USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Volume I > Part 42
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Coming to Pittsburgh in the fall of 1858, Mr. Jenkins became connected with the firm of Hall & Speer, plow man- ufacturers, and represented them for some time in the Lower Mississippi Val- ley and Texas, but when the Civil War broke out. he was obliged to abandon the business he had built up in the South. For the next two years he pursued various mercantile lines in and about Pittsburgh, and in the year 1864 entered the general commission business on Lib- erty avenue, Pittsburgh. Shortly after the produce business was discontinued and all his energies devoted to his rapid- ly increasing flour trade. Successful from the start, in 1866 Mr. Jenkins ad- mitted his brother as partner under the firm name of T. C. Jenkins & Brother. In 1869 this partnership was dissolved by the retirement of F. W. Jenkins, and from that time until his death Mr. Jenk- ins conducted the business under the in- dividual name of Thomas C. Jenkins, building up one of the largest con- cerns of the kind in the United States.
In his business career, able and con- servative management, unfaltering ener- gy and a spirit of enterprise were well- balanced factors, and his organization was so carefully systematized that it soon became one of the best known busi- ness concerns in the country. Mr. Jenkins never regarded his employees, however, as mere parts of a great ma- chine, but recognized their individuality and made it a rule that efficient and faithful service should be promptly re- warded with promotion as opportunity offered. 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 value, and in all his mammoth business undertakings he found that enjoyment which comes in mastering a situation --- the joy of doing what he undertook. In May, 1897, a great fire destroyed his
mammoth warehouse, but it was re- placed at once by an even larger and more massive structure, covering the en- tire block bounded by Penn, Fifth and Liberty avenues. This warehouse was torn down in 1910 and the Jenkins Ar- cade Building-a monument to the name of Thomas C. Jenkins-erected on the site, the grocery firm of Thomas C. Jenkins moving to the Terminal Ware- house, where they could secure modern railroad facilities.
Forceful, sagacious and resourceful, Mr. Jenkins was recognized as one of those who were most closely identified with the financial institutions which most largely conserved the growth and prog- ress of the city. He was a stockholder in numerous banks and trust companies, and in two of them had very large holdings. For a time he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Pitts- burgh, where his ripe and varied experi- ence rendered him a valued counsellor. In politics he was a staunch supporter of the Republican party, although he never desired office. Any plan for the better- ment of the city, or good cause in the way of charity or religion, found in him a warm advocate, and his gifts though almost always done in secret, were many. A member and vestryman of Trinity Church, of Pittsburgh, for over twenty years, he was active in religious work, and was elected to the diocesan conven- tion several times and as deputy to the general convention in 1889. For seven- teen years he was a faithful attendant of Christ Episcopal Church, Northside. Public-spirited, affable and well ac- quainted with municipal and industrial affairs, Mr. Jenkins enjoyed the confi- dence and good-will of his fellow citi- zens in an eminent degree. He admira- bly typified the courteous, successful merchant of the last half of the nine- teenth century.
Mr. Jenkins married, at Baltimore,
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Maryland, January, 1868, Miss Eleanor K. Elliotte, daughter of George Elliotte. Their two sons, T. Clifton and Edward E. Jenkins, are still carrying on the great wholesale flour and grocery business that their father built up.
The death of Thomas C. Jenkins, which occurred October 25, 1907, de- prived Pittsburgh of one who at all times stood as an able exponent of the best type of citizen, a leader of industry whose enterprise was tempered by wise conservatism and whose personal sin- cerity and business integrity was a daily example to all about him. He was one who, realizing that he would not pass this way again, made wise use of his op- portunities and his wealth, conforming his life to the highest standards and the loftiest principles. The claims of Thom- as C. Jenkins upon the grateful remem- brance of his adopted city are such as she has not been slow to recognize, and the strength of which, as the years go by, she will increasingly acknowledge. His reputation is of no ephemeral char- acter, for he contributed in no small measure to the upbuilding of the com- merce of the city and to its material im- provement. His services were such as form part of the basis of a great city's prosperity, and the sure foundation of the commercial prestige of the Pittsburgh of today is largely the work of such men as Thomas C. Jenkins.
JENKINS, Thomas Clifton, Man of Affairs.
great wholesale flour and grocery house, known for nearly forty years by the firm name of Thomas C. Jenkins. Mr. Jen- kins is closely identified not only with the mercantile, but also with the finan- cial, social and religious interests of his native city.
Thomas Clifton Jenkins was born No- vember 22, 1869, in Pittsburgh, and is a son of the late Thomas Christopher and Eleanor Katherine (Elliotte) Jenkins. Thomas Christopher Jenkins-a sketch of whom precedes this one-was for more than half a century enrolled among the respected business men and valued citizens of Pittsburgh, becoming widely known as the founder and head of the firm of Thomas C. Jenkins. Thomas Clifton Jenkins received his earliest edu- cation in the Third Ward public school of Allegheny, being next sent to Trinity Hall, Washington, Pennsylvania, and then entering the Preparatory Depart- ment of the University of Western Penn- sylvania, now the University of Pitts- burgh. In 1888 he was admitted to Har- vard College, and in 1891, after complet- ing the Academic course, entered the Law School, which conferred upon him, in 1894, the honorary degree of Bachelor of Laws.
Later in the same year Mr. Jenkins be- came associated with his father in the latter's wholesale grocery business, ac- quiring the most thorough knowledge of every detail and developing that sound, cool judgment, progressive spirit and dis- passionate temper which combined to ad- vance him to his present high position in the business world. In 1904 he as- sumed the management of the concern, and, upon the death of his father, in 1907, became senior partner in association with his brother, Edward E. Jenkins. The business of the firm was carried on in the great warehouse, so well known to older Pittsburghers, until 1910, when the
Pittsburgh's supremacy is the result of various causes, chief among which is the unsurpassed quality of her business men of the younger generation. Worthy sons of famous sires, ably do they up- hold the ancient prestige of their city and extend the boundaries of her dominion. Such men are of the type of Thomas Clifton Jenkins, senior member of the present Jenkins Arcade Building, the
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most notable structure of its kind in the world, was erected on the same site, and the jobbing business, of which the sub- ject of this sketch is the head, was re- moved to the Terminal Warehouse on the South Side of the city. In politics he is identified with the Republicans and, while concentrating his attention on the large business interests directly under his control, he has been loyal in his sup- port of measures calculated to benefit the city and promote its rapid and substan- tial development. Mr. Jenkins is a di- rector in the Bank of Pittsburgh, and also in the Fidelity Title and Trust Com- pany, is on the board of trustees of the University of Pittsburgh, and belongs to the Duquesne, University, Country, Un- ion and Pittsburgh Athletic clubs. He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Mr. Jenkins married, February 18, 1896, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Clara Horton, daughter of Nathan Hastings and Elizabeth (Horton) Shaw, and they are the parents of the following children : Alfred Elliotte, born March 29, 1897; Elizabeth Eleanor, born September 19, 1905; and Clara Dorothea, born June 19, 1909.
For a man who has not yet completed his forty-fourth year Mr. Jenkins has ac- complished much. Under his manage- ment the jobbing house founded by his father, Thomas C. Jenkins, in 1863, has attained constantly increasing impor- tance until it now ranks among the very largest concerns in the country, and, in addition to a task such as this, he has been the moving force in giving to the city a store and office building, monu- mental in its proportions, and a public ornament and benefit to the city. He is a true Pittsburgher-one to whom self- laudation is impossible, but whose motto ever has been, is and always will be, "Do !"
DUNLAP, Rev. John F.,
Clergyman, Educator.
Rev. John Francis Dunlap, A. M., D. D., President and Professor of Ethics and Theology in Albright College, Myerstown, Pennsylvania, is a native of York, York county, Pennsylvania, born July 10, 1865, son of John Harrison and Mary Ann (Wilhelm) Dunlap.
Rev. Dr. Dunlap acquired his prelim- inary education in the common schools of York, and then pursued advanced studies in York County Academy, from which he graduated in 1885; Northwest- ern College and Union Biblical Institute, Naperville, Illinois, from which he grad- uated in 1889; Central Pennsylvania Col- lege, from which he received the degree of Master of Arts, and Richmond Col- lege, from which he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He served in the capacity of school teacher from 1880 to 1885, a position for which he was well qualified ; from 1889 to 1909 was a min- ister of the Gospel, during which time he devoted all his energy, time and thought to his work, his brilliant ora- tory attracting attention, and his force- ful utterances showing forth the Divine purpose appealing to the understanding of all who heard him.
In 1909 he accepted the presidency of Albright College, which is the union of Central Pennsylvania College (of which he is an alumnus) and Albright Collegi- ate Institute, the aim of the institution being to provide for the liberal and su- perior education of the young men and women entrusted to its care and instruc- tion, and to direct them in securing the best preparation for the different spheres and avocations of life. Although it is not a sectarian institution, it is decidedly Christian in theory and practice, and ap- plies Christian principles and methods in all its departments.
Rev. Dr. Dunlap is a member of the
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Patriotic Order Sons of America, and is kill county, Pennsylvania, and died in a Democrat in politics. He is a member of the United Evangelical church; is a member and has been president of the Board of Examiners for twenty years, since 1893; was Assistant Secretary, 1894-1902, and Secretary, 1903-1906; President of Conference, 1909; Presiding Elder, 1906-1909; Secretary Educational Aid Society for fifteen years, from 1897; President of Trustees of the Church Ex- tension Society in 1906; delegate to Gen- eral Conference of Church, at Cedar Rap- ids, Iowa, in 1906, and at Canton, Ohio, 1910, and delegate to the Board of Home and Foreign Missions in 1907.
He married, at York, Pennsylvania, October 5, 1882, Mary Ellen, born Janu- ary 22, 1861, daughter of William and Sarah (Spatz) Knisely. Children: Irv- ing Ray, born February 2, 1884, a mis- sionary in Changawha, China; John Knisely, born January 12, 1890; Ralph Haspel, born December 3, 1891.
SCHROPP, Adam B., Journalist.
One of the leading newspaper men of this section, and a prominent publisher in this city, is Mr. Adam B. Schropp, a na- tive of Lebanon, who has been in the printing and publishing business here for many years, and is now president of the Lebanon News Publishing Company ; being also the managing editor of the Lebanon "Daily News" and the Lebanon "Semi-Weekly News," both publications being issued by the publishing company of which he is president and in which he holds the majority of the stock.
Mr. Schropp was born December 2, 1855, in Lebanon, being the son of the late Rev. Henry Schropp, who was a minister of the United Brethren church for many years, and for a number of terms filled the position of presiding eld- er therein. He was a native of Schuyl-
Lebanon in the year 1900. His wife, the mother of Adam B. Schropp, was a Miss Priscilla Christ before her marriage, and was also a native of Schuylkill county, from which locality she removed with her husband to Lebanon county, their adopted home, surviving her husband of half a century for the brief period of a year, dying in 1901. He had followed his ministerial calling for the last forty-five years of his life, joining the ministry very shortly after his marriage, and be- ing ardently supported in his religious faith and works by his devout and sym- pathetic helpmate. To the church in which his father and mother had been faithful workers for so long a time, Adam B. Schropp has always maintained his allegiance.
He received only a common school ed- ucation in the schools of Lebanon, com- pleting his studies in the year 1870, when, at the age of fifteen, he entered the busi- ness world and commenced his long career as a printer. He began as an ap- prentice in the office of John Young, edi- tor and publisher of the "Pennsylvanier"; and served a three years' term with him, mastering thoroughly the details and re- quirements of his trade. He then worked as a journeyman printer for a few years in Philadelphia, Lancaster, Harrisburg and Allentown, followed by a year spent in the same field at Olean, New York ; then, in 1875, he returned to Lebanon and pursued the same vocation here for a brief period after which he interrupted his connection with the printing and pub- lishing trade by entering on a mercantile life in Lebanon, and also in Philadelphia. In May, 1892, he became connected with the "Daily News," of Lebanon, as part owner and business manager. The pa- per had been founded in 1872, just twenty years previously, by the Smith Brothers, and was the first daily issued in Lebanon. In 1875 the founders sold
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the plant to Messrs. Reinhard and Sharp, ing children, all of whom have reached who continued publication. The pur- their maturity, are : Miss Daisy Schropp; Dr. R. J. Schropp, the only living son, who is a dentist ; and Ruth A., now Mrs. Henry L. Wilder, of Hingham, Massa- chusetts. chase of the publishing business in May, 1892, was made by the late Joseph H. Light, Adam B. Schropp and Jacob G. Schropp, the last mentioned partner, as well as the first, being now deceased. Mr. Adam B. Schropp being thus left CARD, William Warren, alone in the business, it was incorporated Civil Engineer, Manufacturer. as the Lebanon News Publishing Com- pany, on January 1, 1912, under the laws of Pennsylvania, Mr. Schropp being the chief stockholder as aforesaid, and con- tinuing the publication of the two issues of the paper in the interests of the Re- publican party, of which he is an ardent supporter.
In the year 1902, Mr. Schropp was nominated by his party as treasurer of Lebanon county, and was elected in the fall by a handsome majority, being the youngest county treasurer ever elected in Lebanon county up to that time. He was then only forty-seven years of age, hav- ing by his popularity with his party won for himself an eminent position in the community. He is a man who is also ex- tremely popular in the social and fra- ternal world, being a member of the Steitz Club, the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America, and the Elks.
On January 18, 1877, Mr. Schropp was married, at Lebanon, Pennsylvania, to Miss Sarah A. Yingst, daughter of John H. and Eliza Yingst, the former of whom has now been deceased for many years. Mrs. Schropp is a lady of unusual cul- ture and refinement, having received an excellent education at the Lebanon schools, supplemented by courses at the Lebanon Valley College and a seminary in Chester county. She is very much es- teemed in social circles, to which her It was at this time that Mr. Card first met the inventor with whose famous en- terprise he was destined to become so intimately identified. Mr. Westinghouse was then in the peculiar position of hav- presence and influence lend an added charm. Mr. and Mrs. Schropp became the parents of four children, all born in Lebanon, one of whom, Harry G. Schropp, is now deceased. The remain- ing a wonderful invention, yet being un-
The late William Warren Card, for more than twenty years secretary of the Westinghouse Air-Brake Company, was largely instrumental in securing recogni- tion for that great boon to the railroad systems of the world-the Westinghouse air-brake. During the latter half of his life, Mr. Card was a resident of Pitts- burgh.
He was born September 6, 1831, in Nel- son, Madison county, New York, and was a son of William Jacob Card and Lydia (Stone) Card. The father was a civil en- gineer, and the son early showed aptitude for the details of the profession and de- cided to make it his life-work. In 1851 he went to the West and secured a posi- tion with the engineering department of the Panhandle railroad. He settled at Lancaster, Ohio, and after a few years severed his connection with the Pan- handle in order to assist in the construc- tion of the Cleveland, Loraine & Wheel- ing railroad. In 1859 he returned to the Panhandle, becoming superintendent of the Steubenville division. He had by this time achieved some reputation as a man of great ability in his chosen profes- sion, original and progressive in his methods and ideas, and of unquestioned integrity and remarkable decision of character.
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able to obtain a trial to demonstrate its to the close of his life Mr. Card belonged efficiency, for, so original was his appli- to the American Society of Civil En- gineers. ance, that railroad officials everywhere refused to even consider it. It remained Mr. Card married (first) in 1862, in Columbus, Ohio, Hattie Dinsmore, and the following children were born to them : William Dinsmore, of Pasadena, Cali- fornia; Henry Stone, of Michigan; and Nellie, wife of Daniel Agnew Moore, of Pittsburgh. Mrs. Card died in 1879, and Mr. Card married (second) in March, 1890, in Washington, District of Colum- bia, Mary Llewellyn, becoming by this marriage the father of one daughter, Ruth Llewellyn, wife of Templeton Briggs, of Boston. for Mr. Card to see and believe in it and to authorize a trial on the Steubenville di- vision. This test led to the almost imme- diate adoption of the air-brake through- ont the world. A warm and enduring friendship was formed, and in 1870 Mr. Westinghouse induced Mr. Card to come to Pittsburgh and accept a position with the Air-Brake Company. In 1880 he was elected secretary, and held this position until 1902, when as vice-president his duties became less exacting and he was able to enjoy some of the results of a life The death of Mr. Card, which occurred April 4, 1903, was a real loss to Pitts- burgh. Unostentatious in his activities, he was nevertheless a man of most prog- ressive endeavor, always searching for a channel through which the material and moral welfare of the city might be ad- vanced. Measured by the highest stand- ards, his was a successful life, and the history of such men as he is the history of the growth of Pittsburgh. of unremitting industry. During the pe- riod in which the company grew from an insignificant concern to its present high standing, Mr. Card constantly worked twelve and fourteen hours a day. He was known as a man of splendid business judgment, and his many investments were sound and prosperous. He was president of the Pittsburgh Screw and Bolt Company, and a heavy stockholder in almost all of the Westinghouse in- terests. Although interested in many of THOMPSON, Raymond A., the successful financial concerns of the city, his association with them was mere- Physician, Public Official. ly that of a stockholder, inasmuch as he could never be induced to hold official positions in any of them, and could never be persuaded to become a director in banks in which he was interested. In all the enterprises with which he was asso- ciated he was a moving spirit, but his influence made itself felt quietly and unostentatiously. He was particularly well known among railroad men by rea- son of his reminiscences-which were of great historical value-on the early rail- road development of the United States. He had a remarkable memory for figures, facts and faces, and this enabled him to contribute much valuable matter to the railway data of the country. From 1883
Dr. Thompson springs both paternally and maternally from pioneer Butler coun- ty families. Both parents were born in that county, his father Stephen Thomp- son having for many years been a river steamboat pilot, later a farmer. He was a man of high character, and universally mourned at his death in September, 1900.
Raymond A. Thompson, son of Stephen and Deborah (Stauffer) Thompson, was born in Franklin township, Butler coun- ty, Pennsylvania, May 10, 1876. His mother still survives, aged seventy-six years. He grew to manhood at the home farm and obtained a good education in the public schools nearby. Later he at- tended the High School in Carnegie,
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Pennsylvania, and was also a clerk in the drug store in Carnegie of which his brother was proprietor. He finished his classical education at the Western Uni- versity of Pennsylvania (now Univers- ity of Pittsburgh), and was graduated from the Academic Department. Decid- ing upon the profession of medicine, he entered the Medical Department of the same university, whence he was gradu- ated M.D., class of 1903. Following his graduation he was connected with the Health Department of the City of Pitts- burgh for six months, being so engaged during the smallpox epidemic of that year. In the autumn of 1903 he located in Butler, Pennsylvania, and began the practice of his profession, and is now well established in public favor as a skil- ful, honorable physician.
He is a Republican in politics, and has always been active in public affairs and a warm friend of all movements tending to the public good. He was elected in 1909 a member of the City Council from the Fifth Ward, and is now serving a term of five years in that body, a progressive, use- ful member. He is secretary of the Cit- izens' Water Company, also a director. He belongs to the Masonic order- lodge, chapter and commandery. In re- ligious faith he is a Presbyterian, belong- ing to the First Church of Butler. His offices are at No. 110 South Main street.
Dr. Thompson married, September 11, 1912, Martha Ann Buck, of Natrona, Pennsylvania.
STEWART, John Leighton,
Journalist.
A name well known and highly re- garded in journalistic circles in Pennsyl- vania, is that of John Leighton Stewart, editor of the "Observer" and the "Re- porter" of Washington, Pennsylvania, both daily newspapers.
He was born in Bakerstown, Alle-
gheny county, Pennsylvania, August 12, 1876, son of Rev. William Grove and Jennie (Wright) Stewart. His father is a minister of the Presbyterian faith, now living a retired life in Wilkinsburg, Penn- sylvania. His mother died in 1887.
John Leighton Stewart was educated in the public schools, and Washington and Jefferson College, from which he was graduated in 1899, later spending two years at Harvard Law School. After leaving the law school he organized the Observer Publishing Company at Wash- ington, Pennsylvania, having had some journalistic experience while a student, on the "News-Standard" of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and later with Washington and Pittsburgh papers. Upon the organ- ization of the company he became man- ager, secretary and treasurer, offices he held until April 1, 1912. On July 1, 1912, he purchased a controlling interest in the company and became its president, edi- tor and general manager. In January, 19II, he purchased the "Daily Times," of Beaver, Pennsylvania, which he also con- ducts indirectly. His papers maintain a high standard of journalism, and all are free from the deadly taint of "muck-rak- ing." He is a Progressive in politics, and, exclusive of the power which he "naturally wields through his editorial columns, has much influence in political circles.
He married, April 20, 1904, Margaretta Donnan, daughter of Alvan and Lucy (Murdoch) Donnan. Child: Lucy Don- nan.
HARBISON, Samuel P.,
Manufacturer, Philanthropist.
Not a few among the merchants and manufacturers of Pittsburgh have added to the laurels won in the arena of busi- ness the noble renown of the philanthro- pist, and by none of their number was this twofold distinction more eminently
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