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 IV > Part 24
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GEORGE J. MICHELSEN.
At the foundation of the prosperity of every city lies the work of the manu- facturer, who directs commerce to his community and provides many of its residents with employment. To this useful class of citizens belongs George J. Michelsen, a furniture manufacturer, whose business was founded in Rochester sixty-four years ago and is numbered among the pioneer industries of the Genesee country. Mr. Michelsen has always resided in the city and was born July 28, 1866, a son of Paul and Magdalena (Oster) Michelsen, who came to the United States in 1850, and estab- lished their home in Rochester. When the country became involved in internecine warfare, prompted by the spirit of patriotism, Paul Michelsen offered his aid to the Union, joining the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment of New York Volunteers. He served for three years, gallantly defending the northern cause, and after the close of the Civil war returned to Rochester. In 1868, he began operations as a furniture manufacturer, establishing the business from which has grown the Michelsen Furni- ture Company. His business kept pace with the growth and development of the city, for it was built upon the enduring foundation of honorable dealing. For many years he remained at the head of the industry, displaying notable administrative power in its conduct. In 1914 he was called to his final rest. His wife passed away in 1920. As pioneer residents of the city they became widely known and their admir- able traits of character won for them the esteem of many friends.
George J. Michelsen supplemented his public school training by a course in the Rochester Business Institute and was the first student to enroll in the Mechanics Institute, from which he was graduated in 1886, at the age of twenty. When a boy of fourteen he started to learn his father's business and gradually progressed through the various departments, mastering every detail of the industry. He is now serving as president of the Michelsen Furniture Company, which has one of the most modern and best equipped plants of this character in the state and furnishes employment to about one hundred persons. The firm manufactures high-grade bedroom furni- ture and ships its output to many parts of the country. The executive ability, keen sagacity and inflexible will which enabled the father to lay the foundation of the business and foster its early growth are qualities inherited in full measure by the son, who is continuing the undertaking along the most progressive lines and has greatly enlarged its scope.
On September 19, 1886, Mr. Michelsen was married to Miss Wilhelmina K. Koepke, a daughter of Christopher Koepke. Mr. and Mrs. Michelsen have two
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GEORGE J. MICHELSEN
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sons, Ray J. and Walter F. Michelsen, both natives of Rochester. The former was born September 9, 1887, and after his graduation from high school completed a course in the Rochester Business Institute. Since his twenty-first year he has been associated in business with his father and is now vice president of the firm. He was married to Miss Julia Winters and in the social life of the city they take an active part. The younger son was born March 10, 1890, and is serving as treasurer of the Michelsen Furniture Company. He was married to Miss Emma Freezon and they have two children: Ralph and Ruth. His second wife was Miss Lucille Bayer of Rochester.
Mr. Michelsen is a Knights Templar Mason and has taken a very active part in the conclaves of the commandery. He has attained the thirty-second degree in the con- sistory and is a Noble of Damascus Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the Rochester Credit Men's Association, to the local Automobile Club and the Rochester Club. He is also connected with the Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoos and contributes his share toward civic progress as an enthusiastic member of the Chamber of Commerce. He is progressive, broad-minded and public-spirited and worthily bears an honored family name. Mr. Michelsen's residence is on Summerville boulevard.
EDWARD THEODORE WILLIAMS.
Edward Theodore Williams, the city treasurer of Niagara Falls, which position he assumed January 2, 1924, was born in the town of Somerset, Niagara county, New York, on the 30th of April, 1868, a son of Abram C. and E. Augusta Williams. Both parents were likewise born in Niagara county, his mother in the town of Somerset, and his father in the town of Pendleton. His mother's parents were Mr. and Mrs. George K. Hood, who came from Otsego county to Somerset in 1837, and his father's parents were Mr. and Mrs. John Williams, who came from Seneca county in the early part of the last century to Royalton, thence to Pendleton, and about the middle of the century to Somerset. Both the maternal and paternal grandfathers were prom- inent farmers. Mr. Hood was for four terms supervisor of the town of Somerset, and for fifty years was an elder of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Williams established the first general merchandise store in the village of Barker, town of Somerset, in 1875. Both parents and grandparents have passed to "that bourne from which no traveler returns."
Edward Theodore Williams worked as a boy on his father's farm and on the farm of John Williams, his grandfather, which was adjoining property. He was born in a log cabin and acquired his education in the public schools of the town of Somerset, the Wilson Union school and Cornell University. Before going to the university he taught a district school in the town of Somerset. While attending the Somerset and Wilson schools he wrote what is commonly known as country correspondence for the Lockport Daily Union, the Buffalo Commercial and the Buffalo News. Before becoming a college student he was the traveling correspondent of the Lockport Daily Union throughout Niagara county. After leaving Cornell University he went at once to the staff of the Buffalo Courier. Later he spent a year in the state of Iowa, where he was foreman in the printing office of the Weekly Democrat, in Estherville, and in April, 1891, he came to Niagara Falls, New York, to accept a position on the Journal. A few months later he was appointed Niagara Falls correspondent of the Buffalo Courier, in addition to his duties on the Journal, and continued to serve as such until May, 1897, when the Courier was sold out, and Mr. Williams purchased the Journal of the owner, Hon. S. S. Pomroy. He continued it as a weekly for two years, upon the expiration of which period, in association with George H. Courter, he formed the Journal Publishing Company, and started the Daily Journal in July, 1899.
In April, 1900, the Journal was consolidated with the Daily Cataract, and the name of the company changed to the Cataract Journal Company. Mr. Williams was president of both companies and editor both before and after consolidation. In March, 1909, the daily and weekly Cataract Journal were sold to Congressman Charles B. Smith of Buffalo, former managing editor of the Buffalo Courier. A few days later Mr. Williams was appointed appraiser on real estate in the matter of the taking of property in the Catskill Mountains for the Ashokan reservoir, in connection with the water supply of the city of New York, with headquarters in the city of Kingston. He served under Mayor George B. McClellan, and the work required about one year. Following his return to Niagara Falls he resumed work on the Buffalo Courier until January, 1911, when he was appointed industrial agent of the city of Niagara Falls,
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New York, under the administration of Mayor Philip J. Keller, and he was annually appointed to that position five times. He had previously served four years as a member of the board of education of the city of Niagara Falls under the two adminis- trations of Mayor Anthony C. Douglass. In 1916 Mr. Williams again became editor of the Journal, whose name had been changed back to the original and sold by Con- gressman Smith to Congressman Robert H. Gittins of Niagara Falls. Later he also assumed the position of business manager, and continued as editor-manager until June 1, 1918, when the Journal was sold to and consolidated with the Niagara Falls Gazette. Mr. Williams then became proprietor of the Power City Press, doing a general printing business at No. 830 Main street, where the Journal was published, which business he still carries on. On January 21, 1920, Mr. Williams was designated as acting postmaster in place of Robert H. Gittins, resigned, and served until Decem- ber 9, 1921, nearly ten months after the late President Harding came into office.
Mr. Williams has always taken a deep interest in the history of the famous region in which he lives. He is one of the founders, was for several years secretary, and for a dozen years has been president of the Niagara Frontier Historical Society. He was for three terms secretary, for half a dozen years chairman of the executive committee, and for three terms president of the Niagara County Pioneer Association, which for more than four decades has held annually at Olcott Beach the largest out- door gathering in western New York. He is a member of the Niagara Frontier Land- marks Association, which has suitably marked historic spots along the Niagara frontier from Buffalo to Fort Niagara. In 1916 Mr. Williams 'wrote and published a book of about two hundred and fifty pages containing over fifty fine engravings, the book being entitled: "Niagara-Queen of Wonders". In 1920 he wrote the two- volume history of Niagara county. In 1925 he published "Williams' Scenic and Historic Niagara", a rare collection of about one hundred and fifty pictures of the Niagara region, both scenic and historic, with brief descriptions of each.
Mr. Williams was married on the 21st of June, 1893, to Minnie F. Wilcox, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Wilcox of Somerset. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have one daughter, Marjorie F. Williams.
In politics Mr. Williams is a democrat. He has been his party's nominee for member of assembly and state senator in strong republican districts; a delegate to numerous state conventions; a delegate to the democratic national convention at Baltimore in 1912 which nominated Woodrow Wilson for president; chairman of the democratic county committee for two terms; chairman of the democratic congressional committee for eight years, and chairman of every kind of democratic convention held in Niagara-city, assembly district, county, senatorial district and congressional dis- trict. Mr. Williams is a member of Niagara Frontier Lodge No. 132, F. and A. M .; the First Presbyterian church, the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce, having been the secretary and a director of its predecessor, the Niagara Falls Board of Trade, and he is a member of the Ongiara Club.
EDWARD HENRY MALONEY.
Edward Henry Maloney, the efficient and popular postmaster of Dansville, has filled other public offices of trust and responsibility and is also a successful business man. He has a wide acquaintance in the village in which his life has been spent, and was born April 15, 1875, a son of Thomas and Mary (O'Hara) Maloney, the latter also a native of Dansville. The father was born in Ireland and passed away in 1917, while the mother's demise occurred in 1905.
Edward Henry Maloney received a public school education and studied penman- ship in night school. His father was one of the prominent nurserymen of Dansville and organized the firm of Thomas Maloney & Sons, his partners in the undertaking being Edward H., William J., and Albert E. Maloney. He retired from business in 1905 but the sons are still active in that line of work and Edward Henry now con- ducts his operations independently. He also deals in real estate and has prospered in both enterprises, for he is a capable business man whose plans are carefully formu- lated and promptly executed. He is the owner of the old Goundry homestead farm of more than two hundred acres, on the outskirts of Dansville, where he has made many improvements. On the 8th of May, 1922, he became postmaster of Dansville through appointment of President Harding, and the duties of this position are dis- charged with characteristic thoroughnest and efficiency.
On the 28th of June, 1904, Mr. Maloney was married to Miss Clara Oliver of
EDWARD H. MALONEY
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Dansville, and they have a son: Arthur Daniel. Mrs. Maloney is a Daughter of the American Revolution and also belongs to the Eastern Star and the Order of Amaranth. In all matters of citizenship Mr. Maloney is loyal, patriotic and public- spirited and during the World war he was made chairman of the committee which had charge of the War Savings Stamps drive for Dansville, when the sum of ninety thousand dollars was raised. He is chairman of the grounds committee of the King's Daughters' Home and for seven years was a member of the village board of trustees. He served on the Dansville board of education for five years and his public service has been inspired by an unselfish spirit of devotion to the general good. He is a director of the Dansville Board of Trade and a member of the Union Hose Company, the Business Men's Building Association, the local Rotary Club, the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, the Dansville Grange, the Livingston County Farm Bureau, Power Club Inn, and the Nurserymen's Association. He is a Catholic in religious faith, having membership in St. Patrick's church of Dansville; and is also identified with the Knights of Columbus and the Improved Order of Red Men. Mr. Maloney is an enthusiastic motorist, fond of touring and one of his delights is in visiting places of interest in his native state and surrounding country. Mr. Maloney is a broad-gauged man who correctly understands life's values and purposes, and his career has been conspicuously useful.
STEPHEN BOND STORY.
Stephen Bond Story, an engineer, is director of the Rochester Bureau of Munici- pal Research, of which he has been the incumbent for a period of three years. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, January 26, 1890, and is a son of George H. and Lucy (Ackerly) Story, also natives of that city. The father engaged in the insur- ance business and is now a resident of Freeport, Long Island.
Stephen Bond Story attended the public schools of Freeport and received his higher education in Union College, in which he completed a course in engineering in 1914, while in 1917 the M. C. E. degree was conferred upon him by that institution. He began the practice of his profession in New York city and in April, 1917, entered the World war, with the First Battalion of the New York Naval Militia, and was first assigned to duty on the U. S. S. Ohio. He later became an ensign in the United States navy and was subsequently placed in charge of the steam engineering school at Pelham Bay, New York, and remained in the service until June 6, 1919, when he received his honorable discharge. He came to Rochester and was appointed assistant engineer of the Bureau of Municipal Research, and was appointed director in 1921.
At Ballston Lake, New York, on June 31, 1919, Mr. Story was married to Miss Mabel Tuper, a daughter of William Tuper. Mr. and Mrs. Story have a daughter: Barbara Ellen, who was born in Schenectady, New York, on November 16, 1920. Mr. Story is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Rochester Athletic and Automo- bile Clubs, the Monroe Golf Club, the University Club, and the Social Workers Club. He is a Presbyterian in religious faith. He is now president of the Rochester En- gineering Society. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, belonging to Pelham Lodge, F. & A. M.
THE TATLOCK BROTHERS.
Imbued with the spirit of progress which characterizes Rochester's business men. the Tatlock Brothers have gained a well-merited reputation for enterprise, integrity and reliability, and their combined efforts have resulted in the development of one of the most modern and up-to-date family laundries in the city.
Harry A. Tatlock, treasurer of the firm, was born in Fort Plain, Montgomery county, New York, November 6, 1874, a son of Thomas B. and Martha (Gage) Tatlock, the latter of whom was also born in the Empire state. The father was a native of Scotland and during his boyhood came to the United States, first residing in New York city. He afterward removed to the Mohawk valley. He was a papermaker by trade. During the Civil war he joined Company I, Tenth Regiment of New York Cavalry, organized in Fonda, Fulton county, August 28, 1862, and received his honorable discharge at Elmira, New York, October 30, 1862. He passed away in 1905 and the mother's death occurred April 20, 1914. Five sons were born to them: George A., Wil! am J., Char es B., Harry A. and Frank H. Tatlock.
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Harry A. Tatlock received his education in the public schools of Fort Plain and afterward filled various positions in his native town. Meanwhile, his brothers, Charles B. and William J., had come to Rochester and were then operating the Mechanics Laundry. In 1906 he joined them and the firm of Tatlock Brothers was formed. In the intervening period the business has grown steadily, owing to the keen sagacity and harmonious cooperation of the men at its head, and the firm now has one of the largest and best equipped laundries in western New York, furnishing employment to about seventy-five persons. Harry A. Tatlock acts as secretary and treasurer, and Charles B. Tatlock is filling the office of president, while William J. Tatlock is serving as vice president. H. A. Tatlock is also president of the Mechanics Laundry of Rochester and a director of the Home Family Laundry of Buffalo, and his executive force and wise counsel have likewise been vital elements in the growth of these business institutions.
In Buffalo, on January 5, 1898, Mr. Tatlock was married to Miss Josephine Baker, a daughter of John Baker, a well known resident of that city. Mrs. Tatlock died in Rochester, May 29, 1918, leaving two sons, Carleton and Russell, both natives of Buffalo and associated with their father in the laundry business. The former was born in 1899 and married Miss Leona Ashdown of Rochester. The latter was born in 1903 and is a bachelor. Mr. Tatlock was married to Miss May A. Brice, a daughter of Arthur Brice of Rochester, on April 11, 1922, and they have a son, Donald B., who was born in this city in 1923. Mr. Tatlock is a Mason and belongs to the State and National Laundrymen's Associations, the Kiwanis Club and the Rochester Laundry Club.
Charles B. Tatlock, president of the Tatlock Brothers Laundry, was born in Berryville, New York, June 23, 1870, and attended the public schools of Fort Plain. He came to Rochester in 1893 and for eight years was employed as a traveling salesman, representing L. P. Ross and C. P. Ford, well-known shoe manufacturers of this city. On the expiration of that period he established a business of his own, when he started the Mechanics Laundry in 1899. Six months later his brother, William J., joined him and the two brothers were thus associated until 1906. In that year the firm of Tatlock Brothers was organized and Harry A. Tatlock became a member of the firm. Mr. C. B. Tatlock has instituted many well devised plans for the ex- pansion of the business and maintains a high degree of efficiency in its operation.
On September 8, 1904, Mr. Tatlock was married to Miss Harriet E. Foster of Rochester, and they have a large circle of friends in the city. He is a Mason and also belongs to the Rochester Automobile Club and the De Monville Boat Club.
William J. Tatlock was born January 27, 1868, in Broadalbin, Fulton county, New York, and the public schools of Fort Plain afforded him his educational opportunities. He learned the trade of cigar-making, which he followed for eighteen years, and then entered the advertising department of the New York Yeast Company, which he represented in the capacity of traveling salesman for two years. At the end of that time he came to Rochester and joined his brother in the overall business, subsequently assisting him in starting the Mechanics Laundry. He is an astute business man, well qualified for the duties of vice president of the firm, and his labors ably supple- ment the efforts of his brothers. They have a model laundry and owe their success to concentrated effort and high ideals of service.
On June 25, 1903, Mr. Tatlock was married to Miss Emma M. Hamlink, a daughter of Josiah Hamlink of Rochester. Mr. and Mrs. Tatlock have become the parents of a son: Bruce F., who was born in 1904, in this city, attended a preparatory school at Hightstown, New Jersey, and is now a student at Hamilton College, class of 1928. Mr. Tatlock is a Mason, belonging to Genesee Falls Lodge, F. and A. M., and to Hamilton Chapter, R. A. M. He is also a member of the Grotto and his life is governed by the teachings of the Baptist church.
MARY DOROTHY LEWIS.
An elastic phrase is "the sphere of woman". It is measured only by prejudices and mental limitations of the user. In the actual life of the world, women's activities have ranged everywhere and their accomplishments suffer nothing by comparison with the work performed by the ablest of men. Miss Mary D. Lewis, president of the recently organized Hairdressers Association of Rochester, is a successful business woman who leads a busy and useful life, and her present status has been gained by
MARY D. LEWIS
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unalterable purpose and the strength of character which results from battling with difficulties.
Mary Dorothy Lewis is a native of Port Byron, New York, and obtained her edu- cation in the district schools of that locality. She has been a resident of Rochester since 1901 and began her business career with the E. Kirstein & Sons Company, makers of optical goods. Handicapped by lack of an education, she sought advance- ment in another direction and studied the Gillman method of beauty culture under Elizabeth Otto, and was also tutored privately by various experts in New York city and Chicago. After completing her training she opened a beauty parlor in her own apartment at No. 27 Savannah street, where she conducted business for five years. On April 1, 1919 she opened Dorothy's Vanity Shop at No. 154 East avenue, her present location. Her capital was quite limited at that time, but gradu- ally adding to her equipment and furnishings, in three years she had paid for the entire investment, representing an outlay of no . small proportions. Miss Lewis' expert skill is attested by a large and high class clientele. She has made a scien- tific study of beauty culture and teaches her own system to those desiring to enter the business.
Miss Lewis is a member of the Ladies Hairdressers Association of New York, also of the Master Hairdressers Association of New York and is chiefly responsible for the organization of the Rochester Association of Hairdressers. She sent out one hundred letters, out of which she received seventy-five requests for membership, and at the first regular meeting, held October 22, 1923, she was elected president, her tenure of office to continue until January 1, 1925. The object of the association is to obtain the classification of hairdressing as a profession, to stabilize prices, to establish sanitary and hygienic shops, to elevate the standards of the profession, and promote the interests of its members through organized effort. Miss Lewis also belongs to the national organization of Ladies Hairdressers and is likewise a member of the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery Association, the City Club and the Catholic Ladies Club. In 1921 she joined the Zonta Club and has been appointed chairman of its good fellowship committee. She is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Business and Professional Woman's Club. She enjoys horseback riding and other outdoor sports, maintaining that even balance so essential for mental and physical development. She is an excellent business woman and a recognized artist in her line of work. She possesses a winning personality and has gained many loyal friends during the period of her residence in the city.
EVERETT REDFIELD TOMLINSON.
Everett Redfield Tomlinson, the well known cashier of the Bank of Batavia, one of the solid financial institutions of the Genesee country, has been continuously con- nected with this institution since he first became identified therewith in the capacity of messenger twenty-four years ago, working his way upward through successive stages of advancement to his present position of executive control. He is a native son of Batavia and represents an honored pioneer family of Genesee county, his paternal grandfather having journeyed to this part of the state in the early days. Everett R. Tomlinson was born on the 30th of March, 1881, and is a son of Daniel Webb and Una (Redfield) Tomlinson, also natives of Batavia, New York. The father, who was president of the Bank of Batavia and who served as mayor as well as in other public offices of trust and responsibility, was long numbered among the city's most prom- inent residents. Daniel W. Tomlinson departed this life in 1917, but is still survived by his wife, who yet makes her home in Batavia.
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