USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 15
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S. m. FelTar
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
impaired health warning him against this double work of a sedentary naturc, he took up the morc active profession of civil engineering, for which he was peculiarly fitted. Hc entered the office of Loammi Baldwin, in 1835, and succeeded to his business upon his death three years later. He built a railway from Boston to Fresh Pond, in Cambridge, in 1841, and in 1843 commenced the construction of the Fitchburg Railroad, followed by the Vermont Central, and other connecting lines. He became Superintendent of the Fitchburg Railroad on its completion, and held that position until 1851, when he was chosen President of the Philadelphia, Wil- mington and Baltimore Railroad, just then in very poor condition, unprofitable, in need of extensive repairs and of complete reorganization in all of its departments. Mr. Felton thoroughly studied the situation, and laid careful plans for the restoration of prosperity, and, although he encountered serious opposition in the execution of his plans, and had to overcome obstacles seemingly insurmountable, he maintained his purpose, and the exercise of his wis- dom and energy resulted in making the line a great thoroughfare of travel, second to none in construc- tion and equipment, and a safe and profitable investment for capital. Few men in the country endured a heavier strain than did Mr. Felton during the fourteen years ending about the close of the war, in which he was the responsible head of this corpor- ation. In 1861 the road was the only direct means of communication between the north-eastern portion of the country and the National Capital, and, naturally, it became an object of attack by the secessionists, and the President's unslumbering vigilance was demanded at every point. A plot had been planned for the assassination of Mr. Lincoln on his way through Baltimore just prior to his inau- guration in 1861, and it is a matter of history that this skillfully planned conspiracy was thwarted by Mr. Felton's watchfulness, foresight, skill and promptness of action. One biographer of our sub- ject, while apologizing for omission of the detailed narrative of this achievement, as we must, for lack of space, says : "It deserves, and can hardly fail to secure, a permanent place in the history of the country. Suffice it now to say that no greater service was rendered to the loyal cause during the war, and that Mr. Felton's part in it evinced a keen- ness of penetration, a command of resources, and an intensity of will-power, which, in a more conspicuous field, would have won for him ex- tended and enduring fame .* Mr. Felton's ar-
duous service in building up the affairs of the P., W. and B. R. R., scarcely completed when the war broke out, and the tremendous strain of responsibility which devolved upon him in managing the constantly menaced line during the war, were too much for human strength to endure, and carly in 1865 he received terrible admonition of the fact that he had imperilled his life, by a stroke of paralysis, occasioned wholly by overwork and unceasing anxiety. This compelled his resignation of the post in which he had been so useful. He recovered his health in a large degree after a year of rest, and, in 1865, when the Pennsylvania Steel Company was incorporated, became its President, which office he still retains. This is a company employing large capital, and owning and operating an extensive plant at Steelton, Dauphin County, Penn., with its general offices in Philadelphia. The company was the first in the United States to man- ufacture steel rails, the earliest output being purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and laid upon their lines. The works are now among the largest in the country, and their produc- tion has been increased from year to year, until it has reached the capacity of more than 200,000 tons per annum. Steelton, a borough of about 8,000 population, occupies ground where there were in 1866 only two or three farm houses, and it has been built up solely through the location there, and the successful operation of the steel works. The man- agement of these works by Mr. Felton and his fellow officers has been conducted not only with a view of benefitting the stockholders, but with the most humane and philanthropic regard for the im- provement and well being of the operatives. No strike has ever occurred there. As a professional railroad builder and manager, Mr. Felton's reputa- tion is among the highest in the country. He has been a director in several large corporations, was selected by Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, in 1862, as a member of the Hoosac Tunnel Commission and by President Grant, in 1869, as one of the Com- missioners to inspect and report upon the Pacific Railroads, then just completed. As an indication of the regard and esteem in which our subject is held among cultured men of other than his own sphere of activity, we may instance the fact that he has for several successive terms been elected to the
*Rev. A. P. Peabody, D. D., in History of Essex County, Mass .:- "In April, 1861, took place the memorable attack upon the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment. Immediately there-
after, the railroad bridges in the neighborhood of Baltimore were burned by the insurgents in the city, and all communi- cation by rail, between Washington and the North, completely severed. Mr. Felton, however, had anticipated and prepared for this emergency, and by organizing a new route, by way of Annapolis, he succeeded in maintaining communication with the Capital, and in averting from it a most serious peril."
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Presidency of the Harvard Association of Philadel- phia. The same writer from whom we have already quoted says in regard to Mr. Felton's private life, that his " character stands out in a pure white light, without even a transient shadow. Stainless purity, unswerving integrity, large benevolence and those (so-called) lesser, yet not less important, traits that are the charm and blessing of home and of social intercourse, endear him to all who know him. No man can have more or warmer friends than he, and, unless in the inevitable collisions of business, he can never have made an enemy." Mr. Felton has been twice married. His first wife, whom he married in 1836, was a Miss Eleanor Stetson, of Charlestown, Mass., who died in 1847. Three daughters were the offspring of this union. In 1850 Mr. Felton mar- ried his present wife, Maria Low Lippitt, of Providence, R. I. By this marriage he had one daughter and three sons.
THOMAS M. HOWE.
HON. THOMAS M. HOWE, a leading business man, financier and capitalist of Pittsburgh, President of the Exchange Bank and of the Chamber of Com- merce in that city, twice Member of Congress from the Pittsburgh District, and Assistant Adjutant-Gen- eral of the State of Pennsylvania during the Civil War, was born in Williamstown, Vermont, in the year 1808, and died at his home in Pittsburgh, July 20, 1877. He was of New England ancestry, being sixth in descent from John Howe of Sudbury, Mass., who was among the earliest emigrants to that colony from Warwickshire, England, arriving previous to 1638. His father, a merchant in comfortable cir- cumstances, removed with his little family to Trum- bull Co., Ohio, in 1817, and finding the place to his liking, settled there on a tract of land which he pur- chased in the township of Bloomfield. Yielding to a long cherished desire to engage in the active busi- ness of life, the subject of this sketcli abandoned the farm before attaining his majority, and went to the city of Pittsburgh, then a prosperous centre of trade and manufacture, and having a population of about seventeen thousand souls. Soon after his arrival he found employment as a clerk in the wholesale dry goods house of Mason and McDon- ough, then doing business at the corner of Wood street and Fifth avenue. Subsequently he became a salesman for the firm of S. Baird & Co., in the same line of trade. In 1830 he became a partner in the firm of Leavitt & Co., hardware dealers, then just organized. His talent for business affairs
immediately found congenial scope and his advance from that date was rapid. In 1839 he was chosen Cashier of the Exchange Bank of Pittsburgh,-one of the strongest in the city and second in point of seniority. Banking at that time was not conducted under the numerous safeguards which surround it at the present day, and the making of exchanges and remittances was attended by many difficulties, aud not a few dangers. Mr. Howe proved himself the possessor of exceptional ability in matters of finance, and in the crises of 1842 and 1845 distin- guished himself by his boldness and courage. "These critical seasons were mediately the cause
of his active participation in politics, protection and finance going hand and hand in those days." His inclinations were averse to a public career, but his interests and those of the mercantile and banking community in which he held so prominent a place, compelled him to a consideration of public ques- tions, and, in the end, to an active participation in politics. He was a firm believer in, and a staunch supporter of the tariff, "and earnestly and patiently labored to make it a help to the manufacturers of our country, and through them to the good of the country at large." A consistent and enthusiastic Whig, he warmly supported Harrison and Tyler in the memorable " log cabin " campaign of 1840. By degrees he became widely known as one thoroughly conversant with the bearings of legislation upon the industries of Pennsylvania, and his broad and wise views attracted the most favorable attention. In 1850 he was elected to Congress from the Pittsburgh District, receiving a heavy vote. At the close of the term he was re-elected. His influence in Na- tional legislation was marked. His views, always distinguished for their largeness and patriotism, were vigorously impressed upon his colleagues, and much of the legislation fostering domestic indus- tries was shaped through his statesmanlike and untiring efforts. A local writer who had given close study to the subject said, before the passage of the Inter-State Commerce bill; "Evils from which we are now suffering would have been remedied in their incipiency had Congress then recognized our Representative's arguments in favor of regulating commerce between the States." In 1851 Mr. Howe was chosen President of the Ex- change Bank, and held the office until the pressure of other duties obliged him to commit the trust to new hands. When the leading business men of Pitts- burgh took steps to organize the Chamber of Com- merce in that city, Mr. Howe was prominent in the movement, and upon its culmination was elected President of the Chamber, and held the office continu- ously until his deatlı. He devoted much of his
Macre al dealers
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
time and abilities to increase its usefulness and efficiency ; and its magnificent success is, in large part, due to his unwearying and well-directed efforts. As far back as 1840 Mr. Howe was promi- nently identified with the development of the cop- per regions of Lake Superior, and about that time he visited Lake Superior and made a personal inspection of the fields. It was mainly upon his representations and through his efforts that the Pittsburgh and Boston Mining Company was organ- ized. He became Secretary and Treasurer of the company, and paid many visits to the upper penin- sula of Michigan, in furtherance of its interests. This mining enterprise was one of great profit to its promoters. Mr. Howe's interests in it ceased with its transfer to Boston parties, about 1871. Mr. Howe was one of the organizers of the firm of C. G. Hussey & Co., of Pittsburgh, which was exten- sively engaged for many years in the manufacture of copper, and continued a member of it until his death. He was also one of the founders of the firm of Hussey, Wells & Co., which, on the retirement of Mr. Wells, took the style of Hussey, Howe & Co. This firm was one of the most enterprising and wealthiest in the steel industry of Pittsburgh, and was among the earliest to successfully overcome the great difficulties encompassing the primary development of that important manufacture. Both in this and in the copper manufacture, Mr. Howe embarked his capital courageously and freely; and although taking no personal part in the supervision of the details of either, he was always their stead- fast friend and promoter, and his wise council and rare judgment contributed largely to their success. His championship of the gigantic steel industry, at all times and under all circumstances, was faithful and consistent, and it is no exaggeration to attribute to his earnest efforts a large share of the wonderful advance made by Pittsburgh in this department of labor. The able manner in which Mr. Howe took care of the interests of his constituency while he was a Member of Congress developed for him a respect and confidence among the people, not only of Pittsburgh, but of the whole western section of the State of Pennsylvania. In 1859, when it became evident that the Nation was on the evc of a great political crisis, his name was prominently men- tioned in connection with the Gubernatorial office of his State, and a strong and determined effort was made by his many friends to induce him to accept the Republican nomination. A petition to this effect was signed by hundreds of leading citizens. One of its clauses ran as follows :
" We turn with pride to you as one possessing our confidence and a rare combination of the requisite
qualifications for Chief Magistrate of the Common- wealth. Among these qualities we recognize a strong attachment to the cardinal principles of the Republican party ; a high order of administrative ability ; perfect familiarity with the most abstruse questions of finance; a just appreciation of true Pennsylvania interests; unswerving integrity in every transaction of public or private life; and last, though not least, a record without a stain in all the relations of life."
In answer to all overtures, Mr. Howe had but one reply. "His own self-respect," he said, "would not allow him to canvass for such an office." The entire press of Pittsburgh likewise spoke in the most laudatory terms of his ability and character, and urged him to the step. At length he consented with great reluctance, that his name should be put for- ward in the Convention, by the delegates from Allegheny County. When the Convention met in Harrisburgh, in 1860, and the nomination fell to Andrew G. Curtin, Mr. Howe felt a decided relief, and no man in the State worked more conscientious- ly to bring about Mr. Curtin's election. In the exciting events of the immediately ensuing years Mr. Howe bore a prominent and most useful part. His well-known patriotism was afforded the fullest scope of exercise, in the position of Assistant Ad- jutant-General of the State, on the staff of Governor Curtin. "The entire handling and movements of the volunteers and drafted troops of Western Pennsylvania, in their preliminary organization, were in his hands. He worked early and late, day and night, now here, now there, refusing all com- pensation. He enjoyed the highest confidence of the State and General Government. He was in frequent communication with President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton, and his advice sought not only in matters touching on Western Pennsylvania, but on the affairs of the country at large. He was a friend to the family of the soldier, and in all ways showed his devotion to the Union cause." Although an opponent of slavery, Mr. Howe did not oppose the Rebellion as such, but simply as a loyal citizen, and a firm supporter of the Constitution. This is evident from the following extract culled from his numerous and effective public speeches at that time:
" We make no offensive war upon the rights of any man or any section. Our great mission is to maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and the laws alike over all portions of the Union, and to pun- ish with just severity all who seek their overthrow.
* * * We are not warring against organized political communities, but against organized con- spirators and traitors. * *
* This mighty struggle in which we are engaged is characterized by no war of aggression on our part. We seek simply to uphold and preserve the great and deeply cherished principles of liberty and free government, which came to us sprinkled with the blood of
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patriotic ancestors, and to transmit them, as we received them, to the generations of men who shall succeed us."
Mr. Howe's capital, influence and services were rarely withheld from any local enterprise that prom- ised, under wise management, to aid in the development or increase of the material prosperity of Pittsburgh. He was one of the most active pro- moters of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad, which his capital and courage aided largely in carrying to a successful issue. He was also one of the founders of Allegheny Cemetery, and for thirty years held the Presidency of its Board of Managers. His usefulness was many-sided and was seldom ex- erted from purely selfish motives. Mr. Howe was a Presidential Elector in 1860, and cast his vote for Lincoln and Hamlin. In 1864 he was urged by his friends to accept the office of State Treasurer, but then, as on all subsequent occasions when solicited to take nominations for office, positively declined. In 1874 he was prominently mentioned in connection with the office of Secretary of the Treasury, but promptly withdrew his name from consideration. While perfectly willing to serve the State and the people in any capacity where his talents might prove useful, he shrank from the turmoil and methods of political campaigning, which, in that era, was con- ducted with especial turbulence and virulence. He was in no wise selfish in obeying his natural instincts in this matter, for in purely civil life he labored unceasingly in channels which were continually increasing and strengthening liis city and State in everything that goes to make material and enduring prosperity, and were likewise aiding the Nation in coping successfully with foreign competition in trade and manufactures. In his moral and religious life General Howe was a model of excellence. For thirty years he was a Vestryman of Trinity Church, Pittsburgh, and took an active part also in estab- lishing Calvary Church, at the East End, in which he became Vestryman and Warden. He was a member of the Standing Committee of his ecclesi- astical body for a number of years, and was twice elected a deputy to the General Convention. In the matter of business dealing with his fellow men, he was the very soul of justice and honor, often carrying his Christian view of right to a point so far beyond what is usual, as to excite the most pro- found admiration. The following illustration at- tests this bent of his character : "Previous to the war he had contracted for the erection of a residence at the East End. The war came on, and prices of stone and labor went up. General Howe was told that the completion of the contract by the stone mason would ruin the latter. General Howe
sent for him and said to him, 'Figure out what you expected to make on the contract.' He did so. ' Now,' said the General, ' bring me all the bills for the stone and labor, and I will pay them, and in addition thereto, I will also pay you the sum you expected to make.' He had lifted a great load from the man's heart, and this unique transaction was carried out to the letter. In explanation of his course, General Howe said that he could never have found a moment's rest in a house that had been the ruin of another man. Thus he went through life, doing good wherever he could, dealing justly with all men, and building a name and reputation that shall forever stand as a symbol of the highest worth." His whole life was marked by acts of be- nevolence and charity, which were performed in the quietest manner, even when of considerable mag- nitude. In his will, which left the entire control of his large estate to his beloved wife, he said: "I desire that she will also appropriate and disburse from time to time, for objects of Christian charity, utility and benevolence, such sums as will in the aggregate equal the amount which shall fall to the share of one of the children." Mr. Howe was called from his career of usefulness and virtue on the 20th of July, 1877. His death was widely recog- nized as a public calamity, for in his private, public and business life he showed all the qualities of the ideal citizen. From the pulpit and the press, as well as from his colleagues in numerous business enterprises and philanthropic institutions, but one testimony was voiced, and that was that a bright example and an eminently useful life had closed in the fullness of years and honor. The Chamber of Commerce immediately took steps to perpetuate his memory by hanging his portrait in a prominent place upon its walls, unveiling it with appropriate ceremonies. Although more than a decade has passed since his death, he is still held in honor, his career being one of those signally bright and en- couraging ones which the events of a century can scarcely obscure. The business world of Pitts- burgh is to-day reaping, and for many a day will continue to reap the results of his endeavor and of a few like him, who, although they toiled for wealth aud glory, worked only in lines of far reaching benefit to their fellow men.
THOMAS MELLON.
HON. THOMAS MELLON, a prominent banker and business man of Pittsburgh, for many years a distinguished member of the bar in that city, and
Magazine of Western History
The Mellon
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during ten years a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, was born at Camp Hill Cottage, on his father's farm, Lower Castletown, parish of Cappaigh, County of Tyrone, Ireland, February 3, 1813. He is of an old and worthy Scotch-Irish family, which traces descent from Archibald Mellon and his wife Eliza- beth, both natives of Scotland, who, about the mid- dle of the seventeenth century, were among those who emigrated from that country to Ireland and took up the large tracts of land left vacant by the flight of the Catholic Irish before the victorious on- slaughts of the English troopers in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. A direct descendant of this couple, also named Archibald Mellon, was the grand- father of the subject of this sketch. He disposed of his property in Ireland in 1816 and emigrated to the United States, making his new home in West- moreland Co., Penn., where he spent the remainder of his life in comfort, content and usefulness, dying sincerely mourned by all who knew him, Septem- ber 5, 1835. His son Andrew had married, in 1812, Miss Rebecca Wauchob, "a descendant of a noted and honorable Holland family," and was already a man of family at the time his father sailed to Amer- ica, and when his eldest son, Thomas, the subject of this sketch, was about five years of age, he con- cluded to follow the example of his parents and other members of the family in going to America, and in 1818 sailed with his wife and child for Saint John, New Brunswick, direct intercourse with ports in the United States being then difficult, if not im- possible, owing to the unfriendly mood of Eugland after the war of 1812-15. This voyage, made in a sailing vessel, consumed about three months, and was followed by another, made in a coasting vessel, to Baltimore, at which port landing was effected October 1, 1818. Two days in Baltimore sufficed to give the family all the rest they needed, and to enable him to charter a Conestoga wagon and team of horses to convey them to Westmoreland Co., Penn. It was a journey of no little moment in a strange land and presented many novel features to persons previously unaccustomed to travel. The wagon was shelter for all at night. At fires by the roadside, kindled as occasion required, the meals were pre- pared and cooked. Slow and at times toilsome, the journey was finally completed in safety, and the travelers were cordially welcomed by their kin in a flourishing settlement near Greensburgh, where the winter was spent. In the following spring he pur- chased a farm in Franklin township and moved thither with his family. Some ycars afterwards he removed to Allegheny Co., settling at Monroeville, where he died October 11, 1856. He was a man of strict integrity, and, although a hard-working farm-
er, paid a great deal of attention to reading, and was much further advanced on all questions than was customary at the time among agriculturists. He was a Whig in politics and a Presbyterian in religious faith, but in neither politics nor religion was he narrow or bigoted. His wife was a noble woman, tender-hearted and self-sacrificing to the last degree. She died May 9, 1863, in the seventy- ninth year of her age, having lived to see her eldest son wear the judicial erminc with honor, learning and dignity in one of the most advanced and enter- prising cities on the American Continent. Thomas, their son, enjoyed no other educational advantages in his early youth than those which came from asso- ciation with his honest, industrious and pure-minded parents and relatives. All the solid virtues were taught him by example. His "reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic" came piece meal, but were mastered sufficiently for all practical purposes. At twelve years of age he took his place in the field, following the plow and doing such other work as the cultiva- tion and care of a farm demands. When an inter- val of leisure occurred he turned to an old pam- phlet copy of Shakespeare that good fortune threw in his way, or studied with interest a dilapidated copy of the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, a favorite book in his secular collection. Over and over again he read the latter work. It opened up to his young mind the possibilities of life even for the child of humble parentage, and begat in his hcart a hope, if not a determination, of moving up- ward as well as onward in his journey through life. As he grew older he became an omnivorous reader, and as his intelligence and experience increased he found himself acquiring a distaste for the routine duties of farm life. His father believed it was the true, manly, independent, ideal life, and wished his son to follow it, but when at length he saw that his determination was for intellectual effort, he wisely withdrew his opposition, and Thomas was permitted to attend more freely the schools of the district with a view to perfecting himself for college, it having been deemed advisable at last to let him enter a pro- fession. In the fall of 1834 he entered the Western University, and although unable to continue his studies with regularity, he was successful in gradu- ating with the bachelor's degree in the fall of 1837. Easy-going students of the present day rarely do better, even with every facility. His college life was frequently broken in upon by the demands of farm labor, and it was no uncommon thing for the young lad "to walk home from the city, eleven miles distant, between sundown and midnight, to be ready for work in the harvest field on the follow- ing day." During one summer vacation, to assist
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