Palm Beach County FlArchives Biographies.....Maddock, Sidney ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/flfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 2, 2008, 11:28 pm Author: B. F. Johnson Sidney Maddock There is not upon the celebrated east coast of Florida, now known as the American Riviera, a more interesting personality than Sidney Maddock, proprietor of the famous "Hotel Palm Beach" at Palm Beach; nor is there one more extensively or more agreeably known whether it be to the tourist or resident, than Mr. Maddock. Not a hotel man by occupation, but interested in the business simply as owner, such are his genial and complaisant qualities that if he had been compelled to earn his living as a hotel manager, he, beyond a doubt, would have made a most brilliant success of it. The family is of Welsh-English origin, and since 1830, in which year the firm of John Maddock and Sons began the manufacture of earthenware in Staffordshire, England, the name "Maddock, England," has stood for the best there was in English earthenware. John Maddock invented improved kilns for firing earthenware, and the china made by the firm has been considered for many years the strongest and most durable made. The present head of the pottery in England is Mr. James Maddock, who has represented his district as Mayor and Justice. Years ago his brother, Henry Maddock, then a youth of eighteen, with another brother Thomas, came to America as representatives of the pottery. The young man gave close attention and hard work to the American end of the business, and in due season Henry Maddock married Miss Jeanie Elizabeth Smith. Of this marriage Sidney Maddock was born. He grew up in Brooklyn, receiving the best educational advantages obtainable, and entered the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute. He did not, however, remain to complete the course, and left at the age of eighteen and entered his father's business, as his alert mind saw the larger opportunity opening up to him than would result from his finished scholastic course. After many years of hard work Henry Maddock decided to see more of the world, and made a trip around the world taking wife and son with him. He found no place that so appealed to him as Palm Beach, and from that time on spent a part or all of each winter in that blest isle of sunshine and seabreeze. His wife entered fully into all of his views, and having taken with them from the North a ready made portable house they added and built to it, planting trees and flowering plants until they had made one of the most beautiful spots on the east coast of Florida a section which excels in its delightful homes. Mrs. Maddock was an enthusiastic musician with an exceptionally fine voice. She was much appreciated in church and social circles, as well as in the homes of the less fortunate neighbors. To her cultivated and benevolent mind the great advantage of wealth was not the indulgence of luxurious tastes, but the leisure which enabled her to be companionable to the intelligent and helpful to the uninformed. Henry Maddock was one of the developers of Palm Beach, now the most popular resort on the east coast. He was a promoter of valuable industries along that coast, and it was but a little while when his associates learned that his spoken word meant as much to him as his written obligation. He came to love the winter climate, and so improved, enlarged and beautified the little home which has been christened "Duck's Nest" that one enraptured tourist rushing by in his motor boat said "Oh! how I would like to own that place." The cottage is well named for during the winter thousands of wild ducks congregate in the one-mile shooting limit which has been established to prohibit the slaughter of birds, and the wild ducks soon feel so safe with the friendly treatment that they actually come right up to be fed from the hand. Though born in England, and always retaining an affection for the land of his birth, and for his near relatives living there, Henry Maddock believed a man should be a citizen of the country where his interests lie, and where his success has been obtained. He therefore became a citizen of the United States. In later years he often visited the old country, and while always sure of a warm welcome and enjoying these visits, he learned as many others have done that his own temperament had changed, and that the scenes of his early life no longer held for him the attractions which had appeared so irresistible when a boy, and that his heart was with the new country where he had spent the labors of a lifetime. He was a great home lover; careful not to spend more than he made, and took pleasure in making modest speculations with a surplus fund that he had laid by for "flyers" as he called them, which whatever the result could not injure him or his family. In the meantime Sidney Maddock, after entering his father's business, a young man of eighteen, had shown himself qualified to take up the work which the father had in a measure laid down, and in due time began spending his winter vacations in Florida with his parents. Together they planned and built the present "Hotel Palm Beach," so beautifully located on the tropical stretch of land between the salt waters of Lake Worth, and the balmy waters of the Atlantic Ocean so warmed in this section by that mighty river coming out of the Gulf of Mexico, and known as the Gulf stream. When they established this great hotel they were known to remark "Even though it does not pay it will afford a winter home for hundreds who should come to see what a grand winter climate we have right at our door instead of going abroad." What Henry Maddock found in his cozy cottage of "Duck's Nest" thousands have come and raved over while wintering at that immense and most popular hostelry, which he with his son had founded. The same spirit and energy that the Maddock family had shown in the manufacture of pottery was put into the upbuilding and beautifying the various interests in and around Palm Beach, and Henry Maddock found pleasure in assisting in the development of the pineapple fields, orange and grape fruit groves and other interests of that favored section, which by reason of healthy outdoor life renewed his youth, after long years of close application to office work in the crowded streets of New York. To use a colloquial phrase—father and son were "chums" in everything and partners in everything, and Sidney Maddock is today the head of the many interests that they accumulated in the Palm Beach section. Sidney Maddock has a never failing fountain of ideas. With a well nurtured body, and a devotee of outdoor sports, he has a mind which grasps all the points of a business proposition with great quickness. Many of his ideas are so sound and sane that they are worthy of reproduction; thus he believes it well for one to have some business interests in a place where he spends a part of the year—even in holiday fashion. He reasons that the business man often will not leave his desk unless he has something to make him leave. If the place where he takes his vacation is one that will permit him to make an investment that he can look after while taking his pleasure, he will then look forward to his vacation holiday, and will not allow anything to interfere with it. His attitude does not become a simple desire for pleasure, within itself a wearisome thing, but combines healthful pleasure seeking with a more serious interest. Thus Sidney Maddock was one of the first to become interested in the culture and extension of the pineapple industry in the Palm Beach section, and has today large interests in fruit and vegetable farms. He is firmly convinced that if immigrants would come south instead of going west they would find a more pleasant life with greater opportunities for profit. Many of the visitors who come to Palm Beach are glad to acknowledge their obligation to Sidney Maddock for the pleasure which he has afforded them in taking them out for afternoon and moonlight sails on the beautiful waters of Lake Worth in his little yacht. Mr. Maddock being a close observer has noted that most heads of concerns stick too close to the details when it is not really necessary, for one must realize that others have ability and principle and can learn the details. It is therefore far better to trust and give full confidence to these lieutenants and allow them to share in the rewards than to endeavor to do everything one's self and end up with nervous prostration. Again he believes many men make the mistake of deferring their rest time and pleasure time too late. If the opportunity can be made earlier in life, one should divide their time between work and rest. A strong believer in morality, and the good works of the church, he is disposed to think along the more modern forms of New Thought, whereby this life is made more pleasant, more beautiful and more heavenlike; ideas which are taking a strong hold on the people, and he has seen some wonderfully improved conditions grow out of its teachings. One of the conclusions drawn of his own experience, having been both an importer and exporter, is that he has learned to see clearly into the intense selfishness shown in the construction of the present tariff. He believes in a tariff for revenue only, and a constant reform of same, as the weak industries grow into the ability to take care of themselves, or until protection shall cease to be necessary, and the tariff shall become strictly a revenue tariff, as the only wise and sound policy. That the Trusts are created by the protective tariff is plain to every intelligent man, and they, like the department stores, gradually drive the small dealer out of business. When the Government makes a higher tariff rate, at that moment prices advance to the American producers in order that the manufacturer may obtain a greater profit. The importer is compelled to advance his price in order to meet the higher rate of duty, which he must pay. This logically brings about the Trust, which destroys the workingman's prospects of going into business on his own account. Mr. Maddock frankly says that he believes our department stores are the worst Trusts we have and should be handled by the law. Mr. Maddock puts his theories into practice. Thus, he believes that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. He works hard when he works, and plays hard when he plays. However, he believes that there should be a just medium, and that the man who has so much money that he does not need any business interests, and looks to the mere idea of pleasure in life is of all men the most miserable. In one period of two years when he was out of business he acknowledges that he found the world very dull, and was glad again to get back into harness. He believes that it is the height of unwisdom to make pleasure one's business. He enjoys sports immensely, and in 1908 won the South Florida Golf championship, and has many medals and trophies of various sports. His attachment to golf is almost as great as that of President Taft. He believes that it is the best athletic game for exercise, and sport, and which makes one forget the cares of life. In addition to that it does not require that athletic training which some sports call for, and the man who is run down at the heels can build himself up by following the wily little ball over the links. He is a member of the Crescent Athletic Club of Brooklyn, N. Y., the Palm Beach Golf Club and the National Democratic Club of New York, as well as the Long Island Automobile Club. He believes that women are as much entitled to the voting privilege as men. A prudent man of business affairs he does not put all of his eggs in one basket; he is, however, a strong believer in real estate investments, and is careful of anything promising more than normal profits, believing that inflamed profits not obtained by one's own efforts are liable to lead into dangerous business bogs. In his reading he derives the greatest enjoyment from biography. Another one of his conclusions is that every man should be himself, and whenever in doubt as to whom to please it is always safest to please one's self. Naturally of a generous temperament he thinks one should give according to his ability. Even if the ability is small and one can give only a little, the knowledge of having done a little good, will enable one to walk with a prouder step. The Fifth Commandment of the Decalogue appeals to Sidney Maddock. In his judgment one cannot too highly honor one's parents or do too much for them. Every man should strive to make the lives of his parents as happy as possible. Always remembering how much he owed to them while he was helpless, and what little time he can have them with him. That he is a sound observer is evidenced in one of his own sentences where he says that "I have found that the greatest pleasure of all is in giving others pleasure, for it is so often reflected again in life as we meet with those who express their gratefulness for an opportune kindness done in the past." In reference to Florida, Mr. Maddock is impressed that one of its chief needs is more highways, especially one down the east coast from Jacksonville to Miami, with loops at all the resorts and trucking centers of fruits and vegetables—one, for instance, going around the island of Palm Beach. He is himself constantly acquiring areas of land in the lower part of the State, believing that in future years he will realize a good profit on the investment. His study of the State has convinced him that there is money to be made out of the soil of Florida as a great winter garden for the people in the North, who have only the short summer season in which to grow fruit and vegetables. He gives just credit to Henry M. Flagler, and says that if Florida had a few more such friends it would quickly show the wealth of its soil and climate to the world. Among special fruits he is impressed with the avocado pear as adapted to the Palm Beach and Miami section. It is rapidly becoming popular in the North in the best hotels and clubs, and brings a fancy price—sometimes as much as fifty cents each. They can only be grown in our country in the lower part of the State of Florida. He believes also that greater attention should be given in southern Florida to the growing of the beautiful cocoa-nut trees. Taken all together, Sidney Maddock is one of that type, who first attracted to Florida by the winter climate, later become interested, and finally prove one of the greatest developers of the country. Such citizens, desirable even when visitors, become doubly desirable when they put their hands to the plow and render patriotic service to the Commonwealth. Additional Comments: Extracted from: FLORIDA EDITION MAKERS OF AMERICA AN HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WORK BY AN ABLE CORPS OF WRITERS VOL. III. Published under the patronage of The Florida Historical Society, Jacksonville, Florida ADVISORY BOARD: HON. W. D. BLOXHAM COL. FRANK HARRIS HON. R. W. DAVIS SEN. H. H. McCREARY HON. F. P. FLEMING W. F. STOVALL C. A. CHOATE, SECRETARY 1909 A. B. CALDWELL ATLANTA, GA. COPYRIGHT 1909 B. F. JOHNSON Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/palmbeach/photos/bios/maddock22gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/palmbeach/bios/maddock22gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/flfiles/ File size: 15.7 Kb