USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Biographical review : v. 24, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and the vicinity, Pennsylvania > Part 38
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a devoted and accomplished wife and four children joyously clustered around him, and made his beautiful home resound with the choicest music and song. A more charming scene is seldom given to eye below. Mr. King was well acquainted with music, and the songs and airs of Moore, Burns, and Foster charmed him to the last. These mu- sical gems were rendered in the highest style by his handsome wife. -
His early studies having necessarily com- pelled an acquaintance with the Scriptures, he was fond of quoting from their pages in his family, and often impressively inculcated some high moral or charitable obligation by repeating the felicitous words of Holy Writ. His family will not soon forget the solemn reference he often made to the words of the wise king. "O children," said he, "read the first chapter, seventh verse, of Solomon's Proverbs. In it you will find a practical guide to the conduct of life."
On the 15th of September, 1890, he died as he had lived, an honorable, upright, self-made man.
AMES AUBREY LIPPINCOTT, A.B., M. D., a well-known ophthalmic and aural surgeon of Pittsburg, was born May 31, 1847, in New Glasgow, Pictou, Prov- ince of Nova Scotia, son of William and Jessie (Mackenzie) Lippincott. William Lippincott was a native of the Pine Tree State. While his early opportunities for ac- quiring an education were meagre, he was a studious lad, and outside of business hours spent most-of his time in study and research. Taking great interest in the Bible after he had grown to manhood, he began the study of Greck in order to be able to read the New Testament in the original, and became a good Greek scholar. He was also greatly inter-
ested in the natural sciences and in history. At the time of his death he possessed a very extensive private library, with every volume of which he was familiar. He had a very re- tentive memory, and could give the location of almost any passage of Scripture that might be quoted. Well-known for his good judg- ment, he was often called upon by the people of his vicinity to act as arbitrator in cases of dispute. For many years he was the local representative of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In that capacity he frequently appeared upon the lecture platform, where he was a forceful and commanding speaker. He owned a large amount of property, and was ac- tively engaged in business pursuits until his death, which occurred in June, 1863. In pol- itics Mr. Lippincott was a Liberal, but he was accustomed to follow the dictates of his conscience rather than those of his party. He was one of the pioneer advocates of temper- ance in Nova Scotia, frequently lecturing in . behalf of the cause. He was deeply inter- ested in all questions concerning public edu- cation, and was for many years a trustee of schools in the town in which he lived. His wife, Jessie, a Nova Scotia lady, was a daugh- ter of Alexander Mackenzie, who came from Inverness, Scotland. Their children were: Harriet Elizabeth, who is the widow of An- drew Thompson, late of Boston, Mass. ; Helen Maria, who married Aaron Young, M. D., now of Boston, formerly of Bangor, Me .; Julia Caroline, who is now Mrs. Albert Fraser, of Boston; Henry, who is a Lieutenant Colonel and Surgeon in the United States Army, now serving as post surgeon at Fort Sheridan, Chicago; Henrietta, who is the wife of W. L. Campbell, the Collector of Customs at Yar- mouth, N.S. ; William Aubrey, now deceased ; James Aubrey, the subject of this sketch; William Maynard, also deceased; and Jessie
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Bertha, now Mrs. W. R. Reynolds, of Hali- fax, N.S. The father was a communicant of the Church of England, while the mother was a devout Presbyterian.
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James Aubrey Lippincott received his first lessons in book knowledge at home from his sisters. Later he studied in a grammar school, and in 1863 he entered Dalhousie University at Halifax, graduating with dis- tinction from that institution in 1867. Upon his graduation he was invited to return to Pictou, and take charge of the Pictou Acad- emy, and incidentally to instruct young men preparing for college in the classics, mathe- matics, and the sciences. Though not yet twenty years old, he accepted the position, and subsequently filled it with credit until 1869. In this year, having decided to study medi- cine, he entered Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. In the spring of 1870, after the completion of his first course, being much broken in health on account of close applica- tion to study, he went on a visit to his brother, Dr. Henry Lippincott, who was then stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Shortly after arriving there, his brother was placed in medical charge of General Custer's command, which was ordered out to a point near Fort Hays, three hundred miles west of Fort Leavenworth, in order to protect the settlers from incursions by the Indians. The young man accompanied his brother, remaining at Camp Sturgis for six months, and continuing his studies under his brother's direction, while incidentally availing himself of the unique op- portunity to hunt buffalo, at that time very numerous on the plains. During this period he formed an intimacy with General Custer that lasted until the latter's death. Thoroughly renewed in health, he returned to Jefferson College in 1872, and graduated in the follow- ing year. Shortly after taking his degree, he
was elected resident physician to the Wills Eye Hospital, and a year later to the Pennsyl- vania Hospital. the oldest institution of its kind on this continent except those founded by the Spaniards after their conquest of Mex- ico. Dr. Lippincott filled the latter position for a year and a half with great success, serv- ing under physicians of national reputation, such as Professor J. M. Da Costa, Dr. James Hutchinson, Dr. William Hunt, Dr. T. J. Morton, Dr. R. J. Levis, Dr. John Forsythe Meigs, and Dr. J. Aitken Meigs. Then, in October, 1876, he entered upon private prac- tice in West Philadelphia, where he kept up hospital work as a member of the medical staff of the eye and ear department of the Chil- dren's Hospital and surgeon to the out- patient department of the Presbyterian Hos- pital. In April, 1877, he came to Pittsburg, designing to confine his practice to diseases of the eye and ear exclusively, a field that was then occupied by Drs. E. Dyer, Speer, and Sterrett. He has since done a great deal of work in connection with charitable institu- tions. For many years he had charge of the eye and ear department of the Pittsburg Free Dispensary. He was ophthalmic and aural surgeon to the Mercy Hospital for a long period, and during the past ten years he has filled this position in the Allegheny General Hospital. In addition he devotes a consider- able portion of his time to the children of the orphan asylums in the vicinity. He is an active member of the Directing Boards of the Western Pennsylvania Institution for the Blind, the Western Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and the Pittsburg Free Dispensary.
The Doctor is a member of the Allegheny County Medical Society; also of the Pennsyl- vania State Medical Society, of which he has been vice-president; of the American Oph-
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thalmological and Otological Societies; and, for many years, of what were known as the Bedford Medical Club and the Mott Medi- cal Club, both of which are now extinct. At the organization of the flourishing Western Pennsylvania Medical College he was asked to take the chair of diseases of the eye and ear, but was prevented by ill health from accepting the position. He has written and published many valuable scientific papers, among which are: "On the Binocular Metamorphopsia Due to Correcting Glasses "; "Intra-ocular Syringing in Cataract Extraction, with De- scription of a New Instrument for Effecting it "; "New Tests for Binocular Vision "; and "On our Public Institutions as Sources of Impairment or Loss of Vision." Though not a politician, he has been a loyal supporter of the Republican party, and has rarely missed a primary. He has been actively engaged in committee work in connection with the efforts of the Civic Club to establish an Isolation Hospital for contagious diseases; and he re- cently presented an elaborate report to the managing committee, giving the results of his investigations in various institutions of the kind in the Eastern cities. On January 12, 1892, he married Miss Mary S. Bush, daughter of the late John T. Bush, of Niagara Falls, Ont.
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LMER G. LOOMIS, superintendent of the Bureau of Electricity of Allegheny City, was born August 23, 1854, in Randolph, Portage County, Ohio, son of Rus- sell and Kidigia (Huddlebiddle) Loomis. Jason Loomis, the grandfather, came with his brother Harlow from Connecticut in an ox cart, and settled in Randolph township when the district was but a wild woodland. They bought a large tract of land, and both acquired wealth and prominence. Jason married Miss
Merriman, who had one son. By a later mar- riage the number of his children was increased to five.
Russell Loomis, who was born on the home- stead in 1833, became a lumberman, owned and operated a saw-mill, and afterward manufact- ured brick. He finally settled on his father's farm, where he has since followed agriculture. He has taken an active part in Republican politics, and has been connected with the local school government. He married Miss Huddlebiddle, of Columbiana County, Ohio, a descendant of one of the old Dutch families that settled in Pennsylvania, and a daughter of one of the pioneer millers who removed to Ohio from Pennsylvania. She had four chil- dren, namely : Rolla, who is still on the farm with his father; Nettie, now the wife of Will- iam Foley, of Wellsville, Ohio; Nora May, who is unmarried, and lives in Allegheny; and Elmer G., the subject of this biography. Both the father and mother are Universalists in belief.
Elmer G. Loomis lived at home upon his father's farm until about fifteen years of age. Then he obtained employment in a machine shop of the neighborhood, where he served an apprenticeship of some years. Subsequently he started in business for himself by opening a repair shop for engines and machines in his native town. After carrying on the shop suc- cessfully for four years, he sold out, and took a position with the Buckeye Engine Works of Salem, Ohio, as foreman of a department. He was next employed by the Indianapolis Engine Works of Indiana, in charge of their construction department, the duties of which obliged him to go to different places where new works were to be put in. After working in Chicago and other towns, he came to Alle- gheny in 1880, finding employment in the ma- chine shop of the Chicago & Fort Wayne
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JOHN M. BATTEN.
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Railroad Company. Since he left the latter employment, he has been with the Westing- house Machine Company and the Allegheny Fire Department. In the fire department he worked up to the position of mechanical en- `gineer, becoming the head of a shop furnished to repair city engines and the electrical appa- ratus of the department. The knowledge nec- essary to perform the latter branch of his work at that time fully qualified him for the position of superintendent of the Bureau of Electricity, to which he was afterward ap- pointed. The bureau, which was much le- hind the times when Mr. Loomis took charge of it, has since obtained the latest apparatus, including the switch-board, automatic re- peater, multiple pen registers, and a fifty-cir- cuit metallic telephone switch-board. All the alarm boxes have also been replaced by the latest contrivances, and the most of the wires have been placed under ground. The electric apparatus of the police department is also under his supervision. He has now the care of two hundred and sixty-eight street boxes, sixty telephones, and fourteen engine- house instruments. Mr. Loomis is . consid- ered by all "the right man in the right place."
On September 5, 1883, Mr. Loomis married Miss Lizzie Haines, of Allegheny, and has now four children - Russell, Norman, Clara, and Morris. He is a member of Dage Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 374, also Allegheny Royal Arch Chapter, No. 217. His home is in the Fifth Ward, on Kentucky Avenue.
OHN MULLIN BATTEN, B.E., M. D., of Pittsburg, was born April 19, 1837, in East Brandywine, West Chester County, son of James and Sarah (McMullin) Batten. His grandfather, William Batten, who was born in East Brandywine in the year
1773, and was an esteemed farmer, died there April 7, 1799. William married Mary Byers, who bore him two children - Margaret and James. Margaret married Joseph Read, and died August 28, 1828, at the age of thirty-three. Her husband's sister was the mother of the poet, Thomas Buchanan Read.
James Batten was born in East Brandywine, October 20, 1796. Though he received but a country-school education, he was a practical surveyor and an expert mechanic. He not only carried on a large farm, but was ex- tensively engaged in surveying throughout the surrounding country. He was for ten years Justice of the Peace, and was one of the most prominent men in the community. A stanch Democrat, though not an office-seeker, he took an active part in politics. He was a member of the Sons of Temperance. When the war broke out in 1812, he organized a company of militia, was made its Captain, and subse- quently marched with it to Baltimore on foot. On November 11, 1819, he married Miss Sarah McMullin, who, born November 5, 1796, died April 28, 1882. She was a daugh- ter of Dunkin and Catherine (McFarlan) Mc- Mullin, of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Mrs. McMullin was a daughter of Janet, whose father, John Hamilton, of Glasgow, Scotland, married a daughter of Cerstein Morton, of Glasgow. Cerstein Morton died August 24, 1704, and John Hamilton's death occurred July 5, 1734. After his marriage Mr. Mc- Mullin came to America, and settled upon a farm in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. His other children were: James, John, Catherine, and Isabella. All were Presbyterians. The children of James Batten were: Mary, born November 23, 1820, who married John Good, of Honey Brook, Pa. ; Eliza W., now deceased, born July 3, 1824, who married James Myers, of East Brandywine; William, born August
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26, 1826; Isabella G., born August 22, 1829, who married Thomas B. Millet, of Cecil County, Maryland; James, born August 12, 1833, now of East Brandywine; and John Mullin, the subject of this biography. The father was a trustee and one of the leading men of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife was also a member. He was very active in church work, and the doors of his hospitable home were always open wide to receive the preachers, whom he counted among his warmest friends. He died Febru- ary 8, 1870, sincerely mourned by all who knew him.
John Mullin Batten in his boyhood worked on his father's farm, obtaining his early edu- cation through a meagre winter course at the country schools of his native place. At the age of eighteen he began to teach school dur- ing the winter in different localities. While so doing he spent his summers very profitably in attendance at the State Normal School at Millersville, Pa., where he subsequently grad- uated with the degree of B. E. In the winter of 1856-57 he began the study of medicine under William Compton, M.D., of Lancaster, Pa., and progressed rapidly, notwithstanding the fact that he was obliged to teach at the same time. He graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1864. Eighteen months previous to gradu- ation he became a medical cadet in the United States Army hospitals at Christian Street and at Broad and Cherry Streets, Philadel- phia, where he attended medical lectures. On March 22, 1864, he was appointed acting assistant surgeon in the United States Navy, and served at different times on the United States steamers "Princeton" and "Valley City"; also on the United States monitors "Oneota " and "Catawba." The Doctor was aboard the United States steamer "Minne-
sota" on the night of April 8, 1864, when the Confederates exploded a hundred-pound tor- pedo under her. He was on the steamer "Valley City," which on . September 29. 1864, while engaged in an expedition up the Scuppernong River in North Carolina, ran aground, and was for four hours exposed to a heavy fire from Confederate batteries and sharp-shooters. On the same vessel the Doc- tor was a witness of the blowing up of the Confederate ram "Albemarle," by Lieuten- ant William B. Cushing, United States Navy, at Plymouth, N.C., October 28, 1864. He was also on that boat when it led the fleet up the Roanoke River, when the steamers "Otsego" and "Bazley" were sunk by Confed- erate torpedoes, and when the remainder of the fleet penetrated the enemy's country for the distance of fifty miles, fighting Confeder- ate batteries, infantry, and sharp-shooters the whole distance, and at the same time taking up and exploding eighty Confederate torpe- does. On March 23, 1866, he was honorably discharged from the United States Navy, with the thanks of the department for his bravery and faithful service.
After leaving the naval service, Dr. Batten settled permanently in Pittsburg, where he has since built up a large general practice, and is now one of the older physicians of the city. He is a member of the Allegheny County Medical Society, in which he has been presi- dent and treasurer at different times. He was for ten years physician to the Pittsburg Free Dispensary, and is thereby constituted a life member of the institution. He has served for fifteen years upon the medical staff of the Pittsburg Infirmary. Of the Pittsburg Medi- cal Library Association, Dr. Batten is a char- ter member. He is a member of the Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania and of the American Medical Association. He was
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a member of the Ninth International Medical Congress, that met in Washington, D.C., in 1887; and he is a member of the Mott Medical Club of Pittsburg, and was its president for one year. Financially interested in the Market Bank, he was a director thereof for a term. In 1893 he presided over the Western Pennsylvania branch of the Alumni Associa- tion of the State Normal School at Millers- ville. The Doctor is not only the busiest of medical men, but an author as well. The vol- ume called "Two Years in the United States Navy" is his, also that entitled "Random Thoughts." In addition to these books, he has written many valuable articles and papers for the medical societies in which he is inter- ested, and which have been published in lead- ing medical journals. Dr. Batten is a mem- ber and the examining physician of Bethel Lodge, No. 40, A. Q. U. W., of Pittsburg. He has travelled extensively in this country, and has visited all the principal cities. From his boyhood he has shown an invincible spirit, and his unqualified success has been nobly earned.
HARLES HOPKINS BRONSON, the auditor of the Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railroad, was born at Dayton, Ohio, September 11, 1845, son of Charles H. and Emily (Gale) Bronson. William, Bron- son, the grandfather, was a native of Water- bury, Conn., where he afterward followed the "art preservative " for a living, and married Hannah Thompson.
Charles H. Bronson, Sr., a native of Water- bury, obtained his schooling in that town, and there likewise learned . the printer's trade under his father's instruction. His sister Helen married Mr. H. W. Derby, a promi- nent book dealer, the agent of Harper Brothers. Charles H. Bronson was the fore-
man of Mr. Derby's printing-house for many years. At one time he was employed in Co- lumbus, Ohio, where he met his wife. After a few years there he went to Dayton, in the same State, and became the editor and propri- etor of the Dayton Empire. Here he re- mained until two years after the birth of his son Charles H., when he sold out, and went to Cincinnati, where he connected himself with the book firm of H. W. Derby & Co. He died of cholera morbus in 1850, leaving three children. His wife, Emily, was a daughter of Daniel Gale, with whom she re- sided with her children after the death of her husband. She was born at Heath, Mass., and died July 30, 1884. Her great-grandfather was Daniel Gale, who was born in Warwick, Mass., June 17, 1721. His son, Daniel Gale, the father of Mrs. Bronson, was a farmer at Heath, Mass., and a member of the Unita- rian church. He married Elizabeth Holland, an aunt of Josiah Gilbert Holland, the well- known author, and who was one of the editors of Scribner's, now the Century Magasine, of New York. Shortly after Mrs. Emily Bron- son's return to the parental roof the old home- stead was sold, and Mr. Gale bought a place near Cincinnati, in a village called Mount Healthy. Mr. Gale died about the year 1875, and his wife in 1882, at the age of ninety-five.
Charles 11. Bronson, the subject of this sketch, was first sent to the Cincinnati schools, and afterward for four years to the Rockwell Street School in Cleveland. He then returned to Mount Healthy, and attended the schools of that place, residing on his grandfather's farm. In 1861 he obtained the position of cashier with the prominent dry- goods firm of Messrs. Boutilier & Brother, with whom he gained his first knowledge of business methods. A year later he was em- ployed with L. C. Hopkins & Co. in the same
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business as entry clerk. His first experience in railroading was obtained at Cincinnati in 1863, in the local freight office of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad. A member of the Seventh Regiment of Ohio National Guards, when that body was called out to aid in repel- ling the Morgan raid, Mr. Bronson was the orderly sent by General Burnside with de- spatches concerning that incident to General Hobson. For this service he was sworn into the Union army in Company C, One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, with the rank of Corporal. When the Guards were called out by General Brough, this regiment was stationed at Balti- more during the entire service, and garrisoned the forts in the vicinity. Upon returning from Baltimore, the company to which Mr. Bronson belonged became incorporated into the Zouave Battalion, and Mr. Bronson was appointed Orderly Sergeant. He served in this capacity until his five years had expired, when he received his honorable discharge.
In November, 1864, Mr. Bronson took a temporary position with the C. H. & D. road, after which he returned to the whole- sale dry-goods business, spending two years with Messrs. B. Simon & Co., of Cincinnati. Then he was the book-keeper for William Dodd & Co. and their successors, and it was not until ten years later that he returned to the employ of the railroad. After this he held various positions of responsibility in the Kentucky Central Railroad office at Coving- ton, Ky. Between the years 1884 and 1889 he was the general auditor of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. December 1, 1889, he be- came connected with the auditor's office of the C. C. C. & St. L. Ry. at Cleveland, Ohio. He has been auditor of the Pitts- burg & Lake Erie line and all of its leased lines since April, 1890. Mr. Bronson is to-
day one of the most prominent railroad men in Pittsburg. He is a member of the Amer- ican Association of Railroad Accounting Officers; and, appointed thereto by the presi - dent, he has served two years on one of the Standing Committees of that association. IIe is also a member of the Board of Auditors of the Vanderbilt lines, which meet monthly. Made a Mason at Richmond, Va., in Temple Lodge, No. 9, he now belongs to Washington Chapter, R. A. M., No. 9, and St. Andrew Commandery, K. T., No. 13, both also of Richmond ; and he is a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Syria Temple, of Pittsburg, Pa. He is treas- urer of Fort Pitt Conclave, No. 429, of the Improved Order of Heptasophs at Pittsburg. In politics he is an active Republican, but not an aspirant to office.
On September 20, 1876, Mr. Bronson mar- ried Grace Darling Ransom, of Covington, Ky., a daughter of Haynes Porter Ransom, who was formerly for many years the secretary of the Kentucky Central Railroad. The Ran- soms originally came from Middletown, Conn., where Mrs. Bronson was born. Her mother was Maria Louise Pelton Ransom, of an old New England family. The children of Mr. Bronson are: Maria Louise, born August 28, 1877, who died June 17, 1878; Elizabeth Holland, born October 17, 1879, who is still at home; and Charles Winslow, born June 13, 1882, who is attending school. Mr. and Mrs. Bronson are members of the Calvary Episco- pal Church. Their home is at 544 Sheridan Avenue, in the East End district of Pittsburg.
OHN GROETZINGER, Alderman and Magistrate for the Third Ward of Pitts- burg, was born here, February 23, 1850, son of John and Rosma K. (Kiedisch)
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