USA > New York > Erie County > Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume II > Part 71
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Grosvenor, Joseph Williston, M. D., Buffalo, is descended from (1) John Grosvenor, who came from England prior to 1673; married Esther Clark, and for a number of years was a tanner and town constable in Roxbury, Mass., and later a proprietor of Pomfret, Conn. ; he died in Roxbury, September 27, 1691, aged forty-eight, and his wife in Pomfret, June 15, 1738, aged about eighty-seven. The house in which her death occurred is still in the possession of the Grosvenors. Their son, (2) Ebenezer Grosvenor, born October 9, 1684, in Roxbury, died September 20, 1730, in Pomfret. His wife, Anna, daughter of John and Sarah (Hadlock) Marcy, was born October 11, 1687, and died July 30, 1743. Their third child, (3) Ebenezer Grosvenor, jr., born December 1713, kept tavern in Pomfret for many years, and died August 2, 1793. He married Lucy Cheney, born October 29, 1720, in Pomfret, died in 1792. (4) Dan- iel Grosvenor, son of Ebenezer, jr., was born April 20, 1750, was graduated from Yale College in 1769, and was pastor of the church in Grafton, Mass., and later in Paxton. April 19, 1775, he marched in the ranks towards Charlestown. He was a member of the Legislature from Petersham, Mass., where he died July 22, 1834, and where his wife died September 11, 1841; she was Deborah Hall, daughter of Rev. David and Elizabeth (Prescott) Hall, and was born March 5, 1756, in Sutton, Mass., where Mr. Grosvenor married her May 9, 1776. Their eldest child, (5) Daniel Bulk- ley Grosvenor, born in Grafton, Mass., August 19, 1777, was married April 5, 1804, to Lucy, daughter of Gad and Lucy (Grosvenor) Williston. Her mother, born July 25, 1747, was a daughter of Ebenezer, jr., and a sister of Rev. (4) Daniel Grosvenor, just mentioned. Daniel B. Grosvenor died in Brookfield, Mass., January 15, 1821, on the farm on which John Grosvenor, a son of the original John, was killed by the Indians July 22, 1709. His wife, born July 16, 1775, died June 22, 1842. Their only son, (6) Joseph Williston Grosvenor, born May 1, 1805, in Paxton, died April 19, 1838. April 26, 1835, he married Mary Bacon Hancock, born in Barre, Mass., February 11, 1817, daughter of Nathan and Catherine Williams (Lee) Hancock. They had two sons : (7) Francis Lee, born March 17, 1836, and (7) Joseph Williston, born July 26, 1837. Dr. Joseph Williston Grosvenor, the latter, was born in South Brookfield, Worcester county, Mass., attended the public schools and Leicester Academy, and was graduated from the Barre (Mass.) High School in 1855, and from Dartmouth College at Hanover, N. H., in 1859, receiving the degree of A. B. He then came to Lockport, N. Y., and took charge of the scientific department of the Union school one year, and in 1860 removed to Buffalo, where he had charge of the classical de- partment of the Central High School one year. In 1862 he enlisted in the United States service as assistant surgeon, serving in the 11th R. I. H. A. until the close of the war, being mustered out in April, 1865. While engaged in teaching he had taken up the study of medicine, and after the war he entered the New York University Medical College, from which he received the degree of M. D. in 1866. He began practice in Providence, R. I., but removed in 1868 to Lockport, N. Y., where he fol- lowed his profession until 1884. He then came to Buffalo, where he has since been in active practice. He is a prominent member of the Presbyterian church, and while in Lockport was superintendent of the First Presbyterian church Sunday school for ten successive years. Dr. Grosvenor has been supreme medical examiner of the Royal Templars of Temperance since 1887. He is a member of the American Med. ical Association, the American Academy of Medicine, the Erie County Medical So- ciety, the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, the Buffalo Academy of Medicine, the
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Lodge of Ancient Landmarks, No. 441, F. & A. M., William Richardson Post, No. 254, G. A. R., and National Fraternal Congress. In 1896 he was a vice-president of the American Academy of Medicine and is now a vice-president of the Society for the Study and Cure of Inebriety. He has traveled extensively, visiting the Pacific coast twice and spending the year 1871-72 in Europe, where he improved himself in medical observation. He has written numerous articles on the cause of temperance from a scientific standpoint, and also on various medical subjects. May 19, 1868, he married Mary Fassett, born in Lockport, N Y., October 11, 1842, a daughter of David Safford and Sarah (Van Dake) Fassett. She died May 9, 1870, leaving one daughter, Mary Fassett Grosvenor, born April 20, 1870. a son, born February 7, 1869, having died when four days old. August 2, 1883, Dr. Grosvenor married second, in Buffalo, Mrs. Maria Louise Ely, daughter of John and Maria (Dewhirst) Van Horn. She was born in Newfane, N. Y., November 26, 1838.
Stowe. George Moore, Buffalo, is a descendant of the old English Stowes, who were granted a coat of arms in 1661; his early ancestors in America settled in New England as early as 1670 He is a son of William Rufus and Eunice E. (Kinney) Stowe, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., June 5, 1848, and obtained his education in the public schools of his native city and at Canandaigua Academy. He was engaged in various mercantile pursuits, principally banking, until 1879, after which he spent several years in the West. He finally removed to Buffalo, where he is well known in connection with the Bank of Buffalo, of which he became paying teller and where he was afterward associated with the Third National Bank. In 1888 he accepted his present position as manager of the Buffalo Granolithic Paving Company, one of the largest concerns of the kind in Western New York. Mr. Stowe has also been presi- dent of the Orchard Park Dairy Company and Jewett Stock Farm since its organiza- tion as a stock company in 1891. In September, 1874, he married Helen, daughter of the late James Locke of Gowanda, N. Y., and their children are George Moore, jr., Franklin D. L., John Gurney and Helen.
Wilhelm, Edward M., Buffalo, is one of the best known insurance men in Buffalo, having been engaged in the business for over twenty years. He is a son of Louis and Frances (Deibach) Wilhelm, natives of Alsace, France, who came to this coun- try in the early forties and settled in Buffalo, N. Y., where Mr. Wilhelm was born July 24, 1858. He attended the public schools of his native city, took a full commer- cial course at St. Joseph's College, and obtained his first business experience in the office of Bryan's Evening Post, where he remained two years, when he accepted a position with the Bradstreet Commercial Agency. Two years later, or in 1877, he entered the insurance office of Capt. E. P. Dorr, with whom he remained seven years. In 1884, in company with Colonel Wiedrich, he assumed the management of the Buffalo branch of the Germania Fire Insurance Company of New York, and since then he has given his entire time and attention to the company's extensive Buffalo business. Mr. Wilhelm was married in 1879 to Margaret O., daughter of Adam Rebman of Buffalo, and their children are Josephine and Arthur F.
Robert, John O. G., Buffalo, only son of John and Louisa (Balzer) Robert, natives of Thuringia, Germany, was born in Buffalo, N. Y., January 7, 1843. His father, a
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tanner, came to Buffalo in 1825, when he was twenty-one years of age, and followed his trade all his life, dying in 1857. In politics he was a Whig. Mrs. Robert, who came to Buffalo in 1839, survives him, as do also one son and three daughters. John O. G. Robert received his education in the parochial schools and at Martin Luther College, and since entering upon his active life has successfully followed the vocation of teacher. After teaching in Detroit for two and one-half years he re- turned to Buffalo and taught in the school in which he was educated. Afterward he was for five years a teacher at Johnsburg, Niagara county. He had charge of St. Andrew's School in Buffalo from 1872 to October, 1893, and since then has been principal of Christ Church Parochial School. Mr. Robert has achieved a high repu- tation as an able, careful and conscientious teacher, and as a citizen is widely re- spected. He is a staunch Republican, has served the Ninth ward as alderman two terms, is president of Christ Church Benevolent Association and is a member of the Crescentia Beneficiary Society. He was the founder and secretary of the Economy Savings and Loan Association and of the Fidelity Savings and Loan Association, and in 1890 he organized the Industry Permanent Dime Savings and Loan Associa- tion, of which he is now the secretary. November 16, 1865, he married Johanna Fischer, who was born in Prussia in November, 1844; she came with her parents, Christian and Rosina (Kutsche) Fischer, to Buffalo in 1853. Of their nine children two sons and six daughters are living.
Gray, Abijah, Buffalo, one of the first settlers of the town of Evans, Erie county, was born at Tisbury (Martha's Vineyard), Dukes county, Mass., March 29, 1769. He was the son of Isaiah Gray, 1st, one of Tisbury's lifelong farmers. His ancestors came from England to Massachusetts at a very early day. Mr. Gray was married in 1792 to Dolly Foster, who was born August 4, 1775, and who died February 13, 1834. For his second wife he married her sister, Rebecca Foster. A few years after his first marriage he became a pioneer settler of the town of Evans, Erie county, where he died October 6, 1846. His children, all by his first wife, were Isaiah, Abijah, jr., Gilbert, Daniel, Harrison, Franklin, Mary (Mrs. Saunders Dunham), and Polly (Mrs. Job Shaw).
Gray, Isaiah, eldest child of Abijah and Dolly (Foster) Gray, was born in Tisbury, Mass., April 29, 1793, came with his parents to Evans, Erie county, and died there February 18, 1839. He was a farmer, like his father, and also had contracts for the construction of the Hamburg turnpike and a part of the Erie Canal in Buffalo. He married Mary, daughter of Joshua and Eunice (Wilber) Morgan, pioneers of Buffalo, and a sister of Joshua P. Morgan, who resides in Elgin, Ill., at the age of ninety - four. She was born in 1801 and died in Evans, June 29, 1849. Her parents were natives of Wales, Great Britain. Their children were Raselus Morgan Gray, a prominent farmer and politician of Quindaro, Kan .; Dr. Eldred P. Gray, noticed later; Alfred Gray, born December 5, 1830; Corydon L. and Corrington Gray, twins; Americk and Americus Gray, twins, born February 4, 1833; and Mary Ann Gray. Alfred Gray, the third son, was a regimental, brigade and division quarter- master in the Union army from April, 1862, to March, 1864, and served as chief clerk of the last territorial House of Representatives of Kansas. He was afterwards an influential member of the first Legislature of that State, and was a director of the
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State Agricultural Society of Kansas from 1866 to 1872, when he was chosen the first secretary of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, which position he held until his death at Topeka on January 23, 1880.
Gray, Eldred P., M. D., was graduated from the medical department of the Uni- versity of Buffalo in 1849, and became a member of the Erie County Medical Society in 1850. He practiced medicine in Buffalo for a number of years, and afterward settled in St. Joseph, Mo. From 1861 to 1865 he served with distinction as a surgeon in the Union army in the war of the Rebellion.
Gray, Americk, son of Isaiah and Mary (Morgan) Gray, was born in Evans, Erie county, February 4. 1833. His twin brother, Americus, died in infancy, and his father when he was but six years old, his widowed mother being left with eight chil- dren, of whom he was the fifth. He remained on his father's farm until he was twelve years of age, when he went to live with Ambrose Cash, a well known farmer of Evans, with whom he resided until he was twenty-two. March 8, 1855, he married Charlotte L. Mills of Evans, and afterward followed farming and carpentering. He also operated a saw mill in Evans for a time. 1n 1866 he purchased 160 acres of land at Fort Scott, Kan., and the same year moved to Quindaro, Kan., where he died November 16, 1867, leaving a widow and three children: Frederick I. Gray, now a hardware merchant in Kansas City, Mo., and Dr. John R. Gray and Flora Ada, wife of Peter S. Southwell, a contractor, both of Buffalo.
Gray, John Robert, M. D., Ph. G., secretary of the Buffalo College of Pharmacy (University of Buffalo), is the youngest son of Americk and Charlotte L. (Mills) Gray, and was born in the town of Evans, Erie county, June 6, 1859. He may very properly be considered a self-made man. Deprived of a father's care at the age of eight years his early training was obtained under the care of a Christian mother of more than ordinary mental endowments. He attended the "Little Red School House" and afterwards the Angola Academy, and taught school for a year on the "Old Erie Road" in his native town. At the age of seventeen he conducted his grandmother's farm for a year. After serving a year's apprenticeship in Oatman's drug store at Angola he went to North East, Pa., where he was employed for three and one-half years in the drug store of Swarts & Loop. Dr. D. D. Loop, one of the firm, was subsequently his preceptor in the study of medicine. In 1886 he came to Buffalo and in 1887 purchased an interest in the Front Avenue Pharmacy, afterward familiarly known as Gray's Pharmacy, of which he became sole owner in the spring of 1888. From that time to the present his life has been one round of work and advancement. In 1889 he was appointed instructor in pharmacognosy (which he introduced) in the Buffalo College of Pharmacy, and was promoted to the chair of pharmacognosy in the following year. This institution was among the first, if not not the very first, of its kind to originate and develop this course of instruction. All this time Dr. Gray was studying as well as teaching and conducting his pharmacy, and in 1889 was graduated in medicine from the University of Buffalo, standing third on the roll of honor. In 1890 he received the honorary degree of Ph. G. from the council of that institution, on account of his knowledge of pharmacy and his scholarly entertainments, particularly along the line of botany in relation to phar-
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macy. In 1890 he gave a special summer course in pharmacognosy and has con- tinued to fill that chair with consummate ability. In May, 1892, he sold his drug store and entered upon the active practice of medicine, opening an office at 246 Seventh avenue, Buffalo. In 1894 he published a text book entitled " A Guide to the Study of Pharmacognosy," and is now revising a second edition. He is a mem- ber of a number of medical and pharmacal societies-city, county, State and national. June 21, 1893, he married Carrie Louise, daughter of Timothy and Margaret (Senett) Sullivan of Buffalo. She was born at Port Dalhousie, Canada, February 18, 1863. They have had two children: Americk Sullivan Gray, born June 15, 1895, died June 29, 1895, and Margaret Charlotte Gray, born April 16, 1897.
Rust, Robert L. B., Buffalo, son of James W. and Margaret E. (Sanbower) Rust, was born in Loudon county, Virginia, November 3, 1864. In February, 1883, he entered the telegraph office at Leesburg, Va., to learn telegraphy. In August, 1883, he entered the service of the Washington, Ohio and Western Railroad Company as agent at East Falls Church, Va., and worked as agent at different points on that line and as operator in the superintendent's office until the absorption of that road by the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company. In January, 1889, he accepted a position with the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad Company as yard clerk at New Castle, Pa. On March 1 of the following year he was promoted to the position of joint agent of the W. N. Y. & P. and Pennsylvania Railroads at Cler- mont, Pa. In April, 1891, he was appointed traveling car agent of the W. N. Y. & P., which position he still holds. By close attention to business he has won the confidence of those with whom he has business relations.
Kurtzmann, Louis S., Buffalo, son of Christian and Rosalia (Wugeley) Kurtzmann, was born in Buffalo, N. Y., February 2, 1860, and was graduated from St. Joseph's College in 1880. His father had established a piano manufactory in Buffalo in 1848, soon after his arrival from Germany, and in this business Mr. Kurtzmann early de- veloped musical talents of the highest degree. In 1886 Christian Kurtzmann died, and Louis S. Kurtzmann, Adolph Geiger and Alexander Cordes formed a copart- nership under the firm name of C. Kurtzmann & Co., which has remained unchanged, Mrs. Fredericka Cordes succeeding to the interest of her husband upon his death in 1893. This is one of the oldest and best known piano manufactories in the United States, and has always held the foremost rank in the business. Christian Kurtz- mann was a man of practical experience, was endowed with a wonderful talent for music, and as a citizen was everywhere esteemed for his energy, enterprise, ability and integrity ; and all these sterling qualities have been manifested by his son, Louis S., who, with his associates, has not only continued, but increased the fame of the Kurtzmann piano throughout the country .. May 30, 1885, Mr. Kurtzmann married Anna M., daughter of Thomas Seaver and a sister of Hon. Joseph V. Seaver of Buffalo. They have one son, Christian.
Geiger, Adolph, Buffalo, a member of the firm of C. Kurtzmann & Co., piano manufacturers, is a native of Germany, and came to this country in 1869, settling in Buffalo, where he has since resided. He is a practical piano maker. Christian Kurtzmann, a native of Germany, established a piano manufactory in Buffalo in 1848
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and ably conducted it until his death in 1886, when Louis S. Kurtzmann, Mr. Geiger, and Alexander Cordes formed a copartnership under the firm name of C. Kurtz- mann & Co., which has since remained unchanged, Mrs. Fredericka Cordes succeed - ing to her husband's interest upon his death in 1893. This is the only piano manufactory in Erie county and one of the oldest and best known in the United States. From 125 to 150 men are employed. To Mr. Geiger is due much of the firm's success ; he has charge of the factory, and is endowed with musical talent of a high order.
Strauss, Mathias, Buffalo, was born in Remich, in the grand duchy of Luxemburg, Germany, April 15, 1836, and came to America with his parents in 1850. His ances- tors, including his father and grandfather, had been manufacturers of wool and sheep leather in their native town for over one hundred years. The family settled in Buffalo, where both father and son were employed in the Breithaupt & Schoell- kopf tannery, the former at seventy-five cents and the latter at thirty-seven and a half cents per day. Within five years Mathias Strauss became foreman of the de- partment for finishing and dyeing fancy sheep leather. In 1860, with a capital of $200, he rented the tannery and began business for himself, employing from eighty- five to one hundred men. In the spring of 1895 the plant was burned but it was re- built within six months, and is now one of the most important establishments of the kînd in Buffalo. Mr. Strauss is a leading Democrat and was councilman in 1892 and 1893-95. He is a member of St. Mary's church and the Old German Society of Buf- falo, an honorary member of the Knights of St. John, and a founder of a working boy's home, a church and an orphan asylum. November 15, 1859, he married Eliza- beth, daughter of Charles Brosart of Buffalo, and they have two sons, John A. and Charles, who are associated with their father in business.
McKenna, John J., Buffalo, son of James and Ella (Finn) McKenna, is a native of Buffalo, born January 3, 1869. He obtained his education in the public and high schools and then entered the employ of the D., L. & W. Railroad in the capacity of billing clerk, remaining ten years. In March, 1895, he formed a copartnership with R. S. Brown for the conduct of a wall paper business, locating at 702 Swan street. This is now one of the leading establishments of its kind in that section of the city. Mr. McKenna is a young man of keen business instincts and much ability. He is a member of the A. O. H. and the Society of Ben Hur.
Johnson, Burt C., M. D., Buffalo, son of Corydon C. Johnson, M. D., and Grace Randall, his wife, was born in Gowanda, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., June 8, 1869. He was educated in the public schools and at the Gowanda Academy, from which he was graduated in 1885. The following year he began the study of medicine with his father, Dr. C. C. Johnson, who has been engaged in active practice in Gowanda for nearly forty years, and in 1890 he was graduated with honor from the University of Buffalo with the degree of M. D. In a competitive examination for securing an ap- pointment to the Buffalo General Hospital he was successful over several competitors and served in that hospital one year. Upon beginning practice he associated him- self with Dr. D. W. Harrington of 1430 Main street, which connection still con- tinues. Dr. Johnson has built up an extensive practice for a man so young, and
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has apparently a bright future in the profession. He first located on Jefferson street and thence removed to his present location on East Uitca street. He is a 32d degree Mason, holding membership in Hiram Lodge No. 105, F. & A. M., Buffalo Chapter, R. A. M., Lake Erie Commandery, No. 20, K. T., Buffalo Consis- tory, and the Shrine. He is also a member of the Lake Erie Medical Society, the Erie County Medical Society, and the Buffalo Academy of Medicine. June 19, 1895, he married Jessie B., daughter of George T. Anderson of Indianapolis, Ind., form- erly of Buffalo.
Koehler & Randle, Buffalo .- Edward F. Koehler, son of John C. and Carolina (Miller) Koehler, was born in Buffalo October 23, 1863. He attended the public school, and St. Canisius College. and after leaving school learned the lithographer's trade, in which he continued for fourteen years. At the death of his father in 1890 he suc- ceeded to the business and associated himself with George M. Randle. In October, 1890, he married Margaret Randle of Buffalo. George M. Randle is a native of Buf-
. falo, where he has resided since his birth, July 2, 1863. He is a son of John and Margaret (Dusen) Randle. Mr. Randle received his education in the public schools and at Bryant & Stratton's Business College, and was variously employed until 1890, when the present firm of Koehler & Randle was formed. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias. In October, 1885, he married Barbara Shaefer, of Buffalo. The firm of Koehler & Randle are large manufacturers of trusses, shoulder braces, etc. The business was established in 1863 by John C. Koehler, father of the senior mem- ber of the present firm.
Meyer, Henry, Buffalo, one of the representative builders of Buffalo, is a native of Germany. He was educated in Hanover, and came from Germany to this country in 1860, settling in Buffalo, where he has since resided. He found employment with Hersee & Co. as a cabinet maker, and within two years was made foreman of their shop. The business was afterwards purchased by Weller, Brown & Messmer, and Mr. Myer was installed as manager, being placed in charge of many important con- tracts, such as work on the capitol at Albany, the Stillman Hotel in Cleveland, sev- eral fine residences in New York city, etc. Many of the finest residences in Buffalo have been completed under his supervision. The present firm of Metz & Meyer was formed in 1882. Since then, by energy, sagacity, and honorable methods, an exten- sive business has been built up. Mr. Meyer was united in marriage to Henrietta Menge, of Buffalo, in May, 1869. They have seven children: Henry C., Carrie, Albert, Hattie, Hulda, Minnie and Clara.
Ransom, Charles M., Buffalo, son of Dr. David and Martha A. (Towne) Ransom, was born in Buffalo, N. Y., February 20, 1868. Dr. David Ransom removed to Buf- falo from Earlville, N. Y., in 1866, bringing with him a large proprietary medicine business, which he had founded in 1846, and which he conducted until his death December 12, 1872. Charles M. Ransom had the advantages of a classical education, receiving the degree of A. B. from Williams College at Williamstown, Mass., in 1890. He then entered the establishment of D. Ransom, Son & Co., manufacturers of med- icines, and later was admitted to membership in the firm. Mr. Ransom is a member of the Saturn, Country and Buffalo Clubs, and inspector of rifle practice on General
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Doyle's staff He was married November 2, 1892, to Carrie Lucile Gorton, of Buffa- lo, and they have one daughter, Margaret.
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