USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Volume, II > Part 26
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Mr. O'Brien was the eldest son of Michael and Anna (Cryan) O'Brien, and was born at Dunkirk, N. Y., February 1, 1869. During his childhood his family removed to Buffaio, where he was educated in the public schools. On leaving school he entered a railroad office, where he continued seven years. In 1892 he became a member of the staff of the Buffalo Courier, his choice of journalism as a profession being strictly in accord with the traditions of his family, several of whose members have been capable newspaper men. After spending some time with the Courier Mr. O'Brien was appointed City Editor of the Buffalo Enquirer, a position which he filled with notable efficiency and success. In 1893, while still a reporter, he became press representative for Michael Shea, who then controlled the concert hall in the Mooney-Brisbane Arcade, and thus was formed a business connection destined to expand into au enter- prise of great importance and to last for the rest of Mr. O'Brien's life. Soon Mr. O'Brien severed his relations with journalism and devoted all his attention to the Shea interests. He became Assistant Manager of Shea's Garden Theater, and later was occupied with the responsible duty of booking attrac- tions for the Shea houses in Buffalo, Cleveland and Toronto. He exhibited an altogether exceptional aptitude for the theatri- cal business, had a wide acquaintance with actors and mana- gers, and the prosperity of the Shea enterprises was in great
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part due to his industry, talent and zeal. At the time of his death he was a stockholder in the Shea Amusement Company, and the earnestness with which he devoted himself to its wel- fare was at all times deeply appreciated by his associates in business.
June 30, 1897, Mr. O'Brien married Hester Carlisle of Buffalo, to whose wifely devotion and sympathy with his interests and ambitions he was indebted for much of his success. He is sur- vived by his widow, his mother, a sister, Mary B. O'Brien, and two brothers, John H. O'Brien, Commissioner of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity of the City of New York, and Frank M. O'Brien, formerly city editor of the Buffalo Express, now Secre- tary to Mayor Mcclellan of New York.
Mr. O'Brien died in the prime of his years and usefulness, and his death was a severe shock to his many friends, the sad event being the more deeply deplored because it was felt by all that the passing of Thomas G. O'Brien from the world meant the cutting short of a brilliant career, full of possibilities for the future. The salient characteristic of Mr. O'Brien was his integ- rity. Alike in the business, social and domestic relations of life he was scrupulous in the fulfilment of duty, and was a capable man of affairs, a loyal friend, a kind husband, brother and son. Gifted with a ready intellect, he possessed a fine vein of humor and repartee and his genial nature won him hosts of friends. His death was a grave loss to the business enterprises with which he was identified and was equally felt by the community at large.
SAMUEL CARY ADAMS was not only one of the greatest commercial lawyers in the State, but one of Buffalo's most sterling and truly beloved citizens. For over a quarter of a century he stood in the forefront in his profession in Erie County. Mr. Adams came of patriotic ancestry, his great-grand- father, Cary Latham, having served in the Revolution as keeper of the Colonial Arsenal at Fort Griswold. His father was John Calvin, and his mother Hepsabah (Chadwick) Adams.
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Mr. Adams was born at Federal States, Columbia County, N. Y., December 22, 1820, and was brought when three years old by his parents to Collins Center, Erie County, where he grew to manhood. His only scholastic training was obtained in the district schools, but his knowledge of books was supplemented by home discipline and correct standards of living. At sixteen years of age he began learning the carpenter's trade, which he followed for several years, during the intervening summers, while engaged in teaching. He was early a close student of municipal government, upon which he became an authority. On attaining his majority he became interested in county poli- tics, and was elected town Supervisor in 1852, reelected in 1853, and at the close of his second term was elected clerk of the board for two years. He served six years as School Commis- sioner for the town of Collins, and in 1857 was elected by a handsome majority to the Assembly from the 4th Erie County district. In 1859 he was appointed Deputy County Clerk and removed to Buffalo. He served in this capacity for five years, and subsequently two years as Deputy Collector of the Port. He took up preliminary study for the legal profession, as oppor- tunity afforded, and in 1863 was admitted to the bar. His effi- ciency and popularity in the county service led to his nomina- tion for County Clerk in 1864, but was defeated by a small plurality, though he polled the largest vote on his ticket. Industriously applying himself to the practice of law he early acquired a reputation as a careful, conscientious and pains- taking lawyer and took a front rank among the practitioners of that time. In 1867 he was retained as legal adviser by the firms of Pratt & Co., and Pratt & Letchworth, then the largest commercial houses in Buffalo, and continued as such for Pratt & Co. until the dissolution of the firm in 1886, and for Pratt & Letchworth to the time of his death. As attorney for the above houses, he gained a wide range of familiarity with legal pro- cesses in the different States, and became recognized as one of the very best commercial lawyers of the East. He also enjoyed a large general practice.
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Mr. Adams was an ardent Republican and took an active interest in the councils of the party. He was many years a member, and for one year chairman of the Republican County Committee of Erie County.
A man of deep religious sentiment, Mr. Adams was a member of Asbury M. E. Church and a generous supporter of its material needs. Of broad human sympathy, the predominant attribute of his character was his great and almost unbounded generosity to all worthy objects of charity. The Newsboys' and Bootblacks' Home, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and every organized charity of Buffalo found in him a sympathizing and generous friend.
In his personal characteristics, of quiet dignity and reserve, his social intimacies though not numerous were most pleasant. He possessed qualities of mind and heart and cultivated attain- ments that greatly endeared him to friends and acquaintances. A profound, logical thinker, he was a most entertaining conver- sationalist. A man of domestic tastes, and devoted to his family, it was in his home life that the nobility of his character shone forth.
Mr. Adams was for many years a member of the Lodge of Ancient Landmarks, Free and Accepted Masons, and to the time of his death was chairman of the Committee on Member- ship of his Lodge.
October 20, 1842, Mr. Adams married Harriet White, now deceased, daughter of Isaac and Hannah White of Collins, Erie County. The following children survive: John C. Adams of Buffalo, N. Y .; Hannah, wife of A. L. Rowland of Galesburg, Mich .; Harriet A. Adams, and Carrie, wife of Charles A. Pooley of Buffalo.
Mr. Adams died at Buffalo November 17, 1896, aged 76 years.
CHARLES GREINER, who passed away February 12, 1906, was not only a leading banker and financier, but as a citizen and
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in all the relations of life exemplified the highest standards of justice and civic righteousness.
Mr. Greiner was born in Buffalo April 8, 1838, of German parentage, and received his education in the public schools. When a young man, he entered the employ of his brother, John Greiner, and A. D. A. Miller, trading as Miller & Greiner, engaged in the wholesale grocery business. Mr. Greiner subse- quently became a member of the firm whose style was changed to Miller, Greiner & Co. In 1876 the firm erected a large store- house at Washington and North Division streets, where the business was conducted until the death of Mr. Miller in 1901. Two years later the firm went out of existence, though Mr. Greiner remained actively identified with the settling up of its affairs until his death. The concern during its early years was engaged in supplying groceries and provisions to private vessel owners and transportation companies, but later became one of the largest wholesale grocery houses in Western New York. In the development of this large mercantile enterprise, Mr. Greiner was for many years the moving spirit and the finan- cier that engineered its prosperity. He served on the direc- torates of some of the leading financial institutions of Buffalo and for many years was a trustee of the Erie County Savings Bank, and a director of the German-American Bank.
In politics Mr. Greiner was a Republican. He was for many years a member of the Acacia Club, and was one of the last sur- vivors of Columbia Hose Co. No. 11 of the Volunteer Fire Department. During the Civil War he was a staunch supporter of the Union cause, which he aided both with money and influence.
Mr. Greiner spoke three languages fluently, and was a well- known authority on local history. A member and deacon of the Unitarian Church for many years and up to his death, his deep and abiding religious sentiment was his strongest charac- teristic. He was domestic in his tastes, and devoted to his wife and home.
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Among the expressive testimonials testifying to the sterling traits of Mr. Greiner, we quote the following offered by the Erie County Savings Bank, of which he had long been a trustee:
" We are again called upon to record the death of a fellow trustee, our friend and associate, Mr. Charles Greiner, which occurred February 12, 1906. Mr. Greiner was elected a member of the Board of Trustees of the Erie County Savings Bank October 4, 1882, and we desire by this memorial to express our respect and our personal affection for him, and our apprecia- tion of the service he has rendered to the Erie County Savings Bank. Mr. Greiner was a model citizen, universally and greatly respected by the people of Buffalo. He was faithful in the performance of every duty, the prompt and constant discharge of which from month to month as one of the trustees of this bank made his services invaluable by reason of his knowledge of real estate values in our city, as well as his good sense and business sagacity. With respect to all the affairs of the institu- tion, the loss of such services is a calamity, the loss of his com- panionship a deeply felt bereavement."
Mrs. Greiner and two daughters by a former marriage survive.
THOMAS A. BISSELL. He who distinguishes himself as an inventor or mechanic must possess ability of a no less high order than that of the statesman, the poet or the philosopher. Men of mechanical ingenuity and inventive minds have ever been the levers that have moved the world onward and upward in all the advance of progress. The Pullman palace car civiliza- tion of today is but the reflection of a few great minds of genius of yesterday. In the death of T. A. Bissell, who passed away February 26, 1902, the city of Buffalo lost one of its most widely known and most truly beloved citizens.
Born in Greenfield, near Northeast, Pennsylvania, June 28, 1835, he attended the public schools and academy there and at Westfield, and worked his way through Allegheny College,
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Meadville, Pa., graduating therefrom in 1855. Completing his education he learned the carpenter trade, and in 1855 went to Kaneville, Illinois, where he engaged with Charles Coolidge in contracting and building during the summer and taught school during the winter. While there he demonstrated his native ingenuity by the erection of a school house, an achievement that afforded him considerable pride and satisfaction. He la- ter entered the service of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy R. R. in the bridge building depart- ment, but after two years was given entire charge of the erection of all buildings for the com- pany.
When the road had ar- ranged with the Eye and Ear Infirmary of Chicago to build a spiral stairway in their institution in con- THOMAS A. BISSELL. sideration of gratuitous treatment to be given the employees of the road, Mr. Bissell was selected as the most competent man in their employ to do the work. He did it so successfully that the company gave him a reward of promotion which started him on his brilliant and distinguished career. Upon returning to his office in Aurora after completing his important mission in Chicago, he discov- ered that the officers of the company had secured possession of a full set of architectural drawings, comprising plans and per- spectives which he had personally made in his office. The acci- dental discovery of his great skill as a draughtsman was a
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revelation to the officers of the company and he was at once advanced to the rank and position of master car-builder, and put in charge of the construction of all kinds of rolling stock. This more responsible position gave him a wider field in which to display his genius and mechanical skill.
The wonderful creative and constructive faculties of his mind now found ample opportunity for indulgence. It was at this time that he designed a freight car door which was adopted and has been in universal use ever since. It is worthy of note that Robert Miller, General Superintendent of the Michigan Central R. R., was then employed under Mr. Bissell and they built sixty-nine Pullman cars. In 1872 he was sought by Mr. George M. Pullman to build and develop an immense Pullman car shop at Detroit. He not only had charge of the construction of one of the largest of the Pullman properties at that place, but remained in their active control for eleven years. He was as successful there as he had been uniformly successful in all his undertakings.
During that time he designed and perfected the style of truck used today under Pullman cars, receiving the snug sum of $20,000 from Mr. Pullman for his patent. He was author of various other patents while in the employ of the Pullman Com- pany, notably the berth lock now in use. In 1881 he accepted a position with the great Barney & Smith Car Manufactory at Dayton, Ohio, where he remained for five years and became a large stockholder in the company. October 14, 1886, he accepted the position of General Manager of the Wagner car shops then in process of development at East Buffalo, in which capacity he remained up to retirement.
While there he invented and perfected the vestibule and extension platform with which all Wagner cars are equipped. Many improvements were made in Wagner cars while he had charge of the shops, including the notable berth latch which prevents the berth in overturned cars closing up and smoth- ering the occupants, a device universally used today on all sleeping cars.
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Among other noteworthy inventions by Mr. Bissell was the buffer and platform and the Bissell vestibule now used alike on Pullman as well as on Wagner cars. The last and one of the most notable achievements of Mr. Bissell's life was the building in record time of the World's Fair Exhibition train of Wagner cars, the handsomest train ever turned out in the United States, and which excited world-wide interest at the fair.
Over exertion and strain in the performance of this, the greatest feat in car construction, undermined his health and he was induced to seek rest and health in retirement.
Mr. Bissell was a Mason, and a Knight Templar and a mem- ber of various other societies, including several clubs. He was a zealous member of the Delaware Avenue Baptist Church, and was a liberal contributor to the building fund for its erec- tion. One of the strongest attributes of his strong character was his devotion to the church and its activities.
He left a widow who was Miss Cynthia L. Farnsworth, whom he married at Aurora, Illinois. Four sons and three daughters also survive, among whom is Fred'k O., the well-known attorney.
FREDERICK W. M. HEERWAGEN was born in Allegheny, Pa., October 3, 1862. His parents were Frederick and Selinda (Roesser) Heerwagen. When the subject of this sketch was about three years old, his family removed to Newark, N. J., where the son received a public school and college education. In 1884 Mr. Heerwagen removed to Buffalo, his first employ- ment here being with the commission business of N. D. Batter- son & Co., where he remained ten years, and before he volun- tarily resigned his position in 1894 he had become manager of the concern. After leaving Batterson & Co., Mr. Heerwagen engaged in the roofing business.
Mr. Heerwagen had always been a strong Republican. His active connection with politics began in 1890, when he received the Republican nomination for Supervisor from the Seventeenth
Seiber
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Ward. He was defeated, but in 1892 he was again tendered the nomination and was elected by a heavy majority. He served as Alderman from the Seventeenth Ward from 1894 to 1901, then he was appointed City Comptroller to serve out the unexpired term of Comptroller Erastus C. Knight. In 1901 he was elected to that office.
Comptroller Heerwagen was well known in fraternal affairs and belonged to various social, civic and political organizations. He was a Mason, being affiliated with Harmonie Lodge, F. & A. M .; Elks Lodge, No. 23, B. P. O. E .; Columbus Lodge, No. 325, Knights of Pythias, and Court Brave Old Oak, Foresters. He was a member of the 17th Ward Republican League, and of the Uncle Sams, the Republican Society of the 18th Ward. He was also a member of the Saengerbund, the Dauntless Club and the Haldick Bowling Club. While in Paterson, N. J., he belonged to the Volunteer Firemen's organization of that city.
On the 6th of April, 1884, Mr. Heerwagen married Miss Catherine Beck, a daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Jammer) Beck of Paterson, N. J.
Mr. Heerwagen died at his home in Buffalo on the 11th of February, 1905. To him belonged in pre-eminent degree the qualities of a devoted husband and father, a worthy citizen, a conscientious official and an upright man.
CASPER TEIPER. By the death of Casper Teiper, which occurred March 8, 1906, Buffalo lost one of her foremost Ger- man-Americans, and the structural steel, contracting and engi- neering interests of the city were deprived of a man of extraor- dinary technical acquirements and of great practical experi- ence. Both in his business specialties and his personal charac- ter Mr. Teiper was a remarkable man. His connection with steel bridge-building and similar operations dated from the infancy of the use of steel for structural purposes. His knowl- edge of engineering, railroad and bridge construction, iron and
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steel manufacture and metallurgy in general, was not only practical but scientific, being founded on large attainments in mathematics, mechanical and architectural theory, and other branches of learning. Naturally of scholarly instincts, Mr. Teiper was all his life a student, and well knew how to apply his book acquirements to the work he had in hand. Unlike many men of mechanical and scientific talents he was a sound, accurate and successful business man. His firmness of will enabled him to overcome apparently insuperable difficulties. During the last ten years of his life he was a sufferer fron paralysis, yet through all that period he conducted his business with a skill which might well have been a matter of pride to a man in robust health.
Casper Teiper was born in Westphalia, Germany, on the 13th of November, 1846. He was a son of John and Margaret (Schultz) Teiper. While in Germany the older Teiper was a farmer by occupation. About 1852 he came with his family to the United States, and settled in Detroit, where he worked at the carpenter's trade. His son, Casper Teiper, received his early education in the Detroit public schools. Leaving school at fourteen, young Teiper went to Houghton, a Michigan town on Lake Superior, and began work in a copper-crushing mill Here he met with an accident whereby he sustained an injury to the spinal cord, and of which he felt the physical conse- quences all his life. After working in Houghton two years he returned to Detroit and found work in the shops of the Kellogg Bridge Company. During this period Mr. Teiper spent his spare time in pursuing a course of mathematics, mechanical drawing and engineering. At the age of twenty-one he went to New York City, where he was employed by the Harrison & Fletcher Engineering Company. But every leisure moment was occupied in mathematical and engineering studies, which he followed at the Cooper Institute.
When twenty-two years old Mr. Teiper came to Buffalo. Here he found work as a draughtsman with his former employ-
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ers, the Kellogg Bridge Company, this concern having in the meantime removed from Detroit to Buffalo. His connection with the Kellogg Bridge Company lasted five years. In that time by hard toil and incessant application Mr. Teiper advanced himself to the responsible position of Chief Engineer of the plant.
In 1877 Mr. Teiper went to Pittsburg, where he entered the plant of the Keystone Bridge Company, remaining about a year. He then removed to Hamilton, Ont., to assume the management of the Hamilton Bridge Company. Steel bridge- building was then in its inception; Mr. Teiper was one of the pioneers of the science, and many of the most important Canadian enterprises in the fields of bridge-construction and railroad work were accomplished under his direction. One of the most notable monuments of Mr. Teiper's skill and executive ability is the tunnel of the Grand Trunk Railroad at Sarnia, Canada. All of the shields and mechanical appliances used in this tunnel were designed and constructed by Mr. Teiper, who also had a conspicuous share in the building of the tunnel itself. The work marked an epoch in this kind of construction, and attracted wide attention, being a subject of general com- ment in railroad and engineering circles, as well as by the public at large. During his connection with the Hamilton Bridge Company, Mr. Teiper brought that concern to a high state of efficiency, and became recognized as ranking with the most capable men in his profession.
His success as a managing executive for others gave Mr. Teiper faith in his ability to conduct an independent enterprise. and in 1891 he came to Buffalo with the determination to go into business for himself. With Mr. Carl Meyer as partner, he established the Buffalo Bridge & Iron Works, whose plant was situated in Perry street. Shortly afterward the partners sold the business, and the following year purchased a much larger plant located in South Buffalo at Bailey avenue and Seneca street. In 1894 Mr. Teiper sold his interest in this enterprise to
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John Wilson. The same year he bought a tract of land at the corner of Dart and Letchworth streets, in the Black Rock dis- trict, and there erected the plant of the Buffalo Structural Steel Works. This business was marked by a rapid and steady growth, its prosperity being so great and its operations so extensive that in 1899 it was thought advisable to organize the concern into a stock company, Mr. Teiper being chosen for President. With the Buffalo Structural Steel Works Mr. Teiper continued to be identified till his death in 1906.
Mr. Teiper was all his life a Republican, but never took an active part in politics. He was a member of the Society of Engineers of Western New York, and was connected with the Builders' Exchange. He also was a member of the Annuncia- tion Church.
Mr. Teiper was married November 3, 1875, to Miss Agnes M. Fancher, a daughter of Loren Fancher and Rachel McGraw Fancher of Detroit. He is survived by his widow and by four children, Grace J., Charles H., J. Edward and Frederick C. Teiper.
Considered from the standpoint of his personal quali- ties, Mr. Teiper is justly to be regarded as a man of unusual intellectual powers and of wonderful firmness and determination. A devotee of science, he was ardent in its pursuit, and was essentially a self-educated and self- made man. His spirit was progressive and he kept himself thoroughly informed of the events of the day. Upright and truthful, he was inflexible in his adherence to his word. He kept his promises, no matter what it cost, and applied this principle with the greatest strictness to his engagements as a contractor and manufacturer. He was a conscientious employer, and always solicitous of the welfare of his workmen. Devoted to his family, it was one of his dearest wishes that his sons should receive training in the line of work that he had fol- lowed and should be able to conduct the business which he had founded. Mr. Teiper was ever a liberal contributor to charity,
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