USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. X > Part 26
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the business, he became senior partner of the firm, the style being altered to Burn- ham, Williams & Company. The concern was later incorporated as the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The fact that this organization is to-day one of the foremost manufacturing concerns of the United States is very largely owing to the clear- sighted wisdom and wisely-aggressive management of George Burnham. He was for years the manager and controller of the moneyed interests of the enterprise, also figuring prominently in financial cir- cles in other important relations. Mr. Burnham was a member of the Union League, the Art Club and the City Club, and various associations of scientific and literary foundation. He was a member of the original "Committee of One Hundred" and was identified with all important movements for political reform. He was a member of the New Church, "Sweden- borgian," at Twenty-second and Chest- nut streets, and at one time president of that society.
On February 13, 1843, Mr. Burnham marrried Anna, daughter of Samuel and Ann Cook Hemple, of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, and their children were: I. Catherine, deceased. 2. William, de- ceased, whose biography and portrait ap- pear elsewhere in this work. 3. George, Jr., of Philadelphia. 4. Mary Arthur, who is of Philadelphia. 5. Anna, wife of Theo- dore J. Lewis, of Philadelphia, and their children are: (i) Mrs. J. O. Low, born September 2, 1883, of Brooklyn, mother of four children : Dorothy, born April 20, 1907; Mary Forthingham, born June 12, 1909; Josiah Orne, born May 20, 1912; and Theodore, born November 19, 1915. (ii) Mrs. Edgar Lawrence Smith, born -> June 15, 1885, of Montclair, New Jersey, whose children are: Edgar Lawrence, Jr., born September 1I, 1912; and Jean, born October 14, 1915. (iii) Theodore Burn-
ham, born November 14, 1890, married Mary Long, of Texas, and their children are: Frances Patricia, born March 7, 1917; and Charlotte, born July 4, 1918. (iv) Burnham, born June 14, 1897, an officer in the United States Army. 6. Emma, born June 18, 1861, deceased, who married Frederick J. Stimson, of New York, and their children were: (i) Burn- ham, born April, 1887, died July, 1887. (ii) Frederick Burnham, born February 9, 1891, married Amelia W. Eadie, of Flushing, New York, and their son is Frederick Burnham, Jr., born August 26, 1917. (iii) Anna Katherine, born Novem- ber 14, 1892, unmarried. (iv) Boudinot, born May 25, 1897, unmarried, now (1918) in France with the United States Army. (v) William Burnham, born Oc- tober 25, 1899.
George Burnham died December 12, 1912, in his ninety-sixth year.
PETERSON, Henry,
Journalist, Author
In the journalistic history of Philadel- phia no name stands higher than that of the late Henry Peterson, for thirty years editor of the "Saturday Evening Post" and head of the firm of H. Peterson & Company. In addition to his prominence as a member of the Fourth Estate, Mr. Peterson was well known as the author of numerous novels and plays of unques- tioned literary merit.
Peterson Arms-Sable, on a cross between four lions' heads erased argent, five eagles displayed of the field.
Crest-A pelican proper.
Motto-Nihil sine deo (Nothing without God).
(I) Lawrence Peterson, grandfather of Henry Peterson, married Rachel Ford. and resided at Pleasant Mills, New Jer- sey.
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NIHIL
SINE DEO
Prtresan
wis Historical Pub co.
Eng by E i Willwong & Bre NY
Henry Peterson
George Peterson 1755 - 1879
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
(II) George Peterson, son of Law- 1859. George and Jane (Evans) Peter- rence and Rachel (Ford) Peterson, was born April 21, 1785, at Pleasant Mills, New Jersey. He came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at an early age, shortly after the year 1800, and engaged in mer- chantile pursuits, his ventures in the West Indian trade being especially suc- cessful. He married, January 9, 1812, Jane Evans, a daughter of John and Rachel (Ridgway) Evans, and a grand- daughter of Robert Evans, a prominent member of the Society of Friends. Soon after their marriage the young couple went to housekeeping in a residence be- longing to Mrs. Peterson, on Fifth street above Arch. In the year 1818 Mr. Peter- son bought a handsome residence on the south side of Arch street, just above Fifth, the old number being 102. About this time George Peterson invested con- siderably in real estate in Philadelphia, and in 1828 purchased a country seat con- taining sixty-five acres on the County Line Road, about a quarter of a mile from the Old York Road. This beautiful spot, "Spring Dale," was his summer home for many years. He was a devout Quaker, attending Arch Street Meeting when in the city and Abington Meeting when in the country. When the separation be- tween what are commonly known as the Orthodox and the Hicksite Friends oc- curred, he went with the latter, and there- after worshipped at Green Street Meeting House, which became the headquarters of the more liberal element. He took a great interest in the Friends School on Walnut street above Sixth, and was one of its managers. He was also a manager of the Wills Eye Hospital, and at one time (May 22, 1829, to September 2, 1834) a director in the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. He died May IO, 1872, and is buried in Laurel Hill Ceme- tery. His wife's death occurred June 20,
son were the parents of ten children: I. Robert Evans Peterson, M. D., born Nov- ember 12, 1812, died October 30, 1894, a graduate of the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania ; he also studied law and was admitted to the bar, but never practised either law or medi- cine. He studied law in the office of his father-in-law, Judge Bouvier; in 1850 he formed a partnership with George W. Childs under the firm name of R. E. Pet- erson & Company; two of their earliest and most notable publications were "Bou- vier's Law Dictionary" and "Peterson's Familiar Science ;" in 1854 the firm name was changed to Childs & Peterson, and in 1856 they published "Dr. Kane's Arctic Explorations ;" some years later the firm was dissolved, Mr. Peterson retiring from commercial life; he married (first) Sep- tember 12, 1834, Hannah Mary Bouvier, who died September 4, 1870; married (second) December 2, 1871, Blanche Gottschalk, who died July 23, 1879; mar- ried (third) May 27, 1880, Clara Gott- schalk, who died July 25, 1910. 2. Rachel Evans, born September 4, 1814, died Aug- ust 21, 1862 ; married November 5, 1835. Edmund Deacon. 3. George, born Sep- tember 20, 1816, died December 23, 1820. 4. Henry, see below. 5. Esther Evans, born January 7, 1821, died May 18, 1847. 6. Richard, born March 8, 1823, died December 12, 1893 ; married February 15, 1844, Almira Little ; was a manufacturer. 7. Anna, born September 29, 1825, died February 21, 1908; married, October 17, 1849, Amos R. Little. 8. Pearson Serrill, born September 26, 1828, died January 7, 1877; married October 21, 1852, Emma Lehman; was a banker. 9. Helen Long- streth, born December 29, 1830, died Oc- tober 4, 1905; married April 17, 1855, Charles Taylor Deacon. 10. Philema Marshall, born July 8, 1833, died June 7,
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1911 ; married October 8, 1857, William ers," 1843; "Poems," 1863; "The Modern Estes Newhall.
(III) Henry Peterson, son of George and Jane (Evans) Peterson, was born December 7, 1818. He received his edu- cation in private schools. At an early age he manifested an inclination for literary work, his first novel, "The Twin Broth- ers," having been written before he reached his twenty-first birthday. The circle of his intimate friends then included James Russell Lowell and John G. Whit- tier. From 1838 to 1840 Mr. Whittier resided in Philadelphia as the editor of the "Pennsylvania Freeman." Mr. Pet- erson, though never belonging to the wing of the anti-slavery party represented by William Lloyd Garrison, allied himself with the cause, becoming known as the author of a number of forcible articles. In 1843 Mr. Peterson accepted the posi- tion of assistant editor of the "Saturday Evening Post," then published by Samuel D. Patterson & Company. Five years later, in association with his brother-in- law, Edmund Deacon, he purchased the paper and plant, becoming half owner and sole editor. The result proved the right of Henry Peterson to be classed among America's foremost editors. The circulation of the paper soon exceeded eighty thousand copies, a number which, seventy-five years ago, was regarded as extraordinary. Mr. Peterson subsequent- ly purchased his partner's interest, the style of the firm becoming H. Peterson & Company. After retaining control of the paper for about thirty years, Mr. Pet- erson relinquished it to R. J. C. Walker and retired to private life. It is now owned by Cyrus H. K. Curtis.
After his withdrawal from the arena of journalism Mr. Peterson, at his home in Germantown, devoted himself chiefly to literary work. His published works in- clude the following: "The Twin Broth-
Job," 1869; "Pemberton, or One Hundred Years Ago," 1872; "Fairemount," 1874; "Caesar, a Dramatic Study," 1879; and a volume of poems, 1883. He was the au- thor of a number of plays, the best known of which, "Helen," was produced at the Chestnut Street Theatre in 1876. Mr. Peterson's latest work was a drama called "Columbus," finished shortly before his death. A posthumous novel entitled, "Ducibel," was published some years af- ter that event.
The personality of Henry Peterson pre- sents an interesting study, combining as it did the characteristics of the journal- ist, the novelist and the poet. Fitted to lead and to contend he yet found in re- tirement a congenial atmosphere and the longed for opportunity for the exercise of his imaginative and poetic genius. His fearlessness in behalf of all he deemed right was shown in his espousal of the anti-slavery cause. His disposition was kindly and companionable, and his attach- ments were warm and constant.
Henry Peterson married, October 28, 1842, Sarah, daughter of Benjamin and Catherine (Jackson) Webb, of Wilming- ton, Delaware. She was born in Wil- mington, Delaware, November 9, 1820. All her original ancestors in America, on both her father's and her mother's side, were English Quakers, who, following the coming of William Penn, settled in Chester county, between the years 1682 and 1725.
Webb Arms-Argent a bezant on a chief or, three martlets gules.
Crest-Out of an Eastern coronet or, a dexter arm erect couped at the elbow, habited azure cuffed argent, holding in the hand a slip of laurel, all proper.
Much of the early life of Mrs. Peterson was passed at Harmony Grove, the home
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EBB
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
of her mother's mother, the widow of John Jackson, near London Grove, Ches- ter county, and to this beautiful spot, an estate of about four hundred acres, two acres of which had been cultivated by her grandfather as a sort of botanical garden, she used to look back, in after years, as to an earthly paradise. She possessed a passionate fondness for flow- ers and plants, and for a country life. Though scrupulously faithful in the per- formance of her domestic duties, she yet seemed to find time for the cultivation of many accomplishments-reading and speaking French and German, painting in water-colors, and writing, with grace and distinction, both prose and poetry. For the latter, especially, she possessed a rare gift. The character of this beautiful woman was essentially gentle and femi- nine; sweetness and light seemed ever to radiate from her; and in her life was typi- fied all that was best in the religion of George Fox and William Penn. If she had any fault it was that she was not aggressive enough for this rough world; but to the writer of these lines (her son, Arthur Peterson) she seemed to have no faults whatever; and looking back across the years he can, even now, discern none. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson were the parents of nine children, two of whom died in early childhood. Of those who survived, a son, Arthur, is represented in this work by a biography, which follows. The home life of Mr. and Mrs. Peterson was ideal. On April 19, 1891, the devoted wife and mother passed away at her home in Ger- mantown, Philadelphia, and was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery. Her husband did not long survive her. On October 10, 1891, he breathed his last, deeply and sin- cerely mourned and widely and deserv- edly honored.
As that of a man of letters the name of Henry Peterson holds and will continue -
to hold an assured place, but it is on his long leadership of the oldest and, in many respects, the most distinguished of Amer- ican journals that he rests his claim to national and enduring renown.
PETERSON, Arthur, Author, Naval Officer.
The name of Arthur Peterson, man of letters and retired naval officer, has long been nationally familiar to his fellow- countrymen. Mr. Peterson's many years of service were spent in different quarters of the globe, but he has now been long established as a resident of his native Philadelphia to whom, during his period of wandering, his heart ever remained loyal.
Arthur Peterson was born September 20, 1851, in Philadelphia, and is a son of Henry and Sarah (Webb) Peterson. A biography of Henry Peterson, who has been many years deceased, precedes this account. The families of Peterson and Webb are of English origin, and have long been represented in the Society of Friends, having secured land in and near Philadelphia between the years 1682 and 1725.
The education of Arthur Peterson was received in private schools of his native city, and at the age of nineteen or twenty he became assistant editor of the "Satur- day Evening Post," of which his father was then editor and publisher. When the paper passed into other hands, Mr. Peterson entered the United States Navy as a paymaster, receiving his appointment on February 23, 1877, and being stationed at League Island. In 1877-78 he was sta- tioned on the "Canonicus," and from 1879 in . 1883 he served on the "Palos" in Jap- anese and Chinese waters. From 1884 to 1886 he held the position of inspector and paymaster at the navy yard at Pen-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
sacola, Florida. In 1887-88 he made a cruise on the "Iroquois" of the Pacific Squadron, and in 1889-90 was stationed on a store ship, the "Monongahela." In October, 1890, he was made assistant gen- eral storekeeper of the New York Navy Yard, remaining until July, 1892. He was then ordered to the "Monocacy," of the Asiatic Station, and in May, 1894, was transferred to the Naval Home in Phila- delphia, where he remained until March, 1897. In April, 1897, he was again at- tached to the "Monocacy," serving there until 1898. In that year, which brought him the climax of his naval career, he was ordered to the "Baltimore," of Admiral Dewey's fleet at Manila. In September, 1902, he resigned from the naval service, with an honorable record of twenty-five years' duration.
On returning to civil life Mr. Peterson again turned his attention to literature and has since devoted himself to author- ship, having published a number of poet- ical volumes, including: "Songs of New Sweden," 1887; "Penrhyn's Pilgrimage," 1894; "Collected Poems," 1900; "Sigurd," 1910; "Collected Poems" (Revised) and "Andvari's Ring," 1916. Of Mr. Peter- son's personal appearance it is unneces- sary to speak at length, inasmuch as his portrait belongs with that of his distin- guished father. His expression is keen, but kindly, and his manner has the alert- ness and decision of the naval officer and the polish of the man of letters and the gentleman. He belongs to various clubs and societies, among them being the Union League, Colonial Society of Penn- sylvania, Historical Society of Pennsyl- vania, and Military Order of Foreign Wars.
Mr. Peterson married, March 30, 1891, Georgiana, daughter of the late Charles J. and Anna Margaret (Reel) Harrah. Mr. Harrah, who at one time resided at
Rio Janiero, Brazil, was afterward prom- inent in the business world and social life of Philadelphia. By this marriage Mr. Peterson gained the companionship of a charming and congenial woman, and one well fitted in all ways to be his helpmate and adviser. A woman of grace, charm and tact, her position in Philadelphia so- ciety was an enviable one, and the Peter- son home, "Red Gates," at Overbrook, was the centre of a gracious and genial hospitality. A man of strong domestic affections, Mr. Peterson ever found in his home the sources of his highest happi- ness. She who was the presiding genius. of his fireside passed away September 19, 19II.
To the literary fame with which, for three-quarters of a century, the name of Peterson has been invested, Arthur Pet- erson, by his writings, has added new lustre, combining with it the record of a brave and faithful officer of the United States Navy.
COOKE, Jay,
Financier of World-wide Fame.
Philadelphia has been so fortunate as to number among her citizens many men eminent in every walk of life and not a few of international renown. Of these none was of nobler fame than Jay Cooke, "financier of the Civil War," who, at a time of unprecedented crisis, came for- ward as the savior of the Nation. Mr. Cooke's later life was in harmony with his earlier years inasmuch as it was that of a high-minded man of affairs devoted to the service of his country and the uplift- ing of humanity.
Henry Cook (as the name was origi- nally spelled), founder of the American branch of the family, was manifestly an English Puritan, his name being first met with in 1638 in the town records of Salem,
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Say Cooke
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Massachusetts. Henry Cook married, in 1639, Judith Burdsall, and died in 1661, leaving nine children, the eldest twenty- two and the youngest four years of age.
(II) Samuel Cook, second son of Hen- ry and Judith (Burdsall) Cook, who, in 1663, went to New Haven, Connecticut, migrated thence, about 1670, to Walling- ford, going with the first company of planters and becoming the only tanner and shoemaker in the settlement. He married, in New Haven, Hope, daughter of Edward Parker, and his children-he was twice married-were fifteen in num- ber.
(III) Samuel (2) Cook, eldest son of Samuel (1) Cook.
(IV) Asaph Cook, fourteenth child of Samuel (2) Cook, was born in 1720, and removed to Granville, a town in Southern Massachusetts. His death occurred in 1792.
(V) Asaph (2) Cook, third son of Asaph (1) Cook, was born in 1748, and, with his brothers, bore arms at the battle of Lexington. Later Asaph (2) Cook re- moved to Granville, Washington county, New York, and late in life went to San- dusky, Ohio, where he died in 1826.
(VI) Eleutheros Cooke, son of Asaph (2) Cook, was born December 25, 1787, in Grenville, Washington county, New York, being one of a large family of sons and daughters. He attended the schools of the neighborhood and read law, enjoy- ing for a time the instruction of the fa- mous Chancellor Kent. He was admitted to the bar in his native State, and in 1817 began the practice of his profession in Granville, but in 1819 removed to Bloom- ingdale, Ohio, and in 1820 settled in San- dusky, where he attained a leading place at the bar. For a number of years he was a member of the Ohio Legislature, and from 1831 to 1833 represented the Whig party in Congress. He was a pioneer in
railroad building in the West, being the projector of the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad, now the Sandusky, Dayton & Cincinnati Railroad. Mr. Cooke married, December 12, 1812, Martha, daughter of David Carswell, of Fort Edward, Wash- ington county, a Revolutionary soldier who suffered a long imprisonment in Can- ada, and they became the parents of the following children: Sarah E., wife of William G. Moorhead; Pitt; Jay, men- tioned below; Henry David, first gover- nor of the District of Columbia; Eleu- theros, died at the age of two years; and Catherine E., lived to be but three years old. Mr. Cooke died in Sandusky, Decem- ber 27, 1864.
(VII) Jay Cooke, son of Eleutheros and Martha (Carswell) Cooke, was born August 10, 1821, and received his educa- tion in the village school, at a private school taught by Miss Lydia Stone, "a cousin of much talent and many accom- plishments," to use his own words, and also, as he goes on to say, "in a private academy taught by Mr. Adams in the basement of Grace Episcopal Church." At the age of fourteen he obtained a clerk- ship with the firm of Hubbard & Lester, in Sandusky, and in 1836 was offered a position with Seymour & Bool of St. Louis. There he remained for about a year, returning at the end of that time to Sandusky, and in the spring of 1838 went to Philadelphia to become a clerk in the establishment of his brother-in-law, William G. Moorhead, manager of the Washington Packet Line. At the end of six months he returned to Sandusky, but in the spring of 1839 found himself once more in Philadelphia, having been offered a position in the banking house of E. W. Clark & Company.
This was the real beginning of a finan- cial career which was destined to become involved with the most momentous na-
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tional interests. His unusual talents and strict fidelity to every obligation caused him soon to be placed in a position of great responsibility. This was the period of the great financial upheaval caused by the refusal of President Jackson to re- charter the second Bank of the United States, and for so young a man as Jay Cooke to make himself a factor of import- ance at a time like this was proof of his possession of the financial genius which was to develop so marvellously with the lapse of years. One who saw the young clerk at his post thus describes him: "Cooke, as I recall him at that time, was tall, slender, light-haired, blue-eyed, fair- complexioned and of radiant countenance. I know not with what word I can better describe the smile of the mouth and the eye, the ever present winsome and intelli- gent expression resting upon that unusual face, which always met you so silently, but always so pleasantly. Brightness and cheerfulness characterized his whole per- sonality. Every movement, every step, every motion of hand and arm was a bright one."
Ere many years had elapsed Mr. Cooke became a partner in the firm, and his counsel and aid were sought and given in the various large operations in which the house played a leading part for a long period. These were difficult years for American brokers and bankers, and in 1857 came the great panic which deranged all calculations in the business world. Mr. Cooke, who had been contemplating retirement from the firm ever since Mr. Clark's death, which had occurred the previous year, was now involved in diffi- culties from which he could not for some time extricate himself. Soon occurred the simultaneous suspension of all the houses of E. W. Clark & Company, but through- out the excitement Jay Cooke was calm, facing this crisis as all others with an ab-
solutely unruffled temper. Withdrawing from the arena he busied himself in pro- tecting the interests of the estate and in adjusting his own affairs. He was now a man of comparative leisure, but the su- preme service of his life was yet to be required of him.
In January, 1861, Mr. Cooke, in asso- ciation with William G. Moorhead, organ- ized the famous banking firm of Jay Cooke & Company. It was a dark hour in which to found a new business, espec- ially a banking business. The dark clouds of impending Civil War had already gath- ered and the entire country was in a state of great unsettlement. Mr. Cooke's in- troduction to his fellow-citizens as a pub- lic financier was promptly and sweepingly effected through his sale, early in 1861, of the Pennsylvania State Loan of three million dollars. About this time he was tendered the office of treasurer of the mint and assistant treasurer, but declined it, wishing to give his entire attention to the larger and more congenial work of secur- ing subscriptions for government loans. When tidings came of the defeat at Bull Run he dropped all other occupations, visited his fellow bankers and brokers and in a few hours collected nearly two mil- lion dollars for the government.
This signal service, together with Mr. Cooke's subsequent extraordinary zeal and efficiency in the sale of government notes, raised him in the eyes of the treas- ury department to an eminence not en- joyed by any other American financier and led to his appointment as sole sub- scription agent for national loans. In February, 1862, Jay Cooke & Company opened a banking house in Washington and his services to the government were materially increased. At the end of 1862 occurred the third financial crisis in the history of the war when relief was found in the great and successful "five-twenty"
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loan. To Mr. Cooke, and to him alone, is due the credit for this brilliant financial operation which was a factor of vast im- portance in deciding the fate of the Union. In February, 1863, he performed his first great feat of going into the market to support government stocks, and the es- tablishment of the national banking sys- tem was very largely due to his efforts. His appointment, in January, 1865, as Philadelphia general agent for the sale of government loans was the signal for the adoption of all those methods in regard : the seven-thirty loan which had been so successfully employed in the distribution of the five-twenty. The history of finance, public or private, shows no movement in any way comparing with the unique cam- paign by which Jay Cooke popularized and sold the great seven-thirty loan. The money procured through this agency paid the troops who brought the war to an end and facilitated the disbandment of the largest body of soldiery ever assembled on this Continent, returning them to their homes with their wages in their pockets and with words of praise in their mouths for the country which had sent them forth to fight its battles.
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