USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. X > Part 30
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milk. In 1900 he erected in Chester coun- ty, Pennsylvania, a quarter-of-a-million- dollar plant, which has since been greatly added to. His novel methods of advertis- ing his products has made the name "Hires" known internationally. The head- quarters of his enterprises are in Philadel- phia.
The thorough business qualifications of Mr. Hires have always been in good de- mand on boards of directors of various institutions, and his public spirit has led him to accept many such trusts. In addi- tion to being president of the Charles E. Hires Company and of the Hires Con- densed Milk Company, he is president and director of the Ithaca Condensed Milk Company ; president and director of the Maple Leaf Condensed Milk Company of Canada; president and director of Lake Odessa Milk Company Michigan ; presi- dent and director of the Hudson Con- densed Milk Company ; president and di- rector of the Federal Packing Company of Vermont ; president and director of the Page Milk Company of Michigan ; direc- tor of the Drug Exchange, of which he was president for a time ; and a director of the Merchants' Bank of Philadelphia. Mr. Hires is a Republican in politics, but has never accepted office. He belongs to the Society of Friends. Among his clubs are the Manufacturers' and Merion Cricket.
On January 5, 1875, Mr. Hires married (first) Clara Smith, daughter of Charles Sheppard and Rebecca J. (Keyser) Smith, of Philadelphia, and they were the par- ents of the following children : I. Linda Smith, born September 24, 1878. 2. John Edgar, born February 8, 1885; married Thura Truax, and has children: Charles Edgar, born August 3, 1911; Emma Jacquelin, born January 21, 1913; and Thura Truax, born April 15, 1916. 3. Harrison Streeter, born May 31, 1887;
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married, October 25, 1911, Christine Le- land, and has children: Claramary, born June 3, 1915, and William Leland, born July 5, 1918. 4. Charles Elmer, Jr., born April 27, 1891 ; married, June 12, 1918, Ilse Keppelmann. 5. Clara Sheppard, born April 8, 1897. Mrs. Hires' birth occurred September 3, 1852; her death October 6, 1910. Mr. Hires married (sec- ond) December 28, 1911, Emma Waln, daughter of Nicholas and Mary (Kirby) Waln, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Hires family is socially popular, and their home at Haverford is one of the attractive residences of suburban Phila- delphia.
WORDEN, Thomas Davis, M. D., Physician.
The professional life of Dr. Thomas D. Worden centered in Albany and Sara- toga, New York State, although he spent a few years of his life in Wilkes-Barre. He was a physician of learning and skill, but his own health was very poor, and he was constantly thwarted in his profes- sional career by spells of sickness. He was highly-esteemed by his brethren of the profession, and by all who came with- in the influence of his cheerful, optimistic nature. Dr. Worden was the only son of Darwin B. and Matilda (Davis) Worden, of Trenton, Oneida county, New York.
Thomas Davis Worden was born in Trenton, Oneida county, New York, Jan- uary 18, 1853, and died in Fort Plain, New York, April 19, 1888. In 1866 the family moved to Fort Plain, New York, where the parents resided until death. After completing public school study in Fort Plain, he entered Cazenovia Seminary, passing thence to Syracuse University, whence he was graduated Ph. B., class of '77. The same year he began the study
of medicine with Dr. Albert Vander Veer, of Albany, then entered Albany Medical College, whence he was graduated M. D. and was valedictorian of the class of 1880. He at once began to practice in Albany, but was stricken with a severe illness the following year, and in November, 1881, he sailed for Europe as special physician to ex-Attorney-General Martindale, be- lieving that the ocean voyage and travel abroad would build up his own health. Dr. Worden returned to Albany in March, 1882, after General Martindale's death, his health greatly improved. He resumed practice in Albany, but shortly afterward he became associated with Dr. Strong in his Remedial Institute at Saratoga Springs, New York, continuing with him until 1885, when ill health again com- pelled him to change his plans. In that year he withdrew from the institute and removed to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he entered business life with his father-in-law, Lewis C. Paine. Two years later his health again broke and he gave up business and sought the healthful climate of Colorado, but his health grad- ually failed and he was removed East and passed away at the home of his father in Fort Plain, New York, April 19, 1888. During the last two years that Dr. Wor- den was in Saratoga he completed for publication a translation of the medical work of Beni Borde, an eniment French physician. He was a member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Wilkes- Barre, Luzerne County Medical Society, and Albany County Medical Society, and was a musician of some note.
This is the brief life story of a Chris- tian gentleman of many rare mental and social qualities. He was self-possessed and at ease under every condition or posi- tion in which placed, was naturally buoy- ant in disposition, with an infectious qual-
Pa-10 -- 14
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ity of humor that made him a charming companion. He was a thorough student and had the faculty of making most prac- tical applications of his knowledge. He has long since passed to his reward, but he has left behind him the memory of work well done. He was truly mourned by his many friends, and when the news of his death went abroad the Medical So- ciety of Albany County, New York, met in special session and passed the follow- ing resolutions :
Resolved, That we, the Medical Society of the County of Albany, having learned of the death of our esteemed member, Doctor Thomas D. Wor- den, would express our regret for his untimely death, and also our appreciation of the many ex- cellent qualities which endeared him to us and gave promise of so useful and successful a career.
Resolved, That the sketch of his life and char- acter together with these resolutions be entered on our minutes.
Resolved, That we tender our sincere sym- pathy to the afflicted family, and direct our sec- retary to send copies of our action to them.
Dr. Worden married, in the autumn of 1883, Anne Scott Paine, eldest daughter of Lewis C. and Anne E. (Lee) Paine, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Lewis C. Paine was a son of Captain Jedediah Paine, and a descendant of Thomas Paine, an Englishman, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts, at an early date, eventu- ally settling in Yarmouth, where he was made a freeman in 1639, and was still re- siding there in 1650. Mrs. Worden was a life member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, member of the Society of Colon- ial Dames, Daughters of the American Revolution, Society of Mayflower De- scendants, and was noted for her philan- thropy and her charity, also highly es- teemed. She died February 18, 1914. Dr. and Mrs. Worden were the parents of a
daughter, Anne Lee Worden, who mar- ried Harry L. French, of Wilkes-Barre, and has a son, Livingston Paine French. They reside in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyl- vania.
GRIFFITH, Jacob K.,
Metallurgist, Inventor and Steel Expert.
The Griffith family first settled in America when two brothers and three sisters came to Philadelphia, in the latter part of the eighteenth century. The broth- ers Robert and William were the sons of William and Grace Griffith, who settled at Nurey, Ireland, having removed from Belfast, Ireland, to which city, tradition says, their ancestors fled from France to escape the Huguenot persecutions. The two brothers were by occupation house carpenters.
William Griffith, the founder of the branch of the family in which this narra- tive deals, married for his second wife, Mary Chapman, of New Egypt, New Jer- sey, November 20, 1805. Soon after his marriage he purchased a house in Phila- delphia county, at the falls of the Schuyl- kill, where he made his residence until 1828, when he removed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He and his family were members of the Baptist Society, and he was the principal organizer and builder of the First Baptist Church of Harris- burg.
William and Mary (Chapman) Griffith had a family of twelve children. Their fifth child, William Robert Griffith, was born April 2, 1815, and died in New York City, June 14, 1876. He was one of the foremost pioneers of the anthracite coal industry. He organized and was presi- dent of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, and came to the Wyoming Valley in 1848, where he made extensive purchases of
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valuable coal lands about Pittston and vicinity. This company constructed a gravity railroad from Pittston to Hawley, and became one of the largest and most successful companies in the coal region.
The youngest child of William and Mary (Chapman) Griffith, Andrew Jack- son Griffith, was born in Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania, October 25, 1828. His education was limited to a school at Lititz, Pennsylvania, and on his becoming of age he came to the Wyoming Valley as an assistant to his brother in the dev- elopment of his extensive mining enter- prises and in the construction of the grav- ity road to Hawley. After the completion of the railroad, he purchased a farm on Scovel's Island, in the Susquehanna river, above Pittston, Pennsylvania. This farm he afterward sold and invested the pro- ceeds in real estate in West Pittston, where he had built himself a residence in 1854. After the sale of his farming lands, he retired from active business. Mr. Grif- fith was an ardent Republican, and was one of the incorporators of West Pittston borough, and held the office of burgess, councilman and other offices at various times. An enthusiastic sportsman, he took great delight in hunting, fishing and trapping. Another of his enjoyments was the collection of coins and Indian relics, which after his death was presented to the Wyoming Historical and Geological > Society. He married Jemima Ellen Sax, daughter of John and Rebecca (Parrish) Sax. The Saxs were of German ancestry, and Jacob Sax with his brothers George and William founded the family at Phil- lipsburg, New Jersey, and Conrad Sax, the grandfather of Mr. Griffith, was born at Phillipsburg, New Jersey, and married Mary Beers. He kept a tavern on the Wilkes-Barre and Eastern turnpike, near Sax pond, several miles eastward of the former place. On her maternal side she
was descended from Sergeant John Par- rish, of Groton, Massachusetts, whose son John removed to Preston, Connecticut. The third generation was represented by Lieutenant Isaac Parrish, of Windham, Connecticut, whose son, Archippus Par- rish, settled in North Mansfield, Connec- ticut. Their son Abraham had a daugh- ter, Rebecca Wright Parrish, who mar- ried John Sax. The children of Andrew Jackson and Jemima (Sax) Griffith were: William; Jacob K., mentioned below; Gertrude N., married Charles D. Sander- son, and two children who died in infancy. Mr. Griffith died at West Pittston, June 18, 1889.
Jacob K. Griffith, the second son of Andrew Jackson and Jemima (Sax) Grif- fith, was born in West Pittston, Pennsyl- vania, August 9, 1857. His boyhood days were spent in his native town where he received his early education in the public and private schools. He then became a student at Lafayette College of Easton, Pennsylvania, pursuing a course of stud- ies as an analytical chemist. He gradu- ated in June, 1878, and in the spring of the following year he entered the employ of the Midvale Steel Company of Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania. He was connected with this company over ten years, and young as he was his advancement was rapid and while only a short time in their employ he was placed in charge of the melting and molding department. At this time there was only three open hearth steel furnaces in the country and Mr. Griffith had charge. of two of them. This was the day of active pioneering in the development of the steel industry of the country.
On the organization, in 1888, of the Latrobe Steel Company by parties for- merly interested in the Midvale Company, Mr. Griffith refused offers of all kinds to remain with his former employers. He
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had given his promise to the competitive hem Steel Company was organized, there company and could not be influenced to came under his supervision the making of the steel for practically all the ordnance for the United States Army and Navy. He directed the making of the steel for the first all steel ship and for the first pro- jectiles made by the United States Navy. He also made certain parts of the machin- ery that installed the first electric power plant at Niagara Falls, and the greater part of the steel work in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge was manufactured under his direction. His records show that he invented and was using Mangan- ese Steel at Midvale, three years before Haddfield, the English inventor, claimed credit for it. Mr. Griffith was sent for by the Department of Ordnance of the United States Navy, in April, 1918, to come to Washington to supervise prac- tical experiments being made by the Gov- due to the time, skill and devotion of its - ernment, in connection with recent pat- break it. The value of his services can be estimated by the fact that for three months he was an employee of both com- panies, though they were competitive, so loath was the Midvale Company to let him go. Mr. Griffith went to Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in 1889, as superintendent of the Latrobe Steel Company. The cor- poration was taken over in 1905 by the Railway Steel-Spring Company, in whose employ he remained until 1910, when he removed to West Pittston, Pennsylvania. At the time when Mr. Griffith took charge of an infant company in the industrial world, its capital was the determination and perseverance of the men who fathered the enterprise, and when he resigned after twenty-two years of faithful service, it had grown into a gigantic industry largely superintendent. The original projectors ents he had obtained in the manufacture of armor plate. of the Latrobe Steel Company at the time of the disposal of their interests to the Railway Steel-Spring Company received several millions of dollars.
Mr. Griffith's remarkable personality is best evidenced by the close bond of friend- ship that existed between him and the employees that worked under him. Of the many thousands of men in his thirty- two years service, the love and respect that was held by them toward him is il- lustrated by the fact that he never had a strike or labor disagreement of any kind, and at the time of his resignation at La- trobe there was widespread regret among the employees of the establishment.
As a practical steel man, Mr. Griffith was looked upon as one of the best ex- perts on high carbon steel in the country. He was not only a metallurgist, but an in- ventor. While connected with the Mid- vale Steel Company, before the Bethle-
Mr. Griffith married, October 9, 1883, Winifred, daughter of William J. and Mary Frances (Brown) Kerr, of Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents were descended from old Revolutionary stock and connected with many of the old Phil- adelphia families. By this marriage there were three children: I. Mary Frances, who married Early McIlhenny Johnson, of Steelton, Pennsylvania ; they have two children, Charles Griffith and Robert Early Johnson. 2. Andrew Jackson. 3. Winifred von Ronckendorff.
Mr. Griffith was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church of West Pittston, Penn- sylvania, and a former vestryman. He was a man of liberal ideas, unostentatious in his manners, and both in his business and home circles was noted for his hos- pitality. He passed away July 28, 1918, in the home in which he was born.
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Robt 2. Steward
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STEWART, Robert Ekin,
Lawyer, Civil War Veteran.
Robert Ekin Stewart, late of North Braddock, was born April 2, 1841, at Stewart Station, North Huntingdon town- ship, Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- vania, and traced his ancestry to a Scotch lineage.
(I) John Stewart, great-grandfather of Robert E. Stewart, was a native of Scot- land, and the old family register shows that he was born on the 27th day of April, but the figures for the year have been obliterated. It is believed, however, to have been in the third decade of the eigh- teenth century, and about the middle of that century the family crossed to the north of Ireland. A few years later the younger branch of the family, of which this John Stewart and his wife Elinor were the united head, emigrated from Londonderry to the province of Pennsyl- vania. About the close of the War of the Revolution this family crossed the moun- tains and settled in what is now Elizabeth township, Allegheny county, having pur- chased there a large tract of land at Round Hill, on which he erected the first shingle-roofed house in that township. He assisted in the organization of the Presbyterian church of Round Hill, and was an active and devoted member there- of. He was described by one that knew him as being "a well-to-do farmer, a square-built, good-looking man." He and his wife Elinor were the parents of eight children-four sons and four daughters.
(II) John (2) Stewart, second son of John (1) and Elinor Stewart, and grand- father of Robert E. Stewart, was born December 26, 1766. He was a man of good physique, generous-hearted. a cap- tain of militia, and followed the occupa- tion of his father, farming. He married Jane Cavett, whose father, John Cavett,
a miller, was the first settler at the place now known as Cavettsville, but originally Cavett's Mill, and was of the third gener- ation of Cavetts born in this county. John Cavett removed from Dauphin county to Western Pennsylvania in 1770, and pur- chased from Ephraim Blaine, in 1771, a large tract and the lands embracing what was later known as the Cavett's Mill tract and the Stewart Station property, of which John Yearl was the original war- rantee. John Cavett divided this land be- tween his sons, John and James, the latter taking the Stewart Station tract which he afterwards exchanged with his brother- in-law, John Stewart, for a mill site, part of the Stewart homestead in Elizabeth township, Allegheny county. John (2) Stewart died seized of this land, intestate, leaving two sons-John and Alexander -- and five daughters. John Stewart pur- chased from his brother and sisters their interests in said land, and upon his mar- riage removed thereto and lived thereon until his death.
(III) John (3) Stewart, son of John (2) and Jane (Cavett) Stewart, was born September 15, 1796, at the Stewart home- stead, at Round Hill, Elizabeth town- ship, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. He was a prosperous farmer and added to the tract from his father's estate, as above stated, a tract adjoining, the same pur- chased from his cousin, James Cavett, one of the heirs of the younger John Cavett, above named, making the total area of his homestead property about three hundred and seventy acres, a considerable part of which lay in Allegheny county, the man- sion house, however, being in Westmore- land county. He had, besides, acquired valuable farms in other places. He was a Whig until the dissolution of that party, when he became a Republican. He was a member of the United Presbyterian church. On January 16, 1821, Mr. Stew-
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Eng by E & Whans & Ere Ny
James Collard
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Carnegie Steel Company. A biography and portrait of Mr. Dinkey appear else- where in this work. 2. John McMasters, M. D., born June 9, 1871; educated at Westminster College, graduated from the medical department of Western Univer- sity, Pittsburgh ; is now (1918) in prac- tice at Homestead, Pennsylvania ; resides on William Pitt Boulevard, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3. Harry McMasters, born November 23, 1873; a graduate of the State College, class of 1896; is now super- intendent of furnaces at the Duquesne Steel Works, Duquesne, Pennsylvania ; he married Camille Hawthorne, June 28, 1900, and resides at Duquesne. 4. Rob- ert E., Jr., born January 23, 1876, died October 23, 1890. 5. Leonora Markle, born May 5, 1878; educated at Pennsyl- vania College for Women and Wilson College; married, October 5, 1905, Ed- ward R. Williams, of Homestead. 6. James Sterrett, born October 13, 1880; a graduate of North Braddock high school, spent one year at Westminster College, and one year in the medical department of Western University. 7. Caroline, born January II, 1883; a graduate of North Braddock High School, and a graduate of Westminster College; married Dr. J. H. Johnson, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1869, the year following his marriage, Mr. Stewart removed from his boyhood home at Stewart Station to Turtle Creek, Alle- gheny county, and later purchased prop- erty in North Braddock, whither he re- moved in October, 1875. His law office was at No. 424 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Robert Ekin Stewart died March 30, 1910, at Braddock, Pennsyl- vania.
COLLORD, James, Metal Broker.
The typical Pittsburgh business man is not always born within the limits of the
Iron City. Not infrequently from distant portions of the Union come men who ex- hibit in a striking manner traits popularly supposed to be the birthright of those who first saw the light in the Industrial Capital. Prominent among this notable class of citizens was the late James Col- lord, head of the well-known metal brok- erage firm of James Collord & Company, and officially identified with a number of the financial institutions of the city. Mr. Collord was for the greater portion of his life a resident of Pittsburgh and was in- timately associated with her most essen- tial interests.
James Collord was born August 22, 1835, in New York City, and was a son of the Rev. James and Mary (Thorn) Col- lord, the former a Methodist Episcopal minister of the Metropolis. The boy was educated in schools of his native city, and on completing his course of study became the assistant of his father who then had charge of the Methodist Book Concern of New York City. As a youth Mr. Collord came to Pittsburgh, first being employed as a clerk by Alexander Bradley, one of the pioneer iron manufacturers of the city. After filling this position for some years he entered the service of Hillerman & Company, hat manufacturers, eventu- ally, in association with Robert Loomis, forming the firm of Loomis & Collord, metal brokers. From its inception the en- terprise was successful, largely in conse- quence of the acute and sagacious appre- hension and the clear and far-sighted judgment of Mr. Collord. After some years he purchased his partner's interest and continued the business alone under the name of James Collord & Company, with offices at the corner of Market and Fourth streets. For many years he was recognized as one of those intimately con- nected with the business organizations most essential to the welfare and progress of the city. By associates and subordi-
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mates he was regarded with respect and affection by reason of his loyalty to prin- ciple and kindliness of disposition. The business career of Mr. Collord was in- terrupted in his early manhood by the outbreak of the Civil War. He was among those who responded to the first call for troops, enlisting in the "Pitts- burgh Rifles" and serving until after the battle of Fredericksburg. In that engage- ment he lost an eye, and for gallant and meritorious conduct was promoted on the field to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
As a public-spirited citizen Colonel Col- lord stood in the front rank, never with- holding aid and influence from any meas- ure which, in his judgment, tended toward betterment of existing conditions. He ad- hered to the Republican party, but took no active share in politics and steadily re- fused to accept office. Widely but unos- tentatiously charitable, the full number of his benefactions will, in all probability, never be known to the world, for his phil- anthropy was of the kind that shuns pub- licity. He was a director of the Bank of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Insurance Company, and was interested in a number of other financial institutions of the city. He affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and belonged to Post No. 259, Grand Army of the Republic, the Legion of Honor and the Duquesne Club. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Of strong mental endowments, gener- ous impulses and a chivalrous sense of honor, Colonel Collord was a man nobly planned. He was of fine personal appear- ance, his tall, well-formed, slight figure always retaining something of the soldier- ly air acquired during his period of mili- tary service. His massive head, crowned with silvery hair, high forehead, and strongly-marked features, accentuated by white moustache and beard, all gave the
impression of great energy of mind and elevation of character. Ever dignified," genial and courteous, and in his attach- ments ardent and loyal, his friendships were quickly formed and of life-long dura- tion.
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