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 39
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service for a number of years. He afterward located in Lowman and in 1915 was chosen to fill the office of county clerk, in which he was retained for nine years. His duties were performed with characteristic fidelity and efficiency and the prestige which he won in that connection led to his election to the state assembly in January, 1923. Close and discriminating study of the issues of the day has led to his indorse- ment of various important measures looking to the development of the state and the utilization of its natural resources, and throughout his public career his actions have been influenced by careful regard for the wishes of the people he serves. He has a predilection for politics and while a resident of Elmira was a member of the city council for six years.
On June 3, 1907, Mr. Copley was married to Miss Eleanor Mary Lowman, a daughter of Edward Lowman, and they have two children: John G., who is a student at the Elmira Free Academy; and Mary Elizabeth, who is attending the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Copley are affiliated with the Presbyterian church and consistent followers of its teachings. He is identified with the Masonic order and his political support is given to the republican party. He is secretary and a director of the Elmira Mechanics Society. His influence is always exerted in behalf of the cause which he considers just and right and his position in various public offices has given him an opportunity to accomplish much good.
CHESTER THOMAS FOOTE.
The death of a man of upright character, of substantial achievement and pro- nounced public spirit is always a distinct loss to a community, and in this classification belonged Chester Thomas Foote, who passed away at Nunda, New York, on the 19th of November, 1917. He was a son of Norman and Emily (Jarrod) Foote, both of whom have passed away, and a brother of Charles E. and Clarence A. Foote, of whom more extended mention is made elsewhere in this work.
The district schools afforded Chester Thomas Foote his educational advantages and as a young man he entered the contracting business. In 1903 he assisted his brother, Charles E., in the organization of the Foote Manufacturing Company, manu- facturers of concrete mixing machines. They later incorporated the business and Chester T. Foote continued active in its management until his death, contributing materially to the development and success of the industry through his advice, coopera- tion and executive ability. His judgment was sound and practical and his word was always to be relied upon.
On the 12th of January, 1905, Mr. Foote was united in marriage to Helen M. Cooper, who survives him and resides in the beautiful home on Massachusetts street, Nunda, which had been completed but a short time before his demise. Two children were born to them: Norman Cooper and Lois Dresser. Mr. Foote was a regular attendant at the Presbyterian church and the Masonic order numbered him among its exemplary representatives. He gave his political support to the republican party and conscientiously discharged the duties and obligations of citizenship. He had the welfare of his community deeply at heart and rendered valuable public service as president and trustee of the village of Nunda. He was scrupulously honorable in his dealings with mankind and possessed the sincere affection of all with whom he was associated.
CHARLES OSCAR EACKER.
Charles Oscar Eacker, a member of the Elmira bar, was born in Montour Falls, New York, in 1874, and his parents, David G. and Cynthia J. (Gray) Eacker, were also natives of the Empire state. The mother was born in Schuyler county and the father in Herkimer county. He engaged in merchandising in Montour Falls for several years and afterward lived retired in Elmira, where he established his home in 1888. He was an honored veteran of the Civil war and served throughout that conflict as a member of Company I, One Hundred and Forty-first Regulars. Mr. and Mrs. Eacker were members of the Baptist church and he was also connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His father was a native of Germany and Mrs. Eacker's par- ents were Caledonians.
Charles Oscar Eacker was their only child. He attended Cook Academy at Mon- tour Falls and was a boy of fourteen when the family came to Elmira. He worked
Chester J. Joote
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at odd jobs, earning enough money to pay the expense of a business course, and afterward secured a position in the employ of Gabriel Smith. He read law in the office of Youmans & Moss and was admitted to the bar in 1899. He began practice with R. R. Moss, with whom he was associated until death severed their relationship, and has since been alone. He specializes in commercial law, of which he has made a thorough study, and for several years has maintained an office in the Realty build- ing. On the organization of the Elmira Credit Rating Bureau in 1916, Mr. Eacker was made its secretary and has since been retained in that office. He also acts as secretary of the Business Men's Association, to which position he was appointed in 1917, and serves the Elmira Supply Dealers Association in a similar capacity.
On the 16th of April, 1903, Mr. Eacker was married to Miss Eva L. Bogardus, who is a Daughter of the American Revolution and in four direct lines traces her ancestry to heroes of that conflict. She was born in Elmira and her father, Calvin J. Bogardus, was one of the prominent residents of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Eacker are members of the First Baptist church of which he has been usher for twenty-eight years and for the past three years, chief usher. For fifteen years he has been a teacher in the Sunday school. He has passed through all the chairs in the local lodge of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and is also connected with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a member of the Chemung County Bar Association and also belongs to the Century and Rotary Clubs.
FRANK FIELDER.
For more than three generations identified with large commercial undertakings in Dansville, Livingston county, New York, an active worker and liberal contributor to every movement designed to better local or county conditions, and one of the organizers of the prosperous Citizens Bank, of which he now is president, Frank Fielder holds a preeminent place in the esteem and affection of his community, and in his old age has a retrospect of achievements that is unmarred by one failure, and by which his town and the county have been steadily helped to progress. Mr. Fielder was born at Brighton, England, on July 31, 1834, the son of Charles Lawrence and Mary (Tindall) Fielder. His mother, Mrs. Mary (Tindall) Fielder, was born on November 6, 1806, and married Charles L. Fielder on July 25, 1829, at Guestling Parish, near Hastings, England. She died in the old country. Her husband, father of Frank Fielder, was born on December 5, 1805, and was married a second time, about 1844, to Eliza Hooker of Sheerness, England, who died in 1859.
Richard Fielder of Tenterden, Kent county, England, the paternal grandfather of Frank Fielder, was the owner of the famous old Woolpack Inn of that borough, where were held the county assizes. The paternal grandmother was Catharine Cage Fielder of Milgate Park, Bearstead, near Maidstone, Kent.
When Frank Fielder was thirteen years old his father, with his family, con- sisting of his second wife and four children-Charles S., Frank, Alfred and Rowena- came to the United States and located at Islip, Long Island, New York, where they r mained for a time and then moved to Fowlerville, Livingston county, this state. The village school in Fowlerville, followed by a winter at the academy at East Beth- any, New York, were the lad's only educational opportunities before he entered busi- noss Ife as clerk in a Fowlerville store. During the years of 1857 to 1859, inclusive, he was employed by H. C. Blodgett & Company of Rochester, New York, and through the two succeeding years he was engaged in the mercantile business for himself at I lip. In 1862 Mr. Fielder moved to Dansville with his family. For three years he and his brother, Charles S., were in partnership in the dry goods business, and after the death of Charles S. Fielder, on November 28, 1865, Frank Fielder continued the business alone until 1871, when B. L. Olney became a partner under the name of Fielder & Olney, which association was maintained for several years, or until Mr. Fielder purchased his partner's interest and continued the enterprise independently.
The failure of the old First National Bank in 1887, and the previous closing of the Dansville Bank, left the village without banking facilities of any kind. Mr. Fielder, with the cooperation of several other business men, including Hon. James W. Wadsworth of Geneseo, proceeded to enlist sufficient interest and capital to start a new bank. As a result the Citizens Bank was established with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, and Mr. Fielder was elected cashier and in 1913 was elected president, holding both these positions until 1916, when he resigned as cashier and was elected cashier-emeritus.
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Mr. Fielder was one of the trustees of Dansville Seminary, was largely instru- mental in the formation of a library association in 1872, and in 1874, when it became the Livingston Circulating Library, he was the first president, and he was active in the movement which made it a free library in 1894. He is a member of the Livings- ton County Historical Society and was president of the society in 1894. In his relig- ious convictions Mr. Fielder is a Presbyterian and has been an elder and trustee in the church for many years. Politically he is an adherent of the republican party.
Mr. Fielder has been married twice. On November 22, 1860, he was married to Ortha O. Beach, born on the 16th of October, 1836, who died on May 27, 1879. Three children were born to this union: Ortha Belle, whose birth occurred on the 26th of March, 1863, followed the profession of teaching for a number of years and is now living with her father in Dansville; Dr. Frank Sidney Fielder, whose natal day was June 23, 1866, was a graduate of Cornell University, obtained his degree of M. D. from Columbia University and was a highly successful physician in New York city until his untimely death on the 24th of January, 1917. He was married to Martha Teller Irwin at Greenbush Heights, Rensselaer county, New York, on June 1, 1901; Josephine Rhoda, who was born on the 3d of March, 1868, was married on September 26, 1892, to Burroughs A. Edsall, a mining engineer, who departed this life on the 5th of September, 1920. Their three children were: Clarence Sidney, who was born on July 29, 1893, and died at Reno on June 16, 1912, just as he was ready to enter college; Thomas Henry, who was born on October 5, 1895, and died on Jan- uary 2, 1918; and Charlotte Belle, who was born on August 23, 1901. Thomas Henry Edsall, the second child of Burroughs A. and Josephine Rhoda (Fielder) Edsall, was a student at the University of Nevada, where he won the Rhodes scholarship to Oxford in 1916. In July, 1917, he enlisted in a medical unit for military duty over- seas, but his death occurred before he was called into service. On August 14, 1886, Frank Fielder was married to Adelaide H. Carpenter of Falmouth, Massachusetts, who passed away on October 16, 1909.
EDMUND MCKAY ALLING.
Edmund Mckay Alling, who for the past eleven years has been at the head of the firm of Alling & Miles, Incorporated, conducting Rochester's principal agency for the Hudson and Essex motor cars, enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the city's most prominent and popular native sons and men of large affairs. He was born in Rochester, on the 23d of May, 1878, his parents being Frederick Dwight and Emily (Mckay) Alling, who were also born in Rochester. The father, who devoted his attention to mercantile pursuits throughout his active career, was widely recognized as one of the highly respected residents and business men of this city. He passed away in 1910 and for eight years was survived by his wife, who was called to her final rest in 1918. This worthy couple were the parents of five children: Mrs. Lois A. Clements, William M., Miss Elsie Dwight, Edmund M. and Sydney. All are residents of Rochester.
As a boy Edmund McKay Alling attended the old No. 3 grammar school and subsequently continued his studies in the Rochester Free Academy. After putting aside his textbooks he became connected with the hardware trade in the employ of others and after several years entered the typewriter business, remaining therein until 1909, since which time he has been an automobile dealer. Through the succeeding four years he represented several different agencies but in 1913 scured what is now the principal Rochester agency for the sale of Hudson and Essex cars and organized the firm of Alling & Miles, Incorporated, of which he is the president. He sells a large number of automobiles annually and has won a place among the enterprising. progressive and successful business men of Rochester. Mr. Alling is a member of the National Automobile Dealers Association and ex-president of the New York State Dealers Association. He was one of the incorporators of the Rochester Automobile Dealers Association, having been an officer and director in this as well as in the pre- ceding organizations, during their existence.
On the 5th of December, 1906, in Rochester, Mr. Alling was united in marriage to Miss Alice Rogers, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Stiles Rogers and a member of a prominent family of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Alling have one child, Katherine, who was born in Rochester, on June 16, 1911.
Politically Mr. Alling is a republican. supporting the men and measures of that party at the polls. His appreciation for the social amenities of life is manifest in his
EDMUND M. ALLING
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membership in the Rochester Club and the Rochester Yacht Club and he also belongs to the Ad Club and to the Rochester Historical Society. His present prosperity is the reward of well directed industry and perseverance, while the esteem in which he is held by his many friends attests a life of integrity and devotion to high ideals. He lives in the residence at No. 65 Aberdeen street, which he built in 1909. His sum- mer residence is at Eagle Point, Conesus Lake, which place he built in 1913.
LELAND L. FULLER.
Among the young men of Williamson who hold a high place in the esteem of its citizens is Leland L. Fuller, cashier of the State Bank, and the fact that he has been selected to fill this responsible position is proof of his ability, integrity and trustworthiness. He has always resided in the village and was born June 6, 1890, a son of Carl and Lucy (De Zutter) Fuller, members of old families of Wayne county. The father is serving as postmaster of Williamson and formerly engaged in general merchandising in the town and also in Addison, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller were married in Wayne county and five children were born to them, four sons and a daughter, Leland L., of this review being the oldest.
Leland L. Fuller attended the local schools and made thorough preparation for his life work, completing a course in the Rochester Business Institute. He was afterward a student in the American Institute of Banking, of which he is a graduate. In December, 1909, when nineteen years of age, Mr. Fuller entered the employ of the State Bank of Williamson, with which he has since been connected, and in 1917 he was promoted to the office of cashier. He is also a director of the bank, whose interests he carefully safeguards, and his duties are discharged with thoroughness, efficiency and accuracy. The bank was founded in 1905, with a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars and in 1912 the substantial building in which the business is now conducted was erected. It is the largest and strongest financial institution in the state serving a community this size, and is capitalized at one hundred thousand dollars, while its deposits amount to a million and a half dollars. Its officials have been chosen with great care and the bank has enjoyed a rapid growth, at the same time stimulating the pulse of trade in the district in which it is operated.
Mr. Fuller's military experience covers service in the New York National Guard during the period of the World war. He joined Company H of the Third Infantry, and was later with the One Hundred and Eighth Infantry. He is now a first lieuten- ant in the Officers Reserve Corps of the United States army, attached to Company B, Three Hundred and Ninety-first Infantry, Ninety-eighth Division.
In June, 1913, Mr. Fuller was married to Ruth A. Wilson, a daughter of Royal P. Wilson of Williamson. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller became the parents of two sons, Wilson and Leland L., Jr., the latter of whom died in infancy. In politics Mr. Fuller is a democrat, but not a strong partisan, being largely independent in his views. He is a Presbyterian in religious faith and along fraternal lines is connected with the Masonic order, belonging to Pultneyville Lodge, No. 159, F. & A. M., Wayne Chapter, R. A. M., and Zenobia Commandery, Knights Templar of Palmyra. He is also an Odd Fellow, being identified with the lodge at Williamson. Mr. Fuller is serving on the executive committee of the New York State Bankers Association and is also a member of the American Institute of Banking. He is a young man of high char- acter and proven worth, and in view of the progress that he has already made, much may be expected of him in the future.
LEVI ABEL FRISBIE.
Thirty-four years of continuous connection with the coal trade in Elmira have brought Levi Abel Frisbie a wide acquaintance and earned for him an enviable reputation as a business man, while his worth as a citizen is uniformly conceded. He was born in Orwell, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, in 1861, and his parents, Aaron Gaylord and Sarah Ordelia (Darling) Frisbie, were also natives of that place. They were lifelong residents of the Keystone state and the father contributed his share toward the development of its agricultural resources. He was an honored veteran of the Civil war, being assigned to duty in the construction corps, and his political support was given to the republican party. He was a member of the Presby-
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terian church of Orwell and guided his life by its teachings. His father, Levi Frisbie, was a native of Connecticut and migrated from that state to Pennsylvania. He was of English lineage and served as an elder in the Presbyterian church. The maternal grandfather, Abel D. Darling, was born in Pennsylvania and followed the occupation of farming as a means of livelihood. Levi Abel Frisbie of this review was the fifth in order of birth in a family of eight children, six of whom survive.
The education of Levi Abel Frisbie was received in the public schools of Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and he remained at home until he reached the age of twenty- one. For a time he taught school and afterward took up the study of stenography. From 1886 until 1890 he was employed by a coal firm in Binghamton, New York, during which period he gained a practical knowledge of the business, and in the latter year he came to Elmira. In association with an older brother, W. Eaton Frisbie, he then embarked in the coal business in this city and they were thus en- gaged until 1893, operating under the name of Frisbie Brothers. W. E. Frisbie then retired and Levi A. continued the business alone for two years. Then Stewart G. Frisbie came in as partner and remained so until 1921, when he sold out to J. Max Hamilton. The firm name is now Frisbie & Hamilton. They are dealers in coal and wood and their enterprise and reliability have secured for them a large trade. Years of experience, observation and study have made Mr. Frisbie familiar with every phase of the trade and his energy and business acumen have enabled him to keep not only in line but rather in the lead of his competitors.
On March 2, 1898, Mr. Frisbie was united in marriage to Miss Mary Janet Chaffee, who was born in Angelica, New York, and was there educated. They have an adopted daughter, Myrtle, who married Innis Palmer Lyon and resides in Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Frisbie is a member of the Franklin Street Presbyterian church and gives his political allegiance to the republican party.
JOHN CHARLES WOODBURY.
John Charles Woodbury, one of the well known and influential citizens of Rochester, is a native of this city and was born on the 25th of August, 1859. He belongs to one of the city's old families, whose connection with its business and manufacturing interests dates back three-quarters of a century, when in 1849, his grandfather, Jonathan Woodbury, moved to Rochester with his family. Here he estab- lished with his sons, Daniel A. and Edmund F., one of the first engine factories in this section of the state, and was known as the Woodbury Engine Works.
Edmund F. Woodbury was the father of John C. Woodbury, and was born in Baltimore, Vermont, while his wife, whose maiden name was Frances Holyland, was born in Rochester, New York. Edmund F. Woodbury was connected with the manufacturing business practically his entire life. About 1865 he entered into a part- nership with Henry A. Strong for the manufacture of whips, an enterprise that became one of international scope-the Woodbury Whip Company. The product of this company was recognized as a standard article among horsemen the world over, and included some of the finest buggy whips ever put on the market. Edmund F. Woodbury remained active in business until his death in 1891. His wife passed away in 1889, and both are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.
John Charles Woodbury is the only surviving member of his father's immediate family. He was educated under private instructors and when entering upon his business career became connected with the firm of Strong & Woodbury, later known as the Woodbury Whip Company. Following the death of his father, he became president of the company and remained its executive head until he disposed of his interests therein, in 1907. Since then Mr. Woodbury has devoted the portion of his time that he cares to give to business to the management of his various private interests.
Not only have the Woodbury industrial activities been an important factor in building up the economic life of the city, but the Woodburys themselves, father and son, have done no little to further development along civic and cultural lines. Appre- ciative of the social amenities of life, John C. Woodbury is a member of the Rochester Country Club, the Rochester Ad Club, the Genesee Valley Club and the Washington Club. He is one of the well known numismatists of this part of the state-in fact, this may be said to be his hobby. He is one of the prominent members of the Rochester Numismatic Association, of which he has been president, is also a member of the American Numismatic Association and the American Numismatic Society of
JOHN C. WOODBURY
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New York city. Mr. Woodbury is also a member of the Rochester Historical Society and the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America.
Mr. Woodbury's collection of American coins, of which he has made a specialty, is one of the best in the city, while his collection of medals and foreign coins includes a number of rare and valuable pieces.
On the 31st of October, 1883, Mr. Woodbury was married to Miss Alice M. Motley, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Motley of Rochester. Mr. and Mrs. Woodbury have a daughter: Mrs. Homer Strong of this city, whose daughter, Barbara Strong, is the only grandchild of Mr. Woodbury. His religious affiliations are with St. Paul's Episcopal church.
BENJAMIN P. REYNOLDS.
Energetic, straightforward and reliable, Benjamin P. Reynolds holds a secure place in popular confidence and esteem, and his labors have contributed substantially to the development of Leicester along industrial lines, while he is also an acknowledged leader in civic affairs. He was born September 28, 1887, in Factoryville, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Frank A. and Georgia Josephine (Capwell) Reynolds. He received a public school education and prepared for a commercial career by a year's attendance at a business college. He served an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, which he followed for four years, and afterward spent six years in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyl- vania, devoting his attention to the automobile business. He then engaged for three years in construction work in association with his father, who had entered the con- tracting field. In 1915 Benjamin P. Reynolds came to Liecester for the purpose of building a depot for the Lackawanna Railroad at this point, and being favorably impressed with the town, established his home there in 1916. In partnership with his father, he purchased the lumber business of B. E. Brophel, and their operations have been attended by pronounced success. They deal in lumber of all kinds, as well as cement, plaster and other building materials, and also engage in contracting. They have been identified with many important development projects and their word is always to be depended upon in a business transaction.
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