USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Volume, II > Part 25
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It is but simple justice to the memory of John Broezel to characterize him as an example of that type of manhood which to know is to esteem. Of rugged integrity, faithful to every duty in life, he guided his career by the standards of justice and civic righteousness and by the central principles of charity, disinterestedness and love for his fellow-men.
SYLVESTER FRANCIS EAGAN. In the death of Sylvester F. Eagan, December the 2d, 1892, the city of Buffalo lost one of its most successful business men. Though scarcely more than in his prime he had won an enviable positiou among the ablest and most astute financiers and business men of the city.
Mr. Eagan was born in Ireland. He came to this country when a small boy, and had lived in Buffalo for forty years. He there conducted with an eminent degree of success a wholesale
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liquor business for many years. One of the most notable achievements of Mr. Eagan's career as reflecting his energy and business foresight was the rebuilding of the Broezel Hotel after its destruction by fire in 1888. The new structure, of pre- tentious dimensions and elaborate appointments, is not only one of the very largest, but one of the most popular hostelries of the city, and Western New York.
The success he attained in his own business at- tracted the attention of his associates, and he was frequently sought to serve as a director in vari- ous institutions. He was a director of the People's Bank, the Citizen's Gas Company, President of the U. S. Electric Com- pany, and President after consolidation of the Gen- eral Electric Co .; member of the Merchant's Ex- change, one of the found- ers of the Irish-Ameri- can Savings Association, and a member of the Young Men's Catholic Association and the Catholic Institute.
SYLVESTER F. EAGAN.
In affectionate memory of Mr. Eagan and testamentary of the esteem in which he was held by them as a fellow officer and associate, the board of directors of the People's Bank issued appropriate resolutions, from which we quote the following.
" Mr. S. F. Eagan was a member of our original board of directors. During his brief business career he made an impres- sion upon this community rarely equaled in a man of his years
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and opportunities, having made a record remarkable even in this community of unusual business success. A self-made man, an enterprising citizen, clear and cool in business affairs, with the courage of his convictions, he contributed largely to the success of many of our business interests."
He delighted to exercise hospitality and possessed traits of character, and qualities of mind and heart that greatly endeared him to his friends and acquaintances.
He was a man for others to lean on, true, sympathetic and strong, and he drew others to him by his unaffected cordiality, earnest sympathy and affable manner. He was the able man of affairs and practical achievement, the practical philan- thropist, the true and generous friend.
October 27, 1881, Mr. Eagan married Elizabeth, the only daughter of the late John Broezel. Mrs. Eagan, together with a son, Sylvester B. Eagan, and a daughter, Marie Grace, the wife of Cyril F. Ginther, survive.
JACOB ROSKOPF. In the death of the late Jacob Roskopf, who passed away in the city of Buffalo March 3, 1906, was removed one of the pioneer citizens and one of its oldest and most highly respected business men.
Born in Planig, near Bingen-on-the-Rhine, Germany, June 3, 1832, he was the son of Jacob and Anna Maria Henerich. His father was a prosperous grower of vineyards, but owing to the devastation of wars and the attending despotic, ruinous and extravagant rule that prevailed, he sold his property and came to this country in 1849, locating first in New York City, where the son conducted a bakery business for two years. He went to Utica, New York, in 1851, where he conducted a large bakery in connection with the State Insane Asylum at that place for five years. In 1865 he came to Buffalo, where he became asso- ciated with his brother-in-law, John Broezel, in the restaurant business up to 1868. In that year he established a bakery at No. 142 Seneca street, where for many years he carried on the
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largest confectionery and bakery business in Buffalo. His preparation for his chosen trade having been obtained in Ger- many prior to coming to this country, he acquired a thorough- ness and a skill that is only obtained in his fatherland, so that the fame he achieved as a baker was deep seated.
After his retirement Mr. Roskopf became interested in vari- ous of Buffalo's large corporations. He was a director of the Citizen's Gas Company, a director in the Erie County Fire Insurance Co. and various other large interests.
In 1861 he married Miss Libby Keiser, who died in 1872, having an only child, a daughter, whom she survived about three months.
Mr. Roskopf upheld the traditions of his race as a thrifty and success- ful business man and as a citizen. Of a uniformly cheerful disposition, he was the most genial of men, and much beloved by those who knew him in the more intimate rela- tions of life.
JACOB ROSKOPF.
He enjoyed many warm friendships among the older citizens who held him in high and affectionate regard, and his memory will long be cherished by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
WILLIAM C. BRAINARD, who died January 22, 1899, was one of the most popular and best-known hotel men in Western New York. He was born in Webster, Mass., August 25, 1834,
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being a son of John Brainard, who came from Belfast, Ireland, with his wife and three children in 1828, settling in Massachu- setts, and who later removed to Lackawanna County, Pa., locating on a farm near Carbondale. The son was there reared until he was fifteen years old, when he removed to Scranton, Pa., where he engaged in the meat business with more than usual success, and later became proprietor of the St. Charles Hotel in that city, which he conducted until he came to Buffalo in 1872. He there purchased the White House hotel in East Buffalo, which he carried on under the name of the Brainard House until his death. In 1875 Mr. Brainard purchased the Osborne House, which has ever since been the leading hotel at Hornellsville, N. Y., and which was also conducted by himself and son, Edwin J., up to his death. His hotel ventures were eminently successful, and by frugality, industry and strict attention to business, he amassed a large fortune. He gave much of his personal time and attention to the management of his hotel properties, and the success he achieved was due to his careful and painstaking methods, and his unimpeachable integrity.
Mr. Brainard was a Democrat, and though the old Fifth Ward of Buffalo, of which he was at one time a resident, was strongly Republican, he was elected from it by a large majority to the Board of Aldermen, in which he rendered capable and efficient service during the years 1882 and 1883. He won the esteem and admiration of his fellow-members of the aldermanic body, who when he died adopted resolutions expressing in feeling terms their sense of his zealous devotion to duty.
Mr. Brainard was a member of St. Joseph's Cathedral of the Catholic Church. A man of broad sympathies, his charities were many and widely bestowed, though in so quiet a way that few ever knew of the extent of the benevolences of this good man, except those who had been recipients of his bounty. He was a prominent member of the Knights of Columbus, being affiliated with the Hornellsville Council.
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At twenty-one years of age Mr. Brainard married Esther Clark, a daughter of Willis Clark, formerly of Belfast, Ireland, and later a well-known resident of Carbondale, Pa. Mrs. Brain- ard, a son, Edwin J., and a daughter, the wife of Mr. Louis Klinck of Buffalo, survive.
The memory of William C. Brainard is a fragrant one and will long be cherished in the hearts of all who knew him. One of the chief attributes of his character was his great devotion to his church, which was fittingly referred to in the eulogy pro- nounced upon his death by Bishop Quigley, at the funeral service.
HERMAN J. KREINHEDER. Not in recent years has the city of Buffalo been called upon to mourn the loss of a more popular and truly beloved citizen than Herman J. Kreinheder, who passed away October 25, 1905. The story of his eventful life presents a many-sided man. He was born in Buffalo March 3, 1853, of German parentage, being one of a family of two sons and three daughters of the late Job and Mary Kreinheder, respected residents of Buffalo. Herman J. Kreinheder received his education in a Lutheran parochial school, St. Joseph's College and Bryant & Stratton's Business College. He then accepted a position with R. W. Bell & Co., where he soon rose to the dual position of cashier and bookkeeper, continuing in that capacity until the death of Mr. Bell, the senior member of the firm. In 1879 Mr. Kreinheder organized the Buffalo Paper Box Manu- factory, of which he became President. Later he was President of the Buffalo Carriage Company, manufacturers and wholesale dealers in carriages, and in 1900 President of the Standard Hardwood Lumber Company. He was one of the chief pro- moters and builders of the Buffalo, Tonawanda & Niagara Falls Electric Railway, the first suburban electric line extending out of Buffalo. From 1892 until his death he was extensively engaged in real estate operations, in the development and building up of the Elmwood district and East Buffalo, where
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hundreds of beautiful homes now stand as monuments to his progressive and enterprising spirit.
Mr. Kreinheder was a Republican and was often sent as a delegate to local, State and national conventions of his party. He was a delegate to the Republican Convention at Philadel- phia in 1900, that nominated Mckinley for President, was chairman of the Erie County Republican Committee for three years, and in 1901 was appointed Deputy State Commissioner to succeed Daniel O'Grady as head of the Buffalo office of the State excise department, a position he occupied up to his death.
Mr. Kreinheder was a prominent member and director of the Buffalo Orpheus and a member and real estate commissioner of the German Young Men's Association.
The Republican General Committee of Erie County in affec- tionate memory of Mr. Kreinheder placed on record the fol- lowing memorial:
" Resolved, that in the death of Mr. Kreinheder the city has lost a good citizen, and the Republican party a zealous, faithful worker whose services were of the highest value. From his youth up he was a Republican by principle and conviction, and he was always conspicuous for loyalty and devotion to the party cause. As a member of the General Committee, he was noted for good judgment and earnest, honorable effort to promote Republican success. His advancement to the chairmanship was a well-earned mark of confidence that was fully justified. He discharged the duties of that position during the campaigns of 1898, 1899 and 1900 in a manner that brought honor to him- self and won the commendation not only of his associates but of the party at large in the city and county. He was courteous, efficient, untiring, and the victories achieved under his direc- tion brought his active political career to a remarkably note- worthy and successful culmination. We deplore the loss of our esteemed associate and friend, and we respectfully tender to his family our sincere condolence in their bereavement."
Mr. Kreinheder was married October 17, 1876, to Kate
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Gehring, a daughter of Frederick Gehring of Buffalo. Their children are: Mrs. Eben P. Watson, Charlotte L., Clara A., Grace J. and Edna L.
PHILIP BOMMER, SR. Among the older citizens of Buffalo, a place of deserved prominence belonged to Philip Bommer, Sr., one of the representative German-American residents of that city, who passed from this life after a long career of use- fulness and honor.
Mr. Bommer was born in Niedermukstadt, Hes- sen Darmstadt, Germany, August 16, 1829. His youth was spent in his na- tive country and shortly after becoming of age he entered the German army, distinguishing himself in the military service. Later he received from the German Government a medal in acknowledg- ment of the gallantry and efficiency shown by him as a soldier of the Father- land. A witness of the revolutionary disturb- ances of 1848 Mr. Bommer PHILIP BOMMER. was one of the many German young men who sought on the western shores of the Atlantic the freedom and opportunities which were too often lacking in the Old World. Coming to America in 1849, he settled in Buffalo, the city which was to be his residence during the rest of his career. In early life Mr. Bommer had learned the shoemaker's trade, and he established himself as a shoe manufacturer in Buffalo. From modest
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beginnings he developed his business till he was enabled to embark in a wholesale boot and shoe manufacturing enterprise, which he conducted with increasing prosperity for many years. Master both of the technical and commercial details of the industry, he was a sagacious and thoroughly reliable business man, and established an enviable reputation for ability and fair dealing. He continued in business till ten years before his death, finally withdrawing from industrial pursuits to enjoy a well-earned repose and to have leisure to devote himself to the religious and charitable works which filled such an important place in his life.
In 1853 Mr. Bommer married Elizabeth Zimmerman. Their wedded life lasted for more than half a century, and their golden wedding was celebrated in Buffalo May 16, 1903. On the 29th of July of the same year death removed the faithful help- meet who had for so many years been to her husband an inspira- tion of his worthiest ambitions. Mr. and Mrs. Bommer are survived by eleven children, all of whom reside in Buffalo. They are the Rev. Peter C. Bommer, pastor of the Evangelical St. Mat- thew's Church; Philip Bommer, Jr., Jacob, John A., Louis J., Frederick W., William H., Ferdinand J., Louise and Emma C. Bommer, and Mrs. Frederick J. Schafer.
The death of Philip Bommer, Sr., occurred at his home in Buffalo February 9, 1907.
The character of Mr. Bommer presented those traits which win affection and command esteem. He was an upright busi- ness man, a patriotic citizen, a kind husband and father. He possessed a multitude of friends, and his memory is dear not only to those who were united to him by the ties of kinship, but to all who knew him and in knowing him proved his noble quali- ties of Christian manhood.
HON. JAMES RYAN, one of the foremost and best-known citizens of Buffalo, died October 4, 1907.
Mr. Ryan had lived in Buffalo for 62 years. He was one of
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the few men who could go back to the early days and recall with vivid detail the city of almost three-quarters of a century ago. He was born in Tipperary, Ireland, on September 20, 1837. His parents died in Ireland when he was five years old. He came to this country with his brothers and sister, and lived with them in Toronto until he was eight years old, when he came to Buffalo. Even at the age of eight he was thrown upon his own resources, and began his life work as a newsboy, having a train route between Buffalo aud Niagara Falls. He was indus- trious and thrifty, saved a little money and at the early age of 17 went into the grocery business on the Terrace, with George J. Bamler. The firm prospered from the first. When this part- nership was dissolved, Mr. Ryan engaged in the grocery business for himself on Exchange street, where the New York Central station now stands. From there he moved into larger quarters ou Louisiana street, and thence to Elk and Hamburg streets, where his place was known far and wide until he retired from the grocery business in 1882.
In 1861 Mr. Ryan joined the 74th Regiment, and rose from the ranks to First Lieutenant of the famous Company E, known at that time as the Emmett Guard. During the Civil War, in 1863, he went away to Pennsylvania with the regiment, and from service there continued as commander of the Emmett Guard to the City of New York, where he served during the trying times of the negro riots. While in this service he suffered a sunstroke, which in the later years of his life caused complications from which he suffered intensely.
While in the grocery business he engaged also in the vessel trade, and among the boats he owned was the famous S. V. R. Watson, in its time the fastest sailing boat on the Great Lakes. In 1893 Mr. Ryan engaged in the insurance business, founding the firm of James Ryan & Sons, which has since become the well-known corporation, The James Ryan Sons Company, doing one of the largest businesses of its kind in this part of the country.
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For many years Mr. Ryan was a prominent figure in the political life of Buffalo. In 1864 he was elected Alderman of the old 1st Ward, serving continuously until October, 1867, when he resigned to become a candidate against Hon. Alexan- der Brush for Street Commissioner. It was a memorable con- test, in which Mr. Brush won by 18 votes, and subsequently Mr. Brush became Mayor of the City of Buffalo.
In 1868 Mr. Ryan was appointed Water Commissioner by Mayor Rogers, serving two terms or 10 years in all. In 1876 he was again elected Alderman of the old 1st Ward, serving during 1877 and 1878. In 1881 Mayor Brush reappointed him Water Commissioner and he was reappointed again by Mayor Becker. In 1890 he became a member of the Grade Crossings Commis- sion, and in 1893 became Police Commissioner. During the closing years of his life he was wont to spend his summers at Block Island on the Atlantic Coast, where he easily was the most popular member of the summer colony there. About seven years ago the summer colony chose him as their Mayor of Block Island, a purely honorary title bestowed upon him alone and intended as a mark of the esteem in which he was held.
In 1858 Mr. Ryan married Miss Julia Lenahan, who died Sep- tember 20, 1883. They had 12 children, of whom four survive: Vincent D., Austin F., Raymond J., and Miss Winnie C. Ryan. Mr. Ryan was a member of Chapin Post and the C. M. B. A. He had thousands of friends and his death, even at a ripe old age, was sincerely mourned.
VINCENT DANIEL RYAN, eldest son of James Ryan, was born in Buffalo on the 25th of December, 1874. He was edu- cated at the public school, old St. Joseph's College in Buffalo, and Georgetown University. He then became a member of the engineering corps of the firm of Dwyer & Huntington for three years. He then organized a fire insurance business which he still conducts, later adding a bonding department, the general
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concern being known as James Ryan & Sons, one of the most prominent bonding and insurance concerns in Western New York.
In politics Vincent D. Ryan has always been a Republican, and has twice been offered the nomination for Assemblyman in the First Assembly District.
February 12, 1903, Mr. Ryan married Sabyna Griffin, a daugh- ter of James Griffin, a soldier of the Union who was killed at the Battle of Cold Harbor, and of Rose (Collins) Griffin, a descendant of the well-known Collins family whose members were large land-owners at Black Rock. The issue of the mar- riage is one child, James Ryan, born May 4, 1906.
ELIAS SILL HAWLEY, who died July 26, 1899, was one of Buffalo's representative citizens. Gifted with diversified abili- ties, Mr. Hawley attained success in several spheres of honor- able endeavor. By profession a lawyer, he was also noted as an educator, a business man and a public official.
Mr. Hawley came of one of the oldest families of New Eng- land, being a descendant of Joseph Hawley, yeoman, who settled at Stratford, Conn., in 1603. Elias Sill Hawley was a son of Seth Hawley, and was born October 28, 1812, at Moreau, Saratoga County, N. Y. In 1823 the family removed to Black Rock, Erie County, and as a boy young Hawley attended the public schools and Cambridge Academy, Washington County, N. Y. When about sixteen years old, his uncle, Elias Hawley, gave him the choice of one thousand dollars at the age of twenty-one or a liberal education. He chose the latter and entered Middlebury College, where he remained until the end of his sophomore year. He then taught for a year at Mount Pleasant Academy, Westchester County, and from there went to Union College, where he was graduated in 1833, standing third in a class of eighty. Soon after leaving college he was chosen principal of Weston Academy, near Bridgeport, Conn., where he remained eighteen months. He then opened a private
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school at Glens Falls, N. Y., and continued there till 1836, when he came to Buffalo and again engaged in teaching. In 1838 he was appointed principal of Public School No. 8, and continued in that capacity for a year, when, his health having become impaired, he resigned. Deciding to study law he entered the office of Barker & Hawley, and after serving the prescribed clerkship was admitted to the bar in New York City.
In 1840 Mr. Hawley, with his brother, Seth C., founded the firm of Hawley & Co. and established a money and package express between Buffalo and Detroit. In 1844 he was appointed by the Buffalo Common Council Superintendent of Public Schools, being re- appointed in 1846 and 1847, and as incumbent of this office he rendered zealous and efficient serv- ice. Meantime he had become interested in the publishing house of
George H. Derby & Co., and about the same time formned a partnership with Messrs. Danforth & ELIAS S. HAWLEY. Crocker under the style of Danforth, Hawley & Co. Upon the dissolution of the latter firm began the long connection of Mr. Hawley with Pratt & Co., for whom he was collecting attorney for twenty-three years, also for about twenty years acting as Superintendent of the Buffalo Iron and Nail Works at Black Rock. Later he was appointed attorney for the Austin estate, whose interests he guarded for many years with characteristic fidelity and ability.
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In 1868 Mr. Hawley was elected Alderman from the old 11th Ward of Buffalo, and served the interests of the municipality with conscientiousness and vigor. During the late Alexander Brush's second term as Mayor Mr. Hawley acted as Mayor's Clerk, and later was elected Member of Assembly from the Third Assembly District, serving in the Legislature in 1882 and 1883. In the latter year he was appointed Secretary and Treas- urer of the Buffalo Insane Asylum. He was one of the first to take an active interest in the Buffalo Historical Society, and served for many years on its managing board and for several terms as its President. During the early part of his residence in Buffalo, Mr. Hawley was prominent in the Fire Department, belonging to Engine No. 8, and later to Eagle 2. He served as foreman and assistant foreman, and was subsequently elected trustee of the Firemen's Benevolent Association. He was one of the first trustees of the First Presbyterian Church, with which he was connected from 1838 until the organization of the North Presbyterian Church.
May 30, 1845, Mr. Hawley married Lavinia Hurd Selden, daughter of Huntington Selden of Buffalo. Their children were: Edward S., Mary M., Delia A. and George R. Hawley, of whom the last-named is deceased.
Mr. Hawley was much occupied with literary studies and general culture. Genealogy was a subject in which he took a deep interest, and he was the author of the Hawley Record, one of the most carefully compiled family histories ever pub- lished. As a lawyer, Mr. Hawley was learned and honorable; as a business man, systematic, resourceful and of scrupulous fidelity to trust. He possessed in eminent degree the social and domestic virtues, and equally those which pertain to citizenship and the broader relation of man to his fellow man.
THOMAS G. O'BRIEN, who died June 23, 1907, was in the early part of his life one of the most prominent newspaper men of Buffalo and later attained distinguished success in the
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theatrical world, as a leading factor in the Shea amusement enterprises in Buffalo, Toronto and Cleveland. Mr. O'Brien was a man whose strong and versatile abilities readily adapted themselves to any sphere of endeavor which he chose to enter and who left the impress of superior personality and talents upon all undertakings with which he was identified. With his practical qualities were united rare and lovable traits of char- acter. His circle of acquaintance was wide; his popularity great, and no Buffalonian possessed friends more numerous and devoted or enjoyed in a higher degree the esteem of the community.
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