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 85
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Adolph M. Spiehler was educated in the Real Schule, a German institution, and having passed the regents' examination, he entered the high school, from which he was graduated in the class of 1885. He then entered business with his fath- er an'l in 1889 he went to Europe, spending con- siderable time in France, where he made a study of the business of manufacturing perfumes. He remained abroad for two years and then returned
to Rochester, where he has since been actively connected with the business. He had acquainted himself with the most advanced methods followed in this line in the old world and he has not only applied this knowledge, but has also inaugurated new and original methods, making the business a very profitable concern and one of the leading productive industries of Rochester. He is also secretary and treasurer of the Phelps & Lyddon Company, manufacturers of piano cases.
On the 24th of January, 1894, Mr. Spiehler was married to Miss Emma Gaetzmann, a native of Rochester and a daughter of Frederick Gaetz- mann, a prominent business man of this city. They now have two sons, Adolph Frederick and 'Merle Augustine. Mr. Spiehler is a member of the Rochester Whist Club and is well known and popular in the city, where his entire life has been passed save for the period of his residence abroad. In 1901 he was appointed by Mayor Rodenbeck as chairman of the civil service commission and has been re-appointed twice by Mayor Cutler, so that he has occupied the position for six years. In bis public work he is actuated by a spirit of devo- tion to the general good that is questioned by none and at all times he gives his allegiance and co- operation to movements tending to the city's bene- fit and improvement.
WILLIAM A. HUBBARD, JR.
William A. Hubbard, Jr., whose name is well known in industrial circles in Rochester, is presi- dent of the firm of Hubbard, Eldredge & Miller, manufacturers of fancy chairs, this being one of the leading productive industries of the city. A native of the city of New York, he was born No- vember 6, 1850, and is a son of William A. Hub- bard, Sr., whose birth occurred in the Empire state in 1826. The father was a prominent dry- goods merchant and afterward engaged extensive- ly and successfully in the manufacture of under- wear in Rochester, but is now living retired at the advanced age of eighty-one years. He came to this city in 1851 and for about half a century figured .actively in commercial circles.
At the usual age William A. Hubbard, Jr., be- gan his education, which was pursued in the pub- lie and private schools at Rochester and in Ham- ilton College, from which he was graduated in the class of 18:2. His school life ended, he joined his father in the manufacture of underwear, in which he continued for several years, when he became con- nected with the clothing manufacturing business in a clerical capacity in the emplov of .James Mc- Donell & Company, remaining with that firm until 1884, when he engaged in his present business. He
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has since been connected with the manufacture of fancy chairs of high grade as a representative of the business that was established in 1870 by I. H. Dewey. Subsequently this was incorporated in 1884 under the name of I. H. Dewey Furniture Company, which in 1898 became the Hubbard & Eldredge Company. The present title was as- sumed at the time of the re-organization of the business in 1906 and the house is now known to the public under the name of Hubbard, Eldredge & Miller. Theirs is one of the extensive manufac- turing concerns which contrib ite in large measure to the importance of Rochester as a commercial and manufacturing center. They have an immense factory, with extensive lumberyards located at Lyell and Dewey avenues. They occupy one hun- dred and twenty thousand square feet of floor space, employ four hundred people and ship their product throughout the United States and Can- ada. They have recently completed a splendid new building to be used for office purposes, which is an ornament to the city. The firm have wrought along modern business lines, being watchful of all opportunities pointing to success, and by their ready anticipation of the needs of the trade and with clear foresight as to the conditions that pre- vail in the business world they have been able to develop an enterprise which is now recognized as one of the most important business interests of Rochester.
In 1885 William A. Hubbard was married to Miss Helen C. Vosburgh, a daughter of Dr. Hiram Vosburgh of Lyons, New York, and they have three daughters. Mr. Hubbard, is a republican, in sym- pathy with the party on national issues and pol- icy, but frequently voting independently at local elections. He is a member of the Oak Hill Golf Club and an active worker in the Central Pres- byterian church, in which he is now serving as an elder. The church receives his loyal allegiance and liberal support and he is not unknown for his generous assistance to the poor and needy, al- though always unostentatious in his giving. His stern integrity and honesty of principle leads him to despise all unworthy or questionable means to secure success in any undertaking or for any pur- pose, and thus the house of which he is now the head has ever maintained an unassailable reputa- tion.
GEORGE E. WOODCOCK.
George E. Woodcock is vice president of the Sherwood Shoe Company, in which connection he has become well known in commercial circles in Rochester. He was born in Springfield, Otsego county, New York, on the 1st of February, 1862.
His father, Philip R. Woodcock, a native of the Empire state, is now actively engaged in business as a dealer iu stoves and furnaces at Geneva, New York. He married Roby J. Pierce, and they be- came the parents of four children, of whom three are yet living.
George E. Woodcock attended the public and private schools, spending some time as a student in Satterlee Institute. He entered upon his busi- ness career with the firm of Utz & Dunn, with which he continued until he became connected with the Sherwood Shoe Company, of which he is now vice president. There has been nothing startling in his career, which has manifested, how- ever, an unfaltering fidelity to duty through the usual routine of business, as day after day he has carried on his work. His persistency of purpose is one of the strongest elements in his prosperity and its lack has caused a large percentage of the failures in the business world. Mr. Woodcock seems to have realized fully the value of industry and perseverance, and it is upon these character- istics as a foundation that he has builded his suc- cess.
Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Wood- cock was married in 1886 to Miss Elizabeth R. Busch, a native of Newark, New Jersey. They have one daughter, Olive L., who is now attending Livingston Park Seminary. The family home is at No. 97 Columbia avenue, and the parents are members of the First Baptist church. They are esteemed by reason of their personal worth and the attractive hospitality of their home is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. Woodcock belongs to Valley lodge, No. 109, A. F. & A. M .. at Rochester, and to the Masonic Club, while his political allegiance is given to the republican party.
L. LA VERNE HORTON.
L. La Verne Horton was born at Pulteney, Steuben county, New York, August 13, 1877, and was a son of Philetues and Irene Horton, the father being in the vineyard business. He had the educational advantages which the district schools of that section afforded and worked during his leisure hours in the fields upon his father's farm. For a period he pursued agricultural pur- suits on his own account, but in 1897 came to Rochester, having accepted a position as book- keeper for the firm of W. N. Britton & Company, where he remained until 1901. At this time he entered upon his business carcer, beginning first in a wholesale commission business, and in 1903 entered the business in which he is now engaged, beginning in a small way in the gasoline launch and engine business. He is now the best known
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
dealer in that line in western New York and he is agent for all high-grade yachts, launches, engines, etc. To the city of Rochester he is a loyal friend and one of her foremost young business men. His business has been built up by honest methods and he enjoys the confidence of the business world.
On November 29, 1899, he was married to Lena B. Boyd, who was a successful teacher in the pub- lie schools of Pulteney before her marriage. They have one son, Robert Van Scoy, and one daugh- ter. Louise Irene. In politics the subject of this sketch has always voted the independent ticket be- cause he prefers to vote for the man rather than the party. He is modest in disposition and his influence in the business world was never inspired by a sense of personal ambition. There is nothing in his life to show that he ever for a moment sought to compass a given end for the purpose of advancing or exalting himself. He has cham- pioned measures and aided men and has accepted as his reward the confidence that accompanies victories achieved. In daily life he is ever genial and affable and he enjoys the popularity which comes to those generous spirits who always have a hearty shake of the hand for every one with whom they come in contact.
JOSEPH A. STULL.
Joseph A. Stull, eldest son of John P. Stull and Eliza Sibley, was born in the town of Rush in the year 1828. His grandfather in the paternal line, Jacob Stull, in the year 1801, removed from the vicinity of Frederick, Maryland, to Monroe county, New York, casting in his lot among the earliest settlers in this portion of the state; and among the earliest probate records of the county of Frederick, Maryland, is the will of John Stull, the great-grandfather of Jacob Stull, the ances- tor above referred to, recorded in that county in the year 1749.
He was educated at Lima Seminary and Brock- port Collegiate Institute, and at the age of six- teen began teaching, and at the same time took up the study of law. In 1851 he entered the law of- fice of Hastings, Newton & Hastings, was admit- ted to the bar in December, 1854, and was there- after engaged in the active practice of his profes- sion in this city for over a third of a century, ob- taining recognition as one of the leading members of the bar. He served for three years as district attorney, being elected on a republican ticket about 1865. In 1890 he practically retired from active connection with his profession. His po- litical support was given to the republican party, and he was a member of the Universalist church for many years.
Twice married, he first wedded Orphelia S. Sib- ley, a daughter of Elisha and Charlotte Sibley and a granddaughter of Joseph Sibley, who was one of the first county judges of Monroe county and was also a member of the state assembly about 1830. Mrs. Stull died in 1890, and Mr. Stull afterward wedded Mrs. Sarah F. Galusha. He died in Rochester, in 1903, in the seventy-fifth year of his age.
GEORGE E. NOETH.
George E. Noeth, conducting a marble and tile contracting business in Rochester, his native city, was born February 22, 1874. His parents were George H. and Anna (Strassner) Noeth, both of whom were natives of Rochester. The paternal grandfather, Michael Noeth, was a pioneer of this city and from an early period in its develop- ment the family name has figured prominently and honorably in connection with its business ad- vancement. The father is now engaged in dealing in chandeliers.
George E. Noeth was educated in the parochial schools of Rochester and was graduated in the class of 1887. He then attended business college for about eighteen months and worked his way through by selling newspapers and doing anything by which he could earn an honest dollar. He thus displayed the latent strength of his character -the self-reliance and enterprise which have been strong features in his later success. For some time he worked at odd jobs and finally entered the employ of J. C. Barry in the tile and con- tracting business, with which he became thor- oughly acquainted. In April, 1898, he organized the George E. Noeth Company for the purpose of dealing in marble, tile and gas fixtures and in executing contracts for work of that character. He has been president and treasurer of the com- pany since its organization and has been the lead- ing factor in its success. He brought to the busi- ness a thorough, practical knowledge, combined with laudable ambition and strong purpose. To- day the company employs forty men throughout the year, for the patronage has reached extensive proportions, becoming one of the leading indus- tries of the city. In 1905 Mr. Noeth further ex- tended his operations into business lines by es- tablishing the Manhattan Quick Meal Lunch room at No. 196 East Main street, and in May, 1906, he opened another at No. 28 East Main street. Both places are supplied with the latest modern improvements necessary for the conduct of such an enterprise, have tile floors and all necessary arrangements for sanitation and clean- liness. Each restaurant will seat one hundred
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people and from the beginning the enterprise has been eminently successful. They are conducted under the name of the Prince-Noeth Dairy Lunch Company.
Mr. Noeth was married in 1899 to Miss Cecilia V. O'Kane, of Rochester, and they have one son, Paul J. Mr. Noeth is a member of the Knights of St. John and of the Elks. He is a man of pleasing address, of courteous manner, unflinch- ing principle and unquestioned integrity and yet withal of that practical common sense which never runs to extremes.
MICHAEL DOYLE.
Michael Doyle has gained a place among the representatives of prominent industrial interests in Rochester. It not only requires careful man- agement in the conduct of a business but the keen- est discernment in order to recognize those things which are factors in competition. Endowed with all those qualities which constitute the successful producer and merchant of the present day, Michael Doyle became the founder and has been the pro- moter of an extensive industry and the firm of which he is now the head is today carrying on the largest export business in the line of handling dried fruit of any house in the country.
Mr. Doyle was born in the south of Ireland on the 15th of May, 1860, and acquired his education in the public schools of that country and in the common schools of Rochester, having come to America alone in 1872 when but twelve years of age. After completing his education he hecame interested in the dried fruit industry, especially in the departments of handling and shipment, and has since had much to do with the development of this business in western New York-an enter- prise which has contributed in large measure to the prosperity of this section of the state. In 1886 he organized the firm of Michael Doyle & Con- pany and under this style the business has since been carried on with Mr. Doyle at its head. He has made a specialty of developing the export trade and in his frequent visits to Europe he has done much to overcome the prejudice which for- merly existed against American fruits. This firm today carries on the largest export business of any house in this line in America. It has agencies in all the principal European markets and the ship- ments are now most extensive, bringing to the house a gratifying profit.
Mr. Doyle is also interested in the manufacture of condensed milk, being treasurer of the Mohawk Company. He is likewise president of the Inter- national Pulp Company, of Gouverneur, New York; president of the Rochester, Charlotte & Manitou Railroad Company ; and a director of the
E. M. Upton Cold Storage Company. His busi- ness capacity and ability are now so widely ac- knowledged that his co-operation is eagerly sought in the conduct of many extensive and leading com- mercial and industrial interests of Rochester and his standing in the business world is indicated by the fact that he is now president of the Chamber of Commerce, of which he was one of the first members. In addition to those already mentioned he is interested in other commercial enterprises and his investments have been so judiciously placed that his income now ranks him with the men of affluence in Rochester.
In 1889 Mr. Doyle was united in marriage to Miss Anna A. Lauber, of Rochester, and they have four children. In politics he is independent, seek- ing the public good through private channels rather than through political service. He is a self- made man, well traveled, broad in his. views and interesting in his personality. He has been an important figure in the commercial development of Rochester and stands as a splendid type of the American citizen, who while promoting individual success contributes in large measure to general prosperity.
CHARLES B. POTTER.
The name of Charles B. Potter stands con- spicuously and honorably in Rochester's history for culture, progress and for broad-minded citizen- ship. He was a native of the village of Pittsford, horn on the 19th of July, 1828. His parents were Henry Sayre and Harriet (Benedict) Potter. The father was of English lineage and was born in Galway, Saratoga county, New York, February 14, 1798. He was a descendent of Nathaniel Potter, of England, who previous to 1637 established the family in the new world. In 1808 representatives of the name settled in Canandaigua, New York, where Nathaniel Job Potter, of the sixth genera- tion from Nathaniel of England, died in 1810, leaving his wife, Mary Sayre Potter, and four children. Upon the mother and her twelve year Bold son, Henry S. Potter, devolved the care of the . family. The boy first began earning his livelihood in a store in Canandaigua and in 1814 he became an employe of Samuel Hildreth, while later he be- came business manager for Mr. Hildreth, who ran the first stage coaches between Auburn and Roch- ester. The year 1815 witnessed the arrival of Henry S. Potter in Pittsford, where he secured a clerkship in a general store, being thus engaged until 1822. when he began business on his own account in partnership with Sylvanus Lathrop. They continued in general merchandising together there until 1826, when Henry S. Potter became sole owner of the business. which he carried on
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until 1850. He then brought his family to Roch- ester, where he undertook financial operations with remarkable success. He engaged in the real-estate business here and also dealt in brokerage, bonds, notes, etc. He carefully manipulated moneyed in- terests along successful lines, readily noted the op- portunities offered by the business world and util- ized these to excellent advantage. He became one of the stockholders and the first president of the Western Union Telegraph Company and this alone would entitle him to special mention on the pages of history. He continued his connection with varied business interests until his death, which occurred in Rochester on the 9th of Janu- ary, 1884, his wife having passed away July 3, 1881. Of the five children born of this marriage only two are now living: Mrs. B. D. MacAlpine, of Rochester; and Henryetta, also of this city. Those deceased are Charles B., Mary Elizabeth and Alfred Benedict.
Charles B. Potter acquired his education in the schools of Rochester and at Union College, where he graduated in the class of 1851. While in the college he became a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. He afterward went to the west, mak- ing his way to Wyandotte, now Kansas City, Kansas, where he established a wholesale and re- tail provision house, remaining there for a few years. Upon his return to Rochester he took up the study of law and was soon admitted to the bar. He engaged in practice for a short time but be- came agent for his father in real-estate transac- tions and so continued until the father's death. He then took charge of some of the Potter real estate and its management claimed his time and energies for some years. He also engaged in the real-estate business, but during the last twelve or fifteen years of his life practically lived retired. He found one of the chief sources of rest and re- creation in his gardens and was frequently busy working among plants and flowers, for which he had the greatest love. He not only had an aesthe- tic and scientific but also a practical interest in this and enjoyed doing the actual work of caring for the products of his gardens.
On the 18th of July, 1866, Mr. Potter was mar- . ried to Miss Jennie Weaver, a native of Auburn, New York, and a daughter of Dr. Noel and Delia (Welles) Weaver, both of whom were natives of Connecticut and representatives of old and promi- nent families there. Dr. Weaver was a physician, born in Connecticut, and practiced for a few years in Lansing, New York. Afterward he removed to Auburn, this state, where he engaged in active practice until his deatlı. In their family were nine children, of whom twelve are now. residents of Rochester, Mrs. Potter and her sister, Lucy M. Weaver.
Mr. and Mrs. Potter had two sons. Dr. Henry Noel Potter, the eldest, born January 20, 1869,
married Miss Lillian Holstein Heron, of Alleg- heny, Pennsylvania, and they now reside in New York city. He is a graduate of the Rochester Free Academy and also of Amherst College of the class cf 1891. Later he accepted a position with the Westinghouse Company, of Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania, which sent him abroad to continue his studies in Germany. There he remained for seven vears and since his return he has resided in New York city, where he is a special engineer for this company. Nathaniel Restcome Potter, the younger son, who was born November 16, 1878, is a graduate of Phillips Academy, at Andover, Massachusetts, and of the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, of the class of 1902. Later he pursued a course of study for one year in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Bos- ton, subsequent to which time he accepted a posi- tion with the Baldwin Locomotive Works at Phila- delphia, where he remained for three years. He then returned to Rochester and has since resided here.
Charles B. Potter was deeply interested in the political questions and issues and voted with the republican party but was never an office seeker. He was a member of the Rochester Historical So- ciety and, in the early days, of the Rochester Club. He originally attended the Presbyterian church but in later life went with his wife to St. Luke's Episcopal church. He died December 9, 1906, his remains being interred at Riverside cemetery. His strong and salient characteristics were such as endeared him to all who came within the close circle of his friendship, while wherever he was known he was respected and honored.
JOHN PORTER WESTON.
The ancestry of John Porter Weston has been distinctively American in both its lineal and col- lateral lines through many generations. History records that the founder of the Weston family in this country was Edmund Weston, who came to the new world from England as a passenger on the ship Elizabeth and Ann, in the year 1635. He landed at Boston and became a member of the Plymouth colony. In 1640 he had a grant from the colony of four acres of land at Stony Brook, Duxbury, and a tract of land near Green Harbor. From this time his name frequently appears in connection with town affairs and in various public matters. A representative of the family in a later generation was Samuel Weston, who was born in 1739 at New Bedford, Massachusetts, and died at Darien, New York. He was the great- grandfather of John P. Weston and had six brothers who served as soldiers in the war for In- dependence. He married Elizabeth Andrews and
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
their family numbered twelve children, including William Andrews Weston, the grandfather, who became an early settler of Buffalo, New York. He proved his loyalty to his country by active service in the war of 1812 and he died when about eighty-four years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rebecca Alford Hathaway, also lived to an advanced age. She was a daughter of Alfred Hathaway, who was born in St. Albans, Vermont, in 1758, served as a soldier of the Revo- lutionary war and died in 1828 at the age of seventy years. His wife, Mrs. Rebecca Alford Hathaway, died at the age of eighty-nine years and nine months. Their family numbered eleven children.
Sidney Owen Weston, father of John P. Wes- ton, was a native of Buffalo, New York, and for many years followed farming near Youngstown, this state. He removed to that locality when a young man, was married there and died at the old homestead in 1892, when seventy-three years of age, his birth having occurred on the 25th of Oc- tober, 1819. The same spirit of valor and of fidelity which characterized his ancestors was man- ifested by him at the time of the Civil war, for after the outbreak of hostilities he joined the army as a sergeant and meritorious conduct on the field of battle won him promotion to the rank of first lieutenant. He belonged to Company F of the One Hundred and Fifty-first Regiment, enlisting in 1861 and receiving an honorable discharge, on the 21st of November, 1864. He was wounded two or three times. In early manhood he wedded Evaline A. Hill, who was born in Clarendon, Ver- mont, January 6, 1828, and died February 17, 1892. Both were Presbyterians in religious faith. Mrs. Weston was a daughter of Jesse Hill, a na- tive of Hillsboro, New Hampshire, who removed to Vermont and subsequently to the state of New York, settling in the town of Porter, Niagara county, where he and his sons owned a large tract of land. He was a farmer by occupation and died at the venerable age of eighty-five years. His wife, too, was well advanced in years when she was called to her final rest. In their family were seven children, including Mrs. Weston, who died on the 17th of February, 1892, in the faith of the Presbyterian church, of which her husband was also a member.
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