USA > Pennsylvania > A biographical album of prominent Pennsylvanians, v. 3 > Part 2
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PHILA
F. GUTEKUNBT.
JAY COOKE.
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JAY COOKE.
J TAY COOKE, whose name was prominently and honorably identified with the finances of the nation for many years, was born at Sandusky, Ohio, August 10, 1821. His father, Hon. Eleutheros Cooke, who was a distinguished lawyer, and served at times as a member of the Ohio Legislature and as a member of Congress from Ohio, was a direct descendant of Francis Cooke, who was one of the pilgrims in the " Mayflower," and who erected the third house built in Ply- mouth. His father is accredited with having obtained the first charter ever granted for a railroad in the United States, and before a locomotive had been built. His mother, Martha Cooke, was descended from Scotch Presbyterians, who left their native land on account of religious persecution and colonized in North- ern New York, near Saratoga.
Young Cooke was educated chiefly at home by his father and mother, although he afterwards attended an excellent school, where he excelled especially in algebra and the higher mathematics. When but fourteen years old he entered a store in Sandusky, where he served as clerk and studied book-keeping. In 1836 he went to St. Louis, then a town with a population of only seven thousand five hundred, where he remained nearly a year as clerk in a large mercantile estab- lishment until his employer became embarrassed, when he returned home and spent the winter of 1837 in study. In April, 1838, he came to Philadelphia, accepting for a time a position with his brother-in-law, William G. Moorhead, who was largely engaged in railroad and canal enterprises, and then entered the well-known banking-house of E. W. Clark & Co. He was but seventeen years of age when he became a clerk in that house, but he so impressed the members of the firm with confidence in his ability and trustworthiness that before he had attained his majority he was intrusted with full power of attorney to sign the name of the firm, and when he was twenty-one years old he was admitted as a partner. He remained with them for the greater part of the time as their active business manager until 1858, when he retired from the firm and devoted himself to the negotiation of railroad bonds and other securities of various kinds, in which he was very successful.
In January, 1861, a very dark and discouraging period in our national history, he resumed the banking business in association with his brother-in- law, William G. Moorhead, at 114 South Third street. When the civil war broke out, and the Government needed money for its armies, he obtained and sent to Washington, without compensation, a large list of subscriptions, and despite the great financial and commercial depression under which the country was suffering he succeeded in placing a large part of the loan of Pennsylvania at par. During the war he was the principal fiscal agent of the Government in negotiating the original five-twenty loan of five hundred and thirteen millions,'
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JAY COOKE.
the ten-forty loan of two hundred millions, the whole of the seven-thirty loan of eight hundred and thirty millions, and many other smaller loans, amounting to nearly two thousand millions of dollars. The work attending these negotiations he performed in the earlier days of the war without compensation, and afterwards for one-fourth to one-half per cent., a provision at times barely covering actual advertising and commissions to agents, frequently expending in advance tens of thousands out of his own pocket.
A complete history of Mr. Cooke's connection with the finances of the Gov- ernment during the war would be full of deeply interesting facts and incidents, and, if his life and health are spared, we believe it is his intention to publish a large and magnificent volume that will contain not only his personal experiences, but a complete and inside history of the finances of the war and much interesting matter, not generally known, relating to that notable period in our national career. It is undoubtedly true that during this period he performed a work as important as that of any of the departments of the Government, oftentimes more difficult and embarrassing, and upon the success of which depended the success of the others; for without the money which he, in great part, provided, the suc- cess of our arms would have been greatly delayed, if not wholly imperilled. Jay Cooke may be called the financier of the war of the rebellion as Robert Morris was the financier of the revolution.
Hon. Hugh McCulloch bears strong testimony to Mr. Cooke's efficiency in providing the sinews of war during this perilous period. In his first report as Secretary of the Treasury he referred to Mr. Cooke in the following lan- guage :
"Upon the capture of Richmond and the surrender of the Confederate armies it became apparent that there would be an early disbanding of the forces of the United States, and consequently heavy requisitions from the War Department for transportation and payment of the army, including bounties. As it was important that these requisitions should be promptly met, and especially important that not a soldier should remain in the service a single day for want of means to pay him, the Secretary perceived the necessity of realizing as speedily as possible the amount-$530,000,000-still authorized to be borrowed under this act. The seven and three-tenth notes had proved to be a popular loan, and although a security on longer time and lower interest would have been more advantageous to the Government, the Secretary considered it advisable, under the circum- stances, to continue to offer these notes to the public, and to avail himself, as his immediate predecessors had done, of the services of Jay Cooke, Esq., in the sale of them. The result was in the highest degree satisfactory. By the admirable skill and energy of the agent, and the hearty co-operation of the National Banks, these notes were distributed in every part of the Northern and some parts of the Southern States, and placed within the reach of every person desiring to invest in them. No loan ever offered in the United States, notwithstanding the large amount of Government securities previously taken by the people, was so promptly
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JAY COOKE.
subscribed for as this. Before the Ist of August the entire amount of five hun- dred and thirty millions of dollars had been taken, and the Secretary had the unexpected satisfaction of being able, with the receipts from customs and inter- nal revenue and a small increase of the temporary loan, to meet all the requisi- tions upon the Treasury."
In his last report he referred to Mr. Cooke's services again as follows :
" It was estimated that at least seven hundred millions of dollars should be raised, in addition to the revenue receipts, for the payment of the requisitions already drawn, and those that must soon follow, preparatory to the disbandment of the great Union army, and of other demands upon the Treasury. The anxious inquiries then were, by what means can this large amount of money be raised? and not what will be the cost of raising it? How can the soldiers be paid, and the army be disbanded, so that the extraordinary expenses of the War Department may be stopped ? and not what rate of interest shall be paid for the money ? These were the inquiries pressed upon the Secretary. He answered them by calling to his aid the well-tried agent who had been employed by his immediate predecessors, and by offering the seven and three-tenth notes-the most popular loan ever offered to the people-in every city and village, and by securing the advocacy of the press, throughout the length and breadth of the land. In less than four months from the time the work of obtaining sub- scriptions was actively commenced, the Treasury was in a condition to meet every demand upon it."
In a letter to the editors of this work Mr. McCulloch says :
"A large part of Mr. Cooke's valuable services were rendered before I became Secretary, but I know that to him was the Government greatly indebted for the success of the loans upon which it had to depend for the means to prosecute the war. I do not think that any other responsible banker in the United States would have taken upon himself the responsibility which Mr. Cooke assumed in the negotiation of the first five hundred million loan, and I am very sure that by no other banker could the work have been so successfully accomplished. In this, and in the other loans in the disposition of which Mr. Cooke's agency was required, he displayed extraordinary energy, ability and zeal. To my prede- cessors, Mr. Chase and Mr. Fessenden, and to myself, his services were invaluable."
Like Robert Morris, Mr. Cooke subsequently suffered severe financial reverses, in consequence of having made too large advances upon bonds of the Northern Pacific Railroad, in whose future he had great confidence, and of which he was the Fiscal Agent; but all who held their claims until the estate was settled received principal and interest, and the success of the road has established the wisdom of his confidence in the enterprise.
Mr. Cooke has four children (all married) and sixteen grandchildren. He is the proprietor of Ogontz, one of the most beautiful and costly places at Chelten Hills, and which he has rented for a time as an institute for the education of
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young ladies, and now in a flourishing condition. He also owns and occupies during the spring and fall "Gibraltar," an island of great beauty in Lake Erie, besides other resorts for fishing and hunting, in which sports he takes great delight, and which no doubt have aided in preserving the excellent health he now enjoys. E. T. F.
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F. GUTEKUNST.
"HILA.
GEORGE W. DELAMATER.
GEORGE WALLACE DELAMATER.
TF the history of this country is carefully traced, it will be seen that the suc- cessful business men have from the beginning reflected a full share of its renown, as well as contributed most valuable services to the people. The pro- fessions have done much, and the records of the bar, the pulpit and the medical fraternity have been marked from the first with the evidences of progress and the testimony of patriotism. But, after all, it is to the ranks of the trained busi- ness men that the people turn in every emergency for those practical ideas and methods which are essential to the advancement and improvement of their condition in the development of all utilitarian problems.
Among those who have contributed largely to the good of the Common- wealth may be justly ranked HON. GEORGE W. DELAMATER, State Senator from Crawford county, banker, railroad President, attorney-at-law, and general . man of affairs of Meadville, Pa. He was born in that city on March 31, 1849. He received his preliminary education in the common schools, and subse- quently took a course in Allegheny College, one of the oldest and best educa- tional institutions in the country, and graduated with honor, after which he entered the Harvard Law School, and there acquitted himself with credit.
Mr. Delamater is of the eighth generation of the family in this country, Claude le Maitre, or De La Maitre, and his wife, Hester, daughter of Pierre Du Bois, from whom he is descended, having been married in Holland, whither they had gone to escape religious persecution in 1652, and in the same year emigrated to New Amsterdam, now New York. His maternal ancestry is traced back for nine generations in this country, William Towne, from whom he is lineally descended, having settled in Massachusetts in 1640. Salem Towne, the educa- tor, was a descendant from this branch of the family, and the late Schuyler Colfax was descended from the Delamaters. No family has displayed a more patriotic devotion to country, whether in the earlier or later struggles for free institutions and their perpetuity, than this one, the rolls of the army in every contest in which the country has been engaged bearing the name of Delamater.
The father of Mr. Delamater, Hon. George B. Delamater, well known through- out the Commonwealth, having represented the Crawford and Erie District in the State Senate, has proved himself one of the ablest and most successful busi- ness men in the country. Large interests have been intrusted to his charge with implicit confidence, and never has the trust been abused. The family escutcheon has never been tarnished, and the name is to-day the synonym for honor.
After one year at the law school he at once began the required period of preparation for the bar, and was admitted to practice in the courts of his native county. Possessing himself of a law library of rare excellence, and a miscella- neous collection of the best works on science and polite literature, he entered
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GEORGE W. DELAMATER.
upon the practice of his profession with every prospect of a brilliant career. His training had been thorough and ample, and his tastes were professional. But after three years devoted to the practice of law, openings for large business enterprises presented themselves, and he entered upon them with all his charac- teristic vigor, and has been successful beyond his wildest dreams. He is at the head of the banking-house of Delamater & Co .; a Director of the Merchants' National Bank, of Meadville, Pa .; President of the Company and owner of a controlling interest in the Meadville and Linesville Railroad; President of the Meadville Fuel Gas Company, and is connected with other local enterprises. It will be seen by this enumeration that to manage business so extensive and varied in this age of enterprise and sharp competition, and to manage it successfully as he has done, demands capacity of no common order.
While thus engrossed in large business transactions, sufficient to turn the head of a man of less nerve than he and absorb all his effort, he has not been oblivious to educational and philanthropic enterprises, and his neighborhood and State have abundant cause for gratitude for his counsel and aid in these lines. In the midst of his cares he has allowed no pinched or penurious policy to gain a foot- hold in his heart, but exemplifies that broad philosophy that the prosperity which gives him the means to do good heightens the pleasure of living, and warms and enlarges the heart in its desire to benefit his kind.
In participating in public affairs Mr. Delamater has been influenced more by a desire to harmonize conflicting and warring interests and factions than for per- sonal or selfish advancement. To subserve the good of the public, to uphold a broad, vigorous, reasonable and just policy in State and nation, has been his settled, unyielding purpose. To give to every man, of whatever faction or clique, a fair hearing and his legitimate influence-in short, to forego the dictation of masters and to return to the simplicity of the best days of party management- has been the cardinal doctrine in his political life. How well his principles have been endorsed and approved is shown by his advancement, which, for so young a man, is highly creditable and unusual. He was Mayor of Meadville in 1876, Senatorial Delegate to the State Convention in 1878, and Chairman of the Republican County Committee of 1878-79. In 1880 he was chosen a Republican Presidential Elector for Pennsylvania, and in 1886 was elected to the State Senate. In all these positions he has shown himself a safe and sagacious leader, har- monizing conflicting interests, pointing out the goal of success by the path of justice and honor, without producing embittering antagonisms, and to-day the party with which he is allied was never in a more united and healthy condition in Crawford county.
In early life Mr. Delamater adopted the principles of the Republican party. Indeed, he was just entering upon his boyhood when that party had its birth. There were elements in this young and vigorous organization which appealed strongly to his youthful imagination ; and when the contest for supremacy in Kansas and Nebraska was at its height, and the public press teemed with the
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GEORGE W. DELAMATER.
heated discussions of partisans, and eminent statesmen on the floors of Congress poured forth their impassioned eloquence, carrying their contentions even to violence, young Delamater was alive to the cries of freedom, and was, from the very outset, in sympathy with the men and the party that championed the rights of man and the ultimate freedom of the slave.
The famous " Ossawatamie" Brown, whose ill-advised attempt to free the negro slaves culminated so disastrously to him and his party at Harper's Ferry prior to the war of the rebellion, was once a neighbor of the Delamaters, having at one time carried on the business of tanning in Richmond township, Crawford county, Pa., near the old Delamater homestead. Long before the emigrations to Kansas had set in or the trouble had culminated in bloodshed, the old martyr was accus- tomed to discuss the rights of the slave, and the powers and prerogatives of the General Government as against the rights of the States; whether the State or the National Government would have control in the forts and arsenals of the nation, and whether there were in the several slave States statute laws that would deprive an individual, referred to as " Jim," of his liberty if legally defended in the courts. These and kindred questions he was accustomed to discuss with great meta- physical acuteness, to fortify his position with strong logic, and enliven his argu- ments with "wise saws and modern instances." Such were the themes familiarly discussed with the father of Mr. Delamater, and subsequently, when Brown emigrated to Kansas, and one of his sons was taken off in the border warfare and himself proclaimed an outlaw and hunted down by border ruffians; and still later, when the old man, embittered by the outrages to his sense of justice, made his rash and impolitic descent on Harper's Ferry, and was tried and hung, the members of the Delamater family could but deeply sympathize with him in his persecution and martyrdom, though deprecating the course he last pursued, and would have counselled against it had they been aware of his purpose.
It will thus be seen that Mr. Delamater at an early age came honestly by his Republican principles, and from these principles he has never deviated. He believes in protecting American products, because by this policy the laboring man is enabled to secure higher wages than he otherwise would; that protection is not in the interest of the manufacturer, because every man is at liberty to become one, and there is nothing to prevent any one from engaging in and sharing the profits of any line of business.
It follows from what has already been said that Mr. Delamater is not a pro- fessional politician, but rather a successful business man, and has gradually been drawn into political life by a belief that his principles and methods of political management were better and more just to all than the methods prevailing. While he has not persistently sought office, he has not shrunk from any of the responsibilities which the holding of office has imposed when once accepted by him.
During his term in the Senate he has shown marked ability and honesty, and fairly achieved the place of leader in that body, though surrounded by men
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much older and more experienced than himself. In recognition of his ability he was made Chairman of the Committee on Banks and Banking, and a member of the Committees on Finance, Judiciary General, Railroads and other less important ones. He is always ready in all these positions to take the laboring oar. Indeed, he has won the reputation of a hard worker in committee rooms, and an able advocate on the floor of the Senate.
Mr. Delamater's advent into the realm of State politics was almost simulta- neous with his entrance into the State Senate. He at once manifested qualities of leadership which attracted the attention of the older politicians, and he was immediately taken into the party conferences at the capital. In 1888 his friend, Hon. W. H. Andrews, became a candidate for the important position of Chairman of the Republican State Committee. State Senator Thomas V. Cooper, who had filled the office with ability for several years, was an aspirant for re-election, and had the earnest support of Hon. J. Donald Cameron and Christopher L. Magee, of Pittsburgh. Senator M. S. Quay declined to take an active part in the con- test. The odds seemed to be overwhelmingly against Mr. Andrews, but, undis- mayed by appearances, Senator Delamater became his champion and entered the field in his behalf. The press of the State, with surprising unanimity, supported Mr. Cooper, or predicted his triumphant re-election. Nevertheless, Messrs. Delamater and Andrews proceeded with the work, and, when the convention met, achieved a triumph that was the more gratifying because. it was accom- plished by intelligent effort and fair means.
Another notable service which he has rendered to his party and his country was performed during the Presidential campaign of 1888. It is well known that, when General Harrison was nominated for the Presidency, there were grave doubts felt of the possibility of electing him. Many staunch Republicans were despondent, and were almost ready to give up the contest, so hopeless seemed the prospect. When the National Committee of that party established their head-quarters in New York and commenced work the outlook was gloomy. Among the trusted men who were called to do work at those head-quarters was Mr. Delamater. He was not put forward as a figure-head. Indeed, there are probably very few people in the country who have ever known of the position he held there. But all through that trying campaign, by night and by day, he was at his post, and he was relied upon by the chairman as a wise counsellor and an able lieutenant. ·
Mr. Delamater was made Permanent Chairman of the Republican State Con- vention which met at Harrisburg, August 7, 1889, and his able and appropriate address upon that occasion was received with much applause. He is a prominent candidate for the Gubernatorial nomination in 1890.
Mr. Delamater was married on November 23, 1871, to Miss Mary McFarland, daughter of James E. McFarland, of Meadville, Pa. They have two children- a daughter, Susie Louise, and a son, James Scott Delamater.
G. D. H.
JOHN J. GILROY.
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JOHN JAY GILROY.
J OHN J. GILROY, Secretary of the Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Company, of Philadelphia, was born in that city April 16, 1846, being the oldest of eight children of Washington L. and Mary Gilroy, both residents of Philadel- phia. He attended the common schools of the city, and was admitted to the Central High School in 1862, but the following year left that institution and entered the pay department of the United States Navy, and served in the block- ading squadron on the United States steamer "Paul Jones," off Charleston and the South Atlantic coast, until 1865, when he was appointed to the United States steamer "Suwanee " (double ender), and ordered to proceed on her to the Pacific coast. While on that station he visited all the important points from Vancouver's Island to the Straits of Magellan, passing through the latter and visiting the West Indies, Brazil and Uruguay, gaining much valuable knowledge and business experience.
He resigned from the Navy in 1867 and took a clerkship in the Bank of the Republic of Philadelphia, being gradually promoted from one position to another, until he reached that of general book-keeper. He remained with that institution until 1876, when he was elected Secretary of the Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Company, which needed the services of a bright, efficient business man in that capacity. Hon. Thomas Cochran had just been elected President of the concern, and the prosperity of the company for the past twelve years evinces the wisdom of placing these gentlemen in charge. Many new features in the conduct of the business, which have been of benefit to the community and have proved profitable to the institution, have been introduced.
One of the heaviest, if not the largest, financial operations of the times was under- taken by this company in 1887. It was selected by the Reorganization Trustees of the Philadelphia & Reading Co. as depository for the reception of the bonds and stock obligations of that corporation, amounting in round figures to $200,000,000. This colossal transaction, requiring a thorough knowledge of finance in all the tech- nical points, was placed principally in the hands of Mr. Gilroy, the energetic Sec- retary of the company, whose twenty-five years' experience in financial matters peculiarly fitted him for the task. Mr. Gilroy immediately organized an efficient corps of assistants, and, by a remarkably thorough and systematic order of pro- ceedings, handled the thousands of bonds and certificates, examined every detail of endorsement, registered them and issued a new form of obligation in exchange. All this was done within a period of ninety days and without an error. Upon its completion the trustees expressed their appreciation of the efficiency and completeness of the work. This was not the first experience of the Guarantee Company in handling a reconstruction scheme. The Car Loans of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company were put through the same process within a
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