USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Volume, II > Part 29
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The following is from the memorial of Mr. Fiske adopted by the Common Council of the city of Buffalo:
" Whereas, Mr. Fiske has rendered faithful and loyal service to this municipality and has by his painstaking and zealous devotion to duty earned the gratitude of every official con- nected with the city government and the respect and esteem of the citizens of our city; therefore be it
"Resolved: That this Common Council sincerely deplores the death of Mr. Fiske and desires officially to testify to its regret thereof."
The following is an extract from the memorial adopted by the Comptroller's office:
" In his death we lose a gentle character whose friendship was deeply prized; the department an able and upright official, and the community at large a citizen whose private character
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. Of Keating
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was based on the best lines of sterling Christian manhood."
It is worthy of notice that in all Mr. Fiske's career, during which he held positions of great trust and handled large sums of money, he was never required to give bonds to guarantee his honesty. The resources of literature provided an inexhaust- ible pleasure for Mr. Fiske. He was especially interested in history, in which he was remarkably well informed. He was gifted with a fine tenor voice, and was noted as a church singer. Mr. Fiske was a man of few words, but deep thoughts .. He venerated the truths of religion and was an attendant at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. He was devoted to his home and family, and was honorable, straightforward and conscientious in the affairs of the outside world.
FRANCIS ROOT KEATING, who died on the 7th of January, 1901, was one of the most beloved and respected of Buffalo's younger citizens. Mr. Keating was in his thirty-ninth year at the time of his decease. In his brief career he had accomplished much and had won an honorable place among the business men of Buffalo. He was a man of marked intellectual gifts, great practical capability and of an uprightness of word, deed and motive which commanded universal esteem. ..!
Mr. Keating was born in Buffalo on the 25th of April, 1862, and was the son of Robert Keating, a well-known business man of that city. Young Keating received his elementary education in the Buffalo grammar-schools, and later entered the Central High School, from which he graduated. After leaving school, Mr. Keating became connected with the leather business, entering the employ of Root & Keating, a firm composed of his father, Robert Keating, and his grandfather, the late Francis H. Root. The concern, whose headquarters were in Wells street, Buffalo, carried on an extensive business, operating tan- neries at Olean, N. Y. His zeal and efficiency soon caused Mr. Keating to be entrusted with important executive duties in the firm, and shortly afterward he was admitted to partnership.
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He remained with the house ten years, being a leading factor in its prosperity and building up for himself an excellent busi- ness reputation. At the end of a decade Mr. Keating retired from the firm and became associated as stockholder and trustee with the Buffalo Pitts Company, one of the country's leading industries in the manufacture of farm machinery and agricul- tural tools. He was appointed Manager of the Implement Department of the company, took a prominent part in its gen- eral management and was one of its most active and valued officers. His connection with the Pitts concern lasted until the time of his death.
For fifteen years Mr. Keating was a member of the National Guard of the State of New York, belonging to the Signal Corps and serving on the staff of Gen. Black. Throughout his military service he was characterized by thoroughness, competence and conscientious fidelity to duty and was held in high estimation by the officers and men of his command.
Mr. Keating was a leading clubman, being a member of the Buffalo, Saturn, Wanaka, Country and Liberal clubs. His refined tastes, bright intellect and kindly, winning nature admirably fitted him to shine in social circles, and his death was an irreparable loss to the various organizations with which he. was identified.
In 1893 Mr. Keating married Grace Brayley, daughter of the late James Brayley, one of the founders of the Pitts Agricultural Company. The wedded life of Mr. Keating was singularly happy and congenial. He was a devoted husband and father, a lover of home, and a man who, notwithstanding his activities in business and his many social relationships and duties, found his chief joy in the domestic circle. Mr. Keating is survived by his wife and three children, Alice, Mary Caroline and Francis Ruth Keating.
The mournful reflection arising from the thought that a career so useful and so abounding in brilliant prospects was cut short ere its prime are tempered by the knowledge that the
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meaning and lessons of a life like that of Francis R. Keating are permanent and can never be lost. His was a character high in its aims and consistent in all its aspects, and by the many who knew and loved him his memory is treasured as that of a true-hearted, upright and truly noble man.
JAMES BRAYLEY, who died in New York City on the 17th of April, 1883, was born at Seven Bridges in the County of Devon, England, on the 6th of April, 1817. After coming to Buffalo Mr. Brayley became identified with the agricultural machinery and implement enterprise founded by Jolin A. Pitts, the inventor of the threshing-machine. On the death of the elder Pitts in 1859, Mr. Brayley and John B. Pitts, son of the original proprietor, succeeded to the business, forming a part- nership under the firm style of Pitts & Brayley. This associa- tion continued till 1865. In addition to his other interests, Mr. Brayley in the latter years of his life engaged in the litho- graphing business, forming, in association with James P. White, the firm of White & Brayley, Lithographers.
One of the most noteworthy features of Mr. Brayley's career was his connection with the charitable work and institutions of Buffalo. He was President of the Buffalo General Hospital and one of the founders of the Homeopathic Hospital. He was also greatly interested in the Buffalo Orphan Asylum. A mem- ber of the Buffalo Historical Society, he also served as its President. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and the Buffalo Club. In religious faith he was a Universalist, and was connected by membership with that church.
On the 7th of April, 1851, at Springfield, Clark County, O., Mr. Brayley married Mary A. Pitts, who was born at Bangor, Maine, on the 8th of January, 1830, and was a daughter of John A. Pitts. The children of the union were: Mary Pitts, who married John R. Gomez of Malaga, Spain, and who was the mother of four children, William G., Carlos E., Raphael M., and John R. Gomez; Osmond; Carrie E .; Alice L., now the wife of
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Carleton Sprague; John Augustus, and Grace H., now the widow of the late Francis R. Keating.
Mrs. Brayley was a woman of remarkable business ability, and widely known in the field of charitable work. After her husband's death she became the President and principal owner of the Pitts Company. She died on the 11th of December, 1890.
JAMES HENRY CARMICHAEL was born in Newburg-on- the-Hudson May 14, 1852. While he was still an infant his parents removed to Buffalo and that city was his home until his death on December 12th, 1899. After finishing with the grammar and High schools he entered the Carmichael School, a well-known private institution of Buffalo.
School days over, he entered the service of his father, assist- ing him in his various business enterprises. After the death of the elder Carmichael the son devoted all his time to the manage- ment of the estate.
In 1879 lie entered the office of City Treasurer Joseph Ball as Deputy City Treasurer. Four years later he was elected City Treasurer and reelected. His administration of the office of City Treasurer was marked by a number of reforms, most notable of which was the adoption of a charter amendment making it mandatory upon the City Treasurer to pay out- standing warrants whenever there were sufficient funds. The charter before had been simply permissive, with the result that speculators had enriched themselves at the public expense. It has been estimated that this reform has saved the city from $50,000 to $100,000 annually.
After leaving office Mr. Carmichael was, in 1887, nominated for State Treasurer, Fred Grant, son of the soldier-President, being at the head of the ticket as candidate for Governor. Although this was a Democratic year and the whole Republi- can ticket went down to defeat, Mr. Carmichael received a most flattering vote, especially in Western New York, where he was personally known. In the entire State he ran over 2,500 ahead of Grant.
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In 1889 he was nominated to run for Mayor against Charles F. Bishop, the Democratic candidate. But even Mr. Car- michael's personal popularity could not overcome the Demo- cratic tide that year and Mr. Bishop was successful. Mr. Car- michael then retired from active political life, although he always retained, as a public-spirited man, a keen interest in the affairs of the city, State and nation.
Mr. Carmichael was of a most social nature and his connec- tions were many and varied. In his youth he was a member of the Buffalo Fire Department of volunteer days, serving with Hose 11, and later was identified with the Exempt Firemen's Association. He was prominent in Masonry, being a member of Washington Lodge, the Acacia Club and other Masonic bodies.
He was a member of the Central Presbyterian Church and his Christianity entered into his daily life. He treated his fellow men as he would himself be treated, in and out of business. His life was known to the community in which he lived and was such as to command the respect, admiration and sincere attach- ment of his fellow mnen.
Mr. Carmichael married Miss Jessa L. Michael, daughter of Chauncey L. and Mary E. (Ames) Michael, on November 18, 1896. Mrs. Michael was formerly of Oneonta, N. Y.
HENRY S. ELLWOOD, M.D., who died on the 22d of March, 1906, was for many years identified with the drug business in Buffalo, since 1870 having been one of the proprietors of the well-known drug store at No. 9 West Mohawk street. Though an able and conscientious medical practioner, Dr. Ellwood did not, after the earlier portion of his life, practice his profession to any great extent, his attention and energies being absorbed by his large drug business.
Dr. Ellwood was born in London, Canada, on the 8th of July, 1838. He was the son of Garner and Julia (Hunt) Ellwood, his father being a prominent bridge contractor of London. Henry S. Ellwood received a common-school education, and after com-
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pleting his rudimentary studies, he had the advantages of a col- lege course in Toronto. He acquired a knowledge of the ancient classics, and before he had attained his majority became a teacher of Latin in Rochester, Mich. In 1862 Dr. Ellwood came to Buffalo, where he obtained employment in the drug store of Mr. Peabody, having previously learned the drug business with Dr. Salter, in London, Canada. Mr. Ellwood continued with Mr. Peabody for a year. In the meantime he took up the study of medicine, and was graduated from the Medical College in Buffalo in 1868. Immediately after his graduation, Dr. Ellwood entered upon the practice of his profession, which he success- fully carried on until 1870. In that year he became associated in the drug business with Grant H. Thompson, the firm being located at No. 9 West Mohawk street. The conduct of this enterprise was destined to be Dr. Ellwood's life work, for he remained a proprietor of the drug store for more than a quarter of a century, his connection with the business ending only when the establishment was disposed of two weeks before his death. Both as a business man and physician, Dr. Ellwood showed marked capability. In the drug trade he built up a large and valuable patronage, and the establishment of Messrs. Ellwood and Thompson became known as one of the standard drug stores of Buffalo. As a physician Dr. Ellwood was noted for soundness of judgment, accurate knowledge and for his readi- ness to come to the assistance of the poor who needed medical attendance.
Dr. Ellwood attended the Central Presbyterian Church, and was a member of the A. O. U. W. He was not a club man, being of a retiring nature and devoted to his home. His personality was of the kind which gains friends, and he was held in esteem wherever he was known. All his life he was a student, and though not in active professional practice, he retained a keen interest in medicine, and kept abreast of all the new develop- ments in medical science. Two marked features of Dr. Ell- wood's character were his correctness of judgment and his
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faithfulness to any trust reposed in him. Many persons sought his advice, and he was often asked to carry on correspondence for people or to give aid, counsel, or practical help in emergen- cies. The Christian benevolence of Dr. Ellwood was shown by the willingness with which he responded to such appeals. With Dr. Ellwood, dignity and self-respect were united with kindli- ness, and to him belonged the rare distinction of being, in the true sense of the phrase, a gentleman of the old school.
December 8, 1870, Dr. Ellwood married Esther Elizabeth Thompson, a daughter of the Hon. Benoni and Esther (Havi- land) Thompson. The deceased is survived by his widow and one son, Dr. Grant Thompson Ellwood, a practicing dentist. The widow of Dr. Ellwood is a woman of artistic talent and training and a painter of note.
FRANK MAISCHOSS was born in Bonn, Germany, on the River Rhine, and died August 28, 1903, at Buffalo. When he was a child, his father, John Maischoss, emigrated with his family to the United States. The elder Maischoss settled in Williams- ville, Erie County, buying a farm there. Frank Maischoss in boyhood lived on his father's farm. He received a public-school education. In 1865 he came to Buffalo, engaging in the file manufacturing business with William Bailey. After a year, this association was dissolved and Mr. Maischoss continued the business alone, having his plant at No. 57 Chicago street. Later he admitted to partnership his brother, William Maischoss, the connection continuing till the death of Alderman Maischoss in 1903. From small beginnings the business grew to important dimensions and prospered.
A strong Republican, his party rewarded his fidelity by electing him Alderman from the Twenty-first Ward in the fall of 1891. From that time to his death he served continuously, and in 1902 he was Chairman of the Board.
After his death one of the strongest Democratic newspapers of the city said of him, editorially: " Alderman Maischoss's per-
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sonality was one which commanded respect and confidence inde- pendent of party considerations. He was Republican in politics, but his last reelection was not opposed, for the Democracy of his ward, while disapproving his politics, had faith in his integrity as an official. He was elected President of the Board of Aldermen in 1902; he gave the city conscientious service in that capacity, and his long continued representation of his ward in the board attested his popularity with his constituents. He was one of the best-known of Buffalo's business and public men, and his death will be deeply regretted."
Mr. Maischoss was a member of Washington Lodge, F. & A. M., I. O. O. F. and was prominent in the A. O. U. W.
In 1866 Mr. Maischoss married Miss Elizabeth Metzger, a daughter of Florenze and Theresa (Hoffstedder) Metzger of Buffalo. He is survived by his wife and four children, Frank J., Eugene W., Lawrence J., and Elizabeth, now Mrs. Edward C. Farrell.
A sound business man and an able and honest official, Mr. Maischoss had also the qualities which add charm and kindliness to life. He was a most liberal contributor to charities. He readily won friends and was liked by all who knew him. In the Board of Aldermen, especially, he was very popular. His death removed from the community a man who represented sterling qualities of citizenship, and who proved in his own career that success in politics may go hand in hand with unflinching adher- ence to principle.
CHARLES M. WHITMIER, whose death occurred January 20, 1898, was for many years one of the most progressive busi- ness men of Buffalo, and was widely known, not only in this section, but throughout the entire State.
Mr. Whitmier was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1846. He came to the United States when but a lad, and shortly after his arrival he lost both his parents. At the age of fifteen he went to work on a farm in the vicinity of Owego, N. Y. He soon
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found work better suited to his abilities, and in the early '70's came to Buffalo, where he thenceforward followed a business career. Mr. Whitmier was long connected with the patent medi- cine business, and at one time was among the most extensive handlers of patent medicine in the country, having as general agent for McDonald's Vinegar Bitters the assignment of all the territory in the United States, and being himself the sole owner of a well-known specific called Fisher's Saratoga Aperient. Upon coming to Buffalo Mr. Whitmier purchased the bill board business of Walker & Bro. His connection with bill board enterprise marked a new departure in that line in Buffalo. July 1, 1891, in association with Charles F. Filbrick, he formed the copartnership of Whitmier & Filbrick. In February, 1900, the concern was organized into a joint stock company known as the Whitmier & Filbrick Company, which for years has practi- cally controlled the bill posting business in Buffalo, besides doing a vast amount of circular and other distribution, its advertising work not only being coextensive with this State, but including every section of the Union and all parts of Canada.
In 1896 Mr. Whitmier became interested in the culture of grapes and the manufacture of native wines, and that year he purchased the large vineyard near Brocton, Chautauqua County, which is now widely known as the Whitmier Vineyard, and engaged successfully in the business of a wholesale wine merchant.
Mr. Whitmier was a Republican. He was prominent in fra- ternal circles, belonging to the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was also a member of the National Association of Bill Posters. He attended the Presbyterian Church.
In 1876 Mr. Whitmier married Anna Parker, daughter of Nelson Y. Parker of Buffalo. He is survived by his widow.
Mr. Whitmier was a man of strict honor, kindly nature and one who bore himself well in all relations of life. By his death was lost to Buffalo one of its ablest men of business and a citi-
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zen whose influence was always consonant with the social and civic well being of the community.
THE TIFFT FAMILY of Buffalo traces its descent from early Colonial times and from England. In Colonial records the name is spelled Teffe, Teft, Tefft, Tieft, Tift and Tifft. In America the Tiffts were first represented by two brothers, William of Bos- ton, Mass., and John of Portsmouth, R. I. The latter had a son, John Tefft, who lived in Portsmouth, Kingstown, R. I., and whose son, Samuel, was the father of John Tefft (2d), whose son, John Tefft, Jr., had a son, Robert, whose son, John Tifft, was born February 19, 1758, and died in Nassau, N. Y., April 26, 1813. He married Anna Vallett, and was the grandfather of Wrilson S. Tifft of Buffalo, whose father, Simon Tifft of Buffalo, was born in Exeter, R. I., April 27, 1784, and died March 3, 1873. He was an influential citizen of Nassau, N. Y., and was Captain of militia at Stephentown and Nassau. During the War of 1812 he was Captain of a company in Lieutenant-Colonel C. Carr's regiment of New York militia.
WRILSON S. TIFFT, who died May 3, 1900, was one of Buffalo's most esteemed residents and substantial business men. Mr. Tifft was born in Nassau, Rensselaer County, N. Y., January 10, 1825, the son of Simon and Ann (Webster) Tifft. In 1849 he came to Buffalo and entered the employ of his uncle, George W. Tifft, engaged in the dairy business. With him Mr. Tifft made a contract to purchase milk, which he disposed of to hotels, grocery stores and passenger propellers on the lakes. He did a wholesale business only, and was very successful. He early invested in real property, judiciously and with great fore- sight. In 1872 he retired from business and thenceforward devoted himself to the care of his extensive real estate interests.
Mr. Tifft's first wife was Cynthia S. Lester, whom he married February 12, 1856, in Lyons, N. Y., and who died in Buffalo
M.S. Jiffy
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February 5, 1873. Their children were: Jennie, Charles Lester and Curtis Gay, all of whom died in childhood. July 5, 1874, Mr. Tifft married in Adams, N. Y., his second wife, Maria Eliza- beth Maxon, by whom he is survived. Mrs. Tifft is the daugh- ter of Thomas Vars Maxon and Alma Ann (Hull) Maxon of Adams, N. Y., and a descendant of Richard Maxon of Boston, Mass., and Portsmouth, R. I., whose son, John Maxon, was the first white child born in Rhode Island. His son, John of Wes- terly, had a son, John, whose son, David, who was the father of Asa Maxon, an officer of the Revolutionary War. Joseph Stillman Maxon, son of Asa and Elizabeth Vars, was the father of Thomas Vars Maxon. In the maternal line Mrs. Tifft is descended from George Hull, who came to Massachusetts from Derbyshire, England, in 1633, was a member of the General Assembly of Massachusetts and in 1637 Assistant Governor of Connecticut. His descendant was Daniel Hull, the first Ameri- can settler of Berlin, N. Y., who served in the War of the Revo- lution and was the first to read and sustain the Declaration of Independence in the town of Berlin. His son, Daniel Hull, Jr., held various military offices including that of Major. His son, Benjamin Hull, was Mrs. Tifft's grandfather. Thomas Vars. Maxon, Mrs. Tifft's father, was a wholesale seed merchant of Adams, N. Y. Mrs. Tifft is a woman of marked ability and takes an important part in handling the large real estate inter- ests left by her husband. Churches and charitable institutions find in her a generous supporter. She is a life member of the Woman's Educational and Industrial Union of Buffalo, a mem- ber of its Library Committee, and a trustee of the Buffalo Deaconess' Home of the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. A notable instance of her literary powers and capability of research was her preparation of the gene- alogy of the Tifft family. The children of Wrilson S. Tifft and Maria E. Maxon are: Maxon Wrilson, born March 24, 1875, died November 9, 1906; Lilian Vary, born June 28, 1877, died May 16, 1888, and Robert Hull Tifft, born June 23, 1886, and now a student at Cornell University.
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Mr. Tifft was a lover of home and was devoted to nis family. A man of large benevolence, his was a helpful, generous nature. He was a consistent member of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was a trustee for fifteen years.
MAXON WRILSON TIFFT. A life sadly cut short before it had reached its fruition was that of Maxon W. Tifft, whose death occurred November 9, 1906. He was one of the most widely known and popular young men of Buffalo, where he was born March 24, 1875. He was educated at Peekskill Mili- tary Academy and the Buffalo Law School, and entered the business world as manager of the extensive real property holdings of the Tifft estate. His kind heart and genial nature made his companionship much sought; he was a man whose personal magnetism and frankness won friends and whose sterling qualities retained them. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Park Club.
Mr. Tifft was married twice. His first wife was Charlotte Marie Mills of Detroit, Mich., who died leaving a daughter, Marjorie. October 25, 1905, he married his second wife, Ger- trude Cornell Gay, who survives him.
RICHARD J. HUGHES, who passed from this life on June 19, 1907, was for more than thirty years one of the foremost figures in the livestock industry of Buffalo and a man whose sterling qualities of mind and character commanded the respect of all who knew him. Mr. Hughes was a representative example of that class of Americans who by will-power, enter- prise and sagacity are the architects of their own success. A career like his may well awaken emulation, and the more so from the fact that scrupulous integrity and brotherly regard for his fellow men were the distinctive traits of his nature. Amid the activities of a busy life he preserved a warm and kindly heart and guided his manifold business dealings by con- sistent principles of honor.
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