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 70
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maining as a director until its absorption by the Rochester Railway & Light Company. His real- estate holdings are extensive and profitable and his keen business discernment is manifest in the judi- cious investments he has made.
In 1886 Mr. Hollister was married to Miss Emily Weed Barnes, of Albany, New York, a daughter of Hon. William Barnes and a grand- daughter of Thurlow Weed. His social relations include membership in the University Club of New York city, The Genesee Valley Club and the Rochester Country Club of Rochester. In 1890 he was elected a trustee of the University of Roches- ter and has labored earnestly and effectively to promote all the interests of his alma mater. He is pre-eminently a product of Rochester and while he has back of him an ancestry honorable and dis- tinguished he has nevertheless demonstrated his right to public regard and prominence by the char- acter of his work which has always been of a na- ture to promote the welfare and material advance- ment of the city.
L. D. ELY.
L. D. Ely, of Rochester, is one of the extensive stock breeders, raisers and shippers of western New York and in his business life displays that adaptability which enables him to master all situa- tions, however intricate, and to combine condi- tions so that the best possible results are secured. He has indeed been very successful and is known throughout the United States as a breeder of Mor- gan horses.
Mr. Elv was born in Rochester, in 1850, and is descended from Oliver Culver, the builder of the house which is believed to be the oldest in Roches- ter, he having been one of the first settlers of Monroe county.
I. D. Ely attended a private school in early youth and was afterward a student in Satterlee Collegiate Institute on Central avenue. He is the owner of valuable farm lands to the amount of two hundred and four acres, largely used for graz- ing purposes, and is extensively engaged in the raising of blooded stock, which he ships to all points of the United States and Mexico. He has been the owner of some of the finest animals of this breed found in the country and he also has a large herd of pure blooded Jersey cattle. He has been very successful, having made a close study of the best methods of raising and caring for live stock and the shipments from his place have included some of the finest horses and cattle ever raised in western New York.
Mr. Ely is well known in Rochester as a gentle- man of genial manner, of cordial disposition and
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genuine worth. He belongs to the Genesee Valley Club and the Country Club, while in his political views he is a republican, having always affiliated with the party. He likewise holds membership re- lations in St. Peter's Presbyterian church.
WILLIAM GUY MARKHAM.
William Guy Markham, recognized throughout America and foreign lands as an authority on sheep, and widely known as one of the most suc- cessful and extensive sheep breeders of the coun- try, is descended from one of the oldest New Eng- land families. About 1660 Deacon Daniel Mark- ham, the first of the family in the new world, emi- grated from England, settling at Cambridge, Massachusetts. His great-grandson, William Markham, who was the great-grandfather of Wil- liam G. Markham, married Abigail Cone Wiley, of East Haddam, Connecticut, in June, 1761. Eight children were born unto them.
Their eldest son, Colonel William Markham, married Phoebe Dexter in 1785 and removed to western New York, settling in 1789 at what was then the town of Hartford, now the town of Rush, about five miles north of the present village of Avon. The father and mother followed in 1791, and both died in 1792. Ten children were born to Colonel William and Phoebe Markham, of whom Guv Markham was the eighth. Colonel Markham built the present residence at Elm Place in 1804. It is one of the old landmarks of the county, a splendid representation of the substantial homes of pioneer times. Guy Markham married Eliza E. Williams, a daughter of John and Mercy (Weeks) Williams, descendants of old colonial families.
William Guy Markham, son of Guy and Eliza (Williams) Markham, was born at Elm Place, the family homestead in the town of Rush, Sep- tember 2, 1836. His education was largely ac- quired in Lima Seminary, after which he en- gaged in farming. In 1858 he began breeding thoroughbred Durham cattle and for upwards of twenty years was one of the noted breeders of this family of cattle in this country. His celebrated shorthorn white ox, "Pride of Livingston," became the most famous in American history, was owned by President Lincoln and subsequently by Presi- dent Grant, and through exhibition in different cities, earned upwards of ten thousand dollars for the benefit of the soldiers' and sailors' fund, dur- ing the Civil war.
In 1872, Mr. Markham turned his attention to American Merino sheep. Four years later, in 1876, he designed and assisted in preparing the New York State American Merino Register, it be-
ing the first to give individual pedigrees of sheep ever published. Mr. Markham was elected the president of the New York State Sheep Breeders' and Wool Growers' Association in 1877, succeeding Dr. Henry S. Randall, and filling the position con- tinuously for about twenty-five years. In 1879 he was elected the first president of the American Merino Sheep Breeders' Association and acted in that capacity for five years. He held the office of secretary of the National Wool Growers' Associa- tion from 1876 until 1883 and was re-elected to the same position in 1894. The interests of these organizations and associations were largely pro- moted through the efforts of Mr. Markham, who represented them in an argument before the tariff commission in 1882. In 1879 he began the ex- portation of sheep to foreign countries and in that year selected two hundred head of thoroughbred sheep for the Japanese government, delivering them in person. He afterward visited China, In- dia, Italy, France, Germany and England, and in later years went also to Australia in the interest of the sheep industry.
As the result of his long experience, varied knowledge and excellent judgment, Mr. Markham has frequently been appointed a judge of cattle and sheep at the principal fairs of the country and at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chi- cago in 1893, he was sole judge of American Merino sheep.
His exhibition of Rambouillet sheep from Prus- sia was regarded as the principal feature of the Merino sheep exhibit at that fair. There is in America no man better informed concerning the breeding of sheep.
Aside from his extensive and important stock- breeding and stock-raising interests, Mr. Markham is vice president of the State Bank of Avon, serv- ing in this capacity since its organization. He was one of the organizers and was for many years secretary and treasurer of the Pfandler Company, one of the largest manufacturing establishments of the state. He is still secretary and one of the directors of this company.
In 1885 Mr. Markham was married to Miss Josephine Foote, of Brooklyn, New York, and they have one daughter, Mary. Fraternally, Mr. Mark- ham is a Mason and has attained the Knight Tem- plar degree.
JOHN FRANKLIN SKINNER.
John Franklin Skinner, principal assistant to the city engineer of Rochester, was born here on the 19th of December, 1867, his parents being Franklin Talcot and Sarah Celestia (Ireland) Skinner. In the paternal line he is a direct de-
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scendant of Eleazer Skinner, who prior to the year 1692 received a royal grant from King James II of fifty-five thousand acres of land at Windsor, Connecticut. The paternal grandmother, Alice Baker Skinner, was descended from a line of Revolutionary ancestors at Haddam, Connecticut. The maternal grandfather, John Ireland, was a shoe merchant of Rochester, descended from Sir John De Ireland, who went to England with Wil- liam the Conqueror in 1066. One of his descend- ants, Thomas Ireland, emigrated to New York in 1640 and his great-grandson, also Thomas Ireland, fought in the Revolutionary war. We was the grandfather of John Ireland and the latter was the grandfather of John Franklin Skinner. The maternal great-grandfather, Joseph, Henry, fought in the war of 1812 and was again a soldier in the Civil war. Franklin Talcot Skinner was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1840 and for over twenty years was engaged in the newspaper busi- ness. Since 1900 he has been a fruit-grower at Little River, Florida. His wife was born in 1839 and she, too, is living.
Spending his boyhood days in Rochester, Johr Franklin Skinner was educated in public school No. 13 and was graduated therefrom in 1882. He afterward entered the Rochester Free Academy, where he pursued a Latin scientific course and was graduated in 1886. He afterward pursued course in civil engineering at Cornell University, from which he was graduated in 1890. The year previous he was employed as draftsman for the Edgemoor Bridge Works, and in 1890 under con- tract surveyed, mapped, monumented and estab- lished grades for the streets and sidewalks of the village of Fairport." In the following year he was employed by John C. Ryan, mapping the survey of the city of Rochester, for which Mr. Ryan had a contract, and in the same year was leveler on surveys for conduit No. 11 of the Rochester water works. From 1893 until 1896 he was leveler and draftsman on construction of conduit No. 11 of the Rochester water works and distributing sys- tem, and from 1896 until 1900 was transitman on various constructions under Emil Kuichling, chief engineer of the Rochester water works. From 1900 until 1903 he acted as special water works assistant engineer in the office of the city engineer and in the latter year was appointed special as- sistant engineer, acting in that capacity until June, 1905, when he was appointed to his present position as principal assistant engineer. Since 1903 he has also acted as consulting engineer for various cities and villages on water works and sewage.
That Mr. Skinner has attained marked pro- ficiency in his chosen field of endeavor is indi- cated by the fact that he was honored with the secretaryship of the Rochester Engineering So- ciety and is now serving in that capacity. He is
also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Municipal Improvement, the American Geographical Society and the Cornell Society of Civil Engineers. He likewise holds membership relations with Cornell Club of Rochester, the Cornell Alumni Associa- tion of Rochester and the Phi Gamma Delta, a college fraternity. He belongs to Wahoo tribe of the Improved Order of Red Men, to Crystal Tent of the Maccabees, to the Young Men's Christian Association and to the Central Presbyterian church.
On the 28th of September, 1893, John F. Skin- ner was married to Miss Mande M. I. Dobbin, of Rochester, who was born in Fergus, Ontario, Can- ada. They have one daughter, Winifred, born in 1892. Mr. Skinner is prominent in the social or- ganizations to which he belongs, also in the so- cieties for the advancement of knowledge.
HIRAM R. WINNEY.
Hiram R. Winney, proprietor of the hotel in Despatch, where he also condnets a livery and sale stable and a teaming business, is a native son of Monroe county, his birth having occurred in Penfield in 1866. The family was established in Monroe county at an early day by Peter Winney, the paternal grandfather, who was engaged in business as a butcher. His son, William Winney, the father of our subject, was also a native or this county, and for twenty years conducted the hotel at Penfield, while in earlier life he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a demo- crat, prominent in public affairs. His wife bore the maiden name of Melissa Wallace and was a native of Penfield. Their family numbered seven children, of whom our subject is one of the two surviving members. The father passed away in August, 1894.
Hiram R. Winney was reared and educated in Penfield and conducted the hotel at that place for a few years after his father's death but in April, 1897, he located in Despatch and for a time was engaged in the teaming business. He made all of the streets in this village and in 1898 erected the Perinton Hotel, which he conducted for fif- teen months, but was then engaged in the con- tracting business for a year. In July, 1900, he purchased the hotel at this place and remodeled it throughont, putting in water, light, heat and furnishings, and has since been proprietor of the same. He is ever mindful of the comforts of his patrons and is a popular and genial landlord.
In connection with the conduct of the hotel, Mr. Winney is also engaged in the teaming busi- ness and condnets a livery, sale and exchange
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stable. His varied business interests are capably managed and he is meeting with gratifying suc- cess in all his undertakings. Aside from his own individual affairs he has always taken a deep and helpful interest in public affairs and gives his co-operation to every movement which tends to advance the welfare of his town and community. He served as the first constable of the village and was also one of the first fire commissioners at the time of the erection of the new fire hall, which cost eight thousand dollars. As an ad- vocate of the republican party he takes an active part in local political affairs, and is interested in the development and improvement of his home village. He has built seven houses here, which he rents.
Mr. Winney was married in 1885, in Penfield, to Miss Lillie Trost, who was born in Rochester, and survived her marriage for only eight years, passing away in 1893. The four children born of this marriage are Delia, Lillian, Lorene and Roy, all under the parental roof. Mr. Winney's fraternal relations are with the Masons, the Wood- men of the World, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Elks.
GEORGE WASHINGTON ALDRIDGE.
In the affairs of state, as taken aside from the extraordinary conditions of warfare, there are demanded men whose mental ken is as wide and whose generalship is as effective as those which insure successful maneuvering of armed forces by the skilled commander on the field of battle. The nation's welfare and prosperity may be said to hinge as heavily upon individual discrimination and executive ability in the one case as in the other. It requires a master mind to marshal and organize the forces for political purposes and pro- duce the best results by concerted effort. Such a leader is found in George Washington Aldridge, who for many years has figured most prominently in republican circles in the Empire state, and more over, in the discharge of official duties entrusted to him he has made a record characterized by the ut- most fidelity to the general good, combined with an ability in execution that at once marks him as a man of excellent managerial force. His promi- nence in political circles would alone entitle him to distinction, but he is, moreover, known in Roch- ester as one who has been closely associated with its business life.
Mr. Aldridge is a native of Michigan City, In- diana, born December 28, 1856, and is the eldest son of George W. and Virginia (De Orsey) Ald- ridge, natives of Chazy, New York, and of Cincin- nati, Ohio, respectively. His father attained a
wide reputation as a contractor and builder, and many of the larger and more important structures, both public and private, in Rochester and vicinity attest his capacity and ability in this line of con- struction and work. During the period in which he was carrying on these undertakings he held the office of alderman and mayor and was honored by his fellow citizens with other positions of trust and responsibility.
G. W. Aldridge, who acquired his education in the public and private schools, was at one time a student in the DeGraff Military Institute of Rochester and afterward attended the Cary Col- legiate Seminary at Oakfield, New York. Busi- ness life opened to him through the avenue in which his father operated, and after the comple- tion of his education he was associated with his father in building operations until the latter's death in 1877, after which he continued alone, re- ceiving recognition as a leading contractor; his ability being unsurpassed by any who were con- nected with constructive work in this city. Many of the private residences, commercial and public buildings, were remodeled or rebuilt under his direction and management.
In 1883, when but twenty-six years of age, Mr. Aldridge was first called to public office, being elected a member of the executive board, which had charge of the water, street and fire depart- ments, and all public improvements, on which he served for four successive terms-an unusual oc- currence. At each election he was chosen by large and increasing majorities, thus receiving the strong endorsement of the general public. In 1894 he was elected mayor of Rochester, but resigned to accept the office of state superintendent of public works, to which he had been appointed by Gov- ernor Levi P. Morton in January, 1895. He was reappointed superintendent of public works by Governor Black, and while acting in that capacity had the supervision of the improvement of the Erie canal and the completion of the state capitol at Albany. In 1905 Mr. Aldridge was appointed a member of the state railroad commission by Governor Higgins, of which he became chairman in 1907. He has been prominently spoken of in connection with the offices of lieutenant governor and governor of the state. He has been an active member of the republican state committee since 1887.
His membership relations extend to many local organizations and one of the strongest proofs of Mr. Aldridge's personal worth is his popularity in the city where he resides. He is a director of the National Bank of Rochester and also of the Duffy- McInnerney Company's department store.
He belongs to the Rochester Club; the Roches- ter Whist Club; the Rochester Athletic Club, of which he is a life member; the Genesee Valley Club ; president of the Oak Hill Country Club,
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likewise a member of the Rochester Historical So- ciety, and is a trustee of the Chamber of Com- merce. He is a thirty-second degree Mason. Knights Templar member of Monroe commandery, an Odd Fellow and Knight of Pythias : belongs to the Masonic Club, and holds membership in nu- merous other fraternal organizations.
Mr. Aldridge is an exempt fireman, having served with the Alert Hose Company in the days of volunteer service, and for five years was presi- dent of the Exempt Firemen's Association. In New York city Mr. Aldridge holds membership in the Lotos Club, the Republican Club, the Lawyer's Club, and Transportation Club. He has a wide and favorable acquaintnce throughout the state, but in the city where he has lived for so many years the strength of his friendships are unusual. Without invidious distinction he may be termed one of the most honored and popular men of Roch- ester.
ELIJAH T. SHERMAN.
Elijah T. Sherman, connected with the farming interests of West Henrietta, is a representative of one of the old and honored pioneer families of Monroe county. His parents were Hiram and Laura (Tillotson) Sherman, who came here at a very early day. The father was born at Ira, Ver- mont, in 1811, and in the year 1818 he arrived in this county, journeying thither with horse and oxen after the primitive manner of the times. All western New York was then largely unimproved and unsettled, and the family bore their part in the work of pioneer development and improvement. Hiram Sherman became the owner of one hundred and thirteen acres of land in the town of Henri- etta and gave his time and energy to its develop- ment and improvement. transforming it from a wild tract into one of rich fertility. Throughout his entire life he carried on agricultural pursuits as a means of supporting his family and was rec- ognized as one of the worthy and esteemed agri- culturists of the community.
Elijah T. Sherman was the only son in a family of six children. He attended the district schools in his early boyhood and afterward was a student in the Monroc Academy, thus completing his edu- cation. In these periods when not engaged in the duties of the schoolroom he was trained to the work of the farm and lessons of industry and dili- gence were early impressed upon his mind. Throughout his entire life he has carried on gen- eral agricultural pursuits and is now owner of twenty-eight acres of land, constituting one of the good farms of the county upon which he car- ried on his work along progressive lines. In all of his business he is practical and energetic and
he accomplished results year by year which are satisfactory when view from a financial stand- point.
Mr. Sherman was married in 1860 to Miss Re- becca A. Martin and has two daughters and one son, while one daughter died eight years ago. He is a republican in politics and is a public-spirited citizen who has proven his devotion to the general welfare during his service as collector and town assessor. He has filled the latter position for nine years, a fact which is proof of his ability and fidel- ity.
CHARLES FOWLER GARFIELD.
Charles Fowler Garfield is a young man who has gained a distinctively representative position as a financier and business man, especially promi- nent in real-estate operations. He was born in Holley, New York, October 10, 1872, his parents being George and Sarah (Fowler) Garfield, the former a native of Hague, New York, and the lat- ter a native of Marlboro-on-the-Hudson. Bothı the paternal and maternal grandfathers of our subject were soldiers of the Revolutionary war, and both families have been connected with bank- ing and mercantile business through many years. George Garfield died in 1888, and his wife in 1907. The only other survving member of the family, H. Harwood Garfield, is now vice president of the C. F. Garfield Real Estate Company.
C. F. Garfield pursued his education in the Hol- ley high school and Brockport Normal School, and received a business training in the Bryant & Stratton Commercial College at Buffalo, and a ·course in shorthand and typewriting at the Under- hill Business School of Rochester. Since 1892 he has been connected with realty interests in Roch- ester, when he became a member of the firm of Goode & Garfield, real-estate agents, with offices in Powers Building. The connection was main- tained until 1894, when Mr. Goode removed to Buffalo. In 1902 the business was incorporated under the name of C. F. Garfield Real Estate Com- pany. In 1903 their present office building at No. 1 Exchange street was purchased, and the business moved there. For a number of years there has been no citizen of Rochester whose opinions are regarded more as an authority upon property in- terests than are. those of Mr. Garfield. Aside from occupying the presidency of the C. F. Garfield Real Estate Company, he is also president of the Flower City Realty Company, the Home Realty Company, the Brighton Realty Company, the State Bank of Williamson, and the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, and director of a number of finan- cial institutions and corporations. He has dis- played in business life those commendable quali- ties which work for the success and advancement
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of the individual, and which also prove an element in a city's growth and prosperity.
Mr. Garfield, in 1894, wedded Miss Myra A. Shipley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Shipley, of Williamson, New York. He belongs to the Ma- sonic fraternity and has taken the degrees of chapter, consistory, commandery and the shrine. He also holds membership in the Genesee Valley Club, Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester Athletic Club and Rochester Whist Club. In politics he is a republican with independent tendencies, and religious belief a Presbyterian, being a member of the Central Presbyterian church.
ALBERT DWIGHT STONE.
It is imperative that mention be made of Albert Dwight Stone in the history of Churchville, for not only is he one of the substantial citizens of the town and of Monroe county, but is also a na- tive son of Churchville and one of the early resi- dents of this part of the state. His birth occurred a half mile east of the village, on the 14th of November, 1839, his parents being Philander and Abigal (Savage) Stone.
The father, a native of Stockbridge, Massachu- setts, came to Monroe county about 1830 and set- tled in Riga. During the early period of his resi- dence here he was connected with mechanical pur- suits and erected some of the first dwellings in Churchville. In later life he devoted his time and energies to various kinds of business, including carriage, building and in this was engaged at the time of his death, which occurred on the 5th of April, 1890. In his family were three children, but Albert D. Stone is the only one now living. The political support of the father was given to the whig party in early life and upon the dissolu- tion of that political organization he joined the ranks of the new republican party and continued one of its stalwart followers throughout his re- maining days. In early life he belonged to the Presbyterian church, but later transferred his mem- bership to the Congregational church, becoming one of its charter members and also serving as an officer. His life was guided by high and honorable principles and actuated by worthy motives and in many respects furnished an example worthy of emulation by those who come after him.
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