USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. X > Part 22
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Without delay the young soldier re- turned to Pittsburgh and associated him- self with the firm of Marshall Brothers, the leadership of which was then vested in his uncle, Joseph Marshall. The house, which was engaged in the general machine business, had been founded in 1818 and had already nearly completed the first half-century of its existence. George V. Marshall soon proved that he had in him the makings of a business man, as well as those qualities essential to a good soldier, and as the years went on he became a dominant factor in the conduct of the notable concern with which he was identified. In the course of time he became head of the firm, and to his far-sighted, able management, which combined in due proportion conservatism and aggressiveness, the continued main- tenance and development of the business was largely to be attributed. Mr. Mar- shall remained to the close of his life head of this old and distinguished firm which, in the progress of events, engaged in the building of elevators, this branch of industry gradually becoming its chief occupation and principal reliance.
George V. Marshall was born Novem- ber 22, 1845, in Pittsburgh, and was a son of John and Ann (Vardy) Marshall. He was a representative of an English family which, for many generations, had been owners of coal lands near New- castle-on-Tyne. When he was but three years old death deprived him of his mother, and he was adopted by his uncle, In Grand Army affairs, Mr. Marshall, as long as he lived, took the keenest interest, remaining an active member of the Union Veteran Legion, a member of the Society of the Army of the Potomac. He also affiliated with the Masonic fra- ternity, holding membership in Pitts- burgh Commandery, No. I, Knights Templar. Endowed with all the quali- ties which win and hold friends he was Joseph Marshall, who saw that the boy received a good education in the public schools of his native city. Then came the Civil War with its trumpet-call to all loyal citizens and especially to the youth of those States which had not repudiated their allegiance to the Union. In Au- gust, 1861, George V. Marshall, who had not then completed his sixteenth year, enlisted in Hampton Battery F, Inde- all his life both honored and beloved.
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His face reflected his kind, true heart and earnest nature, and his bearing always retained traces of the military experience of his youthful days.
Mr. Marshall married, February 5, 1874, Emma, daughter of the late Caleb and Margaret W. (Skelton) Lee (a biog- raphy and portrait of the late Caleb Lee appears on another page of this work), and they became the parents of the following children: Lee H .; Vardy M., wife of - Russell B. Armor; Margaret M., wife of Charles L. Hamilton; and Elizabeth M., wife of William L. Rowe. Devotion to wife and children was the ruling motive of Mr. Marshall's life, and never was he so happy as at his own fireside where the presiding genius was a woman who combined with rare charms of mind and manner the endowments of a perfect home-maker.
To this good and brave man was granted the privilege of exceeding the traditional three score and ten years, and on May 6, 1918, he passed away, rich in the respect and affection of his entire community. All were sensible of a va- cancy in the world of business and of the severance of another of the links which connect the present time with the heroic age of the Civil War. Singularly well- rounded and complete was his life. In youth, serving his country in the field, and throughout the long period of his maturer years doing the work of peace and helping to build up one of our great industries. He was a true man and has left an example which should inspire those who come after him.
BLATCH, Thomas G., Consulting Engineer.
Thomas G. Blatch, who for more than forty-five years has practiced as a con- sulting engineer at Hazleton, Pennsyl-
vania, and who is one of the best known and most influential citizens of this place, is of English birth and parentage, al- though most of his life has been passed in the country of his adoption. His career as an engineer has been exceed- ingly successful in a community where merit is the key to success, and he has gained for himself in an unusual degree the esteem and respect of his fellow citi- zens by his public spirit and his unsel- fish participation in the life of the place. Mr. Blatch is a son of James and Eliza Ann (Goater) Blatch, the former a native of Winterburn, England, where he was born early in the century just passed. Most of the life of the elder Mr. Blatch was spent in the city of Southampton, England, where he was engaged in busi- ness as a wholesale wine merchant. He was very successful in his business which had connections in many different parts of the world, and was also prominent in municipal affairs, being a member of the Board of Aldermen of Southampton and chairman of the board of trustees of Hart- ley Institute there. He married Eliza Ann Goater, and they were the parents of the following children: James, Eliza- beth, Mary, Thomas G., with whom we are here concerned; Annie, Benjamin, Margaret and Herbert.
Born December 26, 1847, at South- ampton, England, Thomas G. Blatch spent his childhood and early youth in his native place. His early studies were conducted under the direction of a pri- vate tutor in mineralogy and he graduated under his instruction. He was previously apprenticed to Thomas Somers, of the firm of Day & Somers, of Southampton, world-wide known marine engineers, and he there gained much valuable experi- ence and a knowledge of the engineering profession which he was afterwards to follow so successfully. In the year 1872,
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when he was twenty-six years of age, Mr. Blatch came to the United States, and for a short time was employed in various engineering offices of New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore, but in the latter part of the same year came to Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and settled per- manently here. He found employment as a draughtsman in the office of the Le- high Valley Railroad Company and remained with that concern for some seventeen years. During this period Mr. Blatch made himself familiar with all the engineering problems of the region, and also studied steadily the theory and practice of this profession, so that by the time it was completed he was an expert in his line. He had for some time con- templated the scheme of engaging in the practice of engineering on his own account, and now, finding the opportunity open to him, he opened an office as con- sulting engineer in this town and has continued to practice ever since. His skill and energy rapidly drew the atten- tion of many large interests to him, and he became affiliated with a number of corporations in various capacities. Mr. Blatch was one of the promoters of the New Hazleton Iron Works, and when that large concern was successfully launched, became its superintendent. Un- der his skillful direction it has become one of the prominent industrial concerns of this region. He was superintendent and director and secretary of the Anthracite Separator Company; president of the Bangor Slate Company of Bangor, Penn- sylvania; consulting engineer of the Minersville Iron Works of Minersville, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, and su- perintendent of the Hazleton Steam Heat- ing Works. These and other connec- tions naturally gave Mr. Blatch a wide prestige in the engineering and industrial worlds and he was, without doubt, one of
the most influential figures in the district. Some years since, Mr. Blatch retired from active participation in these important interests, yet even to-day his opinion is valued and his counsel sought in matters concerning engineering problems of all kinds. In addition to his great special knowledge of engineering, Mr. Blatch is gifted with an unusual degree of inven- tive genius and has produced and patented a number of important devices. One of these of great importance is a type of rotary engine worked by gravity, while another is an automobile brake now in extensive use. He has always been keenly interested in the development of motor transportation and a great believer in its future, and is the possessor of one of the first automobiles used in this region.
Thomas G. Blatch was united in mar- riage, July 4, 1874, with Lizzie Somers, of Southampton, England, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Somers) Som- ers, old and highly respected residents of that city. Mrs. Blatch died in the year 1878, leaving her husband with two chil- dren, as follows: 1. Mary Allison, born March 14, 1876, became the wife of Hor- ace P. Gorman, an electrical engineer of Hazleton and New York City; Mr. and Mrs. Gorman are the parents of one son, Thomas Edward Gorman. 2. Francis Herbert, born April 3, 1878, married Ellen Platt, daughter of Ario Pardee Platt, by whom he has had two children, Mary Elizabeth and Frances Ellen Blatch.
LUTHER, John Milton, M. D., Physician.
Among the prominent young surgeons of Pittsburgh who have met with marked success in the practice of their profession, is Dr. John Milton Luther, a member of
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an old and well-known family of Western Pennsylvania.
David Johnston Luther, great-grand- father of Dr. John M. Luther, was an early settler in Western Pennsylvania, having located in Westmoreland county at an early date, where he followed farm- ing until his death. He married Sarah Cochrane Mencher, and they were the parents of the following children: John, died in infancy; Sarah, married
Love; Agnes, married Halferty ; Isabel, died in young womanhood; Han- nah, married Huston; Jane, mar-
ried Bennett; Finley ; George, died in boyhood; James, of whom fur- ther ; Katharine, died in girlhood ; David, died in boyhood. The Luther family were members of the Presbyterian church, and took a prominent part in local church affairs.
James Luther, son of David Johnston and Sarah Cochrane (Mencher) Luther, was born in Fairfield township, West- moreland county, Pennsylvania. He was reared on his father's farm and also be- came a farmer, having cleared fifty acres of land upon which he built a cabin. He married Nancy Worthington, a native of Kentucky, and reared a family of thirteen children, of whom Joseph Garver was one.
Joseph Garver Luther, son of James and Nancy (Worthington) Luther, was born in Fairfield township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, February 3, 1841. He received his education in the public schools of his native county and also a select school which he attended for two terms. In 1859 he commenced to learn the carpenter trade, and worked as jour- neyman for ten years before going into business for himself, and was also in the undertaking business for forty years. In 1879 he built a planing mill, and in 1884 a flouring mill, operating the latter for ten
years when he sold it and bought a farm. In connection with his farming he made a specialty of stock raising.
During the Civil War Mr. Luther served nine months in Company F, the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and three years in Company D, Fifth Heavy Artillery. He was first lieutenant and was also com- missioned a captain before the close of the war. For five months Mr. Luther was a prisoner in Libby Prison. In the Grand Army of the Republic he held the office of commander for many years. Always taking a keen interest in public and civic affairs, Mr. Luther served as a school director in Fairfield township for fifteen years, and was justice of the peace in the same township for nineteen years. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the American Order of Mechanics.
On April 13, 1869, at West Fairfield, Pennsylvania, Mr. Luther married Alice Mary Peoples, daughter of William and Margaret (Hill) Peoples, who was born February 22, 1852. His father-in-law, William Peoples, was a merchant and postmaster in West Fairfield for forty years, and also held the office of justice of the peace for thirty years. Joseph Gar- ver and Alice Mary (Peoples) Luther were the parents of thirteen children: I. Margaret Morehead, born December 15, 1869; educated in the public schools; married Charles Thompson Mabon. 2. James Burton, born July 19, 1871 ; edu- cated in the public schools and Duff's College; now engaged in the undertaking business ; married (first) Susanne Brown, who died May 27, 1909; married (sec- ond) Eva C. Schumann, August 17, 1910. 3. Cora Eva, born July 20, 1873; edu- cated in the public schools ; married Rob- ert Loomis Hamilton, June 16, 1898. 4. Nancy Worthington, born June 14, 1875;
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Lazarus &young
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married Samuel Huston, September 23, 1896; died April 16, 1901. 5. William P., born June 25, 1877; was educated in the public schools; engaged in farming; married (first) February 22, 1904, Clara Neil Trimble, who died July 24, 1908; married (second) Bertha Rachel John- ston, July 6, 1912. 6. John Milton, of whom further. 7. Blanche Mabel, born June 2, 1881 ; was graduated from Blairs- ville College in 1896; died December 7, 1898. 8. Samuel Craig, born January II, 1883, died March 1, 1883. 9. Harry Jo- seph, born February 25, 1884; educated in the public schools, high school, and was a student at Washington and Jeffer- son College for one year; engaged in chicken and stock business. 10. George Ernest, born June 8, 1885, died September 4, 1885. II. Mary Elizabeth, born July 20, 1886, died February 24, 1889. 12. Grace Alma, born March 20, 1891 ; mar- ried Charles S. Gardner. 13. Paul How- ard, born July 29, 1894, died August 26, 1894. Mr. Luther was a member of the Presbyterian church. His death occurred November 14, 1914, at West Fairfield, Pennsylvania.
Dr. John Milton Luther, son of Joseph Garver and Alice Mary (Peoples) Luther, was born in West Fairfield, Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, July 16, 1879. He received his early education in the public schools of that section, later attending the Du Bois High School and Washington and Jefferson Academy, after which he entered Washington and Jef- ferson College, from which institution he was graduated in 1903, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. For one year after he left college Dr. Luther was engaged in the insurance business, but deciding to become a physician, he entered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania and was graduated in 1908, receiving his degree of Doctor of
Medicine. After a year spent in Passa- vant Hospital, Pittsburgh, as interne, Dr. Luther commenced the practice of gen- eral surgery in Pittsburgh, also did the work of a general practitioner in medicine for a short time, but he has confined him- self entirely to the practice of surgery for some years, in which profession he has won deserved success. Dr. Luther is a member of the Allegheny County Medical Society and the Pennsylvania State Medical As- sociation. He is also a member of the Masonic Lodge, is a Knights Templar, member of Port Pitt Lodge, No. 634, Pittsburgh Chapter, No. 268, Royal Arch Masons, and Duquesne Commandery.
On October 15, 1908, Dr. Luther mar- ried Carrie Irene, daughter of William Brown and Alice (Larned) Bennett, of Pittsburgh. They have two children : Alice Marie, born July 21, 1909; Jane Elizabeth, born March 9, 1915. In poli- tics Dr. Luther is a Republican, and he is a member of the United Presbyterian church. Both Dr. and Mrs. Luther are members of the Order of the Eastern Star, Liberty Chapter.
YOUNG, Lazarus R., Merchant.
Preëminently a self-made man starting in life with few advantages, the life of Lazarus R. Young, of Plymouth, is a shining example of what an ambitious, clean living man accomplishes if pos- sessed of those qualities, strong will, tenacity of purpose, honesty, and indus- try. He not only won fortune and busi- ness prominence but he won the respect and esteem of the community in which he was born, lived and died. While he began wage-earning life as a slate picker, he did not remain long at the mines, mer- cantile life making a much stronger appeal to him. He was twenty-six years
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of age when he attained the dignity of a merchant, and twenty-eight when his own name went up as sole owner and pro- prietor of a general store in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, his home town. That was June 27, 1889, the place, No. 335 West Main street. For twenty-nine years he continued a general merchant at the same location, and there was never a time in that period when he was not a successful, prosperous merchant. He builded upon the sure foundation of integrity and honor, and with increase in business de- veloped strong business qualities which, coupled with industry, brought him great reward. He continued the active head of the business he founded and developed until incapacitated by a stroke of paraly- sis, which preceded by about two weeks a second and fatal attack. He was little more than in life's prime, and his passing away was deeply regretted by a very wide circle of friends and acquaintances. He was a son of Charles E. and Frances (Gabriel) Young, of whose children four yet survive: Clayton Young, of Ply- mouth, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Mary Lowe, of Huntington Mills, Pennsylvania ; Mrs. Frank Connor, of Sayre, Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Susan Garrahan, of Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania.
(I) Mr. Young was a grandson of Charles Young, who came to Pennsyl- vania from Germany, settled in the fertile Cumberland valley of Pennsylvania, in Franklin county, and there passed his life. He married Susan Madiera, of a prominent Pennsylvania family of Dutch ancestry, and they reared a family, in- cluding a son, Charles E. Young, father of Lazarus R. Young, to whose memory this tribute of respect is dedicated.
(II) Charles E. Young, son of Charles and Susan (Madiera) Young, was born in Chambersburg, the capital of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, February 24, 1803,
and there spent his years of minority, his father's assistant, there also obtaining such education as the district schools could bestow. On arriving at legal age he left home and located in Plymouth, Luzerne county, where he was employed in the mines. Later he took a contract for building a section of the Nanticoke canal, and after canal and dam were fin- ished he ran a canal boat until retiring from all active labor. He died in 1874. Charles E. Young married, December 24, 1838, Frances Gabriel, born in Plymouth, who survived him until September 25, 1900, a daughter of Henry and Edith (Van Loon) Gabriel, her father born in Connecticut, her mother in Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Young were the parents of eight children: Oscar, who moved to Indiana; Susan E., married Peter H. Garrahan, of Wilkes-Barre; Emma, married John Hutchinson, of Zen- orsville, Iowa; Mary, married W. Howe, of Plymouth ; John C., a mine foreman of Plymouth ; Frances H., married William Connor, of Wilkes-Barre; Lazarus D., who died young; Lazarus R., of further mention.
(III) Lazarus R. Young, son of Charles E. and Frances (Gabriel) Young, was born in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, Novem- ber 10, 1861, died in the town of his birth November II, 1918. He attended the public schools, but left when old enough to become a "breaker boy," and hence- forth his education was such as he gained by self study, experience and reading. In that way, however, he acquired a wide fund of information, and was a very well informed man. After leaving Washing- ton Breaker No. I, the lad, Lazarus, obtained a position in the Turner Broth- ers' general store, where he remained until August, 1879, when he entered the employ of Harvey Yeager. Harvey Yea- ger was succeeded by his brother, Darius
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Yeager, in April, 1886, Mr. Young con- tinuing with the latter until March 21, 1887, when he embarked in business at No. 450 West Main street, Plymouth, having as a partner his brother-in-law, P. H. Garrahan, of Wilkes-Barre, under the firm name, L. R. Young & Company. That partnership existed until June 27, 1889, when Mr. Young bought his part- ner's interest and removed to No. 353 West Main street, where he scored an instant and continuous success as a gen- eral merchant. In politics Mr. Young was a Republican, and in religious faith a member of the Disciples of Christ, better known as the "Christian Church," and trustee of the same. He was a member of Plymouth Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and an active member of Volunteer Fire Com- pany No. I. He made his business, how- ever, his chief concern, and nothing ever diverted him from its vigorous prosecu- tion. He richly deserved the success he won, and in its winning no man was wronged.
Mr. Young married, August 28, 1881, Pauline A. Prudhoe, of Revolutionary descent, one of her Ross ancestors giving up his life in the Wyoming massacre. Mrs. Young is a daughter of William L. and Mary (Ross) Prudhoe, both deceased, her father born in England, her mother in Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Prudhoe are the parents of: Joseph W., Lauretta, Pauline A., widow of Lazarus R. Young ; Jesse B., deceased; Ida May, deceased ; James L., Jennie, George, deceased ; and William, deceased.
MORRIS, John Thompson, Philanthropist, Public-Spirited Citizen.
Some men there are of natures so large and talents so versatile as to render it impossible to describe them in a single
sentence, unless it be this: "He was an all-around man." Such a man was the late John T. Morris, able, aggressive busi- ness man and financier.
(I) Anthony Morris, founder of the American branch of the Morris family, was born in Old Gravel Lane, Stepney, London, England, August 23, 1654. He was the son of Anthony Morris, mariner, of Welsh origin, who at the date of birth of his son Anthony was residing in Old Gravel Lane, Stepney, but later removed to Barbadoes, and was lost at sea when on his return voyage in 1655 or 1656. He was born about the year 1630, and prob- ably was a son of another Anthony Mor- ris, of Reading, Berkshire, born about 1600. He married Elizabeth Senior, who soon after her husband's death made a voyage to Barbadoes, in connection with the settlement of his estate, and died there in 1660, when her only child, Anthony Morris, first above mentioned, was aged six years.
Anthony Morris spent his boyhood days in the city of London, and prior to arriving at his majority united himself with the Society of Friends, becoming a member of Savoy Meeting, in the Strand, which was connected with the Westmins- ter Monthly Meeting. On 12mo. (Febru- ary) 2, 1675-76, he declared intentions of marriage with Mary Jones, belonging to the same Meeting, and they were mar- ried, Imo. (March) 30, 1676. They con- tinued to reside in London until near the close of the year 1682, and four children were born to them there, Susanna, Mary, and two who were named for the father, all of whom died there except the last. On 8mo. (October) 4, 1682, they laid before the Meeting at Savoy their inten- tions of removing themselves to America, and asked for a certificate to Friends' Meeting at Burlington, "New West Jer- sie." The certificate was granted on 9mo.
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(November) 1, 1682, and they embarked for the Delaware river, where they arrived in the later part of February, 1682-83, and took up their home in Bur- lington. Anthony Morris purchased two hundred and fifty acres in Burlington county, fronting on the Delaware, two miles below the town, and also owned several town lots. In the latter part of 1685, or early in 1686, he removed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and began his successful career as a merchant. Three more children were born by his first wife to him in America: John, in Burlington, 2mo. 17, 1685; Samuel and James, in Philadelphia. His first wife died in Philadelphia, 8mo. (October) 3, 1688, and he married (second) at Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, 8mo. (October) 28, 1689, Agnes, widow of Cornelius Bom, who had been married three times previ- ously. She died 5mo. (July) 26, 1692, and he married (third) at Newport, Rhode Island, II mo. (January) 18, 1693- 94, Mary, widow of Thomas Coddington, son of Governor William Coddington, of Rhode Island, and daughter of John Howard, formerly of Yorkshire, Eng- land. Anthony Morris early became identified with the affairs of the embryo city of Philadelphia, and on its incorpora- tion, 3mo., 20, 1691, was named in the charter as one of the first aldermen. On September 6, 1692, he was commissioned justice of the Courts of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions of the Peace, and Orphans' Court. On February 10, 1697- 98, he was one of the applicants for the charter of the public school, and was afterward named in the charter as one of the first Board of Overseers. When the new charter was granted in 1711, he was named as one of the overseers, and the family has been represented on the board for many generations. He was elected a member of the Provincial Council in 1695,
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