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 58
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Mr. Driscoll always took a vital interest in politics and for many years was presi- dent of the Democratic Club of the nineteenth ward. He was a convincing and ready speaker, a man of wonderful mentality and clarity of vision who often evoked a personal tribute from his associates and easily inspired confidence in others. He per- severed in his undertakings despite adverse conditions and was everywhere esteemed for his honesty of purpose and unfaltering integrity. In his passing Rochester sus- tained the loss of one of its representative business men and respected citizens, while the members of his immediate family cherish the memory of a loving and devoted hus- band and father.
FRED K. TOWNSEND.
Among the varied industries which constitute the basis of Rochester's growth and prosperity is that of the Seneca Camera Manufacturing Company, of which Fred K. Townsend is secretary-treasurer, and the present status of the firm is due to his enterprising spirit and well-directed efforts. He is a member of one of the old and highly respected families of this city, in which he has a wide acquaintanceship and was born here on the 21st of February, 1879. His parents were Julius L. and Eliza- beth (Printz) Townsend, the former a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the latter of Ardmore, Pennsylvania. The father devoted his life to educational work and for more than forty years was principal of school No. 6 in Rochester. When the Civil war broke out he offered his aid to the Federal government, enlisting in Herkimer county, and was commissioned a captain. He was assigned to the One Hundred and Fifty- second New York Volunteer Infantry and gallantly defended the Union cause until the close of the war. He passed away in 1908. His widow is still living. Three sons and a daughter were born to them, and a son and daughter are still living: Fred K., of this review; and Mrs. Mary T. McMaster of Bath, New York.
Fred K. Townsend's public school training was supplemented by study in the University of Rochester in the class of 1899. In 1900 he entered the employ of the Rochester Optical & Camera Manufacturing Company and was appointed branch manager in Chicago, filling that position for four years. In 1904 he returned to Rochester, where he reorganized and purchased a half interest in the Seneca Camera Manufacturing Company, which he subsequently enlarged and developed into one of the important productive industries of the city. The company manufactures cameras and photographic supplies, in its own well-equipped plant and its employes number two hundred and fifty. Mr. Townsend also has other business interests in Rochester. He has made a success of everything that he has undertaken, for he closely studies conditions, opportunities and possibilities and realizes that simple, direct methods are those which win results.
Mr. Townsend was married in Chicago, Illinois, on October 17, 1908, to Miss Luddy Gertrude Leyden, a daughter of Charles and Margaret (Commerford) Leyden
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of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Townsend have a daughter: Dorothy Leyden, who was born in Rochester, September 2, 1909, and is a student at the Co- lumbia school.
Mr. Townsend is a member of the Alumni Association of the University of Roches- ter, also the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He is a Knights Templar Mason, has attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite Consistory, and is also a Noble of Damascus Temple, Mystic Shrine. He is likewise a member of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, the Rochester Club, the Oak Hill Country Club, the Monroe Golf Club, the Art Club, the Automobile Club and Rochester Yacht Club. Mr. Town- send is chairman of the Brighton Volunteer Fire Department. A broad-gauged man, Mr. Townsend extracts from life the real essence of living, and his integrity, ability and civic spirit have established him high in public regard. His residence is on Penfield road, Brighton.
MAURICE J. JOYCE.
Identified in a prominent way with a line of activity that has a direct and distinct bearing upon the development and improvement of his community, Maurice J. Joyce is recognized as one of the enterprising realtors of Rochester and a capable young busi- ness man whose word is to be relied upon. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, December 14, 1892, a son of Maurice J. and Mary (Derrick) Joyce, the former a native of New York city and the latter of Rochester. The father was also a success- ful real estate operator. His demise occurred in Brooklyn, in 1911. The mother is still a resident of the Empire state. Two children were born to them: Mrs. Roscoe Hagen and Maurice J., both of whom are living in Rochester.
Maurice J. Joyce obtained his early education in the public schools of Mount Vernon, New York, and afterward became a student in the City College of New York, from which he was graduated in 1907. His initial business experience was gained with the Fidelity Trust Company of Rochester, with which he was connected for three years in a clerical capacity, and he then assumed the duties of production manager for L. Adler Brothers & Company, clothing manufacturers. Mr. Joyce re- mained with that firm until 1917 when he responded to the call to the colors, enlisting in the One hundred and Fourth Aero Squadron, with which he went overseas. He was commissioned a first lieutenant and acted as pilot. He was in active service for two years and received his honorable discharge in New York city, in 1919. Upon his return to Rochester his old position with Adler Brothers & Company was awaiting him and he continued in the employ of that firm until 1921, when he turned his atten- tion to real estate. He was associated with the firm of Slade & Bridle for a year and in 1923 aided in forming the Fisher-Joyce Realty Company, of which he has since been a member. Many large real estate transactions have been effected through their agency and the business is growing rapidly under their progressive management.
In Larchmont, New York, on June 30, 1923, Mr. Joyce was married to Miss Ruth Menter, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Menter, well known residents of Rochester. Mr. Joyce belongs to the American Legion, the Rochester Automobile Club, the Oak Hill Country Club and the local Real Estate Board. Although he is still a young man, his energy, ambition and ability have carried him into important rela- tions, and these same qualities are a guarantee of his continuous progress.
JOSEPH A. GALLETS.
One of the most active business men of Cattaraugus county, New York, is Joseph A. Gallets, oil producer, real estate dealer and lumberman, whose estate is in Alle- gany, New York. Born in Allegany, in 1857, he has spent all his life in this region and by industry and honesty and the application of good business principles he has become successful. His parents were Jacob and Susan (Mohr) Gallets, who were natives of Coblenz, Germany. They came to America when young and took up a timber claim near Allegany. His father cleared the land, built a log house for his family and commenced farming in the wilderness, and was also active in cutting timber and in logging.
Joseph A. Gallets attended the district schools and then took over his father's farm, and despite his youth he operated it successfully. He bought the farm on which
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he still resides. In 1887 he started oil developments on this land and leased adjacent land, opening a new "pool" there. He has drilled three hundred and fifty wells and now owns one hundred and fifteen of the original wells. Mr. Gallets has no intention of stopping at that, however, as he continues to drill for himself and occasionally for others. For forty-five years he has carried on a lumbering business in the vicinity as well, and his real estate connections are in Olean, New York, where he conducts the Live Wire Agency at No. 609 Exchange National Bank building.
. Joseph A. Gallets was road commissioner for several years and at one time was a candidate for county treasurer on the democratic ticket. A republican landslide defeated him, but he ran ahead of the rest of his slate. He has been too busy, how- ever, to devote very much time to politics. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, Allegany Chapter.
Mr. Gallets was married to Christina Geringer of Lancaster, New York, and to them nine children were born, six of whom survive. Jacob died at the age of thirteen; Helen, who married Clarence Grandusky, and Mary, are the ones who have passed on. Helen left one child, James. Rose Gallets is a member of the Franciscan Sisters at the Allegany Convent; Clara is now the wife of Frank Hanback, who is with the Standard Oil Company as gager in Allegany. The Hanbacks have four children : Helen, Edward, Fred and Joseph; Lena, became the wife of Frank Nenno, a farmer and oil producer, and they also have four children: Blanche, Lewis, Evelyn and Kathleen; Joseph A. Gallets, Jr., is in business with his father and lives at home. He was in France eighteen months during the World war; Irene became the wife of Earold Martini, who served as a lieutenant in France, with the Hospital Corps, for two and a half years and has been in the woolen business in New York city until recently. He is now in Allegany and with his father-in-law in the oil business. They have one boy, Earl; Lawrence Gallets was with his father until two years ago. He attended St. Bonaventus College and then went into the oil business with his father. He married Dorothy De Croft, and they have one child, Lawrence, Jr.
WILLIAM HAWTHORN SNYDER.
William Hawthorn Snyder, known to his many friends in Elmira as "Bill", is classed with the substantial business men of the city. He became a wage earner at an early age and one of the finest printing plants in this section of the state is the visible result of his labors. He is an exemplary representative of the Masonic order, in which he has filled many important offices, and his activities in this connec- tion have brought him a wide acquaintanceship. He was born January 9, 1870, in Port Ludlow, on Puget sound, Washington, a son of William and Margaret (Haw- thorn) Snyder, the latter a native of England. His father was born in the state of Pennsylvania and went to California with the '49ers. He spent several years in the gold fields of that state and also engaged in the milling business. After his return to the east he settled in Elmira and in 1873 embarked in the grocery business, but died soon afterward from an ailment caused by injuries received during his service in the Mexican war. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder were members of the Episcopal church and their lives were guided by its teachings. Three children were born of their union, namely: William Hawthorn; Claude R., who is associated with his brother in business; and Grace M., who is unmarried.
William Hawthorn Snyder was but three years old when his parents came to Elmira, where he obtained a grammar school education. When a boy of twelve he went to work for the Elmira Telegram and while in the service of the paper mastered the printer's trade. Subsequently he entered the employ of the New York World, but returned home a month later and was placed in charge of the printing plant of the New York State Reformatory. He was thus engaged for six months and in 1893 formed a partnership with his brother. Their combined capital amounted to one hundred and twenty-five dollars, the sum of seventy-five dollars being supplied by William H. Snyder, and they purchased a small printing plant, for which they paid six hundred dollars, making the payments on time. The business grew so rapidly that they were soon obliged to seek larger quarters and they have occupied four different offices in the city. On the 1st of April, 1910, they broke ground for the Snyder building, a substantial four-story structure, sixty-three by one hundred feet in dimensions, of which they are the owners. The building was completed and occu- pied in October of the same year. They conduct a general job printing business and their plant is well equipped for this purpose. The business is operated under the
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name of the Snyder Brothers Printing Company and the work turned out by the firm is of high grade and uniform excellence. William H. Snyder is filling the office of president and under his management the business has prospered, keeping not only in line but rather in the lead in this field. He is also a director of the Merchants National Bank of Elmira.
Mr. Snyder's connection with the Masonic order forms one of the chief interests of his life. He is a life member of Ivy Lodge, No. 397, F. & A. M .; Elmira Chapter, No. 42, R. A. M .; St. Omer's Commandery, No. 19, K. T .; of which he was commander in 1909-10, and has also been one of its trustees, while from 1915 until 1922 he was a trustee from the commandery on the Masonic Temple board of trustees. He is a member of Kalurah Temple at Binghamton, New York, was sent as a represen- tative to Imperial Council, A. A. O. N. M. S. at Seattle, Washington, in 1915, and is also connected with the Southern Tier Shrine Association. He was monarch of Cash- mere Grotto, No. 11, M. O. V. P. E. R., in 1907; a trustee from 1908 until 1922; and grand monarch of Supreme Council, M. O. V. P. E. R., in 1915-16. He is an honorary member of Umarkan Grotto, No. 21, of Geneva, New York; Gul Reazee Grotto, No. 66, of Portland, Oregon; Amoo Grotto, No. 57, of Rock Island, Illinois; Ararat Grotto, No. 64, of Atlanta, Georgia; Hotex Grotto, No. 84, of Houston, Texas; and Cashan Grotto, No. 86, of Beaumont, Texas.
Mr. Snyder is a member of the Masonic Club, the Country Club of Elmira and the Keuka Club. He belongs to the Elmira Chamber of Commerce; to the Business Men's Association of this city, of which he has been president three times; and to the local Rotary Club, of which he was secretary from 1916 until 1923. In 1913-14 he was president of the Sodus Bay Improvement Association of Sodus Point, New York, and in 1915 became a director of the Sodus Bay Yacht Club.
In November, 1895, Mr. Snyder was married to Miss Nell Hopkins of Port Jervis, New York. She died in February, 1897. Mr. Snyder was married in June, 1898, to Miss Sibyl Griswold Tubbs, a native of Michigan. They are members of the Park Congregational church and in politics Mr. Snyder is a republican. He is a loyal, patriotic American, imbued with the spirit of progress along all lines which lead to advancement in relation to municipal, state and national affairs and the improvement of civic and social conditions. He acted as city director of War Savings Stamps in 1918-19 and during the same period was director of the Elmira War Chest. One of the most notable achievements of Mr. Snyder, during the war, occurred on October 15, 1917. The monster parade of seven thousand school children of all schools and denominations in support of the First Liberty Loan. This unparalleled demonstration was conceived and principally executed by Mr. Snyder.
HARRY W. BRECKENRIDGE.
For forty-three years Wellsville has numbered Harry W. Breckenridge among its leaders of business activity and loyal citizens, and his record is that of a self-made man whose constantly expanding powers have carried him from a lowly position to a field of broad usefulness. For more than a half century he has been instrumental in promoting the development of the oil fields of this region and his name also figures prominently in connection with other lines of business. He was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, September 20, 1847, a son of William B. and Nancy (Adams) Brecken- ridge and a member of one of the old families of the Keystone state. William B. Breckenridge was born in 1813 and died in 1885, at the age of seventy-two years. He devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and always resided in the vicinity of Meadville. His father, David B. Breckenridge, established his home in that district about the year 1800 and was numbered among its pioneer settlers.
Harry W. Breckenridge attended the district schools and completed his education in the Meadville Academy. For about four years he worked as a clerk in grocery stores of his native town and in 1870 arrived in the oil country, locating in Rouseville, Pennsylvania, on Oil creek. There he secured a similar position and with his savings bought a half interest in a well, assisting for a time in its operation. After selling his interest therein he entered the employ of a pipe line company, which was later taken over by the Standard Oil Corporation, and he was thus engaged until 1884. Mr. Breckenridge dates his residence in Wellsville from 1881. He embarked in business as an independent oil producer and later built the pipe line for the National Transit Company. He is now operating in Pennsylvania, as well as in the Allegany county oil fields, and has been very successful in his ventures. Realizing the need of an industry
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for the manufacture of artificial ice, Mr. Breckenridge organized the Acme Ice Com- pany in 1919 and has since been its president. He is also a stockholder in various local business organizations, and his name appears on the directorate of the Citizens National Bank of Wellsville.
On the 10th of May, 1883, Mr. Breckenridge was married to Miss Ellen McEwen, a daughter of Duncan and Susan (Ewing) McEwen and a member of one of the pioneer families of Wellsville. Her parents settled in the village in 1854 and Mr. McEwen was one of its early manufacturers. Mr. and Mrs. Breckenridge became the parents of two daughters: Susan and Jeannette. The former was born in 1888 and resides at home. She is a graduate of Wells College of Aurora, New York. Her sister was born in August, 1904, and died in 1924, when a young woman of twenty. She was graduated from the local high school and afterward spent two years as a student in a seminary in Washington, D. C.
Mr. Breckenridge is a member of the Congregational church, and gives his politi- cal support to the democratic party when national issues are involved but at local elections votes independently. He is serving on the village board, and the growth and progress of his community is a matter in which he takes much personal pride. He is a Rotarian and also belongs to the Wellsville Country Club. He is identified with the Masonic order, having membership in the lodge and chapter in Wellsville; the com- mandery in Hornell; the consistory in Corning; and the Shrine in Buffalo, New York.
FREDERICK JAMES MIX.
Frederick James Mix, formerly and for eight years deputy United States marshal for the Rochester district, a prominent and influential factor in the ranks of the demo- cratic party in this district and one of the best known lawyers practicing at the bar of the Monroe county courts, is a native son of New York state, where he has lived all his life, a resident of Rochester since the days of his young manhood. He was born on the old Mix farm place in the vicinity of the village of Belfast, in Allegany county, November 7, 1890, and is a son of Frederick J. and Nellie B. (Seely) Mix, who are still living on that old farm place and both of whom are members of old families in New York, both the Mixes and the Seelys being of Revolutionary stock and of Mayflower descent. Mrs. Mix's father, Hiram Seely, was a successful tanner in Allegany county.
The senior Frederick J. Mix, a well-to-do farmer and landowner, the present pro- prietor of the old Mix home place in Allegany county, the place on which he was born and where he still is living, is a son of David P. Mix, who also was born there and who spent all his life there, one of the influential pioneer farmers of that region. His wife was a Histed, a daughter of Rensselaer Histed, one of the pioneers of that county. David P. Mix was a son of Ethan Mix, a brother of Ebenezer Mix, surveyor and land agent of the Holland Land Company at Batavia, New York. Ethan Mix, in 1906, bought the farm here referred to and on it erected the first substantial dwell- ing house put up within the confines of what is now Allegany county. That old log house, in which four generations of this family have been born, is still standing, in excellent condition, and is still occupied as a home, the senior Frederick J. Mix and his wife living there. It was in this house that the junior Frederick J. Mix was born, as were his father and his grandfather, and it is thus that around this old home- stead place cluster many pleasant traditions, sacred in the estimation of the Mix family. The Mixes have been farmers ever since the family became established in this country, back in early colonial days. The senior Frederick J. Mix and his wife have three children, Frederick James (the youngest), having a brother, Otto Mix, who continues to make his home in Allegany county; and a sister, Mrs. Hazel Garrison, a former teacher in the schools of Allegany county, who is now living in Silver Creek, Chau- tauqua county, this state.
Reared on the old home farm place in Allegany county, the junior Frederick J. Mix completed his local schooling in the Belfast high school and then began seriously the study of law under the preceptorship and in the law office of Walter S. Hubbel in Rochester. In 1911, in his twenty-first year, he was admitted to the bar and in the following year (1912) opened an office in Rochester for the practice of the profession to which he had so earnestly devoted himself, and with the exception of the period during which this practice was interrupted while he was engaged in the Federal service, he has ever since been engaged in practice in Rochester, with present offices
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at No. 25 Exchange street. Mr. Mix is a member of the Rochester Bar Association and of the New York State Bar Association.
Mr. Mix is an ardent democrat, has long been recognized as one of the junior leaders of that party in the Rochester district, and in 1924 was the nominee of that party for the position of county judge. He previously had been a candidate for this nomination and in 1922 was the party's nominee for the office of state senator from this senatorial district. For two years (1914-1915) Mr. Mix rendered service as assistant in the office of the United States district attorney for the district and for eight years (1915-23), during the incumbency of Judge Lynn in the local office of the United States marshal, he served as deputy United States marshal for this district, this term of service covering the period during which this country was taking a hand in the World war, and his work was officially praised by the heads of the department in Washington. When Judge Lynn resigned his office in 1923 Mr. Mix also tendered his resignation to the department of justice and he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession.
On January 18, 1913, in Rochester, Mr. Mix was united in marriage to Miss Ann O'Connor, daughter of Cornelius O'Connor of Phelps, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Mix have two sons, both born in Rochester: Frederick J. Mix (III), born February 11, 1915; and Donal G. Mix, born December 30, 1921. Mr. and Mrs. Mix are members of the Roman Catholic church and Mr. Mix is a fourth degree member of the Rochester Council of the Knights of Columbus. He is an active and interested mem- ber of the Rochester Historical Society, is a member of the Society of Allegany of Rochester, and is also one of the active members of the Rochester Auto Club. His residence is at No. 18 Cambridge street.
CHARLES ORVILLE TAYLOR.
Charles Orville Taylor is the owner of valuable oil properties in Allegany county and a member of an honored pioneer family of Wellsville. By his labors the father made possible the development of the rich mineral resources of this district, blazing the trail which has guided the footsteps of others and leaving to his fellow townsmen a legacy of inestimable value. Charles Orville Taylor was born January 28, 1862, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and his parents were Orville P. and Cornelia (Clark) Taylor. His great-grandfather in the maternal line was Stephen Mundy, who came of Eng- lish lineage and was numbered among the pioneers of the Genesee country. He drove from Massachusetts to Allegany county, New York, settling in what is now known as Burns township, and was the first white man in that section. He hewed a farm out of the wilderness and on his property erected a stone house about the year 1800. The building is still standing and is one of the historic landmarks of the state.
Orville P. Taylor was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, September 15, 1838, a son of John Osborn Taylor and a brother of William Taylor, who was long a resident of California and was intimately connected with the early history of the Golden state. There were also two other brothers: Daniel, who became a resident of New Mexico; and John, who lived in the old home at Lynchburg.
When about sixteen years of age Orville P. Taylor went to reside with an aunt, at that time entering the Genesee Seminary at Attica, and there completed his edu- cation. In 1857 he went to Canaseraga, New York, where he formed the acquaintance of Miss Cornelia Clark, and soon afterward was sent by a firm of railway contractors of Richmond, Virginia, to Brazil, South America. On the outward passage the vessel was wrecked and for twenty-two days Mr. Taylor, with others, clung to the water- logged hull until cast ashore on the island of St. Thomas. As the representative of the Richmond firm he superintended the construction of Dom Pedro's Railway, which was the first transportation system in that country, and was engaged for three years on the project, which was completed in 1860. It is now operated by the government of Brazil, under the name of the Central Railway and connects Rio de Janeiro with the San Francisco river, a distance of one thousand miles.
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