Philo Durfee, son of Pardon Durfee and Ruth Reeves, was born on March 27, 1810 in Palmyra. He married Mary Warner White on February 12, 1833 in Palmyra.
In 1832, Philo was appointed the sealer of weights and measures for Palmyra.[1] On December 4, 1833, he signed the “Testimony of 51 Neighbors,” later printed in Mormonism Unvailed.[2]
Between 1834 and 1835, Philo served the community of Palmyra as an assessor.[3] In 1835, he moved to Buffalo, New York where he was a “highly respected gentleman and extensively known.” He built a substantial flour mill. He later built the first grain elevator. He traveled through the western states buying grain and was well known for his large transactions. His notes were viewed as good a currency as state bank bills. He became one of the first large shippers of grain and flour on the Erie Canal. He ran the commission store, Durfee & Lee, with his partner Albert Lee. The store was located at 217 Main Street in Buffalo.[4] He also ran a paper mill which Philo claimed was the largest in the union.[5] By 1844, Philo was the director of the Board of Trade in Buffalo.[6] On September 3, 1844, he became a trustee for the Mutual Insurance Company which claimed dividends of 40 to 50 percent annually.[7] In 1848, he became president of the Buffalo Board of Trade. It was said he was a “man of a liberal mind and the soul of honor.”[8]
Between 1849 and 1850, Philo was a trustee for the Central Presbyterian Church of the City of Buffalo.[9] In 1852, Philo was the agent for the Sun Mutual Insurance Company and the Aetna Insurance Company.[10]
On June 7, 1890, Philp died at age eighty.[11]
[1] Town of Palmyra Minutes, 1832.
[2] Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, pp. 366–367.
[3] Town of Palmyra Minutes, 1834.
[4] Buffalo Courier [Buffalo, NY], December 1, 1843.
[5] Buffalo Courier [Buffalo, NY], December 1, 1843; “Death of a Former Buffalo Merchant,” The Buffalo Commercial [Buffalo, NY], June 12, 1890.
[6] Buffalo City Directory, 1870.
[7] “The Mutual Insurance Company,” Buffalo Courier, September 3, 1844.
[8] Buffalo City Directory, 1870.
[9] Buffalo City Directory, 1849–1850.
[10] “Sun Mutual Insurance Company,” Young Hickory, September 2, 1852.
[11] “Death of a Former Buffalo Merchant,” The Buffalo Commercial, June 12, 1890.