USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume II > Part 65
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Gardner D. Walker was born in 1831, in Charlotte township, N. Y., and was a son of Jesse and Sarah (Hooker) Walker, both of whom were representatives of old agricultural families of the county. Gardner D. Walker was reared on the home farm, acquiring his ed- ucation in local schools, and on reaching manhood was associated with his father in the management of the homestead until the echo of the guns bombarding Fort Sumter resounded through the land and the call of President Lincoln for volunteers thrilled the heart of every patriot. On Sept. 25, 1862, Mr. Walker enlisted, in Jamestown, for a term of three years' service, as corporal in Company F, 154th Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Thomas Donley, and later Captain John G. Griswold, and Colonel A. G. Rice and later Colonel R. H. Jones. The regiment was assigned to the First Brigade and Division Corps, Army of the Potomac, and participated in the battle of Warrentown, after which it was ordered to German- town, and thence to Falmouth. It saw service in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettys- burg, and it was in the last-named engagement, fought on the first three days of July, 1863, that Corporal Walker was taken prisoner. He was confined at Belle Island from July 3 until the advent of cold weather, when he was transferred to Libby Prison.
Meanwhile in his faraway home in the North, his young wife was anxiously waiting for news of her soldier husband. Corporal Walker had married Sophia C. Wright, born in Gerry township, N. Y., daughter of Alexis and Martha (Patty) (Dingman) Wright, resi- dents of that township and members of two of its old families. Two children had been born to Mr. and Mrs. Walker: Emma J., now the wife of Frank Bushey, of Jamestown; and Gardner J., a farmer of Carroll township.
But never was the gallant young patriot to return to his waiting wife and their infant children. All too soon came the sad news that, on Jan. 31, 1864, he had breathed his last in captivity, a victim of starva- tion and exposure. All to whom he had ever been known mourned for him, for he was a young man of noble character and firm principles. He had been successively allied with the Whigs and Republicans, and of patriotism he gave the ultimate proof and made to it the supreme sacrifice.
David Rider was horn in Livingston county, N. Y., in 1829, and was a son of Silas and Mahala (Dean) Rider. On reaching manhood he made farming his occupation, becoming, in the course of time, one of the leading agriculturists of Ellicott township. He was also highly esteemed as a citizen, being always one of the men to be counted on for aid in any project tending toward improvement of community conditions. He was a member of Ross Grange.
Mr. Rider married, Nov. 14, 1868, Sophia C. (Wright) Walker, widow of Gardner D. Walker, and
they became the parents of the following children: Alton A., of Falconer, N. Y .; Guerney, of Erie, Pa .; Floyd, of Portville, N. Y .; and Leon, of Falconer, N. Y. Like her husband, Mrs. Rider belongs to Ross Grange, having served for six years as chaplain of that body. Since becoming a widow she has resided in Falconer, and despite her more than fourscore years takes an active interest in family and neighborhood affairs. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. The death of Mr. Rider, which occurred Jan. 6, 1906, deprived his community of one of its best and most public-spirited citizens whose record is eminently worthy of perusal and preservation.
EARL R. MORRISON-A man who is very much to the fore in business circles in Jamestown is Earl R. Morrison. He has been a resident of that city since 1912, and in that time has made a host of friends both in a social way and in connection with his business, the Jamestown Panel Company, one of the successful enter- prises in that city of prosperous industrial life.
Earl R. Morrison was born in Hamilton township, McKean county, Pa., May 22, 1883. His parents were Frank and Ella S. Morrison, the former a prominent manufacturer and banker, now living at Warren, Pa. Young Morrison was educated in the grammar and high schools of Warren, graduating from the latter. When he reached the age of nineteen he began his business career, entering the employ of his father in the Veneer and Panel Company of Warren. Here he gained an insight into commercial life, remaining in Warren until 1911, when he and a Mr. McCabe went to Salamanca and took over an old concern there, the Salamanca Panel and Veneer Company, and they reor- ganized it under the name of the Salamanca Panel Company. A year later they bought up the assets of the old Jamestown Panel and Veneer Company, con- verting it into the New Jamestown Panel Company. It was at this time that Mr. Morrison went to reside in Jamestown, being made manager of the newly organ- ized company. Mr. Morrison is one of the directors of the Salamanca Panel Company, of the Jamestown Panel Company, and of the Warren Panel and Veneer Company. In the social side of the life of Jamestown Mr. Morrison is also active, being a member of the Jamestown Club and the Rotary Club, and he is a Knights Templar, being a thirty-second degree Free Mason and a member of the Shrine. He is also an attendant of and much interested in the Methodist church of Jamestown.
Mr. Morrison married, in Warren, Pa., June 1, 1911, Georgia Olmstead, a resident of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Morrison have one child, Lillian, who is attending school in Jamestown.
THE JAMESTOWN PANEL COMPANY-In 1912, Frank Morrison, the president of the Warren, Pa., Panel and Veneer Company, established the Jamestown Panel Company at No. 34 Steele street, Jamestown. The concern was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York with the following officers: Frank Morrison, president: Thomas McCabe, vice-president; Earl R. Morrison, secretary and treasurer. They started business in a two story build-
Sophia C. Rider
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ing, 100 by 150 feet, with 30,000 feet of floor space, employing twenty-five men. Their orders have grown in numbers to such an extent that in 1919 a brick and frame addition to the original building was put up, doubling the capacity of the plant. The number of men employed now is fifty-five. They have their own electric power, with individual motors for each machine. The present officers are: Frank Morrison, president, Thomas McCabe, vice-president, Earl R. Morrison, treasurer and general manager, and A. D. Patcher, secretary.
The Jamestown Panel Company is a member of the Board of Commerce, of the Jamestown Manut- facturers Association, and of the Manufacturers and Merchants Association of New York State. The commercial rating of this corporation is first class, their output is increasing every year, and the concern is an example of what success can be achieved by attention to business and a strictly dependable reputa- tion.
GEORGE W. HEWES, a native of Chautauqua county, N. Y., who throughout his life of business has been identified responsively with consequential affairs, mainly concerned with Chautauqua county agriculture, is the owner of one of the largest farming properties in the county. For almost fifty years he has been known throughout this and adjoining counties as an extensive cattle dealer, trading for the earlier decades in conjunction with his father, and latterly independ- ently, and upon a larger scale; and he has for many years been responsibly connected with important realty transactions, being the prime mover in the organization of the Mayville Realty Company, and the Clymers Realty Company, of both of which corporations he is president, and both of which companies have extensive dealings in agricultural properties, resort estates, and other real estate holdings in the county. And although he has been a man of many business ties, and his time has been constantly in business demand, he has been able to enter to some extent into local public affairs, having undertaken the responsibilities of the office of supervisor of the local administration. He is a man of strong character, fine presence, and his conversa- tion indicates a comprehensive understanding of human nature, a knowledge of the world such as only comes by extensive travel, and a literary bent which, in any man, is a refining influence.
He was born on a farm in Harmony township, Chautauqua county, N. Y., on Sept. 19, 1854, the son of Daniel and Abigail (Irwin) Hewes, the former a well known cattle dealer, and a prominent farmer, who for the greater part of his life owned agricultural property in Chautauqua township, and by his trading in cattle was known, and favorably known, to a very wide circle of the older generation of Chautauqua county farmers. The Hewes family is remarkable for its longevity; George W. Hewes, now sixty-five years old, is compar- atively a young man, for his father was ninety-five years of age when he died, and his greatgrandfather reached the age of 109 ycars, three months and ten days. He was the last survivor of the "Boston Tea Party,"
George W. Hewes was only two years old when his father acquired a farm in Chautauqua township, to
which the family was removed. There he passed his boyhood, attending the district school of Chautauqua township, and eventually going to Mayville, to attend the Mayville High School. He was only fifteen years of age when he graduated from the latter school, and was a bright lad. llis father, as a cattle dealer and butcher, was more or less in commercial life, although he was always an extensive farmer, and that perhaps may be assumed to have been his main business. How- ever, after leaving school, the son, George W., was inclined to enter commercial life, and, in fact, for a while did enter it, becoming a clerk in a grocery store in Mayville. Soon, however, he gave his entire time to his father's affairs, following him in his many activities, farming, cattle dealing, and butchering; and later in life, when his father had, with oncoming old age, slackened in his business efforts, the son entered energetically into independent business, of like char- acter, but on a larger scale. He has proved himself to be a man of commendable business ability and stability, and the success which has come to him has been because of his own ability to command it. His energetic enterprise, and business acumen, have drawn him into many connections with real estate; he has acquired a farm holding of unusual extent, 527 acres, and he gives his personal attention to its cultivation; and he has entered extensively into the real estate business, organizing two companies, the Mayville Realty Company, and the Clymers Realty Company, which are actively operating corporations, of both of which Mr. Hewes is the directing head, as president. For twenty-six years Mr. Hewes and George J. Cornell were in the wholesale ice business here and had large ice house on the lake. They sold out, March 10, 1919, to the City Ice and Delivery Company of Cleve- land, Ohio.
Mr. Hewes has a beautiful home in the village of Mayville, which is centrally placed for his business purposes, being within convenient distance of his farm. which is constantly under his supervision. That farm in its operation is quite an undertaking, and he has given it much of his time, improving it considerably, and demonstrating his skill as a farmer. Mr. Hewes has many interests, and not all of business bearing; his large and well selected library stamps him as a man of fine thought, and high moral character; a man who likes, occasionally, to throw aside prosaic affairs of business, and pass some time in the company of the literary sages of other days. And he has also traveled much during his life. He is a man of broad mind, and comprehensive understanding of many things that pertain in no way to farming; and throughout his life he has manifested a genuine public spirit. He has not been able to give all the time he would have liked to the public affairs of his district, but had he been so circumstanced he might have been elected to many of the most important offices, for he had always been well regarded in the neighborhood, and generally well liked. He has, however, undertaken the office duties of super- visor, and in community affairs, or in any project that promised well for his community, he has been always ready to cooperate, financially. During the war, he showed a wholehearted patriotic spirit, contributing substantially to the various loans and other funds
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raised by the government, or governmental agencies, for the purpose of the Nation in the war. He is a Republican in national politics, but, so far, has declined all thought of office.
Mr. Hewes was married, on Aug. 7, 1888, to Ella Husted, of Chautauqua, N. Y. Her daughter Ethel, by a former marriage, has spent almost all her life with her mother, and has been raised and educated as one of the family, in the home of her step-father, George W. Hewes.
George W. Hewes has contributed more than the quota of one man to the productiveness, in agriculture, of Chautauqua county, N. Y. He has been a man capable of magnitudinous affairs, and willing to handle them; and his handling of them, as his own private enterprises, has brought him considerable material wealth. The honorable character of his dealings has also brought him a wealth of respect from those who know him.
MELVIL S. COXE, M. D .- Among the most widely known physicians of Dunkirk, Chautauqua county, N. Y., where he is firmly established in the esteem and affection of his fellow-citizens, should be mentioned Dr. Melvil S. Coxe, who for a long period has conducted a large and high-class practice in the city. Dr. Coxe was born in the town of Middlebury, Wyom- ing county, N. Y., and is a son of Samuel Arnold and Amanda (Owen) Coxe, the former being engaged in the manufacture of carriages for many years, though he later gave up this occupation and spent his closing years in farming. Samuel Arnold Coxe married Amanda Owen and they were the parents of six children, as follows: Melvil S., whose career forms the subject of this sketch; Rose, who became the wife of Dr. N. E. Beardsley, of Dunkirk, N. Y .; Lillian, who became the wife of W. E. Cushing, of Niagara Falls, N. Y .; Charles D., who is connected with the Pullman Car Company of Chicago, and makes his home in that city; Owen S., deceased; Edwin A., who is also connected with the Pullman Car Company, and resides at Detroit, Mich.
Dr. Melvil S. Coxe was born March 8, 1877, and at the age of fifteen came to Dunkirk. He attended the local public schools at the Dunkirk Academy, com- pleting his general education at the latter institution, and in the meantime determined to follow medicine as his career in life. With this end in view, he entered the medical department of the University of Buffalo and there, after the usual course, received his degree as Doctor of Medicine and was graduated with the class of 1904. For one year he was an interne at the Buffalo General Hospital; he had spent two years in the same capacity at the Riverside General and River- side Emergency hospitals before he was graduated. In 1904, he passed the examinations of the State Board of Medical Examiners, and shortly afterwards asso- ciated himself with Dr. N. E. Beardsley, of Dunkirk, and continued to practice as his partner and associate until 1909. In that year he severed this connection and opened an office of his own at Dunkirk, remaining there in general practice ever since. From the outset of his medical career, Dr. Coxe has met with a notable success, and it was not long before he was recognized
as one of the leaders of his profession in this region and now enjoys the confidence and respect of his pro- fessional colleagues and the community-at-large. Dr. Coxe has for a number of years made a specialty of X-ray work, and is now regarded as an authority on the theory and practice of this wonderful agency in modern therapeutics. In addition to his private practice, he is a member of the staff of the Brooks Memorial Hospital and there delivers lectures on Roentgenology. Dr. Coxe has done a great deal of work for the com- munity in several public capacities, and has rendered in- valuable service as health officer, a post that he held for four years, and as member of the local Board of Health. He also served as a member of the First District Federal Board during the late war. He is connected with the New York Life, the Aetna, and the Equitable Life Insurance companies as medical ex- aminer and passes upon all their local risks. Dr. Coxe is a Republican in politics, a member of the Baptist church, and is affiliated with a large number of clubs and societies, professional and otherwise. He is a member of the Dunkirk Lodge, No. 767, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Council, Royal and Select Masters; and Commandery, Knights Templar. He is a member of the Dunkirk and Fredonia Medical Society, the Chautauqua County Medical Society, the New York Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. Among other organizations with which he is affiliated should be mentioned the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Phi Sigma Phi fraternity, and the Dunkirk Chamber of Commerce, of the last named of which he is also a member of the board of directors.
Dr. Coxe was united in marriage, April 5, 1906, at Dunkirk, N. Y., with Maude Saunders, a daughter of George P. and Julia S. (Rawson) Saunders, old and highly respected residents of Dunkirk. They are the parents of two children, as follows: George Saunders, and Edith Rose.
CHARLES GILMAN LINDSEY, one of the best known and successful of the business men of James- town, Chautauqua county, N. Y., where he was engaged in the real estate business for many years, was a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in the town of Chandlers Valley, March 5, 1864.
As a lad he attended the district schools of his native town, and later, at the age of fourteen, entered the Sugar Grove Academy at Sugargrove, Pa., where he studied for a few years. Still later he hecame a student at the Warren High School of Warren, Pa., from which he was graduated with honors, after having been prepared for a college course. He then entered Allegheny College at Meadville, Pa., and graduated from that institution with the class of 1888, taking at the time the highest honors and being chosen vale- dictorian of his class. Upon completing his education, he came to Waverly N. Y., and hecame agent for the Prudential Life Insurance Company, with which company he remained associated for a number of years. He then formed an association with his cousin, Wilton C. Lindsey, and came to Jamestown N. Y., about 1889, and engaged in the real estate business here. From that time to his death he enjoyed a high
Char G. Lindsey
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degree of success, his business becoming one of the leading enterprises of its kind in this region. During his entire business career here, Mr. Lindsey enjoyed a reputation second to none for his honesty and square dealing, and possessed the esteem and trust of his fellow-citizens in a high degree. He always took a keen interest in the public affairs of the community, and could always be counted on to play his part in any undertaking for the common weal. He was a man of distinctly domestic instincts, and was noted for his de- votion to his home and family and his loyalty to his friends. His death, which occurred Aug. 9, 1919, at his home at No. 224 Price street, after a long and severe illness, was felt as a severe loss by the entire community, and he has unquestionably left a gap in the life of Jamestown which it will be difficult to fill. Mr. Lindsey was a prominent figure in the social and fraternal circles of this place, and he was affiliated with a number of important organizations here, among which should be included Mt. Moriah Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; the local lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose: and the Exempt Firemen's Association. In his religious belief Mr. Lindsey was a Methodist and attended the Methodist Episcopal church at Jamestown. Although keenly interested in public affairs, and a staunch supporter of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and although he most scrupulously discharged all the duties of citizen- ship, Mr. Lindsey was quite unambitious for public office of any kind and never played that part in practi- cal politics for which his talents and abilities so admirably fitted him. He was universally recognized, however, as one of the most influential citizens of the community and that influence was always exerted for the good of the community.
Charles Gilman Lindsey was united in marriage, June 29, 1899, at Jamestown, with Melita Black, a daughter of Mrs. Charlotte A. Black, of this city. To Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey four children have been born, as follows: Gordon S., Charlotte, Charles and James W.
EDWARD NEWTON BUTTON-When a man has lived more than fifty years in a certain community, and for six consecutive years has held the office of supervisor, and in the fall of 1919 reelected for two more years, it is not necessary to introduce him to his fellow-citizens. This is the case of Mr. Button, whose post office address is Fredonia, but who is known to the majority of the residents of Chautauqua county as a successful business man and a capable public official.
Edward Newton Button was born Nov. 20, 1856, on a farm in Hamburg, Erie county, N. Y., and is a son of Joseph and Regreccia (Davis) Button. Mr. Button died when his son was an infant, and the widowed mother moved to Fredonia. There, at the age of one and a half years, the boy was adopted by a farmer. He received his education in the local district schools, and assisted in the work on the farm. He also attended the Fredonia Normal School, and then until his twenty-third year he was employed on a farm. The next removal made by Mr. Button was to Fredonia vil- lage, and there he learned in all its branches the busi- ness of a florist. This he has made his life-work. His
present business was established in 1903 and his estab- lishment is equipped with all the modern improvements. His greenhouses cover an area of 25,000 square feet, and during the busy season he employs twelve hands. Politically, Mr. Button is a Republican, and in com- munity affairs he has long been active and influential. For the last six years he has filled, to the great satis- faction of his fellow-citizens, the responsible office of supervisor. He affiliates with the Masonic Lodge of Brocton, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Fredonia, holding the office of past noble grand and past district deputy. He is second vice-president of the Citizens' Trust Company of Fredonia. He is vice- president of the Citizens' Club. Edward Newton Button has been a successful man. He has built up a large and flourishing business, and has ably served his com- munity in an office of trust and responsibility.
Mr. Button married, Dec. 31, 1879, Flora A. Tefft, a representative of an old family of Stockton, N. Y., and they are the parents of a son and daughter: I. George, educated in Fredonia grammar and high schools and at Dunkirk Business College; now a partner with his father; married Mary Keenan, of Bradford, Pa., and they have two children, Catharine and Edward. 2. Catharine, educated in Fredonia grammar and high schools and Fredonia Normal School; now the wife of T. D. Allen, superintendent of schools at Dubois, Pa .; they have two children, Robert and Margaret.
SUMNER I. HOUGHWOUT-The postmaster of Falconer, N. Y., Sumner I. Houghwout, is generally acknowledged to be "the right man in the right place." He is uniformly courteous to those asking information, and in every possible way seeks to make the post office of his town a model institution. He is well suited for the position, and has many friends in both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Sumner I. Houghwout was born in Warren City, Pa., Jan. 1, 1872, the son of Isaac and Rebecca (Way) Houghwout. The elder Houghwont was a farmer just outside the town of Warren, and on this farm young Sumner 1. was brought up, alternating the work of assisting his father with attendance at the public school of Warren City. When old enough to start out for himself, the young man obtained employment at the Warren Hospital, acting as foreman of the wards. After some time spent in this institution, Mr. Honghwout went to Falconer and became a clerk in a grocery store, remaining for about a year, then opened a barber shop on Work street, and for fourteen years conducted a first class tonsorial establishment. In 1914, when the selection of a new postmaster became a question of paramount interest in Falconer, young Mr. Houghwout was chosen for the office and still holds the position. He has given great satisfaction. When a new post office was contemplated, Mr. Hough- wout assisted very materially by suggestions, and helped to plan the present edifice. It is a very neat, attractive building, large enough to allow for the future growth of the town. It is generally regarded as one of the finest for its size in that section. In addition to the postmaster, the office force consists of an assist- ant and two clerks. Mr. Houghwout is a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd
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