USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 22
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Martin Sigman, the father of the subject of this sketch, was married to Hannah Elizabeth Beck in the year 1838, Mrs. Beck, being then a widow with one child by name Catherine, who was married to one William Pfleuger, on July 4th, 1858. There were born to Martin and Hannah Elizabeth Sigman, six chil- dren, to wit: Martin P. Sigman, who died at Little Valley, N. Y., on August 24, 1905, and Belinda M. Sigman, who died at Cattaraugus, N. Y., on August 20, 1880. The following children are still living: Andrew F. Sigman and John J. Sigman, who reside at Cattaraugus, N. Y., and Albert J. Sigman and Lewis W. Sigman, both of Buffalo, N. Y.
The present grandchildren of the Sigman family are as follows, to wit: Irving F. Sigman, Ruth M. Sigman, Cora B. Sigman, and Sylvia Sigman, children of said John H. Sigman, and Alberta H. Sigman, now the wife of Philip J. Griffiths of Buffalo, N. Y., and Carrie B. Sigman, now the wife of Arthur Lee White of San Antonio, Texas, being the children of the said Lewis W. Sigman. The only great-grandchild living is Catherine Sigman Griffiths, daughter of said Alberta H. Griffiths and Philip J. Griffiths.
Martin Sigman resided the greater part of his life near the village of Cattaraugus, Cattaraugus County, New York, where he settled over sixty years ago. He was a stone mason by trade, but soon took up farming as a business, which occupation he followed until his death in 1872. During the construction of the Erie R. R. from Hornellsville to Dunkirk, the senior Mr.
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Sigman had the contract for a portion of a section of such work.
In politics, Martin Sigman was a Democrat, held a number of town offices, and was widely known in Cattaraugus County.
Albert Jay Sigman was born in Cattaraugus, N. Y., August 8, 1853. He attended the public schools in his native town and village, later completing a classical course at Chamberlain Institute, Randolph, N. Y. When seventeen years old he began teaching school in Cattaraugus County, teaching ten terms in all, ultimately becoming principal of an important school at Otto, N. Y. While engaged as a teacher he devoted his spare time to reading law. Entering the law offices of Col. E. A. Nash and the late Hiram Herrick of Cattaraugus County, he studied law for three years, and at Buffalo, in June, 1877, was admitted to the bar. January 1st, 1878, he came to Buffalo, where he has built up a large clientage and established an excellent reputa- tion, both as an office lawyer and as a pleader at the bar. At the close of a murder trial some years ago, wherein Mr. Sigman represented the defendant and saved the life of his client, Hon. Truman C. White, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court, remarked: " Mr. Sigman has defended his client with rare skill and care; he was persistent in his search for witnesses, and in fact, did his work most thoroughly, and I do not believe I ever witnessed a similar case where there was less display on the part of the counsel for the prisoner and more real, hard work." Such an ex cathedra tribute is as rare as it is impressive, and might well satisfy the ambition of any lawyer.
Formerly a Democrat, Mr. Sigman was a charter member of the Cleveland Democracy, and belonged to the Executive Committee of that organization. Resigning from the Cleveland Democracy, he joined the Buffalo Republican League, and from that time cast his lot with the Republican party, and is a staunch protectionist.
For many years Mr. Sigman has been prominent in Masonic circles. A member of Hiram Lodge, No. 105, F. & A. M., he is also twice Past Master. He is a member of Buffalo Chapter,
men 6. Spratt Marco
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No. 71, Royal Arch Masons, and is also a Mystic Shriner, and a Mason of the 32d degree. In Odd Fellowship Mr. Sigman is at the present time Grand Master of the State of New York, having previously served as Grand Warden and Deputy Grand Master. He is a Past Noble Grand of Red Jacket Lodge, No 238, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Past Chief Patriarch of International Encampment, No. 131; Past District Deputy of Erie District, No. 1, for two terms, and Past President of the Erie County Memorial Association, I. O. O. F., for three years. For three years he has been a Director of the Odd Fellows' Home Association at Lockport, N. Y., and is a Trustee of his lodge. In 1906 the Grand Lodge met in Buffalo out of compli- ment to Grand Master Sigman.
In the Improved Order of Red Men, Mr. Sigman is Past Sachem of Erie Tribe No. 315.
His opportunities for observation of men and conditions have been enlarged by extensive travel, both in this country and in Europe.
MAURICE C. SPRATT, of the firm of Hoyt & Spratt, is one of the ablest lawyers of the New York bar. Mr. Spratt has attained special distinction in the field of corporation law, being counsel for several of the most important railroad, telegraph and other corporations of the country.
The public records of Somerset and Devonshire Counties, England, show that the Spratt family were active in political and ecclesiastical affairs as early as 1500. The branch from which Maurice C. Spratt descends was established in Southern Ireland, 1640, by the Rev. Devereux Spratt, who was a graduate of Magdalen College, Oxford University and a elergyman of the Church of England. In 1641 he was obliged to leave Ireland because of the Rebellion which broke out in that year, and on his return passage to England, while in the Irish Channel, the ship that bore him was captured by an Algerine Corsair and he was taken to the City of Algiers and sold as a slave. During
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his captivity he ministered to the English prisoners at Algiers, and although ransomed at the end of one year, he preferred to remain in bondage and continued for two years his ministra- tions to the captives of his own nationality and faith. He was then appointed Chaplain of the Channel Squadron and after serving one year with the fleet he returned to Ireland, having received grants of land in Mitchellstown, County of Cork. Many of his descendants have served with conspicuous bravery both in the British Army and Navy, and have held and now hold high rank in both branches of the service.
Maurice Charles Spratt was born April 4, 1865, at Rossie, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., his father being Patrick Spratt and his mother Margaret Vaughan Spratt. He was educated in the public schools of his native town, graduated from Ogdensburg Academy in 1884 and from Georgetown University, D. C., in 1888, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then became a student in the law office of his brother, Hon. Thomas Spratt, and Hon. Daniel Magone, in Ogdensburg, and in 1890 was admitted to the bar. He remained with that firm till 1893, when he came to Buffalo, and entered the office of Messrs. McMillan, Gluck, Pooley & Depew, a leading law firm at that time. Later Mr. Spratt was admitted a partner of the firm which became known as McMillan, Pooley, Depew & Spratt, later Pooley, Depew & Spratt, and afterwards Pooley & Spratt, an association which continued up to 1907, when Mr. Spratt became associated with W. B. Hoyt, in the present firm of Hoyt & Spratt.
Messrs. Hoyt & Spratt are now counsel in this territory for the New York Central Lines, including the Lake Shore, the New York Central, the New York, Chicago & St. Louis, the West Shore, the Michigan Central, the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg, the Terminal Railway and other Vanderbilt prop- erties. Among the firm's clients are also included the Western Union Telegraph Company, the Aetna Life Insurance Company, the Western Transit Company and the New York State Realty
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& Terminal Company, with such extensive Buffalo concerns as the George N. Pierce Automobile Company, the Buffalo Dredging Company, the German Rock Asphalt Co., the M. H. Birge & Sons Company, and the Buffalo Sanitary Company.
Mr. Spratt is, in the best sense of the phrase, an all-around lawyer. His experience is wide, his capacity for research marked, and his instincts practical. He is an effective and suc- cessful court advocate, a safe and sound counselor, and strong in the presentation of arguments before appellate tribunals.
Mr. Spratt is independent in politics. For several years he has been a prominent member of the Civil Service Reform Asso- ciation, and in 1906 was chosen a member of its Executive Committee.
He is a member of the Buffalo Historical Society, the Buffalo, Saturn, University and Country Clubs and the Transportation Club of New York City.
DR. EARL GEORGE DANSER, Medical Examiner for Erie County, is a man who has won distinction both as a member of the medical profession and as a public official.
Dr. Danser's ancestry is derived from New England. His grandfather, Nathaniel Danser, came thence to Western New York early in the last century, and was one of the pioneers of Erie County.
George Danser, the father of Earl G. Danser, was born on his father's farm in the town of Clarence in 1824, and died in 1871. He was a farmer; also owned one of the first threshing machines operated in Erie County.
In 1850 George Danser married Esther Cummings, born 1835, a daughter of Simeon R. Cummings of Clarence. The surviving children are: Aletha (Mrs. Clark D. Bosworth) of Clarence; Anna D. (Mrs. Henry H. Hewitt) of Kenyon, Minn .; and Dr. Earl G. Danser.
Earl George Danser was born at Mansfield's Corners in the town of Clarence, Erie County, N. Y., December 18, 1857. He
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attended the public schools and the Parker Union School at Clarence, graduating in 1879. Prior to and after his graduation he taught school. Later he became a clerk in the Canal Collec- tor's office under Charles M. King, for one year.
In the meantime Mr. Danser took up the study of medicine with Dr. Henry Lapp of Clarence. He later entered the College of Medicine of the University of Buffalo, from which he gradu- ated in 1884. He engaged in practice at Wilson, Niagara County, until 1885, when he removed to Elba in Genesee County. In 1887 he came to Buffalo.
In 1901 Dr. Danser was elected Coroner of Erie County. After he had served three months and a half, the State Legislature passed a bill abolishing the office and creating that of Medical Examiner, Dr. Danser being selected for the place. January 1, 1906, he was again appointed by the Supervisors for the regular term of three years.
Under the provisions of the law there was committed to Dr. Danser the organization of the office. The importance of the task can hardly be exaggerated when one takes into account the fact that so large a city as Buffalo comes under the Medical Examiner's jurisdiction, and when it is further considered how far-reaching are the relations of that official with questions of order, public safety and even of criminal jurisprudence. Dr. Danser set about his work with a scientific thoroughness worthy of all praise. The law of Massachusetts furnished some valuable precedents, and Dr. Danser proceeded to organize his own department on a similar basis, with the result that in econ- omy, precision of method, and completeness of the records preserved, his administration has far excelled anything accomplished under the old system.
Under Dr. Danser's administration the expenses of the office of Medical Examiner are almost precisely one-half of the amount incurred under the law providing for Coroners.
Dr. Danser is among the leading members of the Erie County Medical Society. He is prominent both in the Masonic frater-
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nity and in the ranks of Odd Fellowship. He is affiliated with Hiram Lodge of Masons, Buffalo Consistory, Adytum Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and Ismailia Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to Bailey Lodge, No. 553, I. O. O. F., and Lake Erie Encampment, of which he is l'ast Chief Patriarch, being also Past District Deputy of District No. 4, and he is besides a member of Canton Perch of the uniformed rank of Odd Fellows, and attends the Presbyterian Church.
On the 15th of August, 1894, Dr. Danser married Miss Rose Bleiler of Buffalo.
SPENCER SILAS KINGSLEY is a representative citizen of Buffalo. The Kingsley family is of English origin. John Kingsley came to this country in 1624, and settled in Hampshire
County, Mass. Silas Kingsley was descended from John Kingsley, a Baptist clergyman of note. His mother was a daughter of Dr. Samuel White, a descendant of Peregrine White, the first child born to the Pilgrims on this side of the ocean.
Silas Kingsley was one of the pioneers of Buffalo and stood in the foremost rank of its, citizens. He was born May 21, 1800, in the town of Peru, Hamp- shire County, Mass. His SPENCER S. KINGSLEY. early educational advantages were meagre, but were supple- mented by self-culture. He taught at Ballston Spa, N. Y., for six
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years, and in 1826 came to Buffalo. The same year he went to Michigan, where he was engaged in the laying out of military roads and the organization of Washtenaw County. In 1828 Mr. Kingsley returned to Utica, N. Y., where he resumed teaching. In 1833 he again came to Buffalo, where he founded the first classical and military school ever organized in Buffalo. Eventually he resigned his principalship to accept the offices of President and Treasurer of the proposed University of Western New York. For two terms he served as Superintend- ent of Schools, and was also commissioned by Secretary of State Spencer to investigate the public school system. He was for three terms Superintendent of the Poor of Erie County, and was sole commissioner for locating and building the County Almshouse and Insane Asylum. The Almshouse site which he selected is now the proposed site of the greater University of Buffalo, an outgrowth of the University of Western New York, of which Mr. Kingsley was first President. He was one of the commission to furnish the Erie County Penitentiary, and supervised the discipline of that institution. He was Presi- dent of the organization to prevent street begging, and with Millard Fillmore and Mrs. John C. Lord, he founded the Buffalo Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and was its first President. He was the first President of the Old Settlers' Festival Association, and was a ruling elder and one of the oldest members of the First Presbyterian Church. He was a trustee of the Buffalo Savings Bank, and was concerned in several other financial enterprises. He settled a number of estates, on many occasions acted as guardian for heirs and orphans, and was widely known for the capability and scrupul- ous integrity with which he acquitted himself of fiduciary responsibilities.
In 1833 Mr. Kingsley married Julia Cozzens, daughter of Levi Cozzens of Utica, N. Y. Their children were: Spencer S .; Edward A., who died in 1881; Mary C., now Mrs. Edward W. Ordway, of Brooklyn, and George W., who died in 1890.
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Silas Kingsley died in Buffalo, April 5, 1886. He is remen- bered as a grand exemplar of Christian manliness and sterling citizenship.
Spencer Silas Kingsley, son of Silas Kingsley, was born in Buffalo June 21, 1849. His education was obtained in the grammar schools of his native city, the Central High School, the Buffalo Academy, and the Heathcote private school. When sixteen years old he became a clerk in Titus' Tea and Spice Store in Buffalo. He attended school for three years more, then entering the store of C. F. Walbridge, where he remained ten years, and became manager of the wholesale department. He then engaged in the book business with Otto Ulbrich, in the firm of Ulbrich & Kingsley. In 1888 he engaged in his present real estate business. He is a trustee of the recently organized American Savings Bank.
Mr. Kingsley is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and formerly of the Merchants' Exchange. For three years he was Chairman of the Real Estate Committee of these organizations, and has also served on other committees. Of the Real Estate Association Mr. Kingsley is a leading spirit, and was one of the chief factors in the erection of the Mutual Life Building by the former Real Estate Exchange, of which he was President for three years.
He has been a Director of the Y. M. C. A. for over twenty-five years, and for twenty years has served as Chairman of the House Committee. Since boyhood he has been connected with the First Presbyterian Church, and since 1888, has served as deacon and elder.
June 20, 1876, Mr. Kingsley married A. Louisa McWilliams, daughter of John A. and Susan A. McWilliams of Elmira, N. Y., and sister of John J. and the late Joseph E. McWilliams of Buffalo, and of Daniel W. McWilliams of Brooklyn. Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley have two children, Silas Eugene Kingsley, who is engaged in the real estate business in Pittsburg, and Louise Kingsley of Buffalo.
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HON. EDWARD K. EMERY, Justice of the Supreme Court, has won distinction at the bar, elevation to the bench and legislative honors. Of intellectual poise and judicial caliber, the moral and civic standards of Justice Emery are of the kind which commend themselves to the sterling elements of a com- munity.
Justice Emery comes of excellent New England stock. John and Anthony Emery, sons of John and Agnes Emery of Romsey Hants, England, came to America in 1635, and settled in Newbury, Massachusetts, the same year. Jonathan Emery, son of John Emery, Sr., was a soldier in King Phillip's War and participated in the great Narragansett battle fought on the 19th of December, 1675, where he was wounded. He had a son, Edward Emery, who was killed by the Indians in 1719. He had a son, William, who had a son, Josiah Emery, who had a son, Josiah Emery, grandfather of Judge Emery, who was born July 1st, 1784. He was a man of great enterprise and a representa- tive pioneer. In 1808 he was part owner of a store and saw- mill at Barre, Vermont. In January, 1811, he moved his family and portable effects in a four-horse sleigh to Western New York, settling at Caledonia, and finally at Willink, South of Buffalo. In his new home Josiah Emery was a man of influence and was held in high estimation. When the War of 1812 broke out he entered the army, with the rank of Lieutenant. In the conflict on the Niagara Frontier he served gallantly, partici- pating in several engagements, including the Battle of Lundy's Lane. Later he became a Colonel in the State militia. His death took place August 14, 1873. Josiah Emery, son of Colonel Josiah Emery and Susannah Little Emery, and the father of Judge Edward K. Emery, was born at Aurora, N. Y., October 29th, 1819. He was a man of great intellectual power, filled an important position in public affairs, and while con- ducting the homestead farm at Aurora almost continually held County office and was frequently consulted in legal matters.
July 11th, 1847, Mr. Emery married Miss Elizabeth C.
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Kellogg, a daughter of Alexander and Mary (Ingersoll) Kellogg, formerly of Bethlehem, Connecticut. Mrs. Emery died December 12, 1884. The children of the union were: Ella Frances, Edward Kellogg, Josiah Albert, who became a promi- nent lawyer of Buffalo and was connected with the District Attorney's office; Mary Elizabeth, and Asher Bates, now a well-known legal practitioner of Buffalo.
Edward Kellogg Emery was born in East Aurora, Erie County, N. Y., July 29th, 1851. The self culture which is a characteristic fact of Judge Einery's career, began while he was still in his boyhood, his education being chiefly due to his own efforts. He taught school winters and did farm work in summer time, thus acquiring enough means to begin a course of legal study. Coming to Buffalo, he read law, his preparatory work being marked by rare diligence and research. In 1877 he was admitted to the bar, immediately thereafter engaging in the practice of his profession in Buffalo.
Judge Emery's early experience in the active labors of his profession was accompanied by struggles and self-denial. He soon became known as one of the hard-working and reliable young attorneys and steadily grew in the public confidence, building up a valuable practice.
As time passed his position became fully confirmed, and in the later years of his active practice he was recognized as one of the ablest of Buffalo lawyers.
Always a Republican, in the fall of 1886 he was elected Assemblyman to represent the old Fifth District of Erie County and reelected in 1887.
On retiring from the Legislature, Mr. Emery resumed the active duties of his profession.
He was elected County Judge in 1895 and reelected for a second term of six years in 1901. In 1907 he was elected an additional Supreme Court Judge from the Eighth Judicial Dis- trict, in which position he is serving at the present time.
An able lawyer and jurist, Judge Emery is also prominent in
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social life. He is a Mason, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Royal Arcanum.
October 7, 1886, Judge Emery married Miss Clara B. Darbee, a daughter of Jedediah and Mary A. Darbee of Aurora, N. Y. They have one child living, Mary Elizabeth, born July 31, 1888.
CHARLES A. POOLEY is one of the foremost lawyers of the State and has for many years been known as the legal repre- sentative of large business interests and as a prominent citizen of Buffalo.
Mr. Pooley is of English ancestry. His father, the late William Pooley, was born in Cornwall, England, and was a son of Richard Pooley, a considerable land holder in that part of the country. William Pooley as a young man came to America about 1845 and five years later settled in Buffalo. For a number of years he successfully carried on a lumber and planing mill industry here. Retiring from that business in 1876, until his death in 1902, he devoted himself to the care of his prop- erty. He was a man of strong traits of character and sterling citizenship, and was held in high esteem in the community.
William Pooley married Mary A. Menary, of Scotch-Irish parentage. Her family settled in Canada about 1845. The sur- viving children of the marriage are: Elizabeth J. (Mrs. Charles W. Holloway), Charles A., and George C. Pooley, and Minnie M. (Mrs. George C. Finley), all of whom live in Buffalo.
Charles A. Pooley was born in Buffalo November 17, 1854. He gained his elementary education at Public School No. 1; afterward attending Central High School, graduating in the class of 1873. On leaving school Mr. Pooley engaged in the lumber business, which he followed three years. This occupa- tion he found not wholly congenial to him and he began the study of law on the 1st of January, 1876. His studies were completed in the office of the late Senator A. P. Laning, and in April, 1879, he was admitted to the bar. He began practice
Tras. A. Cooley
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with the firm of Laning, McMillan & Gluck, later becoming a member of the firm of McMillan, Gluck & Pooley. Subse- quently was formed the well-known law partnership of McMillan, Gluck, Pooley & Depew, which was one of the fore- most legal firms in the State and handled the business of some of our largest corporations. On the death of Mr. Gluck, the firm became McMillan, Pooley, Depew & Spratt, and when Mr. McMillan retired the association was continued as Pooley, Depew & Spratt, later Pooley & Spratt, which firm was dis- solved in February, 1907, and Mr. Pooley has continued his practice alone.
Mr. Pooley has for many years been one of the prominent legal advisers of the New York Central lines, which he now represents in Genesee and Orleans Counties, as well as in special proceedings before the Public Service Commission, and in other matters in Western New York. It speaks well for the esteem in which Mr. Pooley is held by his fellow members of the bar that he has been prominently mentioned for judicial honors. When by the elevation of Judge Albert Haight to the Court of Appeals on the 1st of January, 1895, a vacancy occurred on the Supreme Court bench of the Eighth Judicial District, Mr. Pooley was strongly endorsed for the appointment, the petition to Governor Morton being signed by a great number of repre- sentative lawyers without regard to political affiliation. It would be hard to conceive a higher compliment to a member of the legal profession than to be so emphatically endorsed to succeed a jurist of the standing of Judge Haight. In the summer of 1895 Mr. Pooley's name was again prominently brought forward as that of a desirable candidate for the Republican nomination to the Supreme Court bench.
Typically a lawyer, Mr. Pooley has always been closely devoted to his profession. He is a progressive citizen, taking a keen interest in the welfare and institutions of Buffalo, and keeping himself in line with civic advancement and the general interests of the community. He is a trustee of the Law
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