USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Volume, II > Part 3
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Mr. Andrews takes an especially keen interest in the causes of municipal reform and of purification of the ballot. He was a member of the Conference which in 1906 convened at Washing- ton, D. C., for consideration of means of improvement in our consular service and in the relations between this and foreign countries.
In 1888 Mr. Andrews married Miss Kate Gresham, a daugh- ter of the late Judge Walter Q. Gresham of Chicago. Mrs. Andrews died in 1905, leaving one son, Walter Gresham, who
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is now a student at Lawrenceville Preparatory School, and a daughter, Harriet Carleton, who is attending Miss Porter's School at Farmington, Conn.
The character and career of Mr. Andrews are illustrative of the qualities and pursuits of an able man, energetic and enthusiastic in everything he undertakes, and making manifold activities center upon sound ideas of duty and citizenship.
JOSEPH V. SEAVER, former County Judge of Erie County, is an eminent lawyer, a jurist of learning and research, and a man who enjoys the confidence of his legal compeers and the public. He is a leading Democrat and has always been active in his party, from which he has received distinguished honors. He is prominently connected with various representative organizations, and is widely known in Buffalo's civic and social life.
The Seaver family traces its lineage from a German officer in Oliver Cromwell's army, of whom a descendant settled in County Armagh, in the north of Ireland. His grandson was Thomas Seaver, who built Heath Hall at Newry, Armagh. For several generations the eldest representatives of the Seaver line held the office of High Sheriff of the county. The Seavers were active in movements for the re-establishment of the nationality of Ireland, and Daniel O'Connell, the great Irish agitator, made Heath Hall his headquarters when in Armagh. Thomas Seaver, father of Judge Seaver, during the '40's came to America and settled in Buffalo, where he died in 1904. In 1845 he married Elizabeth Wright of Buffalo, whom he had known in Ireland. Thomas Seaver was for over half a century one of Buffalo's leading citizens, and enjoyed the cordial esteem of the community.
Joseph V. Seaver was born in Buffalo April 18, 1852. He received his education at Public School No. 1 and at Central High School. When seventeen years old he entered the law office of Judge John L. Talcott, and was admitted to the bar in
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1873. During the next two years he remained in the office of Talcott & Clark, but practiced law on his own account. In 1875 Mr. Seaver opened an office for himself. His first copartnership was with Frank R. Perkins, and later he formed an association with William L. Marcy. Other partnerships were with Daniel J. Kenefick, William H. Cuddeback and Walter S. Jenkins. At the present time the firm is Seaver & Seaver, the junior partner being Judge Seaver's son, Fred H. Seaver, of the Corporation Counsel's staff. Judge Seaver has an extensive practice both in civil and criminal courts, but his specialty is office work, and he has a high reputation as a well-read lawyer of exceptional resourcefulness.
Judge Seaver is a staunch Democrat and enjoys the distinc- tion of being one of the two Democrats who have been elected to the office of County Judge of Erie County. For this respon- sible judicial position Mr. Seaver was the nominee of the Demo- cratic County Convention in the fall of 1889, and was elected by a majority of 1,400 over Joseph E. Ewell, the Republican candidate. Judge Seaver served as County Judge for a term of six years, and won a sterling reputation for judicial ability, fair-mindedness, appreciation of the rights of litigants, and courtesy to the members of the bar.
Judge Seaver is a member of Washington Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and a Past Grand Master of Hesper Lodge of Odd Fellows. He belongs to the State and Erie County Bar Associations and the Lawyers' Club of Buffalo; has been for many years a member of the Buffalo Club, and is also a member of the Westminster Club.
October 23, 1877, Judge Seaver married Julia Krapp, daugh- ter of Frederick Krapp, a prominent German citizen of Buffalo. The children of the union are: two sons, Fred H. and Thomas J. Seaver, and five daughters, Ethel N., wife of Dr. George S. Staniland, Edith M., Louisa F., Marguerite, and Josephine Seaver.
In Judge Seaver are well exemplified the union of sterling
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qualities with those traits which develop and maintain the amenities of life. A hard-headed, clear-minded lawyer, the Judge is also a man of genial personality, a winner and retainer of friends, and he enjoys a wide popularity in Erie County.
ALLAN DEWITT HUSTED, of the Armstrong, Roth & Cady Company, is one of the foremost fire and marine insurance men of Western New York. Mr. Husted's energies have always been closely concentrated on his business.
Mr. Husted was born in Buffalo in 1849 and was educated in the public schools. When twelve years old he entered the employ of W. H. Peabody, a well-known druggist of his day, with whom he continued three years. He then became cash boy and later a clerk for Hamlin & Messer, merchants. He next entered the service of George A. Prince's organ manufactory, where he became an ex- pert tuner, continuing with the establishment ALLAN D. HUSTED. ten years. In 1879, when thirty years old, he embarked in the fire and marine insurance business, with which he has ever since been identified. Mr. Husted began his career as an insurance man as a solicitor for the firm of Fish & Armstrong, then located at No. 56 Main street, Buffalo. He showed marked aptitude for the business, in which he steadily advanced until, in 1895, he was admitted to partnership in the firm of C. B. Arm-
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strong & Company, the personnel of the concern being com- posed of C. B. and C. N. Armstrong, and A. D. Husted. After the death of C. B. Armstrong the business style of the firm was changed to Armstrong & Husted.
In April, 1897, the Armstrong, Roth & Cady Company, a stock concern, was formed by the combination of three leading insur- ance firms of Buffalo, namely, Armstrong & Husted, E. C. Roth & Company, and Cady & Perkins, the offices of the united com- panies being in the Chamber of Commerce Building. Mr. Husted has ever since been a member of the Armstrong, Roth & Cady Company, in whose prosperity he has been an important factor. The firm has a large capital, wide clientage, represents strong companies, and is easily one of the largest fire and marine insurance concerns between New York and Chicago. In addition to its fire and marine lines the company has also developed a very large liability business. Insurance is one of the broadest fields of modern enterprise, and to have attained success in it presupposes native ability united with unfaltering persistency of effort. Mr. Husted is a typical example of the insurance man of liberal views and progressive tendencies. He is a recognized expert, and there is no man in Buffalo whose opinions command more respect from those cognizant of fire and marine insurance interests.
Mr. Husted has a record of seven years' service in the National Guard. Twenty-five years ago he joined the drum corps of the 74th Regiment, N. G. N. Y., being later transferred to Company B of the same regiment.
Mr. Husted is an active member of the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Husted married Alice Loop, daughter of Dr. D. W. Loop of North East, Pa. Mrs. Husted is deceased. She left one son, Dennis W., now a resident of North East, Pa. In 1892 Mr. Husted married for his second wife Matilda Franck of Philadelphia.
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WILLIAM GAERTNER is one of Buffalo's able medical men, a successful physician and surgeon, in both capacities enjoying a large practice. To his professional pursuits Dr. Gaertner adds a wide range of activities in connection with German organizations.
Dr. Gaertner comes of a family whichi lived for many genera- tions in the former Duchy of Nassau, Germany. He was born in Wiesbaden, Nassau, January 26, 1860, his parents being Philip C. and Elise (Werner) Gaertner, the former of whom was a teacher in the High School of Wiesbaden. Dr. Gaertner attended the municipal schools and High School of Wiesbaden, and the Real-Gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1879. Later he studied for a year at the Athenee Royal of Arlon, Belgium, where he devoted special attention to the French language and literature. After some time spent in travel in France and Belgium, he returned to Germany, where from 1880 to 1885 inclusive he studied at the Universities of Marburg and Halle in the departments of philosophy, comparative philology and modern languages. From Marburg he received the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. In 1885 he served as a volunteer in the German army, becoming a commissioned officer of Reserve in the 80th Regiment, 11th Corps. On leaving the army he taught for a year in the Royal Real-Gymnasium of Wiesbaden. In 1887 he came to America for a visit, returning the year following. In 1888 he again crossed the Atlantic, and settled in Buffalo, where he was appointed teacher of German and Latin at Central High School, which chairs he occupied till 1894. In the meantime he became a student in the Medical Department of the University of Buffalo, graduating with high honors in 1894. Upon receiving his degree of M.D., Dr. Gaert- ner engaged in the active practice of his profession, which he has successfully followed ever since. He is attending physician at the German Hospital and the German Deaconess Hospital, and has a large practice of a general character.
Dr. Gaertner has always taken an active interest in German
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organizations, and the results of his efforts have been conspicu- ously manifest in Buffalo in the establishment of strong Ger- man-American societies. In 1904 he founded the German Society of Buffalo, and in 1906 he organized the German- American Alliance of Buffalo, comprising fifty-six societies, including the singing, shooting and Turners' organizations, the Harugari societies, the veterans-in short, all the prominent German bodies of the city. Dr. Gaertner is President of the German-American Alliance, Vice-President and a Director of the State Alliance, and represents the State of New York in the National Alliance. He is a member and former President of the German Young Men's Association, Vice-President and a Director of the Buffalo Orphens, a member of the New York Immigrant Protective League and the Association of German Writers in America, and a member of the Corps Teutonic of the University of Marburg, one of the leading societies of its kind in the world. He is a member of the Buffalo Academy of Medi- cine, and was recently appointed a trustee of the Grosvenor Library.
August 19, 1890, Dr. Gaertner married Emilie Fuchs, daugh- ter of the late Edward Fuchs of Buffalo. They have two sons, Edward Carl, born October 22, 1893, and William Alfred Fried- rich, born March 18, 1902.
WILLIAM F. KASTING, Buffalo's leading florist, is the pro- prietor of a large and prosperous enterprise and holds a place of equal prominence as a business man and a citizen. The success which Mr. Kasting has attained is due wholly to his own efforts, and he is a notable example of the self-made man.
Mr. Kasting is the son of John and Maria (Grass) Kasting, and was born in Sachsenhausen, Waldeck, Germany, July 27, 1870. John Kasting, who was a builder, died in 1875, his son, William, being then five years of age. The mother of the sub- ject of this sketch was a native of Freienhagen, Waldeck, Ger- many, and died in 1906. In his boyhood William F. Kasting .
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attended the public schools of his native place. When fourteen years old he came to America and settled in Buffalo, where for two years he continued his education in the night schools, sup- porting himself by working during the day. Later he took a course in Bryant & Stratton's Business College. On leaving school he entered the employ of George H. Lewis, with whom he remained two years. Afterward he worked in several cities, including Cleveland, Chicago and St. Louis. Returning to Buffalo in 1892, Mr. Kasting entered the service of D. B. Long in the wholesale cut- flower commission busi- ness. As grower, retailer and finally as wholesaler, he mastered every de- partment of the florist's industry. In 1896 he pur- chased the establishment of Mr. Long at No. 495 Washington street, and five years later removed to his present store at Nos. 383-387 Ellicott street, where he now con- ducts an immense cut- WILLIAM F. KASTING. flower commission business of a strictly wholesale character. Under Mr. Kasting's progressive management his house has more than doubled its former trade, which extends throughout the State and into adjacent territory. Mr. Kasting also owns and conducts a big plant at Erie, Pa., where he grows flowers.
A strong Democrat, Mr. Kasting is a member of the Demo- cratic County Committee. In 1898 he was nominated for Councilman, but that year no Democrat was elected on the city
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ticket. In 1903 he was nominated for County Treasurer, and though this was also a Republican year, Mr. Kasting ran almost 5,000 votes ahead of his ticket. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1896 and in 1900 he was appointed by Mayor Diehl a member of the Board of Park Commissioners.
Mr. Kasting is President of the Society of American Florists and Ornamental Horticulturists, and chairman of the Execu- tive Committee of the National Flower Show to be held in Chicago in 1908. He was recently elected President of the Board of Directors of the German Hospital. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, a leading fraternity man, and a member of the Masons, Odd Fellows, Elks, Maccabees, Red Men and Heptasophs, and he was largely instrumental in making the Elks' Convention held in Buffalo in 1905 such a brilliant success. He is also prominent in the Orpheus Society, and is serving his third term as its Treasurer.
In May, 1901, Mr. Kasting married Laura La Tour, daughter of Philip La Tour, a former florist of Buffalo. Mr. and Mrs. Kasting have two children, a son and a daughter.
OTTOMAR REINECKE. A staunch exponent of sound citi- zenship and one of the foremost German-American journalists of Western New York is Ottomar Reinecke, editor of the Buffalo Freie Presse. Mr. Reinecke has been identified with the newspaper business all his life. He is not only an editor but a successful publisher and practical printer, and joint proprietor of the enterprise with which he has been so long connected. Mr. Reinecke is a strong Republican, and his paper has for many years been the accredited organ of the German Republicans of Buffalo. He is a substantial business man and has extended his interests beyond the newspaper field. He is a man of cul- tured mind and progressive spirit, both in his editorial capacity and as an individual wielding his influence in favor of enlight- enment and progress.
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The parents of Ottomar Reinecke were Frederick and Fried- ericke Reinecke, of whom the former was a native of Germany, and lived in the principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, near the Harz mountains. The elder Reinecke was a printer and a man of ingenuity, industry and sturdy resolution. He came to the United States in 1852, settled with his family in Buffalo, and after working at his trade two years engaged in the printing business on his own account. His capital amounted to only $80 and his press was made by his own hands. From this primitive equipment he built up a large and successful business, founded the Freie Presse, and at the time of his death was a well-to-do and influential citizen.
Ottomar Reinecke was born in the city of Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Germany, on the 20th of Novem- ber, 1840. In early boyhood he attended the schools of his native province. In his twelfth year he came with his parents to America, arriving in Buffalo in 1852. Here he completed his education in the public schools. From childhood Ottomar Reinecke was bred to habits of industry and as a lad he learned the printer's trade, becoming a master of the craft. On the death of his father in 1366, Mr. Reinecke assumed the manage- ment of the business. The following year he formed a partner- ship with Frank H. Zesch. The association has continued ever since, and the business relationship between the two men has been confirmed by a strong sentiment of personal friendship. Five years after the establishment of the firm George Baltz was admitted partner. In 1872 the Freie Presse became a daily paper. Under able and progressive management its influence and circulation largely increased, and from that time to the present the journal has been the acknowledged newspaper exponent of Republican principles among the German-Ameri- cans of Buffalo. It is a clean, bright and thoroughly repre- sentative paper. As an editor and proprietor, Mr. Reinecke's course has always been fearless and consistent. The intellec- tual tone of his newspaper is high, its moral standards unim-
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peachable, and its editorial utterances appeal with peculiar force to the thinking elements of our population. In 1875 Mr. Baltz retired from the business, and the firm has ever since been Reinecke and Zesch. The partners have a deserved repu- tation for integrity and capability. In addition to their news- paper enterprise they successfully conduct a large job printing establishment. Besides his activities as a publisher, Mr. Rein- ecke is identified with various business interests. For many years he has been a Director and stockholder of the Erie Fire Insurance Company and was connected in similar capacities with the Citizens' Gas Company.
In 1896 Mr. Reinecke was appointed Park Commissioner of Buffalo by Mayor Jewett, and he was subsequently reappointed by Mayor Diehl. He has always taken an active interest in the welfare of Buffalo's park system, and has rendered valuable service as a member of the Park Board. Mr. Reinecke devoted a great deal of time to create a German Hospital, which was finally accomplished in 1898 by the erection of an excellent building, and he has been one of the Directors of the hospital ever since. Mr. Reinecke was one of the most energetic pro- moters of the Pan-American enterprise. When that movement began he was among the first who subscribed for Exposition stock, and he was a valued member of the Committee on Publicity.
Mr. Reinecke is a member of the Buffalo Typothetae, holds a life membership in the German Young Men's Association and the Buffalo Turn Verein, and belongs to the Saengerbund Singing Society. An institution in which he has always taken a deep interest is the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences. He is an accomplished naturalist and for years has devoted his leisure to research in this branch of science. His collection of beetles, butterflies, birds, birds' nests, and eggs, is one of the finest belonging to any private individual in the United States, and the collections of the Society of Natural Sciences have been enriched by his munificence and efforts. He has added to the
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literature of his specialty, having published a complete list of local Coleoptera, this scientific monograph being a recognized authority in its line.
On the 25th of September, 1866, Mr. Reinecke married Eva Engel of Buffalo.
NELSON O. TIFFANY, Secretary and General Manager of the Masonic Life Associa- tion, is one of the most prominent Masons in Western New York and a -- man widely known in the insurance field and other business connections.
Mr. Tiffany is of Scotch- English ancestry. John Humphrey Tiffany settled in Swansea, Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts Bay, about the year 1660, and in 1663 became a resi- dent of Attleboro, Mass. Nelson Otis, our subject, is the third son of Nelson Arnold, who was the son of Benjamin, who was the son of Dr. Benjamin who NELSON O. TIFFANY. served in the Revolutionary War, who was the son of James, who was the son of James, the eldest son of Squire Humphrey Tiffany, the ancestor above referred to.
Mr. Tiffany's mother was Martha Eliza Whitney, the daugh- ter of Lewis Whitney and Sarah Kitchen. . Lewis Whitney was the son of Josiah Whitney and Esther Weeks. Josiah Whitney was born in Westchester County, New York. He served five years in the Revolutionary War and was wounded at Fort
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Montgomery. He was the son of Nathan and Sarah Whitney. Nathan was the son of John and Elizabeth (Smith) Whitney. John was the eldest son of Henry Whitney, to whom the Whit- ney family trace their connection in this country.
Henry Whitney was born in England in 1620. The first record of him in this country was in 1649 when he was associated with others in the purchase of land at Hashamommock in Southold, Long Island.
Nelson Otis Tiffany was born in Lancaster, Erie County, N. Y., February 1, 1842. His mother dying when he was five years old, he was reared by his uncle, William A. Whitney of Scotland, Ontario. Leaving his uncle's at the age of seventeen, he found employment on a farm for seven dollars a month. His next employment was in a lumber camp, where his duties included not only hard physical labor, but accounting, time- keeping and measuring timber. Young Tiffany's experience in these early days constituted a severe but beneficial discipline.
In the early '60's Mr. Tiffany came to Buffalo, where he became general foreman in the furniture manufactory of W. Chase & Son, with whom he remained three years. In 1868 he became general superintendent for A. H. Andrews & Co., a well-known furniture concern of Chicago. After two years he returned to Buffalo, where he was appointed Superintendent of the furniture factory of Chase & Company. While with this firm he invented and patented three valuable improvements in school seats and desks. In 1871 he became Manager and Superintendent of agencies for the Howe Sewing Machine Company, later becoming its general agent for Western New York with headquarters at Rochester. In 1882 he assumed the management of the New York City office of the House- hold Sewing Machine Company. After a year he resigned to engage in his present business of insuring members of the Masonic fraternity, in preparation for which business he took a course of medical lectures at the University of Buffalo. He has been since 1884 Secretary and General
Michianes. Hoyte
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Manager of the Masonic Life Association of Western New York, now known as The Masonic Life Association, operating through organized agencies in fifteen States, with a membership throughout the entire country, besides being represented in Europe. More than $5,000,000 has been distributed to widows, orphans, and other beneficiaries of deceased members. In 1893- 95 he was Secretary of the National Convention of Mutual In- surance Underwriters.
Mr. Tiffany is active in Masonic affairs in general, and has taken all the degrees in all branches of the order save the 33d degree, Scottish Rite. He for many years has belonged to the Buffalo Yacht Club, of which he has served as Director and Treasurer for seven years, is a devotee of out-of-door sports, such as hunting and fishing, and is an ardent floriculturist. A great reader, he has accumulated a fine library in which he spends much of his leisure. For more than thirty years he has been a regular attendant of the Unitarian Church of Our Father.
On the 28th of January, 1868, Mr. Tiffany married Julia Charlotte Chase of Buffalo, the youngest daughter of Wesley Chase and Dolly Ann Bush. Mr. Chase was the senior partner of W. Chase & Son, with which concern Mr. Tiffany was early associated.
Mr. Tiffany has three children, Otis W. of Olympia, Wash- ington; Martha E., and Nelson O. Tiffany, Jr., a civil engineer of Buffalo.
Mr. Tiffany was the founder of the society for the protection of Song Birds, Fish and Game, and was its President for seven years.
For several years Mr. Tiffany was Treasurer of the Indepen- dent Club, and is now treasurer and one of the Board of Man- agers of the Liberal Club, and a member of the Buffalo Cham- ber of Commerce.
WILLIAM B. HOYT is one of the able lawyers of the New York bar. He is a sound lawyer, of all-around capability, emi-
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nent both as a counsellor and an advocate. In his professional capacity Mr. Hoyt represents many large corporate and industrial interests. As a trial lawyer he enjoys a high repu- tation for his clear and logical presentation of cases, and his success before juries.
William Ballard Hoyt, son of Dr. Horace and Josephine (Ballard) Hoyt, was born at East Aurora, N. Y., April 20, 1858. He was educated at Aurora Academy, the Buffalo High School, and graduated from Cornell University in 1881. He was one of the prize orators of his class, took an active interest in col- lege journalism, being managing editor of the monthly maga- zine, also one of the editors of the college weekly and founder of the Cornell Daily Sun. On leaving the university Mr. Hoyt came to Buffalo and entered the office of Humphrey & Lock- wood, one of the leading law firms of the City. He was admitted to the bar in March, 1883. Shortly afterward he became a member of the firm in whose office he had studied, the business style becoming Humphrey, Lockwood & Hoyt. In the spring of 1896 William C. Greene and George D. Yeomans were added to the personnel of the firm, whose style was changed to Humphrey, Lockwood, Hoyt, Greene & Yeomans. Later by the death of Judge Humphrey and the retirement of Mr. Yeomans, the firm became Lockwood, Hoyt & Greene, a copartnership which existed until the recent association of Mr. Hoyt and Maurice C. Spratt in the firm of Hoyt & Spratt.
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