USA > New York > Erie County > Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume II > Part 4
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
RT. REV. JOHN TIMON, D. D.
RT. REV. JOHN TIMON, D. D., the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, was born at Conevago, Adams county, Pa., Febru- ary 12, 1797. He was a son of James and Margaret (Leddy) Timon, natives of Ireland. John Timon was baptized February 17, 1797. He was reared under Christian influences. In 1802 the family removed to Baltimore, Md., where the father opened a dry goods store, in which the boy served as clerk. The business was continued until 1817, and in October, 1818, the family removed to Louisville, Ky., where the father resumed business. In the spring of 1819, he removed to St. Louis where he continued in the same trade until the panic of 1823 swept away his accumulations.
In St. Louis, John Timon made the acquaintance of Louisa De Gallon, daughter of a wealthy French Creole gentleman who had fled from St. Domingo, Hayti. The young couple became affianced, but the death of the lady prevented the consummation of their nuptials. This sad event made a deep impression upon John Timon and strongly influenced him to turn his attention to the church. In April, 1823, he renounced the world and joined the community of Lazarists, studying two years in the seminary of St. Mary's of Barrens, Mo. In 1824 he was ordained sub-deacon and at once began preaching with great zeal and success. In 1825 he was consecrated to the priesthood by the Rt. Rev. Joseph Rosatti, bishop of St. Louis, and began officiating as pro- fessor at the seminary of the Barrens and as a missionary in surround- ing counties. About this time or a little later he joined the then infant order of St. Vincent de Paul.
In 1835 he was appointed to the office of Visitor by the general assembly of the congregation of missions in Paris, in which capacity he served with great faithfulness until 1840, when he was appointed Pre- fect Apostolic of Texas. During about seven years he labored zeal- ously in that field and with such success that he was called to higher honor in the church. On the 5th of September, 1847, he received his bulls as bishop of the new diocese of Buffalo, which was established by Pope Pius IX on the 22d of April, 1847, and comprised all of the State of New York west of Cayuga, Tompkins and Tioga counties. He was consecrated as bishop on the 17th of October, 1847, by Bishop Hughes,
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in the cathedral of New York, and arrived in Buffalo to assume his office on the 22d of October.
In his new field of labor Bishop Timon was most efficient. He con- secrated St. Louis church in December after his arrival, founded numerous other churches, missions and benevolent and educational institutions, and everywhere throughout his large field built up his church and her interests. He introduced the Sisters of Charity, the Nuns of the Society of the Good Shepherd, the Brothers of the Holy Infancy of Jesus, the Sisters of St. Joseph, the Franciscan Fathers, the Christian Brothers, and others, the influence of which orders in this country have been beyond estimate. He traveled extensively, visiting Rome and other parts of Europe several times. His lectures in his field of labor were numerous and influential, and in all respects he upheld the integrity and good repute of the ministry of his church. His death took place April 16, 1867.1
RT. REV. STEPHEN VINCENT RYAN.
RT. REV. STEPHEN VINCENT RYAN was born in Almonte, Canada, on January 1, 1825, and died April 10, 1896. He was of Irish descent ; his parents, who were both natives of Ireland, emigrated to this country and settled at Pottersville, Schuylkill county, Pa. At the age of twelve he was confirmed by a Mexican bishop, who was then visit- ing in Philadelphia. Even at that youthful age and in the succeeding years the boy manifested the traits which were developed in later times and placed him in the high station he long occupied and honored. At fourteen he entered the seminary in Philadelphia, pledging his life and service to the sanctuary. He rose rapidly and was especially distin- guished in early life for eloquence. At the age of nineteen he decided to become a member of the Vincentian community, for which purpose he departed for the Mother House at the Barrens, Perryville, Mo. The distinguished Lazarist priest, Father Burke, accompanied him. While in that retreat his life was marked by an exhibition of commendable patience and perseverance. On May 6, 1846, he made his Lazarist pro- fession and received tonsure and minor orders. During the ensuing two years, until 1848, he acted as professor and prefect, when he was
1 Condensed from "Life and Times of Rt. Rev. John Timon, D. D.," by Charles G. Deuther.
1128264
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promoted to the sacred order of sub-deaconship and deaconship, by Rt. Rev. John Timon, the first Bishop of Buffalo. On June 24, 1849, he received the crowning honor of priesthood from the Most Rev. Peter Richard Kenrick, in St. Louis. From his ordination until 1851 he re- mained at the Barrens laboring as professor and in missionary work, at the same time perfecting his knowledge of the languages. In 1851 he was summoned to the Vincentian college at Cape Girardeau, Mo., where he served as prefect and was the foremost member of the faculty, until the president of the faculty was returned to Spain, when Father Ryan was selected for that office. In 1857 he was summoned to Paris by M. Etienne, Superior General of the Vincentians, and there reluct- antly accepted the responsibility carried by a commission as Visitor or head of the community in the United States. He was then only thirty- two years old, and returned home to accept and bear the heavy burdens and great responsibilities of his new office. It need only be said that he discharged the manifold arduous duties of the position with marked efficiency. While thus engaged he was called to Rome to assume still greater responsibilities. Bishop Timon had just laid down his pastoral charge and Father Ryan was beyond question the man to fill and honor the vacancy. He was appointed Bishop, but in his native mod- esty shrank from the position and beseeched the Propaganda at Rome to release him, but in vain. He was consecrated on November 1, 1868, but had scarcely settled in his office when he was called to Rome to take part in the historic council of the church.
Returning to Buffalo Bishop Ryan entered ardently upon his duties over Western New York. He built the residence and chapel adjoining the cathedral, and in 1871 founded the Buffalo Catholic Publishing Company and the Catholic Union newspaper, which is still enjoying a successful existence. In 1878 Bishop Ryan made his second episcopal visit to Rome, where he was received with distinguished consideration by the Propaganda. After extended European travel he returned in 1879. In 1887 he again went to Rome, and before his return was able to carry out a cherished ambition by making a pilgrimage through the Holy Land. Upon his return home in April, 1888, he was received with public demonstration of honor and congratulation.
Bishop Ryan was a voluminous and capable writer, contributing largely to church and miscellaneous religious literature. On the 9th of November, 1893, was celebrated his Episcopal Silver Jubilee, at the close of twenty-five years of honorable service as Bishop.
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His great piety, his ever-ruling gentleness of demeanor, his bounti- ful charity to mankind, his never-failing justice, made Bishop Ryan an ideal prelate and will keep his memory green through the coming years.
RT. REV. ARTHUR CLEVELAND COXE.
RT. REV. ARTHUR CLEVELAND COXE, poet, preacher, author and prel- ate, was born in Mendham, N. J., on the 20th of May, 1818, and died at Clifton Springs, N. Y., July 20, 1896. He was a son of Rev. Samuel Harrison Cox,1 a man of high character and good ability. The family removed to New York in 1820, and in that city the early edu- cation of the subject began. The father was a leading Presbyterian minister, but under strong maternal influences the son became an ar- dent adherent of the Protestant Episcopal church in childhood and so remained through life. Entering the University of New York he graduated in the class of 1838 and passed on to the Theological Semi- nary of the Episcopal church, completing his studies for holy orders in 1841.
He early showed unusual accomplishments as a writer and became an author and contributor while still in college, acquiring enduring fame in this direction in later years. On the 27th of June, 1841, he was or- dained deacon by Bishop Onderdonk, in New York city, and on Sep- tember 25, 1842, was ordained priest at Hartford, Conn. He at once took charge of St. Ann's church, Morrisania. In the spring of 1843 he removed to Hartford and became rector of St. John's church, where he remained until 1854. In the latter part of that year he was chosen rector of Grace church, in Baltimore, and continued in charge of that large parish until 1863, when he was made rector of Calvary church in New York city ; here he remained until about the date of his appoint- ment as assistant bishop of Western New York.
Two years after taking charge of the Baltimore parish he was ap- pointed Bishop of Texas, but declined the honor. He was consecrated in Trinity church, Geneva, N. Y., on January 4, 1865, and on the death of Bishop De Lancey on the 5th of April of that year, he suc- ceeded to the high office of Bishop of Western New York. From that
1This is another of the many instances where the spelling of a family name has been changed by one or more of its members.
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time forward until his death Bishop Coxe was numbered among the most gifted and eminent churchmen of his time. In 1868 he gave as- sent to the formation of the new diocese of Central New York and committed it to other hands. His prominent activity in the councils of the church began at an early date. In 1853 he was chosen a member of the general convention, and also of the one held in Richmond, Va., in 1859. He was always conspicuous for his zealous and practical in- terest in the board of missions. In 1872 the missions of the church in Hayti were placed under his charge and late in that year he visited the island, consecrated a church there, ordained six priests and five dea- cons, and placed the work upon an enduring basis. He was promi- nent in the work of reorganizing Hobart College in 1884 and also of the De Lancey Divinity school. De Veaux College also found in him a devoted friend and helper. In all the phases of his church connec- tion he stood pre-eminent among American bishops.
The writings of Bishop Coxe are known and loved throughout the land. While still in college he wrote many of his "Christian Ballads," which won the hearts of all serious readers. Upon his first visit to England he gained the sympathy and admiration of both English and American churchmen in his efforts for reforms in the Roman com- munion. His "Impressions of England " is a loving tribute to the claims upon our affection for the old home. Previous to his ordination he published several volumes of poems, through all of which work is seen the spirit of reverence for the good and exceptional ability. His publications of various kinds extend over the period from 1837 to near the time of his death and are too numerous to be catalogued here. His "Christian Ballads" were published in 1845, and were reprinted in Oxford, England, in 1850. Soon after the latter date he visited Germany and published an account of his visit to Herscher, the prede- cessor of Dr. Von Dollinger in the Old Catholic movement. His "Apology for the English Bible," published in 1854, led ultimately to to the suppression of the new and crude revisions of the text. Numer- ous important pamphlets and tracts bear his name and contribute to his honor.
Bishop Coxe was a graceful and eloquent speaker and was frequently called upon to appear before the public. He was devoted to the church, held strong and conservative views, which he fearlessly upheld. His contributions to controversial religious literature were many and influ- ential. During his episcopate the growth of the Episcopal church in
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
Western New York was more than equal to the proportionate increase of population; this prosperity may be in a large degree ascribed to his influence and labor.
WILLIAM D. WALKER, D. D., LL. D., S. T. D., D. C. L.
WILLIAM DAVID WALKER, D. D., LL. D., S. T. D., D. C. L., was born in New York city June 29, 1839. After attending public schools he prepared for college at Trinity school in his native city and graduated from Columbia college in 1859, receiving the McVicker prize. In the same year he entered the General Theological Seminary and graduated in 1862, receiving deacon's orders at the hands of Bishop Horatio Potter in the Church of the Transfiguration on his twenty-third birthday.
He filled the office of Vicar of Calvary chapel, in New York, from October, 1862, to 1883, serving also as special assistant in Calvary church, in which he was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 1863.
In 1883 he was chosen the first Bishop of the Missionary District of North Dakota and was consecrated in Calvary church December 20, 1883. In the northwest his labors were characterized by great zeal, devotion and success, and brought him into wide publicity. In 1887 President Cleveland appointed him one of the ten United States Indian Commissioners, having general oversight of the Indians throughout the country. He originated the "cathedral car," which has since become an important factor in missionary and church work in many sections of the world.
Bishop Walker and the late Bishop Arthur Cleveland Coxe were long warm and intimate friends, and after the death of the latter, Bishop Walker was elected the third bishop of the diocese of Western New York. The election took place by special council at Trinity church in Buffalo on October 7, 1896. He entered upon his duties in that office December 20, 1896.
Bishop Walker has published several works of great interest and usefulness ; notably a Report to the President and Congress on the Sioux and Chippewa tribes of Indians in North Dakota (1886); a ser- mon, "Relations of Wealth to Labor," delivered in Westminster Abbey in 1888 ; one on "God's Providence in Life," preached in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, upon the death of the German emperor ; an essay
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on "Domestic Missions," read at St. James Hall, London, before the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts in 1888; an address on "Missions in the United States," made at the same place in 1894. He has received degrees as follows: D. D., from Racine Univer- sity, 1884; D. D. from Oxford University, England, 1894; S. T. D., from his alma mater, 1884; LL.D., from Griswold College, 1888; LL. D., from Trinity College, Dublin, 1894; D. C. L., from the University of King's College, Windsor, Nova Scotia.
REV. JAMES E. QUIGLEY, D. D.
REV. JAMES E. QUIGLEY, D. D., rector of St. Bridget's church, of Buffalo, appointed Bishop to succeed the late Rt. Rev. Stephen Vin- cent Ryan, was born at Ottawa, Ont., on October 15, 1855. In the year 1858 the family removed to Lima, Livingston county, N. Y., and there in the public and parochial schools the boy received the rudi- ments of his education. He early evinced a natural aptitude for the rapid acquirement of knowledge and in 1868 entered St. Joseph's Col- lege in Buffalo, from which institution he graduated in 1872. Before the latter date he had decided upon the priesthood as his life work and accordingly entered the Seminary of Our Lady of Angels at Sus- pension Bridge and began a course of theological study. As a boy he had served at the altar of the cathedral and became personally known to Bishop Ryan. In the seminary he made rapid progress and showed the possession of such excellent natural qualifications for his future work that he was sent by the Bishop to the great University at Inn- spruch, Austria. He continued his studies there in the theological de- partment one year when, in November, 1875, he entered the theological college of the Propaganda in Rome. From that institution he grad- uated in the spring of 1879, with the degree of Doctor of Theology. On the 13th of April, 1879, he was ordained to the priesthood in the church of St. John Lateran, by Cardinal La Valette, then Cardinal Vicar of Rome.
Returning to Buffalo Bishop Quigley was assigned to the parish of Attica, Wyoming county. His work in that parish was most zealous and successful. He raised funds and built a new church and a parish
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house, and awakened the people to great activity. Dr. Quigley left Attica in 1884 and became rector of the Cathedral in Buffalo where he continued until January 17, 1896, when at his own request he was trans- ferred to the irremovable rectorship of St. Bridget's church, Buffalo. On the 24th of February, 1897, he was appointed Bishop and was con- secrated and installed in the high office by Archbishop Corrigan with unusually impressive ceremonies.
Bishop Quigley is now numbered among the foremost dignitaries of the Catholic church. He is richly endowed with theological education which he is eminently fitted to transmit to others. He is interested heart and soul in the advancement of the church and his personal graces and lofty conception of his mission enable him to fill the high station to which he has been called in a manner that meets the warm approbation of the entire diocese
HON. TRUMAN CLARK WHITE.
HON. TRUMAN CLARK WHITE, Supreme Court Justice, is the son of the late Daniel Delevan White and Alma Wilber, and was born in Perrysburg, N. Y., April 30, 1840. He is a lineal descendant of Elder John White, who came from England and settled in Cambridge, Mass., in 1632, and was a member of Thomas Hooker's congregation. His maternal ancestor, George Wilber, located near Danby, Vt., early in the eighteenth century. His grandparents, Truman White and Stephen Wilber, settled in Erie county in 1810.
Judge White received his preliminary education in the public and "select" schools and taught school two winters at Langford, Erie county. During a part of the years 1859 and 1860 he also attended Springville Academy. In September, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company D, 10th N. Y. Vol. Cav., was promoted to quartermaster- sergeant of his company August 5, 1862, and first or orderly sergeant March 4, 1863; in January, 1864, he re-enlisted, and on February 9th of the same year, was commissioned first lieutenant. He was mustered out at Syracuse, N. Y., after a faithful and meritorious service of nearly four years, in July, 1865. While in the army Judge White improved his leisure in reading Blackstone, Kent, and other elementary works on law, and after spending a few months in the Pennsylvania oil regions F
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on his discharge from the service, began, in January, 1866, the study of law in the office of Judge Stephen Lockwood, in Buffalo. Soon afterward he became a law student and managing clerk in the office of Edward Stevens, and in November, 1867, he was admitted to the bar. He then opened an office for the practice of his profession in Buffalo, but had scarcely settled himself before he formed a copartner- ship with Mr. Stevens which continued until the latter's death in Au- gust, 1868. Afterward he was associated with George Wadsworth, Nelson K. Hopkins, and Seward A. Simons.
In politics Judge White has always been a staunch Republican. In 1885 he was nominated for the office of Judge of the Superior Court of Buffalo, and although he received the support of men of both parties he failed of election by fifty-seven votes in a total of 33,000. He was renominated in 1891 and elected by a majority of over 400. With one exception Judge White was the only candidate on the Republican city ticket elected that year, a Democratic mayor having been elected by over 4,500 majority, and all the other candidates on the Democratic ticket by large majorities. He served as judge of the Superior Court of Buffalo until January 1, 1896, when, under the new State constitu- tion, the Superior Court was abolished, and he, with the other judges of Superior city courts, took his seat on the bench of the Supreme Court. As a lawyer and jurist Judge White has achieved eminence and is highly respected for his ability, honesty, and integrity, and his knowledge of the law. He was married on the 10th of February, 1869, to Miss Emma Kate Haskins, daughter of the late Roswell W. Haskins, of Buffalo.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
WILLIAM WARREN POTTER, M. D.
WILLIAM WARREN POTTER, M. D., was born at Strykersville, Genesee (now Wyoming) county, N. Y., on the 31st of December, 1838, and is the son of Dr. Lindorf Potter and Mary G., his wife, daughter of Rev. Abijah Blanchard, D. D., a prominent Presbyterian clergyman. His grandfather, Dr. Benjamin Potter, married Phebe, daughter of Dr. Eastman, of Connecticut, and became one of the earliest physicians on the Holland Purchase, coming to Western New York in 1808. Of Dr. Benjamin Potter's four sons, two, Lindorf and Milton E., both natives of Sheldon, Genesee (now Wyoming) county, became distinguished physicians in the county of their birth. Dr. Milton E. Potter practised successively at Bennington Center, Cowlesville, and Attica, N. Y., where he died in 1875. He was the father of Dr. Milton Grosvenor Potter, late professor of anatomy in the Buffalo University Medical College, who died at Buffalo January 28, 1878. Dr. Lindorf Potter, father of the subject of this sketch, was married January 12, 1837, to Mary G. Blanchard, and first settled at Strykersville, N. Y., whence he moved in 1842 to Warsaw. In 1844 he removed to Varysburg, N. Y., where he practised medicine until his death on March 27, 1857.
Dr. William Warren Potter, as shown in the preceding paragraph. springs from a conspicuous family of physicians and surgeons. He passed his early life in the vicinity of his birthplace, receiving his pre- liminary education in private schools, at the Arcade Seminary, and at the Genesee Seminary and College at Lima, N. Y. He began the study of medicine and surgery under his father. In 1854 he came to Buffalo and entered the Buffalo University Medical College, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. February 23, 1859. Soon afterward he formed a copartnership with his uncle, Dr. Milton E. Potter, of Cowlesville, where he remained until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, when he promptly offered his services in a pro- fessional capacity to the government. Passing the examination of the Army Medical Examining Board at Albany, N. Y., April 25, 1861, he became interested in the organization of the 49th N. Y. Vols. (the Second Buffalo Regiment) in the summer of that year, and on September 16, 1861, was commissioned its assistant surgeon, by Governor Morgan, at
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the instance of the Union Defense Committee, which was composed of Mayor F. A. Alberger, Dr. Edward Storck, James Adams, Isaac Hollo- way, Alderman A. A. Howard, and others. The regiment was com- manded by Col. D. D. Bidwell and bore an honorable part in the great conflict. Dr. Potter, as its junior medical officer, followed its fortunes from the time it was mustered into service and joined the Army of the Potomac, participating in the peninsular and Maryland campaigns and the Fredericksburg disaster. By order of General Franklin, com- manding the Sixth Army Corps, he was left with the wounded of Smith's Division near Savage's Station on the night of June 29, 1862, while the army was retreating to Harrison's Landing, and the next morning he fell into the hands of the enemy and had an interesting interview with the redoubtable "Stonewall " Jackson. A few days later he was taken to Libby Prison at Richmond, then under the command of the notorious Lieutenant Turner. He was released among the first exchanges under the cartel, and delivered to the hospital steamship Louisiana, at Aiken's Landing, Va., July 18, 1862, and immediately thereafter rejoined his reg- iment at Harrison's Landing. On December 16, 1862, he was promoted surgeon of the 57th N. Y. Vols., in Hancock's Division of the Second Army Corps. He served with this regiment during the Chancellorsville and Gettysburg campaigns, and in August, 1863, was assigned to the charge of the First Division Hospital, Second Army Corps, where he remained on duty until he was mustered out of service at the close of the war. He was brevetted lieutenant colonel of U. S. Volunteers for faithful and meritorious service, by the president of the United States, and of New York Volunteers, by the governor of the State of New York, for like reasons.
Returning from the army Doctor Potter practised his profession at Batavia, Genesee county, for a time, but in 1866 returned to Buffalo, where he has since resided. His professional taste, cultivated largely by his father, who was also his preceptor, led him early into the field of surgery, and he has performed many of the more important opera- tions in both military and civil practice. Of late years he has given his entire attention to the treatment of diseases of women, and has per- formed numerous operations in the departments of gynecic, pelvic and abdominal surgery.
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