USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 13
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ISAAC HINCKLEY.
ISAAC HINCKLEY, late President of the Phila- delphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Com- pany, was born at Hingham, Mass., October 28, 1815, and died at Philadelphia, Penn., March 28, 1888. He early developed a marked taste for study, and after preparation at Derby Academy, Hingham, he entered, as a sophomore, the class of 1834 at Harvard College. The serious condition of his eyes prevented him from graduating with his class, but in 1865 Harvard conferred upon him his degree. After consultation with Boston, New York and London oculists, it was shown that his hope of a professional life must be deferred, and in 1835 he went to Audubon, Illinois, purchased some acres of prairie land and settled upon the life of a farmer, being at the same time agent of the Audubon Land Company, Justice of the Peace, School Commis- sioner and hunter. In 1840 at Rose Hill, Illinois, his marriage to Julia Randolph Townsend took place. Of their seven children four survived their parents. Although his natural vigor of constitution, individual force and self-reliance made it possible for him to overcome the manifold obstacles and diffi-
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culties of frontier life, he became convinced that in mental effort, rather than physical, lay the promise of advancement in life and true development. He therefore relinquished his Illinois farm and returning to the East entered upon railroad life. Becoming conspicuous for his intelligence, zeal and conscien- tious discharge of duty, he was soon promoted to be Superintendent of the Providence & Worcester Railroad Company. In this responsible position he distinguished himself by the assiduous care he took of the patrons of the road. The traveling public knew him better than any other officer connected with it, and both they and the directors appreciated to the fullest extent his praiseworthy efforts. When- ever travel was heavy, and especially during the winter months, wher the possibility of discomfort and disaster was at the maximum, Mr. Hinckley was to be found on the dock in Providence, often long before daylight, awaiting the arrival of the New York boat in order to give every aid possible in the landing and transfer to his cars of those pas- sengers bound to Worcester and intermediate points. This duty was really within the province of the con- ductors of trains and their subordinates, but Mr. Hinckley attended to it personally to facilitate matters and from a desire to be on hand in the event of accident or any untoward circumstance calling for more than ordinary care or the exercise of the higher authority vested in him. In 1848 he left the service of the Providence & Worcester Railroad Company to accept the position of agent of the Merrimac Manufacturing Company of Lowell, Mas- sachusetts, to which he had been invited by Mr. Eben Chadwick, then Treasurer of the corporation. Mr. Chadwick's attention had been called to Mr. Hinckley by a common friend, and notwithstanding that the railroad Superintendent, in the interview which followed, modestly disclaimed any knowl- edge of manufacturing, his worth and fitness for the position were so apparent that the appointment was made on the spot. Mr. Hinckley filled the office of agent of the Merrimac Mills for sixteen years. One who knew him well while he held this position has written of him as follows : "The new Superinten- dent had rare qualifications ; great aptness at com- prehending the principles and application of me- chanics, a quick appreciation of every improvement in machinery, a close study of processes of economy in material or labor, and above all the power of guiding and controlling men and of holding fast their respect, their devotion and their affection. During his official connection with the Merrimac Mills the relation between the corporation and its officers and its operators was all that could be desired. To be sure the better class of New Eng-
land people sought occupation there, but they were people of great self-respect and jealous of their . rights. No one valued or respected these traits more than the agent. He was a power among men; but it was the power of a vigorous intellect and of character governed always by considerate and rea- sonable thought for the rights of others." At the close of sixteen years' devoted and successful ser- vice in the Merrimac Company, Mr. Hinckley was offered the Presidency of the Philadelphia, Wil- mington and Baltimore Railroad Company. This road was in need of the highest administrative ability, and its directors after carefully looking over the field settled upon Mr. Hinckley as the man who was, in their estimation, best equipped by experi- ence and natural attainments for this executive position. It was a flattering offer, but the sequel showed that the choice of the Board could not have been more fortunate. As Mr. Hinckley could not plead guilty to ignorance of railroad matters he was obliged to accept the Presidency, and did so per- fectly aware of the great responsibilities and labor it entailed. He came to his duties while the Civil War was closing. The road, which formed a part of the through line between the loyal North and the National Capital, had, during the preceding four years of internecine strife, been taxed to its utmost capacity. The demands upon its resources were so constant and imperative that repairs and renewals had to be postponed indefinitely. Mr. Felton, who preceded Mr. Hinckley in the Presidency, had almost sacrificed his life by his zealous and patriotic efforts to make the road the efficient ally and ser- vant of the government. The task which fell to Mr. Hinckley was no ordinary one. Quietly but rapidly surveying the ground, he made his plans almost instantly, and with celerity set about execut- ing them. The road had virtually to be restored, and this in the face of the great and increasing draft upon its resources in transporting both pas- sengers and freight. In addition, the business had to be still further developed, and this involved among other things the encouragement of the growth of population along its line and the reduction of its rates to the lowest possible paying basis. In this work Mr. Hinckley found the fullest and most congenial scope for his ambition. His ends were clearly defined and he pursued them with the great- est ardor and with rare ability and success for twenty-three years. "His whole heart," says the writer above referred to, "was in the work; there was no detail of comfort or economy too minute for his careful study ; no question of policy or adminis- tration too complex for his thorough examination and ultimate solution. He had a genius for facts.
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He was dealing with great material interests, and his investigations and conclusions followed the lead of mechanical demonstrations. He was very sure- footed, and, though sanguine, his experiments as to policy of business or novelties of mechanical con- struction were almost always justified." A large portion of the business of the P., W. & B. came from the farmers along the route, with whom the arrange- ments in general were most liberal. To still further encourage them to avail themselves of the privileges of the road he offered among other things, to run a daily express into the New York market when six carloads could be offered to him for a train. This liberal offer had a marvelous result. Step by step the business of the road with this industry attained huge proportions. The arrangements made uot only benefited the road, but materially assisted in developing the whole region through which it ran. The fruit business alone had so enormously devel- oped that within fifteen years "on a single day in June oue hundred and twenty-seven car loads, of eight tons each, of strawberries, equal to 1,143,000 quarts or boxes, were run on trains from the Delaware division of the road into New York. The picking and packing, alone, of the fruit for this sin- gle run required the labor of over thirty thousand people." Whatever the strain of business put upon the road Mr. Hinckley never neglected repairs. Year by year its condition became more perfect. The latest and most approved devices and improve- ments were carefully tested, and when found advan- tageous were adopted. Steel rails took the place of iron, stone or other fire-proof material was substi- tuted for wood in the bridges and culverts, and steam heaters drove out the dangerous car stove. The track and track-bed were scrupulously attended to. Mr. Hiuckley appreciated the manhood of work, above all of intelligent and skillful work, when the mind directed the physical powers. He surrounded himself with self-respecting, loyal and trusty men, and these qualities, through his kindly interest in the welfare and advancement of all, were to be found in every department, were, in fact, the characteristics of all the road's employees, whatever their grade. "When are you going to strike ? " asked a passenger of one of the meu on a train, when strikes among railroad employces seemed to be the order of the day. "Oh!" replied the man addressed, "when our President does." This absolute confidence in the wisdom and justice of Mr. Hinckley's management was shared by all. Few men in such an exacting position as that of railroad President have ever beeu so trusted and loved. In one respect the " P., W. & B." was pecu- liarly situated. Counecting Philadelphia and Bal-
timore, it lay between two gigantic corporations, the " Pennsylvania " to the north and the "Balti- more and Ohio" to the south, both using its facili- ties. There was the constant danger of being crushed by either of these great rivals, and no small share of Mr. Hinckley's tact and ability was ex- peuded in preventing a proceeding so disastrous as this would have proved to the stockholders. The peril at times was serious in the extreme, but was always successfully avoided, and without loss. Finally, in 1880, the Baltimore and Ohio endeavored to secure control of the "P., W. & B." and had quietly contracted with oue of the latter's largest New England stockholders for the purchase of a controlling interest in the road. While this was going on Mr. Hinckley was not idle; a majority of the stock of the company was secured through the assent of the stockholders, and negotiations opened with the " Pennsylvania," resulting in the latter's purchase of the "P., W. & B." This sale was the best proof of his successful management. The par value of the stock was fifty dollars per share, and the price paid by the "Pennsylvania " was eighty dollars, the market price previous to this sale being about sixty-five dollars. The Baltimore & Ohio being thus outwitted, subsequently con- structed, at an enormous cost, a parallel line from Baltimore to Philadelphia. With the absorption of the road Mr. Hinckley obtained, in some degree, the rest to which his unceasing activity of a score of years richly entitled him. But he had expended his life energies in the road's work, and his health was so completely shattered that his life was pro- longed against disease only by his splendid physique, vigor and force of will. After a most heroic battle against the insidious foe, in which he was remarkable for his unfailing patience and cheerfulness, he succumbed to its inroads, and died peacefully at his home in Philadelphia, in the spring of 1888. His remains were buried in his native town of Hingham, on a high knoll overlooking the sea, of which, from boyhood, he was a constant lover. His colleagues in the management of the "P., W. & B." road were among the earliest to take official cognizance of his death, and their grief at the loss of their beloved friend and head was shared by every man connected with the company in any capacity. The following is the extract from the official minutes of the Board of Directors :
EXTRAOT FROM THE MINUTES.
At a special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Rail- road Company, held April 2, 1888, the Vice-Presi- deut stated that it was his melancholy duty to anuounce the death of their President, Mr. Isaac
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Hinckley, on the 28th ulto., whereupon the follow- ing was adopted :
Mr. Hinckley's connection with this company extended over a period of twenty-three years, hc having succeeded Mr. Samuel M. Felton in the Pres- idency, and during this period, being one-third of the allotted span of man's life, was devoted to its interests and the welfare of its employees with untiring zeal and energy. Hc was a scholar of marked ability; a wise and trusted connsellor; widely known and respected as a man of the high- est integrity. His untiring industry, tact and skill in working out problems and settling important questions, not only relating to the interests of this company, but those pertaining to the railway inter- ests of the whole country, were of the greatest value, and in his relations with the officers and employees he was always kind, considerate and courteons. Important as werc his services to this company, their value was enhanced by the loyalty and disinterestedness with which they were ren- dered. It is therefore
Resolved, That this record of the services rendered to this company by its President, the late Mr. Isaac Hinckley, be spread npon the minutes of the Board, and that the Secretary be instructed to forward a certified copy thereof to his family. I hereby cer- tify that the foregoing extract from the minntes of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Rail- road Company is a true copy.
(Signed,)
ROBERT CRAVEN, Secretary.
The foregoing testimonial to Mr. Hinckley's worth and uscfulness was subsequently issued by the rail- road company in the shape of a memorial volume for distribution among his immediate family and friends. Mr. Hinckley, by his natural activity of mind, became a man of wide and varied knowledge and of great cultivation. He gathered ideas and facts most rapidly, his memory was strong and tenacious, and he had the readiest use of his mental resources. He lived in daily appreciation and pur- suit of new scientific facts and developments ; whenever a subject interested him he gathered rap- idly, and from every quarter, all the knowledge bearing upon it, made it his own and studied out his own conclusions with most patient interest. In later life he became a storehonse of knowledge, and in social or business intercourse with others was constantly appealed to to supply needed informa- tion. His mental activity, his warm affection and genial temperament made his society and compan- ionship most stimulating and delightful. He was full of anecdote, had a quick sense of humor and the power of vividly presenting his ideas in a way to impress and absorb his hearers. He had a keen enjoyment of life, tempered by a natural self-con- trol and moderation. His sense of duty was more like an instinct or an emotion than an act of con- science, and to it he dedicated all his powers. His life was one of absolute honor, without stain or sns- picion of reproach. His warm heart gathered lov-
ing friends about him all his life through-friends of all classes and every variety of position and char- . acter. To those of his friends who survive him his death is the loss of one as high-minded and dutiful, as noble and lovable, as comes within the experience of their generation.
THOMAS COCHRAN. .
HON. THOMAS COCHRAN, a prominent citi- zen of Philadelphia, and President of the Guaran- tec Trust and Safe Deposit Company of that city, was born near Mercersburg, Franklin Co., Pennsyl- vania, April 12, 1832. He is the son of Robert B. and Mary (Allison) Cochran, both of whom were of Scotch-Irish descent, a race that formed an impor- tant element in the settlement of Pennsylvania. When he was little more than an infant his father died. Shortly after her bereavement Mrs. Cochran removed with her family to Harrisburgh, and snbse- quently to Philadelphia. In the latter places Thomas Cochran's early education was received. After fin- ishing the regnlar academic course, he began the study of law, and on completing the usual term was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia, December 2, 1854. He at once opened an office in that city and engaged in regnlar practice, evincing a marked aptitude for the law. His ready grasp of political affairs and his great personal popularity gradually brought him into other relations, mainly of a public character, and he eventually abandoned the profes- sion of his choice. In October, 1861, he was elected a member of the State House of Representatives, from what was then the Seventh Legislative Dis- trict of Philadelphia. By successive re-elections he continued a member of this body until the close of 1865, receiving each year an increased majority at
the polls. During his term of service the American Civil War was in progress and many very important questions were brought before the State Legislature, bearing directly or indirectly on the great domestic struggle. In both Houses there were an unusual number of able men who were called from pri- vate walks of life by the disturbed condition of the country, and who had already or have since attained high distinction in various spheres of pub- lic life. One of the most active members of the House of Representatives, Mr. Cochran served upon nearly all the more important committees during his several terms, and in 1865 was Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. His labors and influence were steadily exerted in securing uninter- rupted State aid for the Union cause, and in sup -
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porting every measure tending to hasten the aboli- tion of slavery. Especially worthy of note werc his valuable services in the matter of establishing throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania home schools for the orphans of those dying in sup- port of the National cause. Certain measures had been presented to the House of Representatives looking toward the establishment of such institu- tions, but, owing to the difference of opinions as to the details, defeat was certain. At this juncture Mr. Cochran presented as a substitute a joint resolu- tion, the simple but effective provisions of which commended themselves to his colleagues, and it be- came a law. Under this law these schools were es- tablished and through their instrumentality incalcu- lable good has been effected. In 1865 the city of Philadelphia was on the verge of financial cmbar- rassment, occasioned by the large expenditures in- cident to the Civil War and the small amount of revenue received from taxable property, mainly due to incquality in assessments. As a means of solving the difficulty presenting itself, the Board of Revi- sion of Taxes was created by legislative enactment, and given power to assess and adjust the valuation of property and to control the details looking toward an equitable basis of taxation. By appointment of the judges of the city of Philadelphia Mr. Cochran became a member of the Board, which consisted of himself and two associates. Through the unremit- ting labors of this body, Mr. Cochran being its mov- ing spirit and for a long time chairman, the entire tax system was remodeled and the valuation of property returned at three times its former amount. No unjust discriminations were tolerated, and the city, by obtaining its fair tax return upon the valua- tion so adjusted, was lifted from its financial diffi- culties. This was not the work of an instant; it re- quired the steady and untiring labor of several years, and when Mr. Cochran resigned his position at the close of 1876 he left to his city a tax system that impartial judges regard as equal if not superior to that of any other municipality in our land. Hav- ing become thoroughly familiar with the subject by close study and an extended practical experience, Mr. Cochran wrote treatises on Methods of Valua- tion and Local Taxation which were at once recog- nized as authoritative in that department of social science. These treatises attracted considerable at- tention, and they are to-day accepted as standard papers on taxation and are frequently quoted. A most important work in which Mr. Cochran took an active and leading part, was the United States Centennial Exhibition, held at Philadelphia in 1876. With this gigantic undertaking he was prominently connected from its inception. At the first meeting
of the stockholders of the Exhibition he was chosen a member of the Board of Finance and, being yearly re-elected, served as such until the completion of the work and the dissolution of the Board, holding during its existence the office of Vice-President, and being also Chairman of the Committee on Ground Plans and of the Committee on Buildings. For the three years previous to 1876 he gave this work his entire service daily, both on the grounds and in the offices, personally directing all that pertained to this most important committee. To him was in- trusted every plan or theory for the location, ar- rangement and supervision of the grounds and buildings and the supply of water, gas, etc., etc., together with all the specifications and contracts for the various buildings. So well did he perform his work that in the face of many difficulties the grounds and buildings were in readiness by the opening of the Exhibition ; and not only in readi- ness, but so perfectly and tastefully arranged that the Centennial city of the Park was the admiration of the world for its completeness, compactness and beauty. Mr. Cochran was an early advocate of the increase of the Fairmount Park area, and some of his published views were prophetic in their predic- tions as to the future of the city. In one of the articles from his pen, which has recently been re- published, he gave facts and figures as to the popu- lation and needs of Philadelphia, present and future, which time has verified in a remarkable degree. In 1874 Mr. Cochran was appointed by Act of Con- gress one of the Commissioners to dispose of the old Navy Yard, belonging to the National Government, his associates being Secretary Robeson of the Navy Department, Secretary Bristow of the Treasury De- partment and General A. A. Humphreys, Chief Engineer of the Army. Mr. Cochran, as the repre- sentative of Philadelphia, attended to all the details in that city and disposed of this Government prop- erty at that place to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for the round sum of one million dollars. Recognizing his exceptional skill as a financier and his extraordinary executive ability, many institu- tions have sought to secure his services in these capacities. At the close of 1876 the Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Company of Philadelphia elected him President of that institution, and he as- sumed the position with the beginning of 1877. Through his labors this corporation has been placed on a substantial basis of prosperity and has been raised to the foremost rank among the financial in- stitutions of the country. Its stock, which at the time of his accession to the Presidency was selling at half its paid in value, is now quoted at thrice that sum, and the surplus of the institution is one mil-
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lion dollars. Mr. Cochran was selected in 1877 by the Councils as the citizens' representative on the Sinking Fund Commission of Philadelphia, a body which controls the management of all the city loans. He is a director of the Philadelphia Saving Fund, of the North Pennsylvania Railroad, of the Union League Club (of which he is also Treasurer) and also a member of the Executive Council of the Board of Trade. He served on the Executive Com- mittee of the reorganization of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, and is now Manager of that im- portant corporation. During the Constitutional Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia, in Septem- ber, 1887, he was Chairman of the Citizens' Com- mittee. He was also one of the Vice-Presidents of the American Exhibition in London in 1887. Gov- ernor Beaver recently appointed him one of the Commissioners of the State of Pennsylvania at the Centennial Exhibition of the Ohio Valley and Cen- tral States, held in the summer and fall of 1888. Mr. Cochran was married September 7, 1857, to Kate C., daughter of the late Hon. John H. Camp- bell, who was a prominent member of the Philadel- phia bar, Member of Congress during the war with Mexico, and who died January 19, 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Cochran have one son, William Allison Coch- ran. In every sphere of usefulness, public and pri- vate, in which his services and talents have been afforded exercise, Mr. Cochran has shown himself to be a man of broad views, vigorous industry, re- markable ability and unquestioned integrity.
JOSHUA BALLINGER LIPPINCOTT.
THE heraldic family motto of the special line of English Lippincotts from whom all the American Lippincotts are supposed to have descended stood and still stands in the old Latin, "Secundis dubiis- que rectus," which has been variously translated as " Upright in adversity and prosperity," or "Firm in every fortune; " and the fact that this ancient characteristic, which gave the old-world Lippin- cott's their motto and a fixed prosperity in the world, still dominates the modern American repre- sentatives of the family, was strikingly illustrated in the life of the subject of this article. According to genealogical data gathered by James S. Lippincott, of Haddonfield, N. J., Joshua Ballinger Lippincott, familiarly known to the world as J. B. Lippincott, he publisher, of Philadelphia, came from Richard -the progenitor of all the Lippincotts in America- through Restore, son of Richard, and James, son of Restore, and Jonathan, son of James, and Levi, son
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