USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 20
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Mr. Meldrum was a member of the Lafayette Street Presby- terian Church, the Buffalo Club, and of St. Andrew's Scottish Society, as well as of other Scottish-American bodies.
February 27th, 1859, Mr. Meldrum married Ann Elizabeth Webster, a daughter of Elizabeth Story Hackett and Benjamin Franklin Webster of Boston, Mass. Mrs. Meldrum came of distinguished New England ancestry and was a grand-niece of Daniel Webster. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Meldrum are: Arthur R .; Alice M., wife of Thomas P. Daniels of New York City; Thomas Alfred, who was drowned when twenty years old; Herbert A .; Jessie Pollock, now Mrs. F. P. Vandenburg, and Florence Jeannette Meldrum.
The death.of Mr. Meldrum occurred in Buffalo on the 21st of October, 1891.
HERBERT ALEXANDER MELDRUM, President of the American Savings Bank, and Secretary and Treasurer of the H. A. Meldrum Company, is one of the foremost business men of Buffalo, holding a position of equal prominence in commercial enterprise and financial affairs. As head of the great Meldrum
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department store, Mr. Meldrum represents modern mercantile development in its broadest and most progressive sense.
Herbert Alexander Meldrum was born in Buffalo, February 15, 1870, and educated in the grammar-schools and Central High School.
When twenty years old Mr. Meldrum entered the employ of Adam, Meldrum & Anderson to learn the dry-goods and depart- ment store business from the foundation. He remained with the Adam, Meldrum & Anderson firm till 1897, when he became one of the organizers and the executive head of the H. A. Meldrum Company. Though one of the youngest of Buffalo's big department houses, the firm stands in the front rank in point of business done and in general reputation.
A notable instance of the initiative and enterprise which characterize Mr. Meldrum as a business man was furnished by the airship flight, which took place in Buffalo in the summer of 1906, under the auspices of the H. A. Meldrum Company, by A. Roy Knabenshue. It was one of the most interesting events of the season, attracted tens of thousands of spectators and was widely commented upon by the press. It was the first and thus far the only occasion on which the airship has made its appear- ance in Buffalo, and commanded public attention, not only as a most original and novel method of advertising, but as an event uniting both scientific and spectacular interest. The flight was very successful, and Mr. Meldrum later, for the experience, made a balloon ascension with Mr. Knabenshue, traveling about forty miles, crossing the Niagara River and landing at Silver- dale, Ontario.
Mr. Meldrum is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Manufacturers' Club, Buffalo Historical Society, Buffalo, Saturn, Country, Park and Automobile clubs of Buffalo, and the Aero Club of America, New York City. He is a member of Lafayette Avenue Presbyterain Church.
September 23, 1895, Mr. Meldrum married Miss Louise
Heury Montgomery
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Hingston, a daughter of Edward J. and Mary (Reese) Hingston of Buffalo. They have three children: Herbert Alexander, Jr., Alan Hingston, and Esther Louise Meldrum.
THE MONTGOMERY FAMILY has for upwards of three- quarters of a century been well-known in Western New York. The family is of Scotch-Irish origin, and the founder of the branch of it now under consideration was Ezekiel Montgomery, son of John Montgomery.
EZEKIEL MONTGOMERY was originally a resident of Fort Edward, Montgomery County, N. Y., and removed with his family to Silver Creek, Chautauqua County, N. Y., about 1833. He was a millwright, and in 1852 he established in Silver Creek, N. Y., the noted Eureka Smut Machine Works, in which his sons, Henry and Martin E., were partners.
HENRY MONTGOMERY, son of Ezekiel Montgomery, was born in Fort Edward, Montgomery County, N. Y., February 17, 1827. When four years old he came with his parents to Silver Creek, N. Y. Leaving school at sixteen, he learned the mill- wright's trade, and for a few years, in company with W. R. Grunleaf, manufactured steam engines. When the Eureka Smut Machine Works were founded he was admitted to part- nership and soon became the acknowledged head of the firm. In 1867 he sold out his interests in Silver Creek, and a year later came to Buffalo, entering the firm of Clark, Holland & Co., afterward Lee, Holland & Co., the well-known lumber dealers, the association thus begun continuing until his death.
Mr. Montgomery was a strong Republican, and in 1882 and 1883 he sat in the Common Council as Alderman from the 10th Ward. He was one of the most faithful and energetic members of the city legislature, and served on many important commit- tees, but the most notable feature of his public record was as Chairman of the Committee on Schools. He gave close atten- tion to the betterment of the School Department, and during his
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term of office many school buildings were erected and an exten- sive system of improvements was inaugurated.
Mr. Montgomery was a leading member of the Lumber Exchange of Buffalo, and was for many years Chairman of its Board of Directors and Transportation Committee. He was a member and Chairman of the Transportation Committee of the Merchants' Exchange, and a member of the North Presbyterian Church of Buffalo.
In 1858 Mr. Montgomery married Helen Lee, daughter of Oliver Lee of Silver Creek, N. Y. He is survived by his widow and two sons, George Brewster and Henry Ernest Mont- gomery. Another son, Nelson Lee Montgomery, died April 6, 1881.
The death of Henry Montgomery occurred October 5, 1887. In him Buffalo lost one of her best citizens, and the estimation in which he was held cannot be better indicated than in the following, taken from the memorial resolutions adopted by his associates of the Merchants' Exchange.
" Henry Montgomery was known and acknowledged among his associates as a strong man-a strong man mentally and physically-a man of strong will, of strong convictions and of unflinching courage in maintaining his convictions-a man of quick perception, prompt decision, energetic action, a strong, true man living in and guided by the highest, purest principles.
" In all his relations as a man of business his reputation was exactly what should be expected of the man whose character has thus been faintly portrayed.
"Into the more secluded paths of private life we will not here intrude, save briefly to honor his memory as a true Christian gentleman, a consistent member of a Christian church, a gen- erous, open-hearted contributor to many charities and benevo- lent institutions-one whose sympathizing help was ever alert in responding to the cry of the poor and the distressed; in fine, one of those men who, when the summons comes which calls
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him hence, is missed and mourned far and beyond the circle of family and friends wherein his daily life has centered."
GEORGE B. MONTGOMERY, son of Henry Montgomery, is one of Buffalo's success- ful business men and progressive citizens. As President of Montgomery Bros. & Company, suc- cessors in business of Lee, Holland & Company, Mr. Montgomery is head of one of the leading lumber manufacturing concerns in the country, and he is also identified with extensive outside lumber interests, chiefly in the South.
Mr. Montgomery was born at Silver Creek, N .. Y., on the 2d of July, 1862. In childhood he accompanied his parents GEORGE B. MONTGOMERY. to Buffalo, where he received a grammar and High School education, which was supplemented by a course at the Michigan Military Academy. On leaving school Mr. Montgomery became a bookkeeper and clerk in the employ of Nelson Holland, and later was connected with the firm of Holland, Graves & Mont- gomery, at Black Rock, with whom he continued from 1885 to 1897. The business of which Mr. Montgomery is the head holds a position second to none in its field. He has an immense plant equipped with the best modern appliances, and gives employ- ment to 500 people. The specialties of the concern are doors, sash, blinds, mouldings, veneered doors, packing cases, boxes,
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and a great variety of other articles. Mr. Montgomery is Treasurer of the National Lumber Insurance Co. of Buffalo; Treasurer of the A. B. Cramer Company, manufacturers of Southern pine at Suffolk, Va., and Treasurer of the Mont- gomery Lumber Company at Spring Hope, N. C.
Mr. Montgomery is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Buffalo, Saturn, Ellicott, Westminster, and Buffalo Canoe clubs, and of the Westminster Presbyterian Church.
June 30, 1885, Mr. Montgomery married Mary Frances Jewett, daughter of the late James H. Jewett of Buffalo.
SETH ELY SILL, Justice of the Supreme Court, who died September 15, 1851, in his forty-third year, during a relatively brief career attained distinguished honors as a lawyer, Judge and citizen.
Judge Sill was born in Moreau, Saratoga County, N. Y., June 3, 1809. After finishing his lay education he began reading law with the Hon. Orville Clark of Sandy Hill, N. Y. Later he came to Buffalo and entered the office of Sherwood and Hawley, with whom he completed his law studies, being admitted to the bar in 1836. Immediately afterward he engaged in practice as a member of the firm of Hawley & Sill, to whose personnel was afterward added the Hon. George P. Barker, subsequently Attorney General and later Justice of the Supreme Court, the firm style becoming Barker, Hawley & Sill, and finally Barker & Sill. After Mr. Barker was elected Attorney General, Mr. Sill continued the practice of law alone, until he himself was elected Supreme Court Justice of the Eighth Judicial District, in 1849. The death of Judge Sill limited his career on the bench to two years, but he gained in this time a notable name as a jurist. In erudition he was recognized as ranking with the first of New York Judges, and this at an epoch when the bench of the Empire State was adorned by many illustrious men.
In 1840 Judge Sill married Harriet E. Allen, daughter of Ethan B. Allen and Harriet Seymour of Batavia, N. Y. The
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children of Judge Sill were: Fanny Sill of Buffalo; Charles B. Sill, who died in 1888; Henry S. Sill of Buffalo; Florence, who died in infancy, and Mary, who became Mrs. Frank Dorr of Buffalo, and who died in 1873.
HENRY SEYMOUR SILL, son of Judge Sill, was born in Buffalo, and educated in the public schools, and Spencertown Academy. He studied law two years in the office of Judge N. K. Hall of Buffalo, but discontinued his legal studies to enter the employ of the Mutual Insurance Company of Buffalo. In 1868 he established with Charles G. Worthington the present insurance firm of Worthington & Sill. During the thirty-eight years of its duration, the copartnership of Messrs. Worthington & Sill has grown from small beginnings to the first rank among similar agencies between New York, Chicago and Duluth. The firm has charge of the general management of several leading marine insurance companies, and is one of the largest fire insurance agencies in Buffalo, being excelled by none in volume of business. He is actively interested in the Gilchrist Trans- portation Company, which owns a fleet engaged in lake transportation, and one of the Company's finest steel steamers, the Henry S. Sill, is named after him. He is also connected with the Norton Transportation Company, owner of the new steel steamer, D. Z. Norton.
In politics Mr. Sill is a Republican. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, a life member of the Buffalo Public Library, and belongs to the Buffalo, Country and Park Clubs. He is a member of the Episcopal Church. He was a vestryman of old Christ Church before it was merged with Trinity, and since that time has been connected with the latter congregation.
HARRY NELSON KRAFT, who during the last decade has been successfully engaged in the practice of law in Buffalo, though still a young man, occupies an assured position among the leading members of the Erie County bar. Mr. Kraft is the
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son of Henry Kraft, who was born in Germany in 1831 and came to this country at the age of fifteen, settling in Buffalo, where he learned the tinsmith's business and later engaged in the hardware trade, in which he was very successful. He is still living in Buffalo, but has now retired from business. He is actively interested in Masonry, and is Past Master of Harmonie Lodge. In May, 1856, he married Rosina Holser, whose parents came from Switzerland to the United States about 1830, and settled in Buffalo. The children of Henry Kraft are: George H., Ida (Mrs. Edward A. Dreher); Charles F., Carrie, Edward, and Harry N. Kraft.
Harry Nelson Kraft was born in Buffalo September 12, 1873. He was educated in the grammar schools and Central High School. When nineteen years old he entered the Buffalo Law School, from which he graduated, and in 1896 he was admitted to the bar. He then became a clerk in the law office of William C. Bryant, and later entered the office of Fisher, Wende & Coats- worth. On the death of Theodore Wende, in 1901, Mr. Kraft became associated in the business, under the firm style of Fisher, Coatsworth, Diebold & Kraft. In 1905 the firm was reorganized as Coatsworth, Diebold & Kraft, an association which still continues. The firm represents the interests of many leading corporations and business concerns, and recently acted as attorneys for the receiver in the German Bank case. In court practice the firm is one of the foremost in Buffalo, and also enjoys a high reputation as counsel. Besides being an exceptionally able lawyer, Mr. Kraft is an up-to-date man of affairs, well informed as to the events of the time and the conditions of the business world of today. He is identified with several industrial and commercial enterprises.
Mr. Kraft is a member of the Bar Association and of the Lawyers' Club. He has many Masonic affiliations, being a mem- ber of Washington Lodge; Keystone Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Hugh de Payens Commandery, Knights Templar, and Zuleika Grotto. He is a member of the Buffalo Orpheus, and
MARK S. HUBBELL
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of the Otowega and Canoe clubs. He is a member of the Holy Trinity English Lutheran Church.
November 25, 1905, Mr. Kraft married Jennie Allen, daughter of James T. and Mary Allen of Buffalo.
MARK SIBLEY HUBBELL, editor and proprietor of " Truth," newspaper man, lawyer and litterateur, is a unique personality, and has had a varied and most interesting career. Many men make a success of journalism. Few men leave on it the unmistakable stamp of an individuality. Mark S. Hubbell is one of the few. He has been identified in many capacities with the newspaper world, but whether he has worked for himself or for other people, his work has always borne the indubitable mark of an original mind. In some respects it does not seem amiss to call Mr. Hubbell the Voltaire of Buffalo. He is Voltairean in his wit and incisiveness. He is Voltairean in his fearlessness and his hatred of shams. But he differs from Voltaire in being a builder up instead of a puller down. He has preserved his faith in men and things. The superstructure of his humor and satire is built on the foundation of a healthy optimism. In journalism Mr. Hubbell occupies a field wholly his own. His paper is run by nobody but himself. "Truth " is an independent newspaper if there ever was one. As its editor, Mr. Hubbell has done a monumental work in righting wrongs and exposing abuses. He has done a work no less important in leavening the intellectual life of the community. He is a man who gives zest and sparkle to the dull commonplace of every- day. He is also a man who stands for high ideals in morals, journalism and literature.
Mr. Hubbell was born in Buffalo on the 5th of February, 1857. His father, John Hubbell, was for many years a prominent lawyer and citizen of that community, was for twenty years general counsel of the Western Transportation Company, and served as City Attorney in 1854 and 1855. Mark S. Hubbell's education was begun in the public schools of Buffalo and was
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completed at the military academies at Montrose and Newark, N. J. Like his brothers he was destined for the legal profession, and when seventeen years old entered the law office of Bangs, Sedgwick & North of New York City. In 1878 he was admitted to the bar. For about a year he practiced law in Buffalo. But his native bent toward literature and journalism was too strong to be turned aside by the attractions of his profession. He engaged actively in newspaper life, his first work being done for the Buffalo Morning Express. He then went to New York, where he was employed as a writer for the New York Times,. World and Telegram. His experience in metropolitan jour- nalism covered a period of four years. In 1881 he made a tour of the world, via Australia and the Orient. To Mr. Hubbell this was a time fruitful of intellectual enrichment. All that he witnessed found lodgment in a keen and receptive mind, and much of Mr. Hubbell's cosmopolitanism-the "savoir faire " of the true citizen of the world-is due to his extensive travels. While abroad he perfected his knowledge of the leading Conti- nental languages, particularly of French, of which he is a master.
Returning to Buffalo, Mr. Hubbell served for some time in an editorial capacity on the Buffalo Courier. Later he was man- aging editor of the Buffalo Times for two years, and was for six years a member of the staff of the News. This part of his career was a period of steady increase of his reputation both as a practical newspaper man and a brilliant writer.
Mr. Hubbell is a Republican. He is a staunch adherent of the fundamental principles of his party, but has always reserved the right of independent opinion, and as to municipal issues regards fitness rather than party lines as the determining factor. He was elected City Clerk in 1894, and was reelected three times. He was a popular and efficient city official. He did much to systematize the workings of his department, per- fected the methods of keeping records, and won the hearty commendation of the press, the Common Council and the public.
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He compiled the best manual of the city government ever pub- lished, and prepared a valuable annotated edition of the Charter and Ordinances.
` On retiring from office Mr. Hubbell engaged again in news- paper work. His contributions as a special writer to the Times attracted wide attention and were among the leading features of that paper. Under the nom de plume of " Jan Schimmel- penninck," he conducted a column which was one of the most famous that ever appeared in Buffalo journalism, abounding in sparkling wit, quaint humor, vivid word-painting and shrewd practical suggestions. Later, for a year or two, he furnished a, similar column to the editorial page of the Buffalo Enquirer.
In 1903 Mr. Hubbell established the now well-known weekly paper "Truth." Its inauguration marked a new departure in Buffalo journalism. "Truth " followed no precedent, was patterned after no model, and won its way to the front by sheer merit of a unique kind. It went straight to the hearts of the people and demonstrated the nature of "independent jour- nalism " as a fact instead of a name. A paper for the masses, it also had the literary and intellectual tone that appeals to the thinking public. From the hour of its first issue " Truth " has steadfastly confirmed its original prestige of honor and courage. It has nobly justified its bold motto: "The Paper that Dares." But its daring has never degenerated to license. " Truth " is signally a journal clean-cut, bright and pure. Its championship of honesty and a square deal, its contempt for the arts of the demagogue and the knave are equally outspoken. Mr. Hubbell and his paper are the friends of the weak and the oppressed. Through the columns of " Truth " many a private wrong has been redressed, many a covert public menace has been dragged from its lurking ambush to the light of day. The paper is the tangible expression of the individuality which controls it, and through its lively and up-to-date columns breathes not a little of the aroma of belles lettres-the charm of the scholar and literateur. "Truth" has constantly increased
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in circulation and advertising patronage. It is today. one of the assured and brilliant successes of the latter-day journalism of Western New York.
Mr. Hubbell is widely known in social life and is identified with many of the societies and institutions of Buffalo. He is a Mason, being affiliated with Ancient Landmarks Lodge, No. 441, F. & A. M. He belongs to the Buffalo Historical Society, the Orpheus Society, the Buffalo Republican League, the Society of Natural Sciences, the Press Club, and the Ellicott Club.
On the 3d of January, 1883, Mr. Hubbell married Mrs. Eliza- beth J. Oliver of Buffalo.
SIMON FLEISCHMANN, an eminent lawyer of Buffalo, has also won distinction in public and social life. Emanuel Fleisch- mann, son of Ezekiel, and father of Simon Fleischmann, was born in Aufsess, Bavaria, August 14, 1825, and educated at Bay- reuth, and Bamberg. In 1849 he came to America, and after a short stay in New York, went to Columbus, Miss., and thence to Perryville, Mobile, and New Orleans, respectively for short periods of time. In 1850 he went to San Francisco, where he engaged in the cigar business. In 1855 he married Eliza Des- sauer. Their children were: Samuel, who died in infancy; Simon, and Bianca. In 1871 he came to Buffalo, where in 1872 he was appointed Chief Clerk of the Department of Education. In 1873 he was appointed teacher of music iu the public schools, contin- uing till 1876. The death of Mr. Fleischmann occurred April 17, 1903. His wife died December 25, 1890. Emanuel Fleischmann was a man of superior intellect and estimable character. He was a prominent Mason, being a member of Alden Lodge, No. 594; Adytum Chapter, No. 235; Buffalo Council, No. 17, and Queen City Council, No. 259. He was Recording Secretary of Montefiore Lodge, No. 70, Independent Order B'nai B'rith, and a charter member of Eagle Lodge, No. 69, Knights of Pythias.
Simon Fleischmann was born in Iowa City, Ia., September 11, 1859. When three years old he removed with the family to
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New York City, and afterward to Meadville, Pa., and later to Dunkirk, N. Y. In 1871 he came to Buffalo. He attended the public schools of Meadville and Buffalo, and at Grammar School No. 13 won the first Jesse Ketchum gold medal. On his gradua- tion from Central High School in 1879 he was again awarded a Ketchum Medal. He began the study of law in 1899 with William C. Bryant. A year later he entered the law office of William H. Gurney, and in 1881 became connected with the office of Cleveland, Bissell & Sicard. In 1882 he was admitted to the bar, and during 1883 was Managing Clerk for Cleveland, Bissell & Sicard. In 1884 Mr. Fleischmann opened a law office for him- self. For several years he was in partnership with the late Emory P. Close, and latterly he has had for his associate William R. Pooley. The legal practice of Mr. Fleischmann has been confined entirely to high-grade civil litigation in the courts of this and other States, as well as before the Federal tribunals, and he has acted to a considerable extent as counsel for other lawyers in the trial of cases and the argument of appeals.
Mr. Fleischmann is a Republican. In 1897 he was elected Supervisor from the old 21st Ward on the Good Government ticket, being indorsed by the Democrats. In 1899 he was elected Councilman on the Republican ticket by 5,000 majority. He served for two years as President of the Board of Councilmen, and made an excellent record.
·Mr. Fleischmann possesses great musical talent, and for more than twenty years was organist in a number of Buffalo's prin- cipal churches, retiring from church organ work in 1898. In 1904 he was appointed official organist of Buffalo, and in 1905 inaugurated at Convention Hall a service of free Sunday after- noon organ recitals. From 1882 to 1889 he was dramatic and musical critic and editor for the Buffalo Courier.,
Mr. Fleischmann has been a trustee of the Erie County Bar Association, served as its President in 1903, and for some years was Chairman of its Laws and Legislation Committee. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association, and is on its
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most important committee, that of Law Reform. He is also a member of the American Bar Association. In 1904 he was designated by the New York State Bar Asso- ciation as a delegate to the Universal Congress of Lawyers and Jurists held in St. Louis. He is a member of the Buffalo Club, of Temple Beth-Zion, and of the Society of Natural Sciences, and a life member of the Buffalo Library.
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