Strongly opposed to slavery, he was the first to draft and introduce measures for the recruitment of colored troops in the Union Army.

[1] Diven entered the Army on August 13, 1862, as lieutenant colonel of the 107th New York Infantry Regiment.

In the 1870s Pennsylvania native Truckson LaFrance obtained several patents on improvements he developed in the rotary steam engine.

John Vischer, head of the Elmira Union Iron Works, became interested and was convinced by LaFrance to back him in the manufacture of a steam fire engine.

Within three months, the new company bought 10 acres of land and built a plant to manufacture steam engines and related equipment, including railroad locomotives.