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 pre?minent in their own and many other states. V.6 > Part 47
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the last day of the first school year eighty-seven answered. During the forty years the institution has been in existence each year has shown progress, not only in the number of students in at- tendance but in efficiency and in results attained. The school is now housed in its own commodious buildings, each thor- oughly equipped for its special needs, the number of students enrolled being all that can be accommodated. The system of in- struction employed is the manual oral method, Mr. Westervelt's contention be- ing that no such thing as a deaf mute mind exists from natural causes, and that there is no real need for a deaf mute lan- guage. There is no language of gesture used in the school, instruction being through speech and manual spelling. The school is a splendid example of the value of this modern method of teaching deaf mutes, and demonstrates the wisdom and the practicability of Mr. Westervelt's theories. Students are given the benefit of carefully prepared courses, finishing with graduation and a diploma. Since 1878 manual training has been an impor- tant feature, and in 1886 a cooking class was added.
Mr. Westervelt married, October 14, 1875, Mary Nodine, born in New York City in 1847, died in Rochester, January 6, 1893, daughter of Robert Crawford and Clarissa (Hart) Nodine, of New York City, who were married in 1839. Robert Crawford Nodine, a prosperous commis- sion merchant of New York City, was the father of two sons, the eldest, Crawford Nodine, a Union soldier, giving his life to his country at the battle of Cedar Moun- tain. Mrs. Westervelt's father died the year of her birth, her mother later mov- ing to Kingston, New York, where she conducted a young ladies' seminary. In 1860 the family moved to Charleston, West Virginia, but was obliged to return
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to the North, one of the sons, however, entering the Union army. Mrs. Nodine in 1861 became matron of Packer's Institute in Brooklyn, New York, her daughter, Mary Hart Nodine, graduating from the institute, class of 1865. Later she taught music in Middletown, Ohio, later accom- plishing a four years' course at Western Reserve College, although on account of her sex she could not regularly matricu- late. In 1872 she became a teacher in the School for the Deaf at Frederick, Mary- land, and there met her future husband. She became deeply interested in the in- struction of the deaf, and developed rare skill in awakening the intelligent coopera- tion of her pupils. The new ideas then taking form seemed to her full of promise, and she became very successful in teach- ยท ing the deaf lip reading. In 1874 she left the school to become private teacher to Miss Perkins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gilman H. Perkins, of Rochester, and to her success with their daughter the inter- est of Mr. and Mrs. Perkins in the estab- lishment of the Western New York Insti- tution for the Deaf was due. In 1875 she was married, and in 1876 the institution was opened for students. From that time until her death in 1893 she fully shared with her husband the cares of the large and growing school, meeting the exacting demands of her position as instructor and her social and domestic duties with a rare charm and skill that endeared her to offi- cers, teachers and pupils. "Hers was a most symmetrical character in which strength and sweetness were blended. Her intellectual gifts were united with deep religious experience and skill in practical affairs. Self-forgetful and of heroic cour- age, her heart was open to the sorrow and suffering of others, and her sympathy was tender and true."
Mr. Westervelt married, June 1, 1898, Adelia Clara Fay, born in Columbus,
Ohio, daughter of Gilbert Otis and Adelia (Allen) Fay, who in 1880 moved to Hart- ford, Connecticut. Mrs. Westervelt is deeply interested in her husband's work, her culture, refinement and interest are a great aid in maintaining the school upon the high plane it has attained.
This brief record of the life of one of the great benefactors of his race but little more than outlines the wonderful work Mr. Westervelt has done and is doing. His broad humanitarian principles are mani- fest in his work, but type nor words can express the depth of his spirit of helpful- ness, benevolence and sympathy. That he is continually studying newer and bet- ter methods and forming new plans to bring to the deaf mute more of the joy of life and greater opportunity for higher intellectual development need not be said. His life for the past forty-five years has been with that single aim in view, and he would not be in harmony with the spirit of these years did he not continue to strive to be more helpful and more useful. He would not falter if he could, and he could not if he would. The New York Institu- tion for the Deaf is the embodiment of the spirit of the two noble women-mother and wife-now in the land that knows no sorrow, who fostered, encouraged and aided the founder in his glorious work for many years, and who now in the evening of life is as loyally and effectively aided by her who for nearly twenty years has taken their place. The worth of such lives cannot be estimated, only the rec- ords kept by Divine hands will ever reveal their true value to humanity's cause.
DICKINSON, Pomeroy P., Lawyer.
Over a century ago Pomeroy M. Dick- inson left his home in Amherst, Massa- chusetts, and drove westward, finally
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settling on a tract of wild land in what is now known as the town of Irondequoit, Monroe county, New York. There his grandson, Pomeroy P. Dickinson, of Rochester, was born and there members of the Dickinson family yet own the land settled upon by the founder of the family in 1805. Pomeroy P. Dickinson, son of Pomeroy M. Dickinson, fell a victim to the malarial conditions which then ex- isted in the district and was succeeded by his son, Alfred L. Dickinson, and his brothers, Levi A. and Charles, the former named having been a farmer of Irondequoit until his death in 1894. He was one of the substantial men of his neighborhood, pursuing the even tenor of his way throughout a useful life, aiding in all the movements of church and town which marked his period of life. Of strong Christian character, he was highly esteemed by his community and left to his children the record of a life well spent. He married Martha Anderson, who died in 1904, aged eighty-three years, daughter of Hixon Anderson, a soldier of the Revolution.
Pomeroy P. Dickinson, son of Alfred L. and Martha (Anderson) Dickinson, was born at the homestead farm, town of Irondequoit, Monroe county, New York, September 20, 1852, and is now and since 1875, has been a resident of the city of Rochester. His early life was spent at the home farm, his preliminary educational training being obtained in the district public school. He was later a student at De Graff Military School, and made thor- ough preparation for admission to Yale. His plans were altered and he entered Co- lumbia College, completing a course in the law department, whence he was gradu- ated, class of 1875. After obtaining his degree from Columbia, Mr. Dickinson located in Rochester, was admitted to the Monroe county bar, and at once began his professional career. Forty-one years have
since elapsed, years which have brought him honorable success as a lawyer and prominence as a citizen. For several of his earlier years at the bar he was in partnership with George A. Benton, later a justice of the New York Supreme Court, but since the dissolution of that association he has practiced alone. He was in course of time admitted to prac- tice in all State and Federal courts of the district and in all is of record in connec- tion with most important causes He is regarded as one of the strong men of the Rochester bar, and holds the unqualified respect of the judges before whom he ap- pears and of the members of the bar to which he belongs. He is the trusted ad- viser and legal representative of a great number of individuals and business con- cerns, and has fairly won the confidence they repose in his ability to conserve their interests. He is a member of the Roches- ter and other bar associations, and to their proceedings contributes by voice and pen.
In politics he is a Republican, and he has well served his city in various ways. During the ten years prior to the passage of the Raines Law regulating the sale of liquor in the State of New York, Mr. Dickinson was a member of the board of excise commissioners of the city of Rochester, and as president of that board exercised a healthy influence over that department of the city government. He brought to his position both zeal and knowledge of the subjects upon which he was to legislate, and while himself con- forming to the laws governing the excise department also enforced the observance of those laws upon the applicants for and holders of licenses.
To classical education and professional learning, he has added the broadening culture of travel and association with prominent men both at home and abroad. He has toured Europe exten-
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sively and has contributed many articles to the press, descriptive of his travels and impressions of foreign lands. A grace- ful, entertaining writer, he is no less flu- ent a speaker and charms with eloquent speech. He is a strong advocate for the cause in which he enlists, but the duties of a learned profession have not quenched the social instinct and he is one of the prominent, popular members of fraternal and social bodies. He is strongly at- tached to the Masonic order, belonging to the various Rochester bodies of that order, and among his brethren his intel- lectual gifts and finely balanced mind are as highly appreciated as by his brethren of the bench and bar. He was the or- ganizer of the Lincoln Club of Rochester, a club which attained a large member- ship and wrought great good.
Mr. Dickinson married, in 1882, Emma Marsh, who bore him two daughters: Pomona and Esther, deceased.
KNAPP, Homer, Contractor and Builder.
For over a quarter of a century Homer Knapp has been a resident, a valued citi- zen, a leading contractor and builder and business man of Rochester, New York. He came to the city well equipped to enter the building field, possessing expert mechanical ability, experience as a con- tractor, and a mind well stored with technical information. He began in a quiet way but his good work and fair dealing soon brought him into promi- nence. With reputation established, op- portunities for bigger things were offered and to-day many are the important build- ings of a public nature and costly private residences that stand as monuments to his constructive genius. His life has been a strict interpretation of the Golden Rule, and no man has more fully won the esteem and confidence of his fellow men than has Homer Knapp.
He is a native son of New York State, although his parents were born in widely separated states, his father, George W. Knapp, in Delaware, his mother, Caroline (Haskell) Knapp, in New Hampshire, daughter of one of the oldest New Eng- land families. They married and settled in Steuben county, New York, where Homer Knapp was born, March 29, 1858. He attended public schools until complet- ing their full course, then entered the Free Academy at Corning, New York, whence he was graduated in 1876 He served an apprenticeship at the carpen- ter's trade and then added to his builder's knowledge mastery of the mason's trade, serving a full apprenticeship in both call- ings. During these years spent in acquir- ing practical knowledge and experience, he added to his mental equippment by courses of study pursued at schools and in private. With muscle and brain thus developed, he sought to put them to the best use and after a term as journeyman began business for himself as contractor and builder. He located at Corning, New York, and met with the success his abili- ity demanded. In 1888 he sought a wider field of action and located in Rochester, which city has since been the scene of his highly successful operations. Among the public buildings he has contracted for and erected in Rochester the more impor- tant are the Masonic Temple, the Seneca Hotel, the Strong Building, the Brick Presbyterian Church, the Brick Church Institute, German United Trinity Church, East Side Presbyterian Church, Public Schools Nos. 18, 28, and 36, Irondequoit School, Oak Hill Country Club House, and the American Fruit Product Com- pany's plant. In the residence section he has erected many of the handsome houses that are the pride of Rochester, including the Curtis, Cory, Eastwood, Bissell, Ad- kin, and Collins mansions, and many others equally noteworthy. He was one
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of the organizers of the Composite Brick Company, of Brighton, manufacturers of brick, cement and concrete blocks, was elected its first president, and still is the executive head of the company. He aided in organizing the Elmendorf Realty Com- pany, of which he is vice-president, and is vice-president of the Genesee Valley Realty Company. While his business in- terests have brought him a degree of prominence, his disposition prefers the quiet walks of life, home and friends con- stituting his greatest enjoyments.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Knapp has ever taken active interest in public affairs, but has never sought nor accepted public office. He lends the weight of his influence to any movement that promises the advancement of the public good and in all things meets the requirements of good citizenship. He is a Mason of high degree, belonging to Genesee Falls Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Ionic Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons; Cyrene Com- mandery, Knights Templar; and Damas- cus Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In Scottish Rite Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree, Rochester Con- sistory. He is also a member of Key- stone Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Flower City Lodge, Knights of Pythias. For two years he was president of the Rochester Carpen- ters' Association.
Mr. Knapp married, in 1894, Mary E., daughter of Joseph Graham, of Corning, New York. Their children are : Emma J. and Mildred H.
HAMILTON, R. Andrew,
Retired Business Man, Public Official.
Leadership in more than one line is sel- dom vouchsafed to an individual, but R. Andrew Hamilton, who to a considerable extent has retired from active business
life, yet gives personal supervision to his invested interests, which are extensive and valuable, has aided largely in mold- ing public thought and opinion in busi- ness, political and social circles. En- dowed by nature with strong mentality, he has carefully prepared for every duty devolving upon him, and with a sense of conscientious obligation he has met every requirement and responsibility.
R. Andrew Hamilton was born in Rochester, New York, February 11, 1873, son of the Rev. Gavin L. Hamilton, a native of Scotland, born in 1831, came to the United States in 1840, died in 1911. In early manhood Rev. Gavin L. Hamil- ton married Catherine Semple, a native of Scotland, came to the United States in 1840, a sister of A. M. Semple, who for many years was a leading grocer of Rochester, so continuing in business up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1886. Mrs. Hamilton died in 1891. In addition to R. Andrew Hamilton there is a daughter of the family living at the present time, Mrs. R. C. Watson, who re- sides at No. 252 Alexander street, Roches- ter.
In early boyhood R. Andrew Hamilton became a student in the public schools of his native city, passed through consecu- tive grades, and his more advanced edu- cation was acquired in the University of Rochester, from which he was graduated in the class of 1895. The following year he began his business career as the pro- prietor of the Semple Retail Grocery Store, located on Main street, East, which he continued to conduct with a large de- gree of success until the year 1906 when he leased the store. After the death of his uncle, A. M. Semple, and prior to his taking charge of the business, the store was conducted by W. E. Woodbury. Since his retirement from mercantile pur- suits, Mr. Hamilton has been devoting his
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time and attention to the supervision of his real estate and other interests, in the management of which he displays ex- cellent business ability, keen foresight and strong determination, characteristics which make for success in any field of en- deavor. In the spring of 1907 he was elected a director of the Rochester Trust and Safe Deposit Company, in which ca- pacity his value as a man of worth and in- telligence has often been proven and his judgment often tested. He has also taken an active interest in political affairs, and is thoroughly alive to all that pertains to good citizenship, affiliating himself with whatever has a tendency to permanently benefit his locality. He was elected a member of the Common Council in 1909, representing the Twelfth Ward, and as a reward for faithful service was reelected in 1911 and 1913, and during his entire tenure of office promoted the interests of his constituents in every way possible. He resigned from this office in order to accept the office of commissioner of pub- lic safety of Rochester, being chosen from many applicants as the man best quali- fied for this responsible position, which fact is ample evidence of his popularity and efficiency. Mr. Hamilton is an inter- ested and active member of the Central Church of Rochester, has served on the board of trustees since 1897 and has been secretary of the board since 1899. In Masonry he has taken both the Scottish and York Rite degrees, being a member of Rochester Consistory, Monroe Com- mandery and the Mystic Shrine, and is in hearty sympathy with the teachings and tenets of the craft, in his life exemplifying its beneficent principles. He is a mem- ber of the Rochester Whist Club, the Uni- versity Club and the Rochester Automo- bile Club, being highly esteemed in all organizations. He is courteous, genial and obliging, and these qualities render
him very popular, so that his circle of friends is very extensive.
Mr. Hamilton married, October 23, 1901, Mae Ward, a daughter of Joseph Ward, of Rochester, and they are the parents of three children, namely: Ward Lindsay, Robert Andrew, Jr., and Charles Watson.
Such is the brief career of one who has achieved not only honorable success and high standing among men, but whose en- tire life has been irreproachably correct, so that his character is above suspicion. His life record demonstrates the fact that success depends not upon circumstances or environments, but upon the man, and the prosperous citizen is he who is able to recognize and improve his opportuni- ties.
GOFF, Frank M., Lawyer.
The ancestry of Frank M. Goff, of the Rochester bar, carries far into the past and to the mountains of Wales from whence came Robert Goff to Rehoboth, Massachusetts, where according to the records of that town he married Hannah Horton, May 8, 1733.
(II) Their son, Comfort Goff, born in Rehoboth, September 25, 1734, died in the town of Rush, Monroe county, New York, in 1819. He married, January 20, 1757, Susannah, daughter of Seth and Bethia (Lee) Garnzey, and the same year moved to Colchester, Connecticut, where he owned and cultivated a farm on the Cole- brook road which he conveyed to Na- thaniel Russell in 1784. In later years he joined his sons in Rush, Monroe county. These sons were: Charles, Comfort, Enoch, Garnzey, Squire, of further men- tion, and Samuel D.
(III) Squire Goff (known as Elder Goff) was born about 1762, died in Can-
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ada in 1825. In 1803 James Wadsworth, as agent for Jeremiah Wadsworth, who was the owner of five thousand acres in the town of Rush, Monroe county, New York, prosecuted a system for exchang- ing these wild lands for farms, "when their occupants would become settlers." While on such a mission to Connecticut he met Elder Squire Goff, then the pas- tor of a small church at Hartford, and unfolded to him his plan to induce emi- gration to Monroe county. He offered Elder Goff such attractive inducements that he made the journey to Rush to "spy out the land." He was so pleased with the lands that he purchased one hundred and thirty acres for himself at four dollars and thirty cents per acre and returned to Connecticut to form a colony. In the spring of 1804 he returned to Rush with his five brothers and their father, also with ten other families, all settling in the locality known as "Gofftown." Here was founded the original Goff family in Mon- roe county and here was built the first Baptist church with a settled pastor in what we now know as Monroe county. Elder Squire Goff preached at the dif- ferent houses in the settlement until 1806, when Mr. Wadsworth donated four acres of land in the town called "The Square" and on it was erected a frame building, the lumber being obtained from "Nor- ton's Mills," now Honeoye Falls. That building served as a house of worship and school house until 1830, Elder Squire Goff ministering as pastor until 1816, when he moved to Lewistown, Connecti- cut. He married (first) Experience Brainerd, (second) Eunice (Brainerd) Rowley, his first wife's sister and widow of Samuel Rowley. He was the father of fourteen children, of whom the second was Roswell.
(IV) Roswell Goff was born in 1786 in Connecticut, died in the State of Michi-
gan in 1834. He came to Rush with his father, grandfather, uncles, cousins and neighbors in 1804 and resided at Goff- town until his removal to Michigan. He married (first) Fanny Davis, (second) Betsey, daughter of Elias Thompson, (third) Eunice Billings. He was the father of four children by his first wife, two by his second and seven by his third.
(V) Henry Haight Goff, eldest son of Roswell Goff by his second wife, Betsey (Thompson) Goff, was born at Henrietta, Monroe county, New York, in 1821, died at Spencerport, New York, August 9, 1896. He was a school teacher in early life, one of the very first teachers at the Western House of Refuge, now known as the New York State Industrial School. Later he became a landowning farmer and a dealer in farm produce, so continuing until his death in August, 1904, a man honored and esteemed by all. He mar- ried, March 17, 1850, Sarah E. Wright, of equally early Monroe county family, a descendant of the New England family which produced many noted men includ- ing the Revolutionary patriot, Colonel Ethan Allen, whose capture of the fort- ress at Ticonderoga, New York, and his other brave deeds at the head of the Green Mountain Boys immortalized his name. Mrs. Sarah E. Goff died in 1898, leaving two sons, Frank M. and Ben- ton H.
(VI) Frank M. Goff, son of Henry H. and Sarah E. (Wright) Goff, was born at Spencerport, Monroe county, New York, December 22, 1851, and until recent years retained his residence in the village of his birth. His youth was spent at the home farm, in attendance at the public schools and in more advanced study at the Brock- port State Normal School. After gradu- ation from Normal in 1870 he spent two years at the University of Rochester ; took a course in Bryant & Stratton's Busi-
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ness College, and in 1873 began the study of law. Three years later, in 1876, he was admitted to the Monroe county bar, and from that year has been constantly in practice in Rochester, his offices 838 Pow- ers building. There is deep satisfaction for Mr. Goff in a retrospective view of those twenty years and in comparing his few professional engagements of the early days with the full docket of to-day, and in realizing that it has been his own strength as a lawyer and his devotion to the best tenets of his profession that has brought the change. The law is right- fully termed one of the learned profes- sions, but more than learning is required to produce the successful lawyer or jurist, character and temperament must go hand in hand with learning, and a confidence established for integrity and courtesy be- fore intellectual attainment is given op- portunity. These qualities brought Mr. Goff his early clients and so well did he prove his learning and skill in those early years that success came to him abun- dantly. He is a worker, a deep student of all that concerns a case, is thorough in his preparation, ready with law and prece- dent, a logical reasoner and a strong ad- vocate. Of genial, friendly manner, cour- teous to both court and opponent, he holds the attention of a jury and with eloquent, graceful speech presents to them his side of the contention. He is a member of the bar association, practices in all State and Federal courts of the district, serving a large and influential clientele with zealous devotion.
He is of eminently social nature and he mingles with his many friends in social and fraternal association. He belongs to the different Masonic bodies of Rochester, and in Scottish Rite Masonry has gained the thirty-second degree. He is a mem- ber of the Masonic Club, the Rochester Whist Club, the Rochester Historical So-
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