USA > Pennsylvania > A biographical album of prominent Pennsylvanians, v. 3 > Part 18
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ISO
HENRY DISSTON.
or their superintendents. The different stages or processes of manufacture had been so arranged that the visitors were shown, as they moved along through the works, the practical work of making a saw from the rolling of the steel-plate to the finishing of the tool ready for use. The delegates stated that it was the most unique, interesting, instructive and best arranged exemplification they had witnessed of the work done by any establishment they had visited on the entire trip through the country, and gave them a better conception of the work turned out by the concern than anything else could possibly have done. Each one in attendance upon. that occasion was presented with a handsome and unique souvenir of the visit in the shape of a badge made of miniature saws, the cross- bar representing a cross-cut saw, to which was suspended, by two crossed hand saws, a medal in the shape of a circular saw, all appropriately lettered to com- memorate the affair. The visit to the works appeared to create a more favorable impression upon the delegates than any other feature of their sojourn in Phila- delphia.
Mr. Disston was very charitable, and among other benevolent acts distributed soup to the poor of the neighborhood during the winter season, besides main- taining a private dispensary for the relief of their bodily ailments. He was a prominent member in the Presbyterian Church, and his gifts largely aided in founding the Oxford Church. He was also a member in the Masonic order and of the St. George's Society. Since his death the Disston Memorial Infirmary, situated on Twenty-third street above Brown, has been established in memory of her husband by Mrs. Disston. It is under the supervision of the managers of the Northern Home for Friendless Children and Soldiers' Orphans' Institute, and is one of the most beneficent charities in the city. His widow and five sons survived him, but one of them, Albert, died in 1883. The business is now con- ducted by the other sons-Hamilton, Horace C., William and Jacob.
C. R. D.
F. GUTEKUNST,
FHILA
JAMES DOAK. JR.
JAMES DOAK, JR.
PHILADELPHIA contains many instances of the opportunities afforded by the free institutions of this country for the advancement of the workingman, and of the chances for the energetic youths of foreign countries to gratify their ambition, and fulfil the desire to better their condition and rise in the world by force of character and industry. Few better examples of this can be found than in JAMES DOAK, JR., one of the most successful of the textile manufacturers of that city-a group of men who compare favorably in general sagacity and enterprise with any similar body in the business classes in this country.
James Doak, Jr., was born in Londonderry, Ireland, June 14, 1837. His father, believing that America offered better opportunities for improving his own condition and for the education of his children, immigrated to this country when the son was about seven years of age, and, after a brief residence in New York city, removed to Newark, N. J., where he engaged in the grocery business. He afterwards removed to Fall River, Mass., remaining there about eighteen months, and subsequently went to Philadelphia, where he commenced the manufacture, by hand, of checked cotton goods.
Mr. Doak received his primary education in the private schools of his native country, and supplemented it by attendance at the public schools of America in the different cities in which his father chanced to reside after his arrival in this country until, at the age of ten years, the boy obtained employment in the factory of Joseph Flemming, at Fairmount, where he attended a cotton-picker. He afterwards went to learn the trade of weaver with Isaac Rowe, but subsequently accompanied his father to Manayunk, where the whole family found employment in the mill of Joseph Ripka. Here he continued, with some slight interruptions, from 1850 to 1860, at which latter date he occupied the position of power-loom boss, and was considered an expert and excellent workman.
At an early period of the civil war, in 1861, Mr. Doak enlisted in the Twenty-third Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, under the command of Colonel (afterwards Major-General) David B. Birney, which was composed of fifteen companies of men, and was known as Birney's Zouaves. Shortly after going to the front the regiment was reduced in size by the transfer of four com- panies to the Sixty-first Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, which was short of its quota of men. Mr. Doak's company was among those thus transferred. This arrangement was not at all popular with the members of the Twenty-third so transferred at the time, as the personnel of the Sixty-first Regiment was largely made up of a rather rough class of men from the western part of the State, con- sisting principally of miners and rolling-mill hands; but the gallantry displayed by them in battle soon won the respect of their comrades from the metropolis of the Commonwealth, and the reputation for gallantry made by the regiment as a whole is second to none. It was selected as a part of Pratt's Light Brigade,
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JAMES DOAK, JR.
which was organized for the purpose of having a body of troops that could be depended upon to be used in suddenly reinforcing weak or overpowered points in the line of battle, and was attached to the Sixth Corps, which, from the celerity of its movements, was dubbed the " foot cavalry " of the Army of the Potomac. The losses of the Sixty-first Regiment in killed and wounded show the heaviest proportion of any of the regiments of that army during the war, while it also heads the record in the number of officers killed in battle.
Mr. Doak served with the Sixty-first, after his transfer to that organization, until the close of the peninsular campaign, when illness compelled his admission to the hospital, where he was found by his friends in such a precarious condition that his life was despaired of; but he was removed to the "Daniel Webster," a government vessel, and taken to the hospital on David's Island, where he remained ten weeks, and was then transferred to the Satterlee Hospital in West Philadelphia, from which, after being reduced in weight to about ninety-two pounds, he was discharged with the discouraging assurance that he could live. but a few weeks. He began to recuperate, however, and about the middle of 1864 enlisted in the navy, and served in the South Atlantic squadron until the close of the war. This service was very beneficial to his health, and when he was discharged from the navy he had apparently recovered from the effects of the illness contracted during his career as a soldier.
After the war Mr. Doak entered the insurance office of the late William Arrott as clerk, remaining there until April, 1866, when he entered into partner- ship with Mr. Arrott and engaged in the manufacture of carpet, but gradually drifted into the manufacture of worsteds and cloakings. After leaving the navy, and while clerking for his subsequent partner, Mr. Doak was indefatigable in improving his mind and increasing his store of knowledge by attending night- school, taking a course at a commercial college, and by general reading. The education thus obtained enabled him to master the details of accounts, familiar- ized him with commercial transactions, and fitted him for the larger field of business in which he later engaged and.in which he has won success.
Mr. Doak is at present engaged in the manufacture of worsted yarns, suitings, cloakings and Jersey waists. His mills are situated at Trenton avenue, Norris and Blair streets, and the office at No. 20 Strawberry street, Philadelphia.
Mr. Doak devotes most of his attention to his manufacturing business, but is a Director in the National Security Bank of Philadelphia. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being Past-Master of Roxborough Lodge, No. 135; a member of Jerusalem R. A. Chapter, No. 3, and of St. Alban Commandery, No, 47, M. K. T. He is a Director of the Manufacturers' Club, of which organiza- tion he was one of the most active promoters ; a member of the Union League, of Post 2, G. A. R., and also of the Five O'clock and Roast Beef Clubs, two well-known social and dining organizations of Philadelphia.
Mr. Doak is married, and has been blessed with six children. He is a man of genial, sunny temperament, whose acquaintances soon grow to be friends, and the number of the latter is legion. C. R. D.
PHILA
F. GUTEKUNST.
WILLIAM W. GOODWIN.
WILLIAM WALLACE GOODWIN.
S' EVERAL centuries is a long period through which to trace the history of a family ; but the subject occupied so little of the attention of the citizens of this country during the first century of the existence of our government, that those who are desirous of showing a perfect genealogy are obliged to make laborious research. Our country having entered upon its second century, which promises to exceed the record of the first in material development an hundred- fold, we give pause in our busy lives to ask, "Whence comes this wondrous prosperity ?" There must be a cause that has enabled a nation which, a little over a century ago, numbered only three million inhabitants to grow up to twenty times that number, acquire more miles of railroads and telegraph lines than all the world besides, and cover millions of acres of land with industries owned by freemen, each of whom is the political equal of the other. Is not the answer to be found in the character of the ancestry of the people? Look back a couple of centuries, and see from what source came the seed that produced such wondrous results. The answer is found in the history of the persecution of those who were compelled, for opinion's sake, to leave country and kindred and seek a home where civil and religious liberty would be secure. The descendants of such a race of men will be pardoned for looking back with pride to their ancestry. Such is the case with WILLIAM W. GOODWIN, President and Treasurer of the Goodwin Gas Metre Company, of Philadelphia. He is a descendant of Ozias Goodwin, who was born in England about 1596, and, emigrating to New England, settled in Hartford, Conn., and took an active part in all that pertained to the interest and well-being of that town, and, as a member of the Assembly, assisted in forming the first charter of Hartford. He died there in 1683. William Goodwin, son of Ozias, was born 1629; and died in Hartford on October 15, 1689. Nathaniel Goodwin, son of William, died November, 1747. Abraham Goodwin, son of Nathaniel, was born in Hartford, 1699, removed to Litchfield in 1720, and died there on January 6, 1771. Ozias Good- win, son of Abraham, was born November 27, 1735, and during the revolution was actively engaged in military service. In December, 1777, a meeting was held in Litchfield for the purpose of organizing a military company, Nathaniel Goodwin being chosen captain, Alexander Waugh, lieutenant, and Ozias Good- win, ensign ; the latter afterwards attaining the rank of captain. He died March 1, 1789. Micah Goodwin, son of Ozias, was born April 6, 1770, and died April 4, 1815. Oliver Wolcott Goodwin, son of Micah, was born in Litchfield, Conn., November 5, 1806. About 1835 he moved to New York, and in 1840 went to Philadelphia, where he engaged in engineering, following the same pursuit also in New Jersey and Indiana. He died in New Jersey, February, 1874.
William Wallace Goodwin, son of Oliver, was born at Wethersfield, Conn.,
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WILLIAM W. GOODWIN. .
April 13, 1833, and removed with his parents to New York in 1835. Although then a child less than three years old, he recalls to mind vividly the great fire of 1835. Having walked among the ruins of that calamitous event, he recalls even now the profound impression produced on his young mind. In 1837, while on a visit to the place of his birth, at a militia training he heard " Yankee Doodle " played for the first time. On the morning of July 4, 1839, while standing on one of the wharves of the city of New York, he heard a band on an excursion steamer play " Hail Columbia, Happy Land!" and on the same evening, stand- ing in front of the porch of the old City Hall, he saw the display of fire-works in commemoration of the sixty-third year of independence, and read in a shower of fire, " July 4, 1839." Coming from an ancestry noted for their love of country, the effect produced was to fire his youthful mind with patriotic notions. He little dreamed, however, that within a few short years he would have ample opportunity to test the strength of these sentiments to their full measure.
Accompanying his parents to Philadelphia, in 1840, his education was there con- tinued at public and private schools until about 1845, when, upon his earnest re- quest, he was permitted to enter the employment of Hopkins & Co., on Third street above Arch, and continued in their employment until they were overtaken by business misfortunes. In 1848, his father having contracted to fit up the machinery department of the then celebrated firm of Hogan & Thompson, he joined him as an assistant. After completing the engagement with this firm he continued in the service of his father, assisting in various other contracts covering all kinds of machinery and engineering work, until 1850, when, his father having accepted the position of superintendent and engineer of one of the gas-works of Philadelphia, he entered his office as assistant, and remained there until 1853. Upon attaining his majority he entered the service of William D. Parrish, one of the pioneers in the building of gas-works, who was then engaged in the erection of works in various parts of the country. A few years after, his attention having been called to the opportunities presented in the South to active and industrious young men of mechanical and engineering ability, he moved to Selma, Ala., where he rebuilt the gas-works located in that city; he also accepted the several positions of Superintendent, Engineer, Secretary and Treasurer of the company, and was connected with other enterprises and interests in the line of his profession.
The election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency of the United States found Mr. Goodwin a citizen of Alabama. During the canvass preceding the election he often had an opportunity to listen to the fiery orators of the South, notably the celebrated William L. Yancey ; and he was also present and listened to the arguments of the "Little Giant," Stephen A. Douglas, who went through that section trying, with his matchless oratorical powers, to stem the tide of disunion that seemed to be setting in with the change in the government. This brings us to a momentous period in the history of Mr. Goodwin. Every man of Northern birth was looked upon with suspicion, unless he announced himself openly and unqualifiedly as a rabid hater of the old flag and in favor of secession. To dis-
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WILLIAM W. GOODWIN.
semble when one's life is in jeopardy may sometimes be justifiable, and many of Northern birth adopted this course; but Mr. Goodwin, while not disposed to be careless or reckless of his personal safety, at once resolved under no circum- stances to be drawn into a public discussion of the question then at issue, deem- ing this course the only safe and honorable one for a Union man to pursue. He had but a short time to wait before he was made to feel the natural effect of this course. One morning in February, 1861, while standing on Main street engaged in conversation with Mr. James Dedman, chief of police of the city, Mr. Keith, a banker and then Mayor of the city, passed by and said : "Mr. Dedman, I want to see you immediately on business of importance." Although he knew Mr. Goodwin well, he failed to recognize him in any way. Dedman excused himself, and at once joined the Mayor. Both of them walked away. Mr. Goodwin, somewhat surprised at the action of the Mayor, turned up a cross street to attend to some business, and then started to the gas-works, which took him by the Mayor's banking-house, where he saw that functionary standing and apparently waiting to see some one. As Mr. Goodwin came up, the Mayor said : . " Mr. Goodwin, I have a serious charge against you, contained in a letter sent to the postmaster, who handed it to me. I will read it to you :
"' MR. POSTMASTER :- There is residing in your city a man by the name of Goodwin, formerly of the North, and who is connected with the gas company. Goodwin is an abolitionist, and is connected with the abolitionist society. Better that the life of one man be sacrificed than, sooner or later, the lives of innocent women and children be taken by an enraged negro population.
" ' Respectfully yours, ""' ELLA THORNTON. '""
Mr. Goodwin at once replied that the charge was as false as hell, and asked for the author, declaring that he would shoot him on sight, which was the gen- eral way of settling such matters there at that time. Though Mr. Goodwin was a Northern man and of peaceful habits, he had become fully acclimated to the extent of shooting, if necessary. The Mayor replied that he would confer with the chief and some others before acting. Mr. Goodwin at once demanded that they proceed to his office for the purpose of examining his letters and papers, and said further : " If after such examination you find me guilty of the charge, take me out and hang me higher than Haman. If innocent, give me the author of that letter, and if I don't shoot him, may I be -! "
In pursuance of this demand, the Mayor, Chief of Police and Colonel Johnson, a prominent citizen, visited the office. Upon entering the office, Mr. Goodwin, turning to Mr. Dedman, said: "Chief, I ask no favors at your hands. You must prove me innocent or guilty. There must be no half way in this matter." A thorough investigation followed, after which the gentlemen expressed them- selves as satisfied. During the afternoon the letter was given to him, but he was unable to discover the author. The next day, however, Mr. Goodwin received the following letter :
"W. W. GOODWIN :- Respected Friend :- Thy letter to our president was received, and thy plan for
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WILLIAM W. GOODWIN.
blowing up the gas- works is approved by our society, as the God-forsaken wretches would scarcely dare to follow thee through a country teeming with armed negroes.
" The muskets sent thee were judiciously distributed, and our society will, in a few days, send you some more choice arms.
" Wishing thee every success in our great and noble cause, I remain respectfully thy friend, " WILLIAM McKIM."
Realizing the fact that it was sent to compromise him, Mr. Goodwin unhesi- tatingly showed it to the postmaster, Mayor and others. A few days later a package of abolition tracts was received by him, accompanied by a slip of paper, on which was written : "We have been delayed, but expect to ship you some more muskets very soon." Though this was palpably the work of some one engaged in a plot, the gentlemen again made a thorough examination of the office, cellar, closets, etc., and the result was a public meeting, at which the fol- lowing resolutions were adopted:
" SELMA, March 8, 1861.
" At a meeting of the stockholders of the Selma Gaslight Company, the Mayor and the City Council, and various other citizens, James Kennan was called into the chair, and C. D. Parke requested to act as secretary.
" The object of the meeting, as explained by the chairman, was to investigate certain charges against W. W. Goodwin (the Superintendent of the gas company), and, after a thorough investigation, the fol- lowing preamble and resolutions were introduced by Colonel John W. Lapsley, and unanimously adopted :
"WHEREAS, Letters have been received from the North, charging and tending to show, if true, that W. W. Goodwin, the Superintendent and Engineer of the City Gas-works Company, is implicated with the abolitionists of the North in attempts to incite insurrection among the slaves in this community; and whereas, a thorough examination of all the facts and circumstances connected with the subject shows clearly that there is nothing whatever to implicate Mr. Goodwin, or to cast the least suspicion upon him ; but the facts shown in the opinion of this meeting show a conspiracy to defame and injure him; therefore,
. "Resolved, That this meeting acquit said Goodwin of all improper acts or designs under all the facts which have been disclosed by this investigation.
" Resolved, That this meeting takes pleasure in testifying that the deportment and conduct of Mr. Goodwin for the whole period of his residence in this community has been such as to win for him their confidence and esteem.
" Resolved, That these proceedings be signed by the chairman and secretary, and be published in the city papers. " JAMES KEENAN, President.
"C. D. PARKE, Secretary."
The resolutions were duly published and cordially endorsed by the local papers.
The State having passed the ordinance of secession, his life was in imminent peril from that time until he finally determined to come North, and he escaped accusation and consequent arrest only because of the watchfulness of his friends and his own intrepidity. The two military companies having been dispatched to the seat of war, the fire companies, of one of which Mr. Goodwin was a member, were ordered to equip and drill as home-guards. Chief of Police Dedman was chosen captain and Mr. Goodwin First Lieutenant of one of these companies. The lieutenancy was declined, and he was tendered all the other offices in their order with the same result until that of third sergeant was reached,
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WILLIAM W. GOODWIN.
when Dedman insisting that he had declined enough he accepted. Immedi- ately after the organization of the company the City Councils, by ordinance, offered two Confederate flags, one trimmed with gold and the other with silver bullion; the choice to go to the company which would show the greatest pro- ficiency in military drill and discipline within a given time. The company to which Mr. Goodwin belonged was composed largely of men of Northern birth, while the other comprised in the main natives of the South. During the com- petitive exhibition it was obvious that the committee had a partiality for the Southerners. At the conclusion of the exercises the chairman said : " We find ourselves here to decide the question as to which of the companies shall have a choice of the flag which is an emblem of our new-born liberty-a flag which is to take the place of that one we used to delight to call the Star-spangled Banner, now an emblem of tyranny, a miserable rag trailing in the dust." This was too much for Mr. Goodwin. With clenched teeth, but moving lips, he succeeded in attracting the already excited Mr. Dedman, when he said: "Captain, double- quick us off this field, and let them keep their - old flag." Quick as thought Dedman gave the order. All observers were surprised by the position taken by the committee as well as at the attitude assumed by the company. Whereupon Captain Dedman suggested that a Confederate officer, who had been a witness of the performance, decide the matter. This was agreed to, and the gold-trimmed flag was awarded to Captain Dedman's company.
A short time after this Fort Sumter was fired upon, and from that time on the excitement was intense. Mr. Goodwin at once began to lay plans to get out of the Confederacy, although his interests were centred there. On several occa- sions his life was threatened, and he was warned by friends to be prepared for any emergency. On the evening of the day that Major Anderson, who was personally known by Mr. Goodwin, evacuated Fort Sumter, Mr. Goodwin, who was at the home of his friend Terry, where several others were assembled, and who were discussing the situation, said : " My mind is made up. I am Sergeant in a Confederate home-guard company ; but if the time ever comes when I shall be put to the test, I will never fire on the old flag." Being asked what he would do, he dropped upon his knees and, raising his right hand towards heaven, said : " If ever I fire on the old flag, may my soul sink so deep into hell it may never be found," and at the same time he took an oath that he would not shave while there was a rebel in arms. Twenty-eight years have passed since then, yet Mr. Goodwin has not shaved.
In the month of May the family with which Mr. Goodwin boarded determined to go North. He accompanied the party to the depot, where a sad farewell was said. The next morning he received a letter through the post-office, as follows :
" SIR :- Yesterday you were seen at the depot, where you assisted one Terry and wife [the name of Goodwin's friend] to leave the city for the North. You are hereby notified that you must, within five days, join some military company going to the front. Otherwise you will remain at the peril of your life. "A FRIEND."
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WILLIAM W. GOODWIN.
The excitement continued to increase. Offers were made to Mr. Goodwin of a position as superintendent of a foundry to be erected for the manufacture of cannon, the management of a powder-mill, the colonelcy of a proposed zouave regiment, etc .; but to all these overtures he returned excuses. Finally, at a meeting of the gas company, he secured leave of absence to go North, for the ostensible purpose of settling up some important business for the company and himself. An associate in the Terry household arranged to accompany him, and they were to have started on the following Thursday. On Sunday, however, a boat came along unexpectedly, and in an hour they embarked on her. Mr. Goodwin carried with him sixty-five letters received from those who had dis- covered his intention to go North, though no publication was made of it, including one to President Lincoln from his brother-in-law, Mr. Todd, who resided in Selma. Upon reaching the boundary between Kentucky and Tennes- see the train was boarded by a Confederate officer, who proceeded to search each person for letters. The situation was perilous. Mr. Goodwin at once passed out the rear of the car to the platform alongside. There he was met by a Con- federate sentry, who ordered him back. He said: "All right. I suppose you will let a fellow stretch himself by walking to the other end of the platform ?" The sentry said : "You'll get stretched if you don't get on that car." Walking to the front Mr. Goodwin stepped on the car, raised his hat, and said : "Thank you for that walk." He thus flanked the officer inside, and brought his letters safely through. As soon as he was safely through the lines Mr. Goodwin pushed on to New Jersey. There he learned through Colonel James W. Wall, of Burlington, who was an open sympathizer with the South, of a plan to have arms sent from Trenton, N. J., to be used by disloyal men in that State. Colonel Wall, knowing that Mr. Goodwin was just from the South, presumed he was a secessionist, and took him into his confidence. Mr. Goodwin disclosed the plot, Wall was arrested, and the plan frustrated.
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