USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. III > Part 36
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time and strength. His singularly strong personality exerted a wonderful influence on his associates and subordinates, and to the former he showed a kindly, humorous side of his nature which made their relations most enjoyable, while the unfailing justice and kindliness of his conduct toward the lat- ter won for him their most loyal support.
The well known business qualifications of Mr. King and his marvellously clear insight caused his services to be much in demand on boards of directors of different organiza- tions, including the Pittsburgh Gas Com- pany, the Cash Insurance Company, and was one of the organizers of the Fort Pitt Banking Company, afterwards merged into the Fort Pitt National Bank. He was widely but unostentatiously charitable, and his public spirit and rapidity of judgment enabled him, in the midst of incessant busi- ness activity, to give to the affairs of the community effort and counsel of genuine value. A Democrat in politics, he was active in the movements of the organization, his penetrating thought often adding wis- dom to public measures. No one familiar with Mr. King's fine personal appearance can fail to remember how truly it indicated his character. His manner was that of the most perfect dignity and gracious benignity. He may be said to have radiated cheerful- ness. Wherever he went his presence brought sunshine, dispelling gloom, banish- ing depression and causing even his business associates to forget their worries.
Mr. King married (first) Eliza Jane, daughter of John W. and Jane Smith, whose death occurred February 6, 1858. He married (second) Sarah Cordelia Smith, a sister of his first wife. Her death occurred May 5, 1911. Children : Alexander H., business man of Pittsburgh; Jennie, who became the wife of Richard B. Mellon, of Pittsburgh ; William S., who died May 5, 1904, and Robert Burns, in real estate busi- ness in Pittsburgh. Both Mr. and Mrs. King delighted in the exercise of hospitality, and Mr. King, with his brilliant conversa-
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tional talents, his fund of anecdote and his gentle humor, was indeed an incomparable host. What he was in the innermost sanc- tuary of his home, surrounded by the beings dearest to him none can know save those to whom he stood in the sacred relations of husband and father. He possessed a mind of a very high order, which he had won- derfully enriched by varied and extensive reading. He revelled in the treasures of his large library. His palatial residence, "Bay- wood," was one of the show places of Pitts- burgh, and the scene of much entertaining. Mr. King was fond of horses and long maintained a splendid stable, which he drove with a consummate mastery of horse and rein.
On September 15, 1890, this gifted and lovable man passed away, mourned as sin- cerely by high and humble as ever falls to the lot of any. Large as was his mind, his heart was larger. His sympathy for human- ity was so broad that it extended to all who came in contact with him, and his name will be perpetuated not only by his works, but by the far sweeter monument of grate- ful memories. He was one of the men who, by force of character, kindliness of disposi- tion and steady and persistent good conduct in all the situations and under all the trials of life take possession of the public heart and hold it after they have ceased from earth.
As a business man Alexander King did much for Pittsburgh. To her commercial prosperity he and others like him contrib- uted to an incalculable degree. As a citizen he helped to purify and build up her munic- ipal system and her public institutions. And he did even more. He gave to her a daily example of public and private virtue, the picture of a noble and blameless life-the life of a kindly, honorable, high-minded Christian gentleman.
CHILDS, Otis H.,
Manufacturer, Philanthropist.
The history of Pittsburgh as the Steel City includes the record of the lives of
many men eminent for ability and useful- ness, but of none who accomplished more in a comparatively short space of time than did the late Otis H. Childs, of the United Engineering Company, and officially iden- tified with other leading manufacturing organizations. Mr. Childs was a lifelong resident of his native city, and was actively associated with her leading business, benev- olent and social interests.
Asa P. Childs, grandfather of Otis H. Childs, was born December 13, 1803, at Upton, Massachusetts, and in early man- hood removed to Pittsburgh. He married Frances Bradley, who was born March 16, 1808, at Mansfield, Connecticut. The de- scendants of Asa P. Childs have been for two-thirds of a century prominent in many lines of endeavor in the Steel City.
Otis Bradley, son of Asa P. and Frances (Bradley) Childs, was born January 23, 1829, in Pittsburgh, and attended the school of Professor Joseph Travelli, at Sewickley. On entering upon a business career he be- came connected with the shoe house of H. Childs & Company, which had been founded by his brother, and is now conducting busi- ness on Penn avenue. During the latter years of his life he was engaged in the com- mission business in partnership with Wil- liam Lowe, the firm name being William Lowe & Company, with offices on Liberty street. In politics Mr. Childs was a staunch Republican, but never consented to become a candidate for office. He affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and was a member of the Third Presbyterian Church, of which his father had been one of the founders.
Mr. Childs married, January 8, 1856, Frances McCook, whose family record is appended to this sketch, and they became the parents of a son and a daughter-Otis H., mentioned below; and Elizabeth W., now living in Pittsburgh. Mrs. Childs, a most estimable and lovely woman, passed away May 11, 1913; and the death of Mr. Childs, which occurred February 17, 1877, was mourned as that of an honorable busi- ness man and conscientious citizen.
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Porta Historical Rio de
Otis A Child.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Otis H. Childs, son of Otis Bradley and Frances (McCook) Childs, was born June 25, 1859, in Pittsburgh, and received his education in his native city. His entrance upon the active life in which he was des- tined to achieve distinction was made as a messenger of the Citizens' National Bank, but it was impossible that one of his ability should remain long in this humble position. His merit early attracted the attention of his superiors and he was advanced to the place of teller. Feeling, however, that in the manufacturing world he should find the opportunities best adapted to give full scope to his talents and energies, he left the bank and associated himself with the Moorhead- McCleane Company, iron manufacturers, and here his remarkable sagacity, clear judg- ment and unwearied energy speedily brought him into prominence. It was not long be- fore he was offered a position with the Apollo Iron and Steel Company, and began to be pointed out and spoken of by older men as one marked for distinction in the world of affairs. The next business con- nection formed by Mr. Childs was with the Carnegie Steel Company, of which he be- came secretary, and here he distinguished himself not only by the ability with which he discharged the duties incident to this responsible position, but also by the val- uable aid which he rendered to the com- pany at the time of the Homestead riots, facing the crisis with the courage of youth and the wisdom of riper years. Mr. Carne- gie, with his quick discernment and appre- ciation of merit, saw in Mr. Childs one of the young men for whom he delighted to stand sponsor in the business world, and had the latter remained in the company he would have become one of the youth ful partners of his great chief. In the middle nineties, however, Mr. Childs withdrew and, in association with his friend, William L. Abbott, of Pittsburgh, organized the Lin- coln Foundry Company, which was later merged in the United Engineering Com- pany, and with this concern Mr. Childs was
officially connected to the close of his life, imparting to its operations a portion of his own vitalizing energy and largely aiding in making of it a complete success.
As a citizen no less than as a business man, Mr. Childs was animated by enthusi- asm for the loftiest ideals. While stead- fastly upholding the principles of the Re- publican party, he was without political ambition, but ever gave loyal support to all measures which he deemed calculated to advance the public welfare. He was a director of the Institution for the Blind, and his charities were numerous but unos- tentatious. His clubs were the Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Golf, Country and Duquesne, and he was a member of the board of the last-named. He attended the Shady Side Presbyterian Church.
Few men enjoyed to a greater degree than Mr. Childs the affection and esteem of their fellow-citizens, possessing as he did those traits of character, that warmth of heart and those social qualities which attract and hold friends. His personal appearance was striking. Tall and patrician looking, erect and graceful, he had the air of one born to command, but unvaryingly cour- teous and considerate of others. His dark hair and moustache slightly touched with gray accentuated a countenance strong yet sensitive, and his dark eyes were at once keen and thoughtful, the eyes of the ob- server and also of the thinker. His mental endowments were of a superior order and he was, as his business career shows, espe- cially gifted as an organizer. His very pres- ence conveyed the impression of a man whose sense of honor was chivalrous and whose fidelity was absolute. He was a true gentleman and a noble, courageous man.
Mr. Childs married, November 19. 1891, Louise, daughter of the late George and Mary (Berry) Dilworth, and they became the parents of one child, George Dilworth, who died at the age of twenty months. It was but a few years longer that Mr. Childs was permitted to enjoy the companionship
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of his loving and beloved wife, who passed away January 19, 1901. The fact that her death was due to consumption caused Mr. Childs to take a special interest in the Tuberculosis Hospital, of which he was one of the organizers, and he also placed a memorial to her on the shore of Saranac Lake, New York. After this bereavement Mr. Childs resided with his mother and sis- ter, between whom and himself there ex- isted a peculiarly strong and tender bond of affection. His happiest hours were passed in the home consecrated by the love of these three-mother, daughter, and the ideal son and brother. The sister, Miss Elizabeth W. Childs, a woman of winning personality and the centre of a large circle of warmly attached friends, is now the sole survivor and is actively engaged in charitable work and philanthropic enterprises.
The death of Mr. Childs, which occurred August 22, 1910, in Cleveland, Ohio, was the cause of deep, sincere and widespread sorrow in the city which was his birthplace and had been his lifelong home. His daily example had been one of high-minded en- deavor and noble living and many, in all classes of the community, had a sense of personal bereavement. "A brilliant life cut short !" So would many exclaim in the con- templation of this wonderfully fruitful career. But the exclamation would be only partially true. Curtailed as to years, that life indeed, was; but who shall say that it had not attained the fullest measure of accomplishment, that the career of this high-minded business man and the public- spirited citizen was not perfectly rounded and complete, rich in results of great and lasting benefit to his beloved city? Would that Pittsburgh had many more like Otis H. Childs !
(The McCook Family).
Dr. George McCook, father of Mrs. Frances (McCook) Childs, was born in June, 1795, in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and was a son of George and Mary (Mc- Cormick) McCook and brother of Daniel
McCook, who married Martha Latimer and served, with his nine sons, in the Union army, in the annals of which they are im- mortalized as the "Fighting McCooks."
Dr. George McCook went in 1818 to New Lisbon, Ohio, and was soon ranked among the best physicians of the State. In 1828 he was nominated for Congress by the Dem- ocrats, being defeated by a few votes. In 1836 he was nominated again, but was defeated by fourteen votes, and in 1837 he was once more placed in nomination, sus- taining a third defeat. At the outbreak of the Civil War he enrolled himself under the banner of Republicanism, and although con- siderably advanced in years offered his serv- ices to the government. During the four years' conflict he filled different positions of trust and usefulness, and in 1868 and 1872 was an ardent supporter of General Grant. In his profession Dr. McCook achieved emi- nent success and acquired a national repu- tation. In 1844 he was appointed Professor of Surgery in the medical school connected with Willoughby University, then the best institution of its kind in Ohio, and after leaving Willoughby received a similar ap- pointment in Baltimore Medical College, where he remained two years. About 1850 he moved to Pittsburgh, where he built up an extensive practice, commanding an envi- able position among the medical fraternity of the city.
Dr. McCook married Margaret, daugh- ter of Robert Latimer, and among their children was a daughter, Frances, who be- came the wife of Otis Bradley Childs, as stated above. Dr. McCook died June 25, 1873, at Steubenville, Ohio, leaving the rec- ord of a life consecrated to the relief of suffering and the service of his country.
GRING, David,
Financier, Man of Large Affairs.
A list of the representative men of the State of Pennsylvania would be decidedly incomplete were the name of David Gring -financier, promoter and railroad magnate
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David Gray
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
-omitted. Not only has he risen above the standard in business life, but he is possessed in a high degree of those excellencies of character which make men worthy of the regard of their fellows. He is keenly alive to all the varying requirements of trade, and conducts operations of the most extended and important character, but his high minded and liberal business methods excite the admiration of his compeers. He is de- scended from a family which has been resi- dent in Pennsylvania for a number of gen- erations, and the various members have always proved their worth.
David Gring, grandfather of the man whose name heads this sketch, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, where the pro- genitor of this branch of the family is sup- posed to have settled upon his arrival in this country from Holland. David Gring was a farmer and a miller, a man of promi- nence in his locality, and died in 1886. He married Catherine Hill, who died in 1882. ' Samuel H. Gring, son of David and Cath- erine (Hill) Gring, was born at Sinking Springs, Berks county, Pennsylvania, in 1832, and died in Reading, Pennsylvania, September 12, 1912. He was educated in the district schools of his native town and, under the supervision of his father, learned the milling trade. In 1854 he located in the vicinity of Denver, Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania, where he owned and operated a grist mill and tannery until 1869, and during the two following years was engaged in agricultural pursuits in association with his father. In 1871 he removed to Newville, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the lumber business, with which he was identified for five years, then settled at Reading, where he spent the re- mainder of his life. In 1890 he commenced the construction of the Newport & Sher- mans Valley railroad, completing this in 1892. He also constructed a portion of the Path Valley railroad, an underlying line of the preceding. During his earlier years he was a Whig in political matters, but upon
the formation of the Republican party, joined the ranks of that party. He was a member of the Alsace Reformed Church of Reading, Pennsylvania. Mr. Gring married Catherine, a daughter of Simon Hoyer, a bridge contractor of Alsace township, Berks county, and they had children : David, Sam- uel H. Jr., Charles, Catherine and Eliza- beth.
David Gring, son of Samuel H. and Cath- erine (Hoyer) Gring, was born in Denver, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1857, and acquired a substantial education in the district schools in the vicinity of his home. He was still a young lad when he became associated with his father in the lumber interests of the latter, an association which was continued until 1876. David Gring then engaged in the lumber business independently in Huntingdon county, Penn- sylvania, purchasing large tracts of virgin forest land in Huntingdon, Blair, Mifflin, Bedford and Juniata counties. In 1881 he settled in Newport, Perry county, Pennsyl- vania, and has resided there since that time. In 1886 he constructed the Diamond Val- ley railroad, thereby opening up extensive and valuable timber districts along its line. In 1891 he became a promoter of railroads, and was instrumental in constructing the Newport and Shermans Valley railroad, of which he was made president and general manager, an office of which he is still the incumbent. He is also president of the Path Valley railroad; the Susquehanna River and Western railroad; Paxtang Consoli- dated Water Company, which embraces nine water companies ; Lebanon Valley Con- solidated Water Company, which embraces eight water companies; West End Water Company, Clinton county, Pennsylvania, embracing six water companies; Hanover and McSherrystown Water Company, em- bracing five water companies; Newport Home Water Company, Newport, Penn- sylvania ; Mountain City Water Company, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania; Washing- ton Water Supply Company, Slatington,
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Pennsylvania; Palatine Bridge (New York) Water Company; Fultonville (New York) Water Company; Hummelstown (Penn- sylvania) Electric Light Company. He also has extensive lumber interests in North and South Carolina, Eastern Tennessee, Eastern Kentucky, Virginia and West Vir- ginia. In political matters he is a staunch Republican, but he has no desire for public office, holding the opinion that he is best serving the interests of his country by de- voting himself to business and thus increas- ing her prosperity in this direction. Mr. Gring married, July 21, 1880, Emma C., a daughter of Anson V. Caldwell, of Perry county, Pennsylvania, and they have chil- dren: I. Elizabeth, born July 24, 1881. 2. Robert B., born May 24, 1884. 3. Rodney M., born February 17, 1887; former gen- eral manager of Morris County Traction Company, Morris county, New Jersey ; re- signed to become, and is now general man- ager of Susquehanna River & Western railroad of New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, and of the Mountain City Water Company, of Frackville, Schuylkill county, Pennsylva- nia, and of the Washington Water Supply Company, of Slatington, Pennsylvania. 4. Herbert C., born November 30, 1888; gen- eral manager of Newport & Shermans Valley railroad, of Newport, Pennsylvania, and treasurer of Hanover & McSherrys- town Water Company, of Hanover, Penn- sylvania, and Mountain City Water Com- pany, of Frackville, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. 5. Wilbur D., born April 2, 1892; superintendent of motive power of Newport & Shermans Valley railroad, and Susquehanna & Western railroad. The children of David Gring were all born at Newport, Perry county, Pennsylvania.
No estimate can be made of Mr. Gring's character and his standing in the business world that does not embrace his strong characteristics for courage and sincerity of purpose. These, joined with his foresight and sagacity, have led him to the success to which he has attained. He seems to see
the value of an enterprise from the view- point of profit when others hesitate and when he has once seen it goes to the execu- tion of it without a hesitation or a doubt. His constant success has led the world of capital to follow him with its millions. In Central Pennsylvania he has been much of a pioneer. In a dozen of counties his benefits and influence have been felt for the general good of the people. In these enterprises he has built himself an enduring monument which will hold his name in remembrance for generations to come.
In his personal deportment he is modest, generous and kindly to all men who have business or social intercourse with him. His life is pure and clean, devoted solely to his business and his family. Take him all in all he is a most fitting representative of the German blood that has made Pennsylvania the great empire State she is.
SMALL, Samuel,
Man of Affairs, Philanthropist.
Samuel Small, of York, president of the P. A. & S. Small Company, and of the P. A. & S. Small Milling Company, has been for half a century prominently and insepara- bly identified with the mercantile, educa- tional and benevolent interests of his native city.
Samuel Small is a son of Philip Albright and Sarah (Latimer) Small, and a grand- son of George and Anna Maria Ursula (Albright) Small. He received his educa- tion at the York County Academy, and chose, in accordance with family traditions, a mercantile career. On July 22, 1866, he became a member of the firm of P. A. & S. Small, and since that time has devoted his best energies and unquestioned ability to the building up and extension of the inter- ests of this famous house. In 1905 the varied branches and elements of the firm of P. A. & S. Small were incorporated, and the large wholesale mercantile interests have since been operated as the P. A. & S. Small
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David Slevu Stewart
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Company. The P. A. & S. Small Milling Company was also incorporated, as was the P. A. & S. Small Land Company. In 1906 a spacious and commodious five-story busi- ness block was erected on North George street as the headquarters of this celebrated concern. Mr. Small has proved his business talents to be of the highest order, including as they do great industry, a very clear sense of values, the power of organization and sound and accurate judgment. As presi- dent of the three P. A. & S. Small com- panies, his course has been marked by the wisely balanced conservatism and pro- gressiveness of the true business man.
In all concerns relative to the city's wel- fare Mr. Small's interest is deep and sin- cere, and wherever substantial aid will fur- ther public progress it is freely given. He is president of the York Benevolent Society and Children's Home; was formerly vice- president of the York County Agricultural Society, and the Pennsylvania Bible Soci- ety ; president and trustee of the State Hos- pital for the Insane at Harrisburg; and a life member of the Historical Society of York County and the Pennsylvania His- torical Society. In 1888 Mr. Small gave evidence of his interest in the cause of edu- cation by erecting, in association with his two elder brothers, the present York Col- legiate Institute, and is now president of the board of trustees. He is a man of strong intellect, generosity of character and largeness of heart, his manners simple and dignified, beloved by his employees whom he has ever treated with justice and kindli- ness, honored by his associates and the ob- ject of the warm personal regard of many devoted friends.
Mr. Small married, in 1859, Frances Ann Richardson, and the following children have been born to them: Sarah Latimer, wife of Walter M. Franklin, of the Lancaster county bar; Mary Richardson, married to George S. Schmidt, of the York county bar ; Isabel Cassatt, unmarried; George, de- ceased ; Frank Morris ; Samuel ; and Helena
Bartow, wife of Robert G. Goldsborough, of Harrisburg. Mrs. Small is one of those rare women who combine with perfect womanliness and domesticity an unerring judgment, traits of great value to her hus- band, to whom she is not alone a charming companion, but also a confidante and ad- viser. Mr. Small is devoted to his family, spending his happiest hours at his own fire- side, and delights to entertain his friends, both at his city residence and his charming country home a few miles east of York.
Mr. Small is heir to the traditions of six generations of honorable merchants and patriotic citizens, each of whom served with merited distinction his city, county and State. The highest possible appreciation of his own record is conveyed in the simple statement that it worthily supplements that of his ancestors, and adds new prestige to an old and honored name.
STEWART, David Glenn, Financier, Man of Affairs.
Business men who are at the same time able administrators are the men who count most in the material advancement of the community, and Pittsburgh has the good fortune to number among her citizens not a few of this influential type. Conspicuous among those who for a third of a century have been recognized leaders in the busi- ness world, is David Glenn Stewart, founder and head of the widely known grain firm of D. G. Stewart & Geidel. With the financial interests of his home city Mr. Stewart is prominently identified in addition to being the custodian of many important trusts and responsibilities.
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