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 61
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ized and incorporated the C. B. Woodworth Sons Company, which still continues the business with the same high standard of influence and popularity.
Not alone has Mr. Woodworth been content with his great and growing business. To him Rochester is in a great measure indebted for her great and successful street railroad system. In the year 1868 when the Rochester City & Brighton Railroad Company's property and franchise was sold under a mortgage foreclosure, Mr. Woodworth purchased it out and out. He then joined with others, reorganized the company, extended the tracks and other facilities until there were few cities in the country more thoroughly and satisfactorily supplied with street car accommodations than Rochester. In 1889 Mr. Woodworth sold these interests to a syndicate which in turn has put in the electric system. Being one of the heaviest tax payers in the city he is largely interested in Rochester real estate and intimately connected with the city's growth and prosperity. He has just completed the Woodworth building, corner of State and Platt streets, which is one of the finest and largest commercial structures in Rochester. It is of steel, faced with brick, and absolutely fireproof. He also owns a number of buildings of equal prominence.
Mr. Woodworth is a strong man in party politics, but has never sought public office. In 1852 he was elected sheriff of Monroe county, and served faithfully and well. He was formerly a trustee of the Mechanics' Saving Bank, and for many years has been a trustee of the Rochester Theological Seminary. From 1864 to 1894 he was a director of the Flour City National Bank and for ten years its first vice-presi- dent. He is a director and second vice-president of the Rochester Trust and Safe Deposit Company, its largest individual stockholder, and was foremost among its originators. He has been a member of the Second Baptist Church for more than forty years, and a trustee most of the time. Mr. Woodworth is a direct descendant of Walter Woodworth who came to America in 1648 from Kent county, England. Several of his early ancestors were prominent in the Revolutionary war, notably his maternal grandfather, John Clark, who served for seven years in that struggle.
On the 5th of January, 1841, Mr. Woodworth was married to Miss Martha J. Smith, daughter of Clark Smith, of Boston, Mass. They have had five children: Chauncey C., Frank E., Harry S., Helen A. (Mrs. Elmer C. Smith), and Lillie (deceased).
D. B. DE LAND.
DANIEL BROWN DE LAND, the pioneer manufacturer of soda and saleratus in West- ern New York and founder of the Fairport Chemical Works, was the third son of Levi and Hannah (Brown) De Land, and was born in the town of Candor, Tioga county, N. Y., May 14, 1823. His father, a native of Hebron, N. Y., was a volunteer at the age of nineteen in the war of 1812, and soon afterward married his wife at Oswego, N. Y. When nineteen the subject of this memoir shipped as a sailor before the mast of a whaler for three years. Returning home, he was married on Decem- ber 25, 1848, to Miss Minerva A. Parce, daughter of Justus Parce, of Norwich, N.Y., and for nearly two years thereafter followed farming in Wisconsin. He then en- tered the employ of his father-in-law at Norwich in manufacturing saleratus. The methods in vogue at that time were crude and cumbersome and the business was
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necessarily prosecuted in a small way. But Mr. De Land studied it closely, familiar- izing himself with all its details, and accumulating knowledge which subsequently proved of inestimable value. In the fall of 1851 he settled permanently in Fairport, Monroe county, where he purchased a small building on the bank of the Erie Canal and in a modest way commenced the manufacture of soda and saleratus. The busi- ness grew rapidly and raised the village from a hamlet of a few houses and commer- cial interests to its present important standing. His enterprise proved successful from the start. But he was not content with producing a quality of goods equal to the best then in the market; he aimed at superiority. Making two trips to Europe he gleaned information from the leading establishments of the old world and equipped himself with the best literature on the subject. This persistent study and applica- tion enabled him to manufacture an article that was soon in demand beyond success- ful competition.
Several years later he admitted his brother, H. A. De Land, and brother-in-law, J. Y. Parce, under the firm name of D. B. De Land & Co. In 1868 Mr. Parce with- drew, leaving the concern in the hands of the brothers, who steadily increased its capacity until D. B. De Land's death on December 20, 1872. The firm then became H. A. & L. J. De Land & Co. L. J. De Land, eldest son of Daniel B., at that time became a partner and the superintendent of manufacture. In 1874 the tonnage out- put of the establishment was larger than that of any similar firm in the world, and the De Land products became a household word throughout the United States. The business was successfully continued until February 5, 1893, when the entire plant was consumed by fire. It was soon rebuilt on a larger and better scale and is now one of the leading enterprises of the kind in the country. The proprietors are Mrs. D. B. De Land and her sons, L. J., and W. M. De Land, who are able and influential business men.
Judge De Land, as he was familiarly known, was a man of indomitable energy and perseverance, of rare ability and foresight, of strict integrity, and of unfailing resource. His eminent success as a manufacturer placed him among the foremost business men of the time. He achieved distinction as enduring as it was brilliant. He was a life-long Democrat, a trusted and influential local leader, and frequently carried the standard of his party to the verge of victory notwithstanding the fact that it was vastly in the minority. During the war he was twice a candidate for member of assembly and once came within three votes of an election. He often went as a delegate to political conventions, and in 1858 was chosen a justice of ses- sions, whence his title. He was a staunch friend of education and for some time served as a trustee of the Rochester Theological Seminary, to which he was a liberal contributor. He also contributed to Richmond College in Virginia, and for the bene- fit of its students built and donated a handsome cottage. Against strong opposition he was one of the few who successfully founded and established the present excellent school system of Fairport and was a member of the first Board of Education, a posi- tion he held almost continuously until his death. He was charitable, kind, and be- nevolent, a strong Baptist, and prominent among the laymen of that denomination in Western New York. For many years he was a deacon of the Baptist church of Fairport and always a liberal contributor to its objects.
Mr. De Land was married as previously stated, to Miss Minerva A. Parce, who survives
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him and resides in Fairport. They had five children: Levi J., senior member of the firm of De Land & Co., of Fairport; Leora A. (Mrs. Walter A. Hubbell), of Roches- ter; Minnie P., deceased; Stella G., wife of Rev. James T. Dickinson, pastor of the First Baptist church of East Orange, N. J .; and Wayland M., junior member of the firm of De Land & Co.
PART III.
FAMILY SKETCHES.
FAMILY SKETCHES.
Gordon, George C., president of the First National Bank of Brockport, was born in Rushford, Allegany county, July 1, 1849, and his father, Luther Gordon, was a native of the same place. The grandfather, John, came from Cavendish, Vt., about 1809. In 1809 John G. visited the site of Rochester, but not liking it, settled in Rush- ford. Luther Gordon, the second son, formed a partnership with Samuel White in the furnace business, during which he invented the Genesee Plow. Disposing of the furnace business, he afterwards erected a large store at Rushford and engaged in general merchandise and the buying and shipping of stock. In 1856 he bought the lumber business of Boswell, Walker & Hood at Brockport, and in 1858 erected the family residence, to which he removed his family a year later. For some time he gave his attention to the lumber business, buying large tracts of western lands, mostly in Michigan. In 1863 he organized the first National Bank of Brockport, and was elected president, which office he held to the time of his death, March 26, 1881. He married Florilla Cooley of Attica, Wyoming county, who died in 1869, leaving one son, George C. The latter was educated at Brockport College, and finished with a business course in Rochester. In 1874 he married Ida M., daughter of Thomas C. Hooker, and they have these children : Luther, George C., jr., William H., Frederick H., Thomas C., of whom William H. died in infancy. In 1881 our subject was elected president of the bank, which office he now fills, having bugun his banking experience with Waters, Bishop & Co. In June, 1863, he was assaulted by thieves, thrown into the vault, and when aid reached him life was nearly extinct. Mr. Gordon is the leading business man of his town, and interested in all that tends to its advancement.
Raymond, Alonzo B., was born in Chenango county, July 18, 1819. His father, Alphius, was born in Massachusetts, and married a Miss Daniels. They first settled in McDonough, Chenango county, but in 1830 came to Monroe county and settled in the town of Byron, and later in Parma. Alonzo B. was educated in the common schools and is pre-eminently a self-made man. At the age of nineteen he began teaching school, and continued for four years; was engaged in the mercantile busi- ness at North Parma, Spencerport, and Adams Basin for about twelve years, after which he confined himself to dealing in produce. In the spring of 1860 he was ap- pointed pastor of the Universalist Church at Portage, Wyoming county, remaining in the ministry four years, after which he again engaged in the produce business and has so continued. In 1843 he married Elizabeth A., daughter of Samuel Wyman, and their children are A. Clayton, attorney at Detroit, Mich., counsel for the Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific Railroad; and George H., of Buffalo. Our subject is one of the representative men of the town.
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Holmes, Daniel, was born in West Bloomfield, September 11, 1828, a son of Daniel, sr., a native of Massachusetts, who, with his father, Alpheus, came to Ontario about 1811, among the pioneer settlers of that town. Daniel, sr., served in the war of 1812, and was at the burning of Buffalo by the British. He married Susan Stuart. Dan- iel, jr., was educated at Brockport Collegiate Institute in 1846, and was graduated from Yale College in 1848, after which he taught school in Woodford county, Ky., for two and a half years, spent a year in Canandaigua as professor of Latin, and then began the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1852, and married Mary J. Hawes of Brookfield, Mass., the well-known writer of fiction. Our subject has served in various positions of public trust and responsibility, and is regarded as one of the cultured and intelligent men of the town.
Richards, Dorwain, was born in Fulton county, N. Y., March 11, 1844, a son of Rev. William I. Richards, a native of Vermont, who came to Monroe county in 1860, and settled in the town of Clarkson, where he bought a farm, and remained to re- cover his health. In 1863 he resumed his labors in the ministry, which were con- tinued up to the date of his death in 1875. Dorwain Richards was educated in the public schools, to which he has added by reading and close observation. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Co. A, 140th N. Y. Vols., and participated in the battles of Fred- ericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, and the Wilderness, receiving an honorable discharge in 1865 at the close of the war, returning to the farm, where he remained till 1875. He then came to Brockport, and entered the employ of D. S. Morgan, remaining till 1888, then established his present business, carrying a full line of fire, life, and accident insurance, and deals also in real estate. In 1868 he married Jane E. Moore, and their children are Mrs. Mabel E. Mitchell, and Jessie G. Richards.
Telfair, Dr. William, was born in North Carolina in 1857. He graduated from the University of Baltimore, Md., in 1882, and studied in the medical department of that institution, graduating the same year. He practiced in New York city eight years. After a scientific investigation of the treatment of inebriates for the past six years, he opened, on March 1, 1893, a sanitarium at Fort Erie, Canada, which he conducts with success. In the course of a year he came to Rochester, and made arrangements to open the Telfair Sanitarium on West Avenue, which up to date has been a great success, especially in the treatment of inebriates, who are also addicted to the use of opium, etc. Almost every day some liberated captive goes forth from this institu- tion a free and happy man.
Owens, John, was born in Roscommon, Ireland, March 13, 1834, and came to Amer- ica in 1851. He settled in Brockport, where he followed farming a few years, and in 1856 started in the grocery business in a small way, and now has the leading store in that line in the town, doing both a wholesale and retail business. Our subject is one of the representative men of Brockport, who by his own efforts has been able to achieve a fine success.
Cole, Mary I., of Pittsford .- Her paternal grandfather, Abram Cole, was born in in 1793 at Pittstown, Rensselaer county, to which place his parents had removed from Rhode Island. When he was eighteen years old they removed to Mendon, then part of Bloomfield, and the center of an almost unbroken wilderness. With our
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present facilities for easy and rapid transportation, it is difficult to realize the real hardships attendant upon such an exodus, but the men of those times were sturdy and the women were brave, and soon found contentment within the rude log cabins which sheltered themselves and their household goods. Abram Cole was endowed with the most estimable qualities of head and heart, and impressed something of his virtues and principles upon those who came within the sphere of his influence. In 1818 he married Polly Benjamin of Phelps, and they had seven children. The elder son, Elijah M., married Catholine Shulters, the mother of our subject, and also of Charles H. Cole, of Pittsford.
Killmer, Harry A , general secretary of the Y. M. C. A., of Fairport, was born De- cember 14, 1869, at Hudson. Owing to delicate health in childhood he was unable to attend school, but under the home tuition of a good mother he acquired a rudi- mentary education, supplementing it later by persevering personal research. Prior to 1893 he had been associated in a clerical capacity with a building and loan com- pany, and also in life insurance, but in 1889 assumed an active position in the affairs temporal of the M. E. Church, and having long been impressed by the work and methods of the Y. M. C. A., accepted in 1893 a call to Fairport as secretary, in which capacity his labors have been surrounded by success, and the association placed on a sound financial footing and suitably equipped for its great work.
Pierce, Martin, is a son of Martin R., who was a native of Jefferson county, and came to Honeoye Falls in 1828, having resided previously in Yates county, where he married his first wife, Nancy Bartlett. They had two sons, Francis and Byron. Mrs. Pierce died soon after coming to Mendon, and he married second, Emily M. Graham, also of Yates county, by whom he had eight children. Of these Martin and Seymour are in the lumber business, and have a factory at Honeoye Falls; Mrs. M. L. Briggs, and Mrs. J. M. Pride, also of Honeoye Falls; Mrs. D. D. Adams of Livonia; and Mrs. Dr. Smith of Rochester. The elder Pierce was quite a strong temperance man, an active member of the Methodist Church, and a prominent busi- ness man. Martin, jr., was born in Honeoye in 1837, reared on the farm, and edu- cated in the public schools. In the spring of 1861 he went to Missouri, and while there enlisted in the war. Later he re-enlisted in the 126th N. Y. Vols., serving till the fall of 1863, when he was severely wounded at the battle of Bristow Station. Re- ceiving his discharge he returned home and married Mary Ritchie of Buffalo, and they have one son, Charles R., who is cashier in the local bank.
Hawley, Wm. S., was born in Greene county, and came to this town in 1829, where his father, James Hawley, engaged in farming. He lived with his father until the year 1847. Mr. Hawley then engaged in the business of nurseryman and farming until the year 1858. He then went to the State of Illinois and engaged in the nursery business for two years. In 1860 he came back to the town of Webster and conducted the business of farming and fruit-growing until the year 1870. Mr. Hawley then en- gaged in the mercantile business with W. H. Stratton, known as the firm of Hawley & Stratton, for a term of ten years. In the year 1880 Mr. Hawley built the store on the southeast corner in the centre of the village, and was in business with his son until the year 1888. The store is now conducted by his son, George N. Hawley. Mr. Hawley was for many years trustee of the Webster Union School, being one of
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LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY.
the building committee that erected the present Union School building. Mr. Haw- ley has one son, Jay R. Hawley of Jordan, N. Y.
Hanford, Frederick S., was born in the town of Greece, Hanford's Landing, now in the city of Rochester, in 1843, a son of Frederick, whose father was Jesse C., one of seven brothers who came from Connecticut in 1809 by teams to the Genesee coun'- try, and bought a great tract of land of the Indians. Frederick and Abram, two of the brothers, built the Steamboat Hotel; Frederick was also connected with various enterprises and became in company with his brother Charles quite wealthy. Haynes built a store near the Steamboat Hotel, while Jesse C. and Gorham were farmers. Frederick, son of Jesse, married Elvira Sexton and reared two children, Frederick S. and Mrs. M. H. Goodsell, a practicing physician and lecturer in the medical college at Minneapolis. Frederick S. was educated in Rochester, and came to Honeoye
Falls in 1861. He clerked in a store until 1865, when he married Eliza J., daughter of William Campbell, and went into the dry goods business, on his own account, in which he has been successful. He has one son, Fred C., who was educated at Fort Plain and Cornell University, and studied law. He married Kate, daughter of S. B. Dewey of Rochester, where he is now practicing law, and is assistant district attorney of the county.
Adams, J. W., was born at Adams Basin in October, 1833. His father, William, was a native of Connecticut, who came to West Bloomfield with his parents when an infant; this was in the year 1790. William married Lurany, daughter of Ashbel Beach, and of their nine children four survive. Julian, only brother of J. W., was the first soldier in Sweden to respond to the call of Abraham Lincoln for 75,000 men in 1861, and died in the army after the second battle of Bull Run. Mr. Adams was in the custom house in New York for several years. From 1878 to the present time he has been interested in business and mining enterprises in Colorado. In 1852 he mar- ried Loama, daughter of Alexander S. Brown, and they have two children, James S. and Frederick W. The mother of Mrs. Adams was Alice, oldest daughter of Hiel Brockway, the founder of Brockport.
Edgett, Harriet Roscoe, of Fairport, was a daughter of the late Caleb Roscoe, of Sing Sing, N. Y. In 1825 Mr. Roscoe bought the Westchester Herald, and devoted his life and best energies to its editorship and management, being then twenty-five years of age, and the son of Luke Roscoe, who came from England in 1790. Caleb Roscoe made himself a power in Westchester county affairs, and his talent and force were allied always with its best interests. He was one of the original Board of Di- rectors of the Westchester Mutual Insurance Company, incorporated in 1837; was prominent as a school trustee, and in Sunday school and temperance work, and for thirty-four years was treasurer of the Westchester County Bible Society. In 1856 his newspaper buildings were destroyed by fire, and thenceforward his life was one of comparative retirement. Harriet, his elder daughter, married, in 1848, A. S. Edgett, who was the pioneer of the great fruit-preserving industry of Central New York, erecting in 1853 the first plant west of New York city devoted to that work. July 17, 1885, he died in Fairport, aged fifty-seven years. His living children are Mary H. Edgett of Fairport, and Mrs. F. O. Edgett of Minneapolis. Mrs. Roscoe Edgett is widely known as the author of many beautiful poems, chiefly of a pastoral and devo-
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FAMILY SKETCHES.
tional character, and she inherits much of her father's literary talent. For many years she has acted as local correspondent for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. The whole family were God-fearing people, consistent, earnest and practical in the execution of their religious duties.
Ewer, Spencer, was born at Irondequoit June 8, 1834, a son of Nathaniel, a native of Sandwich, Mass. He came to this county about 1825 where he was for many years a leading farmer. He married Rhoda Mosher. He was recognized as a man of conservative character and strict Quaker principles. He was the first man to open Irondequoit Bay as a summer resort. His death occurred in 1861, at the age of sixty-eight. Spencer Ewer was educated in the common schools, and in 1865 mar- ried Martha Rush. In 1866 he came to Brockport and established his present busi- ness, which he has continued in the same location up to the present time. He is rec- ognized as one of the leading business men of the town.
Cornish, Clement, was born in Marion, Wayne county, N. Y., January 28, 1838. His father was William, who in early life was a printer by trade and for many years a compositor in the office of Harper Brothers at New York. By his first wife he had three children, Albert, Maria, and Clement, the elder son being deceased. Edwin S. and Charlotte A. were the children of a second wife. Clement Cornish has made his own way in life, acquiring a good business education by personal research. He is a very popular and genial gentlemen, but steadfastly refuses political preference. Prior to making his home in Fairport in 1860 he had been engaged at farming in Coldwater, Mich., for four years. December 17, 1867, he married Harriet A., daugh- ter of Francis Dunbar of Fairport. Both are members of the First Congregational church, and much esteemed.
Reichel, Rev. George Valentine, was born in the city of Brooklyn on June 6, 1863. He is a son of Richard L. Reichel, a native of Cassel, Germany, who came to America in 1850 and settled in this country, where he soon became engaged with the Bureau of Emigration in New York city. George V. was educated in Boston and New York, and in 1883 entered the Auburn Theological Seminary, from which he was graduated with honor in 1886. In the same year he located at Dryden, N. Y., as pastor of the First Presbyterian church. In 1890 he received a call from the First church of Brock- port, where he now is, and where his efforts have met with much success. His church has a membership of over three hundred, great activity prevailing in all its departments of work. He is an entirely self-made man. Some years ago he re- ceived several honorary degrees in recognition of special attainments. He is also a well-known writer on religious subjects and a contributor to our current literature. In 1885 he married Miss May L. Arnett of Auburn, N. Y., daughter of Silas H. Arnett. Their children are May, Haines, Paul and Christabel. Mrs. Reichel is a graduate of the Auburn Young Ladies' Institute, and is an efficient co-laborer with her husband in church work.
Watson, W. S., postmaster of Fairport, was appointed to that office December 12, 1894, proving a most efficient and popular man for the place. Mr. Watson's first public service was as deputy county treasurer (1876-79), under James Harris, and in 1883 was made deputy county clerk associated in that office with Henry D. McNaugh- ton. He was born in Penfield, a son of the late John M. Watson, an early settler .
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LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY.
from the State of Maine, and his principal business has been farming. In 1864 he married Mary Riley of Greece. Their son, John M. Watson, is a farmer of Perinton. An only daughter, Gertrude, died in 1890, aged twenty-six. She was the wife of Dr. A. J. Burns of Fairport.
Scribner, O. C., long a personal landmark of this locality, was born in Penfield, December 1, 1827, the oldest of two sons of Nathan and Sarah Scribner. The younger son, Moses, is a resident of Windsor, Ontario, and by occupation a broker. Oliver C. Scribner is a veteran of the Mexican war, enlisting in Co. D, 10th Infantry, in 1847, and serving with credit two years under Winfield Scott. Prior to 1874 he was engaged in various enterprises, and largely as foreman in the construction of railroad and canal work. In 1862 he married Julia Mulvaney of New York, whose children are Milton W., Frank V., Sarah J. and Julia Isabell. Milton, the elder son, is engaged in the jewelry business at Fairport. Mr. Scribner has served as trustee and marshal of the Fire Department since 1885. In 1874 he established the business bearing his name at Fairport, dealing in family groceries, flour, feed and grain.
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