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 38
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54
Descendants of Ensign Hugh Mosher settled in New York State and are found from Troy to Buffalo, men of prominence in every field of life's activity they have entered. Howard Townsend Mosher, of Rochester, is a son of Jacob Simmons Mosher, M. D., an eminent physician and surgeon of Albany, New York, and dis- tinguished in the medical service of his State. Dr. Mosher was deputy health officer of the port of New York, 1870-76, was surgeon during the Civil War and
260
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
surgeon-general upon the staff of Gov- ernor Hoffman of New York State. He married Emma Starr Montgomery, of distinguished ancestry.
Howard Townsend Mosher, son of Dr. Jacob S. and Emma S. (Montgomery) Mosher and brother of Dr. Jesse Mont- gomery Mosher, of Albany, New York, was born at Albany, July 6, 1868. His education, begun at Albany Boys Acad- emy, was continued at Union College, Schenectady, New York, whence he was graduated Bachelor of Arts, class of 1890. He then went abroad and pursued courses of study in Paris during the years 1890-92. On his return to the United States he was elected a member of the faculty of Union College, instructor in French in the modern language depart- ment five years, 1892-97. He then pre- pared for the practice of law, was admit- ted to the Monroe county bar, in 1901, and has been continuously in practice in Rochester until the present year (1916). From 1910 until 1914 he was lecturer on citizenship in the University of Roches- ter, and has attained high reputation as educator, lawyer and lecturer. Mr. Mosher is one of the leaders of the Demo- cratic party in Western New York, and has for many years taken an active part in public affairs. He was the candidate of his party for State Senator in 1902, for surrogate of Monroe county in 1906; chairman of the Democratic County Com- mittee of Monroe county, 1908-10; candi- date for mayor of Rochester in 1911 and in 1915; and a member of the New York State Prison Reform Commission, 1913- 15; and a member of the State Work- man's Compensation Commission, 1914- 15. He is a member of Psi Upsilon fra- ternity, Rochester Chamber of Com- merce, Rochester Athletic Club, Univer- sity Club of Rochester, and of the Prot- estant Episcopal church.
Mr. Mosher married, in Rochester, July 6, 1893, Mary Josephine, daughter of William R. and Josephine (Coburn) Seward, of a distinguished New York family.
LEONARD, George Bement, Financier, Man of Enterprise.
While yet in his teens Mr. Leonard began his long and valuable life as a banker, commencing as clerk. At the age of twenty-five he was cashier, and after thirty years of service in that position he resigned and became president of the Salt Springs National Bank of Syracuse. He won for himself an honorable name and high reputation as an able financier and upon his record as a banker his fame might securely rest. But that was only one of his lines of business activity and in a call of the roll of Syracuse enter- prises it will be found that in many of them he was one of the organizers, one of the incorporators and one of the officials. His dominating qualities and the foundation stones of his success were energy, force and discernment; his busi- ness instinct was keen, his judgment sound and men were willing to follow where he led. He was progressive and far-seeing, yet possessed a caution that protected him against visionary under- takings. He was strong and self-reliant, strict integrity marking his course through life, a man who could be relied upon in any relation and every emer- gency.
George B. Leonard was a descendant of James Leonard, who was of Lynn in 1651, and of Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1652, and with his brother Henry estab- lished the first forge in the Plymouth colony. For a long time the Leonard forge was the principal one in this coun- try, and through several generations
261
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Leonards were celebrated iron masters. The brothers, James and Henry Leonard, were sons of Thomas Leonard, who re- mained in England. Descendants became prominent in Colonial days as business men and public officials, Revolutionary records also bearing the name frequently. John Campfield, whose daughter, Susan, married James Leonard, the grandfather of George B. Leonard, was the aide-de- camp to General Lafayette, and in 1825 was warmly greeted by Lafayette in Morristown, New Jersey, at the time of his last visit to America.
George Bement Leonard was born in Syracuse, New York, June 25, 1838, died June 7, 1914, son of John Alexander Leonard, born July 7, 1806, died March 23, 1873, and his wife, Louisa Sloan, daughter of Kellogg Bement and Mary Ann (Gaylord) Sloan. He was educated in the public schools of Syracuse, and began his business career as clerk in a local mercantile house. While yet a minor he became a clerk in the Crouse Bank, and was yet in his teens when he transferred his services to the Bank of Salina. Upon the organization of the First National Bank of Syracuse in 1863, Mr. Leonard was appointed its first cashier and for thirty-four years filled that responsible position most efficiently and most honorably. In 1897 he resigned the post he had filled for so many years, having been called to the presidency of the Salt Springs National Bank, a merited recognition of his high standing in the world of finance. During the years that had elapsed since taking the cashier's desk in the First National he had become interested in many local and industrial enterprises. He was identified with the building of the East Side railway con- necting Syracuse with East Syracuse, that road later being merged with the Syracuse Rapid Transit system. He was
one of the incorporators of the Kemp & Burpee Manufacturing Company and served as its treasurer until the purchase of the company by the John Deere Plow Company of Moline, Illinois. He was one of the incorporators of the Syracuse Tube Company, and at the time that company was absorbed by the National Tube Company he was its largest individual stockholder. He was a direc- tor of the Great Lakes Steamship Com- pany and in his honor the company named one of its largest freight carriers the "George B. Leonard." He had other important business interests, the fore- going being those only with which he held prominent official relation.
In early life he became an active mem- ber of Plymouth Congregational Church of Syracuse, but in later life he became a devout attendant and generous sup- porter of the First Reformed Church of the same city. He was a charter member of the Citizens' Club, retaining his mem- bership until his death, and was a member of the Fortnightly Club for many years. He was a Republican in politics, and in 1873-74-75 served as school commis- sioner. During the Civil War Mr. Leonard was an enlisted member of the New York State militia.
George B. Leonard married, at Cuba, Allegany county, New York, October 24, 1866, Elizabeth DeWitt Dimock, of Cuba, daughter of Thomas Dimock, born in New London, Connecticut, who died during the early childhood of his daugh- ter, and Elizabeth (Mandeville) Dimock, his wife, a daughter of the Rev. Garret Mandeville, who was the first settled pastor in Ithaca, New York, in 1801. Children of George B. and Elizabeth D. Leonard: Anna Elizabeth; Mary Louise, died at Syracuse, July 15, 1899; Margaret DeWitt; Thomas Dimock, now a real estate dealer of New York City; George
262
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Alexander, member of the Hill-Leonard Engineering & Construction Company, now engaged in building the new Welland Canal. Mrs. Elizabeth D. Leonard sur- vives her husband and continues her residence in Syracuse.
BECHTOLD, Charles B., Lawyer, Public Official.
A member of the Rochester bar since 1902 Mr. Bechtold has won high standing, and as a member of the law firm of Mc- Inerney & Bechtold, No. 1003 Insurance Building, transacts an important busi- ness in all State and Federal courts of the district. He has been equally prominent in public affairs and as deputy and assist- ant district attorney rendered efficient service. His social, genial nature renders him very popular in the many clubs and secret orders of which he is a member, his professional ability and pleasing per- sonality forming a rare combination which attracts and holds the regard of men of worth. He is a son of Henry and Caroline Bechtold, his father for many years a business man of Rochester.
Charles B. Bechtold was born in Rochester, New York, June 6, 1874. He obtained a good preparatory education in the public schools, the old Free Academy and under a private tutor. He also is a graduate of the Mechanics' Institute, and in earlier life learned and followed the trades of machinist and draughtsman. For several years he was in the employ of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh railroad in that capacity and was rated a most satisfactory workman. But he had an ambition for the law and resign- ing his railroad position he began the study of law under the direction of Werner & Harris, eminent members of the Rochester bar. After passing satis-
factorily all the tests imposed upon a young lawyer he was admitted to the Monroe county bar on July 11, 1902, hav- ing also during his law studies served as deputy clerk of the police court.
He at once began practice in Rochester forming a partnership with John J. Mc- Inerney under the firm name McInerney & Bechtold. During his early practice he was also clerk of the police court, and on May I, 1904, accepted appointment to the position of deputy assistant district attor- ney for the county of Monroe, this neces- sitating his retirement from the law firm of McInerney & Bechtold. He served as deputy assistant until January 1, 1906, then was appointed assistant district attorney, an office he held until 1910. During those years he conducted a line of law work in connection with his old preceptors, Werner & Harris, but upon his retirement from the district attorney's office he again renewed the partnership with his former partner and has since practiced as the junior of the firm of Mc- Inerney & Bechtold. He is a member of the Rochester Bar Association and held in high esteem by his brethren of the bench and bar. In early life he affiliated with the Republican party and has ever been an ardent supporter of the principles of that party as well as a valuable worker for party success. For several years he represented the Twentieth Ward of Rochester on the Republican General Committee, and has been a frequent dele- gate to State and district conventions and is a member of several political societies. He is a good campaigner, an eloquent speaker whether pleading the cause of client or candidate, and has the happy faculty of delivering telling blows in a most agreeable and happy manner. His friends are legion and he is a strong advocate for any cause he espouses. He
263
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
is a member of all of the various Masonic bodies of Rochester, the Ancient Order of Foresters and Sons of Veterans; his clubs the Masonic, the Rochester Whist, Oak Hill, Yacht and Athletic.
HYDE, Salem, Enterprising Citizen.
Salem Hyde, whose business history has been marked by steady progress, is junior partner of the firm of Neal & Hyde, wholesale dry goods merchants of Syracuse. He pays the strictest atten- tion to his business, allowing no outside interest to enter as a variable force and his singleness of purpose guided by sound judgment have placed him in the enviable position which he to-day occupies in commercial circles. A native of Victory, Cayuga county, New York, he was born June 22, 1846, of the marriage of Elisha H. and Mary Ellen (Botsford) Hyde. The family comes of English origin but was founded in America in early Colonial days, the great-grandfather living in Ox- ford, Connecticut. From that place John Salem Hyde, the grandfather, removed to Scipio, New York, and subsequently to Victory, Cayuga county, in the early part of the nineteenth century. His business interests were varied, as he was a phy- sician, manufacturer and farmer. His son, Elisha H. Hyde, was born at Victory, and also followed the occupation of farming. He removed from Cayuga county to Oswego county, near Fulton, and from thence twenty years later to the town of Onondaga Valley, where he lived for twenty years and died at the home of a daughter living in Rochester, at the age of nearly eighty-nine years, his birth having occurred in 1820. His wife be- longed to an old Vermont family and her grandfather was one of the patriots of the Revolutionary War, enlisting at Benning-
ton, Vermont, and participating in that battle where the Green Mountain boys under Colonel Ethan Allen won undying fame. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Hyde was a Mr. Peck, also a resident of Vermont and a participant in the Revo- lutionary War with the Colonial army.
Salem Hyde pursued his education in the district schools of Victory, New York, and in the Red Creek Academy. He entered business life as a clerk in a country store at Wolcott, Wayne county, where he remained for a year. He after- ward spent two years in Red Creek, and in the spring of 1864 came to Syracuse where he began clerking for Price & Wheeler on the site of the present Edwards house. There he continued for two years, or until 1866, when he entered the employ of McCarthy & Sedgwick, wholesale dry goods merchants, while later he was with Neal, Baum & Com- pany, wholesale dealers, as salesman. He afterward engaged with Charles Chad- wick & Company as manager of one of their departments, and after the death of their senior partner this firm consolidated with that of Neal & Baum under the name of Sperry, Neal & Hyde in 1879. Mr. Hyde was enabled to become a member of the firm as a result of his many years experience. At Mr. Sperry's death in 1891 the firm became Neal & Hyde. The concern has grown very rapidly during this time, enjoying a steady, healthful development and their trade covers Penn- sylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont, together with the immediate surrounding territory. They employ a large force in the house and a large corps of salesmen on the road, doing a strictly jobbing business. This has become one of the leading wholesale houses of Central New York and its success is attributable in no small measure to the labors, enterprise and careful manage-
264
Edgar. 1.'Courtier
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
ment of Mr. Hyde. He is also a trustee of the Onondaga County Savings Bank, and widely recognized as a prominent factor in the commercial life of Syra- cuse.
Mr. Hyde is a member of the Citizens' Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the Lotos Club of New York City, and has been a co-worker with many leading citizens in movements toward the up- building of a Greater Syracuse. In politics he is a Republican with a citizen's interest in the adoption of the prin- ciples which he believes best conserve good government. He was the first com- missioner of jurors in Syracuse and filled that office for six years. He is serving his third five-year term as a trustee of the Syracuse Public Library and has been for many years vice-president of the Historical Society, also of the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, of which he is a charter member. He belongs to the May Memorial (Unitarian) Church, and is greatly interested in charities, to which he has been a liberal contributor. Mr. Hyde during his lifetime has been a man of literary tastes and has accumulated one of the finest private libraries in the city, containing many rare volumes and being especially strong in early nineteenth century English literature and in books pertaining to the history and literature of Greece. A unique feature of this library is the collection of Emersoniana, number- ing nearly five hundred bound volumes in several languages, which together with many pamphlets, autograph letters and other items of interest probably forms as complete a collection of works relating to Emerson and his writings as may be found anywhere. His life has been char- acterized by a resolute purpose and early in his career he became imbued with a laudable ambition to master each task that was assigned him and progressed
until he is to-day with Mr. Neal equal owner of a business which pays tribute to his industry and his ability, and stands as a monument to his enterprise and cap- able management.
Mr. Hyde married Anne P. Cheney, a daughter of Timothy C. Cheney, an early settler of Onondaga county, and a prominent contractor, who built the old Wieting block, the courthouse and other notable structures of the city. The chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Hyde are as follows : Henry N., born in 1873, rector of St. Philip's Church, Joplin, Missouri ; Mary Frances, born in 1875, now the wife of Charles W. Andrews; Charles Salem, born in 1877, employed in the store with his father; Dana Cheney, born in 1879, also associated in business with his father ; Florence M., born in 1882; Nelson C., born in 1888, secretary to Congress- man Magee, and Washington correspond- ent of several newspapers ; and Dorothy A., born in 1891.
CURTICE, Edgar N., Head of Important Industry.
The financial and commercial history of New York State would be incomplete and unsatisfactory without a personal and somewhat extended mention of those whose lives are interwoven closely with its industrial and financial development. When a man or select number of men have set in motion the machinery of busi- ness which materializes into a thousand forms of practical utility, or where they have carved out a fortune or a name from the common possibilities open for com- petition to all, there is a public desire, which should be gratified, to see the men so nearly as a portrait and a word artist can paint them and examine the elements of mind and the circumstances by which such results have been achieved.
265
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
The subject of this review finds an appropriate place in the history of those men of business and enterprise in the State of New York whose force of char- acter, whose sterling integrity, whose fortitude amid discouragements, whose good sense in the management of com- plicated affairs and marked success in establishing large industries and bringing to completion great commercial under- takings, have contributed in an eminent degree to the development of the re- sources of this noble Commonwealth. The great army of employes and the magnitude of the business which he controls both attest the marked ability of Edgar N. Curtice, whose name is known in trade circles wherever civiliza- tion has left its stamp.
He was born in Webster, Monroe county, New York, on December 9, 1844, a son of Mark Curtice and a descendant of one of the oldest Colonial families. His ancestry is traced back to Henry Curtice, who was one of the original grantees of the town of Sudbury, Massachusetts, in 1638. His son, Lieutenant Ephraim Cur- tice, born March 31, 1642, was a noted frontiersman and famous Indian scout. Ephraim Curtice, son of Lieutenant Cur- tice, was born in Topsfield, Massachu- setts, in 1662, and became the father of Ebenezer Curtice, born in Boxford, Mas- sachusetts, August 21, 1707. The latter's son, Jacob Curtice, was born March 21, 1730, in Topsfield, Massachusetts. He wedded Mary Stiles, a native of Boxford, Massachusetts, and from Boxford re- moved to Amherst, New Hampshire. He and five of his sons valiantly fought for American independence in the Revolu- tionary War, Jacob Curtice enlisting at Amherst in 1775 and serving until the close of hostilities. Jacob and Mary Cur- tice had nine children, of whom Ebenezer, the fifth, was born in Amherst, New
Hampshire, June 9, 1760. He married Sarah Parker, and removed to Western New York. He was among the earliest settlers of this part of the State, locating at Bloomfield, New York, in 1789. In 1792 he removed to Webster, then a part of Ontario county, where his remaining days were passed. He died August 22, 1832, and was buried in Lakeside Ceme- tery in Webster. His wife died August 16, 1847, in her eighty-third year.
Mark Curtice, the father of Edgar N. Curtice, was the youngest of the eleven children of Ebenezer and Sarah (Parker) Curtice. He was born in Windsor, New York, October 17, 1808, and died in Webster, Monroe county, New York, November 9, 1880. Mark Curtice's wife, Elmina (Goodnow) Curtice, daughter of Simeon and Sarah (Griffen) Goodnow, was the first white child born in what is now the town of Webster. She was born July 3, 1812, and died March 26, 1888. Simeon Goodnow came to Monroe county from New Hampshire in 1810. He was born in the old Granite State in 1787, died November 20, 1826, and was buried in Lakeside Cemetery at Webster. He was a son of Calvin Goodnow, who was born February 15, 1752, in Westboro, Massa- chusetts. Calvin Goodnow served in the Revolutionary War from Rindge, New Hampshire, and also from Amherst, New Hampshire. The Goodnow family in America is descended from Edmund Goodnow, who came to America on the ship "Confidence" in 1638. In the family of Mark and Elmina (Goodnow ) Curtice were five children: I. Delia, who was born in 1833, became prominent in educa- tional circles, acting for more than twenty-five years as principal of different public schools in Rochester, most of this time being at the head of No. 20. She was a woman of superior mind, highly respected and loved by all. Her death
266
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
occurred in 1903. 2. Albin B., born in 1838, died in December, 1886. 3. Simeon G., born August 13, 1839, died February 7, 1905, after long connection with the extensive business now conducted under the name of Curtice Brothers Company. 4. Edgar N., of whom further. 5. Belle Sophia, the wife of the late A. B. Wol- cott ; is now a resident of Rochester.
Edgar N. Curtice was educated in the common and advanced schools of Web- ster and in what was known as Satter- lee's Institute in Rochester, completing his course when about twenty-one years of age. He then joined his brother, Simeon G. Curtice, who about three years before had embarked in the grocery busi- ness on a small scale in what is known as the Flatiron building at Main, North and Franklin streets, Rochester. This was in 1865 and there they continued until 1868. They removed in that year to the building at the corner of Water and Mortimer streets, and commenced the canning and preserving business which has grown steadily to the present exten- sive enterprise. The business continued in this location until 1872, when the de- mand for increased space compelled the Curtice Brothers to build at No. 200 North Water street, the new structure being used for canning and preserving on a larger scale. In 1880 they bought the land and erected the buildings now occu- pied by the company, which from time to time have been enlarged in order to meet the growth of the trade. In 1887 the business was incorporated under the name of Curtice Brothers Company, with a capitalization of $200,000. Simeon G. Curtice was the president : Edgar N. Cur- tice, the vice-president and treasurer ; and Robert A. Badger, the secretary of the new corporation. In 1901 the business was reincorporated under the same name and the same officers and with a capital-
ization of $1.500,000, showing thus a more than seven-fold increase in the fourteen years. On the death of Simeon G. Cur- tice in 1905, Edgar N. Curtice was made president and treasurer ; Henry B. Mc- Kay, vice-president; and Robert A. Badger, secretary.
The Curtice Brothers Company is one of the largest producers of high grade food products in the world and con- tributes much to the fame of the Flower City as a commercial center. Its products are found in the markets all around the globe, being recognized as goods of the highest quality and the company has difficulty in meeting the increasing de- mand made upon it. Each year has shown the necessity of increased acreage to supply the fruits and vegetables needed for the business until now the company contracts for the yield of over eight thousand acres in farm and market garden products from some of the most famous and fertile lands in the world- notably the valley of the Genesee. The company owns and operates four plants, the parent plant in Rochester, one in Vernon, Oneida county, New York, for vegetables, one in Woodstown, New Jer- sey, for tomatoes, and one in Bergen, Genesee county, New York. The Roches- ter factory not only carries on all sorts of canning and preserving, but also manu- factures the cans for use in all its fac- tories. At Rochester also are the admin- istrative offices. It is essentially a Roches- ter concern. This immense enterprise pays out annually very large sums of money to its employes and to the farmers who grow the fruits and vege- tables used in the business. It markets its products all over the world, as has been said, and the profits of this enor- mous business come back into Rochester to increase the wealth of its citizens and the resources of the banks. Each of the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.