USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 24
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holds. In the different places of trust and responsibility which he has filled, Mr. Schaefer has proved himself a large-minded and capable business man. The industry of which he is now the head is rapidly nearing its half-century anniversary. The out- put of the Lake View Brewing Company is estimated at 40,000 barrels per year. Mr. Schaefer has a thorough practical knowl- edge of the details of the business, and he has also a compre- hensive understanding of it in its relation to the general trade. His management has been signalized by conscientious methods, by progressiveness in the matter of equipment and machinery, and by insistence that the manufactured product be of the best and purest quality attainable by science.
Mr. Schaefer belongs to the Brewers Association, and is one of the trustees of that body. He is also a member of the C. B. L. and the C. M. B. A.
November 3, 1885, Mr. Schaefer married Hattie C. Ritt of Buffalo, daughter of M. Leo Ritt (a former well-known insurance man and at one time Lieut .- Colonel of the 65th Regiment) and of Mary R. Germann. Mr. and Mrs. Schaefer have one daughter, Emma P. Schaefer, born September 3, 1886.
THOMAS WILLIAM WILSON, General Manager of the International Railway Company, is one of the leading transpor- tation men of the country, has a high reputation and a record of great achievement as an engineer in the field of railway construction, and has also won distinction as a military engi- neer.
Mr. Wilson was born in New York City in May, 1872. He is a son of David and Frances H. (Crichton) Wilson, the former a well-known merchant of New York City. He graduated from the Harrisburg High School at Harrisburg, Pa., in 1890, and from Lehigh University in 1894, with the degree of C.E.
While pursuing his university course, Mr. Wilson employed the vacations of 1892 and 1893 by working in the drafting room of the Pennsylvania Steel Company at Steelton, Pa. He also
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acted as draftsman for the same company from June, 1894, to December, 1896, when he entered the service of the Charleston City Railway Company of Charleston, S. C., as Assistant Engi- neer of Way, in which capacity he continued till February, 1897, when he became Chief Engineer of surveys. He was later con- nected with the Street Railway Department of the Pennsylvania Steel Company as Computer of special work and Engineer of Surveys.
When the Spanish-American War broke out, Mr. Wilson joined the army, in May, 1898, enlisting as a private in the 8th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He was soon detailed as Assistant to Major Pierce, Chief Engineer of the 1st Division, Second Army Corps, and was later appointed Chief Topogra- pher of the Second Army Corps. He was mustered out of serv- ice in December, 1898.
After the war, Mr. Wilson resumed his connection with the Pennsylvania Steel Company. He remained till May, 1899, when he came to Buffalo as Assistant Engineer of Way for the Buffalo Railway Company, continuing until February 10, 1902. During the summer of 1899 Mr. Wilson handled about one thousand men and relaid in concrete more than twenty-nine miles of track. When the Buffalo Railway Company was merged in the International Railway Company, Mr. Wilson was appointed Chief Engineer of the latter corporation, assuming the duties of that office February 10, 1902. When, March 1, 1905, Mr. Henry J. Pierce assumed the presidency of the Inter- national Railway Company, he appointed Mr. Wilson General Manager, his present office.
Mr. Wilson is First Vice-President of the New York State Street Railway Association; is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, of the Engineering Society of Western New York, and of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association. He belongs to the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce, and to the Buffalo, Ellicott and University clubs. He is also a member of the honorary society
W. J. Gomes
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of the Tau Beta Pi, and of the general fraternity of Beta Theta Pi.
September 19, 1905, Mr. Wilson married Anna Beatrice Levi, daughter of Emanuel Levi of Buffalo.
WILLIAM JAMES CONNERS, Chairman of the Democratic State Committee and proprietor of the Buffalo Courier, the Buffalo Sunday Courier and the Buffalo Enquirer, is one of the country's most remarkable examples of the self-made man. He is a captain of industry, a capitalist and financier, the owner of three great newspapers, a leader in Democratic politics, and a representative citizen. Yet Mr. Conners is comparatively a young man, still in the vigor and prime of life, and the results above summarized have been achieved in a relatively short space of time and solely by his own efforts.
Mr. Conners was born in Buffalo January 3, 1857. Until he was thirteen years old he attended the local public schools. He then began work as a porter on a lake steamer, and for several years sailed on boats running between Buffalo and Duluth. Though without capital of his own, his ability and energy enabled him to obtain means to engage in business in Buffalo, and he prospered from the outset. In 1885 he entered into a contract with Washington Bullard whereby Mr. Conners agreed to handle all the Buffalo freight of the Union Steamboat Com- pany. He effected a revolution in the freight handling methods at the port of Buffalo, introducing a system which brought order out of confusion, and the superiority of his methods was so manifest that the managers of other lake lines and carriers hastened to make contracts with him. He acquired the virtual control of the lake freight business at Buffalo and other ports, having contracts for the loading and unloading of cargoes at Buffalo, Chicago, Milwaukee and Gladstone, Mich., of all ves- sels belonging to the Union Steamboat, Western Transit, Lacka- wanna, Lehigh Valley, Union Transit, "Soo," and Northern Steamship transportation companies. Mr. Conners is the
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largest contractor in the world in this business, employs 3,000 men in the contract branch alone of his enterprises, and his payroll is one of the heaviest in Buffalo. In 1889 he was elected President of the Vulcanite Asphalt Paving Company and carried on the business with great success for a number of years. In' 1890 he invested heavily in the property of the Roos (later the Iroquois) Brewery, and conducted the plant for about a year. In 1895 he purchased a large interest in the Magnus Beck Brewing Company, of which he was chosen President, and his administrative ability increased the output of the brewery one-third. Meantime he acquired a quarter interest in the Union Transit Company, operating a line of steamers between Buffalo and Duluthı. He is a Director or stockholder in several banks. He is also a large owner of real estate, and has taken a leading part in the purchase and development of South Buffalo property. In recent years Mr. Conners has become prominently identified with suburban electric railway interests.
On the 23d of December, 1895, Mr. Conners bought a control- ling interest in the Buffalo Enquirer, and his powerful initiative was quickly shown by a threefold increase of the circulation of that paper, of which he presently became the sole proprietor. In September, 1896, he established a magnificent modern news- paper plant with independent light and power engines, linotype machines, equipment for photo-engraving, and a superb Hoe sextuple press. A year afterward he founded the Record, the first one cent morning newspaper ever established in Buffalo. Its success was decisive, and in 1897 he bought the Morning Courier, which he reorganized, merging it with the Record under the name of the Courier-Record. Shortly afterward the paper became the Buffalo Courier, its name at the present time. Besides the Courier and the Enquirer Mr. Conners publishes the Sunday Courier, a splendid example of the modern illus- trated newspaper. Both through his newspapers and by per- sonal influence and leadership, Mr. Conners is a power in the Democracy of Western New York, and a representative figure
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in the Democratic politics of the State. In the gubernatorial campaign of 1906, one of the most notable in the history of New York State, Mr. Conners, because of his political ability and experience, was elected to direct the Democratic forces as Chairman of the State Committee. He established headquar- ters at the Victoria Hotel, New York City, and worked night and day. The result of his work is well known. Although the candidate for Governor was defeated by forces beyond the reach of the Chairman, the entire balance of the ticket was elected by a splendid majority.
Mr. Conners' absorbing business pursuits permit him little time for diversions, but he is fond of yachting, and in the summer of 1896 launched the yacht "Enquirer," one of the finest steam yachts ever built.
Mr. Conners has been married twice. His first wife was Catherine Mahany of Buffalo, whom he wedded in November, 1881, and who died, leaving a son, Peter Newell Conners, since deceased. On the 2d of August, 1893, Mr. Conners married his second wife, Mary A. Jordan of West Seneca, N. Y. Their chil- dren are: Mary M., Katharine A., Alice J., William J., Jr., and Ruth L. Conners.
'A life of brilliant promise, sadly cut short ere its fruition, was that of Peter Newell Conners, eldest son of William J. Conners. Young Mr. Conners was eighteen years old at the time of his death. He was a youth of fine abilities and rare personality, widely known in Buffalo and beloved by all who knew him. When assailed by the illness which removed him from the world, Peter N. Conners was a student at the Michigan Military Academy, Orchard Lake, Mich., where he died Novem- ber 20, 1906. He was then in his third year at the Military Academy, and would soon have graduated from that institution. He was of high standing in his classes, was regarded with affectionate esteem by his teachers and fellow-students, and held in the Academy corps the rank of First Lieutenant and Signal Officer. A youth of high aims and serious ambitions, it
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was the intention of Mr. Conners' son to take a course in college and then become associated with his father in the newspaper business. The death of Peter Newell Conners in the dawn of his rich promise of usefulness was one of those myterious dis- pensations of Providence to which man can only bow, trusting in the Divine Wisdom.
GEORGE JACOB HAFFA, Superintendent of the Erie County Penitentiary, Lieutenant-Colonel of the 65th Regiment, N. G. N. Y., and a member of the firm of J. G. Haffa's Sons, is a leading citizen of Buffalo and a man well-known in business, civic and military affairs. Col. Haffa is of German descent, being derived from a family which lived for many years in the Kingdom of Wurtemburg.
John George Haffa, father of the subject of this sketch, was the son of Elias and Catherine Haller Haffa, and was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, in 1828. In the Revolution of 1848 he espoused the Republican side, and was obliged to leave the old country and seek his fortunes in the United States. On reaching America he came to Buffalo, where he worked as a journeyman tailor until 1859, when he became cutter for Bogart & Doolittle. In 1865 he entered the employ of William H. Stuart, and in 1868 was admitted partner. In 1870 he estab- lished a tailoring business, which he successfully conducted until his death in 1886. He was for many years a member of St. John's Lutheran Church. In 1853 Mr. Haffa married Maria Elizabeth Biller of Buffalo, who died in 1891. Their children are: Barbara K., George Jacob, John George, Elias and Fred- erick C. Haffa, all of whom reside in Buffalo.
George Jacob Haffa was born in Buffalo, February 23, 1858. He attended the common schools, High School and Bryant & Stratton's Business College. When fourteen years old he entered his father's tailoring establishment, and in 1884 was admitted partner. On the death of their father, George J. Haffa, and his brother, Elias, formed a copartnership as J. G.
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Haffa's Sons, which firm continues and is one of the best-known and most prosperous in Buffalo, being among the oldest tailor- ing concerns of that city.
Col. Haffa's connection with military affairs began in 1873, when he joined the Buffalo City Guard Cadets, being promoted Second Lieutenant in 1876. The following year he was com- missioned First Lieutenant and served till 1884, when he was made Captain. In 1887 he was commissioned Captain in the 6th Regiment, N. G. N. Y., and placed in command of Company A. In 1896 he was promoted Major, and became commanding officer of the 2d Battalion. At the outbreak of the Spanish- American War, Maj. Haffa volunteered for active service. Greatly to his disappointment he was not accepted on account of defective eyesight, but he served for three weeks at Camp Black. June 13, 1898, Maj. Haffa was commissioned Colonel of the 165th Regiment, N. G. N. Y., and assisted in raising a volunteer regiment. At the close of the war, Col. Haffa resigned his commission as Colonel, and resumed his rank of Major in the 65th Regiment. May 18, 1900, he was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, which office he still holds. During the rail- road strikes of 1877 Col. Haffa was engaged in active service as First Lieutenant in the Buffalo City Guard Cadets. In the railroad strike riots of 1892 he served with the 65th Regiment as Captain. He has also accompanied his regiment at State camps and field service, and on all other occasions when the regiment has been engaged in active duty.
Col. Haffa has always been a Republican, and in 1903 was elected Alderman from the 21st Ward of Buffalo, being reelected by an increased majority in 1905. He has been a faithful and intelligent official, and has served on many important committees. In 1907 Major Haffa was elected superintendent of the Erie County Penitentiary, a position in which he is serving with characteristic ability and fidelity at the present time.
Col. Haffa was a member of Citizen Hook and Ladder Com-
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pany No. 2, Volunteer Fire Department of Buffalo, from Au- gust, 1877, until the department was disbanded in 1880. He is - now a member of the Exempt Fireman's Association, and for several years has served as Secretary of both organizations. He is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 240, F. & A. M .; Key- stone Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Hugh de Payens Comman- dery, Knights Templar, and a charter member of Ismailia Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Acacia Club, a life member of the Young Men's Association, and a member of the Buffalo and Park clubs, of the Army and Navy Club of New York City. Since 1878 he has been a member of the North Presbyterian Church.
January 29, 1880, Col. Haffa married Hattie Jeanette Gering, daughter of George J. and Rebecca Elliott Gering of Buffalo. Mrs. Haffa died November 23, 1893.
SIMON SEIBERT, former Senator and Assemblyman, mem- ber of the Buffalo Board of Fire Commissioners, and General Manager of the Magnus Beck Brewing Company, is a leading Republican, a prominent figure in business and a representative public man. The parents of Mr. Seibert came from Germany to this country in 1853, and settled in Buffalo, where the elder Seibert was for forty-five years one of the foremost German- Americans. Simon Seibert was born in Buffalo September 12, 1857. After attending the public schools and Bryant & Stratton's Business College, he entered his father's coal office as clerk. Later he opened a men's furnishings store at East Buffalo and prosperously carried ou the business till 1889, when he retired to accept the appointment as United States Gauger at Buffalo, a position which he held until 1893. The following year he became connected with the Magnus Beck Brewing Company as a traveling salesman and solicitor. He exhibited marked capability and soon rose to be General Manager, an office which he has ever since retained.
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Always an earnest Republican, Mr. Seibert has for many years been prominent in his party and is one of its pillars of strength on the Buffalo East Side. For sixteen years he has served as Republican Committeeman of the 8th Ward, and for a quarter of a century has represented his district in every important convention, having been a delegate to every Repub- lican State Convention since 1888. In 1893 he was nominated for Member of Assembly, and though the normal Democratic majority in his district was estimated at 600, Mr. Seibert won by a majority of 1,356 votes. In the fall of 1894 he was renomi- nated and elected by a still greater majority. At the end of his second term he was nominated by acclamation for State Senator from the 48th Senatorial District, and was elected by a majority of 2,206. Though under the new ballot law he lost nearly 1,000 votes, he ran ahead of the record of Grover Cleve- land, who in 1892 had carried the same district by a majority of 2,000. In the Assembly and the Senate Mr. Seibert served on many important committees and took an active part in the general work of legislation. Throughout his legislative career he was always mindful of the interests of Buffalo, furthering her welfare in every legitimate way. In 1896 he was chosen alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention at St. Louis, and in 1900 was delegate to the National Convention at Philadelphia. In 1904 he was again honored by his party, which made him a Presidential Elector.
In 1903 Mr. Seibert was appointed by Mayor Knight a mem- ber of the Buffalo. Board of Fire Commissioners for a term of six years. The duties of this office he has performed with signal ability, being concerned in many measures for the wellbeing of the Fire Department and the protection of the city from conflagration. In 1904 he was elected President of the Board.
Socially as well as politically, Mr. Seibert is widely. popular. He is a 32d degree Mason, a member of Concordia Lodge, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and a member of the Acacia Club. He is a member of Mystic Star Lodge, Independent Order of
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Odd Fellows, Millard Fillmore Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and Buffalo Lodge, No. 23, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is also prominently identified with various social bodies, among which may be mentioned the Silver King Fishing Club and the Orpheus Singing Society.
PLINY BARTON McNAUGHTON, Vice-President of the German Rock Asphalt & Cement Company, the Buffalo Expanded Metal Company and the Continental Engineering Company, and General Manager of the Buffalo Dredging Com- pany, is one of Buffalo's foremost men in the general con- tracting business.
Mr. McNaughton comes of a family which lived for many gene- rations in or near Campbelltown, Scotland, where his father, Daniel McNaughton, was born in 1824. In 1834 he emigrated to America, where he first went to Detroit, but shortly afterward came to Buffalo. There he was apprenticed to the ship-smith's trade, in the old Vulcan Foundry, afterward forming a part- nership with Charles Delaney in the general forging business. In 1855 Mr. McNaughton engaged in business for himself, his foundry being located in Prime street, near Evans, where, with other forging he made a specialty of iron work for sailing vessels. In 1865 he removed his establishment to Lloyd street, where he continued in business until his death, which occurred January 8, 1902, at Battle Creek, Mich. Daniel McNaughton was a very successful business man and accumulated a fortune. He was esteemed for his ability and respected for his upright life. He was a member of the Unitarian Church. In 1854 he married Pemela E., daughter of Pliny F. Barton, who owned the Vulcan Foundry, then one of the largest machine shops in Buffalo. Their surviving children are: Pliny B. McNaughton of Buffalo, and Harriett (Mrs. Joseph H. Defrees) of Chicago.
Pliny Barton McNaughton was born in Buffalo August 17, 1855. He attended public and private schools in his native city,
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where he was prepared for college. In 1870 he entered the University of Notre Dame, Ind., where he remained three years and pursued a liberal arts course.
On leaving college, Mr. McNaughton entered his father's establishment, where he continued three years, and then went to work for his uncle, William I. Williams, a prominent contract- or and builder. In 1881 Mr. McNaughton went into business on his own account, and for three years successfully engaged in general con- tracting. In 1884 he formed, with Frank L. Bapst, a partnership for the purpose of doing gen- eral contract work, under the style of McNaughton & Bapst. This firm was largely engaged in laying stone pavement and in street railroad construc- tion, and also did a great amount of underground work. In 1892 Charles E. Williams was admitted to the firm which became Williams, McNaughton & PLINY B. M'NAUGHTON. Bapst, an association identified with many of the principal engineering and general contract enterprises in Buffalo and vicinity. Mr. McNaughton is General Manager of the Buffalo Dredging Company, an important concern which does much submarine work for the Government and State. He is Vice-President of the German Rock Asphalt & Cement Company, one of the leading asphalt paving companies of Buffalo. He is one of the
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principal officials of the Buffalo Expanded Metal Company, and of the Continental Engineering Company, and a stock- holder in the Buffalo Sanitary Company, all of which concerns do a large amount of public work.
Mr. McNaughton is a 32d degree Mason, and is affiliated with Ancient Landmarks Lodge and Ismailia Temple. He also belongs to the Elks, and is a member of the Buffalo and Ellicott clubs, and the Fine Arts Academy. He is an exempt fireman, having served with old Liberty Hose, No. 1.
In 1893 Mr. McNaughton married Mrs. Frances (Dambach) Iffer, a daughter of John Dambach of Buffalo. Mr. and Mrs. McNaughton have one child, Harriet Ruth, who was born December 18, 1894.
REUBEN JOSEPH GETZ. The Getz family came from Holland to America about 1670, settling in Pennsylvania. Joseph Getz, grandfather, migrated to Erie County in 1818. He was a miller and lumberman, and a prominent man in the early days of the county. His son, Jacob Getz, father of the subject of this sketch, after whom Getzville in the town of Amherst is named, was, like his father, a miller and lumber- man. He removed to Buffalo in 1861. Jacob Getz, though he never held public office, took an active interest in the politics of his time. He was one of the original members of the Repub- lican party, a strong Union man and an ardent supporter of Abraham Lincoln. His death occurred in 1880. He married Sarah Hoover, who died in 1896. He left three children: Reuben J. Getz, Charlotte (Mrs. Win. E. Porter) of Detroit, Mich., and Hattie E. (Mrs. Everett E. Buchanan) of Elmira, New York.
Reuben Joseph Getz was born in the town of Amherst, Erie County, N. Y., July 13, 1853. Ris elementary education was obtained in the public schools of Buffalo, where he graduated from grammar school No. 19. He then attended Dr. Reed's Walnut Hill school at Geneva, N. Y., later entering Clinton
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Liberal Institute at Clinton, N. Y., from which he graduated in June, 1871:
Among the solid business men of Buffalo, a prominent place belongs to Reuben J. Getz. Mr. Getz has, at different times, been connected with many kinds of enterprises, including manu- facturing, mercantile, the building and contracting industry, and the real estate business. On the organization of the Lake Erie Dredging Company in 1902, Mr. Getz became its Secretary and Treasurer, which office he still holds. This company is one of the foremost enter- prises of its kind in West- ern New York, represent- ing a strong consolidation of capital, and in the per- sonnel of its management comprising some of the best business talent of Buffalo.
Mr. Getz is one of Buffalo's leading Republi- cans, and though never a candidate for office, has been for many years a potent influence in his party, having represented the 20th, now the 24th Ward, in the Republican General Committee from 1898 to 1901, inclusively, REUBEN J. GETZ. and having served as Treasurer of the Buffalo Republican League during 1895-96 and '97.
He is a well-known fraternity man, is connected with various representative organizations, and is held in esteem as a pro- gressive citizen, thoroughly identified with Buffalo and her interests, and actively concerned with aims and movements
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tending to the general advancement of the community. Mr. Getz is an active member of the Masonic order, being affiliated with the Ancient Landmarks Lodge, F. & A. M., and with the Buffalo Consistory of Scottish Rite Masons. Through his con- nection with the latter body, he is a Mason of the 32d degree. He is also an Odd Fellow and an Elk. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Historical Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He belongs to the Buffalo, Ellicott, Press and Park Clubs, and is a member of the North Presbyterian Church.
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