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 22
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Mr. Reed was married to Helen Mortimer, and his only son, Louis Mortimer Reed, was the father of Edgar M., Lester H., and Robert M. Reed, all of whom are connected with the E. P. Reed Company.
Although Mr. Reed relinquished the active management of his factory in 1914, it had been his daily practice to visit the plant and keep in close touch with the conduct of the business. He was kind, just and considerate in his treatment of those who served him and was well liked by his employes, a number of whom have been with the company for more than thirty-five years. Of a modest, retiring nature, Mr. Reed was much averse to discussing his achievements, but when questioned at one time as to the secret of his success, made the following statement: "I have always made it a point to make good, honest shoes. I care more for my reputation as a
EDGAR P. REED
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manufacturer than for the amount of money I make. I have always been very active in my business. I have always thought I must be the first at the factory in the morn- ing and the last to leave it at night." The guiding axiom of his life was hard work and a "square deal" to everyone. Mr. Reed was one of Rochester's builders-a rep- resentative of that class of men who are capable of controlling the forces of trade and commerce and directing them for the benefit of the majority, and his name will ever be an honored one in the annals of the city.
DEAN G. CRIPPEN.
Few men have been more prominently connected with monetary affairs of Brock- port than Dean G. Crippen, who is president of the State Bank of Commerce, which under his wise guidance has became one of the substantial and reliable financial insti- tutions of this section of Monroe county. He was born in the village on September 21, 1863, and represents a family whose members have contributed their quota toward the development and upbuilding of Monroe county for more than a century. His grandfather removed from Columbia county, New York, to Monroe county, in 1815 and was one of the pioneer agriculturists of this region. His son, Ephraim C. Crippen, was a native of Brockport, and in Sweden, this state, was married to Miss Mary A. Gallup, who was born in Albany county and came to Monroe county in 1830. Two children were born to them, a son and a daughter, Dean G. of this sketch being the younger.
Dean G. Crippen received a good education, attending the Brockport Normal School, and also completed a course in the Rochester Business Institute. For several years he aided his father in operating the home farm and in 1901, at the age of thirty-eight, established a private bank in Brockport, in association with the late Morton Minot. The business was conducted under the firm name of Minot & Crippen for eight years and the partners prospered in their undertaking, winning the confi- dence and support of the public by their careful, conservative business methods and judicious management of their affairs. In 1909 the business was reorganized as the State Bank of Commerce, of which Mr. Crippen became vice president, and since 1910 he has discharged the duties of president. That he is an executive of more than average ability is indicated by the steady growth of the institution, which is capital- ized at fifty thousand dollars and has a surplus fund of seventy-five thousand dollars, while its resources amount to more than one and one-half million dollars. Mr. Crippen is also a partner in the Monroe Canning Company of Brockport and his cooperation and ripe experience have likewise been a valuable asset to that enterprise.
In Brockport, on March 10, 1887, Mr. Crippen was married to Miss Mabel Williams, a daughter of John B. Williams, and they have become the parents of three children: Ephraim C., who is assistant cashier of the State Bank of Commerce; Helen A., the wife of Alfred M. Decker, a prominent hardware merchant of Brockport; and Doris G., at home.
Mr. Crippen is a public-spirited citizen whose support can always be relied upon to further every project for the general good, and during the World war he was influential in raising funds for the government. He is a Royal Arch Mason and belongs to the Masonic Club of Brockport, while his political allegiance is given to the republican party. He is an active worker in behalf of the Methodist church of Brock- port, of which he is treasurer and a trustee, and its teachings guide him in the rela- tions of daily life. Mr. Crippen has become recognized as an authority on financial matters, and his fidelity to principle, his industry and energy, are amply illustrated in his career, which has been rounded with success.
A. WARD LA FRANCE.
Among those to whom the city of Elmira owes much of its growth along indus- trial lines is the La France family, which has long been recognized as a leader in local commercial circles. The enterprising spirit of the father is exemplified in the career of the son, A. Ward La France, who has won noteworthy success as a manu- facturer of commercial trucks. He was born in Elmira in 1886, and his parents, Asa W. and Emma J. (Haviland) La France, were married in this city, in which the mother also was born. The father was born in Rush, Pennsylvania, and became well
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known as a musician. He served for two years in the Civil war, joining the First New York Cavalry, of which he was bandmaster. After his release from military duty he turned to industrial pursuits and was associated with his brother in the La France Fire Engine Company, which subsequently became known as the American La France Fire Engine Company. They manufactured all kinds of fire apparatus and built up one of the largest corporations of its kind in the country. They were men of the highest integrity and ability and in winning success they have also brought additional prestige to the Queen City of the Southern Tier. Mrs. La France is a member of the Congregational church and her husband is allied with the republican party. They have two children: A. Ward of this review; and Coleman T. The latter is connected with the Packard Motor Company and resides in Detroit, Michigan.
A. Ward La France supplemented his public school training by a course in the Mercersburg Academy of Pennsylvania and was graduated from that institution with the class of 1903. He returned to Elmira and for four years was employed by the La France Engine Company. In 1907 the father established both sons in the auto- mobile business and A. Ward first sold the Buick car, later becoming distributor for the Studebaker machine in Elmira and Binghamton, New York, and Williamsport, Pennsylvania. In 1916 he formed the Blackstone Motor Company for the sale of the Maxwell and Chrysler cars and still owns an interest in the firm, of which he is vice president. In 1917 he organized the Ward La France Truck Corporation and has since been its president. The firm manufactures a high grade of commercial trucks and ships its output to New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
On November 16, 1910, Mr. La France was married to Miss Margaret Curtis Fenner, who was born in Rochester and received her education in Buffalo, also attending Elmira College. They have two children: Asa Curtis and Elizabeth May. The mother is a member of the Congregational church and consistently adheres to its teachings. Mr. La France belongs to the Union Lodge of Masons and to the Grotto. He is also a member of the Elmira Golf & Country Club, the Detroit Athletic Club and the New York City Club.
PROFESSOR GEORGE DAVID HALE.
Professor George David Hale was born in Adams, Jefferson county, New York, on the 27th of March, 1844, and was approaching the eighty-first milestone on life's journey when death called him on the 18th of February, 1925. His parents were Abner Cable and Sally Ann (Barton) Hale. The first American ancestor in the paternal line was Thomas Hale, the glover, who came from England in 1637 and set- tled at Newbury, Massachusetts, where he died December 21, 1682. The grandfather, David Hale, was senior member of the first mercantile firm in Adams, New York, and was also captain of a troop of cavalry in the War of 1812. From a very early period in the development of Jefferson county the family was connected with its progress and upbuilding. Abner C. Hale, the father, followed the occupation of farming at Adams. Sally Ann Barton, mother of Professor Hale, was a descendant of Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower and one of the signers of the Compact.
George D. Hale, spending his boyhood days under the parental roof, was reared to farm work. He received his early education at Watertown, where he prepared for college, and in 1870 was graduated from the classical course of the University of Rochester. Three years later that institution conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon and of the Phi Beta Kappa, two college fraternities. Professor Hale was known personally or by reputation to every resident of Rochester and also to a large extent throughout this and other states by reason of the fact that his students have gone abroad into all parts of the country, bearing in their lives the impress of his individuality. The Hale Classical and Scien- tific School, which he conducted in Rochester from 1871 to 1898, was the leading preparatory school for boys in the city and is recognized as having been one of the most excellent institutions of learning in the state. Among its graduates are men who are now prominent in the public and business life of Rochester. Thoroughness was always the motto of Professor Hale, who ever held high the standard of educa- tional proficiency. Kant said, "the object of education is to train each individual to reach the highest perfection possible for him" and the spirit of this statement was a dominant factor in the work done by Professor Hale during these years. Moreover, he was recognized in educational circles as an authority on mathematics and as one who stood as a leader in his profession because of the high ideals which he ever held and the unfaltering effort he made to reach them. He was identified with several of
Dea DAtale.
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the leading societies for the advancement of knowledge, being a member of the National Educational Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, also of the National Geographic Society and the Rochester Society of the Archaeological Institute of America. Of local societies, he was identified with the Genesee Valley Club and with the Country Club. His political preferment was always for the republican party and while he was a student of the great issues and questions bearing upon the welfare of state and nation, he was always without political ambition.
On the 29th of December, 1875, Mr. Hale was married in Rochester to Miss Mary Elizabeth Judson, a daughter of Junius and Lavenda (Bushnell) Judson. Mrs. Hale died in 1915, leaving two daughters: Edith Harriette of Rochester; and Eliza- beth Lavenda Hale, who died at Pasadena, California, in 1920. .
For fifty-three years Mr. Hale was a member of the First Baptist church and secretary of its board of trustees for fifty years. He was much interested in the work of the Baptist City Mission and served as its president for several years. Dur- ing this time the present church buildings of the Genesee Street Baptist church, South Avenue Baptist church, Italian and Polish missions were built and the Mount Oliver church was incorporated. He devoted much attention to this work, giving generously of his time and means. He was a generous contributor to many public and charitable works and his influence was always on the side of that which promotes intellectual development, aesthetic culture and moral progress. He gave many years of an active and useful life to the cause of education and attained wide distinction in the field of his chosen labor. Nor was he denied the substantial benefits which should ever arise from industry. He was in later years identified with the business interests of the Judson Governor, Judson Power and Judson Pin companies of Roch- ester, in which he was both director and stockholder.
The following editorial appeared in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle at the time of the death of Professor Hale under the caption, "A Citizen of Worth": "Few of the present generation of Rochesterians can appreciate the place in the intel- lectual life of the city that was occupied half a century ago by such institutions as the Hale Classical and Scientific School, the founder of which, George David Hale, has just passed on after a long life of marked usefulness to his fellow citizens and the city of his choice. Elementary education had come to be the settled thing for the young, since it had been recognized from the beginnings of the nation that the safety of the republic rested upon the general diffusion to its citizenry of the funda- mentals of knowledge; but in the '60s and '70s it began to be recognized that some provision should be made for more generally diffusing knowledge in those inter- mediate grades which lie between the elementary school and college. The Uni- versity of Rochester was comparatively young but it already occupied a high place among the nation's institutions of learning, and it was natural and commendable that a young graduate of the character and force of Mr. Hale, fresh from the inspir- ing influence of Martin Brewer Anderson, should see it as his mission to diffuse some of the general knowledge for which his college training had given him a taste. The success of the institution was a tribute to his character and ability, and the per- sistence of his influence in it is noted by the fact that though for years he has been a successful business man, now that he is gone, his services as a teacher still are regarded as significant. Mr. Hale was a pioneer in an important field in education, but he could not have been a success in that field or in later fields in which he exerted his influence if he had not had the qualities of character that make a man a real asset to a community."
Professor Hale was fitted by nature to be a teacher and to that profession he was sincerely devoted. He loved young people and sympathized with them and was eager to develop the highest mental and moral possibilities of everyone who came under his care. To him, teaching was a high calling and sacred trust and ever an inspiration to be instrumental in forming the ideals and character of his pupils. He taught school more than a quarter century, and the principles of honor and integrity which he always endeavored to inculcate in the minds of those under his charge, in addition to caring for their mental development, have borne good fruit, as is evi- denced by the love and respect which was always accorded him by his former pupils, many of whom have taken foremost rank in the various lines of enterprise which they have followed in Rochester and elsewhere. Mr. Hale was the owner of an extensive library, of which he was very fond and which was of his own collection, comprising the works of the world's famous authors. He ever retained the student's fondness for reading and study. He was a student of Biblical history and read the Bib'e in several different languages.
A former pupil of Professor Hale paid him the following tribute, which ap-
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peared in a Rochester paper: "As one of Professor Hale's pupils back in 1879, in preparation for Phillips Exeter Academy, I would like to add a few words in praise of this worthy teacher of young men. In the Hale Classical and Scientific School at this time were Isaac Hills, C. Walter Smith, George Mumford, William Leighton, Edward Ellwanger, Sidney Roby, Edward Leary and two or three others whose names I do not recall, but it was a studious, happy little company of boys who were guided by a great and most unusual mind through the mazes of classical and scien- tific study. Professor Hale was an adept in the conduct of young and led them along by persuasion rather than harsh mandate. He was a most profound scholar, being thoroughly versed in Latin, Greek and mathematics, and would never leave a student in doubt as to his understanding of the subjects he studied; in fact he stood in the place of the fond parent rather than the merciless taskmaster and no young man ever went out from his school lacking the inspiration instilled into his mind by a learned Christian gentleman. Professor Hale always did more for his students than was expected of him, and gave generously of his time to develop a boy's best nature, and I am very certain that in the heart of every man above mentioned re- mains the memory of this good teacher and profound scholar, whose patient endeavor and thoroughness and kindliness made a deep imprint on his after life."
WILMOT CASTLE.
Wilmot Castle is the president and treasurer of the Wilmot Castle Company of Rochester, which he established in 1883 for the manufacture of sheet metal special- ties. This enterprise, with what it subsequently developed into, had its origin in the fertile brain and executive ability of the man who has been at its head through the period of more than four decades which has passed since its inception. It is the most extensive of its kind in America. Wilmot Castle was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, on the 7th of February, 1855, the eldest son of the Rev. John Harvard and Marie Antoinette (Arnold) Castle. His father was a Baptist clergyman, recognized as one of the most eminent divines of that denomination in Philadelphia and afterward in Canada. At the time of his death he was the president of the Toronto Baptist College. He removed from Philadelphia to Canada with his family in the year 1873 and exerted a wide influence upon the intellectual and moral development of the com- munities in which he lived. The maternal grandfather of Wilmot Castle was William E. Arnold, an early settler and prominent real estate dealer of Rochester, for whom Arnold park was laid out and named.
Wilmot Castle was two years old when his parents established their home at Newburgh-on-the-Hudson, whence they removed to Philadelphia two years later. In the latter city he pursued his education in Professor Saunders Military Academy and also in Professor F. W. Hastings Military School. Accompanying the family on their removal to Canada in 1873, when he was eighteen years of age, he secured a position in the Canadian Bank of Commerce in Toronto, Ontario, where he remained for ten years, but thinking to enjoy better business opportunities across the border where the field is broader and advancement is more quickly secured, he came to Rochester in 1883 and began the manufacture of sheet metal specialties under the firm name of Wilmot Castle & Company. In 1893 was begun the manufacture of sterilizers, and that of sheet metal specialties was continued for a few years, when the growth of the sterilizer business resulted in the specialty line being discontinued. This business has been developed until they are now the largest manufacturers of sterilizers and bacteriological apparatus in the United States. These articles are specialties of the firm and the company now enjoys a very extensive domestic and export trade; in fact, its product is used almost throughout the civilized world and is largely regarded as an international standard in its line.
The business was incorporated in 1903 as the Wilmot Castle Company, and Wilmot Castle has ever since remained its executive and financial head. The plant of the company is modern in every detail, combining the latest features of industrial con- struction, wherein both employes and product have been accorded due consideration.
On the 15th of September, 1885, in Rochester, New York, Mr. Castle was married to Miss Mary Wilson Quinby, the only daughter of William deHart Quinby, M. D., of Morristown, New Jersey. Mrs. Castle passed away January 21, 1925. They became parents of three sons: Harvard deHart, born June 1, 1887, is engaged in the real estate business in Clearwater, Florida. He married Miss Harriet Boff: Wilmot Vail, born July 29, 1889, who is secretary of the Wilmot Castle Company, married Katharine
Marile
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Lois Andrews Quinby; John Harvard, born March 27, 1893, is production manager of the Wilmot Castle Company, and his wife was formerly Miss Adele Verges.
Mr. Castle is chairman of the executive committee of the Mechanics Savings Bank, of which he served as secretary and treasurer from 1915 to 1920. He is a member of Immanuel Baptist church, and for years has taken an active and helpful part in church affairs. In his club connections he is a member of the Rochester Yacht Club, the Rochester Ad Club, the Credit Men's Association, the New York State Industries and the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. He has long manifested a keen interest in the work of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, in which he takes a most active part, and is a trustee of that organization.
For more than forty years Mr. Castle has been identified with Rochester's business life and his activities have been a distinct contribution to the city's indus- trial growth and prestige. He stands for all those forces which make for advancement in behalf of the general public and his attitude on all vital questions of civic improve- ment is one of progress. His long connection with industrial interests and the success he has achieved, establishes his position among Rochester's strong and capable busi- ness men. The elements were happily blended in the rounding out of his nature, for he unites the refinements of life with the sterner qualities of manhood and his efforts have been resultant factors in whatever he has undertaken. Mr. Castle has not only been a successful business man, but one of high ideals whose personal worth is recog- nized by all, for throughout his life he has stood for those things which have real value as constructive elements in the world's work. He has built a number of resi- dences on Oxford, Harvard, Rutgers and Westminster road, including his present home at No. 410 Westminster road. His summer home, "Willowbank", is on Lake Ontario.
WILLIAM HARRIS ARNOLD.
From the age of nine years William Harris Arnold has lived in Chemung county and few of its residents are better informed concerning the history of this region. He chose the printer's trade as his life work and in business circles of Elmira he is well and favorably known. He was born in Toronto, Canada, June 10, 1872, a son of Harry and Sarah A. Arnold, the former a native of England and the latter of Canada. They settled in Chemung county in 1881 and the father became a pressman with the Telegram, continuing in the service of the paper for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold were zealous members of the Presbyterian church and he was also connected with the Royal Arcanum. They had a family of two children: William Harris of this review: and Mrs. Mary E. Robertson.
William Harris Arnold received his education in Elmira and afterward served an apprenticeship to the printer's trade, which he has followed since 1888-a period of over thirty-six years. He first worked for the Gazette, then for the Star-Gazette, and has been with the firm of Barber & Doane since they took over the printing business of that paper. He has an expert knowledge of the trade and is one of the most valuable men in the firm's employ.
Mr. Arnold is a Presbyterian in religious faith and gives his political support to the candidates and measures of the republican party. He is a Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner and has passed through all of the chairs of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is a past district deputy. He was chosen local historian in 1922 and since 1923 has been historian for Chemung county.
ALBERT JULIAN WOODWORTH.
Working as a telegraph operator may not have been the sole cause, but it probably helped to arouse the desire for more knowledge about electricity in the brain of Albert Julian Woodworth of Nunda, Livingston county, New York, owner of the Nunda Electric Light Company, Incorporated. Whatever the original cause Mr. Woodworth did not remain at the key very long, and soon after forsaking the telegraph business was a known factor in the electrical field. He was born in Chenango county, New York, on December 15, 1875, the son of Charles and Elizabeth (Bennett) Woodworth, both deceased. He had four brothers and five sisters.
After leaving school, for two years Albert Julian Woodworth was telegraph oper- ator for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Rossburg, New York. From Rossburg
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he went to Sparrows Point, Maryland, in 1896, to engage in the electrical business, and in 1900 went with the Maryland Steel Company, now the Bethlehem Steel Com- pany, as superintendent of its electrical department at Baltimore, Maryland, where he remained twelve years. Mr. Woodworth then bought a two-thirds interest in the Randolph (New York) Light & Power Company, which he sold on January 1, 1915. He then moved to Nunda and bought a third interest with L. O. Willard and H. J. Gordon in the Nunda Electric Light Company, which company gave the first twenty- four hour service in the village. Mr. Woodworth bought out the interest of his part- ners in the fall of 1918 and is now sole owner of the company, which supplies elec- tricity to Nunda, Dalton and Hunts Station.
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