The Buckley Newhall Co., furniture retailers, were located here at 929 Broadway, Brooklyn, from 1905 to 1915. They were an offshoot of the American Wringer Co., manufacturers of clothes wringers for washing machines. "The American Wringer Company was incorporated under Rhode Island laws in 1891, a consolidation of the Empire Wringer Co., New York; the Metropolitan Mfg. Co., New York; the F. F. Adams Co., Pennsylvania; and the Bailey Wringing Machine Co., Rhode Island. The company manufactured clothes wringers, rubber rolls, mangles, etc. Its factories were located at Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and Auburn, New York." (Waywiser Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University)

One of the predecessors of the American Wringer Co. was the Metropolitan Manufacturing Co., which appears in Trow's 1881 New York City Directory at 32 Cortlandt St., New York City. This company was preceded by the Metropolitan Washing Machine Co., also located at 32 Cortlandt St. and listed in city directories as early as 1867. President of the Metropolitan Washing Machine Co. was Ross C. Browning (1822-1899). The following appeared in the New York Times, 28 March 1899, "Ross C Browning; an old resident of Llewellyn Park, West Orange, N.J., died Sunday at Jacksonville, Fla., from pneumonia. He is survived by a widow, two sons, and a daughter. Mr. Browning was born in Barre, Vt. in 1833 [should be 1822]; and was graduated at the Liberal Institute at Lebanon, N. H., later teaching school for several years in Sussex County, N. J. He then entered the employ of the Erie Railroad at Piermont-on-the-Hudson, and in 1859 formed a partnership with the late Alvin J. Johnson, under the name of Johnson & Browning, and published an atlas of the world. Mr Browning lived in Richmond, Va., and managed the Southern business, and when the war broke out with difficulty got through the lines with his family. The printing presses were left behind and were afterward used by the Confederate Government for printing its notes and bonds. During the war Mr. Browning was an ardent Union man, and at the time of the draft riots in New York, closed his establishment, and with his employes, joined the special police force. After the war Mr. Browning engaged in the manufacture of clothes wringers, and in 1892 sold out to a syndicate and retired from business. He had lived in Llewellyn Park since 1865."

After its formation in 1891 the New York office of the American Wringer Company was located at 99 Chambers Street. Officers of the company during the 1890s included Walter Seymour Ballou (1849-1938), Charles Ross Browning (1862-1945), John Francis Hemenway (1856-1926) Lyman Allen Mills (1841-1929) and George Reuter (1849-1924).

Walter S. Ballou died in 1938, when the following appeared in the New York Times, 27 January 1938, pg. 21, "Walter Seymour Ballou, for years a leading rubber manufacturer and a director in many concerns, died last night at his home. He was 88 years old. Mr. Ballou was for many years president and a director of the Joseph Banigan Rubber Company. He also held directorships in the American Dunlop Tire Company, Goodyear's India Rubber Glove Manufacturing Company, the Industrial Trust Company and the United States Tire Company and was a director and member of the executive council of the United States Rubber Company. When he was made president of the Woonsocket Rubber Company it was recalled that forty-one years earlier he had entered the employ of the firm as an office boy." Ballou's Find A Grave entry includes, "Treasurer of the American Wringer Company and selling agent of the Banigan Rubber Company of Providence."

Charles R. Browning was the son of Ross C. Browning. He appears in the 1880 U. S. Census, age 18, living with his family at West Orange, New Jersey. His obituary in the New York Times, 27 January 1945, pg. 11, read, "Charles Ross Browning of Llewellyn Park, retired president of the former Buckley Newhall Company and Mutual Trading Company, New York household furnishings merchandisers, died tonight in the Orange Memorial Hospital at the age of 83. He had resided in Llewellyn Park since shortly after the Civil War. Mr. Browning was born in Orange, a son of Ross C. Browning, former president of the American Ringer [sic] Company of New York, with which the son was once affiliated, and Mrs. Catherine Hamilton Browning. He was graduated in 1883 from Cornell University, where he was on the football team and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Browning was an original member of the Essex County Country Club here. He leaves a widow, Mrs. Augusta E. Clark Browning, whom he married fifty-seven years ago; three daughters, Mrs. R. Potter Campbell of Llewellyn Park, and Mrs. Howard F. Murchie and Mrs. Dorothy B. Lee of South Pasadena, Calif; seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren."

Who's Who in New York City and State: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries, 1911, included the following on John F. Hemenway, "Hemenway, John Francis: Manufacturer; b. Amber, N. Y.; s. Seneca C. and Lucy (Francis) Hemenway; ed. public schools, private tutors. First employment was a clerk in a country store; studied telegraphy, and was successively operator in employ of the Atlantic & Pacific , and the Western Union Telegraph Co. and the Chicago and Western R. R. Co; at intervals gave some attention to railroading; employed as bookkeeper in woolen mill concerns at Marcellus, N. Y., and at Auburn, N. Y., with the Empire Wringer Co., of which became mg'r until its merger with Am. Wringer Co., of which was ass't gen. mg'r 7 years; continuing as director, withdrew from the active management and organized in N. Y. City the Smith & Hemenway Co. (of which is sec., treas. and director), manufacturers and importers of hardware..." Hemenway died suddenly in 1926, as reported in the New York Times, 2 January 1926, pg. 13, "John F. Hemenway of 230 West Seventy-sixth Street died suddenly of heart disease at 10 o'clock last night while in the audience at the Seventy-seventh Street Theatre, Broadway and Seventy-seventh Street. His wife, Alice Montague Hemenway, said that he had gone to the theatre alone and did not appear ill. Mr. Hemenway was 69 years old, a native of Amber, N. Y. For many years he had been Secretary, Treasurer and a director of the Smith & Hemenway Hardware Company of Irvington, N. J. He retired recently. He had been an elder of the Marble Collegiate Church for fifteen years. He belonged to the Union League, Rotary and Hardware Clubs." This photo of John F. Hemenway accompanied an article in the Baltimore Sun, October, 1903, when he read a paper entitled "Municipal Telephones" before a gathering of the League of American Municipalities in Baltimore. A later photo of Hemenway was included in the publication Empire State Notables, New York, H. Stafford, 1914.

Who's Who in New England, edited by Albert Nelson Marquis, Second Edition, 1916, included this on Lyman A. Mills, "Mills, Lyman Allen, mfr.; b. Middlefield (then part of Middletown), Conn., Feb. 25, 1841... an officer of Metropolitan Mfg. Co. almost from the time of its origin, 1860 to 1891, and later mgr. Middlefield Plant, Am. Wringer Co. ..."

In 1924 the New York Times, 16 April 1924, pg. 23, included this obituary for George Reuter, "George Reuter, President of the Mutual Trading Company of 709 Sixth Avenue, and a Director of the Buckley-Newhall Company and the Colonial Bank, died yesterday of heart disease in his home, 465 West End Avenue, at the age of 74. On coming to New York from Rochester as a young man he joined the American Wringer Company, advancing to General Manager and Treasurer of the company. He was a charter member of the Hardware Club and a life member of St. Nicholas Masonic Lodge No. 321. He leaves a widow, Sarah E. Reuter, and two sons, George A. and Clifford S. Reuter. Services will be held at the residence at 8 o'clock tomorrow evening."

While these several gentlemen were associated with the New York office, others were importantly working at the American Wringer office in Boston, Massachusetts. These included Cornelius C. Buckley (1856-1936) and Joseph Edward Newhall (1859-1936). Both were employed at the American Wringer office located at 13-15 Broadway Extension, Boston, in the 1890s. This ad from 1893 listed C. C. Buckley as manager at American Wringer. By 1899 the Metropolitan Manufacturing Co. had succeeded American Wringer in Boston, and Cornelius C. Buckley is listed as president of Metropolitan Mfg. in the Boston city directory for that year. This ad from 1899 shows C. C. Buckley as manager at Metropolitan Mfg. Co. "Successors to The American Wringer Co." in Boston.

Almost concurrently with these events in Boston, Buckley & Newhall, wringers opened in New York City (by 1901) at 9 East 125th Street, and Metropolitan Mfg. Co., home furnishings, opened nearby at 2026 Lexington Avenue. In the same 1901 New York city directory, the American Wringer Co. was listed at 99 Chambers St. and at 9 East 125th St. Also in this directory were Chas. [sic] C. Buckley, wringers, at 7 East 125th St., and Joseph E. Newhall at 9 East 125th St. This seems to be the original Buckley-Newhall. The 1902 New York telephone directory listed Buckley-Newhall Co. at 7-9 E. 125th St. (telephone Harlem 659), and that same year the journal, Hardware, vol. XXIV, no. 12, 25 March 1902, pg. 44, announced, "New York, N.Y. - The Buckley-Newhall Co. has been incorporated to manufacture wringers. Capital, $200,000."

In 1903 Buckley & Newhall at 7 E. 125th St. was described as home furnishings rather than wringers, and a Brooklyn location, Buckley-Newhall Co., Home Specialties, opened at 874 Fulton St. In 1905 Buckley-Newhall in Brooklyn, now "Furniture," relocated to 929 Broadway. Trow's 1906 New York City Directory listed "Buckley-Newhall Co., furniture," at both 7 E. 125th St., Manhattan, and 929 Broadway, Brooklyn. At this time company officers were Edward J. Delaney, Hugh M. Masterton, and Cornelius C. Buckley.

Edward J. Delaney (ca.1860-1907) appears in the 1905 New York State Census, age 39, living at 174 West 126th Street. Two years later the following appeared in Wooden and Willow Ware Trade Review, vol. XXXI, no. 2., New York, 28 March 1907, pg. 10, "Edward J. Delaney died at his home, 217 West One Hundred and Tenth Street, New York, on March 14, reports the Brooklyn Eagle. He was born in New Brunswick 47 years ago. For 25 years he was connected with the American Wringer Company. About ten years ago, he with others formed the Buckley-Newhall Company, which took over the household specialty business of the American Wringer Company. Mr. Delaney was President of the Buckley-Newhall Company at the time of his death. His wife survives him."

According to http://www.themastertons.org (scroll down to entry 31) Hugh M. Masterton (1867-ca.1955) was born 7 Nov 1867, Galston, Ayr, Scotland. His appears in the 1900 U. S. Census, age 33, living with father and mother in Paterson, New Jersey, and his occupation is Bookkeeper, Wringer Co. He was listed in New York city directories as secretary of Buckley-Newhall Co. at 7 E. 125th St. from 1903 through 1913. He was listed as Secretary, Treasurer and Director of the Buckley Newhall Co., 125th St. and Secretary and Director of Mutual Trading Co. in Directory of Directors in the City of New York, 1911-12. In 1940, age 72, he was without occupation in the U. S. Census when he lived in Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey. Ridgewood city directories listed him through 1954. Then in 1956 his wife, Dorothy L. Masterton, replaced him as "wid Hugh" at 534 Lotus Road, Ridgewood.

Cornelius C Buckley was born 2 December 1856, Ovens, County Cork, Ireland. He was part of the Boston branch of the American Wringer Co. and president of the Metropolitan Manufacturing Co. in that city. He appears in New York City directories beginning in 1901 with Buckley & Newhall, Wringers, at 9 East 125th St. He was treasurer with Buckley Newhall Co. in Trow's Copartnership Directory in 1906, and was president of the company in 1909. He was president in 1921 when he applied for a passport, where he said he was born November, 1856, Ovens, Cork County, Ireland, and that he emigrated from Queenstown, 22 May 1882. On his death in 1936 two short notices appeared in the New York Times, reading, "Cornelius C. Buckley, president of the Buckley-Newhall Furniture Company, 145 West 125th Street, died Saturday night of heart disease in his room at the National Republican Club, 54 West Fortieth Street, where he had resided for many years. He was 79 years old." and "Buckley - On April 11, 1936, Cornelius C. Buckley, aged 79 years, at the National Republican Club, 54 West 40th St., New York City. Reposing at the Geo. T. Davis Memorial, 14 Le Count Place, New Rochelle. Requiem Mass St. Gabriel's Church, New Rochelle, 10:30 A. M., Tuesday. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, New Rochelle."

Buckley-Newhall prospered over the years, and in 1919 constructed their own building at 6th Avenue and 41st Street. Furniture World, vol. L, no. 1276, Thursday, 11 September 1919, pg. 15, reported, "The tall and costly store building to be erected at the southwest corner of Sixth avenue and Forty-first street for the Buckley-Newhall Co, furniture dealers, may be accepted in the light of a monument to the development of this concern. A dozen years ago a small store at the northeast corner of Fifth avenue and 125th street was ample for the business of this company. The entire building at that point is now used by the concern and for some time larger premises have been desired. ... The building will be twelve stories, fronting 100 feet on Sixth avenue and 125 feet on Forty-first street. With the Union Dime Savings Bank's building of few stories high covering the Fortieth street end of the block and the Comedy Theatre on Forty-first street next to the Buckley-Newhall site, the building will have light on all sides." (Click for rendering of new Buckley-Newhall Building.)

This ad for Buckley-Newhall Co. Blue Ribbon Furniture appeared in The Daily Star, Queens Borough, Friday Evening, 13 April 1928. The headquarters at 6th Avenue and 41st Street is featured with references to the Brooklyn Broadway store and to the 125th Street store.

Copyright © 2017 Walter Grutchfield