USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Volume, II > Part 2
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31
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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
wants of his subordinates, he readily won the confidence of his command, and while at Camp Alger was regarded as one of the most popular officers of the Regiment. He was rendered supernumerary on October 25, 1899, but on the 20th of June, 1903, was commissioned Major and attached to the staff of Brigadier-General Lauren W. Pettibone, commanding the Fourth Brigade, N. G. N. Y., and has ever since continued to hold that office.
Maj. Babcock took an important part in the furtherance of the Pan-American project, served as Marshal during the Expo- sition, and as such directed all the parades and large public functions held in Buffalo that year. He was appointed by President Roosevelt a member of the Board of Managers of the State Industrial School at Rochester, and served in that capacity for a term of two years. He is also a trustee of the Wyoming Benevolent Institute, at Portage, N. Y., a member of the Faculty of the Law Department of the University of Buffalo, and a member of the governing Board of the Univer- sity. He is a member and a former Vice-President and Secre- tary of the Erie County Bar Association. Among social organizations he belongs to the Saturn and Country clubs of Buffalo, and the Genesee Valley Club of Rochester, and served as Dean of the Saturn Club in 1905. In politics Maj. Babcock is a Republican, but has never sought public office.
June 18, 1896, Maj. Babcock married Georgia Woodin, daughter of Eri and Harriett (Stillson) Woodin of Gowanda, N. Y., the bride's family being among the pioneer settlers of Cattaraugus County, and widely known throughout that section of the State. Mr. and Mrs. Babcock have two children, Frances, born September 24, 1902, and John Carlton, born June 24, 1905.
WILLIAM HENRY KINCH is one of the foremost figures in the business life of Buffalo, his importance in the general con- tracting field not being exceeded by that of any man in the Empire State. The family to which Mr. Kinch belongs is of
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English extraction, and his father, William Henry Kinch, was born in Canada in 1828, being for a number of years a teacher in the Dominion schools, and widely known as an educator. In his chosen field he had brilliant prospects, but his career was cut short by his premature death, which occurred in October, 1858. . April 22, 1847, Mr. Kinch, senior, married Sarah James, daughter of William James and Elizabeth Chamney, and a descendant of some of the oldest and most respected families among the Eng- lislı settlers of Canada. Mrs. Kinch is now living in Buffalo.
William Henry Kinch was born in Buffalo March 1, 1859. He attend- ed Public School No. 16, and later took a complete course in commercial business. As a young man Mr. Kinch began work in the office of C. J. Hamilton, proprietor of a planing mill in Buffalo. After a few months he entered the employ of S. WILLIAM II. KINCH. O. Barnum & Sons as office assistant, rising by promotion until he became Manager. His connection with S. O. Barnum & Sons lasted sixteen years, and he enjoyed in unlimited measure the trust and good will of his employers. When Mr. Kinch embarked in business for himself, he was enabled, through the assistance of Mr. Stephen O. Barnum, to acquire at once a large money interest in the corporation which he was about to promote.
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In 1888 Mr. Kinch first engaged in the contracting business, being elected Treasurer of the German Rock Asphalt Company, organized that year. The business soon expanded to such pro- portions that it became necessary for Mr. Kinch to devote all his time to it, and he resigned his position with the Barnums. Ever since its organization Mr. Kinch has continued as Treas- urer of the German Rock Asphalt Company, which is one of the largest contracting corporations in this part of the country, and besides performing the usual duties of his office, he is one of the most active directors of the concern. The original asso- ciates of Mr. Kinch in the asphalt business were Charles E. Williams, Pliny B. McNaughton and Frank L. Bapst. Growing out of that enterprise and owned by the same individuals, with the later addition of Samuel J. Dark, are the Buffalo Expanded Metal Company, the Buffalo Dredging Company, and the Conti- nental Engineering & Contracting Company. In each of these corporations Mr. Kinch holds the office of Treasurer, besides being invested with more important responsibilities. The above companies have executed some of the largest contracts in this country and Canada, having carried to successful com- pletion many of the most difficult pieces of work ever performed in engineering and contracting. To the success of these opera- tions Mr. Kinch has conspicuously contributed. He has been largely instrumental in securing for his companies city and other work, and is one of the chief executive forces in the different corporations. In addition to the concerns mentioned above, Mr. Kinch is actively interested in several manufac- turing industries.
Mr. Kinch is a Mason of the 32d degree and a member of Ancient Landmarks Lodge and of Keystone Chapter, R. A. M. He is one of the leading members of the Chamber of Commerce, and belongs to the Buffalo Orpheus.
April 25, 1903, Mr. Kinch married Mrs. Jeannette Hamlin, daughter of Silas W. Forshee of Buffalo.
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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
WILLIAM A. JOYCE. Among the substantial citizens of Buffalo a prominent place belongs to William A. Joyce, former President of the Board of Park Commissioners, well-known in commercial circles and now for many years a member of the representative mercantile house of William H. Walker & Company.
Mr. Joyce is of ancient English ancestry, the Joyce family having existed in the vicinity of London, England, for the last five hundred years, as is shown by the local records. Edwin Cornelius Joyce, the father of William A. Joyce, was born in London, Eng., in 1827, being the son of Jeremiah Joyce and Elizabeth Edmonds, of whom the former was a leading mer- chant of London, Canada, in the early '20's. Edwin C. Joyce came to America as a young man, and in 1847 enlisted in the 2d Independent Ohio Cavalry, and was later promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the regular army, in which capacity he served during the latter part of the war, winning a high reputation as a brave and efficient officer. Shortly after the close of the war he died at Evansville, Ind.
In 1850 Edwin C. Joyce married Frances Maria Gale, who was born in Hartford, Conn. Her parents were Anthony Gale and Rachael Sawyer, who came to America from County Queens, Ireland. The only child of Edwin C. Joyce and Frances Maria Gale was William A. Joyce.
William A. Joyce was born in Buffalo November 4, 1851, and was educated in the public schools and Cary Collegiate Insti- tute. He early became a bookkeeper for the United States Express Company, in whose employ he remaind for a short time. Later he was employed in the general store business in Tonawanda, subsequently returning to Buffalo, where he became connected with Barnes, Bancroft & Company till January, 1876, when he assumed a position with William H. Walker, and in 1887 he was admitted to partnership. Mr. Joyce has been identified with the house continuously to the present time and has won a high mercantile reputation, ranking
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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
as one of the foremost representatives of the wholesale boot and shoe business in Western New York.
He is also President and founder of the Erie Savings and Loan Association.
In politics Mr. Joyce is a Republican. February 14, 1902, he was appointed member of the Board of Park Commissioners, and during the last year of his term of office was President of the Board. His administration was one of notable vigor and zeal, and he energetically furthered measures along the lines of popular and progressive development of the park system. The colonization of the parks with squirrels and the gradual expansion of the Zoo may be cited as instances of the methods promoted by Commissioner Joyce, but what has inseparably identified his name with the history of park advancement in Buffalo is the institution of Children's Day, which he intro- duced and which was celebrated for the first time on the 22d of August, 1906. The event was a memorable one and attracted wide attention, not less than 80,000 children, parents and teachers participating in the festivities. On his retirement from office President Joyce's fellow members of the Board tendered him a banquet at the Hotel Iroquois.
Mr. Joyce is prominent in Masonic circles, is actively inter- ested in the Y. M. C. A., of which he is a Director, and was Treasurer of St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral for 15 years. He is Vice-President of the Children's Aid Society, is one of the leading members of the Church Charity Foundation Society, and is a representative figure in general work of a benevolent. character.
. November 4, 1873, Mr. Joyce married Jennie Isabelle Neff, daughter of Daniel J. and Rebecca (Ricards) Neff of Tona- wanda, N. Y.
GEORGE CUMMINGS RILEY. That some of the best legal talent of Buffalo is represented in the younger bar of our city is a well-known fact which finds a good illustration in the
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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
career of George Cummings Riley, of the firm of Bissell & Riley. Mr. Riley has practiced his profession in Buffalo for about twelve years, and few young lawyers have tried so many important cases or had such responsible interests committed to their charge. Besides being a lawyer of excellent standing, Mr. Riley is a progressive citizen, actively interested in public matters. In politics he is a Democrat, and while he has never had any inclination to become a candidate for public office, he has long been prominent in the counsels of his party, to which he has rendered efficient service.
His father, Henry Riley, was born in Buffalo, but moved to Ogdensburg, N. Y., in his infancy, and has since resided there, hav- ing recently retired from business. He was for- merly a widely known lake transportation man, and for many years was connected at Ogdensburg with the freight boat line running from Ogdensburg to Chicago. He married Armenia M. Cummings. GEORGE C. RILEY. The only child of the mar- riage is George Cummings Riley, who was born at Ogdensburg on the 31st of August, 1872. He was educated in the public schools of his native town and at the Ogdensburg Free Academy. Early in life his inclinations directed him toward the legal profession, and when nineteen years old he entered the law office of the late Daniel Magone of Ogdensburg, who was in his day the leading lawyer of Northern New York and
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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
who during President Cleveland's first administration held the office of Collector of the Port of New York. This law office was as it still is very prominent in the north country, and has always enjoyed an extensive general practice which gave Mr. Riley the valuable training and experience of the country lawyer. He attended the Albany Law School in 1894-1895 and was admitted to the bar by the General Term at Albany on the 6th of December, 1894. The following June he was graduated from the Albany Law School.
In August, 1895, Mr. Riley came to Buffalo, and has ever since practiced law in this city. For some time he was con- nected with the office of Cunneen & Coatsworth. When the firm of Bissell, Sicard, Bissell & Carey was dissolved, in October, 1896, he became managing clerk for Mr. Herbert P. Bissell, and later for Bissell & Metcalf, being admitted partner in the latter firm on the 1st of January, 1902, the partnership style becoming Bissell, Metcalf & Riley. In 1904 this firm was succeeded by that of Bissell & Riley, Mr. Bissell being the senior partner. The last named association still continues. The firm is one of the best known in Buffalo and enjoys a large corporation practice.
Mr. Riley enjoys a high reputation as an office counsellor, and as the trial lawyer of the firm he has successfully conducted an unusually large number of important cases involving large amounts, and matters of general public interest. He is a safe and conservative lawyer, careful in the preparation of his cases and industrious in research, and by practical knowledge and experience well qualified for the protection of business interests.
In politics always an ardent Democrat, Mr. Riley has been active in party matters. He served for several years as member of the party organization, and as a speaker participated in every political campaign until recent years, addressing publie meetings throughout the western part of the State. During the legislative period of 1893 he was appointed by Attorney- General Cunneen special counsel to pass upon the constitution-
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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
ality and legal form of the legislative bills coming before the Governor for his approval. Mr. Riley has never been a candi- date and has no desire for public office.
Mr. Riley is a Director of the Niagara Gorge Railroad Com- pany and of many industrial corporations. He belongs to the Erie County Bar Association, has been a member of the Buffalo Club since 1899, and has served on various Committees of that organization. He is a member and Director of the Ellicott Club of this city, and one of its Executive Committee. He is also a member of the Century Club of Ogdensburg, N. Y. He attends the First Presbyterian Church.
On October 16, 1907, he married Marion Fry Benton of Elyria, Ohio.
HENRY C. ZELLER, Police Commissioner of Buffalo, mem- ber and managing executive of the firm of G. F. Zeller & Sons, tanners, and Vice-President of the German-American Bank, is a man of representative prominence in business and civic life.
Mr. Zeller comes of good German stock, being a son of the late G. Frederick Zeller, a former prominent German-American citi- zen of Buffalo, and founder of the extensive leather industry which bears his name. Henry C. Zeller was born in Buffalo April 19, 1860, and was educated in the public schools and at Bryant & Stratton's Business College. On leaving school he entered the establishment of his father, where he learned the retail leather business, with which he continued to be connected for fifteen years. The retail business was then disposed of and Mr. Zeller was admitted to partnership in the harness leather tannery of G. F. Zeller & Sons, East Buffalo, one of the foremost concerns of its kind in the country. Mr. Zeller has charge of the buying and selling department of the business, and is practically the head of the firm. In addition to his tannery interests Mr. Zeller is Vice-President of the German-American Bank of Buffalo, one of the city's leading financial institutions.
He is concededly one of Buffalo's most successful manufac- turers and a sound financier.
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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
Upon the election of J. N. Adam as Mayor his first official act was the appointment of Mr. Zeller as Police Commissioner of Buffalo, Mr. Zeller taking office March 1, 1906, for a term of six years. The choice was eminently acceptable to the public, whose approval has been amply justified by results. Commis- sioner Zeller has assisted Mayor Adam very materially in making Buffalo a cleaner and better city from a moral view- point. Gambling has been suppressed and many obnoxious resorts have been wiped out. The bringing of the Police Department to its present high state of efficiency is largely due to the time, effort and good judgment brought to his work by Mr. Zeller. What has been accomplished is all the more creditable in view of the fact that the Commissioner has been so short a time in office, the results furnishing evi- dence of systematic labors and of sagacity in the adoption of measures.
Mr. Zeller is a 32d degree Scottish Rite Mason, and is affiliated with Ancient Landmarks Lodge, F. & A. M .; HENRY C. ZELLER. Buffalo Chapter; Lake Erie Commandery, Knights Templar; Ismailia Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the Acacia Club. A believer in organized effort as the key to prosperity, Mr. Zeller is a zealous member of the Chamber of Commerce, of which he served as Trustee in 1903-1907, actively contributing to the advancement of the organization. He is Treasurer of the
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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
German Hospital of Buffalo, a life member of the German Young Men's Association, a member of the East Buffalo Busi- ness Men's Association, and a member of the Protestant Episco- pal Church of the Ascension. He is a member of the Buffalo, Ellicott and Park clubs.
November 20; 1884, Mr. Zeller married Kate E. Lenhard of Buffalo. They have one daughter, Florence, born July 10, 1886. Their comfortable home is located at 1196 Main street.
GEORGE NORMAN PIERCE is not only at the front of automobile manufacture in this country, but is proprietor of the finest automobile plant in the world.
He is of English and Scotch descent, the earli- est record of the family dating back to the 14th century. Mr. Pierce's great-grandmother was the wife of Gen. Miller of the British Army, and was known as " Lady Lundy." Their daughter, Jane Miller, married Dr. John Harvey Pierce of Axminster, Physician to the Crown of England, GEORGE N. PIERCE. and was in attendance upon the Queen at the birth of Queen Victoria. Another member of the family, Dr. John Harvey, was the famous scientist who discovered the circulation of the blood.
Henry Miller Pierce, the son of Dr. John H. Pierce, was born
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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
at Axminster, England, July 17, 1790. He received a military training and was a member of the cavalry escort at the funeral of the Duke of Kent, Queen Victoria's father. He came to America and settled at Friendsville, Pennsylvania, which was in his father's opinion the only American commonwealth whose territory was honestly acquired. Thither he carted all his belongings from Philadelphia with ox teams. He was a farmer and storekeeper. He was a man of retiring habits, a rigid Presbyterian, and one of scrupulous rectitude of speech and character. In 1820 he married Susan Pieronnette, a descendant of French Huguenots settled in England. She died in Buffalo in 1887 at the age of 87 years. They were the parents of eleven children.
George Norman Pierce was born at Friendsville, Susque- hanna County, I'ennsylvania, January 9, 1846. His education was obtained under private instruction, Waverly Academy, and Bryant & Stratton's Business College at Buffalo. In 1863 he came to Buffalo. For ten years he worked for various manu- facturing companies, and in 1873 established the copartnership of Heinz, Pierce & Munschauer, manufacturers of refrigerators and house furnishing goods. This association existed till 1878, when Mr. Pierce withdrew and established the original plant of the George N. Pierce Company, manufacturers of refrigera- tors and other household articles up to 1892.
But though for several years prior to 1900 the George N. Pierce Company was engaged in manufacturing bicycles exclu- sively, Mr. Pierce saw that the automobile was the coming vehicle, and perfected plans for its manufacture upon a large scale, the company building its first automobile in 1900. With their machines, Percy P. Pierce in 1902 won the blue ribbon in the 400-mile non-stop contests on Long Island; in 1903 won two of the seven medals of the endurance contests from New York to Pittsburg, and in 1904 won a medal for the hill-climbing contest at Mt. Washington, and a first-class certificate for the run from there to the St. Louis Exposition. But the greatest
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victories for Mr. Pierce and the machines were in connection with the Glidden Trophy, which he won twice, and the relia- bility contest at Herkomer, Germany, where he defeated the French, English and Italian cars and won a medal.
The immense manufactory constructed in 1906 on the former site of the Pan-American Exposition has in size and complete- ness no equal of its kind in any country on the globe. The establishment is not only the finest automobile plant, but the finest machine plant in the world. Over fifteen hundred work- men are employed. Mr. Pierce is also a Director of the Pierce Cycle Company, of which Mr. Percy P. Pierce is President.
Mr. Pierce is a member of Ancient Landmarks Lodge of Masons, the Acacia Club, former President of the Young Men's Christian Association, former President of the Manufacturers' Club, and a member of the Ellicott Club.
October 21, 1875, Mr. Pierce married Miss Louisa H. Day of Boston, Mass., daughter of Moses Day, a prominent manufac- turer, and Sarah Sessions. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce have eight children living. Percy P., who married Miss Lallie J. Moody of Paris, Texas; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Burnham S. Colburn of Detroit, Mich .; Louisa Day, wife of the Rev. Robert G. Leetch, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Far Rockaway, N. Y .; Susan P .; Duncan H .; Mary R .; Helen H., and Miriam ..
WILLIAM H. ANDREWS. Among Buffalonians finding a dual field of usefulness in business pursuits and civic affairs, a prominent place belongs to William H. Andrews. Though a resident of Buffalo only within a comparatively recent period, Mr. Andrews is closely identified with the institutions and interests of our city. He is well known in the industrial world, being President of the extensive varnish works of Pratt & Låmbert.
Without laying claim to the title, Mr. Andrews is, in point of fact, a publicist. A believer in organized effort, he is an important factor in movements having in view the commercial
At. andrews.
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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
and industrial advancement of our city, and is in equal degree identified with measures in furtherance of good government, sound administrative methods, and the application of the busi- ness requisites of competence and integrity to the fulfillment of civic duties.
William H. Andrews is a native of New England, having been born in Thomaston, Maine, November 17, 1860. His education was obtained in the local schools and supplemented by a busi- ness college course. He began his active career in the employ- ment of Wadsworth, Howland & Company, paint and varnish manufacturers of Boston, Mass., and has ever since been engaged in the varnish business, being recognized as one of the country's most prominent men in this branch of industrial enterprise.
At the time of coming to Buffalo, Mr. Andrews was connected with the firm of Pratt & Lambert, as General Manager and Treasurer, and has since become its President. The varnish works of which he has thus the executive supervision are among the largest in the world. An idea of the cosmopolitan scope of the business may be gained from the fact that besides its large Buffalo factories at Black Rock, the concern maintains plants in New York, Chicago, London, Paris and Hamburg. Mr. Andrews makes an annual trip abroad to the associate houses.
Mr. Andrews purchased an interest in the Pratt and Lambert Company in 1890, and built the company's plant in Chicago, remaining there as Resident Manager. In 1894 he rose to the position of General Manager of the entire business, with head- quarters in New York. As the business grew under his capable management, it seemed wise to concentrate the organization and centralize the Manufacturing Department, and after care- fully considering the matter, Buffalo was chosen as the most advantageous location, and in 1903 Mr. Andrews came to Buffalo and built the varnish works here.
The Buffalo establishment covers five acres and includes
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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
thirty-six different buildings. The raw materials used in manufacture come both from near and remote parts of the globe, many countries being drawn upon to ensure the superi- ority of product on which the firm has built its high reputation. The output of Pratt & Lambert factories today is the result of fifty years' experience, coupled with every improvement which modern mechanical invention and chemical discovery can devise. The equipment is unsurpassed and in the manufac- turing processes technical methods have been carried to per- fection. The Buffalo works employ a force of 150 skilled hands and assistants.
Besides his responsibility as President of one of the leading manufacturing concerns of the country, Mr. Andrews is a Director of the Central National Bank, and the Frontier Tele- phone Company, and is also interested in various other local enterprises. He is a sterling business man, possessing execu- tive talents of a high order and an unimpeachable reputation for lifelong integrity.
He is a Trustee of the Charity Organization Society, Director of the Country Club, a member of the Ellicott, Buffalo, Saturn and Park clubs of Buffalo, and a member of the New York Chamber of Commerce, Lawyers' Club, Drug Club, and various other organizations of New York City.
Mr. Andrews has held the high office of President of the National Paint, Oil & Varnish Association, and of the National Varnish Makers' Association.
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