These five CDV’s are of graduates of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. Each is signed on the back with the year of graduation noted. From left to right:
1) Arthur Geils Baker was born 22 February 1853 in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India, the son of Lt. Colonel William Baker (1824-1900) and Elizabeth Vincent (born 1820). The couple was married in India. Lt. Col. Baker held a number of commands, including commander of the 4th Gurkha Regiment in 1858. On a visit to Decorah, Iowa to visit his brother, William Baker decided after leaving the service circa 1864 to seek his fortunes in Iowa. William and Elizabeth brought five children with them, all born in India. In 1870, the family was living in West Decorah, and had real estate valued at $7,000 and a personal estate of $2,000. Arthur G. Baker attended RPI in Troy, New York, graduating as a civil engineer in 1876. His first job was as assistant engineer for the Chicago, St. Paul, Milwaukee Railroad, stationed at various locations, including Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakota Territory. In 1880, Arthur was included in the census as living with his parents in West Decorah. On 9 October 1889, Arthur married Mary S. (last name unknown, born circa 1867 in Wisconsin). Arthur and Mary ended up in Los Angeles, California, where he continued to work as an engineer. Arthur Geils Baker passed away on 14 September 1933.
(CDV by Van Wyck Horton, 15 & 17 North Pearl Street, Albany, New York. Bio details on Horton attached to other pictures that I uploaded.)
2) Daniel McLaren was born 22 April 1855 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Daniel McLaren Sr.(born circa 1821) and Amelia M. Jenkins (born circa 1822). Daniel McLaren Sr. was very successfully involved in railroads, and was superintendent of the Cincinnati, Hamilton, & Dayton Railroad. In 1870, the family was living in Springfield, Ohio, and had real estate worth $75,000 and a personal estate of $80,000. Daniel Jr. prepared to attend RPI at the Chickering Institute and then gained some practical experience as a machinist and later as a locomotive engineer. He entered RPI in 1874 and graduated in 1878. Daniel married Lucy G. Cunningham on 11 July 1878. His first job was as inspector of machinery of the Cincinnati, New Orleans, & Texas railroad company. In 1882, he served as general superintendent of the Cincinnati, Selma, and Mobile Railroad, and oversaw the construction of a 17.5 mile stretch of track between Selma and Akron. In 1900, Daniel, his wife and a daughter, were living in Delhi, Ohio, where he was manager of the Addyston Pipe and Foundry Company. By the time of the 1910 census, he did not list an occupation. Daniel McLaren Jr. passed away on 21 March 1919 in Cincinnati.
(CDV by C.R. Clark, Marble Building, 338 River Street, Troy New York. Charles R. Clark was born circa 1829 in New York. In 1855, he was a daguerreotype artist in Troy, New York with Henry Holmes; the partnership lasted until circa 1861. In 1862, Clark paid $25.00 for a Class B license as a photographer in Troy. From 1870 to 1877, his studio was located at 338 King Street. He was married to Sarah E. (last name unknown, born circa 1841) and the couple had at least one child, Charles. It seems likely that Charles Clark passed away sometime in 1877 or 1878, as his wife is listed in Troy directories in 1878, and he disappears from census records and directories.)
3) George Thomas Nelles was born on 15 April 1856 in Muscatine, Iowa, the son of George W. Nelles (born circa 1831) and Virginia Hobbs (born circa 1833). George W. Nelles was a railroad agent in Leavenworth, Kansas from at least 1865 through 1880. George Thomas Nelles attended public and private schools in Leavenworth, and entered RPI in 1873, graduating in 1877. In August 1877, George was assistant engineer on the Kansas City, St. Joseph, and Council Bluff Railroad, working in St. Joseph, Missouri. From 1878 to 1881, he was connected with the U.S. Government improvement on the Missouri River, with his focus at Leavenworth and Atchison City, Kansas. George was married on 15 February 1881 to Jessie Lena Ralston (born August 1856). In 1884, George was city engineer in Leavenworth, Kansas. He later joined the U.S. Corps of Engineers, and was working in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1900 on a river improvement project. George T. Nelles passed away on 15 November 1907.
(CDV by Clark, Troy, NY)
4) Morris Scott Verner was born on 8 March 1855 in Pennsylvania, the son of James Verner (1818-1901) and Anna Montgomery Murray (1824-1881); he was one of 10 chilren born to the couple. James Verner was a successful railroad executive who specialized in passenger railrods in urban areas. The family was living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the 1860 census and had $51,400 in real estate and a personal estate of $14,800. By 1870, that had grown to real estate worth $150,000 and a personal estate of $50,000. Morris Verner entered RPI in September 1872 and graduated in 1876. He worked first for the Pennsylvania Railroad until 1882. He was married to Norwegian immigrant Anna Elisabeth Melson (1867-1946) and the couple would have at least six children. By 1900, Morris was apprently retired and living with his family in Oakmont, Pennsylvania; in 1920, still in Oakmont, his income came from real estate. Morris Verner passed away on 5 March 1929.
(CDV by Horton, Albany, NY)
5) Horace G. Young was born 26 January 1854 in Honesdale, Pennsyslvania, the son of Coe Finch Young (1824-1889) and Mary Amelia Cornell. Horace married Cornelia Lawrence Hasey (1860-1942) on 12 October 1881; the couple would have at least two children. Coe F. Young was a successful engineer and in 1870, the family had real estate valued at $75,000 and a personal estate of $150,000. Horace Young attended school in Stockbridge, Massachusetts before entering RPI in 1873; he graduated in 1877. His first job was milling in Southern Colorado, but in 1879, he entered the service of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company. He was assistant general manger in 1883 and later moved up to general manager. In the mid-to-late 1880‘s, Horace and his family relocated to Albany, New York, and in 1887 he was vice president of the canal company. Sometime between 1900 and 1910, he entered the banking business and by 1912 was chairman of the board of directors of the Albany Trust Company and Vice President of the First National Bank. In the 1920 and 1930 censuses, the family was still in Albany, and in the 1930 census, had five servants; Horace did not list an occupation. Horace G. Young passed away on 13 October 1937.
(CDV by Leo Daft, Troy, NY. Photographer Leo Daft was born 23 November 1843 in Birmingham, England, the son of Thomas B. Daft (1816-1878) and Emma Matilda Sturges (1814-1863). Thomas Daft was a civil engineer who worked for Daft & Company, which designed and built hothouses, conservatories, etc. In 1858, Leo was a draftsman for the company; in his spare time, he developed a keen interest in electricity and electrical devices, and took advantage of the company’s standing to be tutored by experts in the field. He decided to look for other opportunities in the United States and came to New York City in May 1866. In 1867 he was in Philadelphia; after a few not very successful business interests, Leo Daft took up photoraphy, which he had studied as an amateur. He opened a studio in New York City in 1869, but moved it to Saratoga Springs, New York in 1871. On 11 March 1871, he married Catherine Anna Flansbaugh (1843-1917); the couple would have at least five children. He eventually relocated his studio to Troy, New York, where he worked as a photographer. In 1875, “The Photographic News” noted that Daft had submitted to “Scientific American” several photographs of electrical discharges between the terminals of the Holtz static electrical machine. Daft indicated that he would continue his photo-electrical experiments. Following the death of his father in 1878, Leo Daft left photography and pursued a highly successful career in electric light and power generation in New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, and New Jersey. He also built one of the first, if not the first, electric locomotives. His career in the field of electricity is well covered on the internet. Leo Daft passed away on 28 March 1922.)
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