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- Transcribed from the book, Niagara County, NY . . . 1821-1921 . . . by Edward T. Williams, Vol. IIBiographical, pg. 620.
WILLIAM P. MENTZ was for many years a substantial citizen of the town of Lewiston, and owing to the close proximity of his residence to the village of Suspension Bridge, and later the city of Niagara Falls, he had a considerable part in the life of those communities. Mr. Mentz was born in Philadelphia in 1836, son of a clergyman, and located in the town of Lewiston just before the Civil war. The Mentz estate on the Lewiston road was for many years one of the chief farms in Niagara county, and ultimately was divided, the part sold commanding a high price. The power transmission line of the Niagara, Lockport & Ontario Power Company crosses the property, the transmission station being located on the river bank, to which comes the electric current across the Niagara river from the Ontario Power company at Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Mr. Mentz married Elizabeth Vogt, now deceased, daughter of Jacob J. Vogt, a pioneer resident of Suspension Bridge, and they had one daughter, Lillian, who became the wife of Walter E. Crandall, now a retired business man of Niagara Falls. To Mr. and Mrs. Crandall was born one son, William.
Mr. Mentz was a public spirited man. He served in various positions of public trust, including that of supervisor of the town of Lewiston, was a Democrat in politics. For some time he was the United States Indian Agent for the Tuscarora Indian Reservation, and took much interest in educational matters there. In Masonic circles Mr. Mentz stood high, being the first Worshipful Master of Niagara River Lodge No. 785, F. & A. M. in the then village of Suspension Bridge, which position he held in the years 1882-3. His death occurred May 6, 1899, having been highly honored and respected by a large circle of friends. His daughter, Mrs. Crandall, died Jan. 1, 1917. She had erected several large apartment dwellings in the city of Niagara Falls, notably The Mentz, at the corner of Jefferson avenue and Fourth street.
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