USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. X > Part 16
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The announcement was made of the
death of Richard M. Hughes, and on motion it was resolved that the secretary prepare a resolution of condolence on the death of Richard M. Hughes, the first president of this company, and later a vice-president, and at the time of his death a director of this company, and that the same be entered in the minutes of this meeting and an engrossed copy be sent to the family of the deceased :
Whereas, As we have heard of the death of our esteemed associate, Richard M. Hughes, the first president of the company, and later a vice- president, and at the time of his death a direc- tor of this company, whose death occurred at Pittston, November 20, 1911; and,
Whereas, The relations existing between the deceased and the members of our Board of Di- rectors and the officers of this company, render it proper that we should give expression of the sorrow which we feel in our parting from him; therefore, be it
Resolved, That in the death of Richard M. Hughes the Pennsylvania Central Brewing Com- pany has lost an esteemed and valued friend and that we tender our most heartfelt sympathy to his bereaved widow and family, and that in token of our respect this resolution shall be spread at large upon our minutes and an engrossed copy thereof presented to his family.
CHAS. ROBINSON, President, W. G. HARDING, Secretary,
Directors.
Scranton, Pennsylvania, Friday, December 8, 19II.
STEWART, Walter Scott, M. D.,
Physician.
Walter Scott Stewart, M. D., one of the most successful and best known physi- cians of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, comes of that strong and capable stock which has produced not a few of our most prominent men and which is the basis of a type of citizenship second to none to be found in this country. His paternal grandfather was Robert Stew- art, a native of Scotland, and his grandmother, before marriage, was Mar-
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garet Miller, a native of Londonderry, Ireland, so that his ancestry is of the well-known Scotch-Irish type which has proved itself so efficient in the practical affairs of life, both at home and abroad in the New World.
This Robert Stewart and his wife, the grandfather of the Dr. Stewart of this sketch, came to the United States in the early years of the nineteenth century and settled in Huntingdon county, Pennsyl- vania. Here their son, Dr. Miller Stew- art, was born, in the year 1811, and here he passed his childhood and early youth. After completing the preliminary portion of his education, he attended Jefferson Medical College, from which he graduated with the class of 1845 and at once began the practice in his native Huntingdon county. Later on, however, he went to Fairmount, West Virginia, where he set- tled and continued in practice for a num- ber of years. Eventually, however, he came to Snowshoe, Center county, Penn- sylvania, and there continued in practice until the time of his death in the year 1899. His practice, however, soon became merely nominal, as he turned his atten- tion to the wholesale and retail manu- facture of lumber and with a younger brother formed a partnership to carry on this business. The two men built the first steam saw mill in that section of the State, and it was they who opened up much of the virgin timber land there- abouts. Dr. Miller Stewart married Patsy Elliott Shaw, a daughter of William and Patsy Shaw, lifelong residents of Mary- land, where Mrs. Stewart was born. Of this union seven children, two of whom were daughters and five sons, were born.
afterwards attended the Millersville State Normal School at Millersville, Pennsyl- vania, and after graduating from this in- stitution, turned his attention for some time to the subject of education, and act- ually followed that profession in the pub- lic schools of his native region. He had in the meantime, however, gradually turned his attention more and more to the science of medicine and eventually decided to make this his profession in life. Accordingly he entered the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, and after establishing an excellent record for good scholarship was graduated there- from with the class of 1883. Immediately thereafter he came to Wilkes-Barre, and there engaged actively in the general practice of his profession. In 1886, how- ever, he interrupted his career temporar- ily in order to take a post-graduate course at Johns Hopkins University at Balti- more, Maryland. With the exception of this comparatively brief interruption, how- ever, Dr. Stewart has continued actively engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery during the thirty-four years that have elapsed since his coming to Wilkes- Barre, and is now recognized as one of the leaders of his profession in that part of Pennsylvania. In 1898, at the time of the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Dr. Stewart volunteered his services to his country and was commissioned sur- geon of the Ninth Regiment of Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Infantry with the rank of major. In this capacity he began his mil- itary service, but was shortly afterwards detailed to the Third Division, First Army Corps Hospital at Chickamauga, and was eventually transferred to the military hos- pital at Lexington, Kentucky. He was mustered out of active service, October 29, 1898, but still retains his commission in the National Guard. Dr. Stewart has
Dr. Walter Scott Stewart was born No- vember 16, 1856, at Snowshoe, Center county, Pennsylvania, and was sent to gain the rudimentary portion of his edu- cation to the local public schools. He been very prominent in the medical life
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of Wilkes-Barre, and is at the present time surgeon to the Wilkes-Barre City Hospital. He has also taken no small part in advancing the general interests of the profession, and is an active member of the Luzerne County, Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania State Medical societies, and of the American Medical Association and the Association of Military Surgeons. He is also a fellow of the American Col- lege of Surgeons. He has held a number of offices in those various organizations, including that of president of the Lu- zerne County Medical Society. Dr. Stew- art is also prominent in club circles, and is a member and the president of the Westmoreland Club, of the Wyoming Valley Country Club of Wilkes-Barre, and a member of the Army and Navy Club of New York City.
There is something intrinsically admir- able in the profession of medicine that illumines by reflected light all those who practice it. Something, that is, concerned with its prime object, the alleviation of human suffering, something about the self-sacrifice that it must necessarily in- volve that makes us regard, and rightly so, all those who choose to follow its dif- ficult course and devote themselves to its great aims, with a certain amount of respect and reverence. It is true that to-day there has been a certain lowering on the average of the standards and tradi- tions of the profession, and that there are many within its ranks at the present time who have proposed to themselves selfish or unworthy objects instead of those iden- tified with the profession itself, whose eyes are centered on the rewards rather than the services, yet there are others also who have preserved the purest and best ideals of the calling and whose self- sacrifice is as disinterested as that of any who have preceded them. To such men we turn to seek the hope of the great pro-
fession in the future, to the men who, forgetful of personal considerations, lose themselves, either in the interest of the great questions with which they have concerned themselves or in the joy of rendering a deep service to their fellow- men. A man of this type is Dr. Stewart, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, whose work in that city in the interests of its health has done the public an in- valuable service.
DEVLIN, Thomas,
Manufacturer.
Thomas Devlin was born in Ireland, March 30, 1838, son of William and Mary (Sherry) Devlin, who emigrated to the United States in April, 1854, settling in Philadelphia, making it their permanent home. His education in Ireland was lim- ited to the opportunities afforded by the common schools of that country, but with the natural love of education found in so many of Erin's sons, he was not content with that meagre knowledge, but after working hard all day availed him- self of the advantages of a business col- lege at night, studing far into "the wee sma' hours."
At the age of sixteen he began his business career in the employ of what is now known as the Philadelphia Hard- ware and Malleable Iron Works, of which he is to-day president. At that time it was known as Thomas R. Wood & Com- pany. Mr. Devlin's initial start brought him the large salary of one dollar and a half per week. In January, 1855, the works were purchased by E. Hall Ogden, and in 1866 he admitted three of his employees, one being Thomas Devlin, as members of the firm, sharing in percent- age of the profits in lieu of a salary. This must have proved a satisfactory arrange- ment to the three employees, as in 1871
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Thomas Devlin
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
they bought out the business and it be- came known as Carr, Crawley & Dev- lin Company.
In 1880 Mr. Devlin withdrew from that company and in partnership with Louis J. McGrath founded the business at Third and Lehigh avenues, Philadelphia, under the title of Thomas Devlin & Com- pany. The business prospered by leaps and bounds, and almost every available inch of space has since been acquired to meet the demands of the rapidly growing business. In 1902 the firm was incor- porated under the laws of New Jersey under the title of the Thomas Devlin Manufacturing Company, with offices and works at Third and Lehigh avenues, Philadelphia, and the more extensive works in Burlington, 'New Jersey, to which additions continue to be made for the manufacture of steam-fitters' and plumbers' supplies as well as the many side lines manufactured by the company. Mr. Devlin was elected as president, and has continued as its directing and execu- tive head from the beginning. His rise has been steady and is due to his deter- mination to acquire a thorough knowl- edge of every detail of the business from the very beginning, and he is now con- sidered an authority on all questions con- nected with the manufacture of malle- able iron products. The Philadelphia office and factory is of modern construc- tion and, with the up-to-date works in Burlington, New Jersey, employ about a thousand men, with a capital stock of one million dollars. System is the hall mark of every department, and the loss of time, labor and material is at a minimum.
tinct and separate chartered company, known as the Philadelphia Hardware and Malleable Iron Works, with Thomas Devlin as its president. The history of the Philadelphia Hardware and Malle- able Iron Works, which began business at its present location in 1852, constitutes an interesting chapter in the commercial life and development of Philadelphia.
Throughout Mr. Devlin's business career, capable management, unfalter- ing enterprise and a spirit of justice have been well-balanced factors. To his asso- ciates he has shown a genial, kindly, humorous side of his character which have made their business relations most enjoyable, and never has he fallen into the serious error of regarding his em- ployees merely as parts of a great ma- chine, but, on the contrary, has recog- nized their individuality, making it a rule that faithful and efficient service shall be promptly rewarded with promo- tion as opportunity offers. Shortly after purchasing the old plant, the company originated a system by which employees were given the earnings of a thousand dollars worth of stock for a term of five years on the condition that the employees give to the company continued and faith- ful service during that period and that the employees contribute the sum of two dollars per week to be retained by the company toward the purchase of the one thousand dollars worth of stock of which they received the earning capacity as stated above. This plan was of Thomas Devlin's original conception, and it has resulted in the employees putting forth their best efforts stimulated by the desire to own a thousand dollars worth of stock, and in many instances they have not been content with that amount, but spurred on by enjoying the dividend before they
In 1892, Thomas Devlin & Company purchased the Ogden business, later the Carr & Crawley works, from which Mr. Devlin had withdrawn in 1880, and which is now principally owned by Thomas Devlin, and Louis J. McGrath, a dis- had completed the purchase, they have
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added to the first thousand dollars worth given by the firm.
The thorough business qualifications of Mr. Devlin have always been in good demand on boards of directors of differ- ent organizations, and his public spirit has led him to accept many such trusts. He is president of Thomas Devlin Manu- facturing Company, Philadelphia Hard- ware & Malleable Iron Works, National Specialty Manufacturing Company, and of Philadelphia Foundrymen's Associa- tion; director of the Continental-Equit- able Title & Trust Company, Peoples' National Fire Insurance Company, Phil- adelphia Chamber of Commerce, Bank of Commerce, and of Manufacturers' Club ; member of National Association of Foundrymen, The American Foundry- men's Association, Hardware Merchants' & Manufacturers' Association, The Phil- adelphia Schutzen-Verein, The Lang- horne Board of Trade, American Society for Extension of University Teaching, American Academy of Political and So- cial Science, University of Archeology, National Civic Federation, Catholic His- torical Society, American Irish Histori- cal Society, Mercantile Beneficial Asso- ciation, Civil Service Reform Associa- tion, United Irish League, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Atlantic Inland Water- ways Association, City Parks Association of Philadelphia, National Geographical Society, National Rivers & Harbors Con- gress, National Board of Trade, Auto- mobile Club of Philadelphia, Royal So- ciety of Arts, London, and of Chamber of Commerce of the United States; and manager of the Beneficial Savings Fund Society. He was formerly a member of the Philadelphia Zoological Association, the Pennsylvania Society in New York, the Langhorne Golf Club, the American Iron and Steel Institute, the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania, and the Frank- lin Institute.
While Thomas Devlin has always given his business the most minute and untiring personal attention, he has found time to devote thought and support to the commercial and civic interests of Phila- delphia, proving him a forceful element in his civic relations and a staunch friend. He is an ardent advocate and champion of education and worthy charities. Dur- ing the fleeting years he has found time to make five trips through Europe, as his children completed their education, and three trips through the United States. Politically he is a Republican.
On January 2, 1866, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mr. Devlin married Helen Amelia Sanford, daughter of Abel B. and Caroline A. (Tobey) Sanford, na- tives of New Bedford, Massachusetts. By this marriage Mr. Devlin gained the companionship of a charming and con- genial woman, and one well fitted in all ways to be his helpmate and adviser. On November 16, 1911, Mr. Devlin suffered the irreparable loss of his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Devlin were the parents of the fol- lowing children: William John, Dr. Thomas F., Walter E., Frederick M., Harry, Dr. Albert J., Mrs. Caroline M. Begley, Dr. Raymond A., lieutenant at Camp Mead; and Clarence J. The home life of Mr. Devlin has been one of rare felicity and beauty. His wife was a woman whose strong mental endow- ments, loveliness of personality and sweetness of disposition fitted her to be at once his intellectual comrade and the presiding genius of his fireside.
In 1901 Mr. Devlin purchased a farm of about three hundred and forty acres, located in Middletown township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, which he named "Cedarlin Farms," and here he spends much of his time. He has stocked the -
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estate with blooded cattle and has made of it one of the show places of the State. Apropos of Mr. Devlin and his farm, the Philadelphia "Inquirer" had this to say of him, in its issue of April 9, 1918:
When the "Inquirer's" birthday bulletin editor last week printed the picture of Thomas Devlin and felicitated him upon his natal day anniver- sary, as is his rule, he made no mention as to the number of years during which Mr. Devlin has spread the sunshine of his presence among his friends. "Farmer" Devlin, as he is affectionately called by those who have the good fortune to know him in his activities on his model farm in Bucks county, near Langhorne, has just cele- brated his eightieth birthday. *
* * "Farmer" Devlin, in his side issue in the agricultural way, says he has quite as much difficulty with the labor problem during war times as he has with his big industrial plants in Philadelphia and Burling- ton, New Jersey. He is filled up with orders in his foundry and hardware shops and is one of the busiest men of his years in the State. Jovial "Farmer" Devlin, "Manufacturer" Devlin, "Good Fellow" Devlin in disposition is never happier than when addressing a coterie of friends upon a public-spirited or patriotic theme, and as a post- prandial orator he has a field peculiarly his own.
DODSON, Victor Lee, Educator.
The Dodson family has been actively and honorably identified with the history of Eastern Pennsylvania since Colonial times. The progenitor of the Luzerne county branch of the family was Thomas Dodson, who about 1723, with his wife Mary (nee Prigg) and two young sons, removed from Philadelphia to Chester county, Pennsylvania. There, during the ensuing twenty years, ten other children were born to Thomas and Mary (Prigg) Dodson, the names of four of their twelve children being: John, born April 10, 1720; Richard, born June 26, 1731; Thomas, born 1732; and James, born 1734.
moved with his wife and two sons, Thomas and James, from Chester county to Northampton county, Pennsylvania, about the year 1765. Twelve years later the family, or at least the male members of it, had settled on the Susquehanna river within the bounds of what was then the township of Salem, Plymouth dis- trict, in the county of Westmoreland of the State of Connecticut. This county of Westmoreland comprehended what was more commonly known as the Wyoming region of Pennsylvania, the right and title to which the New England settlers on the one hand, and the Pennsylvania land-claimers on the other, bitterly con- tested for a number of years.
The names of John, Thomas, Richard and James Dodson appear in the tax lists of Plymouth district for the years 1777 and 1778.
Following the battle and massacre of Wyoming, July 3, 1778, the whole Wyoming region was deserted by the survivors of that fateful day, the Dod- sons, in common with the other inhabi- tants of Salem, fleeing across the river and mountains to their old homes near the Delaware river, Northampton county. After peaceful times had come again to the Wyoming region, and there seemed to be no further danger of Indian incursions, John Dodson, his son Thomas, and other members of their respective families, returned to Wyoming and set about re- establishing themselves on the lands which they had formerly occupied. The names of John, Thomas and James Dod- son appear in the list of Salem township taxables for 1796.
About 1797 or 1798, John and Thomas Dodson removed with their families to the adjoining township of Huntington, Luzerne county, and there John Dodson died March 10, 1818, aged ninety-seven
John Dodson, above mentioned, re- years and eleven months. His remains
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were buried in the "Goss" graveyard, at Harveyville, Huntington township.
Thomas Dodson seems to have been a farmer, a millwright and a miller. In 1798, in conjunction with Nathan Beach, of Salem, he built the second grist-mill (known as Rogers') in Huntington town- ship, on Marsh creek. The wife of Thomas Dodson, to whom he was mar- ried in 1778, was Mehetable, or Mabel, Bixby, born in 1760, died in 1804, and both he and she were ardent Methodists. "Their hospitable home was, during his life, the place for general worship, the home of the itinerant ministers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the place where all Christian people were warmly welcomed."
Thomas Dodson died April 29, 1818, seven weeks subsequently to the death of his father, and was survived by five sons and five daughters. The second of these children was Elias Dodson (1781-1859), who became an extensive landowner in Huntington township, and operated saw and grist mills. In his later years he became a Baptist preacher. and largely through his efforts the first Baptist meet- ing-house in his township was built. His wife was Mary Long, and their third child was Nathan Long Dodson (1808- 1882).
The latter spent his life of seventy-four years in Huntington township, and dur- ing the greater part of that period was engaged in farming. He married, June 2, 1831, Susan Stevens (1811-1882), and they became the parents of four sons and five daughters.
The youngest of these children was William Egbert Dodson, born in Hunt- ington township, August 21, 1853. He remained at the home of his parents until some time after his marriage, working on his fathers' farm in the summer time and, while a youth, attending school in the
winter months. About 1889 he removed to Wilkes-Barre, where, during the ensu- ing fifteen years, he was engaged in busi- ness as a dyer and cleaner. He then re- turned to his ancestral acres in Hunting- ton township, where he has since resided, engaged in farming.
William E. Dodson married, December 31, 1877, Alice Chapin, and they became the parents of four children : Victor Lee, of whom further; Bessie Elizabeth, Clar- ence Furman, and Blanche Margaret, who is married to William Aston, of Wilkes- Barre.
Victor Lee Dodson was born at the Dodson homestead in Huntington town- ship, June 12, 1879. As a boy he attended the public school near his home, and after the removal of his parents to Wilkes-Barre attended the public schools of that city. However, he did not com- plete the prescribed course of study lead- ing to graduation, but instead, like many of his boy companions, anxious to en- gage in remunerative employment, he left school at the age of eighteen years and obtained a clerical position.
At this work he continued, with a fair degree of success, until he began to real- ize that he needed more of an education than he possessed. Thereupon he became a student at the Wilkes-Barre Business College, and by faithful and intelligent application to his studies was able to be graduated in 1907.
He immediately received an appoint- ment as stenographer in the offices of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, which some months later he resigned in order to accept a similar position with the Vul- can Iron Works of Wilkes-Barre. In the autumn of 1908 he left the employ of this company to become an instructor, in charge of a department, in the Wilkes- Barre Business College. At the end of a year's work in this position, in Decem-
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ber, 1909, he purchased the concern, and since then has been its sole owner and manager.
The Wilkes-Barre Business College had existed for a number of years before Mr. Dodson became connected with it, but its real history properly dates from 1909, when the Dodson regime went into effect. At that time only two teachers were employed, while the students in all classes, day and night, numbered less than one hundred. Now, the year 1918, shows an enrollment of four hundred and fifty students, with a faculty of seven teachers. The courses of study in the institution are modern, and have been arranged with the best interest of the students in view; while the recitation, lecture, and study-rooms have been greatly enlarged since 1909, and are sup- plied with up-to-date aids to study under healthful conditions. Unquestionably the Wilkes-Barre Business College will com- pare favorably with the best of similar institutions anywhere. The great suc- cess which has attended the progress of this institution since 1909 is due abso- lutely to the hard, painstaking and never- ending efforts of Mr. Dodson, whose opti- mistic views and sincere enthusiasm have imbued all his projects and labors for the welfare of his institution, and have in- spired his co-workers to put forth their best efforts.
Mr. Dodson is very well known in Wilken-Barre, where he has spent nearly all his life, and he is held in high regard by his friends and acquaintances because of his sincerity, his earnestness and his fidelity to high ideals. He is a member of Lodge No. 61, Free and Accepted Ma- sons; Shekinah Chapter, No. 182, Royal Arch Masons; Dieu LeVeut Command- ery, No. 45, Knights Templar, and Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He takes a deep
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