Castner Emmet Rapalee (1884-1976)

From the Geneva Daily Press, November 5, 1947.

    A distinguished business and political figure in the city of Geneva, New York, Castner Emmet Rapalee served as Mayor of that city for one term beginning in the late 1940s. In its century-plus history, this moderately sized city in the Finger Lakes region has elected over thirty persons as its head, and of those individuals, the name of Castner Emmet Rapalee is by far the most interesting.

   Castner E. Rapalee was the son of Hugh and Eva Rapalee and was born in the town of Bath, New York on December 29, 1884. He relocated with his family to the towns of Dundee and Gorham, New York as a child and attended school in both villages, later studying at the Barclay's Business Institute in Geneva. Following the completion of his education, Rapalee settled in Geneva in 1900 and in that year became employed at the Phillips and Clark Stone Co. for a short time. He married in 1908 to Lancaster, Pennsylvania native Elizabeth Williams and later had one son, Castner E. Rapalee Jr. (1910-1975).

  Rapalee later left the employ of the Phillips and Clark Stone Co. and joined another coke distributor, the Empire Coke Co. He was connected with this company for over thirty years and eventually became its sales manager for a number of years. A notice for the Empire Coke Co. and Mr. Rapalee appeared in the April 4, 1921 edition of the Geneva Daily Times and is shown below.

   Castner Rapalee left the Empire Coke Co. in 1934 to stake his own claim in the fuel business, founding the Rapalee Coal and Fuel Corp. He operated this business until it was sold in 1945, whereafter he began a lengthy career as a real estate broker. Through his many business dealings throughout the 1920s, 30s, and 40s Rapalee garnered a reputation as one of Geneva's most prominent business leaders and proved to be a man of many hats when it came to his involvement in Geneva civic affairs. Rapalee was a former President of the Geneva Real Estate Board, a director of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, a past director and president of the Geneva Industries Inc., as well as a member of the Geneva Board of Public Works from 1928 to 1933. Following his service on the Board of Public Works, Rapalee was elected as Ontario County Supervisor in 1938 and subsequently held this post until 1942.

   As a popular citizen in Geneva, Rapalee's prominence eventually led to his nomination as the Republican candidate for Mayor in 1947. Rapalee became a candidate for that office in mid-1947 and in the lead-up to election day was quoted by the Geneva Daily Times as promising "businesslike methods in City Hall" and made note that he would take "no dictation from any group or individual". His reputation as a distinguished local businessman obviously resonated with voters, as he emerged victorious on election day 1947, besting incumbent four-term Mayor Charles F. Nieder by a vote of 3, 840 to 2, 586.

   Rapalee's term as Mayor lasted from 1948 to 1950 and near the conclusion of his term received praise from Geneva finance committee chairman Franklin Toole, who noted that the average citizen "would never know the full extent of Mayor Rapalee's contribution to the operation of our city."Rapalee had chosen not to be a candidate for reelection during the 1949 election year, and on December 31, 1949 (Rapalee's last official day in office) his name appeared in the following humorous newspaper snippet in the Geneva Daily Times, under the title "Ex-Mayor Wants Job". It obviously shows that Rapalee left the mayor's office with his sense of humor intact!

  Throughout the latter part of his life, Castner Rapalee held memberships in several local fraternal organizations, including the presidency of the Geneva Shrine Club, and was a longstanding member of both the Geneva Elks and Moose Clubs. He was also a distinguished Mason, being a member of the St. Paul Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons and the Geneva Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. Rapalee celebrated his 90th birthday in 1974 and died at age 91 on February 6, 1976, at the Geneva General Hospital. He had outlived both his wife and son and following funeral arrangements was interred at the Glenwood Cemetery in Geneva.

Rapalee in his later years, from the March 27, 1969 Geneva Daily Times.

Rapalee's obituary from the Syracuse Herald American, February 8, 1976.

Shotwell Powell (1808-1896)

    This rare portrait of Shotwell Powell is located in the collection of the 

      Ontario County Historical Society in Canandaigua, New York.

   Following up on August 17th's article on Naples, New York resident and legislator Cyrillo Southworth Lincoln, today's profile highlights the life of Shotwell Powell, another prominent 19th century resident of Ontario County, New York who was elected to two terms in the State Assembly in 1859 and 1860. Powell received a brief mention in Lincoln's profile a few weeks ago after I visited both of their gravesites at the Rose Ridge Cemetery in Naples while on vacation. At the time of that visit I hadn't yet seen an actual portrait of Mr. Powell and now, because of the diligence of Blanche Warner of the Naples Library and Ontario Historical Society Curator Wilma Townsend, a picture of Shotwell Powell has been located in the collection of the Ontario County Historical Society. I must give a hearty thank you to both of these ladies for their kind help in regards to researching this obscure man, as his article here really wouldn't be the same without your help!
   We'll begin with the birth of Shotwell Powell, which occurred in the small village of Clinton in Dutchess County, New York on October 31, 1808. The Rootsweb genealogical website gives note that Shotwell was one of fifteen children born to James and Martha Townsend Powell, natives of New Jersey and Westchester County, New York. Young Shotwell received a common school education in his birth county, and later spent several years of his adolescence living with an uncle in New Jersey.
   After returning to New York, Powell engaged in farming until relocating to Michigan in 1832. Soon after his arrival he "purchased several lots in that new country, remaining there about two years." In 1834 he returned home to Clinton, where he "purchased part of his old home", this according to his Naples Record obituary.
   On September 17, 1835, Powell married fellow Clinton, NY native Sarah G. Clapp (1815-1889) and they eventually became the parents of three children: Thomas J. (1837-1906), Israel (1839-1918) and Lydia Ann (1841-1917). In a strange and truly interesting twist, research has been found that notes that Lydia Ann Powell married on February 27, 1870, to William Elton Lincoln (1837-1915), who happened to be the younger brother of Cyrillo Southworth Lincoln!!! A truly amazing historical fact/political coincidence that I wouldn't have known about had I not begun digging through Shotwell Powell's genealogy! 
  The Powell family continued to reside in Clinton until 1844 when they moved to South Bristol in Ontario County, New York. Powell purchased a farm here (later referred to as Powell Hill) and over the succeeding years engaged in farming, while also being involved in local political affairs. 

                                Shotwell Powell's name as it appeared in an 1860s New York Red Book.

   In November 1858 Powell was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Republican, officially taking office in January of the next year. He was re-elected to the Assembly for the 1860 session and during his two terms is mentioned as having "secured the passage of many important measures, among which was one to prevent slave hunting in the Empire State."  Powell's tenure in the legislature is listed by Milliken's History of Ontario County as one of distinction, with Powell being mentioned as "a man of strong convictions and great moral courage, a strong anti-slavery man, an opponent to capital punishment, and a zealous advocate of temperance." After leaving the assembly Powell refrained from political activity until 1876, and in that year mounted an unsuccessful campaign as the Prohibition Party candidate for State Canal Commissioner of New York. 

                   An 1876 article mentioning Powell's candidacy for State Canal Commissioner.

   In 1870 Powell and his wife removed to Virginia, where Shotwell is known to have bought up large tracts of land, later establishing a Quaker colony in the Keysville, Virginia area. As a member of the Society of Friends, Powell is listed in his obituary as investing $6,000 for a piece of land to develop this settlement, "which he retained an interest in until his death." Powell's obituary also notes that "all liquor selling was to be excluded from the colony."
  For the next two decades, Powell would spend his winters in Virginia and his summers at his home in South Bristol, where he resettled permanently in 1889. In his twilight years, Powell maintained a membership in the Western New York Horticultural Society and is listed as attending its annual meeting in 1893. While at this meeting, Powell is listed as stating that "I want to say that in this, my 85th year, this is the grandest meeting I have ever attended. Progress is the immutable order of our being, and I think we are progressing."
   As he approached his 88th year, Powell's health began to fail, and in March of 1896 was stricken with paralysis which greatly reduced his energy and abilities. He died at age 87 on June 19, 1896, at the home of his son Israel in South Bristol, New York.

      Powell's obit as it appeared in the Rochester Democratic-Chronicle a few days following his death.

Shotwell Powell's Naples Record obituary from June 1896.

   The funeral of Shotwell Powell was held at his South Bristol home on the Monday following his death, and it was reported: "that there was a very large attendance, with neighbors and friends from all country round coming to pay their last tribute to one whom they honored and loved for his beneficent life." Shortly afterward he was buried in the Powell family plot at Rose Ridge cemetery in Naples. Powell's wife Sarah had been buried here several years previously, and their children Thomas, Israel, and Lydia are also buried here.

  As I related in Cyrillo S. Lincoln's article a few days ago, the search for both Lincoln and Powell's gravesite was done under severe time constraints (it was nearly 8 o'clock at night) and I was also dealing with scoping out a rather large cemetery with no clue as to where both were buried! After I found Mr. Lincoln's stone I set my sights on finding Shotwell's stone.....which my father successfully discovered less than fifty feet away from Lincoln!  As I have recently found that both of these oddly named politicians are related by marriage, I now have a good idea as to why both of their plots were located so close to one another.

  Powell's modest gravestone bears the names of all of the members of the Powell family (except Lydia Ann, who is buried elsewhere in Rose Ridge.) This stone also denotes Powell's name with the prefix "Hon." for "Honorable", indicating to anyone even remotely interested in history that someone of importance is buried there. All in all the above photo turned out rather well, considering it was taken at nearly 8:30 at night!