664 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Sei'Tember 1, 1914. 



The Obituary Record. 



DEATH OF THE OLDEST RUBBER WORKER IN THE UNITED STATES. 



ON the evening of July 23 occurred the death of Mr. Frank 

 dc Frate, at Tuckahoe, New York, a man who had enjoyed 

 the distinction for some time of being the oldest rubber 

 worker in the United States and probably, at the time of his 

 death, in the world. He was well along in his 90th year, and 

 for 68 years, with the exception of a few months in the middle 

 of the last century, he had been continuously employed in con- 

 nection with the Hodgman Rubber Co. He was born in Scho- 

 harie, New York, December 23, 1824, and learned the hatter's 

 trade, but when he was 22 — in 1846 — he became associated with 

 Daniel Hodgman, who then had a rubber factory on Duane 

 street, New York. When, in 1851, this factory was moved to 

 Tuckahoe, Mr. dc Frate went with his employer, and w'ith the 

 exception of the few months mentioned above had been con- 

 tinuously and actively at work in the Hodgman factory ever 

 since. 



In his younger days he was a man of tremendous physical 

 strength, which fact, in addition to his exemplary habits, ac- 

 counted for his continued activity in his extreme age. .About 

 12 years ago the officers of the Hodgman company proposed to 

 Mr. de Frate that he should retire on a pension, but he ob- 

 jected strenuously and stated that he wanted no remuneration 

 except for work actually done, so he was permitted to continue, 

 but was allowed to come and go as he chose. He went to the 

 factory regularly and did such work as was assigned him up 

 to two days before his death. 



It occasionally happens in the manufacturing plants in Eng- 



Fr.\nk de Fr.vte. 



land and on the Continent that an employe runs past the 50- 

 year mark, but in the history of .-\merican manufacture it cer- 

 tainly is a unique incident where a man is actively associated 

 with a manufacturing company for nearly 70 years. 



MR. VAN VLIET LEFT OVER $120,000. 



The late Clinton Van Vliet. president of Goodyear's India 

 Rubber Selling Co.. who died in Flushing. Long Island, on Feb- 

 ruary 6. left an estate valued at 5121,258.81, nearly all of it in 

 stocks and bonds. The entire estate was left to his widow. 



EDWIN S. MORRIS. 



Edwin S. Morris, treasurer of Mulconroy Co., of Philadel- 

 phia, died suddenly at his home in Oak Lane. Pennsylvania, on 

 .'\ugust 8. He was born in Pughtown, Chester County, Penn- 

 sylvania, January 1, 1880. At the outbreak of the Spanish-Ameri- 

 can w-ar, though he was but 18 years of age, he enlisted in the 



]{li\\l\ S. MoKHIS. 



I'irst Regiment Heavy Artillery and was assigned to the coast 

 ilefensc, being stationed at Fort St. Philip, at the mouth of the 

 Mississippi River. .At the close of the war he was honorably 

 discharged and then entered, a business college in Norristown, 

 Pennsylvania, where he completed the regular course. He then 

 liecame associated with the Mulconroy Co., and during the last 

 nine years of his connection with the company he acted as its 

 treasurer. 



Tliough a yoimg man. he was widely and most favorably known 

 in the rublier manufacturing trade. In addition to his business 

 activities, he was very prominent in masonic circles and also a 

 im-mber of the Order of Independent .-Xmericans and the Inde- 

 i Tuient Order of Odd Fellows. He was a trustee in the Oak 

 Lane Baptist Church and interested in work of that institution. 



SUICIDE CAUSED BY A GOLF BALL. 

 Pain from an injury caused by a golf ball, wliich bounded 

 from a stone wall and struck him in the eye, and worry over 

 tlie probable loss of siglit as a result of this accident, is believed 

 to have been the cause of the suicide of .\ustin Hall Ruggles 

 Watson. 72 years old, a prominent New York banker and 

 former merchant. The accident occurred about six weeks ago, 

 on the golf links near his home at Beacon, New York, and the 

 pain, which for three weeks rendered sleep impossible, is sup- 

 posed to have driven him insane. 



John C. Connery, foreman of the w'ire department of the Na- 

 tional India Rubber Co.. at Bristol, died at his home at Bristol 

 Neck on August 19. of heart disease, from which he had suffered 

 for several months. He was a native of Bristol and a member 

 of a number of local organizations, including the Modern Wood- 

 men of America and the Engine and Hose company. He was 

 ii years of age and is survived by his wife and two children. 



