USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. VII > Part 27
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Dr. Reese became a charter member of the American Astronomical Society in 1899, and while attending its initial meet- ing at Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, he received the appointment of Research Assistant, a position he held until 1901, when he returned to Pitts- burgh and entered upon the practice of engineering with the Carnegie Steel Com- pany. Since that time Mr. Reese followed engineering as a vocation, serving five years with the Riter Conley Manufactur- ing Company ; two years with the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company; and five years with the United States Steel Corpo- ration. He continued, however, his origi- nal researches, and his papers on "Cross Rolls for Tube Mills" and "Distortion of Tubes of Large Diameter," together with his researches while at the Yerkes Obser- vatory on "The Field of the Reflecting Telescope," and his translations and re- views of Moritz von Rohr's German works on optics, resulted in his being elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1908. Abroad, Dr. Reese has received recogni- tion from Germany, England and France -German scientists commenting favor-
ably on his translations and reviews; the learned representatives of Great Britain electing him a foreign member of the Royal Societies Club, St. James street, London; and M. Gaston Darboux, per- manent secretary of the French Academy, authorizing him to make the translation of M. Darboux's "Eulogy on Henri Poin- care." Henri Poincare was a cousin of the President of France, and is said to have been the world's greatest mathema- tician. While Dr. Reese has devoted most study to engineering and mathematics, the extent of his other interests may be judged from a partial list of the organi- zations with which he has been most closely identified. For eight or ten years he conducted successful classes in Eng- lish and public speaking in the Central Young Men's Christian Association, and was a member of the evening class com- mittee of the East Liberty Young Men's Christian Association. For several years he trained debating teams for the Pitts- burgh Chapter, American Bankers' Insti- tute, the teams in every case being suc- cessful.
Dr. Reese is a past master of Duquesne Lodge, No. 546, Free and Accepted Masons; past high priest of Pittsburgh Chapter, No. 268, Royal Arch Masons ; was prelate for several years of Duquesne Commandery, No. 72, Knights Templar ; and received the cryptic degrees in Mt. Moriah Council, No. 2, Royal and Select Master Masons; and is a thirty-second degree Mason of the Scottish Rite in Pennsylvania Consistory. Dr. Reese has also served as director of the Fort Pitt Rifle Club and as advisory member of the Luther Burbank Society and the An- thological Society. He has also been a member of the American Society for the Judicial Settlement of International Dis- putes, the Maryland Peace Society, and the National Geographical Society.
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Dr. Reese is the son of the late Abram and Mary (Godwin) Reese. His mother was born in Wiltshire, England; while his father was of a family of Welsh inventors. One uncle, Isaac Reese, was the inventor of the silica brick, and Jacob Reese, another uncle, was the inventor of the present open-hearth process of mak- ing steel. Dr. Reese's father, Abram Reese, was the patentee of many im- provements on rolling mill processes. Dr. Reese, while not claiming any of the inventive genius of his forefathers, has designed and perfected many useful me- chanical devices, among them spacing tables, cantry cranes, and magnetic clutches. He designed the largest steel ladle ever built, and has recently de- veloped a new machine for lifting the doors off coke ovens. Dr. Reese resides at No. 628 College avenue, East End. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A brother, Charles Reese, is a talented artist in New York; his only sister, Cara Reese, noted as an authoress and writer, died in 1914.
STEWART, William L., Manufaturer, Financier, Civic Leader.
From the dawn of history the Scotch- man has been a power. He has founded and overthrown churches and dynasties, contended for political and religious free- dom, and has laid down his life for his country and his convictions. He has impressed on the New World, as on the Old, the stamp of his strong individual- ity, and on no State in the Union has it been more indelibly engraved than on Pennsylvania. To her citizens of Scot- tish birth and ancestry Pittsburgh owes an incalculable debt, and many members of the hardy and valiant Caledonian race are now sustaining and increasing the prosperity and prestige of the city. Among the foremost of these is William
Lincoln Stewart, who is one of Pitts- burgh's most successful and influential business men.
(I) James Stewart, grandfather of Wil- liam Lincoln Stewart, was born in Scot- land. He emigrated to America, locating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he married Olive Martin, a Quakeress.
(II) George Washington Stewart, son of James and Olive (Martin) Stewart, was born in Philadelphia, and educated in Ohio. He started in business early in life as an employee of a Mr. Catlett, a merchant and grain dealer of Wellsville, Ohio. He was steadily advanced and soon started in business for himself as a merchant at Wellsville, Ohio. He later went to Yellow Creek, Jefferson county, Ohio, and then went to Virginia, where he became a prominent merchant and business man, conducting an extensive business, in addition to being a wool and grain dealer and brick manufacturer. It was after his return to Virginia that he met his wife, who was Mary Amanda, daughter of Thomas J. and Nancy (Bren- neman) Hewitt. Thomas J. Hewitt had been a merchant in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania ; he served as justice of the peace and was in charge of cadets; was a prominent man in Pennsylvania for some years before his removal to Vir- ginia, where he became prominently identified with the business and official life of that State. As a civil engineer he laid out Brooke and Hancock counties, Virginia, and at one time was a member of the Assembly of Virginia. His son, Major C. C. Hewitt, was graduated from West Point Military Academy, class of 1874, and served as major of the Nine- teenth Infantry, United States Army, for thirty years. Nancy (Brenneman) Hewitt was a granddaughter of Jacob Nessly, who came from Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania, to Hancock county, West Vir-
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ginia, September 17, 1785, and took up seven thousand acres of land on the Ohio river, which tract up to the present time belongs to his descendants.
In attempts to trace the family of Jacob Nessly to a foreign ancestry, it has not been definitely learned when his ances- tors came to this country, but the impres- sion is that they emigrated from the Swiss-Loraine district, on the borders of France, about the year 1730. Jacob Nessly first settled in Strasburg town- ship, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where in 1772 he married Elizabeth Groff. Elizabeth Groff was a descendant of Hans Groff, who fled from the persecu- tion against the Mennonites in Switzer- land and settled on Groff's Run, West Earl township, Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania, in 1717, he being the first settler of the township, which was named in honor of him-Earl being the English name of Groff. In 1885 the descendants of this worthy Swiss pioneer celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of his settlement on the Ohio, and his grand- daughter, Mrs. Nancy (Brenneman) Hewitt, his oldest living descendant, was present. George Washington and Mary Amanda (Hewitt) Stewart were parents of six children: 1. Edmond David Stew- art, merchant and fruit dealer, of New Cumberland, West Virginia ; married, and has one son, Edmond David, Jr., graduate of University of West Virginia, now at- tending Harvard Law School. 2. Captain Charles Sumner Stewart, a retired busi- ness man of Beaver, Pennsylvania ; mar- ried, and has two daughters: Grace and Rebecca. 3. George Washington, Jr., in business with his brother, William Lin- coln Stewart; has three children, two daughters and one son. 4. Arthur Heaton Stewart, is in the shoe business with his brothers, William L. and George W .; married Harriet, daughter of B. Connell,
of Virginia, and has three children : Eliza- beth, George and Arthur. 5. William Lincoln Stewart, see below. 6. Mary Stewart, married George C. Thompson, of East Liverpool, Ohio, a son of C. C. Thompson, who founded the C. C. Thomp- son Pottery Company, of East Liverpool, and nephew of W. L. Thompson, the famous composer; the C. C. Thompson Pottery Company was the first plant established in East Liverpool, and George C. Thompson is the present manager of it. George C. and Mary (Stewart) Thompson are the parents of one child, Stewart Thompson, educated at Princeton Uni- versity.
(III) William Lincoln Stewart, son of George Washington and Mary Amanda (Hewitt) Stewart, was born at Yellow Creek, Jefferson county, Ohio, July I, 1865. He was educated in the schools of New Cumberland, West Virginia, and the public schools of Pittsburgh, Penn- sylvania. He then returned to Virginia with his father, and was associated with him in business until the death of the father, when he and his brother, George W. Stewart, continued the business for several years. In May, 1890, the brothers came to Pittsburgh and established a wholesale and jobbing shoe business on Wood street, which was known as Stewart, Hackett & Company for five years, when the name of the firm was changed to Stewart Brothers & Company. The firm prospered, and larger quarters being found necessary, they removed to 713 Liberty street, where the business was conducted for ten years, at the end of which time the growing business ne- cessitated another removal to 917 Liberty avenue. In 1906 another change of loca- tion was made to the present commodious building at 945 Penn avenue, where there are ten floors, with a combined aggregate of 45,000 square feet.
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Some idea of the phenomenal growth of this business may be obtained when it is understood that in nine years this house, from the smallest of its kind in the city, became the largest. It is the finest equipped boot and shoe establishment in America, and has the largest stock of tennis shoes in the world. Mr. Stewart and his brother, who compose the firm, are ranked among the most enterprising business men in Western Pennsylvania. The success of the firm has been chiefly due to the fact that the employees are carefully trained by the Messrs. Stewart in their business methods. One of Mr. Stewart's chief characteristics is that of being easily approached, no one in his employ feeling the slightest hesitancy in asking him anything, and he treats all with the greatest consideration, irrespec- tive of position. Nothing gives him more pleasure than to recognize merit in the employees of the company, and he bases his promotions upon their worth and ability. He knows all the details of his business, is full of initiative and origi- nality, and is a man who is bound to succeed in anything he undertakes. His mind is keenly analytical and his con- clusions are based on his own logical deductions. Mr. Stewart is a man of genial personality, large and well-formed, whose keen eyes light up his strong face, in which good nature and humor are mingled. He is a man who keeps his word absolutely. His is the magnetism of a strong personality-a man of great cordiality and kindliness. Mr. Stewart is vice-president of the Merchants' Bank of Pittsburgh; and a director in the Greater Pittsburgh Land Development Company, which is developing large tracts of land in Mckeesport, Pennsyl- vania. He is interested in various other concerns, among which is the Cumber- land Oil Company.
Whenever possible, Mr. Stewart does all in his power for the uplift of human- ity. In April, 1912, he was a member of the Morals Efficiency Commission of Pittsburgh-a commission created to see what could be done to eradicate evil from the city, and which accomplished much good. Mr. Stewart was treasurer of this commission, and was the only business man serving on it. He devotes much time to aiding young men and boys in whom he sees ability, and has started many on the way to business success. He is frequently called upon to address various business associations, and has gained some note as a speaker on busi- ness aids. Mr. Stewart is a member of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association and the Pittsburgh Field Club. In politics he is affiliated with the Republican party, but has never held office, although often urged to become a candidate for various offices. He is a member and chairman of the trustees of the First Methodist Protestant Church, and is a director of the Preachers' Aid Society of that denom- ination. He is also one of the incorpora- tors of the St. Regis Home for Working Girls.
On January 1, 1896, Mr. Stewart mar- ried Miss Edna, daughter of Nathaniel D. and Margaret (Starr) Wright, of Steu- benville, Ohio. Nathaniel D. Wright was born near Paris, Pennsylvania, and later became a business man of Steubenville, Ohio. Mrs. Margaret (Starr) Wright was a daughter of Thomas Starr, who was a comparatively wealthy man before he went to California, prior to the Civil War, and became successful in the min- ing business; he was a man of fine edu- cation, and after his retirement from business devoted his time to astronomy, becoming quite noted in this science. Children of Mr. and Mrs. William Lin- coln Stewart: 1. William L., Jr., born
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January 17, 1898, educated at Boys' Col- legiate School and at Shadyside Acad- emy, Pittsburgh; entered Yale Univer- sity in 1915, will later go to Harvard University. 2. Margaret Wright, edu- cated by governesses and at Miss Shears' School, Pittsburgh. Mrs. Stewart was educated at Steubenville Female Semi- nary, Steubenville, Ohio, and at Walnut Lane Seminary, Philadelphia, having been graduated from both institutions. She is active socially, serves on various phil- anthropic boards, and is a member of nu- merous clubs.
William Lincoln Stewart's life has been one of unabating energy and unfaltering industry, and while he has never sought to figure in any public light, he belongs to that class of substantial business men who constitute the bulwark of a city's strength and development.
TRESCOTT FAMILY.
The Trescott family, representatives of which in the present generation have at- tained high standing in the legal profes- sion, one being the first woman attorney admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, in which they have achiev- ed not only success but distinction, traces its ancestry to William Trescott, of Dor- chester, Massachusetts, born 1614, the first of the family of whom there is any authentic record.
On October 18, 1902, the school com- mittee of the town of Hyde Park, Mas- sachusetts voted that the new school- house built in the East River street neigh- borhood should be called the "Trescott School," the first Trescott house in Amer- ica having been built in that locality. At that time Mr. Charles F. Jenney com- piled from the New England records a history and genealogical record of the Trescott family of Dorchester and Milton, which was published in the "Hyde Park
Historical Record," vol. iii, No. 1, April, 1903. Mr. Jenney states: "As the name is not now, and has not been for many years represented in the territory now comprising Hyde Park, it is timely to gather together what is known concern- ing the family and in particular its con- nection with our own territory."
This history, together with family records kept by the Huntington members of the family, whose ancestors came from Connecticut to Huntington, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, seem to make an authentic record. A sketch of the family appearing in "Families of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania," published about 1906, contains many in- accuracies.
The Trescott family took an important part in the early activities of New Eng- land. Their names are mentioned in the genealogical records of that section in many places. One was mentioned in a letter written by Colonel Thomas West- brook, April 27, 1725, enclosing orders to the commanding officers of the military companies, with instructions to proceed at once against the enemies, the Indians in Maine. The letter said, among other things :
If you are of opinion that you may not be safely spared from your garrison at this season, I order that Captain Bean have the Command and procure men and instructions, and Hee shall take some suitable good officers to command under him. Mr. Trescott is the bearer hercof whom I appoint for the third officer in this march, and in case you do not go yourself, he is to be second.
Colonel Westbrook received a letter written May 4, 1725:
I have your Honor's orders pr. Ens. Trescott, who coming by Cape Porpoise last Saturday with four men, was fired upon by a party of nine or ten Indians. Trescott is Shott through the thigh and through the ankle. The other members of the party had their gun-stocks Shott off. They
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immediately made up a party of twenty-four men to follow the Indians, some soldiers, some inhabi- tants and some sailors, though they were not able to go themselves.
In a letter written July 13, 1720, from Georgetown, by John Penhallow to Colo- nel Hutchinson, writing of the troubles they were having with the Indians, "Writ- ing in behalf of Ye Town," he says, "we have only one Commanding Officer here (Lieut. Trescut)."
There were two Trescotts in the expe- dition against Canada in 1690; Joseph was a drummer boy in Captain John Withington's Company, and did not re- turn.
Samuel Trescott was a soldier in King Philip's War in garrison at Punkapauge, April 24, 1676, and a number of the family served in the Revolutionary War.
A petition of the inhabitants of Dor- chester, sent to the Governor upon the restoration of King Charles II., pleading for their rights, contained the names of William Trescott, Samuel Trescott and George Dyer.
William Trescott, of Dorchester, was born in 1614; he married in Dorchester, Elizabeth Dyer, daughter of George Dyer, one of the original settlers of the town of Dorchester. There were nine children of William and Elizabeth Tres- cott, born and baptized in Dorchester. One of these children was Samuel, born November 4, 1646. He was dismissed from the church in Dorchester to the church in Milton, August 17, 1687, and joined the church in Milton, August 21, 1687. He married Margaret - who died March 19, 1742, in her eighty-ninth year. He served in King Philip's War, and was interested in a grist mill on the Neponset river, at Mattapan, in 1710. The Dorchester record states: "Samuel Trescott, born November 4, 1646, is by God's mercy an active man in Feb. 1728-
29." He died at Milton, July 30, 1730, and was buried in the churchyard at that place.
One of the fourteen children of Samuel and Margaret Trescott was Ebenezer. He was the fifth child, and was born in Dorchester, April 20, 1680. He removed to Mansfield, Connecticut, and married there February 12, 1713, Bridget They had ten children, one of whom was Samuel Trescott, born in Mansfield, Con- necticut, August 31, 1815.
Samuel Trescott, son of Ebenezer, mar- ried Hannah Whipple, of Sheffield, Mas- sachusetts, a relative of Seth Whipple. The children born to them were: Solon, born June 26, 1750; Seth, date of birth unknown, died March 10, 1783, in Hunt- ington township, Luzerne county, Penn- sylvania; and Ebenezer, date of whose birth and death are unknown.
Samuel Trescott and his sons-Solon, Seth and Ebenezer-went to Huntington, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, about 1770, and laid out the township, and built a cabin along Huntington creek, near what is now Harveyville. They returned to Connecticut and served in Washing- ton's army during the campaigns of 1776 and 1777. They were in the many engage- ments during these two disastrous years, and after their term of enlistment expired the brothers returned to Huntington and both enrolled in the company of Captain John Franklin, and with him marched to Forty Fort to participate in the efforts to save the Susquehanna settlements from destruction by the Tories and Indians. After their escape from Forty Fort, where they were held as prisoners a short time after John Butler was in possession of the Fort, they returned to Huntington and assisted others to escape who were still remaining there. They had been preceded by bands of roving Indians who were busy robbing, burning and devastating
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the homes that had been deserted. Sev- Chapin, and Catherine, married to Harry eral of the people the Trescotts expected Harvey. to find were gone, and of some of them 2. Seth, born February 28, 1783, died 1852. His children were: Annie, mar- ried (first) to -- Dodson, (second) to George Moore; and Luzetta, married to Nathan Hartman. no tidings were ever obtained. The Tres- cotts went down the river some distance, then taking an easterly course eventually reached Connecticut.
Seth Trescott, son of Samuel Tres- cott, removed to Bradford county, Penn- sylvania, and his children, so far as known were: Jonathan, Elizabeth ; Emily, mar- ried to Moss; Theresa, married to - Downing ; and Angeline.
Ebenezer Trescott, son of Samuel Tres- cott, returned to Huntington, and his chil- dren were: Enos, Lucy, married to Forbes ; Patience, married to - Hix, and Charity, married to - Myers.
Solon Trescott, son of Samuel Tres- cott, married Margaret Lewis, daughter of Edward and Bridget Lewis, of Ash- ford, Connecticut, July 8, 1779. They re- turned to Huntington about 1794, bring- ing with them their six children. They settled along Huntington creek, near the site of their original cabin, which had an oak tree grown through. The tree stood for many years and was cut down only a few years ago. The old house built by them still remains, and is occupied by Edward Harrison, grandson of Truman Trescott, hereinafter mentioned. Mar- garet Trescott died April 13, 1826, and Solon, April 15, 1826, two days apart. Their children were:
I. Hannah, born in Massachusetts, January 6, 1781, died in Huntington, 1854, aged seventy-three years. She married Samuel Chapin, a descendant of Deacon Chapin, of Revolutionary fame; their children, born in Huntington, were: Jason, Solon, Permila, unmarried; Rox- anna, married to - Jackson ; Sybil, married to - Potter, and removed to Illinois ; Mary, married to George Brader, died at White Haven; Dyer Lewis
3. Truman, born May 4, 1785 ; his chil- dren were: Elba, a son ; and Sybil, mar- ried (first) to - Harrison, (second) to Raphael Marshall; her children were Truman and Edward L. Harrison.
4. Luther, born April 29, 1787, died February 1, 1877 ; married (first) Eleanor Parks; their children were: Susan, mar- ried to John C. Dodson ; William H. Tres- cott ; Margaret Lewis, married to Stephen Hartman; Martha, married to Michael Lemon ; Solon, Joseph, Edward, and Re- becca, married to Albert Beers, of Weath- erly, Pennsylvania.
5. Edward Lewis, born March II, 1794, died in Huntington, May 8, 1890, aged ninety-six years, unmarried. He was for many years colonel of the Huntington Valley Rangers, a military organization of Huntington. He appeared in his uniform at all patriotic celebrations almost to the year of his death at the age of ninety-six, and carried the flag so long as his strength permitted.
6. Peter Sylvester, born September 3, 1789, died in May, 1884, aged ninety-five years. He married Susan Miller, 1817, a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, of Welsh Quaker descent, and a woman of fine character. They settled in Black Brook Valley, about three miles from the home of his father, Solon, and erected a small building for a temporary residence while they built their new home. Both buildings still remain on the old farm, where they reared all of their children and where the children of their son, Miller Barton and Permelia Trescott, hereinafter mentioned, were born. The farm is now
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owned by Mary L. Trescott, hereinafter mentioned. The children of Peter Syl- vester and Susan Miller Trescott were: I. Minerva, married to Robert Patter- son, son of Thomas and Mary (Dennison ) Patterson, who lived at the old Patterson homestead adjoining the original Trescott home near Harveyville. Their children were: Susan, married to Horace Wiant, of Dallas, they have one daughter, Sarah Minerva ; Thomas Sylvester and Mary A., living at the old homestead; Sarah E., married to Charles D. Harrison, of Wash- ington, D. C., who have four children- Robert H., Ruth, Helen, Emily ; and Rich- ard S., married to Mary, daughter of Rev. Webster Coxe, of Alden, Pennsylvania, who have three children-Richard S., Robert Trescott and Webster Coxe, the latter being twins.
2. Harriet, who died in 1852, at the age of twenty-six years, unmarried.
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