History of Albany County New York United States of America

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Biographies:

Samuel Orcott, author, was born in Albany county, N.Y., April 12, 1824. He was educated in Cazenovia academy, taught school and entered the Methodist ministry. He was pastor of various Methodist churches, the last being in New York city; became a member of the Congregational church, and was pastor at Walcott, Conn., finally retiring to devote himself to historical writing. He is the author of: History of the Town of Walcott (1874); History of Torrington, Conn. (1878); History of Derby Conn., with Dr. Ambrose Beardsley (1880); History of New Milford and Bridgewater Conn. (1882); The Indians of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Valley (1883); History of the Old Town Stratford, and the City of Bridgeport (1884-86); Hawley Record (1890), and Henry Tomlinson and his Descendants in America (1891). He died in Bridgeport, Conn., Jan. 14, 1893.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Potter Palmer, capitalist, was born in Potts Hollow, Albany county, N.Y., in 1826. His parents were Quakers. He was brought up on his father's farm; attended the district school, and was a clerk in Lockport, N.Y., 1844-47. He engaged in business in Oneida, N.Y., 1847-49, and in Lockport, N.Y., 1849-52, and in 1852 removed to Chicago, Ill., when the city had a population of 38,000. He established a dry goods store, which subsequently became Field, Palmer & Lieter, and from which he retired in 1867, investing his large fortune in real estate and its improvement, and becoming one of the largest real estate owners in the city. The fire of 1871 swept away his improvements which were valued at several million dollars. He was active in rebuilding the burned district, erected a new hotel on the ruins of the Palmer house, and soon recovered his entire loss and largely augmented his fortune. He was married in 1871, to Bertha, daughter of Henry H. Honor?, of Chicago, Ill. He declined the position of secretary of the interior in President Grant's cabinet in 1870. He was an early manager of the Young Men's Christian association of Chicago, and was interested in the World's Columbian exposition of 1893, to which enterprise he gave the sum of $200,000 to erect the Woman's building, his wife being president of the board of lady managers. He died in Chicago, May 3, 1902.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Albany County New York

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