USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Rochester and Monroe County, New York : pictorial and biographical > Part 23
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In 1854 Mr. Miles was married to Miss Sarah Fay, who died in 1871, and in 1876 he married Miss Agnes E. Crowner, of Rochester. Soon after the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the Thirty-third New York Volun- teer Infantry and when his term of service expired joined the Forty-ninth New York Regiment, remaining in the army until hostilities ceased. In poli- tics he was independent and without desire for political preferment. He became prominent and prosperous in business life. He was a man of domestic tastes, quiet and unassuming in manner but the genuine worth of his charac- ter gained for him the trust and respect of those with whom he was associated.
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MACleveland
Merritt A. Cleveland
P ROMINENT among the business men of Brockport is Merritt A. Cleveland, whose family have for many years been closely identified with the history of the country as engineers, contractors of railroads, canals and other public works. He was born at East Hounsfield, Jefferson county, New York, and is one of a family of six children, of whom four are still living. His father, Philander Cleveland, was also a native of Jefferson county, his ancestors being among the pioneers of the Black river valley. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Mercy Richardson and was a daughter of Stephen Richardson.
During his boyhood Merritt A. Cleveland attended the common and priv- ate schools at East Hounsfield, Brownville and Dexter and was also a student in the Watertown high school. In 1870 he became connected with the engin- eering corps of the Carthage, Watertown & Sackett's Harbor Railroad and later was appointed division engineer of the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad. In 1873, as engineer, he took charge of the construction of the Kingston & Pem- broke Railroad in Canada, and the following year, as a member of the firm of Hunter & Cleveland, completed the Lake Shore Railroad. The year 1877 the firm of Hunter & Cleveland was changed to Hunter, Murray & Cleveland, who engaged in the construction of the locks and works at Port Colborne, Welland, Port Dalhousie and other points along the route until the completion of the Welland canal. In fact the firm were among the largest contractors in that enormous work. They also built a portion of the Murray canal connecting the bay of Quintie with Lake Ontario, and engaged in deepening and improving many of the harbors along the lakes. In 1883-4 the firm of Warren & Cleve- land built the Pittsburg, Cleveland & Toledo Railroad in Pennsylvania and Ohio, which is now a part of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad system. In 1888 the firm of Murray & Cleveland entered into contract with the Dominion gov- ernment to build the Gallops canal around the Gallops Rapids, which is a portion of the system of canals to make the St. Lawrence river navigable for large vessels. Since then Mr. Cleveland has been continuously engaged in improving the St. Lawrence route for the Dominion.
In 1875 Mr. Cleveland married Miss Ellen E. Smith, a daughter of Oril Smith, of Sodus, New York, and to them were born four children : Milo, Helen,
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Harold and Florence. Since 1884 the family have made their home in Brock- port. Mr. Cleveland has ever been watchful of every detail of his business and all indications pointing toward prosperity. He has gained wealth but it was not alone the goal for which he was striving, for he belongs to that class of representative American citizens who promote the general prosperity while advancing individual interests.
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J.J. Mulchay
Timothy S. Mulchay
T IMOTHY S. MULCHAY is a strong and successful business man of Rochester. He started in life in a humble capacity but the development and exercise of his latent powers of energy have gained him a posi- tion of distinction, winning for him that tribute of admiration and respect which the world instinctively pays to the man who plans his own advancement and accomplishes it in spite of difficulties, obstacles and competition. He has been the promoter of many mammoth business transactions and is now secretary of the Rochester, Corn- ing & Elmira Railway Company and secretary of the Rochester Southern Construction Company.
A native of Phelps, Ontario county, New York, Mr. Mulchay was born August 30, 1859, a son of Daniel and Ellen (Shannon) Mulchay. The father, a native of Limerick, Ireland, came to the United States in 1849 and settled on a farm in Ontario county. He is now living retired at Phelps. His wife is also of Irish nativity. Five of their six children are yet living.
At the usual age Timothy S. Mulchay, enjoying no special advantages in youth, was sent as a student to the district schools of his native county, later attending the public schools of Phelps until he completed the high-school course by graduation. That ended his mental training under instruction but a receptive mind, a ready recognition of real values and an appreciation of opportunities have brought him that broader knowledge that cannot be gained from text-books but must be learned through practical experience. He made his initial step in the business world as a school teacher and for thirteen years followed the profession, being principal at different times of the public schools at Dundee, New York, at Brighton and at Rochester. He afterward went to South Dakota, where he became an extensive dealer in real estate, at one time owning more land than any man in that state. He then became interested in Mexico property and conducted some extensive and important real-estate oper- ations there. One deal embraced the sale of four hundred and forty-six thou- sand acres, or two entire counties in Mexico, the land which he sold being now the site of the great dam which is in course of construction by the Mexican government. His successful accomplishment of one undertaking after another brought him enlarged opportunities and greater scope for his marked activity and enterprise. He has been the promoter of large railway and land interests
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and is at present secretary of the Rochester, Corning & Elmira Railway, an electric line, and secretary of the Rochester Southern Construction Company, now building a twelve million dollar electric road from Dansville to Cornell, New York. He is also a director, stockholder and secretary of the Pilot Mountain Mining Company, operating gold mines in California; a director and stockholder in the Weaver Coal Company of Rochester; and in many other enterprises of great usefulness and broad scope. Taking cognizance of the dis- tance between his starting point and the heights he has reached in the business world his record seems phenomenal and yet it but represents the fit utilization of the innate talents which are his. Opportunities that others have passed by heedlessly he has noted and improved until he seems to have realized at any one point in his career the possibilities for sucessful accomplishment at that point. In all things he has displayed an aptitude for successful management and his operations in various parts of the country have contributed in substantial measure to general progress and upbuilding. For sixteen years he has main- tained his office in Rochester and his home in Phelps, New York.
On the 29th of December, 1885, Mr. Mulchay was married to Miss Ella I. Parrish, a daughter of Lyman Parrish, of Phelps, representing one of the old and prominent families of that place. They have four children: Ella M., the wife of George Lutes, of Waterloo, New York; Iva O., who is now prepar- ing for college; George V., who is preparing to enter Yale; and Charles T., who at the age of fifteen years is attending school.
Mr. Mulchay is an active member of the Catholic church at Phelps, belongs to the Rochester Commercial Club and to Elks lodge, No. 24, of Rochester. While he has achieved remarkable success in business he has retained a kindly, generous nature, that in this age of marked commercialism is too often lack- ing. He is a generous contributor to many worthy charities and realizes and fully meets the responsibilities of wealth.
Campbell Brothers New York
13. 1+19 acou.
Byron D. Bacon
B YRON H. BACON, who established and conducted a substantial productive industry of Rochester and continued an active and honored factor in business life in the city until his death, was a native of Leroy, New York, and after acquiring a good educa- tion was engaged in the furniture business in his native town for a number of years. In 1891 he began the manufacture of medicines which were placed upon the market under the name of the Byron H. Bacon medicines. His output included, as the principal remedies, the Cel- ery King and Dr. Otto's Cough medicines which were sold by agents and advertising wagons all over the country, covering nearly every state in the Union, with main offices at No. 187 West avenue in Rochester. Mr. Bacon gave nine years of his life to the conduct of this business which grew in vol- ume until it had reached extensive and profitable proportions. The business is still carried on under the name of the Bacon Medicine Company and employ- ment is now furnished to thirty people in Rochester.
Mr. Bacon was married to Miss Amelia Echlin, of Leroy, New York, who was born in Canada, and they became the parents of three sons; Harold A., Goodell Weles and Ronald Henry. Mr. Bacon was a man of domestic tastes, devoted to his family, and found his greatest pleasure at his own fireside. He considered no personal sacrifice on his part too great if it would promote the welfare and happiness of his wife and children and he was a man who was well liked and respected by all. His widow has since become Mrs. Van Dusen and she resides at No. 42 Oxford street, where she owns a beautiful home, her three sons being still with her.
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WDHayes
Talilliam A. Tapes
W ILLIAM D. HAYES, general manager of the Trav- elers Insurance Company, of Rochester, in which con- nection he has secured a large clientele, was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, July 12, 1857. He was educated at the Normal School of Pottsdam, and after putting aside his text-books he went to California, where he spent four years in the mercan- tile and mining business. Upon his return to the Empire state he settled at Albany and was assistant manager for the Aetna Insurance Company for four years, while in 1890 he came to Rochester as manager of the Travelers Insurance Company and has since occupied this position. He has thoroughly acquainted himself with the insurance business in principle and detail and has increased the business of this office from a small beginning until it has developed into one of the most important offices outside of the city of New York, having a number of agen- cies throughout western New York which are under his supervision. He occupies offices in the Granite building, one of the best office buildings in the city.
Mr. Hayes is a member of the Rochester Club and of the Oak Hill Country Club. He was married May 15, 1883, to Miss Nellie M. Hale of Norwood, St. Lawrence county, New York. They have one of the beautiful residences in Rochester, located at Willow Pond on East avenue, and its gracious hospi- tality makes it the center of a cultured society circle.
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F.G. Maselli
Frank A. Maselli
F RANK A. MASELLI, a general contractor of Roch- ester, was born in Pescolanciano, Italy, on the 15th of April, 1855. His parents were Domenico and Giacomina (Carosella) Maselli, both deceased. He acquired his education in the schools of his native city. After remaining in business with his father for some time beneath the sunny skies of old Italy, Frank A. Maselli came to the new world in 1880 and immediately entered upon active connection with the contractor's business here. His patronage has been chiefly in railroad and public works contracting and has called him to all parts of the United States. He took up his abode at Rochester in 1905 and since that time has been engaged on the construction of the portion of the barge canal near this city. His contracts have been of a large and important character, demanding a comprehensive knowledge of the scientific principles which underlie mechanical engineering, combined with a practical experience. He has now been engaged in the contracting business for twenty-six years and is recognized as one of the most prominent representatives in his line. He has done considerable work in the west for the Union Pacific and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road Companies. He also took a contract near Steubenville, Ohio, for the Wab- ash road, consisting of over two million cubic yards, and recently completed for the Western Allegheny near New Castle, Pennsylvania, a large job. He now has under way sixteen miles of grading for the Lake Erie & Pittsburg branch of the Lake Shore Railroad in Ohio. This is difficult road construction and the contract is such a one as is only awarded where the utmost confidence is had in superior ability and executive force. Mr. Maselli also has recently taken a contract for the construction of three and one-quarter miles of the new state barge canal through a very level country just west of Rochester and east of the junction of the old canal. Two and a half miles are in a heavy rock cut running from twelve to thirty-six feet deep and covered with a layer of earth from two to twelve feet deep. On account of the large rock excavation involved-one million three hundred and fifty-six thousand cubic yards-this contract was selected as one of the first to be let to test the practicability of completing the canal within the one hundred and one million appropriation. The contract was let in May, 1905, and actual construction was begun on the 19th of June of that year. The barge contract is a part of the sixty mile level
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Frank A. Maselli
from Lockport to Rochester, requires no locks, having only one-tenth total change of elevation of grade. New conditions faced Mr. Maselli in the build- ing of the canal but he has proved himself adequate to every demand made upon him. His broad scientific knowledge has been brought to bear in the practical construction. For a mile near the west end of the contract the rock proved to be too soft for channeling and other plans had to be instituted in order to meet this condition. Special machinery has been contrived for the work and in building this canal Mr. Maselli is achieving an engineering feat which is awakening the attention and admiration of expert engineers and con- tractors throughout the entire country and in foreign lands as well. In addi- tion to his contracting interests Mr. Maselli is a director of the National Bank of Commerce.
Mr. Maselli has been married twice. He first wedded Miss Rosa Andrews of Erie, Pennsylvania, and after her death wedded Mary Hill of Richmond, Indiana. He has two children, a son and daughter. Fraternally Mr. Maselli is connected with the Odd Fellows, the Elks and with several Italian societies and is a member of the Rochester Club. In his religious faith he is a Catholic and in political belief is a republican, being a stalwart advocate of the principles of that party, although he has never sought nor desired office. He feels that he made no mistake in leaving his native country and seeking a home in the new world, for here he has found excellent business opportunities and as the years have gone by has gained an enviable position as a general contractor. He has long since left the ranks of the many to stand among the successful few, his ability and energy carrying him far beyond the average contractor and gaining for him business of importance and magnitude.
W martinJones
Wlilliam Martin Jones
W ILLIAM MARTIN JONES, a distinguished lawyer, widely known as a leader in the cause of temperance and more recently through his labors in connection with the effort to establish an International Court of Arbitration, was born in Manlius, New York, July 24, 1841. His father, Thomas P. Jones, was a native of Builth, Wales. His mother, Lodoiska Butler, was born at Crown Point, New York, and was a relative of the late Benjamin F. Butler. She was a woman of strong personality and marked ability. While Mr. Jones was very young his parents moved to Knowlesville, New York, where he spent his early youth. Having been graduated from the Albion Academy, it was his inten- tion to attend Yale College but at about the time he was ready to enter this institution, the Civil war broke out, and, becoming acquainted with Edwin D. Morgan, the war governor of New York, he acted for two years as his pri- vate secretary while Mr. Morgan was United States senator. In 1864 he filled the position for some time of private secretary to William H. Seward, then secretary of state, and to his son, Mr. Frederick W. Seward. His effi- ciency in this position led to his promotion to the position of chief clerk of the consular bureau in the state department. This position told heavily on his health, as it was often necessary for him to remain at his desk until long after midnight, preparing instructions to United States representatives who were stationed all over the world, watching Confederate blockade runners, and guarding the interests of the Republic under alien skies. While filling this position, information many times came to him of plots against the govern- ment and the lives of its officers, all of which information he duly conveyed to the proper officials. On the evening of Good Friday, 1865, he was present in Ford's Theater, sitting within twenty feet of President Lincoln, when the latter was assassinated.
In 1866, the war being ended, Mr. Jones was appointed United States consul at Clifton, Canada, his resignation from the consular bureau having been accepted with regret by Mr. Seward. During the five years of his consulship he occupied his leisure hours reading law and upon his retiring from this office in 1871, he established himself at Rochester, New York, and was admitted to the bar, where he soon attained a prominent position, and some of his cases are now quoted as authority throughout the country.
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William Martin Jones
At the age of ten years Mr. Jones became a Cadet of Temperance and later joined the Sons of Temperance. In 1867 he entered the Independent Order of Good Templars and became a leader in that body. In 1879 he was made grand chief Templar of New York state, which office he held for four consecutive years, and for seven years he was treasurer of the International Body of Good Templars. Although a republican in politics, he came to believe that the prohibition movement was the paramount issue of the time, and after the failure of the republican party to redeem its pledges made at the Richfield Springs Convention in 1882, he gave his support to the prohi- bition party and ran for office on its tickets when to do so was only to invite ridicule and persecution. In 1885 he was a candidate for attorney general and in 1888 a candidate for governor of the state of New York upon that ticket. In the following campaign he received the largest prohibition vote ever cast in New York state, running ahead of the national ticket. In the free silver campaign of 1896, Mr. Jones took position, with many others, in favor of the gold standard, and the prohibition party failing to adopt any platform upon any question other than that of prohibition, and believing that the repub- lican party was at last coming to recognize the merit of the temperance move- ment, he again gave his support to the republican party and stumped the state of Michigan in opposition to Hon. John P. St. John, who had been the pro- hibition candidate for president of the United States in 1883, and who was then speaking in favor of free silver.
The early experience of Mr. Jones in diplomatic matters and his intense interest in international questions led to the formation of views of a decided character on the subject of international peace, and he was always an advocate of a system of international arbitration. At the time of the dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela in 1896, after the declaration of President Cleve- land that England would have to settle her difficulties without encroaching upon the Monroe Doctrine, and when war seemed imminent between the United States and England, much discussion arose in regard to the settlement of the dispute by arbitration. Mr. Jones' sentiments on this subject were well known, and at a meeting of the New York State Bar Association he was chosen as a member of a committee of nine, appointed for the purpose of con- sidering the question of arbitration between Great Britain and the United States. Hon. Chauncey M. Depew and Prof. John Bassett Moore of Colum- bia University were appointed advisory members of this committee. At the first meeting of the committee Mr. Jones set forth his views and pointed out the difficulties attending arbitration where the litigants only are arbiters, and strenuously advocated the establishment of a "permanent international court of arbitration" composed of representatives of several nations. At that meet- ing he and Hon. Walter S. Logan, of New York, were chosen as a sub-com- mittee, charged with the duty of devising and presenting to the full committee a plan for such a court and the duty of drafting the desired resolutions fell
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upon Mr. Jones. He accordingly prepared a report which was successively approved, without alteration or amendment, by the sub-committee, the whole committee and the Bar Association itself at a special meeting called to con- sider the matter. A committee was then appointed to present the memorial to the President of the United States. This was done April 21, 1896, by Hon. Edward G. Whitaker, president of the Bar Association, Judge William D. Veeder, chairman of the committee, and Mr. Jones. The ablest journals of the day commented favorably on both the memorial and the report and the Albany Law Journal published both in full and closed an extended editorial with these words: "We believe the plan of the Bar Association is well devised and properly considered and it should be, if nothing more, at least a step toward some practical result." The memorial is as follows :
"TO THE PRESIDENT:
"The Petition of the New York State Bar Association respectfully shows :
"That impelled by a sense of duty to the state and nation and a purpose to serve the cause of humanity everywhere, your Petitioner at its annual session held in the City of Albany on the 22d day of January, 1896, appointed a committee to consider the sub- ject of International Arbitration, and to devise and submit to it a plan for the organiza- tion of a tribunal to which may hereafter be submitted controverted international questions between the governments of Great Britain and the United States.
"That said committee entered upon the performance of its duty at once, and after long and careful deliberation reached the conclusion that it is impracticable, if not impossible, to form a satisfactory Anglo-American Tribunal, for the adjustment of grave International controversies, that shall be composed only of representatives of the two governments of Great Britain and the United States.
"That in order that the subject might receive more mature and careful consideration, the matter was referred to a sub-committee, by whom an extended report was made to the full committee. This report was adopted as the report of the full committee, and at a special meeting of the State Bar Association called to consider the matter and held at the State Capitol in the City of Albany, on the 16th day of April, 1896, the action of the committee was affirmed and the plan submitted fully endorsed. As the report referred to contains the argument in brief, both in support of the contention that it is impracticable to organize a court composed only of representatives of the governments of Great Britain and the United States, and in support of the plan outlined in it, a copy of the report is hereto appended and your Petitioner asks that it be made and considered a part of this Petition.
"That your Petitioner cordially endorses the principle of arbitration for the settle- ment of all controversies between civilized nations and it believes that it is quite within the possibility of the educated intellects of the leading Powers of the world to agree upon a plan for a great central World's Court, that, by the common consent of nations, shall eventually have jurisdiction of all disputes arising between Independent Powers that can- not be adjusted by friendly diplomatic negotiations. Holding tenaciously to this opinion, and, conscious that there must be a first step in every good work, else there will never be a second, your Petitioner respectfully but earnestly urges your early consideration of the subject that ultimately,-at least during the early years of the coming century-the honest purpose of good men of every nation may be realized in devising means for the peaceful solution of menacing disputes between civilized nations. Your Petitioner there- fore submits to you the following recommendations :
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