USA > Pennsylvania > A biographical album of prominent Pennsylvanians, v. 3 > Part 20
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Mr. Gibbs was married, October 16, 1872, to Miss Frances A. Johnson, daugh- ter of George W. Johnson, one of his earlier employers. They have six children four daughters and two sons, and reside in a handsome home at 1216 N. Broad street, Philadelphia,
C. R. D.
F. GUTENLAST.
JOHN C. GRAHAM.
JOHN C. GRAHAM.
P HILADELPHIA has long been justly famous in connection with the manufact- ure of upholstery goods and other textile fabrics of a kindred character, and no establishment in that line has done more to sustain the reputation which the city has acquired in the trade than the house of J. C. Graham & Co., whose splendidly equipped manufactory is now located at Nineteenth and Hamilton streets in that city, a concern which was built up from very modest beginnings by the late JOHN C. GRAHAM, whose history is a shining example of what can be accomplished by brains and ability backed by enterprise and careful attention to . business.
John C. Graham was born at Paisley, Scotland, June 23, 1826. His parents were John and Margaret Graham, and when the boy was about eight years of age the family came to America, and located in New York, where the lad at- tended the public schools for a few years, and then the family, in 1843, removed to Philadelphia. There the youth obtained employment as a carpet and rug weaver for a short time. During his nineteenth year, while he was out of em- ployment for several weeks, he exercised his mechanical and inventive talent in improvising a hand loom at his home, using a clothes-horse for a frame, a stick for a shuttle, utilizing his mother's rolling-pin and the lid of a flour bucket, etc., for other purposes, and making the treadles from the clothes-props, while the material which he worked was twenty-five cents' worth of tidy cotton.
He shortly resumed work at carpet weaving, and remained at that employ- ment until 1847, when he went to work with his father, he having purchased two looms for the manufacture of tidy cotton fringe, with which they started in business in a small way at Fourth and Oxford streets. Shortly afterwards he withdrew from partnership with his father, having secured work at saw-making, at which employment he remained for about four years, working at it in the day- time and assisting his father in running the looms at night. After leaving the saw factory he again entered into business with his father, and remained in part- nership with him until the latter's death, which occurred in 1857. Meanwhile, in 1850, they had moved to a building on Cherry street above Sixth, having in- creased their business very considerably. After his father's death Mr. Graham carried on the business in his own name, although his sister was interested with : him. They were principally engaged in manufacturing dress trimmings, fringes, tassels, cords, and upholstery trimmings.
The business increased rapidly, and the factory was removed to 525 and 527 Cherry street, where they occupied the four floors of the structure. The con- tinued growth of their business soon necessitated greater facilities, and in 1879 they occupied in addition the five-story building 507 to 513 Cherry street, where the plant was very considerably enlarged by the introduction of additional machin-
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ery, and they were then enabled to add to their business the manufacture of under- takers' trimmings and increase the line of upholsterers' goods.
Their orders continually exceeded their facilities for filling them, and in 1885 Mr. Graham began the erection of the extensive factory at Nineteenth and Ham- ilton streets. The building, designed expressly for the business, embodies the improvements suggested by the practical experience of Mr. Graham, and is one of the most complete and thoroughly equipped establishments of its kind in the country. It is constructed of brick with granite trimmings, and is of an attrac- tive design of architecture. It is five stories high, and covers fifty-four by one hundred and ninety-six feet of ground, the entire lot being one hundred and ninety-six by one hundred and seventy-nine feet, thus admitting of further addi- tion if found necessary. The offices front both on Nineteenth and on Hamilton streets, and are large and handsomely fitted up, the finishing being in natural woods. There is an abundance of light on all sides of the building, and the average height between floor and ceiling of the different stories is thirteen and a half feet. The establishment gives steady employment to about three hundred hands. Mr. Graham added much new machinery to the plant at the new mill, and introduced the manufacture of plush to the work the establishment was already doing, as well as a more complete line of upholsterers' fringes, trim- mings, cords, loops, fancy fringes, table covers, tapestry borders, Jersey flannels, and carriage trimmings, fringes, etc.
Mr. Graham was prominent in Masonic circles, having been Past Master of Columbia Lodge, F. and A. M., a member of Harmony R. A. Chapter, of Co- rinthian Chasseur Commandery, Knights Templar, of the A. and A. Scottish Rite, and of the Masonic Veterans of Pennsylvania, in which he took an active interest. He was also a manager of the Masonic Home. He was a member of the American Legion of Honor, and was elected Grand Commander of the Or- der in the State of Pennsylvania in 1883. He also belonged to the Royal Arcanum, Home Circle, St. Andrew's Society, and the Anglers' Association. He took a warm interest and active part in the formation of the Manufacturers' Club, and was a liberal but quiet giver to the various charities of the city.
Mr. Graham's health began to fail about August, 1887, and he took a cottage at Atlantic City early in the spring of 1888, intending to spend the summer there with his family, in the hope that it would prove beneficial to his health, but convalescence was beyond possibility, and on May 17, 1888, he passed away, in the sixty-second year of his age.
Mr. Graham was married on May 26, 1864, to Miss Fannie Carnes. Six children were born to them. The widow, three sons and two daughters survive him. One child, a daughter, died before him. His widow and oldest son, J. Wallace Graham, carry on the business which was built up to such large pro- portions by his enterprise, ability, sagacity and integrity. His son is the active manager of its business, and, following in his footsteps, will continue the same upward and onward progress. C. R. D.
F. GUTERUNST.
PHILA.
EDWIN J. HOWLETT.
EDWIN JOSEPH HOWLETT.
INSTANCES are not altogether rare in which men have been so impressed with what appeared to others to be matters or objects of so little importance as to be looked upon as insignificant, or as beneath notice, that they have been led to make the development of the idea suggested to them, or the production of the article which has attracted their attention, their life-work, and by doing so have sometimes evolved and brought to light a principle that has commanded the respect of the learned, and made for themselves a reputation as contributors to the knowledge and material wealth of the world, or established a business that is at once the wonder and envy of those who thought the matter too trifling to be worthy of regard, and which has resulted in advancing their fortunes in a substantial sense while at the same time benefiting their fellow-men. Few better examples of this are to be seen than in the development of the paper-bag busi- ness, now an important industry of the country, and one which has brought out the inventive faculties of the ingenious and made the fortunes of those who are engaged in it. The credit for the important position which this successful enter- prise now occupies is largely due to EDWIN J. HOWLETT, President of the Union Paper Bag Machine Company, and founder and head of the firm of Edwin J. Howlett & Son, of Philadelphia.
Mr. Howlett was born in Richfield, Summit county, Ohio, November 2, 1835. His ancestors were English; his parents, Joseph and Mary Howlett, with their family, then consisting of three sons and three daughters, having emigrated to this country and settled in Richfield in 1833, where Edwin J. was born as above stated. He enjoyed that great blessing to a young man of native ability, the advantage of being poor-a condition that can be overcome by industry and application, as is forcibly shown in his own case. During his early youth he attended the district schools and Richfield Academy until he was thirteen years of age, when he became ambitious to provide for himself; and there being but little inducement for him to remain in his country home, which offered no chance of advancement, he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he obtained employ- ment in a confectionery and fancy-goods store. Here he remained about one year, and then secured a situation in a retail dry-goods establishment, which business he followed for about six years, when he went to Boston, and there secured a position with Wilson, Hamilton & Co., one of the leading wholesale dry-goods houses of that city. While in the employ of this firm his attention was casually attracted to some machine-made paper bags by seeing a set of samples hanging at the entrance of a neighboring store, and he became impressed with the possibilities of the business of manufacturing and supplying them to the different lines of trade that had occasion to use them. He felt certain that the business would expand into one of the important industries of the country, and
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he carefully and effectively investigated the matter until 1863, when, having become thoroughly convinced of the excellence of the opportunity afforded for establishing a successful enterprise, he gave up his situation and founded the house of Howlett Brothers in New York, which business is still continued by a younger brother, Henry J. Howlett, to whom he sold out his interest in 1879.
In June, 1865, Mr. Howlett came to Philadelphia and established the house of Howlett, Onderdonk & Co. at 520 Commerce street, which continued in suc- cessful business until 1879, when it was dissolved, Mr. Howlett purchasing Mr. Onderdonk's interest. He then conducted the business in his own name until 1883, when he admitted his son, Charles E. Howlett, into partnership, and the present firm-name of Edwin J. Howlett & Son was adopted. The Commerce street building becoming too restricted for the increased trade, it was found · necessary to secure a larger factory, and in 1887 the present commodious build- ing at the south-east corner of Broad and Wallace streets was purchased and enlarged, where they are now running twenty paper-bag machines, capable of producing one and a half million paper-bags a day, and six printing presses ; the business requiring the employment of nearly one hundred persons to run the establishment. One must traverse this entire building of six stories to learn what a veritable hive of industry it is.
Mr. Howlett is a man of great perseverance and business energy, and affords an excellent illustration of the proverb that "Every man is the architect of his own fortune." He has thoroughly mastered every detail connected with the manufacture of paper-bags ; has investigated the merits and history of the various inventions perfected for the purpose of producing them, and is an authority on all matters pertaining to this branch of the industry. It is largely due to his efforts that the varied and conflicting interests of the trade have been consoli- dated, protected and promoted. He had the utmost confidence of the ultimate success of the enterprise when it was in its comparative infancy, and the result has demonstrated his business capacity and foresight; and his success is another illustration of what twenty-five years of effort will accomplish when concentrated on a single object.
In 1865 the Union Paper Bag Machine Company was a firm made up of five persons owning an interest in as many patents. In 1869 Mr. Howlett advised forming it into a stock company under the laws of Pennsylvania, which was done. In 1871 he was elected President, which position he has held ever since. During this time the business has increased from a product of fifty million bags a year to seventeen hundred million a year. Since the company was organized over one hundred and fifty patents have been purchased, and it has been engaged in nearly one hundred law-suits, the conduct of which has been under the imme- diate charge of the President.
Mr. Howlett has other financial interests besides his business of manufacturing and marketing paper-bags. He is one of the Directors of the National Bank of the Republic, and is concerned in a number of successful corporations. Not-
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withstanding the attention which his large business interests require he contrib- utes liberally both of his time and means to various charitable institutions, and gives the benefit of his services and practical methods to the management of several such bodies. From 1883 to 1889 he was President of the Board of Directors of the Children's Homoeopathic Hospital of Philadelphia, and was instrumental in raising a large portion of the funds which it received during his connection with it. He is one of the Managers of the North-western Soup Society of Philadelphia, and a Director of the Twenty-ninth Ward Relief Society of Philadelphia, and one of the Board of Management of the Home Missionary Society. He is always to be counted upon for contributions to good works of any kind, and in the various societies to which he belongs. He is almost inva- riably placed upon those committees which are appointed for the purpose of raising funds for either charitable or social purposes, and it is seldom that his . own contribution is not as large as any others that are obtained. His own gen- erous and liberal giving enables him to be an excellent solicitor, and his success in this line has caused his appointment on many a committee and given him plenty of work, which he always accepted with good-natured grace and performed satisfactorily.
Few men are more extensively connected with the various secret, social and beneficial societies than Mr. Howlett. He is a member of twenty-two secret bodies. He is very high in the Masonic order, having taken the Thirty-second Degree, and is Trustee of his lodge, chapter and commandery. He is also a member of the Columbia, Utopian, Manufacturers' and Union League Clubs. He is exceedingly popular with his fellow-members of the various organizations to which he belongs, and is always relied upon to contribute to the entertain- ments at their banquets and social gatherings ; for he is a noted renconteur, and possesses a fund of apposite anecdote that he can always draw upon, and with which he can command the attention of his hearers, while at the same time con- veying an appropriate moral or making a pointed application. His duties as President of the bag company frequently take him upon the road, where he is sure to be welcomed by his fellow-travellers. He always has with him an assorted collection of cards bearing his name and address, and each inscribed with the insignia of one of the different degrees in the various societies to which he belongs. On the backs of these cards, which he distributes amongst his acquaintances, are printed some very good precepts of his own selection. The familiar and excellent advice of Polonius to Laertes is upon one, and upon others may be found witty or wise maxims embodying sound doctrine and good counsel both striking and unique. After telling a good story that will convulse his hearers with laughter, he will present to them a card bearing upon its back one of the many precepts which he delights to thus use as a practical sermon.
One of these cards bears the following advice :
" Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your love and tenderness sealed up until your friends are dead, but fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving and cheering words while their ears can hear them,
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and while their hearts can be thrilled and made happier by them. The kind things you will say after they are gone, say before they go. The flowers you mean to send for their coffins, bestow now, and so brighten and sweeten their homes before they leave them.
" If my friends have alabaster boxes laid away, full of fragrant perfumes of sympathy and affection, which they intend to break over my dead body, I would rather they would bring them now in my weary and troubled hours, and open them, that I may be refreshed and cheered while I need them and can enjoy them. I would rather have a plain coffin without a flower, and a funeral without an eulogy, than a life without the sweetness of love and sympathy. Let us learn to anoint our friends beforehand for their burial.
" Post-mortem kindness cannot cheer the burdened spirit. Flowers on the coffin shed no fragrance backward over the weary way by which the loved ones have travelled."
Mr. Howlett is intensely practical. He does not believe in locking the door and praying for a crop, but in ploughing and putting in the seed; nor does he believe in resembling a guide-board, which points the way but walks not in it. While he is neither a maxim mender nor maker, he keeps in his mind many of his father's sayings which have governed his life. He has printed some of these in a small book, called " Business and Pleasure," which he sends to his custom- ers. He believes that there is but one way to properly do a thing, and that is - to go do it at once; and that the greatest breaches of business ethics are, not to answer all letters promptly, and not to faithfully fulfil all engagements ; that there is no better rule for a man to adopt than promptitude, which is equally as desir- able a characteristic as integrity. He has always, tried to live up to his father's advice : "Make a pleasure of your work." He believes that all people should have employment, as it is more healthful both for body and mind, and adds a delightful vigor to the spirits; while the unemployed are like stagnant water, cor- rupt by their own idleness as the dull weight of existence presses upon them. He believes that all should be contented and cheerful, which attributes are the bright sunshine of the heart. Realizing that sticks and stones are only thrown at fruit-bearing trees, and that no man was ever written out of his reputation but by himself, he has followed a rule which General Grant has stated governed his life, in never denying any stories printed or told of him. He knows on which side he carries his pocket-book, and can always find it for a friend; for a true friend he believes to be the masterpiece of nature. He believes it is what we enjoy in this world and not what we have that makes the sum of happiness and true wealth, and that a man can never tell what he is worth by looking in his ledger; that if a man wants to be remembered he must do something worth remembering, and that if fame comes only after death he is in no hurry for it.
Mr. Howlett was married, August 2, 1859, to Miss Sarah E. Leach, a daughter of Eliab and Sarah L. Leach, of Boston, Mass. They have three children-one son and two daughters. The eldest daughter, Mabel R., is the wife of Wesley Starr Gephard, of Baltimore, in which city they reside. The son, Charles E. Howlett, who is in partnership with Mr. Howlett, as before mentioned, and the younger daughter, Miss Lilian G. Howlett, reside with their parents.
C. R. D.
F. GUTEKUNST.
PHILA
CURTIS G. HUSSEY.
CURTIS GRUBB HUSSEY.
PITTSBURGH, the second city of the State in population, has much to boast of in her great manufactories, her University, and especially in her wealthy, public-spirited citizens. One of them was a pioneer in opening the Lake Supe- rior copper region, which has proved a great source of national wealth, and he was also the first person in this country who succeeded in making the best quality of all descriptions of crucible cast steel, which success was the means of establishing a most important branch of industry in the United States. We refer to the now venerable DR. CURTIS G. HUSSEY, whose name is known throughout the whole country, not only for his manufacturing enterprises, but for his liberal contributions to institutions of learning.
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Dr. Hussey's forefathers were English Quakers, who emigrated to Massachu- setts early in the seventeenth century. Mention is made in the early records of the State particularly of Christopher Hussey, who represented the town of Hampton, Mass., in the General Assembly for the years 1658, '59 and '60, was likewise a counsellor of the province and active in the settlement of Haverhill, and was one of an association of ten persons, all Quakers, who, in 1658, pur- chased from the Indians the Island of Nantucket. The purchase was made with a view of escaping humiliation and disfranchisement because of their opposition to the illiberality of the General Court of Massachusetts, which had declared it a misdemeanor for " any one to preach to the people on the Sabbath who was not a regularly ordained minister of the church." " The court looked upon this. opposition as a very grave and deep insult to itself, and severe measures were threatened by that body. There were many who made open apology, but Christopher Hussey and his companions were contending for principles of vital importance to their well-being and happiness, and preferred to take up their abode among the savages of New England rather than to act contrary to their religious convictions.
Dr. Hussey was born on a farm near York, Pennsylvania, in August, 1802. His parents were Christopher Hussey and Lydia, daughter of John Grubb, who was a prominent member of the Society of Friends in England. When the son was but an infant the family moved to Ohio, settling first in Little Miami county, and later on a farm in the vicinity of Mount Pleasant, Jefferson county. Here young Hussey obtained such advantages of school education as the period and neighborhood afforded, and, evincing a preference for the medical profession, be- came a student under a physician of considerable prominence in Mount Pleas- ant. After completing the prescribed course of study, he located in Morgan county, Indiana, where he soon entered upon a large and lucrative practice. Unlike most of his profession, Dr. Hussey was possessed of a business ability of a high order, and after he had accumulated some funds from his practice he in-
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vested them in mercantile pursuits, and established several stores in his own and adjacent counties, over which he had a general supervision as he travelled about the country following his professional calling.
In those early days, when greenbacks had not been adopted and money was scarce, pork was the legal tender for calicoes, sugar and teas. From this arose a trade in pork, which was taken for " store goods," while pork-packing and cur- ing naturally followed, and developed into heavy transactions, and large pack- ing houses were erected at Gosport, on the White river, and an extensive busi- ness was carried on at that place. It is a remarkable fact, in view of the pro- verbial hazards of dealing in pork, that during all the time of his connection with that trade he suffered no loss excepting in one year, while in many years his profits were large, and in none except the one referred to were they less than six per cent.
In 1829 he was elected to the Indiana Legislature, but declined re-election, as the duties imposed upon him by the service interfered with his business and added too much to his burdens. In 1839 he married Rebecca, daughter of James and Susannah Updegraff, of the well-known Ohio family of that name. James Updegraff was one of the pioneers of Jefferson county, Ohio, having settled at Mount Pleasant and made for himself a home in what was at that time almost a forest wilderness, and contributed greatly by his energy and influence, par- ticularly in the line of education, toward the growth and prosperity of that flourishing town. Soon after his marriage Dr. Hussey removed to Pittsburgh, and embarked in the mining and manufacturing enterprises which have given him his wide reputation.
Shortly after coming east he heard rumors of the existence of copper in the now well-known copper regions of Lake Superior, then part of an unbroken wilder- ness held by the Indians, and giving only a hint of their hidden riches in iron and copper. It is true that for many years specimens had been found here and there; but no effort had been made to explore and develop the mineral deposits until Dr. Hussey brought his intelligence to bear upon the problem, and soon caused his faith to be followed by his works. In 1843 he determined upon an investigation, and sent John Hays, of Pittsburgh, a man possessing the courage and energy necessary for the purpose, into the far away and lonely re- gion, to prospect and see what discoveries he could make. His report was such that Dr. Hussey determined on a venturesome operation, and quietly made his preparations for it. During his exploring tour Mr. Hays had purchased for Dr. Hussey a one-sixth interest in the first three permits for mining ever granted in that region by the United States. Based upon these and subsequent purchases, the Pittsburgh and Boston Mining Company was organized in the winter of 1843-4. In the summer of 1844 Dr. Hussey made a visit to these wild and unexplored regions, and joined Mr. Hays and Alfred Rudolph (a geol- ogist) and a party of eight miners at Copper Harbor, the party having been sent out by him in the spring of 1844. Their discoveries were of such a char-
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