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 20
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Doctor coming from Germany to the United States about 1810 and settling in New York state, where he lived until his death. The father of Will S. Trimmer was born and spent all his life in the western section of New York state, his occupation being that of a farmer.
Will S. Trimmer received his early education in the public schools of Lima, New York, and that was as far as the financial circumstances of his father would permit him to go. The help of the son was necessary for the support of the family, in fact, and it was obligatory on Will S. to find some occupation that would bring in immediate revenue. Suppressing for the time his desire to study medicine, the young man found employment as a teacher in the local schools, but did not abandon his determination to become a physician. Instead, he taught school and studied, saved a little out of his earnings, and when he had accumulated enough to carry him through in his tuition, he entered the medical school of the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1886, received his degree of M. D. and was graduated in the class of 1889. Dr. Trimmer began the practice of medicine in Cohocton, New York, the same year, and remained there for one year, at the end of which time he removed to Livonia and has been in practice there continuously since. He has never had an associate, con- ducting his practice entirely alone, and it now extends over a radius of twelve miles from his office and embraces many scores of patients.
Dr. Trimmer is a member of the Livingston County, Western New York and New York State Medical Societies. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic order, belonging to Livonia blue lodge, chapter and council, Rochester (New York), Com- mandery and the Mystic Shrine. In his political views he is an independent republican and was formerly actively interested in politics, being supervisor of the town for a number of years.
Dr. Trimmer was married on October 28, 1891, at Livonia, to Hattie Knapp, daugh- ter of John and Eliza Knapp of Penn Yan. One child has been born to Dr. and Mrs. Trimmer: Alice, now the wife of Frank Locke, a farmer a short distance from Livonia. The Doctor is not an avowed member of any religious faith but impartially assists in the support of all that have existence in Livonia. He finds his recreation in motoring, fishing and the outdoor life.
WILLIAM J. ERDLE.
Every successful business enterprise adds to the commercial activity and conse- quent prosperity of the community in which it is situated, and through the develop- ment of one of Rochester's important industries William J. Erdle has stimulated the growth and progress of his native city. He was born April 23, 1877, a son of Frederick and Ellen (Kelly) Erdle, the latter of whom was a native of Ireland. The father was born in West Bloomfield, Ontario county, New York, and mastered the millwright's trade. He settled in Rochester in the '60s and became one of the city's pioneer manufacturers, establishing what is now known as the Erdle Perforating Company. He passed away in 1920 and the mother's demise occurred in 1877.
William J. Erdle attended St. Bridget's parochial school, the Rochester Business Institute, and also had the benefit of instruction in the Mechanics Institute of this city. He early displayed a spirit of independence and earned his first money by selling newspapers. After completing his education he entered his father's plant, familiariz- ing himself with every phase of the industry, and in 1905 it was incorporated. He took over the business in 1909 and has since been president of the Erdle Perforating Company, which has made rapid strides in the past fifteen years, ranking with the largest industries of the kind in the United States of America. In 1913 he built the present plant, which is located at No. 171 York street and furnishes employment to from sixty to one hundred persons. He has extended the scope of the undertaking, adding automobile specialties, and in the operation of the business he has secured a high degree of efficiency. The firm is one of the oldest in the city and bears an unassailable reputation for business integrity and reliability.
On the 12th of May, 1909, Mr. Erdle was married to Miss Esther R. Weis, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Weis of Rochester. The children of this union are: Virginia M., who was born in 1910 and is attending the Convent of the Sacred Heart; and William J., Jr., who was born in 1913 and is a pupil at Nazareth Hall. Mr. Erdle is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and for three years was commodore of the Rochester Yacht Club. He also belongs to the Rochester Club and to the Washington and Automobile Clubs. He is one of the enterprising members
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of the Chamber of Commerce and lends his support to every project destined to prove of benefit to his community. He has never deviated from the course sanctioned by conscience and good judgment and public opinion bears testimony to his high character and substantial worth.
FRANCIS C. WILLIAMS.
Francis C. Williams, a lifelong resident of Corning, where he has been success- fully engaged in law practice during the past third of a century, occupies the office maintained by his father before he was born and resides in the house which the father owned before the birth of his son. It was on the 26th of November, 1864, that Francis C. Williams first opened his eyes to the light of day, his parents being Francis A. and L. Jane (Clarke) Williams, the former a son of Ira C. Williams. Francis A. Williams was born in Prattsburg, Steuben county, New York, on the 25th of March, 1834, and in the acquirement of an education attended Franklin Academy of that place and later the University of Rochester, from which institution he was graduated in 1860. While a college student he became a charter member of Upsilon Chapter of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. He was admitted to the bar in 1862 and in the succeeding year came to Corning, where he followed the legal profession for nearly four decades, or until called to his final rest on the 21st of December, 1901. On the 9th of August, 1862, he was married to Miss L. Jane Clarke, who was born November 29, 1838, and who was graduated from Mount Holyoke College of South Hadley, Massachusetts, in 1859. They became the parents of five children,
as follows: Mary G., who received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Michigan, and who is now professor of Greek at Mount Holyoke; Francis C., of this review; Clarke B., a graduate of Princeton University and dean of Kalamazoo College, who was killed in the collapse of the Grand Hotel at Yokohama, Japan, at the time of the earthquake calamity on the 1st of September, 1923; Jane W., a graduate of Wellesley College, who is the wife of W. H. Insley of Indianapolis, Indiana; and Elizabeth, who was a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and who passed away in 1908. All of the above named had graduated from the Corning Free Academy prior to entering college. The wife and mother departed this life on the 21st of March, 1920. Francis A. Williams was an elder in the First Presby- terian church of Corning and served as a member of the board of education. In his passing the community sustained the loss of one of its leading attorneys and highly esteemed citizens.
Francis C. Williams began his education as a public school student in his native town and then entered the Corning Free Academy, from which he was graduated in 1882. His more advanced intellectual and professional training was received in the University of Rochester, in which institution he completed his work in 1888. Three years later he was admitted to the bar and through the intervening period of one- third of a century has continued in law practice in Corning, where he enjoys an enviable reputation for professional ability of a high order. He devotes his atten- tion principally to business administration and office work. Mr. Williams made an excellent record as city attorney of Corning during his incumbency from 1906 until 1911 and is a member of the executive committee of the New York State Bar Associa- tion. In addition to his professional interests he is a director of the Corning Coopera- tive Savings & Loan Association, director of the firm of T. G. Hawkes & Company, director and secretary of the Crystal City Gas Company and director of The First National Bank & Trust Company of Corning. Of the last named he is also attorney and trust officer.
Early in his professional career Mr. Williams was made recorder for the city of Corning, acting in that capacity from 1892 until 1894, while during the past sixteen years he has rendered valuable service to the community as a member of the board of education. His prominence in Masonic circles is indicated by the fact that he has received the honorary thirty-third degree. He belongs to the following Masonic bodies: Painted Post Lodge No. 117, F. & A. M., of which he was master in 1900; Corning Chapter No. 109, R. A. M., of which he was high priest in 1901; Corning Council, R. & S. M., of which he was master in 1902; Corning Consistory, A. & A. S. R .; the Supreme Council of Scottish Rite Masons in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, of which he is an honorary member. Mr. Williams is likewise affiliated with Corn- ing Lodge No. 1071, B. P. O. E., and with Psi Upsilon, a college fraternity. He is an elder and trustee in the First Presbyterian church of Corning, trustee of the
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Hope Cemetery Association, president of the Corning Club and a member of the Corning Country Club. It will thus be seen that his interests are wide and varied, bringing him into close connection with the material, intellectual, political, social and moral advancement of the community which has always been his home.
GEORGE HARRIS.
For more than thirty years the name of George Harris has been enrolled among those of Rochester's leading attorneys. He is a native of Monroe county born in the town of Penfield, July 30, 1869, and is a son of James and Martha (Pope) Harris. James Harris was born July 7, 1821, and died on March 10, 1911. Throughout his life he was active in business and public affairs. For seventeen years he repre- sented the town of Penfield on the county board of supervisors; he served for many years as school commissioner and for nine years he discharged the duties of county treasurer with an efficiency and fidelity that won the respect of the entire public. During the Civil war he was a member of the Committee of Public Safety. Largely through his efforts the town of Penfield was one of the few towns in the state that came out free of any indebtedness, which entitled it to receive a considerable bonus from the state. He was one of the largest and most successful farmers in the first assembly district of Monroe county. Because of his recognized success he was fre- quently called upon to act as trustee or executor of estates, which extended his busi- ness experience and added to his influence in the community.
George Harris was educated in the public schools of Penfield, the Palmyra Classical School and the University of Rochester, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the last named institution in 1892. In June of that year he entered the law office of Werner & Werner and a year later was admitted to the bar. Upon his admission he became the junior member of the firm of Werner & Harris, which subse- quently became Werner, Harris & Buck. During the first fifteen years of his practice Mr. Harris was principally engaged in the trial of cases and was a familiar figure in the courtrooms. Since about 1908 he has turned his attention to corporation and business law. He has planned and carried out the organization and incorporation of a number of companies. Among these may be mentioned the United Last Company, of which he was the first president and managing director, resigning that position on January 1, 1920; and he effected the merger of the Rochester German and the German- American Insurance Companies. He is a director of and counsel for the Douglass- Pectin Corporation and the Menihan Company; counsel for Rosenberg Brothers & Company, Incorporated, and numbers among his clients several other corporations.
Besides his large law practice and business activities Mr. Harris is also largely interested in agriculture, being the owner of five farms, to which he gives his personal supervision. He is likewise identified with real estate operations in the district south- east of and adjoining the city of Rochester, where he wields considerable influence in the planning of new additions, locating new industries and in the general development.
Mr. Harris belongs to the Masonic fraternity, the National, New York State and Rochester Bar Associations, and the New York State and Rochester Historical Societies. He is a republican in his political views and takes a commendable interest in all questions of a public character, but has never held public office.
Mr. Harris has been twice married. First, to Hattie I. Higbie, by whom he had three children: Donald, born October 26, 1898, enlisted in the Regular army on April 7, 1917, and went to France with the First Division of Regulars in June, 1917. In December, 1917, he was made first lieutenant "for merit in service", and in Janu- ary, 1918, he was promoted to a first lieutenancy. He served at the front with the First American Army Corps to the close of the war, graduated from the University of Rochester in 1920, and is connected with the R. T. French Company of Rochester; Duncan, the second son, born May 14, 1901, enlisted in the Regular army on his sixteenth birthday and went to France in September, 1917. He served during the entire war with the Third American Army Division, Regulars, and is now employed in contracting work in East Rochester; Adair, daughter, born June 23, 1905, is now a student at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts. Mr. Harris' second wife was Constance Maude Manley, before her marriage, daughter of Right Hon. Frank E. Manley of London, England. By this second marriage Mr. Harris has one son: George Frank Harris, born December 1, 1922.
The Harris family has been a prominent one in Monroe county for more than a
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George Harris
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century. In 1801 William Harris came from Scotland and located in Johnstown, Fulton county. There he was married to Miss Sally, daughter of John Shoecraft, a veteran of the Revolutionary war. This couple were the grandparents of George Harris of this review. In 1804 William Harris came to Monroe county with his wife's family. They bought two sections of land in the southeastern part of the town of Penfield, where they were pioneers. In the War of 1812 John Shoecraft was captain of a Monroe County company known as the "Silver Grays", and William Harris taught the first school in the town of Webster. He died in 1842.
FRANK J. SCHWALB.
Probably one of the best examples of a big business developed from a small beginning, in the city of Rochester, is that of the Frank J. Schwalb Coal Company, the principal yards and office of which are located at No. 92 Portland avenue. Nicho- las Schwalb and his wife, Anna, were natives of Germany. In early life they came to the United States and for several years Nicholas Schwalb was engaged in the rolling mill business in the state of Pennsylvania. In 1865 he removed to Niles, Ohio, where he conducted a business of his own until 1872, when he came to Rochester. At that time the New York Central Railroad Company was using wood burning loco- motives and Mr. Schwalb entered into an agreement to supply a certain quantity of wood. He continued under this arrangement for about twelve years, then began dealing in coal, and thus worked his way into the modern fuel business.
Frank J. Schwalb was born in Niles, Ohio, February 13, 1861, and was four years old when his parents removed to Rochester. He attended the grade schools in Rochester, afterward completing his education with a business course in Vosburg's Academy at Rochester. Upon leaving school he became associated with his father in business. When the latter died he succeeded to the control. The Frank J. Schwalb Coal Company was incorporated in 1898, when he became president and still holds that position. The volume of business transacted by this company justifies Mr. Schwalb's claim to having one of the largest coal companies in Rochester or the immediate vicinity. Mr. Schwalb was the principal organizer of the Flower City Tissue Mills Company, in which he is a director, and he is also a director of the Lindhurst Amuse- ment Company. For eight years he held the office of city assessor.
On June 13, 1882, Mr. Schwalb was married to Miss Caroline Wegman of Rochester, and to this union have been born four sons and four daughters: Nicholas, who is married and has two children; Celia, wife of George Mansing and the mother of one child; Louise, now Sister Frances Joseph, of the Catholic Sisters; Henry, mar- ried and living in Rochester; Mrs. Margaret L. Simpson, also of Rochester; George, now a citizen of Newark, Wyoming county; William, who served nineteen months in France as a sergeant in the One Hundred and Eighth New York Infantry and now lives in Rochester; and Margaret, at home with her parents. All are useful mem- bers of society. Mr. Schwalb is a member of the Roman Catholic church, the Bene- volent Protective Order of Elks. the Knights of Columbus and the Knights of St. John Mr. Schwalb's residence is on St. Paul boulevard, Irondequoit.
BURT L. DALRYMPLE.
Burt L. Dalrymple is an active factor in journalistic circles of Cattaraugus county as proprietor and editor of The Gowanda Enterprise, the publication of which he began a decade ago. He was born in Warren, Pennsylvania, on the 30th of November, 1870, his parents being Richard W. and Sarah J. (Kitchen) Dalrymple. The father devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and to merchandising and was also an oil producer in the Warren section, being the owner of one of the first oil refineries in that field. The Dalrymple family has been represented in New York since 1810, coming to this state from Vermont. Among its members were those who participated in the Revolutionary war and also in the conflict between the north and the south.
Burt L. Dalrymple obtained his education in the grammar and high schools of his native city and subsequently learned the printer's trade in the plant of the War- ren Mirror. Afterward he worked on the Warren Democrat for about twelve years and then in 1903 located in Gowanda, New York, as superintendent of the Iroquois Press, continuing in that capacity for seven years, or until 1910. Next he opened a
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job printing shop and four years later began the publication of The Gowanda Enter- prise, of which he has remained editor and proprietor. This is a weekly paper devoted to the dissemination of local and general news and has a circulation of about one thousand. The value of the local newspaper in the upbuilding of the best interests of any community is universally conceded. The rule is that good papers are found in good towns, inferior journals in towns of stunted growth and uncertain future. It is not so much a matter of size as of excellence and adaptability to the needs of its locality. These conditions given, in an appreciative and progressive community the size of the paper will take care of itself in a way mutually satisfactory to pub- lisher and patrons. The Gowanda Enterprise is an interesting, instructive, newsy sheet wherein are espoused all measures and movements for the advancement and progress of the community along various lines.
On the 20th of May, 1893, in Frewsburg, Chautauqua county, New York, Mr. Dalrymple was united in marriage to Miss Olivia L. Darts, daughter of Stephen Darts of Jamestown, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Dalrymple are parents of four children: Doris, who is the wife of M. L. Baker of Gowanda; Donald D., who is associated with his father in the publication of The Gowanda Enterprise; Steva J., the wife of C. R. Van Dolsen, who assists his father-in-law in his journalistic work; and Bertha, the wife of C. W. Staffin, who is likewise associated with Mr. Dalrymple in the publication of the Enterprise.
Mr. Dalrymple gives his political support to the republican party and is a valued member of the Gowanda Chamber of Commerce. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the First Presbyterian church, while fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is fond of sports and of outdoor life and is highly esteemed as a representative and substantial citizen of Gowanda, whose deep interest in civic affairs has been manifest in tangible effort for the public good.
ALBERT LOUIS SWETT.
Albert Louis Swett, the founder of the A. L. Swett Iron Works and the Western New York Utilities Company, Incorporated, was probably the most distinguished busi- ness man of Orleans county, New York, where he lived for many years and built up his enterprises from the humblest beginnings. He was of the eighth generation of the Swett family in America and was a sturdy representative of colonial ancestry. Hardships came to him as a boy, but he overcame all obstacles and by ability, per- sistency and good business practice achieved not only financial success but became a leading figure in his community. The life of Albert L. Swett is an example which is stranger and at once more convincing than fiction, of the opportunities of American life in the awakening industrial nineteenth century. He lived an earnest, active life from boyhood until his death, which occurred on April 12, 1924, following the shock of an automobile accident from which he never recovered.
As above stated, Albert Louis Swett traced his ancestral line in this country back through eight generations, represented, respectively, by John (I), Benjamin (II), Joseph (III), Jonathan (IV), Josiah (V), Dr. Jonathan (VI) and Joel R. (VII). He was born in Ridgeway, Orleans county, New York, on the 27th of April, 1850, his parents being Joel R. and Minerva (Bates) Swett, whose family numbered fourteen children. He was born in the second house north of the Ridge on the west side of the Swett road, which had been named for his grandfather, Dr. Jonathan Swett. He lived in early childhood on the Bates road near Medina and later in the town of Royalton, a few miles west of his birthplace. In 1856 his grandfather and his father removed with their families to Rantoul, Champaign county, Illinois, where young Albert spent nine years of his life on the farm which his father had purchased. During the Civil war his father and his brother, Joel B. Swett, served with the Union army and Albert L., being the oldest boy at home, was obliged to assume most of the work and responsibility. He helped his mother care for seven cows and did other arduous farm labor. In September, 1865, the family returned to Medina, New York, where the boy was employed as a clerk in the grocery store of E. & T. Swan for four months, while subsequently he spent a similar period in the printing office of Lina Beecher. Then followed a year's hard work in the grocery store of H. O. Bates, for the sum of twenty dollars per month and board. He helped Paul Davis build a house on the latter's farm in the summer of 1867 and then entered the Medina Academy, taught by Professor Fairman. Owing to the fact that his funds had become exhausted, the period of his schooling was brief and the next year he went to work as a painter
Albert & Swett
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and helper for the Bignall Manufacturing Company. He was afterward promoted to the position of shipping clerk and continued in the service of the Bignall concern until 1873. On the 30th of July of that year he embarked in business in association with William H. Sampson, foreman of the machine shop of the Bignall plant, the two men founding the firm known as the Medina Manufacturing Company. The part- ners agreed to invest twelve hundred dollars each. Five hundred dollars of Mr. Swett's capital was tied up in a Northern Pacific Railway bond which he was obliged to sell for only one hundred dollars, thus encountering discouragement and difficulty at the very start of his independent business career. Messrs. Swett and Sampson established their foundry in a little building south of the railroad on the present site of the furniture factory of the Maher Brothers Company, employing one boy at the outset and continuing at that location until 1880. Each partner reduced his personal expenses to the lowest amount possible and Mr. Swett often walked from station to station looking for business, as he had no money to ride. In 1880, when the business had grown to a degree necessitating the employment of twenty men, Messrs. Swett and Sampson bought a piece of property on the Oak Orchard creek, north of the canal, on the east side of Rock street (now Glenwood avenue), and erected a shop of their own. They built a dam of stones which gave eight feet head of water and developed twenty-five horse-power.
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