USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. III > Part 39
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HOLTZINGER, George W., Business Man, Public Official.
George W. Holtzinger, former county commissioner, and prominent in the finan- cial and political circles of York county, is a representative of a family which has long been identified with that historic portion of the State.
John Holtzinger, grandfather of George W. Holtzinger, was a native of Pennsyl- vania, and a descendant of German ances- tors. He lived in the vicinity of Stony- brook, a short distance east of York, and there followed the calling of a shoemaker. He married Barbara Wolf, like himself, of German extraction, but born in Pennsyl- vania, and their children were: John, George, mentioned below; Jacob, Daniel, Benjamin, Nancy, Catharine, Elizabeth, Susan, Mary. John Holtzinger, the father, died about 1844.
George, son of John and Barbara (Wolf) Holtzinger, was born in York county, Penn- sylvania. He received his education in the subscription schools. He was instructed by his father in the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for a time, and also acquired a knowledge of lime burning, in which he engaged for about five years. He then turned his attention to agriculture, to which
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he devoted his energies during the remain- der of his active years. He purchased the farm in Windsor township now owned by M. B. Spahr, and after a time sold this property and bought another farm in the same township now in the possession of M. P. Smith. On this land Mr. Holtzinger made his home during the remainder of his life. He was a member of the Winebren- nerian church. He married (first) Eliza- beth Heindal, and they became the parents of six daughters: Lydia, Catharine, Eliza- beth, Rebecca, Mary, Susan. Mrs. Holt- zinger was a member of the Reformed church. After her death Mr. Holtzinger married (second) Susannah Stauffer, a native of York county, and their children were: George W., mentioned below ; David S., John, Sarah, who died in infancy. Mr. Holtzinger died in November, 1866, leaving the record of an upright and respected citi- zen, and his widow, who was a member of the Mennonite church, passed away in 1879.
George W., son of George and Susannah (Stauffer ) Holtzinger, was born July 2, 1847, in Windsor township, where he re- ceived his education in the public schools and at a select school. At the age of nine- teen he received a certificate and for three years thereafter was engaged in teaching, learning, meanwhile, the carpenter's trade, which he followed during the summer months. His inclinations, however, led him to choose a mercantile career, and he established himself as a cigar manufacturer on the site now occupied by the village of Holtz, employing there, and at branch fact- ories, about forty workmen. From the out- set he was successful, a fact not to be won- dered at in view of the innate ability and strength of resolution which he brought to the enterprise. He continued the business until 1902, and during this period constantly enlarged the scope and variety of his inter- ests.
About 1895 Mr. Holtzinger engaged in mercantile business at the old Sechrist stand in Holtz, conducting the store successfully
for four years. Since abandoning the manu- facture of cigars he has devoted much of his attention to farming. He is the owner of the homestead, consisting of twenty-four acres, the Sechrist property of thirty-six acres and the Slenker farm of one hundred and thirty-six acres. As an agriculturist no less than as a business man Mr. Holtzinger has met with that large measure of success which seems invariably to attend his under- takings, success sometimes wrested from unfavorable conditions by a strength of pur- pose which refuses to admit failure. In connection with farming he deals in com- mercial fertilizers, and he also holds the position of secretary of the Western Mutual Fire Insurance Company of York county. Since the organization in 1882 of the Drovers' and Mechanics' National Bank of York, Mr. Holtzinger has been one of the directors. In all his enterprises he has dis- played a remarkable degree of self-reliance, never hesitating to venture when sure of his ground. He is singularly self-centered, seldom seeking advice, or accepting assist- ance, thus preserving his independence, and at the same time, by aiding others, winning them to his cause.
In politics Mr. Holtzinger is a Repub- lican, and for many years has taken an active part in the affairs of the organiza- tion. During the Harrison administration, when a postoffice was established in Holtz, he served four years as postmaster, having the office in his store. In 1876 he was elected jury commissioner, an office which he held for three years, and in 1905 he was chosen one of the commissioners for York county. In January, 1906, he entered upon the discharge of his duties, duties for which his many years of successful business ex- perience had admirably fitted him, and which he fulfilled in a manner alike credit- able to himself and satisfactory to his con- stituents. His most notable service was bringing about the building of the new jail, a public benefit which he accomplished in spite of great opposition.
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In 1908 Mr. Holtzinger was reelected, and his second term witnessed the great event, thus far, of his entire political career. The facts, briefly stated, are the following: About fifteen years ago a steel bridge was erected by the county over Codorus creek, on College avenue, and should have cost about $20,000, but by the system then in vogue its acknowledged cost was about $50,000, while the actual direct and indirect expense is said to have been about $80,000. Notwithstanding this fact, the bridge was not a good one, and, through deterioration of the light steel work of which it con- sisted, was within ten years condemned as unsafe, after which it was closed to traffic for some four years. Great efforts were then made by interested parties to compel the county commissioners to reconstruct the bridge. For some years these efforts were successfully resisted, but finally an estimate was secured for removing and replacing the old bridge for the sum of $150,000, and it is said that the execution of the plans pro- posed would have cost the county over $200,000. At this juncture an engineer pre- sented to the commissioners a plan provid- ing for the utilization of the old bridge as a reënforcement for a concrete bridge. Strange to say, Mr. Holtzinger was the only member of that body to appreciate the value of the suggestion, and alone and unaided he fought for honesty and for the rights of those whom he represented, and he won. After a long and hard fight the plan was finally adopted, and the bridge was renewed at a cost of about $25,000, with an additional expenditure of $5,000 for filling approaches. All honor to George W. Holt- zinger, honest man and fearless champion of the people's rights! A signal feature of Mr. Holtzinger's triumph lay in the fact that many of those who once offered the most strenuous opposition and used the most intemperate language have since seen and acknowledged the wisdom of his course.
In everything pertaining to the welfare and advancement of his home city Mr.
Holtzinger takes an active interest, and no good work done in the name of charity or religion appeals to him in vain. A man of the most genial and companionable disposi- tion, he enjoys great personal popularity, and now that he has relinquished a portion of his active labors nothing gives him more satisfaction then the knowledge that his efforts in the public service have been ap- preciated by his fellow citizens. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church.
Mr. Holtzinger married, in 1869, Anna E., daughter of John and Eliza Keller, rep- resentative farming people of Lower Wind- sor township, and of the fourteen children born to them the following reached matur- ity : Emma, married H. A. Kinard, and died in 1903, leaving three children-Carrie, Norman and Paul; John C., married Ellen Paules, and has three children-Carrie, Mabel and Charles D .; Henry, married Annie Slenker, and has one child, Grace Irene; Moses C., married Mary E. Smith, and has two children-Thomas S. and Esther Irene; David W., married Cora Sechrist, and has two children-Stewart and Margaret; Mary M., married Irvin Paules, and has three children-Sterling, Orrie and Curvin ; Cora, married Robert T. Linchbaugh ; Ivan ; Elsie. Mrs. Holtzinger, a thoughtful clever woman of culture and character, takes life with a gentle serious- ness that endears her to those about her. The family residence is a social centre, both Mr. and Mrs. Holtzinger being extremely hospitable and delighting to entertain their many friends.
Mr. Holtzinger has accomplished much. He is a self-made man of the broad-gauge, public-spirited type, one of the men who, in whatever community they are found, con- stitute the bone and sinew of the State and furnish to young men entering active life an example more eloquent than words. Mr. Holtzinger has stood before the world as a dauntless public official, strongly to contend for the rights of his fellow citizens. Would that York county had more like him !
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McKELVY, William H.,
Physician and Surgeon, Public Official.
Among those benefactors of mankind whose talents, in whatever direction they may be exercised, are used for the relief and uplifting of humanity, there is no larger class than that formed by the votaries of the noble profession of medicine. Their close study, their unwearied research, their ceaseless activity, are all for the relief of suffering. Perhaps of no other class of men can it so truly be said that they "scorn de- lights and live laborious days." Among this class, prominent to Pittsburghers, was the late William H. McKelvy, one of the most noted physicians of the Keystone State.
William H. McKelvy was born Septem- ber 21, 1843, near Wilkinsburg, Pennsyl- vania, a son of James McKelvy. The father, who was but four and a half years old when in 1804 he came to this country with his parents from county Down, Ireland, was reared to agricultural pursuits. After his marriage he bought a tract of land near Wilkinsburg, where he was engaged in farm- ing till his demise at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. His wife, whose maiden name was Rosanna Swisshelm, was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, daughter of Lieu- tenant Swisshelm, an officer in the Revolu- tionary army. They became the parents of nine children, three of whom died in in- fancy. The others were: James M., who was circuit judge in the Seventh Judicial District of Minnesota from 1866 until 1883, and died at St. Cloud, Minnesota, in 1884; Mrs. Elizabeth Heagen, who died at Lamar, Missouri, where her husband, a Presby- terian minister, had charge of a church; John S .; Martha J., the wife of Harry B. Wintersmith, a manufacturer, Louisville, Kentucky; Wilbur F., Pittsburgh ; and Wil- liam H. (see forward).
William H. McKelvy laid a substantial foundation for his future education in the Wilkinsburg Academy, and the Allegheny College at Meadville, Pennsylvania. In
1866 he was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City; and in the following year he opened an office in Pittsburgh, where with the ex- ception of five years, when he was in part- nership with Dr. W. Snively, he practiced alone. He was a highly intellectual man, of quick perceptions and sharp discrimination, and, possessing a thorough classical and medical education, in combination with his innate talents, he speedily won for himself a prominent place among the members of the medical fraternity. He loved science for science's sake, was a hard student, and enthusiastic in his efforts to cultivate and elevate the standard of the medical profes- sion. In January, 1868, he was elected phy- sician to the county jail, a position which he subsequently held for thirteen consecu- tive years. He was the president of the Grant Sub-district School Board for twenty- six years, a member of the Central Board of Education for twenty-two years, and its president for fourteen years. At all times Dr. McKelvy stood as an able exponent of the spirit of the age, in his efforts to ad- vance progress and improvement. Real- izing that he would not pass this way again, he made wise use of his opportunities and his wealth, conforming his life to a high standard, so that his entire record was in harmony with the history of an ancestry honorable and distinguished. He was a member of the Library Association, and one of the trustees of the Carnegie Library. He was also connected with the Allegheny County Medical Society, the Miscroscopical Society of Pittsburgh and the American Medical Association. In the Masonic fra- ternity he was a Knight Templar, and did much to promote the good of the order in the State. Politically he was affiliated with the Republican party, and was an ardent worker in its cause. A vigilant and atten- tive observer of men and measures, Dr. McKelvy's opinions were recognized as sound and his views broad, and his ideas therefore carried weight among those with
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whom he discussed public problems. Those who met him socially had the highest ap- preciation for his sterling qualities of man- hood and a genial nature which recognized and appreciated the good in others. The ties of home and friendship were sacred to him, and he took a genuine delight in doing a service for those who were near and dear to him.
Dr. McKelvy married, October 23, 1897, Miss Margaret Youngson, of Pittsburgh. By this marriage Dr. McKelvy gained the life companionship of a charming and con- genial woman. His wife is fitted by native refinement, a bright mind and thorough edu- cation, for the social position she occupies as one of the factors of Pittsburgh society. She is prominent in charitable and club life, being a member of the board of the Pitts- burgh Eye and Ear Hospital, of the Tues- day Music Club, and the Twentieth Cen- tury Club of Pittsburgh.
The death of Dr. McKelvy, which oc- curred November 23, 1909, deprived the Iron City of one of its best citizens. De- voted in his family relations, sincere and true in his friendships, honorable and gen- erous in his profession, he had the affection and esteem of those who lived closest to him and were best fitted to judge of his quality. He was human in his sympathies, cherished no false or impossible ideals, lived level with the hearts of those with whom he was bound by ties of consanguinity and friendship, endearing himself to them and irradiating the widening circle of his influ- ence with the brightness of spirit that ex- pressed the pure gold of character. His public and private life was one rounded whole-two perfect parts of a symmetrical sphere. So completely were they joined that it would be difficult to say where the one ended and the other began. In public and in private he was actuated by one high motive, the welfare of all whom he served and of all with whom he served. With such a principle the mainspring of all his active career, with an optimistic outlook
upon life, with faith in his friends and humanity, with a purpose to make the best of everything and see that good that is in all rather than the evil, with a helping hand and a word of cheer for all who needed to have their pathways made smoother, Dr. William H. McKelvy won a place that was all his own in the hearts of all who knew him.
BRADLEY, John T., Manufacturer, Retired.
Now a retired citizen of Middletown, Pennsylvania, that district has seen the best of the activities of John T. Bradley's life, and the present plant of the National Tube Company owes much of its flourishing pros- perity to his ambitious endeavors in the concern of which it is an outgrowth. John T. Bradley is a native of England, and in that land received the technical and prac- tical training that he put to such excellent use and from which he received such boun- tiful returns in the land of his adoption. He is a son of George Bradley, a millwright and skilled mechanic, who was a department superintendent in the Wednesbury Bridge Tube Works, Wednesbury, South Stafford- shire, England. He was twice married, his first wife, Sabina May, bearing him two children, Theophilus, died in infancy, and John T., of whom further. Ten years after the death of his first wife Mr. Bradley mar- ried a second time, and by this marriage was the father of two children: George, de- ceased, a resident of Middletown, Penn- sylvania, and Julia, deceased.
John T., son of George and Sabina ( May) Bradley, was born in Bath, Somersetshire, England, August 18, 1834, and in his youth was a student in the school of the Church of England. He was fourteen years of age when his father obtained a position for him in the tube works of Felix Webb and Ed- ward Cudd, at Wednesbury Bridge, a line of manufacturing with which he has been identified throughout his entire life. He
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was here given general instruction in all of the various branches of the business and at the end of three years resigned to accept a similar situation with John Russell & Com- pany, Walsall, South Staffordshire, Eng- land, subsequently rising to the position of engineer in charge of the plant, his father being his only superior in the works of the concern. He was here employed until 1870, in which year he immigrated to the United States, settling in Pittsburgh, where he at once entered the establishment of Evans, Clow, Dalzall & Company, proprietors of a tube works, as a millwright, remaining with this firm for three years. In 1873 he went to Mckeesport, Pennsylvania, later becom- ing general manager in the butt-weld depart- ment of the works owned by John Flagler, of New York, afterward being promoted to the managership of the entire butt-weld plant, his connection with that factory ceas- ing in 1880. In that year he accompanied George Matheson to Middletown, the old tube mill owned by Colonel James Young and at that time in use as a tobacco shed becoming their property. The old mill was renovated and remodelled, a new furnace built, and within a year a lap-weld mill for the manufacture of large pipe was laid out and in the course of operation. New fur- naces were added yearly, as the scope of the company's business relations was widened, and it became one of the largest in the country, being at the present time owned and operated by the National Tube Company. Throughout the years of its con- tinuance Mr. Bradley held the position of superintendent of the butt-weld department, his skillful management of the practical end of the concern being no small factor in the power and prestige it gained among com- petitors. Constantly in touch with his em- ployees and the heads of his departments, he noted the instances in which there ap- peared to be a waste of time, labor and ma- terial, and devised and invented several labor-saving schemes. He also introduced the use of the bell in making butt-weld pipe,
a system universally utilized in his home land and which he had installed in the mill in which he was employed in Mckeesport. His association with this plant endured until his resignation, which took effect January I, 1906, since which time he has lived re- tired, at the present time (1914), having come through a vigorous and useful man- hood to the age of four-score years, each of which has made but a gentle mark and has strengthened, rather than impaired, the acuteness and power of his mental faculties. In the spiritual and religious life of Mr. Bradley is found ardent inspiration for his daily walk. The spirit of brotherhood has pervaded his whole relation with his fel- lows, and while he was superintendent of the tube company he held the personal friendship of many of the men employed under him, placing Bibles throughout the mill for perusal as they cared, conferring with and advising them upon matters of private life. For more than twenty years he has been a member of the session of the Middletown Presbyterian church, and for twelve years was teacher of a class in the Sunday school.
Mr. Bradley married, at Walsall, Eng- land, in 1856, Leah, daughter of Joseph and Leah (Parsons) Rigby, her father a manu- facturer of coach axles. Her death occur- red November 23, 1893, and on December 14, 1904, Mr. Bradley married Mary Eliz- abeth Murr, of Middletown, Pennsylvania. Children of the first marriage of Mr. Brad- ley: 1. Julia, married John Henderson, a machinist of Lorraine, Ohio, and has chil- dren. 2. Leah Nora, married Peter Webb, of Mckeesport, Pennsylvania, and is the mother of children. 3. George, a machinist, married Josephine Hollis, and has children. 4. John J., married Ida Watts, and has chil- dren. He is foreman of the butt-weld de- partment of the National Tube Works of Lorraine, Ohio, the largest factory of its kind in the world. 5. Matilda, married William Bart, superintendent of the Lor- raine Tube Works, of Lorraine, Ohio. They
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have children. 6. Samuel, an employee of the Lorraine Tube Works, married Lillie Martin, and is the father of children. 7. Kate, deceased. 8. Hannah, married Frank Miller, of Bellsville, Pennsylvania. 9. Sarah, married Frank Ernest, of Steelton, Penn- sylvania. 10. Amelia, married Urban Hart- man, a merchant of Sunbury, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Bradley's residence is at the corner of Wood and Main streets, his attractive and commodious home having been erected in 1889, on a lot purchased from Colonel James Young.
SUTTON, William Henry, Educator, Lawyer, Financier.
Although of New Jersey birth, Mr. Sut- ton has passed his entire professional life in and near Philadelphia. His father, a scholarly gentlemen, was connected with the Philadelphia Conference of the Meth- odist Episcopal church for many years, later transferring to the Wilmington Conference.
William H. Sutton was born in Haddon- field, New Jersey, September 11, 1835, son of Rev. Henry and Ann (Craig) Sutton, his father an honored minister of the Metli- odist Episcopal church. After a course in the public schools he entered the prepara- tory department of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, entering the follow- ing year the freshman class. He continued at Dickinson until near the close of his sophomore year, when an epidemic of small- pox closed the college. He then engaged in teaching the next two years, entering in September, 1855, the junior class of Wes- leyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, whence he was graduated A. B., class of 1857. After leaving the university he spent three years as instructor at the American Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, Hartford, Connecticut, pursuing during the same period legal studies under Hon. John Hooker, son-in-law of Rev. Lyman Beecher. He then entered Albany Law School, but being financially unable to complete the
course, came to Philadelphia, completing his legal preparatory study under the pre- ceptorship of Hon. William M. Meredith, a former Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.
In 1863 Mr. Sutton was admitted to the Philadelphia bar and at once began practice in that city. His practice extends to all the State and Federal courts of the district and is one of importance. He has developed unusual ability in the cases tried before a jury and is a particularly skillful cross- questioner. He has been connected with many notable cases and is considered one of the ablest lawyers practicing at the Phila- delphia bar. His reputation extends beyond the limits of his home city, and has also secured him a large jury practice in the counties of Delaware and Montgomery. The law has been to Mr. Sutton "a jealous mistress," and he has devoted his time almost exclusively to his profession, his out- side interests being largely confined to directorships in the banks and trust com- panies which he has assisted in organizing, viz .: The Merion Title and Trust Company of Ardmore, Pennsylvania, of which he has been a director since its incorporation ; and the West Philadelphia Title and Trust Com- pany. He also was one of the promoters of the Bryn Mawr National Bank. He has been active and influential in the councils of the Democratic party; was elected in 1876 auditor of Lower Merion township; i11 1879 school director of the same town- ship; in 1882 State Senator from the Ninth Senatorial District of Philadelphia, serving with honor and distinction four years, and has since declined nominations for Congress, althoughi accepting a nomination for judge of Montgomery county.
During the Civil War, while residing in Springfield, Delaware county, he was in- strumental in raising a company of emer- gency guards, who were held in readiness to march to the front, but the battle of Gettysburg turned back the invaders from the South and the services of the company
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were not called for. Mr. Sutton was made a Mason many years ago and has attained unusual distinction in that order. He is the oldest past master of George W. Bartram Lodge, No. 292, Free and Accepted Ma- sons; was one of the charter members of Montgomery Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Ardmore, was its first high priest and for thirty years has served as treasurer; is past eminent commander of Hutchinson Commandery, No. 32, Knights Templar, and has also served in every elective office in that body. He has taken a deep interest in civic associations, also scientific and edu- cational societies that have a specific aim and has contributed freely to their upbuild- ing by personal effort. These include: The American Academy of Political and Social Science ; Children's Play Ground Associa- tion ; Public Education ; and the Pennsyl- vania Civil Service Association. His col- lege fraternity is Psi Upsilon; his clubs ; The Merion Cricket, Philadelphia, Demo- cratic, and others. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, belonging to St. Luke's of Bryn Mawr, in which Mr. Sutton now serves as treasurer of the board of trustees. He has been an active church worker all his life and has served different churches as Sunday school superintendent, steward, trustee, president of boards of trustees and treasurer.
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