USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. VII > Part 23
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From prominence as a contractor, Mr. McCormick naturally has gravitated to other lines of business activity. He is a director of the Northampton National Bank, of Easton, and has other large in- terests. His peculiar ability, however, was the faculty of handling large forces of workmen in a manner that earned their good-will and in directing their energies so that the best results were obtained. He has ever been the man of energy but with the years he has surrendered the heavier burdens of business and in com- fort and ease is enjoying the fruits of his years of activity and effort. He possesses a wealth of friends, is genial, generous
and charitable, a man whom all respect, and one whom everybody likes.
In politics he is a Democrat, and runs true to the traditions of his race in his love and interest in civic affairs. He is a member of St. Bernard's Roman Cath- olic Church, and a liberal supporter of its varied departments of service.
Mr. McCormick married, at Brooklyn, New York, in 1876, Anna Byrne, daugh- ter of John Byrne, of Newtown, County Longford, Ireland. They are the parents of four children : Zelia, born in 1877, and died at the age of four years and nine months; Thomas (2), died in 1914; James S., engaged with his father in the con- tracting business, and a member of the Smith-McCormick Company; Emily, married Dr. Morganstern, a practicing physician of Easton.
LEES, Henry,
Prominent Business Man.
For over half a century Henry Lees, of Plymouth, has been a resident of that town, and in point of usefulness no native son has a prouder record. His residence in Plymouth has been continuous since 1862, with the exception of four years spent in the gold mines of Montana. Dur- ing the years since his return from the west he has been continuously engaged in business, and no worthy enterprise has ever failed to receive his support if the advancement of Plymouth's interests was its object. Now president of the First National Bank, of Plymouth, he has prac- tically retired from active participation in other lines and devotes himself to the en- joyments so richly deserved. Not alone have Plymouth's business interests felt the touch of his strong hand, but church and charity have always received his gen- erous support. In fact, there is no inter- est of the city but has benefited by his
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generous, whole-hearted activity, and no man has more thoroughly gained the re- spect of his community.
Henry Lees was born in Somercotes, Nottinghamshire, England, February 14, 1841, son of George and Anna (Ashley) Lees, both of English birth and ancestry. He was educated and grew to manhood in his native land, but upon attaining his majority in 1862 came to the United States, locating in Plymouth, Pennsyl- vania, where he engaged in coal mining. Later he went to the State of Montana and for four years worked in the gold mines in the vicinity of Helena. He had accumulated some capital from his earn- ings and at the end of five years returned to Plymouth and opened a gentleman's clothing and merchant tailoring establish- ment. He prospered abundantly, built up a large business, and for thirty-one years remained in the same field, becoming the leader in his particular line. During these years he acquired other large interests and as stockholder and official was inter- ested in every worthy Plymouth enter- prise, street railroads, water works, fac- tories, and the like. In 1905 he was elected a director of the First National Bank, of Plymouth, was for several years its vice-president, and in 1914 was elected president. He developed unusually strong qualities as a business man, but could the mainspring of his character be named, it would be integrity. He won respect and confidence by his straightforward meth- ods, and with confidence established suc- cess was assured. His rise in life has been earned step by step, not by a lucky turn of the wheel of fortune, but industry and constant willingness to accept an oppor- tunity playing an important part.
Mr. Lees is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for fifty years has been a member of the Plymouth congregation, serving as superintendent of the Sunday school for twenty-five
years, and is now president of the board of trustees. His purse and his business experience have been freely given to the church of his love, and the general chari- table and philanthropic institutions of the borough have likewise profited through his broad-minded outlook on life. In poli- tics he is an Independent, not bound by party ties, but an earnest supporter of men and measures that accord with his ideas of fitness, independence not mean- ing for him indifference. He is a mem- ber of the Masonic order, affiliated with Plymouth Lodge, No. 332, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and Wyoming Valley Chapter, No. 214, Royal Arch Masons. He is an interested member of the Wyo- .ning Historical and Geological Society, and of other bodies of local importance.
Mr. Lees married, January 25, 1872, Lorinda Davenport, born in Plymouth, October 12, 1838, died December 19, 1913, daughter of Oliver and Lydia (Ransom) Davenport, a descendant of Captain Sam- uel Ransom, a gallant officer of the Revo- lution who gave up his life at the battle of Wyoming.
Dr. Rush Oliver Lees, only child of Henry and Lorinda (Davenport) Lees, was born in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, De- cember 15, 1873. He obtained his pre- paratory education in the public schools and Wyoming Seminary, chose medicine as his profession, and after a full course in the medical department of Harvard University was graduated M. D. He spent the six months following his gradu- ation in the Massachusetts General Hos- pital, then for one and one-half years was resident physician of the Pittston General Hospital, Pittston, Pennsylvania. Jour- neying abroad for two years he pursued a course of study in Vienna under the great specialist, Dr. Lorenz, and pre- pared for special practice. On his return to the United States he located in Utica, New York, where he has won renown as
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a specialist in diseases of the nose, eye, ear and throat. His skill and authorita- tive knowledge have gained him a reputa- tion more than local, and his devotion to his profession has been productive of valuable results. Dr. Lees is married and has a daughter, Norma Lees.
STIEREN, Edward, Ophthalmologist, Author.
Dr. Edward Stieren, one of Pitts- burgh's prominent ophthalmologists, is a representative of an old Western Penn- sylvania family which has given many useful citizens to the Keystone State. The history of the American branch of the race is traced below.
Edward Stieren, grandfather of Ed- ward Stieren, of Pittsburgh, was born in 1802, in Hanover, Germany, and after re- ceiving the usual preliminary training en- tered the University of Goettingen, from which he graduated in 1826, receiving his degree in medicine. Several years later the University of Erlangen, in Bavaria, conferred upon him, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. In 1843 Dr. Stieren re- ceived an appointment from the Russian government as director of the chemical works in Poland, and later he entered into partnership as chief chemist with a num- ber of capitalists who controlled the saline springs at Frankenhausen, Thur- ingia. The object was the extensive man- ufacture of chemicals, and Dr. Stieren amassed a considerable fortune which he subsequently lost by the intriguing of his partners. In 1850 he emigrated to the United States taking out his naturaliza- tion papers six years later, and for two years filled the position of superintend- ing chemist in chemical works at Frank- ford, near Philadelphia. Subsequently he went to East Tarentum, now Natrona, where he inaugurated the soda works as its first chemist, putting it on a practical
and scientific basis. While thus engaged he made several important discoveries which are now in every-day use in com- mercial chemistry. Dr. Stieren, as his loss of fortune showed, did not excel as a business man, his mind being essen- tially a scientific one. He was a prolific writer for scientific journals, both domes- tic and foreign, and compiled several works on chemistry, the most noted being his "Chemische Fabrik." Dr. Stieren married, in 1828, at Salzgitter, Amalia Pillman, and in 1837 removed to Schoene- beck, taking a position as chemist in the extensive chemical works in that town and presumably retaining it until receiv- ing his appointment from the Russian government. On March 27, 1863, Dr. Stieren passed away. On his tombstone in Prospect Cemetery, Tarentum, is the following epitaph: "A Man of Justice, Truth and Merit, His Faith was: Injure no one, fear God, walk humbly and be kind to your fellow creatures."
(II) William Edward Stieren, son of Edward and Amalia (Pillman) Stieren was born May 27, 1836, at Salzgitter, Ger- many, and married Helen Schenck, whose ancestral record is appended to this biog- raphy. He was a manufacturer of scien- tific instruments and one of Pittsburgh's most respected and progressive citizens.
(III) Dr. Edward Stieren, son of Wil- liam Edward and Helen (Schenck) Stier- en, was born December 15, 1873, in Pitts- burgh, and received his education in the public schools and at the Western Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, receiving his de- gree of Bachelor of Science in 1893. He studied medicine in the Western Penn- sylvania Medical College (now the Medi- cal Department of the University of Pitts- burgh), from which he graduated in 1896. He afterward did post-graduate work at Johns Hopkins University, and then spent a year in Vienna and Berlin, pursuing special courses of study.
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Guard Stieren Pieles. Dr. M. X Jhilos.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
On his return home Dr. Stieren estab- lished himself in Pittsburgh as an oph- thalmologist, and has ever since followed that line of practice, rising steadily into well deserved prominence and winnin; the implicit confidence both of the profes- sion and the public. He is ophthalmic surgeon to the Passavant and South Sid Hospitals, and was, following the Spanish- American War, Assistant Surgeon in the Eighteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Na- tional Guard. Despite the strenuous de- mands of his large practice Dr. Stieren's pen has not been idle. Following is a list of the articles which he has from time to time contributed to medical journals :
(1) Oedematous Changes in the Epithelium of the Cornea in a case of Uveitis following Gonor- rheal Ophthalmia. Johns Hopkins Hospital Bul- letin, December, 1898.
(2) A report of two cases of Metastatic Chor- oiditis occurring in Children following Measles. Penna. Medical Journal, January, 1900.
(3) A case of Jamaica Ginger Amblyopia. lbid, September, 1900.
(4) Tubercular Dacryoadenitis and Conjuncti- vitis. Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin, Novem- ber, 1901.
(5) Gumma of the Ciliary Body. Penna. Medi- cal Journal, November, 1901.
(6) Syphilis of the Eye. International Clinics, Vol. III, 1902.
(7) A case of Phlyctenular Keratitis complica- ting Small-Pox. Penna. Medical Journal, No- vember, 1902.
(8) Congenital absence of both Inferior Recti Muscles. American Medicine, April 11, 1903.
(9) Cystadenoma of the Lachrymal Gland. Transactions American Ophthalmological Society, Vol. X, 11, 323, 1904.
(10) Traumatic Rupture of the Choroid. Jour- nal of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, 1904.
(II) Acquired Hydrophthalmus. American Medicine, April 2, 1904.
(12) Removal of the Crystalline Lens in High Myopia. Penna. Medical Journal, September, 1904.
(13) Carbolic Acid and Ammonia Burns of the Eye. Ophthalmic Record, November, 1904.
(14) A case of Acquired Cyst of the Conjunc- PA-Vol VII-12
tiva containing an Embryonic Tooth-like Struc- ture. Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin, Septem- ber, 1905.
(15) Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus. Penna. Medical Journal, February, 1906.
(16) Eye Injuries. Ibid, June, 1906.
(17) Hyperopia of 21 diopters simulating My- opia. Ophthalmic Record, September, 1906.
(18) A study in Atavistic Descent of Con- genital Cataract through four generations. Ibid, May, 1907.
(19) The treatment of Ulcer of the Cornea. Penna. Medical Journal, June, 1907.
(20) Sympathetic Ophthalmia. Ibid, October, 1907.
(21) Surgical interference in Choked Disc. Ophthalmic Record, March, 1908.
(22) Trachoma. A Social Disease. Penna. Medical Journal, February, 1909.
(23) Double Choked Disc from increased In- tracranial Pressure. Penna. Medical Journal, Vol. 14.
(24) Gliosarcoma of Retina with Recurrence in Antrum of Highmore. Penna. Medical Journal, Vol. 17.
(25) Metastatic Choroiditis. Penna. Medical Journal, Vol. 17.
(26) Enucleation with Transplantation of Fat into Orbit. Journal A. M. A., Vol. 23.
(27) Blepharochalasis. Trans. Amer. Oph. Soc., Vol. 13.
(28) Management of Foreign Bodies in Eye and Orbit. Ophthalmic Record, Vol. 22.
(29) Salvarsan in Ophthalmology. Ophthalmic Record, Vol. 24.
(30) Dislocation of Lens into Vitreous. Oph- thalmic Record, Vol. 24.
(31) Chemical Burn of Eye from Indelible Pencil. Ophthalmic Record, Vol. 24.
(32) Glioma of Retina. Report of Three Cases. Ophthalmic Record, Vol. 19.
(33) The Pupil in Health and Disease. Penna. Medical Journal, Vol. 15.
(34) Ocular Findings in Hereditary Syphilis. Ophthalmic Record, Vol. 20.
(35) Pemphigus of the Conjunctiva. Trans. Amer. Oph. Soc., 1915.
(36) Glaucoma with Atrophy of the Iris. Penna. Medical Journal, Vol. 18.
(37) Congenital Coralliform Cataract. Ibid. (38) Ectropion. Ibid.
The professional organizations to which Dr. Stieren belongs include the American Academy of Opthalmology, the
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American Opthalmological Society, the American Medical Association, the Asso- ciation of Military Surgeons of the United States, the Pennsylvania State Medical Society and the Allegheny County Med- ical Society, of which he was at one time secretary. He is a member and ex-presi- dent of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of Pittsburgh, and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
In politics Dr. Stieren is a Republican, and has at different times manifested his public spirit by serving on school boards and holding other minor offices. He be- longs to the University and Duquesne Clubs, of Pittsburgh, and the Army and Navy Club, of New York City, also the Nu Sigma Nu fraternity. He is a member of Bellefield Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Stieren married, April 30, 1903, Ra- chel Robbins, whose ancestral record is appended to this biography, and they are the parents of two children: Josephine Robbins, and Elizabeth May. Mrs. Stier- en, who is a suffragist, belongs to the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Twentieth Century Club, and is one of the board of managers of the Young Women's Christian Association of Pittsburgh.
(The Schenck Line).
Frederick G. Schenck, grandfather of Mrs. Helen (Schenck) Stieren, was a wealthy merchant of Glatz, Silesia, Ger- many, conducting a general merchandise business which had been established by his great-grandfather. About 1823 Mr. Schenck retired from business and re- moved to Dresden.
(II) Frederick G., son of Frederick G. Schenck, was born June 2, 1815, in Glatz, Germany, and was eight years old when his parents moved to Dresden. In that city he attended school, afterward enter- ing an agricultural college from which he graduated in his nineteenth year. In 1834
he emigrated to the United States, set- tling in Pittsburgh and working for a season on a farm, as farmhand, in order to acquire practical experience in Amer- ican farming.
In 1835 the United States government called for volunteers for the army, and Mr. Schenck enlisted and was appointed orderly sergeant. His company received orders from Washington to proceed to Texas to check the Mexican invasion, but on reaching New Orleans their orders were countermanded, General Sam Hous- ton, who was commander-in-chief, hav- ing driven out the Mexicans. While in New Orleans, Sergeant Schenck nursed in a hospital, having acquired an interest in medicine from his brother, who was a physician. His company was then ordered to Florida, where there was an uprising of the Seminole Indians under Osceola, and one day, while at some distance from camp on a hunting expedition, he and two companions were attacked by a party of Indians. Sergeant Schenck, who was in a dense thicket, was not discovered by the savages and remained in concealment until nightfall, when he hastened back to camp and reported the killing and scalp- ing of his companions. When his com- pany was mustered out of service he went to Pittsburgh, and soon after obtained a situation in a general store in Colum- biana, Ohio. He was soon discovered to be a man of unusual education, having command of three languages-German, English and French-and was requested to teach in the school, which he did. Dur- ing his stay in Columbiana he frequently visited Pittsburgh, but as there were no railroads and no direct stage communica- tions between the two places the trip had to be made on horseback.
About 1840 Mr. Schenck received notice that his father had died in Germany and he was requested to return home and get
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his inheritance. When he came back from Europe he purchased a farm of one hun- dred and seventy acres on the Washing- ton turnpike, five miles from Pittsburgh, where Greentree borough is now situated. It was part of a tract of land which had been purchased from the Indians by Joseph Henry for a gallon of whiskey. Mr. Schenck lived on the farm until about 1864, when he sold it and moved to the city of Pittsburgh. At that time an old friend of his, Ferdinand Folz, was ap- pointed internal revenue collector for this district, and Mr. Schenck was appointed chief bookkeeper of the collector's office, a position which he retained during the collectorships of William Little and Thomas Davis, when, his health failing, he was obliged to resign. He was an extraordinarily good penman, and the United States Revenue Office in Wash- ington paid him the high compliment of stating that his reports were the neatest and most efficient which they received. During the Civil War a number of his German friends organized the Koerner's Guard, and he was elected first lieutenant of that company. He affiliated with Solo- mon's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Pittsburgh, was elected twice in suc- cession to the chair, and for a number of years served as secretary.
Mr. Schenck married, before returning to Germany to receive his inheritance, Helena, daughter of Henry von Olnhau- sen, and they became the parents of two children: Frederick Edmund ; and Helen, mentioned below. Mr. Schenck died at his home on the bluff, October 7, 1878, survived by his wife and his son and daughter.
(III) Helen, daughter of Frederick G. and Helena (von Olnhausen) Schenck, became the wife of William Edward Stieren, as stated above.
(The Robbins Line).
Moses Robbins, the first ancestor of record, was born in 1719 and was known as "captain." He married Keziah Minor, who was born in 1728.
(II) Brintnell, son of Moses and Ke- ziah (Minor) Robbins, was born in 1756, and served as ensign in the patriot army of the Revolution. Ensign Robbins mar- ried Mary Boardman, who was born in 1759.
(III) William, son of Brintnell and Mary (Boardman) Robbins, was born in 1795, and married Agnes Sloan, who was born in 1801.
(IV) Joseph, son of William and Agnes (Sloan) Robbins, was born in 1824, and was a coal operator, residing at Robbins Station, Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- vania. He married Margaret Jane Christy (see Christy line).
(V) Rachel, daughter of Joseph and Margaret Jane (Christy) Robbins, was educated at Lake Erie Seminary, Paines- ville, Ohio, Goucher College, Baltimore, and the Women's Medical College, Phil- adelphia, and became the wife of Edward Stieren, as stated above.
(The Christy Line).
John Christy was a native of Ireland and in 1766 emigrated to the American colonies, settling on a farm in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. On this farm which he cleared and improved, he passed the remainder of his life and it is still in the possession of his descendants.
(II) Andrew, son of John Christy, was born on his father's farm, and passed his life in cultivating his paternal acres. He married Eliza, daughter of William Eakin, who was of Irish descent and a pioneer of Westmoreland county, having settled on a farm that was patented by John Christy. Andrew Christy and his wife were the parents of the following children: Caro-
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line, married James Cowan; Amanda, married the Reverend J. L. Brown ; Mary, married the Reverend Alexander Marshall; Cyrus, married Martha Sill; Martha, married William Robbins; Mar- garet Jane, mentioned below; John R., married Nancy Robinson ; Sarah, married Presley Samm. Andrew Christy died on the homestead, May 6, 1880, in the eighty- fifth year of his age.
(III) Margaret Jane, daughter of An- drew and Eliza (Eakin) Christy, was born in 1840, and became the wife of Joseph Robbins (see Robbins line).
PENTECOST, Alexander J., Civil War Veteran, Useful Citizen.
The heroic survivors of the Grand Army are fast passing away, and with the lapse of each succeeding year the ranks of Pittsburgh's veterans suffer a perceptible diminution. One of the last to leave us was Major Alexander J. Pentecost, who added to a distinguished military record a successful career as a business man and very notable service as a citizen.
Alexander J. Pentecost was born No- vember 18, 1835, in Pittsburgh, and was a son of Dorsey and Susan Pentecost, and a grandson of Colonel Dorsey Pentecost, who took an active part in the Revolu- tionary War, commanding the military forces of Washington county in 1781. Colonel Pentecost was one of the first justices of the peace of old Fort Pitt, and from 1781 to 1783 a member of the Su- preme Executive Council of Pennsyl- vania. He also served as President-Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Wash- ington county.
The father of Alexander J. Pentecost died in 1840, when the boy was but five years old, and in 1845 his widowed mother moved to old Allegheny. From that year to the close of his life, Major Pentecost was a resident of that portion
of his native city. After serving an ap- prenticeship to a machinist, at the age of twenty the youth became a member of the firm of Pentecost, Graham & Bole, engine-builders. Later he disposed of his interest in the business, and at the time of the excitement caused by the discovery of gold on Pike's Peak, went west to seek his fortune. In 1860, after an absence of about a year, he returned to Pittsburgh.
The following year the storm-cloud of Civil War which had long been lowering over our land, burst in the thunder of the guns bombarding Fort Sumter. Scarcely had their echoes died away when Alexan- der J. Pentecost hastened to enroll him- self among the defenders of the Union. It was his intention to recruit a company at Neville Hall, but the City Guards under command of Colonel Alexander Hays, had already taken possession of the building and his plans were frustrated. He then enlisted in the Washington Rifles, which he helped to recruit at old Lafayette Hall, and which offered its services to the State. Pennsylvania's quota of soldiers being full, however, the organization, under command of Captain A. C. Hays, chart- ered a steamboat and went to Wheeling, where it joined the Fifth West Virginia Cavalry Corps. This was in May, 1861. Somewhat later, Private Pentecost enlist- ed as corporal in Company A, Fifth West Virginia Cavalry, with which he served all through the war. Within a short time Corporal Pentecost was sent to Grafton, West Virginia, to assist in forming a quartermaster's department at that place, and in September, 1861, was ordered to the Kanawha Valley. Returning to Wheeling in December, he reported to Governor Pierpont, who asked him to assist Colonel Harris in recruiting the Tenth Regiment of West Virginia In- fantry at Clarksburg. Preferring to re- main with his regiment, which was then in winter quarters on Cheat Mountain,
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Corporal Pentecost immediately reported at regimental headquarters, was assigned to the quartermaster's department, and on July 7, 1862, was commissioned first lieutenant and regimental quartermaster. As lieutenant he rendered active service in some of the most important battles of the war, including Gaulebridge, Rich Mountain, Cross Keys, White Sulphur Springs, Waterloo Bridge, Gainesville, Second Bull Run, Beverly, and many others. In 1865 he was made a captain by President Lincoln for gallantry and meritorious conduct in the field.
After his return to civil life, Captain Pentecost was for several years engaged in the real estate business, achieving con- siderable success. He also held a number of public positions, being elected in 1874 a member of the Allegheny city council and serving for years on the Third ward school board, holding for several terms the offices of president and treasurer. In 1887 he was appointed a member of the high school committee, and for twelve years was one of the school controllers of the North Side. It was as a result of a resolution introduced by him in 1887 that the Allegheny high school was built. He was one of the seven founders of the Young Men's Christian Association of Pittsburgh, and took an active part in the work of that organization.
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