REYNOLOc; HI-^^TORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01145 2627
Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania
BIOGRAPHY
BY
JOHN W. JORDAN, LL.D.
Librarian Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Author of "Colonial Families
of Philadelphia," "Revolutionary History of Bethlehem,"
and Various other works.
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME VII
NEW YORK
LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
1916
1607139
BIOGRAPHICAL
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
l.\WAiN^ James,
Diplomat, President.
James Buchanan, fifteenth President of .)<: United States, was born at Cove Gap, ear Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, April ^3, 1791, second son of James and Eliza- beth (Speer) Buchanan. His father, a native of County Donegal, Ireland, came lo America in 1783, was a clerk in Phila- .'ielphia, and in 1788 set up in business on is own account. His mother was the nly daughter of James Speer who immi- , rated to Pennsylvania in 1756.
Jaraes Buchanan attended the schools if Mercersburg, and in 1807 entered Dick- nson College in the junior class. After iTaduating in 1^09 he removed to Lan- caster, and was admitted to the bar in 1812. He was one of the first volunteers n the War of 1812, and marched to the lefence of Baltimore. He was elected a • leniber of the House of Representatives 'n the Pennsylvania Legislature, October r4, 1814, retiring at the end of his second rs:rm of service with a fixed determina- tion to abandon political life and devote bimself exclusively to the practice of law. However, in 1820 he was elected by the Federalists a representative to the Seven- teenth Congress from Lancaster, York nd Diuphin counties. In the following ? spoke twice on the tariff — •d .\pril 9, 1824. His views J a j.: ere conservative. He
".r--' ■ .rnings against forming
• • es with 2'?--xico and the South ncan fcpublif4! and insisted on the . imporunce of Cuba, to the United . ■;;. both commercially and strategic- ally. During the canvass of 1S28, in
which the supporters of the administration had taken the name of National Republi- cans, and the opposition that of Demo- crats, Mr. Buchanan was one of the most able and ardent supporters of General Jackson, and it was mainly through his influence that the twenty-eight electoral votes of Pennsylvania were secured for him. In 1829 he succeeded Daniel Web- ster as head of the judiciary committee of the House of Representatives, and in this capacity conducted the impeachment trial of Judge Peck. In March, 1831, he re- tired from Congress, with the avowed in- tention of resuming his law practice, but in 1832 President Jackson appointed him Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni- potentiary to St. Petersburg, and urged his acceptance of the mission so strongly that he could not well decline. He sailed from New York on April 8, 1832, on board the "Silas Richards," and reached St. Petersburg the June following. His mission was to negotiate the first treaty of commerce between Russia and the United States, to establish a tariff system, and to provide for consuls. He perfected himself in the French language, which proved of invaluable assistance to him in conducting the negotiations. He was eventtially successful in arranging a com- mercial treaty by which important privi- leges in the Baltic and the Black seas were secured for the United States. He began his journey homeward, August S,
1833-
On December 6, 1834, Mr. Buchanan was elected United States Senator by the Democratic members of the Pennsylvania Legislature, to fill the unexpired term of Ptenator ^^'ilkil1s. resigned, and he took
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
BUCHANAN, James,
Diplomat, President.
James Buchanan, fifteenth President of the United States, was born at Cove Gap, near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1791, second son of James and Eliza- beth (Speer) Buchanan. His father, a native of County Donegal, Ireland, came to America in 1783, was a clerk in Phila- delphia, and in 1788 set up in business on his own account. His mother was the only daughter of James Speer who immi- grated to Pennsylvania in 1756.
James Buchanan attended the schools of Mercersburg, and in 1807 entered Dick- inson College in the junior class. After graduating in 1809 he removed to Lan- caster, and was admitted to the bar in 1812. He was one of the first volunteers in the War of 1812, and marched to the defence of Baltimore. He was elected a member of the House of Representatives in the Pennsylvania Legislature, October 14, 1814, retiring at the end of his second term of service with a fixed determina- tion to abandon political life and devote himself exclusively to the practice of law. However, in 1820 he was elected by the Federalists a representative to the Seven- teenth Congress from Lancaster, York and Dauphin counties. In the following Congress he spoke twice on the tariff — March 23 and April 9, 1824. His views on protection were conservative. He uttered grave warnings against forming alliances with Mexico and the South American republics, and insisted on the great importance of Cuba, to the United States, both commercially and strategic- ally. During the canvass of 1828, in
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which the supporters of the administration had taken the name of National Republi- cans, and the opposition that of Demo- crats, Mr. Buchanan was one of the most able and ardent supporters of General Jackson, and it was mainly through his influence that the twenty-eight electoral votes of Pennsylvania were secured for him. In 1829 he succeeded Daniel Web- ster as head of the judiciary committee of the Plouse of Representatives, and in this capacity conducted the impeachment trial of Judge Peck. In March, 1831, he re- tired from Congress, with the avowed in- tention of resuming his law practice, but in 1832 President Jackson appointed him Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni- potentiary to St. Petersburg, and urged his acceptance of the mission so strongly that he could not well decline. He sailed from New York on April 8, 1832, on board the "Silas Richards," and reached St. Petersburg the June following. His mission was to negotiate the first treaty of commerce between Russia and the United States, to establish a tariff system, and to provide for consuls. He perfected himself in the French language, which proved of invaluable assistance to him in conducting the negotiations. He was eventually successful in arranging a com- mercial treaty by which important privi- leges in the Baltic and the Black seas were secured for the United States. He began his journey homeward, August 8,
1833-
On December 6, 1834, Mr. Buchanan was elected United States Senator by the Democratic members of the Pennsylvania Legislature, to fill the unexpired term of Senator Wilkins, resigned, and he took
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
his seat in the Senate on December 15, 1834. General Jackson was then in the second term of his office and Mr. Van Buren presided over the Senate. The op- position had become consolidated for that and classified under the name of the Whig party, as substituted for that of National Republicans ; there was a third party known as the Anti-Masonic party; and the Whigs controlled the Senate by a two-thirds majority. During the latter part of General Jackson's administration the subject of slavery began to be agi- tated, and numerous petitions were made to Congress for its suppression in the District of Columbia, among them one from the Quakers of Pennsylvania, which was presented by Mr. Buchanan. In 1836, when Michigan sought admission to the Union, Mr. Buchanan spoke in favor of admitting the territory as a State, and his entire career showed him to be preemi- nently a State rights man. He supported President Jackson in his financial meas- ures, advocated the recognition by Con- gress of the independence of Texas, and at a later time its annexation. Mr. Bu- chanan supported the principal measures of the administration of President Van Buren, including the establishment of an independent treasury. He was reelected to the Senate in January, 1837, for a full term, being the first United States Sena- tor reelected by the Legislature of Penn- sylvania. President Van Buren invited him to serve as Attorney-General, but he declined. In 1842 he opposed the ratifica- tion of the treaty between the United States and England. In 1843 ^he Legis- lature of Pennsylvania reelected him Sen- ator for a third term, and in 1844 his poli- tical and personal friends were anxious to propose him as Democratic candidate for the presidency, but he withdrew his name in a public letter, and James K. Polk was nominated and elected, and Mr. Buchan- an accepted the position of Secretary of
State in his cabinet. Here he had some critical questions to adjust, including the settlement of the boundary line between Oregon and the British possessions, and the annexation of Texas, from which arose the war with Mexico. When the Whigs came into power in 1849, Mr. Bu- chanan retired for a time from politics, but in 1853, when the Democratic party regained its ascendancy. President Pierce offered him the position of Minister to England, which he accepted. Mr. Bu- chanan was the originator and one of the three members of the famous Ostend Conference that met in 1854 to consider the subject of the acquisition of Cuba by the LTnited States, and with his colleagues maintained that on the principle of self- preservation from dangers of the gravest kind, armed intervention of the United States and the capture of the island from the Spaniards would be justifiable. He returned to the United States in April, 1S56, and upon his arrival in New York was accorded a public reception.
Mr. Buchanan was nominated as the Democratic candidate for President by the Democratic Convention held at Cin- cinnati in 1856, and at the election re- ceived one hundred and thirty-nine elec- toral votes, which made him President of the United States. He was inaugurated March 4, 1857. The state of the country, when his administration was organized, was ominous to its peace and welfare. The preceding administration had left a legacy of trouble in the repeal of the Missouri Compromise ; the Kansas-Ne- braska act was a bone of contention be- tween the two factions of the Democratic party; and the bill for an army increase was lost. However, there were compen- sations. The question of British domin- ion in Central America was settled dur- ing his administration under his advice and approval ; he succeded in compelling the English government to recognize the
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
international law in favor of the freedom of the seas ; recommended to Congress sending aid to the constitutional party of Mexico; instructed the United States Minister to Mexico to make a treaty of "transit and commerce," and provide for a "convention to enforce treaty stipula- tions and to maintain order and security in the territory of the republics of Mexico and the United States." In 1858 Mr. Bu- chanan concluded a treaty with China which established satisfactory commer- cial relations between the two countries. On June 22, i860, he vetoed a bill "to secure homesteads to actual settlers in the public domain, and for other pur- poses." In the same year he was author- ized by Congress to settle the claims against the government of Paraguay by sending a commissioner to that country, accompanied by a naval force sufficient to exact justice should negotiations fail.
In i860 President Buchanan refused to receive the commisioners sent by the State of South Carolina to treat with him on the subject of secession, emphatically denying the right of any State to secede from the Union, and holding that the only remedy for a dissatisfied State was open revolution. He was warned against leaving the forts in the South without additional garrison forces but, as he had publicly denied the right of secession, he could not consistently reinforce the forts as if he anticipated revolution. He ad- hered to his policy of non-action, for which he has been greatly censured. After the actual secession of South Caro- lina, the President's chief aim was to con- fine the area of secession, and induce Congress to prepare for war. When his term of office expired, March 3, 1861, seven States had already seceded, and his successor. President Lincoln, found him- self sadly embarrassed by the apathy of Congress in not preparing for the con- flict, which could no longer be averted.
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Mr. Buchanan remained in Washington until March 9, settling private affairs, and then returned to Wheatland, outside of the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he had previously acquired a small estate. He contiaiued to take a deep in- terest in politics, and with his influence as a private citizen supported the war that was now raging for the maintenance of the Union. His declining years were saddened by the many calumnies with which he was assailed, but he bore all with a dignified fortitude, and was willing to leave the vindication of his course to a future day when perception would not be dimmed by sectional feeling. He pub- lished "Buchanan's Administration," a vindication of the policy of his adminis- tion during the last months of his term. He died June i, 1868, and his remains were laid at rest in Woodward Hill Cemetery, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A simple monument marks his grave, in- scribed : "James Buchanan, Fifteenth President of the United States, born April 23, 1791 ; died June i, 1868.
The death of his sister, Mrs. Lane, in 1839, left to him the care and education of four children, of the youngest of them, Harriet, he was especially fond ; she was his guest for one year during his term as Minister to England, accompanying him upon his return voyage to this country, and when he became President she be- came the mistress of the White House, and proved herself admirably qualified to make the administration a social success.
PATTERSON, Robert,
Soldier of Two Wars.
General Robert Patterson was born in Cappagh, County Tyrone, Ireland, Janu- ary 12, 1792. His father immigrated to the United States to escape punishment for complicity in the Irish rebellion, and settled in Delaware covmty, Pennsylvania.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Robert Patterson attended the public .schools, and was employed in a Philadel- phia counting house. Upon the outbreak of the War of 1812 he was commissioned first lieutenant of infantry, and toward the end of the war served on General Joseph Bloomfield's staff. He returned to Philadelphia, was married to Sarah Ann Engle, and engaged in mercantile pursuits and in establishing cotton mills. He was a member of the convention that met at Harrisburg on March 4, 1824, and was Commissioner of Internal Improve- ments in Pennsylvania, 1827. In 1836 he was the Democratic elector for the First Congressional District of Pennsylvania, and in 1837 was president of the Electoral College that declared Martin Van Buren the president elect. He was commission- ed major-general of volunteers in 1847, and served throughout the war with Mexico. He commanded a division at the battle of Cerro Gordo, April 17-18, 1847, l^d the advance brigades in the pur- suit, and entered and captured Jalapa. He was honorably mentioned in General Winfield Scott's reports.
At the beginning of the war for the Union was major-general of the Pennsyl- vania militia, and on April 15, 1861, vol- unteered for three months' service, was mustered in as major-general of volun- teers, and was given command of the military department composed of the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary- land and the District of Columbia. He crossed into Virginia, June 15, 1861, at Williamsport, and was instructed to watch the troops under General Joseph E. Johnston at Winchester, Virginia. When McDowell was preparing to en- gage the enemy at Bull Run, July 21, 1861, Patterson, not receiving promised orders from General Winfield Scott, fail- ed to detain Johnston by giving him battle, and Johnston marched to the as- sistance of Beauregard, Patterson taking
no part in the battle of Bull Run. He was honorably mustered out of service on the expiration of his commission, July 27, 1861, and resumed the charge of his im- portant cotton manufactures. He was a member of the original board of trustees nominated in the charter of Lafayette College ; was senior member of the board, 1826-35; again a trustee, 1874-81, and president of the board of trustees, 1876-81. He was the author of: "Narrative of the Campaign in the Shenandoah" (1865). He died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 7, 1881.
SHARSWOOD, George,
Jcrist, Professional Antlior.
George Sharswood was born in Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, July 7, 1810, son of George and Flester (Dunn) Sharswood, grandson of Captain James and Elizabeth (Brebin) Sharswood, and great-great- grandson of George Sharswood, who sail- ed from England for America in the early part of the seventeenth century and set- tled in New Haven, Connecticut, where he died May i, 1674. Captain Sharswood was an officer in the Revolutionary army, and became a prominent merchant and citizen of public affairs in Philadelphia, being a representative in the State Legis- lature ; director of the Farmers' and Me- chanics' Bank, 1807-25; and member of the committee on the yellow fever epi- demic of 1793. George Sharswood, Sr., died in 1810, before the birth of his son, who was brought up and educated by his grandfather.
George Sharswood was graduated with honors from the University of Pennsyl- vania, A.B., in 1828, A.M., 1831 ; studied law with Joseph Rawle Ingersoll, and was admitted to the bar, September 5, 1831. He was a representative in the State Legislature, 1837-38 and 1842-43; Judge of the District Court of Philadel-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
phia, 1845-48; Presiding Judge of the District Court, 1848-67; Justice of the Su- preme Court of Pennsylvania, 1867-78, and Chief Justice, 1878-82. He was Pro- fessor of Law at the University of Penn- sylvania, 1850-52; Professor of the Insti- tutes of Law, 1852-68; a trustee, 1872-83; president of the Law Academy of Phila- delphia, 1836-38, its vice-president, 1838- 55, and provost, 1855-83. His "Legal Ethics" is required to be read by all ap- plicants for admission to the bar of North Carolina. He was a trustee of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, 1872-83; was president of the Alumni Society ; presi- dent of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, 1863-84 ; a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the American Philosophical Society in 185 1. The honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by Columbia Col- lege in 1856. He edited "Adams on Equity," "Roscoe on Criminal Evidence" (1835); "Russell on Crimes" (1836); "Byles on Bills" (1856) ; "Starkie on Evi- dence" (i860). He is the author of: "Legal Ethics" (1854) ; "Popular Lec- tures on Common Law" (1856) ; "Lec- tures on Commercial Law" (1856), and "Sharswood's Blackstone's Commenta- ries" (1859).
He was married to Mary, daughter of Dr. William Chesney Chambers, of Phil- adelphia, Pennsylvania. He died in Phil- adelphia, May 28, 1883.
GEARY, John White,
Soldier of Twro Wars. Governor.
John White Geary was born in Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, December 30, 1819, son of Rich- ard and Margaret (White) Geary. His father was principal of the academy where he was prepared for college. He matriculated at Jefiferson College, Can- onsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1835, but was
not graduated, leaving to provide for his widowed mother by teaching school. In the meantime he studied law and civil enginering, and was admitted to the bar. He assisted in the survey of the Green River railroad and on public works for Kentucky, and thus earned sufficient money to discharge the debts left by his father. In 1846 he joined the volunteer army in the Mexican War, having recruit- ed the "American Highlanders," and as lieutenant-colonel of the Second Pennsyl- vania Regiment joined General Scott at Vera Cruz and commanded the regiment at Chapultepec, where he was wounded, and again later in the same day at Belen Gate, where he won the approbation of the commanding general, and upon the fall of the Mexican capital he was made the first commander of the conquered city and was promoted to colonel of the regi- ment. At the close of the war with Mexico he went to California, and in 1849 was made postmaster of San Francisco by President Polk, with general super- vision of the transportation of mails and establishing of post-offices and postal routes on the Pacific coast. The people elected him alcalde, and on the organiza- tion of a municipal government for the city of San Francisco he was elected the first mayor. He was a delegate to^ the State Constitutional Convention and was an important factor in securing to the new State the exclusion of slavery. He returned to his farm in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and remained out of public life until July, 1856, when Presi- dent Pierce made him Governor of the Territory of Kansas. He effected peace between the rival factions striving to or- ganize a State government, and with the aid of United States troops convened the courts and restored confidence. This po- litical movement secured the election of Buchanan to the presidency, but when Governor Geary undertook the task ot
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
securing a Free-State constitution for Kansas the Democratic party failed to support him, and he resigned and left Kansas on March 4, 1857, and was suc- ceeded by Robert J. Walker, under ap- pointment of President Buchanan.
In April, 1861, at the outbreak of the war for the Union, Geary raised a regi- ment of fifteen hundred men and report- ed for duty to General Banks at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. He was wounded at Bolivar Heights ; captured Leesburg, Virginia, March 8, 1862 ; was made brig- adier-general, April 25 ; and was twice wounded at the battle of Cedar Mountain, August 9. On recovering, he was placed in command of the Second Division, Twelfth Army Corps, and led the division at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He joined the Army of the Cumberland, was at the battles of Wauhatchie and Lookout Mountain, and was assigned by General Sherman to the command of the Second Division of the Twentieth Corps in the "March to the Sea." He was made mili- tary governor of Savannah on reaching the seacoast, December 22, 1864, the honor being accorded him for his conduct at Fort Jackson and in the capture of Savannah, he being the first general officer to enter the city. He was bre- vetted major-general of volunteers early in 1865, on being mustered out of the service. He was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1866, his opponent being Hiester Clymer, Democrat, and he was reelected in 1869. His administration was eminently successful, and on his death, eighteen days after the expiration of his second term of service, the General As- sembly of Pennsylvania began measures which led to the erection of a monument over his grave at Harrisburg.
Governor Geary married (first) Mar- garet Ann Logan, of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, who died in 1853. Their son, Edward Ratchford, a student
at Jefferson College, enlisted in the Fed- eral army in 1861, and was killed at Look- out Mountain, October 28, 1863, after fighting at Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Govern- or Geary married (second) in 1858, Mrs. Mary C. Henderson, of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. He died at Ham- burg, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1873.
SCOTT, Thomas Alexander,
Accomplislied Railroad Manager.
Thomas Alexander Scott was born in London, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, December 28, 1824, son of Thomas Scott, the keeper of "Tom Scott's Tavern" on the old Limestone turnpike from Phila- delphia to Pittsburgh.
He attended the country schools in winter, worked on the farm in summer, and served as clerk in stores in Waynes- boro, Bridgeport, and Mercersburg. He was clerk to the toll collector at Columbia on the State road, 1841-47; chief clerk to the collector of tolls in Philadelphia ; and in 1851 entered the employ of the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company. He served as general superintendent of the Moun- tain District, with headquarters at Dun- cansville, 1852-57 ; general agent of the Pittsburgh office. 1853-55 ; general super- intendent of the entire line, as successor to General Lombaert, 1855-59; and vice- president, 1859-61. He was appointed on the staff of Governor Andrew G. Curtin, and in 1861, with the aid of United States troops, opened the new line of railway from Washington to Philadelphia. He was commissioned colonel of volunteers. May 3, 1861, and was put in control of all government railways and telegraphs. He was Assistant Secretary of War under Secretary Cameron, 1861, and under Sec- retary Stanton until May, 1862. In that capacity he utilized the transportation of the northwest and of the western rivers
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for the benefit of the United States army. On September 24, 1863, he accepted a government commission to repair the rail- roads and superintend the transportation of the Eleventh and Twelfth Army Corps from the east through Nashville to Gen- eral Rosecrans at Chattanooga, a most re- markable achievement ; and he served as assistant quartermaster general on the staff of General Hooker. He was chosen president of the Western Division of the Pennsylvania railroad in 1864, and in 1871 became president of the Pennsylva- nia Company, the agency through which the Pennsylvania railroad obtained leases of connecting roads to the west and of the "Pan-handle Route." He was also president of the Union Pacific railroad, 1871-72, and of the Pennsylvania railroad, 1874-80, resigning in 1880, on account of failing health. He was the founder and first president of the Texas Pacific rail- road. He died in Darby, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1881.
HARTRANFT, John Frederick,
Civil War Soldier, Governor.
General John Frederick Hartranft was born in New Hanover, Pennsylvania, De- cember 16, 1830, son of Samuel E. and Lydia (Bucher) Hartranft. He was a student at Marshall College, 1847-49, and was graduated at Union College, A.B., in 1853, A.M., in 1856. Fie was admitted to the bar in 1859 and practiced in Norris- town, Pennsylvania.
In April, 1861, he recruited and was elected colonel of the Fourth Pennsylva- nia Volunteer Regiment, enlisted for three months' service, which expired the day before the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861. As his regiment had been ordered to Harrisburg, he obtained leave to serve on the staff of General William B. Franklin in that battle, and was mus- tered out with his regiment, July 27, 1861.
He recruited the Fifty-first Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment for the war, and was commissioned its colonel, November 16, 1861. He was in the Burnside expedition to North Carolina in 1862, led the attack on Roanoke Island, February 7, and in the battle of New Berne, March 14. With the Army of the Potomac he engaged in the second battle of Bull Run, and the battle of Chantilly; in the Ninth Corps, he took part in the battle of South Moun- tain, and at Antietam he led the charge at the stone bridge. He commanded his regiment at Fredericksburg, then went with the Ninth Corps to Kentucky and was engaged in the battles of Campbell's Station and the defence of Knoxville. His part at Vicksburg, where he commanded a brigade, was protecting the besieging troops from an attack in the rear, and he went with Sherman to Jackson, Missis- sippi. Being transferred to Grant's army in Virginia, he commanded a brigade in the battles of the Wilderness and Spott- sylvania ; was commissioned brigadier- general of volunteers, May 12, 1864; took part in the operation before Petersburg; was given command of the Third Di- vision, Ninth Corps, July 2, 1864; and was brevetted major-general of volun- teers for his services in the recapture of Fort Stedman, March 25, 1865.
On May i, 1866, General Hartranft was elected Auditor-General of Pennsylvania, and on August 29, 1866, refused a com- mission as colonel in the regular army. He was reelected Auditor-General in 1868, and was Governor of Pennsylvania from January 21, 1873, to January 18, 1879. He removed to Philadelphia in 1879, was postmaster of the city by ap- pointment of President Hayes, 1879-80, and collector of the port of Philadelphia from August, 1880. He was major-gen- eral in command of the Pennsylvania Na- tional Guard, 1879-89. An equestrian statue in bronze, one and one-half life
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size, executed by F. Wellington Ruck- stuhl, was placed in front of the capitol building, Harrisburg, in 1899. On the front of the monument is the inscription : "John Frederick Hartranft. The hero of Fort Stedman. Born December 16, 1830. Died October 17, 1889." On the northern side: "Colonel 4th Pennsylvania Infantry, April 20, 1861-July 2^, 1861. Colonel 51st Pennsylvania Infantry, November 16, 1861-July 2, 1864. Brigadier-General United States Volunteers, May 12, 1864- January 15, 1866. Brevetted Major-Gen- eral, March 25, 1865." On the southern side: Commander 3rd Division, 9th Corps, Army of the Potomac, 1864-1865." On the rear, "Auditor-General, May i, 1866- November 8, 1872. Governor, January 21, 1873-January 18, 1879." He died in Nor- ristown, Pennsylvania, October 17, 1889.
CAMERON, Simon,
Cabinet Official, Diplomatist.
Simon Cameron was born in Donegal, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1799, son of Charles Cameron, whose ancestors of the third generation had im- migrated to Pennsylvania from Scotland. His father, who was a country tailor, had a continual struggle with proverty, and at last his failure in business caused a dispersion of his family.
Simon Cameron, then but nine years of age, was adopted by a physician, whose idea of fitting the boy for a medical career determined him at the age of ten years to apprentice himself to a printer, and after learning the trade he worked as a jour- neyman at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, also at Harrisburg, and in the government printing office at Washington. While employed in the office of the Harrisburg "Republican" he met Samuel D. Ingham, then Secretary of State for Pennsylvania, and owner of the Doylestown "Demo- crat," which had fallen on evil days. He
was invited by Mr. Ingham to undertake the editorship of the paper, and so clever- ly did he fulfill the requirements of the position that the journal was shortly re- stored to popular favor, and he became a popular figure in local political circles. In 1821 he purchased the Harrisburg "Re- publican," which he renamed the "Intel- ligencer." This paper he conducted with great ability, and his bold and vigorous advocacy of high tariff, and of John C. Calhoun as a candidate for the presi- dency, commanded the attention of states- men and politicians everywhere. With increasing fame came increasing profits, and he came to have command of suf- ficient fimds to enable him to undertake large business operations, which soon netted him a handsome fortune. He was cashier of a bank, president of two rail- road companies, and Adjutant-General of the State.
In 1845, upon the resignation of James Buchanan as United States Senator, Mr. Cameron was elected to fill the unexpired term, and acted with the Democratic party. He retired from the Senate, March 3, 1849. In 1854, upon the repeal of the Missouri Compromise bill, Mr. Cameron left his party and helped to form the People's party. In 1857 the new party controlled the State Legislature and elect- ed Mr. Cameron to the Senate, to succeed Richard Brodhead. During his second term he took a conspicuous part in the discussion of the vital question of the hour, and he was so pronounced in his advocacy of peace and conciliation that his loyality to the Union was at the time questioned. He was one of the presiden- tial candidates who had a strong support in the convention of i860, and he failed of securing the nomination of Vice-Presi- dent on the ticket with Abraham Lincoln through a lack of harmony in the Penn- sylvania delegation. Immediately upon Mr. Lincoln's election, Mr. Cameron was
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called to a place in his cabinet, and, re- signing his seat in the Senate, March 4, 1861, became Secretary of War. After the attack upon Fort Sumter, realiz- ing that war was inevitable. Secretary Cameron advocated strenuous war meas- ures, and went so far as to favor a procla- mation of emancipation of all slaves who would desert their masters and enlist in the Union army. In this he stood alone among his associates, and, feeling that his usefulness would be impaired by their op- position, he resigned his portfolio in January, 1862, and was at once appointed by President Lincoln Minister to Russia. In November, 1862, he resigned this office as well, but during the short term of his occupancy he had succeeded in en- listing the friendship oi Russia in the Federal cause. He was a delegate to the Baltimore Convention of 1864, and to the Loyalists' Philadelphia Convention of 1866, and he was again returned to the Senate in 1867, succeeding Edgar Cowan. In 1873 he was elected to the Senate for the fourth time. Not being in sympathy with the civil service policy inaugurated by President H^ayes, and feeling inade- quate to the undertaking of a conflict of such magnitude at his advanced age, he resigned his seat in 1877, and his son, James Donald Cameron, was at once elected his successor. Simon Cameron's control oi his party in his own State was well-nigh absolute, and his consummate ability as a political leader was univer- sally acknowledged. He became known as the "Czar of Pennsylvania politics." He died at his home in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, June 26, 1889.
STEVENS, Thaddeus,
Distinguished Statesman.
Thaddeus Stevens was born in Dan- ville, "Vermont, April 4, 1793, son of Joshua (a shoemaker) and Sallie Stevens,
who removed from Methuen, Massachu- setts, about 1786, and settled in Danville. His father died while Thaddeus was a boy, leaving his family in extreme poverty. Thaddeus was sickly and un- fitted for work, and his mother, notwith- standing her poverty, sent him to Pea- cham Academy and the University of Vermont ; later he entered Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated in 1 814. He removed to Pennsylvania, studied law, supporting himself in the meantime by teaching in an academy in York, and practiced in Gettysburg. He attained high rank as a lawyer, and sup- ported the Anti-Masonic party in 1829.
He was Representative in the Pennsyl- vania Legislature, 1833-35 ^^'^ 1837-38; and was a member of the State Constitu- tional Convention of 1838, but refused to affix his name to the proposed constitu- tion, objecting to it as constructed on partisan lines. He removed to Lancaster in 1S42, and practiced law there, 1842-49. He was a Whig Representative in the Thirty-first and Thirty-second con- gresses, 1849-53; ^"d opposed the com- promise measures advocated by Henry Clay in 1850. He practiced law in Lan- caster, 1853-55, and was a Representative in the Thirty-sixth, Thirty-seventh, Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth and Fortieth congresses, 1859-68. He was one of the foremost advocates of emancipation. As chairman of the committee of ways and means, on July 7, 1861, in order to provide means for carrying on the war for the Union, he procured the passage of a bill authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to borrow $250,000,000; another to ap- propriate $160,000 for the army, and a naval appropriation of $30,000,000. He also advocated the issue of legal tender paper currency, and, in spite of strenuous opposition on the part of the Democratic members, he saw the bill through the House and Senate. On February 22,
2247
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
1868, he proposed that "Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, be im- peached of high crimes and misdemean- ors in office." The resolution of impeach- ment was passed, February 22, 1S68, and he was made chairman of the committee of impeachment.
The honorary degree of LL.D. was con- ferred on him by Jefferson College, Penn- sylvania, in 1849, and by the University of Vermont in 1867. He died in Wash- ington, D. C, August II, 1868, and was buried in the humble cemetery at Lan- caster. His epitaph, prepared by him- self, reads : "I repose in this quiet and secluded spot, not from any natural pref- erence for solitude, but finding other cemeteries limited as to race by charter rules, I have chosen this, that I might illustrate in my death the principle which I advocated through a long life, equality of man before his Creator."
WEST, Benjamin,
Famous Artist.
Benjamin West was born in Spring- field, Chester county, Pennsylvania, Octo- ber 10, 1738, son of John and Sarah (Pear- son) West, members of the Society of Friends. He acquired a good education, and displaying a talent for drawing he received aid in pursuing his art studies from Samuel Shoemaker and from a Mr. Pennington, a well-known merchant of Philadelphia. He devoted himself to por- trait painting, and it was not until 1759 that he undertook historical composition.
His first notable canvas, "The Death of Socrates," was painted at the suggestion of William Henry, who recognized the youth's genius, and read to him Plut- arch's account of the philosopher, about whom Benjamin West knew nothing. This composition attracted the attention of the Rev. William Smith, provost of the College of Philadelphia, at whose invita-
tion West went to Philadelphia, where he studied classical literature, and under Dr. Smith received "such a sketch of the taste and character of the spirit of antiquity as would have all the effect of the regular education requisite to a painter." He joined the expedition for the relief of General Braddock in 1755, and on his re- turn painted in Philadelphia, 1756-58, and in New York, 1758-60. He visited Rome, Italy, 1760-63, settling in the latter named year in London, England. His painting, "Agrippina Landing with the Ashes of Germanicus," for Dr. Drummond, the Archbishop of York, gained for him a presentation to King George III, and sub- sequent paintings by order of the Crown won for him great popularity and favor. He was one of the founders of the Royal Academy in 1768, and in 1792 succeeded Sir Joshua Reynolds as its president, which post he held until 1815. He de- clined the honor of knighthood tendered him about 1792. In 1780 he projected a series of pictures on the progress of re- vealed religion, to be in four divisions, the antediluvian, the patriarchal, the mo saical and the prophetical, and to consist of thirty-six subjects. Twenty-eight paintings were completed, when on the illness of the king he was removed from the office of painter to the crown, and suspended work on the series. He later began a new religious series composed of: "Christ Healing the Sick" (1802), which hangs in the Pennsylvania Hospi- tal ; "The Descent of the Holy Ghost on Christ at Jordan ;" "The Crucifixion ;" "The Ascension ;" "The Inspiration of St. Peter;" and "Death on the Pale Horse." Among his other important works are: "Cimon and Iphigenia ;" "Angelica and Medora ;" "The Parting of Hector and Andromache ;" "Return of the Prodigal Son ;" "The Departure of Regulus from Rome ;" "The Death of General Wolfe ;" "The Death of Epanminondas ;" "The
248
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Death of Chevalier Bayard;" "Cyrus Lib- erating the Family of the King of Arme- nia;" "Segestes and his Daughter before Germanicus;" "Edward III. Embracing his Son on the Field of Battle at Cressy ;" "The Installation of the Order of the Garter;" "The Black Prince Receiving the King of France and his Son;" "Pris- oners at Poictiers ;" "St. George and the Dragon;" "Queen Phillippa Interceding with Edward for the Burgesses of Ca- lais ;" "King Edward Forcing the Pass- age of the Somme ;" "King Edward Crowning Sir Eustace de Ribaumont;" '"The Treaty of Penn ;" "Battle of La Hogue;" "Christ Rejected;" and many illustrations of Shakespearian scenes.
His portrait was painted by George FI. Harlow and by Sir Thomas Lawrence, and a copy of the latter by Charles R. Leslie, and a portrait by Washington AU- ston, are owned by the Boston Athe- naeum. He died in London, March ii, 1820, and was buried in St. Paul's Cathe- dral. A commemorative tablet was un- veiled at his birthplace, known as the "West House," in Swarthmore, Pennsyl- vania, in June, 1898. He married, in London, England, in 1765, Elizabeth Shewell.
GIRARD, Stephen,
Philanthropist.
Stephen Girard was born in France, near Bordeaux, May 20, 1750, eldest son of Pierre and Anne Maria (Lafargue) Girard. His father was an officer in the navy of France, and in 1744 was knighted by Louis XIV. for bravery at Brest, when France and England were at war.
When about fourteen, Stephen Girard rebelled at the authority of a stepmother, and with 16,000 livres in his pocket was placed as cabin-boy on a merchant ship making voyages to the West Indies. He was promoted to lieutenant and finally
made master of a small vessel trading with New Orleans, of which he soon be- came part owner. He made his residence in Philadelphia in 1776, when the war with Great Britain put a stop to his busi- ness, and he opened a grocery store and liquor business, his customers being largely Continental soldiers. He became a citizen of the Republic, taking the oath of allegiance, October 27, 1778. In 1780 he resumed trade with the West Indies. He obtained $50,000 deposited on his ships by Haytian planters for safekeep- ing during the insurrection on the island, the owners and their families being vic- tims to the wholesale massacre. He in- vested in real estate leases, in the stock of the Bank of the United States, in the bank building, and in the banking busi- ness as successor to the government. He advanced large sums to the government for the purposes of carrying on the War of 1812, and to pay interest on the war debt amounting to $5,000,000. When the new Bank of the United States was established, in 1816, he became a director and its practical manager. At the time of his death his property was estimated at $9,000,000, which entire sum was left to public benefactions in Philadelphia and New Orleans. He gave to the city of Philadelphia thousands of dollars for public improvements, and supported charities and Christian churches, not- withstanding his avowed atheism. In the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 he was un- tiring in his personal care of the sufiferers and after helping to organize the Bush Hill Hospital he was its acting superin- tendent for sixty days until a suitable manager could be obtained, and he liber- ally helped to support the families of the fever victims. His will is a most busi- nesslike document, and contains the mi- nutest directions for the disposal of his vast estate. His provision for expending $2,000,000 for the erection of a college
2249
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
building for white male orphans, in which no ecclesiastic, missionary or minister of any sect whatever is to be employed or even admitted to the premises as a visitor, was explained by the benefactor as limi- tations "to keep the tender minds of the orphans, who are to derive advantages from this bequest, free from the excite- ment which clashing doctrine and sec- tarian controversy are so apt to produce," awaiting the period of active life tO' de- termine "such religious tenets as their matured reason may enable them to pre- fer." The Girard estate, as left in trust to the city of Philadelphia, was placed under the management of the board of directors of city trusts of the city of Phil- adelphia, and the estate continued to pro- duce under this management a net annual income which supported the college and various hospitals and other institutions provided for in the will. See "Annual Reports of the Board of Directors, &c.," "Life of Stephen Girard," by Stephen Simpson (1832), and "Girard College and its Founder," by Henry W. Avery (i860). On May 20, 1897, the board of directors of city trusts of Philadelphia unveiled on the west plaza of the city hall a statue of the illustrious benefactor, Stephen Girard, of heroic size, and on January 3, 1898, the semi-centennial of the college was celebrated, the exercises including an ora- tion by Thomas B. Reed, speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Mr. Girard was married in St. Paul's (Episcopal) Church, June 6, 1777, to Mary Lumm, daughter of a shipbuilder of Philadelphia. His wife showed signs of mental derangement in 1785, and was placed in a Pennsylvania hospital, while Mr. Girard went to the Mediterranean. She again entered the hospital in 1790, and while there in 1791 their only child was born and soon after died. She died in 1815, and Mr. Girard never remarried. He died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
December 26, 1831. He was baptized and confirmed a Roman Catholic and was buried in the graveyard of Holy Trinity (Roman Catholic) Church, Philadelphia, by simple Quaker rites.
SMITH, Lee S.,
Business Man, Distingnished Mason.
Few successful business men, even in Pittsburgh, have as wide and varied a range of interests as Lee S. Smith, presi- dent of the Lee S. Smith & Son Company. Mr. Smith has been officially connected with other important enterprises and is notably distinguished as a representative of the Masonic order.
Lee S. Smith was born April 24, 1844, in Cadiz, Ohio, and is a son of the Rever- end Wesley and Mary Eliza (Ford) Smith, and a brother of the late Bishop Charles W. Smith. Lee S. Smith receiv- ed a public school education and after- ward studied dentistry in Pittsburgh, graduating in 1864. Not immediately did the young man enter upon the practice of his profession. The call to arms sounded in his ears more loudly than the appeal of his chosen work, and in the spring of 1864 he enlisted in the First Battalion, Pennsylvania Artillery, later joining the loist Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry, with the rank of sergeant. At the close of the war Mr. Smith did not lose his in- terest in military matters, but aided in re- establishing the National Guard of Penn- sylvania. He was made adjutant-general with the rank of major, in the Second Brigade, National Guard, being afterward elected major of the Fourteenth Brigade, Pennsylvania Infantry.
In January, 1866, Major Smith or- ganized the firm of Lee S. Smith, dealer in dentists' supplies, his establishment being situated on Fourth and Market streets, Pittsburgh. He proved himself possessed of fine judgment and much ex-
2250
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crof \,d or i^ visitor, vr as limi- ; , .. inds of the i ive advantages fi.c from the excite- uig doctrine and sec- ■ .-) are so apt to produce," criotl of active life to de- ..ii religious tenets as their . oason may enable them to pre- ■ c Girard estate, as left in trust ;ty of Philadelphia, was placed liie management of the board of '■ ..ciors of city trusts of the city of Phil- adelphia, and the estate continued to pro- duce under this management a net annual income which supported the college and various hospitals and other institutions provided for in the will. See "Annual Reports of the Board of Directors, &c.," "Life of Stephen Girard," by Stephen Simpson (1832), and "Girard College and its Founder," by Henry W. Avery (i860). On May 20, 1897, the board of directors of city trusts of Philadelphia unveiled on the west plaza of the city hall a statue of the illustrious benefactor, Stephen Girard, of heroic size, and on January 3, 1898, the semi-centennial pf the college was celebrated, the exercises including an ora- tion by Thomas T<. Reed, speaker oi^ the United States Ti.'use of Representatives. Mr. Girard v/as married in St. Paul's ', F.piscopal) Church. June 6, 1777, to ry Lumm, daughter of a shipbuilder i'hihdelphia. His wife showed signs : derangement in 1785, and was a Pennsylvania hospital, v/hile rd went to the Mediterranean. 1 entered the hiispital in 1790, : there in 1791 their only child and soon after died. She died nti Mr. Girard never remarried. n Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 22
BIOGRAPHY
December 26, 1831. He was baptized and confirmed a Roman Catfeoiic and was buried in the. graveyard of Holy Trinity (Roman Catholic) Church, Philadelphia, by simple Quaker rites.
SMITH, Lee S..
Bnsiness Man, pistingiiished Mason, v
Few successful buijiness men, even in Pittsburgh, have as wide and varied a range of interests as Lee S. Smith, presi- dent of the Lee S. Smith & Son Company Mr. Smith has been oflicially connected with other important enterprises and i^ notably distinguished as a representative of the Masonic order.
Lee S. Smith was bom April 24, 1844, in Cadiz, Ohio, and is a son of the Rever- end Wesley and Mary Eliza (Ford) Smith, and a brother of the late Bishop Charles W. Smith. Lee S. Smith receiv- ed a public schcx)l education and after- ward studied dentistry in Pittsburgh graduating in 1864. Not immediately di ' the young man enter upon the practice of his profession. The call to arms sounded in his ears more loudly than the appeal of his chosen work, and in the spring of 1864 he enlisted in the First Battalion, Pennsylvania Artillery, later jc)ining the loist Regiment Pennsylvania [.nfantry, with the rank of sergeant. At the close of the war Mr. Smith did not I'*.*- ■ his in- terest in military matters, but Jided in rt establishing the National Guard of Penn- sylvania. He was made adjutant-general with the rank of major, in the Second Brigade, National Guard, being afterward elected major of the Fourteenth Brigade, Pennsylvania Infantry.
In January, 1866, Major Smith or- ganized the firm of Lee S. Smith, dealer in dentists' supplies, his establishment being situated on Fourth and Market streets, Pittsburgh. He proved himself possessed of fine judgment and much ex- 50
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
ecutive ability, building up a large busi- ness, and not only doing that, but also creating a demand for his stock, being a pioneer in this field. In the course of time the concern underwent various changes, and in 1890 W. Linford Smith, Mr. Smith's son, became associated with the business. Mr. Smith is now president of the Lee S. Smith & Son Company, his son being vice-president.
In 1908 and '09 Mr. Smith was presi- dent of the Pittsburgh Chamber of Com- merce, and is now a director. He is a Republican, and while living at West Bellevue was a member of its council, but has never yielded to entreaties to accept office in Pittsburgh. He has taken an ac- tive part in civic work, is well known as a lecturer and has made several trips around the world. He is a member ot Christ Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has served for years as trustee and superintendent of the Sunday school. In 1866 Mr. Smith was initiated in the Masonic fraternity, and he is now past master of Franklin Lodge, No. 221, Free and Accepted Masons ; member of Du- quesne Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; past commander of Allegheny Commandery, No. 35, Knights Templar; past grand commander of the Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania, and deputy grand master of the Grand Encampment of the United States. He is past commander-in-chief of the Pennsylvania Consistory, and in 1890 received the thirty-third degree. In De- cember, 1914, he succeeded automatically, by the death of Colonel Arthur Mac- Arthur, in Troy, New York, to the office of grand master of the Grand Encamp- ment of Knights Templar, thus becoming the head of the Knights Templar in the United States. This has thus far been the crowning honor of Mr. Smith's long and illustrious career in Masonry.
The personality of the man is distinc- tive, and his appearance no less so. White
hair and moustache are the only indica- tions of advancing years, for the face ex- presses all the animation of youth com- bined with the strength of character and steadiness of purpose which we associate with full maturity. His manners are dignified and genial and the number of his friends would defy computation.
Mr. Smith married (first) October 18, 1868, Agnes, daughter of Captain John and iMary Wolf, of Allegheny, now North Side, Pittsburgh, and they became the parents of one son : W. Linford, who was educated at Chester Military Academy and Allegheny College, and married Louise Allen, of Corry, Pennsylvania. They have two children, Lynn Allen and Agnes Louise. October 16, 1905, Mrs. Lee S. Smith passed away, and on De- cember 5, 1912, Mr. Smith married (sec- ond) Mrs. Mary C. (Ashworth) Apple- gate, of Glen Osborne. Mrs. Smith, who was the widow of Samuel C. Applegate, has two sons by her former marriage : Robert Ashworth and George Gorman Applegate.
Mr. Smith, who is devoted to the ties of home and kindred, has been, since the death of his brother. Bishop Smith (who officiated at his second marriage), the eldest of his family. His senior was Mrs. Olivia J. Norcross, who died in De- cember, 1915, wife of Dr. H. Norcross, while those younger than himself are the Reverend Homer J. Smith, of Wyoming. Delaware; Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, wife of W. A. Lewis, a Pittsburgh lawyer ; and Mrs. Mary Virginia HoUister, widow of J. J. Hollister, of Pleasantville, Iowa. Mrs. Hollister has two children.
Often do we hear it said of a man that he has "a well-rounded career." Not in- frequently this is a mere phrase, but in the case of Lee S. Smith it is most emphatic- ally true. As citizen and man of aflfairs Mr. Smith has touched life at many points and has "touched nothing that he did not adorn."
2251
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
McCORMICK, John Shoenberger,
Successful Business Man.
The city of Pittsburgh, possessed of great manufacturing plants, and uuhiait- ed opportunities, has formed the back- ground for the Hfe-work of many clear- thinking and far-sighted men. All men are not successful in business no matter ■ how great their advantages may be. But the man who can forsee the possibilities of a business enterprise, and can make those possibilities grow and expand into realities is the man that every city is fortunate to count among its own. Such a man is John Shoenberger AlcCormick, who claims Pittsburgh as his home city by right of birth. He is the only son of the late David Cummings and Cecelia (Grant) McCormick. As a boy John S. McCormick attended the Pittsburgh public schools, later completing his edu- cation at Western University of Pennsyl- vania (now University of Pittsburgh) and at Media, Pennsylvania, where he re- mained two years. He then entered the employ of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, remaining with that company three years. While still a young man he formed, with Robert Anderson, the firm of Anderson & McCormick, which suc- ceeded Robert Wightman in the manu- facture of foundry equipment and sup- plies. The firm of Anderson & McCor- mick continued for five years, when Mr. McCormick took over the entire business, the firm becoming J. S. McCormick & Company, and in 1903 the business was incorporated under the firm name of The J. S. McCormick Company, and the present plant, which has been greatly enlarged, is situated on Twenty-fifth and Railroad streets, Pittsburgh, and the busi- ness has grown to large proportions.
In the exhibits of foundry products, held in various cities by the Foundry and Machine Exhibition Company, to ac-
quaint the public with their uses, no one can be said to take a greater or more helpful interest than Mr. McCormick. He is also connected with various other con- cerns and associations, among them the Central Trust Company, of which he is vice-president. Although never an office- seeker, Mr. McCormick is a staunch ad- herent of the principles of the Republican party. He attends the Episcopal church. Although clearly a business man, Mr. McCormick has found time to become a member of the Duquesne Club and the Pittsburgh Athletic Association. Frater- nally he is identified with the Masons, having attained to the thirty-second de- gree.
On August 23, 1906, Mr. McCormick married Catherine, daughter of C. L. Conkling, of Springfield, Illinois. Mrs. McCormick is active socially and in club life, and is a member of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. McCor- mick have one child, a daughter named Cecelia.
Much honor is heaped upon the achieve- ments of the men of the past. In the present, when things are constantly being done, people never look for honor, they search rather among the records of the past. Were they to look in their own age, they would find men who are ex- amples of achievement fit to rank with those who have gone before.
McKEE, Frederick W.,
Lawyer, Enterprising Citizen.
In the death of Frederick W. McKee, the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, sus- tained a loss which cannot easily be over- estimated. He was a man of versatility, and the field of endeavor to which he di- rected his energy was benefited thereby. In law, as in industrial and civic matters, he held a prominent place, and his coun-
2252
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
.AcCORMICK, John Shoenberger,
Saooessftil Business Man.
1 he city ot great mariufa. eci oppon;].. ; ground ' think m,7 are not. how gr..: the ma;> of ^ :■■■■■
t^
I'iu-luri'h. O'.-bse^scd Ot .d uulnait- . the back- ot many clear- I men. All men I business no matter •lUages may be. But .rsee the possibilities I prise, and can make ,row and expand into ..;an that every city is mt among its own. Such , . .iij Shoenberger McCormick, •ts Pittsburgh as his home city of birth. He is the only son of David Cummings and Cecelia McCormick. As a boy John . rmick attended the Pittsburgh . ■..it...c it-iiools, later completing his edu- cation at Western University of Pennsyl- vania (now University ol Pittsburgh) and at Media, Pennsylvania, where he re- mained two years. He then entered the employ of the Pittsburgh & Lake 'rie Railroad, remaining with that conif j.' y three years. While still a young msrn he formed, with Robert Anderson, the iirm of Anderson & McCormick, which suc- ceeded Robert Wightman in the manu- facture of foundry equipment and sup- plies. Th.^ firm of Anderson & McCor- mick contiv.ued for five years, when Mr. McCormick took over the entire business, ' firm becoming J. S. McCormick & 1 ' inpany, and in 1903 the business was ;. orporated under the firm name of The McCormick Company, and the plant, which has been greatly • . is situated on Twenty-fifth and ' streets, Pittsburgh, and the busi- ^rown to largr proportions, exhibits of foundry products, ■■.s cities by the Foundry and i ibition Company, to ac-
225
quaint the public can be said to t:; helpful interest thu is also connected wi.
ises, no one
r or more
■ »rmick. He
~ other con-
cerns and associations, among them the Central Trust Company, oi which he is vice-president. Although never an office- seeker, Mr. McCormick is a staunch ad- herent of the principles of the Republican party. He attends the Episcopal church. Although clearly a busmess man, Mr. McCormick has found lime to become a member of the Duquesne Club and the Pittsbui; ' ' iciation. Fra'ier-
nally I. :th the Masons,
having ait..un-a i . .iit thirty-second de- gree.
On August 23,. 1906, Mr. McCormick married Catherine, daughter of C. L. Conkling, of Springfield, Illinois. Mrs. McCormick is active socially and in club life, and is a member of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. McCor- mick have one child, a daughter named Cecelia.
Much honor is hcap^'d upon the achieve- ments of the men of the past, in the present, when thing; ^je constantly being done, people never liok for honor, they search rather among the records of the past. Were they to k;ok in their own age, they would hnd m^n who are ex- amples of achievement fit to rank with those who have gone before.
McKEE, Frederick W.,
l.r.vy»-. finterprising Clti««n.
In the death of Frederick W. McKee, the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, sus- tained a loss which cannot easily be over- estimated. He was a man of versatilit and the tleU! of endeavor to which he di- rected his energy was benefited thereby. In law, as in industrial and civic matters, he held a prominent place, and his coun- 2
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
sel was sought by those many years his superior in point of age. He was de- scended from one of the oldest families in Pittsburgh, his grandfather, Thomas McKee, who was born September 13, 1800, and died June 2, 1864, was in the glass manufacturing business, and his father, also named Frederick, who was born August 2, 1827, and died March 21, 1865, was one of the founders of the firm of McKee & Brothers — one of the pioneer glass manufacturing firms of Pittsburgh. Fie married Melissa Patterson Stewart, daughter of William Stewart, who was born July 2, 1837, and died July 5, 1905. William Stewart, grandfather of Fred- erick W. McKee, was one of the first manufacturers of charcoal iron in that section of the country, and in the furnaces on the Winfield estate manufactured pig iron for some of the cannon used by the government during the Civil War.
Frederick W. McKee was born in Pitts- burgh, in 1858, and died in the same city, March 22, 1912. Educated in the public schools of his native city, he was graduated from them and then became a student at the Western University of Pennsylvania, now the University of Pittsburgh, being graduated a member of the class of 1878. The study of law had always had a cer- tain fascination for him, and he com- menced reading for admission to the bar in the office of George Shiras, Jr., and followed up this study at the Law School of Harvard University, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bache- lor of Laws. For some years he was en- gaged in legal practice in the courts of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and had obtained a reasonably large clientele and a profitable one, but other business in- terests demanded more and more of his time, and he gradually dropped his legal work. Before his marriage in 1890 he was a member of the Select Council of Pittsburgh, and was interested in politi-
cal reforms. For a number of years prior to his death he spent a large portion of his time in developing the large estate he owned in Winfield township, Butler county, Pennsylvania, where he founded the town of West Winfield, Butler county, Pennsylvania. In addition to this he or- ganized a number of business enterprises, in all of which his energy and progressive and original ideas were of incalculable benefit. Among these ventures may be mentioned: The Winfield Mineral Com- pany ; the Winfield Sand Company ; the Winfield Railroad Company ; and the Pennsylvania Clay Products Company. He was a devout member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, being for many years trustee of the Emory Methodist Episcopal Church, and later connected with Christ Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. McKee married, in 1890, Bertha F. Chadwick, daughter of Samuel Chadwick, one of the pioneers of the East End. She is a woman of character, and was a fitting helpmate to her talented husband in every phase of life. Their children are: Frederick C, formerly a student at Prince- ton University, and now at the head of his father's enterprises; Herbert W. ; Wallace B. ; and Mary S., the only daugh- ter. Mrs. William E. Carnahan is a sister. The family have for many years occupied a position of prominence in the social life of Pittsburgh, to which their many ad- mirable traits very justly entitled them. The strong personality of Mr. McKee was an important factor in the influence which he exerted in all matters with which he was connected. While he was quiet and unostentatious in public as in private life, his mind was ever at work with some plan for the betterment of social conditions, or advancement of the financial or industrial interests of his sec- tion. In addition to devoting himself to the proper conduct of the weighty affairs with which he was personally connected.
PA-Vol VII-2
2253
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
he was frequently called upon to counsel those engaged in other undertakings, and who had strong reason to have faith in the wisdom of his judgment. He had a large circle of friends and his death left a void not easily filled.
KENNEDY, Julian,
Steel and Iron Master, Inventor.
The brain-power of Pittsburgh is the primary source of her material magnifi- cence, and, as has been aptly said, "The typical Pittsburgh brain is at its best in Julian Kennedy," the world-famous me- chanical engineer and metallurgical ex- pert. Mr. Kennedy has been for a third of a century a resident of the Iron City, and, despite his international reputation, she proudly claims him as her own.
Julian Kennedy was born March 15, 1852, in Poland township, Mahoning county, Ohio, and is the eldest of the seven sons of Thomas Walker and Mar- garet (Tuesdale) Kennedy. The mechan- ical genius of Julian Kennedy was inherit- ed from his father, who was a construc- tive engineer of the very first rank. He was the greatest designer and builder of blast furnaces of his day, and many of his inventions and improvements are now in general use and have been of incalcul- able benefit to the manufacturing world. His death occurred July 4, 1896.
The preparatory education of Julian Kennedy was received in the common schools of his native county, and at the age of seventeen he graduated from Union Seminary, Poland, Ohio. For a few years thereafter he was employed by the Stru- thers Iron Company, on the Mahoning river, a short distance below Youngstown, Ohio, filling successively the positions of draftsman, engineer for blowing engines and other steam machinery and shipping clerk. At the age of twenty, having gain- ed considerable experience in applied me-
chanics, he entered the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, graduating in 1875. In 190D this school conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. At Yale Mr. Kennedy studied civil engineer- ing and chemistry, in the latter branch completing the two years' course in one year. During 1875 and 1876 he was an instructor in physics, and while teaching pursued a post-graduate course in chem- istry of iron and steel, and a special course in higher mathematics and as- tronomy. He had charge of the Physical Laboratory, and delivered a course of il- lustrated lectures on physics and me- chanics before the students of the several schools in New Haven.
During his career at Yale, busy as he was both as student and instructor, Mr. Kennedy was an enthusiast in athletics. His specialty was rowing, and he was a member of the university crews from 1873, when Yale won over thirteen col- lege crews at Springfield, Massachusetts, to 1876, when he rowed in the first eight- oared race against Harvard. In 1875 he won the inter-collegiate championship for single sculls at Saratoga Lake, and was a winner in fourteen of the eighteen im- portant races. He was stroke of the Yale four-oared crew at the Centennial Regatta in 1876, when his university won the in- ter-collegiate championship. The same year Mr. Kennedy and James Riley, of Saratoga, won the pair-oared raced at Greenwood Lake, over Eustis and Downs, of the Atlantic Rowing Club of New York, and Smith and Eldred of the Argo- naut Club of New York. He also at that time won the amateur single-scull race.
After leaving Yale, Mr. Kennedy was for one year superintendent of the blast furnaces of the Briar Hill Iron Company at Youngstown, Ohio. During the fol- lowing year he held the same position with the Struthers Iron Company, and during a third was superintendent of the
2254
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: brain-power of Pittsburgh is the source of her material magnifi- nd, as has been aptly said, "The typi.al Pittsburgh brain is at its best in Julian Kennedy," the world-famous me- chanical engineer and metallurgical ex- pert. Mr. Kennedy has been for a third of a century a resident of the Iron City, and, despite his international reputation, she proudly claims him as her own.
Julian Kennedy was born March 15. 1852, in Poland township, Mahoning county, Ohio, and is the eldest of the seven sons of Thomas Walker and Mar- garet (Tuesdale) Kennedy. The mechan- ical genius of Julian Kennedy was inherit- ed from his father, who was a construc- tive engineer of the very first rank. He was the greatest designer and builder of blast furnaces of his day, and many of his inventions and improvements are now in general use and have been of incalcul- able benefit to the manufacturing world. '''s death occurred July 4, 1896.
The preparatory education of Julian
Kennedy was received in the common
schools of his native county, and at the
:e of seventeen he graduated from Union
minary, Poland, Ohio. For a. few years '
■fTcafter he was employed by the Stru-
rrs Iron Company, on the Mahoning
short distance below Youngstown,
■'•'^tr successively the positions of
er for blowing engines
nachinery and shipping
-if twenty, having gain-
vperience in applied me-
22
OGRAPHY
.-, he entered the Sheffield Scientific .;^i uvi of Yale University, graduating in 1875. Jn '900 this school conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. At Yale Mr. Kennedy studied civil engineer- ing and chemistry, in the latter branch completing the two years' course in one year. During 1875 and 1876 he was an instructor in physics, and while teaching pursued a p " ^- • 'e course in chem- istry of ir "I, and a special course in iici. • -'ntics and as- tronomy. He hv. : the Physical Laboratory, and i.'t.- .-.' • a course of il- lustrated lectures on physics and me- chanics before the students of the several schools in New Haven.
During his career at Yale, bus-y as he was both as student and instructor, Mr. Kennedy was an enthusiast in athletics. His specialty was rowing, and he was a member of the university crews from 1873, when Yale won over thirteen col- lege crews at Springfield, Massachusetts, to 1876. when he rowed in the first eight- oared race against Harvard. In 1875 "^^ won the intcr-collegiate championship for single sculls at Saratoga Lake, and was a winner in fourteen of the eighteen im-
he Yale
'Cegatta
_, v> m the in-
;).>. The same
•uirics Riley, of
oared raced at
portant races. He v/a.'
four-oared crew at the •
in 1876. when his uni
ter-collegiate champivj
year Mr. Kennedy an
Saratoga, won the p;
Greenwood Lake, over I'ustis and Downs,
of the Atlantic Row tag Club of New
York:, and Smith and Eldred of the Argo-
• naut Club of New ^'ork. He also at that time won the amateur single-scull race.
After leaving Yale, Mr. KennMy was for one year superintendent of the blast furnaces of the Briar Hill Iron Company at Youngstown, Ohio. During the fol- lowing year he held the same position with the Struthers Iron Company, and during a third was superintendent of the
54
I
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Morse Bridge Works at Youngstown. In 1879 he entered the service of Carnegie Brothers & Company, becoming superin- tendent of the blast furnaces of the Edgar Thomson Steel Works at Braddock, Pennsylvania. He filled this position until 1883, and was then for two years in the service of the allied firm of Car- negie, Phipps & Company, as superin- tendent of the Lucy furnaces in Pitts- burgh. From 1885 to 1888 he was general superintendent of Carnegie, Phipps & Company, with headquarters at Home- stead. In all these positions Mr. Ken- ney's services were of the greatest value, not only by reason of his skillful manage- ment, but because he continually gave his attention to the making of improvements tending to greater ease and economy of production and to the increase of quality and volume of output. He had charge of both operation and construction, and dur- ing his connection with the Edgar Thom- son and Lucy furnaces they held the world's record for output of pig iron.
In 1888 Mr. Kennedy became chief en- gineer and constructor of works of the Latrobe Steel Company at Latrobe, Penn- sylvania. In 1890 he ceased to maintain exclusive connection with manufacturing concerns, and opened an office in Pitts- burgh as a general consulting and con- tracting engineer. He has since had charge of the construction and equipment of steel works for nearly all the large companies of the United States, and has done much engineering work in England, Germany, Austria and Russia. In this special branch, in connection with great manufacturing plants, Mr. Kennedy stands easily at the head of his profession in the United States. As an inventor of improvements in the manufacture of iron and steel he has taken out a large number of patents, all of which are in successful use. He has been employed in various consulting capacities in connection with
large municipal works, and has frequently acted as expert in important patent litiga- tion. Prominent among his inventions are improvements on hot-blast stoves, blast- furnace filling devices, improvements in blowing engines, blooming mills and special machinery for hammering and rolling locomotive tires and an improved process of making rails — all valuable in- ventions which are now very largely in use in many works.
Intensely public-spirited, Mr. Kennedy is prominently identified with the indus- trial, financial, civic and religious in- terests of Pittsburgh. He is widely but unostentatiously charitable, and his in- fluence is always given to everything that makes for culture and for improvement along lines of art. He is a member of the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Kennedy is president and director of the American Casting Machine Com- pany, the Emerald Coal and Coke Com- pany, the Orient Coal and Coke Company, the Polant Coal Company, and is a mem- ber of the Pittsburgh Chamber of Com- merce. He is a member of the American Institute of Mechanical Engineers, the American Institute of Mining Engineers, the British Iron and Steel Institute, the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsyl- vania, the Pittsburgh Academy of Science and Art, the Pittsburgh Athletic Associa- tion, the Automobile, Country, Univer- sity and Golf clubs of Pittsburgh, and the LTniversity and Engineers' clubs of New York City.
Mr. Kennedy married, in 1878, Jennie E., daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Lynn) Brenneman, of Poland township. Mahoning county, Ohio, and they are the parents of the following children : Lucy B., graduate of Vassar, wife of John O. Miller; Joseph W., who graduated from Yale, Ph.B., and is associated in business with his father; Eliza Jane, graduate of Vassar, wife of R. Templeton Smith, and 55
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
popular in Pittsburgh social circles; Juli- an, graduated from Yale, Ph.B., connect- ed with the Coal & Coke Company ; and Thomas W., student of Cornell. By his marriage, Mr. Kennedy gained the life companionship of a charming and con- genial woman. Mrs. Kennedy is a mem- ber of the Civic Club of Allegheny County, the Tuesday Musical Club and the Twentieth Century Club, and, as one of the city's leading Suffragists, was one of the founders of the Equal Franchise Federation of Pittsburgh. Mr. Kennedy is devoted to the ties of family and friend- ship and his beautiful residence in the East End is a centre of hospitality and a scene of much entertaining as is also the lovely summer home of the family, "Crusoe Island," Muskoka Lake, Canada. Julian Kennedy is one of the men who do the large things of life. He has always been too busy to talk about what he was doing, but his results speak for him with an eloquence to which the world listens.
REA, Henry R.,
Man of Large Affairs.
Among those Pittsburgh business men who are still actively influential in the community is Henry Robinson Rea, for the space of a quarter of a century offici- ally associated with various industrial or- ganizations of the metropolis. Mr. Rea is descended from ancestors distinguished in the Colonial and Revolutionary periods of our history and conspicuously identi- fied with the development of the most vital interests of Pennsylvania.
Henry Robinson Rea was born May 29, 1863, in Pittsburgh, and is a son of the late William and Matilda Anne (Robin- son) Rea. A biography and portrait of Mr. Rea, with ancestral record, appear elsewhere in this work. Henry Robinson Rea received his preparatory education in private schools of his native city, and in
the Western University of Pennsylvania, now the University of Pittsburgh. He graduated in the class of 1884 at the Stevens Institute of Technology, taking the degree of Mechanical Engineer, and then completed his education at the Uni- versity of Gottingen, Germany.
On returning home, Mr. Rea associated himself with the engineering department of the Robinson-Rea Manufacturing Com- pany, and in the course of time became vice-president, an office which he retained until the concern was merged in the Mesta Machine Company. Mr. Rea's time and attention is now given to the corporations in which he is largely in- terested, and to the estate of his father- in-law, the late Henry W. Oliver, of which he is trustee.
The organizations with which Mr. Rea is connected as director, are the Mellon National Bank, the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company, the New York and Cleveland Gas Coal Company, the Oliver Iron and Steel Com- pany, the Oliver and Snyder Steel Com- pany, the Pittsburgh Coal Comany, the Safe Deposit and Trust Company, the Union Savings Bank, the Union Trust Company, the Calumet and Arizona Min- ing Company, the Superior Pitts Mining Company and the New Cornelia Mining Company. He is trustee of the People's Savings Bank, and president of The Mor- ris County Traction Company and Morris Railroad Company, both of New Jersey.
In all that concerns the welfare of Pittsburgh he ever manifests a ready and helpful interest. He belongs to the board of directors of the Allegheny General Hospital. His clubs include the Pitts- burgh, of which he is president ; the Alle- gheny Country, of which he is vice-presi- dent; the Pittsburgh Golf, the Duquesne and Oakmont Country. He is a life mem- ber of the Pittsburgh Athletic Associa- tion, and belongs to the University, the
2256
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Racquet and Tennis and the Brook Clubs, all of New York.
Mr. Rea married, April 23, 1889, Edith, daughter of the late Henry W. and Edith (Cassidy) Oliver. A biography and pro- trait of Mr. Oliver appear elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Rea are the par- ents of two children : Edith Ann ; and Henry Oliver, who is now taking an aca- demic course at Yale University.
PALMER, Henry W.,
Iiatryer, liegislator, Huiaanitarian.
The death of Henry W. Palmer, famili- arly known as General Palmer, deprived Wilkes-Barre of one of its most distin- guished citizens.. For over half a century he rendered note-worthy service in of- ficial, professional, and private life, and although his years were far beyond man's allotted span his taking away was severe- ly felt, causing poignant grief among those who were intimately associated with^him and who had learned to appreci- ate his worth and to know his power for good in the community that delighted to honor him. He was a man of brains, great natural ability, keen insight, and sound judgment, possessed strong con- victions and the courage always to up- hold them, and never sacrificed principle for expediency, a rare trait that explains the high service he was able to render his 'ients and his State. For fifty-two years continued his law practice in Wilkes- re. the eighteen months he spent in V service only preventing his service" 'nnng continuous He was' Wilkes- ' Temost lawyer, and was .wjth- , ■ -r in valuable service in north- ern f'eniisylvania. He early won , Jerthip at the bar, and held it until health and strength failed him, recog- '1 'cd as a leader at home, and frequently -ulted by leading professional lights :'hi!adr!!.l-,ii -,n,i Pitrc;burgh when im-
portant issues were at stake. Said one of the greatest of his legal State contempo- raries : "General Palmer is a great lawyer, and those in his class can be counted upon the fingers of one hand."
It was as Attorney-General under Governor Hoyt that he first came into the public eye of the State, but his service in that high place was not more valuable than that in the Constitutional Conven- tion, where he was a leader among the eminently talented men of Pennsylvania comprising that body, of which his honor- ed father was also a member. As citizen and congressman he was always the champiion of every worthy cause tieeding an advocate. He knew no middle ground, never hesitating to denounce that which he deemed wrong, nor to support that which he considered right. He would not compromise with wrong-, let the result affect his political or professional career as it might. He had the distinction of representing Luzerne county in Congress longer than any other man elected from the district, serving through four terms, 1900 to 1908. Although advanced in years upon taking his seat among the. great men of the nationyj-he so impressed himself upon the leaders that high honors and responsibilities were accorded him greater thain many men receive in a much longer term of service. President Roose- velt appointed him a delegate to the Con- gress of Lawyers and Jurists in 1904, and in 1905 he was a delegate to the Inter- Parliamentary Union held at Brussels. During t|ie Fifty-eighth Congress he was atifemberof the sub-committte appointed by the chairman of the committee on judiciary to take testimony in the im- peachment proceedings begun against Charles Swayne, United States Judge for the Northern District of Florida. After the conclusion of the trial, in which Gen- eral Palmer took a leading part in favor of impeachment, the following resolution
2257
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Racquet and Tennis and the Brook Clubs, all of New York.
Mr. Rea married, April 23, 1889, Edith, daughter of the late Henry W. and Edith (Cassidy) Oliver. A biography and pro- trait of Mr. Oliver appear elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Rea are the par- ents of two children: Edith Ann; and Henry Oliver, who is now taking an aca- demic course at Yale University.
PALMER, Henry W.,
liavryeT, liCgislator, Hmaanitarian.
The death of Henry W. Palmer, famili- arly known as General Palmer, deprived Wilkes-Barre of one of its most distin- guished citizens. For over half a century he rendered note-worthy service in of- ficial, professional, and private life, and although his years were far beyond man's allotted span his taking away was severe- ly felt, causing poignant grief among those who were intimately associated with him and who had learned to appreci- ate his worth and to know his power for good in the community that delighted to honor him. He was a man of brains, great natural ability, keen insight, and sound judgment, possessed strong con- victions and the courage always to up- hold them, and never sacrificed principle for expediency, a rare trait that explains the high service he was able to render his clients and his State. For fifty-two years he continued his law practice in Wilkes- Barre, the eighteen months he spent in army service only preventing his service from being continuous He was Wilkes- Barre's foremost lawyer, and was with- out a peer in valuable service in north- eastern Pennsylvania. He early won leadership at the bar, and held it until health and strength failed him, recog- nized as a leader at home, and frequently consulted by leading professional lights of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh when im-
portant issues were at stake. Said one of the greatest of his legal State contempo- raries: "General Palmer is a great lawyer, and those in his class can be counted upon the fingers of one hand."
It was as Attorney-General under Governor Hoyt that he first came into the public eye of the State, but his service in that high place was not more valuable than that in the Constitutional Conven- tion, where he was a leader among the eminently talented men of Pennsylvania comprising that body, of which his honor- ed father was also a member. As citizen and congressman he was always the champion of every worthy cause needing an advocate. He knew no middle ground, never hesitating to denounce that which he deemed wrong, nor to support that which he considered right. He would not compromise with wrong, let the result afifect his political or professional career as it might. He had the distinction of representing Luzerne county in Congress longer than any other man elected from the district, serving through four terms, 1900 to 1908. Although advanced in years upon taking his seat among the^ great men of the nation, he so impressed himself upon the leaders that high honors and responsibilities were accorded him greater than many men receive in a much longer term of service. President Roose- velt appointed him a delegate to the Con- gress of Lawyers and Jurists in 1904, and in 1905 he was a delegate to the Inter- Parliamentary Union held at Brussels. During the Fifty-eighth Congress he was a member of the sub-committee appointed by the chairman of the committee on judiciary to take testimony in the im- peachment proceedings begun against Charles Swayne, United States Judge for the Northern District of Florida. After the conclusion of the trial, in which Gen- eral Palmer took a leading part in favor of impeachment, the following resolution
2257
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
was agreed to by the House of Represen- tatives : "Resolved, that the thanks of the House be and hereby are extended to the managers on behalf of the House in the impeachment proceedings of Judge Charles Swayne before the Senate of the United States, to wit : Henry W. Palmer, Samuel L. Powers, Marlin E. Olmstead, James B. Perkins, David A. De Ormond, Plenry D. Clayton, and David H. Smith, for the able and efficient manner in which they discharged the onerous and respon- sible duties imposed upon them."
The confidence reposed in General Pal- mer was fully merited, for his integrit}' of purpose was never questioned. He faithfully and conscientiously served his clients, his city, his State, and his country, no personal ambition ever marring his record. By his splendid ability and force of character he won distinction as a lawyer, statesman, and citizen. His knowledge of the law was broad and deep, and he was in the forefront of all important litigation coming before the Luzerne courts. He had the great gift of attracting close attention to his every word while in argument. He clothed and clearly expressed his ideas in the fewest possible words, developing the legal ques- tion involved and the facts of a case in the briefest manner and following with argument lucid, incisive, and persuasive. He cast aside all side issues, made straight for the important principles in- volved, and then fought his case out along that line with all his tremendous vigor and intellect. As Attorney-General of the State of Pennsylvania he rendered valuable service to the State, displaying a courage in pressing suits against great corporations supposed to have a strangle hold upon the political righteousness of the State that brought victory to the people and fame to the Attorney-General. As congressman he reached a high plane of usefulness to the country at large. No
man could have been better equipped for forensic strife than General Palmer. He possessed great good humor, wit in abundance, and learning gained from col- lege course, wide comprehensive reading, and large experience, all graced with elo- quence, the offspring of a glowing mind, always at his command when needed, and powers of sarcasm unsurpassed. Physi- cally, nature was equally lavish with her gifts. Of fine physical proportions, erect in stature, with well-set head, his manly beauty bespoke the spirit within him. His good humor, ready wit, and extensive information concerning men and affairs made him at all time a delightful com- panion. He never courted intimacy, but J those who were admitted behind his \ rather rugged exterior found a nature which bound them to him with affection and admiration. He was kindness and gentleness itself to the lowly and unfortu- nate, and his own personal influence, added to the unselfish labor of his wife, made the Boys' Industrial Associa- tion of Wilkes-Barre one of the great forces for good among the thousands of youths in that city, the great center of the anthracite coal mining industry. He was the sworn, unrelenting foe of the un- checked abuse of intoxicating liquor, holding the absolute prohibition of the traffic to be the only safeguard against it. When first a candidate for Congress, he addressed letters to the Prohibitionists of Luzerne county, asking their support on the ground of his action as chairman of the State committee in attempting to carry the prohibitory amendment of 1889. This letter nearly prostrated the chair- man of his party committee, inasmuch as it lined the liquor interests solidly against him. But that was characteristic of the man — he hated sham or false pretense, and would not even seem to be "sailing under false colors." He was of that unique type of politician who make no
2258
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
rash promises, and refused to go out into the highways and byways in personal solicitation of votes. He declared his principles and left the choice to the people. His own eulogy of President McKinley, delivered at the memorial service, may justly be applied to himself: "His life may be taken as a model for those who would rise to distinction in the public service. He was from start to finish distinguished for devotion to duty, untiring industry in the labors of his different positions, unbounded faith in the strength and permanence of our in- stitutions and the integrity of the Ameri- can people." From "L'Envoi," closing his own book, "Fifty Years at the Bar and in Politics," which he never saw in print, the following extract is taken :
A long life protracted beyond the "allotted age" of man, full of varied experience, acquaint- ance and friendship with some of the best men who ever lived in this or any other country, honor beyond my deserts, fortune sufficient for my needs, a wife gifted beyond her sex. faithful as the sun, a family of whom any man may be proud, — this is the final summing up. And I am content to obey the injimction of the poet: —
So live that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan which moves To that mysterious realm where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death. Thou go not like the quarry slave at night Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and
soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave Like one that wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams!
These words were written February 7, 1913, and eight days later, February 15. his "summons came to join the innumer- able caravan" and he fell asleep as he had wished, "like one that wraps the drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams."
The American ancestor of General Henry W. Palmer came from England to America in the ship "Fortune," in 1621, the "I'ortune" being the first vessel to
arrive after the "Mayflower." He brought with him a son, William, a lad of eight years, settling in Plymouth, where he was joined the next year by his wife. Frances, who came in the ship "Anne," known as the "Brides' Ship." The line i.s traced in direct male descent to Henry W. Palmer, son of Major Gideon Wilbur Palmer, and grandson of Gideon and Cla- rissa (Walkins) Palmer. Gideon Palmer was born in 1784, and died August 28, 1868. Major Gideon Wilbur Palmer was born April 18, 1818, and died March 27, 1881. He came to Pennsylvania when nineteen years of age, engaging in farm- ing, and saw mill operating. He was a man of ability and held many public posi- tions, serving as constable, justice of the peace, sherifif of Luzerne county, member of the Pennsylvania Legislature, pay- master in the United States army, and sat as a delegate in the Constitutional Con- vention of 1872-73, in which body his son bore so conspicuous a part. He held the rank of major in the United States army, and died beloved and respected by all who knew him. He married Elizabeth Burdick, daughter of Billings and Hannah (Babcock) Burdick, of Hopkinton, Rhode Island, her father an officer of the War of 1812, her mother a daughter of General Babcock, of Hopkinton. She was con- nected with the Tift family and was a Huguenot descendant. Mrs. Palmer was a woman of great industry, never happy unless busy. Her good sense and sturdy honesty were proverbial, and to her son she transmitted those strong traits of character that until her death marked her as a consistent, hardworking Christian woman. Major Palmer died in Glenburn in 1881, his widow surviving him until 1895. From such an ancestry and from such noble parentage sprang Henry W. Palmer.
Henry W. Palmer was born at Clifford, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, July 2259
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
lo, 1839, on a farm of about two hundred acres bought by his grandfather. He was five years of age when his father moved to Carbondale, and twelve years of age when he moved to Wilkes-Barre, his father having been elected sheriff of Luzerne county, and the family home be- ing at the jail, then standing at the corner of Market and Washington streets. From 1850 to 1856 he was a student at Wyo- ming Seminary, crossing the fiats from Wilkes-Barre to Kingston during all weathers, good or bad, the Rev. Reuben Nelson then being principal of the school. About 1856 he became rodman in the corps of engineers engaged in construct- ing the railroad from Scranton to Cata- wissa, continuing about one and one half years, his last work being in charge of the division from Nanticoke to Beach Haven. In 1858 he entered Fort Edward Institute, New York, and there decided to prepare for the profession of law. He entered the State National Law School, at Poughkeepsie, New York, was gradu- ated in August, i860, and after a severe examination by lawyers prejudiced against the school, was admitted to the New York bar, locating at Peekskill. In April, 1861. he entered the law office of Garrick M. Harding, then district at- torney of Luzerne county, and from that year was a member of the Luzerne county bar and identified with the city of Wilkes-Barre. He was a clerk in the prothonotary's office until September 12, 1861, when he married, at Plattsburg, New York, and returned with his bride, Ellen M.Webster, to Wilkes-Barre. "But," he writes, "I had confidence, hope, courage, and faith in myself." The young couple began housekeeping in a rented furnished house on West Union street, and the young law^yer began demonstrat- ing the fact that he could "support a wife." He commenced practicing law in an office in what was called "Buzzards'
Row," on the northeast corner of the square. In the spring of 1862 he was made a paymaster's clerk in New Orleans, where his father, a newly appointed pay- master in the Union army, had been sta- tioned. In 1863 he returned to Wiikes- Barre, resumed law practice, and began his upward climb of the ladder of success, a journey that ended not until the top- most round was reached. He gradually acquired a large practice, achieving ex- traordinary^ success. Although preemi- nently an advocate who was at his best J powers and in his favorite occupation I when before a jury, his general ambition would not brook restriction within the limits of a specialty, and his practice ranged over the entire field of equity, in all State and Federal courts of the dis- trict. Commanding in appearance and forceful in utterance, he early ranked well toward the front at a bar which embraced men of distinguished ability as counsel- lors and advocates, and in a few years was outranked by none, even in the State. He practiced alone until, on the offer of Garrick M. Harding, a partnership was formed that existed until 1870, when Mr Harding was elected president judge of the several courts of Luzerne and Lacka- wanna counties. Judge Harding sold his interest in the partnership to his young partner for the nominal sum of $300, which was paid in legal service. This was the golden opportunity long desired, and was the flood tide that bore Mr. Palmer to fame and fortune. Although many of Judge Harding's clients withdrew their patronage, a majority were retained and formed the nucleus about which a very large and profitable legal business grew. He was connected as counsel with the important cases tried in his district dur- ing his half century of practice, and also won enviable distinction as an exponent of corporation law.
The prominence General Palmer won :6o
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
in political life began with his first elec- tion as school director in the old borough of Wilkes-Barre, Henry M. Hoyt, after- ward Governor of Pennsylvania, also be- ing a member of the board. This board built the Franklin street school house, the first modern school building erected in Wilkes-Barre. General Palmer at that time was secretary of the board. His in- terest in politics, however, dates from boyhood, and from early life he was a strong adherent of the Republican party. The Constitutional Convention, convened November 2, 1872, in obedience to an overwhelming popular vote, was the next UTiportant appearance of General Palmer in public life, he being one of the six members representing Luzerne. Monroe, and Pike counties, forming the Twenty- third Senatorial District. The valuable service rendered by him in the framing of the constitution ratified by the voters of the Commonwealth, December 16, 1873, may be estimated by reference to the general index of "Debates of the Consti- tutional Convention," which discloses the fact that he addressed the convention on the following subjects: Woman suffrage, oath of office. Court of Pardons, printing reports of committees, the education article, settlement of State printers' ac- counts, oath prescribed to members of the Legislature, legislative appropriations lor sectarian and other purposes, legisla- tive appropriation to charitable and edu- cational institutions, creating offices for inspection of change of venue, validity of acts of Assembly, exempting persons having religious scruples from military service, restraining railroad companies from mining and manufacturing, the for- feiture of charters of railroad companies for combination between, consequential damages by railroad and canal com- panies, acceptance by railroads of the provisions of the general law, the powers of the Supreme Court, the oath pre-
scribed for members of the General As- sembly, the compensation of the officers of the Philadelphia courts, the appoint- ment of overseers of elections by the courts, the passage of bills contrary to constitutional provisions, the formation of new counties, the liberty of the press, recess of the convention, the rights of foreign corporations, appropriations to sectarian schools, the taxation of manu- facturing corporations, oath prescribed members of the Assembly after sine die adjournment, the legislative powers of cities, the removal of criminal cases to the Supreme Court, separate judicial dis- tricts for each county, providing for fill- ing office of Associate Judge, dispensing with trial by jury in civil cases, prevent- ing corporations from doing the business of a common carrier from mining and manufacturing, the limitation of actions, legislative bribery, the division of counties, the assent of the electors to the division of the county, the granting of pardons, the legislative oath, election ex- penses authorized by law, the free pass system, discrimination by railroads in freight or passage, abolishing jury com- missioners, form of ballot in voting on the constitution, and signing the consti- tution in pamphlet form. His attitude on some of these articles will be shown in the following extracts on "Competition of Railroads." He said :
By habit and education I am an enemy of the aggregation and extension of corporate power. I believe no prophetic vision is needed to fore- tell the time when it will be necessary for the people to strike a sharp and deadly blow at com- binations that will be made by corporations to take possession of their government and steal away their liberties. * * * When the supreme hour arrives for action, when the servants clothed in their borrowed strength and grown great upon the benefactions granted them shall make their purpose plain I would send them stripped and shorn into the shades of retirement and restore their misused franchises to the power that gave them.
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On prohibition he spoke thus power- fully :
No man who is at all familiar with the annals of crime will deny that ninety-five per cent., not only of all crime but of all the suffering and wretchedness in this Commonwealth can be traced to the use of ardent spirits. It costs the people of Pennsylvania more to drink the whis- key than to bear all the rest of the burdens of society put together twice over. It is a fearful voluntary tax that they have laid upon them- selves and they are crying for relief. Relief in some form must be given; we do not dare refuse it. I ask it in the name of the multitudes of sore hearted women, mothers, sisters, wives and daughters of this Commonwealth, who sit in the darkness of despair and out of whose lives the light of hope has been crushed by the mon- ster rum. I ask it in the name of the hecatombs of trembling victims of a habit relentless as death and as remorseless as the grave. I ask it in the name of the little children, pale, hungry, haggard, and tattered, shivering on the threshold of a comfortless life, victims without their fault or consent of the vice of intemperance. I ask it in the name of the tens of thousands who have petitioned in this behalf the poor privilege of voting for a prohibitory section in the organic law of the Commonwealth. And this we dare .not refuse.
On woman suffrage he spoke most earnestly and forcibly, claiming the right as " an original woman suffrage man :"
Give to women the right and the details can be regulated so that she may exercise it in a manner agreeable to herself. I believe then that in the simple expression of an opinion, which is all that it is to cast a ballot, there can be noth- ing to degrade. * * * I think the women are amply able to take care of themselves. For my part, I have no faith in the virtue that needs the protection of a bowie knife and revolver; the day for that kind has gone by. * * * Com- pare our country to-day, where the freedom of the women excites the surprise and comment of foreigners, with any land in Christendom and the result need not be feared. Neither France nor Italy, nor Spain, nor even England herself can boast a higher purity or a more exalted and ennobling modesty. * * * No man can deny that in the purity of the ballot rests the per- petuity of our freedom and because gentlemen
admit that the inevitable result of giving the ballot to women will be to purify and to elevate our politics, because I believe that where cor- ruption and fraud now run riot in the street honesty and justice will succeed, because the gambler and the pimp and the rogue shall no more sit at the receipt of customs nor, clothed in purple and fine linen, fill the offices of the State, because in this reform I see the glimmer of the dawning of a better day, when worth, not wealth, when ability and not influence, shall secure the primary nominations and fill the offices in the public gift, I hope this cause will succeed. * * * Briefly stated, the proposition is this: The women of the land have half the intelligence and more than half the virtue of the people, and as honesty and virtue are the corner stones upon which the people's freedom rests woman's vote and woman's influence cannot be spared from the government of the country. * * * Are politics disgusting and infamous? Let her shed upon them the glory of her pres- ence and give to them the cleansing of her con- tinual help and the waste places shall blossom as the rose. Bring home to her the knowledge that with the ballot in her hand she has the power to close every grog shop in the land and drive away from her hearthstone the brooding horror of a drunken son or besotted husband, a horror that broods in palace and hovel alike, and her voice will not cease to cry aloud until the ballot is there. Let her know that the right to vote will secure to her the guardianship of her own children, the disposition of her own property, the use of her own wages, her eman- cipation from a bondage handed down from a generation when a woman was a plaything and a slave, and she who now holds her peace will clamor for the right. Inform her that a vote means equal wages for equal work, the opening up of new avenues of employment suitable for her sex, the securing of equal rights in the estate of a deceased husband, the privilege of living in her home after her husband's death beyond the pitiable quarantine now allowed by law, a lifting of the unequal burdens that man's law and man's tyranny have down through the centuries heaped upon her and her voice will not cease to cry until the ballot is hers.
In 1878 General Palmer, in the Republi- can State Convention, made a brilliant and powerful nominating speech placing Henry M. Hoyt before the convention as candidate for governor, and in the cam-
2262
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
paign that followed he "stumped" the State in company with Governor Hoyt, Reuben E. King, and Major Vickers. In forming his cabinet, Governor Hoyt selected General Palmer as Attorney- General, a choice that brought forth from the State press most favorable comment. His term of ofifice, 1879 to 1883, was a most trying one, as the Constitution was then new, and there was much conflict of opinion as to how it would apply to im- portant legislation. His first experience after being appointed was with the suit started by Governor Hartranft for the oil producers against the railroads to re- strain them from giving rebates. This suit against the four trunk lines General Palmer forced to a settlement, and com- pelled the discontinuance of rebates. By his prosecution the Pennsjdvania Rail- road was compelled to pay into the State Treasury a large amount in taxes which it had disputed, and during his term up- wards of $700,000 in disputed taxes was paid into the treasury by the corpora- tions. Among other conspicuous features of his administration was his prosecution of bogus medical colleges and death rattle insurance companies, incidents that creat- ed a great deal of excitement at the time. He handled cases involving millions of dollars with consummate skill, and by his ability proved the wisdom of his ap- pointment. His controversy over the "salary grab" with the Legislature is his- torical, and of it General Palmer says :
"I became the most unpopular man in the State of Pennsylvania and if the motion had been made in the Legislature to hang me the next Friday, there wouldn't have been four dissent- ing votes." When the Supreme Court finally decided against the stand taken by the Attorney- General, Judge Jeremiah S. Black thus ex- pressed himself: We are told by the Good Book not to speak evil of our rulers. If it were not for that injunction I should say that there must be some kind of a back door into this Court that didn't use to be there when I was on the bench.
In 1889 the question of prohibition was voted on by the people. General Palmer serving as chairman of the State Pro- hibition Committee, and leading the fight for the Constitutional Prohibitory Amendment Committee, with headquar- ters in Philadelphia. The amendment was lost at the polls June i8th by a vote of 296,617 for, 484,644 against. But the saloon interests were partially dethroned, and became a less potent power in poli- tics. General Palmer, in an address to the friends of prohibition after the result, said : "You are everlastingly right and a just cause, backed by the strength shown in this contest, never can be lost." In 1899 the bar of Luzerne county inaugu- rated a movement to nominate General Palmer for Supreme Court Judge in an address to the bar and people of Pennsyl- vania, and there was a general endorse- ment of his candidacy received from all parts of the State. But the "powers that rule" decided otherwise.
At the expiration of his term as At- torney-General he returned to Wilkes- Barre and again engaged in the private practice of his profession. He was coun- sel for numerous corporations, and had large business interests outside the law. He was vice-president and director of the Miners' Bank, director of the Wilkes- Barre Savings Bank, director of the People's Bank, and was actively interest- ed in the building of the West and North Branch Railroad, later operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, of which corporation he afterward became a director.
In 1898 General Palmer first became a candidate for Congress, receiving sixty- seven votes in the convention, without solicitation beyond a letter to the "People of Luzerne County," stating, "If thirty- five years as a practicing lawyer, four years in the office of Attorney-General of the State, and one year in the Consti-
2263
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
tutional Convention, with constant atten- tion to public questions, have given me an experience that would be useful to you as a representative in Congress, and if 3'ou choose to honor me with a nomina- tion I shall find it my duty to light for election and to serve you to the best of my ability." In 1900 he was again a can- didate, received an overwhelming vote at the primaries, was elected to sit in the Fifty-seventh Congress, and was appoint- ed by Speaker Plenderson a member of the judiciary committee, serving also on that committee during the Fifty-eighth and Fifty-ninth congresses. He made his presence felt in the House by notable speech and action, and was returned to the Fifty-eighth Congress by a plurality of 2,216, Luzerne county giving the Democratic candidate for governor a plu- rality of 3,687. It was during the Fifty- eighth Congress that General Palmer bore so conspicuous a part in the impeachment proceedings against Charles Swayne, United States District Judge. He was again elected to Congress in 1904, but in 1906, through a split in the convention after General Palmer had clearly been nominated, the whole matter was taken into the Dauphin County Court under an act of Assembly having jurisdiction, and there it was decided that no nomination had been made, a decision absolutely wrong, not in accordance with the testi- mony. Under the circumstances General Palmer refused to be a candidate on nomination papers, and the district was represented by a Democrat in the Sixtieth Congress. In 1908 he was elected to the Sixty-first Congress, and at the end of his term declined to be again a candidate, having had "a full fill of politics and poli- ticians." From that time until his death he confined himself to his private practice and business affairs. His law business was principally in the trial of cases in Luzerne and adjoining counties in the
civil, criminal, and orphans' court, and in equity, his clients all sorts and conditions of men. His record in the Supreme Court, where he rarely appeared for the plaintifif in error, is to be found in two hundred and twenty cases of the State Reports, scattered through one hundred and fifteen volumes, and upon it, cover- ing as it does, all kinds of litigation known to our laws, he was content to rest his claim to the name of lawyer. His last public service was in the capacity of delegate to the Peace Congress held at Mohonk, New York.
General Palmer married, September 12, 1861, Ellen Mary Webster, of Plattsburg, New York. Mrs. Palmer is the founder of the Boys' Industrial Association that has for its object the training of the busy boys of Wilkes-Barre, the boys who for some reason are working in shops, fac- tories, and mills instead of being at school. The following tribute is from "Leaders in Though and Action, an Ap- preciation," by S. R. Smith:
Mrs. H. W. Palmer is the discoverer of the boy. A boy's woman, his friend who inspires, guides, comes into his heart and life with a devo- tion and helpfulness that never falters, bring- ing the youth realization of his hopes and dreams. In the economy of the world Mrs. Palmer was called to save the boy. She went out after him, took him by the hand, awakening the unused forces in him, shaping his unformed nature, opening to him the door to the great world and leading him into the highway of suc- cess. Her B. I. A. boys are to be found in the colleges and in every line of activity all over the world, many of them filling positions of great responsibility. As the soldiers gloried in wear- ing the badge of the Legion of Honor, her boys glory in the fact that they are Mrs. Palmer's B. I. A. boys. The people furnished the money and she gave the boys an opportunity to fit themselves for active life by erecting a building ample in size and equipment. This magnetic, great souled, superb leader fills all with admira- tion and gratitude. We can properly associate her with all that is musical, beautiful, and benefi- cent. She has dedicated her superb powers of
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
mind and heart to the blessed work of searching for the boys who need help. The angels may love and adore, yet we believe this friend of the youth of our valley has brought more happiness on earth and more joy in Heaven than the angelic choir. We are reminded of Abon Ben Adhem, whose name led all the rest because he served his fellow men.
The Boys' Industrial Association was organized in 1892, meeting in various places until 1899, when a building was constructed on a vacant lot in the rear of the City Hall by unsolicited contribution. It costs something over two thousand dol- lars a year to maintain the work and the enrollment averages four hundred boys. A cordial welcome to everyone, working boys especially, is the spirit of the asso- ciation. There are light dues for full members and the Federal Government, with its president, vice-president and cabinet is the model for the government of the association. A savings bank and a monthly journal are run by the boys themselves. Among the treasures of the association are three little volumes that the boys call the "Swearing Book," the "Drinking Book," and the "Smoking Rook," and the names signed in these in boyish scrawls are eloquent witnesses of the success of the work. "A Bit of Prac- tical Christianity" says of the work of Boys' Industrial Association :
The wife of a business man, a national Con- gressman for several terms, the mother of five children, a woman of means whereby to live in ease and comfort, Mrs. Palmer might have pre- sented the same reasons that many other women deem sufficient excuse for lack of service. Be- cause she did not, because with her own children occupying responsible positions she did not deem her responsibility ended because she gave out of her great heart of love, — for this thou- sands of boys who have come under her influ- ence through nearly two decades "rise up and call her blessed."
Cieneral Palmer was intimately associ- ated with his wife in the Boys' Industrial
Association from its organization, and ever showed his continual interest in the boys of the city by substantial assistance. Mrs. Palmer is also vice-president of the Boys' Club Federation of America, her election being a graceful recognition of her work in promoting the welfare of the boys of the Boys' Industrial Association as well as that of boys not connected with that organization. Mrs. Palmer has been equally interested and helpful in all forms of Christian, educational and philan- thropic work. She has been vice-presi- dent and president of the local Women's Christian Temperance Union, also offi- cially identified with the county organ- ization. For many years she has been a teacher in St. Stephen's Sunday school, conducting a class numbering one hun- dred young people. In 191 1 she cele- brated the golden anniversary of her wedding day, and two years later was left to tread life's pathway without the strong arm upon which she had constantly leaned for so long. She is a daughter of George W. and Diama (Bradley) Web- ster, the latter a daughter of Baird Brad- ley, and granddaughter of Captain Joseph Bradley, an officer of the Revolution- ary army. Baird Bradley married Lucy Dewey, daughter of Thomas and Anna (Allen) Dewey, the latter a cousin of Colo- nel Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame, the former a direct descendant of Simeon Dewey, who was created a baronet of Stone Hall, England, in 1629. George W. Webster, a prominent merchant of Platts- burg, with large Lake Champlain ship- ping interests, died there at the age of fifty-five years, his widow surviving him to the age of seventy-five years, dying in Wilkes-Barre at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Ellen W. Palmer.
Five children were born to General and Mrs. Palmer: i. Louise Mary, a graduate of Wellesley ; married George E. Vin- cent, LL.D., now president of Minnesota 265
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
State University, son of Bishop John II. Vincent, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, founder of the Chautauqua move- ment. 2. Bradley Webster, a graduate of Harvard, and a lawyer of international prominence and distinction. He is a member of the firm of Storey, Thorndike, Palmer & Dodge, of Boston, Massachu- setts, and is engaged principally in the practice of corporation law. 3. Madeline, a graduate of Bryn Mawr ; married Charles M. Bakewell, Ph.D., senior Pro- fessor of Philosophy, Yale University. 4. Henry Webster, a graduate of Har- vard, a member of the firm of Stim- son, Stockton, Livermore & Palmer, of Boston, Massachusetts, and practices chiefly in cases bearing upon international law ; he married Elsa Marie, daughter of Captain John Wilhelm and Hilda (Ask- ergren) Lanborg, at Stockholm, Sweden, August 19, 1907. 5. Ellen Constance, a woman of literary and musical talent, educated at Wellesley, and afterward in vocal music in New York under Madame Marches!, and in London, England, under Shakespeare. She married, March 29, 1915, Count Francisco Dandini de Sylva, of Italy, the marriage being performed in one of the old churches of Rome under special dispensation of the Pope, a Cardi- nal of the Church, an uncle of the Count, officiating. Immediately after the cere- mony the Count, responding to his King's call to the colors, he being an officer in the Third Regimento Antiglierra de Fort- essa, in command of batteries, and with the Contessa, sailed at once for his com- mand on the island of La Maddalena, off the coast of Sardinia, in the Mediterra- nean, a submarine and torpedo boat sta- tion.
Mrs. Palmer continues her residence in Wilkes-Barre, deeply ingrossed in her boys' work. She is a member of St. Ste- phen's Protestant Episcopal Church, with
which General Palmer was also long con- nected. He sleeps in Hollenback Ceme- tery, the flowers that bloom at his grave not more fragrant than his memory.
WILSON, J. Charles,
Head of Large BnsinesB.
If the principal buildings of a city are indeed, as has been asserted, indicators of the wealth and importance of the munici- pality, Pittsburgh's greatness is beyond the possibility of dispute, and if by the size and character of a structure may be measured partially, at least the resources and ability of the men who erected it, the builders of Pittsburgh are second to none in the world. Among the pioneers of this very notable class of citizens was the late Samuel Wilson, of the celebrated firm of A. & S. Wilson, now the A. & S. Wilson Company. For more than forty years Samuel Wilson was a resident of Pitts- burgh, and during that period was not only a conspicuous figure in business circles, but was also closely identified with the city's best interests. This old and well-known firm is now represented by J. Charles Wilson, son of Samuel Wil- son, and who in this day and generation is ably upholding the Wilson name.
Samuel Wilson was born March 19, 1825, in County Down, Ireland, son of Adam and Agnes (Moreland) Wilson. The boy was educated in his native land and there grew to manhood, coming in 1850 to the United States and joining his brothers Alexander and Joseph in Pitts- burgh. In 1852 they formed the partner- ship of A. & S. Wilson, a firm which has ever since, through all the changes of time, circumstances and reorganization, maintained and strengthened the com- manding position to which, in the early years of its existence, it rapidly attained. This success was very largely due to the :66
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
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■'d, a member of the firm of Stim- •^on, Stockton, Livermore & Palmer, of Boston, Massachusetts, and practices chiefly in cases bearing upon international law : he married Elsa Marie, daughter of Captain John Wilhelm and Hilda (Ask- ergren) Lanborg, at Stockholm, Sweden, August 19, 1967. 5. Elien Constance, a woman of literary and musical tal«int. educated at Wellesley, and afterward vocal music in New York under Madam Marchesi, and in London, England, under Shakespeare. She married, March 29, 1915, Count Francisco Dandini de Sylva, of Italy, the marriage being performed in one of the old churches of Rome under special dispensation of the Pope, a Cardi- '-.al of the Church, an uncle of the Count, f«fii< iating. Immediately after the cere- nj irty the Count, responding to his King's cai! i-O the colors, he being an officer in the fhird Regimento Antiglierra de Fort- essa, in command of batteries, and with the Conlt-ssa, sailed at once for his com- mand on vile island of La Maddalena, off 'he coast of Sardinia, in the Mediterra-
•r-n, a submarine and torpedo boat sta-
Palmer continues her residence in
Barre, deeply ingrossed in her
1! rtr. She is a member of St. Ste-
pl. tant Episcopal Church, with
Imer was also long con- i ; Hollenback Ceme- 'iloom at his grave hi? memory.
WILSON, J. CUaries,
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'ings ot a city are rted, indicators of
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. e, and if by the stniciure may be
measured partially, at ieas' Uic resources and ability of the men wh«,> erected it, the builders of Pittsburgh are second to none in the world. Among the pioneers of this very notable class of citizens was the late Samuel Wilson, of the celebrated firm of A. & S. Wilson, now the A. & S. Wilson Company. For more than forty years Samuel Wilson was a resident of Pitts- and during that period was not • in«picuous figure in business ciruic- ' closely identified
with U .terests. This old
and well-k.'.uur. iirm is now represented l;y T Ch;ir1«»s Wilson, son of Samuel Wil- s 'v and generation
is ilson name.
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1850 to the ning his
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burgh, ihe partner-
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time. > .r. auis-umces and reorganization, maint.i^" -' rin^^ strengthened the com- mand! • to which, in the early years - '.nee, it rapidly attained. This succcs^ ^\ as very largely due to the
2266
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ENXYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
industry and energy, the courage and fidelity to principle which, throughout his career, were Samuel Wilson's predomin- ant characteristics. As a true citizen, Mr. Wilson willingly gave his influence and support to the furtherance of all good measures that conserved the interest of good government. Politically he was affiliated with the Republican party. Ever ready to respond to any deserving call made upon him, he was quietly but un- ostentatiously charitable. He was a member of the Third United Presbyterian church. Mr. Wilson was one of the early directors of the Union National Bank, and continued as director until his death. He was one of the board of directors of the Western Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. He was a man of matured judgment, ready to meet every obligation of life with the confidence and courage born of conscious personal ability and an habitual regard for what is right and best in the sphere of human activities
Mr. Wilson married Eliza, daughter of Joseph and Agnes (Johnston) Mitchell, and they became the parents of the fol- lowing children : J. Charles, see forward ; Adam, whose biography and protrait appear elsewhere in this work, since deceased ; Mary Johnston, died Sep- tember 13, 1912; Howard Mitchell; Victor Grant ; Clara Jane ; Emma Eliza ; Agnes Mitchell ; James Ingram More- land ; Harry and Oscar.
Mr. Wilson was very domestic in his tastes, and was never so happy as at his own fireside. The death of Samuel Wil- son, which occurred April 13, 1891, de- prived Pittsburgh of one of her sterling citizens who in every relation of life had stood as an upright, honorable man.
Joseph Charles Wilson, son of Samuel and Eliza (Mitchell) Wilson, was born in Pittsburgh, October 2, 1857. He received his education in the old Second Ward schools, at the Pittsburgh High School,
and at the Western University of Penn- sylvania, now University of Pittsburgh. He then learned the carpenter trade under his father and worked under him for some years, acquiring all details of the business. On February 9, 1887, he be- came a member of the firm of A. & S. Wilson, and upon the death of his father in 1891, Mr. Wilson, together with his brother, the late Adam Wilson, took over the business ; and in 1902 incorporated as A. & S. Wilson Company and it thus con- tinued until the death of Adam Wilson, in 1912, since which time J. Charles Wilson has been president of the company.
A man who does not allow his business to absorb his entire time, Mr. Wilson is active in philanthropic circles, and is president of the Western Pennsylvania Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, suc- ceeding the late John B. Jackson in this office ; he is also a director of the Pitts- burgh Free Dispensary. Politically he is a Republican, but has never accepted office. At various times he has been a member of numerous clubs, but has now withdrawn from club life entirely.
Mr. Wilson married, April 8, 1891, Miss Nellie Blanche, daughter of Adam R. and Alice (Read) Allen, of Pittsburgh, and they have had children : i. Pauline Eliza- beth, educated in Pittsburgh schools and graduate of St. Margaret's School. 2. Joseph Charles, junior, born June 20, 1893; educated in Pittsburgh schools, at Carnegie Technical Institute, now with the Fidelity Title & Trust Company of Pittsburgh. 3. Lawrence Allen, born July, 1895, educated in Pittsburgh schools and at Chamberlain Military Academy, New York, now attending Carnegie Tech- nical Institute. 4. Maitland Alexander, born November 28, 1900.
Personally Mr. Wilson is affable and hearty in manner, combining marked kindness of nature with a business promptness and decision which enable
2267
ENCYCLOPEDIA
him to transact business with rapidity and without apparent fatigue. He has gained a success in hfe that is not meas- ured by linancial prosperity alone, but is gauged by the kindly amenities and con- genial associations that go to satisfy man's kaleidoscopic nature.
WERDER, Xavier O., M.D.,
Professional Instructor and Author.
Among those benefactors of mankind whose talents are used for the relief and uplifting of humanity there is no larger class than that formed by the votaries of the noble profession of medicine, and prominent among the Pittsburgh physi- cians who today uphold the renown of their calling is Dr. Xavier Oswald Wer- der, Gynaecologist to the Mercy Hospital and Professor of Gynaecology in the West Pennsylvania Medical School. Dr. Werder has been for thirty-five years a resident of Pittsburgh, and is thoroughly identified with her leading and most es- sential interests.
Xavier Oswald Werder was born De- cember 4, 1857, in Cham, Canton Zug, Switzerland, and is a son of Oswald and Barbara (Felder) Werder also natives of that country and the parents of three other children: Joseph, Marie and Thom- as. Xavier Oswald Werder received his early education in schools of his native land and at the Einsiedeln Gymnasium, and in 1873 emigrated to the United State. In September of that year he en- tered St. Vincent's College, Beatty, Penn- sylvania. Having decided to devote him- self to the profession of medicine, he ma- triculated at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where he spent the year of 1877-78. From May to September of the latter year he did undergraduate work in St. Francis' Hospital, Pittsburgh, and then entered the New York University, graduating in 1879 with the degree of
OF BIOGRAPHY
Doctor of Medicine. Without delay Dr. I Werder returned to Pittsburgh and began general practice in the West End. Alter gaining three years' experience he went in 1882 to Europe, studying at the Uni- versity of Munich and in Vienna, Berlin and London. In May, 1884, he returned to the United States and to Pittsburgh, resuming practice in the West End. The same year he was appointed physician to St. Francis' Hospital, a position which he retained for three years, resigning at the end of that time by reason of the growth of his practice. About this time Dr. Wer- der established the "Pittsburgh Medical Review," being assisted by Drs. Buchan- an, Shaw, Hazzard, J. J. Green, Matson and Petit. With this publication, of which he had been the originator, Dr. Werder remained connected for a number of years.
In 1887 Dr. Werder began to specialize on the diseases of women, and in 1889 was appointed assistant gynaecologist to the Mercy Hospital, subsequently suc- ceeding to his present position of chief of the department. Since 1895 he has been Professor of Gynaecology in the West Pennsylvania Medical School, now the Medical Department of the University of Pittsburgh. He is one of the charter members of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, for twenty-five years served as its treasurer, and in 1912 became its president. He is a fellow of the American College of Sur- geons, and belongs to the American Medical Association, the State and Na- tional Medical associations, and Alle- gheny County Medical Society, of which he was at one time president. The follow- ing articles and contributions are from the pen of Dr. Werder
A Case of Didelphic Uterus with Lateral Hematocolpus, Hematometra and Hematosal- pinx. Journal of the American Medical Asso- ciation, August II, 1894. !68
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Abdominal Section in Ectopic Gestation where the Foetus is Living and Viable, with Report of Successful Case. Transactions of the Associa- tion of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 1894.
Interesting Cases of Intestinal Resection with End-to-End Anastomosis by Means of the Mur- phy Button. Pennsylvania Medical Journal, September, 1897.
Tonic and Spasmodic Intestinal Contraction with Report of Cases. Annals of Gynaecology arid Pediatry, Boston, 1897.
Some Clinical Observations Based Upon 116 Abdominal Sections for Ovarian Tumors. Amer- ican Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children. Vol. XXXVIII— No. 5. 1898.
Appendicitis Complicating Ovarian Cyst and Simulating Torsion of the Pedicle, with Report of Three Cases. American Medical Association Journal, January, 1898.
A Clinical Contribution to the Treatment of Malignant Tumors of the Ovary. American Gynaecological and Obstetrical Journal, April, 1899.
Two Cases of Dystocia Following Ventrofixa- tion, One Requiring Caesarean Section. Ameri- can Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children, Vol. XL — No. 5. 1899.
A Contribution to Uretral Surgery, with Four Cases, Including a New Operation for Double Uretro-Vaginal Fistula. Journal of the Ameri- can Medical Association, August 16, 1902.
The Byrne Operation and Its Application in the Radical Treatment of Cancer of the Uterus. American Journal of Obstetrics, Vol. LII — No.
s- 1905-
A Consideration of the Factors which have Lowered the Operative Mortality and have Im- proved the Post Operative. American Journal of Obstetrics, Vol. LIV — No. 15. 1906.
Ectopic Gestation with Viable Child, with Report of Three Cases. American Journal of Obstetrics, Vol. LVIII— No. 5. 1908.
Case of Caesarean Section in which the Uterus was Incarcerated in a Ventral Hernia. South- ern Medical Journal, March, 1909.
The Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer of the Uterus. New York Medical Journal, July 30, 1 910.
Treatment of the Retroflexed Gravid Uterus, with Report of Two Cases. American Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Children, Vol. LXIII— No. 2. 1911.
Some Practical Considerations in the Treat- ment of Backward Displacements of the Uterus. Pennsylvania Medical Journal, March, 1912.
President's Address Before the American As- sociation of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. American Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Children, Vol. LXVI— No. 6. 1912.
The Cautery in the Radical Treatment of Can- cer of the Cervix. Surgery, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, March, 1913.
The Byrne Method of Treatment of Carci- noma of the Uterus; — in Gynaecology and Ab- dominal Surgery, Kelly-Noble. 1907. Vol. I.
As co-editor of Bovee's "Gynaecology" Dr. Werder has contributed chapters on "Technique of Abdominal Operations ;" "Gynaecolofical Examinations ;" and "Ex- tra-Uterine Pregnancy." Among writers on medical subjects Dr. Werder holds a high rank and few are oftener quoted by their fellows in the profession than he.
In all concerns relative to the welfare of his home city, Dr. Werder takes a keen and active interest. He is the owner of much real estate and in its development as well as in various other ways has done much for the improvement of Pitts- burgh. In politics he is a Democrat, with independent tendencies. A liberal giver to charity, his benefactions are bestowed with an entire lack of ostentation. He belongs to the University Club and is a member of Sts. Peter and Paul's Roman Catholic Church.
The predominant expression of Dr. Werder's countenance is one of calmness, confidence and courage, a union of traits born of conscious ability and rectitude. His brown eyes have the keen glance of the trained observer and his features, strong and yet sensitive, indicate a cul- tured and vigorous mentality. His ap- pearance is distinguished and his manner quiet, genial and dignified. Both in and out of his profession the number of his friends is legion.
Dr. Werder married, October 20, 1885, Tillie C, daughter of Joseph and Mar- garet (May) Vogel, the former a promi- nent dry goods merchant and a director of the German National Bank of Pitts-
PA— Vol VII— 3
2269
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
burgh. Dr. and Airs. W'erder are the par- ents of the following children : Marie, wife of C. E. Roecker. of Pittsburgh ; Herman, married JMildred McClellan, of New Florence, Pennsylvania ; Oswald E. ; Coleta; Marguerite; Gerard; Raymond; Vincent; and Mildred. Mrs. Werder, a woman of charming personality and ad- mirably fitted by mental endowments, thorough education and innate grace and refinement for her position as one of the potent factors of Pittsburgh society, is withal an accomplished home-maker and an ideal helpmate for a man like her hus- band whose domestic affections are the governing motive of his life. Dr. Werder is an ardent lover of Nature and when at his charming summer home in New Flor- ence, Pennsylvania, loves to take long tramps in the woods.
Dr. Werder has won distinction not only as a skillful practitioner but also as the author of valuable contributions to the literature of his profession. Although he is now but in the prime of life his record shows achievements covering a period exceeding a quarter of a century and everything indicates that its most brilliant chapters yet remain to be written.
ELTERICH, Theodore J., M.D.,
Specialist, Instructor, Author.
The body of Pittsburgh physicians em- braces many nationalities, including one which has accomplished much not only for the city, but also for the state — the valiant and cultured Germanic. Among the city's prominent physicians of this race must be numbered Dr. Theodore J. Elterich, former Professor of Pediatrics in the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Elterich is well known not only as a suc- cessful practitioner, but also as a valued contributor to the literature of his profes- sion.
William L. Elterich, father of Theodore J. Elterich, was born May i8, 1840, in Noerdlingen, Bavaria, Germany, and be- came a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed church in Switzerland. In August, 1869, he emigrated to the United States and ac- cepted a pastorate at Callicoon, Sullivan county, New York, afterward having charges at Bayonne, New Jersey ; North Side, Pittsburgh ; and Washington, Dis- trict of Columbia. In the last-named city he studied law. and practiced that profes- sion during the remainder of his life. He was a Republican in politics. Mr. Elte- rich married, Elizabeth Vogel, of Switzer- land, and their children were : William Otto, Presbyterian missionary in China, married Anna Berger, of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and has children — Wilfred, Helen, Harold and Paul; Theodore J., mentioned below, and Elsie Charlotte, of Pittsburgh. Mrs. Elterich passed away February g, 1877, at Bayonne, New Jersey, and the death of Mr. Elterich occurred July 30, 1905, in Washington, District of Columbia.
Theodore J., son of William L. and Elizabeth (Vogel) Elterich, was born April 5, 1867, at Thayingen, canton Schaff- hausen, Switzerland, and was two years old when brought by his parents to the United States. His education was receiv- ed in public schools of New Jersey and private schools of Pittsburgh, and after making choice of a profession he entered the Medical Department of the Univer- sity of Pittsburgh, graduating in 1889 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
After serving for one year as interne at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital Dr. Elterich practised for three years as as- sistant to Dr. H. W. Hechelman, and in 1893 went abroad, entering the University of Vienna and devoting himself to the study of diseases of children. In 1894 he returned to Pittsburgh and began practice in Allegheny, now the North Side, as
2270
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
children's specialist, removing in 1905 to the East End, where he has since remain- ed. The reputation he has achieved in his chosen field of labor is deservedly high and he is in possession of an extensive clientele. He is pediatrist on the staff of the Allegheny General Hospital, and from icSgS to 1913 filled the chair of pediatrics in the University of Pittsburgh, succeed- ing the late Dr. Charles Shaw.
Despite the engrossing nature of his work as a practitioner, Dr. Elterich has found time for literary work in connec- tion with it. In 1907 he assisted in the translation from the German of Pfaundler and Schlossman on diseases of children, and among the articles which he has con- tributed to medical journals are the fol- lowing which have attracted considerable attention: "Difficult Dentition;" "Infan- tile Scurvy;" "Pyuria;" and "Mal-Nutri- tionand Infant Feeding." He is a member of the Pittsburgh Academy of Medicine, and in 1905 was its president ; the Ameri- can Medical Association ; the Pennsylva- nia State Medical Association ; and the Allegheny County Medical Society, hav- ing served in 1904 on its board of censors. He also belongs to the Western Pennsyl- vania Pediatric Society, an association of American teachers of children. He has also been elected a Fellow of the Ameri- can Academy of Medicine. In politics Dr. Elterich is an Independent Republican, taking a public-spirited interest in the welfare of his home city. His clubs are the University, German and Automobile ; and he is a member of the Evangelical church. In temperament, intellect and disposition Dr. Elterich is a true type of the learned, skillful and benevolent physi- cian whom all Pittsburgh has long known him to be. Is it possible to say more?
Dr. Elterich married, April 30, 1896, Lena, daughter of Ernst and Ottilia (Mueller) Wetzell, of Mount Oliver, Pennsylvania, and they are they parents
of two sons : Theodore Ottmar, born July 17, 1897, attended Allegheny Preparatory School, Friendship School and Thurston Preparatory School, and later will enter Harvard University; and Carl Frederich, born December 6, 1906, now attending Thurston Preparatory School. Mr. Wet- zell died in September, 1874, and Mrs. Wetzell married Dr. Ferdinand Koeller, one of Pittsburgh's prominent physicians, who is now deceased. Mrs. Elterich is an ideal home-maker, and devotion to the ties of family and friendship has ever been the ruling motive of her husband's life.
HAYDEN, Walter G., M.D.,
Eye Specialist, Hospital Official.
Specialization in diseases of the eye is one of the most important branches of medical science, and among those Pitts- burgh physicians who have recently en- tered the field is Dr. Walter George Hay- den, who has already begun to establish a reputation. Dr. Hayden, as a native Pittsburgher, has loyally chosen his own city as the scene of his future career.
Rudolph J. Hayden, father of Walter George Hayden, was born in 1863, in Germany, and at the age of eight years was brought by his parents to Pittsburgh, where he received his education. On at- taining his majority he changed the spell- ing of his name from Haydn to Hayden. Rudolph J. Hayden has been for years a successful manufacturer, having been at different times connected with several in- dustrial concerns. He is a Republican, and was formerly a Lutheran, but now belongs to the United Presbyterian church. Mr. Hayden married Caroline, daughter of Gerhardt H. Domhoff, who came from Germany to Pittsburgh, where he was a manufacturer and a large owner of real estate. Mr. and Mrs. Hayden are the parents of a son and a daughter:
2271
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Walter George, mentioned below • and Edna Elizabeth, educated in Pittsburgh schools and at Dilworth Hall.
Dr. Walter George Hayden, son of Rudolph J. and Caroline (Domhoff) Hay- den, was born February 12, 1888, in Pitts- burgh, and attended the public schools of his native city, graduating from the high school. He then spent one year at the University of Pittsburgh preparatory to entering the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graudated in 191 1 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After serving eight months as interne at the Allegheny Gen- eral Hospital, Dr. Hayden practiced for two years as assistant to Dr. Edward B. Heckel, and then, desirous of more thor- ough equipment for the special line of work which he had marked out for him- self, he went to Philadelphia and devoted himself to post-graduate work at the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, the Wells Eye Hospital and the Polyclinic Hospital.
In 1913 Dr. Hayden returned to Pitts- burgh, where he has since practiced as an eye specialist, having already built up a clientele of no inconsiderable proportions. He is a member of the assistant staff of the Allegheny General Hospital, and be- longs to the American Medical Associa- tion, the Pennsylvania State Medical As- sociation and the Allegheny County Medical Society, also the Phi Beta Phi medical fraternity. In politics Dr. Hay- den is a Republican, but takes no active part in public affairs, the demands of his profession engrossing his entire time and attention. He is a member of the Shady Side United Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Hayden has done well, but by far the greater part of his record yet remains to be written. Young, modern, progres- sive and learned in his profession, he is one of the specialists of Pittsburgh whose prestige will increase with the years.
BENNETT, George Slocum,
Man of Xiarge Affairs, FMIanthropist.
A director of the Wyoming National Bank for forty-five years and its president from 1895 until his death in 1910, George S. Bennett occupied exalted position in financial circles, and was one of Wilkes- Barre's most successful business men and exemplary citizens. His life was spent in Wilkes-Barre not in the accumulation of wealth for wealth's sake, but in constant unceasing labor for the welfare of the community in which his long life was passed. His work for the church he loved was of lifelong duration, and from 1868 until his death he was superintend- ent of the Sabbath school. Every charity, every philanthropy, every educational in- stitution of his city, claimed his interest, and he was held in the very highest esteem by all who knew of his devoted life, and in lasting memory by his many friends. - — George Slocum Bennett was born in Wilkes-Barre, August 10, 1842, and died in his native city, January 2, 1910, son of Judge Ziba and Hannah Fell (Slocum) Bennett. He vras a descendant of James Bennett, who came from England, was a freeman of Concord, Connecticut, in 1639, and his wife, Hannah Wheeler, daughter of Lieutenant Thomas Wheeler. He married in 1639, and in that year moved to Fairfield, Connecticut, where he died in 1659. The line of descent to George S. Bennett was through the founder's eldest son, Thomas Bennett, and his wife, Elizabeth Thompson ; their son, Thomas (2) Bennett, and his wife, Sarah Hub- bard ; their son. Deliverance Bennett, and his wife, Mary Biggs ; their son, William Bennett, and his wife, Abigail Hickock; their son, Thaddeus Bennett, and his wife, Mary Piatt ; and their son, Piatt Bennett, all of Connecticut birth
2272
ud their
iBHwn»wnwm«imiHfHiHniiMmti«MMMwmmMHmKfHatMH«HBatiia
VCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
i
;ied below: and '•d in Pittsburgh ■ ' Hall, ilayden, son of (Domhoff) Hay- L,,.iy 12, 1888, in Pitts- led the public schools «.:::>, graduating from the He then spent one year at . ■ of Pittsburgh preparatory. •he Medical Department of y of Pennsylvania, where he 191 1 with the degree of :r '. iedicine. After serving eight jrvjijths as interne at the Allegheny Gen- ' ' ■■-■;•'', Dr. Hayden practiced for -. assistant to Dr. Edward B. desirous of more thor- r the special line of ked out for him- ;hia and devoted work at the Uni- the Welk Eye ■■'A. Pitts- '::erj as an built up a roportions. snt staff of •a!, and be- .ai Associa- ' Medical As- ?' .y County
>.: i' Beta Phi
V- s Dr. Hay-
il' ■ ■ s no active
p>: :;ands of his
p: re time and
a't . ■' the Shady
'■-!••■. -irch.
I ^ but by far
the gri . ..,^i4 yet remains
to be \\ iKvlern, progres-
sive and lea.acd a: tri.', profession, he is one of the specialists of Pittsburgh whose ,' rirTitige will increase with the years.
BENNETT, George Slocum,
Man of Iiaree Affnir*. Pbllamthropist.
A director of the VVyoming Nation- Bank for forty-five years and its preside from 1895 until bis death in 1910, Geor^ - S. Bennett occupied exalted position i' financial circles, and was one of Wilkes Barrc's most successful business men an^ exemplary citizens. His life was spent in Wiikes-Barre not in the accumulation of wealth for ^fealth's sake, btit in constant unceasing / labor for the welfare of t; community in which his long life was passed. His work for the church he loved was of lifelong duration, and froir 1868 until his death he was superinten .' ent of the Sabbath school. Fvery charit. every philanthropy, every edu<::i«tJonal 1." stitution of his city, claimed hti> interest. aTid he was held in the very highes* esteem by all who knew of his devot^i' life, and in lasting memory by his mari friends. ■ — ■ George Slocum Bennett was born ' VVilkes-Barre, August 10, 1842, and died in his native city, January 2, 1910, son of Judge Ziba and Hannah Fell (Slocum) Bennett. He Avas a descendant of James Bennett, who came from England, was a freeman of Concord, Connecticut, in 1639, and his wife, Hannah Wheeler, daughtt of Lieutenant Thomas Wb-v-'fr H married in 1639, and i moved
to Fairfield, Connecti ■■.t died
in 1659. The lin^ . .j George
S. Bennett waj- :e founder's
eldest son, Th<.>maf. i ..:Uit.LL, and his wife, Elizabeth Thompson; their son, Thomas' (2) Bennett, and his wife, Sarah Hub- bard ; their son, Deliverance Bennett, and his wife, Mary Biggs; their son, William Bennett, and his wife^ Abigail Hickock; their son. Thaddeus Benne and his wife, Mary Piatt; and their sc Piatt Bennett, all of Connecticut birth
I
2272
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
and death save Piatt Bennett, who died at Horseheads, New York, and is buried in Elmira. Piatt Bennett married Martha Wheeler, who lies by his side. Their son. Judge Ziba Bennett, was born at Weston, Connecticut, and died in Wilkes-Barre on November 4, 1878, aged seventy-eight years. He was one of the foremost men of the Wyoming Valley, although not a pioneer. He was engaged in mercantile and banking business for sixty years, and was the oldest merchant in Luzerne county. For half a century he was a de- vout useful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and donated the land in Franklin street on which the present church stands. He married Hannah Fell Slocum, November 25. 1824.
George Slocum Bennett after prepara- tion in Wilkes-Barre schools, entered Wesleyan University, Middletown, Con- necticut, whence he was graduated Bachelor of Arts, and commencement day orator, class of 1864, receiving from his alma mater in 1867 the degree of Master of Arts. Upon leaving college he en- gaged in the banking business in W'ilkes- Barre, associating with his father in the private banking house of Bennett, Phelps & Company as a member of the firm. At about the same time he became a director of the Wyoming Bank, was a member of the first board of directors of the Wyo- ming National Bank, its successor, and at a meeting of the board held February 13, 1895, was elected president of the bank, succeeding Sheldon Reynolds, who died February 8, 1895. President Bennett most ably filled the high position to which he was called, only surrendering the responsibilities the ofiice entailed a few days prior to his death.
He was actively interested "officially with many other corporations and busi- ness enterprises. From 1876 until 1909 he was treasurer of the Wilkes-Barre Bridge Company; 1891-1910, a director
of the Wilkes-Barre Lace Manufacturing Company; 1891-1899, a director of the Wyoming Valley Coal Company; 1893- 1898, a director of the Wilkes-Barre Gas Company; 1895-1910, a director of the Hazard Manufacturing Company; 1895- 1896, a director of the Wilkes-Barre W^ater Company, and until 1910 a director of the Sheldon Axle and Spring Com- pany.
In 1871 Mr. Bennett was elected presi- dent of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation, and a member of the board of managers, serving until 1887, from 1868 to 1870 he was a member of the borough council. From 1870 until 1873 he was a member of the school board, again from 1879 to 1882, and its president in 1883. From 1873 until 1910 he was a trustee of Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsyl- vania; trustee of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Wilkes-Barre, 1874- 1910; and superintendent of the Sunday school, 1868-1910; manager of the Wilkes- Barre City Hospital, 1876-1910; trustee of Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Connecticut, his a!i)ia mater, 1888-1910; trustee of Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, New Jersey, 1888-1910; presi- dent of board of trustees of Wyoming Seminary ; a lay delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at Cleveland, Ohio, 1896; vice- president of Pennsylvania Bible Society, 1905 ; a manager of Hollenback Cemetery Association, 1878-1905; and a member of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. Mr. Bennett was always a loyal and generous supporter of every worthy enterprise conducted for the business ad- vancement and improvement of his native city, but as the above list shows was equally interested in its charitable, re- ligious, and social institutions. Broad- minded and zealous, he met the biblical description of a man "diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord."
2273
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
At a special meeting of the board of di- rectors of the Wyoming National Bank held January 3. 1910, the following pre- amble and resolutions were adopted :
The announcement of the death of Mr. Ben- nett has fallen with grave import upon the Wyoming National Bank, over which institution he has presided for fifteen j'ears, and of which he was a director for forty-five years.
His long experience in banking, his conserva- tism, intelligence, high sense of honor, and noble character, eminently fitted him for the position he so faithfully and forcefully sustained, and which aided greatly in maintaining the high standards and position of the bank.
Mr. Bennett's interest in and labors for the welfare of our community raised him to the front rank of our citizens, and his loss to the many varied and important financial and chari- table institutions with which he was connected, is most serious and far reaching.
Beyond and above all this, his work and love for his Church and the religious life for which it stands — to which he consecrated his best efforts, and in which he achieved his noblest success — has made his loss more heartfelt and irrepa- rable.
We wish to express our high estimate of his worth and character, our individual sense of loss we as his fellow directors have sustained, and to convey to those dear to him upon whom the grief and pain of separation fall so overwhelm- ingly the sincerity of our sympathy, and our deep appreciation of their bereavement.
Mr. Bennett married, September 7, 1871, Ellen Woodward Nelson, daughter of Rev. Reuben Nelson, D.D., and his wife, Jane Scott Eddy. Children: i. Martha Phelps, married Lawrence Bul- lard Jones, a lawyer of Wilkes-Barre. 2. Reuben Nelson, A.B., graduate of Wes- leyan University, class of '97 ; of Law School, University of Pennsylvania, LL.B., class of 1900 ; chosen to succeed his father as a member of the board of directors of Wyoming National Bank, January 11, 1910; member of city council of Wilkes-Barre, 1905-1918; and a mem- ber of the Luzerne county bar, admitted in 1900. 3. Ziba Piatt, graduate of Wes-
leyan University, A.B., class of 1903 ; member of Lewis & Bennett Hardware Company, successors to the business founded by his grandfather, Ziba Ben- nett, in 1826.
Dr. Reuben Nelson was a son of /\.braham Nelson, born October 8, 1782, married Huldah Nelson, who bore him twelve children. They lived at Wales, now Delaware county, New York. Dr. Nelson was born at Andes, New York, December 16, 1818. died in New York City, February 20, 1867. He was a man of classical and theological culture, preaching and teaching in New York State until 1844, when he was appointed the first principal of Wyoming Seminary at Kingston, Pennsylvania. He was then twenty-six years of age, a regularly or- dained minister of the Methodist Episccn pal church. From 1844 until 1872, with the exception of one year when he was presiding elder of the Wyoming district, he was principal of the seminary.
As principal. Dr. Nelson achieved suc- cess almost unparalled in the history of seminaries and preparatory schools. His ability as a teacher, his executive skill and financial wisdom, his indomitable courage and preseverance, his moral power, his fervid piety, thoroughly equipped him for his work and made Wyoming Seminary one of the most use- ful and meritorious of educational insti- tutions. In 1872 he was elected an agent of the Methodist Episcopal Book Con- cern in New York City, and treasurer of the missionary societies of his church, an office he held until his death. He was a delegate to the general conference of his church in i860, 1864, 1868, 1872, and in 1876, leading the delegation at the last three conferences, and in 1876 was chair- man of the committee on the episcopacy. Union College conferred upon him the de- gree of Master of Arts in recognition of his ability as a teacher, and Dickinson
2274
tCon-
HMMiiMMMKMHiwifNinnontniiimnnnT'mTirTTiiTfnmTir
CLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
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..r |
hoard of di- |
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•liowing pre- |
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dopted: |
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Mr. Bcn- |
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position |
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i!g :he high |
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nk. |
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ibors (or the |
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J him to the |
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IS loss to the |
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he was connected. |
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vork and love |
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;..r which it |
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efforts, |
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lich he ach. |
■iiccess — |
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- his loss nsi;.-. |
iiLaritilt and irrepa- |
bei in 19c
express our '^■- ■'—■'.*t of his
acter, our v, of loss
• directors h :. and to
je dear to him upon whom the
•( separation fall so overwhelm- ■rity of our sympathy, and our
in of their bereavement.
Married, September 7,
.vard Nelson, daughter
N'elscfti, D.D., and his
Eddy. Children; 1.
-arried Lawrence Bul-
cr of Wilkes-Barre. 2.
• H., graduate of Wes-
b.sf of '97; of Law
>f Pennsylvania,
hosen to succeed
■ of the board of
'^'ational Bank.
: city council
1! a mem-
Jmitted
leyan University, A.B., class of 19c member of Lewis & Bennett Hardv, . Company, successors to the busin founded by his grandfather, Ziba B; nett, in 1826.
Dr. Reuben Nelson was a son < Abraham Nelson, born October 8, 17: - married Huldah Nelson, who bore hii; twelve children. They lived at Wale- now Delaware county, New York. Dr. Nelson was born at Andes, New York. December 16, 1818, died in New Ycrl. City, February 26, 1867: He was man of clas.sical and theological culture, preaching and teaching in New York State until 1844, when he was appointed the first principal of Wyoming Seminary at Kingston, Pennsylvania. He was then twenty-six, years of age, a regularly or- dained minister of the Methodist Episco- pal church. From 1844 until 1872, with the exception of one year when he w presiding elder of the Wyoming distric , he was principal of the seminary-
As principal. Dr. Nelson achieved suc- cess almost unparalled in the history of seminaries and preparatory schools. His abilitv as a teacher, his ejcciViitive skill
and financial wisdom courage and presevt power, his fervid equipped him for h Wyoming Semina' ful and meritori. tutions. In i?" of the Met!' cern in New the missioni- office he he'
omitable
moral
roughly
I made
delegate churc!' ■ 1876. three • man ■• Ui
•k Con- ...i surer of !> church, an '. He was a erence of his k', 1872, and in "ation at the 4ast . u in 1876 was chair- ftee on the episcopacy, 'erred upon him the de- Arts in recognition of >?a.rher, and Dickinsn-
/^f. ^t/^l-o--^
\1
^^K^iy^>«-t-M_i ft
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BlOGRArilV
oUege that of Doctor of Divinity in cognition of his eloquence as a preacher. He was a man of great natural energy, •t calm, quiet and undemonstrative. He ;is systematic and exact in business I -bits, and by virtue of a strong pleasing personality exerted a great influence over young men. His great work, his life work, was done at Wyoming Seminary, and that school will ever be his moni'- ment. In 1883 his widow, "in considera- tion of the desire and purpose to aid and l)enelit the seminary to which the labors of her husband were for many years de- voted," deeded to the school the house built by Dr. Nelson, and which was their residence until going to New York, in 1872, The gift was in full accord with the noble impulse of the gentle woman, who was her husband's co-worker and shared her husband's interest in the sem- inary. In 1887, Nelson Memorial Chapel was erected by friends of the seminary as a tribute to the memory of Dr. Nelson.
BENNETT, Ziba,
Merchant, Financier, TTsefnl Citizen.
Uthough not of a pioneer Wyoming illey family, Judge Ziba Bennett was one of the representative men of his day, was one of the leading merchants of the valley, for sixty years was engaged in business, was a member of the Pennsylva- nia House of Assembly, and was associate judge of Luzerne county. For half a century he was one of the strong pillars of Methodism in Wilkes-Barre, and in all that was good, ennobling, or elevating, this courtly, gracious gentleman of the old school lent his means, his time, and his influence.
Judge Bennett was of Connecticut birth, son of Piatt and Martha (Wheeler) Bennett, a descendant of James Bennett, of England, who came with the Pilgrims
and was made a freeman of Conci:>rd, Massachusetts, May 13, 1639. Through intermarriage the Bennetts were con- nected with the oldest and best blood of the New England colonies.
Ziba Bennett was born in Weston, Con- necticut, November 10, 1800, and died in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, November 4, 1878. In 1815 he came to Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania, at the solicitation of Colonel Mathias Hollenback, .and was employed in the principal Hollenback store, then located on South Main street Seven years later, in 1822, he becanie a partner with George M. Hollenback in a general store business. In 1826 he pur- chased the Stephen Tuttle store and busi- ness on North Main street, continued that business, and became one of the leadi-^g merchants of the Wyoming Valley. At his death after sixty years of mercantile life, he was head of the firm of Ziba Ben- nett & Company, and the oldest merchant in Luzerne county. He developed the roundest business qualities, was a man of unquestioned business integrity, clear- headed, and possessing rare judgment. He was naturally cautious and conserv^a- tive, but when his judgment was satisfied that sliccess in any venture was possible, he boldly stepped even into untried fields. He was uniformly successful, was associ- ated with many Wilkes-Barre enterprises of his day, and was one of the men who laid broad and deep the foundation of the city's prosperity. He was one of the founders, a director from organization in 1829 and for ten years president of the Wyoming' Bank of Wilkes-Barre, and was for years president of the Wilkes- Barre Bridge Company and of the Hol- lenback Cemetery Association. He was one of the incorporators of the Wilkes- Barre Gas Company, Wilkes-Barre Water Company, the Miners' Savings Bank, and founder in 1862 of the private banking
2275
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BlOGRAr'HY
College that of Doctor of Divinity in recognition of his eloquence as a preacher. He was a man of great natural energy, yet calm, quiet and undemonstrative. He was systematic and exact in business habits, and by virtue of a strong pleasing personality exerted a great influence over young men. His great work, his life work, was done at Wyoming Seminary, and that school will ever be his monii- ment. In 1883 his widow, "in considera- tion of the desire and purpose tO' aid and benefit the seminary to which the labors of her husband were for many years de- voted," deeded to the school the house built by Dr. Nelson, and which was their residence until going to New York, in 1872. The gift was in full accord with the noble impulse of the gentle woman, who was her husband's co-worker and shared her husband's interest in the sem- inary. In 1887, Nelson Memorial Chapel was erected by friends of the seminary as a tribute to the memory of Dr. Nelson.
BENNETT, Ziba,
Merchant, Financier, TTsefnl Citizen.
Although not of a pioneer Wyoming Valley family. Judge Ziba Bennett was one of the representative men of his day, was one of the leading merchants of the valley, for sixty years was engaged in business, was a member of the Pennsylva- nia House of Assembly, and was associate judge of Luzerne county. For half a century he was one of the strong pillars of Methodism in Wilkes-Barre, and in all that was good, ennobling, or elevating, this courtly, gracious gentleman of the old school lent his means, his time, and his influence.
Judge Bennett was of Connecticut birth, son of Piatt and Martha (Wheeler) Bennett, a descendant of James Bennett, of England, who came with the Pilgrims
and was made a freeman of Concord, Massachusetts, May 13, 1639. Through intermarriage the Bennetts were con- nected with the oldest and best blood of the New England colonies.
Ziba Bennett was born in Weston, Con- necticut, November 10, 1800, and died in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, November 4, 1878. In 1815 he came to Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania, at the solicitation of Colonel Mathias Hollenback, and was employed in the principal Hollenback store, then located on South Main street. Seven years later, in 1822, he became a partner with George M. Hollenback in a general store business. In 1826 he pur- chased the Stephen Tuttle store and busi- ness on North Main street, continued that business, and became one of the leadir^g merchants of the Wyoming Valley. At his death after sixty years of mercantile life, he was head of the firm of Ziba Ben- nett & Company, and the oldest merchant in Luzerne county. He developed the soundest business qualities, was a man of unquestioned business integrity, clear- headed, and possessing rare judgment. He was naturally cautious and conserva- tive, but when his judgment was satisfied that success in any venture was possible, he boldl}^ stepped even into untried fields. He was uniformly successful, was associ- ated with many Wilkes-Barre enterprises of his day, and was one of the men who laid broad and deep the foundation oi the city's prosperity. He was one of the founders, a director from organization in 1829 and for ten years president of the Wyoming Bank of Wilkes-Barre, and was for years president of the Wilkes- Barre Bridge Company and of the Hol- lenback Cemetery Association. He was one of the incorporators of the Wilkes- Barre Gas Company, Wilkes-Barre Water Company, the Miners' Savings Bank, and founder in 1862 of the private banking
2275
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
house of Bennett, Phelps & Company, and its active head until death.
He was one of the founders of the Home for Friendless Children, and of other well-known benevolent institutions, and contributed liberally not only to the support of his own church but to the maintenance of several other religious and charitable bodies. He was for more than fifty years a devoted and useful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, gave to that church the land upon which the Franklin street church stands, and was equally interested in the spiritual life of the church.
In 1833 he was elected a member of the Pennsylvania House of Assembly, and was one of the legislators who supported the bill giving the State free public schools. He was a member of the Reform Convention that met in Harrisburg in 1834, and took active part in its delibera- tions. In 1842 he was appointed associate judge of Luzerne county. In all his pub- lic service he displayed the same careful interest in the welfare of the State that characterized his private business man- agement, and was faithful to every public trust. Kindly hearted, generous and gra- cious, his life was both a blessing and an inspiration.
Judge Bennett married (first) in Wilkes-Barre, November 25, 1824, Han- nah Fell Slocum, born April 16. 1802. died February 5. 1855, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Fell) Slocum. He married (sec- ond) November 18, 1856, Priscilla E.. daughter of James Stewart Lee, and granddaughter of Captain Andrew Lee, an officer of the Revolution. Children by first marriage : Joseph Piatt, died in in- fancy; Martha Wheeler, married John Case Phelps (of mention elsewhere in this work) ; George Slocum, of Wilkes- Barre. — 1 ' _^.
PHELPS, John Case,
Man of Large Affairs.
Of Connecticut birth and Puritan an- cestry but a Pennsylvanian and resident of Wilkes-Barre from 1862 until his death, Mr. Phelps as banker and busi- ness man was a well-known, highly in- fluential man of affairs in both New York City and the city of his adoption, W' ilkes- Barre. He was one of the potent factors in the industrial development of that city, and in addition to a wonderfully suc- cessful private business life he was mainly instrumental in securing for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Rail- road Company those immense tracts of coal lands that are the rock-bed upon which the prosperity of that corporation rests. He was a man of strikingh' hand- some appearance, with sterling qualities of heart and mind, kindly hearted, gener- ous, and genial. He won his way upward, beginning as clerk, then merchant, banker, manufacturer, and official, prov- ing his right to rank with Pennsylvania's "Captains of Industry." He was a warm supporter of all measures tending toward W'ilkes-Barre's progress, and gave freely of his time and means to aid the cause of philanthropy. For thirty years. 1862- 1892, Wilkes-Barre was his home, and no native son was more genuinely interested in the upbuilding of the city than he.
Mr. Phelps was a direct descendant of William (2) Phelps, baptized at Tewkes- bury, Gloucestershire, England. August 15, 1599, died at Windsor. Connecticut. July 14, 1672. son of William and Dorothy Phelps and grandson of James and Joan Phelps. William (2) Phelps came to America on the "Mary and John," land- ing at what is now Dorchester. ]Massa- chusetts, March 30, 1630. He came with the forty emigrants led by Revs. John W.irham and Samuel Maverick as their
2276
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-OPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
itual
icu' i. M! -•'.. : ■ iti'.i_. . ana legislators who supported •? the State free public :s a memher of the Reform K iiip, oM'.bjii ,wat mot ■ " ! riaburg in' i^^34, and took active - delibera-
tions. In 1842 he was :.;)[''.>:•:• ted associate judge of Luzerne county in all his pub-* lie service he displayed th<". same careful interest in the welfare of the State that characterized fiis private business man- agement, and was faithful to every public r. Kindly- is and gra-
tis, his life ng and an
inspiration.
Judge Be!' Wilkes-Barre, I\ovcmL'.:r .5. j8-'4, iiar. jah Fell Slocum, born April .G. i8o2rdied- "• Nruary 5, 1855, daughter of Josep' . -h (Fell) Slocum. He married 'November 18, 1856, Priscil; r of James Stewart Lee. '.ighter of Captain Andrew Le. , ; of the Revolution. Children by Joseph Piatt, died in in- : Wheeler, married John (of mention elsewhere in .'.orge Slocum, of Wilkes-
PHELPS. John Case,
3lt»n of Large Attaits.
vicut birth and Puritan an-
i^ennsylvanian and resident rre from 1862 until his ■elps as banker and busi- . 1-^ a well-known, highly in- ■iian of affairs in both New York the city of his adoption, Wilkes- le was one of the potent factors ■■<: lu!. industrial development of that city, and in addition to a wonderfully suc- cessful private business life he was mainly instrumental in secuHnf;' for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Rail- road Company those immen-e tracts of coal lands that are the ro«k-l?r'n upon which the prosperity of that crrroration rests. He was a man of strikiniri;- hand- some appearance, with sterlir!.!/ iualities of heart and mind, kindly hearted, gener- ous, and gRuiai, He won his way upward,
beginning n - ' ' banker, manu ing his right ' "Captains of ' supporter of an nu. . > r Wilkes-Barre's progrts of his time and n-, of philanthropy, i "'ilkes-Barrt a wa.s mtr:" :i ;|'.- -..pb-ridiiic: ■ Mr. Phelos w;;; Uiam (2) >"'
, GlOUCr
1599, die-: 14, 1672
then merchant,
'd official, prov-
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. and gave freely
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1 Dorothy
s and Joan
s came to
■ id John," land-
'chester, Massa-
:• 30. He came with
i led by Revs. John
muel Maverick as their
>:.76
/^, ^.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGIL\PHY
pastors, all members of a church organi- zation in Plymouth, England, and was one of the only seven men in this church who were entitled to the address of "Mr.," a title then given only to men of scholarship or high position. He was one of the first jury empaneled in New England, 1630, and when in 1636 he moved to Windsor, Connecticut, he was appointed by the General Court of Massachusetts one of the commission to govern the people of Connecticut, holding that position until Connecticut became an independent col- ony. He rose to high position, was Gov- ernor's Assistant, member of the Govern- or's Council, and deputy to the Connecti- cut General Court for fifty-six sessions. He lived for forty-two years in New Eng- land, thirty-six of them in Windsor, "a pillar in Church and State." He married his first wife, Elizabeth, in England, she and five children accompanying him to New England. He married (second) at Windsor, Mary Dover, born in England, who is said to have been a fellow pas- senger on the "Mary and John."
The line of descent from William Phelps, "the Puritan," is through his fifth child, Joseph Phelps and his first wife, Hannah Newton ; their son, Lieutenant Joseph Phelps and his third wife, Mary Case. Lieutenant Joseph was deputy to the General Court of Connecticut from Simsbury thirty-six sessions, was justice of the peace, ensign, lieutenant, and cap- tain. The line continues through his son. Lieutenant David Phelps and his wife, Abigail Pettibone ; their son, Captain David Phelps, an officer of the Revolution and brother of General Noah Phelps, a captain of the Revolution, major-general of militia, judge of probate, deputy twen- ty-two ses.-^ions, and father of Governor Elisha Phelps. Captain David Phelps married Abigail priswold, of distin- guished ancestry, and had nine children, the line of descent being through Alex-
ander, their seventh child. Alexander Phelps married Elizabeth Eno, and had nine children, of whom Jaman Hart Phelps, father of John Case Phelps, was third.
Jaman Hart Phelps, born August 7, 1/99) died in Wilkes-Barre, at the home of his son, John C, August 4, 1885. He moved to Dundaff, Pennsylvania, with his brothers, and there engaged in busi- ness as a tanner, continuing forty years. He then established in the real estate business in Scranton, then made his home with his son, John C, in Wilkes-Barre, until his death. He married, January i, 1823, Abigail Hoskins, born in Simsbury, Connecticut, daughter of Asa and Abigail (Case) Hoskins, a descendant of John Hoskins, who came to New England in the ship "Mary Ann" in 1630. Through this intermarriage the Phelps family is connected with many of the oldest and most prominent Connecticut and Massa- chusetts families.
John Case Phelps, son of Jaman Hart and Abigail (Hoskins) Phelps, was born in Granby, Connecticut, April 20, 1825, died in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, July 14, 1892. He obtained a good practical English education, and when his parents moved to Dundaflf accompanied them, being then two years old. Later he went to New York City, there engaging first as clerk, later as proprietor, continuing in successful business operation until 1862. Taking up his residence in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, at that date, he became a member of the banking house of Bennett, Phelps & Company. This firm failed dur- ing a season of severe financial depres- sion, but subsequently paid every dollar of indebtedness in full, with interest. Mr. Phelps won recognition as a man of unusual business capacity and personal integrity, and during his business life in Wilkes-Barre, covering a period of thirty years, had many important connections
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
with the large corporations of the valley. He was vice-president of the Lackawanna & Bloomsburg Railroad Company, direc- tor of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, president and treasurer of the Wilkes-Barre Gas Company, vice-president of the Sheldon Axle Company, director of the Wyoming National Bank, director of the Ancora Coal Company, and had other business interests. As representative of the Dela- ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company he made very extensive pur- chases of anthracite coal lands, the securing of these lands the crowning suc- cess of his life, and a transaction which earned him the gratified appreciation of the railroad company. He was a member of the Wilkes-Barre Board of Trade, and as chairman of the committee on manu- factures was conspicuously identified with many movements that aided greatly in the industrial development of the city. He stood for all that was best in civic life, and as a man of force, character, and integrity wielded an influence for great good. He supported church and philan- thropy, serving as secretary for the Home for the Friendless, and giving greatly of his substance.
Mr. Phelps married, in Wilkes-Barre, September 20, 1854, Martha Wheeler Bennett, born August 2, 1833, who sur- vives him. Mrs. Phelps is a daughter of Judge Ziba Bennett and his first wife, Hannah Fell Slocum, and a descendant of James Bennett, of English birth, who was made a freeman of Concord, Massa- chusetts, May 13, 1639. On her mother's side she is a granddaughter of Hon. Joseph Slocum, born April 9, 1777, died September 27, 1855, and his wife, Sarah Fell. The ancestor of this branch of the Slocum family is Anthony Slocum, who was one of the "first and ancient pur- chasers" of Cohannet, 1637, which in 1639
was incorporated as (now) Taunton, Massachusetts.
Children of John Case and Martha Wheeler (Bennett) Phelps: i. Anna Bennett, married, March 31, 1903, Eus- tace Herbert Burrows, of London, son of Major-General Arthur Burrows, of the British army. 2. William George, presi- dent of the First National Bank of Bing- hamton, New York ; vice-president of Security Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany, of Binghamton, and director of many corporations ; married Caroline Ives Shoemaker. 3. Francis Alexander, heati- — 7 of Phelps, Lewis & Bennett, largely inter- ested in many corporations : married Mar- garetta Darling Brown. 4. Grace Lee, married, November 8, 1887, Henry Bar- stow Piatt, son of Hon. Thomas Piatt, of , New York. 5. Ziba Bennett, married Elizabeth Drown ; engaged with the Mutual Life Insurance Company at Binghamton, New York, and is very much interested in charitable organiza- tions.
PHELPS, Francis Alexander,
Prominent Business Man, Financier.
The position held by the Phelps family in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania has been ever an important one, the Pennsylvania branches worthily follow- ing in the footsteps of their long line of distinguished New England ancestors. From Pennsylvania sons of the family have gone out and have risen to eminence in dift'erent walks of life, while those who remained have carried high the banner of progress, contributing materially to the upbuilding of their communities. To the latter class belongs Francis Alex- ander Phelps, who, although not native to the city, began and ended his valuable business life in Wilkes-Barre. He was one of the men who by loyalty, devotion.
2278
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
and enterprise have given Wiikes-Barre and the Wyoming Valley of Pennsyl- vania so proud a name, and while a great monument marks an historical happening of the Revolution, nearby the monument to Air. Phelps and the builders of Wiikes- Barre is in the city itself, its prosperity and its present importance. / Francis A. Phelps, second son and "■ third child of John Case (q. v.) and Martha Wheeler (Bennett) Phelps, was born in New York City, May 4, 1859, ^"^ died at Laurel Run, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, July 6, 191 Lr. After attend- ance at W'ilkes-Barre public schools and academy he prepared for college at East- hampton Preparatory School, then en- tered Wesleyan University at Aliddle- town, Connecticut, where he completed his years of preparation for the sterner business of life. His rise in the business world was rapid, and at the close of his too short life he had gained an honorable, lofty position in Wilkes-Barre's business activity. He chose the hardware busi- ness, and as head of Phelps, Straw & Company and of its successor, Phelps, Lewis & Bennett, conducted a large and prosperous business until his death. While this business was his chief interest, Mr. Phelps was intimately connected with other corporations, and acquired large holdings of real estate. From 1892 until his death he was a valued director of the Wyoming National Bank of Wiikes-Barre, director of the Hazard Manufacturing Company, director of the Parrish Coal Company, director of the Bayliss Pulp and Paper Company of Binghamton, New York, and Canada, also having other business connections of minor importance. In the management of these corporations he was not a lay figure, but was active in their direction, and was listened to with respect by his associates in board discussions. Amid
the many expressions of regret at his death the following, from the directors of the Wyoming National Bank, with whom he was so long and so harmoni- ously connected, places a just estimate upon his character and worth to the com- munity:
Whereas, The Directors of the Wyoming National Bank, having heard with great sorrow the announcement of the death of Francis Alex- ander Phelps, a member of the board since July 20, 1892, and secretary since January 11, 1905, and
Whereas, He will be sorely missed from the Board of Directors, as his great business experi- ence, conservatism, intelligence and noble char- acter made him an exceedingly valuable and useful member, and
Whereas, He was always faithful and regular in his attendance at meetings and gave strict attention to all business of the bank at all times, and
Whereas, He was a Christian gentleman, de- voted to works of charity, and of great benefit to the community; therefore be it
Resolved, That we express our estimate of his worth, the sense of loss we, his fellow directors, have sustained and to convey to his family the sincerity of our sympathy in their bereavement.
Mr. Phelps was a highly regarded member of the Hardware Men's Asso- ciation, and found social relaxation, exer- cise, and the enjoyments of warm per- sonal friendships in the Westmoreland Club of Wiikes-Barre, and the Lauren- tian Club of Canada. He loved the great out-of-doors, and frequently availed him- self of the privileges of the latter club. He was a Republican in politics, a com.- municant of the Presbyterian church, and a life member of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society.
Mr. Phelps married, October 24, 1889, Margaretta Darling Drown, daughter of William Appleton and Elizabeth (Darl- ing) Drown. Children : William Drown. Alice Darling (wife of Dallas Way 2279
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Haines), and Frances Alexander. Mrs. Phelp's mother, Elizabeth (Darling) Drown, was a daughter of Judge William Darling, born in i)Ucksport, Maine, but from youthful manhood a resident of Reading, Pennsylvania, where he read law, was admitted to the bar, and even- tually became president judge of Berks County Court of Common Pleas. He was United States Commissioner to the World's Fair held in London in 185 1, and while there delivered a series of addresses on the relations of Great Britain and the United States. He mar- ried Margaret Vaughn Smith, daughter of John Smith, of Berks county.
BUTLER, George Hollenback,
LaTvyer, Hiimanitarian, Patriotic Citizen.
A man's friends may through prejudice over-estimate his talents, his personal graces and worth, but communities do not err in their expressed verdict of the value of a man's life. Known far and near as a wise lawyer, an openhanded humani- tarian, and patriotic citizen, George H. Butler was especially claimed by the Wyoming Valley section as its very own. The feeling held for him throughout the boroughs,' cities, and rural communities, many of whom he served in a professional capacity, was best expressed through his home borough, Dorranceton, in a coun- cil and citizens' meeting held to express sorrow at their great municipal and per- sonal loss. It is usual for municipal and business bodies to pass resolutions of respect for a departed associate, but for a community in special meeting publicly to eulogize one whose only claim to such honor was that he had served them well as official, legal adviser, friend, and neighbor, was a touching tribute to the memory of a good man. The resolutions of respect adopted by the borough council
and citizens' meeting of Dorranceton tell their own story:
Whereas, our esteemed friend and fellow citi- zen, George H. Butler, has been removed from our midst by the hand of death, and
Whereas, the citizens and town council of the Borough of Dorranceton have met to pay tribute to his memory as one who served this municipality as its first burgess and for many years its valued and efficient legal counselor, and also as one who had the welfare of the entire West Side close to his heart;
Therefore, be it Resolved, That we extend to his bereaved family our sincere and heartfelt sympathy.
The official expression of the value of his life to the community was followed by addresses by prominent men of the bor- ough, who testified to Mr. Butler's worth as a good neighbor and a true friend, as a zealous and untiring worker, as a care- ful, diligent official, as a competent legal adviser, and who spoke of his charity and his interest in borough welfare as official and citizen. To this public expression the legal fraternity, through their associ- ations and other bodies with which Mr. Butler was connected, and a host of per- sonal friends, added both written and spoken eulogy of their long time friend and brother.
George H. Butler was a member of the distinguished family that has made his- tory glorious in the Wyoming Valley. He was a great-grandson of General Lord Butler, famous for his service in Indian warfare, and a great-grandson of Colonel Zebulon Butler, of Revolutionary fame. In every generation men of mark have borne the Butler name, but none more worthily than the twentieth century rep- resentative, George Hollenback Butler. The Butlers of Wyoming Valley herein recorded spring from Lieutenant William Butler, who died in Ipswich, Massachu- setts, August 2, 1730, after a residence there of nearly half a century. He was
2280
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lis may through prejudice
fis talents, his jA^rsonal
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ressed verlict of ttie value
Known far and near as
an openhanded humani-
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illy claimed by the
I tion as its very own.
- him throughout the
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■ and
the
OFEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
' Trs. and citizens' meeting of Dorranceton tell their own story:'
Whereas, our esteemed friend and fellow citi- zen. George H. Butler, has been removed from i-,nr n,--iit by the hand of death, 'and
- the citizens and town council of the rf Dorranceton have met to pay irii,4tc to his memory as one who served this municipality as its first burgess and for many years its valued and efficient legal counselor, and also as one who had the welfare of the entire West Side c!o=e to his heart;
Therefore, be it Resolved, That we extend to his bereaved family our sincere and heartfelt sympathy.
The official expression of the value of his life to the community was followed by addresses by prominent men of the bor- ough, who testified to Mr. Butler's worth as a good neighbor and a true friend, as a zealous and untiring worker, as a care- ful, diligent official, as a competent legal adviser, and who spoke of his charity and his interest ir. ' ~ elfare as official
and citizen. ' - expression the
legal fraternuy. ••: ugh their associ- ations and other bodies with which Mr. Butler was connected, and a host of per- sonal friends, added both written and spoken eulogy of their long time friend and brother.
George H. Butler was a member of the distinguished family that has made his- tory glorious in the Wyoming Valley. He was a great-grandson of General Lord Butler, famous for his service i/ Indian warfare, and a great-gran.J ■. <f Colonel Zebulon Butler, of Rev. .^':c.!iary fame. In every generation me.-; if mark have borne the Butler natm* but none more worthily than the twei.tieth century rep- resentative, George HoUenback Butler. The Butlers of Wyoming Valley herein recorded spring from Lieutenant William Butler, who died in Ipswich, Massachu- setts, August 2, 1730, after a residence there of nearly half a century. He was
U'(i^i^J2..U<iS2jOf2MX&^
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
the owner of considerable land, as was his son, John Butler, of Ipswich, Massa- chusetts, and Lyme, Connecticut, his resi- dence in Lyme dating from the year 1736. John Butler married Hannah Perkins, daughter of Abraham and Abigail (Dodge) Perkins, granddaughter of Isaac and Hannah (Knight) Perkins, great- granddaughter of John (2) Perkins, quar- termaster of Ipswich in 1675, and great- great-granddaughter of John (i) Perkins, who came to Massachusetts from Bristol, England. With the sons of John and Hannah (Perkins) Butler the history of the family in the Wyoming Valley be- gins. Three sons — Colonel Zebulon, John, and Samuel — were in the valley prior to the Revolution ; Samuel, a school teacher in Wilkes-Barre in 1774-75, returning later to Connecticut. The life of Colonel Zebulon Butler, the oldest son, says Charles Miner, "is the history of Wyom- ing. Almost every letter of its annals bears the impress of his name and is the record of his deeds." A tablet erected to his memory in Wilkes-Barre by the Wyoming Historical and Geological So- ciety thus summarizes his remarkable life:
IN MEMORY OF
COLONEL ZEBULON BUTLER
Born Ipswich, Mass., 1731
Died Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 179s
Commanded
The America forces at Wyoming, Pa.
July 3, 1778. .
Ensign, 3rd Regiment Conn. Troops, I7S7-I758.
Lieutenant 4th Rgt. 1759.
Captain 1760-1762.
Served in the Havana Campaign.
Col. 24th Conn. Rgt., Wyoming, 1775.
Lieut. Col. Continental Line, 1776-1778.
Colonel Continental Line, 1778-1783.
Retired June 3, 1783.
Member Connecticut State Society
of the Cincinnati, 1783.
Member Connecticut Assembly 1774-1776.
Justice 1774-1779.
Judge 1778-1779-
228
County Lieutenant Luzerne County, 1787- 1790.
Erected by Some of His Descendants
July 25, 1904.
Colonel Butler was thrice married, the line of descent to William H. Butler being through General Lord Butler, eldest child of the colonel's first wife, Anne Lord, to whom, he was married in Lyme, Connec- ticut, December 23, 1760. She was born April 4, 1736, at Lyme, died in Wilkes- Barre in the spring of 1773, daughter of John and Hannah (Rogers) Lord, and granddaughter of Lieutenant Richard and Elizabeth (Hyde) Lord.
Lord Butler, born in Lyme, Connecti- cut, December 11, 1761, was brought to Wilkes-Barre with the family in 1772, and there resided until his death, March 3, 1S24. Again says Charles Miner: "In all his various offices. General Butler maintained the highest character for faithfulness and ability. No public ser- vant ever deserved better of the public. Decided in his political opinions, free in expressing them, his opponents said he was proud. If an unworthy pride was meant, the charge was unjust. He was a man of stern integrity, and lived and died highly respected and esteemed, while in his family and social circle he was justly and tenderly loved."
General Butler was the first sheriff of the county of Luzerne. He was brigadier- general of Pennsylvania militia ; member of the Supreme Executive Council ; pro- thonotary ; clerk of the Orphans' Court and Court of Quarter Sessions ; Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds ; was the first postmaster of Wilkes-Barre, resign- ing in 1802 to take his seat in the State Legislature ; was a member of the first town council of the borough of Wilkes- Barre, president of that body ; treasurer of Luzerne county, and county commis- sioner. He was one of the incorporators of Wilkes-Barre Academy, and a trustee, I
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1807-1824. General Lord Butler married, May 30, 1786, Mary Peirce, third child of Abel and Ruth (Sheppard) Peirce, a de- scendant of Thomas Peirce, who came from England to Massachusetts in 1634. Major Ezekiel Peirce, grandfather of Mary Peirce, was one of the original members of the Susquehanna Company, and one of the original settlers in the Wyoming Valley in 1763. He was named as town clerk and recorder of deeds for the new town of Westmoreland, was an officer of the Twenty-fourth Connecticut Regiment, survived the battle and mas- sacre of Wyoming. July 3, 1778, and died at his home in Kingston in 1779 or 1780.
Abel Peirce, father of Mary (Peirce) Butler, was the eldest child of Major Ezekiel and Lois (Stevens) Peirce. He was a constable of Kingston township in 1772, served at Lexington with a party of minute-men from Plainfield, Connecticut. April 20, 1775. then returned to the Wyoming Valley and served with the Twenty-fourth Connecticut Regiment. He was justice of the peace in Kingston, and was otherwise prominent until his death, May 23, 1814. He married, in Connecticut, Ruth, daughter of Lieuten- ant Isaac and Dorothy (Prentis) Shep- pard, of Plainfield, Connecticut, her an- cestors among the earliest settlers of New London. Connecticut. General Lord Butler and Mary Peirce were the parents of ten sons and daughters, of whom the eldest son and second child was Peirce.
Of Peirce Butler a biographer has said : "He was possessed of an uncommon share of native good sense, and sound, dis- criminating judgment, and a happy benevolent disposition. Few men ever had fewer enemies, and none ever had warmer or more sincere friends." He was born in Wilkes-Barre, January 27, 17S9. was a farmer of Kingston township. Luzerne county, died March 30, 1848. He
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married, February 2, 1818, Temperance Colt, born December 27, 1790, died May 10, 1863, eldest child of Arnold and Lucinda (Yarrington) Colt, of Lyme, Connecticut, and Wyoming, Pennsyl- vania.
James Montgomery Butler, second son of Peirce and Temperance (Colt) Butler, was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania, and there died. December 9. 1861. He mar- ried, March 18, 1852, Martha Lazarus, of German descent, born September 28, 1832, daughter of John and Polly (Drake)' Lazarus and granddaughter of George and Mary (Hartzell) Lazarus, of North- ampton county. John Lazarus moved to Hanover township. Luzerne county, in 1800, there became a large landowner, and died in 1844. Two of the five children of James Montgomery and Martha (Laza- rus) Butler died young. Three sons grew to manhood and prominence — Peirce, of Dorranceton ; George H., of whom fur- ther; and James Montgomery (2).
From such ancestry came George Hol- lenback Butler, born in Kingston town- ship, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 2, 1857, died in Dorranceton, Pennsylvania, March 20, 1914, third child and second son of James Montgomery and Martha (Lazarus) Butler. He ac- quired an education in private Wilkes- Barre schools kept by W. S. Parsons and W. R. Klingman, and after completing preparatory courses in these schools entered Wyoming Seminary, where he completed his classical course and was graduated. He then began the study of law under the preceptorship of Edward P. and J. Vaughn Darling, completing his studies, passing the required examina- tions, and gaining admission to the Luzerne county bar, which he adorned from the date of admission, June 6, 1881, until his death, a period of thirty-three years. He was in turn admitted to the higher courts, and conducted an exten-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
sive business in all, State and Federal. He was attorney for many m.unicipalities, and under his professional guidance im- portant questions affecting municipalities were brought to decisive issue. He loved his profession, delighted in its intricate points, gave special study to municipal law, and was a recognized authority, sought in consultation when not engaged as counsel. He was a hard worker, and his high standing as a lawyer was gained not more through his learning than through his persistent industry. He read, studied, and searched for precedent and light, and never appeared in a cause with- out first mastering its every detail. He won and held the highest respect of the bench and bar, was helpful to the young lawyer, was modest and unassuming, and the friend of all.
He was deeply interested in many forms of charitable work, and as secre- tary and member of the Central Poor Board of the county gave much of his time to judiciously distributing relief to the poor of the valley. He was great- hearted and sympathetic, thoughtful of others, and willing at all times to sac- rifice his personal comfort to alleviate distress. He was actively connected with the United Charities, and in an unosten- tatious way aided in State-wide charity. He introduced a bill in the Pennsylvania Legislature having for its object the relief of deserted or neglected wives. His deep- est concern was ever manifested in the welfare of Dorranceton. He was con- nected with every movement for its progress and betterment, while the legal needs of the borough were in his charge as attorney from the date of incorporation until his death. That he was loved and appreciated, the foregoing resolutions attest. He was a member of the various legal associations of the district and State, and was a member of the Wyoming Com- memorative Association, which he served
as corresponding secretary. He gained admission to the Pennsylvania Society, Sons of the Revolution, through right of descent from Colonel Zebulon Butler, General Lord Butler, Major Ezekiel Peirce, and Abel Peirce, all Wyoming Valley soldiers of the Revolution.
In political faith Mr. Butler was a Re- publican, but his profession was his great passion, and to it he gave his life. He served as director and secretary of the Central Poor District of Luzerne county, not for publicity, but because he loved the work, and served Dorranceton in a pro- fessional capacity because he was genu- inely interested in his borough and de- sired to serve it in the manner in which he could be most useful. In church com- munion he was affiliated with the Epis- copal faith.
Mr. Butler married, May 8, i8go, Ger- trude Taylor Stoddart, daughter of Jo- seph Marshall and Eliza (Fahnestock) Stoddart, and a descendant of Lieutenant Isaac Ashton, of the Philadelphia Artil- lery, 1777, through whose patriotic service she became a member of Wyoming Val- ley Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and of George Mifflin, a member of Philadelphia Common Coun- cil, 1730, through whom she gained membership in the Colonial Dames of America. Mrs. Butler survives her hus- band, a resident of Dorranceton. Chil- dren : John Lord, Georgine Gilbert, and Gertrude Stoddart, the latter dying in infancv.
SCHOOLEY, Harry Barnum,
Financier, Corporation Official.
Harry Barnum Schooley, of Wilkes- Barre, who was born at Wyoming, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, October 5, 1869, is descended from John Schooley, who came from England to New Jersey about the year 1700. Some of the latter's
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immediate descendants early settled in Burlington and others in northern New Jersey, in what is now Sussex county, where the family name is perpetuated by Schooley's Mountain, not many years ago a well-known and popular summer resort.
Jedediah Schooley, a grandson of the above mentioned John Schooley, had a son, Joseph P. Schooley, who was born April 17, 1785, at Greenwich, Warren county, New Jersey. In 1809 he was married in Warren county to Margaret Barber, and in 1818 they removed from New Jersey to Wyoming Valley, Penn- sylvania, taking up their residence in the township of Exeter (near what is now the borough of Wyoming), upon a large farm which Mr. Schooley had purchased. Here they resided until their respective deaths, Mr. Schooley dying in 1875.
Joseph P. and Margaret (Barber) Schooley were the parents of the follow- ing-named children: i. Jesse Barber. 2. Jedediah. 3. Mary Ann. 4. William. 5. Elizabeth. 6. Mehitable. 7. Joanna. 8. Joseph. 9. Margaret.
Jesse Barber Schooley was born April I, 181 1, in Warren county, New Jersey, and removed thence to Wyoming Valley with the other members of his father's family. He was educated in the schools of that section, and there for a number of years, while still under age was em- ployed in various industrial capacities; in his early twenties he was quite exten- sively engaged in transporting coal and general merchandise by canal-boat on the Morris & Essex canal. Mr. Schooley later became engaged in mercantile busi- ness at Wyoming, continuing in the same for many years, part of which time in partnership with Thomas F. Atherton, who a number of years later became the first president of the Second National Bank of Wilkes-Barre. During this period Mr. Schooley began to invest in valuable coal lands, one of the principal
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tracts which he purchased and owned until his death being that upon which the Mount Lookout Colliery and its work- ings have been located for a considerable number of years. He also conducted a general store in Pittston, a few miles from his home, and was engaged in coal mining operations there and the manu- facture of brick. He was postmaster at Wyoming for some years about 1879, but the business of the office was largely managed by his son, Jesse B. Schooley. At the time of his death, which occurred at Wyoming, December 15, 1884, Mr. Schooley was a director of the Second National Bank of Wilkes-Barre.
Jesse Barber Schooley was married, at Wyoming, February 20, 1838, to Eliza J., daughter of John and Jerusha (John- ston) Brees. John Brees was the son of Captain Samuel Brees, and the grandson of John Brees of Somerset county, New Jersey. The last named was born in Hol- land about 1713; located in New Jersey in 1735; was married in 1736 to Dorothy Riggs (born in 1713, and died in 1803) ; served as a private in the Somerset county. New Jersey, militia, in the Revo- lutionary War; died in Somerset county. Captain Samuel Brees, son of the above named John and Dorothy Brees, was born in Somerset county, April 17, 1758; was a soldier in the Revolutionary War; was married in 1780 to Hannah Pierson (born March 15, 1760, and died April 9, 1817). Samuel Brees, accompanied by his wife and their children, left Basking Ridge in Somerset county, for Wyoming Valley, June 3, 1789. Eight days later they ar- rived at Wilkes-Barre. The following month they removed to Kingston, and 1802 they located at New Troy, where Captain Brees had purchased a farm from Joseph Swetland. In 1815 and later years. Captain Brees was an inn-keeper at New Troy, where he died July 21, 1837, being survived by several children. 184
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The children of Jesse Barber and Eliza J. (Brees) Schooley were as follows: i. Fannie. 2. Margaret J. 3. Elizabeth S. 4. Joseph J. 5. Jennie E. 6. Kate M. 7. Jesse B. 8. Jam,es M.
Joseph J. Schooley was born at Wyo- ming, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, May 17, 1846. His education was ob- tained in the public schools and at Wyo- ming Seminary, Kingston, his course in the latter institution being in the Com- mercial Department, and completed by graduation. He began his business life as a clerk in a general store at Wyoming, and later was employed in a dry goods store at Wilkes-Barre. Then for a time he assisted his father in his farming oper- ations. In 1873 he became mileage clerk in the office of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company at Wilkes-Barre, which position he resigned in 1876.