USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Volume I > Part 37
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
Dr. Slemmons has earned distinction outside his own locality. His degrees of A. B. and A. M. were received from Princeton University, while in 1900 Grove City College conferred that of D. D. He was chosen Presbyterial com- missioner to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church that met at Sar- atoga, New York, in 1896, and again to the General Assembly meeting at Louis- ville, Kentucky, in 1912. He is a member of the board of trustees of Washington and Jefferson College, also holding the same relation to Western Theological Seminary of Allegheny and to Washing- ton Seminary. He is a true type of the educated Christian gentleman, loyal to his church and his Maker, broadminded in his views, and most generous in his na-
253
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
ture. While his great usefulness is broadly apparent, the great measure of his success can only be estimated, as the good seed sown has been widely distrib- uted, and, while some has fallen in stony places, much has fallen in fruitful soil, and the harvest will be abundant. Nor is his work finished, but his powers are only in full maturity and many years of usefulness to his fellowmen are yet be- fore him. Ever the thorough student and missing no phase of the world's prog- ress in church or State, there are yet heights to be climbed and greater respon- sibilities to be carried by his capable shoulders. He is a Republican in his po- litical preference, but before all he is the earnest churchman.
He married, July 22, 1892, Jane, daugh- ter of Dr. John P. and Margaret (For- ker) Hosack, of Mercer, Pennsylvania, a prominent Mercer county family, and they have one daughter, Mary.
BITTENGER, John W.,
Lawyer, Jurist.
History points with pride to the mili- tary record of Captain Nicholas Bitten- ger, a patriot soldier in the War of the Revolution, great-grandfather of the Hon. John W. Bittenger, and carefully scrutinizing the career of Judge Bitten- ger, we find there only that which brings to his line, credit and praise.
Hon. John W. Bittenger was born in York Springs, Adams county, Pennsyl- vania, November 10, 1834, son of Henry and Julia A. (Sheffer) Bittenger. He acquired his elementary education in the public schools, at the academy at Stras- burg, Pennsylvania, and at Rockville, Maryland, which was supplemented by a partial course at Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg. While studying at Pennsyl- vania College, he registered with Hon. Moses McClean, of Gettysburg, as stu- dent at law, subsequently going to Rock-
ville, Maryland, where he finished his legal studies in the office of W. Vien Bouic, who was afterward Judge of the Circuit Court, and was admitted to the Montgomery county bar, Maryland, in 1856. In the same year he entered Har- vard Law School at Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, and was graduated in 1857 with the degree of LL.B. After graduation he began practice in Lexington, Ken- tucky, remaining three years. In 1860, Mr. Bittenger moved to York, Pennsyl- vania, with whose bar and judiciary he has ever since been identified. In poli- tics he has always been a Democrat, and has taken a prominent and influential part in the party councils, having been campaign orator in the Democratic con- tests in York county, as a speaker be- ing strong and forcible, clear in expres- sion, and always commanding attention.
In 1862 he began his official career with the nomination for an election to the district attorneyship of the county, an office he held through re-election for six years. Upon retiring from that office he entered upon his practice at the bar, and at the time of accepting the judge- ship had acquired a large and lucrative practice, with a county-wide reputation. As a lawyer he possesses that judicial in- stinct which makes its way quickly through immaterial details to the essen- tial points upon which the determination of a cause must turn, and his arguments are at all times logical, forcible and clear.
In 1888 Mr. Bittenger was the delegate of his party to the National Convention at St. Louis, and in November, 1890, was appointed by Governor Beaver to fill the vacancy occasioned on the bench of the Nineteenth Judicial District, York coun- ty, by the death of Hon. John Gibson. The same year he became the nominee of his party for the judgeship, and was elected at the following election, and in 1900 was re-elected by a large majority, the Republican party having endorsed
254
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
him in convention and having made no nomination against him. Since 1895 he has served as President Judge of the county, until his retirement, January 1, 1912, and his rulings have attracted State-wide attention because of their manifest clearness and fairness. Judge Bittenger is a scholar, a man of widest reading, a brilliant writer, an impressive and effective speaker, a powerful debater, a man of scintillant imagination, tremen- dously alert, tremendously intense and tremendously earnest. With all this, he has extraordinary genius for admin- istration, and an intuitive mind that has played an important part in his career. He keeps himself abreast of the times, and has an intimate knowledge of men and the best thought of the day.
Judge Bittenger married Anna Bren- neman, of York county, Pennsylvania. Children: Ida, Julia, Daniel S., Charles E. and Louisa Augusta. Mrs. Bittenger is a woman who possesses grace and in- telligence and that natural spontaneous charm which endears her to her many friends, and the Bittenger home is the seat of a gracious hospitality. The fam- ily are members of the Trinity Reformed Church of York.
MERCUR, Ulysses,
Lawyer, Supreme Court Chief Justice.
The history of the Mercur family will ever remain an important chapter in that of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The emigrant ancestor came from Aus- tria in 1780, settling in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Henry Mercur, son of the emigrant, born in Lancaster county, in 1786, was sent to Vienna, Austria, to be educated at the University, spending eight years there, returning to the United States in 1807. In 1809 he located in Canton, Pennsylvania, where he married Mary Watts, September 10, 1810, and then removed to Towanda, and died Sep-
tember 10, 1868; his wife died December 14, 1839.
Ulysses, fourth son of Henry and Mary (Watts) Mercur, was born in Towanda, Pennsylvania, August 12, 1818, and after a life of great usefulness, died at Wal- lingford, near Philadelphia, June 6, 1887. After graduating from the schools he ex- pressed to his parents his ambition to become a lawyer. A strong characteris- tic of Henry Mercur was his indulgence to his children and his wisdom in allow- ing them to decide their own future. When the question of a legal career for Ulysses was being debated, it was strongly opposed by his brother, M. C. Mercur, on the ground of insufficient education for a learned profession. While this was true, it was finally decided in family conclave that a tract of land which was intended for Ulysses later should be at once given to him, and if he chose to convert it into cash, with which to educate himself for a lawyer, he could do so. At the age of sixteen he finished his public school study and then entered his brother's store in Towanda as a clerk. At nineteen years of age the little farm given him was sold, netting him twelve hundred dollars, with which he was to secure an education. He entered Jeffer- son College, at Canonsburg, Pennsyl- vania, where four and a half years later he was graduated with high honors, also holding the highest position in the liter- ary society of the college. During the last eighteen months in college he had in addition to his class work pursued a systematic course of legal 'study. It is recorded of him that he made his twelve hundred dollars cover every expense of his college years, not incurring any debt. After receiving his degree from Jefferson he returned to Towanda, continued the study of law, and was admitted to the Bradford county bar in 1843, one year after leaving college. He was at once offered a partnership by Edward Over-
255
.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
ton, under whom he had studied law, who in his year of intercourse had formed a high opinion of his pupil. Favorable as was this offer from Mr. Overton, it could have been readily made with several others of the strong men of the Bradford bar, then composed of such strong men as David Wilmot, Judge Williston, William Elwell, William Watkins and others. In a short time Mr. Mercur was the peer of any of them and it is of record that a competent judge stated: "It is no flat- tery to say that as a young lawyer he was unsurpassed in the State." Seven- teen years after he began practice, so great was the demand of his law business that he was compelled to retire during the entire winter of 1860 and 1861 in or- der to recruit his badly broken health. These months of rest and travel restored him to his normal condition, and never again did he break until his final collapse. During his career as a lawyer in Towan- da he became noted not alone for his wonderful powers as a lawyer, but for his conscientious discharge of his duties and his sturdy honesty, flatly refusing a retainer if he did not consider the case a good one and often blunt in impressing his view of the case upon his would-be client. He once refused a fee from a wealthy client who later found other counsel, entered upon litigation, and was bankrupted. He came again to Mr. Mer- cur and was amazed to find him ready to take his case. Expressing his sur- prise he was told that, though at first he had no case, now he had a very good one. He subsequently fought this case to a successful finish. His first advice cost him a fee but would have saved his client a fortune. Without a fee he fought the second case, but righted a wrong. So even as a young man his reputation spread far and wide as a courageous, up- right, learned advocate.
In January, 1861, Judge David Wil- mot, then President Judge of the Twelfth
Judicial District, was elected United States Senator and resigned from the bench. Mr. Mercur was appointed to fill the vacancy, and at the end was elected by the people to a full term, without op- position, this judicial district being then composed of the counties of Bradford and Susquehanna. In 1862, the Congres- sional District composed of Bradford, Columbia, Montour, Sullivan and Wyom- ing counties had elected a Democrat to Congress. In 1864, in order to restore Republican supremacy in the district, Judge Mercur was prevailed upon by the party leaders to accept the nomination. He reluctantly accepted, was elected, and was continued through four terms. His course in Congress was in full accord with Republican policies and he was an able representative, but not satisfied to be divorced from his professional career. It is said of him that his fourth nomina- tion and election were accepted solely on the grounds that he might aid in the fight to remove the tariff from tea and coffee. In 1872 there came to him un- sought the nomination of his party for Judge of the State Supreme Court. He remained upon the bench from January 1, 1873, until his death in 1887, after a public life of twenty-six years as Con- gressman and Judge.
Justice Agnew, afterward Chief Justice, in announcing to the Supreme Court on October 3, the death of Chief Justice Mercur, paid a glowing tribute to his friend, and emphasized the fact that his professional life was founded upon un- flinching principle and great integrity, also eulogizing him as a useful, honored citizen, an upright, able judge, whose life was an example to be studied well and to be followed by younger men of the profession. Immediately after the ad- journment of the court a meeting of the bar was organized, which was presided over by Chief Justice Gordon, and a com- mittee on memorial appointed, of which
256
3
John. B. Kirkpatrick)
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Hon. John Dalzell was chairman. Among KIRKPATRICK, John C., other resolutions reported was the fol- lowing: "In connection with this office, nothing can be said of him that is not to his honor. There is no taint on the purity of his ermine, the hot breath of calumny has never touched him and no question was ever made of the integrity of his life. His daily walk and conversa- tion were pure and without reproach."
In politics, Judge Mercur was a Demo- crat originally, although his father and brothers were Whigs. He affiliated with the "Free Soil Wing" of his party, and used his influence in behalf of making Kansas free. He was of the Wilmot- Grow school of politics and formally sev- ered all ties that bound him to the Dem- ocratic party, when the Missouri Com- promise was repealed. He was a warm friend of Hon. David Wilmot, who, when invited by President Lincoln to act as peace commissioner in 1861, visited Judge Mercur and had a free and full consulta- tion before accepting the honor and re- sponsibility offered him by the president.
Judge Mercur married June 12, 1850, Sarah S., daughter of General John Davis, of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and sister of General W. W. H. Davis, the prominent soldier and historian. Her mother was Amy ( Hart) Davis, whose ancestors came to Pennsylvania with William Penn in 1682, settling in Bucks county. The Davis ancestor, William Davis, came from England in 1740.
Children of Judge Ulysses Mercur : Rodney A., educated at Harvard Uni- versity, a prominent member of the Brad- ford county bar ; Dr. John D., an eminent physician, educated at Harvard Univer- sity and graduated at Jefferson Medical College, M. D., 1878; Mary E., married Colonel B. F. Eshleman, of Lancaster ; James W., an attorney-at-law at Media, and a graduate of Harvard University ; and Ulysses (2) of Philadelphia, a grad- uate of Princeton, engaged in business.
Oil Refiner, Manufacturer.
In all ages the welfare of the human race has been promoted by men who have discovered and utilized the forces of na- ture. The ancient myth of Prometheus has been many times repeated in history. In glancing back over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries there rise before us, dominant among these benefactors of mankind, the figures of Franklin, Morse, Edison and Marconi. In our land no region is richer in natural resources than is that of which Pittsburgh is the center. Steel, coal, oil, glass-all these have been brought out and harnessed to the vast wealth-producing machine of the city's industries, and, conspicuous among the magnates of the steel and oil interests was the late John C. Kirkpatrick, for many years one of the dominant figures of the Iron City.
John C. Kirkpatrick was born near Turtle Creek, Allegheny county, Penn- sylvania, January 14, 1833, son of John and Susan {Crawford) Kirkpatrick, both natives of the North of Ireland. His par- ents at an early age sought homes in the United States, coming to Western Penn- sylvania, where the father purchased a large tract of land and pursued agricul- ture until his death. Upon the death of her husband, about 1838, Mrs. Kirk- patrick placed the farm in the hands of the executor of the estate and returned to Ireland. She placed her son, John C., in school in Londonderry, where he re- mained till nineteen years of age. He then came to America and remained in Pennsylvania until twenty-one, when he returned to Ireland to claim a legacy left him by an uncle. Returning to Pennsyl- vania again, he embarked in the lamp and oil business, his place of business being on Third avenue, Pittsburgh.
In 1857 he became associated with Samuel Kier in extensive oil enterprises,
257
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
and was among the first to engage in oil refining in Pittsburgh. Their business was conducted on an extensive scale in a large establishment on 43d street, near the Allegheny Valley railway. Mr. Kirk- patrick continued in this business suc- cessfully until 1875, when he sold his in- terests to the Standard Oil Company, permanently retiring at this time from the oil refining business. Ilis next busi- ness venture was to purchase the Rogers & Burchfield Iron Company's establish- nient at Leechburg, where he established the large iron manufacturing business to which he devoted the remaining years of his life. The concern is now conducted by his sons, and comprises one of the largest industries of the kind in the coun- try. The business was organized as the Kirkpatrick Company, Limited, and Mr. Kirkpatrick was its chairman from the time of organization till his death.
The leading characteristics of Mr. Kirkpatrick may be stated as indomitable perseverance in any undertaking he onee embarked in, boldness of operation in his projects, unusual capacity for judging the motives and merits of men, and in- tegrity and loyalty to friends. Always willing to listen to and respect the opin- ions of others, when the time came to act, he acted for himself, and according to his own judgment. His accurate estimate of men enabled him to fill the many branches of his business with employees who seldom failed to meet his expecta- tions. He desired success, and rejoiced in the benefits and opportunities which wealth bring, but he was too broad- minded a man to rate it above its true worth, and in all of his mammoth busi- ness undertakings he found that enjoy- ment which comes in mastering a situa- tion-the joy of doing what he under- took.
Mr. Kirkpatrick had numerous other interests, among them being the Char- tiers Iron Company of Carnegie, Penn-
sylvania, of which he was one of the larg- est stockholders. Upon his death the business eame under the management of his sons, Jolin W. and James Lindsey, and Malcolm W. Leech, a son-in-law. In his business career, capable manage- ment, unfaltering enterprise and a spirit of justice were well balanced factors, while the business was carefully system- atized so that there were no needless ex- penditures of time, material or labor. Ile never regarded his employees as mere parts of a great machine, but recognized their individuality and made it a rule that efficient and faithful service should be promptly rewarded with promotion as opportunity offered. While a man of quiet demeanor, Mr. Kirkpatrick wrought an amount of good among the people of Pittsburgh which can hardly be computed; his charities and good deeds were known only to the benefi- eiaries, and his left hand never knew what his right hand distributed. He took a great interest in young men in whom he recognized ambition and abil- ity, starting many of them upon paths which have led to signal success. He was quick to notice signs of unusual qualities of mind or heart in anyone, and social distinctions were ignored by him, industry and brains being the patents to the only aristocracy which he reeog- nized. In politics he was a Republican. He was for twenty years a member and trustee of the Seventh United Presby- terian Church of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Kirkpatrick married, March, 1856, Miss Flora J., daughter of John and Jane (Wallace) Wallace, of the North of Ireland. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Kirk- patrick: Susan Crawford, married Mal- colm W. Leech, of Pittsburgh, and had children : Dorothy and Malcolm Wallace; John Wallace, married Anna Maude Kern, daughter of Dr. William Kern, of Me Keesport, Pennsylvania, and had ehil- dren : William Crawford and Flora Wall-
258
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
ace; Jennie McCrea ; and James Lindsey. BOWER, Addison, Mrs. Kirkpatrick is a woman not only of unusual sweetness and beauty of char- acter, but intellectual, energetic and sagacions, and the family are prominent in Pittsburgh social circles, where Mrs. Kirkpatrick dispenses a gracious hos- pitality.
The death of Mr. Kirkpatrick, which occured October 5, 1895, deprived Pitts- burgh of one of her most active men. Devoted in his family relations, sincere and true in his friendships, honorable and generous in business, he had the af- fection and esteem of those who lived closest to hiim and were best fitted to judge of his quality. He was human in his sympathies, cherished no false or im- possible ideals, lived level with the hearts of those with whom he was bound by ties of consanguinity and friendship, endear- ing himself to them and irradiating the widening circle of his influence with the brightness of a spirit that expressed the pure gold of character. His public and private life were one rounded whole- two perfect parts of a symmetrical sphere. So completely were they joined that it would be difficult to say where the one ended and the other began. In pub- lic and in private he was actuated by one high motive-the welfare of all whom he served and of all with whom he served. With such a principle the mainspring of all his active career, with an optimistic outlook upon life, with faith in his friends and humanity, with a purpose to make the best of everything and see that 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, John C. Kirkpatrick won a place that was all his own in the hearts of all who knew him, and the memory of his upright life remains as a blessed ben- ediction to those who were his associates while he was numbered among the rep- resentative citizens of the Iron City.
Pharmacist, Public Official.
The Bowers came to Myerstown from Philadelphia, where Dr. Henry Bower, grandfather of Addison Bower, received his degree and later practiced his pro- fession, before settling in Myerstown. He was a skillful physician and for many years was the leading doctor of the town- ship. He married Susan Zimmerman, of an old Pennsylvania family. The Bowers also trace to an early ancestor, General Jacob Boyer of the Revolution. Dr. William Bower, son of Dr. Henry Bower, married Rebecca Mandell, daugh- ter of Bejamin Mandell, and had four sons, all of whom became professional men, three, Henry, Gibson and William, being graduate practicing physicians. Of these only Dr. William Bower sur- vives. The fourth son, Addison, will have later mention. One daughter of Dr. William Bower, Emily, died at the age of eighteen years, and Mary, her older sister, married Rev. John Sechler.
Addison, son of Dr. William Bower, was born in Myerstown, Pennsylvania, September 5, 1855. He was educated in the public schools, but not taking as kindly to the medical profession as his brothers, he was sent to Albright Col- lege, where he pursued a full course and was graduated. Later he entered the College of Pharmacy, in Philadelphia, whence he was also graduated, after which he established the drug business in Myerstown, and has been there suc- eessfully located until the present. He is a competent pharmacist and a most capable man of business.
He is very highly esteemed in his community and has a large circle of warm friends. His popularity was po- litically attested when, on March 12, IQII, he was elected first burgess of the newly incorporated borough of Myers- town for a term of four years. He is a
259
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Democrat in politics, and a member of the Lutheran church. He is unmarried.
HARTZELL, William Harvey,
Physician, Financier, Humanitarian.
There are many rounds in the ladder of "success" and to every wide-awake capable man it is given to mount at least some of them. All such men reach a greater or less altitude through per- severing effort in some special line. As height increases, the ladder is less crowded, until nearing the apex, the really successful man finds himself with plenty of room Few there are who can reach elevated position in more than one line of activity, and such a man we will now consider; one who has risen to em- inence in his own profession and in a totally different field has placed his name among the leaders.
William Harvey Hartzell was born November 22, 1851, in Rock Hill town- ship, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, near Sellersville, son of Philip Eberhard and Elizabeth (Kerr) Hartzell. He is a de- scendant of Ulrich Hartzell, born in Germany, who settled in the present Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, in 1732. Ife was eighth in a family of eleven, and was left an orphan while yet a young child. He obtained the benefit of the public schools of his district, but in a limited degree, his self-study and in- tense ambition, however, compensating for his lack of early schooling. He fitted himself for admission to Washington Collegiate Institute (Trappe, Pennsyl- vania), and at the age of eighteen years began teaching school, continuing as an instructor during the years 1869-1870 and 1871. He had decided upon the pro- fession of medicine as his life work, and in 1871 entered Jefferson Medical Col- lege, at Philadelphia, whenee he was graduated M.D., elass of 1873, being then twenty-two years of age. He at once be-
gan practice, establishing at Adamstown, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, continuing there until 1877, when he located at Harleysville, Montgomery county, Penn- sylvania. After four years there he lo- cated in 1881 in Allentown, Pennsyl- vania. He had then been in practice eight years, and had acquired the ex- perience and confidence that only active practice can furnish. His rise in Allen- town began quickly, and he soon laid the foundation for the large and successful practice that succeeding years have brought him. The detail of Dr. Hart- zell's thirty-one years of professional life in Allentown would reveal a story of honorable conscientious practice; of days and nights of severest toil and study ; of sacrifice and devotion to duty, only equalled by men and women whose work is not for self, but for humanity. His splendid traits of character have shone nowhere with greater brilliancy than in the sick room, where his warm sympathy, refined gentlemanly bearing and expert medical skill brought hope and courage to the suffering. Possessing the. qualities peculiarly valuable in the physician, he has always commanded not only the patronage of a numerous clientele, but has gained the undying love and good will of his community.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.