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 57
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JOSEPH MISCHKA
another position in the line of promotion. His house is filled with valuable gifts received at various times from the societies and churches with which he has been connected.
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While organist of the Westminster Church, Mr. Mischka began his career as conductor of singing societies by taking charge of the newly organized Arion Society. This was a chorus of mixed voices, and its concerts, conducted by Mr. Mischka, were ·very popular. In 1868 he became chorus master of
DANIEL O'GRADY
the Caroline Richings Opera Co., with which he remained one year. Returning to Buffalo at the end of that period, he found the Liedertafel direc- torship vacant, and was asked to conduct rehearsals until the position should be permanently filled from abroad. He was so well liked, however, that the idea of sending to Europe for a leader was aban- doned ; and Mr. Mischka remained in the position twenty-four years, with an interruption of two years between 1877 and 1879. On his retirement in the fall of 1894 the office of honorary director was created in order to bestow it upon him.
Mr. Mischka was the local musical director of the Saengerfest of the North American Saengerbund held in Buffalo in 1883, comprising 3000 singers
and 100 musicians, and of the great musical festivals held in that city in 1884, 1885, and 1887. He was director of the Vocal Society from 1887 to 1894, and brought that organization to a high pitch of ex- cellence. For the last twenty-seven years, with the exception of two years between 1880 and 1882, Mr. Mischka has been organist of Temple Beth Zion ; and since 1887 he has been organist at the Delaware Avenue Metho- dist Episcopal Church. Since 1873 he has been professor of music in the Buf- falo State Normal School. Having been appointed in the fall of 1894 supervisor of music in the Buffalo public schools, be found the responsibility of this position so great that he severed his connection with the Liedertafel and with the Vocal Society. He now has 60,000 children in his charge. It is his ambition and aim, not only to teach music to the chil- dren for their own sake, but also to furnish capable singers to the chorus masters of the next generation.
As a promoter of music in Buffalo no man has a record superior to that of Mr. Mischka. He has always been active in support of musical enterprises, and has never been sparing of his time or strength in furthering their success. His generosity toward his colleagues is well known, and many a young musician dates his career from the time when Mr. Mischka brought him to public notice.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Joseph Mischka was born at Herman- mestec, Austria, May 8, 1846 ; came to the United States in 1852, and settled in Buffalo: was chorus master of an opera troupe, 1868-69 ; engaged in busi- ness as music dealer and publisher, 1869-12; married Catherine Diets of Buffalo September 5. 1871; was director of the Buffalo Liedertafel, 1870-77 and 1879-04 : has held various prominent positions as teacher of music and as church organist in Buffalo since 1870.
Daniel O'Grady, one of the deputy excise commissioners appointed under the famous Raines law of 1896, was born in Rochester, N. Y., a short time before the outbreak of the Civil War. His father carried on a prosperous business in Rochester for many years, and there the young man acquired his education and early business experience. After attending the public schools of the Flower City he
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MMEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
took a course at Bryant & Stratton's Business Col- lege, graduating from the institution in due time.
Mr. O'Grady's real start in the world was made in 1885, when he shifted his residence from Roch- ester to Buffalo, and established himself in business in the latter city. He selected for his field of operations a part of Buffalo that was then very sparsely settled - the extreme eastern section of the city. Much of this neighborhood is now given up to prosperous manufactories, railroad yards, slaughter- houses, and cattle pens ; but when Mr. O'Grady established a grocery at the corner of Broadway and Bailey avenue most of the land near him was used for farming purposes. It was evident, however, that the industrial growth of Buffalo was likely to move in .that direction ; and Mr. O'Grady soon had plenty of neighbors. A large Polish population ultimately occupied the territory tributary to his business, and he came to know the people well, and to have considerable influence with them. Several railroad and other strikes, of long duration and corresponding severity to employees and their tradesmen, have occurred at East Buffalo since Mr. O'Grady went there ; but he has weathered every such indus- trial gale, though some other commercial craft have foundered.
Under the circumstances indicated in the foregoing statement of Mr. O'Grady's career in East Buffalo, it was natural for him to take an interest in public affairs, and to acquire considerable importance in local politics. There seems, indeed, to be a tendency of that kind in the family, since Mr. O'Grady's brother, James M. E. O'Grady of Rochester, has long been prominent in the politics of Monroe county, and is now speaker of the state assembly. Daniel O'Grady has been identified with the Republican or- ganization in Buffalo for the last ten years as district and general committee- man, and has an important personal following in his part of the city. He has not cared to hold political office, however ; and never did so until April, 1896, when H. H. Lyman, state commis- sioner of excise, appointed him one of his deputies, with headquarters at Buffalo.
Mr. O'Grady has given his chief attention to busi- ness and politics. He belongs to various fraternal associations, however, such as the order of Elks, the Red Men, and the Knights of Pythias. He is
naturally a member of the Buffalo Republican League, and has served on the executive committee of the organization.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-Daniel O' Grady was born at Rochester February 17, 1861; was educated in common schools and Bryant & Strat- ton's Business College ; married Elizabeth Maloney of Spencerport, N. Y., January 30, 1881 ; was ap- pointed deputy excise commissioner for Buffalo in April, 1896 ; has been in business at East Buffalo since 1885.
Jobn Townsend Pitkin was born in Wayne county, New York, somewhat less than forty years ago. The Pitkin family has had an important part in the history of America ever since William Pitkin, the third governor of Connecticut, was chosen in
JOHN TOWNSEND PITKIN
1754 to prepare a plan of union for the colonies. There were five other members of this committee including the chairman, Benjamin Franklin. Among the descendants of this Pitkin may be found three
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judges of supreme courts, one United States senator, two state governors, members of congress and state legislatures, and many men prominent in profes- sional and commercial life.
Our present subject went to the union school in his native town of Palmyra, and after moving to Buffalo in early youth attended the well-known Heathcote School, a private institution of excellent standing. At the age of sixteen he closed his books, not expecting then ever to resume systematic aca- demic training. He had always taken great interest in electrical subjects, and his first venture in the outer world was made as an electrician, line repairer, and operator for the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Co. This was in 1874. The next year he made a com- mercial hit by running "electric light " excursions from Buffalo to Niagara Falls. The are light was then just coming into general use ; and the viewing of the Falls in the new light, variously and bril- liantly colored, became a popular pastime. In 1876 he entered the service of the Central-Hudson road at Buffalo as train dispatcher, telegraph operator, and ticket agent. The next year he was employed by the Buffalo police department as chief telegraph operator ; and in 1879 he became an operator for the Western Union company at Buffalo.
Deciding to follow a professional rather than a business career, and having a strong inclination toward the study of medicine, Mr. Pitkin entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at New York in 1881, and afterward attended the medical department of the University of Buffalo. He received from the latter institution in 1884 the degree of M. D., obtaining at graduation the dis- tinction of an "honorable mention." For several years after this he tutored medical students at the University of Buffalo with much success. Opening an office in Buffalo soon after he obtained his degree, Dr. Pitkin carried on an increasingly large general practice for over a decade. His early interest in electrical matters was maintained all the time, naturally taking a direction harmonious with his professional work.
The application of electrical science to surgery and general therapeutics has become of great impor- tance in recent years, and Dr. l'itkin has devoted a good deal of time to the study of the subject. This investigation convinced him of the wide usefulness of electricity in the art of healing, and he decided to specialize his work to a considerable extent in this line. Ile founded, accordingly, in November, 1896, the Buffalo Electrical Sanitarium, with execu- tive offices in Ellicott Square and branches at 206 Connecticut street and 619 Prospect avenne. This
experiment has already proved successful, and Dr. Pitkin has at times more patients than he can easily care for. He has taken great interest in the "X- ray " discovery as related to surgical operations, and has done a good deal to popularize exact and useful knowledge of the subject. He has contributed articles to the Buffalo Medical Journal on stomach and peritoneal washing and on hemorrhages from the nostriis.
On the personal side, mention may be made of Di. Pickin's interest in military affairs. In 1879 he organized company F of the 74th regiment, N. G., S. N. Y., serving as captain of the company for some time ; and he is now a member of the Buffalo City Guard Cadet Association. In politics he is a Republican, and received the nomination of his party for alderman in 1887. He has observed closely the territorial expansion of Buffalo, and has made some successful ventures in real-estate opera- tions. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Buffalo.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-John Town- send Pitkin was born at Palmyra, N. Y., May 8, 1858 ; attended Palmyra Union School and IIcathcote School, Buffalo ; held various positions as electrician and telegraph operator, 1874-81; studied medicine, and graduated from the medical department of the University of Buffalo in 1884; married Lissie Simons Youngs of Buffalo March 4, 1886 : has practiced medicine in Buffalo since 1884.
Andrew 3. Robertson was born in Dela- ware county, New York, in 1851. After attending district schools and the academy in his native town, teaching at intervals and boarding around among the farmers in the old-fashioned way, he sought higher instruction in Delaware Academy at Delhi, N. Y. At the age of twenty he entered Cornell University with the class of '75, hoping to take the full course. He was obliged to meet his own ex- penses, and after working his way along through the freshman year he decided that it would not pay to follow such a life for three years more. He did not, however, give up the idea of studying law ; and after teaching German for a year at Delaware Academy he began to prepare himself in an office at Delhi for the bar examinations. He studied thus three years, supporting himself by his labor, and was admitted to the bar in the fall of 1876.
Beginning practice at once in Delhi, Mr. Robert- son concluded after a few months that he need not hesitate to pit himself against the legal lights of a larger place ; and in March, 1877, accordingly, he opened an office in Elmira. After practicing alone
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MEN OF NEW YORK -- WESTERN SECTION
until January, 1880, he formed a partnership with Gabriel L. Smith, ex-county judge. The firm of Smith & Robertson carried on a successful practice until January 1, 1889. At that time Mr. Robertson associated himself with John Bull, Jr., and the next year Dix W. Smith was admitted to the partnership. The firm of Robertson, Smith & Bull continued until the senior partner moved to Buffalo in April, 1893.
Mr. Robertson had then practiced in Elmira sixteen years, and had, of course, formed valuable business connections ; but he felt sure that Buffalo was destined to become a large city, and he knew that the abler members of the legal pro- fession must share in such prosperity. He has been in Buffalo only four years now, but has already attained a position of prominence at the local bar ; and the prediction may safely be made that he will repeat in Erie county his earlier success in the Southern Tier.
Like many other lawyers, Mr. Robert- son has been much concerned with pol- itics ; but unlike many people so occu- pied, he has not at any time sought public office. His interest in the sub- ject has been that of a public-spirited citizen, believing heartily in the princi- ples of the Republican party, and trying to promote the greatest good of the greatest number in all proper ways. During his later years in Elmira Mr. Robertson frequently acted as counsel for Republican organizations in election con- tests ; and he devoted a good deal of time to the work of instructing election officers as to their legal rights and duties on voting days. He is thoroughly in- formed in these matters, and the campaign managers of Buffalo have availed themselves of his services in every election since he went to that city. He has also been prominently connected with the Good Government Clubs of Buffalo, having associated him- self with the movement from the beginning. He has acted as legal adviser for the organization, and rendered special service in conducting the investiga- tion into the management of the Erie-county alms- house in 1896-97.
Aside from professional and political work, Mr. Robertson has concerned himself with several inter- esting subjects. He was one of the early devotees of cycling, and was a charter member and the first president of the Kanaweola Bicycle Club of Elinira.
He is an elocutionist of decided talent, and has frequently read in public in a semi-professional way. He is particularly interested in the study of Shakes- peare, and is president of one of the Shakespeare clubs of Buffalo. He has written somewhat for pub- lication at various times, and was the poet of his
--
ANDREW J. ROBERTSON
class at Cornell. He has been for many years a member of the Zeta Phi fraternity of Delhi, and was the poet at its annual dinner in 1874. He is a charter member of the Independent Club of Buffalo, and was the president thereof for the first two years of its existence.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Andrew James Robertson was born at Andes, Delaware county, N. Y., March 30, 1851 ; attended district schools and academies and Cornell University ; was admitted to the bar in 1876, and practiced in Delhi, N. Y., 1876-17 : married Martha Hayt Thompson of Elmira, N. Y., December 19, 1878 ; practiced law in Elmira, 1877-93 : has practiced lawo in Buffalo since April, 1893.
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MEN OF NEW YORK -- WESTERN SECTION
Jacob ff. Schoellkopf, a veritable " captain of industry," and widely respected in western New York for his character and personal qualities, was born in Kirchheim-unter-Teck, a small town of Württemberg, Germany, in 1819. After attending the schools of his native town until he was fourteen
JACOB F. SCHOELLKOPF
years old, he began his business life by becoming an apprentice in his father's tannery. The tanner's trade might almost be regarded as a part of Mr. Schoellkopf's inheritance, since both his father and his grandfather had been conspicuously successful in the business. Having served as an apprentice the full term of five years, Jacob Schoellkopf broadened his industrial training by following a clerkship in a mercantile house for about two years. European emigration to the United States had already begun on a considerable scale, and Mr. Schoellkopf was sufficiently ambitious and foresightful to wish a part in the movement. Continued reflection only con- firmed his purpose ; and in December, 1841, when twenty-two years old, he landed in New York city.
Utterly ignorant of the English language, Mr. Schoellkopf was forced at first to accept the readiest employment at hand, and he naturally reverted to his old trade. After following this for two years in New York city, he moved to Buffalo in 1844, and established a small leather store on Mohawk street. His capital was limited to 8800, which his father had loaned him. Seeing at once that he had made no mistake in committing himself to business, Mr. Schoellkopf soon embarked in a more ambitious venture by purchasing a small tannery at White's Corners ( Hamburg ), near Buffalo. His early training was in- valuable to him in this enterprise, and ensured his success. In two years, or in 1846, he enlarged his operations by starting a sheepskin tannery in Buffalo ; in 1948 he established a tannery in Mil- waukee ; and in 1850 still another tan- nery at Chicago resulted from his inces- sant activity. Both the Milwaukee and the Chicago tanneries are still in success- ful operation, though Mr. Schoellkopf withdrew his interest from them a few years after their establishment. In 1853 he started another tannery at Fort Wayne, Ind., and in 1854 yet another, at North Evans, N. Y., conducting the latter plant with unusual success for twenty years. In 1864 he bought a site for a tannery at Sheffield, Penn., then a part of the wilderness, and built up there a remarkably successful industry. He is now the senior proprietor of one of the largest sheepskin tanneries in the United States, located in Buffalo.
In 1857 Mr. Schoellkopf engaged in the milling industry by erecting the North Buffalo Flouring Mills. His wonderful busi- ness ability brought him success in the new de- parture, and he ultimately became one of the largest millers in the Empire State. In 1870 he bought the Frontier Mills in Buffalo, and subsequently erected extensive flouring mills at Niagara Falls. He is the senior partner in the famous milling firm of Schoellkopf & Mathews.
Mr. Schoellkopf's brilliant success in the manage- ment of his own vast enterprises has induced the directors of various corporations to seek his aid : and in some cases he has been willing to accept such directorates, or to share otherwise in the manage- ment of important corporations. He was vice- president of the Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia
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MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
railroad before its sale to the present Western New York & Pennsylvania company. For a long time he was vice president of the Third National Bank, Buffalo ; and he is still a director in several banks in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. He is also a director and the president of the Citizens' Gas Co., Buffalo. He has been a trustee of the Buffalo General Hos- pital since it was founded. His varied industrial enterprises at Niagara Falls gave him special interest in the water power there, and in 1877 he bought the Hydraulic canal at the Falls. Seeing clearly the economic possibilities of the undeveloped Niagara power, he began at onee to improve the property ; and many large mills, manufacturing paper, flour, aluminium, and other important products, are now using the canal. About 20,000 horse power is now produced, but this quantity will be greatly increased when proposed enlargements and im- provements of the canal and power station are completed. For the purpose of developing the property Mr. Schoell- kopf, soon after he bought the canal, organized the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Co., of which he is still president.
Mr: Schoellkopf went back to Europe for the first time in 1853, and since then he has revisited his native land on many occasions. Though he is now in his seventy-eighth year. he still enjoys excellent health, and enters actively into business and social life.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- Jacob Frederick Schoellkopf was born at Kirchheim-unter- Teck, Germany, No- vember 15, 1819 ; was educated in Ger- man schools, and learned the tanner's trade in his native land; came to the United States in 1841, and settled in Buffalo in January, 1844; married Christiana Sophie Duerr of Kirchheim- unter- Teck March 12, 1848 ; has been engaged in the tanning business since 1844, in milling since 1857, and in the management of various corporations for many years.
Louis Schoellkopf was born in Buffalo somewhat more than forty years ago, of German parents. He was favored with unusually careful tuition. Attending private schools until the age of ten, he then studied for four years in Germany, his father having a high opinion of the thorough training to be
obtained there. This excellent educational ground- work facilitated further training in Buffalo by private teachers, at St. Joseph's College, and at Bryant & Stratton's Business College.
The mention of the last-named institution shows the character of the career on which Mr. Schoell- kopf had decided. It was natural and easy for him to choose a mercantile life, since his father, Jacob F. Schoellkopf, had vast business interests, and wished to have his son versed in commercial affairs. At the age of eighteen, therefore, Mr. Schoellkopf went to work in his father's tannery, learning the tanner's trade there thoroughly in the course of the next four years. If heredity counts for anything in such matters, the young man had every reason to take kindly to this occupation ; since his grandfather and his great-grandfather had been tanners in Ger-
LOUIS SCHOELLKOPF
many, and his father, after learning the trade in his native land, had established himself in the same business in Buffalo thirty years before. Having acquired a firm grasp of the business, Louis
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Schoellkopf thought it advisable to set up a plant of his own ; and in 1877, accordingly, he formed a part- nership with his brother Henry, under the style of J. F. Schoellkopf's Sons. This firm conducted a successful tanning business until Henry Schoellkopf died in 1880, when a new firmn was organized, con- sisting of Louis and Alfred P. Schoellkopf and John Russ. 'This organization was well planned, and the concern has transacted a large volume of business. The original firm name is still used.
Mr. Schoellkopf has been concerned with various business undertakings, both in Buffalo and elsewhere, aside from that just described. In connection with his father and brother, he has devoted much time of late years to a number of enterprises in Niagara Falls, including the Power City Bank, International hotel, Cliff Paper Co., and Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Co.
In the social life of Buffalo Mr. Schoellkopf is highly regarded ; and as a lifelong resident of the Queen City, and a trusted and trustworthy citizen, he has an extensive circle of friends. In politica! matters his sympathies are with the Republican party, and he is a member of the Buffalo Republican League ; but he has taken no active part in politics, and has never sought nor held public office. He attends the Westminster Presbyterian Church, and is a member of the Westminster Club. He belongs, also, to the Ellicott Club, the Merchants' Exchange, the Orpheus Singing Society, and the Charity Organization.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Louis Schoellkopf was born at Buffalo March 25, 1855 ; studied in Buffalo schools and colleges and in Ger- many ; learned the tanner's trade in Buffalo, 1873- 17; married Myra Lee Horton of Sheffield, Penn., May 18, 1881 ; has been engaged in the tannery business in Buffalo since 1877 as a member of the firm of J. F. Schoellkopf's Sons.
Rodney Macamley Taylor is a type of many distinguished Americans, who have by their own efforts risen from poverty to affluence. Colonel Taylor himself is fond of saying that "the good Lord is sure to help them that try to help them- selves in this glorious country of ours -the very best that the world has ever known."
In the spring of 1847 Mr. Taylor was a clerk in a commission and shipping house on Broad street, New York city. When returning from the bank one day he met face to face an officer in uniform, who proved to be his brother, Captain Taylor, just arrived from Mexico. After the capture of Vera Cruz, General Scott had ordered Captain Taylor to go to Cincinnati
on some army business, and his brother Rodney decided to accompany him thither. The two went West together, accordingly, by way of Buffalo. Colonel Taylor remembers clearly how he and his brother registered at the Mansion House June 7, 1847 -- the twenty-second anniversary, as they were told, of the hanging of the three Thayer brothers in Niagara square. Captain Taylor took a steamer from Buffalo to Cleveland en route to Cincinnati ; but the younger brother, having received an offer of a clerk- ship in a dry-goods store on Main street, resolved to accept the opportunity, and make Buffalo his perma- nent abiding. place.
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