USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Volume, II > Part 28
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31
July 4, 1863, Mr. Irish came to Buffalo, where he entered the employ of L. C. Woodruff, proprietor of a paper store. With this establishment Mr. Irish continued to be identified for twenty-one years. In 1887 Mr. Irish engaged in the paper busi- ness for himself, forming a copartnership first with Lawrence Wex and afterwards with William C. Fitch, the firm being Irish & Fitch. This connection being presently severed, Mr. Irish continued in business for some time alone. In 1896 he organized the George Irish Paper Company, which in August of that year was incorporated, with Mr. Irish as President and the leading personality of the business. At the time of his death he was recognized as the oldest and best-known paper dealer in this section of the State.
358
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
Mr. Irish was a member of Hiram Lodge, No. 105, F. & A. M., and the G. A. R. He was a Democrat, but never held office.
April 23, 1867, Mr. Irish married Caroline Heiser, daughter of Jacob M. and Christina (Obrest) Heiser. The father of Mrs. Irish was a prominent and respected German-American of Buffalo, a native of Baden-Baden, Germany, who came to Western New York in 1830.
Viewed from every standpoint, the career of George Irish was that of a capable and upright man of business and a pub- lic-spirited citizen.
1
JAMES H. LEE, who died March 4, 1907, was one of the leading citizens of Buffalo, and an able business man who won success of a high order in different fields of industrial, commer- cial and financial enterprises. Mr. Lee was of New England ancestry. His father, Oliver Lee, was a native of Besrah, Conn., and in 1814 removed to Genesee County, N. Y. In 1824 the elder Lee settled in Westfield and in 1828 removed to Silver Creek, N. Y., where he engaged in business as a banker, also operating a large farm and a general store. In 1841 he came to Buffalo, and with Corning & Sherman, prominent Albany bank- ers of that day, established the Oliver Lee Bank. This institu- tion was very prosperous up to the time of Mr. Lee's death. After that event his family disposed of their interests in the bank. Mr. Lee was also an owner of lake boats, and at Silver Creek carried on a successful forwarding business. Oliver Lee was a Democrat, but the only office he ever accepted was that of Supervisor, to which he was elected while a resident of Chautauqua County.
Mr. Lee married Eliza Downer, who died November 9, 1882. Their children were: Ennice, born February 16, 1815, died March 6, 1866; Caroline, born November 9, 1816, died April 12, 1895; Charles H., born October 1, 1818, died March 2, 1904; Eliza, born November 25, 1820, died March 24, 1868; James H., born Sep- tember 16, 1822, died March 4, 1907; Mary, born June 14, 1824,
Jaman NLee e
359
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
died in 1825; Franklin, born February 20, 1826, died July 9, 1906; Mary Margaret, born April 25, 1828, died September 6, 1828; Helen, born November 9, 1830; John M., born October 3, 1831; Maria L., born October 24, 1835. The last three are living, and Helen, who is now the widow of the late Henry Mont- gomery, resides in Buffalo. Oliver Lee died July 28, 1846. He was a superior type of financier and citizen, and a sterling example of a self-made man.
James H. Lee was born in Warsaw, N. Y., September 16, 1822. Some years later his parents removed to Silver Creek, where he attended the village schools, later studying at the Fredonia Academy. At the age of eighteen he left school, and for two or three years worked as a clerk in his father's store at Silver Creek. In 1841, when Oliver Lee removed to Buffalo, James H. Lee and his brother, Charles, bought the Silver Creek business, which they carried on prosperously for upward of fifteen years. In 1856 the brothers disposed of their business, and in 1863 James H. Lee came to Buffalo, and in partnership with his brother, Franklin Lee, was for several years engaged in Gov- ernment contracting. Later he bought 6,000 acres of timber land in Michigan and embarked in a lumber manufacturing enterprise, operating many saw-mills and maintaining large lumber yards. In 1881 the firm of Lee, Holland & Co. was organized in Buffalo by James H. Lee, Franklin Lee, his brother, N. Holland and Henry Montgomery, and soon became the largest lumber firm in Buffalo. The partnership continued till 1900, after which Mr. Lee devoted himself to his extensive financial interests, up to his death. He was First Vice-Presi- dent and also trustee of the Erie County Savings Bank, and dealt in New York stocks, bonds and general investment securi- ties. Mr. Lee was also for several years largely interested in lake vessels.
December 24, 1856, Mr. Lee married Lucretia Clark, daughter of Dudley Clark, formerly a resident of Silver Creek, N. Y., and afterward of Buffalo, The children of the marriage were: Alice,
360
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
Harriman W., Walter C. and two who died in infancy. Another, Walter C., died in California in 1904. Alice Lee married Israel Platt Pardee in 1889. They reside in Hazleton, Pa., where Mr. Pardee is President of the Hazleton National Bank. Their children are: James Lee, Charles Marvin and Helen Lee. Harri- man W. Lee is a resident and successful business man of Pasa- dena, Cal.
GEORGE PALMER, son of Benjamin Palmer, was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, on the 24th of April, 1792. In 1828 Mr. Palmer moved to Buffalo, where he engaged in leather manu- facturing up to his death. In 1849 he was elected President of the State Line Railroad Co., continuing to hold that office till his death.
He was among the organizers and heaviest stockholders of the Marine Bank of Buffalo, in 1851 becoming its President, an office in which he was continued till his death.
The generosity of Mr. Palmer in public matters was as note- worthy as his private liberality. To the Central Presbyterian Church he gave the site for its edifice, which he also materially assisted in building. He built Calvary Church at a cost of $90,000, and gave it to the congregation. He was one of the most active of the organizers of the Buffalo Y. M. C. A., and in the province of general charity was among the most open- handed donors ever known in this city.
March 24, 1817, Mr. Palmer was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Foster of Palmyra. Of the six sons born to them, Everard Palmer was the only one who survived his father. Their daughter, Harriet F., married James O. Putnam, and the other daughter, Cynthia J., married Peter Curtiss.
Mr. Palmer died in Buffalo, September 19, 1864.
EVERARD PALMER, son of George and Harriet Foster Palmer, was born in Palmyra, N. Y., on the 13th of August, 1824. He attended the public schools of Buffalo, later preparing
361
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
for college and thereafter having the advantages of a collegi- ate education.
After finishing his college course, Mr. Palmer entered his father's tannery, where he was employed for several years. In 1861 in connection with General Wadsworth, he built the Union Iron Works. The Civil War period, in which this industry was inaugurated, proved unfavorable for the conduct of so exten- sive an enterprise. The works continued in operation for two years, and were then closed, the loss sustained by the venture amounting to about $250,000.
At this time Mr. Palmer's health failed, and in the hope of its recovery, he and his wife spent the succeeding eight years in travel. The outcome, unfortunately, did not meet their antici- pations, for Mr. Palmer never fully regained his strength and remained in some extent an invalid to the close of his life.
In the characteristic of generosity, it was often remarked of Mr. Palmer that he strongly resembled his father. He was a willing and systematic giver. His charities were many, were liberal to an extent fully commensurate with his means and were bestowed in a spirit which added to the value of the gift.
Mr. Palmer was the first President of the Buffalo City Ceme- tery, holding that office during the years 1864-1868. He was a life member of the Young Men's Association, a life member of the Buffalo Historical Society, and a member of Central Presby- terian Church.
In 1865 Mr. Palmer married Miss Alice Sherman, daughter of George and Alice (Dnnn) Sherman of Rochester, N. Y. He is survived by his wife and one son, Harlow C., the latter of whom is now living at the Isle of Pines. Harlow C. Palmer was at one time prominently connected with the Bell Telephone Company, he, in company with Mr. Edward Hall, having inaugurated the service of that company in Buffalo twenty years ago.
JOHN McMANUS, late Secretary and Treasurer of the Buffalo Natural Gas Fuel Company, was one of the Councilmen
362
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
of Buffalo, and at different times the recipient of many civic honors.
The McManus family originally came from the County of Roscommon, in the west of Ireland, and its ancestors in America came to this country early in the last century. The present family of Buffalo, through descent from Patrick and Mary Lynch O'Rourke, who in 1815 were among the pioneers of Erie County, are the only living representatives by blood of the Buffalo Catholics of that early day. The maternal line, of which Matthew Lynch, who emigrated to America in 1794, was the founder, also came of Roscommon stock. Charles McManus, father of John McManus, was born in Ireland in 1802. As a young man he came to Buffalo, where he followed the stone mason's trade. In 1832 he died of cholera. August 20, 1823, he married Margaret O'Rourke, daughter of Patrick and Mary Lynch O'Rourke, and a descendant of distinguished Irish ancestry. Mary Lynch O'Rourke was a woman of singularly charitable and lovely character. She is the subject of a memorial tribute written by her grandson, John McManus. The children of Charles McManus and Margaret O'Rourke were: Thomas, James, Eleanor and John, of whom only the last- named survives.
John McManus was born in Buffalo November 28, 1832, and was educated at public and private schools in that city. As a boy he learned the trade of sail-making, and when twenty-four years old was appointed to a clerkship in the Buffalo postoffice, continuing in that capacity till 1861. In the fall of 1861 Mr. McManus was elected Overseer of the Poor of Buffalo for a term of two years. In 1863 he was elected City Assessor, an office in which he served three successive terms. In 1876 he was made Clerk of the Board of Supervisors of Erie County, and in 1878-1879 he served as Canal Collector at Buffalo. After 1879 Mr. McManus held no public office for many years, but during the interval he engaged actively in business. In the fall of 1905 he received the Democratic nomination for Councilman, being elected by a large plurality.
363
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
In 1872 Mr. McManus engaged in the real estate and insur- ance business. In 1881 he was elected Secretary and Treasurer of the Citizens' Gaslight Company, serving in that capacity till 1885. Upon the organization of the Buffalo Natural Gas Fuel Company in 1886, Mr. McManus was chosen Secretary and Treasurer, which offices he held until his death.
September 25, 1854, Mr. McManus married Anne Garvin, daughter of John Garvin and Honora Wall of Buffalo. The bride was a noted singer, her voice being the pride of Catholic choirs during the period when Bishop Timon occupied the dio- cese of Buffalo. September 26, 1904, Mr. and Mrs. McManus celebrated their golden wedding. Their surviving children are: Margaret; Laura, now Mrs. Thomas D. Macnee of Buffalo; Eustace . A. and Theodore F. McManus of Toledo, O .; nine other children, Frances, John, Edward, Mathew, Oscar, Anne, Augustine, Alice and Geraldine.
During his entire life Mr. McManus was a communicant of the Catholic Church, and at the time of his death was a communi- cant of Immaculate Conception Church, and the congregation of St. Patrick's.
He was a member of the Buffalo Historical Society, the Manufacturers' Club, and one of the Board of Managers of the Society for the Protection of Destitute Roman Catholic Chil- dren at West Seneca. Mr. McManus was deceased March 11, 1908.
JOHN W. DERRIGAN, whose death brought sorrow to an exceptionally large circle of friends, was a business man of unstained integrity and a citizen whose influence and example were always directed to good ends.
John W. Derrigan was born in Buffalo August 5, 1848. He was the son of Timothy Derrigan, a prominent Irish-American resident of that city.
He received a public school education, and when twelve years old began to earn his own living as an office boy of the old
364
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
Courier Company, remaining in various capacities with the Courier Company for twenty-five years.
When James F. Crooker became Superintendent of Education, Mr. Derrigan resigned from the Courier Company to become Chief Clerk in the Department of Education, a position he held for three years, when he became associated with Randolph McNutt as manager of his extensive school furniture business, this connection lasting till Mr. Derrigan's deatlı.
JOHN. W. DERRIGAN.
Mr. Derrigan was an old-line Democrat, a strong admirer of Grover Cleveland, and a member of the Cleveland Democ- racy. Under Cleveland's administration he filled the office of United States Gauger for four years. He also at one time held the place of Democratic Committeeman in the Tenth Ward.
In his younger manhood Mr. Derrigan was a mem-
ber of Company A of the Seventy-fourth Regiment, and for several years was Lieutenant under Captain Smith. In this capacity he served with his regiment in suppressing the railroad strike disturbances in Hornellsville in 1877. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus, the C. M. B. A., and the Exempt Firemen's Association.
Mr. Derrigan was actively interested in many charities. He was an earnest worker for the success of the Working Boys' Home, and was energetic in his efforts in behalf of St. Vin-
-
365
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
cent's Orphan Asylum. His personal benevolences were innu- merable. He was generous to a fault, was especially a friend of the young, and helped many a struggling young man to success in business.
January 14, 1870, Mr. Derrigan married Miss Mary P. Schin- thal of Buffalo. Their domestic life was a congenial and happy one. Mrs. Derrigan was devoted to her husband and was his ardent sympathizer and efficient assistant in his charitable work. She is well-known in the benevolent circles of Buffalo and is a member of various associations for organized charity. She is a life member of the Working Boys' Home, is one of its Board of Directors and is a Director of St. James Mission and of St. Mary's Infant Orphan Asylum.
He died on the 10th of July, 1906. John W. Derrigan was a man whose estimation by the public rested upon a firmer basis than that of mere personal popularity. This feeling had its source in a just appreciation of Mr. Derrigan's character, in which the amiable qualities which gain friendship were united with the sincerity, the fidelity and the manliness which preserve after it is won. He possessed a rich vein of humor and a keen wit, but his witticisms never wounded. He was careful of the feelings of others, scrupulous in his dealings and immutable in matters of honor.
CLARENCE WINFIELD HAMMOND, who died October 30, 1903, was an eminent financier and business man and a citizen of high and unblemished character. As the founder of the People's Bank of Buffalo, Mr. Hammond in a historic sense identified his name with the financial institutions of Western New York.
Mr. Hammond was born in East Jeffrey, N. H., June 3, 1848, his father being Elisha G. Hammond and his mother Sarah L. Oakes. The elder Hammond was a lawyer of note, a man who traveled extensively, and who had mining interests in many parts of the world. Legal ability was a distinctive trait of the
366
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
Hammond family, for the father of Elisha G. Hammond was also a lawyer, and one who attained high eminence. The youth and early manhood of Clarence W. Hammond were passed in the West. When he was still a child his parents removed to Michigan, where he received an excellent practical education in the public schools of Saginaw and the well-known Academy of Ypsilanti. On leaving school young Hammond became a clerk in Sheldon's Bank in Saginaw, but in 1873 the bank failed, and Mr. Hammond then became connected with a mercantile house. He exhibited marked capability for business, and while still a young man was the manager of a concern engaged in the manu- facture of lumber, salt and other commodities, successfully con- ducting the enterprise for several years, and also doing occasional journalistic work. Mr. Hammond became identified in 1875 with the business affairs of the Hon. Wellington R. Burt, who at that time was operating a large saw mill at Melbourne, and whose employ Mr. Hammond entered as bookkeeper and general assistant. Mr. Burt was one of the most prominent Michigan lumbermen, and Mr. Hammond's acquaintance with him may be considered an epoch in the life of the rising young business man. The fidelity and executive ability of Mr. Hammond quickly won the confidence of his employer, and their relation soon became a partnership, the field of enterprise chosen being Buffalo, whose advantages for the lumber trade had attracted the favorable attention of both men.
In 1819 Mr. Hammond came to Buffalo, where, in association with Mr. Burt, he established a wholesale lumber business and planing mill. In 1889 he disposed of his share in the concern, and the same year organized the People's Bank of Buffalo, of which institution he was made Cashier and in 1897 Second Vice- President. He held both positions till his death, fulfilling their duties with the highest ability. The accuracy of the financial forecast which caused the establishment of the People's Bank has been demonstrated by the event, the bank having gained and held a high rank among the financial institutions of
367
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
Buffalo. Aside from his lumber and banking enterprises, Mr. Hammond was a stockholder in numerons industries of importance.
Mr. Hammond was a Republican, and was repeatedly offered political nominations, but would never accept them. The societies, fraternal, business and social, with which he was affiliated were many. He was a 33d degree Mason and a mem- ber of various Masonic bodies, including the Acacia Club of 'Buffalo and, at one time, St. Bernard Commandery, No. 16, Knights Templar of Saginaw, Mich. His interest in Masonry was always of an active character. He was a prominent mem- ber of the Buffalo Lumber Exchange, and so signal was his earnestness in the work of that organization that when he retired from the lumber business the members of the Exchange testified their appreciation of his services by making him an honorary life member and tendering him a complimentary ban- quet, an honor without parallel in the history of that body. He also belonged to the Buffalo Board of Trade, the Merchants' Exchange and the Buffalo Press Club, and in each of these organizations held the office of Treasurer. He was a member of the Buffalo Clearing House Association, and served for more than ten years on the Clearing House Committee. He also belonged to the New York Transportation Club, and among the social bodies with which he was identified were the Ellicott, Buffalo, Country and Park clubs. He attended the Unitarian Church.
June 2, 1881, Mr. Hammond married Adele E. Sirret of Buffalo, by whom he is survived.
Clarence W. Hammond was a man of modest, unassuming demeanor. He never cared for publicity and was averse to display, but high intellectual powers and a great fund of enter- prise and energy existed beneath his quiet manner.
HENRY J. MILLRING, one of Buffalo's substantial German- American citizens, was born in Hanover, Germany, August 30,
368
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
1832. He was the son of Christof and Dorothy Millring, and his father was a farmer. Young Henry received the thorough common-school education for which Germany is famous, and grew to manhood in the old country, working for a wine mer- chant at his home. In 1857 he came to America, and soon settled in Buffalo, where with his accumulated savings, he opened a grocery store in Tupper street near Carolina. In 1861 he sold the business and returned to Germany, where he remained on a prolonged visit at his old home until 1863, when he came back to Buffalo. Here he resumed the grocery busi- ness and identified himself with other interests, later opening a coal and wood yard and engaging in freight trafficking on the lakes. He became the owner of the "Maria Rail," which he manned with a crew each season. Early in 1872, Mr. Millring sold out his business properties and consolidated everything in the establishment of the first bottling works for beer in Buffalo. In 1894 he disposed of his plant and retired from active busi- ness. Mr. Millring was a staunch Republican, and a member of the German-Lutheran Church. His modest, unassuming manners won him hosts of friends, and his sterling honesty was a well-known factor in his dealings with men. Mr. Millring possessed a great love for good music, was one of the charter members of the Orpheus Society, and a member of the Turn- Verein. He believed largely in personal and private charities, and many a widow and orphan mourned a friend when death called Henry J. Millring.
Mr. Millring married on June 28, 1868, Sophia B. Barthauer, daughter of Charles F. and Henrietta (Dette) Barthauer of Buffalo. Mrs. Millring and one daughter, Henrietta, survive him. Mr. Millring's death, which occurred March 3, 1905, was an irremediable loss to a large circle of friends.
ANTON HASSELBACH, who died December 7, 1896, was a prominent and highly respected citizen of Buffalo.
He was born in Meintz, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, Septem-
369
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
ber 11, 1830, his parents being Christopher and Julia A. (Becker) Hasselbach. In Germany young Hasselbach received a common-school education. When about sixteen years old, he came to the United States. First locating in New York City, he entered the employment of a Mr. Kelley for two years, mean- time attending night school.
He later came to Buffalo and opened a meat-market, and was engaged in that business until his death.
Mr. Hasselbach's enterprise prospered exceedingly. He soon gained the confidence of a wide range of patrons. He later added a grocery department, and carried on his operations upon a large scale, furnishing steamboats and other lake vessels. He was a Democrat and was thoroughly loyal to that party. He was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church, in Hickory street, and for fourteen years a trustee. He was also one of the founders of the Sulphur Spring Orphan Asylum.
Mr. Hasselbach married Miss Christina Horst, a native of Germany. The surviving children are: Catherina, now Mrs. Charles Smith; Ida, now Mrs. Charles Mevins; Mary and Julia A. Hasselbach.
Mr. Hasselbach was a man of quiet tastes and was devoted to home life, his chief happiness being found in his family circle. His disposition was benevolent, and his charitable deeds were many. His friends were numerous, and his death was sincerely mourned by all who knew him.
WILLIS P. FISH was for a quarter of a century a resident of the City of Buffalo, and as private citizen and public official maintained a high standing in the community. He was born at Newark, Wayne County, N. Y., April 1, 1863, and was the son of Lonson and Adelia (Wells) Fiske. Until he reached the age of seventeen, he spent his life on his father's farın, assisting in the farm work and attending district school. Afterward he attended the Macedon Academy, to fit himself for teaching. He taught his first term of school when eighteen years old and
370
MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
continued teaching for ten years, when he resigned his place in the Canandaigua Academy to become a bookkeeper in the Bank of Ontario at Canandaigua. At the end of a year he was made Assistant Cashier and for a time had charge of the business of the bank. Mr. Fiske was connected with banking for ten years. During this time he was cashier of banking houses in Marathon, Newark and Herkimer, N. Y., and for three years held positions in the Merchants' Savings, Loan & Trust Company of Chicago and the Traders' National Bank of that city. In 1874 he removed to Buffalo and engaged in the insurance business in partnership with Stephen S. Sherman. The following year he entered the office of Richard Bullymore as bookkeeper, continu- ing until December of 1878, when he resigned to become Cashier of the Buffalo Grape Sugar Co., remaining with this concern and its successor, the American Glucose Co., until 1894. He then had charge of the Hamlin family interests for two years, after which he accepted the post of chief bookkeeper in the office of the City Comptroller of Buffalo. After two years he was appointed Deputy Comptroller, which position he held at the time of his death, September 27, 1900.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.