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 68
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
English-walnut orchards in southern California. 1820, and who came to Sweden township, Monroe He finds his principal recreation and diversion from the tension and consuming demands of an active practice in occasional visits to these estates.
MRS. MARTHA STAPLES KENDALL.
Mrs. Martha Staples Kendall is the owner of large landed possessions in Sweden township, Monroe county, owning a valuable property com- prising three hundred and eighty-one acres, this being one of the oldest estates in Sweden town- ship. She has spent her entire life in Monroe county, and in fact the greater part of the time has lived on her present home place. Mrs. Kendall was born on the farm which is now her home, April 8, 1826, a daughter of Robert and Eunice (Smith) Staples. The father was born in Bran- ford, Connecticut, in 1793, and in 1816 came to Sweden, Monroe county, where he was engaged in farming operations, becoming one of the large landholders of this section of the state. He was recognized as one of the leading citizens of his town, and took an active and helpful part in public affairs, holding the office of supervisor, while for two terms he served as assemblyman. He was charitable and benevolent, giving freely of his means in support of worthy charity, and all who knew him spoke of him in highest terms of praise. His death occurred here September 4, 1871, when he had reached the advanced age of seventy-eight years, and thus the community mourned the loss of one of its most valued and honored citizens. The mother was a native of Massachusetts, and with her parents settled at Sweden Center, where her father was engaged in agricultural pursuits. They attended the services of the Presbyterian church, and were highly re- spected people of their locality. Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Staples four children were born : Fidelia, who was born August 26, 1824, and died February 21, 1847; Martha, whose name in- troduces this record ; Robert Smith, who was born January 11, 1830, and died the same year; and Robert Perry, who was born February 26, 1834, and died August 2, 1870.
Martha Staples spent the days of her childhood and youth under the parental roof, during which time she was trained to the duties of the house- hold, so that at the time of her marriage she was well qualified for taking charge of a home of her own. She acquired her early education in the district schools, this being supplemented by more advanced study in the schools of Brockport. It was in the year 1881 that she gave her hand in marriage to L. P. Kendall, who was born in Covington, Wyoming county, New York, July 12.
county, on the 24th of November, 1881. He passed away March 28, 1888. During the short years of his life in Monroe county he became well known, for he was a man possessing many excel- lent traits of character and in all business dealings was known to be reliable and trustworthy.
Mrs. Kendall is now the possessor of the old Staples homestead, comprising three hundred and eleven acres, to which she added an additional purchase of seventy acres, situated just across the road from the old home farm, all this being located in Sweden township, so that she now owns three hundred and eighty-one acres, all of which is valuable and well improved land. On the last named tract Mrs. Kendall has erected a modern country residence, this being supplied with all conveniences and accessories, and considered one of the best homes in the township. She is a lady of culture and refinement, possessing excellent business ability, which enables her to manage her business affairs in a very capable manner. She is gentle and kindly in manner, charitable in her estimate of every one and affable in her treatment of all. She is a kind neighbor and friend and commands the highest esteem in the community in which she lives, for here, where she has spent her entire life, she is ever found to be the same honorable and honored woman, whose worth well merits the high regard which is uniformly given her.
CHARLES E. SHAFER.
Charles E. Shafer, for many years engaged in the produce business and supervisor of the town of Sweden, was born in Clarkson, Monroe county, New York, August 15, 1853, a son of Jonas H. Shafer. He was educated at the Brockport Nor- mal School and soon after the completion of his course here he engaged in farming for several years. With an ambition beyond the farm, he be- came the efficient traveling salesman for Listers Agricultural Chemical Works of Newark, New Jersey, continuing as such for ten years. In the fall of 1895 he came to Brockport and purchased his present business, which he has continued suc- cessfully ever since. He deals in all kinds of produce, shipping to points all over the country. So well did his farm experience and his later posi- tion as traveling salesman give him the knowledge and the business acquaintance necessary for trade that he no sooner entered this line of work than it began to grow under his wise management.
In 1874 Mr. Shafer was married to Miss Cather- ine E. Dutton, a daughter of Dr. John H. Dutton, of Clarendon, New York. They are the parents of three children: Perry C .; Mabel, the wife of
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
Charles McCullis of Holly, New York; and Clara Edith, who is living at home.
Since taking up his residence in Brockport Mr. Shafer has taken a great interest in the commer- cial and municipal affairs of the city. He is one of the board of directors of the Rochester Wheel Company, is a director in the Lake View ceme- tery and in the Brockport Wagon Company. In 1903 he was elected president of the village of Brockport and in that same year became a mem- ber of the board of supervisors, an office to which he was re-elected in the fall of 1905 and is now serving his second term. He is chairman of the erroneous assessment committee, is on the good roads committee, and is also one of the directors of the Brockport Loan & Building Association. He served on the committee for the burial of de- ceased soldiers and on many other committees which require wise judgment, energy and the sym- pathy which only such a citizen as Mr. Shafer can contribute. He is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity and the Masonic Club of Rochester, also the Rochester Whist Club, the Acacia Club of Brockport and the Royal Arch Masons of the same city. Mr. Shafer is one of the influential trustees of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he has always given his hearty support. At all times and under all circumstances he has been found true to every trust reposed in him, whether public or private, and over his life record there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil.
MAURICE JOSEPH DORAN.
Maurice Joseph Doran, born in Rochester, Janu- ary 21, 1862, is a son of Edward and Margaret Doran and the eldest of a family of seven children. His father was born in Dublin, Ireland. The tide of emigration was then moving to the new world and the elder Mr. Doran came to our shores with his mother when only six years of age, becoming one of the early settlers of Rochester. In the schools of this city he acquired his education and here he learned the molder's trade with John M. French on the site of the present city barns. He was a stalwart democrat and widely known for his active work in the political interests of his party.
The subject of this sketch received his early education in the public schools, supplementing it later by his studies at the Immaculate Conception parochial school. At the age of seventeen years he İcarned the shoe business with various houses but this had little attraction for him and he deter- mined to exert himself in a different direction. He accordingly became a wholesale liquor dealer and has shown remarkable business ability, trans- acting a large and lucrative business and main- taining a high class of trade.
In 1889 Mr. Doran was united in marriage to Anna L. Corcoran, and to them were born four sons and one daughter, namely: Edward, who died in infancy ; Maurice, now thirteen years old ; Henry, aged ten years; Anna, eight; and Theo- bold, seven. Mr. Doran is a member of the Im- maculate Conception church. He is identified with the Elks lodge and is independent in his political relations. Personally he is sociable, ever willing to accord to anyone his courtesy and his time.
FRED K. THOMPSON.
Fred K. Thompson, secretary and treasurer of the firm of the Cramer-Force Company, owners of a wholesale paper house, at No. 53 Main street East, has advanced to his present position by suc- cessive steps that have marked a progress resulting from the thorough mastery of every task that has been entrusted to him by the faithful performance of every duty devolving upon him. He was born in Lima, New York, June 1, 1872, his parents being E. R. and Harriet (Kendall) Thompson, of Lima, New York. The father became a banker and broker of Rochester and was well known in financial circles. In his family were but two chil- dren, one of whom died in infancy.
Fred K. Thompson, the surviving representa- tive of the family continued his education, ac- quired in the public schools, by study in Lima (New York) Seminary, from which he was gradu- ated in the class of 1892. Starting upon his busi- ness life, he accepted a position as traveling sales- man for B. C. Montgomery, with whom he spent six years as one of the trusted employes of the house. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to the coal trade in connec- tion with the firm of H. F. Drake & Company, spending four years in that way. Seeking other fields of activity, he became interested on the expiration of that period in the wholesale paper business of Cramer-Force Company and is now secretary and treasurer of the firm. The business was established in 1866 by J. George Cramer and was conducted by him until 1903, when he sold out and a stock company was organized for the further conduct of the business, with C. C. Force as president and Mr. Thompson as secretary and treasurer. The house has maintained the same un- assailable reputation throughout its entire exist- ence, covering a period of more than forty-one years, and is favorably known to the trade by reason of its unfaltering reliability and enterpris- ing methods.
Mr. Thompson was married in 1897 to Miss Catherine Stone, a daughter of James and Caro- line Stone, of Rochester. They have one child,
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
Eloise Thompson, and they are well known in social circles of the city. Mr. Thompson is a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, also of the Sons of the American Revolution and belongs to the Ro- chester Whist Club. This is an age of business activity, in which effort is brought to bear in the solution of complex commercial and industrial problems and where energy, intelligently applied, is winning notable victories. Such a course has heen manifested in the life of Fred K. Thompson, now well known in business circles in Rochester.
GEORGE A. SMITH.
George A. Smith is the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty-three acres, con- stituting a model property of the town of Parma. A self-made man, all that he possesses has come to him as the result of his own labors and dili- gence and his life record may well serve to en- courage and inspire others. Born in this locality on the 12th of February, 1857, he is a son of George and Eliza (Berridge) Smith, both of whom were natives of England. The father came to America when a lad of nine years and settled in the town of Parma, where he died in 1893 after a long residence here, in which he became one of the worthy and respected citizens of his commu- nity. His wife was eighteen years of age when she crossed the Atlantic to the new world and at the age of twenty-two she gave her hand in mar- riage to George Smith.
Upon the old homestead farm George A. Smith spent the days of his boyhood and the public schools afforded him his educational privileges. After he had put aside his text-books and started upon his business career he operated his father's farm for four years and then made purchase of a part of his present farm. This was in 1884. He had no capital and had to incur an indebtedness of eight hundred dollars for his team and tools, while he also borrowed three hundred dollars to make his first payment on his place. Hopeful of the future, ambitious to secure success and with strong determination to overcome all difficulties and obstacles in his path, he started out upon his independent venture, arranging to purchase one hundred and twenty-three acres of land at a cost of thirteen thousand dollars. In the years which have since come and gone he has met with pros- perity. He was married on the 3d of November, 1880, to Miss Mary G. Langton, who was born in the town of Parma in 1862. He has since pro- vided well for his family, rearing five children and paving more than twelve hundred dollars in edu- cational fees, also investing over three thousand dollars in improvements on the buildings on the place, while three hundred dollars has been put
into peach trees. He now has twenty acres of peaches and will set out ten acres more in the spring of 1908. Besides this he has a fourteen acre apple orchard. It required much strenuous labor to "bring the field to its present state of fer- tility and productiveness but for a long period the farm has been a paying property and in 1902 his net profits amounted to more than seven thousand dollars. In 1905 he bought an additional tract of forty acres for twenty-one hundred dollars and was able to pay cash for this. His farm therefore today comprises one hundred and sixty-three acres, in the midst of which stands a fine residence with large and substantial barns, unsurpassed in the locality. The house and barns are supplied with water piped from a spring on the hill. Mr. Smith has a good bank account at his command and upon his home place is found every modern convenience in the shape of tools and agricultural implements. He has carriages and horses for the use of the family and they are now enabled to live in comfort.
His sons, appreciating what the father has done for them, remain with him upon the home farm. They are following in his footsteps, each having started a bank account of his own. The family numbers five children: Nellie G., born in 1883; Oscar B., in 1885; Burton Lloyd, in 1888; George L., in 1893; and Mabel, in 1899. The sons are now of much assistance to the father and are mani- festing a spirit of enterprise and progress in carry- ing on the work of the home place.
Mr. Smith holds membership in the Baptist church at Parma Corners, in the work of which he is deeply interested, while to its support he con- tributes generously. For the last twenty years he has been one of the church trustees and is much interested in its development and growth. His political allegiance is usually given to the repub- lican party, although in local affairs he is inde- pendent. He is an exceptional man and one who may well serve as an example to the young.
PAULINE HARRIET BOYLE.
Pauline Harriet Boyle was born in New Orleans and is the daughter of Newton Cleveland and Sarah Jane Northrop, the parents of three daughters. Her father was foreman of the edi- torial rooms of the "New Orleans Picayune" and afterward conducted two papers at Homer and at Mindon, Louisiana. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and Shriner. Mrs. Boyle's uncle was W. Jasper Blackburn, owner and editor of the Little Rock Gazette and a consistent repub- lican. He served his party for several years as state senator and was always ready to assist in the
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
campaigns but he was not desirous of office and refused the nomination for governor.
Mrs. Boyle received her preliminary education in the public schools and was married at Galves- ton, Texas, to T. J. Boyle, manager of the Tre- mont Opera House and subsequently manager of the Grand Opera House. Mr. and Mrs. Boyle removed to Nashville, Tennessee, where Mr. Boyle managed the Lyceum Theater, and later to Mem- phis. Illness compelled Mr. Boyle to give up his active life, but his wife was not a woman to de- spair when misfortune came to them. True to her noble character she determined to go on with her husband's business and proved to be a great success in the same for eight years. Then dis- aster once more overtook her and her property was entirely burned out. When she found herself compelled to begin over again she came to Roches- ter, where she became the local manager of Baker Theater and continued in this position with great success. She is an unusual woman who possesses splendid business ability and yet never forgets her womanly attributes. Though brought up as a strict Presbyterian, she has wide sympathy with all denominations. She has aimed to keep the dramatic ideals high and by the class of enter- tainments which she offers to the public she is doing much good. The indirect teaching of the drama is always the most effective teaching, and Rochester is fortunate in having Mrs. Boyle at the head of its best known theater.
WILLIAM KARLE.
William Karle, possessing an ability that has enabled him to overcome obstacles which to others might have been insurmountable, has steadily worked his way upward until he is today at the head of the Karle Lithographie Company, one of the largest and most important enterprises of this character in Rochester. It was established in 1879 and incorporated in 1904, and from the beginning William Karle has been the guiding spirit in its destinies.
He was born in Rochester, New York. Septem- ber 19, 1854. His father, George Andrew Karle, a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, had become a resident of this city in 1846, at the age of twenty vears. In his native land, ere his emigration, he had learned the cabinet-maker's trade and fol- lowed that pursuit for some years in Rochester, after which he engaged in the hotel and restaurant business on St. Paul street, near the present site of the Osburn Hotel. His business interests, his' enterprise and his social qualities made him well known here during the middle part of the nine- teenth century. He was a member of the German Protestant church and died in 1870 at the com-
paratively early age of forty-nine years. His wife, Mrs. Juliana (Durst) Karle, of Bavaria, Germany, came with her parents to Rochester in her girlhood days and was married in this city in 1850. She survived her husband for more than a quarter of a century, passing away in 1896. They were the parents of three sons, George, John J. and William.
William Karle attended a private German school of Rochester and acquired a particularly fine education in the languages and the sciences. In 1871 he became connected with the lithograph- ing business in the employ of Muntz & Company, and when he had become thoroughly acquainted with the business in every department he entered into partnership with Louis Ennecker and in 1879 opened an establishment of his own on a small scale, starting with a capital of only three hundred dollars, which he had saved from his earnings, after meeting the necessary expenditures for his own support. He continued in this business until today it is one of the large concerns of the city, occupying a mammoth six-story structure located on Central avenue from Nos. 276-288 and Nos. 60-76 on Chatham street. In 1898 the company erected this building according to their own plans, suiting the requirements of their business. It is a pressed brick structure, well lighted and admir- ably adapted for the uses to which it is put. The business was carried on in the original building until 1904, when it was found entirely inadequate in its floor space to accommodate the trade and they then added a building over half the size of the original one, so that they now have a structure one hundred and twenty by one hundred and twenty feet and six stories in height. It is built along modern lines of construction for light and fireproof protection. The company makes a spe- cialty of fine color and commercial work, folding boxes, posters, show cards, labels, steel die print- ing, embossing, transfer ornaments, letter and bill heads, checks. bonds, etc. Their color work is up to the highest standard and the greater part of their business is done in that line. They have ten lithographic printing presses, two of which are two color presses. The building occupied by the company is one of the most up-to-date in the entire country. It is improved with the latest mill construction, so that in case of fire a very small damage would be done. All of the flooring is four inches thick, so that it would be almost im- possible for fire to penetrate more than one floor. Their machinery, too, is of the very latest type. One hundred and twenty-five people are given constant employment here and the work turned out by the company is the very best obtainable. In 1904 the business was incorporated with Wil- liam Karle as president; William J. C. Karle as secretary and treasurer; and George J. Hafner as vice president. All these men possess well known
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
business ability so that the success of the firm is a well assured fact.
In 1878 William Karle was married to Miss Mary Eyer, a lady of German birth, who was reared, however, in Rochester. They have two children: William J. C., who is now associated with his father in business as secretary and treas- urer of the company; and Amelia Mary, now Mrs. Heydweiller, of Rochester.
Aside from his other business interests Mr. Karle is a director of the Mechanics Savings Bank of Rochester. He is very prominent in Masonry, being one of the best known and valued repre- sentatives of the craft in this city. He is a member of Germania lodge, No. 722, F. & A. M., of which he was master for two terms. He is a member of Hamilton chapter, No. 62, R. A. M .; Monroe commandery, No. 12, K. T .; the Roches- ter lodge of Perfection; Rochester Council of Princess of Jerusalem ; Rochester chapter of Rose- Croix and Rochester Consistory, S. P. R. S., 32°. He also is a member of Damascus Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., and of Germania chapter, No. 72. O. E. S., of which he has been patron a number of years. He has every reason to be proud of his record in Masonry and though of German birth has done active and effective work both in Eng- lish and German lodges. In other fraternal so- cieties Mr. Karle is a member of Humboldt lodge, No. 138, I. O. O. F .; a charter member of Teu- tonia encampment, No. 55, I. O. O. F .; a charter member of Germana Rebekah lodge, No. 83, I. O. O. F., and a member of Grand Canton J. W. Stebbins, No. 2, I. O. O. F. In Odd Fellowship Mr. Karle has held the highest offices to be at- tained outside of the grand lodge and in some instances having performed the ritualistic work in both the German and the English languages in the same day. Mr. Karle is also a member of Bluecher lodge, No. 93, Knights of Pythias. At all times his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of these orders and he is thoroughly familiar with their tenets and their teachings. He is one of the directors of the Masonic Club and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Karle is a man of fine business ability and commanding presence, who stands high in social and industrial circles. Moreover, he deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, having been both the architect and builder of his own fortunes. Of marked activity, energetic, honest, far-seeing and public-spirited, he has operated continuously and by the stimulus of his exertions has aroused the enterprise of others, while through this means he has added to his own labors and furnished to hundreds remunerative employment. He started out at a small salary and in a com- paratively insignificant position but like other brainy, energetic young men who have left their impress upon the magnificent development of the
city, he did not wait for an especially brilliant opening. Indeed he could not wait, and his natural industry would not have permitted him to do so, even if his financial circumstances had been such as to make it possible. As an employe he performed all the duties that devolved upon him conscientiously and industriously and in the course of time was enabled to start in business for himself. Like other business men, he may not have found all the days equally bright but the threatened disaster has ever seemed to serve as a stimulus for renewed effort and success on his part. His strict integrity, business conservatism and judgment have always been so universely recognized that he has enjoyed public confidence to an enviable degree and naturally this has brought him such a lucrative patronage that through times of general prosperity and general adversity alike he has witnessed a steady increase in his business until it is today one of the most flourishing in its line in Rochester.
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