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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01202 7998
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Cordiallord
PROMINENT AND PROGRESSIVE
PENNSYLVANIANS
OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY.
A REVIEW OF THEIR CAREERS.
" Nil Mortalibus arduum est." -HORACE.
VOLUME I.
Editors : LELAND M. WILLIAMSON,
RICHARD A. FOLEY, HENRY H. COLCLAZER, LOUIS N. MEGARGEE, JAY H. MOWBRAY, WILL. R. ANTISDEL.
974.8 W67 P V.I
PHILADELPHIA : THE RECORD PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1898.
COPYRIGHT, NOVEMBER, 1897, BY
JAMES S. MCCARTNEY, RECORD BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
midland - $15.00 (3 vals.)
1200332
Hlman Brothers. Sculpt
Chus Wilson Peale Pond.
The State House in Philadelphia. 178. 1. Independence Hall ? !
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Ben Franklin
Engraved by T.B. Welch from a Painting by J. B. Longacre after an original Portrait by R.E. Pine
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Benjamin Bush
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GEORGE G. MEADE.
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THE RECORD BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA .
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PENNSYLVANIA AND HER MAKERS.
EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
" Whoe' er amidst the sons Of reason, valour, liberty and virtue, Displays distinguish'd merit, is a noble Of nature's own creating." -THOMSON.
ROMINENT and progressive! Two words full of comprehensive meaning ! Both can be applied with truth and force to the great State of Pennsyl- vania, and to the men who have made-and who are now still making-the greatness, the fame, of our grand Commonwealth. A State, in itself, is never complete, never finished; its purpose expands with time, but it is ever of to-day; it lives only in action. The achievements of the past, embalmed in historical records, have been stepping stones, examples, and opportunities, which have, perhaps, made easier the paths of the men of to-day, but it is to the skill, talent, energy, judgment and force of these citizens that we must look for progress, and without progress, either State or Nation must die. Geographical boundary lines do not make a State great-they enclose only its theatre of possible action. It is the people-active, alert, and ever engaged in enterprises of pith and moment-who perform those acts from which spring wealth, power, success, fame and fortune. Nature may have been prodigal in her gifts-but the brain. brawn, and muscle of men are needed to make them useful and profitable. The golden treasures of California, hidden for centuries, gave birth to a pros- perous State only when the energy of man had conquered hard-
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
ship, faced death, and wrung success from unceasing toil. The fertile fields, the rich coal beds, the valuable iron deposits of Pennsylvania would be as naught but for the labor, toil, industry and intelligence of her sons. It is the men who make a State, not the State the man. The glorious Rome, which emblazons ancient history, passed away, because those who made that Empire passed away-they left grand monuments behind, but no followers.
Pennsylvania is the second-nearly twin to the first-in the matchless sisterhood of the Union; she is one of the original, heroic, laurel-crowned Thirteen which turned entirely the sweep- ing current of the World's political movement. In the birth, the growth and development of our wonderful Nation of free and self- governed people, her influence has been powerful; her position a dominating one. The progress of Pennsylvania is coupled with the progress of the Nation! Her patriotism-and that means the patriotism of her people-in the trying times, that were so cruelly dark and drear, in the days of '76, lighted the torch of Revolu- tion which illuminated the path to Freedom. It was that same true, unselfish patriotism which so nobly rushed to extinguish the incendiary fires of rebellion when sectional selfishness denied free- dom to a race of God's creatures. There is scarce an inch of her territory that does not breathe forth memory of an incident, an episode, or a momentous event in the Nation's history. Her peo- ple are the custodians of the building in which was signed the liberty-heralding Declaration of Independence. There it is in the Metropolis of the State-in the same city in which Washington, Jefferson, Jay, Hamilton, Franklin and Morris tremblingly rocked the fragile cradle of the Republic's weak infancy. Philadelphia and her historical memories are priceless treasures! It was in her streets that Robert Morris hopefully went from door to door to secure the hard cash so urgently needed to provide food and clothing for Washington's troops; it was the deft fingers of a daughter of that city which brought forth the glorious stars and stripes which stirred the hearts of the wavering soldiers in the darkest hours of the contest-that grand, inspiring flag which waves over the land of the free to-day. Then leave the town and
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
go out among the beautiful fields and lovely valleys-they tell of brave struggles, the terrible fighting of the early patriots; of the privations and courage of Washington, of the daring audacity of General Wayne! But here we can only reveal the shadow of that which was done by Pennsylvanians during the Revolution, for the purpose of this work is the present, and not the past.
Nearer to us was the Rebellion, with its years of civil strife, and here again the patriotism of the Keystone State was equal to the occasion. Among the loyal Governors of the North, in 1861, none was placed in circumstances requiring more prompt and decisive action than Andrew Gregg Curtin; none fulfilled the high trust with greater fidelity. When volunteers were asked for by the United States Government, through Governor Curtin's energy, the first regiment that entered the National Capital, for its defence, was the Twenty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers, Colonel Cake commanding. When President Lincoln called for the three years' volunteers, Pennsylvania immediately responded by sending a full division at once into the field. To the ranks of the Nation's defenders the State contributed nearly four hundred thousand men in all before the bird of peace made its nest in the cannon's mouth. As during the Revolution, she, too, from 1861 to 1865, not only furnished the master hand which raised the funds for carrying on the war, but the savings of her people were freely offered to pre- serve the integrity of the Union. In her shipyards, on the wind- ing Delaware, were built the quickly required vessels of war which proved so effective in the checking of the aggressiveness of threat- ened foreign intervention and the possible recognition of the claims of the alleged Southern Confederacy. The greatest-the most decisive-battle of the long and tremendous conflict was fought upon her soil. The field of Gettysburg is soaked with the blood of her sons who gave up their lives to save the Union, and the three generals who so valiantly figured there-the cool and logi- cal Meade, the dashing Hancock and the intrepid but fated Rey- nolds-will ever occupy a place in Pennsylvania's temple of heroes. But equal honors are due Ricketts and Gregg, and our roll of war heroes does not stop there-we hold in grateful
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
memory too, McClellan, Hartranft, McCandless, and other brave soldiers and commanders, who made the name of Pennsylvania conspicuous in the annals of the Rebellion.
But State, or Nation, is never at its greatest in war-growth and expansion cannot come from destruction ; only from produc- tion. Let us for a moment review the wonderful achievements of Pennsylvania in the times of peace-let us unroll the parchment of fame upon which are inscribed the names of those who advanced the cause of philanthropy, took part in the march of science, helped to establish and develop industry, endeavored to enlarge commerce, assisted the progress of the arts, contributed new devices of invention, made discoveries in medicine, aided the cause of education, shaped the formation of governments, and were entrusted with the making and expounding of equitable laws. How striking is the list of men this State has furnished to the various Cabinets which have advised the Presidents of the United States (one of whom was a Pennsylvanian) since the foundation of the Republic! One must begin with the eminent financier, Albert Gallatin, who had the confidence of several Chief Exec- utives ; then follow Richard Rush, Henry D. Gilpin, James Buchanan, William M. Meredith, James Campbell, Jeremiah S. Black, Simon Cameron, Wayne MacVeagh, J. Donald Cameron, Benjamin Harris Brewster and John Wanamaker.
The United States Senate has been given dignity, force and eloquence through our representatives, and among them these names assert themselves with peculiar prominence: William Bing- ham, Robert Morris, John Peter G. Muhlenberg, George M. Dallas, William A. Wallace, John Scott, Simon Cameron, J. Donald Cameron, William Bigler, M. S. Quay and Boies Penrose. To the House of Representatives there has been sent a legion of states- men, including the great commoner, Thaddeus Stevens, Samuel J. Randall, Galusha A. Grow, Charles Jared Ingersoll, Judge William D. Kelley-but the list of all who deserve mention is too long to reproduce here. The highest tribunal of the United States-the Supreme Court-has come to the Bar of the Keystone State for many of its most distinguished members, and among them were
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
Justices James Wilson, Henry Baldwin, Robert C. Grier, William Strong, and George Shiras, Jr. In the Supreme Court of Pennsyl- vania, itself, we have had the learning, ability, and intellectual activities of those giants of the law, Thomas Mckean, Edward Shippen, William Tilghman, Jeremiah S. Black, George W. Wood- ward, George Sharswood, William A. Porter, Edward M. Paxson, and James P. Sterrett.
The records of medicine speak of the discoveries, of the cures, and of the advancement made by the graduates of two of the largest institutions of medical instruction in the World-the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania and Jefferson College, and in this con- nection one must recall also those eminent physicians, Rush, Dorsey, Gross, Cope, Pancoast, Agnew, Pepper, Morton and Wal- lace, whose work had a larger and wider scope than mere daily visits to patients. Homœopathy undoubtedly first obtained its foothold in America in this State, and Philadelphia to-day is the seat of that influential institution-the Hahnemann Medical College. Then what exploit in invention exceeds the basis which Franklin discovered for the most wonderful devices of all ages ?
A young nation is not always conspicuous in achievements in art, and America has yet to secure European recognition for its schools and its painters, even though it is admitted that in painting we have made remarkable strides within the past twenty years, and the Paris Salon-that great continental seat of judg- ment-has been reluctantly forced to acknowledge-and even reward with high honors-the results of American talent and skill. Pennsylvania has led all other States in the matter of native art, and this was natural as it was she that gave to England a president for its Royal Academy, over one hundred years ago! Benjamin West went, with his brush and palette, from the sylvan surroundings of this State to the studios of critical London, and it was he who completely changed the tendency and purpose of classical painting and created a revolution in certain phases of art, notably so in his compelling English painters to abandon classic costumes in contemporary historical compositions. We may well feel proud of our painters, for we can number among them
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
Sully, Hamilton, Peale, Richards, Lambdin, Harrison, Eakins and Rothermel. In literature there are no names more respected than Taylor, Boker, Furness, Lea and Mitchell, while the stage has had no brighter ornaments in its history than Edwin Forrest, John S. Clarke and Mrs. John Drew.
Now we reach the Pennsylvania of to-day-with its 45,215 square miles of land, with a population, in round numbers, of six millions, and of these 1,194,357 cast votes in the last Presidential election. Its metropolis-Philadelphia-is the ninth city of the entire world in point of population, and much higher in the scale when size is the basis of comparison. The State holds in its cities, towns, villages and districts, public schools, for the main- tenance of which, for text books and for teachers, over twenty million dollars are annually expended, the funds being provided from the public exchequers. This sum is exclusive of legislative grants to private institutions of learning and instruction. In these institutions for the dissemination of knowledge the State is unusu- ally well blessed, there being more than a score of them which take rank as Universities and Colleges, the more notable of these being the University of Pennsylvania, Jefferson Medical College, the Western University of Pennsylvania, Lehigh University, Dick- inson College and Lafayette College. These are supplemented by that remarkable institution, Girard College, due to the philanthropy of Stephen Girard, while the Drexel Institute recalls the beneficence of Drexel. Over one billion of dollars are invested in the rail- roads that gridiron the State from the Delaware to the Allegheny, and we have two of the greatest railroad systems in the world within our boundaries and control, one of these having set the pace for all the advancement which now marks the highest results of modern transportation, in motive power, equipment, con- venience and construction. Pennsylvania liberality, courage, enter- prise, energy and capital direct the only line of transatlantic steamers-and the leading one against all nations-which carries the American flag across the vast ocean as its protecting and prized standard. The colossal shipyards of the Delaware have equipped this line with several steamers that have amazed two
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
continents with their construction and speed, while to the nation these yards have given those triumphs of modern naval architec- ture that have renewed our whilom despised navy and made it once more a power. In the building of ships, or cruisers, the men of our State lead America-perhaps, the world; while our locomo- tives travel over every parallel of rails upon the globe. As for our manufactories, our mines, our shops, our factories, our thou- sand and one industries, which have made Pennsylvania the most wealthy and prosperous member of the Union-they require no recapitulation here. But to what are all these due? The question has but one answer! To the sagacity, energy, skill, talent, enter- prise and venture of individuals-each performing his allotted task in the making of the combined grand result! The millions upon millions that come to Pennsylvania for the products of her indus- tries, the millions upon millions that are expended in wages-thus supporting the tremendous population-these millions are made, are disbursed, by men who have minds as vigorous, alert and as keenly analytical as any possessed by those of the learned profes- sions, but they preferred the field of industry for their triumphs, and they achieved distinction because the world is eager to applaud superiority of effort and performance in any walk of life.
The legislative hall, the bench, the bar, the study, the studio, the laboratory, the factory, the mercantile establishment, the com- mercial docks, the mine, the oil derrick, the counting-room, office, farm, school, college and university-all these have been-and are -the separate and widely different fields of human action, effort and endeavor, upon which have been won success and distinction by the men who make the Pennsylvania of to-day, and in each are found its own special rewards, defined honors and triumphs. Are not the lives of these men well worth studying ?- to excite emula- tion ; to provide examples for the young? Here we have revealed the aim, purpose and object of this biographical work : "PROMI- NENT AND PROGRESSIVE PENNSYLVANIANS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY "-and they are prominent because progressive. Honor and station come deservedly, but as rewards to continuous exertion, to asserted ability, to fruitful intellectual activity. There is no
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
more interesting and instructive study than that of biography- it exploits the very fibre, the heart, the pulse, the blood of national growth and its results. We review history then, not in momentous events, but in the mosaic pieces of individual effort that form the fabric of the whole. What a lesson in patience, forbearance, indus- try and application is in these records of marked and brilliant success-success gained in many instances in the face of poverty, hardship, unfavorable environment, and lack of educational advan- tages ! Here we have the possibilities of man's energy, force and will exhibited to us as sign posts for those to come. What spurs to slumbering ambition, wavering effort, and the necessity of seized opportunity, are here in fulness ! Men reared on farms have lived to grace the bench ; to become powerful in the marts of commerce, influential in the halls of legislation; men born in poverty have surmounted obstacles and have achieved distinction in all branches of energy and endeavor.
A biographical work could have no higher, no broader, no more useful, or instructive mission than to present the incidents, episodes, details and achievements that have combined to make the careers of the men embraced in these volumes.
L. M. W.
Daniel 11 Harting
DANIEL H. HASTINGS.
D ANIEL HARTMAN HASTINGS, the Governor of Pennsylvania, was born in Lamar Township, Clin- ton County, in that State, February 26, 1849. He was the son of William Hastings and his wife, . Sarah Fullerton, and was the youngest of nine children. His father was born in Burncrana, County Derry, Ire- land, as were also his grandfather and great-grandfather. His mother was a native of Ayrshire, Scotland, and was born about seven miles from the birthplace of Robert Burns. Both the father and mother of Governor Hastings emigrated to America in their youth and settled in Clinton County, Pennsylvania. His father purchased a farm and Governor Hastings, in boyhood, experienced the usual life of a farmer's son. He attended the public schools, and, in 1863, before he was fifteen years of age, became a teacher in one of the schools of the neighborhood. In 1867 he went to Bellefonte as Principal of the Academy at that place and became Superintendent of the Schools of that borough. He continued in that position seven years, and in the meantime was under the tuition of Professor Murray, a graduate of Union College, and in this manner obtained for himself the only availa- ble substitute for a collegiate education. He then became Editor of the Bellefonte Republican, filling that position with conspicuous ability and success. He read law and was admitted to the Centre County Bar April 29, 1875. He practiced with marked success until 1888 when he became interested in the development of bituminous coal in Cambria County. The company with which he was connected opened extensive mines and founded and built up the towns of Hastings and Spangler.
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DANIEL H. HASTINGS.
Governor Hastings was not a soldier of the War of the Rebellion, being but twelve years old at the breaking out of hostilities, but three of his brothers were in the army. In 1877, however, he entered the National Guard of the State as Captain. He was sub- sequently elected Lieutenant-Colonel of the Fifth Regiment and was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General of the Second Brigade, then commanded by General Beaver. In 1884 he was elected Colonel of the Fifth Regiment of the National Guard and com- manded it until he became Adjutant-General of the State under Governor Beaver, in 1887. During the four years in which he served in this capacity, General Hastings' ability, zeal and efficiency were acknowledged by all, and it is but fair to say that the high place accorded the National Guard of Pennsylvania is largely due to his efforts.
In May, 1889, when the memorable flood throughout the State occurred, General Hastings was at the town of Hastings. Although not called upon by any official duty imposed upon him, he imme- diately went to Johnstown, where the flood was specially disas- trous, and was by general consent placed in control of the work of relief. His efficient and philanthropic service has been recog- nized not only by the State, but by the world, and has become a part of the history of the Commonwealth. His power of organization and his executive ability were demonstrated during the horrible six weeks which followed the disaster. His labors were unremit- ting, unwearying and without compensation. Upon his leaving Johnstown the survivors of that fateful disaster did everything in their power to show their appreciation of his services, not only by expressions of the warmest gratitude, but by the presentation of such tokens of affection and regard as the occasion prompted.
Governor Hastings has for twenty years been an active factor in the politics of Pennsylvania. In 1878 he conducted the cam- paign for Congress of his law partner, Seth H. Yocum, with such ability that, despite the large Democratic majority of the district, Mr. Yocum was elected. In the Republican State Convention of 1886 Governor Hastings presented the name of General Beaver for nomination with commanding ability. In 1888, having been
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DANIEL H. HASTINGS.
chosen as a Delegate-at-Large to the Republican National Con- vention at Chicago, General Hastings placed John Sherman, of Ohio, in nomination for the Presidency. His address upon that occasion, although one of many made by the ablest men of the country, was generally conceded to have been the best. It imme- diately brought him into prominence as a speaker of national reputation, and his services were in constant demand during the campaign which followed.
He was again a Delegate-at-Large in 1896 to the Republican National Convention which met at St. Louis and was Chairman of the Pennsylvania delegation. In this convention he made the speech which placed Senator M. S. Quay in nomination for the Presidency.
General Hastings was a candidate for the nomination for Governor in 1890, and lacked only eleven votes of receiving the nomination. It cannot be doubted that he was then, in fact, the choice of the people of Pennsylvania for Governor. The success- ful nominee of the party was defeated at the polls, and it is now generally admitted that the will of the people was thwarted by the convention.
On the 23d of May, 1894, the Republican State Convention met at Harrisburg to choose a candidate for Governor, and Gen- eral Hastings was enthusiastically and unanimously nominated for that position. William M. Singerly, the Democratic candidate who opposed him, was generally recognized for his character and ability, but General Hastings was elected by the splendid majority of 241,000. He became Governor on the 15th of January, 1895. His inaugural address was practical and patriotic. It immediately enlisted popular interest and confidence. It contained no plati- tudes and nothing of the commonplace. It disclosed a full reali- zation of the dignity and responsibility of the high office to which he had been elevated, and implanted in the popular mind the idea that he would think and act for himself. His subsequent career in the gubernatorial office has not changed the popular impression. On the 5th of January, 1897, Governor Hastings sent to the General Assembly his first biennial message, and it
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DANIEL H. HASTINGS.
was regarded by the press and by the people as one of the ablest State papers that ever emanated from an Executive of the State. Many of his recommendations have since become salutary laws of the Commonwealth.
Upon the destruction of the Capitol building by fire, in Feb- ruary, 1897, taken in connection with the falling off of the reve- nues of the Commonwealth, the Executive felt called upon to insist upon the Legislature exercising the strictest economy in all matters and in every direction, and, with that end in view, sent to the General Assembly a special message on June 7, 1897. He called especial attention to the enormous expense incurred by investigating committees, some of them of doubtful necessity, as well as the extravagance with which the public funds had theretofore been used in determining contested election cases, and earnestly urged upon the Legislature the curtailment of all expenses of that character. This message had an appreciable effect upon the Gen- eral Assembly, but at the close of the session the Governor felt it incumbent upon him to disapprove many large appropriations which he regarded as unnecessary, and which the public revenues would not permit. Many other bills, obnoxious to the public interest, although pressed with great earnestness by their authors and those interested, met Executive disapproval. These objectiona- ble measures came to him, not from the opposite political party, but from his own. It is one thing for an Executive to disagree with a legislature of the opposite party, but quite a different thing for him to be able to assert himself and disapprove what he believes to be the improper acts of his own political party.
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