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 52
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65
Deter H. Dorter, one of the most eminent men of Niagara Falls, and else- where widely known and respected in western New York, is descended from a line of ancestors renowned in history. His father, Colonel Peter A. Porter, was killed at the battle of Cold Harbor while gallantly leading his regiment over the breast- works in a magnificent charge. Two nights later five brave men of his command rescued the body under the very breath of the enemy's guns. Gen- eral Peter Buel Porter, the grandfather of our present subject, was even more distinguished, attaining high honors in both civil and military life. He was elected to congress three tines, and was the right arm of the American forces in the battles of Fort Erie, Chippewa, and Lundy's Lane. He was, in- deed, the chief figure in the great historic drama enacted in western New York in the early decades of the century.
With such inspiration in the past, Mr. Porter has found it easy to maintain the splendor of the family
name. Born in Niagara Falls shortly after the mid- dle of the century, he attended St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H., one of the best preparatory schools in the country. The course of study there was appropriately followed by higher educational train- ing at Yale College, and by extended foreign travel
LAUREN W. PETTEBONNE
thereafter. Since then he has made his residence continuously in Niagara Falls, and has had much to do with almost everything of importance that has gone on there in the last twenty years. A good deal of his time has necessarily been given to the care and development of the family estate, which originally included much of the land now contained in the beautiful state reservation at Niagara.
Mr. Porter has been a prime mover in many projects designed to promote the welfare of Niagara Falls, and his fellow-citizens have frequently sought his counsel and leadership in municipal matters. In 1885 he was elected a member of the state legis- lature, and was re-elected the next year. While in the assembly he introduced and effected the passage
366
MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
of the "Niagara Tunnel " bill providing for the eyelopean undertakings of the Cataraet Construction Co., and making possible the development of elec- trical energy in enormous volume from the Falls. Mr. Porter was deeply interested in this wonderful conquest of nature. He wrote the historical chapter
PETER A. PORTER
in the special number of Cassier's magazine describ- ing the tunnel scheme in all its aspects.
As might be inferred from the last statement, Mr. Porter is a brilliant scholar, and is particularly well versed in local history. He has made minute and painstaking researches among original documents relating to the past of the Niagara region, and is regarded as a high authority on questions relating thereto, his special library on this subject being the most extensive in the country. His interest in such matters has doubtless been stimulated by the fact that his forefathers had so large a part in the making of history along the Niagara frontier.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Peter Au- gustus Porter was born at Niagara Falls, N. Y.,
October 10, 1853 ; graduated from Yale College in 1874; married Alice Adele Tavlor in 1877; Was member of the New York state assembly, 1886-87.
Arthur Schoellkopf, mayor of the city of Niagara Falls in 1896, belongs to a family that has been prominent in business circles in western New York for many years. His father, Jacob F. Schoellkopf, came to America more than half a century ago and settled in Buffalo, where Arthur was born in 1856. After some elementary education in private schools at home, the boy was sent to Germany at the age of nine, and for four years attended the academy at Kirchheim, his father's na- tive place, in the province of Württem- berg. Returning to Buffalo in 1869, he received further education at St. Joseph's College, and then took a course at Bry- ant & Stratton's Business College as a final preparation for active business life. %
In 1873 Mr. Schoellkopf left school, and devoted the next four years to ac- quiring a thorough practical knowledge of the milling trade in the North Buffalo and Frontier mills, operated at first by Thornton & Chester and later by Schoell- kopf & Mathews. In 1877 his father, with A. M. Chesbrough, bought the property of the Hydraulic canal at Niag- ara Falls, and Mr. Schoellkopf was sent thither to take charge of it, and to assist in the erection thereon of the Niagara Flouring Mills, of which he became local manager. These mills are among the largest in western New York, having a capacity of 2000 barrels daily. In 1878 the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Mfg. Co. was organized to develop the Hydraulic canal, and to furnish water power for other mills in the vicinity. Jacob F. Schoellkopf was president of the company, and Arthur Schoellkopf became its secretary and treasurer and general manager, and has held these positions ever since.
In addition to the business interests outlined above, Mr. Schoellkopf is actively connected with other enterprises so many and varied that it is possible in a brief sketch merely to give a list of them. He is president of the Park Theater Co .; vice president of the Cliff Paper Co .; secretary and treasurer of the International Hotel Co. and of the Niagara Falls Brewing Co .; a director of the New York Mutual Savings and Loan Association, and
367
MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
president of the local branch ; president of the Power City Bank; a director of the Bank of Viagara ; and a trustee of the Niagara County Sav- ":> Bank. He built the first street railway in Magara Falls, managed it for seven years, and stablished it on a paying basis. The man who has mude such a record at forty years of age must possess unusual ability and a character that inspires the con- idence of others. Mr. Schoellkopf's success may 'e ascribed to a happy combination of the pro- gressive spirit of the native American with the habits of industry and application inherited from his German ancestors.
In political belief Mr. Schoellkopf is a Repub- livan ; but the positions of responsibility to which he has been called have come to him, not as a poli- tician, but as a public-spirited citizen in whose sound judgment and unquestioned integ- rity his fellow-citizens could rely. He was one of the first sewer commissioners of the village of Niagara Falls, and has been a commissioner of public works ever since the organization of the com- munity as a city. His election to the mayor's chair took place in March, 1896, and his administration of the office was most business-like and thorough.
A man of Mr. Schoellkopf's impor- tance in business and public life natur- ally becomes interested in all the com- plex developments of modern existence. Mr. Schoellkopf belongs to Niagara Frontier Lodge, No. 132, F. & A. M., is a Knight Templar and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and Exalted Ruler of lodge No. 346, B. P. O. E. He is a member and trustee of the First Presby- terian Church of Niagara Falls, and vice president of the city's Chamber of Com- merce. He has membership in the Elli- cott Club, Buffalo.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Arthur Schoellkopf was born at Buffalo June 13, 1856 ; was educated in Buffalo und in Germany ; learned the miller's trade in Buffalo, 1873-77 ; married Jessic Gluck of Niagara Falls, N. Y., October 13, 1890 ; has been local manager of the Viagara Flouring Mills since 1877, and secretary and treasurer and manager of the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Mfg. Co. since 1878, and is also an officer in many other com- mercial and financial organizations in Niagara Falls : was elected mayor of Niagara Falls in 1896.
Taillis t. Tennant is descended from Scottish ancestry, and may have acquired thence his sturdy determination and strength of character. His grandfather, a full-blooded Scotchinan, entered the revolutionary army at the age of eighteen, and was present at West Point at the time of Benedict Arnold's treason. Notwithstanding decided draw- backs in his early surroundings, Mr. Tennant, by untiring energy and perseverance, has placed him- self in the ranks of the prominent lawyers and busi- ness men of western New York.
His early life was spent on a Chautauqua-county farm, and his education began at the age of fourteen at the district school. This continued for four years, about twelve weeks each year, and at the end of that time his father deemed his tuition complete. But the son had a far different ambition - that of
ARTHUR SCHOELLKOPF
obtaining a fair education -and, with the same determination that has characterized his subsequent career, he proceeded to achieve his purpose. After much coaxing he obtained his father's consent to
£
368
MEN OF NEW YORK -- WESTERN' SECTION
enter the Mayville Union School, five miles away, on condition that he should do " chores" at home night and morning, and walk to and from school. He remained at school in Mayville somewhat more than a year, and during nearly all of that time these difficult conditions were faithfully fulfilled, until he
WILLIS H. TENNANT
had traveled on foot over 1700 miles between the farm and the Mayville schoolhouse.
Having received a certificate to teach in the dis- trict schools, Mr. Tennant was so occupied for one winter. He then took a course in a business college at Painesville, Ohio, and the following December began the study of law. From the time he entered school at Mayville he was entirely dependent upon his own resources ; but these proved quite sufficient. He read law three years with a prominent attorney of Mayville, and paid for the privilege by taking care of the office, and mak- ing himself generally useful there ; while he earned his board during the entire time by working as porter and barn boy in a hotel.
Mr. Tennant was admitted to the bar in January, 1880. He began practice in Mayville the follow- ing summer, and has followed his calling there continuously since. In November, 1880, he was admitted to practice in the United States District Court, and in March, 1882, the same privilege was obtained in the United States Cir- cuit Court. Among the important cases that he has successfully conducted was that of the town of Ellery against the board of supervisors of Chautauqua county. Its purpose was to review and correct the equalized valuations of the several towns and cities of the county made by that board ; and the result was a reduction of $3,000,000 in the equal- ized valuations of the country towns, and a corresponding increase in the valua- tions of the cities of Jamestown and Dunkirk. Mr. Tennant has made a specialty of corporation, real-estate, and investment law, and has an extensive and profitable practice. For several years he has been the general counsel for the Equitable Aid Union, a fraternal benefit society that receives and dis- burses nearly $1,000,000 annually : he has charge of all its legal affairs in the United States. In 1892 he assisted in organizing the State Bank of Brocton, and became its attorney.
In 1889 Mr. Tennant became inter- ested in Buffalo real estate, and his investments, made with prudence and sound business judgment, have been uniformly successful. Since 1891 he has been a member of the Buffalo Real Estate Exchange. He took an active part in building the first electric railway between Buffalo and Tonawanda, in 1891.
Mr. Tennant is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of other fraternal societies. In politics he is an ardent Republican, and has worked early and late to promote the political fortunes of his friends and party. He has always taken an active part in public affairs, has served for several years as a member of the May- ville board of education, and has been president of the village. Mayville owns and operates its own water and lighting systems, having assumed the con- trol thereof largely through Mr. Tennant's advocacy and leadership.
Mr. Tennant has barely reached the prime of life, and the prophecy may safely be made that
369
MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
s Iditional honors await him, and a position even higher than that already attained, in social, busi- ., and professional life.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- Willis Hale Tennant was born at Chautauqua, N. Y., April 20, 151; was educated in district schools and the May- :lk ( N. Y. ) Union School ; was admitted to the bar 14 1880 ; married De Emma Van Valkenburgh of Marville December 24, 1884 : has practiced law in Marville since 1880 : was elected president of the aliage of Mayville in March, 1896, and supervisor in February, 1897.
George Douglas Emerson was born at Abbott's Corners, Erie county, New York, in De- .ember, 1847. This little settlement is near Buf- falo, and Mr. Emerson may fairly be deemed a Buffalonian from the first, since he moved to the city in infancy, and has lived there ever since. His family history is interesting. His uncle, General Mason Brayman, was a distinguished officer in the Civil War, and was afterward governor of Idaho for several years. Nathaniel Emerson, the paternal grand- father of our present subject, settled in East Aurora, Erie county, in 1804; and other members of the family also helped to open up western New York to civiliza- tion. Lower down, the family tree is more interesting still, taking the investi- gator, by way of Bunker Hill and other famous scenes in colonial history, back to the original immigrant in Connecticut two and a half centuries ago.
Mr. Emerson began his education by entering public school No. 4 in 1853, and passed through the various grades until he graduated from the Buffalo High School in July, 1863. After some minor · lerkships he entered the service of the Central-Hudson railroad at Buffalo in May, 1874. He found the railroad call- ing congenial, and remained with the company in their freight department at Buffalo and East Buffalo until October, 1887. From April, 1888, until Decem- ber, 1889, he was connected with the mispection bureau of the Central Traffic Association, with headquarters in Buf- falo. He had a part in the preparation of the eleventh United States census, serving as special agent of the census bureau for eleven months in 1×90-91. He supervised the gathering of statistics
of the manufacturing industries in Buffalo and Tona- wanda.
For the last few years Mr. Emerson has devoted most of his time to political affairs and his duties as a public official. He has frequently represented Republican voters at city, assembly, and congres- sional conventions, and has twice been a delegate to state conventions. He was assistant secretary of the Republican general committee of Erie county during the four years 1891-94, and was secretary of the same committee in 1895-97. Since January 1, 1894, he has been deputy clerk of the state senate at Albany.
In social and society matters Mr. Emerson has been active. He has served . the High School Alumni Association as vice president, president, and class historian. He belongs to the Buffalo Society
GEORGE DOUGLAS EMERSON
of Natural Sciences, and to the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Philadelphia. He is first vice president of the Independent Club of Buffalo, a popular dining association. His interest
370
MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
in the cause of temperance is evident in the fact that he has served seven terms as presiding officer of a council of the Royal Templars of Temperance, and was also on the executive committee of the Grand Council of the order for seven years. He is .fond of historical research, and is chairman of the
WILLIAM S. GRATTAN
Indian-memorials committee of the Buffalo Histor- ical Society. He is one of the guarantee subscribers for the American Historical Review published in Boston. He is a member of the Delaware Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, Buffalo, and of Wash- ington Lodge, No. 240, F. & A. M.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- George Douglas Emerson was born at Abbott's Corners, N. Y., December 4, 1847 ; was educated in Buffalo public schools, and graduated from the high school in 1863 ; married Susan K. Corwin of Buffalo Decem- ber 11, 1872; was connected with the freight depart- ment of the Central-Hudson railroad at Buffalo, 1874-87, and with the inspection bureau of the Cen- tral Traffic Association, 1888-89 ; was special agent
of the United States census bureau, 1890-91 ; has been deputy clerk of the New York state senate since 1894.
William S. Grattan was born in Monroe county, Pennsylvania, about fifty years ago. He attended the district schools of his native town, and Blairstown ( N. J. ) Seminary : but closed his books at the age of six- teen, and became an apprentice in the works of the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Co. at Scranton, Penn. In December, 1864, he entered the service of the Del. aware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Co. as a clerk in their coal office. He remained with the Lackawanna company until March, 1870, when he engaged with David C. Henderson and went to Westfield, Mass., to build the Holyoke & Westfield railroad. In 1871-72 he built a part of the Greenwood Lake rail- road in New Jersey, and a dam and bridge for the Lackawanna railroad at Montclair, N. J. In February, 1873, he began work on the " Fourth avenue im- provement " in New York city. In January, 1875, he opened a quarry at Randolph, N. Y., and quarried the stone needed for a bridge across the Hacken- sack river. In September, 1877, he made a contract to build the stone foun- dation for the steel works at Pompton. N. J. In 1878, the year the New York elevated railroads were first operated, he worked for the company as a foreman mason. The next year he acted as assistant to the superintendent of the Brighton Beach railroad ; and in Janu- ary, 1879, he returned to the elevated railroad company as dispatcher.
The business of a contractor, however, was more to Mr. Grattan's liking than railroad operating ; and in July, 1880, he made an engagement with the contracting firm of Smith & Ripley, taking charge for them of eighteen miles of work on the New Haven & Northampton railroad. A year later he was sent to Genesee county, New York, to supervise the construction of six miles of road for the Lacka. wanna company. In December, 1881, he went to Buffalo to do some masonry for the firm of Smith. Ripley & Andrews : and after that he continued his acquaintance with western New York by overseeing the construction of the West Shore road through a part of Erie county.
371
MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
Since then the story of Mr. Grattan's career is tie more than a record of repeated successes as a scheral contractor. In April, 1883, he made an portant contract with the Delaware, Lackawanna \ Western railroad providing for the construction at Buffalo and East Buffalo of shops, coaling stations, a trestle at Erie street, and freight houses at the foot of Main street. In February, 1887, Mr. Grattan !wilt the Lackawanna trestle at Cheektowaga, near " iffalo, the largest coal trestle in existence at that time. The success of these independent ventures and the magnitude of his operations induced Mr. Grattan to seek partnership assistance ; and in Janu- y, 1888, accordingly, he formed with Alva M. Jennings the firm of Grattan & Jennings. The partnership has been maintained ever since, and the "rin has taken a high stand among the general con- tractors of the country. A complete . count of their business during the last nine years would give one a fair idea of the building conditions of western New York in that period. The work of the firm covers a wide range, and includes pile driving, dock building, excavating and concreting for structural foundations, large buildings requiring fine finish, and general masonry. In addition to these styles of contracting, they do a good deal of special work for railroads, making « ulverts, bridge approaches and founda- tions, concrete engine beds, and the like. Grattan & Jennings have executed ser- vral large construction contracts in a remarkably short time. In 1896, for example, on a contract with the Erie railroad, they took down an old coal tres- tle on the Blackwell canal, and erected in its place in sixty days, with lumber brought from Georgia, a new trestle con- taining about 2,500,000 feet board meas- ure of lumber and 2800 oak piles.
Mr. Grattan has always been a consist- ent Republican voter, but has never vared to hold public office. In Decem- ber, 1896, however, Mayor Jewett ap- pointed him one of the three fire com- missioners of Buffalo, and he is now discharging capably the duties of that office. The term runs six years from December 1, 1896.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- William S. Grattan was born at Shoemaker's, Penn., June 8, 1846 ; was educated in district schools and Blairstoron .N. J. ) Seminary ; was in the employ of the Lacka-
wanna Iron & Coal Co., and the Delaware, Lacka- wanna & Western Railroad Co., at Scranton, Penn., 1862-70; married Amelia C. Mickens of Hewitt, V. J., August 30, 1877 ; had charge of various rail- read and other contracts in Massachusetts, New Jer- sey, and western New York, 1870-83 ; has done a general contracting business in Buffalo since 188.3.
MID. 3. bbcaly, recently appointed by Mayor Jewett of Buffalo one of the commissioners of public works of that city, was born in Buffalo in Novem- ber, 1859. He attended public schools until he was fifteen years old, but closed his books then in order to satisfy his desire for a business career. Entering the service, accordingly, of Leonard Hink- ley, who conducted a general store at the corner of Niagara street and Forest avenue, Buffalo, young
M. J. HEALY
Healy learned the rudiments of business in the thorough way possible in such an establishment. He had not been in business more than a year, however, before he saw that even a commercial
372
MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
career demanded considerably more education than he had yet obtained. He changed his plans abruptly, therefore, entering St. Joseph's College and study - ing there three years - 1873-75.
Making a fresh start in 1876 with an intellectual equipment much broader than before, Mr. Healy went to work for Pratt & Co., Buffalo. He remained with this famous concern until 1878, when a favor- able chance came to go into business with his brothers, in the firm of P. & M. Healy. They conducted a flourishing trade in groceries, meats, hardware, glass, etc., until February, 1895, when the business was divided, and a new firm, styled B. J. & M. J. Healy, was formed. This concern has also prospered markedly, and the Healy brothers may be said to control a large part of the trade in their line in the section of Buffalo known as Black Rock. Besides conducting a large retail business, they are the wholesale representatives of the Niagara Flouring Mills, the Akron Flouring Mills, and the New York Rubber Paint Co. The success of the business is due largely to the energy, long experi- ence, and general ability of M. J. Healy.
For several years Mr. Healy has taken an active interest in political affairs, and has had much influ- ence with the local leaders of the Democratic party. He held no public office, however, until January, 1897, when he was appointed commissioner of pub- lic works for the four years 1897-1900. Mayor Jewett's selection was regarded with general satisfac- tion, and it was felt that Mr. Healy would bring to the duties of his office excellent judgment and unusual executive ability.
Mr. Healy's capacity in business affairs has been recognized by various associations that have sought his guidance. He is a director, for example, of the Irish-American Savings & Loan Association of Buf- falo, a stockholder in the Niagara Bank of Buffalo, and first vice president of the Black Rock Business Men's Association. He is president of St. Joseph's College Alumni Association, a director of the Knights of Columbus, and an active member of various other fraternal and social organizations.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Michael John Healy was born at Buffalo November 3, 1859 ; was educated in public schools and St. Joseph's College, Buffalo ; was in the employ of Pratt & Co., 1876-78 ; married Elizabeth Warner of Buffalo February 9, 1897; was appointed commissioner of public works of Buffalo for the term 1897-1900 ; has carried on a grocery and meat business at Black Rock since 1878.
Robert RRodman Defford, widely known in the business and political circles of western New
York, was born in Buffalo in 1845. He obtained his education in his native city, attending private and public schools and Bryant & Stratton's Business College. Reasonably well equipped in that way for a commercial career, he became a clerk at the age of seventeen in a wholesale salt and cement house. After remaining with this concern a short time, and serving as a clerk about a year in the canal-collec- tor's office, he formed a partnership in 1865 with E. E. Hazard to conduct a coal business. Mr. Hefford was then only twenty years old, and he has been connected with the coal industry ever since. The firm of E. E. Hazard & Co. carried on a flourishing trade until 1871, when Mr. Hefford suc- ceeded to the business, and conducted operations on his own account. In recent years his business has resolved itself largely into the shipping and forwarding of coal ; and he has had an important part in making Buffalo one of the greatest coal markets in the world.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.