USA > New York > Niagara County > Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Niagara County, New York > Part 62
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hood days were spent. In 1829 she mar- ried Hiram E. Smith, by whom she had one child, a daughter, that died in infancy, and they removed to Youngstown. After the death of Mr. Smith, in 1831, she resumed teaching, having taught twenty-one terms in all, and beginning when but sixteen years old. An incident in the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Tower which illustrates their goodness of heart, was the care they took of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (her former hus- band's parents) in their declining years. Mrs. Tower was a very intelligent woman, and possessed of good business qualifica- tions, having had charge of her husband's store for many years in connection with her household duties. During her last illness she was surrounded by her relatives and friends, and was ready when her summons came to go. She died March 17, 1886, at the residence of her son, Luke Tower, and her remains were interred in the family burying ground, on the farm where she spent the last fifty-three years of her life. She was a consistent member of the Pro- testant Episcopal church, the beautiful and impressive burial service of that church being read by the officiating clergyman, Rev. John S. Seibold, of Buffalo. The floral offerings were two beautiful wreaths, besides smilax and cut flowers strewn ou the casket.
Harmon B. Tower received his education in the common schools of his neighborhood, and has taught twelve terms of school. He is a farmer as well as teacher, and owns one hundred and forty acres of land, pleasantly located, one-half mile from the R., W. & O. railroad depot, at Ransomville. His farm is well adapted to fruit growing, of which he raises a large quantity, giving special attention to apples, peaches, pears and
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plums. All his land is under a good state of cultivation.
Harmon B. Tower, on June 10, 1861, was united in marriage with Harriet M. Henry, a daughter of Lewis and Isabelle (Hosmer) Henry, who have had four chil- dren. Mr. and Mrs. Tower have had seven- teen children, of whom thirteen are living : Clarence J., married Minnie Leggett, and they have two sons-Duane and Harmon, J .; Zernah A., married G. Elmer Manning, and has two children-Marian and Donald ; Belle H., wife of Dr. A. B. Allen, of Buffalo, New York; Emma L., Ida May, Lewis C., Walter C., Eugene H., Gertie G., Jessie F., Isa M., Peter T., and Bennie P., are living at home with their parents. Those de- ceased are : Florence M., died July 11, 1871; Floss, died August 26, 1871; Grace P., died September 9, 1880; and Harry M., dicd September 11, 1888.
In political opinion Mr. Tower is a firm believer in the doctrines and principles of the Republican party. He is a member of Ransomville Lodge, No. 266, Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a fair-minded, well disposed man, always taking a deep interest in his party, and is one of the best citizens of the county.
R OBERT A. FERGUSON, proprietor of the Niagara Falls hotel at Niagara Falls, and a well-known and popular hotel man, is a son of Robert and Hannah (Waters) Ferguson, and was born October 13, 1846, in Monroe county, Michigan. Robert A. Ferguson (father) was born in the north of Ireland, at Sligo, about 1822, and came to America with his sister Anna when only three years of age, his father and mother both having died in Ireland. His sister was
the eldest of the family, and had married John Pettepiece in Ireland. She and her husband settled at Richmond, near Ottawa, Canada, where they still live at an advanced age. While yet a lad Robert left his sister's home in Canada and came to Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence county, New York, where he grew to manhood and received a fair educa- tion. He afterward went to Oswego, Oswego county, where he married Hannah Waters, whose father was a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, and a linen draper by trade, who emigrated to Kilkenny, Ireland, where he died. His widow, with her children, of whom Hannah was next to the youngest, canie from Ireland to America and settled at Os- wego, New York. By his marriage with Hannah Waters Mr. Ferguson had a family of six children: Mary L .; Charlotte H .; Charles, who died at the age of thirteen years ; Lizzie; William H., married Joseph- ine Curry, of Niagara Falls, and is engaged in the art business at that place ; and Robert A., the subject of this sketch. Some time after his marriage Robert Ferguson (father) removed to the city of Rochester, where he remained three years and then went to Detroit, Michigan, where he embarked in the wholesale and retail grocery trade. Later he sold out there and removed to Niagara Falls, this State, and engaged in the livery business for a number of years. Some time previous to his death he became proprietor of a hotel, known as the Falls house, and was engaged in that business until he died. He was a democrat of strong convictions, and earnestly supported that party all his life.
Robert A. Ferguson received a good common school education, and after leaving school opened a livery stable at Niagara Falls, continuing in that occupation for
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
about ten years. He then became interested in the Whirlpool Rapids & Park Company, and was in that business for three years, when he engaged in hotel keeping, assum- ing charge of the Falls hotel, which he con- ducted until 1890. In that year he erected the large building known as the Niagara Falls hotel, of which he is now proprietor. It is located on Main street, and is 80 x 45 feet in dimensions, and three stories high. The building contains thirty bed rooms, and commodious parlors, dining rooms, and office. It is conveniently arranged, liandsomely furnished, and is very popular with the traveling public.
August 29, 1871, Mr. Ferguson married Mary Geyer, a daughter of Sebastian Geyer, of Niagara Falls, who is engaged in the grocery business. To this union have been born two children : Ida S. and Robert S.
In his political opinions Mr. Ferguson is a democrat, and always gives his party a loyal support. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church, and also of the Catholic Mutual Benevolent association of Niagara Falls.
J AMES WINCHELL OWEN, one of
the most successful, best known, and most widely traveled business men of Ni- agara Falls, was born at Middlebury, then Genesee, now Wyoming county, New York, February 22, 1823, and is a son of Elipha- let and Abigail (Heath ) Owen. His grand- father, Frederick Owen, was a native of Connecticut, born at Toland, that State, who afterwards removed to Vermont, and became one of the patriotic band of noble men who risked life and everything they held dear on earth to establish American independence. He first saw the smoke of
battle at Bunker Hill, and served through the entire long and tedious war without re- ceiving a wound. During his term of ser- vice he was entrusted with important dis- patches, serving as courier and aid. He was a Jacksonian democrat in politics, and married Peggy Hibbard, by whom he had nine children. He died in Wyoming county, this State, in 1837, aged eighty-five years.
Eliphalet Owen (father) was born in 1784, and was a farmer who came to Wyo- ming county in 1806. When the war of 1812 was declared, he, anxious to emulate his father's patriotism, promptly enlisted in the American army, and bore a part on the historie field at Lundy's Lane, and many another hotly contested battle ground. He was also a democrat in politics, and was elected to several responsible positions by his friends and neighbors. He was an active member of the Baptist church, and was one of the founders of the Wyoming academy, which became a noted institution of learn- ing, and in which he educated many young men for the ministry. He was broad-minded and liberal in his views, and philanthropic in disposition. He contributed to the erec- tion of forty-two churches. He married Abigail, daughter of Steplien Heath, of Gen- eseo, Livingston county, in 1808, and reared a family of six children : Zenas H., deceased ; Eliphalet, Jr., was a Baptist minister, and employed by the government in the Freed- men's bureau, at Alexandria, Virginia, during the civil war, and is now deceased ; Rosina M., deceased; Joshua D., lives in Elgin, Illinois, and owns and operates six farms; James W., and Anson H., who lives at Warsaw, Wyoming county.
James W. Owen was married on Decem- ber 25, 1843, to Sarah A. Miller, by whom he had three children : Rose E., married to
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Eugene Plumley, a farmer at Bennington, Wyoming county ; Allie J., and Charles F. For his second wife he married Hannah C. Johnson, and to them has been born one child, Frances L.
James W. Owen was reared on the old homestead, and educated in the Wyoming academy, which his father had done so much toward establishing. After leaving school he embarked in the mercantile business at Perry, Wyoming county, after which he purchased a flouring mill and engaged in the milling business for seven years, when he sold out the mill and bought the fine farm he now owns in that county. He went into the handling of mill furnishings for Howes, Babcock & Company, and scored a remarkable success in that line in the United States and Europe. He came to Niagara Falls in 1866, and in 1867 went to Europe to introduce the goods made by this com- pany, where he remained for a year and a half, and succeeded in making his wares known in nearly every European country. After his return to this country, he traveled over the western half of the American con- tinent, and in 1872 went to London, and visited the world's fair at Vienna in the in- terest of his firm. Returning to this country he represented the company at the great Centennial exposition at Philadelphia, in 1876. He is a democrat in politics, and has served as town clerk and inspector of eleetions, etc. He has been a member of the Presbyterian church for four years, but was formerly a Baptist.
L EWIS A. BOORE, superintendent of the Niagara Falls Gaslight Company, and an energetic and popular citizen of the county of Niagara, was born in Buffalo,
New York, the Queen city of the lakes, January 13, 1862, and is the second child of Lewis and Clara Eugenia (De Staebler) Boore. His grandfather, Lewis Boore, was born in England, and was an officer in the British army, coming to Canada in the English service, where he resigned and located at Toronto. After living there some years, he removed to the United States and became a resident of the city of Buffalo, New York, where he resided until his death. IIc married Nancy Doran, and reared a family of three sons and five daughters. Lewis Boore (father) was born in the city of Toronto, Canada, in 1837, and came with his parents to Buffalo, and has lived in that city ever since. When only eleven years of age, he entered the employ of the Buffalo Gaslight Company, and has been connected with that corporation to the present time. Since 1872 he has been the superintendent of the gas works. In politics he is a stanch democrat, and a member of the Roman Catholic church. IIe married Clara Eu- genia De Staebler, a daughter of George De Staebler, a native of Paris, who emigrated to America and located in Buffalo, this State, where he died. Mr. De Staebler was a cabinet maker by trade, and had served for a time in the army of France. By this marriage Mr. Boore had three sons and seven daughters, all of whom are yet living : Clara E., married Hamilton Johnson, of Buffalo; Lewis A., the subject of this sketch ; Kittie, married Robert J. Latta, also of Buffalo; Mary Agnes, Sarah A., Harriet L., Addie T., Edward Francis, Wil- liam, and Elizabeth Chinery.
Lewis A. Boore received a collegiate edu- cation at St. Joseph's college, Buffalo, New York, and after completing his studies, learned the trade of gas engineer at the gas
32
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
works in that city. He was employed by the Buffalo Gaslight Company until 1881, when he removed to Rochester, New York, as ticket agent on the B., N. Y. & P. railroad, until 1883, when he accepted the superin- tendency of the Niagara Falls Gaslight Company, of Niagara Falls, New York, in which position he continued until 1890, when he was elected secretary of the com- pany (succeeding A. W. R. Henning). He has given close attention to the business of manufacturing illuminating gas, and is as well posted on the subject, perhaps, as any man in western New York.
He was united in marriage to Margaret Mckinnon, on March 1, 1885. She is a daughter of Alexander McKinnon, of Ni- agara Falls, and their marriage has been blessed with two children: Lewis A. and Edward F.
In politics Mr. Boore is a democrat, keep- ing well posted on current political issues, and giving his party a hearty support on nearly all questions. He is a member of Niagara Frontier Lodge, No. 132, Free and Accepted Masons; Genesee Commandery, No. 10, Knights Templar; and of Niagara Chapter, No. 200, Royal Arch Masons ; and is very popular in Masonic circles, as he is with the general public.
M IGHELLS B. BUTLER, an active, popular, and successful business man of Suspension Bridge and Niagara Falls, was born at Phelps, Ontario county, New York, November 23, 1856, and is a son of Edgar D. and Mary (Bachman) Butler. His grand- father, William Butler, was a native of New England, and removed to Ontario county, this State, where he died. He was a farmer by occupation. His son, Edgar D. Butler
(father), was born in Ontario county in 1823, and grew up there, receiving his edu- cation in the common schools of that day. He removed to Niagara Falls, where he was employed at his trade-that of a carpenter- for some time. About 1866 he migrated to the State of Michigan, where he purchased a farm and became a farmer, which vocation he followed until his death. He married Mary Bachman, by whom he had one son, Mighells B.
Mighells B. Butler was educated at De Veaux college, from which educational in- stitution he was graduated in 1876. He then entered Harvard college and remained one year, after which he returned to De Veaux college and taught two years as master and commandant, and then attended medical lectures at the college of Phy- sicians and Surgeons in New York city. In 1881 he was graduated from the New York Homeopathic Medical col- lege, and practiced medicine in the Hy- gienic institute at Geneva, New York, about one year. He then embarked in the dry goods business at Ithaca, this State, as a member of the firm of Jackson & Bush, where he remained for a year. In 1884 he removed to Suspension Bridge, and formed a co-partnership with M. V. Pearson, under the firm name of M. V. Pearson & Co. In 1890 this firm opened a store in the village of Niagara Falls, and Mr. Butler has personal charge of this business. By strict attention, energy, and enterprise he has succeeded in building up a large trade, and the firm handles immense quantities of goods.
In politics Mr. Butler is a democrat, be- lieving implicitly in the principles and policy of that party, and doing what he can to advance its interests and secure its success. He has served as trustee of Suspension
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OF NIAGARA COUNTY.
Bridge, discharging the duties of that posi- tion with satisfaction to the public and credit to himself. He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and active in promoting its interests. He also holds membership in Niagara Frontier Lodge, No. 132, Free and Accepted Masons, at Suspension Bridge. He enlisted as second lieutenant in a separate company of the 42d New York national guards, and was pro- moted to the position of captain of the company, which place lie now occupies. Mr. Butler has been highly successful in his business life, and being well educated, energetie in disposition, and engaging in manner, he has won the respect and esteem of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
R OBERT D. YOUNG, the well known mason and contractor of Niagara Falls, has devoted half a century to his chosen calling. He was born in England, June 7, 1836, and is a son of Thomas and Ann (Dixon) Young. His grandfather was James Young. Thomas Young (father) was born May 10, 1805, at Malton, England. HIe emigrated to America in 1837 and settled in Ontario, Canada, where he remained until 1852, when he removed to the United States and located at Niagara Falls, and resided there until his death in 1868, at the age of sixty years. He was a contractor and mason by vocation, and did an extensive business ; was a republican in polities, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Ann Dixon, by whom he had five children : Mark T., who resides at Clarksville, this county; James P., died at the age of twenty-three years; Elizabeth A., also deceased; Robert D, and one who died in infancy. The maternal grandfather of
Robert D. Young was Robert Dixon, who was a native of England and born March 4, 1770. His daughter Ann (mother) was born March 16, 1810.
Robert D. Young was educated in the public schools of Canada, and at the age of sixteen came to the United States with his parents, and located at Niagara Falls. He learned the trade of mason with his father and has followed that calling all his life, frequently taking large contracts in that line of work. Of late years his business has become quite extensive.
On October 20, 1862, Mr. Young was united in marriage to Elizabeth Wells, daughter of Thomas Wells, and a sister of Mark Wells, whose biography appears in this volume-which see for her ancestral history. She was born April 22, 1836, and died in January, 1890. By her union with Mr. Young she had an only son, who died in infancy.
Robert D. Young has always been a republican in his political belief, and has given that party an unswerving support ever since its formation. He is a member of different Masonic organizations.
CHARLES H. PIPER, Sr., a success-
ful attorney, and a gentleman who enjoys the distinction of being the first and oldest lawyer at Niagara Falls, is a son of Jonathan and Sarah ( Harvey ) Piper, and was born at Northwood, New Hampshire, on April 3, 1824. The Pipers of this country are probably all descended from Jonathan Piper, who was a native of Dartmouth, Devonshire, England, and emigrated to America about 1653, settling at Ipswich, Massachusetts, where he followed the voca- tion of a farmer until his death, in 1676.
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
His lineal descendant, Jonathan Piper (father), was born at Stratham, Massachu- setts, January 21, 1781, and died at North- wood, New Hampshire, in 1829. He was a merchant and farmer by occupation, in politics a Jaeksonian democrat, and an aetive and influential member of the Con- gregational church. He married Sarah Harvey, daughter of John Harvey, by whom he had a family of five children. Sherburn B. Piper, the eldest of these, was graduated at Dartmouth college, after which he studied law and located at Lewiston, this county, where he practiced his profession for a long period, and where he died in 1885, aged seventy-seven years. He was prominent at the bar and in the politics of the county, being a leader in the Democratic party, and three times its candidate for congress from this district. He was once a candidate for eanal commissioner, and was elected as one of the democratic electors at the presidential eleetion in 1852, being a member of the electoral college which voted for President Pierce. He served for a number of years as supervisor of his town, and was elected and served two terms in the State legisla- ture at Albany, and also occupied the office of district attorney one term. The second of the five children of Jonathan Piper was Dollie H., who died in early life, and the third was John L., who, after attaining manhood, became a publisher in New York city, and died there in 1852, aged about forty years. The fourth child was Sarah, who married Rev. Winthrop Fiefield, and is still living, while the fifth and last was Charles II., Sr., the subject of this sketch. His maternal grandfather, John Harvey, was a native of Massachusetts, and died at Northwood, that State. He was a farmer, hotel keeper, and merchant, very active,
and did a wide range of business. IIe was a lieutenant in the Continental army during the Revolutionary war, and took part in the battle at Bunker Hill.
Charles H. Piper, Sr., received his educa- tion in the academy at Lewiston, this State, and after leaving that institution, began the study of law in the office of his brother, S. B. Piper, and later entered the law office of Dayton & Murray, at Lockport. He was admitted to the bar in 1849, and has been in continued practice ever since. He re- moved to Niagara Falls May 6, 1850, being the first lawyer to loeate in the village for the practice of his profession. In politics he is a democrat, and now holds the posi- tion of commissioner of the United States circuit court for the northern district of New York. He is a member of the Epis- copal church at Niagara Falls. He is a member of Sacarissa Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past grand, and of Frontier Lodge, No. 132, Free and Accepted Masons.
On June 29, 1849, Mr. Piper was married to Charlotte Hulett, daughter of Judge Hulett (see sketchi ), of Niagara Falls, and to their union was born a family of seven children : Edith, who married Willian Douglass, man- ager in a large wholesale house at Toronto, Canada, where they reside ; Charles H. Piper, Jr., who was born at Niagara Falls, October 17, 1860, and educated at De Veaux college, from which he was graduated in the elass of 1877. He then began reading law in his father's office, at Niagara Falls, and some time after entered the law office of William C. Fitch, of Buffalo. He was admitted to the bar of Niagara county in January, 1882, and has been in active practice at Niagara Falls since that time. Politically he is a democrat, and has served as clerk of the
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village and justice of the peace one term, and in the spring of 1889 was elected to the position of police justice of the village for a term of three years. He is a member of Bellevue Lodge, No. 316, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Niagara Falls, and is extremely popular and widely known as a successful and rising young man, whose future promises to be bright and prosper- ous. On September 1, 1885, he was united in marriage with Lizzie J. Pfeiffer, daughter of Bernard Pfeiffer, of the village of Niagara Falls. She is a lady of refinement and taste, and is very popular in social circles. Theodore H., third child of Charles H. Piper, Sr., also studied law, and now resides at Hammondsport, Steuben county, this State, engaged in the practice of his profession. Jonathan, the fourth child is a telegraph operator at Hammondsport; Amelia, mar- ried Frank Morris, general manager in the hardware store of Morse & Co., at Warsaw, New York, where they reside; John W. B., at the age of nineteen, is the con- fidential clerk of A. J. Porter, one of the most prominent business men in the village of Niagara Falls; and Hulett V., now a student of Germantown, Pennsylvania.
W ILLIAM A. PHILPOTT, Sr., one of
the oldest carpenters and well-known contractors and builders of the city of Ni- agara Falls, was born at Dover, Kent county, England, May 15, 1824, and is a son of John and Martha (Johnson) Philpott. His paternal grandfather, Arnold Philpott, was a native of Detford, England, and removed to Kent county, where he died about 1836. He was a member of the Protestant Epis- copal church, and married and reared a family of three children, one of whom,
William Philpott (father), was born in 1795 and died about 1862. He grew to manhood in his native county of Kent, where he received a good practical English education. He then entered the maritime service of Great Britain, and for several years was a trinity or cinqne port pilot. He was twice married. His first wife was a Mrs. Johnson (nee Austin), by whom he had three children : Ann, John, and Char- lotte. After his first wife's death he mar- ried Martha Johnson (nee Austin ) and had by his second marriage five children : Wil- liam A., Mary, James, Sarah, and George.
William A. Philpott attended the public and select schools of his neighborhood, and at an early age became an apprentice for a term of seven years to a first-class carpen- ter. At the end of his apprenticeship he commenced life for himself as a carpenter, but after working for a short time at vari- ous places in Kent county, he concluded to seek a more inviting field for work in America, and sailed for New York city, in which he tarried but a short time before coming to Niagara Falls, in 1849. He has here followed carpentering and contracting up to the present time. He has made con- tracting in several of its branches a specialty for over forty years, and has given such close attention to his work, as well as ren- dering snch satisfaction as a skilled carpen- ter, that he has always received a large patronage from those who desired the erec- tion of good and substantial buildings.
In April, 1844, he married Harriet Best, a daughter of William Best, and a native of near Dover, England. To their nnion have been born eight children: William A., Jr. (see his sketch which appears else- where in this volume); James B., a carpen- ter and contractor of the county of Wind-
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