USA > New York > Wayne County > Landmarks of Wayne County, New York, Pt. 2 & 3 > Part 6
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From about 1850 to abont 1870 he planted out orchards to the extent of one hun- dred and fifty acres, most of which are now in bearing and producing a fair reve- nne to the firm. In 1851 he imported from France about three thousand dwarf pear trees for an orchard, which at that time was a new departure in the fruit business, of which most people predicted failure, though it proved a gratifying success, and was the most decisive innovation of the period in pear enlture, and is at the present time, 1891, vigorous and productive. L. II. Bailey, professor of horticulture of Cornell University, while visiting it in its season of fruiting in 1894, said ; " It is an inspi- ration to me, and is an historical orchard." Many of the trees are from nine to twelve inches in diameter and only about eight to ten feet high.
In 1879 Mr. Yeomans visited Holland, and brought thence that fine strain of Hol- stein-Friesian cattle (thirty-three animals), the nucleus of the herd of T. G. Yeomans & Sons, which has become famous throughout the country, and the progeny of which have enriched the stock of countless farms. One of the largest breeders and best judges of this breed of cattle pronounces this the most remarkable importation ever made. It was this firm, with this herd, who first brought out conspienously, by actual tests, the surprising qualities of this breed for butter production ; which have since been abund- antly confirmed and demonstrated by their winning the chief prizes at most of the great public contests of the breeds in this country ; and by the production of more butter from one cow in a single year than was ever produced by any other cow of any breed, viz. :
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eleven hundred and fifty-three pounds and fifteen ounces. On the organization of " The Holstein-Friesian Association of America," Mr. Yeomans was chosen its first president. and some member of their firm has at all times been a member of its official board. Mr. Yeomans has not only visited several European countries, but has seen much of Ameri- ca, having twice with Mrs. Yeomans visited the Pacific coast, spending three months in California, and later visited Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. ITIs several other excursions include New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and all of the States of the American Union except Texas. Between 1836 and 1845 he held, part of the time, the office of town clerk and postmaster ; and subsequently justice of the peace for about sixteen years. Previous to holding the latter office litigation was quite common. though b, h's method of administration it was so checked that only five or six suits were con- tested in his part of the town during the whole period of his official service. He was supervisor of Walworth in 1849 and 1850, and is understood to be the only person liv- ing who was supervisor either of those years.
The following year, 1851, he was elected member of assembly, serving two years in secession ; he can learn of but two others now living who were members of that hon- orable body in 1851, viz .: Hon. William H. Feller, then of Dutchess county, and now of Minnesota, and Hon. Hamilton Harris, of Albany.
He has voted at fifty-nine consecutive annual elections, and in the good old times from 1836 to 1846, when elections were held three days at different places in each town, he was in the habit of attending all three days at the polls. His first vote was cast for Gen. William Henry Harrison in 1836, and he had the pleasure of helping to elect him in 1840; it is needless to say that he was among the enthusiastic supporters of the old General's grandson in 1888. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1884 which nominated James G. Blaine for president.
Mr. Yeomans' eldest son, L. T. Yeomans, was member of assembly from Wayne county in 1872 and 1873; his youngest son, Francis C., was two years member of assembly in the State of Washington.
When the rebellion broke out in 1861, and President Lincoln called for 75,000 vohin- teer soldiers, Mr. Yeomans offered to pay each man who enlisted from Walworth three dollars per month extra pay, and paid them through their .colonel, Joseph W. Corning, of the 33d Regiment, U. S. Vol.
Under a subsequent call for "300,000 more " he went to New York city and procured enlisted men to fill the quota for Walworth (seventeen or eighteen men).
About 1810 Mr. Yeomans offered a liberal prize for planting shade trees on the streets and public grounds of the village, and an extra prize of twenty-five dollars to the person who would plant the greatest number within three-fourths of a mile of the village. The result was the planting of many hundreds, which have become in later years the ornament and pride of the place.
The village of Walworth has abundance of nice flag stone and cement walks, a large portion of which were provided by Mr. Yeomans, including those about the hotel and churches. He took an active part in organizing. Walworth Academy more than fifty years ago, and has been one of its trustees from the first, and the largest contributor to its finances.
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LANDMARKS OF WAYNE COUNTY.
The town of Walworth is noted for its general neatness and orderly character, which may be attributed in some degree to the fact that no license to sell intoxicating drinks has been granted there for about sixty years; and it was the first town in the State to refuse such license.
The public are accommodated with a beautiful and commodious hotel, " The Pacific," built and owned by Mr. Yeomans; and since its construction in 1877 has been nicely kept on strictly temperance principles, an honor to the town. It is unnecessary to say that Mr. Yeomans has been a prime actor in securing and maintaining the public senti- ment which favors this desirable condition of things, so beneficial to the community.
It is only natural that a man of his ability, experience and usefulness, should be a great power politically and otherwise in the town and county where he has resided for so many years, and where the whole of a busy manhood has been passed. Neverthe- less it is rarely the case that for so many years in succession the people of any commu- nity trust their affairs to so large an extent to one man. Mr. Yeomans may well feel proud of the fact that for so many years his voice and influence have been so decisive in the selection of candidates for office, and the choice of delegates to the various gath- erings of the Republican party, as well as to the many public interests of the commu- nity.
It shows the confidence with which he has been able to inspire two, or even three generations of his fellow townsmen ; and is a most fitting testimonial of the worth and sterling integrity of the man.
The portrait of Mr. Yeomans published herein is copied from a photograph taken when he was eighty years of age.
GEORGE W. COWLES.
HON. GEORGE W. COWLES was born in December, 1824, in the town of Otisco, Onon- daga county, N. Y. He entered Hamilton College, and was graduated in 1845. For six years after completing his college course he engaged in farming. He then studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1854, and began practice in Clyde, Wayne county, where he has since resided. In 1863 he was elected county judge of Wayne county, and again in 1867. In 1868 he was chosen member of congress and earned an enviable record in that body. In 1873 he was again chosen county judge, and was re-elected to the same position in 1885. He is now practicing his profession at Clyde.
NEWELL E. LANDON, M. D.
NEWELL E. LANDON, M. D., eldest son of Zera N. and Sarah A. (Adams) Landon, was born in Newark, this county, March 3, 1852. Zera N. Landon, son of James, was a na- tive of Washington county, N. Y. He was a teamster and subsequently a farmer, and about 1850 settled in the town of Arcadia, wherethe died November 9, 1893, aged
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nearly seventy-four. His wife's death occurred May 18, 1894, in her sixty-second year. She was a daughter of William Adams, who died in Palmyra in 1863, at the age of seventy-seven, after a residence in the town of about forty years. Their children were Dr. Newell E. ; William A., of Newark; Charles S., who died in 1892; and Eudora .1., of Newark.
Dr. Newell E. Landon was reared on the farm and acquired his literary education in the common schools and in the Newark Union Free School and Academy. At the age of three years he removed with his parents to the town of Palmyra, where the family remained until 1864, when they purchased a farm about two miles from Newark vil- lage. Here the remainder of his boyhood days were passed. Having determined to adopt medieine as his life work young Landon entered the office of Dr. Charles G. Pomeroy in Newark in October, 1872, where he thoroughly prepared himself for his chosen profession. Ile became a student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city (the Medical Department of Columbia College) and was graduated from that institution with the class of 1876, receiving a hospital appointment. By the advice of Dr. Pomeroy, however, he declined the post, returned to Newark, and accepted a part- nership with his preceptor, which continued four years. In January, 1880, Dr. Landon married Miss Mary Easton and soon afterward located in Rochester, where he remained a year and a half. Owing to the ill health of his wife he returned to Newark, where he has ever since resided. Mrs. Landon died in December, 1882, and in October, 1886, he married Miss Alice Russell, daughter of L. C. Russell,1 of Port Gibson, Ontario county.
Dr. Landon for several years was connected with the State Custodial Asylum for Feeble Minded Women of Newark, first as attending physician and afterward as con- sulting physician and surgeon. He is now Division Surgeon for the West Shore and Northern Central railroads, a member of the Wayne County Medical Society, New York State Medical Association, Central New York Medical Society, American Medical As- sociation, and National Association of Railway Surgeons, and medical examiner for the New York Life, New York Mutual Life, Massachusetts Mutual Life, Northwestern Mutual Life, and John Hancock Life Insurance Companies. He is also a member of Newark Lodge, No. 83, F. and A. M., and Chapter 117 R. A. M., and a member and examining surgeon of the K. O. T. M. and E. K. O. R. Besides these he has served as president of the village one term and health officer of the town several years.
Thoroughly devoted to his chosen calling Dr. Landon is a close student, critical and quick in comprehension, unusually accurate and keen in diagonsis, and clear yet scien- tific in treatment. He has established a large and successful practice, and is justly conceded a prominent place among the leading physicians of Western New York. As a surgeon he is skillful and unerring, and has performed nearly all of the more difficult operations in his locality during the past dozen years. He also takes an active interest
'Capt. Russell was for many years a very prominent citizen of that locality. He carried on an extensive grain and produce trade, was a large dealer in general merchandise, ran a packet on the canal before the days of railroad travel, and served some time as postmaster. For nearly half of a century he was the principal business man of Port Gibson. He died in September, 1876, aged seventy years.
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in local affairs, particularly in educational and social matters, lending his aid and influ- ence in promoting every good cause. In all of these he is ably seconded and assisted by his estimable wife, who is actively identified with many local organizations.
JACOB FISHER.
JACOB FISHER was born in the grand duchy of Baden, Germany, October 29, 1831. His father, Sebastian Fischer, was a mechanic and died in his native land. The mother, Margaret Fischer (Americanized Fisher), came with her son Jacob to America in the spring of 1853. She settled in Rochester and subsequently came to Lyons, where her death occurred in 1885 at the age of eighty years.
Jacob Fisher inherited in full measure the unswerving honesty of purpose, the native ability, and the simplicity of earnestness which characterized his parents, and before leaving his fatherland had acquired a good practical education in the public schools. He early became inured to hard labor and acquired habits of thrift and frugality which guided the whole of his after career. His first work in this country was on a farm near Rochester ; later he was employed in a furnace in that city. Neither of these occupations suited his tastes and he therefore directed his efforts into other channels. In 1857 he began to learn his trade in the Rochester pottery, where he remained until December, 1872, when he came to Lyons village, which has since been his home. Upon his arrival he leased of Thompson Harrington the Lyons pottery (established in 1825), which he con- ducted until about 1880, when he purchased the establishment and has since been prac- tically its sole owner. Excepting a partnership with George Lang, covering about two years, he has carried on the business alone.
When Mr. Fisher first leased the Lyons pottery it was a very small concern with a single kiln. In 1885 he put in another kiln of more than double the capacity of the original one, and about two years later built a brick addition known as the " blue room." Subsequently a second kiln replaced the first one, making two now in operation; a large brick building 28 by 80 feet was erected, and steam power with all the latest improve- ments and conveniences was added, increasing the original capacity more than six-fold. About thirty-five persons are employed and the weekly pay roll amounts to some $200. Stoneware of all kinds is manufactured and shipped to all parts of the United States. The capacity of the plant is about seventy-five kilns of 9,000 to 10,000 gallons per annum.
Mr. Fisher is well known in every village in Western New York. His business has brought him into wide prominence and has earned for him an enviable reputation for honesty and fair dealing. Observing with a keen discernment the needs of his exten- sive trade he has constantly increased it by legitimate innovations and modern improve- ments, adding to the capacity of his plant as necessity demanded and pushing his wares into new territory whenever an opportunity waspresented. His long connection with the pottery trade has made his name a synonym for excellence, reliance, and substantial worth. In politics not only himself but his family are staunch Republicans, but all
Jacob Fisher-
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have eschewed political preferment. During one term, however, Mr. Fisher served as village trustee. In religion the family are German Methodists, to which denomination all have contributed liberally of both time and means.
In July, 1858, Mr. Fisher married Miss Theresa Burger, of Rochester, by whom he has had four children, all living. Edmund Fisher, the eldest, is the principal traveling salesman for his father, being assisted on the road by Eben Bonrne. William F. is cap- tain of the boat Louisa (named from his youngest daughter), which is used in shipping goods to all points along the Erie Canal. The daughters are Amelia and Louisa, the latter being the bookkeeper and cashier of the works.
HIRAM GILBERT HOTCHKISS.
IHIRAM G. HOTCHKISS, the subject of this sketch, son of Leman and Theodosia (Gil- bert) Hotchkiss, was born in Oneida county, N. Y., June 19, 1810. Leman Hotchkiss was a merchant, and in 1811 removed with his family to Phelps, Ontario county, where, with David McNeil as a partner, he opened a general store, the first in the town. The firm of Hotchkiss & McNeil became one of the best known mercantile establishments in Western New York, doing a business of over one hundred thousand dollars per annum. In 1816 Leman Hotchkiss started a store in Lyons, under the firm name of Leach & Demmon, which continued business many years. In 1822 Hotchkiss & McNeil started the first general store in what is now Newark village, then called Mil- ler's Basin, in which they placed Hiram G., then twelve years old, as clerk, he being the first clerk employed in a store in that place.
Although the educational facilities of Western New York at this early day were limited Mr. Hotchkiss's education was not neglected, and he grasped every opportunity which was presented to educate and fit himself for the life that was to follow (i. e. a successful merchant. At the age of eighteen he, with his brother Leman B., and a cousin, William T. Hotchkiss, opened a general store in Phelps and successfully operated two mills in Phelps and one in Seneca Falls, the combined capacity being over 500 barrels daily.
In 1837 while engaged in this business, Mr. Hotchkiss began buying oil of pepper- mint of farmers along with their wheat, which was then produced in very small quan- tities ; and having accumulated a quantity of this essential oil he sent it to the New York markets, but without success. The business at that time was wholly in the hands of adulterators and his oil being pure he was obliged to recall it. But nothing daunted, Mr. Hotchkiss bottled his oil and consigned it to London and Rotterdam, where it al- most immediately sprung into general favor. His label soon gained a wide reputation and became a substantial guarantee for purity and strength. In 1837 he disposed of his store and began the manufacture of American essential oils in Phelps, and so rapidly did his business increase that it required his entire attention and has since become his life work. In April, 1844, Mr. Hotchkiss disposed of his milling Interest and with his family removed to Lyons, purchasing a large tract of land and beginning the cultivation of American essential oils on a large scale. Here he has ever since resided.
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LANDMARKS OF WAYNE COUNTY.
Mr. Hotchkiss may be truthfully regarded as the father of the essential oil business in America. IIe began in a very small way, selling less than 1,000 pounds the first year. He boldly and unswervingly adhered to a high standard of beauty and purity, and by striet honesty and fair dealing rapidly built up a trade covering not only all portions of the United States but commanding the markets of the civilized world, un- til now the output of American essential oils under the H. G. Hotchkiss brand is over 100,000 pounds per annum, and which has largely increased the value of the essential oil lands of this county.
The manufacture ineludes oils of peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, wormwood, sassafras, pennyroyal, and tansy, the first two, however, being of paramount importance. These oils lead the world, control the largest markets of the globe, and bring to Lyons thousands of dollars annually. It is the only brand that maintains any eredit on the London and Continential European exchanges. In 1878 Mr. Hotchkiss visited Europe and was everywhere received and entertained in the most complimentary manner by the leading merchants of the old world. In London he was escorted to the floor of the world-renowned London Exchange, and then and there complimented on the standing of his brand of essential oils, an honor, to say the least, that has been extended to but few Americans. Since 1851 Mr. Hotchkiss has taken the first prize medals and diplomas on his brand of oils at the following World's fairs, viz .: At London in 1851 and 1862; at New York in 1853; at Paris in 1856, 1867, and 1878 ; at Hamburg in 1863; at Vienna, Austria, in 1873; at Philadelphia in 1876; at Chicago in 1893; and others besides of a local nature, and it is through this business that Mr. Hotchkiss has become the most widely known man in Wayne county. In fact there is not a town in all the civilized world large enough to support a drug store or confectioner's shop but what the name of II. G. Hotchkiss, the Peppermint King, is a household word.
On January 3, 1833, Mr. Hotchkiss married Mary Williams Ashley, daughter of Doctor Robert Ashley, of Lyons. To them were born three sons and nine danghters: Ellen C., widow of the late Col. Alexander D. Adams; Mary, deceased, wife of Thomas F. Attix, of Brooklyn; Emma T., widow of the late Rev. Charles H. Platt, of Binghamton, N. Y .; Theodosia, ched in infancy ; lisette, widow of the late Henry C. Parshall, of Lyons; Annie, deceased, wife of Charles HI. Dickerson, of Detroit, Mich. ; Leman, deceased, the first Democrat elected member of Assembly in the 2d district of Wayne county ; Adrianna D., wife of Rev. William II. Williams, of Lyons; Clara, died in Albany at the age of twelve years; Calvin and Hiram G., jr., now associated with their father in the essential oil business ; and Alice M. A., wife of William G. David, of New York city. Mrs. Hotchkiss died in 1886.
Mr. Hotchkiss, through an honorable connection with the essential oil trade, is best known. He has made his own name and that of his town familiar to all countries and climes. For many years he has led an active life, and now, at the age of eighty-five, we find him hale and hearty with his mind and body nimpaired, and with prospects of of a useful hfe before him. As a business man he has been eminently successful, and in local matters affecting the welfare of his town he has always taken an abiding in- terest. In religion he is an Episcopalian and in politics a Demoerat, but in no sense has he ever been an office seeker. Public spirited, liberal, and kind hearted, he is emphatic- ally a local benefactor.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
FREDERICK WINTER GRIFFITH.
EVERY person born into the world fills a peculiar niche in the great sea of human activity, and when a single individual, through his own exertions, attains the distinction of a successful man his career, even though it be incomplete, becomes a matter worthy of permanent record. Genealogical data, when traced back into centuries gone by, often presents gaps almost unconnectable, yet it is none the less interesting, for cer- tainly some light will be thrown upon facts rapidly passing out the cotemporary biogra- pher's reach.
The Griffith family is of Welch origin and the branch under consideration dates its lineage from one Joseph, whose father settled in Virginia early in the eighteenth cen- tury. Joseph Griffith, after having served in the Revolutionary war, became a resident of Luzerne county, Pa., whence he removed to Phelps, Ontario county, N. Y., in 1803, being one of the pioneers of that now rich and fertile locality. There his son John was born, and there he lived and died. There John W., son of John, was born March 25, 1830. All were quiet, substantial farmers and good business men. Joseph and John (his son) were early and active members of the Presbyterian Church at Oaks Corners, about two miles east of Phelps, which was the first religious organization in that town. John: W. Griffith, however, united with the Methodists as soon as an M. E. church was established in the village, and lived and died in that belief. He possessed unusual natural ability, was a remarkably keen observer of human nature, was well read and posted on all current topics, and without advantages obtained a knowledge at once broad, thorough, and com- prehensive. He was an ardent and staunch Republican, but eschewed all political prefer- ment. He married Charlotte E. Malette1 and died at Clifton Springs, N. Y., Novem- ber 21, 1891. They had seven children, of whom six are living, viz .: Frederick W. ; John C., a lawyer in Buffalo; James M., of Geneva ; Mary E., of Palmyra; Frank A., on the old homestead in Phelps; and Helena M., of Palmyra.
Frederick W. Griffith, the eldest of these children, was born on the family homestead in Phelps on December 17, 1858, and spent his early life on the farm and in the district schools, supplementing his preliminary education with a brief attendance at the Phelps Union Classical School. At the age of eighteen he began the trade of a printer with his uncle, James Malette, on the Geneva Courier, where he remained until 1881, being associate editor during the last year of his residence there. Returning to Phelps he prepared himself for college at the Union and Classical School, and in the fall of 1882 en- tered Hamilton College, from which he was graduated as a bachelor of arts and as a high honor man with the class of 1886. His entire education was obtained wholly
' The lineage of the Malette family is traced back to Pierre Malet, who was born in France in 1605. Following the edict of Louis XV, which deprived all Protestants of legal rights in the courts and made their property subject to confiscation by the crown, he sailed to America in 1724 Of 1725 with his wife and son Pierre, and other Huguenots. He located in Baltimore as a shipbuilder, but soon removed to Reading, Conn., where he engaged in farming. He was distinguished for his piety, and his wife possessed decided energy of spirit. His posterity were (2) Pierre, or Peter, born in 1720 ; (3) Philip, born in 1751 ; (4) Levi, born in 1786 ; (5) Isaac ; (6) Charlotte E. (Mrs. John W. Griffith ) ; (7) Frederick W. Griffith, the subject of this sketch. The orthography of the name Malet was long since Americanized into the modern Malette.
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