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 79
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This reminds the narrator of an incident con- nected with this nursery which his father, James Colby, the brother of John M. Colby, before meui- tioned, at many times related to him. In the course of a few years one of the trees, which had been transplanted from the nursery and set near the aforementioned log house, had a few blossoms which attracted the wondering attention of two boys, as it was explained to them what a wonder- ful fruit the apple was; they continued to keep a diligent watch from the time of the blossoming, and subsequently when two small apples appeared and gradually grew during the whole season until the cold weather came in the fall, at which time their father carefully picked them and placed them in a small cupboard near the fireplace in the log house, where they were told that they would ripen, at which time they would be allowed to share in the great fruit. They were occasionally allowed to look at, and even smell of the precious fruit, but not to handle. Oh! that smell set them nearly crazy, they could hardly wait for the happy time to come-but then as ever the human family was, and is, always subject to disappointment and grief .- It seems that there had come from the east a family who had settled a short distance from Mr. Colby (whose name need not be mentioned). and one day as the two boys and their mother were in the old log house they heard a knock at the door, and on opening it they saw a woman of the aforesaid family, who immediately upon entering turned up her nose and commenced to sniff, say- ing,-"Peers to me I smell apples" at the same time to the horror of the boys she approached the cupboard, and opening the door she saw and took the two apples, seated herself in a chair, and de- liberately ate them both, not even giving the others the core. The feelings of the boys as well as the mother can better be imagined than de- scribed. It is needless to say that she died shortly after, and left no descendant to be heard from at this meeting.
The daughter Mary. hefore mentioned, of Ephraim Colby, married a man hv the name of Judah Church and settled in Pontiac. Michigan, where she lived many years and died leaving a large family of children.
J. MILNOR WALMSLEY.
J. Milnor Walmsley, born in Baltimore and ed- ucated in Philadelphia, is now numbered among the representative young business men of western New York. His natal year was 1864 and the re- moval of the family to Pennsylvania led to his ac- quirement of his education in the public and high schools of Philadelphia. His parents are Morris
and Josephine A. (Milnor) Walmsley. the lat- ter a native of Baltimore, Maryland. The father is now connected with the Lehigh Coal and Navi- gation Company of Philadelphia.
Leaving the Keystone state in 1891, J. Milnor Walmsley came to Rochester to accept a position with the Rochester Optical Company, with which he continued until the business was reorganized un- der the style of the Rochester Optical & Camera Company. In 1900, in association with G. E. Mosh- er and George J. Mclaughlin, he organized the Century Camera Company, of which he was presi- dent. They continued in business under that style until 1903, when they sold out to the Eastman Ko- dak Company, but according to an agreement with the latter operated under the original holdings and organization of the Century Camera Company un- til 1906. Mr. Walmsley is still interested in the manufacture of photographic goods, and also in several other enterprises.
In 1903 the marriage of J. Milnor Walmsley and Miss Margaret Elizabeth Wiley, of Phila- delphia, was celebrated. They attend the Second Baptist church, of which Mr. Walmsley is a trus- tee, and his political views are indicated by the stalwart support which he continuously gives to the republican party.
HENRY G. RUNNE.
Germany has furnished the United States many bright, enterprising young men who have left the fatherland to enter the business circles of this country with its more progressive methods, livelier competition and advancement more promptly se- cured. Among this number is Henry G. Runne, born on the 9th day of May, 1877, in Lunneberg, Germany. He was the son of Henry G. and Eliza- beth Runne. His father worked in the forests of Lunneberg, cutting lumber for fifteen years. At the end of this time he came to America, where he took charge of a department in the Rochester Brewing Company's plant at Rochester.
The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools of his native country, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1890, the year in which his father brought his family to America. Mr. Runne settled in Rochester, coming shortly afterward to Brockport, where he began as an office boy for the Phelps Piano Case Company. Like most sons of Germany, he determined to so faithfully fulfill his duties that his advancement would be certain, and by this method he has worked his way up until he is at present superin- tendent of the entire plant, which employs several hundred men. The hope that led him to leave his native land and seek a new home in America has
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been more than realized. He found the oppor- tunities he sought, which, by the way, are always open to the ambitious, energetic, faithful man, and making the best of these he has steadily worked his way upward. He was on the executive committee of the Republican Club of Brockport for several years and is a stanch supporter of that party.
In 1903 he was married to Miss Bertha Roedel and both he and his wife are members of the Salem Methodist Episcopal church of Rochester.
CHARLES J. WICHMANN.
Charles J. Wichmann is a member of the larg- est merchant tailoring establishment of Roches- tere, and his business record is such as any man might be proud he possesses, for he is ever faith- ful in the discharge of his obligations and has made steady advancement in his chosen field of labor until he now occupies a prominent place in commercial circles in Monroe county.
He was born in Poglitz, Prussia, Germany, on the 7th of January, 1855. His paternal grand- father, Frederick Wichmann, Sr., was a shepherd and died in Germany in middle life from an in- jury sustained in a fall. His widow, however, lived to an advanced age. In their family were two sons and a daughter, including Frederick Wichmann, who was also a native of Prussia, Germany. He, too, became a shepherd in that country and in the year 1864 he sailed for the new world, believing that here he might provide a comfortable living for his family. Locating in Rochester, he devoted his attention to various oc- cupations and was somewhat well known as a bo- tanist and gardener. He died in Rochester about 1877, at the age of sixty-two years, and was long survived by his wife, dying in 1902, at the age of eighty-two years. Both were members of the Luth- eran church. Mrs. Wichmann bore the maiden name of Christina Lewis, and was also a native of Prussia, Germany. Her father, Frederick Lewis, was a dairyman, stockman and cheesemak- er, who spent his entire life in Germany, where he reared his family. numbering two sons and five daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Wichmann became the parents of three sons and five daughters, and three of the family are yet living, namely : Frederick, a botanist of Rochester; Caroline, the wife of John Wahl, of Lincoln, Wayne county, New York; and Charles J.
The first notable event in the history of Charles J. Wichmann was his emigration to America in company with his parents, when he was nine years of age. The family home was established in Roch- ester, where he has spent the remainder of his
life. He was largely a student in the parochial schools, but also attended the public schools to some extent. When a boy he worked in a gro- cery at twenty-five cents per day and later was employed for one year as errand boy in a grocery store. At the age of fifteen years he secured em- ployment with Michael McRoden, the most prom- inent merchant tailor of the city at that time, and under his direction learned the tailor's trade. Mr. Wichmann continued in that house for five and a half years and then when not quite twenty-one years of age started out in business life on his own account. He has since carried on merchant tailoring, and although he started on a small scale he is today the proprietor of the largest es- tablishment of this character in Rochester. He makes both gentlemen's and ladies' tailor-made suits and has a most liberal patronage. He formed a partnership with Charles G. Kallusch and they began business in the Reche block on South ave- nue in 1875. After various removals, each time securing larger and more convenient quarters, they erected a new building on St. Paul street, next to the Young Men's Christian Association block. Their business has grown to such an ex- tent that they are now obliged to use the four floors of their new building, the first floor being occupied for men's tailoring, the second for ladies' tailoring and the third and fourth for working rooms for the large number of employes found in the factory. The growth of great things from humble beginnings is splendidly illustrated by the history of this house, and Mr. Wichmann's rec- ord is one which proves conclusively that success is not a matter of genius or fortunate circum- stances, as held by some, but is the outcome of clear judgment, experience and unfaltering dili- gence.
In June, 1878, Mr. Wichmann was married to Miss Julia A. Meyer, a daughter of Philip J. and Catherine (Damm) Meyer. Eight children were horn of this union, three sons and five daughters. The first two were twins, but one died in infancy. The others are: Carl, who died of pneumonia at the age of seventeen years: Julia. Edith, Cather- ine Alice, Theodore and Helen. Julia is the wife of the Rev. Henry Freimuth, by whom she has a daughter, Julia, and they live at Liberty, New York. Alice died at the age of two years and the other members of the family are at home.
The parents belong to the Lutheran church and Mr. Wichmann gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He lives at No. 551 East avenue, where he has a beautiful residence, which he has occupied for twenty years. From the time that he embarked in business on his own account until the present a splendid prosperity has been his. It is true that like other business men he may not have found all the days equally bright. Indeed in his commercial experience he
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has seen the gathering clouds that threaten dis- astrous storms, but his rich inheritance of energy and pluck, combined with his superior ability in his chosen field of labor, has enabled him to turn defeats into victories and promised failures into brilliant successes. He has also felt deep concern for the public welfare and has been helpful in bringing about the changes for the benefit of the city. It is true that his chief life work has been that of a remarkably successful merchant tailor, but the range of his activities and the scope of his influence have reached far beyond this special field. He belongs to that class of men who wield a power which is all the more potent from the fact that it is moral rather than political and is exer- cised for the public weal rather than for personal ends.
COLONEL JAMES S. GRAHAM.
Colonel James S. Graham, president of the Rochester Gas Engine Company, has for many years been a prominent factor in the business life of the city and, moreover, is one to whom has been entrusted important public service, and over whose record there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. His unbending integrity of character, his promptness and progressiveness in the discharge of his duties and his appreciation of the responsibilities that rested upon him were such as to make him a most acceptable incum- bent in the office of postmaster, in which he served for eight years. He has also left the impress of his individuality upon the legislative history of the state and his business capacity and enterprise constitute a salient factor in the industrial de- velopment whereon rests Rochester's present greatness as a business center.
Colonel Graham is a native of Scotland, his birth having occurred in Edinburgh, on the 28th of May, 1836. His parents, John R. and Ann Graham, were natives of the same country, where the father engaged in the manufacture of furni- ture and fifty years ago was the leading manu- facturer in that line in Rochester. He was born about 1805 and died in 1878. The family num- bered four children.
Colonel Graham was a young lad when he be- came a resident of Rochester, and with the city and its interests he has since been closely iden- tified. He obtained his education in the public schools and afterward learned the machinist's trade as a preparation for life's practical and re- sponsible duties. Since 1867 he has been success- fully engaged in business as a manufacturer of machinery, making a specialty of wood working
machines. The business was developed along mod- ern lines and assumed extensive proportions, owing to the capable management which was brought to bear upon the control of the enterprise in its various departments. Several changes oc- curred in the firm name, the business being con- ducted as a partnership concern. Upon incor- poration a number of years ago it became the J. S. Graham Machine Company, that in 1904 sold their entire plant to A. T. Hagen Company, and shortly after he went into business again as president of the Rochester Gas Engine Company, building gasoline and kerosene engines. The company has an extensive plant on Driving Park avenue, covering about twenty thousand square feet, and its equipment is the most modern, in- cluding the latest improved machinery and ap- pliances for carrying on the business. A large number of skilled mechanics are employed and the business is now one of the important productive industries of the city.
There came an interruption to Colonel Graham's business career, when, on the 23d of April, 1861, in response to the country's call for aid, he joined the Union Army as a private of Company A, Thirteenth New York Volunteer Infantry. He had watched with interest the progress of events in the south, had studied the situation from vari- ous standpoints and had become convinced that the federal government had authority to retain possession of all the territory embraced within the boundaries of the United States. His marked pa- triotism promoted his active defense of the Union and until the close of the war he remained at the front. Various promotions came to him in recognition of his fidelity and meritorious con- duct on the field of battle. In 1862 he was com- missioned captain in the Twenty-fifth New York Volunteer Infantry and before the close of the war was brevetted major. In many important contests he faced the enemy's fire, taking part in the hotly contested battles of Bull Run, Yorktown, Hanover, Antietam, Sheperdstown, Fredericks- burg and Chancellorsville and a number of minor engagements in the Shenandoah valley. While serving in the cavalry in 1864 he had his horse shot from under him in two different engage- ments. He had re-enlisted in 1863, at which time he was mustered in as captain of Company H. Twenty-first New York Cavalry, in which capacity he served until after Lee surrendered, May 12, 1865. He met with all of the experiences of camp life and the rigors and hardships of war greatly undermined his health, but no word of complaint did he ever utter, the sacrifice being willingly made for his country.
Hostilities having ceased, Colonel Graham gladly returned to his home and the pursuits of peace. He had been married on the 10th of No- vember, 1863, to Miss Perlevette H. Payne, a
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
daughter of Alonzo Payne, of Irondequoit, and they now have a son and a daughter, W. J. and Elnora Graham. The family hold membership in the First Universalist church of Rochester and their social prominence gains them entrance to the best homes of the city.
Colonel Graham is a popular member of vari- ous club and fraternal organizations, being identi- fied with the Whist, the Yacht and the Masonic Clubs. He also belongs to the Genesee Valley Association of New York city. He is especially prominent in military circles and for four decades has been an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic and a delegate to almost every encampment since he joined the order. On the 20th of May, 1896, he was unanimously elected department commander at the state encampment at Utica and presided with signal ability as chief officer of the Grand Army of New York. He likewise belongs to the Loyal Legion, while in Masonic circles he has attained the Knight Tem- plar and thirty-second degrees, his membership being with Yonnondio lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Hamilton chapter, R. A. M .; Dorie council, R. & S. M .; Monroe commandery, K. T .; and Roch- ester consistory.
In municipal affairs Colonel Graham has always taken the deepest interest and gives active and helpful co-operation to every movement and meas- nre which he deems will prove of public benefit. For fourteen years he was one of the original members of the board of park commissioners and no incumbent in that office has aided more largely in promoting the park system of the city. He believes it the duty of every city to establish "breathing places" for its residents and to con- tribute to æsthetic culture through the beauties of nature that are to be secured through the de- velopment of public parks. With the exception of the year 1856, when he cast his first presi- dential vote for James Bucharan, Colonel Graham has always been a stalwart advocate of republican principles and has figured prominently in political circles. He was a member of the board of man- agers of the Western House of Refuge in 1869, 1870 and 1871, and during the last year was candidate for governor of New York on the labor ticket. He has done important work in legislative councils of the state, being first elected in 1869 and again in 1875. In 1876 he was chosen for a third term, representing the entire city of Roch- ester, having thus the largest constituency in the state. While a member of the house he did much for local legislation, among other things securing the passage of a law for the establishment of municipal courts and the executive board of pub- lic works. In 1898 he was called to the position of postmaster by presidential appointment and brought to his new duties the same dispatch and businesslike methods which have characterized
him in the control of private affairs as well as public interests. He continued in the position un- til 1907, making one of the most popular post- masters that Rochester has ever had. The history of Colonel Graham has been characterized by progress in every department of activity into which he has directed his energies. He won pro- motion in military service, has enjoyed constantly growing success in business life and constantly increasing popularity in political circles. In man- ner, genial, kindly and approachable, he wins warm friendships and has the happy faculty of retaining them. There is nothing narrow nor self-centered in his nature. On the contrary he is interested in all that works for the good of his fellowmen, for municipal development and for individual and moral progress.
FRANK J. AND JAY B. MURPHY.
Frank J. and Jay B. Murphy are well known residents of the town of Hamlin, where they are extensively engaged in the raising and shipping of fruit, making a specialty of apples and peaches. They are representatives of an old family of New York, founded in the Empire state in the eigh- , teenth century. James T. Murphy, who was born in Herkimer county, New York, April 26, 1788, died May 29, 1856. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Keiser, was born No- vember 20, 1783, in Herkimer county, and passed away on the 2d of March, 1859. Their son, Ben- jamin Murphy, was born in Jefferson county, New York, March 9, 1826, and having arrived at years of maturity, he was married December 26, 1854, to Miss Elizabeth Breckous, whose birth occurred in Cumberland county, England, January 15, 1835. Her parents were John and Elizabeth Breckous, both of whom are now deceased. The father was born in England in 1800 and died October 30, 1844, while the mother passed away October 15. 1884, at the advanced age of eighty- six years. Benjamin Murphy has been a resident of Orleans county, New York, for many years and is one of its most highly esteemed and worthy citizens. In addition to owning property there he also owns farms in Monroe county and is thus identified with its agricultural interests. Mrs. Murphy has been a resident of their present home since 1842. By her marriage she became the mother of two sons, Frank J. and Jay B., whose names introduce this review.
Frank J. Murphy was born July 21, 1866, at the old family homestead and completed his edu- cation by study in the Rochester Business Uni- versity. Throughout his entire life he has been identified with agricultural and horticultural pur-
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
suits and is well known in business circles in his part of the county. Moreover, he is prominent in connection with political affairs and is recognized as one of the leaders of the republican party. He served for five years as supervisor of Kendall and is now a candidate for member of the assembly in a district where a nomination is equivalent to an election. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, and he holds membership in the Uni- versalist church. His wife, Nina B. Mulford, was born in 1873.
Jay Murphy was born November 3, 1871, and has always remained a resident of western New York. He pursued his education at Lima, New York, and having arrived at years of maturity, he was married on the 12th of December, 1895, to Miss Mildred A. Kendrick, whose birth occurred in 1878. Since the year of his marriage he has resided upon the farm which is now his home. Here he has seventy-five acres of land, of which fifty acres is devoted to peaches and twenty-five acres to apples. He is one of the extensive fruit- raisers of western New York, shipping fourteen thousand baskets of peaches in 1906 and four thousand eight hundred barrels of apples in the same year. At present he is building a dry stor- age with capacity for ten thousand barrels of ap- ples. His business is most capably conducted along the lines of modern progress and advance- ment and he is largely regarded as authority upon the subject of the production and shipment of both apples and peaches. In politics he is a re- publican, and although he has never sought nor desired office he is never remiss in the duties of citizenship and gives his allegiance to those plans and measures for the public. good which promise quick and effective results. Socially he is identi- fied with the Masons and with the Elks, and is most loyal to the purposes of those fraternities.
HENRY J. UTZ.
Henry J. Utz, senior member of the firm of Utz & Dunn, manufacturers of ladies', misses' and children's shoes, was born in Wurtemberg, Ger- many, March 28, 1850, a son of Andrew J. and Margaret (Schmidt) Utz. The father died in Germany and the mother came to the United States of America in 1880 and remained a resi- dent of Rochester until her decease in December, 1906, when she was eightv-four years of age.
In his native country Henry J. Utz attended school and learned the shoemaker's trade, after which he came to the United States of America to test the truth of the favorable reports which he had heard concerning the opportunities and ad- vantages of the new world. He was eighteen years
of age, when, in 1868, he arrived in Rochester. where he has since made his home. For some time he worked at his trade on the bench and was afterward employed in different shoe factories at Rochester, thus acquainting himself with the man- ufacturing business in detail. With the savings from his earnings he was at length prepared to start manufacturing in a small way for his own account. Having made the acquaintance of Wil- liam H. Dunn, his present partner, who was then engaged in the retail cigar business, an agreement was made to engage in the slipper manufacturing business, Mr. Dunn agreeing to come in when he had disposed of his cigar business. The business was started in September, 1881, on Water street, and Mr. Duun joined same the following January. By hard work, careful attention to detail, and by Mr. Dunn's ability as a trade winner and a sales- man, thus providing a market for the product, the business increased and prospered. Later the manufacture of ladies', misses' and children's fine shoes was undertaken, and the firm is today prob- ably the largest in that line in the city of Roch- ester, their output including such famous makes as the Acme Cushion shoe, St. Cecilia, Little Wanderer, etc. Their trade not only extends to all parts of this country, but also embraces a large export business. They turn out three thousand five hundred pairs of shoes daily and employ eight hundred people. They occupy eighty thou- sand square feet of floor space, and their prod- ucts are of a high class of material and workman- ship.
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