User:Kzirkel/sandbox/Hamilton Salisbury White

Hamilton Salisbury White
Born	(1853-12-21)December 21, 1853 Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, USA
Died	March 13, 1899(1899-03-13) (aged 45) Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, USA
Resting place	Oakwood Cemetery
Alma mater	Cornell University
Relatives	Andrew Dickson White (uncle)

Hamilton Salisbury White (December 12, 1853 – March 13, 1899) was a member of But Hamilton Salisbury was known and beloved in Syracuse for his role as a firefighter and fire commissioner.

Biography

Hamilton Salisbury was born into the prosperous and influential White family of Syracuse, New York. White's father Hamilton White (1807—1865) made a fortune in banking and salt. Hamilton Salisbury White was born December 12, 1853 in his family's mansion Hamilton White House, facing Fayette Park.

From an early age, "Little Hammy White" was fascinated by firefighting. As a child, he would attach a carriage to his pony, and respond to fire alarms with a chemical fire extinguisher. He would often be the first on the scene.

White attended St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Massachusetts, one of the first British-style boarding schools in the United States. He then attended Cornell University, where his uncle Andrew Dickson White was president, graduating in 1877.

White then returned to Syracuse and took over many of his father's business interests, the father having died in 1865. He married Adelaide Whitbread in 1880, and they had two children. He was also a prominent supporter of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Firefighting

White's business was banking, but his passion was firefighting; he decided to personally create the best fire-fighting company in the world. He went about creating his own private fire-fighting apparatus in Syracuse. He purchased a fire engine, paid for two professional firefighters, and built an elaborate $30,000 firehouse across from the family mansion on East Genesee Street. The station had reading rooms, a billiard room, and a paid housekeeper. The firehouse was equipped with innovative time-saving devices, such as electrical fire alarms which would automatically turn on the gaslights in the station, open the firehouse doors, and drop harnesses on the horses. Over time, he upgraded the engine, hired more firefighters, and installed the first fire boxes in Syracuse.

White was elected a fire commissioner of Syracuse in 1878. He had a bell system set up in his residence so that he would be immediately alerted when a fire was reported, and slept with his boots next to his bed.

On January 1, 1883, White donated his entire firefighting operation to the city of Syracuse. In return, the city named him honorary assistant fire chief. White's fire department, considered one of the finest in the nation, was a model for other cities to follow.

Death

White died on March 13, 1899, responding to a fire at 342 Salina Street, which engulfed the Syracuse Optical Company.

See also

Hamilton White House