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 37
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dowments, her skill as a teacher, or her efficiency in directing complex affairs. Rather do we hold precious her memory as that of a rare example of noble, unselfish Christian womanhood, one who never thought of herself, and was ever thoughtful of others, a true friend, whose friendship was a blessing to all who possessed it, and the memory of whose friendship will abide as a helpful force in the lives of us all. Hers was a most sym- metrical character, in which strength and sweet- ness were blended. Her intellectual gifts were united with deep religious experience and skill in practical affairs. Self-forgetful, and of heroic courage, her heart was open to the sorrow and suffering of others, and her sympathy was true and tender."
Mr. Westervelt was again married, in June, 1898, his second union being with Adelia Clara Fay, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1866, and is a daughter of Gilbert Otis and Adelia (Allen) Fav, who in 1880 removed to Hartford, Connecticut. Mrs. Westervelt is a lady of cul- ture and refinement, who is proving of great as- sistance to her husband in his chosen life work and shares with him in the high regard in which he is uniformly held.
Mr. Westervelt is a member of the First Bap- tist church and his political allegiance is given to the republican party. In all that he does he is actuated by a spirit of helpfulness, benevolence and unlimited sympathy. His work has been of the greatest benefit to the class to whom he min- isters, not only to those who have come under his immediate instruction, but also to others, by rea- son of the advanced ideas which he has set forth in connection with the education of the deaf. He has continually sought out new methods and initi- ated new plans for reaching this class and through his labors has brought into their lives the sun- shine, the joy and the interests which come through knowledge of the use of one's powers in mastering the interests of the world. On the roll of New York's benefactors his name should find a prominent place.
JACOB MARTIN FLOESCH.
Jacob Martin Floesch, chief engineer of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railway, was born in New York city, on the 12th of December, 1857, and is a son of Jacob and Maria M. (Meier) Floesch, who were natives of Baden, Germany, and are now deceased. In the public schools their son Jacob M. acquired his education and in October, 1881, when twenty-three years of age, he entered the railway service, with which he has since been continuously connected, winning con-
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secutive promotions as he has demonstrated his ability. He acted as transit man and assistant engineer for the Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad until January, 1884; from July 1884, until November, 1885, for the Rochester Bridge & Iron Works, at Rochester, New York; from December, 1885, until October, 1891, was assistant chief engineer of the Alleghany & Western Railroad ; and its successor, the Buffalo, Rochester & Pitts- burg Railroad, the change in the name having taken place in March, 1887; from November, 1891, until January, 1892, was chief engineer of the Johnsonburg & Bradford Railroad ; from July, 1892, until September, 1894, was chief engineer of the Clearfield & Mahoning Railroad; from October, 1894, until December, 1897, was engineer in charge of reconstruction of lines of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad in Pennsylvania; from January, 1898, until August, 1899, was chief engineer of the Allegheny & Western Railroad; from September to December, 1899, was superin- tendent of the Pittsburg division of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railway, and since January, 1900, has been chief engineer for this road. He has practically reconstructed the entire line and has added some five hundred miles of road to the line, double tracking it, and has put in many great bridges and splendid improvements, which pro- mote security and add to the comfort of the patrons of the road. He has also surveyed many extensions of this road and has become well known in connection with railway construction.
Mr. Floesch belongs to the American Society of Civil Engineers, to the American Railway, En- gineering and Maintenance of Way Association, the Rochester Engineering Society and the En- gineering Club of New York, affiliations which largely indicate his standing in the profession. He likewise belongs to the Rochester Whist Club and is a prominent Mason, being affiliated with Frank R. Lawrence lodge, No. 797, A. F. & A. M .; Roch- ester consistory, S. P. R. S .; and Damascus Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.
Mr. Floesch was married in July, 1906, to Miss Emma Graham, of Clearfield, Pennsylvania, and they reside at No. 6, Scio street.
JOHN HAMPDEN HOPKINS.
John Hampden Hopkins, lawyer of Rochester, was born at Auburn, New York, June 20, 1852, a son of Samuel M. Hopkins, D. D., and Mary J. H. Hopkins. Dr. Hopkins was, for over fifty years, professor of church history in the Auburn (New York) Theological Seminary. He died in 1901 and his wife in 1884. Samuel M. Hopkins, grandfather of John Hampden Hopkins, died
in 1837. He was a distinguished lawyer and a man of highest character, who practised his pro- fession for some years at Albany, New York, but retired from practice several years before his death. He edited one volume of reports of the court of chancery of this state, which bears his name and which is considered one of the best specimens of law reporting.
John H. Hopkins was graduated from Hamil- ton College in 1872 and from the Albany Law School in 1875. He came to Rochester in 1877 and has here practiced his profession to the pres- ent time. He is a member of the New York and Rochester Bar Associations. In his political views Mr. Hopkins is a democrat. He is president of the Genesee Whist Club, president of the Chil- dren's Aid Society and attends the Third Presby- terian church. On the 10th of November, 1887, he married Martha P. Porter, daughter of Samuel D. Porter, of Rochester, who was one of the lead- ers in anti-slavery movement in this section. Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins now have a daughter sixteen years of age.
JOHN A. FAAS.
Rochester, with its broad opportunities afforded by the excellent shipping facilities and manifest- ing, too, at all times a spirit of marked enterprise and progressiveness, has drawn to Monroe county many important commercial, industrial and manu- facturing enterprises until the city is today one of the leading business centers of this great country, its trade interests reaching out to all parts of the United States and to many foreign lands as well. In her citizenship Rochester has people from all countries, who have come here, however, to be American citizens and manifest the same loyalty to her institutions and interests that are seen in her native sons. John A. Faas, a native of Holland. born on the 25th of February, 1860, has here lived since 1872. His father, Daniel H. Faas, also a native of Holland, on emi- grating to the new world in 1872, established his home in Rochester, where he worked in a foundry. He married Tinnie Amelle, who died about three years ago, while his death occurred in 1906. Of the family three sons and three daughters are yet living.
John A. Faas began his education in the public schools of Holland and continued his studies in the public schools of Rochester. After putting aside his text-books to take up the more difficult lessons in the school of experience, he secured a situation with the Hahnsmidt & Spencer Furrier Company of Rochester, with which he was con- nected for two years. He was afterward with
JOHN H. HOPKINS.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
Charles Hayden in the furniture business for three years, during which time he became thor- oughly acquainted with the trade of cabinet mak- ing. Subsequently he spent a short time in the employ of the firm of Schantz, Meyers & Shale, after which he engaged in contract work for a short time. The following year was passed in Stuart's rubber factory and later he was with Charles Hayden. He next again entered Stuart's rubber factory and for three years was in the I. H. Dewey chair factory, subsequent to which time he secured a situation in the Gibbons & Stone piano factory, where he remained for sixteen years. Four years were passed with the Foster-Armstrong Company, piano manufacturers, and in 1901 he became connected with the Ropelt & Sons Piano Company, of which he has since been made treas- urer. He has had long experience in the business of manufacturing pianos and his practical knowl- edge, as well as his executive force in financing a large enterprise, contributes in substantial measure to the success of the business. He is practical and systematic in all that he does and his labors con- stitute a resultant factor in the prosperity of the house.
Mr. Faas was married at the age of twenty-two years to Miss Katherine Shont, a native of Hol- land, the wedding being celebrated, however, in Rochester. They have four children: Daniel, who is with Foster-Armstrong Company; Lucinda; Cora ; and Elsie. Mr. Faas belongs to the Holland Benefit Society and also to the Holland First Re- formed church. He is a republican in politics, having supported the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. His business life has been characterized by steady advancement, re- sulting from his perseverance, capability and keen discrimination. While he has never been a public man in social or political life, there is no good work which does not find in him an earnest and material helper.
MAX LOWENTHAL.
Success in any line of occupation, in any ave- nue of business, is not a matter of spontaneity, but is a legitimate offspring of the proper use of the means at hand, the improvement of oppor- tunity, and the exercise of the highest functions made possible in any case. Young men in the past have often been deterred from devoting them- selves to a business life because of the widespread impression that such a life yields no opportunity for the display of genius. The time, however, has gone by when, other things being equal, the busi- ness man must take a secondary place to the law- ver, the doctor, the minister or the editor. In
fact, as a rule, let the business man be equally well equipped by education and natural endow- ment, and you will find him today in every com- munity, exerting a wider influence and wielding a larger power than a man of equal capacity in other walks of life. The men of affairs have come to be in a large degree the men upon whom the coun- try leans. The subject of this sketch is pre- eminently a man of affairs.
Max Lowenthal was born February 22, 1843, at Bolkenhain, province of Silesia, Prussia, the youngest of six children of Elias and Sophia Lo- wenthal. The father, during his active career in his native country, was a corn merchant and linen manufacturer, occupying a respected position in the community. A liberal in political opinion, he resolved on emigrating to the United States dur- ing the period of reaction following the Revolu- tionary outbreak of 1848. The giving his five sons the opportunity to enter life otherwise than through a period of compulsory military service was one of the factors determining him to this step, which at the time, in 1852, was an unusual one in that quarter and among people of standing. Settling in New York and in accordance with the habits of a lifetime, the father again entered busi- ness life, becoming a storekeeper on Grand street, for a while having two establishments there. The venture proved unsuccessful; want of knowledge of the language and local methods and the dis- honesty of an associate were contributory causes, while the panic of 1857 proved the finishing blow to the remnants of former fortune, forcing new beginnings on all the members of the family.
The mother, Sophia Samson, was one of a family in which letters were cultivated and which numbered many professional men, the popular preacher and writer, Dr. Michael Sachs, of Berlin, being one of her nephews, while others were phy- sicians and one a painter, most of them receiving the benefits of higher education.
Max Lowenthal was in his tenth year on arriv- ing in New York, having had instruction in Ger- many previously, for a short time, being one of four brothers who were simultaneously pupils at the Royal Gymnasium at Liegnitz. In New York he passed through all the grades of a public school in a little over three years and had not reached the prescribed age for entrance to a secondary school on finishing. This and the collapse of the pater- nal business led him to take up the active duties of a business life and his ambition sought an editor's desk by the then still possible way of the printing office. Learning the compositor's trade with the German printer-poet, Niclas Muller. he was employed successively by Harper Brothers, the Methodist Book Concern, the Bible House, and Theodore De Vinne. He supplemented his in- terrupted education by attendance at the evening classes at Cooper Institute. The need of an as-
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sistaut editor on the Beobachter brought him to Rochester in 1864, during the campaign for the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. As this position proved to hold out little opportunity for the future it was after a time exchanged for a clerk- ship, leading in the course of years to a small storekeeping enterprise and eventually bringing him into the knit goods business, with which he has been continuously identified since 1873.
Mr. Lamb, a student at the local theological seminary, had some years before invented the knitting machine bearing his name and the in- vention gave rise to a new industry which has since spread throughout the world. The first two thousand machines made after his design were manufactured in Rochester and when the business of manufacturing these machines was removed to Massachusetts, an agency and plant of six hand machines were left at Rochester. It was this small equipment that Max Lowenthal purchased, the outfit employing possibly twenty people and turn- ing out goods to the value of hardly twenty thou- sand dollars per annum. The growth and de- velopment of the business is indicated by the fact that today in the factory are employed over three hundred operatives and the business occupies a modern factory building on Clinton avenue South, with fifty-eight thousand square feet of floor space and has an output approaching a half million dol- lars per annum. This result has not been achieved without capable co-operation, Mr. Louis Lowen- thal, a brother, joining forces in 1884, while two sons, Harry and Eugene, brought up to the busi- ness, were admitted to partnership in 1901. The products of the factory go from coast to coast and have helped to maintain the creditable record which other Rochester manufacturers enjoy in home and foreign markets. They consist of knitted woolen mittens for ladies and children, in- fants' vests, equestrian tights, leggings and many minor knit goods specialties. The daily produc- tion exceeds a thousand dozens and the most mod- ern rapid running machinery is used, the original plant on the Lamb system having long since been outgrown and replaced by later constructions.
His business duties have not been allowed to en- gross Mr. Lowenthal's entire time. He has been an omnivorous reader all his life and has become a man of scholarly attainments and broad general information. He is, too, a writer not unknown to the general public, having occasionally contributed articles on literary topics and on questions of general interest. He has also done considerable translating from and into the German, his Eng- lish rendering of Puttlitz's "Was sich der Wald erzahlt" being published in the Rochester Post Express.
In religion a Jew, in politics an independent, he has tried to be of service in public causes of merit, being one of the founders of the Mechanics Insti-
tute and an advocate of improved methods in city administration, helping to bring about the change in educational methods introduced in the city. Of late years, the cares of business largely devolving on younger shoulders, he has become something of a traveler, visiting the Orient and European art centers, enlarging acquaintance with man and manners. He is a man in whom learning and culture have vied in making an interesting and entertaining gentleman. He has long been recog- nized as a force in the business life of Rochester and moreover has exerted a beneficial influence for the city's substantial development, intellectual growth and aesthetic progress.
JOHN REEVE.
The death of John Reeve, which occurred No- vember 14, 1906, was the occasion of deep regret to his many friends, as well as to the members of his own household, for he had from an early day been closely identified with the agricultural life of Monroe county, where his entire life was passed, and he was therefore widely and favor- ably known. A native of this county, he was born in Henrietta, February 27, 1832.
His father, William Reeve, was born in Lon- don, England, in 1796, and upon his emigration to America in 1816 he settled in Henrietta and after a residence of ten years there purchased a farm. He arrived here at the time when Monroe county was being surveyed and assisted in this work, this being previous to the time the canal was finished. He was married in this county to Miss Anna Taylor, who was also born in England, in 1804, and it was at the time of his marriage that he made his first purchase of land and estab- lished a home on the frontier. He was throughout a long period connected with the development and improvement of this section of the state and as his financial resources permitted he added to his landed possessions from time to time until at the time of his death, in 1857, he was the owner of three hundred acres. His family numbered eleven children.
John Reeve spent the period of his boyhood and youth on the home farm, assisting his father in the operation of the homestead property, and he pursued his studies in the country schools and in the academy. It was about 1870 that he took up his abode in Pittsford township, where he pur- chased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres and was engaged in general agricultural pursuits. He made all of the improvements upon his place, in- cluding a good house and substantial outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, and eventually made his property one of the best in the county.
RESIDENCE OF MRS. JOHN REEVE.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
LIe carried on the work of the farm until about 1900, when his health failed, after which he lived practically retired until his death, which occurred November 14, 1906. He was a man of domestic tastes and habits, loved his home and his family, and it is in the household that his loss is most deeply felt.
It was on the 17th of February, 1870, in Hills- dale county, Michigan, that Mr. Reeve was united in marriage to Miss Jane H. Proudley, who was born in Caledonia, New York, a daughter of Charles Proudley. Their home was blessed with one son and one daughter: Thomas J., who died December 12, 1897; and Mrs. Ida Burns, who with the widow still survives. The family are communicants of the Episcopal church and are highly respected in the community in which they reside.
HENRY KNIGHT ELSTON.
Henry Knight Elston, treasurer and general manager of the Rochester Button Company, was born at Port Jervis, Orange county, New York, June 25, 1857. His ancestors came from Holland. His maternal grandfather was Everhardus Bog- hardus, one of the earliest Dutch clergymen in New Amsterdam. Some of his remote ancestors settled in New Jersey and on the Hudson river. One branch of his family went to Albany, then called Beverwyck, from which branch can be traced leading Dutch families of Albany and vici- nity. One of these descendants held land under Patroon Van Rensselaer in 1641.
Mr. Elston received a thorough education in the public schools of Port Jervis and later in Chicago. At the age of twenty he was a clerk in the auditor's department of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company in Chicago. By reason of his energy, industry and business ability, he was soon promoted and became general statistician of the company. He was subsequently engaged for five years with Messrs. Swift & Com- pany of the Union Stock Yards.
In 1884 Mr. Elston was induced by a flattering business offer to move to Rochester, New York, where he has since resided, and has been unin- terruptedly connected with the M. B. Shantz Com- pany. the well known manufacturers of ivory but- tons. This company does perhaps the most exten- sive button business in the world. Mr. Elston was soon made secretary and treasurer of the company and filled these responsible positions until 1901, when he was made treasurer and general manager of the company, which offices he continues to hold. It is on account of his large business ex- perience and great administrative ability that the business has reached its present large proportions.
Mr. Elston is also treasurer and general manager of the Rochester Button Company, which is an- other rapidly growing enterprise.
FREDERICK S. TODD.
Frederick S. Todd, who has long since left the ranks of the many to stand among the successful few, is engaged in the manufacture of shoes at No. 175 North Water street and his business is one of those enterprises which has contributed to Roches- ter's splendid reputation as a center for shoe manufacture. Born in Williamson, Wayne county, New York, on the 29th of June, 1865, he is a son of William H. and Harriet L. (Sweeting) Todd, who were likewise natives of this state, being reared at Williamson and at Pultneyville respec- ively. The paternal grandfather, Dr. Todd, was a native of Cooperstown, whence he removed to Pultneyville. He lived upon a farm but engaged in the practice of medicine. His death occurred when he was eighty-four years of age, while his wife was more than ninety years of age at the time of her demise. The maternal grandfather, Rufus Sweeting, was a native of New York, living in Ontario, Wayne county, where he conducted a blast furnace. He married a Miss Tucker, who died when past middle life, while Mr. Sweeting was drowned at the age of sixty-four years. They were the parents of two children: Mrs. Todd, the mother of our subject ; and Emily A. Sweeting, now residing in Watervliet, Michigan.
William H. Todd followed general merchandis- ing at Williamson in early life and afterward re- moved to Fairport, where he continued in the same line of business. Although he was not drafted for service in the Civil war he paid a man to go to the front as his substitute, for his health was too poor to allow him to take active part in field service. He died in Fairport in 1874 at the age of thirty-nine years and his wife now makes her home in Rochester, where she has lived for the past fourteen years. They were the parents of two sons and one daughter.
Frederick S. Todd, whose name forms the cap- tion of this review, was reared in Fairport. where he attended the public schools. He then began clerking and keeping books in a grocery store in Fairport, in which employ he remained for three years, when he established a retail enterprise on his own account, conducting the same for five years. During the succeeding year he was seere- tary of the Fairport Shoe Company and subse- quently formed a partnership as a member of the firm of Harding & Todd, shoe manufacturers of Rochester. This connection was continued for
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
seven years, when a new company was organized under the name of Todd, Bancroft & Company, having an existence of three years. The firm as theu changed to the Fred S. Todd Company, of which Mr. Todd of this review is president. The business was incorporated a number of years ago and has been developed along safe, substantial lines, making it one of the exten- sive enterprises of western New York. They employ about four hundred people in the pro- duction of a good class of shoes and the out- put is sent to all parts of the United States. The company are ever fair and just in their treat- ment of employes, pay a good living wage and reward faithful service by promotion as opportu- nity offers. In the conduct of the enterprise they have ever recognized the old adage that "honesty is the best policy" and that "there is no excellence without labor." Upon these foundation stones they have builded their success and the house is now enjoying a most gratifying patronage.
On the 3d of September, 1903, Mr. Todd was married to Miss Lydia Strong Kenyon, a daughter of Rinaldo S. and Sophia (Strong) Kenyon. They have two children, Harriet Kenyon and Frederick. Mrs. Todd is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal church and Mr. Todd also attends its services. Politically he is a republican and fraternally is connected with Yonnondio lodge, F. & A. M., and Hamilton chapter, R. A. M., exemplifying in his life the beneficent spirit of the craft, which is based upon mutual helpfulness and brotherly kind- ness.
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