Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1, Part 6

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 6
USA > Pennsylvania > Centre County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 6
USA > Pennsylvania > Clarion County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 6
USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 6

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P GRAY MEEK, a citizen of Bellefonte, Cen- tre county, and at present Surveyor of the Port at Philadelphia, has descended from a long line of ancestors, who were conspicuous in the early history of our country and of the State of Pennsylvania.

The ancestral history of our subject appears in the sketch of Reuben H. Meek. his father. For nearly forty years P. Gray Meek has edited and published the Watchman at Bellefonte, and been prominently identified with the public affairs of the Commonwealth. He was born in Patton township, Centre county, Penn., July 12, 1842. His education was limited to that afforded by the common schools, and he began life as a school teacher at Lumber City, Clearfield county, in the winter of 1856-57. The next year he was a clerk, then worked on a farm, and followed what he could find to do that would permit an honest living, until May, 1861. He then, though but a boy, became junior editor of the Democratic Watchman, then a four-page paper, six columns to the page, with a circulation of less than five hundred. The paper had practically been aban- doned by its owners on account of the bitter feel- ing that existed against Democratic journals, and young Meek found no easy task in satisfying his readers and keeping out of the clutches of the provost marshals. His first articles attracted at- tention, and it was but a couple of months until the owners thought him too out-spoken and rad- ical, and he was requested to resign his position. He then returned to his father's farm, where he worked until July, 1862, when he managed to purchase a half interest in the paper, and assumed editorial control of it. The paper itself, small and with a limited patronage; the most influen- tial men of the party denouncing it as too radical and out-spoken; the merchants of the place re- fusing to give it their patronage; its youthful editor experienced the fact that he was on the unpopular side of public opinion, but believing himself right refused to allow these conditions to stifle his convictions, or change its policy, and gained a reputation for consistency and plainness of speech which eventually secured for his paper that success which has since attended it, and

made his reputation as an editor. Mr. Meek was not only a sententious but courageous writer, and during the Civil war the feeling toward him by those holding opposite views was exceedingly bit- ter and extreme, as was shown by the many ar- rests he was subjected to. On one occasion he was arrested and taken before a justice of the peace in Bellefonte, charged with "high trea- son;" shortly after this a county grand jury pre- sented him for publishing "improper political matter;" following these he was arrested on oath of provost marshals three different times, and taken before the United States Court at Pitts- burg, for his out-spoken denunciation of the policy of the Republican administration. In all these cases, except the first, which was never heard of after being placed on the justice's docket, nolle prosses were entered by the courts. In March, 1865, he was taken from his office,' with- out notice and without any preferred charge. by a company of United States soldiers and incar- cerated in the military prison at Harrisburg, from which he was released after taking an oath to re- turn for trial when demanded, a requirement that was never enforced.

His constituents never lost confidence in him, and in 1867, 1868, 1870, 1871, they elected him to the House of Representatives by large major- ities. While in the House he was instrumental in having an act requiring railroads to fence their lines in Centre county; or pay for the stock killed (known as the railroad fence law) and the lumberman's lein act passed, which added to his popularity with those classes of his section, as both of these measures have proven of material benefit to laboring men and farmers. In 1872 he was secretary of the Democratic State Com- mittee, and in 1873, 1875 and 1876, he had the indorsement of the county convention for State Senator. He was defeated by ex-Gov. Curtin for the nomination for Congress in 1878 in Centre county, by two votes in the convention. In 1882 he accepted the position of editorial secre- tary of the Democratic State Committee, and prepared the greater part of the documents for the campaign of 1882; and served as one of its secretaries, during the campaigns of 1883 and 1884. He was elected chief clerk of the House of Representatives in January, 1883, and filled that position during the memorable regular and special sessions of that year. As showing the manner in which he performed the duties of this position, we give, out of many of the same char- acter, this single extract from one of the leading journals of the State: "On Saturday last Mr. P. Gray Meek, chief clerk of the House of Rep- resentatives, completed the settlement of his ac-

Enq'Ty N. H Purchase

Saray Muck . .

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

counts, turned over to the Governor the remnant of the State's property in his charge, and left for his home. In his departure he carried with him not only the consciousness of having discharged his duty with fidelity, but the respect alike of the members and citizens with whom his official duties brought him in contact. During the pro- tracted sessions in which Mr. Meek presided at the clerk's desk, covering a period of eleven months, he has been an intelligent and zealous champion of economy and reform. He has been faithful to every obligation which the arduous duties of the office imposed."

In 1890 Mr. Meek was elected to the Senate by a majority approximating 5,000. He was made a member of the committee on Appropria- tions, Banks, Insurance and Congressional Ap- portionment, and prepared the Congressional and Senatorial Apportionment bills presented and ad- vocated by the Democrats. His principal effort during this session was put forth to secure legis- lation taxing un-naturalized persons for poor pur- poses. At the session of 1893 he served on com- mittees on Banks, Congressional Apportionment, Insurance, Legislative Apportionment, Public Printing and other committees, and again pre- pared the several Apportionment bills that his party presented and supported. Before his terin as senator expired he was (in February, 1894) appointed Surveyor of the Port at Philadelphia by President Cleveland, which position he con- tinues to hold. The following extracts from the press speak for themselves :

The well-rounded periods in the life of P. Gray Meek, the fighting editor of the Bellefonte Democratic Watchman, would fill a book and provide a good start for another one. As legislator, senator and proprietor of the best known and thoroughly successful country weekly paper, his career has been one alternating storms and sunshine, for he is nothing if not aggressive, and his type of Democracy is founded on the ultra-Jacksonian standard, with a mixture of the Jeffer- sonian article. To know Editor Meek is to know a clever and genial editor with an opinion and of sterling ability to back it up. He has literally cut out his career from sur- roundings severely hostile in character, and whether in the right or wrong he has always had the courage of his con- victions.

The Watchman, under the capable management of Senator Meek, has been a very creditable journal. Its pro- prietor is a natural-born newspaper man, and a thorough believer in the principles of the Democratic party, and has been largely instrumental, in his career as a journalist, in keeping the party solid in party ranks. His paper is re- garded by the State newspaper fraternity as one of the best edited and finest printed weeklies in the Commonwealth. It enjoys a large circulation throughout many of the different States of this country. One of the finest and best-equipped joh offices in Pennsylvania is connected with it, and the ma. chinery of the entire plant is run by the water power from the springs, whose waters flow by the building. Mr. Meck is assisted in the editorial work by his son, George R. Meek, who is a graduate of Pennsylvania State College, and a very able and forcible writer.

In January, 1862, Mr. Meek was married to

Miss Susan M., only daughter of George W. Meek, of Ferguson township, Centre county, and to them were born six children: Rachel L., Mary Gray, Elizabeth Breckinridge, George R., Eloise and Winifred Barron. The eldest daugh- ter is associated with her father and brother in the conduct of the paper. Elizabeth and Eloise are both graduates of the Bellefonte High School and of the Pennsylvania State College, as is also George R., the latter from the High School in 1886 and from the State College in 1890, and since 1893 he has been the managing editor of the Democratic Watchman. The family adheres to the religious faith of their ancestors, that of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

J UDGE THOMAS BURNSIDE (deceased), who was a resident of Bellefonte, Centre county, was born near Newton Stewart, in County Tyrone, Ireland, July 28, 1782. He came with his father's (William Burnside) family in 1792 to Montgomery county, his father locat- ing near Fairview, in Lower Providence, in that county. In November, 1800, he commenced the study of law under Hon. Robert Porter, of Phila- delphia, and was admitted to the Bar February 13, 1804, and in March removed to and settled in Bellefonte, Centre county.

In 1811 he was elected to the State Senate, and was an active supporter of Gov. Simon Sny- der in all the war measures of 1812. In 1815, he was elected to Congress, and served during the memorable session of 1816. In the summer of the same year he was appointed by Gov. Sny- der president judge of the Luzerne District. He resigned that position in 1818, and resumed prac- tice at Bellefonte. In 1823. he was again elected to the State Senate, of which body he was chosen speaker. In 1826, before his senatorial term had expired, he was appointed president judge of the Fourth Judicial District, which office he held until 1841, when he was appointed president judge of the Seventh Judicial District. On January 1, 1854. he was commissioned one of the justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, an office which he filled with honor up to the time of his death.

Gov. Curtin once said: " Judge Burnside was a man of indomitable will, and had that in- tensity of purpose which baffled want, poverty, and ill-fortune. He came to this county when it was comparatively a wilderness, without means or friends, and supplied the want of early educa- tional training by his energy and perseverance. His goodness of heart, and open-handed hospi- tality soon surrounded him with a circle of stead-

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

fast personal friends, and his large and liberal views of progress, with his lofty State pride, made him a captain of men and a ruling spirit."

As a judge he possessed a keen and discrim- inating sense of justice, and extensive knowledge of law and moral courage to carry its mandates into execution As remarked by Hon. James MacManus, one of his students, his great strength of mind, common sense and quickness of appre- hension enabled him to grasp the main points of a case, and with a vigorous step and a stately march he would clear away the rubbish of techni- cality, caring only for the justice of the cause be- fore him. Mr. MacManus relates that upon the occasion of some eminent visitor arriving at the judge's house in Bellefonte, Mrs. Burnside sent Mr. MacManus for the Judge, who was holding court at Lewistown. It was late in the week, and a canal case to try, but the Judge asked the lawyers to continue the case to oblige him. They replied that the case was important, and the wit- nesses from a distance. "Well then, go on; I will try it for you, " said Judge Burnside. Taking a little time to get the facts accurately, he drove the case through and charged the jury; and was ready by the time he had fixed upon to go home, and, what was remarkable, his opinion was the only one sustained of several which went up from different districts the canal passed through, in- volving precisely similar questions of law.

Judge Burnside took a deep and lively inter- est in all public enterprises of the day-turn- pikes, canals, railroads-and there are few pub- lic improvements, whether in his own immediate neighborhood, or in more remote portions of the State, which do not owe much of their success to his exertions and influence. If ever he was biased on the Bench, it was by delay caused by riots or tumults obstructing their progress even tem- porarily. The late Judge A. S. Wilson used to relate an anecdote in point : " I was concerned, when at the Bar, for a poor Irishman, who with others had been convicted of a riot on the canal near Lewistown; to my utter surprise he was called up with the rest for sentence. 'Why' I remonstrated with the Court, 'the evidence shows clearly my client was on the other side of the river when the riot took place.' 'It don't matter,' said Judge Burnside, 'if he could have gotten over he would have been in it.'"

In person, the Judge was of medium height, had prominent nose and eyes, dark complexion, and was rather noted for want of comeliness of features. His kindness and blunt honesty made ample amends for his lack of personal beauty. In the language of Mr. MacManus, the " judicial ermine was as unspotted when he laid it aside for

the habiliments of the grave as when he first put it on." Judge Burnside died at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. E. Morris, in Germantown, March 25, 1857, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. His first wife, Mary (Fleming), died Feb- ruary 28, 1813, at the early age of twenty-eight. Her children were : Mrs. Harvey Mann, of Boiling Spring; Mrs. Mary Morris, and the late Hon. James Burnside. By his second wife, Ellen (Winters), he also had children now resid- ing in Bellefonte : Miss Lucy Burnside, Thomas Burnside and Mrs. Frances Boal. Mrs. Ellen W. Burnside died in Bellefonte, June 3, 1859, aged seventy-three years, eight months and seventeen days.

H ON. JAMES T. HALE (deceased), formerly of Bellefonte, was one of Centre county's able men. He was a native of Bradford county, Penn., born October 14, 1810, and lived with his parents on a farm, working thereon, and at inter- vals attending the schools of the neighborhood, until he was about fifteen years of age, when his father died, and, he being the eldest son, the support of the family was chiefly thrown upon him. Some time after the death of his father, he became the clerk in the prothonotary's office at Towanda. He then entered upon the study of the law under the direction of his uncle. Elias W. Hale, of Lewistown, Penn., and on February 28, 1832, was admitted to the Bar at that place. In 1835 he removed to Bellefonte, where on May 6 of that year, he married Miss Jane W. Huston, daughter of Hon. Charles Huston, associate jus- tice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He continued his practice in the courts of Mifflin county, and also attended the courts in the coun- ties of Clearfield and Clinton. He was en- gaged in the trial of all the principal causes tried in the several courts for many years, until April 10, 1851, when a vacancy occurred in what aft- erward became the Twenty-fifth Judicial District, whereof he was appointed president judge by Gov. Johnston. He presided in the several courts of the district until December 1, 1851, when his commission expired, and he was succeeded by the Hon. Alexander Jordan. He occupied the Bench but a short time, but during that brief period discharged the arduous duties of president judge with such promptness, dispatch, ability, and impartiality, that he achieved such popularity and renown as a clear-headed and excellent judge as is rarely attained by men who occupy the Bench for longer terms. After retiring from the Bench he resumed his profession, in which he con- tinued until about 1856, when he had become so

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

largely engaged in other enterprises 'that he was, to a great extent, obliged to abandon the active duties of the profession. Having become inter- ested as part owner in a large body of timber and coal lands in the counties of Cambria, Centre and Clearfield, known as the Philips estate, whose value, development and availability depended chiefly upon railroad communication, he embarked his means, industry, energy and financial skill in the building of the Tyrone & Clearfield railroad. In 1856, he was elected president of the com- pany, and continued in that position until 1860. During that period, notwithstanding the financial crisis of 1857, through his indomitable energy and enterprise, industry and financial ability, and the application of his own means, the road was, through much difficulty and many embarrass- ments, graded and so far advanced toward completion that it was in a year or two afterward finished and equipped and put in running order; and that important branch and feeder of the Penn- sylvania Central railroad opened up and made available the rich timber and mineral wealth of parts of Cambria, Centre and Clearfield counties.

In politics Judge Hale was an ardent Whig and high-tariff man. When the Whig party passed out of existence he united with the Re- publican party, and in 1858 was elected to the XXXVIth Congress from the Eighteenth District. composed of the counties of Mifflin, Centre, Clin- ton, Lycoming, Potter and Tioga. He was re- elected in 1860, from the same district, to the XXXVIIth Congress. In 1862 he ran as an in- dependent candidate, and was again elected over his competitor, the Hon. Wm. H. Armstrong, the regular Republican nominee. At the close of the session on March 4, 1865, he took his family to Philadelphia, where, after attending to some private business, he left them, and returned to Bellefonte, and at once engaged in professional work, tried several cases at a special court held by his honor, Judge Pearson, and, though not being well, he argued a cause with great force and ability on March 31. The day following he was quite sick, and continued growing worse until the following Thursday evening, April 6, 1865, when he died.

Judge Hale was an upright man, kind friend and generous neighbor. From his first entry into Centre county, he was a consistent friend of the temperance cause, and the first to advocate publicly the passage of laws to prohibit the man- ufacture and sale of liquor as a beverage. He possessed a bright intellect, a remarkably tena- cious memory (never forgot a legal principle or a reported case he had read), and an intuitive knowledge of the law, was quick in his percep-

tive power, always ready, and as it has been said of him, "was a lawyer without a book or an office." In the trial of causes he was cool and calm, amiable and scarcely ever ruffled in temper, or disconcerted by any turn the case might take, and by his commanding presence, pleasing address, persuasive manner, simple but forcible diction, and, withal, sound argument, he was sure to carry the court and jury with him. He was a member and vestryman and prominent in the councils of the Episcopal Church. His wife and five children survive him. The widow and three sons, Capt. Charles Huston, James T., Jr., and George Natt have all since died. His daughter Lucy, intermarried with Rev. George G. Field, and Ellen, intermarried with N. H. Stone, still survive and reside at Coats- ville, in Chester county.

ON. JAMES BURNSIDE (deceased) was a native of Centre county, born in Bellefonte, Penn., February 22, 1807. He was the eldest son of the Hon. Thomas Burnside. In 1824 he was a student at the Bellefonte Academy, and in 1828 graduated with the highest honors at Dick- inson College. His study of law was prosecuted in his father's office. He was admitted to the Bar in November, 1830, by the court over which his father presided, and at once commenced the practice of his profession under the same stern and impartial regime. In October, 1844, he was elected a member of the Lower House of the Pennsylvania Legislature, and re-elected in I845. While in that position he gave proof of great ability. His speech, February 3, 1846, upon an amendment which he proposed to the State Con- stitution in favor of biennial sessions of the Leg- islature, was a particularly able effort. When the Twenty-fifth Judicial District was formed, Gov- ernor Bigler commissioned him its judge, April 20, 1853, and in October he was elected without opposition to the same office. He was eminently distinguished on the Bench for his calm impar- tiality, yet off of it he was a lenient citizen and indulgent friend. In his private relations he dis- played many qualities of head and heart which endeared him to his friends and the people. Had he lived, higher honors were apparently in store for him; but, with only half of his years of usefulness expended, he was called suddenly away. He was instantly killed by being thrown from a buggy July 1, 1859, leaving a widow (since deceased), a daughter and two sons-S. Cameron and Thomas. His wife was Rachel (daughter of Hon. Simon Cameron), whom he married June 2, 1846.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

W ILLIAM P. HUMES has descended from a family that has been identified with the interest of Centre county for almost a century.

HAMILTON HUMES, his grandfather, was born in Lancaster county, Penn., January 7, 1784, and removed to Bellefonte in the spring of 1810. On April 1, 1819, he succeeded R. T. Stewart, as postmaster at Bellefonte, receiving his appoint- ment from Return J. Meigs, postmaster-general under President Monroe, and held that office until January, 1833, under General Jackson, when he met the fate of Jackson's opponents in removal from office. His physical and mental organization eminently qualified him to become a useful and enterprising citizen. He established a large mercantile business, built mills, and among other pursuits was that of the manufact- ure of paper at Bellefonte, on which the Centre Democrat was printed for years. His attention to business, his skill, and his fidelity to his en- gagements secured public confidence. He was a great friend and patron of young men; kind to the indigent and unfortunate; they never called upon his benevolence in vain. He connected himself with the Presbyterian Church at an early age, gave liberally to its support, and served ac- ceptably as an elder for many years before his death, which occurred February 28, 1859. He was a most devoted friend of his pastor, Rev. James Linn, who preached in the Presbyterian Church for over fifty years, and both families were intimately connected. He married Ann Elmira Bailey, who was a most excellent Chris- tian lady, a native of Lancaster county, Penn., born September 28, 1784, and died in Belle- fonte, March 31, 1862. Their children were: James Humes, who died in infancy; Mrs. Eliza- beth McClure, of Lewisburg; Mrs. Rachel Humes, of Jersey Shore; W. H. Humes, of Bellefonte: Miss Caroline Humes, of Bellefonte; and Edward C. Humes. (father of our subject). who died March 28, 1895, and who survived all the other children. Hamilton Humes and his wife were related to and connected with Lancas- ter county's most prominent families, with only a few of their descendants still living.

EDWARD C. HUMES had been connected with the business interests of Centre county from the very beginning of the century. He was one of Bellefonte's most prominent business men, and in business he was eminently successful. His birth occurred at Bellefonte, August 23, 1810. He received his education at the Bellefonte Academy, then under the principalship of Alfred Armstrong, and later at Dickinson College, Car- lisle, Penn., and when the latter was still under

control of the Presbyterian Church, from which institution he was graduated in 1829. After clerking for a short time for his father, the two became associated under the firm name of H. Humes & Son, and afterward (with John Ton- ner), E. C. Humes & Co., and later on (with Will- iam H. Humes), E. C. Humnes & Brother. In 1846, in connection with the late Hon. A. G. Curtin, Hon. H. N. McAllister and Hon. James T. Hale, E. C. Humes established the banking house of . Humes, McAllister, Hale & Co., to which he gave all of his attention, and which soon ob- tained a first-class credit in the State. On June 8, 1864, this institution was merged into the First National Bank of Bellefonte, of which Mr. Humes became president, and so remained for many years, or for the remainder of his life. At the time of his death he is said to have been the oldest National-Bank -president in the United States. Under his able management, this latter

institution was also most successful, and on ac- count of the prominence of Mr. Humes, as well as of the several gentlemen referred to (associated with him), the bank always sustained a high rep- utation, both at home and abroad. Besides his interests and connection with this bank, of which he was from its beginning also a director and largest stockholder, he was a director and stock- holder of the Centre County Banking Co., at Bellefonte, as well as having other large busi- ness connections through the State. He was generally acknowledged, in business circles, to be a most safe counselor and adviser, and those having large means, as well as those in moderate circumstances frequently confided in him, and to them he was always ready and willing to give his best judgment and experience. He was par- ticularly kind and thoughtful in his home life, and what was to the happiness of his family was the oftener adding to his own pleasure. Of Mr. Humes' life nothing discreditable has ever been said. He was a man whose close attention to busi- ness made him almost a stranger in political and social spheres, but his hoine was always the most hospitable, and where his many friends always received a most cordial welcome. Although a Republican, he had kind feelings toward those of any other political party, and particularly so when feeling and knowing the sincerity of their convictions. He was connected with the Presby- terian Church, of which he was a lifelong mein- ber, an honored ruling elder for many years, and was a large giver to its support. He was recog- nized as a man of great probity and earnestness. He was never given to self-laudation, and his most intimate acquaintances never knew of

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Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1, Part 6

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1358

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1358