USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Biographical review : v. 24, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and the vicinity, Pennsylvania > Part 31
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ENRY P. KREBS, a veteran of the Civil War and a prominent member of various fraternal organizations, was born February 6, 1839, in Seventh Avenue, Pittsburg, son of Michael and Doro- thy (Ackermann) Krebs. The father was born October 24, 1807, at the old ancestral home in Darmstadt, province of Hesse, Germany. There he spent his early life, and received his education. After his marriage he came to the United States, landing at Baltimore in 1831, with just one dollar in his pocket. After staying in Baltimore until he had earned suffi- cient money to pay his way over the turnpike roads, he set out for Pittsburg, arriving there in 1832. Here he at once obtained work with Parker Brothers on Commercial Row, and remained with them as long as the firm
existed, making his home on Seventh Avenue. He bought a lot of land on Liberty Street near Thirteenth Street, and, after leaving Parker Brothers, went into business for him- self. Selling out, however, in 1858, he moved to East Liberty, then a small village, and pur- chased a valuable piece of land at the corner of Penn and Fifth Avenues. Here he built a fine house, and lived a retired life for some time. In 1865 he again sold out, and pur- chased a lot on the corner of Fifth and Nev- ille Avenues, building thereon a residence, where he spent the rest of his life. At first a Democrat in politics, after the first election of Lincoln he became a Republican, and there- after voted with that party. He was a regular member of the German Lutheran church, and held many offices of trust from that society. By his wife, Dorothy, he became the father of twelve children, of whom John G., Henry P., Dorothy, Margaret, Caroline, and Edward are living, and reside in Pittsburg. Dorothy is now Mrs. Oetting; Margaret is the wife of John Schusler; and Caroline is the wife of David Richmond. Michael Krebs died January 3, 1891, and his wife on April 20, 1892.
Henry P. Krebs had received a practical education at the German Lutheran Church School on Smithfield Street, when at an earlier age than was usual he left his books to help his father. Even as a boy he showed much bravery and presence of mind. At one time, assisted by his brother, he rescued a family from a burning house. He went with his uncle in 1859 to California, travelling by way of the Isthmus of Panama. After stop- ping for some time in San Francisco, they went to Sacramento City. Although he de- sired to remain in California, being still under age he was obliged to come back to Pittsburg in 1860 with his uncle. He was among the first seven men who enlisted April
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18, 1861, in the Negley zouaves for service in the Civil War. General Negley telegraphed from Washington to have the zouaves make ready to take the field, and they were among the first soldiers to cross the mountains from the West. They were mustered into the Union service April 20, 1861, and were at- tached to the First Infantry, Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. Afterward, when the brigade was organized, they were trans- ferred to the Third Infantry Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, were sent to the front, and took part in the first battle of Bull Run. Upon expiration of their term of ser- vice they re-enlisted in the field, among the three hundred thousand three-years' men called for by the President's proclamation. They then became Company C of the Seventy- seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, were ap- pointed color company of the old Negley bri- gade, and were the first Pennsylvania troops sent West by boat to Louisville, where they were incorporated in the Army of the Ohio. Under the command of General Buell, they, with other troops, went to the assistance of General Grant on the second day of the battle of Pittsburg Landing, on which occasion Mr. Krebs, as Color Sergeant of his company, car- ried the only Pennsylvania flag in the field. The company next saw service at the siege of Corinth, and was then transferred to the Army of the Cumberland, with which it spent the rest of its term. At the battle of Stone River the colors were rescued from the enemy by Mr. Krebs, who seized them, and brought them back in the face of determined at- tempts to capture them. For this exploit he was made regular Color Sergeant, hav- ing been Third Sergeant before this time. He was also present at the battle of Lib- erty Gap in Tennessee, and on the second day of the fight, was severely wounded while
carrying the colors. He was removed to the field hospital, and was then sent back to Hos- pital No. 4 at Nashville, where he remained until he was able to walk with crutches, after which he received a furlough for thirty days, taking it in preference to a discharge from the service. At the end of the thirty days, which were spent in Pittsburg, he reported for ser- vice to the Provost Marshal at Pittsburg, and was appointed to duty as Quartermaster and Commissary Sergeant of the hospital depart- ment in that city, remaining in that capacity until the expiration of his term. He then re- enlisted, and thereafter served in the quarter- master's and commissary's departments until the end of the war. He was mustered out of service in September, 1864.
After returning to civil life Mr. Krebs was in the oil business for two years, contracting to do the drilling for a certain quantity of the oil. In this way, having taken all the risk of each venture, he soon lost a great deal of money. He then obtained a situation in a planing-mill as engineer, and worked there for a number of years. After this, upon land sit- uated on the corner of Broad and Sheridan Streets, previously acquired by him, he built a house and store, and for eighteen ycars suc- cessfully carried on a retail grocery. In 1884, advised to give up active work on ac- count of failing health, he sold out his busi- ness. Subsequently, dissatisfied with an idle life, at 102 Shady Avenue he opened an insur- ance and collecting agency, which at present is the oldest firm in East End engaged in that business. He is one of the oldest stock- holders as well as one of the original depos- itors of the City Deposit Bank of Pittsburg.
Mr. Krebs is a life member of Hail- man Lodge, No. 321, F. & A. M., of Pittsburg, of which he has been the treasurer for the last ten years. Also he belongs to
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the Pittsburg Chapter, No. 268, and to the Duquesne Commandery, No. 72, Knight Templar. He has also membership in the Council of the Royal Arcanum, No. 276; and he was one of the organizers of the McPherson Post, No. 117, G. A. R., of which he has been the Commander, the representative at na- tional and department encampments, and the treasurer for eleven years. He is likewise a member of the Americus Club, and has had fellowship in the Veteran Legion, No. 1, since its organization.
On July 4, 1866, Mr. Krebs married Miss Sarah. K. Palmer, of Warren, Ohio. His only child, Sadie P. Krebs, is now the wife of Harry W. Fulton, and has two children - Karl Henry and Robert James. Mr. Fulton is associated with Mr. Krebs in the firm of Krebs & Fulton, and is also a member of the firm of Fredericks & Fulton, tailors, on Penn Avenue. Mrs. Krebs has been a member of the Presbyterian church at East Liberty since her marriage. Mr. Krebs is one of the oldest members of the congregation, and has been a trustee of the church for more than twenty years. He is also active in the Y. M. C. A. In politics he has always been a stanch Re- publican, and has helped to elect each Repub- lican President from the time of Abraham Lincoln. His home is at 220 Shady Avenue, East End.
LIVER. MCCLINTOCK, of Pittsburg, was born in Allegheny City, Pa., Oc- tober 20, 1839, eldest child of Wash- ington and Eliza (Thompson) Mcclintock. Their other living children are: Walter Lowrie, Washington, Thompson, Francis Thompson, Cornelia (Mrs. John Woodman), and Eliza Thompson (Mrs. William M. Ken- nedy). Another son, Samuel Thompson, died in childhood. Mr. McClintock's paternal
grandfather, Alexander McClintock, about the year 1815 came here from Montgomery County, near Philadelphia, taking up his resi- dence at the lower end of Liberty Street. Alexander was a freighter between Philadel- phia and Pittsburg, which business was then conducted by means of four-horse teams and large Conestoga wagons. He was afterward engaged in horseshoeing and general black- smith work on lower Liberty Street, also con- ducting the ferry across the Allegheny River, where the Sixth Street Suspension Bridge now connects Pittsburg and Allegheny City.
Samuel Thompson, the maternal grand- father of the subject of this sketch, came to Pittsburg from Chester County about 1807, taking up his residence on Market Street, two or three doors from Water. Here, with his brother, he conducted a tailoring business, under the firm name of S. & J. Thompson. Later he started branch establishments in Nashville, Tenn., and St. Louis, shipping the clothing from the headquarters in Pittsburg. Subsequently he opened a general merchandise store at the north-west corner of Market Street and the thoroughfare now known as Fourth Avenue. Later still, about 1832, he embarked in an exclusive dry-goods and carpet business on Market Street near Liberty, buy- ing from Henry Holdship in 1835 the build- ing and lot where now stands the Mcclintock Building.
In 1837 Washington McClintock, the father of Oliver, succeeded to the business of his father-in-law, carried on under the firm name of W. McClintock & Co., Robert D. Thomp- son, the son of Samuel Thompson, constitut- ing the company. The firm dissolved in 1844, and thereafter the carpet business exclu- sively was continued by W. McClintock. His son Oliver, who had graduated from Yale College in the preceding year, was admitted
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to partnership in 1862, forming the firm of W. McClintock & Son. In 1863 he bought out the carpet business of Robinson Brothers, who are now bankers, and organized the firm of Oliver Mcclintock & Co., into which W. McClintock & Son was merged about a year later. The brothers, Walter, Thompson, and Frank, were each in turn admitted to the firm. On January 1, 1897, Thompson Mc- Clintock retired, and the present firm, Oliver McClintock Company, was incorporated to continue the wholesale and retail carpet busi- ness.
In 1866 Oliver Mcclintock married Clara, the youngest daughter of Harvey Childs, Esq. At the time of the reorganization of the Y. M. C. A. in Pittsburg in 1864, he was elected president, and continued to fill that office until 1870. He considers the most im- portant work of his life the service he has ren- dered his native city in connection with the movement for municipal reform, which he, in conjunction with D. D. Bruce and James M. Shields, started in September of 1895. Hav- ing induced a number of leading citizens to join with them, they issued a call for a public mass meeting, to consider what steps should be taken to overthrow the rule of the city bosses who had usurped the city government. At this meeting the Citizens' Municipal League was organized under an Executive Committee of five, including Oliver McClin- tock as one, who were authorized to select candidates for the ensuing election for the three executive city officers and to conduct a campaign in their behalf. The ensuing cam- paign was remarkable for its aggressive spirit. Just seventy days after the mass meeting the ring candidate was elected by the small major- ity of twelve hundred and ninety-two votes, W. R. Ford receiving twenty thousand, five hundred and fifty-two votes, while George W.
Guthrie, the Municipal League candidate for Mayor, received nineteen thousand, two hun- dred and sixty votes. The electoral returns made on that occasion have since been con - tested in the county courts for more than a year, but no decision has been reached at the present writing.
Mr. McClintock thinks that, considering the results of a thoroughly awakened public sentiment, and the great advances made in causing the people to realize that city govern- ment should be a matter of business and not politics, and should therefore be divorced from all national issues, his labors and sacrifices have not been in vain.
HARLES WILSON HOUSTON, the business manager of the Pittsburg Press Publishing Company, was born in Pittsburg, April 16, 1857, son of the late Edward Houston. Edward Houston was born in Stronollar, Donegal County, Ireland, where he spent the first fifteen years of his life. Coming to this country in 1828, he made his home in New York City for a time. He learned the tailor's trade, and was there- after engaged in merchant tailoring. In 1836 he went to New Lisbon, Ohio, whence in the following year he came to Pittsburg, locating on Smithfield Street, where he was prosper- ously engaged in his business until 1885. At one time he was in partnership with Archi- bald McFarland, and they conducted one of the oldest establishments in the city. In later years he was associated with his son, William H. Houston, until, beginning to feel the infirmities of old age, he sold out. After- ward he lived in retirement, and was an in- valid during the last seven or eight years of his life. He was a generous contributor to the charitable work of the city. An esteemed
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member of the congregation of St. Paul's Roman Catholic Cathedral, he was the organ- izer of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul con- nected therewith, and was its president up to the time of his death. He was also the presi- dent of the trustees of St. Paul's Orphan Asylum; and he was elected Guardian of the Poor on April 10, 1876, by the City Council. On February 28, 1835, he married Miss Mary A., daughter of John Connery, of Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Of their ten children six grew to maturity, namely : William H., who died July 4, 1888; Thomas P., who was a brilliant young man, owned the Pittsburg Gasette for a number of years, and died in 1875; Edward F., a resident of Hazelwood, who is the private secretary of D. P. Reig- hard; Anna E., who married James Flood, the Pittsburg manager for Arbuckle & Co .; Eme- line C., who was the wife of John Bindley, of the Bindley Hardware Company of Pittsburg, and whose death occurred January 28, 1886; and Charles Wilson, the subject of this sketch. The mother is still living, a vener- able woman of eighty years.
Charles Wilson Houston was educated in the public schools of his native city. Shortly after, in 1871, the late Dr. A. H. Gross, who was attracted by his brightness and energy, appointed him page in the Pittsburg Councils, he being the first to hold that office. Begin- ning in 1872 as office boy to the city clerk, he was promoted to the post of message clerk of Councils four years later; and, when the city clerk, E. S. Morrow, was elected comp- troller, Mr. Houston became clerk of the Common Council and assistant city clerk. He resigned the latter office in 1885 to be- come manager of the Pittsburg Press Com- pany, the duties of which responsible position he has since discharged with exceptional abil- ity. Mr. Houston was one of the original
stockholders of this company, which was or- ganized in June, 1884. Upon its reorganiza- tion in 1889 the late Thomas M. Bayne, who was the largest stockholder, sold out his inter- est to Mr. Houston and his partner, Thomas J. Keenan, Jr. Mr. Houston is also inter- ested in the Pennsylvania Sand Glass Com- pany, Venango County, of which he is a di- rector.
In politics Mr. Houston is an earnest Re- publican. Successively appointed by Gover- nors Beaver, Pattison, and Hastings, he is serving a third term as one of the managers of the State Reform School at Morganza. He is a popular member of the Americus Republican Club, the Pittsburg Press Club, the Keystone Bicycle Club, the Pittsburg Athletic Club, and the Columbus Club.
EV. W. HENRY THOMPSON, State superintendent of the Pennsyl- vania Children's Home Society, is devoting the best years of his energetic life to the interests of the little ones placed under his charge. When asked as to his nativity, Mr. Thompson usually replies, "It was my helpless misfortune to be born in England." His father, Henry A. Thompson, was an in- fluential dry-goods merchant in Cheshire, England, where he married Harriett Leigh, daughter of Samuel Leigh, a conspicuous Friend, and the worthy representative of a family known and respected for their strong religious convictions and their sturdy business integrity.
Mr. Thompson, who on the paternal side is of Scotch lineage, was the first-born of his father's family, making his advent into the household during the forties of the present century. Before completing his twelfth year he was bereft of both parents, and his interest
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in homeless children arose out of the desola- tion of his early days. From adverse circum- stances he thus derived his force of character and bent toward philanthropy. Naturally of a very active mental temperament, he made good use of his early educational opportuni- ties, passing creditably through the public schools and Byron's Academy; and, even when a clerk in his teens, he would often rise for study long before business hours, besides burning the midnight oil in the same pursuit. He has since been a constant student. In 1869 he removed to Wisconsin. His studies until that time had been of a literary and phil- osophical nature, under the tuition of the Rev. Henry Hayward, a noted instructor of youth. . He then turned to the study of theology, tak- ing the regular course required by the Meth- odist Episcopal denomination, in which he was ordained to the ministry. In his chosen profession he rose rapidly to eminence, par- ticularly as a pulpit orator, and filled some of „ the most prominent pastorates in Wisconsin and Michigan, notably those of Fond du Lac and Waupaca in the former State, and Tra- verse City, Lansing Central, and Grand Rapids in the latter.
Under the impulse of philanthropy toward the homeless and neglected children, and by the invitation of the Children's Home So- ciety, Mr. Thompson a few years ago gave himself to the charity work in which he is now engaged, thus realizing one of his highest and most cherished ambitions. He had long hoped and expected that the good Providence would lead him into caring for this class of children, and the remembrance of his own life of orphanage is a constant spur to the work he is so nobly carrying on. He is well adapted to it by education, talent, and tact; and his fervent public appeals never fail to meet with a sympathetic response from his hearers. He
is never so happy as when in the midst of a group of rescued little ones who instinctively call him "papa," and it is his joy to place them in permanent homes.
Under Mr. Thompson's able management the society is unusually prosperous, some of the special features of the organization being as follows: systematic search for homes for the children ; constant outlook for dependent and exposed children; thorough organization and extensive correspondence; strict econ- omy, with no outlay for costly buildings; interdenominational, but unsectarian; invit- ing the co-operation of all philanthropic per- sons in a great movement on behalf of the destitute children of the land. Aside from his duties connected with the society Mr. Thompson is a most popular lecturer, and is often invited by churches, young people's so- cieties, and other organizations, to entertain and instruct them, among his celebrated lect- ures being the following: "The Tongue," a physiological, philological, and philosophic discussion; "The Monk that shook the World," a thorough and instructive discus- sion of the man Luther and his times; "The Great Trio of Methodism - Wesley, Asbury, and Simpson "; "The Prophecy of Principles and Facts," a discussion of the progress of Christian civilization as it relates to the fut- ure; "Mental and Moral Volcanoes "; "The Right Man in the Wrong Place, and Vice Versa "; "The Modern Vashti "; "The Model Young Man "; "The Model Young Woman "; "There was One Beauty, and she rode in the Chariot "; and "Crime and Child Rescue Work."
Mr. Thompson's own domestic life is in truth an ideal one. His wife enters fully into his work, and heartily sympathizes with his effort to bless the homeless. Three sons and two daughters are included in their
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family circle. Mr. Thompson's labors de- mand much of his time, often taking him far from home, his travels in the past year in behalf of the destitute children of the State having covered ten thousand eight hun- dred miles, his absences having sometimes been of two months' duration.
AVIER OSWALD WERDER, M.D., a Pittsburg physician of high reputa- tion, was born in Cham, Switzer- land, December 4, 1857, son of Oswald and Barbara (Felder) Werder, both of whom were also natives of Switzerland. Of his parents' four children Joseph and Marie also survive. He was educated partly in his native land and partly in this country, to which he came in 1873, at the age of sixteen. He prepared for the medical profession in a university of New York City, from which he was graduated in 1879. Soon after he engaged in general practice here in Pittsburg. Later on he went to Europe, and spent two years in special study, attending courses of lectures in Berlin, Vienna, London, and Munich. In 1889, hav- ing returned to his practice in Pittsburg, he opened an office on Penn Avenue as a special- ist in the diseases of women and abdominal surgery. He is now professor of the diseases of women in the West Pennsylvania Medical College, medical department of the Western University of Pennsylvania; consulting gynæ- cologist at the Allegheny General Hospital and St. Francis Hospital; gynecologist to Mercy Hospital; obstetrician to Roselia Ma- ternity Hospital; and consulting surgeon to S. S. Hospital. He is a member of Alle- gheny County Medical Society, the Pittsburg Obstetrical Society, the S. S. Medical Soci- ety, the American Medical Association, and the American Association of Obstetricians
and Gynæcologists, of which he has been the treasurer since 1889. He was one of the founders of the Pittsburg Medical Review, and few are oftener quoted by their fellows in the profession than he.
Dr. Werder was married October 20, 1885, to Tillie C. Vogel, daughter of Joseph Vogel, a retired dry-goods merchant and a director of the German National Bank of this city. Eight children have blessed the union; namely, Marie, Hermann, Oswald, Coletta, Marguerite, Girard, Raymond, and Vincent. Dr. Werder is a Catholic in religious faith. In politics he is a "sound money " man, al- though he usually votes the Democratic ticket.
OBERT T. McGEAGH, one of the oldest jewellers in Pittsburg, was born near Cookstown, County Ty- rone, Ireland, December 30, 1835. His father was John McGeagh, a well-to-do farmer. His mother, Sarah McGeagh, was a daughter of Thomas Loughrey. The parents of both his father and his mother were natives of Scotland, and had moved to Ireland on account of religious persecution. Thomas Loughrey came with his family to Pittsburg while still a comparatively young man, his daughter, Sarah, Mrs. McGeagh, remaining in Ireland with her husband. He had three sons (now deceased) and three other daugh- ters, namely: Robert Loughrey; Joseph Loughrey, for many years a harness dealer on Wood Street; Thomas W. Loughrey, for a number of years proprietor of one of the larg- est jewelry stores in Pittsburg and afterward the captain of a river steamboat; Margaret ; Malinda; and Jane. Margaret Loughrey be- came Mrs. William Wright, of Shady Side, Pittsburg; and Malinda became Mrs. Alex- ander Moore.
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XAVIER O. WERDER.
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When Robert T. McGeagh was fifteen years old, he decided to come to Pittsburg to learn the jewelry trade with his uncle, Thomas W. Loughrey, then in business on Fifth Avenue, near Market Street. He made the journey across the ocean on board of a sailing-vessel, the "Jacob A. Westervelt." After a long and tedious voyage he reached New York, where he, with other passengers, was detained in quarantine for some time. Upon landing he received several tempting offers of situations ; but he resolutely adhered to the plans he had made, and came to Pittsburg. On reaching this city, he commenced his apprenticeship with his uncle.
After mastering his trade, he concluded to engage in the jewelry business for himself. He located on Liberty Street, near Seventh Avenue, on the site now occupied by the Seventh Avenue Hotel. He succeeded in building up a large and lucrative business in this stand. As his capital became larger, he used a portion of it to engage in enterprises not connected with his jewelry business. Among these were investments in government bonds, bank and other stocks. He was suc- cessful in these enterprises, receiving good returns for the money invested. An oppor- tunity presenting itself to sell his business stand on Liberty Street to advantage, he did so. He afterward located on Fifth Avenue beyond the court-house in the square, east of Tunnel Street. Here he has remained ever since, it being now about thirty years since he moved to this locality. During this period he has invested considerably in real estate, buying largely in the wards near his place of business. These investments were carefully selected and judiciously made, as the passing years have proven. Of all his real estate purchases he had but one that unexpectedly yielded a large return for the money invested.
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