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 69
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JENNINGS, WILLIAM WESLEY, late presi- dent of the First National Bank of Harris- burg, was born July 22, 1838, at Harrisburg, Pa. He was a son of William and Elmina Elizabeth (Boas). Jennings. His grand- father, Capt. William Jennings, commanded a company raised by himself for the war of 1812, in the Juniata Valley; but his sudden death prevented any extended service with the company. His father eame to Harris- burg about 1824, established a foundry, and was successful in business. Previous to his marriage to Miss Elmina E. Boas he had learned the carriage-maker's trade.
William Wesley was educated in the
public schools of Harrisburg. At the age of fifteen years he went to work in his father's foundry and learned the trade of moulder, and was engaged in this occupa- tion for a number of years. In 1860 he en- gaged in the iron business, and conducted it successfully for fifteen years. During the war of the Rebellion he responded to the eall of the country for defenders. He raised and commanded the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh regiment, Pennsylvania vol- unteers, a nine months' regiment, and was in several important battles, among which were Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. In the Gettysburg campaign Colonel Jen- nings commanded the Twenty-sixth regi- ment, Pennsylvania militia. After he was mustered out of service he was made lieuten- ant of the Loehiel Grays. He. served two terms as sheriff of Dauphin eounty, from 1864 to 1866 and from 1876 to 1879. He was ac- tive in the organization of the first Board of Trade, and was its first president. He was the president of the Commonwealth Guar- antec Trust and Safe Deposit Company. I 1880 he was elected president of the First National Bank of Harrisburg, and filled the position with credit until his death, which oceurred suddenly February 28, 1894. Ile was also president of the Harrisburg Steam Heating Company, a director of the Cum- berland Valley railroad and several other corporations. He was a member of Robert Burns Lodge of Masons, of Pilgrim Com- mandery, Knights Templars, and of the Citizen Fire Company.
A man like William W. Jennings, from his strong eapabilities and foree of character, naturally occupies a foremost place among men. Seareely of age when he wore the colonel's cagles as commander of the famous One Hundred and Twenty-seventh regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers, and withstood the shoek of the rebel forees at the disastrous battle of Fredericksburg, an oceasion on which his bravery was marked and his valor the subject of special commendation on the part of the general in command, he early showed the characteristies of a leader, and sueh he was to the day of his death. Ile was a man among men-and men loved him because he was broad-minded, liberal in his views, a careful methodical man, a deep thinker, and a friend at all times when a friend was needed. Summed up in the words of those who knew him, " We found him a large-hearted, generous man, and a
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staunch friend of his friends." He had no petty traits of character that come from a narrow mind-he was open-hearted and open-handed, and many mourn the sudden taking off of one whose entire life had been parallel with that of the city's progress and the prosperity of her citizens. In all that went to make up the useful citizen he was largely endowed. Ile assisted in the city's development and worked to foster new en- terprises and to push to completion his ideal of the prosperous community. He never lagged behind in the furtherance of that which would benefit his fellow-man and his city. His hand was ever open, and the genial, cheery, loving and lovable man is sadly missed in the various interests bene- ficial to all in which he was concerned. A. hater of wrong and oppression, he was quick to voice his sentiments, and he was brave to baek them up. On the memorable night of July 23, 1877, when an armed mob had taken possession of Harrisburg and the city was demoralized, Colonel Jennings sum- moned a posse and by his own personal dar- ing and fearlessness set an example that simply inspired men and led to a repression of the riotous element and the restoration of order. So was he brave in all things. He was quick to resent a wrong on the weak, and courageous in battling for the oppressed. Colonel Jennings was foremost in giving when a cry went up from the needy, and while his public acts of charity were cqual to those of any of his fellow-citizens, no man knows, nor will ever know, how fre- quently his broad private charity was exer- eised, nor how often he aided the distressed -- not only those who were poor, but those who were threatened with ruin at critical periods of business depression. As a finan- cier he stood without a superior in the State; as a soldier, he was brave and gallant ; as a public official, he did his duty with credit and honor; as a citizen, he was for his city in all that was good; as a man, he was one to love and one whose acquaintance was a pleasure and a joy; as a husband and father, he was kind, loving and gentle; as a Chris- tian and a believer in the faith, he went to that reward oft promised to him who doeth his Master's work.
His kindly, generous nature had a great attraction for young men, and scarcely a youth of the city but enjoyed his aequaint- ance. He took an interest in them, furthered their plans, gave them wise advice, and as-
sisted them when business opportunity pre- sented. Naturally the young men of the eity were his friends, and they looked upon him as a benefactor. Many a man now prosperous owes his start in life and his suc- cess to Colonel Jennings. In his youth he was a member of the Grace Methodist choir and took a great interest in musical affairs, assisting in organizing the Harmonie So- ciety, of which he was a member until its dissolution. A widow (who was Miss Emma VanHorn) and four children, Mary, William, Fanny, and Harry, mourn the death of one who was a fond husband and a loving, in- dulgent father.
-GORGAS, WILLIAM L., cashier of the Har- risburg National Bank and secretary and treasurer of the Harrisburg Trust Company, is worthy of mention and an extended notice along with the solid and able business men of the city. The position he holds and the aptitude he has displayed for its require- ments no less than his personal worth en- titles him to be classified with the leaders in business. He was born in Cumberland county, Pa., June 23, 1848. That there were men of character preceding him in his an- cestral line appears from a record made by his father, William R. Gorgas, who was born in Lower Allen township, Cumberland county, Pa. He was a farmer by occupa- tion, and was both prominent and popular. taking an active part in public matters and especially those of a political character. That he was a man of more than ordinary intelligence and ability is shown by the fact of his repeated elevations to important offices. As the candidate of the Democratic party of Cumberland county he was elected to both branches of the State Legislature, in which he served several terms with honor and distinction. He removed to Harrisburg in 1877 and there made his residence until his death, which occurred December 3, 1892. Mr. Gorgas was a member of the Seventh Day Baptist church, of Ephrata, Lancaster county, Pa.
William L. Gorgas was educated in the connnon schools and in the Cumberland Valley Institute, Mechanicsburg, Pa., and as the result of his educational course, was qualified for teaching, which occupation he followed for several years. Having some decided tastes for mechanical pursuits .he became an apprentice to the machinist's trade in the works at Mullen, Cumberland
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county. But after a time he decided upon another and different career, in 1869 accept- ing the position of teller in the Second Na- tional Bank, of Mechanicsburg, which place he filled until 1873, when he was appointed clerk in the Harrisburg National Bank. In 1892 he was elected cashier of the bank in which he had so efficiently served as clerk and he is still performing the duties of this responsible position. When the Harrisburg Trust Company was organized in 1893 he participated in its organization and was elected secretary and treasurer of the com- pany. He is also director of the Harrisburg Bridge Company and of the Harrisburg and Mechanicsburg Electric Railway Com- pany, as well as one of the organizers and the president of the Capital City Shoe Man- ufacturing Company, and is treasurer of the Harrisburg City Railway Company, treas- urer of the City Hospital and president of the Camp Hill Cemetery Company. Mr. Gorgas has been somewhat active and prom- inent in political matters in connection with the Democratic party. In 1890 he was the candidate of his party for Congress and al- though his opponent, John W. Rife, was a popular man, he ran ahead of his ticket over two thousand votes, though not quite enough to secure his election. Mr. Gorgas served five years as a member of select coun- eil and for three years was the president of that body. He is a member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery of the Masonic fraternity and for the past eight years has been district deputy grand master for Dauphin and a part of Northumberland counties, comprising eight lodges. He is also a charter member of the Knights of IIonor. Mr. Gorgas is interested in histor- ical matters and holds membership in the Dauphin County Historical Society and the Pennsylvania German Society.
SOIN, DANIEL W., cashier of Merchants' National Bank and treasurer of the Central Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Com- pany, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., September 7, 1852; son of Francis S. and Mary (Snyder) Sohn. He was reared in Lancaster county, and received his educa- tion in the public schools. After an appren- ticeship of three years and eight months at the printer's trade in the office of the Mt. Joy Herald, he came to Harrisburg in 1871, and was employed in the State printing office for about twelve years. On August
12, 1883, he entered the Farmers' Bank as messenger, where he remained until the or- ganization of the Merchants' National Bank, of which he became the teller, and served until July, 1892, when he was elected cashier of the bank, and has held the po- sition since that date. When the Trust Company was organized he became one of the stockholders, and has been the treasurer of the company since its inception. In his political views Mr. Sohn is a Republican. He is a member of Dauphin Lodge, No. 160, I. O. O. F., and of Dauphin Encampment, No. 10. Mr. Solin was married, January 18, 1890, to Miss Kate J. Robison, daughter of John J. Robison, of Lewistown, Pa., to whom has been born one son, Walter R. Mr. Sohn is a member of the Westminster Presbyterian church.
. BAILEY, EDWARD, the son of Charles L. and Emma Il. Bailey, was born in Harris- burg, October 19, 1861. He was educated at the ITill school, Pottstown, Pa., Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College. IIe grad- uated in 1881, returning to take a post-grad- uate course in chemistry. In January, 1SS2, he entered business as a clerk in the firm of Charles L. Bailey & Co., owners of the Chesa- peake Nail Works. In 1886 he was admitted as a partner, and in 1889, when the business was incorporated under the name of Charles L. Bailey & Son, he became the vice-presi- dent. In the same year he was elected vice- president of the Central Iron Works. He continued actively engaged in the business of both companies until 1892, when he was elected president of the Harrisburg National Bank. Mr. Bailey, as president of this in- stitution, was largely instrumental in organ- izing the Harrisburg Trust Company and became its president. Mr. Bailey has been energetic in building up the industries of Harrisburg and has taken an active part in everything which would tend to improve his native place.
Besides the positions of president of the Harrisburg National Bank and Harrisburg Trust Company he still retains his old con- nection with Charles L. Bailey & Son and the Central Iron Works, acting as vice-presi- dent of both. He is president of the Har- risburg Preserving Company, a partner in the insurance firm of Hammond & Bailey, a director in the Harrisburg Traction Com- pany, East Harrisburg Passenger Railway
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Company, Harrisburg City Passenger Rail- 16, 1826, at his residence near York, Eng- way Company, Harrisburg Boot and Shoe. Company, limited, Harrisburg Grocery & Pro- duce Company, Union Trust Company of Philadelphia and the Cumberland Steel Plate Company of Cumberland, Md. Mr. Bailey was instrumental in organizing the Harrisburg Club, became its second treasurer and for a number of years served on its board of governors. He is an original member of the Inglenook Club of Harrisburg, the Man- ufacturers' Club of Philadelphia and the American Institute of Mining Engineers. In politics Mr. Bailey, while not taking any active part, is an enthusiastic Republican.
In 1889 he married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Dr. George W. Reily. They have one daughter. Mr. Bailey and his wife are both Presbyterians and members of the Mar- ket Square Presbyterian church.
-MCCLURE, JONATHAN, was one of the firstjus- tices of the county of Dauphin. He was the son of Richard McClure, born about 1745 in Paxtang township, Lancaster, now Dauphin county. Ile was one of Joseph Hutchinson's pupils, received a good English education, and was brought up to mercantile pursuits. When the war of the Revolution needed his support he became a lieutenant in Capt. John Rutherford's company and did valiant ser- vice during the New Jersey campaign of 1776, and thai around Philadelphia the year following. Toward the close of the war he commanded a company of militia raised in Paxtang for the defense of the frontiers. He was commissioned by the Supreme Execu- tive Council a justice of the peace Septem- ber 8, 1784, and on the 17th of November following one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas. When the county of Dau- phin was organized the spring following he came to be one of the first judges of the courts. He died at Middletown on Wednes- day, December 11, 1799, aged about fifty- four years. Of the three persons who illu- mined the judicial bench one hundred years ago, Judge McClure was the most intelli- gent. Ile was one of the men of mark of this locality, and it is proper that his memory, with those of the other two worthies, his colleagues, be preserved.
MURRAY, LINDLEY, son of Robert Murray and his wife Mary Lindley, was born in 1745 on the banks of the Swatara, in Lancaster, now Dauphin county, Pa .; died February
land. He received a good education, but having a dislike to mercantile pursuits, studied law, and was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one. The year after he married. ITis limited practice was tempo- rarily interrupted by a visit to England, whither his father had preceded him in hope of benefitting his health. He returned to New York in 1771, and renewed the practice of law with marked success; tiring of it, how- ever, when the Revolution broke out and New York was occupied by the British army, or hav- ing no sympathy with the cause of independ- ence, he removed to Islip, on Long Island, and entered a mercantile life. We have always given Lindley Murray credit for his religious principles as having precluded him from taking part in the struggle between the Col- onies and the mother country, but in a letter in our possession, written by William Darby to his friend, Mrs. Anna Dixon, the true in- centive is, perhaps, given. Mr. Darby was well acquainted with the men of his time- he was intimate with the patriots of the Rev olution, and learned much of the inward his- tory of the people, concerning whom, it is to be regretted, he did not give his reminis- cences. William Darby was born in the same neighborhood and was intimate with the Dixons and Roans, to the former of whom Murray was related, and through them learned more of him than biographers choose to tell. In the success and greatness of a man, we too often lose sight of the grave errors into which he may have fallen. But. we are loath to dispel the bright halo which glimmers around the life of the celebrated grammarian. Sabine classes him among the Loyalists of the Revolution, and Darby, in contrasting him with his cousin, Robert Dixon, whose blood was the first Pennsylva- nia offering to the cause of independence, speaks of Murray's taking sides with the enemies of his country. This we can casily understand. Surrounded by his religious friends whose peace principles would not allow them to take up arms-although many hundreds did, who were subsequently dis- owned for it-and in a city occupied by the king's troops, he himself says he had little faith in the successful resistance of the Colo- nies. It was thusthe beccam a Loyalist. His father's business and his own thrived, and the rule of England was sufficient for him. We venture the opinion that there were really few instances where religious principles made
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men Tories. Mercenary motives were gen- erally at the bottom of it. It is to be regretted that Lindley Murray's silent influence should have been on the side of British oppression and tyranny. At the close of the war he had amassed a fortune, and, when peace had dawned, he sailed away from the land of his nativity and the home of liberty. His at- tachment to the home of his fathers, he said, "was founded on many pleasing associations. In particular, I had strong prepossessions in favor of a residence in England, because I was ever partial to its political constitution and the mildness and wisdom of its general laws. . . . On leaving my native country, there was not, therefore, any land in which I could cast my eyes with so much pleasure, nor is there any which could have afforded me so much real satisfaction as I have found in Great Britain. May its political fabric, which has stood the test of ages and long attracted the admiration of the world, be sup- ported and perpetuated by Divine Provi- dence." In 1784 he went to England, and, after visiting several localities, purchased a small estate at Holdgate, about a mile from York, upon which he resided until his death. Living in case and retirement, he entered upon a literary life which proved a success- ful one, and has inscribed his name high upon fame's portals. In 1787 he published a small work entitled " The Power of Relig- ion on the Mind," which passed through seventeen editions. His next work, and that by which he is principally known, was his " English Grammar," first published in 1795, and such was the unexpected demand for it that several editions were published during the same year. Following this appeared "English Exercises," and a "Key," an abridgement of which treatises were published in one volume in 1797. His other writings are " The English Reader," with an " Intro- duction and Sequel," " The English Spelling Book," a new edition of his Grammar, " Ex- ercises and Key," in two octavo volumes, a selection from Horne's " Commentary on the Psalms," and "The Duty and Benefit of Reading the Scriptures." Lindley Murray's educational publications were not alone con- fined to his mother tongue. He prepared two French works, "Introduction au Lecteur Francois " and "Lecteur Francois," which soon came into general use, were highly com- mended, and passed through a large number cf editions. Ilis life in England was a busy one, as it was an eventful one. No Ameri-
can who made an European tour failed to visit Holdgate. His personal appearance, his un- assuming demeanor and his conversational powers excited in the minds of all visitors great admiration. Lindley Murray married, June 22, 1767, Hannah Dobson, died in Eng- land and buried by the side of her husband at Holdgate.
JONES, SAMUEL, one of the first associate justices of Dauphin county, was from Bethel township, now in Lebanon county, where he was born about the year 1750. His father, William Jones, laid out Jonestown, dying in November, 1771, theson coming into possession of the greater portion of the estate. He was in active service during the struggle for independence, and November S, 1777, was appointed by the Supreme Executive Council one of the commissioners to collect clothing, blankets, etc., for the half-clad army at Valley Forge. This service was well per- forined. On August 15, 1784, he was ap- pointed one of the justices of the peace for Lancaster county, and judge of the Court of Common Pleas January 3, 1785. He was the next oldest in commission when the new county of Dauphin was formed. Of Judge Jones' subsequent life we have little knowledge. It has been stated that he re- moved to Pittsburgh toward the close of the century, but even that is not certain.
~ DOCK, WILLIAM, son of Philip and Eliza- beth (Killain) Dock, was born in East Earl township, Lancaster county, Pa., February 3, 1793. In 1800 his parents removed to Newville, Cumberland county, where they resided until their death. His early educa- tion was limited. At the age of seventeen he went to Carlisle, where he was brought up to merchandising. In 1813 he removed to the Susquehanna opposite Harrisburg, where he kept the public ferry one year. The next spring he came to Harrisburg. In 1814 he took charge of the Harrisburg ferry, then controlled by the county of Dauphin. In 1816 he was appointed collector of tolls, eastern end of Harrisburg bridge, which position he filled five years. He en- tered the mercantile chandlery trade in 1822, which he successfully continued until 1845 when he entirely relinquished the business. In March, 1842, he was appointed one of the associate judges of Dauphin county. In 1849 he received the nomination by the Democ- racy for Congress in the Fourteenth district,
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then composed of Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties. The Judge made a good canvass, but his party was in the minority. In 1851 he was chairman of the State eon- vention which nominated William Bigler for governor. He had repeatedly been a delegate to the Lutheran Synod, and in 1856 appointed a trustee of the Pennsylvania College. Ile served as trustec of the Harris- burg Academy twenty years, and was actively connected with several business enterprises. Judge Dock died at Harrisburg, August 4, 1868. He married, in 1818, Margaret Gil- liard, of Middletown, who died May 30, 1862, in her sixty-eighth year. They had children: William Gilliard, Dr. George, Gilliard, and William, of whom Gilliard alone survives.
MCKINNEY, MORDECAI, son of Mordecai MeKinney and Mary Chambers, daughter of Col. William Chambers, was born near Car- lisle, Cumberland county, Pa., in 1796. He was educated at Diekinson College, where he graduated quite young. He studied law under Judge Dunean, of Carlisle, complet- ing his instruction at Harrisburg, being ad- mitted to the Dauphin county bar at the May term, 1817. In 1821 he was appointed district attorney of Union county, serving three years. In 1824 he was chosen clerk to the county commissioners of Dauphin county, and October 23, 1827, Governor Shulze appointed him one of the associate judges of the same county. Subsequently Judge MeKinney turned his attention to the compilation of law books, and published " McKinney's Digest," "Our Government," " Pennsylvania Tax Laws," and other works of professional value. He died at Harris- burg on the 17th day of December, 1867, the result of injuries received from a street car three days .previous. Mr. MeKinney married Rachel Graydon, daughter of Will- iam Graydon, who died at Harrisburg, April 12, 1856 .. The Rev. Dr. Robinson so accurately summarizes the characteristics of Judge MeKinney's noble life that we cannot refrain from quoting him largely : " His life as a man and a citizen was completely transfused by his religion, sanctified and elevated by it. He was modest and unob- trusive in manners, free from all guile, a man of sterling honesty and conscientious- ness. He was remarkably free from all taint of selfishness and all pride. Spending all his years in comparative poverty, no more
contented, happy, and trusting man walked the streets of this city. As a citizen he was faithful to all obligations, a friend of all that was venerable and good, a defender of law. and a supporter of all that tended to the welfare of society. He was distinguished as a philanthropist. There was a nobleness about his loyalty to principle, to the cause of the poor, the oppressed, and the despised that might well command universal admira- tion."
MAGINNIS, JAMES, was a native of Ireland. born about 1780. He was educated at Dublin, and at the age of twenty came to America, locating in Philadelphia, where he began the profession of teaching. In 1807 or 1808 he was invited to take charge of the Harrisburg Academy, but in 1810 relin- quished his position there and entered into mercantile business with his brother-in-law, Fred. W. Leopold. Subsequently, about 1814, he resumed school teaching, and all his energies for a number of years were de- voted to that ealling. It was during this period that he compiled his "System of Bookkeeping " and the "New Arithmetic," both published at Harrisburg, which for many years was extensively used as text books in Central Pennsylvania. In 1821 Mr. Maginnis was appointed deputy sur- veyor for Dauphin county. He had pre- viously been surveyor for several State eom- missions authorized to lay out certain roads, as also county boundaries. He studied law at Harrisburg and was admitted at the March term, 1820. His wife, Ann Brandon, a woman of rare accomplishments and lovely disposition, to whom he was fondly de- voted, dying Mareh 18, 1828, so preyed upon his mind that he sank under the affliction, and died May 21, 1829. Mr. Maginnis was a gentleman of undoubted integrity, an able teacher and a good citizen.
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