USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 31
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Honored and respected by all, there was no man who occupied a more enviable position in commercial and financial circles in Erie than Casimer Siegel or who was more universally respected. He was espec- ially popular among the German-American residents of this city and his word carried influence with them. He was thoroughly American in spirit and interests and gladly cooperated in every movement for the welfare and benefit of the city. His wise counsel was frequently sought. not alone in business matters but in shaping important measures in muni- cipal legislation. For some time he served as a member of the city coun- cil and his efforts in that body were always in the direction of betterment and improvement. He died October 17. 1886, and the community mourned the loss of one whom it had long known and honored. Neither fear nor favor could swerve him from a course which he believed to be right and his name was ever an unsullied one in commercial circles.
DR. OWEN M. SHREVE, one of the leading specialists engaged in the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, is one of the most
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thoroughly and broadly trained among the physicians and surgeons of Erie. He is a son of the late Rev. Cyrus and Florella ( Nourse) Shreve, his father, who died at Union City, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1908, having been engaged in the work of the Baptist ministry in that section of the state for more than fifty years. The family is descended from Eng- lish ancestry and Richard and Margaret Shreve, the great-grandparents of the doctor, migrated from Burlington, New Jersey, and settled at the head of Oil Creek lake (now Lake Canadohta) in 1798. Their son Israel, the grandfather of Owen M., married Elizabeth Bloomfield, daughter of Thomas Bloomfield, a Revolutionary soldier and prominent citizen in whose honor Bloomfield township was named. Eight children were born of this union, and, since the death of Rev. Cyrus Shreve, the only survivor of the family is Thomas B. Shreve, a resident of Union City. Rev. Cyrus Shreve was a native of Bloomfield township, born July 23, 1825 ; was ordained to the Baptist ministry September 10, 1853, and held charges for the next half century at various places in western Pennsylvania. He was a man of remarkable vitality of body and mind and retained his vigor until within a few years of his death, when his powers were enfeebled by an acute attack of disease. He then resigned his pastorate to the deep sorrow of the many whom he had befriended and assisted in ways both practical and spiritual, and passed peacefully away at his old home in Union City a venerable man of God, revered for his earnestness, unaffected character and his Christian desire, as well as his strong human ability, to aid those in material or spiritual suffering. The two sons of the deceased are Dr. Owen M. and Hon. M. W. Shreve, both of whom prominently figure in the professional and public annals of Erie.
Dr. Shreve pursued courses preparatory to his professional educa- tion at Bucknell Academy and University, graduating from the latter with the class of 1884. He completed his studies at the Buffalo Medical College in 1892, and after his graduation therefrom went abroad to extend his knowledge and training in connection with diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He attended several of the hospitals and clinics of Europe, and for some time served as an assistant at Moore- field's Eye Hospital, London. Returning to the United States in 1902, he located at Erie for practice, and his uninterrupted success since is but the natural and legitimate result of his thorough training in his profes- sional specialities and his instinctive abilities. The doctor is president of the Erie County Medical Society, and is actively identified with the Pennsylvania State Medical Society and the American Medical Associa- tion and the Hamot and St. Vincent's hospitals. He is also a Mason, and a member of the Erie Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade, as well as of the Erie and Country clubs. In other words, he is a live citi- zen of Erie and one of its most thoroughly representative physicians. The doctor married in London in 1903-Miss Elise Courtier-Dutton and two children were born to them in England-Olive E. and Owen M., Jr.
ORR G. METZNER, the leading retail dealer in meats of Erie, is a pro- (luct of the county, in birth, education and business developnient. He was born on a farm in North East township, May 24, 1860, and is a son of the late John and Catherine ( Wallace) Metzner. He was educated in the Erie public schools, learned bookkeeping from a private tutor and mastered the meat business under his father. In 1882 he founded his own establishment in that line on Parade street, but a year and a half later became his father's partner. In 1886 he located at his present num-
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ber 13 West Seventh street, and from the large profits of the business erected the fine block on the site of the old building, in 1890. Mr. Metz- ner is an influential member of the Eric Chamber of Commerce and Bus- iness Men's Exchange, and is past master of Perry Lodge. A. F. & A. M. He was married, December 30, 1889, to Miss Carrie Firch, of Erie, and to them have been born the following: Maxwell, March 19, 1891, and Webster, June 21, 1893.
John Metzner, father of Orr G., was a native of Germany and came to the United States in 1846. his first work being to learn the butcher's trade at St. Mary's, Pennsylvania. After residing in Erie for a time he purchased a farm in Greenfield township, this county, and resided there- on until 1865, when he returned to the city and engaged in the meat bus- iness at No. 924 Parade street, retiring in 1892 and dying in Erie three years later. His wife (Catherine Wallace) was born in England of Scotch- English parents and died in 1876, mother of two sons-James William, who was born October 5, 1856, and died May 15, 1874 ; and Orr G. Metz- ner, of this biography.
RUFUS S. LOOMIS, deceased, was a member of one of the oldest fam- ilies of the vicinity of North East, and was descended through many gen- erations from the mother country of England. Born in North East on the 20th of January, 1811, he was a son of Joel and Susanna (Baird) Loomis, who were married on the 1st of January, 1799. Joel Loomis was born in Granville, New York, and was a son of Seth and Mindwell (Porter) Loomis. Seth Loomis was born May 22, 1737, and was a son of Joshua and Abigail (Langdon) Loomis, of Westfield, Massachusetts. Joshua Loomis, born August 24, 1706, died previous to 1788, and he was a son of William and Martha ( Morley) Loomis, also of Westfield. Wil- liam Loomis, born on the 18th of March, 1672, died February 22, 1753, and he was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Judd) Loomis. Samuel Loomis was born in England, and was a son of Joseph and Sarah (Hill) Loomis. Joseph Loomis afterward married Mary Channey.
Seth Loomis, the grandfather of Rufus S., moved to the town of North East during an early period in its history, and he died here on the 15th of July, 1809. His son Joel bought a large tract of land six miles south of North East, in Greenfield township, which was his home for many years, but the later part of his life was spent in the town, and dur- ing the fifteen years previous to his death he was blind.
Rufus S. Loomis was a member of his parents' home until he came to North East and learned the carpenter and joiner's trade. He assisted in the building of the first church in the town, and was its chorister for thirty years, finally resigning his position on account of ill health. In 1847 he purchased a residence in the village, and later, in 1865, became the owner of a one hundred acre farm adjoining the village on the west, and this he farmed until his death, August 12, 1873. As a Republican he served in many of the offices of his community, and as a Presbyterian he was very prominent in the religious and social life of the town, active both in church and Sunday-school work for many years.
He married on the 19th of March, 1833, Sarah Tuttle, born in North East April 28, 1812, a daughter of Amos and Sarah (Richards) Tuttle, and a granddaughter of Colonel Timothy and Mehitable (Royce) Tuttle. Colonel Timothy Tuttle was a personal friend of George Washington, and was with him during the Revolutionary war. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Loomis were: Sarah Ann and Susan Ann, twins, born October 20, 1834, and the former died on the 27th of January, 1853, and
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the latter on the 26th of February, 1851; Amos, born January 14, 1837, and now a real estate dealer in Erie, Pennsylvania ; John Jay, born June 13, 1839, enlisted on the 16th of September, 1861, as a musician of the Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was discharged in August of 1862, and is now a manufacturer of the Loomis Elastic paint for metal preservation ; Mary L., born September 22, 1841, died Febru- ary 14, 1848; Frances Amelia, born June 29, 1844, died February 19, 1848; and Ella May, born May 1, 1850, resides with her brother, John Jay, at the Loomis homestead in North East.
THE SCHAFFNER BROTHERS COMPANY, proprietors of the largest meat packing house in northwestern Pennsylvania, is the outcome of the small business established in Cleveland, in February, 1884, by Morris and Jacob Schaffner. In January, 1887, they moved their business to Erie, opening a retail and wholesale store at No. 1327 Peach street, now the location of the Dispatch newspaper plant. In 1888 the Schaffner Broth- ers commenced to devote themselves exclusively to the wholesale trade, their slaughter house being on Mill creek at Twenty-ninth and State streets. With the increase of their business, in 1891 the firm secured larger slaughtering accommodation by obtaining the old Busch establish- ment at the corner of Eleventh and Wayne streets, whose capacity was also increased from time to time. In 1906 they purchased an entire block on East Fifteenth street, breaking ground for the erection of the great plant which they now occupy on August 11, 1906. It was com- pleted on September 26, 1907. The main building is 100 by 87 feet, three stories in height, and is furnished with every sanitary and modern convenience known to the trade. As the structures are mainly of con- crete and iron, every sanitary advantage is afforded. The power house of the plant, which is 40 by 60 feet, also generates electric lighting. There is also a two-story warehouse, 30 by 50 feet, and the covered yards and sheds for the handling of the cattle cover an area of 300 by 89 feet. The most approved methods of artificial refrigeration are in use, the cellars and great coolers giving ample assurance that all meat pro- ducts will be handled with every safeguard as to cleanliness and general sanitary conditions. The output of the plant amounts to two carloads of live stock daily, or to 5,000 head of cattle, 18,000 of hogs and 7,500 of sheep and lambs, annually. A large trade is also done in manufac- tured meats, for which the city of Erie and the towns along the Pittsburg and Eastern and the Bessemer railroads furnish the main markets.
In 1906 the business was incorporated as the Schaffner Brothers Company, with Morris Schaffner as president, Jacob Schaffner as treas- urer and Milton Schaffner as secretary. The head of the company is a native of Hehsloch, Hessen, Germany, born on the 28th of November, 1866, and is a son of Henry and Regina (Sedel) Schaffner. The father, who was a butcher, died in the old country in 1893, at the age of fifty-six years, and in 1898 the mother came to Erie to reside, being still living there in her sixty-ninth year. In 1881, as a boy of fourteen, Morris Schaffner came to this country alone, joined some friends in Cleveland, and two years later opened a small butcher shop. In 1884 his brother Jacob emigrated to the United States and the two became associated in Cleveland, as stated, under the name of Schaffner Brothers. He is now the guiding force in the Schaffner Brothers Company, as well as presi- dent of the National Commission Company of Cleveland, vice president of the Fostoria (Ohio) Commission Company and a director of the
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Presque Oil and Gas Company. Like the majority of leading citizens who have combined for the general advancement of Erie, he is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce and, in accord with his special property interests, he is also closely identified with the work of the South Erie Improvement Association. Further, Mr. Schaffner is well known as a member of the Cleveland Commercial Travelers' Association, Erie Maennerchor, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights and Ladies of Honor. His firm religious faith is that of his fathers, and from 1903 to 1908 he served as president of the Jewish congregation of Erie. On November 28, 1886, Mr. Schaffner married Miss Carrie Schuster, of Buffalo, New York, and the children born to them were as follows: Milton, now secretary of the Schaffner Brothers Company ; Alfred, a salesman in the employ of that corporation ; and Minnie, living at home.
Jacob Schaffner, treasurer of the Schaffner Brothers Company and one of the founders of its large business, was born in Hessen, Germany, on January 4, 1868, and came to the United States in 1884, as already stated. It was at that time that he associated himself with his brother Morris in the establishment of the small butcher shop in Cleveland which was the forerunner of the present great establishment in Erie. Mr. Schaffner is an honored member of the I. O. O. F. and the Knights and Ladies of Honor and of the Cleveland Commercial Travelers' Associa- tion, and has long been an active trustee of the Jewish congregation of Erie. His wife was formerly Miss Sarah Oppenheimer, of Erie, and he is the father of Henry and Helen Schaffner.
GUSTAV F. BREVILLIER. In this volume there is perhaps no history which serves to illustrate more clearly the force of determination and persistent purpose in enabling one to rise from a humble financial posi- tion to affluence than does the record of Gustav F. Brevillier, who for many years was a prominent business man of the city but is now living retired, enjoying the respect, confidence, good will and honor of all with whom he has been associated through business, political or social rela- tions. A native of Germany, Gustav F. Brevillier was born on the 8th of September, 1830, in Lichtenfels, Bavaria. His father, Alexander Brevillier, now deceased, was of Huguenot stock. The ancestors of the family, upon the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685, were driven out of France and took refuge in Germany, locating in the city of Frank- fort, where they became engaged in extensive business and banking enterprises. Alexander Brevillier was united in marriage to Miss Chris- tiane Koch and they removed to Hildburghausen, Thuringia, in 180, and in 1854 came to this country with their son, Frederick.
Gustav F. Brevillier continued his education in the common and high schools of Thuringia until 1846, after which he spent two years in the Polytechnic Institute at Vienna, Austria. Favorable reports reached him concerning the business opportunities of the new world and in 1848 he came to the United States, where he expected to find employment as a draughtsman or civil engineer. After traveling to several different cities and failing to secure a position in the line of his profession, he determined to learn a trade. He was at that time in the city of Reading. Pennsylvania, and he took up. the task of acquainting himself with the manufacture of soap. There he worked as a soap-maker until the autumn of 1852, when he decided to seek his fortune further west and came to the city of Erie. Here he made a permanent location and soon embarked
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in business on his own account, engaging in the manufacture of soap and candles on a small scale, his place of business being located at the corner of Holland and Sixth streets. The business grew from year to year and within a decade had assumed large proportions, having become one of the profitable productive enterprises of the city.
Mr. Brevillier continued in the trade until 1871, when failing health forced him to retire from active business and, taking his family with him, he went to Europe, where he remained for four years, visiting the scenes and friends of his early youth. He was always a progressive and thorough business man and was among the first manufacturers of Erie to utilize natural gas for heating and illuminating purposes. He dis- played intelligent appreciation of opportunities and carried forward to successful termination whatever he undertook, realizing that determined industry and perseverance will eventually win the desired end.
In Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1854, Mr. Brevillier was united in marriage to Miss Johanna Stuebner, who was born in Gera, Germany, April 30, 1832, and died in Erie on the 15th of August, 1886, at the age of fifty-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Brevillier were the parents of the fol- lowing named : Henry L., born August 30, 1855, is one of Erie's prom- inent citizens and is serving his second term as protho-notary of Erie county. He married Elise Eichhorn, of Erie, by whom he has the fol- lowing children: Johanna Catherine, who was born July 28, 1880, and died October 23, 1880: Gustav H., born September 9, 1882; Alexander F., whose birth occurred February 24, 1885, and who married Miss Mary Emeline Foster on the 26th of October, 1908. Louise, the second child of our subject, was born November 20, 1856, and became the wife of Emil Beyer, of Erie, by whom she has the following children : Edmund, whose natal day was April 23, 1891, and who passed away December 3, 1899; and Arthur, born April 15, 1893. Hedwig, whose birth occurred on the 5th of June, 1858, passed away on the 12th of June, 1858. Anna, born May 1, 1859, was called to her final rest on the 11th of April, 1901. She was the wife of Frederick Nick, of Erie, and became the mother of the following children: Frederick, Jr., born October 7, 1882; Edwin, March 10, 1885; Louise April 20, 1887; Charlotte, who was born Febru- ary 25, 1891, and died February 28, 1894; one who died in infancy, being born on the 28th of August, 1893, and passing away two days later ; and Elsie, who was born January 8, 1893. Emma, whose birth occurred February 9, 1861, died on the 25th of August of the same year. Emma, the second of the name, was born February 7, 1862, and was called to the home beyond on the 23d of December, 1900. She gave her hand in marriage to Edward C. Siegel and had one child : Herbert B., born May 20, 1896. Ida, who first opened her eyes to the light of day on the 3d of November, 1863, passed away at Plymouth, England, July 17, 1871. Jennie, whose birth occurred July 27, 1866, became the wife of Fred A. Siegel, of Erie, by whom she had two sons, Raymond F. born November 14, 1894, and Harry S., born July 1, 1901. Gustav, who was born Janu- ary 7, 1868, died on the 3d of August of the same year.
Mr. Brevillier has been very prominent in the public life of Erie and has filled a number of offices of honor, trust and responsibility, always discharging the duties incumbent upon him in a most capable manner, ever placing the general welfare before partisanship or personal aggrandizement. He was a member of the school board from 1858 until 1861 and again from 1863 until 1866. The following year he became a member of the city council and filled the office for two years, while in
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1888 he was chosen city assessor and from 1889 until 1896 was city comptroller. The last office which he filled was that of water commis- sioner, his incumbency continuing from 1900 until 1906. His devotion to duty was most marked and his service was characterized by an intel- ligent understanding of the needs of the situation and the opportunities for municipal progress. He is a member of the Erie Board of Trade and of Perry Lodge, No. 392, A. F. & A. M. He has been conspicuously useful in public affairs and in all the multiplied activities of his fruitful life his energies, means and influence have been thrown upon the side of justice, truth and progress. He is a man of broad mind, of kindly pur- poses and high ideals, with whom contact means elevation and expansion.
DANIEL G. CURTIS. The Curtis family has been prominently con- nected with the development of the lumbering and tanning industries of New York and Pennsylvania for several generations, Daniel G. Curtis, of Erie, having devoted the past fourteen years of his career to the acquisi- tion and promotion of extensive timber interests in British Columbia, California and the southern states; and this is his high standing in the business world, although he has but just entered his thirty-ninth year. He is a native of Pennsylvania, born at Warren, April 19, 1871, and is a son of John Gould and Mary (Chambers) Curtis. The grandfather, John Curtis, was born in Connecticut, where, for many years, he was engaged in the tanning trade. John G. Curtis, the father, is a native of Newtown, that state, where he learned the tanner's trade under his father and also served his apprenticeship as a machinist. While still a young man he, with his two brothers, went to Steuben county, New York, and engaged in lumbering and tanning to such advantage that the scene of their operations was named the town of Curtis. After disposing of his interests in the combined venture John G. located at Maunch Chunk, Pennsylvania, where he became superintendent of a large tannery. Later, he purchased an interest in a tannery at Emporium, that state, and sub- sequently moved to Warren and Ludlow, at the latter place engaging in the lumber business in which he is still interested, although since 1907 he has been a resident of Erie.
Daniel G. Curtis was reared at Ludlow, residing there from an early age until his eighteenth year, when he went to the Pacific coast and for three and a half years engaged in various lines of railroad work. In 1892 he returned to Ludlow and incorporated The J. G. Curtis Leather Company, of which he was chosen president. In 1895 the business was absorbed by the J. G. Curtis Leather Company of New Jersey, its foun- der relinquishing his interests and returning to San Francisco for the purpose of investing in timber lands on the Pacific coast. This business move has resulted in his acquisition of large tracts of sugar pine and red wood timber in California and valuable properties in British Columbia, as well as extensive lumber and timber interests in Mississippi and Ala- bama. At the present time he is president of the Pacific Slope Lumber Company, Limited; Yellow Cedar Lumber Company, Limited, and a director in the Tide-water Timber Company, Limited, with headquarters at Vancouver, British Columbia. The extent and importance of his southern interests are indicated by the fact that he is president of the American Timber Company of Alabama and the Tuscaloosa Lumber Company, of the same state; is vice president of the Interstate Lumber Company, of Columbus, Mississippi, of which his father is president, and treasurer of The Curtis-Attala Lumber Company, of Curtiston, Alabama.
NEW YORK PAWE LIBRARY -
ART, LINX TILETOU JALONS
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In October, 1906, Mr. Curtis fixed his residence at Erie, from which he directs his varied interests and where he is also recognized as a popu- lar and influential citizen. He is a director in the People's Bank of Erie, and an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, and the Erie, Country, Khakwa and Shrine clubs. As a Mason, he belongs to Tyrian Lodge, Mount Olivet Commandery, Presque Isle Lodge of Perfection, Pittsburg Consistory and Zem Zem Temple. Mr. Curtis' wife is a native of Spring Creek, Pennsylvania, and was formerly Miss Jennie Eldred, daughter of Byron Eldred. Their children are Jolin Gould and Harriet Eldred Curtis.
CHARLES M. CONRAD. The great empire of Germany has con- tributed a most valuable element to the cosmopolitan social fabric of our American republic, which has had much to gain and nothing to lose from this source. Among those of German birth and ancestry who have attained to success and precedence in connection with business activities in the city of Erie is Mr. Conrad, who is a citizen of sterling character, honored by all who know him and influential in both civic and commercial life. It is, indeed, a "far cry" from the position of the German immigrant boy standing on the market place in what was then the village of Erie to peddle from his baskets such vegetables as his worthy mother had provided for such disposition,-to the status of one of the most prominent capitalists and influential business men of the city in which his career was thus initiated under most lowly conditions. It is the glory of our republic that such personal advancement is pos- sible of accomplishment, and no man is more appreciative of the ad- vantages of the land of his adoption and none more loyal to its institu- tions than is the honored citizen whose name heads this biography.
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