USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. X > Part 18
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BOOKMYER, Edwin Arthur, Insurance Broker.
Prominently known among the aggres- sive business men of Philadelphia is Ed- win A. Bookmyer, head of the firm of Beidler & Bookmyer, insurance brokers. Mr. Bookmyer is actively identified with various other enterprises, and all that makes for the advancement of his city finds in him a warm supporter.
Edwin Arthur Bookmyer was born at Mount Joy, Lancaster county, Pennsyl- vania, October 3, 1872, son of Harvey A. and Sally C. (Beidler) Bookmyer. Both the Bookmyer and Beidler families are well-known families of Eastern Pennsyl- vania. Harvey A. Bookmyer, father of Edwin A. Bookmyer, was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the Sixth United States Cavalry ; his wife, Sally C. (Beidler) Bookmyer, was a descendant of the Wayne family, so prominently con- nected with the history of the country.
Edwin A. Bookmyer received his edu- tion in the schools of his section, and came to Philadelphia in 1888, entering the insurance business with E. R. Beid- ler, with whom he remained for ten years, and during which time he became a part- ner with Mr. Beidler in the business, the firm name becoming Beidler & Book- myer. In 1900 Mr. Beidler retired and Mr. Bookmyer took over the entire enter- prise, of which he has since remained sole owner and active head. He has, by ability and energy, built up a large clien-
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Edwin a. BookmyEr
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
tele, and is favorably known throughout the country, and has a large office in New York.
The business qualifications of Mr. Bookmyer have always been in great demand on boards of directors of various institutions, and he has accepted of many such trusts. He is treasurer and direc- tor of the Janney Lumber Company ; vice-president and director of the North Broad Storage Company; director and treasurer of the Mercantile Library, and is a stockholder in other concerns. Of social nature, he is a member of many clubs, among them being the Manufac- turers', Columbia, Overbrook Golf, Lu Lu Country, Seaview Golf, Rotary Club, Insurance Society, Cedar Park Driv- ing, Philadelphia Skating Club, Chelsea Yacht, Downtown, of Philadelphia, and Bankers' Club, of New York City. He · is also a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Chamber of Commerce. His political affiliations are those of the Republican party, and although he has never held office he takes a sincere interest in all questions of politi- cal and civic moment. His church is the Episcopal. His only fraternal order is that of Mason, his lodge being Columbia, No. 91. One very distinctive feature of Mr. Bookmyer's personality and one which undoubtedly has had much to do with his success is his capacity for hard work. His general appearance, his ex- pression, his manner and the glance of his eyes are all indicative of quiet power and also of a kindness and good will which has drawn to him many warm and loyal friends.
Mr. Bookmyer married Anna H., daughter of John and Anne M. (Tunley) Taylor, of Philadelphia. Mr. Taylor was a member of the old firm of Taylor & Dolan, of Philadelphia, of which the late Thomas Dolan was also a partner. Mr.
and Mrs. Bookmyer are the parents of the following children: I. Roy P., born September 24, 1892, educated at Delancey School and University of Pennsylvania, now an ensign in the United States Navy. 2. Edwin Arthur, Jr., born August 2, 1898, educated at Chestnut Hill Academy.
JONES, Thomas D.,
Coal Operator.
Loyalty, courage, an abiding sense of justice and the binding force of obliga- tions are the qualities which above all others, perhaps, we should take as form- ing the keystone of the character of the late Thomas D. Jones, whose death in his home at Hazleton, Pennsylvania, April 2, 1917, is mourned by the entire com- munity, a character that for many years exerted a wholesome and uplifting influ- ence upon all those who were fortunate enough to come into contact with it, and upon the development of one of the greatest of American industries, coal mining, with which he was so intimately identified. The careers of some men are easy to treat from the fact that all their energies are directed into one particular channel, but in the case of such a man as Thomas D. Jones, whose versatility was so great, and whose influence was exerted in so many different ways, we find it dif- ficult to place any one thing as his para- mount work, any one achievement as of more importance than the rest. That which was the most striking, of course, and for which the outside world knew him best, was his masterly direction of the great coal interests with which he was connected, but whether or not more actual good for the remainder of the world was wrought in this manner, or by some of the more subtle and intangi- ble forms in which his character and
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activities expressed themselves, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to state.
Thomas D. Jones was of Welsh birth and parentage, being born at Merthyr Tydvil, in that most picturesque of lands, Southern Wales, January 28, 1842. He was the only child of Daniel and Ann (Vaughn) Jones, who were, like him- self, natives of that region. In 1850, when Thomas D. was a lad of but eight years of age, his parents left their native land and came to the United States. Pennsylvania, like Wales, was a great coal mining region, and it was here that the Jones family came, settling at Nes- quehoning, Carbon county. It was at that place that the early years of his life were passed, and there that he gained as much schooling as the circumstances of his life gave him opportunity for. Upon completing his studies at the local schools, the youth made his way to the town of Lansford, Pennsylvania, and there engaged in the mercantile business for some two years. He was distinctly successful and displayed even at that early age a talent for business and a judgment and foresight quite unusual. However, there were other interests in Pennsylvania at that time that soon claimed his attention, and he gave up his mercantile venture to engage in coal mining, which was at that time in the midst of its most rapid period of devel- opment and expansion. Mr. Jones, with his characteristic good judgment, per- ceived the great opportunities awaiting the man of enterprise and action in this great industry in a commodity for which the demand was practically unlimited and the supply well-nigh inexhaustible. In the year 1869 he secured a position as assistant engineer with the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, and worked in that capacity until 1872, when he was made superintendent of collieries for the aid them by every means in his power.
same concern. His progress in mastering the difficult problems of his occupation was amazing, and it was not long before he was justly regarded as an expert on all questions connected with the subject. In 1875 he was appointed mine inspec- tor for the Fourth District of Pennsyl- vania, a position that required not only great knowledge of the coal mining situ- ation, but also a large measure of tact and the quality of leadership. His term was of six years' duration, but imme- diately upon its conclusion, in 1881, he was reappointed, as his work had been so eminently satisfactory. He had served but a short time in his second term, however, when he was offered the position of super- intendent of the collieries of the Eber- vale Coal Company, a very extensive sys- tem of mines and works with an enorm- ous productive capacity. This offer was another great tribute to Mr. Jones' abil- ity and skill and, as it was a much more remunerative post, he accepted it, resign- ing from that of inspector. In 1886 he accepted the office of superintendent and manager of the Mill Creek Coal Com- pany, one of the largest concerns of its kind in this region, and from that time until the close of his life continued to be associated with that company. He was later elected to the double post of vice- president and general manager of this company, and continued in virtual con- trol of its operations until his death, his skillful hand guiding it to the great devel- opment of its successful business. Upon taking this office Mr. Jones came to Ha -. zleton to live and had made this place his permanent home.
Mr. Jones was keenly interested in every aspect of the life of the community, and especially made it his business to keep in touch with every movement un- dertaken for the common good and to -
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Joseph 26 Sermon
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
He did much to advance the business and financial interests of the community, and was a director of the Hazleton National Bank, director of the Hazleton Iron Works, president for a number of years of the Hazleton Steam Heating Com- pany. He was also active in church affairs, and was a prominent member of the First Presbyterian Church here, and president of the board of trustees. As president of the United Charities of Ha- zleton, he did much to alleviate want and the distress of poverty hereabouts. In politics Mr. Jones was a staunch Repub- lican, yet of entirely unpartisan mind, voting always as his conscience and judg- ment bade him. His large duties and heavy responsibilities rendered it impos- sible for him to take the part in public affairs for which his talents and abilities so eminently fitted him, yet he was felt as a potent influence in local affairs nevertheless merely because of the effect of his personality and character. He also became uncommonly well informed in a large variety of subjects, and this and his ready memory and ability to quote made him a companion as inform- ing as he was charming. Although quite unambitious of public ' office, Mr. Jones held a number of local posts at the urgent request of his colleagues, and was especially effective as a member and the president of the Hazleton School Board. He also was a member of the Select Council of this town for a time. He was a prominent member of the Masonic Order here.
Thomas D. Jones was united in mar- riage, January 4, 1870, with Ruth Bynon, a daughter of John and Mary (Hughes) Bynon, old and highly respected resi- dents of Summithill, Pennsylvania. Mr. Bynon was a native of Wales, but came to the United States in early youth, and for many years was foreman for the Le-
high Coal and Navigation Company, with which Mr. Jones was also associated for a time. To Mr. and Mrs. Jones the following children were born: Elmer, married Louise Dreyfoos (deceased) and by her had one daughter, Ruth Jones; Anna, deceased ; Mary, deceased ; Gladys, who became the wife of Alvin Markle, Jr., and has borne him one son, Alvin Markle, 3d.
GLENNON, Joseph H., Man of Affairs.
As vice-president of the Miners' Sav- ings Bank of Pittston, Pennsylvania, Jo- seph H. Glennon fills a high position of trust in the community in which he began business life as a "breaker boy." He has won his way to large possessions as well, and is one of the most striking examples of the possibilities there are for an Amer- ican youth to rise, does he but possess the necessary stamina and ability.
Mr. Glennon is a son of Patrick F. Glennon, born in County Roscommon, Ireland, and educated in the national schools. He came to the United States in 1846, and settled in Lowell, Massa- chusetts, where he married in June, 1848, Catherine E. Loftus, daughter of John and Mary (Early) Loftus, both born in County Mayo, Ireland. In 1851 Mr. Glennon moved to Pittston, Pennsyl- vania, and there became a coal miner, continuing for twenty years, until his death in a mining disaster, November 3, 1871. Mr. and Mrs. Glennon were the parents of five children : Mary E., born November 9, 1850, married, November 12, 1872, Edward J. Gibbons, of Port Griffith; Joseph H., of further mention; George E., who became a Christian Brother, died 1882; Theodolph J., born September 9, 1859, died 1906, was a slate picker for eight years, later a driver,
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miner, deputy recorder of deeds, then in the employ of Hughes & Glennon, of Pittston ; David, born April 11, 1863, be- came principal of the Port Griffith pub- lic school; and Agnes V., a school teacher.
Joseph H. Glennon was born in Port Griffith, Jenkins township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, January 26, 1855. He attended school until ten years of age, then began work as a slate picker at the Port Bowkley breaker. During the following five years he worked at the breaker, but studied all the time he could and attended school at such times as he was able. But in spite of his handicap he was so apt and advanced so quickly that, at the age of fifteen, he passed the teacher's examination held by the county superintendent of public instruction, Mr. Campbell. He did not teach, however, but was variously employed until his twentieth year, when he entered the mines, continuing a miner for two years. He then entered the employ of J. B. Lan- gan, a large wholesale baker of Wilkes- Barre, as salesman, and during the winter enrolled as a student of elocution, his intention being then to later take up law studies. This plan was never carried through, however, Mr. Glennon entering the employ of H. R. Hughes & Son, on January 1, 1880. Hughes & Son were then conducting a brewery at Pittston, and as their selling agent in Wilkes- Barre he spent three years. Later Rich- ard M. Hughes, the son, and Mr. Glen- non, purchased the Forest Castle Brew- ery, in Pittston, owned by H. R. Hughes & Son, the new partnership, Hughes & Glennon, going into effect in March, 1887. This firm operated the Forest Cas- tle Brewery for eleven years, then sold to the Pennsylvania Brewing Company, Mr. Glennon being retained as manager of the Pittston plant of the company, a
position he held until 1907, when he resigned.
In 1907 Mr. Glennon erected the large modern brewing plant in Pittston known as the Glennon Brewery, of which he is owner and general manager, and has established a connection with establish- ments all over Eastern Pennsylvania and in New York State. In 1897 he was elected a director of the People's Savings Bank, later became vice-president, and in 1908 was elected president. When the People's Savings Bank was merged with the Union Savings and Trust Company, March 29, 1909, Mr. Glennon resigned his offices. In 1903 he was elected a direc- tor of the Miners' Savings Bank of Pitts- ton, and in 1916 was elected vice-presi- dent. He is treasurer and director of the Mountain Spring Ice Company, was president of the Old Ferry Bridge Com- pany, and a director of the Citizens' Elec- tric Illuminating Company, both now out of existence. He is president of the Good Roads League, president of St. Vincent DePaul Society, an office he has long held, is a member of St. John's Roman Catholic Church, is most generous in the support of the charities and benevolences of his church and city, ever ready to aid a worthy cause. He is a Democrat in his political faith, and in 1883 he was elected recorder of deeds for Luzerne county for a three years' term, a post of responsibility he efficiently filled. In 1884 he was alternate delegate to the Na- tional Democratic Convention held in Chicago which nominated Grover Cleve- land for President of the United States, he the first successful candidate of the party for that office since the election of James Buchanan in 1856.
Mr. Glennon married, October 30, 1884, Agnes A. Allen, of Pittston, daugh- ter of John and Anna (McCann) Allen, her father one of the oldest and most
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Arthur J. mabregar
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
trustworthy engineers in the employ of the Pennsylvania Coal Company for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Glennon are the parents of a daughter, Regina, born August 19, 1885, died January 9, 1909, and a son, Allen, born May 28, 1887, a graduate of Holy Cross College, Worces- ter, Massachusetts, and of Washington University, Washington, D. C .; director of the Dime Savings Bank, Pittston, and assistant manager of the Glennon Brew- eries.
McGREGOR, Arthur Francis, Oil Producer.
As a type of the successful American business man evolved from the stranger who sought opportunity within our gates, Arthur F. McGregor is a splendid and shining example. He was born at Cas- tleweelen, County Down, Ireland, Janu- ary 16, 1843, son of Nicholas and Mary (McClain) McGregor.
Arthur F. McGregor remained at home and attended the schools of the parish until fourteen years of age, then became a worker on a nearby farm. A little later he went to England, where he was em- ployed in a Liverpool brickyard, brick- making being a business with which he was somewhat familiar, members of his family having been so engaged in Ire- land, and his elder brother being the founder of the Liverpool plant in which Arthur F. found employment. Liverpool was, however, but a temporary stopping place in the long journey the lad had planned for himself, and he at once began the accumulation of a fund which would carry him across the seas to the United States. It was not until 1862 that he left England for New York, he then being a young man of nineteen years. He found a home and position in Brooklyn, New York, and in November, 1862, began and larger leases, adding to his flowing
work with the firm, Marshall & Water- bury, in their rope factory. He remained in that employ until May, 1863, then he removed to Haverstraw, New York, as now, the seat of an important brickmak- ing industry. He there worked at brick- making and in a machine shop, continuing until October, 1863. His next move was to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where for about a year he was fireman on steam- boats plying the Ohio river. He then became a worker in the steel mills, begin- ing as a puddler in the Pittsburgh Rool- ing Mills, continuing in Pittsburgh until 1872, holding good positions and becom- ing thoroughly expert in the various pro- cesses of steel making. In 1872, attracted by the rich opportunities offered by the rapidly developing oil region of Pennsyl- vania, he went to Armstrong county, locating at Parkers Landing, there en- gaging as a pipe line operator. From Parkers Landing he went to Petrolia, Butler county, there becoming superin- tendent of the oil properties of Braw- ley Brothers, a position he held for three years. He located in Bradford in 1879, and since that time has made that city his home and business headquarters. From 1879 until 1883 he was associated with F. E. Boden, going thence to the Mc- Callmont Company, an important pro- ducing company, owning many wells, some of them heavy producers. He held the position of superintendent with Mc- Callmont Company until 1891, then began business for himself as an oil producer. He had been preparing for that move and had acquired some good leases which he began working in 1891, continuing their operation very successfully for several years. He had then acquired sufficient capital and reputation to take his place among the large operators, and after sell- ing his original holdings purchased larger
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properties each year until he became one of the prominent operators of his section. His private business is a very large one, and in addition he has large oil interests with others, and is one of the men re- sponsible for a great deal of the develop- ment of the oil industry. He has pros- pered in his undertakings and taken an interested part in all departments of Brad- ford life, the success which has come to him being shared liberally with others less fortunate and in movements tending to promote the public good.
Mr. McGregor is affiliated with Brad- ford Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; the Knights of Colum- bus; and St. Bernard's Roman Catholic Church. He possesses that buoyant, indomitable spirit, keen sense of humor, and love of the beautiful which distin- guishes his countrymen, and is one of the most popular of men, his circle of acquaintances very wide and his hospi- tality boundless. He has gained a posi- tion in the business world, based on an honorable achievement, character and in- tegrity, but his social standing has been won through those admirable traits described, and in his home and social life is true and loyal, seeking the good of others first.
Mr. McGregor married, December II, 1913, Mrs. Elizabeth Meyers, of Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania.
HEINEMANN, Nicholas William, Manufacturer.
The life story of Nicholas W. Heine- mann began in the United States in 1851. When a child of three years he was brought from his native Germany by his parents, Christopher and Wilhelmena (Hartman) Heinemann. The family set- tled in Colegrove, Mckean county, Penn- sylvania, but two years later returned to
New York. Settlement was again made at Colegrove not long afterward and there the senior Heinemann bought a farm and engaged in manufacturing lum- ber in an "up and down" water power saw mill he built. There were eight children in the Heinemann family, Nich- olas W. being the sixth. His early life was one of toil, as his father was one of the pioneers in his district, but the condi- tions developed a strong, frugal, hard- working boy, who in turn developed into the successful business man, quick to realize and grasp opportunities, to turn nature's gifts to his profit. He acquired a large fortune, in a most honorable man- ner, no one being sacrificed or torn down that he might rise. He converted the forests into lumber, made the land he owned yield bountifully, and left the world richer for his life.
Nicholas W. Heinemann was born in Duderstadt, a town of Prussia, in Han- over, November 25, 1848, and he died at his farm in Colegrove, Mckean county, Pennsylvania, December 26, 1917. The second coming to Mckean county was in 1851 and the return to New York in 1853, the final settlement being in 1854. The father cultivated his farm until 1865, then built a saw mill to run by water power, but at about that same time Nich- olas W., who had attended the district school and helped on the farm, began working for the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad, that road then being in course of construction between Wilcox and Kane. The saw mill proving a success, he returned to the home farm and with his brother John aided their father at the mill and on the farm until both were of legal age. The brothers then bought and operated the saw mill jointly for several years, then Nicholas W. bought his brother's interest, John moving to Vir- ginia.
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Nill Heinemann
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After purchasing his brother's interest and buying the homestead farm, Nicholas W. Heinemann rebuilt the mill, intro- duced steam as a motive power, put in new machinery and became heavily en- gaged in the lumber business, his mill producing at one time 30,000 feet daily. He bought large tracts of timber land in Norwich and Liberty townships, Mc- Kean county, and converted the hemlock and hardwood timber into merchantable lumber. In course of time there was not sufficient timber within reach of his mill to keep him busily engaged, and the man- ufacture of chemicals was begun, the wood he already owned furnishing the raw material from which wood chemicals were produced. This work was carried forward by the Heinemann Chemical Company, of which Nicholas W. Heine- mann was founder, chief owner and pres- ident. The manufacture of chemicals be- came his leading business activity, he also being president of the Norwich Chemical Company with plants at Crosby and Smethport. The thousands of acres which Mr. Heinemann possessed and cleared of lumber were many of them rich in reservoirs of natural gas, which were tapped and converted into a valuable asset and some petroleum was also pro- duced. Mr. Heinemann spent his entire business life in the manufacture of lum- ber and wood chemical products, these natural resources being the source of his fortune. He was always a worker and once his keen business sense pointed the way he prosecuted his enterprises with all his vigor. He was interested in the Grange National Bank of Mckean county from its foundation, and was highly esteemed as one of the solid, substantial men of his community.
Mr. Heinemann married, October I, 1874, Anna Belle Waffle, of Elm Valley, New York, who survives him, daughter
of George and Betsey (Knight) Waffle. Mr. and Mrs. Heinemann were the par- ents of two daughters: I. Bessie Wil- helmina, born April 13, 1880, married Laurence E. Scanlan. 2. Mary Theresa, born January 21, 1883, married Will H. Gallup, of Crosby, Pennsylvania, who was associated with his father-in-law in his later enterprises, contributing largely to their success.
During the last two years of his life Mr. Heinemann became an invalid and sought health at Johns Hopkins Hospi- tal in Baltimore, and at sanitariums in Wellsville and Hornell, New York. But his work was done, and on December 29, 1917, he was borne to his last resting place in Colegrove Cemetery, the six pall- bearers being men who had been in his employ nearly a quarter of a century.
BUCKMAN, Elmer E., Public-Spirited Citizen.
Elmer E. Buckman, the popular and capable cashier of the Wyoming National Bank of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and the public-spirited citizen of Kingston, is a member of a family which has long been associated with Northeastern Pennsyl- vania. He is a grandson of Stacy C. Buckman, of Newtown township, Bucks county, in this State, who for many years held a prominent position in that neigh- borhood. He married Sarah Ann Briggs, and they were the parents of Micajah Speakman Buckman, the father of Elmer E. Buckman. Micajah Speakman Buck- man, like his father, was a farmer in this part of the State, and a Quaker in relig- ion. He married Mary D. Taylor, and they were the parents of a number of chil- dren, one of whom was Elmer E. Buck- man, with whose career we are here especially concerned.
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