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 62
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In politics Mr. McDivitt was without party bias, placing the qualifications of a candidate above all other considerations, and he stood at all times for progress, re- form and improvement in public affairs. He enjoyed the esteem of many friends and his life history constitutes an example of industry, enterprise and honorable dealing that others might profitably follow.
GEORGE SAMUEL HOLVEY.
Industry, perseverance and thrift are recognized the world over as the foundation of material prosperity, and through the exercise of these qualities George Samuel Holvey has steadily progressed, at length attaining his objective in the business world. He is the founder and head of the Holvey Selden Sales Company of Rochester and ranks with the leading automobile dealers of the city. He was born in Talmadge, Summit county, Ohio, October 13, 1886, a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Hiers) Holvey, the latter also a native of the Buckeye state. The father was an Englishman and came to the United States as a young man. He passed away in 1888. The mother's demise occurred in 1887.
George Samuel Holvey, who was left an orphan when but two years old, was reared in the home of his maternal uncle, George Hiers, and attended the public schools of Summit county, Ohio, until he reached the age of fifteen, when he started out to earn his own livelihood. In Barberton, Ohio, he served an apprenticeship to the pattern- maker's trade, which he followed until his twentieth year, and then became manager of the Citizens Taxicab Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Soon afterward the business was purchased by the Cleveland Taxicab Company and Mr. Holvey was then obliged to seek other employment, becoming a salesman for the firm of Raugh & Lang, manu- facturers of electric automobiles in Cleveland. He was connected with the main office for a year and was then sent by the company to Rochester, where he established a branch office with the assistance of Arthur McNall. A year later Mr. Holvey entered the service of Joseph J. Mandery and for four years had charge of the electric car department. On the expiration of that period he was made branch distributor for the Selden truck, acting in that capacity for three years. He then purchased the agency and organized the Holvey Selden Sales Company, of which he has since been the president. He maintains a service department, and is one of the largest dis- tributors in this section of the state; is thoroughly familiar with the mechanical phases of the business and in its conduct displays executive force and keen sagacity.
In Cleveland, Ohio, on October 31, 1909, Mr. Holvey was married to Miss Char- lotte M. Carr, a member of an old family of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Holvey have a daughter, Marguerite May, who was born in Rochester, on November 9, 1911, and is attending the public schools. Mr. Holvey is identified with the New York State
GEORGE S. HOLVEY
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Archaeological Society, the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and the local association of automobile dealers, of which he served as vice president in 1920. He also belongs to the Rochester Club, the Genundawah Country Club and the Rochester Automobile Club. He is a member of the Seneca Lodge of Masons and in Rochester Consistory has attained the thirty-second degree. Mr. Holvey stands high in business circles of Rochester, is popular socially, and is accorded the respect which is the just reward of the self-made man, whose success has been won by hard work and honest methods. His residence is on Landing road, Brighton, New York.
WALTER NORTON RENWICK.
Walter Norton Renwick has held for many years an enviable place in the legal profession of the Genesee Country, where he is widely known as an attorney of un- usual ability. For more than a quarter of a century he has made his home in Cuba, Allegany county, and there he has built a large and important private practice. Mr. Renwick is a native of this county, his birth having occurred in Belmont on the 20th of December, 1865, and he is a son of Walter D. and Abigail (Norton) Renwick. On the maternal side he comes from the old New England Puritan stock that has con- tributed so liberally to the intellectual progress of the United States. His paternal grandfather, Adam Renwick came from Dumfries, Scotland, and settled in Cuba, New York, in 1825. His father was born in Seneca county, New York, and was two years of age when his parents came to Allegany county, where he was county superintendent of public schools for many years.
Walter Norton Renwick obtained his early education in the graded schools of Allegany county, following which he took the course in the Friendship Academy. He prepared for the legal profession by reading law in the office of former Judge S. McArthur Norton of Friendship and after successfully passing his examinations was admitted to the bar of New York state in June, 1891. Immediately afterward the young attorney formed a partnership with A. L. Elliott of Friendship and practiced under the firm name of Elliott & Renwick for a year. Mr. Renwick then practiced alone in Friendship until February 1, 1897, when he removed to Cuba and became a partner of Stanley C. Swift, with whom he was associated for about eight years. Not very long after he came to Cuba Mr. Renwick had an unusual opportunity to widen his professional experience by being made confidential clerk to Edward W. Hatch, justice of the appellate division of the supreme court of New York city, a position that he held for four years. He returned to Cuba in 1905 and at that time dissolved his partnership with Mr. Swift, engaging in practice under his own name. At this time Mr. Renwick commenced, as legal representative for the company, the purchase of the right of way for the Genesee River Railroad, which is now known as the Genesee River Division of the Erie Railroad. For a number of years he was also attorney for the Erie road but has recently confined his activities to his local practice. On the 1st of January, 1924, Mr. Renwick became district attorney for Allegany county, which has added considerably to his burden of responsibility. The office is one for which he was excellently qualified, however, and the citizens of the county feel that the right man is in the right office in this case.
Mr. Renwick was married on the 6th of July, 1898, to Miss Sarah Barker Wood- worth, daughter of the Rev. Charles A. and Mary Woodworth of western New York. They have become the parents of two sons: Walter Norton, Jr., who is connected with the Cyclops Steel Company of Titusville, Pennsylvania; and Robert W., a student in the Cuba high school.
During his long residence in Cuba Mr. Renwick has become closely identified with the life of the community in all of its phases. He is connected with financial circles as director of the Cuba National Bank. Civic affairs have always commanded his interest and he is now serving as trustee for the Cuba Library. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, a trustee of the Silver Lake Assembly and a promi- nent Mason, his affiliations in the latter order being with Cuba Lodge, F. & A. M .; Valley Point Chapter, R. A. M .; St. John's Commandery, K. T., at Olean; and Ismailia Temple of the Mystic Shrine, at Buffalo. His vote is regularly cast for the candidates of the republican party, while his fondness for outdoor life and sports is indicated by his membership in the Cuba Rod and Gun Club. Mr. Renwick's name also appears on the list of directors of the Church Insurance Society of Rochester. These connections indicate briefly the range of Mr. Renwick's interests outside of
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his profession. He is a man highly esteemed in his home community, and his support of any organization or enterprise is always sought as something that contributes substantially to the upbuilding of the undertaking to which it is given. That he stands well among his colleagues is indicated by the fact that he served as president of the Allegany County Bar Association for more than a decade.
PHILIP E. BLUM.
As a member of one of the honored pioneer families of Dansville, Philip E. Blum is widely and favorably known in this section of Livingston county and his reputa- tion as an astute, farsighted business man is not confined to the Genesee country, for his name figures prominently in industrial circles of the United States in connection with the manufacture of the "Kreep-A-Wa" brand of felt slippers, one of the most popular articles of the kind on the market. He was born in Dansville, January 25, 1863, a son of John and Euphrosine (Buhler) Blum, who settled in the village more than a half century ago. The father was one of the foremost manufacturers of the Empire state and passed away in 1907, at the ripe old age of eighty-five, having for many years survived the mother, whose life was terminated at the early age of thirty- two years. They were the parents of nine children: John B., Joseph C., Anthony, Barbara, Daniel, Frank J., Philip E., Lizzie and Catherine, but all have passed away except the two sons, Philip and Daniel.
Philip E. Blum attended the public schools and completed his education in the Dansville Seminary. As a young man he went to the west, returning to his native town in 1891, and has since been connected with the Blum Shoe Manufacturing Com- pany, of which he is now secretary and treasurer, while Daniel Blum is the vice president and Frank J. Blum is filling the office of president. The business was founded by the father thirty-six years ago on the substantial basis of honor and integ- rity and is now being carried forward by the three sons, to whom he transmitted his executive ability, progressive spirit and high moral standards, so that the family name has become synonymous with probity and uprightness in industrial affairs. Philip E. Blum has played an important part in the development of the business and also has entered the financial field, being a director of the Citizens Bank of Dansville.
On the 13th of February, 1899, Mr. Blum was united in marriage to Miss Alice M. Calagan of Pennsylvania, and they have three children: James G., Helen M. and Florence T. Mr. Blum is a consistent member of St. Patrick's Catholic church and also belongs to the Knights of Columbus and the local Rotary Club, while his political support is given to the republican party. His interest in the welfare and progress of his community is deep and sincere, and by those who have known him the longest he is held in the highest regard, for his record is as an open book which all may read.
ALLEN L. CRANSTON.
Knowing when to use his powers to the greatest advantage and having a pro- phetic glimpse of the future, Allen L. Cranston has won notable success as an oil producer, and Bolivar numbers him among its foremost business men and leading citizens. He was born May 31, 1865, in Little Genesee, Allegany county, New York, a son of William Harrison and Alice Venette (Prosser) Cranston. The father, who was a photographer, engaged in that business at Corry, Pennsylvania, and later opened a studio at Olean, New York, but subsequently returned to Corry, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was born in 1842 and passed away in 1879, when thirty-seven years of age.
Allen L. Cranston began his education in the district schools of Corry, Pennsyl- vania, and completed his studies at Willimantic, Connecticut. He was employed as a telegraph operator by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and also worked for the New England Railway at Waterbury, Connecticut, in a similar capacity. From 1892 to 1898 he was a breeder of trotting horses and his identification with oil production dates from 1897, in which year he established his home in Bolivar. He sold his oil lands in this field in 1905 and in 1917 disposed of his holdings in the Olean district. He is now operating independently in the oil fields of the Jefferson and Grant dis- tricts in Pleasants county, West Virginia. Since 1897 he has been engaged in the
PHILIP E. BLUM
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oil business, gaining an expert knowledge of this industry, which has displaced both coal and gold as the main objective in man's ceaseless struggle for power, and his success has been won through honest methods and the ability to meet and master situations.
On the 27th of June, 1892, Mr. Cranston married Miss Inez Lincoln Hill, of Willimantic, Connecticut, daughter of DeWitt Clinton and Augusta M. (Clark) Hill, and they became the parents of four children: Allen L., Jr., who was born in 1893 and met an accidental death in 1908; Alice Augusta, who was born in 1894 and mar- ried Glenn B. Fenner, a hardware merchant of Alfred, New York; Marjorie L., born in 1905, who is a graduate of the Bolivar high school and is now a student of Alfred University; and Rosamond, who was born May 5, 1909, and died March 11, 1911.
Mr. Cranston is liberal in his political views and casts his ballot for the candidate whom he considers best qualified for office, placing man above party. He is a moving spirit in all that makes for civic growth and development, and his worth to his com- munity is uniformly acknowledged. From 1898 until 1902 he was a member of the board of trustees of the village, and is president of the Bolivar Free Library, having been a member of its board of trustees for seventeen years. He is a member of the International Bible Students Association and measures up to the full stature of upright, honorable manhood.
CHARLES RICHARDSON PIERCE.
Among the names of the business men and financiers of the village of Honeoye Falls, Monroe county, New York, that of Charles Richardson Pierce occupies a promi- nent place. He was born there, August 26, 1869, and is a son of Martin and Mary (Ritchie) Pierce. His grandfather, Martin R. Pierce, was one of the early settlers of Honeoye Falls and his father was in the lumber and furniture business there for many years, owning a large establishment.
Charles Richardson Pierce attended the local grade and high schools and in 1888 was graduated from Devaux College at Niagara Falls. Upon leaving college he accepted a position with A. M. Holton, a banker of Honeoye Falls, with whom he remained for about seventeen years. In 1915 he became connected with the Bank of Lima, located in Lima, Livingston county, and rose to be president of that institution, a position which he still holds. In 1921 he took an active part in the organization of the State Bank of Honeoye Falls, of which he was chosen president. As the execu- tive head of these banks he has given them a reputation for safe, conservative man- agement second to none of the rural banks of this section.
On June 27, 1916, Mr. Pierce was united in marriage to Miss Grace E. Darron, daughter of Martin Darron of Honeoye Falls. During the World war Mr. Pierce served as a member of the State Guard and took a keen interest in promoting the various Liberty Loans and other war activities. He is a member of the Episcopal church and the Fire Department Club of Honeoye Falls. Although interested in civic and public affairs, he has never been an aspirant for political honors.
WALTER D. ORMISTON.
For more than forty years Walter D. Ormiston has been practicing law before the bar of Allegany county, where he is widely known as one of the most experienced men in his profession today. He came to Cuba forty-five years ago as a young man to take up the study of law in the office of Loveridge & Swift and has made this place his home ever since. The son of Walter and Mary (Cunningham) Ormiston, both of whom are now deceased, he was born in Hammond, New York, May 21, 1857. His early boyhood was spent on the paternal farm in that locality and his elementary education was acquired in the nearby district school. Later he attended the Gouv- erneur Wesleyan Seminary at Gouverneur, New York, from which he was graduated in 1879. The young man came to Cuba on the 1st of October of that same year, and for three years thereafter spent his time in reading law in the office of Loveridge & Swift of this village. Immediately after he was admitted to the bar, in Rochester in October, 1882, he was made a partner of S. C. Swift of Cuba, with whom he was associated for ten years. In 1892 Mr. Ormiston severed his connections with Mr. Swift in order to have E. H. Keller join in the insurance business conducted under
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the firm name of Ormiston & Keller. Mr. Keller had charge of the insurance work of the concern, while Mr. Ormiston took care of the legal work. This partnership lasted for nearly thirty years, and was one of pleasure and profit for each of the men concerned. A change was made in 1921, when Earl V. Pettit was taken into the firm in the place of Mr. Keller, the name becoming Ormiston & Pettit. In Cuba and vicinity the firm of Ormiston & Keller and its successor are known as old and reliable organizations. The head of the firm is highly respected as a business man and an attorney and enjoys the confidence of a large number of clients, many of whom have done business with him ever since the house was established, more than a third of a century ago. In addition to his private business and professional interests Mr. Ormiston has served his community as justice of the peace for forty years, a length of service that is in itself indicative of the fidelity with which he has discharged the duties relative thereto. He is also a director of the First National Bank of Cuba.
On the 9th of November, 1881, Mr. Ormiston was united in marriage to Miss Ida M. Root of Cuba, daughter of Hiram and Elizabeth Root. One child was born to this union, Mable A., now the wife of Asa C. Doty, a professional gardener of Buffalo. They have one daughter, Alice, the wife of William Lavey of Buffalo.
For many years Mr. Ormiston has belonged to the Presbyterian church of Cuba, in which he holds the office of trustee. In the Masonic order he holds memberships in Cuba Lodge, No. 306, F. & A. M., and Valley Point Chapter, No. 232, R. & A. M., while formerly he was also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Ormiston belongs to the Allegany County Bar Association, while politically he ranks as a stalwart republican. As an active factor in the professional, business and civic life of Cuba for four decades, he has made a wide circle of friends, who are attracted to him by his many admirable personal qualities, as well as by his ac- complishments as a successful man of affairs.
COLONEL FRANK JUDSON HESS.
Colonel Frank Judson Hess is widely and favorably known in Rochester, in which city he has resided since early childhood. A prosperous and growing manufacturing business is the visible result of his well-directed efforts and spirit. He was born in Wayland, Steuben county, New York, January 13, 1863, and his parents, Solomon Francis and Helen M. (Chichester) Hess, were also natives of that locality. The paternal great-grandfather, A. Dennis Hess, born January 2, 1775, in Warren, Her- kimer county, removed from Camillus, Onondaga county, New York, to Patchenville, Steuben county, in 1814, with four brothers, and he became one of the pioneer farmers of that district, which at that time was largely undeveloped. He died July 2, 1854, and is buried in Loon Lake cemetery. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and served in the One Hundred Fifty-ninth (Hecox's) Regiment, New York Militia. His son John took him from Camillus to Sacket Harbor to join the regiment. He was a descendant of Revolutionary stock, son of John Hess of Warren, Herkimer county, born December 22, 1747, who served with the Tryon County Militia at the battle of Oriskany, and was wounded May 6th, 1777. His father, Augustinus Hess, was an influential citizen; a member of the Committee of Safety from Tryon county. He was killed by the Indians, July 15, 1782, while entering Fort Herkimer, and it is said his body was buried under the Fort. John Hess, the father of Augustinus, was born in Germany in 1692, and came to America with a colony of Palatiners, arriving on July 14, 1710.
John Hess, son of A. Dennis Hess, born January 7, 1802, in Camillus, New York, came to Steuben county with his father, and was a pioneer, settling in the township of Cohocton, from which the town of Wayland was taken in 1848. He served five terms as supervisor of Cohocton, and became the first supervisor of Wayland, and was elected six times thereafter-1849, 1850, 1852, 1855, 1856 and 1857. John Hess was the first village postmaster of Wayland and was appointed in 1852. He and Myron M. Patchen may fairly be considered the "Fathers of Wayland". In casting about for a name Mr. Patchen chanced to hum a favorite tune called "Wayland", which gave the suggestion, and the town was so named, and not in honor of Rev. Dr. Francis Wayland of Rhode Island, as is so often stated. (Myron M. Patchen was the first justice of the peace, and held office for a period of twenty-one years.)
In the development of Wayland, mention of Dr. Henry H. Hess, associated with his older brother John, in the laying out of streets, tracts, buildings, etc., is of inter- est to early Wayland. Dr. Hess was the first superintendent of schools (1848). During 1850 and 1851 John Hess and his son, Solomon F. Hess, were subcontractors in the
JOHN HESS
SOLOMON F. HESS
F. JUDSON HESS
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building of the Buffalo, Corning and New York railroad (now the Erie), which was opened July 4, 1852, from Corning to Wayland. They also purchased ties and wood for the engines. John Hess, in 1852, opened the first successful store, one being opened before in 1846, by Robert S. Faulkner, of Dansville, which proved unsuccessful and was closed. John Hess and John Hyland of Dansville, were the principal movers in building the plank road from Wayland to Dansville in 1852, at a cost not to exceed $1,000 per mile. In 1858 the Hess brothers, John and Dr. H. H. Hess, donated the lot for the erection of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Wayland, and John Hess was the largest subscriber and his brother, Dr. H. H. Hess, was next. In the same year he was instrumental in establishing the village cemetery, and later in its enlarge- ment. He was well named the "Father of Wayland". He was interested in business in Dansville with his son, Solomon F. Hess, and son-in-law Charles V. Tiffany, and re- moved there about 1867, retiring from business. He died January 10, 1881, and is buried in the Greenmount cemetery, Dansville, alongside his wife, Mary (Bronson) Hess, born October 30, 1814, who died July 17, 1881. They were married in the town of Cohocton on November 7, 1830, and had the following children: Maria (Mrs. Benja- min Healy), born November 18, 1831; Solomon F., born July 3, 1833; Alfred M., born June 8, 1836; Prudence V. (first Mrs. Dana Neel, and later Mrs. John B. Stillwell), born March 20, 1839; Maryette M. (Mrs. Charles V. Tiffany), born July 21, 1841; and Charles D, born May 21, 1844.
Solomon Francis Hess (born July 3, 1833), oldest son of John Hess, and the father of Colonel Frank Judson Hess, should not be forgotten in the early development of Steuben county. Born on a farm, near Loon Lake, then in the township of Cohocton, he was educated in the district schools and Rogersville Academy (South Dansville, P. O.). He early associated himself in business with his father in a general store in Wayland, under the title of John Hess & Son, which in about 1860 became Hess & Abrams, consisting of S. F. Hess and Thomas Abrams. Abrams had been a clerk there for many years, and a cousin of S. F. Hess. Early in 1868 S. F. Hess sold his interest to Martin Kimmel, Mr. S. F. Hess moving to Rochester, New York, in the fall of 1867, where he purchased the tobacco and cigar manufacturing business of John Disbrew, which business had been established since 1838. With his other business associations in Wayland he formed a partnership with Martin Kimmel in a large sawmill, which continued up to the time Mr. Hess moved to Rochester, Mr. Kimmel taking over Mr. Hess' interests. He also had several farm interests. From 1863 to 1865 Mr. Hess was postmaster of Wayland and town clerk in 1855, 1856 and 1860. In addition to the manufacturing of cigars and tobacco, located in the two upper stories of a building at the corner of Main and Aqueduct streets, where the Central Trust Company's build- ing is now located, he had a large retail cigar and tobacco store at No. 5 Exchange street, later at No. 7, where now is the entrance to the Wilder building. This con- tinued until 1876-77, when a partnership was established with his cousin, Simon V. McDowell, under the style of S. F. Hess & Company, and in 1887 a corporation was formed under the same name-S. F. Hess & Company. In 1876 land was acquired at the corner of the Erie Canal and Exchange street (now Broad and Exchange streets), and a new building erected. They later acquired two lots to the south of this building, and made an addition to their factory and business, which was a growing one. This continued up to the spring of 1907, when the business was discontinued. Mr. S. F. Hess died June 6, 1907, in Rochester, and is buried in Mt. Hope cemetery, Rochester. He was a prosperous man, and conducted business in Rochester for over forty years. He was a generous contributor to all public enterprises and charity. While not a clubman or a politician, he was a lover of horses and outdoor life. He was a member of all Masonic bodies both York and Scottish Rites, also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. In all of the bodies he was a life member for many years before his decease. "Stanch to his friends and true to his word". In Wheeler, Steuben county, New York, on December 27, 1855, he was married to Helen M. Chichester (born January 7, 1835), who died July 25, 1913, and is buried in Mt. Hope cemetery. On December 27, 1905, they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.
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