USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. III > Part 20
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Robert Horace Miller was brought up on the Iowa farm, assisting in the general work, and attended public school in the neighboring village of College Springs. Amity College is also at College Springs,
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and here he studied after finishing his preparatory work. For three years he then taught school, after which time he was en- gaged in newspaper work at College Springs and at Clearfield, Iowa, for two years. I 1898 he entered the American School of Osteopathy at Kirksville, Missouri. On his graduation with the degree of Doctor of Osteopathy in 1900, he came directly to Washington county, Pennsylvania, for practice, and here he has remained and prac- ticed successfully. The office which he then opened in the Brown Building he occupies to the present time. He is a member of the Western Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State, and the National Societies of Osteo- pathy. In politics he is independent ; while always interested in matters of public im- portance, he has never sought office.
He married, June 20, 1901, Clara C., daughter of Rev. Horatio W. and Mary (McGinnis) Brown, of Wooster, Ohio. They are members of the First United Pres- byterian Church, in which Dr. Miller is an elder. He is active in church and Sunday school work, a man of excellent reputation, highly esteemed as a citizen and as a man.
SAUL, Charles R.,
President of the "Columbia Storage Ware- houses," Incorporated.
According to family records, the Saul family has been in this country for nearly two hundred years. It was of that sturdy German immigration which contributed so largely to the development of Pennsylvania, coming immediately after the English Quaker colonists who came with Penn. They gave their name to Germantown, in the outskirts of Philadelphia, hence they dispersed throughout the interior. As early as 1725 there were 50,000 German settlers in the province, and twenty-five years later they constituted one-third of the entire population. For some time they were averse to participation in political affairs, and on that account were overshadowed by
the English Quakers. Conditions changed, however, and in subsequent years they be- came a controlling political power, and for years it was a common remark that "as the Germans vote, so goes the State." But it must be said that in whatever period in the history of the commonwealth, the German influence was ever for the public welfare, and well ordered personal lives.
The Saul family emigrated from Ger- many to Pennsylvania about 1720, settling first near Philadelphia but came to Berks county in the latter part of the eighteenth century, since which time the name has been frequent, in Maiden Creek and Maxataw- ney townships.
Jacob Saul, born in Maiden Creek town- ship, in 1829, died in Leesport, Berks county, in 1882. He was for many years a trusted employee of the Schuylkill Canal Company, having charge of the locks and collecting the tolls for canal boat passage in the section of which Leesport was the principal point. He married, in Berks county, Mary Catherine Barlet, and left surviving issue : Martha, who married Isaac P. Merkel; Sallie wlio married Charles Schlear; and Charles Reuben.
Charles Reuben Saul, son of Jacob and Mary Catherine (Barlet) Saul, was born at Leesport, Berks county, Pennsylvania, Au- gust 18, 1855. He was educated in the pub- lic schools there, and received a commercial training in a business college in Reading, Pennsylvania. He entered upon business life as bookkeeper for J. L. Stichter & Son, in Reading, proprietors of what was widely known as "The Old White Store," on the site of an old Indian trading post conducted by Conrad Weiser. After continuing in that occupation for about eight years, Mr. Saul located in New York City, where he engaged in the produce commission busi- ness. Later he established the Clinton Stor- age Warehouses at Thirty-fifth street, near Second avenue. In 1891 he greatly ex- panded his business by the establishment of the Columbia Storage Warehouses at
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Columbus avenue and Sixty-seventh street, and in 1900 the business was incorporated as the "Columbia Storage Warehouses," with Mr. Saul as president, a position which he has continuously occupied to the present time, and with entire success, the establish- ment comprising five large storage ware- houses, and one of the largest in the city of New York.
Mr. Saul is also actively identified with various financial and commercial institu- tions ; he is a member of the directorate of the Gotham National Bank of New York City ; and is a member and former president of the New York Furniture Warehouse- men's Association. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and vice- president of the City Society of the Meth- odist Church of New York, and a member of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Church. His active support is given to numerous educational and humanitarian in- stitutions. He is a trustee of Drew Sem- inary, at Carmel; a member of the board of managers and also treasurer of the New York Deaconess Home and Training School; and a member of the Society for the Prevention of Crime. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Society in New York City. In politics he is a Re- publican of the best type, ever consistently upholding lofty ideals of political conduct and public service.
Mr. Saul married, at Reading, Pennsyl- vania, September 5, 1878, Alice Stroud, born in Berks county, daughter of Edward and Susan (Hetrich) Stroud. Child of Mr. and Mrs. Saul: Lulu Mabel, born in Reading, Pennsylvania ; married Charles S. Montgomery; children, born in New York City : Alice G. Montgomery, in 1896, and Katherine Smith Montgomery, in 1913.
HARGEST, Thomas S., Lawyer, Jurist.
The life of Judge Thomas S. Hargest, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is one of which
he may justly feel proud in every relation of life. His ancestral history is of con- siderable antiquity, and is English in both paternal and maternal lines. His father, William E. Hargest, was born in 1819 and died November 11, 1872. He married Rachel A. Taylor, who was born in 1827, and died in Harrisburg at the age of eighty years. They had children: Henry C .; William E .; Taylor Filmore; Mary, who married Charles H. Kemp; Rose Albia, who married Charles Raymond; John James, married (first) Susan E. Zarker, (second) Mary K. Whiteman; Jefferson S .; Thomas S.
Judge Thomas S. Hargest was born in Baltimore county, Maryland, November 24, 1846, and his early education was acquired in the public schools located near his home. All of his spare time was devoted to assist- ing his father in the cultivation of the market garden of the latter, getting this produce ready for the market, and helping to transport it there. When he was four- teen years of age his parents removed with their family to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where they were occupied in the same man- ner as they had been in Maryland. The farm on which the family located in Harris- burg was in the eastern portion of the city, and the present residence of Judge Hargest is situated upon a portion of it. In the latter part of 1863, when he was but seven- teen years of age, young Hargest collected a company of about thirty men, obtained military transportation for them to Wash- ington, District of Columbia, and upon his arrival there, entered the Union army as a wagonmaster. Later he was appointed transportation clerk in the depot of the Quartermaster's Department, at Charles- ton, West Virginia; and in the fall and winter of 1864 as assistant-brigade wagon- master, at Martinsburg, West Virginia, he furnished supplies to Sheridan's Army, then located in the Shenandoah Valley. On May I, 1865, he was discharged from military service at Stephenson's Station, Virginia.
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During this period of military activity he had become acquainted with life in the more southerly States, and decided to make his home there. He accordingly located in Winchester, Virginia, and there commenced the study of law, in which he won so en- viable a reputation subsequently. He had no preceptor, but he invested his savings in the books needful for the carrying out of his plan, and his determination and am- bition, combined with an unusually level head, enabled him to carry out his purpose to a successful issue. August 6, 1867, after a personal examination before two of the circuit court judges-Judge Richard Parker, who had presided at the trial of the famous John Brown, and Judge John T. Harris, who subsequently represented the Virginia Valley of the Shenandoah in Con- gress-he was admitted to the bar, and be- came a leader in the legal fraternity in that section of the country. In 1868 Judge Har- gest was appointed commonwealth attorney for Shenandoah county, Virginia, in place of Hon. Mark Bird who, although elected by the people of the county, was incapaci- tated by the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Judge Hargest made Mr. Bird his deputy, and gave him the fees and emoluments of the office. After the retirement of Judge John T. Harris, Judge Hargest was appointed early in the year 1869 a judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia, by the then military governor of the State, General E. R. S. Canby, who was murdered by Captain Jack, the Indian chief. Until the admission of the State to representation in Congress, he also served as judge of the District Court of Appeals, and his sterling integrity and strict sense of justice gained him the approbation of all. Upon his re- turn to Winchester, Virginia, he resumed his law practice there, and continued this until the death of his father late in 1872, when he removed to Harrisburg, Pennsyl- vania, which has been his home since that time. He was elected city solicitor of
Harrisburg in 1876, and was continuously re-elected to that office until his retirement from it in 1890, at which time he resumed his general practice of the law. Numerous important cases have been entrusted to him, among them being a number against the street railway companies, in which lie de- fended the rights of the city, and gained his points. Judge Hargest is a member of Post No. 58, Grand Army of the Republic, of Harrisburg. He recollects with pride hav- ing been present at a public reception tendered by President Lincoln, January I, 1864, at Washington, District of Columbia. All his life he has given his active support to the principles of the Republican party, deeming them the best for the general good of the community.
Judge Hargest married, April 3, 1867, at Winchester, Virginia, Virginia, a daugh- ter ot William and Harriet Dieffenderfer, of German ancestry but born in Virginia ; Mrs. Hargest died at Harrisburg, August 13, 1886. Children: William M., an at- torney of Harrisburg, who has held profes- sional official position for a number of years, married Clara Gallien ; Ione Leila, married E. L. King, an attorney of Harris- burg. Broadminded and liberal in his ideas, Judge Hargest has been a leading spirit in many projects which were greatly to the benefit of the city.
FLINN, William,
Man of Affairs, Public Official.
Hon. William Flinn, president and chair- man of the firm of Booth & Flinn, Limited, contractors, has been for many years a prominent factor in the business world and in the political arena of Pennsylvania. As State Senator and member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Flinn has accom- plished much for the welfare of the Com- monwealth, and in local politics as well as in business his influence has always been exerted for the progress and improvement of his home city.
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William Flinn was born May 26, 1851, in Manchester, England. His parents were both natives of Ireland. The year of his birth, his parents emigrated to the United States, settling in Pittsburgh, where his father became a well known citizen. The boy William attended the city schools until the age of nine years, but though his life in the class-room ended so early he never abandoned the quest of knowledge, and few men have a wider range of general infor- mation. After leaving school the lad was variously employed in the brickyards until he became old enough to be apprenticed to the trade of brass finishing and gas and steam fitting. At the expiration of his time, with that aggressiveness which has ever characterized him, he became a con- tractor. From the beginning he was suc- cessful, and in 1877 formed a partnership with James J. Booth, under the firm name of Booth & Flinn, Limited. The enterprise prospered, and the concern is today engaged in general contracting of all kinds, many of the largest undertakings ever successfully carried out in the history of constructive work about Pittsburgh and in many other sections of the United States being placed to its credit. Of the construction of the Mount Washington tunnel (which created a new residence district for Pittsburgh in which thousands of workers in the city have found homes but fifteen or twenty minutes from the business centre), it may be said, without exaggeration that this masterpiece of construction was practically the means of creating new towns, and the strength of intellect and tenacity of purpose possessed by William Flinn were the agents chiefly instrumental in its execution.
In the conduct of his various enterprises Mr. Flinn has proved himself to be en- dowed with the power of handling large bodies of men and of co-ordinating their energies with skill and efficiency, at the same time avoiding the error into which a man of weaker brain and smaller heart would inevitable fall-that of regarding his
employes merely as parts of a great machine. On the contrary, he recognizes their individuality, making it a rule that faithful and efficient service shall be promptly rewarded with promotion as op- portunity offers, a fact which has had no small share in determining his phenomenal success. His clear and far-seeing mind enables him to grasp every detail of a pro- ject, however great in magnitude, and this, combined with his marvelous facility in the dispatch of business, has made it pos- sible for him to accept a number of re- sponsible positions in different industrial and financial organizations. He is pres- ident and director of the Duquesne Lumber Company, the Pittsburgh Lumber Company, and the Pittsburgh Silver Peak Gold Min- ing Company ; vice-president and director of the Sharon Water Works Company ; and a director of the Arkansas Fuel Oil Com- pany, the Arkansas Natural Gas Company, the Gulf Oil Corporation, the Manufactur- ers' Light and Heat Company, and the Pittsburgh Coal Company.
As a citizen with exalted ideas of good government and civic virtue, Mr. Flinn stands in the front rank, and wherever sub- stantial aid will further public progress it is freely given. Ever ready to respond to any deserving call made upon him, no good work done in the name of charity or re- ligion seeks his co-operation in vain. He is vice-president and trustee of the Elizabeth Steel Magee Hospital, a director and mem- ber of the executive committee of the West- ern Pennsylvania Hospital, a member of the advisory board of the Industrial Home for Crippled Children, and a director of the Pittsburgh Maternity Dispensary. He be- longs to the Duquesne and Union clubs.
In early manhood Mr. Flinn became ac- tively interested in politics, but has only once consented to hold office in the munic- ipality, that instance having occurred in 1877, when he was elected to the board of Fire Commissioners. For many years he has been a recognized power in the Re-
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publican party, being invariably consulted in regard to all questions of moment. His public spirit and rapidity of judgment have enabled him in the midst of incessant busi- ness activity to give to the affairs of the community effort and counsel of genuine value, and his penetrating thought has often added wisdom to public movements. From 1879 to 1881 he was a member of the House of Representatives, and from 1884 to 1912 he served as a delegate to Repub- lican national conventions. In 1890 he was elected to the State Senate, and in 1894 and 1898 received the tribute of re-elections. While at Harrisburg, Mr. Flinn was a most important factor in legislation. He was the author of the famous "good-roads law," which has proved of such signal benefit to the State. He is an excellent public speaker, being versatile, logical and enter- taining. For twenty years Mr. Flinn has been chairman of the Republican City Executive Committee of Pittsburgh, and in this position his wide knowledge of muni- cipal affairs, combined with his capable and faithful discharge of duty, has made his services particularly valuable.
A genial man of optimistic spirit, the briefest conversation with Mr. Flinn re- veals his ability and the versatility of his talents. Mentally and physically he is on a large scale. Six feet in height and weigh- ing two hundred pounds, he is in every sense a formidable antagonist and a well- nigh invincible champion. He is a known quantity, with a genius for leadership, and it is said of him that "his headquarters are where he is"-a sentence which aptly de- scribes the man. It may be said, too, that he has won by original ideas, whether it be in business or politics. His self-reliance never fails him and his accurate knowledge of men has enabled him to fill the various branches of his business with assistants who seldom fail to meet his expectations. His keen eyes, which send their searching glance through eye-glasses with a power which seems to pierce the very souls of those whom
he addresses, are yet kindly in expression, and his manner, quick and decisive though it be, is invariably courteous. Absolute honesty, unflagging interest in a multitude of different activities, a sense of humor, rare social tact and an unaffected liking for his fellow-beings-these are the traits which have made William Flinn what he is-one of the most popular men in the city of Pitts- burgh or the State of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Flinn married, in 1874, Nancy Gal- braith, and they are the parents of the fol- lowing children : George H., Ralph E., W. A., Alexander R., Mary S., and Edith G. A man of strong domestic tastes and affec- tions, Mr. Flinn is devoted to his home and family. "Braemar," his beautiful residence in the East End, is a center of hospitality and the scene of many social functions. The whole family are extremely popular in Pittsburgh society.
William Flinn is a man whose person- ality, in combination with his record as a business man and political leader, re- calls the imposing figures of the old-time Pittsburghers-those pioneers who laid the strong foundation on which has risen the fair fabric of the present prosperity and prestige of the Iron City. He is one of the men who do large things. Both industrially and politically he may be called one of the makers, not of Pittsburgh alone, but also of Western Pennsylvania. Summoned by the Keystone State to serve her in positions of public trust, he has ably and faithfully ful- filled her behests, and there is little doubt that in the coming years she will require him to assume still greater responsibilities.
THE SPROAT FAMILY in America. (Compiled from Family and Official Records by Harris Elric Sproat, Westtown, Ches- ter County, Pennsylvania).
The name of "Sproat" is Danish ; in earlier centuries it has been written "Sproutt" and "Sprout," but during the past two centuries Sproat.
Robert Sproat-Ancestry: Son of Sir
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James Sproat, knighted during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. This arms granted and confirmed 1581 to Sir James Sproat, of Kelfield, in the county of York, England, Knight or descendant of Elrick of Scot- land. Arms, viz .: "He beareth azure three leopard faces or in chief, argent three mul- letts sable. Crest-On a wreath, or, boar's head carped." (Note ancient seal in the fam- ily). Descent from "Elric" and "Sproat," who settled in the East Riding of York at the invasion of England by William the Conqueror (see Domesday Book).
Personal-After leaving England he first settled in Jamaica, W. I., then came to America and acquired land in Duxbury, 1634; at Scituate, 1660; also at Middleboro, Massachusetts. (References, viz .: Hist. of Duxbury, by Winsor, page 320; Savage's Dictionary First Settlers of New England, vol. iv, page 158; Hist. of Scituate, Mass., page 340, by Deane). Died at his home in Middleboro, Massachusetts, in 1712. His will, among other children, mentions Eben- ezer. Will dated 23rd November, 1711, pro- bated December 11th, 1712. Reg. vol. 3, page 222, Plymouth County Registry of Probate.
Married Elizabeth (died after 23rd Nov., 17II), daughter of Henry Sampson, passen- ger in the "May Flower," arrived at Cape Cod, November 21st, 1620. Who married, February 6th, 1636, Ann Plummer. Will of Henry Sampson mentions his daughter, Elizabeth Sproat (see will and inventory recorded Plymouth Colony Wills & Inven- tories, vol. 4, part 2, page 94-95). (Refer- ences, viz .: The May Flower Descendants, vol. 2, Apr., 1900, No. 2, page 119, vol. 2, July, 1900, No. 3, page 142, vol. 4, part 2, pages 94-95. The Pilgrim Republic, by God- win, pages 184-187-294. Bradford's Hist. of Plimoth Plantations, pages 532-537. Sav- age's Dic. First Settlers of New England, vol. 4, page 10. Ancient Landmarks of Plymouth, by Davis, part I, page 221, part II, page 226. Hist. of Duxbury, by Win- sor, pages 67-90-240-300-348). Issue-Eight
children, viz .: Ist, Marcy, born 1661; 2nd, Elizabeth, born 1664; 3rd, Mary, born 1666; 4th, Robert, born 1669, died June, 1690, in Expedition to Canada; 5th, Anne, born 1671; 6th, James, born 1673; 7th, Ebenezer (see below) ; 8th, Hannah.
Lieutenant Ebenezer Sproat-Ancestry : Seventh child of Robert Sproat ( see above). Personal: Born 1676, Suituate, Massachu- setts ; resided at Scituate and Middleboro, Massachusetts. Died September 20th, 1726, in 52nd year. His tombstone at Old Ceme- tery at the Green, Middleboro, Massachu- setts. His will, dated 8th September, 1726, mentions wife Experience, and among other children his son James (see below). For references see under Robert Sproat (above mentioned). Married Experience Hawes, died November 9th, 1758, in her 74th year. Her tombstone in Old Cemetery at the Green, Middleboro, Massachusetts. Issue- Five children. viz .: Ist, Thankful, born 1705; 2nd, Abigail, born 1709; 3rd, Mary ; 4th, James (see below) ; 5th, Ebenezer, died I-23-1786, height 6ft. 4in., colonel during revolution, aide to General Washington at Cambridge, captain 1766-1775 ; a selectman in Middleboro, 1748; town clerk, seven years ; town treasurer, two years; repre- sentative, 1755-1774; justice of the peace, 1775; major of First Regiment at com- mencement of Revolution (see Hist. of Middleboro, Town Records of Middle- boro). He had issue, four children, viz. : (a) Ebenezer Sproat, born 1752, died 1805; he was uncommonly tall; a colonel in the militia. When the British took possession of Newport he performed a tour of duty with his regiment. He was the first sheriff of Washington county, Territory Northwest of the Ohio, and held that office fourteen years consecutively. Named by the Indians "He- tuck," i. e., "The Buckeye." (b) Thomas Sproat, lieutenant. (c) James Sproat, a lawyer at Taunton. (d) Samuel Sproat, died 1816.
Rev. James Sproat, D. D .- Ancestry : Fourth child of Lieut. Ebenezer Sproat (see
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above). Personal: Born Scituate, Massa- chusetts, Apr. 11th, 1721, O. S. Graduated at Yale College, 1741; converted to Chris- tianity under the preaching of Rev. Gilbert Tennant. Studied theology under Mr. Ed- wards, who was afterwards president. De- gree of Doctor of Divinity by the College of New Jersey in 1780. Pastor at Guilford, Connecticut, 1743 to 1769, and at Second Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, from 1769-1793. At the breaking out of the Revolution he went into the Continental service as chaplain in the Army Hospital. He died October 18th, 1793, 73rd year, of yellow fever ; buried Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia. His will mentions his wife Sarah, and among other children his son William (see below). (References, viz .: Annals of American Pulpit, by Sprague, vol. 3, page 125; Harper's for Sept., 1885; Amer. Biog. Dic., 1857, by William Allen, D. D .; The New and the Old, 1743-1876, by E. R. Beadle, 2nd Presby. Ch .; Encyclo- pædia of the Presbyterian Church, by Al- fred Nevin, D. D., LL. D., page 852; His- tory of Guilford and Madison, Conn., by Steiner, pages 328-329-331-337-339-407).
Married Sarah, died 11-14-1793, 72nd year, daughter of Major William Smith, the son of Chief Justice William Smith, at one time governor of Tangiers, appointed by Charles II. (References : Thompson's Hist. L. I., vol. 2, page 442; Colonial Hist. New York, vol. 3, pages 417-420-664-685-767- 818, vol. 4, pages 25-284-442-535-769-821- 849-857-863-868-1137, vol. 5, page 107). Issue-Six children, viz .: Ist, Hannah, married Rev. Isaac Keith ; 2nd, Olive, died 84 years; 3rd, William (see below) ; 4th, John ; 5th, Ann, died 26th year ; 6th, Sarah, married Joseph Spencer, died in her 88th year.
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