USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I > Part 23
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Captain William Fitzhugh Endress, only son of Col. William F. Endress, died on ship- board, September 7, 1915, enroute to his sta- tion in the Panama Canal Zone. Capt. En- dress was a graduate of West Point, and for twelve years had been in active military serv- ice. For two years he had been on duty in the Canal Zone, and when the canal was opened was superintendent of the Gatun Lock.
Capt. Fred H. Wilson, chief of the James- town Fire Department, was killed in an auto- mobile accident three miles from Butler, Penn- sylvania, September 26, 1915, while on his way home from Pittsburgh, where he had taken his daughter to school. Capt. Wilson had been a member of the fire department since 1888, and from 1898 had been chief. He was a member of the Fenton Guards (13th Separate Com- pany ) for twenty-seven years, was elected cap- tain in 1903, and on October 3, 1914, was placed on the retired list. He served in the Spanish- American War, and was the veteran leader of his firemen at scores of fires. He was greatly beloved by his men, and held a place deep in the hearts of the people of his city. A gallant soldier and fireman, yet it was his sterling char- acter as a man, his integrity of purpose and honesty that endeared him to those who knew him best. The flags of the city floated at half- mast in his honor, and the day of his funeral the city offices and many business houses were closed. He was buried with the full military honors befitting his rank.
At the November election in 1915, William H. Marvin, Republican, was elected sheriff over J. William Sanbury, Democrat ; Luther S. Lakin, Jr., Republican, was elected county clerk for the third time : Bergen F. Illston was reelected coroner ; Leon L. Fancher was elected member of Assembly from the First District, and Joseph A. McGinnies from the Second District. There were many changes in the Board of Supervisors, the new board stand- ing twenty-three Republicans, six Democrats, one Prohibitionist. The new constitution was defeated both in county and State, the county
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CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
voting 7,709 for, 8,792 against. The vote on woman suffrage was 9,763 for, 7,002 against. The vote for sheriff was: Marvin, 11,250; Sandbury, 4,224.
The Board of Supervisors met in annual ses- sion, November 8, 1915. The officials of the board, elective and appointive, were continued in office for another year. The assessed value of real estate in the county increased over 1914, $2,053,339.
Charles S. Whitman, Governor of New York State, was the guest of the county, November 17-18, spending the night in Dunkirk, thence to Jamestown the following morning. The visit was without political significance.
Capt. Newel Cheney, son of Nelson E. Cheney, a pioneer of the county, died at his home in Poland Center, December 8, 1915, in his eightieth year. Captain Cheney was a veteran of the Ninth Regiment, New York Cavalry, enlisting September 10, 1861, in Jamestown, and serving three years. He was commissioned first lieutenant of Company C, September 10, 1862; captain of Company F, February 12, 1864; and was mustered out, October 25, 1864, with the brevet rank of major. He was prominent in Grand Army circles and in the Grange; was supervisor and Assemblyman ; and a man both admired and respected.
Luman W. Pierce, president of the Empire State Degree of Honor, a district deputy of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and a leading Democrat of the town of Stockton, dropped dead in his home at Stockton, January 3, 1916. He was a prosperous dairy farmer near the village of Stockton, and a man of the highest standing in the community. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, the funeral in charge of his brethren of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
S. Winsor Baker, general manager and treas- urer of the Gurney Ball Bearing Company, died at his home in Jamestown, January 4, 1916. He aided greatly in the phenomenal growth of the company with which he was connected for about three years prior to his death. He was buried in Lake View Ceme- tery. Resolutions of highest appreciation and respect were passed by the directors of the Gurney Ball Bearing Company.
John D. Johnson, president of the Swedish- American National Bank, died in Jamestown, January 20, 1916, aged seventy. He was born in Sweden, but was brought to Chautauqua county when seven years of age, and by his own efforts rose to high rank as business man and citizen.
The New York State Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, met in forty-third annual session in Jamestown the week of January 31, 1916. The Grange is one of the largest fraternal orders and the annual session one of the largest dele- gate bodies in the State. During the session, Sherman J. Lowell, of Fredonia, was elected master of the order in New York State.
At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, May 23, 1916, the county was redistricted in order to balance the population in the two Assembly districts. The First District was shorn of the towns of Arkwright, Stockton and Villenova, leaving a population of 53,608, those towns when added to the Second District in- creasing the population to 53,253. The dis- tricts as divided were thus constituted: First District-Jamestown, Busti, Carroll, Charlotte, Cherry Creek, Ellery, Ellicott, Ellington, Gerry, Harmony, Kiantone, Poland. Second District-Dunkirk, Arkwright, Chautauqua, Clymer, French Creek, Hanover, Mina, Pom- fret, Portland, Ripley, Sheridan, Sherman, Stockton, Villenova, Westfield.
Charles Baker, a lifelong resident of Ripley, died at his home in the village, May 23, 1916. In 1914 Mr. Baker's vineyards, which he per- sonally tended, yielded more grapes by weight to the acre than any other farm in Chautauqua county. He was seventy-five years of age, and left a widow, Mrs. Margaret Hardinger Baker; a son, Frank J. Baker ; and a daughter, Mrs. Clarence H. Holden.
On June 1, 1916, about fifty assessors repre- senting practically every town in the county and the cities of Jamestown and Dunkirk, met at Mayville and formed an organization of the assessors of Chautauqua county. This was done under the authority of the Board of Su- pervisors, who acted upon the recommenda- tion of the State Board of Tax Commissioners. John I. Venness, of Lakewood, was elected president; I. A. Wilcox, of Portland, vice- president; Judd A. Woodward, of Stockton, secretary.
The Fenton Guards (Company E, 65th Regi- ment, New York National Guard) were called out under the order mobilizing the National Guard of the State, and began assembling at their armory June 19, 1916. They were later transferred to the 74th Regiment on July I, 1916, sworn into the United States service, and on Tuesday, July 4, left for Buffalo to join the 74th Regiment under orders to entrain for Mission, Texas. Capt. Charles A. Sandburg was in command of Company E; A. Bartholdi Peterson, first lieutenant ; Donald S. Brown, second lieutenant.
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OPENING OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
This was the first of a series of military demonstrations that Chautauqua county wit- nessed during the four years of warfare cul- minating in the destruction of German power. The 74th was sent to the Mexican border as a part of the policy of dealing with Mexico.
Mrs. Sarah L. (Jones) Hall, widow of Sam- uel J. Hall, who for more than half a century was a teacher in the public schools, died in Jamestown, July 1I, 1916. She was born in Jamestown in 1832, and while still in her teens began teaching. A few years later she mar- ried, and after her husband's death resumed work in the school room, only giving up teach- ng at the age of seventy-five.
Charles E. Hughes, Republican candidate For President, visited Chautauqua county, Sat- arday, September 30, stops being made at Westfield, Fredonia, Jamestown, Dunkirk and Silver Creek. Mr. Hughes was enthusias- ically received and his remarks were listened o with marked attention. Ernest Cawcroft, of Chautauqua, and his former law partner, Wil- iam L. Ransom (not for years, however, a esident of the county) were announced as can- lidates for presidential electors by the Repub- ican State Committee.
Judge Samuel Seabury, in his campaign for Governor of the State, visited the county and elivered an address in Jamestown, Saturday ight, October 29, at the Samuel's Opera House. Governor Charles S. Whitman also isited the county during the closing days of he campaign.
Chautauqua county gave Hughes a total vote f 14,717; Wilson, 7,137; Whitman, 14,182; eabury, 5,697; Charles M. Hamilton, Repub- can, was elected Congressman; George H. pring, State Senator; Leon L. Fancher and oseph A. McGinnies, Assemblymen ; William :. Stearns, district attorney ; Frank S. Wheel- r, special county judge; Robert J. Cooper, pecial surrogate; Edward Osgood, coroner. gburt E. Woodbury, a Chautauqua county lan, carried the county for attorney-general y a plurality of 9,456.
The Board of Supervisors met in annual ses- on November 13, and organized by the elec- on of A. Morelle Cheney, of Ellery, chair- an; Dr. L. P. McCray, of Clymer, chairman o tem .; Joseph A. McGinnies, clerk; Louis .cKinstry, assistant clerk; J. A. Clary, jour- :il clerk ; Edmund Dearing, page. The clerk's : port showed that the assessed value of real itate in the county was $66,363,491, an in- ease over 1915 of $3,124,968.
Two heavy steel cars, moving rapidly, col- lled on a curve just northeast of Westfield
station on the Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern railway. They met with such force that they telescoped, crushing the life out of both motormen, and injuring about every passenger. Frank Wood and Herman Swanson, both of Jamestown, were the killed men, and Martin Colby, of Westfield, was so severely injured that he died the following morning, January 2, 1917.
Judge Vernon E. Peckham, for several years special county judge of Chautauqua county and for more than a decade referee in bank- ruptcy for Chautauqua and Cattaraugus coun- ties, died in Jamestown, February I, 1917.
After seven months on the border in the United States service, the 74th Regiment re- turned to Buffalo, February 20, 1917, Com- pany E, which left Jamestown in July, 1916, with two officers and 135 men, reaching James- town on February 24 following, their roster showing three officers and III men. They were given a hearty demonstrative welcome. There had been no deaths in the company dur- ing their long period of border service.
The county heard with regret of the death of Phin M. Miller, a native of the town of Stock- ton, and one of Chautauqua's ablest sons, in Buffalo, Sunday, March 25, 1917. He was in- terested in county journalism for some years, but later accepted prominent position with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railway, con- tinuing with it until reaching the age limit, when he was retired on a pension. He was a county school commissioner, and the author of the chapter on the schools of Chautauqua county, published in "Centennial History of Chautauqua County, 1902." He was president of the Chautauqua Historical Society several years, and as head of that organization did much to stimulate interest in historical re- search and the preservation of family records.
Captain Charles A. Sandburg, commanding Company E, 74th Regiment, received orders on March 29 to immediately report with his company at Buffalo for muster into the United States service. The order was rescinded later, and the company was mustered in at James- town and placed as guards at railroad bridges and important points in the county. While engaged in guarding the Nickel Plate railroad bridge at Silver Creek on the night of May 6, or early morning of May 7, 1917, Private Sand- berg was instantly killed by a passing freight train, which struck his rifle barrel with such force that it was bent almost double around the young man's neck, killing him instantly. Private Sandberg joined the company in June, 1916, and was the first and only man of Com-
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CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
pany E, to give up his life for his country dur- ing his connection with the company.
Rev. Elliot Chapin Hall, youngest child of William and Julia (Jones) Hall, died in James- town, April 27, 1917, just two days before his seventy-ninth birthday. After fourteen years in the ministry of the Congregational church, he was called home by the illness of his father, and thereafter resided at the homestead in Jamestown. He was identified with important interests and became prominent in the business life of his city. He married Tirzah Snell, daughter of Professor E. S. Snell, of Amherst, and they were the parents of Martha S., E. Snell and Tirzah H. Hall.
At a special meeting of the Board of Super- visors, William J. Knauer was reelected county superintendent of highways, and Luke H. Fay, of Portland, was chosen commissioner of elec- tions.
The enrollment of men between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one ordered by the United States Government, reached a total in Chautauqua of practically 10,000 names.
Emmons J. Swift, for nineteen years treas- urer of Chautauqua county, made public on June 20, his determination not to again accept the office.
James L. Weeks, an eminent member of the Chautauqua bar and a former mayor of James- town, died at his summer home on Chautauqua Lake, September 2, 1917.
Charles E. Dodge, county superintendent of the poor, died at the administration building, Dewittville, October 3, 1917. He was in his sixty-third year, and for fifteen years had held the office above mentioned.
On October.27, 1917, Charles M. Dow was named Federal fuel administrator for Chau- tauqua county.
At the November elections, 1917, William J. Doty was elected county treasurer ; Gerry W. Colgrove, county superintendent of the poor ; Charles Blood, reelected coroner, an office he had held for forty years; James Martin, coro- ner ; J. Samuel Fowler, State Senator from the Fifty-first District; Hermes L. Ames and Joseph A. McGinnies, Assemblymen from the First and Second Chautauqua districts.
On November 12, 1917, the Board of Super- visors met in annual session in Mayville. The chairman, chairman pro tem. and clerk were continued in office. Louis Mckinstry was elected assistant clerk ; James A. Cleary, jour- nal clerk; Edmund Dearing, page. The clerk's report showed as one item that the assessed valuation of real estate in the county was $75,- 624,209, an increase over 1916 of $9,260,864.
A native son of Chautauqua, and in his sev- entieth year, Clement B. Jones, for a quarter of. a century city clerk of Jamestown, died with! the opening of the new year. Dr. Robert New- land Blanchard, a leading physician of James- town, where he had been in practice forty. years, died January 18, 1918, in his sixtieth year. He was Jamestown's first health officer.
The main building of the Strong Veneer Company plant at Gerry, the pioneer veneer factory in the county, was burned to the ground on February 16, 1918. John Strong, father of B. E. Strong, president of the com- pany, made the first veneer by machinery driven by horsepower, the son, B. E. Strong, driving the horse which furnished the power.
George T. Armstrong, a lawyer of James- town at one time, associated with Benjamin S. Dean and Frank W. Mott in practice, diec March 7, 1917. He was a leader of the Demo- cratic party in the city, and for six years a civil service commissioner. Mrs. Hannah G Leslie ("Grandma"), probably the oldest resi. dent of Chautauqua county, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Elliot A. Fenton, ir Jamestown, April 8, 1918, aged 100 years, three months, eight days.
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The "Jamestown Journal," under date o March 7, 1918, announced editorially that no" only had Chautauqua county gone "over the top" in the matter of the Third Liberty Loan but every city and town in the county hac done its share, reached its allotment, and gone beyond it.
Marion N. Fisher, son of Judge Jerome B Fisher, was appointed assistant district attor ney for Chautauqua county by District Attor ney William S. Stearns, vice Warner S. Rex ford, resigned.
On May 12, Governor Whitman signed th bill establishing a county children's court fo Chautauqua county.
The will was drafted by the State Probation Commission, and embodied several new fea tures. The new court was created as a sepa rate part of the county court to be preside over by the county judge or special count: judge.
A special meeting of the Board of Super visors was held May 15, 1918. The regula annual meeting of the board elected in Novem ber, 1917, was not until the following Novem ber, and the term of A. Morelle Cheney, chair man of the 1917-18 board having expired th preceding January Ist. Dr. L. P. McCray, c Clymer, was elected temporary chairman t serve until the annual meeting. Every mer ber of the board responded to his name excef
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OPENING OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Frank O. Olson, who had been away from the county for a year, but still held the office of supervisor from Jamestown.
Emmet C. Nixon, granite and marble dealer of Westfield, was killed, and Dr. Stephen A. Brown shot through the jaw, on May 21, 1918, it Westfield, by Joseph J. Johnson. Gerald G. Gibbs, a lawyer of Westfield, who disarmed Johnson, would have lost his life had John- son's revolver not missed fire as Gibbs was advancing upon him.
Alfred P. Hall died at Long Beach, Cali- ornia, July 15. 1917. He was identified with manufacturing in Jamestown from boyhood, ind with the development of three of the im- portant industries of the city-The James- own Worsted Mills, the Art Metal Construc- jon Company, and the Gurney Ball Bearing Company. He served his city in public posi- ion, and was deeply interested in church work.
James T. Fowler, aged eighty, died in James- own, October 21, 1918, having been a resi- .ent of that city for over half a century. He vas a prominent member of the Chautauqua ar, a lover of books, and extremely fond of hildren. Jarvis K. Wilson, aged eighty-two, ied at his home in Gerry, October 23, 1918. Ie was a lifelong resident of Gerry, and for a umber of years was superintendent of the jerry Home and Orphanage.
Chautauqua maintained her prestige among olid Republican counties by the usual plurali- es for the county ticket. Judge Arthur B. Ittaway was reelected county judge, and Har- y N. Crosby, surrogate, without opposition. ach of them receiving over 18,000 votes. ames S. McCallum was elected sheriff by a ote of 15.058, and Miss Ellen P. Yates, county erk, by practically 12,000 votes over her near- st opponent.
Daniel A. Reed, of Dunkirk, was elected to ongress from the Thirteenth District : J. Sam- el Fowler, State Senator from the Fifty-first district ; Hermes L. Ames and Joseph A. Mc- innies were reelected to the Assembly from le First and Second Chautauqua districts; d David Lincoln was elected coroner to suc- ed Dr. B. F. Illston. For Governor, the ounty went 17,659 for Whitman, 5,864 for Afred A. Smith, the Democratic candidate, ho was elected.
The Board of Supervisors met in annual ses- on in Mayville, November 1I, 1918. there Fing eleven new members to answer roll call. Jr. L. P. McCray was elected chairman ; oseph A. McGinnies, clerk ; William L. Nut- tll, chairman pro tem. Louis Mckinstry was
elected assistant clerk; Joseph A. Clary, jour- nal clerk; Edmund Dearing, page. During the first session of the board, F. J. McCarthy, of Hanover, was stricken and quickly passed away.
With other newly-elected county officials, Miss Ellen P. Yates entered upon the duties of clerk of Chautauqua county, January 1, 1919, one of the first women in the State to assume the responsibilities of an important county office.
Louis Mckinstry, for many years owner and editor of the "Fredonia Censor," died at his home in Fredonia, March 5, 1919. Although not continuous, he gave fifty years of service to the county in clerical positions, and year after year was unanimously elected assistant clerk of the Board of Supervisors. He attended the session of the board late in December, 1918, but owing to infirmities could not climb the stairs to the board room. He did attend the annual banquet of the board, and made a char- acteristic address which he regarded as his farewell. He went to eternal rest and reward with the love and respect of the people of Chautauqua county.
On April 1, 1919, more than one hundred veteran members of Company E and other units of the 108th Regiment, 27th Division, United States Army, returned from overseas, arrived in Jamestown and were warmly re- ceived.
The death of Miss Minnie E. Fletcher, which occurred during the week of April 7, 1919, re- moved the last of a family prominent in Chau- tauqua county journalism for sixty years, Miss Fletcher being the last to retire from news- paper work. Her father, Adolphus Fletcher, established the Jamestown "Journal" in 1826, and until 1892, when the Chautauqua "Demo- crat" ceased to exist, Miss Fletcher, better known as "Minnie" Fletcher, was city editor of that paper. She then became a teacher in the Jamestown public schools, age and failing health compelling her resignation in 1916. "None knew her but to love her, none named her but to praise."
Judge Jerome B. Fisher, for ten years judge of Chautauqua county and for fourteen years reporter of New York State Supreme Court, died June 18, 1919. He was eminent in the law, prominent in the fraternal orders and in the politics of the county and a most graceful elo- quent public speaker.
William N. Gokey, who for forty years had been identified with Jamestown's business interests, died in Jamestown, October 6, 1919.
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CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
Ernest F. Rowley, at one time an extensive manufacturer of butter and cheese, with a chain of factories in Cattaraugus and Chau- tauqua counties, died in Kennedy, Chau- tauqua county, October 13, 1919. He served as supervisor from Ellington in 1889 and 1890, and was a factor in county affairs for a score of years.
The usual Republican majories prevailed at the November election in 1919. William S. Stearns was reelected district attorney ; Frank S. Wheeler, special county judge; Robert R. Cooper, special surrogate ; Edward B. Osgood, coroner ; Hermes L. Ames, Assemblyman from the First Chautauqua District; Joseph A. Mc- Ginnies, Assemblyman from the Second Dis- trict. Five supervisors were elected from Dun- kirk instead of two, six from Jamestown in- stead of three, and two from Harmony, owing to a change in the law and to a division of the town of Harmony, the new town being known as North Harmony.
The annual meeting of the Board of Super- visors elected in 1918 was called to order No- vember 10, 1919, the roll-call disclosing every member present. Supervisor Pettit spoke feel- ingly of the departed Louis Mckinstry, who for thirty-two years had been assistant clerk of the board, and asked the members to rise in re- spect to his memory. Dr. L. P. McCray was reelected chairman, W. L. Nuttall, chairman pro tem., and J. A. McGinnies, clerk. Gerald E. Frey was elected assistant clerk; James A. Clary, journal clerk; Edmund Dearing, page.
On Tuesday, November 1I, 1919, a great crowd witnessed an Armistice Day parade of service men of Chautauqua county, who were escorted through the streets with great pomp and pageantry. The first division of the parade, led by Colonel William F. Endress, was en- tirely military, Major Charles A. Sandburg in command of Company E, 74th Regiment, New York National Guard; Major A. Bartholdi Peterson in command of service men ; and staff of Ira Lou Spring Post, American Legion ; service men of Jamestown, Dunkirk, Fredonia, Westfield, Silver Creek, Ripley, Brocton, May- ville, Sherman, Bemus Point, Falconer, Ken- nedy. Ellington, Frewsburg, and other places ; and allied service men, under the lead of Cap- tain George W. Cottis. Next came the serv- ice flags, overseas' workers, Red Cross work- ers under the direction of Mrs. Harry P. Shel- don; Spanish War veterans and veterans of foreign wars; Jamestown Battalion, State Cadets. The second division was historical ; the third, industrial; the fourth, automobile.
The entire city caught the spirit of enthusiasm and the national colors were seen everywhere On Third street was an imposing arch of flags and banners which was illuminated at night by powerful electric lights. Thousands of vis- itors were in the city, and enthusiasm per vaded the crowds which lined the route ove; which the parade passed. About two thousand service men of the county marched in the pro- cession, all parts being well represented. The outstanding feature of the parade, aside from its length and the excellence of the floats, was the enthusiasm with which the service mer were received all along the line.
George E. McLaury, a former supervisor o the town of Sheridan, 1897-1905, died Novem ber 12, 1919, aged eighty-one. Henry M Keith, supervisor of the town of Sherman, re cently elected for a seventh term, died Novem ber 17, 1919. The vacancy caused by his death was temporarily filled by the appointment o I. O. Ottaway, president of the State Bank o Sherman.
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