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 74
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Prior to 1898 Yawman & Erbe manufactured many things for other concerns, but
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in this year a plan was perfected whereby the business was incorporated under the title of the Yawman & Erbe Manufacturing Company and took over the entire busi- ness of the Office Specialty Company, a local company making and selling a few office devices. The new corporation instituted its own selling organization. Under the new management the selling end of the business thrived and subsequent increases in the manufacturing facilities were made necessary. It was about this time that the company erected a plant in Canada, which has since developed into the extensive factory at Newmarket, Ontario-one of the largest and most complete motorized factories in the Dominion. Mr. Erbe has always referred with pride to the fact that the "Y & E" company was the first to sell filing systems and equipment on the "system" basis. The entire "Y & E" selling organization is modern in every way. In line with the most advanced ideas as to salesmanship Yawman & Erbe believe that the way to sell goods to a business man is to show him what they can do for him. In the words of Mr. Erbe; "To establish permanently satisfactory relations with a customer, it is essential that all transactions be mutually beneficial." That is the reason for the "Y & E" system department, with its corps of trained experts. With the data gathered in thirty years of experience this department is well equipped to tackle the hardest kind of record filing problems, and its services are offered to cus- tomers without charge. This system service, in fact, extends throughout the "Y & E" organization, for every salesman is trained in the company's own school, located at the home office, and must qualify as a good system man before he takes his place in the ranks of the salesmen. The value to the company of this system service policy cannot be overestimated, for business men realize that, no matter how good the equip- ment may be, it is practically useless without the right system. The filing system business of to-day is complex. When a man starts out to buy a correspondence file, an invoice file, or card index system, he wants to make sure that he is getting the very best equipment for his particular purpose. The function of the "Y & E" system department is to work out a man's filing problem with his assistance, tell him what will accomplish the thing he wants done and make the installation.
The first employe of the Yawman & Erbe concern, forty years ago, was a boy hired to run errands and learn the business. Thirty years later this same "boy" was superintendent of the huge Canadian plant of the concern. This instance is illustra- tive of the relations between the founders of the firm and the men who have worked for them. Mr. Erbe and his former partner were men who had risen from the ranks. They looked upon each of their employes as an individual workman deserving of indi- vidual attention. They saw in every office boy a possible manager, in every workman a possible foreman. The names on the payroll of the "Y & E" company now run into the thousands, but the spirit between the employers and the employed remains the same. The majority of the men in the factory could secure elsewhere the same price for their labor that the "Y & E" pay, yet they have been with the company for ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty-five years. This speaks eloquently for the laboring conditions in the plant, for these men could in the majority of instances have gone elsewhere without any financial loss.
The guiding hand of the president of this organization can be seen at every turn. The whole business is "at his finger tips", and although he has passed the age of threescore years and ten he continues actively to discharge the duties of president. He is familiar with every part of both the manufacturing and the selling organizations. No step of importance is taken without his knowledge, although he is, of course, far too busy to bother with lesser details. He is a true executive in the best sense of the word.
Mr. Erbe's wife was Miss Antonia Schmidt before her marriage. She was born in Germany, but was brought to America at the age of eight and was married in Rochester, which has been her home ever since. To Mr. and Mrs. Erbe were born three children: Gustave, Jr., vice president of the Koehler & Campbell Company of New York city; Mrs. Harry C. Slemin of Toronto, Ontario; and Frederick G. Erbe, secretary of the Yawman & Erbe Manufacturing Company and his father's confidential business associate.
Frederick G. Erbe was born in Rochester, on the 11th of December, 1882. After passing through the consecutive grades of the Rochester public schools he entered Bradstreet's Preparatory School, from which he graduated at the conclusion of his course. In order to prepare himself thoroughly to become associated with his father in the "Y and E" manufacturing business he spent four years in the Mechanics Insti- tute of Rochester and took an extended course of scientific study in the University of Rochester. Thus thoroughly grounded in the theoretical side of mechanical and industrial engineering, Mr. Erbe donned a pair of overalls and went to work in
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the shops of the Yawman & Erbe Manufacturing Company, where in the next two years he mastered every phase of the production processes in the plant. Well equipped with the skill and efficiency that comes only as the result of actual experience and long practice, he was promoted to the post of factory engineer. The young man had a thorough working knowledge of the business; his next task was to erect a new plant that would meet its constantly growing requirement for additional space and better working conditions. The erection of the present Yawman & Erbe manu- facturing plant on Jay street, which was completed in 1921, was left to his super- vision. This was the sort of thing that makes or breaks men, as the saying goes. One of the largest plants of the kind in the world, the factory presented many intri- cate problems of structural and industrial engineering to be solved, while its mere size alone made the superintendence of its construction an exacting executive task. Here Mr. Erbe's thorough training and careful preparation for his lifework bore fruit. The company is justly proud of its fine modern plant and to its secretary is due much of the credit for the satisfaction it is giving. Mr. Erbe's duties today, as secretary of the "Y & E" Company, are chiefly executive and he is displaying not a few of those valuable qualities that have made his father one of the leading manufacturers of the country.
On October 3, 1906, Mr. Erbe was married to Miss Elmora J. Graham of this city, the daughter of Colonel J. S. Graham, formerly postmaster of Rochester. Mr. and Mrs. Erbe have a son and a daughter: Frederick G., Jr., born January 17, 1908; and Jeannette R., born July 27, 1910. Both are pupils in the private school of Dr. Marshall.
In his fraternal connections Mr. Erbe is a Knights Templar Mason and a Shriner, also a member of Theta Delta Chi. In connection with his business interests he holds membership in the Rochester Engineering Society and the Chamber of Com- merce, while his clubs are the Rochester Club, the Automobile Club of Rochester and the Oak Hill Country Club.
FRANCIS O'DONNELL.
Francis O'Donnell, president of the O'Donnell Brothers Lumber Company, In- corporated, retail lumber dealers of Medina, Orleans county, is the head of a business established by himself and his father many years ago which has. maintained a suc- cessful existence to the present time by reason of reliable dealing with the public. He was born in Medina, New York, on the 8th of October, 1885, his parents being William and Johanna (Walsh) O'Donnell, the former a son of William O'Donnell, who was born in Tipperary, Ireland, in 1820. It was in the year 1857 that William O'Donnell, the paternal grandfather of Francis O'Donnell, removed with his family from Kingston, Canada, to Medina, New York. William O'Donnell, the father of Francis O'Donnell, was born in Kingston, Canada, in 1852, and was a lad of five years when in 1857 he came with his parents to Medina, this state. Here he acquired his education and in young manhood turned his attention to the lumber business, operating several mills in Orleans county and engaging in the manufacture of lumber. In 1902, in association with his son, Francis O'Donnell, he organized the firm of O'Donnell & Son in Medina, for dealing in lumber and building materials, con- tinuing active in its conduct to the time of his death, which occurred on the 29th of December, 1913. He exerted a beneficial influence in the public life of the com- munity and made an excellent record as trustee of the village of Medina for three terms. Fraternally he was identified with the Knights of Columbus. He married Johanna Walsh, daughter of Michael Walsh, the latter a native of County Tipperary, Ireland, who came to America in 1820, later locating in Medina, where he operated rock quarries. He lived to the age of eighty-two. Mr. and Mrs. O'Donnell became the parents of four children, of whom the eldest is Francis of this review; Pierre O'Don- nell, who is in the service of the Thomas Cusack Company in Chicago, wedded Miss Grace Malcolm of Medina, New York, and they have one child, William Pierre. Dur- ing the World war he served overseas as a sergeant in the Twenty-seventh Division and was gassed and wounded in the Meuse-Argonne struggle; Bertram O'Donnell, who is a graduate of the Medina high school and also of Cornell University, from which institution he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1913, is vice president of O'Donnell Brothers Lumber Company, Incorporated. During the World war he spent two years in France with the Twentieth Engineers Forestry Division; Miss Anna O'Donnell makes her home with her widowed mother.
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Francis O'Donnell, whose name introduces this article, joined his father in the lumber business, following his graduation from the Medina high school. After the death of the father he and his mother continued the business under the old firm name until November, 1924, when Francis and Bertram O'Donnell purchased the interests of their mother in the business, forming the present corporation.
In 1910 Francis O'Donnell married Miss Louise Britton of Albion, New York. Their children are: Katherine, Francis, Jr., and Alice. Mr. O'Donnell gives his political support to the republican party and is now serving for the sixth year as a member of the board of education. He is a communicant of St. Mary's Catholic church and also belongs to the Knights of Columbus, to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and to the Rotary Club. The city of Medina numbers him among her representative and successful business men as well as worthy native sons.
THE REV. JOHN F. FARRELL.
During a pastorate that has existed, at the time this is written, over a dozen years, the Rev. John F. Farrell, pastor of the Roman Catholic church in Lima, Liv- ingston county, New York, has endeared himself to his flock, gained the respect and esteem of the community, irrespective of sectarian beliefs, and has fostered the wel- fare of his parish in material as well as spiritual directions. Father Farrell was born in Clyde, New York, February 8, 1870, the son of John and Mary (Noonan) Farrell, and received his education in the high school and at St. Andrew's Seminary at Rochester, New York. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 12, 1897, and his first assignment was as assistant priest at Hornell, New York, where he remained for five years. After this Father Farrell was chaplain of the State Soldier's home at Bath, New York, for ten years, and in December, 1912, was appointed pastor of the Roman Catholic parish in Lima. The church has a parochial school with an en- rollment of one hundred and ten pupils in charge of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
The first Roman Catholic settler in Lima was Thomas Martin, who arrived in 1834. Within a very few years he had as Roman Catholic neighbors James Egan, Michael Coneen and John Brennan, and they attended mass in Rochester, New York, often going there on foot. In 1842 the first mass in the town of Lima was celebrated by Father Murphy at Mr. Brennan's house, and other priests visited the town at intervals. The first Roman Catholic church edifice was erected in 1848, and the next building erected in 1873. The Rev. S. Fitz Simons became the pastor soon afterward, and until 1912 gave many years of service to the parish. He was succeeded in 1912 by the Rev. John F. Farrell.
ASAHEL CLARK SMYTH.
The name of Asahel Clark Smyth of Bolivar has long been synonymous with oil production in the Genesee Country, for he has owned many wells in this section of the state. Now past the eightieth milestone on life's journey, he has disposed of his oil holdings but still has farming interests in Nebraska. His birth occurred in Beloit, Wisconsin, on the 18th of May, 1845, his parents being John B. and Rebecca (Arm- strong) Smyth. The father, who emigrated to the United States from Scotland, took up his abode at Ellicottville, Cattaraugus county, New York, in 1842 and there spent the remainder of his life. He was a marble worker by trade but subsequently turned his attention to agricultural pursuits.
Asahel C. Smyth acquired his education as a district school pupil and thereafter devoted his attention to farm work in association with his father until the time when he entered Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie, in which he completed the prescribed course of study in 1865. The same year he made his way to Oil City, where he worked in the oil fields until 1871, when he went to St. Petersburg, Pennsyl- vania, and there embarked in business as an independent oil producer. In the year 1880 he moved his machinery to Richburg, Allegany county, New York. He has owned and operated numerous wells in this section and has become widely known as a suc- cessful oil producer whose activities have constituted an important factor in oil de- velopment here. In 1918, however, he disposed of all his oil holdings and since that time has given his attention merely to the supervision of his farming interests at Holdredge, Phelps county, Nebraska.
ASAHEL C. SMYTH
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On the 15th of June, 1905, in Bolivar, New York, Mr. Smyth was united in marriage to Miss Cora May Wilhams. Their daughter, Florence Jeanette, who was born September 30, 1907, was graduated from the Bolivar high school in 1924, and later attended the Westbrook Commercial Academy at Olean.
A republican in politics, Mr. Smyth has always manifested an active interest in civic affairs of his community, where he has long enjoyed high standing as a public- spirited, prosperous and respected citizen. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Ma- son and he and his family are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Bolivar. That his life has been an upright and honorable one in every relation is at- tested by the fact that his warmest friends are those who know him best. The success which he enjoys is the fitting reward of a career of well directed, useful and honorable endeavor.
WILLIAM ROSS THOMSON, M. D.
Dr. William Ross Thomson, a surgeon of Warsaw, Wyoming county, was born in the Pensacola Navy Yard, in Florida, January 5, 1872, the son of Rear Admiral William J. and Jessie (Ross) Thomson. After completing his education in the pri- mary grades of the schools, William Ross Thomson entered Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore, Maryland, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1892. For the study of medicine he then matriculated in the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, which at his graduation in 1896 con- ferred upon him the degree of M. D. He spent the following fifteen years in New York city in postgraduate work.
It was in 1912 that Dr. Thomson located in Warsaw, New York, and established the Warsaw Hospital, the name of which was later changed to the Wyoming County Community Hospital, of which he is head surgeon. Dr. Thomson is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, of the American Medical Association, of the Buffalo Academy of Medicine and of the Rochester Academy of Medicine. In July, 1918, he enlisted in the service of the United States as surgeon, with the rank of captain, and spent one year in overseas duty in France.
Dr. Thomson was married in New York city, on November 3, 1898, to Ethel Gibbons, daughter of Pearce F. Gibbons of New York. Two children have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Thomson: William R., Jr., whose natal year was 1901; and Richard V., who was born in 1909. Fraternally Dr. Thomson is affiliated with Warsaw Lodge No. 549, F. & A. M .; Wyoming Chapter No. 181, R. A. M .; Batavia Commandery No. 34, K. T .; and Damascus Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. Other associations to which he belongs are the American Legion, the Kiwanis Club of Warsaw, the Stafford Country Club, the Silver Lake Country Club and numerous others.
FRANK ALBERT HERRICK.
Frank Albert Herrick, editor of the Bolivar Breeze since 1911, is a native of the Keystone state, born in Cameron county, November 20, 1876, the son of Joseph and Malissa (Collins) Herrick. His father, who was born in 1832 and died in 1886, followed the occupation of a lumberman.
Frank Albert Herrick supplemented his elementary education, obtained in the district schools, by a commercial course in the Olean Business College and further study in the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, New York. For about ten years before entering the newspaper field he was assistant postmaster in Bolivar. In 1911 Mr. Herrick assumed the duties of editor of the Bolivar Breeze, which his brother had founded. The brother, John P. Herrick, was originally editor of a paper in Ceres, Allegany county, a small town near Bolivar. In 1891 he came to Bolivar and estab- lished the Bolivar Breeze to take the place of the former paper, the Bolivar Leader, which had suspended publication. He made a success of his venture and in 1910 the paper was incorporated. On the 6th of April, 1911, Mr. Herrick bought a half interest in the corporation from his brother and became editor of the paper. John P. Herrick at that time went to Olean, where he is now located. Under Mr. Herrick's guidance the Bolivar Breeze has continued the prosperity it enjoyed under its former editorship. It is serving the community well as a news distributor and has won a place for itself among the better weekly newspapers of the state. Mr. Herrick be-
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longs to the New York Press Association and the Allegany County Press Association, having served in the latter as president for a period of two years.
On the 9th of January, 1912, Mr. Herrick was united in marriage to Miss Grace Grover, daughter of Jacob and Annice Grover of Olean. Mr. and Mrs. Herrick have become the parents of two daughters: Anita Grace, born May 9, 1916; and Frances Jane, born October 27, 1917, both of whom are attending the local schools. Mrs. Herrick is a graduate of the Westbrook Academy.
Mr. Herrick has taken an active interest in the educational, civic and social affairs of the community, doing all that he can as a private citizen and as the editor of the local paper to advance the welfare of Bolivar. He is president of the board of education, an office he fills most acceptably to the school authorities and the citizens of the town. His political views are those of the republican party and in fraternal circles he is known as a Mason.
ANDREW WIEDENMANN.
Andrew Wiedenmann, collector of the port of Rochester, is one of the well known men of this city, where he was born November 15, 1865. His parents, Michael and Anna (Merdler) Wiedenmann, came from Germany and located in Rochester, where they made their home during the remainder of their lives and were highly respected old residents of this city. Michael Wiedenmann was a cooper by trade and followed that occupation for years. His death occurred in 1899, while his widow survived him until May, 1909. They had a family of eleven children: Mrs. Katherine Stillman; William, a member of the detective force of Rochester; Frederick, a well known attorney of this city and a member of the city council, who was the first republican alderman elected in the fifteenth ward in thirty-two years; George, who died in 1905, and was one of the well known professional baseball players of his day, being for years a catcher for the Detroit club; Julia, Anna and Minnie, who are unmarr- ied; Edward and Anna deceased; Andrew; and a child that died in infancy.
Andrew Wiedenmann attended the Whitney school as a boy and later was a student at the Rochester Free Academy. From 1886 to 1890 he was a professional baseball player, catching for the Rochester, Buffalo, Hamilton, Ontario, and Port- land, Maine, clubs. His first public office was that of deputy collector of internal revenue for this district, which he filled from 1897 to 1901, when he was made police court investigator, and for sixteen years acted in that capacity. In the fall of 1917, he was elected sheriff of Monroe county, receiving the largest plurality ever given a candidate for that office either before or since, and he added to the good record which he had previously made as an investigator. His term expired Decem- ber 31, 1920, and February 7, 1924, President Coolidge appointed Mr. Wiedenmann collector of the port of Rochester. He is well qualified for this important office and discharges his duties with characteristic zeal and thoroughness.
On the 5th of April, 1899, Mr. Wiedenmann was married in this city, to Miss Mary Allen, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Allen of Rochester.
Mr. Wiedenmann is the republican leader of the fifteenth ward and for thirty- two years has been connected with the county committee, being its oldest member in point of service. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Shriner and a life member of the Rochester Lodge of Elks. He is also a member of the Athletic Club, the Automobile Club and the Chamber of Commerce, while his religious connection is with the German Lutheran church. Mr. Wiedenmann has spent practically his entire life in Rochester, where he has a large personal following, and many of his best friends are those who have known him from boyhood.
HARRY P. RUPPERT.
In the real estate circles of Rochester there is possibly no one who is better or more favorably known than Harry P. Ruppert. He is an unusually young man to have attained so high a place in the esteem of his associates and contemporaries, and this rapid rise is all the more creditable to him when it is known that his success has been entirely due to his own efforts. He was born in this city on the 22d of Febru- ary, 1889, the son of the late Joseph and Cora (Britton) Ruppert and an only child. His mother, who was born in New York, is still living. The father, a native of
ANDREW WIEDENMANN
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Germany, grew to young manhood in Europe, where he was educated for a legal career in famous old Heidelberg University. In the halcyon days of the old university, when its degrees were coveted by Germans and foreigners alike, Joseph Ruppert graduated in law with the highest honors in his class. After he came to America he secured a position in the Abstract & Title Company of Rochester, with which he was connected up to the time of his death in 1905.
Harry P. Ruppert grew up in this city, where he was educated in its public and high schools. As his father died when he was only sixteen years old, it was neces- sary for young Harry Ruppert to turn his attention to earning a living so soon as he left high school. While fate thus deprived him of the university education he doubtless would have had if his scholarly father had lived, in the place of a college education he learned the lessons of that exacting taskmaster, human experience. His first position was that of secretary in the department of state, bureau of motor vehicles, and there he remained until he resigned to enter the real estate business on his own account. He is now the owner and manager of a highly successful realty business, handling downtown property and also doing subdividing on a handsome scale.
Perhaps Mr. Ruppert is almost as well known in some circles for his political activities as for his successes as a business man. As county committeeman for the tenth ward in Rochester he controls a large following and is a decided factor in the political life of the city. His support is given to the republican party and he was formerly chairman of the central committee of that party in his ward. At the present time he is serving as county deputy chief of the motor vehicle bureau, a position he is excellently qualified to fill as the result of his previous experience with that bureau.
Mr. Ruppert was married in Rochester, on the 23d of January, 1910, to Miss Mildred Magrane, daughter of Mrs. Jennie L. Magrane of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Ruppert have one child: A daughter, Shirley Jane Ruppert, born in July, 1914, who is now attending the grade schools. Mr. Ruppert's fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic order and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in Unity church of this city. Mr. Ruppert's clubs are the Rochester Yacht, Rochester Automobile, Advertising and Rochester Clubs.
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