geo- 
 graphical Societies, and The Seventh Regiment Veteran Association, and is vice presi- 
 dent of The American Numismatic & Archaeological Society, in whose work he takes a 
 very great interest. In c6mmon with other cultivated New Yorkers, he has been zeal- 
 ous in the promotion of the higher interests of the metropolis, and is a supporter of 
 many public institutions, including the great museums in Central Park and The 
 National Academy of Design, both of which bear an important relation to the growth 
 of taste in the metropolis. His collection of coins and medals, is, in certain departments, 
 unrivalled in this country. The early history of New York city, as illustrated by its 
 medals and tokens, has received his particular attention, as well as the Presidential and 
 political medals of the United States. Another department in which his collection 
 stands pre-eminent is that of Polish coins and medals. The rise and fall of the unhappy 
 country of Poland can be traced in a most interesting manner by an examination of 
 this collection. 
 
 In religion, Mr. Zabriskie is an Episcopalian and a delegate to the Diocesan Con- 
 vention from the Church of the Incarnation, with which he has been connected since 
 early childhood. He is treasurer of The American Church Missionary Society, 
 treasurer of the Church German Society, and is a trustee of St. Luke's Hospital, The 
 Sheltering Arms and other charities. Of The Bergen Turnpike Co., an ancient and 
 powerful New Jersey corporation, he is president, and is much interested in developing 
 his property interests there, which are very extensive. 
 
 His contributions to literature have been mostly of an historical character, and 
 embrace a " Descriptive Catalogue of the Medals Struck in Honor of Abraham Lincoln" 
 and various articles contributed to the magazines. A valued relic in his possession is a 
 page taken from the sum book of Lincoln when a boy, which is properly authenticated 
 by his law partner, William H. Herndon. 
 
 Captain Zabriskie owns a large island embracing over one hundred acres, in Lake 
 Memphremagog, called Province Island, from the fact that the international boundary 
 line passes across it. Here it is his custom to pass part of the summer, enjoying the 
 sailing and fishing, as well as the pure invigorating air of that region. 
 
 He was married to Miss Frances Hunter, youngest daughter of the late Charles F. 
 Hunter, president of The People's Bank of New York, on the sixth of June, 1895, at 
 the Madison Square Presbyterian Church. 
 
 CORNELIUS ZABRISKIE, banker, born in that part of Bergen county, N. J., 
 known as Cherry Hill, Feb. 24, 1839, i s a son f the l ate David A. Zabriskie, a promi- 
 nent and influential citizen and great grandson of a paymaster in the Continental army ; 
 noted both for his bravery and careful supervision of the finances. The family is an 
 old one and its members have always borne a high reputation and shown marked public 
 spirit in their respective generations. 
 
 Leaving home at the age of fifteen, Mr. Zabriskie moved to Jersey City, where, 
 after completing his studies at the public schools, he gained a thorough knowledge of 
 chemistry and was for nine )'ears connected with the oldest drug house in Jersey City. 
 
75 2 AMERICAS SUCCESSFUL MEN. 
 
 In 1863, he decided upon a change of vocation and entered the large mercantile estab- 
 lishment of Terhune Bro's, of Jersey City, as a clerk, and rose by excellent abilities to 
 the head of one of the important departments of the concern. In 1871, the firm lost 
 their place of business by fire. 
 
 With limited resources, Mr. Zabriskie then engaged in banking in Jersey City and 
 found in finance an excellent and congenial field for his abilities. His business has 
 grown, through persevering and intelligent labor, until now his transactions aggregate 
 millions of dollars a year, constituting, in fact, probably the largest banking business 
 in New Jersey. Among the noteworthy incidents of his financial career was his suc- 
 cessful effort for the formation of a syndicate, composed of himself and other men of 
 pecuniary strength, for the rescue of Jersey City from impending bankruptcy. Bonds 
 to the amount of several hundred thousand dollars were about to mature and there was 
 no money in the treasury of the city with which to pay them. Mr. Zabriskie came 
 promptly to the aid of the authorities and supplied a sufficient sum of money to relieve 
 the city treasury from embarrassment. He is a recognized authority upon the subject 
 of city and coimty securities and one of the soundest and most respected bankers of the 
 State, with whose history for so long a period the Zabriskie family have been identified. 
 
 Mr. Zabriskie has interested himself in a large number of local enterprises of 
 Jersey City and vicinity, and is a director of The Hudson County National Bank of 
 Jersey City, The First National Bank of Hoboken, The Jersey City Gas Light Co., and 
 The Hackensack Gas Light Co., and an element of strength in them all. He is a 
 member of the Chamber of Commerce of New York and The Washington Association 
 of New Jersey, which was organized at a meeting of incorporators in Morristown, 
 N. J., May 5, 1874. He is also a member of the Union League club of New York 
 city and the Hamilton club of Brooklyn. 
 
 Always a public spirited man, he has illustrated his interest in the welfare of his 
 fellow citizens in many ways. After the destruction of the village of Cherry Hill, 
 N. J., by a tornado in the summer of 1895, Mr. Zabriskie contributed $500 for the 
 relief of the sufferers. 
 
 Since 1882, he has been a resident of the city of Brooklyn. In that year, he married 
 O. Addie Emerson, daughter of Edward Emerson, a native of Boston. He has three 
 children, Madeline, Orlena A. and Elvia. 
 
 AUGUSTUS ZEREQA, merchant, born in Martinique, Dec. 4, 1803, died in this city, 
 Dec. 23, 1888. His family emigrated from Genoa about the middle of the last century 
 and his father was a shipowner and man of large wealth and scholastic tastes. Edu- 
 cated first in London, he went afterward to a college in France, wheie he had for a 
 school mate the late Francis S. Skiddy. Returning to his home at the age of fifteen, he 
 made several voyages in his father's ships and learned the art of practical navigation. 
 When seventeen years old he determined to begin life for himself, and, going to St. 
 Thomas, purchased a small schooner, which he sailed between the islands, carrying on 
 a lucrative trade. When twenty-one years old, he married the daughter of a Danish 
 nobleman. Shortly afterward he took command of a Baltimore clipper ship, and sailed 
 it under Government convoy between St. Thomas and La Guayra. In 1835, ^e reached 
 Philadelphia, and that city "not stirring enough," as he expressed it, for a man of his 
 energy, he came on to New York. In a short time, he had established himself as a 
 shipping merchant on South street, and there laid the foundations of the "Z" line of 
 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ZI. 753 
 
 clipper sailing vessels. His only partner died a few years ago in this city. Among 
 the vessels of this line were the Queen of Clippers and the Antarctic. The latter, com- 
 manded by Captain Stauffer, won celebrity by rescuing over 300 United States soldiers 
 from the steamer San Francisco, when the latter foundered at sea. In 1855, Mr. Zerega 
 retired from business with a fortune. He was a man of remarkable memory, especially 
 for dates and figures, and retained this faculty almost to the day he died. His charities 
 were liberal and always unostentatious. His wife survived him with nine children. 
 
 WILLIAfl Z1EGLER,' manufacturer, a son of Francis Ziegler, manufacturer, was 
 born in Beaver county, Pa., Sept. i, 1843. While William was yet a child, the family 
 moved to the West and settled on a farm near Muscatine, Iowa. His mother, Ernestina, 
 being left a widow when William was three years old, afterward married Conrad Brandt, 
 an influential resident of Sweetland township in Muscatine county. In 1858, William 
 learned the printer's trade in the office of The Muscatine Journal and followed varied 
 employments for a few years, being after 1861 a druggist's clerk. In 1862-3, he gradu- 
 ated from Eastman's Business College in Poughkeepsie, and then came to New York, 
 where after a struggle he secured a place in a wholesale drug store, with which he 
 remained five years, in the meanwhile graduating from the New York School of Phar- 
 macy. By economy, he managed to save a little capital, and in 1868, engaged on his 
 own account in supplying bakers and confectioners with extracts, drugs, etc. , not hav- 
 ing at the time sufficient means to start a store. From this trade, sprang the enormous 
 business in baking powder, which he subsequently developed. In 1870, he organized 
 The Royal Chemical Co., and began the manufacture of baking powder, and in 1873, 
 incorporated The Royal Baking Powder Co. These interests he managed with remark- 
 able success, finally selling them in 1886. He has since invested largely in corporations. 
 He owns a large interest in The W. B. Hislop Co., of Syracuse and Auburn, N. Y. 
 In 1890, he bought The Price Baking Powder Co., of Chicago, now very profitable, 
 and, in March, 1891, The Tartar Chemical Co., of Jersey City. He is also interested 
 in The Lake Street Elevated Railroad of Chicago and The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, but 
 has not been actively engaged in business since 1886. Prior to and upon withdrawing 
 a large amount of capital from the baking powder industry, Mr. Ziegler engaged in 
 large real estate operations and improvements in Brooklyn, especially in the 23d and 
 25th Wards, amounting to millions of dollars. He has also bought 2,000 lots at Morris 
 Park, 1,500 lots in Flatbush and New Utrecht, known as the Martense Farm, 2,500 lots 
 in Flushing and Corona, 2,000 lots on Staten Island, 6,000 lots at Linden, N. J., and 
 much other property, including improved realty on Liberty and Cedar Streets, and 
 Fifth and Madison Avenues in New York city. July 22, 1886, he married Mrs. E. M. 
 Gamble, sister of Mrs. W. Jennings Demorest, of New York. He is a member of the 
 Union League club of Brooklyn and Chicago, Atlantic, Larchmont and New York 
 Yacht clubs, Down Town, Brooklyn and Robins Island clubs, and is a famous hunter, his 
 house being decorated with splendid moose, caribou and deer and other trophies from 
 the woods Mr. Ziegler came into great prominence in Brooklyn a few years ago by 
 his long and successful fight to prevent the extravagant purchase of The Long Island 
 Water Supply Co., by the city. He saved the city $1,500,000. He has been twice 
 offered the Mayoralty of Brooklyn by the Republicans, but refused to make the can- 
 vass, the last time being governed by the failure of the Democrats to renominate 
 Mayor Chapin, with whom he wished to contest the campaign. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PACK 
 
 ABBEY, HENRY E 5 
 
 ABRAHAM, ABRAHAM 5 
 
 ACKER, DAVID D 6 
 
 ACKER, CHARLES L 7 
 
 ACKER, FRANKLIN k . 7 
 
 ACKERMAN, WARREN 7 
 
 ADAMS, EDWARD D 8 
 
 ADEE, GEORGE T 10 
 
 ADRIAN, MICHAEL} n 
 
 AGATE, FREDERIC K 12 
 
 AITKEN, JOHN W 12 
 
 ALDRICH, HERMAN D 13 
 
 ALEXANDER, JUNIUS B.... 13 
 
 ALEXANDER, WILLIAM C 14 
 
 ALEXANDRE, FRANCIS 14 
 
 ALLAIRE, JAMES P 15 
 
 ALLEN, GEORGE H 15 
 
 ALLEN, HENRY 15 
 
 ALMIRALL, JOSEPH J 15 
 
 ALSTYNE, JOHN 15 
 
 ALTMAN, BENJAMIN 16 
 
 AMSINCK, GUSTAV 17 
 
 ANDERSON, ELBERT J 17 
 
 ANDERSON, JOHN 18 
 
 ANDERSON, LORING 18 
 
 ANDREWS, CONSTANT A 19 
 
 ANDREWS, WALLACE C ig 
 
 ANSBACHER, ADOLPH B 21 
 
 ANTHONY, EDWARD 21 
 
 ANTHONY, RICHARD A 22 
 
 ANTHONY, RICHARD K 22 
 
 APARICIO, JUAN 23 
 
 APPLEBY, REMSEN 23 
 
 APPLETON, DANIEL. 23 
 
 APPLETON, COL. DANIEL 23 
 
 APPLETON, WILLIAM H 24 
 
 APPLETON, WILLIAM W . . . . 24 
 
 ARBUCKLE, CHARLES 25 
 
 ARBUCKLE, JOHN 25 
 
 ARCHBOLD, JOHN D 25 
 
 ARCHER, OLIVER H. P 26 
 
 ARGUIMBAU, DANIEL V 26 
 
 ARKENBURGH, ROBERT H. . . 26 
 
 ARMOUR, HERMAN 27 
 
 ARMOUR, PHILIP D 28 
 
 ARMOUR, SIMEON B 29 
 
 ARMSTRONG, PHILANDER B., 29 
 
 ARNOLD, AARON 30 
 
 ARNOLD, HICKS 31 
 
 ARNOLD, RICHARD 30 
 
 ASPINWALL, WILLIAM H. . . . 31 
 
 ASPINWALL, GEN. LLOYD... 31 
 
 ASTOR, JOHN JACOB, ist 32 
 
 ASTOR, WILLIAM B 34 
 
 ASTOR, JOHN JACOB, 3d 35 
 
 ASTOR, WILLIAM WALDORF., 35 
 
 ASTOR, WILLIAM 37 
 
 ASTOR, JOHN JACOB, 4th .... 39 
 
 PAGE 
 
 AUCHINCLOSS, HUGH. . . 42 
 
 AUCHINCLOSS, JOHN 42 
 
 AUSTIN, ROBERT F 42 
 
 AVER, FREDERICK F 43 
 
 AYRES, MARSHALL 45 
 
 B. 
 
 BABBITT, BENJAMIN T 46 
 
 BABCOCK, GEORGE H 46 
 
 BABCOCK, PAUL, JR 52 
 
 BACHK, SEMON 52 
 
 BAILEY, JAMES A 52 
 
 BAILEY, JAMES S 53 
 
 BAIRD, COL. ANDREW D. . . 53 
 
 BALLIN, OSCAR E 54 
 
 BAMBERGER, JACOB F 54 
 
 BANCKER, WILLIAM D 54 
 
 BANKER, JAMES H 55 
 
 BANKS, CHARLES 55 
 
 BANKS, JAMES LENOX 55 
 
 BARBER, AMZI L 56 
 
 BARBOUR, THOMAS 58 
 
 BARCLAY, HENRY 59 
 
 BARLOW, CHARLES 59 
 
 BARLOW. PETER T 60 
 
 BARLOW, SAMUEL L. M 59 
 
 BARMORE, ALFRED to 
 
 BARNES, ALFRED S 60 
 
 BARNES, DEMAS 61 
 
 BARNES, JOHN S 61 
 
 BARNEY, CHARLES T 61 
 
 BARNEY, WILLIAM J 62 
 
 BARRON, DR. JOHN C 62 
 
 BARTRAM, JOSEPH B 64 
 
 BATES, EDWIN 65 
 
 BATTERMAN, HENRY 65 
 
 BAUDOUINE, CHARLES A 65 
 
 BAXTER, HORACE H 65 
 
 BEACH, ALFRED E 67 
 
 BEACH, MOSES Y 66 
 
 BEARD, OLIVER T 67 
 
 BEARD, WILLIAM H 68 
 
 BECHTEL, GEORGE. 68 
 
 BECK, CHARLES B 70 
 
 BECKWITH, NELSON M 70 
 
 BEDLOW, HENRY 70 
 
 BEEKM AN, HENRY R -71 
 
 BEEKMAN, JAMES W 72 
 
 BEER, JULIUS 74 
 
 BEERS, EDWIN 74 
 
 BELDEN, JOSIAH 74 
 
 BELDING, MILO M 75 
 
 BELKNAP, ROBERT L 77 
 
 BELL, GEORGE 79 
 
 BELL, ISAAC, JR 79 
 
 BELMONT, AUGUST 79 
 
 BELMONT, AUGUST, JR 80 
 
 BELMONT, PERRY 80 
 
 PAGE 
 
 BENEDICT, ELI AS C 81 
 
 BENEDICT, HENRY H 81 
 
 BENNETT, JAMES GORDON, . . 83 
 
 BENNETT, JOSIAH S 83 
 
 BERNHEIMER, ADOLPH 84 
 
 BERNHEIMER. ISAAC 84 
 
 BERNHEIMER, SIMON 84 
 
 BERNHEIMER, SIMON E 84 
 
 BERNSTEIN, NATHAN 85 
 
 BETTMAN, DAVID 85 
 
 BETTMAN, MARCUS A 85 
 
 BEUTHNER, SOLOMON 86 
 
 BIERMAN, ISAAC 86 
 
 BININGER, ABRAHAM 86 
 
 BISCHOFF, HENRY 86 
 
 BISSELL, GEORGE H 87 
 
 BISSELL, PELHAM ST. G 87 
 
 BIXBY, JOHN M 88 
 
 BIXBY, ROBERT F 88 
 
 BLACKFORD, EUGENE G . . . . 88 
 
 BLAKEMAN, BIRDSEYE 89 
 
 BLEECKER, ANTHONY J 89 
 
 BLISS, CORNELIUS N 91 
 
 BLISS, ELIPHALET W 92 
 
 BLISS, GEORGE. 93 
 
 BLISS, WILLIAM 94 
 
 BLISS, WILLIAM M 95 
 
 BLOOMINGDALE, JOSEPH B. . 95 
 
 BLOOMINGDALE, LYMAN G. . 96 
 
 BODMAN, EDWARD C 96 
 
 BONNER, ROBERT 97 
 
 BONNETT, PETER R 97 
 
 BOODY, DAVID A 98 
 
 BOORAEM, HENRY A 98 
 
 BOOTH, EDWIN 99 
 
 BOOTH, HE.NRY P 99 
 
 BORDEN, GAIL 101 
 
 BORDEN, MATTHEW C. D. . . 101 
 
 BOSHER, CHARLES H . , 103 
 
 BOSKOWITZ, IGNATZ 103 
 
 BOSTWICK, JABEZ A 103 
 
 BOULTON, WILLIAM G 104 
 
 BOWDOIN, GEORGE S 104 
 
 BOWEN, HENRY C 105 
 
 BRAGG, CALEB S 106 
 
 BRAND, JOHN 106 
 
 BRANDRETH, BENJAMIN 106 
 
 BREVOORT, JAMES C 107 
 
 BREWSTER, HENRY 107 
 
 BRJCE, CALVIN S 108 
 
 BRINCKERHOFF, ELBERT A., in 
 
 BROKAW, ISAAC V in 
 
 BROOKMAN, HENRY D 112 
 
 BROOKMAN, JOHN U 112 
 
 BROOKS, CLARENCE 113 
 
 BROOKS, ELISHA 113 
 
 BROWER, JOHN H 113 
 
 BROWN, JAMES 114 
 
 BROWN, JAMES M 114 
 
 BROWN, JOHN L 115 
 
5Hjirs.u3saite.-s 
 
 
 
 K07T 
 on* 
 
 IJJWIV ttUl 
 
 Buna,. tfc'siajiWK JL. ..... sac 
 
 k,. JlWIHS. A BBS 
 
 I(9H. TOy, 
 
 TIWfMHi* BS ETJ 
 
 .- na? 
 
 Bum;. BtafKr A. irac 
 
 , dm.. JUOH& n2b 
 
 , H^gum. E. M6 
 
 ^IBfinrnMi X CM 
 
 HtaiJB X .................. EaJ- 
 
 fftont, .................. ira* 
 
 . iHUHliH W. ....... EZgi 
 
 l;cH.i3 L ......... caj 
 
 rt. -JiR HiTDKHIKItW EM 
 
 JfcOH*. ...................... ___ Djr 
 
 BorHivan F ............ c;ju 
 
 JHHIK . . 
 
 Jtatms-. 
 " 
 
 ............ 134; 
 
 BamKn A. . irjj- 
 
 -jiMKirf B^ . ... 1140 
 
 JOS^SH: HE .............. 140 
 
 Jmsaai*. ................. 1148! 
 
 HBuRAirB B; ............ njai 
 
 , 'uHUWffl P. ................. . EJJE 
 
 CWiKGH JL... ........... r.^p- 
 
 Hr)H..-H K ................ C4JF 
 
 . C r . 
 
 (Inn, 
 
 ff' 
 
 CHA'flLHS C ____ 
 
 JAMHS B..._ 
 
 tloHKHT ....... 
 
 144; 
 
 n[)|' 
 
 1144. 
 
 Ti, JIIHL Jrt... ........... 145- 
 
 B, DA'.'IK". ...... 145- 
 
 ^%lSHIfTnif. E. . . I4IJ. 
 
 JAMHS M3 ...... _____ 1351: 
 
 , OHN- ffi, ...... ______ B53C 
 
 HKW/ HE. ...... .......... BSE 
 
 , PHTHH. 
 
 f2lHJHH, AMffmt,., 
 
 GnHitmi, fnm ft... 
 
 GlMMBLL. JTflHl* St.- 
 
 PBTHB C 
 
 Cosarr, PUHDEHICK BE. ..... 035 
 
 OHTIKHK, 
 
 Snaotwrs. 
 
 tt. 
 
 C*WMIS>, JUuraajD A.. 
 
 Ctwrnxss,. IU 
 OfcMR., J.TB8 
 
 a^ W 
 , BlIMII F- 
 
 057 
 
 .1 i ' ... ; ; 
 
 OHoar n J|aaEBKP_.. ....... ------- its 
 
 --------- 
 
 ClisHrmik-v. Eos; A 
 
 (Dnnnrns,, ffi*stn B; ___________ 
 
 (DnnnmE,. BUBKaT L, . ..... 
 
 l ______ 
 
 
 ff ______ cao 
 
 ffHOTin,. *nniunirr A ____ .. _____ ofife 
 
 Bfttainnir tTiiminT IT __________ aSS 
 
 . BOWIE. ......... ______ 1170. 
 
 ID/wo.. Joffi* ffi ____________ ...... _ BTB> 
 
 H&WHB, JAMHS 5C. .... ........ ----- 070 
 
 DA.T. B&ISH-Z ...... ---------- ...... ir^i 
 
 DH BAA~Z.. FHSDHMEX:. .......... BTJE 
 
 H)K CaHDU^.l, JLLFBSD'.,.. ..... E7Z 
 
 DH ?<!BHST, CoH^HTinS T. . 1172 
 
 IDs LA. K.VJI. J<3Hpffi E:.. ..... 
 
 E)8 LAMATHH,"CI)RHIUU KB. 
 DH LMIATHL. JHI: 
 
 1175 
 179 
 
 LUKA, DA.P. A ------ .......... cSo 
 
 ....... _. can 
 
 IDBUHIINCO, C-OHHBB' _________ 
 
 DHMHTH, Wn:tt*... ............ . 
 
 DHVHW, Ca.unwrH^ ML ..... . 
 
 DK PwtTrHa, FaHQHHir: J. 
 DH PffzanTHH, JOBS W.-rs. 
 DR PSYSTTHB, 5inHnLAa. . . . 
 
 DHTJBBCB* 
 
 , J.MB 
 
 BKVOH, FBHDRHICX: W. . . . 
 DHXTHB, BSHMa'B. ......... _ 
 
 DirXHHM.i.-i, \WA3!30 B ....... 
 
 DICKJH,, PATHiinc. ......... _ ......... 
 
 EHCKIN3lf, JOHl* Bi _______ 
 
 DlNSMOHH, WlU^IAV B ....... 
 
 ,. Ca.\fltaa HE... ....... 
 
 DODI-.B, 
 
 DlDf.lt, 
 DnuiH. Au'RHD 
 , Jbmtv 
 
 187 
 
 1^7 
 raft 
 njt 
 
 Egg: 
 
 aja: 
 
 BJJE 
 
 rqj 
 
 t<>" 
 
 KJHJ 
 nj4i 
 rgg 
 
 iqg 
 HJT: 
 c<)}, 
 
 DOBS. 
 
 Anrancv 
 
 Dmau;, 
 
 Dncma^ 
 Dnuair. 
 
 THE*.** C. 
 HBKAJB 
 
 BttTOA. 
 
 " - :".i - 
 
 Anas T . . 
 
 BL 
 
 Wnuuuai F ....... 
 
 TMBHIU:* C 
 Taaa* A.. 
 
 Eases,. 
 
 _ aia 
 
 214 
 
 EiDHH. D.UUHl. ft 
 EiDBH. (UBDffiKW. 
 
 , Jasgpa I 
 
 s, SrxpfflE* B'' 
 Emus,, jioasf^, St.JDi __________ 
 
 H.. Jloint W ____________ ____ 
 
 zi; 
 
 Htaair. 
 ELY, AMBBOSH E 
 
 aa 
 aa 
 
 ,. KBSIIT G> _____ __________ 33.1 
 
 ELY, SanrnB.... ..... , .......... ______ xsx 
 
 EGLJ, JOIE ------- ..... ..... aa$ 
 
 E3, A.MUS Bt. ...... _____ .... ..... 335 
 
 ESTHVEZ, RAMON ML ___ _____ 225 
 
 y Jtaaa. ........ ------- 036. 
 
 F. 
 
 FAHRJI, 
 
 , Joaat EaaRHABD ______ 237 
 
 , EGIHTJO P ................. 337 
 
 . EassaTo G ,,, ... 338 
 
 Joaasac^ ........ r ........... 339 
 
 EOWABD & ____ _. . ..... aay 
 
 , BtoJAJtE* I 
 
 , CH AHLH.S S 
 TAUIC, Aasoii 
 
 FAIJC, CtCSTAV 
 FA8ISH, 
 
 230 
 130. 
 
 3JB 
 331 
 
 WtttE*se D'... .... 33* 
 
 WAV, SlBOUBNttY W. ...... .., 3331 
 
 , ...... , 3.33. 
 
 , DATHL B 33+ 
 
 ^ _________ 234; 
 
 iii 
 

 - a 
 
 5tryr; ''- 
 Ftcfi^ ^ 
 
 ?LaWmt 
 
 ?OGS^ ^ 
 
 K 
 
 ^fc- 
 
 -:, - 
 
 -. fo.immTt. . 
 
 ar 
 237" 
 3* 
 
 
 
 X... 
 
 
 * JT._ 
 J* 3.. 
 
 ESS r. . 
 
 2Sg- 
 2& 
 
 - 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 239 
 250 
 
 230 
 
 : 25* 
 
 rBL. !'!!".'. 251 
 
 rrSLl.. I^s 
 ft.. i5SC 
 
 T: 153: 
 
 LiIIS- 5.. . . 25 
 
 * T. 
 
 KT. 1 
 
 Saonr. 
 j<3(mu>. ' jaos'.a 
 
 GdMUBb. l JilSTA.\' S 
 
 (Siuuav TAX- ^ 
 
 urn. TOOK ff 
 
 i *.. 
 
 255- 
 2ST 
 
 25* 
 25* 
 
 2Bt 
 2t 
 
 2*b 
 2* 
 
 2TS 
 
 
 
 ^OMKteK . . jtj 
 
 KKLCOM8-&. . 3t*. 
 
 t.^ *r 
 
 T" 
 
 T. *E* 
 
 (^ftA 
 
 ia.^ 
 
 G&fl 
 
 jai 
 'Su 
 
 'T3U 
 
 t. 270- 
 
 ir K. SL ... 
 Ssm- 
 
 '..,. 
 - ..-. 
 
 
 H>. . 
 
 2iie- 
 rear 
 
 ax ; -20 
 
 jxmts- yt ;.ai 
 
 a- * j^t 
 
 i: v.> 3*y 
 
 " isuttua .^ 323 s 
 
 35* 
 
 ant 
 
 at 
 
 ^.vi Hi ' ' 
 
 . I-fAAVKJE-. 305. 
 
 . . . -UO- 
 
 3 
 
 CSV 
 
PAGE 
 
 KINGSLAND, GEORGE L 370 
 
 KINNEY, FRANCIS S 371 
 
 KISSEL, GUSTAV E 372 
 
 KISSEL, GUSTAV H 371 
 
 KNAPP, SHEPHERD 372 
 
 KNAPP, SHEPPARD 373 
 
 KNOWLTON, EDWIN F 373 
 
 KUEHNE, FREDERICK 375 
 
 L. 
 
 LADEW, EDWARD R 378 
 
 LADEW, HARVEY S 378 
 
 LADEW, JOSEPH H 378 
 
 LAKE, GEORGE G 379 
 
 LAMBERT, CATHOLINA 379 
 
 LANDON, CHARLES G 379 
 
 LANGDON, WOODBURY 380 
 
 LANIER, CHARLES 381 
 
 LANIER, JAMES F. D 380 
 
 LAPHAM, HENRY G 381 
 
 LASAK, FRANCIS W 383 
 
 LAW, GEORGE 383 
 
 LAWRENCE, JOHN W 384 
 
 LAWRENCE, WILLIAM B 384 
 
 LAWRENCE, WILLIAM E . . . . 385 
 
 LEARY, JAMES D 385 
 
 LEE, WILLIAM F 388 
 
 LEE, WILLIAM H 389 
 
 LEGGETT, ABRAHAM 389 
 
 LEGGETT, FRANCIS H 389 
 
 LEHMAN, EMANUEL 390 
 
 LEHMAN, MAYER 392 
 
 LENOX, JAMES 392 
 
 LIBBEY, WILLIAM 394 
 
 LlCHTENSTEIN, BENJAMIN. . . 397 
 
 LINTON, EDWARD F 397 
 
 LITTLE, JOSEPH J 398 
 
 LIVINGSTON, ANSON 398 
 
 LIVINGSTON, ROBERT E.... 399 
 
 LOESER, FREDERICK 399 
 
 LOEW, EDWARD V 400 
 
 LOOMIS, ALFRED L., M.D.. 402 
 
 LORD, DANIEL 403 
 
 LORD, SAMUEI 403 
 
 LORD, THOMAS 403 
 
 LORILLARD, PETER 404 
 
 LOUNSBURY, PHINEAS C. . . . 404 
 
 Low, ABIEL A 406 
 
 Low, JOSEPH T 406 
 
 LOWREY, JOSEPH S 407 
 
 LUMMIS, WILLIAM ........ 407 
 
 LYMAN, EDWARD H. R.. . . 408 
 
 LYON, WILLIAM H 409 
 
 M. 
 
 MCALPIN, DAVID H 412 
 
 MCALPIN, GEN. EDWIN A.. 415 
 
 MCCONVILLE, JOHN 417 
 
 McCosKRY, ROBERT 417 
 
 MCCREADY, NATHANIEL L'H 418 
 McCuRDY, ROBERT H 418 
 
 PAGE 
 McGHEE, CHARLES McC. . .. 418 
 
 McGiLL, GEORGE W 419 
 
 McHARG, HENRY K 420 
 
 MclNTYRE. THOMAS A.. .. 420 
 
 McKiE, THOMAS 420 
 
 McLouGHLiN, JOHN 421 
 
 MACKAY, JOHN W 421 
 
 MACLAY, ROBERT 424 
 
 MACY, JOSIAH 42 5 
 
 MACY, WILLIAM H 425 
 
 MAGOUN, GEORGE C 425 
 
 MAIRS, JOHN D 426 
 
 MAIRS, WILLIAM H 426 
 
 MAITLAND, THOMAS 426 
 
 MALLORY, CHARLES H 426 
 
 MARQUAND, FREDERICK 427 
 MARSHALL, CHARLES H... 427 
 
 MARTIN, JOHN T 428 
 
 MASURY, JOHN W 428 
 
 MATTHEWS, JOHN 431 
 
 MAXWELL, EUGENE L 432 
 
 MAXWELL, HENRY W 432 
 
 MEAD, EDWIN H 432 
 
 MEAD, FREDERICK 433 
 
 MEAD, RALPH 435 
 
 MERRITT, ISRAEL J 437 
 
 MEYER, CHRISTOPHKR 438 
 
 MILLIKEN, SETH M 439 
 
 MILLS, DARIUS 440 
 
 MILMINE, GEORGE 444 
 
 MINTURN, ROBERT B 444 
 
 MOORE, JOHN G 445 
 
 MOORE, JOHN P 447 
 
 MORGAN, CHARLES 448 
 
 MORGAN, DAVID P 449 
 
 MORGAN, EDWIN D 449 
 
 MORGAN, GEORGE D 450 
 
 MORGAN, HENRY T 451 
 
 MORGAN, HOMER 451 
 
 MORGAN, TUNIUS S 451 
 
 MORGAN, J. PIERPONT 452 
 
 MOROSINI, GIOVANNI P..... 452 
 
 MORRIS, JOHN A 455 
 
 MORTIMER, RICHARD 456 
 
 MORTON, LEVI P 456 
 
 MOTT, HOPPER S 462 
 
 MOTT, JORDAN L 465 
 
 MOTT, JORDAN L. , JR 468 
 
 MOTT, VALENTINE. M. D... 469 
 
 MUNN, WILLIAM H 469 
 
 MUNN, WILLIAM H., M.D. 470 
 
 MUNOZ, JOSE M 470 
 
 MUNRO, NORMAN L 470 
 
 MURCHISON, KENNETH M.. 471 
 MYERS, THEODORE W 471 
 
 N. 
 
 NATHAN, BENJAMIN 473 
 
 NAUMBURG. ELKAN 473 
 
 NEWBORG, DAVID L 473 
 
 NEWCOMB, H. VICTOR 474 
 
 NORRIE, ADAM 477 
 
 NORTON, ECKSTEIN . . . . 477 
 
 NORTON, JOHN 478 
 
 NOYES, JULIUS M 478 
 
 O 
 
 PACK 
 
 OAKES, THOMAS F 479 
 
 O'BRIEN, JOHN 479 
 
 O'BRIEN, WILLIAM 480 
 
 O'DAY, DANIEL 480 
 
 O'DoNOHUE, JOSEPH J 480 
 
 OELRICHS, HERMANN 484 
 
 OGDEN, WILLIAM B 484 
 
 OLCOTT, FREDERIC P 485 
 
 O'NEILL, HUGH 485 
 
 OPDYKE, GEORGE 486 
 
 ORR, ALEXANDER E 487 
 
 OSBORN, CHARLES J 487 
 
 OSGOOD, GEORGE A 488 
 
 OTIS, NORTON P 488 
 
 OTTENDOKFER, OSWALD. ... 489 
 
 OWEN, THOMAS 492 
 
 OWEN, THOMAS J 492 
 
 1'. 
 
 PALMER, COURTLANDT 493 
 
 PALMER, COURTLANDT, JR.. 493 
 
 PARISH, HENRY 494 
 
 PARK, JOSEPH 494 
 
 PARK, TRENOR W 494 
 
 PARKER, JAMES H., M.D. .. 495 
 
 PARMLY, ELEAZER 495 
 
 PARSONS, WILLIAM H 496 
 
 PEARSALL, DENTON 497 
 
 PEASE, GEORGE L 497 
 
 PEMBROOK, WILLIAM A 498 
 
 PETTIT, FOSTER 500 
 
 PHELPS, ISAAC N 501 
 
 PHELPS, ROYAL 503 
 
 PICKHARDT, WILLIAM 504 
 
 PIERREPONT, HENRY E 504 
 
 PITCHER, JAMES R 505 
 
 PLANT, H ENRY B 506 
 
 PLATT, JOHN R 508 
 
 PLATT, SAMUEL R 509 
 
 POLHEMUS, HENRY D 509 
 
 POOR, EDWARD E 510 
 
 POOR, HENRY W 511 
 
 PORTER, HORACE 515 
 
 POTTER, CLARKSON N 515 
 
 POTTER, ORLANDO B 516 
 
 POTTIER, ADRIEN A 521 
 
 POTTS, FREDERIC A 521 
 
 POUCH, ALFRED J 521 
 
 PRATT, CHARLES 522 
 
 PRATT, CHARLES M 523 
 
 PRATT, DALLAS B 523 
 
 PRATT, JULIUS H 523 
 
 PRENTICE. FREDERIC 524 
 
 PRIME, EDWARD 527 
 
 PRIME. RUFUS 527 
 
 PULITZER, JOSEPH 527 
 
 PYNE, PERCY R 528 
 
 Q. 
 
 QUEREAU, ABRAM 529 
 
 QUINCY. JOHN W 529 
 
 QUINTARD, GEORGE W 529 
 
PAGE 
 
 R. 
 
 RADWAY, JOHN S., M.D... 533 
 
 RAYMOND, JAMES 1 533 
 
 READ, WILLIAM G 534 
 
 RECKESDORFER, JOSEPH. .. 534 
 
 REINHART, JOSEPH W 534 
 
 REMSEN, WILLIAM 535 
 
 RENWICK, JAMES 536 
 
 RENWICK, WILLIAM R 537 
 
 RHINELANDER, WILLIAM... 537 
 
 RICHARDSON, ENOS 538 
 
 RICHARDSON, JOSEPH 538 
 
 RIDLEY, EDWARD 540 
 
 RIKER, DANIEL S 541 
 
 RIVES, FRANCIS R 541 
 
 ROACH, JOHN 541 
 
 ROBBINS, ELI 544 
 
 ROBERTS, MARSHALL O... 545 
 
 ROBERTSON, JOSEPH L 546 
 
 ROBINSON, JEREMIAH P 548 
 
 ROCKEFELLER, JOHN D 549 
 
 ROCKEFELLER, WILLIAM. .. 550 
 ROOSEVELT, CORNELIUS V. S 551 
 
 ROOSEVELT, JAMES A 552 
 
 ROOSEVELT, JAMES 1 552 
 
 ROOSEVELT, ROBERT B 553 
 
 ROOSEVELT, THEODORE 554 
 
 ROPES, REUBEN W 555 
 
 ROPES, RIPLEY 555 
 
 ROSENBAUM, ALBERTS... . 556 
 
 ROTHSCHILD, JACOB 556 
 
 ROTHSCHILD, VICTOR H 557 
 
 RUSZITS, JOHN 560 
 
 RUTTER, THOMAS 560 
 
 RYAN, THOMAS F 561 
 
 S. 
 
 SAGE, RUSSELL 563 
 
 SALISBURY, JAMES H., M.D. 570 
 
 SANDS, HENRY B., M.D 570 
 
 SANDS, SAMUEL S 571 
 
 SANFORD, EDWARDS S 571 
 
 SARGENT, GEORGE H 572 
 
 SCHAEFER. EDWARD C 574 
 
 SCHELL, AUGUSTUS 574 
 
 SCHIEFKELIN, WILLIAM H. . . 575 
 
 SCHIEREN, CHARLES A 576 
 
 SCHIFF, JACOB H 576 
 
 SCHLEY, GRANT B 577 
 
 SCHOALS, FRANCIS P 577 
 
 SCHOLLE, ABRAHAM 579 
 
 SCHROEDER, FREDERICK A. . 579 
 
 SCHULTZ, JACKSON S 580 
 
 SCHWAB, GUSTAV 581 
 
 SCOTT, ALFRED B 581 
 
 SCRIBNER, CHARLES 582 
 
 SEABURY, GEORGE J 582 
 
 SEAMANS. CLARENCE W 584 
 
 SEIDENBERG, JOSEPH 584 
 
 SELIGMAN, JAMES 586 
 
 SELIGMAN, JESSE. 586 
 
 SELIGMAN, JOSEPH 587 
 
 SHELDON, ISRAEL 587 
 
 SHELDON, JAMES 588 
 
 SHEPARD, ELLIOTT F 590 
 
 PAGE 
 
 SHEPARD, FREDERICK M 591 
 
 SHEPARD, SIDNEY 592 
 
 SHERMAN, ISAAC 594 
 
 SHERMAN, WATTS 594 
 
 SHERWOOD, JOHN H 594 
 
 SHOEMAKER, HENRY F 595 
 
 SHOENBERGER, JOHN H 597 
 
 SICKLES. GEORGE G 598 
 
 SILLIMAN, BENJAMIN D 598 
 
 SIMMONS, J. EDWARD 599 
 
 SIMPSON, WILLIAM 600 
 
 SINCLAIR, JOHN 601 
 
 SKIDMORE, WILLIAM L 601 
 
 SLAVEN, HENRY B 602 
 
 SLOANE, WILLIAM 605 
 
 SLOCUM, HENRY W 605 
 
 SMITH, ADON 606 
 
 SMITH, CHARLES STEWART.. 606 
 
 SMITH, FRANCIS S 608 
 
 SPAULDING, HENRY F 609 
 
 SPICER, ELIHU 610 
 
 SPOFFORD, PAUL 610 
 
 SPRAGUE, COL. NATHAN T.. 611 
 
 STARIN, JOHN H 611 
 
 STEINWAY, WILLIAM 612 
 
 STEVENS, PARAN 61 8 
 
 STEVENSON, DAVID 618 
 
 STEWART, ALEXANDER T 618 
 
 STEWART, JOHN A 620 
 
 STILLMAN, JAMES 620 
 
 STOCKLY, GEORGE W 621 
 
 STOKES, JAMES 621 
 
 STOKES, WILLIAM E. D 622 
 
 STORRS, AUGUSTUS 622 
 
 STORRS, CHARLES 623 
 
 STORY, RUFUS 623 
 
 STOUT, ANDREW V 624 
 
 STOUT, JOSEPH S 624 
 
 STRANAHAN, JAMES S. T 625 
 
 STRANGE, WILLIAM 628 
 
 STRAUS, ISIDOR 629 
 
 STRAUS, LAZARUS 630 
 
 STRAUS, NATHAN 630 
 
 STREET, WILLIAM A 631 
 
 STRONG. WILLIAM L 632 
 
 STUART, JOSEPH 632 
 
 STUART, ROBERT L 632 
 
 STUDWELL, JOHN J 633 
 
 STURGES, FREDERICK 634 
 
 STURGES, JONATHAN 634 
 
 SULLY, ALFRED 635 
 
 SYMS, WILLIAM J 638 
 
 T. 
 
 TAILER, EDWARD N 639 
 
 TALCOTT, FREDERICK L 641 
 
 TALCOTT, JAMES 641 
 
 TAYLOR, J. MONROE 641 
 
 TAYLOR, MOSES 642 
 
 TENNEY, CHARLES H 643 
 
 TERRY, JOHN T 645 
 
 TEWKSBURY, LEWIS G 647 
 
 THEBAUD, EDWARD V 647 
 
 THOMAS, SAMUEL 648 
 
 THOMPSON, WILLIAM P... 650 
 
 THORNB, JONATHAN 654 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THORNE, JONATHAN, JR 654 
 
 THORNE, SAMUEL 655 
 
 TIEMANN, DANIEL F 655 
 
 TIFFANY, CHARLES L 656 
 
 TILDEN, SAMUEL J 658 
 
 TILDEN, WILLIAM.. 659 
 
 TILESTON, THOMAS 659 
 
 TILFORD, FRANK 660 
 
 TILFORD, WESLEY H 661 
 
 TINGUE, WILLIAM J 662 
 
 TINKER, CHARLES A 663 
 
 TORRANCE, DANIEL 663 
 
 TOUSEY, SINCLAIR 663 
 
 TOWNE, HENRY R 664 
 
 TOWNSEND, SAMUEL T . . . . 664 
 
 TRAVERS, WILLIAM R 665 
 
 TREVOR. JOHN B 665 
 
 TWEEDY, THOMAS E 666 
 
 U. 
 URQUHART, EDMOND 667 
 
 V. 
 
 VAIL, HENRY H '671 
 
 VAIL, THEODORE N 671 
 
 VAN BUREN, JOHN D 674 
 
 VANDERBILT, CORNELIUS 675 
 
 VANDERBILT, CORNELIUS... 684 
 VANDERBILT, WILLIAM H... 680 
 VAN NEST, ABRAHAM R. . . . 686 
 VAN NORDEN, WARNER. . . . 686 
 
 VAN RENSSELAER, C. S 688 
 
 VAN TINE, ASHLEY A 689 
 
 VAN VOLKENBURG, PHILIP. . 69! 
 
 VERMEULE, JOHN D 691 
 
 VERMILYE, JACOB D 692 
 
 VERMILYE, WASHINGTON R. 693 
 
 W. 
 
 WALKER, JOHN BRISBEN 694 
 
 WALLACH, ANTHONY 694 
 
 WARD, JAMES E 696 
 
 WARDWELL. WILLIAM T. . . 697 
 
 WARNER, DR. LUCIEN C. . . . 698 
 
 WATERBURY, JAMES M 700 
 
 WATSON, JOHN 701 
 
 WATSON. WILLIAM 702 
 
 WEBB. H. WALTER 702 
 
 WEBB, WILLIAM H 703 
 
 WEBB, WILLIAM SEWARD. . 709 
 
 WEED, THURLOW 710 
 
 WENDELL. JACOB 711 
 
 WENTZ, JAMES M 713 
 
 WEST, GEORGE 714 
 
 WETHERBEE, GARDNER 719 
 
 WETMORE, APOLLOS R 721 
 
 WETMORE, ROBERT C 721 
 
 WHEELER, JEROME B 722 
 
 WHEELOCK, WILLIAM A 724 
 
 WHITE, ALBERT T 726 
 
 WHITE, STEPHEN VAN C... 727 
 
 WHITLOCK, WILLIAM 727 
 
PAGE 
 
 BROWN, WALSTON H 115 
 
 BROWNING, JOHN H 117 
 
 BROWNING, WILLIAM C 118 
 
 BRUCE, GEORGE 1 19 
 
 BUCHANAN, WILLIAM 119 
 
 BULKLEY, EDWIN 121 
 
 BULL, WILLIAM L 122 
 
 BURDEN, JAMES A 122 
 
 BURKE, JOHN 123 
 
 BURNHAM, THOMAS B . . . 123 
 
 BURR, CALVIN 125 
 
 BURR, HENRY A 125 
 
 BURT, COL. JAMES 126 
 
 BUTLER, THERON R 126 
 
 BUTLER, WILLIAM A 126 
 
 BUTTERFIELD, DANIEL 127 
 
 C. 
 
 CAMP, HUGH N 128 
 
 CAMPBELL, FELIX 128 
 
 CAMPBELL, GEORGE W. ... 129 
 
 CAMPBELL, RICHARD L 129 
 
 CAMERON, SIR RODERICK W 129 
 
 CAREY, JOHN 130 
 
 CARHART, THOMAS F 130 
 
 CARMAN, RICHARD F 130 
 
 CARNEGIE, ANDREW 131 
 
 CARTER, OLIVER S 132 
 
 CASPARY, WALDEMAR 133 
 
 CASWELL, JOHN 133 
 
 CATLIN, JULIUS 133 
 
 CHAPIN, CHESTER W 134 
 
 CHAPMAN, ISAAC F 136 
 
 CHASE, NELSON 136 
 
 CHESEBROUGH, ROBERT A. . 137 
 CHITTENDEN, SIMEON B... 140 
 
 CHOATE, JOSEPH H 140 
 
 CHURCH, AUSTIN 141 
 
 CLAFLIN, HORACE B 141 
 
 CLAPP, GEORGE P 142 
 
 CLARK, GEORGE A 142 
 
 CLARK, HORACE F 143 
 
 CLARK, WILLIAM 143 
 
 CLARKE, BENJAMIN G 143 
 
 CLAUSEN, HENRY 144 
 
 CLEWS, HENRY 144 
 
 CLYDE, WILLIAM P . ... 144 
 
 COE, GEORGE S 145 
 
 COLBY, CHARLES L 145 
 
 COLGATE, JAMES B 146 
 
 COLGATE, ROBERT 147 
 
 COLGATE, SAMUEL 147 
 
 COLGATE, SAMUEL J 147 
 
 COLLAMORE, DAVIS 147 
 
 CONNOR, WASHINGTON E. . . 149 
 
 CONSTABLE, JAMES M 151 
 
 CONTOIT, JOHN H 151 
 
 COOK, HENRY H 152 
 
 COOPER, EDWARD 153 
 
 COOPER, PETER 152 
 
 CORBIN, AUSTIN 153 
 
 CORNELL, JOHN B 154 
 
 CORNELL, JOHN M 154 
 
 CORNELL, PETER C 155 
 
 CORNING, HANSON K 155 
 
 COSSITT, FREDERICK H 155 
 
 PACK 
 
 COSTELLO, PATRICK C 155 
 
 COSTER, CHARLES H 156 
 
 COTTING, AMOS 156 
 
 COVAS, STAMATY 156 
 
 COWDIN, ELLIOT C 156 
 
 COWLES, ALFRED A 157 
 
 CRABTREE, LOTTA M 157 
 
 CRAM, JACOB 158 
 
 CRAWFORD, WILLIAM 158 
 
 CREADO, RAMON F 158 
 
 CRIMMINS, JOHN D 159 
 
 CROMWELL, FREDERICK 161 
 
 CROSBY, JOHN P 163 
 
 CROSBY, WILLIAM B 162 
 
 CURTIS, JEREMIAH 163 
 
 CUSHMAN, DON A 163 
 
 CUSHMAN, JAMES S 164 
 
 CUTTING, FRANCIS B 164 
 
 CUTTING, ROBERT L., sr. . . . 165 
 CUTTING, ROBERT L 165 
 
 D. 
 
 DAMBMANN, CHARLES F.... 166 
 
 DANA, CHARLES A 166 
 
 DARLING, ALFRED B 168 
 
 DARRAGH, JAMES 169 
 
 DASH, BOWIE 170 
 
 DASH, JOHN B 170 
 
 DAVIDSON, JOHN 171 
 
 DAVIS, JAMES M 171 
 
 DAY, HENRY 171 
 
 DE BARY, FREDERICK 172 
 
 DE CORDOVA, ALFRED 172 
 
 DE FOREST, CORNELIUS V. . 172 
 
 DE GRAFF, HENRY P 173 
 
 DELAFIELD, HENRY 174 
 
 DE LA MAR, JOSEPH R 175 
 
 DE LAMATER, CORNELIUS H. 178 
 
 DE LAMATER. JOHN 1 79 
 
 DELAPLAINE, JOHN F 180 
 
 DE LIMA, DAV.ID A 180 
 
 DELMAR, JOHN 180 
 
 DELMONICO, CHARLES C. ... 181 
 
 DELMONICO, LORENZO 181 
 
 DEMUTH, WILLIAM 182 
 
 DEPEW, CHAUNCEY M 182 
 
 DE PEYSTER, FREDERIC J. 185 
 
 DE PEYSTER, JOHN WATTS. 185 
 
 DE PEYSTER, NICHOLAS 186 
 
 DETMOLD, CHRISTIAN E. . . . 187 
 
 DETTMER, JACOB G 187 
 
 DEVLIN, CHARLES 187 
 
 DEVOE, FREDERICK W. ... 188 
 
 DEXTER, HENRY 191 
 
 DICKERMAN, WATSON B. . . . 192 
 
 DICKIE, PATRICK 192 
 
 DICKINSON, JOHN B 192 
 
 DILLON, SIDNEY. ... 193 
 
 DINSMORE, WILLIAM B 193 
 
 DITSON, CHARLES H 194 
 
 Dix, ALFRED P 194 
 
 DODGE, WILLIAM E 195 
 
 DODGE, WILLIAM E., jr 195 
 
 DOLGE, ALFRED 197 
 
 DOLLARD, JOHN 199 
 
 DOUGLAS, WILLIAM P 199 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Dows, DAVID 200 
 
 DREXEL, JOSEPH W 203 
 
 DRIGGS, EDMUND 204 
 
 DUER, DENNING 204 
 
 DUGRO, ANIHONY 205 
 
 DUGRO, PHILIP H 205 
 
 DUN, ROBERT G 205 
 
 DUNCAN, DAVID 207 
 
 DUNLAP, ROBERT. : 208 
 
 DUNTON, FREDERICK W... . 208 
 
 DURANT, CHARLES W 208 
 
 DURANT, THOMAS C 209 
 
 DURYEA, HIRAM 209 
 
 DURYEA, SAMUEL B 210 
 
 DURYEA, WRIGHT 210 
 
 DUTCHER, JOHN B 211 
 
 DWIGHT, AMOS T 211 
 
 E. 
 
 EARI.E, WILLIAM P 212 
 
 EASTMAN, TIMOTHY C 212 
 
 EDISON, THOMAS A 212 
 
 EDSON, FRANKLIN 213 
 
 EICHLER, JOHN 213 
 
 EINSTEIN, DAVID L 214 
 
 EINSTEIN, EDWIN 2-14 
 
 EINSTEIN, LEWIS 214 
 
 ELDER, DANIEL R . 214 
 
 ELDER, GEORGE W 214 
 
 ELDER, JOSEPH L 215 
 
 ELIAS, HENRY 215 
 
 ELKINS, STEPHEN B 215 
 
 ELLIS, JOHN, M.D 219 
 
 ELLIS, JOHN W 219 
 
 ELSWORTH, EDWARD 220 
 
 ELSWORTH, HENRY 220 
 
 ELY, AMBROSE K 221 
 
 ELY, DAVID J 221 
 
 ELY, HENRY G. .. 221 
 
 ELY, SMITH 222 
 
 ENGLIS, JOHN 223 
 
 ENO, AMOS R. 225 
 
 ESTEVEZ, RAMON M 225 
 
 EVERARD, JAMES 226 
 
 F. 
 
 FABER, EBERHARD 227 
 
 FABER, JOHN EBERHARD. . . . 227 
 
 FABBRI, EGISTO P 227 
 
 FABBRI, ERNESTO G 228 
 
 FAHYS, JOSEPH 228 
 
 FAILE, EDWARD G 229 
 
 FAILE, THOMAS H 229 
 
 FAIRCHILD, BENJAMIN L . . . 230 
 
 FAIRCHILD, CHARLES S 230 
 
 FALK, ARNOLD 230 
 
 FALK, GUSTAV 231 
 
 PARISH, JOHN T 231 
 
 FARREL, FRANKLIN 231 
 
 FARWELL, WILLIAM D 232 
 
 FAY, SIGOURNEY W 233 
 
 FAYE, THOMAS 233 
 
 FAYERWEATHER, DANIEL B 234 
 
 FEARING, CHARLES N 234 
 
 ii. 
 
PACE 
 
 FECHEIMER, MARTIN S 235 
 
 FELLOWES, WILLIAM 235 
 
 FIELD, BENJAMIN H 235 
 
 FIELD, CYRUS W 236 
 
 FIELD, HICKSON W 237 
 
 FISCHER. BENEDICKT 237 
 
 FISCHER CHARLES S 238 
 
 FISH, HAMILTON 238 
 
 FISH, NICHOLAS 238 
 
 FISH, STUYVESANT 239 
 
 FISHER, ROBERT C 239 
 
 FITCH, BENJAMIN 240 
 
 FLAGLER, HENRY M 240 
 
 FLEISCHMANN, MAXIMILIAN. 241 
 
 FLEITMANN, EWALD 241 
 
 FLINT, BENJAMIN 241 
 
 FLINT, CHARLES R 242 
 
 FLINT, WALLACE B 245 
 
 FLOWER, ROSWELL P 245 
 
 FOGG, WILLIAM H , . . . 246 
 
 FOLSDM, GEORGE 246 
 
 FORD. JOHN R 247 
 
 FORREST, GEORGE J 248 
 
 FOSDICK, CHARLES B 248 
 
 FREEMAN, FRANCIS P 249 
 
 FRIEDMAN, LEONARD 249 
 
 FULLER, DUDLEY B 249 
 
 FULLER, GEORGE W 250 
 
 PUNCH, CHRISTIAN F 250 
 
 FURNISS, WILLIAM P 250 
 
 G. 
 
 GABLER, ERNEST 251 
 
 GALE, THOMAS W 251 
 
 GALLATIN, ALBERT R 251 
 
 GALLATIN, JAMES 251 
 
 GALLAWAY, ROBERT M 252 
 
 GARNER, THOMAS 252 
 
 GARNER, WILLIAM T 252 
 
 GARRISON, CORNELIUS K... . 252 
 
 GATES, EPHRAIM C 253 
 
 GERARD, JAMES W 254 
 
 GERRY, ELBRIDGE T 254 
 
 GIBB. JOHN 255 
 
 GILBERT, GEORGE Y 257 
 
 GILSEY, PETER 258 
 
 GINNELL, HENRY 258 
 
 GOBLET, PETER 259 
 
 GOELET, ROBERT 261 
 
 GOOD, JOHN 261 
 
 GOOD, BRENT 263 
 
 GORDON, GEORGE? 264 
 
 GOSSLER, GUSTAV H 264 
 
 GOULD, JAY 265 
 
 GOULD, JOHN P 271 
 
 GRACE, WILLIAM R 272 
 
 GRAHAM, JOHN L 275 
 
 GRAVES. ROBERT 275 
 
 GRAVES, RUFUS R 276 
 
 GRAY. JOHN A. C 276 
 
 GREEN, EDWARD H. R 277 
 
 GREEN, MRS. HETTY H. R. 277 
 
 GREEN, JOHN C 279 
 
 GREEN, NORVIN 280 
 
 GREENOUGH, JOHN 281 
 
 GRIXNELL, MOSES H 282 
 
 PACE 
 
 GUGGENHEIMER, RANDOLPH 262 
 
 GUNTHER, CHARLES G 283 
 
 GUNTHER, ERNEST R 283 
 
 H. 
 
 HADDEN, WILLIAM A 286 
 
 HAGEMEYER, GEORGE 286 
 
 HAGGIN, JAMES B ... 288 
 
 HAIGHT, DAVID H 288 
 
 HAIGHT. EDWARD ,. 288 
 
 HALL, JOHN H '. 289 
 
 HALL, WILLIAM H 289 
 
 HALLGARTEN. ADOLPH 289 
 
 HALLGARTEN. JULIUS 290 
 
 HALSEY, JOHN 290 
 
 HAMERSLEY FAMILY 290 
 
 HAMERSLEY, JAMES HOOKER 290 
 
 HAMILTON, ALEXANDER 295 
 
 HAMILTON, JOHN C 295 
 
 HARD, ANSON W. SR 269 
 
 HARGOUS, Louis S 296 
 
 HARKNESS, CHARLES W 297 
 
 HARPER, JOSEPH H 297 
 
 HARRIMAN, EDWARD 297 
 
 HARRIS, WILLIAM H 297 
 
 HAVEMEYER, FREDERICK C. 298 
 
 HAVEMEYER, HECTOR C.... 302 
 
 HAVEMEYER, HENRY 299 
 
 HAVEMEYER, THEODORE A.. 298 
 
 HAVEMEYER, WILLIAM F... 299 
 
 HAVENS, CHARLES G 303 
 
 HAWK, WILLIAM S 303 
 
 HAWLEY, HENRY E 306 
 
 HEALY, AARON 306 
 
 HECKER. JOHN V 306 
 
 HEGEMAN, WILLIAM 307 
 
 HEIDELBACH, ALFREDS 307 
 
 HEILNER, GEORGE C 308 
 
 HEILNER, MARCUS G 308 
 
 HENDERSON, PETER 308 
 
 HENDRICKS, JOSHUA 309 
 
 HENTZ, HENRY...". 309 
 
 HERRING, SILAS C 309 
 
 HERRMANN, HENRY 310 
 
 HESS, SELMAR 310 
 
 HEWITT, ABRAM S 311 
 
 HIGGINS, ALVIN 312 
 
 HIGGINS, ANDREW F 312 
 
 HIGGINS, ELI AS S 313 
 
 HILL, EDWARD 313 
 
 HITCHCOCK, THOMAS 313 
 
 HITCHCOCK, WELCOME G. .. 314 
 
 HOADLEY, RUSSELL H 314 
 
 HOAGLAND, CORNELIUS N.. 314 
 
 HOAGLAND, JOSEPH C 317 
 
 HOE, ROBERT 317 
 
 HOFFMAN, SAMUEL V 318 
 
 HOGAN, TIMOTHY 319 
 
 HOLMES, DANIEL H 319 
 
 HOPKINS, ROBERT E 320 
 
 HORNTHAL, LEWIS M 321 
 
 HORTON, JAMES M 321 
 
 HOUGHTALING, DAVID H. . . 322 
 
 HOYT, COLGATE 322 
 
 HOYT, EDWIN 323 
 
 HOYT, GEORGE A 323 
 
 PAGE 
 
 HOYT, HENRY S 324 
 
 HOYT, JESSE 324 
 
 HOYT, JOSEPH B 325 
 
 HOYT, MARK . 325 
 
 HOYT, OLIVER 327 
 
 HUBBELL, HENRY W 327 
 
 HUDSON, CHARLES 1 329 
 
 HULBERT. HENRY C 331 
 
 HUMPHREYS, FREDERICK... 334 
 
 HUMPHREYS, SOLON 336 
 
 HUNT, NOAH S 336 
 
 HUNT, WILSON G 337 
 
 HUNTINGTON, COLLIS P.... 337 
 
 HURLBUT, HENRY A 339 
 
 HUSTED, SEYMOUR L 342 
 
 HUSTED, WILLIAM H 344 
 
 I. 
 
 ICKELHEIMER, ISAAC 34$ 
 
 INMAN, JOHN H 345 
 
 ISELIN, ADRIAN 346 
 
 IVES, BRAYTON 346 
 
 IVISON, DAVID B 347 
 
 J- 
 
 JACKSON, JOHN C 348 
 
 JACKSON, THEODORE F 348 
 
 JAFFRAY, EDWARD S 348 
 
 JAMES, DANIEL 349 
 
 JAMES, FREDERICK P 349 
 
 JAMESON, JOSEPH A 349 
 
 JAY, JOHN 350 
 
 JENNINGS, OLIVER B 350 
 
 JESUP, MORRIS K 351 
 
 JEWETT, HUGH J 352 
 
 JOHNSTON, CHARLES 354 
 
 JOHNSTON, JOHN 354 
 
 JOHNSTON, JOHN TAYLOR. .. 354 
 JOHNSTON, WILLIAM McE.. 355 
 
 JONES, DAVID 355 
 
 JONES, EUGENE 355 
 
 JONES, GEORGE 356 
 
 JONES, JOHN Q 356 
 
 JONES, JOSHUA 357 
 
 JOURNEAY, HENRY T 357 
 
 K. 
 
 KALBFLEISCH, MARTIN 358 
 
 KEENE, JAMES R 358 
 
 KEEP, HENRY 361 
 
 KELLOGG, CHARLES. 361 
 
 KELLOGG, EDWARD H 361 
 
 KELLY, EUGENE 362 
 
 KEMP, GEORGE 364 
 
 KENDALL, ISAAC C 364 
 
 KENDALL, WILLIAM B 365 
 
 KENNEDY, HARVEY 365 
 
 KENNEDY, JOHN P 366 
 
 KENT, HENRY A 367 
 
 KETELTAS, EUGENE 367 
 
 KILMER, CHAUNCEY 367 
 
 KING, ARCHIBALD G 369 
 
 iii. 
 
PAGE 
 
 KINGSLAND, GEORGE L . . . . 370 
 
 KINNEY, FRANCIS S 371 
 
 KISSEL, GUSTAV E 372 
 
 KISSEL, GUSTAV H 371 
 
 KNAPP, SHEPHERD 372 
 
 KNAPP, SHEPPARD 373 
 
 KNOWLTON. EDWIN F 373 
 
 KUEHNE, FREDERICK 375 
 
 L. 
 
 LADEW, EDWARD R 378 
 
 LADEW, HARVEY S 378 
 
 LADEW, JOSEPH H 378 
 
 LAKE, GEORGE G 379 
 
 LAMBERT, CATHOLINA 379 
 
 LANDON, CHARLES G 379 
 
 LANGDON, WOODBURY 380 
 
 LANIER, CHARLES 381 
 
 LANIER, JAMES F. D 380 
 
 LAPHAM, HENRY G 381 
 
 LASAK, FRANCIS W 383 
 
 LAW, GEORGE 383 
 
 LAWRENCE, JOHN W 384 
 
 LAWRENCE, WILLIAM B 384 
 
 LAWRENCE, WILLIAM E . . . . 385 
 
 LEARY, JAMES D 385 
 
 LEE, WILLIAM F 388 
 
 LEE, WILLIAM H 389 
 
 LEGGETT, ABRAHAM 389 
 
 LEGGETT, FRANCIS H 389 
 
 LEHMAN, EMANUEL 390 
 
 LEHMAN, MAYER 392 
 
 LENOX, JAMES 392 
 
 LIBBEY, WILLIAM 394 
 
 LlCHTENSTEIN, BENJAMIN. . . 397 
 
 LINTON, EDWARD F 397 
 
 LITTLE, JOSEPH J 398 
 
 LIVINGSTON, ANSON 398 
 
 LIVINGSTON, ROBERT E.... 399 
 
 LOESER, FREDERICK 399 
 
 LOEW, EDWARD V 400 
 
 LOOMIS, ALFRED L., M.D.. 402 
 
 LORD, DANIEL 403 
 
 LORD, SAMUEI 403 
 
 LORD, THOMAS 403 
 
 LORILLARD, PETER 404 
 
 LOUNSBURY, PHINEAS C.... 404 
 
 Low, ABIEL A 406 
 
 Low, JOSEPH T 406 
 
 LOWREY, JOSEPH S 407 
 
 LUMMIS, WILLIAM ........ 407 
 
 LYMAN, EDWARD H. R. . . . 408 
 
 LYON, WILLIAM H 409 
 
 M. 
 
 MCALPIN, DAVID H 412 
 
 MCALPIN, GEN. EDWIN A.. 415 
 
 MCCONVILLE, JOHN 417 
 
 McCosKRY, ROBERT 417 
 
 MCCREADY, NATHANIEL L'H 418 
 McCuRDY, ROBERT II 418 
 
 PAGE 
 
 McGHEE, CHARLES McC 418 
 
 McGiLL, GEORGE W 419 
 
 MCHARG, HENRY K 420 
 
 MclNTYRE, THOMAS A. . .. 420 
 
 McKiE, THOMAS. 420 
 
 McLoucHLiN, JOHN 421 
 
 MACKAY, JOHN W 421 
 
 MACLAY, ROBERT 424 
 
 MACY, JOSIAH 425 
 
 MACY, WILLIAM H 425 
 
 MAGOUN, GEORGE C 425 
 
 MAIRS, JOHN D 426 
 
 MAIRS, WILLIAM H 426 
 
 MAITLAND, THOMAS 426 
 
 MALLORY, CHARLES H 426 
 
 MARQUAND, FREDERICK 427 
 MARSHALL, CHARLES H... 427 
 
 MARTIN, JOHN T 428 
 
 MASURY, JOHN W 428 
 
 MATTHEWS, JOHN 431 
 
 MAXWELL, EUGENE L 432 
 
 MAXWELL, HENRY W 432 
 
 MEAD, EDWIN H 432 
 
 MEAD, FREDERICK 433 
 
 MEAD, RALPH 435 
 
 MERRITT, ISRAEL J 437 
 
 MEYER, CHRISTOPHER 438 
 
 M ILLIKEN, SETH M 439 
 
 MILLS, DARIUS 440 
 
 MILMINE, GEORGE 444 
 
 MINTURN, ROBERT B 444 
 
 MOORE, JOHN G 445 
 
 MOORE, JOHN P 447 
 
 MORGAN, CHARLES 448 
 
 MORGAN, DAVID P 449 
 
 MORGAN, EDWIN D 449 
 
 MORGAN, GEORGE D 450 
 
 MORGAN, HENRY T 451 
 
 MORGAN, HOMER 451 
 
 MORGAN, TUNIUS S 451 
 
 MORGAN, J. PIERPONT 452 
 
 MOROSINI, GIOVANNI P 452 
 
 MORRIS, JOHN A 455 
 
 MORTIMER, RICHARD 456 
 
 MORTON, LEVI P 456 
 
 MOTT, HOPPER S 462 
 
 MOTT. JORDAN L 465 
 
 MOTT, JORDAN L., JR 468 
 
 MOTT, VALENTINE. M. D... 469 
 
 MUNN, WILLIAM H 469 
 
 MUNN, WILLIAM H., M.D. 470 
 
 MUNOZ, JOSE M 470 
 
 MUNRO, NORMAN L 470 
 
 MURCHISON, KENNETH M.. 471 
 MYERS, THEODORE W 471 
 
 N. 
 
 NATHAN, BENJAMIN 473 
 
 NAUMBURG. ELKAN 473 
 
 NEWBORG, DAVID L 473 
 
 NEWCOMB, H. VICTOR 474 
 
 NORRIE, ADAM 477 
 
 NORTON, ECKSTEIN . . . . 477 
 
 NORTON, JOHN 478 
 
 NOYES, JULIUS M 478 
 
 O 
 
 PAGE 
 
 OAKES, THOMAS F 479 
 
 O'BRIEN, JOHN 479 
 
 O'BRIEN, WILLIAM 480 
 
 O'DAY, DANIEL 480 
 
 O'DoNOHUE, JOSEPH J 480 
 
 OELRICHS, HERMANN 484 
 
 OGDEN, WILLIAM B 484 
 
 OLCOTT, FREDERIC P 485 
 
 O'NEILL, HUGH 485 
 
 OPDYKE, GEORGE 486 
 
 ORR, ALEXANDER E 487 
 
 OSBORN. CHARLES J 487 
 
 OSGOOD, GEORGE A.... 488 
 
 OTIS, NORTON P 488 
 
 OTTENDORFER, OSWALD 489 
 
 OWEN, THOMAS 492 
 
 OWEN, THOMAS J . 493 
 
 PALMER, COURTLANDT 493 
 
 PALMER, COURTLANDT, JR.. 493 
 
 PARISH, HENRY 494 
 
 PARK, JOSEPH 494 
 
 PARK, TRENOR W 494 
 
 PARKER, JAMES H., M.D... 495 
 
 PARMLY, ELEAZER 495 
 
 PARSONS, WILLIAM H 496 
 
 PEARSALL, DENTON 497 
 
 PEASE, GEORGE L 497 
 
 PEMBROOK, WILLIAM A.... 498 
 
 PETTIT, FOSTER 500 
 
 PHELPS, ISAAC N 501 
 
 PHELPS, ROYAL 503 
 
 PICKHARDT, WILLIAM 504 
 
 PIERREPONT, HENRY E 504 
 
 PITCHER, JAMES R 505 
 
 PLANT, HENRY B 506 
 
 PLATT, JOHN R 508 
 
 PLATT, SAMUEL R 509 
 
 POLHEMUS, HENRY D 509 
 
 POOR, EDWARD E 510 
 
 POOR, HENRY W 511 
 
 PORTER, HORACE 515 
 
 POTTER, CLARKSON N 515 
 
 POTTER, ORLANDO B 516 
 
 POTTIER, AORIEN A $21 
 
 POTTS, FREDERIC A 521 
 
 POUCH, ALFRED J 521 
 
 PRATT, CHARLES 522 
 
 PRATT, CHARLES M 523 
 
 PRATT, DALLAS B 523 
 
 PRATT, JULIUS H 523 
 
 PRENTICE. FREDERIC 524 
 
 PRIME, EDWARD 527 
 
 PRIME. RUFUS 527 
 
 PULITZER, JOSEPH 527 
 
 PYNE, PERCY R 528 
 
 Q- 
 
 QUEREAU, ABRAM 529 
 
 QUINCY. JOHN W 529 
 
 QUINTARD, GEORGE W 529 
 
PAGE 
 
 R. 
 
 RADWAY, JOHN S., M.D... 533 
 
 RAYMOND, JAMES 1 533 
 
 READ, WILLIAM G 534 
 
 RECKENDORFER, JOSEPH. .. 534 
 
 REINHART, JOSEPH W 534 
 
 REMSEN, WILLIAM 535 
 
 REXWICK, JAMES 536 
 
 RENWICK, WILLIAM R 537 
 
 RHISELANDER, WILLIAM... 537 
 
 RICHARDSON, ENOS 538 
 
 RICHARDSON, JOSEPH 538 
 
 RIDLEV, EDWARD j . 540 
 
 RIKER. DANIEL S 541 
 
 RIVES, FRANCIS R 541 
 
 ROACH, JOHN 541 
 
 ROBBINS, ELI 544 
 
 ROBERTS, MARSHALL O... 545 
 
 ROBERTSON, JOSEPH L 546 
 
 ROBINSON, JEREMIAH P 548 
 
 ROCKEFELLER, JOHN D 549 
 
 ROCKEFELLER, WILLIAM. .. 550 
 ROOSEVELT, CORNELIUS V. S 551 
 
 ROOSEVELT, JAMES A 552 
 
 ROOSEVELT, JAMES 1 552 
 
 ROOSEVELT, ROBERT B 553 
 
 ROOSEVELT, THEODORE 554 
 
 ROPES, REUBEN W 555 
 
 ROPES, RIPLEY 555 
 
 ROSENBAUM, ALBERTS... . 556 
 
 ROTHSCHILD, JACOB 556 
 
 ROTHSCHILD, VICTOR H 557 
 
 RUSZITS, JOHN 560 
 
 RUTTER, THOMAS 560 
 
 RYAN, THOMAS F 561 
 
 S. 
 
 SAGE, RUSSELL 563 
 
 SALISBURY, JAMES H., M.D. 570 
 
 SANDS, HENRY B., M.D 570 
 
 SANDS. SAMUEL S 571 
 
 SANFORD, EDWARDS S 571 
 
 SARGENT, GEORGE H 572 
 
 SCHAEFER. EDWARD C 574 
 
 SCHELL, AUGUSTUS 574 
 
 SCHIEFKELIN, WILLIAM H. . . 575 
 
 SCHIEREN, CHARLES A 576 
 
 SCHIFF, JACOB H 576 
 
 SCHLEY, GRANT B 577 
 
 SCHOALS, FRANCIS P 577 
 
 SCHOLLE, ABRAHAM 579 
 
 SCHROEDER, FREDERICK A. . 579 
 
 SCHULTZ, JACKSON S 580 
 
 SCHWAB, GUSTAV 581 
 
 SCOTT, ALFRED B 581 
 
 SCRIBNER, CHARLES 582 
 
 SEABURY, GEORGE J 582 
 
 SEAMANS. CLARENCE W 584 
 
 SEIDENBERG, JOSEPH 584 
 
 SELIGMAN, JAMES ,. 586 
 
 SELIGMAN, JESSE. 586 
 
 SELIGMAN, JOSEPH 587 
 
 SHELDON, ISRAEL 587 
 
 SHELDON, JAMES 588 
 
 SHEPARD, ELLIOTT F 590 
 
 PAGE 
 
 SHEPARD, FREDERICK M 591 
 
 SHEPARD. SIDNEY 592 
 
 SHERMAN, ISAAC 594 
 
 SHERMAN, WATTS 594 
 
 SHERWOOD, JOHN H 594 
 
 SHOEMAKER, HENRY F 595 
 
 SHOENBERGER, JOHN H 597 
 
 SICKLES. GEORGE G 598 
 
 SILLIMAN, BENJAMIN D 598 
 
 SIMMONS, J. EDWARD 599 
 
 SIMPSON, WILLIAM 600 
 
 SINCLAIR, JOHN 601 
 
 SKIDMORE, WILLIAM I 601 
 
 SLAVEN, HENRY B 602 
 
 SLOANE, WILLIAM 605 
 
 SLOCUM, HENRY W 605 
 
 SMITH, ADON 606 
 
 SMITH, CHARLES STEWART.. 606 
 
 SMITH, FRANCIS S 608 
 
 SPAULDING, HENRY F 609 
 
 SPICER, ELIHU 610 
 
 SPOFFORD, PAUL 610 
 
 SPRAGUE, COL. NATHAN T. . 611 
 
 STARIN, JOHN H 611 
 
 STEINWAY, WILLIAM 612 
 
 STEVENS, PARAN 618 
 
 STEVENSON. DAVID 618 
 
 STEWART, ALEXANDER T 618 
 
 STEWART, JOHN A 620 
 
 STILLMAN, JAMES 620 
 
 STOCKLY, GEORGE W 621 
 
 STOKES, JAMES 621 
 
 STOKES, WILLIAM E. D 622 
 
 STORRS, AUGUSTUS 622 
 
 STORRS, CHARLES 623 
 
 STORY, RUFUS 623 
 
 STOUT, ANDREW V 624 
 
 STOUT, JOSEPH S 624 
 
 STRANAHAN, JAMES S. T. . . . 625 
 
 STRANGE, WILLIAM 628 
 
 STRAUS, I si DOR 629 
 
 STRAUS, LAZARUS 630 
 
 STRAUS, NATHAN 630 
 
 STREET, WILLIAM A 631 
 
 STRONG. WILLIAM L 632 
 
 STUART, JOSEPH 632 
 
 STUART, ROBERT L 632 
 
 STUDWELL. JOHN J 633 
 
 STURGES, FREDERICK 634 
 
 STURGES, JONATHAN 634 
 
 SULLY, ALFRED 635 
 
 SYMS, WILLIAM J 638 
 
 T. 
 
 TAILER, EDWARD N 639 
 
 TALCOTT, FREDERICK L.... 641 
 
 TALCOTT, JAMES 641 
 
 TAYLOR, J. MONROE 641 
 
 TAYLOR, MOSES 642 
 
 TENNEY, CHARLES H 643 
 
 TERRY, JOHN T 645 
 
 TEWKSBURY, LEWIS G 647 
 
 THEBAUD, EDWARD V 647 
 
 THOMAS, SAMUEL 648 
 
 THOMPSON, WILLIAM P... 650 
 THORNK, JONATHAN 654 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THORNE, JONATHAN, JR 654 
 
 THORNE, SAMUEL 655 
 
 TIEMANN, DANIEL F 655 
 
 TIFFANY, CHARLES L 656 
 
 TILDEN, SAMUEL J 658 
 
 TILDEN, WILLIAM 659 
 
 TILESTON, THOMAS 659 
 
 TILFORD, FRANK 660 
 
 TILFORD, WESLEY H 661 
 
 TINGUE, WILLIAM J 662 
 
 TINKER, CHARLES A 663 
 
 TORRANCE, DANIEL 663 
 
 TOUSEY, SINCLAIR 663 
 
 TOWNE, HENRY R 664 
 
 TOWNSEXD, SAMUEL T... . 664 
 
 TRAVERS, WILLIAM R 665 
 
 TREVOR. JOHN B 665 
 
 TWEEDY, THOMAS E 666 
 
 U. 
 URQUHART, EDMOND 667 
 
 V. 
 
 VAIL, HENRY H 671 
 
 VAIL, THEODORE N 671 
 
 VAN BUREN, JOHN D 674 
 
 VANDERBILT, CORNELIUS 675 
 
 VANDERBILT, CORNELIUS... 684 
 VANDERBILT, WILLIAM H.. . 680 
 
 VAN NEST, ABRAHAM R 686 
 
 VAN NORDEN, WARNER. .. . 686 
 
 VAN RENSSELAER, C. S 688 
 
 VAN TINE, ASHLEY A 689 
 
 VAN VOLKENBURG. PHILIP. . 69! 
 
 VERMEULE, JOHN D 691 
 
 VERMILYE, JACOB D 692 
 
 VERMILYE, WASHINGTON R. 693 
 
 W. 
 
 WALKER, JOHN BRISBEN 694 
 
 WALLACH, ANTHONY 694 
 
 WARD, JAMES E 696 
 
 WARDWELL. WILLIAM T.. . 697 
 
 WARNER, DR. LUCIEN C 698 
 
 WATERBURY, JAMES M 700 
 
 WATSON, JOHN 701 
 
 WATSON, WILLIAM 702 
 
 WEBB. H. WALTER 702 
 
 WEBB, WILLIAM H 703 
 
 WEBB, WILLIAM SEWARD.. 709 
 
 WEED, THURLOW 710 
 
 WENDELL. JACOB 711 
 
 WENTZ, JAMES M 713 
 
 WEST, GEORGE 714 
 
 WETHERBEE, GARDNER 719 
 
 WETMORE, APOLLOS R 721 
 
 WETMORE, ROBERT C 721 
 
 WHEELER, JEROME B -722 
 
 WHEELOCK, WILLIAM A 724 
 
 WHITE, ALBERT T 726 
 
 WHITE, STEPHEN VAN C. .. 727 
 
 WHITLOCK, WILLIAM 727 
 
WILLETS, SAMUEL 
 
 WILLIAMS, GEORGE G 
 
 WINSLOW, EDWARD 
 
 WINSLOW, JAMES 
 
 WINSTON, FREDERICKS.... 
 WINTHROP, BENJAMIN R. . . 
 
 WlTHERBEE, SlLAS H 
 
 WITHERS, DAVID D 
 
 WOERISHOFFER, CHARLES F. 
 WOLFE, JOHN 
 
 PAGE PAGE 
 
 728 WOLFE, JOHN D 736 
 
 729 WOOD, BENJAMIN 737 
 
 730 WOOD, SAMUEL 740 
 
 730 WOOD, WILLIAM 740 
 
 730 WOODHOUSE, LORENZO G.. 741 
 
 731 WORK, FRANK 743 
 
 731 WORK, JOHN C 743 
 
 733 WRIGHT, EBENEZER K 744 
 
 734 WRIGHT, J. HOOD 746 
 
 736 WYCKOFF, WILLIAM 746 
 
 Y. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 YOUNG, JOHN S 748 
 
 YZNAGA, ANTONIO D. V 748 
 
 Z. 
 
 ZABRISKIE, ANDREW C 749 
 
 ZABRISKIE, CORNELIUS 751 
 
 ZEREGA, AUGUSTUS 752 
 
 ZIEGLER, WILLIAM 753 
 
 vi. 
 
INDEX TO PORTRAITS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ANDREWS, WALLACE C 20 
 
 ASTOR, JOHN JACOB, 4th 40 
 
 ASTOR, WILLIAM 38 
 
 AVER, FREDERICK F 43 
 
 BABCOCK, GEORGK H 47 
 
 BARBER, AMZI L ' 57 
 
 BARRON, DR. JOHN C 63 
 
 BECHTEL, GEORGE 69 
 
 BEKKMAN, HENRY R 73 
 
 BELDING, MILO M 76 
 
 BELKNAP, ROBERT L 78 
 
 BENEDICT, HENRY H 81 
 
 BLISS, CORNELIUS N 90 
 
 BORDEN, M. C. D too 
 
 BRICE, CALVIN S 109 
 
 BROKAW, ISAAC V no 
 
 BROWNING, JOHN H 116 
 
 BUCHANAN, WILLIAM 120 
 
 BURNHAM, THOMAS B 124 
 
 CHFSEBOROUGH, ROBERT A. 138 
 CONNOR, WASHINGTON E. .. 148 
 
 CRIMMINS, JOHN D 159 
 
 DARLING, ALFRED B 169 
 
 DE LA MAR, JOSEPH R 176 
 
 DEPEW, CHACNCEY M 183 
 
 DEPEYSTER, ABRAHAM 185 
 
 DEPEYSTER, FREDERIC 185 
 
 DEPEYSTER, GEN. J. WATTS. 185 
 
 DEVOE, FREDERICK W 189 
 
 DOLGE, ALFRED 196 
 
 Dows, DAVID 201 
 
 DUN, ROBERT G 206 
 
 ELKINS, STEPHEN B 216 
 
 ENGLIS, JOHN -. ... 223 
 
 FARREL, FRANKLIN 231 
 
 FLINT, CHARLES R 243 
 
 GIBB, JOHN 256 
 
 GOOD, JOHN 260 
 
 GOULD. JAY 265 
 
 GRACE WILLIAM R 273 
 
 GREEN. EDWARD H. R 278 
 
 GUNTHER, ERNEST R 284 
 
 HAGEMEYER, GEORGE 287 
 
 HAMERSLEY, JAMES HOOKER 2^3 
 
 PAGE 
 
 HAWK, WILLIAM S 304 
 
 HOAGLAND, CORNELIUS N.. 315 
 
 HOE, ROBERT 317 
 
 HOY r, COL. MARK 325 
 
 HUDSON, CHARLES 1 330 
 
 HULBERT, HENRY C 331 
 
 HUNTIXGTON, COLLIS P 337 
 
 HURLBUT, HENRY A 340 
 
 HUSTED, SEYMOUR L. 343 
 
 JEWETT, HUGH J 353 
 
 KEENE, JAMES R 359 
 
 KF.LLY, EUGENE 363 
 
 KILMER, CHAUNCEY 368 
 
 KNOWLTON. EDWIN F 374 
 
 KUEHNE, FREDERICK 376 
 
 LAPHAM, HENRY G 381 
 
 LEARY, JAMES D 386 
 
 LEHMAN, EMANUEL 391 
 
 LEHMAN, MAYER 393 
 
 LOEW, EDWARD V 401 
 
 LYON, WILLIAM H 409 
 
 MCALPIN, DAVID H 413 
 
 MCALPIN, GEN. EDWIN A. . 416 
 
 MACKAY, JOHN W 422 
 
 MASURY, JOHN W 429 
 
 MEAD, FREDERICK 434 
 
 MILIKEN, SETH M 439 
 
 MILLS, DARIUS 441 
 
 MOORE, JOHN G 446 
 
 MOKOSIM, GIOVANNI P 453 
 
 MORTON, LEVI P 457 
 
 MOTT, HOPPER S 463 
 
 MOTT, JORDAN L 465 
 
 NEWCOMB, H. VICTOR 475 
 
 O'DONOHUE. JOSEPH J 481 
 
 OTTENDORFER, OSWALD. . . . 490 
 
 PEMBROOK, WILLIAM A. 499 
 
 PHELPS, ISAAC N 502 
 
 POOR, HENRY W 512 
 
 POTTER, ORLANDO B 517 
 
 PRENTICE, FREDERIC 525 
 
 QUINTARD, GEORGE W. . . . 530 
 
 REINHART, J. W 535 
 
 RICHARDSON JOSEPH 539 
 
 PACE 
 
 ROACH, JOHN 541 
 
 ROBERTSON, JOSEPH L 547 
 
 ROTHSCHILD, VICTOR H.... 558 
 
 RYAN, THOMAS F 561 
 
 SAGE, RUSSELL 564 
 
 SARGENT, GEORGE H 573 
 
 SCHLEY, GRANT B 578 
 
 SEABURY, GEORGE J 583 
 
 SHELDON, JAMES 589 
 
 SHEPARD, SIDNEY 593 
 
 SHOEMAKER, HENRY F 596 
 
 SLAVEN, HENRY B. . 603 
 
 SMITH, CHARLES STEWART. . 607 
 
 STEINWAY, WILLIAM 613 
 
 STRANAHAN, J. S. T 625 
 
 SULLY, ALFRED 636 
 
 TAILER, EDWARD N 640 
 
 TENNEY, CHARLES H 644 
 
 TERRY, JOHN T 646 
 
 THOMPSON, COL. WM. P 651 
 
 TIFFANY, CHARLES L 657 
 
 TILFORD, FRANK 661 
 
 URQUHART, EDMOND 668 
 
 VAIL. THEODORE N 672 
 
 VANDERBILT, CORNELIUS.... 675 
 VANDERBILT, WILLIAM H... 681 
 VANDERBILT, CORNELIUS 685 
 
 VAN NORDEN, WARNER 687 
 
 VAN TINE, ASHLEY A 690 
 
 VERMEULE, JOHN D 692 
 
 WALLACH, ANTHONY 695 
 
 WARNER, LUCIEN C 6g3 
 
 WATTS, JOHN 185 
 
 WEBB, WILLIAM H 704 
 
 WEBB, WILLIAM SEWARD. . . 709 
 
 WENDELL, JACOB 712 
 
 WEST, GEORGE 715 
 
 WETHERBEE, GARDNE* 721 
 
 WHEFLER, JEROME B 723 
 
 WlTHERBEE, SlLAS H 732 
 
 WOOD, BENJAMIN 738 
 
 WOODHOUSE, LORENZO G.. 742 
 
 WRIGHT, EBENEZER K 745 
 
 ZABRISKIE ANDREW C 750 
 
 Tii. 
 
ctcc 
 
 n < 
 
 irarrc 
 
 < c 
 
 rer<rc 
 
 
 <( 
 
 '< V 
 
 c -.v. 
 
 -.- 1 5*i * s-^r*~~*-~ s',f 
 
 'c.aC<C <5 C< 
 c^ 
 
 c c 
 
 < ^ 
 
. 
 
 -