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 69
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JOSEPH H. PIERCE
37-Vol. III
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New World prior to 1623, as his name appears upon the records of the Old Colony in that year. In 1627, upon the division of cattle, he received two shares of a red cow, which he traded to Miles Standish for one ewe lamb.
Joseph H. Pierce attended the public school and academy at Dundee and gradu- ated from Starkey Seminary. Between the ages of fourteen and seventeen he engaged in farm work and his education was acquired during the winter months. For a time he followed the carpenter's trade and then obtained a position in the office of Warren H. Hayes, a well known architect of Elmira. Under his guidance Mr. Pierce mastered the technicalities of the profession and when his employer left the city he purchased his interest in the business, which is now conducted under the firm style of Pierce & Bickford, being registered architects in the states of New York and Pennsylvania. For a long period of years they have been, and are still, securing many impor- tant commissions, not only in their own city, but throughout an ever-widening terri- tory. Among some of the more important works designed by them in Elmira are the city hall, Steele Memorial building, the Masonic temple, several large business blocks on Water street, the state armory, the First Baptist church, Hedding church, the Free Academy, the South Side high school, the Star-Gazette building, the Iszard depart- ment store and the Y. M. C. A. building. They also designed many of the state normal school buildings at Mansfield, Pennsylvania, the high school in Towanda, Pennsylvania, the high school in Bradford, Pennsylvania, the model school in Mansfield and also the high school there, the Clifton Springs Sanitarium in Ontario county, New York, and many other buildings within a radius of several hundred miles. Their buildings are mostly of fireproof construction. Their work is the expression of a high and endur- ing art, manifesting splendid adaptation to specific needs, combined with beauty of form and design. They employ a large office force and their business is conducted according to the highest standard of professional ethics.
In 1886 Mr. Pierce was married to Miss Carrie Decker, daughter of Hon. David Decker. She was born in Elmira and received her education in that city and in Cazenovia Seminary. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce are members of the Hedding Methodist Episcopal church and for thirty-five years Mr. Pierce has been one of its trustees, while he has also acted as superintendent of the Sunday school. In Masonry he has taken the degrees of the York and Scottish Rites and has filled some of the chairs in the commandery, while he is also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Elmira Chamber of Commerce and the Business Men's Association and also belongs to the Century Club. He supports the platform and principles of the repub- lican party and has been called to public office, serving for four years as police commissioner. Mr. Pierce keeps in close touch with the progress that is being made along architectural lines in the New World and his designs have always been char- acterized by originality and that degree of taste and consistency which indicates the true artistic touch.
FRANK W. HERRON.
Frank W. Herron, secretary and treasurer of the Producers Gas Company at Olean, New York, has been identified with this public service concern for thirty-four years and has worked his way up from bookkeeper to his present responsible post. He has taken a great interest in oil and gas development and has been rewarded by the amazing growth of this utility during the past quarter of a century. Every- thing pertaining to civic life and betterment has interested Mr. Herron, too, and his efforts for the upbuilding of Olean have been effectual. He was born in Prattsburg, New York, September 4, 1867, the son of Robert and Harriett (Clark) Herron. His father was an active resident of Bath, New York, but in his later years became an invalid and did not participate in the business world. He died April 12, 1914. The paternal grandfather, John Herron, was the first of the family to settle in the Genesee country, coming here in 1833 and becoming one of the most prominent men of the section. Herron Hill, south of Bath, was named for him.
Frank W. Herron attended the public and high schools of Bath and Westbrooks Academy at Olean. He then entered the employ of Merscreau & Company, lumber dealers of Portville, New York, where he remained for two years. He became book- keeper for the Producers Gas Company and has been with them ever since, and in 1915 was promoted to secretary-treasurer. His work has always been appreciated by the company and he is considered one of the bulwarks of the concern.
Mr. Herron was married to Miss Anna Rockwell in Mount Morris, New York,
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December 23, 1891. She came from Smithport, Pennsylvania. They have four chil- dren: Donald W., a Watertown, New York, newspaper man; Selden C., in the oil business in Port Arthur, Texas; Lois F., and Robert F., students in the Olean schools. Mr. Herron is a member of the Olean Masonic order, an active republican, and a member of St. Stephens Episcopal church.
MAHER BROTHERS COMPANY.
The firm of Maher Brothers at Medina, New York, was founded in 1877 for the manufacture of upholstered furniture and the disposition of same through the medium of a retail store. The retail branch of the business was discontinued in 1888, when the concern became an exclusive manufacturing enterprise. In 1899 the owners formed a company for the manufacture of furniture frames which they conducted as the Medina Furniture Company until 1912, when it was merged with the Maher Brothers concern under the name of the Maher Brothers Company, which style has been maintained to the present time. It distributes its product in every part of the United States through its own sales force. Its ever growing volume of business is due to the high quality of the manufactured product.
JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN WILSON.
Joseph Chamberlain Wilson has been an active factor in municipal affairs of Rochester as an officeholder for the past twenty-eight years and since 1919 has filled the position of city comptroller. In business circles of the city he is also well known as secretary and treasurer of the jewelry establishment conducted under the name of the J. C. Wilson Company, which had its inception forty-six years ago. His birth occurred in Binghamton, Broome county, New York, on the 11th of October, 1851, his parents being Henry and Ann S. (Williams) Wilson, both of whom were natives of New York city and always remained within the borders of the Empire state. The father, who devoted his attention to mercantile pursuits throughout his active business career, passed away in Syracuse, New York. The mother was a resident of Rochester when called to her final rest.
Joseph C. Wilson obtained a high school education in his native city and at an early age entered the service of a well known jeweler of Syracuse as an apprentice. After having mastered the trade he worked as a jeweler in Syracuse until 1878, which year witnessed his arrival in Rochester. Here he embarked in business as a jeweler on his own account and still conducts a well appointed establishment of this character on East Main street, having developed an extensive patronage through reliable and enterprising methods. Mr. Wilson is not only the secretary and treasurer of the J. C. Wilson Company but also secretary and treasurer of the Acme Sales Company and a director of the Haloid Company, manufacturers of photographic paper. Of the Acme Sales Company he formerly served as president. He is a man of keen discrimination and sound judgment, and his executive ability and excellent manage- ment have brought to the concerns with which he is connected a large degree of success.
On the 12th of May, 1881, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Alice M. Hutton, daughter of James Hutton. Their children are three in number: Joseph R., who was born in this city and is a graduate of the University of Rochester, is actively engaged in business as secretary and general manager of the Haloid Company. He wedded Miss Katherine Upton of Rochester and has two children, Joseph C. and Rich- ard Upton Wilson. Mrs. Alice Lillian Howell, a native of Rochester and a graduate of the Rochester high school, still makes her home in this city. She is married and has two children, Alice L. and Frank Walker Howell. Mrs. Emma Maud Crandall, who was also born in this city and is a graduate of the Rochester high school, is the mother of two children, Charles Trafton and Robert W. Crandall.
Mr. Wilson became interested in municipal affairs early in the '90s and was urged by his fellow townsmen to accept candidacy for public office. In 1896 he was elected alderman of the nineteenth ward, serving in that capacity until 1900, when he was chosen city assessor. In the latter position of public trust and re- sponsibility he continued for seventeen years, or until 1917, while during the two succeeding years he acted as city treasurer. Since 1919 he has filled the office of
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city comptroller and in this connection also has made a most commendable record that fully justifies the support and confidence of his constituents. Fraternally Mr. Wilson is a thirty-second degree Mason and has taken the degrees of both the York and Scottish Rites. He is likewise identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Universalist church. He also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, to the Rochester Historical Society and to the Rochester Club, the Washington Club of Rochester and the Rochester Automobile Club. At this point it would be almost tautological to enter into any series of statements as showing Mr. Wilson to be a man of broad intelligence and genuine public spirit, for these have been shadowed forth between the lines of this review. Strong in his individuality, he never lacks the courage of his convictions, but there are as dominating elements in this individuality a lively human sympathy and an abiding charity, which, as taken in connection with the sterling integrity and honor of his character, have naturally gained to him the respect and confidence of men.
ARTHUR E. WOOD.
Arthur E. Wood, president of the Big Elm Dairy Company, is one of the best known men in his line of business in western New York. Mr. Wood's connection with the dairy business dates back at least a half century. He was born in Rochester, New York, December 5, 1860. His parents came to the United States in the latter '50s. His father was William Wood and his mother's maiden name was Emma Low. Both were natives of Nottingham, England, and for a number of years were residents of Rochester, where their deaths occurred. William Wood was a well known milk dis- tributor of this city forty years ago and was conducting a successful business of that character at the time of his death. There were four children in his family: Mrs. Daniel Hatch of Canandaigua; Arthur E., of this review; Mrs. Hattie Berner, now deceased; and Albert W., who is vice president of the Big Elm Dairy Company and is mentioned elsewhere in this work.
Arthur E. Wood attended the schools of Rochester and when but a boy, while at work for his father, gained his first practical knowledge of the dairy business that was to occupy his attention for a lifetime. He remained with his father in that work until he was twenty-four years old, when he entered the employ of a Mr. Terrill, who was also in the dairy business. A year later Mr. Wood changed em- ployers and became associated with Charles Kelley and still later was in the employ of George Brasser, another dairyman of this city. When Mr. Brasser died Mr. Wood purchased from the estate the milk route of his late employer, which he con- ducted successfully until 1902. In that year he joined with several other men in organizing the Big Elm Dairy Company. The growth of this company has been remarkable. Its management has been both capable and progressive. The fireproof structure that now houses the business was erected in 1915 and is generally con- ceded to be the most modern and scientifically equipped in western New York, rep- resenting the last word in plant construction of its character. As its chief executive Mr. Wood has been no small factor in the success of the Big Elm Dairy Company, the other officials being Albert W. Wood, vice president, and Oscar B. Spieler, secre- tary and treasurer. It is both interesting and significant to note here that many patrons now being served by this company bought milk from Mr. Wood years ago when he took over the route of Mr. George Brasser, and have continued to give him their patronage from that day to this. The fact that Mr. Wood is numbered among the substantial business men of a city wherein he has passed almost his entire life, and where many of his best friends are those who have known him longest, is indica- tive of the high character of his business methods and practices. Fraternally he is known as a York Rite Mason who has also attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and has crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise identified with the Rochester Lodge of Elks and belongs to the Rochester Club.
On the 30th of November, 1889, Mr. Wood was married in this city to Miss Myrtle B. Dieter, daughter of Mathew Dieter, a well known resident of Rochester. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have two sons: Arthur M., born in Rochester in 1896; and Howard W., born in 1901. The older son is engaged in business in Canandaigua, New York. He is married, his wife being the former Miss Marguerite Haley of Rochester. During the late war he enlisted in the American navy and was assigned to the United States transport service, where he was on active duty for a year and
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a half. The younger son, Howard W., who is a high school graduate and also com- pleted a course in Syracuse University, is now associated with his father in the active management of the business.
MILTON E. VAN DUSEN.
Farming and the live stock business are the principal occupations of Milton E. Van Dusen of Nunda, Livingston county, New York. He is a large owner of farm- ing land, of which he is the active manager. He was born in the town of Hume, Allegany county, New York, on April 14, 1858, the son of Myron and Elizabeth (Boynton) Van Dusen. There were seven children in the family, three of whom are living. Both parents have passed away.
Milton E. Van Dusen's education was obtained in the district schools and at Pike Academy, in Wyoming county, and after its completion he began work as a farmer in Wyoming county. When twenty-one years old Mr. Van Dusen moved to Mount Morris, in Livingston county, and took up farming, at which he has continued. He owns four farms, aggregating four hundred acres, in the town of Mount Morris. Mr. Van Dusen is a democrat in his political views, was village president for four years, a trustee for eleven years, president of the board of education for two years and a member of the board for ten years.
On October 12, 1881, Mr. Van Dusen was married to Rose Clark of Portage, New York. They have a daughter: Lena, wife of Fred L. Dake of Nunda. Mr. Van Dusen is a regular attendant at the Presbyterian church and has been one of its trustees for sixteen years. Fraternally Mr. Van Dusen is affiliated with the Masonic order.
FREDERIC S. COVENTRY.
Frederic S. Coventry, a man of broad experience in business affairs, ranks with the leading realtors of Rochester, where his activities have contributed to the city's growth and upbuilding. He was born at Stuyvesant Falls, New York, on the 7th of November, 1858, a son of Stephen M. and Maria Jane (Wadsworth) Coventry, the former also a native of that place. The father removed to Monroe county, New York, and became identified with the paper industry of this locality, the mills being operated by water power. He engaged in that business for many years and passed away in August, 1873. The mother was born in Wayne county, New York, on the 7th of July, 1832, and has reached the venerable age of ninety-two years. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Coventry and two are now living: Frederic S .; and Mrs. Minnie Mills, whose home is in Rochester. A son, John T., who died in January, 1925, was a resident of Lima, New York.
Frederic S. Coventry attended a district school near Lima and in 1869 became a pupil in the public schools of Rochester, where he completed his education. He began his business career as a clerk in the Burke store, in which he worked for several years, and then entered the employ of the Strauss Clothing Company. He next became associated in business with his brother, John T. Coventry, and for five years they were proprietors of a general store at Lima. In 1895 Frederic S. Coventry returned to Rochester and became manager of the Bristol Hotel and also operated the White Kitchen Restaurant. He disposed of that business to enter the real estate field, in which he has since continued with ever increasing success. He has an expert knowledge of the business and his interests have been well managed. His buildings are substantially constructed and attractive in design, representing the best in work- manship and material consistent with the prices charged. In development projects he has not only studied present needs and conditions but has also looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the opportunities and possibilities of the future and his operations are conducted on an extensive scale. Mr. Coventry has developed the following subdivisions : Crittenden Park, which contains one hundred and eighty lots; Bon Air, comprising one hundred and ten lots; and is the owner of Riverside Gardens, a tract containing three hundred and twenty-eight lots, which are now on sale, and Coventry Manor and Sarasota Flora, comprising two hundred lots. He also platted the Nowadoga subdivision, a tract containing ninety-eight lots, situated on elevated level land, commanding on the north a beautiful view of Lake Ontario, and on the south, at the crest of a prolonged hill, a magnificent panorama of the far-famed
Frederic Slovening
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scenery of the lower Genesee valley. It is a veritable garden spot-an ideal place in which to live and enjoy country life, with city conveniences. He has real estate inter- ests in Florida and has made a number of profitable investments in and around Sorasota, Punta Gorda and St. Petersburg in that state. Mr. Coventry also has other business interests, owning a cigar and news stand in the Powers Hotel for twenty-seven years, and has shown excellent judgment in his investments, which return to him a substantial income.
On August 10, 1898, in Elmira, New York, Mr. Coventry married Miss Marietta « Snyder, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Snyder of that city. Mr. Coventry is a member of the Central church of Rochester. He is a well known Mason, being a member of Genesee Falls Lodge, No. 507, F. & A. M .; has attained the thirty-second degree; is also a Shriner; and belongs to Lalla Rookh Grotto, No. 3. He is identified with the Rochester Historical Society, the Automobile Club of Rochester, and for a number of years belonged to the Rochester Chamber of Commerce. Alert, enterpris- ing and resourceful, his efforts have been directed along steadily broadening lines of greater usefulness, and his friends are legion. Mr. Coventry's residence is at No. 11 Vick Park A.
A. B. DE GROAT.
A. B. de Groat is a photographer of Bath who makes a specialty of high-class portrait work and has become widely recognized as a skilled and successful repre- sentative of his art. He is a native of Zumbrota, Minnesota, born December 14, 1868, and is a son of the Rev. A. B. and Mary (Hoagland) de Groat. His father, born in Painted Post, Steuben county, New York, preached the gospel as a minister of the Baptist denomination. The maternal grandparents of Mr. de Groat of this review were also numbered among the pioneer residents of Steuben county, this state, having taken up their abode among the early settlers of the town of Howard.
A. B. de Groat, who was still quite young when he came with his parents to the Empire state, acquired his preliminary education in the public schools and continued his studies in Haverling Academy, while subsequently he pursued a business course at Hornell Business School of Hornell, New York. He then took up photography, to which he has devoted his attention to the present time, now conducting a well ap- pointed and attractive studio in the town of Bath. Mr. de Groat does all kinds of outside and inside photography but has become particularly known for high-class portrait work, in which he specializes. He has the true artist's conception of the values of light and shade, and his work has won popular favor to a degree that makes his patronage a very extensive one.
In 1907 Mr. de Groat was united in marriage to Miss Effie Orcott and they are the parents of a son: Albert Ford. Mr. de Groat is a republican in politics. . In Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, is past master of Steuben Lodge No. 112, A. F. & A. M., and past patron in the Amaranth Lodge. His hobby is the raising of gladioli, of which he produces a rare French variety, which his cultivation and sale have brought into wide demand.
LOUIS J. KNAPP.
A city always follows the careers of its successful sons with a pride that is almost parental in character. This interest in the success of the younger generation is naturally more intense if the individual's efforts are expended in his own com- munity, where they are watched with a kindly solicitude and their results directly felt. Thus it comes about that Rochester points with considerable pride to the achieve- ments of Louis J. Knapp, one of her prominent real estate men. Born in this city, on the 7th of July, 1882, he has lived here all of his life. His father was also one of Rochester's native sons. Victor Knapp, the father, was a well known and suc- cessful grocer here for many years, enjoying a large business prior to his death in 1900. The mother, who passed away on August 12, 1921, was born in Erie, Pennsyl- vania, and bore the maiden name of Frances Mehl. By her marriage she became the mother of eight children, of whom six survive her: Miss Edith Knapp of this city; Mrs. Cora Durgin of Detroit; Mrs. Adelaide Burns of Rochester; Cornelius V. Knapp, also of this city; Karl J. Knapp of Minneapolis; and Louis J. Knapp of this
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review. As a boy Mr. Knapp attended the St. Peter and St. Paul Parochial school and the Rochester Free Academy, later supplementing this general education with a commercial course in the night school of the Rochester Business College.
Mr. Knapp's early venture into business was as an associate of his brother in the grocery business. Later he held a position with the Hunting Company, dealers in plumbers' supplies, as credit manager for five years, following which he entered the plumbing and heating business on his own account. He did a contracting and job- bing business along these lines for about five years, eventually selling out. Mr. Knapp first became interested in the real estate field as a member of the organization of the Robert J. Carroll Corporation, a well known realty firm of Rochester. Not only did this type of work prove congenial to Mr. Knapp, but it offered him abundant opportunity to make the best use of his abilities as a business man as well. On May 1, 1921, he opened his own real estate office and has been doing business in his own name ever since. The success that has attended this venture speaks volumes for Mr. Knapp's ability and for the confidence his clients have placed in his integrity and judgment. Ten years of consistent but well rewarded effort have placed him in the front ranks of the men engaged in this line of work.
Mr. Knapp votes with the republican party and religiously is identified with the Roman Catholic church. He has taken the fourth degree in the Knights of Columbus and is serving as the district warden of the fifteenth district in that order. His clubs are the Rochester Automobile and Alhambra Clubs. In connection with his business he maintains membership in the Rochester Real Estate Board.
In Rochester, on the 9th of June, 1908, Mr. Knapp was married to Miss Jennie Harnischfeger, who belongs to a well known Rochester family. Mr. and Mrs. Knapp have a son, Louis J. Knapp, Jr., who was born in this city on the 1st of November, 1921. Since 1909, Mr. Knapp has resided at No. 53, Linden street, having purchased the property on the 12th of April that year.
JOHN S. LAPP.
The manufacturer is at once the mainstay and the motive power of every com- munity in which he is found. To this useful class of citizens belongs John S. Lapp, who has transmuted his visions into brilliant realities. His constructive efforts have resulted in the development of an industry of large extent and importance, and as the founder and head of the Lapp Insulator Company, Incorporated, operating in Le Roy, he has achieved an international reputation. He was born in Honeoye Falls, New York, August 6, 1878, a son of John and Christine (Ritzenthaler) Lapp, the former a carriage-maker and a man of inventive genius. The paternal grandfather immigrated from Germany to the United States about 1840, settling in western New York, where he spent the remainder of his life. His son John was long a resident of Rochester, and died in that city on the 2d of April, 1921.
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