USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Volume I > Part 12
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 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
LANIUS, William Henry, Soldier, Financier.
Captain William Henry Lanius, sol- dier, banker, and for many years presi- dent of various corporate institutions of York, was born at Flushing, Long Isl-
and, November 26, 1843, son of Henry and Angeline ( Miller) Lanius. His father's ancestors were prominent in the history of the Moravian church, and were among the earliest German settlers west of the Susquehanna. For several years they were active and influential in the affairs of the city and county of York, of which Captain Lanius has been one of the foremost citizens for nearly a third of a century. During the rapid growth and development of York in re- cent years he has lent his varied accom- plishments and best energies to advanc- ing every cause and enterprise intended to promote the public good and develop the resources and possibilities of the city of York. His mother's ancestors were of English and French-Huguenot de- scent, and first settled in the State of New York, residing on Long Island. His first American ancestor came to this country from Germany and settled in Eastern Pennsylvania about the year 1731. This ancestor was Jacob Lanius, born at Meckenheim, in the Palatinate, Germany, May 12, 1708, who married, June 13, 1730, Julianna Kreamer, born in Eisenheim, January 2, 1712, and in 1731 came to Philadelphia by way of Rotter- dam in the ship "Pennsylvania Mer- chant." Afterward he moved to Kreutz Creek, where his name is found among the taxables of Hellam township as pos- sessed of one hundred and fifty acres of land. In 1763 he moved to York, al- though, together with his wife, he had been connected with the Moravian church since 1752, and his name appears in the lengthy Latin document deposited in the cornerstone of the first church built in York in 1755. He died in York, March I, 1778. Henry, his fifth child, continued to live in Hellam township, where he died September 15, 1808. He was also connected with the Moravian church in York. His brother William came to York with his father, and formed part
78
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
of the' guard that escorted the Conti- mental Congress on its return to Phila- delphia, June 27, 1778.
Christian, the first child of Henry by his second wife, Elizabeth Kuenzly, of Mount Joy, was born at Kreutz Creek, September 16, 1773, and baptized in the Moravian church. He was a wagon- maker by trade and resided in York, where by industry and thrift, combined with good business judgment, he accu- mulated considerable property and was highly respected as a public spirited citi- zen. He was prominent in the move- ment in 1815 to introduce water into the borough, and was one of the first board of nine managers that met March 18, 1816, for that purpose. In 1837 he was one of the organizers of the movement for the founding of the York County Savings Institution, now the York County National Bank, and was elected its first president, but declined to serve in that capacity. He married, September 17, 1797, Anna, daughter of Jacob and Barbara Von Updegraff, born in York, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1774. Chil- dren: Elizabeth, married Michael Smy- ser; Susan A., married Jacob Weiser ; Benjamin ; Amelia, married John Fahne- stock; Sarah, married Henry Kanffelt; Henry ; Magdalen, married William D. Himes; Eleanora, married E. C. Park- hurst.
Henry Lanius, father of Captain La- nius, was born September 20, 1809, at York, Pennsylvania, and died June 26, 1879. For many years he was a promi- nent lumber merchant at York and Wrightsville, a business he continued until his retirement in 1871. Early in life he belonged to the Whig party, and in 1856 became one of the original Re- publicans in York county. He took an active part in the affairs of the borough, and served as chief burgess of York in 1860-61, during the stirring years at the beginning of the Civil War. When the
Columbia bridge was burned, June 28, 1863, by the Union forces, to prevent the Confederates from crossing the river, the entire lumberyard of Henry Lanius was destroyed. It was a heavy loss and no damages were ever paid by the govern- nient. Mr. Lanius served several years as a member of the York Board of Edu- cation. He was an earnest, consistent member of the Moravian church, and possessed many excellent qualities of mind and heart. He married Angeline Miller. Children: Marcus C., deceased ; Anna L., deceased, married Thomas Mayers; Captain William Henry ; Ellen A,; Rev. Charles C., deceased, late prin- cipal of the Moravian School at Naza- reth, Pennsylvania; Sarah F .; Paul, a resident of Denver, Colorado; and Susan H., deceased.
Captain Lanius obtained his education in the private schools of York, and later entered the York County Academy, where he excelled as a student, acquir- ing a comprehensive education, and closely pursuing the study of the clas- sics. He spent several years in this in- stitution, during which time he took an active part in debating societies, then existing in the academy and the town of York.
At the outbreak of the Civil War he was seventeen years of age. The enlist- ment of soldiers and the movement of troops to the front during the early months of the war aroused his military ardor, and he resolved to offer his serv- ices to his country. Different companies were being recruited in the town and throughout the county. Drums were beating in the streets, recruiting offices were open at various places in the town, and on August 25, 1861, William H. La- nius became a private in Company A (commanded by Captain James A. Stahle), 87th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, organized at York under command of Colonel George Hay, with
79
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
John W. Schall as lieutenant-colonel. Soon after his enlistment Private Lanius was promoted to orderly sergeant of Company I, which had been largely re- cruited at New Oxford and vicinity in Adams county. Sergeant Lanius served with his company and regiment on the marches over the mountains and through the valleys of West Virginia with the purpose of driving the Confederates from that region. After the close of the win. ter encampment at Winchester, Vir- ginia, he was promoted to second lieu- tenant of his company, being at that time the youngest commissioned officer of his regiment. Up to this time the 87th had a romantic career, but had not taken part in any engagements. Their real experience as soldiers began June 12, 1863, in a lively affair near Winches- ter, at Newtown, where the regiment dis- tinguished itself for bravery in a sharp conflict with the enemy. The 87th was in Milroy's command in this engagement. The defeat of the Union army at Chan- cellorsville induced General Lee to march northward on the eventful Gettys- burg campaign. In the attack upon Mil- roy's forces at Carter's Woods, a few miles east of Winchester, Lieutenant Lanius led his men in line of battle almost to the enemy's guns. Being over- powered by the large number of the op- posing forces, Milroy's division was driven back, and Lieutenant Lanius marched with that part of the regiment under Colonel Schall that reached Har- per's Ferry. While stationed at this post he acted as adjutant of the regi- ment, which after the battle of Gettys- burg was placed in the Third Brigade, Third Division, Third Army Corps. During the summer and fall of 1863, Lieutenant Lanius participated with his company in the engagement at Manassas Gap, July 23; Bealton Station, October 26; Kelly's Ford, November 7; and Brandy Station, November 8. During
the absence of Captain Pfeiffer on divi- sion staff, Lieutenant Lanius commanded Company I in the engagement at Locust Grove, November 27. He was also in command of his company when the Third Division was to lead the assault on the Confederate works at Mine Run, Novem- ber 30, but, owing to the impregnable position of the enemy, the attack was not made. On December 7, while in winter quarters at Brandy Station, Virginia, he was promoted to first lieutenant, succeed- ing Anthony M. Martin, who had been made adjutant. When General Morris was wounded on May 9, 1864, at Spott- sylvania and Colonel Schall succeeded to the command of the First Brigade, Third Division, Sixth Army Corps, in which the 87th was then serving, Lieutenant Lanius was placed on the brigade as an aide. When Colonel Truex, the senior officer, assumed command of the First Brigade, he was continued on the latter's staff, and was with the regiment and brigade in all the engagements of Grant's campaign of 1864, in the move- ment of the army from the Rapidan to Petersburg, including the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Laurel Hill, Po River, North Anna, Tolopotomy, Cold Harbor and Weldon Railroad. He carried the orders along the line for the movements of the First Brigade at the opening charge of the enemy's works at Cold Harbor, June 1. When Captain Pfeiffer was killed at Cold Harbor, he was commissioned captain of Company I, on June 25, still retaining his position as aide on the brigade staff.
During the summer of 1864, when Grant was laying siege to Petersburg and threatening Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, Rickett's division of the Sixth Army Corps, in which the First Brigade served, was detached from the main army under Grant and sent to Frederick, Maryland, to meet a Confede- rate army of nearly 23,000 men under
80
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
General Early, who was then threatening Washington. While leading the charge at Cold Harbor, Colonel Schall had been wounded and the regiment placed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James A. Stalle. At the battle of Mo- nocacy, near Frederick, on July 9, this regiment fought with heroic valor. Cap- tain Lamus in this battle was serving on the staff of Colonel Truex, commanding the First Brigade, and was entrusted with the duty of carrying dispatches for the movement of troops into the fight. It was a hard fought battle in which Captain Lanius displayed both courage and daring. "In the afternoon of that day," says Colonel Stahle, in a descrip- tion of the battle, "when the Confede- rates were re-forming their line in a woods to our front, with the intention of turning our left, Captain Lanius came riding along our lines, bringing an order from General Lew Wallace for the 87th Pennsylvania and the 14th New Jersey to charge across a field and take position by the Thomas House." This charge was successfully executed, but soon afterward Captain Lanius, while passing through a shower of balls, was wounded in the arm, which disabled him for about two months, when he returned to the regiment, then under Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, and took command of Company I, participating in the bat- tles of Opequon and Fishers Hill.
The three years of service for which he had enlisted had now expired. He then returned with the regiment and was mustered out of service at York, Octo- her 13, 1864. After Captain Lanius had received his honorable discharge from the army he was appointed an agent for a special bureau of the United States Treasury Department to receive and dis- pose of captured, abandoned and confis- cated property. On November ist he began the performance of his duties by collecting rents on abandoned properties
at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. After remaining there a short time he opened an office at Winchester, where all per- sons living within the Union lines who desired to purchase supplies at govern- ment trade stores were required to get permits. After the permits had been granted, individuals receiving them pro- cured the supplies at the trade stores and obtained duplicate bills on which, when approved by the post provost marshal, the purchaser paid three per cent. of the face of the bill at the government office of Captain Lanins. He performed these important duties at Winchester until March, 1865, when he was appointed to a position in the Baltimore Custom House, where he remained for about a month, resigning to return to his home in York.
Captain Lanius now entered upon his prosperous business career, engaging in the lumber trade at York, which he con- tinued for a period of seven years. From 1871 to 1878 he carried on the same busi- ness at Wrightsville, and from 1880 to 1886 he conducted a large wholesale lum- ber business at Williamsport. In 1884 he organized the West End Improve- ment Company, a land company that opened up and developed the western part of York. In December, 1888, he was chosen president of the Baltimore & Harrisburg Railroad (Eastern exten- sion), a line built from York to Porters and later controlled by the Western Maryland railroad. This railroad, when opened for traffic in 1893, gave an im- portant impetus to the growth and de- velopment of York. The time of its completion dates a new era in the busi- ness and manufacturing interests of the city, for it enables competition with Bal- timore. A large number of industrial plants were at once established in York, and the financial institutions and busi- ness interests began to grow rapidly. Captain Lanius remained as president of
81
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
the railroad from 1888 until 1906. Hav- York. After the parade a public meet- ing long felt the need of rapid transit in ing was held in Baumgardner's Woods, a short distance southeast of the city. This meeting was presided over by Cap- tain Lanius and addressed by General Geary, Governor Curtin and other dis- tinguished men. Four thousand persons were fed at a table in the form of a hol- low square, it being the largest political meeting ever held in York county. For eight years Captain Lanius served in the borough and city councils of York, and in 1884 was a delegate to the Rupublican national convention which nominated James G. Blaine for president of the United States. He is a trustee of the York County Academy, just entering upon the one hundred and twenty-fifth year of its existence. York about the time it was to be incor- porated into a city, Captain Lanius or- ganized in 1886 the York Street Railway Company, of which he served as presi- dent and the active head until the vari- ous lines were constructed through the leading streets of the city. This project met with so much encouragement that in 1900 the York County Traction Company was organized, which extended trolley lines to various centers of population in York county. He remained as the active promoter and head of this enterprising company until 1906, when its interests were disposed of to other parties. Cap- tain Lanius has been president of the York Trust Company since it was organ- ized through his efforts in 1890. This The recital of his career fully justifies the assertion that he is a foremost citizen of the county and one in whom it may well take honest pride. institution has been a large and prosper- ous business. He was the first president of the York Board of Trade in 1886, and is a trustee of the York County Acad- emy. He was one of the charter mem- YOUNG, Hiram, bers of the York County Historical So- ciety, and has always lent his best ef- Journalist. forts to promote the welfare of that insti- tution, of which he is a life member, trustee and president. In 1867 he was one of the charter members and became the first commander of Sedgwick Post, No. 37, Grand Army of the Republic, at York, and was its representative a num- ber of times at State and national en- campments. He is a member of the Loyal Legion and of the Masonic Order. In 1866, when he was twenty-two years of age, Captain Lanius organized the "Boys in Blue" at York. He represented this organization at the State convention held in Pittsburgh the same year. In that year also, General John W. Geary was nominated by the Republican party for governor of Pennsylvania. The State campaign opened at York by a parade of the "Boys in Blue" from Har- risburg, Carlisle, Lancaster, Reading and
Our life as a nation has been largely moulded by men of the Fourth Estate- the great journalists whose names have passed into history, and among the ed- itors who have powerfully influenced the progress of Pennsylvania must be num- bered the late Hiram Young, founder of the "York Dispatch," a paper which for nearly forty years has held an undis- puted place among the leading journals of the Keystone State.
Samuel Young, father of Hiram Young, was a native of Marietta, Penn- sylvania, and married Sarah Oberlin, daughter of Frederick and Maria (Sheaf- fer) Oberlin. Frederick Oberlin was a descendant of John Frederick Oberlin, of Strasburg, Germany, and his wife was a daughter of Henry Sheaffer and a granddaughter of Alexander Sheaffer, a native of the Palatinate, Germany, who
82
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
emigrated in 1729 to the province of Lancaster, pursuing meanwhile a course Pennsylvania and founded Sheaffers- of study in the Lancaster high school. Later he became a clerk in the publish- ing house of Uriah Hunt & Sons, after- ward associating himself with J. B. Lip- pincott & Company, of Philadelphia. With the experience and capital thus ac- quired he returned to Lancaster and es- tablished himself in the book business, soon building up a large trade and later founding the firm of Murray, Young & Company. In 1860 he disposed of his interest in the concern and moved to York, where he opened a book store which he conducted until 1877. town, Lebanon county. Henry Sheaffer bore a notable part in the struggle for independence, being commissioned in 1776 captain of a company of soldiers from Lancaster county, and in 1777 as justice of the peace, administering the oath of allegiance to the United States government to four hundred people. In 1783 he was commissioned by the State authorities captain of a military com- pany; in 1785, when Dauphin county was erected, he was made one of the judges of its courts ; and under the con- stitution of 1790 for Dauphin county, to which Lebanon belonged, was commis- sioned an associate judge, an office he retained until his death, in 1803.
Iliram, son of Samuel and Sarah (Oberlin) Young, was born May 14, 1830, at Sheafferstown, Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, and in early childhood had the misfortune to lose his father. His boyhood was spent in the family of his grandfather, at Sheafferstown, where he obtained the basis of a good education, despite the fact that the village school of that day offered but meagre facilities. A mind like his could scarcely have failed to develop under the most unfavor- able circumstances, and his thirst for knowledge would have triumphed over every obstacle. At the age of fifteen he went to Lancaster, where he spent the ensuing four years as an apprentice to the saddler's trade. Here again his in- domitable intellectual energy asserted itself, causing him to devote his leisure hours to study and reading, thus acquir- ing a mental equipment which stood him in good stead in after years. After the completion of his apprenticeship, Mr. Young for a few months followed his trade, but ability and inclination alike prompted him to seek a wider field and more congenial employment, and in 1850 he entered the service of a bookseller at
In 1863 Mr. Young entered the field in which he was destined to accomplish the great work of his life and to achieve enduring celebrity. In the autumn of that year Andrew G. Curtin was re- elected war governor of Pennsylvania, re- ceiving the enthusiastic advocacy of Mr. Young, who, during the presidential cam- paign of 1860, had been a Douglas Demo- crat, but had become, after the election and the outbreak of the Civil War, an ardent supporter of President Lin- coln's administration. During the cam- paign which resulted in the re-election of Mr. Curtin, Mr. Young, in association with a number of other citizens of York, issued a Republican paper called "The Democrat." This was the beginning of that wonderfully successful newspaper career which covered a period of nearly half a century. On June 7, 1864-the day of the Republican National Conven- tion which met in Baltimore and nomi- nated Abraham Lincoln for his second term-Mr. Young, as publisher and ed- itor, issued at York the first number of the "True Democrat," an ardent Repub- lican paper, enthusiastically devoted to supporting the progress of the war and the Lincoln administration. Ably edited and admirably conducted, it became throughout the remainder of the conflict a power for the Federal cause, speedily
83
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
acquiring an extremely extensive circula- ous founder having inherited a full meas- tion.
In 1876 Mr. Young founded the "York Dispatch," the journal which was spe- cially destined to perpetuate his name and memory throughout his native State and far beyond its boundaries. For many years this paper, which is issued daily, has been a medium for the circulation of news in Southern Pennsylvania. In con- sequence of the rare talent, with which since its origin it has been conducted, it has failed not to keep pace with the most progressive methods of metropolitan journalism. In 1901 Mr. Young had his newspaper incorporated as the Dispatch Publishing Company, with himself and his four sons as the sole members. In 1904 the Dispatch Publishing Company purchased the entire interests of the "York Daily," the oldest daily news- paper in the county, and during the same year the company bought a large and commodious building on Philadelphia street, fitting it up with all the modern improvements of an enterprising print- ing house. Meanwhile, the "True Dem- ocrat" had been changed to the "Weekly Dispatch," especially devoted to the agricultural interests of Southern Penn- sylvania. When the Dispatch Publish- ing Company purchased the "York Daily," the "York Weekly" and the "Weekly Dispatch" were discontinued, the entire attention of the printing house being devoted to the publication of the "Dispatch" and the "York Daily." The "Dispatch," which had attained a circu- lation second to that of no other paper in Central or Southern Pennsylvania, was also continued with increased en- ergy and constantly widening scope. At the present day these journals, under the editorial management of Edward S. Young, rank among the best and most progressive newspapers published in the Keystone State, the sons of their illustri-
ure of his genius.
With the political life of his State Mr. Young was actively identified, not alone in his editorial capacity but as an in- tensely public-spirited citizen. In 1888 he was nominated by the Republicans to represent the Congressional district composed of York, Cumberland and Adams counties, and, although defeated, received an encouraging vote. From 1892 to 1896, under the Harrison admin- istration, he served as postmaster of York, being the first official in that posi- tion to occupy the new government build- ing in the city, and discharging the duties of the office with extreme thoroughness and efficiency. Mr. Young devoted much of his attention to agricultural subjects, being especially interested in the culture of leaf tobacco. He awakened public in- terest by organizing agricultural clubs, and did much to promote the welfare of the farming community, his knowledge of the financial history of the nation, to- gether with his half century's personal experience, rendering him an authority on the subjects of free trade and protec- tion. In 1890 Mr. Young represented the National Sheep and Wool Growers' As- sociation from Pennsylvania before the McKinley Ways and Means Committee in Congress, and again in 1896 before the committee which formed the Dingley Tariff Bill. In 1892 he furnished the National Republican Committee a table showing the imports, exports and bal- ance of trade for one hundred years, in- dicating the result of every administra- tion from Washington to Harrison, in order to demonstrate how greatly the nation's wealth is increased by protec- tion. For fourteen years he was a di- rector of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Society, and in 1900 was elected its presi- dent, also serving on the board of trustees of the State Agricultural Col- lege, near Bellefonte. In 1903 he was
84
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
appointed by Governor Pennypacker one COPE, Roger, of the commissioners to represent Penn- sylvania at the Louisiana Purchase Ex- position at St. Louis. Mr. Young was a director of the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Red Lion, and held membership in the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution, the Pennsylvania German Historical Society, and the York County Historical Society.
Personally, Mr. Young was a man who drew men to him. No one familiar with his striking presence, his open, manly countenance, strongly marked and yet in expression gentle and genial, can fail to realize how well his character was illus- trated by his appearance. Loyalty in friendship was one of his most distinct- ive traits, as was also perfect sincerity. The transparency of his own mind and motives rendered him intolerant of sub- terfuge or chicane, and in his denuncia- tion of these errors he was absolutely frank, and even impulsive, indulging in no preliminaries, but striking out straight from the shoukler.
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.