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 78
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As a boy Perry Edwin Fellows went to school in Albion, New York, passing through the successive grades and graduating from high school. His first regular
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employment was with Henry A. Bruner, the owner and editor of the Orleans Ameri- can, one of the weekly papers of Albion. After working for Mr. Bruner for a short time the young man resigned his position to accept a similar one with James Carpenter, editor and proprietor of the Gloucester County Democrat of Gloucester, New Jersey. Later he went to Philadelphia, where he worked as job compositor for Edgar Kemp & Son for a year, following which he was connected with Edward P. Stern & Company, both concerns making a specialty of printing city directories. and magazines. In the house of Allen, Lane & Scott of Philadelphia, one of the largest printing firms in the country, Mr. Fellows obtained some very valuable experience in show printing. This concern turned out the large posters used by circuses and road shows in advertising their attractions throughout the country. After working for Edward P. Stern & Company he accepted a position with the Philadelphia Daily Press as make-up man and a month later was assigned as re- porter. Returning to Albion, New York, he was connected with the Orleans County Herald for a few months, after which a partnership was formed between James Tuite and himself, the two gentlemen operating a printing plant at Niagara Falls for three years. After selling out his interest to Mr. James Tuite, Mr. Fellows secured a position as editor and manager of the Palmyra Journal. During the three years he was identified with the paper Mr. Fellows built it up, making it a journalistic success. When the owners of the Journal sold out to the Palmyra Courier, Mr. Fellows came to Rochester, where he has lived ever since.
Mr. Fellows' first position in this city was with the Artistic Printing & Engraving Company. Later he was connected with the Spinning, Davis & Steel concern in an important capacity and is generally credited with having built up that business. In 1910 an opportunity presented itself for Mr. Fellows to go into business on his own account. As The Gillies Lithographing & Printing Company was about to go out of business, the stockholders were glad to dispose of its plant and goodwill. Here, as in the case of all the other businesses he has built up, Mr. Fellows worked slowly and surely, gradually feeling his way and expanding only as the increased volume of work warranted such steps. Thus laying a sound foundation for his future development, Mr. Fellows was soon able to see his work bearing fruit. Today this company stands out as one of the leading printing and publishing concerns in New York state and enjoys a patronage commensurate with its prestige. The plant is recognized as one of the most modern in equipment and methods in the country and gives steady employment to more than sixty people. A large stock of fine print papers is always on hand and Mr. Fellows makes a point of keeping in stock all the materials used by the trade, so that he can fill large orders on very short notice. Quality and service is the motto of his establishment. Nor is there a printer any- where in the country better able to judge good workmanship and materials and to carry out contracts for fine printing, than Mr. Fellows. He has learned the trade from the bottom up and as a master craftsman is an example and inspiration to all who are associated with him.
In addition to his work as head of The Gillies Lithographing & Printing Com- pany, Mr. Fellows is owner of three weeklies-"This Week in Buffalo", "This Week in Rochester" and "This Week in Syracuse." These three publications have a combined weekly circulation of over thirty-five thousand. The Gillies Lithographing & Printing Company print, bind and mail several other magazines, some weeklies and monthlies. Among this lot of publications is the American Journal of Nursing, with a world- wide circulation, which requires several tons of paper at one issue. The concern also prints publications for Michaels, Stern & Company and the Hickey-Freeman Com- pany, both of which conduct clothing manufacturing establishments of national scope, and prints various school papers, monthlies for the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Masonic publications and numerous house organs. Mr. Fellows is one-half owner in the Bus Line Advertising Company and a member of the Associate' In- dustries of New York State. He was mayor of White City, on the lake front, and is a republican in his political affiliations. Something of his recreational interests is revealed by his membership in the Rochester Club, the Automobile Club of Rochester and the Rochester Yacht Club and he likewise belongs to the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce. Fraternally 'he is. identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Masonic order, rank- ing as a member of the Mystic Shrine in the latter organization. He is genial and optimistic by nature and extracts from life the real essence of living.
Mr. Fellows and Miss Rose E. Bills were married in Albion, on the 5th of November, 1893. Mrs. Fellows is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William L. Bills. Mr. and Mrs. Fellows are the parents of three children: The eldest, Leo Darius
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Fellows, was born in Albion in 1894. He was married to Miss Marion Stewart of Rochester and they have one daughter, Barbara; Marion, born in Niagara Falls in 1896, is now Mrs. Stanley W. Mix of Rochester; Mrs. Wenona Marth, who was born in Palmyra in 1898, now resides in Albany. Mr. Fellows' city residence is at No. 1 Burke terrace, while his summer home is at White City, Irondequoit, New York. He is also owner of the Fellows homestead at Gaines, New York, on the famous Ridge road, which property has been in this Fellows family for over seventy-five years.
ASAPH BLOOMFIELD HALL.
Asaph Bloomfield Hall, a World war veteran, is now serving as county clerk of Chemung county. He was born in Meridian, Connecticut, January 22, 1898, and is a son of H. H. and Jennie (Hale) Hall, also natives of the Nutmeg state. In 1908 they removed to Elmira, where they have since resided. Mr. H. H. Hall is a member of the Park Congregational church, and casts his ballot for the candidates of the republican party, while fraternally he is connected with the Masonic order.
Asaph Bloomfield Hall is the oldest of three children. He was nine years of age when his parents established their home in Elmira and his education was completed in the Free Academy of this city, from which he was graduated in 1917. He began his business career as a newsboy. On July 7, 1917, he was accepted for service in the World war, becoming a private in Company I, Fifty-sixth Infantry, which was at- tached to the Seventh Division. He received his training at Camp McArthur, Waco, Texas, after which he was ordered to the front, and was stationed on the firing line in France until the armistice was signed. He was made a corporal, then a sergeant and finally was commissioned a second lieutenant. He was released from service July 30, 1919, and returned to Elmira, where he secured a position with the Lowman Construction Company. On the 6th of November, 1923, Mr. Hall was elected clerk of Chemung county and took office in January, 1924. He has all the qualifications which go to make up a first-class official and the work of his department is sys- tematically, efficiently and conscientiously performed. Mr. Hall is deputy commis- sioner of the New York State Veterans Relief Commission for Chemung county, an office which offers no pecuniary rewards, and was first appointed by Governor Miller and afterward reappointed by Governor Smith. He has handled more than forty cases and paid out over six thousand dollars under authority of the law.
On June 21, 1924, Mr. Hall was married to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Lowman of Lowman, New York, the daughter of Edward M. Lowman. Mr. Hall is active in the affairs of the American Legion and was first vice commander of Harry B. Bentley Post of that organization. He takes a deep interest in every project for the better- ment of his community and is secretary of the Hoffman Park Playground Association and scoutmaster of Troop No. 12 of the Boy Scouts of America. He is identified with the Loyal Order of Moose and belongs to Ivy Lodge, No. 397, of the Masonic fraternity. He is also a member of the Masonic Club and in religious faith is a Congregational- ist, belonging to the Park church of that denomination.
HOOD FURNACE & SUPPLY COMPANY.
The old established and notable corporation-the Hood Furnace & Supply Com- pany-is one of the leading industries of Corning. It was founded in 1881 by Cyrus Hood and George R. Brown. Some years later Mr. Hood bought out his partner's interest and took Dr. A. M. Gamman into the business with him. In 1892 the company was incorporated, with Cyrus Hood as president. Later on his sons, Alfred G. Hood and Robert H. Hood, became officials in the concern, the former being made treasurer and the latter superintendent of the foundry.
The Hood Furnace & Supply Company, which employs about one hundred men, is an extensive plant located at Third street, east and the railroad, and the foundry is on Front street, just west of the Corning Glass Works. The concern is especially noted for its three celebrated furnaces, the New Home, Our Home and the Cheerful Home, the last named being its great specialty. The business has increased greatly over the years and the company is now one of the largest in this section.
The Hood family is one of the oldest in the Genesee country and is a respected and honored group. Uriah D. Hood lived near Geneva, New York, and married Olive
ASAPH B. HALL
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Cooper. Cyrus Hood, their son, was born in Corning, October 24, 1847, and was educated in the public schools. He was in the lumber business for fifteen years before starting his furnace concern. He was married to Jemina Gamman in 1879, and their children are: Alfred G., George C. and Robert H.
Alfred G. Hood was born in Corning, February 10, 1882, and after attending the local schools entered Cornell University, took up mechanical engineering and graduated with the class of 1905. He has been secretary-treasurer of the Hood Furnace & Supply Company since 1905. He was married to Elsie Mann, on Decem- ber 22, 1907, and their children are: Robert, Donald, Marjory, Kenneth and Ruth. George C. Hood was born in Corning, attended Amherst College and entered the Presbyterian ministry. After traveling among the colleges for a year, where he was actively engaged in the student volunteer work, he was sent to China as a missionary. He has worked there for a period of twelve years, with fine success under difficulties and is splendidly carrying on the work of the Master.
Robert H. Hood was born in Corning and attended Amherst College, and he has been superintendent of the foundry since his college days. He was married on June 18, 1921, to Florence Dare of Syracuse, New York, and they have three children.
All of the Hoods are Presbyterians and republicans. The family are prominent and through their work and helpful spirit in the community have gained an honored place in the esteem of their fellowmen.
ROBERT TIFFT TURNER.
With the history of progress in Elmira the name of Robert Tifft Turner was long closely and prominently associated and his labors were of far-reaching extent and importance and most beneficial in their effects. Many important public projects owe their inception to his initiative spirit and ability as an organizer. A man of versatile talents, he not only won a notable measure of success in the law, but was equally at home in the fields of business and finance, and his public service was of a most valuable character. Not alone for his ability is his memory held in rever- ence by those who knew him, for he was possessed of conspicuous personal qualities. He was known chiefly for his kindly and simple nature, with great capacity for friendship, and so he had, as he deserved to have, many friends. His actions and decisions were controlled by his desire that right and truth should prevail; he eliminated trouble and discord wherever his influence reached. Material success did not destroy the love of the simple and wholesome things of life and throughout his career he clung to those fundamental precepts of Americanism which are the most glorious heritage of our race.
Robert Tifft Turner was born in Veteran, Chemung county, New York, January 28, 1835, a son of John and Ulissa (Tifft) Turner, the latter a daughter of Robert Tifft of Rensselaer county, New York, and of French descent. They were married in 1824. The mother's death occurred on October 1, 1871. John Turner was born in 1800 and was of English lineage. In 1826 he removed from Rensselaer county to Veteran, where he engaged in the lumber business and also followed the occupation of farming. He was a strong abolitionist and was one of the six men in Veteran who voted for James G. Birney for president in 1844. However, he never aspired to public office. He was highly esteemed in his community and passed away on Janu- ary 17, 1881.
In the acquirement of an education Robert Tifft Turner attended the Whites- town Seminary and was later a student at Alfred University, in Allegany county, this state. He next matriculated in Union College at Schenectady, New York, and was graduated with the class of 1861. He read law in the office of Hathaway & Woods, prominent attorneys of. Elmira, and in 1862 Colonel Hathaway enlisted for service in the Civil war, joining Company A, One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry. Mr. Turner was placed in charge of his affairs and after the Colonel's death managed the estate for the heirs. In 1864 Mr. Turner was admitted to the bar and four years later associated himself in practice with Seymour Dexter, remaining in the same office in which he had studied law. In 1872 E. C. Van Duzer was admitted to a partnership in the firm of Turner & Dexter and in 1879 Seymour Dexter was elected county judge and surrogate of Chemung county. The firm then became Turner. & Van Duzer and the business was continued under that style until the death of the junior partner in 1894. Later he formed a partner-
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ship with his son, under the firm name of Turner & Turner, which association con- tinued until the death of the father on November 7, 1915.
In 1877 Mr. Turner and Solomon L. Gillett purchased the auger and cutlery plant of the Nobles Company, which had become insolvent, and reorganized the business. They established the industry upon a paying basis and successfully oper- ated the factory until 1887, when it was sold to eastern capitalists, who removed the business to Connecticut. The ability which Mr. Turner displayed in the manage- ment of the Hathaway properties led to his selection for other trusts of that char- acter and from that time forward he specialized in the administration of estates- a field of activity for which he was exceptionally well qualified. He also devoted much of his time to the promotion of large business projects and was the organizer of the Elmira & State Railway Company, now a part of the Erie system. He also established the Canal Railway, of which he became president; this later became a part of the Utica, Ithaca & Elmira Railroad, of which Mr. Turner was a director and counsel. This road is now part of the Lehigh Valley. For many years he was attorney for the New York, Lackawanna & Western Extension. He was one of the organizers and until the time of his death the president of The Shepard Electric Crane & Hoist Company of Montour Falls, New York. He was one of the original directors of the old Elmira & Horseheads Street Railway. He was a director of the Second National Bank, of which he later became vice president, was one of the trustees of the Elmira Free Press and for three years was treasurer of the Elmira Advertisers Association. His knowledge of the law was comprehensive and exact and he was conceded to have been one of the most talented members of the Elmira bar.
Mr. Turner was a democrat in politics and in 1872 was elected alderman from the fourth ward. In 1876 he was elected mayor by a large majority, his opponent having been the late Dr. Patrick H. Flood. He was serving in that capacity at the time of the big strike in 1877 and managed the situation in a highly creditable manner. He was the first president of the Elmira Board of Trade and held the office for several years.
In the year 1868 Mr. Turner was married to Miss Helen E. Boyd of Buffalo, New York, a daughter of General John W. Boyd of Geneva, Wisconsin. General Boyd was one of the prominent men of that state and took an active part in political affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Turner were the parents of five children, namely: Sara, wife of Hiram H. Bickford of Elmira; Welthea H., deceased; Elizabeth Ulissa; Samuel G. H .; and Robert T. Mr. Turner was a member of the Episcopal church, senior warden of Trinity church, and faithful in his religious ideals.
Throughout his life Mr. Turner bore an unblemished reputation and commanded the respect of the entire community. His intellectual nature was finely attuned and his life was an inspiring example of good citizenship.
SHERMAN COLLINS.
Sherman Collins, president and treasurer of the Sherman Collins Company, In- corporated, and managing director of the popular Olean House in Olean, New York, is a native son of New York state, of which he has been a resident all his life, and a resident of Olean for the past ten years and more. He was born in Ithaca, and is a son of Hartson and Sarah (Sherguar) Collins, the latter of whom is still living. She is a member of one of the colonial families of New York and of Revolutionary stock, one of her great-grandfathers having served in the Continental army as a member of the staff of General Washington. The last Hartson Collins also was of colonial and Revolutionary descent, his paternal great-grandfather, Thomas Collins of Lansing, New York, having served as a soldier of the Revolution in General Sullivan's army. The Collinses are of Scottish stock.
Reared in Ithaca, Sherman Collins completed his local studies in the high school there and then entered Cornell University, but did not finish the course. While at Cornell he was elected to the college fraternity Psi Sigma Kappa and also served as president of the association in charge of the Gamma Chapter House of that fraternity. He has ever retained his hearty interest in the continuing affairs of this fraternity. Upon leaving the university Mr. Collins became engaged in the mercantile business in Ithaca and continued thus engaged at that place for twenty years, the greater part of this time being employed as a bond underwriter, representing banks and other financial interests in New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago. While thus engaged Mr. Collins promoted the organization of the Cayuga Lake Cement Company and in
SHERMAN COLLINS
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Portland Point, New York, erected an extensive cement plant and built a town for the accommodation of the operatives of the plant, becoming the proprietor of all the buildings in the town, the land on which the town and cement plant were located having been owned by him.
In the year 1915 Mr. Collins entered upon his previous connection with the South- ern Tier Hotel Company, of which he was elected treasurer, succeeding the Sartwell Estate, the proprietary interests in the old Olean House in Olean, where he was managing director of this fine hotel property and long recognized as one of the lead- ing hotel men in the state. On January 1, 1925, he bought the interests of the Southern Tier Hotel Company and changed the corporate name to the Sherman Collins Com- pany, Incorporated, being president and treasurer of the new company.
Mr. Collins' popularity among his associates in the hotel business in New York is attested by the fact that he is now (1925) serving as vice president of the New York State Hotel Men's Association, to the general affairs of which organization he has for years given his earnest attention. Since the Southern Tier Hotel Company took over the Olean House in 1915, extensive additions and improvements have been made in that popular old hostelry. The capacity has been doubled, the hotel now having no fewer than two hundred and twenty-five rooms, eighty of which are equipped with individual bath facilities. There is a well conducted dining-room and grill oper- ated in connection, these latter, however, being carried on under separate management.
Mr. Collins has for many years been one of the most enthusiastic yachtsmen in New York, an interest which he accounts perhaps his chief diversion. For fifteen years he was the commodore of the Inter-Lake Yacht Racing Association, an organi- zation formed for the promotion of the sport of yachting on the lakes of western New York, and for eight years was president of that association. He is a Knight Templar and a Noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, affiliated with Damascus Temple, and has long taken an active interest in Masonic affairs. He also has membership in the Olean City Club, the local Kiwanis Club and the World Travel Club.
Mr. Collins married Miss Harriet Milks of Ithaca and both he and his wife take an interested and helpful part in the general social activities of their home town. Mr. Collins has been a great reader and a lifelong student of history and has collected a private library of much value, the books on his shelves now numbering something more than two thousand, a large section of this library being devoted to historical works.
WILLIAM C. DALEY.
Although he has not yet celebrated the thirty-fifth anniversary of his birth, William C. Daley has made a record in the real estate world that entitles him to individual mention among the men who are making history in the Genesee country. For history today is more a matter of economic and social development than of kings and battles. An experienced real estate man with a business of his own at the youthful age of twenty-four, Mr. Daley has continued steadily to climb and is today the president and treasurer of the General Realty Service Corporation, Incorporated, an organization with a state-wide business. Nor is there any indication that he has changed his direction or his rate of speed. In fact, Mr. Daley's friends are pre- dicting for him a future as full of promise as the past has been of achievement. A product of the Empire state, William C. Daley was born in Baldwinsville, March 1, 1891, which was also the birthplace of his father, James Daley. His father has always lived within the borders of the Empire state and is a successful farmer. His mother, Miss Nora Donovan before her marriage, was born in Charlotte, New York. She passed away in 1894 and is survived by her husband and two of their five children: William C. of this review; and his sister, Mrs. Ethel (Daley) Demmert.
In his early youth William C. Daley went to school in Baldwinsville and after finishing his work in high school at about fourteen years of age, he journeyed west and for several years was employed on the laying out of Gary, Indiana. Later he went to the Pacific coast. Locating in San Francisco, he found employment with the Pacific Coast Construction Company, general contractors, with whom he re- mained for three years. At the end of that time he decided to return to his native state and, accordingly, took up his abode in the city of Rochester in 1011. Here he entered the realty field for the first time and during the seven years that he was connected with one of the leading real estate firms in the city he learned all of the technicalities of the business, as well as local conditions affecting the market.
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While he was storing up this valuable knowledge he was also becoming acquainted in the city and establishing connections that subsequently aided him substantially in building up his own clientele. All of this time he was working with a view to having a business of his own eventually. In 1917 he became associated with the General Realty Service, Incorporated, as subdivision manager. At that time the company was engaged in a general brokerage, rental and property business. The rapid growth of the subdivision portions of the business finally resulted in all other divisions of the business being discontinued and their efforts concentrated on sub- division business. Today the company is one of the influential factors in the real estate field of western New York and has extensive interests elsewhere in the state. In addition to doing a general realty business of large proportions the corporation makes a specialty of subdividing large tracts of land such as: The East Avenue Estates, the largest of the recent subdivisions in Rochester; the Kings Highway subdivision of Brooklyn; and a number of well known tracts. In January, 1919, he was made vice president and treasurer, and in January, 1923, he was elected president and at present is chief executive and treasurer.
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