USA > New York > The men of New York: a collection of biographies and portraits of citizens of the Empire state prominent in business, professional, social, and political life during the last decade of the nineteenth century, Vol. I > Part 41
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Edward C. Sbater is well and favorably known in commercial circles, and in the political life of Buffalo. Few men have been so thoroughly occu- pied with business, and at the same time so promi- nent in local affairs. But Mr. Shafer possesses unusual capacity for grappling with, and quickly solving, the many perplexing problems that arise in the course of a mercantile career. The growing de- mands of his business have in recent years restricted his activity in matters of public concern, but he is thoroughly informed on all public questions.
Mr. Shafer is a native of the Keystone State, and received there a common-school and an academic education. After taking up his residence in Buffalo he pursued a commercial course at Bryant & Strat- ton's Business College in that city. He began life's work with the firm of Barnes, Bancroft & Co. of Buffalo, from whose employ he went to serve as bookkeeper for O. S. Garretson. With this training he embarked in the hardware business as a partner in the Buffalo Hardware Co., and was con- nected with this enterprise for six years. He then became manager of the Buffalo School Furniture Co. The growth of their business rendered incorporation de- sirable, and upon the organization of the concern as a stock company Mr. Shafer became director, treasurer, and general manager. He has retained these posi- tions to the present time. The improve- ment in school furnishings in recent years has been marvelous, but Mr. Shafer has kept his company in the van of the industry.
In politics Mr. Shafer is a Republi- can, but could not be fairly called a par- tisan. His popularity was shown when he ran for alderman on the Republican ticket in the old 3d ward of Buffalo,, time out of mind a Democratic strong- hold. Mr. Shafer came within 132 votes of an election. Two years later he was appointed police commissioner by Mayor Becker, and diligently performed the duties of that office. In the year 1889 he was elected to the office of city comp- troller. He served one term to the satis- faction of the people, and would have been renominated by his party, had not the pressure of private business compelled him to decline. In the same year there was a movement afoot to elect Mr. Shafer mayor of the city, but the same reasons that obliged him to decline a renom-
ination for comptroller made it necessary to re- nounce as well all thought of the mayoralty.
The development and expansion of the business of the Buffalo School Furniture Co. is due in large part to Mr. Shafer's tireless energy and foresight. His duties with this company absorb nearly all his time. Recently, however, he has been elected president of the Standard Paving Co. of Buffalo ; and for years he has been a director of the Hydraulic Bank. He is a member of many fraternities, in all of which he takes a prominent part, and has filled various high offices. In short, since taking up his residence in Buffalo, Mr. Shafer has proved himself not only a sound business man, but also one who has the best interests of his community at heart. He enjoys ac- cordingly in large measure the respect and good will of his fellow-citizens.
EDWARD C. SHAFER
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- Edward C. Shafer was born at Honesdale, Penn., April li. 1850; received a common-school and an academic educa- tion in Pennsylvania ; moved to Buffalo in 1873;
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married Elizabeth Anderson of Buffalo June 25, 1874 ; engaged in the hardware business, 1877-833 ; was ap- pointed police commissioner of Buffalo May 7, 1887 ; was city comptroller, 1800-91 ; has been connected with the Buffalo School Furniture Co. since 18833.
Ernest Wende, well known as a successful physician in a difficult specialty, and more widely known for his remarkable efficiency as health com- missioner of Buffalo, was born in Erie county about forty years ago. After graduating from the Buffalo High School in 1874, Dr. Wende engaged in teach- ing two years, and then took up the study of medi- cine. His medical education consumed the greater part of the next twelve years, and included attendance at Buffalo University, from which he graduated with honors in 1878; at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia ; and at the University of Penn- sylvania, whence he graduated with honors of the first class in 1884, and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1885. In 1885-86 he crowned with the latest results of medical re- search an education that was already remarkably thorough, studying in Vienna and Berlin, and specializing his work on skin diseases and micros- copy in the private laboratories of Virchow and Koch. In the course of his medical studies Dr. Wende won a West Point competitive examination, and attended the Military Academy one year (1875-76). He practiced medicine at Alden, Erie county, in the intervals of his advanced professional training. In 1879 he was elected school commis- sioner from the first district of Erie county. Since his return from Berlin in the fall of 1886, he has practiced continuously in Buffalo, and has made himself famous for his successful treatment of dis- eases of the skin.
We have saved most of our space for an account of Dr. Wende's work as health commissioner of Buffalo. Under this head it is not too much to say that his services to the city have been invaluable, and will benefit Buffalonians for many years to come. Taking office January 1, 1892, by appoint- ment from Mayor Bishop, he entered upon his duties admirably equipped for the work before him. His exhaustive professional studies and rare skill as a physician were only a part of his qualifications. Added to these he possessed unusual executive ability, and was thereby enabled to organize a de- partment of health that has become a model for other cities. Under his administration the death rate in Buffalo has steadily decreased, having fallen from 23.48 per thousand of population in 1891 to 11.67 for the first six months of 1896. The deaths
recorded in 1891 were 6001 in number, while in 1895, notwithstanding an increase of 80,000 inhab- itants, the number of recorded deaths had fallen to 4684. These and other statistics are regarded as proof that Buffalo is the healthiest city of its size in the world.
The following are some of the ways in which Dr. Wende has brought about this most beneficent result. Formerly records of contagious diseases were made by mail at the convenience of the attend- ing physician : now all such cases must be reported immediately by telephone. Thereupon the health office, open at all hours day and night, will dispatch a man to inspect the premises, attach placards to the house, and adopt such other sanitary precautions as may be advisable. To guard against the pollution of the city water, daily bacteriological and chemical examinations are made. One of the first results of this system was to close forever an emergency inlet which was formerly used in times of low water, and which 'sometimes let sewage into the public mains. Over half the wells formerly used for domestic pur- poses were found on examination to contain water charged with germ life, and were accordingly filled up. The periodical visitation of the public schools and annual vaccination of the pupils, minimizes the danger of epidemics in the schools. All police sta- tions, fire-department quarters, and schoolhouses are minutely inspected at stated intervals, to ensure hygienic conditions.
The inspection and purification of the milk supply of Buffalo involved a difficult piece of organization. The banishment of cow barns from thickly peo- pled districts, and the compulsory observance by milk producers of regulations designed to reduce the risks of mothers and children, were at last effected ; and now a record is kept of every milkman, so that any diseases on his route ascribable to impure milk may lead to investigation and appropriate punish- ment. Another feature of the Wende administra- tion that abolishes disease by preventing its birth, may be found in the system of inspecting supplies of vegetables, meats, and the like, at markets and pro- duce houses. Frozen oranges, rotten bananas, and other dangerous food, have frequently been con- demned. Tenement houses, minor hotels, and lodg- ing places are often visited, lest infectious diseases take root and spread undetected. A vast amount of sick- ness has doubtless been headed off by municipal super- vision of plumbing and drainage. No plumbing can now be done unless plans therefor are first filed, and approved by experts ; and no householder need pay for his plumbing until the completed work is passed upon by inspectors and accepted. Without
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recounting further the means employed by Dr. Wende to protect the city from disease, suffice it to say that he has conducted the department of health on a scientific basis from first to last.
Dr. Wende is professor of diseases of the skin in the medical department of the University of Buffalo, and of botany and microscopy in the College of Pharmacy. He is greatly interested in geology, botany, and the natural sciences generally, and is pro- foundly erudite in these subjects. He is also an archaeologist, and has brought to light many interesting relics in his nu- merous country walks around western New York and Ontario. The Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences is indebted to him for many valuable contributions.
Dr. Wende belongs to the Erie County Medical Society, the New York State Medical Association, the American Mi- croscopical Society, and the Pan-Ameri- can Medical Association. He was re- cently elected vice president of the American Public Health Association. He is a Fellow of the Electro-Thera- peutic Association, and of the Royal Microscopical Society of England.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Ernest Wende was born at Mill Grove, N. Y., July 23, 1853; graduated from the Buffalo High School in 1874, from the medical department of the University of Buffalo in 1878, and from the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania in 1884; studied in the medical department of Columbia Col- lege, 1881-82, and in the universities of Berlin and Vienna, 1885-86 ; married Frances Harriet Cutler of Omaha, Neb., August 25, 1881; has practiced his pro- fession at Buffalo since November, 1886 ; has been health commissioner of Buffalo since January, 1892.
beman M. Blasdell, for years past one of the leading citizens of North Collins, Erie county, was born in Perrysburg, N. Y., in 1840. His edu- ration was varied, beginning with the district school, and including attendance at Gowanda Academy and Oberlin College. He also taught school two winters in the town of Persia, Cattaraugus county, before going to Oberlin. He left college to continue his education in one of the finest possible schools of discipline - the Union army during the Rebellion. Enlisting in the first year of the war, in company H, 44th New York volunteers, he remained in the
army until July, 1862, when he was wounded so seriously in the fight at Malvern Hill, the last of the "Seven Days' Battles," that he was compelled to leave the service.
Like thousands of other bright young men, Mr. Blasdell began his business career as a telegraph
ERNEST WENDE
operator. He was soon promoted to the position of station agent, and served in that capacity for nine years at Smith's Mills, Chautauqua county. Wisely concluding that such work was not likely to result in financial independence or an assured position in life, Mr. Blasdell formed a partnership with David Sher- man at North Collins, for the conduct of a general mercantile business. They commenced operations April 1, 1872, and carried on a successful business for the next five years.
To many people Mr. Blasdell is known chiefly through his connection with the suburb of Buffalo founded by him and bearing his name. In 1883 he bought a large tract of land in the northern part of Hamburg, Erie county, and laid out there the town
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of Blasdell. He caused a post office to be estab- lished at the place, and was the first postmaster ; and he conducted a general store there for several years. He still owns much valuable property at Blasdell, and is naturally greatly interested in the prosperity of the town ; but in 1887 he returned to
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HEMAN M. BLASDELL
North Collins, and has since resided there. In a business way he has concerned himself chiefly with real estate.
As might be expected from his prominence in business affairs, Mr. Blasdell has likewise attained distinction in political life. He was supervisor of the town of North Collins for the three years, 1878- 80. In November, 1895, he was elected to the state legislature from the 8th assembly district by the largest majority ever given to a candidate in his dis- trict, and in November, 1896, he was re-elected. He was appointed by Governor Morton in 1895 a trustee of the Thomas Asylum, an institution for orphan Indians on the Cattaraugus Indian reserva- tion. He is now treasurer of the institution as well.
His service in the Civil War has given Mr. Blasdell a place in the Grand Army of the Republic, and he is a Past Commander of the S. C. Noyes Post. He has taken an active part in Masonry, having member- ship in Fortune Lodge, No. 788, F. & A. M., Gowanda Chapter, No. 136, R. A. M., and Sala- manca Commandery, No. 62, K. T.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- Heman M. Blasdell was born at Perrys- burg, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., Janu- ary 28, 1840 ; took part in the Civil War, 1861-62 ; married Lusannah Sherman of North Collins, N. Y., June 8, 1864 ; was telegraph operator and station agent at Smith's Mills, N. Y., 1863-72 ; con- ducted a general store at North Collins, 1872-77 ; was supervisor of North Col- lins, 1878-80 ; founded the town of Blas- dell, Erie county, N. Y., in 1883, and engaged in business there, 1883-87 ; was elected member of assembly in November, 1895, from the 8th Erie-county district, and was re-elected in 1896 ; has lived in North Collins since 1887.
William Bookstaver, mayor of Dunkirk, N. Y., and for many years thoroughly identified with all that is good in the city, is of Dutch descent, and was born in Montgomery, N. Y., in the last days of the year 1833. His ancestors are traceable in this country, through various paths of honor, from the year 1792, when his great-grandfather. Jacob Boochstaber (as the name was then spelled ), came from Holland, and settled in Orange county, New York.
Mr. Bookstaver graduated from Mont- gomery Academy in 1852, and afterward taught in the same institution for one year. His ultimate purpose was to practice law, and in April. 1855, he went to Dunkirk to prepare himself for the legal profession. After studying in the office of Brown & Bookstaver he was admitted to the bar in 1858.
A sound knowledge of law is an invaluable piece of equipment for any business man, and this fact has not infrequently encouraged lawyers to use their talents chiefly in the conduct of business affairs. So it has been in great part with Mr. Bookstaver. He has transacted a good deal of office law business : but he engaged in real-estate ventures on a large scale soon after his admission to the bar, and these operations, together with other business pursuit>.
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have absorbed his time and attention to the exclu- sion of active legal practice. He showed his faith in the future of Dunkirk by making large real-estate investments in different parts of the city ; and he has long been one of the heaviest individual tax- payers of the place. He is president of the Dun- kirk Savings and Loan Association, which has helped many worthy men to acquire homes and property. He was prominent in the organization of the Dunkirk, Warren & Pittsburg railroad, now the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley & Pittsburg, and was one of the original directors of the company.
The story of Mr. Bookstaver's political career is long and interesting, and extremely significant of the esteem in which he is held by his fellow-citizens. He has served Dunkirk, as village and city, in every department of municipal administration. While
the place remained a village he was suc- cessively its clerk, attorney, treasurer, and president. In 1875 he was elected supervisor from the town of Dunkirk, and remained on the board, with the exception of a single twelvemonth, for sixteen years. At the end of that period, in 1890, he declined a unanimous nomi- nation for re-election, as he was about to make an extended foreign tour. In 1885 he was appointed one of the water commissioners, and is still on the board. In 1887 he was appointed mayor of Dunkirk to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of M. L. Hinman, and the next year he was elected to the same office. He was re-elected in 1889 and again in 1890, and in 1896 he was once inore summoned to the mayor's chair.
While mayor, in 1888, Mr. Book- staver devoted much time to the estab- lishment of a system of municipal electric lighting, believing that in this way the city could secure the best results at a minimum cost. Dunkirk was the pio- neer in this movement in the state, and the plan met with fierce opposition. The mayor, supported by the common . ouncil, argued the matter before the governor and both branches of the legis- lature, and carried it through the courts. It was a test case of municipality versus monopoly, and Mayor Bookstaver's un- tiring efforts were finally crowned with success. So high an authority as Professor Richard T. Ely, the well-known economist and advocate of municipal ownership, gives Mr. Bookstaver great credit for
this achievement ; and the fact that lights are fur- nished in Dunkirk at 15 cents a night each as compared with 50 cents in Baltimore and 65 cents in Boston, where the service is obtained from private corporations, is a strong argument in favor of his theory.
For many years Mr. Bookstaver has been well known in state political circles as an earnest Demo- crat. In 1876 he was a delegate to the Democratic national convention at St. Louis that nominated Samuel J. Tilden for the presidency. In 1887 he was appointed by Governor Hill a member of the committee on prison-labor reform, and served as chairman of the same.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-William Book- staver was born at Montgomery, Orange county, N. Y., December 28, 1833; was educated in Montgomery
WILLIAM BOOKSTALER
Academy ; studied law in Dunkirk, N. Y., and was admitted to the bar in 1858 ; married Mary . Leonard of Augusta, Me., July 18, 1861: was supervisor for the town of Dunkirk, 1875-00, with
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the exception of one year ; was a delegate to the Demo- cratic national convention in 1876 ; was mayor of Dunkirk, 1887-90, and was again elected in 1806; has practiced law in Dunkirk and engaged in real- estate operations there since 1858.
time.
JAMES CHALMERS
James Chalmers is one of the sturdy, ener- getic sons of Scotland who form so respectable an element of the population of western New York. He was born near Edinburgh, a poor boy, and owes his success to his pluck, perseverance, and intelli- gence. His schooling was brief. It began when he was seven years old, and ended at thirteen when he left Gillespie's Free School, in Edinburgh, with the medal awarded for the highest average in all branches of the curriculum. He then taught school in Edinburgh until he was sixteen, and afterward became an apprentice to an Edinburgh machinist. But his work in the school, and later in the machine shop, was only a part of what the boy did. From the age of eight, in addition to his other duties, he had worked in a gelatine factory. His father had a
contract to produce gelatine at a fixed price, and to reduce the expense of manufacture James had to labor in the factory from early morning until the school bell rang, and again after school until bed- Thus he had no chance for study at home, and his award of honors at school is the more noteworthy. When he became a machinist's apprentice, his extra labor continued ; and after walking three miles night and morning to and from the machine shop, he had to spend a few hours at the gelatine factory assisting his father. This manner of life lasted until he was twenty-one.
This was a hard apprenticeship, but it is the kind that develops and strengthens character if the soil is fit. When, there- fore, James Chalmers came to this coun- try, in 1872, to seek his fortune, he was possessed of qualities that ensured his success. He worked first at the spring- hammer works in Williamsville, Erie county, N. Y., and then in the Erie-rail- road repair shops at Susquehanna, Penn. While he was thus working for others he formed the determination to engage for himself in the manufacture of gelatine. He had no means, but he did have a knowledge of the methods of manufac- ture acquired by many years' weary labor ; and, what was no less valuable, he had confidence and perseverance, willing hands, and a robust constitution. He began business as a manufacturer in 1873 at Williamsville, where there was an abundant supply of the pure spring water essential to the production of gel- atine. Without money, progress at first was slow ; but the result was what might have been expected - success.
Mr. Chalmers's brother, Peter Chalmers, was a partner in the business until 1882, when he moved to Texas. Since then James Chalmers has conducted the business alone, with steadily increasing success. His product is sold throughout the United States. The original factory has been greatly enlarged, and recent improvements include a drying room one hundred and fifty by fifty feet in area, containing over five thousand feet of pipe, and capable of evaporating eight hundred gallons of water a day.
Mr. Chalmers has always refused to accept nomi- nations for political office, but his townsmen have insisted upon his filling several positions of trust and honor. He is a member of the board of education
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of the Williamsville High School, president of the board of trustees of the village, and president of the Williamsville board of water commissioners. He has always taken an interest in educational matters, and has shown himself in many ways a man of public spirit. . He was instrumental in having Williamsville connected with Buffalo by electric railway, and was at one time vice president and manager of the road. His standing among food-producers was shown by his election as a director of the National Pure Food Manufacturers' Association. Mr. Chalmers is a member of all the Masonic bodies up to the 32d degree, and of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-James Chalmers was born at Gorgie Mills, near Edinburgh, Scotland, October 15, 1844; was educated at Gilles- pie's Free School, Edinburgh ; married Helen Wilson of Peebles, Scotland, August 23, 1800 ; came to America in 1872 ; established the Chalmers gelatine factory at Williamsville, N. Y., in 1873, and has conducted the same since.
Josepb MiD. Congdon, a promi- nent lawyer of Cattaraugus county, and otherwise well known in western New York, was born about fifty years ago. His general education was obtained in the district schools of his native county and in Randolph Academy, while his professional studies were carried on in the office of Jenkins & Goodwill at East Randolph. He rounded out his legal knowledge by taking a course at the Albany Law School. Completing his work there in the summer of 1870, he was admitted to the bar in October of the same year. Mr. Congdon had spent most of his life in Randolph and vicin- ity, and wisely decided to cast in his lot with those who knew him best. He be- gan the practice of law, therefore, at East Randolph on June 1, 1871, in part- nership with his brother, Benjamin F. Congdon. The firm of Congdon & Congdon carried on a successful legal business until September 1, 1873, when Mr. Congdon associated himself with his father-in-law, M. T. Jenkins, for the purpose of practicing law in Fredonia, Chautauqua county. This partnership lasted two years, or until Mr. Congdon decided to leave Fre- donia, and carry on his profession in the neighbor- ing town of Gowanda.
This was in September, 1875, and since then, with the exception of three years' residence in Buffalo, in 1882-84, Mr. Congdon has made Gowanda his abiding-place. That the choice of location was wise seems clear from his subsequent success, though equal prosperity might have rewarded his efforts elsewhere. He rose to prominence quickly in the political and social life of Gowanda, while his pro- fessional practice became gratifyingly large and im- portant. By the year 1880 he was so well estal- lished in the regard of his fellow-citizens that they elected him to the state legislature from the 2d assembly district of Cattaraugus county ; and in 1881 he was re-elected. While in the assembly he was a member of the judiciary committee, one of the most important in the legislature, becoming chairman of the committee in his second year of service. In
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