Biographical review : v. 24, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and the vicinity, Pennsylvania, Part 1

Author:
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 954


USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Biographical review : v. 24, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and the vicinity, Pennsylvania > Part 1


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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION


ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02246 7366


Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016


https://archive.org/details/biographicalrevi00unse 4


BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW REVIEWS T VOLUME XXIV


CONTAINING LIFE SKETCHES OF LEADING CITIZENS OF


PITTSBURG


AND THE VICINITY


PENNSYLVANIA


" Biography is the home aspect of history"


BOSTON 563


BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW PUBLISHING COMPANY"


1897


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ATLANTIC STATES SERIES OF BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEWS.


The volumes issued in this series up to date are the following : -


I. OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK. XV. OXFORD AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES,


II. MADISON COUNTY, NEW YORK.


III. BROOME COUNTY, NEW YORK.


XVI. CUMBERLAND COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.


IV. COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK. XVII. ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.


V. CAYUGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.


XVIII. PLYMOUTH COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.


VI. DELAWARE COUNTY, NEW YORK. XIX. CAMDEN AND BURLINGTON COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.


VII. LIVINGSTON AND WYOMING COUNTIES, NEW YORK. XX. SAGADAHOC, LINCOLN, KNOX, AND


VIII. CLINTON AND ESSEX COUNTIES, NEW YORK. .


IX. HAMPDEN, COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.


x. FRANKLIN COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.


XI. HAMPSHIRE COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.


XII. LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.


XIII. YORK COUNTY, MAINE.


XIV. CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE.


WALDO COUNTIES, MAINE.


XXI. STRAFFORD AND BELKNAP COUNTIES, NEW HAMPSHIRE.


XXII. SULLIVAN AND MERRIMACK COUNTIES, NEW HAMPSHIRE.


XXIII. HILLSBORO, AND CHESHIRE COUNTIES, NEW HAMPSHIRE.


XXIV. PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.


1742335


NOTE .- All the biographical sketches published in this volume were submitted to their respective subjects or to the sub- scribers, from whom the facts were primarily obtained, for their approval or correction before going to press ; and a reasonable time was allowed in each case for the return of the typewritten copies. Most of them were returned to us within the time allotted, or before the work was printed, after being corrected or revised ; and these may therefore be regarded as reasonably accurate.


A few, however, were not returned to us; and, as we have no means of knowing whether they contain errors or not, we cannot vouch for their accuracy. In justice to our readers, and to render this work more valuable for reference purposes, we have indicated all uncorrected sketches by a small asterisk (*), placed immediately after the name of the subject. They will be found printed on the last pages of the book.


B. R. PUB. CO.


ERRATUM.


On page 84, sketch of John L. Winslow, M.D., sixth and seventh lines, for "Edward Winslow, the first governor of Plymouth Colony," read " Edward Winslow, the third governor of Plymouth Colony."


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1


PREFACE.


T HANKS to the cordial co-operation of the goodly number of representative citizens of Western Pennsylvania, residents of Pittsburg and vicinity, who have taken an interest in our work in this locality, the present volume of contempo- rary local biography - the twenty-fourth in our Atlantic States Series of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEWS -has been brought to completion. Following the lines indicated in our prospectus, we have sought out, in city, town, and village, men and women who, : making good use of their abilities and opportunities, engaging in the different profes- sions, in the industrial arts and in trade, have wrought well at the forge of life - persons of character and influence, who have contributed by their enterprise and thrift, by their zeal in educational, religious, and political matters, to the welfare and advancement of the communities in which they live. Such persons have earned the right to be remembered. Their example is a legacy to posterity.


The writing and preservation of family records, a duty too often neglected by former generations, is especially incumbent on the present. Recognizing the growing interest in genealogical studies and their importance in many ways, we have gladly given space to numerous names and dates marking lines of descent from remote ancestors in the shadowy past, and showing close kinship between people of the Old World and of the New-" the meeting-place of races," home of the free.


BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW PUBLISHING CO.


NOVEMBER 20, 1897.


WILLIAM BLAKELEY.


BIOGRAPHICAL.


ENERAL WILLIAM BLAKE- LEY, attorney-at-law, a resi- dent of Pittsburg, was born at Brown's Mills, Cranberry town- ship, Butler County, Pa., March 10, 1833, son of Lewis and Jane (McAllister) Blake- ley. (The genealogy of the Blakeley family is given in the sketch of his brother, Colonel Archibald Blakeley, found elsewhere in this work.)


William Blakeley attended the common schools of his native town, and later studied at Witherspoon Institute of Butler County, Pennsylvania, under the able administration of the Rev. Loyal Young, D. D. At the age of twenty-one years he entered the law office of his brother Archibald, who was then practising in Butler County. In 1856 he was admitted to the bar, and in September of that year opened an office in Kittanning, Armstrong County. Two years later he was elected District Attorney in that county, and served the full term, winning high praise for his talents and integrity. In that year also, upon recommendation of the Hon. Galusha A. Grow, now Congressman-at- large from Pennsylvania, he was appointed by the Republican County Convention as one of the campaign orators for the Fremont cam- paign. Ile made campaign speeches through Westmoreland, Indiana, Jefferson, Clarion, and Venango Counties, in company with the


Hon. John Cavode, M.C., the Hon. Edgar Cowan, afterward United States Senator from Pennsylvania, the Hon. Darwin Phelps, after- ward member of Congress, and the Hon. Mr. Grow. Of these five gentlemen only Mr. Grow and General Blakeley, respectively the eldest and the youngest, are now living.


At the outbreak of the Civil War, Judge Dudley induced District Attorney Blakeley to go to Brady's Bend, and make a "war speech," thinking that it would be the means of secur- ing a large number of recruits. In introduc- ing him as the speaker, Judge Dudley said that, while he was a young and able-bodied man, he was District Attorney, and could not be spared under any circumstances to leave the court and go to the front, and furthermore that the Blakeley family had already supplied its quota of soldiers, as the District Attorney had at the time four brothers in the army. Mr. Blakeley began his speech; and just at the climax a big Irish puddler jumped up and said, "Why the devil don't yer go yerself?" The immediate response was, "You put your name on the list, and I will follow." The puddler replied, "Be jabbers, I'm yer mon," and, coming forward, signed the muster-roll, and was sworn in, Mr. Blakeley immediately following him, amid the cheers of the audi- ence. The company was filled as fast as the boys could sign their names, and there was a surplus on the roll. Blakeley went into Camp . Orr, Kittanning, put on soldier clothes, slept


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on the soft side of a plank, and ate his hard tack with the other boys. He remained here about a week, when he received authority from the War Department to recruit a company of cavalry. Immediately he converted his law office into a recruiting station, and in less than a week's time had recruited a full com- pany of one hundred men for the cavalry ser- vice. He reported to the Secretary of War, and was ordered to hold that company and to recruit another. In a few weeks four com- panies were enlisted, and the order was re- ceived to report to the commanding officer at Camp Howe, Pittsburg. The battalion was put into what was known as the Fourteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, Colonel James M. Schoonmaker, with Blakeley as Lieutenant Colonel. In 1864 he was made Colonel, and afterward Brigadier-general on recommenda- tion of General Sheridan, for gallant and meritorious services in the field. General Blakeley's battalion was the first at the battle of Antietam; and after that battle the regi- ment was sent to Harper's Ferry under Gen- eral Kelley, and performed picket and scout- ing duty until the following spring, They were then placed under General Averell's brigade, which later became the Second Cav- alry Division, and was sent to the Shenandoah Valley and Western Virginia. They after- · ward served under Siegel Hunter, and finally under Sheridan, until the close of the war at Appomattox.


At the battle of White Post General Blakc- ley was thrown from his horse during a charge, and all but trampled to death. Ilis jaw bone was broken in two places ; and he was placed in a wagon, and drawn by his men thirty miles to the nearest hospital. Here the Doctor at first refused to dress his wounds, thinking he must surely die. He was next wounded in his foot at the battle of Hedgesville, which fol-


lowed Gettysburg. One of his most thrilling experiences was while commanding the regi- ment in what was known as Averell's Salem Raid. The Confederate General Hood had General Burnside shut in at Knoxville, Tenn., with between forty and fifty thousand men; and, as it was impossible for the govern- ment to send them supplies, they were starv- ing. - The Confederate supplies were stored at Salem on the Roanoke River, not far from Lynchburg. Averell left New Creek, IV. Va., in the latter part of November, 1864, with about two thousand picked men. Al- lowed four hours out of the twenty-four for rest, eating, and sleeping, they reached Salem, and succeeded in capturing a large quantity of stores, and burned goods and rebel army stores estimated to be worth eight or ten millions of dollars. General Hood was obliged to go South, as he could get nothing to supply his army; and General Burnside was relieved from the siege. The War Department did not expect that General Averell would ever return, but it was thought better to lose two thousand men than forty thousand. In the retreat the united com- mands of Fitz Hugh Lee, Imboden, Early, Jackson, and Rosser, were sent in pursuit of Averell; but he was successful in getting back inside the Union lines. His men were starved and frozen, and the entire command was in a deplorable condition. The men were all al- lowed two new suits of clothing and a furlough of thirty days, something that has never been done before or since in the army. They forded rivers in the dead of winter, and any number of men lay down and died from cold and exposure. At Jackson's River, General Blakeley's regiment was in the rear, protect- ing the train. General Averell was required to burn the bridges over the Jackson River at Island Ford and Covington in order to


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save himself. General Blakeley with his command and the wagon train was on the other side. Finding the river impassable, he destroyed the entire train. General Jack- son demanded his immediate and uncondi- tional surrender, which was promptly refused, and was directly followed by a charge by Gen- eral Blakeley, driving Jackson's command over three miles, capturing three pieces of artillery and many prisoners. General Blake- ley finally succeeded in finding a ford, which was reached only by a very narrow path. He then passed through Covington, fording the river at that point, though the rebels were posted on either side ready to attack. Averell took his command over the mountain, where it was believed impossible for troops to go; and his artillery was taken up by means of ropes. He succeeded in reaching Greenbrier River before the place of crossing was reached by General Lee, who had a straight road.


General Blakeley was mustered out of the service June 6, 1865, when he resigned his command. After two years spent in Frank- lin, Venango County, Pa., in the spring of 1868 he came to Pittsburg, where he engaged in the practice of his profession in civil and criminal cases. A Republican in politics, General Blakeley has taken. an active part in every campaign from that of General Scott in 1852 to the defeat of General Harrison in 1892. He has been delegate to all of the party conventions, and has a personal ac- quaintance with all the leading politicians. He is a member of Union Veteran Legion, Encampment No. 6; and Abe Patterson Post, No. 88, G. A. R., of which he was Com- mander for three years, and is now the oldest living Past Commander of the post.


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On May 27, 1856, General Blakeley mar- ried Miss Esther Brown, daughter of Joseph Brown, of Butler County. Three children


were born of this union; namely, Mary Z., Jean, and Ada, Mary Z. is now the widow of Captain Charles C. Holliday, of North Springfield, Pa .; Jean is the wife of Charles A. Abrams, of Butler, Pa. ; and Ada (deceased) was the wife ot Alfred J. Whitaker. Both General and Mrs. Blakeley are members of the Second Presbyterian Church.


OHN EMERSON ASH, a wholesale dealer in produce at Pittsburg, was born July 10, 1851, at Greenfield, Mercer County, son of the late Joseph Ash. His paternal grandfather, who emigrated from Germany to this country when a young man, located in Lancaster, Pa., where he was for many years engaged in the tailoring business.


Joseph Ash, who was born, bred, and edu- cated in Lancaster, also learned there the tailor's trade of his father. Settling in busi- ness for himself at Greenfield, he met with prosperity. In the early part of the Civil War he took large contracts for the manufact- ure of uniforms for the army, thus giving em- ployment to many hands. He died April 14, 1865, at a comparatively early age. In his political views he was a Democrat, but he was also a strong Unionist. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Julia A. McBurney, five children were born; namely, John Emer- son, James H., Melvin D., Eva, and Mary. Mary became the wife of James Anderson, of Mercer County. Both parents were members of the United Presbyterian Church, in which the father was an especially active worker. The mother passed away February 23, 1896.


John Emerson Ash received his education in the common schools of his native town. After the death of his father, being partly thrown upon his own resources, he worked for a while in a coal bank. He subsequently


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made two trips to New Jersey, driving sheep across the Alleghany Mountains, and return- ing by way of the old Portage Railroad and the Pennsylvania Canal. Afterward he worked at various employments until eighteen years of age. Then he went into a black- smith's shop, where he served an apprentice- ship of three years. In the following year he was in the grocery business in Greenfield, and in the drug business at Sharon, Pa., for the ensuing two years. Coming to Pittsburg in 1875, he worked for Byers, Mccullough & Co., iron manufacturers, continuing in the same establishment, after the firm name was changed to A. M. Byers & Co., until 1888. In that year the firm of L. H. Voigt & Co., consisting of L. H. Voigt, William Baldwin, and Mr. Ash, was organized, and started in the wholesale produce business. On the death of the senior partner in 1895, the two remaining members of the firm purchased the interest of their former associate, and have since conducted an extensive and lucrative business. Their imports are received from all the leading foreign markets, and their goods are shipped principally to points in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, where they are in great demand.


Mr. Ash married May 15, 1881, Miss Mary Effie, daughter of the late Louis H. Voigt, of Pittsburg. Of the four children born to them three are now living -- Marie, Charles Emerson, and Elizabeth Voigt. Mr. Ash has always been identified with the Republi- can party, and has been a delegate to county and State conventions. In May, 1896, he was elected a member of the Select Council from the Twenty-first Ward, and is a member of the Committee on Parks and Bridges. He is a Director of the Iron City National Bank. Prominent in Masonic circles, he belongs to Dallas Lodge, No. 508, of Pittsburg; to


Zerubbabel Chapter, Ascalon Commandery, Pennsylvania Consistory; and to Syria Tem- ple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a mem- ber of Triumph Lodge, A. O. U. W., of this city. Both he and Mrs. Ash are members of the Grace Reformed Church, of which he has been a Deacon for eight or nine years, and is one of its most active and interested workers.


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IDNEY B. LIGGETT is one of the prominent railroad men of Pitts- burg connected with the traffic west of this city. Born in Pittsburg, May 10, 1849, son of John and Catherine (Hutton) Liggett, he is of Scotch-Irish extraction, and connected with some of the oldest and best families of Pennsylvania. His great-grand- father, Robert Liggett, born in the County Antrim, Ireland, in 1743, came in 1771 to this country with his brothers, John and James. All three settled in Brandywine, West Nantmeal township, Chester County, Pa. When this part of the country was disturbed by the Revolutionary War, John and James took up arms and joined Washington's forces. James was subsequently captured by the Brit- ish, and confined in one of the old hulks used for their prisoners of war. Robert Liggett moved from Chester to Washington County in 1781. He owned and managed a farm near the "Row-galley Tavern," so called collo- quially from the sign -- a galley manned by rowers. He died on his farm in 1806. His wife, whose maiden name was Isabella Darragh, was a sister of John Darragh, the second Mayor of Pittsburg. She was born in the County Antrim, Ireland, in 1759. The Darraghs were originally Scotch Covenanters. Some of them fought in the siege of Derry, and some were in Cromwell's army.


John Liggett, Sr., the grandfather of Sid-


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ney B., was born in Brandywine Manor, Chester County, in 1780. He was interested in a tannery at Pittsburg for a number of years, was burned out two or three times in business, and finally became connected with Leech & Co., in the Pennsylvania Canal at Sharpsburg. A well-to-do and prominent cit- izen, he was a Whig in politics and very ac- tive in local affairs. He married Rosanna Sharp, sister of James Sharp, one of the early and prominent settlers of the county, and after whom the town of Sharpsburg was named. John and Rosanna (Sharp) Liggett were mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. Their chil- dren were: Isabella, who married Robert Knox; Eliza, who married the latter's cousin and namesake; Jane, the wife of Merrick Munson; John, the father of Sidney B .; Daniel; and James Sharp Liggett. John Liggett was born in Pittsburg, and received a practical common-school education in this city. For a number of years he was in the chair-manufacturing business, under the name of Childs & Liggett, a prominent firm in the early days of this city. In politics he was a Whig. He died in October, 1854. His wife, who was a daughter of William Hutton, of Pittsburg, reared three children: Martha Fisk, the wife of Benjamin McLain, of Pitts- burg; Sidney B., the subject of this sketch; and Isabella Knox, unmarried, who died at the age of twenty-eight. Both parents were members of the First Presbyterian Church of this city.


Sidney B. Liggett acquired his education in the public schools of Pittsburg and at the Western University of Pennsylvania. His first position was a clerkship in the office of Hailman, Rahm & Co., iron manufacturers, with whom he remained until they dissolved partnership four years after. The youngest clerk on their pay-roll when he entered their


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employ, he was the shipping clerk before he left it. He then obtained a position as clerk in the auditor's office of the Fort Wayne Railroad, where he acquired valuable practi- cal experience auditing railroad accounts. In 1879 he was made assistant secretary in the executive department, and in 1881 he was promoted to the office of secretary, his pres- ent position. He has a varied amount of busi- ness to attend to, and the efficiency with which he meets his responsibilities proves him a man of unusual ability.


Mr. Liggett was married November 15, 1870, to Emma Catherine Stevenson, daugh- ter of John Stevenson, the senior member of the firm of John Stevenson & Co., one of the oldest jewelry firms of Pittsburg. The chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Liggett were: Dudley Stevenson, Sidney Sharp, Laura Catherine, John Darragh, and Clara Louise. The last- named died in her fifth year. Mr. Liggett is independent in politics. He is a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, and also of the Sons of the Revolution, through the Sharp family. He was a Vestryman, and for four years the treasurer, of St. Stephen's Epis- copal Church at Sewickley. Mrs. Liggett is also a member of the church.


EORGE L. HOLIDAY, President of the Common Council of Pittsburg and a representative of the American Book Company of this city, is a Canadian by birth, having been born May 19, 1845, in Perth, Ontario County. He comes of thrifty Scotch ancestors. His paternal grandfather, John Holiday, was sent by the English gov- ernment to Canada as a teacher for the pioneer schools in the district at that time being opened up by the mother country, and there he reared his children. Francis Holiday, the


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father of George L., was born in Great Britain, probably in Glasgow, Scotland. Going to Canada with his parents when a young lad, he received his education from his father in Perth. There subsequently he also learned the trade of harness-maker, which he afterward worked at for some years. In 1857 he removed with his family to Logan County, Ohio, and, buying a tract of land, was thereafter engaged in general farming until his death in May, 1896. He married Mrs. Margaret McEwan Hamilton, a daugh- ter of John McEwan, of Carleton, Ont., and they became the parents of nine children.


George L. Holiday had acquired the rudi- ments of his education in his native town, when, at the age of twelve years, he accom- panied his parents to their new home in Ohio. He had to assist his father in clearing the land, which was then wild, and in the other labors incident to pioneer life, his further schooling being confined to a few months in the winter season. After he was eighteen years old he attended the academy at North- wood, two miles distant, for several winters, and he completed his education at the Normal School in Lebanon, Ohio, being graduated from the classical department in 1866. Mr. Holiday then accepted a situation with Har- per Brothers, being stationed in Ohio until 1869, when he came to Pittsburg as a repre- sentative of their house, continuing with them until 1880. Then severing his connection with that firm, he was employed by Ivison, Blakeman & Co. until the organization of the American Book Company, since which time he has been the company's active representa- tive in this city. First elected on the Repub- lican ticket to the City Council in 1873, he has since retained his seat in that body, being its President for the past ten years, and with one exception its present oldest member. In


the capacity of a member of the Building Committee he took an active part in the erec- tion of the Carnegie Library, of which he has been a Trustee since its incorporation. He is also the superintendent and a director of the Duquesne Inclined Plane Company, of which he was one of the original promoters.


On September 7, 1870, Mr. Holiday mar- ried Miss Mary T. Pringle, daughter of Dr. George W. Pringle, of New Concord, Ohio. They have become the parents of seven children; namely, George A., Harry C., Grace W., Mary E., Edna M., Samuel P., and Francis N. Mr. Holiday was made a Mason at Dallas Lodge, No. 508, of Pitts- burg. Both he and Mrs. Holiday are mem- bers of the Second Presbyterian Church of this city.


RO OBERT PITCAIRN, the general agent and superintendent of the Fitts- burg Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, was born May 6, 1836, in the vil- lage of Johnstone, near Paisley, Scotland, son of John and Agnes Pitcairn. The father, who was an expert mechanic, emigrated to this country with his wife soon after their mar- riage. They returned to Scotland some time later, but subsequently, in 1846, came again to the States, and took up their residence in Pittsburg, feeling convinced that their chil- dren would have better opportunities. of improving their circumstances in America. Both parents were members of the church of the New Jerusalem. In politics the father supported the Republican party. At their death they had reached a good old age. Their children are: Robert, the subject of this sketch; John Pitcairn, of Philadelphia; Dr. Hugh Pitcairn, United States Consul at Ham- burg; Mrs. Alexander Pitcairn, of Pittsburg; and Mrs. M. P. Sharkey, of Philadelphia.


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ROBERT PITCAIRN.


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Robert Pitcairn received his earlier edu- cation in the public schools of Scotland and of this country. It was necessarily meagre, as the circumstances of the family compelled him to go to work as soon as he was capable of earning anything; but he did not suffer from the disadvantage long, as sub- sequently, by private study and attending night school whenever the opportunity offered, he qualified himself for the struggle of life as thoroughly as the majority of the boys of his time. He earned his first dollar serving in a variety store. In 1848 or 1849 his friend An- drew Carnegie, then a messenger boy in the employ of the Atlantic & Ohio Telegraph Company at Pittsburg, obtained for him a simi- lar position. This occupation took him into association with a number of bright, hard- working, ambitious boys employed in the same way, all of whom have since made honorable records. Among them he soon showed him- self as bright and ambitious as they were. Referring to these lads and to Robert Pit- cairn, James D. Reid, the pioneer manager and superintendent of telegraph lines in this country, in his interesting book, "The Tele- graph," writes: "In Pittsburg were five mes- senger boys who merit special record, each of whom made a record of his own; .. . but Robert Pitcairn, he bore his character in his face, gentle, steady, prompt, true." While discharging his duties as messenger, Robert availed himself of every opportunity to ac- quire the art of telegraph operator. His pluck and persistence carried him to success, and he was one of the first persons who took telegraphic communications by sound. In due course he was promoted, by being sent to Steubenville, Ohio, as assistant operator and line repair man, returning to Pittsburg as operator on the Lake Erie telegraph line for a period. Then he entered the employ-




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