USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Volume I > Part 22
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In July, 1902, the firm retired from the banking business, turning over to the new Mellon National Bank deposits ag- gregating $8,500,000. Two weeks later the call of the Comptroller of the Cur-
rency showed that the new bank stood second on the list of Pittsburgh's thirty- six national banks. In March, 1903, the Mellon Bank absorbed the Pittsburgh National Bank of Commerce, with de- posits of more than $5,000,000, and the former institution, then one year old, moved to the head of the list of local banks. A few years prior to his death, Judge Mellon withdrew from active busi- ness, his affairs passing into the hands of his sons, to whom he had transmitted the ability to keep alive the enterprises his genius had brought into being, and, as events have shown, to add to them.
Judge Mellon and his sons were also largely engaged in the coal trade in Western Pennsylvania and in West Vir- ginia, building many short lines of con- necting railroad. Another subject in which Judge Mellon and his sons were actively interested was that of street rail- ways, building the Pittsburgh, Oakland & East Liberty Passenger Railway, and for many years remaining its principal owners. This was in the days of horse cars. Judge Mellon was also interested in other railroad projects, owned much real estate in and near Pittsburgh, and was possessed of exceptional foresight in regard to its dormant possibilities.
Always an advocate of good govern- ment, Judge Mellon was active in all the duties of citizenship. From 1877 to 1886 he was a member of the Select Council, and the development of Pittsburgh was due in large measure to his wisdom, fore- sight and rare common sense. For the up- building of the Iron City as a great man- ufacturing centre, much of his wealth was employed, and his genius was a sort of complement of its destinies. It has been said of Judge Mellon that he never, throughout his life, failed in any under- taking to which he seriously devoted himself. His fortune was accumulated slowly but surely, by well directed en- terprise. In politics he was first a Whig
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and later a Republican. In matters of the town of East Liberty, where he religion he was a man of broad views and liberal sentiments. He and his wife were members of the East Liberty Presby- terian Church.
In personal appearance Judge Mellon was thought to bear some resemblance to Henry Clay. Spare and erect, alert and commanding in bearing, with the incisive face of the thinker and the keen glance of the astute business man, his presence carried with it a suggestion of conscious power. Every feature indi- cated character, the mouth and chin be- ing especially expressive of decision. His dark, penetrating eyes spoke of a wonderful strength of purpose, combined with a kindly, benevolent disposition, and his manner, under all circumstances, was that of the polished gentleman. He might well have been called "the Grand Old Man" in the financial history of Pittsburglı.
Always a great reader, Judge Mellon, after his retirement from business, passed much of his time in his library, and, ow- ing to his wonderful memory, he was an authority upon literary and historical subjects. For many years he was the oldest living alumnus of the Western University of Pennsylvania (now Pitts- burgh University), and in 1906 "The Owl," the publication of the junior class, was dedicated to him. Judge Mellon considered Benjamin Franklin one of the greatest figures in the world's history, and held him up as a model to young men. At one time he caused to be printed one thousand copies of "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" and distributed them among struggling young men. He further testified to his admiration for Franklin by placing a statue of him in front of the Mellon Bank Building.
Judge Mellon married, August 22, 1843, Sarah J. Negley, of the old and numerous family of the East End, de- scended from Jacob Negley, who laid out
owned over a thousand acres of land, and in 1820 built the first steam grist-mill operated in Western Pennsylvania. Judge Mellon and his wife were the par- ents of the following children: Andrew WV., president of the Mellon National Bank; Richard B., vice-president of the same institution ; James R .; Thomas A., deceased; Selwin; George N .; Rebecca ; and Emma; deceased. In his domestic relations Judge Mellon was extremely happy, finding in his wife an ideal help- mate, and seeing his sons rise up to suc- ceed him in the financial world and main- tain and increase the great enterprises which owed their origin to his genius. His life, so noble and beneficent, was pro- longed many years beyond the tradi- tional "three score and ten." On Febru- ary 3, 1908, the ninety-fifth anniversary of his birth, Judge Mellon passed away, "full of years and of honors." Honorable in purpose and fearless in conduct, he had stood for the greater part of a cen- tury as an example to three generations of every public and private virtue, and he passed from the scene of his long and honorable career, followed by the love and veneration of his city and his State. Among the innumerable tributes to his character and work was the following ex- tract from an editorial which appeared in a Pittsburgh paper :
"Thomas Mellon was one of the strong men who made Pittsburgh a great city. He was of that rugged, pushing, progressive type which chafed under ordinary limitations and be- lieved in doing things on a large scale, often as a pioneer in development. Combined with a business sagacity that was unusnal, he had that other gift of seeing somewhat farther ahead than most men, and thus he became a considerable factor in promoting new activ- ities, in financing enterprises of greater or less general importance, and in opening up and improving new communities. Eventually the projects which he fathered became the foun- dation of great interests which were broad- ened and multiplied by his sons and asso-
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ciates until they have become known as ity. Foremost in this list a place must among the most extensive of their kind here- abouts, not the least among them being the banking house which bears the family name, the largest of its class in Pittsburgh and equalled by few in the United States.
"Judge Mellon was not merely a prosperous business man, but for twenty years he was a successful lawyer, developing such marked ability in his chosen profession that he was elevated to the bench at a time when he was considering retirement. He was a loyal Pittsburgher of quiet ways and homely vir- tues. He had earned and held the respect of three generations of his fellow-men, and he gave to the community a group of sons and grandsons who are remarkable in that they have maintained and in some instances sur- passed the business success which dis- tinguished Judge Mellon in the heyday of his vigor and activity."
By his career at the bar and on the bench. Judge Mellon added lustre to the record of the legal profession in Pennsyl- vania. In the financial world he was for many years a tremendous figure, aug- menting and vitalizing by his genius the material prosperity of his beloved city. As "one who loved his fellow-men" he is enshrined in the hearts of multitudes. Jurist, capitalist, philanthropist,-truly, his works do follow him.
METCALF, William,
Manufacturer, Metallurgist.
It is no exaggeration to say that the steel industry of the city of Pittsburgh is of vital interest to the entire world. The enormous output of the Iron City is a matter of wonder to the ironmakers of all other countries, and this vast bulk of metal is far more necessary to the welfare of the world than precious stones, gold and silver. Starting from very small be- ginnings, the steel interests of the city of Pittsburgh have attained their huge proportions by reason of the energy, abil- ity and progressive ideas of a few men endowed with level lieads, practical minds, and extraordinary executive abil-
be reserved for the late William Metcalf, who was prominently identified withi these industries for many years. De- scended from one of the old Puritan fam- ilies of New England, he united the stern and sturdy qualities of these ancestors with the progressive ideas of more mod- ern times, making a combination which was well nigh invincile.
Michael Metcalf, the immigrant an- cestor, was born at Tatterford, Norfolk county, England, in 1586. He was a free- man of the city of Norwich, England, where he was engaged as a dornick wea- ver, and where all of his children were born. Bishop Wren, of Norwich, was heartily disliked for the religious oppres- sion he exerted, and it was owing to this tyranny that Mr. Metcalf was obliged to flee the country and leave his family. He sailed from London in September, 1636, having as his destination New England, but storms made it imperative for the ship to return to Plymouth, England. In the meantime conditions had changed somewhat, and Mr. Metcalf obtained a license in the following April to leave the country with his entire family. He ar- rived safely at Boston with his wife, nine children and one servant, and at once wrote a letter voicing his opinions, This was couched in rather strong lan- guage, as strong as the true Puritan spirit of the time would permit, and is still in the New York Public Library, in a fairly good state of preservation. Mr. Metcalf married in England, his wife being a na- tive of a village near Norwich, England, and their children were: Michael, who died at an early age in England; Mary, Michael, John, Sarah, Elizabeth, Martha, Thomas, Ann, who died in England ; Jane, and Rebecca.
Michael, son of Michael Metcalf, was born August 29, 1620; he married Mary Fairbanks, and had five children. Jonathan, fourth son of Michael and
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Mary (Fairbanks) Metcalf, was born in 1650; he married Hannah Kenrick. Ebe- nezer, son of Jonathan and Hannah (Kenrick) Metcalf, married Hannah Abil. Benjamin, son of Ebenezer and Hannah (Abil) Metcalf, married, October 26, 1726, Sarah Abil, and they had seven children. Zebulon, son of Benjamin and Sarah (Abil) Metcalf, was born July 11, 1729; he married, October 27, 1754, Lydia Bourne, of Lebanon, Connecticut.
Armah, youngest son of Zebulon and Lydia (Bourne) Metcalf, was born Feb- ruary 14, 1771, and died in Otsego coun- ty, New York, August 15, 1848. In his early manhood he and three of his broth- ers became pioneer settlers of Coopers- town, New York, where the hill upon which they located is still known as Met- calf's Hill. He was a man of prominence and influence in that section of the State, and bore an honorable share in the service of his country. He served for some time as a member of the State Legislature, and in 1811-12 also served as a member of Congress. For a considerable period of time lie held office as sheriff of Otsego county. He married Eunice Williams, and they had five children.
Orlando, second son of Armah and Eunice (Williams) Metcalf, was born August 17, 1797, and died in Septem- ber, 1851, of cholera, at the time of the great epidemic of that scourge. His youth and very early manhood were passed in Central New York, and he was given a liberal education. He matricu- lated at Union College, from which he was graduated with honor. After the necessary studies he was admitted to the bar, and commenced the practice of the legal profession in Canton, Ohio, where he resided until 1835. In that year he removed his place of residence to Pitts- burgh, which he then made his home. He distinguished himself as a lawyer by befriending the poor and needy, as well as by the ability with which he conducted
the cases entrusted to him. Mr. Met- calf married Mary Knap, who was descended from early settlers of the State of New York. Her paternal great-grand- father was killed by Indians, and an an- cestor by the name of Loomis was ser- geant of a company of soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Mr. and Mrs. Met- calf were the parents of ten children, four of whom died in childhood, and the others were: Mary C., now living in California, married Robert Bruce, whose father, a Scotch Covenanter, was a lead- ing divine of Pittsburgh; William, of whom further; Orlando, died at Pitts- burgh, September 30, 1909; Emma, died in middle age; Charles, fell a victim to the cholera in 1851; Elizabeth, died in 1865.
William, son of Orlando and Mary (Knap) Metcalf, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 3, 1838. The public schools of his native city furnished him with an excellent preparatory educa- tion, and this was supplemented by at- tendance at the Polytechnic College, in Troy, New York, from which institution he was graduated in the class of 1858. He at once entered upon an active busi- ness career, with which he was identified until his death in Pittsburgh, December 9, 1909. Mr. Metcalf was one of the pioneers in the production of strictly and exclusively high grade steel of the finest texture, and in 1868, in company with Mr. Reuben Miller and Mr. Charles Park- in, he founded the firm of Miller, Metcalf & Parkin. This company existed as a successful partnership for many years, and enjoyed an enviable and well-earned reputation for excellency of output. Their steel soon had a world-wide repu- tation for quality and honesty, and their famous "Crescent" brands for years stood at the very top, and set the standard that every maker of steel found he must equal if he desired to enjoy a reputation for a high class article. The partnership of
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Miller, Metcalf & Parkin continued until 1889, when the company was changed from a partnership to a corporation, the new firin being the Crescent Steel Com- pany, which was later absorbed by one of the modern steel combinations.
Mr. William Metcalf withdrew from the old firm of Miller, Metcalf & Parkin several years before its absorption by the larger corporation, and in 1897 he organized the Braeburn Steel Company and built his plant at Braeburn, Penn- sylvania, a little town on the Alle- gheny River, twenty-three miles north of Pittsburgh. To the older users of steel, Mr. Metcalf's book entitled "Steel ; a Manual for Steel Users," was a classic, and it is still regarded as the standard basic book on steel. Up to the time of his death, Mr. Metcalf was presi- dent and principal owner of the Brae- burn Steel Company. He devoted his en- tire time to the upbuilding of a reputa- tion for excellence and uniformity of qual- ity of steel, so that at the time of his death, wherever Braeburn steel was known, it enjoyed that same reputation for high standards of quality as had his old company in years past. The manage- ment of the business built up by Mr. Met- calf has remained in his family, whose knowledge of the art of making fine steel was obtained under his able and pains- taking instruction.
Mr. Metcalf was affiliated with numer- ous technical and other organizations, among them being the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Insti- tute of Mining Engineers, and the British Institute of Civil Engineers. His re- ligious affiliations were with the Episco- pal church, and in politics his staunch support was given to the principles of the Republican party. Charitable and sym- pathetic to a degree, he was deeply inter- ested in all projects which were for the benefit of the unfortunate and distressed,
and gave liberally of his time and money to alleviate suffering. In this connection he was active as president of the Homoeopathic Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Metcalf married, December 1, 1864, Christiana D., a daughter of Adam Fries, and a descendant of an old and honored family of Eastern Pennsylvania. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Metcalf : Charles, engaged in the aluminum busi- ness in Pittsburgh ; Ellen M., married W. G. Doolittle, patent attorney, of Pitts- burgh; William, president of the Brae- burn Steel Company, member of the Civic Club of Allegheny, married Kather- ine Cassidy, daughter of Edw. T. Cas- sidy, of Pittsburgh; Elizabeth K., mar- ried Henry Tod, of Edinburgh, Scotland ; Christine D., married George H. Neil- son, of Oakmont, Pennsylvania ; Orlando P., graduate of Yale University, married Kathleen Kelly, of New York.
The city of Pittsburgh may well be proud of the class of men of which Wil- lianı Metcalf was a type. Unabating en- ergy and unfaltering industry were among his characteristics, and he was one of the bulwarks of the city's strength and development. Loving and devoted as a husband and father, he was equally faithful in his friendships. His manner was bright and cheerful, and his direct- ness, simplicity and sound common sense, impressed everyone. He was dominated by a stern sense of justice, and unfairness of any kind was adhorrent to him.
McKENNA, Charles F.,
Soldier, Lawyer, Jurist, Author.
In writing a sketch of Judge Charles F. McKenna it is a matter of great dif- ficulty to determine where to begin. So dominant a figure has he been in many fields-soldier, writer, lawyer, judge, pro- gressive citizen. His career as a lawyer and as a judge compares favorably with the legal giants of the earlier days who
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depended more upon their oratorical skill than their exact knowledge and applica- tion of the law. In the field of diplo- macy, Judge McKenna has been one of the leading representatives of this country, and as a patriot the public recognition ac- corded him has been sufficiently manifest on various occasions. His record as a soldier extends over the entire Civil War, during which he was an active participant in various of the most important battles of that struggle.
Judge McKenna is of the third genera- tion of his family in this country, and is of Irish ancestry. His grandfather came from the county of Tyrone, Ireland, in 1830, bringing with him his wife, six sons and four daughters, and settled in the city of Pittsburgh, with which the family has been identified since that time.
James McKenna, father of Judge Mc- Kenna, died in Pittsburgh, in 1846, while his wife, who was born in 1801, died in 1884. Their six children all attained maturity, and among them were Judge Charles F., and Hon. Bernard McKenna, who died June 20, 1903, and who had served as judge of the Second Police Dis- trict Court of the city of Pittsburgh for a period of twelve years, and as mayor of Pittsburgh from 1893 to 1896.
Judge Charles F. McKenna was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October I, 1845, and lost his father before he was one year old. The public day and night schools of his native city provided him with his early education, and in them he was an assiduous scholar. In his four- teenth year he was apprenticed to learn the lithographer's trade, and his success as an engraver and an artist was of un- doubted quality, but when the call of President Lincoln for more Union sol- diers came, in July, 1862, young Mc- Kenna enlisted as a private in Company E, 155th Regiment Pennsylvania Volun- teers, from the city of Pittsburgh. This regiment saw some of the hottest fight-
ing of the entire war. It was assigned to Humphrey's Division, becoming a part of the renowned Fifth Corps, Army of the Potomac, and in less than three weeks was at the battlefield of Antietam. Dur- ing the three years that followed until the close of the war, Judge McKenna took an active part in famous battles as follows : Fredericksburg, Chancellors- ville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Five Forks and Ap- pomattox. There were many others from Pittsburgh who participated in these bat- tles and who later gained distinction in In professional and financial works. camp life Judge McKenna resumed his studies, having for his teacher Sergeant George P. Fulton, who subsequently was for many years principal of the High- land public schools of Pittsburgh.
At the close of the war Judge Mc- Kenna returned to his native city and commenced reading law with the firm of Mitchell & Palmer. Admitted to the bar of Allegheny county in 1869, he at once attracted attention by the masterly man- ner in which he conducted the cases en- trusted to him, and soon acquired a large clientele. Many of the most celebrated cases reported in the United States and supreme courts have had the benefit of the eloquence of Judge McKenna as one of the advocates, and his presentation of evidence has been the admiration of his colleagues as well as of the laity. In June, 1904, President Roosevelt offered him the judgeship of the United States District Court of Porto Rico, and, while this was at first declined by Judge Mc- Kenna, he later reconsidered his decision and accepted the honor. After a service of two years, however, he was obliged to resign this commission and return to Pittsburgh, as the climate did not agree with him. Upon his resignation, Presi- dent Roosevelt and the Department of Justice paid complimentary tributes to his administration. Upon his return to
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Pittsburgh he resumed his legal practice ture Judge McKenna has also rendered in association with his nephews, E. J. and signal service. As a member of the Western Pennsylvania Historical Society many articles have came from his facile pen pertaining to the local history of Pennsylvania. He edited and illustrated a volume of eight hundred pages, "Under the Maltese Cross from Antietam to Ap- pomattox," which was published in 1910 by the 155th Pennsylvania Volunteers Regimental Association, a work which occupied the attention of Judge McKenna for a period of four years, so broad its scope and so thoroughly have all the de- tails been executed. Both press and pub- lic were unanimous in their commenda- tion of this stupendous piece of work. He was also chairman of the committee on tablets, and aided in the compiling of the names of 30,000 soldiers who enlisted from Allegheny county in the War of the Rebellion, and which are to be placed in bronze tablets in the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall of Allegheny county. Judge McKenna is a charter member of Post No. 3, Grand Army of the Republic ; he is also a charter member of the Union Veteran Encampment No. I, of Pitts- burgh, in which organization he was elected colonel, only veterans who had served not less than two years in the field during the Civil War being admitted to membership. While Judge McKenna has generally affiliated with the Demo- cratic party in national campaigns, he has the courage of his independent opinions, and frequently has cast his vote indepen- dently of party questions. He is in great demand upon all occasions of public me- morial services, military reunions, etc., where his eloquence as an orator and his thorough and personal acquaintance with all important events of recent years al- ways insure him a deeply appreciative and highly interested audience. J. Frank McKenna. His services have been in great demand by corporations and other organizations, some among these being : General solicitor of the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society since its organization about forty years ago, so- licitor for the City National and the City Savings banks while they existed ; coun- sel for the Catholic Diocese of Pitts- burgh, and cemetery and charitable or- ganizations until 1892, when he resigned because of the press of his other legal work, during this time having been under the administrations of Bishops the late Right Rev. M. Domenec, the late Right Rev. John Tuigg, and the Right Rev. R. Phelan; counsel for the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic Home at Hawkins Station. Not long after the re- turn of Judge McKenna from Porto Rico, hie was appointed by Governor Stuart, of Pennsylvania, as a member of the Gettys- burg Battlefield Memorial Commission, who had in charge the erection of a me- morial monument to the Pennsylvania soldiers who fell in that battle, this tri- bute to cost $300,000. When the Alle- gheny County Soldiers and Sailors Me -* morial Hall was to be erected by the tax- payers of the county at a cost of $2,000,- 000, Judge McKenna was unanimously chosen by his comrades as a member of the committee of ten veterans of the Civil War who were to have charge of its erec- tion and administration. He was ap- pointed by the State Committee in 1910, judge advocate general of the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Pennsylvania. While in Porto Rico, Judge McKenna was commissioned by John K. Tener, now Governor of Penn- sylvania, the national exalted ruler of the Elks, to organize the Elks in Porto Rico, and he became exalted ruler of the Elks On June 6, 1911, Judge McKenna was appointed by Governor Tener judge of for two terms, of San Juan Lodge, No. 972, of Porto Rico. In the field of litera- the newly created County Court of Alle-
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gheny County, this court having juris- his judgment of men and the affairs of men.
diction over domestic relations, civil and trespass cases, not exceeding $1,500. The following fall he became a candidate to succeed himself and in the general election held in November, 1912, he was elected for a term of ten years, by a ma- jority of over thirty thousand, the entire vote against him being less than his ma- jority-a flattering testimonial to the esteem in which he is held.
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