USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Biographical review : v. 24, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and the vicinity, Pennsylvania > Part 51
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Dr. Hussey and Mr. Shaw were the chief founders of the Observatory, which became a part of the Western University of Pennsylva-
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nia in 1868. The School of Design for Women was also founded by the Doctor, and he was the first president of this famous insti- tution. The welfare of Pittsburg interested him closely throughout his long residence here, and his business successes made it pos- sible for him to add much to the city's pros- perity.
OHN P. McCORD, M.D.,* a promi- nent physician of Pittsburg, Pa., was born in this city, January 6, 1840, son of John A. and Letitia (Anderson) McCord. He is of Scotch ancestry, his paternal grand- father, John B. McCord, having been de- scended from one of the old Covenanters that fled from Scotland to Ireland in the seven- teenth century.
John B. McCord was born and reared in Ire- land, being there engaged in farming. From his brother William, who, as a merchant in Cookstown, Ireland, accumulated consider- able property, he inherited quite a sum of money; and in 1820 he came with his family to America, his son, John A., being at that time but eight years of age.
John A. McCord was for nearly forty years a noted teacher of this county, living most of the time in Pittsburg, where he served as Jus- tice of the Peace fifteen 'years. He died in April, 1896, his wife, Letitia, a native of this city, surviving him. Of their thirteen children eight are now living. Three sons became physicians and one a lawyer. Dr. William C. McCord died in Glenwood, Pa., in 1893; and Charles W. McCord, who was a prominent attorney in Denver, Col., died in that city in 1890.
John P. McCord grew to manhood in Wash- ington County, this State, obtaining his early education in the common school and the Nor-
mal School of West Middletown, where he subsequently followed the profession of a teacher four years. After the outbreak of the Rebellion he enlisted to serve in defence of his country in Company B, Tenth Pennsyl- vania Reserves, remaining with his regiment until May, 1864, when he was disabled while aiding in laying pontoons over the Rappahan- nock, and was honorably discharged from the service. Resuming his former vocation for a time, he afterward entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, where he was graduated in 1871, having, however, previously prac- tised medicine to some extent. Dr. McCord was for two years a practitioner in Knoxville, Jefferson County, coming thence to Pittsburg, where he has since continued in active prac- tice, having from the first had the confidence of the community in which he located.
Public-spirited, able, and progressive, he has long had a place of influence in political and social circles. He has been identified with the Republican party since casting his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. For the past six years he has been a member of the Pittsburg Board of Health. He has served two terms in the Select and one in the Common Council, and is a member of the Board of Education. He is connected by membership with the Allegheny County Med- ical Society and the Pittsburg Obstetric So- ciety, and is surgeon-in-chief of the P. & L. E. Railway Company. He is likewise a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Order of Elks, of the G. A. R., of the Royal Ar- canum, of the K. of G. E., and of the A. M.
In 1865 Dr. McCord married Miss Kate Jeffrey, who died in 1881, having borne him three children, as follows: John A., who died at the age of sixteen, while attending school at Wilmington, Del .; Minnie, who died in infancy ; and Wilhelmina C., who is a teacher
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in Pittsburg. In 1882 the Doctor married Miss Martha J. Liddy, of Mckeesport, Pa.
AMUEL U. TRENT,* of the firm of Young & Trent, attorneys-at-law, 423 Diamond Street, Pittsburg, is a native of Somerset, this State, where he was born February 18, 1854. His parents were Urias and Harriet (Ernst) Trent, both natives of this State.
The Trent family is one of the oldest in the Commonwealth, William Trent, the founder in this country, coming over with William Penn, and settling in Philadelphia, where he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court. In 1812 he removed to New Jersey, settling in Trenton, which still bears his name. He was one of the first Speakers in the Pennsyl- vania House of Representatives, and the first Speaker of the New Jersey House. He was also first Chief Justice of New Jersey.
His son was Major William Trent, of Revo- lutionary fame. When Washington made his first report to Governor Dinwiddie, young William Trent was appointed by the Governor to build the first fort at the fork of the Alle- gheny and Monongahela Rivers. Afterward he served with distinction in the war, and was made Major by act of Congress. He operated in Western Pennsylvania with the Indians; and Pontiac and the chiefs of the Six Nations deeded to him, for himself and in trust for others, three million, five hundred thousand acres of land between the Monongahela and Kanawha Rivers. This was afterward lost through repudiation by the State of Virginia of the act of their representative. Major Trent afterward removed to Carlisle, and be- came Judge of the Court of Cumberland County.
Major Trent's grandson was the Rev. Sam-
uel Trent, born in Pennsylvania. Early in life he became a contractor, and helped to build a number of the old Pennsylvania turn- pikes, and also the Cumberland Plank Road. He became a clergyman of the Christian church. His son Urias, father of Mr. Sam- uel U. Trent, spent his life in Somerset as a farmer, dying there in March, 1895. He was a Deacon in the Christian church. Although interested in all public affairs, he always re- fused to hold office. His wife survives him. They had a family of five daughters and four sons - Jennie, Samuel U., Mary, Ezra, Nor- man, Emma, Wilson, Mabel, Estella. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Samuel U. Trent was Samuel Ernst, who came from Holland, and settled at Berlin, Pa.
Samuel U. Trent was brought up on his father's farm, where he worked during his school vacations. He attended the district schools and various academies, and fitted for college. While pursuing his course at Cor- nell University, he taught school for a num- ber of terms. Later he was principal of the Somerset schools, of the teachers' Normal School, and for two years principal of the Peoria (Ill.) schools. He began reading law with General William H. Koontz, of Somer- set, in 1876, was admitted to the bar in 1878, began practice in his native town; and a few years after he was elected Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts of the county. Mr. Trent came to Pittsburg in 1886, and for the past ten years has made his home at the East End. In 1890 he formed a partnership with his present associate, Mr. J. S. Young.
On November 22, 1882, Mr. Trent was married to Miss Marion Kernan, of Somerset, daughter of Edmund and Rebecca (Earl) Kernan. One son, Edmund, has been born to them. Mr. Trent is a member of Somerset Lodge, No. 358, A. F. & A. M., and is a
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JAMES M. GUFFEY.
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JAMES M. SHIELDS.
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thirty-second degree Mason in the Scottish Rites. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum and of the Supreme Council. In politics he is a Republican. He takes an active interest in politics, and has made a number of campaign speeches.
AMES MCCLURG GUFFEY,* of Pittsburg, probably the largest individ- ual producer of natural oil and gas in this country, was born in Sewickley township, Westmoreland County, Pa. He is of Scotch descent, and his ancestors were among the early settlers of Western Pennsylvania, where they located in Colonial times, probably about 1750; and the family has since been promi- nently identified with the best interests of the State. Perhaps none of its members have done more to develop the natural resources of the State than the subject of this sketch. He was educated in the public schools, and, after pursuing a commercial course of study, at the age of eighteen accepted a clerkship in the office of the superintendent of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company at Louisville, Ky., where he was employed for many years. He left the service of the railroad to take a position with the Adams Southern Express Company at Nashville, Tenn., but returned to Pennsylvania in 1870 to engage in the petroleum business as a producer. In 1883 he went to the oil fields of the northern part of the State, and later he came to Pitts- burg. He is now interested in natural gas as well as oil products. Possessed of re- markable executive ability, he is an excellent manager; and his enormous business is carried on with comparative smoothness and ease. He employs a large number of men in his busi- ness, and is respected and liked by all. Mr. Guffey is an ardent Democrat, and takes an
active part in local politics, both from prin- ciple and for recreation.
AMES MACLEAN SHIELDS,* attor- ney and counsellor at law, of Pitts- burg, was born in this city, son of William and Susanna J. (Maclean) Shields. His paternal grandfather was Peter Shields, who came from the eastern part of the State, and was one of the early settlers at Shields Mills. A millwright and surveyor, he owned and operated a grist-mill and a saw- mill on Raccoon Creek, Beaver County.
His son, William Shields, father of Mr. James M. Shields, was born in September, 1823. He grew up on the home farm, and re- mained there until he was twenty years of age, when he entered the law office of Thomas Melton, acting as clerk and reading law with him. He was admitted to the bar, and then remained in the office of Mr. Melton until the latter was elected to the bench. Mr. Shields was an active and honored member of the Pennsylvania bar, and was a gallant soldier in the war for the Union, being at first in the Second West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and afterward, on account of inability to en- dure the marches, being transferred to the artillery.
William Shields's wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was born in Pittsburg, on the corner of Sixth Street and Pennsyl- vania Avenue, about where Duquesne Theo- logical University now stands. Her father, James Maclean, was of that Scotch-Irish an- cestry from which so many of the citizens of Western Pennsylvania are descended. He was born in County Donegal, Ireland, and, as a young man, came to Philadelphia, where he married Sarah McLain. They drove in wagons across the mountains on their wedding
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journey, intending to go to Kentucky, but, on account of the low stage of the water, remain- ing here. They arrived about 1819; and Mr. Maclean engaged in business, becoming a prominent man, and doing a large wholesale and retail business. For the purpose of sup- plying the canal workmen he moved to the corner of Eleventh and Penn Streets, buying the only brick house there, which was then outside the city limits. He retired from busi- ness some ten years before his death, which occurred in September, 1854, he being then in his fifty-ninth year. Mr. Maclean was one of the School Directors, and was active in all the affairs of the old borough, and also of the city after the borough was admitted. He was a devoted member of the United Presbyterian church. His wife lived until 1873 on the old homestead. Susanna J. Maclean lived at home with her parents until her marriage with Mr. Shields. She is a devoted member of the United Presbyterian church, and is a woman of great strength of character.
. Mr. James Maclean Shields is an only child. He received his early education in the public schools of Pittsburg and in the Central High School, and later, on account of not being strong, took private lessons, and pre- pared for preliminary examinations for the bar. He then entered the office of Robb & McClung, the latter being now Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and February I, 1879, began reading -law with Bruce & Negley, and with W. K. Jennings, whose office was adjoining. In March, 1882, he was admitted to the bar by examination at court, and re- mained in the same office for a year, practis- ing law for himself. At the end of that time was formed the partnership of Bruce, Negley & Shields, which continued until 1887, when; Major Negley retired. From that date until 1893 the firm was Bruce & Shields, and since
1893 Mr. Shields has been alone. His prac- tice is confined to civil cases, and he has made a special study of municipal law. At the present time Mr. Shields is attorney for the Citizens' Municipal League of Pittsburg. He was one of the first dozen members who organized the league for the purpose of oppos- ing corrupt politics. The other gentlemen were George W. Gutline, David D. Bruce, Otto Herron, Oliver Mcclintock, George K. Stevenson, A. P. Burchfield, W. A. Blake, R. A. Stevenson, George B. Logan, and E. H. Dermitt. From this small beginning the organization has increased to a body of nineteen hundred members, and wields a powerful and purifying influence on the poli- tics of the city. . Mr. Shields was also attor- ney in the Lexow Commission of Pennsyl- vania, his associate being Mr. J. M. Stoner. He is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, an exclusive society of attorneys, and charter member of the Pennsylvania State Bar Association, one of the leading associa- tions of the State. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Phoenix Glass Com- pany, and is interested in different manufact- uring and corporative concerns. In politics Mr. Shields is a Republican, fully believing in Republican principles; and he has often been a speaker in behalf of reform movements. He has been a member of the Y. M. C. A. since 1878, and is still an active worker in that society.
Mr. Shields's wife was before marriage Miss Fannie W. Dicken, of Pittsburg. She is the mother of two children - Harold M. and Edwin Bruce. In religious views Mr. Shields is Presbyterian; and he is a member of East Liberty Church, in which he was for some time connected with Sunday-school work. In 1893 he bought a beautiful resi- dence at the East End of Pittsburg. He has
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a remarkably fine library, containing not only many tomes of law works, but books on science, literature, and art.
OHN E. COOK, of Pittsburg, Pa., superintendent of the South Side Hos- pital and secretary of its Board of Di- rectors, and cashier of the South Side Gas Company, was born at Cleveland, Ohio, in January, 1850. He is a son of the late Rev. Charles G. and Catherine (Fox) Cook.
The family is of German origin, and the surname was originally spelled Koch. The grandfather of Mr. John E. Cook was John G., who was a German Lutheran. He came to America, and settled in this county at Deer Creek, on the West Penn Railroad, where he had a large farm. Grandfather Cook was a man of great musical ability. He had been a church organist before leaving Germany; and he brought with him a piano, the first in the locality where he made his new home. He was in good circumstances, and his children were well educated. He had a family of five sons and one daughter, the latest survivor being Charles G., who died at his residence in Cleveland, August 1, 1897.
Charles G. Cook was born in Mülhausen, Prussia, February 1, 1817. Soon after arriv- ing in this country, he left his father's farm, and learned the trade of wagon-maker, in the meantime beginning to study for the ministry. He was subsequently ordained as a minister of the Evangelical Association, and was sent to the central part of the State. He was soon appointed an itinerant missionary to the Western Territories, now States, and rode over a circuit on horseback, going through parts of Iowa and Illinois, Minnesota, and the adjoining territories, and seeing much of the roughness of early pioneer life. He eventu-
ally settled at Cleveland, Ohio, and became editor of the organ of the Evangelical Associ- ation, Der Botschafter (The Messenger), which was printed in both English and German. He founded the paper, and was most success- ful in building up its circulation and in mak- ing it a valuable help in the denomination. The close confinement, however, caused his health to break down; and he was obliged to withdraw from editorial work. He went on to a farm in Illinois, where he remained for two years, and at the end of that time again went into the ministry. He preached until a few years ago, when he retired and passed his remaining years at Cleveland. Active in all departments of the church work, an easy, forceful, and prolific writer, he was one of the strong men of the denomination; and but for poor health he would have been made a bishop.
Some time prior to 1850 he married Cather- ine, daughter of Jacob Fox, an emigrant of German and French parentage, who came from Alsace-Lorraine when his daughter was a small girl, and settled in this county. Mrs. Catherine F. Cook, who died November 29, 1893, of la grippe, was descended also from old General Metzgar, a noted general of Ger- many and of Holland, who died at Breda, France, leaving property valued at millions of dollars. His will was concealed by the mayor of the town, and was lost sight of for over a hundred years. It is now impossible to recover the property. Charles G. Cook and his wife, Catherine, had a family of eight children, of whom four are living, namely : Priscilla M .; John E. ; Charles A., who is an extensive real estate owner and dealer: and Theodore W., a banker of Cleveland.
John E. Cook received a good public-school training in Cleveland, and after leaving school studied nights, and made himself a classical
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scholar. He later entered Smith's College at. Pittsburg, and there obtained his first knowl- edge of business methods. After leaving the college he became assistant book-keeper for Hahn & Hadley, wholesale and retail grocers of Allegheny, and was in their employ for two years. He then became book-keeper for Parker & Paul, lumber dealers, starting at a salary of ten dollars per week, and at the end of the twelve-month being paid at the rate of one thousand dollars a year. He was with this firm for two years, until the withdrawal of Mr. Parker, and then went into partnership with Messrs. Miller & Paul, under the name of Paul, Miller & Co. This was six months before Mr. Cook's twenty-first birthday.
After a time Mr. Miller withdrew, and the firm became Paul & Cook. They bought prop- erty at the foot of Forty-fifth Street on the Allegheny Valley Railroad, and had a lumber yard and planing-mill, and built a new plant, Mr. Cook having charge of the office, books, and finances. At the end of two years, and just prior to the panic of 1873, Mr. Cook was persuaded to form a partnership with Mr. L. Walter, one of the most prominent lumber men of Allegheny. Mr. Cook bought the trees, manufactured lumber, and shipped it to Pittsburg, until the business was closed out in 1874. He then renewed his association with Mr. Paul, doing business under the name of Paul, Cook & Co., and was a member of that firm until 1877, when the business was closed for good. Mr. Cook next went into business with Mr. G. A. Mundorff, who had one of the largest lumber trades on the South Side, and who was an uncle of Mrs. Cook. Four years later Mr. Cook received an offer from Wood, Perry & Co., of Cleveland, asking him to take charge of their city business. He went to Cleveland, and was there for four years, when he was obliged to return to Pittsburg on ac-
count of his health. He was again associated with Mr. Mundorff until 1887, since which time he has been with the South Side Gas Company, in charge of the office and as cashier.
Mr. Cook has always been interested in the study of medicine, and his sympathy with this profession has led him to take great interest in bospital work. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the South Side Hos- pital for five years, also its secretary; and in 1896 he was appointed acting superintendent. So satisfactory was his management that he was subsequently elected superintendent. The South Side Hospital is one of the largest and best appointed in the county, and has a monthly average of from forty to sixty pa- tients. Mr. Cook has an assistant, but upon himself devolves the entire responsibility of the management; and he regulates the policy and methods of the institution as well as the finances.
Mr. Cook has never been active in politics, but has taken great interest in the Junior A. O. U. M., and has been a member and sec- retary of the Advisory Association, and has represented his council in the State Council. It was due to the efforts of the Advisory Asso- ciation at the time Mr. Cook was its secre- tary that Colonel William A. Stone was in- duced to put forward the emigration bill known as Stone's Bill. The compulsory ed- ucation bill was also among those put forward at this time. Mr. Cook is a devoted member of Walton Methodist Episcopal Church, and was for a number of years trustee of the so- ciety ; but stress of other business caused him to resign.
On April 12, 1877, Mr. Cook was united in marriage with Miss Nannie Ballard, of Punxsutawney, Pa., descendant of one of the old families, that of Jacob Hoover, who owned
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almost all of Punxsutawney, and is connected with Judge Mitchell's family. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have three children: Charles Ballard, now in the high school; Nellie Amy; and William E. Mr. Cook has made his home at the South Side, Pittsburg, for the past twelve years, and has been prominently connected with the business and social interests of the community. He is a member of the Board of Trade.
OSEPH W. JOHNSTON,* general passenger yard-master at the Union Station in the city of Pittsburg, was born March 5, 1854, in Wilkinsburg, Alle- gheny County, Pa., and is a son of George and Margaret (Elder) Johnston. His great-grand- father, John Johnston, was born in Scotland, and immigrated to America at an early age. He came across the mountains from New York, and, settling near what is now Wilkins- burg at a time when the country was very wild and Indians were still numerous, took up land, and cleared a large farm, part of which still remains in the possession of the Johnston family.
George Johnston, son of John, was born in Wilkinsburg, near Sandy Creek. In his younger manhood days he was an engineer on the "Albania," one of the first steamers to run to New Orleans. He returned to Wilkins- burg, and there spent the greater part of his active life as a farmer, his death occurring in 1887, at the age of eighty-nine years. He married Sarah Little, daughter of David Little, who was one of the early pioneers of Wilkinsburg, and who lived to the great age of ninety-nine. Of this union there were seven children - George, Robert, James, David, John, William, and Jonas R. Both the Johnston and the Little families of this period belonged to the Beulah Presbyterian
Church, of which they were among the earliest members.
George Johnston, Jr., eldest son of the pre- ceding, was born March 8, 1832, at Wilkins- burg, where he devoted his energies to farm- ing until his marriage, when he began to do business as a builder and contractor. After some years he went to work on the Pittsburg 'Railroad, with which he has been connected ever since, serving at present in the engineer corps at the Union Station. He married in February, 1852, Miss Elder, who was born in Youngstown, Westmoreland County, in 1831, daughter of Robert Elder, one of the early pioneers of the county. They became the parents of seven children, namely: Charles L., a grocer at Edgewood; Joseph, subject of this sketch; Anna L., deceased; James, who died in infancy; Lydia L., who died at the age of thirty-two; Harvey G., who died at twenty-eight; and Margaret J., still living in Wilkinsburg. Mr. and Mrs. George Johnston are strongly interested in religious affairs, and are the oldest members of the Presby- terian Church of Wilkinsburg, there being but one other of the original members now living.
Joseph Johnston received his education in the common schools of Wilkinsburg and the academy in that town. In 1872, being at that time only eighteen years old, he went to work on the Pittsburg Railroad as a brakeman. He rapidly rose through various grades, and in 1878 was made assistant station master. In October, ISSo, he was promoted to night sta- tion master; and in 1893 he received the ap- pointment of general passenger yard-master, with one hundred and twenty men under his charge, and control of all the yards, at the Union Station in Pittsburg. He still retains this position, which is one of great responsi- bility. He has worked on the road nearly twenty-five years, having served through the
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riots of 1877, when law and order were so much endangered in Pittsburg, and has seen the many new life-saving inventions intro- duced, the old hand-brake having been super- seded by the Westinghouse, and the old-fash- ioned switch by the complicated pneumatic system of to-day.
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