USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Volume, II > Part 10
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Always an active Republican, Mr. Mosier has served as a delegate to several State Conventions and was delegate to the Republican National Convention of 1904. For some years he has been a member of the Republican General Committee, representing the old Fifth Ward. He is an active supporter of the principles of good government and sound municipal admin- istration, and is particularly identified with the cause of Civil Service Reform. Under Mayor Jewett he was appointed Civil Service Commissioner and held that office for years. Appointed
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Park Commissioner by Mayor Knight, he was reappointed for a term of five years, which he is now serving, and is President of the Board.
Mr. Mosier has a large circle of friends and is prominent in social life. He is actively identified with the Odd Fellows' fraternity, of which he is a leading member.
November 8, 1884, Mr. Mosier married Margaret Cullon of Buffalo. They have one daughter, Ellen Mosier.
CHARLES LAUTZ, who passed from this life on the 21st of June, 1901, was one of the most prominent members of the powerful German-American family who have made the name of Lautz distinguished in the industrial enterprise, the social interests and the general progress of Buffalo. For many years Mr. Lautz was in the forefront of all that contributes to develop and elevate a community. From modest beginnings he amassed a large fortune, but his aim was higher than the mere acquisition of wealth. He placed his best talents at the dis- posal of the city, the church and the cause of philanthropy, and gave to them much time from the engrossing cares of business. He was a patron of art and culture, and today the financial, social and intellectual life of Buffalo bears imperish- able evidence of his progressive spirit.
Charles Lautz, son of William and Elizabeth (Hiemenz) Lautz, was born in Dieburg, Germany, on April 6, 1842. He was educated under the care of private tutors. In 1853 when eleven years old he came to this country with his parents, who settled in Buffalo, where were laid the foundations of the immense soap manufacturing industry now known as Lautz Brothers and Company. Mr. Lautz was bred to business from boyhood, and as a mere lad he assisted his father in launching and developing the enterprise, which is now one of the largest of its kind in the United States. The business, in which Mr. Charles Lautz was a power, prospered from its incipiency. Fostered by a sterling policy of legitimate methods and pro-
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gressive management, it has grown to be one of the represen- tative industries of the country.
Besides his interests in Lautz Bros. & Company, Mr. Lautz had very extensive industrial and financial connections. He was associated with his brothers in The Lautz Company, manufacturers in foreign and domestic marble. He was one of the projectors of the Niagara Starch Company, which was later merged in the National Starch Manufacturing Company, of which Mr. Lautz became a director. He was interested in the Niagara Machine and Tool Works, a large concern engaged in the manufacture of power presses and other machinery, and a director and one of the principal promoters of the Buffalo and Williamsville Electric Railroad.
Few men have been so well qualified as Mr. Lautz to conduct great business enterprises. He was in the full sense of the words, a captain of industry. Men naturally looked up to him as a leader and his opinions always commanded the respect of his associates. His executive powers were great, his judg- ment sagacious and his integrity the highest.
Distinguished for character and capability, Mr. Lautz was a man whose aid and influence were continually sought in matters relating to the community's general welfare. He responded to such calls as to a sacred duty, sacrificing his time and energies and giving liberally of his means for the common good. Religious interests occupied a foremost place in his solicitude and he was one of the most earnest and active Catholic laymen of the city. He was for a number of years President of the Board of Trustees of St. Louis' Church and after the burning of the church he was instrumental in the appointment of a committee that visited the principal cities of the country to inspect cathedrals. The result was the erection of St. Louis' Church at Main and Edward Streets, con- cededly one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture of the time.
Mr. Lautz was a life member and was four times elected
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president of the Buffalo Catholic Institute, to which he rendered valuable service for many years, taking a prominent part in the erection of its handsome building at Main and Virginia Streets. He was also an important factor in the construction of the new Music Hall. He was an active member of the Merchants' Exchange, held life memberships in the Buffalo Business Men's Association and the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, was a charter member of the Orpheus Singing Society and one of the founders of the Ellicott Club. He took a deep interest in charitable institutions and gave generously to them. He served as director and a member of the Building Committee of the German Hospital. He was one of the incorporators of the Pan-American Exposition. His business associates held him in the highest esteem and he was honored with election as vice- president of the National Soap Makers' Association.
In 1866 Mr. Lautz was married to Miss Susanna Bensler, who came of a family well known in the pioneer history of Buffalo. Her father was the late Herman Bensler. Mrs. Lautz, who survives her husband, is an estimable lady prominent in the philanthropic interests and social life of our city.
Mr. Lautz possessed a beautiful home on Linwood Avenue and took especial pleasure in " Amherst Villa," his summer residence and farm at Williamsville, his country place being one of the finest in Western New York. Though so much in public life, he was not a club man, being greatly devoted to his home. To those who enjoyed his confidence he was a steadfast friend and was honorable and loyal in every relation of life. His tastes were selected and his chief enjoyment lay in the com- panionship of a choice circle of kindred spirits rather than in numerous social affiliations. One of Mr. Lautz's strongest characteristics was his disposition to help along worthy move- ments and undertakings. This he did with remarkable energy and efficiency, but in so quiet a way that the full extent of his public spirit never became generally known, his modesty causing him to prefer to remain in the background. His
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impulses and principles were generous; he was one of the most sympathetic and kind-hearted of men. Admired for his invio- lable honesty and his ability and success in the business world, he was beloved in the relations of home, society and friendship and the recollections which linger about his name are the stain- less memories of an upright, true hearted man and citizen.
J. ADAM LAUTZ, who died on the 17th of August, 1894, was one of Buffalo's most distinguished German-American citizens. Mr. Lautz was a leading member of a family which has for many years held a position of recognized prominence in the industrial and social life of Buffalo. He was born in Dieberg, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, May 14, 1840, and was the son of William Lautz, later a prominent Buffalo manufacturer. When thirteen years old he came with his parents to this country, the family settling in Buffalo. At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in the 20th Regiment New York Volunteers, better known as the "Turner Rifles," which he helped to organize. Going with his regiment to Fortress Monroe, Mr. Lautz was stationed at Camp Hamilton and Newport News when the Congress and the Cumberland were blown up in the harbor. He was an eye-witness of the fight between the Merrimac and the Monitor, and was with Gen. Butler at Fort Hatteras when the first prisoners of war were taken. Under Gen. Mcclellan, Mr. Lautz participated with his regiment in the famous Peninsular Campaign, and fought at the battles of Fair Oaks, the first Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill and others. Later he took part in the second Bull Run fight, and the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg as well as many lesser engagements. After serving with distinguished courage and fidelity through the most momentous campaigns of the war, he was honorably mustered out at the time of Lee's surrender. Though he participated in a large number of the bloodiest engagements ever fought on American soil, he escaped without injury, save for a gunshot wound in the side, received during
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the Seven Days' Fight. After the war Mr. Lantz returned to Buffalo and engaged actively in business life, becoming a mem- ber of the firm of Lautz Bros. & Company, with which he contin- ued till his death. He had a leading share in the direction of the firm's policy, and the results of his wise counsel and capable management were seen in the extension of the business and the inauguration of many improvements. Besides the enterprises which under the names of Lautz & Co., Wesp, Lautz Bros. & Company, and Lautz Bros. Company, were built up by the Lautz family, he had large interests in the Niagara Marble and Mexi- can Onyx Company, the Niagara Starch Works, and the Niag- ara Stamping and Tool Company. He was also President of the Ziegele Brewing Company; a director in the Citizens' Bank, and a stockholder in other financial institutions; one of the incorporators of the Niagara Tunnel Power Company, and President of the Buffalo Mutual Fire Insurance Company. As a business man Mr. Lautz was characterized by breadth of view, an instinctive discernment of opportunities and a wise union of progressiveness with conservatism.
In politics Mr. Lautz was a Republican, but he never sought preferment. The only honor of political or civic nature which he ever accepted was the office of Park Commissioner, in which position he was serving at the time of his death. He was one of the first members of the Merchants' Exchange, and held a life membership in the German Young Men's Association, which he served for two years as President. As member and Chairman of the Building Committee of St. Louis' Church he had an important part in the erection of the church edifice and served until it was dedicated. He was one of the founders of the Working Boys' Home of the Sacred Heart, and assisted in the establishment of the Orpheus Society, served as its Vice- President and President. He was a valued member of the Liedertafel and was prominently concerned in the project for the erection of Music Hall. In music Mr. Lautz took a keen and
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cultured interest, and was a leading spirit in every notable musical event that took place in Buffalo during the twenty-five years prior to his death. He was a distinguished figure in German-American social circles, was held in high estimation in general society, and was a prominent member of the Buffalo Club.
In 1865 Mr. Lautz married Kate Bardol, an esteemed lady, who was the inspiration of his early ambitions, and who min- istered to him with womanly devotion to the last. Their children, all of whom survive, are: two sons, Carl A. and Otto J. Lautz, representative business men of Buffalo who have suc- ceeded to their father's interests in the firm of Lautz Bros. & Company; and three daughters, Amelia, Hortense, and Mrs. John A. Rose.
Personally Mr. Lautz was the most kindly and warm-hearted of men. Generous, whole-souled, of absolute honesty and integrity, his life was conformed to the standards of justice and uprightness, and tempered by the precepts of gentleness and charity. He left a memory to be long treasured by the host of those who knew and appreciated his sterling worth and who came within the sphere of his healthful and inspiring influence.
FREDERICK CHRISTOPHER MARTIN LAUTZ. Not in recent years has the city of Buffalo been called upon to mourn the loss of a more distinguished and more truly beloved citizen than in the death of the late Frederick C. M. Lautz. The story of his eventful life presents a many-sided man.
Pre-eminently a man of large affairs, he had few peers in the city as a financier and banker, while in the social, educational and particularly in musical circles he occupied a niche that will hardly ever be filled in quite the same happy manner by any one who may follow him.
A fine type of the German-American citizen, he was greatly esteemed for the genuine open-heartedness of his nature, and the great wholesomeness and purity of his character.
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Of German birth and parentage, he was the son of William and Elizabeth (Hiemenz) Lautz, and was born in Rimborn, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, March 5, 1846. At seven years of age he was brought by his parents to this country, locating at Buffalo, where he received a public school education. With genuine patriotic ardor for his adopted country, while yet in his teens, he put aside books to enlist in the 81st Regiment New York Volunteers in its defense, and performed valiant service. Returning to civil life he determined to engage in the manu- facture of soap, previously having served an apprenticeship at the trade. The present great soap manufactory conducted under the caption of Lautz Brothers & Co., had its initial in a single kettleful of soap made by our subject, and peddled by the basketful from house to house by him. Customers increased and the business grew, and first a push cart, then several, and finally a horse and wagon was installed to carry on the distribu- tion of this rapidly growing out-put. Later a factory was erected and additions rapidly made from time to time to pro- vide increased facilities, until it grew into the mammoth plant it is today, occupying one-half a city block, constituting one of the largest soap manufacturing concerns in the United States. In all this marvelous development of this one of Buffalo's greatest and most substantial enterprises, Mr. Lautz was the moving spirit and the financier that engineered its great pros- perity. As a business man and financier he occupied a front rank. He was the President of the Ellicott Square Bank, was an originator of the Ellicott Sqnare building, Vice-President of the Ellicott Square Company, President of the Shaker Heights Land Company, which presented to the city of Cleveland, Ohio, 279 acres of land valued at over $400,000, for park purposes. He was one of the founders of the Niagara Starch Works, and of the Onyx Works of the Lautz Company, and a member of the Stamping and Tool Company, and a Director in the Frontier Telephone Company. He was one of the promoters and the treasurer of the Pan-American Exposition in 1899, and
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one who contributed much to the success of the undertaking.
Mr. Lautz early acquired a fondness for music. Possessing a rich and powerful voice which had been cultivated by many years' singing in the Bishop's Chapel of the Catholic Church, he not only became distinguished as a baritone soloist but as a patron of music. Few became more widely or favorably known in musical circles throughout Westeru New York than he. The famous Buffalo Symphony Orchestra, though a notable musical success, was a financial failure and for many years was largely sustained by his own liberal hand. He organized the Buffalo Musical Association; and was one of the organizers and a life member of the Buffalo Orpheus. His most striking character- istic was his earnest and generous devotion to music. He was an organizer and a member of the Buffalo Catholic Institute, a trustee of the Buffalo Homeopathic Hospital, and a life member of the German Young Men's Association, of which he was President from 1881 to 1884. During this time the First Music Hall was built, and when in 1885 it was burned he was chiefly instrumental in the erection of the present structure, and was from 1883 until his death one of its real estate commissioners, and for five years Chairman of the Board. He was a life mem- ber of the Buffalo Library, the Buffalo Historical Society, and the Fine Arts Academy, while socially he was a member of the Country, Ellicott and Buffalo clubs. Among the numerous fitting resolutions of respect offered by various institutions with
which he was connected testifying to the many virtues of this lamented man, we quote the following from resolutions adopted by the Commonwealth Trust Company: " He was ever valuable as a business associate, clear of reason, wise in counsel, tem- perate in debate, strict in his engagements, of high and unques- tionable and personal business honor, kind and considerate toward all men. He was valuable in all business ways, but he was more valuable as a friend, for he had the rare qualities of heart which tied to him all those who knew him in the strong and pleasant bonds of friendship. He had lived in this com-
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munity since boyhood, active in affairs and active in all efforts toward making this city a better place in which to live. In all his undertakings he was a successful man, but this success left no stain upon his character. He had no enemies, and so kindly was his nature that no man envied him." He was married April 22, 1874, to Miss Amelia K. Tragesser of New York, who, with two daughters, Mrs. Augusta L. Austin and Miss Eliza- beth C. Lautz, survive.
MARTIN FREDERICK LAUTZ, who died in Buffalo July 19, 1893, was a man in whom was united marked ability with amiable and winning traits of character. Though his career was brought to a close ere its fruition, during his brief life he accomplished much, and his loss was the more severely felt because his future had been full of promise. With excellent practical capability Mr. Lautz possessed culture, refined tastes and rare accomplishments. He was an admirable singer, had a thorough knowledge of music and was widely known in musical circles.
Mr. Lautz was of German descent, his parents, William and Elizabeth (Hiemenz) Lautz, having formerly been resi- dents of Rimborn, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. Martin F. Lautz was born in Buffalo May 27, 1856, being the youngest of nine children. He was educated at parochial schools in Buffalo, and later pursued a course
at St. Joseph's College. When sixteen years old he began work in his father's soap factory, in a clerical capacity. He made rapid progress, and was soon appointed manager of the salesmen. Subsequently he became connected with the starch works of Wesp, Lautz & Co. In his relations with this enterprise he exhibited great ability as an organizer, being one of the principal promoters of the consolidation of the large starch manufacturing concerns throughout the country. This work accomplished, Mr. Lautz was appointed manager of the Buffalo starch factory for the National Starch Manufacturing
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Company, of which he was one of the directors and stock- holders, as well as a member of the Advisory Committee. With this corporation he continued to be identified till his death in 1893.
From the age of sixteen Mr. Lautz was prominent in musical affairs. He possessed a profound knowledge of music and was especially noted as a singer, having a baritone voice of remark- able range, sweetness and power. He was a leading member of the Orpheus Singing Society, and sang for twelve years or more in the choir of the First Presbyterian Church. He also sang with different quartettes in various churches, and was fore- most as a concert singer. Besides his musical accomplishments, Mr. Lautz was a man of cultivated tastes in literature, being a great reader and particularly fond of poetry.
September 1, 1885, Mr. Lautz married Ella Marie Bank of Buffalo, daughter of the Rev. John Bank and Elizabeth Grell. The father of Mrs. Lautz was a pastor of St. Matthews' Evan- gelical Church for a number of years. Mr. Lautz is survived by his widow and two sons: Martin W., who is now a student at Princeton, and John, who is pursuing a course at Colgate University.
In politics Mr. Lautz was a Republican. He was a man of unusually liberal mind, honorable, kind hearted, simple and refined in his tastes and devoted to his home.
JOHN CUNNEEN, former Attorney-General of this State, who died February 21, 1907, was in the fullest sense of the terms an eminent lawyer, a sterling official, a representative American citizen and a noble type of the self-made man.
Mr. Cunneen was born near Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, May 18, 1848, and gained the rudiments of education in private schools in his native town. In 1861 he came alone to this country, being then in his thirteenth year. He found employ- ment on a farm near Albion, Orleans County, N. Y., where he worked through his boyhood as a farm laborer, later learning
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the carpenter's trade. But his chief ambition was for an educa- tion, and this he spared no effort to attain, studying by himself, attending the district schools and later pursuing a course at the Albion Academy. In this manner he obtained a sound education preparatory to the study of law, and in the mean- time assisted his financial resources by teaching school.
In the office of the late John H. White of Albion Mr. Cunneen began the serious work of preparation for the bar, and he also had for a preceptor Hon. Sanford E. Church, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals. In January, 1874, he was ad- mitted to the bar, and after receiving his diploma as a lawyer be- gan the practice of his profession in Albion, where he had already taken part in business and public life, having conducted a weekly news- paper and served for sev- eral terms as Clerk of the Board of Supervisors of Orleans County. He prac- ticed law in Albion six- teen years, and rose to a position of representative prominence at the
JOHN CUNNEEN.
Orleans County bar.
Twice he received the complimentary nomination of the local Democratic party for District Attorney, and was regarded as one of the best trial lawyers in his county. The litigation entrusted to him increased in volume and importance, and in a. case tried in the United States Circuit Court of the Northern District of New York, he won a verdict of nearly $500,000, the largest ever gained by a lawyer in Orleans County.
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In 1890 Mr. Cunneen came to Buffalo, where with William F. Sheehan, Charles F. Tabor and Edward E. Coatsworth he estab- lished the law partnership of Tabor, Sheehan, Cunneen & Coats- worth. In the field of urban practice he won new laurels as a trial lawyer, appearing as attorney of record or counsel in many of the most important litigations of Erie County. It may be said of Mr. Cunneen that few advocates had so large a record of cases won in proportion to the number tried, and his successes were always accomplished by honorable methods. A repre- sentative Catholic layman, he was frequently called upon tc protect interests connected with his church. He was diocesan counsel for Bishops Ryan and Quigley, represented the Diocese of Buffalo before the Constitutional Convention, was attorney for St. Joseph's Asylum and Le Couteulx St. Mary's Institution for Deaf Mutes, and appeared for the C. M. B. A. in several causes. He also had a very large general practice. The law firm with which Mr. Cunneen was originally identified in Buffalo was dissolved in 1894, being succeeded by that of Cunneen & Coatsworth. This association existed until 1898 and thenceforth till the close of his life Mr. Cunneen practiced alone.
Mr. Cunneen was always a strong Democrat, and his politi- cal activities continued after he came to Buffalo. In 1900 he accepted the chairmanship of the Democratic County Com- mittee. He also served on the State Committee, and was one of the Democracy's most able campaign speakers. In 1902 he received the Democratic and Prohibition nomina- tions for Attorney-General. He was elected, being with the exception of Judge John Clinton Gray the only successful candidate on the Democratic State ticket that year. In the administration of his office he won a degree of distinction sel- dom equaled in the annals of the Attorney-Generalship of the Empire State, taking a firm stand for popular rights as opposed to corporate influence and establishing the constitutionality of the Franchise Tax Law. Mr. Cunneen was renominated for
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Attorney-General in the fall of 1904, but in common with the other candidates on the Democracy's State ticket that year failed of election. Mr. Cunneen was active in the counsels of his party and often served as delegate to State conventions. At the close of his term of office, in January, 1905, he returned to Buffalo, and resuming the practice of law was so engaged until stricken by his last illness.
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