USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. VII > Part 5
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Mrs. Palmer continues her residence in Wilkes-Barre, deeply ingrossed in her boys' work. She is a member of St. Ste- phen's Protestant Episcopal Church, with
which General Palmer was also long con- nected. He sleeps in Hollenback Ceme- tery, the flowers that bloom at his grave not more fragrant than his memory.
WILSON, J. Charles, Head of Large Business.
If the principal buildings of a city are indeed, as has been asserted, indicators of the wealth and importance of the munici- pality, Pittsburgh's greatness is beyond the possibility of dispute, and if by the size and character of a structure may be measured partially, at least the resources and ability of the men who erected it, the builders of Pittsburgh are second to none in the world. Among the pioneers of this very notable class of citizens was the late Samuel Wilson, of the celebrated firm of A. & S. Wilson, now the A. & S. Wilson Company. For more than forty years Samuel Wilson was a resident of Pitts- burgh, and during that period was not only a conspicuous figure in business circles, but was also closely identified with the city's best interests. This old and well-known firm is now represented by J. Charles Wilson, son of Samuel Wil- son, and who in this day and generation is ably upholding the Wilson name.
Samuel Wilson was born March 19, 1825, in County Down, Ireland, son of Adam and Agnes (Moreland) Wilson. The boy was educated in his native land and there grew to manhood, coming in 1850 to the United States and joining his brothers Alexander and Joseph in Pitts- burgh. In 1852 they formed the partner- ship of A. & S. Wilson, a firm which has ever since, through all the changes of time, circumstances and reorganization, maintained and strengthened the com- manding position to which, in the early years of its existence, it rapidly attained. This success was very largely due to the
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industry and energy, the courage and fidelity to principle which, throughout his career, were Samuel Wilson's predomin- ant characteristics. As a true citizen, Mr. Wilson willingly gave his influence and support to the furtherance of all good measures that conserved the interest of good government. Politically he was affiliated with the Republican party. Ever ready to respond to any deserving call made upon him, he was quietly but un- ostentatiously charitable. He was a member of the Third United Presbyterian church. Mr. Wilson was one of the early directors of the Union National Bank, and continued as director until his death. He was one of the board of directors of the Western Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. He was a man of matured judgment, ready to meet every obligation of life with the confidence and courage born of conscious personal ability and an habitual regard for what is right and best in the sphere of human activities
Mr. Wilson married Eliza, daughter of Joseph and Agnes (Johnston) Mitchell, and they became the parents of the fol- lowing children : J. Charles, see forward ; Adam, whose biography and protrait appear elsewhere in this work, since deceased; Mary Johnston, died Sep- tember 13, 1912; Howard Mitchell; Victor Grant; Clara Jane; Emma Eliza ; Agnes Mitchell; James Ingram More- land ; Harry and Oscar.
Mr. Wilson was very domestic in his tastes, and was never so happy as at his own fireside. The death of Samuel Wil- son, which occurred April 13, 1891, de- prived Pittsburgh of one of her sterling citizens who in every relation of life had stood as an upright, honorable man.
Joseph Charles Wilson, son of Samuel and Eliza (Mitchell) Wilson, was born in Pittsburgh, October 2, 1857. He received his education in the old Second Ward schools, at the Pittsburgh High School,
and at the Western University of Penn- sylvania, now University of Pittsburgh. He then learned the carpenter trade under his father and worked under him for some years, acquiring all details of the business. On February 9, 1887, he be- came a member of the firm of A. & S. Wilson, and upon the death of his father in 1891, Mr. Wilson, together with his brother, the late Adam Wilson, took over the business ; and in 1902 incorporated as A. & S. Wilson Company and it thus con- tinued until the death of Adam Wilson, in 1912, since which time J. Charles Wilson has been president of the company.
A man who does not allow his business to absorb his entire time, Mr. Wilson is active in philanthropic circles, and is president of the Western Pennsylvania Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, suc- ceeding the late John B. Jackson in this office; he is also a director of the Pitts- burgh Free Dispensary. Politically he is a Republican, but has never accepted office. At various times he has been a member of numerous clubs, but has now withdrawn from club life entirely.
Mr. Wilson married, April 8, 1891, Miss Nellie Blanche, daughter of Adam R. and Alice (Read) Allen, of Pittsburgh, and they have had children : I. Pauline Eliza- beth, educated in Pittsburgh schools and graduate of St. Margaret's School. 2. Joseph Charles, junior, born June 20, 1893; educated in Pittsburgh schools, at Carnegie Technical Institute, now with the Fidelity Title & Trust Company of Pittsburgh. 3. Lawrence Allen, born July, 1895, educated in Pittsburgh schools and at Chamberlain Military Academy, New York, now attending Carnegie Tech- nical Institute. 4. Maitland Alexander, born November 28, 1900.
Personally Mr. Wilson is affable and hearty in manner, combining marked kindness of nature with a business promptness and decision which enable
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him to transact business with rapidity and without apparent fatigue. He has gained a success in life that is not meas- ured by financial prosperity alone, but is gauged by the kindly amenities and con- genial associations that go to satisfy man's kaleidoscopic nature.
WERDER, Xavier O., M.D.,
Professional Instructor and Author.
Among those benefactors of mankind whose talents are used for the relief and uplifting of humanity there is no larger class than that formed by the votaries of the noble profession of medicine, and prominent among the Pittsburgh physi- cians who today uphold the renown of their calling is Dr. Xavier Oswald Wer- der, Gynaecologist to the Mercy Hospital and Professor of Gynaecology in the West Pennsylvania Medical School. Dr. Werder has been for thirty-five years a resident of Pittsburgh, and is thoroughly identified with her leading and most es- sential interests.
Xavier Oswald Werder was born De- cember 4, 1857, in Cham, Canton Zug, Switzerland, and is a son of Oswald and Barbara (Felder) Werder also natives of that country and the parents of three other children : Joseph, Marie and Thom- as. Xavier Oswald Werder received his early education in schools of his native land and at the Einsiedeln Gymnasium, and in 1873 emigrated to the United State. In September of that year he en- tered St. Vincent's College, Beatty, Penn- sylvania. Having decided to devote him- self to the profession of medicine, he ma- triculated at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where he spent the year of 1877-78. From May to September of the latter year he did undergraduate work in St. Francis' Hospital, Pittsburgh, and then entered the New York University, graduating in 1879 with the degree of
Doctor of Medicine. Without delay Dr. Werder returned to Pittsburgh and began general practice in the West End. Atter gaining three years' experience he went in 1882 to Europe, studying at the Uni- versity of Munich and in Vienna, Berlin and London. In May, 1884, he returned to the United States and to Pittsburgh, resuming practice in the West End. The same year he was appointed physician to St. Francis' Hospital, a position which he retained for three years, resigning at the end of that time by reason of the growth of his practice. About this time Dr. Wer- der established the "Pittsburgh Medical Review," being assisted by Drs. Buchan- an, Shaw, Hazzard, J. J. Green, Matson and Petit. With this publication, of which he had been the originator, Dr. Werder remained connected for a number of years.
In 1887 Dr. Werder began to specialize on the diseases of women, and in 1889 was appointed assistant gynaecologist to the Mercy Hospital, subsequently suc- ceeding to his present position of chief of the department. Since 1895 he has been Professor of Gynaecology in the West Pennsylvania Medical School, now the Medical Department of the University of Pittsburgh. He is one of the charter members of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, for twenty-five years served as its treasurer, and in 1912 became its president. He is a fellow of the American College of Sur- geons, and belongs to the American Medical Association, the State and Na- tional Medical associations, and Alle- gheny County Medical Society, of which he was at one time president. The follow- ing articles and contributions are from the pen of Dr. Werder
A Case of Didelphic Uterus with Lateral Hematocolpus, Hematometra and Hematosal- pinx. Journal of the American Medical Asso- ciation, August 11, 1894.
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Abdominal Section in Ectopic Gestation where the Foetus is Living and Viable, with Report of Successful Case. Transactions of the Associa- tion of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 1894.
Interesting Cases of Intestinal Resection with End-to-End Anastomosis by Means of the Mur- phy Button. Pennsylvania Medical Journal, September, 1897.
Tonic and Spasmodic Intestinal Contraction with Report of Cases. Annals of Gynaecology and Pediatry, Boston, 1897.
Some Clinical Observations Based Upon 116 Abdominal Sections for Ovarian Tumors. Amer- ican Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children. Vol. XXXVIII-No. 5. 1898.
Appendicitis Complicating Ovarian Cyst and Simulating Torsion of the Pedicle, with Report of Three Cases. American Medical Association Journal, January, 1898.
A Clinical Contribution to the Treatment of Malignant Tumors of the Ovary. American Gynaecological and Obstetrical Journal, April, 1899.
Two Cases of Dystocia Following Ventrofixa- tion, One Requiring Caesarean Section. Ameri- can Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children, Vol. XL-No. 5. 1899.
A Contribution to Uretral Surgery, with Four Cases, Including a New Operation for Double Uretro-Vaginal Fistula. Journal of the Ameri- can Medical Association, August 16, 1902.
The Byrne Operation and Its Application in the Radical Treatment of Cancer of the Uterus. American Journal of Obstetrics, Vol. LII-No. 5. 1905.
A Consideration of the Factors which have Lowered the Operative Mortality and have Im- proved the Post Operative. American Journal of Obstetrics, Vol. LIV-No. 15. 1906.
Ectopic Gestation with Viable Child, with Report of Three Cases. American Journal of Obstetrics, Vol. LVIII-No. 5. 1908.
Case of Caesarean Section in which the Uterus was Incarcerated in a Ventral Hernia. South- ern Medical Journal, March, 1909.
The Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer of the Uterus. New York Medical Journal, July 30, 1910.
Treatment of the Retroflexed Gravid Uterus, with Report of Two Cases. American Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Children, Vol. LXIII-No. 2. 1911.
Some Practical Considerations in the Treat- ment of Backward Displacements of the Uterus. Pennsylvania Medical Journal, March, 1912.
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President's Address Before the American As- sociation of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. American Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Children, Vol. LXVI-No. 6. 1912.
The Cautery in the Radical Treatment of Can- cer of the Cervix. Surgery, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, March, 1913.
The Byrne Method of Treatment of Carci- noma of the Uterus ;- in Gynaecology and Ab- dominal Surgery, Kelly-Noble. 1907. Vol. I.
As co-editor of Bovee's "Gynaecology" Dr. Werder has contributed chapters on "Technique of Abdominal Operations ;" "Gynaecological Examinations ;" and "Ex- tra-Uterine Pregnancy." Among writers on medical subjects Dr. Werder holds a high rank and few are oftener quoted by their fellows in the profession than he.
In all concerns relative to the welfare of his home city, Dr. Werder takes a keen and active interest. He is the owner of much real estate and in its development as well as in various other ways has done much for the improvement of Pitts- burgh. In politics he is a Democrat, with independent tendencies. A liberal giver to charity, his benefactions are bestowed with an entire lack of ostentation. He belongs to the University Club and is a member of Sts. Peter and Paul's Roman Catholic Church.
The predominant expression of Dr. Werder's countenance is one of calmness, confidence and courage, a union of traits born of conscious ability and rectitude. His brown eyes have the keen glance of the trained observer and his features, strong and yet sensitive, indicate a cul- tured and vigorous mentality. His ap- pearance is distinguished and his manner quiet, genial and dignified. Both in and out of his profession the number of his friends is legion.
Dr. Werder married, October 20, 1885, Tillie C., daughter of Joseph and Mar- garet (May) Vogel, the former a promi- nent dry goods merchant and a director of the German National Bank of Pitts-
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burgh. Dr. and Mrs. Werder are the par- ents of the following children: Marie, wife of C. E. Roecker, of Pittsburgh ; Herman, married Mildred McClellan, of New Florence, Pennsylvania ; Oswald E .; Coleta; Marguerite; Gerard; Raymond ; Vincent; and Mildred. Mrs. Werder, a woman of charming personality and ad- mirably fitted by mental endowments, thorough education and innate grace and refinement for her position as one of the potent factors of Pittsburgh society, is withal an accomplished home-maker and an ideal helpmate for a man like her hus- band whose domestic affections are the governing motive of his life. Dr. Werder is an ardent lover of Nature and when at his charming summer home in New Flor- ence, Pennsylvania, loves to take long tramps in the woods.
Dr. Werder has won distinction not only as a skillful practitioner but also as the author of valuable contributions to the literature of his profession. Although he is now but in the prime of life his record shows achievements covering a period exceeding a quarter of a century and everything indicates that its most brilliant chapters yet remain to be written.
ELTERICH, Theodore J., M.D., Specialist, Instructor, Author.
The body of Pittsburgh physicians em- braces many nationalities, including one which has accomplished much not only for the city, but also for the state-the valiant and cultured Germanic. Among the city's prominent physicians of this race must be numbered Dr. Theodore J. Elterich, former Professor of Pediatrics in the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Elterich is well known not only as a suc- cessful practitioner, but also as a valued contributor to the literature of his profes- sion.
William L. Elterich, father of Theodore J. Elterich, was born May 18, 1840, in Noerdlingen, Bavaria, Germany, and be- came a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed church in Switzerland. In August, 1869, he emigrated to the United States and ac- cepted a pastorate at Callicoon, Sullivan county, New York, afterward having charges at Bayonne, New Jersey; North Side, Pittsburgh; and Washington, Dis- trict of Columbia. In the last-named city he studied law, and practiced that profes- sion during the remainder of his life. He was a Republican in politics. Mr. Elte- rich married, Elizabeth Vogel, of Switzer- land, and their children were: William Otto, Presbyterian missionary in China, married Anna Berger, of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and has children-Wilfred, Helen, Harold and Paul; Theodore J., mentioned below, and Elsie Charlotte, of Pittsburgh. Mrs. Elterich passed away February 9, 1877, at Bayonne, New Jersey, and the death of Mr. Elterich occurred July 30, 1905, in Washington, District of Columbia.
Theodore J., son of William L. and Elizabeth (Vogel) Elterich, was born April 5, 1867, at Thayingen, canton Schaff- hausen, Switzerland, and was two years old when brought by his parents to the United States. His education was receiv- ed in public schools of New Jersey and private schools of Pittsburgh, and after making choice of a profession he entered the Medical Department of the Univer- sity of Pittsburgh, graduating in 1889 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
After serving for one year as interne at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital Dr. Elterich practised for three years as as- sistant to Dr. H. W. Hechelman, and in 1893 went abroad, entering the University of Vienna and devoting himself to the study of diseases of children. In 1894 he returned to Pittsburgh and began practice in Allegheny, now the North Side, as
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children's specialist, removing in 1905 to the East End, where he has since remain- ed. The reputation he has achieved in his chosen field of labor is deservedly high and he is in possession of an extensive clientele. He is pediatrist on the staff of the Allegheny General Hospital, and from 1898 to 1913 filled the chair of pediatrics in the University of Pittsburgh, succeed- ing the late Dr. Charles Shaw.
Despite the engrossing nature of his work as a practitioner, Dr. Elterich has found time for literary work in connec- tion with it. In 1907 he assisted in the translation from the German of Pfaundler and Schlossman on diseases of children, and among the articles which he has con- tributed to medical journals are the fol- lowing which have attracted considerable attention : "Difficult Dentition ;" "Infan- tile Scurvy ;" "Pyuria ;" and "Mal-Nutri- tion and Infant Feeding." He is a member of the Pittsburgh Academy of Medicine, and in 1905 was its president ; the Ameri- can Medical Association ; the Pennsylva- nia State Medical Association; and the Allegheny County Medical Society, hav- ing served in 1904 on its board of censors. He also belongs to the Western Pennsyl- vania Pediatric Society, an association of American teachers of children. He has also been elected a Fellow of the Ameri- can Academy of Medicine. In politics Dr. Elterich is an Independent Republican, taking a public-spirited interest in the welfare of his home city. His clubs are the University, German and Automobile ; and he is a member of the Evangelical church. In temperament, intellect and disposition Dr. Elterich is a true type of the learned, skillful and benevolent physi- cian whom all Pittsburgh has long known him to be. Is it possible to say more?
Dr. Elterich married, April 30, 1896, Lena, daughter of Ernst and Ottilia (Mueller) Wetzell, of Mount Oliver, Pennsylvania, and they are they parents
of two sons: Theodore Ottmar, born July 17, 1897, attended Allegheny Preparatory School, Friendship School and Thurston Preparatory School, and later will enter Harvard University ; and Carl Frederich, born December 6, 1906, now attending Thurston Preparatory School. Mr. Wet- zell died in September, 1874, and Mrs. Wetzell married Dr. Ferdinand Koeller, one of Pittsburgh's prominent physicians, who is now deceased. Mrs. Elterich is an ideal home-maker, and devotion to the ties of family and friendship has ever been the ruling motive of her husband's life.
HAYDEN, Walter G., M.D., Eye Specialist, Hospital Official.
Specialization in diseases of the eye is one of the most important branches of medical science, and among those Pitts- burgh physicians who have recently en- tered the field is Dr. Walter George Hay- den, who has already begun to establish a reputation. Dr. Hayden, as a native Pittsburgher, has loyally chosen his own city as the scene of his future career.
Rudolph J. Hayden, father of Walter George Hayden, was born in 1863, in Germany, and at the age of eight years was brought by his parents to Pittsburgh, where he received his education. On at- taining his majority he changed the spell- ing of his name from Haydn to Hayden. Rudolph J. Hayden has been for years a successful manufacturer, having been at different times connected with several in- dustrial concerns. He is a Republican, and was formerly a Lutheran, but now belongs to the United Presbyterian church. Mr. Hayden married Caroline, daughter of Gerhardt H. Domhoff, who came from Germany to Pittsburgh, where he was a manufacturer and a large owner of real estate. Mr. and Mrs. Hayden are the parents of a son and a daughter :
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Walter George, mentioned below: and Edna Elizabeth, educated in Pittsburgh schools and at Dilworth Hall.
Dr. Walter George Hayden, son of Rudolph J. and Caroline (Domhoff) Hay- den, was born February 12, 1888, in Pitts- burgh, and attended the public schools of his native city, graduating from the high school. He then spent one year at the University of Pittsburgh preparatory to entering the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graudated in 1911 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After serving eight months as interne at the Allegheny Gen- eral Hospital, Dr. Hayden practiced for two years as assistant to Dr. Edward B. Heckel, and then, desirous of more thor- ough equipment for the special line of work which he had marked out for him- self, he went to Philadelphia and devoted himself to post-graduate work at the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, the Wells Eye Hospital and the Polyclinic Hospital.
In 1913 Dr. Hayden returned to Pitts- burgh, where he has since practiced as an eye specialist, having already built up a clientele of no inconsiderable proportions. He is a member of the assistant staff of the Allegheny General Hospital, and be- longs to the American Medical Associa- tion, the Pennsylvania State Medical As- sociation and the Allegheny County Medical Society, also the Phi Beta Phi medical fraternity. In politics Dr. Hay- den is a Republican, but takes no active part in public affairs, the demands of his profession engrossing his entire time and attention. He is a member of the Shady Side United Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Hayden has done well, but by far the greater part of his record yet remains to be written. Young, modern, progres- sive and learned in his profession, he is one of the specialists of Pittsburgh whose prestige will increase with the years.
BENNETT, George Slocum,
Man of Large Affairs, Philanthropist.
A director of the Wyoming National Bank for forty-five years and its president from 1895 until his death in 1910, George S. Bennett occupied exalted position in financial circles, and was one of Wilkes- Barre's most successful business men and exemplary citizens. His life was spent in Wilkes-Barre not in the accumulation of wealth for wealth's sake, but in constant unceasing labor for the welfare of the community in which his long life was passed. His work for the church he loved was of lifelong duration, and from 1868 until his death he was superintend- ent of the Sabbath school. Every charity, every philanthropy, every educational in- stitution of his city, claimed his interest, and he was held in the very highest esteem by all who knew of his devoted life, and in lasting memory by his many friends.
- George Slocum Bennett was born in Wilkes-Barre, August 10, 1842, and died in his native city, January 2, 1910, son of Judge Ziba and Hannah Fell (Slocum) Bennett. He was a descendant of James Bennett, who came from England, was a freeman of Concord, Connecticut, in 1639, and his wife, Hannah Wheeler, daughter of Lieutenant Thomas Wheeler. He married in 1639, and in that year moved to Fairfield, Connecticut, where he died in 1659. The line of descent to George S. Bennett was through the founder's eldest son, Thomas Bennett, and his wife, Elizabeth Thompson; their son, Thomas (2) Bennett, and his wife, Sarah Hub- bard; their son, Deliverance Bennett, and his wife, Mary Biggs; their son, William Bennett, and his wife, Abigail Hickock; their son, Thaddeus Bennett, and his wife, Mary Platt; and their son, Platt Bennett, all of Connecticut birth
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Gro. S. Bennett.
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and death save Platt Bennett, who died at Horseheads, New York, and is buried in Elmira. Platt Bennett married Martha Wheeler, who lies by his side. Their son, Judge Ziba Bennett, was born at Weston, Connecticut, and died in Wilkes-Barre on November 4, 1878, aged seventy-eight years. He was one of the foremost men of the Wyoming Valley, although not a pioneer. He was engaged in mercantile and banking business for sixty years, and was the oldest merchant in Luzerne county. For half a century he was a de- vout useful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and donated the land in Franklin street on which the present church stands. He married Hannah Fell Slocum, November 25, 1824.
George Slocum Bennett after prepara- tion in Wilkes-Barre schools, entered Wesleyan University, Middletown, Con- necticut, whence he was graduated Bachelor of Arts, and commencement day orator, class of 1864, receiving from his alma mater in 1867 the degree of Master of Arts. Upon leaving college he en- gaged in the banking business in Wilkes- Barre, associating with his father in the private banking house of Bennett, Phelps & Company as a member of the firm. At about the same time he became a director of the Wyoming Bank, was a member of the first board of directors of the Wyo- ming National Bank, its successor, and at a meeting of the board held February 13, 1895, was elected president of the bank, succeeding Sheldon Reynolds, who died February 8, 1895. President Bennett most ably filled the high position to which he was called, only surrendering the responsibilities the office entailed a few days prior to his death.
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