Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume II, Part 86

Author: White, Truman C
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Boston] : Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 684

USA > New York > Erie County > Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume II > Part 86

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Kaercher, Henry, Tonawanda, son of Abraham, was born January 14, 1839, in Germany, where he was educated in the public schools and gymnasia. He was for four years an office clerk for Stern Brothers, tobacco manufacturers, and for three years correspondence clerk for a large machine establishment, after which he went to Prussia in the interests of an ivory, meerschaum, amber and pearl import- ing house, having charge of their goods at a commercial fair for three years. He then went to South Germany as traveling salesman for a large chemical and vine- gar manufactory, and four years later engaged in the manufacture of vinegar for himself. In 1882 he came to New York city and in 1883 removed to Tonawanda, Erie county, where he has since been a successful vinegar manufacturer. He is familiar with both the French and German processes of manufacture, has traveled extensively over the United States and Canada, and has acted as a vinegar expert in a number of cases. January 26, 1866, Mr. Kaercher married Pauline Weigle, of Ger- many, and their children are Emma (Mrs. Matthew Hummel), of San Francisco, Cal., and Bertha, Otto, Elizabeth and Sophia.

Luck, William J., Tonawanda, son of John and Sophia (Foss) Luck, was born in Prussia, Germany, February 14, 1846, and was educated in his native country. In 1863 he came to the United States and settled on a farm in the town of Wilson, Ni- agara county, where he resided until March, 1888, when he removed to Tonawanda, where he was engaged in business as a barber for six years. Since then he has been engaged in the coal and wood trade. Mr. Luck was married December 12, 1867, to Sophia Schrader, who came from Germany when she was nine years old. Their children are William H., Herman, Albenia (Mrs. Samuel Thompson), Mary, Ida, Eva, Walter, Clara and Grace.

Conrad, Charles Torrey, Tonawanda, son of George and Delilah (Van Dewater) Conrad, natives of Niagara county, was born in Tonawanda, N. Y., September 5, 1872, and received a public school education. Afterward he was tallying clerk for A. M. Dodge & Co., wholesale lumber dealers, for seven years. Since then he has been variously employed, principally as lumber inspector or salesman. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum and the order of the Iroquois.

Webb, John C., town clerk of the town of Tonawanda, was born in Grand Island, Erie county, N. Y., February 9, 1859, a son of Henry and Marguerite (Wilbank) Webb. Henry Webb has spent most of his life as a farmer, coming in 1842 to Erie county, where forty-six years were spent in Grand Island farming, and where he now owns a fine farm. In 1893 he retired to the village of Tonawanda, where he has since re- sided. He has been a Republican since the formation of the party, has filled the office of assessor, and was one of the board of education for about twelve years. John C. Webb received his education in the public school of his native town, and when seventeen left home, going to Tonawanda, where he learned the black- smith's trade, which he followed for eight years. He then engaged in the dry dock business, which he pursued for over four years, and then discontinued it to resume

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blacksmithing and carriage making, continuing at that until the spring of 1897, when he was elected to the office of town clerk. He then closed his business to devote his entire time to the duties of this office. Mr. Webb has been a lifelong Republican, though not active in political affairs until his friends prevailed upon him to accept the nomination for the office of town clerk. He also holds the office of committee- man for the Fourth nistrict. In 1892 he married Katie A. McDermott, of Tonawan- da, and they have five sons and two daughters: Thomas H., Harry E., John B., George H., Anna U., Edward E. and Katie A.

Wheattall, Benjamin J., Tonawanda, descends from an old English family. He is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Harrison) Wheattall, and was born near Titusville, Pa., October 2, 1846. After attending the district schools and the State Normal School at Edinboro, he served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, and became a contractor and builder. In 1888 he removed to Tonawanda, Erie county, where he has since been engaged in the building and contracting business. He was a member of the village Board of Trustees in 1895 and 1896, and is now serving his third year as a justice of the peace. Mr. Wheattall is a member of Tonawanda Lodge, No. 247, F. & A. M., of Niagara River Lodge, No. 527, I. O. O. F., and of the Empire Knights of Relief. March 16, 1881, he married Emma J., daughter of Neven and Sarah Nugent of Buffalo, and they have one daughter, Gertrude G.

Rhadigan, John, Tonawanda, one of Tonawanda's prominent merchants, was born in Marysville, St. Clair county, Mich., May 13, 1845. His parents, James and Mary (McCormick) Rhadigan, came from Ireland in 1840 and first settled in Canada, but soon remeved to Marysville, Mich. Mr. Rhadigan early identified himself with the lumber trade, and for the past thirty-eight years has been engaged in the lake trans- portation business, which he still follows during the summer months. He is one of the best known men on the great lakes, and is a member of the C. M. B. A. July 7, 1879, he married Belinda, daughter of Thomas Strong, of Tonawanda, N. Y., and they have three children living: John R., William S. and Belinda.

Heerdt, Henry J., Tonawanda, is a son of Henry J. and Elizabeth (Gerhardt) Heerdt, who came to this country from Germany at an early age and first lived in Buffalo, whence they removed to Hamburg, Erie county, where they were married, and where Henry J., the son, was born January 27, 1861. Mr. Heerdt attended the old Hamburg Academy, was graduated from Bryant & Stratton's Business College, and became a lumber salesman for E. B. Holmes. Afterward he entered the em- ploy of the Rose Co operative Brewing Company (now the Iroquois Brewing Com- pany) as collector and solicitor, which position he still holds, becoming the company's agent at Tonawanda in January, 1890. He is a member of Niagara River Lodge No. 527, I. O. O. F., and of the K. O. T. M. September 9, 1886, he married Anna, daughter of Neil Connors. of Buffalo, and their children are Lillian R., Violet H. and Henry C.

Hill, George E., Tonawanda, one of the prominent lumber dealers of Tonawanda, is the son of Albert D. and Alice (Cook) Hill, and was born at Bangor, Me., Septem- ber 6, 1850. He attended the public schools, was graduated from the Bangor High

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School in 1868, and obtained his first business experience as a clerk in the clothing store of Fox & Richardson of Lowell, Mass., where he remained two years. He then entered the employ of M. C. Pratt, a lumber dealer in Lowell. In 1872 he came to Buffalo and for four years was associated with E. B. Holmes, after which he moved to Tonawanda and entered the employ of A. Weston & Son, with whom he remained fifteen years. In 1890 he engaged in the lumber business for himself, and since then he has built up a large and successful trade. Mr. Hill was married in May, 1873, to Emma E., daughter of G. E. Hill of Lowell, Mass., and they have one son, Guy C.

Rowley, H. Seymore, Tonawanda, is descended from an old Holland family, his ancestors settling in this country about 1620. One of his progenitors was General Schuyler. Mr. Rowley was born on a farm near Lockport, N. Y., November 28, 1861, and is the son of Thomas Rowley and Sarah Rogers, his wife. He attended the public schools of Rochester, was graduated from the Rochester Business Univer- sity in 1887, and then removed to Tonawanda, Erie county, to accept the position of assistant postmaster under G. C. Christ, which he held three years. Afterward, be- ginning in 1893, he was connected with the waterworks office of the village of Ton- awanda for some time. Mr. Rowley is affiliated with several societies, being ,a member of Niagara River Lodge No. 527, I. O. O. F., and the Order of Iroquois. In September, 1890, he married Freda, daughter of John Matthies, and they have two children, Frank B. and Ruth H.

Fries, George, Tonawanda, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Wolf) Fries, was born in the town of Tonawanda, Erie county, N. Y., February 19, 1851. He attended the district schools and remained on his father's farm until he was twenty-seven years of age, when he bought a farm and began tilling the soil on his own account. Six years later he removed to Buffalo and entered the employ of Peter Werkley, dealer in feed. Afterward he moved to the village of Tonawanda, where he has been en- gaged in the grocery business for ten years. In 1871 he married Elizabeth Muck of Amherst, who bore him five children, of whom two survive, viz .: Amos H. and Ed- ward F. For his second wife he married Minnie, daughter of John Prafe of Tona- wanda, and their children are Arthur G. and Aster Louisa.

Day, Elijah V., Tonawanda, son of Elijah and Betsey (Toles) Day, was born in the village of Covington, Monroe county, N. Y., April 8, 1811, and in 1820 came with his parents to Tonawanda. This section of the State was then a wilderness. The family moved from New England. to about the site of Buffalo by team, and from there descended the Niagara River on boats poled by hand. Mr. Day's education was meagre, being limited to a few terms at the rude district schools of his day. He early learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed seven years, and then pur- chased a stage coach and engaged in carrying passengers and freight between Tona- wanda and Niagara Falls. Afterward he was engaged in canal boating and also in building docks for several years. In 1887 he built the well known Adams House, which he has since conducted. Mr. Day is one of the oldest citizens of Erie county, where he has spent his active life. For nearly eighty years he has been an honored resident of the village of Tonawanda, which he has seen develop from a few houses

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to a thrifty and enterprising commercial center, and withal one of the largest lum- ber ports in the world. His mind is richly stored with information of the past, and his reminiscences are both valuable and entertaining. As blacksmith, stage pro- prietor, dock builder, and landlord, he has always been an interesting figure. He has three children living, viz. : Jane Blare, Mary and Minnie M.

Brenon, Charles, Tonawanda, is the son of August and Mary A. (De Munway) Brenon, who came from France in the early fifties and settled in Lewis county, N. Y., where he was born October 8, 1852. He attended the district schools in winter and worked on his father's farm summers, and in 1880 removed to Tonawanda, Erie county, where he has since been eagaged in the live stock commission business. He is a member of the C. B. L. December 10, 1879, he married Epilona, daughter of Frederick Berring, and they have seven children: Lillian E., Clara T., Frank C., Grace, Wilbur, Leo and Frances A.

Brown, James, Tonawanda, is of Scotch-English descent, his father, Samuel, coming from Scotland, and his mother, Mary J. (Hunter), from Kent, England. They came to this country in 1830 and settled in the Province of Quebec, Canada, where James was born November 8, 1846. His parents removed to Kingston, Ontario, re- maining there for a short time, and then removed to St. Catherines, where they resided eight years. In 1857 they removed to Buffalo, where James Brown was first employed by Dean Caudry, for two years, when he entered the service of Fox & Bruce as an office boy. Two years afterward he accepted a position with F. R. Buck, with whom he remained eight years. At the end of this time he removed to Ton- awanda, where he was apprenticed to the ship builder's trade with Humble & Jones, and after finishing his trade he remained in their employ twelve years. In 1873 he engaged in the restaurant business, in which he was very successful six years, when he sold out and engaged in the boat building business on his own account. He has since been engaged in this industry with the exception of two years, when he was in the canal boating business, running boats from Buffalo to New York. August 29, 1872, he married Barbara Meyer, of Tonawanda, and nine children have been born to them, six of whom are living: Cora B., wife of George Mahler; Anna M., wife of J. A. Stitt; and Asa J., William H., Ruby B., James F., Harvey F., Alice M., and Blanche E.

Mesmer, Joseph, Grand Island, is one of the well-to do farmers of Grand Island. He was born in Buffalo, January, 1855, the oldest of two sons and five daughters born to Joseph Mesmer, who was a native of Germany, born in 1821 and a son of Anthony Mesmer. Anthony came to America in 1828, bringing his family with him, which consisted of three sons and three daughters. He bought a farm in the town of Buffalo, near where is now the corner of Main and Amherst streets. He was very prosperous and later retired to Buffalo and purchased a residence on Main street, where he spent his remaining days. Joseph Mesmer, the father, was for a number of years engaged in the stone business and owned a quarry in Buffalo. In 1855 he moved to Grand Island and purchased 260 acres of timber land, which he cleared and converted into spiles, railroad ties and cord wood and disposed of it on the river bank. He was a hard working man and prosperous. He was actively identified

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with the Democratic party, who elected him to the office of assessor, commissioner of highways, poormaster and constable. His wife was Katharine Schmidt, born in France. Mr. Mesmer died in April, 1896. His wife survives him and resides on the Island. Joseph, the subject, worked on his father's farm and attended the district school, remaining with his parents until twenty-five years of age, when he began for himself on a rented farm. Upon the death of his father he came in possesion of six- ty acres of his father's farm as his portion, and afterwards purchased twenty acres more from his sister, and has since resided here, doing a general and successful farming. He, like his father, is a firm adherent to the principles of Democracy. He represented his town one term as commissioner of highways, and is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. In 1885 he married Mary Geschwender, of Grand Island, and they had six children: Joseph, Magnus, John, Leo (died when six years old), Mary and Aloysus. Mr. and Mrs. Mesmer are members of the Catholic church.

Burrows, Roswell Lester, was for many years one of the foremost members of the Buffalo bar. His father, Latham Avery Burrows, was a lawyer, a judge of the Court for the Correction of Errors, and a State senator, was located at Owego, Tioga county, N. Y., where his family of ten children were born (Roswell L. being ths sec- ond), and where, on the banks of the Susquehanna, he built a fine house of the old fashioned pillared type, which, with its well kept grounds and garden, is still one of the pleasant homes of that quiet, attractive place. Roswell Lester Burrows was born March 12, 1821, and as a boy and young man was remarkable for his great physical strength and mental vigor, and many an entertaining anecdote was told of his boyish courage and prowess or victory in the class-room. About 1839 the family moved to Rochester, where he studied law with General Matthews. He was admit- ted to the bar in 1842 and began active practice in Albion, Orleans county, where two of his father's brothers lived, and where he formed a law partnership with Judge Burrell. On the death of his elder brother, Latham, in 1847, he moved to Buffalo, where he resided and practiced law until his death. January 6, 1848, he married Maria W., daughter of Rev. Justus W. French, of Albion, N. Y. After removing to Buffalo he shared, for a time, an office with E. Carleton Sprague, and during his earlier residence in this city held many positions of trust. He was a trustee and secretary of the Buffalo Orphan Asylum and secretary of the Buffalo General Hos- pital, rendering efficient service during the cholera panics of 1849, 1852 and 1854. He was chairman of the lecture course of the Young Men's Association, city clerk during the years 1854-55, and during the war of the Rebellion was in full sympathy with the North and active in the service of the Sanitary Commission. He was a member of the State Legislature in 1866-67, and while there was the means of se- curing for Buffalo its State Normal School. In the fall of 1868 he was elected judge of Erie county and served four years, when he resumed his law practice, which he carried on until his death, making a specialty of referee cases. For the most part he practiced alone; but he formed, at different times, partnerships with Judge Green, George R. Babcock, John A. Douglass, and Sheldon T. Viele. He was also for many years a director and the attorney of the Niagara Falls International Bridge Company. Judge Burrows possessed a discriminating sense of justice, keen judgment, and a comprehensive grasp of mind rarely equalled. His fund of anecdote was exhaustless, his sense of humor remarkable. He had pre-eminently a legal mind, and he so sup-

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plemented that quality by training and study as to become a great lawyer, sharp and accurate, but never narrow or technical. His opinions and decisions were ever received with deference and respect. His uprightness of purpose, honesty of intention, and perfect integrity were unimpeached and unquestioned, and he enjoyed in the highest degree the esteem and confidence of all. He was first a Whig and later a Republi- can, and a member of the Baptist church. He died February 15, 1897; his widow survives him. He had four children: Sarah Lester (Mrs. Charles C. Morey), who died December 15, 1883; Julia Maria, who died September 14, 1878; Miss Anna E., of Buffalo; and Latham Avery, a banker of Saginaw, Mich.

March, Frederick R., Buffalo, was born of German parentage on the 3d of Janu- ary, 1845, and received a good German education under Professor Etzer. He also attended the common and high schools, took a thorough course in French under a French Presbyterian pastor, and pursued some of the higher branches of study at the private school of a Mr. George, all at Ottawa, Ill., where he served a clerkship in a general store in the mean time. In 1864 he engaged in the general mercantile business in Ottawa as a member of the firm of Adams & March. About two years later he went to Europe and remained eight months for his health, and on returning he began the study of law in Ottawa with Bushnell & Avery. Afterward he studied law in Pittsburg, Pa., for about one year, and in the fall of 1869 came to Buffalo and finished his legal studies with Judge George W. Cothran. He was admitted to the bar in June, 1872, and at once began the active practice of his profession. Mr. March has practiced alone with the exception of one year-1883-84-when Henry S. Thayer was his partner, the firm name being March & Thayer. He has held a conspicuous place at the Buffalo bar for many years, and enjoys a wide repu- tation for ability, judgment, and knowledge of the law. Mr. March was at one time a candidate for member of assembly from the 3d district, comprising the 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th wards of Buffalo, on the Democratic ticket, and, though defeated, he reduced the usual Republican majority 2,000. He has served as chairman of the 9th and later of the 11th ward delegations to the General Democratic City Com- mittee, and was president of the old Buffalo Law Society. Mr. March was the chief instigator, promoter, and organizer of the Lewiston and Youngstown Frontier Electric Railway (the" Old Fort Route"), running from Lewiston to Youngstown and Fort Niagara, and has been a director and the attorney of the company from the start. To him more than to any other one man is due the construction of this line. He was married in 1875 to Barbara M. A., daughter of Frederick Geib, publisher of the Buffalo Morning Tribune, who came to Buffalo from Germany about 1838. Their children are F. Milton, Stella E., Ida, and Bayard D.

Miller, Michael, Grand Island, p. o. Sheenwater, the proprietor of the Eagle Hotel at Eagle Park on Grand Island, was born in Cleveland, O., April 5, 1846, a son of Frank and Eve Miller, natives of Germany. Frank was a cupola tender and came to America in 1837, bringing his family with him, landing in New York, where he remained for a time and then moved to Buffalo by way of the canal. After a few years he went to Cleveland, O., walking the entire distance from Buffalo to Cleve- land, and lived there until 1874, when he moved to Pennsylvania, where he engaged in farming. In 1885 he removed to Buffalo, where he died in 1887. He was a

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staunch Democrat. He reared four sons and five daughters. His maternal grand- father, Dittenhaver, was with Napoleon all through his great campaign. After the capture of Bonaparte he came to America and settled in the South, where he en- gaged in contracting and building. He later sold his property and started for Cleve- land, O., and as he was never seen or heard from afterward by his family, they sup- posed he was killed by robbers. Michael Miller became an iron moulder, working in Cleveland until 1874, when he went to Pennsylvania and two years later came to Buffalo, where he plied his trade until 1881. He then engaged in the liquor busi- ness, assuming the management of his wife's restaurant. In 1889 he and his wife purchased the beautiful and noted Eagle Park, a fine grove of oak, elm, hickory, ash, maple and other varieties of trees and consisting of thirteen acres beautifully located on the west bank of the island, on which they erected the Eagle Park Hotel and re- fitted the grounds, making it the finest pleasure resort on the island, which soon be- came the most popular, having a boat landing where steamboats land and depart regularly during the summer season. Here they have made their home ever since. Mrs. Miller was a daughter of Thomas and Josephine Ferringo, who came to Amer- ica from Germany in 1854, settling in Buffalo, where they spent their remaining days. Thomas was a stonemason by trade and worked on the Buffalo post-office building. Mrs. Miller was first married to Henry Freeman, and they had three children. Mr. Freeman was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, answering the first call for troops. He re-enlisted, going out in the 100th N. Y. Vols., and served the entire time of the war. He died January 20, 1877. Mrs. Freeman continued on in the restaurant business until her marriage to Mr. Miller. She is a member of the Ladies of the Maccabees, Hive No. 1, of Grand Island.

Conboy, William H., Grand Island, is one of the leading and popular young men of the town of Grand Island, and supervisor of that town. He was born in the city of Buffalo, November 14, 1871. His father, Thomas Conboy, was of Irish birth, being born in Ireland, March 10, 1844, a son of Patrick Conboy, who came to America in 1850 and spent several years in Buffalo where he held the position of foreman and timekeeper for Runnel & Co., contractors; being tired of city life he resolved to pur- chase a farm, and Grand Island was a booming place at this time, for its timber which was cut and left the land new and fertile; and Mr. Conboy, a man of shrewd ideas, purchased his farm of 115 acres, where he foresaw the thrifty little Island of to-day. His wife, Mary Judge, the only daughter of William Judge, one of the lead - ing and most noted men of their county, followed her husband to this country but the climate not agreeing with her, she lived but a few months to enjoy its freedom. Their only son, Thomas, was left to the care of his grandfather, who reared and educated him in a college at Dublin, where he graduated at the age of nineteen, when he came to America and secured a position in Buffalo where he remained until 1871, when he also purchased a farm of 60 acres on Grand Island, where he remained with his family until the time of his sudden and sad death, March 28, 1892, when the waters of the Erie Canal claimed him as their victim. He was actively interested in the political welfare of his town and county, affiliating with the Democratic party ; he was a member of the C. M. B. A. His wife, a Miss Brown, was born in Eng- land in 1848, daughter of William Brown, who came to America with his family in 1854. The children of Thomas and his wife are William, Frank, Mary, Frances,

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Katherine, Edward, Thomas, Ella, Elizabeth, Albert and Gertrude. William H. Conboy received his education in the common schools until the age of nine, when he entered St. Joseph's College, Buffalo, and remained there until he graduated, receiv- ing the gold medal as the brightest in his class. His father was so well pleased with his son's success and his many manly ways, that, prompted by the brothers of St. Joseph's he determined to send his boy to Manhattan College, New York; so in the fall off to college William went and took a three years' course, graduating with hon- ors June 18, 1890. After the death of his father he assumed management of the farm affairs; then began the successful organization of the Farmers' Alliance in his own town, and his worthy efforts have not been without reward; he is now secre- retary and purchasing agent for the association. In 1895 he organized a stock com- pany with a capital of $25,000 for the purpose of manufacturing dairy butter. The company is known as the Grand Island Creamery Co., of which William Conboy is secretary. In politics Mr. Conboy is a staunch Democrat and firm believer and ad- vocate in the principles of bi-metalism. In the spring of 1897 he was chosen to rep- resent his town on the Board of Supervisors, he being the youngest man ever elected to the office of supervisor and the first Democrat elected in that town in twenty-five years. Mr. Conboy will prove true to the office he was elected to and show to the people who placed him as their leader that he will do all in his power for their wel- fare.

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Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume II, Part 86

Author: White, Truman C Publication date: 1898 Publisher: [Boston] : Boston History Co. Number of Pages: 684

Author: White, Truman C
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Boston] : Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 684