USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > History of Rochester and Monroe county, New York, from the earliest historic times to the beginning of 1907 > Part 16
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Of minor church matters in this year the most important were the dedication of West Avenue Methodist church, January 21st, of the Lyell Ave- nue Baptist church November 4th, and of the new chapel of the North Presbyterian church, Decem- ber 30th, the laying of the corner stone of St. Angustine's church December 23d, the resignation of Rev. C. A. MeAlpine of the Bronson Avenue Baptist church (which had been consolidated with the Wilder street church) on October 18th, and of Rev. Dr. S. Banks Nelson of St. Peter's ( Pres- byterian ) on the 22d. and the acceptance, on the 18th, of a call to the Second Baptist by Rev. Charles H. Rust. On the 11th of November an evangelistie campaign was opened in several of the churches, ten large meetings being held simul- taneously : this continued with more or less en- thusiasm for eightern days; the movement par- look largely of the nature of old-fashioned re-
vivals, though that term was not used at all; one of its prominent features, in which it differed from anything done here before, was the use of saloons, every one of which of any notoriety in the city was visited by two evangelists (a man and wife), who made addresses,' offered prayers and sang hymns, which were joined in by the large crowds that were present and that invariably treated the vis- itors with perfect respect ; much good was effected in this way, hopeful at the time and probably permanent. More than the usual number of con- ventions were held here this year, of which the most striking were those of the Genesee Valley Schoolmasters' association, then organized, Jann- ary 20th ; of the state league of saving and build- ing loan associations July 16th, of the Arbeiter Sængerbund on the 20th, and both the national and state conventions of opticians on the 30th; the national convention of jewelers August 3d. that of the Veiled Prophete of the Enchanted Realm on October 2d, of the state association of master plumbers on the 9th, of public school su- perintendents on the 15th, of Methodist bishops of the world on the 24th, of Afro-American Pres- byterians on the 26th; on November 1st the Uni- tarian conference of the middle states and Canada, and on the 13th, 14th and 15th of that month that of charities and corrections; this last was the sev- enth state conference of that nature that had been held and in some respects it was the most important one of all, those who were present representing all the charitable agencies of the state, official and unofficial, public and private, de- nominational and non-sectarian, and the various addresses and reports being of a very high order ; all the meetings, including the banquet, were held at the Eureka club-house; at the close of the con- ference Daniel B. Murphy of this city was elected president for the ensuing year.
For many years Rochester had been suffering from the smoke nuisance arising from the use of soft coal as fuel in the manufacturing establish- ments and other large buildings, such as hotels and apartment houses. Disagreeable at the best. from its covering all white clothes, dishes and plates with a coating of soot and dirt, it was found to he also detrimental to health, particu- larly in the case of young school children. Hav- ing become an intolerable evil. the Chamber of Commerce took up the matter and in spite of
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*trong opposition it smeveeded in so rousing pub- lie opinion that the comunon couneil felt obliged to pass an ordinance prohibiting the use of bitn- minons coal except for a short time at stated peri- ods when fires were being started, and in carrying out this injunction what artists might call a color scheme, though in this case it was denomi- nated a color scale, was adopted to determine whether any given volume of smoke was too dark to be permissible. The ordinance went into effect on the 1st of June, in consequence of which, as it has been quite generally obeyed, the city has been noticeably cleaner and healthier than it was before. Building operations were very extensive, the total valuation in the permits given by the fire marshal being $6,181,434, an increase of more than half a million over the previous year. Of the structures erected the most conspicuons was the West Side department store, on the corner of West Mam and Fitzhugh streets, seven stories in height. with five acres of floor space, the frame work of iron, of which two thousand tons were usel. covered with an exterior of white enameled terra cotta, which took more than fifteen car loads of those plates, the total cost being $200,000, ex- elusive of the land, all of which had before that been covered by business blocks; the beauty of this construction was sadly marred by the contiguity, on the west, of two nusightly buildings, but they are bring replaced during this year by an ornamental structure of the same height with their present companion. While a large addition was being made to the already enormous plant of the East- man company at Kodak park the collapse of the roof and part of the second floor, which consisted of a concrete material in which an inferior grade of sand was used, on the 21st of November, cost the lives of four men, one of them the foreman in charge of the work. Another extensive addi- tion, completed at the very close of the year, was that of the Genesee Valley club-house, on Gibbs street and East Main, which is described in the next chapter. Perhaps the most notable banquet ever given in this city, though by no means one of the largest, was that on February 3d. when the justices of this Appellate division of the Supreme court entertained at the old club-house all the judges of the Court of Appeals.
In spite of some frightful losses infheted upon a widespread portion of the community. rich as
well as poor, by reason of the depreciation in value of the securities of an industrial concern that was supposed to offer assurances of a safe investment, the year has been on the whole a very prosperous one. Money has been plentiful and has been well distributed, as may be illustrated by the pay- ment on December 1st of more than a million dollars in extra dividends by two manufacturing companies ; the bank clearances, which, as well as other fiscal statistics, will be given in another chapter, showed a decided increase; the record of the post-office, which will afford another indication of the general prosperity, showed that the receipts for the year were $:69,976,54, the first time that they have passed the three-quarters of a million mark. December bringing in $72.156.16, the lar- gest amount for any one month in the history of the office. The report of the health bureau showed that during the year there were 2,035 marriages, 3,68$ births and 2,825 dlraths, an increase in all corresponding with the growth of the city and maintaining the usual proportion of the groups, except that the births have increased slightly fast- er than the deaths, while the mortality mong in- lants has shown a relative decrease as compared with previous years. The weather, although it be- haved pretty well during most of the time, was quite eccentrie during the first month and the last, for on January 21st the mercury rose to seventy-one degrees, breaking the record of that day for thirty-five years, while shout the hegin- ning of December the fluid in the tube fell to zero, the lowest point ever reached here so early in the winter. This brings the general narrativo of the city, imperfect as it may be, down to the first of January, 1907, except for the necrological record that follows.
Susan B. Anthony, the celebrated leader in the movement for female suffrage, died at her home on Madison street on the 13th of March. Born at Adams, Massachusetts, on February 15th. 1820, she came here in 1815 and was a school teacher for some years. Her public life really began in 1852, when she was sent by the Daughters of Tem- perance to a state mass meeting or convention of the Sons of Temperance at Albany, where she at. tempted to speak from the platform, but was not allowed by the presiding officer to do so, which so rouseil her indignation that it settled, instead of preventing, her vocation as a public speaker. The
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temperance reform was never wholly indifferent to her and that of anti-slavery was still closer, but they both yielded to the cause of woman's rights, as she conceived them, which overshadowed every- thing else and embraced far more than the exten- sion of the elective franchise; in fact, the equal- ity of the sexes not only politically but in every other way. This was signalized by her adoption, in December, 1852, of the "bloomer" costuma, with trousers and abbreviated skirt and the hair cut short, which peculiar dress she wore for a lit. tle more than a year, abandoning it then only because she perceived that it was doing more than anything else to prejudice people against the gen- eral cause that she had at heart. The most nota- bl event of her life was connected with the presi- dential election of 1872. On November Ist of that year she and fourteen other women registered, un- der protest from the inspectors, in the eighth ward of the city of Rochester, and on the 5th they all cast their votes, again in spite of the protests of the inspectors, who, being threatened with legal penalues if they refused to receive the ballots, were thus placed between two fires. A few days later Miss Anthony was arrested and admitted to Lail and was tried for illegal voting in the United States court at Canandaigua on the 18th of June in the following year. Judge Hunt, of the Su- preme court, sitting in cirenit, took the decision of the case out of the hands of the jury, directing them to bring in a verdict of guilty, after which he imposed a fine of one hundred dollars, which she never paid, and that was the end of it so far as she was concerned. The poor inspectors fared worse, for when they refused to pay the fine of twenty-five dollars that was laid against them they were sent to jail (a form of martyrdom that was courted by the principal offender but was denied to her) and kept there till President Garfield par- doned them out at the end of a week. That in- cident caused the name of Susan B. Anthony to become more widely known than ever and aided her in the propaganda for female suffrage to which her life became even more exclusively devoted than before. Carrying the crusade into the western states, she was largely instrumental in inducing some of them to embody her views in legisla- tion which has not in every case brought the mil- lennium that was hoped for or even the satisfac- tion that was expected. In 1904 she went to
Berlin as a delegate to the council of women, at which she, with others, brought about the forma- tion of the International Sutfrage Alliance, repre- senting the women of ten different nationalities, after which she was received by the German em- peror and by the empress and honored with marks of distinction. Another missionary journey to the Pacific coast and then a run down to Wash- ington in the early part of 1995, where the extraor- dinary attentions that she received were ent short by her illness, for she broke down at last un- der the strain of her incessant labors and after a short interval came home to die. Whatever may he thought of the jweuliar political principles that she promulgated, no one can refuse to her mem- ory a measure of admiration for the persistency, the energy and the devotion with which she advo- cated them.
In the field of literature may be noted the deaths of George H. Ellwanger, April 24th, au author of note, principally in the line of horti- culture; George M. Elwood on the 29th, of an old Rochester family, remarkable for his conver- sational power, in which he had no superior, 1 versatile writer, an indefatigable collector of books and book plates; W. Martin Jones May 2d, private secretary of William H. Seward while the lut- ter was at the head of the state department, Pro- hibition candidate for governor in 1888, as a pub- licist he was one of the earliest advocates of it- ternational arbitration as the proper method for the settlement of disputes between nations and in 1896 he submitted to the bar of the state an ex- haustive report on the subject: George F. War- ren September 17th, for several years dramatic critic and special editorial writer on the Demo- rrat &- Chronicle, in which he displayed a lit- erary style never surpassed by anyone on the press in this city ; 11. Pomeroy Brewster November 1st, author of "Saints and Festivals of the Christian Church" and a contributor to the daily press of entertaining articles on English life. Of Civil war veterans Dr. B. L. Hovey May 5th, an old army surgeon, medical director of the twentieth corps undler Hooker, member of a great number of medical societies. local, state and national ; Maurice Leyden August 15th, enlisted in the Third New York cavalry and minstered out as brevet major of the Fourth Provisional cavalry, elected county clerk in 1886: Halhert S, Greenleaf Angust
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25th, born in Vermont in 1827, served with dis- in the line of zoology, sociology and political econ- tinction during the war as colonel of a Massachu- setts regiment, removed to Rochester soon after- ward, was elected member of Congress as a Demo- crat in this strongly Republican district in 1882 and again in 1890; George W. Goler October 24th. born at Cape Vincent in 1829, entered the army as seeund lieutenant in the Sixth New York cavalry, rose to be lieutenant colonel, had the re- markable record of having participated in seventy battles, twice wounded, twice a captive in Libby prison ; Patrick C. Kavanagh November 24th, was captain in the One Hundred and Eighth, an officer on the police force from 1868 till his retirement five years ago.
In the realm of science three men passed away Dr. Louis Weigel, a distinguished physician, dieo May 31st at the age of fifty-one; he had writter much for medical journals, largely on the train- ing of children, for as un orthopedie surgeon he Was widely known; when the knowledge of the cathode ray was brought before the world he be- came intensely interested in the discovery and be- sides using it directly in his practice he was con- tinnally experimenting with it; this cost him his life besides giving him prolonged suffering, for he took no precaution against the possible effects of the ray upon himself, which eventually showed themselves upon his hands, where a cancerous growth became plainly developed after other phy- sicians had perceived its approach and had in vain endeavored to induce him to give up his work with the battery; at last the time came when the knife could no longer be avoided and in October of 1905 he had all the fingers of the right hand removed, with three of the others. leaving him only the thumb and little finger of the left, several eminent surgeons from New York and Buffalo, as well as of this city, being present at the operation ; the disease continuing to spread, five more operations were performed at intervals, which may have had the effect of prolonging his life, but if so only for a brief period; in spite of his mutilation he maintained his practice as 4 consulting surgeon and showed invariably a cheer- ful countenance in all his intercourse with friends until the end came and he died, a veritable martyr to science. Harrison E. Webster, who died on the 16th of June, had gained a reputation as a sei- entist and a man of broad learning. particularly
omy; born in 1841 he was graduated at Union in 1868, his college studies having been broken into by his service during the war ; having been a mem- her of the faculty of L'nion for some years he came here in 1883 to take the professorship of natural history in the University of Rochester, but he resigned that position tive years later to become president of his alma mater; he did much to restore the former status and prosperity' of Union, but at the expense of his health, and he returned here in 1904 to spend the rest of his days. Henry A. Ward, while walking in the streets of Buffalo on July 4th, was struck by an automobile and so badly injured that he died at the hospital an hour later, lle was one of the most celebrated men that Rochester ever produced; his fame wa+ so widespread and his explorations over the earth were so extensive that as was said at his funeral by his pastor, Rev. William C. Gannett, "he was a citizen not only of this city and state but of the whole world." He was born in Rochester, March 9th, 1831, and went to Williams college, though he did not graduate there but entered the scien- tifie department of Harvard university, where he studied under and subsequently became assistant to the elder Agassiz. Going to Europe and Africa as tutor to a son of General Wadsworth, he made, while abroad, his first collection of minerals, rocks and fossils, which is still exhibited, the gift of his patron, in the rooms of the Buffalo Natural History society. Returning afterward to Paris he entered the School of Mines, supporting himself while there for five or six years by the sale of specimens which he picked up, and then he began the formation of another mineralogieal cabinet, by far the largest and best of its kind ever made, which was afterward bought by popular sub- scription for the University of Rochester, where it now is. While filling in that institution the chair of natural sciences, from 1860 to 1865, he founded the Ward Natural Science Establishment, which is described elsewhere and which will be a lasting monument to his fame. Leaving the uni- versity he went into the service of some mining companies in the West, but it was time thrown away for him and he soon abandoned it to enter upon his life-work of collecting minerals valuable not intrinsically, but from their rarity, and of du- plieating, by means of molds that he had made.
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the remains of all the extinct animals that could be found, though for the last few years he devoted himself almost exclusively to the gathering of meteorites, of which he had the largest private collection in the world, which is temporarily lodged in the Museum of Natural History in New York. This labor, which at the same time grati- fied his insatiable love of travel, took him to the very ends of the earth, so that he circumnavigated the globe two or three times and visited every known part of the world. His remains having been cremated, his ashes were deposited in a niche ent out of an immense boulder of crystalline quartz, which he had obtained in the Lake Su- perior region and placed in Mt. Hope for that purpose a few years before his death.
Of those engaged in other occupations the fol- lowing may be mentioned: Thomas C. Mont- gomery died May 29th; he was born in 1820 and graduated at Princeton at the early age of eight- een; he was a lawyer by profession, but for the latter period of his life he was retired from active practice, a man of fine attainments and of rare culture. Volney P. Brown died July 4th, one of the best known and most successful farmers in Western New York; his home was in the town of Wheatland, where he was born in 1823; he was a member of Assembly in 1870 and 1871. Henry Bartholomay, the pioneer brewer of lager beer in Rochester, died at Munich in the land of his fathers, on the 3d of September; born at Frank- fort-on-the-Main in 1829. he came to this city in 1850 and in 1852 brewed the first harrel of lager beer ever made or sold here; from that sprang the Bartholomay Brewing company, which grew to be one of the great industries of Roch- ester; when it was sold to an English syndicate in 1889 he went back to Germany, with the respect of all who knew him, to spend the remainder of his life. Daniel 'T. Hunt, who was postmaster of this city from 1876 to 1887, died at Chicago. September 17th; George E. Slocum, an old resi- dent of Scottsville, died there November 13th, 1 contributor of valuable papers to literary and historical societies with which he was connected. liochester lost one of its most eminent citizens on November 26th, when George Ellwanger passed
away after a prolonged illness. Born in Wurtem- berg in 1816, he came to the I'nited States in 1835 and to this city a year later. and started the Mount Hope Nurseries, which soon acquired a world-wide reputation, though the firm name, that of Ellwanger & Barry-the other partner being the late Patrick Barry-was the title that was almost universally applied to them. Being a thor- ough master of all the details of the business he soon built up a large and flourishing trade in fruits and fruit trees, extending even beyond the limits of this country, acquiring a fortune there- by and, incidentally, by the acquisition of real es- late in connection therewith. In other relations he was well known and influential, being a director in several banks and on various boards of an edu- cational and literary nature. His generosity was wide and his publie spirit brought him to the front in many enterprises for the good of the community. To the example and the exhortation: of his firm it is mainly owing that Rochester is one of the best-shaded cities in the country. Of women who were prominently identified with various forms of beneficence were Mrs. Helen Mumford Halsey, for fifteen years president of the Woman's Auxiliary of Western New York and also of the board of managers of the Church Home, who died August 10th ; Mrs. Harriet Kemp Ward, aged ninety-four years, who died August 24th at Grove place, where she had lived ever since coming to Rochester in 1831 with her husband, the late Levi A. Ward, one of the early mayors; Mrs. John llarry Stedman, who died October 7th after a life that constantly tended to the better- ment and the elevation of tone of the society in which she moved; Mrs. Anton (. Allen, who died October 18th, one of the original members of the Domestic Science board of the Mechanics Insti- tute, a cousin of Lonise M. Olcott, the popular au- thor.
If it shall seem to the reader that too large a proportion of the foregoing chapter has been de- voted to obituary notices let him consider those items as condensed biographies and in many in- stances, at least, as reminiscences of the previous history of the city. Viewed in that light the chap- ter may present a less somher aspert.
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CHAPTER X
THE PRESENT TIME.
The Industries of Rochester-Its Relatire Posi- tion-First in Many Things-The Chamber of Commerce-The Reynolds Library-The Histor- ical Society-The Academy of Science-Ward's Museum-Schools and Churches-Social Clubs Literary Clubs-Secret Societies-Public Build- ings-Hotels, Apartments and Theaters-The Parks - Hospitals and Asylums - Bridges --- Streets, Sewers and Street Cars-The Banks- The Weather-The Government -- City Er- penses-Conclusion.
By the latest census, that of the state, taken in 1905. Rochester had a population of 181.6;2, that of the county being in the same year 239,4.14. With the natural increase since then, and the re- ernt addition of the village of Brighton, the pop- ulation of the city at the present time is undoubt- edly rather above 200,000 than below it. By the United States census, taken in 1900, it ranked twenty-fourth among the cities of the Union, and there is no reason to suppose that its relative po- sition has altered materially since then. But there are other things that make a city besides the num- ber of ils inhabitants, and in many of these Rochester stands pre-eminent among the municip- alties of the world and in still more among those of this country. Anything like a full description of its manufacturing industries would require not merely a chapter but a volume, and in the follow- ing condensed statement of facts care will be taken to omit anything that shall even savor of an ad- vertisement and to avoid the use of personal names
except where necessary for purposes of identifi- cation. There is about $50,000,000 actually in- vested in its manufacturing industries, the amount of stock issued by them being three times that; and the annual value of manufactured products is $82,000,000, the employees in factories and work- shops numbering over 40,000. It is the first city in the world in the manufacture of cameras, mak- ing more of them than are made in all other places put together; most of these are products of the Eastman Kodak company and its branches; thise are of all grades and varieties of excellence, large proportion for ordinary amateur use but others for technical work, valuable in pathological researches ; some capable of taking a picture nine- teen feet long, giving a panoramic view of a city, for instance, and sweeping in all but ten degrees of the whole circle, while others are more rapid in their operation than the liuman eye in its move- ments, showing a bird in full flight or a base ball in its passage from pitcher to catcher; one was used with good effect in the San Francisco earth- quake fire, depicting the conflagration in its prog- ress, after which the flames came on so swiftly that the camera was destroyed though the negative wys saved; naturally more photographic supplies of all sorts are made here than anywhere else. In the somewhat similar line of optical instruments Rochester has also no equal, the factory of Bausch & Lomb. established in 1853, turning out more of those articles than any other so far as known; there molten sand grains in imported glass are transformed into the most delicate instruments known to science, and millions of lenses are made there, from the smallest microscope glass no larger
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