USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume III > Part 7
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Said the Jamestown "Evening Journal" editorially, Jan. 25, 1911 :
In the death of Henry Rappole another worthy vet- eran of the Civil War has gone to his reward. Like thousands of other gallant boys of fifty years ago, Henry Rappole responded to the call of his country for men to preserve the Union and defend the honor of the Stars and Stripes. After serving falthfully through the war and leaving a good arm on a Southern battle- field. he returned to home and friends in Old Chau- tauqua, where he had lived an honorable life, taken his part in the affairs of the day, faithfully performing the part assigned to him as citizen and public official. As superintendent of the poor of Chautauqua county, as a member of the local police force, as treasurer of his city for a number of years, Mr. Rappole served his fellow-citizens honestly and capably, leaving as a heritage to his wife and daughter an untarnished name, and to his comrade-in-arms the memory of a courageous soldier, and a courteous and genial com- panion.
DELOS J. EIGENBROADT-At the end of a long and useful life covering a period of seventy-two years, spent entirely in the village of Ellington, Delos
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J. Eigenbroadt passed away, leaving behind him the rec- ord of a well spent life distinguished by industry and integrity.
Prior to the Revolution Peter Eigenbroadt came to this country, probably from Germany, and settled at Palatine Bridge in the Mohawk Valley. His son, George Eigenbroadt, a soldier of the Revolution, was the father of Daniel Eigenbroadt and grandfather of Delos J. Eigenbroadt, to whose memory this review is dedicated.
Daniel Eigenbroadt was born in 1810, and died in 1899. He moved from the Mohawk Valley to Chautauqua county in 1832, settled in the village of Ellington and there started a blacksmith shop. He followed his trade for several years, then added a general store business to his activities, being assisted by his sons. Mr. Eigen- broadt married ( first) Phoebe Helmick, born in 1811, died in 1838. He married (second) Lovina Todd, born April 14, 1819, died March 1, 1895, a member of the Bela Todd family of Cassadaga, Chautauqua county, N. Y.
Delos J. Eigenbroadt, son of Daniel and Lovina (Todd) Eigenbroadt, was born at the homestead in Ellington, Chautauqua county, N. Y., June 22, 1841, and died at his home adjoining his store, Dec. 11, 1913. He attended the village public school and Ellington Academy, but his education came largely through reading and con- tact with the business world. In boyhood he worked in his father's blacksmith shop and general store, the latter business, however, making a stronger appeal to him he eventually assumed the responsibility of the store man- agement. Upon the death of Daniel Eigenbroadt, the eldest son, Lafayette, took over the blacksmith shop and Delos J. became owner of the store. He had entered the business when a youth of sixteen; he "marked his first bill of goods," and at the time of his death in his seventy- second year was regarded as one of the successful mer- chants of Chautauqua county. He greatly developed the business and became both widely and favorably known as a man of enterprise and integrity. He built a brick block with dwelling attached next door to the homestead. Mr. Eigenbroadt was a Democrat in politics, but was never actively identified with political life, regarding the successful conduct of his private business as calling for his entire attention. Yet he did not live selfishly and was freely consulted by his neighbors on matters of grave importance. He continued in business until the last, and closed his useful life honored and respected by all who knew him; his acquaintance was a very wide one.
Mr. Eigenbroadt married ( first) March 3, 1870, Au- gusta H. Stockwell, who died in 1886, leaving an adopted daughter, Belle Todd Sherman, who married Edwin D. Lines, of Jamestown. Mr. and Mrs. Lines are the par- ents of three children : Jessie Augusta, Stephen V. R., and Janet. Mr. Eigenbroadt married (second) Jan. I, 1900, Clora Goulding, of Ellington, who survives him, daughter of Burr and Sarah ( Morse) Goulding. She ha: 1.o children, but since being left a widow has adopted a daughter, Eleanor Colvin, born November 9, 1012. Mrs. Eigenbroadt successfully conducted the business left to her management until 1916, when she disposed of it to the George B Waith Company. She has proved herself a woman of good business ability, and with it has a public-spirited interest in her village. During the World War period che wa, very active in support of the lib-
erty loan and other "drives," as town chairman of the Fourth and Victory Loans, contributing a great deal toward their success. She is widely known and highly respected.
ABRAHAM WILSON DODS, M. D .- Fredonia has no citizen whom she respects more highly than the man whose name we have just written. Not only is Dr. Dods eminent in his profession, but its engrossing cares and widespread interests have never rendered him un- mindful of the claims of his home community.
Abraham Wilson Dods was born Jan. 27, 1854, in Dingwall, Scotland, a son of Thomas Palliser and Kath- arine (Wilson) Dods, the former a farmer and land agent. When Abraham Wilson Dods was one and a half years old the family moved to Hexham, Northumberland, England, where the boy attended district school from four to eight years; private grammar school until the age of twelve; private boarding school in Sunderland until sixteen. He was then apprenticed to a farmer for two years, and at the end of that time, in 1872, emi- grated to the United States, settling in West Charlton, Saratoga county, N. Y. After working for one year as a farmer, Mr. Dods entered Fredonia Normal School, graduating in 1875, in the classical course, and then spent one year at Syracuse University, following this with another year at the New York Homoeopathic Medical College, New York City. He then matriculated in the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, graduating in 1878 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. During his last year he served as interne in Hahnemann Hospital. It is eminently worthy of note that such was Dr. Dods' desire for a medical education that, though a young man with his way to make in a new country, he did not hesi- tate to incur, in order to attain his ambition, an amount of debt which would have appalled a man of less indomi- table will power. In 1878 Dr. Dods began practice at Silver Creek, Chautauqua county, remaining until 1884, when he went to Scotland and took a post-graduate course in surgery at Edinburgh University. In 1885 he established himself at Fredonia, where he has continu- ously practiced ever since, but now limits his work ex- clusively to surgery, in which he has been extremely suc- cessful, earning a most enviable reputation. He is sur- geon at Brooks Memorial Hospital, Dunkirk, N. Y., and holds the same position with the New York Central Railroad Company.
Politically Dr. Dods is an inependent Republican. During the World War he served the Home Defense Reserve Corps as medical examiner for Dunkirk-Fre- donia Draft Board, District No. 1. He is a member of the American Medical Society, the American Institute of llomcopathy, the New York and New England Asso- ciation of Railway Surgeons, the New York State Medi- cal Association, the New York State Homeopathic Asso- ciation, the Homeopathic Association of Western New York, the Chautauqua County Medical Association, the Fredonia and Dunkirk Medical Association, and the Volunteer Medical Service Corps. Ile affiliates with Forest Lodge, No. 166, Free and Accepted Masons, of Fredonia, and Westfield Chapter, No. 239.
Dr. Dods married ( first) Dec. 12, 1878, Aura, daugh- ter of John N. and Nancy (Le Barr) Porter, of Broc- ton, N. Y., and they became the parents of three chil- dren: 1. John Palliser, attended Fredonia public and
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high schools, and then spent two years at Phillips Acad- emy, Andover ; in 1908 received from Cornell University the degree of Mechanical Engineer, having worked his way through the institution ; was a member of the 'Var- sity Crew, 1905-06; has been with Blue Book (automo- bile) since 1908; in now western manager in Chicago; married Annette Bruce, of Boston, Mass., and they have two children, John and Annette. 2. Katharine Wilson, educated in Fredonia grammar and high schools; mar- ried R. I. Mulholland, of Dunkirk; they have two chil- dren, Marcia and Katharine. 3. Marcus, educated in Fredonia grammar and high schools, Fredonia Normal School, and the Peddie Institute; died in 1917, at the age of twenty-seven. Mrs. Dods passed away in 1909. Dr. Dods married (second) September 18, 1911, Helen T. Jones, of Fredonia.
In the character of Dr. Dods are combined the best traits of the Scotsman with many of the distinctive qualities of the American, acquired in the course of an almost lifelong residence in the New World. When Scotland sent Abraham Wilson Dods to the United States she gave us the material for an eminent surgeon and a public-spirited citizen, true alike to the land of his birth and the country of his adoption. Would that old Caledonia might send us many more of the same type.
MARTIN PRENDERGAST WHALLON-The characters of a successful farmer and a faithful public official are combined in Mr. Whallon, of Mayville, who now holds the office of supervisor. This good citizen takes a lively interest in all that concerns the welfare of his community, and is active in its social and fra- ternal circles.
Martin P. Whallon was born Jan. 17, 1870, in May- ville, and is a son of William Murray and Martha ( Pren- dergast) Whallon, both members of families long resi- dent in Chautauqua county and township. The education of Martin P. Whallon was received in the public schools of his native town which he attended until 1887, when he went to Wisconsin and entered Racine College, where he took the regular course, but did not graduate, and then for a time studied, under private tuition, the principles of commercial law and business. In 1889 Mr. Whallon returned to Mayville, where for five years he conducted a wholesale harness establishment. At the end of that time he decided to devote his entire time and attention to agricultural pursuits, being the owner of two farms, one of which he inherited from his father's family and the other from his mother's. Mr. Whallon is perhaps the only man in Chautauqua county who derives his land, originally, from the Holland Land Company. A de- tailed history of this organization may be found on another page of this work. In the cultivation of his farms, which he accomplished by the most enlightened methods, Mr. Whallon was eminently successful and to their management he still pays constant attention. The deeds for the land are now in his possession. Politically Mr. Whallon is a Republican, and in 1913 was elected supervisor of his township. So satisfactory was the manner in which he performed his duties that he is still retained in the office, his present term expiring in 1921. He affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church of Mayville.
Mr. Whallon married, Nov. 20, 1894, on the grounds of
the Chautauqua Institution, Mary G., daughter of C. G. and Alice (Porter) Herrick, and they are the parents of one son, William, born July 6, 1897, who was edu- cated in the public schools and high school of Mayville, and in the late war enlisted in the army. He is now the assistant of his father in the management of the farms. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Whallon is one of the most attractive in Mayville. During his school days Mr. Whallon was quite an athlete and he still takes a great interest in fishing, hunting, baseball and all outdoor sports.
Martin P. Whallon is one of the men who count in his community, not only because he is a leading farmer and the incumbent of a public office, but mainly because in both these capacities he has sought to develop the best interests of his township and to minister to the truest welfare of his friends and neighbors.
SIMEON WILLIS PARKS, son of Simeon and Elizabeth (Curtiss) Parks, was born in Wells, Vt., Sept. 18, 1810, and died in Jamestown, Aug. 21, 1883. At the age of fourteen years, he came to LeRoy, N. Y., where for six years he made his home with his brother, Elisha Parks. In 1830, a youth of twenty years, he moved to Mina, Chautauqua county, where he became a clerk in the mercantile establishment of J. R. & S. B. Keeler ; he remained in the employ of this firm until 1834, when, having been licensed to preach, he resigned his position and for four years traveled a circuit as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. At the expiration of this time, his health, never robust, became seriously impaired, and he was forced very reluctantly to relinquish his office. In 1838 Mr. Parks located in Jamestown, where the re- mainder of his life was spent. From November of that year until 1851, he was associated with Zalmon G. Keeler in general merchandise business. He continued dealings in general merchandise, clothing and furniture, part of the time with partners and part of the time independently until 1878, when he retired from active business life. His interest in public affairs was broad and sympathetic. In 1855 he was supervisor of the town of Ellicott. He was greatly interested in educational work, and for many years served as town school commissioner, and later ren- dered valuable assistance in the organization of the pub- lic schools, then known as the Jamestown Union School and Collegiate Institute, and was frequently referred to as the "father of the Union School system" in James- town. He was a member of the Board of Education from the organization of the school until 1878, and for several terms was president of the board. Mr. Parks was a man of culture, keen and progressive, and in many ways was in advance of the thought of his time. He devoted both his time and his talents to the great causes of temperance and anti-slavery, and was often heard upon the lecture platform in support of his views.
On June 26, 1838, Mr. Parks was united in marriage to Anna Maria Carter, of Randolph, N. Y., who died Jan. 20, 1889. They were the parents of five children : I. Mary Elizabeth, married Robert T. Hazzard (de- ceased) and resides at Lakewood, N. Y. 2. Charles Ed- win, a resident of Jamestown, N. Y. 3. Annette Maria, married C. Perry Harris (deceased) ; her death occurred at Jamestown, Nov. 24, 1919. 4. Willis Simeon, died May 6, 1881. 5. Ella Augusta, lives at the family home in Jamestown.
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SHERMAN B. VANDERVOORT, president of the Vandervoort Supply Company, and Service Coal and Coke Company, wholesale coal, of Jamestown, N. Y., which companies are leading ones in the line of building supplies and coal, has lived in Jamestown practically all his life, being only a year old when his parents moved to that city. He was born in Buffalo, N. Y., Aug. 25, 1881, the son of Charles R. and Sarah A. Vandervoort. Charles R. Vandervoort brought his family to James- town in 1882, and has since been a constant resident much respected and responsible. He has been identified with the Broadhead Worsted Mills for many years.
Sherman B. Vandervoort received his academic educa- tion in Jamestown schools, attending the grammar school for the elementary grades, and eventually graduating from the high school. He had decided to take up a pro- fessional life, and as his natural inclination was to engi- neering he took the technical course at the Allegany Col- lege, eventually becoming a civil engineer. In 1907, as elsewhere recorded in this historical work, he formed business partnership with Walter Griggs, of Jamestown, and as the Hollow Stone Company the partners began to manufacture cement blocks. Mr. Vandervoort acquired the interest of Mr. Griggs in the business and incor- forated it under the name of the Vandervoort Supply Company, an account of which follows. In 1916 was formed the Service Coal and Coke Company, distributors oi anthracite and bituminous coal, of which Mr. Vander- voort is sole owner; the business is strictly wholesale; the enterprise has been very successful, and at the pres- ent time ( 1920) is handling a large tonnage.
Mfr. Vandervoort is an excellent business man, and has many sincere friends in Jamestown. He is always ready to assist, personally or financially, in any public project having for its object the betterment of conditions within the city, or the ultimate advancement of the city. He belongs to the Jamestown Board of Commerce, and the Jamestown Builders' Exchange, of which organiza- tion he is secretary. Socially, he is a member of the jamestown Club, and of the Bradford Club, at Brad- ford, Pa. He is an ardent sportsman, and interested in the conservation of game, and as such is a member of a sportsman's organization. Fraternally, Mr. Vandervoort is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and religiously, he is an Episcopalian.
On April 1, 1918, at Buffalo, N. Y., Mr. Vandervoort married Lucile Baker. They have one child, Sherman B., Jr.
THE VANDERVOORT SUPPLY COMPANY, Jamestown, N. Y., of which incorporated company Sher- man B. Vandervoort is president, and C. R. Vandervoort is secretary and treasurer, was established in 1907 as a co-partnership under the name of the Hollow Stone Com- pany to manufacture and sell cement blocks for building purge ..... The partners were Walter Griggs and Sher- inan B. Vandervoort, and they operated a plant on Cel- rron road, Jame-town. In Iof the plant was removed to the Erie Freight House, on East Second street, and in that year Mr. Vandervoort acquired the interest of Mr. Griggs. The consequent reconstruction of the firm Trought many changes; the company took on corporate existence, under the trading designation of the Vander- voort Supply Company, and with an authorized capital
of $5,000. The manufacture of cement stone was dis- continued, and the company aimed to considerably develop its business in building supplies. In 1912 the company again moved its plant and supplies, locating at Monroe and Clinton streets and Isabelle avenue, and in 1915 added coal to its line of trading. Since then the company has purchased the L. F. Shedd Estate, upon which is located a large coal elevator, the only one in Jamestown, and with their two yards the company now has the largest coal yards in Western New York State. The Vandervoort Supply Company has had satisfactory development, and in 1916 its increased volume of trading caused its princi- pals to increase its authorized capital from $5,000 to $50,000, which may indicate the extent to which Mr. Van- dervoort has developed the business since the direction of its affairs passed, mainly, into his hands.
EBBIE PIERSON SHORES-In the little village of Irving, in the town of Hanover, in the extreme north- eastern corner of Chautauqua county, E. Pierson Shores was born, a son of Ebenezer Pierson Shores, his birth occurring two months after his father's death, at Irving, a little village on the railroad, and naturally the lad was attracted to the tracks of the Lake Shore, and the con- stant association implanted a desire to become a railroad man, an ambition he realized; at the time of his death he was a freight conductor on the Lake Shore & Michi- gan Southern railroad, meeting instant death while in the discharge of his duties. He was a man highly esteemed by all who knew him and held the perfect con- fidence of the railroad officials under whom he served, always ready, willing and exact in the performance of every duty assigned him.
Ebenezer Pierson Shores was a shoemaker by trade, and for several years was postmaster of Irving, Chau- tanqua county, N. Y., where he died in April, 1846. He married Anna Insley Mott, who was born in England, and at the time of her marriage to Mr. Shores was the widow of Thomas M. Mott. She died at the home of her son, Ebbie P. Shores, in Lackawanna, N. Y., and is buried in the cemetery at Hanover Center. The family were attendants of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Ebbie Pierson Shores was born in Irving, town of Hanover, Chautauqua county, N. Y., June 8, 1866, and was instantly killed at Brocton, Chautauqua county, N. Y., Aug. 19, 1918. His father's death antedated the birth of his son by two months, and the absence of a providing head of the family early threw responsibilities upon the lad. At the age of fourteen he left public school to enter the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern rail- load as water boy with a section gang. Later, he became himself a section worker, and in course of time was made a section foreman. On Aug. 4, 1890, having gone through a course of preparatory study, he passed suc- cessfully an examination in Buffalo, which qualified him to act as railroad brakeman. He was a brakeman on the eastern division of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern for twelve years until Nov. 25, 1902, when he was promoted to the position of freight conductor on the same division. For sixteen years he continued a con- ductor, with the exception of one year as passenger con- ductor, always running freight trains.
Mr. Shores met his death at Brocton, N. Y., instantly and without warning. Ilis crew were making up his
S. B. Van du barry
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MR. AND MRS. E. P. SHORES
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BIOGRAPHICAL
train, and duty calling him he crossed the railroad track just in time to be struck by a rapidly moving freight car, which was being drilled into position in the train. He was taken to his home in Silver Creek, and then laid at rest in Glenwood Cemetery there. He was a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and the Lake Shore Mutual Association, an attendant of the Protestant Episcopal church, and faithful to every duty as he saw it. Mr. Shores married, Sept. 26, 1893, Margaret E. Schnei- der, daughter of John B. and Mary Ann (Zimmerman) Schneider, of Syracuse, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Shores were the parents of five children: Francella, married Howard Armbruster, and resides in Dunkirk, N. Y .; Henrietta, married Stanley Boor, and resides at Silver Creek; Harry ; Ebbie John; and William N. Mr. Shores was devoted to his family and was happiest in his home. Mrs. Shores and the children are members of the Roman Catholic church of Silver Creek.
AUGUST P. OLSON-This family name, origi- nally Olsen, was changed to Olson by August P. Olson after his coming to Jamestown, and so he always wrote it. In later years his daughter, Ellen J., the talented entertainer, reader, and impersonator of Shakespearian roles, reverted to the original spelling, Olsen. August P. Olson was for nearly half a century a resident of James- town, N. Y., coming to that city a young man, thoroughly skilled as a cabinet maker and worker in wood. About 1874 he entered Jamestown's business life as an exclusive manufacturer of tables, and at the time of his death, forty-five years later, was president of the Diamond Furniture Company, and recognized as one of the able business men of his city, and one who had materially aided in its upbuilding. He was the son of Jens Olsen, a farmer, located on the island of Bornholm, Denmark, at the time of the birth of his son, August P. Many Danes settled in Jamestown upon coming to this country and there aided in creating a city of homes and manufactories. Although upon first coming to the United States Mr. Olson did not locate in Jamestown, he came a little later, and from his coming until his death in 1919, made that city his home and business headquarters. While he be- came an intense and patriotic citizen, and served with all the zeal of a native son, he never lost his interest in and iove for his native land.
August P. Olson was born on the island of Bornholm, Denmark, Aug. 22, 1849, died in Jamestown, N. Y., Aug. 5, 1919. He obtained a good education in the Danish schools, and learned the cabinet maker's trade, continuing in Denmark until nineteen years of age. In 1868 he came to the United States, locating in Titusville, Pa., where he was engaged at his trade until his coming to Jamestown, where in 1874 he began business for himself as a manufacturer of tables. His was the first exclusive table manufactured in Jamestown, Mr. Olson's little plant being located in the old Wood building that stood upon the site of the later Warner building. Making tables of a superior quality, the Olson tables quickly found a place in the furniture market, and in 1878 Mr. Olson found it advisable to admit a partner and enlarge the scope of his business. He found the partner in the person of John Love, also of Danish birth, and a man of fine mechanical and business ability. The business was con- ducted under the firm name of A. P. Olson & Company for many years, and through the good judgment, fore-
sight, and energy of the partners, was a success. The slogan of the company was "best material and workman- ship," and on that foundation a business was built that has endured for nearly half a century, constantly increas- ing in volume. The little plant was succeeded by a large factory built at the corner of Taylor and Fillmore streets, and when the business outgrew the resources of the two men, the Diamond Furniture Company was incorporated, but was controlled by Mr. Olson and Mr. Love. As a corporation* the business has continued its prosperous course, and although the strong arm of the founder has been withdrawn, John Love, his able associate of forty years standing, retains the office of vice-president, although he has practically retired. But both men left able sons, whom they trained in the business, Louis A. Olson and Henry F. Love, the former being trained in the selling department, the latter in the offices of the com- pany, and both contributed largely to the success of the company.
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