USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. X > Part 24
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Samuel J. Wainwright married, August
14, 1856, Mary Frances Benn, born Octo- ber 15, 1829, in Helmesley, England, daughter of Thomas and Frances (Brit- ton) Benn, the latter named born in 1803. Children of Samuel J. and Mary Frances (Benn) Wainwright: 1. Harriet, died in childhood. 2. Edwy, deceased. 3. Sam- uel Jacob, Jr., of Pittsburgh. 4. John E., whose sketch follows. 5. Abigail Ewalt, of Pittsburgh. The death of Mrs. Sam- uel J. Wainwright occurred April 17, 1869.
On July 5, 1891, Samuel J. Wainwright passed away. He was one of the men who by force of character, kindliness of disposition and steady and persistent good conduct in all the situations and under all the trials of life take possession of the public heart and hold it after they have ceased from earth. His record forms a part of the annals of his city.
(The Ewalt Line).
The Ewalt family, originally Evaul, later Ewald, and later still Ewalt, is one of the most ancient of the Huguenot families, and the seat of the family was originally in Normandy. The arms of no the family are as follows:
Arms-Quarterly-I. Or, an arm embowed in armour fessways to the sinister holding in its hand a sword, point to the dexter, all proper. 2. Azure, a stag's head erased at the neck proper .. 3. Argent, on a mount vert three trees of the last. 4. Or, a wall embattled gules, pierced by two em- brasures.
Crest-A sun in its splendour or, between two wings per fess or and azure (wings displayed).
The family later spread to England, where it is numbered among the county families. Descendants of this family are to be found in different parts of America. The family numbers many men of scien- tific attainments and women of great mentality. (I) Ewalt, the first of this
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family to come to America, was from Ger- many. He came to America and settled in Morristown, New Jersey. His wife, whose name is unknown, was a native of Ireland.
(II) Jacob Ewalt, son of above, was a farmer, and lived near Cooper's creek, edge of Camden, New Jersey. He mar- ried Abigail Higby, and they were the parents of children.
(III) John Ewalt, son of Jacob and Abigail (Higby) Ewalt, was born near Camden, New Jersey, February 11, 1776. He married Rebecca Ewalt, of Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, not related, al- though having the same name. She was a daughter of Samuel Ewalt, soldier with Braddock, and in the Revolutionary War, an Indian fighter and scout, the first sher- iff of Allegheny county, and the owner of the land on which the arsenal used to stand. Samuel Ewalt married a daugh- ter of John Harris, who founded the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. John and Rebecca (Ewalt) Ewalt were the parents of ten children.
(IV) Abigail Ewalt, fourth child of John and Rebecca (Ewalt) Ewalt, was born near Warren, Ohio, August 2, 1808, and died October 27, 1886. On October 15, 1828, she became the wife of Edwy Wainwright.
WAINWRIGHT, John E., Public-Spirited Citizen.
There are men whose memories are al- ways green in the minds of those who knew them; whose personalities are so vivid that the recollection of them is fadeless; men of whom we cannot say, "They are dead," because their life still throbs in the hearts that loved them. To this class of men belonged the late John E. Wainwright, for many years prom- inent in business and social circles in Pittsburgh.
John Ewalt Wainwright was born in the Fifteenth Ward, Pittsburgh, Pennsyl- vania, October 30, 1862, son of the late Samuel Jacob and Mary Frances (Benn) Wainwright. (See account of the Wain- wright family, together with biography and portrait of Samuel J. Wainwright).
John E. Wainwright received his educa- tion in public and private schools of his city, after which he entered the employ of his father, and after the death of the father, he was connected with the Wain- wright interests. Upon entering business he speedily gave evidence of having in- herited the great business ability of his father, and in his conduct of affairs was most successful. Mr. Wainwright was a director of the Arsenal Bank, and was a member of the Order of Elks, Lodge No. II.
As a citizen, Mr. Wainwright was in- tensely public-spirited, never refusing the support of his influence and means to any project which in his judgment tended to advance the welfare of Pittsburgh. He was a Republican in politics, and served a term in the Common Council in 1906. He was a member of the Episcopal church.
To almost every resident of the Fifteenth Ward, John E. Wainwright's name was familiar. He was known as the ward's philanthropist. The school children received the news of his death with profound sorrow, for to all of them he was a most devoted patron. At the close of every school term he always sup- plied every school child with candy, handkerchiefs and money, and at the an- nual school picnic he did all possible to aid in giving the children a royal time. He was truly a man of many charities, and his friends were legion.
The personality of John E. Wainwright was singularly attractive. His every ac- tion was inspired by a sense of justice and he was ever prepared to meet obli-
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gations, whatever their character, with the confidence and courage born of con- scious ability and rectitude. His mind was both original and vivacious, and he possessed a personal magnetism which drew men to him. He was certainly one of those whose mission it is to add to the sunshine of the world. For some years ere his death Mr. Wainwright spent much time in travel, and he later built a handsome country home near Kit- tanning, where an open-handed hospital- ity ruled.
In the prime of life and in the full ma- turity of his powers, John Ewalt Wain- wright closed his career of usefulness and beneficence, passing away February 16, 1907. His death deprived Pittsburgh of an able, aggressive business man and a far-sighted, disinterested citizen, and left a vacancy never to be filled in the hearts of his many friends.
KANE, John E., Real Estate Operator.
and was later engaged in mercantile pur- suits in that city, where he also served as director in several local banks and other corporations.
The education of John E. Kane was received at parochial schools, Pittsburgh Catholic College, now Duquesne Univer- sity, where he graduated in 1890. He did not at once enter the business arena, but obtained the position of private secretary for Henry Phipps. The death of Mr. Kane's father occurred November 26, 1901, and his estate passed into the keep- ing of his son. It was thus that John E. Kane became identified with the busi- ness in connection with which he was to achieve a national reputation. His excep- tional fitness for it speedily became appar- ent and his rise into prominence was re- markably rapid. He filled the position of treasurer of the Realty Board, and also served as secretary of the National Asso- ciation of Real Estate Boards, his con- nection with this organization giving him an acquaintance with representatives of the business throughout the United States and Canada. Mr. Kane was also secretary and treasurer of the National Real Estate Journal. On February 12, 1917, he was elected president of the Pittsburgh Realty Board as the unani- mous choice of the governors, and the manner in which he discharged the duties of the office during the all too brief period of his tenure more than justified them in their selection. As president of Pitts- burgh Real Estate Board, he offered gratuitously to the United States Gov- ernment the services of the appraisal committee, of which he was a member, to fix the price of Neville Island and any other property they should find necessary to acquire. This offer was accepted by the United States. Mr. Kane was a member of the Chamber of Commerce.
Now and then we meet a man so strong in character, so vivid in personality and so richly endowed with forceful and executive talents that it seems well-nigh impossible, when he passes from the scene of his activities, that he has, indeed, vanished forever from our sight. Such a man was the late John E. Kane, presi- dent of the Pittsburgh Realty Board and one of the best known real estate men in the United States. From the outset of his career Mr. Kane had been identified with realty affairs, and was regarded as one of the highest authorities on every- thing pertaining to the business. John E. Kane was born December 31, 1874, in the borough of Lawrenceville, and was a son of Patrick and Mary (Byrne) Kane. His father was the first agent of the Adams Express Company in Pittsburgh, He was a member of the Pittsburgh Ath-
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letic Association, the Pittsburgh Country Club, the Knights of Columbus, secretary of the advisory board of the Duquesne University, and a member of the Board of Managers of St. Mary's and Calvary cemeteries. He was born, reared, lived and died in the faith of the Roman Cath- olic church, and worshiped at St. Paul's Cathedral in Pittsburgh, of which he was a member.
In combination with business abilities of no common order, Mr. Kane possessed a singularly attractive personality, and to this he owed in a secondary sense his extraordinary success. While his in- tellect and executiveness commanded respect and compelled admiration and compliance, his magnetism won the hearts of those with whom he had to deal, giv- ing him an influence over the actions and motives of men which accounted in part for his record of accomplishment. In addition to this he had the foresight with- out some measure of which no man can hope to succeed in business. No one could discern more quickly and unerr- ingly than he the dormant possibilities of real estate, the consequences of their development and the general trend of affairs. In appraisals and valuations of local property he was regarded as an expert, and on the subject of taxation he was a recognized authority. In legisla- tion bearing upon taxation Mr. Kane took an active interest, and at national con- ventions of real estate brokers he took a prominent part in discussions relating to realty matters, one of the many gifts with which Nature had endowed him being facility in public speaking and forceful- ness in argument. His personal popular- ity might be said to be international, for not only was he known but he was cor- dially and sincerely liked. His features were clearly-cut, strong and refined, his expression reflected the disposition we
have feebly endeavored to describe, and his manner, dignified, courteous and gen- ial, was that of the true gentleman.
Mr. Kane never married, but resided with his widowed mother, the tie be- tween whom and himself was strong to a degree rarely found even between moth- ers and sons regarded as models of mutual affection. By this mother, who so richly merited the devotion of her chil- dren, by the brothers and sisters of Mr. Kane, by their numerous friends and by the general public the highest hopes were entertained in regard to the future of a career which seemed to have not yet reached its zenith. Great, indeed, was the shock to family and friends, as well as to the community, when on July I, 1918, Mr. Kane passed away, in the prime of life and in the full tide of activ- ity and usefulness. Profound and wide- spread, however, as was the mourning for what seemed his premature departure, there was also a feeling of thankfulness for what he had been permitted to accom- plish and for the example he had left.
John E. Kane was a brilliantly success- ful man of affairs, and he was also a de- voted son, an affectionate brother and a true friend. Multitudes at home, and many in distant parts of the land will long remember him, and his record is incorpor- ated in the annals of his native city, but his memory is enduringly cherished in the hearts of those who loved him and who will forever hold him dear.
SCHMID, Harry D.,
Representative Citizen.
No business man, even in Pittsburgh, that center of aggressiveness, is more alert to opportunity than Harry D. Schmid, founder and president of the Fort Pitt Lithographing Company and also connected with other commercial in-
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Harry D.Schmid
Walter B. Ballinger.
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terests of the Metropolis. Mr. Schmid is well known in club circles, takes a promi- nent part in the affairs of the Masonic fraternity, and is active in church work and philanthropic enterprises. Harry D. Schmid was born July 23, 1865, in Phila- delphia, and is a son of Gottlob C. and Magdeline (Medinger) Schmid.
Harry D. Schmid received his educa- tion in public and private schools of his native city, and early in life manifested an inclination toward the making of books. Following this natural bent he began his business career with the old Oxford Bookbinding Company of Phil- adelphia, passing through every depart- ment and becoming thoroughly familiar with each branch of the business. In 1893 he came to Pittsburgh, associating him- self with the firm of W. G. Johnston & Company. Within a short space of time he decided to take up lithography, going to Baltimore to pursue his studies, and soon became an expert in his chosen pro- fession. In 1908 Mr. Schmid returned to Pittsburgh and organized the Fort Pitt Lithographing Company, beginning in a very modest way. The result testified alike to his sound conservation and his sterling aggressiveness. Under his skill- ful guidance the enterprise grew apace and is now one of the leading concerns of its kind in Western Pennsylvania, being equipped to handle all the finest classes of work and having a high standing both in the sphere of commerce and in that of finance. The company's place of busi- ness is on Forbes street, and is under the . immediate personal supervision of its founder.
In the general business life of Pitts- burgh, Mr. Schmid has always taken an active part, and as a citizen he is ever earnestly helpful in all that tends to fur- ther amelioration of conditions. His clubs are the Rotary, the Pittsburgh Ad
and others, and he likewise belongs to the Pittsburgh Credit Men's Association. He affiliates with the Masonic fraternity, and is known as a leader in that body. His association with church work and benevo- lent enterprises is unfailingly energetic and fruitful, and causes him to be counted on in affairs conducted under religious auspices. He is a member of the Episco- pal church. That Mr. Schmid is abun- dantly endowed with initiative is a fact plainly set forth in his record, as are also the variety of his interests and the liber- ality of his sentiments. Of his appearance it is sufficient to say that no one could look at him and take him for other than he is-a live wire, not only in business but in everything that he undertakes, and withal warm-hearted and loyal, con- stantly adding to the number of his friends, but never dropping any from the list.
On October 8, 1901, Mr. Schmid mar- ried Bertha, daughter of Frederick W. Stein, of Pittsburgh, and they are the parents of one child, Bertha Emily.
Harry D. Schmid is one of the "com- ing men" of Pittsburgh. The present city knows him and with the lapse of each succeeding year the Capital of the Industrial World will become increas- ingly familiar with his work and its results.
BALLINGER, Walter F.,
Architect, Engineer.
Walter F. Ballinger, architect and engineer, was born in Petroleum Center, Pennsylvania, August 13, 1867, a son of the late Jacob H. and Sarah (Wolfenden) Ballinger. He is now a member of the firm of Ballinger & Perrot, with offices in the Wesley building, Philadelphia, and Marbridge building, New York.
His father, who owned and operated a
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machine shop in the oil regions, died when Walter F. was two years old, leaving his mother and three children who, after a brief interval, moved to Woodstown, New Jersey, where they lived for twelve years. At the age of thirteen and one- half years, Walter F. left school to work on his cousin's farm and later in a fac- tory. Promotion in the factory, due to his ability in certain practical work in- volving computations, inspired him to continue his education, and he succes- sively attended night sessions of the local grammar school, technical school, Young Men's Christian Association, and Drexel Institute. Having saved enough money for tuition, he entered a business college, supplementing his studies by a course in shorthand and typewriting, later securing positions in the offices of a manufactur- ing establishment, a lawyer, and a coal dealer. In 1889 he entered the office of Geissinger & Hales, then prominent architects and engineers of Philadelphia, at the same time continuing his studies at Drexel Institute and the International Correspondence School, thereby applying in daily practice the theoretical knowledge secured at night. Upon the retirement of Mr. Geissinger from the firm, a partner- ship under the name of Hales & Ballinger was formed in 1894. Six years later, Mr. Hales in turn retired and Mr. Emile G. Perrot, a graduate of the School of Archi- tecture, University of Pennsylvania, and former head draftsman, was admitted into the firm, since known as Ballinger & Per- rot. In the design and construction of commercial and institutional buildings, industrial plants, etc., including mechani- cal equipment, this firm has made an enviable reputation, including in their clientele many of the largest and most successful industrial enterprises and char- itable institutions.
During the war, the firm of Ballinger & Perrot devoted its attentions largely
to Government projects, including Union Park Gardens, at Wilmington, Delaware; a Garden City to house shipworkers; im- provements and additions to the United States Gas Defense Plant, Long Island City, New York, in addition to consider- able building and equipment work for war industries and essential food pro- ducts. Included among the larger and more noteworthy institutional and indus- trial buildings for which Ballinger & Per- rot were the architects and engineers are the following: Methodist Home for the Aged, Philadelphia ; St. Mary's Hospital, Philadelphia; Villa Maria Academy, Fra- zer, Pennsylvania; St. Michael's Boys' Industrial School, Whites Ferry, Penn- sylvania ; Western Theological Seminary (Presbyterian) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; Victor Talking Machine Company, Cam- den, New Jersey; The Joseph Campbell Company (Soups), Camden, New Jersey ; Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Com- pany, Philadelphia ; Strawbridge & Cloth- ier Warehouse, Philadelphia; New York Consolidated Card Company, Long Island City, New York; National Casket Com- pany, Long Island City, New York ; John K. Stewart (Motor Starter Corporation), Long Island City, New York.
Mr. Ballinger is affiliated with the Ger- mantown and Chestnut Hill Improve- ment Association, the Methodist Episco- pal Social Union of Philadelphia and vicinity, of both of which he is an ex- president; the board of temperance, pro- hibition and public morals of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, and a trustee of · the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Germantown, and for a number of years was superintendent of a Mission Sunday school. The City, Engineers' and the Manufacturers' clubs, and the Franklin Institute, all of Philadelphia; the Ameri- can Society of Civil Engineers, the Amer- ican Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce,
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the Chamber of Commerce of the Bor- ough of Queens, New York City, and the Camden Board of Trade, number him among their most active members. In addition he serves on the executive and fire resistive committees of the National Fire Protection Association, is a manager of the Seamen's Friend Society, and is interested in numerous charitable organi- zations. He is a member of the Inde- peudent Order of Americans; Melita Lodge, No. 295, Free and Accepted Ma- sons; Melita Chapter, No. 284, Royal Arch Masons; Philadelphia Consistory, thirty-second degree, and Lu Lu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia.
Mr. Ballinger has always been an ardent exponent of civic improvement and righteousness, being found in the forefront of all sincere reform move- ments. Through his experiences and ob- servations as a practical, wide-awake business man, his interest became keenly aroused to the close affiliation of the evil of drink to the evils of society and poli- tics in its detrimental effect upon busi- ness progress and social welfare. As a consequence, he became an aggressive worker in the cause of prohibition, and in politics an Independent Republican.
In 1897 Mr. Ballinger married Bessie M. Cornell, two years preceding the death of his mother. His daughter, Grace Agnes Ballinger, is a student at Swarth- more College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, and an adopted son, Robert Irving Bal- linger, twenty-six years of age, is in the employ of the firm as superintendent of construction.
PERROT, Emile George, Business Man, Inventor.
In two hemispheres the name of Emile George Perrot, of the internationally
known firm of Ballinger & Perrot of Phil- adelphia, is synonymous with architec- tural achievement in different fields and under varying conditions. In his home city Mr. Perrot's name stands for helpful identification with her leading interests and for endeavor in behalf of everything vital to her truest progress.
Emile George Perrot was born Novem- ber 12, 1872, in Philadelphia, and is a son of the late Emile Raphael and Ga- brielle (Perodi) Perrot, and a grandson of August M. Perrot who, as a young man, came from Bordeaux, France, to the United States, settling in Philadelphia. August M. Perrot was a well-known musi- cian and composer and for several years was superintendent of music in the Phila- delphia public schools, making a specialty of Solfiggio, being the author of the "Per- rot System of Singing by Sight." The late Emile Raphael Perrot was a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and as a young man was proprietor of a drug store on Chestnut street. He later gave up business and became teacher of French in several of the private schools in Philadelphia, as well as engaged in the teaching of French privately.
Emile George Perrot received his earli- est education in the public school, and from that he passed to private schools, His attendance at these was followed by an architectural course at the Franklin In- stitute, from which he graduated in 1890. He then became an apprentice in the arch- itectural office of George Plowman, the designer of many of Philadelphia's thea- ters, and on completing his term obtained a position as architectural designer for a builder in Philadelphia. After retaining this position for two years Mr. Perrot associated himself with P. A. Welsh and Edward F. Durang as a student of archi- tecture, and afterward took a special course in the School of Architecture, Uni-
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versity of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1895, obtaining a certificate of proficiency and receiving "Special Commendation," which is equivalent to being honor man of his class. This distinction was the first of its kind issued by this school of architec- ture.
After graduating, Mr. Perrot became head draughtsman for Hales & Ballinger, architects and engineers, of Philadelphia, and in 1898 was given an interest in the firm. In July, 1901, he became junior partner, and in 1903 full partner, the style of the firm being changed to Ballinger & Perrot, and so remaining to the present day. A biography and portrait of Mr. Ballinger precedes this in the work. The firm has attained a commanding position in its line, being one of the best known in the Eastern United States. It has filled many contracts for the Victor Talking Machine Company and for the shipping board of the United States government at Wilmington, Delaware, having been ap- pointed both architects and engineers for the Industrial Village known as "Union Park Gardens." It has been extensively employed by the Duplan Silk Company, of Paris, France, erecting for them, in Pennsylvania, two large plants, and it has also constructed plants in Pennsylvania for the firm of Andrew Martin, of Lyons, France. The firm has built plants for the Viscose Company, a subsidary concern of Courtaulds, Limited, of England. For this widely-known organization they have constructed, at Marcus Hook, Pennsyl- vania, and Roanoke, Va., large artificial silk manufacturing plants, the largest in the United States, and they have also designed and built for them, at Marcus Hook, a model industrial village. In all these extensive and important undertak- ings the architectural and structural engi- neering features came directly under Mr. Perrot's personal supervision.
As an inventor Mr. Perrot has achieved international recognition, having for some years held patents in the United States, Canada, France, Belgium and England for his invention of the Unit Girder Frame System of Reinforced Concrete. Some time ago these were disposed of to a syn- dicate. In association with Mr. Ballinger he invented an enclosure for vestibules of tower fire escapes, and he has also pat- ented an invention for life-boat launching. As a contributor to the literature of his profession Mr. Perrot is widely known. He is associate editor of Kidder's "Archi- tect and Builder Pocket Book," and for the last twelve years has lectured at the University of Pennsylvania on reënforced concrete and its uses. He is joint author with Mr. Ballinger of Ballinger & Perrot's "Inspector's Handbook of Reënforced Con- crete," a work which has had a wide sale among builders. Mr. Perrot is a licensed architect in New York and New Jersey, and the firm maintains offices not only in Philadelphia, but also in New York City.
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