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 43
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At the usual age William J. Maloney entered the public schools wherein he early mastered the common branches of English learning, and at the age of eighteen he engaged in teaching in the public schools of his native town, which he con- tinued for nearly three years. Later he was graduated from the Geneseo State Normal School with the class of June, 1900. In the same year he began the study of law with Elbridge L. Adams and after thorough preliminary reading was ad- mitted to the bar in November, 1903, having thor- oughly acquainted himself with the fundamental principles of law and with many precedents as well. He spent nearly three years in the office of Hon. Walter S. Hubbell in connection with the active work of the profession and in December, 1906, opened an office on his own account, since which time he has gained a good clientage for one of his years.
Mr. Maloney is popular with his many friends in the county. His membership relations extend to the Philalethian, a college fraternity, and to the national guard, of which he is now a repre- sentative.
GEORGE RAINES.
George Raines, by the consensus of public opin- ion accorded a position of distinction at the Rochester bar, has also been accorded official and political honors that indicate his position as one of the foremost citizens of western New York. He was born in Pultneyville, Wayne county, New York, on the 10th of November, 1846, a son of the Rev. John and Mary (Remington) Raines. The family is of pioneer stock of Ontario county, New York, and the father devoted his life to the work of the Methodist ministry. He was of Eng- lish ancestry, while the mother came of pure New England lineage, represented in Connecticut for several hundred years, or from the earliest coloni- zation of the new world.
The common schools, the Elmira Free Academy and the University of Rochester provided George Raines his educational opportunities and from the last named he was graduated with the class of 1866. Admitted to the bar in December, 1867, he has since lived in Rochester in the active practice of law. Advancement at the bar is proverbially slow yet no dreary noviate awaited Mr. Raines, and with steady progress he has advanced to the front ranks of the legal fraternity of this city. The court records indicate the importance of his clientage and testify to the many notable forensic victories he has won. From 1872 until 1877 he served as district attorney and in the following year he was elected state senator. Various honors have been conferred upon him in connection with important events in the history of the city and especially have his services been sought in connec- tion with public addresses. He was chosen the orator on the occasion of the semi-centennial cele- bration of the city of Rochester and also delivered the address in the exercises held in the city hall on the occasion of a Grant memorial. He dc- livered the legislative oration on Samuel J. Tilden in 1887 and has frequently addressed other but less notable assemblages. His public work has ex- tended to the trusteeship of the Rochester State Hospital from 1891 to 1907; commissioner of Niagara Reservation from 1893 until 1907; and park commissioner of Rochester in 1907. With the rank of colonel he served as judge advocate on the staff of Major General Henry Brinker for seven years, from 1875 until 1882.
Mr. Raines exercised his right of franchise in support of republican candidates until the Gree-
GEORGE RAINES.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
ley campaign of 1872, since which time he has been a pronounced champion of the democracy. He has been a delegate to three national couven- tions of the party and was general delegate from the state in 1888. He has presided as chairman at seven democratic state conventions since 1885 and is an acknowledged power in democratie circles in New York. Although unflinching in support of party principles, his fealty is not grounded on partisan prejudice and he enjoys the respect and confidence of his associates irrespective of party. Well grounded in the political maxims of the schools, he has also studied the lessons of actual life, arriving at his conclusions as a result of what may be called his post-graduate studies in the school of affairs. Such men, whether in office or out of it, are the natural leaders of whichever party they may be identified with.
While figuring to a greater or less extent in affairs which have kept him before the public eye, Mr. Raines has also continued actively in the practice of his profession and has tried at least forty murder cases. He was designated by Gov- ernor R. P. Flower to conduct the trial of Bat Shea and John McGough for murder in the first degree at Troy, New York, growing out of election riots. His practice has connected him with some of the most important cases tried in the courts of western New York.
On the 2d of April, 1868, he married Miss Florence Dana, and in Rochester-for forty years the city of their residence-they are widely and prominently known socially.
A. D. BRANCHAUD.
A. D. Branchaud, who is engaged in business as a painter, paper hanger and interior decorator, also house and carriage painter, in Despatch, came to this city May 7, 1901, at a time when there was much building in progress, so that he soon built np a large and lucrative trade, which has steadily increased as the years have gone by. Mr. Bran- chaud was born in Canada, April 9, 1866, a son of A. D. Branchaud, Sr., who was the proprietor of two hotels in Montreal, Canada.
A. D. Branchand was reared and educated in the place of his nativity and after putting aside his text-books he learned the trade of a painter, which he has followed throughout his entire busi- ness career. On the 7th of May, 1901, he came to Despatch from Pottsdam, New York, where he en- gaged in business as a painter, doing work on the piano factories, schoolhouse, Catholic church and the greater number of dwellings in this place. Owing to his excellent workmanship and reason- able prices he has now built up a very large and
lucrative practice, in the line of painting, as well as paper hanging and interior decorating. In 1901 he erected a three-story business block, twen- tv-eight by sixty feet, and in 1905 erected a second structure, this being a two-story building, twenty- five by forty feet.
Mr. Branchaud was married March 11, 1887, to Miss Eleanor Mershi, of Vermont, and their marriage has been blessed with one daughter, Mand. Mr. Branchaud's fraternal relations are with the Foresters and the Modern Woodmen of America. Since coming to Despatch, Mr. Bran- chaud has improved his opportunities and as the years have gone by he has prospered, for he con- ducts all business matters carefully and success- fully, is prompt in the execution of a contract and has therefore won the high regard of all with whom business relations bring him in contact.
MANLEY A. SHAFER.
Manley A. Shafer, of the Moore, Shafer Shoe Manufacturing Company of Brockport, is a na- tive of Clarkson, Monroe County, New York, where he was born March 7, 1856. His parents were Jonas H. and Mary (Jennings) Shafer, both natives of Monroe county, New York. The Shafer family were of German descent and were pioneer farmers of the county. J. H. Shafer, the father of our subject, was a farmer and fruit grower, who became very prominent, holding a number of local offices.
Manley A. Shafer was educated in the country and the Brockport schools. He was early engaged in the fertilizing business in Utica, in which he continued for fourteen or fifteen years. At the death of Franklin F. Capen, in 1895, Mr. Shafer was elected president of the Moore, Shafer Shoe Manufacturing Company, which he and Wilson H. Moore had organized in August, 1888, and which had been incorporated in 1889, with F. F. Capen as president, W. H. Moore, secretary and treasurer, and Mr. Shafer as a director. The present officers of this corporation are: M. A. Shafer, presideut; C. P. Lane, secretary ; W. H. Moore, treasurer. The original home of this con- cern was in the Pease block on Main street but in a very short time they built a factory on their present site. Later an additional factory was added and in 1903 still a larger addition, until at present their capacity is from three thousand to thirty-five hundred pairs of shoes per day. They employ many traveling salesmen, who cover not only the United States but foreign countries. They also have offices in New York and Chicago. From almost nothing this business has grown till now it is one of the leading shoe manufacto-
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
ries of the east. Mr. Shafer is deserving of great credit for this success, having been its principal organizer and its energetic champion for many years.
Mr. Shafer was married to Miss Emma Capen, a daughter of F. F. Capen, by whom he had two children, Helen V. and Frank Capen. His second wife was Sarah M. Goodsell, of Oneida county, New York, by whom he has three children: L. B., Wilson M. and Marion D.
While Mr. Shafer has been devoted to his busi- ness and has built up some large and successful manufacturing, he has never felt it necessary to give up his church relations, as so many business men feel compelled to do at present. He and his wife are devoted members of the Baptist church, in which he has long served as & trustee. Clubs and lodges have not appealed to him strongly, for the leisure hours his business permits him he pre- fers to spend with his family.
CLARENCE HAMLINK FISHER.
Clarence Hamlink Fisher, secretary of the I. J. Fisher Furniture Company at 118 State street, was born in Williamson, Wayne county, New York, October 13, 1881. His grandfather was Isaac Fisher, a native of Holland, who came to America and located in Williamson as one of the early settlers. With all the pluck and hardihood that characterize the sons of Holland, he carved out a farm in the wilderness. His life partner was Martina (Hamlink) Fisher, who died at the age of sixty-three years. Mr. Fisher is still hale and hearty at the venerable age of eighty-two. Ten children were born to them.
James H. Fisher, son of Isaac Fisher, was born in Williamson, New York, and after attaining adult age he married Nellie Mullie, who was also born in Williamson and who was a daughter of Peter Mullie, a native of Holland and an early settler at Williamson, New York. His wife bore the maiden name of Lavina Lacknor and died at the age of sixty-four, while Mr. Mullie passed away at the age of fifty-seven. They were farm- ing people and they reared a large family, includ- ing a daughter, Nellie, who became the wife of James H. Fisher. In his young manhood the father was a farmer, but later in his life he re- moved to Williamson, where he entered the piano, organ and sewing machine business, in which he is still engaged. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher were the parents of two children : Clarence H .; and Arthur J., of Rochester.
Clarence H. Fisher was reared in the village of Williamson, where he was graduated from the public schools. Soon after the completion of his
school days he became connected with the Weis & Fisher Company in Rochester, in whose employ he remained from 1900 until the spring of 1906, when he was elected secretary of the I. J. Fisher Furniture Company, a position which he still re- tains. Fraternally Mr. Fisher is a member of the Valley lodge of Masons and the Rochester consistory, and also of Damascus Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Politically he is affiliated with the republican party. In Mr. Fisher's efforts to advance the interests of the company with which he has been connected he has always had the co-operation and good will of all its members. He has brought to his business the moral and financial support which makes a man valuable in every position he fills.
FREDERICK D. H. COBB.
Frederick D. H. Cobb, a member of the Roches- ter bar, claims New York as the state of his nativ- ity, his birth having occurred in Fort Edward, Washington county, on the 8th of July, 1866. His parents, Amos H. and Angeline M. (Hodgman) Cobb, were natives of the state of New York. The father was a business man of New York city and he had charge of the troops in New York during the Civil war. He was tendered the commission of colonel, but declined the honor. Nevertheless he gave his time as a citizen to his country, acting as a staff officer, running the blockades and doing other valuable service for his country. He died in 1891.
Frederick D. H. Cobb was reared in Brooklyn, New York, where he acquired his education as a student in private schools and in the Brooklyn Collegiate Polytechnic School, also attending the Fairport (New York) Union School, from which he was graduated in 1882. He was graduated at what is now Colgate University, in 1886, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, while he won the de- gree of Master of Arts from the same institution in 1889. In the meantime he had taken up the study of law and was admitted to the bar on the 4th of January, 1889.
Mr. Cobb began the practice of his profession in Rochester in partnership with Colonel W. E. Davis and the relation was maintained from 1886 until the death of Colonel Davis in February, 1906, under the firm name of Cobb & Davis. The firm style is still retained and Mr. Cobb engages in general practice and also makes a specialty of corporation work. He is particularly well versed in the department of corporation law and has been found a wise counselor on matters pertaining to corporate interests. Aside from his profession he has extended his efforts to business lines and is
FREDERICK D. H. COBB.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
treasurer of the Cobb Preserving Company and vice president of the Sanitary Can Company of Fairport, New York.
Mr. Cobb is well known in club and social cir- cles. His name is on the membership rolls of the Rochester Club, the Rochester Athletic Club, the Phi Beta Kappa and the Delta Upsilon, and he is also a member of the Rochester Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. He possesses strong mentality and in his professional work displays close reasoning, his deductions fol- lowing in logical sequence, while his cause is pre- sented with force.
CHARLES L. PIERCE.
Charles L. Pierce, whose course at the bar is forward, was born in the town of Bridgewater, Oneida county, New York, April 22, 1877. His father, John Davis Pierce, is a resident farmer of Oneida county and has been somewhat active and influential in community affairs. He has frequently been called to serve in local offices, including those of justice of the peace and as- sessor.
After mastering the elementary branches of English learning Charles L. Pierce became a stu- dent in Marion Collegiate Institute, where he pre- pared for college, being graduated from that school in the class of 1898. He then entered the University of Rochester, from which institu- tion he was graduated in 1902, on the completion of a classical course, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He had previously taken up the study of law while in college, pursuing his reading also through the periods of vacation. He later entered the office of Sutherland & Otis, attorneys of Roch- ester, and was admitted to the bar on the 9th of July, 1903. He continued, however, as clerk in the office of Sutherland & Otis until the 1st of January, 1904, since which time he has been in practice alone. He is a member of the Rochester Bar Association and was special counsel in the office of the corporation counsel, which position he held during the years 1904 and 1905. At the present writing he is tax assistant corporation counsel, and although a young man, he is well started on the road toward prominence and suc- cess as a member of the legal profession.
On the 30th of August, 1904, Mr. Pierce was married to Miss Grace Adams, of Rochester, a daughter of O. S. Adams, managing editor of the Democrat & Chronicle. He belongs to the Delta Upsilon fraternity and is secretary and treasurer of the Rochester Delta Upsilon Club. He is also a member of Genesee Falls lodge, No. 507, A. F. & A. M. The qualities of a genial, friendly nature
are his, and his life demonstrates the truth of Emerson's statement that "the way to win a friend is to be one."
ALVIN E. NYE.
Alvin E. Nye is operating a well improved tract of land, comprising one hundred and thirty- five acres, situated in Pittsford township, and is classed among the substantial agriculturists of this section of the state. He was born in Pitts- ford, in 1831, a son of Silas and Sarah (Stone) Nye. One of the most interesting features that can ever come into the life of any representative of the Nve family is to attend the reunions annu- ally held. On the occasion of its yearly reunion at Sandwich, Massachusetts, in 1906, in the ad- dress of welcome William L. Nye said in part : "It seems but natural here that we should turn our thoughts back to the early days when the old town was but a wilderness ; when the wild Indian claimed ownership to all that was in sight. Our thoughts will travel back across the seas to Kent county, old England. In imagination we see a lad of fifteen bidding farewell to home and friends, starting off to seek his fortune in the new world. We see the same lad again in the town of Saugus with a few shillings in his pockets join the little group who are preparing to march toward the place which was to be their future home. We can see them winding their way across country toward the little hamlet of Sandwich. % The lad of fifteen becomes a man. We find him taking unto himself a helpmate. That lad was Benjamin Nye; that helpmate Catherine Tupper. As a man and citizen he took a most active part in all the affairs of the town and soon became an extensive landowner. When old age incapacitated him for active labor, he returned to the old home of Jonathan Nve in East Sand- wich and throughout the rest of his life radiated an influence of goodness and uprightness in the community in which he lived." Such is the ac- count given of the American ancestor of the family.
The father of Alvin E. Nve served in the war of 1812 and drew a land warrant in northern Michigan. 'He came to Monroe county from Mas- sachusetts, and cleared and developed a farm which is now known as the Myers property. He engaged in agricultural pursuits and was also by trade a carpenter and joiner, erecting all of the buildings on his home place. He also improved the place by setting out a good orchard and con- tinued to make his home on that place until his death, which occurred in 1864. Of their nine children all reached years of maturity, but our subject is now the only one who survives.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
Alvin E. Nye acquired his early education in the common schools and later attended a collegiate institute. Upon starting out in life on his own account he went upon the road for the nursery firm of Boardman & Wheeler and also grew some nursery stock. In 1860 he purchased a tract of land comprising thirty-eight acres, to which he added a tract of one hundred acres, this latter place being purchased in connection with his brother, with whom he was associated in business until the former's death in 1870. He has since continued to engage in general agricultural pur- suits and in addition to carrying on this work is also engaged in the milk business, keeping on hand sixteen cows, but his son, Wales M. Nye, is now assisting him in the management of his agricultural interests. In his labors he has ever followed practical methods and has thereby met with desirable and gratifying success.
Mr. Nye was married in Rush, New York, in 1857, to Miss Elizabeth Fowler, who was born in Pittsford. Of this union six children were born: Hiram Addison, the eldest, who died at the age of six years; Wales M .; Lettie May, the wife of Jared W. Hopkins, who is mentioned on another page of this work; Alvin F., of Rochester; Delora J., at home; and Chauncey B., of Roch- ester. The wife and mother departed this life in 1881.
Mr. Nye formerly gave his political support to the democratic party, but of late years has cast his ballot for the men of the republican party. His religious faith is indicated by his member- ship in the Presbyterian church. He has spent his entire life in this community, covering a period of more than three-quarters of a century, and with the early history of the state he is thor- oughly familiar and has not only been a witness of the agricultural development that has here been made, but has also been an active participant therein. He has ever followed the most honorable methods in his business affairs and has won a cred- itable record among his fellow citizens.
LOUIS M. ANTISDALE.
Louis M. Antisdale has been editor in chief since 1898 of the Rochester Herald, his identi- tification with the paper, however, dating from 1891. He was born in Marion, New York, Oc- tober 27, 1869, his parents being Philander and Elizabeth H. (Lyke) Antisdale. In the acquire- ment of an education he attended successively the public schools, the Marion Collegiate Institute from 1881 until 1885, the Palmyra Classical Union School in 1886-7, and the University of Rochester from 1889 until 1893, receiving the
Bachelor of Arts degree upon the completion of his four years' classical course.
For two years previous he had been connected with the Rochester Herald as a reporter, and after two years' service in that position resigned to become deputy collector of internal revenue, which is the only political position that he has ever filled. In 1894 he resumed his connection with the Herald as business manager and so con- tinued for three years. In 1898 he became editor in chief and in this connection has contributed much toward making the Herald the successful journal which it is today. Under his editorial direc- tion the Herald has come to be recognized as a newspaper of thorough independence, liberal and fair in its treatment of all parties, though not hesitating to condemn the policies and methods of either.
On the 15th of August, 1895, in Rochester, Mr. Antisdale was married to Miss Margaret McIntyre, and they are now residing at No. 180 Dartmouth street. Mr. Antisdale's fraternal rela- tions include the Phi Beta Kappa and the Delta Upsilon societies, while in club life he is con- nected with the Genesee Valley and Rochester Clubs.
GEORGE C. TAYLOR.
No resident of Fairport is more uniformly es- teemed and respected than George C. Taylor, whose activity has touched the various lines which con- tribute to the material, political, intellectual and moral development of the community. There has also come to him the attainment of a distinguished position in connection with the great material in- dustries of the county and he is now successfully engaged in the manufacture of patent medicines and flavoring extracts.
He was born in Cato, now Meridian, Cayuga county, New York, September 20, 1835, his parents being Alonzo L. and Lona (Potter) Taylor, of whose family of eight children George C. alone survives. The father was born in Norwalk, Con- nectient, and was there reared, learning the trade of a hatter. In early life he was a schoolmate of and workman with P. T. Barnum, the great show- man, of whom he became a close personal friend. As a young man he removed to Auburn, New York, to work at his trade, and in Cayuga county was married. Later he engaged in the hat busi- ness in Cato and in 1848 removed to Ira Hill in the same county, where he resided up to the time of his death, which occurred in May, 1861. He served as constable and deputy sheriff of his county for fourteen years and it was he who captured the negro Freeman, the murderer of the Van Ness
GEORGE C. TAYLOR.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
family of Auburn in the late '40s, the history of which is well known in connection with criminal annals in New York. During the later years of his life Mr. Taylor was engaged in the manufacture of patent medicines and peddled his own product. This was the foundation of the present extensive business built up by Mr. Taylor after the death of his father.
George C. Taylor was reared under the parental roof and acquired a public-school education. He succeeded to the business upon his father's death and in 1868 removed to Fairport. During three or four years after the close of the Civil war business was slack in all departments of industrial and commercial activity and it was not until 1871 that the enterprise assumed proportions of any 'magnitude. From this time on, however, the vol- ume of trade has steadily grown and Mr. Taylor's power was felt in the manufacture of proprietary articles for the drug trade, in which line he has been very successful. His efforts have been so discerningly directed along well defined lines of labor that he seems to have realized at any one point of progress the full measure of his possibili- ties for accomplishment at that point.
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