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 86
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Wherever known Mr. Fritzsche was respected and honored and among his friends and fellow countrymen he was very popular. He was long retained in the position of leader of the German- Amercan Society, acting as its president for twen- ty-three years. Ile was also president of the Ger- man Mutual Aid Society and president and treas- urer of the Rochester Maennerchor. For two terms he served as chief executive officer of the latter and was for seven terms its treasurer. What- ever his hand found to do he did with his might and whether in social organizations, iu political circles or in private life he was most faithful to what he considered his duty and unfaltering in his allegiance to every trust reposed in him. In Masonry he attained the Thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite and was also a prominent Odd Fellow, his entire life being in harmony with the principles of these organizations, which are based upon mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness. He was at one time the high state officer of the Order of Harngari and was a member of the Rochester branch of the United Workingmen and of the Select Knights. He was identified with every movement for Rochester's business growth through his connection with the Chamber of Com- merce aud he further belonged to the Schwaben Verein, the Beethoven Singing Society and many German and English fraternal, social and charita- ble organizations. He was also a prominent mem- ber of the Salein church.
In 1886 Mr. and Mrs. Fritzache visited their native land and a short time prior to his last elec- tion to the office of assessor he had expressed a desire to again visit the old country. A few days prior to his demise he again mentioned the subject, saying that he must engage pas-age, for he wished to see his sisters and his old home. He always maintained a deep affection for the land of his
birth, yet he was pre-eminenily an American citi- zen, who came to this enuntry to enjoy its benefit# and its privileges and also to give to it unswerving loyalty and allegiance. Hle celebrated his seven- tieth birthday on the 11th of July, 1905. On that occasion three hundred persons attended a mert- ing of the Rochester Maennerchor and Mr. Fritz- sche was presented a silver lined copper punch bowl, imported from Germany. In addressing the meeting at that time he spoke of his ambition for the Germans of Rochester, saying in part : "There is a subject that lies very near my heart, as many of you know, and that is the erection of a building or hall that shall be a home for the German so- cieties of Rochester, not for the Rochester Maen- nerchor alone or to the other societies represented here tonight, but to every German society and to every German in Rochester. There is only one way in which that structure can ever become an accomplished fact and that is by every society and every individual taking an active, live interest in it. I urge you not to wait for rich men to start the movement. Let each society agree to take a certain number of shares; let every person who cau afford to do so take one share, two shares, or as many as he can afford. Then when the mass of the people have shown by pledging their money that they want such a building, others will come forward with large subscriptions to complete the fund. I for one am willing to subscribe five thousand dollars when I am convinced that the people want the hall. I am confident that when the people have subscribed their hundreds there will be others to subscribe thousands."
Mr. Fritzsche did not live to see the fulfillment of his desires in this direction, but throughout his entire life he hhored for his fellow countrymen and their best interests and in the course of years they may see the fulfillment of this cherished plan of his. Ile possessed a strong mind and in early life there was a basis laid for his education along sci- entific and technical lines, but he sought the com- mercial field in which to exercise his native and acquired talents. The educational advantages which he enjoyed, however, proved of great bene- fit to him in all of his life and enabled him to reach out to all classes of people. Charity was one of his pre-eminent traits and his benevolent spirit was constantly responding to calls for aid, yet he was entirely without ostentation in his giv- ing and made frequent gifts that were uuknown even to his closest friends, none having knowledge thereof save the recipient and the donor. It would be almost impossible to enumerate his fellow countrymen who, coming to this city in extremely limited financial circumstances, have profited by his aid, many of whom, overcome by misfortune, in secking his advice also received his substantial assistance. His interest in the various fraternal organizations to which he belonged was largely due
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to the efforts afforded thereby to assist those less fortunate than himself. He ever had a hand out- reached. At all times just he possessed, too, that higher attribute of mercy. While never intoler- ant in his religions views, he was himself an ad- vocate of the Protestant faith, vet he believed that all churches were helpful to humanity.
While the veil of reserve should never be drawn aside from the sacredness of the home life, it is but just to say in a history setting forth the char- acter and worth of Frank Fritzsche that his home relations were ideal, characterized by the utmost devotion to his wife and children. Mrs. Fritzsche. who was born in Germany, in the zame neighbor- hood as her husband, was a danghter of Chris- topher Freund, an extensive cloth manufacturer of that country. Their only children were their two sons: Martin, whose death has been chronicled above; and Frank J., who conducts the business established by his father at No. 66 Front street. Rochester. He is an enterprising man and a worthy successor of his honored sire. He holds membership in the Rochester Club, the Rochester Maennerchor, Chamber of Commerce, Order of Harngari and other societies. He married Rose M. Vogel, a native of Rochester, and a daughter of Augustus and Rosa Vogel, of this city, the for- mer now deceased. Unto his marriage has heen horn two children, Wilma M. and Frank Angus- tus.
Mr. Fritzsehe left to his family not only n goodly estate, but also the priceless heritage of an untarnished name. In business circles he bore an unassailable reputation and his name was a synonym of integrity and straightforward dealing. but perhaps the depth of his nature was known only to his family and friends, where his consid- eration, his kindliness and his noble purpose have enriched the minds of all with whom he came in contact. True men are the crowned jewels of the republic and the very names of the distinguished dead are a congenial inspiration and an abiding lesson.
AARON ERICKSON.
Among the names of the men that stand ont prominently on the pages of Rochester's history is that of Aaron Erickson, who contrilmted in sub- ttantial measure to the upbuilding of the city. where he located in pioneer tinies. His life record extended over seventy-four years-years fruitful in successful necomplishment, years fraught with good deeds and crowned with honor and respect.
The birth of Mr. Erickson occurred on the 25th of February, 1806, in Allentown, New Jersey,
within sight of the historic battlefield of Mon- month, und he represented one of the old and prominent families of the state. His father served with the American army in the attainment of independence through the Revolutionary war. He was the youngest of several children and in the comfortable home of his parents his boyhond and youth were passed, hut the desire to test his own strength and to develop the latent powers with which nature had endowed him led him to leave home when a youth of seventeen years and 1823 witnessed his arrival in the then little town of Rochester. He took up his abode with C. H. Bieknell and entered business life as a worker at the machinist's trade in the manufacture of axes and similar commodities, The industry, close ap- plication and determination which are the basis of all snecess brought in him prosperity in the un- dertaking und he often pointed with pride to the fact that he tende with his own hands the imon roke thai swung the bell in the old St. Luke's church.
Mr. Erickson had been a resident of Rochester for but four years when he established a home of his own through his marriage to Miss Hannah Boekoven, of Lyons, New York, and soon after erected a dwelling on Clinton street, where the young couple were at home to their friends, the number of whom increased yearly as the circle of their acquaintance widened.
It was abont this time that Mr. Erickson with- drew from the machinist's trade and began the manufacture of potash at Frankfort. His patron- age increased rapidly and he was soon in control of what was considered at that time a very ex- tensive business. Landade ambition, however, prompted him to enter still broader fields with larger opportunities and greater scope for his industry and business sagneity-his dominant qualities. Therefore, abandoning the potash mannfactory, he became n dealer in wool and morocco on Water street in Rochester, form- ing a partnership with Ezra M. Parsons. Their business developed along substantial lines until the firm became the largest buyers of wool in this section and in 1850 Mr. Erickson estab- lished the famous wool house of Erickson, Liver- more & Company at Boston, which rapidly became the leading enterprise of this character in the country, conducting a mammoth Imsiness.
Each forward step in his career brought him a wider outlook and his ready recognition of oppor- tunity constituted one of the strongest elements in his business advancement. He had been en- gaged in the wool trade for three years when he organized and opened the Union Bank, captial- ized for five hundred thousand dollars. From the beginning he was its president and the institution enjoved a prosperous existence under that name until the spring of 1865, when it was converted
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into a national bank under the title of the Na- tional Union Bank. In the following year, how- ever. Mr. Erickson purchased the bank and estab- lished in its stead a private banking house under the firin name of Erickson & Jennings. The ad- mission of George E. Mumford to a partnership led to the adoption of the firin name of Erickson, Jennings & Mumford and under this style the business was conducted for twelve years, Mr. Mumford withdrew in May, 18;9, and Was sie- ceeded by A. Erickson Perkins, a grandson of Mr. Erickson, which partnership existed until the death of the bank's founder on the 24th of Jann- ary. 1880. Mr. Erickson's strict integrity, busi- ness conservatism and judgment were always so uniformly recognized that he enjoyed publie con- fidence to an enviable degree. For many years he was also a director in the Park Bank of New York city and was a member of the board at the time of his death.
Mr. Erickson left no son to carry on his work, for his last surviving son, Aaron Erickson, passed away at Revere, Massachusetts, in Angust. 1871. In the family were eight children, but only three daughters survived the father: Mrs. W. S. Nich- ols, of Staten Island; Mrs. Gilman H. Perkins, of Rochester: and Mrs. W. P. Powell, of New York. In 1842 he builded his home on Fast ave- nue and he lived to witness its transformation into one of the most beautiful theronghfares of the city. The home was ever characterized by the most gracious und liberal hospitality and through more than half a century the name of Erickson figured prominently in the social circles of Rochester.
As Mr. Erickson's success increased so did his charities and benefactions grow and expand. Few men have realized as fully as he did the obliga- tions and the responsibilities of wealth. He did not believe in that indiscriminate giving which fosters vagrancy and idleness but no case of real need ever sought his assistance in vain and many gifts were spontaneously made whereby the poor and unfortunate were direct beneficiaries. A man is admired but is not loved for his successes; he is loved for his good deeds and it was the kindly spirit, the generous sympathy and the great help- fulness of Aaron Erickson that so endeared him to his fellow townsmen nud caused his memory to be enshrined in their hearts, although a quarter of a century has come and gone since he was an active factor in the world. He found genuine de- light in helping young men to make a start in the business world. His employes recognized that faithfulness and capability meant promotion as op- Fortunity offered and when they left his service he over gladly spoke the word of recommendation and encouragement which enabled them to take a forward step in the business life, Many organ-
ized charities received his timely assistance. He was president of the board of directors of the City Hospital for years and occupied that position at the time of his demise. He gave freely to the dif- ferent benevolent organizations of Rochester and to many other institutions situated elsewhere. The Industrial School and the Institute for Deaf Mutes found in him a generous friend, while his deeds of charity, unknown save to himself and the recipient, were innumerable. Few men have been so unostentatious in their giving, but Mr. Erick- son found his reward in the pleasure that came to him in helping a fellow traveler on the journey of life.
To one of such breadth of nature as Aaron Erickson matters of citizenship are always of deep interest. It would be impossible for such a man to enjoy the protection of a government, to benefit by the municipal interests and not give return in co-operation in the various movements and plans tending to promote local advancement and na- tional progress. He was never a politician in the commonly accepted sense of that term, yet filled some local offices, regarding it as his duty to per- form such service as he could for his fellow towns- inen. He was alderman for one terin from the old fifth ward and was both alderman and super- visor at different times from the seventh. In 1860 he was appointed, with the late Amon Bron- son, a commissioner to erect bridges at Clarissa and Andrew streets over the Genesce river and the manner in which the work was accomplished is a monument to the thoroughness in which he car- ried out the trusts imposed upon him. To the last he was always intensely interested in his city and in those things which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. In his later years he retired to a large extent from active participation in busi- ness but his nature was such that want of occupa- tion could have no attraction for him. His later years were given to the development of those strong intellectual tastes which were ever with him a marked characteristic. Throughout his en- tire life he was a student of the signs of the times, of the great sociological problems, the governmen- tal questions and of the sciences, especially in their practical adaptation for the benefit of man- kind. He was an earnest student of horticulture, pomology, floriculture and the natural sciences, and he delighted in the society of men of intellect and was regarded as their peer and often as their superior. His mind was enriched with knowl- edge gained hoth from travel and extensive read- ing. In 1869 he visited Palestine and ascended the Nile. He also visited the various European countries and his last sunimer was spent on the continent. In an analyzation of his character to determine the motive springs of conduct, one must accede the fact that in all things that he ac-
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complished he was prompted by the spirit of true Christianity. During his early residence in Rochester he became a member of St. Paul's church and after its destruction by fire in 1846 he joined St. Luke's church, with which he was identified until his demise. His was not that re- ligion typified by dogmas and creeds but the re- ligion which found expression in the faithful per- formance of the duty at hand, that sought to over- come wrong by right and the false by the true. One of nature's noblemen, he stood four square to every wind that blows and his memory remains ar a benediction and an inspiration to those who knew him.
FRANK E. PRITCHARD.
Frank E. Pritchard, superintendent of the mu- nicipal plant which furnishes the light and water for the village of Fairport, is welt qualified for this position by the technical and practical train- ing which he received along these lines. A native of Illinois, he was born in Mount Morris, Ogle county, on the 10th of June, 1861, his parents be- ing Isaac and Orinda M. (Putnam) Pritchard, in whose family were six children, four of whom are vet living. The brothers of our subject are: John H., a farmer of Kansas; and Lewis R., a mer- chant at Meadow Grove, Nebraska, while the sis- ter, Myra A., is the wife of George J. Peck, of Rolle, Iowa.
The father was born in Connecticut in 1813 and the mother was a direct descendant of General Israel Putnamt of Revolutionary war fame. The ancestral history in its lineal and collateral branches has been distinctly American for many generations and embraces the names of many distinguished men. Isaac Pritchard was reared in Connecticut and when a young man removed westward to Medina county, Ohio, where he was married and inde his home for a number of years. He then removed to Ogle county, Illi- nois, where he lived until about the close of the Civil war, when in 1865 he went to Grundy coun- ty. lowa. He continued a resident of that state up to the time of his death, although his last vears were spent in Humboldt county, Iowa, where he passed away in 1896. His entire life was do- voted to general agricultural pursnits and in poli- ties he was a stalwart republican, but never an office secker. His wife was born in the state of New York, and in her girlhood days went with her parents to Medina county, Ohio, where she was reared and married. She died when about sixiv-two years of age.
Frank E. Pritchard in his boyhood days was a student in the common schools of Iowa and when
seventeen years of age he apprenticed himself to the butter-making trade, which he followed for four years. He theu returned to the farm, where he remainted for two years, after which he went to Cedar Falls, Iowa, and secured employment in the machine shops. Subsequently he worked as a machinist for about a year prior to securing a situation at the electric light plant. He then took up the study of electrical engineering and during his service there he invented and patented Pritchard's electric water wheel governor. In order to place this upon the market he came to the east in the spring of 1889 and was successful in installing his invention in various markets in the state of New York in that year. The follow- ing year he sold his rights in the patent and the same year accepted the superintendency of the People's Electric Light & Power Company and of the Oswego Street Railway Company at Os- wego, New York. He continued to serve accepta- blv and faithfully in that position from the 1st of April, 1890, until the 1st of January, 1892. when he went to Niagara Falls in the capacity of consulting engineer with the Brush Electric Com. pany on a three months' engagement for the pur- pose of reconstructing a station. His work there, however, extended over a period of eight months, at the end of which time he was tendered and accepted the position of master mechanic with the Cavadutta Electric Railway Company of Glo- versville, New York. This was practically the first long distance electric road in the state, and Mr. Prtichard vontinned as master mechanic for thirteen months.
In October, 1893, he accepted a proffered posi- tion with the People's Electric Light & Power Company and the Oswego Electric Railway Com- pany at Oswego, remaining with those corpora- tions as superintendent until 1898, when he ser- ered his business connections there and came to Rochester. Here he had charge of the wiring of the Baker theater and he followed electrical engineering in the city until the spring of 1900, when he came to Fairport as consulting engineer. Ile drew the plans for the municipal plant to he submitted to the vote of the people as to the erec- tion of the plant. and after the proposed measure had been voted upon and passed he was retained by the village to install the plant, and after its erection was offered and accepted the position of superintendent. In 1901 the water works of the village were combined with the electric light plant and Mr. Pritchard assumed charge of both. in which canacity he is still serving. The light and water interests are those of municipal ownership. end in administering the affairs of the office Mr. Pritchard has given excellent satisfaction.
In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of Frank F. Pritchard and Miss Sarah A. Hensley, of Ce- dar Falls. Iowa, and unto them were born four
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FRANK E. PRITCHARD.
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children : Ora M., Heneun A., Carl HI, and Elsie J. After losing his first wife, Mr. Pritchard was married in 1895 to Mrs. Rena M. MeIntosh, for- merly a Miss Roburge of Oswego, New York. L'nto this marriage have been born two children, but Francis A., the elder, is now deceased. The hving son is Neil Ellsworth,
Mr. Pritchard exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the repub- lican party, and he belongs to D. B. Deland lodge, No. 536, I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand. Hle also holds the office of secretary and treasurer of the grand committee of district No. 2 of Monroe county. lle affiliates with the Order of the Maccabees, of which he is a past command- er, and at present he is venerable consul of the Modern Woodmen of America and a past presi- dent of the National Association of Stationary Engineers, He is widely recognized as one whose mechanical skill, inventive genius and comprehen- sive knowledge and experience along mechanical lines well fit him for the position which he occu- pies and has gained for him wide recognition in mechanical circles.
HOSEA ROGERS.
In the early part of the nineteenth century there was to be found a log house standing on the east side of the Indian trail on the exact spot where the Delos Polly house now stands on North St. Paul street in Rochester, directly opposite the old No. 8 school building, and it was in this primitive home that Hosea Rogers was born on the 1;th of January, 1812. He thus entered upon a life record which covered ninety-two years. In his old age he recalled many incidents of his birthplace and the noticeable features of its surroundings. The walnut trees still standing on the ground are the ones which his father preserved when he cleared the land. The little house, a story in height, was nearly square and was constructed of hewn logs, the cracks stuffed with sticks and clay, the broad door of rough boards furnished with wooden latch and string. Two square windows of glass lighted the interior when the door was closed, but in pleasant weather it stood wide open. There was a big fireplace to heat the little cabin and the floor was made of split logs until later a rough board floor was put down.
The parents in this pioneer home were Ezra and Betsey (Beckwith) Rogers, who came to Monroe county from Massachusetts about 1810. They were possessed of all the sterling attributes which characterized the old-time New Englanders and were well qualified to take up the task of making
for themselves and their family a home in the then wild Genesee country. Hosea Rogers was the youngest of five children, the others being Diddat, Betsey, Ezra and Caroline.
During those early days, when Hosca Rogers was an infant, the British fleet appeared at the mouth of the river and displayed its big guns. The men seized their arms and started for the lake, while the women and children fled into the woods. All that locality was then heavily tin- bered and Mr. Rogers' early recollections were of the primitive wilderness. Deer were still to be seen in the forest and even after Mr. Rogers was old enough to hunt they were frequently killed. Bears, too, made raids upon the farmyard in search of pork. Indians were ahnost constantly about the neighborhood but occasioned little trou- ble to the settlers.
The educational advantages which Hosea Rog- ers received were very limited. There was no schoolhouse in the neighborhood but the settlers determined to have a school and employed a young lady teacher. The first school was held in his father's house, the teacher boarding round among the pupils. The methods of instruction were oft- times crude but Mr. Rogers made good use of his opportunities and as the years advanced learned many practical lessons of life. He also developed a strong and rugged constitution and at the same time hecame a man of indomitable perseverance and untiring energy. In those early days it was necessary in purchasing property to take the ac- knowledgement of a deed before a justice and then record it at Canandaigua, the county seat. As Mr. Rogers' father had undisputed possession of his farm the necessity of recording a deed was not apparent and as time slipped by the matter was forgotten. When several years had passed, how- ever, and property of that locality was sold, Mr. Rogers. Sr., lost possession of the place on which he had lived from 1809 and on which he had made inany improvements. He then bought an arre and a half of land on Norton street, built a house and, being a furniture maker hy trade, he put up a small shop and began the manufacture of chairs, his elder sous getting out the crude material from the surrounding woods, while he turned it into form on a small foot Inthe, He then started for Canada with his product, where he disposed of his chairs. Soon after his return to New York his death occurred and the support of the family fell upon his elder sons, who were im- bued with all the worthy characteristics of their race.
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