My Genealogy Hound

WILLIAM W. KELSEY, inventor and patentee of the justly celebrated Kelsey Warm Air Generator, is living the life of a retired gentleman at Cortland, N. Y. Though he is not participating actively in the great industry which had its being in his skill and inventive genius, he is still a very active and influential man in the community, of whose marked success in life his fellow townsmen are very proud. Mr. Kelsey is a native of Cortland County, his birth having occurred in the town of Preble in 1841. After a limited school education, he learned the business of a steam engineer, a calling he followed for thirty years. He was an employee of the Ohio Central R. R. as engineer during the War of the Rebellion, and was later with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern R. R. in the same capacity, but finally resigned his place with that corporation, and became a commercial traveler for Davis & Co., shirt manufacturers of Troy, N. Y. He was with that house for five years, then went with Miller & Bingham, now Miller, and with Hall & Hartwell of Troy, well known firms in the same line. As a salesman Mr. Kelsey made a record that had never been exceeded but in one instance in this country. In the year 1883, his total sales aggregated $216,136.32 in value, a sum of money which represented over a quarter of a million of shirts. His position with his house was a fairly lucrative one, bringing him in $3,000.00 per. year in addition to his expenses. Mr. Kelsey had been developing in his mind the details of a corrugated warm air generator and furnace, on which in 1889 he received letters patent. He threw up his fine position and embarked in the manufacture of his Generator, having them constructed by Cooper Bros, of Cortland. The first goods manufactured were put out under the name of W. W. Kelsey, he being sole owner and patentee. After remaining in Cortland a year, he sold a half interest to S. Cheney & Son, and the business was moved to Manlius and conducted one year. Then Horace W. Bradley and Ezivor O. Rickard bought the interest of S. Cheney & Son and the co-partnership was formed under name of The Kelsey Furnace Co. of Syracuse. His appliance rapidly gained popular favor as it showed great points of superiority over its competitors. For heating large residences, schools, churches, halls, etc., it is very near perfection. It completely takes the place of steam and hot water systems, and does away with the objectionable points that many other dry air heaters possess. Withal it is the most economical appliance in its consumption of fuel yet on the market. It has a very extensive sale, and the output at this writing is over 2,000 per annum. A short time ago Mr. Kelsey disposed of his interests in the manufacturing and sales departments, but still retains a royalty upon every piece of apparatus made and sold by the company. He has lived in Cortland for over twenty years, and he is now one of the most active supporters and well-wishers of the village.

Mr. Kelsey is a son of Seth P. Kelsey, and a grandson of Thomas Kelsey. The latter formerly owned and conducted a large flax mill and saw mill in Herkimer County, N. Y. He came to Cortland County with a large family and located in the town of Preble, where he followed farming to the end of his active period. He retired to Homer towards the end of his life and there died at about eighty years of age. Thomas Kelsey was in his time a crack marksman and famed hunter, and many were the deer and wild turkies that fell to his unerring aim. Many of the early day “turkey shoots” did he retire from with championship honors.

Seth P. Kelsey, the son, and father of the subject of this sketch, came into life at West Winfield, Herkimer County, N. Y. From his boyhood he was a natural mechanic, and could make or build almost anything in the way of appliances that the time or place demanded. He owned and operated a steam saw mill, did fine cabinet work, constructed horse-rakes and other farming implements, and in short was a most useful man in a hundred ways to his fellow-townsmen. Beside being an ingenious man, he was an exceedingly well informed one. In the debates, which were such features of the early social life, he was seldom worsted. He was a champion of the liberal sentiment. He never sought office, but he was universally liked and respected. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Bingham, who is now living at Syracuse, N. Y., and who was a daughter of Joseph Bingham. Their children were: John B.; William W.; Mary O., deceased; S. Alice, also deceased; James M.; and Rolland S.

William W. Kelsey, since he has made Cortland his home, has done much for the place. He has built three handsome houses on Reynolds We., two on Railroad Ave., and one on Union Street. With his son-in-law, D. H. Bingham, he erected in 1896 a very finely appointed double-house on Church Street. He has also completed a modern dwelling on the same thoroughfare. In Syracuse he erected a modern four-flight flat, which is known as the Kelsey Flat.

Mr. Kelsey’s wife was a Miss Sarepta M. Hollenbeck, daughter of Isaac Hollenbeck of Tully, N. Y. Two children have been born to them: Alice M., who married Anson M. Robinson, buyer of furnishing goods and underwear for Neal & Hyde, a wholesale house of Syracuse; and Clara B., who is the wife of D. H. Bingham of Cortland. The latter gentleman is the senior member of the firm of Bingham Bros. & Miller, the most extensive dealers in clothing in the village of Cortland.

Mr. Kelsey has been eminently successful. Some may call this luck, but those who know him appreciate the fact that his prosperity has come as a result of hard work. Possessed of great capacity for labor, he even exceeded that, and sometimes feels the effects of his too close confinement. He now lives surrounded by all those things that render life happy and worth the living; a fine home, fitted up with all the things that culture and taste can suggest, a good stable and proudly stepping horses, and many other facilities for enjoying a rest that has been fairly and honorably earned. We take pleasure in presenting Mr. Kelsey’s portrait, which appears on a page in proximity to this.