USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. X > Part 34
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
Mr. Bauersmith married, February 9, 1864, in Pittsburgh, Sarah Ann, daughter
of James and Nancy (Hood) Calhoun, and they were the parents of the follow- ing children: Kate B., married James J. Campbell, auditor of the Carnegie Steel Company ; Anna J., married W. S. Camp- bell, traffic manager of the Canadian Pa- cific ; Samuel M., cashier of Pennsylvania National Bank; Maria C., married Charles E. Satler, secretary of the United Engineering and Foundry Company ; William R., connected with the Carnegie Steel Company. Mrs. Bauersmith died twenty years before the death of Mr. Bauersmith.
On November 17, 1917, Mr. Bauer- smith's long and useful life ended. He was mourned as such a man deserved to be, for as a business man, citizen, friend, and neighbor his career was without blemish and his memory is unsullied. He added to the prosperity of his city by his aggressive and successful conduct of an extensive business, and was always faith- ful to all her best interests. This is the record of William Bauersmith, and it is one which his descendants may well de- sire to preserve and in which they may take a wholly laudable and honest pride.
SMITH, Robert Stewart,
Financier.
The name and record of the late Robert Stewart Smith, president of the Union National Bank, are conspicuous in the history of Pittsburgh as those of a man who, for the space of more than half a century, was associated with her financial interests, and during half that period stood as one of the pillars which upheld them. Mr. Smith was closely identified with the church work and religious interests of the Metropolis, and was respected as one of her most valued citizens.
(I) Thomas Smith, grandfather of Rob- ert Stewart Smith, was born in 1755, in
237
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Ireland, graduated at the University of Glasgow, and in 1776 was licensed to preach by the First United Presbyterian Church of the North Side, Pittsburgh. After holding, for twenty-three years, the pastorate of a church at Ahaughel, County Antrim, Ireland, Mr. Smith came to the United States, and in 1801 was called to the Tuscarora church, York county, Pennsylvania, where he remained to the close of his life. His death oc- curred in 1832. He was the father of seven sons and five daughters, all of whom survived him.
(II) Thomas (2) Smith, son of Thomas (1) Smith, was born January 16, 1796, in Ireland. He learned the silversmith's trade, and about 1820 came to Pittsburgh. He was first a Whig, later a Republican, and prior to the Civil War a fearless Abolitionist. He was one of the founders of the First Associate Reformed (now the First United Presbyterian) Church of North Side, Pittsburgh. Mr. Smith married, in 1826, Margaret Harris, born in June, 1796, daughter of Robert Stew- art, a sickle manufacturer, who came to Pittsburgh in 1814. Mr. and Mrs. Smith were the parents of six children. In 1880 Mr. Smith passed away, and his widow survived him for the short space of three years.
(III) Robert Stewart Smith, son of Thomas (2) and Margaret Harris (Stew- art) Smith, was born August 18, 1836, in Allegheny, and at the age of fourteen his school days came to an end. Very shortly after he entered upon the financial career which was destined to be life long, obtain- ing a position with the Allegheny Savings Bank, which then stood in Federal street. This had been preceded by a brief period of employment in a hat store, but the young man's inclination for finance was too strong to be resisted, and in Novem- ber, 1853, he became a clerk in the Alle-
gheny Savings Bank. From this position he was advanced, successively, to those of bookkeeper and teller, remaining until he was offered the position as cashier of the Union Banking Company. On Sep- tember 1, 1859, the Union Banking Com- pany opened its doors for business, the building being situated at Market street and Fourth avenue. On December 30, 1864, under the National Banking Organ- ization, the institution became the Union National Bank, being one of the first com- panies to take advantage of the act of Congress creating national banks. On July 4, 1905, the Union National Bank took possession of its present quarters at Wood street and Fourth avenue.
The position of cashier was continu- ously retained by Mr. Smith until Jan- uary, 1888, when he succeeded John R. McCune in the presidency of the institu- tion. This was the first change in the official staff which had occurred since its organization. In January, 1910, Mr. Smith retired from active business. Dur- ing the half-century of his connection with the bank he held but two offices, those of cashier and president, and it is impossible to estimate fully and accu- rately the value of his work in de- veloping and maintaining the activities of the institution. Of the fact that it was appreciated he received most gratifying evidence when, on the fiftieth anniversary of his connection with the bank, he was given a dinner and presented with a lov- ing cup by the board of directors.
Always a good citizen, Mr. Smith never mingled in politics, but concentrated his energies on the discharge of his official duties and in church work and philan- thropic enterprises. In 1853 he joined the First United Presbyterian Church of Alle- gheny, and for the long period of forty- eight years was one of its most active members. In 1901, when he became a
238
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
resident of the East End, he transferred his membership to the Shadyside United Presbyterian Church, having for eighteen years held the office of elder in the Alle- gheny church. His political affiliations were with the Republicans. He was a member of the Duquesne Club.
Inscribed on Mr. Smith's strong fea- tures and radiating in the benevolence of his aspect might be read the record of a man who had given his life to worthy ambitions and to work which resulted in material and lasting benefit to his fellow- citizens. His portrait will never cease to be of interest as that of one of the leading bankers of the Pittsburgh dis- trict. To his sterling qualities as a friend and neighbor very many could testify, and he might "take him for all in all" be truly regarded as an all-round man of the finest type.
Mr. Smith married, April 16, 1872, Mary Ann, daughter of Joseph and Re- becca Jean (Wilson) McCaslin, of Ven- ango county, Pennsylvania, and they be- came the parents of the following child- ren : Roy, died at the age of eight years ; Helen, died in her first year; Bertha H., wife of Marcus W. Stoner, of Edgeworth ; Jessie C., married Colonel C. F. Armi- stead, United States Army; Homer D. and Lloyd W. All these are of Pitts- burgh. Mrs. Smith, a woman of amiable disposition and intelligence above the av- erage, was her husband's sympathizing companion and the presiding genius of his happy home.
To Mr. Smith was granted the privi- lege, after his retirement, of three years' repose and relaxation in the society of his friends, and on December 29, 1912, he passed away, mourned even as a man who had lived such a life deserved to be. The memory of the just is blessed. The narrative of the career of Robert Stew- art Smith forms part of the financial his-
tory of the Metropolis. He is one of the group entitled to be called "Makers of Pittsburgh."
PATTERSON, Frank P., Lawyer, Journalist.
Frank P. Patterson, now in the eleventh year of his practice at the Pittsburgh bar, is a man who, after achieving success as a journalist, has found his true place and his true work in the profession of the law. Mr. Patterson has thus far loyally made his native city the scene of his career, and in all that he has accomplished has kept ever in view the promotion of Pitts- burgh's progress and welfare.
Frank P. Patterson, son of James W. (2) and Margaret (Campbell) Patterson, was born September 17, 1876, on the South Side of Pittsburgh, and is a de- scendant of old residents. His father, in addition to other work in behalf of the city, supervised the construction of the Wabash-Pittsburgh Terminal Railroad, also holding the offices of president and general manager of that road.
The early education of Frank P. Patter- son was received in the Morse and St. Clair public schools and St. John's paro- chial school. In 1891 the family removed to the East End and he attended the high school class in the Liberty school, enter- ing the Pittsburgh High School in 1892 and graduating in 1896. Immediately thereafter Mr. Patterson threw himself into the arena of journalism, obtaining a position as reporter on the "Pittsburgh Post." During the ensuing two years his work was of exceptional value, show- ing an inherent aptitude for the profession he had chosen and an ability to rise into prominence in that field. This was proved by his resigning as reporter of the "Post" in order to become dramatic editor of the "Pittsburgh Times," a position which
239
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
he retained for a year and a half. At the end of that time the offer of the post of dramatic editor of the "Pittsburgh Dis- patch" was made to him by Eugene O'Neill, then principal owner of that paper. Mr. Patterson accepted the offer and retained the position under the own- ership of Colonel C. A. Rook. During the latter years of his journalistic career the conviction grew and strengthened in Mr. Patterson's mind that, successful as he had been in newspaper work, his true sphere of action was the legal profession. Acting on this conviction he applied him- self, during the years of his connection with the "Dispatch," to the study of the law, resigning his position in 1906. In 1907 he passed the state law examination and was admitted to the Allegheny county bar. Since that time Mr. Patter- son has assiduously devoted himself to the requirements of a large and constantly increasing general practice. His work has lain principally in the field of real estate, and in the Orphans' Court, where he has been connected with some very important litigation, one of the chief of these being the defeat of the actress, Laura Biggar, in her attacks upon the estate of Henry M. Bennett and Peter J. McNulty. It is beyond all question that Mr. Patterson made no mistake in apply- ing for admission to the bar. His record as a lawyer has long since carried convic- tion to the minds of his legal associates and to the intelligence of the general public.
As a good citizen Mr. Patterson is earnestly devoted to the advancement of all that, in his opinion, has a tendency to conduce to the best interests of his native city. With the literary equipment of the journalist he combines the personality of the astute, sagacious, far-sighted attor- ney, accustomed to dealing with men, to penetrating their motives and tracing
their actions to their sources. Of the possession of all these qualities his coun- tenance is expressive and it also indicates a latent sense of humor and a kindliness and generosity of disposition which never allows him to be unduly harsh in his judgment of his fellows and which wins friends irrespective of creed, profession or nationality. Mr. Patterson is a mem- ber of the Allegheny County Bar Associa- tion, the Pittsburgh Chamber of Com- merce, the Pittsburgh Athletic Associa- tion, and the Pittsburgh Press Club. He is also enrolled as a member of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church.
Mr. Patterson married, June 7, 1900, Bertha, daughter of Edward G. and Sarah Mooney, of the East End, and they are the parents of the following children : Helen, Elizabeth, Virginia, Martha, and two sons, Frank P., Jr., and William R. Mrs. Patterson is a woman whose qual- ities of mind and heart render her the congenial companion of her husband and the presiding genius of a home where he passes his happiest and most restful hours.
Doubtless it was said when Mr. Patter- son abandoned journalism for the law that the latter profession had gained at the expense of the former. Time has proven the fallacy of this idea, showing beyond the possibility of controversy that the mental endowments and traits of char- acter which belong to an ornament of the fourth estate have combined with those which go to the making of an acknowl- edged leader of the Pittsburgh bar.
JOHNSTON, George W. C., Leader in Business Affairs.
Many Pittsburghers whose memories cover a range of forty years and a still larger number whose recollections belong to a period much less remote will in-
240
УЖ давновт,
1
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
stantly recall the name of the late George Washington Crawford Johnston, presi- dent of the Keystone Commercial Com- pany and secretary and treasurer of the Pittsburgh Terminal Warehouse and Transfer Company. Mr. Johnston was prominently identified with a variety of interests, and was always numbered among the respected and public-spirited citizens of the Metropolis.
George Washington Crawford John- ston was born July 19, 1858, at California, Ohio, and was a son of Alexander and Harriet (Purcell) Johnston. The boy was educated in local public and high schools, and at the age of fourteen grad- uated from a business college. For a time thereafter he was variously em- ployed in minor capacities, but very shortly became connected with a Cincin- nati wholesale clothing house as their Southern representative. This respon- sible position Mr. Johnston retained until he was nineteen years old, when he en- tered the service of Fairman, Henderson & Company, dealers in grain, hay and feed, Mr. Henderson being his brother-in- law, and their place of business being situated on Water street, Pittsburgh. Thus, before attaining his majority, Mr. Johnston became a resident of the Iron City which was destined to be the scene of his successes and his home during the remainder of his life. His position with Fairman, Henderson & Company was that of a clerk, but later, when Mr. Fairman retired, Mr. Johnston was received into partnership, the style becoming the Henderson-Johnston Company. Subse- quently the partners bought out a line of boats and founded the Pittsburgh & Cin- cinnati Packet Company. Still later Mr. Johnston alone bought out a packet com- pany and, in association with John W. Hubbard, founded the Ohio & Mississippi Navigation Company. In the course of
Pa-10-16
time the Henderson-Johnston Company abandoned their old site on Water street and purchased property on the South Side, where they erected buildings, at the same time changing the firm name to the Keystone Commercial Company, with Mr. Johnston as president and owner of the controlling interest. As a leader in the business world he was known for executive talents of a high order and no less for his strict and unwavering adher- ence to the highest standards of honorable dealing, possessing a humanity seldom evidenced in business men.
Initiative was always a salient feature in the character of Mr. Johnston and found expression in his leadership of various enterprises. He was one of the founders and incorporators of the Pitts- burgh Terminal Warehouse and Transfer Company, becoming its secretary and treasurer and a member of the board of directors. The concern erected large warehouses and carried on a flourishing business, Mr. Johnston being in all its affairs the active worker and the leading spirit. He was vice-president of the Pittsburgh Transfer Company, and a di- rector of the Pittsburgh Industrial Com- mission and the Keystone National Bank. He was a member and at one time presi- dent of the Pittsburgh Grain Exchange, and he was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce.
While never active in the arena of pol- itics, Mr. Johnston was keenly alive to all that affected in any way the welfare and progress of Pittsburgh, and in phil- anthropic and charitable work he was deeply interested, sedulously avoiding, however, in the bestowal of his benefac- tions aught that savored of publicity. He affiliated with Fellowship Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and his clubs were the Duquesne, Americus, Pittsburgh Golf and Pittsburgh Traffic, and he also
24I
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
belonged to the Pittsburgh Athletic As- sociation. He was a member and trustee of the Sixth Presbyterian Church.
The foregoing outline, limited and un- satisfactory as it must of necessity be, makes clear, at least, two points: first, that Mr. Johnston was a man of strong intellect and commanding ability, and second, that he possessed a remarkably attractive personality. He was a man who drew men to him, inspiring in them the steadfast loyalty in which he was never known to fail. In the darkest hour he discerned the star of hope and always believed the best of his fellows, making allowance for their weakness and retain- ing faith in their virtues. His face was a reflex of his nature, and his manner, dig- nified, courteous and genial, was that of the true and perfect gentleman.
Mr. Johnston married, January 16, 1896, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Emma Townley, daughter of William E. and Ella (Hub- bell) Townley, of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston were the parents of three children: Edward Townley, Genevieve, and Elizabeth. Mrs. Johnston, a woman of lovely personality, made her husband's home the place where he passed his hap- piest hours, and with Mr. Johnston, de- votion to wife and children was ever par- amount, the ruling motive of his entire life and the mainspring of all his actions.
When scarcely beyond the prime of life this gifted and lovable man was sum- moned to rest from his labors, passing away on October 20, 1915. All classes of his fellow-citizens mourned for him. In business circles it was felt that a place which it would be extremely difficult to fill had been left vacant, in the society in which he moved all were conscious that an ever-welcome presence had been with- drawn, and in his own household the sense of loss was such as it is not for the biographer to describe.
George W. C. Johnston was a success- ful man and a man of many friends. He has left a record which is worthy of pre- servation because it contains an example to be emulated. Admired for his excep- tional ability and respected for his un- bending integrity, he was loved for his kindness of heart and true nobility of nature. The memory of such a man is long kept green. In the hearts of those who knew him while he was still among us the thought of him is tenderly and abidingly cherished.
ELLIOTT, Frederick Beatty, Physician, Surgeon.
The profession of medicine is essen- tially altruistic. The world can show no body of men more thoroughly consecrated to the service of humanity than the phy- sicians and surgeons who carry help and healing to multitudes of their fellows. In the noble work of their calling the physi- cians of Pittsburgh have always taken a leading part, and among the foremost for a score of years was the late Dr. Fred- erick Beatty Elliott, whose comparatively early death, but a few months since, was mourned as a distinct loss to the profes- sion and the public. Dr. Elliott was ac- tive in municipal affairs, and prominent in Masonic circles and fraternal organi- zations.
(I) William Elliott, great-great-grand- father of the late Frederick Beatty Elliott, M. D., was of West Nantmeal township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, and mar- ried Mary - The will of Mr. Elliott was probated May 19, 1769.
(II) Samuel Elliott, son of William and Mary Elliott, was of Carernarvon town- ship, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and during the Revolutionary War served as captain of a company of the Fifth Bat- talion, Lancaster County Militia, Penn-
242
1
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
sylvania troops. He married Susannah Hughes. From 1759 to 1786 Captain Elliott was a vestryman of Bangor Prot- estant Episcopal Church, at Churchtown, Lancaster county.
(III) James Elliott, son of Samuel and Susannah (Hughes) Elliott, was born in 1772. He was a farmer of Raccoon creek, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and later moved to the neighborhood of Ohioville, in the same county. He also lived at one time in Allegheny county. He married Elizabeth Laughlin, whose family record is appended to this biography, and their children were: Laughlin, mentioned be- low; Samuel; Ferguson, a physician of Ohioville, Pennsylvania ; Wilson, of Ohio- ville, Pennsylvania; James, of the same place; Barbara; and Rebecca. Both the daughters are of Ohioville. Mrs. Elliott passed away in 1832, and the death of Mr. Elliott occurred in 1847.
(IV) Laughlin Elliott, son of James and Elizabeth (Laughlin) Elliott, was born in 1839, in Washington county, Pennsylvania. He received a public school education, and served an appren- ticeship at the trade of millwright. At the age of nineteen he removed to Beaver county with his parents who purchased a farm there, and it was in that county that he learned his trade, which he followed until his marriage. He then turned his attention to farming, and it was on his farm that the first producing oil well was drilled in Beaver county. The estate, which comprised three hundred acres, is still in possession of the family. Mr. Elliott was an uncompromising Demo- crat and always remained a loyal advocate of the principles of the party. In religion he was a Covenanter. He married Ma- tilda, daughter of Nicholas and Elizabeth Dawson, the Dawsons being one of the old and prominent families of the county. Among the ten children of Mr. and Mrs.
Elliott was Frederick Beatty, mentioned below. The death of Laughlin Elliott oc- curred in 1903. He was a man of the strictest integrity, a devout church mem- ber and one who showed his faith by his works.
(V) Dr. Frederick Beatty Elliott, son of Laughlin and Matilda (Dawson) El- liott, was born October 25, 1872, at Smith's Ferry, Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, and spent his boyhood on the farm, attending the local public schools, and in 1891 graduating from the Beaver High School. After studying for a time at the Clarion State Normal School, he chose medicine as his profession and began reading under the guidance of his brother, Dr. George B. McClellan Elliott. In 1892 he entered the Western University Med- ical College (now the Medical Depart- ment of the University of Pittsburgh) and in 1896 graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After serving one year as resident physician at the West Pennsylvania Hospital, Pittsburgh, Dr. Elliott entered upon a career of practice and was not long in winning the recog- nition which his native ability, complete equipment and conscientious devotion alike merited. His clientele increased and he became firmly intrenched in the confidence of the general public. In 1907 he established himself on Wylie avenue, where he continued to reside during the remainder of his life, and where he built up an extensive practice in general medi- cine and surgery. To the close of his life he was surgeon for the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. At various times he was an interne in the West Pennsylvania Hospital, and staff surgeon in the Allegheny General Hos- pital.
In accordance with his political tradi- tions Dr. Elliott was a Democrat and an
243
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
active one, serving one term on the sev- home, and never was he so content as in enth ward school board, and taking a keen the company of the members of his house- hold and the circle of his chosen friends. and helpful interest in all matters which, in his opinion, tended toward betterment of conditions. His charities were numer- ous, but quietly bestowed. He was one of the organizers and a director of the Land Trust Company, and a director of the Great Eastern Building and Loan Association.
Among the professional organizations to which Dr. Elliott belonged were the Allegheny County Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He affiliated with St. John's Lodge, No. 219, Free and Accepted Masons; Shiloh Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons; Tancred Com- mandery, Knights Templar; Syria Tem- ple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and Allegheny Grotto, Veiled Prophets. He was a member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Pitts- burgh.
Progressiveness and humanity might be termed the keynotes of Dr. Elliott's character. His enthusiasm for science went hand in hand with his love for his fellow-men, thus imparting two-fold de- votion to his professional ardor and bring- ing him not only triumphs of skill but the love and gratitude of those to whom he ministered. The expression of his countenance revealed this combination of qualities, and his manners were those of the true physician and the true gentleman.
Dr. Elliott married, January 30, 1900, Mary, daughter of James and Mary Egan, of Pittsburgh, and they became the par- ents of four children: Mary O'Mara, Frederick Beatty, Jr., J. Laughlin, and Louisa Matilda. In his union with an amiable and intelligent woman whose tastes and sympathies were thoroughly in harmony with his own, Dr. Elliott found the crowning happiness of his life. No spot on earth was as dear to him as his
Of Dr. Elliott's death, which occurred November 4, 1917, it is difficult to speak, so sudden was it, so entirely without warning that even now it is hard to real- ize that he will be no more seen among us. The profession mourns the loss of one of its brightest ornaments, Pittsburgh is de- prived of a valued citizen, and those near- est and dearest to him are bereaved of a devoted husband and affectionate father. At the time of his departure Dr. Elliott was in the prime of life and, being the man he was, all who knew him were justi- fied in believing that, rich in results as his record was, the years to come would witness still greater achievements on his part. Mourning as we must the nonful- filment of this promise we should, never theless, rejoice in the remembrance of a life which, ere it had reached its zenith, shone with such steady and beneficent radiance.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.