USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Biographical review : v. 24, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and the vicinity, Pennsylvania > Part 16
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county, and remained a resident of this local- ity until his death, which occurred in 1842, while he was in the prime of manhood. After coming here he married, and became the father of fourteen children.
James P. Wilson, son of John Wilson, was born and bred in Pittsburg. He learned the carriage-maker's trade, and was afterward prosperously engaged in that calling until his death in November, 1886, at the age of sixty- six years. He married Nancy W. Sullivan, a daughter of Aaron Sullivan, a native of Penn- sylvania and a descendant of Peter O'Sulli- van. Aaron Sullivan was a carpenter by trade, industrious and energetic, and a lifelong resident of Pittsburg, where his death occurred in 1830, when he was comparatively a young man. Of the children born to him and his wife there are now living: John A., Effie, Alice, James P. C., Edna, and Ira J. Effie is now the widow of T. A. Spence; Alice is the wife of A. D. Reno, Jr. ; and Edna is the wife of the Rev. George Rogers. The parents were remarkable for their piety and active in church work. The father was a member of the Baptist church; and the mother, who still lives, belongs to the Presbyterian denomina- tion.
John A. Wilson received a substantial foun- dation for his future education in the public schools of Pittsburg. Afterward he entered the Western University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated with the class of June, 1864. In early life, when not in school, he kept books for his father, thereby obtaining some insight of business. After leaving the university, he began the study of law in the office of M. A. Woodward, and was admitted to the bar in November, 1867. He at once began the practice of his profession in Pitts- burg, where he has since remained, having a business that demands all of his time. He
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gives his attention principally to real estate matters, and examines more titles perhaps than any other lawyer at the bar, his knowl- edge on this subject being very extensive and comprehensive. In politics he is a sound Re- publican, but he has never taken any active interest in local affairs.
On April 2, 1868, Mr. Wilson married Miss Belle Wilson, a daughter of Mayor George and Mary F. (Howey) Wilson. They have three children, namely : George P., who is a student in his father's law office; John A., Jr., who is discount clerk in the Columbia National Bank of Pittsburg; and Ruth, who is still attending school. The family residence, 811 South Negley Avenue, is an attractive and comfort- able house. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are members of the Shady Side Presbyterian Church, and are held in high esteem by their neighbors.
HARLES ARMSTRONG REDICK, M. D., an able and popular young physician of Allegheny, his office and residence being at 6 Penn Avenue, was born in Saltsburg, Pa., January 4, 1867, a son of the late Dr. Samuel Tate Redick. His grandfather, the Rev. John Redick, born in Pennsylvania of Scotch parents, was a some- what noted minister of the Presbyterian de- nomination. The Rev. Mr. Redick preached mostly in Armstrong County, where he died at an advanced age, leaving four children.
Dr. Samuel T. Redick, who was born and bred in this State, early in life took up the study of medicine. After practising his pro- fession for a number of years in Freeport and Saltsburg, Pa., he located in Allegheny, where he continued his professional labors until his death, October 24, 1888, at the age of threescore and ten years. His wife, in maidenhood Mary Emily Jordan, was born in
Pennsylvania, daughter of the late William Jordan. Mr. Jordan, who came of English ancestry, for many years conducted a mercan- tile business in the town of New Waterford. Mrs. Mary E. Redick is now residing at 21 Pennsylvania Avenue, Allegheny. Her chil- dren are: Mary, Elizabeth, Laura, Etta, Rob- ert J., and Charles A. Mary is the wife of Jesse Cornelius, of St. Louis, Mo. ; and Etta is the wife of the Rev. J. B. Caruthers, of Delmont, Pa. Robert J. Redick resides in St. Louis, Mo. Both parents united with the Presbyterian church when young, and the father served the society as an Elder for many years. The latter was a popular man. At one time, when a candidate for the legis- lature, he lacked but two or three votes of election.
Charles A. Redick was very young when his parents removed to Allegheny. His early education was obtained in the public schools of this city. Subsequently he attended the Willard Institute. Then, after reading medi- cine here for a year, he went West, and for two and one-half years was assistant librarian in the Public School Library of St. Louis, at the same time continuing his medical studies. In. 1886 he returned to Allegheny, and. two years later he graduated from the Penn Medi- cal College of Pittsburg. As soon as he re- ceived his degree, he began his professional career in Allegheny, where he already has a large and constantly increasing practice. Aside from his private practice he is surgeon of the Pittsburg Locomotive Works and of the Pittsburg Ornamental Iron Works.
Dr. Redick was united in marriage April 15, 1890, to Miss Adele Batory, daughter of Ignatius and Josephine Batory, of Baltimore, Md. Mrs. Redick is a consistent member of the Episcopal church. While a steadfast Re- publican, the Doctor has no aspirations for
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official honors. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum, of the Scottish Clans, of the Alle- gheny County Medical Society, and of the West Penn Alumni Club.
ROFESSOR WICKLIFFE C. LYNE, of Wilkinsburg, who is at the same time a successful educator and one of the prominent business men in Pittsburg, was born near Richmond, Va., September 22, 1850. He comes of English and Scotch ancestry. His forefathers were prominent in civil and ecclesiastical affairs of the old country, and later in those of Virginia in Colonial times. His father, Robert Baylor Lyne, a graduate of Transylvania University, Kentucky, was a Virginia physician, and a brother to the mother of the Hon. William Lyne Wilson, who was the author of the Wil- son Tariff Bill and the Postmaster-General in the cabinet of President Cleveland. His great- grandfather, the Hon. William Lyne, repre- sented the County of King and Queen in the House of Burgesses, composed of the most eminent men of Virginia; and he was a mem- ber of the first Virginia convention, which was held in 1775, and which was made memorable by the first resolution planning the organiza- tion and defence of the colonies, and by Pat- rick Henry's passionate speech for "liberty or death." He also served as member of the famous convention of 1788, with Madison, Jefferson, Henry, and Randolph, when Vir- ginia ratified the Federal Constitution, and the the career of the American republic virtually began.
The subject of this sketch receive'd a thor- ough classical training under private tutors and at Jefferson Academy, Virginia. At sixteen he entered the Sophomore class at Bethany College, West Virginia, and three years later
graduated therefrom with distinction, ranking first in the classics and science, though the youngest in his class. His Alma Mater sub. sequently bestowed on him the degree of Mas- ter of Arts in recognition of his successful work as principal of the Burgettstown Normal School and Academy, of the Claysville Normal School, and of the Washington High School. He was also offered the chair of Latin and Greek, which had been filled for twenty years by Professor Charles L. Loos, the president- elect of the Kentucky University. This the Professor declined, and for five years afterward he labored as principal of one of the leading schools of Pittsburg. His services were then engaged by Curry University, to take charge for three years of the normal department in literature, history, and methods of instruction. After declining propositions to assume charge of one of the Pennsylvania normal colleges and of a normal college in Ohio, he accepted the management for Western Pennsylvania of the National Life Insurance Company of Vermont. In this field he built up so large and lucrative a business that his territory was enlarged so as to include Iowa and West Virginia. After- ward his skill as an underwriter and manager was sought in various executive capacities by leading life insurance corporations. On the organization of the Pittsburg Underwriters' Association he was made chairman of the Executive Committee, and in the next year he was chosen president.
Mr. Lyne has other business interests. He deals extensively in real estate; is a director of the First National Bank of Wilkinsburg, and of the Central Accident Insurance Com- pany of Pittsburg; is vice-president of the United States Cycle Improvement Company ; a director and the vice-president of the Board of Trade of Wilkinsburg; and stockholder in a number of prominent corporations. As
WILLIAM M. BEACH.
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a member of the Academy of Science and Art, of the Executive Committee of the Mozart Musical Society, and trustee of the Pittsburg Art Society, he has been identified with the largest and most influential organizations en- gaged in upholding the standards of public taste and enjoyment. He is a member and Elder of the Christian, or Disciples', Church, is superintendent of the Sunday-school, vice- president of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation of Wilkinsburg, and he has served as ยท vice-president of the State Missionary Society of Pennsylvania. He is a trustee of Pittsburg Academy and of Bethany College, has been the secretary of the Alumni Association, and he has been twice honored with appointment as lecturer at commencement before it's meet- ings. Mr. Lyne was married in 1878 to Mary Vowel Winters, a daughter of Addison Win- ters, of Washington, Pa., and a grand-daugh- ter of the only sister of the Brown Brothers, the founders of the great American and Euro- pean banking houses.
ILLIAM M. BEACH, M.D., one of the foremost physicians in Alle- gheny County, has an extensive and lucrative practice in Allegheny and Pittsburg, having an office in both cities, his residence being in the former at 89 Arch Street. Born September 15, 1859, near Sandy Lake, in Mercer County, son of Oliver Beach, he is of Scotch descent. His paternal grandfather, Stephan Whited Beach, who was born and reared in Scotland, came to America, accom- panied by two brothers, one of whom settled in New York and the other in Boston. He located in New Jersey, where he worked in- dustriously at his trade of shoemaker. During the Revolutionary War he served as a soldier. He and his wife had fifteen children.
Oliver Beach, who was born and educated in New Jersey, has been for many years a valued resident of Mercer County. He was formerly engaged in the blacksmith's trade, but is now the Postmaster, and a successful merchant of Sandy Lake village. For a number of terms he served as School Director in that town, and he has held a number of township offices with credit. Both he and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, he being a Ruling Elder. He married Ann Elizabeth Mulholland, who was born in Londonderry, Ireland, a daughter of William Mulholland. In 1830 Mr. Mulholland emigrated with his family to this country, settling at first in Ohio, near Kent. Soon afterward he removed to Venango County, Pennsylvania, where he cleared and improved a good farm from the forest-covered land, living there until he had rounded out a long life. He was a local Methodist preacher, and reared seven children. Of the latter, one became a regularly ordained minister, and another is a practising physician in Toledo, Ohio. Of the seven children born to Oliver Beach and his wife, six are living, as follows: James Austin, of whom there is no special record; Delilah Jane, the wife of Aaron Blair, of Emlenton, Pa. ; William M., the subject of this sketch; Martin Luther, who lives on the old homestead; Sarah Are- thusa, the wife of William Park, of Jackson Centre, Pa. ; and Nancy Keturah, the widow of Elmer Blair, who was recently killed by accident.
William M. Beach grew to manhood on the parental homestead, receiving his earliest education in the district schools of the neigh- borhood. Afterward he attended the Edinboro State Normal School and Waynesburg College, graduating from the latter in 1882, then re- ceiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts and at a later period that of Master of Arts. Just
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after his graduation Mr. Beach was elected professor of Latin and Greek in Ozark College in Ozark, Mo. At the end of three years' service he was elected president of Odessa College in the same State. This position he resigned at the end of two years, in order to ' pursue his medical course. He then entered Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, graduating from there in 1889. Since then he has been in active practice in his present location. He has a large patronage as a gen- eral practitioner, but in the past few years has paid special attention to rectal diseases, in the treatment of which he has met with marked success. In 1889 Dr. Beach was elected chief demonstrator of Anatomy in the West Penn Medical College, and during the three years with which he was connected with that institution he thoroughly reorganized his department. At present he is United States Examining Surgeon for Pensions, As- sistant Surgeon of the Eighteenth Regiment of the National Guard, and Surgeon of the Pres- byterian Hospital of Allegheny and Pittsburg.
On June 28, 1882, Dr. Beach was united in marriage with Miss Lucy L. Miller, daughter of A. B. Miller, LL. D., the president of Waynesburg College, from which he had just received his degree. Her mother, formerly Miss Margaret K. Bell, a woman of broad culture and distinguished for her scholarly attainments, was for many years connected with the college as principal of the female department. Both the Doctor and Mrs. Beach are esteemed members of the First Presbyterian Church of Allegheny. The Doc- tor is a Master Mason, belonging to Ionic Lodge, No. 525, A. F. & A. M. ; a member of the Allegheny County Medical Society, of the State Medical Society, and of the Ameri- can Medical Association. In politics he is a sound Democrat.
OHN B. CROMBIE, M.D., an es- teemed physician of Allegheny City, was born in Allegheny County, near Elizabeth, February 22, 1858. He studied medicine successively with Dr. David Alter and Dr. James McCann, of Pittsburg, and graduated from the medical department of the University of Maryland in the year 1883. Subsequently he was for eight months the resi- dent physician at the St. Francis Hospital, and then he practised in Beaver County for about two years. Since 1885 he has been located in Allegheny City. On June 25, 1891, he mar- ried Elizabeth Newell, a daughter of the late John Newell, D.D. They have two children - Jean and John. The Doctor and his wife are both members of the Episcopal church. He is also a member of the County and State Medical Societies and of the National So- ciety.
EORGE C. WILSON, an attorney-at- law of Pittsburg, was born September 30, 1851, in Mifflintown, Juniata County, son of William White and Mary (Murphy) Wilson, both of Mifflintown. The grandfather, George Wilson, a native of Penn- sylvania, of Scotch-Irish descent, was the first Sheriff of Juniata County. They were mem - bers of the Presbyterian church. The father, whose death occurred in 1881, lived to be eighty-one years of age. He was at one time the Sheriff of his county. His wife, whose father, John Murphy, lived to a venerable age, had three children, namely: Isabella, the wife of E. S. Parker, Esq., of Washington, D.C .; Lucy, who married Charles W. Mayer, of Mifflintown; and George C., the subject of this sketch, who was named for his paternal grandfather.
George C. Wilson lived at home until four- teen years of age. IIe attended the public
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schools of Tuscarora, and graduated from the high school at Lawrenceville, N.J., in 1868. In this year he entered Princeton College, from which he graduated with the class of 1872. He then began the study of law with Ezra D. Parker at the home of his boyhood. Next year he went to Pittsburg, and was under the instruction of H. B. Swoope, United States District Attorney, until the death of the latter. His legal training was continued under Mr. Swoope's successor, David Reed, until 1875, when he was admitted to the bar. In May of the same year he was appointed As- sistant United States District Attorney for Western Pennsylvania. This office he filled for several years, until he resigned to enter ac- tively upon the practice of law in that city. His practice, which is wholly of a civil char- acter, comes to him in the capacity of legal representative of many corporations, including most of the street railway lines of Pittsburg & Allegheny.
Mr. Wilson married Mary G. Unger, a daughter of Elias J. and Annie C. (Steele) Unger. He has two sons and one daughter - Unger, George, and Annye. In politics Mr. Wilson is a Republican. He resides at the corner of Rebecca and Friendship. Avenue, East End.
LEXANDER HOPKINS ANDER- SON, A.M., LL. D., attorney-at-law in Pittsburg, was born in the town- ship of Peters, Washington County, July 3, 1866, son of David M. and Charity S. (Wright) Anderson. Mr. Anderson's grand- father, who was one of the Scotch-Irish set- tlers of Pennsylvania that came from the north of Ireland, settled in the town of Indepen- dence, Beaver County.
David M. Anderson, born in 1837, was a native of Independence, and there passed his
boyhood. Upon reaching manhood he went to California, and became interested in mining and farming. From California he went to Chile, where he was the superintendent for three years of a flouring-mill conducted by an English company. In 1860 he returned to the States, and entered the medical depart- ment of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. After obtaining the necessary in- struction in this institution, he procured the commission of assistant surgeon in the army, and subsequently served with the Twelfth Regiment of colored troops in the Civil War until its termination, occupied for a part of the time in hospital work with the rank of Sec- ond Lieutenant. He then took a course in Bellevue Medical College, New York, gradu- ating from that institution in the class of 1866. Afterward he located as a general practitioner near Finleyville, Washington County, where he remained until 1880. About this time he opened a coal mine on the farm where his wife had always lived. The mine subsequently proved so lucrative that he gradually abandoned his practice in order to superintend the development of the property. The mine, which is situated on the line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, has since yielded large returns. Dr. Anderson is a Republican, and prominent in public affairs. He has served for two terms in the State legislature, and was influential in making the mining laws of 1893. He married Miss Charity S. Wright, a daughter of the Rev. Joseph Wright. Her paternal grandfather, Enoch Wright, owned a large tract of land in the north-east of Washington, and was one of the pioneer justices of that district Two children blessed the marriage - Alexander H. and Elizabeth Eleanor. Both Dr. and Mrs. Anderson are members of the Methodist Epis- copal church and active workers in all the
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benevolent and social departments of the so- ciety.
Alexander Hopkins Anderson was sent to the public schools of Peters township when a boy, and had the proud record of not having missed a single day during a period of six years, notwithstanding that he was obliged to walk a distance of two miles each way. Later he entered Trinity Hall, and was there four years, finishing his course in 1883. In the fall of that year he entered Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., and received his degree of Bachelor of Arts from that institution in 1887. During the ensuing three years he helped his father in the various lines of work connected with the Anderson Mines, travel- ling a part of the time, and gaining knowledge of business men that has since proved of great value to him." Mr. Anderson then began the study of law, reading for a time in the office of John McCleave, of Pittsburg. A few months after he entered the Columbia Law School in New York City. "About half of his first year was spent in St. Luke's Hos- pital as a typhoid fever patient. The second year was a very busy one, as his illness of the preceding year entailed almost double work. He graduated from the Law School in 1893 as a Bachelor of Laws; and in the same year his Alma Mater, Trinity College, conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. In the fall of this year he was admitted to the practice of law, and at once opened an office in Pittsburg. In the three years that have since elapsed he has built up a reputation for ability and integ- rity that might be envied by many an older man. He has also become a member of the Washington County bar, and has an office in the borough of Finleyville, of which place he is Borough Solicitor. Mr. Anderson still takes much interest in coal mining, and devotes considerable time to the study of important
questions bearing upon the production and marketing of coal and upon its various prod- ucts. In politics he is a Republican. He was a member of the Republican Executive Committee of Washington County in 1896, and made a number of campaign speeches. He is a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Society, of Duquesne Athletic and County Club, of the University Club, and of the Alle- gheny County Bar Association. An attendant of the Episcopal church, he is an active sup- porter of its social and benevolent organiza- tions.
"OHN MILLER ANDERSON, Treas- urer of Allegheny County, Pennsyl. vania, was born on Market Street, in the city of Pittsburg, April 12, 1856, son of John Ayres and Catherine (Miller) Anderson. His paternal grandfather, also named John, a resident of New Jersey, died young, leaving a wife, formerly a Miss Ayres, of old New Jer- sey stock, and several children. Grandmother Anderson died at Baden, Beaver County, Pa., in 1876. One of her daughters married Mr. Peacock, a Sheriff in New Jersey; another be- came Mrs. McCandless, and lived in New Jersey; a third was a Mrs. Davis, who spent the latter part of her life in Pittsburg. The son David made his home at Baden, Beaver County.
Another son was John Ayres Anderson, named above. He was born in Philadelphia about the year 1812, and when a young man he settled at Brownsville with his brother David. He had learned the trade of mill- wright; and, leaving Brownsville after a short stay, he went to Baden, where he erected a flour-mill, the first of the kind in the vicinity, which ground the grain grown by the farmers for miles around. He was also one of the first men to lay out a plan intending to found
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JOHN M. ANDERSON.
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a city there. This was before 1850 and prior to the existence of the Fort Wayne road. When the railroad was built through the territory covered by their plan, the Andersons brought a suit for damages against the railroad company, which went through the Supreme Court, and was finally decided in the favor of the plaintiffs. Mr. John A. Ander- son was one of the prominent members of the community, and his removal to Allegheny City early in 1850 was a great loss to the town. He was for a few years millwright in the Penn and later in the Eagle Cotton Mills, and then was with Hussey, Wells & Co., now the steel works of Hussey, Binn & Co., where he took charge of their steam ham- mers. It was about the time of the war that he went into the employ of Moorehead, Mc- Lean & Co .; and while with them he invented the reversible armor mill to use in the manu- facture of armor plate. This wonderful in- vention, as it was considered in those days, did away with the lifting of heavy plate over the mill, by reversing the action of the mill, and thus allowing the plate to pass back in the opposite direction. For many years this was the only reversible mill in the country; and the firm of Moorehead, McLean & Co., own- ing the patent, which gave them the advan- tage over all competitors, controlled the man- ufacture of armor plate. Mr. Anderson was with the firm as master mechanic until 1873, when he became connected with Shoenberger & Blair. Later he was with Rees, Graf & Woods on Penn Avenue, where he was injured by a lever of the steel-mill, and died the third day after, in February, 1876. He owned property in Pittsburg. In politics during the latter part of his life he was a Republican.
His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Miller, was originally from Rutherford, N. C., where she was born about the year 1838.
Her father resided in Pittsburg many years, engaged as a manufacturer of confectionery until machine-made candy was introduced, after which the competition of hand work was impracticable. Mrs. Miller was a sister of the well-known old resident, Mr. Henry Brown, who is connected with Singer, Hin- nick & Co. Mr. Miller died in the South; and his wife continued to make her home there until her death, outliving her second husband, a Mr. Morris, whom she married during the war. Mr. and Mrs. Brown, great- grandparents of the subject of this sketch, were pioneers, and lived in Pittsburg until he was twelve years old.
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