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 99
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charge of the financial department since 1881, was given an interest. Mr. Fitz Simons died in 1888, while on a visit with his family to Switzerland. January 1, 1891, a reorganization was effected under which those having a full interest in the business were Charles J. Burke, Alexander B. Howe, Thomas J. Devine, Daniel B. Murphy, and Alexander K. Hone, while Augustus L. McKittrick and Michael A. Stupp were given special interests. Mr. Burke died in May, 1892, and since then the business has been continued by the other partners. It has occupied the same site at the corner of East Main and North St. Paul streets since its inception, but the build- ings have been several times enlarged. The wholesale department was built in 1876. the middle section in 1890, and the corner structure in 1894. Their retail business is one of the largest between New York and Chicago, while the wholesale trade extends throughout this State, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and both consist of everything in the line of dry goods. Charles J. Burke was born in Potsdam, N. Y., September 18, 1832, and died May 17, 1892. He was graduated from Perkins Academy at Utica in 1849, came to Rochester the same year and entered the employ of his brother-in-law, Owen Gaffney, and from 1853 until his death was actively identified with the firm of which he was long the senior member. He was a director in the Traders' National Bank, an organizer and trustee of Mechanics' Saving Bank, an organizer, the first vice-president, and later president of the Merchants' Bank, a director in the Roches- ter Safe and Trust Deposit Company, and one of the original members of the Park Commission. He was vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce, presidental elec- tor on the Democratic ticket in 1884, and one of the organizers of the Rochester and Genesee Valley Clubs. Mr. Burke was always a public spirited citizen and took a constant interest in the affairs of the city whose development he had watched for so many years. -
Peck, Henry J .- Both Mr. and Mrs. Peck, of Brighton, are descended from families who were pioneers of the town. Henry Peck's father was Hiram Peck, and Mrs. Peck is the daughter of the late Samuel R. Hart, farmer and lumberman. In the early annals of the town of Brighton both families occupied prominent positions in business, society and church. Henry Peck was born in Brighton in 1839, and has always been identified with the nursery industry. In 1868 he married Amelia Hart. Their children are George H., Harry C., Robert C., and S. Ernest. George, the eldest son, has begun his business career by an association with A. L. Beardsley, of Fairport.
Wilder, Merion R., was born in the town of Greece, May 27, 1850, and his educa- tion was obtained in the public schools, his early life being spent on his father's farm. In 1876 he became a railroad man, and has been a conductor on the R., W. & O. Railroad eleven years. In 1895 he resigned the position of conductor after two years' service with the B., R. & P. Railway Company. On April 1, 1895, he opened a bakery and confectionery establishment on Broadway in Charlotte. He has mar- ried twice, first to Julia E. Denise, of this town, on February 15, 1870. They had four children, two sons and two daughters, only two sons survive, Charles O., who is a bookkeeper with the firm of Smith & Perkins, Rochester, N. Y., and George W., who assists his father in the bakery. Mrs. Wilder died November 14, 1886. He married April 18, 1889, Sarah M., youngest daughter of James H., and Sarah M. Upton, of the town of Greece. Mr. Wilder's father, Ira, was born in Vermont,
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December 11, 1811, and came with his parents to this locality when a child. He was educated in the common schools and became a farmer. He married Mary Goodell, of the town of Parma, and eleven children were born to them, six of whom survive: Simeon, who is in California; Celia, now Mrs. George Northrup, of this town; Belden, who is a resident of Parma; Virginia, now Mrs. Malon Atwell of Missouri; Merion R. ; and Addie J., now Mrs. Edgar Denise, of Charlotte. Mr. Wilder died in 1883, and his wife in 1892. Mrs. M. R. Wilder's father, James H. Upton, was born near Albany, N. Y., in 1826. He received an academic education and came to the town of Greece with his parents when a boy. His early life was spent farming and was afterward a commission dealer in cattle in the West. He married Sarah M. Bigelow, and five sons were born to them. Mrs. James H. Upton died May 1, 1864. Mr. Wilder is a member of the Railway Conductors' Frontier Lodge, No. 167, also of the Knights of Pythias, Dirigo Lodge, 249, Oswego, New York.
Woodworth, Frank J., son of the late Dwight J. Woodworth, was born in York- shire, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., in 1870. After attending the public schools of his native town and the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima he began the study of dentistry in the office of Dr. R. H. Hofheinz, of Rochester, and in 1892 was graduated from the New York Dental College. Since then he has successfully practiced his profes- sion in Rochester. Dr. Woodworth is an active member of the Seventh District Dental Society, a delegate to the New York State Dental Society, secretary and treasurer of the Rochester Dental Society, and a member of the Columbia Rifle and Pistol Club of this city.
Fillmore, Mrs. Sarah A .- Mrs. Fillmore's father, the late Christian Butts, was born in Northampton county, Pa., in 1790. He married Mrs. Elizabeth Arnold of his native State, and they were the parents of six children: Simon; Sarah A., who mar- ried Hezekiah Fillmore, and had one son, Addison B., who was educated in the public schools, was graduated from Rochester Free Academy, and is now a fruit grower; Betsey, who married John Tennison, of Parma; Mary, now deceased, who became the wife of Timothy Wicks, of Tompkins county, N. Y .; Susan, now de- ceased, who married Peter McKenen, who was at one time a teacher in the Rochester Free Academy for twelve years; and Daniel, who resides near Long Pond Bridge. In 1817 or 1818 Mr. and Mrs. Butts first located at the Rapids, near Rochester, N. Y., and shortly afterward in the town of Greece. He died February 19, 1888, and Mrs. Butts in 1875. This old family have been identified with the best interests of this town and county the past seventy-eight years, Christian Butts was a veteran in the war of 1812, and participated in the battle of Chippeway and Lundy's Lane. At this time he passed through Rochester and was struck with its future advantages, and thus came to settle at Rochester. He was a man of great sociability and kind- heartedness, especially toward the poor. He died at the age of about ninety-eight years.
Leonard, Charles N., is a son of Ichabod and Laura H. (Northrup) Leonard, and grandson of Ichabod, sr. Mr. Leonard's father came to Brighton in 1816, and to Penfield in 1823, his death occurring in 1867. He left two sons, Charles N. and George R. Mr. Leonard married Sarah P. De Shon, and settled in 1876 on the farm where he now lives. He takes an active part in the affairs of his town and has four times been elected supervisor, 1879-'80, '88 and '89.
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Leonard, George R., was born in Penfield, in 1841, and is the son of Ichabod and Laura (Northrop) Leonard and grandson of Ichabol Leonard, sr., who came from Massa- chusetts to Brighton in 1816, and to Penfield in 1823, and settled where Mr. Leonard now lives. Mr. Leonard's father died in 1867, leaving two sons, Charles N. and George R., and one daughter. He married in 1879, Mary, daughter of William R. Thomas, and granddaughter of Alpheus Clark, who was one of the first settlers of Penfield.
Weber, Frank .- The late Florian Weber, was born in Bavaria, Germany, May 4, 1822, was educated in their schools, and was a farmer by occupation. At the age of twenty-five he came to this country, and located at Brighton, this county, and five years later returned to Germany, where he made a prolonged visit. Returning again to America he located at the above mentioned place. In September, 1854, he married Cecilia Fetser, formerly of his native place, and their children were: Frank. Peter, Joseph F., Mary A. and Catherine. Peter married Mary McKiver of Ogden, and they have two children: Frances and Cecilia. Mary A. married Blasius Leicht- ner of Rochester. Catherine married John Leibeck of Greece, and they have two children, John A. and Walter J. The family have resided on this homestead in the south part of the town twenty-eight years. Mr. Weber died in 1886. Frank and Joseph F. are farmers on the homestead.
Davis, Benjamin F., was born in Bangor, Maine, June 21, 1829. His education was obtained in the common schools, came to this State when he was fifteen years old, first locating in Rochester, and soon afterward in the town of Greece, and be- came a farmer by occupation. In July, 1853, he married Mary A. Loper of Char lotte, and they have three children: Dora A., Emma J., and Charles A. Dora A. married William Loper, and they have one son, Frank E. Emma J. married Thomas Hogan, and three children were born to them: Thomas A., Frank, and Mary A. Charles A. married Medora Worden of this town, and they have three sons: Earl, Albert, and Wilber. Mr. Davis's father, Benjamin, was born in Maine, in 1800. He married Mary A. Washburne of his native State, and they have two children: William W., and Benjamin F., as above. Mr. Davis died in 1835, and his wife in 1833. Mrs. Davis's father, Gabriel Loper, was born in Connecticut in 1793. He married Alzina Payne of that State, and they were the parents of fifteen children, two of whom died in infancy: Stephen, Halsey, Simon, Geter. Judson, Henry, James, William, John, Charles, Asmeth, Mary A., as above, and Eliza. Mr. Loper died in 1853, and his wife in 1864. Mr. Davis is a hotel keeper, and an ice dealer. The ancestry of the family is Dutch and Welch.
Fuller, George R., son of Wyman M. Fuller, was born at Massena, N. Y., April 7, 1850, and when an infant moved with his parents to Norwood, N. Y., where his father was a merchant and postmaster. After attending the public schools he be- came a clerk in his father's store and at the age of eighteen began active life as a telegraph operator at De Kalb Junction, N. Y. He was then successively a ticket agent, passenger conductor, and traveling auditor from the general offices of the R., W. & O. Railroad at Watertown. In 1876 he came to Rochester and purchased his present business from the estate of Dr. Douglass Bly. Mr. Fuller is one of the most extensive manufacturers of artificial limbs in the country. At the time he succeeded Dr. Bly the business consisted of this branch alone, but to it he has since added the manufacture of trusses, supporters, crutches, etc. His trade extends not only
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throughout the United States and Canada but into Europe, Africa, Australia, the South and Spanish Americas, and other foreign countries. Mr. Fuller also publishes the New York State Medical Reporter, a monthly journal which he started in March, 1894, and which has acquired a wide and influential circulation. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Rochester Whist Club, was the first vice-president and is now president of the Park Avenue Loan Association, has been president since the organization and incorporation of the Boyer Diamond Vineyard Company, of Farmer, Seneca county, which has 180 acres of Diamond grapes, being probably the largest vineyard of one variety of grapes in the State. This company was incorporated in 1891 and had met with unvarying success.
Conterman, Adam L., was born in Minden, Montgomery county, N. Y., January 16, 1819. He was educated in the schools of his day and moved with his parents to Oswego county when he was sixteen years of age, and is a farmer by occupation, and has been a resident of Western New York since 1879. He was twice married, first on January 21, 1841, to Nancy Hoyt, of West Monroe, by whom he had four children : George H., Betsey, James S. (who was a soldier in the late war and died April 12, 1865, in the hospital at Point of Rocks, Va.), and Nancy. Mrs Conterman died May 23, 1858. January 14, 1860, he married Betsey A. Smith, of Chenango county, N. Y. They had two children: Ferma and John S. Mrs. Conterman died February 10, 1895. John S. is a farmer living at home. He married Ella Garlock, of Greece. The ancestry of the family is Dutch and German.
Brown, Le Grand, son of Dyer D. S. Brown, at one time proprietor of the old Rochester Democrat and later president of the Democrat and Chronicle, whose bio- graphical sketch appears on another page of this work, was born in Scottsville, Mon- roe county, October 19, 1863, and completed his education at the University of Roch- ester. Developing at an early age an aptitude for civil engineering, he devoted much time to the study of that profession and obtained a practical knowledge of its various branches. In 1882 he entered the employ of the Rochester & Ontario R. R. Co. (now the Rochester branch of the R., W. & O. R. R.) where he remained until his father having been appointed one of the commissioner to examine the Northern Pacific Railroad in the fall of 1883, he accompanied the party. Returning in 1884, he went to Florida as assistant engineer on the J., T. & K. W. R. R., and returning to Rochester in 1885, he entered the employ of the Central Union Transfer and Storage Company, where he remained a short time, being also engaged at several pieces of engineering work, among which with A. P. Bovier was the location of the line of the Lehigh Valley Railroad from Rochester to Honeoye Falls. In 1887 he formed a partnership with H. L. S. Hall and engaged in the coal and lumber busi- ness at Scottsville for a short time, after which returning to Rochester, opened in 1890 his present office. He was chief engineer for and had charge of the reconstruc- tion of the Rochester Railway Company's lines and the Grand View Beach Railroad. In 1891 he took charge of the location of, and later was employed as assistant engi- neer on the construction of the new Rochester Water Works Conduit under Emil Kuichling, chief engineer, and continued in that capacity until its completion in 1895, carrying on also a large private engineering business. At present he does much work on surveys and maps in legal cases, electric railroads, water works, etc., being constructing engineer on Charlotte sewers, Canandaigua water works, Rochester and
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Glen Haven R. R. and other important works. He is a member of the . Rochester Chamber of Commerce and Academy of Science, and one of the best known civil engineers in Western New York. He is a Republican in politics with independent proclivities. In 1887 he was married to Miss Margaret E. Baker, daughter of W. Y. Baker of Rochester, and they have two children: Margaret Louise and Roscoe Selden.
Singleton, Daniel R., was born in Massachusetts in 1857, and when a young man he came to Monroe county and settled in Parma, where he was later engaged for some years in the produce business, until 1884, when he came to Hamlin Center and bought the hotel which he has since run, and by the courtesy of himself and wife to their guests it gained the reputation of being one of the best in that section. Mr. Singleton also owns and runs the summer hotel at Oak Island Beach, which is becoming under his management to be favorably known as a first-class place to spend a few days for either rest or fishing. Mr. Singleton has always taken a keen interest in the public affairs of the town, and is in fact known as one of the leading spirits in all public enterprises.
Babcock, John W., born in Rochester, November 4, 1853, is a son of William Bab- cock, who was also a native of this city, born in August, 1822, being a son of John Babcock, who came here from New England at a very early day. The latter, a car- penter by trade, built many of the first buildings in the then village of Rochester- ville, and was long a member of the old Alexander street M. E. church. William Babcock was a canal boatman for about forty years, running grain boats between Buffalo and New York and carrying large quantities of grain from Brockport, Spen- cerport, and other points to Albany. He stopped about ten years ago and now lives in Rochester. He married Eliza S., daughter of James Wilson, both natives of Scot- land, and had six children, of whom John W. and George are living, John W. Bab- cock was educated at No. 13 school and the Free Academy, but during his first year in the latter institution sustained a severe injury, which compelled him to give up an academic course. Recovering, he was employed by Sargent & Greenleaf, lock man- ufacturers, for two and one-half years, and then attended business college. He was for eleven years bookkeeper for M. & E. Huntington, dealers in paints and oils, and their successors, B. H. Clark & Son, for three years bookkeeper for G. W. & C. T. Crouch & Sons, and two years for E. B. Chace, lumber dealers, and for five years a salesman, etc., for Doyle & Gallery, coal. In the spring of 1892 he established his present coal business at No. 321 South St. Paul street. He is a member of Yonondio Lodge, No. 163, F. & A. M. In July, 1877, he married Susie S., daughter of the late Col. Duncan McVicar of Rochester. She died in 1880, leaving an only daughter. In 1882 he married Lillia H., daughter of the late William Smeed, of this city, by whom he has one daughter and a son.
Ellsworth, Henry Mason, son of Henry Ellsworth, and Harriet Leroy Mason, was born in New York city May 21, 1833. His father, who died in 1840, was a native of East Windsor, Conn., a lineal descendant of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and a merchant in New York city, and after his death young Ells- worth went to Vermont, where he was educated. In September, 1847, he came to Rochester, arriving on a Saturday practically a stranger. Introducing himself to Charles B. Stuart, then city surveyor and afterward State engineer and surveyor, he
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began the next Monday morning driving pegs for a surveying party for $1 a day, and remained with Mr. Stuart until the latter's election as State engineer. In the meantime Mr. Ellsworth finished his education here under Prof Dewey. From 1848 to 1858 he engaged as a civil engineer on the Erie Canal enlargement, and at the end of that period went to California, where he engaged in mining and lumbering. He was second lieutenant of Co. C. 1st Bat. Nevada Cav .; and was post adjutant at Camp Douglass, Utah, under P. Edward Connor. When the Civil war closed he returned to California and remained there till December, 1867; he then came to Roch- ester and with others was engaged until 1871 on the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad through Minnesota. In 1875 he formed a partnership with George H. Thompson and John Luther under the style of G. H. Thompson & Co., and car- ried on a large building and railroad contracting business until the death of Mr. Thompson in 1884, when J. H. Grant was admtted to the firm and the name became Ellsworth, Luther & Co. In 1885 Mr. Luther retired and since then the style has been Ellsworth & Grant. Among the important works with which Mr. Ellsworth has been connected are the Lyons & Geneva and the Rochester & Lake Ontario Rail- roads, the N. Y. C. and the B. R. & P. depots in Rochester, forty miles of the Pine Creek and twenty miles of the Beech Creek Railroads in Pennsylvania, twenty miles of railroad from Canastota to Camden, the road from Dresden to Penn Yan for Gen. George J. Magee, of Watkins, the Erie double track from Attica to Portage, forty- two miles of the B. R. & P. Railroad from Ashford junction to Buffalo, forty miles of the Adirondack Railroad for Dr. W. Seward Webb, and others. He was also con- nected with the construction of the Elwood, Curtis, Martin Briggs, Reynolds & Eddy, Leary and other blocks in Rochester, the New Chamber of Commerce build- ing, and in fact with more than eighty-five buildings in this city. He is a 32d de- gree Mason, being a member of Frank R. Lawrence Lodge F. & A. M., Monroe Commandery K. T. and intermediate bodies, and is ex-vice-president and since 1877 a director of the German American Bank. May 10, 1878, he married Mrs. Helen L. Hartupee in Chicago, Il1.
Hamil, Aaron, was born in Clarkson, N. Y., in 1837. Daniel Hamil, father of Aaron H., came from East Bloomfield in 1828, and settled in Clarkson, where he died in the same year. Aaron H. remained on the farm until 1862, when he enlisted in Co. A, 140th N. Y. Vols., and served until the close of the war. He returned to Clarkson, where he engaged in farming until 1890. In 1894 he opened a hardware store in Hamlin, where he is still engaged in business. He married Amanda, daugh- ter of Isaac Scott, of Clarkson, by whom he had these children: Edward E., Clar- ence V., H. E., who is in business with his father; Walter U., Willie N., Bertrand P., and Charley A. Mr. Hamil is a member of Cady Post, G. A. R., of Brockport. Mrs. Hamil died, and he married for his second wife, S. A. Peterson, of Philadel- phia, Pa.
Emberry, A. J. and Willis .- Robert, their father, came to Pittsford, N. Y., in 1831, where he lived five years, then returned to England for his sister Amelia, who came back with him and settled in Penfield and together they purchased the farm now owned by A. J. and Willis. About 1840 Robert Embery married Miss Quick. A few years later they built the stone house, which has given the farm the name of the "Stone House" farm. A. J. and Willis are two of six sons, and were born in 1854
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and 1856 respectively. They were educated in the common schools and began farming with their brothers, with whom they continued until the death of their parents and aunt, when they divided the farm and bought out the other heirs. In 1886 A. J. Emberry married Elnora Morley, by whom he has two children: Mary and Richard. While not active politicians, these brothers are well read and keep posted in public affairs. They are members of the Penfield Masonic Lodge and the Patrons of Husbandry.
Denise, Daniel S., was born in the town of Freehold, Monmouth county, New Jersey, November 25, 1822. His parents moved to West Walworth, Wayne county, N. Y., when he was two years old, where he was partly educated in the public schools. In 1834 they moved to Macedon, and he attended the Macedon Academy nearly four years. In 1844 he went to his old home in New Jersey and taught school one year, and upon his return to Wayne county he entered the employ of a dry goods house in Palmyra, where he remained as a clerk two years and six months. In 1848 he went on a visit to Michigan, and February 21, 1849, he married Caroline Chapin, of Adrain, Mich., and came to this homestead May 3, 1850. They have had five children: Julian E., Edgar A., William H., Daniel S., jr., who died when but three years old, and Albert L. Edgar married Addie J. Wilder, and they have two daaghters, Lida A., and Mary W. William H. married M. Louisa Fry, and have had two children, Walter, who died in his fifth year, and Harry. Albert L. married Adelaide Davis, formerly of Canada, and they have one son, Edgar A. Mr. Denise's father, Dennise Denise, was also born in New Jersey at the old home, in 1799. He married Aletta Hulch, of his native place. She was born in 1797. Eleven children were born to them Mr. D. Denise died in 1880, and his wife in 1865. Mrs. Daniel Denise's father, Silas Chapin, was born in New Hampshire, February 5, 1793. He married Charity Whitney, of Elmira, born September 6, 1803. They had three chil- dren. Mr. Chapin died in 1829; his wife survives and lives in Michigan. Mr. Denise has been trustee of the school in Charlotte for eighteen years. The ancestry of this family is Dutch, English and Welsh. The two older brothers are general merchants in the village of Charlotte, under the firm name of Denise Bros. The company was formed August 5, 1879.
Dyson, Robert, was born in Cambridge, England, June 7, 1839, and came to the United States with his parents at the age of fifteen, and was educated in the com- mon schools. He is a farmer and fruit grower and also the owner of an extensive fruit evaporator by steam and heating processes known to himself, which he manu- factures, and has applied for patents on them. The capacity of his evaporators is 400 bushels per day. He was married twice, first to Mary McCoy, of Rochester, N. Y. They had two children: John and Martha. John married Elizabeth Peeling, and they had two children: Alice Maud, and Mabel. Martha married William Low- den, of Pennsylvania, and they have three children: Cora M., William and Robert. Mrs. Robert Dyson died July 9, 1892. The second time he married Lucy Long, of Bunker Hill, Ill., and they have one daughter, Hattie M. Mr. Dyson's father, John, was born at the old home in England in 1799, was a farmer by occupation, and he married Martha Hall, of his native place. They had six children: Sarah, Mary, Rebecca, Diana, John, and Robert, as above noted. The family came to the United States in 1854. Mr. Dyson's father died in 1872, and his mother in 1854. Mrs.
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