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 27
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interests. Mr. Brigham is a past counselor of the local post of the United Com- mercial Travelers and his friends point with pride to the record he established during his term of service in that behalf, pointing out that during that period the membership of this organization was increased from two hundred to two thousand, a record that carries with it its own commentary. Mr. Brigham is widely known in trade circles in his own particular line and is an active and influential member of the National Ice Cream Manufacturers Association and of the New York State Ice Cream Manu- facturers Association. He is the president of the Rochester Mutual Benefit Associa- tion, an organization whose affairs he has done much to promote, and also is actively identified with the activities of the local branch of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion. Mr. Brigham is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and in the affairs of this ancient order has long taken an earnest interest.
ALPHA REEVE BEAL.
The death of Alpha Reeve Beal, which occurred July 5, 1913, when he was sixty- six years of age, deprived Rochester of one of those desirable citizens whose lives of quiet devotion to duty constitute the foundation of much of the material prosperity of the communities in which they reside, and he left as a monument to his enterprise and business ability a prosperous and growing industry. He was born in East Pal- myra, Wayne county, New York, October 25, 1846, a son of Jeremiah and Maria (Corwin) Beal, well-to-do farming people.
Alpha Reeve Beal attended the public schools, Lima Seminary, also Lima College. Then for two years he taught school at Northville, Michigan, after which he returned to New York and entered Syracuse University, where he completed a classical course. After his graduation he became superintendent of schools at Watertown, New York, in which capacity he served for two years. On the expiration of that period Mr. Beal went to Boston, Massachusetts, as manager for the New England School Furniture Company and filled that office for five years. He next went to East Bloomfield, New
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York, and accepted a traveling position with the Dayton Computing Scales Company, with which he remained for several years, during which he was manager of its Pitts- burgh office for five years. Coming to Rochester, Mr. Beal purchased the patent rights to the Fearless Dishwasher, to which he added several improvements, and after perfecting the invention organized the Fearless Dishwasher Company, which was incorporated shortly before his death. His business was established at No. 175 Colvin street and at first he had the machines made, subsequently building a factory for this purpose. Through judicious advertising, and manufacturing a strictly high-grade product, he succeeded in popularizing the machine, which is now sold all over the United States and is conceded to be one of the best articles of the kind on the market. This company, in addition to manufacturing Fearless Dishwashing Equipment, also builds work tables, sinks, water coolers and scrap blocks. The business is being continued by members of the family and fifty employes are now utilized in operating the plant. The present officers are: Albert N. Beal, president; Elizabeth M. Beal, vice president; and Mrs. Elizabeth J. Beal, secretary and treasurer.
In April, 1869, at Fairport, New York, Mr. Beal was married to Miss Elizabeth J. Norton, a daughter of Albert and Julia (Van Norman) Norton, and Mr. and Mrs. Beal became the parents of two children: Albert N., who married Miss Inez Searl; and Elizabeth M. Mr. Beal was a Methodist in religious faith, being affiliated with the West Avenue church of that denomination, and his political support was given to the candidates of the republican party. He was identified with the Zeta Psi fraternity and was numbered among the energetic members of the Chamber of Com- merce. He was a man of high character, whose success was won by hard work, honest methods, and the ability to meet and master situations. He had the welfare of his community deeply at heart and enjoyed to the fullest extent the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens.
BAYARD J. STEDMAN.
Bayard J. Stedman, a leader of the Genesee county bar, is the senior member of the well known law firm of Stedman & Waterman in Batavia, where he has been an active and successful representative of the legal profession during the past twenty- seven years. He was born in Oakfield, Genesee county, New York, on the 21st of August, 1875, his parents being Irving J. and Laura E. (Smiley) Stedman. He attended the Cary Collegiate Seminary of his native town and read law in the office of Sullivan, Morris & Jerome in Rochester, where he remained for about three years. It was in June, 1898, that he was admitted to the bar at Batavia, where he has practiced his profession continuously and where he has built up a distinctive clientage of large proportions. He was elected to the position of district attorney on the republican ticket in 1902, holding that office until 1908, and making a most com- mendable record therein. Mr. Stedman has ever conformed his practice to the highest ethics of the profession and is accorded the respect and confidence of his colleagues and associates and also of the general public.
In early manhood Mr. Stedman was united in marriage to Miss Mary H. Persons of East Aurora, New York, and they are the parents of two children: Jane and Susan. A lifelong resident of Genesee county, Mr. Stedman enjoys an extensive and favorable acquaintance throughout the community and is widely recognized as an attorney of marked ability and high standing. He is a republican in politics, and fraternally is a Mason and an Elk. He is a member of the Batavia Club, the Genesee County Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association.
BERNARD LEO McINTEE.
Bernard Leo McIntee, proprietor of the old undertaking establishment of Ryan & McIntee, funeral directors in Rochester, now doing business as B. Leo McIntee, is one of the best known and most proficient undertakers and funeral directors in this section of New York. He is a native son of the Empire state and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Rochester since the days of his boyhood. He was born in the village of Avon, Livingston county, New York, June 4, 1883, and is a son of John and Katherine (Lee) McIntee, both of whom also were born in Avon, members of old families there, and the latter of whom is still living.
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It was while Bernard Leo McIntee was a child that his parents moved to Roches- ter and his education was completed in the parish school of the church of the Im- maculate Conception in that city. He early became interested in the undertaking line and upon leaving school was employed in the office of a firm of local under- takers and funeral directors, where he became familiar with the details of that busi- ness and also learned the art and mystery of embalming. In 1906 Mr. McIntee went into business along this line on his own account, in association with the late A. J. Ryan, establishing the undertaking firm of Ryan & McIntee, funeral directors, at No. 207 Chestnut street, Rochester, and has ever since been thus engaged in that city. Following the death of Mr. Ryan in 1920, Mr. McIntee acquired the interest of his late partner and has since been carrying on the business alone, under the name of B. Leo McIntee, he being the sole proprietor. Mr. McIntee has a well equipped and admirably appointed establishment and has long been regarded as one of the leading undertakers, not only in Rochester but throughout this section of the state. His establishment is equipped in accordance with the best standards of modern service in his line and he is constantly alert to keep abreast of late developments in his exact- ing calling. He is a member of the National Undertakers Association and of the board of directors of the Rochester Undertakers Association.
On September 3, 1913, in Rochester, Mr. McIntee was united in marriage to Miss Ethel Staud. Mr. and Mrs. McIntee have two sons: Jerome McIntee, born in 1914; and Bernard Leo, Jr., born January 24, 1924. The McIntees are members of the Roman Catholic church and reside at No. 303 Dartmouth street. Mr. McIntee is a member of the local council of the Knights of Columbus, No. 178, and has long taken an earnest interest in the affairs of that society. He is a member of the directorate of the Rochester Humane Society, is a life member of the local lodge of the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks and is affiliated with the Rochester Club, the Oak Hill Country Club, the Washington Club and the Auto Club. Mr. McIntee's friends point with interest to the fact that he is essentially a "self-made man", for he has worked his way to his present position in the business circles of the city of Rochester by dint of his own efforts and by close application since the days of his boyhood to the details of a business in which he now is reckoned as one of the leaders in his trade area.
BARTHOLOMEW EDWARD BROPHEL.
Bartholomew Edward Brophel, a successful business man of Leicester and one of the largest land owners of Livingston county, has made his life count as a valuable asset in civic affairs, and his name is prominent among those whose enterprise and initiative typify the spirit of progress in western New York. He was born on the old Brophel homestead, situated west of Leicester, February 29, 1868, and his parents, James and Mary (Gallagan) Brophel, were natives of Ireland, the former being an agriculturist. There were six children in the family, but only two are living.
Bartholomew Edward Brophel attended the district schools of Livingston county and completed his education in the Geneseo Normal School. He assisted in the operation of the home farm until he reached the age of twenty-one and then entered the lumber business in association with his brother, Thomas F. Brophel, who died two years later. For a time B. E. Brophel continued the business alone and was then joined by another brother, J. W. Brophel, who passed away in 1921. In 1916 Mr. Brophel of this review disposed of the lumber yard to B. P. Reynolds and in the mean- time he had embarked in the hardware business, in which he continued until 1920. He has since engaged in the coal business in Leicester, building up a good trade, and also has financial interests, being a director of the Livingston County Trust Company of Geneseo and vice president of the Bingham State Bank at Mount Morris, New York. He is also the owner of about sixteen hundred acres of valuable farm lands in Livingston county and has advanced with the scientific progress of agriculture, keeping abreast of the times in every way. Mr. Brophel is a shrewd, practical busi- ness man, quick to perceive and utilize an opportunity, and his investments have been advantageously placed, bringing him substantial returns.
On October 9, 1895, Mr. Brophel was united in marriage to Miss Anna May and they have two daughters: Leona, a graduate of Smith College, who is now connected with the child study department of the Rochester public schools; and Ermine. who is attending the College of the Sacred Heart, in New York city. Since its establishment Mr. Brophel has been a trustee of St. Thomas Roman Catholic church of Leicester and in politics he is a democrat. Every effort to raise the intellectual, moral or
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material standards of his community receives his hearty indorsement and for fifteen years he was chairman of the Leicester School Board, while for a like period he served on the town board. It was owing to Mr. Brophel's efforts that the imposing monument which now decorates the public park was secured for Leicester. He started the movement in 1908, raised the necessary funds, and the monument was com- pleted in 1910, being dedicated on September 12 of that year. It is of granite, sur- mounted by a bronze figure of a Union soldier, and the work is finely executed. Dur- ing the World war Mr. Brophel was chairman of all the local Liberty Loan, War Savings Stamps, Red Cross, Knights of Columbus and Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation drives and Mrs. Brophel was also active in Red Cross work. Mr. Brophel is a high-minded, clean-cut man of exemplary character and has been one of the strongest individual forces in the development of his community. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished and his example is one well worthy of emulation, showing that in the individual and not in his environment is found the opportunity for advancement.
HENRY MICHAELS STERN.
Henry Michaels Stern, a native son of Rochester, is thoroughly en rapport with the progressive spirit which characterizes its citizens and worthily bears an honored family name. For nearly a quarter of a century he has been identified with the clothing industry, contributing his share toward the successful operation of one of . the leading manufacturing concerns of Rochester, where his position in industrial and business circles is one of prominence. Mr. Stern is a scion of one of the old and prominent families of the city and was born June 11, 1878. His parents, Morley A. and Amy (Michaels) Stern, are also natives of Rochester and for many years the father has been classed with the industrial leaders of the Genesee country.
After completing his public school training Henry Michaels Stern matriculated in Cornell University at Ithaca, New York, from which he won the B. S. degree in 1900. He then became associated in business with his father, who aided in organizing the firm of Michaels, Stern & Company, mnaufacturers of men's clothing, and later was admitted to a partnership in the enterprise, whose development has been stimulated by his systematically directed efforts and enthusiastic cooperation. Throughout the period of its existence the firm has adhered to the highest standards in the quality of its output and has ever been just and considerate in the treatment of its employes, without whose cooperation no business fabric can endure. Hence the business has increased steadily in volume, giving Michaels, Stern & Company a foremost position among the leading manufacturers of the country in its line.
Mr. Stern was married on December 21, 1905, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Miss Hazel Amberg, a daughter of David Amberg. Mr. and Mrs. Stern have a family of three children: Henry M., Jr., who was born April 9, 1908; Edward A., who was born July 20, 1910; and Harriet Amy, who was born on April 26, 1915. Mr. Stern is a member of the Idlers Club, the Irondequoit Club, the Rochester Athletic Club, the Cornell Club of this city, and also belongs to the Criterion Club of New York city. The growth and progress of his city is a matter in which Mr. Stern takes much per- sonal pride. He is accorded a high position among Rochester's strong, able business men and representative citizens. Mr. Stern's residence is No. 1501 East avenue.
GUY C. LUCAS.
Industrial interests of Wyoming county find a worthy and successful young repre- sentative in Guy C. Lucas, treasurer and general manager of the Lucas Rule Com- pany, Incorporated, of Silver Springs, which is engaged in the manufacture of wood advertising novelties. He was born in Gainesville, Wyoming county, New York, on the 9th of September, 1900, his parents being E. K. and Edith C. Lucas. The family has been represented in the Genesee country for nearly a century and a half, for it was about 1780 that Alexander Hamilton Lucas, the great-great-grandfather of Guy C. Lucas, settled in this part of the state. E. K. Lucas was engaged in business as a produce dealer until 1915, when he became identified with industrial pursuits as president of the Lucas Rule Company, of which he is still the nominal head, but the active management he now leaves largely to his son.
In the acquirement of an education Guy C. Lucas attended the grammar and high
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schools of his native town and subsequently became a student in Alfred University of Alfred, New York. After completing his work in the latter institution in 1918 he pursued a course in the Rochester Business Institute. It was in 1919 that he began his business career in connection with the Lucas Rule Company, which he has repre- sented continuously to the present time, gaining steady advancement as his knowledge of the work increased, until he is now in a position of administrative direction and executive control, serving in the dual capacity of treasurer and general manager. The company manufactures rulers, yardsticks and gas measuring sticks, of which it produces more than eight million annually, and the business is national in scope. In the capable conduct of this enterprise Mr. Lucas has contributed materially to its ex- pansion and success.
In 1920, in Perry, Wyoming county, New York, Mr. Lucas was united in marriage to Miss Frances Kellogg, daughter of the late Jacob Kellogg of Castile, Wyoming county. Mr. and Mrs. Lucas are the parents of two children: Edith Jane and Edwin Kellogg, who were born in the years 1921 and 1923, respectively.
Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Lucas has supported the men and measures of the republican party, the principles of which he believes are most conducive to good government. He is a member of the Industrial Bureau of Silver Springs and fraternally is identified with the Masonic order, belonging to the blue lodge and the chapter. He is fond of social activities, finds keen delight in out- door sports and is a well known and popular young citizen of Silver Springs and Wyoming county. The position which he has already attained in the business world augurs well for the future.
WILLIAM ARTHUR REQUA.
Life is a training school where humanity is prepared to "carry on" the world's work, and valuable rewards await him who registers achievement. Fortune has not always bestowed her favors upon W. A. ReQua and through battling with obstacles and difficulties he has developed a dauntless spirit, poise, self-confidence and strength of will which have carried him slowly but surely toward the goal set by his ambition. A large electrical supply business, situated at Nos. 95-97 St. Paul street in Rochester, is the visible result of his labors, indicating that he has "arrived".
William Arthur ReQua was born in Ulster, New York, December 31, 1854, and his parents, Smith and Sarah A. (Wood) ReQua, were also natives of that section of the state. The father engaged in the blue-stone business at Albany and subsequently transferred the scene of his operations to Middleburg, New York, where he spent the remainder of his life, and the mother also passed away in that place. They had a family of twelve children, nine of whom are deceased. Those living are: Alice, who is unmarried and resides in Yonkers, New York; Albert M., whose home is in Middle- burg; and W. A., of this review.
In the acquirement of an education William Arthur ReQua attended a grammar school of Albany, the Boys Free Academy and the high school at Middleburg, after- ward spending a year as a student in the Collegiate Institute at Fort Edward. For four years he was associated with his father in the blue-stone business and then started out for himself. He engaged in merchandising at Middleburg for five years, at the end of which time he resigned the position and became a clerk in a hardware store at Albany, where he was employed for five years. In 1890 he entered the service of the Hamilton & Matthews Hardware Company of Rochester but three years later returned to Middleburg and became associated with his former employer, J. H. Cornell, in the hardware business. This relationship was continued for six years, when they met with business reverses and Mr. ReQua was forced to start life anew in 1899, being at that time forty-five years of age. In order to reach Rochester he was obliged to borrow car-fare and after his arrival secured a clerical position with a small electrical contracting concern, which withdrew from the business arena several years ago. The pay was small, the hours were long and often the work was humiliat- ing to one who had been owner of a business and in contact with men of affairs. Mr. ReQua remained with the firm for five years, mastering every detail of the business, and was then offered a position as salesman by Edward W. Rockafellow, at that time sales manager in the New York territory for the Western Electric Company. For six years Mr. ReQua was in the service of that corporation, traveling throughout the state and gaining valuable experience. He next spent two years in the employ of the Wheeler-Green Electric Company and after a month's vacation
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embarked in business in Rochester in February, 1915, starting with a three-thousand- dollar stock of electrical supplies. The business was at first conducted in the cellar of his home and he did all of the work himself. On the 15th of April of the same year he moved to a little store thirty by sixty feet in dimensions and hired a boy to assist him. These quarters soon proved inadequate and in February, 1917, he removed to his present location on St. Paul street, now utilizing the basement and first floor of a building sixty by one hundred and ten feet in dimensions, in addition to a ware- house which is situated in the center of the city and affords him twenty-four hundred square feet of floor space. He is president of the business, which is conducted under the name of the ReQua Electrical Supply Company and ranks with the largest whole- sale organizations of the kind in this section of the state. Since its inception the business has grown rapidly and the firm now has a force of fourteen employes. The gross sales in 1915 were twenty-eight thousand, three hundred and three dollars and in 1920 they amounted to three hundred and forty-seven thousand, seven hundred and eighty-six dollars. That Mr. ReQua is a man of superior executive ability and marked enterprise is evident from the results obtained and his business transactions have always balanced up with the principles of truth and honor.
On the 25th of October, 1881, Mr. ReQua was married to Miss Anna E. Bouck, a daughter of Thomas Bouck of Middleburg, New York. Mr. and Mrs. ReQua have two daughters: Mrs. S. R. Vick, who was born in Middleburg in 1884; and Mrs. D. R. Cole, who was born in Albany in 1887 and has two children, Norman and Virginia Cole. All are residents of Rochester. Mr. ReQua is an earnest, conscientious member of Grace Methodist Episcopal church and serves as one of its trustees. He is one of the energetic workers in the Chamber of Commerce and also belongs to the local Kiwanis and Automobile Clubs. He is a Knights Templar Mason, belonging to Da- mascus Commandery, and exemplifies in his life the beneficent teachings of the craft. Mr. ReQua has fought life's battles unaided and has earned the right to the respect and esteem of his fellowmen. His residence is at No. 478 Arnett boulevard.
CARL GRANT CLARKE.
As editor of the Perry Record, Carl Grant Clarke ranks as one of the most influential men in Wyoming county, where his paper is widely circulated. There is no man in the community who has greater opportunity to make his impress upon the civic life and shape public opinion than the editor of a successful newspaper, nor has Mr. Clarke been neglectful of the peculiar privileges and responsibilities that have been his. Possessing a fine sense of civic virtue and the will to make his city and county better places for his having lived there, he has ever lent his influence and the support of his paper to the best that there is in political, civic, social and moral life.
The first of Mr. Clarke's family, on the paternal side of the house, to settle in this region was his grandfather, who came here from Springfield, New Jersey, about the year 1790. Prior to this, the masculine members of the family had been active in the war for independence against England. The son of the late Ephraim and Sophie (Tybell) Clarke, Carl Grant Clarke, was born in Brooklyn, New York, July 2, 1864. The father was a tailor connected with the firm of Brady & Sproul, who furnished many of the uniforms for the troops of the Union side during the Civil war. After the war, in 1870, he settled in Livonia, New York, where he engaged in business until 1880, when he removed to Perry and established himself in business, which he con- tinued until his health failed. He died there in 1893, on the 14th of December. Mr. Clarke's mother will be remembered by many as a well known singer. She was born in Sweden and came to this country when she was a child. For many years she sang in the leading churches of this part of the country, as well as appeared on the concert stage. Her death occurred in Perry, in July, 1920.
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