USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 6
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October 3, 1882, Mr. Howard married Miss Griffin, a daughter of the late John B. Griffin. They have three daughters.
Mr. Howard is an accomplished man of the world, practical, thoroughly in accord with the spirit of the times, and having a keen appreciation of the refinements and amenities of life. He resides in a palatial home on Delaware avenue, and in the domestic circle finds needed relief from the urgencies of busi- ness duties. As financier and citizen his standing leaves
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nothing to be wished, and he may be appropriately character- ized as one of those deserving men who, in the prime of their days, have attained the consummated results which are, as a rule, only to be looked for with advanced years.
JAMES PLATT WHITE, M.D., was born in Austerlitz, Columbia County, N. Y., March 14, 1811. He was a direct descendant of Peregrine White, the first male child born in Plymouth Colony. His grandfather was a soldier of the Revo- lution, and his father, David Pierson White, served in the War of 1812. In 1816 the parents of James Platt White set- tled in East Hamburg, Erie County, N. Y. The son acquired an English and classical education and began the study of law, but soon abandoned it for medicine. He at- tended medical lectures at Fairfield, N. Y., and DR. JAMES PLATT WHITE. later Jefferson Medical College, graduating in 1834. During the cholera epidemic of 1832, Dr. White, then a medical student, came into notice by his creditable services at Black Rock. In 1835 he began practice in Buffalo, and for the next ten, years devoted himself largely to surgery. Later he abandoned general surgery and made a specialty of gynaecology, in which he was an expert. Dr. White was one of the founders of Buffalo Medical College, being appointed to the
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chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1846. A man of inventive genius, he added to the scientific resources of his profession, and had to endure persecution on this account. His reputation far exceeded local limits, and many patients came from great distances to avail themselves of his skill. He was a voluminous contributor to medical and surgical literature, and assisted in the establishment of the Buffalo Medical Journal.
Dr. White was President, Secretary and Librarian of the Erie County Medical Society, President and Vice-President of the New York State Medical Society, President and one of the founders of the Buffalo Medical Association, and corresponding secretary and later honorary Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. He was one of the chief factors in bringing the Buffalo State Hospital to Buffalo, served as manager and President of that institution, was one of the founders of the Buffalo General Hospital, and was the coadjutor of Bishop Timon in establishing the Buffalo Hospital of the Sisters of Charity, the Maternity and Foundling Hospital and the Provi- dence Insane Asylum. During the Civil War he was Govern- ment Medical Inspector of Military Hospitals in the West and Southwest. In 1876 he was one of the Vice-Presidents of the Medical Congress at Philadelphia, and in 1877 was elected First Vice-President of the National Medical Association. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, President of the Board of Managers of the Church Charity Foundation and one of the founders of the Buffalo Historical Society, the Young Men's Association and the Academy of Fine Arts. He was active in the development of Buffalo's park system, and toward the close of his life he erected the White Building, in that city.
In 1836 Dr. White married Mary Elizabeth Penfield, daughter of Henry F. Penfield, of Penfield, N. Y. The death of Dr. White occurred September 28, 1881. His widow survived him less than four months.
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JAMES PENFIELD WHITE was born in Hamburg, Erie County, N. Y., July 6, 1844, being the son of James and Mary (White) Bowen. The father of James Penfield White dying before the latter's birth, the boy was adopted by the maternal uncle, Dr. James P. White, and was educated at Walnut Hill School. His foster father intended him to study medicine, but partial failure of the young man's eyes compelled the abandon- ment of this plan. Dur- ing his early manliood Mr. White engaged for ten years in the litho- graphing business in Buffalo, later having the care of Dr. White's estate, wliose management con- tinued to devolve upon him for the rest of his life, and the White Block was built under his direction.
Mr. White was a promi- nent member of the National Guard, and for several years served on the staff of Gen. Howard. In politics, he was an in- dependent Democrat. JAMES PENFIELD WHITE. He was a member of Trinity Church, was for some years its Treasurer, and served on the Board of Managers of the Church Home. He was a leading member of the Buffalo Club, and enjoyed an enviable social position.
September 24, 1872, Mr. White married Mary Anna Dobbins, daughter of Capt. David P. and Mary (Richards) Dobbins of Buffalo. He died August 10, 1894, being survived by his widow and two sons, Seymour Penfield and James Platt White.
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Mr. White was a man of distinguished appearance, being one of those men whose presence commands respect. Of courteous manners and kindly disposition, he won friends without effort and retained them by the influence of a character in which amiability and trustworthiness were happily blended.
SEYMOUR PENFIELD WHITE, elder of the sons of James Penfield White, was born in Buffalo August 2, 1873. He received a good education and had just taken his final examination for Yale when he was compelled by the death of his father to forego a full University course. Leaving his studies, he assumed full charge of the affairs of the White estate, taking personal control of the erection of the White Building. He is a trustee of the Buffalo Savings Bank and is a man of strong executive ability and sound business principles.
As a National Guardsman, Mr. White has a highly creditable record. Entering the 65th Regiment as Second Lieutenant, he rose to the rank of Captain, and was a member of Governor Odell's staff. During the Spanish-American War he partici- pated in active service with his regiment at Camp Alger. In 1905 Mr. White, on account of pressure of business, resigned from his regiment. During his period of service with the 65th, he was for a number of years Inspector of Rifle Practice, being himself an expert marksman. He is also a lover of sports and a well-known clubman, being a member and Treasurer of the Saturn Club, a member of the Country Club and President of the Buffalo Automobile Club.
May 26, 1898, Mr. White inarried Annie Dunbar, daughter of George H. Dunbar, of Buffalo. They have two children, Marion and Emily.
JAMES PLATT WHITE, second son of James Penfield White, was born in Buffalo December 22, 1878. He was educated at Harvard and was one of the editors of the Harvard Monthly, winning for himself a high place in college journalism.
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Mr. White is a man of brilliant qualities, of intellectual tastes, and a linguist of unusual acquirements. He is devoting himself to a literary career, being well-known in the field of dramatic literature.
RT. REV. JOHN TIMON, D.D. That brilliant intellectual gifts may be dedicated to the highest and holiest uses is a truth which has been exemplified within the memory of many living Buffalonians by the career of the late Rt. Rev. John Timon, D.D., first Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
Bishop Timon was the son of James and Margaret (Leddy) Timon, natives of Ireland, who came to this country and settled at Conevago, Adams County, Pa., where John Timon, afterward Bishop Timon, was born February 12, 1797. In 1802 the family removed to Baltimore, Md., where the father opened a dry-goods store in which the son served as clerk. In 1818 the senior Timon removed with his family to Louisville, Ky., where for a short time he resumed business, in 1819 going to St. Louis, where he conducted a dry-goods establishment till 1823. In 1823. the subject of this sketch joined the community of Lazarists, and the next two years he spent in study at the seminary of St. Mary's, at Barrens, Mo. In 1824 he was ordained sub-deacon, and in 1825 was ordained to the priesthood. For a number of years he was professor at the Barrens seminary and served as a missionary in the neighboring counties. Meantime he joined the order of St. Vincent de Paul.
In 1835 Father Timon was appointed Visitor by the General Assembly of the Congregation of Missions at Paris. He served in this capacity till 1840, when he was appointed Prefect Apostolic of Texas, which office he filled for seven years. Sep- tember 5, 1847, he received his bulls as Bishop of the new Diocese of Buffalo, and on October 17 of the same year was consecrated in that office. He assumed the duties of his new position October 22, 1847. Bishop Timon's field of labors comprised all of the State of New York west of Cayuga, Tomp-
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kins and Tioga counties. The December after his installation he consecrated St. Louis' Church, and this event was the precursor of others of kindred character, so numerous that they can here be indicated only in outline. Throughout his large field Bishop Timon founded churches, missions and educational and benevolent institutions. It was he who intro- duced into Buffalo Diocese the Franciscan Fathers, the Brothers of the Holy Infancy of Jesus, the Christian Brothers, the Sisters of Charity, the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Nuns of the Society of the Good Shepherd. '
Bishop Timon was characterized by great fervor, power and effectiveness as a preacher. He was the spiritual father of his flock, profound in his knowledge of human nature, charitable in his judgments, broad in his beneficence and tender in his sympathy. A scholar aud a man abreast of the best thought and culture of his day, Bishop Timon's intellectual powers were broadened by wide knowledge of men and affairs. He traveled extensively and several times visited Rome.
The death of Bishop Timon occurred on April 16, 1867.
PORTER NORTON. This distinguished lawyer and citizen has all his life been a resident of Buffalo and for more than thirty years has practiced his profession in this city.
Mr. Norton comes of an ancestry prominent in Colonial affairs and in the Revolutionary period. In the records of the New York State Society, Sons of the American Revolution, his descent is given as follows: "Son of Charles D. Norton and Jeanette Phelps; grandson of Joseph E. Norton and Lucretia Huntington; great-grandson of Joseph Huntington and Elizabeth Hale; great-grandson (2d) of Capt. Jonathan Hale, great (3) grandson of Jonathan Hale and Sarah Talcott, great- grandson (4) of Samuel Hale and Mary Wells, great-grandson (5) of Samuel Hale (1st), who came to Watertown, Mass., in 1852 and moved to Connecticut. The Samuels were both soldiers and honored civil officers of their day."
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CHARLES DAVIS NORTON, father of the subject of this sketch, was identified with the highest walks of the legal pro- fession of Western New York. Notable as an example of the scholarly type of lawyer, the elder Norton was also an eminent advocate and a powerful orator both in forensic and other fields. Few men of his time were of similar prominence in the civil administration and the social life of Erie County.
Charles Davis Norton was born at Hartford, Connecticut, November 20th, 1820. He was the son of Joseph G. Norton, a well-known shipping merchant of Hartford. The mother of Charles D. Norton was Lucretia (Huntington) Norton, daughter of Dr. Joseph Huntington, a Congregationalist minister of Coventry, Conn., and niece of Samuel Huntington, Governor of Connecticut and one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- pendence. A brother of Mrs. Norton was Samuel Huntington, who became second Governor of Ohio and afterward Chief Justice of that State. In 1827 Charles D. Norton accompanied his family to Black Rock, where his father engaged in the dry- goods business with Judah Bliss. Three years afterward the family removed to Buffalo, where Joseph G. Norton died in 1844. Charles D. Norton was prepared for college under private tutors and schools, and graduated from Union College with honors in 1840. In 1839 he entered the law office of Horatio Shumway, with whom he continued his legal studies until 1841. In October, 1842, he sailed for Florida, seeking rest and a milder climate. He returned to Buffalo in 1843, and resuming his law studies was admitted to the bar that year.
Mr. Norton was an ardent Whig. He earnestly espoused the Presidential candidacy of Clay. His power and eloquence on the rostrum were among the noteworthy facts of his time and continue to be living traditions in our day.
In 1849 Mr. Norton was elected City Attorney of Buffalo. In 1851 he was elected Surrogate of Erie County. In 1865 Presi- dent Johnson appointed Mr. Norton Collector of Customs for the port of Buffalo, an honor which fell to him without solici-
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tation and wholly in recognition of his fitness for the place, and he continued to fill the position until his death, April 11, 1867.
Mr. Norton was one of the most active members of the Young Men's Association, and in 1851 was chosen its President. Among its founders, he was also the first Recording Secretary of the Buffalo Historical Society.
The wife of Mr. Norton was Jeanette Phelps, whom he married in October, 1851, and who was a daughter of Oliver Phelps, of Canandaigua, N. Y. Two sons, Porter and Charles, were the issue of the union.
Porter Norton was born in Buffalo, on the 9th of July, 1854. His elementary education was received in private schools. Later he graduated from Prof. Briggs' Classical School. After leaving school he entered the employment of Martin Taylor, a well-known book dealer. At the age of seventeen he became a law student in the office of E. Carlton Sprague and George Gorham. In 1875 Mr. Norton was admitted to the bar, shortly after he assumed the position of managing clerk in the offices of the Hon. Loran L. Lewis and William H. Gurney. With the firm of Lewis & Gurney he remained from two to three years, and then began practicing alone. Early in 1880 he formed an association with Henry W. Box, under the firm style of Box & Norton. With changes in the personnel, this connection continued until 1891, the successors of the firm of Box & Norton being Box, Hatch & Norton, and Box, Norton & Bushnell. In the summer of 1891 Mr. Norton formed with Thomas Penney and Charles B. Sears the still existing copartnership of Norton, Penney & Sears.
As a lawyer Mr. Norton is at once erudite and practical. Since 1901 he has acted as counsel for the Bell Telephone Company of Buffalo. His present firm and its predecessors have for more than twenty-five years been counsel for the Inter- national Railway Company, Mr. Norton being the only lawyer who has served continuously as the Company's counsel during
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that period. Messrs. Norton, Penney & Sears are also local counsel for various leading corporations, industrial and otherwise.
Mr. Norton is a director of the Crosstown Street Railway, the Bell Telephone Company of Buffalo and the Niagara Falls Electric Railway. He is a director of the Fresh Air Mission, a Trustee of De Veaux College of Niagara Falls, a member of New York State Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, and of the Society of Colonial Wars. He also belongs to the Buffalo, Ellicott and Country Clubs, and is a vestryman of Trinity Church.
On the 9th of July, 1878, Mr. Norton married Miss Jennie H. Watson, a daughter of the late S. V. R. Watson and Charlotte A. (Sherman) Watson of Buffalo. The children are: Porter Huntington Norton and Gertrude V. D. Norton.
THE JEWETT FAMILY, for many years one of the representative families of Buffalo, belong to a race which traces its lineage to the days of the Puritan settlement of Massachu- setts, and to the latter years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Patriotism has been a marked characteristic of the family, and from the period of the Colonial Wars, down through the Revolution to the present time, bearers of the name have, by reason of military services, deserved well of their country. William Jewett, eldest son of Edward of Bradford, England, was the father of Joseph Jewett, who, with his uncles, Maximilian and Joseph, came to America from Rowley in Yorkshire, England, landing in Boston on the 1st day of December, 1638. They settled in Massachusetts Colony and were the founders of Rowley, Mass. Joseph, son of Joseph, had a son, Capt. Nathan Jewett, who had a son, Capt. Joseph Jewett, who was a hero of the Revolution. After the siege of Boston, Capt. Jewett and his troops accompanied Gen. Wash- ington to New York, where he took part in the battle of Long Island. During the engagement, Col. Huntington's force was
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surrounded by the British, and Capt. Jewett received bayonet wounds which he survived only two days, his death occurring on the 29th of August, 1776.
Josiah Jewett, son of Capt. Joseph, was born in Lyme, Conn., and removed to Moravia, Cayuga County, N. Y., in 1814.
The first wife of Deacon Jewett was Elizabeth Smith, of Durham, Middlesex County, Conn. Their children were: David Parsons, George Washington, David Parsons, Eliza Smith, Martha, Josiah Parsons, Samuel Parsons, Clarissa, and Guernsey. The second wife of Deacon Josiah Jewett was Sophia Skinner, daughter of Cotton and Prudence Skinner of Moravia, N. Y., formerly of East Hartford, Conn. The children were: Sherman Skinner, John Cotton, Joseph, Caroline Matilda, Charles Carroll, and James Harvey.
SHERMAN S. JEWETT was born at Moravia, N. Y., January 17, 1818. His early life was passed on his father's farm, attending district school in the winters. In 1834 he came to Buffalo, where his uncle, Isaac Watts Skinner, owned a small foundry, and with him Mr. Jewett learned the moulder's trade, also attending Silas Kingsley's High School one term.
In 1836 Mr. Jewett formed a co-partnership in the foundry business with Franklin Day and Francis H. Root, under the name of Day, Root & Co., and a few years later a new firm was organized, composed of Thomas J. Dudley and S. S. Jewett. After two years Mr. Dudley withdrew and the business was continued by Mr. Jewett alone until 1843, when Mr. Jewett and Francis H. Root formed the firm of Jewett & Root, which con- tinued for thirty-five years. In 1878 the widely known house of Sherman S. Jewett & Co. was formed, composed of Sherman S., Henry C., and Josiah Jewett. The Bank of Buffalo owes its origin to Mr. Jewett and his friends, and he was President of that institution from its beginning until 1892. He was one of the originators of the Manufacturers' and Traders' Bank, a director of it for over thirty years and of the Marine Bank for
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more than twenty years. He was a director of the Columbia National Bank from the time of its foundation until his death and was also a director of the Bank of Niagara Falls. Mr. Jewett was one of the earliest promoters of the Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia Railroad, and a director from 1867 to 1881. In 1867 he was called to the presidency. His management of this property was so skillful that the stockholders were repaid every dollar of capital and the $700,000 of bonds held by the city of Buffalo were sold at par. Mr. Jewett was an, originator of the Buffalo Mutual Insurance Co., which had a most success- ful career, until it was compelled to retire, owing to losses sustained in the Chicago fire of 1871. Then the three principal insurance companies of Buffalo, the Western, the Buffalo City and the Buffalo Fire and Marine, were forced into bankruptcy and Mr. Jewett was appointed assignee of all. This was one of the most important works of his life, and he discharged it with admirable fidelity and success.
Mr. Jewett's liberality was notably seen in his relations with the Young Men's Association, the Public Library and the Iroquois Hotel properties. In 1863 a meeting of nine gentlemen was held to discuss the project of buying St. James Hall and St. James Hotel to improve the facilities of the Association, and Mr. Jewett subscribed $3,000. He headed the list of subscrip- tions for the erection of the present fireproof Library building and was one of the founders of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, which he endowed with a permanent fund of $10,000, now known as the Jewett Fund. Mr. Jewett served as Curator of the Academy for eight years and was its: President in 1865. Rochester University profited by his benevolence, and he did his full share toward the establishment and development of Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Mr. Jewett was one of the original members of the Republican party and a stanch supporter of President Lincoln and the Union cause. He was elected to the Buffalo Common Council in 1845 and served during that year, 1846 and 1849, being also
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several times chosen Mayor pro tem. During his term of office occurred the fight between the advocates of the Ohio Basin and the Erie Basin. Mr. Jewett took the position that the city needed both, and through his influence this course was adopted, to the vast benefit of the city of Buffalo. In 1878 Mr. Jewett received the Republican nomination for Representative in Congress, but owing to poor health he declined this unsolicited and unanimous honor. In 1880 he was elected Republican Presidential Elector.
Mr. Jewett was one of the founders and a director of the Buffalo Club, served as its President in 1874, and was also one of the organizers and the first President of the Falconwood Club. He was appointed a Park Commissioner in 1871, was President of the Board from 1879 until a few years ago. He was a strong believer in and supporter of the Christian religion, and among the Buffalo churches which benefited by his helping hand were the Washington street Baptist Church, the Prospect avenue Baptist Church, the Delaware avenue Baptist Church, and some churches of other denominations. .
August 14, 1839 Mr. Jewett married Deborah Dusenbury of Buffalo. Their surviving children are Henry Clay Jewett, Josiah Jewett, Emma Alice Jewett (Mrs. Charles H. Williams) and Jennie Matilda Jewett (Mrs. Henry C. Howard).
The death of Sherman S. Jewett occurred February 28, 1897.
JOHN COTTON JEWETT, who died at Los Angeles, Cali- fornia, on the 18th of February, 1904, was one of the most distinguished of the pioneers of industrial Buffalo.
He was born in Moravia, Cayuga County, N. Y., February 2nd, 1820 .. In his boyhood John C. Jewett led the life of a typical farmer's lad. When about seventeen years old, he went to Ann Arbor, Mich., where his brother Samuel was engaged in mercantile business. Entering his brother's store, young Jewett showed such talent for his occupation that he was soon made a partner.
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February 2, 1843, Mr. Jewett married Priscilla Boardman of Ann Arbor. At the time of her marriage Miss Boardman was only in her seventeenth year. Her strong, womanly character was, however, clearly manifest. She was a woman of noble Christian attributes and of unusual mental powers. The chil- dren of this marriage were: Edgar Boardman, Carrie Amelia, Matilda Caroline, Ella, Frederick Arthur, and Mabel.
Mr. Jewett later removed from Ann Arbor to Albion, Mich., where he conducted a mercantile business. In 1849 he came to Buffalo, beginning with a small manufacturing concern, which steadily grew to be one of the great manufacturing industries of the land. Today the John C. Jewett Manufacturing Com- pany sends refrigerators to every section of the United States and to many foreign countries: For forty years, dating from the inauguration of his first factory in Buffalo, the history of John C. Jewett was the history of the immense industry he had reared. His efforts were ably seconded by his sons, Edgar B. and Frederick A. Jewett, and by his son-in-law, Risley Tucker.
GEN. EDGAR B. JEWETT, ex-Mayor and ex-Police Commis- sioner of Buffalo and head of the John C. Jewett Manufacturing Company, enjoys the triple distinction of military, civic and business achievements of a very high order. As a soldier, Gen. Jewett has a brilliant record of service and promotion. Elected Mayor of Buffalo by the largest majority up to that time ever given a candidate for the office, he proved the power of a strong personality in municipal affairs. His administration was char- acterized by the large number of difficult and important ques- tions that arose and by the able way they were met.
Edgar Boardman Jewett was born at Ann Arbor, Mich., December 14, 1843. While still a child he came to Buffalo with his parents and was educated in the public schools of that city. In 1860 he entered the John C. Jewett establishment. A year later the Civil War broke out, and he enlisted as a private in Company C, 74th Regiment N. G. S. N. Y. In May, 1863, he
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