USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 22
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over-anxious Chairman of the Committee as to the possibility of moving in order so vast a mass, Col. Snowden promptly said, " All our plans are com- pleted, our work done, except to participate in the demonstration, which, if the day be clear, will be the largest of its kind ever witnessed in this coun- try. At the hour designated, to-morrow, on the turn of a minute, the column will move from Broad street and Germantown Junction, and never stop until its last division passes the Union League, in review before the hero of Appomattox." This statement was fully verified by the result, and for which he received the thanks of the city authorities. The splendid work Col. Snowden accomplished in this great popular demonstration to the first soldier and citizen of the Republic, very naturally directed the attention of the Constitutional Centennial Com- mission to him, as the one man who could create and organize, by his genius and popular qualities, the great civic and industrial processional display, which was to be the central feature of the celebra- tion which took place in Philadelphia, on the 15th, 16th and 17th of September, 1887, in connection with the Centennial Celebration of the Constitution of the United States. The position of Chairman of the Committee and Marshal of the demonstration was tendered to him by the Commission in the fol- lowing letter :
CONSTITUTIONAL CENTENNIAL COMMISSION, No. 907 WALNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA, June 15, 1887. ) Col. A. Loudon Snowden:
DEAR SIR .- You are hereby duly appointed and commissioned to act as Chairman of the Committee in charge of the preparations for the Industrial and Civic Processional Display, to be held in Philadel- phia on the 15th day of September next, as a part of the ceremonies commemorative of the framing and promulgation of the Constitution of the United States, and to act as Chief Marshal of the same.
You are also fully empowered to organize and ap- point your own committee, to call to your aid all necessary assistants, to arrange all details and to prepare estimates of the probable expense, which are to be submitted to the Executive Committee of the Constitutional Commission for action.
Awaiting a favorable reply, we are, with senti- ments of great respect,
Your obedient servants, JOHN A. KASSON, President Constitutional Centennial Committee.
AMOS R. LITTLE, Chairman Executive Committee. HAMPTON L. CARSON, Secretary.
To which Col. Snowden made the following reply : HAVERFORD COLLEGE STATION, MONTGOMERY Co., PA., June 24, 1887.5 GENTLEMEN .- I have to acknowledge the receipt
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of your polite favor of the 15th inst., requesting my acceptance of the "Chairmanship of the committee in charge of the preparation of the Industrial and Civic Processional Display, to be held in Philadel- phia on the 15th day of September next, as part of the ceremonies commemorative of the framing and promulgation of the Constitution of the United States, and to act as Chief Marshal of the same."
Whilst I am duly sensible of the honor conferred in my designation to serve in this important position, I am also fully aware of the labor and time that must be bestowed and of the grave responsibility assumed in its acceptance.
I only accept as a public duty, and from a convic- tion that we may confidently rely upon the cordial and earnest support of our patriotic and public- spirited citizens, in the effort to properly commem- orate the establishment of Constitutional Govern- ment on this Continent, which is esteemed by many thoughtful people not to be second in its beneficent results to the great Declaration itself.
I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, A. LOUDON SNOWDEN. To
HON. JOHN A. KASSON, President Commission.
MR. AMOS R. LITTLE, Chairman Executive Committee. HAMPTON L. CARSON, EsQ., Secretary.
That the confidence of the Commission and coun- try was not misplaced was manifested on the 15th of September, when there was witnessed upon the great central street of Philadelphia the most mar- velous, suggestive and instructive processional dis- play that was ever witnessed in any city of the world. From the day he accepted the appointment until the demonstration took place, Col. Snowden gave to it his entire time and energies. He elevated the character of the demonstration by determining in its inception to make it a great object-lesson illus- trating the progress made by our country in the arts of peace-embracing benevolence, education and all industrial pursuits within a hundred years of Con- stitutional Government. The thought that his genius impressed upon the display was manifest from the first division with its typical banner until the last marched past in the shadows of the evening. As a distinguished Senator from the West remarked, " I have watched the Processional Display from the beginning until its close, and confess that it is so far beyond my highest conception or expectation, that I am overwhelmed with its majesty, and can only thank God that I live in a country that can produce such a marvelous lesson of progress and industrial independence, and that possesses a citizen with genius to conceive its creation, and ability enough to present it to the public." Not only were the char- acter and objects of the display worthy of our coun- try, but its management was perfect. It took eight hours to pass a given point, and contained over forty thousand men, three thousand horses, one hundred and fifty-seven bands and over three hun-
dred floats, each one bearing its precious burden indicative of the progress of a century. The In- dian exhibit, which contrasted the savage warrior mounted, with all his war-trappings, with the stu- dents from the Carlisle School and Lincoln Insti- tution, was a sight never to be forgotten. The Pennsylvania Railroad exhibit, which illustrated transportation from the old pack-horse, through the Conestoga wagon, mail coach, canal boat, packet, up to its highest development,-the fast freight car and Pullman palace car with engine attached-was perfect. The naval exhibit in naval architecture and the Baldwin and Eckley B. Coxe's exhibit were remarkable; but why particularize when all were so illustrative and perfect in design and execu- tion. At the close of his labors the Commission wrote the following flattering letter, which expresses the universal opinion as to the value of his services :
CONSTITUTIONAL CENTENNIAL COMMISSION 1 CELEBRATION, SEPTEMBER 15, 16 AND 17, 1887. 5 JOHM A. KASSON, Chairman.
AMOS R. LITTLE, Chairman Ex. Com. HAMPTON L. CARSON, Secretary.
907 WALNUT ST., PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 21, 1887.
DEAR SIR .- In transmitting to you a copy of the Resolutions of thanks adopted by the Constitutional Centennial Commission at their final meeting, per- mit us to express our high appreciation of the fidel- ity, energy, intelligence and ability which marked your management of the Industrial and Civic De- partment of the Celebration, to which is due the brilliant success of the greatest trades' display ever witnessed in America, and to add our personal con- gratulations to the many which you have received.
Permit us, also, to express our gratification that we were brought by the work of the Commission into such close and agreeable relations.
Believe us to be, with sentiments of profound re- spect, Your sincere and obliged friends, JOHN A. KASSON, Pres. Const. Cent'l Com'n. AMOS R. LITTLE, Chairman Ex. Com.
HAMPTON L. CARSON, Secretary. To
COL. A. LOUDON SNOWDEN.
As a man Col. Snowden has ever been loyal, patri- otic and public-spirited. On the outbreak of the Rebellion he organized, partly clothed and fed for weeks a regiment, and was commissioned its Lieu- tenant-Colonel. The quota of troops from Pennsyl- vania being full, the regiment was divided, six com- panies going with their officers into the Sickles Brigade from New York, and the other four com- panies were incorporated in the Second Regiment of Pennsylvania Reserves. Col. Snowden returned to his place in the Mint Service, but subsequently participated in the preliminary skirmishes of the battle of Gettysburgh, but was driven back with his command, the old First Troop, by Gen. Gordon's Georgia Brigade. Col. Snowden was connected for
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over fifteen years with the First City Troop of Phil- adelphia, which was Washington's body-guard dur- ing a period of the Revolution. He passed through all the subordinate grades and was commissioned as its commanding officer in 1877. As an effective and eloquent public speaker he has but few equals, and is always welcomed with enthusiastic manifesta- tion whenever he rises to respond to a sentiment or to discuss a question at issue before the people. The best tribute that can be bestowed upon him as a man, is that those who admire and esteem him most may be found in every walk of life, from the most honored and exalted to the humblest who can always turn to him as a helper and friend. As a companion he is possessed of a cheerful, buoyant spirit, and is a welcome guest at every gathering or festive board. In the business affairs of the city he has taken an active and conspicuous part. During a portion of the period he was Postmaster and Superintendent of the Mint, he was Vice-President and President of the Fire Association, and for two years President of the " United Fire Underwriters " of America, (a National organization, embracing nearly all the Insurance Companies doing business in the United States,) and is now a director of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of New York. He has also taken much and intelligent interest in railroad matters, and has for years presided most acceptably to all the stockholders over the annual meetings of the Pennsylvania Railroad. As a writer he has prepared many interesting and valuable papers on important public questions and matters of general interest. He is a member of the Grand Lodge of Masons, also of the American Philosophical Society, St. Andrews, the Union League and many other literary and social institutions. The space allotted to biographical sketches in this volume is so contracted that only a brief outline can be presented. But in this instance we think enough has been said to justify the con- clusion that the subject of our sketch, considered as a public officer, a gifted orator, an enterprising and public-spirited citizen, a liberal-minded and warm- hearted man, with an ancestry extending back over two hundred years in the history of the Quaker City, may very properly be considered as a thor- oughly representative Philadelphian.
HENRY REED.
HENRY REED, who was admitted to the Phila- delphia bar, but who is better known as one of the leading professors of the University of Pennsylva- nia, was born in the Quaker City on the 11th of
July, 1808, and was a. grandson of Joseph Reed, President of Pennsylvania. He was christened by the name of Henry Hope, but the middle name was afterwards dropped. He attended the classical school of James Ross, which was one of the most famous of its time, and there it may be said began his life-long friendship with Horace Binney the younger (which was naturally pleasant and profit- able). In September, 1822, he entered the sopho- more class at the University and was graduated as Bachelor of Arts in 1825. He then began the study of law in the office of his uncle, Hon. John Sergeant, then at the height of his fame, and was admitted to practice in the District Court of Philadelphia in 1829. He relinquished the practice of law, how- ever, in September, 1831, in obedience to the strong desire for literary studies, and was elected assistant professor of English Literature in the University of Pennsylvania. In November of the same year he was chosen assistant professor of Moral Philosophy, and in 1835 was given the chair of Rhetoric and English Literature. He had married prior to this time-in 1834-Miss Elizabeth White Bronson, a granddaughter of Bishop White, by whom he had six children, three of whom died in infancy, and Mary Bronson Reed, Henry Reed (now Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia), and Anne Bronson Reed, who married W. B. Robins, also a lawyer of the city. In accordance with the long cherished desire Henry Reed obtained a leave of absence from his University duties, and accom- panied by his sister-in-law, Miss Bronson, sailed for Europe, where it was destined his last days were to be spent. He visited the Continent, and thence went to England, where he was at home among such friends as the Wordsworths, Southeys, Col- eridges, Arnolds, Lord Mahon, Mr. Baring, Mr. Aubrey De Vere, Mr. Babbage, Mr. Thackeray and Henry Taylor, with most of whom he had previously corresponded. "No American," says the editor of his lectures, "visiting the Old World as a private citizen, ever received a kinder or more discriminat- ing welcome. The last months of his life were pure sunshine." The last words he ever wrote were in a letter on the 20th of September, 1854, to the vener- able Mrs. Wordsworth, thanking her and his English friends generally for all she and they had done to make his sojourn pleasant. It was upon the same day that he and his sister-in-law embarked at Liver- pool for New York upon the steamer "Arctic." Seven days afterwards, at noon on the 27th, when almost in sight of his native land, a fatal collision occurred, and before sundown on that ill-fated day every one of the three hundred or more passengers left upon the ship had perished in the deep. And so
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died Henry Reed, one of the most gifted sons of Philadelphia, aged only forty-six years. The news of his death was received at his home with deep and intense feeling by a large circle of friends, who loved the man as well as respected his ability. Many tributes were paid to his memory, and grace- ful acts of sympathy were extended. Mr. Reed was noted for his fine scholarship, and his warm sym- pathy with all that is best in English literature, and his lectures and other writings were popular in refined circles. He belonged to that class of writers who received their first impulse from the genius of Wordsworth and Coleridge and others of their school of thought and diction-a school character- ized by its sound conservatism, conscientionsness, reverential spirit and patient, philosophical investi- gation. Mr. Reed was carly brought into communi- cation with the poet Wordsworth, whom he assisted in the production of an American edition of his poems, and for which he wrote the preface. He was devoted to this master of verse, and after his death superintended the publication of the Ameri- can edition of the Memoirs by Dr. Christopher Wordsworth. He had also, through his correspon- dence with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, won liis esteem and friendship, as an evidence of which may be cited the remark made by Lord Chief Justice Coleridge, his son, who while on a visit to this country, in 1883, in a speech at a banquet given in his honor by the trustees of the University of Penn- sylvania, said, "He was a friend of Henry Rced, too soon, too sadly lost," and added, "He was a scholar, philosopher and perfect gentleman. He was known in England as well as here. Of him it might be said, 'His life too short for friendship, not for fame.'"' Had Mr. Reed's life not been cut short he would have undoubtedly given his country the benefit of more advanced studies than any to which he had attained, and particularly many rich suggestions from his Europcan experience. As it was, however, the results of his researches in Eng- lish literature, and his broad catholic criticism, were of importance as cducational factors, not alone in the University with which he was connected, but among the leading people at large. His chief com- positions were delivered in the form of lectures, and of which a collection was publislicd after his death by his brother, William B. Reed, the volumes being three in number, and bearing tlie title "Lectures on English Literature from Chaucer to Tennyson," "Lectures on English History and Tragic Poetry, as illustrated by Shakespcre" and "Lectures on the British Poets." His lecture on the American Union was published at the same time. These works were eminently successful, passing through sev-
cral editions, both in this country and England. They cover many topics of moral and social philos- ophy, of history and biography, as well as careful and thorough criticism of individual authors. Thc London Athæneum said of the "Lectures on the British Pocts," "No one can glance through the ' Lectures,' which are oratorical in style, without acknowledging the noble ardor which inspires them, or without sympathizing with the American's appeal-almost as a prayer-in behalf of the Repub- lic he loved, ard to the service of which he devoted bis gencrous and honorable life." In addition to his preparation of the "Lectures," Prof. Reed edited or prepared several works of various kinds, but nearly all bearing upon literature or language. In 1845 he prepared an edition of Alexander Reid's "Dictionary of the English Language," and in 1847 edited, with an introduction and illustrative author- itics, G. F. Graham's "English Synonyms." He also edited the American reprints of Thomas Ar- nold's "Lectures on Modern History," and Lord Mahon's "History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Feace of Paris." In 1851 he edited the poctieal works of Thomas Gray, for which he prepared a new version, written with his character- istic critical acumen. Further than this hc deliv- ered an "Oration on True Education" before the Zclosophic Society of the University of Pennsylva- nia in 1848; a lecture upon " The American Union" before the Smithsonian Institution, and numerous other addresses upon various topics. To this enumeration should be added a life of his grand- father, Joseph Reed, the President of Pennsylvania, which was published in Spark's "Series of Ameri- can Biography."
HENRY CHARLES LEA.
HENRY CHARLES LEA, of Philadelphia, a distinguished citizen and publicist, was born Sep- tember 19, 1825. His father was the distinguished naturalist, Isaac Lea, descended from John Lea, a member of the Society of Friends who accompanied William Penn on his second visit in 1699. On the mother's side his grandfather was Matthew Carey, who, as the publisher of the Volunteer's Journal, in Dublin, was prosecuted for sedition, and came in 1784 to Philadelphia, where lic founded the publish- ing house still carried on by his descendants. H. C. Lca, in 1843, entered the service of his father's pub- lishing firm of Lea & Blanchard. In 1851, on the retirement of Isaac Lea, he became a member of the firm of Blanchard and Lea. In 1865, by the
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
retirement of Mr. Blanchard, he became the sole representative of the house, which he conducted in his own name until 1880. He then retired from business in favor of his sons, who carry on, under the firm of Lea Brothers & Co., the house which is now more than a century old, and is in the fourth generation in direct descent. During the war Mr. Lea was active in support of the Government. He was an early member of the Union League, serving on its Military Committee and Board of Publication, laboring energetically in the directions which ac- quired for the League its National reputation. When the Enrolment Act was passed in 1863, he was appointed one of the Bounty Commissioners of Philadelphia, and devoted himself to filling the quo- tas of the city under the successive calls for troops, until 1865. He conducted personally the settlements between the city and the Provost-Marshal General's office, which were often exceedingly complicated, involving the enlistments in both army and navy since the beginning of the war. During his term of service the calls for men amounted in the ag- gregate to 1,200,000, of which the quotas assigned to Philadelphia were 35,372. Bounties were awarded to 20,224, and the rest were supplied by various credits to which the city was found to be entitled ; and it was a source of legitimate pride to Mr. Lea, that he never made a claim for men furnished that was not in the end allowed, and that under the operations of the Bounty Commissioners, but forty- six men, from one of the rural wards, were drafted in Philadelphia. During the political struggles which followed the surrender at Appomattox, Mr. Lea took an active part on the Republican side, writ- ing numerous pamphlets which were widely circu- lated, serving on committees of various organiza- tions, and in other ways laboring to secure the results of the war. As the heat of partisanship declined, he became impressed with the extravagance and mismanagement of municipal affairs, and in 1871, in conjunction with a few gentlemen, he founded the Citizens' Municipal Reform Association-the first attempt in any of the great cities to lift munici- pal affairs above the sphere of partisan politics. He was soon chosen President of the Association, and for several years labored unceasingly in the cause. Much was accomplished, both in checking abuses and in removing obstacles in the way of fur- ther reforms, and the path was opened for the subsequent operations of the Committee of One Hundred. As an adjunct to the movement the Reform Club was founded, of which, for some years, he served as President. He was one of the earliest advocates of Civil Service Reform, and of late years, when his health has permitted, he has taken
part in varied movements designed to elevate the standard of political action. At the age of fourteen Mr. Lea commenced his career as a writer, with a paper on a chemical subject, printed in Silliman's Journal. This was followed by others on Conchol- ogy and Geology, published in the same journal, and in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society and of the Academy of Natural Sciences. The cares of active business, combined with uncer- tain health, put a stop to labors of this kind for a number of years, during which his attention was turned to history, especially that of the Middle Ages. In 1857 he resumed his pen and contributed various essays to the North American Review, some of which were subsequently expanded, and published in a volume entitled " Superstition and Force: Essays on the Wager of Law, the Wager of Battle, the Ordeal and Torture," of which the third edition was issued in 1878. This was followed by "Studies in Church History-The Rise of the Temporal Power, Benefit of Clergy, Excommunication, and the Early Church and Slavery," of which the second edition appeared in 1883. His next work was " An Historical Sketch of Sacerdotal Celibacy in the Christian Church," the second edition of which was published in 1884. For many years he has been collecting materials for a History of the Inquisition, for which he has had scholars employed in the various archives and libraries of Europe, thus accumulating a large mass of hitherto unknown information. The first portion of the work, embracing the career of the Inquisi- tion prior to the Reformation, is now in course of publication in three volumes, and he is engaged in preparing for the conclusion, which will bring the history of the institution down to the present time.
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WILLIAM M. SINGERLY.
No busier man can be found in the thirty-eight States than William M. Singerly, the owner of The Philadelphia Record, nor can there be found in the same territory another possessing to a greater de- gree the rare knack of despatching business with rapidity and ease. Indeed, the amount of routine work, the number of visitors to his luxurious private office, the matters of business detail and great finan- cial interests and questions of public policy he will dispose of in the course of a day, stamp him to be a man of great physical force, ripe judgment and more than ordinary brain power. He is famous for the quickness of his answers and for the rapidity with which he reaches his decisions, which are sel- dom wrong and are constantly sought by others.
En. P. H. ELto.
PROPERTY AUSTIN SOYER SSPORT, CARBON OF
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
He is a native of Philadelphia, his father (now dead) having been one of the pioneers of the street railway system of that city. He was born in Philadelphia, December 27, 1832, and is, therefore, fifty-six years of age. In 1850 he graduated from the High School, and immediately engaged in mercantile life with J.
Palmer & Co., commission and produce merchants,
nearly ten years. He always looks upon this por- at the foot of Market street, where he remained for
tion of his life with great satisfaction, and to the training then received and habits acquired he attrib- utes his subsequent success. After severing his connection with Palmer & Co., Mr. Singerly went to Chicago and engaged in the provision commission business. In a short time he was rccalled to Phila-
delphia by his father to assume the management of the Germantown Passenger Railway. Hc found the affairs of the road in a most unsatisfactory condi-
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