USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. VII > Part 47
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BURCHFIELD, Albert P.,
Civil War Veteran, Man of Affairs.
The late Albert Pressly Burchfield, who for many years stood foremost and highest in the mercantile world of Pitts- burgh and was a tower of strength to all her best and leading interests, was a man whose value to his community might truly be termed inestimable. Mr. Burch- field was for more than half his life a member of the celebrated firm of Joseph Horne & Company, and was closely and prominently identified with municipal affairs.
Albert Pressly Burchfield was of the fifth generation from the Revolutionary soldier and patriot, Captain Joseph Sheirer, one of the sons of Ireland who gave so willingly their services and lives to free their adopted country from the rule of England.
(I) Joseph Sheirer was born near Londonderry, Ireland, in 1730. He came to Pennsylvania at an early date and settled on a farm in what is now Paxtang township, Dauphin county, near Harris-
He embraced the cause of the colonies with great fervor and zeal, and but for his untimely death early in the struggle, would have risen to higher position in both the army and in legislative bodies. He was captain of a company of Colonel James Burd's Battalion of Associators, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and member of the Committee of Observation of the same county (now Dauphin). He was elected a member of the first Con- stitutional Convention of Pennsylvania which met in Philadelphia, July 15, 1776, and while in attendance there was taken ill and returned to his home, where he died on the date previously given. At a meeting of the patriots of Lancaster county held early in 1776, Captain Sheirer offered a resolution declaring for Amer- ican independence from Great Britain. Joseph Sheirer married Mary McClure, and had issue.
(II) Mary Sheirer, daughter of Captain Joseph and Mary (McClure) Sheirer, married Samuel Cochrane, and had issue : (III) Mary Cochrane, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Sheirer) Cochrane, married Adam Burchfield, who came to Pennsylvania from Green Briar, Mary- land, and settled on Squirrel Hill, now a residential portion of the city of Pitts- burgh. They had issue :
(IV) Robert Cochrane Burchfield, son of Adam and Mary (Cochrane) Burch- field, was born in Pennsylvania, and died in 1848. He married Susan Rebecca Hackwelder, who was born in Bedford, Pennsylvania.
(V) Albert Pressly Burchfield. son of Robert Cochrane and Susan Rebecca (Hackwelder) Burchfield, was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, January 20, 1844, He attended the public schools of Allegheny until he was thirteen years of age, when he entered the employ of Wil- liam Semple, a dry goods merchant of
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that city. He remained in the employ of that concern until July 1, 1858, when he entered the employ of Joseph Horne & Company, dry goods merchants of Pitts- burgh. He was identified with Joseph Horne & Company (continuously from 1858 until the time of his death. His unusual ability, combined with extra- ordinarily close attention to his duties, gained for him many promotions, and on February 1, 1866, he became a member of the firm, to the interest of which he thenceforth devoted himself with untir- ing assiduity. Time proved that-he was a man-born to his task. Alert and watch- ful, both in manner and expression, he grasped all situations almost intuitively and decided promptly. Then, with a self- reliance natural only to those capable of controling large bodies of men, he pro- ceeded to the execution of his plan in a manner that left no doubt of the sincerity of his intentions. He was a genial, kindly gentleman and a courageous man,
The retail department of the business was managed by Mr. Horne, Mr. Burch- field taking charge of the wholesale. In August, 1893, the latter department was merged into a corporation known throughout Western Pennsylvania as the Pittsburg Dry Goods Company, and Mr. Burchfield was its president. Previous to. his death it carried on a business of five millions, and much of its success was due to his thorough knowledge of the require- ments of the trade at large, his splendid judgment and rare business qualifications. Upon the death of Mr. Horne in 1893, Mr. Burchfield was compelled to give much of his attention to the affairs of the firm, in which he had large interests, and in 1897 he severed his connection with the Pittsburgh Dry Goods Company in order that he might devote himself entirely to retail business. he at esto und great
A man of inexhaustible energy, Mr. Burchfield, despite his strenuous life as a
merchant, was identified with other or- ganizations. He was vice-president of the Western Pennsylvania Exposition So- ciety, in the affairs of which he took special interest; and, as a leading busi- ness man figured largely in matters municipal, He was a director of the Mt. Pleasant & Bradford railroad, and of the Pittsburgh & Mansfield railroad before it was absorbed by the Wabash, and was a member of the executive board of the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce.
In his early manhood Mr. Burchfield enlisted in the Union army, serving dur- ing the Civil War. He was promoted for meritorious conduct, and later honorably discharged. He was always active and interested in the affairs of the Grand Army of the Republic. He was com- mander of Post No. 162, served as senior vice-commander of the Department of Pennsylvania, and later as senior vice- commander-in-chief of the National Grand Army of the Republic. He was a charter member and chairman of the Sol- diers' and Sailors' Memorial Hall Com- mittee, and it was largely through his efforts that the Memorial Hall was built. He was a trustee of the Grove City Col- lege, Pennsylvania, and of the Winona Agricultural and Technical Institute, Indiana. He was a member of the Du- quesne, University, Pittsburgh Country, Pittsburgh Athletic, Union and Americus Republican clubs, and of the Pittsburgh Art Society. His church connection was with the Sixth United Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Burchfield married (first) October 12, 1864, Sarah J., daughter of the late Mathew McWhinney, a prominent mer- chant of Pittsburgh, and the following children were born to them: I. Emma Marshall, born May 13, 1866; married, June 16, 1892, John George McElveen, and she died February 7, 1894, without issue. 2. Henrietta, born November 26,
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1867; married, October 14, 1890, George Liggett Craig; children: Albert Burch- field, Joseph Staunton, George Liggett, Sarah McWhinney. 3. Albert Horne, member of the firm of Joseph Horne Company, a sketch and portrait of whom follows in this work. 4. Sue Anderson, born September 1, 1874, died July 13, 1886. 5. William Hodge, member of the firm of Joseph Horne Company, born August 23, 1877; unmarried. 6. Mary Priscilla, born May 31, 1884; unmarried. 7. Wilson McWhinney, born May 31, 1884, died April 20, 1886. Mrs. Burch- field died in 1897, and Mr. Burchfield married (second) January 19, 1899, Ivy O. Friesell, daughter of Peter and Lydia (Kistler) Friesell, deceased. the father an iron manufacturer of Pittsburgh. Mr. Burchfield was a man of domestic tastes and strong family affections, finding his highest happiness at his own fireside.
The death of Mr. Burchfield, which occurred January 8, 1910, deprived Pitts- burgh of one of her most respected citi- zens-and- foremost business men, ?- one who was, in many respects, a model. Ambitious for success, he would succeed only on the basis of truth and honor, du- plicity was unknown to him and no amount of gain could lure him from the undeviating line of rectitude .? Beloved by his employes, honored by his business as- sociates, conducting all his transactions in accordance with the highest principles, he fulfilled to the letter every trust com- mitted to him and was generous in his feelings and conduct toward allef)
The life of-Mr. Burchfield was a life singularly well-rounded and complete. (As merchant, soldier and citizen he ren- dered signal and stainless service." His city and State are greater and better for his having lived, and his country owes him a debt of gratitude. What the world chiefly needs is more men of the type of Albert Pressly Burchfield. 13
BURCHFIELD, Albert H., Man of Affairs.
"The solid men of Boston" is a time- worn, perhaps we should say, a time- honored phrase. "The solid men of Pitts- burgh" is an expression as yet, we believe, unheard, perhaps for the reason that Pittsburgh business men, by the brilli- ancy of their achievements, have dazzled the world into temporary forgetfulness of the substantial foundations on which the city's prosperity stands secure. There is, however, a class of the business men of the metropolis who might justly be styled "solid men of Pittsburgh," inasmuch as, while not lacking in the qualities which most quickly attract the attention of the public, their leading traits are those which primarily insure permanence and stabil- ity. A conspicuous representative of this class is Albert Horne Burchfield, first vice-president and director of the Joseph Horne Company and president of the Joseph Horne Land Company. Through- out his business career Mr. Burchfield has been identified with this widely known concern and has been largely in- strumental in its upbuilding and main- tenance.
Albert Horne Burchfield was born April · 6, 1871, in Allegheny, now North Side, Pittsburgh, and is a son of Albert Pressly and Sarah J. (McWhinney) Burchfield, and received his education in the schools of his native city. A biography of Albert Pressly Burchfield, appears previously in this work. Mr. Burchfield and his first wife, mentioned above, have been de- ceased for a number of years.
In accordance with family tradition as well as individual inclination, Albert Horne Burchfield decided to follow a business career, and on completing his course of study entered, at the age of sixteen years, the service of the Pitts- burgh Drygoods Company which was
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then the wholesale department of the Joseph Horne Company. After spending three years there,) during which time he succeeded in convincing all with whom he was associated of his industry, fidelity and ability, Mr. Burchfield was trans- ferred to the retail establishment and there acquired the most thorough pos- sible knowledge of the business, working his way upward step by step and filling in turn every position. In the course of time he succeeded to his present dual position, combining with its duties those of mer- chandise manager of the store. As to his perfect efficiency in discharging these duties, the present flourishing condition of the business bears incontrovertible testimony.
The relations of Mr. Burchfield with the establishment are not, however, strictly confined to the realm of business. He takes a sincere and cordial interest in the welfare of his subordinates, and is identified with the social life of the con- cern, serving as president of the Joseph Horne Company Employes' Outing Asso- ciation, which conducts a modern sum- mer camp for them. He is at once the leader and friend of the men who are en- rolled in his service.
Into his life as a citizen, Mr. Burch- field carries the same principle of benevo- lent interest in his neighbors and fellow men. He is active in the Chamber of Commerce, heading the Flood Commis- sion, and is one of the most progressive members of the Penn Avenue Improve- ment Association which raised the down town sections of Pittsburgh and opened lower Fifth avenue. He is first vice-presi- dent of the Continental Trust Company. His clubs are the Duquesne, University, Country, Oakmont, Press and A. R. C. and he also belongs to the Pittsburgh Athletic Association. He is a member and trustee of the Bellefield Presbyterian Church.
A calm, strong, kindly face is that of Albert Horne Burchfield. Evidently a man of massive frame his demeanor has the quiet dignity to be expected of one whose personality is at once forceful and unobtrusive. The results he obtains, while accomplished with little friction, are of sterling and enduring value. He is warm and constant in his attachments and the number of his friends would defy computation.
Mr. Burchfield married, in 1895, Clara, daughter of J. Charles and Mary (Cham- bers) Dicken ; Mr. J. Charles Dicken was a prominent member of the Pittsburgh bar, and died April 4, 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Burchfield are the parents of one son: Albert Horne Burchfield, Jr., born in 1903. Mrs. Burchfield is a woman of at- tractive personality, sympathizing in her husband's tastes and aspirations and de- voted to the ties and duties of home, the place where both delight to be and to gather about them their closest friends.
The foregoing is a very brief and ex- tremely imperfect outline of the career thus far of Albert Horne Burchfield. A more detailed account would, however, be almost if not quite superfluous, for the reason that his record of a quarter of a century and upward is now incorporated in the business annals of his native city. May it receive, in the years to come, the addition of many more chapters !
CURTIS, Cyrus H. K., Famous Publisher.
While the fame of Cyrus H. K. Curtis securely rests upon his own achievement, it is also an interesting truth that he de- scends from an ancient English family and one of the oldest in the United States. The surname Curtis is derived from a Norman-French word, Curteis or Curtois, meaning courteous, civil. The name is supposed to have been brought to Eng-
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land in the eleventh century by the Nor- mans in the train of William the Con- queror. The family has been traced de- finitely to Stephen Curtis, of Appledore, in Kent, England, to about the middle of the fifteenth century. In America the family is traced to the year 1631, twelve years after the landing of the Pilgrims. The name in early New England records is found as both Curtis and Curtiss, both spellings being yet retained in different branches of the family. The coat-of-arms of the Curtis family of Kent and Sussex, England, from whom it is believed Wil- liam Curtis descended, is: "Argent a chevron sable between three bulls' heads cabossed, gules. Crest: A unicorn pas- sant or between four trees proper."
The family name was brought to Amer- ica by William Curtis, who settled in Scituate, Massachusetts, coming in the ship "Lion," on her first voyage. His father, William Curtis, came a year later, but in the same ship, settling in Rox- bury. He was accompanied by his three brothers-Richard, who settled at Scitu- ate, Massachusetts; John, left no de- scendants; and Thomas, who later set- tled in York, Maine. William Curtis was also accompanied by his wife, Sarah (a sister of Rev. John Eliot, the Indian apostle), and four children. He was born in England, 1590.
His eldest son, William (2) Curtis, born in England, 1611, preceded his father to this country in 1631, settling at Scitu- ate, where his after life was spent on his North river farm, where he died leaving issue.
Benjamin, second son of William (2) Curtis, was born at Scituate, January, 1667; married, in 1689, Mary Sylvester, and died leaving issue. He built, owned and operated the Curtis Mills on Third Herring Pond.
Benjamin (2), eldest son of Benjamin (1) Curtis, was born at Scituate, Decem-
ber 14, 1692, died in Hanover, that State, February 21, 1756. He married, Decem- ber 13, 1716, Hannah Palmer, and had male issue.
Thomas, second son of Benjamin (2) Curtis, was baptized September 4, 1720, at Scituate, but spent his life in Hanover. His first wife, Sarah Utter, died Decem- ber 28, 1753, and he married (second) February 26, 1756, Ruth, daughter of Thomas and Faith Rose. He had issue by both wives.
Thomas (2), son of Thomas (1) Curtis and his first wife, Sarah Utter, was bap- tized June 10, 1749, at Hanover, and like his father was a shipmaster. He settled in Maine with his wife, Abigail Studley, of Hanover, to whom he was married June 6, 1770.
Rev. Reuben Curtis, a son of Thomas (2) Curtis, was born in Maine, in 1788, and became an ordained minister of the Baptist church, laboring many years as an evangelist in his native State. He married, December 1, 1808, Abigail, daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth (Fos- ter) Safford. She was born May 22, 1791, survived him, and married a second husband.
Cyrus Libby, second son of Rev. Reu- ben Curtis, was born in Maine, January 7, 1822, and was a resident of Portland in that State. He was a decorator, and well- known locally as a musician. He mar- ried, July 3, 1844, Salome Ann, daughter of Benjamin and Salome (Coombs) Cum- mings. She was born 1819, died 1897, leaving a son, and a daughter, Florence G., who was born in August, 1855, died 1888.
The only son of Cyrus Libby Curtis was Cyrus H. K. Curtis, now the world- famous publisher of the Curtis publica- tions-"The Ladies' Home Journal," "The Saturday Evening Post," and the "Coun- try Gentleman." Cyrus Hermann Kol- schmar Curtis was born in Portland,
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Maine, June 18, 1850. He attended the public schools of that city until he was sixteen years of age, and then left high school to engage in business, although he had been since 1862 a newsboy, and since 1863 had published in his own amateur printing office a boys' paper called "Young America." In 1866 occurred the great Portland fire, causing enormous losses, but none more severe than that of the young publisher, who saw his entire plant destroyed. He settled in Boston in 1869, and was publishing papers. He continued in Boston until 1876, when he came to Philadelphia, where his great work in journalism has been accom- plished. He founded the "Tribune and Farmer," a weekly publication. Expan- sion seems a part of Mr. Curtis' nature, and everything in time becomes too small to fit his ambition. He had the "Tribune and Farmer" on a paying basis, and then sought a new outlet. This came in the form of "The Ladies' Home Journal," first published in 1883 for the benefit of his woman readers. The child soon outstripped the parent, and from its first year's circulation of twenty-five thousand copies has grown to be the leading woman's journal of the country, with a circulation beyond the million mark, and read wherever English speaking women are found. "The Tribune and Farmer," hav- ing served its purpose of introducing its offspring, "The Ladies' Home Journal," was sold, the new journal absorbing for a time the great energy of its owner. But with "The Journal" completely organized, with a capable head in every department, Mr. Curtis sought new fields to conquer, and found in it "The Pennsylvania Ga- zette," then a paper with a weekly circu- lation of three thousand five hundred copies. "The Gazette" was founded in 1728 under the name, "The Universal In- structor in all Arts and Sciences and Pennsylvania Gazette," by Samuel Kei-
mer, the first employee of Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. The latter be- came the owner of the paper in the fol- lowing October, and dropped the cumber- some title, retaining only "Pennsylvania Gazette." In 1897, when Mr. Curtis pur- chased the paper, it had a circulation of two thousand. The circulation of "The Saturday Evening Post," successor to "The Pennsylvania Gazette," for the week of January 25, 1913, was two mil- lion copies. Nothing better shows the business acumen of the principal owner of this great publication than the above figures. How it was done and how it is still being done, forms material for a volume. There is nothing in the history of journalism that can compare with the world-wide enthusiastic organization that forced the circulation of "The Post" to this enormous figure in a single decade. From an unknown publication, a demand was created that forced hostile news com- panies and dealers to add it to their list or lose a host of customers. Now it can be purchased everywhere every Thurs- day morning. While Mr. Curtis would be the last man to say "I did it," there is the fact-that as the head of the Curtis Publishing Company he did do it by sur- rounding himself with a corps of heads of departments ready and eager to work out the plans of their chief. "The Home Journal" is still the leader in the field of women and the home, but has many imi- tators. "The Post," a man's journal, is supreme and alone in its field. While its circulation department is the greatest in the world, "The Post" has gained its posi- tion through the excellence of its editorial department and policy. Whether in sci- ence, discovery, politics or fiction, the articles and stories are from the most eminent in their several fields. The ad- vertising is most artistic and carefully chosen, another innovation.
With the two leading periodicals of the
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country, a monthly and two weeklies beau- tifuly housed in a specially designed building on Independence and Washing- ton Square, one would suppose Mr. Cur- tis would find full vent for his energy. But not so, there was still another field that offered him an irresistible induce- ment, that of the farm field and country home. He purchased "The Country Gen- tleman," and to this is being applied the same principles that succeeded so well with "The Home Journal" and "Post." This property was acquired in 1912, and is responding to the application of Curtis methods with gratifying promptness. With these publications, all published in the new building, each covering its own special field, it was with surprise that the public read a recent announcement that the "Philadelphia Public Ledger" had passed under the control of the Cur- tis Publishing Company. While this is so recent a move as to be still a novelty, it is hoped by all that "The Ledger" will also respond to the Curtis methods and regain the proud position in daily jour- nalism it held for so many years under George W. Childs. While for many years the business has been incorporated as the 'Curtis Publishing Company, Mr. Curtis as president, has had entire supervision, and while he has built up a wonderful or- ganization, editorial and advertising, he has furnished the policy that must be fol- lowed and selected the men to act as his lientenants. He is a thorough master of the detail of the publishing business, and has a secure position in journalistic hall of fame.
A word concerning the building that he has erected as a home for his journals. Always solicitous for the welfare of his people, it is nowhere shown so strikingly as in the modern character of the arrange- ment of rooms to get the best light and the sanitary arrangement of the depart- ments. Experience and modern science
have taught many valuable lessons, dem- onstrating the value of light, sanitation, nourishing food, suitable clothing, proper exercise and physical recreation in raising the standard of employees and in arous- ing an ambition to excel, each in his field of effort. Here the Curtis methods should serve as an object lesson to every em- ployer. The standard of its work is patent to all, but the excellence of the methods by which an army of employees is kept cheerful, happy, contended and loyal, has been often overlooked, but is a direct result of a Curtis method of secur- ing efficiency, as marked as its policy of themselves giving the highest grade of service to their employers, the reading public.
Mr. Curtis is a director in the First Na- tional Bank of Philadelphia, the Real Estate Trust Company and the National State Bank, a trustee of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, and an investor in many Philadelphia enterprises and companies. He is a Republican in political preference, but takes no active part in politics and opens his columns to representative men of all parties. During the campaign of 1912 articles appeared from each of the three leading candidates for president. He is a well-known club- man, belonging in Philadelphia to the Union League, Manufacturers', City, Franklin Inn, Poor Richard, Automobile, Corinthian Yacht, Huntingdon Valley Hunt Club. His love of yachting is shown by membership in the Columbia Yacht Club of New York, the Eastern Yacht Club of Boston, the Portland Yacht Club of Portland, Maine, the Megomti- cook Country and Yacht Club of Camden, Maine. His New York social club is the Aldine.
Mr. Curtis married, in Boston, in March, 1875, Louise Knapp, born in that city, October 24, 1851, daughter of Hum- phrey C. and Mary (Barbour) Knapp;
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she died in February, 1910. Their only child, Mary Louise, married in October, 1896, Edward W. Bok, the talented editor of "The Ladies' Home Journal." Their children are: Curtis and Cary. Mr. Cur- tis married (second) Kate S. Pillsbury, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
From the boy of sixteen years struggl- ing for a foothold in the publishing world to the matured man of weighty affairs and the publishing success of two conti- nents is a far cry, yet this is the record which Mr. Curtis has made in a life yet in its prime. How? By having high ideals and never lowering them for tem- porary gain. None of his methods are copyrighted, nor patented; he has done nothing but what any one can do if actu- ated by the same high motive, taking his inspiration from the same source.
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