USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Volume I > Part 23
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Judge McKenna married, October I, 1872, Virginia W., daughter of Dr. Norval W. and Annie (Flick) White, of Allegheny City (now Northside, Pitts- burgh). In personal appearance Judge McKenna is distinguished, and his bear- ing distinctly marks the soldier. His hair is snowy and abundant, and he wears a white moustache and beard. His eye- brows are heavy, and overshadow eyes which sparkle with a kindly gleam. He is dignified yet sympathetic in manner, and young and old alike go to him to have their differences adjusted. He has an original manner of speaking, his sen- tences being short and trenchant, his de- livery rapid, and his thoughts are couched in classical language. He has probably more friends than the majority of men, his idea of friendship being to look for and recognize the good in others, and to take a genuine pleasure in the com- panionship of others because of this good, a feeling which is very generally reciprocated.
SCOTT, William,
Distinguished Lawyer, Legislator.
Men such as the late William Scott, lawyer and counsellor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are an acquisition to any community. They contribute to the ex- tent of their ability to the betterment of existing conditions, and their entire lives conform to high standards. Mr. Scott was skilled in his profession and quick in
John Scott, his father, was born in Alexandria, Huntingdon county, Penn- sylvania, July 14, 1824, and received his early education in the common schools and under private tuition. He took up the study of law with Alexander Thom- son, at Chambersburg, and was admitted to the bar of Franklin county, Pennsyl- vania, in June, 1846. Directly after his admission to the bar he returned to Hunt- ingdon and there engaged in the general practice of his profession. He was ap- pointed deputy attorney-general of Hunt- ingdon county in 1846, and served in this office until 1849. In 1851 he served as a member of the State Board of Revenue Commissioners, and paid a lengthy visit to Europe in 1853. In 1862 lie was a member of the State House of Represen- tatives, of Pennsylvania, and later served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention which nominated General Grant for the presidency in 1868. He was a member of the United States Sen- ate from Pennsylvania from March 4, 1869, to 1875. He then took up his resi- dence in Pittsburgh, and was admitted to the Allegheny county bar January 4, 1876, upon motion of Robert B. Carnahan. In 1877 he removed to Philadelphia and was appointed general solicitor for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He re- signed this position and retired to private life some years prior to his death, which occurred November 28, 1896. Mr. Scott married Annie E. Eyster, and they had ten children, the oldest being William.
William Scott, son of John and Annie E. (Eyster) Scott, was born May 8, 1850, in Alexandria, Huntingdon county, Penn- sylvania. His education, which was an excellent one, was acquired in private schools and from tutors ; later he attended Princeton University, from which he graduated in 1868. After leaving Prince- ton, Mr. Scott went west for a couple of
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years as a civil engineer with General Schofield. Later he spent a short time in the coal business. He began the study of law, registered February 23, 1876, and was admitted to practice at the Allegheny county bar October 30, 1878. His pre- ceptor was his father, and subsequently Knox & Reed, the partnership of the law firm at that time comprising P. C. Knox and James H. Reed, in which office he spent his time preparing for his final ex- amination which admitted him to the bar. He was admitted on motion of John G. Bryant, a well-known attorney in his day. Mr. Scott rose rapidly in his pro- fession; and had the honor of being elected president of the Allegheny Bar Association and of the Pennsylvania State Bar Association, positions of which he and his friends were proud. Upon be- ing admitted to the bar he practised alone. Later he became associated with John Dalzell and George B. Gordon, un- der the firm name of Dalzell, Scott & Gordon. When Mr. Dalzell decided to retire from the firm on account of the duties imposed upon him as Congress- man, William S. Dalzell, the Congress- man's son, associated himself with the firm, and the firm name was unchanged, continuing as Dalzell, Scott & Gordon. Mr. Scott was for many years the counsel for the Pennsylvania Lines and the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company at the west- ern end of the State.
Mr. Scott was a man of quiet and studious inclinations, and was an ex- emplar of the old aphorism that "the law is a stern and exacting mistress," and he gave to it and its development much study along the lines of its philosophy and literary phases. He was a man of charming manners and quiet and refined tastes, and could seldom be induced to as- sume any position other than as a close student and practitioner of his profession, although he was regarded as one of the scholarly men of the profession in Pitts-
burgh. The clients whom he once ac- quired never deserted him, and invariably recommended others, and his clientele was very large. One of the most prom- inent cases in which Mr. Scott was en- gaged was as one of the counsel for An- drew Carnegie at the time of the differ- ences between Mr. Carnegie and Henry C. Frick, in association with a notable group of legal luminaries. He was a member of a number of clubs, among them being the Duquesne, Pittsburgh, Union, Pittsburgh Golf, Oakmont Golf and University clubs of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Scott married, September 16, 1880, Annie, daughter of Dr. James and Anne (Russell) King. Dr. King was one of the most prominent of Pittsburgh phy- sicians. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Scott: James King Scott, connected with the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company ; Elea- nor Alison Scott, deceased; John Irvine Scott, deceased ; and William R. Scott, at- tending Harvard Law School.
Mr. Scott, whose death occurred Febru- ary 27, 1906, was a man whose influence was widely and beneficially felt. Keen in the pursuit of his profession, he was equally keen in the cause of humanity. His heart was ever open to a tale of dis- tress, and his hand ready to help. The ties of family and friendship were sacred in his eyes, and his friends were legion. His name stood for all that was enter- prising and progressive, and as a good citizen he ranked second to none. Among the many tributes to Mr. Scott at his death, was the following editorial from a Pittsburgh paper :
"In social circles and among his profes- sional and business intimates the death of William Scott has brought a sorrow that will not be soon forgotten. But it is to the bar of Pennsylvania and to that of Pittsburgh his untimely departure brings the heaviest loss. He adorned his profession. He embodied in his devotion to it, and in his sustained view of its demands of a worthy member, all the best traditions that through the centuries have
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been linked with one of the noblest and most exacting of man's vocations. He was a law- yer. He cared nothing for the forensic fenc- ing before juries. If he entered court it was to present in behalf of a client the result of pro- found study of the books reinforced with an inherited insight into legal principles, and offered in form concise as it was crushing in force. He recked nothing of the blandish- ments of juries by trick of story or personal flattery, or other wile of some attorneys. His reliance was upon the law, and that he sought to find by hardest application. Thus it was he became an acknowledged counsellor of trust and safety, a recognized reservoir of legal knowledge, and by this he raised him- self to his enviable rank among his col- leagues. He was peculiarly unobtrusive but genial, affable, and the most delightful of companions. That a lawyer in this old and proud Commonwealth, by sheer force of his own attainments, despising publicity or any of the modern ways of promotion, should have been chosen as president of the Bar Associa- tion of this State at his flush tide of life may compensate many who are trying to become lawyers like him. His life attests that the law as a profession can remain exalted."
SAWYER, William J.,
Humanitarian, Philanthropist.
It is peculiarly refreshing, in these days of defection, when names that once were regarded as synonyms of honor, have become disgraced or tainted with suspicion, to turn to those who have closed their earthly account, leaving a record unassailed and unassailable. They restore our waning confidence in men, and encourage us still to strive after legitimate success, which, as they have shown, is really attainable. Among these none have left a brighter record than the late William J. Sawyer, for many years widely known in charitable and philan- thropic work in Pittsburgh.
William James Sawyer was born in Springfield, Ohio, May 2, 1843, son of Rev. James F. and Saralı (Hanna) Sawyer. Representatives of this branch of the Sawyer family emigrated from
England about the year 1650. They first settled in Massachusetts, and later two of the four brothers came to Pennsyl- vania and two settled in Ohio. One of the latter was the grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch, and his father, Rev. James F. Sawyer, was born in Addison, Miami county, Ohio, in 1810, graduated from Miami College, and studied for the ministry in the Allegheny Theological Seminary. After graduating from the seminary he married Sarah Hanna, daughter of Thomas Hanna, of Alle- gheny City. For ten years he was pastor of the Associate Reformed Church at Springfield, Ohio. As a minister he pos- sessed that fine, high humility of those whose passion is for great or true things. His health failing he returned to Alle- gheny and died at the home of his father- in-law, Thomas Hanna.
William J. Sawyer was graduated with first honors from the Western University of Pennsylvania (now Pittsburgh Uni- versity), in 1865, after which he spent about four years in business with his unele, James P. Hanna, and made a splen- did record for himself in business. From that time until the close of his life he devoted his time and energy to educa- tional, charitable and philanthropic work. He was trustee of the First United Pres- byterian Church of Allegheny for twenty- five years, and a teacher in the Sabbath school for thirty-six years. He was a member of the board of managers of the Western Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, and at one time and another was connected with the management of the West Penn Hospital and of the Western Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruc- tion of the Deaf and Dumb. For seven years he was a member of the State Board of Charities. From 1891 until his death he was a trustee of the Allegheny Theological Seminary, serving most effi- ciently in that capacity. He was a di- rector of the Western University of Penn-
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sylvania (now Pittsburgh University) from 1878 until his death, and as secre- tary of the executive committee of the board held an important place in the management. He rendered very valuable service to the church at large, contribut- ing generously of his time and wealth to promote its mission enterprises. From 1883 until death he was a member of the Board of Church Extension. As a mem- ber of the Quarter-Centennial Commis- sion he visited many parts of the country, addressing presbyteries and synods. When the General Assembly recognized the necessity for active measures to cul- tivate the spirit of Christian beneficence, the committee on ways and means was established, with Mr. Sawyer as chair- man, in which capacity he served four years, being released only at his own re- quest. A Bible reading on "Christian Giving," which he prepared at that time, was widely used with much effect. Later he was elected by the General Assembly as financial secretary of the church, but this office he declined. He visited mis- sions in Egypt, and selected the site for the new church erected in Alexandria by the First Church of Allegheny.
It is impossible to estimate the value of such men to the world, at least during their lifetime. We cannot measure the results of which they are doing, or pro- portionate them according to the extent of their specific business. Their influence ramifies all through the commercial, so- cial and religions life, extending itself to the whole social economy. Every man, from the toiling laborer to the merchant prince, receives benefit from them. No better description of this noble man could be possible than the following tribute from an intimate friend :
"Mr. Sawyer was a man of high intelligence, cultivated and refined. He had the even bal- ance of mind, the methodical habits, the power to grasp details, and a fine business tact, which fitted him for success in whatever he
might undertake. He was an extensive reader, traveled much, and kept himself well informed in current thought and events, especially in the church and the field of general charity and beneficence. His sympathies were broad and tender; he felt himself in touch with the whole world of suffering and need, and whatever tended to give relief and elevate men com- manded his hearty support. His great thought was how to help. The spirit of his life was service in love. It was true of him that he went about doing good. His ministry was effective because of the purity of his life, and the example of one seeking the best things for others. There was a peculiar charm about Mr. Sawyer; the charm of a good man, doing good. He was modest and retiring, but warm-hearted even to impulsive- ness. He shrank from publicity, but ac- cepted duty as it came to him, and performed it without sparing his own strength. Graceful and easy in his manner, he set others at their ease. His evident earnestness stimulated those associated with him to their best efforts for the object in view. His greeting was from a heart of great good-will, cordial to intense- ness in its kindness. He was a delightful com- panion, with whom fellowship was uplifting. This peculiar charm appeared most of all in his own home. Who knew him there knew him best and loved him most."
Mr. Sawyer was unmarried, and is survived by two sisters, the Misses Sarah and Mary Sawyer, with whom he lived in the old Hanna homestead in Allegheny (now the Northside, Pittsburgh), and be- tween whom there existed a loving bond of sympathy almost ideal in its nature. Devoted in his family relations, sincere and true in his friendships, honorable and generous in business, William J. Sawyer had the affection and esteem of those who lived closest to him and were best fitted to judge of his quality. He was human in his sympathies, cherished no false or impossible ideals, lived level with the hearts of those with whom he was bound by ties of consanguinity and friendship, endearing himself to them and irradiat- ing the widening circle of his influence with the brightness of spirit that ex- pressed the pure gold of character. His
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public and private life were one rounded whole -- two perfect parts of a symmetri- cal sphere. So completely were they joined that it would be difficult to say where the one ended and the other began. In public and in private life he was actu- ated by one high motive, the welfare of all whom he served. With such a prin- ciple the mainspring of all his active career, with an optimistic outlook upon life, with faith in his friends and human- ity, with a purpose to make the best of everything and see what good that is in all rather than the evil, with a helping hand and a word of cheer for all who needed to have their pathways made smoother, William J. Sawyer won a place that was all his own in the hearts of all who knew him, and his death, which oc- curred December 12, 1900, was the cause of universal sorrow. It will be said of him, in the language of Shakespeare :
"His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him, that nature might stand up And say to all the world-this was a man."
ADAMS, Stephen Jarvis, Manufacturer, Inventor.
Pittsburgh's greatness is not of ephem- eral growth. It is the natural result of the tireless energy and ceaseless effort of a citizenship unsurpassed throughout the world in business acumen and creative genius-citizenship represented by such men as S. Jarvis Adams, who has for over half a century been a leader in business affairs of the Iron City, and prominent in all that most vitally concerns the wel- fare of the city and State.
Calvin Adams, was a manufacturer, and enjoyed the distinction due to a pioneer in the manufacture of malleable iron in the United States, which he first manu- factured in New York State. Later lie removed to Wheeling, West Virginia, seeking a larger and better field. Little time was required to convince him that he had not chosen the best location, and, since Pittsburgh was to be the metropolis of all that region and was likewise the center of the coal and iron production, he remove to that city, where he estab- lished the first malleable iron plant west of the Allegheny Mountains. As he was a man of foresight and unusual intelli- gence, his mind was open to liberal and progressive ideas. He planned broadly, making wise use of the means and oppor- tunities for the successful accomplish- ment of his plans. Therefore he found in Pittsburgh all the advantages of material and the means of transportation, together with the additional advantage of being the very center of coal and iron, as stored by nature. He organized the Pittsburgh Novelty Works and built up a prosperous business. He combined the genius of the inventor with the practical qualifications of a manufacturer and business man. Among his inventions were the hand cof- fee-mill, which came into general use, and the Janus-faced lock. He also invented the spring snap, a great timesaver. This has since come into universal use and has been adopted for numberless uses in all lines. In 1872 Mr. Adams sold his busi- ness, together with his manufactory. He was a man of ability and sterling in- tegrity, a director in some of the strong financial institutions. He was a member and vestryman of Trinity Episcopal Church, and very active in its building, being chairman of the building committee, giving his entire time to it, as well as contributing the major portion of the funds necessary to its erection. For many
S. Jarvis Adams, son of Calvin and Cynthia (Gifford) Adams, was born at Oak Hill, Greene county, New York, April 21, 1837. He was one year old when his parents removed to Wheeling, West Virginia, and still but a child when they located in Pittsburgh. His father, years he was active in Sunday school
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work, and in this relation was devoted to the welfare of the young. Later Mr. Adams was vestryman and warden of St. Peter's Episcopal Church.
S. Jarvis Adams was reared in Pitts- burgh and educated in the public schools of the city and at Burlington College, under Bishop Doane, at this latter in- stitution. The trend of his mind was in the direction of the industry established by his father. Arriving at his majority, he was associated with his father in the works that had been established by his father and of which the latter was head. In 1870 he established the business of an iron founder on his own account, and or- ganized the firm of S. Jarvis Adams & Company. He was endowed with original ability and independence, but at the same time inherited the talent or genius for invention for which his father was noted. His training qualified him for carrying on a large business enterprise in the same line of industry, and his close application to the business for which his firm was or- ganized gave him remarkable success. The industry which he built up was of great value in itself and of relative im- portance in the industrial development and permanent prosperity of Pittsburgh. A man of singularly strong personality, he exerted a wonderful influence on his associates and subordinates, and toward the latter in particular his conduct was ever marked by a degree of kindness and consideration which won for him their loyal support and hearty co-operation. Force and resolution, combined with a genial disposition, are depicted in his countenance, and his simple, dignified and affable manners attract all who are brought into contract with him. He is one of the men who number friends in all classes of society.
Mr Adams' inventions are more numer- ous than those of his father, and all of them apply to the line of manufacturing established by himself and to kindred in-
dustries. He has patented over one hun- dred of his inventions, the most notable of these being the Adams Patent Jarring Machine, which revolutionized the cast- ing of metals. The old way of casting was to tamp the sand around the pattern, and, of course, the pressure could not be applied evenly, and the heavy metal when poured in pressed out in the weak places. In the new Adams Jarring method the sand is gotten in the proper place by jarr- ing the whole mould, causing the sand to settle evenly and compactly, and gives re- sults which could not be obtained by any other method. Notably among the ar- ticles manufactured by this method are the balls manufactured by Mr. Adams and used in the manufacture of pipes and tubing. These are so superior to any other that can be made that Mr. Adams' firm manufactured practically all that were used in the United States. They also manufactured about ninety per cent. of the wagon boxes made in the United States. When Mr. Adams first went into business one molder was only able to turn out sixty molds a day or 120 pieces a day, and when he retired from active business, by his new molding process, one molder was turning out 500 molds a day or 4,000 pieces per day. All of Mr. Adams' inventions have contributed to the development of his own plant, and have at the same time come into general use throughout the country. Mr. Adams some years ago retired from active busi- ness but is still interested financially in different business and financial enter- prises.
All movements tending toward civic betterment and municipal reform have received from Mr. Adams active interest and energetic co-operation. He is a Re- publican in politics, but as far as possible removed from office-seeking, concentrat- ing his energies on business and financial matters, though never failing to give due attention to public affairs and to cast his
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vote for the candidate of his party. In Holmes, deceased. 4. Marcellin Cote, charitable and religious work he has al- married Miss Ida Bright, of New Haven, Connecticut; one child, Emma Virginia Adams. 5. Stephen Jarvis, Jr., living at home; he is a member of the firm of Lyne-Adams Company, of Pittsburgh. ways taken an earnest interest. He is an active member of Calvary Episcopal Church, which he served as vestryman for several years. For twenty-one years he was superintendent of the Sunday It has been said that Pittsburgh is the extraordinary achievement of the ordi- nary man, and to a certain extent this is true, but pre-eminently is it the achieve- ment of the man whose endowments as a practical thinker-a thinker whose thought crystallizes into action-place him far above the average. Such a man is Stephen Jarvis Adams. school, a line of work that always speci- ally appealed to him. He is one of the executive board of the Homoeopathic Hospital, and the board of managers of the Allegheny Cemetery. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic order in both the Ancient York and Scottish Rite. In the former he is a Knight Templar, and in the later he has attained the thirty- second degree. His ancestry entitles him DONNELL, James J., to membership in the Mayflower Society, and Sons of the American Revolution, Prominent Financier. and with both of these societies he is connected.
Prominent among the financiers of the Iron City is James J. Donnell, vice-presi- dent and chairman of the Fidelity Title and Trust Company of Pittsburgh, which has resources of over nineteen million dollars. Mr. Donnell was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, March 24, 1840, a son of James and Mary Ann (Rodgers) Donnell, the parents coming to this country in 1850, where James Donnell, Sr., entered into a general commission business on Liberty street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Adams married, November 17, 1862, Emma Virginia Anshutz, daughter of Alfred P. and Eliza Jane (Holmes) Anshutz. Her grandfather, George An- shutz, is said to have built the first blast furnace west of the Allegheny Moun- tains. Her maternal grandfather, Shepley Ross Holmes, M.D., was a noted phy- sician, and one of the first in Pittsburgh. Mrs. Adams, a woman of charming per- sonality and admirably fitted by mental James J. Donnell received his educa- tion in the public schools of Pittsburgh, and at the age of seventeen entered the business world as a junior clerk in the banking house of N. Holmes & Sons, Pittsburgh, and in this position laid the foundation of his career. His promotion was rapid, and step by step he advanced until the year 1872 found him a partner in the house, and it was his activity that directed most of its affairs. In 1899 Mr. Donnell resigned from the firm to accept the presidency of the Bank of Pittsburgh. When three banks consolidated-the Bank of Pittsburgh, Merchants' and Man- ufacturers' Bank, and the Iron City Bank endowments, thorough education and in- nate grace and refinement, for her posi- tion as one of the potent factors of Pitts- burgh society, is withal an accomplished home-maker, causing her husband-a man of strong family affections-to find liis greatest enjoyment in the domestic circle. November 17, 1912, Mr. and Mrs. Adams celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Adans: 1. Ida Jeanette, married John Lake Garner ; now living in Los Angeles, California; children: Emma Virginia ; Jeanette Adams, married Kenneth Car- others Grant ; John Lake Garner, Jr. 2. Calvin Jarvis, deceased. 3. Alfred (all three national banks)-he retired
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