James Henry Walrad, foreman of the Standard Furniture Company of Herkimer, New York, was born at New London, Oneida county, New York, on May 17, 1856, his parents being Joseph Henry and Catherine (Mangam) Walrad. Joseph Henry Walrad was born in the town of Little Falls, New York, on June 6, 1818, and died on April 9, 1902, in Herkimer. He was a captain on the packet boat on the old Erie Canal which ran between Buffalo and Albany. Going east they were usually loaded with grain or lumber and going west carried passengers and merchandise. The father of Joseph Henry Walrad was George Henry Walrad, whose wife's maiden name was Sieber. Catherine (Mangam) Walrad, mother of James Henry of this review, was born in Limerick, Ireland, on May 1, 1833, and came to America when quite young, her parents having died in Ireland in 1847. A number of both of the Walrad and Sieber ancestors fought in the Revolutionary war.
James Henry Walrad was educated in the district school in the town of Salisbury, New York. At the age of twelve he went to work on the farm of Jacob Sharp, in the town of Little Falls, and the following year found him employed in a sawmill at Diamond Hill, in the town of Salisbury, where he remained for three years. He then farmed for seven years, working for different farmers by the month, then came to Ilion and was employed by Michael Foley, contractor for E. Remington & Sons, and was there four years when the business failed. In 1886 the Standard Furniture Company of Herkimer was formed by Michael Foley, William Horrocks and Frank Lathrop, at which time Mr. Walrad became associated as foreman in the machine department and he still holds that position, with nine assistants under him. In 1919 the Waterproof Paper Products Company, Incorporated, of Herkimer, was formed with Mr. Walrad as president, C. Harry Snell vice president, Ralph D. Moore secretary, and John Thompson treasurer. This company, while yet in its infancy, bids fair soon to become a thriving enterprise.
At Salisbury, New York, on September 6, 1882, Mr. Walrad was united in marriage to Miss Alice Casey, who was born on April 10, 1865, and died on August 29, 1901. She was a daughter of Michael and Bridget (O'Day) Casey, both of whom were born in Ireland. Michael Casey died in Herkimer on August 16, 1912, and his wife died in Norway, New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Walrad eight children were born: Nellie Catherine Walrad, born on July 2, 1883, graduated from Herkimer high school in 1902, and from the Albany Normal School in 1903. She is also a graduate of Syracuse University. After teaching for fifteen years she and Miss Lou Phillips opened a ladies' furnishing store in Jamestown, New York; Raymond Henry Walrad was born on May 7, 1885, and he graduated from the Herkimer high school in 1903, and from the Albany Business College in 1904. He is now purchasing agent for the Maxwell Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. He married Ida McAra of Flint, Michigan, in November, 1915. They have one child, Alice Jane Walrad, who was born in 1920; Mary A. Walrad was born on June 25, 1893, and graduated in 1911 from the Herkimer high school. In 1916 she was married to Almon Beall of Springfield, Massachusetts, an automobile manufacturer. They reside at Ridgefield, New Jersey; Leo Adelbert Walrad was born on September 25, 1892, and graduated from the Herkimer high school in 1911, and from the Utica Business College in 1912. On January 12, 1918, he was killed by a trolley near Herkimer; Harold E. Walrad was born on November 3, 1894, and graduated from the high school in Herkimer in 1914. He entered the University of Pennsylvania, then enlisted in the Aviation Corps and saw foreign service for one year. He is now employed as clerk in the Remington Cash Register Company of Ilion, and resides with his father in Herkimer; James Casey Walrad was born on July 19, 1896, and graduated from the high school in 1915. During the World war he was in infantry training at Camp Holabird, Maryland, and is now employed by the state at Albany on the state bonus; Francis Walrad was born in Herkimer, on January 8, 1899; and John Robert Walrad was born on August 28, 1901, and graduated from Christian Brothers School, at Claesen Point, New York, in 1919, and from Manhattan College in June, 1924, with the degree of A. B. He is now employed by a building and construction company in Chicago.
James H. Walrad was married on June 30, 1906, at Herkimer, to a sister of his deceased wife, Miss Nellie Casey, who was born on February 3, 1861, at Norway, New York. Mrs. Walrad is a member of St. Francis de Sales church, the Rosary Society, the L. C. B. A., and the League of the Sacred Heart. Politically she is a democrat. Mr. Walrad was trustee of the village of Herkimer from 1891 to 1893. He has been a member of the board of education for twenty-one years and is still serving. He is a member of Herkimer Council, No. 579, Knights of Columbus, having passed his third degree, and of the Herkimer Chamber of Commerce and the American Insurance Union, No. 3109. His church associations are in St. Francis de Sales, and in politics he is a democrat. Mr. Walrad finds his diversion in being an ardent baseball fan.