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On April 12, 1876 – the same day that Welch was elected Supervisor of the Town of Niagara<ref name="Niagara Falls Gazette p.2">Niagara Falls Gazette, April 12, 1876 p.2</ref> – he and his partner Michael Ryan announced the opening of a new dry goods store on Falls St., the first door East of the [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spencer_House,_Niagara_Falls,_by_Soule,_John_P.,_1827-1904.png Spencer House].<ref>Niagara Falls Gazette, April 12, 1876</ref> The firm of Welch & Ryan sold cloth (including fine cloth such as cashmere and silks), clothing, coats, carpets, underwear and hosiery, and furs among other items. Throughout the 1880s, Welch & Ryan would periodically report on new seasonal items being stocked for the season such as spring carpets<ref>Suspension Bridge Journal, Nov.12, 1881, p.3:3</ref> or Jersey Coats,<ref>Niagara Falls Gazette (Daily), Oct. 6, 1883 p.4</ref> even reporting when they had returned from shopping expeditions in New York City.<ref>Suspension Bridge Journal, June 21, 1884, p.3:2</ref>
On April 12, 1876 – the same day that Welch was elected Supervisor of the Town of Niagara<ref name="Niagara Falls Gazette p.2">Niagara Falls Gazette, April 12, 1876 p.2</ref> – he and his partner Michael Ryan announced the opening of a new dry goods store on Falls St., the first door East of the [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spencer_House,_Niagara_Falls,_by_Soule,_John_P.,_1827-1904.png Spencer House].<ref>Niagara Falls Gazette, April 12, 1876</ref> The firm of Welch & Ryan sold cloth (including fine cloth such as cashmere and silks), clothing, coats, carpets, underwear and hosiery, and furs among other items. Throughout the 1880s, Welch & Ryan would periodically report on new seasonal items being stocked for the season such as spring carpets<ref>Suspension Bridge Journal, Nov.12, 1881, p.3:3</ref> or Jersey Coats,<ref>Niagara Falls Gazette (Daily), Oct. 6, 1883 p.4</ref> even reporting when they had returned from shopping expeditions in New York City.<ref>Suspension Bridge Journal, June 21, 1884, p.3:2</ref>


From 1883 to 1885 we know that Welch was very busy with the Niagara Park Bill, the stumping for votes for the Bill and of course his work in Albany, but Welch kept his ownership in the Welch & Ryan business. On Sept. 15, 1888 however an announcement ran stating the business would become H.E. Slocum & Co., with the retirement of Michael Ryan.<ref name="SBJ 1888 p3">Suspension Bridge Journal, Sept. 15, 1888 p.3:5</ref> The business would close and reopen on Oct. 6, 1888 under the new name.<ref>Suspension Bridge Journal, Oct. 6, 1888 p.2:1</ref> In 1874 Welch's new partner, Humphrey Elias Slocum, had married Frances Marion Binkley of Niagara Falls and moved on April 12, 1875 to Geneva, Ontario County, NY. as a partner in his brothers’ dry goods business under the name John N. Slocum & Brother<ref>“A Short History of the Slocums, Slocumbs and Slocombs of America, genealogical and biographical; Embracing eleven generations of the First-named Family from 1637 to 1881”, by Charles Elihu Slocum, M.D., PhD, Syracuse N.Y., published by the author 1882. From the State Historical Society of Wisconsin</ref> and hence had experience in the dry goods business. T.V. Welch remained a partner in the H.E. Slocum & Co. business.<ref name="SBJ 1888 p3" />
From 1883 to 1885 we know that Welch was very busy with the Niagara Park Bill, the stumping for votes for the Bill and of course his work in Albany, but Welch kept his ownership in the Welch & Ryan business. On Sept. 15, 1888 however an announcement ran stating the business would become H.E. Slocum & Co., with the retirement of Michael Ryan.<ref name="SBJ 1888 p3">Suspension Bridge Journal, Sept. 15, 1888 p.3:5</ref> The business would close and reopen on Oct. 6, 1888 under the new name.<ref>Suspension Bridge Journal, Oct. 6, 1888 p.2:1</ref> In 1874 Welch's new partner, Humphrey Elias Slocum, had married Frances Marion Binkley of Niagara Falls and moved on April 12, 1875 to Geneva, Ontario County, NY. as a partner in his brothers’ dry goods business under the name John N. Slocum & Brother<ref name="Slocum1882">{{cite book|author=Charles Elihu Slocum|title=A Short History of the Slocums, Slocumbs and Slocombs of America: Genealogical and Biographical; Embracing Eleven Generations of the First-named Family, from 1637 to 1881: with Their Alliances and the Descendants in the Female Lines as Far as Ascertained|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=DYJRAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA609|year=1882|publisher=The author|page=375}}</ref> and hence had experience in the dry goods business. T.V. Welch remained a partner in the H.E. Slocum & Co. business.<ref name="SBJ 1888 p3" />


==Political career==
==Political career==

Revision as of 23:14, 10 January 2015

Thomas Vincent Welch
Member of the
New York State Assembly
In office
1882–1884
Superintendent of the State Reservation at Niagara
In office
1885–1903
Supervisor of the Town of Niagara
In office
1877–1878
Personal details
Born(1850-10-01)October 1, 1850
Camillus, New York
DiedOctober 20, 1903(1903-10-20) (aged 53)
Niagara Falls, New York
Political partyDemocrat (1882–1903)
SpouseAnna Gill (married 1902)
ChildrenNone
Parent(s)Thomas Welch
Honor Holland
OccupationStatesman, conservationist, civil servant
Plaque dedicated to T.V. Welch at Niagara Falls

Thomas Vincent Welch (October 1, 1850 – October 20, 1903) was a New York State Assemblyman and served as the first Superintendent of the New York State Reservation at Niagara, holding the post for 18 years. As a member of the New York State Assembly, Welch was a key player in the efforts to acquire the lands adjoining Niagara Falls, and to make them free for all to view.

Niagara Falls, New York was not always as we know it today. In the mid-19th century, heavy industries and mills crowded the shoreline near the falls, in order to take advantage of free power. These mills charged fees for visitors to view the falls, which were largely obstructed[1]. A group of concerned citizens, politicians, and architects - including T.V.Welch - started the "Free Niagara" movement. When the bill making Niagara Falls free was signed on April 30, 1885, it was the culmination of a campaign in the New York State Legislature spearheaded by Thomas V. Welch. His efforts, and those of everyone involved, are documented in a pamphlet entitled How Niagara Was Made Free,[2] which was published by the Niagara Frontier Historical Society, and in the annals of New York State.

Early life

Thomas Vincent Welch was born in Camillus, Onondaga County, New York (near Syracuse), the third of six children of Thomas and Honora (Holland) Welch, both Irish immigrants (from Kilmeena and Aghagower, respectively, both in County Mayo). His parents originally immigrated to Canada and were married in Cornville, Ontario on Aug.31, 1842 and later moved to Onondaga County. Sometime after his birth in 1850, his parents moved to the Niagara Falls area along with his two brothers - Edward and John. A sister born in 1848, Honora, died when she was eight months old. Once in the Niagara Falls area, however, his parents had two more children, Ellen in 1852 and Anne in 1856.

He was educated in the public schools in Niagara Falls and at an early age was employed at the New York Central Railroad Company as timekeeper in the shops in the village of Niagara Falls. In 1873 he was promoted to be freight agent of the Central Railroad there, a position he occupied for three years. In 1876 he left the railroad and went into the mercantile business.

Welch & Ryan - mercantile business

On April 12, 1876 – the same day that Welch was elected Supervisor of the Town of Niagara[3] – he and his partner Michael Ryan announced the opening of a new dry goods store on Falls St., the first door East of the Spencer House.[4] The firm of Welch & Ryan sold cloth (including fine cloth such as cashmere and silks), clothing, coats, carpets, underwear and hosiery, and furs among other items. Throughout the 1880s, Welch & Ryan would periodically report on new seasonal items being stocked for the season such as spring carpets[5] or Jersey Coats,[6] even reporting when they had returned from shopping expeditions in New York City.[7]

From 1883 to 1885 we know that Welch was very busy with the Niagara Park Bill, the stumping for votes for the Bill and of course his work in Albany, but Welch kept his ownership in the Welch & Ryan business. On Sept. 15, 1888 however an announcement ran stating the business would become H.E. Slocum & Co., with the retirement of Michael Ryan.[8] The business would close and reopen on Oct. 6, 1888 under the new name.[9] In 1874 Welch's new partner, Humphrey Elias Slocum, had married Frances Marion Binkley of Niagara Falls and moved on April 12, 1875 to Geneva, Ontario County, NY. as a partner in his brothers’ dry goods business under the name John N. Slocum & Brother[10] and hence had experience in the dry goods business. T.V. Welch remained a partner in the H.E. Slocum & Co. business.[8]

Political career

In public affairs, from 1873 to 1874 he was clerk of the village of Niagara Falls, and in 1875–6 he was a village trustee. In 1876, 1877 and 1878 he was elected Supervisor of the town of Niagara[3] and in the latter year he was chosen as chairman of the Board of Supervisors of the county of Niagara.

Thomas Vincent Welch and President William McKinley at Niagara Falls on Sept.6, 1901. Roughly 4 hours later McKinley was assassinated.

In the town election on April 11, 1876, Welch ran for Supervisor of the Town of Niagara against O.W. Cutler, the incumbent. In an election during which “…nearly all of the voters of the town came out…”[11], the result saw Welch win the election with 294 of 1,110 votes, against the incumbent who received 213 votes. The election of Welch prompted the editors of the Niagara Falls Gazette to write:

“In the election of Thos. V. Welch, the town has secured a Supervisor who, we venture to say, will make an honorable record, who will be prompt and exact in handling the public funds, and who will be fair and impartial in the Board of Supervisors. He is a strictly temperate young man, belongs to no rabble, and has an excellent reputation to be maintained.”[12]

Welch went on to meet these expectations, and was re-elected in 1877 and 1878. In 1878 Welch was further chosen as chairman of the Board of Supervisors for the County of Niagara[13].

After four years as Supervisor in Niagara, Welch made the decision to run for New York State Assembly in the the New_York_state_election,_1880 held on Nov. 2, 1880, he was not however the successful candidate[14]

On October 22, 1881 in Olcott, NY, William Samways, Konrad Fink and Wm. Vaney from Niagara were delegates[15] to the Democratic Convention for the Second Assembly District of Niagara County and nominated Thomas V. Welch as its candidate for Assembly by acclamation [16]. The Suspension Bridge Journal noted that:

“…(Welch) deserves it. He is recognized all over the district as an able, capable and deserving man, who has filled all positions of trust to which he has been called with credit to himself and with usefulness to the public. Above all he has been with, of, and for the people of this town in the struggle to prevent the usurpation of their rights in this police matter. As one of the trustees of the village of Niagara Falls he stood up manfully against the demands of the pseudo police commissioners and by the firmness of himself and his associates the rights of the people were vindicated in Judge Barker’s court, and his election to the Legislature would be such a popular rebuke to the concoctors of this mischievous legislation as they deserve.[16]

The New_York_state_election,_1881 held on November 8, saw “…the greatest victory ever won by the Democrats of Niagara.” with every Democratic candidate elected by “decisive majorities”[17]. Thomas V. Welch was elected in a majority to Member of the New York State Assembly from Niagara, second district.

He was then nominated by the Democratic party and elected Member of the State Assembly from the second Assembly district of Niagara county, and was re-elected in 1883 and 1884. He was a member of the committee on ways and means in the Legislature and a leader in that body.

During the presidential campaign of 1884, he acquired a wide reputation as a talented and convincing speaker. His speeches on behalf of the election of Grover Cleveland made him an outstanding figure and following the election of President Cleveland, Thomas V. was regarded as the most likely appointee for U.S. Collector of Customs at the then Port of Suspension Bridge, for many years the most powerful and most remunerative position in that part of the country.

Superintendent of the State Reservation at Niagara

President Cleveland came to office in 1885, at the peak of the Free Niagara movement, and the unanimous choice (of the Niagara Reservation Commission) of Welch becoming the Superintendent of the parks resulted in him accepting that post.

On Sept.6, 1901, T.V.Welch, in his role as Superintendent of the Niagara Reservation, welcomed President William McKinley to the Park, and toured through the Park with him on foot. Four hours later, President McKinley was assassinated at the Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, NY.

In 1902 after 17 years of outstanding service, the Commission presented him with a sterling silver "loving cup" and parchment, in recognition of his service to the State.

Sterling silver cup given to T.V.Welch

Mr. Welch played an important part in the incorporation of the city of Niagara Falls. He was a member of the charter committee, and, with Hon. W. Caryl Ely, was in Albany when Governor Roswell P. Flower signed the Niagara Falls city charter bill, March 17, 1892, in fact Governor Flower was ready to sign the bill the day before, but Mr. Welch requested that he hold off until the next day, St. Patrick's Day. He procured the pen with which the governor signed the bill.

Mr. Welch also had a leading part in the organization of the Niagara Falls Power Company.

Mr. Welch was the first president of the Memorial Hospital Association and active in its affairs for many years. He was a member of a great many civic societies and organizations. He was prominently identified with a number of organizations of[18] St. Mary's Church, and a trustee of Niagara University.

He was vice-president of the Niagara Frontier Historical Society at the time of his death, was also a member of the Niagara Frontier Land Marks Association, and had served two terms as president of the Civic Club, as president of the Niagara County Pioneer Association, of the Shakespeare Club, and was an honorary member of the Niagara County Farmers Club.

Thomas V. Welch was married to Anna Gill at Belfast, Allegany County, New York on October 21, 1902.

Death and Legacy

Memorial parchment given to the Welch family
The final resting place of T.V.Welch at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Lewiston, NY
The Welch Family marker at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Lewiston, NY

Just one year after his marriage, T.V.Welch died from an attack of typhoid fever, aged 53.At the time of his death, Thomas Vincent Welch was recognized at the "best known and best loved citizen" of Niagara Falls, as stated by the Commissioners of the State Reservation at Niagara, who adopted a memorial in their minutes on December 22, 1903 and provided a copy of those minutes to the family of T.V. Welch, pictured to the right. The document reads, in part:

In addition to his services to the State in the Assembly and as Superintendent of the State Reservation at Niagara, he held many positions of trust in the Village and City of Niagara Falls...he was identified with practically every public enterprise in Niagara Falls for the past twenty-five years. His exceptional talents as a public speaker, reinforced by a cultured mind and the unreserved public confidence in his integrity and sincerity, enlarged the scope of his influence, and made him a strong power for good in the community which, at his death, he was recognized as its best known and best loved citizen. By none his death more deeply deplored than by the Commissioners of the State Reservation at Niagara, who, as an expression of their sense of loss, hereby adopt this Memorial, this 22nd day of December, 1903, directing that it be spread upon the minutes, and that a copy, suitably engrossed, be presented to the family of the deceased.

T.V.Welch was originally buried in the cemetery of St.Mary's of the Cataract in Niagara Falls. On May 11, 1936 his remains were moved, along with others, to the Gate of Heaven Cemetery[19] in Lewiston, New York. His remains rest with those of his family at the South East corner of Section 3 of the cemetery.

On July 15, 2010, a 125th Anniversary celebration was held and the plaque dedicated to T.V.Welch (pictured at the top of this article) was placed on a new stone in the Heritage Park,[20][21] a new section of the Niagara Falls State Park.

References

  1. ^ Archer Butler Hulbert. "Chapter IV, Niagara Bond and Free". The Niagara River. Library of Alexandria. pp. 95–. ISBN 978-1-4655-5655-4.
  2. ^ How Niagara Was Made Free, Internet Archive scanned copy
  3. ^ a b Niagara Falls Gazette, April 12, 1876 p.2
  4. ^ Niagara Falls Gazette, April 12, 1876
  5. ^ Suspension Bridge Journal, Nov.12, 1881, p.3:3
  6. ^ Niagara Falls Gazette (Daily), Oct. 6, 1883 p.4
  7. ^ Suspension Bridge Journal, June 21, 1884, p.3:2
  8. ^ a b Suspension Bridge Journal, Sept. 15, 1888 p.3:5
  9. ^ Suspension Bridge Journal, Oct. 6, 1888 p.2:1
  10. ^ Charles Elihu Slocum (1882). A Short History of the Slocums, Slocumbs and Slocombs of America: Genealogical and Biographical; Embracing Eleven Generations of the First-named Family, from 1637 to 1881: with Their Alliances and the Descendants in the Female Lines as Far as Ascertained. The author. p. 375.
  11. ^ Niagara Falls Gazette, Apr. 12, 1876 p.2:1, “The Town Meeting”
  12. ^ Niagara Falls Gazette, Apr. 12, 1876 p2:2
  13. ^ Niagara Falls Gazette, Oct. 9, 1878 p.2
  14. ^ Suspension Bridge Journal, Nov.13, 1880 p2:1
  15. ^ Suspension Bridge Journal, Oct. 15, 1881 p.3:1
  16. ^ a b Suspension Bridge Journal, Oct. 22, 1881 p2:1 “Democratic Nominations”
  17. ^ Suspension Bridge Journal, Nov. 12, 1881 p2:1 “The Result in the County.”
  18. ^ St.Mary's of the Cataract at www.massintransit.com
  19. ^ The Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Lewiston, NY
  20. ^ Niagara Falls Gazette coverage of the 125th Anniversary of the Niagara Falls State Park
  21. ^ WIVB News, Buffalo, coverage of the 125th Anniversary celebration of the Niagara Falls State Park
  • Laws of New York, 1883, One Hundred and sixth session, Chap.336 - an Act authorizing the selection of lands at Niagara for a reservation
  • "The State Reservation at Niagara" by Charles M. Dow, Commissioner of the State Reservation at Niagara 1898–1914, J.B.Lyon Company, Printers
  • The History of the Niagara River, by G.K. Gilbert, lecture delivered to the American Association for the Advancement of Science at Toronto, August,1889.
  • Niagara Falls Gazette, June 10, 1885, p. 8
  • Niagara Falls Gazette, July 22, 1885, p. 5
  • Niagara Falls Gazette, Aug.9, 1899, pages 1 and 5 (visit of Theodore Roosevelt)
  • Niagara Falls Gazette, Jan.2, 1902
  • Niagara Falls Gazette, Dec.2, 1903, pages 1 and 6
  • Niagara Portage - From Past to Present, by Theodora Vinal, copyright 1949, Foster and Stewart Publishing, 210 Ellicott Street, Buffalo 3, N.Y.
  • News of the Day...Yesterday, by Donald E. Loker, copyright 1971, Niagara County Historical Society, Inc., 215 Niagara Street, Lockport, NY 14094.

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