USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume II > Part 79
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John Thorpe Wilson, fourth son of John (2) and Rebeckah (Thorpe) Wilson, was born Sept. 18, 1835, at English Hill. To the district schools of Jamestown, N. Y., was Mr. Wilson indebted for his education, and after laying aside his text books he engaged in the drug and book business with W. C. J. Hall. Their place of business was situated on the east side of Main street, between Second and Third streets, in Jamestown, N. Y. Mr. Wilson continued in this business for nearly three years, at the end of which time he engaged in the lumber business, and then operated a foundry on Taylor street, following in the lumber business with Corrydom Hitchcock as a partner, trading under the firm name of Hitchcock & Wilson. This firm contin- ued for four years; in 1877 Mr. Wilson purchased his partner's 'interest, and the partnership was dissolved. Under Mr. Wilson's judicious management the plant soon prospered, and it was but a short while before it was one of the largest manufacturing plants in Jamestown. He purchased large tracts of timber lands, erected mills for sawing and dressing, and had exten- sive lumber yards, his entire plant equipped with the best and most modern machinery. He manufactured everything in wood required for the erection of a building. In 1890 Mr. Wilson's son, Charles C., became associated with him in business, and con- tinued with him until his demise. After that Charles C. Wilson managed the estate until the latter part of 1919. In political affiliation Mr. Wilson was a staunch Democrat, and he had the distinction of being the only Democrat ever elected supervisor of the town of Ellicott, being first elected in 1878 and reëlected in 1879. Mr. Wilson was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Royal Arcanum, and : other secret societies. He was also a director of the First National Bank of Jamestown, and attended the Unitarian church.
Mr. Wilson married (first) Nov. 8, 1860, Mariette Julia Cook, born Nov. 25, 1839, in Jamestown, N. Y., died April 18, 1903, a daughter of Judge Orsell and Ann M. (Tew) Cook. Mrs. Wilson was a woman of true refinement, full of dignity and sweetness and gracious womanhood, yet she was remarkably up-to- date and alive to all the latest interests. She was a woman of large benefactions; not only did she help substantially in all good works of the church, so that she had heen often called the "good angel of the poor," but her private charities were large. Hundreds will rise up and call her blessed, and her memory will be an inspiration and benediction to all who knew her. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were born three children, as
follows: 1. Anna M., born May 30, 1863; married Alfred S. Dunham. 2. Charles C., born Oct. 3, 1864, whose biographical records appears elsewhere in these volumes. 3. Jennie M., born June 3, 1868; married Frank W. Cadwell.
Mr. Wilson married (second) Nov. 12, 1905, Elizabeth Detwiller, who survives him. Mr. Wilson died in Jamestown, N. Y., May 14, 1910.
In concluding this review of Mr. Wilson, it should be said that like a rock he stood forth in the business world, an example of what a man's determined mainten- ance of his honest convictions will accomplish. Regular as clockwork in his business habits, watchful as a lynx of his tremendous interests, broad-minded, liberal in his thoughts on all public topics, the only exaction he enforced in his dealings with his fellowmen was that he should be allowed to conduct his own business according to his own ideas; according others the same privilege of a like independence. That he knew what he was about, that his views were safe, that his posi- tion in the world of trade was solid, are not necessary to prove. The name Wilson is still a serious, successful reality, and the man who first directed its policy was clear-headed, self-reliant, and an example of what a man can become through his own efforts. He left to his children and their children the priceless heritage of an untarnished name.
ARTHUR W. KETTLE-A lawyer of Jamestown for nearly a quarter of a century, 1897-1920, Mr. Kettle has won honorable position at the Chautauqua bar and equally high position in the business life of his city. To profession and business he adds the occupa- tion of farming, and the Kettle Dairy Farm of 170 acres at Gerry is more to him than a recreation, and he derives deep satisfaction in conducting it as a busi- Less proposition, he expecting it to pay its own way and return him a profit. This combination of interests has produced a physically fit and mentally alert man of courtesy, tact and ability, keenly alive to his responsi- bilities as a citizen and to his obligations to his fellow- men.
Arthur W. Kettle, of English ancestry, son of the Rev. Joseph and Laura L. Kettle, the former a clergy- man of the Baptist church, was born at East Gains, Orleans county, N. Y., Feb. 21, 1879. He there attended the public schools, and in Jamestown advanced to the high school. In Colorado Springs he attended and was graduated from Cutler Academy, and was a student at Colorado College. After leaving college he returned to Jamestown, N. Y., and began the study of law under Herbert L. Hunt, and in August, 1897, was admitted to the New York bar. He at once began practice in Jamestown and so continues at this date (1920). He has gained the confidence of a large clientele and conducts a general practice. He is a member of the Jamestown Bar Association, and is highly esteemed by his brethren of the association.
Outside of his profession, Mr. Kettle is known as: The promoter, organizer and financier of the Gurney Ball Bearing Company of Jamestown, a very succes- ful manufacturing corporation, of which he is director and secretary; as president of the Chautauqua Fund-
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ing Corporation, an investment and realty operating company; and is now financing the Auto Ride-Easy Company, manufacturers of automobile accessories, of which he is president. In politics Mr. Kettle is a Democrat with independent tendencies. He has served the city of Jamestown as secretary of the Civil Service Commission, as corporation counsel, and as president of the Board of Education. He is president of the Unitarian Church Society, and a member of the Uni- versity Club of Jamestown, and of the Moon Brook Country Club.
Mr. Kettle married, at Geneva, N. Y., Ida E. Ells- worth, and they are the parents of four children: Barbara Jane, Arthur Ellsworth, Catherine Grace, and Margaret Joyce. The family home is at No. 518 Winsor street, Jamestown.
EZRA WALES AMES-The boys of today have no conception of the hardships endured by the boys of the early or even middle years of the last century in the rural districts of New England. Their schools were frequently several miles from their homes, and there were no electric cars to carry them back and forth; it was necessary to trudge along, day after day, some- times through ice and snow, or if not that, then through drenching rains. The education thus gained was dearly bought in those days long ago, but the hardships made fine men of them, with determination of character and great perseverance.
Ezra Wales Ames is an example of the kind of man that can be developed from such a strenuous boyhood. He came from a long line of farming people accustomed to the rigorous life of the Green Mountain State. His father was Luther Ames, born in Vermont, and his mother was Lydia Thurber, born in Providence, R. I. They were married, lived and died upon the farm they had regarded as their little world. Their son, Ezra Wales Ames, was born there, in Marlboro, Windham county, Vt., June 12, 1841. His education was a thing of chance; when the winters were not too severe he attended the district school, working on the farm during the late spring, summer and early fall. As a hoy part of his share of the work was to break ir: oxen for his father. When he was fifteen years of age he left home and went to Chautauqua county to work for his uncle, Wilbur Ames, on his farm. Here he worked all day and part of the night for fourteen dollars a month and his board, part of his daily task being to milk eighteen cows and drive a team of oxen, which is not a very entertaining occupation. The lad was not tempted to spend his earnings, for there were no railroads in Chautauqua county in those days, so he saved his money. After two years he bought a yoke of oxen of his own and a stump puller, and pulled stumps for three years. About this time he had an opportunity to buy lumber, and entering into partner- ship with a man named Samuel Holiday, they bought and sold lumber. Mr. Ames then bought a farm of 160 acres, formerly owned by William Lydle, clearing it and developing it. He remained upon this farm for twenty years, during which time he built two mills, realizing a fortune from them. Then came the panic of 1873, those awful times when every day business men went to the wall, often to their graves, because
of the loss of a lifetime's hard earned money. Among those was Ezra Wales Ames. He has sold thousands of dollars worth of lumber on notes, which, proving to be worthless, and his own liabilities staring him in the face, took every cent of his fortune to make good. He paid all his creditors every dollar he owned them and started life again, buying the Brown farm and improving it until it was one of the finest in the county. He remained upon it for twenty-five years, when. his wife dying, he retired and now lives in Falconer, N. Y. Mr. Ames votes the Republican ticket but is not a seeker for any office, though at one time he was assessor of the town of Carroll.
Ezra Wales Ames married, Aug. 7, 1861, Loretta M. Woodward, born in Poland, N. Y. Her mother was Sallie Harrington, and her father was Pierce Wood- ward, born in Vermont, but he has lived in Chautauqua county since 1814. Mr. Woodward bought a farm there at that time and lived upon it all his life, the homestead being still in the possession of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Ames had two children: Blanche W., wife of Menzo W. Neate, (q. v.); and Hermes Luther, (q. v.).
HERMES LUTHER AMES-Touching the life of his community in the intimate manner only possible in rural districts, serving his fellows in many offices of public trust, gathering about him a host of loyal friends of all ages and conditions, devoting himself with loving consideration to his family, this was the Hermes Luther Ames long known in Chautauqua county, whose untimely death resulting from accident had the effect of a general loss, bringing heavy sorrow in the many circles in which he moved. At the time of his death he was in his third term as representative of his dis- trict in the State Assembly, and his business interests were principally in agriculture, dairying, and real estate.
Mr. Ames was a descendant of a New England family, his father, Ezra Wales Ames (q. v.), and his grandfather, Luther Ames, both natives of Vermont. Hermes Luther Ames was born in Carroll, N. Y., Oct. 28, 1865, and after attending district schools became a student in the Jamestown High School. During vacations he took courses in the summer school at Chautauqua, and as a young man of eighteen years was well qualified for teaching, a calling he followed for about fifteen years, much of that time in the Falconer High School. Leaving pedagogical work at the end of this time, he became associated with the Falconer Milling Company, with which he was identi- fied until about 1910, during this time conducting real estate operations on a small scale and acquiring several farms and an interest in a business block in Falconer. Prior to his death he had dealt extensively in hay.
Mr. Ames was placed in public office by the votes of his fellows on many occasions, and his record bears the closest scrutiny without revealing the slightest deviation from faithful and able service. On March 18, 1910, he was appointed supervisor of Ellicott to succeed Conrad Anderson, deceased, and has been successively reëlected to that position, serving as chair- man of the board in 1914 and 1915, and at various times on nearly all of its important committees. His interest
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in the cause of education led naturally to his long service on the Falconer Board of Education. He was later a member of the board of trustees, and in 1916 was elected president of the village.
Mr. Ames was a firm believer in Republican principles, and as the candidate of this party was elected to represent his district in the State Legislature in 1917. In 1918 and 1919 the First Assembly District gave him the combined Republican, Democratic and Socialist support, and his success as a candidate for a fourth term is almost assured. In the Assembly he was placed on several leading committees, including excise and internal affairs. The severest critic could find no fault with his capable manner of furthering local interests, while his stand on matters of state and national significance was that of a thoughtful, progres- sive, far-visioned legislator, alive to the trend and needs of the times, dedicated to conscientious fulfillment of the trust reposed in him. There are no brighter spots in his long career in public office than his outspoken championship of prohibition and woman suffrage, and his vote is recorded in favor of both of these history- making amendments to the Federal Constitution.
He enjoyed the associations of fraternal organiza- tions and was a member of Chadakoin Lodge, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of Falconer, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He was also a member of the Union Grange, the Dairymen's League, the Hay Growers' Association, and the United Commercial Travelers' Association. Wherever his influence ex- tended, and there were few things effecting the welfare of his fellowmen that did not interest him, he was respected and loved for virtues of mind and heart. There is no human relation that better tests the true fibre of character than the verdict passed by children and young people upon intimate acquaintance, and throughout his entire life he was honored by the con- fidence and friendship of hosts of these. Naturalness dominated everything that he said or did, a quality inspired by his close communion with nature in a life spent in the open.
Hermes L. Ames married, June 20, 1894, Minta E. Brunson, born in Ellery, N. Y., daughter of Oliver A. and Maritta (Lenox) Brunson, her father a native of Stockton, N. Y., her mother of Gerry, N. Y. Oliver A. Brunson was a son of Abel Brunson, born in Con- necticut, a farmer by occupation. Children of Hermes Luther and Minta E. (Brunson) Ames: Mertie Blanche, married James O. Moyer, and resides in Falconer; and Charles, employed by the New York Central Railroad.
Mr. Ames' death, Aug. 23, 1920, resulted from an accidental fall while working on his farm, which necessitated the amputation of his right foot. His death occurred in the Women's Christian Association Hospital, after a three weeks' fight for recovery. The outpouring of spoken and written expressions of sorrow, formal and informal, that followed the an- nouncement of his passing was a faithful index to the hold he had upon the affections of his fellows. The organizations of which he was a member and which he served passed resolutions of appreciation and con- dolence, the village president issued a proclamation requesting the closing of the places of business during
the hour of his funeral, the Speaker of the New York State Assembly appointed a committee to represent the Assembly at his funeral, and the press of the region paid extended editorial tribute to his excellence as a man, his faithfulness as a public official, and his worth to the community and the State. The closing para- graph of this record comes from that source:
Hermes L. Ames made no pretenses of goodness or greatness above that of his fellow-citizens; he went in and out among them and they knew him as an honest man, one who desired to represent their wishes and to serve their interests as best he could, and they gave him freely of their support whenever he asked it. His ambition was not for high honors, but to faithfully and fairly represent those who chose him to office. whether in village, town, county or state, and he suc- ceeded admirably.
MENZO W. NEATE-Among the prominent farmers of Jamestown, Chautauqua county, N. Y., where he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits for a long time, is Menzo W. Neate, a native of Levant, Chautauqua county, N. Y., his birth having occurred there Feb. 16, 1863. Mr. Neate is a son of Reuben and Lucy (Hall) Neate, old and highly respected resi- dents of Levant, where the former was engaged in business as a brickmaker and farmer for many years. Mr. Neate attended the public schools of his native region for a number of years and later became a pupil at the Jamestown High School until the age of sixteen. During his childhood, Mr. Neate enjoyed the healthful influences of the rural environment in which he was reared, and which has proved the cradle of so many of our most illustrious citizens, assisting his father in the latter's work about the farm and brick- kilns. Mr. Neate eventually became the owner of a valuable farm property in the neighborhood of James- town, where he has carried on agricultural pursuits with a notable degree of success and has through con- stant and unwearied efforts brought his place to such a high state of cultivation that it is now regarded as one of the model farms of the neighborhood. Mr. Neate, in addition to his farming operations, has also been prominently interested in the business affairs of Jamestown and Falconer, and at the present time occupies the office of president of the First National Bank of the latter place. He is also an assessor, and maintains an office at Falconer where he carries on a large and remunerative business. In politics Mr. Neate is a Republican and has been for many years a staunch supporter of his party in this region, but has con- sistently avoided all political preferment or public office of any kind. He is a prominent figure in frater- nal circles hereabouts, and is a member of the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Order of Maccabees, and the Grange.
Menzo W. Neate was united in marriage, Feb. 16, 1885, at the town of Poland, N. Y., with Blanche W. Ames, a native of that place, and a daughter of Ezra W. and Loretta M. (Woodward) Ames (q. v.), life- long residents of the region. Mr. and Mrs. Neate became the parents of the following children: Reuben Ezra, born Jan. 16, 1886, died Oct. 21, 1888; Sarah A., born July 7, 1888, and became the wife of Fletcher Holiday, whom she married June 26, 1912, and to whom she has borne two children: Jane, and Marion L .:
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Carrie P., born Oct. 4, 1891; Nathan M., born June 9, 1895, married Nellie Hine, Feb. 16, 1918, by whom he has had one child, Jean L .; he enlisted July 16, 1917, in the National army, and was sent with the American Expeditionary Force to France, where he served eleven months and was honorably discharged, Aug. 30, 1919; and Lucy L., born Sept. 12, 1902.
HENRY HAMILTON DROEGE, president ol the Merchants' National Bank of Dunkirk, Chautau- qua county, N. Y., and one of the most prominent and influential citizens of this place, was born here Aug. 7. 1869. Mr. Droege is a son of Carl and Wilhelmina (Kohlman) Droege, both natives of Germany, in which country they were married, coming later to the United States, in 1844. The trip was made to this country in a sailing vessel and occupied a period of seven weeks. Upon reaching America they located in New York City for a time and afterwards came to Dunkirk, where Mr. Droege was occupied as a mason, a trade which he had learned in his native land. Mr. Droege, Sr., was prominent in the affairs of Dunkirk, a Repub- lican in politics, and a member of the City Council. He and his wife are both deceased.
Henry Hamilton Droege attended as a child the local public schools of Dunkirk and was graduated from high school here with the class of 1866. He was seventeen years of age at that time and upon com- pleting his studies secured a position as shipping clerk with the D. Wright Company, dealers in lumber, where he remained for two years. He was then appointed assistant postmaster and continued to fill that position until 1892. In the latter year he entered the employ of the Merchants' National Bank as a clerk but soon made himself of such valne to the institution that he was promoted to the post of assistant cashier in the following year, and continued to hold that respon- sible office for half a decade. He continued to be actively associated with the bank and was elected its president in the year 1919, an office which he holds today. In addition to his association with the Merchants' National Bank, Mr. Droege is interested in its industrial con- cerns here and is a director of the Atlas Crucible Steel Company of Dunkirk. In politics he is a Republican, but although he consistently discharges his duties as a citizen, has never cared for public office and has always avoided the same. He is a prominent figure in social and fraternal circles of Dunkirk and is affiliated with a number of important organizations here, especially the Masonic order, being a member of the lodge, chapter, council, commandery, and shrine. In religions belief Mr. Droege is an Episcopalian and attends the church of that denomination at Dunkirk.
Henry Hamilton Droege was united in marriage, Oct. 10, 1894, at Hoboken, N. J., with Susie Crawford, a daughter of Stephen and Susan (Golden) Crawford, both natives of New York State. Mr. Crawford was a contractor of high standing in Hoboken for a number of years. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Droege, as follows: Crawford H., who is now engaged in the railroad business; Dorothea L., who is attending the La Salle School of Boston; Stephen H., who is a student at the Dunkirk High School.
LYNN RAYMOND VAN VLACK-A native son of the Empire State, Mr. Van Vlack came to Chautau- qua county from Cattaraugus county, and in the former named county has passed his professional life and won his reputation as a lawyer. He is of Dutch ancestry, a descendant of Tielman Van Vleck, who came to New Amsterdam, N. Y., in 1658. The line of descent from the founder is through his son, Isaac Van Vleck; his son, Abraham and his wife, Marguerite Van Vleck; their son, John Van Vleck, who was a captain in the War of 1812, he having his name incorrectly written in his military papers, Van Vlack, an error which was allowed to stand, and this branch has ever since written the name Van Vlack. His son, Daniel A. Van Vlack, and his wife, Jane, were the grandparents of Lynn R. Van Vlack, of Jamestown, whose career is herein traced, and Daniel A. and Jane (Wiley) Van Vlack were the parents of George Washington Van Vlack, father of Lynn R. Van Vlack.
George Washington Van Vlack was born in the town of Perrysburg, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., May 2, 1839, one of thirteen children born to his parents. He followed farming all the mature years of his life, only ceasing at the age of seventy-five, when a general breakdown, physically, caused him to spend the last two years of his life in retirement. In 1862 he enlisted at Gowanda, N. Y., for three years service, assigned to Camp A, 64th Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, his brother Henry enlisting at the same time, while another brother, John, served throughout the war in the 6th Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers. George W. Van Vlack was engaged in seventeen battles of the Civil War, then was taken prisoner at Reams Station and confined four months in Libby Prison at Richmond. At the end of that period he was released on parole. He was honorably discharged and mustered out of the United States service with a second lieuten- ant's commission. In 1874 Mr. Van Vlack settled on a farm in West Perrysburg, N. Y., where he passed forty-three consecutive years, and there died, Feb. 21, 1917, having retained active management of his farm until within two years of his death. He is buried in Rathbun Cemetery, not far from his home, Forestville Post, Grand Army of the Republic, having had charge of the services.
Mr. Van Vlack married. Nov. 8, 1865, Marietta Merrill. Two other couples, Wilbur Merrill and Almira Wells, Henry Rich and Ella Wells, were married at the same time by the same minister at Forestville. Half a century later, Nov. 8, 1915, the same three couples celebrated their golden wedding together at Gowanda, about forty of their descend- ants being present. Mrs. Van Vlack died May 4, 1920. They had one daughter and four sons, namely: Mildred B., who married Robert T. McCoy, and resides at Silver Creek, Chautauqua county, N. Y .; Clayton R., a resident of West Perrysburg; Herbert J., of Osceola, Neb .; Lynn R., of whom further; Dr. Hall G. Van Vlack, who for six years was in charge of the American Mission Hospital at Bushrah, Arabia.
Lynn Raymond Van Vlack, fourth child of George \V. and Marietta (Merrill) Van Vlack, was born at the West Perrysburg farm, April 17, 1883. He was educated in the public schools, and after graduation
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