USA > Pennsylvania > Dauphin County > Commemorative biographical encyclopedia of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania : containing sketches of prominent and representative citizens and many of the early Scotch-Irish and German settlers. Pt. 1 > Part 40
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95
- JONES, URIAH JAMES, was born at New Berlin, Union county, Pa., in 1818. He learned the art of printing at New Berlin, Lewisburg and Harrisburg. While a jour- neyman at the latter place he wrote and set up the novel of "Simon Girty, the Outlaw," a book which is now very rare. In 1845 Mr. Jones went to Hollidaysburg, where he was engaged with O. A. Traugh in the publica- tion of the Democratic Standard, and through its columns secured a national reputation for his witticisms. In 1850 he published the Keystone at Pittsburgh, but the paper proving unsuccessful he resumed his place on the Standard the year following. During 1855-56 he wrote and published a "History of the Juniata Valley," the first historical work which gave a full record of the pioneer life of that locality, much of which was gathered from the lips of early settlers or their children. In 1859 Mr. Jones went to Lancaster as editor of the Express, and in 1860 removed to Harrisburg, where he took a position on the Patriot and Union. At the same time he was a regular correspondent for New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh newspapers, and also a contributor of liter- ary articles and sketches to the magazines. It may be mentioned that in 1859 he pub- lished a pamphlet, "Advice to Travelers," which has furnished the material for several American guide-books. Mr. Jones was acci- dentally killed by the cars at the railroad
depot, Harrisburg, November 19, 1864. He married, in 1845, Margaret L. Traugh, of Hollidaysburg, who survived him.
ZIMMERMAN, GEORGE, son of Henry and Barbara (Greiner) Zimmerman, born Febru- ary 11, 1819, on the forty acre traet set apart from the original Greiner estate in Lower Swatara township, Dauphin county. He at- tended the old Neidich meeting-house school in Churchville as well as other schools in Highspire, where the distillery now is, then taught by Conrad Alleman. When he was five years old, his father purchased the Kerr estate, to which he removed with his family in the spring of 1825. His father died when he was but twenty years of age, and in 1842 he and his brother Henry farmed the home place as partners ; but in December, 1843, he married Barbara Stoner, daughter of Henry and Martha (Alleman) Stoner, and in the spring of 1844 they dissolved partner- ship, when he entered the lumber business in Highspire with Jacob Nissley.
After the death of his father-in-law in 1847 he purchased the properties of the Stoner estate in Highspire. In 1848 he sold his interest to his partner and entered a partnership with his brother Philip in Middletown at the "point." His wife died August 16, 1850, with whom he had four children : Henry, born December 29, 1841; Augustus and Joseph, twins, born July 29, 1846, the latter of whom died in infancy ; and Mary, born August 14, 184S.
In 1852 he married Miss Elizabeth Meck, of Perry county, with whom he had four children, born in Dauphin county, as fol- lows: Milton, Mareh 18, 1853, Simon, Octo- ber 18, 1853, Araminta, April 29, 1856, and Alice, February 1S, 1858. He continued with his brother in the lumber business, until the mill burned down, when in 1854. he began the brick business along the river above Highspire. In this business he suf- fered many reverses through the panic of 1857, but finally survived that great com- mercial depression. In the spring of 1859, attracted by the brilliant prospects of the then unsettled West, and also by the fact that his brothers Isaae and Simon, and his sisters Elizabeth and Mary, had migrated to Ohio, caused him to remove to that new country to try his fortune there. We here take leave of his various achievements by the simple statement that he has collected about him a beautiful tract of 320 aeres of
241
DAUPHIN COUNTY.
very fertile land, near Springfield, Ohio, and has ereeted thereon a fine brick mansion, large eastern style barns, and commodious ont-buildings. Having gotten his experience by battling with the stern realities of life, his nature partook of his surroundings, and he was very naturally a matter-of-fact man ; life to him was a stern reality ; he viewed it in the light of his real experience and was devoid of anything that partook of the nature of shams or conventionalism. He was very generous, but when a kindness .was bestowed, he was the first to forget it. He is a sineere Republican in polities, and a consistent member of the U. B. Church.
- SHAMMO, WILLIAM, son of John and Sarah (Reinoehl), Shammo was born March 13, 1819, at Halifax, Pa. He received the limited education afforded by the village school during the winter months, and from his early years assisted by hisfather, who was a merchant, thereby making himself familiar with mereantile transactions. He was en- gaged in business many years at Halifax and was successful in a marked degree. He was accepted as a safe counselor and sure finan- cial guide, and from the tiine of its organi- zation, in 1870, was eashier of the Halifax Bank. He served as a member of the bor- ough couneil and other positions of trust. . He died at Halifax, February 1-4, 1883, aged almost sixty-four years. He was a valuable citizen and highly esteemed in the commu- nity in which he lived. Mr. Shammo mar- ried, December 29, 1856, Catherine R., daugh- ter of John and Mary Beam, of Halifax, and their children were : Estelle, Byron A., Min- nie L., Carrie M., Rosabelle, Myra A., and Bertha A.
GEARY, GOV. JOHN WHITE, the son of Richard Geary and Margaret White, was born Deeember 30, 1819, near Mount Pleas- ant, Westmoreland county, Pa. The father was of Seoteh-Irish ancestry, a native of Franklin county, and a man of education, refined tastes and superior moral exeellenee. His mother was born in Washington county, Md. They removed to Westmoreland county soon after their marriage, where Richard Geary engaged at first in the man- ufaeture of iron, which, proving unsueeessful, he resorted to teaching, a profession he pur- sued the remainder of his life.
For a time his thoughts turned to eom- mereial pursuits, but convineed by a short
experience in a wholesale house in Pitts- burgh that this would not prove to him a satisfactory sphere of life, he yielded to his natural predileetions for mathematics, and applied himself to the study of civil engi- neering. Having mastered the principles of that profession, he commenced the study of Jaw, in the belief that it would increase the ehanees of a successful career, and was ad- mitted to the bar, though intending to adopt engineering as his fixed vocation. With this end in view he went to Kentucky, where he was engaged, partly in the employ of the Commonwealth and partly in that of the Green River Railroad Company, to make a survey of several important lines of public works.
His sueeess in the Southwest opened the way to advancement in his native State, and he soon after became assistant superintendent and engineer of the Allegheny Portage rail- road. While occupied with the duties of this position, in the month of May, 1846, President Polk sent a message to Congress, informing that body that " war existed with this country by the act of Mexico," and ask- ing for men and money to enable him to maintain the rights and vindicate the honor of the Government. The burst of enthusi- asm was instantaneous and general, and Geary was among the first who responded to the eall for volunteers, in a short time raising a company in Cambria county, to which he gave the name of American High- landers. At Pittsburgh his command was incorporated with the Seeoud Pennsylvania regiment, commanded by Colonel Roberts, of which he was immediately clected lieuten- ant colonel. The regiment joined the army of General Scott at Vera Cruz, and served with conspicuous gallantry in Quitman's division during the memorable advance upon the Mexican eapital. Lieutenant Col- onel Geary's first experience of actual war was iu the partial though spirited action of the Pass of La Hoya. In the storming of Chapultepec he was wounded, and in the assault upon the immediate defenses of the eity, at the Garita de Belen, he again led his regiment with so much judgment, coolness, and intrepidity that upon the capture he was assigned to the command of the great citadel, as a mark of Quitman's appreciation of his services. From the time when the army entered the valley of Mexico Colonel Roberts was disqualified for duty by sick- ness and the command of the regiment de-
242
BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
volved upon the lieutenant colonel. Shortly after the surrender of the capital Colonel Roberts died and Lieutenant Colonel Geary was cleeted to sueceed him.
On January 22, 1849, President Polk, in grateful recognition of his services in the Mexican war, appointed Colonel Geary post- master of San Francisco and mail agent for the Pacific Coast, with authority to create post-offices, appoint postmasters, establish mail routes, and make contraets for carrying the mails throughout California. Having received his commission on February 1, in company with his wife and child, sailed from New York for the Pacific Coast. On April 1 he landed safely at San Francisco, and entered at once upon the discharge of his duties. For a time he was obliged to content himself with the rudest accommodations, and to perform his work under many disadvan- tages. But here, as in all previous situations, his methodical turn and practical tact soon enabled him to improvise all needful facili- ties, and brought the labors of the office under an easy and expeditious manage- ment.
The intelligent and obliging dispatch with which Colonel Geary had discharged his duties as postmaster and mail agent so won the confidence and esteem of the people of San Franciseo, that when the time arrived for the election of town officers he was unan- innously chosen first alcalde, though there were ten different tickets submitted to the choice of the voters. Shortly afterwards this mark of appreciation on the part of the citizens was followed by another equally flattering on the part of the military gover- nor of the Territory, Brigadier General Riley, who appointed him judge of first in- stance. These offices were of Mexican ori-
gin, and they imposed onerous and import- ant duties. The alcalde was sheriff, probate judge, reeorder, notary public and coroner. The court of first instance exercised both civil and criminal jurisdiction throughout the city, and besides this adjudicated all those cases arising under the port regula- tions which usually fall within the cogni- zance of courts of admiralty. At the close of liis first term he was re-cleeted, receiving all but four votes of the whole number cast, and continued in offiee until the Mexi- can institutions were superseded by the American forms of municipal government.
In a vote upon the first city charter and for offieers to serve thereunder, May 1, 1850,
Judge Geary was elected first mayor of San Francisco by a large majority. As mayor he rendered valuable service in perfecting the municipal organization, in restraining the tendency to extravagant expenditure of the public funds, sustaining the city's credit by judicious management of its finances, and by an honest disposal of the public property saved to the corporation many millions of dollars.
Owing to the failing health of his wife, Colonel Geary, on February 1, 1852, sailed from San Francisco, intending to go back and remain permanently in California, but the death of the former and other circum- stances unforeseen caused him to change his purpose, and gave a new direction to his whole course of life .. After having spent about three years in retirement, and had in a measure brought the condition of his farm into conformity with his own ideal of what such an estate should be, President Pierce invited bim to Washington for the purpose of tendering to him the governorship of Utah, which, after due acknowledgement of the compliment, he respectfully declined.
Not the government of Utah but of Kan- sas was the great problem of Mr. Pierce's ad- ministration. A bloody civil strife was being waged in that Territory, and the political state of the whole country was convulsed on the subject of its affairs. One governor had been removed for refusing to conform strictly to the Federal policy in regard to slavery, and another was preparing to flee from the Territory through fear of assassination. In view of the pressing exigency, the thoughts of the President reverted to Colonel Geary, and after consultation in July he was ap- pointed governor of Kansas, and proceeded immediately to his new field of labor, ar- riving at Fort Leavenworth on September 9, 1856. His administration extended only from that date to March, 1857.
Governor Geary was at his farm in West- moreland when the sound of the Rebellion's first gun broke upon the ear of the Nation. Early on the morning following the event- ful day he drove his farm wagon to the neighboring village, and there first heard the news of the assault upon Fort Sumter. In less than an hour after reading the telegram he had opened an office for the enlistment of volunteers. As soon as he could com- municate with the President he tendered his serviees, and was immediately commis- sioned colonel, with authority to raise a regi-
4
1
1
243
DAUPHIN COUNTY.
ment for the defense of the Union. In the course of a few weeks he received applica- tions from sixty-six companies, soliciting permission to join his command. On ac- count of the numerous and urgent appeals he was permitted to increase his regiment to sixteen companies, with one battery of six guns, making the full complement to con- sist of fifteen hundred and fifty-one officers and men. The artillery company was that which subsequently bceame so celebrated as Knapp's battery.
Colonel Goary, on the Sth of March, 1862, captured Leesburg, and led the van of the column which subsequently obliged the Con- federate forces to evacuate all the towns north of the Rappahannock, and abandon their strongholds at Snicker's, Ashby's, Man- assas and Chester Gaps, in the Blue moun- tains. These operations were effected while "Stonewall" Jackson was within striking distance near Winchester; and for his share in them Colonel Geary was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, his commission bearing date of April 25, 1862. On the 9th of August, Banks' troops had a severe en- gagement with Stonewall Jackson's at Cedar mountain. The day was oppressively hot, and the Union troops suffered much from exhaustion, but still more from the fierce and well-directed assaults of that great com- mander. General Geary was wounded slightly in the left foot, and severely in the right arm. The battle was gallantly con- tested, but the results were adverse to the Union arms. The wound in the arm proved so serious that, to save the limb from ampu- tation, he was ordered home for treatment. Subsequently General Geary was promoted to the command of the Second division of the Twelfthi corps. At Chancellorsville General Geary was wounded in the breast by a fragment of shell. At the battle of Gettysburg the troops of Geary's division were among the first of the corps to arrive at the scene of action. On the 1st, General Geary suggesting the importance of possess- ing Round Top, was directed to occupy it with a portion of his command. Early on the morning of the 2d he was ordered to Culp's Hill, the extreme riglit of the Union line, with instructions to hold his position at every hazard. During the afternoon of that day he was remanded in the direction of Round Top, with a part of his division, to strengthen the left eenter of Meade's line, which, being hard pressed, was in danger of
giving way. As soon as the relief he brought could be spared, he hastened baek to Culp's Hill, and on his arrival, at about nine o'clock at night, he found that in his absence the enemy had carried a part of his line, and flanked the position which he had received orders to hold. Suitable dispositions were made during the night to meet the emer- gency, and at three o'clock on the morning of the 3d, placing himself at the head of his division, he charged the enemy, recovered the ground that had been lost, hastily strengthened his line of breastworks, and waited the return of Ewell's veterans. The maintenance of the position was of the ut- most moment, for it commanded the Balti- miore turnpike, on which the supply and ammunition trains of the army were parked, and had it been lost, these would have been captured, the rear of Meade's center would have been gained, and general defeat must have inevitably followed. Hence the furious assaults that were made upon it with the hope of seizing the last chance of victory. During seven hours the enemy shelled Geary's lines almost incessantly, and under cover of his batteries made repeated attempts to carry the hill at the point of the bayonet.
After Gettysburg came Chickamauga. The defeat of Rosecranz in that battle made it necessary to reinforce the Army of the Cum- berland, and for that purpose the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, under General Hooker, were detached from the Army of the Poto- mae. Geary's division went with the Twelfth Corps. Besides these troops others were bur- ried forward to the scene of the late disaster, and Grant, having laid Vicksburg in the dust and reopened the Mississippi, now, by order of the President, hastened to the moun- tains of the Tennessee and assumed com- mand. He immediately initiated a series of movements designed to dislodge Bragg from the formidable position which he had gained. In pursuance of his masterly plan a battle was fouglit at Wauhatehie on October 28, 1863 ; another at Lookout mountain on No- vember 24; one at Mission Ridge on Novem- ber 25, and a fourth on November 27 at Ring- gold, in the State of Georgia. These battles, fought and won in rapid succession, were the principal achievements of Grant's Chatta- nooga campaign, in the course of which the disasters of Chickamauga were gloriously re- trieved, and Bragg, hurled from heights which he had deemed inaccessible, was driven across the Tennessee line.
244
BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
In the spring of 1864 the Army of the South west was reorganized, and Grant hav- ing been invested with the rank of lieuten- ant general and appointed commander-in- chief, Sherman assumed command of all the forces designed to operate in the Southwest- ern and Southern States. Among other changes which he ordered, the Eleventh Corps (Howard's) and the Twelfth (Slocum's) were consolidated, becoming in this form the Twentieth Corps, with General Hooker in command. General Geary was continued at the head of his old division, with the addi- tion of a brigade from the Eleventh Corps. The two great campaigns of this memorable year were opened on the same day. On May 4 Grant moved from the Rapidan to encoun- ter Lee, and Sherman from Chattanooga to encounter Johnston. Sherman's army was complete in all its appointments, and about seventy thousand strong. The events that followed can but briefly be referred to here. At the head of the division to which he was endeared and which was endeared to him by so long a companionship in perils, hardships, sacrifices and sufferings, Geary participated in the battles of Mill Creek, May S; Resaca, May 15; New Hope Church, commencing May 26 and continuing with but little intermis- sion eight consecutive days; Pine Hill, June 15; Muddy Creek, June 17; Noses Creek, June 19; Kolb's Farm, June 22; Kenesaw, June 27; Marietta, July 3; Peach-Tree Creek, July 20, and the siege of Atlanta, last- ing twenty-eight days and ending in the cap- ture of the city on September 2. To use General Geary's own language, "The cam- paign from the opening till the fall of Atlanta was really a hundred days' fight, and may be termed a continuous battle, crowned with constant victory."
When, in the spring of 1866, the Repub- lican leaders began to consider the important question of selecting a candidate for the chief magistracy of the State, it soon became ap- parent that the name of General Geary was everywhere received with favor. His ripe experience in the conduet of civil affairs and his distinguished services in the field com- mended him alike to the gratitude of the popular heart and the sanction of the popular judgment. After a very spirited canvass he was elected over his competitor, Hiester Cly- mer, by a majority of over seventeen thou- sand votes, and was inaugurated on January 15, 1867.
Governor Geary was elected to a second
term, which he filled with acknowledged ability. A few weeks after his successor in office was inaugurated he died suddenly while sitting at the breakfast table. The entire city and State were shocked by the unexpected event. The Legislature, then in session, at once adopted measures for the funeral obsequies at the State's expense. To no former executive had ever such a distinc- tion been accorded, and every respect that could be shown was paid to his memory. He was buried at Harrisburg, and over his grave the State he loved so well and served so faithfully erected a monument of bronze creditable to the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Governor Geary married, on the 12th of February, 1843, Margaret Ann Logan, daughter of James R. Logan, of Westmore- land county. Three sons were the issue of this marriage, one of whom died in infancy, another, Edward R., killed in the battle of Wauhatchie, and the other, William, a graduate of West Point and lieutenant in the United States army. Mrs. Gcary died on the 28th of February, 1853, and in November, 1858, Governor Geary was mar- ried to Mrs. Mary C. Henderson, daughter of Robert R. Church, of Cumberland county. After Governor Geary's death his widow married Dr. H. Earnest Goodman, of Phila- delphia.
WILLIAMS, EDWARD CHARLES, son of Charles and Rebecca (Adams) Williams, was born February 10, 1820, in the city of Phila- delphia. His father was a native of Philadel- phia ; his mother, of Mount Holly, N. J., of Scotch parentage. The son was educated in the public schools of his native city, then or- ganized under the old Lancasterian system. He learned the trade of a bookbinder with Jacob Snyder, completing it with Robert P. Desilver. He shortly after came to Harris- burg, where he established himself in busi- ness, firm of Clyde & Williams, book binders and stationers. For several years they did the State binding and also published several im- portant works. In December, 1846, upon the call for volunteers for the war with Mex- ico, Mr. Williams raised a company called the Cameron Guards, which were accepted and formed a part of the Second Pennsyl- vania regiment. Previous to going to Mex- ico he had been connected several years with the old Dauphin Guards, one of the finest military organizations in the State, and was
----------
2
245
DAUPHIN COUNTY.
in service during the Philadelphia riots of 1844. Upon Captain Williams' return from Mexico he was elected as an Independent, in 1850, to the office of sheriff of Dauphin county, serving the full term. When the Rebellion broke out and a demand was made for more troops, Governor Curtin sent for General Williams, who had been commissioned sev- eral years prior brigadier general of the Dauphin county militia, and at once di- rected the organization of Camp Curtin, full particulars of which will be found , in "Dauphin County in the War for the Union." General Williams had the honor of being the first volunteer mustered into the service for the defense of the Union. After organizing Camp Curtin, he organized Camp Slifer, at Chambersburg. He commanded a brigade during the three months' service, was with Patterson in the Shenandoah, and subse- quently mustered out at Washington city. He was then appointed by President Lin- coln, through Secretary of War Cameron, colonel of the Lochiel cavalry, dirceted to raise twenty-four companies of that branch of the service, which he accomplished in a very short time. It was difficult to handle three battalions of raw cavalry, but by hard work General Williams got his command into splendid discipline and drill. He went into camp at Jeffersonville, Ind., where he exchanged his Pennsylvania horses for good Kentucky stock. After inspection by Gen- eral Buford, he was ordered to the front un- der General Buell. On reaching Green river, and when ready to cross the stream, General Williams was directed to take the advance, but the same evening the news of the eapture of Fort Donelson obviating that movement, he was ordered back, and his command cut up and distributed over Kentucky and Ten- nessec. His own regiment, the Ninth cavalry, became very popular in that seetion with all classes of people, owing to their good disci- pline and behavior.
General Williams was at Henderson with his regiment when Buell and Bragg made their march into Kentucky, was ordered to Louisville without delay, and from thence to Crab Orchard, where he prevented Kirby Smith's cavalry from entering Kentucky at that point. His services in that campaign were indeed arduous. Owing, however, to a question of rank, in which not only he but the other officers in the volunteer service were eoncerned, he pre-emptorily resigned and returned to Pennsylvania. He was
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.