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 61
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HON. GEORGE BOWEN.
The Hon. George Bowen was for more than seventy years one of the most promi- nent and best known residents of Batavia. He practiced law there for nearly sixty years of that time, was a leading figure in business, politics and finance, and enjoyed a widespread acquaintance throughout the state. He was born in Shelby, Orleans county, New York, September 28, 1831, the son of Dr. Abiel and Anna S. (Cone) Bowen.
George Bowen was educated in the common schools, at Millville Academy, and Cary Collegiate Institute, from which he was graduated in 1848. He studied law in Batavia and was admitted to the bar in December, 1852. Shortly afterward he formed a law partnership with Elijah Hurty. Being in delicate health, he shipped in a fishing schooner for the Newfoundland fishing banks, returning to Batavia in 1854 to find that his law partner had died during his absence. Later, and from time to time, he had as law partners Nathan A. Woodward, William W. Rowley, the Hon. Edward C. Walker, his brother-in-law, the Hon. Charles Henshaw, later county judge of Genesee county, the Hon. Myron H. Peck, who was afterward elected to the same position; Loren Greene, and former County Judge Edward A. Washburn. The last partnership en- dured from 1889 until Mr. Bowen's retirement from the legal profession on January 1, 1909. Mr. Bowen died at the age of eighty-nine years, at his home in Batavia, on January 22, 1921.
Mr. Bowen joined the republican party upon its foundation, and in early life was elected both village and town clerk of Batavia and later district attorney of Genesee county. He conducted this office with marked ability and won an enduring reputation. He was corporation counsel of the village of Batavia and was postmaster of Batavia from 1861 to 1865, by appointment of Abraham Lincoln. He went to Washington and received his commission as postmaster from Mr. Lincoln personally. and at that time measured heights with the great emancipator, with the result that not a hair's breadth of difference could be discovered between them, each measuring six feet, four inches. Mr. Bowen served two terms as state senator, 1870-1874. and was directly responsible for the location of the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia. He was a trustee of this school for two periods of several years each, and at the termination of the latter declined a reappointment. At the close of his term in the senate he was offered a law partnership in one of the leading firms in New York, which he declined.
Mr. Bowen secured the original charter for the First National Bank of Batavia in 1864, and was a director of that institution from that date until his death, and vice president from 1898. He was also president of the Holland Purchase Fire Insur- ance Company in Batavia, which although financially very successful was liquidated and closed in the late '70s. His greatest success, however, was found in the profession of the law. He was reared in an atmosphere of general practice, and made it his rule to accept whatever case was offered him, so long as it seemed to possess merit. He did not specialize, but excelled both in the trial and the business branches of the profession. His opinion on questions of law was frequently sought by other members of the profession and his simple statement of a legal principle in plain language was found more to be relied upon than the involved and often conflicting opinions in the published volumes of reports, which during his time came to be multiplied to an extent which he in common with other lawyers greatly deprecated.
He was the friend and associate of the men of his time who were leaders in his profession and in political life-Judge Benjamin Pringle, once congressman from the Batavia district; United States Senator Chauncey M. Depew, who recently celebrated his ninety-first birthday; Judge Loran L. Lewis, for years the leader of the trial bar of Erie county; General James Wood of Geneseo; Martin Grover, one of the most distinguished judges this state has ever produced; the elder Rufus W. Peckham, per- haps equally regarded as a jurist; and Sanford E. Church, for ten years chief judge of the court of appeals of this state. All of these were among his intimate friends,
George Barnen,
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and there are many others whose names are still remembered. William F. Cogswell, George F. Danforth, Theodore Bacon, and the great men of the Rochester bar, were equally well known to him.
Mr. Bowen was married on December 17, 1856, to Emerette A. Walker, daughter of Cyrus and Anna (Hulett) Walker of Byron. Mrs. Bowen died on December 17, 1918. Their daughter, Miss Anna C. Bowen, lives in the family home, No. 210 East Main street, in the city of Batavia.
FLOYD W. RYAN.
Proprietor and manager of what is probably the largest hardware business in the town, Floyd W. Ryan, postmaster at Dalton, Livingston county, New York, had the practical experience of handling large affairs before he undertook to handle the government mails, and his administration of this important office has been of the most satisfactory nature. Floyd W. Ryan, was born in Dalton, the son of John Ryan.
Mr. Ryan is a republican and has always taken an interest in politics, without, however, being an office seeker. His appointment as postmaster of Dalton by Presi- dent Harding, on March 21, 1922, was therefore gratifying to the commercial element in the town and met with the approval of the residents, irrespective of their political inclinations. The hardware business of which Mr. Ryan is the owner was established in 1877 by C. S. Lynde, now retired and living in Dalton. Mr. Ryan entered the business as a partner in 1908, and in 1917 purchased Mr. Lynde's interest, since which time Mr. Ryan has conducted the business successfully alone.
Mr. Ryan was married on April 7, 1904, to Maude Lynde, daughter of C. S. Lynde. Mr. and Mrs. Ryan are the parents of two children: Floyd W., Jr., and Lawrence P. Fraternally Mr. Ryan is affiliated with the Masonic order.
STEWART STOWE PIPER, M. D.
Dr. Stewart Stowe Piper is an able exponent of the homeopathic school of medicine and a loyal American citizen who gave proof of his patriotism by service in the United States and France. For the past thirteen years he has maintained an office in Elmira, but he is a native of the south, born in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1876, a son of Simeon and Myra (Armstrong) Piper, the latter a native of Bingham- ton, New York, and a daughter of Gabriel Armstrong, who removed from this state to the south before the Civil war. He was one of the pioneer lumbermen of that region and there spent the remainder of his life. Simeon Piper was born in Orange county, New York, and migrated to the south, where he spent the greater part of his life, devoting his attention to the lumber business. He gave his political support to the republican party. His death occurred in Chemung county, in 1891, when he was fifty-eight years of age, surviving his wife for ten years. The latter passed away in 1881, at the age of thirty-two. She was a member of the Presbyterian church. Dr. Piper's paternal grandfather enlisted in the Union army at the age of sixty-five and served for two years. He contributed six sons to the service of his country, namely: Daniel, Simeon, George, William, James and Henry, two of whom were killed in the service. Simeon joined Company F, First New York Light Artillery, and his term of service covered four years. Mr. and Mrs. Simeon Pirer became the parents of two children: Stewart Stowe of this review; and Harriet, who is the wife of Samuel K. Hudson, a prosperous farmer of Chemung county.
Dr. Stewart Stowe Piper obtained his preliminary education in the schools of Norfolk, Virginia, and Chemung county, New York, and in 1906 was graduated from the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Flower Hospital. He began his professional career in Horseheads, New York, where he remained for a time, and since 1911 has been a resident of Elmira. He devoted two years to postgraduate work and now specializes in urology, although still continuing in the general practice of medicine. Dr. Piper also conducts a state clinic in Elmira.
Dr. Piper volunteered for service in the World war and was the first physician in Chemung county to enlist. He was commissioned a first lieutenant on July 6, 1917, was post commander at Charleston, South Carolina, and was ordered to France
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in August, 1918, as regimental surgeon with rank of major. He received his hon- orable discharge on the 21st of August, 1919, and resumed his practice in Elmira.
On April 20, 1909, Dr. Piper was married to a daughter of Dr. James T. Renouff, a prominent surgeon of Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. and Mrs. Piper have one son, Myles Standish.
Dr. Piper belongs to the Masonic lodge and club and is also a member of the American Legion. Along professional lines he is connected with the Elmira Academy of Medicine, the Chemung County and New York State Medical Societies, the New York State Homeopathic Medical Society, of which he was treasurer during the World war, and the American Institute of Homeopathy. Aspiring to high ideals of service, he utilizes every opportunity to promote his knowledge and increase his efficiency, and enjoys the respect of his professional colleagues and also of the general public.
GEORGE C. SCHLEGEL.
George C. Schlegel, secretary and treasurer of the Schlegel Manufacturing Com- pany, is one of Rochester's successful business men whose entire life has been passed in this city, and he was born here on the 4th of July, 1870. His father, Frederick Schlegel, was one of the prominent florists of Rochester, and his mother, previous to her marriage, was Miss Adelheid Fetzer.
George C. Schlegel was the youngest of six children and after attending the public schools he took a course at the Rochester Business Institute. He began his career in the florist business with his father and for several years was thus engaged, learning a great deal concerning the science of floriculture. In 1900 he joined his brother, Charles P. Schlegel, in the industrial enterprise now known as the Schlegel Manufac- turing Company, manufacturers of all kinds of narrow fabrics for automobiles, in ad- dition to carriage, hearse and other trimmings. This is one of the most substantial manufacturing concerns in Rochester, employs from two hundred and fifty to three hundred people, occupies a superb plant thoroughly modern in construction and equip- ment, and its product, which is nationally known, represents the highest standards in its line. The success achieved by the Schlegel Manufacturing Company is a mag- nificent tribute to its management. About 1893 Mr. Schlegel, in company with John A. Hartfelder, organized the furniture manufacturing concern known as John A. Hart- felder & Company, and remained thus connected until about 1902.
In Rochester, on the 13th of June, 1912, Mr. Schlegel was married to Miss Caro- line M. Stecher and they have a daughter: Helen Adelheid. Mrs. Schlegel is a daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Stecher, the former of whom was one of the foremost men in this country in the lithographing business. Mr. and Mrs. Schlegel are well known in the social and club life of the city. Mrs. Schlegel is a member of the Century Club, the Thursday Musical Club and Woman's City Club and takes an active part in the work of these organizations. Mr. Schlegel is a life member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Rochester Club, the Automobile Club of Rochester and the Rochester Chamber of Commerce. His business activities not only have a direct bear- ing upon the city's industrial prosperity, but have placed him in a most creditable po- sition among Rochester's strong and capable business men. Mr. Schlegel's residence is at No. 1132 East avenue.
THOMAS F. ROGERS.
Thomas F. Rogers, eminent attorney and expert on criminal law, has practiced in Corning, New York, since 1903. During that time he has built up a very suc- cessful law practice and found opportunity to give much effort to the democratic party as well. He was born in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, June 26, 1879, the son of Edward and Margaret (Cullinan) Rogers, both of whom were born in Ireland, the former coming to the United States when a small boy and learning the tanner's trade. He is still living, at the age of eighty-seven.
Thomas F. Rogers was educated in Corning high school and Niagara University, Niagara, New York, where he took the literary course and was graduated with the class of 1898. He then attended Columbia Law School, where he took a special law course and passed his bar examinations in 1901. The young attorney began practice in Addison, New York, and stayed there for two years, after which he opened
GEORGE C. SCHLEGEL
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offices in Corning. Thomas Rogers went into partnership with Judge Waldo M. Willard in 1908, and this association continued for four years, being severed by the death of Judge Willard. In 1919 he took Charles E. McManus into partnership with him. He has kept up a busy general law practice but has made his greatest success in criminal law. For example, he has defended in twenty-nine murder cases and won twenty-six of them. His practice extends all over the Southern Tier of counties in southern New York and the northern part of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Rogers is a democrat of distinction and is the virtual leader of that party in Corning. He has served as delegate to many state conventions and has been a member of the county and city committees, and his influence is far-reaching in the party of Jefferson and Wilson. During the World war he became associated with the Alien Property Custodian in the legal department in New York, under Joseph Griffin, and still maintains this connection.
Thomas F. Rogers is a Roman Catholic, a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Elks, and the Corning Country Club. His recreation is golf. He is a bachelor.
LEWIS HENRY.
One of the most prominent practitioners at the Elmira bar is Lewis Henry, one of the city's native sons, who was born June 8, 1885. His parents, William T. and Annie (Swift) Henry, were married in Hamilton, New York, and for many years have been numbered among the highly respected residents of Elmira. His mother is a native of Hamilton and his father was born in New York city, in 1849. His father is a graduate of Colgate Academy, University and Theological Seminary, for four decades was pastor of the First Baptist church of Elmira, and is now its pastor emeritus. He gives his political support to the republican party and has always con- scientiously discharged the duties of citizenship. He is a man of scholarly attain- ments and his influence upon the life of his community has been of the highest order. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry, six of whom survive. Lewis is the sixth in order of birth.
Lewis Henry was graduated from the Elmira Free Academy in 1904 and in 1909 received the A. B. degree from Cornell University. He completed a course in the Columbia Law School in 1911, in the same year was admitted to the bar, and has since followed his profession in Elmira.
Mr. Henry was married on October 23, 1914, to Miss Marianne Olcott, who was born in Corning, New York, and was educated at Briarcliff Manor, this state. They have two daughters: Anne and Marianne. Mr. Henry is a Baptist in re- ligious faith and his wife is a member of the Episcopal church. He casts his ballot for the candidates of the republican party and has been chosen to fill important public offices. He served for four years on the board of supervisors of Chemung county and on April 11, 1922, was elected congressman from this district, filling out the unexpired term of Alanson B. Houghton, who was appointed United States ambassa- dor to Germany. He has also been county attorney. He is a Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner, a Knight of Pythias and an Elk. He belongs to the City and Country Clubs of Elmira, the Corning City Club, the Town & Gown Club of Ithaca, the Cornell University Club of New York, and the Racquet Club of Washington, D. C. Mr. Henry has won a well-deserved reputation as a public speaker and his services upon the platform are constantly in demand throughout this section.
WILLIAM FREDERICK BORNCAMP.
With the history of Rochester's progress along industrial lines the name of William Frederick Borncamp is closely and prominently associated, and his sudden death on the 12th of June, 1923, was the occasion of deep and widespread regret, for his life was one of great usefulness and activity, actuated by high ideals and char- acterized by intense devotion to duty. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 4, 1875, a son of Henry and Lena (Schurch) Borncamp.
The education of William Frederick Borncamp was acquired in the public schools of his native city. His first independent business venture was the establishment of a retail grocery in Minneapolis at the corner of Fourth avenue, South, and Ninteenth street, South, and he continued as its proprietor until he entered the military
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service of his country, when his brother purchased his stock of merchandise. Subse- quently Mr. Borncamp went to Albert Lea, Minnesota, and entered the employ of a wholesale grocery firm of that city, in which he spent about five years. He next became sales manager for Franklin MacVeagh & Company of Chicago, a large wholesale grocery house, with which he was connected for two years in that capacity, and on the expiration of that period came to Rochester. He acted as sales manager for the American Fruit Products Company until the failure of the firm, when the business was taken over by the Duffy-Mott Company of New York, of which Mr. Borncamp was a member. He became its secretary and filled that office until his death, contributing materially toward the development of what is now the largest industry in the United States devoted to the manufacture of vinegar and cider. All of his force and energy were expended upon the upbuilding of this business, to which he gave his undivided attention, never allowing himself time for recreation, and he lived to see the undertaking upon which he had spent so much effort reach its full fruition, rejoicing in the accomplishment of a task well done. Mr. Borncamp was also one of the organizers of the American Cider & Vinegar Manufacturers Association, which maintained its headquarters in Rochester, and at one time he served as its president.
On September 4, 1895, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mr. Borncamp was married to Miss Nellie E. White and they became the parents of five children: Wendell, who married Blossom Doser and is connected with the Duffy-Mott Company; Irwin, who married Mildred Fox and has a daughter, Betty; Le Roy, who married Hazel Har- rison and resides in New York city; Margaret, the wife of Cle W. Herman; and Dorothy.
Mr. Borncamp was not identified with any organizations of a social or fraternal nature and subordinated every interest to the demands of his business, realizing the value of concentrated effort. During the fourteen years of his residence in Rochester he made a lasting impression upon the business life of the city and his labors will con- tinue to bear fruit for many years to come. His keen sagacity and superior executive force made him a power to be reckoned with in the world of commerce and he was honored for his integrity, admired for his ability and esteemed for those qualities which made possible his success. Death came to him unexpectedly as his train was entering the Grand Central station in New York city. He passed away at the age of forty-eight years, when in the full flush of his powers, and while his life was short, it was eminently complete, affording a notable example of singleness of purpose and an indomitable spirit.
JOHN EDWARD GUBB.
John Edward Gubb, the capable incumbent in the position of postmaster of Batavia, to which he was appointed on the 25th of April, 1922, was successfully engaged in business as a shoe merchant for about two decades prior to that time and has long been numbered among the most public-spirited and enterprising residents of the city. He was born in Elba, Genesee county, New York, on the 15th of May, 1865, his parents being William and Ann (Brailey) Gubb. The father emigrated to this country from England and settled in Genesee county, this state, where he spent the remainder of his life as an agriculturist.
John Edward Gubb completed a course in the grammar and high schools of Batavia by graduation in 1884 and after putting aside his textbooks entered the employ of T. F. Woodward, a shoe merchant, with whom he remained for ten years. Subsequently he served as salesman for the shoe house of Edward R. Rice of Buffalo for about nine years, on the expiration of which period he embarked in the shoe business on his own account in Batavia, feeling that his capital and experience justified him in the venture. As proprietor of the J. E. Gubb Shoe Store he developed a busi- ness of large and profitable proportions, which he conducted for about twenty years and then sold. As above stated, he was appointed postmaster of Batavia for a four- year term, on the 25th of April, 1922, and is making an excellent record in this capacity by reason of the efficient and faithful discharge of the duties devolving upon him.
On the 4th of June, 1892, Mr. Gubb was married to Miss Julia B. Bull, daughter of Miles and Maria C. Bull of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Gubb are the parents of two sons: Lawrence Edward, who fills the position of Buffalo district manager for the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company; and William Miles, who is manager of the Endicott-Johnson shoe store of Batavia.
JOHN E. GUBB
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A stanch republican in politics, Mr. Gubb has been an active worker in the local ranks of the party and was chosen the first councilman from his district when Batavia was incorporated as a city. He enjoys high standing in the community as a citizen whose efforts have ever been exerted in behalf of municipal progress and improvement, and he belongs to both the Batavia Chamber of Commerce and the Batavia Rotary Club, being a charter member of the latter organization. He has served as a director of the Local Young Men's Christian Association and was a mem- ber of the committee which had charge of erecting its new building in Batavia. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church, of which he has long served as a trustee and in the work of which he takes an active and helpful part. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, in which he has filled all of the chairs, belonging to Batavia Lodge, No. 375, F. & A. M., of Batavia; Western Star Chapter, No. 35, R. A. M., of Batavia; Batavia Commandery, No. 34, K. T., of which he has been prelate for a number of years; and Damascus Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Rochester. Mr. Gubb is also a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has ever manifested an enthusiastic interest in work along the lines of civic betterment and community welfare and is justly numbered among the valued and esteemed citizens of Batavia.
HOWARD R. GIBSON.
In the conduct of most country newspapers a job printing plant is usually an im- portant part of the outfit, and the earnings from this are essential to the operation of the whole enterprise. The practical printer, therefore, starts off with a decided ad- vantage in the conduct of a country weekly newspaper. Howard R. Gibson, editor and proprietor of the Avon News of Avon, Livingston county, New York, is one of these practical printers, and is making a success of his paper because of his thorough knowl- edge of the printing business. The Avon News has a circulation of about seven hun- dred copies weekly, and the revenue from this, added to the earnings of the large job printing plant, make the publication a profitable venture.
Mr. Gibson was born at Tippecanoe, Ohio, on January 6, 1874. His ancestors were associated with New York state, his grandfather, Charles DeWitt Gibson, at one time having been the proprietor of the White Horse Tavern at East Avon. Mr. Gibson learned the printing trade in Colorado and worked at the trade continuously until the founding of the Avon News on October 23, 1907. The paper was started as a democratic weekly by Mr. Gibson, and is issued every Friday.
On June 22, 1905, Mr. Gibson was married to Louise Walther, who is his able assistant in the conduct of the News. They have two children: Corodon W. and Walther W.
GEORGE M. SHULL.
Now retired from a long and distinguished career in journalism, during which he became one of the best known newspaper men in the Genesee country, George M. Shull of Mount Morris, Livingston county, New York, is living at his home in peaceful reflection on the incidents of his eventful life. As an editor it is said of Mr. Shull that he was fearless in the expression of his opinions editorially, and was always reliably on the side of clean politics and clean living. He was born on April 11, 1846, at Dansville, New York, the son of Griffith D. and Aseneth (Moe) Shull, his parents being of German descent, but natives of New York state.
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