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 83
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Mr. Naramore has always taken a lively interest in those things that promote cultural life and civic betterment in his community. His religious affiliations are with the Third Presbyterian church. He belongs to the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, Rochester Historical Society, Memorial Art Gallery, Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester Automobile Club, and City Club. In his earlier days he was active in Rochester Musical circles, having filled the position of baritone in quartet and chorus choirs and other singing organizations.
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On the 3d of October, 1889, in Rochester, Mr. Naramore was married to Miss Jennie I. Copeland, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Copeland. Mr. and Mrs. Nara- more are the parents of two sons: David C. and Gordon C. Naramore. On the 8th of April, 1920, the elder son, David, was married to Miss Helen Barber, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Charles R. Barber of Rochester. During the World war David Naramore served as a member of the United States Forestry Engineering Corps, spending a year of his service in France. Gordon Naramore was stationed at Camp Dix during the World war as a corporal in the National army. On the 19th of January, 1924, he was married to Miss Ruth King, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George T. King of Rochester.
Mr. Wilbert A. Naramore retired from active business in 1924 in excellent health, after a commercial career of fifty years, hoping to devote his leisure to travel and other pursuits which the nature of his profession had in the past permitted to a limited extent only.
GEORGE VAN RENSSELAER MERRILL, M. D.
The growth and permanence of an institution are determined by its usefulness and value to the community which it serves. That the Chemung Valley Mutual Loan Association is essential to the city of Elmira is proven by the fact that the business has endured for nearly a half century and has become one of the largest of the kind in this part of the state. It was the pioneer in the Chemung valley in enabling a man of moderate means to secure a home of his own by the payment of monthly installments. Dr. George V. R. Merrill, who for many years has been numbered among the leading physicians of the city, is now serving as president of this institu- tion. He was born in Cortland county, New York, February 24, 1841, a son of Stephen Van Rensselaer and Henrietta (Sweet) Merrill, both of whom were born in the vicinity of Troy, this state. They removed to Chemung county in 1848 and the father first followed the occupation of farming. He afterward turned his attention to the hotel business and conducted the first temperance hostelry in the country. Both Mr. and Mrs. Merrill were active members of the Baptist church and guided their lives by its teachings. He was a whig in politics and filled the office of justice of the peace. He was a son of Meade Merrill, who was a native of Connecticut and subsequently became a resident of Cortland county, New York, where he spent the remainder of his life.
George Van Rensselaer Merrill is the only surviving member of a family of seven children. He attended the public schools of Elmira, afterward becoming a student in the University of Michigan, and in 1863 was graduated from the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons in New York city. He had enlisted in the Union army in April, 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil war, starting as a private, and eighteen months later was appointed by the war department to the Cadet Medical Corps, in which he served for a year. He then resumed his medical studies in New York city, remain- ing there until his course was completed, after which he returned to Elmira. Fol- lowing his marriage Dr. Merrill reentered the service and was appointed assistant surgeon. He was assigned to duty as a surgeon in 1865 and in September of that year received his honorable discharge.
In 1865 Dr. Merrill began the practice of medicine in Elmira and with the excep- tion of two years in the west has successfully followed his profession in this city for fifty-five years. He was also interested in the drug business and in 1920 retired from practice, although he still maintains an office for the benefit of those who wish to consult him. He is now serving as president of the Chemung Valley Mutual Loan Association and the other officers are: F. M. Howell, vice president; George H. David- son, secretary; and Milton Y. Smith, treasurer. The association was established in April, 1875, and now has eight thousand two hundred and eighty-four shareholders. The business has a record of forty-nine years of successful management and during this period has paid out in dividends the sum of one million, nine hundred and eleven thousand, four hundred and thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents. It has no preferred stock.
In April, 1863, Dr. Merrill was married to Miss Harriet E. Johnson, who was born in Maine. She died in the year 1901. To that union was born one child, who died in infancy. In August, 1902, Dr. Merrill was united in marriage to Lorette F. Burgess, one of Elmira's native daughters, and they have two children: George B., a fireman in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company; and Francis R., a college student.
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Dr. Merrill is a Baptist in religious faith and has always taken an active part in church work, also filling the position of Sunday school superintendent for a number of years. He is an advocate of the platform and principles of the republican party and has rendered valuable service to his community as health officer, coroner and superintendent of schools. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and has been a commander of the local post.
JOHN GEORGE KRAMER.
In the business world of Dansville there is today no more commanding figure than that of John George Kramer, a man of clear head, well trained mind and pro- gressive ideas, who has converted opportunities into tangible assets, and his opera- tions in the dry goods field have made his name widely known throughout the Empire state. During the trying ordeal which ever precedes the attainment of success he has preserved his frank, genial and kindly nature and is always ready to meet any obligation of life with the confidence and courage that result from conscious personal ability and an habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities. He is one of Dansville's native sons and was born May 27, 1868, of the marriage of Frederick and Electa (Keifer) Kramer, both of whom died in 1907.
John George Kramer received a good education, attending the public schools, the Dansville Seminary, the Geneseo Normal School and the Rochester Business In- stitute, and entered upon his independent career well prepared for life's responsibilities and duties. He first worked in the clothing store conducted by his father and uncle and in 1889 became associated with G. M. Sturm in the grocery business under the firm name of Kramer & Sturm. On April 7, 1894, John G. Kramer embarked in the dry goods business in association with James E. Krein and this relationship was maintained until March 26, 1896, when Mr. Kramer purchased his partner's interest in the undertaking, which has since been conducted under his name. He carries a complete line of high grade merchandise and a thorough knowledge of the details of the business has enabled him correctly to judge the needs of customers and to cater thereto. As his capital has increased Mr. Kramer has broadened the scope of his activities and is now operating branch stores in Sodus, Shortsville, Rushville, Newark, Watkins, Seneca Falls and Clyde, all being situated in the state of New York. He is thoroughly imbued with the progressive spirit of the age and displays marked foresight and executive ability in the management of his extensive business affairs.
On July 16, 1905, Mr. Kramer was married to Miss Ida Day of Hornell, New York, and they have two sons: John Frederick and James Healy. Mr. Kramer has made business but one phase of his life and civic development has received new im- petus from his constructive efforts. He has worked earnestly and effectively to raise the educational standards of his community and served for four years as president of the Dansville School Board. He was one of the first presidents of the local board of trade and for thirty-five years has been a member of the Union Hose Company. He is a director of the Merchants and Farmers Bank of Dansville, being chairman of the finance committee; and is a director of the Jackson Health Resort. During the World war he was chairman of the local Liberty Loan committee. He belongs to the Dansville Rotary Club and is identified with the Masonic fraternity, being a Noble of the Mystic Shrine at Rochester. Mr. Kramer casts his ballot for the candidates and principles of the democratic party. The exercise of effort has developed his latent talents and public opinion bears testimony to his high qualities of mind and heart.
JOSEPH LEE HUMPHREY.
Joseph Lee Humphrey, a well known attorney of Rochester, where he has suc- cessfully practiced his profession during the past twenty-seven years, is a representa- tive of an old and honored family of the Genesee country. His birth occurred in this city on the 20th of October, 1872, his parents being George Harvey and Elizabeth (Swan) Humphrey, the former a son of Harvey and Elizabeth Humphrey. The paternal grandfather, a prominent lawyer and jurist and a brilliant Greek and Latin scholar, come to Rochester from West Bloomfield, New York, in 1820. His son, George Harvey Humphrey, was born in Rochester, this state, on the 1st of March, 1831, and
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for many years was numbered among the distinguished representatives of the legal profession in this city both as a member of the bar and on the bench. He had attained the age of seventy-three years when he passed away in Rochester in 1914. In early manhood he wedded Miss Elizabeth Swan who was born in Rochester on the 15th of July, 1834, and was a daughter of General Lansing D. Swan, prominent in the early history of western New York. She was called to her final rest in the year 1902. By her marriage she became the mother of seven children, as follows: Lansing Swan, who died at the age of thirty-four years; George Perkins; Mrs. Lillian H. Williamson; Mrs. Bertha H. DeWitt; Joseph Lee, of this review; Mary, and Ethel.
Joseph Lee Humphrey supplemented his grade school education by a course of study in the Rochester high school, after which he matriculated in the University of Rochester, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1895. Having determined to follow in the professional footsteps of his father, he began reading law in the latter's office and in 1897 was admitted to the bar. His initial experience as an attorney was gained in association with his father and he has since devoted his attention to general law practice, with continually increasing success, being accorded a clientage of distinctively representative character. An ex- cellent presence, an earnest, dignified manner, marked strength of character, a thor- ough grasp of the law and the ability accurately to apply its principles, are factors in his success as an advocate. He belongs to both the Rochester Bar Association and the New York Bar Association.
On the 30th of June, 1909, in Rochester, New York, Mr. Humphrey was united in marriage to Miss Winifred Ball, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry E. Ball, repre- senting a prominent family of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey have a son, Paul M. Mr. Humphrey is a director and treasurer of the Peoples Rescue Mission and a director of the Episcopal Church Home and has long enjoyed an enviable reputation as one of the highly esteemed residents and leading lawyers of his native city.
JUNIUS JUDSON.
Junius Judson, unquestionably one of the strongest and most influential men whose lives have become an essential part of the history of Rochester and Monroe county, won well merited fame as inventor and patentee of the celebrated steam engine governor which bears his name. He was a resident of Rochester during the greater part of his business career and had passed the eighty-third milestone on life's journey when called to his final rest on the 6th of June, 1896. His birth occurred on a farm in Jefferson county, New York, on February 5, 1813, and in early boyhood he attended the district schools near his father's home. The premature demise of his father threw him upon his own resources for a livelihood and it was in 1830, when a youth of seventeen, that he arrived in Rochester to learn the machinist's trade. A few years later he became a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he conducted business as a foundryman and hardware manufacturer. He not only mastered the mechanical construction of those things which he placed upon the market but was continually seeking out methods of improvement, and as the result of his skill, study and experi- ment he gave to the world in 1848 the Judson steam engine governor, securing a patent upon his invention. In 1851 he returned to Rochester, where he began the manufacture of the governor, continuing the business with excellent success through- out the remainder of his life. Others, noting the good points of his devices, made attempts to infringe upon his patents in this country and in Canada and he there- fore was forced to devote much time to the protection of his interests by prosecuting those who were infringing on his rights. In this way he secured large returns from the very considerable sums expended by him in patent litigation. It is not a usual thing to find an inventor with good executive and business ability. Mr. Judson, how- ever, was an exception to the rule and reaped the legitimate reward of his inventive genius and commercial enterprise. His manufacturing interests were also of mate- rial benefit to the city in that they furnished employment to hundreds of working men. As his financial resources increased he made extensive investments in real estate and for many years was one of the city's heaviest individual taxpayers. Un- like many men who accumulate wealth, he favored liberal taxation, as he desired that good improvements be promoted thereby. His faith in the future of Rochester was indicated by the large sums which he put into real estate and into local enter- prises. His judgment was recognized as sound and his business sagacity constituted an important factor in his success.
JUNIUS JUDSON
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A contemporary biographer said of him: "As Mr. Judson prospered he gave generously of his means toward promoting the moral development of the community through the work of the churches and also aided in ameliorating the hard conditions of life for others through his generosity and charitable and benevolent institutions. He realized fully the responsibilities of wealth and was ever willing and ready to assist others less fortunate, not only by substantial means but also by kindly counsel and advice. From early youth he was one of the world's workers and his success, so great as to seem almost magical, was attributable directly to his own labors. He never courted public favor and in fact shunned public notoriety. In manner he was plain and unostentatious. While he had the laudable ambition that seeks substantial, honorable success, he recognized character worth as above everything else and in his own life set an example which may well be followed by those who regard integrity and honest purpose as infinitely more valuable than wealth, fame or position. He became a most prosperous man but the most envious could not grudge him his suc- cess, as he was uniformly recognized as a man of the strictest integrity, of the simplest and purest motives, steadfastness of purpose and of great uprightness of character."
Another writer paid Mr. Judson the following tribute: "He was honored and respected by all who knew him. Without the aid of influence or wealth he rose to a position among the most prominent business men of the state, his native genius and acquired ability being the stepping-stones on which he mounted."
Through such memorials as this at hand the individual and the character of his services are kept in remembrance and the importance of those services acknowledged. His example, in whatever field his work may have been done, thus stands as an object lesson to those who come after him and though dead he still speaks. Long after all recollection of his personality shall have faded from the minds of men, the less perishable record may tell the story of his life and commend his example for imitation.
Mr. Judson was married to Miss Lavenda Bushnell, a daughter of Thomas Bush- nell, and to them were born four children: J. Lee, who departed this life on the 5th of October, 1901, when fifty-five years of age; Charles B., who died unmarried; Mary E., who married Professor George D. Hale; and Harriet J., the widow of Harry Langdon Brewster. The family has always been connected with the First Baptist church.
REV. THOMAS F. GLEASON.
The life of Rev. Thomas F. Gleason, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic church of Medina since September, 1912, has been one of utmost service to the communities where he has labored during his thirty years as a priest. In St. Mary's parish he has not only advanced the spiritual welfare of the three hundred families who are members of his faith but has added to the church property a fine fireproof school building of brick and steel construction, containing an auditorium with a seating capacity of eight hundred. The school now has three hundred and sixty pupils and eight teachers, besides a special teacher of music. Sisters of the Order of St. Joseph are the teachers in this parish school. Father Gleason was in charge of the erection of the church at Lyndonville and brought about the purchase of an addition to the cemetery. He is chaplain of the local council of the Knights of Columbus and active in all matters pertaining to the social as well as the spiritual side of the parish.
Thomas F. Gleason was born in Buffalo, New York, on the 4th of March, 1870, his parents being John and Elizabeth (Byron) Gleason. He attended St. Joseph's College and Niagara University and was ordained in 1895, Bishop Stephen Vincent Ryan officiating. For a year thereafter Father Gleason was assistant pastor at Lockport, serving Dean Cannon at St. Patrick's Church. Then he was transferred to the Sacred Heart church at Niagara Falls, where he remained for two years, while subsequently he spent a similar period in charge of St. Mary's church in Belmont, Allegany county, New York. His next pastorate covered twelve years at the Precious Blood church of Buffalo and in September, 1912, he came to Medina, where he has since served the Master as rector of St. Mary's Catholic church. His present assistant here is Father John J. Kelly.
In carrying on the work of the church at Medina and Lyndonville, Father Gleason has become widely known, not only among those of the Roman Catholic faith but generally, and he is always willing to cooperate in community matters with other organizations and churches. His influence for good in the section where he has
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labored, as well as his earlier work in Buffalo, is inestimable. He is a logical thinker, a clear and convincing speaker and a man of scholarly attainments whose powers and talents have been a leavening force in making high ideals a tangible asset in the daily affairs of life.
JAMES CLOUGH DORR, M. D.
Dr. James Clough Dorr, during the period of his residence in Dansville, has firmly established himself in public regard as an able and progressive representative of the medical profession. He was born on a farm near Norridgewock, in Somerset county, Maine, July 11, 1868, a son of George Boardman and Sarah C. (Adams) Dorr, the former an apothecary. The study of music brought Dr. Dorr to New York state and in 1893 he was graduated from Haveling Free Academy at Bath. He was also a member of the band at the State Soldiers' Home, which is situated in Bath, and became an accomplished musician. In 1896 he received the M. D. degree from the University of Buffalo and his professional novitiate was served at Wayland, New York, where he remained until 1905. He then opened an office in Dansville and during the intervening period his practice has steadily grown, as he has had opportunity to demonstrate his skill in the treatment of disease. In 1922 he took postgraduate work in Buffalo. Prompted by the spirit of patriotism, Dr. Dorr volunteered for service in the World war, enlisting in the United States Medical Corps in June, 1917, and was called into active service on September 5, 1917. He was commissioned a first lieutenant and was promoted to the rank of captain in December, 1917. He received his honorable discharge on August 26, 1919, and is now a major in the medical de- partment of the Officers Reserve Corps.
On the 6th of August, 1892, Dr. Dorr was united in marriage to Miss Angeline Tharp, of Bath, New York, and they have become the parents of a daughter: Dorothy A., who is attending the Eastman School of Music at Rochester, New York. Dr. Dorr is identified with the Masonic order and his political support is given to the republican party, while his professional relations are with the Livingston County and New York State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. He is recognized as a good citizen and his ambition keeps him abreast with the trend of the times in the field of modern medical and surgical practice.
HON. CHARLES H. BROWN.
As a successful attorney and jurist the Hon. Charles H. Brown, of Belmont, justice of the supreme court of New York, has been an influential factor in legal circles in Allegany county and the Genesee country for more than forty years. Judge Brown was admitted to practice before the bar of the state of New York in 1880, since when he has been continuously connected with his profession. The son of Hiram C. and Alice A. (Stuart) Brown, he was born in West Winfield, Herkimer county, New York, on the 20th of July, 1858.
Charles H. Brown obtained his education in the West Winfield Academy and the Hungerford Collegiate Institute of Adams, New York, following which he prepared by private study for his profession of law. At the age of twenty-two he passed his bar examinations and took up the active practice of his chosen profession. Like most aspiring young lawyers, Judge Brown spent the first years of professional life in building up a practice and establishing a reputation. His natural ability, coupled with diligence and a sincerity of purpose, made for rapid progress up the profes- sional ladder and ere long the young attorney was attracting the favorable comment of his older colleagues before the bar by the thorough manner in which he prepared his cases and the forceful way in which he presented the causes of his clients before the courts. In short, the people of Belmont began to look to Mr. Brown as one of the coming young professional men of the county.
Nor were they to be disappointed. Judge Brown's subsequent career has fulfilled the early promise of his life in full measure. In 1889 he was chosen district attorney for Allegany county and held that office for seven years. The following year he be- came United States district attorney for the western district of New York. He dis- charged the duties of this highly responsible position with skill and a conscientious regard for the welfare of the great nation he served and was retained in office until 1906. Judge Brown's elevation to the bench of the supreme court of New York came
HON. CHARLES H. BROWN
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in 1907, as a fitting recognition of his unusual powers as a lawyer. He was a judge in this court continuously until 1920 and in 1921 again took his place on the bench for the term of office to expire in 1928. Not only is he thoroughly grounded in the law, but this judge is gifted with those powers of logic and discrimination which are commonly characterized as the legal temperment. He goes quickly and easily to the facts at the bottom of each case tried in his court, is able to look impartially on each side of the questions at issue and apply to them the established principles of law and equity. By those who know him best Judge Brown has long been regarded as a man eminently fitted for the bench of the supreme court and his long term of office in that capacity has more than vindicated their judgment. The Judge's political affiliations have always been with the republican party, of which he is a loyal member.
On the 16th of November of the year following his admission to the bar (1881), Charles H. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Alice C. Smith of Adams, New York. Mrs. Brown died December 17, 1905. To them were born two sons, Charles H. Brown, Jr., and Harold Stuart Brown. The older of the two boys was born on the 8th of July, 1883, and graduated from Amherst College, Massachusetts, with the Bachelor of Arts degree, in the class of 1904. Three years later he was married to Miss Edith Warner of Marblehead, Massachusetts. He is now associated with the Shredded Wheat Company at Niagara Falls, New York. The younger son chose to follow in his father's professional footsteps and is now a practicing attorney of Buffalo, New York, being a member of the firm of Locke, Babcock, Hollister & Brown. Born on the 14th of June, 1886, he is also an alumnus of Amherst College, class of 1909. In college Mr. Brown took a general course of study leading to the A. B. degree, which he supplemented by a law course in Columbia University Law School, taking his LL. B. degree in 1912. Mr. Brown and Miss Jean McEwen of Wellsville, New York, were united in marriage in 1916.
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