USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Volume, II > Part 15
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Mr. Stewart was a man of remarkable business ability, gen- erous disposition and practical charity." He was extremely domestic in his tastes, loved his home and was devoted to his parents. Companionable by nature, of keen wit and possessed
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of a strong sense of humor, he was an excellent story-teller, and had the rare social gift of being a good listener.
Mr. Stewart's death occurred in El Paso, Texas, whither he had traveled for his health.
SETH CALDWELL was born at Waterville, N. Y., April 22, 1830, the son of the Hon. Samuel Caldwell and Maria (Dykman) Caldwell. In the same year of their son's birth, Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell removed to Buffalo. He served two terms as Surro- gate, and was Superintendent of Public Instruction. At the time of his death he was Supreme Court Commissioner. His son, Seth Caldwell, received a public school education. In 1849 the rush for the gold fields of California began, and Seth Cald- well was one of Argonants. After a year in the gold fields, he returned to Buffalo, but only to leave again for the Pacific Coast, remaining, this time, two years. He then returned to his Eastern home, where he spent the remainder of his life. Mr. Caldwell engaged in the transportation business in Buffalo in 1854, when he accepted the position of local agent for the New York & Erie Railroad. A few years later the Union Steam- boat Company brought its offices to Buffalo from Dunkirk, witlı Stephen D. Caldwell as its manager, and Seth Caldwell became its local agent, remaining with the company for fourteen years, when he was appointed traveling freight agent for the Union Pacific Railroad, which position he held at the time of his death, on November 6, 1897.
Mr. Caldwell was a Master Mason, a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight Templar. In politics he was a Democrat, although he had no inclination for public office and never accepted it.
Mr. Caldwell was a man of excellent principles and disposi- tion. In his business relations he was upright, energetic and capable. In his social intercourse he exerted a power of attrac- tion over all with whom he came into contact. Such was his popularity that his office became a kind of rendezvous for social gatherings, and he was known among his friends as the
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"Nestor of the Transportation men." Mr. Caldwell had a strong liking for the best in literature, and the reading of stand- ard authors was one of his chief delights. He was talented as a reader, and often in this way entertained his family and a circle of more intimate friends. He was one of those men who never grow old in heart, and he was extremely liked by the younger generation, and seemed to be one of them.
On September 4, 1853, Mr. Caldwell married Rosalie Bassett of Buffalo, daughter of Col. Jason and Mary (Bassett) Bassett, who, with three daughters, survive him. The daughters are: Mary and Harriet Caldwell of Buffalo, and (Mrs. Alfred B. Farnham) of Lewiston, N. Y.
Mrs. Caldwell is a Daughter of the American Revolution. Her father, Col. Jason Bassett, served in the Patriot War of 1837; her grandfather, Abel Bassett, was a soldier of the War of 1812, and her great-grandfathers, Abraham Bassett and John Bassett (the latter her maternal ancestor), served in the War of the Revolution. Samuel Bassett, Jr., father of Abraham Bassett, also fought in Washington's army.
COL. WILLIAM J. MORGAN. In the death of Col. William J. Morgan, who passed away September 6, 1900, the country lost one of its distinguished citizens. He was born to command and he commanded well. A leader of men, he led in every activity of his life that brought him in contact with men. Born in Peterboro, Ontario, Canada, October 16, 1840, of English parentage, he was brought to the States by his parents in 1850. He received a liberal education in the old Central High School of Buffalo, where he was a senior preparing for college when the Civil War broke out.
His military service, according to the records of the War Department, is briefly as follows: Enlisted August 18, 1862, Co. I, 116th New York Vol. Infantry, as private, Acting Ser- geant; mustered as 1st Sergeant, September 3, 1862; commis- sioned 2nd Lieutenant, November 8, 1862; 1st Lieutenant,
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August 14, 1863; Captain Co. C, November 15, 1864; engagement at Plains Store, investment and siege of Port Hudson, Sabine Pass Expedition, Teche Campaign, Red River Campaign, battles Sabine Cross Roads, Pleasant Hills, Monettes Bluff, Cane River Crossing, Avoyelle's Prairie, Campaign Shenandoah Valley; engagement at Berryville, battles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Mt. Jackson, Strasburg, and Cedar Creek. Sent to Washington, D. C., did provost duty there until mustered out June S, 1865. At the famous siege and assault on Port Hudson May 27, 1863, when to form a storming party for the whole com- mand volunteers were called for a " forlorn hope " in a final assault upon the fortifications, young Morgan, then a Lieutenant, was one of the first to volunteer. He COL. WILLIAM J. MORGAN. was placed in command of the fascine carriers who formed the advance of the assaulting column, composed only of the most daring and courageous of the regiment. Lieut. Morgan at the head of his command received no less than four wounds, and was left on the field for dead. For conspicuous bravery dis- played in this action he was brevetted Lieut .- Colonel.
Returning to civil life, at the close of the war, Capt. Morgan, with several other veteran officers, engaged in the Customs Service, with a view of breaking up a notorious gang of smugglers that had infested the northern frontier and had
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been defying the customs officials for many years. In 1869, Mr. Morgan became commercial and political writer on the editorial staff of the Commercial Advertiser, and during the twenty years he was a member of the staff he rendered distinguished service to the public, and no newspaper was ever served better. He was a facile writer, correct and convincing, and of great reliability.
In 1877, during the celebrated railroad riots, when the local police and the militia had failed to preserve peace, the veterans of the late war volunteered their services, and Capt. Morgan was elected their commander.
In 1880, Mr. Morgan was appointed Canal Appraiser and was elected Chairman of the board by his associates. In 1889 he was appointed Collector of the Port of Buffalo. In January, 1894, Comptroller James A. Roberts appointed Mr. Morgan to the responsible position of Deputy State Comptroller. This position he filled with such ability that at the expiration of Mr. Roberts' term he was elected Comptroller by a large majority. His able and conscientious discharge of the duties of the office won the approval of the citizens throughout the State. He took up a vigorous prosecution of the reforms that had been under- taken by his predecessor.
As a member of the Grade Crossings Commission, of which he was Secretary, Mr. Morgan rendered distinguished service in the movement for the abolishing of Grade Crossings in the city of Buffalo. As a citizen, he took an active interest in all that pertained to the welfare of Buffalo, in whose future great- ness he always held the most optimistic belief. He was an original promoter of the Buffalo and Jamestown railroad, now the Buffalo and Southwestern, and was active for many years in the Commercial Union, an organization founded for the purpose of lifting the tolls from the canals, and securing their im- provement.
Col. Morgan was a member of Queen City Lodge, F. & A. M .;
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Keystone Chapter, R. A. M .; William Richardson Post, G. A. R., and the military order of the Loyal Legion. He belonged to the Buffalo and Ellicott clubs, the Albany Club at Albany, and the Knickerbocker Club of New York City. He was a member of the Richmond Avenue Methodist Church of Buffalo.
On September 23, 1869, Col. Morgan married Mary C. Reese, an estimable woman, to whose companionship and devotion may be justly attributed many of the ambitions and great successes he won in life. Mrs. Morgan survives, with three daughters, Mrs. W. A. Kendall, Mrs. C. C. Briggs of Buffalo, May L., a teacher in the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y., and two sons, Percy R., who is a practicing attorney, and John Warren, a civil engineer by profession.
Called repeatedly to high official positions, the same qualities that made Col. Morgan a notable figure in private life gave him distinction and prominence as a servant of his fellow citizens.
MAJ. HENRY COWLES WADSWORTH, lawyer, National Guardsman, and a leading factor in Buffalo real estate inter- est, was a worthy representative of an honorable name and ancestry, having been derived from several of the best families of New England.
William Wadsworth, with a brother, Christopher, who was an original settler of Duxbury, Mass., came from England in the ship Lion, landing at Boston, September 18, 1632. He was the surveyor of Parson Hooker's company, which established Hartford, Conn., in 1636. William's eldest son, John, was a member of the General Council of the State of Connecticut, and was present at the memorable meeting of the Council with Sir Edward Andros, when the lights were extinguished and the charter disappeared, and he was one of the men who abstracted it. Other collateral relatives of the paternal line were: Chris- topher Wadsworth of Duxbury, Capt. Samuel Wadsworth of the same place, who was killed by the Indians at Sudbury, in 1676, and Abigail, daughter of the preceding, who married
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Jacob Thompson. A son of Capt. Samuel Wadsworth was one of the early Presidents of Harvard College. The son of Jacob Thompson and Abigail Wadsworth was John Thompson, who married Joanna Adams. The poet Longfellow was also a de- scendant of the Wadsworth family. The paternal grandfather of Maj. Henry Cowles Wadsworth was James C. Wadsworth, who married Sally Cooke, their son being George Wadsworth, Maj. Wadsworth's father.
Through his mother, Emily Otis Marshall Wadsworth, Maj. Wadsworth was descended by several lines from the Mayflower Pilgrims. Perhaps the most distinguished of these ancestors were His Excellency Governor William Bradford, Isaac Aller- ton, a signer of the compact made by the Pilgrim Fathers in the cabin of the Mayflower, and the famous Elder William Brewster.
GEORGE WADSWORTH, father of Henry Cowles Wads- worth, was born in Litchfield, Conn., March 10, 1830, and was a son of James C. and Sally (Cooke) Wadsworth. He received a public school and academic education. He began reading law in Litchfield, Conn. In 1851 he was admitted to the bar. The same year he went to New York City, and was there admitted to practice in this State. In 1852 he came to Buffalo, where he resided up to his death. His career at the bar of Erie County covered a period of more than half a century. Among his law partners were the Hon. Benjamin H. Williams, Hon. Loren L. Lewis, Hon. Truman C. White, and Nelson K. Hopkins. As a legal practitioner Mr. Wadsworth made a specialty of real prop- erty law and the settlement of estates, also engaging in general practice. He continued active in his profession until his death.
In politics Mr. Wadsworth was a Republican. He served as City Attorney, and twice received the nomination for the office of Judge of the Superior Court. In 1891 he was a member of the commission appointed to revise the Buffalo Charter. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and Past Master of Ancient Landmarks Lodge, F. & A. M., and a member
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of the Buffalo and other clubs, and the First Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Wadsworth, in June, 1858, married Emily Otis Marshall of Utica, N. Y., daughter of Josiah Thompson and Mary Shel- don (Stocking) Marshall. They had two children: Henry Cowles Wadsworth, and Elizabeth W., the latter of whom married Robert Hall Williams of Buffalo. Mrs. Williams died November 10, 1906, and her husband on December 13, of the same year.
HENRY COWLES WADSWORTH was born in Buffalo Au- gust 31, 1861. He attended private schools and Central High School, from which he was graduated with the Class of 1879. In the summer of 1880 he entered the law office of Wadsworth, Hopkins & White, of which firm his father was the senior men- ber. In October, 1883, he was admitted to the bar. From that time he practiced in partnership with his father until the lat- ter's death. Maj. Wadsworth's practice was particularly con- cerned with real estate. As an examiner of titles he was with- out a superior in Buffalo. In the last twenty-five years he handled a large amount both of improved and unimproved prop- erty in Buffalo and on the Niagara Frontier. In 1887 he became interested in the Kensington District, in whose development he always took a leading part.
Maj. Wadsworth became a member of the National Guard in December, 1889, when he was made a First Lieutenant and Commissary in the 65th Regiment. This position he held until March, 1897, when he became Major and Commissary of the Fourth Brigade, which ranks he continued to hold until his death. The first test of Maj. Wadsworth's ability as Commis- sary was during the switchmen's strike of 1893, in Buffalo, when the 65th Regiment was in the field for two weeks. It was said at the time that the 65th was the only regiment called out which was well fed every day during the strike. It was this work which caused his promotion to the post of Brigade Commissary a few years later. In 1894 occurred the lumber shovers' strike in Tonawanda, when Lieutenant Wadsworth had charge of the
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subsistence of a large number of troops. During the Spanish- American War, Maj. Wadsworth served on the Brigade Com- mander's staff at Peekskill until May 25, 1898, when he was ordered back to Buffalo and placed in charge of the subsistence of the troops who were subsequently recruited here.
Maj. Wadsworth was a life member of the Young Men's Asso- ciation. He was greatly interested in the work of the Salvation Army and the Fresh Air Mission. He was a member of Ancient Landmarks Lodge, F. & A. M., the Park and Saturn clubs, and the First Presbyterian Church.
February 17, 1892, Maj. Wadsworth married Miss Mabel Vredenburgh-Miller, daughter of John S. Miller and Mary Marsh, his wife, of Natchez, Miss. They had three sons, George, John Vredenburgh and Henry Cowles Wadsworth, Jr. These sons have not only the heritage of the best Pilgrim ancestry, but that of the best of Southern blood, their mother being a de- scendant on both sides of earliest Jamestown settlers.
Maj. Henry Cowles Wadsworth was deceased October 21, 1907, at the age of 46 years, his illness of 10 months' duration, which terminated in his death, having been the result of a severe sunstroke received a few years ago.
JOHN HENDRICKSON MEECH, who died November 21, 1902, was one of the best known theatrical managers of the country, and from his long connection with the old Academy of Music, occupied an important relation to the theater-going pub- lic of Buffalo. Mr. Meech was a theatrical manager of the old school. He had the soul of an artist, not of a speculator, and many of the greatest actors who ever appeared in this country made their acquaintance with the people of Buffalo under his auspices.
Mr. Meech was born at Worthington, Mass., April 27, 1838. He was descended on his father's side from Puritan stock, and on his mother's from Dutch colonists. His father's name was Henry Trowbridge Meech, his mother's maiden name Adeline
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Hendrickson. John Hendrickson Meech had a common school education, which he obtained in Albany, N. Y., where his family removed during his boyhood, and where his father carried on the business of banking. When young Meech was fourteen years old, he became a messenger for his father's bank. Later he went to New York City, where he worked in the Clearing House. In 1859 his father came to Buffalo, where he bought and managed the Metropolitan Theater, which afterward became the Academy of Music. Upon his father's death, Mr. Meech succeeded him in the management of the old Academy of Music, being associated with
Henry I. Meech, his brother. John H. Meech's connection with the Acad- emy of Music lasted from 1870 to 1895, and was characterized by high- class methods. Mr. Meech knew personally all of America's famous actors JOHN H. MEECH. in the '70's, '80's and '90's. The Academy was managed with a stock company, of which the Meech Brothers took charge, and such famous stars as Edwin Forrest, Edwin Booth, John E. Owens, Joseph Jefferson, Edwin Adams, Edwin L. Davenport, Lawrence Barrett, John McCullough, J. K. Emmett, Lottie Crabtree, Mary Anderson, and many others, played there under the Meech management. Mr. Meech held to the best traditions of his business, and sought to please the more refined play- loving taste of Buffalo. The Academy became famous for its
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successful productions, and was the principal theater in Buffalo for many years. In 1881 the Academy of Music was changed to a combination house, and continued as such till it was destroyed by fire in 1895. After the burning of his theater, Mr. Meech became interested in several insurance companies, though at different times he took charge of theatrical enterprises, also forming various other business connections.
Mr. Meech was a 32d degree Mason, a member of Washington Lodge, No. 240, F. & A. M .; Buffalo Lodge, No. 23, B. P. O. E., in which he was Past Exalted Ruler, and was Grand Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias. He was also Past Grand Master Workman of the A. O. U. W. He was an independent Demo- crat, and was offered, but never accepted, public office.
Mr. Meech married Mary Owen of West Suffield, Conn., in 1867. He is survived by his wife and two children, Robert Owen and Laura W. Meech.
In the profession with which he was so long and creditably identified, John Hendrickson Meech won a national name. He was justly regarded as an upright, independent man, with a keen sense of the obligations which the stage owes to the pub- lic and a high conception of the drama as a means of elevating taste and morals.
DANIEL RANNEY HAMLIN, who died July 23, 1881, was at the time of his death in his 81st year, and for by far the greater portion of his life had been identified with the growth and prog- ress of Buffalo.
Mr. Hamlin was born August 30, 1800, at the village of New Hartford, Oneida County, N. Y. He was a son of Daniel R. Hamlin, formerly of Middletown, Conn., and Ruth Ward. The elder Hamlin was an ensign in the Patriot army during the War of the Revolution. He died in 1809. The subject of this sketch was the youngest of seven children.
Daniel R. Hamlin came to Buffalo in March, 1825. For a num- ber of years after his arrival he successfully conducted a chair
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manufactory, his place of business being situated in lower Main street. In the earlier part of his career, Mr. Hamlin was noted as a musician, and to him as much as to any man were owing the first attempts along the line of organized and systematic development of musical education in Buffalo. A man of alert mind and keen powers of observation, Mr. Hamlin possessed a rich fund of experience, and was both an entertaining and instructive companion, the more so because few men were so well informed concerning the historic events in Buffalo during the period from the later '20's to the years immediately pre- ceding the Civil War. In his capacity as a musician he attended the famous execution of the "Three Thayers," marching the condemned men from the old jail to Niagara Square. He also took part in the ceremonies incident to the reception of General Lafayette and in those on the occasion of the opening of the Erie Canal.
June 27, 1826, Mr. Hamlin married Charlotte Callender, daughter of Deacon Amos Callender, a prominent citizen of that period and one of the first ruling elders of the First Church. After some years of married life, Mrs. Hamlin died, and Mr. Hamlin married again, his second wife being Caroline M. Hunt- ington, daughter of Elijah Huntington of Bozrah, Conn. Mr. Hamlin was survived by two children, Charles W. Hamlin, and Mrs. Dugald Macneil, widow of the late Dr. Dugald Macneil, a former well-known physician of Buffalo.
Mr. Hamlin was one of the oldest members of the First Pres- byterian Church, and served as the conductor of its choir. He was in all respects a worthy type of man and citizen, and it was currently said of him that his word was as good as his bond. He was profoundly conscientious, was known as a man of the highest integrity, and possessed many warm friends, especially among the older class of citizens.
MAHLON BAINBRIDGE FOLWELL, M.D., who died December 10, 1895, was one of the foremost physicians of
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Buffalo, and no man of his profession was more widely or favor- ably known to the medical brotherhood and the community at large.
Dr. Folwell was born at Romulus, Seneca County, N. Y., Sep- tember 17, 1841. He graduated from Hobart College in 1861, and studied medicine in the office of Dr. Day of Geneva. In 1862 he enlisted in the 50th Regiment New York Volunteers as hospital steward, being shortly afterward commissioned First Lieutenant, and assigned to Company I, of the same regiment. Later he was promoted Captain, and served throughout the war. His last campaign was with Sheridan in that general's famous march up the Shenandoah Valley in the spring of 1865. At the close of the war Dr. Folwell came to Buffalo and con- tinued his medical studies with Dr. Wyckoff, also entering the Medical Department of the University of Buffalo, from which he was graduated in 1867. Dr. Folwell began practice in Buffalo, in association with the late Dr. George N. Burwell, and soon rose to a high rank in his profession. He was not only a general practitioner, but a specialist of rare capability, and in the treatment of children's diseases he had few peers in the entire country. Dr. Folwell was for many years consultant at the Buffalo General Hospital and attending physician at the Buffalo Orphan Asylum. In the Children's Hospital his inter- est was peculiarly keen and active, and after his death the insti- tution erected as an adjunct to the main edifice, a thoroughly equipped memorial building known as Folwell Cottage. Dr. Folwell was Clinical Professor of Diseases of Children at the University of Buffalo, was a member of the Erie County Medical Society, the Buffalo Medical Club, the Liberal, Buffalo, Univer- sity and Saturn clubs and of the Loyal Legion and was vestry- man of Trinity Church.
December 21, 1882, Dr. Folwell married Florence, daughter of the late Leonidas Doty, a prominent citizen of Buffalo. Dr. Folwell is survived by his wife and one son, Bainbridge Folwell.
The characteristics of Mahlon Bainbridge Folwell bore in
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their entirety the impress of manliness, integrity, purity of heart and consistency of action. He was a representative of the noblest qualities of his profession, and of that sterling man- hood which alone is the enduring foundation for superstructures of high achievement.
ROBERT DENTON, who died July 23, 1903, represented the interests of the music trade in Buffalo for more than half a century. He was born in England February 27, 1826, being a son of Rob- ert and Elizabeth Rawdon Denton, of whom the for- mer was a musician and music leader of Tadcas- ter, England.
In Robert Denton's boyhood his family came to America, settling in Buffalo, where he was educated in the public schools. In 1847 he be- came a clerk in the music store of James D. Shep- pard, and in 1863 was admitted partner in the firm, which then became Sheppard, Cottier & Co. ROBERT DENTON. Four years later Mr. Sheppard retired, the concern then becom- ing Cottier & Denton. In 1878 Mr. Cottier died, and the firm style was changed to Denton & Cottier, the widow of Mr. Cottier retaining an interest in the business. In 1887 William H. Daniels became a member of the firm, which was thereafter known as Denton, Cottier & Daniels, and attained the rank of one of the largest and foremost piano houses in the world. Mr.
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Denton was himself a musician of rare accomplishment, and was for many years organist at Trinity Church, also at different times filling the position of organist of the First Presbyterian Church and of the First Unitarian Church. At the time of his death he was President of the Buffalo Choral Union. He was a leading Mason, being Past Master, and Treasurer of Erie Lodge, F. & A. M., and a member of Ismailia Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and Hugh de Payens Commandery.
Mr. Denton married Louise Barrowcliffe of England, who died in February, 1902. Their children were: Paul, now deceased, Mrs. Edward W. Butt, Mrs. Weldon F. Lloyd, and George A. Denton.
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