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 92
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Floyd C. Fay, who was still in his infancy when he lost his father, lived in the home of his grandparents to the age of fourteen years, when he removed to Friend- ship, New York. He there acquired a grade and high school education and later continued his studies in Cook Academy of Montour Falls, while his more advanced intellectual training was received in Alfred University of Alfred, New York. The banking business has claimed his time and energies since he put aside his textbooks. He first spent a year in the service of the First National Bank of Friendship, New York, was next connected with the First National Bank at Port Allegany, Pennsyl- vania, for three years and then for two years was associated with the City Bank of Buffalo. Thereafter he again became identified with the First National Bank of Friendship, where he was employed in the capacity of bookkeeper for ten years. It was in July, 1905, that Mr. Fay located in Franklinville and assumed the cashier- ship of the Union National Bank, ably discharging the duties of that office until 1912, when he was elected to the presidency of the institution and has since remained at its head. His long experience in the banking business has gained him thorough familiarity with every phase thereof, and as chief executive of the Union National Bank he has contributed in large measure to its continued growth and success. Mr. Fay is also an active factor in industrial circles as president of the Franklin Can Company, Incorporated, of Franklinville.
On the 14th of October, 1891, at Friendship, New York, Mr. Fay wedded Mary Grace Miller of that place. They are the parents of two sons, namely: William M., who is a graduate of Brown University and the Harvard Law School and is now a successful practicing attorney of Buffalo; and Floyd C., Jr., who is engaged in the oil business in Texas.
A stanch republican, Mr. Fay manifests an active interest in local politics and is widely recognized as a public-spirited and enterprising citizen whose influence is ever exerted on the side of reform and progress. He is a director of the Franklin- ville Improvement Company and is also serving as treasurer of the Board of Trade. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the First Baptist church, in the work of which he takes an active and helpful part, while fraternally he is identi- fied with the Masonic order, belonging to Franklinville Lodge No. 626, F. & A. M., of which he is past master and in which he has filled various offices, including those of senior warden and district deputy. He also belongs to Ismailia Temple of the Mystic Shrine in Buffalo, to the East Aurora Country Club and to the F. L. Bartlett
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Country Club. Golf affords him pleasurable recreation, for he is a lover of the great outdoors. Mr. Fay belongs to that class of men who, equipped with a liberal education and innate business ability, have recognized the opportunities and possi- bilities before them. He has met the obligations of life with the confidence and cour- age that come of conscious personal ability, right conception of things and an habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities.
STEPHEN V. MOUNTAIN, M. D.
Dr. Stephen V. Mountain, an active representative of the medical profession in Cattaraugus county during the past two decades, organized the Mountain Clinic of Olean in association with his brother in May, 1917, and has since conducted the same most successfully, specializing in the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. His skill in the field of surgery is widely acknowledged. Stephen V. Moun- tain was born in Caneadea, Allegany county, New York, in 1881, a son of David A. and Katherine (Rock) Mountain. The father, a native of Caneadea township, was an agriculturist by occupation who cultivated his land while his wife and children made various removals in order that the latter might enjoy the educational oppor- tunities offered in the larger towns and cities. Thus Mrs. Katherine Mountain and her children resided successively in Belfast, Geneseo and Buffalo, New York.
Stephen V. Mountain obtained his early education in the public schools of Canea- dea, later pursued a high school course at Belfast and subsequently continued his studies in the New York State Normal School at Geneseo. His professional training was acquired in the medical department of the University of Buffalo, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1904. The following year, in 1905, he began the practice of medicine and surgery in Allegany, Cattaraugus county, New York, where he remained for a period of nine years. It was in 1915 that he changed the scene of his professional activities, opening an office at Olean, where he has since gained an enviable and well merited reputation in the field of ophthalmology, otology, rhinology and laryngology. On the 1st of May, 1917, Dr. S. V. Mountain and his brother organized the Mountain Clinic, which they have conducted to the present time, the former specializing in the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He has kept abreast with the most advanced methods of surgery by annual attendance at various schools for special instruction in this field, having pursued special courses at the New York Post Graduate School as well as in Rochester, Minnesota, and Chicago, Illinois. At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, he specialized in the study of goiter. Dr. S. V. Mountain organized the pre-medical course at St. Bonaventure's College of Allegany, New York, where he is an instructor on diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Aside from his profes- sional activities he is interested in oil production in the Bradford and Bolivar fields.
In early manhood Dr. Mountain was united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Farrell, of Scranton, Pennsylvania. They are the parents of three sons and a daughter, as follows: John David, who was born on October 2, 1908, and who is a high school student in Olean; Stephen Vincent, whose natal day was November 26, 1910; Edward Russell, whose birth occurred on October 10, 1912; and Jeanne Anne, born on the 1st of July, 1918.
Dr. Mountain has membership in the Kiwanis Club, the Bartlett Country Club and the Automobile Club, being a director of the last named. Fraternally he is iden- tified with the local council of the Knights of Columbus in Allegany. As a practi- tioner and educator his work places him in a prominent position in professional circles of the community, and his colleagues and associates as well as the general public unite in bearing testimony as to his high character and superior ability.
JUDSON HOWDEN.
Sometimes in the rural districts of the country will be found a local paper that has attained to the dignity and consequence of a necessity, is in every home as a matter of course within a certain radius from its place of publication, and from the care and conscientiousness with which it is edited has won for itself the unquestioned and implicit faith of its readers. Such a paper is that of which Judson Howden of Fillmore, Allegany county, New York, has been the editor and owner for nearly
DR. STEPHEN V. MOUNTAIN
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forty years, the Northern Allegany Observer. He was born July 31, 1853, in Granger, Wyoming county, New York, the son of Noah and Melvina (Meacham) Howden. The father was a farmer and was born near Perry, Wyoming county, in 1825, and died in 1890. Judson Howden's paternal grandfather, Henry Howden, came from Vermont, and settled near Perry.
Judson Howden started the acquisition of an education in the public district schools of Allegany county, afterward attending Pike Seminary and then Belfort Seminary. After completing his education Mr. Howden taught school for several terms, worked as a carpenter for a time, and then worked in the printing trade, where the idea of editing and managing a paper of his own was born. In 1888 he bought the paper rights of the Northern Allegany Observer and has successfully conducted the paper since that time. Mr. Howden politically is a republican, and his paper supports the policies and candidates of that party. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the New York State Press Association and the Western New York Editorial Association. In his religious convictions he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On May 27, 1890, Mr. Howden was married to Emma Peirson, daughter of William E. and Mary Peirson of Fillmore, where Mr. Peirson was a farmer. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Howden: Melvine P., born April 30, 1893, is his father's partner in the printing business. He was graduated from Houghton Seminary in 1921, and married Meta Stone, daughter of Fred and Julia Stone, who live near Fillmore; William P. Howden graduated from the Fillmore high school in 1923 and is now at home.
WALTER O. FREDRIKSON.
Walter O. Fredrikson, secretary of the Sterling Furniture Company and presi- dent of the McArthur Turnbuckle Corporation, enjoys an enviable reputation as an energetic and enterprising young business man and manufacturer of Salamanca. His birth occurred in Randolph, Cattaraugus county, New York, on the 24th of Octo- ber, 1890, his parents being Erik and Hilma (Soderholl) Fredrikson. A biography of the father, who is the treasurer and general manager of the Sterling Furniture Company, appears on another page of this work.
Walter O. Fredrikson pursued his education in the grammar and high schools of Salamanca and after putting aside his textbooks spent about five years in the service of the Salamanca Trust Company. He then joined his father in business as secretary of the Sterling Furniture Company and has since been associated with him in the control of this extensive manufacturing enterprise. A young man of excellent execu- tive ability and keen business discernment, his efforts have also constituted factors of importance in the successful conduct of other industrial concerns, for. he is officially connected as treasurer with the Salamanca Mirror Works and occupies the presidency of the McArthur Turnbuckle Corporation of Salamanca.
On the 30th of June, 1910, at Jamestown, New York, Mr. Fredrikson was mar- ried to Miss Isabelle Mary Huggins, daughter of Charles A. Huggins of Salamanca. They are the parents of two children, Robert William and Ruth Jeanette, who were born in the years 1915 and 1917, respectively.
Mr. Fredrikson is a republican in his political views and an active worker in the local ranks of the party. He is a consistent member of St. Mary's Episcopal church and fraternally is identified with the Masonic order, belonging to Ismailia Temple of the Mystic Shrine in Buffalo. He likewise has membership in the Buz- zard Club and finds his chief source of recreation in motoring and other forms of outdoor life. Mr. Fredrikson is deservedly popular in both social and business circles of Cattaraugus county, within the borders of which he has remained from his birth to the present time.
ERIK FREDRIKSON.
Erik Fredrikson is a prominent and successful representative of industrial in- terests in Salamanca as treasurer and general manager of the Sterling Furniture Company, of which he has remained the active head since organizing the concern in 1909. He is a native of Sweden, born on the 18th of April, 1864, and a son of
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Fredrik Anderson, who was a lifelong resident of that country and an agriculturist by occupation. Erik Fredrikson acquired his education in the public schools of Sweden, where he spent the first twenty years of his life. In 1884, eager to avail himself of the opportunities offered in the United States, he crossed the Atlantic and located at Jamestown, Chautauqua county, New York. Thereafter he worked as a carpenter in furniture factories of Jamestown and Randolph and subsequently filled the position of superintendent in the plant of the Randolph Furniture Company for about ten years. He was next connected with the Salamanca Furniture Company in the capacity of superintendent from 1900 until 1909, when, feeling that his capital and experience justified him in embarking in business on his own account, he or- ganized the Sterling Furniture Company of Salamanca, which he has conducted very successfully to the present time. The enterprise has expanded steadily under his capable management until it is now one of extensive and profitable proportions and Mr. Fredrikson enjoys a creditable position among the leading furniture manufac- turers of the Genesee Country. He is also officially identified with other important business concerns, being vice president of the Fancher Furniture Company of Sala- manca, vice president of the Salamanca Mirror Works and a director of the Sala- manca Trust Company and the Montgomery Supply Company.
In 1888, at Randolph, New York, Mr. Fredrikson was united in marriage to Miss Hilma Soderholl, whose father long figured actively in the business affairs of Jamestown. They are the parents of a son, Walter O. Fredrikson, who is the secre- tary of the Sterling Furniture Company and is mentioned at length on another page of this publication.
Mr. Fredrikson gives his political allegiance to the republican party and mani- fests a helpful interest in civic affairs, at all times lending the weight of his aid and influence on the side of community advancement. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in St. Mary's Episcopal church and his life has been actuated by high ideals in every relation. He has never regretted his determination to come to the New World, for here he has found the opportunities which he sought and in their wise utilization has gained both prosperity and an honored name.
CHARLES H. KINLEY.
A man of broad vision, ripe experience and keen discernment, quick to perceive and utilize the possibilities and opportunities of a situation, Charles H. Kinley has met with uniform success in his business ventures and is now the owner of valuable oil lands. His prosperity has been won by methods that neither seek nor require disguise and Horseheads regards him as a valuable acquisition to its citizenship. He was born in Summitville, Sullivan county, New York, November 14, 1859, a son of Adam and Mary (Freer) Kinley, both of whom were natives of Germany. While a resident of that country the father engaged in the weaving of linen but after coming to the United States learned the tanner's trade. He was first employed as a day laborer, working hard to gain a start, and eventually was able to establish a business of his own. After leaving Summitville he operated tanneries in Elmira, Breesport and Olean, New York, and subsequently became the proprietor of a leather store in Boston, Massachusetts. He fought life's battles unaided and won the re- spect which the world accords the self-made man. Mr. and Mrs. Kinley were married in Sullivan county, New York. The former passed away in Breesport, New York, while the latter's demise occurred in Wellsburg, this state. They were members of the Lutheran church and in politics he was a republican. They had five children, four of whom are deceased.
Charles H. Kinley was the third in order of birth in the family. He received a common school education and when fourteen years of age entered his father's tan- nery, acquiring a thorough knowledge of the trade. He was admitted to a partner- ship in the business, which was conducted under the name of Adam Kinley & Sons, and at that time the firm was operating tanneries in Olean and Breesport. In 1912 Charles H. Kinley sold the business, which he had controlled for many years prior to his father's death, and directed his energies into other channels. At one time he was engaged in lead-mining near Joplin, Missouri, and his attention is now concen- trated upon the oil business. He was formerly interested in the oil fields of Oklahoma but his holdings at the present time are situated in the states of New York and Pennsylvania. He has very valuable leases and has been exceptionally successful in his undertakings, receiving a large income from his investments. His brothers,
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William and George Kinley, were associated with him in business until death termi- nated their activities, the former passing away in 1919 and the latter in 1917.
In 1882 Mr. Kinley was married to Miss Alice J. Harding, a native of Breesport, New York, and a daughter of John Harding, one of the pioneer settlers of Chemung county. To Mr. and Mrs. Kinley five children were born, four of whom survive: H. Ward, who was formerly engaged in the feed and grain business; Leah, a Cortland State Normal graduate; Otis, a dealer in coal and grain in Breesport; and Vera, a graduate of the Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital of Elmira, New York, who has also taken a postgraduate course in anaesthesia at Grace Hospital, Detroit, Michigan.
The family are members of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Kinley gives his political support to the republican party. He has never aspired to office and the only public position he has ever held was that of postmaster of Breesport. He is a Mason and has taken the degrees of the York and Scottish Rites. He purchased an old residence in Horseheads, remodeled the building and now has one of the finest homes in the town. Mr. Kinley is ever ready to further those projects which are basic elements in civic growth and development, and correctly estimating life's values and purposes, he has won and retained the esteem and confidence of his fellowmen.
ALBERT DYER HOWE.
The upbuilding of a town largely depends upon the men who handle real estate and the character of a city is determined in great measure by their labors and the spirit that actuates them. Albert Dyer Howe is one of the leading realtors of Wells- ville and a representative of the younger generation of business men whose energy and aggressiveness promise much for the future of the community. He was born in Whitesville, Allegany county, New York, November 24, 1890, and is a scion of a family whose name has been connected with the annals of American history for more than a century and a half. His great-great-grandparents were Timothy Howe, Sr., son of Martin Howe of Massachusetts, and Keziah (Powers) Howe, daughter of Isaac Powers, the former of whom was a veteran of the Revolutionary war, in which he served for four years and five months. He enlisted at New Braintree, Massa- chusetts, in April, 1775, joining Captain Granger's Company, attached to Colonel Greaton's Massachusetts Regiment, of which he was a member for nine months. In February, 1776, he was transferred to Captain Barnabas Sears' Company of the same regiment, and in June of that year was assigned to Captain Daniel Warner's Com- pany, also a part of Colonel Greaton's Regiment. He was with that command until March, 1777, participating in the battle of White Plains, and then joined Captain Abel Holden's Company, attached to Colonel Thomas Nixon's Sixth Massachusetts Regiment. He was present at the burning of Danbury and also served in the battles of Ridgefield and Crompo Hill, being wounded in the leg in the last named engage- ment. Later he fought against the Indians at Fort Edward and in the battle of Saratoga. He was a brave and gallant soldier and received his discharge on the 1st of February, 1780. He became a resident of Lansing, Tompkins county, New York, where he died on May 2, 1829, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and where his wife died July 23, 1825, in the sixty-ninth year of her age.
His son, Isaac Howe, was born December 20, 1781, in the township of Genoa, and aided in developing the agricultural resources of his state. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and two of his brothers, Martin and Timothy, Jr., also served in that conflict. On October 16, 1814, he was married to Betsy Buck, who was born in 1794. Both passed away in Bingham, Pennsylvania, the former dying in August, 1861, and the latter in 1870. They were the parents of William Nelson Howe, who was born in Bingham, March 9, 1827. William Nelson Howe followed the occupation of farming in Potter county, Pennsylvania, during the greater part of his life. During the progress of the Civil war he served as a private in Company E, Ninety- ninth Pennsylvania Regiment, and made the supreme sacrifice for his country, dying in a hospital in Philadelphia, on July 5, 1865, at the close of the war. On September 3, 1849, he was married to Louisa Eliza Dyer, who was born February 10, 1829, and who died September 7, 1861.
Their son, Albert Durand Howe, was born April 21, 1855, on the Dyer farm, in the town of Independence, Allegany county, New York, and married Carrie E. Case, who was born in Sullivan township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, October 31, 1852. Both graduated from the State Normal School at Mansfield, Pennsylvania, and for some time Mr. Howe was an instructor in the Model School there, while Mrs. Howe
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was a teacher in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. Later both taught in Andover and Whitesville, New York, and in 1906 they retired from the educational field. Mr. Howe is now serving as president of the First National Bank of Whitesville, to which office he was elected in 1916, and under his judicious administration it has be- come recognized as one of the substantial moneyed institutions of Allegany county. He is a past grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, belonging to the blue lodge at Andover, the Chapter at Wellsville, and the Consistory at Corning, New York. He is an able financier, a keen student of human nature, and a man of proven integrity and worth.
His son, Albert Dyer Howe, graduated from the high school of Whitesville and prepared for a commercial career by courses in Elmira Business Colleges. For three years he was assistant secretary to Congressman J. Sloat Fassett and was next in charge of the mail-order department of the Sheldon School of Scientific Salesmanship in Chicago for two years. For a time he was a member of the firm of Howe and Christiana and in 1914 organized the Wellsville Realty Corporation, from which he subsequently withdrew. He remained alone in the real estate business until June 27, 1922, when he formed a partnership with Claude Jacox. Mr. Howe is well in- formed on everything relating to the lines in which he specializes and his business is growing rapidly as a result of his untiring efforts.
On the 21st day of April, 1915, Mr. Howe was married to Miss Martha Elston, daughter of Jacob Tice Elston and Anna Strode Elston of Elmira, New York. She is a native of Montana, and after attending the Elmira public schools, graduated from Elmira College in 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Howe have two children: Elston James, who was born February 9, 1917; and Fordyce Lee, born March 1, 1920. Mr. and Mrs. Howe are members of the Christian temple and are enrolled with the republican party. Mr. Howe is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, belonging to the blue lodge and chapter at Wellsville and to the Consistory at Corning, New York, and is secretary of the Wellsville Rotary Club. He is a young man of energy, initia- tive and shrewd judgment, alert to every opportunity that comes his way, and his enterprise, ambition and honorable principles insure his continuous progress.
JOHN DAVENPORT.
Occupied with the business cares connected with his estates, and in the works of his benevolence, John Davenport passed his life in Bath, New York, with the ex- ception of the years spent in foreign travel and in journeys in this country. His birth occurred in Hornell, Steuben county, New York, on the 10th of May, 1835, his parents being Colonel Ira and Lydia (Cameron) Davenport, the latter a daughter of Hon. Dugald Cameron.
In the acquirement of an education John Davenport attended Haverling Academy of Bath, New York, the Russell Military School of New Haven, Connecticut, and Amherst College, being graduated from the last named institution with the class of 1858. Soon thereafter he made a trip around the world, thus gaining that broad knowledge and culture which only travel can bring. As above stated, he resided in Bath during most of his life, devoting his attention to the supervision of business affairs incident to the care of his estates and to philanthropic enterprises. The inherited responsibility in regard to The Davenport Home for Female Orphan Chil- dren, which was founded and endowed by his father, Mr. Davenport discharged with the utmost conscientiousness. For twenty-five years he was president of the board of trustees.
On the 11th of June, 1879, in Bath, Mr. Davenport was united in marriage to Sarah Lyon, a native of Bath, born on February 19, 1847.
At the polls Mr. Davenport supported the men and measures of the republican party. He was a Presbyterian in religious faith and by his contributions made it possible for the church of that denomination in Bath to erect its handsome edifice of stone and marble. His widow, who resides on Haverling street in Bath, has an extensive circle of warm friends throughout the community which has always been her home.
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