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 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 9240301 271 81 
 
GIDEON LEE, MAYOR OF NEW YORK 1833-4. 
 
A HISTORY 
 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW YORK SWAMP 
 
 4 
 
 By 
 FRANK W. NORCROSS 
 
 of the 
 SHOE AND LEATHER REPORTER 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
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 Published for the Author by ^ £-\ V,«n»"u, 
 
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 THE CHISWICK PRESS , ( 
 1901 
 
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 Copyright 
 
 1901. 
 
 Frank W. Norcross. 
 
HON. MARK HOYT, 
 SECOND PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES LEATHER CC 
 

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 MV 
 
 w»V> 
 
TO 
 
 THE SONS OF THE SWAMPERS 
 
 IS DEDICATED THIS BOOK. 
 
 In the district known as the New York Swamp 
 I met their fathers almost daily for many years. 
 They were Kings in the Tanning Trade. There 
 were the stalwart and manly Hoyt's ; the aristo- 
 cratic Thornes ; the cultured Healys ; the broad- 
 minded Schultz ; the gentlemanly Lees ; the Hor- 
 tons ; merchants and manufacturers ; the Laphams, 
 "Friends" in faith and works ; the moneyed Fayer- 
 weathers ; the genial Palens ; the cautious Bulk- 
 leys ; the steadfast and solid Ladews ; the successful 
 Reeses; the honorable Ishams, and many more who 
 formed a galaxy of merchants such as may never 
 again be seen in the Hide and Leather business. 
 
 These men dominated the trade for nigh a hun- 
 dred years. Their example is worthy of emulation. 
 It is with the design of preserving a record of their 
 deeds that these papers were written by their, and 
 your, servant for half a century, 
 
 F. W. NORCROSS. 
 
 "Still from the hurrying train of life, 
 
 Fly backward far and fast, 
 The milestones of the fathers, 
 
 The landmarks of the past." 
 
HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 The art of tanning was introduced in New York 
 coeval with its settlement. The rotund Dutchmen 
 who were under the rule of Peter Minuit and his 
 successors wore a garb of leather, and the artizans 
 added a leather apron ! These were made from 
 deerskins. The agile animals that furnished these 
 skins could be killed near the site of the present 
 swamp. In the possession of the Beekman family 
 are antlers of deer which William Beekman, their 
 ancestor, shot in Beekman street and its vicinity, 
 about 1688. 
 
 In 1664 New York, or — as it had been previously 
 named — New Amsterdam, came into the possession 
 of the English. Some tanners from London came 
 here. They introduced the apprentice system. 
 Seven years was the term of service for a boy of the 
 age of fourteen years, at which they were indent- 
 ured. The early tanners made their leather into 
 shoes, and the trades were not separated until about 
 the time of the Revolution. 
 
 In 1669 the first patent known here was granted 
 to Adriasen and Christopher Van Lear for a "mill 
 to grind or rasp the rind of bark of oaks to be used 
 in tanning." The tanning properties of the hemlock 
 tree were then unknown. Outside of New York 
 there was a tannery owned by the Hulst family at 
 Greenwood, Brooklyn. All the rest of these estab- 
 lishments, with their contiguous shoe shops, were 
 
2 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
 located near the present corner of Broad and Bea- 
 ver streets. Conrent Ten Eyck was the first tanner. 
 He located near that corner in 1653. Tanners were 
 ordered outside of the city wall (Wall street) at the 
 time of the English occupation and were located 
 near Maiden Lane. 
 
 A relic of the old Dutch tanners has come down 
 to the present day. It is the coat of arms of John 
 Harpending, who owned most of "Shoemakers' 
 Pasture," a name given to sixteen acres of land run- 
 ning north from Maiden Lane, between Gold and 
 Nassau streets, to the Park. He gave the money 
 and land with which to build the church at the cor- 
 ner of Fulton and William streets, and his coat of 
 arms, consisting of an old fashioned graining plate 
 and beam, surmounted by a currier's knife, used by 
 tanners, hung over the pulpit until it was demol- 
 ished in 1875. 
 
 Five tanners in 1680 bought and occupied Shoe- 
 makers' Pasture. Eventually it came into the pos- 
 session of John Harpending, one of the original 
 purchasers. In 1696 he cut it up into 164 house 
 lots, and from the proceeds of their sale he became 
 a very rich man. It is now the center of the mer- 
 cantile section of New York, but it was a wild, 
 rough tract when the tanners bought it. 
 
 After this tract was sold the tanners settled 
 around the "Collect," or lake, on Centre street, 
 where now stands the "Tombs" prison. It was fa- 
 mous as the pond where Robert Fulton conducted 
 his experiments. He propelled upon its surface, 
 
EARLY TANNING IN NEW YORK 3 
 
 by steam, a small boat, before he sailed the Cler- 
 mont up the North River. 
 
 Only upper leather was tanned here in those 
 early days, and it was thought necessary for the 
 hides to lay in the vats for a year. All sole leather 
 was imported from London. As late as 1768 Gov- 
 ernor Moore wrote to the "Lords of Trade" in Lon- 
 don : "The tanning of leather has been carried on 
 here (in New York) for many years. Leather is 
 greatly inferior, in quality, to that made in Europe, 
 and the tanners have not yet arrived at the perfec- 
 tion of making sole leather." 
 
 The capacity of early tanneries was 1,000 to 2,000 
 hides a year, or their equivalent in deer skins, which 
 were plentiful. The slaughter hides used were 
 bought from the butchers. The tan vats were ob- 
 long boxes and no tannery had the luxury of a roof. 
 The beam house was a shed open at the sides and 
 fronting lime vats and pools. In a circular trough 
 made of hewed timber, bark was ground or crushed 
 by stone rollers propelled by a horse. The mill 
 ground two "floorings" of bark, or about half a cord 
 a day. Some calfskins were tanned. Only rich 
 gentlemen wore shoes made of so fine a material as 
 calfskins. 
 
 The tanners did not remain very long at the Col- 
 lect pond. About 1790 they began to cluster 
 around the swamp. James Brooks and Jacob Lor- 
 illard, who had formerly tanned in Centre and in 
 Magazine streets, appear in the directory of 1800 
 as located in Jacob street. 
 
4 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
 George Washington once lived on the border of 
 the Swamp. In 1798, having taken the oath of 
 office as first President of the United States on the 
 spot where his statue now stands in Wall street, 
 he took up his official residence in the large man- 
 sion at No. 3 Cherry street, near Frankfort street. 
 This remained the Executive Mansion for one year, 
 or until the capital was removed to Philadelphia. 
 The members of the cabinet were housed in Frank- 
 lin Square, at the junction with Frankfort street, 
 and its vicinity. Every day after dinner the state 
 coach with four cream-colored horses, drove Lady 
 Washington and the President either up the leafy 
 Bowery or through Pearl street to the Battery, the 
 great pleasure ground of New York. There was 
 Republican simplicity in this parade. "That George 
 Washington," said an excited foreigner. "Why, 
 where is his guard?" "Here," said the citizen ad- 
 dressed, tapping his breast significantly; "Every 
 American is his guard." 
 
 In the evening the "Republican Court" was held 
 in Cherry street. Mrs. Washington, surrounded 
 by the first ladies of the land, received. The ladies 
 dressed in white satin and silks shot with silver 
 thread. The men wore silk small clothes (knicker- 
 bockers), silk stockings and pumps. Their coats 
 were faced with yellow silk or buckskin. Military 
 men wore uniforms, boots and swords. These re- 
 ceptions were select, elegant and courtly. 
 
 Visitors to the Executive Mansion had to pass 
 the Swamp, for it was the northernmost boundary 
 
A REPUBLICAN COURT 5 
 
 of the city. All beyond was pasture, or at best, 
 farms and forest. To most of them the view of tan- 
 neries, with the vats laid down in parallel rows was 
 an unwonted sight. Not so to all. General Anthony 
 Wayne was familiar with the pungent odor of bark, 
 for the "hero of Stony Point" was a tanner in Penn- 
 sylvania. General William Sutton, of Salem, Mass., 
 owned a tannery which was owned by the Sutton 
 family up to about 1870, and Colonel Oliver Spen- 
 cer and Colonel Matthias Ogden, of Newark, N. 
 J., were tanners and brave officers in the Revolu- 
 tion. Alexander H. Read was a general in the 
 Army and served on Washington's staff. He was 
 a tanner at Wardsboro, Vt., and brought up five 
 sons to the trade. 
 
 Colonel John Mansfield, a Lynn shoemaker, com- 
 manded the Lynn and Salem Regiment at Bunker 
 Hill. Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, shoemaker, 
 and Francis Lewis, of New York, hide dealer, 
 represented these trades in the first Continental 
 Congress. They were among the signers of the 
 Immortal Declaration. These men, no doubt, 
 visited their beloved General, and later, perhaps, 
 partook of the hospitality of their fellow craftsmen 
 in Frankfort street. 
 
 About the beginning of last century the Swamp 
 was a favorite place for turkey shooting on Thanks- 
 giving day and other holidays. The Pearl street 
 boys used to build forts of the spent tan, piked with 
 cattle horns, and defend them against the invaders 
 
6 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
 who came from "Fly Market," or across the Fields, 
 as the City Hall Park was called. 
 
 Some idea of the value of swamp property in the 
 early part of this century can be obtained from the 
 purchases of Jacob Lorillard. In 1809 he bought 
 from John Roosevelt the property 14 Ferry street, 
 running back to Beekman street, for $3,000. On it 
 was the brick house in which he lived. In 1815 he 
 bought the lot on the northwest corner of Ferry and 
 Jacob streets for $1,620, and other property on 
 Ferry street for which he paid $1 per square foot. 
 He bought 72 Gold street for $6,500. There was a 
 brick house on it. In 1832 a large lot, 32 x 75, Nos. 
 6 to 10 Ferry street, was acquired for $4,000, also 
 the lot 76 Gold Street for $3,800. There was a tan- 
 nery there belonging to John Weber which ran to 
 about 80 Gold street. It was cut up into lots and 
 Mr. Lorillard bought a part of it. Mr. Lorillard 
 also bought on Spruce street, No. 41, for $1,043.50, 
 and assumed a mortgage for $950. This lot ran 
 back and included No. 85 Gold street, which he 
 bought from James Flynn for $5,800, and 20 feet 
 adjoining from John B. Cheeseman, for $2,650. 
 He also bought the lot, No. 24 Spruce street, 
 in 1815, for $1,550, unimproved. In 1833, eighteen 
 feet front of this estate was taken to improve Spruce 
 street, for which the city paid him $2,415. 
 
 EARLY SWAMP TANNERS 
 The old tanners who did business in the Swamp 
 previous to 1800 sold their product to dealers on 
 
L , EARLY SWAMP TANNERS 7 
 
 the west side, who in turn supplied the shoe makers 
 who were their only customers. Tanners' methods 
 were primitive. Leather was taken out when half 
 tanned, rubbed over a beam with a stick, and then 
 skived down to the required thickness, and the 
 skivings thrown away or run into the creek 
 that emptied into the East River. Splitting leather 
 was then unknown. Sole leather was finished by 
 rolling a smooth grindstone over it. 
 
 On Jacob street, extending through to Gold 
 street, was the tannery of Daniel Tooker. He died 
 in 1806, aged 83 years. Michael Ortley had a tan- 
 nery on the corner of Gold and Frankfort streets. 
 
 In the City Directory of 181 1 is this list of tanners 
 in New York : 
 
 Arcularius, P. J., 11 Frankfort, house same. 
 Anthony, John P., 68 Frankfort, house Cliff. 
 Bonnett, Peter, Jacob and Frankfort, house 22 
 
 Frankfort. 
 Bloodgood, Abm., 62 Frankfort, house 52. 
 Brooks, Henry, 518 Pearl. 
 Bryson, David, 48 Frankfort. 
 Bryden, Wm., Bowery corner Canal. 
 Cunningham & McCormick, 55 Ferry. 
 Corse, Israel, 14 Jacob, house 7 Vandewater. 
 McCartee, Peter, 12 Jacob. 
 Cunningham, R., 21 James. 
 McCormick, Hugh, 35 Ferry, house 102 Gold. 
 Ferguson & Shipley, Jacob corner Frankfort. 
 Ferguson, G., 52 Frankfort. 
 Hall, John, 7 Jacob. 
 
8 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
 Lee, Gideon, 23 Ferry, house 73 Frankfort. 
 Lowber, M., 64 and 66 Frankfort. 
 Lorillard, Jacob, 16 Ferry, house 18 Ferry. 
 Lindsay, G., morocco, 52 Ferry. 
 Polhemus, A., 7 Jacob, house 3 Jacob. 
 Sherwood & McVickers, 13 Jacob. 
 Shaw, John, morocco, 15 Ferry. 
 Tooker, Daniel, 11 Jacob. 
 Weber, J., 78 Gold. 
 
 The Swamp began to figure in the political 
 history of New York about the commencement of 
 the present century. The prominent leather dealers 
 became leaders in the political parties and officers 
 of the organization had their headquarters at the 
 celebrated Washington and Tammany Halls. 
 
 The headquarters of the Federal party, 1800 and 
 later, was at Washington Hall, a massive build- 
 ing, mostly used like Tammany for hotel purposes. 
 Washington Hall was built by the rich John G. 
 Costar. It stood on the corner of Broadway and 
 Chambers street, and was purchased, together with 
 the land, by A. T. Stewart for $60,000, and on this 
 and two additional lots he built the splendid store 
 used for his wholesale business. He moved into 
 this in 1848 and the whole cost of the building and 
 land at that time did not reach $300,000. 
 
 Tammany Wigwam was a hotel on the corner of 
 Spruce and Nassau streets in the year 1800. The 
 kitchen was on Nassau, and directly in the rear of this 
 was a room, called from the proprietor of the house 
 "Marking's Long Room." This was the headquar- 
 
POLITICS IN THE SWAMP 9 
 
 ters of the Democracy or, as they were then called, 
 the "Republican party," until Tammany Hall was 
 finished, in 1812, at the southwest corner of Park 
 Row and Frankfort street. The cost of this struc- 
 ture was $28,000. The corner stone was laid May 
 13, 181 1. It was a fine building; the hall of meet- 
 ing was up one flight of stairs and occupied the 
 whole story. The "Sun" building now stands on 
 this corner. 
 
 The frequenters of Tammany Hall affected the 
 Indian costume and manners at their meetings and 
 parades. The chief officers were "Sachems," and 
 they only had access to the records of the Order ; 
 when marching in processions they went in single 
 or Indian file, the officers dressed in full aboriginal 
 costume. At the admission of new members a song 
 was sung with an Indian chorus. 
 
 Another place of meeting for the Democracy was 
 Harmony Hall, in Frankfort street, at the north- 
 west corner of William. In this building, owned 
 by David Bryson, the Swamp clique would some- 
 times mature their plans before giving them the 
 broader endorsement of Tammany. 
 
 Although all professed Republican (Democratic) 
 principles in national affairs, occasional splits oc- 
 curred on local questions. The "Bucktails" were 
 those opposed to the election of De Witt Clinton, 
 and took their name from the fact that they wore 
 the tail of a deer in their hats. John Jacob Astor 
 used to have two or three boys stationed on the 
 
io HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
 steps of Tammany Hall on meeting nights to sell 
 these fur badges. 
 
 One branch of the Bucktail party which split on 
 a city government question was called the "North 
 River Squad," from the fact that its leaders resided 
 in that portion of the city. Their opponents were 
 for local reasons called the "Swamp Clique." 
 Among its leaders were Abraham Bloodgood, John 
 P. Anthony, curriers and leather dealers, and James 
 Tylee, the leather inspector, who was a Sachem of 
 Tammany during the latter portion of the last cen- 
 tury. He lost his office soon after, when the oppo- 
 site party came into power. 
 
 The Swamp Clique used to meet in the store of 
 Abraham Bloodgood, 62 Frankfort street. This 
 was nicknamed Swamp place. Mr. Bloodgood was 
 an alderman from 1804 to 1807 and State Prison 
 Inspector 1807 to 1812. Party spirit ran high in 
 those days, and no pains were spared to gain an 
 election. In the year 1801, prior to a charter elec- 
 tion, Jasper Ward, a member of the Swamp Clique, 
 bought of Abraham Bloodgood a lot of ground in 
 the Fifth Ward, which, with the currying shop on 
 it, was said to be worth $2,000. This he immediately 
 deeded over to thirty-nine persons, as tenants in 
 common, to enable them to vote. (The property 
 qualification required every voter to own property 
 valued at $50.) The Ward was carried by the help 
 of these votes, giving twenty-five majority to Arcu- 
 larius and Drake, the Anti-Federal candidates, but 
 the election being contested, and the property prov- 
 
POLITICS IN THE SWAMP u 
 
 ing to be worth only about fifteen hundred dollars, 
 they were not allowed to take their seats. 
 
 Abraham Bloodgood was a currier and leather 
 merchant in the Swamp for many years, and did 
 a large business. His store was at No. 62 Frank- 
 fort street. He retired from the leather trade about 
 the year 181 5, and afterward resided at No. 52 
 Frankfort street. He died in 1837, aged 75 years. 
 He left a large fortune to four children. Mr. Blood- 
 good was president of the Continental Fire Insur- 
 ance Company. 
 
 David Bryson, a celebrated leather dealer, John 
 M. Bloodgood, son of Abraham Bloodgood, and 
 Jonathan Trotter, a well-known morocco dealer and 
 politician of a quarter of a century ago, were after- 
 ward Sachems of Tammany. 
 
 At the time of which we treat, the Federalist party 
 nicknamed the Republicans or Tammany Hall men 
 "Democrats," as a term of reproach, it being then 
 applied to the Jacobins of the French Revolution. 
 The party adopted the title after the election oi 
 Andrew Jackson to the Presidency in 1828. 
 
 The cognomen of "Loco Focos," which for many 
 years clung to the Democratic Party, originated in 
 Tammany Hall. In 1835 a split, such as we have 
 alluded to, occurred among the Tammany men, and 
 one section gained possession of the hall for an 
 evening meeting, but found that their opponents 
 had carried off the lights. This was a game for 
 which they were prepared, as each man had a 
 candle, and the general striking of loco foco or 
 
12 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
 brimstone matches to light the lamps caused the 
 atmosphere of the hall to be redolent of sulphur 
 during the evening. Jackson S. Schultz and Fred. 
 T. Fawcett carried candles on that occasion. The 
 next morning the "Courier and Enquirer" called 
 them the loco foco party. The name spread ovei 
 the country and wis retained for many years. 
 
 The "Equal Rights Party" of 1835 declared un- 
 compromising hostility to paper money, and oppo- 
 sition to monopolies and the creation of vested 
 rights by legislation. Its principles were supported 
 mainly by William Leggett, the editor of the 
 ''Evening Post." This was the party whose coup 
 d'etat in getting possession of Tammany Hall, we 
 mentioned. This event occurred on the night of 
 October 29th, 1835. 
 
 The first tanner who is recorded as an office 
 holder in New York City was Albert Clock, who 
 was Assistant Alderman of the "Dock Ward" from 
 1710 to 1714. The next was Jeremiah Wool, who 
 held the same office in the North Ward in 1783, 
 and was Alderman of the South Ward from 1784 to 
 1 791. Thomas Hazard, a currier, was Alderman of 
 the East Ward in 1786 and 1787. 
 
 John P. Anthony, a tanner, was a prominent 
 "Bucktail" and was elected an Alderman from 1819 
 to 1827. The name of "Bucktail" was applied to the 
 Republican or Jeffersonian party during this time. 
 Mr. Anthony was elected by the Jackson Demo- 
 crats as Alderman in 1827. 
 
 Richard Cunningham first appeared in the Direc- 
 
POLITICS IN THE SWAMP 13 
 
 tory for 1799 as a tanner and currier at No. 47 Ferry 
 street. He took as partner Hugh McCormick, and 
 the firm of Cunningham & McCormick was for 
 many years well known in the Swamp. William 
 Rumbel learned his trade there. Hugh Mc- 
 Cormick married a sister of Mr. Kumbel. Mr. 
 Cunningham lived in James street. He was an 
 Alderman in 1810, 181 1 and 1812. In 1815 he sold 
 a large estate on Bloomingdale road to Jacob Loril- 
 lard for $12,000. Richard Cunningham died in 
 Newark in 1840, aged seventy-five years. Hugh 
 McCormick died in 1839, aged about sixty-two 
 years. He lived at the time in Jacob street, the third 
 door from Frankfort, on the right hand side. There 
 were at that time three brick houses here, and in 
 one of these Mr. McCormick lived and died. His 
 grandson, Richard C. McCormick, was born in 
 Jacob street. He was Governor and Delegate to 
 Congress from the Territory of Arizona, Assistant 
 Treasurer of the United States Treasury and Com- 
 missioner to the World's Fair in Paris in 1878. He 
 married a daughter of Senator Allen G. Thurman, 
 of Ohio. 
 
 John M. Bloodgood was a Sachem of Tammany 
 and a noted character in his day. He succeeded his 
 father in business, and his name appears in the di- 
 rectory of 1816 as a currier, at No. 62 Frankfort 
 street. He rebuilt the store on his father's old 
 place, did business as a boot crimper for many 
 years, failed and retired from the trade about 1828. 
 Many stories are related about Jack Bloodgood. 
 
14 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
 He was for some years a Police Magistrate, and 
 when any good looking girls came up before him 
 they were generally let off after receiving a little 
 good advice. It is said that on New Year's Day 
 he was accustomed to go among his acquaintances 
 with a basket which he filled with eatables to be 
 distributed among the poor. He would carry the 
 basket himself through the purlieus of Baxter street 
 and the Five Points. 
 
 HIDE AND LEATHER MERCHANTS 
 
 The early members of the trade were merchants 
 on a small scale. They bought and sold, and did 
 a good deal of dickering business. They had close 
 relations with oak leather tanners in Baltimore and 
 Philadelphia. The sailing packets brought the 
 leather here. There was very little, except this 
 oak sole, known. There were tanneries in Massa- 
 chusetts where hemlock bark was used and sole 
 leather made. Itwas mostlysold and used there. The 
 first hemlock sole leather tannery in New York State 
 located at Hunter, was considered to be of suffi- 
 cient importance to be mentioned in the earliest 
 United States census, that of 1810. Its capacity 
 was 5,000 hides a year. 
 
 A change was gradually being forced on the 
 leather trade of New York, and, indeed, the whole 
 country. There was a line being drawn between 
 the manufacturer and the jobber. This line was 
 later thoroughly established. There was no more 
 
SWAMP STREETS 15 
 
 pretence of buying and selling "hides, leather and 
 oil," but it was buying hides and selling the leather, 
 The merchants we are about to tell of were the 
 ones who inaugurated this trade, but they were 
 a quarter of a century in accomplishing it. 
 
 In 1810, as we learn from the "Strangers Guide 
 to New York," Chatham and Frankfort streets 
 were "elegant streets, the most spacious in the city." 
 Fulton street was widened that year and lined with 
 fine residences. Mail stages left daily No. 1 Cort- 
 landt street for Boston and went through in thirty- 
 eight hours; fare, $15. Mali 7 stages left for Wash- 
 ington every day, fare $24; for Philadelphia every 
 noon, arriving there the next morning, fare $10.50. 
 Such were the methods of traveling of "the fathers 
 of the leather trade." 
 
 FRANKFORT STREET 
 
 The principal interest of Frankfort street, in con- 
 nection with the Swamp, lies in the fact that all the 
 first tanneries were constructed in it and contiguous 
 and curriers pursued their avocation and resided 
 over their shops in this thoroughfare. 
 
 Frankfort street was laid out in 1725 as far as 
 Vandewater, and cut through to Pearl street in 
 1800. It was the northernmost boundary of the 
 Swamp. There were fine dwellings in the street a 
 hundred and more years ago, and rich merchants 
 lived there. A leading citizen was Francis Lewis, 
 
16 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
 a hide and fur merchant, to whom reference has 
 already been made, came from Wales in 1735 an( i 
 had his house and store at the corner of Frankfort 
 and William streets. In gathering furs and buck- 
 skins he was accustomed to travel in the interior ot 
 New York State and was at Oswego when it sur- 
 rendered to General Montcalm. The Indians mur- 
 dered every prisoner then taken except Francis 
 Lewis. It was said that the Welsh language in 
 which he addressed them was so nearly like their 
 own that they thought they recognized in him a 
 fellow countryman. There is a legend that a Prince 
 of Wales, Madoc by name, came to America several 
 hundred years ago and settled a colony here. 
 Southey wrote a poem on this foundation. The 
 historical facts are that Madoc, a son of Owen Gwy- 
 nette, King of Wales, sailed in 1160 to the West 
 with a shipload of adventurers, and after several 
 weeks 
 
 "Like a cloud, the distant land arose 
 Gray from the ocean, where we left the ship, 
 And cleft with rapid oars the shallow waves 
 And stood triumphant on another world." 
 
 Madoc returned to Wales, took more emigrants, 
 sailed again and was never heard from. 
 
 Francis Lewis survived the massacre of Oswego, 
 came back, traded extensively, and in 1775 retired 
 from business, rich. In April of that year he was 
 elected to the Continental Congress at Philadel- 
 
SWAMP STREETS 17 
 
 phia and his name appears among the signers of 
 the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 The second son of Francis Lewis was Morgan 
 Lewis, who at a later date also became eminent. 
 He was elected Governor of New York in 1804, 
 defeating Aaron Burr, and was a Major General in 
 the war of 1812. He was a Grand Master of Masons 
 in 1830. Both father and son are buried in Trinity 
 churchyard. 
 
 The fashionable shoemaker of New York, before 
 and for some years after the Revolution, was An- 
 thony Bolton. His house and shop were at No. 13 
 Frankfort street. His son, Thomas Bolton, while 
 making shoes also studied law in his father's house. 
 He became a City Alderman, president of the 
 Phoenix Insurance Company, and from 1830 to 
 about 1840 was clerk of the Common Council. 
 
 The "Swamp Church" was a landmark on Frank- 
 fort street, near Vandewater street, for many years. 
 Philip Lydig, who lived at the southeast' corner of 
 Gold and Ferry streets, was largely instrumental 
 in raising the building fund for this church, which 
 was erected in 1766. During the Revolution it was 
 occupied by the British troops. Many of them were 
 buried in the adjoining cemetery. Dr. Christopher 
 Kunzee preached in the Swamp Church from about 
 1800 to 1820. Dr. Kunzee's daughter married 
 Jacob Lorillard, the tanner. 
 
 Tammany Hall was at the head of Frankfort 
 street, where the "Sun" building now stands. It 
 was one of the finest buildings in the city at the be- 
 
i8 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
 ginning of this century. The "Pewter Mug," just 
 in its rear, was a noted political rendezvous. 
 
 Some of the men who stood high in political and 
 social circles one hundred years ago lived in Frank- 
 fort street. Prominent among them was David Bry- 
 son, whose fine residence with its garden stood op- 
 posite Gold street. His currying shop was next door. 
 His son, Peter Bryson, who was president of the 
 Phoenix Bank, sold the property to Thomas Smull 
 and others in 1861. It was afterwards acquired by 
 the city, later for the Brooklyn Bridge. 
 
 Abraham Bloodgood lived and sold leather in 
 Frankfort street at the head of Jacob street. His 
 son, John Bloodgood, an influential Tammany poli- 
 tician (as also had been the father), built a store on 
 that site in 1829 and made uppers for the findings 
 trade. "Swamp Place" was conspicuously painted 
 on his store. Philip J. Arcularius, a tanner, lived 
 at No. 14. His daughter was married in that house 
 to James Harper, of Harper Brothers, who was 
 afterwards Mayor of New York. The Forty-second 
 street reservoir, which has just been torn down to 
 make room for the new Public Library, was built 
 during Mayor Harper's term of office. Horace 
 Greely lived in Frankfort street when he was editor 
 of the "New Yorker." Charlotte Cushman lived 
 there in 1842 and was accustomed to pass through 
 Gold street every day to rehearse at the theatre in 
 Park Row, opposite the Astor House. 
 
 Daniel Tooker and Daniel Tooker, Jr., were op- 
 ulent tanners about the year 1800, whose land ex- 
 
SWAMP STREETS 19 
 
 tended for some distance on Frankfort street. 
 Barnes & Merritt built at No. 57 on these premises. 
 G. B. Horton built the store No. 63, with an L ex- 
 tending to Jacob street. During the building tanned 
 seal skins were found in vats on this site. 
 
 JACOB STREET 
 
 This short thoroughfore, laid out in 1740, is only 
 one block in length and has always been devoted to 
 tanning. Tanneries and stores were here when 
 the street was widened to its present width in 1789. 
 The stores now in Jacob street were built during 
 the following century, but they have received ad- 
 ditional stories and improved fronts, so they give no 
 idea of their original appearance. The largest 
 structure on Jacob street, and for many years the 
 largest in New York, is located at the southeast 
 corner of Frankfort street, and was built by Henry 
 A. Burr in 1852. He invented some improvement in 
 the manufacture of the bodies of silk hats and made 
 a great fortune. Before his time, however, James 
 Kerrigan conducted a morocco factory on this spot. 
 Austin Melvin owned the land afterwards, purchas- 
 ing from Sir Edmund Hayes, an English baronet, 
 in 1837. Rees & Hoyt and E. A. Smith, both of 
 whom later became rich and successful, commenced 
 business here. At No. 14 there is a now a six-story 
 structure built in recent years and never occupied 
 for the leather business. On this spot Israel Corse 
 commenced business in a small two-story store. 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
 and when he retired in 1831 Jonathan Thorne be- 
 came its occupant. 
 
 Another old building stood at No. 12. Its ownet 
 was Peter McCartee. His mother lived on the 
 premises and both house and lot were mortgaged. 
 The son finished his apprenticeship as a currier in 
 1791. Ten years after he paid off the mortgage, 
 built upon the property a currying shop and a resi- 
 dence for himself and his mother, who lived to a 
 good old age to enjoy her son's prosperity. Peter 
 McCartee died in 1834. He had been a leather in- 
 spector for thirty-five years. His son, Rev. Robert 
 McCartee, was for many years pastor of the Canal 
 street Presbyterian Church. Elijah T. Brown com- 
 menced business at No. 14. 
 
 No. 10 has a notable history. Shepherd Knapp 
 built this store in 1842. G. Lee Knapp & Palen 
 sold leather there. James Palen, the junior part- 
 ner, died in 1846, and in 1847 his nephew, William 
 Palen, took his place in the firm which did not 
 change its name. Charles D. Bigelow occupied 
 No. 10 as a shoe factory about 1852 and here the 
 first shoe pegging machine was successfully used 
 by him. A foreman afterwards testified in a law 
 suit against the owners of infringing machines that 
 it would "peg around a large sized men's brogan 
 in one minute, and the work was done much better 
 than by hand, both as regards uniformity and firm- 
 ness." David Moffat bought No. 10 several years 
 ago and his firm now use it for finishing harness 
 leather. 
 
SWAMP STREETS 21 
 
 At No. 8 was "Jacob's Well." About 1820 this 
 was a famous "Spa." A running spring had a 
 reputation for health-giving mineral qualities. A 
 building of Moorish architecture was erected and 
 a company formed to develope the spring. The 
 New Yorkers of that day came every morning to 
 take the waters. Sixpence a drink was charged. 
 At last somebody discovered that the remarkable 
 properties of the water were due to the fact that 
 its course to the outlet of the spring lay through 
 old tan pits. The bubble burst and Loring An- 
 drews hired the building for a leather store. John 
 E. Cammeyer, father of Alfred J. Cammeyer, the 
 Sixth avenue shoe retailer, had a sheep skin fac- 
 tory at the same place. John McColgan after- 
 wards owned and operated a morocco factory 
 there. 
 
 A. H. Brahe, a calf skin importer, built No. 6. 
 Samuel T. Keese used it as a sole leather store, 
 and afterwards John Dunphy conducted there his 
 calf skin business. No. 6 Jacob street was sold 
 by the Brahe heirs for about $10,000 to John Mc- 
 Colgan. Mr. Brahe also built No. 4 in which 
 Horace M. Warren made morocco. Mr. Warren 
 began business in 1837. He died in February, 
 1901. No. 4 was bought by Scofield & Stevenson 
 for $9,600. It is now owned by Walter Stevenson, 
 who has remodeled and enlarged it. 
 
 The store, No. 2 Jacob street, was built by John 
 H. Bowie about 1852. Long before that time 
 Anthony Boyer had a kid leather factory on the 
 
22 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
 premises. He had left France during the "Reign 
 of Terror" and was the first person to make fancy 
 colored leather in New York. James Kerrigan 
 began and continued his business here until he 
 moved to the corner of Ferry and Gold streets. 
 A last maker named Thompson occupied the upper 
 story at that time. His son was known as "One- 
 eyed Thompson," a noted confidence man of half 
 a century ago. The property is now owned by the 
 Havemeyer estate. 
 
 On the west side of Jacob street Jonathan La- 
 baw, a leather dealer, built Nos. i and 3 in 1837. 
 George Evans & Son and Thomas Scott, Son & 
 Co., occupied these stores from that time up to a 
 recent period. 
 
 William H. Hoople built No. 5 for David Mof- 
 fat. The rental of so large a place caused Mr. 
 Moffat to hesitate about taking it, but he solved 
 the problem by fitting up the upper part for a 
 dwelling house after the manner of that time, and 
 used the remainder for making his fine harness 
 leather. About 1870 Mr. Moffat bought and oc- 
 cupied No. 5, 7 and 9 Jacob street, as well as No. 
 10 opposite. 
 
 Between No. 9 and the corner of Frankfort street 
 there stood a block of three-story yellow brick 
 buildings. They were built by Charles P. Miller, 
 a tanner, in 1829. John McDermott, now of Mc- 
 Dermott & Howard, commenced business there 
 in 1844. The Journeymen Morocco Company, of 
 which he was president, occupied two of the build- 
 
■ 
 
 HON. OLIVER HOYT. 
 
SWAMP STREETS 23 
 
 ings. Here Thomas Smull commenced business 
 about 1833. Richard C. McCormick, ex-Governor 
 and Senator from Arizona, was born in one of 
 these houses. His father and grandfather were 
 tanners. Moses Ely, an uncle of Ambrose K. Ely, 
 conducted a tannery on this spot, now occupied by 
 a one-story building used for the storage of hides, 
 and owned by A. K. Ely. The store next to the 
 corner of Frankfort street was built by Gurdon B. 
 Horton and used by him for some years as a 
 leather store. Tan vats and a tanned hide were 
 found in making the excavation. 
 
 FERRY STREET 
 
 This street was laid out in 1740, and its width 
 has never been changed. There are only a few 
 modern buildings in Ferry street. Most of them 
 were built by merchants whose fortunes were accu- 
 mulated in that locality. 
 
 The large six-story structure on the southeast 
 corner of Ferry and Gold streets was built in 1845 
 by Charles W. Trotter, a morocco manufacturer. 
 Israel Corse, Jr., Stout & Tuttle and H. D. Hull & 
 Co. successively did business on this corner. No. 
 4 was also built by Mr. Trotter and occupied by 
 Van Wagenar & Tuttle until 1873, when Henry 
 Arthur, who was then occupying the corner, leased 
 it in order to enlarge his leather and findings es- 
 tablishment. Nos. 6 and 8 were built by Eugene 
 Reteltas, a leather dealer. Wm. Rutter, J. B.&T. 
 
HISTORY OF 1 THE SWAMP 
 
SWAMP STREETS 25 
 
 Johnson and S. W. Baldwin & Son were success- 
 ively occupants of No. 6. At No. 8 M. Armstrong 
 commenced business when he first came into the 
 Swamp. In 1869 and for several years afterwards 
 Maurice S. Kerrigan used this store for his mo- 
 rocco business. 
 
 The Gilman family owned No. 10 for several 
 years. W. W. Gilman had a leather store there. 
 His son succeeded but did not remain long in the 
 trade. Joseph Hecht bought the premises about 
 1894 and enlarged and greatly improved them. 
 Sellman & Co. are the occupants. 
 
 At No. 14 (there is no No. 12) Jacob Lorillard 
 was a special partner and he built the store in 1839 
 for Isaac Bullard. When the estate of Bullard & 
 Co. was settled, Louis H. Bullard bought this 
 property. 
 
 The store, No. 18, was built by Ogden E. Ed- 
 wards, son of William Edwards, the celebrated 
 tanner, and grandson of the great theologian of 
 Western Massachusetts, Jonathan Edwards. Og- 
 den E. Edwards failed and the building, which had 
 been mortgaged for $25,000, was sold to Jonathan 
 Thome, who enlarged and improved it. The firms 
 with which he was connected afterwards occupied 
 it as long as they continued in business. 
 
 The stores No. 20 and No. 22, built by Gideon 
 Lee about 1820 and enlarged later, were occupied 
 successively by Gideon Lee & Co, Leupp & Burke, 
 Chas. M. Leupp & Co. and W. Creighton Lee 
 and his sons under the firm name of Lee & Co. 
 
HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
SWAMP STREETS 2^ 
 
 These stores were thus used by firms connected 
 with the Lee family from 1820 to 1893. 
 
 At Nos. 26 and 28 James Meinel in 1837 built a 
 store which he used for his leather business. Lor- 
 ing Andrews afterwards leased it. In this firm, 
 when they located, Ariel Low, of Boston, came as 
 a partner about 1840, but became discouraged in 
 one year and returned to Boston. Anson Lap- 
 ham and his firms afterwards occupied the store. 
 Henry G. Lapham bought it and in 1876 erected 
 the large structure now occupied as the main offices 
 of the United States Leather Company. 
 
 In the upper floors of the building at No. 30 the 
 "Eclectic Fraternity" flourished from 1834 to 1840. 
 Matthew Carroll, once connected with Gideon Lee, 
 built this store. His son, Nicholas, succeeded to 
 his father's business. He was a politician, a friend 
 of Henry Clay, and early left the leather trade. J. 
 S. Rockwell & Co. commenced their business 
 career in New York on this spot. 
 
 Valentine Everit built No. 32 in February, 1825. 
 It was occupied by V, Everit & Co. and their suc- 
 cessors for half a century. The Roosevelt estate 
 owned the ground and leased it to Mr. Everit at a 
 rental of $3,000 for twenty years, the building to 
 revert to the owner of the land at the expiration of 
 the lease. It is now owned by the Roosevelt Hos- 
 pital. Isaac Hyde, Jr., and T. S. Chapman com- 
 menced business here. 
 
 The stores Nos. 36 and 38 were originally occu- 
 pied by Van Woert & Fraser and Van Nostrand & 
 
HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
SWAMP STREETS 29 
 
 Co. Wm. H. Hoople built one and rebuilt the other. 
 Charles A. Schieren bought both of them from 
 Wm. G. Hoople in 1899. They are connected with 
 67 Cliff street and together make a present holding 
 by Mr. Schieren of 7,000 square feet. 
 
 The stores Nos. 46 and 48 were built by E. K. 
 Pritchett, of Pritchett, Baugh & Co., were occupied 
 by Bulkley & Brooks and H. J. Brooks & Co., 
 Pritchett, Baugh & Co., of Philadelphia, owned 
 them until 1886, when they were sold to E. Von 
 Felde, who kept a restaurant on Cliff street. The 
 store No. 50 was built by Wm. H. Hoople, who 
 left it by will to his grand nephew, William How- 
 ard Hoople. 
 
 Below this, on the corner of Pearl street, is a 
 hotel built early in this century. The waters of 
 the East River are said to have reached nearly to 
 this point a hundred years or more ago. From the 
 old ferry to Brooklyn the street received its name. 
 Near here and in Peck Slip were two eminent hide 
 firms. 
 
 The three brothers of the Hicks family were 
 great merchants. They did business at No. 345 
 Pearl street. Isaac Hicks was the founder. He 
 commenced in 1796. Jacob Barker was brought 
 up in his office. Samuel and Valentine Hicks were 
 his brothers and partners. The firm became Hicks, 
 Jenkins & Co. later. 
 
 Another house was founded by Whitehead 
 Hicks. This was in 1870. His sons, Gilbert and 
 Robert T., succeeded. The firm became G. & R. 
 
HISTORY OF THE SWAMP 
 
SWAMP STREETS 31 
 
 T. Hicks. They owned vessels and traded with 
 South America. Through dealings with tanners in 
 the Swamp R. T. became acquainted with Thomas 
 Everit, a hide and leather dealer in Ferry street. 
 In 1822 he married Thomas Everit's daughter, 
 and in 1848 retired from business rich, and lived 
 at Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Comfort and Joshua Sands were merchants be- 
 fore the Revolution. They did business in Peck 
 Slip. The first ferry from Brooklyn ran from the 
 slip. In 1800 they bought a property, 160 acres, 
 there, and built ropewalks, wharves and buildings 
 just across the East river. Sands street runs 
 through it. Comfort Sands, before the war, was 
 one of a party that took ten bales of stamp paper 
 from a British brig at Peck Slip and burned them. 
 During the war he fled to Philadelphia, and the 
 British burned his books and papers. He was a 
 member of the first Continental Congress, but only 
 served the first term, so he did not have the privi- 
 lege of signing the Declaration. In 1776 he con- 
 tracted to furnish the American army with clothing 
 and shoes. He bought all the shoes he could In 
 Newark, Worcester and Lynn, but it was impossi- 
 ble to obtain a supply. They could not be made. 
 In 1783 he engaged in business again, with his 
 brother Joshua as partner. They traded in South 
 American produce, and imported hides as they 
 were wanted. Joshua Sands was appointed Col- 
 lector of the Port of New York by John Adams. 
 Comfort Sands was a director in the first bank and 
 insurance company in New York, and president of 
 
32 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 the Chamber of Commerce 1794 to 1798. 
 FERRY STREET, NORTH SIDE 
 
 The premises, Nos. 1, 3 and 5 Ferry street, north 
 side, and 88 and 90 Gold street, are now covered 
 by one great structure, called from Aaron Healy, 
 its builder, the "Healy Building." In 1827 James 
 Kerrigan had a morocco factory there and lived in 
 Gold street adjoining. At Nos. 3 and 5, in a three- 
 story yellow brick store, Austin Melvin com- 
 menced business in 1830. He remained there until 
 1842, when Gilman, Smull & Co. took the store. A 
 relative of Mr. Gilman came here as a boy. He be- 
 came a partner in Gilman, Smull & Co. and in all 
 the firms that were their successors, and did busi- 
 ness as man and boy on this spot from 1844 to the 
 time he retired in 1893. His name was Aaron 
 Healy. He bought these properties in 1865 and in 
 1890 built the substantial brick ten-story structure 
 that occupies the northeast corner of Gold and 
 Ferry streets. It is a fitting monument to a saga- 
 cious and honest merchant, one of those who made 
 the New York hide and leather trade honored in 
 every part of the world. 
 
 The store No. 7 is owned by Mrs. Livingston, a 
 granddaughter of James Meinel. Elijah T. Brown 
 and Keek & Morser were early occupants. 
 
 Wm. Alburtis, a hide dealer, built No. 9 and oc- 
 cupied it. Smith Ely, Jr., there sold oak sole and 
 Henry McClellan afterwards union and hemlock- 
 leather. Then Isaac Hyde, Jr., bought the prop- 
 erty. A. K. Ely owns it. The store No 11 
 
SWAMP STREETS 33 
 
 was owned by Wm. H. Hoople, who sold it to 
 Charles H. Isham. A. & J. Mattison, Mattison & 
 Isham and Mattison & McCoy were tenants here in 
 olden time. 
 
 There are no stores numbered 13 and 15 on this 
 street. The large stores 17 and 19, corner of Jacob 
 street, were built by Benjamin Marsh, a leather 
 dealer, in 1834. George Palen commenced busi- 
 ness there in 1840. William and Oliver Hoyt occu- 
 pied the lofts for several years. M. Armstrong & 
 Sons located their findings store there and pur- 
 chased the building. Then Heubner & Heller oc- 
 cupied it. William H. Heller, the genial manager 
 for the Pfister & Vogel Leather Company and his 
 brother, Charles F. Heller, own it now. 
 
 The premises No 23, the northeast corner of 
 Jacob street, were originally owned by the Roose- 
 velts, ancestors of Governor Theodore Roosevelt. 
 They owned much Swamp property and had 
 a sugar house in Jacob street before the Revolu- 
 tion. Jacob Lorillard bought the land and built a 
 store. James R. Smith purchased it and made mo- 
 rocco leather in the building for many years. After 
 his death it was sold to Felix Kaufman, manu- 
 facturer of Excelsior calfskins, in 1882. He fitted 
 it up in modern style. 
 
 John H. Bowie, belting manufacturer, built No. 
 25 about 1852. The building joins in the rear No. 
 3 Jacob street. 
 
 At No. 27, in a small wooden building, H. D. 
 Hull commenced business. After him came Hans 
 
34 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Rees, who made an ample fortune in the little 
 structure. The present building was erected by A. 
 H. Brahe, a calfskin importer, in 1852. Mattison 
 & McCoy were once located here, and J. H. Ross- 
 bad & Co. have fitted up the store in elegant style. 
 
 Jonathan Trotter, first Mayor of Brooklyn, built 
 No. 29 and conducted there a business in sheep- 
 skins. Chatfield & Underwood also occupied these 
 premises, which are now owned by Joseph Hecht. 
 
 No. 31 and No. 33 were built by Israel Corse, 
 Sr., in 1825. James Knox Polk, his grandson, in- 
 herited these stores. In No. 33 William Kumbel, 
 the first leather belting manufacturer, was located 
 for many years. 
 
 At No. 35 John E. Cammeyer did business. 
 David Moffat & Co. now own the premises. 
 
 In 1830 Jacob Lorillard built No. 37 at the cor- 
 ner of Cliff street. It was at that time far superior to 
 any other structure in the Swamp. It was rented 
 by sealed bids to Smith & Schultz for five years at 
 $1,001 a year. David Moffat & Co. now own 
 No. 37. 
 
 The building on the northeast corner of Ferry 
 and Cliff streets, also 80 Cliff street, adjoining, 
 were built by J. S. Rockwell & Co, The Rockwell 
 estate still own them. Charles A. Schieren, of 
 Charles A. Schieren & Co., who occupy these 
 stores for their belting business, tried to buy them, 
 but the Rockwell heirs declined to sell because the 
 family fortune had been largely made on that spot. 
 The buildings further down Ferry street have not 
 
SWAMP STREETS 35 
 
 been identified with the leather business. 
 CLIFF STREET. 
 
 This street was originally called Skinner street, 
 because it was the place where hides and skins were 
 offered for sale by butchers. This traffic was prin- 
 cipally carried on between Ferry and Beekman 
 street. The street was extended in 1740 by cutting 
 through from Ferry to Frankfort street. It was 
 the old time custom of butchers to sell hides with 
 the horns and tail on. Hides and skins were col- 
 lected all over the city, brought to the Swamp and 
 trimmed and salted down in the cellars of the mer- 
 chants. Quarterly and yearly settlements were 
 made. These times of settlement were attended 
 with considerable dissipation such as one rarely 
 sees nowadays in the hours of business. From 
 Christmas to New Years hot spiced rum was freely 
 served. In 1837 prices were so low tnat butchers 
 refused to make the usual contracts and formed the 
 "Butchers' Hide and Melting Association." They 
 were very successful and built the large establish- 
 ment for their business located between Forty- 
 fourth and Forty-fifth streets on the East River. 
 Cliff street was not occupied by the leather trade 
 until 1859, when the large stores, 92 and 94, were 
 built by Thomas Fraser, Brother & Co., No. 96 by 
 Jackson S. Schultz and Edmund M. Young, and 
 98 by Joseph Mattison, of Mattison & McCoy. In 
 i860 and subsequently they were occupied Fy these 
 firms. Joseph Hecht & Sons purchased them and 
 own them all. The American Hide and Leather 
 
36 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Company occupy them. No. 80 was built by the 
 Goelet estate and occupied a quarter of a century 
 ago by Walker & Bulkley and afterwards by G. 13. 
 Horton & Co. J. S. Rockwell afterwards bought, 
 it and used it for his sheepskin business. Charles 
 A. Schieren & Co. occupy it now. This building 
 extends through to Pearl street. 
 
 The store No. 64 was built by Willets & Co. in 
 1840. This firm- had been even twenty years before 
 that time engaged in the hardware and oil business 
 on Pearl street. They were engaged in the hide 
 and leather business in Cliff street for a numbr of 
 years prior to 1893. No. 67 was built by Jonathan 
 Trotter, a sheepskin tanner. Wm. H. Hoople oc- 
 cupied and afterwards bought it. Charles A. 
 Schieren now owns it. Schultz, Southwick & Co., 
 Fawcett, Benedict & Co., Abram S. Smith and 
 Thompson, Wyckoff & Co. occupied stores south 
 of Ferry street for a short term, and Loring An- 
 drews & Sons were located here just before they 
 went out of business. 
 
 The Mercantile Library was first established on 
 Cliff street, where Harper Brothers' building now 
 stands. Wm. H. Hoople resided at No. 66, Jack- 
 son S. Schultz at No. 70, Jonathan Thorne at No. 
 83 and Loring Andrews at No. 79 Cliff street for 
 several years up to about 1848. 
 
 GOLD STREET 
 
 This prominent Swamp thoroughfare was laid 
 out in 1720 to Beekman and Spruce, and cut 
 through to Frankfort street in 1790. A piece of 
 
SWAMP STREETS 37 
 
 land, ioo X 25, was taken from the tannery of 
 Daniel Stanbury for that purpose. It was widened, 
 north of Fulton street, in 1834. It was previously 
 the same width that it is now south of Fulton 
 street. The cost to the city of this widening was 
 $80,963.62. 
 
 FIRST PUBLIC READING ROOM 
 
 The first public reading room in America was 
 established in New York by Adrien Van Hook, the 
 owner of a tanyard in Gold street, in the Swamp. 
 
 "It was," says the "Farmers' Weekly Museum" 
 of January 7, 1799, "sufficiently encouraged during 
 his lifetime, but upon his unfortunate decease was 
 closed, to the regret of the lovers of literature." 
 
 Only the two blocks at the northern end of Gold 
 street were ever occupied by the leather trade. On 
 them some of the larger firms have at times been 
 located. 
 
 The brick block on the west side, near the corner 
 of Frankfort street, was built by Ambrose K. Ely. 
 Nos. 101 and 103 were erected in 1859 and A. K. 
 Ely and Smith Ely, Jr., occupied the corner, where 
 they have continued even up to the present time. 
 In 1863 Mr. Ely built Nos. 97 and 99 in the same 
 style as the two older ones. Walker & Bulkley 
 (Evan Walker and Edward W. Bulkley) com- 
 menced as a firm in No. 99. 
 
 No. 93 was built by William B. Isham in 1857. 
 Wm. B. Isham & Gallup occupied it for many 
 years. No. 91 was built by Samuel Isham, an elder 
 brother of Charles H. Isham, who owns it now. 
 
38 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 The small store, No. 89, was leased in 1855 to 
 Israel Corse. This, with the large stores in the 
 rear, were occupied by the firms of Mr. Corse. 
 After he retired from business Pickard & Andre- 
 sen, hide brokers, took the front part of the 
 premises. 
 
 The buildings Nos. 85 and 87 were built by 
 Jacob Lorillard in 1835 and leased to Wm. P. Mil- 
 ler and George and James Brooks. Mr. Lorillard 
 also tried to secure the corner of Gold and Spruce 
 streets, but what he considered an exorbitant price 
 was demanded and he dropped negotiations. A. 
 L. Knight now owns that corner. On the south- 
 west corner of Gold and Spruce streets is a two- 
 story building used as a liquor store. Two stores 
 below, Nos. y$ and 75 Gold street, are owned by 
 Justus L. Bulkley. 
 
 The large building at the corner of Frankfort 
 street, on the east side of Gold street, was occupied 
 by a colored man named P. A. White as a drug 
 store. 
 
 No. 98 was built in 1857 by George F. Gilman, a 
 son of Nathaniel Gilman. He occupied it as a hide 
 and leather store until about the time of the war, 
 George F. Gilman died early in 1901, leaving a 
 great fortune for lawyers to battle over. His 
 father's will was in court for thirty years. An old 
 paper, speaking of him, said of his store : "He occu- 
 pied it in the hide and leather business until about 
 the commeencement of the war, when, finding the 
 leather business dull, he commenced In the tea 
 
SWAMP STREETS 39 
 
 trade, making this his warehouse. From here he 
 removed his office to Front street, and became sub- 
 sequently the proprietor of the Great American 
 Tea Company and the Atlantic and Pacific Tea 
 Company, having seventy-five different tea stores 
 in various parts of the country, and his gorgeous 
 six-horse trucks, with blazoned lettering, and splen- 
 didly caparisoned horses, bedecked with tinkling 
 bells, are the admiration of all the small boys in 
 town." 
 
 Edward McClellan, who married a daughter of 
 Nathaniel Gilman, continued the leather business 
 for some years afterwards at that place. He lives 
 in Danbury, Conn., and his daughter, Caroline 
 McClellan, now owns 98 Gold street, which has an 
 ell running to 53 Frankfort street. 
 
 Nos. 92, 94 and 96 are owned by Ambrose K. 
 Ely. This property, 209 feet deep, runs through to 
 Jacob street and is 72 feet front on both streets. 
 
 The "Healy Building" standing at Nos. 88 and 
 90 Gold street, we have spoken of in our article on 
 Ferry street. 
 
 The building No. 82 Gold street was erected by 
 John Bolden in 1851 and occupied by him up to 
 i860. Henry Heyland, a calfskin dealer, owns it 
 now. Nos. 78 and 80 were old dwellings, remodeled 
 in 1861. Hurley & Miles, leather dealers, occupied 
 them and William Miles owns them. 
 
 Nos. 72 to 76 (there is no 74) were built by Jacob 
 Lorillard in 1845. Nathaniel Gilman & Sons first 
 occupied these stores. Justus Bulkley is their 
 
40 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 present owner. 
 
 The store No. 76 was sold at auction by the Loril- 
 lard estate in 1853 for $25,000, John Watson being 
 the purchaser. He sold it the same day to Jona- 
 than Thorne for $27,000. 
 
 Loring Andrews moved to No. 72 from Ferry 
 street. He bought the property and built the large 
 stores in the rear. Hoyt Brothers took these stores 
 and now they are used for the business of the 
 United States Leather Company. 
 
 No. 68 was built by John Watson for Robertson 
 & Butman. Beyond this point no stores on Gold 
 street have ever been used for the leather business. 
 SPRUCE STREET 
 
 It is only in times comparatively recent that 
 Spruce street has been a portion of the New York 
 leather district. 
 
 Three-quarters of a century ago many rjch mer- 
 chants had their homes in the vicinity of Spruce 
 and William streets. Those who sent ships to South 
 America procured return cargoes made up of the 
 products of those countries, including dye woods, 
 coffee and hides. The Whitlock family was fa- 
 mous in those times. Wiliam Whitlock was a sea 
 captain, sailing out of New York in 1790. He lived 
 at No. 31 Frankfort street, right in the "Swamp," 
 until 1800, and then moved to a fine new house, 
 No. 189 William, near Spruce. William Whitlock, 
 Jr., built a residence at No. 187, next to> his father's. 
 He was the man that started the line of Savannah 
 packets, about 1824. He was also in the Rio 
 
SWAMP STREETS 41 
 
 Grande and La Plata trade. With his father, and 
 Francis Depau, who built Depau row in Houston 
 street, he established the Havre packets. One of 
 them, the "Cadmus," brought out Gen. Lafayette 
 in 1824. She was to sail from Havre with a full 
 freight and a long list of passengers. All were pa- 
 triotically sacrificed to make room for "The Na- 
 tion's Guest," his suite and baggage. The "Cad- 
 mus" brought them all over and landed them at 
 Staten Island. No compensation was asked. La- 
 fayette returned Sept. 7, 1825, in a government-, 
 vessel, named, in compliment to him, the "Brandy- 
 wine." 
 
 The printers and publishers have always occu- 
 pied the upper portion nearest Park Row. 
 
 Spruce street was laid out in 1725 and named 
 George street in honor of King George of Eng- 
 land. In 1820 its name was changed to Spruce 
 street. In 1832 it was widened throughout its en- 
 tire length at a cost of $52,91240. There were 
 handsome dwellings on Spruce street in former 
 years and William street in its immediate vicinity 
 was a fashionable dry goods quarter. 
 
 The store, No. 16, was built by W. S. Miller for 
 the business of Weller & Miller, an old-time find- 
 ings house. J. H. Weller, of Yonkers, owns it. No. 
 20 was built by Robert Goelet for Shattuck & 
 Binger. 
 
 The southeast corner of Spruce and William 
 streets was first occupied for the leather business in 
 1857 by E. A. Smith & Bros. Edmund A. Smith 
 
42 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 bought the building and his estate own it now. The 
 adjoining store on William street was built in 1857 
 by Loring Andrews. This lot formed an ell with 
 26 Spruce street and in 1855 and 1857 Mr. An- 
 drews built all the stores now standing on the south 
 side from No. 26 to No. 42 inclusive. It was said 
 that these cost $18,000 to build. 
 The proprietor of the "New York Ledger" built 
 a marble block on the northeast corner of Spruce 
 and William streets, the lower floors of which were 
 for a time occupied as feather stores. Next below 
 is No. 29, a large and commodious structure built 
 by E. Godfrey & Sons in 1863. It was sold in 1869 
 for $100,000. The estate of Charles Hauselt is the 
 present owner. No. 31 was built by Henry Bange 
 in 1861. He was a leather dealer and afterwards a 
 broker. 
 
 No. 37 was once owned by W. W. De Forrest & 
 Co., who were large dealers in hides. Previous to 
 1850 they also had a hide warehouse in Ferry street 
 at No. 20. In 1850 T. & R. Stout took the store. 
 
 No. 39 was built by Wm. P. Miller about 1840. 
 William Sherwood and Elijah T. Brown (Sher- 
 wood & Brown) occupied the store from 1852 to 
 i860, when it was purchased by Henry Bucking for 
 his sheepskin business. Charles J. Osborn, after- 
 wards a rich stock broker, was a bookkeeper for 
 Henry Bucking. No. 41 was built by Jacob Horil- 
 lard in 1835. It was then connected with Nos. 85 
 and 87 Gold street. 
 
 These streets comprise the New York Swamp. 
 
ISRAEL CORSE AND FIRMiS 4.? 
 
 SEAL SKINS 
 
 From the years 1835 to 1845 fully 250,000 North 
 and South Sea sealskins were tanned yearly and 
 consumed in this country. Shoes were made from 
 them. Hair seals were used in covering trunks. 
 Most of these were prepared in the New York 
 Swamp. These skins averaged in size eight square 
 feet each. About 200,000 horse hides were imported 
 yearly from South America and tanned. We have 
 recommenced tanning horse hides during the past 
 twenty years, but finishing seal skins seems to be 
 a lost art here. 
 
 ISRAEL CORSE AND FIRMS HE FOUNDED 
 
 A young tanner who came to New York from 
 Chestertown, Md., in 1802 founded a house that 
 continued more than eighty years with unvaried 
 success. His name was Israel Corse. His parents 
 were Hicksite Quakers, and he always held to that 
 belief. 
 
 This story was told in Chestertown as illustrating 
 his shrewdness when a boy. A thief came through 
 the village one evening and stole a mare and her 
 colt. As the man was riding off some persons gave 
 chase, but he was fast getting away from them. 
 "Catch the colt," said Israel Corse, who was one 
 of the pursuers. That was done and the mare 
 stopped. She would not go a step without her foal. 
 When Mr. Corse was "out of his time" he married 
 Lydia Troth. By her he got $2,000, and after tan- 
 
44 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 ning for some years, came to New York. He 
 brought his shrewdness to a good market. He and 
 his successors builded strong, and during all their 
 long career never failed to discharge every obliga- 
 tion. He opened a leather store at 14 Jacob street 
 in the midst of a lot of tanneries. He lived at No. 
 7 Vandewater street. The house is torn down. 
 It was a swell front, brick mansion, in a fashion- 
 able street. Shade trees lined the sidewalks. The 
 finest dry goods stores were in William street, 
 handy by. Colonel William Kumbel and Shepherd 
 Knapp lived in that house afterwards. 
 
 Israel Corse went into business with George Fer- 
 guson, afterwards a leather inspector. This lasted 
 only a short time. In 1810 his son became a part- 
 ner with his father and continued so until 183c, 
 when the senior retired from business. The firm 
 was Israel Corse & Son. 
 
 Mr. Corse built a fine mansion in East Broadway 
 and moved there in 1820 from Vandewater street. 
 There were marble pillars at the side of the door 
 and marble steps led up to it. These were some- 
 thing new in the city. Mr. Corse had his teamster 
 call for him, with the wagon the leather was hauled 
 in, every morning at seven o'clock to take him to 
 the store and in the evening he often rode back in 
 the same conveyance. He used to wear the 
 Friends' garb, now seldom seen, but there were 
 several of this denomination among old leather 
 merchants. 
 
 Israel Corse was famous for ridding New York 
 
JONATHAN THORNE AND FIRMS 45 
 
 of the curse of lotteries. With a few others he 
 fought this evil until a law was passed making the 
 sale of tickets a crime. He was one of the first mer- 
 chants to stock tanneries and sell the leather. 
 When Jonathan Thorne, his son-in-law, joined the 
 firm, in 1828, this was the first system he inaugu- 
 rated. They ceased to be dealers and became tan- 
 ners and merchants. The firm was changed to 
 Jonathan Thorne & Co. in 1830. Barney Corse re- 
 tired in 1833. He had to leave the trade and the 
 city for his sympathy with abolition of slavery. 
 
 JONATHAN THORNE AND PARTNERS 
 
 A few years after this old Corse firm was changed 
 to Jonathan Thorne & Co., his brother-in-law, An- 
 son Lapham, joined it. This was in 1834. Mr. 
 Lapham had been in the produce business. He 
 brought money and a high grade of commercial 
 knowledge to the firm. In 1840 Israel Corse, Jr., 
 came of age and into the firm. Israel Corse, St., 
 died in 1842. When young Israel joined the style 
 was changed to Lapham, Corse & Co. to bring the 
 names of the younger partners prominently before 
 the trade. 
 
 In 1847 Anson Lapham retired. Jonathan 
 Thorne and Israel Corse, Jr., made up a new firm. 
 Ambrose K. Ely, who had been a clerk in the 
 house since 1843 > John Watson, former partner of 
 Zadock Pratt, and Edwin Thorne, oldest son of 
 Jonathan Thorne, were admitted, and the style 
 changed to Thorne, Watson, Corse & Co. This 
 
46 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 was known as the "long firm." They were a power- 
 ful combination of merchants and dominated the 
 sole leather tanning business of New York. The 
 firm broke up, however, in 1852. Israel Corse 
 formed the house of Corse & Pratt. A. K. Ely 
 did business alone, and Edwin Thorne retired with 
 poor health. When the "long firm" dissolved, Jona- 
 than Thorne, John Watson and Samuel Thorne, 
 second son of Jonathan Thorne, formed the firm of 
 Thorne, Watson & Co. They did business under 
 that style ten years. 
 
 In 1862 George F. Butman took the place in the 
 firm made vacant by the retirement of Samuel 
 Thorne. The style was changed to Thorne, Wat- 
 son & Butman. Mr. Butman was a son-in-law of 
 Levi A. Dowley, a Boston leather dealer. He had 
 been a partner with George Robertson and his son, 
 Loring Andrews Robertson, in the firm of Robert- 
 son & Butman from February, 1857 to February, 
 1862. Jonathan Thorne and John Watson had con- 
 tributed $300,000 special. They occupied 68 Gold 
 street. The Robertsons retired in 1862, when the 
 firm dissolved by limitation, and Mr. Butman 
 helped make up the house before mentioned of 
 Thorne, Watson & Butman, which was dissolved 
 by Mr. Butman's death, July 1st, 1864. He was 
 highly esteemed as a merchant and everybody who 
 knew him placed inplicit confidence in his word. 
 
 On Mr. Butman's death the style of Thorne, 
 Watson & Co. was re-assumed and continued while 
 the seniors did business. Samuel Thorne was a 
 member of his father's firm. E. H. K. Belcher 
 
THORNEDALE 47 
 
 joined in 1864. Henry Emerson in 1875. Both 
 had been clerks in the house. 
 
 In 1879 Jonathan Thome and John Watson re- 
 tired and were succeeded by Belcher & Emerson, 
 with John Watson as special partner. Jonathan 
 Thorne died October 9th, 1884, aged 84 years. 
 
 Jonathan Thorne was a tall, stately gentleman 
 with a bland and aristocratic manner. He was in 
 the dry goods business before he entered the leather 
 trade. He inherited, in 1844, his father's farm in 
 Washington, Dutchess County, N. Y. He added 
 adjoining acres and began to make improvements 
 on it for his family occupancy. He named the 
 place "Thornedale," and stocked it with the 
 choicest cattle the world could furnish. He sent 
 an agent to England in 1855, commissioned to get 
 the best Durham shorthorns money could pur- 
 chase. He obtained a number from the celebrated 
 "Bates herd." For the bull "Grand Duke" he paid 
 £1,000, and for "Dutchess" cows £600, and similar 
 prices for others. This herd made Thornedale farm 
 a noted place to stock raisers. The celebrated stal- 
 lion Thornedale, the winner of many prizes, was 
 bred and raised on this farm. 
 
 Jonathan Thome's sons always managed the 
 farm. It was the summer home of the entire tamily. 
 Samuel Thorne, the second son, was the first in 
 charge of the farm. He procured some of the 
 famous cattle that gave the place such a great name. 
 Samuel Thorne was a member of the firm of Mac- 
 farlane & Thorne, putting in a special capital 
 
48 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 for a time, and afterwards had special capital with 
 Keese & Thorne and William Palen. Samuel 
 Thorne bought an estate adjoining Thornedale and 
 lives there. 
 
 When any of Jonathan Thome's sons were mar- 
 ried their father always gave them a silver set or 
 its equivalent in money. Samuel Thorne married 
 a Miss Van Schoenhoven, of Troy and Fifth avenue, 
 New York, a step-daughter of Joel Wolfe. He 
 chose a silver set, and the service presented to the 
 bridal couple was ornamented with massive bull's 
 heads, as he was the "farmer" of the family. 
 
 Edwin Thorne, oldest son of Jonathan Thorne, 
 was a clerk in his father's store in 1843; a partner 
 in 1847. He retired in 1863, and from that time to 
 1867 was a special partner in Keese & Pearsall. 
 Then he left the Swamp and founded the Wall 
 street firm of T. W. Pearsall & Co. Mr. Thorne 
 married a sister of T. W. Pearsall. He was a di- 
 rector and president of the New York State Agri- 
 cultural Society and director in the American Ex- 
 change Bank of New York. He took Thornedale. 
 He had previously bought the bull "Grand Turk" 
 for $5,000 and given it to his brother Samuel. The 
 farm became famous for raising stock after Edwin 
 Thorne took it. He bred fast horses. Edwin 
 Thorne died in 1889, aged 63 years. His son, Oak- 
 ley Thorne, owns Thornedale now. 
 
 As Mr. Thorne wanted all of his sons to follow 
 the leather business he formed the firm of Mac- 
 farlane & Thorne, putting in a special capital 
 8100,000. James Macfarlane was an experienced 
 
JOHN WATSON, ETC. 49 
 
 and able leather merchant, formerly of Van Woert 
 & Macfarlane. With him Jonathan Thorne, Jr., 
 was associated. This was in 1864. In 1866 Samuel 
 Thorne became a partner, and the firm changed to 
 Thorne, Macfarlane & Co. In 1869 Samuel retired 
 and William Thorne took his place. Thorne, Mac- 
 farlane & Co. owned tanneries at Laporte and 
 Thornedale, Pa., and had large tracts of hemlock 
 timber lands. They tanned mostly for European 
 markets. The firm merged in the United States 
 Leather Company in 1893. 
 
 George W. Thorne was the youngest son of Jona ■ 
 than Thorne. When he was twenty-one years old 
 he formed the firm of Keese & Thorne, which did 
 business from 1870 to 1877. Samuel T. Keese was 
 the partner. After this firm dissolved George W. 
 Thorne transferred the tanneries he owned to 
 Barnes & Merritt, with whom he arranged a special 
 partnership to last until 1884. He then went on a 
 voyage around the world for his health, but re- 
 turned and died in 1883. He had left a power of 
 attorney with Adam Ramsay McCoy, which was re- 
 newed by his executors, and $200,000 placed at his 
 disposal as special capital, with the privilege of 
 placing the business to the best advantage. He 
 turned it over to Barnes & Merritt and remained 
 with them to manage it until 1893, when he died. 
 
 John Watson was well known in the Swamp for 
 fifty years. In 1830 Mr. Watson went to Pratts- 
 ville and commenced tanning sole leather with his 
 brother-in-law, Zadock Pratt. In 1846, with a capi- 
 
SO HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 tal of $100,000 he came to New York and on Febru- 
 ary 1st, 1847, joined with Jonathan Thorne in 
 business. 
 
 Colonel Watson was a Member of Assembly for 
 Greene County in 1837. He was Colonel of the 
 Prattsville Guards at the time. He was a lover of 
 horses, and at his place near Orange, N. J., had 
 some fine trotting stock. He gave freely in charity 
 to indigent members of the leather trade. He died 
 June 13th, 1891. 
 
 E. H. K. Belcher came to New York from New- 
 foundland. He was a bookkeeper for Thorne, Wat- 
 son & Co. in 1857, and a member of the firm from 
 1864 to 1880, when it dissolved. Mr. Belcher is 
 manager of the John Watson estate. 
 
 Henry Emerson came from Haverhill, Mass., 
 and entered the employ of Thorne, Watson & Co. 
 He was admitted as partner in 1875. In 1880, with 
 E. H. K. Belcher, he formed the £ .n of Belcher 
 & Emerson. John Watson was special partner for 
 $100,000. This continued to 1890. Henry Emer- 
 son did some hide business after that, but he died 
 January 8th, 1892. 
 
 CORSE, PRATT & CO. 
 
 When Israel Corse left the "long firm" in 1852, 
 as hereinbefore stated, he took George W. Pratt as 
 a partner and formed the firm of Corse & Pratt. 
 In 1859 Edmund Thompson, the bookkeeper, was 
 admitted, and the style changed to Corse, Pratt & 
 Co. This firm prospered, but was dissolved by the 
 
GIDEON LEE FIRMS Si 
 
 death of Colonel George W. Pratt, who went to the 
 war in 1862. A new firm was formed by the admis- 
 sion of James Knox Polk, a nephew of Israel Corse 
 and also of ex-President James K. Polk. This 
 house, known as Corse, Thompson & Polk, con- 
 tinued until 1872. Then Mr. Corse retired from 
 business. Mr. Polk went to Connecticut, and Mr. 
 Thompson did a small business in hides. All the 
 partners are dead. Israel Corse died at his sum- 
 mer residence, Sayville, L. I., July 13th, 1885. Mr. 
 Corse was one of the oldest directors of the Phoenix 
 Bank, the New York Marine Insurance Company, 
 a director in the Clinton Insurance Company, and 
 active in various public institutions. 
 
 GIDEON LEE AND PARTNERS. 
 
 The name of Gideon Lee was perhaps more 
 widely known than that of any other merchant of 
 his time. He stood in the front rank as a leather 
 merchant. He was the Mayor of the Metropolis 
 for a term, a great honor in his day, and he was a 
 leader in national councils, where he served with 
 high repute and undoubted integrity. The house 
 he founded was prominent in the Swamp for almost 
 a hundred years. 
 
 Gideon Lee learned to tan leather and make 
 shoes in Amherst, Mass. He was born there in 
 1785. In 1807 he came to New York and worked 
 one year selling leather for William Edwards, a 
 tanner of Northampton, Mass. His salary was 
 $1,000 a year. In 1808 he went in business for him- 
 
52 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 self in a two-story yellow frame building, 25 X I5.< 
 at the northeast corner of Ferry and Jacob streets. 
 He named this store "Fort Lee." It was the largest 
 in the Swamp at that time. He lived at 37 Frank- 
 fort street. Here he laid the foundation of his for- 
 tune, and in 1815 he purchased the land 28 feet 
 front, numbered 20 Ferry street, running back to 
 Beekman, where it was 70 feet wide. He sold part 
 of this and bought of David Bryson two adjoining 
 lots on Ferry street. He built a two-story brick 
 building here, but in 1820 erected the large stores 
 which stand on the site and for more than half a 
 century were known as the Lee stores. These were 
 occupied until 1893 by his successors. 
 
 In 1817 Mr. Lee formed the first joint stock com-^ 
 pany to tan leather. It was named The New York 
 Tannery Co., capital $60,000. The members werei 
 Gideon Lee, Cunningham & McCormick, William 
 Bayard, Herman LeRoy, of New York, and Joseph 
 Xifre, of Cuba. Each man held $10,000 of the 
 stock. They bought 1,200 acres of land in Hunter, 
 Greene County, N. Y., and put down a tannery cap- 
 able of producing 10,000 sides of hemlock sole 
 , leather a year. Five thousand La Plate hides were 
 //^tanned the first year and the first leather came to 
 - New York in the autumn of 1818. 
 
 The tanners were Wm. Edwards & Son, and the 
 tannery was the first one under cover in the United 
 States. In 1819 Mr. Lee took Shepherd Knapp, 
 who had been his clerk for four years, as a partner. 
 The firm was Gideon Lee & Co. They built brick 
 
GIDEON LEE FIRMS 53 
 
 storehouses in the village of Catskill, where leather 
 was stored in winter and sent to New York when 
 navigation opened. 
 
 Several well known Swamp merchants were 
 graduates from the office of Gideon Lee & Co. 
 Among them were George and William Palen, Aus- 
 tin Melvin, Wm. B. Isham, Isaac H. Bailey, John 
 W. Stout and others. 
 
 The early business of the house was purchasing 
 and selling all kinds of hide and leather. This 
 branch was more immediately under the supervision 
 of Shepherd Knapp, and he made frequent visits to 
 Massachusetts to purchase supplies of sole leather, 
 dealing with Joseph Southwick, father of Philip R. 
 Southwiick ; Tufts, of Charlestown ; Winslow, of 
 Roxbury, and other well known tanners. A little 
 later the firm dealt wholly in sole leather and hides. 
 The sales of the house from 1825 to 1830 were in 
 the neighborhood of half a million of dollars, and 
 this increased until 1838, when they sold the round 
 sum of two millions of dollars worth of hides and 
 leather. Their customers were from New England, 
 New York State, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the 
 Carolinas and other Southern States used to be a 
 market for heavy leather suitable for negro bro- 
 gans. Usually, sales were on six months' credit. 
 
 During the last ten years of their business career, 
 the firm held regular auction sales every fortnight, 
 selling their own leather and that of other houses. 
 They were largely engaged in stocking tanneries 
 with hides and selling the leather on commission. 
 
54 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 The first stock of hides ever put in by Zadock Pratt 
 were furnished by Gideon Lee & Company. 
 
 The contracts with tanners at that period obli- 
 gated them to pay a charge of five per cent, for the 
 purchase of hides, and the dealer received the same 
 back in leather, for the sale of which four per cent. 
 was charged, with an addition of two per cent, 
 guarantee. The only property the tanner held in 
 the leather was the gain. The operations of the 
 firm of which we write were very extensive, and 
 often from two to three hundred thousand sides ot 
 leather would accumulate on their hands in dull 
 times. 
 
 In 1837-8 leather was not selling and money was 
 tight. Lee & Co. made arrangements to borrow in 
 Boston, partly from Ebenezer Francis, $100,000. 
 Leather was the security. It was sent to Boston, 
 stored on Long Wharf, and Mr. Francis held the 
 key. He got eight per cent, interest on the loan. 
 A few months thereafter trade revived and the firm 
 began to get offers for their leather. Mr. Lee sent 
 his son-in-law, Charles M. Leupp, to Boston. He 
 reported that leather was going up rapidly and cus- 
 tomers were anxious to buy, but he would not sell 
 until a higher price was reached. Mr. Lee said, 
 "The time to sell is when customers want to buy." 
 He told Knapp to go to Boston and sell that leather. 
 The firm held 170,000 sides in New York and Bos- 
 ton. Mr. Knapp left by stage for Boston. He went 
 down on the wharf on the morning of his arrival 
 and met members of the trade returning angry, 
 
GIDEON LEE FIRMS SS 
 
 because they could not get to see the leather. He 
 turned them back, opened the doors, ticketed the 
 stock and began to sell. In a few days all had been 
 sold and a good profit realized. Leather declined 
 shortly thereafter, but the firm were saved from 
 loss. ! 
 
 Gideon Lee and Shepherd' Knapp both retired 
 from business in 1839. Gideon Lee was a Member 
 of Assembly in 1822. Served as Alderman for a 
 few years, and in 1833-4 was Mayor of New York. 
 He declined a re-election. In 1835 he was presi- 
 dent of the Shoe and Leather Manufacturers' Bank 
 For about four years he was. a representative to 
 Congress at Washington, and in 1840 was chosen 
 Presidential Elector, and voted for William Henry 
 Harrison. He bought an estate in Geneva, N. Y., 
 and spent the last years of his life there. He died 
 in August, 1841. 
 
 Mr. Lee was of medium height, rather spare and 
 very aristocratic in appearance. He used to ride 
 down town from his residence in Bond street, 
 mounted on a handsome black horse, which went 
 prancing into his stall at the rear of the Ferry street 
 stores. While Mr. Lee was connected with the 
 City Government he gave $500 to every school 
 house that was built, to be used for purchasing 
 library or scientific apparatus. 
 
 Shepherd Knapp, who was connected with Mr. 
 Lee as clerk and partner, twenty-seven years, was 
 born in Cummington, Mass., in 1795. Gideon Lee 
 married his cousin. In 1817 Mr. Knapp came to 
 
56 
 
 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 New York and entered his employ. 
 
 In the spring of 1819 the offer of a partnership 
 was made to Mr. Knapp, and the firm of Gideon 
 Lee & Co. dated from that time and continued 
 
 SHEPHERD KNAPP. 
 
 twenty years. The original arrangement was for fif- 
 teen years at an interest of one quarter of the profits 
 for the first five years, one third for the next and a 
 half interest for the last five years. This latter ar- 
 
GIDEON LEE FIRMS 57 
 
 rangement continued for ten years, or until 1839, 
 when both of these gentlemen retired from the 
 leather business with ample fortunes. 
 
 Mr. Knapp was married in the spring of 1820 to 
 Miss Catherine Louise Kumbel, a sister of Colonel 
 William Kumbel, who was for over fifty years a 
 prominent merchant in the Swamp. 
 
 Shepherd Knapp was appointed a director in the 
 Branch Bank of the United States in 1832. In 183S 
 he was chosen president of the Mechanic's Bank 
 and held the office more than thirty years. He was 
 for some years Chamberlain of New York City and 
 a pension agent from 1838 to 1843. He was a 
 president of the Fidelity Insurance Company. He 
 lived at Washington Heights. 
 
 Mr. Knapp was a notable man, of full size, and 
 in his later years his hair was white as snow. A 
 shoe manufacturer, who saw him for the first time, 
 said on leaving the store, "If Shepherd Knapp is 
 not an honest man, then God Almighty does not 
 write a legible hand." Shepherd Knapp died De- 
 cember 22d, 1875. 
 
 When Mr. Lee and Mr. Knapp retired the firm 
 was changed to Lee & Burke. 
 
 Mr. Lee's share was $450,000, Mr. Knapp's 
 $200,000, which was withdrawn, but they made up 
 a special capital of $150,000 for the new firm. 
 David Williamson Lee, son of Gideon Lee, had 
 been admitted ; George G. Smith was a partner, but 
 he was lost in the Arctic in 1854. 
 
58 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Lee & Burk was changed to Charles M. 
 Leupp & Co. in 1843. I n 1846-7 their capital 
 was impaired, but they made money after 
 that and went through the panic of 1857 unharmed. 
 They were the first house to send leather to Europe. 
 It was in 1844 when the ship Montreal took 500 
 sides of Buenos Ayres over-weights tanned by Za- 
 dock Pratt. They also sent oak sole later, but the 
 business was neglected thereafter and this firm 
 never resumed it. 
 
 In 1859 the firm entered into a disastrous specu- 
 lation. Zadock Pratt and Jay Gould were asso- 
 ciated in the tanning business under the firm name 
 of Pratt & Gould. They built a tannery at Goulds- 
 boro, Pa. Corse & Pratt, of New York, stocked 
 the yard and sold the leather. They became dis- 
 satisfied and urged Zadock Pratt to sell out. He 
 sold to Charles M. Leupp & Co. for about $150,000. 
 The new owners filled the tannery with hides and 
 accepted Jay Gould's notes for them until they 
 were involved to an alarming extent. It preyed 
 upon Mr. Leupp's mind and on October 5th, 1859, 
 he shot himself with a fowling-piece and ended his 
 life. He had lost all his property, except about 
 $30,000, which was saved out of the wreck and in- 
 herited by his three daughters. He built at a cost 
 of $90,000 the bouse at the southeast corner of 
 Madison avenue and Twenty-fifth street. Here he 
 had cultivated his love of literature and the fine 
 arts, of both of which he had become a liberal pat- 
 ron. He possessed a large and well selected library. 
 
GIDEON LEE FIRMS. 59 
 
 Some of the best pictures of our most eminent land- 
 scape artists, as Cole, Durand, Kensett and others 
 of kindred excellence, graced his walls — upon 
 which, also, were represented the works of many of 
 our first portrait painters, as Inman, Ingham, El- 
 liott, Gray, Page, Hicks and others. 
 
 JAY GOULD'S BATTLE. 
 
 This was an exciting episode in the leather trade. 
 D. Williamson Lee, surviving partner of Chas. M. 
 Leupp & Co., went to Gouldsboro in March, i860, 
 and took possession of the tannery there, leaving 
 twenty men in charge. Jay Gould, who claimed 
 it, gathered a force of 200 men to dispossess Lee. 
 They met at the tavern on the morning of March 
 6th, and after refreshments furnished by Gould had 
 been partaken of, they rushed down to the tannery 
 firing pistols and charged through the leather lofts, 
 driving the custodians into the woods. Shots were 
 exchanged, four men were wounded, but no lives 
 were lost. Surgeons were kept busy at the hotel 
 binding up the wounds of the contestants. The 
 matter was afterwards settled in court, but mean- 
 time the tannery was sold to Wm. Creighton Lee. 
 LEE & COMPANY. 
 
 The youngest son of Gideon Lee was William 
 Creighton Lee. He commenced tanning at an early 
 age. When Chas. M. Leupp & Co. went out of 
 business he took the store 20 and 22 Ferry street, 
 which his father had built, and continued in the 
 leather business. H. D. H. Synder, a Greene 
 
60 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 i 
 
 County tanner, was his partner. The old sign of 
 
 Gideon Lee remained over the store all the time 
 the son was there. Mr. Synder left the firm in 
 1871. Charles H. Lee and Gideon Lee, sons 
 of W. Creighton Lee were taken as partners. 
 R. J. Hutton came in the firm in 1882. G. 
 Lee, Jr., died May 3d, 1886. In 1893 they sold 
 the Cedar Run and Gains tanneries to the United 
 States Leather Company. Wm. Creighton Lee 
 died February 15th, 1897. His son, Charles H. 
 Lee, is a director and hide buyer for the leather 
 company. He resembles his illustrious grandfather 
 in more ways than one. He lives in Gramercy Park 
 with his wife and six children, four boys and two 
 girls. The record of the Lee family for almost a 
 century has been kept high up among the noblest 
 of the trade. 
 
 JACOB LORILLARD. 
 Some one has said that there never was a poor 
 Lorillard. The family are chiefly known as suc- 
 cessful tobacconists, but in the last century a Loril- 
 lard was a tanner in New York, and his younger 
 brother and apprentice, is the subject of this sketch. 
 Jacob Lorillard grew up to be one of the richest 
 men in the leather trade. He began business about 
 1800 with $3,000, most of which was a loan from 
 his two brothers. In 1812 he lived at No. 14 and 
 his store was No. 16 Ferry street. Mr. Lorillard 
 stocked many tanneries, that is, furnished the hides 
 to tan on contract. He went to Northampton, 
 Mass., early in the present century to see the new 
 
JACOB LORILLARD. 
 
 61 
 
 JACOB LORILLAED. 
 
 sole leather roller invented by William Edwards. 
 Lookingat it he said : "It covers amultitude of sins," 
 and ordered several for his tanneries. This rolling 
 machine (the same now in use) and the bark mill 
 invented by William Tobey, of Hudson, N. Y„ 
 about the same time, were very valuable improve- 
 ments in sole leather tanning. In 1820 Mr. Loril- 
 lard paid taxes on $600,000 worth of property. Hf 
 was president of the Mechanics' Bank for many 
 years. He owned 109 valuable lots of real estate, 
 of which several were in the Swamp. When he re- 
 
62 HISTORY OF THfi SWAMP. 
 
 tired from business in 1834 Gideon Lee and other 
 merchants in the Swamp went to his house, corner 
 of Hudson and Laight streets, and presented him 
 with a solid set of silverware suitably inscribed. He 
 died September 30, 1838, and left four daughters, 
 but no son to perpetuate his name. In 1830 Jacob 
 Lorillard built the store standing now on the north- 
 west corner of Ferry and Cliff streets. It was far 
 superior to any other on the street and competition 
 arose among merchants to hire it. Sealed pro- 
 posals were made. Smith & Schultz bid $1,001 a 
 year for a five years lease and secured it. It was 
 a large rent for that time. At the opening there 
 was an auction sale of leather. Many tanners 
 contributed from their stocks. Jacob Lorillard put 
 in a large consignment, and champagne lunch was 
 provided. Several swampers got exhilirated and 
 bought more leather than they put in the sale and 
 Mr. Lorillard was among the number. 
 
 WM. KUMBEL. 
 The pioneer in the manufacture of leather belting 
 was a genuine swamper. He was born at 312 Pearl, 
 opposite to Ferry street, in 1790. He learned to 
 curry leather with Cunningham & McCormick. 
 Hugh McCormick married his sister. In 1810 Wil- 
 liam Kumbel went into the leather finishing trade. 
 He was located at 33 Ferry street during most of his 
 business career. In 1836 he made the first leather 
 belt made in America. Very little belting was used 
 here then. There was not a stationary engine in 
 New York at that time. The demand grew, how- 
 
WM. KUMBEL. 63 
 
 ever, and for ten years Mr. Kumbel was the only 
 man to supply it. He also curried seal skins and 
 trunk leather. In 1850 he sent the first leather belt 
 to California. He died in June, 1866. A son, Peter 
 E. Kumbel, succeeded him, but the business was 
 soon discontinued. William Kumbel was Colonel 
 of the nth Regiment, N. Y. V., afterwards changed 
 to the 7th Regiment. Colonel Kumbel always took 
 an active interest in this organization. 
 
 Colonel Kumbel was tall and erect, with a mili- 
 tary bearing. He usually wore a cloak. Toward 
 the last days of his life he was noted for his long 
 white hair and quick walk. He showed few marks 
 of age. 
 
 A history of early Swamp merchants would not 
 be complete without mention of the 
 
 EVERIT FAMILY. 
 Thomas Everit engaged in the hide business and 
 tanned leather in Brooklyn in 1795. He visited the 
 Swamp every morning to buy or sell. An older 
 son joined him in business, but died, and in 1818 
 another son, Valentine Everit, came in the firm, 
 which was known as Thomas Everit & Son. Valen- 
 tine Everit succeeded to the business and built the 
 store 32 Ferry street in 1825. The family did busi- 
 ness there about fifty years. The firm was V. 
 Everit & Co. This was changed to Hyde & Everit, 
 Isaac Hyde becoming a partner. Sons of Mr. 
 Everit, Richard and Thomas Everit, were in busi- 
 ness here for several years. John Hopkins came 
 with them and the firm was Everit & Hopkins, with 
 
64 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Valentine Everit as special partner for $20,000. 
 In 1874 Everit & Chapman succeeded, and when 
 Valentine Everit died, in 1877, the firm became 
 Thos. Everit & Co. They have discontinued busi- 
 ness. 
 
 A GROWING TRADE. 
 
 As the leather business was very profitable, many 
 tanners sent their sons to New York to learn of its 
 financial side. Some tanners who had accumulated 
 money in the industry embarked in the commission 
 business, and in the early days many of them made 
 fortunes. 
 
 Before the railroad was built to Albany no 
 leather came to New York after the North River 
 froze up in the winter. Massachusetts manufact- 
 urers bought leather in Albany and Troy and took 
 it on sleds over to Worcester County, where it was 
 cut into boots. Friend Humphrey, of Albany, and 
 Elias Plum, of Troy, made fortunes in selling 
 leather when New York was closed to trade. 
 
 From 1820 to 1850 tanneries up the State in- 
 creased rapidly. Every owner of a thousand or ten 
 thousand acre tract of hemlock land could build a 
 tannery, get a few skilled workmen from Massachu- 
 setts and find a Swamp merchant who would stock 
 him with hides. The growth of the business is 
 shown by the returns of 
 
 LEATHER INSPECTION. 
 
 as follows in New York : 
 
LEATHER INSPECTION. 65 
 
 1827 265,000 sides. 
 
 1837 665,000 sides. 
 
 1847 1,168,000 sides. 
 
 1857 3,248,000 sides. 
 
 1867 4,420,000 sides. 
 
 This leather was tanned in Greene, Sullivan and 
 Delaware Counties. All leather sold in New York 
 had to be inspected. Sworn inspectors did the 
 work, and the "Inspection Law" was rigidly en- 
 forced. In fifty years all the bark was used 
 and as the hemlock does not reproduce itself, 
 there is hardly a tree of that species now in the 
 Catskill region. 
 
 SWAMP, 1820 TO 1840. 
 
 Among the old Swampers in early times there 
 was a degree of intimacy which did not exist later. 
 They were brought together by business and social 
 ties. They lived in the Swamp or on its borders. 
 Jonathan Thorne, Loring Andrews, Colonel Wm. 
 Kumbel lived on Cliff, near Frankfort street. Mr. 
 Thome's house of yellow brick was noticeable for 
 it front door, with polished brass knocker, sur- 
 mounted by a bull's head. Jackson S. Schultz lived 
 in Cliff near Ferry street, where he was married to 
 Miss Chichester, daughter of Abner Chichester, a 
 rich Pearl street dry goods merchant, who owned 
 much property in that neighborhood. All these 
 merchants exchanged visits in a democratic way 
 and none of them thought of keeping a carriage. 
 
 It was a time of special partnerships. The 
 leather magnates started their clerks or relatives in 
 
66 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 business with anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 as 
 special capital. Most trades were made on six and 
 eight months' time, and there was a good deal of 
 borrowing, note shaving and some "kiting." The 
 "special partners'' got 7 per cent, interest for their 
 investment, besides a share, as agreed upon, of the 
 profits. It was a lucrative arrangement for them 
 when judiciously placed. 
 
 During the winter very few sales were made. 
 Tanners sent their leather down the North River 
 as long as that waterway was open to traffic. The 
 hemlock sides in the late autumn were hurried 
 through and often short tanned, so eager were the 
 owners to get them to market. When stocks were 
 small and prices advanced tanners would come 
 down from the Catskills with large sled loads of 
 leather and there was excitement in the Swamp. 
 Before the railroad was built, leather was sent to 
 Massachusetts in schooners, not rolled up, but piled 
 on deck or in the hold. Boston harbor was always 
 open and the warehouses on Long Wharf some- 
 times contained as much leather as there was in the 
 Swamp. 
 
 In dull seasons and in winter chequers was a 
 favorite game. Some merchants were expert 
 players. The headquarters for chess was in the 
 office of T. & R. Stout ; also, and earlier, in that of 
 Austin Melvin. Mr. Melvin was a strong player, 
 but sometimes he would get excited and move two 
 men, one in each hand. Wm. Bullard, Thomas 
 Fraser and J. V. Van Woert were good players. 
 
 Peter Cooper was a familiar figure in the Swamp. 
 
SWAMP— 1820-1840. 67 
 
 He came into the stores about New Years with a 
 check book and paid for the glue stock the mer- 
 chants had sold him. 
 
 During the winter of 1847-8 prices advanced 
 and all the leather that could be moved was brought 
 down the North River on sleds. Colonel Zadock 
 Pratt came into the Swamp behind four gray horses 
 with a very large sled load of sole leather all the 
 way from Prattsville. The Mexican War had 
 stimulated the demand. Hides had been cheap for 
 some time previous and as much as eleven cents a 
 pound was realized for tanning. The California 
 fever kept the excitement up for a time, after 1849. 
 
 ECLECTIC FRATERNITY. 
 
 In 1837, or thereabouts, there was founded the 
 Eclectic Fraternity, a literary society which became 
 somewhat famous during the few years it existed. 
 The preamble of its Constitution described it as 
 having been formed "for the purpose of mutually 
 aiding each other in mental cultivation." They had 
 a library and reading room in the Swamp (No. 30 
 Ferry street). In the winter they had lectures. 
 Gideon Lee delivered two on tanning, which were 
 published. In a book containing the By-Laws and 
 a list of names of the members, there are sixty- 
 seven set down as belonging to it in 1840. Among 
 them were the following young men connected 
 with the leather trade, either as clerks or junior 
 partners. 
 
 Nicholas Carroll, with Gideon Lee & Co.; Jo- 
 
68 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 seph E. Bulkley, with Thomas Pritchett; James R. 
 Smith, morocco manufacturer; Edwin R. Tre- 
 main, with V. Everett & Co.; Edwin Smith, 
 Perry, Smith & Brown; Elijah T. Brown, Perry, 
 Smith & Brown; Jackson S. Schultz, John V. Van 
 Woert, James Kerrigan, Jr., M. S. Kerrigan, Fred- 
 erick Fawcett, Henry E. Shackerly, with Wm. 
 Kumbel; Charles Lockwood, with H. & G. Brooks; 
 John Westervelt, Peter E. Kevan, John Armstrong, 
 Matthew Armstrong & Sons ; Henry J. Brooks, 
 William Miles, Thos. Smull & Co. ; J. T. Trotter, 
 Cyrus W. Field and Daniel C. Robbins, of McKes- 
 son & Robbins, were members. 
 
 HORTONS AS TANNERS. 
 
 The first of the Horton family to come to this 
 country from England was Barnabas Horton, who 
 landed in 1638. About 1640, with Rev. John 
 Davenport, he went from New Haven to the east- 
 ern part of Long Island and founded the town of 
 Southold. A kettle is still owned by a member of 
 the family and called "Uncle Barney's money pot," 
 which, tradition says, he brought from England 
 "filled with gold and silver.'' The house he built 
 was torn down in 1880. It had then stood 220 
 years. The pot of money has increased with the 
 family, many thousand fold. 
 
 THE PIONEER TANNER. 
 Stephen Horton was the first tanner in the family. 
 In 1760 he laid down a tannery at Yorktown, N. Y. 
 He tanned upper leather, as sole leather was at 
 
THE PIONEER TANNER. 69 
 
 that time all imported from England. He died in 
 Yorktown in 1814. The successor of Stephen Hor- 
 ton in the tanning business was his son, Hon. Wil- 
 liam Horton. He went to Stephentown, but about 
 1789 moved to Colchester, N. Y. Here he built a 
 tannery and produced the first sole leather ever 
 made in Delaware County. He also built saw and 
 grist mills. Delaware County was afterwards one 
 of the greatest leather producing sections of New 
 York State. Jay Gould was a surveyor there and 
 wrote a "History of Delaware County." William 
 Horton served several terms in the New York 
 Legislature. He was also a President Judge of the 
 county. He died in the eighty-eighth year of his 
 age. 
 
 Isaac Horton, son of William Horton, continued 
 the tanning business and laid down a yard at Lib- 
 erty Falls, N. Y. In 1867 there were ten of his 
 children and thirty-seven grandchildren living. 
 His children all lived to maturity. It was in this 
 family that the tanners increased. His sons laid 
 the foundation of the hemlock sole leather business 
 of America and made their product famous all over 
 the globe. 
 
 These were the names of his children : 
 
 ISAAC HORTON'S CHILDREN. 
 
 Homer, born 1809; married Jane Davidge. 
 Ray, born 181 1 ; married Martha A. Radeker. 
 James, born 1813; married E. A. Clements. 
 Charles, born 181 5 ; married Betsy Grant. 
 Esther, born 1817; married Nath, Gildesleeve. 
 
70 HISTORY OB THE SWAMP. 
 
 Clarissa, born 1819; married John C. Smith. 
 
 Ovid, born 1821 ; married Catherine Holliday. 
 
 Annis, born 1824; married William Gurd. 
 
 Webb, born 1826; married Eliz. A. Radeker. 
 
 Emily, born 1829; married Nich. M. Young. 
 
 Some of the sons of the first Isaac Horton were 
 tanners and the daughters, all but one, married 
 tanners. Isaac Horton built two grist mills and 
 other buildings for industries at Liberty Falls. He 
 died in May, 1855, aged 75 years. He was among 
 the first to send leather to New York for sale. 
 
 Homer Horton, oldest son of Isaac Horton, was 
 a tanner at Callicoon, N. Y. His sons rose to be 
 at the head of their profession as sole leather tan- 
 ners. All of his daughters married tanners. The 
 names of his children were : 
 
 Walter Horton, born 1832. 
 
 Lucien Horton, born 1836. 
 
 Elizabeth Horton, married Wm. McNair in 1855. 
 
 Rachel Horton, married John McNair, 1861. 
 
 James Horton, born 1849. 
 
 Isaac Horton, born 1852. 
 
 Sarah Horton, born 1855; married Lorenzo R. 
 Johnson. 
 
 Walter Horton, eldest son of Homer Horton, 
 was, in his lifetime, the most prominent member of 
 the great tanning family. He learned the trade 
 with his father. He then worked three years for 
 Allison, Davidge & Co., at Hancock. In 1856 the 
 firm of Allison, Crary & Co. was formed at Han- 
 cock, N, Y., and Walter Horton became a partner. 
 
ISAAC HORTON'S CHILDREN. ?i 
 
 In May, 1862 the tannery and bark piles were 
 destroyed by fire. There was little insurance. The 
 firm made an arrangement with Bullard & Co., of 
 New York, and the tannery was rebuilt. It so hap- 
 pened that a stock of hides and the leather in the 
 vats was saved. The price of leather advanced in 
 the next two years from about 18 cents to 50 cents 
 a pound and the business was very profitable. 
 
 In 1864 Walter Horton went to Sheffield, Pa., 
 and always resided there. His uncle, Webb, went 
 with him. They bought a great tract of land. 
 Webb and Walter Horton sold an interest to H. H. 
 Crary and the firm of Horton, Crary & Co was 
 formed. They built the Sheffield tannery, bored 
 gas and oil wells and were very successful in their 
 operations. They also did a lumbering business. 
 Horton, Crary & Co. bought an interest in the tan- 
 nery of J. F. Schoellkopf & Co., in Sheffield. 
 Walter Horton was a tanning king. He was a part- 
 ner in Horton, Crary & Co. ; Schoellkopf, Horton 
 & Co.; John McNair & Co., of Sheffield; Forest 
 Tanning Co., of Brookston ; G. & I. Horton, of 
 Arroyo; H. H. Crary & Co., Westfield; Walter 
 Horton & Co., Harrison Valley, Pa. ; and James 
 Horton & Co., Salamanca, N. Y. These firms in 
 nine tanneries produced 4,000 sides of hemlock sole 
 leather daily. It was sold until 1893 by the commis- 
 sion house of Walter Horton & Co., Boston. 
 Walter Horton was president of the Tionesta Val- 
 ley Railway, which ran through a hemlock bark 
 region seventy-five miles. He had the family taste 
 
72 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 for travel and visited Europe, Mexico and every 
 section of his own country. He died in Philadel- 
 phia January 31st, 1891, at the Lafayette Hotel, 
 where he was under medical treatment. His only 
 child, Myra, married Louis Schoellkopf, son of J. 
 F. Schoellkopf, of Buffalo, N. Y. 
 
 Lucien Horton, second son of Homer Horton, 
 commenced tanning at Lake Como in i860 with 
 John Davidge. They named the town after the 
 famous Italian lake, as it stood on a similar body 
 of water. Mr. Horton and partners also built tan- 
 neries at Berkshire and Newark Valley about 1864. 
 Lucien Horton was a member of the firms of Alli- 
 son, Davidge & Co.;Davidge, Horton & Co., and 
 Davidge, Landfield & Co., at Lake Como, Berk- 
 shire and Newark Valley, and that of Davidge & 
 Co., of English Centre. He was a man of com- 
 manding form and possessed eminent social and 
 business qualities. He lived at Berkshire. He was 
 a member of the Board of Supervisors of the town 
 and was offered the Congressional nomination, but 
 declined it. He died November nth, 1892. One 
 of his sons, Charles Sumner Horton, is president 
 of the Union Tanning Company, and another, Roy 
 Horton, is superintendent of tanneries. 
 
 Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Homer Horton, 
 married William McNair in 1855. Mr. McNair 
 went to Sheffield in 1865 with Webb Horton, 
 Walter Horton and other members of the family. 
 He was a practical tanner, a member of the firm of 
 Horton, Crary & Co. He died in Sheffield in 1876. 
 
HOMER HORTON'S CHILDREN. 73 
 
 William McNair had three daughters. The 
 eldest, Jennie, married Lane B. Schofield, formerly 
 of Walter Horton & Co., now a member of the 
 banking house of Schofield, Whicher & Co., Bos- 
 ton. Mr. Schofield owns an estate at Newton and 
 indulges his tastes as a gentleman farmer. 
 
 Rachel B. Horton, second daughter of Homer 
 Horton, married John McNair, who began busi- 
 ness in Callicoon, N. Y._ as a lumber merchant. In 
 1870 he went to Sheffield and formed the firm oi 
 John McNair & Co., with Horton, Crary & 
 Co., and C. W. R. Radeker as partners. 
 He engaged in the tanning business and learned 
 the art with Horton, Crary & Co., and with 
 them built the Tionesta tannery, which he took 
 charge of. He continued tanning and lumbering 
 until the business was merged in the United States 
 Leather Company. 
 
 Sarah Horton, youngest daughter of Homer Hor- 
 ton, married Lorenzo Johnson. His father, James 
 Johnson, was a tanner at Denning, N. Y., and his 
 grandfather, James Johnson, first tanned sole leather 
 at Neversink, Ulster County, more than half a cen- 
 tury ago. Lorenzo Johnson is general superin- 
 tendent of tanneries for the United States Leather 
 Company. 
 
 James Horton, third son of Homer Horton, is 
 president of the United States Leather Company. 
 He is a practical tanner. He began his career with 
 Allison, Crary & Co. Then he went to Westfield, 
 Pa. He was best known as the proprietor of the 
 
74 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Westfield and Harrison Valley (known as the Cow- 
 ancsque), and Salamanca, N. Y., tanneries, large 
 and finely appointed sole leather yards. James Hor- 
 ton is at the head of the largest tanning organiza- 
 tion ever known. The company owns more than 
 a hundred tanneries and have a capital equal to 
 $124,000,000. Mr. Horton, its president, is, of 
 course, a very busy man, but he possesses in full 
 measure the Horton executive ability. The com- 
 pany has prospered exceedingly and twice in- 
 creased its dividends since Mr. Horton took charge 
 of it. He was, on February 28th, 1901, re-elected 
 for the fourth time as its president. James Horton 
 married Wilhelmena Garritt, sister of Wm. Henry 
 and Walter G. Garritt, both tanners. Walter G. 
 Garritt is a member of the Executive Committee of 
 the company and is located in Boston. Two sons 
 of James Horton, W. G. Horton and Sidney Hor- 
 ton, are tanners. 
 
 Isaac Horton, youngest son of Homer Horton, 
 learned the trade of his father. He became a part- 
 ner in Horton, Crary & Co. and Horton, Johnson 
 & Co., Kellettville, Pa., and was connected with the 
 Sheffield tanneries. He was vice-president of the 
 Penn Tanning Company. Isaac Horton was an 
 energetic, active man, well beloved and highly re- 
 spected. He died in Sheffield, September 9th, 1899, 
 aged 48 years. 
 
 These were the sons and daughters of Homer 
 Horton. His wife, Jane Davidge, belonged to a 
 famous tanning family. Her brother, John Dav- 
 
DAVIDGE FIRMS. 75 
 
 idge, was a tanner. With H. H. Crary he built the 
 tannery at Sands Creek, near Hancock, in 1849. 
 With Lucien Horton he built the Lake Como tan- 
 nery and settled and named the town. In 1865 he 
 sold to A. E. Babcock and engaged in tanning at 
 Berkshire, Tioga County, with his eldest son, James 
 Davidge, and Lucien Horton as Davidge, Horton 
 & Co., and later with Geo. H. Allison and Jerome 
 B. Landfield as Davidge, Landfield & Co. These 
 firms owned the Berkshire, Tioga and Maine tan- 
 neries. John Davidge died in 1880. 
 
 James Davidge, eldest son of John Davidge, was 
 superintendent of the Berkshire tannery. He was 
 able and successful in his calling and one of the 
 originators of the United States Leather Company. 
 He was a member and officer of the Presbyterian 
 Church in Binghamton, where he resided for many 
 years. He owned and developed timber and min- 
 eral lands in West Virginia and North Carolina. 
 He was a director in the Binghamton Sugar Beet 
 Company. He died August 22d, 1898. His son, 
 John M. Davidge, was with the United States 
 Leather Company 
 
 Of the other sons of John Davidge these are con- 
 nected with the United States Leather Company: 
 
 Sherwood B. Davidge, superintendent of the 
 Newark Valley and Berkshire tanneries. An ex- 
 cellent man and a thorough practical tanner. 
 
 Edson G. Davidge, a director in the company and 
 purchaser of supplies. 
 
 Samuel P. Davidge, director in the company and 
 
76 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 manager of export and sales department. 
 
 Gifford G. Davidge, in the sales department. 
 
 Horace H. Crary was a prominent tanner. He 
 married Polly Burr. She was an aunt of the Dav- 
 idge family of tanners. Her sister, Eunice, mar- 
 ried John Davidge ; another sister married Lucien 
 Horton. Mr. Crary started tanning in 1850 as a 
 member of the firm of Allison, Davidge & Co. ; this 
 was changed to Allison, Crary & Co., and later to 
 Crary Brothers. They tanned at Hancock, N. Y. 
 He was also a member of the firms of H. H. Crary 
 & Co., Westfield ; Walter Horton & Co., Harrison 
 Valley; James Horton & Co., Salamanca, N. Y., 
 and a partner in all the sole leather tanneries at 
 Sheffield, Pa. All his interests were transferred to 
 the United States Leather Co. in 1893 and he re- 
 tired from business. He died in Binghampton, N. 
 Y., June nth, 1898, aged 74 years. 
 
 One son, Calvert Crary, married a daughter of 
 James Horton. He is with the United States 
 Leather Company in Boston. A cousin, Roscoe 
 Crary, is manager of their Chicago store. 
 
 Jerry Crary was the youngest brother of Horace 
 II. Crary. He enlisted in the war and was wounded 
 in the battle of Resaca, Ga., in 1864. He returned 
 home and engaged as book-keeper for Horton, 
 Crary & Co., and later was taken in the firm. In 
 1881 Jerry Crary, with his partners, drilled and 
 struck oil about three miles from Sheffield on land 
 owned by Horton, Crary & Co., Subsequent drill- 
 ing developed large quantities of oil and made their 
 
ISAAC HORTON'S CHILDREN. 77 
 
 lands, after being stripped of timber, a new source 
 of wealth. Jerry Crary is a director in the United 
 States Leather Company, and was president of the 
 Penn Tanning Company. 
 
 James Horton, third son of Isaac Horton, was 
 not a tanner, but his son, Arthur Horton, was 
 brought up to the business and is with the United 
 States Leather Company at the Paw Paw tannery. 
 
 Charles Horton, the fourth son of Isaac Horton, 
 was the first of his sons to learn the tanning trade, 
 which he did with Sherman H. Case, notable as one 
 of the most skilful sole leather tanners of his time. 
 He was the first to unhair by sweating. 
 
 In 1844 Charles Horton bought Mr. Case's in- 
 terest in the Liberty tannery, which was thereafter 
 carried on by the firm of Gildersleeve & Horton. 
 Nathaniel Gildersleeve, his brother-in-law, was his 
 partner. Charles Horton built the North Branch 
 tannery at Callicoon in 1849, m connection with his 
 uncle, Charles Knapp, who. was a banker. In 1854 
 he built the Narrowsburg tannery in Wayne 
 County, Pa., with his brother, Webb Horton. Then 
 with his cousin, George E. Knapp, he bought the 
 Stevens tannery at Cochecton Centre, Pa. In 
 connection with his brother, Webb Horton, 
 and his nephew, Walter Horton, property was 
 bought at Sheffield with the idea of build- 
 ing a tannery there, but Charles Horton 
 sold his interest to Webb and Walter Horton, 
 who afterwards, with H. H. Crary and Wm. Mc- 
 Nair, formed the firm of Horton, Crary & Co. and 
 
78 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 took that property. In 1871, with Oscar B. Grant, 
 he built the Ridgway tannery in Pennsylvania. He 
 afterwards sold his interest to G. B. Horton & Co. 
 In 1883, with his son, G. B. Horton and his nephew, 
 Eugene Horton, he built the Watauga tannery at 
 Johnson City, Tenn. Mr. Horton retired from ac- 
 tive business long before he ceased investing money 
 in tanneries. He lived at his beautiful residence 
 in Middletown, N. Y., and died there November 
 3d, 1876. 
 
 He was a thorough tanner and a sagacious busi- 
 ness man. He spent much time in traveling, and 
 was thoroughly conversant with international af- 
 fairs. He was the father of G. B. and Melvin Hor- 
 ton. His eldest daughter married S. H. Yocum, 
 who was connected with the Watauga tannery for 
 several years. Their son, John H. Yocum, is an 
 expert leather chemist. 
 
 Charles Horton married Betsy Grant. She was 
 a sister of Robert Young Grant, who owned the 
 Liberty tannery. He was a State Senator of New 
 York in 1859-1860. His son, Oscar B. Grant, 
 adopted tanning, and with Charles Horton, built 
 the Ridgeway tannery. Charles Horton sold his 
 interest to his sons and the firm of Grant & Hor- 
 ton operated it until it was merged in the United 
 States Leather Co. Oscar B. Grant is first vice- 
 president of the United States Leather Company. 
 He was a lieutenant in the United States Navy and 
 holds a commission signed by Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 George E. Knapp was connected with Webb and 
 
ISAAC HORTON'S CHILDREN. 79 
 
 Charles Horton in the Cochecton tannery. He 
 was their cousin. His son Fred. E. Knapp is with 
 the United States Leather Company. He married 
 a daughter of G. B. Horton. 
 
 Giirdon B. Horton, son of Charles Horton and 
 Betsy Grant, was born at Liberty Falls, N. Y., 
 July 8th, 1845. He was well educated and learned 
 the art of tanning. 
 
 In 1863 he came to New York, where he was 
 employed by Henry McClellan at No. q Ferry 
 street, in the sole leather trade. In 1865 he entered 
 the store of Hoyt Bros. While with them he com- 
 menced the tanning business by sending out a few 
 hides to be tanned by the pound at the North 
 Branch and Cochecton tanneries, then owned by 
 his father. On October 1st, 1867, the firm of G. B. 
 Horton & Co., composed of G. B. Horton, J. B. 
 Radcliffe and Melvin Horton, was formed. Mel- 
 vin Horton died, but the business was conducted 
 by the surviving partners until 1893. G. B. Horton 
 bought from his father an interest in the firm of 
 Grant & Horton, Ridgway. In 1880 the firm of 
 Landfield, Davidge & Co. was formed. The part- 
 ners were the firms of Davidge, Landfield & Co., 
 Davidge, Horton & Co., S. P. Davidge and G. B. 
 Horton. They bought the Leicester tannery, 
 which, at the time of the purchase, was tanning by 
 the pound for G. B. Horton & Co. In 1883 G. B. 
 Horton sold his interest to C. S. Horton, now presi- 
 dent of the Union Tanning Company. In connec- 
 tion with S. H. Yocum, Eugene Horton and Henry 
 
80 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Gildersleeve, under the firm of Horton, Yocum & 
 Co., the Watauga tannery was built at Josnson City, 
 Tenn. This firm is still in existence as Horton, Gil- 
 dersleeve & Co. although not in tanning. 
 
 The Watauga oak sole leather was sold in New 
 York by G. B. Horton and Eugene Horton, doing 
 business as Horton & Co. Soon after this G. B. 
 Horton, Eugene Horton, H. R. Gurd and William 
 Gurd bought the New Creek Tannery in Mineral 
 County, West Virginia. The firm was Horton & 
 Gurd. In May, 1893, all these interests were merged 
 in the United States Leather Company. G. B. Hor- 
 ton has been a director in that and the Union Tan- 
 ning Company since that time and was for some 
 time a member of the Executive, the Hide Purchas- 
 ing and the Land Committees. In March, 1899, he 
 was elected president of the Brooklyn Wharf and 
 Warehouse Co., but resigned at the end of the year. 
 In I90i,with Edward R., and Joseph H. Ladew and 
 John H. Yocum, he formed the Yocum Manufac- 
 turing Co. with tanneries at Newark. 
 
 Melvin Horton, son of Charles Horton, came to 
 New York in 1867 to enter the firm of G. B. Hor- 
 ton & Co. He bought from his father part of the 
 interest in the Ridgway tannery and was a partner 
 in Grant & Horton. He died at Middletown, 
 N. Y. 
 
 Ovid Horton, fifth son of Isaac Horton, was con- 
 nected with tanning. He also owned flour and lum- 
 ber mills at Liberty Falls. His eldest son, George 
 Horton, was born in Liberty Falls, N .Y., in 1847, 
 
OTHER HORTONS. 81 
 
 George Horton was brought up in the tanning busi- 
 ness and was a member of the firms of Horton, 
 Johnson & Co., Kellettsville ; G. & I. Horton, Ar- 
 roya; Horton, Crary & Co., and was superintend- 
 ent of four taneries. He was well-known in New 
 York and Boston as a buyer of hides. Mr. Horton 
 was taken sick while visiting Mexico with a large 
 party of friends. He returned and died in Sheffield, 
 Pa., March 4th, 1893. He left a large estate to his 
 wife and two sons. 
 
 Another son of Ovid Horton was James Halli- 
 day Horton, of Horton, Crary & Co., who died in 
 July, 1899. 
 
 Webb Horton, the youngest son of the first Isaac 
 Horton, was a clerk for Gildersleeve & Horton 
 from 1844 to 1848, and afterwards a merchant 
 at Liberty Falls from 1848 to 1853. Then he be- 
 came largely engaged in tanning. From 1854 to 
 1864 he tanned at Narrowsburg. In 1864 Webb 
 and Walter Horton and Wm. McNair bought the 
 property at Sheffield, Pa. In 1867 they took in 
 Horace H. Crary, formed the firm of Horton, Crary 
 & Co., and built the tannery. Webb Horton has 
 lived in Middletown, N. Y., since 1868, but has 
 been a great traveler, having visited all parts of this 
 country, been through Mexico three times and 
 made the tour of Europe in 1880 and again in 1885. 
 He was postmaster of Liberty Falls from 1848 to 
 1850 and of Sheffield from 1865 to 1868. He has 
 for some years spent a part of the winter in New 
 York. Althopgh retired from business, he likes t$ 
 
82 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 meet the leather merchants and visits the Swamp 
 often. He has been connected with tanning about 
 fifty years and has done much to forward the leather 
 interests. 
 
 Eugene Horton, son of Webb Horton, was a 
 member of the tanning firm of Horton, Gildersleeve 
 & Co., of Johnson City, Tenn.; Horton & Gurd, 
 New Creek, West Va., and Horton & Co., New 
 York. He is a director in the United States Leather 
 Company. 
 
 Isaac Horton had four daughters. Three of them 
 married tanners, as follows : 
 
 Esther Horton, eldest daughter of Isaac Horton, 
 married Nathaniel Gildersleeve. His father, James 
 Gildersleeve, was a tanner at Liberty, N. Y., more 
 than seventy years ago. In 1841 Sherman H. Case 
 and Nathaniel Gildersleeve built a tannery at Lib- 
 Horton and the firm of Gildersleeve & Horton did 
 business there several years and were successful. 
 Sons of Nathaniel Gildersleeve were William, 
 Henry and Isaac. Isaac Gildersleeve was at Co- 
 cheeton Centre for a while as partner, and William 
 and Henry Gildersleeve run Liberty Falls tannery 
 for a few years. William is now deceased. Henry 
 Gildersleeve is superintendent of the Watauga tan- 
 nery. Another tanner in this family was James 
 Gildersleeve, Jr., who built the Belford tannery at 
 Forestburg, N. Y. His son, Charles, was asso- 
 ciated with him and tanned at Forestburg until the 
 yard was abandoned. 
 
OTHER HOiRTONS. 83 
 
 Clarissa Horton married Captain John C. Smith 
 in 1850. Captain Smith, with H. H. Crary, John 
 Davidge and Edson Gregory, built the Hancock 
 tannery. Three sons of John C. Smith are tanners. 
 
 Perry R. Smith is vice-president of the Elk Tan- 
 ning Company and superintendent of their hem- 
 lock tanneries. With his brothers, Charles and 
 Flavius Smith, he built the Arrogo tannery and 
 sold it in 1893 to the United States" Leather Com- 
 pany. 
 
 Annis horton married William Gurd. 
 
 Here we have a record of about forty tanners, 
 either Hortons or connected closely with the Hor- 
 ton family. This is the greatest tanning family the 
 world ever saw. All were distinguished men and 
 reached high positions in trade circles. Most of 
 them sold their leather in New York through their 
 own stores or the commission house of Bullard 
 & Co. 
 
 Webb Horton's Firms. 
 
 When Webb Horton went out of business he 
 was a member of all these firms : 
 
 Horton, Crary & Co., established 1867. 
 
 Schoellkopf, Horton & Co., established 1870. 
 
 John McNair & Co., established 1874. 
 
 Forest Tanning Co. 
 
 G. & I. Horton & Co. 
 
 They owned the Sheffield, Horton, Tionesta, 
 Forest and Arroyo tanneries, which were merged 
 in the United States Leather Company. 
 Charles Horton's Tanning Operations and Firms. 
 
84 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Liberty Tannery, working for Case & Gilder- 
 sleeve, 1842. 
 
 Gildersleeve & Horton, about 1844. 
 North Branch Tannery. 
 
 Horton & Knapp (Chas. Knapp), 1848; North 
 Branch. 
 
 Horton & Beach (E. Beach), North Branch. 
 
 Horton, Curtis & Clements (J. R. Clements), 
 North Branch. 
 
 Horton, Clements & Co. (Thos. Casey). 
 Narrowsburg Tannery, 1854. 
 
 Horton & Co., Narrowsburg. 
 
 Horton, Darby & Co. (Nelson Darby). 
 Cochocton Tannery, 1856. 
 
 Horton, Knapp & Co. 
 
 Ridgway, 1867. 
 
 Grant & Horton (O. B. Grant). 
 Ridgway, 1871. 
 
 Grant & Horton (O. B. Grant, G. B. Horton and 
 Melvil Horton. 
 
 Gurdon B. Horton's Firms. 
 
 G. B. Horton & Co., New York, partners G. B. 
 Horton, Melvin Horton, J. B. Radcliffe. 
 
 Grant & Horton, tanners, Ridgway; O. B. Grant, 
 G. B. Horton, Melvin Horton. 
 
 Horton, Yocum & Co., Watauga Tannery, Ten- 
 nesee; G. B. Horton, Eugene Horton, Seth H. Yo- 
 cum, Henry Gildersleeve. 
 
 Horton, Gildersleeve & Co., Watauga; G. B. 
 Horton, Eugene Horton, H. Gildersleeve. 
 
 Horton & Co., New York; G. B. Horton, Eu- 
 
TANNING FIRMS. 85 
 
 gene Horton. 
 
 Horton & Gurd ; G. B. Horton, Engene Horton, 
 Henry R. and Wm. Gurd. 
 
 Walter Horton's Tanning Firms. 
 
 Employed by Allison, Davidge & Co., 1849- 
 1852. 
 
 Superintendent for Thomas Smull & Co., 1852- 
 1856. 
 
 Partner in Allison, Crary & Co.; L. H. Allison, 
 H. H. Crary, Walter Horton. 
 
 W. & W. Horton, Sheffield, Pa., 1866; Webb 
 Horton, Walter Horton. 
 
 Horton, Crary & Co., Sheffield; Webb Horton, 
 Walter Horton, Wm. McNair, Jerry Crary, 1867. 
 
 Schoellkopf, Horton & Co., Sheffield; J.- F. 
 Schoellkopf, Horton, Crary & Co., Charles Sigel. 
 
 Tionesta Tannery; Horton, Crary & Co., John 
 McNair, C. W. R. Eadeker, 1867. 
 
 Forest Tannery, Brookston, Pa. 
 
 Arroyo Tannery, Arroyo, Pa., George and Isaac 
 Horton and Horton, Crary & Co. 
 
 H. H. Crary & Co., Westfield, Pa., 1873; H. H. 
 Crary, Walter Horton, James Horton, Edson G. 
 Davidge, 1880. 
 
 Walter Horton & Co., Harrison Valley, Pa.; 
 Walter Horton, H. H. Crary, W. G. Garritt, L. R. 
 Johnson. 
 
 James Horton & Co., Salamanca, N. Y. ; James 
 Horton, Walter Horton. 
 
 Walter Horton & Co., Boston, commission mer- 
 chants, representing twelve tanneries. 
 
86 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 James Horton's firms were: 
 
 H. H. Crary & Co., Westfield, Pa. 
 
 Walter Horton & Co., Harrison Valley, Pa. 
 
 James Horton & Co., Salamanca, N. Y. 
 
 Garritt, Davidge & Co., Tioga, Pa. 
 
 Walter Horton & Co., Boston, Mass. 
 
 From 1893 to 1897 vice-president of the United 
 States Leather Company. 
 
 1897, president of the United States Leather 
 Company. 
 
 SCHULTZ FIRMS. 
 
 Morgan L. Smith and Abraham I. Schultz 
 formed the firm cf Smith & Schultz, Poughkeepsie, 
 in 1824. Mr. Smith had married Mr. Schultz's sis- 
 ter. The Lafayette Tannery in Delaware County 
 belonged to them. Mr. Schultz was the tanner. 
 Mr. Smith sold the leather. In 1827 the firm re- 
 moved to New York and located at the east corner 
 of Jacob and Ferry streets. Mr. Smith lived over 
 the store. He was afterwards Colonel of the 
 Twenty-seventh (now Seventh) Regiment and a so- 
 ciety leader. He entertained the best people in 
 New York in his house. This firm lasted ten years. 
 Mr. Smith then retired and formed the firm of 
 Smith & Adriance in 1840, bankers and railroad 
 promoters. Mr. Smith was the first Consul to 
 Texas and held the office until Texas became a 
 State. His son-in-law, John H. Brower, succeeded 
 to his business and became a well-known hide 
 dealer. Colonel Smith died in Newark in 1884. 
 
TANNING FIRMS. 87 
 
 When Smith & Schultz were in business Mr. 
 Smith and Ogden E. Edwards, a Swamp merchant, 
 bought a farm on Broadway, where the Hoffman 
 House stands. It cost them $1,250 the lot, 25 X 
 100 feet. They lost much money by the deprecia- 
 tion of this property. This was in 1836. The next 
 year was one of great financial disturbance. Smith 
 & Schultz assigned to Jackson S. Schultz, a son of 
 the junior partner, who had just graduated in 
 Waterville College. Enough was realized to pay 
 the debts in full, but A. I. Schultz resumed tanning, 
 moved to Ellenville, N. Y., and the firm dissolved. 
 
 In 1836 Edmund M. Young, the bookkeeper for 
 Smith & Schultz, accepted a commission from his 
 uncle, Richard Nelson, of Poughkeepsie, to go to 
 New Orleans. He returned as Smith & Schultz 
 were liquidating and made a proposition to Jack- 
 son S. Schultz to go in business with him. Richard 
 Nelson loaned his nephew $3,000. Mr. Schultz had 
 $5,000 of his own money. With this capital the 
 firm of Young & Schultz commenced in 1838. The 
 union sole leather business was developed by them 
 and for a quarter of a century this house controlled 
 nearly all the output of the country. Mr. Schultz 
 lived for many years on Cliff near Ferry street, near 
 his store. E. M. Young was an originator and one 
 of the directors of the Park Bank. He died in Oc- 
 tober, 1864. When E. M. Young died Jackson S. 
 Schultz, John C. Southwick and James H. Percival 
 formed the firm of Schultz, Southwick & Co. Theo- 
 dore Schultz was admitted later. John C. South- 
 
88 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 wick retired and Schultz, Innes & Co. succeeded. 
 Adam Innes was a partner, and his five sons, 
 owners of the "Scotch Yards/' had an interest. 
 Louis H. Schultz, a son, and Edward W. Richard- 
 son, a son-in-law of J. S. Schultz, became partners. 
 The tanneries of the firm were merged in the United 
 States Leather Company in 1893. Jackson S. 
 Schultz died March 1, 1891. 
 
 Jackson S. Schultz was a progressive tanner and 
 a whole-souled, generous public-spirited man. He 
 was always engaged in good works. In i860 he 
 went to England with J. E. Bulkley and Isaac H. 
 Bailey. All three labored to secure the attention of 
 the British public to the advantages of American 
 leather and their efforts doubtless had much to do 
 with its general introduction into Europe later. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Schultz was made Chief Commis- 
 sioner of the United States at the. World's Fair at 
 Vienna. It was from that exposition that our large 
 leather trade with Germany originated. Previous 
 to 1873 our exports of leather to that country were 
 hardly more than $100,000; now they are $4,000,- 
 000 at. least, and the rest of Europe $8,000,000 
 more, with a moral certainty that they will continue 
 to increase steadily and considerably. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Schultz wrote "The Leather Manu- 
 facture of the United States," a standard work, pub- 
 lished by the "Shoe and Leather Reporter." It is 
 now out of print. 
 
 In the fall of 1880 Mr. Schultz offered three gold 
 medals for the best results in tanning different 
 
TANNING FIRMS. 89 
 
 kinds of hemlock and union leather. There were 
 several competitors, and a committee of three 
 leather merchants in the Swamp examined the lots 
 and reported that the Laporte tannery of Thorne, 
 McFarlane & Co. was entitled to one for the best 
 results in acid hemlock; the Cappon & Bertsch 
 Leather Company, of Holland, Mich., to the medal 
 for the best non-acid hemlock, and the "Acme" tan- 
 nery of G. W. Childs & Co. for the best union 
 tanned leather, for gain and finish. The medals, 
 which were $20 gold pieces smoothed down on one 
 side and suitably inscribed, were presented to the 
 successful contestants in January, 1881. 
 
 In May, 1882, Mr. Schultz established the busi- 
 ness of extracting tannin from hemlock bark at 
 Daguscahonda, Pa., in which he continued up to 
 the time of his decease. 
 
 Adam Innes learned tanning in Scotland. He 
 came to New York in 1848, entering the employ of 
 A. I. Schultz, at Ellenville. He remained there 
 seventeen years and became part owner in that 
 tannery. He was also a partner with Brainard 
 Bowen, of Troy, Pa., tanning union leather. In 
 1865 he removed to Granville, Pa. His five sons, 
 Robert, Daniel, John A., Colin and Judson K. In- 
 nes, were taught the business and taken as part- 
 ners as they grew up. He reared one of the largest 
 tanning families in the country. They owned the 
 "Scotch Yards," tanning union sole. Father and 
 sons were afterwards partners or interested in the 
 firm of Schultz, Innes & Co., of New York. Adam 
 
oo 
 
 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 JACKSON S. SCHULTZ. 
 
JACKSON SCHULTZ. 91 
 
 Innes was president of the First National Bank of 
 Canton, Pa.. His son, Daniel Innes, succeeded 
 him in that office. Adam Innes died March 10th, 
 r886, aged 65 years. 
 
 John C. Southwick came from Lowell, Mass., 
 and went with Young & Schultz when a boy. He 
 was a relation of the old Massachusetts tanners and 
 the Quakers of that name. His only sister married 
 J. C. Ayer, of Lowell, the sarsaparilla doctor and 
 millionaire. John C. Southwick married a niece of 
 Aaron and H. B. Claflin. He retired from the firm 
 of Schultz, Southwick & Co. about 1890. 
 
 James H. Percival was a bookkeeper with Young 
 & Shultz. He married Mary Chichester, a sister 
 of Mr. Schultz's first wife. He was a partner in 
 Schultz, Southwick & Co. and Schultz, Innes 
 & Co. 
 
 Edward W. Richardson was brought up in the 
 store and became a partner with Schultz, Innes -S? 
 Co. He married Kate, the youngest daughter of 
 J. S. Schultz. Theodore Schultz, oldest son of J. 
 S. Schultz, was a partner in the firm until he died, 
 in 1886. Louis H. Schultz, the youngest son was 
 a partner with Schultz, Innes & Co. until they were 
 merged with the United States Leather Company 
 in 1893. 
 
 UNION SOLE LEATHER. 
 
 The first union sole leather was tanned at Ellen- 
 ville, N. Y., in 1833 by Abraham I. Schultz, father 
 of Jackson S. and Morris M. Schultz, afterwards: 
 famous tanners. The lot was fifty backs. R. C. 
 
92 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Benedict, of Benedict, Hall & Co., New York, 
 bought it and cut it up into soles. It was hand- 
 some and wore well. For some time the product 
 of fifty backs a week were kept up. Smith & 
 Schultz, in New York, sold it. There was 90 per 
 cent, hemlock and 10 per cent, oak bark in it. In 
 1845 there were only 30,000 backs made in the 
 country. Smith & Schultz sold it all. The busi- 
 ness increased rapidly after 1850 and several tan- 
 ners made fortunes. Keck & Mosser, at Allen- 
 town, and Stephen Kistler, at Stroudsburg and 
 Tannersville, were notable examples. H. G. Lap- 
 ham tanned with good results. The Deckers were 
 early producers. In 1878 there were 800,000 union 
 backs cut up in Massachusetts. Now the use of 
 this leather is universal in this country. 
 
 STEPHEN KISTLER. 
 
 Was one of the most prominent of old-time tan- 
 ners. He produced oak sole, but about i860 tanned 
 union leather. He learned tanning of his father, 
 and went in partnership with him in 1835. In 1851 
 he settled in Tannersville, Pa. He owned tanner- 
 ies in Stroudsburg and Great Bend. In 1875 he es- 
 tablished a store in New York and lived in Brook- 
 lyn. He died in March, 1880. His son, Charles E. 
 Kistler, and son-in-law, J. H. Lesh, were of the 
 firm of Kistler, Lesh & Co. Charles E. Kistler 
 died one week after his father. He was at that 
 time of the firm of Kistler, Hall & Co., of New 
 York. Milo Kistler, another son, was a partner. 
 
STEPHEN KISTLER. 93 
 
 Stephen Kistler's father and father-in-law, four 
 brothers and five sons, his first wife's two brothers 
 and second wife's father, were tanners. 
 
 THE CLARENDON FAMILY. 
 
 Thomas Clarendon was a man who made his 
 mark in the trade. He was born in Ireland. In 1847 
 he went into the store of Lapham & Bulkley to do 
 the heavy work expected from a lusty young man 
 of that day. He was v/ith Mr. Lapham and his 
 various partners until 1858. In 1852 the house was 
 Lapham & Clarendon. In 1858 a partnership was 
 arranged with Theodore M. Barnes and Oliver K. 
 Lapham and the firm of Barnes, Clarendon & Lap- 
 ham was formed. When the Civil War broke out 
 this firm was dealing largely in hides. Mr. Claren- 
 don went to Washington and to the headquarters 
 of the Army of the Potomac and secured a great 
 portion of the hides flayed from cattle killed for 
 meat for the soldiers. The firm were tanners also. 
 They made a great deal of money. Later Mr. 
 Clarendon formed the firm of Thos. Clarendon & 
 Co. with his younger brother, Matthew E. Claren- 
 don as partner. Thomas Clarendon went to Nice, 
 Italy, for his health and died there January 6th, 
 1872. He was a sagacious, truthful man, with 
 great business ability. Anson E. Lapham, his life- 
 long friend, said of him : "I can bear testimony to 
 his faithfulness to all trusts ; to his energy, industry 
 and honesty, and as being a faithful, unswerving 
 friend." M. E. Clarendon & Son succeeded to the 
 
S4 HISTOkY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 business of Thos. Clarendon & Co. James P. Clar- 
 endon was then associated with his father. Both 
 are respeted merchants. This is one of the oldest 
 hide firms in the Swamp. 
 
 There were five brothers Clarendon in the shoe 
 and leather trade. William, the oldest, came here 
 in 1843. Thomas crossed the ocean alone in 1847. 
 George was originally with William Sherwood. He 
 died in 1865. Matthew E. and Charles Clarendon 
 were at first with Frothingham, Newell & Co., 
 wholesale shoes and leather. Charles Clarendon 
 was in the retail shoe business from 1859 to 1885. 
 All these brothers were at different times with the 
 old wholesale shoe and leather firm of Frothing- 
 ham, Newell & Co. 
 
 BULLARD & CO. 
 
 In 1828 William Bullard came from Massachu- 
 setts and engaged as a clerk with Austin Melvin. 
 His brothers, Isaac and John Bullard, came later 
 and formed the firm of Bullard & Mattison, which 
 lasted from about 1832 to 1843. Isaac died in 1836. 
 Jacob Lorillard in 1834 put in special capital for 
 William and John Bullard and Jacob VanWagenan 
 and they engaged in trade as Bullard & Mattison, 
 afterwards Wm. Bullard & Co. This continued to 
 1843, when John and William Bullard and Jacob 
 Van Wagenan made up the firm of Bullard & Co. 
 John Bullard died in 1881. Mr. Van Wagenan re- 
 tired in 1865 and Redmond Keresy became a part- 
 ner. The firm had several hemlock sole leather tan- 
 neries which were merged in the United States 
 Leather Company in 1893. 
 
BULLARD & CO. 95 
 
 In 1856 William Bullard went to Dedham, Mass. 
 He served in the Massachusetts Legislature three 
 terms. He built and owned the store 14 Ferry 
 street. William Bullard died September 28th, 
 1879. His son, Louis H. Bullard, owns the store 
 now. He was a partner and the head of the firm 
 after 1880. 
 
 Redmond Keresy was in the Swamp, living at 
 87 and at 72 Gold street up to the time he was 
 seven years old. His father was the Swamp team^ 
 ster. When he was fourteen years Redmond Ren- 
 sy went in the store of Bullard & Co. He became 
 a partner, but retired from active business January 
 18th, 1883. His son, Redmond Keresy, Jr., is with 
 the United States Leather Company. 
 
 William H. Humphrey was a nephew of William 
 Bullard. He went with Bullard & Co. in 1864 and 
 became a partner in 1880. When this firm discon- 
 tinued they had been in the leather business fifty 
 years. Mr. Humphrey is assistant treasurer and 
 assistant secretary and director in the United 
 States Leather Company. 
 
 DAVID MOFFAT. 
 
 Came to New York from Scotland in 1827. He 
 was a currier and his family had been tanners for a 
 hundred years. In the year 1834, having acquired 
 and saved a capital of less than $500 as a journey- 
 man currier, he undertook currying on his own ac- 
 count, and soon made a specialty of harness lea- 
 ther. The thoroughness and excellence of his work 
 
96 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 quickly made for him a reputation in the Swamp, 
 and built up the business which still flourishes 
 under the firm name of David Moffat & Co. The 
 stable character of the business may be inferred 
 from permanence of connection of the employees 
 with the firm, a number of the men having served 
 during periods ranging from fifteen to twenty-five 
 years. He bought the premises 5, 7 and 9 and later 
 No. 10 Jacob street for his business. Of profound 
 religious convictions and great consistency of con- 
 duct, his character commanded respect amounting 
 to veneration. He was constantly engaged in doing 
 good, both by an almost lavish use of his means 
 and by personal effort. Although he modestly 
 shrank from publicity, he wielded an extensive per- 
 sonal influence. Mr. Moffat was for some years an 
 elder in the Reformed Church on the Heights, in 
 Brooklyn. He lived at Cold Springs on the Hud- 
 son in the summer and built and endowed a chapel 
 there. David Moffat died July 24th, 1887. 
 
 At a meeting of the leather trade, held after his 
 decease, Aaron Healy, on taking the chair, said : 
 
 "A good man has gone to his reward. David 
 Moffat was faithful in every relation of life. As a 
 husband, father and friend, affectionate and kind ; 
 as a business man, honest, reliable and doing to 
 others as he would they should to him, and more. 
 I have been intimately acquainted with him for 
 about forty-five years, and a more conscientious 
 and upright man never existed. He carried this 
 principle into all his business, taking care that all 
 
DAVID M OFF ATT. 97 
 
 who did business with him should have their just 
 rights, as he would want if he was in their place. 
 Hence his customers could trust him implicitly, 
 and this conscientious honesty was an element of 
 his remarkable success in his calling." 
 
 David Moffat, Jr., died March 30th, 1887, a few 
 months before his father. He left college in 1871, 
 went into his father's store and became a partner 
 in 1875. He was connected with the Twenty-third 
 Regiment and was captain of Company E. He did 
 much to build up the company. He was a deacon 
 and superintendent of the Sunday School of the 
 Reformed Church on the Heights in Brooklyn. He 
 died at the early age of 33 years. 
 
 William L. Moffat and Fraser M. Moffat, only 
 surviving sons of David Moffat, now comprise the 
 firm. They were brought up in the trade. They 
 are progressive young men and have considerably 
 enlarged the business during the past ten years. 
 They own a tannery at Iron Gate, Va., also a cur- 
 rying shop for finishing light leather at Elizabeth, 
 N. J. Wm. L. Moffatt is a director in the Hide 
 and Leather Bank and a trustee of the Dime Sav- 
 ings Bank of Brooklyn. 
 
 CHARLES B. FOSDICK- 
 
 Was born in the City of New York and began as a 
 hide dealer in 1848. In 1856 he came into Spruce 
 street. He dealt mainly in deer skins. Mr. Fos- 
 dick was elected in 1879 the first president of the 
 Hide and Leather Bank. In 1894 he resigned and 
 
08 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 accepted the same office in the Second National 
 Bank. He was an honorable, upright man. Mr. 
 Fosdick died in 1896. His only son and partner 
 passed away before his father. 
 
 JOSEPH B- HOYT, 
 
 The oldest of a great family of tanners, was born 
 in Stamford, Conn., November, 1813, and died 
 there December 27th, 1889. He learned the tan- 
 ning trade and worked at it in Newark and other 
 cities. In 1841 he went to New York. William 
 Kumbel was making belt or band leather. His 
 foreman, Frederic Wood, left him and started in 
 business for himself in Frankfort street. He died 
 soon after, and Joseph B. Hoyt and Hans Rees 
 bought out the business from Wm. P. Miller, the 
 executor. The firm of Rees & Hoyt dissolved 
 about 1854. Then Joseph B., William and Oliver 
 Hoyt made up the firm of Hoyt Brothers at 28 
 Spruce street. Later Harvey S. Ladew and Daniel 
 B. Fayerweather became partners. In 1870 the 
 firm divided and Joseph B. Hoyt, with Messrs. 
 Fayerweather and Ladew, formed the firm of J. B. 
 Hoyt & Co. They were the first in this country to 
 make "scoured oak backs," and they also made 
 "Hoyt's short lap belting." In 1884 Joseph B. 
 Hoyt retired from business and the house became 
 Fayerweather & Ladew. Mr. Hoyt introduced the 
 Crockett Tan Burning Furnace among our tan- 
 ners. He was the inventor of a device for smoke 
 consuming chimneys. He was a sagacious mer- 
 
JOSEPH B. HOYT. gg 
 
 chant and a "most exemplary man. Mr. Hoyt served 
 two terms in the Connecticut Legislature. His 
 son, of the same name, in connection with Nor- 
 man Schultz, built a tannery at Instanter, Pa. The 
 firm was Schultz & Hoyt. They tanned union 
 leather, but merged in the United States Leather 
 Company in 1893. 
 
 OLIVER HOYT 
 
 Was born on "Hoyt's Hill" in Stamford, Conn., a 
 farm which his father owned and where his mil- 
 lionaire sons afterwards built palatial residences. 
 He was a tanner and came to New York in 1844. 
 With his brother, William, he formed the firm of 
 W. & O. Hoyt in Jacob and afterwards in Ferry 
 street. They finished seal skins and upper leather. 
 Joseph B. Hoyt joined them in 1854 and the busi- 
 ness grew and prospered. In 1870 Mark Hoyt be- 
 came a partner. The firm was known as Hoyt 
 Brothers. They owned large hemlock tanneries, 
 which were merged in the United States Leather 
 Company in 1893. Oliver Hoyt was a very bene- 
 volent man and highly esteemed. His benefactions 
 amounted to $25,000 a year for the last twenty-five 
 years of his life. He was chairman of the Board 
 of Trustees of the Wesleyan College at Middle- 
 town, Conn., and gave large sums to that univer- 
 sity. He was a State Senator in 1876 and 1878 and 
 a Presidential Elector in 1872, voting for General 
 U. S. Grant. He was offered the nomination for 
 Governor of his native State in 1879, but declined 
 
ioo HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 it. He was vice-president of the Park Bank and 
 director in the Home and Phoenix Insurance Com- 
 panies. He died May 5th, 1887. 
 
 Oliver Hoyt left four sons, who remain in the 
 business. Edward C. Hoyt is a member of the 
 Executive Committee and vice-president of the 
 United States Leather Company. Theodore R. 
 Hoyt is a director of the United States Leather 
 Company. Walter S. Hoyt and George S. Hoyt 
 are connected with the company. Edward C. Hoyt 
 is also a director in the National Park Bank of 
 New York. 
 
 MARK HOYT, 
 
 President of the United States Leather Company, 
 died at his residence in New York December 30th, 
 1896. He was the youngest of the great tanning 
 family. He came to New York from Stamford, 
 Conn., was first a hide broker and joined his 
 brothers in the leather business. When the Civil 
 War broke out he raised the Seventeenth (Iron- 
 sides) Regiment from among men in the leather 
 and hide trades. He was commissioned as colonel. 
 The regiment drilled in the lofts of Hoyt Bros.' 
 store in Spruce street. They went in camp at Ja- 
 maica, L. I., but their leader was smitten with fever 
 and could not go to the front with them. He joined 
 his regiment later and served through the strife. 
 Then he bought a sugar plantation and worked it 
 until 1868. He returned to New York and went 
 into the hide brokerage business for a time. In 
 
MARK tfOYT. 101 
 
 March, 1870, he joined the firm of Hoyt Brothers. 
 William, Oliver and Mark Hoyt made a very 
 strong combination. They stood always in the front 
 rank of the trade and owned many hemlock tan- 
 neries. Mark Hoyt was one of the originators of 
 the United States Leather Company. He was its 
 first vice-president and when Thomas E. Proctor 
 died, December 7th, 1894, he succeeded him as 
 president and held the office at the time of his 
 death. His only son, Mark Hoyt, Jr., was in the 
 company's office, but passed away before his father, 
 on the 24th of October, 1895. 
 
 DANIEL B. FAYERWEATHER, 
 
 One of the best known men in the New York 
 leather trade, died in that city November, 1890. 
 He was a shoemaker in Connecticut in early life, 
 but came to New York in 1854 and engaged as a 
 clerk with Hoyt Brothers. He became a partner 
 the following year. He was always noted for his 
 close attention to business. He used to say that 
 when he could not get to the store at half past seven 
 in the morning he wanted to die. After the disso- 
 lution of Hoyt Brothers in 1870, Mr. Fayerweather, 
 as the active partner in J. B. Hoyt & Co., became 
 more of a power in the trade than ever before. The 
 firm made leather belting. About 1884 Joseph B. 
 Hoyt retired, worth nearly or quite $3,000,000. The 
 firm then became Fayerweather & Ladew. They 
 built several tanneries and did the largest business 
 
102 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 of any oak tanners in the trade. Mr. Fayerweather 
 was one of the most honorable of men. He left by 
 his will nearly all his great fortune of about $6,000,- 
 ooo to different colleges. This was the largest- sum 
 that had been given to education in this country by 
 a single individual. The litigation over his will be- 
 came a cause celebre, but the provisions of the will 
 were substantially sustained by the courts. 
 
 THE LADEWS AS TANNERS AND BELT MAKERS. 
 
 Harvey S. Ladew was born in Shokan, Ulster 
 County, N. Y., in January, 1826. His father was a 
 tanner, and he was brought up to the same busi- 
 ness. He had three brothers, William, Oliver S. 
 and A. D. Ladew, who were reared to the paternal 
 calling. All became succcessful tanners. H. S. 
 Ladew took charge of the Shokan tannery for Rees 
 & Hoyt, of New York, before he was twenty-one 
 years of age. When he reached his majority he 
 became a partner. The firm was changed to Hoyt 
 Brothers in 1855, Mr. Ladew continuing in it. 
 About 1868 they purchased the Flintstone tannery, 
 near Cumberland, Md., and Mr. Ladew moved 
 there. In the following year they bought the Cum- 
 berland tannery at auction, and he became superin- 
 tendent of both yards. In 1870 the firm of J. B. 
 Hoyt & Co., with Joseph B. Hoyt, Daniel S. Fayer- 
 weather and H. S. Ladew as partners, was formed, 
 and Mr. Ladew removed to New York. On Janu- 
 ary 31st, 1884, the firm became Fayerweather & 
 
The tADEWS. 103 
 
 Ladew. Mr. Ladew had charge of the numerous 
 tanneries of the firm and used to visit them regu- 
 larly in rotation every few weeks. He was of a quiet, 
 retired disposition, a devoted husband and father, 
 kind and generous as an employer, and highly 
 respected by the business community in which his 
 life had been passed. E. R. and J. H. Ladew, his two 
 sons, hold positions in his firm. His widow is the 
 survivor of three sisters, who married, respectively, 
 Hans Rees, Joseph B. Hoyt and H. S. Ladew. H. 
 S. Ladew died March 9th, 1888. 
 
 A GREAT BELTING HOUSE- 
 
 Fayerweather & Ladew are the oldest manufac- 
 turers of oak tanned leather belting in this country. 
 Joseph B. Hoyt founded the house in 1846. In 
 1847 Harvey S. Ladew, a brother-in-law of Mr. 
 Hoyt, was admitted. The firm was J. B. Hoyt & 
 Co. from 1870 to 1884, when Mr. Hoyt retired and 
 the house of Fayerweather & Ladew was formed. 
 Mr. Ladew died in March, 1888, Mr. Fayerweather 
 in November, 1890. 
 
 At the time of the deaths of these men their firm 
 was far in advance of all other leather houses in the 
 extent of their wealth and the magnitude of their 
 business. Edward R. Ladew and Joseph H. Ladew 
 were partners in the house. Edward R. Ladew had 
 been a member of the firm of J. B. Hoyt & Co., as 
 well as the later firm. ' Both were sons of Harvey 
 S. Ladew. They succeeded to the business of the 
 firm but made no change in the style. 
 
104 HISTORY OP THfi SWAMP. 
 
 Edward. R. Ladew superintended the tanneries 
 and visited them regularly for several years, both 
 in company with his father and after his demise. 
 Joseph H. Ladew was connected with the business 
 department. The two brothers exercise a constant 
 supervision over the belting works. 
 
 The belting factory of Fayerweather & Ladew 
 covers ten city lots, Nos. 236 to 246 Eldridge street, 
 is 150 feet deep and six stories high. The exten- 
 sion or wing on East Houston street is 159 x 168, 
 eight stories. Here the rough butts are received. 
 They are wet in large tanks of fresh water and piled 
 up ready for the butt cutter who trims them closely 
 for belts. 
 
 The offal taken off is divided into shoulders, bel- 
 lies and about fourteen other varieties. So close is 
 the trim for the short lap belting that something 
 like two-thirds of the leather is cut off and sold for 
 offal. It is prime oak tanned stock, and is used for 
 many purposes in shoe factories. Their trim is 
 much closer than that ordinarily made. Only the 
 best parts of the very best hides are used in the 
 belts they produce. The butts are tumbled into 
 wheels to cleanse them, shaved and scoured clean. 
 There are four Fitzhenry machines in this depart- 
 ment, also winding and fastening machines and oil 
 tanks. 
 
 The butts are piled to dry out. After the cellar 
 work is completed they are sent to the top of the 
 building, where they are hand and wheel stuffed 
 and prepared for the manfacturing department by 
 
A GREAT BELTING HOUSfi. 105 
 
 trimming and stretching. The three upper floors 
 are used {or these manipulations. The firm keep 
 on hand a great assortment of centres up to 48 
 inches wide, so as to be able to make and deliver 
 any belt at twenty-four hours' notice. The leather 
 gains in strength and firmness as it remains in the 
 piles. 
 
 On the belt floor the leather is cut in sizes, lapped 
 and feathered. There are forty presses on the floor 
 below to cement the edges and form the belt. 
 
 On the second floor the belts are riveted, pegged 
 or stitched, which operations are all performed by 
 machinery. The engine is sixty horse-power. This 
 is ample, as much of the work is done by hand and 
 is more reliable. The Flintstone leather is cut and 
 the capacity of this factory is for 5,000 butts 
 weekly. 
 
 The firm make Hoyt's oak tanned short lap 
 leather belting. This brand has stood at the head 
 of the belt production for fifty years, and with re- 
 cent improvements is better than ever before. One 
 point of excellence is that the firm have always 
 tanned their own leather at tanneries in the bark 
 regions of the Middle States, where oak grows with 
 the best bark for tanning purposes. Their hides 
 are also selected from the best city and packer kill. 
 
 Edward R. Ladew was a vice-president of the 
 United States Leather Company and active in its 
 affairs. Joseph H. Ladew is a director of the great 
 organization. They sold their sole leather business 
 to this company and devote most of their time to 
 
io6 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 the belt manufacture. They have stores in Boston, 
 Chicago and Cincinnati, and sales agents in all the 
 principal cities in the United States. Their product 
 is sold and shipped to all parts of the world. 
 
 On the ist of August, 1898, this firm was organ- 
 ized as Fayerweather & Ladew, incorporated. The 
 capital, $1,250,000, all paid in. 
 
 The business will be conducted along the same 
 lines as heretofore, the manufacture of Hoyt's pure 
 oak tanned short lap leather belting being the great 
 feature. This the company make in all widths, 
 from half an inch to seven feet. 
 
 ORIGIN OF SCOURED OAK BACKS. 
 
 The credit of introducing this leather belongs to 
 Fayerweather & Ladew. During the war some 
 English bends were imported — solid thick leather; 
 they sold for about 75 cents a pound. Fayer- 
 weather & Ladew bought five of these bends and 
 scoured six pounds of divi divi, myrabolams, etc., 
 out of each one, by using the Fitzhenry machines. 
 This spoiled the sale in this country, for shoe manu- 
 facturers could not afford to pay for weighted 
 leather, but the operation imparted softness and 
 fine color, and Fayerweather & Ladew tried scour- 
 ing their own sole leather. There was very little 
 to scour out from pure oak tanned leather, but it 
 came out from under the machine looking fine and 
 feeling soft. A prominent manufacturer of men's 
 shoes tried it and kept account of the cost of his 
 
ORIGIN OF SCOURED OAK BARK. 107 
 
 soles. After awhile he thought he could do better 
 cutting his soles from side leather. He tried Balti- 
 more, Cincinnatti and Louisville oak tannages, but 
 the results were not as he anticipated, and he re- 
 turned to scoured oak backs. Other manufacturers 
 encountered similar experiences and scoured or 
 dressed backs came into use and have continued 
 popular ever since. 
 
 HANS REES 
 
 Was a prominent and very successful leather mer- 
 chant He came to New York from Norway in 
 1835. In 1846 he became a partner with Joseph 
 B. Hoyt in the leather belting business. The firm 
 was Rees & Hoyt. In 1855 Mr. Rees retired and 
 went to Milwaukee for his health. He bought land 
 and built "Rees' Block" on West Water street and 
 added greatly to his possessions. He came East 
 again in 1861 and formed a partnership with Har- 
 vey Hoyt, a brother of his former partner, and re- 
 newed the firm name of Rees & Hoyt. This con- 
 tinued two years, when the firm dissolved and Mr. 
 Rees traded for some time alone. Meantime he 
 had sons growing up and Norman I. Rees became 
 a partner in 1868, the firm being Hans Rees & Son. 
 The senior retired in 1874 and the firm became 
 Hans Rees' Sons. Norman I. Rees, Arthur F. 
 Rees and Frank Rees were interested. Frank Rees 
 retired and lives at Chattanooga, Tenn. Another 
 son, J. K. Rees, is a professor in Columbia Col- 
 lege. Hans Rees died July 2d, 1885, aged 70 years. 
 
io8 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Hans Rees' Sons own three oak sole leather tan- 
 neries. One recently finished at Asheville, N. C, 
 is one of the largest in the South. Arthur F. Rees 
 is in charge there. Norman I. Rees attends to the 
 business in New York. They have a factory in the 
 city where they curry and finish leather for belt 
 manufacturing. 
 
 After Hans Rees settled up his business he spent 
 a long time in travel. He re-visited Norway and 
 the North Cape. He attended the French Expo- 
 sition in 1878. He felt an interest in the success of 
 American leather and showed it in a practical man- 
 ner. When the judges came into the American 
 leather section Mr. Rees took off his coat, spread 
 the leather out for them and answered questions as 
 only a tanner could. The judges knew nothing of 
 bark tannages and he informed them thoroughly 
 of its merits. Our belting was in competition with 
 the "mixed tannages" of Europe. Mr. Rees ex- 
 plained the difference in them and much to the ad- 
 vantage of our bark tanned leather belting. The 
 belting manufacturers of America who gained 
 medals in Paris in 1878 owe much of their success 
 to Hans Rees. 
 
 LEATHER INSPECTION- 
 
 The inspection of leather was prescribed by the 
 Legislature of New York in 1784. Peter McCar- 
 tee was an inspector. John H. Bowie, Nicholas 
 W. Anthony and George Ferguson held the office. 
 They were tanners and lived in the swamp. The 
 
LEATHER INSPECTION. log 
 
 law was in foce up to about 1876, and there are, 
 even yet, persons who are employed to inspect 
 leather. After 1826, two men were required to be 
 employed. This force was afterwards increased to 
 six. They received four cents per side, and later 
 two cents and one and one-half cents for the work. 
 From 1820 to 1830 three teamsters were suffi- 
 cient to do all the carting of leather in the swamp. 
 There were, at that time, only two stores that em- 
 ployed porters or laborers. It was usual for clerks 
 to do the menial work. 
 
 JAMES AND GEORGE BROOKS. 
 
 The name of Brooks was a noted one in the 
 leather trade for many years. . Henry Brooks, a 
 tanner and currier, came here from England in 
 1784. He had to disguise himself as a sailor, be- 
 cause skilled workmen were then debarred from 
 emigrating. In 1790 he built a tannery where the 
 shot tower of the Caldwell Lead Co. stands, on 
 Centre, near Pearl street. He erected a fine house 
 at the corner of Pearl and Centre streets and lived 
 there many years. His firm, was Stockholm, 
 Brooks & Livingstone. It was in being but for a 
 few years, and on the dissolution of the partner- 
 ship, Mr. Brooks succeeded to the business. Some 
 twelve hundred slaughter hides, and between three 
 and four thousand calfskins, were annually tanned 
 in this establishment, oak being used exclusively, 
 as was the custom at that day, and the sole leather 
 hides were about a year in the process of manu- 
 
no HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 facture into leather. The buying and selling of 
 hides also constituted a large portion of the busi- 
 ness transacted, and Mr. Brooks had a leather 
 store on Coenties slip, and also at 72 Partition, 
 now Fulton street. 
 
 Henry Brooks had five sons, James, Thomas, 
 George, William and Henry Brooks, Jr., all tan- 
 ners. When he retired, in 1816, James and George 
 Brooks took the business. This firm soon after- 
 ward built a very substantial, and, for that period, 
 a large warehouse, in Greenwich street, near the 
 corner of Fulton street, where they did business for 
 several years. There were, at that time leather 
 stores in Vesey and Greenwich streets, but the 
 business was gradually tending toward the Swamp, 
 and in 1836, Jacob Lorillard having finished his 
 fine block of stores on Gold street, at the head of 
 Ferry street, the firm hired and moved into No. 87. 
 At this time Mr. William Brooks, a younger 
 brother, was admitted to the firm, and remained a 
 member until 1844, the firm name for that period 
 being James & George Brooks & Co. Here they 
 remained until 1840, when they bought the prem- 
 ises on the northwest corner of Jacob and Ferry 
 streets, where they continued in business until 1854, 
 when the firm of James & George Brooks was dis- 
 solved, and the junior partner retired. The senior 
 partner, however, continued the business at No. 20 
 Ferry street, and afterward in Spruce street, until 
 1861. 
 
 Thus, for nearly half a cetautry, was Mr. James 
 
JAMES AND GEORGE BROOKS. m 
 
 Brooks actively engaged in the hide and leather 
 business in New York. The transactions in which 
 the firm were engaged were at times of great mag- 
 nitude, and the vicissitudes of trade through which 
 they passed were, sometimes, of great severity, but 
 they never failed to fulfill all their obligations, and, 
 as they always abstained from speculation, and ad- 
 hered strictly to their legitimate business, they 
 came to be well known as among the most "safe" 
 men for any transaction in their line in the New 
 York Swamp. Contemporaries as they were with 
 Gideon Lee, and most of the other older members 
 of the trade, they competed successfully with them 
 for a large share !bf the business which was done 
 during the period of the existence of the firm, and 
 were often, with them, participators in large trans- 
 actions in hides, before the brokerage system had 
 been established 1 , or while it was yet only in its 
 infancy, and their private liberality, together with 
 their strict integrity in all their dealings, was con- 
 spicuous among men whose memories have always 
 been remembered with pride. 
 
 Mr. Brooks died at Plainfield, N. J., Aug. 6, 
 1868. 
 
 H. J. Brooks & Co. succeeded to James and 
 George Brooks. {Addison and Alfred, sons of 
 George Brooks, with Henry J. Brooks, compose! 
 the firm. They owned the Brookston and other 
 tanneries, but went out of business several years 
 ago. William Brooks was a hide broker for sev- 
 eral years. His son, H. Josiah Brpoks, was suhse^ 
 
ii2 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 quently a partner with James B. Dewson. He was 
 a very honorable man, as indeed were all of this old 
 family of tanners who did business in New York 
 for a hundred years. 
 
 THE MATTISONS. 
 
 The Mattison family were well known in the 
 leather trade. Alexander Mattison, a currier, came 
 to New York from "Mattison's Corners," New Jer- 
 sey, about 1825. He was a clerk, and had an in- 
 terest with Bullard & Co., and member of the firm 
 of Bullard & Mattison, 1836 to 1840. Joseph B. 
 Mattison went to New York from Flemington, N. 
 J., in 1830, and became a clerk for Austin Melvin, 
 in Ferry street. In 1843-44, with his brother, Alex- 
 ander, he formed the firm of A. & J. Mattison. 
 Alexander Mattison died in 1852. Charles H. 
 Tsham had been a partner as Mattisons & Isham. 
 Mr. Isham withdrew in 1857 and John F. McCoy 
 took his place. The firm of Mattison & McCoy 
 lasted nineteen years. When Joseph B. Mattison 
 retired with an abundant fortune. Mr. Mattison 
 died Jan. 8, 1892. Mahlon Mattison was a promi- 
 nent leather merchant. Alexander W. Mattison 
 was a clerk for some of these Mattisons. All were 
 his cousins. He did business for some time as A. 
 W. Mattison & Co., and is now with the United 
 States Leather Co. 
 
 John Fox McCoy had a good record as a trader. 
 He came from Easton, Pa., and went as clerk with 
 Young & Schultz. He was a partner from 1854 to 
 1857. Then he funded the firm of Mattison & Mc- 
 
THE MATTISONS. 113 
 
 Coy. He tanned in Carthage, N. Y., for a time and 
 in 1880 came to New York and became a partner 
 in the brokerage business of Dewson, Hull & Co. 
 In 1887 he sold the hides of the Eastman Company 
 He went south and died there the same year. 
 
 DAVID BRYSON- 
 
 Is a name that long since disappeared from the 
 Swamp. He was a native of Ireland. He fought 
 for his country in 1798, and with others of his un- 
 successful countrymen fled to America soon after. 
 On arriving in New York, Mr. Bryson commenced 
 working at his trade, as a tanner and currier, and 
 after a short period undertook business at 48 
 Frankfort street. He manufactured fine calfskins 
 for boot uppers, and his skill in this branch was 
 such that he very soon laid the foundation of a 
 large fortune. 
 
 Mr. Bryson's father, and brother, were con- 
 cerned in the rising of 1798, and a price was set on 
 the head of each of them. The brother was cap- 
 itured, tried and sentenced to death, but this was 
 commuted to a service of twenty years in the Brit- 
 ish army. David Bryson went to Antigua, where 
 the regiment was stationed, and through the help 
 of a slave aided his brother to desert and brought 
 him to America, where he also made a fortune and 
 died at Richmond, Va. 
 
 In 1810 Mr. Bryson bought the ground, 60 x 100 
 feet, on Frankfort opposite Gold street, for $6,000. 
 Here he built a handsome two-story house and 
 
ii4 HISTORY CV THE SWAMP. 
 
 lived there with his tannery next door. Both stood 
 there until the bridge was built. Mr. Bryson 
 founded the Phoenix Bank and was a director 
 there about forty years. He died in 1850. His son 
 Peter M. Bryson, was afterwards president of the 
 Phoenix Bank. David Bryson was a very courtly 
 Irish gentleman. He" was a bitter political parti- 
 san. There arose a difference between him and 
 Gideon Lee. The latter called at Mr. Bryson's 
 house for a conference, Mr. Bryson met him at 
 the door and with a low bow and wave of the hand, 
 said: "I decline to hold any conference with the 
 Honorable Gideon Lee." 
 
 ZADOCK PRATT'S EVE NTFUL CAREER. 
 
 A curious bit of biography was the Chronology 
 of Zadock Pratt, published in book form in 1867. 
 Col. Pratt boarded at the St. Nicholas Hotel at the 
 time, and a member of our staff wrote it from his 
 dictation. To him the Colonel narrated the events 
 of his life. He was born in 1790 and learned to be 
 a tanner. His early struggles were similar to those 
 of most boys of his time who strove to rise in the 
 world. He settled at Prattsville, on the Schoharie 
 Creek and eventually built one of the largest tan- 
 neries in the state there. He also built up the 
 village and a prosperous town ! He put down tan- 
 neries at Windham and Samsonville, N. Y., and 
 Aldenville and Gouldboro, Pa. These had over 
 2,000 vats and their product was 210,000 sides of 
 leather yearly. John Watson and Jay Gould were 
 
ZADOCK PRATT. 115 
 
 his partners at different times. 
 
 Zadock Pratt sold his leather through Gideon 
 Lee and his firms and through Corse & Pratt, of 
 New York. He kept statistics which are of value. 
 In 1827 he, and his brother tanners, omitted to 
 skive, thus making heavier leather. His "gains" 
 on tanning dry hides from 1825 to 1830 were 20 
 per cent. ; from 1830 to 1835, 37 7-10 per cent. ; 
 from 1835 to 1840, 44 4-10 per cent.; and 1840 to 
 ■1850, 64 6-10 per cent. His gains on Angostura 
 hides, after that were 79 67-100 per cent. He 
 made 58 pounds of leather from 100 pounds city 
 slaughter hides. In 1850, he gave his son, Geo. 
 W. Pratt, and daughter, Julia H. Pratt, $50,000 and 
 one half of a tannery each. He raised and equip- 
 ped the Prattsville Guards and was commissioned 
 as their colonel. He closed his tanning business <n 
 1859. 
 
 Col. Pratt served two terms in Congress, 1842 
 to 1846. He first moved for a survey of the Pacific 
 Railway, was Chairman of the Committee to build 
 the General Post Office, proposed the first mission 
 to Japan, and originated the bill establishing the 
 Department of the Interior. In 1852 he was chosen 
 Elector for the Eleventh Congressional District of 
 New York, was made Chairman of the Electoral 
 College and with his colleagues put in their vote 
 for Franklin Pierce and William R. King, the dem- 
 ocratic nominees. 
 
 Colonel Pratt founded the Prattsville Bank in 
 1842, wi|:h $100,000, and in 1852 had doubled its 
 
n6 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 assets. He had curious business methods. L'e 
 would loan to farmers and others, he had never 
 seen, after examining their features and looking at 
 (heir hands to see if they were working men. P'e 
 said he never had one of their notes left unpaid. 
 After he retired from business he visited every part 
 of the world. He married his fourth wife when he 
 was 79 years old. She had been previously em- 
 ployed in the office of the "Shoe and Leather Re- 
 porter," where she had, no doubt acquired that 
 amiability and flavor of the Swamp that made her 
 attractive to the old tanner. 
 
 Colonel Pratt was a man of imposing appear- 
 ance. He stood six feet, two inches in height. He 
 had four iron gray horses which he drove across 
 the mountains to Albany and New York. He 
 helped many a teamster out the the mud by "giv- 
 ing him a lift" with his horses. He was a charita- 
 ble man and boasted that there were no poor fami- 
 lies in Prattsville. Colonel Pratt died in May, 1871. 
 PRATT'S PICTURED ROCKS- 
 
 Colonel Zadock Pratt gave a park to Prattsville 
 in 1840. On a large rock near the road he had in- 
 scriptions carved, also his bust with "Bureau of 
 Statistics, 1844," i ar| d tanning implements. In a 
 square, inclosed in a wreath were the names of his 
 two children, George W. and Julia H. Pratt, and 
 these lines : 
 
 "Let virtue be your greatest care 
 And study your delight, 
 So will your days be ever fair, 
 And peaceable your nights." 
 
PRATT'S PICTURED ROCKS. 117 
 
 There was also a hemlock tree carved in bold re- 
 lief, together with his favorite horse and inscrip- 
 tions and statistics relating to his dairy farm. Sev- 
 eral stone seats were cut in the rock. In 1866 he 
 added a niche in which he placed a colossal bust of 
 his son, Colonel George W. Pratt., who fell upon 
 the battlefield. He was represented in full uniform, 
 with inscriptions relating his military career. This 
 piece of work is discernable from the road, at least 
 a quarter of a mile distant. Mrs. Ingersoll, Colonel 
 Pratt's daughter, has had the poetry and dairy sta- 
 tistics put there by her father erased from the 
 rocks. Otherwise the sculpture remains intact, and 
 strangers drive for miles to see the only work of 
 the kind in the United States. 
 
 GEORGE W- PRATT. 
 
 This excellent man, who was a merchant and a 
 scholar, was the son of Zadock Pratt. His mother 
 was the youngest sister of Col. John Watson. She 
 was also the mother of Col. Pratt's only daughter, 
 Julia H., who married Hon. Colin M. Ingersoll, of 
 New Haven, Conn. George W. Pratt was edu- 
 cated in this country, but was awarded the degree 
 of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Mech- 
 lenberg, Germany, for his universal attainments as 
 a linguist. He was master of sixteen languages. 
 With his sister, he made the tour of Europe and 
 went up the Nile. This trip cost their father $16,- 
 000, which he said "was money well spent." 
 
 In 1852 George W. Pratt went to New York and 
 
n8 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 became a partner with Israel Corse. The firm of 
 Corse & Pratt and Corse, Pratt & Co., did a pros- 
 perous business for ten years. In 1855 Mr. Pratt 
 was married to Miss Tibbets, of Albany, and after- 
 wards resided in that city. He was elected, in 1857, 
 State Senator. In October, 1861, he raised the 
 20th regiment of volunteers (The Ulster Guard), 
 and marched at their head to the war. His neigh- 
 bors iti the Swamp presented to him a sword, war 
 horse and accoutrements. His regiment, at that 
 time, paraded in the Swamp, where they were ban- 
 queted, and received an ovation deemed fitting for 
 fighting tanners, for such they were. Half the men 
 in Zadock Pratt's tannery enlisted, and each re- 
 ceived $5 and a guaranty of support for their fam- 
 ilies during service, from the patriotic old tanner. 
 On the 30th day of August, 1862, Colonel George 
 W. Pratt fell bravely fighting at the head of his 
 men at the second battle of Manasses. He was 
 borne from the field, carried to Albany, and died 
 there on September nth, 1862, at the age of thirty- 
 four years. 
 
 THE LAPHAMS AS TANNERS. 
 
 Anson E. Lapham, the founder of the tanning 
 branch of this family, was a brother-in-law and part- 
 ner of Jonathan Thorne. He engaged in business 
 with him in 18.33, an d later formed the firm of Lap- 
 ham & Bulkley and afterwards had special capital 
 in the house of Lapham & Clarendon. He retired 
 jn 1861, to his elegant home in Skaneateajes, N. Y., 
 
THE LAPHAMS AS TANNERS. 119 
 
 and died there in October, 1876. Men now or for- 
 merly prominent in the trade were relatives of this 
 merchant. He was an uncle to Henry G. Lapham 
 and Oliver K. Lapham and grand uncle to Arden 
 B. and Walter S. Lapham, of Chicago and New 
 York, and Edward N. Lapham, the Chicago hide 
 buyer for the United States Leather Co., and of 
 course, of John J. and Louis H. Lapham. The ven- 
 erable Miss Susan B. Anthony is a cousin of Anson 
 E. Lapham. He aided her financially in many of 
 her efforts to elevate the political position of her 
 sex. In 1867, or thereabouts, he gave her $4,000 
 to assist her paper "The Revolution." Miss An- 
 thony, by the way, lectured until she had saved 
 $10,000 to pay off the debts of that paper. Anson 
 E. Lapham was somewhat rotund in person, had a 
 round, full face, a soft low voice and was very gen- 
 tlemanly in manner. He dressed in Friends garb. 
 Henry G. Lapham came to New York and en- 
 tered the employ of Lapham & Bulkley in 1854. 
 The firm was dissolved by the retirement of Anson 
 Lapham in 1861, and became Bulkley & Lapham. 
 In 1867 it was changed to Lapham & Bulkley, at 
 which time G. A. Vail was admitted, and in 1870 to 
 H. G. Lapham & Co., Mr. Bulkley retiring. It was 
 Lapham & Clarendon for awhile. In 1873 the firm 
 became Lapham, Costello & Co., P. C. & P. H. 
 Costello, of Camden, Oneida Co., N. Y., joining it. 
 In 1876, John J. Lapham, the eldest son of Mr. 
 Lapham, was admitted, and in 1885 Louis H. Lap- 
 ham, his youngest son. George A. Vail was a 
 
120 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 partner. This firm was dissolved Feb. i, 1887, the 
 Messrs. Costello withdrawing to form the house of 
 P. C. Costello & Co.. The remaining partners con- 
 tinued, adopting the style of H. G. Lapham & Co. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Lapham built and occupied the large 
 store 26 and 28 Ferry street, now the headquarters 
 of the United States Leather Company. His busi- 
 ness career was very successful. He accumulated 
 a large fortune and was a man of unusual ability, 
 who would have achieved success in almost any 
 calling. He was a devoted supporter of the cause 
 of total abstinence. At a meeting of the hide and 
 leather trade to take action on Mr. Lapham's de- 
 cease, which occurred Jan. 28th, 1888, A. Augustus 
 Healy said that upon one occasion Mr. Lapham 
 called at the office of the prohibition organ and 
 handed the editor a check for $500 with which to 
 promote the cause, refusing to reveal his identity 
 or let his name be known, and it was only by an ac- 
 cident that it was afterward discovered by one of 
 the members of our trade. Mr. Lapham's support 
 of temperance, proceeding from such motives as 
 were his, was one of the most praiseworthy acts of 
 his career. He was also a man of strict integrity 
 and great benevolence. 
 
 Mr. Lapham's firm was continued until 1893, 
 when their tanneries were sold to the United 
 States Leather Company. His son Louis H. Lap- 
 ham is a vice president of that company. George 
 A. Vail and John J. Lapham are directors. 
 
BULKLEY & LAPHAM. 121 
 
 BULKLEY & LAPHAM- 
 
 Joseph E. Bulkley came to New York from 
 Rocky Hill, Conn., when he was thirteen years ol 
 age. He became a clerk for E. K\ Pritchett, who 
 under that name ran a branch of the business of 
 Pritchett, Baugh & Co., of Philadelphia. 
 
 In 1840 Mr. Bulkley went in business with H. J. 
 Brooks. They dissolved partnership in 1853, each 
 having made a fortune. Then Mr. Bulkley became 
 a partner with Anson Lapham. This lasted 
 from 1854 to 1861, as Lapham & Bulkley. Anson 
 Lapham retired. Henry G. Lapham took his place 
 as Bulkley & Lapham. E. W. Bulkley was ad- 
 mitted in 1864 and Justus L. Bulkley in 1866. In 
 1870 Joseph E. Bulkley retired from the Lapham 
 firm and founded the house of J. E. Bulkley & 
 Sons, with Edmund W. and Justus L Bulkley as 
 his partners. E. W. Bulkley died May 7, 1875. 
 The house continued the sole leather tanning busi- 
 ness. The senior partner died Nov. 17, 1879. Jo- 
 seph E. Bulkley was one of the original directors 
 of the Park Bank and for several years its vice- 
 president. He was universally respected and es- 
 teemed. 
 
 Justus L. Bulkley succeeded to the business, 
 which he carried on to 1899, when he discontinued 
 tanning. He has been a successful tanner and is a 
 thorough business man of sterling integrity. He 
 owns the stores 74 and 76 also 72 an <3 75 Gold 
 street, and the fine block on the south east corner 
 of Gold -and Ferry streets. Mr. Bulkley was ap- 
 
122 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 pointed in the will of Daniel B. Fayerweather as an 
 executor of his estate. Although it was involved 
 in much litigation, he acted with perfect exactness 
 and justice in carrying out the wishes of the mill- 
 ionaire leather dealer. 
 
 WILLIAM P. MILLER- 
 
 This man was a highly esteemed member of our 
 trade. He was born in William, near Spruce street, 
 in 1812. In 1831 he went with Austin Melvin and 
 in 1832 became a member of the firm, with Jacob 
 Lorillard as special partner. This was the first in- 
 stance of a special partnership in this trade. Mr. 
 Lorillard held this partnership all the time Mr. Mil- 
 ler was in business. He built the store 85 Gold 
 street for him. Mr. Miller retired several years be- 
 fore his death, which occurred Dec. 29, 1872. 
 
 AUSTIN MELVIN- 
 Who is still remembered as one of the most honor- 
 able and energetic of merchants, came from Massa- 
 chusetts and entered the employ of Gideon Lee, in 
 1815. He set out in business on a capital of $1,500, 
 which Mr. Lee loaned him. His profits were $60,- 
 000 in ten years. Then he formed a partnership 
 with Wm. P. Miller, which was soon dissolved. 
 In 1837 Mr. Melvin failed for $500,000, but after- 
 wards paid all his debts in full. His subsequent 
 partners were Henry Bauge and two sons of Shep- 
 herd Knapp. When he died, in 1858, Fredk. Faw- 
 cett wrote a memorial of Mr. Melvin, at the request 
 of members of the trade. • 
 
THOMAS SMULL. 123 
 
 THOMAS SMULL. 
 
 came to New York in 1827, just after having served 
 an apprenticeship at tanning in Bethlehem, Pa. 
 He went into business with Andrew Robb, a 
 nephew of David Bryson. They failed in 1829, 
 paying at the time only a small dividend, but 
 Thomas Smull, in after life, paid all of his debts in 
 full. From that time his career was successful. 
 He went in business with Thomas Miles, at 23 
 Ferry street, in 1834, with a capital of $2,200. The 
 firm was Thomas Smull & Co. They tanned Cal- 
 cuttta hides and hair sealskins for trunks, and did 
 a commission leather business. 
 
 The following incident will show that Mr. Smull 
 had a good share of the caution requisite for suc- 
 cess in business. About the time his partnership 
 with Mr. Miles was formed, he trusted a tanner 
 with $4,000 worth of hides to be tanned on joint 
 account. It was his first contract and he went to a 
 leading Swamp merchant to borrow a form of 
 agreement used in such cases. To this he added 
 a clause, not used at that time, to the effect that 
 the hides were not to change ownership, but re- 
 main the property of Mr. Smull through all the 
 stages of tanning until the leather was returned to 
 New York for sale. The tanner failed and con- 
 fessed judgment in favor of his father, who sold the 
 stock in the tanyard. Several Swamp merchants 
 were among the creditors and they replevined the 
 stock, but upon the case coming to trial, the con- 
 tracts, being without the saving clause, were ig- 
 
124 HISTOKY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 nored by the jury. Mr. Smull, alone, recovered his 
 stock. His carefulness in this transaction saved 
 him from a loss of nearly twice the amount of his 
 entire capital at the time. 
 
 In 1834 Mr. Smull became acquainted with Na- 
 thaniel Oilman, of Waterville, Me., a merchant of 
 great experience, enlarged views, a good judge of 
 human nature, and withal a rich man. Mr. Gilman 
 came to New York to sell a cargo of African hides, 
 and wishing to open business relations with the 
 smaller leather dealers, he inquired the standing 
 and made the acquaintance of those on Ferry 
 street. He was told that it was safe to trust the 
 firm of T. Smull & Co. about a thousand dollars, 
 and accordingly let them have that amount of hides, 
 but liking their manner of doing business he shortly 
 after left the unsold portion of his cargo in their 
 hands for disposal, telling them he should return 
 the next year with more, and they could sell the 
 hides and use the proceeds, paying interest therefor 
 until that time. His business relations with Mr. 
 Smull were of such magnitude that he very soon 
 entrusted him with the disposal of cargoes of hides, 
 etc., until they held of his funds some fifty thousand 
 dollars, which by agreement was employed on joint 
 account. 
 
 At this time Mr. Smull was less than thirty years 
 of age. Mr. Gilman was an old and experienced 
 merchant, and the confidence which he manifested 
 in so young a man was certainly highly compli- 
 mentary to the latter. 
 
THOMAS SMUIX. 125 
 
 The firm of Gilman, Smull & Co., was formed in 
 1S40, the partners being Nathaniel Gilman, senior, 
 Thomas Smull and N. Gilman, Jr. The large ex- 
 perience and resources of the new firm enabled 
 them at once to take a leading position among the 
 hide and leather merchants of New York. They 
 imported largely of African hides and after a pros- 
 perous connection of five years the Messrs. Gilman 
 retired from the firm and Mr. Smull continued un- 
 til 1852, having as special partner Mr. Jonathan 
 Thorne, who contributed $50,000 cash capital to 
 the common stock. 
 
 The firm of Smull & Healy was formed in 1852 
 by the admission of Aaron Healy, who had been in 
 Mr. Smull's employ since 1839. They were located 
 at No. 5 Ferry street, and Mr. Thorne still con- 
 tinued as special partner, putting into the new firm 
 the sum of $100,000. This continued for four 
 years, or until 1856, when Mr. Healy bought the 
 business of the firm. 
 
 The house of Thomas Smull & Sons was formed 
 in 1856 ,and consisted of Thomas Smull, his two 
 sons Thomas Levan and Charles Gilman Smull, 
 Mr. John Burke, formerly a confidential clerk in 
 the house of Gideon Lee & Co., and Mr. Thorne as 
 special partner. They were located at No. 76 Gold 
 street. This partnership was to have continued six 
 years, but in i860 the interest of the partners was 
 purchased and the business was continued by Mr 
 Smull and his sons. These afterwards founded the 
 firm of T. L. & C. G. Smull, They built a large 
 
126 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 block of stores on Frankfort street at the head of 
 Gold street. Renwick Speers was a partner. They 
 discontinued several years ago. Thomas Smull was 
 one of the originators of the Sixpenny Savings 
 Bank, of which Thomas Miles, his partner, was 
 president for many years. This was the first bank 
 to receive depoits of small sums. He was one of 
 the incorporators and a director in the Metropoli- 
 tan Bank of New York and the First National of 
 Sing Sing. He died at his house in Gramercy 
 Park, New York, November 27th, 1867. 
 
 Thomas Le Van Smull was the second son of 
 Thomas Smull. He became a clerk for Smull & 
 Healy, when he left school. After his father's 
 death he formed the firm of Thomas L Smull & Co. 
 Le Van S. Peck and Thomas Speers were junior 
 partners. Later Mr. Smull did business in his in- 
 dividual name. He owned the Athens, Pa., tan- 
 nery and lived in that town. He removed to Cald- 
 well, N. J., and died there May 29th, 1892. 
 
 Sons of Nathaniel Gilman followed him in the 
 hide and leather trade. George F. Gilman had 
 some experience, but he left the business and 
 founded a great tea house in Vesey street. Another 
 son, W. W. Gilman (Wat Gilman) was a tanner. 
 He bought 11,000 acres in Sullivan County, built a 
 tannery and founded the town of Gilman. He sold 
 the leather at 10 Ferry street. His father, Nathan- 
 iel Gilman, was a millionaire. His estate was in 
 court more than thirty years. W. W. Gilman died 
 Dec. 5, 1885. He had a son who closed out his 
 
AARON HEALY. 127 
 
 father's leather business and went west to deal in 
 real estate. 
 
 AARON HEALY- 
 
 For many years a leading leather merchant, was 
 born in Hallowell, Me. He was a nephew of Na- 
 thaniel Gilman, at whose suggestion he came to 
 New York, in 1839, an< i was employed by Gilman, 
 Smull & Co. Within the next two years he made 
 two voyages to Africa for the firm, as super-cargo, 
 returning with cargoes of hides. At that time Gil- 
 man, Smull & Co. were doing business at No. 11 
 Ferry street. In 1844 they moved to No. 5 Ferry 
 street. In 1852 the firm became Smull & Healy, 
 with Jonathan Thorne as special partner. In 1856 
 Mr. Healy bought the business. Charles B. Piatt, 
 his bookkeeper, was admitted in 1863, and Robert 
 B. Woodward, salesman, as partner in 1869. The 
 firm, formerly A. Healy & Co., was then changed to 
 Healy, Piatt & Co., In 1873 the partnership was 
 dissolved and the house of A. Healy & Son, con- 
 sisting of Aaron Healy and his son A. Augustus 
 Healy, was formed. Frank Healy became a part- 
 ner later and the style was changed to A. Healy & 
 Sons. Aaron Healy did business at 3 and 5 Ferry 
 street from 1844 to 1893, when the tanneries of the 
 firm were merged in the United States Leather 
 Company. In 1866 he bought the property at the 
 corner of Gold and Ferry streets, from James Ker- 
 rigan, for $80,000. On that site he erected, in 
 1890,, a solid ten-story structure, which now bears 
 his name. 
 
128 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Mr. Healy had a natural taste for art, and began 
 to form a collection of paintings in 1863, which he 
 sold at auction in 1891. They realized $130,000, 
 which was considerable more than their original 
 cost. 
 
 A. Augustus Healy is a member of the firm of 
 A. Healy & Sons. He is a director in the Hide and 
 Leather National Bank and in the United States 
 Leather Company. He has held official positions 
 in the national and city governments, and for sev- 
 eral years has been president of the Brooklyn In- 
 stitute of Arts and Sciences. Like his father, he 
 is also an art collector. 
 
 Frank Healy, a younger son and member of the 
 firm, is now president of the New York Counter 
 Comapny. 
 
 MATTHEW ARMSTRONG. 
 
 Was the founder of the wholesale shoe findings 
 business in New York, in 1832. His store was 
 then in Vesey street. In 1847 he moved to Ferry 
 street. He died rich and honored in June, 1865. 
 Three sons, John, Matthew and William Arm- 
 strong, inherited the business. They occupied the 
 large store northwest corner of Ferry and Jacob 
 streets, and for many years carried on a flourishing 
 trade. They bought the great factory of the Bronx 
 Wool and Leather Company at West Farms, on 
 the Bronx River, but it proved an unfortunate 
 speculation. All the brothers are dead. William 
 Armstrong, a son of Matthew Armstrong and 
 grandson of the founder of the house, is superin- 
 
E. GODFREY. 129 
 
 tendent of the Armstrong Leather Company works 
 at Peabody, Mass. 
 
 EDWARD GODFREY- 
 
 Founded the firm of E. Godfrey & Sons, which foi 
 nearly thirty years was the largest leather and find- 
 ings house in New York. Mr. Godfrey was a shoe 
 manufacturer of West Point, and made a fortune 
 supplying shoes for the troops in the Mexican 
 War. He came to New York in 1850 and located 
 in Pearl street, but in 1864 purchased the store 29 
 Spruce street, rebuilt it and did business there. 
 He died in August, 1864. His sons succeeded ; 
 the youngest of them, Joseph Godfrey, was a 
 leather dealer up 1899. 
 
 Alexander Studwell was a man of great erergy 
 and ability. He came to New York as clerk in the 
 wholesale shoe house of L. S. Benton & Co. in 
 Pearl street, when he was a boy. In 1844 he 
 founded the leather firm of Gillespie & Studwell. 
 In 1854 he retired, put his money in Illinois and 
 Western railroads and lost it. In 1865, with his 
 sons, Henry, George S. and William Studwell, he 
 formed the firm of A. Studwell & Co. In 1881 he 
 retired with a considerable fortune and died at 
 Great Barrington, Mass., October 5th, 1891. 
 
 THE PIRATE TANNERS. 
 
 There are old people in the Catskills who remem- 
 ber the "Pirate Tanners." This is the story. About 
 the year 1822 a bark sailed from Philadelphia bound 
 
130 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 to the West Indies on a trading voyage. She had 
 on board $35,000 in Spanish coin belonging to 
 Stephen Girard. When they got outside of Cape 
 May the colored cook, named Wausley, and Gibbs, 
 a sailor, conspired to seize the vessel and money. 
 The rest of the crew joined them. The captain 
 was killed with an axe and his body thrown over- 
 board. The two mates were wounded and thrown 
 after him. One mate survived and swam some 
 distance after the vessel begging to be taken 
 aboard. He was struck with an oar and killed. 
 Then the vesssel was headed for New York. A 
 storm came up, but the sailors got their vessel in- 
 side of Sandy Hook and made Coney Island. Two 
 boats were lowered with a chest of money in each. 
 One boat was swamped on the beach. The crew 
 filled their pockets from the chest and then the 
 boat went down with the chest and contents, but 
 the men got on shore. The other boat got through 
 the surf and the chest it carried was buried in the 
 sand. Then all hands went to the resorts, which 
 even then existed on the island, and began a 
 drunken orgie. A fight occurred and one of the 
 sailors divulged the secret. Some citizens gath- 
 ered to arrest them, but all except Gibbs and Waus~ 
 ley escaped. These two were afterwards convicted 
 of piracy and hanged on Bedloe's Island, where the 
 Statue of Liberty now stands. The next morning 
 after the sailors landed the citizens of Coney Island 
 went to the beach to secure the buried chest of 
 dollars. A hole was found from which the treasure 
 had been dug up and carried off. 
 
THE PIRATE TANNERS. 131 
 
 A few weeks after this occurrence two strangers 
 came to Prattsville, N. Y., and announced their 
 intention of going into tanning. They purchased 
 a property and improved it for that purpose. Cun- 
 ningham & McCormick, of Jacob street, New 
 York, stocked it with hides. After about a year it 
 burned down. The tannery had been heavily in- 
 sured, but it was discovered that one of the largest 
 policies expired the day before the fire. Hugh 
 McCormick came up from the city to investigate. 
 He only said, "They showed very poor judgment." 
 The tanners collected all the insurance they could 
 and disappeared. Many stories are told of their 
 habits. How they lived alone, never spoke to their 
 neighbors, and on comparing their early expendi- 
 ture it was found they had paid out much silver 
 coin. An agent of Stephen Girard came up to 
 Prattsville, and then it was found out that two of 
 the crew of the bark the pirates robbed were tan- 
 ners who left Philadelphia to go to sea. These 
 were no doubt the men who dug up the chest of 
 money buried on Coney Island and invested it in 
 tanning sole leather in Greene County. 
 
 WILLIAM SHERWOOD 
 
 Was a familiar figure in the trade for almost sixty- 
 five years and was at the time of his death, at the 
 age of 83 years, the oldest merchant in the leather 
 business. He was born in Burlington, Vt., and 
 came to New York in 1829. He worked at curry- 
 ing for David Bryson, in Frankfort street, and 
 
132 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 others until 1832, when he went to Newark, N. J., 
 to avoid the cholera. He worked for Seth Boyden, 
 currying patent and enameled leather eight years. 
 In 1841 he returned and went into business for him- 
 self in Ferry street. Hansen K. Corning, a leather 
 inspector, was special partner with Mr. Sherwood 
 for several years. During the Mexican War Mr. 
 Sherwood furnished large quantities of army 
 leather for government use and made money. 
 Elijah T. Brown, Josiah T. Tubby and Valentine 
 Seaman were at different times partners with Mr. 
 Sherwood. Oliver Cromwell, of Highland Falls, 
 N. Y., tannel calfskins in partnership with him. In 
 1867 his son, Milton T. Sherwood became a part- 
 ner, but retired in 1878. They did a commission 
 business, but it fell off greatly. Mr. Sherwood did 
 business for some time alone, but he was not very 
 successful. He was an honorable merchant. He 
 died January 6th, 1895, at Little Silver, N. J. 
 
 DAVID WALLERSTEIN 
 
 was a pioneer in importing French calfskins. He 
 was also among the first to bring patent leather to 
 this country. He located in Beaver street in 1847 
 and did a successful trade. In 1859 he came to the 
 Swamp. He established the celebrated Simon Ull- 
 mo tannery in Lyons and sold the product in this 
 country. Mr. Wallerstein was a patron of music 
 and art. He was a merchant of sound integrity and 
 great ability. He died December 31st, 1881. His 
 son, Henry Wallerstein, was a member of the Stock 
 
DAVID WALLERSTEIN. 133 
 
 Exchange, but he left Wall street and has since 
 conducted the business founded by his father. 
 Henry Wallerstein is a member of the Chamber ot 
 Commerce and a leader in any efforts to advance 
 the trade interests of New York. 
 
 ISAAC H- BAILEY 
 
 Was for any years prominent in the leather trade. 
 He used to be called "The Voice of the Swamp," 
 for when any speech making was to do, he could 
 and did do it. He was born in Yarmouth, Maine, 
 and came here about 1837, when he was eighteen 
 years old. He found employment with Gideon 
 Lee & Co. About 1840, Wm. B. Isham, George 
 Palen and Mr. Bailey left the Lee store, formed a 
 firm and dealt in hides and leather. Mr. Isham re- 
 tired and the house of George Palen & Co., with 
 Mr. Bailey as junior partner, was formed. This 
 lasted to about 1868, when with J. W. Wiezel, the 
 firm of Bailey & Weizel went into tanning. They 
 made the Germania hemlock sole, using mostly 
 California hides, and about 1871 Mr. Bailey went 
 out of the leather business. He was interested in 
 politics and was appointed Commissioner of Chari- 
 ties and Correction. In 1875 he assumed charge 
 of the "Shoe and Leather Reporter," and when he 
 died, in 1898, was its editor. He was intimate with 
 many public men, and General Grant, at the solici- 
 tation of Roscoe Conklin, offered him the Col- 
 lectorship of the Port of New York, but he de- 
 clined. 
 
134 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 HIDE BROKERS. 
 
 The earliest broker in New York was Thomas 
 Pyne. His office was in Wall street. He sold cot- 
 ton, wool, tea, hides and any other merchandise he 
 could secure customers for. He used to have 
 stuffed seals and seal skins hanging on the walls 
 of his office. There were a great many seal skins 
 finished in the Swamp seventy years ago. They 
 were mainly used to cover trunks. 
 
 Hezekiah D. Hull was the pioneer hide broker. 
 He came to New York in 1832 from Hull's Farms, 
 Conn., and began as clerk for Benjamin Marsh in 
 Ferry street. He saved a moderate capital and 
 then went into the leather business for himself. In 
 a few years he lost his money and then entered the 
 brokerage field with the idea of making the sale of 
 hides a specialty. With this view he devoted him- 
 self, early and late, to the acquisition of such in- 
 formation as would enable him to act advantag- 
 eously as a medium between the importer and 
 buyer of hides and skins. But he was met with the 
 most determined and persistent opposition at the 
 very outset. There was a strong prejudice against 
 the method of doing business through the medium 
 of a broker, among the importers as well as among 
 the buyers of hides and skins, many of the latter 
 supposing their own facilities for buying to be far 
 better. Mr. Hull's wonderful energy and persever- 
 ance were in no way diminished by the strong op- 
 position which thus met him at the commencement 
 of his undertaking. 
 
HIDE BROKERS. 
 
 135 
 
 The first sale of hides which he made was to 
 Messrs. James & George Brooks, of Ferry street, 
 in 1838. 
 
 H. D. HULL. 
 PIONEER HIDE BROKER. 
 
 The year that Mr. Hull commenced — 1838 — the 
 import of hides was 613,500 pieces of all sorts, 
 valued at about two million dollars. Mr. Hull is- 
 sued the first trade circular in 1854. 
 
136 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 In addition to the prosecution of his regular 
 business, Mr. Hull also, after he had succeeded in 
 established himself, was a frequent purchaser of 
 the notes of such buyers in the Swamp as he knew 
 to be reliable. The importer would fix a certain 
 price upon his hides and skins, if Mr. Hull would 
 dispose of the paper offered in payment within a 
 certain margin. The bills of some of the Swamp 
 merchants were not then as favorably known in 
 Wall street as at the present time, and Mr. Hull 
 would, as far as possible, take these bills himself, 
 and he often held large amounts of this paper. 
 
 It was by such means as these, by dint of hard 
 work and steady perseverance, that Mr. Hull grad- 
 ually built up a business which secured for him a 
 handsome competence and opened up a field in 
 which he had many successors. 
 
 H. D. Hull died in New Canaan, Conn., Febru- 
 ary 5, 1866. His only son, Henry I. Hull, suc- 
 ceeded to his business and has carried it on, at 
 times alone and at times with partners, since 1866. 
 
 Lucien and Orrin Terry began as hide brokers at 
 59 Ferry street about 1850. They did a large busi- 
 ness in Orinoco hides. Afterwards they became 
 regular dealers and failed. Both are dead now. 
 William Brooks and his son, H. Josiah Brooks, 
 were early brokers. Valentine Everett was a 
 broker. Simon B. Hunt and Stephen Brown were 
 partners in the business at one time. 
 
 Jesse Pickard and John Andresen formed the 
 firm of Pickard & Andresen, hide brokers, about 
 
HIDE BROKERS. 137 
 
 1857. Mr. Pickard died June 17th, 1884. He was 
 widely known in the trade and universally res- 
 pected. His son, Frederic W. Pickard, is a hide 
 broker. 
 
 John Andresen is now of the firm of John Andre- 
 sen & Son, Chas. A. Andresen being the junior 
 partner. This firm are honorable, upright men, in 
 whom the trade have the fullest confidence. 
 
 James B. Dewson, about 1857, went in the store 
 of Robertson & Butman, afterwards Thorne, Wat- 
 son & Butman. He began in the hide brokerage 
 with Pickard & Andresen and later formed the 
 firms of Brooks & Dewson, Dewson, Hull & Co., 
 and is now the prior of James B. Dewson & Co. 
 with John F. Crosson and Pierce J. McCarthy as 
 partners. They are popular, and sell their quota 
 of hides. 
 
 Wiezel & Wiedemeyer and L. Ludovici were 
 hide brokers of old. Henry Danforth was once a 
 partner with H. Josiah Brooks. These brokers 
 sold almost all the hides tanners used, and were ex- 
 pected to deal impartially as between tanners and 
 importers. 
 
 Benj. M. Day is the veteran goatskin broker. 
 William Friel has been the chosen selecter of skins 
 for thirty years. Pfarrar & Templin are gaining a 
 foothold in the trade. The goatskin trade is a large 
 one. Something like 40,000,000 skins are imported 
 annually. 
 
 Hide brokers' charges are three-quarters of 
 one per cent, for sales of dry hides the product 
 
138 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 of the American Continent, and one per cent, on 
 wet salted hides and skins. 
 
 Joseph R. E. Moore was born in Liberty street. 
 His father was a prominent merchant. In 1862 
 Mr. Moore went into the office of Stephen Brown 
 and afterwards became a partner in hide brokerage. 
 In 1870 he was in business with Mark Hoyt, then 
 with Dewson & West, Moore & Moody, and for 
 several years has transacted business alone. 
 
 EDWIN B- STIMPSON 
 
 Came from England in 1853. He founded the 
 business of making small machines for shoe manu- 
 facturers and dealt in fine leather. He did business 
 in the Swamp for thirty years. He was a generous- 
 hearted man, of strict integrity, and an inventor of 
 great ability. He died October 6, 1888. His son, 
 who bore the same name, succeeded. He shows 
 the same gentlemanly characteristics and ability 
 possessed by his honored father, and has greatly 
 enlarged the business of devising shoe patterns and 
 inventing the contrivances for making them. 
 
 CHARLES HAUSELT 
 
 Was a merchant prince in the New York leather 
 trade. He came from Germany in 1840 to repre- 
 sent Doerr & Rhinehart, of Worms, in their patent 
 and wax calfskin, a business his successors still re- 
 tain. About twenty years ago his nephews, Charles 
 E. Hauselt and Oscar Scherer, went with him and 
 
CHARLES HAUSELT. 139 
 
 became partners. They added the manufacture of 
 "Flower City" and "Empire City" kid. Charles 
 Hauselt died February 7th, 1890, and after that his 
 successors greatly enlarged the business. Charles 
 E. Hauselt retired in 1898 and Oscar Scherer and 
 Albert G. Scherer took over the business and 
 formed the firm of Oscar Scherer & Brother. Al- 
 bert G. Scherer had been the manufacturer. Their 
 product, especially in colored kid, took the highest 
 rank. They opened an export trade and sell their 
 kid to every part of the world where leather is used. 
 Charles Hauselt, the founder of this firm, was for 
 nine years president of the German Society of New- 
 York. In 1886 he received from the Emperor of 
 Germany the Crown Order, Third Class, for ser- 
 vices rendered to Germans in this country. 
 
 THEODORE L. LUTKINS 
 
 Was an importer and dealer in sheepskins and fine 
 leather almost forty years. He was noted for being 
 the largest man in the leather trade. He was six 
 feet four inches tall and stout in proportion. He 
 died November 19th, 1891, aged 64 years. He was 
 a faithful, charitable, honorable man. His sons, 
 T. L. Lutkins, Stephen L. Lutkins and Clifford L. 
 Lutkins are in the sheepskin business. 
 
 JOHN B- WOODWARD 
 
 Was in the trade many years as manager in New 
 York for the Buenos Ayres house of Edward 
 Haines, dealer in hides and wool. Mr, Woodward 
 
140 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 was born in Brooklyn in 1835. He was prominent 
 in military circles. In 1854 he joined the Brook- 
 lyn City Guard. At the breaking out of the war 
 he went to the front as Colonel of the Thirteenth 
 (Brooklyn) Regiment. He served through the 
 war. The Swamp merchants presented him with a 
 beautiful and very valuable horse. In 1868 Colonel 
 Woodward was appointed Major General of the 
 National Guard, Inspector General in 1875 and 
 Adjutant General in 1877 and 1878. He was presi- 
 dent of the Third Avenue National Bank and for 
 twenty-eight years a trustee and eight years presi- 
 dent of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. 
 He died March 7, 1896. His associates at the In- 
 stitute held a memorial meeting on May 7th of that 
 year at the Church of the Savior in Brooklyn in 
 honor of his memory. His successor, A. Augustus 
 Healy, President of the Institute, was in the chair, 
 and he made the memorial address. Rev. S. A. 
 Elliott, ex-Governor Bulkeley of Connecticut, and 
 General Stewart L. Woodford made addresses. 
 
 GEORGE EVANS 
 Came from England and went into the leather busi- 
 ness in 1828. He was located at No. 1 Jacob street 
 for thirty-five years. Mr. Evans was an affable, 
 courteous merchant, and highly esteemed. His 
 oldest son is still in the Swamp. 
 
 JAMES MEINEL 
 Was a noted Swamper whom few now remember. 
 He manufactured goat skins from 1809 to 1825. 
 
JAMES MEINEL. 141 
 
 He was a practical man and made good kid. In 
 1825 he left the business. He owned the premises 
 No. 28 Ferry street, and in 1830 he returned there 
 and did a commission business in hides and leather 
 with Richard Stout and James Meinel, Jr., as 
 partners. The firm of Meinel & Stout was suc- 
 cessful and the partners retired with ample fortunes 
 about 1848. Mr. Meinel died that year. He was a 
 capital shot and a great sportsman. He was a fre- 
 quent prize winner in the "turkey shootings" held 
 regularly in the Swamp when he first engaged in 
 business. He built and owned the "Globe" Thea- 
 tre on Broadway. His son, James, Jr., was a prac- 
 tical joker and some people were afraid to pass his 
 store for fear of snow balls hurled from the roof, or 
 "juicy bricks" set in the sidewalk. Of course there 
 were sharp clerks in Ferry street who retaliated, 
 and he got drenched more than once with pails of 
 water emptied from overhead just as he was carry- 
 ing out some of his plans for mischief. 
 
 FRIEND H- BURT 
 
 Worked as a boy in the Swamp and learned to be a 
 currier. He went East and tanned in Massachu- 
 setts for several years. In 1855 he was elected a 
 member of the Massachusetts Legislature on the 
 Free Soil ticket. Afterwards he became a citizen 
 of New York and in i860 was elected to the Legis- 
 lature from that State. In 1866, with his son, Frank 
 Burt, he went to Mannington, West Virginia, and 
 began tanning oak sole and rough. He bought a 
 
142 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 great tract of land and there are more than thirty oil 
 wells on it running some hundreds of gallons daily. 
 His son, Frank Burt, has been Grand Master of 
 Masons for his_State. He is a great advocate of 
 temperance, and was one of the officials of Prohibi- 
 tion Park, Staten Island. 
 
 Thomas S. Chapman came from Utica, where he 
 had been in the banking business, and with Thomas 
 Everit, son of Valentine Everit, made up the firm of 
 Everit & Chapman. They continued ten years, at 
 the end of which time he connected himself with 
 Whitcomb & Hill, tanners in western New York, 
 and did business as Whitcomb & Chapman, at 9 
 Ferry street. They used to sell Burt's Mannington 
 leather and in 1893 Frank Burt, the tanner, came 
 here and became a partner in the firm of Chapman 
 & Burt. 
 
 THE WILLETS FAMILY. 
 
 This great house was founded by R. Willets in 
 1826. They built a store in Pearl street, running 
 through to Cliff street, in 1840, and the firm still 
 own and occupy it. In 1840 they began to receive 
 hides. For many years they got all the California 
 hides that came to New York. In 1875 they built 
 the Stoneham tannery and sold the leather until 
 
 ■ i - — my,^ mm ■ ■ 1 .1 
 
 1893, when it merged in the United States Leather 
 Company. The Willets family are of the Society 
 of Friends. They are rich and charitable. 
 
THE STOUTS. 143 
 
 THE STOUTS- 
 
 The first of this name to engage in the leather 
 trade was John W. Stout, who was a member of the 
 firm of Meinel & Stout for a short time, about 1830. 
 He went to New Brunswick, N. J., after that, and 
 tanned oak calfskins. His relatives, Thomas and 
 Richard Stout, formed the firm of T. & R. Stout in 
 1835, and did business at 51 Ferry street. They 
 dealt in sole leather, made money, were conserva- 
 tive, and this was one of the few firms that paid in 
 full through the panic of 1837. 
 
 Thomas Stout retired from the firm and from 
 business in 1852. Richard Stout, with his oldest 
 son, John W. Stout, Jr., as he has always signed 
 himself, continued as R. Stout & Son. They en- 
 gaged in tanning on their own, and in joint account, 
 and on commission for importers of hides. One of 
 their yards at Callicoon, Sullivan County, N. Y., 
 was known as the Stout tannery. 
 
 John W. Stout, Jr., drew out of this firm in 18C2. 
 His brother William took his place. George H. 
 and Richard Stout, Jr., younger brothers, engaged 
 as partners at different dates, and when Richard 
 Stout died January 1st, 1870, succeeded to the busi- 
 ness. These firms were W. & R. Stout and W. R. 
 Stout & Brother, tanners of hemlock sole. They 
 went out of business in 1894. 
 
 In 1862 John W. Stout, Jr., founded the firm of 
 Stout & Tuttle. Geo. W. Tuttle had been in tan- 
 ning and had a leather store in Spruce street. 
 Stout & Tuttle tanned oak, union and hemlock sole. 
 
144 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 They dissolved in 1869 and J. W. Stout, Jr., with his 
 brother, George H. Stout, founded the firm of J. 
 W. & G.H.St out, which dissolved in 1873, and both 
 partners engaged in other pursuits. A few years 
 thereafter George H. Stout came back to a part- 
 nership with his brothers, and John W. Stout, Jr., 
 became a hide broker, which occupation he still fol- 
 lows. 
 
 John W. Stout, Jr., was born in his father's house 
 on the southwest corner of Gold and Frankfort 
 streets, in 1831. He is the only man in the leather 
 trade, now living, who was born in the Swamp. 
 
 CHARLES A. SCHIEEEN & CO- 
 
 Many years ago Philip F. Pasquay was a well 
 known manufacturer of leather belting in the 
 Swamp. He died about 1866. Charles A. Schieren 
 was his bookkeeper. He came to this country 
 with his parents in 1856. At first he was engaged 
 in the cigar trade with his father, but he took a dis- 
 like to it, and in 1864 obtained a situation as a sales- 
 man in the leather belting house of Philip F. Pas- 
 quay, 25 Spruce street. By close application and 
 energy he soon acquainted himself with the busi- 
 ness, especially the making of leather belting. 
 When his employer died, Mr. Schieren was selected 
 as manager of the estate. The business was sold 
 to Heim & Zimmerman, and with them he re- 
 mained until April, 1868, when he founded the pres- 
 ent house, at No. 92 Gold street, with the moderate 
 savings of his four years' salary. He built up, in a 
 
HON. CHAS. A. SCHIEREN. 
 MAYOR OF BROOKLYN, 1894-5. 
 
CHARLES A. SCHIEREN & CO. 145 
 
 comparatively short time, one of the leading leather 
 belting establishments of this country. He con- 
 tinued alone until 1882, when he entered into co- 
 partnership with Jacob R. Stine. The latter re- 
 tired at the expiration of the term in 1887, and in 
 1888 F. A. M. Burrell was admitted. Mr. Burrell 
 began as office boy in 1877, an d worked his way up 
 to the position of chief clerk, and next of partner. 
 He has had an interest in the house since 1882. 
 Charles A. Schieren, Jr., is a partner. The firm do 
 an extensive business over the entire civilized 
 world.. They have branches in Boston, Philadel- 
 phia and Chicago. They own a tannery in Brook- 
 lyn, N. Y., where 60,000 sides of lace leather are 
 made yearly ; also one at Dixie, Tenn., where about 
 160,000 belting butts are tanned yearly, and they 
 stock others. Mr. Schieren has of late years paid 
 special attention to making belting suited for elec- 
 tric light machinery, and obtained several valuable 
 patents for improvements made in belting in that 
 line. 
 
 The American Leather Link Belt Company, oi 
 which Charles A. Schieren is president, occupy the 
 building on the corner of Ferry and Cliff streets. 
 The link belt is made from oak stock ; it is very 
 flexible and can be adjusted to any angle. It pos- 
 sesses grip power and pliability, and is useful when 
 shafts are out of line with each other, or when belts 
 need to be twisted. 
 
 Charles A. Schieren was Mayor of Brooklyn in 
 1894 and 1895 and is prominent in city affairs. 
 
146 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 HIDE AND LEATHER BANK- 
 
 This financial institution was opened for business 
 June 15th, 1891. The capital was $500,000. On the 
 first day forty-six accounts were opened and $223,- 
 888.43 deposited. The main customers were of the 
 leather and hide trades, but other interests were 
 represented. Charles B. Fosdick, an importer of 
 skins was the first president. Dick S. Ramsay, one 
 of the ablest financiers in the country, was his suc- 
 cessor. Mr. Ramsay is president also of the Ely & 
 Ramsay Stove Company. Chas. A. Schieren :s 
 vice-president of this bank. 
 
 JAMES R. PLUM & GALE- 
 
 During the early part of this century Elias Plum 
 was a leading leather merchant and tanner in Troy. 
 His son, James R. Plum, came to New York as 
 clerk for Bullard & Co. Later he engaged in busi- 
 ness with his brother, Elias Plum, Jr., as a partner. 
 Frank A. Gale was born in Ann street. His father, 
 Andrew D. Gale, was of the firm of Gale, Stout & 
 Ward, wholesale shoes. The son was of H. D. Hull 
 & Co. from 1856 to 1868. Then he joined James 
 R. Plum as J. R. Plum & Gale, tanners. Mr. Plum 
 is a director in the Importers' and Traders' Bank 
 and one of our strong financial men. He is treas- 
 urer of the United States Leather Company. 
 
 SCHEFTEL BROTHERS- 
 
 Morris S. Scheftel founded a leather importing 
 house in 1862. Adolph Scheftel, who had been a 
 
SCHEFTEL BROTHERS. 147 
 
 banker, came with him and the firm became Schef- 
 tel Brothers. Morris S. Scheftel died in 1865 and 
 his brother, Adolph Scheftel, took the business. 
 He introduced many fine brands of French skins 
 into this country. He has retired from active par- 
 ticipation, but invests capital in manufacturing fine 
 leather. He is a good merchant and a benevolent 
 man. 
 
 JOHN H. BOWIE 
 
 Was a famous man in his day. He was a member 
 of the old Maryland family of that name, and came 
 to the Swamp about 1830. He made fire buckets, 
 fire hose, and also the leather helmets the firemen 
 and constables used to wear, from which the consta- 
 bles got the name of "leather heads." Mr Bowie 
 built the store No. 25 Ferry street about 1852 and 
 did business there. He served in the New York 
 Legislature, was a leather inspector and a sachem 
 of Tammany. He left the trade and was succeeded 
 by S. Vanderhoef & Son, now also out of business. 
 
 LORING ANDREWS ROBERTSON 
 
 Was one of the financial giants of the leather trade. 
 He was born in Windham, N. Y., in 1828. He came 
 to New York in 1857 and founded the house of 
 Robertson & Butman. His father, George Rob- 
 ertson, was a partner. He was a sole leather tan- 
 ner. Messrs. Thome and Watson were special 
 partners. This firm dissolved in 1862 and L. A. 
 Robertson ran several tanneries and did a very 
 
148 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 large business during the war. He tanned "Middle 
 Valley" leather and was the first to introduce hem- 
 lock tannage in the South. After the war the peo- 
 ple of that section were too poor to buy oak leather, 
 to which they had been accustomed, and they took 
 the red sides freely. Mr. Robertson laid the foun- 
 dation of his great fortune in this trade. In 1870 
 Mr. Robertson came to New York and made a part- 
 nership with Wm. G. Hoople. The firm was Rob- 
 ertson & Hoople, which continued until Oct. 9, 
 1890, when Mr. Robertson was found dead in his 
 bed at the St. George Hotel, Brooklyn. A flagrant 
 attempt was made to get possession of a part of his 
 fortune of $2,500,000 by swindlers who put a woman 
 forward to personate his wife. A Morocco manu- 
 facturer met her at a whist party, during which time 
 she was being coached for the part, and was intro- 
 duced to her as "the widow of L. A. Robertson, a 
 leather dealer who had recently died." This man 
 spoke of it to the writer of this sketch, who reported 
 it to the heirs and relatives. Detectives were put 
 on her track. The plot failed and the woman con- 
 fessed that she had never seen Mr. Robertson. He 
 was never married. L. A. Robertson was a mer- 
 chant of great integrity who did many deeds of 
 charity according to the Scriptural injunction. 
 
 GEORGE A- DOCKSTADER 
 
 Was a leather dealer and partner with Elijah T. 
 Brown from 1856 to 1862. Mr. Dockstader left the 
 firm and traded in leather in Spruce street until 
 
GEORGE A. DOCKSTADER. 149 
 
 G. Dockstader and Washington L. Cooper, his son 
 and son-in-law, and retired. Mr. Dockstader was a 
 charitable man, with many friends in the trade. He 
 died July 26, 1890, aged 76 years. 
 
 ISAAC HYDE, JR., 
 
 Was a leather merchant from 1842 to 1877. Previ- 
 ous to that he had been successfully engaged in the 
 white lead trade. His first venture in leather was 
 with Edwin R. Tremain, as Hyde & Tremain. Tnis 
 lasted three years. Then Mr. Hyde did business 
 alone awhile, and in 1847 connected himself with 
 Valentine Everit, the firm being Hyde & Everit un- 
 til i860, when it was dissolved and Edmond B. 
 Hyde was taken as partner, under the firm name of 
 Isaac Hyde, Jr., & Son. The senior partner retired 
 from business in 1877. He owned the store No. 9 
 Ferry street. 
 
 Mr. Hyde was a just and honorable merchant. 
 He was very social, and on several occasions enter- 
 tained his associates in the Swamp at his house in 
 Brooklyn. Isaac Hyde, Jr., died April 14, 1885, 
 aged 74 years. 
 
 The oil firm of Hyde Bros. & Swift did business 
 at 9 Ferry street ten years. E. B. and Harry Hyde, 
 sons of Isaac Hyde, Jr., and T. H. Swift were the 
 partners. 
 
 ELIJAH T- BROWN 
 
 Came into the store of Austin Melvin, who was an 
 uncle by marriage, in 1830. He engaged in busi- 
 
ISO HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 ness for himself about 1835. He was a careful op- 
 erator and was always contented to do a small busi- 
 ness. S. A. Kissam was a partner several years 
 ago. David Myers and Geo. A. Gordon were ad- 
 mitted later. Mr. Gordon was a clerk with the 
 house for several years. Mr. Brown died Oct. 10th, 
 
 1876, aged 66 years. Myers & Gordon succeeded. 
 Mr. Myers retired. Mr. Gordon died in 1898. M. 
 B. Willcox succeeded. E. T. Brown was a man of 
 literary ability and an honorable and highly re- 
 spected merchant. 
 
 FREDERICK T. FAWCETT 
 
 Went into the leather trade in 1833. He was first 
 a clerk and then a partner with Wm. P. Miller. 
 His firm was, later, F. & T. Fawcett and Fawcett, 
 Benedict & Co. James S. Benedict and Warren T. 
 Fawcett, a nephew, were partners. Mr. Fawcett 
 was a politician in early life and active in Tammany 
 Hall, which was then located in Chatham, at the 
 head of Frankfort street. He and John Van Buren 
 and Zadock Pratt were elected members the same 
 night. Mr. Fawcett was vice-president of the Six- 
 penny Savings Bank at one time. He died in May, 
 
 1877. He was a man of dignified character, thor- 
 ough honesty, and possessed of considerable liter- 
 ary ability. His son, Edgar Fawcett, is a well- 
 known author. 
 
 Col. George Robertson, who died at Windham, 
 Aug. 12, 1889, was for nine years with Zadock 
 Pratt. He also tanned at Windham, Constantia, 
 
FREDERICK FAWCETT. 151 
 
 Forestport and Big Hollow, N. Y. He was the 
 father of Loring Andrews Robertson, of the firm of 
 Robertson & Hoople. 
 
 Col. Benjamin Burhans was a notable visitor to 
 the Swamp. He began to send leather there more 
 than fifty years ago from his tannery near the Cats- 
 kills. He afterward located at Warrensburg, six 
 miles from Lake George. He was of splendid phy- 
 sique, and upward of six feet in height. William B. 
 Isham married his daughter. He had a partner, 
 "Col." Gray, and two votaries of the muses in the 
 Swamp dedicated a poem to him, entitled "Gray's 
 Elegy in a Country Tanyard." 
 
 Charles & Giles Isham had a tannery at Shanda- 
 ken, N. Y. The three sons of the first named, Sam- 
 uel, William B. and Charles H., all went into the 
 Swamp. C. & G. Isham were not tanners, but 
 merchants. They came in possession of the tan- 
 nery, which was in one of the largest patches of wild 
 land in the State, and formed a part of Livingston 
 Manor. Wm. B. and Chas. H. Isham have retired. 
 They own stores in the Swamp. Samuel Isham 
 was of the firm of S. & C. H. Isham. He built the 
 store 91 Gold street in 1855. Chas. H. Isham owns 
 it now. Samuel Isham died in 1865. M. Harry 
 Moody was a partner in the firm of C. H. Isham & 
 Co. for many years. 
 
 Jay Gould was a partner with Zadock Pratt thirty- 
 five or forty years ago. In 1856 Charles M. Leupp 
 & Co. bought out Col. Pratt's interests in the 
 Gouldsboro, Pa., tannery, and that made Mr. Gould 
 
152 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 a partner with that firm, which he continued to be 
 till the concern went into liquidation on the death of 
 C. M. Leupp in 1859. 
 
 Charles J. Osborn, who subsequently acquired a 
 large fortune in Wall street, was a connection by 
 marriage of William P. Miller, and for a time a clerk 
 in his firm. Subsequently he was in the employ of 
 Henry Bucking, in Spruce street. He afterward 
 had $80,000 special capital in the sheepskin firm of 
 H. Atkinson & Co. 
 
 Charles F. Woerishoffer, founder of the banking 
 house of Woerishoffer & Co., was connected with a 
 leather importing house when he first came to New 
 York, and afterward advanced to a fellow-country- 
 man several thousand dollars to establish a tannery 
 in Jersey City. 
 
 Rufus B. Cowing, one of the judges of the Court 
 of Sessions, was a clerk with Chas. M. Leupp & Co., 
 afterward with Jay Gould at the Gouldsboro' tan- 
 nery, and a teller in the Mechanics' Bank when 
 Shepherd Knapp was President. 
 
 GEORGE PALEN 
 Was a son of Jonathan Palen, a tanner, and from 
 him he learned the trade. He came to New York 
 and became a clerk for Gideon Lee & Co. about 
 1836. Then he went to tanning with C. & G. Isham, 
 of Shandaken. In 1840 he opened a leather store 
 at No. 19 Ferry street, New York, the Ishams being 
 special partners. A few years later he removed 
 to 87 Gold street. In 1849 Isaac H. Bailey and 
 
GEORGE PALEN. 153 
 
 Wm. B. Isham, who were clerks with him, became 
 partners. The firm was George Palen & Co. Mr. 
 Isham withdrew in 1855. Mr. Bailey retired in 
 1868. George Palen took his son, of the same 
 name, as partner. George Palen died Oct. 10th, 
 1876. He was a man of ability and sterling integ- 
 rity. The Palens were a family of tanners at Palen- 
 ville, in the Catskills. They began to bring sole 
 leather to' New York in 1825 and were among the 
 first to do so. Peter E., Gilbert E., and Jonathan 
 Palen were their names. There were at one time 
 twelve Palens in the leather trade, as tanners and 
 merchants. One son of Gilbert E. Palen was Rufus 
 Palen, who represented his district in Congress at 
 Washington in 1836. James Palen, another son, 
 did business in Jacob street, with Shepherd Knapp 
 as special partner from 1839 until he died in 1846. 
 
 WILLIAM PALEN. 
 
 Is connected with the export department of the 
 United States Leather Company at New York. 
 He was born in Palenville, Greene County, N. Y., 
 in October, 1818. His father, Peter E. Palen, was 
 a tanner. William Palen came into the New York 
 Swamp in September, 1836, as clerk for Gideon 
 Lee & Co. His first business venture was with the 
 firm of Gideon Lee Knapp, after which he formed 
 the firm of Wm. Palen & Noble, which, after five 
 years, was dissolved, and Mr. Palen continued for a 
 few years alone. About 1866, in company with 
 Richard Nelsen, he established the leather broker- 
 
154 
 
 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 WILLIAM PALEN. 
 
 age firm of Palen, Nelson & Co. They were for 
 several years the leaders in this line in the trade. 
 When the United States Leather Company was 
 formed the firm dissolved. 
 
 SAMUEL T- KEESE 
 
 Came to New York to be a clerk with Thome, Wat- 
 son & Co., in 1852. He soon made a partnership 
 with Smith Ely, Jr., as Ely & Keese. This lasted 
 to 1857. Then, with Thos. W. Pearsoll, he founded 
 the firm of Keese & Pearsoll. In 1867 Adam Ram- 
 
SAMUEL T. KEESE. 155 
 
 say McCoy succeeded Mr. Pearsoll and the firm of 
 Keese & McCoy, with John Watson as special part- 
 ner, did business to 1872. George W. Thorne then 
 came with Mr. Keese, with Mr. Watson as special. 
 The firm of Keese & Thorne expired by limitation 
 in 1877. Mr. Keese then went into the hide bro- 
 kerage business. He died Oct. 14th, 1890. 
 
 HENRY T. McCLELLAN 
 Was in his day a well known leather merchant. He 
 came from Waterville, Me., and was a student in 
 Colby University there. He graduated with honor, 
 and delivered the valedictory address. In 1844 he 
 entered the employ of Gilman & Smull, afterwards 
 of N. Gilman & Son. Then he engaged in business 
 for himself. He built a union sole leather tannery 
 at Kregsville, Pa., and owned an interest in hem- 
 lock tanneries. He accumulated $250,000 in leather 
 dealing. He lost it all and before he died was a 
 workman in the tannery he built. It is often more 
 difficult to keep wealth than it was originally to ac- 
 quire it. 
 
 FELIX, FOURNIER & KNOPF- 
 This firm had its origin in 1864, when Ernest 
 Fournier, father of Felix Fournier, started a leather 
 business in Ferry street. This was the result of con- 
 siderable thought on his part, as he was originally 
 in the dry goods business in New Orleans. He 
 visited Paris and was induced by the then largest 
 manufacturer of patent leather to take a few dozens 
 
156 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 .to the United States and try to take orders. He 
 succeeded so well that on the strength of his ready 
 sales he ordered several cases, which were sold to 
 one firm. Seeing a better prospect of success in 
 starting a leather trade in New York than in con- 
 tinuing the dry goods business in New Orleans, he 
 soon became foremost in that line, introducing also 
 any novelty here that was new in the Parisian mar- 
 ket. His firm was E. Fournier & Co., and E. & C. 
 Fournier. Charles Fournier was his nephew. In 
 1886 Felix Fournier, son of Ernest Fournier, with 
 A. E. Konpf, an old importer and leather dealer, 
 succeeded to the business which has since been 
 known as Felix Fournier & Knopf. Mr. Fournier 
 has charge in Paris and they have branches in Bor- 
 deaux, Berlin and Cannes (Riveria). Mr. Knopf 
 transacts the American business. They export 
 chrome kid and upper leather and import calfskins, 
 blacking, buttons and other shoe goods. 
 
 SCOFIELD & STEVENSON. 
 In 1 841 Charles A. Scofield began currying 
 leather for Joseph B. Hoyt at the corner of Ferry 
 and Cliff streets. Walter Stevenson came from 
 Scotland later and worked in the same shop. After 
 some changes they formed the firm of Scofield & 
 Stevenson in 1863. They took the store No. 4 Ja- 
 cob street. They afterwards bought this store for 
 $9,600. In 1888 they dissolved. Mr. Scofield re- 
 tired. Walter Stevenson bought his partner's in- 
 terest at No. 4 Jacob street, added a story in height 
 
SCOFIELD & STEVENSON. 157 
 
 and continues the business. The firms never gave 
 a note. Both partners were conservative, careful, 
 honest men, and both made a fortune. 
 
 JOSIAH T. TUBBY. 
 
 Valentine H. Seaman in 1865 formed the firm of 
 Sherwood, Seaman & Tubby. Mr. Sherwood left 
 and the house of Seaman & Tubby succeeded. In 
 1875 this dissolved and Mr. Seaman continued 
 alone for several years. Josiah T. Tubby com- 
 menced in the Swamp as a bookkeeper with Bul- 
 lard & Co in Ferry street. He was a member of the 
 firms of Sherwood, Seaman & Tubby and Seaman 
 & Tubby, but in 1880 made a connection with Ben- 
 jamin D. Hicks, the latter becoming special part- 
 ner with him, and tanned union sole at the Nichol- 
 son and Wyoming tanneries. These were merged 
 in the United States Leather Company in 1893 and 
 Mr. Tubby became secretary of that organization. 
 He is a member of the Society of Friends, an ex- 
 cellent gentleman and an upright, honorable mer- 
 chant. 
 
 THE HIDE AND LEATHER CLUB 
 
 Was organized in October, 1878. Charles H. Is- 
 ham was the first president. Other prominent 
 Swampers were presidents later. It was a social 
 dining club. The initiation was $50 ; dues $40 per 
 annum. The club rooms were at the northeast 
 corner of Ferry and Gold streets, in the building 
 owned by Aaron Healy. When these premises 
 
158 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 were torn down to build the "Healy Building" in 
 1890, the club moved to the corner of Gold and 
 Spruce streets. 
 
 This club was dissolved about 1893-4. They had 
 entertained Generals Grant and Sherman and many 
 prominent men. The "Round Table" was made 
 famous by the wit of Palen, the sententious utter- 
 ances of Bailey, and every foreign leather dealer 
 who visited New York has a place at the board. 
 
 BARNES & MERRITT- 
 
 Theodore M. Barnes was born in New York. 
 His father was a merchant ; his grandfather, an offi- 
 cer in the Revolution. Mr. Barnes came into the 
 Swamp in 1859, and with Thomas Clarendon, 
 formed the firm of Barnes & Clarendon. They be- 
 gan in the little store, 83 Gold street, corner of 
 Spruce street. Then they went to 82 Gold street, 
 and Oliver K. Lapham was a partner. The firm 
 was Barnes, Clarendon & Lapham, until 1864, when 
 Mr. Barnes left it and formed the firm of Barnes & 
 Merritt, sole leather tanners. He built the store 
 57 Frankfort street. T. M. Barnes died Dec. 18, 
 1898. 
 
 Richard S. Merritt had an honorable career in 
 the swamp. He came there a young man and be- 
 came a clerk for Samuel T. Reese. This firm af- 
 terwards became Ely & Keese (Smith Ely, Jr.), and 
 Mr. Merritt continued with them. In 1864 he joined 
 with T. M. Barnes and formed the firm of Barnes & 
 Merritt. They were connected with some of Jona- 
 
BARNES & MERRITT. i$g 
 
 than Thome's sons. Barnes & Merritt sold out their 
 tanneries to the United States Leather Company in 
 1893 and Mr. Merritt was Auditor and Transfer 
 Agent for the company until he died, Sept. 24th, 
 1895. He was a member of the Society of Friends. 
 
 BARUCH WERTHEIM, 
 Senior of the firm of B. Wertheim & Son, hide 
 dealers, was born in Wehrda, Germany, and came 
 to this country in 1855. He went into the hide 
 business and traveled through New York and 
 neighboring States for some years picking up hides, 
 which he sold in the New York market. He made 
 a success of the business from the start and soon 
 established himself in New York, where he has 
 since remained. 
 
 Shortly after the war Mr. Wertheim made an ar- 
 rangement with J, B. Hoyt & Co., afterward 
 Fayerweather & Ladew, where they took all the 
 hides salted in New York City. Mr. Wertheim 
 selected the spready and light ones, such as 
 were not suited for sole and belting. These he 
 sold to Newark tanners. This arrangement con- 
 tinued for twenty years, and although there was 
 never a written agreement, the most amicable rela- 
 tions always existed. 
 
 In 1881 Solomon Wertheim went into his father's 
 store and in 1886 was admitted as a partner. The 
 business was greatly enlarged, and an export and 
 import department was added.. 
 
160 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 The senior left the business management mainly 
 in the hands of his son. The house he founded has 
 grown to be a leading firm in the hide trade. Mr. 
 Wertheim was a modest, unobtrusive man. His 
 philanthrophy was of a high order. He contributed 
 to nearly all the leading charities in the city and he 
 gave liberally from his ample fortune. 
 
 Mr. Wertheim died, much respected and la- 
 mented by all who knew him, February 22d, 1901, 
 aged 74 years. 
 
 JOSEPH HECHT & SONS. 
 This firm was founded by the senior partner in 
 1865. He commenced in a very small way as a 
 gatherer of calfskins from the butchers. These he 
 salted and sold to tanners. His business prospered. 
 He was honorable in his dealings, true to his word, 
 and soon he controlled the calfskin trade of New 
 York. His sons, Myer and Aaron Hecht, grew up 
 in the business and were taken as partners when 
 they came to be twenty-one years of age. They 
 were progressive and soon added hides to the mer- 
 chandise they dealt in. They traded in all the marts 
 in this country and then extended their operations 
 to Europe. They also imported the products of 
 South America. The firm occupied stores 92 to 98 
 Cliff street, owned by them. In 1899 Joseph Hecht 
 retired, and his sons merged the business in the 
 American Hide and Leather Company, who took 
 their stores for headquarters. Aaron Hecht is a 
 vice-president of the great company. 
 
JOSEPH MUSLINER. 161 
 
 JOSEPH MUSLINER, 
 
 Who died in February, 1887, was engaged in the 
 business of buying and selling leather forty years. 
 He was a Hebrew, a man of great integrity, very 
 charitable, universally respected, and an honest and 
 honorable merchant. Mr. Musliner had a store in 
 the Swamp and another in Houston street. His 
 two sons, Moses and Isam Musliner, and son-in- 
 law, Isaiah Friesner, succeeded to the business. 
 
 J. H- EOSSBACH & BEO. 
 
 This firm was founded by Joseph H. Rossbach, 
 one of the pioneers in exporting American leather 
 to Germany. He began the business in 1867 and 
 took his brothers, Jacob and Leopold Rossbach, as 
 partners. Joseph H. Rossbach died in Germany, 
 January 6, 1887, and his brothers continue the busi- 
 ness. They became hide importers and were in 
 the Buenos Ayres trade. They also exported and 
 imported to and from Europe. Then Jacob Ross- 
 bach went to Brazil and established houses in sev- 
 eral cities. There were very few Brazil hides re- 
 ceived direct before J. H. Rossbach & Bros, en- 
 gaged in the trade. They are energetic, honorable 
 men, who have opened up new avenues of com- 
 merce and profited thereby. 
 
 B. FEANK & SONS- 
 
 Betta Frank is the only woman in the leather 
 trade in the Swamp. She was left a widow in 1875 
 with seven children. She opened a findings store 
 
162 HISTORY OF TH'E SWAMP. 
 
 at 1975 Third avenue. Her oldest sons, Henry and 
 Max Frank, were some help to her. M. Hess- 
 berg, a leather dealer of Richmond, Va., well 
 known in the Swamp, was her brother. Henry 
 Frank went to Richmond to learn the leather busi- 
 ness, and he and his brother were afterwards taken 
 in as partners. In 1887 they removed to 71 Gold 
 street and in 1894 to No. 40 Spruce street. They 
 own the Michigan Leather Company at Detroit. 
 The sons transact the business. They have been 
 successful and are a credit to their mother who edu- 
 cated them to be merchants. 
 
 SALOMON & PHILLIPS 
 Began in the Swamp in 1867 as jobbers of leather. 
 They gradually developed an importing and manu- 
 facturing business. In 1890 they founded the 
 Armstrong Leather Company at Peabody, Mass., 
 which has grown to be a large and successful con- 
 cern. In Newark they run a plant making alligator 
 and other leather. They have made a specialty of 
 very fine goods and they import novelties in shoe 
 goods from Europe. They also export fine leather 
 to Europe, thus making that country tributary to 
 ours for the highest grades of stock used there for 
 shoes and leather goods. They have a store in 
 Boston as well as New York. B. J. Salomon, S. P. 
 Mendel and Edward M. Salomon, son of the senior 
 partner, compose the firm. They are high-toned 
 honorable men. S. P. Mendel is a director in the 
 Hide and Leather Bank and a member of the 
 Chamber of Commerce. 
 
KRANK FIORA. 163 
 
 Frank Fiora was a well known figure in the 
 Swamp. His father, James Fiora, was a book- 
 binder in Fulton street. He took to England the 
 first lot of hemlock leather exported to that coun- 
 try. He had hard work selling it, and as hard a 
 time in delivering it. The buyers insisted on having 
 it sent to their warehouses in the night so that their 
 customers would not know that they used the "red 
 sides." Zadock Pratt in 1845 asked President Polk 
 to make James Fiora Consul to Manchester, Eng- 
 land, and he held that office many years. He died 
 in Manchester in 1886, aged 82 years. He was a 
 native of Genoa, Italy. Frank Fiora grew up in 
 New York and bought and sold hides and was asso- 
 ciated with his father in the English trade. He was 
 a very large man, weighing fully 300 pounds. His 
 clothes were of English make and he made rather a 
 stunning appearance in the street. In summer he 
 would wear a white duck suit and low cut patent 
 leather shoes. In this rig he would go into the 
 hide cellers, simply turning up his trousers. He 
 made some unfortunate deals and lost all his 
 money. His friends in the Swamp raised quite a 
 large sum of money for him. His pride would not 
 allow him, to accept it. He went to Texas to deal in 
 hides but had remained there only a short time 
 when Fayerweather & Ladew sent him to Eng- 
 land to buy Anglo-American hides for them, and he 
 died there. 
 
 Jay Gould had an office in Gold, and afterwards 
 in Spruce street in- 1862 as an agent for the "New 
 
164 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Jersey Patent Tanning Co.," of Newark. He had 
 a process for quick tanning. 
 
 THE COSTELLOS. 
 
 P. H. Costello, who died December 17th, 1890, 
 was in the tanning business. With his brother, P. 
 C. Costello, he built the Camden Tannery, noted for 
 good sole leather. They also founded the town of 
 Costello, Pa., and tanned there. Mr. Costello was 
 a liberal, generous man who had many friends. 
 Alfred C. and John H. Costello, his sons, were also 
 his partners. At one time the Costellos were of 
 Lapham, Costello & Co. In 1893 the Camden and 
 Costello yards were merged in the United States 
 Leather Company. P. H. Costello was a Member 
 of Assembly in 1873 and Presidential Elector in 
 1880. From a very humble beginning he gained a 
 high position by skill and integrity. 
 
 HENRY G- ELY 
 
 Came to New York and into the Swamp in 1859. 
 His father, Homer Ely, and uncle, Cotton Ely, had 
 been tanners at Ashleyville, Mass., for more than 
 half a century. H. G. Ely began business alone, 
 then as Ely & Lane and H. G. Ely & Sanger. 
 Samuel P. Pope was a partner. He was a bright, 
 smart salesman, but died in early manhood. In 
 1876 H. G. Ely & Co. was the style. J. B. Hoyt 
 & Co. were special partners for several years. Mr. 
 Ely's son, Leicester K. Ely, was a partner. Henry 
 G. Ely was a member and officer in Henry Ward 
 Beecher's church. He died in 1877. 
 
J. PASKUSZ & SON. 165 
 
 J. PASKUSZ & SON. 
 
 The founder of this firm came from Germany in 
 1866. He began currying calf and harness leather 
 on the Bowery in a shop next to the Windsor 
 Theatre. Then he went to Fifty-second street, and 
 in 1868 located at the corner of Seventy-sixth 
 street and Central Park West. This is now a very 
 fashionable neighborhood, but at that time there 
 was not a building within six blocks. There was 
 a pond there, and Mr. Paskusz used to shoot musk- 
 rats in it. As the business grew and customers 
 were down town, he removed to Beekman street. 
 In 1897 his son, Gasa Paskusz, was taken into the 
 firm as J. Paskusz & Son. They took the store 
 corner of Gold and Frankfort streets and have a 
 factory at Newark. 
 
 THOMAS C- SPEERS. 
 
 Was a captain in the New Jersey Cavalry Regiment 
 during the war and went into the leather business 
 at its close. He was a partner with T. L. Smull & 
 Co., and in 1878 went with George Palen & Co. 
 as hide buyer. He was a Fire Commissioner of 
 Jersey City. He was killed while visiting the 
 Waverly Tannery by a runaway team, July 9th, 
 1881. Renwick W. Speers, hide buyer of the 
 United States Leather Company, is a younger 
 brother. 
 
 Austin Melvin Knight came into the Swamp in 
 1852 as bookkeeper for Austin Melvin, who was his 
 uncle. Shepherd Knapp was his cousin. In i860 
 
1 66 HISTORY OF 1 THE SWAMP. 
 
 in company with Addison L. Knapp, he engaged in 
 the leather business and afterwards began dealing 
 in oil. The firm of Knight & Knapp were pioneers 
 in making a specialty of tanning oil. A. L. Knight 
 and Alden S. Swan were clerks and afterwards part- 
 ners. Mr. Swan was more or less prominent in 
 politics and was one of the first trustees of the 
 Brooklyn Bridge. He did business in Ferry street, 
 but is now of the Swan & Finch Co., Maiden Lane. 
 A. M. Knight and his brother located at 83 Gold 
 street. A. L. Knight owns the building now, but 
 after the death of his brother he moved to 1 1 Ferry 
 street, where he continued the oil business in his 
 own name. 
 
 Simeon M. Gallup was born in Gallupville, N. 
 Y., where his father was a tanner. He came to New 
 York in 1837 as a clerk for Ogden E. Edwards. 
 In 1840 he took charge of the Shandaken tannery 
 for George Palen. In 1855 he returned to New 
 York as assistant to Wm. B. Isham. From l86o to 
 1882 he was a member of the firm of Wm. B. Isham 
 & Gallup. He retired, and died April 13, 1883. 
 
 LORING ANDREWS, REAL ESTATE. 
 
 On June 3, 1884, the Swamp property of Loring 
 Andrews was sold at auction to settle the estate. 
 The prices were : 
 
 The five-story brick store, No. 26 Spruce street, 
 to Daniel Lord for $36,100; the five-story brown- 
 stone front store, No. 32 Spruce street, for $45,000; 
 the five-story brownstone store, No. 34 Spruce 
 
LORING ANDREWS. 167 
 
 street, for $45,850, both to Adolf Scheftel; the five- 
 story brownstone store, No. 36 Spruce street, to 
 Charles and Felix Fournier for $41,650; the five- 
 story brownstone store, No. 38 Spruce street, to 
 Anton Eilers, of Eilers & Movius Leather Co., for 
 $42,000; the six-story brick store, No. 40 Spruce 
 street, to Alfred J. Taylor for $40,300; the five-story 
 brick store, No. 42 Spruce street, to Constant A. 
 Andrews for $36,000; the five-story marble-front 
 store, No. 174 William street, to C. P. Buckley for 
 $44,600 ; Nos. 63 and 65 Cliff street, to Charles S. 
 Brown for $42,600; the five-story brick store, No. 
 61 Cliff street, to E. G. Hilton for $38,000 ; the five- 
 story brick store, Nos. 72 and 74 Gold street, to 
 Simon Sternberger for $80,050. Most of these 
 buildings were erected by Mr. Andrews during his 
 lifetime. 
 
 A MILITARY TANNER. 
 
 Colonel Eliakin Sherril was a tanner at Shanda- 
 kin and connected with some firms in the Swamp 
 where he had special capital. In 1847-8 he was 
 a Representative to Congress at Washington. In 
 1862 he raised the 126th Regiment New York 
 Volunteers. He was wounded at Harper's Ferry, 
 but rejoined his regiment, and while leading the 
 Second Army Corps, July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg, 
 was wounded and died next day. His associates 
 in the Swamp met* and passed resolutions of con- 
 dolence, which were transmitted to his family. 
 
168 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 THE ELY FAMILY- 
 
 Epaphres C. Ely was born in New York, di- 
 rectly in the rear of Trinity Church, where his 
 father and family had resided many years. He 
 learned the tanning trade with a brother in Orange 
 County. This brother was drafted in the war of 
 1812, and as his family would suffer by his absence, 
 Epaphres C. Ely, then an apprentice, went as his 
 substitute and was stationed at Staten Island. The 
 family hold a land warrant issued for his military 
 service. At the close of the war he built, in con- 
 nection with his brother, a tannery twelve miles 
 back of Kingston. In 1819 he went west on a 
 trading trip, taking a quantity of shoes and leather. 
 He journeyed to Pittsburg on horseback and 
 guided his teams. He then took a flat boat to Cin- 
 cinnati and Louisville, trading on the way. He 
 made several trips of this kind. In 1835 he formed 
 .the firm of Ring & Ely on Ferry street, New York. 
 This dissolved in 1841. Mr. Ely took a diploma in 
 1846 for tanned oak sole leather. He continued 
 alone until 1851, when he retired. He died at Liv- 
 ingston, N. J., in 1864. 
 
 Ambrose K. Ely, oldest son of E. C. Ely, has 
 been for many years a merchant in the Swamp. 
 He was a clerk and member of the firm of Thorne, 
 Watson, Corse & Co. In 1852 he left that firm and 
 did a leather business alone until 1876, when he 
 discontinued and sold much of his leather at good 
 prices in the autumn of that year. He had several 
 thousand sides left which he kept and sold during 
 
HON. SMITH ELY, 
 
 MAYOR OF NEW YORK, 
 
 1877-8. 
 
THE ELY FAMILY. 169 
 
 the "boom" of 1879. He was very successful in 
 his tanning operations. Since 1880 he has not dealt 
 in leather, but has attended to his real estate and 
 trust interests. He was executor and trustee for 
 Israel Corse and for John Watson and has man- 
 aged these great estates with ability and care. He 
 owns the large block corner of Gold and Frank- 
 fort streets and much other city property. 
 
 Smith Ely was a Swamp merchant and brother 
 of Ambrose K. Ely. He was a member success- 
 ively of the firms of Mattison & Ely, Ely & Reese, 
 and Ely, Vanderpoel & Kitchell. He retired from 
 active business in 1877, at which time he was 
 elected Mayor of New York. His political record 
 was good. He diminished the net debt of the city 
 and also the expenditures each of the two years ot 
 his term. No other mayor shows such a record. 
 He married 700 couples during his two years of 
 office. Both these brothers are living and they 
 have always stood high as upright and honorable 
 merchants. A. K. Ely was never married, neither 
 was Smith Ely, notwithstanding the great num- 
 ber of couples he "made happy" during his terms 
 as mayor. 
 
 Smith Ely's political record was of the highest 
 character. He has always been a Democrat. Tn 
 1857 he was elected to the State Senate by a large 
 majority — the first Democrat ever elected in his 
 district. In i860 he was on the Board of County 
 Supervisors. In 1870 he was elected a representa- 
 tive to the Forty-second Congress and was placed 
 
170 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 by Speaker Blaine on important committees. In 
 1874 he was re-elected. Two years after he was 
 elected Mayor of Nw York by 55,000 majority over 
 General John A. Dix. Mr. Ely was one of the 
 Commissioners who constructed the Brooklyn 
 Bridge and acted as Commissioner of Public Parks 
 from 1895 to 1898. 
 
 LORING ANDREWS. 
 
 A well-known leather magnate was Loring An- 
 drews. He learned tanning with George Robert- 
 son at Windham, N. Y., and then began business 
 on his own account. He accumulated $7,000 and 
 in 1829 came to' New York. He started in busi- 
 ness in the building known as "Jacob's Well," No. 
 8 Jacob street. The firm was Andrews & Wilson, 
 with Gideon Lee special for $10,000. He was suc- 
 cessful for a time, but in the panic of 1837 the firm 
 lost all they had. Mr. Andrews commenced again 
 on borrowed capital and ten years afterwards paid 
 his old indebtedness. In i860 Mr. Andrews was 
 in difficulties again. He had his capital locked up 
 in sole leather and there was no sale for it. His 
 mind was so depressed at that time that his family 
 feared for his health. They consulted Shepherd 
 Knapp, president of the Mechanics' Bank. He 
 went to Mr. Andrews and proposed to him to hy- 
 pothecate his leather to the bank for a loan. This 
 was - at first refused, but Mr. Knapp told him of a 
 precisely similar transaction made by Gideon Lee 
 & Co a quarter of a century or so before, and he 
 
LORING ANDREWS. 171 
 
 consented. The leather was put in charge of the 
 bank and a loan of $100,000 made on it. Very soon 
 the war broke out and leather advanced 1 . Then 
 Mr. Andrews put every dollar he could raise into 
 hides and stocked eight large tanneries. The ad- 
 vance in leather made him a very rich man. 
 
 In 1855 a young man from the north of Ireland, 
 named Charles Gibbons, was hired by Mr. An- 
 drews as a porter to roll up leather. He soon be- 
 came a salesman, and in 1857 was admitted as part- 
 ner, the firm being Loring Andrews & Co'., 72 Gold 
 street. This partnership expired by limitation and 
 Mr. Gibbons retired from the firm and from busi- 
 ness in May, i860, with $250,000. Mr. Andrews 
 then took his son, Wm. L. Andrews, and later an- 
 other son, Constant A. Andrews, as partners. Soon 
 after his death, which occurred January 22d, 1875, 
 at the age of 78 years, the business was discon- 
 tinued. In 1850 Mr. Andrews bought the lots on 
 the south side of Spruce street, below William, all 
 but the two corners, and built nine stores, which 
 cost about $18,000 each. He also bought the lanci 
 and built the fine block on the northwest corner 
 of Beekman and Cliff streets, and he owned other 
 property in the Swamp and vicinity. He had a 
 daughter who married a German prince who was 
 Chamberlain to the King of Bavaria. His sons 
 left the trade in 1876 and were for some time en- 
 gaged in settling up their father's estate, which 
 was valued at more than $5,000,000. 
 
172 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Mr. Andrews gave away much in charity. He 
 built and maintained a church on the East Side, in 
 a destitute neighborhood. He advanced more 
 than a hunderd thousand dollars to help lay the 
 Atlantic cable, when it was regarded as a visionary 
 project. He made a gift of $100,000 to the New 
 York University in 1868. 
 
 THE HOOPLE FAMILY. 
 
 The founder of this family of leather dealers, 
 William H. Hoople, was born in Canada. His 
 mother was captured by Indians at the Wyoming 
 Massacre, where she saw her father and mother 
 tomahawked. She was taken to Canada a captive 
 and there she married William Hoople. Two ot 
 her sons were officers in the English Navy. The 
 youngest son, William H. Hoople, came to New 
 York and was apprenticed to a currier on Long 
 Island. He worked hard. One night his employer 
 saw a light in the shop and said : "William, what 
 light is that I see in the shop every night?" "I am 
 working overtime, sir, and earn about half a dollar 
 every evening," said the boy. "Ah, William," said 
 his employer, "You will find that those who make 
 money work with their heads and not with their 
 hands." William did recollect, and in 1832 he 
 came to New York and went in the leather busi- 
 ness. His firm was Van Nostrand & Hoople. In 
 1865 his nephew, William G. Hoople, was admitted. 
 Later Wm. H. Hoople retired from business, hav- 
 ing amassed a fortune. His nephew took in Lor- 
 
THE HOOPLE FAMILY. 173 
 
 ing Andrews Robertson about 1870 as partner. 
 They were together as tanners and merchants until 
 Mr. Robertson died. William H. Hoople died in 
 June, 1895, aged 90 years. He was a very rich and 
 charitable man. He gave away large sums in his 
 lifetime. 
 
 William G. Hoople left the leather business, but 
 is engaged in selling tanning materials and dyes. 
 His firm is Hoople & Androvette. 
 
 William Howard Hoople, a grand nephew of 
 Wm. H. Hoople, manufactures Goodyear welting 
 in Ferry street. He is also a clergyman. His 
 father, Wm. G. Hoople, built a church for him in 
 Brooklyn. It is called the Utica Avenue Taber- 
 nacle. 
 
 The oldest firm in the leather and findings busi- 
 ness is 
 
 MULFORD, CARY & CONKLIN 
 
 Who celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their en- 
 gagement in business on May 1st, 1900. The 
 house dates at least ten years prior to that at which 
 time Jared and Merritt Holt, of Albany, did busi- 
 ness at 302 Pearl street, the centre of the leather 
 trade. The Holts sold out to John Buckley and 
 went back to Albany, where they were well known 
 merchants for many years. 
 
 C. W. Cary had been a clerk with both these 
 firms. In 1850 Mahlon Mulford, a tanner, came 
 from Elizabeth, N. J., and joined him in buying out 
 Mr. Buckley and they formed the firm of Mulford 
 
174 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 & Cary. C. W. Cary withdrew in 1861. B. H. 
 Cary, his younger brother, who had been a clerk 
 with the house since 1853, became a partner in 
 1865. Eugene H. Conklin joined them in 1876 
 and the present firm of Mulford, Cary & Conklin 
 was formed. They took a position at the head of 
 the trade. They had been in the findings business, 
 but immediately began to stock tanneries with 
 skins and sell the product. They introduced some 
 of the best brands of kid and calfskins into the 
 trade. Mr. Mulford died at Elizabeth, N. J., May 
 16th, 1877. He was a good man and an honorable 
 merchant. ' 
 
 THE FRASERS- 
 
 Thomas Fraser came to New York from Scot- 
 land in 1825. He brought letters to William Ke- 
 van, a shoe dealer on Pearl street, was taken into 
 his family, and married his daughter. Wm. P. Mil- 
 ler married a daughter. Mr. Fraser went into busi- 
 ness with General H. A. Sampson, and built an 
 upper leather tannery in Ulstter County. On the 
 repeal of the leather duty in Great Britain in 1844 
 they sent upper leather to Scotland for a market. 
 The shipments were over 40,000 sides. This was 
 the first shipment of upper leather to Europe. 
 Thomas Fraser had agents in St. Louis and pro~ 
 cured the first Indian Territory and other dry hides 
 that came East. J. V. Van Woert became a part- 
 ner as Van Woert & Fraser later. In 1846 Mr, 
 Fraser withdrew from this firm and did business 
 alone. Jonathan Thorne contributed $25,000 as 
 
THE ERASERS. 175 
 
 special partner. James Fraser, a younger brother, 
 had come from Scotland and was associated with 
 the house. There were three Fraser brothers, 
 Andrew, who died in New Orleans in 1856; 
 Thomas, who died in New York in 1863, and 
 James Fraser, who died in New York, December 
 15th, 1897. 
 
 When Thomas Fraser died the firm's style was 
 changed to Thomas Fraser's Brother & Co. In 
 1865 the firm of Fraser, Major & Co. was formed. 
 The partners were James Fraser, William Kevan 
 Major, a nephew, and the two sons of Thomas Fra- 
 ser, William A. and George S. Fraser. They 
 tanned hemlock sole leather. When the Uniteed 
 States Leather Company was formed in 1893 they 
 were stocking the Wilcox tannery and when their 
 contract with Norman Schultz ran out they gave 
 up the business of producing leather. James Fra- 
 ser was a member and for many years an officer of 
 the St. Andrew's Society of New York; a mem- 
 ber of the Natural History and of the Academy of 
 Design. He was an elder of the Fifth Avenue 
 Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr. John Hall, and a 
 superintendent of its Sunday School from 1872 to 
 the time of his death. He was a man of unswerv- 
 ing probity, charitable, and his religious convic- 
 tions were intense and earnest. 
 
 Jacob Van Wagenan came to New York about 
 1828, and in 1834 formed a partnership with Wil- 
 liam Bullard. He withdrew from the firm of Bul- 
 lard & Co. in 1865 and with John S. Tuttle origi- 
 
176 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 nated the firm of Van Wagenen & Tuttle. Mr. 
 Turtle was a Schoharie tanner. He died some 
 years ago. This house was very successful. They 
 went out of the trade about fifteen years ago with 
 $350,000 to the credit of each member. Mr. Van 
 Wagenen lost some of his fortune through specu- 
 lations in Wall street. He and his partner became 
 involved in the failure of Alonzo Follett. Mr. Van 
 Wagenan died April 29th, 1899, aged 85 years. 
 
 BANK PRESIDENTS. 
 
 The services of members of the trade have been 
 in demand in banking circles. Most of these finan- 
 cial institutions have shoe and leather dealers 
 among their directors. In New York there were 
 several who filled the position of president. As 
 early as 1825 to 1830 Paul Spofford was president 
 of the Bank of the Commonwealth. Thomas Tiles- 
 ton of the Phcenix. They were of the great whole- 
 sale shoe house of Spofford & Tileston in Pearl 
 near Ferry street. Gideon Lee was president of 
 the Shoe and Leather Manufacturers' Bank in 
 1835. Loring Andrews organized the Shoe and 
 Leather Bank and was president for a time. His 
 successor was Andrew V. Stout, of Gale, Stout & 
 Ward, wholesale shoes, who got the city deposits " 
 for it from Mayor Fernando Wood. Jacob Loril- 
 lard and Shepherd Knapp presided in turn over the 
 Mechanic's Bank. They held the office for about 
 fifty years. Matthew Reed, a wholesale shoe 
 dealer, was president of the Tradesman's Bank. 
 
BANK PRESIDENTS. 177 
 
 He was afterwards a leather inspector in the 
 Swamp. He fel down a hatchway at No. 8 Ferry 
 street and wis killed. William Miles, of Thomas 
 Smull & Co., was president of the German Spar 
 Bank in Clinton Hall. Reuben W. Howes, ot 
 Howes, Hyatt & Co., shoes, organized the Park 
 Bank and was its first president. Other presi- 
 dents were Alex. H. Studwell, First National; Phi- 
 neas C. Lounsbury, also ex-Governor of Connecti- 
 cut, Merchants' Exchange National; John B. 
 Woodward, Third National ; John Willets, Leather 
 Manufacturers' ; Charles B. Fosdick, Hide and 
 Leather. Joseph E. Bulkley was a vice-presidem 
 of the Park Bank ; so was Oliver Hoyt. Mr. Hoyt 
 was offered the presidency, but declined. John 
 Watson was vice-president of the Bank of North 
 America, Frederic Fawcett of the Sixpenny Sav- 
 ings Bank. Charles A. Schieren and Thomas Keck 
 are vice-presidents of the Hide and Leather Bank. 
 
 Shepherd Knapp and Andrew V. Stout have 
 been Comptrollers (or Treasurers) of New York. 
 
 Two leather dealers have been Mayors of New- 
 York, Gideon Lee and Smith Ely, Jr. ; two of 
 Brooklyn, Jonathan Trotter (first Mayor) and 
 Charles A. Schieren. 
 
 JOHN RANDOLPH'S RETORT- 
 
 Jacob Lorillard used to amuse his friends with an 
 account of an interview he had with John Ran- 
 dolph, of Roanoke. Mr. Randolph came to New- 
 York preparatory to sailing for Russia. He had 
 
178 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 several thousand dollars in Virginia money and 
 wanted to exchange it at the Mechanics' Bank for 
 English money. The charge for the transaction 
 was heavy and very repugnant to Mr. Randolph, 
 who thought money of his State as good or better 
 than any other. A large shave was taken off, how- 
 ever, to which he had to accede. After the busi- 
 ness was concluded Mr. Lorillard took his dis- 
 tinguished visitor through the Mechanics' Bank, 
 showing him the directors' room, vaults, etc., and 
 when about to take leave at the door called his at- 
 tention to the sign — a mechanic's arm brandishing 
 a hammer. "What is that to represent?" said Ran- 
 dolph. "That," was the answer, "is the insigna of 
 a mechanic, being the Mechanics' Bank." "And 
 what is that in his hand?" "A hammer," said Mr. 
 Lorillard, "the emblem of his profession." "Take 
 it out," said Randolph, in his shrillest tones, "Take 
 it out, and put a razor there." 
 
 KECH, MOSSER & CO. 
 
 This firm, formed in Allentown, Pa., almost half 
 a century ago, speedily became one of the largest 
 in tanning union sole leather in this country. 
 Thomas Keck and D. K. Mosser were the part- 
 ners. They established a store in New York for 
 the sale of their leather during the war, and in Bos- 
 ton later. They built and operated many tanneries 
 and as they made a superior grade of leather they 
 commanded a large trade and were known as 
 among the most oppulent tanners in the country. 
 
KECH, MOSSBR & CO. 179 
 
 For several years they have cut the leather they 
 tanned into soles. Both Mr. Keck and Mr. Mos- 
 ser have sons who are following their fathers' pro- 
 fession. 
 
 JOHN V- VAN WOERT 
 Was born in Cambridge, N. Y., in 1805, and when 
 his mother died, in 181 7, went to live with his 
 uncle, Herman Quackenbush, who owned tannery 
 property at Roxbury, N. Y. The firm was 
 Quackenbush, Wynkoop & Co., and here he 
 learned the trade. In 1829 he came to New York 
 to represent the firm's interests, at No. 31 Ferry 
 street, then being built, and put up his sign as a 
 merchant handling the Quackenbuseh and other 
 leather. Later on he associated himself with 
 Thomas Fraser, who had also been in the employ 
 of Quackenbush, Wynkoop & Co. This firm was 
 Van Woert & Fraser. When they dissolved, after 
 a few years, Mr. Van Woert did business alone. 
 Then James McFarlane became a partner, but re- 
 tired in 1864, when Mr. Van Woert tdmitted his 
 sons, Francis G. and John V. Van Woert, Jr., and 
 resumed the firm name he had first started under, 
 of J. V. Van Woert & Co. Later James B. and 
 William Van Woert were associated with the 
 house. In 1894 they retired. The name had been 
 over the door of 36 Ferry street sixty-three years 
 and the' firm always fulfilled every obligation. One 
 son, Jacob Van Woert is living at Going, N. Y. 
 The firm owned many tanneries in their time in 
 New York and Pennsylvania. John V. Van Woert 
 died January 24th, 1888, aged 79 years. 
 
180 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 SHATTUCK & BINGER. 
 
 This firm was formed in 1872, succeeding Shai> 
 tuck & Wyckoff. Mr. Binger had been connected 
 with S. Mendelson, a calfskin importer. Shattuck 
 & Binger were the pioneers in finishing alligator 
 skins for bag and shoe purposes and although they 
 had many difficulties to contend with, they pro- 
 duced beautiful goods. About twenty years ago 
 they took the agency for Carl Fricedenberg, Wein- 
 heim, Germany, for wax and patent calfskins. They 
 are still exclusive importers of these goods. In 
 1890, with partners in Chicago, they established 
 the Lambeau Leather Company. Mr. Binger was 
 president. This company was absorbed by the 
 American Hide and Leather Company. They own 
 a tannery in Baltimore, where they produce oak 
 calfskins. They have built up an export trade in 
 leather and are enterprising and still looking for 
 additional fields for conquest in the leather trade. 
 
 E. A. Smith & Bro. were the largest manufac- 
 turers of their time. They owned the property 
 southeast corner of Spruce and William streets and 
 manufactured in Philadelphia. They retired some 
 years ago, but Martin V. B. Smith, the junior part- 
 ner, still deals in kid and morocco. 
 
 THE UNITED STATES LEATHER COMPANY- 
 
 This great corporation owes its existence to the 
 efforts of a few leading tanners of sole leather, who, 
 tired of the competition in their business, con- 
 ceived and carried through the idea of incorpora- 
 
THE UNITED STATES LEATHER COMPANY. 181 
 
 ting their tanneries and running them in a partner- 
 ship. It is hard to say who originated the idea, but 
 it was a grand and comprehensive one, and the 
 most intelligent and largest tanners in America 
 labored for months, and indeed years, to perfect 
 and materialize it. 
 
 The company was incorporated under the laws 
 of the State of New Jersey, to manufacture and sell 
 "leather, lumber and belting," and to own the nec- 
 essary property to do such business. The incorpo- 
 ration dates from Feb. 25th, 1893, and terminates 
 Feb. 25th, 1943, a period of fifty years. 
 
 The projectors worked daily at their office in 
 New York to arrange the business of the corpora- 
 tion. Leather in tanneries and stores had to be 
 valued on an equable basis. Bark lands were sur- 
 veyed, and bark piles measured. 
 
 By a certificate of increase the capital stock was 
 raised August 1st, 1895, from $120,000,000 to $128,- 
 000,000. All this was distributed among the tan- 
 ners in the corporation, according to the capacity of 
 theidr plants, in preferred and common stock. An 
 issue of $10,000,000 debenture bonds, bearing in- 
 terest at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum, com- 
 mand a large premium. The Central Trust Com- 
 pany is Trustee and Registrar of these bonds. 
 
 The organization commenced business with more 
 than a hundred tanneries, producing hemlock, 
 union and oak leather. Since that time new ones 
 have been built, old ones dismantled, and others 
 greatly improved and enlarged. Of the proprietors 
 
i82 HISTORY Of THE SWAMP. 
 
 the names of Proctor, Rice, Hoyt, Horton, Lap- 
 ham, Ladew, Schultz, Lee, Costello, Healy, Bul- 
 lant and other prominent tanners were in the list. 
 Some of the organizers dropped the identity of 
 firms that had tanned leather well night a hundred 
 years, but they considered it a wise move, and that 
 such a corporation would benefit themselves and 
 their customers. Besides the original company 
 there is the Elk, Union and Penn Tanning Compa- 
 nies, members of the corporation. They are capi- 
 talized at $10,000,000 each. 
 
 At the first meeting of stockholders, held May 
 1st, 1893, Thomas E. Proctor was elected presi- 
 dent. He died in office December 7th, 1894. James 
 R. Plum was selected for treasurer, and Josiah T. 
 Tubby for secretary. They have been re-elected 
 each succeeding year. Some of the ablest tanners 
 and leather merchants in the country have served 
 regularly on the board of directors. The manage- 
 ment is now at its best, the expenses are small, and 
 the stockholders have every reason to be satisfied 
 with the returns made for the investment. 
 
 The stores of the company are in New York, at 
 26 and 28 Ferry street. The main offices are here, 
 and also several warehouses in the Swamp which 
 they occupy. 
 
 In Boston, 204-210 Essex street, where they 
 have a new building. 
 
 Chicago, corner of Randolph and Franklin 
 streets, in a central position. 
 
 Cincinnati, 810 and 812 Sycamore sstreet, where 
 most of the large shoe factories are located. 
 
THE UNITED STATES LEATHER COMPANY. 183 
 
 The first president of the United States Leather 
 Company was Thomas E. Proctor, of Boston. His 
 father, Abel Proctor, was a tanner in South Dan- 
 vers, now Peabody, who opened a store In Boston 
 about 1840. Thomas E. Proctor became associated 
 with his father when he was eighteen years of age, 
 and for many years the house flourished, and was 
 known in all the hide markets of the world as Abel 
 Proctor & Son. They built and occupied a large 
 store at the corner of High and Congress streets in 
 i860. In 1864 Thomas E. Proctor succeeded to 
 the business. He had previously tanned brogan 
 leather, but now commenced to build sole leather 
 tanneries in Pennsylvania, and eventually owned 
 several of them. He formed the Thomas E. Proc- 
 tor Leather Company, which in 1893 sold out to 
 the United States Leaather Company. Mr. Proc- 
 tor died in Boston, December 7th, 1894, aged 60 
 years. 
 
 Mark Hoyt succeeded Mr. Proctor as president. 
 He died while holding the office, December 30th, 
 1896. 
 
 James Horton, who had been vice-president 
 since the formation of the company, succeeded to 
 the presidency on Mr. Hoyt's death. He was 
 elected to the office in February, 1897, and has 
 been re-elected each year since that time. Under 
 his administration th company has prospered, and 
 twice increased its regular dividends. The annual 
 statement of the company for the year 1900 was as 
 follows : 
 
184 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 The Board of Directors of the United States 
 Leather Company submit to the Stockholders the 
 annexed statement of the Company's Assets and 
 Liabilities as of December 31st, 1900, and based on 
 Inventory of that date : 
 
 ASSETS. 
 
 Cash $2,140,132.77 
 
 Due by customers 4,841,287.08 
 
 Bills receivable 47,494.71 
 
 Doubtful debtors, valued at 39,015.49 
 
 Sundry other debtors and book ac- 
 counts 133,863.62 
 
 Hides and leather on hand and in 
 
 process of tanning 8,647,476.76 
 
 Drawbacks due 199,127.07 
 
 Bark at tanneries 1,157,203.80 
 
 Sundry personal property 161,424.76 
 
 Advances to other companies 13,725,399.20 
 
 Tannery plants and lands 7,005,872.30 
 
 Stocks of other companies 35,446,231.77 
 
 Railroad mortgage 100,000.00 
 
 Treasury stock . ; 100,000.00 
 
 Unexpired insurance policies 34,544.00 
 
 $73.779>°73-33 
 Good will account and organization 
 
 expenses 62,819,886.45 
 
 $136,598,959.78 
 
THE UNITED STATES LEATHER COMPANY. 185 
 
 LIABILITIES. 
 
 Accrued interest $57,600.00 
 
 Current accounts 130,918.59 
 
 Exchange (not due) 1,449,970.59 
 
 Bonds $7,480,000.00 
 
 Less in treasury. . 2,200,000.00 5,280,000.00 
 
 Preferred stock 62,269,800.00 
 
 Surplus — as January 1st, 1901 4,540,870.60 
 
 $73,729,159.78 
 Common stock 62,869,800.00 
 
 $136,598,959.78 
 On behalf of the Board of Directors, 
 
 Josiah T. Tubby, Secretary. 
 
 OFFICERS OF THE COMPANY FOE 1901. 
 
 Directors — James Horton, Edward R. Ladew, 
 James R. Plum, Patrick C. Costello, Jerry Crary, 
 Lewis H. Lapham, Oscar B. Grant, John J. Lap- 
 ham, Lyman F. Rhoads, Gurdon B. Horton, Sam- 
 uel P. Davidge, Walter G. Garritt, William H. 
 Humphrey, C. Sumner Horton, A. Augustus 
 Healy, Charles H. Lee, Daniel T. Stevens, George 
 W. Childs, Frank H. Goodyear, Joseph H. Ladew, 
 George A. Vail, Edward C. Hoyt, Loring R. Gale, 
 James H. Proctor, Edson G. Davidge, Eugene 
 Horton, Theodore R. Hoyt. 
 
 The board of directors elected the following offi- 
 cers and executive committee : 
 
186 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 President — James Horton. 
 
 First Vice-President — O. B. Grant. 
 
 Second Vice-President — Lewis H. Lapham. 
 
 Third Vice-President — Edward C. Hoyt. 
 
 Secretary — Josiah T. Tuby. 
 
 Assistant Secretary — Wm. H. Humphrey. 
 
 Treasurer — James R. Plum. 
 
 Assistant Treasurer — Wm. H. Humphrey. 
 
 Transfer Agent— Harry W. Hill. 
 
 Auditor — A. J. C. Anderson. 
 
 Executive Committee — Oscar B. Grant, Lewis 
 H. Lapham, Walter G. Garritt, Edward C. Hoyt, 
 James Horton (ex-officio). 
 
 The Central Trust Company is trustee and regis- 
 ter of the bonds. 
 
 A list of the oringinal stockholders and their 
 tanneries is : 
 
 N. W. Rice & Co., Boston, Fine Cilmax, Glade 
 Run. 
 
 Thos E. Proctor Co., Boston, Oswegatchie, 
 Wilna, Greenwood, Lycoming, Ralston, Penfield, 
 Columbia, Summit, Falls Creek, Athens. 
 
 Hoyt Bros., New York, Hillgrove, Delaware, 
 Babcock, Monroeville, Couderport, Limestone, 
 Woodland. 
 
 The Horton tanneries of: 
 
 Walter Horton & Co., Sheffield. 
 
 James Horton & Co., Salamanca. 
 
 Horton & Gurd, Cowanesque (Union). 
 
 H. H. Crary & Co., Boston Ideal (Union), 
 
the united States leather co. 187 
 
 Garrett Davidge & Co., Berkshire. 
 
 Jas. Davidge & Co., Horton. 
 
 S. B. Davidge & Co., Forest, Aroyo. 
 
 S. P. Davidge, Salmon. 
 
 Horton, Crary & Co., Tioneste. 
 
 Schoellkopf, Horton & Co., Star, Tioga. 
 
 John McNair & Co., Leicester. 
 
 Forest Tanning Co., Newark Valley. 
 
 G. & I. Horton, Torpedo. 
 
 Horton, Johnson & Co., New Creek (Oak). 
 
 Dennison Crary. 
 
 Crary Brothers. 
 
 Grant & Horton, Ridgway. 
 
 Horton & Co. 
 
 Horton, Gildersleeve & Co., Watauga (Oak). 
 
 The Horton, Crary, Davidge firm. 
 
 (Some of the Horton firms were made up for 
 selling the product, but most of them for tanning 
 the leather.) 
 
 Fayerweather & Ladew, owned by Edward R. 
 and Jos. H. Ladew, New York, Flintstone Tan- 
 neries, seven in number (Oak). 
 
 H. G. Lapham & Co., L. H. Lapham & Co., J. 
 J. Lapham & Co., Geo. A. Vail & Co., New York; 
 Clarendon, Barret, Oswayo, Windsor, Sterling 
 IXL, Middleburg. 
 
 Schultz, Innes & Co., New York ; Scotia, Bruce, 
 Elmhurst, Glen, Caledonia, Wallace, (Union), 
 Eagle Valley (Hemlock). 
 
 J. & W. Thorne, New York ; Laporte, Pa., tan- 
 nery, mills and barklands. 
 
188 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Hall & Vaughan, New York ; Reynoldsville, Ky. 
 (Union). 
 
 Hall & Vaughan, Middletown (Oak). 
 
 Norman Schultz, Wilcox, Pa. 
 
 Schultz & Hoyt, Instanter, Pa. (Union). 
 
 W. L. Hamilton, Emporium, Pa., Campbell, 
 N. Y. 
 
 D. T. Stevens & Son, Stevensville, N. Y. 
 Root & Keating, Olean and Port Alleghany. 
 Lee & Co., Crogan Valley and Cedar Run. 
 J. F. Schoellkopf's Sons, Buffalo. 
 
 A. Rumsey & Co., Buffalo City and Holland. 
 J. T. Tubby, Nicholson, Wyoming (Union). 
 R. H. McCulloch, Gaines. 
 
 F. H. Rockwell & Co., Clarendon. 
 P. C. Costello & Co., Camden. 
 Alfred Costello & Co., Costello. 
 
 J. W. Hammond, De Bruce. 
 
 E. Pleintzelman, Germania, per Barnett & Mer- 
 ritt, attorneys. 
 
 Barnes & Merritt, New York. 
 L. W. Morss. 
 
 J. V. Van Woert & Co., N. Y., Union & Gregg. 
 J. A. Bechtel & Son, Newport, Pa. (Oak) 
 Day, Wilcox & Co., Boston, Spragueville, East 
 Stroudsburg (Union). 
 A. I. Decker, Union. 
 A. B. Stratton, Addison. 
 
 G. L. Adams, Oak Valley. 
 Sherwood, Bullard & Co., Croghan. 
 
 Bullard & Co., New York; Star, Belfort, Cas- 
 torland. 
 
THE UNITED STATES LEATHER CO. 189 
 
 A. Healy & Sons, New York; Genessee, Cat- 
 taraugus, Alleghany. 
 
 W. & L. Gale, Penn Creek. 
 
 Willets & Co., Stoneham. 
 
 Wellsboro Leather Company. 
 
 Root & Keating, Bu Carr and Salamanca. 
 C. H. Faxon & Son, Chestertown. 
 
 James R. Plum & Gale, Prentice, Wis. 
 
 Wright, Clark & Co., Olean (Union). 
 
 E. S. Esty & Son, Ithaca, Candor, Cattahonk. 
 
 Henry Poor & Sons, three in Maine. 
 
 To comply with the laws of Pennsylvania the 
 properties in that State were incorporated as the 
 Elk Tanning Co., Union Tanning Co., and Penn 
 Tanning Co., with a capital of $10,000,000 each. 
 
 Some of the above mentioned tanneries have 
 been dismantled. The company have bought 
 others in Wisconsin and the West for tanning 
 hemlock sole, and in Pennsylvania and the South 
 for oak sole. In addition they have extract works, 
 oak and hemlock bark lands, and are prepared to 
 furnish leather for the world. Their tannage is 
 mostly hemlock. 
 
 The plan of a combination of upper and calfskin 
 tanners was being worked up for about a year and 
 culminated in September, 1899, in the formation 
 of the 
 
 AMERICAN HIDE AND LEATHER CO- 
 
 On September 3d all the property of the concerns 
 was turned over to the official representatives. On 
 
190 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Monday, September 4th, 1899, the organization be- 
 gan business. The individual concerns filed affida- 
 vits as to stock on hand September nth. These 
 affidavits were subject to review by the following, 
 who had been designated to act as appraisers of 
 merchandise. 
 
 For the western tanners : W. N. Eisendrath, F. 
 L. Roenitz and H. Stresau. 
 
 For the eastern tanners : C. W. Tidd, Matthew 
 Robson, E. L. White, E. E. Elms, T. S. Haight, 
 and C. P. Hall. 
 
 It was also voted by the tanners to "take stock 
 as of the close of business, September 2, 1899, and 
 return the same to company's office, No. 40 Wall 
 street, New York, on or before September n." 
 
 The bond and stock certificates were engraved 
 and offered. The bonds are not to be offered to 
 the public at less than 101. The prospects of the 
 stock are figured out as follows : 
 
 $8,000,000 bonds, 6 per cent $480,000 
 
 $12,000,000 preferred stock, 7 per cent. . 840,000 
 
 Fixed annual charges. . , $1,320,000 
 
 Profits on annual sales, $24,000,000 (10 
 
 per cent.) 2,400,000 
 
 Leaving for common stock 1 ,080,000 
 
 A more conservative estimate is to deduct the 
 fixed charges — $1,320,000 — from the earnings of 
 the various companies last year — $1,710,000 — 
 which leaves $390,000 for the common, or about 4. 
 per cent. 
 
THE UNITED STATES LEATHER CO. 191 
 
 It will be noticed that the earning power of the 
 common shows up well here, even when none of 
 the economies of concentration have been intro- 
 duced. 
 
 It is not the intention to put out all the author- 
 ized stock at present. Probably $12,000,000 each 
 of preferred and common will be issued, instead of 
 $17,500,000 of each. 
 
 The earnings of the various companies in 1898 
 were $1,710,000. The value of the plants and ma- 
 chinery, etc., is reported by the promoters at 
 $6,981,000, exclusive of good will, or about $12,- 
 500,000, including good will. The value of mer- 
 chandise on hand will add considerably more. The 
 company began business with a working capital 
 of $3,000,000. 
 
 A meeting of the incorporating tanners was held 
 Monday, September 18, at No. 40 Wall street. It 
 was expected that a board of directors and officers 
 would be elected at this meeting. This, however, 
 was found to be impossible, because the respective 
 interests of the various tanners had not been ascer- 
 tained to a nicety. The meeting was therefore de- 
 voted to an adjustment of such matters and to 
 other preliminary arrangements. 
 
 The property of the following concerns has been 
 transferred to the American Hide and Leather Co. 
 
 W. N. Eisendrath Co., Chicago, calf, horse, etc. 
 
 Wm. Becker Leather Co., Milwaukee, grains. 
 
 White Bros. & Co., Boston, calf. 
 
 Buswell, Hubbard & Co., Boston, 
 
 Middlesex Leather Co., Boston, grains. 
 
192 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Alley Bros. & Co., Boston, satin and grains. 
 
 Lambeau Leather Co., Chicago, imit Kang. 
 
 Wm. Tidd & Co., Boston, grain. 
 
 Hall, Haight & Co., New York and Boston, 
 grains and satin. 
 
 Stephen Dow & Co., Boston, buff and grain. 
 
 Bernard & Friedman, Boston, calf. 
 
 J. P. Crane & Co., Woburn, splits. 
 
 Watauga Tanning Co., Boston, buff and grain. 
 
 M. Robson Leather Co., Salem, wax and grain. 
 
 John Blake, Ellenville, N. Y., splits, etc. 
 
 C. T. Roenitz Leather Co., Sheboygan, Wis., 
 grains. 
 
 James Skinner Co., Boston, buff. 
 
 Walker-Oakley Co., Chicago, wax and calf. 
 
 E. C. Cottle & Co., Boston, splits. 
 
 J. B. Weed & Co., Binghamton, N. Y., grain. 
 
 B. F. Thompson & Co., Boston, buff and grain. 
 
 Joseph Hecht & Sons, New York, hides 
 
 The bonds of the company are payable in twenty 
 years. A sinking fund is provided for the purchase, 
 at not over 115 and interest, of $115,000 bonds per 
 annum. If bonds cannot be bought at 115 or less, 
 the sinking fund is to be invested in a manner sat- 
 isfactory to the trustee of the mortgage. Bonds in 
 sinking fund are to draw interest, which is likewise 
 to be invested or used in purchase of outstanding 
 bonds. The Colonial Trust Co-, is the trustee of the 
 mortgage. 
 
 Thomas W. Hall, of Hall, Haight & Co., the 
 president of the American Hide and Leather Com- 
 
THOMAS W. HALL, 
 PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN HIDE & LEATHER CO. 
 
THE UNITED STATES LEATHER CO. 193 
 
 pany, is widely and favorably known as a leather 
 merchant. He has been in the trade for thirty- 
 three years, although he is still a comparatively 
 young man. He was born in 1845. Some relatives 
 of his were engaged in the leather trade, which, per- 
 haps, decided him to adopt that vocation. In 1866, 
 he became a salesman for Reck & Mosser, at No. 
 7 Ferry street. 
 
 In October, 1872, he went with John B. Alley & 
 Co. One year from that time he became connected 
 with Stephen Kistler & Co., and in October, 1876, 
 formed the firm of Kistler, Hall & Co. In 1883, 
 he formed with H. B. Vaughan the firm of Hall & 
 Vaughan, which built and managed some large tan- 
 neries. This firm was dissolved later, and their 
 sole-leather tanneries were merged in the United 
 States Leather Company. Mr. Hall for some time 
 after the organization of the company was actively 
 engaged in its selling department. 
 
 In 1894 the firm of Hall, Haight & Co. was 
 formed with tanneries at Ballston Spa, New York, 
 and stores in New York and Boston. The firm has 
 an immense production of grain and split leather. 
 Mr. Hall has gained a prominent place in the trade 
 by reason of his aptitude for affairs, and his uniform 
 urbanity and integrity. His name was mentioned 
 from the first as president of the new corporation, 
 and he had, in his important office, the hearty sup- 
 port of his colleagues to an eminent degree. 
 
 William N. Eisendrath, first vice-president, was 
 born in Chicago in 1856, and has resided there con- 
 
194 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 tinuously ever since, with the exception of two years 
 spent at school in Germany. He received a gram- 
 mar and high school education in the public schools 
 of Chicago. His first business experience was as 
 salesman for the Stearns Lime Co. Leaving that 
 employment in 1876, he started in the tanning 
 business in Chicago with his cousin, B. D. Eisen- 
 drath, and the firm name of B. D. & W. N. Eisen- 
 drath. Their product was largely sheep and glove 
 leathers at the start, but later various lines of shoe 
 leathers were produced. This firm was dissolved 
 in 1885, and the firm of W. N. Eisendrath & Co. 
 was organized, which succeeded to the business of 
 the former house. In 1892 W. N. Eisendrath & 
 Co. was incorporated. At that time a brother, Jo- 
 seph, left the concern, taking with him the glove 
 manufacturing department, which had, by that time, 
 assumed large proportions. A few years ago one 
 of the firm's tanneries was destroyed by fire, and a 
 year later their present large tannery building was 
 erected, which places them among the foremost 
 producers of calf and horsehide leathers in this 
 country. They were among the first to introduce 
 dongola shoe leathers,, also many other lines which 
 are now in general use. Mr. Eisendrath is a public 
 spirited citizen, and takes a deep interest in chari- 
 table affairs. He occupies a foremost position in 
 the leather trade of the West, which has been at- 
 tained through untiring industry and integrity, and 
 from a small beginning. 
 
 E. L. White, of White Bros. & Co., tanners of 
 
THE UNITED STATES LEATHER CO. 195 
 
 calfskins, was vice-president of the new corpo- 
 ration, graduated from the Lowell schools, and at 
 an early age went into his father's tannery. He 
 resigned in May, 1901. He soon became 
 a practical tanner and was always in search 
 for something new. In 1881 the firm made alum 
 sheep, dongola, alligator, etc. In 1887 he, with his 
 father and two brothers, formed the house of White 
 Bros. & Co., making kangaroo, glazed kid and calf- 
 skins. Originators, but never imitators, they soon 
 introduced the famous Ooze calf, a leather which 
 gained a world-wide reputation. Subsequently they 
 produced Russia calf, and, it is claimed, they were 
 the first concern in this country to give it the pecul- 
 iar odor of Russia leather. They afterward intro- 
 duced Box and Willow Calf, patenting their trade 
 marks. They constantly increased their produc- 
 tion, enlarging their tannery at Lowell till at pres- 
 ent they have one of the largest and best appointed 
 plants in the United States. In 1898 they moved 
 into the new building erected for them on the 
 corner or Atlantic avenue and East street. 
 
 Theodore S. Haight, third vice-president, is a 
 member of the firm of Hall, Haight & Co., and is a 
 resident of Ballston Spa, N. Y. He is a son of 
 Samuel Haight, the founder of the house of Haight 
 & Co., established in 1872. He is a young man, 
 about 35 years of age, a thoroughly practical tanner 
 and is in charge of the large tannery at Ballston 
 Spa. His whole education and training have been 
 along the technical and practical lines of the indus- 
 
196 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 try. Mr. Haight is an all-round business man and 
 possesses a liberal education. He is a director of 
 the Ballston Spa National Bank. 
 
 A mortgage was recorded September 25, 1899, in 
 the Essex County (Mass.) Registry of Deeds at 
 Salem upon the American Hide and Leather Com- 
 pany to the Colonial Trust Company of New York. 
 The mortgage secures an issue of bonds for $10,- 
 000,000. The revenue stamps affixed to the docu- 
 ment were valued at $5,000. 
 
 The 6 per cent, first mortgage 20-year sinking 
 fund gold bonds of the American Hide and Leather 
 Company are to be placed on the market by J. & 
 W. Seligman & Co. In Boston E. H. Gay & Co. 
 will receive subscriptions. The total amount of 
 bonds authorized by the company is $10,000,000. 
 
 The American Hide and Leather Company in 
 October, 1899, leased for a long term of years the 
 large building at the corner of East street and At- 
 lantic avenue, and will make it the Boston head- 
 quarters of the company. The building is directly 
 opposite the new Southern Union Station, and faces 
 the big hotel now being erected by the Bowditch 
 Syndicate. 
 
 The annual meeting of the American Hide and 
 Leather Company was held in Jersey City, Sep- 
 tember 5th, 1900. The following directors were 
 elected. 
 
 C. H. Buswell, W. N. Eisendrath, 
 
 Charles W. Tidd, Thomas W. Hall, 
 
 William Becker, E. L. White, 
 
THE UNITED STATES LEATHER CO. 197 
 
 Albert Bernard, Theodore S. Haight, 
 
 Thomas Kiernan, Aaron Hecht, 
 
 James Skinner, M. Robson, 
 
 Geo. A. Hill, F. L. Roenitz, 
 
 Henry Seligman, E. E. Elms, 
 
 Frederick Strauss, James B. Weed, 
 
 Thomas J. Ryan. 
 
 In the above list there are the names of five per- 
 sons who are not tanners. They are Henry Selig- 
 man and Frederick Strauss, of the banking house 
 of J. & W. Seligman & Co., who have acted as 
 underwriters and syndicate managers; Thomas J. 
 Ryan, the promoter of the enterprise ; Aaron 
 Hecht, of Joseph Hecht & Sons, calfskin dealers, 
 and C. A. DeGersdorfif, of Seward, Guthrie & 
 Steele, attorneys for J. & W. Seligman & Co. 
 
 The directors met at 2 :30 in the afternoon at the 
 headquarters of the company in Cliff street, New 
 York, and elected the following officers : 
 
 President — Thomas W. Hall. 
 
 First Vice President — W. N. Eisendrath. 
 
 Second Vice-President — E. L. White. 
 
 Third Vice-President — Theodore S. Haight. 
 
 Fourth Vice-President — Aaron Hecht. 
 
 Secretary and Treaurer, George A. Hill. 
 
 Secretary and Treasurer in Boston— Wm. O. 
 Cutter. 
 
 Secretary and Treasurer in Chicago — E. V. Gale. 
 
 Executive Committee — Thomas W. Hall, E. L. 
 White, W. N. Eisendrath, Theodore S. Hait, Aaron 
 Hecht. 
 
198 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 The executive committee now numbers but five, 
 instead of seven. The offices of secretary and treas- 
 urer have been combined. 
 
 The following report was submitted : 
 
 ASSETS. 
 
 Cash $399,248.96 
 
 Due by customers 1,615,955.28 
 
 Bills receivable 15,811.19 
 
 Sundry book accountsss 20,798.60 
 
 Hides and leather on hand in pro- 
 cess of tanning 7,221,641.25 
 
 Drawbacks and overpaid duties.... 56,008.98 
 
 Sundry personal property 3 OI ,57°-79 
 
 Advances other companies 263,227.12 
 
 Cost of properties 25,202,423.40 
 
 Stocks of other companies 430,000.00 
 
 Unexpired insurance policies 5°>335-63 
 
 Stock in trust 10.00 
 
 $35,577,030.93 
 
 LIABILITIES. 
 
 Accrued interest $141,155.56 
 
 Sundry book accounts 74,881.57 
 
 Foreign exchange, not yet due 2,022,801.83 
 
 Bonds 8,525,000.00 
 
 Consideration mentioned in mort- 
 gage 80.00 
 
 Preferred stock 13,000,000.00 
 
 Common stock 11,500,000.00 
 
THE UNITED STATES LEATHER CO. 199 
 
 $35,263,918.96 
 
 Surplus ay 31, 1900 $313,111.97 _ 
 
 Interest paid, March 1, 1900 253,950.00 
 
 Interest accrued, May 31, 1900.... 127,875.00 
 
 Profit for nine months (Sept. 2d, 1899, 
 
 May 31, 1900, inclusive) $694,936.97 
 
 On behalf of the Board of Directors, 
 
 Charles W. Tidd, Treasurer. 
 New York, Sept. 4, 1900. 
 
 Several circumstances have conspired to make 
 the report less favorable than those who have been 
 thoroughly infrmed haave anticipated. In the first 
 place the firms that joined the American Hide and 
 Leather Co. sold in August, 1899, in the neighbor- 
 hood of $4,000,000 worth of leather in order to real- 
 ize in cash and straighten out their affairss before 
 merging their concerns into the combination. This 
 left the company with practically clean floors at 
 the outset, and they were obliged to begin tanning 
 heavily to recruit their stockss. Then, again, prices 
 of hides were high. Buffs were 10 i-2c. in the lat- 
 ter part of August, 1899. The company may 
 have been caught somewhere during the last 
 quarter of 1899, or beginning of 1900, with 
 leather tanned from dear hides which had to 
 be sold on a declining leather market. Of 
 course, the sources of information possessed by the 
 company are so diversified that that kind of busi- 
 
200 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 ness must have been limited by the management as 
 closely as possible. Yet it is difficult to understand 
 .how the organization can have avoided an appreci- 
 able loss in this way. 
 
 The report is for nine months only, from "Sept. 
 2, 1899, to May 31, 1900. Of course it took some 
 time for the company to get into smooth working 
 order, and they started in with bare floors, it might 
 be said that the real business year was reduced to 
 even seven or eight months. The profit for nine 
 months is stated at $694,936.97. Out of this sum 
 $381,825 was paid for interest on bonds, leaving a 
 surplus May 31, 1900, of $313, 111.97. With this 
 showing dividends on the preferred stock are a 
 matter for indefinite future conjecture. The report, 
 on the face of it, cannot be called satisfactory. But 
 there were disabilities during the nine months that 
 will not be present during the current year. The 
 company have been getting to work, and may be 
 said now to be well under way. Most people will 
 doubtless suspend judgment upon the prospects of 
 the organization until the report of the first full 
 year. 
 
 MOROCCO MANUFACTURE. 
 
 The manufacture of morocco was introduced in 
 the Swamp at an early date. Among the pioneers 
 of the trade in the Swamp were the following : 
 
 Benjamin Birdsall & Co. began the manufacture 
 of goat and sheep morocco in 1790. Their factory 
 was in Ferry, near Cliff street. 
 
MOROCCO MANUFACTURERS. 201 
 
 Jacob Mott, whose factory was in Frankfort 
 street, near Gold, part of the site of which is now 
 occupied by the warehouses of A. K. Ely, com- 
 menced in 1795. He manufactured goat and sheep 
 He r*etired in 181 5, and removed to Westchester 
 County, N. Y., where he became a popular Quaker 
 preacher. 
 
 Daniel Musgrove commenced in 1795, at No. 18 
 Jacob street. He did an extensive business in the 
 manufacture of sheepskins. He retired in 1825, 
 and was succeeded by his son-in-law, Daniel 
 Braine. 
 
 During the last war with England, 1812-1815, the 
 British blockaded the port of New York, and con- 
 sequently no goatskins could be had. Morocco 
 manufacturers were obliged to finish native sheep- 
 skins as a substitute. They were sold to the shoe- 
 makers as high as $48 per dozen in the currency of 
 that time. 
 
 Isaac Sherwood began business at No. 53 Frank- 
 fort street, in 1829. He continued in successful 
 business and retired in 1833 with an ample fortune. 
 
 Jonathan Trotter commenced in 1817. Fie was 
 for many years the most extensive manufacturer of 
 sheepskins in the country. He had two factories — 
 one in Ferry street, the other in Brooklyn. He re- 
 tired in 1840. Mr. Trotter served two terms as 
 Mayor of the city of Brooklyn, and was popular as 
 a business man and chief magistrate. 
 
 Wm. A. Burtis began in 1820. His factory was 
 at No. 13 Ferry street; he manufactured sheep- 
 skins. Mr. Burtis was succeeded in 1835 by 
 
202 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 James R. Smith, who continued the business with 
 success for many years. Mr. Smith was one of the 
 original members of the National Exchange, and 
 took a great interest in its organization. He was 
 greatly esteemed for his high social qualities, and 
 was an honest man. 
 
 George Watts commenced business in 1820. His 
 factory was at No. 77 Vesey street. He was the 
 first to manufacture fancy-colored morocco for 
 book -binding, etc. He came from England, where 
 he learned the trade. He moved his factory to No. 
 24 Ferry street about 1824, and died in 1826. He 
 was succeeded by his widow, an energetic and intel- 
 ligent woman. She superintended the business 
 personally, often handling the skins in the tray her- 
 self. No man in the trade, at that time, was more 
 thoroughly practical and expert in all its branches 
 than she, and no woman was more esteemed in so- 
 cial life. She was very successful, and at her death, 
 in 1834, was succeeded by her sons, James and 
 George Watts. 
 
 Thomas Rogers commenced the manufacture of 
 buckskin leather at No. 89 Gold street about 1820. 
 The quality of the leather made by Mr. Rogers 
 was excellent, and was used in making suspenders, 
 gloves, shirts and drawers, the latter being used, by 
 advice of physicians, for the cure of rheumatism. 
 He retired in 1838. 
 
 GARNAR FAMILY. 
 
 Edward M. Garnar occupied the premises on the 
 retirement of Mr. Rogers in 1838. He manufac- 
 
MOROCCO MANUFACTURERS. 203 
 
 tured colored skivers for book-binding, etc. Mr. 
 Garnar removed his factory to Brooklyn. His two 
 sons, Thomas and E. M., Jr., were largely engaged 
 in the manufacture of bark-tanned sheepskins and 
 skivers. The firm of Thomas Garnar & Co. was 
 established about half a century ago. They tanned 
 sheep, deer, calf and kid skins into fancy leather, 
 and gained great fame for their fine and novel 
 products. Thomas Garnar died a few years ago, 
 and James V. Walsh and Henry Walsh, his part- 
 ners, continue the business in the Swamp. 
 
 Burbank & Co. built a large factory at Gowanus 
 in 1832. H. M. Warren was a partner. Mr. Burbank 
 was lost on the steamer Atlantic, on the Sound, in 
 1846. Mr. Warren did business after that at No. 20 
 Spruce street, and built a factory in Brooklyn. His 
 son, H. M. Warren, Jr., was a partner, but wen to 
 Denver. H. M. Warren died in 1901. 
 
 Thomas Chase manufactured in Wooster street 
 in 1842. He was a chemist, and lost his money ex- 
 perimenting in tanning goat skins. 
 
 In the early part of th esummer of 1832, New 
 York was visited for the first time by that dreaded 
 epidemic, the Asiatic cholera. New York suffered 
 more than any other city, probably on account of 
 its being at that time the favored port of entry for 
 the immigrant. A panic seized the people in con- 
 sequence of the daily increasing mortality, and 
 large numbers fled with their families into the coun- 
 try. Nearly all business ceased. Notwithstanding 
 the almost general stagnation of business, all the 
 
204 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 morocco factories continued in operation, though 
 not to their full capacity. The remarkable fact was 
 brought to the observation of physicians and others 
 that not one death occurred during that summer of 
 pestilence among the whole number employed in 
 the various branches of the morocco business in 
 the city. The fact was then established that the 
 morocco factory, notwithstanding some unpleasant 
 features, was not detrimental to health, as some 
 Health Commissioners endeavored, but failed to 
 prove, in later years. 
 
 James S. Rockwell began the manufacture of 
 sheepskins in 1838; he had an office or desk room 
 in Theater Alley, near Beekman street, for the sale 
 of his goods. His factory, which was built by his 
 father, Theron Rockwell, in 1814, was in Cole- 
 brook ; he subsequently had a salesroom corner 
 Vandewater and Frankfort streets, and afterward 
 at No. 46 Ferry street. In the early part of 1849 
 he removed to the large warehouse erected by him 
 at No. 47 Ferry street, where he continued until he 
 removed to Duane street, near Broadway. The 
 Winstead, Conn., factory was erected by Mr. Rock- 
 well in 1852; in 1856 he built the factory in Brook- 
 lyn ; it was of brick, and at that time was the largest 
 sheepskin factory in the United States. About 1872 
 Mr. Rockwell enlarged it, covering nearly the en- 
 tire square, being in dimensions, 1,400 feet long, 40 
 feet wide and four stories high. The firm had also 
 in operation two tanneries in Broome County, N. 
 Y., in addition to the Winsted factory, for the 
 
MOROCCO MANUFACTURERS. 205 
 
 manufacture of bark-tanned sheepskins exclu- 
 sively. These three factories were under the con- 
 trol and management of John T. Rockwell. The 
 factory in Brooklyn was under the personal super- 
 vision of James S., and was used entirely for the 
 manufacture of sumac-tanned stock, which was col- 
 ored and finished in all varieties for shoe and other 
 purposes. Mr. Rockwell had the faculty of select- 
 ing the right men for the right places, and associ- 
 ated with him under the firm of J. S. Rockwell & 
 Co. several younger men who had grown up in his 
 service, the first of whom, John Westervelt, retired 
 with an ample fortune ; afterward, Samuel G. Bass, 
 and subsequently George Whiting, became associ- 
 ated in the business. Theron Rockwell, father of 
 James S., died January 30th, 1848. A remarkable 
 mortality occurred among the members of the firm. 
 James S. Rockwell died January 3d, 1879, after a 
 few days' illness ; Samuel G. Bass died February 
 15th, 1881, and George Whiting died November 
 25th, 1883. 
 
 John Just began the manufacture of goat and 
 sheepskins in 1845 in Thirty-third street. About 
 1855 the firm of Just & Rutter was formed, and con- 
 tinued several years. Wm. Rutter had been a clerk 
 with John Just since 1849. At the death of his 
 father, who was a civil engineer, Wm. Rutter and 
 his brother, Thomas, completed, successfully, all 
 their father's contracts, among which were the Alle- 
 gheny Tunnel and some extensive w^orks in New 
 York. After the completion of these contracts Mr. 
 
206 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Rutter resumed the manufacture of morocco in 
 Forty-ninth street, where he continued until he re- 
 moved his manufacturing business to Waterbury, 
 Conn. His son, Wm. P. Rutter, continues as Rut- 
 ter & Turner. 
 
 H. & C. P. Bucking began the manufacture of 
 sheepskins in Thirty-ninth street. C. P. retired 
 about i860. Henry continued the business, and 
 erected, in 1861, a factory at West Farms. This 
 factory was enlarged on several occasions. On 
 December 1st, 1869, George A. Vroom became a 
 partner with Henry Bucking, under the firm of 
 Bucking and Vroom, and continued until April 12, 
 1873, when the business, together with Bucking's 
 separate wool business, was incorporated under the 
 name of the Bucking Wool and Leather Company, 
 with a capital of $1,000,000. The name was 
 changed in 1873 to the Bucking & Vroom Leather 
 Co. Soon after this Bucking, with the aid of 
 friends, established the Bucking Leather Manufac- 
 turing Co. Mr. Bucking died several years since. 
 M. Armstrong & Son ran this factory a few years. 
 William Armstrong, of the Armstrong Leather Co., 
 learned his trade there. 
 
 The Morocco Manufacturers' National Associa- 
 tion was formed November 3d, 1865. Maurice S. 
 Kerrigan was its first president. Henry Burk held 
 the office several years. Henry F. Mitchell, of 
 Philadelphia, is president now — 1901. 
 
 McDermott & Howard is the oldest firm, found 1 - 
 ed by John McDermott in 1848. Their factory is in 
 
MOROCCO MANUFACTURERS. 207 
 
 Brooklyn. M. Frank McDermott, son of the sen- 
 ior, and Wm. J. Howard, are the partners. 
 
 James Kerrigan was a pioneer. He began about 
 1820, at the corner of Ferry and Gold streets. He 
 made a fortune. His son, Maurice S. Kerrigan, 
 succeeded. His name is honored among manufac- 
 turers of morocco. 
 
 The Manhattan Kid Works are in Brooklyn. 
 Eugene Newman is president, Matthew Howard 
 manager. 
 
 The Blatz Leather Company make in Elizabeth, 
 and sell their stock in the New York Swamp. They 
 took the gold medal at Paris in 1900. F. J. Blatz 
 is president, Wm. V. Manning manager. 
 
 The great firm of F. Blumenthal & Co. have 
 been in New York since 1873. They import goat 
 skins, and manufacture in Wilmington. Mr. Blu- 
 menthal spends much time in Europe, selecting 
 raw material, and Julien Stevens Ulman is the lead- 
 ing spirit here. 
 
 The American Leather Company manufacture 
 in Wilmington, with store in New York. Wm. Mc- 
 Carroll and J. E. T. McCarroll attend to the trade. 
 General James Parke Postles, the president, Is the 
 manufacturer. Wm. McCarroll is a member of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the commit- 
 tee on city affairs of the New York Board of Trade 
 and Transportation, also on the executive commit- 
 tee of the National Association of Manufacturers 
 and a director in the Oriental Bank. He is super- 
 intendent of the Sunday school of the Duryea Pres- 
 
208 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 byterian Church, Brooklyn, a member of the Union 
 League and Marine, and Field Clubs, of Brooklyn, 
 and the chairman of the "Brooklyn Committee of 
 Fifty," an organization of citizens in behalf of civic 
 welfare. 
 
 James R. T. McCarroll, the treasurer of the com- 
 pany, entered the Swamp in 1882, leaving the 
 wholesale boot and shoe house of William Neely & 
 Co., where he had been cashier for a number of 
 years, to associate himself with his brother in the 
 firm of Wm. McCarroll & Co. On the organization 
 of the American Leather Co. he was elected treas- 
 urer. Mr. McCarroll is a gentleman of quiet habits 
 and demeanor, and strictly attentive to business. 
 His home is in Orange, N.J. , where he takes some 
 part in matters of public interest and in local poli- 
 tics. He is also active in Sunday school work, 
 being superintendent of a large Presbyterian school 
 in East Orange. 
 
 BOOTH & CO- 
 
 This firm are among the largest and richest in 
 the business. They import skins from Brazil and 
 other points, and manufacture at Gloversville and 
 Philadelphia. No house has done more for the 
 trade than Booth & Co. They have introduced the 
 dongola and the patent kid tannage, and have been 
 active in protecting the interests of the trade in 
 tariff litigation. Julius Kuttner is the resident part- 
 ner. 
 
 J. EINSTEIN 
 
 is an old and energetic merchant. For many years 
 
RICHARD YOUNG COMPANY. 209 
 
 he has imported "La Tour" bronze kid, and con- 
 trols its sale in this country. He aims to keen fine 
 grades of other goods, and looks over the markets 
 of Europe regularly for such stock. He has for a 
 few years led in the sale of vestings for shoe tops, 
 
 RICHARD YOUNG COMPANY- 
 
 This organization conducts the business founded 
 by Richard Young, one of the most sagacious, en- 
 ergetic and successful merchants the Swamp has 
 ever seen. When a young man he came from Phil- 
 a delphia and worked for Rose, Baldwin & Rose. 
 In 1880 he started for himself. He made a great 
 success of "Camelopard" leather. Several years 
 ago he bought the store No. 36 Spruce street and 
 greatly improved and enlarged it. In 1898 the 
 Richard Young Company was formed. Mr. Young 
 was president, James Moore Montgomery treas- 
 urer and manager, John S. Jackson secretary. 
 They have factories in Gloversville and Brooklyn, 
 and stores in New York, Boston, Gloversville and 
 Sydney, Australia. Mr. Young is a director in the 
 Hide and Leather Bank, and member of the Cham- 
 ber of Commerce, Board of Education and other 
 institutions. He is a prominent public-spirited and 
 self-made man. 
 
 Mr. Montgomery, the treasurer, was born at 
 Fort Hamilton. He is of an old family, and re- 
 ceived an education that fitted him for a high posi- 
 tion such as he holds in a mercantile house of high 
 standing. 
 
210 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 ABE STEIN COMPANY. 
 
 Abe Stein was the pioneer goat skin dealer, dat- 
 ing from 1874. Later he established houses in Eu- 
 rope, Arabia, Africa and South America and 
 China. About 1893 he organized the Abe Stein 
 Company, importers and exporters of skins. Mr. 
 Stein is an enterprising and sagacious merchant. 
 His company is officered as follows : President, 
 Abe Stein; treasurer, Theo. Minzesheimer; secre- 
 tary, E. Stein. 
 
 EILERS & BECKER LEATHER COMPANY- 
 
 Anton Eilers is one of the solid men of the New 
 York leather trade. He began his operations in 
 the Swamp in 1855 as a boy. In 1868 he became a 
 partner in F. Wigand & Co., and afterwards with 
 Joseph Morris, importer of fine leather. In 1875 
 the firm of Bittel, Tepel & Eilers was formed. They 
 were large importers of C. Heyl and other brands 
 of calfskins. The next change was to the Eilers & 
 Movius Company, about 1892. They began to 
 manufacture gne leather on a large scale. Die- 
 trich Eilers, a nephew of Anton Eilers, was taken 
 in the firm in 1893, after graduating at college. He 
 has charge of the Boston store. Anton Eilers 
 owns the store 38 Spruce street, in which his firm 
 do business. In 1900 Mr. Movius retired, and his 
 place was taken by Charles Becker, well known in 
 the Swamp. He began in the leather business in 
 Europe. Ini867he came to New YorkwithHeub- 
 ner & Heller. In 1884 he went with Charles 
 Hanselt as salesman, and was in charge of sales for 
 
LEATHER FIRMS. 211 
 
 Booth & Co. later. In 1901 he took the interest of 
 Mr. Movius, and the style is the Eiler & Becker 
 Leather Company. The firm manufacture glazed 
 and dull kangaroo at Gloversville, kangaroo calf, 
 grain calf., etc., at North Cambridge, Mass., and 
 glazed calf and neat kangaroo at Wilmington, Del. 
 They sell M. M. D. patent leather, Simon kid and 
 other fine imported stock at their New York and 
 Boston stores. 
 
 N. OSOLDSON 
 came here from Norway about a quarter of a cen- 
 tury ago. He was for some years with Shattuck & 
 Binger, but engaged in business for himself a few 
 years ago as a dealer in leather and findings. 
 
 ARMAND SCHMOIX 
 is a merchant and manufacturer. He has a hide 
 business with connections in Basle and Paris, and 
 at Woodside, N. J., he has a patent calfskin fac- 
 tory, one of the first and most successful estab- 
 lishhed in the United States. 
 
 ALPHONSE WEIL & BROTHERS- 
 
 The father and grandfather of the members of 
 this firm founded the hide and leather business in 
 Strassburg, Germany, almost a hundred years ago. 
 The present style was adopted by their descend- 
 ents, who organized business in Paris and New 
 York. Aaron and Edmond Weil are here. They 
 export and import leather and hides, and have 
 business connections in all parts of the world. 
 They are young men of ability and thorough busi- 
 ness principles, 
 
212 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 SELLMAN & CO. 
 This firm make cut soles and deal in oak sole 
 leather. Frank H. Sellman was in business in Bal- 
 timore. He came here with Fayerweather & La- 
 dew, and when they left the Swamp he organized 
 this firm and engaged in business for himself. His 
 son, J. H. Sellman, was taken as partner. They 
 have stores in New York and Boston. 
 
 MORRIS J- DRUCKER 
 
 came to this country from Germany in 1855 an( i 
 settled in Nashvilel. In 1866 he came to New 
 York and engaged in the leather business. He 
 died January 1st, 1901, and was at that time the 
 oldest importer in the trade. He was highly es- 
 teemed as an honorable man, and he always had a 
 good record. His son, James B. Drucker, who 
 had been with his father thirteen years, succeeded 
 to the business. 
 
 RUTTER & TURNER. 
 
 This firm and its predecessors have been in the 
 Swamp half a century. The members are practi- 
 cal, reliable, honorable men. They make in Brook- 
 lyn all kinds of leather from sheepskin, goat, deer 
 and calfskins, for bag and bookbinders' uses. 
 
 BITTEL. TEPEL & CO- 
 
 This is a solid, reliable firm of high standing in 
 the community. They are known as agents for th^ 
 C. Heyl patent leather and calfskins, made in 
 Ahms, Germany. Mr. Bittel lives in Worms and 
 attends to the business there. William Tepel and 
 
LEATHER FIRMS. 213 
 
 Albert Tepel are the New York representatives. 
 They also import Charles Simon and Fils and 
 "Lion" calf, and deal in domestic stock. 
 
 WM. H- SHEELY, 
 with his brother, F. Sheely, Jr., came here from 
 the interior of the State to sell leather they tanned. 
 Their father, Fred Sheely, has been a tanner in 
 Elmira and vicinity fifty years. The young men 
 divide the business. Wm. H. Sheely owns and 
 runs four tanneries. The product is 1600 sides a 
 day. He has a store in Boston. F. Fheely, Jr , 
 sells these and other tannages in New York. 
 
 FRANK S. KILPATRICK 
 
 manufactured shoes in New Brunswick, N. J., but 
 not liking the location came to New York and 
 eventually went into the leather business. This 
 was in 1877. He sells the Quaker City glazed kid, 
 R. K. Johnstone & Co., Goodyear welting and 
 fine shoe goods. 
 
 J- S. BARNET & BRO. CO. 
 
 This is not a new firm, but one that has firmly 
 established a great business. They began in 1873, 
 dealing in calfskins. In 1885, however, they 
 bought the tannery at Little Falls, N. Y., and re- 
 built it, until it is one of the largest in he country. 
 They incorporated in 1901. They make chrome, 
 vegetable and bark tanned calfskins, and do a large 
 domestic and exporting business. They took the 
 gold medal for their exhibit in Paris in 1890 — the 
 
214 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 only one that ever came to this country for calf- 
 skins. 
 
 BERTHOLD HAHN. 
 
 Berthold Hahn, George Hahn and Samuel Hahn 
 do a kid and patent leather business under the 
 above style. Their father, Isidor Hahn, was the 
 pioneer in making calf kid in this country. His 
 boys were brought up in the business. They now 
 sell Durgan, Hood & Co.'s and Geo. Baum & Sons' 
 kid and George Stengel's patent leather. They 
 have introduced these goods into every factory in 
 New York and vicinity. 
 
 THE SWAMP OF TO-DAY. 
 
 While the old firms that made the reputation of 
 the hide and leather trade have been merged in 
 corporations or retired, there are many in busi- 
 ness yet that should be mentioned. Among them 
 are : 
 
 WM- H. ADDOMS & CO., 
 
 Who were established in 1871, and have a good 
 record for thirty years of a mercantile career as 
 leather dealers. Wm. H., S. K. and A. H. Addo- 
 nis compose the firm. 
 
 KELLOGG & SHEDDEN 
 
 Are a sole leather firm. Mr. Kellogg's father was 
 a weigher in the Swamp. Mr. Shedden lives in 
 Boston and atends to their Eastern business, 
 
LEATHER FIRMS. 21s 
 
 PFISTER & VOGEL LEATHER CO. 
 
 This great firm that tans almost every kind of 
 leather known has one of their stores in New York. 
 Guido Pfister and A. H. Vogel founded this house 
 in Milwaukee fifty years ago. Sons of the founder 
 conduct the business now. Fred Vogel, the presi- 
 dent, rates high as a business man. Their capital 
 is represented by millions of dollars. Wm. H. 
 Heller is their agent here. 
 
 HARBURGER & STACK. 
 
 This is one of our youngest firms. Julius Har- 
 burger and Richard Stack were brought up in 
 one of the most solid mercantile houses, and 
 formed their firm about three years ago. They 
 export and import hides and leather. Julius Rob- 
 ertson was special with them up to 1901. They 
 own a line of sailing vessels running to Honduras 
 and Central American ports and deal in the prod- 
 ucts of those countries, East Indies, etc. 
 
 H- E. & E. D. WILLIAMS 
 
 Established a leather house here in 1859. The 
 senior was formerly in business in New London, 
 Conn. Chas. D. Williams, his son, came in the 
 firm in 1885. They finish all kinds of leather. 
 
 D. B. FLEMING 
 
 Is a currier of harness leather. He has two sons 
 connected with his business. Mr. Fleming is a 
 familiar figure in the Swamp, a hard-working man 
 and a frugal merchant. 
 
216 HISTORY OF THE SWIAMP. 
 
 E. R- LAZARUS 
 
 has been a successful merchant, dealing in goat 
 skins. He established himself as an importer in 
 1888, and furnishes morocco manufacturers with 
 skins from all parts of the world. Mr Lazarus is a 
 real estate owner, and has some lots located in the 
 geographical centre of Greater New York. 
 
 J. FROWENFELD 
 
 has been a buyer of goat skins in Europe for thirty 
 years. In 1887 he established a connection in New 
 York, representing Antoine May, of Paris. 
 
 S. H- FRANK & CO. 
 
 This is a great California house with store in the 
 Swamp. They make oak sole, cut soles, and har- 
 ness leather. They are the only tanners on the 
 Pacific coast with a store in the East. 
 
 WM. C- BUCKLEY 
 
 makes Goodyear welting, and has a large factory 
 on Ferry street. His father was a tanner and 
 leather merchant. 
 
 A. L. HARRIS & CO- 
 
 This firm make and deal in fancy leather exclu- 
 sively. Druggists' supplies are part of their stock 
 in trade. 
 
 TALBOT & FORFAR. 
 
 This firm have dealt in leather for twenty years. 
 Both partners were with Henry Arthur. S. H. 
 Talbot joined the Twenty-third New York Battery 
 during the war, when he was seventeen years old, 
 
TRADE BANQUET. 217 
 
 going in a private and coming out a sergeant. This 
 battery fired the last cannon shot of the war at 
 Monsville, N. C, April 13th, 1865. 
 
 TRADE BANQUET. 
 
 On the evening of February 10th, 1859, an elab- 
 orate banquet was given by the hide and leather 
 trade of New York, at the Metropolitan Hotel, 
 corner of Broadway and Prince streets. Tanners 
 were present from Boston, Lynn, Baltimore and 
 Philadelphia. There were 340 guests. The com- 
 mittee of arrangements were Isaac H. Bailey, 
 chairman; Joseph E. Buckley, secretary; John F. 
 McCoy, treasurer. 
 
 The committee with them were Jackson S. 
 Schultz, Wm. Miles, Oliver Hoyt, Aaron Healy, 
 John Armstrong, Edwin Thorne, James Fraser, 
 William Palen, Geo. F. Butman. It was the first, 
 and only banquet, given by the New York trade. 
 There are not more than half a dozen men now 
 living who attended it. Those who eulogized the 
 fathers of the trade on that occasion are now re- 
 membered as being among the founders. The mer- 
 chants of to-day will be interested in reading an ac- 
 count oi the proceedings at this convivial meeting 
 of tanners, leather and shoe manufacturers of the 
 olden time. Particular interest attaches to three 
 speeches that contained prophetic utterances. That 
 of B. G. Boardmen foreshadowing Cuban affairs 
 and the Suez canal; Wm. A. Hall, predicting city 
 factories with steam power, and labor-saving ma- 
 
218 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 chines, and of Jackson S. Schultz, who said we 
 should supply Europe with leather, and did so much 
 to bring it about. 
 
 At nine o'clock the guests sat at the table. Rev. 
 Robert McCarter, D. D., the son of an old Swamp 
 tanner, asked the blessing. Colonel William Kum- 
 bel, the oldest member of the New York leather 
 trade, was in the chair. He v/as the pioneer belt- 
 maker and had always lived near the Swamp. In 
 opening the intellectual part of the entertainment 
 Mr. Kumbel said : "I will take you back for a mo- 
 ment to the Swamp as it was in my youth, fifty 
 years ago ! The block bounded by Ferry, Frank- 
 fort, Jacob and Gold streets was an entire block of 
 tanneries. There were two in Frankfort, one each 
 in Gold, Vandewater and Ferry streets. There was 
 not a three-story building in the Swamp. Influen- 
 tial men in business were Gideon Lee, Abraham 
 Bloodgood, David Bryson, Cunningham & McCor- 
 mick, Jacob Lorillard and Israel Corse. The sales 
 of the largest house were only about $200,000, while 
 now such firms sell $2,000,000 to $4,000,000 yearly." 
 
 Benj. G. Boardman, a prominent Boston dealer, 
 said : 'Allow me, with the eye of imagination, to 
 take a look at our trade in the next century. The 
 tanners and merchants will be double your present 
 number. The civilized world will be your custom- 
 ers, and perhaps Cuba and Central America will be 
 part of your territory. Why, to-day we are four 
 months in receiving hides from India by the East- 
 ern routes and in sailing vessels. Our posterity 
 
TRADE BANQUET.! 219 
 
 will receive them in thirty days by the Western 
 route, and steam transit. We know the gilt-edged 
 character of the paper of the hide and leather trade, 
 but I hope that all paper issues will give place to 
 rods and bars of gold, and financial improvements 
 that will banish panics and panic-makers from the 
 land. 
 
 William Claflin of Boston said : "Our people, 
 soon after the Revolution, began to invest money 
 in manufacturing. In 1810 shoes made in most 
 parts of Massachusetts were intended for home 
 use, but attempts were made to extend the trade. 
 One old manufacturer in Worcester County thought 
 himself very lucky when he was able to cut up one 
 side of sole leather a day. About 181 1 the shoe 
 peg was invented. By increasing the demand it 
 turned the attention of manufacturers to the exten- 
 sion of the trade. Markets were found in the South. 
 From 1820 to 1830 the business was rapidly ex- 
 tended and an old barn or deserted meeting house 
 was often turned into a shoe factory. The progress 
 was limited, and a person who made 25 cases a 
 week was considered a manufacturer of note. Now, 
 some houses produce 500 cases a week. Since 
 1830 the trade has been methodically divided. 
 Whole towns are devoted to only one kind of work. 
 In Massachusetts, 40,000 persons (say every eighth 
 male adult) is engaged in making shoes. Since 
 185 1 the introduction of sewing machines for clos- 
 ing the uppers, and a few other ingenious inven- 
 tions which obviated the necessity for working in a 
 
220 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 stooping position has had a tendency to develop 
 the muscles, and has been better for the health of 
 the workers. In Massachusetts the annual value 
 of shoes made is $35,000,000 to $40,000,000, and of 
 leather $20,000,000. This exceeds cotton and 
 woolen manufacture. As to increase of business, 
 no limit can be assigned. The time will soon be 
 here when from all quarters of the globe the de- 
 mand will come. Thus from generation to gen- 
 eration the growth and progress of the business will 
 continue to contribute to the wealth of the com- 
 munity and the advantage of all engaged in it. 
 
 John Armstrong, of M. Armstrong & Sons, de- 
 scribed the variety of "kit" and findings then in use 
 to make and repair shoes. Most of these are ob- 
 solete now. He said that many staple articles came 
 from England, France and Germany, although al- 
 most every year the importation of some arlicles 
 were dropped, as Yankee ingenuity is ever at work 
 inventing new labor-saving instruments. The effect 
 of this is that while leather is dearer, shoes are con- 
 stantly growing cheaper, the use of machinery 
 making up the difference in cost When we think," 
 said he, "of the climes and countries from which 
 we are drawing our supplies to shoe the people 
 of America, we feel that none have a better right 
 than we to join in the praise of commerce. The 
 cattle of South America, the kips of India, the 
 calves of Europe, the sheep of England, the goats 
 of Mexico, the seals of the northern coast and isles, 
 the horses of the great Southern plains, the cattle 
 
TRADE BANQUET. 221 
 
 grazing on a thousand hills, all have to contribute 
 their coats to shelter our feet. We send to Eng- 
 land for lastings, thread and tools ; to France and 
 Germany for fine leather; to Italy for silks; to 
 Russia for leather and bristles; to the Straits for 
 oil. Vessels take long voyages to bring us hides 
 from the Golden West, from Africa, or to transport 
 the japonica from India, the sumach from Sicily or 
 cochineal from Honduras." 
 
 The speech of Mr. Armstrong shows the import- 
 ance of the findings trade forty years ago. In all 
 our cities were scores of dealers whose sales to 
 custom shoemakers were large. New Orleans had 
 a great trade. There were eight firms importing 
 calfskins there. All that trade has died out. 
 
 George F. Thomae, a hide importer, said that in 
 1838 the import of hides to the United States was 
 613,500 pieces, value $2,000,000. In 1858 they were 
 2,757,000 pieces, valued at $10,000,000. 
 
 William A. Hall, of Benedict, Hall & Co., said 
 it would be impossible from the position the shoe 
 trade occupied, to conceive the difficulties they had 
 to encounter forty, or even twenty years ago. 
 Scarcely a decent store could be got for the busi- 
 ness. Lofts or cellars were looked upon as good 
 enough. An old and worthy gentleman in our 
 trade, on seeing a store in Pearl street marked "To 
 Let," asked the rent of it. The agent inquired for 
 what purpose it was wanted. Being told for the 
 shoe trade, he said that the store was the property 
 of a widow and orphan children, and he was sure 
 
222 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 neither he nor they would consent to have it used 
 for such a business, and he added : "The shoe trade 
 should never have been permitted to extend beyond 
 the limits of the Swamp, where it is the custom to 
 sell 10 per cent, of water in every pound of leather." 
 The sales of New York jobbers are now $15,000,000 
 annually. There are 56 in the wholesale and 842 in 
 the retail shoe trade. The first revolution in the 
 trade was the beginning of making pegged work. 
 I well remember the first pegging machine. Charles 
 D. Bigelow owned and ran it. Previous to its in- 
 troduction, nothing but sewed and nailed work 
 was known. Now seven-eighths of the shoes made 
 are pegged. Mr. Hall closed with the following 
 prediction : "I am confident that at no distant day 
 we shall see erected in our chief cities, large and 
 convenient factories containing the steam engine 
 and filled with labor-saving machinery now un- 
 known, or of which we have only a vague concep- 
 tion, all contributing to diminish the cost, increase 
 the production, and give additional value to the 
 wearing qualities of shoes when made." 
 
 This remarkable prophecy, made by Mr. Hall, 
 has been fulfilled to the letter. 
 
 Jackson S. Schultz spoke on the future of the 
 trade. He said we must command other markets 
 for our products. To do this we must adapt our 
 leather to the wants of other nations. There is a 
 struggle going on quietly that will give us the 
 markets of the world for bark tanned sole leaiher. 
 No man can pretend to foretell the future of our 
 
TRADE BANQUET. 223 
 
 trade, but destiny has made us the tanners of the 
 world, and we but poorly perform our duties if we 
 do not take our destined position. At the same 
 time, the advancement in growth in our country is 
 unmistakable. The new states in the Pacific and 
 in the West are opening a great trade in supply 
 and demand. We want to be prepared for all this 
 influx of trade. 
 
 Mr. Schultz closed by offering as a toast: ''The 
 Success of the 'Shoe and Leather Reporter,' " and 
 said the conductors of that paper had very kindly 
 assisted the committee in carrying out the arrange- 
 ments of the festival. The sentiment was responded 
 to by F. W. Norcross, who represented the "Re- 
 porter" on that occasion. 
 
 J. K. Gamble, leather inspector, replied for Phil- 
 adelphia : 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen : — On looking 
 around this evening I have been expecting to see 
 our Hills, our Kirkpatricks, our Mussers and our 
 Howells, and I little thought the honor would be 
 assigned me to represent our city at the Hide and 
 Leather Dinner this evening. The advantages of 
 the city of New York can hardly be overestimated, 
 whether as a centre of trade or as a focus of political 
 influence, or as possessing the advantage of rapid 
 communication with the whole world. As to the 
 leather trade of Philadelphia, it has increased 100 
 per cent, during the past ten years. It is now 
 stretching out its strong right arm, and as it ad- 
 vances, the land will be cleared, and the woodman's 
 
224 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 axe will be heard in the forests of Pennsylvania. 
 You have opened all the State of New York. You 
 have been before us in your enterprises. But we 
 will follow you, nor will we give up the race until 
 we can roll up our three millions of sides in the 
 city of Philadelphia. Feeling thus respecting my 
 own city and my own trade, I cannot repress a sen- 
 timent of pleasure as I look upon the old men and 
 the young men by whom I am surrounded, and I 
 will freely confess that I am proud to be associated 
 with so noble a body of men as those composing 
 this assembly to-night, and I shall never forget the 
 cordial reception with which you have welcomed 
 me. When you visit Philadelphia, New York, 
 Baltimore, Boston, where does the business flow 
 from? True, we cannot compete with you in the 
 importations. 
 
 Benj. De Ford, of De Ford & Co., of Baltimore, 
 replied for that city : 
 
 He said he was proud of the honor of represent- 
 ing one of the sister cities, and the hide and leather 
 trade of the South. He had had the honor for 
 thirty-five years to be one of the body, and the 
 friendly, warm reception he had met with that even- 
 ing would attach him still more to his profession 
 and to those who in New York and elsewhere were 
 fellow-members associated in it with himself. With 
 the permission of the president, he would state 
 some acts illustrative of the progress and growth of 
 the trade of Baltimore and its vicinity. The in- 
 crease of leather inspected showed an increase of 
 
TRADE BANQUET. 225 
 
 300 per cent, between the years 1832 and 1858. 
 Various improvements in the processes of tanning 
 had with great advantage been adopted, and not 
 only lessened the time of tanning, but increased the 
 weight of leather and improved the quality. Re- 
 ferring to the different markets of Boston, Phila- 
 delphia and Baltimore, he showed that the yearly 
 increase in each was for 15 years past constantly 
 the same, being about 10 per cent, per annum. Hi; 
 added, that in 1847 New York had increased from 
 one million of hides inspected to three and a half 
 millions, an expansion equal to about 20 per cent, 
 per annum. The cause of this large development, 
 he thought, was to be found in the growing pros- 
 perity of the country and the important works of in- 
 ternal improvement, which, by affording new facili- 
 ties for commercial operations, developed more rap- 
 idly the resources of the State, and gave an extra- 
 ordinary impulse to every trade possessing vitality 
 and capable of growth. 
 
 Shepherd Knapp, president of the Mechanics' 
 Bank, and formerly of Gideon Lee & Company, 
 said : Thirty or forty years ago, when he first knew 
 the Swamp, it was a complete quagmire. The busi- 
 ness, now so large, so comprehensive, so method- 
 ically conducted, was then carried on by a pass- 
 book, and there was scarcely an instance of a man's 
 buying fifty sides of leather at one time. They had 
 heard much of the progress of the trade. It was 
 their predecessors who had organized the system 
 which had so greatly contributed to the advance* 
 
226 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 'ment of the trade. In Greene County the manufac- 
 ture had been conducted on a large scale. The 
 results achieved there had stimulated the trade else- 
 where, for no one likes to be outdone. Large estab- 
 lishments had been erected, and the country was 
 greatly indebted to the enterprise, energy and skill 
 of the men whose portraits he saw around him. He 
 referred, among others, to Colonel William Ed- 
 wards. In 1827 he entered the Catskill Mountains, 
 and spread a spirit of emulation among the tanners 
 there, which has gone on increasing, and producing 
 the most satisfactory and beneficial effects. The 
 efforts and the inventions of these men were greatly 
 instrumental in developing the resources of the 
 tanning art and in extending the demand for hem- 
 lock-tanned leather. He would refrain from fur- 
 ther remarks, as many other speakers were to 
 follow. 
 
 Charles M. Leupp, the son-in-law and successor 
 of Gideon Lee, make a long address that was vigor- 
 ously applauded. His remarks were laudatory of 
 the trade. He said that the amount of sole leather 
 inspected in New York had risen from 205,000 sides 
 in 1827 to 665,000 in 1837, and 3,500,000 sides in 
 1858. "The large tanneries," said he, "will continue 
 to drive out the lesser ones, concentrating the sale 
 of leather in cites where it is more cheaply and 
 rapidly distributed to states, cities and villages that 
 thirty years ago were inaccessible." He added that 
 within a year a commercial revulsion had swept 
 over the whole globe. In this fierce tornado the 
 
TRADE BANQUET. 227 
 
 hide and leather trade had stood boldly up and 
 although owing- an indebtedness of millions of dol- 
 lars, not one house had succumbed — not a dollar 
 had been defaulted. Among our predecessors were 
 men of large views, high honor and public spirit. 
 The Roman mother, Cornelia, when asked to dis- 
 play her jewels, pointed to her sons. So can we, 
 pointing to these fathers, claim them as ours. Let 
 us cherish their example, emulate their noble qual- 
 ities so that our successors may say of us, "He, too, 
 was a Swamper." 
 
 A. Fuller Crane of Baltimore quoted the remark 
 of Gideon Lee, "No business can be successfully 
 carried on unless both sides derive a mutual ben- 
 efit." 
 
 Although this was styled "Annual Banquet," no 
 other has been given by the New York hide and 
 leather trade. 
 
 Jackson S. Schultz called on Frank W. Nor- 
 cross for a speech, and Mr. Norcross spoke on the 
 future of the trade. He said in part : "It is 
 claimed that 'Cotton is King.' That can now be 
 changed to 'Leather is King.' At the end of this 
 century probably more than 70,000,000 of our 
 people will buy it, and no doubt with our tanning 
 facilities we shall supply the civilized world." His 
 remarks were received with applause. 
 
 A book was passed around for signatures of 
 guests. These were obtained : 
 
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RICHARD NELSON. 237 
 
 This book might be deemed incomplete without 
 some reference to a few prominent men who had 
 more or less connection with the Swamp. 
 
 Richard Nelson is favorably known to the trade 
 here and abroad. His uncle, after whom he was 
 named, was a Poughkeepsie capitalist who pro- 
 vided E. M. Young with the money to found the 
 firm of Young & Schultz more than sixty years 
 ago. His namesake, Richard Nelson, came to 
 New York with Wm. Palen & Noble, 
 and later, with William Palen, formed the 
 firm of Palen, Nelson & Co., leather brokers. 
 About six years ago he took charge of the banking 
 and commission business of T. L. Manson & Co., 
 in the Swamp. Mr. Nelson is one of the most hon- 
 orable of men and enjoys the entire onfidence of 
 the customers of this prominent moneyed firm. 
 
 John A. Hull has been in the Swamp since 1854. 
 H. D. Hull was his uncle. About 1858 he took 
 charge of the hide business of Loring Andrews & 
 Son, who at that time were stocking twenty-two 
 tanneries. He engaged in hide weighing in 1859. 
 Harry M. Gilder, a brother-in-law of Henry I. Hull 
 and a member of the Gilder family, so famous in 
 literature, is Mr. Hull's partner. They receive, in- 
 spect and weigh hides for tanners. 
 
 Allen Hall passed away some ten years ago. He 
 was with Terry Brothers. One of this firm mar- 
 ried his sister. He was a ousin of Thomas W. 
 Hall, president of the American Hide and Leather 
 Company, and had other relations in the trade. 
 
238 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 Mr. Hall was an honorable high-toned gentleman, 
 whose word as a broker was readily taken by buy- 
 ers and sellers of hides. 
 
 Philip Augustus White was a druggist at the 
 corner of Gold and Frankfort street for more than 
 half a entury. He owned the building. He was a 
 colored man, but one of the most advanced of his 
 race. He was for many years a member of the 
 Brooklyn Board of Education and a trustee of St. 
 Phillip's Episcopal Church. Doctor White was a 
 philanthropist. Every day at noon a physician 
 attended at his store to prescribe for customers. 
 There were many poor families in the neighbor- 
 hood and medicines and attendance was freely 
 given. During the "draft riots" the mob came to 
 his store threatening to tear it down and murder 
 the proprietor. His Irish friends, men and women, 
 rallied to his rescue, surrounded the store and 
 showed such a determined front that a riot was 
 averted. Dr. White made a speech to the mob and 
 told them he was "about half Irish himself." 
 
 CENSUS OF 1890. 
 
 By the census of 1890 New York State reports 
 200 tanneries producing $20,614,037 of all kinds of 
 leather. Shoe factories 257, producing $23,661,294 
 worth of shoes. 
 
 There were 42,902,414 head of cattle in this 
 country in the year 1900; of these 16,292,360 were 
 cows. 
 
STATISTICS. 239 
 
 RECEIPTS OF HIDES AT NEW YORK. 
 
 Total Total 
 
 Forei gn. 1900. 1899. 
 
 Brazil 222,791 297,090 
 
 Buenos Ayres 656,894 781,157 
 
 Monteviedo 404,498 368,000 
 
 0rinoco 93.494 194,523 
 
 Rio Grande 101,974 23,151 
 
 Other So. American 445,889 548,200 
 
 Central America 55,73* 77,212 
 
 Mexico 161,210 177,064 
 
 West Indies 68,119 &3,797 
 
 Euro P e 559,092 643,924 
 
 China 494,75o 352,882 
 
 Africa .• . . 
 
 Total foreign 3,248,442 3,761,719 
 
 Domestic 303,141 378,987 
 
 Total 3,551,583 4,140,706 
 
 Receipts of hides from Calcutta, 3,763 bales cow 
 hides, 11,555 bales buffalo hides for 1900, 
 
 DUTY ON HIDES. 
 
 In 1845 the first duty was levied on hides. It 
 was 5 per cent. This remained (except in 1846, 
 when they were free) up to 1858, when the import 
 was reduced to 4 per cent. In 1862 the duty on 
 hides and skins was made 10 per cent ad valorem. 
 This import was taken off in 1872, when hides and 
 skins were admitted free. In the summer of 1897 
 
2 4 o HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 the Dingley bill put IS per cent duty on hides. 
 Calf skins, goat skins and light hides were admit- 
 ted free. A drawback equal to duty paid on hides 
 was allowed on the leather exported. Green hides 
 25 pounds and under, and dry hides 12 pounds and 
 under are free. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 ITS EARLY SHOE TRADE. HISTORY OF SOME 
 PIONEERS. 
 
 The first vessel freighted with shoes at Boston 
 was the sloop Delight. She sailed for New York in 
 May, 1818. Her cargo was consigned to Spofford 
 & Tileston, No. 19 Fly .Market. The members of 
 this firm were originally from Haverhill, Mass. 
 They accumulated great fortunes. 
 
 Up to about 1850 the wholesale shoe trade was 
 located in Pearl street, near the leather dealers in 
 the Swamp. Their business relations were very 
 close. The early shoe jobbers all sold leather. 
 
 John P. Whitehouse was the first to make soe 
 shoes, in Pearl, near Ferry street, in 1837. These 
 were nailed shoes. Mr. Whitehouse was a Member 
 of Congress at Washington in 1872 and 1874. He 
 died in 1881. 
 
 Edwin C. Burt left a name second to none in the 
 trade. He cut the first French kid in sale shoes. 
 His firm took gold medals at every World's Fair 
 where they exhibited. Morse & Rogers, Duane 
 street, succeeded to the business of Edwin C. Burt 
 & Co., and well uphold the high character he es- 
 
EARLY SHOE TRADE. 241 
 
 tablished for the Burt shoes. 
 
 Nathaniel Fisher was born in Dedham, Mass., 
 in 1818. He began in the shoe trade in Buffalo, 
 with John V. Ayres, but came to New York in 
 1837 and went into the store of L. S. Bouton & 
 Co., in Pearl street. Shortly after that the firm of 
 Baldwin, Studwell & Fisher, in which he was a 
 partner, was formed. In 1869 the firm became 
 Nath. C. Fisher & Co., which is the style now. N. 
 Fisher died December 9th, 1880. Two sons, Irving 
 R. Fisher and Nathaniel C. Fisher, are partners 
 and continue the business. They occupy a double 
 store on Duane street and are leading wholesale 
 shoe dealers. 
 
 James Hanan founded a firm in 1850 that has al- 
 ways maintained a high rank as producers of shoes. 
 Mr. Hanan was the early patron and helper of Des- 
 tory, the inventor of the Goodyear sole sewing ma- 
 chine. It ought to have been called the Hanan 
 machine. It would never have attained its high 
 position but for the money and influence of Hanan 
 & Sons. They operated the first machine in their 
 factory in Greenwich street, and John H. Hanan, 
 now the senior of the firm, has been instrumental 
 in introducing it all over the world. 
 
 CHALES D. BIGELOW. 
 
 Charles D. Bigelow was a leader in the trade. He 
 came here in 1851, invented the first pegging ma- 
 chine, and used it in pegging shoes at No. 10 Jacob 
 street. In 1854 he introduced the division of labor 
 in his shoe factory, the first place where it was 
 
242 HISTORY OF THE SWAMP. 
 
 done. He held numerous contracts for prison 
 labor. In 1866 he built the factory at Worcester 
 and organized the Bay State Shoe and Leather 
 
 Up 
 charles d. bigelow. 
 
 Co. soon after. His son, Charles E. Bigelow, is 
 now president of the corporation. His son-in-law, 
 Frederick A. Neergaard, is the president of the 
 Powell Brothers Shoe Co. in Duane street. 
 Charles D. Bigelow died in May, 1883. 
 
EARLY SHOE TRADE. 243 
 
 J. & T. Cousins is one of the old firms, estab- 
 lished about 1851. They have been prosperous and 
 successful in business since that time. For about 
 half a century "Cousins' shoes" have been a stand- 
 ard of excellence all over the country. A few years 
 ago they built a large and commodious factory in 
 Brooklyn. 
 
 S. Waterbury & Son have been producing 
 misses' and children's shoes since 1859. They 
 started and have kept on with the motto that 
 "there is always room at the top," and their goods 
 have been among the very best known to the trade. 
 Z. C. Waterbury, of this firm, is a worker and an 
 organizer. 
 
 A. Gar side & Sons were established in 1865. The 
 firm always made high grade shoes. It is said that 
 not half a dozen shoe manufacturers in the United 
 States make such fine work as they do. Their busi- 
 ness is builded on a solid foundation, and three 
 able, active sons now crown the spire, where 
 Abram Garside laid the corner stone almost forty 
 years ago. 
 
 DOHERR, GRIMM & CO. 
 
 This firm was founded in 1877, representing A. 
 Weingreen & Co., Hamburg. In 1881 they be- 
 gan to do business under the present firm name. 
 John B. Doherr owns the business. He imports 
 4A Plate hides and exports hides and skins. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Early Tanning in New York i 
 
 A Republican Court 4 
 
 Early Swamp Tanners 6 
 
 Hide and Leather Merchants 14 
 
 Frankfort Street 15 
 
 Jacob Street 19 
 
 Ferry Street 23 
 
 Ferry Street — North Side 32 
 
 Cliff Street 35 
 
 Gold Street 36 
 
 First Public Reading Room 37 
 
 Spruce Street 40 
 
 Israel Corse and Firms He Founded 43 
 
 Jonathan Throne and Partners 45 
 
 Corse, Pratt & Co 50 
 
 Gideon Lee and Partners 51 
 
 Jay Gould's Battle 59 
 
 Lee & Company 59 
 
 Jacob Lorillard 60 
 
 William Kumbel 62 
 
 Everit Family 63 
 
 A Growing Trade 64 
 
 A Leather Inspection 64 
 
 Swamp, 1820 to 1840 65 
 
Eclectic Fraternity 67 
 
 Hortons as Tanners 6S 
 
 Tanning Firms 84 
 
 Schultz Firms 86 
 
 Union Sole Leather qi 
 
 Stephen Kistler 92 
 
 The Clarendon Family 93 
 
 Bullard & Company 94 
 
 David Moffatt 95 
 
 Charles B. Fosdick 97 
 
 Joseph B. Hoyt 98 
 
 Oliver Hoyt 99 
 
 Mark Hoyt 100 
 
 Daniel B. Fairweather 101 
 
 The Ladews as Tanners and Belt Makers .... 102 
 
 A Great Belting House 103 
 
 Origin of Scoured Oak Backs 106 
 
 Hans Rees 107 
 
 James and George Brooks 109 
 
 The Mattisons 1 12 
 
 Zadock Pratt's Eventful Career 114 
 
 Pratt's Pictured Rocks 116 
 
 George. W. Pratt 117 
 
 The Laphams as Tanners 118 
 
 Bulkley & Lapham 121 
 
 Austin Melvin 122 
 
 Thomas Smull 123 
 
 Aaron Healy 127 
 
 Matthew Armstrong 125 
 
 Edward Godfrey 129 
 
 The Pirate Tanners 129 
 
William Sherwood j, x 
 
 David Wallerstein I3 2 
 
 Isaac H. Bailey x ^ 
 
 Hide Brokers 13 , 
 
 Edwin B. Stimpson 138 
 
 Charles Hauselt 138 
 
 Theodore L. Lutkins 139 
 
 John B. Woodward 139 
 
 George Evans 140 
 
 Friend H. Burt 141 
 
 The Willets Family 142 
 
 The Stouts 143 
 
 Charles A. Schieren & Co 144 
 
 Hide and Leather Bank 146 
 
 James R. Plum & Gale 146 
 
 Scheftel Brothers 146 
 
 Loring Andrews Robertson 147 
 
 Isaac Hyde, Junr 149 
 
 Elijah T. Brown 149 
 
 Frederick T. Fawcett 150 
 
 George Palen 152 
 
 William Palen 153 
 
 Samuel T. Keese 154 
 
 Henry W. McClellan 155 
 
 Felix Fournier & Knopf 155 
 
 Scofield & Stevenson 156 
 
 Josiah T. Tubby J 57 
 
 The Hide and Leather Club 157 
 
 Barnes & Merritt I 5 8 
 
 Baruch Wertheim X S9 
 
 Joseph Hecht & Sons l6 ° 
 
 Joseph Musliner l61 
 
J. H. Rossbach & Bro 161 
 
 B. Frank & Sons 161 
 
 Salomon & Phillips 162 
 
 The Costellos 164 
 
 J. Paskusz & Son 165 
 
 Loring Andrews, Real Estate 166 
 
 The Ely Family 168 
 
 Loring Andrews 170 
 
 The Hoople Family 172 
 
 Mulford, Carey & Conklin 173 
 
 The Frasers 174 
 
 Bank Presidents 176 
 
 John Randolph's Retort 177 
 
 Keck, Mosser & Co 178 
 
 John V. Van Woert 179 
 
 Shattuck & Binger 180 
 
 The United States Leather Co 180 
 
 The United States Leather Co., Officers, 1901. 185 
 
 Trade Dinner 217 
 
 Richard Nelson 237 
 
 Statistics 239 
 
 Early Shoe Trade 240 
 

 
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