USA > Pennsylvania > Prominent and progressive Pennsylvanians of the nineteenth century. Volume II > Part 1
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மாந்தை- மிச்ச ராம்வத் ஸீபதினை ந்தாநீர்ற்கும்புக்கு கடு பி தற்றுகள் -து.
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01202 8004
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UNIVERSITY
OF PENNSYLVANIA.
PROMINENT AND PROGRESSIVE
PENNSYLVANIANS
OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY.
A REVIEW OF THEIR CAREERS.
" Nil Mortalibus arduum est." -HORACE.
VOLUME II.
Editors : LELAND M. WILLIAMSON,
RICHARD A. FOLEY,
HENRY H. COLCLAZER,
LOUIS N. MEGARGEE,
JAY H. MOWBRAY, WILL. R. ANTISDEL.
974.8 W 67p V.2
PHILADELPHIA : THE RECORD PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1898.
COPYRIGHT, JANUARY, 1898, BY JAMES S. MCCARTNEY, RECORD BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
1200333
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LEWIS C. CASSIDY.
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1
THE RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIA.
EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
N the first volume of this work the preface to the biographical history of upwards of two hundred of Pennsylvania's most notable sons, outlined in brief the personal side of the Commonwealth's progress. Pointing out the strength of the State in its rich human treasures of brain, brawn and muscle, it comprised a proud roster of golden deeds by men of noble purpose. But while the State may be grand in the greatness of those citizens who by their energy, progress and force have advanced it into the front rank of the Sisterhood of the Union, yet in its natural resources it possesses that touchstone which is invariably necessary to the expansion of the powers of its men of genius, invention and industrial skill. The forceful character and admirable activity of the Pennsylvanians whose life histories are all too briefly told in this work have found in the prodigality of the State's natural advantages a splendid field for development. And yet it is not to the wealth of the soil, the salubrity of the climate, the lavishness of nature's gifts, that they owe their prominence. Nor is it to the immensity of the textile production, the wonderful increase of industrial wealth, the riches of the mines, the forces of the factories or the magic of commerce that their individual eminence and success are to be attributed. Say, rather, it is to the creative ability of such men, to their far- seeing judgment, their indomitable courage and personal enterprise I
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
that these things owe their greatness and wealth-producing capacity. While the natural properties of the State are confined within its geographical boundaries, yet through the alchemy of trade their benefits are enjoyed by all mankind and in the upbuilding of its unequalled sources of financial and commercial strength, not only the native born of Pennsylvania have participated, but, invited by the prospects of prosperity, the brainiest men of all nations have eagerly adopted it as their home. To the laboring classes as well, it has afforded a never failing haven of hope.
So well is the industrial and manufacturing history of the State known that it is unnecessary to point out the successes achieved by such leaders as Andrew Carnegie, or the Cramps, or by the oil mag- nates of western and central Pennsylvania, the builders of locomo- tives, of international steamships; or the industrial pilots in a thousand and one channels of trade and manufacture. Some idea of the course of life pursued by those who have achieved such deserved reward is given in the biographies herein contained. And to this array of prominent examples of what talent and energy properly directed may achieve, must be added those who have won the laurels of fame and the meed of recognized worth in the legislative halls, in the law-making assemblies and in foreign courts as representatives of their fellows. Herewith, too, must be contained those who have attained glory and the love of their people in the cannon's mouth ; those who have, through fine analytical powers secured a high place in the scientific or professional world ; in short, all who liave discerned in the many ramifications connected with the natural resources of the State, brilliant opportunities to win honor and fame.
It is, therefore, of both importance and interest that an outline of the materials with which these able hands have wrought should be given in connection with the personal history of those who have worked and won. Within the 45,215 square miles which comprise Pennsylvania's territory, there are scores of manufactories which are
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
the greatest of their kind in the world. Recent statistical reports show that in the manufacture of wool and silk and of textile fabrics Pennsylvania stands in the front rank, while within the past few years the output of coal and iron has increased so largely as to be almost amazing. The Bureau of Industrial Statistics, in a report which covered all the progress made up until 1897, showed that there were 65 silk manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, with a total of 557,412 spindles and 305 hand looms. During the year 1896 the aggregate amount of wages paid out in the manufacture of silk alone, exclusive of salaries of clerks, salesmen and members or officers of firms was $4,082,292.08. The gross value of the product for the year was placed at $24,184,583.84. In this great industry 13,815 persons were employed.
In the production of carpet, Pennsylvania leads the United States. According to the last general census, the total value of the carpet made in this country in a year was $47,770,193. Of this, Pennsylvania produced $22,886,416. Philadelphia is the greatest city in the country in the manufacture of carpet, and it affords the wonderful spectacle of a whole district given up solely to that industry. It is doubtful if anywhere in the world there is such a manufacturing centre as Kensington, where 11,699 people are given employment in carpet mills, which are valued at $13,979,774. The men who control this great industry are among the leading man- ufacturers of the world, and the immense plants which they have built and developed will long remain as monuments to their indi- vidual worth and to the powerful commercial growth of their city. A recent statistical approximation indicated that in 1896 there were 144 carpet mills in the State, the value of their products being placed at $25,175,057. The number of operatives employed was estimated at 13,931, and this shows in itself a great growth, even since 1890, when the most recent United States census was taken. Pennsylvania sends its carpet all over the world, and in
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
some grades it has no competition worthy of the name. Yet this is but a small item in the general importance of the State's tex- tile and industrial growth.
In coal, iron and oil the Keystone State has long enjoyed a trinity of riches which have engaged, in their commercial rela- tions, the best energies of men who, in enriching themselves, have doubly enriched the Commonwealth. The output of coal in Pennsylvania in 1895 was 51,783,122 long tons, which was a con- siderable increase from 1894. In 1896-97 there was an additional enlargement in the output, but strikes and climatic conditions had their effect in reducing, to a certain extent, a proportionate increase. In 1895 there were 50,617,446 short tons of bituminous coal produced, an increase of nearly 11,000,000 tons over the year before.
Through the existence of all this wealth and its development by men who stand at the head of their various lines, Pennsylvania en- joys a prosperity second to no State in the Union. Its charities are among the best conducted known, and the hand of succor is freely extended both by public and private institutions. In fact, its asy- lums, hospitals and homes are looked upon as models throughout the country, and their methods are frequently adopted by other States and in distant lands. According to a recent report, in one year the amount paid by the State for hospitals and asylums was $600,729; for soldiers' orphans schools, $225,668; for a soldiers' and sailors' home, located at Erie, $100,860; for charitable institutions, $1,010,253, and for miscellaneous institutions, $203,783.
Pennsylvania's educational institutions are a power in the land. The usefulness of its citizens is due in no small measure to the sys- tem of free education in which it has excelled through many periods of progress, and that future generations will carry out the splendid purposes and high aims of their forbears is assured in the complete- ness of the educational system under which their minds are being
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
trained into usefulness and meritorious activity. At no time in the history of the Union has the outlook for the development of its sons been brighter, viewed from this standpoint. Pennsylvania occupies a notable position in the work of training the young. In the year 1890 the appropriations to the public schools aggregated $2,000,000, and in 1891, they attained to the enormous increase of $5,000,000. Since that time this fund has been very largely added to, and the most recent feature adopted in the plan of educating those who are to comprise the strength of the community in years to come-that of compulsory attendance at school -- has proved of great assistance to the watchful guardians who have this all-important trust under their direction and care. Surely there can be no more praiseworthy record written of a Commonwealth than that of exercising itself in the fit- ting of its future citizens for careers of helpfulness and progress, especially when to all there are opened the bright and inviting roads of success which lead, for those who persist in plodding onward, to the heights of honorable prosperity. In the lives of Pennsylvania's great men, those who are to follow them may find their most preg- nant lessons, and it is largely the purpose of this publication to pre- serve to posterity some record of the life work of the citizens of the Commonwealth whose brilliant achievements illumine the closing days of the century.
And what a period of advancement it has been! When the Nineteenth Century dawned, the Union had seen but a score or so of years of independence,-years darkened by tribulation, tur- moil and trepidation. When the century was young the prospects of the Union were overshadowed by the War of 1812, and on its footsteps came a second armed struggle, this time with Mexico, followed up, in the unhappy days of the sixties, with fratricidal strife. Through it all Pennsylvania was the Keystone-the centre of an arch which grew in strength from the original thirteen, until, with the coming of a new era, it may reach a splendid
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
half hundred. In everything which has marked the progress of the country, Pennsylvania has been foremost. In war and in peace its sons have led the vanguard and paced the onward stride. If the Keystone State proved glorious in war it has indicated itself doubly glorious in hallowed and prosperous peace. With its products recognized everywhere as of standard excellence, with hundreds of thousands of eager, earnest and ambitious men, high and low, great and humble, uniting in one grand endeavor to place their State still higher on the latter-day roll of honor, it possesses a wealth which neither circumstance nor time can destroy. As long as the individual spirit of enterprise, ambition, energy and forceful striving dominates each citizen, the State itself can but prosper. To-day Pennsylvania has within its borders about 6,000,000 people, and its wealth is so great that not alone are these supported by the various pursuits in which the promi- nent men of the times have attained distinction, but the vast influ- ence exerted by this centre of remarkable energy encircles the globe. In 1790 Pennsylvania's population was 434,373, and its prosperity was proportionate. In 1820 1,047,507 people were proud to say that Pennsylvania was their home. In 1850, ten years before the firing of the guns which almost sundered the Sister- hood of States, the residents of Pennsylvania numbered 2,311,786, and in 1860 the population was 2,906,215. Since that time it has more than doubled. . According to the census of 1890 the popula- tion was 5,258,014.
It is, then, all the more praiseworthy and remarkable that some hundreds, in the face of such competition and among so many thousands striving for the goal of success, should outstrip the rank and file and attain a place so far in advance that they are looked upon as leaders. Leaving behind them the less active and able plodders on the highway of life, the Pennsylvanians whose careers are reviewed in these pages have proved themselves the forerunners
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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION.
of a new era of advancement. There could be no more comprehen- sive history of a State and its people written than that which deals with the life work of those who, by their own endeavor and in- domitable will, have placed themselves where they well deserve the title, "Prominent and Progressive;" and in this publication the golden lessons of lives well spent are illustrated in the biogra- phies of the celebrated citizens of our Commonwealth.
R. A. F.
Al Adaire
ALEXANDER ADAIRE.
T HERE is no surer indication of the general advance- ment of a community than the actual condition of its public school system, and the fact that in Penn- sylvania the rising generation is given almost un- limited opportunities for self-culture points out that the services of the brightest men of the times have been enlisted in the development of the educational plan. In Philadelphia the public schools have had the influence of men of high attainments and great experience and judgment, and withal, an unselfishness which makes them doubly admirable. Alexander Adaire has been so closely connected with the progress of his city that his work stands out prominently at all points. For a score of years or more he has been one of the most active factors in developing the public school system of Philadelphia.
ALEXANDER ADAIRE was born in the district of Kensington, Philadelphia, May 7, 1834, was educated in the public schools and has served the people in the Legislature for a number of years. His identification with the interests of that part of the city in which he lives is so complete that the history of one is the his- tory of the other. After receiving a thorough education the young man entered into the business life of the city as an active partici- pant in its affairs. Before many years rolled over his head he took part in the leading political movements of and exhibited a particular interest in the educational system and its administration. Mr. Adaire was for a number of years engaged in the building business in Philadelphia, and attained prominence as one of the leading men in this industry. However, it was more as a man of public service that he became widely known in Pennsylvania.
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ALEXANDER ADAIRE
When the State of Pennsylvania was being mapped out in rail- roads, and the various systems were being perfected, Mr. Adaire was made Chairman of the Railroad Committee, and for his effi- cient work at that time received the approval of many prominent officials. During all this time he was carrying on his own exten- sive business successfully.
For the past twenty-one years Mr. Adaire has been recognized as one of the leading factors in educational matters, having served the people well and faithfully as a member of the Board of Public Education during that period. He has looked after the interests of the children of Philadelphia with a high regard for their wel- fare, and some of the most notable reforms and improvements which have been introduced in the administration of the schools are directly traceable to his influence and work. At the time of the great change which took place in the public school system under the superintendency of Dr. McAlister, Mr. Adaire was Chair- man of the Committee on Revision of Studies, then one of the most important committees in the Board. In acknowledgment of his efficient discharge of the duties of this position Mr. Adaire received from Dr. McAlister a highly commendatory letter, in which the latter said: "You have given me in your quiet and unas- suming way the kind of help that counts for so much to one occupying an official position. Your place at the head of the Com- mittee on Revision of Studies was of great value to me. Your unvarying good-will always made me feel that I could depend upon you for carrying through any measure that was right."
Mr. Adaire is still connected with the most important interests of public education, being Chairman of the Night School Com- mittee, and he is also a member of the Committee of Property, Central High School, Estimates and University. Under his care the night schools have progressed rapidly. He established the first Night Sewing School in the midst of the mill districts in the winter of 1893, and it increased steadily from fifteen pupils, who registered the first evening, until, at the close of the term, the number on the roll was nearly six hundred. The Night Sewing School was one of the most important departures introduced for
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ALEXANDER ADAIRE.
many years in the school system of Philadelphia, and it was due to Mr. Adaire's individual efforts and his vast experience and ripe judg- ment that the project was successful. There are now sixteen of these night sewing schools in different parts of the city, and they are recognized as the best of their kind in the United States. During Mr. Adaire's period of connection with the public school system, old school houses have been torn down and magnificent ones erected in their stead, and those which have been left stand- ing have been remodeled with every convenience. Many other improvements have been inaugurated, and Mr. Adaire's name is indissolubly connected with the school system of Philadelphia.
In the lumber business the name of Alexander Adaire is equally well known. At present he is engaged in that industry, having a large establishment at the corner of Howard and Berks streets, Philadelphia, where, although one of the busiest of men, he finds time for his other interests of a public nature. He has been connected with the Lumbermen's Exchange since it was first organized, having served several terms as Director. He now has the honor of being President of the Exchange, an office to which he was elected in recognition of his experience and able talents. Mr. Adaire belongs to most of the organizations, both charitable and social, in the section of the city where he resides. He is a Mason of the Thirty-second Degree. He is a member of the Trades League, and is also enrolled in the membership of the Board of Trade. There are few men more widely known, and none more modest and retiring than Alexander Adaire, yet his life work has been such as to place him among the best of those who have carved for themselves a niche in the temple of Pennsylvania's lasting fame.
JOSEPH M. ADAMS.
A S a member of the municipal legislative body, Joseph M. Adams, the subject of this biography, is widely known, and his career in public life has pointed out the fact that integrity and honesty of purpose are sure of success, when backed by good and active mental qualities. Mr. Adams has been connected with the direction of his city's affairs since 1881, in some capacity or other, and in the meantime has advanced himself to a respected position in the Philadelphia community, as one of its inost successful man- ufacturers. A native of Ireland, but developed and brought up on American soil, he is in every sense a representative Pennsylvanian, and one who, upon all occasions, honors his State.
JOSEPH M. ADAMS was born in Tammany, Donegal County, Ireland, October 6, 1850. He came of a family which was well known in that part of Ireland. His parents, John Adams and Ann Miller, were both natives of Newton, Londonderry County, Ireland, and shortly after the birth of their son, Rawlins, they came to Amer- ica, confident that the new land across the seas afforded better oppor- tunities for the rising generation than did the mother country. They finally settled in Philadelphia. Here, when he was eleven years old, Joseph M. Adams had already been admitted to the Newton Boys' Grammar School of that city. He was too young to graduate, thirteen years being the limit. When he attained that age, he was compelled to leave school, owing to his father's illness. After leaving school, Mr. Adams learned the trade of carding, at which he worked from 1870 to 1874. In 1874 he began business as a grocer in West Philadelphia. In 1878 he entered into partnership with Robert Ray, in Hestonville, and engaged in
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JOSEPH M. ADAMS.
the manufacture of carpet yarns. This firm was dissolved in 1879, in which year Mr. Adams went to Manayunk. His first expe- rience there was with the Enterprise Mill, on Main Street, where he started spinning in 1880. He was very successful in this line, when the building was destroyed by fire. He at once established himself at Kenworthy Mill, on Shurs Lane, where he continued until 1886, when the opportunity for securing the premises now occupied by him presented itself. From 1863 to 1867 Mr. Adams was connected with James Ledward in the Good Intent Mills, of Chester. From 1867 to 1870 he was connected with Mullineau & Fury, on Twenty-third Street, Philadelphia, and from 1870 to 1874 was a carder for Seth Humphrey, at Lower Merion, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
While Mr. Adams was progressing as a manufacturer, his advance along political lines was parallel. He became interested in the management of Philadelphia's local government about 1880, in a practical manner, and, in 1881, he was elected a school director, serving until 1888. During that term Philadelphia's educational affairs in his particular section received his earnest attention, and he became known as one of the most able members of the School Board. In 1888, as a recognition of his worth and merit, his con- stituents in the Twenty-first Ward named him for Common Council, to which body he was elected, and served until 1892. In 1892 Mr. Adams was slated for higher honors, and was elected to Select Council. As a member of the upper branch of municipal govern- ment, representing the Twenty-first Ward, he has ever since con- tinued in the direction of public affairs, in a manner most admirably suited to his constituents and the people of Philadelphia generally.
Mr. Adams' factory is now at Main and Centre streets, Mana- yunk, and he is also interested, from a business standpoint, in the Wissahickon Electric Railroad and the Westminster Cemetery Com- pany and the Manayunk Trust Company. Having a considerable knowledge of financial affairs, he has for a long time been identi- fied with the latter institution, in the direction of the affairs of which he is an active factor. Mr. Adams is now a Director in the Stand- ard Mutual Insurance Company, of the Westminster Cemetery
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JOSEPH M. ADAMS.
Company, and he occupies a similar position in the Roxborough Country Club, one of the leading social organizations in that sec- tion. He is a member of the Roxborough Lodge, A. Y. M., the Harmony Chapter, Mary Commandery, the Country Club and the Manufacturers' Club. He is interested, as a man of public life, in the Union Republican Club, of which he is a member, as well as the Twenty-first Ward Republican Club. Mr. Adams has taken quite an interest in larger work during his life, and among his other connections may be mentioned that of Trustee in the Rox- borough Baptist Church. He is also Trustee of the Nugent Home for Aged Ministers, a well known Baptist institution, which affords a home for ministers of this denomination, and their wives, at a beautiful place in Germantown.
On December 1, 1874, Mr. Adams was married to Mary E. Rawlins, of Lower Merion, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. They have one son living, T. Rawlins Adams, who is a graduate of the '97 class of the Central High School, having been the valedictorian of his class. In the maintenance of his business, and the development of his plant at Manayunk, Mr. Adams finds his chief interest to-day, but he never loses sight of his social connections, and his participation in church matters is still active. In the direction of the affairs of his city he is one of the most prominent figures, and Select Council has no more representative man in its ranks.
OH, Hadick
WILLIAM HENRI ADDICKS.
L EGAL practice in that branch which deals in the laws governing or affecting corporations has engaged the attention of some of the most eminent attorneys at the Philadelphia Bar-men who have won fame and fortune in delving into the intricacies of statu- tory and common law, and extracting therefrom whatever would be of value to their clients. Indeed, the services of the keen- witted attorneys who have proven themselves to be thoroughly versed in this specialty have been so much in demand, and the recompense for their labors has been so satisfactory, that the men who have become widely known as successful corporation attorneys have usually almost completely abandoned every other class of causes, and turned their whole energies into this one profitable channel. The Philadelphia Bar has among its members many of the foremost of this class, not the least successful of whom is William Henri Addicks, the subject of this biography.
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