USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, comprising a historical sketch of the county > Part 58
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street, Philadelphia. His ministry commenced with a few months of appreciated service at Christ church, Germantown, and in Novem- ber, 1857, he became rector of All Saints' church, Philadelphia, where he labored effec- tively for two years. At the end of that time he accepted a call from the then recently established parish of Calvary church, Ger- mantown, and during his four years' pleasant stay there, was, on January 19, 1860, ordained by Bishop Potter to the priesthood, in St. Mark's church, Philadelphia. In 1863 he re- moved to Staten Island, and became rector of St. John's church, Clifton, spending nearly four years in useful and highly appreciated labors in that important charge. From St. John's church he removed to the city of New York, where he believed there was a wider and a more special field claiming his services. Results justified his belief, for there, in con- nection with Rev. Robert S. Howland, rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles, he built up a prosperous parish on the upper portion of Broadway, and erected there the Church of the Heavenly Rest. During his association with this church, the Rev. Dr. Conrad served as home secretary of the Italian Church Re- form commission, organized under the sanc- tion of a joint committee of the general convention. In 1874 he severed his connec- tion as associate pastor of the Church of the Heavenly Rest, and accepted charge of the Church of the Transfiguration, in Philadel- phia, on the west side of the Schuylkill, officiating first in a temporary chapel, and afterward, for nearly ten years, in the new edifice that was erected on Woodland avenue. At the end of that time he became rector of the old parish of St. Paul's, on Third street, but after a short and interesting ministry in that historic charge he came to Wayne, in 1888, and built the beautiful memorial church of St. Mary's, of which he served as rector until his death, in 1893.
On May 10, 1882, Rev. Dr. Conrad was united in marriage with Anne Frazer, daugh-
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
AS TIR, LENOIX AND TILL'N FOUNDATIONS P
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ter of Prof. John F. Frazer, of the university of Pennsylvania.
The Rev. Dr. Conrad's character revealed itself very strikingly in his preparations for the pulpit. It was his custom, in his ser- mons, to sit down quietly and think out an outline, jotting upon strips of paper notes of the theme as it unfolded itself, and then to take up his sheets and with a facile pen de- velop the several parts and weave them to- gether into a consecutive discourse. He was always an easy and graceful writer. as is at- tested by his editorial work for a short time on the leading paper of the church, and his letters from Europe. in 1856, to the same journal. Four churches were built during his rectorships, and into three of these, their first congregations were gathered chiefly by his exertions. His sermons were always practi- cal. He dealt with themes that were edifying. and handled his subject plainly and instruc- tively. He sought to impress the truth as it is in Jesus, upon the daily lives of those to whom he preached. The Rev. Dr. Conrad had naturally the capacities of a business man, and this was a power to him and helped to give to his character that manliness and self-dependence which was one of its dis- tinguishing features. The Rev. Dr. Newlin, in speaking of him aside from his sacred office and high calling, said : "He was a gentle man -all through. Never, even amidst the familiarity of a long, long intercourse, did he utter a rude or unfeeling word : never, even in the privacy of a long, long friendship, did there drop from his lips a syllable, a single tone, that was unseemly. He was neither obsequious towards the rich, nor condescend- ing toward the poor. The laudations that were lavished upon him by many all through his life left him unspoiled. The courtesy and cordiality of his manners will long be remem- bered by those who came under their fascina- tion. Unselfish and social, many a one has felt the warmth of his hospitality ; thoughtful and considerate. gentle, sympathizing and
generous, many a one will bear to the last the grateful recollection of his kindness."
On the morning of Trinity Sunday, A. D. 1893, the Almighty called to the rest of para- dise the Rev. Dr. Thomas K. Conrad, whose ministry of six and thirty years was a devoted and successful pastorate. His remains were interred in Laurel Hill cemetery, and a beau- titul memorial address was delivered upon his life and character at the Sunday morning service in St. Mary's Memorial church at Wayne, by the Rev. Joseph D. Newlin, A. M., D. D., rector of the Church of the Incarna- tion. Philadelphia.
The Rev. Dr. Conrad passed to his re- ward with his powers yet in their vigor, and the concluding work of his life well and thor- oughly done and bright with promise. The vestry of St. Mary's Memorial church passed resolutions on his death, in which they said : " In his death this community has lost a use- ful citizen, all who knew him, a faithful friend, and the church of God an honored priest. But to St. Mary's parish, especially, the loss seems irreparable. He not only built the church, but was never weary of giving to it abundantly of his means, his time, his labors, his prayers. But four years ago, when he first became interested in the work of the church in Wayne, he found the congregation a handful, without even a building in which to worship. We have now, largely through his efforts, a beautiful church, with all the ap- pliances necessary for successful work : and the congregation has increased nearly ten- fold. The Rev. Dr. Conrad was a man of winning personality ; but the courtesy of his manners was only an index of a kind heart. While his cheerfulness and hopefulness en- couraged these qualities in others, he was ready to weep with those who wept, and to offer consolation to those who needed it."
The Rev. Dr. Conrad has reared for him- self a monument more enduring than one of marble or brass, and he needs neither scroll nor tablet to bear record of the deeds of his
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life. He cannot be forgotten, where the in- fluence of his beautiful and consecrated life will tell for good on coming generations, who will ever hold memory of his fair name and kind deeds.
H ENRY OGDEN, who served in the Emergency men, who were called out to help arrest Lee in his invasion of the north, and who is the proprietor of the Ogden livery and boarding stables of Chester, is a son of James and Anna D. (Drake) Ogden, and was born at Roy Ken, England, October 23, 1842. He was brought, at six years of age, to Phil- adelphia, by lis parents, and afterward re- ceived his education in the comnon schools of Delaware county. Leaving school, he worked in several factories, and then learned the trade of ship calking with William Frick. of Chester. He subsequently started in the milk business on Second street, where he continued successfully for twenty-seven years. and when he retired, was the oldest milk mer- chant in the city. In a short time after quit- ting the milk business he opened, in October, 1893, his present livery and boarding stables, at No. 24 East Fourth street.
Mr. Ogden married Sarah A. Lee, who is now deceased, leaving four children : William, Levi, Harry, and Sallie. Mr. Ogden married for his second wife, Anna J. Ward.
In politics Mr. Ogden is a republican, and has served as a member of the school board. He enlisted in a regiment of Pennsylvania militia, and served until the emergency men were discharged. He is a member of Chester Lodge, No. 76, Knights of Pythias ; and Up- land Lodge, No, 253, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Samuel Ogden, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a merchant tailor of Roy Ken, England, where he died at eighty-one years of age. He married, and reared a family of four children, one son and three daughters : James, Betsey, Mary, and
Elizabeth. His son, James Ogden (father), was a carpet weaver by trade, and resided at his native village of Roy Ken, England, until 1848, when he came to Philadelphia. He lived there for several years, and then came to Chester city, which.he afterward left to settle at Willow Grove, Montgomery county, this State, where he died on January 12, 1886. He was a republican and a Baptist, and mar- ried for his first wife, Anna D. Drake, and who died, leaving three children : Mary Win- terbottom, now deceased : James, now dead : and Henry, whose name appears at the head of this sketch. After his first wife's death, James Ogden married Sarah Fillming, by whom he had two children, a son and a daugh- ter : Sarah Groves and Thomas.
GEORGE SMITH, M. D., the early historian of Delaware county, was born in Haverford township, this county, February 4, 1804. He was graduated from the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, and practiced medicine at Darby for about five years. He then re- tired from active practice and gave his time to the management of his larm, and to the prosecution of literary and scientific studies. He was active, prominent, and useful in the scientific, political, and educational affairs of his county. He served two terms as an asso- ciate judge of the county, and one term as a State senator, during which he drafted the bill for the common schools of Pennsylvania. He served for several years as superintendent of the common schools of the county, and was one of the founders and the first pres- ident of the Delaware County Institute of Science. In 1862 Dr. Smith published his " History of Delaware County," a work that preserves his name for all time to come in his native county. "On the morning of February 24, 1882, full of years and honor, Dr. George Smith passed into eternity, leav- ing the world the better that he had lived."
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OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
H ON. THOMAS J. CLAYTON, presi- dent judge of the courts of Delaware county, and the author of a very interesting book of European travels, was born in Bethel township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, Jan- uary 20, 1826. The Clayton family is one of the oldest families of the county, and was set- tled at Marcus Hook previous to the granting of the royal charter to Penn.
Thomas J. Clayton received a thorough En- glish education, and thought of studying med- icine, but changed his intentions and read law. He was admitted to the bar of Delaware county, at Media, on November 24, 1851, and in the next year removed to Philadelphia, where he won high standing in his profession. His forensic powers in jury cases soon brought him into prominence, and he acquired a large and remunerative practice. In 1856 he was appointed by Governor Pollock, of Pennsyl- vania, as a member of his staff, with the rank of colonel, the only purely political office he ever held. In 1868, to take a vacation from the exhaustive labors of his extensive prac- tice, he made a tour of Europe, and visited its great cities, wonderful works of art and historic places. While abroad he contributed a series of letters to the Delaware County Re- publican, descriptive of his travels in Great Britain and on the continent. These letters proved to be so interesting that they were published in book form, and are considered as a valuable contribution to the literature of travel. In 1873 Mr. Clayton again passed his summer vacation in the old world, and from time to time furnished the county press with entertaining descriptions of his journeyings in foreign lands. After his return from his second trans-atlantic tour, he was nominated in the autumn of 1874 for president judge of this district by the independent republicans, the democrats making no nomination. He was elected at the ensuing election. At the end of his term he was renominated and re-elected, and now, as his second term is drawing to a successful close, there is a demand, upon the
part of the independent voters, that he be re- nominated and re-elected for a third term as president judge of the Thirty-second Judicial district of Pennsylvania. During Judge Clay- ton's first term on the bench he was tendered a complimentary banquet at West Chester by the Chester county bar, at the conclusion of several cases there over which he presided in place of Judge Futhey, who had been inter- ested in them previous to being raised to the bench.
Judge Clayton is social in his disposition, an agreeable conversationalist, and speaks French with fluency.
As a lawyer he stands high with the legal profession throughout Pennsylvania, many of his published decisions in the Delaware County Reporter being cited in other judicial districts with approval. As a judge his course has re- ceived the commendation of the public and the approval of the leading members at the bar.
J. M. B. WARD, M. D., a graduate of the Philadelphia Medical college, who has been in practice at Chester since 1891, is a son of William and Clara E. ( Ulrich ) Ward, and was born in the city of Chester, August 5, 1863. Dr. Ward is the youngest of seven children, the others being : Samuel U., who studied law and is now practicing his profes- sion at Altoona, this State ; William, jr., who is deputy collector of customs in the city of Chester : Catharine U., Clara U., Margaret I)., and George E., now studying civil engin- eering.
J. M. B. Ward was reared in his native city of Chester, and received his primary education in the public schools. He afterward attended Miss Crosby's preparatory school and then entered Burlington Military academy, where he remained two years. After the completion of his academic studies he entered the drug store of G. Banks Wilson, and later began a course of pharmacy at the Philadelphia col- lege, from which institution he was graduated
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in 1884. For a short time thereafter he was with Carpenter, Henzey & Co., wholesale druggists of Philadelphia, and then accepted the position of chemist in the United States marine hospital of that city. He remained in the latter position for a period of three years, and at the expiration of that time ma- triculated at the Philadelphia Medical college for the purpose of completing his preparations for practice, and was duly graduated from that well known institution in the spring of 1891, with the degree of M.D. He immediately re- turned to Chester and began the practice of medicine with his uncle, Dr. Ulrich, with whom he remained in partnership until March, 1893, when he opened a separate office and began practice on his own account. Having devoted many years of careful preparation for the duties of his profession, it is not surprising that Dr. Ward has met with great encourage- ment and success since beginning practice, and is now one of the most promising young physicians of this city.
Dr. Ward is a member of the Delaware County Medical society, and of the J. N. Da Costa Medical society of Philadelphia. He is also a member of the Alpha Boat club of Ches- ter, and takes great interest in boating and kindred athletic sports. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, and on December 20, 1892, was united in marriage to Elizabeth J. Walsh.
Hon. William Ward was born in Philadel- phia January 1, 1837, received his education at Girard college, and served a four years ap- prenticeship to the art of printing, in the office of the Delaware County Republican. He after- wards read law, was admitted to the bar in August, 1859, and engaged in the practice of his profession in connection with operations in land enterprises and public improvements in Chester and vicinity, to which he added the business of banking in 1868, being a member of the firm of Ward & Baker. In 1873 he re- tired from banking and since then has devoted his time to his profession and the other
branches of business which he was then fol- lowing. Mr. Ward is a republican. He served his city for several years as president and member of the city council. He also served for some time as city solicitor, secretary and treasurer of the Chester Improvement Com- pany, director of the First National bank, treasurer of the South Water board and sec- retary of the Chester Creek and Delaware River railroad companies. Mr. Ward never held any purely political office until 1876, when he was elected as a member of the Forty-fifth Congress. His services in that important body were such that he was re- turned to the Forty-sixth Congress, and after- ward was honored with a third term by his party, which elected him to the Forty-seventh Congress. At the end of his Congressional services, in 1883, he declined all further polit- ical nominations in order to give needed at- tention to his business affairs.
RICHARD REILLY, a successful young business man of South Chester, now engaged in the milling business and as a general flour, feed and grain merchant, is the third son and fourth child of Patrick and Annie ( Burns) Reilly, and was born December 16, 1867, in the city of Reading, Pennsylva- nia. Patrick Reilly died March 3, 1892, at the advanced age of sixty-five years. His wife is still living, being now in her sixtieth year. They were the parents of ten children, seven sons and three daughters: John J., Mary (deceased), William (also dead), Rich- ard, the subject of this sketch; Marcella, Charles. Thomas, Annie, Martin, and Robert.
Richard Reilly was educated in the public schools of Reading, Chester and South Ches- ter, and leaving school at the age of fourteen, he engaged in the grocery business with his father in the city of Chester. For two years he remained in the store, and then served an apprenticeship of two years at the carpenter trade. He then went to the city of Philadel-
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phia, where he worked at his trade as a car- penter and contractor for nearly three years, after which, in 1885, he returned to South Chester and became manager of his father's livery business here. For a period of five years he continued to act in that capacity, but in 1890 became sole owner of the business himself, and successfully conducted it in his own name until April, 1892, when he aban- doned the livery business to engage in the manufacture of flour and the general sale of flour, feed and grain. succeeding to the entire business of his father, as manager of the es- tate. . In all his business experience. Mr. Reilly has shown excellent judgment, and demonstrated the possession of fine executive ability, and that capacity for details which is required in the successful management of every complicated enterprise.
In his political affiliations Richard Reilly has always been a democrat, but is inclined to a great degree of independence in local politics. always giving his suffrage in favor of the man best qualified for the office he seeks. regard- less of party considerations. He is a member of the Catholic church, as were his parents. and is undoubtedly entitled to rank with the most successful and most popular young busi- ness men of South Chester. He is unmarried.
JOHN W. BOOTH, the popular and effi- cient head bookkeeper in the office of the Standard Steel Casting Company of Thurlow, Delaware county. Pennsylvania, is the second child and only son of Robert and Martha ( Johnson ) Booth, and a native of Bethel town- ship, this county, where he was born August 6, 1859. The Booths have been residents of Penn- sylvania for many generations. The paternal grandfather of John W. Booth was a prosperous farmer of this county. and resided at Booth- town, Bethel township, nearly all his life. He was accidentally killed by a team of horses when only thirty years of age. He was the father of two children : Robert (father , and Charlotte,
who married Stephen Cloud, a boot and shoe merchant of Chester. Robert Booth (father) was born in this county, and after his father's death was taken to New York by his mother, in which State he grew to manhood and received his education. After leaving school he learned the trade of carpenter, and followed that occupation successfully for a number of years. He then associated him- self with J. N. Thomas, in the manufac- ture of doors, sash and blinds, and conducted that business for some years. Later he en- gaged in the same business as a member of the firm of Robert Stroud & Company, in this city, with which he is still connected. He married Martha Johnson, by which union he had a family of four children, one son and three daughters : Clara J., who mar- ried Rev. Edwin Long, now pastor of Rising Sun Presbyterian church of Wilmington, Del- aware; John W .. whose name heads this sketch : Della, became the wife of Horace Simcox, a house painter of South Chester, and Florence M., who wedded Rev. Francis Smiley. the well known evangelist of Phila- delphia, where they reside. Mrs. Martha Booth is still living.
John W. Booth grew to manhood in his native county. and was educated in the public schools of Chester. Leaving school he be- came a clerk in the postoffice of this city, where he remained two years, and afterward entered the employ of Robert Wetherell & Company. He continued with that firm for a period of six years, during which he acquired a thorough knowledge of book-keeping, and during the last seven years he has been head , book-keeper for the Standard Steel Casting Company of Thurlow, a position which he has acceptably filled with great satisfaction to the officers of the company, and manifest advan- tage to their important business.
On October 31, 1882, Mr. Booth was mar- ried to Ella T. Ellis, a daughter of Daniel Ellis, formerly a carpenter and contractor of the city of Chester, but now retired. To Mr.
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and Mrs. Booth have been born three children, two sons and a daughter : Robert H., Harwell C., and Mildred. all living with their parents in their handsome home at Thurlow. In pol- itics Mr. Booth is a stanch republican and protectionist, though he has never taken any very active part in political affairs. He is pleasant and affable in manner, very popular among his associates, and has the reputation of being one of the best and most accurate book-keepers in this county.
JAMES SCOTT, who lor seven years has
been the superintendent of the Phoenix cotton mills in the city of Chester, and is also a prominent secret society man of Philadel- phia, where he formerly resided, is a native ol the city of Trenton, New Jersey, where he was born April 14, 1846. His parents were John and Mary (Cornish) Scott, the former the son of an English emigrant of the same name, who came from Yorkshire, England, and settled on Cobb creek, near Philadelphia. The elder John Scott ( grandfather) was a wool comber by trade, and worked at that business for many years in Philadelphia county, where he lived until his death, at the advanced age of eighty years. He was a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. married and reared a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters: Martha Chadwick, Ruth, Maria, William, James, John, and one other. John Scott (father)was reared and educated in Phila delphia county, obtaining his education mainly by his own efforts. Helearned the trade of wool comber with his father, and soon afterward removed to Chester county, in which and Del- aware county he spent the remainder of his active life, only returning to Philadelphia a short time before his death, which occurred when he was seventy-three years of age. He married Mary Cornish, by whom he had a family of five sons and four daughters: Wil- liam, James ( I ). died in infancy . John. Jona-
than, James (2), Mary Weigand, Ruth, Sarah and Martha, of whom the three last named died in early childhood. Mrs. Mary Scott is still living. Her father, Job Cornish, lived to be ninety-three years of age.
James Scott's opportunities for obtaining an education were very limited. One term of three months at a country school comprised the foun- dation on which he afterward built an ordinary education by reading, and the study of such books as came in his way. At the early age of eight years he entered a cotton mill and be- gan earning his own living. He has worked at the manufacture of textile fabrics all his life, and has been with the Phoenix Manufac- turing Company of Chester for thirteen years, during seven of which he has held his present position of superintendent of the mills. In addition to educating himself without any of the ordinary helps in that direction, he has thoroughly mastered all the details of his bus- iness in every department, and is considered one of the best informed and most skillful superintendents to be found among the cotton mills of Pennsylvania. He has achieved suc- cess by the proper use of the ability and talents with which he was endowed, even in the face of discouragements and adverse circumstances.
Mr. Scott was married to Mary Fairley. To them have been born five children : John F., Elizabeth, James Chadwick, and two who died in infancy.
Politically James Scott is an ardent repub- lican. and is president of the Fifth ward repub- lican club of the city of Chester. For several years he has been prominently connected with a number of fraternal organizations, including Ashley Lodge, of Trenton, New Jersey : Jef- ferson Lodge, No. 12, Independent Order of Odd Fellows : Damon Lodge, Knights of Pythias ; Independent Order of Foresters : Pickwick Lodge, No. 36, Sons of St. George, of Philadelphia ; Kodac Commandery, No. 79, Knights Templar, of the same city; and the Keystone club, a social organization, also of Philadelphia.
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