Landmarks of Monroe County, New York : containing followed by brief historical sketches of the towns of the county with biography and family history, Part 60

Author: Peck, William F. (William Farley), b. 1840; Raines, Thomas; Fairchild, Herman LeRoy
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Boston : Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 1160

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 60

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Mr. Brewster has never held public office except many years ago, when he served one term as a member of the board of supervisors of Monroe county. He is a director in the Flour City Hotel Company and a trustee of the First Unitarian church.

ELON HUNTINGTON.

ELON HUNTINGTON was born in Shaftsbury, Bennington county, Vt., September 3, 1808, and descends from one of the oldest and most respected families in England and America. His paternal ancestor, Simon Huntington, left England for this country in 1633, but died during the voyage, his body being consigned to an ocean grave; his widow and three sons, Christopher, Simon, and Samuel, settled in Connecticut, and are believed to have been the progenitors of all the Huntingtons on this continent, one of the grandsons being the Samuel Huntington who signed the Declaration of Independence, was President of the First Congress and Governor of Connecticut, Amos Huntington, sr., grandfather of Elon, was captain of a company of militia which was raised in Shaftsbury, Vt., to oppose Burgoyne's invasion during the Rev- olutionary war. Taken prisoner by the British at the battle of Hubbardston, July 7, 1777, he was confined in a prison ship in New Jersey for some time. He had moved with his family from Norwich, Conn., to Shaftsbury, Vt., in 1776, and finally died and was buried there in 1822. Amos Huntington, jr., his eldest child, was born Au- gust 21, 1768, and married March 9, 1794, Pamelia Hard; he was for many years a magistrate of Shaftsbury and a member of the Baptist church, and died there Sep- tember 24, 1848. Of his nine children, all born in that town, the subject of this sketch was next to the youngest.

Elon Huntington was educated in the district schools and reared upon his father's farm. At the age of sixteen he began teaching school and continued for several terms. When twenty-one he started on a business trip to Boston, New York, Phila-

LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY.

delphia, Baltimore, Washington, and intervening points, and at Georgetown he met the widow Iterbide and her son, the latter afterwards emperor of Mexico. Return- ing home he followed agricultural pursuits for a time. Later he went to New York and thence to New Orleans, and with his younger brother, Calvin, carried on the mercantile business between those two cities for two years. He then spent several months in traveling over Louisiana, copying and perfecting maps for his own use, paddling along the bayous for more than 1,000 miles, and locating land for prospect- ive purchasers. In this he acquired valuable information and experienced no litttle adventure. But here came the turning point in his career. Having friends in Roch- ester who had become involved in real estate speculations he was induced to come to this city and look after their interests, and on March 4, 1837, he took up his per- manent residence here. After satisfactorily adjusting their claims he formed a part- nership with John M. French, as John M. French & Co., and engaged in the foundry business, manufacturing stoves, etc. This firm also had a large blast furnace in Ontario, Wayne county, and successfully conducted both concerns for several years, Mr. Huntington being the financial manager. Meanwhile he had also engaged in banking as cashier of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, of which A. G. Smith was president. He subsequently purchased Mr. Smith's interest, reorganized the insti- tution, and finally sold it to Drew, Robinson & Co., of New York, but remained as cashier for about two years. They were succeeded by Gen. Jacob Gould, and Mr. Huntington, after a successful banking career, withdrew to commercial enterprises.

He then assumed the management of the Duryea & Forsyth Manufacturing Com- pany, manufacturers of scales, iron safes, etc., which through business connections had passed into his hands. He converted it into a stock corporation, and success- fully carried on the business for several years. In 1845 he purchased a lot of ten acres on North St. Paul street, where now stands one of the oldest mansions in Rochester. He had previously bought 164 acres of lots T and Y, all of which now lie within the city limits. He was instrumental in establishing a large nursery; of which he finally assumed the active management. After the war closed his son-in-law, Capt. Horace B. Hooker, became his associate and afterward the proprietor of the nursery business. Since then Mr. Huntington has lived in retirement, devoting his time to the care of his large property interests. For about twenty five years he has spent the winters at Mandarin, on the St. John's River in Florida, where he has an orange grove.

Mr. Huntington was one of the founders of the University of Rochester and is the only living member of its first board of trustees. He was not only a founder of that institution, but one of the prime movers in originating the plan and pushing it to a successful issue, and devoted both time and money to the cause. He has been a trustee since the organization and nearly all the time a member of the executive committee, and has never been absent from a meeting of the board or from com- mencement exercises. This is a noteworthy record, inasmuch as it embraces a period of forty-five consecutive years, or since 1850. He is a member of the Roch- ester Academy of Science, the American Association for the advancement of Sci- ence, and the Rochester Historical Society. He has devoted considerable time to the study of technical problems, in which he finds an agreeable recreation. En- dowed with scientific attainments of a high order he has evolved original theories which place his among the talented minds of the country. He is the author of a

BIOGRAPHICAL.

brochure entitled " The Earth's Rotation and its Interior Heat," which has been well received.

October 17, 1835, Mr. Huntington was married to Miss Annjenette Cole, daughter of Peleg and Olive (Mix) Cole, who was born in Shaftsbury, Vt., April 9, 1814, and died at Mandarin, Florida, March 14, 1883. She was the youngest of ten children. A devout Christian, she was for many years a prominent member of the Second Baptist church of Rochester. In her home, her gracious presence and genial man- ner gave a rare charm to her hospitality that is an abiding memory to all who knew her. The children were: Alcesta F., born October 27, 1837; Al- bert, born October 25, 1839, first lieutenant in the 8th N. Y. Cav. during the Civil war, and now a resident of Jacksonville, Fla .; Susan Pamelia, born August 18, 1841, married in December, 1861, Horace B. Hooker, who served three years as captain in Colonel Bissell's engineer corps in the Union army during the Rebellion, and now resides in Rochester; Frank, born July 14, 1848, one of the associate editors of Apple- ton's Encyclopedia, of New York; Kate, born April 19, 1850, wife of Dr. James M. Taylor, president of Vassar College; Carrie, born August 18, 1852, wife of John C. Jessup, of New York city ; and Willie, born June 18, 1854, died July 29, 1856.

CHARLES DONALD McLEAN.

CHARLES DONALD McLEAN, A. B., LL. B., president of the State Normal School at Brockport since 1869, was born of Scotch parentage in County Antrim, Ireland, No- vember 7, 1834. The family descends from a rugged race of Scotlanders, members of the clan McLean, royalists, who took an active part on the side of the Stuarts in the wars of the Pretender, and because of those struggles fled to the Emerald Isle about 1775. Thence they emigrated to Preston, Canada, about 1930. Charles Mc- Lean, father of our subject, was possessed of a liberal education. He married Jane, daughter of Thomas McHendry, and died in 1835. Soon afterward his family re- moved to Watertown, N. Y., and in 1837 to Clarkson, Monroe county, where Charles D. attended the public schools and the academy. In 1850 Professor McLean was graduated from the old Brockport Collegiate Institute. He subsequently took the degree of A. B. from the University of Rochester, studied law in the office of Judge Henry R. Selden, and received the degree of LL.B. from the Albany Law School, being admitted to the bar immediately afterward.

The practice of law, however, had little attraction for one who had developed de- cided inclinations for teaching, and leaving the legal profession he soon entered upon his lifework, in which success has constantly attended his efforts. Acting upon the invitation of Dr. McVicar, then president of the Brockport State Normal School, he accepted in March, 1865, a position as teacher in that institution, and two years later was made its vice-president. In these capacities he gave evidence of a peculiar ap- titude for educational work and made friends of all with whom he came in contact. In 1869 he succeeded Dr. McVicar as president, a position he has filled ever since with great credit and distinction.

Professer McLean is one of the noted and most successful educators in the United States. He enjoys a wide reputation and is recognized as one of the ablest of teach-

LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY.

ers. Under his admirable management the school has constantly increased in attend- ance and importance, being now nearly fourfold larger than when he became its ex- ecutive head, and ranking high among the prominent seats of learning in the country. Its growth and usefulness are largely due to his individual labors, while his standard of excellence is wholly the result of his ability and able supervision. For more than thirty years he has devoted his time and talents to its interests, and during twenty- six years of that period has officiated as its chief.

In 1858 Professor McLean married Miss Wealthy Paine, who died in 1876. In 1882 he was married to Martha Bross, by whom he has two sons, Donald Charles and Waldo Bross.

FRANK M. JONES.

FRANK M. JONES, son of Chester and Hannah (Millard) Jones, was born at Union Hill in the town of Webster, Monroe county, November 18, 1847. Chester Jones, a native of Madison county, N. Y., came to Union Hill with his father, Joseph, about 1817, being then twelve years of age, and died there August 8, 1867, aged sixty-two. Joseph was a tanner and shoemaker and followed those trades in connection with farming, dying at the age of fifty-three. He had ten children. Chester Jones was practically a life-long farmer, but for five years prior to his death he also conducted a grocery store. For half a century-the period covering his active life and resi- dence in the town-he bore the respect and esteem of every one who knew him. He married Hannah, daughter of Samuel Millard, a captain on the Niagara frontier in the war of 1812, and they were the parents of twelve children, of whom ten are liv- ing, three of them in Webster. Mrs. Jones was a native of Rhode Island, and died in February, 1885, at the age of seventy-four.

Frank M. Jones was educated in the district school at Union Hill, but supple- mented the knowledge acquired there by constant reading, close observation, and practical experience. Inheriting the characteristics of a New England ancestry he is pre-eminently a self-made man. He remained on the farm until the age of twenty, when, his father dying, he succeeded to the store, which he conducted about three years. In December 22, 1869, he married M. Louise, daughter of William T. Cran- mer, of Ontario, Wayne county, and later removed to that town, where he carried on a general store for four years. Selling his business there he returned to Union Hill and built the main store now owned and occupied by W. H. Stokes, and continued a successful country trade until the fall of 1886, when official life and other interests impelled him to sell out, which he did to the present proprietor. While a merchant

there he secured and named the post-office, was appointed the first postmaster, and held the position about ten years, being succeeded on June 25, 1889, by Mr. Stokes, his former clerk. Soon after disposing of the 'store Mr. Jones started a hardware establishment there, which he continued until the fall of 1890, when he sold to E. W. Bancroft and removed to Webster village, where he shortly afterward purchased his present extensive general store. His business life has been one of almost uninter- rupted success, and is characterized throughout by honesty of purpose and fairness of dealing.

Q. C. Scribus

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Mr. Jones has been a life-long Republican, and from the age of majority has taken an active interest in the progress of his party, which has frequently placed him in nomination for positions of trust. In Ontario he served one year as town clerk and assessor (to fill vacancy), and was re-elected assessor for a term of three years. While a resident of Union Hill he was the Republican nominee for supervisor, but owing to a factional fight was defeated by seven votes. In 1885 he was renominated by the Republicans and elected by a large majority, and for four successive years was re-elected without opposition, being endorsed by the Democrats and polling the votes of both parties. In the Board of Supervisors he served on various important committees and was tendered the chairmanship, but declined, preferring the more active work of the floor. During the last four years of his service on the board he was inspector of the Monroe County Penitentiary. In the fall of 1890, while yet supervisor of the town, Mr. Jones was elected to the Assembly, taking his seat Janu- ary 1, 1891, and was re-elected to the same office in 1891 and 1892, each time by handsome majorities. In the Legislature he served on a number of important com- mittees, such as on water, gas, and electricity, on railroads, on Indian affairs, etc. He introduced the bill authorizing the incorporation of the Wolfe Island Bridge Com- pany for the purpose of constructing a bridge over the headwaters of the St. Law- rence River for the use of the Canadian Pacific and New York Central railroads. He was also the author of several other measures for public benefit, all of which became laws.

In all these capacities Mr. Jones faithfully and conscientiously labored for the wel- fare of his constituents, and made a record of which any man may be proud. As a citi- zen and business man, ever progressive, public spirited, and enterprising, taking an active interest in town and county affairs, and promoting the cause of good govern- ment and universal advancement, he has always enjoyed the respect and esteem of the entire community.

JOHN C. SCRIBNER.

THE pioneer days of the Genesee country are marked by deeds of heroism and periods of suffering, and no men are more worthy of imperishable memorials than are those who braved the privations of frontier life for the purpose of carving homes out of an unbroken wilderness. To their indomitable perseverance and hard labors are due the numerous conveniences enjoyed by the present generation. Among the notable pioneers in this section of the State was Nathan Scribner, sr., who removed with his family from Connecticut and settled on what is now the George Clark farm in the town of Penfield, Monroe county, in 1805. He was of English descent and a veteran of the Revolutionary war, and came hither by means of a sled, being guided by means of blazed trees. Like other immigrants of the time, his worldly possessions were limited, but in personal characteristics he was liberally endowed with all the sterling attributes of enterprising New Englanders. In this respect his wife was equally qualified to plant the standard of civilization in a new country. Both lived and died in the town. Among their children was Nathan Scribner, jr., whose birth occurred on May 5, 1793, and who participated in the war of 1812, being present at the battle of Lundy's Lane, the sortie on Fort Erie, and other engage,

LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY

ments on the Niagara frontier. Educated in his native State-Connecticut-which he left at the age of twelve, his knowledge of books and common English was neces- sarily limited, but being a great reader he was throughout life well posted on general topics and by constant practice became a good penman. He was always a Whig in politics, and died on the farm now owned and occupied by his son John C. on No- vember 1, 1853. He married, first, on August 28, 1825, Sally Morey, who was born March 20, 1803, and whose death occurred June 7, 1837. Their children were Oliver C., of Fairport, N.Y., born December 1, 1827, and Moses, of Detroit, Mich., born October 40, 1831. On August 8, 1837, Mr. Scribner married for his second wife Mrs. Elizabeth Spoor, who was born September 9, 1806, and died July 28, 1873. Their children were Sarah Jane (Mrs. John R. Mulliner), of East Penfield, born October 22, 1838; Nathan H., of Penfield, born December 13, 1839; and John C., the subject of this sketch.

John C. Scribner, the youngest child of Nathan, jr., was born on his present farm in Penfield on August 24, 1841, and received his education in the district schools of his native town. He has always followed the vocation of a farmer, and has spent his life upon the parental homestead of fifty-five acres, to which he succeeded on the death of his mother in 1873, and to which he subsequently added seventy-five acres more. This farm has become one of the finest and most productive farms in the county. It comprises valuable orchards and is adorned with a set of handsome and commodious buildings-the result of Mr. Scribner's industry and enterprise. He is emphatically a representative agriculturist and prominent among the leading pro- moters of local public improvements. In town affairs he is ever foremost, and in politics his influence is exerted in the cause of good government and the advance- ment of the Democratic party, with which he is affiliated. True to his convictions, an unswerving advocate of right and justice, and a firm believer in the underlying principles of manhood, his life from first to last has been exemplary to a fault and replete with the deeds of a respected citizen. He has exerted a noteworthy in- fluence in the progress of local education, serving as trustee, etc., of the district in which he resides. In sustaining religious work he has been especially active, and with his family is a member of the Penfield M. E. church, of which he has served as a trustee for several years. He is also a member of Union Lodge No. 154, F. & A. M., of Penfield, and both he and his estimable wife were charter members and among the organizers of Penfield Grange No. 750, which was instituted in 1891.

February 2, 1876, Mr. Scribner was married to Miss Christina Elizabeth, daughter of Fredrich Schiedhelm. She was born at Bechtheim on the Rhine, Germany, Sep- tember 13, 1854, and came to America in 1872. They have had three children, viz .: John Clyde, born May 27, 1877; Cornelia Elizabeth, born June 8, 1878; and David Wilson, born November 30, 1881.

FREDERICK LEE HEUGHES.

FREDERICK LEE HEUGHES, one of the best known and largest iron manufacturers in the State, was born in Rochester on March 24, 1850, and is a son of William Heughes, who settled here in 1843 and became one of the first book publishers in the Genesee Valley, Attending the public schools of his native city, and graduating

BIOGRAPHICAL.

from the old High School in 1866, he served an apprenticeship in his father's printing office, where he acquired the rudiments of a mechanical training, and to which he brought a naturally inventive and progressive mind. There he originated and pat- ented a press for printing in colors, a working model of which is now in the Patent Office at Washington. This was one of the earlier inventions of the kind in Amer- ica, and had Mr. Heughes followed it up he would undoubtedly stand to-day among the foremost in the printing business. But circumstances turned his talents into other entesprises. After recovering from a severe illness he entered, in 1871, the employ of W. H. Cheney, at 190 to 200 South St. Paul street, as bookkeeper, and later became general manager. This was the pioneer architectural iron works in Western New York, having been established by Mr. Cheney in 1838.

While there Mr. Heughes saw, with true mechanical insight, the various uses to which rolled beams, as girders, joists, etc., could be put. In 1877 he became an iron contractor, with an office at No. 10 South Water street, and has ever since been heavily identified with that business with almost unparalleled success. In 1879 Mr. Cheney was succeeded by the firm of Little & Rowe, whose affairs three years later were not especially bright. It was then that Mr. Heughes, although extensively engaged in iron contracting, was importuned to take a controlling interest in the concern, which he did, becoming the active and moneyed partner under the style of Little, Heughes & Rowe, and succeeding in placing the business upon a sound finan- cial basis. Mr. Rowe withdrew in 1885, and a few years later Mr. Little's interest was purchased by Joseph Peiffer, the superintendent of the company and a practical man, and these changes brought into existence the present firm of F. L. Heughes & Company, one of the largest concerns of the kind in the State outside of New York city. They carry on an extensive business as iron founders and manufacturers of iron fronts, columns, lintels, and architectural iron work.

It is as an individual contractor, however, that Mr. Heughes is most widely and favorably known, As such he is one of the largest and most prominent in the State, enjoying a reputation for ability and integrity which extends even through the coun- try. He is an extensive iron contractor and dealer in iron structural work, making fire-proof construction a specialty. This business exceeds in volume and importance his other enterprises, and has been individually conducted by him since starting in 1877. For a number of years he has handled exclusively the output of the Carnegie Steel Company in this part of the State, his dealings with that great corporation be- ing on an extensive scale. During that period he has erected the iron work of a large number of imposing and magnificent buildings, including the following: The Powers Fireproof Hotel, Wilder building, Sibley, Lindsay & Curr buildings, Keeler & Kimball new building, new court house, German Insurance building, Powers block addition, Monroe County jail, P. Cox building, North Water street viaduct, Brush Electric Light Company's plant, Bartholomay Brewing Company's ice houses in Rochester; Reformatory extension at Elmira; Hygienic Institute at Dansville, N. Y. ; the court house and library at Syracuse: and hundreds of other fireproof structures.

Mr. Heughes has achieved remarkable success. His integrity and great executive abilty, his probity of character and pre-eminence as an iron contractor, his business capacity and universal prominence, are unquestioned. Commencing active life with no capital but perseverance, energy, and shrewd foresight, he has attained, through

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his own efforts, a high position among the leading manufacturers of the country. Prompt, upright, and candid in business transactions, he has never given or re- ceived a promissory note, his word being always considered as good as his bond. Few men have ever enjoyed the wide and enviable reputation which he has acquired and fewer still rank higher in their chosen calling. He is largely interested in Roch- ester real estate, and has built up, literally speaking, more of the city than any other man. In politics he has always been a Republican, and is an advocate of sound money on a gold basis. His home life is especially happy, and his leisure is spent amidst the social environments of his family. In 1883 he was married to Miss Effie M. Kinne, of Lockport, N. Y., and they have had three sons, Herbert F., Walter Lee, and Benjamin A.

CHAUNCEY B. WOODWORTH.

AMONG the pioneers of Monroe county was the family of Spencer Woodworth, who came from South Coventry, Tolland county, Conn., to the town of Gates, in the sum- mer of 1819. They located one and a half miles west of the city of Rochester, on what is known as the " Chili road." " Their journey from Connecticut to Rochester was made in one of the large covered wagons used in the early days, there being no other means of travel in this section. On the 9th day of June, 1819, they arrived at the tavern of Oliver Culver, in Brighton, where they halted for the night. The following day was entirely spent in reaching their new home. So little had been done towards opening a road, they travelled by the way of the " Rapids " following as best they could a line of marked trees. In the family of this pioneer was an in- fant son, who was born on the 25th day of February, 1819, and consequently, at the time of migration to the Genesee county was about four months old. This was Chauncey B. Woodworth, one of the leading citizens of Rochester, and one of its most prominent business men, and the subject of this sketch. He remained under the parental roof, devoting a share of each year to the acquirement of such education as was then available, until he was twenty-one, when he engaged in the grocery business on the corner of East Main and North St. Paul streets, Rochester, thus for the first time identifying himself with the business interests of the city, that has since felt in so many ways the influence of his energies and ability. About 1841 Mr. Woodworth disposed of his grocery business, purchased a farm at Irondequoit, where he established a large saw mill. This he operated for several years. In 1853, in company with Jones and Osborn, he built the Crystal Palace block on Main street. About this time he moved to his present residence at 41 South Washington street. Down to this time success had crowned his efforts. He now engaged in the business that has ever since occupied a large share of his attention, and has made his name a household word throughout the length and breadth of the land. Woodworth's ex- tracts and perfumes are known wherever such goods are in demand, and that is al- most everywhere. To supply his great and growing industry with bottles he, in 1866, associated himself with Dr. Frederick H. James in the manufacture of glass. Three years later (in 1869) Mr. Woodworth succeeded in the manufacture of extracts and perfumes by his sons, Frank E. and Harry S., who in the spring of 1894 organ-

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Landmarks of Monroe County, New York : containing followed by brief historical sketches of the towns of the county with biography and family history, Part 60

Author: Peck, William F. (William Farley), b. 1840; Raines, Thomas; Fairchild, Herman LeRoy Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Boston : Boston History Co. Number of Pages: 1160

Author: Peck, William F. (William Farley), b. 1840; Raines, Thomas; Fairchild, Herman LeRoy
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Boston : Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 1160