USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Rochester and Monroe County, New York : pictorial and biographical > Part 7
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He was in 1884 elected chairman of the flower committee for Memorial Day, to which position he has been re-elected every year since. In that posi- tion he has had charge of the decoration of the graves of all soldiers and sailors in the different cemeteries of the city, and has thereby been able to assist in making the observance and work of Memorial Day, and also the records of the living and dead veterans of this section of the country-in the opinion of many outside Grand Army men and Sons of Veterans-the most practical and complete in the country.
In 1883 Mr. Lomb assisted in organizing the German-American Society on the occasion of the celebration of the second centennial of the first German colonization within the boundaries of the United States, which society under the long and self-sacrificing management of its late president, Frank Fritzsche, has been so beneficial in assisting the German immigrants as well as those who, from want of knowledge of the language and conditions of this country, needed help.
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John G. Stapleton M.A)
John A. Stapleton, M. D.
D R. JOHN A. STAPLETON, a practicing physician of Rochester and surgeon for the police and fire depart- ments, is a native of thiscity and the public and paro- chial schools afforded him his educational privileges. He began the study of medicine here and pursued his more advanced course in Buffalo Medical College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1891. He located for practice in his native city, where he has since continued, and his life record is in contradis- tinction to the old adage that "a prophet is never without honor save in his own country," for in the city of his birth Dr. Stapleton has gained distinc- tion as an able and learned member of the medical profession, a fact which is further proven by the official duties which have been conferred upon him in the line of his chosen calling and by a large private practice as well.
During his college days he was connected with the Fitch Extant Hospital of Buffalo and after extended experience in that institution he was appointed resident physician to the Infants' Summer Hospital at Charlotte and was sub- sequently resident physician at the Rochester City Hospital. On his retire- ment from the last named he began private practice. He is now visiting sur- geon on the surgical staff of St. Mary's Hospital, surgeon to the Rochester division of the Erie Railroad and has been surgeon of the police and fire department since 1900. In 1891-2 he was state sanitary inspector, having jurisdiction in nearly all of the counties of western New York during the great cholera epidemic. He is a member of the Monroe County Medical Society and a member of the Medical Society of the State of New York.
Dr. Stapleton is also well known and prominent socially. He is a member of the Rochester Club, of the Union Club and of the Oak Hill Country Club. His interest, however, centers in his profession, and in a calling where ad- vancement depends solely upon individual merit he has gained a position of distinction, his ability, natural and acquired, placing him in the front ranks of the medical profession of western New York.
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Myra Udant
Myron Adams
T
HE LIFE of Myron Adams, "sweet, pure and noble," left its impress indelibly not only on the lives of those with whom he came in contact but upon the trend of modern thought. Many through his efforts have been brought into a clearer understanding not of creed, of dogma, of superstition or religion, but of Christianity. Gifted with wonderful mental power, he was a close follower of Him who came not to be ministered unto but to minister. For almost twenty years he occupied the pulpit of the Plymouth church in Rochester. Although his life span covered little more than a half century he lived to see the teachings which in his early ministry awakened strong opposition, in his later life endorsed by many who had formerly opposed him. He took no pride in this aside from the fact that the world was drawing nearer to the truth and was accepting the spiritual revelations of the gospel without attempting to establish the historicity or to accept with credence the tradi- tional or the figurative.
Myron Adams, the youngest son of Myron and Sarah (Taylor) Adams, was born at East Bloomfield, New York, March 12, 1841. Following the completion of a preparatory course in Waterloo Academy he matriculated in Hamilton College as a member of the class of 1863. Less than two years after the beginning of the war he put aside his text-books to espouse the Union cause, enlisting with many other students of Hamilton in 1862 as a mem- ber of the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth New York Infantry, which was immediately ordered to the front. Sometime later he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the signal corps of the regular army and served upon the staff of General Canby at New Orleans. In 1864 he joined Farragut and was at the famous battle of Mobile Bay, acting as signal officer on board the Lack- awanna. In May, 1865, he was the bearer of dispatches to the war depart- ment, conveying the news of the surrender of the last Confederate troops east of the Mississippi river. He was offered the rank of major but refused it. Mere "honors" had no attraction for him. He believed in the worth of the man and public recognition, as such, possessed no value for him.
After his death he was honored by his old army comrades and the follow- ing was published at that time:
"A new Grand Army post is to be instituted in this city to-morrow even-
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ing, to be called the 'Myron Adams Mounted Post, No. 640.' It is doubtless known to all our readers that all Grand Army posts are named after dead com- rades. No living soldier is thus honored. It is especially appropriate that now the name should be chosen of that dear citizen of Rochester whom we freshly mourn, whose young life was consecrated to his country, and whose whole career was dedicated to the truth, as it was given him to see the truth. The new post honors itself in honoring the name of one so noble, so lovely, and of such crystalline purity of soul as was Myron Adams."
When the war was over Mr. Adams became a student in the theological seminary at Auburn, New York, and while there formed the acquaintance of Hester R., the daughter of Professor S. M. Hopkins, whom he married. One son was the fruit of this marriage, Samuel Hopkins Adams, who is now well known as a writer and journalist. He entered upon his pastoral work at the Union Springs (New York) Presbyterian church in 1868, and a year later accepted a call to the Dunkirk Presbyterian church, where he remained until he became pastor of the Plymouth Congregational church of Rochester in 1876. He continued to fill this pulpit throughout his remaining days and became a forceful factor in the life of the city, albeit one of the most modest, unassuming and retiring of men. His influence, however, will remain as a moving force in the lives of men long after the great builders of commercial and industrial enterprises, the promoters of great schemes of trade and profit will have been forgotten.
Mr. Adams was what the world has been pleased to term an independent thinker. When his judgment, resulting from close and earnest study, found fallacy in any teaching or doctrine, he renounced it and in unmistakable terms. When he came to accept the verity of any vital idea he proclaimed it. From the beginning of his pastorate he attracted attention and from the first dis- played what the conservative term eccentricities of theological opinion. In the Presbyterian church of Dunkirk he was observed as an independent and vig- orous thinker, always rewarding the attention of his hearers by his forceful, original way of putting things. From the beginning of his ministry he was a student, a searcher for truth; and when his investigation brought to him some doubts concerning the doctrines of the presbytery he continued his studies and though it brought down upon him the criticism of brethren whom he dearly loved in the Presbyterian church, he fearlessly proclaimed his views. He was steadily growing into a dislike of ecclesiasticism and rigid orthodoxy. He felt more and more hampered as a Presbyterian and it was with a feeling of relief that he received and accepted the call from the Plymouth Congregational church of Rochester.
Here Mr. Adams entered upon work in a congregation of intelligent and cultured men and women who were in hearty sympathy with him in his posi- tive rejection of certain orthodox dogmas. He came to reject utterly the dogma of everlasting punishment. In explanation of this he remarked that
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his experience on the field of battle and amid the carnage of the great fight of Mobile Bay, when scores of men fighting bravely for their country were swept out of life in an instant, made the thought that any such men were only plunged into "fiercer flames below" impossible to him. Nor did he believe in plenary inspiration. Upon these charges he was called before the Ontario Association in the closing months of the year 1880. Upon their charge he stood self-confessed. He freely acknowledged that he did not know the answer to some questions but he did believe firmly and fully in the infinite love and goodness of God.
After this action of the church Mr. Adams went on to develop more fully the theological ideas which he already held in the germ. He believed in evo- lution, not of the materialistic but of the theistic kind, that the world from the beginning has been going through a process of development that is bringing it nearer to truth and to the conception of the purposes of Christianity. Throughout his ministry his preachings set forth the truths of the universal Fatherhood of God and the duty of man in his relations to his fellowmen.
Mr. Adams was not gifted with that executive force and power of co-ordi- nation which results in the upbuilding of a large church. He was not even an eloquent pulpit orator, yet he spoke vigorously, earnestly and decisively upon those subjects which seemed to him of vital interest to mankind. He never sought to upbuild his church by an attempt to make himself popular with his parishioners. On the contrary he was rather reserved, desiring that those who attended his services should come to hear the great truths which he uttered than because of any personal interest in him. His sermon was robust in thought and in expression rather unconventional, yet admirable for its originality and vigor.
"He was an advanced thinker," said one who knew him intimately, "along ethical and sociological lines, who in his absolute sincerity and freedom from prejudice in search for the truth was almost without a peer. His opinions were formed not according to rule laid down by theological seminaries or by any other influence but by the conclusions which he had reached himself after a careful and accurate survey of the grounds of belief. He had an emi- nently logical, trained mind, which looked thoroughly into all sides of a ques- tion and then went straight to the root of the matter, and in forming his opin- ions no fear of consequences deterred him in the least." He had an extreme dislike of cant and religious affectation of all kinds. Simplicity pervaded his whole life. He never attached to his name the letters indicating the Doctor of Divinity degree which was conferred upon him by a collegiate institution, nor did he wish others to use it.
At his death Dr. Landsberg said: "In nature's realm he received a train- ing which neither academy nor college can supply, which develops the intui- tion of the prophet and the poet, which expands the imagination and which made his sermons and even his ordinary conversation so rich in striking illus-
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trations that none ever became tired of listening to him and none ever could listen without receiving fresh knowledge and noble impulses for purity and goodness." Mr. Adams had a most hearty love of nature. He rejoiced in the beauties of sky, of plain, of woodland, of river and of lake, and his summer vacations at Quisisana on the banks of Owasco lake were periods of rare hap- piness to him. He rejoiced in butterflies and beetles, in the tiny manifesta- tions of life as well as in the great beauties of nature, and found much pleas- ure in microscopic investigation, possessing for some years a fine instru- ment which he afterward presented to Hamilton College. He was an active member of the Rochester Academy of Science and for several years its president. He believed in utilizing all of his individual forces, his physical as well as his mental powers, and in him the "dignity of labor" found expression. He obtained genuine delight from the use of tools and constructive work of that nature and could build a house or boat, as well as give scientific classi- fication to insect life. His reading and investigation covered the widest possible range. He spoke before the Fortnightly Club, of which he was a member from its organization in 1882, upon the most varied subjects, includ- ing Schopenhauer; Henry W. Grady's Side of the Southern Question; Coler- idge and Inspiration; Milton and Vondel; Hymenopterous and Human Socie- ty, or Bees, Ants and Humans, Socially Considered; The Persecutions of the Quakers; Theorists; Biography; Socrates; and others. His opinions were given to the world through two published volumes-"Continuous Creation" and "Creation of the Bible," and the title of the former perhaps is the best exponent of his own belief.
In manner Myron Adams was one of the most gentle and most kindly of men. In everything he was singularly unselfish and no one ever applied to him in vain for aid. All who came in contact with him had the greatest admiration and respect for his wonderful intellectual attainments and at the same time were deeply impressed by the kindly, loving nature which he showed to every one. While passing far beyond the many in mental realms, he retained the spirit of the light-hearted boy. Always with ready answer and often with quick wit, his replies were nevertheless kindly and considerate and even when he felt called upon to condemn a course of action or of thought he manifested the utmost spirit of charity and of love for those whom he thus opposed. One of the Rochester papers at the time of his death said editorially : "It is not a conventionalism to say that the death of Myron Adams is a severe loss to this community; it is the exact and feeling expression that will come to the lips of every person that knew him. The extinction of a life that has for a quarter of a century been making for liberality of thought and righteous- ness in conduct leaves a void that can never be filled in the same way. There remains only the sweet remembrance of its presence and the strong impulse to high thinking and doing that it always exerted. But this is a most pre- cious heritage-one that will be deeply and reverently cherished." There was
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such a unanimity of opinion concerning the superior mentality, the integrity of purpose and the high ideals exemplified in Mr. Adams' life that perhaps this review cannot better be closed than by quoting from two other editorial writers in the Rochester press. One of them said:
"Myron Adams' life was singularly true to the noblest ideals. As schol- ar, soldier, minister of the gospel, he delved and struck and taught for the uplifting of men. He was a soldier of conscience who left the halls of learn- ing at Hamilton College to fight for an idea. He was among many who left that institution with the inspiration of liberty and the faith of true Americans in the ideas of the fathers, who broke away from all trammels and put trust in the masses of men. Myron Adams was honest and just with himself as with every man. He claimed for himself what he granted to everyone, the right to think, to examine in the light of reason, experience and research. Early attracted to the observation of natural phenomena, Mr. Adams had seen what he considered a better interpretation of the ways and purposes of the all-wise Creator than could be gleaned from ancient men who attributed to Him human passions and revenge. It was in his trust in the great verities of human life and of nature that he found strength and surpassing peace."
Following are excerpts from the tribute of the other writer: "In attempt- ing to give an idea of him to those who knew him not we should say that Mr. Adams was the most distinctively American of the men we have known. In his way of looking at things, in his way of doing things, in his way of saying things, in his consideration for the rights of others, in his easy maintenance of his own rights, in his candor of thought, in his reticence of emotion, in his quaint fun, in his fertility of resource, in his moral strength, in his mental alertness and power, he was the flower and fruit of the farm life of the north. Among the affectations of modern city society and in the discussion of great controversial themes, he seemed to carry with him the suggestion of the lilac blossom, the orchard and the meadow. You felt at once the reality of the individ- ual and recognized his opinions as ultimate human facts, not faint conventional echoes. Without knowing it, he was a type of Americanism; and, uncon- scious of the glory, he bore upon his forehead the chrism of sacrifice with which the great Civil war had touched its soldiers."
Louis W. Maier
Louis W. Maier
L OUIS W. MAIER, who for many years was asso- ciated with the business interests of Rochester, was perhaps even better known through his connection with public affairs of the city. He possessed a kindly spirit and generosity that made him most widely known, his beneficence being one of his strong and salient characteristics. His birth oc- curred in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1836, and when nine years of age was brought to the United States by his parents in company with five sisters and one brother, while one brother remained in Germany. The family home was established in Rochester, where he acquired his education in the public schools and was reared.
When he arrived at years of maturity Mr. Maier was united in marriage to Miss Anna Mary Kiefer, of Rochester, a daughter of William F. and Salome (Oberst) Kiefer, who were natives of Prussia and of Switzerland respectively, and in early manhood and womanhood came to America. They were mar- ried in Rochester and unto them were born five children, of whom Mrs. Louis W. Maier was the second in order of birth. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kiefer were members of the Catholic church and died in that faith, the former at the age of fifty-three years and the latter at the age of fifty-eight, their remains being interred in Holy Sepulcher cemetery at Rochester, New York. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Maier were born seven children, of whom two died in early life: Frank J., who passed away in 1876; Lewis V., who died in 1895. The others are William F., Edward J., Fred J., Mrs. Joseph T. Otto and Eloise.
The father was very prominent in public affairs in Rochester and at one time he was foreman of the chair factory of the Western House of Refuge. He was a director of St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum for many years, in which connection he did much to improve the condition of the children who were left to depend upon the world's bounty. He belonged to the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association and also to the Catholic Benevolent Legion. He was widely known for his charity and beneficence, being prompted in much that he did by a spirit of broad humanitarianism.
In his business life Louis W. Maier was well known. He engaged here in the undertaking business and was one of the first men of the city to do any embalming. In 1875 he formed a partnership with Valentine Foehner in the undertaking business at No. 5 North Clinton street and in 1884 pur-
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chased his partner's interest. He erected his place of business at No. 150 Clinton avenue North in 1893 and since his death the business has been con- ducted by his sons, William F. and Edward J.
In 1874 he built a home at No. 50 Buchan Park, where he resided up to the time of his death, which occurred on the 20th of September, 1902, and Rochester mourned the loss of a citizen whom it had come to know and honor. His name became synonymous with good works and kind deeds, and he found his happiness to a large extent in providing for the welfare and comfort of others. Surely he realized in full measure the biblical truth, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Those with whom he came in contact in social rela- tions found him a faithful friend, while to his family he was a devoted hus- band and father, and it was at his own fireside that his loss was most deeply felt, although his death was the occasion of wide-spread regret to all who knew him.
Daniel B. Murphy
D ANIEL B. MURPHY, working without ostentation or display for the benefit of mankind and the improve- ment of various conditions detrimental to the welfare of one or more classes, has come to be recognized as one of the most practical reformers of the country. In Rochester he is known as an enterprising man and successful merchant, being a member of the firm of Burke, FitzSimons, Hone & Company, but else- where in the state and throughout the nation he is known as one whose labors are largely actuated by the spirit of humanita- rianism, and never by a desire for publicity or honors.
Mr. Murphy is a son of Maurice and Anastasia Murphy, and was born at Bombay, Franklin county, New York, July 23, 1848. He has one brother and one sister, with whom he shared parental training and care. In early youth he attended the village school and worked on his father's farm, and later was a student in the State Normal School at Potsdam, New York. Subse- quent to this time he taught in different district schools of Franklin county for five winters, the summer seasons being devoted to agricultural labors. He next became principal of St. Mary's school, at Dunkirk, New York, for the years 1871, 1872 and 1873, and during the succeeding two years was principal of the cathedral schools of this city.
Tiring of teaching and thinking to find a commercial career more congen- ial, Mr. Murphy, in 1875, entered the employ of Burke, FitzSimons, Hone & Company as an entry clerk. His ability and fidelity soon won promotion and he became head bookkeeper. In 1886 he was given an interest in the business and on January I, 1891, he was made a full partner. In his business life he is practical and energetic, readily mastering the problems that come to him in this connection and contributing largely to the success of the house.
Mayor Cutler of Rochester recently appointed Mr. Murphy a member of the reorganization committee of the United States Independent Telephone Company, which was capitalized at fifty millions of dollars and bonded at fif- teen millions of dollars. This large plant met with financial disaster, and a committee consisting of Daniel B. Murphy, Walter B. Duffy and Harold P. Brewster, was appointed to reorganize and place the same on a paying basis, or dispose of it in the interest of the bondholders and stockholders. Mr. Mur- phy is president of the Individual Underwriters' Association of the United States, whose financial responsibility exceeds that of the Bank of England.
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Mr. Murphy is now a member of Corpus Christi Catholic church, after having been a trustee of the Catholic cathedral for a number of years. He is independent in politics and has been mentioned several times as a candi- date for mayor of Rochester by both parties but has declined to run. It has been the public recognition of his deep interest in community affairs and his practical and effective methods in dealing with problems bearing upon munici- pal reform and progress that has led both parties to desire his service in the position of chief executive of Rochester. His membership relations along social lines connect him with the Fortnightly Club, the Genesee Valley Club and the Oak Hill Golf Club.
The depth of his nature, his philanthropic spirit and his kindly interest in all humanity are manifest in the active work he has done to ameliorate certain hard conditions of life and to bring about needed reform in other lines. He has been one of the managers of Craig Colony for Epileptics at Sonyea, New York, since 1898-a state institution which at the present time cares for over twelve hundred patients. He is president of the New York State Conference of Charities and Correction, composed of eighteen state charitable institutions and fourteen state hospitals, and also all other semi-public and private charita- ble institutions of the state. Every year delegates from all over the state meet to confer and in 1907 there were eight hundred and thirty-seven delegates, full quota, present. Mr. Murphy delivered an address at the convention at Albany, which awakened wide-spread attention. In speaking of this, the Albany Press Knickerbocker said, "Daniel B. Murphy gave some facts in rela- tion to the treatment of consumptives that should set Governor Hughes think- ing." In this connection, in his annual address, Mr. Murphy said, "I desire to register here an emphatic protest against the cruel, if not criminal, negli- gence of our state in caring for its indigent consumptive wards. It is well understood that this dread disease, consumption, is more deadly than war, but modern science has demonstrated that it can not only be controlled, but that it is a preventable and curable disease. We are at times much concerned at the devastating plagues that visit distant lands, but we are apparently indifferent to the fact that the scourge of the great White Plague is ever at our doors. Not less than fourteen thousand of its unfortunate victims march annually in solemn tread to the grave; or, to be exact, the official record shows that there were fourteen thousand one hundred and fifty-nine deaths in 1904, fourteen thousand and sixty-one in 1905 and fourteen thousand and twenty- seven in 1906. Commissioner Porter of the department of public health of this state, in an address before the conference of sanitary officers of the state about a year ago, stated: 'More deaths occur from tuberculosis than from typhoid fev- er, diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, scarlet fever and smallpox combined.' It is also estimated by this official that this disease causes two hundred thousand deaths annually in the United States;this exceeds the average annual deaths of both armies during the four years of our Civil war. That sad conflict closed
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