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 63
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Mr. Ano was married in 1890, in Boonville, New York, to Miss Lucy Williams, a native of Oneida county. Politically he has allied himself with the republican party and served as the first trustee of the village, and also as treasurer of the fire district for three years. Fraternally he is identified with the Maccabees. He is deeply in- terested in the welfare of his county and home locality, and his energy, labor and persistence, combined with good business ability and honor- able methods has brought him a gratifying suc- cess, so that he is now numbered among the sub- stantial residents of Despatch.
WILLIAM HENRY HILER.
William Henry Hiler is a native son of Monroe county, his birth having occurred in Parma town- ship, September 12, 1846. He is a self-made man, who with limited educational advantages in his youth has worked his way upward from a humble position to one of affluence, for he is numbered among the prominent and substantial agricultur- ists of this section of Monroe county, owning a valuable and well improved farm of ninetv-eight and seventy-three hundredths acres of land, situ- ated northwest of Brockport, a part of which is located in Sweden township and a part in Clark- son township. His father, Abram Hiler, was born in Boonton, New Jersey, in 1821, and removed to Parma, Monroe county, with his father, John N. Hiler. Upon attaining manhood he removed to Brockport, where he was engaged in farming
throughout a long period. He was married in Brockport to Miss Lydia Bussart, a daughter of Jacob Bussart, also a successful farmer of this section of Monroe county. She was born in Seneca county, New York, in 1825, and by her marriage became the mother of seven sons and five daughters: Sarah J., a resident of Brockport ; . William H., the subject of this review; Daniel Edward, a resident farmer of Clarkson township; Mary Elizabeth, the wife of Alonzo F. Adams, a resident of Brockport; Franklin A. (deceased) ; Susan E. (deceased) ; Armina A. (deceased), the wife of James Sendall; George A., of Clarkson township; Arthur L. (deceased) ; Lewis J., who is an expert machinist residing in Williamsport, Pennsylvania ; Inez E. (deceased) ; Judson E. M., who resides just outside of the village of Brock- port and is also a skilled mechanic. The father gave his political support to the republican party, and both he and his wife were members of the Baptist church. Both are now deceased, however, having passed away at their home on Washington street in Brockport, the father's death occurring in 1895, when he had reached the age of seventy- four years, while the mother preceded him to the home beyond, the year of her demise being 1892. They were highly esteemed people and at their deaths the community lost two of its most honored citizens.
William Henry Hiler spent the days of his boy- hood and youth in the home of his parents, assist- ing his father in the work of the home farm, and during the winter seasons he attended school as opportunity offered, but his advantages in this direction were always limited. However, in later years through investigation and reading he has greatly broadened his knowledge and is today classed with the substantial men of this commu- nity. Upon starting out upon his own resources, Mr. Hiler chose the occupation to which he was reared and this has continued to be his work to the present time. Through his own industry and economy he has worked his way up until he is now in possession of a well improved farm of more than ninety-eight acres, situated in Clarkson and Sweden townships. He is here engaged in raising the various cereals adapted to soil and climate and each year adds to his income through the sale of abundant crops, which he gathers as a reward for the care and labor he bestows upon his fields.
It was on the 5th of March, 1869, that Mr. Hiler was united in marriage to Miss Laura M. Hovey, who was born on a farm situated just east of the present home of our subject, January 22, 1843. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Ebenezer Hovey, the father having been born in Bloomfield, Monroe county, October 4, 1807, but later he went to Connecticut, where he remained for a few years and in 1825 returned to his native state, settling
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
in Clarkson township, where he engaged in farm- ing. In 1832 he wedded Miss Nancy A. Treat, a daughter of Captain Charles Treat, who was a soldier in the war of 1812. The genealogy of the Treat family dates back to the year 1584, where- in it is learned that Miss Nancy A. Treat was a descendant of James Treat, who was a brother of ยท Richard and Robert Treat, who emigrated from England in 1638 and located in Milford, or We- thersfield, Connecticut, where they took a very prominent part in public affairs at a time when the colony was seeing its darkest days owing to the threats and plots of usurpation by the Indians and Dutch settlers. The ability of Robert Treat being recognized by the colonists, he was elected to vari- ous minor positions up to the year 1676, when he was elected deputy governor, which position he filled until 1683, subsequent to which time he was made governor of the state, filling the office until 1698, when, owing to the arduous duties con- nected with the office and his advanced age, he resigned his position but was later elected deputy governor and filled that office until his death, hav- ing served for more than three decades in the offices of governor and deputy governor. James and Richard Treat were the counselors of Robert Treat in matters of importance and likewise be- came widely and favorably known. In 1832, the year of his marriage, Ebenezer Hovey, father of Mrs. Hiler, located on a tract of land in Clarkson township, on which had been made no improve- ments with the exception of a log cabin. He at once undertook the arduous task of developing and cultivating the land and in due course of time transformed it into a valuable property, which he later sold, realizing therefrom an excellent profit, which he invested in a second tract of land and as opportunity offered he sold his land, each time buying other tracts, so that in this manner he accumulated a handsome competence, that at his death, which occurred in Clarkson on March, 1883, when he was seventy-six years of age, left his widow and seven surviving children in very com- fortable circumstances. In the family of Eben- czer Hovey were born nine children, namely : Helen and Julia (deceased) ; Horace C., who is a retired farmer living in Bergen, New York; Treat J., a retired farmer of Sweden, New York; Sarah A., the wife of Francis T. Sparlin, a resident of Brockport; Catherine A., the widow of Albert Risley, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this vol- ume; Almira V., who resides on a farm of sixteen acres which she owns in Clarkson township ; Laura M., who became Mrs. Hiler; and Casius M. Ho- vey, a resident farmer of Sweden township.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hiler was blessed with a son and two daughters but the latter are now deceased. namely: Minnie M., who was born September 3, 1873, and died January 7, 1814 : and Cora B., who was born September 23,
1815, and died September 16, 1872. The son, Henry Edward Hiler, was born September 7, 1811. and was given exceptionally good educa- tional advantages. He was reared under the par- ental roof and acquired his early education in the district schools near his father's home. In 1889 he graduated from the Brockport State Normal School (academic department) and entered the University of Rochester, from which he was graduated in 1893, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Preparing for the ministry of the Meth- odist Episcopal church he continued his studies in Drew Theological Seminary at Madison, New Jersey, where in 1896 the degree of Bachelor of Divinity was conferred upon him. As a recog- nition of his excellent attainment in scholarship at Drew he was given the distinguished honor of a Fellowship which afforded him a year of profitable study in the University of Leipsic, Germany. Re- turning home from his trip abroad he began his ministerial career in the New York East con- ference and became pastor of a church in Long Island City. He has also filled pastorates in the Methodist Episcopal church at Southold, New York: New Haven, Connecticut ; and Brooklyn New York. At Southold, New York, he succeeded in the erection of a new church edifice, the pride of the entire community. He is a man of ripe scholarship and high ideals and has done much for the intellectual, social and moral, as well as the spiritual development of the people to whom he has ministered. As an indication of the high es- teem in which he was held by the people among whom he lived he has in his possession a number of valuable gifts which have been presented to him on various occasions, During his Brooklyn pastorate his friends outside the membership of the church gave him a solid gold watch chain as a token of their loyal attachment to him. Mr. Hiler has been honored with the secretaryship of the Brooklyn and Long Island Methodist Preachers' Association, the chaplaincy of the Kings County lodge, No. 511, F. & A. M., and the chaplaincy of the Long Island State Hospital.
June ?, 1893, he was uuited in marriage to Miss Jessie E. Williams, a daughter of the late William B. Williams of Brockport, New York, and their marriage has been blessed with four sons : Charles Henry, Harold Grant (deceased), Wilbur Ward, and Donald Clinton. After ten and one-half years of active service in the itinerant ministry Mr. Hiler retired from the pastorate and July 1, 1902, he accepted the position of junior partner in the banking and insurance firm of Minot, Crippen & Company, of Brockport, New York. This change brings him back among the circles of his early friends who rejoice in his re- turn to the home of his childhood. As a man of intelligence. industry and integrity he has the promise of a successful business career for which
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
he is eminently qualified by education and experi- ence.
Mrs. William H. Hiler passed away September 21, 1906. She was a woman of kindly disposition, industrious habits and trustful nature, always devoted to the highest welfare of her home and family. All who knew her are full of her praises and mourn the loss of a good woman. They can well sympathize with the household from whichi such a light has gone out forever.
Mr. Hiler gives his political support to the re- publican party and his son likewise generally sup- ports the men and measures of that party. He holds membership with the Methodist Episcopal church. Starting in life without special advan- tages, Mr. Hiler has battled earnestly and ener- getically and by indomitable courage and integrity has achieved both character and success, and today is numbered among the leading citizens of Monroe county.
WILLIAM R. HALLOWELL.
William R. Hallowell, deceased, coming to Ro- chester in 1841, was connected with manufactur- ing interests of the city for many years. He was a representative of the wool, leather and lumber trades in manufacturing lines and aside from his individual interests, which contributed to com- mercial growth and prosperity, he was much in- terested in the city's development in other ways. His life record began on the 26th of November, 1816, on a farm near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and compassed a period of sixty-six years. His parents were William and Catherine (Shumaker) Hallowell, both of whom were natives of Pennsyl- vania. The father carried on agricultural pursuits near Philadelphia throughout his entire life and both he and his wife died there.
The educational privileges which William R. Hallowell received were only such as were afforded by the district schools near his father's farm. He assisted in the work of plowing, planting and har- vesting in his father's fields until hewas twenty- five years of age, when, thinking to find other business pursuits more congenial, he came to Ro- chester and first accepted a position in a mill. After a short time, however, having saved a little money, he entered into partnership with Charles W. Dundash and they began the manufacture of cloth on Mill street, continuing in that enterprise for several years. Mr. Hallowell afterward turned his attention to the wool and leather business, en- tering into partnership with Edmund P. and Isaac Willis. They engaged in buying wool and also sheep skin and in tanning and manufacturing leather. Mr. Hallowell being connected with the
enterprise during the greater period of his resi- dence here. He was always watchful of business opportunities, noted carefully every indication pointing to success and put forth his efforts along lines which produced desirable and honorable re- sults. He likewise became interested in the luni- her trade, being part owner of several lumbervards in the city, but he spent most of his time in the woolen mills. After many years in the wool and leather business he decided to retire from those lines and sold out. He practically lived retired, but still retained his interests in the lumber busi- ness until his death and derived therefrom an ex- cellent income.
Mr. Hallowell was married in Rochester to Miss Mary H. Post, a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of the city. She was born in Queens county, Long Island, February 20, 1823, and is therefore eighty-four years of age. Her parents were Isaac and Hannah (Kirby ) Post, also natives of Westbury, Queens county, where they resided until 1823, when they removed to a farm four miles east of Aurora, New York. There Mr. Post engaged in general agricultural pursuits until 1836, when he moved by canal and wagon to Rochester, which at that time had a pop- ulation of only twenty thousand. In 1839 he en- tered into partnership with Edmund P. Willis in the establishment and conduct of a wholesale and retail drug business at No. 4 Exchange street. For many years the business was continued by them, after which Mr. Willis retired on account of ill health. Mr. Post then carried on the enter- prise alone throughout his remaining days and was very successful, the business reaching large proportions and becoming one of the most profita- ble as well as one of the most reliable commercial honses of the city. The death of Mr. Post oc- curred in 1872 and his wife, surviving him for about seventeen years, passed away in 1889. They were the parents of three sons and one daughter, who are still living and all are residents of Roch- ester. One of the sons, Jacob K. Post, still con- tinues the drug business, which was established in 1839, and is now carried on under the firm style of the J. K. Post Drug Company.
Mr. Hallowell remained a factor in business circles in Rochester until his death, which oc- curred on the 14th of June, 1882. He was a man whom to know was to respect and honor. He was interested in the city's growth and development and withheld his co-operation from no movement or measure calculated to promote public progress. For many years he served as a member of the board of education and acted in that capacity when the first high school was built. He mani- fested the interest of a public-spirited citizen in politics and gave stalwart support to the republi- can party. In early life he and his wife were members of the Friends church, but later joined
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
the Unitarian church. His salient characteristics were such as commended him to the confidence and trust of those who knew him and Rochester acknowledges her indebtedness to him for business development in the middle portion of the nine- teenth century. Mrs. Hallowell, one of the most esteemed old ladies of Rochester, enjoying the friendship alike of young and old, rich and poor, owns a nice home at 9? Plymouth avenue, where she has resided since 1865. Living with her are Mr. and Mrs. William H. Stout, Mr. Stout having become a member of the Hallowell household when seventeen years of age. He is now treasurer of the J. Hungerford Smith Company, manufactur- ers of soda fountain supplies, which is the larg- est plant of the kind in the city.
GRANGER A. HOLLISTER.
Born and reared in Rochester, Granger A. Hollis- ter has been for years identified with large finan- cial and commercial interests in the city. His father, Emmett H. Hollister, born in 1829, was also a native of Rochester. His mother, Sarah E. (Granger) Hollister, who died in 1894, was a daughter of Austin Granger, of Troy, New York.
The first representative of the family in Amer- ica, so far as is shown by the records, was John Hollister, a native of England, who arrived in America in 1640, establishing his home in Glas- tonbury, Connecticut. The family continued to reside in New England until early in the nine- teenth century, when his paternal grandfather, George A. Hollister, removed to New York, and in 1826 became a resident of Rochester, Monroe county. Six years later he entered the lumber business and remained in it until his death in 1854. His son, Emmett H. Hollister, succeeded to the business, and from 1832 until the present the name of Hollister has had a place in this branch of commercial activity in Rochester.
In his boyhood Granger A. Hollister was a pu- pil in private schools in this city, but when he was eighteen, following his father"'s death in 1871, he left school to form a partnership with his brother, George C. Hollister, under the firm name of Hol- lister Brothers, to take over their father's business. The partnership was continued until 1888, when the Hollister Inumber Company, Limited, was incorporated. The company was capitalized at one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, with Granger A. Hollister as president ; George C. Hollister, vice president ; H. C. Durand, treasurer ; and F. S. Gould, secretary.
Mr. Hollister is more widely known, however, because of the part he has taken in the develop- ment of the local lighting and traction companies. ITe, with certain associates, secured the control of
the Edison Illuminating Company in 1892, and afterward of the Rochester Electric Company and the Brush Electric Light Company. Subsequently an interest in the Rochester Gas Company was se- cured, and the Rochester Gas & Electric Company was formed and the other four companies absorbed.
The Clark-Hodenpyl-Walbridge syndicate, which owned the control of the Rochester Railway Com- pany, acquired a substantial interest in the Roch- ester Gas & Electric Company, and with the active co-operation of Mr Hollister the Rochester Rail- way & Light Company was organized in 1904, and the lighting and traction interests in the city were consolidated. Mr. Hollister still holds an impor- tant position in the councils of the various compa- nies, as vice president and director of the Roches- ter Railway & Light Company, Rochester & Sodus Bay Railway Company, Ontario Light & Traction Company and the Canandaigua Gas Light Com- pany, and as director of the Rochester Railway Company, Rochester Electric Railway Company and the Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway Company.
Important as is Mr. Hollister's position in the lighting and traction situation in the city, he is most widely known perhaps through his connec- tion with the banking and financial interests of Rochester. His initial appearance in this field was in January, 1886, when he was elected a trustee of the Rochester Savings Bank, of which institu- tion he is now a vice president. He was one of the incorporators in 1892 of the Security Trust Company, of which he was the first manager, and is now, as he has been since its organization, a trustee and member of the executive committee. He is also a director of the National Bank of Rochester and a member of its executive commit- tee. Mr. Hollister was elected a director of the New York Life Insurance Company in June, 1907.
Mr. Hollister married Isabelle M. Watson, of Rochester, a daughter of the late Don Alonzo Wat- son, one of the organizers of the Western Union Telegraph Company. Mrs. Hollister died in 1903, and in 1906 Mr. Hollister married Miss Elizabeth C. Watson.
JOHN W. FULREADER.
John W. Fulreader, who is a partner in the James Cunningham, Son & Company, carriage manufacturers, and active in the conduct of the business, was born in Rochester, April 4, 1869. His father, Henry Fulreader, a native of Ger- many, followed carpentering for many years but is now living retired. In early manhood he wedded Frederika Kortakauer, a native of Hanover, Ger- many, who died in 1898, and three of their nine children have also passed away.
J. W. FULREADER.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
At the usual age Jobn W. Fulreader became a stu- dent in the public schools of Rochester and passed through successive grades until he put aside his text-books to learn the more difficult lessons in the school of experience. Throughout his entire business career, covering twenty-three years, he has been connected with the James Cunningham, Son & Company. He entered the house in a humble capacity but has gradually worked his way upward, achieving the promotion which comes in recognition of genuine merit. He has made it his purpose to thoroughly master every task devolving upon him and has thus continual- ly promoted his efficiency until he is now an active factor in the conduct of a business which is known as one of the leading productive industries of the city. The James Cunningham, Son & Company is one of the oldest establishments in the line of carriage manufacturing in Rochester and the business is a most important element in the city's commercial activity.
In 1895 Mr. Fulreader was married to Miss Emma Schildbach, a native of New York city, and they have two children, Oscar and Rufus. Mr. Fulreader is recognized as an exemplary and valued member of Rochester lodge, No. 660, A. F. & A. M., in which he has filled various offices and is a past master. He belongs to Ionic chap- ier, R. A. M., Cyrene commandery, K. T., and to Damascus Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His study of the political questions and issues of the day has resulted in his support of the republican party at the polls, although he is not aggressively partisan and never sacrifices the welfare of the community to party successes. With his family he resides at No. 203 Chili avenue, where he has erected a pleasant home.
WILLIAM F. SHAFER.
For almost twenty-nine years Rochester has numbered William F. Shafer among its most prominent and progressive citizens. He has heen the promoter of one of its leading commercial and industrial activities, upon which the growth and development of a city depend. He is a native of Rochester, his birth having occurred here April 6, 1855. His parents were John and Mary (Miller) Shafer, who came to this country from Germany. They located in Rochester as early as 1840 and here they lived and died.
Mr. Shafer is indebted to the public schools of his native city for his education. He early be- came interested in business and was employed as a clerk with Charles Meng for seven years. At the end of this time, in 1828. he formed a part-
nership with A. A. Meng, and the firm became known as Meng & Shafer. From a very modest begininng this business has grown rapidly and steadily until at the present time they occupy stores at 186 Main street east, 11 State street and 14 West Main street in the Powers block. The firm not only carry a line of first class furs and hats, but they do a large manufacturing business, in which they employ many clerks, designers, cut- ters and fur sewers. As at present organized the firm includes A. A. Meng. W. F. Shafer, M. F. Shafer and William Held.
William F. Shafer was married in 1885 to Miss Julia Engert of Rochester, by whom he has five children : Clarence W., Raymond T., Sylvester G., William F., Jr., and Justin A.
He is prominently identified with the Knights of Columbus and Knights of St. John. Thorough- ness and persistency have characterized his entire business career and these have been supplemented by a careful attention to details and by honorable. straightforward effort that has gained him a most enviable reputation. He takes an active interest in promoting the welfare of his city and county, encouraging and financially aiding all enterprises tending to benefit the public, and enjoys in high degree the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen.
JAMES HENRY WEST.
James Henry West is located on North Portland avenue in Irondequoit, where he is conducting the most extensive gardening interests of Monroe county, his business having reached mammoth pro- portions. In its control he displays marked exec- utive force, keen discernment and unfaltering en- terprise and his ceaseless diligence is also one of the salient forces of his prosperity.
It was at the place of his present residence that Mr. West was born on the 16th of August, 1847. his parents being James and Sophia (Thompson) West. The parents were both natives of Leicester- shire, England, and came to Monroe county about 1840, locating on what is now the old family homestead. The father was a pioneer gardener of this county, being the second one to engage in business in this locality. He at first purchased but one acre, but to this he added as he found op- portunity until he became the owner of sixteen and a half acres, largely devoted to the raising of garden produce. In 1866 he erected the residence which now stands on the farm and further im- proved the place, making it an excellent property. He was considered one of the substantial men of his locality and his worth as a business man and citizen was widely acknowledged. His political allegiance was given to the democracy, but he never held or desired office. He died on the 24th
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