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 74
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The wife of William C. Bloss was a native of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and a daughter of Captain Ezra Blossom, a soldier of the Revolution and a pioneer settler of Monroe county, New York, who once owned the land reaching from the center of the village of Brighton to South Goodman street in the city of Rochester.
Joseph Blossom Bloss was educated in public school No. 14 in Rochester and in the Clover Street Seminary at Brighton. He began working in a grocery as an errand boy when a young lad.
In 1888 he married Miss Mary Glen Hooker, a daughter of the late Henry C. Hooker. She died in 1890, leaving one child, Mary Glen, who is now in school. For his second wife Mr. Bloss married Miss Ella Welch, of Port Hope, Canada, and they became the parents of three sons: Wil- liam C., Joseph B. and Henry W.
Politically Mr. Bloss is a republican with social- istic tendencies, has given close and earnest study to the questions and issues of the day and is a man of firm convictions holding advanced ideas on many questions. In 1902 the collection of an unequal and exorbitant personal tax was at- tempted in the city of Rochester, levied almost entirely on widows, orphans, infants and working people of very moderate means, by reason of their little savings being invested in mortgages. Mr. Bloss felt it to be his duty to resist this unjust taxation at any cost and his case was made the test of its legality. It was carried to the Supreme Court of the State of New York and a decision given in his favor. The legislature then passed an act overthrowing the decision of the court and legalizing the tax but leaving the tax to be settled by a board of apportionment, which had power to remit or confirm all or any part of the taxes. During this contest Mr. Bloss refused to obey the orders of the court or to answer any questions which might lead to the collection of a personal tax. He did this regardless of the legal penalties, fine and imprisonment, which, however, were not
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JOSEPH B. BLOSS.
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enforced. His action in this matter his friends say is the most useful act of his life. He is, however, an earnest advocate of a national income tax, from which no man or woman over twenty- one years shall be exempt.
He has been a member of the Political Equality During this contest Mr. Bloss refused to obey the Club since its organization and is one of the originators of the Labor Lyceum, which debates public questions in the common council chamber Sunday afternoons. He has for ten years been one of the vice presidents of the Humane Society of Rochester. Few men outside of public life have as intimate a knowledge of the great sociological, economic and political questions as Mr. Bloss, who has been a student of the signs of the times in all of these particulars. Since 1863 he has been a member of the First Presbyterian church of Rochester and his influence has been ever found on the side of reform, progress and improvement. He has gained that broad knowledge which only travel can bring, making many trips abroad, while in 1896 he made a tour of the world. He is one in whom nature and culture have vied in making an interesting gentleman, one whose force of char- acter has been widely recognized in business circles and whose labors have been an element in molding public thought and progress.
WILSON H. MOORE.
Such was the personal worth of Wilson H. Moore, such his business activity and his public- spirited devotion to and labor for general good, that the news of his demise brought with it a sense of personal bereavement to all with whom he had been associated either in business, political or pub- lie relations. His birth occurred in the town of Clarkson in 1859, upon the farm belonging to his father, James M. Moore, There he was reared to the age of eighteen years, purgning his educa- tion in the public schools, while upon the home- stend he was carefully trained in habits of indus- try, integrity and progressiveness. He possessed in unusual degree the creative spirit, recognizing the possibilities for the co-ordination and utiliza- tion of forces to evolve new conditions and intro- duce broader fields of activity in the business world. In 1878, while still a resident of Clarkson, he established the newspaper and magazine sub- scription business which bears his name and from the beginning the new enterprise met with suc- cess. So rapidly did the business increase that in 1882 he removed it to Brockport to secure better facilities, and at the time of his death he un- doubtedly conducted the largest business of that character in the world. Mr. Moore was the first
to develop and introduce the clubbing system of subscribing for magazines by means of which cir- culations were multiplied, and good reading fur- nished for American homes at reasonable prices.
Having given proof of his capacity for capable management and keen business discerment, his lahors were sought in other fields and in 1888 he joined with substantial business men in the pur- chase of the Ham-Rogers shoe factory, which was in a bankrupt condition. Then was organized the Moore-Shafer Shoe Manufacturing Company. So great was the ability he displayed in the manage- inent of this enterprise and so pronounced its suc- cess that a new and larger building was necessary, leading to the erection of the extensive brick fac- tory near the Central station in Brockport. The business has been constantly and steadily devel- oped along progressive lines and is one of the most important sources of revenue in Brockport's indus- trial circles. Mr. Moore was also a large stock- holder in the Brockport Piano Company and in the wheel works of this village.
Intricate business problems he solved readily and saw through the complexity of a business en- tanglement or involved situation, the course lead- ing to a successful outcome of the same. He was not swayed by passion or prejudice and hence his opinions were based upon reason and a careful consideration of the questions and conditions at hand. He was, however, a man of intense and positive character, never occupying an equivocal position, and it was his unfaltering energy dis- played in business that caused a breakdown in nervous and physical forces, resulting in his denth.
In 1887 Mr. Moore was united in marriage to Miss May Seranton, the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Seranton of Brockport. Be- side the wife, two children were left to mourn the loss of the father, Helen and Henry, both at home with their mother.
The Brockport Republic, in an editorial, which appeared nt the time of his death, gave a very ac- curate estimate of his character, as follows: "His was a positive character, if ever there was one. What he believed. he uttered; what he believed in, he did : and he spoke his beliefs and did what he deemed to be his duty in the most positive and forceful way possible. Such a man could not have failed to impress himself upon the life of the community in which he lived nearly all his life. Mr. Moore has been an active and aggres- sive factor in the activities of Brockport." He was, moreover. recognized as a stalwart champion of any movement for the general good, whether along business, social, political, educational or moral lines.
He was a member of the State Normal School board and u vestryman in St. Luke's church. Nature and culture vied in making him an inter- esting and entertaining gentleman. Aside from his
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superior business ability there were other quali- ties which rendered him a valued citizen of his community. He was stalwart in his friendships and devoted to his family and at all times was actuated by a strong spirit of fidelity to what he believed to be right, manifesting the utmost con- formity to a high standard of commercial ethics.
CAPTAIN HENRY NETTLETON SNYDER.
No man was ever more respected or more fully enjoyed the confidence of the people, and none more deserved such respect and confidence than Henry Nettleton Snyder. In his lifetime the people of his state, recognizing his merit, rejoiced in the advancement and in the honors to which he attain- ed and since his death, which occurred in Clark- son, in 1904, the people of Monroe county have cherished his memory. He was one to whom was entrusted important public service and in the dis- charge of his duties he appreciated the responsi- bility which rested upon him and his worth was therefore widely acknowledged.
Captain Snyder was born in Clarkson, Monroe county, New York, May 24. 1831, the only child of Adam and Sallie (Whitney) Snyder, and a grandson of Henry and Hannah (Vermilya) Sny- der. The father was born in Westerlo, this state. June 15, 1800, while the mother's birth occurred in Watertown, Connecticut, December 29, 1798, and their marriage was celebrated April 20, 1820. The Whitney family was founded in this country by Sir Randolph de Whitney, a grandson of Eu- . tace de Whitney, who accompanied Richard Coner de Lion on his crusades, where he distinguished himself.
Captain Snyder pursued a course of study in Brown University, at Providence, Rhode Island, from which institution he graduated in 1855. and the following year he filled the chair of professor of mathematics in the seminary at Sunbury, North Carolina. In 185" he entered the law depart- ment of the University of Albany, in Albany, New York, and upon being admitted to the bar located for practice in Chicago, Illinois, where he remain- ed during the succeeding four years. His husi- ness interests, however, were interrupted by his service in the Civil war, when, in 1861. he raised a company of volunteers and was mustered in as its captain, serving throughout the struggle to preserve the Union. He participated in the dif- ferent campaigns in the southwestern and gulf states and at the close of the war settled at Chat- tanooga. Tennessee, where he engaged in merchan- dising. this being his business connection until 1874. During his residence in that city he acted
us alderman und was elected by the republican party as a representative from Hamilton county to the state legislature. In connection with his other business interests he was also the editor of a paper in Chattanooga. He was likewise for twenty years pension examiner at Washington, D. C. Captain Snyder remained in the government employ until 1903, when he returned to Monroe county, where he owned a farm of eighty acres in Clarkson town- ship, located about a half mile east of the village of Clarkson on the Ridge road, which at one time was an old Indian trail. This property was settled by his parents. Here his death occurred in 1904, and thus passed away one of the old and highly esteemed citizens of Monroe county.
It was in 1876 that Captain Snyder was united in marriage to Carrie Eugenia Lyman, a daugh- ter of H. F. and Catherine Lyman, farming people of Unadilla, Michigan. Mrs. Snyder received her education in the schools of Michigan and after reaching womanhood went to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to visit an annt, Mrs. Lucretia Arnold, who resided on Lookout mountain, and it was dur- ing her sojourn there that she formed the ac- quaintance of the gentleman whom she later mar- ried. Their marriage was blessed with five chil- dren : Sarah 1 .. , who is the wife of E. C. Fowler, a resident of Clarkson, where he is now serving as justice of the peace; Catherine, who is engaged in teaching in the schools of Washington, D. C .; Lyman W. and Carrie, twins, who died in in- fancy ; and Gladys Vermilya, who is attending the Brockport Normal School. Mrs. Snyder is the sixth in order of birth in her father's family, the others being: Frank Lyman, who lives in Jackson, Florida; W. C. R. and A. R. Lyman, who are en- gaged in the newspaper business in Jackson, Michigan; Flora, the wife of Friend Williams, a resident of Stockbridge, Michigan; and Clarence and William H., who died at an early age.
Mrs. Snyder is making her home on the farm which was left her by her husband and in the com- munity where she resides she is esteemed by all who know her by reason of her many excellent traits of heart and mind, and all sympathize with the household in the loss of the husband and father, whose death was the occasion of deep re- gret not only to his immediate family but to s host of warm friends. At his death, a personal friend, Julius Heidenreich, a millionaire of Chi- cago, who was accompanied by a daughter and a granddaughter, came to pay his last respects to one who in life had been a devoted and faithful friend, and in a touching speech spoke of the many excellent and commendable traits of Cap- tain Snyder.
The Captain was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, exemplifying in his life the teachings of that organization, while with his old army comrades he maintained pleasant re-
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lations through Farragut post, G. A. R., at Wash- ington, and also the Army of Cumberland, He was a member of the Masonie order, in which he at- tained the Knight Templar degree, and also affili- ated with the Loyal Legion at Washington, D. C. Through the long years of the Civil war he follow- ed the Union banners on southern battle-fields and in private life as loyally advocated the prin- ciples which he believed would advance the wel- fare of his state and county. A native son of Monroe county, his name was closely interwoven with its early development and later progress, and his memory today is cherished as that of one who made the world better for his having lived.
HENRY A. STRONG. .
One of Rochester's native sons, Henry A. Strong. was born on the 30th of August, 1838, of the marriage of Alvah and Catherine (Hopkins) Strong. In his boyhood and youth he was a pupil in the public schools, and at the time of the Civil war, in 1861, Mr. Strong was appointed assistant paymaster in the United States navy, serving for four years. At the close of the war he returned home and became identified with his uncle, Myron Strong, in the manufacture of whips, eventually purchasing his uncle's interest. He became as- sociated with E. F. Woodbury, which relation continued until 1889, when he disposed of his in- terests in that line. In the meantime he became connected with George Eastman in the manufac- ture of dry plates and tilins. The partnership was formed in December, 1880, under the firm name of Strong & Eastman, In October, 1884, the Eastman Dry Plate & Film Company was organ- ized with Mr. Strong as its president, and 10- day the extensive business is conducted under the name of the Eastman Kodak Company. Wherever the camera is in use the name of East- man is known. The business of the house far ex- ceeds that of any other establishment of a similar character in America and the company not only enjoys a domestic trade of mammoth proportions but also a large export trade. The name of the Eastman Kodak Company has become almost syn- onymons with that of Rochester, having for some years been one of its largest and most profitable industrial enterprises. The business has been de- veloped from small beginnings and the success of the house is attributable in large mensure to the fact that the company has adopted every mod- ern invention and improvement that leads to per- fection in the manufacture of kodaks and camera supplies. In every department of this vast busi- ness are men who are experts in their line and
through the co-ordination and organization of forces as manifest by those who are at the head of the business in the executive department there has resulted an enterprise of which every eitizen of Rochester is proud. A man of fertility of re- source, readily recognizing and improving oppor- tunity, Henry A. Strong has been sought in con- nection with the conduct and management of many important business enterprises. He is now president of the Rochester Button Company, presi- dent of the United States Voting Machine Com- pany and a director of the Alliance Bank, the Monroe County Savings Bank and the Security Trust Company. He is likewise interested in var- ions other financial and commercial institutions.
Mr. Strong was married in Niles, Michigan, on the 3d of August, 1859, to Miss Helen P. Griffin, a daughter of Robert I. Griffin. They became par- ents of two sons and two daughters: Gertrude. the wife of Henry L. Achilles; Herbert, who died in infancy ; Helen, the wife of ex-Governor George R. Carter, of Hawaii; and Henry G., a promi- nent business man of Rochester.
Mr. Strong is a stalwart advocate of republican principles and while he does not concern himself with petty politics he is interested. as is every true American citizen, in the great questions which affect the welfare of the country at large. Ever willing to do even more than his share for the betterment and uplifting of Rochester, his gen- erous aid can be counted upon to further any pro- gressive publie movement for the material, intel- lectual, asthetie and moral progress of the city. In 190? he presented to the Rochester Theological Seminary a magnificent building, which was given the name of the Alvah Strong Memorial Hall in honor of his father, who was one of the early and prominent citizens of Rochester. There has not been a single esoteric phase in the carcer of Henry A. Strong, who has spent his entire life in this city and whose record is as an open book. His business methods have neither sought nor required disguise and in the legitimate channels of trade he has gained a splendid and well merited success,
JONATHAN B. WEST.
Jonathan B. West was an inventor of note, well known abroad and in America. He was born in Lakeville, New York, April 30, 1833, and passed away October 22, 1900. He enjoyed the ordinary educational advantages incident to his native state, but he had within himself an originality which took its own way to success. As a child he was always busy working out his own ideas, hoth in play and in school. This element in his nature was « neonraged by his parents and teachers and he
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spent his life as an inventor, following the talent which was so early manifest. As a young man he invented an antomatic broom handle machine and A water meter, the patent of which he sold in France. In 1870 he invented the first machine for setting tires cold and called his invention the West tire setter. Today, when the antomobile is a com- mon vehicle, it is interesting to note that the sub- ject of this sketch built the first one in this city. On a trip to Europe in 1894 he found many new ideas relative to the automobile, so that when he returned he perfected his machine and built one for delivery purposes. Among his minor inven- tions is that of a screw driver, a machine for em- broidering and a needle for the saine purpose. He was a man who spent his life in his home and was a representative of our best type of American inanhood and chivalry. Though he made many trips abroad, where he sold his patents, it was in America that he was always interested in working out his ideas. By perseverance, determination and honorable effort he reached the goal of prosperity.
A large part of his success he attributed to the abundant support and help given him by his wife, who still carries on his business, although it was merged into a stock company before his death. Mrs. West hore the maiden name of Cornelia Gre- nelle and was born and educated at Saratoga, New York. She and Mr. West were married by the Rev. Dr. Shaw. She is a Baptist in religions be- lief, having taken an active part in its work for thirty-four years. Mr. West attended church with her. He was a member of the Chamber of Com- merce for some time.
EDWARD A. GRENELLE.
Edward A. Grenelle, secretary and treasurer of The West Tire Setter Company, of Rochester, was born July 23, 1822, at Rock City Falls. Saratoga county, New York. After acquiring his prelim- inary education in the district schools he attended a business school in Albany, New York, and in 1890 came to Rochester, obtaining a position in the office of Alexander McVean, then county treas- urer. After two years' service there he relin- quished his position to accept another in the office of City Treasurer Samuel B. Williams, and when he had served in varions capacities in that office during the term of four years he withdrew from the municipal service to associate himself with J. B. West as private secretary. Upon the formation of The West Tire Setter Company he was elected secretary and treasurer, which has been his busi- ness connection since that time.
On June 3, 1896, Mr. Grenelle was married to Miss Anna Cox of Scottsville, New York, and they have three children.
HON. GEORGE A. BENTON.
Hon. George A. Benton, of Rochester, judge of the supreme court, was born in Tolland, Con- nectient, on the ith of May, 1848. His birth- place was a farm upon which his early life was spent. Hle acquired his early education in the district schools of his town and in 1867-8 was a student in Williams College. Afterward he at- tended the Cornell University, from which he was graduated in the class of 18:1, the degree of Bachelor of Arts then being conferred upon him. He won high honors in his college work and has since been interested and active in college mat- ters, having served as class president and alumni orator. For one year he taught in Peekskill, New York, after which he began preparation for the practice of law, matriculating in the Columbia Law School, from which he graduated in the class of 1871. The same year he emne to Rochester and opened an office in connection with a Mr. Dickinson, the partnership being maintained until 1881.
Ahnost from the beginning of his professional career Mr. Benton has figured in his profession in official connections. He was elected district at- torney in 1884 and served for six years. In 1894 he was elected surrogate and served until he re- ceived the appointment of county judge in 1906 from Governor Higgins to fill the place vacated by Arthur E. Sutherland, who has been elected to the supreme court. Later in the same year Judge Benton was elected a member of the sn- preme court and is therefore now serving as a member of that court. He has shown himself an equal of the ahlest members who have sat upon the bench. His decisions indicate strong men- tality, careful precision, a thorough knowledge of the law and unbiased judgment. The judge on the bench fails more frequently perhaps from a deficiency in that broadmindedness which not ouly comprehends the details of a situation clearly but that insures complete self-control under even the most exasperating conditions than from any other cause; and the judge who makes a success in the discharge of his multitudinons delicate duties is a man of well rounded character, finely balanced mind and splendid intellectual attainments. That Judge Benton is regarded as such a jurist is a uniformily accepted fact.
Judge Benton was married July 8, 1892, to C'atherine S. Westerdick, and they have four chil- dren. Ethel, George, Alice and Helen. He main-
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GEORGE A. BENTON.
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tains his residence at Spencerport and has there served on the board of education. He has taken an active and helpful interest in many local move- ments and is a member of several clubs and socie- ties. Deeply interested in Masonry he is one of its exemplary representatives and aided in collect- ing money for the erection of the Masonic build- ing in Rochester. He is also connected with the Knights of Pythias and is a member of the Cen- tral church. For years he has been active in re- publican ranks and is one of the most popular and respected jurists and citizens of Monroe county.
HENRY WRAY.
Henry Wray, whose life record proves that there is no discordant element between success and hon- esty, figured for many years as a leading and prominent business man of Rochester, where he owned and conducted the first brass foundry es- tablished in that city. The business was founded by his father and continued by the son under the name of the Henry Wray Brass Foundry. The family name has figured prominently in indus- trial circles here for over sixty-five years and has always stood as a synonym for business integrity, enterprise and successful accomplishment. .
Henry Wray was a native of Poughkeepsie, New York, born October 10, 1841. His parents were Henry and Marie ( Mosher) Wray, the latter a native of Dutchess county, New York, and the former a native of Derby, England, in which country he remained until nine years of age, when he and two brothers sailed for America. They landed in New York city, where Henry Wray, Sr., secured employment, remaining in the metropolis two years. At the age of eleven years he went to Poughkeepsie, New York, where he was employed for several years and later engaged in various business enterprises there on his own account until 1842, when he came to Rochester. Soon after his arrival here he established the foundry which was the first brass industry here. In addition to its conduct he also engaged in the locksmith business and soon afterward further extended the scope of his labors by the manu- facture of headlights. All three branches of the business prospered, but the business of the brass foundry grew so rapidly that he was compelled to sell out the other two lines in order to give his undivided attention to its conduct. He centered his energies upon this business, in which he con- tinned throughout his remaining days, making it one of the leading industrial concerns of the city. He was, moreover, a man of high principles, manly, honorable conduct, and in every relation
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