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 84
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93
MICHAEL DOWLING.
Michael Dowling, a prominent contractor and railroad builder of Nunda, Living- ston county, New York, was born in Dublin, Ireland, on July 23, 1833, and died in Nunda, New York, on November 21, 1891. He was the son of Patrick and Margaret Dowling, came to the United States when he was fifteen years old, and first located in Mount Morris, Livingston county, New York. The father was a farmer and later moved to Callao, Macon county, Missouri, where Michael received some education in the district schools, and started in railroad contracting work when nineteen years old. He began on the St. Louis Pacific Railroad in 1861, and was on the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad in Missouri in 1862 and 1863. In 1864 Mr. Dowling built the Weehawken tunnel on the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad. In 1867, with a Mr. Reynolds, he began to fill large contracts on the Union Pacific Railroad that required two years for completion. Mr. Dowling was then on the Lackawanna branch at Paterson, New Jersey, until 1870. In April, 1870, he went to New Orleans, Louisi- ana, where he constructed one hundred miles of road. The firm of Dowling & Kennedy was formed in 1870 and handled large contracts on the Lackawanna Railroad at Binghamton, New York, until that road was completed.
Mr. Dowling was married on September 8, 1870, to Harriet Barron, of Mount Morris, New York, who died on June 15, 1909. They were the parents of the follow- ing children: Mabel H., Cora I. and Florence L., the latter now the wife of Fred G. Olp, president of the Nunda Bank.
Mr. Dowling accumulated a large property. For several years he was president of the old First National Bank at Nunda. He purchased a handsome home in Nunda, also had homes in other places, and was one of the most respected of the citizens of the last generation.
HARRY P. LAKE.
Harry P. Lake is a representative and successful agriculturist of Steuben county who is devoting his attention to general farming and dairying in Bath, owning a fine herd of Holstein cattle. He was born in the vicinity of Geneseo, Livingston county, New York, on the 1st of September, 1866, his parents being Jerome A. and Louise (Curtis) Lake. The family had been represented in New England for some generations before the great-grandfather of Harry P. Lake, Rev. Warren Lake, a
860
THE GENESEE COUNTRY
Baptist minister, came to the Genesee country about 1835, settling in Mount Morris, Livingston county. Orrin D. Lake, the paternal grandfather of Mr. Lake of this review, was a member of the New York assembly in 1851 and joined the republican party when it was formed in 1854, since which time all the members of the Lake family have given their loyal support to this great political organization. Elizabeth Williams, mother of Orrin D. Lake, was a descendant of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. Through his mother, Mrs. Louise (Curtis) Lake, who was descended from the Thorpes of Revolutionary fame, Harry P. Lake is eligible to membership in the Sons of the American Revolution.
In the acquirement of an education Harry P .. Lake attended school in Geneseo and subsequently continued his studies in Colgate Academy, the preparatory depart- ment of Colgate University at Hamilton, New York. After putting aside his text- books he returned to the old homestead farm and devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits in association with his father until 1908, when he purchased the property in Bath, which he has since cultivated.
In 1912 Mr. Lake was united in marriage to Miss Ruby Brundage of Bath, New York, who departed this life in 1919. Mr. Lake is an earnest worker in the local ranks of the republican party, to which he gives unfaltering allegiance, and is widely recognized as a loyal, public-spirited and enterprising citizen whose aid and influence are ever found on the side of progress and improvement. He was elected supervisor for the town of Bath in the fall of 1923. Mr. Lake is held in high confidence and esteem by all who know him.
B. FRANK DRAKE.
B. Frank Drake was long prominent in industrial circles of Allegany county as treasurer and general manager of the Drake Manufacturing Company of Friend- ship, which he founded in 1897. He had attained the age of sixty years when called to his final rest on August 10, 1919, the community thus sustaining the loss of one of its representative and successful business men as well as highly esteemed citizens. He was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, in 1859, his parents being John C. and Mahala (Woodhouse) Drake, the former a farmer and oil producer of the Keystone state who in 1874 took up his abode in Olean, Cattaraugus county, New York.
B. Frank Drake obtained his education in the public schools of Bradford and Olean having been a youth of fifteen when he accompanied his parents on their re- moval to this state. It was in 1880, upon attaining his majority, that he came to Friendship, where he was associated with his father in the retail hardware business under the firm name of John C. Drake & Son until 1897. In that year he organized the Drake Hardware Company for the manufacture of malleable cooking ranges, dairymen's supplies and hardware. Later the concern absorbed the business of the Rumsey Engine Company and added the Rumsey line.
In 1913 the Drake Company built a foundry for general foundry work. In 1915 the company also engaged in the manufacture of electric cranes and hoists, known as "moto-hoists". In 1921 the name of the firm was changed to the Drake Manufacturing Company. The "Empire State Malleable Range" is sold direct to the consumer, by traveling salesmen who represent the Drake Manufacturing Company in New York and Pennsylvania, as well as in the New England states, while in the plant in Friend- ship employment is furnished to from forty to fifty workmen. The company also began the manufacture of Drake Lighting Standards for boulevard lighting in 1920. The officers of the Drake Manufacturing Company at its organization in 1897 were as follows: Charles L. Howard, president; L. S. Howard, vice president; C. A. Day, sec- retary; and B. Frank Drake, treasurer and general manager. The present officers of the corporation are: Howard B. Drake, president and treasurer; and M. Carey Drake, vice president and secretary.
In addition to his active official connection with this important industrial enter- prise, B. Frank Drake was a director and vice president of the Union National Bank of Friendship and a director of the Empire Sash & Door Company and the Moore Steam Turbine Corporation of Wellsville. His connection with any undertaking in- sured a prosperous outcome of the same, for it was in his nature to carry forward to successful completion whatever he was associated with. He earned for himself an enviable reputation as a careful man of business and in his dealings was known for his prompt and honorable methods, which won him the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellowmen. He was a consistent member and a trustee of the First Baptist
B. FRANK DRAKE
46-Vol. III
863
THE GENESEE COUNTRY
church of Friendship and in his life he also exemplified the beneficent teachings and purposes of the Masonic fraternity, to which he belonged. He had been a resident of Friendship for nearly four decades when he departed this life, and his passing was the occasion of deep and widespread regret, for the many sterling traits of his char- acter had attracted to him a large circle of warm friends.
In early manhood B. Frank Drake was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Howard of Friendship, daughter of Charles L. and Amelia (Babcock) Howard. Her father, a retail merchant and manufacturer of Kent, Ohio, and subsequently a realtor of Florida, was a resident of Friendship, New York, from 1905 to the time of his demise in 1919. Mrs. Drake was prominent in the county Daughter of American Revolution and club circles, and her pleasing personality won her many friends. She died on July 6, 1921, less than two years after the passing of her beloved husband. Mr. and Mrs. Drake became the parents of two sons: Howard B. and M. Carey, who are worthy successors of their father in the management of the Drake Manufac- turing Company.
In the acquirement of an education Howard B. Drake pursued a high school course in Friendship and following his graduation matriculated in Cornell University, which in 1910 conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He joined his father in business after putting aside his textbooks and is now at the head of the Drake Manufacturing Company in the dual capacity of president and treasurer. He is likewise a director of the Union National Bank of Friendship and of the Moore Steam Turbine Corporation of Wellsville. He is now president of the village of Friendship and is proving a highly satisfactory and capable official. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, belonging to Allegany Lodge, No. 225, F. & A. M., at Friendship; and Valley Point Chapter, R. A. M. at Cuba. To him and his wife, who was formerly Miss Margaret Munger of Knoxboro, New York, were born two children, Richard M. and Harriet.
M. Carey Drake, the vice president and secretary of the Drake Manufacturing Company, received his education in the high school in Friendship and also in Corneil University, where he became a member of the Student Army Training Corps. Be- sides his official connection with the Drake Manufacturing Company he is a stock- holder in various local concerns and is widely recognized as one of the enterprising and substantial young business men of Allegany county. Like his brother, he belongs to the Masonic fraternity. He married Miss Stella Rice of Friendship.
HENRY O. BUTTON.
Henry O. Button, a successful attorney, has practiced in Sodus for a quarter of a century, and while he has always made his professional duties his first considera- tion, his public spirit has led to his participation in civ.c affairs. He was born Sep- tember 3, 1873, near Wallington, New York, and in both the paternal and maternal lines represents pioneer families of Wayne county. He is the youngest of the four sons of Benjamin Franklin and Caroline (Flint) Button, who were married in Alton, New York. The mother was a native of Wayne county, and the father was born in Alton and served an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, which he followed as a means of livelihood. He has reached the age of eighty-one years, but the mother is deceased.
Henry O. Button completed a course in the high school in Newark, New York:, and afterward read law in the office and under the direction of his cousin, F. H. Button, a well known attorney of Buffalo. He was admitted to the bar in 1899 and opened an office in Sodus, where he has since made his home. He has a large prac- tice, his cases being mostly of a civil nature, and he is retained as counsel by the Gaylord State Bank and other important corporations of Wayne county. He has a thorough knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and correctly applies his legal learning to the points in litigation. His professional prestige led to his appointment as attorney for the state tax commission and state comptroller and this work occupied his attention from January 1, 1915, until April 1, 1923.
Mr. Button was married in Sodus Point, on June 8, 1900, to Miss Edith N. Wick- ham, a daughter of Frederick C. Wickham and a member of one of the pioneer families of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Button have a son, Frederick W. Mr. Button is a citizen of worth and aided in raising funds for the government during the period of the World war. He was the first president of the village of Sodus after its incorporation and has also worked effectively for the good of his community as president of the board
864
THE GENESEE COUNTRY
of education. He is a stanch republican in politics and has been a delegate to the state conventions of the party. He is a Royal Arch Mason, while his professional connections are with the Wayne County and New York State Bar Associations. Mr. Button has given the weight of his influence to every worthy public project and honors his profes- sion by his adherence to the solid virtues and enlightened principles underlying the law.
NATHAN STEIN.
Nathan Stein, founder and president of The Stein-Bloch Company, a well known and highly respected citizen of Rochester, died on June 2, 1908. He was born in Teplitz, Austria, August 1, 1828, coming of a family that had dwelt in that same mountain village for generations. Had he been spared until the following August, he would have passed the long span of four score years. In that time, in the face of adversity, beaten down but always rising with a smile at defeat, he carved out the name that in the eyes of men who know the history of the business in which he led, became by common consent that of the true founder of a national industry. His was a type that America has become familiar with in the past, but one that is more rarely met with now. Born in the heart of the Austrian hills, surrounded by the traditions of centuries, something he could not control impelled him to break away from the old beaten path of his forebears and to find a life where he could breathe with freedom and let his active thoughts have wide room to grow. There were hundreds of young men of vigorous intelligence in Europe in those days who felt stirring within them this same restlessness of spirit and instinctively turned their faces toward the west and sought as the goal of their hopes the new republic of America. Nathan Stein was one of them. He came to this country when scarcely more than a lad and sought work. He knew his trade and believed in it with the firm faith and fine distinctions of the born craftsman. Fortune brought him to Geneva, New York, where he located in 1849. He became a merchant tailor, and his skill soon brought him a large trade-more than the capacity of one man to control. Then the idea whose future development brought him wealth and position had its birth and with characteristic energy he seized upon it and began his life work with all the earnestness that his nature owned.
In 1865, Nathan Stein became interested in the firm of G. & J. Wile, Cauffman & Company and three years later he organized the firm of Stein & Solomon, con- tinuing in the wholesale clothing business with various changes until 1883, when the firm of Stein, Bloch & Company was organized. This business was incorporated in 1890 as The Stein-Bloch Company, of which he became president and of which he remained at the head to the time of his death.
Nathan Stein married Miss Mina Levy, who survived him. He was a man of unusual business acumen, was scrupulous to the last degree in all his financial transactions and earned a reputation for business integrity surpassed by none. He was very unostentatious, lived a life of simplicity and unaffectation, and his home life was ideal.
Simon N. Stein occupies a prominent position in business circles of Rochester as the secretary and treasurer of The Stein-Bloch Company, wholesale clothing man- ufacturers. This city numbers him among her native sons, for it was here that his birth occurred on the 21st of March, 1868, his parents being Nathan and Mina (Levy) Stein. In his youth he acquired a public school education and since starting out in the business world has made steady progress as experience has broadened his knowledge and his powers have been developed through the exercise of effort. As secretary and treasurer of the extensive clothing manufacturing concern conducted under the name of The Stein-Bloch Company he has gained a leading place in com- mercial circles of his native city and has become widely recognized as a business man of splendid executive ability, keen discrimination and unfaltering enterprise.
Mr. Stein has exerted his efforts not only in the attainment of business success but also in those departments of activity which ameliorate hard conditions of life for the unfortunate, formerly serving as treasurer of the Jewish Orphans' Home of Western New York and as a director of the Dorsey Home and of the Community Chest. He is a valued member of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, of which he is assistant treasurer, and in fraternal circles is known as a life member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Masons, having attained the thirty- second degree of the Scottish Rite in the latter order. His appreciation for the social amenities of life is indicated by his membership in the Irondo Club, the Irondequoit
Nathan Stein
867
THE GENESEE COUNTRY
Country Club, the Rochester Club, the Rochester Canoe Club, the Idlers Club, the Rochester Athletic Club, the Genesee Golf Club, the Automobile Club of Rochester and the Progress and Criterion Clubs of New York city.
CHARLES ADSIT.
Charles Adsit, who long enjoyed a position of distinction as Hornell's leading citizen and dean of bankers, was continuously identified with the First National Bank of the city for more than six decades and succeeded his father as president of the institution in 1900. His long, useful and honorable life was ended on the 20th of May, 1924, his eighty-first birthday, at Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Charles Adsit was born in Hornell, Steuben county, New York, on the 20th of May, 1843, his parents being Martin and Esther J. (Charles) Adsit. A biography of the father may be found on another page of this work. In the acquirement of an education Charles Adsit attended the public schools of Hornell, the Walnut Hill School at Geneva, New York, and the Patterson Classical School in Detroit. When his textbooks were put aside he entered his father's mercantile establishment. The elder Adsit had been in the habit of getting money from New York to oblige custo- mers by cashing their checks and he added an exchange department to the store. Noticing his son's preference for this side of the business, Martin Adsit applied for a charter and started a bank which in 1863 became the First National. Charles Adsit filled the position of teller in the bank for six years or until 1869, when he succeeded Ira Davenport as cashier, continuing in the latter capacity until he became president of the institution as the successor of his father in 1900. Under his administration the bank prospered and expanded until it became one of the strongest and most. successful financial institutions in the state. Through a period of sixty years Mr. Adsit was always at his desk at eight o'clock in the morning and worked until late in the evening, giving time and attention to every phase of the work connected with the conduct of a banking business. During the last year of his life, however, he admitted that he did not come to work until nine o'clock! He was one of the founders of the New York State Bankers Association and served as president thereof in 1898 and 1899.
Mr. Adsit's honesty and vision, together with his faith in the future of Hornell, made him a very successful business man. Aside from his banking activities he occupied the presidency of the Merrill Silk Company and the Merrill Hosiery Com- pany but retired from the latter concern a short time prior to his death. He also served as president of the Adsit Realty Company and was president of the Hornell Traction Company from the time of its organization, while for more than a third of a century he was officially identified with the Hornell Fair Association as treasurer and director. A native son, lifelong resident and one of the most public-spirited citizens who ever exerted his efforts and influence for the advancement of Hornell, the demise of Charles Adsit was a serious loss to the community. He had been a. liberal contributor to practically every local welfare movement, and among the many organizations which owe their success to his generosity may be mentioned the Young- Men's Christian Association, which he served as president. His efforts constituted a prime factor in the success of the Hornell Country Club and he also had mem- bership in the New York Chamber of Commerce, the Union League Club of New York, the Hornell Chamber of Commerce and the Hornell Rotary Club. Of the last named he was a charter member. He served on the board of St. James Mercy Hos- pital from its organization and was president thereof at the time of his demise.
Mr. Adsit was a faithful and consistent member of the Episcopal church and gave his political support to the republican party. During his term as president of the village of Hornell in 1877 there occurred a serious strike which necessitated the quartering of five regiments of National Guard troops here. The wonderful record made by Hornell in connection with the Liberty Loan drives during the period of the World war was a credit to the leadership of Mr. Adsit as chairman and treasurer of the bond sales committee. The total sales in this little city were finally set at the amazing figures of four million, three hundred and thirty-nine thousand, one hundred and forty-two dollars-an average of three hundred and two dollars and twenty- three cents for every man, woman and child in town.
On the 4th of June, 1878, Charles Adsit was united in marriage to Miss Susan Larkin of St. Louis, Missouri, who passed away in October, 1906, leaving to mourn her loss a husband and three children: Henry Adsit, M. D., who was badly wounded
868
THE GENESEE COUNTRY
while serving overseas in the World war and who is now a successful practicing physician and surgeon of Buffalo, New York; Lynn M. Adsit, a mining engineer; and May, who is now Mrs. Harrison Cook of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The re- mains of Charles Adsit, who died in Atlantic City, were brought back to Hornell for interment.
FREDERICK CHARLES GOODWIN.
Frederick Charles Goodwin has been a member of the Rochester bar for twenty- five years and has attained a position of prominence in his profession. He was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, March 17, 1877, and his parents, Charles F. and Romelia (Merrill) Goodwin, were also natives of that state. Later they removed to Livingston county, New York, locating in Livonia, where the father engaged in merchandising for a few years, and in 1885 became a resident of Rochester. Charles F. Goodwin is now living retired in Pasadena, California. His wife passed away in November, 1921.
Frederick C. Goodwin, their only child, was a boy of eight when his parents removed to Rochester. He attended school No. 15 and later the Rochester Free Academy, afterward entered the University of Rochester, from which institution he received the Ph. B. degree in 1898. He next became a student in the law school of New York University, receiving his LL. B. degree in 1900. Mr. Goodwin began practice in July of that year, becoming connected with the firm of Hubbell, Young & Taylor, and since 1908 has been a member of the firm of Hubbell, Taylor, Goodwin & Moser, one of the strongest legal combinations in western New York.
Mr. Goodwin has been connected with some of the most important litigation before the courts of this portion of the state and has long been recognized as one of the city's able and successful lawyers. Among his business connections outside of his profession, he is vice president of the Rochester Telephone Corporation, vice presi- dent of the Stromberg-Carlson Telephone Manufacturing Company, a director of the Lincoln-Alliance Bank also of the Pfaudler Company and other corporations.
In Rochester, on the 8th of May, 1902, Mr. Goodwin was married to Miss Marian E. Jones, a daughter of Frank L. Jones of Oswego, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Good- win have three sons, all natives of Rochester; Fred C., Jr., born in 1903, is a student at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Phillip C., born in 1906, attends Phillips Exeter Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, Class of 1925, and Frank J. is also a student at that institution, Class of 1926.
Along professional lines Mr. Goodwin is identified with the Rochester Bar Asso- ciation. He is also a member of the Psi Upsilon college fraternity, the Rochester Country Club, the Genesee Valley Club and the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, while his religious views are indicated by his membership in the Third Presbyterian church. High standards guide him in every relation of life, and his worth to his community is uniformly acknowledged.
Mr. Goodwin's residence is at No. 19 Sibley place.
JOHN AUSTIN PERKINS.
As a manufacturer of optical goods John Austin Perkins is contributing his quota toward the industrial growth of Horseheads. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, November 17, 1869, a son of Leonard H. and Emma L. (Turner) Perkins, both of whom were natives of Connecticut. The mother was born in New Haven and the father was born in Mansfield. He was employed in the silk mills in Springfield, Massachusetts, and subsequently established a business of his own, becoming a manu- facturer of silk thread. He was also interested in civic affairs and gave his political support to the candidates of the republican party. He was a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church, with which the mother was also affiliated, and his fra- ternal connections were with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Honor. He passed away in Connecticut and the mother's death occurred in Massa- chusetts. They were the parents of four children.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.