USA > New York > Monroe County > Landmarks of Monroe County, New York : containing followed by brief historical sketches of the towns of the county with biography and family history > Part 52
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LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY
Judge Arthur Yates, his eldest son, was born at Butternuts, February 7, 1807, and received a common school education. In 1832 he settled at Factoryville, N. Y., and engaged in merchandising and lumbering, which he carried on extensively for thirty years. He was an active. enterprising citizen, and did much to build up and beau- tify the village. In 1838 he was appointed judge of Tioga county. He was promi- nent and influential in the educational, religious, social, banking and business life of the community and bore the respect and regard of every one with whom he came in contact. In January, 1836, he married Jerusha, the daughter of Zeba Washbon of Otsego county, and they had seven children. His death occurred in 1880.
Arthur G. Yates, the fourth child of the above, was educated in his native town, finishing at various academies. In March, 1865, he came to Rochester and accepted a position with the Anthracite Coal Company, but after two years engaged in the coal business, in which he has ever since been interested. He developed it to a re- markable degree, pushing his trade into all the Northern and Western States and Canada. His headquarters have, for some thirty years, been at Rochester, although having offices in various other cities. He built immense shipping docks at Charlotte. In 1876 the Bell, Lewis and Yates Coal and Mining Co. was organized for the pur- pose of mining and shipping bituminous coal from Pennsylvania, and proved a marked success from the start. Its productions have reached upwards of two millions (2,000,000) tons per year, making it the largest producer of its class in the United States. Mr. Yates has continuously served as its vice-president. In 1890 he was elected president of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway Company, which office he still holds. Under his management during the past five years, the railway has nearly doubled its coal and coke tonnage as well as its annual gross earnings, while the extension of tracks operated aggregate sixty-four (64) miles, making a total of four hundred and forty-eight (448) miles. The road has been greatly improved in all its departments, and it is now one of the important factors in the prosperity of the city. Mr. Yates is also a director in various coal and other corporations.
Although an active participant in public affairs, and ever having the welfare of his city at heart, he has never accepted political preferment; from the first he has given his undivided attention to business. Honorable, high principled and generous, he is in the broadest sense one of the foremost business men of Rochester, where he has, as stated, developed the coal industry to enormous proportions, and where, as presi- dent of an important railroad, he ranks among the leading financiers of the country. He has always encouraged every good movement, and for many years has served as warden of St. James Episcopal church.
December 26, 1866, Mr. Yates married Miss Virginia L., daughter of Roswell Holden, of Watkins, N. Y. They have had six children, as follows: Frederick W., Harry, Florence, Arthur (deceased), Howard L. (deceased), and Russell P.
J. J. BAUSCH.
IN THE works of the Bausch & Lomb Optical Company, located at No. 515 to No. 543 North St. Paul street, Rochester, is represented one of the leading manufacturing industries of this city. Starting from a retail establishment forty years ago the busi-
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
ness has been consistently developed until to-day it is one of the largest of its kind. Their products find not only a ready market in the United States, but are exported to all parts of the world.
J. J. Bausch, the founder of the Bausch & Lomb Optical Company, came to America from Germany in 1849. He learned the optical trade in his native land, and shortly after his arrival in Rochester opened a small retail store in the Arcade, associating him- self with Henry Lomb as a partner in the business. Manufacturing was carried on in a small way for some years. A small shop was fitted up over the store in the Arcade and a few workmen were given employment. When the war broke out the advance of gold enabled the struggling firm to compete successfully with the foreign manufacturers, and a decided increase in the business followed, but the retail business was not dis- continued until 1866, when the exclusive right to the use of India rubber was secured, this material having been found very well adapted for the manufacture of eye-glasses. The firm name was changed from Bausch & Lomb to the Vulcanite Optical Instru- ment Company. The Arcade shop was vacated about this time and a larger one taken on the corner of Andrew and Water streets, where water power could be util- ized, but in consequence of the summer draught the water in the Genesee ran low, and the company were compelled to look elsewhere for a factory. The present site on a commanding bluff overlooking the river was chosen and in 1873 a building 100x30 feet was constructed, the firm supposing that it would be sufficient for their require- ments as long as they would remain in business. In this they were mistaken, how- ever, as three additions have since been made, forming a structure 390 feet front with three side wings, 40, 60, and 180 feet respectively in length, and five stories in height, giving about 115,000 square feet of available floor space, and furnishing employment to nearly 800 hands. In 1876 the present corporate name, Bausch & Lomb Optical Company, was adopted. The present officers are, J. J. Bausch, president; Ed. Bausch, vice-president; Henry Lomb, treasurer; and C. F. Lomb, secretary.
In the department of eye-glass manufacture the company have been pioneers and leaders. They not only introduced the rubber eye-glass, but made a change in the shape of the eye, adopting the oval instead of the round, which were then in use. Variety in style and finish was the next stage of improvement; an adjustable eye- glass was invented by Mr. J. J. Bausch early in the history of the concern and con- tributed much to the growth of the business. Lens grinding was begun in a small way in 1865 to meet special emergencies, arising from the delay in receiving orders from foreign manufacturers. Now they grind every kind of a lens from the simple spectacle lens to the finest the optician or scientiest can demand. Machinery has been devised which performs the work with perfect accuracy and with great rapidity. It is of their own construction and in many cases patented.
Consistently with their high aims, the company in 1876 undertook the manufacture of microscopes, which up to that time were produced almost entirely abroad. New machines and tools had to be constructed, but with their long experience in this line, the difficulties were successfully overcome, and to-day are supplying most of the microscopes for home consumption. Their instruments are in use in the laboratories of nearly all educational institutions of the land, as well as all the government de- partments.
The photographic department is of comparatively recent origin. Their lenses are in use in some of the best studios, and are very highly spoken of. They manufacture
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LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY.
all the lenses for the celebrated Kodak cameras, and supply nearly every other camera manufacturer in the United States.
THOMAS H. EDDY.
THOMAS HARVEY EDDY, youngest child of Thomas and Phebe (Lyon) Eddy, was born where he now resides, in Greece, Monroe county, October 4. 1852. His ances- tors, both paternal and maternal, came from England at an early period in the his- tory of the New World. The former settled in Massachusetts, where many of them became prominent and influential citizens. Frederick Bushnell, a member of his grandmother's family, was well known as a large landowner at Charlotte fifty years ago, and also as president of one of the early Rochester banks. Thomas Eddy was born near Harrisburg, Pa., October 14, 1802, and came to Rochester when a young man. In 1843 he purchased the farm in Greece now owned by his son Thomas H., and soon afterward settled upon it with his newly wedded wife, Phebe Lyon, daugh- ter of Isaac Lyon, of Rochester. She was born in Ballston, Saratoga county, March 10, 1810. They subsequently removed to Lake avenue in Rochester, where both died. Mr. Eddy's death occurred March 31, 1886, and that of his wife September 1, 1892. Her ancestors came to this country before the Revolutionary war, and settled near New York city and in Westchester county. During the struggle for Americau Independence the government used their buildings and Lafayette made them his headquarters for a time. Mr. and Mrs. Eddy were prominent members of the Brick Presbyterian church under Dr. Shaw, and always intensely interested in its welfare. Their children were Frances S., Edmond L., Luther B., and Thomas H.
Thomas H. Eddy received his early education in the public schools of Rochester, and was graduated from Carpenter's Collegiate Institute and Williams' Commercial College. After completing his studies he returned to the home of his boyhood, and has since lived on the farm and in the house where he was born. He has engaged, not only in farming, but in other business at different times, and in practically every instance success has attended his efforts. He is one of the representative agricul- turists of the county, and has improved the homestead until it now ranks with the leading and attractive rural homes in Western New York. Mr. Eddy has also been active in politics and town affairs, and is recognized as one of the local leaders of his party. He is a staunch Republican. In 1890, and again in 1891, he represented his town in the board of supervisors, where he served faithfully and acceptably. The popular approval of his constituents found expression in the fall of 1895, when he was nominated member of assembly for the northwestern district of Monroe county, which is equivalent to an election.
June 29, 1882, Mr. Eddy was married in New York city at the church of the Trans- figuration, to Mrs. Adelgonde Mckenzie Smith, daughter of Hon. Donald Mckenzie. They have four children: Frances L., Thomas H., jr., Adelgonde C., and Don- nie L.
(The life of Donald Mckenzie was full of wild adventure, romantic scenes, and thrilling incidents. To him was John Jacob Astor indebted for all that was saved from the ruin which treason wrought. He was born in Scotland, June 15, 1783, and
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
in March, 1801, left home to carve out a fortune for himself. He came to Canada, joined the North West Company, and continued in the fur trade for eight years. In 1809 he became the partner of John Jacob Astor in establishing the fur trade west of the Rocky Mountains, and remained there until the surrender of Astoria to the British. Converting everything possible into available cash he carried the funds on his person to Mr. Astor, with whom he afterward had large business dealings. In March, 1821, he joined the Hudson Bay Company, and was appointed one of the Council of the Chief Factor. While there, from 1825 to 1833, he was governor under the British Crown. In August, 1833, he removed to Mayville, Chautauqua county, N. Y., where he died about 1854.)
REUBEN L. FIELD.
FEW families in America possess an unbroken line of ancestry extending back to the pioneer days of New England, and fewer still can number among its members citizens who have for two hundred years influenced the business and social life of their respective communities, as well as the entire nation. Standing with distin- guished eminence on the annals of this country is the name Field, which first appears in Massachusetts in 1629, nine years after the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. Zechariah Field, sr , the American ancestor here referred to, was born in East Ardsley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, about 1600, and was a son of John Field, jr., and grandson of John, sr., an astronomer of repute in Yorkshire. He first settled in Dorchester, Mass., moved in 1636 to Hartford, Conn., removed in 1659 to Northampton, Mass., and was one of twenty-five persons who settled what is now Hatfield, Conn. About 1641 he married Mary -, and had five children. The line of descent to the subject of this memoir is (1) Zechariah, sr., (2) Zechariah. jr., (3) John, (4) Pedajah, sr., (5) Pedajah, jr., (6) Luther, (7) Chester, and (8) Reuben L. To this line the noted financiers, David Dudley and Cyrus W. Field, belonged, and from it also have descended many whose careers are intimately associated with the history of the nation. They have been identified with the wars of our government, with the social and commercial growth of their communities, and with the business life of the country at large. Pedajah Field, sr., son of John and Mary (Bennett) Field, was born in Deerfield, Mass., January 28, 1707, and died in Northfield on Feb- ruary 24, 1798. His son Pedajah, jr., was born in 1732, served as a soldier from Northfield in Capt. John Catlin's company in _756, and again in 1759, and also par- ticipated in the Revolutionary war.
Chester Field, father of Reuben L., was born in Bennington, Vt., August 16, 1812, and in 1820 removed with his father's family to the town of Gates, Monroe county, where he was reared on a farm, and where he obtained his education. With the exception of three years in Michigan he spent his life here, dying in March, 1888. He married Eliza Perkins, who was born in Mendon, Monroe county, September 24, 1816, and died in Gates in May, 1894. They had two children: Helen Josephine (who died in 1866), and Reuben L. Mr. Field was a lifelong farmer, and always took a lively interest in town affairs. He spent three or four years in Grand Rapids, Mich., where
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LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY.
his only son was born November 27, 1841. In 1842 he returned to Gates, and after- ward served as supervisor about seven years.
Reuben L. Field was educated in the public schools of Gates and at the old Colle- giate Institute in Rochester, and has ever since followed the occupation of farmer, settling upon his present place two miles west of the city line in 1873, which consists of 115 acres of as productive land as can be found in Western New York. He has been eminently successful, a fact due solely to his individual efforts and constant enterprise. Mr. Field has long been prominently and actively identified with the Democratic party, of which he is one of the recognized local leaders. Excepting three years he has served continuously as a justice of the peace since 1874. In 1876 he was elected supervisor of his town, and held that office for eight out of the follow- ing eleven years, serving in the board on several important committees and faith- fully looking after the interests and welfare of his constituents.
In February, 1872, Mr. Field married, first, Fannie E., daughter of Dr. Edwin Munn (deceased), of Gates, and sister of Dr. John P. Munn, now of New York city. She died January 2, 1873, leaving one child, Fannie M. His present wife, whom he married in September, 1880, was Ella F., daughter of Charles Armstrong, of Gates. They have three children : Mary, Aristine, and Chester.
SAMUEL B. WILLIAMS.
SAMUEL B. WILLIAMS, treasurer of the city of Rochester, is a son of John G. and Laura M. (Burbank) Williams and a lineal descendant of Robert Williams, brother of the celebrated divine, Roger Williams, founder of the Baptist church in New Eng- land, of Col. Ephraim Williams, founder of Williams College, and of William P. Williams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. On the old family coat-of- arms are two mottos: On the religious branch "What God willeth will be," and on the fighting branch "Don't tread on me," while the armorial bearings are sur- mounted by a war-cock. Mr. Williams was born in Deerfield, Mass., October 17, 1843, and came to Rochester with his parents in April, 1857. After attending No. 14 School under Professor Vosburg he entered the printing office of Moore's Rural New Yorker, where he remained until his enlistment in the army. In December, 1863, he joined the 50th N. Y. Engineers, and was promoted step by step to lieuten- ant, a rank equal to that of captain of infantry. His regiment, when not engaged in engineering work, performed infantry service and participated in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and many others. He had always evinced an aptitude for mathematics, and his knowledge of that science ob- tained his promotion from the ranks to an officer of engineers.
Returning from the army Mr. Williams resumed his position in the office of the Rural New Yorker and remained there until January 25, 1867, when he purchased the interest of George Arnold in the firm of George Arnold & Co., manufacturers of machine oils, which business he has ever since continued; since 1877 he has been sole proprietor. In this he has met with unvarying success.
In public life and official relations Mr. Williams has long held a foremost place. He is an unswerving Republican and one of the most popular leaders of his party
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
In 1881, while sick in bed, he was nominated for city treasurer, but suffered defeat along with other candidates on the ticket by a small majority. The next year he was nominated and elected a member of the Executive Board, on which he has served three years. In 1891 he was elected city treasurer, which office he has since held. Outside of these political connections he is probably identified officially with more social and fraternal organizations than any man of Rochester. He is an ac- countant of recognized qualifications, and through this fact held a large number of responsible positions of trust. For thirty years he has been a member of the Protec- tives, Rochester Fire Department, of which he has been for the past twelve years the financial secretary. He is also a member and treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the Fire Department and of the Exempt Volunteers; and a life member of the New York State Firemen's Association and of the National Association of Fire Engineers. He is a prominent Odd Fellow and a Mason. As city treasurer he is also treasurer of the police pension fund, paid fire department pension fund, sinking fund of . the city of Rochester, park commissioners' fund, and Mt. Hope Cemetery commissioners' fund. He is treasurer of the Rochester Rod and Gun Club, the Columbia Rifle and Pistol Club, the Rochester Encampment, Uniformed Patriarchs, No. 1, the Fraternal Mystic Circle, and the Old Flour City Cadets. He is also sec- retary and treasurer of the Engineer Brigade Army of the Potomac, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Society, the Western New York Veterans' Association, and the primary department of the Brick church Sunday school, having served the latter in this capacity for nearly thirteen consecutive years without being absent a Sunday. He joined O'Rorke Post, No. 1, G. A. R., at its second meeting, and became a charter member of George H. Thomas Post, No. 4, G. A. R., of which he is now the only past commander. He is also a member of the Union Veterans' Union and the Military Order of Loyal Legion, California Commandery.
Few men have ever enjoyed such perfect confidence as is reposed in Mr. Williams, and fewer still have followed a career filled with similar responsibility. Millions of dollars have passed through his hands, and never has there been found an unex- plained discrepancy in his numerous and complicated accounts. With an enviable reputation for honesty and uprightness he has faithfully and unerringly performed the arduous labors of a treasurer to various organizations, serving in every capacity. with strict fidelity, unimpeachable integrity, and continual faithfulness.
December 9, 1865, he married Miss Emma E., eldest daughter of the late Richard N. Warfield, of Rochester. They have two children, George B., a student in the University of Rochester, and Kittie B , a graduate of the Rochester Free Academy, class of 1895.
GEORGE WASHINGTON ARCHER.
GEORGE WASHINGTON ARCHER is a son of John and Elizabeth Archer, who were reared respectively in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and Coventry, Warwickshire, England, and who came to New York city in 1831, where John followed his trade of carpenter and joiner. In 1834 they removed to the then village of Rochester, where Mr. Archer carried on business as a contractor and builder until 1857, and where
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LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY.
George W. was born February 8, 1837. John Archer died in 1873 aged seventy, and his wife in 1876, at the age of seventy-five. George W. Archer received a thorough common school education in his native city and was graduated from Eastman's Busi- ness College. At the age of seventeen he learned the carpenter's trade in his father's shop, and in 1857 he entered the employ of his next older brother, Robert W., who had purchased the patent of a dental chair. From August, 1863, to June, 1864, he was a bookkeeper at Petroleum Center, Pa .; he then purchased the interest of Wes- ley Crouch in the Crouch & Clark machine shop at Tarr Farm on Oil Creek, and continued that business about two years under the firm name of Archer & Clark. In September, 1865, he married Augusta, daughter of Samuel McClure, of Rochester, In January, 1866, J. H. Norris purchased Clark's interest in the machine shop and the business was moved to Petroleum Center, where the firm of Archer & Norris acquired a wide reputation. Meantime Mr. Archer had become interested in pro- ducing oil and also with his brother, Robert W. in the manufacture of dental and barber chairs in Rochester. In June, 1868, he sold his business and property in the oil country, removed to Rochester, and assumed control of the business here under the firm name of R. W. Archer & Brother, which relation continued until 1873, when Robert W. died; he carried on the concern alone until January 1, 1881, when his brother John W. became a partner under the name of George W. Archer & Co. On January 1, 1884, the Archer Manufacturing Company was incorporated with George W. Archer as president, and still continues. Their goods, comprising Archer's pat- ent barber, dentist, and surgeons' chairs, piano stools, etc., have a world-wide repu- tation, and are mainly the inventions of G. W. Archer. Mr. Archer is heavily en-
gaged in oil production in Pennsylvania. He was one of the organizers of the Roch- ester Driving Park Association in 1872, and since 1883 has been its president, being its vice-president for six years previously. He was one of the founders of the National Trotting Association and for fifteen years has served as a member of its Board of Appeals. He is also president of the Brush Electric Light Company. Heis a director of the Merchants' Bank, treasurer of the Rochester Gas and Electric Co. and of the Vulcanite Pavement Company, a director in the Rochester and Bay Railway Companies, and being a Democrat has served one term (1882-84) as alderman of the Fifth ward. He owns a number of blocks and commercial buildings, and is promi- nently interested in various institutions in the city.
COL. NATHANIEL ROCHESTER.
COL. NATHANIEL ROCHESTER, the second son of John Rochester, and the fouuder of the city bearing his name, was born on the plantation of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather in Cople Parish, Westmoreland county, Va., February 21, 1752. When he was two years old his father died and five years later his mother married Thomas Critcher, who, in 1763, moved with the entire family to Granville county, N. C. Colonel Rochester's educational advantages were limited, yet he suc- cessfully acquired by close observation and reading a large fund of information. In 1768 he became a clerk in the store of James Monroe in Hillsboro, N. C., and re- mained there until 1773, when he formed a partnership with a former employer, Col.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
John Hamilton. Upon the dissolution of this firm in 1775, caused by the breaking out of the Revolution, he was appointed a member of the Committee of Safety for Orange county, and in August of that year he attended as a member the first Pro- vincial Convention in North Carolina, being made paymaster (with the rank of major) for the North Carolina line, which contained four regiments. About this time he also became a justice of the peace. When the convention reassembled in May, 1776, the line was increased to ten regiments, and in the proceedings of Friday, May 10, it was
"Resolved, That Nathaniel Rochester, esq., be appointed deputy commissary- general of military and other stores in this county for the use of the Continental army; and that he be allowed the same allowance as provided by the Continental Congress for such officer; and that he give security in £10,000 for the faithful dis- charge of the trust reposed in him."
He then entered upon the work of providing clothing, provisions, etc., for the army, and returning to Hillsboro learned that he had been elected a member of the Legislature. At the session which followed he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of militia, and in the spring of 1777 became clerk of Orange county. In that year he was appointed commissioner to establish and superintend a manufactory of arms at Hillsboro. He resigned as county clerk, was appointed one of three to audit public accounts, and was promoted colonel of militia. In 1778 he engaged in mercantile business with Col. Thomas Hart (father-in-law of Henry Clay) and James Brown (subsequently minister to France). In 1783 Colonel Rochester and Colonel Hart be- gan the manufacture of flour, rope, and nails at Hagerstown, Md. On April 20, 1788, he married Sophia, sixth child of Col. William Beatty, of Frederick, Md., who was born there January 25. 1768. Colonel Rochester was member of assembly in Maryland, postmaster of Hagerstown, judge of the County Court, in 1808 a presi- dential elector, and the same year became the first president of the Hagerstown Bank. All this time he was extensively engaged in manufacturing, having a large establishment there and two in Kentucky.
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