Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2013, All Rights Reserved U.S. Data Repository Please read U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the US Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= U.S. Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Memorial and family history of Erie County, New York Genealogical Pub. Co., 1906 -6- PASCAL PAOLI PRATT, who died June 18, 1905, was one of Buffalo's ablest business men and foremost citizens. As a banker he was a tower of financial strength in the community; as a manufacturer he stood in the front rank of those whose strong initiative has made Buffalo a manufacturing center, and in mercantile enterprise his name was known and respected throughout the country. In civic interests he was a ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -7- leading factor, and his well directed munificence made him a central figure in the furtherance of relgion, culture and moral progress. MR. PRATT was the youngest son of SAMUEL PRATT, JR., and SOPHIA FLETCHER, and was born in Buffalo, September 15, 1819. He was edu- cated in the Buffalo public schools, at Hamilton Academy, now Colgate University, Madison, N.Y., and at Amherst Academy. In 1836 MR. PRATT began his business career by entering the hardware store of his brother, SAMUEL F. PRATT, in Buffalo. After six years' experience as clerk he was admitted partner in the business, the concern assuming the firm style of S. F. PRATT & Co., which in 1846 became PRATT & Co. The business, originally retail, widened its scope as the years went on, and from modest beginnings developed into a large and prosperous wholesale hardware enterprise whose trade extended to various sections of the country and beyond the Mississippi River. In 1848 MR. PRATT became a member of the firm of PRATT & LETCHWORTH, which was founded by him and his brother SAMUEL F. PRATT and WILLIAM P. LETCHWORTH and grew to be one of the principal iron and steel industries of Western New York. The Buffalo Iron & Nail Company was founded by PASCAL P. PRATT in 1857, and the same year he established the Fletcher Furnace Company at Black Rock and the Tonawanda Furnace Company, both of which concerns he successfully operated till 1885, when he leased the former and exchanged the latter for other manufacturing properties. MR. PRATT was a signally progressive and public-spirited manu- facturer, and his different enterprises gave employment to large numbers of men, and were the means of causing many families to settle in Buffalo. They also drew attention to the advantages presented by Buffalo as a location for manufactures, and the sentiment thus created was sedulously fostered by MR. PRATT. He had faith in the future of Buffalo, and not only unhesitatingly ventured his own capital there, but encouraged his friends to make similar investments. He ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -8- became a powerful force in the industrial advancement of the city, and many of Buffalo's successful manufacturing concerns owe their incept- ion to his example, advice and substantial assistance. MR. PRATT believed that the employment of labor at fair and remunerative wages was both business good sense and the capitalist's duty, and without any sentimentality or affection - without ever posing as a champion of labor interests - nobody was more truly a friend of the workingman than PASCAL P. PRATT. His employes were well paid, justly treated and contented, and as an employer he made a splendid record. In 1856 MR. PRATT founded the Manufacturers' & Traders' Bank, now the Manufacturers' & Traders' National Bank, one of the strongest financial institutions in the country. When the bank was incorpo- rated, MR. PRATT was made a director and its Vice-President, and in 1885 he was elected its President, and office which he held until 1901, when he retired on account of advancing years, being succeeded by his son-in-law, ROBERT L. FRYER. He was also one of the founders of the Bank of Buffalo and a director of the Bank of Attica. He was among the original trustees of the Fidelity Trust & Guaranty Company, now the Fidelity Trust Company, and for some years the director of the Buffalo Street Railway Company. He was a director of the Buffalo Gas Company, and a director and stockholder of the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad Company. In politics MR. PRATT was originally a Whig, but allied himself with the Republican party as soon as the latter was organized, and continued to be its loyal adherent for the rest of his life. During the Civil War he was a strong Union man, gave liberally of his money to the National cause, and was active in movements for the relief of sick and wounded soldiers. In 1869 he was chosen a member of the Park Commission of Buffalo, and was the first President of that body, serving till 1879. He took an intense interest in the park system, and under his administration the plans for the Buffalo parks were ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -9- prepared, the land bought and a great proportion of the work of em- bellishment carried on. He was repeatedly tendered nominations for high official places, but refused them, consenting, however, to allow his name to be placed upon the Republican electoral ticket in the Presidential campaign of 1872, and casting his vote in the Electoral College for President Grant. In 1883 MR. PRATT, LUTHER R. MARSH of New York and MATTHEW HALE of Albany were appointed Commissioners to appraise the land taken by the State for the Niagara Falls Reser- vation. MR. PRATT'S expert judgment of real estate values and his unassailable integrity enabled him to render services of great worth to the commonwealth, and awards amounting to about $1,500,000 were made by the Commission, whose findings were approved by the Supreme Court, the Legislature and the State Executive, and were most favor- ably received by the public. MR. PRATT was one of the strongest friends of the Buffalo Young Men's Christian Association, serving as the first President of the organization and President of its Board of Trustees. He was the largest contributor toward the erection of the old Y. M. C. A. structure at No. 19 Mohawk street, built at a cost of $120,000, and also gave generously toward the Association's present home. For twenty years he was President of the Buffalo Seminary, and in 1862 he was one of the founders and became a life member of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. He was a connoisser of art and a liberal patron of artists, his walls being hung with many fine canvases. He served as Trustee of the Buffalo Orphan Asylum, trustee of Forest Lawn Cemetery, and Vice-President of the Civil Service Reform Association, was President of the Board of Trustees of the North Presbyterian Church, and Vice-President of the Presbyterian Union of Buffalo. He was one of the charter members of the Buffalo Club, and was also connected with the Ellicott, Country and Falconwood Clubs. In his early days he belonged to the old Eagle Engine Company No. 2, later became one of the original members of the Volunteer Fireman's Benevolent Asso- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -10- ciation, and was a member of the Buffalo Exempt Volunteer Firemen's Association. Always a man of strong patriotism MR. PRATT was an active member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and his solici- tude for the well being of its sister organization, the Daughters of the American Revolution, found expression in many generous acts. He was a member of the Banker's Association and for many years served as President of the Buffalo Clearing House Association. September 1, 1845, MR. PRATT married PHEBE LORENZ, daughter of FREDERICK LORENZ, a prominent iron and glass manufacturer of Pitts- burg. The children of the union are KATHERINE LORENZ, now MRS. JOHN MILLER HORTON, of Buffalo; FREDERICK LORENZ, married to JEANNIE WILLIAMS; ANNIE LORENZ, wife of JOHN S. CHITTENDEN; MELISSA DODGE, wife of ROBERT LIVINGSTON FRYER; SAMUEL FLETCHER PRATT, of Buffalo; EMMA, wife of DR. CHARLES SUMNER JONES, a well-known Buffalo physi- cian, and EDWARD PASCAL PRATT, of Kansas City, married to ANNETTE PERRINE. PASCAL PAOLI PRATT was of that rare type of individuality which stamps a lasting impress on the events and conditions with which it is brought in contact. No man did more for Buffalo than he, and his name is permanently enshrined in the annals of that city's progress. ===========================================================================