USA > New York > Genesee County > History of the Genesee country (western New York) comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates, Volume III > Part 16
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DR. JOHN F. FORBES
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in Wyoming until his death. Though never very strong he was always at work and never so happy as when employed at his hardest tasks. His preaching is described as evangelical, clear and forceful, and always with marked success. Six children were born to Rev. and Mrs. Merrill Forbes: Merrill Pharcellus of Warsaw; George Mather and John Franklin, twins, of Rochester (a more extended mention of George Mather appears elsewhere in this work); Lillian, who married George Allen, a member of one of the pioneer families of Wyoming, New York; Rose, who graduated from Wellesley and became the wife of Rev. H. L. Hoyt of Los Angeles; and Yale, a prominent insurance man of Brockport, New York.
Dr. Forbes prepared for college in Middlebury Academy at Wyoming, New York, and entered the University of Rochester in 1871. At the close of his freshman year he was principal for two years at Castile, New York. His ability attracted the atten- tion of a wealthy farmer of philanthropic tendencies, who advanced him and his twin brother, George Mather, funds sufficient for a thorough course of training in Europe. They had the benefit of instruction in the best educational institutions of Berlin, Leipzig and Paris, and specialized in psychology, pedagogy, logic, ethics, and com- mercial law. They traveled extensively in England, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy, spending considerable time in Rome and Paris. Upon their return to the United States they again became students in the University of Rochester and by reason of their studies abroad they were able to pass examinations for the sophomore year, taking the junior and senior years in 1877 and 1878. They were awarded the Phi Beta Kappa key, his brother and he having the highest standings in the class. They also secured the Davis prize for best original orations delivered at commencement; and secured the Sherman and Townsend fellowships, treatises on economics and politi- cal science from books published in the French and German languages, his brother securing the Townsend and he the Sherman fellowship. In September, 1878, he was called to the department of Latin and Greek in the State Normal at Brockport, New York.
In 1879 Dr. Forbes was married to Ida Higbie, who was born January 31, 1859, daughter of Abijah Peck Higbie and Sarah Ross Higbie of Penfield, New York. The grandparents Higbie, Peck, Ross and Rundel were pioneers settling in Penfield in 1835, removing from eastern New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. William Higbie was born in Duanesburg, New York, in 1781; married Abigail Peck, born in Galway, New York, November 28, 1787. Abigail Peck was a daughter of Abijah Peck, born in Greenwich, Connecticut, April 3, 1758, died November 12, 1848; son of John Peck of Milford and Sarah Adams. William Higbie and family removed to Penfield in 1835. Three daughters married and moved to Michigan. The four brothers, Na- than, Silas, Abijah and Alanson, settled in Penfield and Abijah lived in the fine old homestead until his death sixty years later. The others settled very near and all were men of influence and wealth-always voted the straight republican ticket-of strong Christian character, all Baptists and worthy descendants of their Revolutionary ancestor, Abijah Peck, who preached for forty years at the Baptist church in Clifton Park, New York, after the war. His ancestor, William Peck, was born in London, England, in 1601. With his wife, Elizabeth, and only child, Jeremiah, he arrived in Boston, June 26, 1637, in the company of Governor Eaton, Rev. John Davenport and others in the ship "Hector." He was one of the founders of New Haven, Connecticut, his autograph signature being affixed to the constitution of the town June 4, 1639. He was a merchant by occupation, trustee and treasurer of Colony Collegiate School (now Yale). He was highly respected and a man of distinction. His son, Jeremiah Peck, was born in London, in 1623. He had a good education, acquired in part before he left England with his parents, was preaching and teaching at Guilford until 1660, when he was invited to take charge of Colony Collegiate School (Yale), where he remained nine years.
Mrs. Forbes' mother was equally efficient-of delicate, sensitive organism, most unselfish, caring for the sick and helpless, beloved by all who knew her. Deeply interested in church work, the family were always found in their pew unless illness or snow-filled roads in winter prevented. The evenings passed in reading gave them as many advantages as the present generation possesses.
Three children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Forbes: Helen, born in Brockport, was married to Abram J. Mann, son of A. S. Mann, well known merchant of Rochester. He died March 31, 1922, leaving one son, Forbes Mann; Leighton, born in Brockport, was married to Stella Bailey of Philadelphia, and they have three children, John Franklin Forbes (II), Jean, and Thomas Bailey; Vivien, born in Florida, was married to George J. Schmuki of Lucerne, Switzerland, but now of Cleveland, Ohio, and they have two children, George J., Jr., and Beatrice Forbes.
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For seven years Dr. Forbes taught Latin and Greek in the Brockport Normal School and in 1885 was called to DeLand, Florida, to take charge of DeLand Academy, founded by H. A. DeLand of Fairport, New York. The following year John B. Stet- son, hat manufacturer of Philadelphia, came to DeLand, became interested and donated the sum of one million dollars to the academy. The name of the academy was changed to John B. Stetson University. Elizabeth Hall, the main recitation building; two large dormitories, one for the girls and one for the boys; and a gymnasium were erected, the academy building being used for the music hall. The president's house was surrounded by orange and grapefruit trees. Henry M. Flagler gave eighty thousand dollars for a fully equipped Science building; Mr. Sampson of North Adams, Massachusetts, contributed twenty-five thousand dollars toward a library; and other men of wealth contributed to its endowment. The university made rapid progress under the able leadership of Dr. Forbes, who made it one of the most noted institu- tions of learning in the south. A corps of fifty experienced educators was maintained and thousands of students were enrolled, over five hundred from nearly every state in the Union being present when he resigned. Dr. Forbes was given the degree of Ph. D. by his Alma Mater when he became president of John B. Stetson University. In 1894 he was given nine months leave of absence for study and travel abroad. He traveled in France, Switzerland, Italy, crossing the Mediterranean to Algiers, thence to Egypt, up the Nile to the first cataract, to Palestine, Damascus, and Baalbeck; Greece, Turkey, thence to Russia, to the crowning of the Czar Nicholas II at Moscow; thence to St. Petersburg, Finland, Stockholm to Tronyhem, taking mail steamer to North Cape, having a wonderful view of the midnight sun; back to Christiana, Liverpool and home. In 1895 Dr. Harper, president of Chicago University, visited De Land and was so impressed with the work of the institution that he returned and arranged an affiliation with Chicago University, by which the students would receive full credit for work done, and every winter he sent fifty or more pupils who needed a mild climate or whose parents were spending the winter in the south.
For eighteen years Dr. Forbes successfully guided the destiny of the university and then resigned from the presidency, returning to Rochester, New York, in 1903. In 1904-1905 he had the department of psychology and ethics in the University of Rochester, in place of his brother, George Mather, during his leave of absence in Europe. In 1905 he purchased an interest in a business enterprise in Rochester-the American Drafting Furniture Company-with which he was connected for six years; and at the expiration of that period revisited Europe with his wife, his daughter, Vivien, his brother, George Mather, and his brother's daughter, Florence, remaining three months, and visting Holland, Switzerland, France and England, thence to Edinburgh, where they discovered the beautiful statue and monument in the Hall of Justice which was erected to their ancestor, Duncan Forbes of Culloden, residing judge of the supreme court from 1737 to 1747. They next visited Culloden house just out of Inverness, Scotland, the Forbes ancestral home and estate, and there saw all the portraits of the family for generations back to 1400, hanging in the great hall. Beautiful grounds, a veritable fairyland of trees and flowers, surrounded the house and all felt paid for the visit to beautiful Inverness, Scotland. Upon his return to this country Dr. Forbes purchased a half interest in the Rochester Business Institute and aided in regaining for the college its former prestige, paying off all indebtedness and placing it upon a strong financial basis.
The Rochester Business Institute was established in 1863 and was the fourteenth of the forty commercial schools organized in the country by Bryant & Stratton in the pioneer days of business education. It was first located in the Baker & Durant building, at the corner of West Main and Fitzhugh streets, where the Duffy-Powers store now stands, and was called the Bryant, Stratton & Chapman Business College. In 1866 L. L. Williams, a teacher who had been trained by Bryant & Stratton, was placed in charge of the school, becoming a partner and the principal, at which time the name was changed to the Bryant, Stratton & Williams Business College.
In 1875 Mr. L. L. Williams purchased the interests of his partners and was joined by his former fellow student and associate teacher, F. E. Rogers. Under the new management the growth of the institution was rapid and under its new name, the Williams & Rogers Rochester Business College, its influence and reputation in- creased. Later the name was changed to the Rochester Business University. Addi- tional space soon became necessary and larger quarters were secured in the Masonic Hall building, at the corner of Main and Exchange streets, where the Wilder building was later erected.
In 1879 the school had again outgrown its accommodations and two stories were secured in the Field building at the corner of State and Market streets, now occupied
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by the H. B. Graves House Furnishing Company. The ten years in this location brought such growth and prestige to the school that its owners decided to erect a building of their own, constructed in accordance with ideas gained from their experi- ence. They selected as a location the northeast corner of Court street and South avenue, only to find that the directors of the Young Men's Christian Association were also considering that site for their proposed new building. The result was a com- promise, by the terms of which the association agreed to buy the lot and erect a com- bination building, leaving to Messrs. Williams and Rogers the plan of the portion of it they were to occupy. In 1890 the school was removed to the new building.
In the meantime Mr. L. L. Williams and Mr. F. E. Rogers had begun the publi- cation of commercial textbooks and in 1892 they placed the active management of the school in the hands of Albert S. Osborn and Samuel C. Williams, who had been the heads of departments for several years. In 1896, under the new management, the name of the school was changed to its present form, the Rochester Business Institute.
In 1906 Dr. Forbes was asked to give lectures on psychology and ethics, which became very popular, the first instruction of this character to be undertaken by a private commercial school. In 1908 the urgent need of institutions equipped for the training of commercial teachers to take charge of the commercial departments that were being organized in high schools and colleges throughout the United States be- came so great that S. C. Williams, F. G. Nichols and Dr. John F. Forbes organized summer courses for the training of commercial teachers, having as many as one hundred and twenty or more from all parts of the country every summer. These teachers' courses have given the school a national reputation. Dr. Forbes had charge of the department of psychology, pedagogy and ethics. "Applied psychology", was shown to be helpful in every phase of life and instead of its study being left to college seniors, Dr. Forbes taught that it should be used by everyone in every-day life. Dr. Strong, president of the Theological Seminary, was very much interested in Dr. Forbes' new venture in that direction and said he thought of his psychology in college as a difficult study which was to be cast aside when the examination was passed; but that now it was to be made practical, helpful and necessary to teachers and students even in the higher grades, high schools and commercial schools. In Dr. Forbes' special evening classes were found leading business men and their wives, bankers, and well known citizens. He spoke on salesmanship and to employes in the department stores, upon special invitation. In one term he had eighty nurses from the hospitals and some from near-by towns solving the problem of how the friends of the injured should be dealt with "sympathetically", as well as the patient. His classes in these subjects became so popular that he was invited to give lectures in New York city, Cleveland, Des Moines, San Francisco, Syracuse, Montreal, Hamilton, Ontario, and many other cities.
In 1910 S. C. Williams and Dr. Forbes purchased the interests of their associates, L. L. Williams and F. E. Rogers, and in 1915 erected the new building at No. 172 Clinton avenue, South, which the school has since occupied. It is conveniently located and twenty-four thousand square feet of floor space afford ample room for all re- quirements. Much stress was laid upon the elements of safety and sanitation and the plans for the arrangement of desks in study and class rooms were made, with the special purpose of providing the proper amount and kind of light for both day and evening schools. The furniture, appliances, and equipment for carrying on the work of the school are in keeping with the building and represent the latest models and ideas. There is a large auditorium for the regular assemblies of students, for com- mencement occasions, and for the social functions of the school.
When the school was established there were no women students in attendance; in fact, the woman in business was not considered a possibility or a propriety in those days. Even as late as 1890 the provision for the accommodation of women was only one-fourth of that for men, but the attendance of women has steadily increased as their worth as factors in the business world has become more apparent to employers. During the sixty years of its existence a total of over forty-three thousand students have been enrolled in the school, during the World war, in one year, enrolling one thousand nine hundred and eighty-seven pupils. Its managers attribute its continued growth and success to the efficiency of the instruction, the progressiveness and high standards of quality maintained in the courses, and the active personal interest in the welfare of the students, both while in the school and continued in after years in the positions secured for them. The organization of adequate courses for com- mercial teachers, accountants, secretaries, office executives, etc., has made necessary the introduction of psychology, ethics, pedagogy, commercial geography, civics, eco-
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nomics, advanced accountancy, salesmanship, public speaking, filing and machine book- keeping, in addition to the subjects previously taught. The school keeps in touch with progressive business houses, adding new courses of study and adopting new methods of training as soon as their value to the student and to the community has been demonstrated. It was one of the first group of commercial schools to be regis- tered under the regulations prescribed by the board of regents of the state of New York, and its diplomas are recognized by the State Education department, which gives it the privilege of holding regents' examinations for its students in its own classrooms. Many of the Rochester Business Institute graduates have been fitted for the most responsible positions in the business world. They are prominent in the civic and commercial life of Rochester and other large centers and are to be found not only in every state in the Union but in England, Germany, India, Canada, Cuba, Porto Rico, the Phillipines, Mexico and South America. In 1924 Dr. Forbes purchased his partner's interest in the Rochester Business Institute, becoming the president of the institution.
Dr. Forbes is a member of the University and City Clubs of Rochester; a charter member of the Rochester Ad Club; a member of the Genesee Valley Golf Club; treas- urer of the Social Welfare League; a member of the board of directors of the Public Health Nursing Association; a member of the educational committee of the Chamber of Commerce; a trustee of the Provide Loan Society; and a member of Psi Upsilon Chapter of the University of Rochester. He has been a lifelong republican and ac- tively interested in all civic interests. He and his family are all members of the First Baptist church. Studious by nature, he keeps in touch with the most advanced thought of the day along educational lines and the worth of his work is widely acknowledged, while his personal characteristics are those which inspire admiration and respect.
JOHN E. OTTAWAY, M. D.
Dr. John E. Ottaway, a general practitioner of Charlotte for more than a third of a century, was a distinguished representative of the medical fraternity whose service proved of the greatest possible value to his fellowmen. He was about sixty- two years of age when he answered the final summons on the 5th of April, 1923, his birth having occurred at Vernon Center, Oneida county, New York, on April 23, 1861. His parents, Charles and Mary (Collins) Ottaway, were natives of England and Ireland, respectively, but were married in this country. Their family numbered four children, namely: Rev. George Ottaway of Lyons, New York; Mrs. Anna Grey- bill, who was a missionary of the Presbyterian board at Linares, Mexico, and is now deceased; John E., of this review; and James, an agriculturist of Yates county, New York, who has passed away.
John E. Ottaway was a little lad of six years when the family home was estab- lished at Clinton, Oneida county, where he was reared and educated. After com- pleting his studies in the Clinton grammar school, he pursued a course of study in the preparatory school for boys, while in 1882 he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, being graduated from that institution in 1886. He began the practice of his chosen calling at Penn Yan, Yates county, New York, but a few months later removed to Charlotte, which place remained the scene of his pro- fessional activity to the time of his death. He was associated with the late Dr. Frank A. Jones as assistant until 1890, in which year he opened an office of his own and thereafter practiced independently in Charlotte and in what is now known as the twenty-third ward. The only interruption to his professional career came in the spring of 1898, at the time of the Klondike rush, when he joined a party bound for Alaska, where he spent one year. His pronounced skill in the field of medicine and surgery brought him well merited recognition and a large and remunerative patron- age was accorded him. The following is an excerpt from a review of the career of Dr. Ottaway which appeared in a local newspaper at the time of his demise: "As a physician he was welcomed by his patients. He was always hopeful and carried cheer into the sickroom. There is many a home where no other physician has been em- ployed during the years he has served his community. As a friend he was loyalty itself and he was held in great esteem by all the community. For the past two years he was in failing health caused by overwork during the influenza epidemic." Dr. Ottaway was assistant surgeon of the United States Marine Hospital service and he was also the physician for the New York Central Railway, the Genesee Furnace Com-
Johns Ottaway. m.O.
Taken in 1886
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pany and other corporations. During the later years of his life he manifested con- siderable interest in horticulture. He was an ardent lover of nature and took a deep interest in natural history, especially in ornithology, and his was the finest private collection of birds in the state of New York. His periods of leisure were spent at his camp in the Adirondacks.
In 1890 Dr. Ottaway was united in marriage to Miss Alice E. Atkins of Geneva, a daughter of Rev. Laurence S. Atkins, a Methodist minister of the Genesee confer- ence. Dr. and Mrs. Ottaway made their home at No. 4329 Lake avenue.
Dr. Ottaway kept in touch with the most advanced methods and scientific dis- coveries of the medical profession through his membership in the New York State Medical Society and the Monroe County Medical Society. His religious faith was in- dicated by his membership in the Lakeside Presbyterian church, while fraternally he was identified with the Masons, belonging to Genesee Falls Lodge, F. & A. M., and Lalla Rookh Grotto, M. O. V. P. E. R. He was likewise a member of the Knights of the Maccabees and the Klondike Klan. Dr. Ottaway served his fellow townsmen as a member of the board of education for two terms and as health officer of Charlotte for several terms. His course ever commanded for him the respect and confidence of his professional colleagues and contemporaries, and his loss was deeply regretted in social and professional circles alike.
WINFIELD PERRY PEMBROKE.
Winfield Perry Pembroke occupies a commanding position in the industrial world as president of the Kee Lox Manufacturing Company of Rochester, makers of type- writer ribbons and carbon, which maintains twenty-eight branches throughout the United States. He was born in Benton, Yates county, New York, on the 4th of May, 1869, his parents being W. S. and Albina E. (Smith) Pembroke, the former also a native of Benton, this state, while the latter was born in Connecticut. Their marriage was celebrated in the state of New York. W. S. Pembroke, an agriculturist by occu- pation who also devotes considerable attention to architecture, is still an active factor in the world's work, but his wife departed this life in Rochester in 1908. Their family numbered five children.
Winfield Perry Pembroke obtained his early education in the Rochester public schools and continued his studies in the Rochester Free Academy, while subsequently he pursued an architectual course in the Mechanics' Institute, from which he was graduated in 1889. During the succeeding six years he engaged in architectural work in Rochester and then established what is known as the Kee Lox Manufacturing Company for the making of typewriter ribbons and carbon paper. Some idea of the growth and development of the enterprise may be gained from the fact that branches are now conducted in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleve- land, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Louis- ville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Omaha, Philadel- phia, Rochester, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, St. Paul and Toledo. The Kee Lox Manufacturing Company was originally capitalized for ten thousand dollars, which amount was subsequently increased to five hundred thousand dollars, while at present the corporation is capitalized for one million dollars. Employment is furnished to from one hundred to one hundred and thirty people in Rochester and to about one hundred and twenty-five people in the various branch offices. The officers of the company are: Winfield Perry Pembroke, president; C. J. Pembroke, vice president; and B. W. Fenn, secretary and treasurer. Among his other business interests Mr. Pembroke is president of the K-L Paper Box Manufacturing Company and president of the Lake Ontario Sand Company.
On the 21st of March, 1894, in Rochester, Mr. Pembroke was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. Gilmore, daughter of William H. Gilmore, representing a well known family of Pavilion, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Pembroke have three daughters, all born in Rochester, namely: Mrs. Irene Yawger, who is the mother of one child, Barbara, born in Rochester on the 25th of March, 1922; Mrs. Mildred E. Loeffler, who resides in Rochester and has one child, Frederick H. Loeffler, Jr .; and Mrs. Elva Yole, also living in Rochester.
Mr. Pembroke is the president of the Rochester Yacht Club Company, a connec- tion that reveals one of his greatest pleasures. Like all men of affairs he has a hobby and this can be truthfully referred to as yachting, for he is a most enthusiastic yachtsman. He is the owner of "Kee Lox IV," now in course of construction. He
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