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 56
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Father Wilber was formerly active in the affairs of the Ancient Order of Hibern- ians, of which he served as state chaplain, and has been chaplain for the Knights of Columbus, to which fraternity he also belongs. His career has been one of effective and consecrated service for the Master.
JOHN L. WOODWORTH.
A member of one of the oldest families in Wyoming county, New York, and himself a lifelong resident of the county, John L. Woodworth of the law firm of Woodworth & Brown, in which he is a partner, with offices in Warsaw, is one of the oldest members of the legal profession in the village and county, with a general practice that keeps the partners fully occupied. He was born on March 31, 1859, in Java, Wyoming county, the son of John W. and Philena (Nash) Woodworth. The father was a farmer who passed his entire life in Wyoming county. The grandfather, Charles Woodworth, settled in Wyoming county in 1816, coming from Wells, Vermont, and the Woodworth family has been resident in the county ever since. Mr. Wood- worth's great-grandfather was Roswell Woodworth, a Revolutionary soldier, who died in Vermont in 1812.
John L. Woodworth acquired his education in the public schools of Wyoming county, at Pike Seminary, and at the East Aurora Academy. He then took up the vocation of a teacher and taught in the county schools until 1882, when he began the study of law in Warsaw with the law firm of M. E. & E. M. Bart'ett, being admitted to the bar in 1884, and at once started to practice law in Warsaw by himself, continuing practice for one year. In 1885 Mr. Woodworth formed a partnership with Frank W. Brown, father of his present partner, and this partnership continued until 1888. After that year Mr. Woodworth was in practice by himself until 1896, in which year he entered into partnership with Clarence H. Greff, the firm being unchanged until 1918, and when Harry M. Brown, son of Mr. Woodworth's first partner, succeeded Mr. Greff, the firm name was changed to Woodworth & Brown, and has remained the same until the present time.
Mr. Woodworth was married on April 30, 1885, in Warsaw, to Ella McIntyre. There are no children of this union. On August 7, 1907, Mr. Woodworth was married
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to Adaline Glor of Attica, New York, and has one son, John Melvin Woodworth, born April 22, 1909.
Mr. Woodworth is a member of the Wyoming County Bar Association. Fra- ternally he is a charter member of Crystal Salt Lodge, I. O. O. F .; a member of Warsaw Lodge, No. 549, F. & A. M .; Wyoming Chapter No. 181; R. A. M .; Batavia Commandery No. 34, Knights Templar; and the Mystic Shrine at Buffalo. Socially he belongs to the Kiwanis Club of Warsaw. In religion Mr. Woodworth is a member of the Presbyterian church in Warsaw. He is an independent republican in political affairs, but not especially active.
GEORGE W. HENNER.
George W. Henner is a typical young business man of the present age-alert, energetic, progressive-and Rochester numbers him among its most popular and successful automobile dealers. He was born in Webster, New York, November 25, 1885. He obtained his early education in his native town and later became a student in a Rochester high school. When seventeen years of age he started in the manu- facture of evaporated apples. This business he followed until 1911, when he secured the agency for the International truck. His territory included Rochester and soon afterward he established his home in this city, where he has since resided. He is a distributor for the Oldsmobile cars throughout Monroe and Wayne counties and con- ducts his interests under the name of the G. W. Henner Company, of which he is the president and sole owner. He is deeply interested in the automobile business, of which he has made a close study, and his experience as a salesman, combined with a natural aptitude for business affairs, has enabled him to build up a well organized agency and a very satisfactory volume of trade.
In Colburn, in the province of Ontario, on November 28, 1906, Mr. Henner was married to Miss Anna Conroy, a daughter of Captain Thomas Conroy, well known to navigators of the Great Lakes. Mr. and Mrs. Henner have become the parents of five children: Margaret, born in Colburn in 1907, is attending the Sacred Heart Academy; William, born in Webster, New York, in 1909, is a student in a Rochester high school; Genevieve, born in Webster in 1910, is a Nazareth high school pupil; Ruth, born in Rochester in 1915, is attending grammar school; and Donald was born in Rochester, September 4, 1923.
Mr. Henner is a republican in politics and loyally supports every movement calculated to prove of benefit to his city and state. He is an energetic member of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and for two years was chairman of the good roads committee. He is a director of the Rochester Automobile Club and the Auto- mobile Dealers' Association of this city, and is head of the fourth degree Knights of Columbus. He acts as treasurer of the Rochester Council of that order, and is also an Elk. Mr. Henner has prospered in his undertakings and is esteemed for his enter- prise, integrity and public-spirited devotion to the general good.
WILLIS EDWARD HOPKINS.
Willis Edward Hopkins, who for more than three decades has been associated with his father in law practice in Attica, under the firm name of O. H. & W. E. Hopkins, is widely recognized as an attorney of marked ability and broad legal learn- ing. He has also long been prominent in the public life of the community and at present is filling the positions of village clerk, village attorney and supervisor of Attica. He was born in Livonia, Livingston county, New York, on the 22d of June, 1865, his parents being Orville Homer and Marietta Eveline Hopkins. The family has been represented in the Genesee country since the close of the Revolutionary war, when Stephen Hopkins, the great-grandfather of Willis E. Hopkins, settled in East Bloomfield, Ontario county, New York. This ancestor participated in the War of the Revolution. Victor N. Hopkins, the grandfather of Willis E. Hopkins, saw service in the War of 1812. His great-grandfather, Urial Beman, was one of the earliest settlers in Livonia, New York; his great-grandfather, John Phillips, was one of the early settlers of Lima, New York, and John Garlinghouse, another great- grandfather, was an early settler of Richmond, New York, and the father of Joseph Garlinghouse, long prominent in the affairs of Ontario county.
WILLIS E. HOPKINS
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Orville H. Hopkins, the father of Willis Edward of this review, remained an active representative of the legal profession in Attica from 1876, or for a period covering nearly half a century, until his recent retirement from active practice, and has long been the dean of the Wyoming county bar, and enjoyed an enviable reputa- tion as a legal practitioner of high standing and pronounced success.
Willis Edward Hopkins pursued a high school course in Attica and having deter- mined to follow in his father's professional footsteps, he studied law in his father's office until admitted to the bar. Through the intervening years until the retirement of his father, by reason of his great age, he remained in partnership wiith his father in the practice of law in Attica, and since his father's retirement Willis Edward Hopkins has been practicing alone. The firm enjoyed an extensive and gratifying clientage, as does the son at the present time. Mr. Hopkins displays marked ability in handling the professional matters entrusted to his care and manifests thorough familiarity with the principles of jurisprudence. He has been a director of the Bank of Attica for over twenty years. He was an active member of the Attica fire depart- ment for twenty-seven years and for many years was president of Wyoming Hose Company. He is chairman of the Memorial Park committee, which has in charge the creation of a park in memory of the soldiers, sailors and marines of the World war.
As a stanch supporter of the republican party, Willis E. Hopkins has been a delegate to three state conventions and to numerous district and judicial conventions, and was a member of the county committee for several terms. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have chosen him for various positions of public honor and trust. He has been village clerk since 1894, or for a period of over thirty years, has been village attorney since 1897, was justice of the peace for fourteen years, and a member of the board of education of the Attica high school for twelve years, and has been supervisor of the town of Attica since 1921.
Mr. Hopkins is a member of Attica Lodge, No. 462, F. & A. M. He finds great pleasure in outdoor life and is also fond of reading and of the study of American history, having a fine private library of about fifteen hundred volumes, besides a very extensive law library, and he is particularly well informed concerning the early annals of the Genesee country. Mr. Hopkins ranks with the foremost residents of Attica and Wyoming county by reason of his high professional standing, his loyalty and interest in public affairs, and his possession of those qualities which make for warm regard and strong friendship.
ST. JOSEPH'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF BATAVIA.
From 1840 to 1843 the few Catholics who had settled around Batavia (perhaps not more than twelve or fourteen in all) were occasionally visited by Rev. Father Gannon. Later Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, subsequently bishop of Hartford, Connecticut, and his brother, Rev. William O'Reilly, both at the time stationed in Rochester, attended the settlement from 1843 to 1847, officiating in private homes. The first mass said in Batavia was in the home of Anthony Beechel. Soon the number so increased that a large room over the hardware store of Otis & Worthington was tendered them by that firm, rent free.
Rev. Thomas McEvoy attended the mission in 1848, and on April 4, 1849, Right Rev. Bishop Timon appointed Rev. Edward Dillon to the pastoral charge of Batavia. The following Sunday, April 8th, which was Easter day, Father Dillon officiated in the historic brick schoolhouse on the corner of Main and Eagle streets. At this time the number of Catholics was about seventy-five. Encouraged by the presence of their resident pastor, they immediately went to work raising a fund for the erection of a church.
In May, 1850, the Catholics of Batavia purchased a two-story stone building on Jackson street for twelve hundred dollars, the building having been erected as a select school. The Catholics worshipped in it for several years, and later it was used as the parochial school. Successive pastorates following the resignation of Father Dillon in November, 1850, were: Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald, 1850-1852; Rev. Francis O'Farrell, 1852-1855, when he was appointed vicar-general of the diocese of Buffalo and rector of St. Joseph's cathedral; Rev. Peter Brown, 1855-1856; Rev. James McGlew, 1856-1860; Rev. Thomas Cunningham, 1860-1873, his assistant being Rev. John Castaldi. Father Cunningham, on September 15, 1862, purchased the present site of St. Joseph's church from Lawrence Timmons on the site where in early days was located a tannery, on the corner of Main and Summit streets, paying twenty-five
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hundred dollars for the property. In 1864 the present edifice was erected at a cost of forty-five thousand dollars.
Father Cunningham at the end of thirteen years was succeeded by Rev. P. A. Moloy in 1873. The latter remained one year and then came Rev. Martin McDonnell, whose pastorate continued until 1880, at which time the charge numbered about twenty-two hundred. Attica was also made a mission. Rev. Martin McDonnell was succeeded by Rev. James McManus in 1880, whose death occurred in Batavia. During his sickness Father Walsh, an assistant, was in charge until February, 1882, when Father Thomas P. Brougham came and continued as pastor until his death in 1904. During the incumbency of Father Brougham the old convent on Jackson street was sold in 1882 and the new one erected on Summit street the same year, as was also a parochial school adjacent, at that time accommodating four hundred pupils. Father Brougham also was instrumental in acquiring additional grounds east of the church, on which he erected the present rectory. During his pastorate the following priests acted as his assistants: Rev. F. Naughton, Rev. M. J. Kean, Rev. Daniel Walsh, Rev. William Morrison, Rev. Father Purcell, Rev. William T. Wilber, Rev. Thomas Gleason, Rev. Sebastian Airey, Rev. John F. Tracy, Rev. John Kelly, Rev. John Colgan, Rev. P. J. Enright and Rev. Thomas Blakeney.
After the death of Father Brougham, Rev. William T. Wilbert succeeded him as pastor and continues to the present time. Owing to the feeble health of Father Wilber, however, Rev. T. Bernard Kelly was made administrator of the parish, and in 1924 Rev. P. J. Donovan was made assistant. The following priests have acted as assistants to Father Wilber: Rev. Thomas Graham, Rev. John Mooney, Rev. Michael Toban, Rev. Thomas Dunn and Rev. T. Bernard Kelly. During the last twenty years -especially during the episcopacy of Right Rev. Charles H. Colton-certain portions of the old St. Joseph's parish have been formed into other parishes. Three new parishes have been established-St. Anthony's (Italian), Sacred Heart (Polish), St. Mary's (English).
The first convent on Jackson street, built in 1862, was occupied until 1880, when a building on Ross street was leased for two years until the present edifice was com- pleted. St. Joseph's Convent of Mercy was for many years called the Mother house, or Novitiate, novices being taken in here and sent to all parts of the diocese. The Novitiate was later transferred to Buffalo.
RAYMOND J. CURRAN.
One of Rochester's native sons who has made his way to the front ranks of the business men of the city in recent years, is Raymond J. Curran, president of the Curran-Mason Company, general builders and contractors. Born on the 6th of Feb- ruary, 1887, Mr. Curran is the son of the late Daniel and Joanna (Hartley) Curran of this city. Mrs. Curran, who is still living, is a native of Monroe county. Her hus- band, however, was born in Ireland, but came to America in early life and settled in Rochester in 1853, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1903. He was long identified with the grocery and meat trade of the city.
Raymond J. Curran was educated in St. Patrick's parochial school and the Me- chanics Institute of Rochester, being a member of the class of 1904. He had taken a course in mechanical engineering and went to work in an architect's office. Subse- quently he secured a position as an assistant in the office of the state engineer, where he remained until 1913. During this ten-year period the young man learned much of the practical side of construction enterprises, big and little, and became thoroughly competent to do contracting on his own account. He resigned from his position in the state engineer's office, therefore, to form the Curran Swartout Contracting Com- pany and engaged in construction work of a general nature. Four years later the firm was reorganized as the Curran-Mason Company, Incorporated, general con- tractors, of which he is now the president and treasurer. This concern now holds a prominent place in the building circles of Rochester and the surrounding territory and holds many of the large contracts for construction enterprises that are under way in this vicinity.
In Rochester, on the 29th of June, 1910, Mr. Curran was united in marriage to Miss Marie Durnherr, daughter of Samuel Durnherr, a well known resident of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Curran are the parents of seven children: Marie B .. born in 1911; Janet. born in 1912; Raymond D .. born in 1914: Joan. born in 1917: Gerald F., born in 1919; John M., born in 1921; and James Hartley, born in 1924. All the chil-
RAYMOND J. CURRAN
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dren were born in this city and the four oldest are now pursuing their studies in the Rochester schools.
Mr. Curran has taken the fourth degree in the Knights of Columbus and, as his membership in this order indicates, he is a Roman Catholic in his religious faith. He is an enrolled member of the republican party, but does not take an active part in politics. In the Rochester Chamber of Commerce he is highly regarded as one of the dependable members and a man who has the welfare of the city close at heart. He has been a captain in the Community Chest campaigns for four years. He is identified with the Rochester Club, and is a member of the Rochester Engineering Society, also of the Builders Exchange. Much credit is due Mr. Curran for his accom- plishments in the business world, for he has always had to depend upon his own unaided efforts for his advancement in life. He is still a young man and, with the excellent start he has already made, may confidently look forward to a future of even greater achievement. Mr. Curran's residence is at No. 1140 Park avenue.
GEORGE C. PRICHARD, M. D.
James Prichard, the first of the line here under consideration of whom we have definite information, was a native of London, England, where he was reared and educated, and from whence he emigrated to this country, settling in Poughkeepsie, New York, prior to the Revolutionary war. He was a silversmith by trade, which line of work he followed throughout his active career. He married, and among his children was Benjamin, of whom further.
(II) Benjamin, son of James Pritchard, was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1804. He was reared and educated there, and upon arriving at a suitable age en- gaged in agriculture, from which he derived a comfortable livelihood, and became an affluent landholder. He lived eighty-three years. He married Jane Ann Stoughten- burg, who bore him six children, among whom was George C., see forward.
(III) George C. Pritchard, son of Benjamin and Jane Ann (Stoughtenburg) Prichard, was born on the 1st of February, 1839, in Phelps, New York. He acquired his education at Phelps Union Classical School and Genesee Wesleyan Seminary. and later matriculated at Hahnemann Homeopathic Medical College of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, graduating from that institution in 1869. Since then he has been engaged continuously in the practice of his profession in Phelps, gaining for himself an enviable reputation among his professional brethren, and the esteem and regard of his numer- ous patrons. He has now passed the eighty-fifth milestone on life's journey and has been an active medical practitioner for fifty-five years. In the year 1883 he promoted the organization of the Crown Manufacturing Company of Phelps, New York, incor- porated under the laws of the state of New York, capitalized at one hundred thousand dollars. They are manufacturers of the Crown Grain and Fertilizer Drill and the Crown Wheelbarrow Grass-Seeder, and other implements. Each machine is warranted to be well made, of good material, and capable of doing as good work and as much, as any machine in the market, under like circumstances. For two years Dr. Prichard served as president, and for twenty-four years as vice president and treasurer. The plant flourished for twenty-eight years and was destroyed by fire in June, 1909. It was then purchased by E. F. Needham, who became its president.
In 1862, during the progress of the Civil war, Dr. Prichard displayed his love of country by enlisting in the One Hundred and Forty-eighth New York Regiment. He was promoted to the rank of captain and assistant quartermaster, serving three and one-half years, being on the staffs of Brigadier-General A. D. Draper, Major- General Giles A. Smith, and of Major-General Godfrey Weitzel, until mustered out of service. Brigadier-General A. D. Draper with his staff, on the day of General Lee's surrender, rode into Richmond, participating in the release of our imprisoned boys from famous old Libby prison. Abraham Lincoln, at his visit to the Confederate capitol at that period, allowed an impromptu reception while he for the hour occupied the Jefferson Davis White House. He sat in the vacated chair of the collapsed Con- federacy. The privilege of a lifetime was the hand-grasp of the greatest man living, who four days later was assassinated.
Dr. Prichard is a member of the First Presbyterian church, in which he has served for many years as elder, as clerk of the session and as superintendent of the Sunday school.
Dr. Prichard has been twice married. On the 25th of January, 1865, he wedded Imegene Post, who was born in Phelps, New York, July 25, 1839, her parents being
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Colonel William and Polly (Sutherland) Post of that place. She passed away on the 29th of March, 1893, leaving two children: Linda Sutherland, who was born May 28, 1868; and Stewart D. C., whose natal day was April 2, 1873. On the 10th of April, 1900, Dr. Prichard was again married, his second union being with Harriet Amelia Huff, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac L. Huff of Waterloo, New York.
FRANK J. CAMPBELL.
Banking is a vital force in all business activity and there is no one element which has a greater effect in upholding the financial stability of a community than a carefully organized and conservatively conducted bank. Of such an institution Frank J. Camp- bell is the executive head. As president of the First National Bank of Horseheads he has reached a field of broad influence and usefulness. He was born at Phelps Mills, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, January 18, 1870, a son of E. B. and Mary A. (Imms) Campbell, both of whom are deceased. The mother was born in Brooklyn, New York, and the father was a native of Scotland. He was prominently identified with the lumber industry and for forty-five years was manager of the Pennsylvania inter- ests of the firm of Phelps, Dodge & Company. He was holding that position at the time of his demise, which occurred in 1890. He was a republican in his political views but never sought office. He was keenly interested in educational affairs and became one of the founders of Bucknell University of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell were members of the Baptist church and conformed their lives to its teachings. They were married in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, and became the parents of eight children, three of whom survive: Henry J., who is engaged in the roofing business in Rochester, New York; Frank J., of this review; and Mary L., who resides in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
In the public schools of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Frank J. Campbell acquired the elementary branches of learning, and subsequently became a student at Dickinson Seminary of that place. He entered the business world at the age of eighteen, becoming bookkeeper in an insurance office, and for many years was engaged in that line of work. In 1906 he went to Tioga, Pennsylvania, as superintendent for the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company and for eleven years was in the employ of that firm. In 1917 he opened an insurance office in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, and conducted the business for five years. In 1922 he became a stockholder in the First National Bank of Horseheads, purchasing the holdings of John Bennett, and is now serving as president of the institution, which is capitalized at fifty thousand dollars. It has a surplus of fifty thousand dollars and its undivided profits amount to nine thousand dollars. That Mr. Campbell is an executive of more than ordinary ability and a man who inspires trust and confidence is indicated by the fact that under his administration the deposits of the bank increased from four hundred thousand to six hundred and eight thousand dollars in 1924. He is well versed in the details of modern finance and the policy which he has adopted is one which safeguards the interests of depositors and at the same time promotes the success of the institution. He owns the majority of the stock in the Tioga Washed Sand & Gravel Company and is also a director of the Merchants National Bank of Elmira.
On September 4, 1907, Mr. Campbell was married to Miss Laura A. Edwards, who was born in Hughesville, Pennsylvania, and received her education in Wellsboro that state. They have a family of three children: Mary A., John A. and Elizabeth. The parents are members of the First Presbyterian church of Horseheads and Mr. Camp- bell gives his political support to the republican party. He is identified with the York and Scottish Rites in Masonry and is also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He has filled important offices in the order, having served as master of his lodge, high priest of the chapter, and eminent commander of the commandery.
BENJAMIN VAN CAMPEN, M. D.
Dr. Benjamin Van Campen of Olean, New York, is a descendant of the oldest family of this section of New York state and in his career has proved himself a worthy member of this distinguished family. The first member of the family to settle in this part of New York state was Cornelius Van Campen, great-great-grand- father and sons, Benjamin and Moses. Benjamin Van Campen came here in 1790
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