Sub-Series I: Montgomery and Angell Family Correspondence, April 27, 1826 - November 13, 1952, undated

Montgomery B. Angell

Montgomery B. Angell was born in 1889 to Dr. Edward B. and Florence Whitney (Montgomery) Angell. The family lived at 295 Alexander Street. Montgomery attended Princeton University, graduating cum laude in 1911, before attending Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 1915. He worked for the Interstate Commerce Commission from 1915 to 1917 before serving as a Major in the U. S. Army’s 321st Infantry of the “Wildcat” Division during World War I. For his service in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, he received the Croix de Guerre with gold star from the French Army. He then joined the general counsel office of the Federal Reserve Board from 1919 to 1921. Following this, he joined the New York City law firm of Davis, Polk, Wardell, Sunderland & Kiendl; he became the head of the tax department in 1929, a position he held until his death.

Montgomery Angell married Ellen Biddle Shipman in Plainfield, New Hampshire on September 8, 1917. They maintained homes at 1 E. 87th Street in New York City and in Garrison, Putnam County. The Angells had three children: Montgomery B., Jr; Nicholas B, and Ellen. Montgomery B, Angell passed away on November 26, 1959 and is buried in the church cemetery of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church-in-the-Highlands in Garrison, New York.

George Anna Caldwell Sawyer Montgomery

George Anna (Caldwell) Sawyer Montgomery was the daughter of James W. Sawyer, a prominent Rochester merchant, and Margaret Caldwell. Born on April 30, 1831, she was raised in Rochester and married Henry Meigs Montgomery in 1854. Together, they had two children: James Harvey and Marguerite Montgomery. The family lived at 10 Arnold Park. George Anna was an active member of the congregation of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. She was known for her charitable work, including involvement for many years in the Rochester Female Charitable Society, for whom she was first a visitor and later a directress. George Anna passed away on July 17, 1900, and is buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Harvey F. Montgomery

Harvey Fitzhugh Montgomery was born on July 21, 1818 in Rochester, New York, the son of Harvey and Mary Eleanor (Rochester) Montgomery. He attended Princeton College before obtaining his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and returning to Rochester to set up a medical practice. He was a prominent doctor, serving as consulting physician for the City Hospital from its founding, as medical examiner for recruits during the Civil War, and as examiner of pension applicants after the war. He was an honored member of the Monroe County Medical Society, along with being an attendant at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

Harvey F. Montgomery married his first wife, Lucy Harris Garnsey, in 1847. They had one child, Harvey Garnsey Montgomery, before she passed away in 1848. He married again, to Eliza Ann Baltzell, in 1851. They had four children together: Ruth Ridgely Montgomery Vail, Frances Baltzell Montgomery, Guy Rochester Montgomery, and Katharine Rochester Montgomery Osgood. The family made its home at 160 Spring Street. There, Harvey F. Montgomery passed away on November 8, 1884. He was survived by his wife and all his children.

James H. Montgomery

James Harvey Montgomery was born to Henry Meigs Montgomery and Georgeanna Caldwell Sawyer on October 25, 1856 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He moved to Rochester as a child, and was educated in the city schools before joining the law office of his uncle Thomas C. Montgomery at age 16. Later, James would go on to partnerships with Edward Harris and with Yoeman & Satterlee before founding his own firm. He was one of the first tenants of the Granite Building with his firm.

James Harvey Montgomery was known as an excellent athlete, and was a member at one point of both the Rochester Athletic Club and the Riverside Rowing Club. He was a longtime member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. James never married, and maintained his home as a bachelor at 626 Beach Avenue in Charlotte. James Harvey Montgomery passed away on November 22, 1933, and was buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Thomas Colman Montgomery

Thomas Colman Montgomery was born on July 3, 1820, the son of Harvey and Mary Eleanor Rochester Montgomery. According to his obituary, Thomas was an excellent student. He studied at the Flushing Institute and, upon taking the entrance exam for Princeton University, he scored so highly that he entered the senior class (1837), graduating in 1838. He then read law in the Rochester office of General Vincent Matthews. Establishing his own law office in 1840, Thomas built a reputation for his knowledge of banking and corporation law. He never took a partner into the practice but was associated for many years with Frederick Whittlesey. He retired from the practice around 1896 but was noted for going into his offices in the Powers Building daily until about three years before his passing. He also served as the first attorney for the City Bank, and was a director and attorney for Rochester’s first gas company.

Thomas Colman Montgomery married Mary Griswold Whitney on December 14, 1848. Together, they had nine children, only two of whom lived to adulthood: Mary W. Montgomery and Florence Montgomery Angell. They first lived in the Third Ward, which Thomas represented on both the Common Council and the Board of Supervisors. He was a member and vestryman of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and served as a lay deputy to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1874 and 1877. Later, Thomas and Mary moved to Alexander Street, leading to his joining St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Besides his involvement with the church, he also served as a trustee of the Rochester Orphan Asylum and a charter member of the Genesee Valley Club. Thomas Colman Montgomery passed away on May 29, 1906, having been predeceased by his wife, and was buried in the family plot at Mount Hope Cemetery.