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 24
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In March. 1883, Mr. Kewin was united in marriage to Miss Marianda Nelson, a daughter of Richard Nelson, and unto them have been born three children. Mr. Kewin has attained high rank in Masonry and is a member of St. Paul's church. There have been no exciting chapters
in his life record. His career has been essentially that of a business man who has concentrated his energies upon the successful conduct of the commercial and industrial interests with which he has been identified. It is such men, however, who constitute the real strength of the commun- ity, are the promoters of its development and the upbuilding of is greatness.
GEORGE G. FORD.
George G. Ford, occupying a responsible posi- tion as manager of the office and credit department in the wholesale boot and shoe house of Lewis P. Ross, needs no further encomium of an honorable business record than the fact that he has been ad- vanced to his present position from that of billing clerk. In the latter capacity he became connected with the house in 1885 and has since gradually worked his way upward.
Mr. Ford was born in Elba, Genesee county, New York, January 23, 1864. His father, Phile- tus Ford, was a farmer by occupation and followed that pursuit for many years. He is now living in Elba but his wife, Mrs. Anna Phoebe (Rice) Ford, died during the infancy of her son George, who has no brothers or sisters living. His ancestors in the paternal line were among the pioneers of Genesee county. He is indebted to the public- school system of his native county for the educa- tional privileges he enjoyed. When about twenty years of age he entered business life as clerk and bookkeeper in a general store in his native town but the desire for wider opportunities and the at- tractions of a commercial career cansed him to seek employment in the city and he came to Rochester in December, 1885, to enter upon a business connection with the wholesale boot and shoe house of Lewis P. Ross, which has con- tinued to the present time. The duties of billing clerk were first assigned to him and he has successively acted as bookkeeper, head bookkeeper and cashier, while for the past ten years he has been manager of the office and credit department. The house with which he is connected is one of the most prosperous in western New York and one of the most extensive of its kind in the mid- dle states, distributing annually a product valued at over two million dollars. Mr. Ford is also in- terested in the firm of G. E. Thing & Company, controlling a growing wholesale boot and shoe house at Buffalo, New York. He has applied himself assiduously to his business interests with the result that he is an acknowledged force in commercial circles and undoubtedly the future holds in store for him larger successes.
WILLIAM J. KEWIN.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
In 1886 Mr. Ford was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Frances Barton, a daughter of E. P. Barton, a merchant of Elba, and they have one son. Mr. Ford belongs to the Oak Hill Country Club but to no fraternal organizations. He is fond of golf but business gives him little time for play. Although he has not been active in politics, the republican party finds in him a stalwart advo- cate. He is a member of the Asbury Methodist church and his varied relations indicate him to be a man of well rounded character.
CHARLES W. FERGUSON.
Charles W. Ferguson, of the firm of Daly & Ferguson, conducting a wholesale and retail busi- ness in wrapping, roofing and building paper at No. 59 Mill street, Rochester, is a native of this city, where his birth occurred on the 14th of February, 1863. His father, Thomas Ferguson, was a native of Ireland, in which country the pa- ternal grandfather spent his entire life, dying at an advanced age. Thomas Ferguson was one of a family of three sons and a daughter and, having spent his boyhood and youth in his native country, he came to America about 1845, settling at Roches- ter, where he engaged in the milling business for seventeen or eighteen years. He afterward owned a line of carts which were used in city teaming but during the last ten years of his life he was retired, enjoying a rest which he had truly earned. He died on the 13th of March, 1887, at the age of sixty-four years and was survived by his wife until January, 1905, when at the advanced age of eighty-eight years she was called to her final rest. She, too, was born in Ireland and bore the maiden name of Jane Johnson. Her parents were John and Margaret Johnson, in whose family were two sons and four daughters. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson were members of the Episcopal church. By their marriage they became the parents of ten children, of whom six are living: Jane Ann, the wife of Robert Bemish ; Margaret, the wife of M. L. Pritchard ; Mary L .; Charles W .; Sarah G., the widow of Henry L. Daly ; and Carrie L.
A resident of Rochester throughout his entire life, Charles W. Ferguson supplemented his public- school education. completed by graduation from the high school, by study in the business college. He was thus well equipped for responsible clerical work and for fifteen years occupied important positions as bookkeeper. In 1893 he started in business on his own account, thus investing the capital which had accrued from his labor, economy and careful management. He formed a partner- ship with his brother-in-law, Henry L. Daly, and the relation was continued until the death of Mr. Daly on the 12th of January, 1901. Since that
time Mr. Ferguson has conducted the business alone, having purchased Mr. Daly's interest, but still retains the old firm name of Daly & Fergu- son.
Mr. Ferguson is an Episcopalian in religious faith and in his social relations he is connected with Rochester lodge, No. 660, A. F. & A. M .; Hamilton chapter, R. A. M. ; Monroe commandery, K. T .; and Damascus Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also affiliates with the Elks and is connected with the Rochester Yacht Club. While interested in all of these organiza- tions and greatly enjoying the sociability thus en- gendered, his attention is mainly given to his business. The ability to discriminate between es- sentials and non-essentials is the rarest accom- plishment of genius and this has largely guided Mr. Ferguson in his business life, gaining for him a gratifying patronage.
CHARLES H. BAILEY.
Charles H. Bailey, who has figured actively in local republican circles for a number of years and is now practicing law in Rochester, was born in Henrietta, New York, October 15, 1850. His parents were David L. and Laura A. (Brainerd) Bailey, both of whom were natives of Connecticut. The father came to this county with his parents about 1827 and settled in the town of Henrietta. The grandfather, Jonathan R. M. Bailey, took up one hundred and fifty acres of land, including about thirty acres of timber, and this farm has since been in the possession of the family, being now the property of Charles H. and Brainerd T. Bailey. The grandfather, Jonathan R. M. Bailey, died upon the old homestead, as did also David L. Bailey, the father. The latter followed the oc- cupation of farming throughout his entire life and was commissioner of highways in his town for a number of years. His widow died in her eighty- seventh year, July 3, 1907. They were the par- ents of three children, two sons and a daughter, of whom Harriet A. died in August, 1905, while the sons are still living and, as stated, are owners of the old homestead property.
Charles H. Bailey was educated in the common schools and in the Rochester Collegiate Institute. He took up the study of law in 1872 with Hon. John M. Davy, member of congress and after- ward supreme court judge, as his preceptor. Af- ter passing the required examination he was ad- mitted to the bar in January, 1876, but for ten years thereafter remained upon the farm, his time and energies successfully devoted to general agri- cultural pursuits. When the decade had passed he returned to Rochester and entered the office of
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
Hon. Walter S. Hubbell with whom he remained four years, being later with Hubbell & McGuire. In 1890 he was appointed under sheriff and filled that position under four administrations, serving as under sheriff for Burton H. Davy, John W. Hannon, John U. Schroth and Thomas W. Ford. He proved a most competent and trustworthy of- ficer and the fidelity and capability of his serv- ices led to his election to the office of sheriff in the fall of 1902. He acted in that capacity for three years and was then succeeded by William H. Craig. On the expiration of his term as sheriff he opened his present law office and has since been engaged in the practice of his profes- sion, having a goodly clientage and making steady advancement in professional lines. During his administration as sheriff there was never a law suit brought against him, never an escape from prison or a death in the jail.
Mr. Bailey was married, in November, 1878, to Miss Elizabeth A. Springer, of Henrietta, New York, daughter of John Springer. Mr. Bailey belongs to Henrietta lodge, A. F. & A. M., and is a life member of Rochester consistory in which he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scot- tish rite. He likewise belongs to Damascus Tem- ple of the Mystic Shrine and to the Knights of Pythias fraternity. He is in sympathy with the principles and purposes of these different organi- zations and has been most true to their teachings.
ALLEN M. OTTMAN, M. D.
Dr. Allen M. Ottman is one of the popular phy- sicians of western New York, who in the brief period of his residence in Hilton, covering only ten years, has built up a very extensive practice. He daily gives proof of his skill and ability and the confidence of the public is indicated by the liberal patronage accorded him. A native of Schoharie county, New York, he was born May 27. 1875, and having completed his more speci- fically literary education by graduation from Al- bany high school he afterward prepared for his professional duties as a student in Albany Medical College, of which he is an alumnus of the class of 1897. In the fall of the same year he located for practice in Hilton, where he has since remained, and although there were two old established phy- sicians here and he was unknown in Hilton and had no practical experience save that received in hospital work, he soon gained recognition by reason of the success which followed his efforts in the sickroom. He is very careful in the diagnosis of a case and rarely, if ever, fails to correctly predict the outcome of diseases. His business has been constantly growing until his practice is now cx-
tensive and in addition to administering remedial agencies he has proven his worth in surgical work. For two years he was employed as coroner's phy- sician for the west part of Monroe county.
Dr. Ottman was married on the 28th of No- vember, 1905, to Miss Caroline E. Hatfield, who was born in New Hartford, New York, in 1875. The wedding was celebrated in her native town and Mrs. Ottman then accompanied her husband to Hilton, where they have a pleasant home justly celebrated for its warm hearted and gracious hos- pitality.
NATHANIEL GILLARD.
The death of few men has been more deeply regretted among the circle of immediate friends and business acquaintances than has that of Na- thaniel Gillard, who passed away at Richmond, Virginia., January 16, 1900, while in charge of the prison shoe factory there. He was born in England, June 17, 1846, and was brought to America by his parents in 1854, the family home being established in Rochester. He had the ad- vantage of instruction in the public schools of this city, but when still quite young entered the business world as an employe in a shoe fac- tory. There he displayed close application, un- faltering faithfulness and untiring diligence, and gradually he worked his way upward from one of the lowly positions until he became superin- tendent for the firm of Curtis & Wheeler in Rochester, and his worth was still further acknow- ledged by his admission to a partnership. He was a practical designer for that house for thirty-five years. Connected with the establishment from his boyhood days, he was familiarly known as Nat and the use of the Christian name was, moreover, an indication of his popularity and the esteem in which he was uniformly held by employers, em- ployes and all business associates. At length he went to Richmond as superintendent of the prison shoe factory and there his last days were passed.
His success was eminent when measured by the usefulness of his life, for in many ways he labor- ed for the benefit of his fellowmen and his ef- forts were effective and far-reaching. He was one of the organizers of the Mechanics Institute, became one of its directors and did much for the upbuilding of that institution, which had as its object the preparation of young men for active and useful business lives as artisans. He was also connected with the Rochester Boot & Shoe Manufacturers Association. He belonged to the Rochester Whist Club and he was a liberal con- tributor to the support of the First Baptist church, of which his wife was a member.
NATHANIEL GILLARD.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
On the 29th of November, 18:1, in this city, the Rev. Mr. Owen of the Baptist church per- formed the marriage ceremony which united the destinies of Nathaniel Gillard and Miss Kate L. Cogswell, who was born in Victor, Monroe county, a daughter of Charles Cogswell, who came to Rochester at a very early day. In his early manhood he was a cooper and later he engaged in business as a commission merchant. His last days were spent in Rochester. It was in this city that he married Amanda King, who with her parents had come to Rochester during the pioneer epoch in the history of the city. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gillard were born four children: Mary Edith, who is with her mother; Bessie King, who is also at home; Nathaniel, who died in child- hood; and Christopher, who died in 1900 at the age of sixteen years.
Mr. Gillard was a supporter of the republican party and was interested in the political questions of the day, although he never sought nor desired the honors and emoluments of office as a reward for party fealty. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was most devoted to his family and a lover of his home. He possessed a most kindly spirit, was ever thoughtful and considerate of others and his many good qualities won him the esteem and warm friendship of all with whom he came in contact. All who knew him spoke of him in terms of praise and of sincere regard, and the news of his death brought a sense of deep personal bereavement to many with whom he had been as- sociated. The opinion in which he was uniform- ly held can perhaps best be shown in the follow- ing resolution, adopted by the Rochester Boot & Shoe Manufacturers Association : "We mourn the loss of Nathaniel Gillard, who for many years has been identified with our craft. He was broad in intellect. generous in his friendships and public spirited as a citizen, and withal was endowed with a becoming modesty. No record can fitly ex- press our appreciation of his worth and our re- gard and admiration for his virtues."
JOHN FRANCIS HUNT.
John Francis Hunt, paper box manufacturer of Rochester, was born at Geneseo, Livingston county, New York, September 20, 1864. His father, William Hunt, a native of County Kings, Ireland, came to America when seventeen years of age and died thirty years ago. His mother, Mrs. Johanna (Conroy) Hunt, was also a native of Ireland, born in Queens county, and is now living in Geneseo. New York.
In the district schools John Francis Hunt ac- quired his preliminary education, which was sup- plemented by study in Starkey Seminary and in Geneseo Normal. He afterward engaged in teach- ing school in Steuben county for some time and later turned his attention to farming, which he followed until his removal to Rochester in the year 1889. Here he entered the employ of Wil- liam Buedingen & Son, paper box manufacturers, with whom he continued for five years as a sales- man, on the expiration of which period he em- barked in the same line on his own account on Water street, manufacturing boxes for drugs, per- fumes and all kinds of high grade work. He has built up a good business, securing in the mean- time a liberal patronage and now employs forty operatives in the factory, which is conducted un- der the firm style of J. F. Hunt & Company.
On the 26th of August, 1902, Mr. Hunt was married to Miss Cathryne Lauretta Kelley, a daughter of John Kelley, of Lima, New York, and their home is at No. 261 Dartmouth street, built by Mr. Hunt. They are members of the Blessed Sacrament church and Mr. Hunt gives his political allegiance to the democracy.
GEORGE W. STEITZ.
George W. Steitz, engaged in the insurance bus- iness in Rochester, was born in Syracuse, New York, November 22, 1852, his parents being George H. and Margaret (Clute) Steitz. The father was born in Ausnabruck, Prussia, Germany, on the 2d of February, 1813, and was there reared, learning the tailor's trade in his native province ere he came to the United States in 1834, when a young man of twenty-one years. The favorable reports which had reached him concerning the bus- iness advantages of the new world and the high wages paid for labor here led him to sail for the United States when he attained his majority and, locating in Syracuse, he there established himself in the tailoring business, with which he was iden- tified successfully for twenty-one or twenty-two years. He then removed to Waterloo, New York, where he also followed merchant tailoring for some years, subsequent to which time he retired to private life with a goodly competency that en- abled him to enjoy through his remaining days all of the comforts and many of the luxuries which go to make life worth living. He passed away in 1888. His record is a splendid illustration of the fact that America offers excellent chances to young men of ambition, determination and industry. In politics he was a republican but never an office seeker. His father, Girard Steitz, was for several years a soldier in the Prussian army. In the family
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
of George H. and Margaret (Clute) Steitz were eight children, of whom five are still living: Louise D., the wife of M. J. Brown of Rochester; Urella A. and Mary A., also residents of Roches- ter ; Phillip N., living in Bradford, Pennsylvania ; and George W.
George W. Steitz was only about five years of age at the time of the family's removal to Water- loo, New York, where he resided until his four- teenth year, when he was sent to Geneva, New York, to attend Hobart College, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1871. Subsequently he won the degree of Master of Arts from the same institution and, thus well equipped by a liberal education for the active and responsible duties of a business career, he came to Rochester, New York, in 1875 and opened an office for the conduct of a real-estate, fire insurance and mortgage business, with which he has since been identified, covering a period of almost a third of a century. During these years he has developed an important business that has made him a prominent factor in insurance circles in the city. In 1897 he admitted his son, Carl N. Steitz, to a partnership under the firm style of George W. Steitz & Son.
In 1874, Mr. Steitz was married to Miss Carrie N. Mills, of Phelps, New York, and they now have a son and daughter, Carl N. and Ella H.
In his political views George W. Steitz is a stal- wart republican and in 1889 was elected a member of the board of supervisors from the twelfth ward. He belongs to Genesee lodge, No. 507, A. F. & A. M .. and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite in Rochester consistory. He likewise affiliated with Orient lodge, No. 273, I. O. O. F., of which he was a past grand, and he holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he served for several years as president of the board of trustees. He is inter- ested in the work of these fraternal organizations and of the church, having due regard for all those plans for ameliorating the hard conditions of life for the unfortunate. He is one of Rochester's well known business men, who has made an excel- lent record since becoming allied with the busi- ness interests of this city.
CHARLES M. HOOKER.
Charles M. Hooker, a nurseryman and orchard- ist widely known in horticultural circles through- out the state, having been a member of the West- ern New York Horticultural Society for a half century, has done effective work for the repre- sentatives of this great division of labor in secur- ing the passage of laws in the state legislature
that have proven most beneficial to horticulturists. He was born on North St. Paul street in Roches- ter, November 9, 1832, and is descended from the Rev. Thomas Hooker, who with his people founded the city of Hartford, Connecticut, and whose statue can be seen over the east portal of the capitol there today. His father, Horace Hooker, came to this city from Windsor, Connec- ticut, about 1820, making the journey by stage. He found here a village of small proportions but with notable sagacity he made large investments on St. Paul street and also north of the city in a district then called Carthage-property which has since become very valuable. He was interested in the milling business at Carthage and at Ogdens- burg. He also owned the store houses and wharfs at the head of navigation of the Genesee and all the goods exported to Canada passed through his hands for a number of years. He was also en- gaged in 'many other business enterprises and was a very prominent factor in business circles during an early epoch in Rochester's history.
Disposing of his business interests at Rochester in the year 1856, Horace Hooker removed to Brighton and embarked in the nursery business as the senior member of the firm of Hooker, Far- ley & Company. There he continued until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when he and his son, H. B. Hooker, who was associated with him in, business, retired from the firm of Hooker, Far- ley & Company. The father then removed to Chili, where he again engaged in the nursery busi- ness. His death occurred at the home of his son, H. E. Hooker, on East avenue in Rochester, Nov. 3d, 1865. Horace Hooker married Miss Helen Wolcott, a native of Windsor, Connecticut, and a daughter of Erastus Wolcott, of the distinguished family of that name. Governor Oliver Wolcott, a signer of the declaration of independence, was of this family as was the late Governor Roger Wol- cott of Massachusetts. In their family were eight children : Henry E. Hooker, Mrs. Julia Wolcott Bissell, James Wolcott Hooker, Fannie Hooker, Horace B. Hooker, and Charles M. Hooker, the subject of this sketch. Two children died in in- fancy.
Charles M. Hooker completed his education in the old Rochester high school. He entered the nursery business at an early age. being employed first by the firm of Bissell & Hooker on East ave- nue, afterward Bissell, Hooker & Sloan. He com- menced business for himself at the age of twenty- one years as a member of the firm of Hooker, Far- ley & Company on North St. Paul street, his father being the senior partner. The business was re- moved to Clover street in Brighton in 1856, at which time the farm of the late Roswell Hart was purchased. The father retiring, the business was conducted for some time under the old firm style but later became H. E. Hooker & Brother. It
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
was in 1867 that the late H. E. Hooker bought out the interest of Joseph Farley and the business was continued in Brighton on East avenue, under the firm name of H. E. Hooker & Brother for ten years. In 18% this part- nership was dissolved, C. M. Hooker purchas- ing the property where he now lives, on Clover street, since which time he has conducted the nursery and fruit-growing business under the firm name of C. M. Hooker & Sons. The place where Mr. Hooker resides is known as the Rochester Fruit Farm and Nurseries and comprises one hun,- dred and thirty acres on Clover street, now cov- ered with orchards. Mr. Hooker has made nearly all of the improvements upon this property. He grows some of his own nursery stock and also has other stock grown for him on contract. The com- pany has a retail department at No. 57 Trust building and the business is a large and impor- tant one.
Mr. Hooker is a member of the Western New York Horticultural Society, with which he has been identified for more than a half century. He represented that society at the Washington Convention, called to take action relative to the control of the San Jose scale and other dangerous and injurious insects. He has also been active in formulating and securing the passage of the pres- ent laws of the state in relation to the San Jose scale and other insect enemies. He likewise be- longs to the New York State Fruit Growers' As- sociation and to the Eastern Nurserymen's Asso- ciation.
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