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 45
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Politically Mr. Udell is a stanch republican and is ever ready to aid his party during its cam- paigns. Strong in his own integrity, he always appeals to his friends and countrymen to rise to the measure of true citizenship and refuse to sub- ordinate the sacred right of the ballot to improper ends. He is a loyal supporter of the Baptist church and is a well known member of the Grange. At present he is living in his large, fine residence in Brockport and is enjoying life with his two sons very near to him. Among the interesting articles in Mr. Udell's home are the pictures he possesses of his orchards, where the apples are piled high and all the beauty of a full harvest is in evidence. Well may he be proud of his work.
GEORGE HUNT CLARKE.
George Hunt Clarke, president of the Racquette River Pulp Company, was born in Albion, Or- leans county, New York, April 15, 1843, a son of Freeman Clarke, who arrived in Rochester in 1845, and became prominent in the financial world, being the founder and president of the Rochester Bank and an officer and director in nu- merous other banking and railway companies. His wife was a daughter of Dr. Levi Ward, one of the earliest settlers of Rochester.
George Hunt Clarke prepared for college at the once famons military school conducted by Samuel and Edward Pierce, and afterward attended the Rochester University from 1861 until 1863. At the outbreak of the Civil war he became one of the organizers and a charter member of the Union Blues, a local military organization, in which recruits were instructed. In 1865 he was ap- pointed aid-de-camp with the rank of major, com- missioned by Governor Hoffman and assigned to duty on the staff of General John A. Williams, commanding the National Guard of New York. He occupied that position until the death of General Williams in 1873.
Mr. Clarke entered business life in 1865 in a clerical position in the Monroe County Bank of Rochester, where he remained until 1873, when he went to St. Louis, Missouri, and re-constructed the Martindale & Eddy Zinc Works, rebuilding the entire plant and establishing a successful business. In 1874, in connection with John Horton, he rebuilt the extensive iron furnaces at Port Lyddon, New York, and then went to Fullerville, St. Law- rence county, New York, where with A. J. Bixby, he constructed and operated the extensive charcoal furnaces. Some years later he organized the Rac-
quette River Pulp Company, of which he is now president.
Mr. Clarke has been an active worker in Mason- ry in Rochester, belonging to the blue lodge, chap- ter and commandery, and has also taken the de- grees of the Scottish rite and the Mystic Shrine. He is an honorary member of the supreme council of the thirty-third degree for the northern Masonic jurisdiction of United States of America. He belongs likewise to the Rochester Club, the Roches- ter Whist Club and other social organizations.
ROBERT W. DAVIS.
Robert W. Davis, general freight agent of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railway, has been connected with this line since 1882 and through successive promotions has risen to his present prominent and responsible position. He is a na- tive of Union Square, Oswego county, New York, his parents being John B. and Caroline (Kelly) Davis. The father was a commercial traveler for a number of years and spent his last days at Union Square, where he died on the 15th of August, 1893, being still survived by his wife.
Robert W. Davis entered railway service in the construction department of the Syracuse North- ern Railway Company in 1870. He applied him- self with great thoroughness to the mastery of the duties that devolved upon him, resolved to win promotion if close application and diligence could accomplish it. He thus placed his dependence upon the right qualities and in due course of time became station agent at Union Square, later train dispatcher at Watertown and subsequently traveling auditor for the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company and assistant treas- urer of the Syracuse, Chenango & New York Rail- road. In June, 1882, he entered the service of the Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad, with which he has since continued. He was first employed as train dispatcher, afterward became traveling freight agent, later was made chief clerk and trav- eling freight agent, and on the 1st of July, 1892, was appointed general freight agent, while on the 1st of July, 1907, he was appointed to his present position of freight traffic manager. In this con- nection he has done splendid service, carefully studying out methods that will increase the busi- ness of the road and conducting all negotiations on terms which are fair alike to the corporation and the patron. He is regarded as a most effi- cient force in railway circles and has risen to his present position of responsibilty entirely through his own efforts and capabilitv.
On the 2d of January, 1884, Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Fitzgerald, of
G. H. CLARKE.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
Oswego, New York, a daughter of Captain Albert Fitzgerald, a lake captain and owner of several vessels.
In politics Mr. Davis is a democrat, but without aspiration for office. He is an active and inter- ested member of Christ Episcopal church and he belongs to various fraternal and social organiza- tions, including Frank R. Lawrence lodge, No. 797, A. F. & A. M .; the Genesee Valley Club, the Rochester Club, the Transportation Club of New York, the Ellicott Club of Buffalo and the Trans- portation Club of Buffalo. In these relations ne obtains the needed rest and relaxation from the stress and strain of business life. He, moreover, possesses a genial nature and his kindly spirit and his deference for the opinions of others have ren- dered him popular.
HENRY CLAY MAINE.
Henry Clay Maine, who in the field of journal- ism and scientific research has gained more than local distinction, is well known in Rochester as the promoter of many interests which have large- ly advanced the esthetic culture and added to the beauty of the city. He has done much to improve the park system and in all lines his labors have been eminently practical and resultant. He is to- day at the head of the advertising department of the industries represented by Walter B. Duffy, but the demands of business, while never neglected, have not precluded the possibility of broad study and investigation or of active co-operation in pub- lic affairs.
Born in De Ruyter, Madison county, New York, on the 17th of February, 1844, he is a son of David and Lodemia (Foote) Maine. His father was born in Madison county, New York, in 1798, while the mother's birth occurred in Branford, Connecticut. The family were of Quaker faith and when the grandfather, David Maine, ran away from home and joined Sullivan's army on Long Island he was turned out of the Quaker meeting because of the opposition of that sect to war. Later he was obliged to leave the service on ac- count of illness. In 1796 he settled on a farm in Madison county, New York, where he took up some land belonging to a Holland company. He was closely associated with the pioneer develop- ment of that district and in later years the father was active in public interests there, serving for a long period as justice of the peace and also as a member of the board of supervisors. In 1849 he was further honored by election to the general assembly of New York and was a stanch support- er of Thurlow Weed. His entire life was spent in De Ruyter, and in the early days he taught
school in the village and became recognized as one of the leading factors of that time and locality. He was also a land surveyor and farmer and manifested in his business life the same adapta- bility, trustworthiness and energy that he dis- played in his official career. He died May 15, 1865, while his wife passed away at a later date. They were the parents of two sons, of whom Washington Irving Maine died in 1878.
Henry C. Maine acquired his advanced educa- tion in De Ruyter Institute and in Hamilton College at Clinton, New York, being graduated from the latter with the class of 1870. He is a charter member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the chapter of Hamilton having been organized in 1870. He entered upon active connection with journalism in 1871 in the employ of the Troy Daily Times, with which he remained for three years. He then became part owner of the Troy Morning Whig, being associated with that paper until 1878, when he removed to Rochester and became connected with the editorial department of the Democrat & Chronicle. For twenty-six years he remained with the paper as one of its leading editorial writers and was then appointed assistant superintendent of parks. In his capacity as editor he had been the stalwart champion of progressive measures in Rochester and had ad- vanced many ideas concerning the possibilities for improvement and development in the city. He had especially advocated the improvement of the public parks and this led to his selection to the office to which he was called in the spring of 1904 and which he filled until the spring of 1906. He has since been connected with the advertising department of the industries represented by Wal- ter B. Duffy, and his long connection with journal- ism and his study of business life as represented in the various phases of the present time well qualify him to take up the work which now claims his attention.
Rochester acknowledges her indebtedness to Mr. Maine for active and efficient service as a member of the board of park commissioners during eleven years, having first been appointed by Mayor Rich- ard Curren. He was one of the early advocates of park improvement here and he wrought along modern progressive lines, resulting in the estab- lishment in Rochester of some of the most beau- tiul parks of the country. He is a lover of the beautiful as manifest in nature, in form and in color and has always taken a great interest in art, being the founder of the Society of Artists of Rochester. He is likewise a member of the Roch- ester Art Club and he is, moreover, a student of scientific subjects, carrying his researches far and wide into the realms of scientific knowledge. He became a charter member of the Rochester Acad- emy of Science and was its secretary for four years. In the field of astronomy he has been a
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
student of the sun and weather since 1878 and founded the system of long distance weather fore- casts and makes a forecast for the Democrat & Chronicle every twenty-five days, based on the re- eurrence of weather conditions within that time -- the approximate time of the sun's revolution on its axis. The theory is derived from observation that solar disturbances produce storms in our at- mosphere at every presentation by the sun's revo- lution. He belongs to the Delta Upsilon, a Greek letter fraternity. Aside from his journalistic work he is the author of several literary works, includ- ing the Burgoyne Campaign in 1877, and was one of the successful essayists on the Red Sunset in 1883, the prize being awarded in 1886.
Mr. Maine was married to Miss Helen M. Mc- Clure, of Troy, New York, and they have one daughter, Marian I. Maine.
GEORGE WATSON COBB.
George Watson Cobb, of Fairport. vice president of the Cobb Preserving Company and also secre- tary, treasurer and general manager of the Sani- tary Can Company, is a native of Brooklyn, New York, born September 6, 1871. His parents were Amos Hubbell and Angie (Hodgman) Cobb. The father was born in Greenville, Greene county, New York, September 28, 1840, and was a son of Tyler Perry and Catherine (Hubbell) Cobb. When ten years of age Amos H. Cobb went to Camden, Oneida county, New York, where he made his home'with his cousin, Ezra A. Edgett, later of Newark, New York, whom he assisted in planting the first field of sweet corn ever used for canning in New York state. Camden was the seat of the origin of the canning industry in this state. La- ter Mr. Edgett founded the Wayne County Pre- serving Company, today the oldest established factory of that character in New York. Amos H. Cobb remained with his cousin until a young man, when he went to New York city, where he was connected with Kemp, Day & Company and U. H. Dudley & Company, both houses being well known in the canned goods industry. He re- mained with the latter firm until 1868, when he entered the paper commission business as a men- ber of the firm of Goodwin, Cobb & Company. They did an import business, having offices in New York and Liverpool, England, and were the first to import soda ash into this country by steamer. In 1881 Mr. Cobb removed to Fairport, purchasing of Ezra A. Edgett the canning factory, which the latter had established in 1873 as a branch of the Wayne County Preserving Company of Newark, New York. He operated the factory for ten years, or up to the time of his death, which occurred on the 27th of August, 1891.
In 1864 he had married Angie Hodgman, of Fort Edward, who survives him and still resides in Fairport. Since the death of her husband the business of the Cobb Preserving Company has been carried on by Mrs. Cobb and her sons. The family numbered five children, all yet surviving, namely : Frederick D. H. Cobb, of Rochester, treasurer and manager of the Cobb Preserving Company ; Amos H. Cobb, of Rochester, secretary of the Cobb Pre- serving Company ; Clarence S. Cobb, of Fairport, also connected with the business; and Angie Cobb Shepard, the wife of Stanley Shepard of Roch- ester.
The other son, George Watson Cobb, the second in the family, was a youth of ten years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Fair- port. He supplemented his preliminary education by study in Colgate Academy at Hamilton, New York, from which he was graduated in 1890, while in 1894 he completed a course in Colgate Univer- sity by graduation. Throughout his business ca- reer he has been connected with the canning busi- ness, which his father had placed upon a safe and substantial basis, and is now vice president of the Cobb Preserving Company, with factories at Fair- port and Canandaigua, New York, and general offices in Rochester. He is also secretary, treas- urer and general manager of the Sanitary Can Company, with factories at Fairport ; Indianapolis, Indiana ; and Bridgeton, New Jersey ; with general offices at Fairport and also a New York office. This company manufactures packers' cans for food products. The two business enterprises with which Mr. Cobb is connected are now extensive and important interests and he displays excellent executive and business ability in their control.
In 1896 George Watson Cobb was married to Leora Lewis, the eldest daughter of the Hon. Levi J. DeLand. Their children are George Watson and Katherine DeLand.
Mr. Cobb is a member of the Delta Upsilon, a college fraternity, and also of Fairport lodge, No 476, A. F. & A. M. He was likewise president of the Fairport Club for the year 1907 and is much interested in community affairs, belonging to the Fairport Hook & Ladder Company, while in 1895-6 he served as a trustee of the village, also in 1903-4, and in 1905 was president of the village, putting forth effective and beneficial efforts for its welfare and progress.
HENRY M. FURLONG.
Henry M. Furlong, a broker of Rochester, his native city, was born November 16, 1873. His father, James M. Furlong, was one of the oldest citizens of Rochester. While spending his boy-
GEORGE W. COBB.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
hood and youth in the parental home, Henry M. Furlong pursued his education in the public and parochial schools and in 1892 he entered the brok- erage business on his own account, continuing alone in business until 1898, when he became the junior partner of the firm of Burns & Furlong, a relation that was maintained until 1901. Since that time he has again been alone in the conduct of a general commission brokerage business un- der the name of the H. M. Furlong, with offices in the Powers building. He has thoroughly acquaint- ed himself with the money market, the value of stocks and their possibilities for falling or rising and has secured a good clientage in this field of investment.
Mr. Furlong belongs to the Chamber of Com- merce and is connected with all the principal clubs of the city, including the Rochester Club, the Rochester Yacht Club, the Rochester Auto Club, the Rochester Athletic Club and the Union Club, of which he has been a director for several years. He is also a member and trustee of the Knights of Columbus. In business life he has been successful and in social circles is popular.
H. WILSON WHALEN.
H. Wilson Whalen is an enterprising farmer, who in connection with his two brothers is oper- ating the old Whalen homestead, comprising one hundred and sixteen acres of well improved and valuable land. This farm was settled in 1805 by the maternal great-grandfather, Captain Daniel Wilson, who was a captain in the war of 1812 and was the seventh man who located in the town.
H. Wilson Whalen comes of Irish ancestry and was born in Penfield in 1858. His paternal great- grandfather was Abel Whalen, Sr., who emigrated from Ireland and settled in Albany county at a very early day in the history of its development. He served in the Revolutionary war as lientenant of the Ninth Regiment of Albany County Militia. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Abel Whalen, Jr., who was born in the Empire state and married Rebecca Van Ostrand, also a native of this state. Their son, Harvey Whalen, who became the father of H. Wilson Whalen, was born in Milton, Saratoga county, New York, Decem- ber 22, 1809. In his youth he became an appren- tice to the carpenter's trade, which he learned and followed for seven years. He located in Penfield, New York, in 1835, and in 1848 purchased, of Captain Daniel Wilson, the farm which is the present home of our subject. He improved this property by the erection of a fine country residence and good outbuildings and likewise set out a good orchard. He made his home on this place until
the time of his death, which occurred May 5, 1896. He was for a good many years highway commissioner. He first wedded Lucinda Watson and of this marriage two sons were born: Henry V., of Chicago, Illinois ; and John B., a resident of Spokane, Washington. For his second wife he chose Saralı A. Curtis, whom he wedded in 1855, and who had previously married a Mr. Wheeler. The second marriage was blessed with three sons: Charles C., who was born in April, 1856; H. Wilson, of this review; and Howard C., who was born March 23, 1860. The sons are now operating the home farm.
H. Wilson Whalen was born April 16, 1858, and during the period of his boyhood and youth he assisted his father in the operation of the home property and thus gained practical knowledge of farm labor. He was educated in the schools of Penfield and in the Rochester Business University. Since the death of the father the three sons have continued the work of the farm, and are also en- gaged to some extent in growing fruit. In addi- tion to the homestead, which comprises one hun- dred and sixteen acres of land, they also own twenty-five acres in the northeastern part of the county, and are thus numbered among the sub- stantial and progressive agriculturists of this sec- tion of the county.
Mr. Whalen gives his political support to the re- publican party and in November, 1905, was elected supervisor of his township, being the pres- ent incumbent in that office. In religious faith he is a Baptist and has served as treasurer of the. church at Penfield since 1895. He is a worthy representative of an old and prominent pioneer family and the work which was here instituted by the grandfather and carried on by the father is continued by the sons, who are honored and re- spected wherever known.
WILLIAM S. HALL, M. D.
Dr. William S. Hall was for many years en- gaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Rochester, making a specialty of diseases of the stomach, and the position to which he attained gave him prominence in the ranks of the medical fraternity and bronght him a very gratifying pat- ronage. He was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on the 30th of June, 1861, and was of English lineage. His father, Joseph Hall, was a native of England and, coming to America, engaged in the tobacco business in New York. He it was who brought forth the popular little cigar, Be- tween the Acts, which has been one of the best sellers on the market. He held membership in the Episcopal church and was a man of many excellent qualities that won for him warm friend-
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
ships and kindly regard. His death occurred in New York in the year 1884. In his family were seven children, four daughters and three sons, namely : Madeline, Josephine, Emily, Louise, Thomas, Joseph and William.
Dr. Hall of this review was in his boyhood days a student in the Military School at New Haven, Connecticut, also attended the University of New York and prepared for a professional career as a student in the New York Medical Academy, from which he was graduated on completion of the regular course. Having thus qualified for the practice of medicine and surgery he opened an office in New York city, where he remained for a year and then removed to Rochester. While he was well informed concerning all the different branches of the profession he made a specialty of the diseases of the stomach and gained dis- tinction by reason of his broad knowledge and skill in this direction. He remained a practitioner of Rochester for eighteen years and was a member of the Pathological and of the Monroe County Medical Societies. The profession as well as the general public acknowledged his ability and gave him high regard because of his close conformity to a high standard of professional ethics. He was ever careful in the diagnosing of a case, studied the question from every possible standpoint, that of heredity, environment and the usual outcome of disease and demonstrated his ability in the excellent results which usually attended his ef- forts.
- On the 16th of October, 1886, Dr. Hall was unit- ed in marriage to Miss Hattie Richmond, a daugh- ter of Daniel Richmond, who was city surveyor for many years and a well known civil engineer. He was born in Preston, New York, on the 30th of October, 1821, but coming to Rochester, resided here for a long period and was well known through his business connections and by reason of his strongly marked and commendable personal char- acteristics. He held membership in the Unitar- ian church and attained the thirty-second degree in Masonry, his life being guided by the teachings of the former and the principles of the latter. He had two children, Lee and Mrs. Hall, who, since her husband's death, has been living with her brother.
Unto Dr. and Mrs. Hall were born two children : Stevens, who was born July 16, 1887, and is now attending the Troy Polytechnic School ; and Rich- mond, who was born August 1, 1890, and died March 16, 1892. After locating in Rochester, Dr. Hall built a residence on Oxford street, where he lived about ten years and then erected a modern dwelling at the corner of Monroe avenue and Averill street. where he resided until called to his final rest on the 8th of March, 1905. His life was one of signal usefulness to his fellowmen, of noble purpose and of high honor, and in Roches-
ter, where he so long made his home, the circle of his friends was almost co-extensive with the circle of his acquaintance. Since her husband's death Mrs. Hall has gone to live with her brother, Lee Richmond, for they are the only surviving members of her father's family. She is well known socially in the city, sharing in the high regard which was so uniformly extended her hus- band.
THADDEUS S. NEWELL.
Thaddeus S. Newell, a retired real-estate dealer of Rochester, was born in Connecticut, near Hart- ford, in 1825, and has therefore passed the eighty- second milestone on life's journey. His father, J. Newell, was a merchant, who in 1832 left New England and became a resident of Rochester, where his remaining days were passed.
Thaddeus S. Newell was at that time a youth of eight years. He pursued his education in Pro- fessor Dewey's private school until he became a high-school student, and his more advanced lit- erary training was received in Hobart College, at Geneva, New York, from which he was graduated in 1845. He followed his collegiate course by preparation for the bar with F. Hiaght and George E. King, as his preceptors, and after a thorough course of preliminary reading was ad- mitted to the bar in the courts of New York in 1848 at Ithaca. He never practiced to any extent, however, but took up real-estate interests outside of the city and until his retirement from business about 1900 was continuously connected with real- estate operations. During that time he handled much valuable property, negotiating many im- portant realty transfers and became recognized as one of the foremost real-estate dealers of the county. His business duties were always per- formed with dispatch, he was prompt in keeping an engagement, reliable in meeting all obliga- tions and enterprising in promoting his business affairs. The combination of these substantial qualities resulted in the acquirement of large suc- cess.
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