USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Biographical review : v. 24, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and the vicinity, Pennsylvania > Part 20
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EDWARD T. JACKSON.
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ing reached conclusions after mature delibera- tion, he supports them resolutely, yet with dignity. He is in the highest sense medita- tive and mentally active. His soul is full of enthusiasm for the truth. By means of medi- cal journals he has formed a wide acquaint- ance with distinguished medical men, both in Europe and America, and his great fondness for the very best literature is seen and felt in his daily life; while his love for the Book of books and his insight into spiritual truth en- able him to be an earnest, active, and conse- crated worker in the Presbyterian church, the church with which he identifies himself so closely.
In 1889 Dr. Slonaker was married to Bella, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Stewart. Being of rare grace, culture, and common sense, she has proven herself a helpmate in the largest sense, and no small factor in the present proud position of her husband. He has two sons: Harold W., born July 1, 1892; and Paul Jones, born November 7, 1895, who died March 9, 1897. His home is always open, with a bright, cheerful, and inviting atmosphere. It is the centre of hospitality and of all the graces of Christian character and culture, the Bible being the most honored book.
[AUTOBIOG.]
JDWARD T. JACKSON, a real estate dealer and insurance agent, with an office at 916 Wood Street, Wilkins- burg, is numbered among the prosperous and enterprising business men of Allegheny County. He was born May 9, 1861, in Alle- gheny City, son of Samuel H. Jackson ; and he comes of English stock and pioneer ancestry on the paternal side. His great-grandfather was one of the early settlers of Pennsylvania, where he reared his family.
Samuel Jackson, the grandfather, was a life- long resident of his native State. He was en- gaged in shoemaking during the greater part of his active period, and he died at the age of sixty years. A loyal and patriotic citizen, he served in the army during the War of 1812. Samuel H. Jackson has also spent his life in Pennsylvania. As a civil engineer he became familiar with the topography of a large part of the State, especially of the immediate west- ern portion. His last years were spent with bis son Edward on the old homestead, 735 Penn Avenue, Wilkinsburg, where he died December 4, 1896, in his seventy-third year. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary M. Thompson, passed away in 1890, leaving two children - Edward T. and Samuel H. Jack- son, Jr. Her father, Edward Thompson, was a native of Ireland, whence he emigrated to this country in 1826, locating near Pittsburg, where he died at the age of sixty-six years. In their religious beliefs the parents were sound Presbyterians.
Edward T. Jackson, who has lived in Wil- kinsburg since he was a child, obtained the rudiments of his education in the public schools. Afterward he completed the course of the West Philadelphia Academy, from which he graduated with the class of 1879. With the purpose of fitting himself for a business career, he then took a course at a commercial college. After leaving that insti- tution, he was a clerk in the office of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for one year and in that of the Allegheny Valley Railroad Company for the succeeding year. In the latter year Mr. Jackson made his first venture in the real estate business, but discontinued it to become a clerk for Arbuckle & Co., for whom he worked three years. Later he filled a similar position in the Carnegie establish- ment for seven years. Prior to his last en-
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gagement, however, Mr. Jackson invested a little in Wilkinsburg property at the com- mencement of the "boom" in this city, and met with much success. In 1892, on account of his health, he gave up his situation with the Carnegie Company, and spent a year in Florida, regaining his former vigor. On re- turning to his home, he purchased the real es- tate agency of W. E. Hamnett, which he has since managed in connection with an exten- sive fire insurance business, The latter has so rapidly increased since that it demands. the larger part of his time and attention.
On June 25, 1890, Mr. Jackson married Miss Honora S., daughter of Captain Z. W. and Mary (Wall) Carmack. Mr. Carmack is the Pittsburg agent of the Monongahela Packet Company. Mr. Jackson is a straight Republican and a member of the Royal Arcanum and the Masonic fraternity. Both he and his wife are members of the Presby- terian church. He is particularly active in the Sunday-school connected therewith, having been its secretary and treasurer for a number of years.
ILLIAM H. WEBER, M.D., an active and successful physician and surgeon of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, is located at 1001 Carson Street, Pittsburg, the city of his birth, which oc- curred June 8, 1864. By both parents he comes of German ancestry. John Weber, the Doctor's father, was born and educated in Würtemberg, Germany, and there learned the blacksmith's trade. In 1848 he left the Fatherland, coming directly to this county, and in 1851 located permanently in Pittsburg, on the South Side, where he lived until his death, October 14, 1896, at the age of seventy-four years. His wife, in maidenhood Eva Doesch, was a native of Bavaria, where
her parents lived and died. She bore her hus- band six children, namely: Sabina, now the wife of John Hoffman; John, who died in 1892; Charles D. and William H. ; Lena, the wife of John Conrad; and Henry. She died in March, 1891, at the age of sixty-three years. Both parents were valued members of the German Protestant Evangelical church, the mother being especially prominent in the various ladies' societies connected with it, serving several terms as president.
William H. Weber acquired his elementary education in the public schools of his native city. He subsequently attended Curry Insti- tute and Jefferson College, Washington, Pa., finishing in Adrian, Mich. Then he travelled for two years, handling an anatomical chart, making during that time two trips to Califor- nia. Mr. Weber was next engaged in teach- ing for a time, first assisting Professor Schmidt in a private school and later as an instructor in Park Institute at Allegheny. Resigning the latter position, he began to read medicine with the late Dr. E. A. Wood, and then became a student in the medical de- partment of the Western University of Penn- sylvania, from which he was graduated in 1895. While in college he became familiar with the medicines used in his profession, having with others had charge of the dispen- sary connected with the institution. As soon as he received his degree, he began the prac- tice of medicine and surgery in Pittsburg. In the comparatively brief time that has since elapsed, he has secured the confidence and pa- tronage of a large circle, making rapid strides in his profession. He is a member of the Allegheny County Medical Society, the South Side Medical Society, the Order of American Mechanics, and of the Heptasophs. In poli- tics he is a thorough Republican, and he is a member of the Presbyterian church.
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On April 29, 1895, Dr. Weber married Miss Eleanor Wolfe Cottrell, daughter of William P. and Agnes (Wolfe) Cottrell. Her grandfather, the late Dr. Wolfe, was the first physician to locate on the South Side, and was for forty years one of the leading practitioners of Pittsburg. Her grandmother's brother was Mayor Blackmore, one of the early mayors of the city.
A RNOLD SCHNEIDER, the Vice-Con- sul of Belgium for Western Pennsyl- vania, was born December 30, 1863, near the city of Bienne, in the canton of Berne, Switzerland, son of Alexander Schnei- der. The Schneiders, who are an ancient and honored family of Switzerland, have been for at least six generations connected with some of the largest flour-mills of that republic. Jacob Schneider, the paternal grandfather of Arnold, was for several years a Captain in the guards of Napoleon I.
Alexander Schneider, who succeeded to the flouring business established by his ancestors, during the late Franco-German War had a contract with the Swiss government to furnish the provisions for the army of General Bour- baki, who preferred to surrender to Switzer- land rather than to the German forces. The army marched directly past his house; and his son Arnold, then but a lad, well remembers the terrible destitution and sufferings of the men. Alexander's wife, whose maiden name was Marie May Steiger, is a daughter of the late John Ulrich Steiger. John Ulrich Steiger was for many years a prominent busi- ness man of Bleichenbuch, canton of Berne, and the representative of one of the oldest families of that section, his ancestry being identical with that of the Von Steiger family. The children of Alexander and Marie May
Schneider were: Arnold, the subject of this biographical sketch; Lina, now the wife of W. T. Peacock, a graduate of Annapolis, and now a resident of Indianapolis, Ind .; and Robert, who died at the age of twelve years. Religiously, the parents are followers of the Protestant Reformed church of Switzerland.
Arnold Schneider received his elementary education in the public schools of his native canton, which are nowhere excelled. Subse- quently he graduated from the Berne Gymna- sium, which corresponds to the university of this country. He then read law in Switzer- land, studying at Bienne, Moutier, and Rerne, becoming familiar with the general law of his native land and with the Code Napo- lcon. He was also interested in military tactics, and until he came to this country was a most prominent and popular member of the Artillery Cadets, a company composed of five hundred students or past students of the Berne Gymnasium. In this organization he gained distinction by winning the first prize at a rifle practice in Chaux-de-Fonds, in the canton of Neuchâtel. In 1886 Mr. Schneider came to Pittsburg, accepting a position with Max Schamberg, taking charge of his foreign business, his specialty being international law and foreign collections. He was ap- pointed Consul Regent in the Belgium service in 1888, and in 1891 he was promoted to his present important office. He continued with Mr. Schamberg until the latter year, when he took the entire business, which he has since carried on most successfully. Since June, 1892, his duties as Vice-Consul have demanded much of his time and thought, the office being particularly important, as this city is an indus- trial centre, and he has to keep his home government constantly informed on the busi- ness situation. Mr. Schneider likewise rep- resents the French embassy and the Swiss
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minister at Washington, being also a general correspondent for ministers and consuls, and representing such countries as have no other representative here. The French govern- ment, appreciating his fidelity to its inter- ests, some time since offered him an order, of which his democratic principles forbade his acceptance. In 1894, December 25, in recognition of his valuable services the same government, through its representative at Washington, Monsieur Patenotre, presented him with a valuable vase of an elegant and elaborate design, made at the national factory of Sevres.
Mr. Schneider is one of the leading Masons of the city. He was received into the order in Dallas Lodge, No. 568, in the year 1888. Since then the thirty-second degree has been conferred upon him, and he has been admitted to the Scottish Rite Consistory, the Consistory of the Valley of Pittsburg, to Syria Temple, and the Mystic Shrine. Also prominent in many of the social organizations of Pittsburg, he is the president of the Verein Frohsinn, an honorary member of the French and Swiss Societies, and a member of the Country and the Americus Clubs. He is very influential in musical circles, and it was largely through his efforts that the Twenty-sixth National Sängerfest, held in this city in 1896, was such a grand success. On that oc- casion Mr. Schneider was chief marshal of the parade, in which about sixteen thousand people took part, and performed his duties with credit to himself and honor to the city. The chorus, composed of three thou- sand voices, was the largest ever congregated here, and included some of the most gifted artists ever heard in this section of the Key- stone State.
On June 4, 1891, Mr. Schneider married Miss Eleanor Henrietta Brecht, who is of
German antecedents, and a daughter of Louis Brecht, of Pittsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider have one child, Meta Amelia, who was born March 22, 1892. Their attractive and hos- pitable home, 4205 Fifth Avenue, is located in one of the most desirable residential por- tions of the city, opposite Schenley Park en- trance.
LBERT HOMER BURKET, M.D., the oldest practising physician of McKee's Rocks, was born in Fal- lowfield, near Monongahela City, Washington County, October 1, 1847, son of David and Elizabeth (Hess) Burket. His grandfather, Jacob Burket, who came of German ancestry, was a resident of York County throughout his life, and in religious faith was a Baptist.
David Burket, son of Jacob, was born at Dillsburg, York County, in 1803. He was a well-known teacher of his day, and also did considerable civil engineering and surveying. At an early date he came to Western Pennsyl- vania, where, besides teaching English and German, he laid out many new roads and boundaries. He was a mathematician of un- usual ability. In later life he settled on a farm, and remained there until his death in 1883. He was not actively engaged in politics, but he took a strong interest in the educational affairs of the county. In religious belief he was a Methodist, as was also his wife, Elizabeth. She was a daughter of John Hess, a native of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, who came to Western Pennsylvania when a young man. John Hess worked first at coopering, and then was prosperously engaged in the hotel business, by which he acquired a fortune. In politics he was successively a Wbig and a Republican. He married a Miss Thorn, of Butler County, a daughter of a wealthy family. Elizabeth Hess was born on
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JOHN COOPER.
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what is called Ginger Hill, and lived there until her marriage. She died in 1891, at the age of eighty. Of her five children John H., Mary A., Albert H., and Lydia A. reached maturity. John H. is now in Robinson town- ship, this county, where he has been engaged in the practice of medicine for twenty-five years. Before that he was a prominent and very successful teacher. Mary A., now de- ceased, married Harvey Williams, of Wash- ington County. At her death she left two children, a girl of three years, and a son, now Dr. J. A. Williams, a successful physician at Esplen borough. Lydia A., who became the wife of James Provost, of Pittsburg, South Side, died in 1872, without children.
Dr. Burket was educated in the common schools, academy, and Oakdale Normal School. He then taught school for two terms in Allegheny and two terms in Washington County. During the last term he began the study of medicine with his brother. Subse- quently, in 1874-75, he took his first lecture course at Miami Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio; and he graduated from that institution in 1877. On April 2 of that year he came to McKee's Rocks, which had then no railroad or street car facilities, no drug store, and no physician. Here he opened a drug store, and carried it on for six years. At the end of that time rivals in the business appeared, and he thereafter found it more convenient to devote his entire time to his practice. A witness of important changes in this well-known borough, he remembers well when the roads in the vicinity were so bad that at some sca- sons it was an arduous task to make his pro- fessional visits. He is a member of the Miami Medical College Alumni, and for the past ten years of the Allegheny County Medi- cal Society.
On October 11, 1878, Dr. Burket married
Mary Jane Bruce, daughter of Henry and Martha (Graham) Bruce, of McKee's Rocks. Mr. Bruce, one of the early residents of Mc- Kee's Rocks, was a Scotchman from the north of Ireland, and a good business man. John Graham, the father of Martha, owned a large farm near Perrysville. Dr. and Mrs. Burket have two children: Blanche Estella, born in 1879; and Hazel Evangeline, born in 1892. Both parents are members of the Presbyterian Church of McKee's Rocks.
OHN COOPER, M.D., an eminent physician, located at 54 Arch Street, Allegheny, makes a specialty of treat- ing all diseases of the eye, ear, nose, and throat. He was born in this city, October 29, 1854, son of Dr. John F. Cooper. Philip Cooper, the Doctor's paternal grandfather, was born in New Jersey, being of German origin on his father's side and on his mother's of Quaker stock. After working at his trade of carpenter for a time in Ohio, he settled in Beaver County, being a pioneer of that locality, and there attained the age of eighty-four years.
Dr. John F. Cooper acquired his rudimen- tary education in Ohio, his native State. After receiving his degree in medicine he en- tered practice in Allegheny, where he has since been actively engaged in his profes- sional labors for forty-three years. Now seventy-four years of age, he is the oldest practising physician in the city. He has been president of the State Medical Society and of the County Medical Society, and at the pres- ent time he is a valued member of the State Examining Board and one of the staff of the Homeopathic Hospital of Pittsburg. His wife, Sarah, was born in Pennsylvania seventy-two years ago, daughter of John John-
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son, a prosperous farmer, who died at the age of sixty years. Seven children were born of their marriage, six of whom are now living. These are: Philip L., Henry, John, George, William, and Sidney. The parents are both members of the Methodist Protestant church.
John Cooper was reared in Allegheny City, obtaining his elementary education in a pri- vate school. Afterward he studied at the Western University, and then entered Hahne- mann Medical College of Philadelphia, from which he graduated in 1879. On receiving his diploma, Dr. Cooper at once established himself as a physician in his native city, where he has since acquired a large practice, and labored with most satisfactory results in his professional work. After spending fifteen years in general practice, he gave his entire attention to diseases of the eye, ear, nose, and throat, of which he had made a special study, with the result that he has been quite success- ful, and obtained a wide reputation.
In November, 1874, Dr. Cooper was united in marriage with Miss Minerva J. Johnson, daughter of Adrian and Elizabeth (Martin) Johnson. The only child born of the union was Sadie, who is now the wife of R. H. Peale, of Denver, Col. Mrs. Cooper died April 7, 1896. She was a devoted member of the Methodist Protestant church. The Doctor is also a member of that church, and the treasurer of its Board of Trustees, the presi- dent of the Board of Stewards, and the secre- tary of its Quarterly Conference. In politics he is a stanch Republican.
HOMAS WIGHTMAN, of Pittsburg, now claimed to be the oldest manufact- urer of glass in the country, was born in County Down, Ireland, about ten miles from the city of Belfast. His father, James
Wightman, also a native of the County Down, was there engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1825, when he came to America. James settled in Pittsburg in 1840, on what is now Penn Avenue, moving to North Highland Avenue, being the first to locate in that vicin- ity. He lived somewhat retired from active pursuits until his death, in the eighty-eighth year of his age. He was of Scotch origin and a faithful member of the Presbyterian church. He married Miss Martha Smiley, whose birthplace was Scriber Hill in Down, and became the father of ten children. One of these died in infancy, before the removal of the family from the old home. Their son Robert, who was an engine builder of some prominence at Point of River, at his death left a large estate, which Thomas, the subject of this sketch, is settling. Another son, Samuel, was very successfully engaged in the transportation business for many years. The mother died in 1830, having then been in Pittsburg but five years.
Thomas Wightman, the only remaining member of his parents' household, was edu- cated in a school-house that stood opposite the present site of Marshall & Kennedy's flour- mill. He was a bright, studious boy, and was naturally fond of mathematics, in which he became especially proficient. On leaving the common schools, he worked for two years as clerk in a grocery store. He then entered the glass works of William McCully, who set him to work at packing. Two weeks later, Mr. McCully being called to New Orleans, he was placed in the office, and given the entire charge of the business. On the return of the proprietor he was so much pleased with Mr. Wightman's management that he retained him as superintendent of the factory. In 1840 he was received into the firm, when the name became William McCully & Co. The part-
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nership lasted until 1851, when Mr. Wight- man, in company with Frederick Lorenz, a former partner of Mr. McCully, started in the glass business as Lorenz & Wightman. They erected two new factories, one for manufactur- ing window glass and one for bottle glass, besides using an old window-glass factory. After the death of the senior partner the firm was reorganized, a son of Mr. Lorenz succeed- ing his father. This son lived but a few years. After his death, in 1863, the firm was again changed, Atwood Lorenz, another son of Frederick Lorenz, and Alexander and W. K. Nimick becoming members; and the business was continued under the name of Lorenz & Wightman for several years, requiring the em- ployment of two hundred or two hundred and fifty men. Since 1893 Mr. Wightman has conducted the factory alone, under the title of the T. Wightman Glass Company. He has built at Monongahela one of the finest Bel- gian tank furnace factories to be found in the country. In this place he manufactures window glass, and keeps two hundred and twenty men busily employed. At Parker's Landing he has a factory, in which one hun- dred men are at work making flint-glass bottles. He also conducts a large and profit- able jobbing trade at 209 Wood Street, whither he removed from a former store of his, which was established on the same street in 1854. In the management of his large in- terests Mr. Wightman has the assistance of four of his sons: James Smiley, who is office manager; Samuel R., William H., and Thomas, Jr., who have charge of the factory at Monongahela.
Mr. Wightman has been a director of the First National Bank since 1857. He is also the vice-president of the People's Savings Bank, which he helped to found; and he is a director and the vice-president of the Safe De-
posit and Trust Company, of which he was one of the organizers. Since 1863, prior to its becoming a State institution, Mr. Wight- man has been a member of the Board of Man- agers of the State Reform School, and for the past twenty-two years the president of the Board. In politics he was in former years a Whig, as were his father and brothers; and now he and his sons are stanch Republicans. For more than a score of years he has been an active member of the Bellefield Presbyterian Church. He contributed generously toward the erection of the church edifice, and is now the Ruling Elder of the Society and the presi- dent of its Board of Trustees.
On July 30, 1845, Mr. Wightman married Miss Isabella Ruth, daughter of John Russell, who was a prominent merchant on Liberty Street for many years. Of his nine children eight are living. Those not already men- tioned are: the Rev. John R., Algernon Sid- ney, Mary, Anna J., and Isabella Ruth. Mary died in 1890. The Rev. John R. Wightman is the rector of the Episcopal church at Uniontown. Mr. Wightman built his present residence on grounds covering ten acres, situated on Forbes Street, between Wightman and Murray Streets, beautifully laid out, doing much credit to the artistic taste of the proprietor, and being an ornament to the city.
AMES OLVER FLOWER, D.D.S., one of the best known dentists of Pitts- burg, and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in Edgeworth, Pa., son of George and Jane Mary S. (Olver) Flower. The grandfather, George Flower (first), who was a native of England, resided in that country until he was thirty years old. He then joined a party which was organized for the purpose of founding a colony in the United States;
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and this company, with the families of its members, settled at what is now Mount Ver- non, Posey County, Ill. The State of Illinois was at that time an almost unbroken wilder- ness, inhabited only by hostile Indians and wild animals. Grandfather Flower erected a log house, and cleared a tract of land for agri- cultural purposes. He was the principal man in the settlement, and was the first resident of Illinois who emancipated a negro from slavery, which prevailed in the State at that time. The maiden name of his wife was Jane Dawson. He reared two sons - George and Richard. Richard met his death at the hands of the Indians.
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