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 91
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Reminiscent of college days is Mr. Backus' membership in the Phi Delta Phi fraternity. He is a Mason, belonging to Corinthian Temple Lodge, No. 805, of Roch-
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ester, and is a member of the E. R. Wilson Post No. 153 of the American Legion. During the World war he was stationed most of the time at Camp Sherman, where he was a corporal in the camp adjutant's detachment. He is, of course, a member of the Rochester Bar Association.
Mr. Backus was married on the 11th of March, 1918, to Miss Ruth Haven, the ceremony taking place in Utica, New York. Mrs. Backus was formerly a resident of Stratford, Connecticut, and is a daughter of Philo P. and Clara (St. John) Haven of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Backus are the parents of one child, Richard Haven Backus, born December 5, 1922.
J. LEONARD MOORE.
Possessing organizing ability and an aptitude for successful management, J. Leonard Moore, who established the Moore Steam Turbine Corporation of Wellsville, exerted a strong influence on the industrial progress of that place and earned the right to classification with its most valuable citizens. He was in the forty-ninth year of his age when he suddenly passed away on April 2, 1924, for his birth occurred in Fayetteville, Arkansas, October 24, 1875, his parents being David Nelson and Helen (Yates) Moore. He completed his education in the University of Arkan- sas, from which he was graduated in 1896, receiving the degree of M. E. He was employed in the surveying department of the Santa Fe Railway when war was declared on Spain in 1898. Mr. Moore enlisted as a private in an Arkansas regiment and was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. He did not see active service, however, because of illness which confined him to camp at Chickamauga. After leav- ing the Santa Fe Railway, Mr. Moore went to Lockport, New York, where he was connected with the Holly Manufacturing Company, later resigning his position to become a designer for the Westinghouse Company on the Parsons turbine engine, built by that corporation.
It was in 1905 that Mr. Moore came to Wellsville, New York, and entered the service of the Kerr Turbine Company as chief draughtsman, later becoming chief engineer and factory manager and also serving on the board of directors. Mr. Kerr, the head of this concern, was a former instructor of Mr. Moore at the University of Arkansas. The latter remained with the firm for eleven years and was the designer of the Economy turbine built by them. In 1916 he established a business of his own, organizing the Moore Steam Turbine Corporation, of which he was the president throughout the remainder of his life. He manifested thorough familiarity with the mechanical processes of the business and built up an industry of large and profitable proportions. The concern manufactures steam turbines, centrifugal pumps and re- duction gears and its plant is well equipped for work of this character. Mr. Moore was a director of the First Trust Company of Wellsville and was also president of the Pure Carbon Company. There is a large demand for the output of the plant of the Pure Carbon Company, which manufactures motor generator brushes, flash- light carbons, etc. Mr. Moore had the ability to think in large terms and his plans and theories, deeply conceived and deliberately matured, speedily became realities.
On November 8, 1905, Mr. Moore was united in marriage to Miss Irene Cole, of Wellsville, a daughter of Asher P. and Sarah (Ganoung) Cole. They became the parents of one child, Helen Loretta, who is attending Kendall Hall, a preparatory school for girls at Prides Crossing, Massachusetts. Mr. Moore was a member of the Wellsville Country Club and his political support was given to the republican party, while in religious faith he was an Episcopalian, being junior warden of St. John's Episcopal church. He stood high in the esteem of his fellowmen and brought to his various duties in life a broad mind and a keen intelligence which were the basis of his success.
AARON F. WILLIAMS.
Financier and business man of first rank and a public-spirited citizen is Aaron F. Williams, president of the First National Bank of Corning. He was born in Bath, Steuben county, New York, November 13, 1876, the son of H. B. and F. Amanda (Barber) Williams. He was educated at Corning Free Academy and the University of Rochester, where he pursued the scientific course for a period of two years. He
THE NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY
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then returned to Corning and entered the employ of his uncle, John W. Williams, who was conducting a meat business, and remained with his uncle until the latter's death, after which he went into the hardware business in partnership with Albert C. Frost in Corning, which association continued until he bought out Mr. Frost's interests in 1905. He has since been sole owner of the store.
With his growing capacity for larger affairs, Mr. Williams became a director of the First National Bank of Corning in 1909. In 1919 he was made vice president of this large institution, and two years later arose to the presidency. The bank is the largest one in Steuben county, with deposits exceeding $2,500,000 (1924). Mr. Wil- liams' ability is no small factor in this success. He is also a director of the Corning Cooperative Savings and Loan Association.
Although he spends much time watching his business interests, the president of the First National Bank is a man with civic pride. He is a trustee of the New York Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Bath and served two years as police commissioner of Corning, under Mayor G. W. Lane. He has a recreation and hobby and it is the love and training of fine harness horses, in which he has been interested all of his life. He is a member of the Corning Club, the Corning Country Club, and the Elks. He is unmarried.
Holland B. Williams, the father of Aaron F. Williams, was a storekeeper in Prattsburg, New York, for many years. Then he was elected sheriff of Steuben county, being the first democrat to hold this office. He settled in Corning and became the senior partner in the house of Williams & Robinson, dry goods merchants. His death occurred in the year 1889, and he is survived by his widow.
WALTER SAGE HUBBELL.
Walter Sage Hubbell is one of the representative and highly respected residents of Rochester, where he has been actively engaged in law practice throughout the past forty-seven years and since 1911 has been a member of the well known firm of Hubbell, Taylor, Goodwin & Moser. He is also connected with various corporate interests and as a public-spirited citizen has contributed in no small degree to the general progress and improvement of his adopted city. His birth occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 24th of December, 1850, his parents being Charles and Anna M. (Sage) Hubbell, both of whom were natives of the state of New York. The mother was a daughter of Orin Sage, a large shoe manufacturer of Rochester, New York. The Hubbell family removed from Connecticut to the Empire state. The original American ancestors came to the New World as passengers on the Mayflower and the line of descent is traced back to Governor Bradford. Members of the family in both paternal and maternal lines were soldiers in the early wars and some of them became quite dis- tinguished. Charles Hubbell was born in Ballston Springs, New York, and upon removing to Rochester, in 1839, became connected with the Eagle Bank as teller for several years. He afterward went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he acted as cashier in a bank until ill health forced him to relinquish the position and he removed to Keokuk, Iowa, in 1852, remaining in the latter city until 1871. In that year he became a resident of San Diego, California, where he made his home until his death, which occurred on October 21, 1903, when he was eighty-six years of age. He had long survived his wife, who died in 1882 while on a visit in Rochester, New York. They were the parents of seven children, four of whom are still living.
Walter S. Hubbell acquired his early education in the private and public schools of Keokuk, Iowa, and at the age of sixteen years came to Rochester, where he entered the University of Rochester, which institution conferred upon him the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in 1871 and Master of Arts in 1875. During the succeeding two years he acted as an instructor in the Albany Boys' Academy and at the same time began reading law in the office of Reynolds & Harris, while subsequently he continued his professional training under the direction of Hon. George F. Danforth of Rochester, afterward one of the judges of the court of appeals of this state. He was admitted to the bar in January, 1876, and on the first day of the following year began practice in Rochester and later as senior member of the firm of Hubbell & McGuire. He afterward followed his profession independently for a time, but during the past thir- teen years has been associated with the firm of Hubbell, Taylor, Goodwin & Moser. A contemporary biographer has described him as "an active member of the legal fraternity with a large, lucrative and distinctively representative clientage. He has not become a specialist but has continued in the general practice of law and in the
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trial of important causes has displayed comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and a retentive memory, which has frequently excited the admiration of his colleagues." Mr. Hubbell served as president of the Rochester Bar Association for one year and he also belongs to the Kent Club of Rochester, the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. In addition to his professional activities he serves as vice president of the Eastman Kodak Company, which he has represented as attorney for thirty years, and for which his firm acts as general counsel. His advice and cooperation has been sought in the successful control of various other corporate interests, including the Lincoln-Alliance Bank of Rochester and the Curtice Brothers Company, of both of which he is a director. A humanitarian spirit and his deep interest in the intellectual and moral development of the com- munity are manifest in his service as trustee of the Rochester Orphan Asylum, the University of Rochester and the Rochester Theological Seminary. He is likewise a trustee of the Security Trust Company of Rochester.
On the 21st of June, 1877, Mr. Hubbell was united in marriage to Miss Leora A. DeLand, a daughter of Judge Daniel B. DeLand of Fairport, New York. They have four living daughters: Minnie D., who was born in Fairport and is the wife of Her- bert R. Lewis of Rochester; Anna D., also a native of Fairport, New York; Bertha D., whose birth also occurred in Fairport; and Margaret D., who was born in Rochester and is the wife of Lyndon H. Wells.
Mr. Hubbell has figured prominently in the public life of the city and state and in the years 1884 and 1885 represented the eastern district of Monroe county in the state assembly. His appreciation for the social amenities of life is indicated in his mem- bership connection with the Genesee Valley Club, the Rochester Country Club and the University Club. A fluent, forceful and entertaining speaker, he is often called upon to address public gatherings at various entertainments and banquets. Fraternally he is a Knights Templar Mason and has also attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He belongs to two Greek letter fraternities-Alpha Delta Phi and Phi Beta Kappa-and is a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants of the State of New York. Along moral lines as well his influence has been far-reaching and beneficial. He is vice president and trustee of the Baptist Union and chairman of the board of trustees of the Baptist church, the men's Bible class, which, numbering over seven hundred, paid him high tribute on his seventy-third birthday. Concerning this event a local publication said in part: "All men who were in the Hubbell class when it met Sunday noon helped to celebrate their teacher's birthday yesterday. Walter S. Hubbell, who has taught this class for almost thirty-three years, has had seventy-two of these anniversaries, although his appearance is a contradiction. * * * Every man in the class was supposed to write a letter to Mr. Hubbell, and among these was a cleverly written poem by Dr. Roger Lewis, entitled 'The Infinite Act', and introduced with this note: 'Phases of life and religion as lived and taught by Walter S. Hubbell. This tribute is dedicated on his seventy-third anniversary, in grateful recognition of the great work this great teacher has done for his city, his state, his country; and specially for the high ideals that he has inculcated Sunday after Sunday, as a volunteer layman, in the lives of the men of Rochester during the past thirty-two years.' "
Mr. Hubbell's record is that of a strong mentality, stable in purpose, forceful and energetic in action. His work has been manifestly resultant and the elements are happily blended in the rounding out of his nature, for he unites the refinements of life with the sterner qualities of manhood.
WILSON RUFUS PAGE.
Wilson Rufus Page, one of the pioneers in the development of oil fields in the Olean section of New York state, builder and developer of transportation facilit'es in southwestern New York, former postmaster and leading citizen of Olean, departed this life on September 8, 1922. His birth occurred in Olean, Cattaraugus county, on the 29th of September, 1854, his parents being Rufus L. and Anna (Hall) Page. The father, whose natal year was 1820, came to Olean, New York, in 1845 and here spent the remainder of his life.
Wilson Rufus Page acquired his education in the grade and high schools of Olean, in the Phillips-Andover Academy. Following his graduation from the last named institution he began work in the Olean postoffice under the direction of his father and continued in the service of the postoffice department during the greater part of the
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time until 1891. He served as postmaster of Olean under Presidents Arthur and Harrison.
The development of oil production and of traction lines occupied the close atten- tion of Wilson R. Page for thirty-five years. He was engaged in the lumber business in Michigan in 1889 and for several years following, but his greatest business activi- ties were in connection with the development of the Chipmunk oil field, in which he was the pioneer operator, in oil fields in the southern part of Cattaraugus county, and the building up from the very smallest beginnings of what is now the Olean. Bradford & Salamanca Railway Company. In later years he was also interested in oil developments in the southwestern states in which he was very successful. In 1898 he organized the company which eventually assumed ownership of all the street car lines in Olean, Bradford and Salamanca and the various interurban lines. From a system of twelve miles in 1898, Mr. Page developed and built lines that now comprise one hundred miles of railroad by consolidating the Bradford, Rock City and Olean properties and by extending the lines to Salamanca, Ceres, Shinglehouse and other points and by the construction of the Seneca Junction line to Bradford. The entire system was consolidated in 1906 as the Western New York & Pennsylvania Traction Company. Mr. Page remained as president of the system until April, 1920, when he retired from the transportation business to devote his entire time to the oil business.
As an oil producer Mr. Page brought to his work the same organizing genius that had marked his success in transportation. At the time of his death he was president of the Texolean Oil Company and was an officer and director in the Page- Lewis Oil Company, the Webb Oil Company and the Price Oil Company. He was a pioneer developer and producer of oil in the El Dorado oil fields of Butler county, Kansas, in 1916, where he achieved signal success. He sold out his holdings there, however, and moved his base of operations to the North Central Texas field in 1919. Two years later he began the development of oil properties in the Creek county fields of Oklahoma.
Mr. Page was for years a director of the First National Bank of Olean. At all times he manifested a deep and helpful interest in the welfare of Olean and of Cattaraugus county. He was keenly interested in sports, hunting and fishing being his favorite forms of recreation. He was fond of clean horse racing and was a prime mover in the activities of the Jersey Farm Association, which for years held successful racing at Olean. At one time he served as a member of the board of education, and he was president of the Old Timers Association from its organization until his death in 1922. His political support was given to the republican party, while his religious faith was indicated by his membership in the First Baptist church of Olean. Mr. Page belonged to the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Producers Association and to the New York State Oil and Gas Producers Association. He was a Knights Templar Mason and Shriner and a member of the City and Hamilton (now F. L. Bartlett Coun- try) Clubs.
On the 23d of February, 1881, at Olean, Mr. Page was married to Miss Nellie Brett, daughter of Kingman Brett of Titusville, Pennsylvania. The two sons and daughter born to them are: Wilson K. Page, of Olean; Lawrence R. Page of Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Mrs. Donald M. Dusenbury, of Olean.
HOWARD D. ALDRICH.
Howard D. Aldrich, who is serving for the second term as clerk of Ontario county, is numbered among the leading and influential citizens of Shortsville, where he is successfully engaged in business as proprietor of a store devoted to the sale of merchandise and groceries, conducting one of the best establishments of the kind in western New York. A lifelong resident of Ontario county, he was born at Shorts- ville on the 30th of January, 1880, his parents being Wilson and Matilda (Ans- berger) Aldrich, natives of the Empire state, both of whom are deceased.
Howard D. Aldrich attended the public schools in the acquirement of an educa- tion and after putting aside his textbooks secured a position as clerk in a freight office at Shortsville, where he was thus employed until he had attained his majority. He then turned his attention to the grocery business and later became connected with the conduct of a general store. With the passing years he has developed an extensive trade as a dealer in both merchandise and groceries and is the prosperous proprietor of what is generally conceded to be one of the best country stores in this part of the state. He puts forth every possible effort to please his patrons and enjoys an
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enviable reputation as an enterprising, straightforward and thoroughly reliable busi- ness man. Mr. Aldrich is also identified with financial interests as a director of the Shortsville State Bank, which he assisted in organizing.
On the 7th of June, 1905, Mr. Aldrich was united in marriage to Miss Ellen E. Green of Buffalo. They have a daughter, Betty E., whose birth occurred on May 1, 1912. In religious faith Mr. Aldrich is a Presbyterian, while his political support is given to the republican party. He has made an excellent record as trustee and as president of the village of Shortsville and in 1918 was chosen clerk of Ontario county, winning reelection in 1921, so that he is still serving at the present time. His work in this connection has proved highly satisfactory, for he is an efficient and capable official who discharges his duties with the utmost fidelity. He is thor- oughly dependable in every relation of life and his influence is a potent factor in advancing civic virtue, in upholding the best interests of his community and in lending dignity to the term citizenship.
ENRICO CUTALI.
At the International Progressive Industrial Exposition held in Rome, Italy, in the months of July and August, 1923, three exhibits from the United States of America won prizes. Of these three exhibits one was that of the Imperial Products Company of Rochester. This concern was founded in 1906 by Enrico Cutali, president of the company, and manufactures chemical specialties. Associated with Mr. Cutali in its management today are his sons, Frank J. and Louis Cutali.
The history of this firm and of its founder is interesting not only as a record of industrial and personal achievement, but also as an illustration of the opportunities awaiting the foreigner who comes to our shores. Enrico Cutali landed in America just twenty years ago, coming from his native Sicily, where he had spent all of his life prior to his emigration. He had no friends and slender resources, but in spite of these serious handicaps he has risen to a position of prominence and affluence. Born in Syracuse, Sicily, on the 4th of September, 1865, he is the son of Augustin and Josephine (Cassia) Cutali, natives and lifelong residents of that historic city. The father was a mechanical engineer and for some time was municipal engineer for Syracuse. Appreciating the value of an education, he gave his son, Enrico, as good a scientific training for his career as he could, sending the youth to the University at Catania after he had finished the work of the elementary and higher grades in the schools of Syracuse. In 1886, therefore, Enrico Cutali was awarded the degree in chemistry by the Catania University. Returning to the city of his birth, the young chemist established a wholesale drug and chemical laboratory of his own, which he conducted with reasonable success until 1904.
Mr. Cutali was ambitious, however, to obtain the advantages of the new land across the ocean, where competition was less keen and the wealth of the people greater. Finally he decided to sell out his business and use the proceeds of the sale to bring himself and family to the United States, where he hoped to start a similar business enterprise. At first he located in Utica, New York, as a manufacturing chemist, but as the business did not prosper as fast as he thought it should, he moved to Rochester in 1912. Subsequent events have proved that this change was a wise one. In the dozen years he has been here the business has grown from a very modest establish- ment into one of the notably successful enterprises of the city. At first he had a small plant at No. 223 Andrew street, but three years later he was forced to look for larger quarters and located at Nos. 537-541 North Clinton avenue, his present factory address. The business has continued to grow steadily and now Mr. Cutali has the pleasure of having his two sons sharing its management with him. The Im- perial Products Company imports and produces fine extracts and essences, Italian herbs and drugs, essential oils, perfumes, concentrated syrups and druggists' sundries. Many of its products are especially used for the manufacture of Italian goods for the large Italian-American population of this country which, naturally, retains many of its Old World habits and customs. A high point in the progress of the company was reached when in 1923 it was awarded first prize for its exhibit of chemical products in Rome. In this connection Mr. Cutali has received from the Italian government a handsome gold medal, an honor cross and a diploma. This same year Mr. Cutali spent some six months in Europe, mostly in the land of his birth, the first trip he had made abroad since coming to America in 1904. Needless to add, the graceful recognition of his achievements in Rome added greatly to the pleasure of this holiday
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excursion. Since becoming an American citizen Mr. Cutali has followed a somewhat independent course politically, but in the main has given his support to the republican party. His religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic church, in which he was reared.
In Syracuse, Italy, on the 12th of September, 1888, Mr. Cutali was united in mar- riage to Miss Amelia Boccadifuoco and they became the parents of three children, all of whom were born before the family left Sicily. A daughter Thresa (Theresa), now Mrs. Nardo of Rochester, was born on September 1, 1889, and is the mother of two daughters, Emily and Lina; Louis, born January 1, 1895, married Miss Florence Taylor of this city and has two children, Elvira and Evelyn; Frank J., born January 9, 1896, married Miss Leonora Boccadifuoco of Rochester.
Both sons are associated with their father in business. The elder belongs to the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and is an Elk. In the World war he enlisted in the military service at Rochester and as a member of the Three Hundred and Ninth Field Artillery, Seventy-eighth Division, was overseas for a year. He is a talented musician and during his army experience played the clarinet in the artillery band.
FLOYD C. FAY.
Floyd C. Fay is a prominent figure in financial circles of Cattaraugus county as president of the Union National Bank of Franklinville, with which he has been continuously identified during the past two decades and of which he has been at the head since 1912. His birth occurred at Wirt, Allegany county, New York, on the 30th of March, 1870, and he is a grandson of Patrick Fay, who emigrated to the United States from Ireland about 1835 and settled in the Genesee Country, here spending the remainder of his life. William P. Fay, the father of Floyd C. Fay, was a veteran of the Civil war who died at the age of thirty years from the effects of disease contracted in Andersonville prison, where he was incarcerated for more than three years.
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