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 63
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Mr. Boyd married, June 5, 1888, Sadie M., daughter of Amos Eise- man, born at Greensburg, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1866, and died May 30, 1902 : they had one daughter, Minnie J., deceased. Mr. Boyd mar- ried (second) Miss Agnes K. Irvine, June 10, 1903. She was born February 24, 1881, in Ayrshire, Scotland, and is a daughter of Thomas Irvine, a miner of Scotland, who died in 1890, aged thirty-eight years. His wife, Anna Toward, born February 8, 1854, was a daughter of George Toward, a native of England, and Elizabeth Smith ; the former died in 1892. aged eighty-five, and the latter in 1892, aged seventy-three years. They came to the United States and settled in Alleghanv county in 1879. Thomas Irvine and his wife followed a year later. Their children were: Elizabeth, wife of John Dill, of Oblong, Illinois, a ma-
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chinery manufacturer ; Richard; Mary Ann, wife of J. Albright, of Pitts- burg ; George, deceased : Anna, living with Mrs. Boyd, and Agnes K., who is Mrs. Boyd. Thomas Irvine's widow married (second ) William Coltman, now deceased, by whom she had children as follows: Margaret M., born in 1896; Thomas M., born in 1897; and John M., in 1898. Mrs. Boyd is a member of the Presbyterian church and of the Home Missionary Society.
CAPTAIN DANIEL ELLIOTT, a patriotic and public-spirited citizen of Erie, was born in Canada, in 1864, and is the son of William and Annie Elliott, both natives of Canada, and both now deceased. Their chil- dren were: Trasco, Fred, Mollie (now Mrs. Mume), and Daniel. Wil- liam Elliott was cousin to Thomas Edison, the great electrical inventor : George Elliott. brother of William, served as private in an Ohio Regi- ment, in the Civil war. The great-grandfather of Daniel Elliott served as a member of General Washington's body-guard, in the Revolution. Thus, though a native of Canada, Captain Elliott is of a family who have served the United States in her times of need.
Captain Elliott received his education in Canada, and there began his career on the lake: in 1883 he removed to Erie, and has since made his home in that city. He has been employed on the lake for thirty years, and for fourteen years has held a certificate as master mariner : he is now (1909) owner and master of the fishing tug "Elma." For the first few years Captain Boyd was on board a sailing vessel, engaged in freight trade, but for the last twenty-five years has followed fishing business exclusively, and has been very successful.
The noble and sterling qualities of heart and mind of Captain Elliott have often been severely tried in his vocation, and he has always shown himself to be a man of bravery and determination. In the fall of 1888, at the close of the fishing season, a belated vessel, with a crew of seven on board, was wrecked on the Canadian side; four of the crew succeeded in reaching shore safely, while the others clung to the wrecked vessel. Captain Elliott, with others, took a yawl on wheels, overland, a distance of several miles, hastily launched it, and rescued the captain and mate, while the cook (a woman) was found frozen in the rigging. In the present time this act of bravery would probably receive a medal from the Carnegie Association, but those taking part in it had no thought other than to be of the quickest possible assistance to their fel- lows, and did not stop to consider the danger they necessarily passed through themselves. Captain Elliott is a member of the Licensed Tug- men's Association, and is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
In 1902 Captain Elliott visited his early home, and there met his future wife, Edmire Laramie, also a native of Canada. They were mar- ried soon after. but have not been blessed with children. Mrs. Elliott is of French descent, born in 1878, and is an amiable and estimable lady : her maternal grandfather, whose surname was Knapp, served in the war of 1812, thus showing that her family have been of service. also, to the United States.
ROBERT H. CHINNOCK, a prominent member of the Erie bar, was born in the First ward of the city on February 22, 1873. the son of Robert H. and Elizabeth M. (Redner) Chinnock. The father was born
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in Plymouth, England, in 1845 ; was liberally educated, and when sixteen years of age first visited the United States in company with his tutor. A few years before the Civil war, he returned to this country and lo- cated at Charleston, South Carolina. After the war, at the solicitation of the late General Huydenkooper, he came north and engaged with that gentleman in connection with the Meadville ( Pennsylvania ) Agricultural Works. In 1811, he settled in Erie as general superintendent of the Stearns Manufacturing Company, later becoming its confidential travel- ing representative. He resigned that position to engage in the manu- facture of stationary pumps, tools, etc., which enterprise he conducted until the panic of 1815, which caused the shutting down of his plant. The elder Mr. Chinnock then founded his present business, that of general blacksmithing. The maternal grandfather is Freeman Redner, a native of Geneva, New York. born in 1819, and now in his old age. spending his last days in Erie with his daughter. In the years of his prime, this venerable gentleman, was one of the striking builders of the country, and he was known from ocean to ocean. As general manager of the Keystone Bridge Works of Pittsburg, he prepared the material for the great Brooklyn bridge, as well as for the famous Eads structure at St. Louis, Missouri. In company with General Huydenkooper and Samuel B. Dick, he also built the Bessemer Railroad, acting as its first general manager. In addition, he erected and owned the Kellogg Bridge Works of Buffalo, New York, and was at one time general manager of the Rogers Locomotive Works of Patterson, New Jersey.
Robert H. Chinnock of this biography, was educated in the public and high schools of Erie. He learned the blacksmith's trade with his father, and while thus engaged, was preparing himself for the legal profession. He registered as a student of law with the Honorable S. M. Brainard, with whom he finished the course, acting in the meantime as that gentleman's stenographer. Being admitted to the bar March 27, 1891, he has since become qualified to practice in the state and United States courts. He has also held the office of United States deputy mar- shal for the last seven years, promptly and ably discharging the duties of that office in addition to his practice. Mr. Chinnock is an active member of the I. O. O. F., being one of the founders of Fraternal Lodge No. 188. He is also a member of the Moose lodge. Almost since a child he has been an earnest Baptist, and has been identified with the First Church of Erie for many years.
CHRISTOPH WILLIAM BOETTIGER, one of the leading citizens and business men of South Erie and senior member of the firm of Boettiger and Company, a widely known firm of plumbers and dealers in steam fixtures, was born in the first ward of Erie, February 12, 1814. His parents were William and Martha (Eisenhaut) Boettiger, both natives of Germany who came to the United States when young and were mar- ried in Erie county. The father was employed by the well known Frederick Koehler Brewing Company for twenty years and afterward engaged in business on his own account until the time of his death, Feb- ruary 2, 1905. The mother had passed away nearly twenty-one years before on December 27, 1884. Both parents were devoted members of the German Reformed Lutheran church. The children of this union were : Christoph W., of this sketch: George, engaged in the plumbing business on Peach street, South Erie; Lena and Charles, both deceased ; John, a resident of South Erie, and an infant unnamed.
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Christoph W., of this review, was reared in Erie, obtained his edu- cation in its public schools and at the age of fifteen was apprenticed to the plumbers' trade under John Porsch and after completing his term he continued with him, his total service covering eleven years. He was thereafter employed at his trade until 1901 when he opened an estab- lishment of his own at 2310 Peach street in association with his brother, George S. In 1904 he formed a partnership with E. W. Henderson, former city plumbing inspector, under the firm name of Boettiger and Company and in March, 1905, they removed to their present place of business, 2310 Peach street, which property Mr. Boettiger bought at that time. As a boy Mr. Boettiger joined St. Paul's German Lutheran church but after his marriage became identified with St. John's. For the past two years he has served as trustee of that church, his term ex- piring January 1, 1909, and in addition to this office he also holds the position of treasurer of the church. His fraternal connections are with the I. O. O. F. and St. John's Benefit Society. Mr. Boettiger's wife was formerly Louise Webber, a native of Mckean township, Erie county, and their son Frederick was born October 12, 1900.
JACOB C. STEINFURTH. The foreman of the Cascade foundry of Erie, Jacob C. Steinfurth, is not only a thorough and faithful master of his trade, as a true German should be, but is also an active member of the city board of education, public-spirited and liberal-minded, as befits a typical German-American. Born in Mecklenburg, Germany, Novem- ber 26, 1858, he is the son of Fredrick and Sophia (Heine) Steinfurth. The family came to the United States in 1822, locating at once in the Fourth ward of Erie, where the father still resides in his eighty-second year. The mother died in 1903.
Jacob C. Steinfurth went through the schools in the old country and was confirmed before coming to the United States in his fifteenth year. In Erie he attended No. 10 public school and night school, and as a youth drove the milk wagon for the Frontier dairy farm. He next entered the employ of General Walker, taking care of his place for three years, and in 1880, began an apprenticeship at the molder's trade with the Stearns Manufacturing Company. After learning his trade and spending one year at the National foundry, he became a molder at the Griswold Manufacturing Company, where for eighteen years he was continuously employed. In 1901, he took charge of the molding depart- ment of the Cascade foundry.
Mr. Steinfurth was elected a member of the school board from the Fourth ward in 190%, which was a merited recognition of the long and deep interest he had manifested in educational affairs of the city. In 1895 he was chosen a trustee of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church and served for six years. In 1905, he was again elected a trustee. and at the same time chosen chairman of the board, a position he holds at present. Mr. Steinfurth is a prominent Odd Fellow, having filled all the chairs in his lodge and served as representative of the Grand lodge. IIe is also a member of the West Erie German Haru Gari Society and the West Erie Beneficial Society.
In 1883 Mr. Steinfurth was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Schulte, daughter of Frederick Schulte, the old councilman and con- stable from the Fourth ward. To them have been born three children. Clara the eldest, was born in 1884 and died in 1891 : Myrtle was a
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teacher in the public schools and married C. W. Coppersmith of Erie, now residing in Collinwood, Ohio, where her husband is a mechanical engineer ; Edward. the youngest, graduated from the Erie high school and from the Davis Business College; was for two years with the Sus- quehanna Coal Company and a like period with the Bury Compressor Company, and then entered the Pennsylvania State College at Gettys- burg. where he is taking a course in electrical engineering.
LEWIS BUSH, who has been among the foremost citizens of Erie for more than thirty-three years, is one of those rare characters who has always possessed the keen foresight to originate enterprises at the proper time and place, and the determination and practical ability to demonstrate their value. It is seldom in the business world that one finds in com- bination both the originator of a good scheme and the hard-working and successful promoter of its practical details. Mr. Bush is one of the rare exceptions, and he has therefore obtained financial substance and attained a wide name in Pennsylvania and the middle west as a pioneer in various fields of business which are now well cultivated and the sources of employment to thousands of men and women. Such men are far greater public benefactors than they themselves realize.
Mr. Bush, who is now the head of the Penn Carbon Company. is a native of Wachenheim, Germany ; was born September 4, 1824, and em- igrated to the United States in September, 1847. After residing in Ash- land and Philadelphia for some time, in 1865 he purchased a farm of one hundred and forty-two acres in Venango county, Pennsylvania. It hap- pened that he made the purchase at the proper time and place, for the excitement was then high over the "striking of oil" in that part of the state and the well which he sunk on his farm proved a good producer from the first. He also drilled two gas wells to a depth of two thousand feet, and he still owns and develops this original property which was the means of giving him his first decisive start in the United States.
In 1876 Mr. Bush removed to Erie. subsequently engaging in the meat business, and then for years conducted an extensive business as a wholesale and retail packer under the name of the Bush Provision Co. This latter plant had a daily capacity of three hundred hogs and one hundred head of cattle and he manufactured every day twenty-five hun- dred pounds of sausage. Before establishing his packing house. he had been the pioneer shipper of beef from Chicago to Erie, and later sold the business to his son Aaron F., who was at the time engaged in the fish business, and was the pioneer merchant in this line and was the first to employ a steam vessel in the fishing business, as he was the first to ship fresh and frozen fish from Erie to the eastern markets. Since 1893 Mr. Bush has turned his energy, capital and ability in the direction of the carbon industry, his interests being now actively represented by his son, H. Astor. He first erected six houses for the manufacture of carbon. later adding two, and has altogether placed in operation 17,472 lights, with five foot burners, which when running at full capacity consume two million feet of gas per day of twenty-four hours. It is almost needless to add that the market for this product extends over the civilized world. and that Mr. Bush is therefore a leading figure in a cosmopolitan in- dustry.
In 1851 Mr. Bush was united in marriage with Miss Katherine Snyder, who was born in Mahantango, Northumberland county, Penn
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sylvania, October 2. 1823, and died at Erie, May 6, 1905. The children of this union were Charles F., Aaron F., H. Astor, Elmer L., Mary, Helene and Katherine, now Mrs. Edward A. Phillips of Buffalo, New York. The father of the family, although in his eighty-sixth year, is in the enjoyment of good health, his daughters Helene and Mary being the light and comfort of his home-even in a more marked degree since the departure from his side of his beloved wife.
HARRY S. CHILDS stands at the head of some of the most important industrial institutions of the city of Erie, but although he has been long and prominently identified with the life and interests of Erie county he is a native son of the Empire state, born in Salamanca, Cattaraugus county, New York, August 28, 1865. The Childs, however, are a Mas- sachusetts family, but David Childs, the grandfather of the Erie mer- chant, moved from Salem in his native state to Canandaigua, New York, which became the birthplace of his son, Marvin A. During a number of years Marvin A. Childs was engaged in the leather business in that city, but he moved to Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, in 1904, and there he is now living. He married Mary C. Boardman, who was born in western New York, a daughter of John Boardman, and she is also living.
Their son, Harry S. Childs, was reared in Randolph, near James- town, receiving in the meantime a public school education, and for a short time he also clerked in a store there. But in 1882 he left there for Bradford, Pennsylvania, where he was a salesman for several years, and from that time until coming to Erie he was engaged along the same line in the oil regions. He was still employed in the capacity of a sales- man when he came to Erie, but here he embarked in the tea business with R. M. Johnson, forming what was known as the Great Eastern Tea Bank, their place of business being at 1005 State street, in the Harold building, but Mr. Johnson died within a few months after the organi- zation of the business and he was succeeded by George B. Kimberly, the- firm name then becoming Kimberly and Childs. About a year and a half later, however. Mr. Childs sold his interest to his partner and then embarked in the flour and feed business at the corner of Tenth and State streets, but after a short time there he resumed his former vocation of clerking, and for about a year filled a clerkship at New Castle, Penn- sylvania.
On the 2d of July, 1898, Mr. Childs formed a partnership with Charles Waxelbaum and David Jones, and under the firm name of Childs, Waxelbaum and Company opened a clothing store at 1206 State street, but about a year and a half later Mr. Jones retired from the bus- iness, and the firm name then became Childs and Waxelbaum, while on the 20th of September, 1907, Mr. Childs purchased the interest of his partner, and has since owned and conducted the business alone. His has been truly a successful life, and being a man of forceful individuality he has placed his name at the head of a number of the industries which has helped to make Erie a commercial center. On the 20th of October, 1907, and in company with other leading business men of this city, T. O. Andrews, Samuel Glenn. A. P. Johnson and John Strueber, he formed and incorporated the Erie Baking Company, the largest establishment of its kind in the city, and of which Mr. Andrews is the president and Mr. Childs the treasurer and general manager. The plant is a three story
FILE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTON LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
Henry Keppel
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brick building, 125x165 feet in dimensions, and the company utilize the entire three floors. They have equipped the plant with the most modern machinery known in the business, and they employ thirty-five people, and in Erie alone run eight wagons, and they also have wagons in Ashtabula, Conneaut, Meadville, Warren and at other points, in fact they ship their product, bread and pastries, over the entire northern part of the state.
Mr. Childs married Carrie Glenn, from Crawford county, this state a daughter of Samuel Glenn. Mr. Childs has fraternal relations with the Elks, the Red Men and the Masonic Order, is a member of the Man- naerchor Society, and in politics supports Republican principles.
HENRY M. KEPPEL. Many of the most enterprising and prosperous citizens of Erie county were born across the sea, prominent among the number being Henry M. Keppel, a thriving business man of Corry. A native of Germany, he was born, November 13, 1837, in Hirschberg, Thuringia, which was likewise the birthplace of his father, Karl Keppel. His grandfather, Jacob Keppel, was a weaver by trade, and spent his entire life of fifty-six years in Germany.
The only child of his parents, Karl Keppel early learned the weaver's trade, and followed it in the fatherland until 1853. Desirous then of taking advantage of the opportunities offered a poor man in the New World, he sailed with his wife and three children for America, em- barking at Bremen, and after a long and wearysome journey of forty- seven days landing in New York City. September 9, 1853. Proceeding by rail to Buffalo, he lived there a year, keeping busily employed. Going then to Cattaraugus county, he bought a tract of timbered land near Dayton, New York, and having cleared an opening erected a two- room block house with a small ell. He improved the land, in the course of time putting up substantial frame buildings, and was there success- fully engaged in farming until his death, at the age of eighty-six years. He married Henrietta Vogel, a native, also, of Hirschberg, Germany, and she still lives on the home farm, being now ninety-three years of age. Six children were born of their union, namely: Henry M., of this sketch ; Mary, wife of John Dankerd, of Towanda, New York ; Ernest, a resident of Corry ; Charles, of Fair Plains, New York; John, deceased; and Lizzie, wife of Charles Rieter, of Fair Plains. The three younger chil- dren were born in this country.
Having completed his early education while living in his native land, Henry M. Keppel came to this country with his parents, and soon after locating in Buffalo began learning the blacksmith's trade, serving an apprenticeship of three years. Taking then a partner, he ran a smithy for five years in that city, after which he had a shop in Titusville, Pennsylvania, for a time, afterwards being there employed in team- ing, and in oil refining. Turning his attention to agricultural pursuits, Mr. Keppel, in 1867, bought a tract of timber in Columbus township, Warren county, and there took up his residence. While clearing the land, getting it ready to cultivate, he became interested in the manufac- ture of lumber, and soon had a saw mill in full operation, being very successful in his new industry. In 1893, with J. B. Moore he purchased pine lands in Northern Wisconsin, erecting a large mill, which they oper- ated until 1903; in 1898 they became owners of heavily timbered land in Randolph county, West Virginia, and subsequently, having added to their original tract by purchase of more timber, they put in a double- band sawmill with a capacity of one hundred thousand feet a day, and pro- Vol. II-29
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ceeded to build up a town and establish a business. They built a spur railway track extending into their land fifteen miles, erected thirty-three dwelling houses, and had granted to the new colony a postoffice, which was called Ellamore. Removing with his family to Corry in 1898, Mr. Keppel has since been identified with the leading industries of the place, during the same year having been elected president of the National Bank of Corry.
Mr. Keppel wedded Miss Martha Miller in 1893 and two children were born to them, Henry Harrison, in school ; and Marie, also in school and she is receiving musical instruction. Mr. Keppel is a true-blue Republican and during the year of 1908 he was alternate delegate to the Republican National convention at Chicago. Both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church at Corry and he is one of the strong factors in the church. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. at Corry and also of the B. P. O. E. of Corry.
FRANCIS J. WALKER. The Walker Lithographing and Printing Company, of which Francis J. Walker is founder and president, not only represents one of the great industries of Erie, but one of the leading establishments of the kind in the country. Mr. Walker's mastery of the art and business of printing, which lies at the foundation of his note- worthy success of today, had its beginning thirty-six years ago and his career as proprietor of a plant (modest though the original was) dates back more than a quarter of a century. So that his continuous prog- ress has never been a chance affair, but the legitimate result of honest labor, sound judgment and well-considered enterprise. Born in Erie, October 28. 1859, Mr. Walker is the son of James and Jane (Johnson) Walker, his father emigrating from his native Scotland as a boy and finding early employment on the old revenue cutter "Michigan" (now the "Wolverine"), which, under its new name, is still Uncle Sam's only marine representative on the great lakes. At a considerably later date he became a contractor in Erie ; subsequently purchased a farm in Harbor Creek township and, after residing upon it for a number of years, returned to that city, where he met his death by accident in 1895. At one time he was interested with his son, T. W. Walker, in the Erie Paper Company.
In 1873, when he left his public-school studies, at the age of four- teen years, Francis J. Walker became an apprentice at the printer's trade, and in 1883 opened a small job office on Park row. Four years later he purchased the property at the northwest corner of State and Fourth streets, running back on the latter thoroughfare for half a block, and. with the sale of this property, erected a brick building on land ad- joining with a Fourth street entrance. This was the location of his printing office for the two succeeding years, when he purchased the F. Walker Tool Works property, still further to the west, increased his building area, and in 1892 added a lithograph department to his busi- ness. This was the pioneer venture of the kind in this part of Penn- sylvania, and has been so successful from the first that it has become the leading feature of the great industry. The entire plant now covers about half of a city block, and since 1906 has also been engaged in the manufacture of printing inks. In the prosecution of the entire business about two hundred skilled workmen and artisans are employed, some of the latter standing especially high in the profession and commanding
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