USA > New York > Genesee County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Genesee County, New York, v. 1 > Part 25
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Second Lieutenant, Irving D. Southworth; sergeant, Edgar A. Fisher, corporals, Aaron Hartwell, Henry C. Denton, John Kersch; privates, Rodney Alexander, Jo- seph Brill, Peter Busser. Lewis Beck, Albert Cook, John Clark. Peter Clench, James Darkin, Wallace W. Fisk, William R. Fisher, Harvey M. Graves, Addison Gates, Fred Hartwick, William J. Hemstreet, Charles Hartley. Charles A. Kendall, Peter Linn, Nathan Leonard, Arthur Little, James MeMullen, Frank D. Murdock, Jacob Miller, Francis McCann, John Madagan, William Moss, Paul Notham, John Oberton, William J. Pike, Cunningham Primrose, Valentine Ricker, E. Fitch Rapp, John J. Snyder, William Sheldt. Patrick Sage, William Squires, Peter Tarnisch, William Willgin, Field B. Wright, William Walton, Henry Wall, John Wright, William Young.
The officers of the Twenty-fifth Battery and their records were as follows:
Captains:
John A. Grow, commissioned November 29, 1862; discharged August 19, 1864.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Irving D. Southworth, commissioned December 7, 1864; mustered out with battery. First Lieutenants:
William H. Perry, commissioned November 29, 1862; resigned May 11, 1863.
Irving D. Southworth, commissioned December 19, 1863; promoted to captain December 7, 1864.
John C. Flanders, commissioned February 14, 1865; mustered out with battery. Albert Cook, commissioned February 14, 1865; mustered out with battery.
Second Lieutenants ;
Irving D. Southworth, commissioned November 29, 1862; promoted to first lieu - tenant December 19, 1863.
John C. Flanders, commissioned December 29, 1863; promoted to first lieutenant February 14. 1865.
James F. Emery, commissioned February 14, 1865; mustered out with battery.
David F. Burgess, commissioned December6, 1862; discharged December 19, 1862.
David H. Parks, commissioned February 14, 1865; mustered out with battery.
The Forty-ninth Regiment, N. Y. Vol. Infantry, was organized at Albany to serve three years. The companies of which it was composed were raised in the counties of Genesee, Erie, Niagara and Chautauqua. It was mustered into the service of the United States from August ?? to September 30, 1861. The original members, excepting veterans, were mustered out on the expiration of term of service, and the regi- ment, composed of re-enlisted men and recruits, was retained in ser- vice until June 22, 1865. when they were mustered out. The Forty- ninth Regiment participated in the following battles: Drainesville, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Golding's Farm, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill. Crampton's Gap, Antictam, Fredericksburg, Marye's Heights, Salem Heights, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Fort Stevens, Opequan, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek.
The members of this regiment from Genesee county were Peter Thomas, Ferdinand Thomas, French W. Fisher, Joseph Mark, Ser- geant Hare, Charles Hayden and Sergeant Slingerland. Of these, French W. Fisher rose from the ranks to second lieutenant: was pro- moted to first lieutenant September 30, 1864; was promoted to captain and commissioned May 16, 1865, but was not mustered as captain. He was afterward brevetted captain of United States Volunteers.
In addition to the organizations mentioned, Genesce county contrib- uted men to the One Hundred and Fourth Regiment of Infantry. Unfortunately it is impossible at this late day to ascertain the names of those from this county who served in this command. The records in the office of the adjutant-general refer to this organization as fol- lows:
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THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.
"The One Hundred and Fourth Regiment, N. Y. Vol. Infantry, was organized at Albany to serve three years. The companies of which it was composed were raised in the counties of Genesee, Albany, Rensse- laer, Livingston, Monroe and Steuben. The regiment was mustered into the service of the United States from October, 1861, to March, 1862. Upon the expiration of its term of service the original members, excepting veterans, were mustered out, and the organization, com . posed of veterans and recruits, was retained in service until July 17, 1865, when it was mustered out. The One Hundred and Fourth Reg. iment fought in the following battles: Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Mine Run, Wilderness, Fredericksburg, Antie. tam, Chantilly, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, North Anna, Spottsyl. vania, Bethesda Church, Weldon Railroad and Petersburg." The reg iment was commanded by the following colonels, in the order given : John Rorbach, commissioned May 17, 1862; discharged October 21, 1862. Lewis C. Skinner, commissioned November 24, 1862; not mus. tered as colonel. Gilbert G. Prey, commissioned December 3, 1862; discharged March 3, 1865. John R. Strang, commissioned March It, 1865; not mustered as colonel.
Among the other organizations which this county helped to fill were the following: Fifteenth Infantry, Twenty-sixth Infantry, One Hun . dred and Fortieth Infantry, Fourteenth Artillery, Nineteenth Battery, Second Mounted Rifles, Forty-ninth Infantry, One Hundred and Thir- tieth Infantry, One Hundred and Thirty sixth Infantry, Ninth Artil- lery, First Dragoons, Sixth Michigan Cavalry, Forty-fourth Infantry, Ninety-sixth Infantry, One Hundred and First Infantry, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Infantry, One Hundred and Fifty-first Infantry, One Hundred and Sixtieth Infantry, Ninth Artillery, Thirty- Ninth Artil. lery, Thirty first Connecticut Infantry, Twelfth Indiana Infantry, Twenty-fourth Wisconsin Infantry, Seventeenth U. S. Infantry, Six- teenth Infantry, One Hundred and Forty-Sixth Infantry, Third Cav- alry, Fourteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, Sixth U. S. Cavalry, Twentieth U. S. Colored Infantry, Seventh Ohio Infantry, Thirty-third Infantry, Ninety fourth Infantry, One Hundred and Seventh Infantry, One Hundred and Eighty-eighth Infantry, Eighteenth U. S. Infantry, Sixty-fourth Illinois Infantry.
One of the most distinguished soldiers who served during the Civil war was Gen. Emory Upton, a native of the town of Batavia.' At the
I A sketch of the life and services of General Upton will be found elsewhere in this work.
15
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
battle of Winchester he commanded the Second Brigade of the First Division of the Sixth Army Corps. During the early part of the day there had been heavy skirmishing, and an advance was anticipated by the troops. Our soldiers were discouraged and disheartened, for they had been beaten repeatedly. Earthworks had been erected, behind which the Union soldiers lay in comparative security.
Orders were given for a general attack on the rebel line. Realizing the condition and feeling of the men, General Upton mounted his horse and, accompanied by his full staff, rode along the line. At every con- venient point he stopped, dismounted, mingled freely with the men, and conversed with them in cheering tones, counseling economy in the use of ammunition, a liberal use of the bayonet, and a short, sharp and decisive fight when the bugle should sound the command to advance. His influence was magnetic. The stimulus he inspired among them was marked, and there was not a member of the command who did not feel better for the kindly admonition.
The charge which followed was stoutly resisted by the rebels. Every inch of the ground was stubbornly disputed for hours. Soon General Upton succeeded to the command of the division. He had been wounded in both legs by rebel bullets; but no sooner was he apprised of the condition of things than he directed the detailing of eight men from the ambulance corps and the procurement of a stretcher. On this he was at once carried to the front, and during the remainder of the engagement he was constantly at the line of battle directing the move- ment of the troops in person, with perfect calmness, though in the midst of a furious storm of shot and shell. He was then a young, graceful, dashing, handsome man, brave, quick in action, and greatly beloved by his troops. As he raised himself slightly on his elbow and darted his restless eyes over the scene of battle, giving his orders in quick, im- petuous tones, he seemed to the soldiers like some chained lion, fretting and chafing because he could not dash into the midst of the conflict. History records the success of the Union troops in this engagement, but few of the published histories of the day note the fact that to Gen- eral Upton was due that notable success of the Union arms. All day, until the eagle of victory perched upon the Stars and Stripes, he re- mained upon the field, his presence fortifying the troops, and his ring- ing voice, heard above the din of battle, lending additional enthusiasm to their efforts.
An endeavor has been made to give, in this chapter, as complete as
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FROM 1865 TO 1898.
possible a list of the inhabitants of Genesee county who fought in the war of the Rebellion. It is a fact deeply to be regretted that the rec. ords in the office of the adjutant-general of the State of New York do not give the places of residence of those mustered into the service of the country for this war. In 1865 a law was passed directing the town authorities throughout every State in the Union to make a complete record of the soldiers sent from each town. The law was generally ignored throughout New York State, and the record made in Genesee county is very incomplete and unsatisfactory. In all probability an authentic and complete list of Genesee county soldiers can never be compiled. This chapter is founded upon the official reports as found in the office of the adjutant-general at Albany and in the office of the clerk of Genesee county. It is authentic, though not as nearly com- plete as would have been possible had the various town officers hold- ing office in 1865 and 1866 acted in accordance with the law of 1865 referred to.
CHAPTER XIV.
From the Close of the Civil War to the Present Time-Establishment of the Mod- ern Manufacturing Industries of the County-Banks and Banking Since the War - Le Roy and Its Numerous Manufactures-Mills and Milling-The Malting Industry -The Salt Wells of Le Roy and Pavilion and Their Development-The Great Marl Bed in Bergen-Disastrous Fires in Bergen, Oakfield and Le Roy-Organization of the Genesee County Pioneer Association-Building of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Railway-Bergen Again Laid Waste by Fire-The West Shore Railroad -The Lehigh Valley Railroad-Fatal Railroad Accidents-Remains of a Mastodon Unearthed Near Batavia-Genesee County's Participation in the War With Spain- Fatal Accident on the New York Central Railroad Near Corfu-Churches Established in Genesee County During This Period.
The condition of the inhabitants of Genesee county at the conclusion of the war of the Rebellion was wretched in the extreme. Business of most kinds was either at a standstill, or had been annihilated. The few industries of the county which had been spared were struggling feebly to continue their existence. Others apparently were dead past all hopes of resurrection. Money was scarce, provisions were costly, credit in most cases was ruined or greatly impaired. Every man
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
looked at his fellows with a doubtful eye. During the war period little of importance transpired to add to the story of military operations. Aside from the establishment of a few minor concerns, which con- tributed but slightly to the general welfare and prosperity of the com- munity, the industrial development of the county was practically at a standstill.
It was not until ten years after the restoration of peace that the establishment of the great modern industries of Genesee county began. though a few steps in the march of progress along these lines were taken before that period. Among the latter was the venture of N. B. Keeney of Le Roy, who in 1864 established an extensive produce busi- ness in that village. He first purchased of I. B. Phelps a building on Lake street, near the railroad. This warehouse being destroyed by fire in 1874, the year after he rebuilt on a more extensive scale. So great was the increase in the business that in 1888 the firm-now N. B. Keeney & Son-built a six-story iron clad building west of the original one, equipped with all the modern appliances for conducting their business. This industry soon became one of the most important in Le Roy, giving employment to a large number of persons.
In 1865 C. F. Prentice bought the mill property built at Le Roy by Jacob Le Roy in 1822 and established his present extensive business. In 1896 Mr. Prentice organized the Le Roy Power & Milling Company, with himself as president and D. C. Howard Prentice as secretary and treasurer, continuing the business which had been operated by the former since 1865. The concern now has a daily capacity of one hun- dred and seventy-five barrels of flour, besides large quantities of feed, meal, buckwheat, etc. Mr. Prentice is also president of the Hydraulic Electric Company of Le Roy, organized in 1896, and with his son, D. C. H. Prentice, owns the entire plant of the company.
In 1866 Schuyler C. Wells came to Le Roy and entered into partner- ship with his brother-in-law, L. S. Hooker, as Hooker & Wells, in the drug business. Three years later this partnership was dissolved, and in 1821 Mr. Wells began the manufacture of Shiloh's family remedies. In 1877 he erected the four-story brick building on Church street for the accommodation of his wonderfully increasing business, to which an addition was built in 1882. In the latter year he sold a half interest in the business to his brother, George H. Wells, the firm becoming S. C. Wells & Co. The latter retired in 1892, and in 1897 a stock company was organized for carrying on the business. The enterprise is one of the best known of its kind in the country.
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FROM 1865 TO 1898.
The banking house of Francis C. Lathrop of Le Roy was established in 1867, and conducted by him until August 9, 1893, when the financial depression which afflicted the country compelled him to make an as- signment. The business has never been re-established.
The first concern of its kind to be established in Genesee county was the Byron cheese factory. This factory was built in 1867 by a stock company, which at once began the manufacture of cheese intended especially for the markets of England. The factory was built about three-quarters of a mile southwest of Byron Centre, and from the be- ginning has been successful.
The Le Roy Library Association, which has been one of the most valuable of the public institutions of that town for a quarter of a cen- tury, was founded in 18:3 by a number of ladies residing in the vil- lage. Mrs. John R. Olmsted was chosen to be the first president, and has served continuously since that time in that office.
In 1874 James McElver purchased the old Cummings foundry in Byron and began the manufacture of agricultural implements, his in- dustry soon becoming one of the most important in that town.
Large deposits of limestone of a fine quality and perfectly adapted for building purposes having been discovered in the town of Le Roy, they were exploited about 1870, and from that time on have been worked with profit to the operators. George H. Holmes, Livingston D. Howell, and Morris & Strobel were among the first to enter upon this important enterprise. Mr. Holmes at one time employed as many as one hundred and thirty-five men. The business is still suc- cessfully carried on in the town, but the number of men employed is not so great as formerly.
The planing mill built in 1872 at Le Roy by Olmsted & Mckenzie was the successor of the first mill of the kind erected there about half a century before by Chauncey Olmsted. While owned by the latter this mill was twice burned and rebuilt. It then passed into the hands of William Olmstead, then Laramee & Smith, Olmsted & Mckenzie, Mckenzie, King & Sage, Hartwell & Sage, Frost & Murdoch, S. H. Murdoch. Another enterprise established in 18 ??? was the fruit distil- lery of Decker & Titman, the only one in Genesee county. In 1875 Thomas Gallagher & Sons started a broom factory on Exchange street. In 1ST8 J. T. Warren purchased the old Catholic church and there estab- lished a foundry and machine shop, engaging chiefly in model and nov- elty work.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
In 1876 the famous Wiard Plow Company moved its works from East Avon to Batavia, and the county seat of Genesee county experienced an industrial impetus which within a few years had placed it foremost among the manufacturing villages of the country.' Old manufac- turing concerns soon appreciated the manifold advantages which would accrue to them by locating in that village, with the result that within the next few years the county seat of Genesee could boast of being the site of half a dozen or more of the most important manufac. tures in the country. The effect was beneficial not only to Batavia, but to practically the entire country surrounding.
In 18:3 C. B. Rogers & Co. established a sash, door and blind fac. tory at what is known as the old oil mill, on the banks of the Oatka, in Le Roy. It was operated as such by that firm until the fall of 1889, when it was leased to F. C. Rogers, the present proprietor. He pur. chased the property in the spring of 1892. The machinery for wood working purposes subsequently was removed to Mr. Rogers's new mill on Lake street, which is operated by steam. Water power was used in the old mill. Six to eight hands are employed regularly.
The American Malting Company's plant at Le Roy was originally founded in 1874 by W. D. Matthews & Co. In 1880 Edward Rogerson became associated with the firm, remaining until Mr. Matthews's death in ISSS, when the business was continued by Mr. Rogerson and Wilmot D. Matthews.
In 1895 it was incorporated as the W. D. Matthews Malting Co., and in 1897 it became part of the possessions of the American Malting Co .. which organization also operates a considerable number of other similar plants in this and other States. The plant in Le Roy is located on the line of the Erie, N. V. C., and B., R. & P. railroads, and comprises four commodious malt-houses, which are constructed of stone, and a large frame elevator attached. They are fully equipped with improved ap- pliances for economical production, including steam power and electric lights. The output of the plant is about seven hundred thousand bush- els of malt per season, and employment is given to sixty skilled malt- sters and assistants. The product is especially noteworthy for high quality, and only the finest selected grain is used in its manufacture. The product is shipped chiefly to the large brewers of New York and
! Historical sketches of the Wiard Plow Company and the other great industries of Batavia will be found in the chapter devoted to the Village of Batavia.
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FROM 1865 TO 1898.
Boston. The management of the enterprise is in the hands of Edward Rogerson.
Though the first discovery of salt in Le Roy was made as early as February, 1879, it was not until five years later that actual operations for the market were successfully inaugurated. The salt interests of Le Roy are among the most important in Genesee county. Soon after the discovery of this mineral in Wyoming county in 1878, some of the citizens of Le Roy, believing that it existed beneath the surface of that town, were induced through the efforts of N. B. Keeney to subscribe to a fund of fifteen hundred dollars for the purpose of making the de- sired tests. With the guarantee of this sum, C. M. Everest of Roch- ester agreed to bore for salt to the Niagara formation, or not to exceed one thousand feet in depth. While Mr. Everest believed salt might be found, he was more anxious to discover oil. He engaged C. B. Mat- thews of Wyoming to look after his interests, and the latter in turn con- tracted with Mr. Higley of Bradford, Pa., to drill for the salt or oil.
The work was inaugurated December 4, 1818, and by the end of two months such progress had been made that both gas and brine were reached at a depth of five hundred feet. At this point in the operations Mr. Matthews, upon the advice of Mr. Everest, ceased work and de- manded payment for what he had already done. The contract not hav- ing been carried out, the citizens of Le Roy who had guaranteed the expenses of the work refused to honor the demand thus summarily made upon them. Litigation followed until the fall of ISS1, when Mr. Everest, learning that the people of Le Roy undoubtedly were in the right, proposed to drill another well. The proposition was accepted and work was begun by Curtis & Whitaker under the superintendence of A. E. Miller, John Eyres representing the citizens, who had guaranteed Mr. Everest thirteen hundred dollars if he would assume all the risks. In this well brine and a salt vein twenty to twenty- five feet thick were found at the depth of six hundred and fifteen feet.
Satisfied with the result of the experiments the four Le Roy citizens back of the enterprise continued the work. The first well, which had been obstructed with iron implements, was cleaned, at considerable ex- pense, the work not being completed until the summer of 1882. From that time work was practically abandoned until the spring of 1883, when a plant capable of an output of a hundred barrels per day was put in operation under the direction of the American Chemical Com- pany of West Bay City, Mich. In September of that year the first
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
salt manufactured-one carload-was shipped from the works. But the process of this company proved a failure, and early in the summer of 1884 the works were remodeled and the grainer process adopted.
At this juncture, and after the failure of the American Chemical Company, it became necessary for those interested in the enterprise to determine whether the future business would warrant an increase in capital sufficient to continue operations on a more extensive scale. It was therefore determined to put down another salt well, this time at the junction of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroads on the Gilmore farm three miles south of Le Roy, in the town of Pavilion. At the depth of eight hun- dred and forty feet that well developed a vein of salt fifty-one feet thick between two strata of limestone. Completely satisfied as to the suc- cess of future operations, the experimenters decided to establish a per- manent plant at Le Roy. Accordingly, in the fall of 1884, C. F. Pren- tice, S. C. Wells, A. E. Miller and N. B. Keeney organized and incor- porated the Le Roy Salt Company, Mr. Miller being placed in complete charge of the works. Two grainers were put in with four boilers. With the aid of fourteen workmen fourteen thousand barrels of salt were shipped from the factory that fall.
While this result was satisfactory for a new business in which a small force was employed, it was evident to all interested that the output could be increased with enlarged facilities. Consequently additions were made to the buildings, new grainers were erected, boilers intro- duced, and a capital of $30,000 employed, all proving successful.
Changes, however, were constantly made for more economical pro- duction, and by the energy and enterprise of the company under the careful management of A. E. Miller, the production reached, on August 31, 1891, six hundred barrels per day. At this time a large part of the works was destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of some $25,000. Through the unusual business ability and energy of Mr. Miller, the burnt por- tions were rebuilt and manufacturing resumed in January, 1892. Owing to overwork and the strain necessary to carry on this work, his health began to fail and he died August 28, 1892, and was buried on the 31st, exactly a year after the fire.
As the demand for Le Roy salt was constantly increasing, large addi- tions were made from time to time until the plant has become one of the largest in the country. In spite of the depression incident to hard times and free trade in salt, the business increased every year and in
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FROM 1865 TO 1898.
1897 the average output was one thousand barrels per day. The force employed is one hundred and twenty five hands. Nineteen boilers aggregating two thousand horse power furnish the steam and motive power. The salt is made in twenty grainers, operated day and night, and a storage capacity is provided of nearly two hundred thousand bushels, which is crowded to its limits. The first block erected in 188? was thirty-six by three hundred feet. As rebuilt in 1891 it was one hundred and thirty-six by three hundred feet, with an addition of forty by seventy-six feet. As it now stands the main building is three hun- dred and twelve by three hundred and sixty-two feet, with an addition of eighty-six by one hundred and sixty-eight feet. The company op- erates eleven wells, averaging six hundred and fifty feet in depth, and the furthest one being one mile from the works. The officers of the company at present are C. F. Prentice, president ; John Burden, vice- president; C. N. Keeney, secretary and treasurer; J. P. Samson, man- ager.
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