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 73
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"After the two brothers, Rev. Bernard and Rev. William O'Reilly of Rochester, ceased their attendance at the Canandaigua Mission, Rev. Patrick Bradley of Geneva, for one year took care of the little church as his out-mission. He purchased books for church records, since which time all records of baptisms, marriage and burials have been kept in the local parish archives. In 1849 Rev. Edmund O'Connor was made first resident pastor, and he continued in that office for nine years. He enlarged the church, established a school in the basement, brought the sisters of St. Joseph from St. Louis, Missouri, built a rectory, and purchased the first part of the cemetery. There was considerable anti-Catholic prejudice in those days, and rumors of church burning caused much excitement and alarm. Father O'Connor controlled the situation with a strong hand, and gradually won the respect of all parties. St. Mary's Academy and Orphan Asylum was founded in 1855 on Saltonstall street.
"The next pastor was Rev. Charles McMullen, who officiated for a year and was then transferred to Seneca Falls. He is described as an eloquent man, of striking appearance. Then came the scholarly Father Purcell, who was a brother of Editor William Purcell, of the Rochester Union, and who is best remembered as the priest who read his sermons. Rev. James M. Early was pastor during the first days of the Civil war and served for two years before being transferred to the pastorate of St. Mary's church in Rochester. While at Canandaigua he enlarged the old church to its present dimensions. He was a good writer and preacher, and always interested in the young people. Rev. Joseph McKenna succeeded him, and for the following six years faithfully performed his duty until an injured knee forced him to retire. He was assisted during the latter part of his pastorate by Rev. David O'Brien. Shortly after the formation of the new diocese of Rochester in 1868, Bishop McQuaid ap- pointed Rev. Dennis English of Penn Yan, as pastor, and for a period of years cor- responding to the lifetime of our Blessed Lord, he presided over the destinies of this parish. In 1874 he purchased the Granger property on upper Main street, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars, to which he transferred the new orphanage and school. The Rev. D. English was ably assisted by Rev. Thomas B. O'Brien, 1890-91, and by
ST. MARY'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, CANANDAIGUA
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Rev. John H. O'Brien from 1896 to 1901. Father English lies buried beneath the great granite cross in Calvary cemetery, in the midst of the people whom he loved.
"The records since 1901 are fresh in the minds of the people of Canandaigua. They include the construction of a new stone church at a cost of ninety thousand dollars, a new rectory, eighteen thousand dollars, and a new parish hall and enlarge- ment of the school at a probable cost of twenty thousand dollars. The pastor during this time was the Rev. James T. Dougherty, and in his work he enjoyed the priestly cooperation of Rev. Andrew Byrne, Rev. Bernard J. Gefell, Rev. James J. Clark, Rev. John B. Baier and Rev. John E. Masseth. Among the young men who have gone forth from the parish into the ranks of the priesthood are Rev. William Mulhern, Rev. John J. Donnelly, Rev. Richard T. Burke, Rev. L. Augustine Smith, Rev. Dennis J. McCormick, Rev. John A. Conway, Rev. Edward G. Widman. Rev. Daniel P. Quigley and Rev. John B. Sullivan. The parish also has a lesser claim upon Rev. William Payne, Rev. Francis E. McCrone and Rev. John P. Brophy. Numerous young ladies have gone out from here to devote their lives to religion. Among others, the Bagley, Raftery, Caplise, Fitzgerald, Clancy, Turner, Hines, Fahy, Keefe, Casby, Wyffels, Doran, Coogan, Powers, Corcoran, Richardson and Donnelly families have been thus honored.
"Canandaigua was the first place in New York state for the Sisters of St. Joseph to work in. Three members of the order which had come from France in 1834 and located in Missouri, came to Canandaigua upon invitation of Father O'Connor and Bishop Timon of Buffalo. They occupied the O'Reilly house in Saltonstall street, beginning their work on December 8, 1854, the day the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was defined at Rome. Canandaigua was for three or four years the mother house of the order, and some of her older parishioners recall the religious receptions of the Sisters, held in the old church, one of the novices upon those occasions being Miss Hendrick of Penn Yan, sister of Monsignor Hendrick of Ovid and the late lamented Bishop Hendrick of Cebu, and known in religion as Mother Aloysia. Among the early sisters were Mother Agnes Spencer, Sisters Frances Joseph, Theodosia, Stanislaus, Anastasia, Julia, Nativity, Nicholas and Alphonsus.
"Rev. James T. Dougherty was born in Fayette, Seneca county, New York, April 23, 1863, a son of Patrick and Mary (Bannon) Dougherty, who were born in West Meath, Ireland. Patrick Dougherty emigrated to the United States in 1846, and his wife preceded him by one year, their marriage occurring in this country. They were the parents of nine children, four of whom attained years of maturity, namely: Bernard, a resident of Waterloo, New York; Patrick and James T., twins, the former a resident of Kendaia, Seneca county, New York; and Mrs. Anna Hamilton of Kendaia. Patrick Dougherty followed the occupation of farming. He died in 1904, and his wife ín 1889.
"James T. Dougherty was educated in the Miller district school, town of Romulus, and at the Ovid union school, after which he taught for one year in the Ayers district town of Varick. He then entered St. Andrew's Preparatory Seminary at Rochester, New York, and later St. Joseph's Theological Seminary at Troy, New York. He was ordained to the priesthood on October 28, 1887; placed in temporary charge of Honeoye Falls and East Rush parish during the summer of 1888; assigned as as- sistant at St. Mary's church of Auburn in October, 1888; sent as pastor to Stanley and Rushville in September, 1890; promoted to the pastorate of St. Patrick's church at Dansville; Holy Name, at Groveland, in May, 1893; appointed to St. Agnes' church at Avon in June, 1901; and upon the death of Father English in September, 1901, be- came the pastor of St. Mary's church at Canandaigua. He was earnest and zealous in his work, ever looking to the spiritual and temporal welfare of his parishioners, and was greatly beloved by all who came under his benign influence."
JUDGE EDWIN S. BROWN.
The Hon. Edwin S. Brown, judge of Steuben county, has had a long and dis- tinguished career in the legal and judicial professions and in New York state politics. A native of the county in which he still resides, he was born in Howard, September 4, 1870. His parents were Abel U. and Grovinia (Stanton) Brown. His father was a member of the One Hundred and Sixty-first New York Infantry in the Civil war and following the conflict was appointed postmaster at Howard, serving from 1869 until 1884 and again under President Harrison. The Judge's grandfather came
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from Massachusetts and settled in Fulton county, New York. He was a lumberman, as was Abel U. Brown. The Judge's mother was half English and half Welsh. Her parents came from the British Isles on the same boat and settled in Fulton, New York. The Browns are of English origin and are not related to any other Browns in this country.
Edwin S. Brown attended country and village schools in Howard and in 1894 received his B. S. from Alfred University. He graduated from the Albany Law School in 1896 and was admitted to the bar the same year. Meanwhile, he had studied law in the office of Judge Clark of Wayland and like many of the young attorneys of a generation ago, had actual experience to begin with when he hung out his shingle at Cohocton. He still resides in this town.
The Judge became interested in politics even before he could vote and was a delegate to a county convention while not yet twenty-one. He has always been a republican. He was elected district attorney of Steuben county and in his third term was appointed judge of the county by Governor Miller, which office he still fills. His appointment came on Thanksgiving Day of 1921. He is also judge of the chil- dren's court of the county, takes a profound interest in the children and works con- stantly for their welfare. His interest in the children's court especially has made him a great favorite and he is highly esteemed throughout Steuben county.
On December 25, 1905, Judge Brown was married to Miss Lola Schafer, daughter of Christopher J. Schafer of Cohocton. Judge and Mrs. Brown have three children: Stanton S., Edwina, and Dorothy. Judge Brown is a member of the Masonic fratern- ity and is also an Elk, having been district deputy in the latter order. He has been an elder in the Presbyterian church for a quarter of a century and has always been an active worker in the church. He was elected a delegate to the Presbyterian General Assembly at Los Angeles in 1921. The Judge is rated high as an orator and lecturer and is often called upon to address the people on important topics and to aid the republican cause. Always interested in his community, his nation, and in the welfare of children, Judge Brown has become noted in New York state for his fairmindedness and sane views in his high profession.
GEORGE J. BAUER.
More than any other single factor of civilization, the automobile has multiplied the producing power of man, reducing time and distance by providing a broad and flexible means for the transportation of men and their products. Among the leading representatives of the automobile trade in Rochester is George J. Bauer, proprietor of the Genesee Motor Vehicle Company, of which he is also the founder. Mr. Bauer is a member of one of the old families of the city and was born here on September 15, 1870, a son of Marcellus and Frances (Egerer) Bauer, the latter also a native of Rochester. The father was of French birth and parentage and came to the United States in early life, arriving in Rochester in 1855, when a boy of fourteen years. He was for many years engaged in the mercantile business, acquiring a comfortable competence. He is survived by his widow, who makes her home in this city.
George J. Bauer attended St. Joseph's parochial school and afterward completed a course in the Taylor Business College. He began his business career in his father's establishment and was thus engaged until 1905. He then started out on his own initiative, entering the automobile business, and established what is now known as the Genesee Motor Vehicle Company. The business was organized in 1916 and is an individual enterprise, Mr. Bauer being the sole owner. He has the local agency for the Ford cars, tractors and accessories and controls one of the most efficient organiza- tions connected with the automobile trade in the Genesee country. The Genesee Motor Vehicle Company occupies three buildings located at St. Paul and Franklin streets, Central avenue and Westcott street, comprising about forty thousand feet of floor space and fully equipped for Ford sales and service. Mr. Bauer has always held to high ideals in the conduct of his business and his success is the natural outcome of clean, straightforward business methods Among his other business interests he is a director of Lincoln Motors, Incorporated, distributors of Lincoln automobiles in Rochester.
On September 9, 1891, Mr. Bauer married Miss Julia L. Fisher, a daughter of Thomas Fisher, of Rochester, and they have three sons, all born in Rochester: Clem- ent M., who was born in 1895 and who married Miss Alvina McCarthy, of Syracuse,
GEORGE J. BAUER
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New York; Francis J., whose birth occurred in 1901; and Edward J., born in 1905. The sons are now associated with their father in business.
Mr. Bauer is a faithful communicant of St. Ambrose's church at Rochester. He is a member of the Catholic Young Men's Association and is also one of the Knights of St. John. He is identified with the Rochester Historical Society and the New York State Archaeological Association. He belongs to the Rochester Numismatic Associa- tion and also the American Numismatic Society and owns one of the valuable col- lections of rare coins in this part of the country, devoting years to its acquirement. Mr. Bauer is a member of the Rochester Kiwanis Club, the Automobile Club and the Chamber of Commerce. His political views have been in accord with the principles of the democratic party. He has won success through the medium of his own efforts and has discharged life's duties and responsibilities in a manner to be accorded a most creditable position among Rochester's best citizenship. Mr. Bauer's residence is at No. 1462 Culver road.
C. HENRY MASON.
The record of the man who, unassisted, hews his way through a forest of difficul- ties to the goal of honorable success, is a story which never fails to arouse the interest and compel the admiration of the American public. To this type of citizens belongs C. Henry Mason, whose education was self-acquired, and the story of his life is a record of continuous progress that has brought him ultimately to a central place on the stage of activity in Rochester, in connection with the advertising business. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, July 21, 1884, and is a son of Charles and Emily D. (Hausrath) Mason, the latter a native of Westchester county, New York. The father was born in Ludlow, England, and responded to the lure of the New World in 1865, settling in New York state. The Civil war was then in progress and he enlisted in the National Guard, becoming a member of the Twenty-third Brooklyn Regiment. He subsequently engaged in the leather business in New York city and is now living retired in Brooklyn. The mother also survives. They had a family of three children, one of whom is deceased. The others are: Maude E., who is unmar- ried and resides with her parents; and C. Henry of this review.
C. Henry Mason was a pupil in the Boys High school of Brooklyn and later graduated from the Commercial High school of the same city. He secured the funds for his higher education by hard work and the exercise of self-denial. He spent two years as a student in Pratt Institute of Brooklyn, taking a course in designing, and then matriculated in Columbia University, which he attended for a year, special- izing in psychology. He entered the employ of Maynard, Merrill & Company, publish- ers of schoolbooks, and remained with that firm for ten years, advancing steadily in its service until he eventually became purchasing agent and advertising manager. He next joined the Trades Advertising Agency of New York city and had charge of its production department. He then associated himself with the advertising agency of Churchill Hall, Incorporated, in New York, for whom he wrote advertising, also creating advertising ideas and plans, and on October 23, 1914, joined George and Charles Miller in establishing the Craftsman Advertising Service in Rochester, New York. He was made manager of the firm in 1916 but later sold his interest therein and then engaged in the advertising business under his own name in Rochester. He has contracts with some of the largest corporations in the east and has built up one of the best known agencies in western New York. He is also financially interested in other business enterprises of Rochester.
In the summer of 1916 Mr. Mason established a branch of his Rochester ad- vertising business in New York city. In November of the same year he formed a corporation with Mr. B. H. Carter of New Rochelle, New York, formerly of the Curtis Publishing Company. This corporation is now operating under the name of Mason-Carter Company, Incorporated, with offices at No. 270 Madison avenue. Mr. Mason is president of the corporation.
On April 28, 1915, Mr. Mason was married to Miss Madeleine Hoyt, a daughter of William E. Hoyt, consulting engineer of the New York Central Railroad, and a member of one of the most prominent families of Rochester. Mr. and Mrs. Mason have become the parents of a son: William Hoyt Mason, born June 18, 1916. Mrs. Mason comes of colonial stock and belongs to the Society of Mayflower Descendants and Irondequoit Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is also connected with the Wednesday Morning Club and is active in the social life of the
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city. Mr. Mason is a papular clubman, belonging to the Old Colony, Rochester, Advertising Oak Hill Country and Tennis Clubs, and is one of the energetic workers in the Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts and his religious views are in harmony with the doctrines of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Rochester, with which he is affiliated. Mr. Mason is a splendid type of the virile American business man, alert, enterprising, resourceful, and through all the varied responsibilities of life has acquitted himself with dignity, fidelity and honor, winning the approbation and esteem of his fellow citizens.
REV. HENRY AUGUSTINE DOLAN.
Among the well known representatives of the priesthood in the Genesee country is the Rev. Henry Augustine Dolan, who has followed his holy calling during the past twenty-eight years and who has to his credit a number of beautiful churches in this part of the state which were erected under his pastorship and his direction. Since the 11th of March, 1920, he has filled the pastorate of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church in Batavia. His birth occurred at Newfane, Niagara county, New York, on June 12, 1872, his parents being James and Catherine (Malloy) Dolan. The father was born in western Ireland, whence he emigrated to the United States and resided for a time in Orleans county, New York. In young manhood he removed to Niagara county, this state, where he cleared and developed a tract of land and devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits throughout the remainder of his life. A devout Catholic, he reared his children in that faith and two of his daughters took the veil.
Henry Augustine Dolan began his education in the public schools of Newfane, after which he attended Canisius College of Buffalo and subsequently continued his studies in Niagara University. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Quigley of Buffalo on the 12th of June, 1897, and his first charge was that of assistant pastor at the Church of the Annunciation in Buffalo, where he thus remained for two years. He afterward spent a period of eighteen months at St. Mary's church of Olean, New York, and then assumed pastoral duties at Lewiston, Niagara county, where he con- tinued for two years and where he built a stone church which is regarded as one of the most beautiful edifices in this part of the state. He next became the first resident pastor of the Catholic church in Bolivar, New York, where he remained for nine years and where he erected a handsome stone and brick church as well as a rectory. While pastor at Bolivar he also had charge of the church in Portville, which neces- sitated his traveling thirty mies each Sunday for mass. At Portville he built a frame church. After leaving Bolivar, Father Dolan established a parish in the Riverside section of Buffalo, which he named All Saints. Here he built a combination building, rectory and convent and continued as pastor for ten years. It was on the 11th of March, 1920, that he took up his present duties as pastor of St. Mary's Roman Cath- olic church in Batavia and he has since bent every energy toward the development of the parish in its various lines of work.
Father Dolan may be termed an independent republican in politics. He has membership in the Chamber of Commerce and fraternally is identified with the Knights of Columbus, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of which he is chaplain, and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, being the only clergyman member of this organization in Buffalo. For recreation he turns to hunting, being the owner of two very fine bird dogs, and he is also fond of golf and other outdoor diversions.
GUSTAVE ERBE.
Among the men who have achieved a leading place in the office appliances manu- facture none are more deserving of admiration than the founders of the Yawman & Erbe Manufacturing Company of Rochester. They are the late Philip H. Yawman and Gustave Erbe, president of the firm. Until his death in 1920, Mr. Yawman was the mechanical genius of the "Y and E" business. Mr. Erbe is a man who, more than anything else, stands for action. Although he is a thorough mechanic, because of a natural bent toward executive ability, he has been the general manager of the company's affairs and, since 1920, its president.
Gustave Erbe was born in New York city, seventy-two years ago. After acquiring a common school education he engaged himself as a machinist's apprentice, first
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working on surveying and optical instruments. In those days there was no division of labor and all the machinery was run by footpower. A workman was given all the castings for such a delicate instrument as a sextant and was required to make out of them a complete and perfect instrument. Gustave Erbe very soon acquired a reputation for unusual ability as a machinist, his work being particularly character- ized by the thoroughness and exactness with which it was done. After some years of practical experience in this line he came to Rochester, entering the employ of the Bausch & Lomb Company, where he began as a maker of microscopes, among the most delicate of all scientific instruments. To produce a microscope under the manufacturing conditions then prevalent needed a mechanic something out of the ordinary. Unusual skill he must have, but above all else he must be thorough and accurate. The slightest defect in the making of the instrument might render it useless. Gustave Erbe's sterling qualities caused him to be picked as the man to make microscopes. He has those same qualities today, and has exercised them all through his business career. In them lies the keynote of his success and the success of the Yawman & Erbe Company. Men came to know that they could depend upon Gustave Erbe; that when he did work it was well done. As a result it was not long before he was offered a responsible position as foreman in his concern. As foreman Mr. Erbe came into close contact with Philip H. Yawman, a fellow employe.
Mr. Yawman was master mechanic in the Bausch & Lomb plant, a man of wide experience and marked ability in his line of work. At that time he was looking after the machinery of his company, designing and making a large number of improvements. Since Mr. Erbe, as the foreman of the microscopic department, was continually on the lookout for improved manufacturing methods, he came into daily touch with Mr. Yawman's work and formed the habit of taking his problems to the latter mechanic for advice. The result was a rapid and substantial improvement in the machinery of the Bausch & Lomb Company. As an outgrowth of this relationship the two men conceived the idea of going into business for themselves, and after careful con- sideration they formulated definite plans and put them into effect.
On May 1, 1880, the firm of Yawman & Erbe began business in a little room on Exchange street. The young men embarked in their business by manufacturing mathematical, optical and surveying instruments. The first few years were unevent- ful. The two partners worked hard and conscientiously, side by side. But during this time their reputation for good work was spreading and their business growing. Their policy from the very beginning up to the present hour has always been to make an article the very best they know how or can find out. The wisdom of such a policy soon made itself evident. The company manufactured things for other firms, the volume of output increased, and soon the young firm found larger quarters necessary. In those days the Eastman Kodak Company, now a world famous concern with a plant that is an industrial miracle, had part of its work done by outside firms. Yaw- man & Erbe in the spring of 1883 made the first model film-rollers, and in 1884 the first model No. 1 kodak for the Eastman company. They continued doing all the metal work, and assembled the work ready for inspection, for all the film-rollers and Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 kodaks that were made for the Eastman Kodak Company until the year 1895.
In the spring of 1883 the Yawman & Erbe Company also made an agreement with the owners of the patents of the Shannon file, binding cases, etc., to manufacture the only Shannon files for letters, bills and other papers, that were made in the United States. This Shannon arch file, invented in 1877, was the forerunner of the modern business filing systems. It passed through the usual ups and downs of a new inven -. tion but finally succeeded in getting a foothold, thus the Yawman & Erbe plant was one of the first to manufacture filing equipment. This same outfit, with many im- provements is made by the company today. With this new undertaking under way the company realized that if it was not to be handicapped by lack of space, it would have to enlarge its quarters. Accordingly, a plot of ground was purchased and a four-story brick building erected. Coincident with the completion of the new building the concern took up the manufacture of metal interiors for vaults, banks and public buildings. This meant another big increase in volume of output, and in 1890 it was again found necessary to enlarge. Another four-story building was erected on the same plot. The enormous modern plant of the company, completed in 1921, is one of the largest and finest office appliance factories in the world. Its daylight buildings are the last word in the way of industrial architecture and are equipped with every device that can contribute to the comfort and efficiency of the workmen or to the quality of the product.
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