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 93
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The subject of this sketch seenred . employment on a faren in Parma, New York, and attended the Parmon Institute where he prepared for college. He was about to enter the University of Roches- ter when the war broke out. Filled with the spir- it of patriotism, which was rife in those days, he enlisted in the Thirteenth Regiment of the New York Volunteers, in Mav. 1861, together with his two brothers, Alonzo W. and Edward L. He was most faithful in the service of his country and was honorably discharged in May, 1863, because of the expiration of his term of service. he has continued his membership in the local organiza- tion known as the Old Thirteenth, He served as clerk in the provost marshal general's office in Washington, D. C., from May, 1863, to June, 1865. For many years he has been a member of General H. Thomas post, No. 4. G. A. R .. of the state of New York. He was appointed patriotie instructor for the county of Monroe by the Grand
Army of the Republic of the state during the year 1907.
When his term of service in the war was over be again look up his education, studying in the Oswego Normal and Training School for teach- ers, where he completed the classical and the ad- vanced English courses and was graduated in June. 1821. The same year he was appointed principal of No. 14 Grammar School, a position he held continuously for fifteen years. At the end of that period he became the principal of the Rochester Free Academy and continued in that position for fourteen years, when he was appoint- ed principal of No. 17 Grammar School. The teacher who can successfully hold such positions as the above for the long period of fourteen and fifteen years needs no other recommendation or proof of his efficiency. The respect and love which Professor Allen's many pupils have for him and the precepts of his teaching which they have carried into their various careers is reward enough for his long and faithful devotion to his prin- (iples.
The subject of this sketch has been a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church at North State and Asbury streets, since 1811. He has been for some years a life member of Yonnondio Lodge, F. & A. M., Ham- ilton Chapter. R. A. M .; Monroe Com- mandery. K. T .; the four coordinate bodies of the Rochester Consistory: Damascus Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and was created a sovereign grand lodge inspector-general, thirty- third and last degree A. A., Scottish Rite, N. M. J. U. S. of A. He has been a member of the board of trustees of the Rochester Orphan Asy- lum since 1899, and has been a member of the Chatanqua Summer School since 18:4, receiving much inspiration and help along the lines of his life vocation.
Professor Allen was united in marriage, De- cember 8, 1863, to Margaret A. Whitley, a native of Rochester and a daughter of John T. Whitley. No children have been born to this union, but three children have been adopted: Emma Sarah, now the wife of John A. Charlton, of Rochester ; Angeline V., who died December 2, 1901; and Therese, the wife of George A. Sanborn, of Buf- falo, New York.
REUBEN HILLS.
Among the men who were at one time active fac- tors in the business life of Rochester but who have been called to their final rest is Reuben Hills, who gained a goodly measure of success in the dairy business. He was born on St. Paul street, in Rochester, in 1842, and was a son of
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Reuben Hills, who was likewise a native of the Empire state and came to Rochester at an early day. He was first employed in the Whitney milt and later turned his attention to the dairy busi- ness, which he followed throughout the remainder of his life. His home was on Woodbury street and there he passed away. For a number of years he was a member of the Central church of Rochester. Ile married Jane Ovatt and they had five children who reached adult age.
Reuben Hills of this review pursued his edu- cation in public school No. 14, in Rochester, and as he advanced in years he became more and more actively associated with his father in the dairy business. At first they owned a number of cows but later Mr. Hills condneteu a wholesale milk business. At one time the father owned all of the property bordering on one side of Wood- bury street. Father and son continued in the dairy business together until the former's death, after which Mr. Ilills of this review was alone in the conduct of the enterprise. He won a grati- fying measure of success in this way and he also owned a half interest in the Rochester Laundry, which 'business is now in possession of his widow.
In 1864 Mr. Hills was married to Miss Sarah Rielly who came to Rochester when very young, and was a daughter of William Rielly, who was in the milling business, and died in this city about 1850. He had six children, of whom . two are living: Mrs. Hills and Mrs. Sonthard, the latter living on Arlington street, Rochester. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hills were born four children, but only one survives-Edwin W., who is in the ad- vertising business as a member of the firm of Myers & Hills, and now resides in Brighton, this county. Politically Mr. Hills was a republican. He died at his home in Rochester, February 14, 1898, respected by all who knew him, for, though his life was quietly passed he was ever found re- liable and trustworthy in the business world and those who knew him gave him their warm regard. His widow is a member of the Brick church in Rochester and resides at No. 183 Alexander street, where Mr. Hills erected a nice residence in 1891.
CHARLES F. SMITH.
There is perhaps no biographical history given in this volume which indicates more clearly the valne of unabating energy and unassailable probity in the active affairs of life than that of Charles F. Smith, who for many years was a controlling factor at Rochester in the most extensive whole- sale grocery house of the state outside of New York city. He was born February 23, 1829, in
this city and was therefore a representative of one of its oldest, and for many years one of its most honored families. His father, Elijah F. Smith, was the founder and promoter of the ex- tensive wholesale grocery honse which since 1826 has been recognized as one of the most substan- tial business enterprises not only of Rochester but of central New York. A native of Connecti- eut, he removed to Petersburg, Virginia, in early life and there successfully conducted a commission business. Coming to Rochester when the city had scarcely einerged from villagehood, he and his brother, Albert G. Smith, established a grocery business on the 6th of May, 1826, under the firm name of E. F. Sinith & Company. Their first store was in a stone building on Exchange street. The young firm, through sagacious and judicious inanagement, throve and laid the foundation for the present immense trade of the house. In the year 1829 the firm was changed to E. F. & A. G. Smith and about two years later the rapid increase of their business necessitated removal from the original location to a brick building erected by William Pitkin, on Buffalo street. In 1831 the firmi erected a business block of their own at No. 29 Exchange street, where they continued until 1839, when A. G. Smith retired and Samuel W. Crittenden became a partner. Upon his re- tirement in 1842 he was succeeded by William H. Perkins and the firm name of Smith & Perkins was assumed. In 1853 Gilman H. Perkins was taken into the partnership and the title changed to Smith, Perkins & Company. In 1856 Charles F. Smith became a member of the firm, no other change occurring until the death of William H. Perkins in 1858. The following year Elijah F. Smith, who up to this time had been a controlling factor in the successful management and conduct of the business, retired to enjoy a well earned rest and throughout his remaining days was con- nected with no business enterprise save for the management which he gave to his investments. He was the founder of the Rochester Savings Bank and throughout the years of his residence here his name was ever a most honored one on comunercial paper, while his business integrity was entirely unassailable. In fact, the name of Smith, as borne by the representatives of this family, has ever stood as a synonym in Rochester business circles for commercial honor and trustworthiness. Elijah F. Smith figured prominently in community af- fairs, contributing in substantial measure to the growth and progress of the city along many lines. He was. moreover, honored with election to the mavoralty as the first chief executive chosen by popular suffrage the mayor prior to this time having been elected by the common council.
The work laid down by Elijah F. Smith was continued by his son, Charles F. Smith, who as
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boy and youth pursued his studies in the grade and high schools of Rochester and in the West- field Academy in Massachusetts. He was a young man of abont twenty years at the time of the discovery of gold in California and in 1849 went to the Pacific coast. A year convinced him that not all who sought riches would win wealth in the far west and he returned to Rochester. Soon afterward he engaged in business in Niagara coun- ty, New York, where he remained until 1852. when he entered the wholesale grocery house of Smith & Perkins, which twenty-six years before had been established by his father and his uncle. Elijah F. and A. G. Smith. As indicated, several changes in the partnership occurred and upon the retirement of his father, Elijah F. Smith, in 1859, the business was continued by Charles F. Smith and Gilman II. Perkins. A few years later, when Harvey W. Brown entered the firm, the style of Smith, Perkins & Company was as- sumed. In 1871 the business block which had been erected by the firm some years before he- came entirely inadequate for the trade and in Jammary, 1822, they removed to a fine building which they erected and which at that time was considered by traveling salesmen as the best adapt- ed to their line of any in the country. The safe. conservative policy inaugurated by the founders has always bren maintained and vet the spirit of progress has been in nowise lacking. In fact the company have ever been regarded as lenders in modern business methods resulting in the en- largement of trade.
A man of resourceful ability, Charles F. Smith was in other prominent ways active in the busi- ness life of Rochester. He was one of the di- rectors of the old Rochester & State Line Railway for twenty years was a trustee of the Rochester Savings Bank. His success came not through any spectacular means or startling speculations but was won through the long laborious years by methods that neither sought nor required disguise. His success was built upon the substantial quali- ties of close application, unremitting attention. laudable ambition and unfaltering perseverance. Justice was ever maintained in his relations with employes as well as patrons. His life was char- acterized by uniform courtesy to every individ- ual and the humblest man in his service received the same kindly attention, when he had occasion to consult with Mr. Smith, as did the most profit- able customer.
Not long after his return from California, Charles F. Smith was married to Miss Sarah Long, a daughter of Dr. Long, for many years one of the most esteemed and honored physicians of Rochester. They became parents of two sons, C. Walter and Bordman, both well known in busi- ness circles in Rochester. The death of Mr. Smith
occurred May 31, 1888, when he was in the sixtieth year of his age. For many years he had been a vestryman of St. Luke's church and in his relig- ious belief and observances was found the secret of his unalterable business integrity and his con- sideration for others. His life was the embodi- ment of high ideals and lofty principles and yet in manner he was most unassuming and genial. No man who came in contact with Charles F. Smith over entertained for him other than the highest respect and estrem.
GEORGE H. BARKER.
George H. Barker operates the old Barker home- stend property in Pittsford township, which was settled by his father abont forty years ago, and here throughout his active business carcer he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits. His pa- ternal grandfather, David Barker, settled here at a very early day and became a large landowner of this section of the state. He wedded a Miss Eck- ler. The father of our subject, Lyman Barker. was also burn in Pittsford and eventually became the owner of the farm which is now being oper- ated by our subject. Ile. too. engaged in agricul- tural pursuits during a long period and passed nway in 1876. His wife bore the maiden name of Clarissa Hopkins and their family numbered three children.
George H. Barker was born in Pittsford town- ship on the farm which is now his home, in 1871. He was reared to the duties and labors of the farm, assisting his mother in the operation of the land during the spring and summer months, while in the winter seasons he pursned his studies in the district schools near his mother's home. He was but five years of age at the time of his father's death, so that as soon as his age and strength per- mitted he was obliged to assume much of the man. agement of the home farm. The place comprises one hundred and forty acres and since he took entire charge, nineteen years ago, he has continued the work of improvement and cultivation, cach year harvesting rich erops as a reward for the care which he bestows upon the fields. In 1900 he erected a barn seventy by thirty-four feet and in 1903 he built a tenant house on the place, while in 1906 he erected a granary ninety-two by thirty- six feet, with basement. In addition to raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate Mr. Barker is also engaged in the raising of fast horses, to which he devotes the most of his time, being con- sidered an authority on the breeding and breaking of horses for track purposes. He is the owner of Walnut, No. 41927. a handsome black stallion, which stands 15-3 hands high and weighs one thousand and fifty pounds; and also Gerdie Hall,
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GEORGE H. BARKER.
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whose time is 2:0114. Upon his farm Mr. Barker drilled a well in 1901, which is one hundred and sixty feet deep, and erected a wind mill, the total cost being tive hundred dollars.
In 1894 Mr. Barker established a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Eva Smead, who was born in Pittsford, and by her marriage has be- come the mother of three children : Arlo, Clarissa and Emma.
Mr. Barker supports the men and measures of the democratic party and keeps in close touch with the political issues and questions of the day through reading. His fraternal relations are with the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which societies he is popular among the brethren of the craft. Having spent his entire life in this locality, he has become widely and fa- vorably known, and both he and his wife occupy an enviable position among their many friends.
PHILIP PRESENT.
Philip Present, sole proprietor of one of the largest wholesale jewelry and optical houses in Rochester, was born in 1856, in Russian Poland. His father came of French ancestry and his mother of Polish. The first seventeen years of his life were spent in his native country and he then came alone to the United States, landing at New York. He had received good educational privi- leges and for a year and a half he acted as German tutor in a private family. He afterward acted as clerk in a grocery store for a short time and later went to Elmira, New York, where he learned the watch repairing and jewelry business in both the mechanical and mercantile departments. He then went upon the road as traveling salesman for a wholesale jewelry house and after a brief period spent in that way he came to Rochester in 1884. Ambitious to engage in business on his own ac- count, he had carefully saved his earnings and here opened a small retail and wholesale jewelry house. From the beginning his trade increased owing to his careful management, earnest effort to please his patrons and his straightforward deal- ing, and when a year and a half had passed he was forced to seek larger quartera, which he se- cured on the second floor of a building at the corner of Clinton and Main streets. He then con- fined his attention to the wholesale trade and after four years was again forceu to seek larger quarters in the Wilder building, where he also spent four years. Each removal has been necessi- tated by the demand for greater space in which to accommodate his continually developing trade. For five years he was in the Monroe County Savings Bank building and then came to his present lo- cation, having the entire second floor of the Cham- ber of Commerer building. He does strictly a
wholesale business, carrying everything pertain- ing to the jewelry line, and has also a small fac- tory, where he manufactures diamond mountings and other gold jewelry for special orders. He em- ploys three traveling salesmen, who cover New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan und Ken- tueky. He has every reason to be proud of his success for from the beginning his business has constantly developed until it has now reached very extensive proportions. Mr. Present goes per- sonally to Europe each year to purchase diamonds and jewelry, securing the latest and newest designs upon the market, and he also has the agency at Rochester for many of the best domestic manufac- tures. His brother Manuel has now been with him for several years and relieves him of much of the detail work and heavier responsibilities of the business. In his business life Mr. Present has been conservative rather than speculative and his prosperity is due to his unwearied industry and straightforward business methods. He certainly deserves much credit for what he has aecom- plished and as the architect of his own fortunes has builded wisely and well. His life is another illustration of the fact that in this land where la- bor is unhampered by caste or class any individual may attain snecess if he has but the determination to persevere in a persistent course of well defined labor.
In 1888 ocenrred the marriage of Mr. Present and Miss Selling, a daughter of Henry Selling, of Paterson, New Jersey, who for many years was a prominent citizen of Hartford, Connecticut. The family now numbers two daughters and one son.
Mr. Present is a great lover of literature and has one of the fine private libraries of the city. His reading has been of broad and varied character and he is especially interested in philosophie and economie subjects. He has studied closely the sociologieal, economic and political history of the country and has been very active in promoting practical plans and measures toward ameliorating the hard conditions of life for the unfortunate and bringing into the lives of the poorer classes the advantages, opportunities and pleasures enjoy- ed by the rich. He is a prominent supporter of and one of the trustees of the Chamber of Com- merre and also president of the Rochester Credit -Men's Association, in which connections he is well known, being recognized as one of the strong factors in the business life of the city. His labors have not been selfishly concentrated upon his in- dividual snecess but have been exerted along lines working toward the general business development of the city. Mr. Present is also connected with several charitable and philanthropie institutions, in which he has served as an official member and as a leader in promoting the work thereof. He has recently established an educational institution for foreigners to fit them for American citizen-
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ship. He bought the ground and building and do- nated a large amount for the support of this in- stitution, which will be equipped with gymnasiumn and baths and in which all common branches of study will be taught. It is an advanced step to- ward good citizenship, which entitles Mr. Present to be classed with the philanthropists of the age. He is also one of the organizers and a trustee of the Social Settlement of Rochester, an institution for the industrial and social training of young girls of the poorer classes. He is a member and trustec of the Jewish Temple and takes a most active and helpful part in its work, while of the Orphan Asylum he is a director. In the more spe- cifically social and fraternal relations he is con- nected with the Knights of Pythias, the Eureka Club and the Athletic Club. The record of Philip Present is one which commands uniform respect and adiniration. Coming to America practically empty-handed, he has achieved notable success in business but moreover has grown and developed in character and in intellect, taking cognizance of the trend of the times toward a recognition of individual obligation and the truth of universal brotherhood. His labors for good citizenship, for charity and for intellectual progress have been of the most practical character and deserve the high- est commendation.
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EDWIN S. PARDEE.
Elwin S. Pardee, who is successfully engaged in gardening and fruit-growing in Irondequoit town- ship, is one of the oldest native born sons now liv- ing in Monroe county. He was born on the farm which is his present home, July 2, 1827, a son of Hiram and Sarah (Scofield) Pardee, who in 1826 removed here from Westchester county, this state. The father purchased this farm at a time when the country was still wild and unimproved, He im- mediately set to work to develop and improve his land and in due course of time made it a valuable property. He added to his original holdings until he had at one time one hundred and fifty acres, a part of which was known as the Bay village tract. He was a democrat and for thirty years served as assessor, while for a long period he acted as high- way commissioner. He reared a family of six children, of whom three are now living: Edwin S., of this review ; Mrs. John Schanck, a resident of Honeoye Falls, New York: and Miss .Julia Pardee, who makes her home with our subject. Both the parents lived to a ripe old age, the father passing away in 1883, at the age of eighty- seven years, while the mother survived until 1896, and died at the age of eighty-six.
Edwin S. Pardee pursued the common branches of learning in the cobblestone school. He was reared to agricultural life, assisting his father in the work of the home farm during the period of his boyhood and youth. He now owns fifty acres of land, which constitutes a part of the old home property and since it came into his posses- sion he has made many needed improvements thereon. He is engaged in general farming, gar- dening and fruit-raising, in which he is meeting with good success. In addition to his farming interests he has been identified with the Monroe County Co-Operative Fire Insurance Company since its organization, being one of the directors of the company.
Mr. Pardee was united in marriage to Miss Laura M. Quaife, of Oswego. Three children have been born of this marriage: Hiram W., who is a motorman on the street railway; Charles E., a mailcarrier; and G. Herbert, who is with his par- ents. The father and sons are members of the Grange, while the sons are all Masons, belonging to Genesee Falls lodge, No. 507, and the family are members of the Third Presbyterian church. Mr. Pardee is a democrat in his political faith and has always taken a deep and active interest in local political work. For twenty years he served as assessor of his township, while for a long period he was commissioner of the township. He is now one of the oldest native born sons of the county and has seen this distriet grow from a wild country, with only a few white inhabitants, to a rich agricultural and commercial eenter, contain- ing thousands of good homes and numerous thriv- ing towns and cities, inhabited by an industrious, prosperous and enlightened people. In the work which is necessary to bring about such a wonder- ful change Mr. Pardee has taken an active part and is therefore deserving of mention among the honored citizens of Monroe county.
GORDON SPROULL MONTGOMERY.
Gordon Sproull Montgomery, mechanical en- gineer and architect, who stands as one of the foremost representatives of this line of business in Rochester, his native city, was born in 1863 and is a representative of a family that has taken a most prominent and helpful part in the improve- ment, upbuilding and development of the city. Both his father. John F. Montgomery, and his grandfather, James Gordon Montgomery, were closely connected with substantial improvement here. They opened many streets and were closely associated with building operations. The firm of which the father was a member erected the Wilder and Exchange Place office buildings, the
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