USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 61
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66
292
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Scranton, was elected. In 1882 Mr. Connolly was again made the nominee of the Democratic party and was elected from the Twelfth District to the XLVIIIth Congress, defeating his former opponent, the Hon. J. A. Scranton. While in Congress Mr. Con- nolly served on the committee on " Pensions, Boun- ty and Back Pay," the committee on " Expenditures in the Treasury Department," and the committee on " Military Affairs " (of which General Rosecrans was Chairman); and he was one of the forty-one Democrats of the House who voted against the Morrison Horizontal Tariff Bill. In 1884 he was again nominated by the Democrats for Congress, but was defeated by the Hon. J. A. Scranton. In 1885 Mr. Connolly was appointed Postmaster of Scranton, by President Cleveland, which position he has filled with distinguished ability ever since, to the entire satisfaction of the general public. In 1888 Mr. Connolly was a delegate from Pennsylva- nia to the National Democratic Convention at St. Louis, and voted for the nomination of Cleveland and Thurman. He is at present the senior member of the law firm of D. W. Connolly & Davis, and en- joys the confidence and esteem of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
HENRY DETWILLER.
DR. HENRY DETWILLER, of Easton, a distin- guished American physician and scientist, and, at the time of his death, the oldest homeopathic med- ical practitioner in the United States, if not in the world, was born in the village of Langenbruck, Canton Basel Land, Switzerland, December 18, 1795, and died at his home in the City of Easton, Pa., April 21, 1887, being nearly ninety-two years of age. His parents, Henry and Verena Detwiller, were intelligent and esteemed residents of Langen- bruck, whose ancestor's record dates back to the 15th century. They gave their son, who at an early age showed a marked aptitude for study, the best educational advantages. At the age of thirteen years, Henry Detwiller closed his studies in the village school and entered a French institute at St. Immier, where he spent the ensuing two years. Having decided to adopt the profession of medicine, he began his studies in that direction, at the age of fifteen, as a private pupil of Dr. Laurentius Senn, a graduate of the University of Wurzburg. Three years later, having duly prepared himself for the study of medicine, he entered the Medical Depart- ment of the University of Freyburg, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, and there spent five consecutive
semesters of six months each. A dream of the death of his father impressed him so forcibly that he im- mediately proceeded on his homeward journey, just in time to be at the bedside of his dying father. His mother with seven younger children then ad- vised him to enter into practice as assistant with a well-known physician in Basel. On this journey he remained over night in the then fortified town of Liestal, where he arranged to meet a friend outside of the gates early next morning for a drive to Basel. When he passed the gate at the appointed early hour, he was detained by the patrol for over two hours until the commanding officer had his break- fast, who only released him after paying a fine for traveling without a passport. Presenting himself to the proposed doctor in Basel he was rebuked and ridiculed on account of his youth. These two incidents changed his entire life. His pride and am- bition felt the sting too keenly and he resolved in- stantly to find a new field in America, where his medical scientific aspirations would not be hamp- ered by custom and prejudice. But new troubles presented themselves. An old, conservative, narrow- minded guardian had his whole inheritance in trust and refused to furnish any funds for such a wild, and reckless undertaking. The law, however, prevented his withholding any funds for professional and ed- ucational needs. Dr. Detwiller thereupon took his mother and friends into confidence, purchased a liberal supply of surgical instruments, books and medicines, and, besides, obtained enough fictitious invoices to give him ample means for the undertak- ing. Giving his mother and family a quiet farewell, he descended the river Rhine on one of the then regular flat-boats to Amsterdam. Here he qualified before a medical board, was thoroughly examined, was accepted and furnished with the necessary certificate. Although but twenty-one years old he was appointed physician to the ship "John" of Baltimore, Md., which was to carry 400 passengers to the New World, many of whom were French fugi- tives and officers escaping after the great defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. The old craft made a slow, tedious voyage, passing the Bermuda Islands in midsummer, the intense heat causing much sick- ness and distress. Dysentery, cholera morbus and diarrhea prostrated all save the strongest, and as the ship's medicine chest was inadequately supplied the mortality would have been terrible had it not been for the private stores of Dr. Detwiller and of another passenger, no less distinguished a person than General Vandame-one of Napoleon's officers who had become a political refugee. The vessel arrived at Philadelphia in the latter part of July, and the young physician, who had had sole medical charge
H. Detwiler
Henry Detwiller. M. D.
293
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
of the sick passengers and crew while on the voy- age, was left in full charge by the Port Physician while they were detained at Quarantine, and was also invited to assume the medical care of the sick of another vessel quartered there. His skill and de- votion to his charge won the most favorable ap- proval of all concerned, and also of Dr. Munges, an eminent French physician, with whom he then be- came acquainted, and who, having the highest re- spect for his professional attainments, frequently called him in consultation in the family of General Vandame and other French refugees of rank in Napoleon's time. Dr. Detwiller's original intention had been to proceed direct to the western wilder- ness-the "Indian Country "-for the purpose of increasing his knowledge as a naturalist and mak- ing collections, but he was dissuaded from this course by Joseph Bonaparte, General Vandame, Dr. Munges and others ; and persuaded to establish himself as a practitioner of medicine in some local- ity in the Lehigh Valley. Armed with letters of in- troduction from his distinguished friends, Dr. Det- willer visited Allentown, Pa., early in the autumn of 1817, and was so well pleased with the place and his reception that he remained there, entering the office of Dr. Charles W. Martin, then a prominent physician of that country, with whom he practiced, as an assistant, for seven months, displaying so much real knowledge and skill in his profession that he at once gained the confidence of all. Dur- ing the winter of 1817-18, an epidemic broke out in the Lehigh Valley which, though it resembled " bil- ious colic," baffied the skill of the physicians in the locality, taking many lives, and causing much distress. Dr. Detwiller, proceeding on scientific grounds, diagonised the disease as lead poisoning, and, prescribing the proper antidotes, was successful in curbing its progress. He then made investiga- tions and proved conclusively that the cause of the dreaded affection proceeded from the glazing with litharge of earthern pots in which apple butter was kept. His signal success in this instance greatly in- creased his popularity, and he received pressing in- vitations to establish himself from several localities. The incident likewise created for him an enviable professional reputation. In the spring of 1818 Dr. Detwiller removed to Hellertown, Northampton County, Pa., where he entered actively upon his professional duties, daily rising in the esteem of the people, and extending his reputation, for a period of thirty-four years. In December, 1818, Dr. Detwil- ler was married to an American lady, Miss Elizabeth Appel, of Hellertown, Pa., and their happy life was blessed with seven children. He was one of the earl- iest converts to the Hahnemann system of medicine
in the United States, and on July 23, 1828, dispensed the first remedy selected in accordance with the laws of similia similibus curantur. Thenceforth until his death he remained an ardent disciple of Hahne- mann, and an active and successful practitioner of homeopathy. In November, 1835, his estimable and beloved wife died after a long illness, and in 1836 he visited Europe, partly with a view to secur- ing aid for the establishment of a Homeopathic Col- lege at Allentown, and also for the purpose of plac- ing his eldest son, Charles-who accompanied him -in one of the leading German institutions of learn- ing. During his sojourn abroad he made the ac- quaintance and became an intimate friend of Dr. Samuel Christian Frederick Hahnemann, the found- er of homœopathy, then at Paris, and also of other lights of the " new school," among them Professor Shoelein, Oken and Schintz; and met a number of other distinguished physicians and scientists at a reception given to him by Dr. Hahnemann at Paris. In his interview with Dr. Hahnemann, soliciting his assistance for the establishment of the Homœop- athic College, the latter pleaded his inability to give any pecuniary aid, but said he would send his life-size marble statue then in course of sculpture by the fa- mous David in Paris. The statue was sent, but was unfortunately lost by shipwreck. Upon parting he presented Dr. Detwiller with his bronze relief, and Madame Hahnemann gave him a parting kiss and joined in the imploration that the good work begun might prosper and spread, like the Christian religion, all over the world. Before leaving Europe he paid a visit to the University of Freyburg-his Alma Ma- ter-presented his certificates of examination (abso- lutorium) executed in the fall of 1816-when he was not as yet qualified by being of statutory age for the holding of the Doctor's degree-and being accorded a thorough examination by the faculty, which he passed with high distinction, was awarded the Uni- versity Diploma of Doctor of Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics-an honor to which he would have been entitled twenty years before had he been of the required age. On his return voyage, the poet, Alfred W. Longfellow, was one of the passengers, and taught him his first game of whist, an amuse- ment that his busy life seldom allowed him to in- dulge in. In 1852 Dr. Detwiller removed from Hel- lertown to Easton, where he resided until his death. His practice was most extensive, and included pec- ple in every walk in life, making his name a household word for miles around and carrying his reputation far beyond the boundaries of the State. To him belongs the honor of being the first dispen- ser and introducer of liomœopathic remedies in Pennsylvania. For some years he had to contend
294
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
with powerful opposition from a number of his pro- fessional colleagues devoted to the regular or "old school" system; but in time this died out, and he lived to see his favorite theory make its converts by the million, and to realize that his name would be handed down to posterity for his conspicuous ser- vices in establishing the "new school of medicine in
America." The demands of his extensive practice were met with scrupulous care and attention, but his leisure time, though brief, was utilized to its ful- lest extent, in getting together the Flora Sauconensis -the name he gave his herbarium, the speci- mens being collected principally in upper and lower Saucon, and which were presented later to the Lafay- ette College Museum at Easton. In these botanical excursions he was often accompanied by his friends, Dr. De Schweinitz and Dr. Hubner, who materially aided him in the work. The ornithological speci- mens, the mammals, reptiliæ, cheloniæ, etc., etc., etc., collected and prepared by him, represented,
valuable collections were donated to various public State of Pennsylvania. The greater portion of these with but few exceptions, the whole fauna of the
the Museum of the University of Basel, to which he institutions and museums in Europe, especially to
was led to give preference by the fact that he was a Corresponding Member of the Natural History So- ciety at that place. As long as the records of ho- mæopathy exist Dr. Detwiller will be remembered for his distinguished services to that school of med-
icine. One of the first honors he received in con-
nection with this practice, was his election, in 1836, as Member of the Medical Faculty of the Academy of the Homoeopathic Healing Art at Allentown. In 1844 he was elected a member of the American In- stitute of Homeopathy in New York city, then first founded, and on April 5, 1850, he was elected a Fel- low and Corresponding Member of the Homoeopath- ic Medical College of Pennsylvania. In the au-
tumn of 1886 he attended the dedication of the
New Hahnemann College and Hospital in Philadel- phia, and despite his great age at the time (ninety-
one years) took a deep interest in the proceedings. A reference to him, in one of the leading Philadel- phia papers, published the following day, says : " A bright-eyed and rosy-faced, but bowed and gray- haired man, sat in one of the airy halls of the beautiful new Hahnemann College and Hospital building last night, looking smilingly around him on hundreds of men and women. It was Dr. Henry Detwiller, of Easton, and the one man in all that throng who had spoken to the great apostle of ho- mœopathy, Hahnemann himself." In the business, social and religious life of the cities in which he lived, Dr. Detwiller took a very active interest and
was more than ordinarily prominent. His connec-
School Director in Lower Saucon Township. His warm and for fourteen years he held the position of furnaces, etc. His interest in education was very nected as a director or stockholder with other mills, cessful operations, and for many years he was con- North Pennsylvania Iron Company during its suc- ed in a large fortune. He was President of the tion with the industrial interests of the State result-
connection with Free-masonry began at an early
period in his life, and when he died he was the old-
est member of the Order in his section of the State.
tinued in active practice almost to the day of his cheerful heart and helping hand, Dr. Detwiller con- most exceptional and remarkable, with a kind, three centuries. With a vigor of mind and body German Reformed Church since its organization, for his ancestors had been faithful adherents of the communicant member. It is worthy of note that Reformed Church, at Easton, of which he was a His religious affiliations were with the Third street
death. About three weeks before that event he
a medical consultation. On the following day and then took the cars to Bethlehem to attend office, when he partook of his customary repast, son, who accompanied him, and returned to his pavement. He was assisted to his feet by his grand- the misfortune to fall, striking his head upon the and on his return from visiting a patient, he had rose early, as had been his habit from childhood,
he made professional calls at Frenchtown, N. J., but on the third day he began to feel the ill effects
of his fall and was confined to his bed ten days later.
to give orders for the preparation of their medicines, ment, he continued to prescribe for his patients and Although suffering under the restraints of confine-
until he lost the power of articulation. Two weeks
after his fall, at 7 A.M., on Thursday, April 21, 1887,
he passed quietly away surrounded by his children.
Easton, and probably the oldest practitioner of med- of his death he was the oldest man in the city of duty and unvarying kindness of heart. At the time whom he had endeared himself by his high sense of This venerable man left many sincere friends, to
scholarly one, was full of usefulness and honor, and icine (of any school) in the world. His life was a
highly successful medical man and was mourned by was rounded out to an extent that rarely falls to the lot of man. He left a reputation as a skillful and
the whole community. He had three sons and four
daughters, viz .: Dr. Charles Detwiller (deceased) ; Dr. William F. Detwiller, of Hellertown ; Dr. John J. Detwiller, of Easton (associated with his father in practice until his death); Mrs. Henrietta Heller, widow of C. B. Heller, of Hellertown ; Mrs. Matilda
.
Inde Irady
295
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Martin, widow of Dr. Charles Martin, of Allentown; Mrs. Cecilia Detwiller, wife of Jacob J. Detwiller, of Jersey City, N. J .; and Mrs. Lucinda Lilliendahl, wife of G. A. Lilliendahl, also of Jersey City. In addition to his surviving children he leaves twenty- seven grandchildren, twenty-one great grandchil- dren and two great-great grandchildren. When his ninetieth birthday was celebrated a congratulatory autograph album was presented to him with the signatures of 235 relatives here and in Europe. Dr. Detwiller's funeral took place, April 25, 1887, from his residence in Centre Square, Easton, and though of a private character it was largely attended. The pall-bearers, eight in number, were all grandchil- dren of the deceased.
JOHN C. GRADY.
THE personal character in which there is a blend- ing of strong energy with clear intelligence and keen moral sense, is the one which best merits the requirements of daily life, gains the greatest success and enjoys the most extended popularity. Few are to be found in Pennsylvania who present more claims to honorable mention and offer to the youth of our country a more meritorious example than the one whose name stands at the head of this page, now President pro tem of the State Senate. To his New England nativity may be traced the strong physical and intellectual force that characterizes the New Englander wherever found, and he is one of a class of men so peculiar to our country, who, without the the aid of fortune or influential friends, . rapidly advanced to places of honor and distinction. Born at Eastport, Maine, October 8, 1847, his educa- tion was such as is usually acquired in the common and high schools of New England, and a prepara- tion for business pursuits at a commercial college, to which was added a course in the law school of the University of Pennsylvania. While still a youth he moved to the city of Philadelphia, and his first occupation was that of bookkeeper for Messrs. Gould & Co., where his industry and strict atten- tion met with early recognition and reward. Being indisposed to waste his leisure hours as others did in like employment around him, he devoted them to the study of the law,-because as a boy he had fixed his hopes upon that profession, which has proved the highway to success,-and was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in October, 1871, and from that time he has literally grown with that great city and strengthened with her strength until he has become thoroughly identified with her interests and pros-
perity. His practice was lucrative from the start, being remarkable for fortunate results. His inclin- ations soon turned to a political life because of his youthful ambition to win success, and an opportu- nity which then presented itself combined to urge him in this direction of effort; yet, without relin- quishing attention to his legal business, he found sufficient time to soon occupy a prominent place in party organization and management. In 1876, while the Centennial Exposition was in progress in that city, he was nominated and elected to the State Sen- ate, and at the expiration of the term of four years was re-elected, and four years later was elected without opposition to succeed himself again, and elected to a fourth term of four years in November, 1888. In May, 1887, he was chosen President pro tem of that body, and continues in this official capacity to the present time. In that branch nine- tenths of the proposed Legislation is referred to the General Judiciary Committee, making it the most important in the Senate, the Chairmanship of which he held for six years preceding his elevation to the Presideucy-a length of time without precedent. His identification with all leading movements in the Leg- islature, and his influence in party management, give the prominence he enjoys in the community, by reason of which no member of the Senate has so wide an ac- quaintance or is better known throughout the Com- monwealth. At every session since he entered the Senate in 1876, he has succeeded in the enactment of measures of public interest proposed by himself, and has taken a leading part in opposition to meas- ures that had not public sanction or were condemned by the press. To his efforts alone is due all the honor of the passage of the act regulating the method of taking citizens out of the State, and pro- hibiting it without due process of law-a measure that so commended itself that it was soon adopted by the Legislature of New York and other States -as it put an end to long standing abuses, in the ab- sence of any statute upon the subject. Again in the passage of the new city charter for Philadel- phia, no one took so conspicuous a part or fought a harder parliamentary battle to secure its proper amendment and final passage; as also the law fixing the salaries of the judges of the Courts of Com- mon Pleas and Supreme Court, and the several acts regulating the fees charged in the public offices of Philadelphia. In January, 1881, he was selected by the dominant party managers to visit Gen. Garfield, the President-elect of the United States, and to present the claims of Pennsylvania to a cabinet appointment for one of her sons, and to confer generally about party policy to be pursued by the then coming administration, in all of which
296
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
he was eminently successful, and when the session of that year closcd he returned to the practice of his profession. Soon afterwards, President Garfield, finding himself embarrassed in the disposition of his appointments by contending political factions, wrote to Senater Grady, who had not been an appli- cant for any office, and tendered to him the first appointment he had for Philadelphia, it being the Office of Surveyor of the Port, which he, however, declined, as he preferred to remain in the State Senate, and the proffered Federal office remained vacant until after the death of the President. It may justly be said that the subject of our sketch is a born diplomat, for he has often intervened in the quarrels of factions and succeeded in adjusting their difficulties and effect- ing an arrangement satisfactory to all concerned. An instance may be cited in the case of several rival candidates for the office of Mayor of Philadelphia; another to the claims of parties who wished to or- ganize an important city convention, and a case of greater magnitude being the settlement, through his individual efforts, of the bolt of a large part of the Republican members of the General Assembly from a party caucus to choose a United States Senator to succeed Hon. William A. Wallace, in 1881. It was a contest for supremacy in party management and control, where faction was arrayed against faction in great bitterness. Every form of warfare was applied and exhausted, when Senator Grady extri- cated his colleagues from the dead-lock He ob- tained a letter of declination from the bolter's candi- date, and secured a compromise with the regulars, of which he was one, that saved a United States Senator to the State and the party. This achieve- ment was pronounced a masterpiece of diplomacy and from that time to the present the party machin- ery has run smoothly. Being reticent in movement, careful in action and affable in his manner, he pos- sesses the qualities more apt to succeed than fail. Successful as he has been in his profession, his greatest wealth consists in a mind constant, elevated and active-a reputation free from stain, to descend to his children as an inheritance which neither gold can purchase nor the pernicious blight of time destroy.
JOSEPH PANCOAST, M.D.
THE late Dr. Joseph Pancoast, of Philadelphia, one of the most eminent practitioners of medicine and surgery, and known throughout the medical world by reason of his writings and inventions, was a native of Burlington County, N. J., and was born November 23, 1805. His ancestors were English,
and came to this country before Wm. Penn did, set- tling in the Duke of York's Grant in northeast New Jersey. He early decided upon following the profession for which time fully demonstrated his great genius, and graduated from the Medical De- partment of the University of Pennsylvania in 1828, and immediately began practice in Philadelphia. He very soon decided to make surgery his speciality and accordingly, in 1831, commenced the teaching of that branch of science together with practical anat- omy, probably on the theory that he who teaches is himself taught. His talents obtaining ready recog- nition he was, in 1834, appointed one of the physi- cians of the Philadelphia Hospital [Blockley] and not long after was elected Physician-in-Chief to the Children's Hospital in the same institution. In 1838 he was elected to the chair of Surgery in the Jeffer- son Medical College, but he still retained connection with the Children's Hospital, and was visiting physician there until 1845. In 1841 he was chosen Professor of Anatomy in the same college, a posi- tion which he only resigned in 1874, when he was succeeded by his son, Dr. William H. Pancoast. Thus for a period of thirty-six consecutive years he held two of the most important professorships in this justly celebrated school, and, upon his retire- ment from that last mentioned, he was, in evidence of the high esteem in which he was held by the Trustees, elected Emeritus Professor of Anatomy. On March 27, 1854, he was elected one of the sur- geons of the Pennsylvania Hospital, which post he held for a period of ten years. It would appear from these facts alone that Dr. Pancoast's life was an exceedingly busy one, but they fall far short of indicating his real activity in the sphere of his chos- en science and profession. It must be borne in mind that in addition to his duties in these elective posi- tions in the celebrated college and the great hospit- al, he carried on a large private practice, was a con- stant student, keeping himself fully abreast and, in some senses, ahead of his times, that he was a volu- minous writer upon medical topics and gave the world many valuable inventions in instruments for and operations in surgery. He came into the field of activity well equipped by natural endowment and by close study just at a time when medicine and surgery were taking their greatest strides of progress, and he became one of the leaders in the in- tellectual march. He identified himself with the leading philosophical and medical societies and closely applied himself to the study and production of literature within the sphere of his profession, becoming, in fact, a distinguished author, and win- ning fame on two continents by his masterly treat- ment of special subjects within the scope of medi-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.