USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Volume I > Part 15
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Washington Country Club, and is prom- inent in the social life of his community. Likewise, he is actively interested in lodge matters, in the Masonic order, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of Washington Commandery, Knights Templar. In the First Presbyterian Church, of which all tlie family are members, he is actively interested, has served as an elder, also as superintendent of the Sunday school of the Third Presbyterian Church for years.
Mr. Irwin married, December 24, 1884, Carrie N., daughter of William and Margaret (Boyd) Fowler, of Westmore- land county. His oldest daughter is now Mrs. Arthur B. (Nellie May) Loucks, of Scottdale, Pennsylvania. The other daughters, Frances Margaret and Edith J. Irwin, are at home.
BEIDLEMAN, Edward E., Lawyer, Legislator.
Jacob Beidleman, pioneer ancestor of Mr. Beidleman, was born in Germany, and settled in Bucks county, Pennsyl- vania. He saw service in the Patriot army during the Revolutionary War. He reared a family, among whom were Peggy, Sally, Elias, Jacob, Adam and John. The parents were Lutherans in religion. Both died in Shippensburg, Cumberland county, and were there buried.
Jacob Beidleman, son of the emigrant Jacob, was born in Bucks county, 1785, and removed to Cumberland county when a young man, following his trade of blacksmith at Shippensburg for the greater part of his life. He was obliged to abandon his calling by reason of a hurt which he received while shoeing a horse, and from which he never entirely recovered. When again able to take up employment he gave himself to freight hauling for his brother, and was so en- gaged until his death, February 5, 1835,
at the age of about fifty years. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and in politics was an old-line Whig. His wife, Elizabeth (Reinhart) Beidleman, born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, long sur- vived her husband, dying about 1854, aged about sixty years. Children : Sarah, wife of David Wilson, of Cumberland county ; Elizabeth, wife of David Holmes, of Bloomfield, Perry county; William; John, died in infancy ; Mary ; Adam, mar- ried a Miss Holmes, of Maryland; Margaret, wife of Henry Wise, of Cum- berland county ; Sophia, wife of George Fry, of Franklin county.
William Beidleman, third child and eldest son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Reinhart) Beidleman, was born in Shippensburg, Cumberland county, No- vember 26, 1817. He received a meagre education in the pioneer common schools of that day, attending only for a few weeks in the winter seasons. He en- gaged in teaming in his young manhood, and before attaining his majority re- moved to Harrisburg and entered the employ of the Calder family, in whose service he remained for three genera- tions. He retired from active occupa- tions some years ago, and is now making his home with his son, Thomas D. Beidle- man, in Harrisburg. He is a member of Christ (Lutheran) Church, and in politics is a Republican, and is fraternally con- nected with Fulton Council, No. 35, Or- der of American Mechanics. He married, February 5, 1845, Hannah Hong, born in Delaware, April 28, 1823, died November 4, 1902, daughter of Jesse Hong. Chil- dren: Margaret, wife of Charles Spick- ler, of Lancaster county ; Emma ; Thomas D., of whom further; Edward B., mar- ried Mary, daugliter of Frederick Heiney, of Harrisburg; Newland (deceased), married Ackalina Davis, of Harrisburg; Sophia, deceased; Mary Jane, wife of Alexander Jackson, of Baltimore, Mary- land; William C., of whom further.
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Thomas D. Beidleman, third child and burg, now residing in Oreland, Mont- gomery county.
eldest son of William and Hannah (Hong) Beidleman, was born in Clarke's Valley, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1848. He came to Harris- burg with his parents when he was seven years old, and there received his educa- tion in the public schools. In August, 1867, when nineteen years of age, he became labor foreman in the Lochiel Iron Works, which position he acceptably filled until April, 1889, when he resigned in order to engage in a general merchan- dise and grocery business at Lochiel, and which he conducted with gratifying suc- cess until 1900, in which year he sold his stock and good-will to the Lochiel Merchandise Company, and entered upon a life of well-earned retirement. During his entire mercantile career he bore him- self with unsullied reputation, and was held in high regard by all with whom he had dealings, as well as by the community at large. He is an active and exemplary member of the Pine Street Presbyterian Church. In politics he is a Republican. He married, December 29, 1870, Susan Ensinger, daughter of John G. and Julia (Seibold) Ensinger. Her father was born in Germany, 1795, and died in Powell's Valley, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, 1854, aged sixty-nine years. He was a well-to-do farmer, owning a farm in Montgomery county, which he sold, pur- chasing another in Powell's Valley, to which he removed. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and in politics was a Democrat. He was twice married. His first wife was born in 1810, and died in 1863, and both are buried at the same place. She bore him six children, and his second wife bore him eight children. To Thomas D. and Susan (Ensinger) Beidleman were born three children : Bertha A., wife of Gilbert L. Culmerry ; Edward E., of whom further; Hannah M., wife of Stewart Heist, of Harris-
William C. Beidleman, youngest son of William and Hannah (Hong) Beidle- man, was born in Harrisburg, Pennsyl- vania, January 28, 1861. He was reared in his native city, educated in the public schools thereof, and has spent his entire active career in the employ of the govern- ment. He engaged in the mail service early in life. In 1881 he was appointed to a clerkship under Postmaster M. W. McAlarney, and has continued in the mail service ever since with the excep- tion of the first administration of Grover Cleveland. He has served in various capacities in the office. He was ap- pointed superintendent of the Hill station post-office on Thirteenth street, south of Market street, Harrisburg, March 10, 1906, which position he is now filling. He is a member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, Castle No. 40. He takes an active part in church work, holding membership in Zion Lutheran Church, in which he serves as vestryman and is also a member of the pastor's Bible class. He is a Republican in politics. Mr. Beidleman married, March 26, 1885, Elizabeth Rupp Hursh, a daughter of Abraham and Caroline (Reamshart) Hursh. Their children are: Helen H., Harry H. and Constance B. Beidleman.
Edward E. Beidleman, attorney at law, Harrisburg, is a native of that city, born July 8, 1873, son of Thomas D. and Susan (Ensinger) Beidleman. He re- ceived his education in the public schools, graduating from the high school with first honors. He then took a course in the Keystone Business College, and was subsequently engaged with his father in business for a time. Having determined upon the law as his profession, he regis- tered as a student in the office of Hon. Samuel J. M. McCarrell, and under his masterly tutorship was qualified for ad- mission to the bar, on January 28, 1898.
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He at once entered upon practice, in which he has been usefully and industri- ously engaged to the present time, hav- ing drawn about him a large clientèle em- bracing many of the largest personal and corporate interests in the city.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Beidle- man has from his entrance upon man- hood taken an active interest in political affairs, and holds a place of influence in the counsels of his party. In 1904 he was elected to the legislature, and was re-elected in 1906. He bore an important part in that body in the sessions of 1905 and 1907, and the extra session of 1906, serving upon several of its most impor- tant committees-the judiciary, of which he was chairman ; general committee, the committee on public grounds and build- ings ; the committee on municipal cor- porations ; the public printing committee and the committee on rules-and was recognized as one of their most indus- trious and judicious members. As a member of the Harrisburg Board of Trade he has rendered valuable aid in promoting the commercial and indus- trial interests of the community. He lias attained to high rank in the Masonic order, being affiliated with Robert Burns Lodge No. 464, and with all the superior bodies up to and including the thirty- second degree, Scottish Rite. He is also a member of Zembo Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Royal Ar- canum, the Patriotic Order Sons of America, John Harriss Lodge, Knights of Pythias; the Independent Order of Red Men, and the Knights of the Macca- bees. He is a member of the Presbyterian church.
the latter place he was for some years physician for the Pennsylvania railroad, and is now there engaged in a large general practice. Mrs. Beidleman was Dr. Nissley's only child by his first wife, and her mother died when she was but two years old. Mr. and Mrs. Beidle- man are the parents of one child, Kath- erine Nissley Beidleman, born October 7, 1902.
BROWN, William M.,
Financier, Public Official.
There is very often a wide distinc- tion between the successful man of busi- ness and the successful man in public life. Many of our conspicuous failures in public life have been leaders in their private business or the professions. Again, many of our greatest public inen have made utter failure in their private business. The rare combination of suc- cess in both business and public life is met with in William M. Brown, lawyer, man of affairs, ex-senator, and ex-lien- tenant-governor of the State of Pen- sylvania.
William M. Brown was born in Green- ville, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 20, 1850, son of Van Swearingen and Lydia J. Brown. When he was five years of age his father died, and shortly afterward his mother moved to the State of Iowa, where he received his early edu- cation in the public schools. Later he at- tended the grammar school of Warren, Ohio, the Power Commercial School of New Castle, Pennsylvania, and the One Study College of the same city. After completing his classical and business edu- cation he entered the law office of Judge John McMichael, of New Castle, under whose wise preceptorship he acquired a sound knowledge of law. In 1876 he was admitted to the Lawrence county bar, later to the State and Federal courts of
Mr. Beidleman married, November 6, 1901, Katherine Nissley, daughter of Dr. Samuel Nissley. Her father was a prom- inent physician practicing in Ohio and later in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. In the district, continuing in the successful
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practice of his profession eight years. He served as special agent of the Land Department of the United States from January, 1883, until the following August, then resigned and resumed the practice of law. He early became interested in public affairs, affiliated with the Re- publican party, and was closely identified with the local organization, filling various civic positions of responsibility and trust in city and county. Mr. Brown also took active part in the development of New Castle, and his name is intimately con- nected with many of her principal in- dustries. In 1800 business interests compelled him to undertake the building of an electric street car line, and since that time he has been heavily interested in the electric roads of New Castle; Syracuse, New York; Montgomery, Ala- bama; and other cities. For some years prior to 1906, Mr. Brown was president of the Rapid Transit Railroad system of Syracuse, New York. He was vice-president and manager of the New Castle Electric Street Railway, and in 1896 became a director, secretary and treasurer.
Mr. Brown was also engaged in mer- cantile business as head of the firm of Brown, Thompson & Company, general dealers, and in 1888 and 1889 secretary and treasurer of the Standard Paper Company. His present business interests are large and varied, including not only railway investments and control, but large holdings of real estate in many localities. He is also a director of the Lawrence Savings and Trust Com- pany. He stands conspicuous among the many very successful men of affairs Western Pennsylvania has produced, and has contributed in a large degree to the prosperity and advancement of New Castle.
Mr. Brown has also to his credit an honorable, successful and brilliant career as a public official. He was a candidate
for member of the House of Representa- tives from Lawrence county in 1878-80, but was both times defeated by small majorities. He served six years as a member of Select Council and in No- vember, 1896, was elected a member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the Forty- seventh District, composed of Lawrence and Mercer counties. In the session fol- lowing he held conspicuous position as a leader of the Senate, serving on im- portant committees, making a very creditable record as a debater and gen- erally achieving an honorable distinc- tion. He was influential in shaping de- sirable legislation, and so impressed his individuality upon the Senate and State that in 1902 he was nominated for the high office of lieutenant-governor and was elected the following November by a plurality of 181,254 votes. He was in- augurated January 20, 1903, and through- out his term of office brought to the dis- charge of his duty the same high sense of responsibility, the same intelligent sense of public duty and grasp of public affairs, as had characterized his term as senator. Since his retirement from pub- lic life, Mr. Brown has lost none of his interest in public affairs, but has de- voted them less time and attention. He is a member of the Republican Club, of New York City, the Elks and Lawrence clubs of New Castle and the Athletic Chib, of Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. Brown married Margaret, daugh- ter of Samuel and Amanda G. Foltz.
The family home at New Castle is one of the most beautiful and imposing of the many modern mansions of Western Pennsylvania; surrounded by well-kept lawns and shrubbery, its perfect propor- tions and appropriate setting render it an attraction remarked by all visitors to New Castle. Here its owner, freed from the cares of business, finds his greatest happiness.
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RENO, Claude Trexler,
Lawyer, Public Official.
There is usually little to be written of a young professional man of thirty years, but Mr. Reno is an exception to the rule, having already attained prominence in his profession that comes to most men at the close instead of the commencement of their careers, and his future is bright with promise.
Claude Trexler Reno, son of Joseph F. and Amelia J. (Trexler) Reno, was born in Lyons, Berks county, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1882. He obtained his primary, intermediate and preparatory education in the public schools, graduating in 1900 from the Allentown High School. Dur- ing the years 1900 to 1902 he pursued a course of classical study at Muhlenberg College, then entered Dickinson School of Law, whence he was graduated LL.B., class of 1905. In September, 1905, he was admitted to the bar of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and began the practice of law at Allentown. On Feb- ruary 4, 1907, he was admitted to prac- tice in the Supreme Court, and December 7, 1908, to practice in the Superior Court of the State. He has a well established legal practice that extends to all State and Federal courts of the district. He quickly obtained recognition as a capable young lawyer, and in 1906 was appointed sheriff's solicitor of Lehigh County. In 1909 lie was appointed county solicitor, his private practice in the meantime keeping pace with his public preferment. In 1910 he was the candidate of his party for the House of Assembly, passed the ordeal of the ballot box successfully and served in the following legislature most creditably. He was in 1912 candidate for the National House of Representa- tives from the Congressional District composed of the counties of Lehigh and Berks, but was defeated.
He is a good lawyer, well grounded in
legal knowledge, skillful in both attack and defence, eloquent and forceful in his pleading and has won some notable victories in his seven years at the Lehigh bar. His public career is above reproach, and, while ambitious, he does not strive for success in any but the fairest man- ner. He is a hard campaigner and keeps his adversaries continually on the alert, and whatever the issue of any campaign may be, he will continue to be a vital force in his party, and future greatness cannot but be insured to one so deter- mined and talented.
His college fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega, is very dear to him, and since 1905 he has been editor of the "Alpha Tau Omega Palm," the official journal of that fraternity. He is also the author of "Manual of Alpha Tau Omega," pub- lished by the fraternity in 1911. He is a member of Barger Lodge, No. 333, Free and Accepted Masons; Allentown Eyrie, No. 110, Fraternal Order of Eagles; Lehigh Lodge, No. 83, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows; Wash- ington Camp, No. 11, Patriotic Order of Sons of America, and is State Camp Building trustee in the latter organiza- tion. In religious affiliation he is a mem- ber of St. John's Lutheran Church.
He married, August 14, 1906, at Allen- town, May Grim, daughter of Charles J. and R. Tillie (Grim) Appel.
MARTIN, J. Rankin,
Lawyer, Financier.
Beaver county, Pennsylvania, figures as one of the most attractive, progress- ive and prosperous divisions of the State, justly claiming a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to conserve consecutive development and marked advancement in the material upbuilding of this section. The county has been and is signally fa- vored in the class of men who have con-
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tributed to its development along com- mercial and professional lines, and in the latter connection the subject of this re- view demands recognition, as he has been actively engaged in the practice of law at Beaver Falls since 1882. He is finan- cially interested in a number of impor- tant business enterprises in Beaver county, and his honorable and straight- forward methods demonstrate the power of activity and honesty in the business world.
J. Rankin Martin was born in Darling- ton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, Janu- ary 14, 1852, son of James P. and Mary C. (Imbrie) Martin, both of whom were born in Beaver county and both of whom are now deceased. The Martin and Im- brie families are descended from staunch Scotch stock. James P. Martin was en- gaged in farming operations in the vicin- ity of Darlington during the greater part of his active career, and he was a stal- wart Republican in his political convic- tions. From 1876 to 1878 he served as sheriff of his county, and he acquitted himself with honor and distinction in discharging the duties connected with that office. Ile and his wife were devout United Presbyterians in their religious faith. They reared a family of eight children.
Under the invigorating influence of the old homestead farm, J. Rankin Martin was reared to maturity, and his rudimen- tary educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the public schools of his native place. Sub- sequently he attended Darlington Acad- emy, and after completing the curriculum of that institution he was engaged in teaching school for a period of four years, at the expiration of which he was matriculated as a student in Westminster College, which he attended for two years. In 1876 he was appointed deputy sheriff by his father and he served as such for three years, when he entered the law of-
fices of Agnew & Buchanan, under whose able preceptorship he studied law. He was admitted to practice at the Pennsyl- vania State bar February 6, 1882, and immediately located at Beaver Falls, where he has devoted the major portion of his time and attention to a large and lucrative clientage during the long in- tervening years to the present time, in 1912. He is counsel for a number of prominent business concerns in this sec- tion of the State, and his practice ex- tends to all the State and Federal courts. In connection with the work of his pro- fession he is a valued and appreciative member of the Beaver County Bar Asso- ciation and the Pennsylvania State Bar Association.
Mr. Martin is a decidedly prominent factor in business and banking circles in this county. He is vice-president of the Farmers' Bank at Beaver, a member of the board of directors in the Beaver Trust Company, and a director in the Citizens' National Bank at Monaca, Pennsylvania, in addition to which he is likewise interested in a number of other business enterprises of local importance.
In politics he is an uncompromising Republican, and he has served as a mem- ber of the Republican county committee for many years. On various occasions he has been chosen as a delegate to State conventions, and in 1883 he was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of prosecuting attorney for Beaver county. He was incumbent of that office for the ensuing six years. In 1905 he was nominated on the Repub- lican ticket for the office of county judge, but met defeat at the following election as the result of a combination. In the Masonic order he has passed through the circle of the Scottish Rite branch, and is a thirty-second degree Mason.
Mr. Martin was married, October 21, 1880, to Miss Anna M. Eakin, who was born in Beaver county, and who was a
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daughter of John R. and Margaret (Mitchell) Eakin, prominent residents of Beaver. Mr. and Mrs. Martin became the parents of three daughters-Helen, the wife of Oliver C. Hurst, of Beaver Falls; Margaret, wife of Frank M. Hoover, of Pittsburgh; and Mary, wife of Robert C. Mayer, of New York City. Mrs. Martin was summoned to the life eternal March 22, 1910, and her remains are interred in the Beaver cemetery. She was a woman of most gracious per- sonality and her death is uniformly mourned throughout her home commu- nity.
Mr. Martin is a United Presbyterian in religious faith, and is an active factor in church and Sunday-school work. He is a man of fine mentality and broad hu- man sympathy ; always courteous, kindly and affable and those who know him personally accord him the highest es- teem. His life has been exemplary in all respects, and he has ever supported those interests which are calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, and his own splen- did moral worth is deserving of the high- est commendation. He is a member of the Beaver County Country Club.
WILSON, J. Sharp, Lawyer, Jurist.
Among the distinctively prominent and brilliant lawyers of the State of Pennsylvania none is more versatile, tal- ented or well equipped for the work of his profession than J. Sharp Wilson, who maintains his home and business at Bea- ver, in the county of the same name. Throughout his career as an able attor- ney and well fortified counsellor he has, by reason of unimpeachable conduct and close observance of the unwritten code of professional ethics, gained the admira- tion and respect of his fellow members of the bar, in addition to which he com- mands a high place in the confidence and
esteem of his fellow citizens. For ten years he was Presiding Judge of the Common Pleas Court of the Thirty-sixth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, and he has ever manifested a deep and sincere interest in all matters pertaining to the good of the Republican party, of whose principles he has long been a zealous and active exponent.
Judge James Sharp Wilson was born in Franklin township, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1862, son of John Hlays and Mary Elizabeth (Me- hard) Wilson, the former of whom was a native of Beaver county, and the lat- ter born in Wayne township, Lawrence county, this State. The original pro- genitor of the Wilson family in America was Ilugh Wilson, whose birth occurred in Ireland, in 1689, and who immigrated to America in 1736. He settled in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, where he became a man of prominence and influence in business and public af- fairs, and where he was the owner of a tract of seven hundred and thirty acres of land. He married Sarah Craig in Ire- land, and they were among the earliest settlers in the Irish Settlement. They became the parents of the following chil- dren: Samuel, Charles, Francis, James, Thomas, Mary, Margaret and Elizabeth. He died in 1773, at the age of eighty-four years, and was buried in the Settlement graveyard. His son Thomas was born in 1724, and married Elizabeth Hays in 1760. Thomas Wilson removed with his family to Union county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1792, and died there in Febru- ary, 1799. His widow, Elizabeth II. Wil- son, came to Beaver county in 1803 with her two sons, William and Thomas, and they were the first representatives of the family in this section of the State. She died in December, 1812. Thomas Wilson was born June 17, 1775, and he passed the greater part of his active career in Beaver county, where he married Nancy
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