USA > New York > Erie County > Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Volume, II > Part 7
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Mr. Allen is keenly interested in certain branches of science, especially geology and mathematics. He is a member of the Society of Natural Sciences, and the Masonic body, being among the oldest members of Fraternal Lodge, No. 625, at Hamburg. He is a life member of the Young Men's Associa- tion, and attends the Universalist Church of the Messiah.
July 10th, 1879, Mr. Allen married Anna M. Moore, daughter of George A. Moore and Catherine Brown Moore of Buffalo. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Allen are: Carrie Louisa, a gradu- ate of Cornell University, and now a teacher of science at Wel- lesley; Anna, Arthur A., and Catherine, students at Cornell;
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William D., who graduated. at Cornell in 1906, and who is by profession an engineer, and Howard, now a student at the Lafayette High School.
HON. WILLIAM HENRY RYAN. Few Buffalonians have had so brilliant a public career as the Hon. William Henry Ryan, Democratic Congressman from the Thirty-Fifth District. Mr. Ryan is now serving his fifth consecutive term in Congress. The measures for the improvement of Buffalo Harbor always received his most earnest sympathy, and this fact alone is enough to give his name a place of historic importance in the annals of the city. In harbor legislation and all other matters he has proved himself the Congressional champion of the in- terests of Buffalo. The worth of his labors has been decisively confirmed by results and has received signal acknowledgment in the thanks tendered him by the Buffalo Chamber of Com- merce, East Buffalo Livestock Association, Grand Army Posts, Labor Organizations, Maritime Associations, as well as by the gratitude of his constituents and the general public ..
Mr. Ryan is of Irish ancestry and parentage. His parents, Patrick and Jane (Cleary) Ryan, were natives of Tipperary, Ireland.
Patrick Ryan was born in 1834. Coming to the United States as a young man, he learned the shoe manufacturing business in Massachusetts. In 1866 he removed to Buffalo. Here he became a member of the Niagara Frontier police force, and later was connected with the city Police Department.
In 1878 he became a shoe dealer. His venture was success- ful, building up a large and flourishing business.
In politics a Democrat, he served for a time as Deputy Keeper of the Erie County Penitentiary.
The marriage of Patrick Ryan with Jane Cleary was solem- nized at Hopkinton, Massachusetts, in 1859. Their surviving children are: the Hon. William H. Ryan; James S. Ryan, of the Buffalo Police Department; George F. and Edward M. Ryan, of
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this city; Mary J., and Margaret K. Ryan, also of Buffalo, both of whom are teachers in the public schools.
Patrick Ryan was a staunch churchman and for many years served as a Trustee of St. Bridget's Church. He cherished an intense love for his native country, being very prominent in the Irish national societies.
The death of Patrick Ryan occurred May 20, 1901.
William Henry Ryan was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, May 10, 1860. He came with his parents to Buffalo in 1866. He was educated in the grammar schools of this city and at Central High School. Leaving school when only fourteen years of age to work in his father's establishment, he learned the shoe business both in its manufacturing and sales depart- ments. Later he became Treasurer of the corporation of James Ryan's Sons Company, engaged in the general insurance and bonding business and today widely known as one of Buffalo's leading houses in those lines.
By inheritance and conviction a staunch Democrat, Mr. Ryan took an active interest in politics even before he was old enough to vote. By the time he was of age he had become one of the recognized leaders of the old First Ward Democracy. In 1894 he was elected Supervisor from the Second Ward, reelected in 1897 and during the following year was Chairman of the County Board.
In November, 1898, he was elected to Congress from the Thirty-second District by a majority of 688 votes, and in 1900 he was reelected, by a majority of 316. In 1902 there was a reapportionment of Congressional districts, his former district becoming the Thirty-fifth. He was this time elected by a plurality of 5163, and reelected in 1894 by a majority of 897. This was the year of the Republican tidal wave which con- tinued Mr. Roosevelt in the Presidential chair, Mr. Ryan being that year the only Democrat chosen for Congress on the northern boundary of the United States. He was also for some years the only Democratic Congressman from the Empire
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State outside of New York City. In 1906, he was elected by about 5,700 plurality.
As Member of Congress Mr. Ryan has proved himself a man of statesmanlike breadth of view and firm grasp of the detail work of legislation. He is of strong, positive personality and never identifies himself with any cause in a perfunctory manner.
As a member of the committees on Interstate commerce and Foreign commerce, Labor, and Census, he has been active in all legislation affecting railroad employés, prominent among them being the Safety Appliance Law, Employés Liability Law, and Regulation of Hours of Labor of Railroad Employes, and was a member of the committee that made an official inspec- tion of the work on the Panama Canal in 1904. He has taken an active interest in all Labor Legislation as he has in the welfare of the soldiers of the Civil War and the Spanish- American War and has introduced and had passed many special bills for their relief. A bill for the relief of the Pan-American Exposition, appropriating $500,000 for the payment of its debts, was another of the many im- portant acts he assisted in enacting into law in the interests of Buffalo. These remarks apply with particular fitness to the bills Mr. Ryan has introduced for the benefit of Buffalo, especially in connection with the improvement of Buffalo Har- bor. An outspoken and sterling Democrat, his views on special questions nevertheless have singular weight with the Republican side of the House. Few Democratic members, and probably no other Democratic Representative from the North, have equal power to command the favorable consideration of the Republican majority. The severest test of a legislator is the ability to accomplish effective work though belonging to the minority, and this test Mr. Ryan sustains to admiration.
Since 1902 Mr. Ryan has represented his State on the Demo- cratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and is a member of the Executive Committee of that body. In 1904 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention which nomi-
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nated Judge Parker for the Presidency. Mr. Ryan belongs to the Knights of Columbus, the C.M.B.A., the Knights of St. John, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Order of Eagles, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and other patriotic societies. He is a member of St. Bridget's Parish.
On the 19th of September, 1887, Mr. Ryan was united in marriage to Miss Ellen T. Cosgrove, a daughter of Terence Cosgrove, Esq., and Margaret (O'Hearn) Cosgrove of Buffalo.
CHARLES LEE ABELL, Secretary and active manager of the Union Fire Insurance Company and a leading figure in elevating and grain interests, has for many years filled an important place in the business and social life of Buffalo.
Mr. Abell is of Puritan descent. Among his ancestors was William Hyde, who came from England and settled in Hart- ford, Conn., in 1636. Caleb Abell was the father of Benjamin Abell, whose son, Simon, was the father of Thomas, whose son, Thomas Griswold Abell, was the father of William Hawks Abell, father of the subject of this sketch. Thomas Griswold Abell, grandfather of C. Lee Abell, was born at Bennington, Vt., in 1791. He married Rhoda Hawks, and came to Fredonia, Chautauqua County, in 1814. In 1829 he established a line of stagecoaches between Buffalo and Erie. He was one of the founders of the Fredonia Academy, and was Colonel of a regiment of infantry organized in Chautauqua County. In 1852 he came to Buffalo, where he died in 1857.
William Hawks Abell, son of Thomas Griswold Abell, was born at Bennington, Vt., January 29, 1814. He came with his parents to Fredonia, N. Y., and was educated in the Fredonia Academy. When twenty years old he was commissioned Colonel of militia. At the age of twenty-one he came to Buffalo, where he lived for two years. In 1839 he settled in Austin, Texas, remaining in that city three years. While there he held the offices of Postmaster, Acting Comptroller and Alderman. He was also Captain of a military organization called the Travis Guards. Mr. Abell returned to Fredonia in 1842, and in 1844
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removed to Buffalo, which thereafter became his home. He obtained a position with the Oliver Lee & Co. Bank, and later went into the service of the Buffalo & Attica Railroad as freight clerk, in which capacity he continued two years, when he engaged in the storage business. Soon he extended his opera- tions into commission, transportation and ele-
vating interests with which he was connected till the close of his life. In the middle '60's the West- ern Elevating Association was organized, practically controlling the elevating business of Buffalo. Of this company Mr. Abell was in 1866 elected Presi- dent, a position which he held for many years. He was also a Director of the Western Savings Bank.
Mr. Abell was a Demo- crat, and was a Presiden- tial elector during Gen. Hancock's campaign.
C. LEE ABELL.
October 22, 1846, Mr. Abell married Eliza Lee, daughter of Oliver Lee. Their children were William Oliver, born March 18, 1848, died March 18, 1873; Harriet Eliza, born July 2, 1850, married Thomas Towers of Buffalo; Charles Lee, born October 4, 1856, and Helen M., born March 12, 1864. Mrs. Abell died March 21, 1868, and Mr. Abell married Jannary 17, 1871, his second wife, Margaret Hussey. Their children were two daughters, Alice Louise, born March 5, 1880, and Mary Edna, born June, 1884. William H. Abell died in Buffalo, November 15, 1887.
Charles Lee Abell, son of William H. Abell, was born in
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Buffalo, October 4, 1856. He was educated in the public schools of Buffalo and at Hellmuth College, London, Ont. At sixteen, Mr. Abell entered the employ of C. A. Blake & Co., a large wholesale coal concern of Buffalo, with which he remained about five years. He then became connected with the Western Elevating Company, in whose employ he continued two years. Later Mr. Abell went to Bradford, Pa., to assume a position offered him by the National Transit Company, remaining for a year and a half. Meantime the first pipe line to Buffalo had been begun and the company's headquarters established there, thus giving Mr. Abell the opportunity of returning to Buffalo as clerk to the superintendent of the line. After the work was finished he resigned his position to super- vise the construction of the Marine Elevator, which was being built by his father and Mr. Daniel O'Day. To Mr. Abell was afterward committed the management of the property, and in 1881 he, his father and Mr. O'Day formed a partnership in the elevating business, which continued till 1894, and was attended with brilliant success. In 1894 the Marine Elevator was enlarged and the business transferred to a stock company, Mr. Abell being its President and manager. The business carried on upon a large scale, for many years, continued to be the principal interest of Mr. Abell, who also had the care of his father's estate. He is still active in grain and elevating business, and in 1898 entered the insurance field. In 1904 he purchased and reorganized the Union Fire Insurance Company, one of the most successful enterprises of its kind in Buffalo.
Mr. Abell was a charter member of the Buffalo City Guard Cadets, and later joined the 74tl Regiment, being elected Captain of Company C, in 1881. In 1891, he was commissioned Major, and in 1892 was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1894, he resigned from the National Guard.
Mr. Abell is an active Democrat, and did effective work for his party as military commander of the Cleveland Democracy. He is a 32d degree Mason, belongs to Buffalo Consistory
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A. A. S. R., and to Hugh de Payens Commandery. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and other societies.
March 25, 1880, Mr. Abell married Emma L. Farthing, of Buffalo.
WILLIAM SCHUYLER JACKSON, Attorney-General of the State of New York, is a Buffalonian who, while still a young man, has attained signal honors in the legal profession and iu public life. A thorough lawyer and one who brings zeal as well as ability of the highest order to forensic pursuits, Mr. Jackson is devoted to his profession, and the official positions he has held have been, with scarcely an exception, connected with it. Of English lineage, his grandfather, William Jackson, was a native of Suffolk County, England, whence he came to America as a young man, and settled in the town of Whites- town, Oneida County, N. Y., afterward removing to Westmore- land, in the same county. William Jackson was a farmer, and it is of interest to note that he was the winner of the first prize for plowing at the first State Fair ever held in this State, at Utica, in the early '40's.
David G. Jackson, son of William Jackson, is one of the most distinguished of the older generation of Buffalo lawyers. Mr. Jackson has been for about forty-five years a resident of Buffalo and has had an active, interesting and notable career. He has long been prominently identified with Democratic politics and is an accomplished political orator. He ranks among the foremost members of the bar of Western New York.
David G. Jackson was born in Oneida County, New York, in 1831. He was educated in the public schools and at Rome Academy, and later graduated from Hamilton College, in 1857, receiving honors for oratory. Three years afterward his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. While at Hamilton, Mr. Jackson was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity.
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For some years after his graduation, Mr. Jackson was employed as a tutor. In 1861 he came to Buffalo, where he engaged in the grain forwarding business at Central Wharf. In the meantime he had begun the study of law, in the office of Talcott & Houghton. In 1862 he was admitted to the bar, but did not enter actual practice till 1868. He is one of the best trial lawyers Erie County has ever had. Till 1868 Mr. Jackson was a Republican, but for many years he has been an active Democrat and at one time represented the old Ninth Ward in the Board of Supervisors.
In 1867 Mr. Jackson married Helen M. Wade, a daughter of Schuyler and Frances Maria (Kellogg) Wade. Mrs. Jackson was a descendant of Stephen Wade, who served as a soldier in the French and Indian War. His son, Amasa Wade, enlisted in the Revolutionary army in Connecticut and served during the War for Independence under General Israel Putnam. Amasa Wade married Anna Hale. Their son was Stephen Wade, whose son was Schnyler Wade, the father of Mrs. Jackson. On the maternal side, Schuyler Wade was descended from Medad Hills, a Continental officer in the Revolution. Frances Miria Kellogg, wife of Schuyler Wade and mother of Mrs. David G. Jackson, was a daughter of Warren Kellogg and Rhoda Webster. Warren Kellogg was a son of Abraham Kellogg and Sarah Seymour, of whom the latter was a cousin of Horatio Seymour, the well-known statesman, who was Governor of New York. Rhoda Webster was a daughter of Charles Webster, of Hartford, Connecticut, and a relative of the great Daniel Webster.
The surviving children of David G. and Helen M. (Wade) Jackson are William Schuyler Jackson, the subject of this sketch; Birdsey D. Jackson, a prominent Buffalo attorney; Nellie M. Jackson, an artist who is widely known as a mineral painter, and Lillian W., wife of William G. Doorty, of Buffalo.
William Schuyler Jackson was born in Buffalo April 4, 1869. His early education was obtained in the Public School, Central
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High School and Cornell University. While at Cornell he was one of the editors of the Cornellian. When he returned to Buffalo he entered the Law School and his father's office. While a law student he taught in night High School two winters. In 1891 he was graduated from the Buffalo Law School with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In 1892 he was appointed Special Deputy County Clerk, acting as Clerk of the Supreme Court at Circuit and Special Term. In 1893 he was admitted to the bar. He served a total of three years as Special Deputy County Clerk, not entering the active practice of his profession till 1895.
In 1889 Mr. Jackson was appointed Assistant City Attorney of Buffalo, in 1903, Second Assistant District Attorney of Erie County, serving three years, and later as First Assistant District Attorney.
Known as an active Democrat, a lawyer of signal ability and an official of absolute faithfulness and clean record, when the Democratic State Convention met in Buffalo in the fall of 1906, Mr. Jackson received the unanimous nomination for Attorney- General. He made a vigorous speaking campaign throughout the State and was elected by a plurality of 10,000, the largest given any candidate on the ticket, the nominee for Governor on the same ticket being defeated by 60,000. He is one of the youngest men-indeed, probably the youngest man-ever elected to that office. In 1898, when the Spanish-American War broke out, he volunteered, and received the commission of Second Lieutenant of Company M, of the Sixty-fifth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry. He served with the regiment until it was mustered out at the close of the war in November of that year. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Buffalo Lodge of Elks.
September 24, 1892, Mr. Jackson married Miss Charlotte G. Staley, a daughter of Tobias B. Staley, Esq., formerly a promi- nent Buffalo merchant, and Charlotte (Kach) Staley. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have two children, Helen Wade Jackson and David Staley Jackson.
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CLARK LEONARD INGHAM is a man of extensive and varied business enterprise. Besides being one of Buffalo's largest real estate operators, he is widely known in connection with independent telephone interests, electric railway affairs and many other phases of industrial development.
The Ingham family was located at Frankfort, Herkimer County, N. Y. Harvey Ingham, grandfather of Clark L. Ingham, was born in 1795 and died at Ingham's Mills, Herkimer County, in 1882. He was a manufacturer and was well known in that portion of the State. He married Sarah Schuyler. Their surviving children are: William H. Ingham, of Algona, Iowa; Darwin S. Ingham, of Nebraska, and Walter D. Ingham, of Buffalo.
Walter D. Ingham married, September 17, 1856, Helen M. Bauder, daughter of Leonard L. and Angeline (Howell) Bauder, of Oppenheim, Fulton County, N. Y. The only child of the marriage is Clark L. Ingham.
Clark Leonard Ingham was born at Ingham's Mills, Herki- mer County, N. Y., March 9, 1863. He was educated in the public schools of his native place, Little Falls Academy and Mount Pleasant Military Academy. On leaving school he . entered a general store at Little Falls, N. Y., remaining there until 1886, when he engaged in the underwear manufacturing business at Centreville, Michigan.
In January, 1893, Mr. Ingham came to Buffalo and entered the real estate business, which he has followed ever since. During the period from 1893 to 1900 Mr. Ingham took a leading part in some very large building operations. He was one of the principal builders of the Lennox Apartment House, now the Lennox Hotel, on North Street. He is Vice-President of the Buffalo Realty Company, which has recently been enlarged and is now capitalized at one million dollars. It owns exten- sive properties both in Buffalo and vicinity and in New York City. It built and is the owner of the Hengerer Building, on the old Tifft House site, one of the most complete apartment store structures outside the city of New York. The company's
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business is that of building and dealing in large business properties. Its career promises to be of the greatest impor- tance and benefit to Buffalo.
Mr. Ingham is a heavy operator in real estate in the city of Buffalo, particularly in the Steel Plant district, and he has had a leading share in the development of that section.
When the Frontier Telephone Company was organized in 1902, Mr. Ingham was one of the most active promoters of the enterprise and later was the principal factor in the merger which resulted in the establishment of the Consolidated Telephone Company. He is a director of the Frontier Com- pany and a large stockholder in the Consolidated Company. He was also one of the organizers and promoters of the Buffalo, Lockport & Rochester Railway Company, which is in operation from Lockport to Rochester, connecting at the former place with the International Railway Company, for Buffalo and Niagara Falls. The road ranks with the best equipped and most modern electric railways in the country. Mr. Ingham is also extensively concerned with gas interests, being one of the chief organizers of the Niagara Falls Gas Company, the Dunkirk Gas Company, the Newark (N. Y.) Gas Company and other gas corporations. In addition to the above he is iden- tified with various other enterprises of an industrial character.
Mr. Ingham is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and belongs to the Buffalo, Ellicott, Country and Westminster Clubs. He attends Westminster Presbyterian Church. .
June 12, 1895, Mr. Ingham married Miss Annie Snell, daughter of Irving and Chloe (Richmond) Snell, of Little Falls, N. Y. The children of the marriage are: James Richmond, born in 1896, and Helen M., born in 1898.
EDWARD DAVID STREBEL is a striking example of singleness of purpose. In these days when the legal profession is so apt to go hand in hand with political and other ambitions, Mr. Strebel is a lawyer and purely a lawyer. His heart and mind are centered in the theory and practice of his profession.
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He finds in it material prosperity and intellectual sustenance, and he is well aware that there are no honors superior to those which are the reward of the lawyer who steadfastly devotes his abilities to his calling. It follows as a logical result that Mr. Strebel stands high in his specialty.
David Strebel, the father of Edward David Strebel, was born in Hesselhorst, Baden, Germany, in 1840. At the age of thirteen he came to Buffalo, afterward becoming a machinist. In 1863 he married Barbara Muelhaupt, a daughter of Barbara and Gregory Muelhaupt of Buffalo. The surviving children are: Edward D. Strebel and William E. Strebel, of Buffalo.
Edward David Strebel was born in Buffalo, May 2, 1865. He attended Public Schools Nos. 15 and 16 until he was twelve years old. At that age he began to earn his own living. He entered the office of William J. Wierling, a well-known lawyer of that day, performing a variety of humble duties. In order to procure the necessary Law Student's Certificate required by the Court of Appeals, prior to beginning the study of law, he studied alone and succeeded in passing the required Regent's Examinations to obtain bis certificate.
When but thirteen years of age, young Strebel became clerk in the law office of Miller & Schelling and from May 1, 1880, continued his clerkship with Robert F. Schelling, and when seventeen he was made Mr. Schelling's managing clerk. He continued to read law, and on October 9, 1890, was admitted to the bar. Mr. Strebel remained in Mr. Schelling's office until August 22, 1892, when he began practice for himself. July 1, 1894, he formed a partnership with Fred. D. Corey under the firm style of Strebel & Corey. This association continued till 1904, when William F. Wierling joined the firm, which then became Strebel, Corey & Wierling. On May 1, 1907, James O. Moore joined the firm, which then became Strebel, Corey, Wier- ling & Moore. This copartnership still exists, and has its offices in the Mutual Life Building. The firm enjoys a large general practice, and is widely known throughout Western New York.
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June 22, 1892, Mr. Strebel married Katherine Giesser, daughter of Gabriel and Frederica Giesser, of Buffalo. The children of the union are two, Robert L. and Edna F. Strebel.
Mr. Strebel is prominent in Masonic circles, being a member of Ancient Landmarks Lodge, and of the Consistory of Scottish Rite Masons. He belongs to the congregation of the Holy Trinity English Lutheran Church. In 1907 he was elected President of the Lawyers' Club.
HENRY WALTER KILLEEN, Deputy Attorney-General, is a recognized representative of the Buffalo bar. He is politi- cally prominent, ranking high in the counsels and management of the Erie County Democracy.
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