USA > Pennsylvania > A biographical album of prominent Pennsylvanians, v. 1 > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50
He was nominated repeatedly by the Democrats of his Congressional district, and served with credit and honor until 1886, when he declined a renomination, preferring to spend the remainder of his days away from the annoyances of public life.
Governor Curtin lives in the most conspicuous house on the principal street of his native town. He is surrounded by all the comforts that good taste can suggest and money buy. His stone house looks almost like a castle, and it is large enough to accommodate his troop of friends who come and go as they will. His hospitality is lavish, and even the poor, homeless tramp upon the high- road gave a striking illustration of it by marking upon his gate-post for the infor- mation of all tramps who might come after: "This house is good for a square meal." Four daughters and one son are still living, as is his wife, formerly Miss Catherine Wilson, daughter of Wm. J. Wilson, of Centre county. While the ex- Governor has accumulated enough of this world's goods to make himself and his family comfortable, he is by no means very wealthy. Those who ought to know best estimate his accumulations at less than a quarter of a million dollars. When his father died he left the iron business he had created and the property he had secured to his seven children. Governor Curtin and his brothers kept it intact, and applied to its management their best business skill. For a time it was a hard, unremunerative struggle; but when the iron business thrived the property grew in value, and its gains have left the family comfortable.
It is impossible to give here more than a glance at such an eventful life as that of the subject of this sketch. One is obliged to omit much that is interesting in recording the striking acts of his life which attracted public attention to him. Governor Curtin is, in his social life, the same genial companion and attractive conversationalist, and his spirits do not seem to droop with his increasing years. He is full of stories of the past, and he still loves to speak of the prominent feat- ures of his political career ; but none of them kindle such fire in his eyes, or give such strength to his voice and eloquence to liis tongue, as a revival of the memo- ries of the war, and a reference to his career as Pennsylvania's War Governor.
PROPERTY OF AUSTIN BOYER WEISSPORT, CARBON CO. PA,
HON. JAMES H. CAMPBELL.
JAMES HEPBURN CAMPBELL.
H ON. JAMES H. CAMPBELL, lawyer, diplomatist and ex-member of Congress, was born at Williamsport, Pa., February 8, 1820. He is a son of the late Francis C. Campbell, who was for many years a leading member of the bar in that city, and was distinguished for his culture and literary tastes and integrity of character. John Campbell, father of Francis and grandfather of James Hep- burn Campbell, studied theology, and desiring to attach himself to the Protestant Episcopal Church, went to England for ordination, there not being at that time any Bishop of this church in America. He was ordained by the Bishop of Lon- don, and was for some years rector of All-Saints' Church, Hertford county, Mid- dlesex, England. He here married Miss Catharine Cutler, daughter of the Mayor of the town in which his charge was situated. On the urgent request of his father, who was living in this country, he returned to Pennsylvania, where, as his tombstone in the cemetery at Carlisle informs us, he was for "more than thirty years rector of St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church at Carlisle." The mother of Mr. Campbell was a daughter of the late Judge James Hepburn, of Northumberland, Pa.
Selecting his father's profession, James H. Campbell was admitted to the prac- tice of the law in 1841, having graduated at the Law Department of Dickinson College, Carlisle, under the instruction of the late Judge Reed. He selected Pottsville, Pa., as his arena, and soon became distinguished for his legal learning, impassioned eloquence and personal magnetism, which secured for him a large and lucrative clientele, as well as a widespread reputation ; so that for more than twenty-three years he ranked among the most eminent men at the bar.
In 1844 he was chosen to represent his Congressional District in the Whig National Convention at Baltimore, at which Henry Clay was nominated for the Presidency. In the campaign which followed, the young delegate was one of Clay's most fervid and enthusiastic supporters. In the previous campaign of 1840 Mr. Campbell had also been a representative to the Young Men's Ratifica- tion Convention, held at Baltimore, after the nomination of Wm. Henry Harrison. Upon both these occasions his youth and rare ability elicited the most favorable comment and prediction from leaders of his party. In October, 1854, although residing in a district largely Democratic, composed as it was of the counties of Schuylkill and Northumberland, he was elected, as a Whig, a member of the Thirty-fourth Congress. This was a period of bitter struggle over the Territories of the United States, between the advocates of slavery on the one hand and those of freedom on the other. It was of the first importance to the Whigs (or, as now known, the Republican party) to secure a Speaker who would guard the admis- sion of new States to the Union, by appointing territorial committees opposed to the extension of slavery. This it was which gave deep significance to the pro-
(69)
-0
JAMES H. CAMPBELL.
longed struggle in favor of N. P. Banks, which only terminated in February by the election of that gentleman as Speaker of the Thirty-fourth Congress. Mr. Campbell at once appreciated the importance of this contest, and threw the whole weight of his influence, both in Congress and with the Pennsylvania delegation, for N. P. Banks. The value of his support was recognized by the new Speaker, who consulted him as to the position on committees which would be most con- genial to his tastes. "Place me," answered Mr. Campbell, " where I can best serve the industrial interests of my State." This was done by naming him on the Committee of Ways and Means, where, although a new member, and one of the youngest men in the House, he led the opposition of all measures tending to a reduction of the Tariff. The Chairman of the Ways and Means having reported to the House a bill for that purpose, the battle waged against it by Mr. Campbell and his colleague, Mr. Covode, attracted the attention of Hon. James G. Blaine, who makes special mention of it in his published reminiscences of men of his time.
In 1858 Mr. Campbell was re-elected to Congress, and took an active part in opposition to all those measures of President Buchanan's administration which had in view the extension of slavery to the Territories. In 1860 his speech against the resolutions known as the " Crittenden Compromise " made a profound impression, and attracted general attention.
In that period of deep national anxiety, when dissensions between the States were rapidly advancing to a tragic culmination, the minds of all thinking men were strained to the utmost in endeavor to devise plans which might avert the impending catastrophe. One of these plans was embodied in a resolution of the House of Representatives, calling for the appointment of a committee, to be composed of one member from each State, to consider the political condition of the Union, and to report to the House a measure, or measures, to reconcile exist- ing difficulties. It was a grave and solemn final effort, as it were, undertaken in the very teeth of the crisis, and the members of this committee (known to his- tory as the " Committee of Thirty-three," Hon. Thos. Corwin, of Ohio, Chairman) were carefully selected, each one being an influential and representative man of his State, and many of them of national distinction. There could be no more eloquent expression of the estimation in which Mr. Campbell was held in these national councils than the fact of his being appointed on this committee to repre- sent Pennsylvania. His constituency demonstrated their appreciation by return- ing him to Congress in 1860 for a third term by a largely increased majority. In the stormy times which followed he voted for and advocated every measure calculated to strengthen the Government and suppress the Rebellion.
On President Lincoln's proclamation calling for 75,000 troops for three months' service, which was the official announcement of war, Mr. Campbell went at once, on April 17, 1861, to the National Capital to aid in its defence. He passed safely through the ruffian mob of Baltimore, which was streaming out from that city to destroy the railroads, and thus cut off the expected troops from the North. The train carrying Mr. Campbell was the last to pass in safety. It was closely
.
71
JAMES H. CAMPBELL.
followed by the one conveying a Massachusetts regiment, which had to fight its way through the infuriated city. All communication between the capital and the North by rail or wire was now cut off. The rebels were encamped on the other side of the Potomac, and, with the exception of a small force of the regular army, a few marines, five companies of volunteers from Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts regiment already spoken of, the capital was unprotected, and might easily have fallen into the hands of its enemies had they had the courage to strike promptly. In this stress, when every man was of importance, the visitors and strangers present in the beleaguered city formed themselves into a battalion, elected Cassius M. Clay to the command, and offered its services to the Government. Mr. Campbell was a member of this impromptu organization, which was regularly mustered into the service, and nightly took his share in the strict patrol necessary for the protection of Washington, being now on watch at the White House, and again at the Navy Yard, seeing the camp fires of the enemy just across the river, until a route was improvised by the Government by which the forces of the North came pouring in. Clay's temporary battalion, being no longer needed, was disbanded, and Mr. Campbell was elected Major of the Twenty-fifth Regiment of Pennsylvania Infantry (Col. Henry L. Cake), which was now in Washington. He was engaged in active duty with that regiment until the expiration of the three months' service, when it was honorably mustered out. Resuming his seat in the House, where he was appointed Chairman of the Select Committee on the Pacific Railroad, he reported a bill in favor of the mid- dle route, the southern one being impracticable on account of the attitude of the Southern States. Indeed the whole scheme was at that time held to be imprac- ticable, in view of the Government having a great war on its hands; but Mr. Campbell, by his tact, ability and personal magnetism, was able to carry to a successful conclusion his bill complete in all its details, under which the road was subsequently built.
In 1863, during the invasion of Pennsylvania by General Lee, Mr. Campbell, with the late lamented General James Nagle, raised a regiment of 1, 100 men, and proceeded to the seat of conflict. General Nagle, then Colonel of the Thirty- ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers, was appointed Brigadier-General, leaving Mr. Campbell its Lieutenant-Colonel in command. After it was mustered out of service, August 2, 1863, President Lincoln offered Mr. Campbell the appointment of Judge (under the treaty with Great Britain) of the Court for the Suppression of the African Slave Trade, to reside at Capetown, Africa. This he declined. In 1864 President Lincoln appointed him United States Minister to Sweden and Norway, which he accepted, took up his residence in Stockholm, and remained there three years. Mr. Lincoln's appreciation of the subject of this sketch was characteristically expressed when the Governor of Pennsylvania, Andrew G. Curtin, advanced to him the reasons why Mr. Campbell was worthy of a diplo- matic appointment. As soon as the President perceived the drift of Mr. Curtin's remarks, he interrupted him with a cordial "Campbell needs no setting up here."
72
JAMES H. CAMPBELL.
Afterward, when taking leave of the departing minister, Mr. Lincoln remarked to him: "Oh! Campbell, if you should go up the coast of Norway and see the Maelstrom, and are not drawn in, I wish you would write me a description of it." The summer of 1866 was spent by him in travel within the Arctic Circle; lic visited the most northern town in the world (Hammerfest), lived under the mid- night sun, and saw the Maelstrom; but the lamented President had been assassi- nated.
In March, 1867, President Johnson tendered to Mr. Campbell the diplomatic mission to the United States of Colombia, South America. No such appoint- ment had been sought by Mr. Campbell, and he returned the commission which had been sent him, giving as a reason that " his views of public and political questions were not in harmony with those of the Executive." He returned to America in the autumn of 1867, and resided for some time in Philadelphia, engaged in the practice of his profession, but finally quitted it in large part for the country and agricultural pursuits, of which he had always been extremely fond.
He was married in 1843 to Juliet, eldest daughter of the late Chief-Justice Ellis Lewis, of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, a lady of rare character, cul- ture and literary attainments, sketches of whom are to be found in both May's and Griswold's " Female Poets of America." By her he had five children, two of whom are now living. His daughter, Mrs. J. Campbell Ver Planck, has achieved distinction in dramatic and other lines of literature.
Mr. Campbell has always been an advocate of Protection to American Industry, following in his views the teachings of Henry Clay. His political history is best summed up by saying that he ardently and actively supported the nominations to the Presidency of Mr. Lincoln, General Grant, General Garfield and Mr. Blaine. Always a brilliant and impassioned orator, he rendered many minor services to his party in various campaigns, when his glowing and ready extem- poraneous speeches carried the additional weight of an absolutely unblemished record, which even his political opponents had never attempted to assail.
E. T. F.
-
HON. WILLIAM H. KOONTZ.
WILLIAM HENRY KOONTZ.
H ON. WILLIAM H. KOONTZ, ex-Representative in Congress of the Sixteenth District of Pennsylvania, was born July 15, 1830, in the beautiful town of Somerset, the capital of the county of that name. It is one of the oldest towns in the southwestern part of the State, and has been the home of many distinguished lawyers and statesmen, and counts among its most honored citi- zens the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. His grandfather, Samuel Koontz, came from Lancaster county, and was one of the earlier settlers of Somerset. His father, Jacob Koontz, was a farmer, and was born and reared in the town of Somerset ; so that the family have been closely identified with that place since its earliest history. It was here that the late Judge Jeremiah S. Black commenced the practice of the law, and filled his first public position-that of Deputy Attorney-General for the county.
Mr. Koontz received a common school education, and studied law with Messrs. Forward & Stutzman, a leading law firm of Somerset, and was admitted to prac- tice in 1851. In 1853 he was elected District Attorney, which office he filled with ability for three years. He was an original Republican, and in 1857 was nominated for State Senator, but was defeated owing to local issues.
In 1860 he was a delegate to the National Republican Convention which met at Chicago, and Mr. Koontz was one of the first to cast his vote for Abraham Lincoln. The same year he was elected Prothonotary of his county, and served for three years. He always took an active part in local, State and National politics, speaking whenever called upon, and occupying a seat in many prominent politi- cal bodies. It was highly proper, therefore, and a credit to the district, composed of Somerset, Bedford, Fulton, Franklin and Adams counties, when, in 1864, the rising lawyer of Somerset was sent to Congress by his party, and still more creditable to the district when, in 1866, he was re-elected. He was a conspicuous member during the exciting period of President Johnson's term. He was a member of the House Committees on District of Columbia and Expenditures of the Interior Department. But it was as an advocate of the Reconstruction measures which occupied so much of the attention of the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses that Representative Koontz did his most effective work. Vice-President Wilson, in his " History of the Reconstruction Measures," says of him : " Mr. Koontz, of Pennsylvania, was for the protection of the people of the South who had been true to the Union, without regard to race or color," and quotes from Mr. Koontz's speech on the subject as follows :
" The great duty rests upon us lo finish the work which was not completed by warfare. The shackles of four million slaves were melted by the fierce fires of civil war; but the animus of slavery, its passions and prejudices, yet remain. It is our duty so to legislate as to remove the last relic of a barbarism that would have suited the dark ages, and to conform our institutions to the advanced condition to which we
(73)
10
74
WILLIAM HI. KOONTZ.
have been brought by the mighty revolution just ended. And when this shall be done, the Great Republic, freed from the dark stain of human slavery, will start upon her mission to promulgate, by pre- cept and example, the immutable and eternal truth of the equality of man, and before whose resistless march kingdoms and powers and all the systems built upon caste and creed for the oppression of man will be swept from the face of the earth and known no more forever."
Mr. Koontz spoke earnestly in favor of a resolution for the relief of the desti- tute in the South, believing it to be a measure dictated by the teachings of Chris- tianity, as well as a "most powerful measure of Reconstruction," and he again addressed the House on a supplemental Reconstruction bill.
Although at first opposed to the impeachment proceedings, he finally favored them. In a speech delivered March 2, 1868, he argued that the violation of the Tenure of Office Act was Sufficient ground for summoning Mr. Johnson to the bar of the Senate, closing with the remark : " If the highest officer of the Gov- ernment has violated the law, and subjected himself to removal from office, a law- abiding and intelligent people will acquiesce in the verdict."
Among the speeches he made was one in which he eulogized Hon. Thaddeus Stevens as " ripe in years and wisdom, and honored with the confidence and love of his fellow-countrymen."
It should be mentioned in recounting Mr. Koontz's career, both in public life as well as a legal advocate, that he is one of the ablest speakers in the State. He is clear in his utterances, pleasing in his address, and has a conception of the soundest and best arguments for his subjects. At Lancaster, June 15, 1880, he delivered an address before the literary societies of Franklin and Marshall Col- lege on "American Politics," which received the highest praise from the press and public. In 1875 he spoke in the Ohio canvass. He made addresses in 1876 in the political campaign in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland, and took the stump in the Garfield campaign in 1880 in Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1884 lie canvassed a considerable portion of the State of Pennsylvania, and also spoke in Maryland, and in 1887 made several speeches in Ohio. Among the many political conventions to which he was a delegate and always a prominent figure was that which nominated General Geary for Governor, and that which named Judge Sterrett, although Mr. Koontz was an ardent supporter of Judge Agnew, who received nearly one hundred votes. In 1880 he was a member of the con- vention which selected delegates to Chicago, where General Garfield was nomi- nated for President. He went to Harrisburg on this occasion as Senatorial dele- gate for Bedford, Fulton and Somerset counties. He was a Blaine man, and acted against the dominant ring, and the Committee on Credentials refused to seat him on account of his avowed friendship for Mr. Blaine ; but a representative delegate of the district resigned in his favor, and Mr. Koontz was seated in spite of the anti-Blaine men. At a mass meeting of the Republicans held in Somerset on April 27, 1881, which was addressed by Mr. Koontz, the action of those in control of the party was vigorously denounced in a resolution, which was unanimously adopted by the meeting.
75
WILLIAM II. KOONTZ.
As an original Independent Republican, in opposition to the dictation of the party managers, his record begins long before that of Mr. Wolfe, of Union county, and is clear, consistent and unswerving. He always denounced the selfish and designing men who usurped the high prerogative of ruling the Republican party and controlling it regardless of the wishes of the people.
A short extract from his scholarly address on "American Politics," before referred to as having been delivered at Lancaster, will serve to show the high character of his conception of the duties of citizenship. He denounced machine politics as " more dangerous to the country than any other evil that now threatens it, communism not excepted," and pointed the remedy in the ballot and in attending the primaries. The address concluded with this excellent admonition, which we quote :
" Let me admonish you, then, to guard this sacred trust ; to help educate your fellow-countrymen up to the highest standard of American citizenship; to guard the ballot as you would the apple of your eye. And if all the young men who this year go forth from the various institutions of learning throughout the land resolve to do all in their power to purify American politics, then, indeed, would we realize, in fact, that ideal republic seen by the mental eye of John Milton, when looking down through the vista of time, he exclaimed : ' Methinks I see a noble and puissant nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks; methinks I see her as an eagle, mewing her mighty youth and kindling her undazzled vision at the full midday beam, purging and unscaling her oft-abused sight at the very fountain itself of heavenly radiance.'"
Mr. Koontz was a personal friend of President Garfield, and his tribute to him in the Disciple Church, in Somerset, September 26, 1881, was masterly and exhaustive. He has been prominently identified with railroads in the south- western portion of the State, and has served for many years as a Director of the Pittsburgh and Connellsville, the Somerset and Cambria, and Berlin Railroads.
Since the close of his Congressional career, in 1869, he has devoted himself almost exclusively to the practice of his profession in Somerset, Bedford and adjoining counties. He has been for nearly twenty years on one side or the other of every important case tried in the courts of his county, and was success- ful in nearly all of those brought by himself. Being a close student, a clear thinker, a logical reasoner, and presenting his points and facts with a clearness and force almost irresistible, he has attained the highest standing in the profession in the counties in which he practiced. His professional reputation is exceeded by that of no one who practices at the same bar with him. His powers as an advocate are of the first order, and his discussions of all legal questions are admirable specimens of forensic skill.
In concluding this imperfect sketch of one of the most prominent of the citizens of the State, it can truly be said that no man has ever resided in his locality who more thoroughly enjoyed the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens. In his beautiful mansion, where he entertains his friends, he is respected and loved as a whole-souled, genial gentleman, whom it is a pleasure to know and honor.
SOL. FOSTER.
HON. SAMUEL B. DICK.
SAMUEL BERNARD DICK.
Tr is not often that a man is so thoroughly American that he can trace his ancestry resident in this country to before the Revolutionary War. The Dick family began in Pennsylvania very early in its history. The first of the American plant found its way to this land of freedom from the north of Ireland. For many generations they are Scotch-Irish on both sides of the family tree. Not a single instance can be traced until within very late years where there has been an intermingling of this strong physical and mental strain with any other nationality.
William Dick was one of the earliest and strongest representatives of this family in America. He came from near Belfast, and his wife, Anna MeGunnegle, daughter of a strong Scotch-Irish family, was born at Carlisle in 1768. This union produced some very strong men, physically and mentally. John Dick was one of five sons, and grew up to a useful and notable life in Western Penn- sylvania. As merchant, politician and soldier he left his impress on that whole region. From the forks of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, where the busy city of Pittsburgh stands, William Dick-his father-moved to the spot where Meadville is now making its way to the dignity of a provincial city. He went there in 1794 when John, his second son, was an infant. John Dick was a magnificent specimen of manhood-tall, fine-looking and full of the vigor of a strong, physical and intellectual life. He was a natural soldier, and, as one of the first generals of militia in this State, impressed his individuality and prowess upon the young men of that locality as he impressed his business and individual life upon every phase of the industrial, educational and material advancement of that region. Growing in power and usefulness beyond his immediate surround- ings, he for three consecutive terms represented his district in the Congress of the United States with becoming dignity and credit to all concerned. Few men or families have lived who have been so thoroughly identified with the building up of a part of a great commonwealth as have the Dicks in Western Pennsylvania.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.