USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Biographical review : v. 24, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and the vicinity, Pennsylvania > Part 39
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Groetzinger. The parents, who were both natives of Würtemberg, Germany, and who came to this country in their youth, were married in Pittsburg. When their only living child was a year and a half old, the father was drowned in the Ohio, as the result of stepping off a boat in his sleep. The mother afterward married John Wetzel, and had four other chil- dren, of whom Clara, now the wife of Evan Thomas, is living. Mrs. Wetzel died in 1881, having also survived her second husband, whose death occurred in 1869.
John Groetzinger attended the public schools and the German school in Pittsburg until four- teen years old. Afterward he learned the blacksmith trade, and followed it until he was nineteen. Then he became a member of the Volunteer Fire Department, and in a month's time was made driver. When the Pay Fire Department was organized, in 1871, he was retained in the same capacity, serving for twelve years with the Hook and Ladder Com- pany A and Engine Company No. 3, and shar- ing in the extinction of many disastrous fires. During a portion of this time the company covered the whole city. In 1882 he was pro- moted to the position of captain of the com- pany. In 1885, four nights before his term expired, he was caught in the third story of a burning building, which fell before he could escape. The injuries he then received inca- pacitated him for work for four months. After his recovery he served as Constable for Allegheny County until 1897. Then he was appointed Alderman by the Governor to serve for the unexpired term of Alderman John Gripp, who had been elected as Recorder. Mr. Groetzinger has been an active politician since 1882. He was elected a member of the Common Council for the Third Ward in 1890, 1892, 1894, and 1896; and he served on sev- eral committees, that of the Public Works,
and, when the fine Public Safety Building was erected, that of Public Safety. Also, he has been frequently a delegate to State conventions. He is a member of the Young Men's Republican Tariff Club and of the Ow! Club, which is one of the oldest in the city; a member and the treasurer of the A. O. U. W. ; an original member of the Order of the World; and he belongs to the Order of Eiks and the Royal Arcanum. He has always been an active worker in the Repub- lican party, and there will undoubtedly be no opposition to his re-election in the fall.
In 1871 Mr. Groetzinger married Sarah C. McKain, of Allegheny, daughter of Samuel McKain. They have two sons : Samuel C. G., born in 1884; and Thomas G. E. Both Mr. and Mrs. Groetzinger are members of the Ger- man Lutheran church, corner of Sixth and Smithfield Streets.
EORGE A. MACBETH, who, as the pioneer manufacturer of optical glass, is identified with the leading interests of Pittsburg, was born in Urbana, Ohio, October 29, 1845. A son of James R. and Frances B. (Bayard) Macbeth, both na- tives of Pennsylvania, he descends from the Scotch Macbeths, some of whom were driven by religious persecution from their own coun- try, and fled to the north of Ireland. Other forms of the name are Mackbeathe, MacBeth, and McBeth.
One Alexander Macbeth, born in the County Antrim, Ireland, married Mrs. Nancy Hambleton, whose first husband was acciden- tally drowned. Subsequently Alexander emi- grated to the colony of Penn prior to the Eng- lish and French War. With him came two brothers, Andrew and John. Andrew married Mrs. Ann Fleming, who had by him one
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child, Alexander, born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1762. This Alexander Mac- beth, the paternal grandfather of George A., in his early manhood was the Colonel of a body of Pennsylvania troops. He visited Ohio in 1806, and there bought property. Settling on this property in the following year, he was a pioneer of Champaign County. He built the first brick house in the county, and took across the mountains the first car- riage with springs. Twice elected to the Ohio legislature, he was serving his first term when it was convened at Chillicothe, and his second when it met at Zanesville. He was also the first man to take a large cargo of grain and whiskey down the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers to Black Rock, near Buffalo, where he disposed of it, and reloaded his boat with salt. On the return trip he contracted a disease that proved fatal. The salt did not reach its destination until the following win- ter, when its sale brought from seventeen to eighteen dollars a barrel. On July 8, 1790, he married Rachel Whitehill, who was born May 6, 1764, and died February 13, 1846. The record of the births and deaths of their children is as follows: Andrew, born April IS, 1791, died in June, 1863; Mary, born Oc- tober 11, 1792, died July 11, 1871; Eliza- beth, born February 14, 1794, died February 14, 1852; Robert W., born September 21, 1795, died February 4, 1857; Eleanor, born June 19, 1797, died in January, 1865; Rachel, born July 15, 1799, died in early life; Alexander, born April 17, 1801; Ann Maria, born January 22, 1803, died May 30, 1869; and James Reed, born March 6, 1805, died August 29, 1882.
Rachel Whitehill Macbeth was a direct descendant of the James Whitehill born in 1700, who was twice married, and who died February 2, 1766, at Pequea, Lancaster
County. His first wife died young, leaving a son, James Whitehill, who, born January I, 1725, married in June, 1751, and died De- cember 25, 1757. After her death James Whitehill, Sr., married Rachel Craswell, of Lancaster County, who bore him nine chil- dren, namely: John, born December 1, 1729, who married Nancy Sanderson, August 13, 1755; Jane, born June 25, 1731, who died in March, 1740; Elizabeth, born July 1, 1733, who on April 1, 1752, married Colonel James Moore; Robert, born July 24, 1735, who married Eleanor Reed, February 1, 1759, and died April 8, 1813, in Cumberland County ; Sarah, born January 19, 1737, who married George Stewart, March 15, 1760, and died May 12, 1778; Rachel, born June 15, 1739, who married Thomas Irwin, June 15, 1772, and died May 5, 1812; Margaret, born July 1, 1741, who on January 1, 1765, mar- ried Robert Craig, and died February 14, 1777; David, born May 24, 1743, who on April 8, 1770, married Rachel Clemson; and Joseph, born August 2, 1746, who married Mary Kennedy on May 20, 1780, and died March 25, 1808. Joseph settled in Warren County, Ohio, near Lebanon, where he be- came conspicuous as a politician, and for some years served as Treasurer of Ohio. The record of the children born to him and his wife is as follows: James, born April 21," 1781, died January 18, 1810; Jane, born June II, 1783, died February 15, 1865 ; Rachel, born February 15, 1785, was the wife of Dr. Morris, of Lebanon, Ohio, and died April 27, 1856; Joseph, born December 30, 1786, died November 4, 1861; Mary, born October 19, 1788, married Thomas Smith on February 6, 1817, and died August 28, 1849; Hannah, born November 28, 1790, successively mar- ried a Mr. Freeman and Judge Thomas. Smith, and died November 25, 1866; Susan-
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nah, born October 25, 1792, married M. Tate, December 25, 1817, and died January 15, 1873; Thomas, born November 2, 1794, died July 18, 1816; Rebecca, born October 21, 1796, successively married a Mr. Cowan and Nathan Fiske, and died April 13, 1838; and Julia Ann, born June 25, ISO1, died in Janu- ary, 1813. Robert Whitehill, the second son of James and Rachel (Craswell) 'Whitehill, on February 1, 1759, married Eleanor, daugh- ter of Adam and Mary Reed. Their children were: Adam, born February 27, 1760, who died April 25, 1780; Mary, born February I, 1762, who died in September, 1778; Rachel, who, born May 6, 1764, married Alexander Macbeth, as above stated; James, born in 1766, who died May 12, 1832; Robert, born September 13, 1768, who died August 27, 1829; Elizabeth, born March 6, 1770, who married Richard M. Crain; Eleanor, born February 9, 1773, who died November 28, 1818; and. John, born April 10, 1775, who died November 30, 1816. Robert Whitehill, Jr., who was an attorney, studied law with Ed- mund Randolph, of Philadelphia. A highly cultured man, he was intimate with many prominent people, including General Lafay- ette, with whom he travelled during his tour of America; and he was groomsman at the wedding of two of the daughters of Thomas Jefferson.
James R. Macbeth, born and reared in Car- lisle, Pa., studied law with his uncle, James Whitehill, but afterward became a merchant in Ohio. On November .15, 1832, he was married by the Rev. Leroy Woods to Frances A. Bayard. The Bayard family originated in France, deriving their surname from their château in Dauphine, about six miles from Grenoble. The original name was Du Ter- rall, the celebrated knight of the family being known as Pierre du Terrall, Seigneur de
Bayard. He died unmarried, April 30, 1524, aged forty-eight years. During the religious troubles that distracted France in the six- teenth century, some members of the family filed to Holland, where one of them married Anna Stuyvesant, a sister of the first Dutch Governor of New York. After the death of her husband she accompanied Peter Stuy- vesant to New York, landing there in 1647, with her children. One of the latter, Petrus Bayard, became the possessor of property on Bohemia Manor, which was afterward owned and occupied by his son, Samuel Bayard. Samuel married Susanna Bouchelle, and reared one son, also named Samuel. This Samuel Bayard married Francina Mauldan, and had a large family. His son, Peter Bayard, born June 16, 1732, also reared sev- eral children born of his marriage, including a third Samuel Bayard, his eldest child. The third Samuel, who, born February 20, 1763, died May 8, 1814, married Elizabeth Woods. Frances A. Bayard, who became the wife of James Reed Macbeth, was one of their chil- dren: By her James Reed Macbeth became the father of six children - Charles Edgar, Helen, Anna Rachel, James Bayard, George Alexander, and Sarah Frances.
Leaving Urbana, Ohio, George A. Macbeth, the subject of this sketch, went in 1862 to Springfield, in the same State, where he was a clerk in a retail drug store for the following six years. In 1868 he came to Pittsburg, and was here engaged in the wholesale drug busi- ness during the next three years. His en- trance into the glass business was made in 1872, when he became a travelling salesman. Subsequently he engaged in the manufacture of glass, undertaking lamp glass in 1877, and being the first in the United States to make optical glass. In 1893 he exhibited the first specimens of American-made optical glass at
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the World's Fair, held in Chicago, receiving therefor a prize, a medal, and a diploma. From the first he has met with great success, his early achievements meeting with as much favor from the public as his later. At the World's Fair Mr. Macbeth was alternate Com- missioner, receiving his appointment from Governor Patterson. He takes an indepen- dent course in politics. In religion he is a Swedenborgian.
ORRIS A. GOODSTONE, M. D., a physician of recognized merit and ability, successfully engaged in his chosen profession at Pittsburg, Pa., is a man of scholarly attainments and an expert linguist, having at his command eight lan- guages, which he can read or write with flu- ency. He was born in Russia, February 22, 1865, the eldest son of Bernard L. and Dora (Jacobson) Goodstone, the former of whom is a merchant in Augustowo, greatly esteemed by his townspeople and many acquaintances elsewhere for his honesty, integrity, philan- thropy, as well as for his liberal views, free from antiquated prejudices and fanaticism.
Naturally, the father from the first decided to do all in his power to spare no means at his command toward giving Morris, his eldest son, a thorough education, fitting him for any career in life he might afterward choose. Ac- cordingly, in addition to sending the boy to the public schools of the town, he engaged private tutors to instruct him in certain branches that are not taught in those schools. When the boy outgrew the facilities for learn- ing in his native town, he was sent by his father to the Polytechnic School of Riga, one of the foremost colleges of Russia, in which. school much stress was laid upon the study of modern languages. Subsequently he entered
the gymnasium (college) of Suwalki, where much stress was laid upon the study of Latin and Greek. Previous to sending his son to the colleges, the father, in accordance with his own views, but particularly in compliance with a wish expressed on her death-bed by his lamented wife, the mother of Morris, an estimable, intelligent, kind-hearted woman, who died in the prime of her life, had him instructed by the best teachers obtainable in the ancient original Hebrew language and all the tenets and rudiments of the Hebrew re- ligion, including the Talmud in the original ; and so deeply engraved were these studies upon his youthful memory that the lapse of years and the studies of various other lan- guages and different scientific subjects did not in the least efface them.
While in Riga all was smooth sailing for the young student. His father's financial affairs being in a prosperous condition, the son wanted in nothing, and he could devote all his time to his studies. But in Suwalki things were different. In the summer of 1882 a great conflagration, incendiary in its origin, destroyed the largest portion of Augustowo; and the elder Goodstone was one of the heavi- est sufferers, his business receiving a blow from which it never fully recovered. Then the young student was first confronted with the hard realities of life. But by giving private lessons or tutoring he managed to make a living, such as it was, good enough for a poor earnest student, whose wants and requirements are of necessity quite limited. All this was not an easy task by any means, but one cheer- fully and philosophically done, there being no alternative. And so things would have gone along satisfactorily enough, but for other cir- cumstances. The colleges and universities in Russia being under direct government control and supervision, and that government being an
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autocratic and despotic one, it naturally fol- lows that the lot of a student in Russia is in- deed a hard one. He is subjected to such strict rules and regulations, his every step and movement are under such strict surveillance of the college authorities, their spies and underlings, who would control his very thoughts, that no student in this country can form an adequate idea of it. This oppression and restriction were particularly hard and harsh during the years immediately following the assassination of Czar Alexander II. in 1881; for then the authorities were deter- mined to "nip in the bud" any sprouts of nihilism or any other kind of ism.
But if the life of a student in general was miserable, that of a student of the Hebrew faith was doubly so, owing to the deep-rooted, though groundless, prejudices against the He- brews, and the consequent unjust, harsh, dis- criminating laws against that race. Is it any wonder, then, that a spirit of unrest and dis- satisfaction prevailed particularly among the Hebrew students? This spirit was intensi- fied by the atrocities and excesses committed by the riotous Russian moujiks (peasants) against Hebrews in many parts of Western and South-western Russia in 1882 and 1883 - a matter of history. Then many young men, though not directly sufferers from those riots, but hurt morally, were convinced that their native country was a great and good country to be away from.
In looking around for a new home, for a country where they would meet fair play and enjoy equal opportunities in the struggle for existence, they naturally were attracted to the great and mighty republic of North America, the fame of which, as the land of the free and home of the brave, penetrated everywhere in the civilized world. Accordingly, thousands of young Russian students, full of life, honest
ambition, and energy, emigrated to the United States. In the fall of 1884 Mr. Goodstone was one of these new arrivals. He disem- barked in New York; but on the advice of a friend he came to Pittsburg, Pa., the fame of whose wonderful resources and industries he had read about in his native country. Many and various were the hardships the recent emi- grant had to contend with, the obstacles to surmount, stranger as he was in a strange land, unfamiliar with the language, customs, ways, and habits of the country of his adoption, an inexperienced school-boy, having passed his youth poring over books and various theoreti- cal things, unfamiliar with the real, practical side of life. But, nothing daunted, he suc- ceeded in getting a situation as a clerk in a store kept by one of his countrymen in Pitts- burg. Of course, the pecuniary remunera- tion was a very meagre one, but this was of secondary importance : all the new arrival wanted was to make enough at first to keep body and soul together, but to have and uti- lize the spare moments toward acquiring a thorough knowledge of the English language, and familiarize himself with the history of the United States, its constitution, and institu- tions.
In a short time he obtained a better posi- tion, that of a book-keeper for a firm in Con- nellsville, Pa. There his pay was such that, by practising strict economy, he was enabled to begin to save a little money. In the fall of 1887 a cousin of his in Darlington, S. C .. near Charleston, wrote to him to come to accept a position as salesman and book-keeper in his general merchandise store in that town, holding out some alluring hopes. Accord- ingly Goodstone went to Darlington; but the monotony and dulness of life in a small South- ern town were not congenial to the aspiring young man, who never for a moment in all his
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hardships and vicissitudes lost sight of his ultimate aim -- not that of any sordid gain, but to enter the ranks of one of the learned profes- sions. Nothing of the kind could be thought of if he decided to remain in that out-of-the- way small Southern town. So in 1888 Good- stone returned East, obtaining a position as book-keeper in Buffalo, N. Y. After a sojourn of a year or so, he decided to return to his old love, Pittsburg.
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Here he subsequently obtained a position of book-keeper with Mr. J. Wolkowsky, a well- known and esteemed wholesale clothing mer- chant of Fifth Avenue; and, thanks to his employer's sympathetic nature and kindness, Goodstone was enabled, while faithfully per- forming his clerical duties, in the evenings and off-days generally, to pursue the study of medicine in the West Penn Medical College, paying his own expenses and college fees dur- ing that time, and to a great extent financially assisting his younger sister, who was studying midwifery in the Imperial Obstetrical Insti- tute of Warsaw, Poland. All this, as can well be imagined, was a very arduous task for the medical student, especially so during his third year in the college; but determination and the prospect of soon attaining the aim so greatly desired and cherished by himself, as by his dear ones in his native home, sustained him and gave him the strength to successfully pass his examinations in 1892 and receive the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Dr. Goodstone opened an office in Mckeesport, Pa. ; but six months later he went to Chicago, where he took a post-graduate course in the Chicago Polyclinic. Again returning to Pittsburg, the Doctor established himself here as a practi. tioner; and he is now meeting with unques- tioned prosperity in the scientific field to which he is devoting his life.
riage June 16, 1896, to Miss Fanny R. Le- vaur, daughter of S. D. Levaur, a retired busi- ness man of this city. The Doctor met and loved this estimable lady prior to his embark- ing upon the study of medicine; and his feel- ings were fortunately reciprocated, their mut- ual love and devotion remaining constant through all the various vicissitudes and hard- ships of the life of a struggling student and that of a beginning practitioner of medicine. Dr. Goodstone is of a retiring, quiet, studious disposition, strictly a home man, preferring to do good to others in his own unostentatious way, sincerely devoted to his beloved and lov- ing wife, whose unusual skill and excellence as a housewife, as well as her sweet disposi- tion, make his home life a happy one.
Politicaily, the Doctor has the courage of his convictions, voting independent of party restrictions. Socially, he is a member of West Penn Medical Alumni Club and various other organizations, medical and otherwise. Religiously, he attends and supports the syna- gogue, " Tree of Life."
AMES DICKSON, one of the oldest market gardeners on Neville Island, was born April 30, 1822, on Prince Edward Island, Canada, son of William and Jane (Patterson) Dickson. His parents were born, married, and had three sons in Wigton- shire, Scotland, before the family emigrated to Nova Scotia. March 4 they left Scotland; and April 30 James Dickson, the fourth son, was born. From Nova Scotia they came to Pittsburg, which they reached on July 6, 1822. Here the father began working at his trade, while he resided on Seventh Street. He remained in Pittsburg until he came to Neville Island, a few years after his son James settled
Dr. M. A. Goodstone was united in mar- , there. His children were: David, who died
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in California in 1852; William, who was an engineer on the river, and died of yellow fever in New Orleans; Peter, who was also an engineer, and died in New Orleans; James, subject of this sketch; Margaret, now Mrs. May, of North Avenue; and Mary, deceased. The father was a member and an Elder of the Presbyterian church. He was well known and influential in Pittsburg and Neville Island.
James Dickson came to Neville Island when ten years of age. After receiving some fur- ther schooling, he began to work at gardening for David Hamilton, now one of the oldest residents of the island. In time he became a skilful gardener, and in 1839 he and Mr. Hamilton formed a partnership that continued for five years. He began business for himself in 1844, and in the following year he bought the first land he ever owned. There were only fourteen acres; but he brought them to a high state of cultivation, and took his produce to Pittsburg, carrying it seven miles in a canoe and selling it on the market. At that time the ladies of the most prominent fami- lies of the city did their own marketing, and everything was sold in small amounts, one peck of potatoes being the largest quantity sold and one-half peck the usual quantity. Mr. Dickson kept the old farm until 1860, when he bought the place where he lives at present. He now has a fine garden of thirty- two acres under the best possible cultivation ; and the produce is transported by team, steam car, or boat, as the occasion may need. Mr. Dickson has been on the Pittsburg market for over sixty-five years, and remembers when Pittsburg extended only to Union Depot up the Allegheny River, and to Smithfield Street Bridge up the Monongahela. He has given his attention to vegetables entirely, employ- ing a regular force of five men and in the busy season three or four extra men. His
produce can be found in the market all the year round. He was among the first to rent a stall in the Old Circular Market and also in the new one. He has been prominent in all local affairs, was Town Treasurer for about thirty years and Tax Collector for twenty years. He was also treasurer of the Neville Island School Board for thirty-five years, and president of it for six years, and two new buildings were erected during his incumbency. Mr. Dickson has been a strong Republican since 1856, when he left the old Whig party to join the new organization. He has been delegate to different conventions many times, and is one of the leading and reliable men of his party in Neville township.
In 1856 Mr. Dickson was made a Mason in Allegheny Lodge, No. 223, and is a charter member of Mckinley Lodge, No. 218. He is also a member of Duquesne Chapter, No. 193; of Mount Moriah Council, No. 2; of Pittsburg Commandery, No. 1; and of the Lodge of Perfection. He has taken fourteen degrees in the Pittsburg Grand Council of Princes of Jerusalem and eighteen degrees in the Pittsburg Grand Chapter. He is a thirty- second degree Mason of the Pennsylvania Sovereign Grand Consistory ; and he was ad- mitted to the Masonic Veterans of Western Pennsylvania, October 30, 1886. He is also a member of I. O. O. F., belonging to MeFar- land Lodge, No. 30, and to Alleghany En- campment, No. 2.
On October 13, 1842, Mr. Dickson married Mary Hamilton, daughter of David Hamilton, Sr., one of the early settlers on Neville Island. Her grandfather owned a farm on the banks of the Monongahela River. Her father, who was a Scotchman, married Mary Gibbs, and thereafter lived on the island. Mrs. Dickson was born on the island, and has con- stantly lived there. The children of Mr. and
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