USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Volume I > Part 24
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Sau & Donnell
THE :KVINNENE
Jameschatting
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
from active connection, but retained the him a large circle of friends, and he is one nominal position of vice-president. Mr. Donnell unwillingly resumed active busi- ness after the death of Mr. John B. Jack- son, October 31, 1908, taking his place as president of the Fidelity Title & Trust Company, a leading financial institution of the city. Mr. Donnell was one of the organizers of the Fidelity Title & Trust Company, and also of the Citizens' Trac- tion Railway, one of the best systems of street railways in the United States.
Seldom is it that a man as active and successful in business as Mr. Donnell takes the keen and helpful interest in civic affairs to which his record bears testimony. He is a member of the Sink- ing Fund Commission of the city of Pitts- burgh, which has charge of retirement of the municipal debt ; he is also one of the Sinking Fund Commissioners of Alle- gheny county, and on the advisory com- mittee of many charitable institutions. A man of action rather than words, he demonstrates his public spirit by actual achievements which advance the prosper- ity and wealth of the community. Mr. Donnell at present is connected with the following: Chairman of board of the Fidelity Title & Trust Company; vice- president of the Bank of Pittsburgh ; vice-president of the Pittsburgh Life & Trust Company; vice-president of the Citizens' Traction Company, a director of the United Engineering & Foundry Com- pany of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Steel Foundry, the Illinois Zinc Company of Peru, Illinois, the Pittsburgh Forge & Iron Company, the Central District and Printing Telegraph Company (Bell sys- tem), the Union Switch & Signal Com- pany, the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Rail- road Company, the Pittsburgh, McKees- port & Youghiogheny Railroad Company, and the Phillips Sheet and Tin Plate Company.
The liberal views and genial personal- ity of Mr. Donnell have drawn around
of the city's most prominent club-men, belonging to the Duquesne, the Pitts- burgh Golf, and Pittsburgh clubs, and to the Union League of Philadelphia. Mr. Donnell's personal appearance is an index to his character, giving the impression of intense vitality and alertness, while the keen yet kindly eyes indicate penetrating observation and withal a lovable and magnetic nature-a fact which goes far to account for the uniform success of his undertakings.
Mr. Donnell married, March 15, 1892, Anne Warden, a daughter of William G. Warden, of Philadelphia, who was one of the organizers of the Standard Oil Com- pany. They had one child, Miss Eliza- beth Donnell, one of the most popular members of the Iron City's younger so- cial set, the Donnell home on Highland avenue being the scene of many social functions.
Mr. Donnell's career may be summed up in one word-success-the result of his own unaided efforts. In common with his adopted city, he seems to possess that secret of perpetual energy which science cannot explain.
CHAPLIN, James C., Financier, Public Official.
One of the strong financiers of the Iron City, a dominant factor in the business world and a truly public-spirited Pitts- burgher, is James Crossan Chaplin, vice- president of the Colonial Trust Company, a director in many other financial insti- tutions, and prominently associated with a number of important business enter- prises. Mr. Chaplin is a descendant of ancestors who were distinguished in our Colonial, Revolutionary and national his- tory.
Benjamin Chaplin, founder of the American branch of the family, was born in 1687, in England, and emigrated to the
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American colonies, at what date is not recorded. He was at Lynn, Massachu- setts, and later settled at Pomfret, Con- necticut. Ile married, at Malden, Con- necticut, but the name of his wife has not come down to us.
William, son of Benjamin Chaplin, was of Mansfield, Connecticut, and married Esther, daughter of Ebenezer Holbrook, of Pomfret, Connecticut.
William, son of William and Esther (Holbrook) Chaplin, was born May 22, 1761, and was a soldier of the Revolution, serving from June to December, 1776. He was at one time a resident of Pitts- burgh (Allegheny), and afterward re- moved to Bethel, Vermont. It was thus that this branch of the family was planted, though only temporarily, in the city with which it was in later genera- tions to become so prominently identified. William Chaplin married (first) Amanda Saralı, daughter of Colonel Jabez and Judith (Elderkin) Huntington, of Nor- wich, Connecticut, the Huntingtons being an ancient colonial family of that prov- ince; he married (second), Mrs. Polly Mckinstry.
Jolin Huntington, son of William and Amanda Sarah (Huntington) Chaplin, was born October 6, 1783, in Windham, Connecticut, and was a graduate of Yale University. In 1805 he came to Pitts- burgh, studied law under Hon. Henry Baldwin, and on November 15, 1808, was admitted to the Allegheny county bar. He subsequently removed to Florida, where he attained eminence in his profes- sion, receiving the appointment of circuit judge of the United States Court. He was at one time worshipful master of Pittsburgh Lodge, No. 45, F. and A. M., chartered December 7, 1785. He mar- ried, March 28, 1809, Harriet, daughter of Major Isaac and Amelia (Neville) Craig, the former an officer in the Continental army, and the latter the daughter of Gen- eral John Neville, of Virginia, and Pitts-
burgh, Pennsylvania, also of Revolution- ary fame. Judge Chaplin died August 24, 1822, at Pensacola, Florida, leaving a widow and two children: William Craig, mentioned below ; and Amelia Chaplin.
William Craig, son of John Huntington and Harriet (Craig) Chaplin, was born April 11, 1810, in Pittsburgh, and in 1826 entered the naval service of the United States, serving continuously until 1851 and attaining the rank of lieutenant. He married, February 8, 1833, Sarah J., daughter of James and Nancy (Morrow) Crossan, and they became the parents of eight children, the eldest of whom was James Crossan, mentioned below. Lieu- tenant Chaplin died April 25, 1856, in the officers' quarters at the Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts.
James Crossan, son of William Craig and Sarah J. (Crossan) Chaplin, was born May 14, 1836, in Pittsburgh, and on Octo- ber 14, 1850, entered the naval service of the United States. The remaining six- teen years of his life were devoted to the service of his country, twelve of these be- ing passed at sea. During the Civil War he rendered distinguished service, rising to the rank of lieutenant-commander. He married Martha Harris, and the fol- lowing children were born to them: Vir- ginia S., James Crossan, mentioned be- low; and Mary C. Lieutenant-Comman- der Chaplin died at sea, September 23, 1866, being then executive officer of the "Monocacy," a steam sloop of ten guns. He is best described in the following words, written during the Civil War by one who was then his commanding of- ficer: "In the hour of danger his pres- ence of mind never forsook him. Cool, calm and courageous, he was of such stuff as heroes are made of. On the social side, his many virtues shone to equal ad- vantage. He was one of nature's noble- men, and not one of the large circle who shared his friendship will ever forget his genial ways and warm heart,"
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James Crossan, son of James Crossan and Martha (Harris) Chaplin, was born September 7, 1863, in Pittsburgh, and was but three years old when death deprived him of his father. After that event his childhood was passed in Missouri, but in 1879 Mrs. Chaplin returned with her three children to Pittsburgh, settling in Sewickley. James Crossan, who was then sixteen years old, obtained a position in the Citizens' National Bank, resigning it not long after to take a more advanced place, that of teller, with the Fidelity Title and Trust Company. With this or- ganization he remained ten years, being promoted in the course of time to the of- fice of treasurer. He early developed re- markable business talents and untiring energy, his well balanced forces being manifest in sound judgment and a ready and rapid understanding of any problem that might be presented for solution. Upon the formation of the Colonial Trust Company of Pittsburgh, Mr. Chaplin was appointed to his present office of vice- president. His business interests are now of a most important nature, and he is recognized as one in the inmost circle of those who are closest to the commercial concerns and financial interests which have most largely conserved the growth and progress of the city. Possessing the very highest sense of honor, integrity is impressed upon all his dealings, and his good judgment and fine poise make him a valued adviser, a trusted counsellor in all matters relative to finance. The thorough business qualifications of Mr. Chaplin have always been in good demand on boards of directors of different organiza- tions, and his public spirit has led him to accept many such trusts. He is a direc- tor of the Coraopolis Savings and Trust Company, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania; the Greenville National Bank, Greenville, Pennsylvania ; the First National Bank, Sharon, Pennsylvania ; the First National Bank, Albion, Pennsylvania; the First
National Bank, Conneaut Lake, Pennsyl- vania ; the Wheeling and Lake Erie rail- road, Cleveland, Ohio; the Pittsburgh Terminal Railroad and Coal Company ; the Pennsylvania China Company, Ford City, Pennsylvania; the Pennsylvania Clay Company, and the Indianapolis & Louisville Traction Railway Company, Indianapolis, Indiana. He is vice-presi- dent of the Freehold Bank, Pittsburgh; and the Colonial Trust Company, South Sharon, Pennsylvania, and president of the Crawford County Trust Company, Meadville, Pennsylvania, and the Mead- ville and Cambridge Springs Street Rail- way, Meadville, Pennsylvania. He is also treasurer of the E. J. Thompson Company, Pittsburgh, and the New Ken- sington Bridge Company, New Kensing- . ton, Pennsylvania. A list of responsibil- ities such as these might seem, indeed, to overtax the capability of the average man, but not that of a man of the type of James Crossan Chaplin. To whatever he undertakes he gives his whole soul, al- lowing none of the many interests in- trusted to his care to suffer for want of close and able attention and industry.
In all concerns relative to the city's welfare, Mr. Chaplin's interest is deep and sincere, and wherever substantial aid will further public progress, it is freely given. Brilliant, forceful and experi- enced, he is a dominant factor in the city's affairs, and any plan for civic bet- terment finds in him an enthusiastic sup- porter. Ever ready to respond to any deserving call made upon him, he is widely but unostentatiously charitable. Politically, he is identified with the Re- publicans, and his rapidity of judgment en- ables him, in the midst of incessant busi- ness activity, to give to the affairs of the community effort and counsel of genuine value. His penetrating thought has often added wisdom to public movements. He has served two terms in the Sewickley council, and is active in the local affairs
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to the borough. He affiliates with the McCLUNG, Samuel A., Masonic fraternity, belongs to the Pitts- burgh Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, and is a member of the Duquesne, Automobile, Allegheny Coun- try and Pittsburgh Country clubs. He is a vestryman and also the senior warden of St. Stephen's Protestant Episcopal Church.
The personality of Mr. Chaplin is that of the aggressive and astute financier, the man of action rather than words, who demonstrates his public spirit by actual achievements which advance the pros- perity and wealth of the community. But while his countenance and bearing pro- claim him to be all this, they also indi- cate the genial disposition which has sur- rounded him with friends, and the splen- did personal qualities which have en- deared him to all who have ever been in close relations with him. In his views and opinions upon political or other ques- tions he is essentially liberal and singu- larly free from partisanship.
Mr. Chaplin married, February 5, 1891, Fanny, daughter of Colonel David and Eliza (MeIlroy) Campbell, and they are the parents of two sons: James Crossan and David Campbell. Mr. Chaplin is de- voted to the ties of family and friendship, regarding them as sacred obligations. Both he and his wife-a woman of charming personality-are extremely pop- ular socially, and their beautiful home at Sewickley, the most exclusive suburb of Pittsburgh, is a scene of much enter- taining.
James Crossan Chaplin is a descendant of men who served their country as sol- diers and sailors. His own record as a civilian worthily supplements his an- cestral annals, for it shows him to have been largely instrumental in strengthen- ing and maintaining the financial prosper- ity and honor of the Metropolis of the Industrial World.
Lawyer, Jurist.
The history of the Bench and Bar of Pittsburgh had its beginning before the American Revolution, and the judges of her courts have ever stood second to none in the United States. The noble traditions of the past have been ably maintained by the magistrates of the pres- ent time-notably by such men as Samuel Alfred McClung, ex-Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny county, and a leader in all movements having for their object the promotion of the welfare of Pittsburgh.
Samuel Alfred McClung was born March 2, 1845, in Plum township, Alle- gheny county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Rev. Samuel M. and Nancy Cowan (Gilchrist) MeClung, the former, in his day, a prominent divine. The ancestors of both Mr. and Mrs. McClung were among the earliest Scotch-Irish settlers in Western Pennsylvania, and the im- press of their force, aggressiveness and strict integrity is to-day indelibly stamped upon that community. Jeremiah Murray, grandfather of Mrs. McClung, was a lead- ing pioneer of "Old Westmoreland."
The education of Samuel Alfred Mc- Clung was received in public and private schools and at Washington College (now Washington and Jefferson College), whence he graduated in the class of 1863. On September 16 of that year he was registered as a student of law, and on December 15, 1868, was admitted to the bar on motion of John Mellon, who had been one of his preceptors, the other be- ing John M. Kirkpatrick. The young lawyer entered at once upon the active practice of his profession, and soon showed himself to be strong in reasoning, forceful in argument, and, withal, an un- tiring worker and a close student. In the course of time he became a leader of the Pittsburgh bar, which, distinguished
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from the beginning, to-day stands un- rivalled in all the accomplishments that make for the best in jurisprudence, prac- tice and culture, and all the elements that enter into the qualification of the modern pleader and attorney.
On May 27, 1891, Mr. McClung was commissioned a judge of the Court of Common Pleas No. 3, Allegheny county, to serve until the first Monday of Jan- uary, 1892. At the election of 1891 he was elected to the same office for a term of ten years from the first Monday of January, 1892, and was commissioned ac- cordingly. In 1901 he was re-elected for another term of ten years. In December, 1908, he resigned from the bench because of a breakdown in health, and has been living retired since then. The duties of his high office were discharged by Judge McClung with the utmost impartiality, and his decisions, characterized as they were by depth of insight and "learning in the law," showed him to possess, in an eminent degree, the judicial mind.
It is seldom, indeed, that a man as suc- cessful and distinguished in professional life as is Judge McClung takes the keen and helpful interest in civic affairs which he has always manifested. Citizenship is to him a term indicating individual re- sponsibility as well as privilege, and his name is associated with various projects of the utmost municipal concern. His political affiliations are with the Repub- licans. Ever ready to respond to any de- serving call made upon him, his charity is of the kind that shuns publicity. In 1902 he received from Washington and Jefferson College the degree of Doctor of Laws, and in the Alumni Association, of which he is a member, he takes a deep in- terest. He also belongs to the University Club. The personality of Judge Mc- Clung, while it is pre-eminently that of the jurist, suggests also the scholar and the man of affairs. A man of widest reading, a brilliant writer, an impressive
and effective speaker and a powerful de- bater, he is withal intensely and tremen- dously in earnest. Himself a steadfast friend, he possesses the faculty of in- spiring in others the most loyal attach- ment.
Judge McClung married Fannie A., daughter of Dr. G. W., and Fannie Mer- ritt, of Cherry Valley, Otsego county, New York, and they are the parents of the following children: Isabelle, who is a member of the Civic Club of Allegheny county ; Edith Murray; and Samuel Al- fred, who has been a memer of the Pitts- burgh bar since 1908. Mrs. McClung was one of those rare women who com- bines with perfect womanliness and do- mesticity an unerring judgment, traits of the greatest value to her husband, to whom she was not alone a charming com- panion, but a trusted confidante. Mrs. McClung died May 2, 1913.
The family is very popular in Pitts- burgh society, and their beautiful home in the East End is a centre of gracious hospitality. Judge McClung's position at the Pittsburgh bar has long been that of an acknowledged leader, and in the twenty years during which he sat upon the bench of the Court of Common Pleas he became one of the legal luminaries not of his city alone, but also of his State. Of brilliant talents and profound learn- ing, his greatest glory is that he pre- served inviolate the sanctities of his high office-that "when the ermine rested on his shoulders, it touched nothing less spotless than itself."
LUKENS, Jawood,
Iron Manufacturer.
The Lukens trace in Philadelphia to Jan Luckens, who came in 1683 with his wife and formed one of the thirteen fam- ilies who founded Germantown on a tract of land purchased before leaving Ger- many by the Frankford Company. He
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was born in Crefeid, on the Upper Rhine; he arrived in Pennsylvania on the ship "Concord," October 6, 1683, became a prominent figure in the government of German township, was constable, burgess, sheriff and bailiff, and died January 24, 1744. Originally a Mennonite, he became a member of the Society of Friends. The name in the third generation gained an additional letter and was spelled Luckens, until several generations later the present form Lukens came into quite general use.
The line of descent to Jawood Lukens, the iron master of Conshohocken, Penn- sylvania, was through Abraham Lucken, tenth child and fifth son of Jan Lucken, the emigrant. With Abraham, the family seat of this branch became what is now Towamencin, Montgomery county, where Abraham settled on five hundred acres of farm land purchased by his father, three hundred of which Abraham inher- ited. His wife, Mary, was a daughter of Thomas Maule or Marle, who came from Wales in 1716.
John, eldest son of Abraham and Mary Lukens, was a surveyor, and spent his life on the plantation in Montgomery county. His wife was Rachel, daughter of James Robinson.
David, fifth son of John and Rachel Lukens, was born on the homestead plan- tation, and died on his own farm, now in- cluded in the borough of Conshohocken. His wife Mary was daughter of William Shepherd of Conshohocken
Lewis Augustus, fourth son of David and Mary Lukens, was the first of his branch to engage in iron manufacture. He made malleable iron at a forge in Annville, Lebanon county, for ten years, then was in the lumber business four years, then conducted a farm in White Marsh township seven years. In 1858 he joined his brother-in-law, Alan Wood, in founding the firm of Alan Wood & Com- pany, later the Alan Wood Steel and Iron Company, and until 1877 he was a part-
ner in the Schuylkill Iron Works at Con- shohocken. In that year he sold his in- terest in the works to his sons Charles and Jawood Lukens, and retired from business. He was a member of the So- ciety of Friends, served as chief burgess of Conshohocken three years; was seven- teen years a director of the First Na- tional Bank of Conshohocken and four years its president. His wife, Mary Thomas Wood, was a daughter of James Wood, founder of the first Wood rolling mill in Conshohocken.
Jawood Lukens, fourth son of Lewis A. and Mary T. (Wood) Lukens, was born at Annville Forge, Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1843, died in Con- shohocken, Pennsylvania, March 10, 1908. He was educated at the academy of Rev. Samuel Aaron and under Professor John W. Loch, of Norristown. He completed his studies at the age of seventeen years, and began business at once with his father in the firm of Alan Wood & Com- pany. He remained with him two years, then entered the Polytechnic College of Philadelphia, whence he was graduated civil engineer, class of 1864. For two and a half years after graduation he fol- lowed his profession at various points, being employed on the survey of the route for the Pan Handle railroad through West Virginia, and later in the Pennsylvania oil fields. In 1866 he re- turned to Conshohocken and again en- tered the employ of Alan Wood & Com- pany, continuing until 1874, when he was admitted a partner with his brother Charles. In 1877 their holdings in this firm were largely increased, their father assigning to them his interest and retir- ing. Jawood Lukens retained his connec- tion with Alan Wood & Company until 1881, when he withdrew and spent a year in foreign travel. On his return he or- ganized the Longmead Iron Works, with plant at Conshohocken, which he success- fully operated until 1894. In that year
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the business was incorporated as the Longmead Iron Company, and the works greatly enlarged. Mr. Lukens was chosen the first president of the company, and under his able management the busi- ness and importance of the concern won- derfully increased. In 1883 Mr. Lukens had established the Conshohocken Tube Works for the manufacture of wrought iron pipe. He retained personal manage- ment as president and treasurer until 1897, when the tube works were merged with the Longmead Iron Company. Mr. Lukens continued the active head of the latter company until his death, having created, built up and carried to a success- ful issue one of the principal industries of Conshohocken, giving employment to five hundred skilled mechanics. He was a wise, capable and conservative execu- tive and not only conducted his own business with skill and profit, but had other important connections. He served as borough councilman, was a director of the First National Bank of Conshohock en, and of the Quaker City Bank of Phila- delphia. He was a member of the Ameri- can Institute of Mining Engineers, of the Union League, Manufacturers and Art Clubs of Philadelphia, and took an active interest in all. In political faith he was a Republican, and in religious preference a Friends.
He married, November 26, 1868, Susan Foulke Corson, born August 9, 1845, who survives him, a resident of Conshohocken. Through her Colonial and Revolutionary ancestry, which traces to the early Dutch settlement on Staten Island, 1685, the early Welsh settlers of Philadelphia, 1693, and the early Dickinsons of Mary- land, 1658, she is eligible to and is a mem- ber of the Colonial Dames of America.
Mrs. Lukens is a daughter of Hiram Corson, M.D., the eminent physician of Plymouth, Montgomery county, Pennsyl- vania, whose work as a healer and for the admission of women to the medical
profession brought him deserved prom- inence in life and enduring position in the medical hall of fame. The Corson ances- try carries back to Cornelius Corsen, who came with the band of Huguenots escaping from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XVI, on October 18, 1685. The vessel on which he sailed was driven by stress of weather into New York Bay, the passengers mak- ing a landing on Staten Island in 1685.
The line of descent to Mrs. Susan Foulke Corson Lukens is through Ben- jamin Corson, son of the emigrant, who settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, on the farm purchased from Jeremiah Dungan. Benjamin, son of Benjamin Corson, was a boy of seven years when brought to Bucks county by his parents. He married Marie Sedam or Suydam and had at least one son. Benjamin, son of Benjamin Corson, was born March 6, 1743, died July 2, 1811. He married Sarah Dungan, and reared a family of eleven children, all of whom married.
Joseph, second son of Benjamin and Sarah (Dungan) Corson, was born in Dublin township, Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1764, died April 4, 1834, at Hickorytown, in Plymouth township, Montgomery county. He was a farmer and merchant. He was a mem- ber of the Society of Friends, and with his two wives is buried in Plymouth Meeting burying ground. His first wife was Hannah, daughter of Joseph Dick- inson (who lived on the farm his grand- father, William Dickinson, of Maryland, had purchased about one hundred years earlier, when he first came to Pennsyl- vania). This marriage occurred in 1786; she died December 17, 1810, the mother of eleven children. Joseph Corson's sec- ond wife was Eleanor Coulson, whom he married in 1812, daughter of John and granddaughter of Bernard Coulson, one of the early settlers and large land owners
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