USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. VII > Part 50
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upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science, while in 1906, at the two hun- dredth anniversary of the birth of Ben- jamin Franklin the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him. During that year he received the same degree from Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg, and he also received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Wisconsin in 1904. Since 1906 the following honorary de- grees have been conferred upon Dr. Smith: Doctor of Laws, Franklin and Marshall College, 1910; Rutgers College, 1911; University of Pittsburgh, 1912; University of North Carolina, 1912; Princeton University, 1913; Brown Uni- versity, 1914; Wittenberg College, 1914; Doctor of Science, University of Dublin (Ireland) 1912; Yale University, 1914; Chem. D., University of Pittsburgh, 1915. In 1914 he was awarded the Elliott Cres- son Medal by the Franklin Institute in recognition of his contributions to science and education.
Dr. Smith continued to serve as vice- provost until November, 1910, when he was elected provost to succeed Dr. Charles C. Harrison. His selection for the office did not come as a surprise, for it had been generally known for several weeks that he was the choice of the faculty, students and alumni of the uni- versity.
One of the local papers said of him: "Few men combine such varied activities in their lives as does Dr. Smith. As an investigator in the field of electro-chem- istry he has few equals. He is always at the service of the students, and there is scarcely an evening in the year when he is not addressing some organization or other at the university." At the same time Dr. Smith finds opportunity for co- operation in many movements and meas- ures which are directly beneficial to the
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university, to the individual and to the community at large. In 1899 he was elected a member of the National Acad- emy of Sciences, and he is a member of several foreign scientific societies ; of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science, of which he was vice- president in 1898; the Chemical Jury of Awards at the Columbian Exposition in 1893; Adviser in Chemistry, Carnegie Institute, 1902; the United States Assay Commission in 1895 and again from 1901 until 1905. He is a member of the Amer- ican Chemical Society and occupied the office of president of the society in 1898. He likewise holds membership with the American Philosophical Society, of which he was president for five years. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advance- ment of Teaching, and is president of the Wistar Institute.
The chemical department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania under the leader- ship of Dr. Smith has become one of the most prominent schools of chemistry in the country, and its post-graduate depart- ment has turned out scores of men, many of whom are teaching chemistry in im- portant institutions throughout the United States. Dr. Smith is an enthusi- astic and untiring teacher, and has con- tinued to teach in connection with his duties as provost. He lays special stress upon character-making. His idea is first to make the man and then the chemist.
As a scientist, Dr. Smith has made lasting and important contributions to chemistry. He is best known for his work in electro-chemistry. Indeed, he may be called a pioneer in this field. His first published article relative to the sub- ject appeared in 1879, since which time his contributions have been numerous and far-reaching in effect. His "Electro Analysis," which appeared in 1890, has
gone through five editions, and has been translated into German, French and other foreign languages. It is recognized throughout the world as an authoritative work in this branch of chemistry. He has made notable researches upon molyb- denum and tungsten, and has published about two hundred papers embodying the results of his investigations in electro- chemistry, in organic and analytical chemistry and the composition of miner- als. He has translated a number of standard German works on chemistry, important among these being Richter's "Inorganic Chemistry" and "Organic Chemistry." He is the author of "Ele- ments of Chemistry" (three editions), "Elements of Electro-chemistry," "The- ories of Chemistry," "Chemical Experi- ments," and "Chemistry in America- Chapters from the History of the Science in the United States."
His "hobby" is said to be a love for old things, particularly those old records re- lating to the history of chemical science and to the history of the University of Pennsylvania. This is evident in his latest book, "Chemistry in America," wherein a number of old prints, original manuscript letters and rare copies of early chemical addresses, are set forth, thus preserving for the future historian of the science of chemistry documents and facts which are now to be obtained only by patient study and research among papers which are rapidly disappearing with each succeeding year. He takes the keenest interest in the history and tra- ditions of the University of Pennsyl- vania, and it is as a result of his delving among old documents and manuscripts that the university is indebted for many a quaint story illustrating the traditions of the university and the deeds of its distinguished sons, from Colonial days downward. His office is a veritable
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curiosity shop of the university and chemical lore, the walls, bookcases and cabinets being filled with photographs, autograph letters, essays, and books dwelling upon the life and deeds of many an ancient hero of the campus, or grave and learned leader in chemical science. He takes the utmost delight in this study. It might be called his one and only recre- ation, as he seldom takes a vacation and spends most of his waking hours at the university. A manuscript letter of An- thony Wayne (student in the Old Acad- emy) or a bit of Robert Hare's work brings him as much joy as the success- ful conclusion of a difficult piece of chem- ical research.
Dr. Smith has ever manifested the keenest interest in the students of the university, whom he often designates as "my boys." It is said that he has fre- quently left his bed at midnight to get some unfortunate youth out of trouble, and many university boys have had their lives straightened out, just when they were on the point of going wrong, by the aid of his fatherly and sympathetic advice. No part of his work appeals more strongly to him than his close relation- ship with the student body.
VOORHEES, Theodore, Leading Railroad Manager.
At precisely eleven. o'clock on March 13, 1916, every train of the Philadelphia & Reading railroad came to a complete stop, every trackwalker stood silent with bared head, and for one minute that great railroad system's operative and office force rendered silent homage to the memory of their fallen chief, Theodore Voorhees. At that same moment, Rev. David M. Steele, rector of the Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany, bowed his head in prayer at Colony House in Elkins Park over the dead president, surrounded
by the leading railroad magnates of the United States, and the most prominent men of Philadelphia, standing shoulder to shoulder with conductors, brakemen, engineers, flagmen-a most democratic gathering. Common grief over the death of Mr. Voorhees created a bond of sym- pathy among these men who represented every class from the highest to the most humble. Railroad presidents and other high officials silently shook the hands of messengers. It was the most cosmopoli- tan service that has marked the funeral of a prominent Philadelphian.
Outside of the Voorhees residence there was another group of mourners. They, too, represented every rank of soci- ety, and stood with bowed heads during the entire time the service was being conducted. Since 1893 Mr. Voorhees had been first vice-president of the Philadel- phia & Reading Railway Company, suc- ceeding to the presidency in 1914, and was also president of a group of sub- sidiary companies of the Reading. His life from graduation as civil engineer in 1869 had been spent in railroad activities, his career a series of advancements, each step bringing him nearer that inner circle which only few railroad men ever reach, but which could not be denied him. He was more than the railroad magnate, for, intensely practical, he sought not the or- namental duties of his offices, but was thorough master of every detail of the railroad business "from engine headlight to the president's desk." As opportunity offered in the various positions he held, he centered his activity on reforms in railroad operation and to him is credited the installation of the "block signal" and the introduction of the "normal danger" automatic block signals. In executive management he demonstrated the highest qualities, while his private life was one of exceptional worth, his contemporaries and associates, holding him in the highest
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esteem. His life of sixty-nine years had been one of increasing activity, and until his last illness he had been continually "in the harness" and was looking for- ward eagerly to a resumption of his executive duties when his final summons came.
A glance over his ancestry reveals the fact that in him coursed the blood of the Van Voorhees family of Holland and the Sinclairs of Scotland with collateral streams from other nationalities. His Voorhees ancestor was Steven Coerte Van Voorhees, born in 1600 at Hees, province of Dreuthe, Holland, who in April, 1660, came to this country in the ship "Bontekoe" (Spotted Cow), bring- ing with him his wife and eight children, leaving two daughters in Holland. He bought lands in the Flatlands of Long Island, New York, paying therefor three thousand guilders, and also bought the house and lot lying in the village of "Amesfoort in Bergen" (Flatlands). His son, Coerte Stevense Van Voorhees, was one of the most prominent of the early Dutch settlers at Flatlands, owning much land and holding important public offices. The name has gone through many curious changes, but the "Van" has generally been dropped, the prevailing spelling be- ing Voorhees, although the Bergen county, New Jersey, branch almost with- out exception write it Voorhis.
Theodore Voorhees, of the eighth American generation of his family, was born in New York City, June 4, 1847, and died at his home, "Colony House," Elkins Park, near Philadelphia, late on Satur- day night, March 11, 1916. His parents were Benjamin Franklin Voorhees, a cot- ton broker, and Margaret E. (Sinclair) Voorhees. After adequate preparation in city schools, Mr. Voorhees entered Co- lumbia College in 1864, and after com- pleting his sophomore year at that insti- tution, he entered the Rensselaer Poly-
technic Institution, that famed technical school located at Troy. Thence he was graduated Civil Engineer, class of 1869, and the same year witnessed his instal- lation in his first position, that of assist- ant engineer with the Delaware & Lack- awanna railroad. He continued in the engineering department of the Lacka- wanna for nearly four years, then entered the operating department as superintend- ent of the Syracuse, Binghamton & New York railroad, the northern branch of the Lackawanna, beginning at a point on Lake Ontario and connecting with the main line at Binghamton.
In December, 1874, he entered a new field of railroad work, the transportation department, this time with the Delaware & Hudson railroad, with headquarters at Albany. In March, 1875, he returned to the operating department, becoming su- perintendent of the Saratoga & Lake Champlain division of the Delaware & Hudson, spending ten years in that posi- tion. In 1885 he resigned to accept the position of assistant general superintend- ent of the New York Central & Hudson ,River railroad, so continuing until March 1, 1890, when he was promoted general superintendent of that system, holding similar connection with the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg railroad, con- trolled by the New York Central. He remained with the Central in the above named capacity until February 1, 1893, when he resigned, having been elected first vice-president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, succeeding J. Rogers Maxwell. This brought him to the executive department of the railroad business, the only department with which he had not previously been connected. This was according to the old rule of promotion in railroad service, and in that school Mr. Voorhees won his spurs, proved his mettle, and received each pro- motion solely on his own merit and pre-
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vious record. He continued as first vice- president until the death of George P. Baer, then on May 8, 1914, succeeded to the presidency of the Reading and its several subsidiary companies. He proved as wise a chief executive as an assistant, his thorough knowledge of every depart- ment and every detail of those depart- ments rendering him the ideal chief.
He had few outside business interests, but served as a director of the Market Street National Bank of Philadelphia ; was vice-president of the American Railway Association in 1904; was a trustee of his alma mater, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ; and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, taking an active interest in the duties such con- nection involved. He was a vestryman of St. Luke's and the Epiphany Church, and in politics was an Independent. His college fraternity was Psi Upsilon. He was eligible to and held membership in the Holland and the St. Nicholas soci- eties, his clubs were the Century of New York, the Philadelphia, Racquet, Auto- mobile and the Huntington Valley Coun- try. But he was not a club man, his busi- ness and his home being the great features of his life interest. He built a fine country residence at Elkins Park, called "Colony House" from the fact that his plans included the building of homes for three of his married children on adja- cent properties. At Colony House he spent his hours "off duty," taking a deep interest in the beautifying of house and grounds. He was fond of Nature and her works, and was quite an amateur ento- mologist. His health was excellent until a few months preceding his death, and all the joys of life were his. Honors came to him abundantly, he bore the regard and esteem of the highest, and the respect and good will of every man on the great system he controlled. He was a true
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"captain of industry," one of the world's workers, one of the world's winners.
Mr. Voorhees married, September I, 1871, Sarah Vail Gould, who died August 15, 1872. He married (second) February 4, 1874, Mary E. Chittenden, of Syracuse, New York. He left eight children, in- cluding five sons, who most worthily bear the Voorhees name. Three daughters: Margaret Sinclair, married Charles R. Wood; Phoeboe Schermerhorn, married W. Hewyard Drayton, 3d; Helen Chit- tenden, married F. De St. Phelle, all residing in Philadelphia. The sons are: Harlow Chittenden, with Madeira, Hill & Company, of Philadelphia ; Henry Belin, general superintendent of the Cin- cinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad; Gerald E., with the Bethlehem Steel Company, of Detroit; Theodore Coert, with the Pennsylvania Steel Company ; Herman Moncrieff, with the Philadelphia & Reading railroad.
KIRK, Edward C.,
Dental Practitioner and Instructor.
Edward Cameron Kirk was born in Sterling, Illinois, on December 9, 1856, the son of Brigadier-General Edward N. Kirk. At an early age he was brought to Philadelphia, where he received a thor- ough preliminary education. When only eighteen years of age he was a teacher, filling the office of assistant first to Pro- fessor Frazer and then to Professor Sadt- ler, both of the Chemical Department of
Towne Scientific School of the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania. As a teacher in this department he displayed the same thoroughness and persistence which are characteristic of Dr. Kirk and his work.
In 1876 his entrance into dentistry was begun in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, so that he might lay the foundation for the special dental structure. The following year he
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matriculated in the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of Doc- tor of Dental Surgery in 1878. From this year also dates his connection with that department of the university of which he has been the executive officer, and Pro- fessor of Clinical Surgery since 1896. Shortly after the reorganization of the school in 1882, Dr. Kirk was appointed to the lectureship in Operative Dentistry and later to the instructorship in Clinical Dentistry.
His ability as a writer is fully evinced in the large number of contributions on practically every subject within the range of dentistry which he has turned out. In 1891 he succeeded Dr. James W. White as editor of the "Dental Cosmos," which publication has been advanced to a much higher plane since. Besides con- tributing the chapter on "Metallurgy," and "Hygienic Relations of Artificial Dentures" in the "American System of Dentistry," and the article on "Dentistry" in the "Encyclopaedia Brittanica" and in the "Encyclopaedia Americana," he has edited the "American Text-book of Oper- ative Dentistry," to which he has con- tributed many good articles.
Dean Kirk has been a prominent factor in dental societies from the beginning of his professional career. Due to his un- tiring efforts, he succeeded in getting the Dental Act of Pennsylvania passed in 1897. This statute at once placed den- tistry upon a higher plane, giving it that prestige which it now holds. The services which he has rendered to dentistry are manifold. He has liberally enriched its literature, and this, as well as his profes- sional altruism, has been publicly and officially recognized upon at least two different occasions. In 1903 the North- western University conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Science, and re- cently the Societe d'Odontologie of Paris
awarded him its yearly gold medal as a testimonial of high esteem and thorough appreciation of his interesting and in- structive scientific investigations. Dr. Kirk has been president of the Pennsyl- vania State Dental Society, president of the Academy of Stomatology, and is a member of the National Dental Associ- ation, American Academy of Dental Science, and an honorary member of sev- eral other prominent dental societies, American and foreign.
His appointments and affiliations are as fol- lows: Professor of Dental Pathology, Thera- peutics and Materia Medica in the University of Pennsylvania; Dean of the Dental School of the University of Pennsylvania; Editor of the "Den- tal Cosmos;" D. D. S., Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery 1878; Sc. D., Northwestern University, 1903; Member of: National Dental Association, U. S. A .; Pennsylvania State Den- tal Association; Pennsylvania Association of Dental Surgeons; Academy of Stomatology of Philadelphia; Odontographic Society of West Philadelphia; Dental Alumni Society of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia Dental Club; Delta Sigma Delta Fraternity ; Honorary Member of the Ohio County Medical Society of West Virginia, and the First District Dental Society of the State of New York; Associate Member of the American Academy of Dental Science of Boston; Honorary Member of: Amer- ican Academy of Dental Surgery: Societe Pro- fessional d l' Ecole Dentaire, et d l' Asso- ciation Generale des Dentaires de France; Societe Dententologie de Paris; Central Verein Deutscher Zahnarzte; Societe Tandlakare Salls- kapet; British Dental Association; Sociedad Odontologicade de Chile; Sociedad Med- ico-Dental de Barraquilla, Columbia, S. A .: Verein Osterreichischer Zahnarzte; Corre- sponding Member of the Vereines Osterreich- scher Zahnarzte; Member of the Royal Society of Medicine of Great Britain; Member of the First Class by Inheritance of the Loyal Legion of the United States of America (Pennsylvania Commandery) ; Member of the Society of the Sigma Xi; Member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; Member of The University Club of Philadelphia; Markham Club of Philadelphia; Lenape Club of Philadelphia ; Chemists' Club of New York; Authors' Club of London; Argunot Club of University of Pennsyl- vania.
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HALSEY, Gaius Leonard, Lawyer, Jurist.
The American Halseys are of English origin and have been settled in America about two hundred and fifty years. The family in England is of considerable anti- quity. It has been conjectured that the "Alsis of the Domesday Book" are the originals of the family. But it was sev- eral centuries after the Conqueror's time that the first indisputably genuine mem- ber of the family is known to have existed in England. This was John Hals, a man of considerable wealth and repute who lived in the reign of Edward III. (1327- 1377). John Hals was one of the English judges of the Common Pleas. His son was Robert, who added an "e" to his name, making it Halse.
The first Halsey to arrive in this coun- try from England, and the progenitor of Gaius Leonard Halsey, was Thomas Hal- sey who settled at Lynn, Massachusetts, as early as 1637, and who came from Hertfordshire, which at present contains probably the best known representatives of the family in England. Gaius Leonard Halsey belongs to the ninth generation in descent from Thomas Halsey, the line being: (1) Thomas; (2) Thomas; (3) Jeremiah; (4) Jeremiah; (5) Matthew ; (6) Matthew; (7) Gaius; (8) Richard Church; (9) Gaius Leonard.
To Dr. Gaius Halsey, of the seventh generation of American Halseys, and the grandfather of our subject, four children were born: Richard Church (born Bain- bridge, New York, 1817), Gaius Leonard (born 1819), Nelson Gaylord, and Lavan- tia. Richard Church had two children: Gaius Leonard and Lavantia Harriet. The maiden name of the mother of Gaius Leonard Halsey was Anna Sprowl, a member of the Society of Friends, and a native of Kennett, Chester county,
Pennsylvania. She spent the greater part of her life in White Haven, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, where she died in 1896. Richard Church Halsey studied medicine with his father, and in addition graduated at a medical college in the City of New York. In the Civil War he served as a surgeon on the Union side. His first location was at White Haven, but after a year's residence there he re- moved to Nesquehoning, Carbon county, Pennsylvania, where the subject of this sketch was born. After a residence of four or five years at Nesquehoning, he removed again to White Haven. Dr. Halsey lived and practiced medicine in White Haven up to the time of his death in February, 1904, at the advanced age of eighty-six years.
Gaius Leonard Halsey was born July 12, 1845, at Nesquehoning, Carbon county, Pennsylvania, but the family soon went to White Haven, Luzerne county, Penn- sylvania, and has been closely associated with that town ever since. He was edu- cated at the Wilkes-Barre Academy, the Clinton (New York) Liberal Institute, and at Tufts College, Medford, Massa- chusetts, from which he graduated in 1867. He chose Tufts as his college be- cause Professor Dearborn, who had been his instructor and personal friend at the Clinton Liberal Institute, had been called to a professorship at Tufts. During a portion of the year 1866, prior to gradu- ation from Tufts, he taught school at Canton, Massachusetts, and after gradu- ation one year in White Haven, Penn- sylvania.
In 1868 he went to Washington, D. C., and during the winter of 1868 and 1869 was a newspaper reporter on the "Wash- ington Post," which position he left to become a stenographer for Senator Oliver P. Morton and General John A. Logan. In 1870 he was a stenographer for the
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Legislative Record at Harrisburg, Penn- sylvania. In 1870 and 1871 he was assist- ant sergeant-at-arms in the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, and in 1871 and 1872 was a transcribing clerk in the House of Representatives.
During these stenographic years, he had been reading law at Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, with Ly- man Hakes, and Charles E. Rice, ex- President Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, September 9, 1872. During his life as a lawyer he practiced in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and was one of the leaders of the bar. He served many mining companies and corporations, and was attorney for the Lehigh Valley Railroad and for the Lehigh Coal & Navi- gation Company up to the time he retired from active practice.
During the period of his practice of the law he was a member of the Luzerne Law and Library Association, and one of a committee of three known as the board of censors, and was also, for many years, chairman of the board of examiners for admission to the several courts of the County of Luzerne.
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