USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > An historical catalogue of the St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia, with biographical sketches of deceased members > Part 8
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From " Colonial Homes of Philadelphia and Its Neighbourhood "
Biographies of Deceased Members
in the present struggle, to offer himself to the service of his country, and he had soon an opportunity of attaining that military pre-eminence, of which he was laudably ambitious.
Enjoying a hereditary bravery, joined to a well cultivated under- standing, and an active spirit, he soon became the bosom friend of General Montgomery, was his aid-de-camp, was entrusted with a share in the management of his most important negotiations, stood by his side in the attack on Quebec, and being, as it were, animated by one common soul, and dear to each other in life-in death they were not a moment divided.
JOHN MASON, member 1877. Born in Philadelphia, November 7, 1833; died in that city, November 4, 1912. His father, John Mason, was a native of Ayrshire, Scot- land, and his mother, Martha Aiken Mason, was born in Glasgow.
He attended the public schools of Philadelphia, and in 1855 became connected with the Farmers and Mechanics National Bank, and for many years before his death was the transfer officer of that institution, having charge of payment of interest on Philadelphia city bonds and also payment of these bonds at maturity, discharging the duties of that im- portant position with fidelity which earned him high praise.
He was married on April 28, 1857, to Miss Margaret R. McAllister, and they had four sons; two, James McAllister and Edward Baker, are members of The St. Andrew's Society.
Mr. Mason was a regular attendant at the meetings of The St. Andrew's Society, and evidently enjoyed mingling with the members and with the associations connected with the father-land. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and for a number of years was one of the trustees of the Oxford Presbyterian Church.
ROBERT CAMPBELL MAYWOOD, member 1831, was born in Scotland in 1784. Very little is known of his early life except his appearing at the theatres in Edinburgh and Glas- gow. He went to London in 1817, and at the Drury Lane
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Biographies of Deceased Members
Theatre opened an engagement as " Shylock." He came to America in 1819 and made his American début at the Park Theatre, New York, as " Richard III." He remained in New York, appearing frequently at the Park Theatre. He made his Philadelphia début at the Arch Street Theatre, November 6, 1828, as " King Lear," and in 1832 became manager of the Walnut Street Theatre in conjunction with Pratt and Row- botham, and on September 3, 1833, with the same gentle- men assumed management of the Chestnut Street Theatre, which he retained for some time and again returned to the Walnut as manager. He once more, in 1834, became mana- ger of the Chestnut and Arch Street Theatres, then abandoned the Arch, returning to the sole management of the Chestnut, where he remained until March 9, 1841, when he relinquished the management, taking a farewell benefit. The performance consisted of "La Sonnambula " and " Craimond Brig."
This latter, a Scotch piece, was written specially for this occasion.
He was an excellent stock actor and in Scotch characters was unrivalled; his dialect was perfect. He evinced powers of a superior order in melodrama. Among old Philadelphia playgoers of the past generation Maywood's name was always remembered with pleasure.
Mr. Maywood died on November 28, 1856, at the Mar- shall Institute, Troy, New York, of paralysis, of which he had been suffering for a long time.
[Courtesy of Charles N. Mann, Esq., from his noted collection of theatrical matter.]
A song by Mr. Maywood in Scottish dialect, sung by him at the Anniversary of The St. Andrew's Society, Decem- ber 3, 1831, will be found on page 269, volume I, “ Histori- cal Catalogue."
There are repeated references in the records to songs and stories by Mr. Maywood at the meetings of The St. Andrew's Society, and to a number of these meetings he was accompanied by theatrical celebrities of his time.
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Biographies of Deceased Members
A portrait of Mr. Maywood is in the noted collection of John McAllister, Esq., member 1815, in the Ridgway Branch, Philadelphia Library.
JOHN MELISH, member 1813. Born in Perthshire, Scot- land, 1771; died in Philadelphia, December 30, 1822.
Poulsons' Advertiser, January 1, 1823, has the following notice :
Died on Monday night, the 30th of December (1822), Mr. John Mellish, Geographer, in the fifty-second year of his age. Mr. Mellish was a native of Perthshire, in Scotland, but being ardently attached to the principles of liberty he emigrated and settled in this country in the year 1809. Since that period his labors have been eminently useful to his adopted country. His works in the Sciences of Geography and Political Economy are universally known, and their importance has been acknowledged by the highest characters in our country.
His friends are requested to attend his funeral from his late resi- dence No. 209 Chestnut Street, on Thursday, January 2nd. (1823) at two o'clock.
The members of The St. Andrew's Society and the Scot's Thistle Society are respectfully requested to attend.
Appletons' "Cyclopædia of American Biography " records that " Mr. Melish came to this country in 1809, and travelled extensively over the United States and published accounts of his various journeys, with comments on his experiences."
His works include " Travels in the United States, includ- ing (ocean) Passages and Travels in Great Britain and Upper Canada " (1806-1811), published in Philadelphia in 1812; " Description of Roads " (1814) ; " A Traveller's Directory " (1815) ; "Description of the United States " (1816); "Necessity of Protecting Manufacturers " (1818) ; "Maps of Pennsylvania and the United States "; " Information to Emigrants " (1819) ; and "Statistical Views of the United States " ( 1822).
In addition to the above, Mr. Melish devoted consider- able study to military affairs, as in 1813 he issued, in Phila-
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Biographies of Deceased Members
delphia, a " Description of the Seat of War in North Amer- ica, with a Map"; and, in the same year, a " Military and Topographical Atlas of the United States, including British Possessions and Florida "; also, " Official Documents rela- tive to the Operation of the British Army employed in the Reduction of the Canadas under Major-Generals Wolfe, Amherst, and others in the Years 1759-60, with description of Quebec and Montreal, with Map reduced by J. Melish."
In 1816 he issued " A Geographical Map of the United States, with Contiguous British and Spanish Possessions, to accompany Melish's Map." A third edition of this was printed in 1818, also " A Geographical Description of the World."
The title-page to one of his many books, which was issued in 1819, shows that he must have been indefatigable in obtaining information for the travelling public of that day :
The Travellers' Directory through the United States of America, being a Complete List of the Direct Cross Roads, Together with the Conveyance by Water throughout the Different States and Territories, including the Connecting Roads and Distances in Measured Miles From New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington to Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and St. Louis.
Compiled from the most authentic materials. By John Melish, Philadelphia. Printed for J. Melish and S. Harrison, Geographers and Map Publishers, 1819.
In 1820 he published a letter to President Monroe, “ On the State of the Country," with a plan for improving the conditions of society, and in 1822, the year of his death, he issued a pamphlet entitled "Views of Political Economy from the Description of the United States," by J. M., July 4, 1822.
The numerous maps, books, and pamphlets issued by Mr. Melish during the thirteen years of his residence in Phila- delphia proved that he was an untiring and ardent worker and a close student of public affairs.
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GEORGE WALLACE MELVILLE Rear Admiral U. S. Navy Member 1906 Died March 19, 1912
Biographies of Deceased Members
GEORGE WALLACE MELVILLE, Rear Admiral U. S. Navy, member 1906.
Admiral Melville was of a noted Scotch family ; many of them left strenuous footmarks in Scottish history. His grandfather, James Melville, of Stirling, emigrated to New York in 1804, and his father, the second son, Alexander, a man of great stature, was nicknamed " Big Sandy." He was a graduate of the University of St. Andrew's. Three of his sons entered the service of the United States in the Civil War. George Wallace, the oldest, born in New York City, January 10, 1841, was educated in the public schools and at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. He served an apprenticeship at mechanical engineering, and at the out- break of the Civil War, when 20 years of age, was appointed a third assistant engineer, United States Navy, and assigned to the U. S. steamer Michigan, cruising on the great western lakes ; later he was transferred to the sloop-of-war Dacotah, of the North Atlantic Fleet, participating in the attack on Lambert's Point, the capture of Norfolk, Va., and clearing the obstructions from the James River, and later with the fleet that covered the retreat of McClellan's Army to Har- rison's Landing. After a short service with Admiral Wilkes' flying squadron, he was attached, in October, 1863, to the U. S. S. Wachusett, taking prominent part when that vessel rammed and captured the Confederate privateer Florida in the harbor of Bahia, Brazil.
His career in the navy was a distinguished one from the time when he entered it as an officer of the Engineer Corps to the day of his death. It was marked always by steadfast courage, often by deeds of daring, and finally by many brilliant years of service of the most important character. On every ship and at every naval station where he served, he had the marked esteem of his superiors, the respect and friendship of his associates, and the admiration and confi- dence of those who served under him.
It was, however, as an Arctic explorer that Melville achieved a world-wide fame. He made three voyages to
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Biographies of Deceased Members
the Arctic regions, including the famous " Polaris Search Expedition " on the Tigress, the " Jeanette Exploring Ex- pedition," sent out by James Gordon Bennett, and the " Greely Relief Expedition " on the Thetis, sent out by the government to relieve Lieutenant Greely.
In the Jeanette Expedition as Engineer-in-Chief Mel- ville commanded the famous whale-boat and brought out his whole crew alive. He led the party that found the bodies of Lieutenant DeLong and his companions and under his charge the rites of Christian burial were per- formed over these martyrs to science and humanity. The suffering and self-sacrifice in these movements, the personal heroism displayed, are without a parallel in Arctic history, and Peary properly styled him "Melville of the Lion- heart."
" In later years, his keen powers of observation, his memory of detail, and his intuitive judgment of Polar con- ditions enabled him to suggest many expedients which have lessened materially the labor of subsequent explorers.
" Admiral Melville was one of the world's authorities on the subject of Arctic currents. He gave also early and extended study to the question of an inter-oceanic canal be- tween the Atlantic and the Pacific, and his published views on this attracted wide attention. In many ways he was a pioneer in the development of marine and naval machinery. His use of triple screws on large vessels and his early adop- tion of the water-tube boiler for naval service are marked instances of this. His long series of experiments on the comparative values of the methods of burning coal and oil under various conditions in marine boilers is regarded as the most accurate and thorough investigation of this subject ever carried on under government auspices. As engineer- in-chief of the navy, his policy was one of wise daring. He was ceaseless in his search and development of all that was new and valuable, but his judgment and mental poise kept him from following new departures which had not fully demonstrated their worth.
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Biographies of Deceased Members
" In his successful effort to secure full recognition for engineering on the sea, he was the leader in a far-reaching movement which has virtually revolutionized the personnel of navies. The entire engineering profession of the United States was stirred to action by him-a leader whom they were proud to follow-and, in the end, after a struggle of ten years' duration, when the Congress officially proclaimed that the naval officer of the future should be a fighting engineer, the honor of that victory was primarily and chiefly his.
" As an administrative official, Admirable Melville gave most valuable service to his country. He was the Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering for four consecutive terms of four years each, having been appointed originally by President Cleveland and reappointed by Presidents Harrison and Mckinley. Owing to the tragic death of the latter, he served under President Roosevelt during the two final years of his last term. This long period covered the virtual crea- tion of the new navy, the war with Spain, and the critical stage of the passage from the old to the new regime in naval engineering. These were years of most brilliant service by Admirable Melville. To his wide attainments as an engineer, he added great force of character, executive abil- ity of the highest order, an intense devotion to duty, and an integrity which nothing had the power to move. His unswerving moral courage made him a most forceful factor in the rebuilding of the navy. Time and again he met, in the open, fearless and often successful warfare, various powerful interests which seemed to him to be affecting naval affairs to no good end. The dominant principle of his life was then, as always, the strongest loyalty to his country. Its interests were his.
" Admiral Melville's record is without reproach. No stain mars his fame. President Cleveland's terse comment on his first report as engineer-in-chief, " We need more such men," may well be echoed now by the navy and the nation.
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His friendships were warm and enduring, and his memory is a benediction to those who were near his heart."
In 1903 Admiral Melville was retired on age under the law for the navy, and became associated with W. H. McAlpin as consulting engineer and marine architect. They designed the Melville-McAlpin reduction gear for turbine engines, reducing considerably the cost of operation. Mr. McAlpin retired from the firm in 1911 to accept a position with the Westinghouse Company. Admiral Melville designed for the City of Philadelphia an improved ice-boat for use on the Delaware River.
Rear Admiral Melville was a past president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and one of the vice-presidents of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. He also served as president of the American Society of Naval Engineers. At the time of his death he was commander-in-chief of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and a member of Gen. George G. Meade Post, No. 1, Philadelphia, Grand Army of the Republic.
His scientific ability was recognized by Georgetown Uni- versity, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Univer- sity, Stevens Institute, Hoboken, and Harvard University, all of which conferred honorary degrees upon him.
Admiral Melville was twice married and two daughters by his first wife survived him. In October, 1907, he was married to Miss Estelle S. Polis, who died in 1909, leaving a number of public bequests with the Admiral as executor of her estate. Possessed of a vigorous constitution, notwith- standing the strain of his arduous services in the Arctic regions, he took an active part in public matters, especially those connected with naval engineering, and frequently appeared before scientific and other societies to speak on themes on which he was a recognized expert.
He died in Philadelphia, March 17, 1912, the day he was to retire from the position of president of the Friendly Sons
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of St. Patrick, and his funeral was attended by a large number of prominent citizens.
[Records Commandery-in-Chief, Military Order of the Loyal Legion, et al.]
GENERAL HUGH MERCER, The sword of. General Mer- cer was mortally wounded at the Battle of Princeton, N. J., January 3, 1777, and died at that place on January 12. " Historical Catalogue, The St. Andrew's Society," 1907, pages 273-279.
The United States Gasette of December 3, 1841, in an extended report of the 93rd Anniversary of the Society, records the fact of the presentation of the sword of General Mercer to the Society, which was accepted on its behalf by Dr. John K. Mitchell, father of our honored past President, Dr. S. Weir Mitchell.
The letter accompanying the sword, dated January 17, 1841, was simply signed "H. Morgan," and stated that the sword was presented to the late General Morgan and had been carefully preserved by her late husband "as the memorial of friendship bestowed by a brave man upon his honored father."
The Christian names of her husband and his father and of her own were not given in this letter, but the resolution of thanks adopted by the Society for the presentation named Mrs. George W. Morgan, and the name of General Jacob Morgan is inscribed upon the sword case.
Deeming it a matter of considerable interest to clear up any doubt as to the origin of this valued relic, the writer found that there was no general officer named Jacob Morgan on the Revolutionary rolls.
There are, however, in the annals of that period, repeated references to Colonel George Morgan of Princeton, New Jersey, whose father had settled there before the Revolution on a large tract of land on which he had erected a fine man- sion. Colonel Morgan was appointed by the Congress in 1776 as agent for Indian affairs, to visit the tribes in Western
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Biographies of Deceased Members
Pennsylvania and secure their adherence to the cause of the Colonies in the war then pending, and in this he was very successful.
It seemed probable, as this Morgan family lived near where General Mercer lay in a dying condition for several days, that they after the troops had departed would be called upon to aid the wounded officer, and that thus this sword came into their possession. Correspondence with that family (now represented in Western Pennsylvania), after the first " Historical Catalogue " was printed, convinced the writer that this inference was incorrect.
Then the investigation turned to the Berks County Mor- gan family, with better results.
Captain Jacob Morgan, Senior, served in the Provincial War against the French and Indians in the same regiment with Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Mercer. A son, Jacob, Junior, then only 16 years of age, also enlisted for that cam- paign in Captain Levi Trump's Company. Mercer was pro- moted to colonel and assigned to the command of the Third Battalion, and Jacob Morgan, Jr., was appointed his adjutant and was thus brought into close confidential relations with his chief. This young man was born in Caernarvon Town- ship, Berks County, in 1742, and we have now but to identify him with the General Morgan referred to in Mrs. "H." Morgan's letter.
Westcott in his biographical notes in the Sunday Dis- patch, states :
Brig .- General Jacob Morgan died at Point-no-Point (Bridesburg, Phila.), September 17, 1802, aged 60 years. He was born in western part of Pennsylvania, and enlisted in one of the Provincial Regiments at the age of 15, and was Adjutant at the time of the Peace in 1763. During the Revolution he was a volunteer, and in the militia Major of Col. John Dickinson's Regiment. He took part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. After the end of the Revolution, he entered into business as a merchant. He was a member of the Legislature from the County of Philadelphia at one period. He was a Presidential Elector and voted for Jefferson. He was elected Brigadier General of the County Brigade in 1793 and held the commission to June 3, 1802.
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Biographies of Deceased Members
In this brief notice we have the salient points: Jacob Morgan's service as a lad in the Provincial regiment, of such merit as to earn promotion as adjutant to Colonel Mercer ; later service in the war of the Revolution at Trenton and Princeton, where General Mercer received his fatal wounds; afterward in the militia as colonel, First Battalion of Associators of Philadelphia, and then as brigadier-gen- eral of the county brigade. From 1777 to 1782 he resided in Reading, and then located in Philadelphia to pursue a suc- cessful business career. The one error in Westcott's state- ment is that Jacob Morgan was born in Western Pennsyl- vania, and we are indebted to Louis Richards, Esq., president Berks County Historical Society, for the record of his birth in that county.
He was senior member of the firm of Morgan, Douglass & Shaffer, 54-56 North Third Street, Philadelphia, sugar refiners, and active in political and business life of the city. He was a man of high standing in the community, and it may be safely assumed that such a man would not wilfully deceive himself or deceive others by misrepresentation of any fact within his own knowledge.
To conclude properly a somewhat lengthy search, we have only to locate George W. Morgan and his wife, who signed her name in the letter referred to as "H." Morgan. The Aurora of February 10, 1797, has the following notice :
Married, on Wednesday morning last (February 8, 1797), by Rev. Dr. Rogers, Mr. George W. Morgan, son of General Jacob Morgan of the Northern Liberties, to Miss Hetty Leib, daughter of George Leib, of the same place.
This then is the important missing link,-George W. Morgan and " H" (Hetty) his wife,-and the case is satis- factorily closed.
The assumption, therefore, as to Colonel George Mor- gan, of Princeton, in connection with this presentation, was clearly erroneous.
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Biographies of Deceased Members GENERAL MERCER AT PRINCETON
By CHARLES D. PLATT
Here Mercer fell, with bayonet-pierced breast Facing his country's foes upon the field, Scorning to cry for quarter or to yield,
Though single-handed, left, and sore opprest.
He, at his chosen country's high behest, Was sent to be a leader and to shield
Her threatened life; with his heart's blood he sealed
That trust, nor faltered till he sank to rest.
Mourn not for him; say not, untimely death Snatched him from fame ere we could know his worth And hid the lustre of a glorious name ;
Such souls go forth, when fails their vital breath, To shine as beacons through the mists of earth And kindle in men's hearts heroic flame.
CALEB JONES MILNE, Life member 1860, Vice-president 1884-85, President 1886-87. Mr. Milne was born in Philadelphia, January 4, 1839, the son of David Milne (President The St. Andrew's Society 1862-63) and Beulah Thomas Parker. In boyhood he was a pupil at the boarding-school of George Murray (member 1845), a Scotchman, and well-known educator, whose school was in New Britain, near Doylestown, Pa. Later he attended the Episcopal Academy, where the Rev. Dr. Hare was head master. About 1855 he entered the office of his father, who was a manufacturer of cotton and woollen goods, in which business he became a partner in 1859. In 1886 he took his two sons into partnership, under the firm name of C. J. Milne & Sons.
During the Civil War, 1862-63, he closed his mill, then known as The Real Caledonia Factory, which occupied the present site of the Polyclinic Hospital, on Lombard Street near 18th Street, and engaged actively in the work of the United States Christian Commission. Valuable services were rendered by him at Falmouth, Va., City Point, Va.,
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CALEB JONES MILNE Member 1860 President 1886-1887 Died in London, England, July 1, 1912
Biographies of Deceased Members
Nashville, Tenn., and at other places, in caring for the sick and wounded soldiers, both in the field and in the hospital. Toward the close of the Civil War his energies were again directed to the promotion and enlargement of his textile interests, which thereafter constantly increased. In conse- quence he acquired a mill at 21st and Naudain Streets, and in 1883 he leased one of the Bruner Mills at 22d and Hamil- ton Streets, and also a mill in Frankford. In 1887 all his textile interests were centralized on the Brandywine Creek near Wilmington, Delaware, in what were then known as the Brandywine Cotton Mills, continuing there until 1895, when he removed his business to Philadelphia, to occupy the building, at IIth Street and Washington Avenue, which he had built on the ground formerly occupied by the Macpelah Cemetery.
His activity in commercial life led him to invest in numerous industrial, mercantile, and financial corporations, in some of which he assisted in the management. He served as president of the American District Telegraph Company and was also president for many years of the Peerless Brick Company of Philadelphia. This company was noted for the excellence of its pressed bricks and ornamental shapes, which it manufactured on a large plot of ground (68 acres in extent) at Old York Road and Nicetown Lane. The ground is now occupied by the offices and car-barns of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company. He was one of the founders of the United Security Life Insurance and Trust Company of Pennsylvania, and about 1872 he assisted in organizing the Bank of America, of which he was president. He was an active director of the American Security and Trust Company of Washington, D. C. Through his mer- cantile interests he became identified with Finch, Van Slyck & McConville, of St. Paul, Minn., the leading wholesale dry- goods firm of the Northwest, in which company he was a director.
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