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 86
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
. WILLIAM A. SPINNING.
William A. Spinning, the only child of William T. and Sarah (Walker) Spinning, attended the public schools and completed his education in Pike Seminary of Wyoming county, New York. In 1868 he entered the business world, securing a clerical position in the mercantile house of Dyer Brothers, and remained with them for about six years. He was afterward employed in a similar capacity by Messrs. Fielder & Olney and in 1876 joined his father and Nicholas Uhl in organizing the firm of Spinning, Uhl & Company, which became Spinning & Uhl after the demise of the senior member. About ten years later Mr. Uhl passed away and Frank Rauber then entered the firm, at which time the style of the W. A. Spinning Company was adopted. Mr. Spinning retained his interest in the business until 1912, when he disposed of his stock, and his attention has since been given to financial affairs. At the time of his father's death he was elected vice president of the Merchants & Farmers National Bank and has since discharged the duties of that important office. His opinions carry great weight in local financial circles and his ability has been an essential element in the progress that has been made by the bank during the past two decades.
On October 22, 1880, Mr. Spinning was married to Miss Susie Leonard, a daughter of C. W. and Sarah (Searles) Leonard of Dansville. Mr. and Mrs. Spinning became parents of two children, but Wilhelmina, the elder, died on April 23, 1921; her sister, Marguerite, is the wife of Floyd Evans of St. Paul, Minnesota, and the mother of two children, Dorothy and William B.
Mr. Spinning is an influential member of the Dansville Board of Trade and also belongs to the Union Hose Company of the village. He casts his ballot for the candidates of the republican party and is a Presbyterian in religious faith. The welfare and progress of his community is to him a matter of vital interest and his cooperation and counsel have proven of value in projects for civic development. He displays in his character those sterling qualities which distinguished his father and has won success on his own merits, thus adding new luster to an honored family name.
CHARLES B. BECHTOLD.
Charles B. Bechtold, a well known member of the New York bar, with offices in the Union Trust building of Rochester, was born in this city on the 6th of June, 1874. His parents, Henry and Caroline (Denn) Bechtold, although of European birth, were reared and educated in Ohio, for they were brought to this country by their
884
THE GENESEE COUNTRY
parents in early childhood. During the Civil war Henry Bechtold enlisted in an Ohio regiment, in which he held a commission. After the war he came to Rochester, where he engaged in business, being connected with a wagon works. Later he was associated with James Cunningham & Sons for a number of years before he retired in 1900. His death occurred in this city in 1913, four years after that of his wife. The subject of this sketch is one of four sons born to this couple, his brothers being George and Harry Bechtold of Rochester; and Edward, formerly of Buffalo, New York, but now deceased.
As a boy Charles B. Bechtold attended the public schools of his native city and graduated from the Rochester Free Academy at the age of seventeen. After some business experience in the power department of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway he entered the law office of Werner & Harris, where he read law under the direction of these well known lawyers. He passed his examinations and was admitted to the bar in 1902. Mr. Bechtold began the actual practice of his profession in the district attorney's office of Monroe county, under Stephen J. Warren, at that time district attorney, where he gained some valuable knowledge of the practical side of his profession. Subsequently he formed a legal partnership with John J. McIner- ney, which was continued until 1921, since which time he has practiced alone. In the course of twenty years Mr. Bechtold has worked up an excellent practice and rates high as an attorney in this section of the state. His marked ability in this field of endeavor and his unquestioned integrity have won for him the confidence of his colleagues and of his clients, many of the latter being prominent business and professional men of this vicinity.
Although he was assistant district attorney of Monroe county for a term-from 1904 to 1910-Mr. Bechtold has never sought the public career that so frequently attracts men of his calling. He has always found sufficient scope for his abilities and ambitions within the strict limits of his profession and has been content to remain therein. In this connection he maintains membership in the New York State and Rochester City Bar Associations. He is a Shriner, a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to both the York and the Scottish Rites, and is past master of Rochester Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He likewise belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Rochester Automobile and Oak Hill Country Clubs. His interest in all that makes for the industrial and financial advancement of his community is indicated by his membership in the Rochester Chamber of Commerce. During the World war Mr. Bechtold rendered some valuable assistance on the home front as vice chairman of the Four-Minute men, in which capacity he campaigned strenuously for the various Liberty and Victory Loans and for the Red Cross.
In Rochester, on the 2d of June, 1909, Mr. Bechtold was married to Miss Kate Kondolf, daughter of Mathias Kondolf of this city. Mr. Kondolf was a prominent resident and a leader in manufacturing and real estate circles. Mr. and Mrs. Bech- told have a son, Karl K. Bechtold, who was born in this city, on the 10th of July, 1910, and is now a student in one of the local high schools.
MILTON D. HASKINS.
In the death of Milton D. Haskins, Wellsville sustained the loss of one of her leading business men and most public-spirited citizens. He figured prominently in business circles of the community as president of the Ebenzer Oil Company and was also vice president and treasurer of Rockwell Brothers & Company, the foremost dry goods and furniture merchants of Wellsville, with whom he was continuously identi- fied for a period covering forty-one years. Milton D. Haskins was in the sixty-third year of his age when called to his final rest on the 21st of January, 1925, his birth having occurred in Centerville, Allegany county, New York, on May 20, 1862. He was the son of Thomson and Harriett (Searle) Haskins and had two sisters, Harriett Haskins and Mrs. Charles Clark.
In his youth Milton D. Haskins attended the public schools and also pursued a course of study in Riverside Academy. He came to Wellsville at the age of twelve and was employed in the grocery establishment of John S. Brown until he became associated with Rockwell Brothers, whom he served in the capacities of clerk, buyer and manager of the furniture and rug departments prior to assuming his official duties as vice president and treasurer of the firm at the time of its incorporation. As above stated. his identification with the concern covered more than four decades and his efforts constituted an important factor in its continued growth and success.
MILTON D. HASKINS
:
887
THE GENESEE COUNTRY
Mr. Haskins also assumed the presidency of the Ebenezer Oil Company at the time of its inception and until his death remained at the head of this concern, which is one of the large independent producers in the local field.
Mr. Haskins wedded Miss Katherine Tremain, daughter of Mark Tremain, of Scio, New York, who passed away on the 26th of October, 1906, leaving a son and a daughter, Bayard T. and Bertha K. Mr. Haskins was a worthy exemplar of the teachings and purposes of the Masonic fraternity, to which he belonged, and was a Methodist in religious faith, serving as president of the board of trustees of the church of that denomination in which he held membership. He was also a member of the Rotary Club and the Country Club, being president of the latter at the time of his death. A lifelong resident of Allegany county, Mr. Haskins enjoyed an extens- ive and favorable acquaintance throughout the community and a large circle of friends mourned his passing.
BAYARD T. HASKINS.
Bayard T. Haskins is a prominent representative of mercantile interests in Wellsville as secretary of Rockwell Brothers & Company, Incorporated, dealers in dry goods, carpets and furniture, and is widely recognized as a young man of excel- lent business ability and sound judgment. He was born in Wellsville on the 2d of July, 1893, the son of Milton D. and Katherine (Tremain) Haskins. A biography of his father, who is deceased, may be found on another page of this publication. There were but two children in the family, the sister of Mr. Haskins of this review being Bertha K. Haskins.
In the acquirement of an education Bayard T. Haskins attended the public schools of Wellsville and subsequently matriculated in Columbia University, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1916. Since that time he has been continuously identified with Rockwell Brothers, the leading dry goods and furniture merchants of Wellsville, and has thoroughly famil- iarized himself with every phase of the business. He gained his initial experience therein as a buyer in the ladies' ready-to-wear department and now has charge of the furniture and rug departments in his official capacity as secretary of the company.
In October, 1917, Mr. Haskins entered the army as a second lieutenant in Repair Unit No. 303 of the Motor Transport Corps, serving at Camp Meigs and over seas in the A. E. F., until honorably discharged on the 11th of July, 1919, with the rank of first lieutenant.
On the 15th of September, 1919, Mr. Haskins was united in marriage to Miss Victoria Duke, daughter of William Duke. They are the parents of a son, David Duke Haskins, born on April 1, 1924.
Fraternally Mr. Haskins is connected with the Masonic order. belonging to Wells- ville Lodge, F. & A. M., and to Corning Consistory, S. P. R. S. He also has member- ship in Morrison Hayes Post of the American Legion, in the Rotary Club, the Colum- bia Varsity C Club and the Methodist church. In these connections are indicated the interests and activities of his life outside of business and the rules which govern his conduct, and in his home community he enjoys deserved popularity and high esteem.
GEORGE BINGHAM DRAPER.
George Bingham Draper, an active and able representative of the legal pro- fession in Rochester during the past three decades, is making a most creditable record in the position of deputy corporation counsel. A native son of this city, he was born on the 1st of December, 1868, his parents being George P. and Mary (Bingham) Draper, the former a son of Nathaniel Draper, who was a prominent citizen. George P. Draper was also a leading attorney and an influential factor in the public life of Rochester for many years, serving as president of the common council in 1865, as a member of the board of supervisors and in various other posi- tions of public trust and responsibility. In his demise, which occurred in 1908, the city sustained the loss of one of its honored, esteemed and representative residents. In early manhood Mr. Draper wedded Miss Mary Bingham, a native of Erie county, New York, and a descendant of prominent Revolutionary ancestry. She passed
888
THE GENESEE COUNTRY
away in Rochester in the year 1914. Their two surviving sons are George Bingham and Roy C. Draper, both residents of Rochester.
In the acquirement of an education George Bingham Draper attended the grade and high schools and subsequently matriculated in the University of Rochester, from which institution he was graduated on the completion of the academic course in 1892. Having decided to follow in the professional footsteps of his father and grandfather, he then began reading law in the office of John Van Voorhis and in 1894 was admitted to the bar. Through the intervening period of thirty years he has remained an active member of the legal fraternity in Rochester and has been accorded a large and distinctively representative practice that attests his ability in unmistak- able terms. In 1895-6, he was a member of the municipal service commission and in 1921 was appointed deputy corporation counsel, in which connection his service is most commendable and satisfactory.
On the 16th of September, 1916, in Rochester, Mr. Draper was united in mar- riage to Miss Elsie Ainsworth, daughter of David L. Ainsworth and representative of a prominent family. The military record of Mr. Draper covers service as a member of the National Guard from 1890 until 1895. In 1924 he was commissioned captain in the Judge advocate general's department in the Reserve army of the United States. He is an exemplary Mason and also belongs to the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, to the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and to the Rochester Bar Associa- tion. A lifelong resident of Rochester, he is widely and favorably known in both social and professional circles here as a man of genuine personal worth and as a lawyer of pronounced ability.
HON. EDWARD WINGATE HATCH.
Hon. Edward Wingate Hatch, one of the foremost members of the bar of the Empire state, former justice of the supreme court of New York, and beloved citizen, died at his home in Friendship, Allegany county, on June 1, 1924. His life was an outstanding example of the surmounting of exceptional handicaps to achieve fame and fortune through his efforts, and a desire to learn, coupled with power of will. Starting in business life to learn the blacksmith trade, he took up the study of law and became one of the most prominent jurists and attorneys in New York state. He was born in Friendship, November 26, 1852, the son of Captain Jeremiah and Lucy Ann (Rigdon) Hatch, and was a descendant of Captain Jeremiah Hatch, who served
in the Revolutionary war. Captain Jeremiah Hatch, father of Judge Hatch, was educated in Middlebury College of Vermont, became a tutor in New Bern, North Carolina, and subsequently was principal of Friendship Academy. In 1856 he became canal collector on the Genesee Valley Canal and read law in the office of A. P. Laning. At the beginning of the war he raised a company and went out as captain in the One Hundred and Thirtieth New York. He died of sickness in Suffolk, Virginia, in December, 1862, and was the first Union soldier to be brought back to Friendship and buried. His wife was a daughter of Sidney Rigdon, who has been accredited with being the author of the Mormon Bible and who broke away from the Mormons at Nauvoo, Illinois, together with Edward B. Wingate and General George W. Robin- son, at the time Joseph Smith attempted to establish polygamy.
Judge Edward Wingate Hatch attended the Friendship common schools and the Academy until he was about fourteen years of age, leaving school to work on a farm, where he remained two years. Soon thereafter he entered the employ of Daniel L. Corbin of Friendship to learn the trade of blacksmithing, and then went to the lumber woods of western Pennsylvania to put into practice the trade he had learned, spend- ing two winters there. Returning to Friendship, he bought an interest in the shop of Daniel Corbin, but at the end of a year went to Attica to continue at his trade with Ira L. Louis. While in Attica he formed the acquaintance of Judge Andrew J. Lorish, who was informed of the latent ambition of the young man to become a lawyer and who permitted him to read law in his office. Thus it was that Edward W. Hatch began reading law at night, working at the forge during the day. Later he became a clerk in the post office and at times tried justice court lawsuits in the evening. In 1874 he went to Buffalo and entered the law office of Corlett & Tabor, the former of whom afterward became a justice of the supreme court and the latter attorney- general of the state. This firm dissolved in 1875, Judge Hatch remaining with Judge Corlett until admitted to the bar in June, 1876. He then practiced law alone until 1878, when he formed a partnership with his former preceptor, Judge Corlett,
Zawar . W. Stalch
891
THE GENESEE COUNTRY
which continued until the latter went on the bench in 1883. In 1880 and 1883 Judge Hatch was nominated by acclamation by the republican party for the office of district attorney of Erie county, and was elected each time by a large vote. One of the notable cases he tried was of a defaulting county treasurer of Erie county, nominated at the same time as Mr. Hatch. District Attorney Hatch obtained a conviction and it was taken to the general court of appeals, where the case was argued by Grover Cleveland. Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Hatch were very strong personal friends, finding mutual pleasure in an acquaintance formed early in life and con- tinued as long as Cleveland lived.
In January, 1884, Judge Hatch entered the firm thereafter known as Box, Hatch & Norton and there continued until January, 1887, when he was elected one of the judges of the superior court of Buffalo, a court having equal jurisdiction with the supreme court of the state. The superior court of Buffalo was abolished on Decem- ber 31, 1895, and its judges were transferred into the supreme court for the remainder of their terms. Judge Hatch had still five years to serve, but in the autumn of 1894 he was unanimously nominated as a supreme court justice in the eighth judicial district, embracing the counties of western New York, for the full fourteen-year term, and elected by a large and flattering vote, whereupon he formally resigned as judge of the superior court for the unexpired term. All of his promotions were marked by increasing majorities. Following his last election he was almost imme- diately assigned to the appellate division, second department, in Brooklyn, where he served until 1900. He was then transferred to the appellate division, first depart- ment, in New York city, where he served until September 30, 1905, when he resigned to form a partnership with Hon. Alton B. Parker, democratic candidate for presi- dent against Roosevelt in 1904, and Hon. William F. Sheehan, formerly of Buffalo and ex-lieutenant governor of New York, under the name of Parker, Hatch & Shee- han. This partnership and its business relations and ramifications were eminently successful, both professionally and financially, and was known as one of the lead- ing legal firms of the east. Judge Parker retired from the firm about six years after it was formed, and the firm then became Hatch & Sheehan. Following the illness of Mr. Sheehan, which had become serious, the partnership was dissolved and from that time Judge Hatch practiced alone, his offices being at No. 14 Wall street, and he took up only such cases as appealed to him. Judge Hatch was counsel for several of the leading firms of New York and elsewhere. During the latter years of his life his work was confined almost entirely to appellate court, references and similar court cases. Some years ago Judge Hatch prosecuted a case against one of the biggest corporations in the country and badly defeated them, so that in another action he was later employed by them, receiving the highest fee believed to have been paid an attorney at that time. At the time of his death he was engaged in trying the noted Jay Gould estate reference, involving eighty million dollars, which he expected to argue before the United States supreme court and which was the largest reference the state of New York has yet produced. The law books, both in state courts and federal reports, are full of important cases in which he was interested, if not as the attorney of record, at least as counsel. His decisions were noted for their clean logic and clearness of understanding of the subjects on which he wrote.
Judge Hatch was a thirty-third degree active Scottish Rite Mason and for many years was an active worker in the organization. He received a number of honorary degrees, including those of LL. D. and A. B., being thus honored by Alfred Univer- sity and Middlebury College of Middlebury, Vermont, where his father was educated, and he received the M. A. degree from Williams College. He also had honorary degrees from foreign universities, among them being one in Germany and another in Scotland. He joined the Baptist church in early life but was noted for his liberal religious views. He had several lectures on religious subjects, which he prepared with great care and which he delivered for the benefit of some organization, notably "The Life of St. Paul," and "The Trial and Condemnation of Jesus Christ from a Legal Standpoint." He was deeply interested in books and had a large collection of books on religious subjects and ancient and sacred history, and there was hardly a "Life of Christ" written that he had not read and placed in his library. He was an inveterate student of Dickens' works and was familiar with all his writings. His memory was most retentive, not only of legal subjects but everything with which he came into contact. Judge Hatch avoided public honor and demonstrations as much as possible. Whatever he did was done with no regard for personal glory. He did much for charity and befriended many persons. He maintained a pay roll throughout the last years of his life of men and women who had no claim on him whatever, but were in adverse circumstances, and he also furnished a college educa- tion to many deserving students, always seeking the opportunity to lend help in this
895
THE GENESEE COUNTRY
great industry, for shredded wheat was the first of all the prepared cereals. Mr. Perky went back to Denver, where his brother John and one or two others supplied the first capital for the first company. There shredded wheat was first manufactured in a store basement, then on Broadway across from the Brown Palace Hotel, and later in a restaurant which Mr. Perky opened for demonstrating the many uses of his shredded products. Mechanical difficulties took Mr. Perky east in 1894; and in October of that year he had four machines running in a most popular exhibit at Boston's first World's Food Fair, and served his product free to thousands of persons. The New England rights were leased, and a factory using the present gang form of machine was established in Worcester, Massachusetts. This was soon taken over by Mr. Perky and his associates of the Denver company and run as the Cereal Machine Company (so named because Mr. Perky's early plan was to manufacture shredding machines for use by bakers, individual farmers, etc.), until the business was moved to Niagara Falls, New York, in 1902. During this period a large amount of New York capital came into the company, and when Mr. Perky had finally realized his ideal of a large and beautiful food factory, located in a park-like section of Niagara Falls, it was at the sacrifice of his control of the business and of the con- tinuation of his particular policies, and this led to his voluntary resignation from the presidency of the company in 1904, after which he soon severed all connection with it.
Mr. Perky believed in his product and preached the gospel of right eating with almost religious zeal. It was said that the early popularity of shredded wheat was due more to the use he made of his great personality than to any appreciation of the product itself. On the platform, and untiringly to individuals, he demonstrated that the way to bodily, mental and moral salvation was right eating, and that the one perfect food had finally been discovered.
While in Worcester, Massachusetts, Mr. Perky bought the Oread Institute, where for several years he offered free tuition in domestic science and graduated hundreds of students. In 1904 he sought to transfer this to Glencoe, Maryland, where he had secured a large estate with the intention of founding an agricultural school as well. His idea was to realize an educational institution which would "earn its own endow- ment" from its own soil and factories, and to this end he planned to donate a number of his cereal food inventions. To this philanthropic endeavor he sacrificed his fortune, and died, his largest conception unrealized, on June, 1906, leaving his wife, and a son, Scott.
CHESTER W. GRAVES.
For many years members of the Graves family have taken a leading part in the development of the lumber industry in western New York and the enterprising spirit of the father has been transmitted to the son, Chester W. Graves, who is ably sus- taining the traditions of the name. Although one of the more recent additions to the citizenship of Newark, he has already become a dominant figure in its business circles and wisely directs the operations of one of the largest planing mills in the Genesee country. He was born in Buffalo, New York, October 15, 1884, and his parents, Luther Pomeroy and Nellie E. (White) Graves, were also natives of that city, in which they were married. They had a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters, but two of the sons are deceased. Luther P. Graves was long engaged in the manufacture of lumber in Buffalo, also operating extensively in Canada, and was numbered among the foremost business men of his native city. He was descended in the paternal line from Revolutionary war stock. He has passed away and is survived by Mrs. Graves. Chester W. of this review is the oldest of their 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.