USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. VII > Part 12
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(VI) Nicholas Francis, a son of Jo- seph Sheldon and Mary (Welch) Cooke, was born August 25, 1829, in Providence, Rhode Island. For several years he was the private pupil of the Rev. D. Thomas Sheppard, of Bristol, in that State, and later was instructed by Professor Henry S. Frieze, subsequently Professor of Latin at the University of Michigan. In 1846 Mr. Cooke entered Brown Univer- sity, and in 1849 began a tour of the world, returning in 1852 and entering the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, at the same time attend- ing lectures at Jefferson Medical Col- lege. After close investigation of the Hahnemann system he became a homœo- pathic physician, and began practice in Providence with Dr. A. H. Okie, the first homœopathic graduate in America. In 1855 Dr. Cooke removed to Chicago, where he soon came into prominence as a learned and skilful physician. Upon the organization in 1859 of the Hahne- mann Medical College of Chicago, he
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was selected for the chair of chemistry, and afterward for that of theory and practice, from which he resigned in 1870. Shortly before his death the same institu- tion elected him Professor Emeritus of Special Pathology and Diagnosis. Dr. Cooke was essentially progressive, hail- ing with delight every new medical dis- covery and introducing into his practice every new remedy or antiseptic. He was the author of a work entitled "Satan in Society," in which he quotes largely from his experiences as a physician. In 1866, after months of close study and as a result of strong conviction, Dr. Cooke became a member of the Roman Catholic church, his obedience to the dictates of conscience separating him from his be- loved brother Masons, and costing him a large part of his professional practice, which, however, he soon regained. St. Ignatius College, Chicago, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. Dr. Cooke married, October 15, 1856, Laura Wheaton Abbot, whose ancestral record is appended to this sketch, and their children were: Nicholas Francis, born August 7, 1857 ; Abbot S., mentioned below; Joseph W., born November 29. 1867; and Mary G., born November 17, 1869, married, October 21, 1902, Craig Heberton, of Philadelphia. The death of Dr. Cooke occurred February 1, 1885, and Mrs. Cooke, who had been received with her husband into the Roman Cath- olic church, died December 13, 1895.
(VII) Abbot S. Cooke, son of Nicholas Francis and Laura Wheaton (Abbot) Cooke, was born July 9, 1859, in Chicago, Illinois, and received his early education under private tuition in his native city. From 1876 to 1879 he was a cadet at the United States Naval Academy, An- napolis, Maryland. His initial business experience was gained in the Chicago office of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne &
Chicago railroad, and from 1881 to 1885 he was engaged in mercantile and bank- ing business in New Mexico. His next removal was to Kansas, where in addition to his connection with banking he be- came interested in the lumber business, remaining until 1896.
In that year Mr. Cooke came to Pitts- burgh, finding in that city a field peculiar- ly adapted to the exercise of his energies. He engaged in the mining machinery business, and when in 1905 the Cooke- Wilson Electric Supply Company was organized he became its president, an office which he has since continuously retained. He is also president of the Cooke & Wilson Company of Charleston, West Virginia, and a director of the Union Collieries Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Electric Materials Company of North East, Pennsylvania, as well as a member of the Pittsburgh Board of Trade. He is a man of progres- sive ideas and by his success has abund- antly proved his ability. As an energetic and enterprising citizen Mr. Cooke is always ready to give practical aid to any movement which he believes would advance the public welfare. His charities are numerous but extremely unostenta- tious. He belongs to the Sons of .he American Revolution, the National Geo- graphic Society, the Pittsburgh Art So- ciety, the Duquesne Club, the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, the Automobile Club of Pittsburgh and the Oakmont Country Club. He and his family are members of St. Paul's Cathedral of Pitts- burgh.
As his countenance shows, Mr. Cooke is a man of deep convictions and great force of character, his clear, direct gaze speaking of will power, fidelity and tenacity of purpose. Quick to see an emergency, he is equally quick in devis- ing a plan to meet it, and he has at all
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times stood as an able exponent of the spirit of the age in his efforts to advance progress and improvement. His nature is genial and he is emphatically a man of many friends.
Mr. Cooke married, November 15, 1883, at Lincoln, Illinois, Mary Belle, daughter of Benjamin F. and Ann Louisa (Ashe) Smith. Mr. Smith was born in 1830, in Adair county, Kentucky, re- moved to Lincoln and in 1862 enlisted in the Union army as corporal of Company F, 106th Regiment Illinois Infantry. In July, 1865, he was mustered out as ser- geant of the same company and regiment. Sergeant Smith belonged to James R. Fulton Post, Grand Army of the Re- public, Garden City, Kansas. He died in 1902.
The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cooke: Georgia Ger- trude, in religion, Sister Aquin, of the Sisters of Mercy; Laura Abbot; Doro- thea May; Mary Bertile, now Mrs. John B. Curley ; and Wilhelmina Louise. Mrs. Cooke, a woman of rare wifely qualities, is admirably fitted to be the helpmate of a man like her husband the centre of whose happiness is in his home and who delights in the exercise of hospitality.
Throughout his notably successful career Mr. Cooke has ably and worthily maintained the noble traditions of his ancestry, proving that the traits of cour- age, fidelity and self-forgetful devotion to duty which marked the brave soldiers and sailors, the high-minded merchant and the heroic physician, are no less characteristic of the true Pittsburgh business man.
(The Power Line).
Nicholas Power, the first ancestor of record, was an associate of Roger Wil- liams in the settlement of Providence, and one of the thirteen purchasers of Shawomet (Warwick) from the Indians.
He was a man of large means and his sudden death, intestate, August 25, 1657, was the cause of what would now be regarded as a most extraordinary pro- ceeding. Ten years after, his estate being still unsettled, the town council made a will for him, disposing of his property as they thought proper and not according to any law.
(II) Nicholas (2), son of Nicholas (1) Power, was slain, December 19, 1675, at the famous capture of the Narragansett Fort.
(III) Nicholas (3), son of Nicholas (2) Power, was presumably of Provi- dence, Rhode Island.
(IV) Mary, daughter of Nicholas (3) Power, was born March 29, 1696, and became the wife of Daniel Cooke, as mentioned above.
(The Abbot Line).
George Abbot, founder of the Amer- ican branch of the family, emigrated about 1640 from Yorkshire, England, to the colony of Massachusetts, being one of the first settlers of Andover, where he lived and died on a farm that was until recently in the possession of his descend- ants. The house was used as a garrison for protection against the Indians many years both before and after his death. George Abbot married, in 1647, Hannah, daughter of William and Annis Chand- ler, and among the thirteen children born to them was Benjamin, mentioned below. The death of George Abbot occurred De- cember 24, 1681, he being then sixty-six years of age.
(II) Benjamin, son of George and Hannah (Chandler) Abbot, was born De- cember 20, 1661, on the homestead, where he passed his entire life. He married, in 1685, Sarah, daughter of Ralph Farnum, an early Andover settler, and among their children was Benjamin, mentioned below.
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(III) Benjamin (2), son of Benjamin (1) and Sarah (Farnum) Abbot, was born July 11, 1686, and passed his life on the homestead. He married (first) in 1717, Elizabeth, his cousin, daughter of George Abbot. She died in 1718, leaving a daughter Sarah, born August 13, 1718, and Mr. Abbot married (second) in 1722, Mary Carlton, who died in January, 1726. Mr. Abbot married (third) in 1729, Abi- gail, daughter of Nehemiah Abbot, who died December 8, 1753, surviving her husband five years. By his second mar- riage Mr. Abbot became the father of two sons: Benjamin, mentioned below; and Daniel, born January 9, 1726, died in April, 1793. Benjamin Abbot, the father, died December 8, 1748.
(IV) Benjamin (3), son of Benjamin (2) and Mary (Carlton) Abbot, was born November 1, 1723, and married, in 1747, Elizabeth, daughter of George Abbot. Among their children was Joel, men- tioned below. Benjamin Abbot died Jan- uary 5, 1770.
(V) Joel, son of Benjamin (3) and Elizabeth (Abbot) Abbot, was born De- cember 4, 1757, and married Lydia Cum- mings, who was born November 26, 1769. Four sons and four daughters were born to them, one of the sons being Joel, men- tioned below. Joel Abbot, the father, died April 12, 1806, and the mother of the family passed away March 5, 1813.
(VI) Joel (2), son of Joel (1) and Lydia (Cummings) Abbot, was born January 18, 1793, entered the United States navy, and served as a midshipman under Commodore MacDonough, taking part in the memorable battle on Lake Champlain during the war of 1812. He was promoted to a lieutenancy for gal- lant conduct not only during the action but before, in discharge of hazardous duty. He also received from Congress a handsome sword and an appointment to
the navy for his brother. In 1848 he was made post captain, the highest rank of the old navy, and was placed in command of the frigate "Macedonian," of the famous Perry Expedition which made a treaty with Japan and opened the ports of that country. At the conclusion of the treaty, in which he bore a prominent part, Cap- tain Abbot succeeded Commodore Perry in the command of the squadron, with the rank of commodore. The onerous and delicate duties thus imposed upon him, together with his extraordinary labors in the interest of navigation in Chinese waters, impaired the health of the veteran, but when told by his physi- cians that a speedy return home alone could save his life, he said: "I belong to the old school of officers and remain at my post until regularly relieved." The government, which had already given public approval of his course in Japan and China, had ordered a relief sent to him, but it arrived too late to save the life of the old hero, who expired at Hong Kong, December 14, 1855. Commodore Abbot married (first) Mary Wood, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, who died April 15, 1824, leaving a son, Joel Wood Abbot. He married (second) November 29, 1825, Laura Wheaton (see Wheaton line), and among their children was a daughter, Laura Wheaton, mentioned be- low.
(VII) Laura Wheaton, daughter of Joel (2) and Laura (Wheaton) Abbot, was born March 10, 1835, and became the wife of Nicholas Francis Cooke, as stated above.
(The Wheaton Line).
Charles Wheaton served in the Revo- lutionary War as quartermaster-sergeant of a Rhode Island regiment of artillery. He married Abigail Miller (see Miller line), and their daughter Laura is men- tioned below.
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I. Henry Towrap.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Laura, daughter of Charles and Abi- gail (Miller) Wheaton, became the wife of Joel (2) Abbot, as stated above.
(The Miller Line).
Nathan Miller was deputy for Warren, Rhode Island, in 1772-73-74-80-82-83-90. In May, 1777, he was colonel of militia in the county of Bristol, Rhode Island, and in 1778 he was a member of the Council of War. In May, 1779, he was made brigadier-general of the Rhode Island brigad' and in February, 1786, he was chosen to represent the State in Con- gress. He was a delegate to the Con- stitutional Convention held at Newport, Rhode Island, in May, 1790. General Miller married Rebecca Barton, and they were the parents of a daughter Abigail, mentioned below. There is in posses- sion of the family a sword presented to General Miller by General Rochambeau at the opening of the Cornwallis campaign. Abigail, daughter of Nathan and Rebecca (Barton) Miller, became the wife of Charles Wheaton (see Wheaton line).
TOWNE, John Henry, Man of Large Achievements.
William Towne, the American founder of the family from which descended John Henry Towne, came from England to this country in 1640, bringing with him a son, Edmund Towne, who married Mary Browning. The line of descent to John H. Towne is through their son Joseph Towne, who married Mary Smith; their son, Nathan Towne; his son, Nathan (2) Towne, who married Mary Poole; their son, Benjamin Towne, who married Me- hitable Chandler; and their son, John Towne, who married Sarah Robinson, and who were the parents of John Henry Towne.
John Towne, born 1787, was a man of
notable character and achievements, whose undertakings were large for their day, and earned for him ultimately a handsome competence. In partnership with Mr. Henry Robinson, of England, whose sister Sarah he subsequently mar- ried, he engaged successfully in business in Baltimore until 1817, when he moved to Pittsburgh, where he operated a line of steamboats from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, and did a commission business in cotton and sugar. In 1833 Mr. Robin- son, who had previously removed to Bos- ton and become owner of the Boston Gas Works, invited Mr. Towne to join him as a partner and to assume the superin- tendency of the gas works. Having ac- cepted this offer, Mr. Towne removed his home from Pittsburgh to Boston, where he resided until 1840, when at the age of fifty-three he retired from busi- ness and moved to Philadelphia, where his elder son had preceded him, with his family of five daughters and a younger son. His wife, a woman of fine charac- ter, had died in 1833, just prior to the move from Pittsburgh. Here in Philadel- phia he purchased a handsome home, still standing (No. 1608 Walnut street), his neighbor on the west being the Hon. William J. Duane, the distinguished law- yer, who drew the will of Stephen Girard, and who, as Secretary of the Treasury, was removed by President Jackson be- cause of his refusal to sign the order (which he disapproved) for the with- drawal of the Federal deposits from the Bank of the United States, and whose daughter, Mrs. E. D. Gillespie, has only recently closed her career as one of Phila- delphia's most distinguished women. The intimacy then begun between the two families lasted as long as any of them survived.
In 1849 Mr. John Towne purchased a beautiful country seat in the Huntingdon
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Valley, about twelve miles from Phila- delphia (near what is now Bethayres), which he made his home until his death in 1851. He was a lover of the fine arts, and had a collection of paintings which was notable for its day. Among his friends were the artists Leutze, Sully and Peale. He was also a lover of flow- ers, and in each of his places of residence cultivated them extensively and success- fully, especially rare varieties of camel- lias and heaths.
John Henry Towne, the elder son, had been sent from Boston to Philadelphia to study engineering, for which he had a strong inclination, in the machine shop of Merrick & Agnew, where he showed such ability and aptitude that in 1835 he was admitted to partnership, the firm then be- coming Merrick & Towne, and the plant, on Washington avenue, where it still exists, although much enlarged, being designated as the "Southwark Foundry." which title it still bears. Here for the next thirteen years he pursued with great activity and success his chosen profes- sion, acting as the chief engineer of the firm in designing and building marine and other heavy machinery, including the engines, designed by Captain John Erics- son, for the United States ship "Prince- ton," the first screw war vessel ever built. also centrifugal sugar machines from the designs of Mr. N. Rillieux, the original inventor. The firm were also the Ameri- can builders of the original Nasmyth steam hammer. The friendship formed at this time with Captain Ericsson lasted until the death of Mr. Towne. Among his assistants were included Mr. B. H. Bartol and Mr. Washington Jones, both familiar names in connection with Phila- delphia's engineering interests. In 1843 he had married Maria R., daughter of Joshua Tevis, a prominent merchant of Philadelphia, her mother being Rebecca
Risteau Carnan, of Baltimore, where the daughter spent much of her girlhood.
In 1847 Mr. Samuel Vaughan Merrick, the senior partner, became the first presi- dent of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany, organized in 1846, and, partly be- cause of the changed relations thus in- volved, the firm was dissolved in 1848.
For the next few years Mr. Towne en- gaged in practice as a consulting engi- neer, specializing in the building and im- provement of gas works. Among those designed and built by him were the origi- nal gas works in Savannah, Georgia, and New Bedford, Massachusetts. During this period, about 1854, he built the house at No. 1616 Locust street, still standing. which was his home until he died, and a little later bought as a summer home a place near Shoemakertown (now Ogontz) on the line of the North Penn- sylvania railroad, which was then being projected, and which has since become a part of the Reading system.
When the building of this railroad was undertaken, the person chosen as its first president was the Hon. John Welsh, one of Philadelphia's most honored citizens, and a benefactor of the University, to which he gave as an endowment fund the $50,000 presented to him by citizens in appreciation of his work as chairman of the finance committee of the Centennial Exposition. Mr. Welsh's many other duties precluding his undertaking the active responsibilities of this new posi- tion, he proposed, if indeed he did not stipulate, that Mr. Towne should be in- duced to serve as vice-president, and as such to assume the active responsibility of the undertaking, and Mr. Towne ac- cepted the position on this understand- ing. Both Mr. Welsh and Mr. Towne served without compensation, the latter devoting himself wholly to the work until, after many trials and difficulties,
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the road was completed as then projected, and successfully put into operation. On resigning his position, Mr. Towne was the recipient of a beautiful testimonial silver vase which bore the following in- scription :
Presented to John Henry Towne, Esq., by the Directors of the North Pennsylvania Rail- road Company, in grateful appreciation of his disinterested and valuable services while Vice- President of the Company. June, 1857.
Mr. Towne was a life member and an officer of the Franklin Institute, and was long an active director of the Philadel- phia & Reading Railroad Company, the Allentown Iron Company, and of several other corporations.
In 1861, impelled by his strong patriot- ism to resume active work under condi- tions which would enable him to be of use to his country during the crisis of the Civil War, he became a partner in the firm of I. P. Morris & Co., owners of the Port Richmond Iron Works, now form- ing part of the Cramp Shipyards, the other partners then being Mr. Isaac P. Morris, Mr. Lewis Taws and Mr. John Thompson. The firm proposed to under- take government work, and desired Mr. Towne's services as its chief engineer. After his admission the firm name be- came I. P. Morris, Towne & Co. Almost immediately upon the opening of the war the firm was awarded contracts for the engines for some of the earlier gunboats and monitors. Lasting throughout the war, this work embraced the machinery for seven or eight warships, including that for the two double-turreted monitors "Monadnock" and "Agamenticus," built from the designs of Captain Ericsson, with whom Mr. Towne was thus again brought into active professional relations. The firm also built blast engines, sugar machinery, rolling mills, and the Erics- son caloric engine.
About 1869-70 Mr. Towne withdrew from the firm and permanently retired from active business, making his princi- pal home in Philadelphia, and his sum- mer home at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, where he had acquired the estate known as "Eagle Head," which after his death became the principal home of his widow until her death in 1892. His health began to fail in 1874, in the latter part of which year he went to Europe with his wife and younger daughter. His death occurred suddenly, in April, 1875, in Paris, and his remains rest in Laurel Hill Cemetery.
He was a man of refined tastes, keenly appreciative of nature, painting, music and science, quiet and somewhat reserved in manner, but deeply interested in cur- rent events and ready to act when needed in the service of the public. Among his friends were Dr. William H. Furness and his brother James, Professor J. P. Lesley. Mr. Joseph Harrison, Mr. William Sel- lers and his cousin Coleman, Mr. Charles Borie, and Professors John Frazer, E. Otis Kendall and Fairman Rogers, of the University, all familiar names to many Philadelphians still living.
During his later years Mr. Towne served actively as a trustee of the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, and in his will made it his residuary legatee, specifying simply, as to the large fund thereby created, that "the income shall be used exclusively for paying the salaries of professors and other instructors in the Department of Science." In recognition of this gift the trustees adopted as the official title of this department the name it now bears, "The Towne Scientific School."
Mr. Towne had children: Henry R. (see narrative following) ; Helen C., widow of Dr. William F. Jenks, of Phila- delphia ; and Alice N., wife of Roland C. Lincoln, of Boston, Massachusetts.
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TOWNE, Henry Robinson,
Manufacturer, Scientist, Author.
Although since 1868 known to the manufacturing world as the president of the great Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company, and as the author of technical and mechanical works, Mr. Towne began his career at the Port Richmond Iron Works at Philadelphia, a city which bene- fited greatly through the genius and lib- erality of his honored father, John Henry Towne, founder of the Towne Scientific School, University of Pennsylvania.
Henry Robinson Towne was born Au- gust 28, 1844, in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, was educated in private schools, and entered the University of Pennsyl- vania, class of 1865. He did not remain until graduation, leaving to accept a posi- tion, but in 1887 the University bestowed upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. He began his career in the busi- ness world with the Port Richmond Iron Works, Philadelphia, as mechanical draughtsman, and until 1866 was en- gaged on heavy engineering work, par- ticularly marine engines for Government war vessels, superintending the erection of such on the monitors "Monadnock" and "Agamenticus, and other war vessels at the navy-yards in Philadelphia, Bos- ton and Portsmouth, also having charge of repairs on other government vessels.
In 1866 he went to Europe for an ex- tended tour of the great engineering plants of England, Belgium and France, supplemented by a six months' course in engineering at the Sorbonne, Paris, spe- cial studies in engineering with the late Robert Briggs, and in the shops of Wil- liam Sellers & Company, in Philadelphia, until the summer of 1868.
In October, 1868, he became a partner of Linus Yale, Jr., who was then in busi- ness at Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.
The partners incorporated the proposed new enterprise under the title The Yale Lock Manufacturing Company, and pur- chased a site for a factory plant at Stam- ford, Connecticut. Two months later, December, 1868, Mr. Yale died, leaving the enterprise in the hands of Mr. Towne and his son, John B. Yale, the latter suc- ceeding to his father's interest. In 1869 Mr. Towne became president of the com- pany, subsequently acquiring the Yale in- terest, and has been its executive head through all its years of wonderful expan- sion until the present. The use of Yale locks is general through the world, the great plants of the company have ex- panded to meet all demands and the Yale and Towne Manufacturing Company, of Stamford and New York, manufacturers of Yale locks, builders' hardware, chain blocks and so forth, ranks among the great industrial corporations of the world. The number of its employees now ex- ceeds five thousand.
Mr. Towne is more than the manufac- turer, more than the engineer, more than the successful business man. He is all of these and in addition, the scientist, author of standard works and a con- sultant on the scientific aspects of many engineering problems.
In 1883 he published "Towne on Cranes," an authority; in 1905, "Locks and Builders Hardware;" and the col- umns of technical and scientific journals are frequently enriched by articles from his pen.
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