USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Volume, II > Part 24
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ARTHUR WOODS, who died February 16, 1904, was one of the best-known citizens of Buffalo. All of his active life was spent on the Niagara Frontier and from humble beginnings he rose to be a member of the most prominent dredging firm on the Great Lakes. Capacity for business, industry and honesty were the three prime elements which entered into his success. He had a large circle of friends and enjoyed the respect and esteem of the community in which he lived.
Mr. Woods was born at Bath, Steuben County, N. Y., Sep- tember 10, 1835, being the son of James and Ann (Bell) Woods. He was educated in the public schools and spent the early part of his life upon a farm. When eighteen years of age Mr. Woods left his native place and went to Tonawanda, where he engaged in canal boating. He was employed by Thomas Coatsworth and soon became captain of a boat. He next entered the employ of Clark & Douglass, then the only dredging contractors on the Lakes. Upon the death of Mr. Clark in 1878, Mr. Woods formed a partnership with Edward J. Hingston under the firm name of Hingston & Woods, and they acquired the interests of the old firm. The firm continued in business for a quarter of a century,
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its operations constantly expanding until it owned fleets of dredges distributed all over the lower Lakes. In 1902 the busi- ness was merged into the Lake Erie Dredging Company, of which corporation Mr. Woods became the Vice-President, re- taining that position until his death. He acquired a wide repu- tation as a dredging expert and his advice was often sought in cases of importance where the improvement of harbors, etc., was concerned.
In politics Mr. Woods was a Republican. He was a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He attended the Plymouth Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Woods married Valina A. Rose, daughter of Lorenzo P. and Mary A. (Newman) Rose, on October 1, 1858. Mrs. Woods' parents were residents of Tonawanda. In 1865 Mr. and Mrs. Woods removed to Buffalo, where they resided thereafter. Mr. Woods is survived by his wife and five children, Mrs. Ida Oster- hout, Mrs. Edward Cox, Mrs. David W. Adams of Virginia, Miss Myrtie I. Woods and William H. Woods of Buffalo.
Mr. Woods led a quiet, unostentatious life, and yet his influence for good was strongly felt. One of the most admirable things about his character was the almost paternal interest which he took in the men in his employ. When one of them fell sick and failed to report for work, Mr. Woods seized the first opportunity to learn his condition and the situation of his family. Many and many a time he defrayed out of his own pocket the expenses of sustaining the man and his family until the bread winner was able to resume work. Nor were the benevolences of this excellent man confined to those in his employ. So secret was he about his charitable work that much of it has never come to light, but many incidents known since his death illustrate the generosity of his heart. But it was in the home circle that Mr. Woods appeared to the best advantage. In the society of his devoted wife and surrounded by his chil- dren he passed his hours of leisure, happy and contented. Those who came into casual contact with Mr. Woods felt for him
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respect and kindly feeling. Those of his inner circle had for him reverence and love. In every sphere of duty he played well his part and his death was a great loss to the community in which he spent the greater part of his life.
DR. BYRON HIRAM DAGGETT. By the death of Dr. Byron Hiram Daggett, for more than thirty-five years a leading physi- cian and surgeon of Buffalo, was lost to the medical profession and the public a man of high professional accomplishments and noble character.
Byron Hiram Daggett, second son of Hiram and Patience (Gilson) Daggett, was born in Girard, Pa., January 27, 1842. He graduated from the High School at Girard and obtained a classical edu- cation at Allegheny Col- lege, Meadville, Pa. On the outbreak of the Civil War, he left college, and enlisted in the army as a private, serving three months. Later he entered the Medical Department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and later took a practi- tioners' course of study in DR. BYRON H. DAGGETT. the University of Buffalo, from which he graduated with dis- tinguished class honors. He began the practice of medicine in this city in 1867.
In 1869 and 1870 Dr. Daggett was Health Physician of the city. While he held this office, Buffalo was stricken by a small- pox epidemic which brought forth in their full power Dr. Dag-
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gett's professional skill and administrative ability. In 1876 he was made Police Surgeon and held that office for eight years. In 1870 he was one of the surgeons of the 74th Regiment, and during the Pan-American he was the surgeon of the Pan-Ameri- can police force.
Dr. Daggett was a member of the faculty of the Emergency Hospital, surgeon in charge of a department of the Sisters' Hospital, attending surgeon at the Erie County Hospital, and a member of the staff of the Riverside Hospital. He was a member of all the medical societies of the city and United States Pension Examiner two terms.
He was one of the editors of the Buffalo Medical and Surgi- cal Journal, a contributor to the New York Medical Journal, the New York Medical Record, and many similar publications. He invented a surgical table which became one of the standard appliances of the profession, and is largely used by surgeons throughout the country. His name appears frequently in medi- cal and surgical textbooks as an originator of methods of operative procedure and treatment. Dr. Daggett was regarded as a bold surgeon, but his decision and firmness were tempered by consummate skill and accurate knowledge.
He published a historical Sketch of the Sisters' Hospital, which for interest and literary finish hold's a high rank among his non-professional writings.
Dr. Daggett was married in 1869 to Miss Sarah Y. Long of Holyoke, Massachusetts. Mrs. Daggett belongs to a family in which medicine might be called an inherited profession. Her father, the late Dr. Lawson Long, was an able physician and surgeon of Holyoke, and her mother's father was also a physi- cian. A brother of Mrs. Daggett was Dr. Lawson Long.
The death of Dr. Daggett occurred December 30, 1903. He is survived by his wife and by two sons, Byron D. and Allen F. Daggett, both of whom are engaged in business in Buffalo.
Dr. Daggett was a man of winning personality. He was com- panionable, abounding in wit and anecdote. He stands in the honorable annals of his profession as a capable, original and
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forceful man, a discoverer and a pioneer, in medical and surgi- cal science.
HENRY FRANCK ROESSER. If wealth could be estimated by the number of a man's friends and the depth of the regard in which they hold him, then the late Henry Franck Roesser died a very rich man. Mr. Roesser was born in Buffalo Novem- ber 28, 1849. He was of German derivation, his parents being Jacob and Christina (Keyes) Roesser. He attended public school until he was 12 years old and then was sent to a private school in Buffalo until he was 16 years old. He then entered the Buffalo office of the American Express Company, where he remained for two years, afterward working as clerk in the office of Thornton & Chester's flour mill for a period of four years. Later he was cashier of the United States Express Co. in Buffalo.
About 25 years ago Mr. Roesser began his career as a hotel man, in which he was destined to be signally successful. At that time Dr. R. V. Pierce had completed his Palace Hotel on Prospect avenue near Porter, and Mr. Roesser was invited to become a clerk there, and he remained in that capacity until the hotel was destroyed by fire in 1881. Then Mr. Roesser left Buffalo for New York, but although he spent but little of his time in his native city thereafter, he always considered Buffalo as his home. Mr. Roesser went to the Gilsey House in New York, later to the Brunswick and from there to the Saint James, where he remained for four years. When the Niagara Hotel was built he accepted the management of that hostelry. He remained there three years and then assumed the management of the Stillman in Cleveland, which he continued four years. About three years before his death Mr. Roesser, together with Messrs. Keene and Lancaster, purchased the Marie Antoinette Hotel in New York City. But after about five months his health began to fail and he sold out his interest in the house and retired. He died on October 25, 1904.
Mr. Roesser on April 15, 1873, married Kate Bingham, daugh-
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ter of Robert M. and Mary (Pryor) Bingham, who were among the early settlers of Buffalo and prominent people of that city. Mrs. Roesser is sister to Charles F. Bingham, the well-known manufacturer of Buffalo.
Mr. Roesser was strongly patriotic, and as a boy he ran away from home to enlist in the Civil War, and appeared at Fort Porter, where he announced his wish to serve his country. But as he was too young, he was returned to his parents, who were not a little disturbed at his unaccountable disappearance. In politics Mr. Roesser was a Democrat. He attended old St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and was a member of the Masonic order and of the Hotel Men's Mutual Benefit Association.
Mr. Roesser was a man of fine tastes and inclinations. He loved the best in literature, and had a passion for purchasing new and beautiful editions of standard works. His artistic taste extended to his surroundings. His was a rare personality and of him it can be truthfully said that the world was better for his having lived in it and suffered a loss when he departed.
SAMUEL V. PARSONS, who died February 21, 1906, not only stood in the fore-front of the shipbuilding industry of Buffalo, but was one of the most stalwart and useful men of his genera- tion. Born in St. Johns, Newfoundland, in 1821, he was there reared. He early made his way to New York, where for several years he was employed by the People's Line of steamers, plying between New York and Albany. In 1852, Mr. Parsons was sent by L. & H. Crampton to Buffalo to take charge of some ship-building contracts at that place. He later engaged in the ship-building business on his own account and prospered from the first. He soon became a large employer of labor and to his everlasting credit, Mr. Parsons was the first to introduce in the city of Buffalo cash payments in full for wages. He later established a shipyard at Tonawanda, where, in partnership with John Humble, he carried on a general ship-building and repair business from 1866 to 1878, during which time they built some of the finest vessels found on the Lakes.
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A Republican in politics, Mr. Parsons was an ardent admirer of Lincoln and took an active part in his election. In local poli- tics he was liberal and independent. He never sought prefer- ment, though in the fall of 1882, he was elected Alderman in the 10th Ward. He was chairman of the Street Committee, the first year and the second year was chairman of the School Com- mittee, giving much of his time from his private enterprises to further the interests of both. He declined a re- nomination tendered him by both parties. In recog- nition of his services, and iu expression of the es- teem and affection in which he was held, the Superintendent, princi- pals and teachers pre- sented him with a lauda -. tory set of resolutions and a collecton of beauti- fully bound books, shortly after hs retirement from office, and he was ever held in the most affection- ate regard in educational circles. As further show- ing Mr. Parsons' public SAMUEL V. PARSONS. spirit and enterprise, he was instrumental in having the first asphalt put down in the city of Buffalo, as an experiment.
Domestic in his tastes, he was devoted to his family and home.
A man of great refinement of nature, of gentle and courtly manner, the appearance and bearing of Mr. Parsons were those of a gentleman of the old school. In religious faith he was a Methodist, and the one predominant attribute of his nature was
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his devotion to the Church and its activities. He was a member and Trustee of the Delaware Avenue Church, and a liberal con- tributor to its various material needs. His hand was ever generously extended to all the deserving organized charities of Buffalo. He was at one time Treasurer as well as President of the Homeopathic Hospital.
Mr. Parsons married in 1854, Sarah P. Thompson of Connecti- cut, then residing at Buffalo. To this union were born eight children, six of whom survive, as follows: R. Grover of the Isle of Pines, Harry C., Frank V. and Lillian B. of Buffalo, and Fred W. and Charles S. of Duluth, Minn.
NORMAN WORTH RANSOM, late head of the well-known live stock commission firm of Ransom, Mansfield & Company and former President of the East Buffalo Live Stock Associa- tion, was one of Buffalo's foremost men in the live stock com- mission business.
The family of which Mr. Ransom came is one of the oldest iu Buffalo. Robert Ransom, his grandfather, was a native of Massachusetts, who came to Madison County, N. Y., settling in the village of Fenner, where he spent the rest of his life. He was a farmer, a Democrat, and one of the early members of the Universalist Church in that section. He married Lucy Stacy. Their children were: Rufus S., Erastus, David, Anson, Reuben, Robert, William, Delight and three daughters. The death of Robert Ransom, Sr., occurred in 1855, and his wife died in 1864. Rufus S. Ransom, father of Norman W. Ransom, was born in Fenner, Madison County, N. Y., July 12, 1814. He was a farm- er and was one of the best-known residents of Fenner, where he lived all his life. He was originally a Democrat, but became a Fremont Republican. He was a member of the Universalist Church, a man of useful life and approved integrity. He died February 5, 1858. He married Polly Ann Hamlin, who was born in 1816 and died in 1877. Their children were: George, Norman Worth, William Lewis, Mrs. Harriet Carter and Lucy, of whom Norman W. and Lucy are the only survivors.
Ar W. Rawnau
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Norman Worth Ransom was born at Fenner, Madison County, N. Y., January 7, 1847. He was reared on a farm till he was twelve years old, and was educated at district schools. When eleven years old he was left an orphan by the death of his' father, and became the only support of his mother, brothers and sisters. At thirteen he went to Illinois, where he worked on a farm at Plainfield, continuing there till May 17, 1862, when he enlisted as a private in Co. C, 132d Illinois Infantry, serving at Columbus, Tenn., and Paducah, Ky. Contracting typhoid pneumonia, he was sent home on sick leave, and his health being so impaired as to disqualify him for military service, he received an honorable discharge in 1864.
On leaving the army Mr. Ransom resumed his avocations in Plainfield, Ill., where he remained till 1867, when he went to Omaha, where he engaged in construction work on the Union Pacific Railroad. Later he drove a six-yoke team of oxen across the plains to Salt Lake City, whence he went to Austin, Nevada, where he entered the silver mines. Afterward he migrated to the White Pine District, but returned to Chicago, where he con- ducted a meat market. Subsequently he removed to Buffalo, and for five years traveled through the West for the firm of D. Ransom & Co., patent medicine manufacturers. In Septem- ber, 1878, he opened a live stock commission business at the East Buffalo Stock Yards, being successively a member of the firms of Stacy & Ransom; Stacy, Ransom & McDowell; William- son, Ransom & McDowell, and Ransom, Mansfield & Company. A business of over $1,500,000 annually is done by the latter firm, which is one of the best-known and most solidly established live stock commission concerns in Western New York. Mr. Ransom was one of the first to advocate the establishment of the East Buffalo Live Stock Association. At the time of his death he was its President. He was also Vice-President of the East Buffalo Live Stock Company, which owns the Stock Exchange Building, Vice-President of the Advance Supply Company, Vice-President of the New York Casualty Company,
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and President and chief promoter of the Woodlawn Beach Land Company, which improved Woodlawn Beach, where he resided at the time of his death.
Mr. Ransom was for nine years a member of the Buffalo Board of Park Commissioners. He was a Mason of the 32d degree, having been affiliated with De Molay Lodge, No. 498, and Buffalo Consistory, Scottish Rite, and was a former Presi- dent of the Acacia Club. He was also a member of George Stoneman Post, No. 180, G. A. R.
Mr. Ransom married Miss Ellen Ewing Hamilton, a lady of estimable qualities and high social standing.
Mr. Ransom was deceased December 21st, 1907.
To those who knew him and enjoyed his acquaintance in the more intimate relations of life, to those who knew him in his home, he was much beloved.
Testamentary of the esteem in which he was held by that body we quote the following from resolutions adopted by the East Buffalo Live Stock Association at the time of Mr. Ran- som's death as follows:
" Mr. Ransom was a charter member of this Association and largely instrumental in its organization in 1887. Giving freely of his time and abilities; responding promptly to calls for service, he had long been a leader in its councils, serving on the directorate, and for four terms as its president, which latter office he held at the time of his death. Broad-minded, far seeing and progressive, he had not only done much toward the upbuilding of this Association to a state of efficient usefulness, and toward the general development of the Buffalo live stock market, but he had contributed greatly, also, to the success of the National Live Stock Exchange and left his indelible mark upon the pages of its history. As a man he was honest, honor- able, generous, kind, a fighter for the right, a public-spirited citizen, ever ready to lift his voice and lend his energies in behalf of his fellow men and the general good."
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HARRIS FOSBINDER, up to the time of his death President of the Marine Forwarding Company of Buffalo, was one of the best-known forwarders in this section of the country, a pro- gressive man of business and very prominently identified with the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce and the commercial advance- meut of Buffalo.
Mr. Fosbinder was the son of William and Clorinda (Bur- chard) Fosbinder, and was born in Ithaca, N. Y., on the 28th of May, 1847. The father of Harris Fosbinder was prominent in the boat-building business in Ithaca. Young Fosbinder was educated in the public schools of his native place. When nine- teen years old he engaged in the boat-building business for himself, following that occupation till 1878, when he came to Buffalo. After his arrival in Buffalo, he soon became active in the forwarding business, rapidly gaining an important position, in which he continued to the time of his death. When the Marine Forwarding Company was organized some years ago, largely through the efforts of Mr. Fosbinder, he was made the President of the concern, which had its offices at Pearl and Seneca streets. Much of Mr. Fosbinder's time was spent in New York City, where he had important business connections and interests of such a character as often to require his pres- ence. During a considerable period of his life he owned a large number of boats on the Erie Canal, but before his death he had practically disposed of almost all of this kind of property.
Mr. Fosbinder took a keen interest in the possibilities of Buffalo as a commercial center and lake port, a fact which received ample demonstration in his conspicuous connection with the Chamber of Commerce, of which he was one of the oldest members, and in whose work he was actively concerned.
Mr. Fosbinder believed in the principles and supported the candidates of the Republican party, but his ambitions were not along political lines, and he never held public office. He was not a club man and was not identified with any social or fra- ternal organizations. He was, however, of sociable character
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and popular qualities, was held in high esteem by all who knew him, and had the respect and confidence of his business asso- ciates. He was a lover of home and family and a willing giver to charity, bestowing his aid in a manner wholly free from display and characterized by consideration for the sensibilities as well as regard for the substantial relief of the recipients. He attended the First Presbyterian Church.
May 2, 1870, Mr. Fosbinder married Mary E. Mason of Tru- mansburg, N. Y. The children of the marriage are: Ada, now Mrs. Howard G. Brown; Flora, now Mrs. William G. Bryan; Bertha, now the wife of Willard L. Misner, and Anna, who married Joseph E. Kean.
The death of Mr. Fosbinder occurred on the 11th of Novem- ber, 1903. He is survived by his widow and his children.
JOHN BROEZEL. By the death of John Broezel, who passed from this life on the 10th of October, 1887, Buffalo lost a beloved and esteemed citizen and one of city's most successful business men of his generation.
John Broezel was born in Halle, Wurtemburg, Germany, December 20, 1828. In boyhood he came to the United States, locating first in New York City, where for several years he was employed as chef and steward in various hotels. In 1854 he came to Buffalo, where he became connected with the Mansion House and later with the Clarendon Hotel.
Mr. Broezel's first business venture on his own account was as a restaurateur. Opening a restaurant in the old Post-Office Building at the corner of Washington and Seneca streets, he soon built up a large and profitable patronage, and his place became famous as a favorite resort for the best-known Buffalo politicians of both parties. In its social aspect and with its prevalence of hearty good cheer and friendly conversation, the restaurant of Mr. Broezel much resembled a club, and as such was largely patronized by many of our most prominent citizens of that day, among its frequenters being such men as Cleveland,
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Vass, Folsom, Lansing, Ganson, Warren and others of equal note in the contemporary life of the city at that time. The period between 1861 and the early '70's was one of such pros- perity to Mr. Broezel that he accumulated a fortune, and he retired from business in 1872, with a view of spending his remaining days in the enjoyment of the fruits of his years of toil. But he was still in the prime of life, and the quiet and inactivity of withdrawal from the pursuits to which he had been so long accustomed greatly weighed upon his ener- getic temperament. He felt that much remained for him to do in the world, and in 1875 he built and opened on Seneca street the hotel which bore his name. The Broezel House immediately took rank as one of the leading hotels in Buffalo and soon became one of the most popular hostelries in the country. It was a fine and commodious structure, equipped with every mod- JOHN BROEZEL. ern appliance, admirably situated to suit the convenience of the traveling public, and the management was characterized by the highest capability. Mr. Broezel conducted the hotel until the spring of 1887, when, about six months before his death, he disposed of the property to the firm of Sheldon & Son. The old Broezel House was destroyed in the great Seneca street fire of 1889. But the memory of the famous hotel and the name of its founder are perpetuated by the new Broezel House, a handsome fireproof building, which stands on the site.
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Mr. Broezel was one of the first stockholders of the German Bank, as well as the German Fire Insurance Company, and of which he was a Director at the time of his death.
In politics Mr. Broezel was a Democrat, but was untrammeled by party, always independent in his suffrage, and his friend- ships, many and impartially chosen, were wholly apart from political considerations.
Mr. Broezel was a man of deep religious sentiment, and a liberal supporter of the Church and its charities. He was one of the founders of the German Young Men's Association, and took an intense interest in the welfare of that society.
In 1854 Mr. Broezel married Elizabeth Roskopf, a daughter of Jacob Roskopf of New York City. Mrs. Broezel, who died January 18, 1905, was a woman of rare loveliness of character and of great practical gifts. She was a devoted wife, and to her companionship and encouragement was due much of the success of her husband. The children were: a son, John, who died March 24, 1900, having been associated in business with his father up to the time of the latter's decease, and a daughter. Elizabeth, now the widow of the late Sylvester F. Eagan.
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