USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 13
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management of the Commercial Advertiser, which after the death of the senior Warren in 1886 was continued by his sons under the firm style of James D. Warren's Sons. In 1890 the word "Advertiser" was dropped and the paper has since been known as the Commercial. Since the death of Orsamus G. Warren, William C. Warren has been managing proprietor.
As an editor and publisher Mr. Warren is the vigorous, modern type of newspaper man. He has mantained the sterling traditions of his paper and has given it the distinctive impress of his personality. The staunch Republicanism of the Commercial Adver- tiser is perpetuated and emphasized in its suc- cessor, the Commercial, which has for many years been the representative newspaper of its party in this section of the State. Viewed as to its general policy the Commercial is characterized by progres- siveness tempered by WILLIAM C. WARREN. sound conservatism. The public spirit of its proprietor is reflected in his paper whose championship of the interests of Buffalo and Erie County is zealous, efficient, and unswerving in its constancy. The influ- ence of the Commercial in politics has long been one of the important and well-recognized factors of existing conditions. A man of clear-cut views and definite political convictions, the editorial opinions of Mr. Warren carry the weight which attaches to utterances which deal frankly with issues
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typical Scotch boy. When only ten years old he left school and went to work in Edinburgh, where he lived until 1857. In 1855 he married Grace Harriet Michie.
In 1857 Mr. Adam left Scotland for the United States. He first settled in Boston, where he remained ten years. In 1867 he removed to Buffalo, and the same year organized in that city the great dry-goods and mercantile house of Adam, Meldrum & Anderson, a firm with which his name was thenceforth identified. To this memorable com- mercial enterprise he brought a business intellect unsur- passed for clearness and scope, a calmness incapable of being shaken from its poise by any exigency, and the Scottish pluck and distinctively Scottish devotion to duty which enabled him against every obstacle to make his way in a strange land.
Unusual as were Mr. Adam's abilities as a merchant, his philanthropic and municipal activities are perhaps his truest titles to fame. Of the many interests with which he came in contact, it is probable that the welfare of the Young Men's Christian Association in Buffalo was the most deeply grounded in his solicitude. It was in 1879 that he first became a Director of the Association, serving in that capacity until 1886, when he was chosen Trustee. In 1891 he was again elected Director and in 1897, President, continuing in all these positions till his death. He was Chairman of the Building Committee, which in 1883 erected the first Association building, and in 1903 was Chairman of the Building Committee which erected the present Central Building. Mr. Adam's connection with the Y. M. C. A. may best be characterized by saying that he was the emergency man of the movement. Freely, unsparingly, he laid his munifi- cent money gifts, his admirable business talents, his time, strength and experience on the altar of the cause. He was pre-eminently the friend of young men. He saw in the Y. M. C. A. a practical project for offering to young men safe compan- ionships, cheerful surroundings, education, religious instruction and honest enjoyments.
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As President of the Merchants' Exchange, Mr. Adam had the honor of inaugurating in 1888 the project of abolishing the deadly grade crossings. The same year the Legislature passed an: Act creating the Grade Crossings Commission. Mr. Adam was Chairman of this Commission from the time it became an organized body till the day of his death, and until he was stricken with his last illness he was energetically engaged in its work. In his capacity of leader of the movement to do away with the grade crossings, Mr. Adam's attitude has been aptly described as that of an aggressive compromiser. He was always determined, ever insistent, never hot-headed or borne away by feeling. The public trusted him and the corporations recognized his justice. The occasion demanded tact, and he displayed that quality in full measure. His urbanity soothed impetuous tempers and his approachableness made discussion easy. When occupying the chair of the Commission, his rulings were notable for their fairness and good sense. In giving opinions he exhibited one of his most marked characteristics- that of committing himself to no views till he had made a searching inquiry into the facts. It was observed of him by one of his fellow commissioners that his suggestions were based on such thorough examination and study that the mere state- ment carried conviction.
Mr. Adam's work as a student of literature, connoisseur and collector would have been noteworthy even had his activities been confined to these fields. He corresponded with many men of learning on both sides of the Atlantic, and this pursuit was among his chief enjoyments. An ardent admirer of Dr. Johnson, he was the possessor of the finest known collection of Johnsoniana, and was never weary of searching for memorials of that great scholar, author and philosopher. His array of rare editions of Robert Burns and of the poet's original manu- scripts was deservedly famous. That art had a place in Mr. Adam's life was proved not only by his patronage of noted artists, but by the fact of some of his most highly prized
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manuscripts were written by the hand of Ruskin. Mr. Adam also had other manuscript collections of men of literary fame. His library was extensive and unique. It covered the choicest realms of literature and was known to the literati of two conti- nents. He was a large contributor to educational and charitable institutions, was a trustee of the Buffalo General Hospital, and an active member of many benevolent organiza- tions. He was President of the Chamber of Commerce, and a trustee of Cornell University. He was a prominent member of St. Andrew's Scottish Society, and preserved the tender remem- brance of the Scotch town in which he was born and especially of the church in which his father officiated as a ininister.
Mr. Adam was a member of the First Presbyterian Church on the Circle. He was a man of deep religious convictions, and one who carried the precepts of his faith into the practice of daily life. He was a gentle, conscientious and just employer. Toward those who were in his service he felt a genuine friendly solicitude, and they in turn regarded him as one who had their best interests at heart. It was felt that the passing from this life of Robert B. Adam, June 30, 1904, left a void impossible to fill. The undertakings which bore witness to his disinterested devotion seemed stricken and helpless, and it was realized that the community had lost a citizen who was, in the truest and best sense of the words, a leader of men.
RUFUS MORTIMER CHOATE. The Choate family in America is descended from John Choate, who with his brother, William, came from Essex, England, to America, in 1643, and settled at Ipswich, Mass. From John Choate descended in direct line Thomas, Francis, Isaac, Joshua, Isaac W., and Rufus M. Choate. From Francis Choate, son of Thomas, descended also William, George and Joseph H. Choate of New York City, the last named of international fame as a lawyer, and late ambassador at the Court of St. James. William Choate, son of Francis Choate, was the ancestor of David and
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Rufus Choate, the latter the celebrated lawyer of Boston. Isaac and William Choate, the sons of Francis, were officers in the Patriot army during the Revolutionary War. David and Eli Choate, other descendants of Francis Choate, served in the War of 1812, being stationed in Buffalo.
ISAAC W. CHOATE came from Massachusetts to Erie County about 1810. He was accompanied by David and Eli Choate, his brothers, and their two sisters. The same year he settled at Hunt's Corners, in the town of Clarence, David and Eli settling on farms in the town of Lancaster, near Clarence Hollow. Later Isaac W. Choate bought a large flouring mill in Rochester, N. Y., afterward selling this mill and building another at Castile, N. Y. Subsequently he removed to Clarence Hollow, Erie County, where he bought a farm, and lived till his death in 1852. Isaac W. Choate married Mehitabel Blanch- ard of Pawnal, Vt. The Blanchards were a prominent New England family. Mr. Choate was one of the leading Masons of Erie County, holding very high rank in the order.
RUFUS MORTIMER CHOATE, son of Isaac W. Choate, was born Oct. 4, 1840, at Clarence, Erie County, N. Y. The first twenty years of his life were spent on his father's farm. He attended district school in Clarence, Clarence Classical Academy, and graduated from Bryant & Stratton's Business College. After spending a year in Wisconsin, he returned in 1861 for the purpose of enlisting, with eight other Clarence young men, under the first call for volunteers at the outbreak of the Civil War. But after drilling for a month the little band were notified that they would not be required, as enough three- months' men had been secured. Thereupon Mr. Choate obtained employment on the Buffalo docks as clerk in a ticket office, and later became teacher of the district school at Clarence. The following summer he worked as a clerk on the docks and in the winter obtained a place in the Buffalo Custom House. Mr. Choate was passenger agent at Buffalo of the People's Line from 1866 to 1872, when he was made general passenger agent
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of all the lake lines, including the People's, the Western Trans- portation Company, the Union Steamboat Company, and the Lake Superior Transit Company. In 1888 Mr. Choate resigned his position to take up the real estate investment business, in which he is now engaged. He has operated almost exclusively in South Buffalo, and has had more to do with the building up of that part of the city than any other man in local history. In 1888 he organized the South Buffalo Business Men's Asso- ciation, of which he later served four years as President. Two objects of the Association, the abolition of toll gates and grade crossings, have been accomplished, and the third, flood abate- ment, will soon be attained. In addition, he was mainly instru- mental in the creation of Cazenovia Park and the Red Jacket and South Side Parkways, personally giving over 12 acres of land to the city, and helping to secure the rest. Mr. Choate was a resident of South Buffalo for twenty-five years.
Politically Mr. Choate has always been a Republican, but in 1906 he joined the Independence League movement, serving as member of the Executive Committee for Erie County.
In April, 1866, Mr. Choate married Ellen Strickler, daughter of Daniel Strickler of Clarence. Their surviving children are: Allen E., Lulu M. (Mrs. B. B. Daggett of Buffalo); Nellie C. (Mrs. E. W. Sanborn of Dunkirk, N. Y.), and Eda E., and Chester C. Choate of Buffalo.
GROVER CLEVELAND. This illustrious former citizen of Buffalo, twice President of the United States, has had a career which belongs to history proper and stands broadly differen- tiated from the limits usually assigned to individual achieve- ments.
Mr. Cleveland is descended from Moses Cleveland, who came to Massachusetts in 1635 from Ipswich, Norfolk County, England. The name was originally spelled "Cleaveland," the present orthography having later been adopted. Many of the early Clevelands were clergymen, and since the second genera-
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tion of the family in this country there has never been a time when one or more of the name was not a minister, usually of the Presbyterian or Congregational Church. William Cleve- land, the grandfather of Grover Cleveland, settled at Norwich, Conn., where on June 19, 1805, the Rev. Richard Falley Cleve- land, Grover Cleveland's father, was born. After receiving his education at Yale College, the Rev. Mr. Cleveland was ordained a minister of the Presbyterian Church, and removed to Baltimore, Md. He afterwards accepted a call to Caldwell, N. J., and in 1841 had charge of a church at Fayetteville, N. Y., later removing to Clinton, Oneida County. In 1853 he was called to Holland Patent, Oneida County, where he died October 1, of that year. While residing in Baltimore Mr. Cleveland married Ann Neal, daughter of a well-known book publisher of that city.
Grover Cleveland was born in Caldwell, Essex County, N. J., March 18, 1837. He was educated in the public schools and at the Academy in Clinton, N. Y., and later became teacher and assistant in the Institution for the Blind, New York City. In 1855 he removed to Buffalo, where he became a student in the law office of Bowen & Rogers, being admitted to the bar in 1859. For the next four years he remained with his preceptors as clerk, and in 1863 was appointed Assistant District Attorney, which office he held till 1866. In 1870 he was elected Sheriff of Erie County, serving till 1874, when he returned to the practice of law, becoming a member of the firm of Bass, Cleve- land & Bissell. He rose to high rank in his profession, being a trial advocate of unusual skill and a learned and able office counselor.
In 1881 Mr. Cleveland was elected Mayor of Buffalo by the largest majority ever given a candidate for the office up to that time. While Mayor his famous vetoes of extravagant appro- priations made him one of the leading political figures of the State and led to his nomination for Governor, to which office he was elected in 1882, defeating Charles J. Folger by
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nearly 193,000 majority. While Governor, retrenchment, economy and integrity were his guiding principles and reform was the watchword of his administration.
When the Democratic National Convention met in Chicago in July, 1884, Mr. Cleveland developed a strength which gave him 683 votes out of 820, whereupon his nomination for the Presidency was made unanimous, and he was elected over James G. Blaine, Republican, by a majority of 37 electoral votes. In 1888 he was nominated against Benjamin Harrison, but was defeated, whereupon he returned to the practice of law, locating in New York City. In 1892 he was again the. national standard bearer of the Democracy and was elected, defeating Mr. Harrison. During President Cleveland's terms of office the many matters of grave importance which came before him were dealt with from the standpoint of sound states- manship and sterling patriotism. Since the expiration of his second term the popular confidence in him has been confirmed and strengthened and continues undiminished to the present day.
In 1896, the Democratic party having declared for the free coinage of silver, Mr. Cleveland withheld his support from the platform and ticket. After his second retirement from the White House he made his home in Princeton, N. J., where he has ever since resided. In 1897 Princeton University conferred upon him the degree of L.L.D., and soon thereafter he was elected one of its trustees. In 1905 he was selected as one of the trustees holding a majority of the stock of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. In 1907 he accepted the additional duties of chairman and counsel of the Associa- tion of Life Insurance Presidents.
June 2, 1886, Mr. Cleveland married Frances Folsom of Buffalo. Their union has been blessed with five children, Ruth, Esther, Marion, Richard F., and Frances G. The four last named still survive.
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THOMAS MORTON GIBSON. To Thomas Morton Gibson, Vice-President and managing executive of that representative mercantile house, the Adam, Meldrum & Anderson Company, belongs by universal consent a place in the foremost ranks of Buffalo business men. Distinctively a merchant and financier, he is none the less a citizen.
Mr. Gibson is of Scottish birth. He comes of the Gibsons of Kilmarnock, an Ayrshire family prominent in the West of Scotland, his father being John Gibson and his mother's maiden name Sarah Fraser. Thomas M. Gibson was the youngest of a family of eleven children. John Gibson, the father of Thomas M. Gibson, was the manager of a large carpet factory in Kilmar- nock.
Thomas Morton Gibson was born at Kilmarnock July 11th, 1845. He re- ceived his education at a private school kept by William Fraser in East Shaw street, Kilmarnock. After £ leaving school young Gibson served a regular apprenticeship in THOMAS M. GIBSON. the dry-goods business. Mr. Gibson recalls that for four years' work he received only 40 pounds, or about $200 of our money.
Thomas M. Gibson early conceived the idea of going to America. Taking ship on a sailing vessel bound out of Liver- pool, in 1864, he arrived at St. John, New Brunswick, the voyage consuming 42 days.
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Mr. Gibson there obtained employment with Ennis & Gardner, a dry-goods firm, with whom he remained two years. In 1867 he went to Chicago, where he remained until 1869, during which time he was connected with the dry-goods estab- lishment of Ross & Gossage. In the fall of 1869 he made a visit to his birthplace. Upon coming back to America, Mr. Gibson settled in Buffalo in 1870, entering the store of Adam & Meldrum as a clerk in the linen department, the salary being $15 a week.
Mr. Gibson's rise was steady. After a few years as clerk he was promoted to the position of floor manager and later manager of the retail department. Upon the death of Mr. Meldrum, a corporation was formed, under the name of the Adam, Meldrum & Anderson Company, and Mr. Gibson became owner of part of the stock of the concern. After the death of Mr. William Anderson, Mr. Gibson was elected to fill his place as managing partner and director, the other members of the board being R. B. Adam, Sr., and R. B. Adam, Jr. Upon the death of Mr. R. B. Adam in 1904, Mr. Gibson was elected Vice- President of the company.
On January 6th, 1876, Mr. Gibson married Lavancha T. Stannard of Buffalo, a daughter of the late W. W. Stannard, who was for many years associated with the firm of Jewett & Root, and who served the city as Assessor and Alderman, and the State as Assemblyman. The children of this marriage are: Lieut. Walter Fraser Gibson, who is connected with the Adam, Meldrum & Anderson establishment, and Edla S. Gibson.
For many years Mr. Gibson has been a communicant of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, of which he is also a warden. He is a Mason of long standing, is a member of the Buffalo and Ellicott clubs and of the Chamber of Commerce, besides being actively interested in many Scottish societies.
Among the most striking characteristics of Mr. Gibson is his loyal devotion to the memories of his native land. He pays frequent visits to Scotland, and side by side with his sterling
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1
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patriotic sentiment for the country of his adoption, cherishes grateful remembrance of the land of his birth,
MORRIS BENSON Vice-President of the Adam, Meldrum & Anderson Company, has had a mercantile career which, when considered as regards length of duration, extensiveness of the interests involved and uniform success, places him among the representative commercial men of the State. Including his connection with the firm of Adam & Meldrum, its predecessor, Mr. Benson has for about thirty-seven years been identified with the large establishment which he now serves as one of the managers and official executive, has taken a leading share in the upbuilding of its busi- ness, and has borne an equally significant part in the development of those modern and progressive methods which have in the last few decades worked such important changes in the commer- cial life of Buffalo. MORRIS BENSON.
Mr. Benson was born in Buffalo January 18, 1845, being the son of Silas Benson, who for many years was a prominent merchant of Buffalo, where he died in 1875. Silas Benson married Cynthia Schuyler Van Tyne, a daughter of Joseph Van Tyne of Troy, N. Y., who was of Holland Dutch extraction. The children of the marriage were two sons and one daughter, all of whom are deceased, except the subject of this sketch.
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Morris Benson was educated in his native city, where he was graduated from the Central High School in 1860. During the Civil War he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving on the gunboat St. Clair, which was engaged in scout and transporta- tion duty on the Mississippi, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. Mr. Benson was present at the battles of Fort Donelson and Fort Henry, and continued in the naval service from August, 1861, to 1863, when he was honorably discharged, with the rank of Signal Quartermaster.
On his return to Buffalo Mr. Benson became connected with the carpet business of R. J. & R. D. Sherman, but after a year he went to Erie, Pa., where for five years he had charge of the carpet department of W. G. Gardner & Co. In 1871 he came back to Buffalo to assume the management of the carpet department of Adam & Meldrum. The present firm was incor- porated in 1893, and ever since that time Mr. Benson has been one of its managers, actively concerned in the direction of the business, to whose success his large experience and sound conservatism have in a great degree contributed. Mr. Benson is a member of Chapin Post G. A. R., a 33d degree Mason. He is affiliated with and past master of Ancient Landmarks Lodge, No. 441; Hugh De Payens Commandery, No. 30, Knights Temp- lar; Past Grand Master, Palmona Lodge of Perfection, and Noble of the Mystic Shrine. Socially he is a member of the Buffalo and Westminster clubs. In politics he is a Republican and religiously he is a member and trustee of Westminster Presbyterian Church.
August 31, 1867, Mr. Benson married Miss Percie Bennett, a daughter of Gates A. Bennett of Erie, Pa. They have two daughters, Carrie Cynthia (Mrs. Myron P. Bush), and Agnes Percie.
COL. JOHN B. WEBER has lived a life of singularly varied usefulness. He has been soldier, politician and business man, and in every one of these spheres has gained distinction. He
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was born in Buffalo September 21, 1842, the son of Philip J. and Mary Anna (Young) Weber, who came to this country from Alsace in 1834. He was educated in the public schools and in Central High School of Buffalo. He was still under nineteen when, on August 7, 1861, he enlisted in the Ellsworth "Avengers," the famous 44th Regiment organized after Col. Ellsworth's assassination. Soon after enlisting Mr. Weber was made a Corporal, and was presently advanced to the ranks of Sergeant, Sergeant-Major, and Second Lieutenant of Com- pany F. This was just before the great Seven Days' Fight, in which Lieutenant Weber bore a gallant part, commanding his company from Mechanicsville to Malvern Hill. The company came out of that terrible battle with only five men left. At Gaines' Mills, Lieutenant Weber received special mention for gallant conduct. He had been placed in command of a detach- ment sent out to do skirmish duty. While thus occupied, he and his troops were attacked by a whole rebel regiment, from which Lieutenant Weber and his little band escaped after inflicting upon the enemy a heavy loss. At Harrison's Landing Lieutenant Weber was offered the adjutancy of the 116th New York Regiment and an adjutancy or Captaincy in the Avengers, but declined both offers. He returned for a short time to Buffalo, and the people of that city testified to their apprecia- tion of his services by presenting him a handsome cavalry steed with full equipment. The second departure of Lieutenant Weber for the front was with the 116th New York Regiment. When that regiment became attached to the Gulf Department, Lieutenant Weber was made Acting Assistant Adjutant Gen- eral, and held that commission until the death of Col. Chapin at Port Hudson. Prior to this event he had been offered the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of either a Massachusetts or a colored regiment, but had declined on account of his wish to continue to serve under Colonel Chapin. But now he organized the 89th U. S. Colored Infantry, of which he was made Colonel Septem- ber 19, 1863.
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At the close of the Rebellion, Col. Weber returned to Buffalo, and went into business as a grain commission merchant. During 1881-1884 he was a member of the wholesale grocery house of Smith & Weber, and later became cashier of the American Exchange Bank of Buffalo, which position he held from 1894 to 1897.
In 1870 Col. Weber ran for Sheriff of Erie County, but was defeated by Grover Cleveland by a very small majority, Col. Weber running far ahead of his ticket. In 1873 he was nomi- nated for the same office and was elected by over two thousand plurality. He had also been appointed Deputy Postmaster, serving in that capacity three years prior to his election as Sheriff. The year of Cleveland's first election to the Presidency, Col. Weber was elected to represent the 33d New York District in Congress, and in 1888 was again elected Representative. He energetically took part in the movement for canal improvement by Federal aid, and was a member of the sub-committee charged with drafting the bill to settle the Pacific Railroad indebtedness. The year after his retirement from Congress, Col. Weber was appointed by President Harrison Commissioner of Immigration at the port of New York, and while filling this office, was put at the head of a commission sent to Europe to investigate the sources and causes of immigration. His inquiries were embodied in a report so searching in its grasp of facts and forceful in style that it was widely discussed and was translated into French for circulation throughout Europe. In recent years Col. Weber has been prominently before the public as Secretary of the Grade Crossings Commission.
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