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 86
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John Porter Weston, one of a family of nine children, of whom six are yet living, was born in Youngstown, New York, October 25, 1854, and his boyhood and youth were passed upon his father's farm there, during which period he mas- tered the common branches of English learning as taught in the public schools. After putting aside his text-books he went to Buffalo and was with the firm of E. & B. Holmes, manufacturers of barrel machinery, acting as their foreman for a number of years. On the 6th of March, 1881,
he came to Rochester and here engaged in the manufacture of ladies' hats under the firm name of Whiting & Weston and afterward of Weston & McDonald, until 1884. In 1885 he accepted a position in the office of the late Henry S. Hebard and upon the latter's death on the 11th of March, 1890, he purchased the business which was estab- lished by Zebulon Hebard, father of Henry S., in 1831. For seventy-six years this concern, of which Mr. Weston is now president, has been the leading enterprise of the kind in the city of Rochester. When it was established by Mr. He- bard, Rochester was a small village and it has grown with the city's development until it is a great mercantile house, developing each year in its volume of business and also constantly ad- vancing in the confidence of the people. About 1858, Henry S. Hebard succeeded his father in the business and so continued until March, 1890, when it passed into possession of its present owner and is now continued under the corporate name of the John P. Weston Company. The business is that of contractors and builders of mantels, grates, tile and brass goods, bronze tablets, mausoleums, monuments, designing and modeling. In the last few years they have erected fourteen mausoleums, representing an outlay of more than one hundred thousand dollars, and in addition to this have put up many hundreds of monuments, all of which are models of design and workmanship. However, their field is not confined to this one branch, for many of the most prominent buildings of Rochester are adorned with their handiwork in marble wainscoting and floors, tiling, slate, bronze and wood mantels. Their constructive work is seen in the Powers building, Powers Hotel, German Insurance building, Rochester Sav- ings Bank, Ellwanger & Barry building, Union Trust Company, Rochester Trust & Savings Com- pany, Genesee Valley Trust Company, East Side Savings Bank, Alliance Bank, Cutler building, the Masonic Temple and many others. In many of the fine residences, too, are seen evidences of the business ability of this house. Mr. Weston is both a worker and a thinker and is thus a well rounded man, not afraid of that laborious atten- tion to detail so necessary to success.
On the 10th of June, 1886, Mr. Weston was married to Miss Emma Jane Hebard, a daugh- ter of Henry S. and Harriet M. (Hazen) Hebard. Mrs. Weston, who died February 16, 1903, was most highly esteemed throughout the community and was a faithful member of the First Meth- odist church, of which Mr. Weston is also a mem- ber and in which he is now serving as a trustee. He has been a worker in both the church and the Sunday school. It has been said that "the truly rich man is he whose capacity to enjoy keeps pace with his capacity to acquire. There must be a growth within for the corresponding growth with-
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out-else unhappiness will surely follow." Mr. Weston has found this happiness in his work in the church and the assistance which he gives thereto and his exemplification of the teachings of the Masonic fraternity, of which he has long been a faithful member, his connection now being with Valley lodge, No. 109, A. F. & A. M .; to the council, R. & S. M .; Hamilton chapter, R. A. M .; and Monroe commandery, K. T. He is also a life member of the Masonic Club, while politically he is a republican. He stands today as one of the most successful business men of Rochester and his position is merited by the fact that it has been truly earned and also because of the fact that he has never selfishly hoarded his means for his own use, but at all times has manifested a spirit of ready sympathy, benevolence and generous as- sistance to others less fortunate.
JUNIUS JUDSON.
America largely owes her position of leadership among the great countries of the world to her in- ventors and manufacturers. It is they who have won her pre-eminence by reason of the fact that they have given to mankind new mechanical de- vices, machinery and implements of various kinds that have entirely revolutionized trade in indus- trial and commercial lines. No other country has contributed so largely to this result as has the United States, in which connection Junius Judson is deserving of mention as inventor and patentee of the celebrated steam engine governor which bears his name. During much of his business life he was a resident of Rochester and was uni- formly respected as a business man and a citizen.
His life record began upon a farm in Jefferson county, New York, February 5, 1813, and covered the intervening years to the 6th of June, 1896. In early boyhood he was a pupil in the district schools near his father's home but the death of the father at a comparatively early age made it necessary that Junius Judson depend upon his own labors and resources for a living. He was a youth of seventeen, when, in 1830, he arrived in Rochester to learn the machinist's trade. A few years later he became a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he conducted business as a foundry- man and hardware manufacturer. He not only mastered the mechanical construction of those things which he placed upon the market but was continually seeking out methods of improve- ment, and as the result of his skill, study and experiment he gave to the world in 1848 the Jud- son steam engine governor, securing a patent upon his invention. In 1851 he returned to Rochester, where he began the manufacture of the governor.
continuing the business with splendid success un- til his life's labors were ended. Others noting the good points of his devices made attempts to in- fringe upon his patents in this country and in Canada and he therefore was forced to devote much time to the protection of his interests by prosecuting those who were infringing on his rights. In this way he secured large returns from the very considerable sums expended by him in patent litigation. It is not a usual thing to find an inventor with good executive and business ability. Mr. Judson, however, was an exception to the rule and reaped the legitimate reward of his inventive genius and commercial enterprise. His manufacturing interests were also of ma- terial benefit to the city in that they furnished employment to hundreds of working men. As his financial resources increased he made extensive investments in real estate and for many years was one of the city's heaviest individual tax-pavers. Unlike many men who accumulate wealth, he favored liberal taxation, as he desired that good improvements be promoted thereby. His faith in the future of Rochester was indicated by the large sums which he put into real estate and into local enterprises. His judgment was recognized as sound and his business sagacity constituted an important factor in his success.
Mr. Judson married Miss Lavenda Bushnell, a daughter of Thomas Bushnell, and to them were born four children : J. Lee ; Charles B .; Mary E., the wife of George D. Hale; and Harriet A., the wife of Harry Langdon Brewster. All are yet residents of Rochester, prominent in the social circles of the city, while the sons have made a name for themselves in business life. The family has always been connected with the First Baptist church.
As Mr. Judson prospered he gave generously of his means toward promoting the moral develop- ment of the community through the work of the churches and also aided in ameliorating the hard conditions of life for others through his generosity and charitable and benevolent institutions. He realized fully the responsibilities of wealth and was ever willing and ready to assist others less for- tunate, not only by substantial means but also by kindly counsel and advice. From early youth he was one of the world's workers and his success, so great as to seem almost magical, was attributable directly to his own labors. He died June 6, 1896, and a long life of activity and usefulness was thus ended. He never courted public favor and in fact shunned public notoriety. In manner he was plain and unostentations. While he had the land- able ambition that seeks substantial, honorable suc- cess, he recognized character worth as above every- thing else and in his own life set an example which may well be followed by those who regard integrity and honest purpose as infinitely more valuable
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
than wealth, fame or position. He became a most prosperous man but the most envious could not grudge him his success, as he was uniformly recog- nized as a man of the strictest integrity, of the simplest and purest motives, steadfastness of pur- pose and of great uprightness of character.
ISAAC WILE.
Isaac Wile, deceased, was one of the most promi- nent wholesale clothing merchants of western New York, being connected with two of the largest houses of this character in Rochester. For many years his name was synonymous with business en- terprise and he belonged to that class whose ready recognition and improvement of opportunity lead them into broad undertakings and large successes.
Moreover, he was connected with a pioneer family of the city, being a native son of Rochi- ester. His parents were Joseph and Hannah (Greentree) Wile, and the Greentrees also came to Rochester at a very early day. Joseph Wile was a native of Bavaria, Germany, and in company with his two brothers. G. and Abram Wile, and with Emanuel Hays, he came to the United States in July, 1839. For a few years Joseph Wile was engaged in peddling clothing and dry goods through the country in the eastern part of the state of New York but, thinking to find better business opportunities in the western part of the state, he came to Rochester and established a retail clothing house on Main street. He succeeded be- vond his fondest expectations in this enterprise and in a short time he opened a wholesale clothing house on Mill street, becoming a member of the firm of Wile, Stern & Company. This was one of the first wholesale clothing houses of the city and Mr. Wile continued in the business here for many years, or up to the time of his retirement from active mercantile life. He continued, how- ever, to make Rochester his home until his death, which occurred on the 7th of July, 1894. He had long survived his wife, who died in 1865. They were the parents of three children who are still living in Rochester, the son Julius M., being very prominent in business circles here as manager of the Security Trust Company. The daughters are Mrs. Simon Stern and Mrs. Samuel Stern.
Isaac Wile was just sixteen years of age when he was admitted to a partnership by his father in the wholesale clothing business on Mill street and he later became a partner in the firm of Greentree & Wile, wholesale clothiers. He likewise had a partnership relation with his father in the whole- sale clothing firm of Wile, Stern & Company. While thus engaged the firm of Wile, Brickner & Wile was organized as wholesale clothing dealers
and Isaac Wile was active in the management and conduct of that enterprise. He thoroughly ac- quainted himself with the clothing trade in early life and kept in touch with the trend of modern progress as manifest in the business world. The house with which he was connected maintained an unassailable reputation for reliability as well as progressiveness and Mr. Wile continued in the wholesale clothing business until his death, re- maining a partner in the firm of Wile, Stern & Company and in Wile, Brickner & Wile. He was also financially interested to some extent in other business concerns.
In 1872 Mr. Wile was married to Miss Carrie Hays, a native of Rochester and a daughter of Emanuel and Mina (Rosenthal) Hays, both of whom were natives of Bavaria, Germany. The father was born and reared near the home of Joseph Wile and they came together to this coun- try in 1839. Mr. Hays first settled in Philadel- phia, where he remained for a short time, and then went to Ohio, where he began peddling clothing throughout the country. He next went to North Carolina, where he engaged in the same business for a few years and also at Louisville, Kentucky, for a few years. Subsequently he was at Kokomo, Indiana, where he conducted a general mercantile and clothing store for several years, going thence to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he established a wholesale clothing house, which he conducted with marked success for thirty-two years under the firm name of Hays & Rosenthal. He then disposed of all of his business interests and has since been living retired, spending his time among his chil- dren. In 1892 he came to Rochester and has since resided with his daughter, Mrs. Wile. Although he has now reached the very venerable age of eighty-eight years he is still active, possesses a good memory and in fact largely retains his physi- cal and mental faculties unimpaired. His wife died July 28, 1887.
Mr. and Mrs. Wile became the parents of five children : Herbert J., who is engaged in the bond business at 25 Broad street, New York city; Julius I., who is proprietor of the Wile Power Gas Company at No. 212 Cutler building, Rochester, and who was a member of the navy during the Spanish-American war ; Mortimer E., who is teller for the Security Trust Company; Harold C., at home; and Stanley S., who is connected with the Shantz Button Company of this city. With the exception of the eldest all of the sons are at home with the mother.
The husband and father died September 5, 1891. He was a leading and influential resident of Rochester for many years and for four years served as president of the board of education here. He withheld his aid and cooperation from no movement which he believed would prove of public benefit and on the contrary gave liberal and active
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support to many measures which have proven of the utmost value to Rochester. He was thoroughly informed concerning the political situation and possibilities of the country and gave unswerving allegiance to the republican party. His wife's father, Mr. Hays, was also a prominent politician in Indianapolis and held many offices in that city, being elected on the republican ticket. Mr. Hays was also a member of the Masonic order of In- dianapolis, while Mr. Wile belonged to the Ma- sonic fraternity of Rochester and was one of its prominent and exemplary representatives. It is true that he entered upon a business already estab- lished but in enlarging and controlling this many a man of less resolute spirit and purpose would have failed. On the contrary he wrought along modern business lines, constantly enlarging the scope of his activities, and his name became a synonym for successful accomplishment in mer- cantile circles here. In fact his enterprise in business, his loyalty in citizenship and his strong and salient traits of character rendered him a leading resident of Rochester, well worthy of men- tion in its history.
Mrs. Wile is very prominent in social circles in Rochester. With her children and her father, Mr. Hays, she resides at the old Wile homestead at No. 84 North Clinton avenue, a part of the old Wile estate, which extended to Main street. She has other property interests here, from which she derives an excellent income, so that her home is supplied with all the comforts that wealth can secure and refined taste suggest.
JAMES MARTIN WILTSIE.
James Martin Wiltsie was born at Duanesburg, Schenectady county, New York, on December 25, 1829, and died at Pittsford, New York, on July 28, 1901. He was the fourth in a family of eleven children, born to Thomas Wiltsie and Rachael Brownell, his wife. When he was only four years of age his father moved his family from Duanes- burg on a packet boat on the Erie canal to a farm in Perinton, Monroe county, New York, where he grew to young manhood, attending the district and village schools winters.
At the age of nineteen, he made the overland trip to California during the first gold mining excite- ment and was one of the famous "Forty-niners." The trip required several months, and he walked from Independence on the Missouri river to Sacra- mento with a caravan company. A year later he returned home by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and soon after engaged in the lumber and produce business in Pittsford village, New York.
He was a general merchant and dealer in farm produce in this village for more than forty years. His public spirit and general interest in the village and town, together with his activity and promi- nence as a merchant, made him an essential part of the life of the town and village all those years. The village school always interested him deeply, and for more than twenty-five years he was one of the trustees, and much of the time he was presi- dent of the board of trustees. He was also a mem- ber and president of the village board of trustees for a great number of years. He was a life-long democrat, though he rebelled against Bryan and voted twice for Mckinley. He was elected super- visor of his town for the three years 1881-83, and was chosen chairman of the board of supervisors in 1883, being the only democratic chairman chosen for a period of more than thirty years.
He was married March 2, 1857, to Emily Ward Hastings, who survives him and still resides at Pittsford. Three children were born to them, all of whom are still living. He was a Mason and a member of the First Presbyterian church of Pitts- ford from 1885 till the time of his death, being a trustee and an elder most of the time.
J. GEORGE WAGNER.
A kindly spirit, an upright life and an honor- able business career-and the memory of J. George Wagner is cherished by all who knew him. He was born on the 10th of August, 1824, a native of Bischmisheim, Prussia, and when a youth of four- teen years he arrived in the new world. The greater part of his life was passed in Rochester, where in his youth he learned the carpenter's trade, attaining such skill and proficiency that in the course of years he became one of the foremost contractors of the city. Starting in business on his own account, he soon secured a liberal patron- age, which constantly developed until it reached very extensive proportions. Many of the fine edi- fices of the city, including the First Baptist church, still stand as monuments to his skill and handiwork. He was conscientious in the perform- ance of every duty that devolved upon him in business connections, and was never known to mis- represent anything nor to take advantage of an- other in a trade transaction. In fact his name be- came a synonym for commercial integrity, and the success which he attained was the merited and legitimate reward of his own labor. As the years passed he extended his efforts in some degree to other fields of activity, although contracting and building continued to be his chief interest. He was one of the incorporators and a director of the Rochester German Insurance Company. He also
JAMES M. WILTSIE.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
served for twelve years as one of the directors of the Genesee Brewing Company, and in business affairs his judgment was sound, his ideas practical and his methods progressive.
Mr. Wagner was married in early manhood and had a daughter, Mrs. Charles W. Voshall. While not a politician in the commonly accepted sense of office seeking, Mr. Wagner was always deeply interested in the questions and issues of the day and in those matters affecting local advancement and national progress. He, served as a member of the board of supervisors from the sixth ward of Rochester but otherwise held no public office. Of deep religious nature, he was one of the liberal supporters and devoted members of the Zion Ger- man Lutheran church and for a long period served as senior deacon and president of the board of trustees. He gave thirty thousand dollars to found the Wagner Memorial Lutheran College of this city and labored earnestly and effectively for the extension of the influence of the church and the adoption of its teachings in the city. He was at all times conscientious, living up to a high stand- ard of citizenship, while in his private life he displayed those virtues and graces of character which endear man to his fellowman.
LOREN D. ELDREDGE.
Whether the elements of success in life are in- nate attributes of the individual or whether they are quickened by a process of circumstantial de- velopment it is impossible to clearly determine. Yet the study of a successful life is none the less profitable by reason of the existence of this uncer- tainty, and in the majority of cases it is found that exceptional ability supplemented by close ap- plication and earnest purpose finds the real secret of prosperity which so many have envied. A vast- ly different condition exists in the business world today from that which was prevalent even a half century ago. In few localities is there room for the pioneer business man, and he who enters the field of business activity must meet competition of most pronounced character, and only through absolute merit, enterprise and continued watch- fulness can trade be secured and retained. Pos- sessing these requisites of the successful business man, Loren D. Eldredge has made for himself a position of prominence in manufacturing circles in Rochester, being now one of the leading stock- holders and the vice president in the Hubbard, Eldredge & Miller Furniture Company.
A native of Canton, St. Lawrence county, New York, Mr. Eldredge was born January 17, 1862, a son of A. W. and Mary (Matthews) Eldredge. The father, a native of Vermont and a farmer by
occupation, died about seven years ago, but the mother is still living. Passing through consecu- tive grades in the public schools, Loren D. Eld- redge was graduated from the high school of Can- ton, New York, and after entering the field of business activity spent a number of years upon the road as a traveling salesman for various fur- niture houses, during which time he gained a most intimate and comprehensive knowledge of the trade, its possibilities of development and the demands of the purchasing public. In 1890 he took a position with the I. H. Dewey Furniture Company, of Rochester, which was eventually suc- ceeded by the Hubbard & Eldredge Company, now the Hubbard, Eldredge & Miller Furniture Com- pany, of which Mr. Eldredge is the vice president. This large concern, one of the leading productive enterprises of Rochester, employs five hundred workmen in the manufacture of chairs and furni- ture, and occupies not only the old Dewey build- ings, but has also erected large modern buildings of their own at Lyell avenue and Dewey street. This is one of the important industrial concerns that contributes in substantial measure to Roches- ter's commercial greatness.
Mr. Eldredge was married to Miss Adel L. Champlin, a daughter of George E. Champlin, a carriage manufacturer of Canton, New York, and they have one daughter, who is with them in their beautiful home at No. 564 East avenue. Mr. Eldredge is well known in club circles, holding membership in Genesee Valley Club, the Roches- ter and the Oak Hill Country Clubs. He also be- longs to St. Lawrence lodge, F. & A. M., and is a Royal Arch and Knight Templar Mason, likewise identified with the Mystic Shrine of Rochester. He holds membership with the Brick (Presbyte- rian) church and gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He possesses a genial na- ture and is a man of many friends. His is an honorable manhood, characterized by laudable pur- pose and successful accomplishment, and viewed from any standpoint or measured by any standard his life history will hear investigation and prove true to the measure of an upright career.
HON. HENRY MORGAN.
Hon. Henry Morgan, attorney at law of Brock- port, his native city, was born August 23, 1872, a son of Dayton S. and Susan (Joslin) Morgan, both of whom were natives of Monroe county. For a number of years the father was engaged in the agricultural implement business under the firm name of D. S. Morgan & Company and was the pioneer manufacturer of farming implements in the United States. He manufactured the first farm machinery for Cyrus McCormick and he
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erected large factories in Brockport, which he con- ducted for some time. He became one of the best known men in the United States in his line of business and his enterprise and discriminating judgment brought to him a goodly measure of prosperity. His death occurred in Brockport, April 24, 1890.
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