To F. GortonGorton, Francis

Francis Gorton (1817-82) was a prominent merchant and financier in western New York. A native of Vermont, his father established a paper manufactory in New York while Francis was young, but he was educated in Worcester, Massachusetts. Gorton moved to Rochester in the early 1840s where he entered the dry-goods business. Later he helped found the Flour City Bank in Rochester, becoming its president for many years. Gorton was also the treasurer of the Rochester City & Brighton Railway Company. During the Civil War, he played a major role in raising funds soldiers’ families and the Soldiers Aid Society. He was widely regarded as a generous and respectable member of Rochester. “Personal,” New York Evening Post, 5 June 1882, p. 2, c. 4; William E. Peck, History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York, vol. 2, (New York: The Pioneer Publishing Company, 1908), 928-29; Rochester Daily American Directory for 1851-52 (Rochester, N.Y.: Lee, Mann, & Co.), 137. , B. E. HecockHecock, B. E.

, N. H. GardnerGardner, Newman H.

Newman H. Gardner (c. 1817-?) was active in Whig politics in Rochester. He was elected the collector for the first ward of the city in 1846. He was also the proprietor of the Excelsior Saloon and later took to selling patent medicines. “Whig Nominations,” Rochester (N.Y.) Daily American, 3 March 1846, p. 2, c. 4; “Official Canvas,” Rochester (N.Y.) Daily Democrat, 7 March 1846, p. 2, c. 5; Rochester Daily American Directory for 1851-52 (Rochester, N.Y.: Lee, Mann, & Co.,), 131; The Rochester Directory, no 21, 1870 (Rochester, N.Y.: C. C. Drew, 1870), 85. , James AbramsAbrams, James

James Abrams (c. 1802-?) was a lawyer in Rochester and member of the “Whig Young Men” group in the city. He was practicing in Rochester at least as late as 1855 but after that nothing is known of him. “At a meeting,” Rochester (NY) Daily American, 19 October 1846, p. 3, c. 2; 1850 U.S. Census, Rochester, Monroe, New York; Rochester Daily American Directory for 1851-52 (Rochester, N.Y.: Lee, Mann, & Co.,), 59; Dewey’s Rochester City Directory for 1855-6 (Rochester, N.Y.: D. M. Dewey, 1855), 87. , of American office, Joseph PutnamPutnam, Joseph

Joseph Putnam (c. 1806-1877) was a grain miller. He was an active Whig and seems to have served as a deputy sheriff for a time in Rochester in the 1840s. “Sheriff Sale,” Rochester (N.Y.) Daily Democrat, 11 September 1840, p. 2, c. 7; 1850 U. S. Census, Rochester, Monroe, New York; Rochester Daily American Directory for 1851-52 (Rochester, N.Y.: Lee, Mann, & Co.,) 218; Episcopal Diocese of Rochester; Rochester, New York St. Luke's Church Register, Rochester, vol. 4, p. 484. , S. F. WitherspoonWitherspoon, Samuel Finley

Samuel Finley Witherspoon (c. 1811-1901), a prominent grocer and alderman in Rochester. In addition to politics, Witherspoon was instrumental in the founding of Trinity Episcopal Church. His great-grandfather served in the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. “Death of Samuel F. Witherspoon,” Albany (N.Y.) Argus, 12 February 1901, p. 1, c. 2; Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, Rochester, New York, Trinity Church Register, p. 216; F. DeW. Ward, Churches of Rochester (Rochester, N.Y.: Erastus Darrow, 1871), 101-3, 111; Hemsen Darick Messler, A History or Genealogical Record of the Messler (Metselaer) Family (Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1903), 55. , William BreckBreck, William

William Breck (1816–84), lawyer and U.S. diplomat, was born in Newport, New Hampshire. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1838 and moved to Rochester, New York, where he was admitted to the bar. In 1859 he was appointed U.S. consul to Singapore, later serving at Swatow, China, as well as at a commercial point on the Yangtze River. In 1865 he returned to the United States and moved to a plantation near Canton, Mississippi. In June 1872 he served as a delegate at the National Union Republican Convention in Philadelphia, and Governor Adelbert Ames appointed him chancellor of the Thirteenth Chancery District of the State of Mississippi in 1874. Breck left Mississippi in 1877 and moved to Boston. Boston Daily Atlas, 6 November 1843; Lowell (Mass.) Daily Citizen and News, 26 December 1862; San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin, 17 February 1863; Francis H. Smith, Presidential Election, 1872: Proceedings of the National Union Republican Convention Held at Philadelphia, June 5 and 6, 1872, Which Nominated for President and Vice-President Ulysses S. Grant and Henry Wilson (Washington, D.C., 1872), 16; Samuel Breck, Genealogy of the Breck Family Descended from Edward of Dorchester and His Brothers in America; With An Appendix of Additional Biographical and Historical Matter, Obituary Notices, Letters, etc., and Armorial Bearings; and a Complete Index (Omaha, Neb., 1889), 80. See also "William Breck to Frederick Douglass, September 15, 1876," https://frederickdouglasspapersproject.com/s/digitaledition/item/39469 , United States Deputy Collector, G. S. JenningsJennings, Gilbert S.

Gilbert S. Jennings (1817-93) was a native of New York City who became a harness, saddle, and trunk maker in Rochester. When the Civil War broke out, Jennings volunteered with the Twenty-sixth New York Infantry regiment, quickly rising through the ranks to ultimately become a Lieutenant Colonel. Following the war, he moved to Michigan where he continued to be employed by the Army. “Death of Col. Jennings,” Evening Star, 2 November 1893, p. 2, c. 1; 1850 U.S. Census, Rochester, Monroe, New York; 1865 New York State Census, Rochester, Monroe; 1880 U. S. Census, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan; Rochester Daily American Directory for 1851-52 (Rochester, N.Y.: Lee, Mann, & Co.), 162. , James H. KellyKelly, James H.

, John C. StevensStevens, John C.

John C. Stevens (1798-1886) was a prominent citizen of Rochester for many years. Born in Boston, he came to Rochester in its early years around 1822 where he worked as a baker. Stevens became active in the politics of the city soon after arriving, aligning with the Whigs and later Republicans. Stevens was elected an alderman in 1842 and served as the overseer of the poor from 1853-63. For a time, he resided in Chicago but returned to Rochester after only a few years, remaining in New York for the rest of his life. “Those Gone Before,” Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, 13 April 1886; 1850 & 1880 U. S. Census, Rochester, Monroe, New York; Rochester Daily American Directory for 1851-52 (Rochester, N.Y.: Lee, Mann, & Co.), 245. . L. R. JeromeJerome, Lawrence Roscoe "Larry"

Lawrence “Larry” Roscoe Jerome (1819-88) was a New York native, growing up near Syracuse. As a young man he went to Rochester to study law with his uncle, Hiram K. Jerome. However, Jerome soon gave this up to pursue a mercantile career. Giving up this pursuit as well, he and his brother entered the world of journalism and were co-owners of Rochester’s Daily American, a popular Whig organ. Jerome and his brothers then went to Connecticut to pursue financial careers. Jerome was known as a popular and jovial man and was called “Uncle Larry” by many. “Larry Jerome Dead,” Chatham (N.Y.) Republican, 14 August 1888, p. 2, c. 2; J. H. French, Gazetteer of the State of New York (Syracuse, N.Y.: R. Pearsall Smith, 1860), 397; Appleton’s Annual Cyclopedia, 1891, (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1892), 63 , United States Deputy, and of American office, Sulivan GrayGray, Sullivan

, Edward FrenchFrench, Edward

, William ThornThorn, William

, Justin Day, Jr.Day, Justin, Jr.

, E. R. WarrenWarren, E. R.

, John CornwallCornwall, John

, Rev. Charles G. LeeLee, Charles G.

, formerly preacher in Syracuse; H. H. JenningsJennings, H. H.

, Jared ColemanColeman, Jared

, United States Deputy Collector.

Gentlemen:—I have learned with some surprise, that in the Whig Convention held in this city on Saturday last, you signified, by your votes, a desire to make me your representative in the Legislature of this State. Never having, at any time that I recollect, thought, spoken, or acted, in any way, to commit myself to either the principles or the policy of the Whig party; but on the contrary, having always held, and publicly expressed opinions diametrically opposed to those held by that part of the Whig party which you are supposed to represent, your voting for me, I am bound in courtesy to suppose, is founded in a misapprehension of my political sentiments.

Lest you should, at any other time, commit a similar blunder, I beg to state, once for all, that I do not believe that the slavery question is settled, and settled forever. I do not believe that slave-catching is either a christian duty, or an innocent amusement. I do not believe that he who breaks the arm of the kidnapper, or wrests the trembling captive from his grasp is "a traitor." I do not believe that Daniel Webster is the Savior of the Union, nor that the Union stands in need of such a Savior. I do not believe that human enactments are to be obeyed when they are point blank against the law of the living God. And believing most fully, (as I do,) the reverse of all this, you will easily believe me to be a person wholly unfit to receive the suffrages of gentlemen holding the opinion and favoring the policy of that wing of the Whig party, denominated "the Silver Grays."

With all the respect which your derision permits me to entertain for you.

I am gentlemen,

Your faithful fellow-citizen,

Frederick Douglass.

P.S. It is possible that the list of names above given may not be entirely accurate.—If such prove to be the case, I shall be happy, to be informed of the error, and ready to correct it.