USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > History of Rochester and Monroe county, New York, from the earliest historic times to the beginning of 1907, Vol. II > Part 10
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In 1903 Doctor Fleming was united in mar- riage to Miss Margaret L. Blake, a native of Oil City, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Charles J. Blake. Their home has been blessed with two
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
little daughters, Margaret A. and Katharine M. The parents are communicants of the Holy Cross Catholic church and are prominent in social cir- cles, while as a practitioner the Doctor has gained equal prominence.
HARRY GOODELL.
Harry Goodell is a splendid representative of progressive agriculture as practiced by those mem- bers of the farming class who have made steady advancement, each year improving upon the meth- ods and processes which they followed the pre- vious year. He resides in the town of Parma and his entire life has been given to general agri- cultural pursuits.
His paternal grandfather, William Goodell, was born in Cherry Valley, New York, in 1779, and married Miss Sylvia Dutcher, who was also a na- tive of Cherry Valley, born in 1789. They were married in the year 1809 and became the parents of five children, including Elijah Goodell, whose birth occurred in the town of Parma, October 29, 1828, following the removal of the family to Mon- roe county. From a very early day the family has been represented in this part of the state and Elijah Goodell experienced many of the difficulties and hardships incident to frontier life. He wed- ded Martha M. Hazen, who was born in the town of Richmond, March 12, 1834. Their wedding was celebrated in 1851, and was blessed with a family of three sons and two daughters: William, born November 2, 1852; Harry, July 3, 1854; Parmelia, January 11, 1857; Hattie, April 27, 1866; and Fred, September 5, 1871.
The grandfather, William Goodell, came to the town of Parma when it was largely an undevel- oped wilderness and at the land office filed his claim to one hundred and eight acres of virgin soil. This tract was covered with its native growth of timber in the midst of the forest he cleared and developed his farm, cutting away the trees, grubbing out the stumps and preparing the soil for cultivation. In the course of years he be- came owner of a very fine farm and assisted in making the district what it is today-one of the most rich, fertile and productive tracts of Monroe county. Elijah Goodell, the father of our subject, was born upon this farm, which came into his possession upon the death of his father, and his remaining days were here. passed.
Harry Goodell, who was born on the old family homestead July 3, 1854, is indebted to the public schools for the educational privileges he enjoyed. He commenced life as a farmer and has always followed that pursuit, starting out on his own ac- count when twenty-seven years of age. Previous to this time he had always worked on the old
home place with his father, who in 1871 purchased a farm of ninety-three acres, of which Harry Goodell is now half owner. The father invested twenty-four hundred dollars in this property and gave to his son Harry a half interest. Starting out in life on his own account, Mr. Goodell has eager- ly embraced every opportunity for honorable ad- vancement and he and his wife are now the own- ers of three hundred and ninety acres of valuable land. Upon his home place he has an orchard of seventeen acres, while twenty-four acres on his other two farms are also devoted to the cultivation and production of fruit. In all that he undertakes he displays a spirit of resolution and perseverance, which enables him to win success and he brooks no obstacle that can be overcome by persistent, earnest and honorable labor.
On the 25th of October, 1886, Mr. Goodell was married to Miss Mary H. Lowden, who was born May 31, 1862, and they have one daughter, Grace Goodell, whose birth occurred November 24, 1894, and who is now a student in the Spencerport high school.
Mr. Goodell is independent in his political views. He served for one term as highway com-' missioner, but otherwise has held no office. He has erected all of the buildings on his home place and these are modern and substantial structures, making the farm a model property. The style of architecture is good and the place is most attract- ive in its appearance, owing to the care and labor bestowed upon it. Desirous of advancement and utilizing his opportunities to the best advantage, Mr. Goodell has made steady progress in his busi- ness career and is today classed with the promi- nent representatives of farming interests in the town of Parma.
LAWRENCE BRADFORD FITCH.
Lawrence Bradford Fitch, a contractor of Rochester, making a specialty of electric railway construction, was born, in Syracuse, New York, June 20, 1871, his parents being Charles Elliott and Louise Lawrence (Smith) Fitch, who were likewise natives of Syracuse. The father was born in 1835, was graduated from Williams Col- lege in the class of 1855 and from the Albany Law School in 1857. Having qualified for the profession, he practiced law in Syracuse until 1862, when he was appointed clerk of the provost court, at Newbern, North Carolina, which office he held until 1866. He came to Rochester in 1873 after having served as editor of the Syracuse Daily Standard and hecame connected with journalism in this city, being editor of the Rochester Demo- crat and Chronicle from 1873 to 1890, and then
ELIJAH GOODELL.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
collector of internal revenue from 1890 to 1893. He was then appointed to the department of pub- lic instruction, wherein he is still serving. In 1877 he was made regent for life of the university of the state of New York, and was supervisor of the United States census in 1880. In 1876 he was a delegate to the national republican conven- tion. The foregoing brief account of his life will indicate to the thoughtful reader that he is a man of individual worth, who has left his impress for good upon public life and has aided in molding public thought and opinion along progressive lines.
Lawrence Bradford Fitch acquired his prelimi- nary education in the public schools of Rochester and, like his father, pursued his collegiate course in Williams College, of which he is an alumnus of 1892. The same year he entered the engineering department of the New York Central Railroad, where he remained until 1893, when he was made deputy collector of internal revenue at Rochester. He was connected with the state engineering de- partment from 1894 until 1897 and in the latter year he began contracting in New York city, con- tinuing in business there until 1901, when he re- turned to Rochester. Here he began contracting on his own account, with office at No. 114 Powers building, as a member of the firm of Lee & Fitch. He makes a specialty of electric railway construc- tion and has executed some important contracts in this connection. He thoroughly understands the great mechanical principles which underlie the business as well as the practical work connected therewith, and thus possesses the requisite quali- ties essential to success in his chosen field of labor.
Mr. Fitch was married in New York, in 1895, to Miss Eleanor Grant Schley and they have two children. They are communicants of St. Paul's church, and Mr. Fitch is a republican in his political views and allegiance. He belongs to the Sigma Phi, a college fraternity, also to the Gene- see Valley and the Country Clubs of Rochester, the Rochester Auto Club and the Rochester Engineer- ing Society. He looks at life from a sane, prac- tical standpoint, recognizes the possibilities in business, the obligations of man, to his fellowmen and the individual responsibility in matters of citizenship. His worth is widely acknowledged by those who know him and in Rochester he has the favorable regard of a large circle of friends.
ALLING STEPHEN DEFOREST.
Alling Stephen DeForest, a landscape architect, with offices in the Sihley building in. Rochester, was born in Pittsford, New York, April 20, 1875. His father was Stephen Alling DeForest and his mother bore the maiden name of Jennie MacDon-
ald. At the time of their marriage they were residents of Rochester. During his early life the father was employed by the H. E. Hooker Nursery Company of Rochester and subsequently purchased one of their nursery farms located in the extreme northerly corner of the township of Pittsford. It was at the family home there that Alling S. De- Forest and his twin brother and two sisters and two older brothers were all born. The father con- tinued to grow nursery stock in a limited way, but devoted the larger portion of his time to the cul- tivation of early vegetables until 1894, when the farm was sold and the family moved to Brighton, New York. About a year later they became resi- dents of Leroy, New York, where the mother died in April, 1896.
Alling S. DeForest began his education in the Allen Creek district school at Brighton, New York, later attended Taylor's Business College in Rochester, and subsequently spent two years in the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute, studying free-hand and mechanical drawing. He completed the two years' course in the spring of 1896. Through the period of boyhood and youth, until they had reached the age of nineteen years, he and his twin brother were constant companions. They had few leisure hours for relaxation, the task of keeping a three-acre field of onions free from weeds, which persistently appeared, requiring al- most their undivided attention, so that little time was left them for recreation. The strenuous train- ing received on the father's farm, however, brought to Alling S. DeForest the habit of applying him- self diligently to the execution of any tasks in hand and this quality has constituted one of the strongest forces in his success in later life.
During his last year in school Mr. DeForest en- tered the office of W. W. Parce, a landscape archi- tect, devoting his spare hours to studying in a practical way the profession of landscape archi- tecture. A desire for a broader knowledge along this line led him to enter the employ of Olmsted Brothers. landscape architects, of Brookline. Massachusetts. This occurred in the autumn of 1897. At that time the splendid courses in land- scape architecture, which are now offered to the student by the leading universities and colleges, were not in existence. Mr. DeForest remained with Olmsted Brothers in Brookline until the 1st of July, 1898, when he returned to Rochester and again joined Mr. Parce in business. Together they practiced their profession until the 1st of Novem- ber, 1899. This short period of professional life revealed to Mr. DeForest the importance of a more extended knowledge of the principles and also the materials used-trees, shrubs and flowers -so he returned to Brookline and again entered the office of Olmsted Brothers, where he remained until the 1st of January, 1901. During his spare hours he visited the Boston parks, studied plants
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
in the Arnold Arboretum and the Cambridge botanic garden, also carrying on a course of read- ing in the Boston public library, where a large collection of books on landscape architecture, known as the "Codman collection," were on file. Returning to Rochester in January, 1901, Mr. DeForest renewed his partnership relations with Mr. Parce, which continued until the autumn of the same year, when, owing to ill health, Mr. Parce was obliged to remove to Denver, Colorado. Since that time Mr. DeForest has continued alone in the practice of his profession, with a clientage extending to the Mississippi on the west and to Maryland and Alabama on the south, also into Pennsylvania and Ohio and a number of cities and towns of this state.
On the 22d of November, 1898, occurred the marriage of Alling S. DeForest and Mary Re- becca Barnes. They have one son, Alling Waver- ley, born May 31, 1902. Mr. DeForest is a mem- ber of the American Civic Association for the pur- pose of promoting a more beautiful America, and in religious faith is a Methodist. With a nature that could never be content with mediocrity, he has advanced in his profession. far beyond the ma- jority, putting forth every effort in his power to promote his skill, advance his proficiency and aug- ment his knowledge of landscape architecture. His laudable ambition has resulted in gaining for him a prominent place in his chosen calling.
FREDERICK W. ZOLLER.
Frederick W. Zoller has been with the Union Trust Company since its organization in 1881 and has gradually worked his way upward from a hum- ble position until he is secretary of one of the leading financial concerns of Rochester. There is no esoteric phase in his business career. His advancement has come in recognition of his un- wearied industry, his mastery of the various duties assigned him and the spirit of enterprise which has always characterized him in his work.
A native of Redwood, Jefferson county, New York, Mr. Zoller was born August 11, 1864, a son of Darins and Elmira (Moyer) Zoller, both of whom were natives of St. Lawrence county, this state. The father, devoting much of his life to agricultural pursuits, is now living retired in Rochester. The mother also survives, as do three of their children.
Frederick W. Zoller was brought to Rochester at the age of three years and is a graduate of the city high school. Throughout the period of his connection with business interests he has been. identified with financial concerns, first entering the private bank of Erickson, Jennings & Com- pany. with which he was connected up to the
time the Union Bank was established in 1885. In the faithful performance of each day's duty he found courage and strength for the labors of the succeeding day and, thus advancing in efficiency and experience, he was from time to time pro- inoted until he is now secretary of the Union Trust Company, one of the strong moneyed concerns of the city, and has contributed in no limited degree to the success of the institution. It should be the pride of every business not merely to in- crease in sales but to improve in character, per- sonnel and service, and so approach an ideal busi- ness standard. Such has been the policy of the Union Trust Company. It has aimed at high ideals in its service to the public and has oppor- tunities for expansion, which add reasonable hope to every worker's outlook. It is permeated by a spirit of courtesy, thoroughness, enthusiasm, en- ergy and progressiveness.
In. 1886 Mr. Zoller was married to Miss Jessic Gifford, of Rochester, a daughter of Jesse W. Gifford, and they have one son bearing the mother's maiden name-Gifford. The family resi- dence is at No. 1340 Lake avenue, and Mr. and Mrs. Zoller hold membership in the Brick ( Pres- byterian) church. He is also identified with Yon- nondio lodge, No. 105, A. F. & A. M .; Hamilton chapter, R. A. M .; Monroe commandery, K. T .: and Damascus Temple of the Mystic Shrine. His membership relations likewise include the Genesce Valley Club and the Rochester Country Club. In business circles he is accorded that recognition and honor which the American public gladly give to the man who has planned his own advancement and has accomplished it through honorable methods.
EDWARD C. LAPEY.
From messenger boy to general passenger agent of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad Company has been the record of Edward C. Lapey. His advancement has come through no influence or outside aid but has been the direct result of capability and merit, which have found recognition in promotion. Born in Niagara Falls, New York, on the 21st of January, 1860, Mr. Lapey is a son of Samuel Lapey, who was a merchant of Niagara Falls and died during the boyhood of his son Edward. He was left an orphan by the carly death of the mother and after acquiring his educa- tion in, the public schools of his native city he started out in life to make his own way in the world, becoming an employe in the Western Union telegraph office at Buffalo. He was first a mes- senger boy and later became an operator. Subse- quently he was given a position in the branch ticket office at the Tifft House, where he thor-
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
oughly acquainted himself with the business of selling tickets, and since that time he has been in the railway service. In 1881 he entered the em- ploy of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Rail- way as clerk in the passenger department, was afterward ticket agent at the West avenue station and subsequently appointed traveling passenger agent and chief clerk. Thus gradually he worked his way upward and in July, 1892, he was made general passenger agent of the road. He is a most enthusiastic railway man and has so systematized the work of his department that it moves without friction, each one doing his duty and bringing about a clock-like regularity in the whole. That Mr. Lapey has been most faithful, honorable and reliable is indicated by his long connection with the company.
Fraternally Mr. Lapey is connected with Gene- see Falls lodge, No. 507, A. F. & A. M. He also belongs to the Rochester Club and the Columbia Rifle Club and has many friends in these or- ganizations. His political allegiance is given to the democracy and he has served as school com- missioner for three years for the eleventh ward. of Rochester, but otherwise has never sought or desired public office, his time and energies being given to his business affairs, wherein he has made a most creditable name.
PRYOR F. MARTIN.
Pryor F. Martin, whose devotion to the public welfare has been manifest in capable official service extending over many years, is now serving for the third term as supervisor of his town. He resides in Henrietta and is the owner of valuable farming property embracing one hundred and one acres. His birth occurred on the old homestead of the family in the year 1852, his parents being Lorenzo and Emeline (Frost) Martin, whose mar- riage was celebrated in the year 1844. The father was born July 5, 1819, and as a life work engaged in, general farming, heing the owner of three hun- dred and sixty-six acres of productive and valuable land at the time of his death, which occurred in the year 1886. In the family were eight children.
Upon the home farm Pryor F. Martin spent the days of his boyhood and youth and the work neces- sary to promote its varied interests largely claimed his time and attention. He was, however, a pupil in the town school and he afterward spent one year as a student in Rochester. Returning to Henri- etta. he worked upon the farm, and the practical training which he received in early manhood has well qualified him for the successful conduct of agricultural interests in later years. He is today the owner of one hundred and one acres of valu- able land devoted to general farming, and the
place presents a most attractive appearance be- cause of the care and labor bestowed upon it.
On the 7th of December, 1881, Mr. Martin was married to Miss Nelly D. Bly and they have one son, Royal. The family attend the Christian church of Rush and are well known socially in their part of the country. Mr. Martin is a mem- ber of the Grange and is interested in all that tends to further the agricultural development and progress of the county. Moreover he is recog- nized as a local leader in the ranks of the repub- lican party and his worth as a citizen has led to his selection for various public offices. He served as town collector for two terms, was highway com- missioner for eleven years and is now supervisor, filling the office for the third term, his fidelity and trustworthiness winning for him high encomiums.
HORACE FRANKLIN ATWOOD.
While business connections frequently show forth the strong traits of the individual, his means of recreation quite as frequently indicate his salient characteristics and the trend of his mind. In an analyzation of the life record of Horace Franklin Atwood both these must be taken into consideration. He has won a favorable position in the business world but is equally well known for his scientific research, and as vice president of the American Society of Microscopists and a member of various other organizations of this character, he has become the friend of many of the distin- guished scientists of the country. His business activity is concentrated upon the performance of the duties of the secretaryship of the Rochester German Insurance Company, with offices at 16 Seneca parkway.
Mr. Atwood was born in Boston, February 5, 1850, a son of Francis A. and Mary (Snow) At- wood, the former born on Cape Cod, in 1820, while the latter was born in Cohassett, Massachusetts. in 1822. The father was for a number of years engaged in the wholesale shoe business, conducting that enterprise until his death in 1851. His wife survived until 1828. Their home was maintained in Boston, where Horace F. Atwood was a public- school student, and in 18:0, when twenty years of age, he went to Chicago, where he entered the western department of the Hamburg-Bremen Fire Insurance Company. He has been connected with the German Insurance Company since 1874 as special agent, adjuster and assistant secretary and since 1883 has been secretary. In his official ca- pacity he has much to do with the executive management of the company, which throughout the years has sustained an unassailable reputation for the fairness and integrity of its methods. He was chairman of the committee of fifteen which
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adjusted the San Francisco fire losses-a stupen- dous undertaking, which, however, was success- fully accomplished. To this end he spent the greater part of the summer of 1906 in San Fran- cisco. In the office he is an alert, enterprising business man, constantly watchful of opportunities for the development of the business and for the acquirement of success.
Outside of the office another phase of his nature is manifest. He is a gentleman of scholarly at- tainments, particularly interested in scientific re- search, in which he has gained more than a local name. He has twice been president of the Acad- emy of Science, vice president of the American Society of Microscopists, fellow of the Royal Mi- croscopic Society and secretary of the State Society of Microscopists of Illinois. He has long been inter- ested in microscopic work, which he took up when studying natural history, especially of parasites. and his proficiency along these lines is indicated by the official honors which have been conferred upon him by those who are prominent in the scien- tific world. He is a member of the Mayflower So- ciety, to which he is entitled by reason of his descent through Constance, Giles and Stephen Hopkins and Diggorie Priest. The social side of his nature has been equally well developed and he is a member of the Rochester Club, of which he is an ex-president, the Rochester Yacht Club and the Masonic Club. He belongs to Yonnondio lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; Hamilton chapter, R. A. M .; Mon- roe commandery, K. T .; and Damascus Temple of the Mystic Shrine, being a life member of the lodge. Nor is Mr. Atwood neglectful of the du- ties of citizenship. At the present writing he is serving as vice president of the park board and he is interested in all those things which are a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride. His political views are in harmony with the principles of the republican party, which he supports at the polls.
Mr. Atwood was married in Chicago, in 1873. to Miss Nellie Roberts, a daughter of Owen Rob- erts, and a native of Treborth, North Wales. She was visiting in this country when she became ac- quainted with Mr. Atwood, who sought her hand in marriage. They now have two daughters and a son : Grace F., the wife of Raymond J. Ruliffson, of Rochester; Edward Snow Atwood, of Denver, Colorado; and Isabelle D., the wife of William Kent Rose, of New York. There are also three grandchildren.
In a summary of the life of Mr. Atwood it will be noted that he is not so abnormally developed as to be called a genius, but is one of the strongest because one of the best balanced, the most even and self masterful of men. Advancement is his watchword and has characterized his work in every line in which he has extended his activities, whether in the field of business, of scientific re- search, of municipal interests, or socal life. He
has acted so well his part in both public and pri- vate life that Rochester has been enriched by his example, his character and his labor.
LEWIS EDELMAN.
Lewis Edelman, who for almost forty years has . been connected with the coal trade in Rochester, developing an extensive business in this direction, was born in Baden, Germany, on the 15th of July, 1845, his parents being Joseph and Margaret Edelman, who were likewise natives of the same country. The father, whose birth occurred in 1825, died in 1892, and the mother, also born in 1825, passed away in Rochester in 1887. They became residents of this city in 1851 and the father worked at the mason's trade. In religious faith the family were Catholics. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Edelman were born six children: Lewis; Elizabeth, now deceased; Peter, living in Roches- ter; John, Catherine and Rose, all deceased.
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