USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Volume, II > Part 22
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of John Lewis, a well-known dentist, and of Mary Joselyn. During his childhood his parents removed to Buffalo, where he was educated. When the Civil War broke out he was a lad only fourteen years old, but was full of patriotic ardor, and in 1863 he enlisted in the navy and served during the remainder of the war. He saw much active duty aboard several ships, including the Shenandoah, the Hetzel, the Savannah and the Constellation. At the close of the war he returned to Buffalo, where he entered the Buffalo Medical College, and graduated from the Dental Department. He began the practice of den- tistry in Buffalo in part- nership with his brother, Dr. Theodore G. Lewis. The association, which was very successful, exist- ed for eighteen years, when the firm dissolved, and Dr. Angelo C. Lewis opened an office of his own.
Dr. Lewis was a promi- nent member of the 65th Regiment, N.G.N.Y., and for several years was Captain of Company I. He was a famous marks- man and was conspicu- ously identified with the promotion of sharpshoot- DR. ANGELO C. LEWIS. ing in his regiment, receiving several medals for his skill, and in October, 1894, was also presented a handsome gold medal by his officers for a long and faithful service.
In 1887 Dr. Lewis was appointed Superintendent of the State Arsenal on Broadway, serving ten years. He then became con-
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nected with the Larkin Soap Company, with which he contin- ued to the close of his life. His services to the Company were of important and valuable character.
In politics Dr. Lewis was a Republican. He was a member of T. A. Budd Post, Naval Veterans' Association; of Revere Council, Royal Arcanum, and had at an early period of his life served as Captain of old Company D, Buffalo City Guard.
April 9, 1877, Dr. Lewis married Minnie Danner, daughter of Peter Danner and Dora (Maurer) Danner of Buffalo. The children of the union are three sons, Arthur A., G. Shirley and Carlton J. Lewis, and a daughter, Olga M. Lewis.
Angelo C. Lewis was a man in whom strength of character was happily blended with the amiable traits which add grace and charm to social life. His nature was benevolent, his judg- ment of men charitable, and he won and retained many friend- ships. He was a home man, and duty was the guiding prin- ciple of his life.
JAMES BRACKETT WEEKS, whose death occurred July 17, 1900, was all his life a resident of Buffalo, and is entitled to an honorable place as one of those faithful, unpretending, capable men who constitute the best element in any community. Mr. Weeks came of New England ancestry.
John Weeks, his father, was born in Lancaster, N. H., in 1822, and was the son of James B. and Betsey Stanley Weeks. His early life was spent on the family farm. He learned sur- veying, and also mastered the cabinet-maker's trade. Upon reaching early manhood, John Weeks went into the employ- ment of the Fairbanks Scale Company, as traveling salesman. In 1852 he came to Buffalo, where he became Superintendent of the Buffalo Scale Company. In 1875, by a simple but very ingenious invention, he improved the standard scales of that period, and soon after began on his own account the manufac- ture of the Weeks Scales, which were celebrated for their accuracy and simplicity of construction, and had a large sale.
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For more than twenty-five years Mr. Weeks' life was occupied in the manufacture of the scales of his invention. For fifty years Mr. Weeks was a liberal Republican. He was a devout member of the Church of the Messiah, and at one time was a Mason. He was not a club man, being devoted to his family circle. In 1853 John Weeks married Ellen Merrill of Lan- caster, N. H., who died January 29, 1891, aged sixty-two. Their children were: Amy, who died May 8, 1894; Henry Merrill, who died at the age of fourteen, and James Brackett Weeks. The death of John Weeks occurred in Buffalo, August 5, 1903, at the age of eighty-three.
John Weeks was a great reader, being notably fond of the works of Dickens. His chief recreation was hunting, which he followed even when past his seventy-fifth year. He was a kind and conscientious employer, and was of a genial, social dispo- sition, being greatly beloved by his family and friends. He was remarkable for his benevolence, and his deeds of charity were many. He was a man of fine presence and dignified bearing.
James Brackett Weeks was born in Buffalo July 10, 1856. He attended the public schools and at the age of fourteen entered the employment of the Western Transit Company as a messenger, rising by successive promotions to the positions of clerk, bookkeeper, paymaster and auditor. In the latter capacity he served with the greatest credit, and continued in the position till his death.
March 31, 1891, Mr. Weeks married Kate Chester, daughter of Anson G. and Mary Stearns Chester of Buffalo.
Politically Mr. Weeks was a strong Republican. He was a regular attendant at the Church of the Messiah. He had a culti- vated taste for music, and for a number of years was a promi- nent member of the Liedertafel Singing Society. He was a man of social instincts and companionable nature, qualities which made him the center of a large circle of friends. Gener- osity was one of his most signal characteristics, and if he
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heard of any one whose family was in need he would at once start a subscription, always heading the list himself with a liberal sum. Inheriting his father's liking for books, Mr. Weeks passed a large portion of his leisure time in study. His life was a notable example of the results which may be attained by a firm, serene and well-rounded character, guided by the prin- ciples of integrity and made attractive by the gentler virtues.
GEORGE DICKMAN, who died in Buffalo April 10, 1904, was in his fifty-ninth year at the time of his decease, and had been a life-long resident of that city. Mr. Dickman was an example of the staunch, strong business man of foresight and en- terprise, who makes his way in the world regard- less of difficulties. He attained success of solid and enduring character, and was justly considered one of the representative citizens of Buffalo.
Mr. Dickman was born in Buffalo November 18, 1845. His parents were George and Catherine (Smith) Dickman. The senior George Dickman was born in 1813 and died GEORGE DICKMAN. in 1865. He was one of the pioneers in the meat business in Buffalo, being the founder of the Elk Street Market enterprise which later became the firm of Dickman Brothers, and with which George Dickman, Jr., was so long and creditably con- nected. George Dickman, Jr., attended the public schools in
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his early boyhood, but when only twelve years old left school and obtained employment with the firm of Miller Greiner & Company, wholesale grocers at Buffalo, later going to Chicago where he was in the baggage department of a western railroad for about two years. After the death of the elder Dickman, his sons, George and Charles, took charge of their father's meat business in Elk Street Market, which they successfully con- ducted until 1875, when Charles went West, whereupon George Dickman admitted his younger brother, Edward, to partner- ship, under the firm name of Dickman Brothers, an association which continued until the death of George Dickman in 1904. In 1886 Mr. Dickman engaged in the real estate business, which he carried on in connection with his other occupations till his decease. He erected many handsome houses in the Twenty- Second Ward, and became a large owner of Buffalo real estate.
In 1863 Mr. Dickman enlisted in Captain Horace G. Thomas's command, Company A of the 74th Regiment, National Guard of the State of New York, and at the end of his thirty days' term of enlistment, he again enlisted. He was present in New York City during the great draft riots of 1863, and on that occasion received a serious injury, being struck on the head by a missle hurled by one of the rioters.
Mr. Dickman was a Democrat, but in his later years showed a strong tendency to independent political action. He was a member of Bidwell-Wilkeson Post, No. 9, G. A. R., and always maintained a strong interest in the welfare of that organization. He was a member of the Citizens' Hook and Ladder Company, No. 2, and was an exempt fireman. He was not a club man, but was of social disposition and widely popular.
February 1, 1870, Mr. Dickman married Maria Moore, a daughter of Forrester and Margaret (Kidd) Moore of Buffalo. He is survived by his widow.
Mr. Dickman united to excellent business ability the qualities of mind and heart which win esteem and love. In him his family and friends lost one who in the best sense of the words
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was a companion, adviser and helper, and the community a citizen who all his life represented the spirit of brotherliness going hand in hand with substantial achievement.
JAMES PANNELL WOOD, who died June 7, 1906, was one of Buffalo's most progressive business men, filled an important place in religious and social interests, and in every aspect of his life exemplified sterling ideals of manhood and citizenship.
Mr. Wood was of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry. Thomas Wood, with Ann, his wife, came to the American Colonies from Great Britain in 1654. The family espoused the Patriot cause in the War of the Revolution. John Perry Wood, a descendant of Thomas Wood, and grandfather of James P. Wood, was a resident and substantial business man of Hartford, N. Y. He married Lucy Elzina Day, a descendant of Robert Day, who emigrated to America from Great Britain in 1634. Abel Jesse Wood, son of John Perry Wood, was born in Hebron County, N. Y., lived in Hartford, Washington County, and came to Buffalo in 1854. He was an energetic man of affairs and was concerned in numerous enterprises. In Buffalo he engaged in' business as a shipper of marble on the lakes. He married Helen Amelia Pannell, who came from an ancient and distinguished Scotch-Irish family.
James Pannell Wood, son of Abel Jesse Wood, was born in Buffalo December 3, 1861, and received a public and Normal School education in that city. When sixteen years old he became a traveling salesman, and later was the New York representative for his house. In 1882 the starch and glucose industries of the Buffalo, American and J. Firmenich companies merged their interests, and Mr. Wood was sent to St. Louis to attend to the entire Western trade of the combined firms. In 1884 he established an office in New York City for the Firmenich Company of Peoria, Ill. In 1885 Mr. Wood entered into partner- ship with J. Frank Dunham in the firm of Dunham & Wood in the starch and cocoanut business, and later formed a copart-
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nership with Messrs. John and J. Frank Dunham of New York, with whom he engaged in the shredded cocoanut industry under the firm name of the Dunham Manufacturing Company, being located in New York City. In 1892 Mr. Wood returned to Buffalo and formed a connection with the Buffalo Cement Com- pany, of which Mr. Lewis J. Bennett, his father-in-law, was President and founder. Of that enterprise, which is among the leading ones of its kind in the United States, Mr. Wood became Vice-President and Treasurer and held these offices to the close of his life, both in executive and fiduciary capacities exhibiting rare faithfulness and ability. Mr. Wood was actively engaged in the promotion of the Central Park section of Buffalo. The development of the Bennett farm into Central Park was in very great degree due to Mr. Wood's endeavors, and to his fore- sight and public spirit were also owing in large measure the growth and prosperity of the Otowega Club. The erection of Public School building No. 22 at a cost of $70,000 was one of Mr. Wood's last important public enterprises.
Mr. Wood was a Republican, loyal to his party and one of its energetic workers. He was a member of the Buffalo and Country clubs and a member and one of the founders of the Otowega Club, of which he was President two terms and on whose Board of Governors he served eleven years. He was an active member of the Manufacturers' Club and a charter mem- ber and the first President of Parkside Unitarian Society of Buffalo.
November 16, 1887, Mr. Wood married Louise Adele Bennett, daughter of Lewis J. Bennett of Buffalo. He is survived by his widow and five children, Helen B., Frances L., Harriet A., Mil- dred V., and James Bennett Wood.
Upright, honorable, and deserving the respect in which he was held, James P. Wood was an exemplar of conduct and character. Active as was his life, he never allowed the most absorbing occupations to divert his heart from his family circle.
He was popular, but his popularity was not obtained by
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compromise of conscience. It was the outcome of a kindly and liberal nature which found expression in good deeds. Few men have possessed to so large an extent the power of carrying through important undertakings without arousing antagonism. The death of Mr. Wood occurred when he was at the meridian of life, and when, according to human probability, he had many years of usefulness before him. The sense of bereavement was profound, and equally deep was the feeling of deprivation as regarded the business community and the different enterprises in which the deceased was so important a factor.
CHARLES SIDNEY WEBB. In life and character the late Charles Sidney Webb, whose death occurred August 5, 1903, was an exponent of the qualities of personal and business recti- tude, staunch patriotism and sound citizenship which in such distinctive measure belong to men of New England antecedents. He was identified with land and mining interests, therein hold- ing positions of trust and responsibility. Justly regarded as an able and conscientious business man, his claims to esteem were not limited to ordinary civic pursuits, for he was a veteran of the Civil War, and had a record of creditable service for the flag.
Charles Sidney Webb was a son of Ralph and Almira Eliza- beth Bailey Webb, and was born in New Britain, Connecticut, November 25, 1843. His ancestry may be traced to a time ante- dating what is usually accepted as the earliest period of the Puritan Colonial stock.
The boyhood of Charles Sidney Webb resembled that of many New England lads who were trained to a serious outlook on the practical work of the world. When young Webb was fourteen years old, his family removed to a farm in Brooklyn, Connecticut.
It was the outbreak of the Civil War which first placed in a conspicuous light the qualities of courage and patriotism which existed beneath the quiet exterior of Charles S. Webb. Though
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at the time he was a mere stripling, his decision to share the perils and hardships of the conflict was unalterable, and in 1862 he enlisted in Company K of the 21st Infantry, Connecticut Volunteers, serving till the close of the war. The military duties of the regiment to which Mr. Webb was attached, were largely of a special character, and in them he effectively par- ticipated, being in detached service with the command for two years, also sharing in harbor police duty at Norfolk, Va. The exposure and privations of camp life reacted unfavorably on Mr. Webb's health, and at one time he was confined to a hos- pital for three months.
The war being over, Mr. Webb came to Buffalo, arriving here in 1866. For some time after becoming a resident of this city, he engaged in the book business. Next he worked for a short period as a dry goods clerk, later becoming a bookkeeper for the firm of Lymburner & Torrey, and afterward serving J. Schoellkopf and Mayer Wile in a similar capacity. In 1888 he began his long connection with the Third National Bank, which he entered as discount clerk, a position he continued to fill till the Spring before he died.
In the later years of his life the business interests of Mr. Webb were considerably extended. January 1st, 1903, he became Treasurer of the Montana Reduction Company, and he was also Secretary of the Board of Control of the Montana Mining Company. For several years he also served as Secre- tary of the Germania Park Land Company.
For many years Mr. Webb was an active member of the Hudson Street Baptist Church, serving as its Treasurer for several years. He was a member of Bidwell-Wilkeson Post, No. 9, G. A. R., and of Erie Lodge, No. 161, F. & A. M.
May 14, 1872, Mr. Webb married Miss Lucy E. Woodworth, a daughter of Hiram and Betsy (Higbee) Woodworth of Buffalo. He is survived by his wife, one son, Rupert Sidney Webb, and one daughter, Louise Austin, now Mrs. Carl Nestmann.
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CHARLES HENRY WEBSTER, whose death occurred May 23, 1903, was the founder of the Buffalo Morning Review, and that newspaper enjoyed a career of prosperity so long as his guiding hand was at the helm. He understood the needs of the City of Buffalo, and was one of the strong factors of its prog- ress. He saw the shortcomings of Buffalo's municipal gov- ernment and pointed them out fearlessly but not in a spirit of captious criticism. Whatever made for the welfare of the community found in him a warm advocate, and his influence for good cannot well be over-estimated.
Mr. Webster was born in New York City July 7, 1848, the son of Daniel and Susanna (Smith) Webster. His father was born in this country but his mother was of English parentage and came to America when about ten years old. When Charles H. Web- ster was two years old the family came to Buffalo, and that city was his home until his death. He received a public school education until he was fourteen years old, when his father died and he be- came the main support of a large family of children. He first obtained a posi- tion as cash boy in a dry CHARLES H. WEBSTER. goods store, and later worked in a railroad office and attended Bryant & Stratton's Business College, paying for his tuition out of his small earnings. He was clerk in a bank for a time, but afterward entered the office of Mr. Doty, the live-stock
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dealer at East Buffalo, and was later in the employ of Swope & Co., where he remained for several years. While employed at East Buffalo, he began publishing a newspaper which at first was a small publication dealing with the live-stock market exclusively. Then it was printed daily under the title of the Mercantile Review, but was confined to business affairs, real estate, legal notices and similar matters. After continuing in that line for about ten years, Mr. Webster changed the name of the paper to the Buffalo Morning Review, which was made a general newspaper. Mr. Webster took into partnership Charles F. Kingsley, and this association was maintained until Mr. Webster's death. Besides his publishing business, Mr. Webster was interested in real estate.
Mr. Webster was a Republican and his newspaper was staunchly Republican, though never servilely so. He was a 32d degree Mason, a Knight Templar and a Knight of Malta. Other organizations to which he belonged were the Odd Fellows, the Protected Home Circle, the American Fraternal Insurance Com- pany, and the Royal Arcanum. He was a member of the 74th Regiment, N.G.N.Y., during his younger days and was also a member of the Volunteer Fire Department of Buffalo.
Personally, Mr. Webster was a man who commanded the respect of all who knew him and compelled the warm attach- ment of those with whom he came into more intimate relations. He held his good name higher than any other consideration, and was a man of marked religious tendencies. During his earlier life he attended Grace M. E. Church and later united with the Delaware Avenue M. E. Church. He was a liberal giver to the churches, not confining himself to his own denomi- nation. "No one loses anything by giving to church or charity," he used to say.
Mr. Webster married Jeanette C. Thompson, daughter of Thomas and Mercy A. (Hill) Thompson of Buffalo, on April 5, 1894. The children of this union were: Marian J., and Susanna M. Webster, who with their mother survive Mr. Webster.
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GEORGE RUPP, who died November 1, 1894, was a resident of Buffalo for more than fifty years, and both as a business man and a citizen was held in the highest esteem. Beginning his active career in commercial pursuits, Mr. Rupp was in his later years prominently connected with the hotel business. In all his undertakings he showed the qualities of a capable, sagacious man of affairs.
Mr. Rupp was born in New York City October 13, 1836, his parents being George M. and Barbara (Hass) Rupp. When he was six years old his family removed to Buffalo, where his father conducted a grocery store at Clinton and Union streets. The son attended the grammar-schools of Buffalo, afterward entering High School, from which he graduated. On leaving school, young Rupp worked for a time in his father's store. Later he became connected with the firm of Altman & Co., clothiers, and continued in their employ till 1868, when he engaged in the clothing business for himself, his store being situated at the corner of Main and Eagle streets. Mr. Rupp's venture prospered, and he remained in the clothing trade till 1879, when he entered the hotel business, becoming the pro- prietor of the Gruener Hotel at Huron, Washington and Genesee streets. Under Mr. Rupp's progressive management, this hostelry grew in popularity and reputation till it became one of the noted hotels of Buffalo. Mr. Rupp continued to con- duct the Greuner House till his death.
Mr. Rupp was a strong Democrat and an active worker for his party. He never held public office, and was only once a candidate, being persuaded to accept the Democratic nomina- tion for County Treasurer in 1880.
From early in life, Mr. Rupp was identified with musical interests, and as a young man he was a choir singer in one of the Presbyterian churches of Buffalo. He was a prominent member of the Liedertafel and Orpheus Singing societies, and in 1877 served as President of the former organization. He attended the German Lutheran Church.
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On the 20th of September, 1876, Mr. Rupp married Emma Gruener, daughter of Charles and Frances (Miller) Gruener. Mr. Gruener was a well-known citizen of Buffalo, and conducted the Gruener Hotel prior to the time when its proprietorship was acquired by Mr. Rupp. Mr. Rupp is survived by his widow and two children, Frederick C. Rupp, a prominent Buffalo attorney, and Mabel, now Mrs. E. C. Werner.
Mr. Rupp was of a kindly, companionable disposition, and very fond of the society of his friends, of whom he had many. The respect in which he was held was the just reward of a career marked by steadfastness of principle and consistency of conduct, and he is held in the loving remembrance which clus- ters about those characters who in the struggles of the world exemplify manliness and in their dealings with their fellows illustrate the golden precepts of gentleness and charity.
THOMAS BENJAMIN FRENCH, by whose death Buffalo lost one of her highly-esteemed citizens, was widely known as a substantial business man, but it was his position as Chief of the Buffalo Fire Department which most broadly identified him with the interests of the community where he lived.
Mr. French was the son of Harlow and Susan French, and was born in Buffalo March 27, 1829. His father came to Buffalo from Rockstream, Yates County, in 1818. Thomas B. French attended Public School No. 13. In early boyhood he evinced a strong desire to be a fireman, and one of his teachers was so impressed with this characteristic that he deemed it best to let the boy follow his natural bent, and allowed him to go to fires when the alarm was rung during school hours. At the age of ten the lad became a torch boy on Engine No. 4. From that time till he resigned as Chief of the Fire Department, a few years before his death, he remained a fireman. When fifteen years old, young French left school and entered the employ of Henry Colton, a merchant. Later he learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed for some years. In 1851 he was
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attracted to California by the gold excitement, but the same year he returned to Buffalo and resumed his former occupation, until 1867, when he formed a partnership in the wholesale gro- cery business with Peter C. Doyle. In 1879 he engaged in the willow and wooden ware business with William Kirkholder. Two years before his death Mr. French became a partner of his son-in-law, J. W. Gibbs, in the real estate business.
The year of his return from California, Mr. French was instru- mental in organizing Columbus Engine Company No. 11, of which he was foreman. He served as Assistant Chief of the Fire Department under Chiefs Hurlburt and Taylor, and in 1863 was appointed Chief, being reappointed in 1864, and serving until 1866. In 1870 he was again made Chief of the Depart- ment and served three years. In 1873 and again in 1876 he was again at the head of the Depart- ment. In 1878 he was suc- ceeded by Peter C. Doyle. In 1880 he was once more appointed Chief, his term expiring in May, 1883. Chief French was unceas- ing in his endeavors to have the fire service of Buffalo put on a metro- politan basis. To his efforts it was largely due THOMAS B. FRENCH. that in 1880 the Fire Department was reorganized, and a regu- lar paid service inaugurated. In the spring of 1883 Chief French was severely injured by a fall in a burning building. The accident came near crippling him for life, and resulted in
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