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 88
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96
Mr. Shaffer was married in early manhood to Miss Lydia Morse, a daughter of Silas W. Morse, of Oneida county, New York, and they have two children : William H., a graduate of the Rochester University, and now a practicing attorney with of- fice in the Powers Block in Rochester; and Fannie . ("., at home. Politically Mr. Shaffer is a republi- can and for some time filled the office of super- visor. He was also captain of the vigilance com- mittee in Rome during the period of the Civil war. In early manhood he became n Mason and has since been identified with the craft as one of its ex- emplarv representatives. In all of his business life he has shown an indomitable purpose, indus- try and resolution. Some of the best known in- ventors of the century have perfected their work in earlier years to then sit down and make no further progress. This may be due in part to the fact that as a man travels on in the journey of life mature judgment brings a coolness of delib- eration and a slowness of action which is in many cases commendable; yet it permits the enthusiasm and daring of the more youthful man to take ad- vantage of opportunities which he was considering. Mr. Shaffer, however, has not followed this plan. His deep research and experiment have continued
Digweed by Google
HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
up to the present time and even yet he is an active worker in the world. He has none of the eccen- tricities generally attributed to inventors and wnen not in his work shop engaged with his experimente he is a most genial and affable gentleman whose pleasing manner has won him nosts of friends.
GEORGE TRUESDALE.
George Truesdale, engaged in the general prac- tice of law in Rochester, was born at Greece, Mon- roe county, New York, November 19, 1833, his parents being Samuel and Charity (Cummings) Truesdale, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Pennsylvania. The father came to this country with his parents when yet a young lad and settled in Monroe county about 1822, at which time the Erie canal was being built He hecame a farmer and was well known as a lead- ing citizen of his community, serving as commis- sioner of highways and us assessor of the town of Greece for a number of years. He died in 1856, having for two years survived his wife, who passed away in 1884. They were the parents of seven sons and two daughters and of the family seven are vet living.
Amid the scenes and environments of agri- cultural life George Truesdale was reared and through the months of summer he aided in the work of field and meadow. He began his educa- tion as a student in the Podunk school-a country school-and afterward attended the Geneseo Academy, Professor Benedict's Academy, and the Rochester University, being graduated from the last named in the class of 1857. After consider- ing the various avenues of business life which seemed open to him, he determined upon the prac- tice of law as a life work and in 1858 was admitted to the bar, following thorough preliminary read- ing. He began the practice of law in this city. where he has remained for ahnost a half century. Ho volunteered for service in the Civil war under Sheriff Hiran Smith, who was in cominand of a company, but was rejected on account of impaired eyesight.
Mr. Truesilale has done important service for his community in various public offices. In 1861 he was elected 'justice of the peace under the old regime when there were but two or three justices in the city. Hle held the office for three years and then resigned to form a partnership with Frederick De Lano and the firm of De Lano & Truesdale Was maintained for several years. Mr. Truesdale was elected police justice of the city in 1872 and held the office for four years. Prior to becoming police justice he servedl for one term as state commissioner of the United States deposit fund.
lle is now practicing in partnership with his son, S. C. Truesdale, and his nephew, A. E. Trues- dale, and they have continued in the general prac- tice of the law with a large and important client- age. Mr. Truesdale has ever been notable for the thorough preparation of his cases, his close reas- oning and his logical deductions, and for many vears he has been accorded a position as one of the ablest members of the Rochester bar.
Prominent in Masonic circles, Mr. Truesdale bas become a Knight Templar of the Monroe com- mandery and he has also been connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the lled Men. In 1861 he was married to Miss Sarah C'ole, a native of Greece, this county, and unto them have been born two sons and four dangh- ters: Stephen C., who is now an attorney of the firm; Samuel M., a machinist; Mrs. W. B. luther; Jessie A .; Mrs. S. R. Clarke of New York city; and Alice C., who died in infancy. Mrs. Truesdale died in 1889, and in 1899 he married Miss Mary F. Todd, danghter of David Todd, Inte of Rochester, deceased.
Stephen C. Truesdale was born in Rochester, May 3, 1862, and received his education in the city schools, lle studied law with his father as his preceptor and was admitted to the bar in 1887, since which time he has been an active member of the profession. the Truesdale firm of attorneys being too well known in the city to need special introduction here.
In December, 1887, Stephen Truesdale was married to Miss Agnes B. Hluther of Rochester. He is a member of the Rochester Bar Association and of Yonnondio lodge, No. 163, A. F. & A. M., and he also belongs to the Masonie Club, to the Rochester Whist Club. the Columbia Rifle Club, and the Rochester Rod & Gun Club, being inter- ested in all athletic and manly outdoor sports.
BELDEN WILDER.
Belden Wilder is a well-to-do farmer, who for fifty-six years has resided upon the farm which he now owns and occupies. Abont one half of it was heavily timbered when he took possession, while today it is one of the best developed farms in this part of the county. It is situated in Parma town- ship and in its splendid appearance gives every evidence of the care and labor of the owner. It was originally the property of his paternal grand- father, Richard Wilder, who purchased it in 1828, when the entire tract was an unbroken wilderness and in the midst of the forest he hewed out his farm, sharing in all of the hardships, difficulties and privations incident to the settlement of the frontier.
Dighinoo by Google
642
HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
Belden Wilder, a native of Monroe county, was born February 19, 1846, and has always been con- nected with agricultural interests. He acquired a public-school education and, having arrived at years of maturity, was married on the 18th of December, 1867, to Miss Charlotte Bradford, who was born April 29, 1846. Her mother, Mrs. Julia M. Bradford, was born in New Canaan, Columbia county, New York, April 20, 1820, and in 1829 came to Monroe county by way of the Erie canal, making the trip on a line boat. Since that time she has never rode on a public conveyance, either stage coach, railroad or electric car. She first located in Mendon and afterward lived in Greece, where she resided until about four years ago, since which time she has made her home with her daughter. Mrs. Wilder. Her husband was a far- mer who secured land when the district was largely unsettled, his property being covered with a native growth of forest timber. Mr. and Mrs. Bradford were married in 1845 and resided on the same farm until, as stated, Mrs. Bradford, having in the meantime lost her husband, came to live with her daughter. Mrs. Wilder, almt four years ago, when she met with an accident having a fall whereby she fractured her hip. She has recov- ered, however, to some extent and is now enabled to walk around with the assistance of a cane.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wilder has been born one daughter, Julia, whose birth occurred November 24, 1871, and on the 5th of April, 1893, she be- came the wife of Dr. Dennis P. Webster, who is a practicing veterinary surgeon, having graduated from the Ohio Veterinary College at Cincinnati, in 1892. He is a member of the New York State Veterinary Association, also the Genessee Veterin- ary Association and of the latter is a member of the board of directors. Ilis political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is prominent in Masonic circles, having filled every office in C'lio lodge, while in 1906 he served as its master.
Mr. Wilder is also a stauch advocate of repub- lican principles and for eleven years has heid the office of assessor, his long continued service pros- ing his capability and fidelity. Ile belongs to the Masonic lodge and to the Grange and is interested in all that pertains to agricultural and horticul- tural development of the county and state. His life is a busy and useful one, devoted to the enl- tivation und improvenient ot one hundred and ten arres in his home farm in the town of Parma. He also has thirty acres in the town of Greece. His orchard contains twenty-five acres, the trees all being planted by him. He raises apples, peaches, cherries and pears and in the production of fruit as well as cereals he is meeting with excellent suc- erss. One looking over his farm today can scarcely realize that when he took up his abode thereon one-half of it was covered with a dense growth of timber. He cleared this away and brought the
land under a high state of cultivation, while all of the buildings upon the place, which are sub- stantial and modern, were erected by him. The farm now provides many comforts to those who re- side upon it and yields a good living to the owner.
CHARLES BOWEN ACHILLES.
Charles Bowen Achilles, who since 1896 has been engaged in the mining and investment business in Rochester, was born in Irondequoit in 1861. llis father was llenry L. Achilles, whose birth occurred in this city in 1833. There has been an Hl. 1 .. Achilles in the family through nine generations. The grandfather of our subject bore the same name and figured prominently and ac- tively in connection with the events which shaped the early history of Rochester. He was one of the organizers of the Baptist church and was one of four young men who bought a lot upon which was erected the Second Baptist church. He became a deacon of that organization and served for twenty-one years. He was thus closely associated with the moral development and progress of the city, and he was also a factor in its material up- building. He built and operated .in connection with William Cheney the first foundry in Roches- ter and also conducted a flouring mill. His son and namesake, Henry 1 .. Achilles, was for sev- eral years owner of a plow factory on Platt street and was also a member of the D. Knapp & Com- pany Carting Company. The last fifteen years of his life were spent in Hawaii and he passed away in 1903. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Susan E. Bowen, was born in Lyndonville, New York, in 1835, and is still living.
Charles Bowen Achilles acquired his education in the publie schols of Rochester and early in hia business career was assistant superintendent of the Rochester Street Railway Company, serving from 1885 until 1890. He was afterward with a chemical company in Syracuse, New York, until 1892, when he went to Taroma, Washington, where he was treasurer of a dressed beef company. In 1896 he returned to Rochester and has since been in the mining and investment business. In this connection he has become well known and gained an extensive clientage. His office is locat- rd at Nos. 833-835 Powers building, and few men are better informed concerning mining stock and the value of other investments.
Mr. Achilles was married in April, 1883, to Miss Helena S. Brower, of Rochester, and they have one son, Chester B .. born in February, 1895. Mr. Achilles is an enthusiastic Mason and has taken the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite
Digiinco by Google
£
C. B. ACHILLES.
Dgszed by Google
-
Dig tzed by Google
-
-
645
HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
in the Rochester consistory. He is a member of Yonnondio lodge, Hamilton chapter, Monroe commandery, and is also connected with the Grotto and the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Masonic Club, the United Commercial Travelers of America, the Commercial Travelers Mutual Benefit Association of Rochester, Glidden camp of the Sons of Veterans, Achilles Corps and of the First Baptist church. His connection with these different organizations indicates his charac- ter and the principles which govern his conduct and show him to be a man of high purposes and ideals. His political allegiance is given the repub- lican party. The Achilles family is one of the old and well known families of Rochester and the life record of Charles Bowen Achilles reflects credit upon an untarnished name.
GEORGE BRINTON SCHOEFFEL.
George Brinton Schoeffel, connected with var- ious business interests, is now president of the Schoeffel-Elwood Coal Company, is treasurer of the Schoeffel Automobile & Livery Company and vice president of the Crainer-Force Company, wholesale paper and bags. The extent and im- portance of his business interests have gained for him a position with the leading representatives of trade in Rochester, and he belongs to that class of representative inen who, in promoting indi- vidual success also contribute to the general pros- perity.
Mr. Schoeffel was born in Rochester, April 5, 1864, his parents being Francis Anthony and Sarah (Cawthra) Schoeffel. There are also two daughters, Susan Blanche and Elizabeth Schoef- fel. In his boyhood days George B. Schoeffel was a pupil in public schools Nos. 6 and 18, and later he attended the Rochester Business Insti- tute, from which he was graduated in 1879. His initial step in the business world was made as bookkeeper for the firm of M. Mntchler & Son, crockery dealers, with whom he continued for a year. He next entered the Flour City National Bank, with which he was connected for four years, and later he joined his father in the grocery busi- ness under the firm style of F. A. Schoeffel & Son. They conducted the store with good suc- cess until 1889, when they sold out, and G. B. Schoeffel became purchasing agent for the State Industrial School. acting in that capacity for three years. In 1892 he engaged in the coal busi- ness, being for five years a partner in the firm of F. W. Yates & Company. He then became sole proprietor of the business, which during the last two years has been carried on under the name of the Schoeffel-Elwood Coal Company. A man
of resourceful business ability, he has not confined his efforts alone to one line, but on the contrary has extended his labors into various fields of com- mercial and industrial activity. He is now treas- urer of the Schoeffel Automobile & Livery Com- pany and for the last four years has been vice president of the Cramer-Force Company, manu- facturers of wrapping paper and bags. His busi- ness judgment is sound, his dealings reliable and his methods progressive, and thus he has made steady progress in commercial circles.
In his political views Mr. Schoeffel is republi- can, but without aspiration for office. He has a military record of nearly six years service with the First Separate Company of the National Guard, being a member of Company A, Boys in Blue. He is also a member of the Gliddon post, Sons of Veterans, and the Veteran Corps of the First Separate Company. His membership rela- tions include the Rochester Whist Club and the Rochester Automobile Club.
Mr. Schoeffel was married to Miss Sarah Erwin, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Gillis) Erwin, and they have three children: Winona May, Mar- jory Evelyn and G. Erwin. The summer home of the family is located at Forest Lawn. Mr. Schoef- fel is a lover of all outdoor sports and excels in some of these in an amateur way. He is partieu- larly fond of horses and his home at Forest Lawn affords him opportunity to indulge this taste, al- though his close attention to business allows him but few leisure hours, He is a man of fine butsi- ness character, energetic, resolute and purpose- ful, and among the leading representatives of busi- ness cireles in Rochester he is a favorite by reason of his capability and his genial disposition.
EDGAR N. CURTICE.
The financial and commercial history of Rochester would be incomplete and unsatisfactory without a personal and somewhat extended men- tion of those whose lives are interwoven closely with its industrial and financial development. When a man or select number of men have set in motion the machinery of business, which ma- terializes into a thousand forms of practical util- ity, or where they have carved out a fortune or a name from the common possibilities, open for competition to all, there is a public desire, which should be gratified, to see the men so nearly as a portrait and a word artist can paint them and examine the elements of mind and the circum- stanres by which such results have been achieved.
The subject of this review finds an appropriate place in the history of those men of business and enterprise in the state of New York whose force
Dlg Ged by Google
046
HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
of character, whose sterling integrity, whose forti- tude amid discouragements, whose good sense in the management of complicated affairs and marked snecess in establishing large industries and bring- ing to completion great commercial undertakings, have contributed in an eminent degree to the de- velopment of the resources of this noble common- wealth. The great army of employes and the magnitude of the business which he controls both attest the marked ability of Edgar N. Curtier. whose name is known in trade circles wherever civilization has left its stamp.
Hle was born in Webster, Monroe county, on the 9th of December, 1844, a son of Mark Curtice. and a descendant of one of the oldest colonial families. His ancestry is traced back to Henry Curtice, who was one of the original grantees of the town of Sudbury, Massachusetts, in 1638. His son, Lieutenant Ephraim Curtice, born March 31, 1642, was a noted frontiersman and famons Indian scout. Ephraim Curtice, son of Lieuten- ant Curtice, was born in Topsfield. Massachusetts. in 1662, and became the father of Ebenezer Cnr- tice. horn in Boxford, Massachusetts, August 31. 1707. The Intter's son, Jacob Curtice, was born March 21. 1730. in Topsfield, Massachusetts. He wedded Mary Stiles, a native of Boxford, Massa- chusetts, and from Boxford removed to Amherst, New Hampshire. He and five of his sons valiantly fought for American independence in the Revolu- tionary war .. Jacob Curtice enlisting at Amherst in 1715 and serving until the close of hostilities. Jacob and Mary Curtice had nine children. of whom Ebenezer, the fifth, was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, June 9, 1760. Ile married Sarah Parker, and removed to western New York. He was among the earliest settlers of this part of the state. locating at Bloomfield. New York. in 1789. In 1792 he removed to Webster, then a part of Ontario county. where his remaining days were passed. He died August 22. 1832, and was buried in Lakeside cemetery in Webster. His wife died Angust 16. 1847, in her eighty-third year. Mark Curtice, the father of Edgar X. Curtice, was the youngest of the eleven children of Ebenezer and Sarah ( Parker) Curtice. He was born in Wind- sor. New Hampshire. October 17, 1808, and died in Webster. Monroe county, New York, November 9. 1880.
Mark Curtice's wife. Elmina (Goodnow) Cur- tice, daughter of Simeon and Sarah (Griffin) Goodnow, was the first white child born in what is now the town of Webster. She was born July 3, 1812. and died March 96. 1888. Simeon Good- now came to Monroe county from New Hampshire in 1810. He was born in the old Granite state in 1787 and died November 20. 1826. and he was Intried in Lakeside cemetery at Webster. Ile was a son of Calvin Goodnow, who was born February 15. 1752, in Westboro, Massachusetts.
Calvin served in the Revolutionary war from Rindge. New Hampshire, and also from Amherst, New Hampshire. The Goodnow family in Amer- ica is descended from Edmund Goodnow, who came to America on the ship Confidence in 1638.
In the family of Mark and Elmina (Goodnow) Curtice were five children. Delia, who was born in. 1833, became prominent in educational circles, acting for more than twenty-five years as principal of different public schools in Rochester, most of this time being at the head of No. 20. She was a woman of superior mind. highly respected and loved by all. Her death occurred in 1903. Albin B .. the second child, was born in 1838 and died in December, 1856. Simeon G. was horn Angust 13, 1839, and died February 7. 1905, after long connection with the extensive business now con- ducted under the name of the Curtice Brothers Company. Edgar N. is the next of the family. The surviving daughter is Belle Sophia, the wife of the late A. B. Wolcott. and is now a resident of Rochester.
Edgar N. Curtice was educated in the common and advanced schools of Webster and in what was known as Satterlec's Institute in Rochester. completing his course when about twenty-one years of age. lle then joined his brother. Simcon G. Curtice, who ahont three years before had ein- barked in the grocery business on a small scale in what is known as the Flatiron building at Main. North und Frauklin streets, Rochester. This was in 1865. There they continued until 1868. They removed in that year to the building at the corner of Water and Mortimer streets, and commenced the canning and preserving business, which has grown steadily to the present extensive enterprise. The business continued in this location until 15;2. when the demand for increased space com- pelled the Curtice Brothers to build at No. 200 North Water street, the new structure being used for canning and preserving on a larger scale. In 1880 they bought the land and erected the build- ings now occupied by the company, which from time to time have been enlarged in order to meet the growth of the trade. In 1887 the business was incorporated under the name of Curtice Brothers t'ompany, with a capitalization of two hundred thousand dollars. Simeon G. Curtice was the president : Edgar N. Curtice, the vice president and treasurer: and Robert A. Badger. the secretary of the new corporation. In 1901 the business was reincorporated under the same name and with the same officers, and with a capi- talization of one million five hundred thousand dollars, showing thus a more than seven fold in- erease in the fourteen years. On the death of Simeon G. Curtice in 1905. Edgar N. Curtice was made president and treasurer: Henry B. Mo- Kay. vice president : and Robert A. Badger, ser- metary.
Digtinco by Google
647
HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
The Curtice Brothers Company is one of the largest producers of high grade food products in the world, and contributes much to the fame of the Flower City as a commercial center. Its prod- ucts are found in the markets all around the globe, being recognized as goods of the highest quality, and the company has difficulty in .meet- ing the increasing demand made upon it. Each year has shown the necessity of increased acreage to supply the fruits and vegetables needed for the business, until now the company contracts for the yield of over eight thousand acres in farm and market garden products from some of the most famous and fertile lands in the world- notably the valley of the Genesee. The company owns and operates three plants, the parent plant in Rochester. one in Vernon, Oncida county, New York, for vegetables, and one in Woodstown, New Jersey, for tomatoes. The Rochester factory not only carries on all sorts of canning and preserving. but also manufactures the cans for use in all its factories. At Rochester also are the administra- tive offices. It is essentially a Rochester concern. This immense enterprise pays out annually very large suins of money to its employes, and to the farmers who grow the fruits and vegetables used in the business. It markets its products all over the world, as has been said, and the profits of this enormous business come back into Rochester to in- crease the wealth of its citizens and the resources of its banks.
Each of the company's plants is equipped with the latest and most perfect mechanical appliances. securing the highest degree of cleanliness and most sanitary conditions. Over twenty-five hundred employes are at work in the factories in the husy season and a still larger number are engaged on the farms in producing the fruits and vegetables needed for the business.
The world-wide fame of the "Blue Label" ketchup, soups, preserves, jams, jellies, meat deli- cacies, etc .. is simply a recognition of the efficient methods. the constant watchfulness, and the wise management of the vast enterprise of which Mr. Curtice is the head, and of which he and his brothers have been the creators.
Edgar N. Curtice was married in 1876 to Luer E. Gardner. Their only son. E. N. Curtice, Jr.,born in 1878, died in 1905, in which vear the death of Mrs, Curtice also occurred. Louie Belle, a daughter, is the wife of Frederick Edwin Bickford. Agnes Eloise, another daughter, is the wife of Dr. Vol- nev A. Hoard.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.