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 78
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In the acquirement of an education Homer Eugene Snyder attended the district school of Victor and the Rochester Business University. His first step in his business career was as a commercial traveler, in which line he continued for a period of about ten years, the greater number of which were spent in the employ of the Empire Drill Company. He was in full charge of the exhibit of this company at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901. For some time thereafter he prospected in the province of On- tario, Canada, with a view to opening a branch of the Empire Drill Company. He was in charge of the agricultural store of Weaver, Palmer & Richmond in Rochester, New York, holding the office of manager during the years 1905 and 1906. This he resigned on the 5th of January, 1907, to accept the position of postmaster of Victor, to which he had been appointed by the president, entering upon the active discharge of his duties the same day. He thus served with the utmost satisfaction to all con- cerned until the 15th of April, 1915, or for a period of eight years.
Mr. Snyder has always given his political allegiance to the republican party and served as secretary of the county committee for many years. In 1918 he was chosen county treasurer of Ontario county, winning public endorsement of his first term by
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reelection three years later, and in 1924 was reelected to a third term, which he is now serving. In this connection he is making a most commendable record as a capable and trustworthy official. Mr. Snyder has also served as chief of the Victor fire department, as fire marshal of the village and on the board of health. He assisted in the organization of the Locke Insulator Manufacturing Company, of which he was a stockholder, and also took an active interest in the establishment of the Victor Preserving Company. He has been a leading factor in introducing many im- provements in Victor, and it is due to his effective efforts that Victor has one of the up-to-date electric lighting systems, and also one of the best fire departments.
Fraternally Mr. Snyder is identified with the following organizations: Milnor Lodge No. 139, F. & A. M., of Victor; Excelsior Chapter No. 164, R. A. M., of Canandaigua; Zenobia Commandery No. 41, K. T., of Palmyra; Damascus Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Rochester; Lalla Rookh Grotto No. 3, M. O. V. P. E. R., of Rochester; Gah-a-yan-duk Chapter No. 566, O. E. S., of Victor; Victor Tent No. 426, Knights of the Maccabees; and Rochester Lodge No. 24, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
W. FRANK MCLEAN.
The death of W. Frank McLean on December 31, 1919, removed from Rochester one of its public-spirited citizens and substantial business men. His acquaintance was wide and the sterling traits of his character established him high in public regard. He was born in Prattsburg, New York, April 25, 1853, an only son of George and Katherine (Reilly) McLean, and there attended the public schools. He also completed a course in a business college and was later a student in Franklin Academy. After finishing his education he entered his father's bank and for twenty years was prominently connected with financial operations in Prattsburg. His father died in the meantime, when W. Frank took over the bank and conducted the institution himself. Subsequently he disposed of his interests in Prattsburg and came to Rochester, where he entered the real estate field. For ten years he engaged in that business, in which he was equally successful, displaying keen sagacity and executive ability in the management of his affairs.
On June 18, 1882, Mr. McLean was united in marriage to Miss Eva Van Tuyl of Prattsburg, who survives him. They became the parents of two children: George, deceased; and Kathleen, now Mrs. Ralph Russell, of Rochester, who has a son, McLean Calvin Russell, born July 22, 1911, in Penn Yan, New York.
Mr. McLean was allied with the democratic party and belonged to the Masonic lodge at Prattsburg. He was a man of many friends and was seldom at fault in his estimate of another's worth. His success was rated not alone by material gain, but also in the high regard which he won for his commercial integrity ever remained unsullied. Mr. McLean was buried in Prattsburg.
BAYARD COBB TULLAR.
Many of Wellsville's leading business men have won success in the oil fields of this district and among the number is Bayard Cobb Tullar, who has a wide acquaint- ance in this section of Allegany county, in which he has always made his home. He was born in the village on the 26th of August, 1875, and his parents, Eugene B. and Angie (Cobb) Tullar, were also natives of the Empire state. The father was born in Churchville, Monroe county, June 5, 1826, a son of Orson Tullar, and removed to Wellsville in 1851. He was a hardware merchant, at first selling stoves by peddling them from house to house, and later opening a retail store in partnership with a Mr. Garritsey, who became senior member of the firm. Subsequently Mr. Tullar purchased all of the stock in the business, of which he remained sole owner until his death on December 15, 1896. His wife was a daughter of William and Eliza (Churchill) Cobb, and a granddaughter of Daniel and Lucy (Stevens) Cobb. Wil- liam Cobb was born April 2, 1815, in Vermont, and when a young man of eighteen removed to Spring Mills, Allegany county, New York. He took a prominent part in public affairs, serving for seven terms as supervisor, and in 1847 and 1850 was elected a member of the state legislature. His demise occurred on the 8th of Febru- ary, 1893, when he had reached the age of seventy-seven years.
Bayard Cobb Tullar attended the public schools of Wellsville and Emerson Col-
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lege at Boston, Massachusetts, afterward becoming a law student in Cornell Uni- versity at Ithaca, New York. In 1898 he received the degree of LL. B. from that institution and in the same year he was admitted to the bar. Returning to Wellsville, he became interested in the development of the oil fields, and his first investment proved a profitable one. Encouraged by the success of the venture, he has continued in the business and now has valuable holdings, displaying keen sagacity and notable fore- sight in the management of his affairs. He also has financial interests and is a member of the board of directors of the First Trust Company of Wellsville.
On the 25th of September, 1915, Mr. Tullar was married, in Wellsville, to Miss Elizabeth Reita Richardson, a daughter of Charles H. and Marion (Palmer) Richard- son. Mr. Tullar attends church at the Christian temple of Wellsville and in politics is a republican with independent views. He is an enthusiastic member of the Brook- land Club and his favorite sports are hunting and fishing. He derives much pleasure and enjoyment out of life and at the same time he is never neglectful of his business affairs nor of his obligations as a citizen. A man of broad views and progressive spirit, he has many friends whose esteem he has won and retained by reason of his high principles and fine personal qualities.
FRANK A. CRUMB.
Journalism has been the sole occupation of the adult years of Frank A. Crumb of Alfred, Allegany county, New York, and nearly forty of those years have been spent on the Alfred Sun, probably the most influential of the newspapers published in the county, and its editorial columns accurately reflect the sentiments of the community on all matters of moment. He was born September 4, 1862, in Brookfield, New York, the son of Dwight and Lydia Jane (Crandall) Crumb, both now deceased.
Frank A. Crumb gained his early education in the public schools of Brookfield, New York, after which he attended Alfred University, at Alfred, New York, for one year. He was one of the organizers of the stock company which founded, and now owns and conducts the Alfred Sun, and has been editor and manager of the publica- tion since 1885. The paper has been prosperous under his management and its circu- lation covers all of Allegany county besides invading adjacent counties. Mr. Crumb has an exalted reputation in the western New York journalistic field and is a member of numerous organizations devoted to press interests. He is a member of the National Editorial Association, the New York State Editorial Association, the Western New York Editorial Association, and president of the Allegany-Cattaraugus Press Associa- tion. Fraternally Mr. Crumb is affiliated with Alfred Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In his political opinions Mr. Crumb is a republican; in religion he is a member of the Seventh Day Baptist church.
Mr. Crumb was married on October 22, 1885, to Etta West of Shiloh, New Jersey, who at the time was a student at Alfred University. Two children have been born to their union: Ella Mae, who is now Mrs. Donald E. Wilson of Rochester, New York, where her husband is a teacher in the high school; and Ralph A., who is a resident of Cleveland, Ohio, and is assistant principal in the West Technical high school of that city.
CHARLES BRAND.
For three generations members of the Brand family have engaged in the leaf tobacco business in Elmira and the name is synonymous with enterprise and probity in commercial circles of the city. Charles Brand, one of the younger representatives of the family, has also achieved success in this field of activity and in civic affairs he likewise exerts a strong and beneficial influence. He was born in Elmira, January 19, 1882, and his parents, John and Clara (Woodruff) Brand, are also natives of the city. The father has been engaged in the leaf tobacco business since 1874 and also has important interests in Miami, Florida, where he spends six months of the year. He ranks with Elmira's most successful business men and his commercial transactions have at all times balanced up with the principles of honor and integrity. He is also a public-spirited citizen and has served on the board of park commissioners. He is well educated and views life from a broad standpoint. Along fraternal lines Mr. Brand is connected with the Masonic order and in politics he is a democrat. He is a member of the Park Congregational church, with which the mother is also affiliated. They
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have two sons: John Herbert, a member of the John Brand Company; and Charles of this review. The paternal grandfather, John Brand, was a native of Baudenheim, Germany, and was brought by his parents to the United States. He first operated a farm in Chemung county and later became the owner of a grocery store. Subsequently he established the John Brand Tobacco Company, which he successfully conducted until his death, passing away in 1880, when sixty years of age. The business is still continued under the name of its founder and has been in operation for more than a half century. He was a son of John Brand, who migrated from Germany to the New World, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers of Chemung county. His demise occurred in 1895, at the venerable age of ninety-seven years.
Charles Brand attended Elmira Academy and the Mercersburg Academy of Pennsylvania, completing his education in Union College at Schenectady, New York. In 1901 he joined his father in the tobacco business and they were associated until 1907, when the son formed a partnership with Herbert C. Way. In 1912 their inter- ests were consolidated with those of the Goff & Mather Company and the business was incorporated under the name of the Goff, Way & Brand Company. They are whole- sale packers of leaf tobacco, which they ship to many parts of the west, and they also have a small export business. Mr. Brand is vice president of the company, which is capitalized at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and his labors have been an essential element in the upbuilding and expansion of the business. It is in a very prosperous condition and Mr. Brand is also a director of the American Sales Book Company and the Hilliard Clutch & Machinery Company. He is president and one of the directors of the Barker, Rose & Clinton Company, which has likewise profited by his executive power and business acumen.
In 1917 Mr. Brand was married to Miss Virginia D. Fettis, who was born in Norwich, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Brand have a son: Charles W., two years of age. They are members of the Hedding Methodist Episcopal church and consistent followers of its teachings. Mr. Brand is allied with the democratic party and has ever manifested a deep interest in the welfare and progress of his city. He is ably filling the important office of president of the Elmira water board and belongs to the City Club, Psi Upsilon fraternity, the Elmira Golf and Country Club and the Corning City Club. He is alert, energetic and resourceful, well able to cope with modern commercial conditions, and his course has at all times marked him as a citizen of worth.
JOSEPH BLUMENSTIEL.
Joseph Blumenstiel, one of the leading citizens of Rochester, came into prom- inence in the business world as the head of the insurance firm of Blumenstiel Broth- ers, whose offices are located in the Cox building. He was born in this city on January 23, 1860, a son of the late Moses and Fredericka (Eichman) Blumenstiel. His parents, both of whom were born and reared in Germany, immigrated to this country in 1854 and located in Rochester, where the father supported his family through his efforts as a broker. Somewhat later he entered the commission business, dealing in general produce. For some years prior to his death in 1895 Moses Blumenstiel was retired from active business life, however, and devoted his energies to religious and philan- thropic work connected with the local Jewish temple, with which he was affiliated. His wife survived him for twenty years, passing away in 1915.
At the age of sixteen Joseph Blumenstiel started out in life for himself as a clerk in a local hat store. He had previously obtained a general education in the Rochester public schools and as a boy had attended School No. 16. When he was eighteen the young man entered the wholesale clothing industry as a stock clerk and for the succeeding dozen years or so devoted his time and energies to working up in this business. Meanwhile, in 1888, his brother founded an insurance business that experienced a moderately successful development in the following three years. In 1891 Joseph Blumenstiel resigned his position in the clothing business to associate himself with his brother under the firm name of Blumenstiel Brothers. Although the brother later withdrew from the firm, the name has remained unchanged to the pres- ent day and represents to the citizens of Rochester all that is substantial, reliable and successful in the insurance world. Under Mr. Blumenstiel's far-seeing management a large business in general insurance has been built up in the past thirty-three years and among the regular clients of the office are to be found many of the most prosper- ous and influential citizens of this community. Mr. Blumenstiel is also interested financially in a wholesale business dealing in tailors' trimmings, for which there is
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a large market in this section as well as in other industrial centers, and derives there- from a substantial income.
In connection with his insurance activities Mr. Blumenstiel maintains a member- ship in the American Insurance Federation, the Life Underwriters' Association, the National Association of Life Underwriters and the Casualty Insurance Club of Rochester. He also belongs to the Commercial Travelers Mutual Benefit Association and to the Rochester Chamber of Commerce. Thoroughly public-spirited and gen- erous in his support of those movements that promote the general welfare, Mr. Blumenstiel is a man whose influence on the community, while far-reaching, is not easily measured. For he is not ostentatious in his benefactions and frequently works through some organized society, such as the Jewish Young Men's Association, the Young Men's Christian Association and the Free Sons of Israel, all of which he endorses. He is a member of the Rochester Historical Society and takes an interest in the work that is being done to keep alive the historical traditions and memories of the Genesee country. For over twenty years Mr. Blumenstiel has resided at No. 204 Darmouth street.
On the 18th of October, 1893, Mr. Blumenstiel was married to Miss Bertha Alpiner of Kankakee, Illinois, a daughter of Solomon Alpiner of that city and a member of one of its well known families. Mrs. Blumenstiel passed away on the 8th of October, 1921, after twenty-eight years of happy, married life. Her memory will long be cherished, not only by her family and friends, but by all the men and women of Rochester who have the welfare of their children at heart. A woman of unusual intellectual gifts and a gracious personality, Mrs. Blumenstiel devoted much of her time and talents to the cause of education, especially to the work affecting the children in the public schools. Her influence was widely felt and found tangible expression in many and varied forms. School No. 18 was built as the result of her persistent effort. To her belongs the credit for originating the free milk fund to supply milk to the under-nourished children in the city schools and also for the daily lunches in the school. It is largely due to her efforts that the funds were secured to open the first lunch room in the city in the Concord grammar school on January 13, 1913. Mr. Kellog, at that time the principal, received the first fifteen dollars donated toward the fund and collected by Mrs. Blumenstiel, Now the daily lunch is an established feature of the Rochester school system and one of the innovations that make the system one of the best in the country. When the Parent-Teacher movement got under way in this country Mrs. Blumenstiel threw herself whole-heartedly into this movement and during her two-year term of office as president of the Rochester Parent- Teacher Association she put the organization on a permanent footing in this city; as chairman of the State Program committee she brought about several very suc- cessful state conventions.
Besides her husband, Mrs. Blumenstiel is survived by two children: Monroe A., and Helen A., the latter of whom was born in Rochester on September 3, 1899, and has lived here her entire life. She is a graduate of the Rochester high school and took her A. B. degree from the University of Rochester in the class of 1922; the son, Monroe, is three years her senior, born in this city on February 19, 1896. He obtained his elementary and preparatory education in the schools of his native city and at Howe, Indiana, following which he entered the University of Rochester to take the course in chemical engineering. Following his graduation with the B. Sc. degree in 1922, he devoted a few months to the practice of his profession, then became associated with his father in the insurance business. During the World war he served with the Three Hundred and Ninth Field Artillery in the Headquarters Company in charge of the Third Battalion Signal and Communication Detail. A year of his military service was spent overseas in France.
Mr. Blumenstiel is a member of the Casualty Insurance Club of Rochester and one of its founders. He is richly endowed with scholarly and literary tastes and spends much of his leisure time in study and writing. He does considerable editorial work for the Monroe County Legionnaire, belongs to AP, the Honorary Journalistic Society of the University of Rochester and through his membership in the American Chemical Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers and American Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science follows the developments in the world of science that are of the most interest to him. As a veteran of the World war he belongs to the W. W. Doud Post No. 98, American Legion and 40 over 8. Religiously he is affiliated with the Temple Berith Kodesh of Rochester and in fraternal circles is known as a member of Batavia Lodge, No. 475, A. F. & A. M., and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. As a notary public for the term expiring March 13, 1925, he is able to attend to many of the legal formalities connected with the insurance
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business thus saving his clients much loss of time and inconvenience. He is also interested in boys' work and is scout master of Troup No. 98, Boy Scouts of America at Andrews School No. 9. The troop being sponsored by the W. W. Doud Post, No. 98, American Legion.
CHARLES ISAAC SHELDON.
Persistency is an asset in the business world too slightly valued by many people. More than one person has failed to realize his ambition because he accepted the first rebuff as final and ceased his efforts to reach his goal. But Charles Isaac Sheldon, the rising young realtor of Rochester, got his first real start in life by refusing to be "turned down". As a young man just turned nineteen, he applied to the general manager of the Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Dry Goods Company for a position only to be told that no help was wanted. Nothing daunted he asked for a chance to demonstrate his ability and kept on asking, in spite of the repeated assurances that the organization could not use any more men, until after several hours of persistent effort he was at last put on the pay roll. As it was just at the holiday time when deliveries were heavy, he was sent downstairs to help in the toy depart- ment, preceding the Christmas trade. When the holiday rush was over he asked the man in charge of his department for a "regular job". His willingness to do anything that would gain his point and his ambition to succeed finally made their impression on the store management with the result that he was put in a responsible position from which he worked up to a very creditable place in the store's organization as man- ager and buyer of the talking machine department.
This determined young man was born in Mendon, Monroe county, on July 25, 1889, a son of Isaac C. and Theresa E. (Whelehan) Sheldon, both natives of the Empire state, the father's birthplace being Henrietta and the mother's Greece, Monroe county. Isaac Sheldon for some years was a prosperous farmer of the county but resided in Rochester at the time of his death on January 30, 1923, at the age of seventy. He developed one of the best farms in the county, which is yet owned by his estate. He is survived by five of his seven children: Mrs. Marie F. O'Brien, Mrs. Clarissa E. McGrath, Miss Josephine Sheldon, Frank T. Sheldon and Charles Isaac Sheldon, all of this city. The wife and mother passed away in 1915, after having lived to cele- brate her sixty-third birthday.
After he had obtained a general education, Charles I. Sheldon helped his father with the work on the farm until he was sixteen years of age. At that time he con- ceived the ambition to learn a trade and accompanied the family to Rochester, where he secured a position in a machine shop. It took only five days of work in that shop to convince the youth that he was not made for a mechanic. To earn his living he found a position in a grocery store, where he worked for two years. Eventually, how- ever, he came to the conclusion that no great future lay ahead of him in that direction and the sooner he found a better line of work the better off he would be. It was at this juncture that he went to the Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company after the efforts described above. After about twelve months with that organization he was put in charge of the phonograph department, where he did so well that he remained for six years. He left the store to become a salesman for the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company and after six months he accepted a more lucrative position as salesman for the Talk- ing Machine Company at No. 97 East Main street, where he remained for three years. When he severed his connection there he entered the life insurance field and for three years was a representative of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company in the Rochester field. He then entered the brokerage business in the employ of Clarence Hodgson but one year later became a salesman for the Bradstreet-Hazard Real Estate Company, which marked his entrance in the line of business that has ever since engaged his activities. Leaving this company after one year, he joined the Wyant- Simpson Company, of which he was vice president. On the 1st of January, 1923, he embarked in the real estate business for himself, in which he has met with encouraging success. Each month has seen an increase in the volume of his busi- ness and a growing number of clients. He handles a large amount of property, both residential and business, and has done some subdividing. North View Gardens is owned by him and has been developed through his efforts.
In Rochester, on the 18th of June, 1913, Mr. Sheldon was married to Miss Satie Agnes Martin, daughter of the late Charles Martin of Cowanesque, Pennsylvania. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon: Ruth Eleanor, born Decem- ber 18, 1918; and Richard Charles, born October 15, 1920.
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