USA > New York > Encyclopedia of biography of New York, a life record of men and women whose sterling character and energy and industry have made them preeminent in their own and many other states, Vol. 3 > Part 21
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kept, the fine, modernly-equipped power plant located at a distance from the fac- tory, and the entire forty thousand feet of floor space in the factory laid off with the idea that perfect goods can only be made under perfect conditions. The fac- tory, two hundred by one hundred and seventy feet in area, two-storied in front, one-storied in the rear, contains as one of its departments a machine shop in which all the tools used are made. This plant and business, the outcome of sixteen years as a manufacturer, shows the qual- ity of the man who accomplished it, his executive ability as well as his inventive mechanical skill. But back of his skill and his ability has been his indomitable will, perseverance and industry, a few days' vacation in the sixteen years cover- ing the period of relaxation from toil.
Mr. Wollensak considers religion one of the serious concerns of life, and so orders his affairs. He is a member of St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, has served on its board of trustees for twenty- four years, and is devoted to the parish interests. He is a member of the Knights of St. John, the Catholic Mutual Bene- ficial Association, St. Anthony's Benevo- lent Association, and the Badicchen Verein. He abjures politics, but performs his duties as a citizen faithfully. His family, his business, his church, and his fraternities meet all the requirements of his nature, public life having for him no charm. No call of charity or religion is disregarded, and his place among the prominent, respected business men of his community is secure.
Mr. Wollensak married Frances, daughter of Joseph and Barbara (Tra- bert) Noll, of Sargenzell, Germany. She died November II, 1913, leaving a daugh- ter, Emma, wife of Jacob G. Magin, asso- ciated as assistant secretary in the busi- ness of his father-in-law.
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BROWN, Charles J.,
Nurseryman, Financier, Public Official.
Rochester has been the home of Charles J. Brown and his forbears for three generations, his grandfather, Robert Brown, being the American founder of the family. Robert Brown, born in Eng- land, lived for a time in Boston, Massa- chusetts, after coming to this country. He then located in Rochester, New York, that now great city being then but a vil- lage. There his son, John S. Brown, was born and still lives, a man now aged eighty-three years. John S. Brown was a contractor and builder during his active years, but is now passing the closing years of a long and useful life in honored retirement. He is a lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal church and by his faith and by his works has been a strong pillar of support to his church. He married Esther Cowles. Their son, Charles J. Brown, president of the Brown Brothers Company, and now serving a second term as treasurer of Monroe county, has from the date of his gradu- ation from high school been connected with the nursery business, is one of the leading men in that great Rochester activ- ity and has won high standing in bank- ing, real estate and other corporations of his native city. He has the faculty of quickly dispatching a large volume of business, going directly to the kernel of a proposition and divesting it of all non- essentials. His speech is straight at the main point and in action he is direct and forceful. He thus conserves his time and energy for the important details of the large business he transacts and the public service he renders his city and county. He is not alone the "man of affairs" but in lodge, fraternity and club enjoys to the full the social side of life.
Charles J. Brown was born in Roches- ter, New York, December 11, 1861, son of
John and Esther (Cowles) Brown. He was educated in the public schools of the city, finishing a full course and gradu- ating from high school. He then spent three years in the employ of Glenn Brothers, nurserymen of Rochester, then started in business for himself in the same line, forming a partnership with his brother. The brothers were masters of their business and as the years progressed expansion kept pace. In 1888 they in- corporated as the Brown Brothers Com- pany with Charles J. Brown as president, an executive position he has most effi- ciently filled and still holds. The com- pany transacts a very large general nur- sery business through one thousand agents that cover the entire country with the products of one thousand home acres where hundreds of varieties of plants, trees, shrubs and flowers are cultivated by a force of one hundred workers, the num- ber varying with the seasons. From fifty to seventy-five people are required to con- duct the office business and over all Mr. Brown is the directing head. He has other important business connections, be- ing a director of the Traders' National Bank ; director of the Rochester and Lake Ontario Water Company ; was one of the organizers and is president of the General Realty Service, a real estate corporation rapidly advancing in importance ; director of the Brown-Croft Realty Corporation ; is an ex-president and a present trustee of the Chamber of Commerce ; director of Rochester General Hospital; director of the Friendly Home ; director of Rochester Orphan Asylum, and since 1911 has been treasurer of Monroe county, his second term expiring in October, 1918. Mr. Brown is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to lodge, chapter and com- mandery of the York Rite, and in the Scottish Rite has attained the thirty-sec- ond degree. He is also a "Shriner," an "Elk," and a "Woodman." His clubs are
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the Rochester, Genesee Valley, the Coun- try, the Masonic, the Whist and the Auto- mobile, having served the last named for two years as president. In political faith he is a Republican, and in religious affili- ation a member of Central Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Brown married Dora, daughter of George W. Clarke, of Rochester. They have three children: Margaret, married George J. Kaelber ; Leland, and Donald.
REDMAN, Henry S.,
Civil War Veteran, Public Official.
Lieutenant Henry S. Redman, for twenty-seven years superintendent of the Court House of Monroe county, was born August 2, 1844, in Clarkson, this county, his parents being Perry and Julia Ann (Harris) Redman, the former a na- tive of the Empire State and the latter of Vermont. The paternal grandfather was born in Holland and came to this country in his youth, settling in the town of Clarkson, where he followed farming. It was his team that was used in carrying Morgan, who exposed the secrets of Ma- sonry, across the country. Perry Red- man was also a farmer by occupation and lived and died in Monroe county.
Lieutenant Redman of this review was reared to farm life, spending his boyhood days on the homestead and in Brighton village, where he attended the high school. He was there as a student at the outbreak of the Civil War, and on December 19, 1863, two years before he had attained his majority, he joined Company L, of the Twenty-first New York Cavalry, known as Griswold's Light Cavalry, and with this command he served until the close of the war and was honorably discharged on July 28, 1865. A contemporary biographer has said : "His own record, when he started to the front as a seventeen-year old boy, is one
of which any man might be proud. He participated in twelve engagements after he went to the front, December 19, 1863, falling on the field at Ashby's Gap, shot through the lungs and left for dead over night. He was captured by Moseby, escaped and was honorably discharged, July 28, 1865, for disability arising from wounds received in action. It would be difficult to crowd into the space of eighteen months a more brilliant war record than that of the young man, who sought to enlist, ran away from home only to be brought back by his father, and finally went to the front in the dark- est days of the war, after he reached his eighteenth year." After the war closed Lieutenant Redman served his time with the National Guard, retiring on January 1, 1876, with the commission of first lieu- tenant in Battery B, S. N. Y. He has occupied his present position as superin- tendent of the Court House at Rochester for twenty-seven years and has made a creditable record for faithfulness and re- liability.
Lieutenant Redman is a member of all the Masonic bodies, belonging to the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council and Comman- dery. He has also taken the thirty-sec- ond degree of the Scottish Rite and is connected with the Mystic Shrine. He has been one of the most effective and faith- ful workers of the Grand Army cause in the county. He holds membership with Myron Adams Post, No. 84, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he has been commander for sixteen years. He was also assistant quartermaster-general under Department Commanders Joseph P. Cleary, James S. Graham and Henry N. Burhans, and was assistant inspector- general on the staff of the commander- in-chief, Leo Rasseur. He was one of the earnest, and has always been among the most zealous, workers in Grand Army affairs. As a veteran he upheld his flag
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in the Civil War and although he was severely wounded in action he served his time in the National Guard and he has given the best years of his life to Grand Army interests. Having been always loyal in his citizenship, Lieutenant Red- man is entitled to special mention in this volume.
On July 3, 1866, Lieutenant Redman married (first) Harriet E. Jones, of Web- ster, Monroe county, New York, who died in December, 1889. On August 12. 1901, he married (second) Catherine Ayers. By his first marriage he had a daughter, Cora Alice, now the wife of C. A. Dutcher.
GRAVES, Maurice A.,
War Veteran, Man of Enterprise.
Maurice A. Graves is a son of Abial Stark and Elizabeth (Brockett) Graves, a grandson of Benjamin and Mary (Stark) Graves, and a great-grandson of Elijah Graves, who served six years in the Revo- lutionary War, enlisting from Connecti- cut. The family came from England in 1643, where many of its members were connected with the royal army and navy. Benjamin Graves, whose wife was a cousin of Mary Stark, of Bennington fame, came on foot from Connecticut to Westmore- land, Oneida county, New York, and set- tled there at a very early date. He made frequent trips to Salt Point when the site of Syracuse was largely a swamp. He died March 23, 1868, aged eighty-four years. Of his eight children Abial Stark lived in Westmoreland and died Febru- ary 3 1905, aged eighty-three years. He enlisted in Company I, Eighty-first Regi- ment, New York Volunteers, in 1862, and was discharged in 1865. His wife's family came from England and settled in Con- necticut in 1637. Her father, Eli Broc- kett, came to Westmoreland at an early date, served as captain at Sacketts Har-
bor, in the War of 1812, and died in Au- gust, 1871, aged eighty-five years.
Maurice A. Graves was born in West- moreland, New York, April 23, 1846. He received a district school education in his native town, and came to Syracuse in September, 1865. He was bookkeeper for the old Fourth National Bank and for the wholesale tea and coffee house of F. H. Loomis, three years each, and afterward occupied various responsible positions. In 1875 he became a bookkeeper for John Crouse & Company, the largest wholesale grocery establishment in Central New York, and six months later was made financial manager, having entire charge of the collecting department, a position he held until the firm went out of busi- ness in February, 1887. He continued as confidential man to John and D. Edgar Crouse until the former's death, June 25, 1889, and then remained in the same ca- pacity with D. Edgar until his death, No- vember 10, 1892. Meanwhile Mr. Graves closed up the estate of John J. Crouse, the business of John Crouse & Company, and the estate of the late John Crouse, all involving extensive interests in Syracuse and elsewhere. D. Edgar Crouse, by his will, appointed him one of his executors, and early in 1893 Mr. Graves commenced, with Jacob A. Nottingham, the settle- ment of that well-known estate, to which he has since largely given his attention. He is also interested in various other business enterprises. In 1895 he pur- chased of the George F. Comstock estate, the Comstock farm of one hundred and five acres, lying east of the university, and laid out a large part of it in building lots. This tract is known as University Heights, and is one of the largest pieces of city real estate which one man alone ever attempted to develop. Here, on the most elevated point, Mr. Graves erected in 1895, a handsome dwelling, in which he stored his valuable library of about
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two thousand five hundred volumes, many of them very rare and obtained at great expense.
Mr. Graves has never sought political office, but his public spirit and patriotism led him on September 8, 1862, to enlist in Company I, Eighty-first New York Vol- unteers, in which he served until Decem- ber, 1864, when he was transferred to Company I, Tenth Veteran Reserve Corps, which was stationed in Washing- ton during the last year of the Rebellion, guarding the White House, War Depart- ment, and other public buildings. He was present at President Lincoln's sec- ond inauguration, took an active part in the exciting scenes attending the Presi- dent's assassination, and has in his pos- session the drum that sounded the call for the first troops on that occasion. He also participated in the funeral obsequies and other events, including the grand re- view, when he was stationed with his drum corps opposite the grandstand to salute the regimental colors as they passed. He was honorably discharged, July 18, 1865, and since September of that year has resided in Syracuse, where he has taken an active part in church and missionary work. He was for many years a deacon and trustee of the Dutch Re- formed church in James street, and for some time was engaged in Sunday school mission work in connection with the Young Men's Christian Association. About 1882 he was elected superintend- ent of Rose Hill Mission (Sunday school) and continued in that capacity for twelve years. In 1886 this mission was reorgan- ized into the Westminster Presbyterian Church, largely through the zealous labors of Mr. Graves, who was elected one of the first trustees, a position he held for some time, was an elder in that church for ten years. He was for several years a member of Syracuse Presbytery, and in 1894 was elected a delegate to the general
assembly held at Saratoga. He is a mem- ber of the Citizens' Club; Masonic Club ; Anglers' Association ; Root Post, No. 151, Grand Army of the Republic; General Sniper Camp, No. 166, Sons of Veterans ; Syracuse Lodge, No. 501, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; Central City Comman- dery, No. 25, Knights Templar; Central City Consistory, Supreme Princes of the Royal Secret, thirty-second degree; Zi- yara Temple, Mystic Shrine, and the Ma- sonic Veteran Association.
Mr. Graves married, January 17, 1872, Christina, daughter of Philetus Reed, of Syracuse, and they have three children : Nathan R., Alice R., and Helen B.
SCOTT, Frederick Bartlett, Manufacturer, Financier.
There is no rule for achieving success. Many theories have been advanced and much has been written on the subject, and yet investigation into the lives of suc- cessful men brings to light the fact that they owe their progress and prosperity, not to any favorable chance, but to the untiring labor which, carefully directed by sound judgment, never fails to win a merited reward. This statement finds verification in the life of Frederick Bart- lett Scott, of Syracuse, president of the Syracuse Supply Company, and holding that and other official position in a num- ber of other corporations. It has been his watchfulness of the trade, his careful rec- ognition of the demands of the public, and his strong and steady purpose to achieve success through persistent and honorable labor, that has gained for him his present prosperity.
Leonard W. Scott, a descendant of the kings of Holland, was born in Johns- town, Fulton county, New York, and died in Syracuse, New York, in February, 1882. Having taken up his residence in Onondaga county, New York, he was for
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many years a dealer in carriages in Syra- cuse, becoming later a contractor on an extended scale. He married Harriet Bart- lett, a Puritan descendant, who was born in Cleveland, New York, and died in 1904. They have five children of whom the only survivor at the present time is :
Frederick Bartlett Scott, who was born in Constantia, Oswego county, New York, September 26, 1857. He attended the public schools of his native town until the age of fourteen years, when the family removed to Syracuse, and his education was completed in the public schools of that city. His entrance upon his busi- ness career was as an employe of S. P. Pierce & Sons, dealers in china and glass- ware, where he remained for a period of eleven years, during which time he learned every detail of this business thor- oughly, and rose to a responsible position with the concern. Other positions brought him into contact with other concerns and greatly extended his field of service. Having decided to establish himself in business independently, Mr. Scott, in February, 1887, founded the business con- ducted under the name of the Syracuse Supply Company, and this was incorpo- rated in 1891, and reincorporated in 1905. Fifty-five people are constantly employed in the manufacture of leather belting, and in dealing in iron and wood working machinery, boilers, engines, steam appli- ances and manufacturers' supplies. They are also jobbers in electrical machinery and supplies, and from the outset the affairs of this concern have been con- ducted along the most modern and pro- gressive lines. Great as have been the demands made upon the time of Mr. Scott by his important business, he has nevertheless been identified with a va- riety of interests also of great importance and value. He is vice-president of the Holcomb Steel Company, the Hudson Portland Cement Company, the Amphion
Piano Player Company of Syracuse, and was for several years vice-president of the Hudson River Realty Company. He is president of the Star Lake Land Com- pany at Star Lake, New York, president of the Glenwood Land Company, New Jersey; vice-president of the Hammond Steel & Forge Company, Syracuse; di- rector of Morris Plan Company Bank, and his executive ability in all of these responsible offices has been largely in- strumental in their continued success. The Republican party has always had his consistent support, and on many occa- sions he has served in public affairs, greatly to the benefit of the community. He is a member of the Park Presbyterian Church, and a trustee of this institution. His membership with various organiza- tions is as follows: The Citizens' Club, the Technology Club, the Anglers' Asso- ciation, Bellevue Country Club. He is a member of the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, and as a director of this body his sound judgment was a factor not to be overlooked. He has served on the commission to build the Young Men's Christian Association, and on that to in- vestigate the lighting system of the city.
Mr. Scott married, in September, 1886, Belle, a daughter of Hiram L. and Ruth M. Hawley, of Syracuse. Children : Wal- ter H. and Harold H., who have been graduated from Yale University ; Harold B., married Mabel Brace, of Tarrytown, New York; Frederick H., student at Cor- nell University, who has just attained his majority ; Marion Belle, graduate of Syracuse University, married Maxwell Brace, of Tarrytown, New York, 1913.
ALDRIDGE, George Washington, Jr., Man of Affairs, Public Official.
Perhaps in no field of life's activity is success won at a greater personal cost than in public life. A loser receives no.
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sympathy, a winner no real gratitude from his party. Opponents watch eagerly for even the slightest mistake, and those whoshould support a man most strongly are so anxious to advance their own interests and so filled with a sense of their own importance that they are a hindrance rather than a help. The public career of George W. Aldridge furnishes an illus- tration of a man strong in the qualities that make for success and who has risen to commanding position in the councils of the Republican party of the State of New York, and to leadership in the city of Rochester. Loyal in his devotion to party he has for himself accepted no posi- tion he was not eminently qualified to fill. Faithful in the discharge of every official duty, true to every trust reposed in him, a wonderful organizer, and a fearless leader, he has become a tower of strength to his party and a man to be reckoned with in political encounter.
George W. Aldridge was born in Michigan City, Indiana, December 28, 1856, son of George W. and Virginia (De Orsey) Aldridge, his father of New York, his mother of Ohio birth. The senior George W. Aldridge after locating in Rochester won high reputation as a mas- ter builder, and was honored by the voters of the city by election to the chief magistracy of the city, and by them also to membership on the board of aldermen.
George W. Aldridge, Jr., obtained a good education in the public schools, De Graff Military Institute, of Rochester, and Cary Collegiate Seminary at Oak- field, New York. He then began busi- ness life in association with his father, and together they continued as general con- tractors until the death of the senior partner in 1877, when George W. Al- dridge, Jr., assumed the management of the business. He is a director of the Lin- coln National Bank, and has other large interests in the city, among which is the
presidency of the American Clay and Cement Corporation.
Mr. Aldridge early displayed an in- terest in public affairs, his natural fitness for leadership becoming manifest. He was but twenty-six years of age when first elected a member of the executive board of the city, a board having in charge the departments of water, street, fire and public improvements. His con- nection with the executive board won public approval and his efficiency was so apparent that he was four times reelected, each successive return showing increas- ing majorities over opposing candidates. In 1894 he was elected chief magistrate of the city and ably filled the mayor's chair until the following year, when he was called to higher position by Gov- ernor Morton, who appointed him State Superintendent of Public Works. This necessitated his resignation of the mayor's office, which followed, and during the terms of Governor Morton and Governor Black, the latter of whom reappointed him, he continued the efficient head of the State Department of Public Works. During his incumbency of the office the work of improving the Erie Canal was begun and the long delayed completion of the State Capitol at Albany accom- plished. In 1905 Governor Higgins ap- pointed Mr. Aldridge a member of the New York State Railroad Commission, and in 1907 he became chairman of the commission. His work as a public ser- vant, endorsed by three chief executives, has been valuable to the State, and has brought him prominently into public view, adding to his prestige as a leader in his own city, and making him a promi- nent figure in State politics. He is a member of the Republican State Com- mittee, a position he has held since the year 1887. He has met the fate of all leaders, at times suffering defeats, but has never been dethroned, and at the
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present time (1915) is strong in his lead- ership and a power in the Republican party. His friends are legion and he is associated with them in many organiza- tions, societies and clubs.
In volunteer fire department days he was an active member of Alert Hose Company, for five years was president of the Exempt Firemen's Association, and still holds membership in that body. He is an ex-trustee of the Chamber of Com- merce of Rochester. He is a Master Ma- son, a Royal Arch Mason, a Knight Templar, and in Scottish Rite Masonry holds all degrees up to and including the thirty-second degree. He is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Knights of Pythias. His clubs are the Rochester, Country, Whist, Athletic (life member), and Oak Hill Country, all of Rochester; the Lotos, Republican and Lawyers', of New York City. He is an interested member of the Rochester Historical Society, the Roches- ter Municipal Art Commission, and in all these organizations he takes more than a passive interest. Through his patriotic ancestry he has gained admission to the Sons of the Revolution.
Open-handed and generous, he is most unostentatious in his giving, and no worthy cause fails to receive his support. He is a man of tremendous industry and energy, and has gained his position in the business world through merit and by the exercise of the qualities upon which alone an enduring business edifice can be erected. He is respected by his associ- ates in business and public life, loved by his friends, and both feared and respected by his opponents. He has also success- fully asserted his rights to leadership, and in Rochester, where he is best known, is regarded as a man who can be trusted and safely followed. Disorganized forces never win, and he who can organize, ma- neuver, and lead masses of men to suc
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