| Avis Stearns Van Wagenen | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1841 Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, United States |
| Died | January 7, 1907 (aged 66) Syracuse, New York |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation | Company founder |
| Known for | Partner in E. C. Stearns & Company with her brother, Edward C. Stearns Co-owner of E. C. Stearns Bicycle Agency (1893-1899) |
| Spouse | Daniel Mead in 1861, Matthew V. V. Van Wagenen (born1839) in 1886 |
| Children | Two adopted children |
| Parents | George Noble Stearns (1812-1882) and Delilah Amanda Taylor (born1816) |
Avis Stearns Van Wagenen (January 1, 1841 - January 3, 1907) was a partner in E. C. Stearns & Company, a hardware business, with her brother, Edward C. Stearns in the late 19th century in Syracuse, New York.[1]
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Avis Stearns Van Wagenen was the daughter of George N. Stearns (1812-1882), a wagon maker, who also invented several tools and patented many of his innovations including a boring and mortising machine and auger. She was born in Syracuse on January 1, 1841 and was the second eldest of seven children born to Delilah Amanda Taylor and the George N. Stearns.[2]
About 1860, her father began manufacturing his patented devices under his own name and he established himself in a "small but complete works." During 1864, he incorporated as George N. Stearns & Company and relocated to a small building the firm erected at 116 Cedar Street in Syracuse.[3] The company was principally involved in the production of hollow augers.[2]
She graduated from Syracuse High School and taught in public schools in Syracuse but resigned that position to work for her father's hardware firm, finally taking charge of the business in 1877.[1]
Avis Stearns Van Wagenen (then Mrs. Avis Mead), along with her brother, Edward C. Stearns, assumed the duties of the company in 1877 and a new co-partnership was formed after their father experienced health problems. The company name was changed to E. C. Stearns & Company not long after his death on May 19, 1882.[2]
During 1893, the Stearns hardware enterprise ventured into the manufacture of bicycles and went into business as the E. C. Stearns Bicycle Agency. In 1899, the company was sold to American Bicycle Company of Toronto, Ontario.[4]
By June 1900, the American Bicycle Company demanded that the founders of the E. C. Stearns Bicycle Agency, Edward C. Stearns, Herbert E. Maslin and Mrs. Avis Stearns Van Wagenen, of Syracuse, execute an agreement not to engage in the manufacture of bicycles in competition with A.B.C., who claimed they made an agreement with the Stearns company when their factory was sold to the combination. A.B.C. felt that Stearns was in violation of their contract because the Bretz Manufacturing Company, in which the parties were alleged to be interested, was notified to cease manufacture of both the Regal and Holland and "other machines" which closely resemble the Stearns and Barnes bicycles made by A.B.C. Both the Frontenac Cycle Company and Stearns Cycle Agency of Syracuse were warned against manufacture and sale of the machines, however, E. C. Stearns denied he was connected with the manufacture of bicycles and the Bretz Company also claimed their bicycles were different from the Stearns and Barnes bicycles.[5] The company alleged unfair competition in the lawsuit.[6]
On November 14, 1861, she married Colonel Daniel Mead, a soldier of the Civil War and went to the front with him.[7] She married a second time on November 24, 1886 to Matthew V. Van Wagenen who was born on March 18, 1839 and was the son of Wessel B. Van Waggenen and Lamira Nottingham, both of Syracuse.[1] He was raised on the "old Van Wagenen farm" which was located where Syracuse University now stands.[8] Together, the couple adopted two daughters during their marriage. Van Waggenen was a manufacturer of dump wagons and had 14 patents on the invention. For some time he had been manager of the Toronto branch of the E. C. Stearns Bicycle Agency and also of the Empire Cycle Company.[8]
After her husband's death, she sold his dump wagon manufacturing business to a group of Auburn, New York "capitalists" including Thomas M. Osborne, Frank E. Swift, Clarence F. Baldwin, Courtney C. Avery, Adolphus H. Searing and Charles Tuxhill. The sale included the machinery, stock and good will of the concern and the business went forward under the name of the Auburn Wagon Works. Courtney C. Avery, formerly connected with the D. M. Osborne Company was named manager. The works, which employed 50 men, opened again for business on March 13, 1905.[9]
h Avis Stearns Van Wagenen died on January 3, 1907 at her home at 1201 South Salina Street. She was found dead on the kitchen floor of the upper flat where she lived with her daughter, Marguerite Avis Van Wagenen and her son-in-law, Jacob Crouse Tyrell. She had been asphyxiated by gas which escaped from an open burner used in heating water for the bathroom. The death was ruled accidental by Coroner's physician, Archer D. Babcock. The house was filled with gas. She occupied a room off the kitchen and had ignited the gas that evening to take a bath.[7] She was an invalid at the time of her death.[8]
On January 4, 1907, a hearing on her accounts as administratrix of the estate of her husband, Matthew Van Wagenen was held.[7] He died in New York City on January 28, 1905 of Bright's disease and had traveled there for business two days earlier. The funeral was held in the family home at 823 West Genesee Street in Syracuse.[8]
She was survived by two adopted daughters, Mrs. Robert E. Maslin[7] and Marguerite Crouse Tyrrell (died1913) who was married a second time in 1911 to Dr. James M. Douglas.[10]
In 1892, she became interested in the genealogy of the Stearns family through Dr. Bond's Genealogies and the History of Watertown and authored several books on the history of her family who were early settlers in the United States and arrived on the Mayflower.[1]
Stearns dedicated volume 2 to the memory of Henry Bond, M.D., who was the only son of Henry Bond and Hannah Stearns Bond, who published the first genealogy of the Stearns family in 1855 under the title Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts.[11]