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 60
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E. CHANDLER BRISTOL.
E. Chandler Bristol, the able editor of the Belfast Blaze, has been intimately con- nected with the newspaper business all of his life. As a boy he earned some of his first money as an employe in a newspaper printing shop and from that day to this he has been almost continuously associated with this most interesting line of work. He came to Belfast in 1899 and helped establish the Blaze, which he became the owner of in 1900 and has edited and published with success. He is a native of the Empire state, born in Harpursville, on the 11th of October, 1867, the son of James E. and F. Augusta (Roe) Bristol. His father, who was formerly a druggist, lived retired from active business life and resided in Harpursville, until his death at the age of fifty- eight.
E. Chand'er Bristol was educated in the public and private schools of his birth- place and later attended the Chesbrough Seminary of North Chili, New York. As has already been stated, his interest was first attracted to the journalistic profession when as a boy he obtained employment in a local newspaper office for a time. When he fin- ished his education at the age of twenty the young man set out on his career by running a paper in Harpursville, where he continued in this line of work for four years. After spending some years in Florida, where he was engaged in newspaper work, also, Mr. Bristol returned to New York state and settled in Belfast, purchasing the Belfast Blaze in 1900. This paper had been founded by Peter J. Quinn, who had been running it for about ten months when the transfer to Mr. Bristol took place. The real credit for building up the paper and making it a factor in the development of the community belongs, therefore, to Mr. Bristol. For a quarter of century he has been making it his purpose to serve his fellow citizens by giving them the most accur- ate accounts of the current news that can be obtained and by sponsoring in his editorial columns those things that make for civic virtue and progress. Through his membership in the Allegany County Press Association and the New York Press Association, he keeps in close touch with the trend of events in the field of journalism and through these organizations obtains many suggestions which help him to maintain a high standard of excellence i.l conducting his paper.
Mr. Bristol was married in 1895, to Miss Emma Millett of Belfast, and they are the parents of three children: Rudel M., who is engaged in the real estate business in Rochester; Frances A., and Charles L., students in the local schools of Bel- fast. The family is identified with the Free Methodist church, of which Mr. Bristol is a member. In politics this editor ranks as a republican with independent tendencies. While in the main he follows the leadership of the Grand Old Party, he reserves the right to support any candidate or measure that he feels will be of benefit to the public, regardless of party affiliations.
CHARLES M. VAN CUREN.
Charles M. Van Curen of Bolivar, who has to his credit thirty years' experience as an oil producer, has also gained enviable recognition in the field of literature as a novelist. Representing a family that was established in Allegany county more than a century ago, he was born at Belmont, New York, in 1868, the son of George W. and Caroline (Elliott) Van Curen. His paternal grandfather, Peter Van Curen, emigrated from Holland to America and took up his abode in Belmont, this state, about the year 1819. George W. Van Curen, the father of Charles M. Van Curen, was born at Bel- mont, New York, in 1839. He served as a valiant defender of the Union during the period of the Civil war and devoted his attention to the lumber business throughout his active career.
In the acquirement of an education Charles M. Van Curen attended the schools of Belmont and Bolivar. Subsequently he made his way to Fargo, North Dakota, where for a time he worked on the Dalrymple ranch. He returned to Bolivar, New York, in 1885 and later turned his attention to the production of oil in the "Salt Rising" district. Thereafter he took up leases throughout the region and next began
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"shooting" wells in addition to oil production, soon afterward erecting a small plant for the manufacture of nitroglycerine used in this process. Mr. Van Curen has "shot" approximately one-third of the wells in this territory and his undertakings as an oil producer have been attended with gratifying success.
In addition to possessing excellent business ability, Mr. Van Curen has manifested marked literary talent. More than six thousand copyright copies of his novel, "The Waif of the Wreck," which appeared in 1918, were sold. In 1920 he went to Cali- fornia, where he employed a picture corporation to film the story, which was shown at moving picture theaters throughout the country under the name of "The Glory of Youth." Mr. Van Curen has been a frequent contributor to magazines and is the author of numerous short stories as well as of some novels which have not yet been published.
In early manhood Mr. Van Curen was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Riggall, of Clarion county, Pennsylvania, but at that time a resident of Bolivar, New York. Their son, Melvin Howard, is a senior in the Bolivar high school.
Politically Mr. Van Curen may be termed an independent republican, for he does not consider himself bound by party ties and at local elections casts his ballot for the candidate whom he believes best qualified for the position sought. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason and has crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of Ismailia Temple of the Mystic Shrine. Allegany county may well be proud of this talented and successful native son.
ARCHIE MINOR BOVIER.
Executive ability and an enterprising spirit, guided and controlled by sound and practical judgment, have actuated Archie Minor Bovier throughout his business career, bringing him to the fore in commercial circles of Elmira. He is treasurer and gen- eral manager of the American Sales Book Company, which for more than twenty years has profited by his well directed efforts, and his influence also extends to civic, social and fraternal affairs. He was born in Granville township, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, September 28, 1869, and his parents, Seeley and Hannah (Ayres) Bovier, were also natives of the Keystone state, in which the father followed agricultural pur- suits. They had a family of five children, four of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Bovier were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he was allied with the democratic party. His father, Dr. Solomon N. Bovier, was a lifelong resident of Pennsylvania and a successful physician. He was a son of Solomon Bovier, who was a pioneer of Chemung county, New York, and was buried near Elmira. The early ancestors of Mr. Bovier were Huguenots and owing to religious presecution fled from France to Germany, whence they migrated to America about 1763, in company with a number of persons from Holland, who founded the Dutch colony in New York. The name of Bovier is closely associated with the early history of the state and seven members of the family were massacred by the Indians at Ellenville, New York. The maternal grandfather, Marcus Ayres, was a native of Connecticut and removed from that state to Pennsylvania, settling on a farm adjoining that of Solomon Bovier.
In the acquirement of an education Archie Minor Bovier attended the district school near his home and the high school in Troy, Pennsylvania, later completing a course in the Allen Business College in Elmira. He entered the business world at the age of fourteen, becoming assistant in a railroad office in Granville Summit, Penn- sylvania, with which he was connected for three years. In 1888 he entered the em- ploy of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Troy, Pennsylvania, and a few months later was transferred to Elmira. He was rapidly advanced and at the age of twenty-one assumed the duties of chief clerk of the freight department. After leaving the service of that corporation Mr. Bovier was appointed assistant postmaster of Elmira and eighteen months later became acting postmaster. He next accepted the position of correspondence clerk in the bank of the Chemung Canal Trust Company, which he left on the 1st of February, 1902, to become general manager of the American Sales Book Company. He has since filled that office and is also treasurer and a director of the corporation. He is a director of the Second National Bank, the Hilliard Clutch & Machinery Company of Elmira, also the Employes Mutual Insurance Company and the Aquazone Corporation of New York city.
Mr. Bovier was married September 8, 1903, to Miss Cornelia Sayre, a daughter of Purdy Sayre, a pioneer of Schuyler county. Her grandmother was a member of the Budd family. Mrs. Bovier was born in Watkins and was there graduated from
ARCHIE M. BOVIER
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high school, afterward completing a course in Cook Academy at Montour Falls, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Bovier have six daughters: Margaret Cornelia, Elizabeth Sayre and Mary Catherine, all of whom are attending the Baldwin School at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; Cornelia Jane, who is a student in Elmira Academy; Florence Ayres, a pupil in school No. 2 of Elmira; and Antoinette.
Mr. and Mrs. Bovier are members of the Park Congregational church and he is one of its trustees. He belongs to the Ivy Lodge of Masons; to Elmira Chapter, No. 42, R. A. M .; St. Omer's Commandery, No. 19, K. T .; and to the local Grotto. He was secretary of the committee that organized the Masonic Club and when the society was founded Mr. Bovier secured sixty per cent of its members. He is president of the Elmira Golf & Country Club and is also connected with the City Club. He is one of the trustees of Elmira College and a democrat in politics. In 1898 he was appointed a member of the civil service commission of Elmira and for three years was president of the board. In 1903 he was elected alderman and served until 1906. He was one of the original members of the Elmira Water Board, with which he is still connected, and was appointed in 1913 for a term of five years. He was president of the board in 1917, 1918, and in June, 1921, was again elected. Mr. Bovier was one of those through whose efforts the city has secured a fine waterworks system. During the World war he served on Liberty Loan, Red Cross and War Chest committees and was chairman of the War Service committee of the Sales Check Book Manufacturers Association. Mr. Bovier's life record is the story of a man whose talents have been used for the betterment of Elmira and its citizens and his success is the reward of proved ability.
DRS. MORRIS AND MORRIS. JACOB E. K. MORRIS, M. D.
Dr. Jacob E. K. Morris, a prominent medical practitioner at Olean during the past four decades, has been particularly successful in the field of surgery and has long enjoyed an enviable reputation in this connection. He is a native of Mckean county, Pennsylvania, and a son of the Rev. S. D. and Elizabeth (Knapp) Morris, the former a minister of the Baptist church, who preached the Gospel in the Keystone state prior to coming to western New York. In his youth Jacob E. K. Morris pur- sued an academic course at Friendship, Allegany county, New York, while his pro- fessional training was acquired in the University of Buffalo, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1879. During the summer sessions of 1885 and 1887 he attended the New York Post Graduate School, while in 1900 he went to London, England, for special study on general surgery in the West London Hospital. In 1914 he again crossed the ocean and studied surgery in London and France. He. made his third trip to France and England in 1924.
For seven years following his graduation from the medical department of the University of Buffalo, Dr. Morris engaged in general practice at Eldred, Pennsyl- vania. It was in 1886 that he came to the Genesee Country and opened an office at Olean, which city has since remained the scene of his professional activity and where he has been accorded a very gratifying practice as physician and surgeon, his skill being widely recognized. He is connected with the Olean General Hospital as staff surgeon and is also surgeon for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Dr. Morris is a member of the Cattaraugus County Medical Society, the New York State Medical Society and the American Medical Association and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
At the polls, Dr. Morris supports the men and measures of the republican party, and he has rendered efficient service to the cause of education as a member of the school board for fifteen years. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church, while fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite.
In early manhood Dr. Morris was united in marriage to Sarah F. Gillingham, of Olean, New York. They are the parents of two sons and two daughters. C. D. Morris, the eldest of the family, was graduated from Yale University with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1906. He was city editor of the New York Sun for several years, and then held a similar position with the Associated Press. In 1914 the Associated Press sent him abroad, where he served as war correspondent for four
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years. He is now active in the work of the Near East Relief and after ten years of foreign service in Constantinople and Athens is now in the New York office. He is also managing the New York office of the National American News Association, a large news gathering organization similar to the A. P. He wedded Arminta Miles of Olean, New York, and has a son, Richard.
Raymond B. Morris, the younger son of Dr. J. E. K. and Sarah F. (Gillingham) Morris, is mentioned at greater length below.
Caroline Morris, a graduate of the Olean high school, received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Syracuse University, is a graduate of the Presbyterian Hos- pital and the Columbia University School of Nursing. For three years she was attending anaesthetist at the Presbyterian Hospital and later was in charge of a hospital in Syra, Greece, with the Near East Relief. In December, 1924, Miss Morris was married to Gerald H. Holmes of London, England. Mr. Holmes is engaged in business in Athens, Greece, and Mr. and Mrs. Holmes will reside in Athens for the next several years.
Margaret Morris, who also pursued a high school course at Olean, New York, and was graduated from Syracuse University with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, became the wife of Clarence Jarvis and resides in Utica, New York. Mr. Jarvis is also a graduate of Syracuse University.
RAYMOND B. MORRIS, M. D.
Dr. Raymond B. Morris was graduated from Yale University with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1907 and received the degree of M. D. from the Johns Hopkins University Medical School. After spending a year as house surgeon in the Union Memorial Hospital of Baltimore, Maryland, he came to Olean and has since been associated with Dr. J. E. K. Morris. From 1911 to 1918 he was engaged in practice in Olean, his work gradually becoming limited to surgery and X-ray diagnosis and treatment, in which specialities he was particularly successful, and during this time he took numerous post graduate courses in these specialties.
In January, 1918, he began active service in the United States army, having enlisted in November, 1917. He was first sent to Boston for several months training in the orthopedic war surgery at Harvard Medical School. Following this he was made orthopedic surgeon to Camp Forrest, Georgia. In July, 1918, he sailed to France with the Eighty-fifth Division. On arriving in France he was transferred to an evacuation hospital near Verdun, where he had an active surgical service and helped care for the thousands of wounded soldiers during the great drive.
He secured an honorable discharge from the army in April, 1919, and returned to his practice at Olean. He is now an attending surgeon at the Higgins Memorial Hospital and consulting roentgenologist at the same institution. He is a member of the state and county medical societies, fellow of the American Medical Association and fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is also a member of the Ameri- can Radiological Society and the Central Pennsylvania X-ray Society. He is a thirty- second degree Mason and an Odd Fellow.
In 1913 he was married to Mary L. Parrish of Baltimore, Maryland, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William T. Parrish, of that city. Mr. Parrish is a prominent Balti- more merchant. A daughter, Mary Louise, was born in June, 1914.
JOSEPH FRITSCH, JR.
Joseph Fritsch, Jr., United States marshal for the western district of New York, with headquarters in Rochester, his native city, has filled other public offices of importance and is well qualified by experience, training and personal qualifications for the responsibilities which devolve upon him in this connection. He was born May 21, 1887, and is a son of Joseph and Margaret (Mayer) Fritsch, who came to the United States in their youth, settling in Rochester, where they still reside. The father served an apprenticeship to the barber's trade, which he followed for many years.
Joseph Fritsch, Jr., received his elementary education in the parochial school maintained by the Church of SS. Peter and Paul, later attended St. Andrew's Pre-
JOSEPH FRITSCH, JR.
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paratory Seminary in this city, Epiphany College in Baltimore, also St. Mary's Seminary in that city and Holy Cross College of Worcester, Massachusetts, which latter institution awarded him the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1909. When he decided to abandon his youthful ambition to enter the priesthood and take up law, he entered the Albany Law School, from which he was graduated in 1912, and then obtained a clerical position in the office of Smith, DeGraff, Castleman & Mosher, well known attorneys of Rochester. In 1915 Mr. Fritsch was appointed supervisor for the state census in the thirty-eighth congressional district and in the same year became city assessor. He held that post for eight years and was just entering upon his third term, to which he was reelected by a plurality of approximately sixteen thousand, when, on January 22, 1924, he was appointed United States marshal for the western district of New York, by President Calvin Coolidge. He assumed the duties of the office on January 22, 1924, and is giving to the government faithful, efficient and thoroughly satisfactory service, proving a worthy successor of his predecessor, Judge John D. Lynn.
On December 26, 1912, Mr. Fritsch was married to Miss Elizabeth Harper, a daughter of George and Sarah Harper of Rochester. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Fritsch are: Mary Elizabeth, who was born in 1914 and is attending Nazareth Academy of Rochester; Anna Marie, born in 1916 and also a student in that institu- tion: and Joseph Fritsch (III), who was born January 26, 1920.
Mr. Fritsch is a stanch republican and a leader in party activities in the tenth ward. He is a Roman Catholic in religious faith and has taken the third degree in the Knights of Columbus. He is deputy grand knight in the local council and is also identified with the Order of Alhambra and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Fritsch is a young man of enterprise, ability and determination, interested in every movement for civic betterment, and his personal qualities are those which make for popularity. The residence of Mr. Fritsch is at No. 132 Parkdale terrace.
E. KENDALL DERICK.
E. Kendall Derick, whom Steuben county numbers among her foremost business men and worthy native sons, is the president of the Bath Home Building Company, manager and director of the Bath Harness Company and officially identified with vari- ous other important corporate interests of the town. His birth occurred in Wheeler, Steuben county, New York. on the 8th of August, 1856, his parents being Henry and Katherine (Kendall) Derick, the former an agriculturist by occupation. He acquired his education in the common schools of his native county and entered upon his business career as proprietor of a general store at Wheeler, where he was thus engaged in mer- chandising for fifteen years. He was active in public affairs of the community, filling the position of town clerk of Wheeler and also serving as postmaster there during Grover Cleveland's two terms as President of the United States.
It was in 1900 that Mr. Derick came to Bath and for eleven years thereafter he remained on the road, selling hardware specialties and farm implements. He then became associated with the Bath Harness Company, of which he was made manager and „member of the board of directors in 1913. This concern manufactures all kinds of harness and also conducts a jobbing business in hardware. The Bath Harness Company was organized in 1892 and it was seventeen years later, in 1909, that the present commodious factory of the corporation was erected to meet the growing demands of the business. Mr. Derick is a capable executive whose cooperation and counsel have been sought in the successful control of various other business enter- prises. He is vice president of the W. W. Babcock Company, a ladder manufacturing concern of Bath, vice president of the Longwell Roofing Company, vice president of the Green Knitting Company and president of the Bath Home Building Company, all of which profit by his direction and his sound business judgment.
On the 6th of June, 1882, Mr. Derick was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Benedict of Prattsburg, Steuben county, New York. He has always been an active worker in the local ranks of the democratic party, has served as democratic county committeeman for fifteen years and has been elected delegate to the state convention for 1924. He was elected mayor of Bath in 1922 and received endorsement of his first term by reelection in 1923, giving to the town a businesslike and progressive administration characterized by many measures of reform and improvement. During his incumbency as mayor of Bath the band stand was built by popular subscription and the construction of the village hall was completed. He has greatly aided in push-
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ing forward the wheels of progress in Bath and his life has been one of intense activ- ity and usefulness, commanding for him the respect, admiration and esteem of all with whom he has been associated.
DANIEL SHEEHAN.
The life record of Daniel Sheehan is the story of a man whose talents have been used for the benefit of his city and its people, and should serve to inspire and encourage others, indicating the possibilities that lie before the individual and demon- strating what may be accomplished when effort and ambition combine. Owing nothing to the adventitious aids that ordinarily push men forward in business, he has over- come circumstances, bending them to his will, and by the influence of his own powers has risen from the lowly position of errand boy to the presidency of the largest dry goods firm in Chemung valley. He has not lived for self-aggrandizement and during the years of his connection with the city government important measures were adopted bearing upon the future growth and prosperity of the municipality. His is a many- sided, forceful personality and he is foremost among those who have earned for Elmira her title of Queen city of the Southern Tier.
Daniel Sheehan was born November 1, 1862, in Ridgebury, Athens township, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, a son of John and Ellen (Walsh) Sheehan, both of whom were natives of Ireland. His parents were poor and existence was a struggle. In the latter part of the Civil war, when it was difficult to earn a livelihood, his father was killed and this additional affliction was a crushing blow to the family. With his mother he moved to Elmira early in the '70s and his preliminary education was received in grammar school No. 3, which he attended until he reached the age of fourteen, when he became a wage earner. He began his business career in 1877 as errand boy in the dry goods store of Strauss & Samuels. He received a salary of two dollars a week and at once began to save money. In the winter months he attended Professor Norton's night school and later took an evening course in one of the commercial colleges of the city. He was quick, industrious and dependable and his employers soon recognized these traits. As his experience increased he was intrusted with greater responsibilities and eventually became a salesman. In 1883 he entered the service of Fish & Holmes, dry goods merchants of Elmira, and when the firm dissolved partnership Mr. Sheehan remained with W. W. Fish, who continued the business. In January, 1888, it was purchased by Dey Brothers, with whom he remained until September of that year, when he established a business of his own, organizing the firm of Sheehan, Dean & Company. His partners in the undertaking are Elmer Dean and Daniel Richardson, also self-made men. The former was in the employ of Fish & Holmes, W. W. Fish, and Young, Smyth, Field & Company of Philadelphia. The latter was first connected with Strauss & Samuels, later with Albert Samuels of Elmira, and from 1884 until 1896 played professional baseball with the New York Giants. The young men leased the first floor of a new three-story brick building at No. 124 West Water street and at the end of three years were utiliz- ing the entire structure. The business grew so rapidly that in 1894 these quarters became inadequate and they removed to a new store at Nos. 140-142 West Water street. In 1907 another store was erected and the firm now occupies the four-story building situated at Nos. 136-142 West Water street. Mr. Sheehan drew the plans for the building, which contains more than an acre of floor space and is thoroughly modern in construction, equipment and furnishings. It is strictly a dry goods store and is conducted on both a wholesale and retail basis. The business is operated along the most progressive lines and the establishment would be a credit to a city of metro- politan proportions. The company has always maintained the highest standard in the personnel of the house and the quality of its stock, so that the firm name has become synonymous with integrity and reliability in commercial circles of Elmira. The sales of the company now amount to a million dollars annually and the extensive business of today stands as an imposing monument to the initiative, enterprise and executive force of its founders. Each stage in the development of the undertaking has been carefully planned by Mr. Sheehan, who is resourceful, farsighted and saga- cious, remaining steadily at the helm of the business and manifesting at all times strong administrative power.
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