USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Biographical review : v. 24, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and the vicinity, Pennsylvania > Part 18
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John M. Phillips, the special subject of this sketch, was educated in private schools of Allegheny City and at the Western University Pennsylvania, spending his vacations on his father's farm, thus learning the business of market gardening very young. After being associated for a while with his father and his brother William, in 1871 he took a clerkship
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on board a river steamer, and later became the master of a fine boat which plied from Pitts- burg to Cincinnati. After his marriage he left the river, and, returning to Nevile Island, engaged with his father in business for four years. In 1879 he and his brother built the first large wharf boat put into the river there, and, operating the boat as a dockage, con- trolled the business for about six years. At that time, Mrs. Phillips being out of health, he went into cattle ranching in Southern Ari- zona. While located in Cochise County, he entered politics, and served for several years on the Board of Supervisors there, but refused further office. His wife's health improved very much in that climate; and, as the chil- dren needed the educational advantages of the East, they returned to Pittsburg in 1879, re- taining the ranch in Arizona. After his re- turn Captain Phillips was connected with the Pittsburg and Cincinnati packet line, holding various responsible positions until he resigned to accept February 27, 1895, the appoint- ment, by Secretary Carlisle, of United States Inspector of Hulls, an office entailing a large amount of work and responsibility.
Captain Phillips married October 12, 1875, Miss Hattie B. Johnston, of California, Ohio, daughter of Colonel A. P. Johnston. Her father was born in Cincinnati. He had three brothers, namely : George W. C., the Mayor of Cincinnati; Joseph; and Colonel John R. Johnston, who was a noted artist of Philadel- phia, Pa. Colonel Johnston was a contractor. He was commissioned to raise a regiment during the expected invasion of Ohio by Gen- eral Morgan during the war. He married Harriet Pursell, who was of the New Jersey family of Pursells. Her mother's family owned the ferry which General Washington used when crossing the Delaware River. His unpaid note, given for its use, is still in the
possession of the family, why not paid, with his other expenses, by Congress does not ap- pear. Colonel Johnston had a family of ten children, nine of whom grew to maturity.
The children of Captain Phillips by his wife, Hattie, are seven in number: Carrie J. and Alice M., now in the high school; and Oliver D., Joseph J., Annie J., George J., and James Henderson, all in school.
The home of the Captain is on Nevile Island, but the family are at present living in Pittsburg for the sake of the children's educa- tion. They are members of the Sixth Presby- terian Church, and the father is one of the trustees of the church. He is the assistant superintendent of the Sunday-school, in which he is also a teacher and most active in church service.
EV. JOHN GEMMILL BROWN, D.D., for twenty-five years pastor of the Third United Presbyterian 1 Church of Pittsburg, for fourteen years secre- tary of the United Presbyterian Board of Home Missions, and later principal of the Western Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, is a native of Pittsburg, where he was born January 14, 1824.
His father, Allen Brown, was born at Alex- andria, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, in August, 1790. When a young man he learned the tanner's trade, and, coming to Pittsburg, started in business for himself. Later for a time he carried on a lime-burning business, and also had charge of a store; and after that he engaged in the hotel business, opening what was known as the Red Lion Hotel of Pittsburg, the hotel now known as the St. Charles on Wood Street, and another on the site occupied by Hotel Anderson, then called the Exchange Hotel. In politics he was not active, but was a Whig and a follower of
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Henry Clay. When it is taken into account that he never went to school more than three months in his whole life, the success of his business undertakings may be considered phenomenal. He married Mrs. Catherine Keller, daughter of Captain Peter Whiteside, of Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pa., and by this union had three children - John, Eliza- beth, and one that died in infancy. Both Allen Brown and his wife were members of the First Presbyterian Church, and their son John was baptized there by old Dr. Herron.
Dr. Brown's grandfather was John Brown, probably born in Huntingdon County, Penn- sylvania. He and his father were at the battle of Brandywine, connected with the Quartermaster's department. Grandmother Brown was a Miss Elizabeth Gemmill. It is said that three families, the Stewarts, the Gemmills, and the Browns, emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland, and settled in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, early in the last cen- tury.
Graduating from Western University in 1842, John Gemmill Brown entered what is now the United Presbyterian Seminary, where he was graduated in 1845. In June, 1845, he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Monongahela; and in December, 1846, he was ordained to the gospel ministry, and installed as pastor of the Second, now Third, United Presbyterian Church, where he remained until 1872. He was then elected corresponding secretary of the Board of Home Missions of the United Presbyterian Church, and remained in that position during fourteen years. Since that time Dr. Brown has had no pastoral charge, but has preached many times, supply- ing various pulpits. He is an earnest and forceful speaker, and many of his sermons have been published. Besides attending to his ministerial duties he has been officially con-
nected with a number of benevolent and edu- cational institutions. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Western University of Pennsylvania and of the Pennsylvania Col- lege of Women, and for many years was an ac- tive member of the Allegheny County Prison Society.
Mr. Brown's work in connection with the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb is well known. The inception of this institution dates back to 1868. In the summer of that year a little deaf and dumb colored boy was brought to the mission Sabbath-school con- nected with Mr. Brown's church, of which Mr. Joel Kerr was superintendent. The boy was very bright and active, and soon became an object of general interest. A graduate of the Pennsylvania Institute for the Deaf and Dumb was secured to teach the little fellow; and in a short time, through the efforts of Mr. Kerr, eight or ten deaf mutes were gathered into a class, where they were taught the manual alphabet, the meaning of a few simple words and sentences, and the proper use of signs. Soon adult mutes who had been educated were attracted; and two classes were formed, con- taining about fifteen persons in each. The Rev. Dr. Brown took deep interest in this work, and it occurred to him that better results might be secured if the children could have the advantage of daily instruction. The matter was laid before the Central Board of Education, and the sum of eight hundred dol- lars was appropriated by the city of Pittsburg to start a day school. The local board of the First Ward gave the use of a room in the pub- lic-school building on Short Street. The means required for procuring books and other requisites were furnished by a few benevolent friends; and on the first Monday of Septem- ber, 1869, the first day school in the United States for the instruction of the deaf and
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dumb was opened. It soon became evident that regular attendance could not be secured unless provisions could be made in the vicin- ity of the school for boarding those pupils whose homes were at a considerable distance. An appeal was made to interested friends, and the funds necessary for hiring and furnishing a house were secured. In 1870 James Kelley, Esq., gave a large tract of valuable land as a site for a permanent home. After long and tiresome litigation involving many delays, the beautiful building at Edgewood was ready for occupancy in September, 1884. The institu- tion had, however, been previously organized in an old hotel building erected by Dr. Brown's father at Turtle Creek in 1876.
Upon the resignation of Dr. MacIntire as principal of the institution the names of several gentlemen of prominence and ability were suggested to the Board of Trustees. They unanimously resolved to tender the posi- tion to Dr. Brown, who had been president of the Board since its organization, to whose efforts mainly the institution was indebted for its existence, and whose long experience and large acquaintance with deaf-mute education fitted him in an exceptional manner for the office. Dr. Brown continued for four years at the head of the institution; and, then feeling physically unable to fulfil his many duties, he tendered his resignation. He collected over eighty-five thousand dollars ($85,000) for the institution, and has been actively identified with every advance step of its development. Dr. Brown also took an active part in the founding of an institution for the blind, and has been one of the Board of Directors, and vice-president of that institution from the beginning.
On June 3, 1847, Dr. Brown was united in marriage with Miss Caroline, daughter of Alba Fisk, originally from Windham, Conn.
This union has been blessed with four chil- dren, of whom three are now living: Fanny F., now Mrs. John B. Murphy; Caroline, now Mrs. Samuel Graham; and Alba F., chief engineer of the Carnegie Steel Company.
RU EV. ANDREW ARNOLD LAM- BING, LL.D., Roman Catholic priest at Wilkinsburg, Allegheny County, Pa., and an author of some note, was born at Manorville, Armstrong County, Pa., Febru- ary 1, 1842, and baptized May 1, 1842, the sponsors being James Gillespie and Elizabeth Shields. On the paternal side Father Lam- bing is of German extraction, his great-grand- father, Christopher Lambing, having emi- grated from near Alsace, Germany, to Becks County, Pennsylvania, about the year 1758. He attained a very advanced age, dying in 1817, two days after celebrating the ninety- ninth anniversary of his birth. The family is noted for its longevity, one of his sons having lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and six years. His son Matthew, the next in the line now being traced, was born in Bucks County, April 12, 1776, and died at Mazor- ville, Armstrong County, April 2, 1851. He was a tailor.
Michael Anthony Lambing, son of Mat- thew and father of the Rev. A. A. Lamting. was born in New Oxford, Adams County, ?a., October 10, 1806. He learned the shoe- maker's trade when a young man, and Sol- lowed it until his death, December 8, 1535. He was one of a family of twelve children : and at the time of his demise three older than he were still living, all being octogenarians. His wife, formerly Ann Shields, who was born in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1814, died July 6, 1880. She was a great-grand-daughter of Thomas and Mary
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(O'Neill) Shields, who emigrated from Done- gal, Ireland, in 1745, and whose son John, her grandfather, was born on the Atlantic during the voyage. Her father was William Caspar Shields, who was born at Amberson's Valley, Franklin County, this State in 1772, and died June 29, 1844. Father Lambing's parents had nine children, namely: James M .; Will- iam A .; Andrew A .; John A .; Mary A. ; Michael A .; Isabella A., who died in in- fancy; Catherine E .; and Rosalia. James M., who was wounded while in the Union army, and after the war was for some time engaged in the oil business at Corry, Pa., died January 12, 1897; William A. died while in his country's service at Fort Mc- Henry, August 29, 1863, attended at his death by Cardinal Gibbons; John A. was also in the army; Mary A., the wife of Robert McSherry, lives near Emlenton, Pa .; the Rev. Michael A. is pastor of St. John's Bap- tist Church at Scottdale, has been settled there for eighteen years, and is very promi- nent in temperance circles, being a total ab- stainer and an earnest worker in total absti- nence societies; Catherine E., a Sister of Charity, at the present time Mistress of Nov- ices for the order in the diocese of Pittsburg, is known in the religious world as Sister Ildi- fonse; and Rosalia is the wife of P. F. Mc- Cann, of Greensburg, who was for one term Sheriff of Westmoreland County.
In the summer of 1855, when Andrew A. was but thirteen years old, he began to earn his living at the fire-brick works of Manor- ville, an employment in which he continued, with the exception of three or four months in the village school during the winters, until 1860. He then spent one term at the Kittan- ning Academy, after which he secured a situa- tion in the oil refinery built in his native village, where he worked much of the time
fifteen hours a day, and finally became fore- man. Resigning his position early in 1863, he entered St. Michael's Preparatory and Theological Seminary, Glenwood, Pittsburg, of which the Very Rev. James O'Connor, late Bishop of Omaha, was the superior. He spent his first vacation at Natrona, this county, working partly in the barrel factory and partly on a break in the canal, going from there to Manorville, where he put in running order and started the oil refinery, that had been shut down for some time. Returning to the seminary, he took charge of the Sunday- schools attached to the congregation. He fre- quently rose at three o'clock in the morning to pursue his studies, and for five years was prefect of the students, the longest term ever held in the institution. The next four vaca- tions were spent in the brickyard, where he reduced the time for burning brick from six days to fifty-four hours. His later vacations were passed at the seminary. On May 10, 1867, he received tonsure; June 4, 1868, minor orders; and on December 17 and 18 of the same year, at St. Vincent's Abbey in Westmoreland County, Subdeaconship and Deaconship. He was ordained to the sacred ministry in the seminary chapel, August 4, 1869, all the orders having been conferred by Bishop Domence. He was soon after sent to teach in St. Francis College at Loretto, Pa., where he also assisted the pastor Satur- day evenings and Sundays, and where he often heard confessions in the chair occupied by the illustrious prince-priest, the Very Rev. D. A. Gallitzin, apostle of the Alleghanies. On one Sunday of the month he visited the congregation of St. Joseph. On January 5, 1870, Father Lambing was transferred to St. Patrick's Church, Cameron Bottom, Indiana County, and on April 21 of that year was ap- pointed pastor of St. Mary's Church, Kittan-
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ning, with its numerous missions. While there he did good work, renting a house for the accommodation of the priest, who had be- fore boarded, refitting and furnishing the church, and building a small church on the opposite side of the river, some eight miles away, for the use of the people of that locality. On January 17, 1873, he was given charge of the Freeport district, to which the congrega- tion of Natrona belonged, and at once set on foot a movement for the erection of a school- house; but on July 8, 1873, he was named chaplain of St. Paul's Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, Pittsburg, with a view of bettering its financial condition, but the great financial crisis prevented his accomplishment of that purpose. On January 7, 1874, he was ap- pointed pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Consolation at the Point, in the same city, and while there placed the schools in charge of the Sisters of Mercy in place of lay teachers, purchased and remodelled a Protes- tant church for the use of the congregation, and built a pastoral residence adjoining the church. During the riots of July, 1877, he was mainly instrumental in preventing the de- struction of the large freight depot of the Pennsylvania Railroad, with other property. In October, 1885, Father Lambing was trans- ferred to St. James Church in Wilkinsburg, where he still continues his labors.
Soon after coming here he opened the first school in the congregation, placing it under the charge of the Sisters of Charity, and in 1888 he enlarged the church, which three months later, December 23, was burned with its contents. Promptly fitting up the school- house for both church and school purposes, he occupied it on Christmas Eve, while the ruins of the burnt building were yet smouldering; and before another year had rolled away he had a new church dedicated.
Among the literary works of Father Lam- bing that have attracted much notice are the following, named in the order of their publi- cation : a pamphlet entitled "Mixed Mar- riages: Their Origin and Results"; the "Orphan's Friend"; "The Sunday-school Teacher's Manual "; A History of the Catholic Dioceses of Pittsburg and Allegheny "; "An Essay on Masses for the Dead, and the Mo- tives for having them Celebrated "; " A Series of Plain Sermons on Mixed Marriages"; "The Register of Fort Duquesne, translated from the French, with an Introductory Essay and Notes "; and "The Sacramentals of the Holy Catholic Church." In 1888 he was employed by A. Warner & Co., of Chicago, to write a considerable part of the "History of Alle- gheny County "; and in the same year, assisted by the Hon. J. W. F. White, he wrote the "Centennial History of Allegheny County," for the Centennial celebration. In 1884 he started the Catholic Historical Researches, a quarterly magazine, the first of its kind, which is now published in Philadelphia. In 1885 he procured from the Archives of the Marine in Paris a copy of the journal kept by Céloron in his expedition down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers in 1749; and a copy was made from it for the Library of Parliament, Ottawa, Canada. He is now engaged in writ- ing a considerable part of the forthcoming "Standard History of Pittsburg," and is a contributor to several religious and historical periodicals. He has always been a great reader, being especially interested in Ameri- can and local history, and owning an exten- sive library rich in works on these subjects.
For several years Father Lambing has been president of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, and of other societies he is a prominent member. He is one of the eigh- teen trustees of the Art and Museum Endow-
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ment Fund of the Carnegie Free Library, Pittsburg, for a long period has been president of the Clerical Relief Association of the Dio- cese, and is the examiner of books for the diocese. During the whole term of his min- istry, now more than twenty-eight years, he has not been off duty a single day on account of ill health. In June, 1883, he received from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, the degree of Master of Arts and three years later that of Doctor of Law.
LEXANDER MARSHALL, for twenty-two years a prominent busi- ness man of Allegheny, was born on the ancestral homestead in the town of Fife, Fifeshire, Scotland, July 27, 1815, son of David Marshall. After learning the trade of weaver, he went to London, where he was employed in the establishments of the leading dry-goods firms for fourteen years, advancing steadily from a humble position to that of shop walker and finally of manager. Then, having previously studied civil engineering, he en- gaged in that business exclusively, construct- ing railroads in Ireland, Wales, Belgium, and Russia. In Russia he spent five years in sur- veying and building the first railroad from Poti to Tiflis, accomplishing this feat of en- gineering with the assistance of others in the face of many obstacles.
While in Ireland Mr. Marshall married Eliza Ann Thompson, of Donegal, County Donegal, a place thirty-six miles from Lon- donderry. She was born in Brookfield, County Doncgal, daughter of the Rev. Samuel and Fanny (Huston) Thompson. Her father, who, born in Ballymena, Ireland, came of Scotch ancestry, was educated in Scotland, became a minister of the Presbyterian church, and preached for forty years in the church at Done-
gal, of which his father-in-law, the Rev. Mr. Huston, was a former pastor. He died in Donegal, leaving a family of five children, among whom are the Rev. Samuel Thompson, of Waynesburg, Pa., and John Thompson, for many years the partner of Mr. Marshall. In 1873 Mr. Marshall joined his family in Ire- land. Then, coming with them to Allegheny City, he was successfully engaged in the coal business for twenty years, until the introduc- tion of gas. A worthy member of the Second Presbyterian Church, he was elected Ruilng Elder in 1877, and served in that capacity until his death, which occurred May 9, 1895. He was a member of the Masonic order, a consistent Christian, and a prominent citizen. He left six children, as follows : Frances, now Mrs. John Ledlie, of Holdrege, Neb. ; Amelia J., who became Mrs. T. C. Wallace, of Alle- gheny; Lizzie A., now Mrs. William J. Black, of Pittsburg; Katherine and Jean, who are at home; and David, who is in the build- ing and loan business in Pittsburg.
ERCIVAL J. EATON, M.D., one of Pittsburg's successful physicians, was born in Malden, Mass., Febru- ary 13, 1862, son of James F. and Helen (Webster) Eaton. The Eatons, who came from England, were early settlers of this country. Charles Eaton, the grandfather, who came to this district from Reading, Mass., was engaged in the marine service. James F. was a wholesale grocer of Boston. His other children were: Mary Helen, who died in childhood; and Frederick Webster Eaton, of Malden. His wife was a daughter of Joshua Webster, of Haverhill, Mass.
Percival J. Eaton, after attending the public schools of Malden for the usual period, gradu- ated from Harvard University in the class of
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1883, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then studied at the Harvard Medi- cal School, from which he graduated in 1888 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, receiv- ing the degree of Master of Arts in the same year. His post-graduate studies were pursued during the next eighteen months in Vienna, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. He came to Pittsburg in 1890, where he has since re- mained in constant practice.
On June 11, 1891, Dr. Eaton married Emily M. Craft, a daughter of Charles C. Craft, of Crafton. Dr. and Mrs. Eaton have one child, Charles Craft Eaton. The Doctor is a member of the Allegheny County Medical Society, the Pittsburg Academy of Medicine, the Boylston Medical Society of Boston, and the University and Harvard Clubs of Pitts- burg. He is a Republican in his political views. Affable to all, of scholarly acquire- ments, and a most capable physician, it is easy to predict for him a brilliant future.
OUIS J. GELTZHEISER, Alderman for the Twenty-seventh Ward of Pitts- burg, and a member of the firm Geltzheiser & Ritter, real estate and insurance brokers, was born here September 6, 1861, on the South Side, in what was then old Birming- ham borough, son of Louis and Mary Elizabeth (Greb) Geltzheiser. The father was born in Hesse, Germany, and there learned the trade of shoemaker. He married in Germany, the families of both himself and wife having lived in Hesse for many generations. Early in the forties he came to this country with his wife, and settled first in Allegheny, coming through on the old canal before the days of railroads. After a short time he removed to Bayards- town, where he remained for some years. Eventually he came to the South Side on
Mount Washington, and continued to live here during the rest of his life. He died Oc- tober 29, 1893, aged seventy-five years, lack- ing one day. His wife is still living, being now sixty-six years of age. Both parents were members of St. Michael's Catholic Church. Of their nine children John, Henry, Louis, and Anna, are living.
Louis J. Geltzheiser was educated in the parochial schools of St. Michael and St. Paul and in the public schools of the Twenty-seventh Ward. After leaving school, he went to work for the Leeling Coal Company, and remained in the employ of that concern for ten years as weigh-master and foreman. He has always taken an active part in the politics of his ward, and has been one of the steady and loyal workers for the Democratic cause. His first political office was that of Precinct. Assessor, which he held for one term. He was next chosen Alderman. This was in 1895, when, owing to certain circumstances, he had to make a strong fight. He was loyally sup- ported by his friends, and succeeded in carry- ing the election. Entering upon the duties of his office on the first Monday in May, 1895, he has since sustained this honorable and re- sponsible trust with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. He was elected for five years, and the people of his ward feel assured that their interests will be carefully guarded as long as Mr. Geltzheiser is in office. He has been delegate to different conventions, including that held at Allentown to indorse Patterson. He has also been chair- man of the Democratic Committee for the Twenty-seventh Ward, and is now one of its directors. Upon assuming the office of Alderman, Mr. Geltzheiser formed a partner- ship with Mr. Ritter in the business of real estate, loan collections, and insurance. They opened an office at 174 Pius Street, and are
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