Nevada Northrop Stranahan (1861-1928)

 

Portrait from Prominent and Progressive Americans, Vol. II, 1904.

  "Mr. Stranahan's career is distinguished by a series of success achieved by few men of his age...such achievements speak louder than words, and as an expression of regard for his attainments from the people of Oswego County must ever be a gratification of Mr. Stranahan. In the prime of manhood and with a wide experience of finance, he is eminently fitted to cope with the duties of the Collector of the Port."

  Such was the character assessment of Nevada Northrop Stranahan, one of the more unusual names on the New York political stage at the turn of the 19th century. Stranahan served multiple terms in both houses of the New York legislature, was District Attorney of Oswego County, and in 1901 was named as Collector of the Port of New York. The son of Smith and Lucelia Higgins Stranahan, Nevada Northrop Stranahan was born in Granby, Oswego County, New York on February 27, 1861. The origins of Stranahan's first name remain unknown but is believed to be connected to the like-named state, which had come into existence as a U.S. territory around the time of his birth.

  Stranahan's youth was spent on his family's farm and he was a student in schools local to his hometown, including the Valley Seminary. Deciding upon a career in law, Stranahan enrolled at the Columbia College Law School in the early 1880s and in 1884 was admitted to the state bar. Stranahan married in April 1885 to Elsie Merriman, who predeceased him in 1922. The couple were wed for nearly forty years and had one daughter, Louise. 

  After being admitted to the bar Stranahan established his law practice in Fulton, New York, and made his first foray into politics in September 1889 when he was nominated for the state assembly at the Oswego County Republican convention. He was elected that November and after taking his seat in January 1890 was named to the committees on Claims and Privileges and Elections. He was renominated for a second term in August 1890. He was acknowledged by both the Syracuse Standard and Buffalo Courier as a "faithful, competent member" and "one of the most talented young men of the county."

From the New York Red Book, 1892.

  Stranahan won a second term that November and in January 1891 was named to the committees on Codes and Gas and Electricity. He won a third term in late 1891 "with an 825 plurality" over two opponents and throughout the 1892 session authored several pieces of legislation, including "authorizing towns and villages to establish free baths", a bill to prevent diseases in peach trees, and a bill for holding town meetings in Oswego County. The New York Red Book also notes that Stranahan took "front rank as a debater", and during his term held the additional post of vice president of the Fulton and Oswego Falls Railroad.

  After his third term in the assembly, Stranahan was elected as Oswego County District Attorney, serving from 1893 to 1895, during which time "he filled that place to the satisfaction of the county." Stranahan continued his political ascent in 1895 when he was elected to the state senate "by a majority of 9,839" over Democratic nominee William Baker. During the 1896 term, he chaired the committee on Cities and served on the committees on Privileges and Elections, and Taxation and Retrenchment. He won a second senate term in November 1898, polling 16,270 votes, and again chaired the committee on cities. Stranahan coasted to a third term in the Senate in November 1900 when he defeated Democrat Charles Remick by a vote of 18,295 to 10,332. The 1901-02 session saw him chair the committee on cities for a third time and also continued on the Finance and Taxation and Retrenchment committees.

From the Mt. Vernon Argus.

  Late in his third senate term Nevada Stranahan's name was put forward as a possible successor to George R. Bidwell, the retiring Collector of the Port of New York. A coveted federal office, the New York Port Collector had charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States via the port of New York. In November 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Stranahan to that post, with his duties to begin in April 1902. Stranahan's succession to that office was met with wide praise by newspapers of the time, with the Troy Times describing him as "one of the ablest and most honorable men in the legislature." Further character praise was given by the Brooklyn Eagle, which remarked:

"He is a politician, whose integrity, liberality and honorableness, as well as whose learning and public service, entitle him to be called a statesman. He is in thorough sympathy with his party on the line of its best intents. He is a scholarly and cultivated gentleman."

  In 1902 Stranahan resigned his senate seat and formally entered into the collector's office on April 1. His tenure extended until December 1907 when he resigned due to health concerns, and in the latter part of that year undertook a trip to Europe in the hope of regaining his health. Following his resignation his service was lauded by Treasury Secretary George Cortelyou, who noted:

"It was with great reluctance that the department accepted this resignation, and only upon his instistance. He retires from this office to the great regret of all, and with the acknowledged reputation of having been one of the best collectors that New York has ever had."

  Stranahan continued residency in New York until 1911, and in March of that year announced that he and his family would be moving to Great Britain, in the hope of bettering his health. On March 29, 1911, he and his wife were feted with a farewell dinner by the citizens of Fulton, and shortly thereafter left for Europe. Little is known of his time in Great Britain. Widowed in 1922, Stranahan resided at the home of his daughter Louise in Peterborough following his wife's death and died in that city on July 6, 1928, aged 67. He was later interred alongside his wife at the Winwick Churchyard, Winwick, Cambridgeshire, England.

From the New York Tribune, April 5, 1902.

From the Brooklyn Times Union, July 12, 1928.

Uzal Haggerty McCarter (1861-1931)

From Newark's Anniversary Industrial Exposition, 1916.

   A leading financier in Newark, New Jersey, Uzal Haggerty McCarter's career in banking extended nearly fifty years. A founder of the Fidelity Trust Company, McCarter would serve that organization as its secretary, treasurer, and trust officer, and in the early 1900s became its president. McCarter was also a founding member of the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey and had fleeting political involvement in 1904 when he was chosen as a Republican presidential elector. The son of lawyer Thomas Nesbitt McCarter (1824-1901) and the former Mary Louisa Haggerty (1828-1896), Uzal Haggerty McCarter was born in Newton, New Jersey on July 5, 1861.

  Prominent in the political life of Sussex County, Thomas N. McCarter served as collector for the county from 1854-57 and in 1862 was elected to the state assembly, serving one term. He later declined two opportunities to sit on the state supreme court. Political service also beckoned to Uzal McCarter's brother, Thomas Nesbitt Jr. (1867-1955), who for three years was a district court judge for New Jersey. In 1902 he was named state Attorney General and served only a year before resigning.

  Uzal McCarter's education was obtained at the Pingrey School and the Newark Academy and graduated from Princeton University in 1882. After graduation he made his first move into finance, taking a position with Kidder Peabody and Co., a securities firm. In 1887 he left their employ to join the Lombard Investment Co. of New York, and married in January 1889 to Jane Meeker Lewis, to who he was wed until her death. The couple had one daughter, Isabelle Lewis (1890-1959).

   In the same year as his marriage McCarter left Lombard for a position with the Fidelity Title and Deposit Company of Newark. This firm, later known as the Fidelity Trust Company, merged with the Union National Bank to form the Fidelity Union Trust Co. in 1921. McCarter's long affiliation with Fidelity saw him serve as its executive manager, and, later, secretary and treasurer. By 1902 he had succeeded to the presidency of the Fidelity Trust Co., serving in that capacity for many years.

  McCarter achieved further distinction in 1903 when he and his brother Thomas joined to organize the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey. With both brothers aware that major utility companies in the state were facing bankruptcy, a conference of the state's premier financial minds was called, with Thomas McCarter being named to a subcommittee to discuss solving the problem. Uzal McCarter, also attending the conference, "suggested one big company be formed with $10,000,000 cash capital". Thomas, then the attorney general of the state, resigned from office in July to take the presidency of the Public Service Corporation, with Uzal McCarter serving as a member of its board of directors.

  Uzal McCarter's lone foray into New Jersey politics came in 1904 when he became a candidate for Republican presidential elector. At the Republican state convention held that September, both McCarter and famed engineer Washington Augustus Roebling were chosen presidential electors at large. McCarter's election necessitated his resignation as president of the Union National Bank of Newark and was one of twelve electors for Theodore Roosevelt and Charles Fairbanks.

From the Central New Jersey Home News, September 20, 1904.

  Following his time as an elector McCarter continued with the Fidelity Trust Co. and the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey, and in 1909 was reelected to the board of directors of the New Brunswick Trust Company. In 1917, he announced that the Fidelity Trust Co. had purchased a site for an up-to-date banking house, "paying for it $10,000 per front foot, or $660,000 for sixty-six feet." Envisioned as a multi-story structure, the building would be "devoted exclusively to the institution's various departments."

  After the Fidelity Trust Co.'s merger with the Union National Bank, Ual McCarter continued as president, and through the 1920s guided the institution's trajectory, overseeing "a merger policy absorbing one bank after another under the control of the Fidelity, the theory being that each additional bank was self-sustaining." Active in many other areas of public life, McCarter was a founder of the New Jersey Banker's Association and held memberships in the New York Yacht Club, the Newport Golf Club, the Princeton and Banker's Clubs, the Monmouth Boat Club, and The Rumson and Essex Country Clubs. In 1916 McCarter emerged as a leading figure in the 250th anniversary of the founding of Newark, serving as chairman of the committee of 100 for the city's Industrial Exposition held in May-June of that year. 

  In 1928 McCarter made headlines when he announced, that as a lifelong Republican, he would be voting for Democratic candidate Alfred E. Smith in that year's presidential election. In an interview concerning his change of political faith, McCarter remarked:

"I will cast my ballot for Al Smith for President. While I was in some doubt as to whether I would actually vote for Governor Smith after all my years of Republicanism, this doubt was dispelled when I met him at dinner last night. His personality, with its combination of culture and democracy, together with the impression he gives forth of the utmost of integrity and ability, convinced my of his desirability for the presidency. The views which I formed, after listening to Governor Smith's speech of acceptence, were more than confirmed in personal contact." 

   Uzal McCarter continued to be a force in New Jersey financial circles until his death. Having contracted a cold while onboard his yacht, the illness later developed into bronchial pneumonia, which claimed his life at his home in Red Bank on August 15, 1931. He was survived by his wife and daughter and was interred at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Newark. Following his death McCarter was memorialized by the Paterson Morning Call for his "rugged honesty, and his unfailing wit and humor", as well as his philanthropy. It was left for the Call to eulogize him as:

"As the best business getter for his bank; he searched the daily newspapers for leads to new business and no one person in his great banking institution worked harder to bring into the bank new accounts. Attention to small details and a determinatioon and energy to make good, account for the success of Mr. McCarter in whose death New Jersey loses her greatest banker."