USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Volume I > Part 33
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GREENE, Stephen,
Journalist, Financier.
Philadelphia may be considered the birth-place of the printer's art in Amer- ica, and no part of our country has pro- duced greater men who could be properly styled printers. The art here found early favor, and great mereantile printing houses, as well as great publishers of world-wide reputation, have made Phil- adelphia the seat of their operations. From among many men famous for their connection with the printing business in Philadelphia, the life of Stephen Greene is chosen, of whom it has been said : "Stephen Greene needs no monument of marble to perpetuate his memory, the recollection of his life of honor and use- fulness and of his kind and charitable na- ture being his most fitting memorial." His life should prove an inspiration to every ambitious young man, showing, as it does, what can be accomplished by a clean living boy and man with a high purpose.
Stephen Greene sprang from an hon- ored English ancestry, early settlers in the American colonies. A branch settled in Bainbridge, Chenango county, New York, where he was born September 25, 1831. Three years later his parents moved to Pennsylvania, therefore he may be considered altogether a Penn- sylvanian. He began his public school education in 1836; just one year after the public school system of Pennsylvania was organized. The family home was in Lancaster county, the schools he at- tended being located in Marietta, Colum- bia and Washington. He resided with his parents in Columbia, Pennsylvania, and during the summer months studied in private schools. In 1846 he left home, going to Hellam township, York county, where he taught a district school the fol- lowing winter. After giving serious thought to the question of a career, he the first ever used in Philadelphia. In
decided to become a printer. His first position was with the "Pennsylvania In- telligencer," at Harrisburg, entering the printing department of that paper in October, 1847, being then sixteen years of age. He remained there one year, then going to the "Columbia Spy," published at Columbia, Pennsylvania. In July, 1849, he came to Philadelphia, destined to be the scene of his future activity, and since 1858 his business life has been part of the history of Philadelphia. His first position in the city was as compositor in the office of William S. Young, on Sixth street, below Arch, working there during the daytime, and at night working as a substitute in the office of "The Daily News," then published on Third street, below Chestnut. He remained in Phila- delphia only until the fall of 1849, then returned to Columbia as manager of the mechanical department of "The Spy." This position he occupied almost contin- uously until April, 1853, when he became one of the proprietors. In 1855 he bought the interests of his partners, be- coming sole owner and editor. He con- tinued the publication of "The Spy" until 1856, when he sold out, and in 1858 he again came to Philadelphia, for the next half century destined to be the scene of his business activity. He organized the firm of Ringwalt & Brown, printers, at No. 34 South Third street, continuing an active member of that firm until 1860, when he retired. In 1861 he became manager of the printing establishment of Henry C. Leisenring, at No. 32 South Third street, where he was in continu- ous service until 1871. His management of this office was marked by a greatly increased volume of business, necessitat- ing the firm's removal to more commod- ious quarters. Among the improvements he there introduced were presses for printing consecutively numbered local and coupon railroad and other tickets,
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very truly yours Stephen Greens
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
1871 Mr. Greene resigned to become a member of the printing firm of Helfen- stein, Lewis & Greene. After ten years of successful business he purchased his partners' interests and in April, 1881, be- came sole proprietor. In 1900, the busi- ness, having so expanded, was incorpor- ated as the Stephen Greene Company, with Stephen Greene as president, a po- sition he held until his death. In 1902 a large new plant was erected at Six- teenth and Arch streets, where the busi- ness is still continued, with Dr. William H. Greene, president. Thus for a half century Mr. Greene was connected with the printing business in Philadelphia, and for sixty-one years with the same busi- ness, from printer's boy to president. He was an untiring, energetic man of business, and his one constant ambition was to elevate the standard of all classes of printing and foster a correct taste. To this end he eagerly sought and installed the most improved modern machinery or device, succeeding in placing the Stephen Greene Company in the front rank of modern printing establishments. As an executive officer he was of the highest class, and successfully managed the busi- ness affairs of his corporation.
Nor were his business activities bounded by the affairs of his own com- pany. He was one of the directors of the West End Trust Company, and filled a similar position in the directorate of other business corporations of Philadel- phia. He also was deeply interested in the upbuilding of Wenonah, New Jersey, where he had large property interests. But Mr. Greene must not be considered only as a successful business man, as there was an entirely opposite side to his character. He realized to the full his duty and obligation to his fellow man, and was always ready and willing to aid and impart information to others, mak- ing friends with all his business asso- ciates, and was ever held in the highest
respect by competitors in business. To church, technical and philanthropic in- stitutions, he gave freely of his time and means. He was for many years a mem- ber of the Franklin Institute, and served on its board of managers, and for sev- eral years as president of the board. For several years prior to his death he was president of the Methodist Episcopal Hospital, and gave most generously to its support. His interest in the educa- tion of the young was intense; he was a warm and generous friend of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, and assisted many young people to obtain an educa- tion. His interest in this line was par- ticularly noticeable at Wenonah where he founded the now prosperous Wenonah Military Academy. He also gave the ground and built the Methodist Episco- pal Church at Wenonah, his wife being a devoted member of that church, which he ever generously supported. He held membership in the Academy of Natural Science, the Historical Society of Penn- sylvania, the Union League Club, the Manufacturers' Club, and was a promi- nent member of the Masonic order. In religious faith, Mr. Greene was an Epis- copalian. After his removal to German- town in 1890, both he and his wife be- came members of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church, which he served as vestryman for twenty years and as rec- tor's warden for fifteen years. His re- ligion made all Christians his brethren, and creed was to him an affair for the in- dividual to settle.
He married, in 1853, Martha Mifflin Houston, of Columbia, who survives him, a resident of Germantown. His family includes Dr. William Houston Greene, now president of the Stephen Greene Company, and five daughters.
Stephen Greene died May 21, 1908, after a useful life of seventy-seven years. Briefly as his career has been traced, it reveals to the reader a well rounded life,
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full of effort, not for his own advance- thority in the world of chemistry, where- ment, but for the benefit of others. His in he had gained an assured standing. quiet, kindly disposition attracted many personal friends, while his unostentatious charity, much of which will never be known, gave him a never-to-be-forgotten place in the hearts of those befriended. As a counselor he was wise, and to those seeking advice he gave freely from his experience and matured judgment. Both individual and corporate interests were benefited by intercourse with him. His nature was deeply religious, and his love for his Master was made manifest by his thought for and helpfulness toward his fellow men. His ideals were high, and his strivings earnest and constant to attain higher Christian living. He real- ized the shortcomings of human nature, and, in seeking to stimulate others to higher and better living, strengthened his own character, and thus more nearly at- tained his ideals. In an age of fierce business competition and often destruc- tive warfare between rivals, he set an ex- ample of fairness and respect for the rights of others that is pleasant to con- template. True indeed is it that "Stephen Greene needs no monument of marble to perpetuate his memory." His life was a successful one, from whatever point it is viewed, and of him may it be said most appropriately : "Though dead, he speak- eth."
GREENE, William Houston, Scientist, Author.
As president of the Stephen Greene Company of Philadelphia, Dr. Greene manages a business founded many years ago by his honored father, Stephen Greene, whom he succeeded in office. Although now at the head of a success- ful mercantile corporation, his training was entirely professional, and until 1892 he was known as an educator and au-
William Ilouston Greene, only son of Stephen and Martha Mifflin (Houston) Greene, was born in Columbia, Pennsyl- vania, December 30, 1853. His early ed- ucation was obtained in the public schools and Central High School in Philadelphia, whence he was graduated in July, 1870, with the degree of B. A., taking third honors in his class. He de- cided on the profession of medicine, and entered Jefferson Medical College, whence he was graduated M. D., class of 1873. He had from youth taken a deep interest in the study of chemistry, and while taking his medical course and un- til 1877 was assistant to B. Howard Rand, Professor of Chemistry at Jeffer- son Medical College. From 1875 to 1877 Dr. Greene was Demonstrator of Chen- istry in the same college. He did not practice his profession, but in 1877 went abroad and for two years engaged in original research and investigation in the laboratory of Adolphe Wurtz in Paris, later following the same line of profes- sional work in a private Philadelphia laboratory. In 1879 and 1880 he was Demonstrator of Chemistry in the Medi- cal Department of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1880 he became Pro- fessor of Chemistry in Central High School, a position he held until 1892, when he became associated in business with his father, whom he succeeded in 1908 as president of the Stephen Greene Company, printers, at Sixteenth and Arch streets, Philadelphia, a commercial printing firm of the highest standing, in- corporated in 1900, but established in 1871 as Helfenstein, Lewis & Greene, later owned entirely by Stephen Greene, the first president of the Stephen Greene Company.
During the years devoted to chemical research, Dr. Greene published the re- sults obtained from his many investiga-
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tions in various journals devoted to med- icine and chemistry. Dr. Greene is the author of several text books which in their time were standard, and also trans- lated and edited, at the request of the anthor, Adolphe Wurtz, his "Eléments de Chimie Moderne," and is the Ameri- can editor of Paul Berts' "First Steps in Scientific Knowledge." He is a fel- low of the Chemical Society (London), and a member of the American Philo- sophical Society, the Société Chemique (Paris), the Gesellschaft (Berlin), the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science, and The American Geo- graphical Society.
In 1902, he married Sara Cavanaugh, of Philadelphia. They have one son, Stephen Greene Jr.
CARSTAIRS, Daniel Haddock,
Large Manufacturer.
One hundred and thirty-five years have intervened since the name Carstairs was introduced to Philadelphia, but as early as 1650 the family was prominent among the extreme Covenanting Protestors of Scotland. Chief among them was Rev. William Carstairs, of the Scottish Church, friend of William, Prince of Orange, and Royal Chaplain of Scotland under both William I., King of England, and his successor, Queen Anne.
The Philadelphia founder of the fam- ily came in 1780, and as architect, build- er, statesman and humanitarian, attained unusual distinction. During the plague of yellow fever that ravaged Philadel- phia, he served with Stephen Girard as a member of the Board of Health, ap- pointed to make measures to suppress the disease. He died July 28, 1830. His wife, Sarah Hood, was widow of Joseph Bradford.
James, second son of Thomas and Sarah Carstairs, was born in Philadel- phia, December 9, 1789, died there Feb-
ruary 3, 1875. He had a long connection with the Mechanics' Bank as cashier, continuing until 1834, when he engaged in business on Delaware avenue, above South street, as wholesale grocer and ship chandler. Philadelphia then was a very important shipping port, its wharves crowded with shipping engaged in deep-sea trade. The business of sup- plying these hundreds of ships with pro- visions and equipment was a large one, and James Carstairs had the greater part of their trade. He served the greater part of his adult life as a member of the Philadelphia School Board, and filled many other positions of trust. His wife, Sarah Britton Summers, was a daughter of Andrew Summers, a wealthy banker of Philadelphia, and an intimate friend of Robert Morris, the "Financier of the Revolution." Her mother was Helen Stewart, sister of Admiral Charles Ste- wart. Jerome Bonaparte, brother of the "Great Napoleon," was one of the ushers at the wedding of James Carstairs, and presented the bride with a gold chain of unusual length, which is still treasured in the family.
James, fifth son of James Carstairs, was born in Philadelphia, March 13, 1834, died there May 28, 1893. He en- gaged in mercantile life and was one of the prominent wholesale merchants of Philadelphia. He was senior member for many years of the firm of Carstairs, McCall & Company, and the active head at the time of his death. He married, March 22, 1860, Mary White Haddock, born in Philadelphia, who still survives, a resident of the city of her birth. She is vice-president of the Presbyterian Orphanage, established by her mother ; vice-president of the Bible Readers So- ciety ; manager of the Seaside Home at Cape May Point, New Jersey ; president of the Haddock Memorial Home for In- fants, endowed by her mother; member of the Society of New England Women,
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of Philadelphia; and of other patriotic and social societies.
Mrs. Mary White (Haddock) Car- stairs is a daughter of Daniel Haddock Junior, who married Catherine Lucy Stevenson Shinn, daughter of John Shinn, Junior, of the prominent Shinn family of New Jersey, and his wife, Mary White, datighter of Dr. John White, the eminent Revolutionary surgeon. Daniel Haddock was a son of Daniel Haddock Senior, of Massachusetts, and his wife, Abigail Hazeltine, a great-great-great- granddaughter of Robert Hazeltine, who came from England to Rowley, Massa- clinsetts, in 1638. The Hazeltines were prominent in every generation, and Thomas C. Hazeltine was an intimate friend of Thomas Jefferson. The family preserve much correspondence that passed between the two men, showing the extreme friendliness of their inter- course.
Dr. John White, the maternal great- grandfather of Mary White (Haddock) Carstairs, was born in New York City, June 24, 1759, died in Philadelphia, July 7, 1838. The following record of his service is taken from the manuscript of Dr. J. M. Toner in the Congressional Library :
"John White, surgeon's mate, and subse- quently surgeon in the Revolutionary War, was horn in the city of New York, in June, 1759. At the commencement of hostilities he was a student at Princeton College, N. J., but the excitement which followed the fight at Lexington, Massachusetts, April 19, 1775, ren- dered it impossible for him to apply his mind to study, and as most of the students shortly after dispersed, he moved to Philadelphia to enter upon the study of medicine. Shortly after the passage of the Declaration of Inde- pendence by the Continental Congress, July 4, 1776, John White joined a regiment of mi- litia commanded by Colonel Thomas Mc- Kean, afterwards Governor of Pennsylvania, and which was stationed for about three months at Amhoy. Upon his return he was appointed surgeon's mate in the General Hos-
pital at the 'Bettering House', in January, 1777, continuing there during the ravages of jail or hospital fever introduced by the prisoners liberated from confinement in New York City. A grave form of dysentery also prevailed at this time among the men con- nected with the 'Flying Camp', and which proved fatal to numerous physicians and nurses. Dr. White was twice brought to death's door by hospital fever.
"On the approach of the enemy to Philadel- phia, which they captured September 26, 1777, he was successively transferred to duty in the hospitals at Burlington, Princeton, New Brunswick, in New Jersey; and at Valley Forge, Yellow Springs, and Lightfoot's Barn, in Pennsylvania. After the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British, June 18, 1778, he was again ordered to the 'Bettering House'. During the period of his service there he had suffered much in his health from hard duty and disease, and his monthly pay, owing to the depreciation of the paper currency, was insufficient to clothe him. He left the hos- pital with the approbation of the commanding officer in Angust, 1779, to accept the appoint- ment of surgeon to the privateer Morning Star, commanded by Captain Gardner, in which he made two cruises in company with the elder Captain Decatur. Among the prizes taken by this privateer was a transport with Hessians, which had been cut off from the British fleet going into New York City. The vessel was sent to Egg Harbor. Shortly after this, John White was appointed surgeon to the Rising Sun, a twenty-gun ship built at Egg Harbor, and which was captured by the British frigate Medea, July 1, 1780. The Doctor was carried to South Carolina, where he was 'confined in the prison ship four months and then transferred with other sur- vivors to the Jersey prison-ship at New York City. In addition to the many cruelties in- flicted on the prisoners in that infamous prison ship, about 150 prisoners were mus- tered and selected under the pretence of being sent on board of a cartel for exchange, who were taken out at midnight to be distributed among a fleet of war vessels anchored near Sandy Hook, ready to sail. Dr. White, with twenty-seven others, was put on board the flag-ship London, ninety guns, and as soon as it was light they were ordered to assist at the windlass in weighing the anchor, which, if refused, punishment was threatened. In this emergency he addressed himself to the lieutenant in command, representing his unfit-
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ness for such service, and the position he occupied, when captured, when after one night's detention he was returned to the old prison ship.
"The British surgeons, to relieve themselves from a dangerous and disagreeable duty, pro- cured the attendance of American surgeons to wait on the sick, which appointment was duly accepted by them, as it included the privilege of a boat to go on board the hospital ships and occasionally on shore to obtain medicines and provisions for the sick. Dr. Nathan Dor- sey, a surgeon on board one of our captured frigates, who had been assigned by his cap- tors, to this duty, was exchanged, and the sub- ject of this sketch, Dr. John White, succeeded him after about four months' detention on the Jersey, in attendance on the sick American prisoners. After continuing a prisoner for seven months in New York City, Dr. White was exchanged through the kind efforts of friends."
After his release he returned to Phila- delphia and continued in the practice of medicine there until his death in his eightieth year.
The nine children of James and Mary White (Haddock) Carstairs, all born in Philadelphia, are all living: Lucy Had- dock; Daniel Haddock, of whom further ; John Hazeltine, of whom further; Charles Stewart, married Esther Holmes Haseltine; Emily Frances, married Wal- ton Ferguson, of Bridgeport, Connecti- cut; Mary White, married Stephen de Kosenko; Lena Farr, married (first) Francis A. Janney, (second) Mario Mon- tu, of Turin, Italy, where they reside; James (3), married Priscilla Moore Tay- lor, daughter of Matthew H. Taylor, of Erie, Pennsylvania, president of the Pittsburgh Coal Company.
Daniel Haddock Carstairs, eldest son of James and Mary White (Haddock) Carstairs, was born in Philadelphia, Feb- ruary 7, 1862. He was educated in the Few-Smith Academy, Philadelphia, whence he was graduated in 1879. He began business with his father as mem- ber of Carstairs, McCall & Company, distillers of and wholesale dealers in and Corinthian Yacht; the Maryland of
liquors, No. 254 South Third street, and at his father's death succeeded him as senior member of the firm, and with his brother, John Hazeltine Carstairs, con- tinues the business established by their father. IIe is a member of the Sons of the Revolution, deriving membership through the patriotic service of his ma- ternal ancester, Dr. John White, the Revolutionary surgeon of previous men- tion. His clubs are the Union League, Philadelphia Cricket, Germantown Cric- ket, Philadelphia Country and Racquet, all of Philadelphia, and the Maryland of Baltimore.
Mr. Carstairs married (first) Novem- ber 27, 1883, Louise Orne, born August 4, 1862, daughter of Edward B. and Eliz- abeth (Boldin) Orne, of Philadelphia. He married (second) April 21, 1906, Viola Howard, daughter of Francis Howard of Boston. Children of first marriage: Elizabeth Boldin Carstairs, married, January 9, 1907, William Moore Stewart (3rd) ; Mary Haddock Carstairs, married A. Huntington Lewis, of Syra- cuse, New York.
CARSTAIRS, John Hazeltine,
Large Manufacturer.
John Hazeltine, second son of James and Mary White (Haddock) Carstairs, was born in Philadelphia, August 7, 1863. He was educated in Philadelphia schools, and entered the firm of Car- stairs, McCall & Company, and with his brother, Daniel Haddock Carstairs, con- tinues the business established by their father. He also has other important business interests in Philadelphia. He derives membership in the Sons of the Revolution, from the patriotic service of his maternal ancestor, Dr. John White, the Revolutionary surgeon. He is a member of prominent Philadelphia clubs : Union League, Country, Racquet, Art,
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Baltimore ; and Union League of New in California; and Mary, who became York. Ilis Hazeltine's Massachusetts the wife of Leonard Snyder. ancestry, tracing to 1638, gains him mem- bership in the New England Society.
Mr. Carstairs married, April 30, 1884, Belle Wolf Wilson, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Wolf) Wilson, of Phila- delphia. Their only daughter and child is: Lorraine Wilson Carstairs.
WARD, William.
Ship-builder, Public Official.
When the history of Pittsburgh and her public men shall have been written, its pages will bear no more illustrious name and record, no more distinguished career, than that of the late William Ward. If "biography is the home aspect of history," it is certainly within the prov- ince of true history to commemorate and perpetuate the lives of those men whose careers have been of signal usefulness and honor to the State and Nation, and in this connection it is not only compatible but absolutely imperative that mention be made of William Ward.
William Ward was reared on his father's farm, receiving his education from the country schools. In 1831 he removed to Pittsburgh, where he en- tered a shipyard, and became thoroughly versed in the trade of a shipwright. Anxious for knowledge and learning readily, he was able to add greatly to his store of useful information by extensive reading, and this habit was kept up throughout his life. He formed a partnership with John Speer, and built many of the larger steamers that plied the Allegheny, the Monon- gahela and Ohio rivers. Among the many boats sent out by Speer & Ward was the "New Castle," launched in 1836, the first vessel to successfully navigate the Allegheny river. In 1843 Captain Ward retired from the river, and began to invest largely in real estate. Ile was almost invariably successful in his trans- actions, and became one of the heaviest land-owners in Pittsburgh. His practi- cal sagacity made itself felt in the man- agement of civic affairs, to which he gave much attention, being deeply inter- ested in the welfare and progress of the city. His ripe and varied experience, his judicial mind and his careful observation rendered him the trusted counsellor of his friends at all times, and under all phases of their lives. His decisions, de- livered impartially, were always re- garded as just and equitable, and his opinions upon private matters and pub- lic interests were recognized to be pre- eminently wise, prudent and prophetic, and have been triumphantly verified by the issue of events.
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