USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 15
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was a soldier in the Continental Army. His mother, Kaziah Rebecca Murphey was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, and came to America also in 1765. The mother of the subject of this sketch Julia Anne Fagundus, was born in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, on the 14th of December, 1801. She died February 14, 1883, in Franklin, Pennsylvania. She was a woman of marked char- acter, and greatly beloved by all who knew her. The following extract from a long obituary notice published in the Venango Spectator shortly after her death shows the estimation in which she was held by the community in which she lived:
"She was, in the best sense of the term, every- body's friend. She had love and sympathy for everybody. She never had an unkind word to say about any person, and would not even permit harsh criticism in her presence. This sweetness of dispo- sition was reflected in her face and manner. She wore this visible sign and seal of a good heart."
Mr. Mackey's maternal great-grandfather, John Fagundus, was born at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, Germany, came to this country in 1732, and located in Philadelphia, where he was married February 3, 1759, to Martha Done, as appears on p. 98, Vol. II. of the Pennsylvania Archives. Mr. Mackey's maternal grandfather, John Fagundus, was born November 3, 1760, in Philadelphia; and his mater- nal grandmother, Mary (Cressman) Fagundus, was also born there May 17, 1763; and they were mar- ried in that city May 23, 1785. They afterwards re- moved to Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Mackey's mother was born. Mr. Mackey received a good academic education; learned the printiug trade; published a newspaper when a mere boy; and tlien commenced the study of law when he was but eighteen years of age in the office of his brother-in-law, Hon. Charles E. Taylor, now Presi- dent-Judge of the Venango District. At the break- ing out of the War of the Rebellion he was one of the first to cnlist in the service of the Union, and with several other young men organized the " Venango Grays," afterwards Company "C" of the 10th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Reserve Volun- teer Corps-the first company organized in the county. Of this company he was afterwards pro- moted to the First Lieutenancy and served with it, except when on detached duty, to the 11th of July, 1863, when he was honorably discharged. During his term of service he acted for a time as ordinance officer on the staff of General M'Call, who com- manded the Pennsylvania Reserve Divisiou; and also served in the same capacity ou the staff of Gen- eral E. O. C. Ord. He was in all the battles in which his company was engaged, from Dranesville to Gettysburg, iuclusive, except two. In the month
Char. Or maille
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
of August following his discharge from the army, he was appointed, by Secretary Chase, special agent of the United States Treasury, and was assigned to the district composed of Eastern Virginia and North Carolina. This position he continued to hold until August 1, 1865, when he resigned, and afterwards returned home and entered the law firm of Taylor & Gilfillan as a partner. During the time he was special agent of the Treasury he received and dis- bursed large sums of money, and it was through his office that the commercial and coastwise intercourse between the localities named and the Northern States was conducted, and for this purpose he had local agencies at Fortress Monroe, Norfolk and other points. Mr. Mackey was admitted to the bar August 29, 1865, and to membership in the Supreme Court of the United States December 5, 1875, on motion of the late Hon. Jeremiah S. Black, ex-At- torney-General of the United States. He is also a member of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and of several other States. Since he came to the bar he has been almost constantly in active practice, and has been employed in some of the most important cases ever tried in his part of the State and is recog- nized as a leader in his profession. Besides this he has been prominently identificd with many import- ant manufacturing and railroad interests. For several years he was attorney for the Allegheny Valley Railroad, a part of the Pennsylvania Rail- road system. He was also the projector, Vice- President and General Solicitor of the Olean, Bradford & Warren Railroad, now a part of the Western New York & Pennsylvania system. He was the projector and President of the Pittsburgh, Bradford & Buffalo Railroad, now a part of the Pittsburgh & Western system. He was one of the projectors and Vice-President and general solici- tor of the Cincinnati & South Eastern Railroad, now a part of the Chesapeake & Ohio system. He was general solicitor and a Director of the Pittsburgh & Western Railroad Company. He is now the President of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach Railroad Company, which has erected at Virginia Beach, near Norfolk, one of the most ex- tensive and attractive summer and winter resorts in the United States. He is also a Director in and a large owner of the American Oxide Company, of Franklin, Pennsylvania, a company organized for the purpose of making oxides of metals. The capi- tal of this company is $500,000; and it is said that the process it uses has revolutionized the manufac- ture of all kinds of oxides. He is also the Vice- President and a Director of the Shenango Coal & Mining Company, one of the largest coal companies in Western Pennsylvania. He is the Vice-President
and Director of the Sterling Steel Company, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Vice-President of the Anglo-American Oxide Company, now building works in Belgium. He organized and was Presi- dent of the Columbia Gas Light and Fuel Company, which conducted natural gas successfully a dis- tance of sixty-three miles to Youngstown, Ohio. This company has a capital of $1,000,000, and sup- plies Sharon, Mercer, Meadville, Oil City and other places with natural gas. He also organized the Franklin Natural Gas Company, of which he was elected President. He is a Director of the Savings Bank of Franklin, the Emlenton Bank and the Eden- burgh Bank, and is identified with many other busi- ness enterprises. He is a member of the New York Club and the Lawyers' Club of the city of New York. In politics Mr. Mackey is an ardent Repub- lican, he having cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864; and he has taken an active part in every political campaign since 1866. In the Presi- dential campaign of 1888 he was on the stump in New York and New Jersey for several weeks, and his speeches were favorably commented upon by many of the leading newspapers, by which they were pronounced eloquent, logical and convincing. In 1884 and 1886 Mr. Mackey was the Republican candidate for Congress for the Twenty-seventh Dis- trict of Pennsylvania; and, although defeated, he had each time a large majority of the vote in the district outside of Erie City, which was the home of his opponent. In 1880 the district went Repub- lican on Congress by 1,303, and in 1882 by 823. Mr. Mackey carried the district outside of Erie City by 2,187 in 1884, and by a large majority in 1886. His opponent carried the city by 2,729 in 1884, and by 2,102 in 1886; although Mr. Cleveland carried it in 1884 by only 110,-about the usual Democratic ma- jority. Mr. Mackey's majority outside of the city was much larger than that of any other Republican candidate in that district for many years. In his own county he ran largely ahead of Blaine in 1884, and he had more than double the majority of Gen- eral Beaver in 1886. It is generally admitted by all candid men in his district that his defeat was brought about solely by the lavish expenditure of an inexhaustible corruption fund. The following is an extract from the speech of ex-Congressman Gilfillan at the Corry Convention, July 27, 1886, placing Mr. Mackey in nomination :
" Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention :
I have the honor, in behalf of a large num- ber of Republicans of this district, of nomina- ting Charles W. Mackey, of Franklin, as the Re- publican candidate for Congress for the Twenty- seventh District of Pennsylvania. In doing so I desire to say that I have known Mr. Mackey since
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his boyhood; I have been associated with him in the profession to which he belongs, in business af- fairs and socially; and in all my relations with him I have always found him honorable, upright, straightforward and manly in every respect. He combines in an eminent degree the qualities that constitute the successful lawyer; the enterprising business man and the generous and liberal citizen. By his own industry, courage and perseverance he has surmounted every obstacle in the way of suc- cess, and stands to-day one of the foremost citizens at the bar and in the business and social affairs of his native place. As a Republican no man in west- ern Pennsylvania has ever rendered his party more faithful and efficient service. From 1866, just after he came to the bar of Venango County, and when young in years, down to this day, he has taken an active part in every campaign,-often leaving his home and going into distant States to battle for the principles in which he believes. His fidelity to his party and his party associates, in victory and de- feat, has been constant and unflinching. Although not by any means a bitter partisan, he has been firm and constant in his convictions, and has never wavered in the discharge of what he believed to be his duty."
The high esteem in which Mr. Mackey has been" held in the locality in which he is, of course, best known, is shown by the fact that he has been Mayor of his city; City Solicitor for three times, and a member of the City Council for several years. He is a Past Commander of the Grand Army of the Re- public, Past Commander of Knights Templar, was District Deputy Grand Master of Masons of Penn- sylvania for many years and District Deputy Grand High Priest of Royal Arch Masons of Pennsylvania. On May 20, 1872, he was appointed a Captain in the National Guard of the State of Pennsylvania by Governor Hartranft, which position he held until 1873, when he tendered liis resignation on account of imperative business engagements out of the State, and was honorably discharged. Mr. Mackey has had a wide experience in foreign travel, having been in Europe three times. He is a well-known and popular public speaker, having delivered many lectures and addresses on various subjects, display- ing a remarkable eloquence and an extraordinary magnetic power, through whose possession he has been unusually successful in moulding his hearers to the acceptance of the views which he expresses. Mr. Mackey is at present connected with several large railroad and manufacturing enterprises, and holds business relations of a nature requiring his presence in New York City, where he has an office, and where he spends the greater portion of his time. Meanwhile the firm of Mackey, Forbes & Hughes is in active practice in Franklin, but the business is conducted mainly by the junior mem- bers. On May 9, 1867, Mr. Mackey married Laur- etta Barnes Fay, of Columbus, Ohio. Her father,
Cyrus Paige Fay, was the youngest son of Daniel Fay, of Hardwick, Massachusetts, who was born December 14, 1752, and was a soldier in Captain Samuel Dexter's company of Colonel Learncd's regi- ment during the Revolutionary War. Her maternal great-grandfather, Timothy Paige, was born at Hardwich, Massachusetts, May 24, 1727, and died April 26, 1796. He was a Selectman, Town Treas- urer and a representative to the General Court and served as a member of many of the most important town committees during the Revolutionary War. He held the rank of Colonel in the Continental army, and rendered most conspicuous services in the Revolutionary struggle. The late Right Rev- erend Philander Chase, bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Ohio, and founder of Kenyon College at Gambier, Olio, was the uncle of Mrs. Mackey, and came with her father from Vermont in 1812. Her father was for many years one of the most prosperous merchants in Columbus, and at the time of liis death, October 2, 1872, was Treas- urer of the Columbus & Xenia Railroad Company. He was a man of the highest character and stand- ing, and his wife (Myra Barnes) was a daughter of Doctor Samuel Barnes, who was a surgeon in the Revolutionary army. Mr. and Mrs. Mackey have six children : Susan Taylor, born March 20, 1868, and married June 25, 1889, to Edward E. Hughes, the junior member of the law firm of which Mr. Mackey is the head; Myra Fay, born March 27, 1870; Cyrns Fay, born July 1, 1872; William Chase, born January 7, 1877; Julia Anne, born November 9, 1878; and Marion Paige, born April 13, 1884.
THEOPHILUS S. WILSON.
HON. THEOPHILUS STRATTAN WILSON, President-Judge of the Eighteenth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, was born in the Borough of Strat- tanville, Clarion County, Pennsylvania-a village three miles east of Clarion, the county seat-April 17, 1837. His ancestors were among the pioneers of that section of country and in their history are to be found rare elements of romance. At the beginning of this century that portion of the State of Pennsyl- vania in which are now Clarion and Jefferson Coun- ties was an unsettled wilderness. Hither, in 1801, came a band of earnest, energetic patriots, deter- mined to do their part in extending the settlement of their country. They numbered ten men, among wliom was Samuel Wilson, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch. They reached their
Theophilus & Stilson ilson
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destination after experiencing all the privations that in those days attended the progress of the early set- tlers, their journey requiring the opening up of an unbroken forest, at a period not long after a time of fierce Indian conflicts. Samuel Wilson died withiu a year afterwards. His widow and five sons settled on the land he had broken, and to one of these sons, Robert, the second man married in Clarion, was born another Samuel, third of the name, who was the father of Judge Wilson. In 1836 Samuel Wilson married Elizabeth Moran, of Haddenfield, New Jer- sey, who was of the family of John Strattan, the founder of Strattanville, from which family Theophi- lus, their first born, received his second name. Samuel Wilson began life as a clerk in the store of Hon. Charles Evans, the pioneer merchant in his section ; but in 1834, when only twenty-six years of age, he started in business for himself. He was a shrewd and far-seeing man, was remarkably suc- cessful, and rapidly accumulated a fortune. When the iron industry started in Clarion County, he was one of the first to invest in it and became a heavy manufacturer, building, in company with his brother John, the St. Charles Furnace, in Porter Township. He afterwards purchased Helen Furnace, in High- land Township, where he made thousands of tons of pig iron. He also interested himself in boat build- ing, acquired extensive lumber interests, owned several stores, and employed several hundred men in his various enterprises. When the War of the Rebellion broke out, Governor Curtin specially
commissioned him to purchase supplies for the Quartermasters' Department. He was also Presi- dent of the First National Bank of Clarion, a posi- tion he held until his death, which occurred at his home in Strattanville, January 21, 1879, at the age of seventy-one years. Theophilus Strattan Wilson had the advantage of being well prepared for his college education, first by private tutors, afterwards at the public schools, and then at the Brookville Academy, in Jefferson County. He received his collegiate education at Allegheny College, Mead- ville, Pennsylvania. While he was yet a lad, in 1854, his father chose him to fill out a year's leave of absence of his chief clerk-a most responsible and difficult position. At the close of his term in charge of the business, Theophilus was sent to Helen Furnace, which was owned by his father, where was manufactured a superior brand of iron, known to the trade as "charcoal iron," its con- stituent parts being red hematite ore, limestone and
oak charcoal. At first Theophilus took charge of -
the Furnace store, soon he was promoted chief bookkeeper, and, showing a broad understanding of business principles and of the details of manufac-
ture, in a short time he was appointed manager of the entire business. The qualities he displayed, of fine intelligence, persistent application, and in- domitable energy, thus pushed him to the forefront of a vocation he was only destined to follow tem- porarily, but which was of great advantage to him in his future career, having been, as he himself since remarked, more beneficial to him in his profession and in his judicial career than his classical educa- tion. In 1859 Mr. Wilson was married to Amanda Lowry, eldest daughter of William H. and Eliza Lowry, whose father was one of the most promi- nent citizens and merchants in the county. They have had five children : Edwin M., Minnie, Harry R., Elizabeth, and Theophilus L. Wilson. In 1860 the market for pig iron having become unprofitable, Mr. Samuel Wilson determined to close out his business in that line and it was permanently discon- tinued. This made it necessary for Theophilus to decide upon his future course, and he chose the profession of law. The same year he was registered a student and entered the office of George W. Lathy, the oldest practitioner at the bar of Clarion County. In the spring of 1861 he moved from Helen Furnace to Clarion, and in September of the same year passed a creditable examination before the Board of Examiners, and was admitted to the bar before Hon. Glenni W. Scofield, now one of the Judges of the United States Court of Claims, at Washington, then Presiding Judge of the Warren District and holding a special term in Clarion. He practiced law in Clarion for over a year, when the appointment of Mr. John Keatly, of Strattanville, Additional Pay- master, U. S. Volunteers, gave the young lawyer a new experience. Heavy bonds being required for the Paymaster, Mr. Wilson's father and father-in- law furnished them, and Theophilus was made Pay- master's clerk. The young man was then twenty- four years of age, active, ardent and patriotic, and not in the least inclined to follow a then compara- tively inactive and uneventful profession while the whole country was alive and so much of importance was "making history " and stirring men's blood. The war was well advanced and the paymaster's department a responsible, active, and even danger- ous one, and offered special inducements to a young man of vitality and determination. Mr. Keatly and Mr. Wilson were first assigned to duty in the pay department of Kentucky, with headquarters at Cin- cinnati in charge of Ex-Governor Cumback of In- diana. Soon they were ordered to Washington to pay the troops in the Army of the Potomac, aud later were assigned to the pay department of Mary- land, with headquarters at Baltimore, in charge of Major C. W. Brice, afterwards Paymaster-General.
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In addition to paying the troops in Maryland, they were sent into the Shenandoah Valley and paid all the troops in and around Harper's Ferry, Winches- ter, Romney, and Martinsburgh, in West Virginia. At Winchester, in 1862, when General Milroy was attacked by the whole of Lee's army and had to cut his way out by night with immense loss, they were near being captured with their treasure of three hun- dred thousand dollars. They succeeded in eluding the Confederates and the funds were safely returned to Washington, at night, by special train-the second division of the Eighth Army Corps thus losing their pay for the time being. The following year, 1863, they were ordered to report at Harrisburg, to Col. W. M. Wylie, where they remained, paying discharged soldiers, until they were mustered out in the latter part of 1865. During the three years they were in the service they paid out twelve million dollars, and within one year afterwards their ac- counts were adjusted and settled to the entire satis- faction of the United States authorities. In January, 1866, Mr. Wilson returned to Clarion and having determined to settle there permanently, erected for his family a costly and beautiful residence on the most eligible site in the town, opposite the public square, where he still resides. The following year he resumed the active practice of his profession, and from that time his success has been phenomenal. His business rapidly accumulated, and soon, as the court records show, attained proportions exceeding that of all other lawyers in his neighborhood, neces- sitating the employment of several law clerks, he having more cases than all the members of the local bar combined. In the Common Pleas Court alone the appearances on the docket were more than twelve hundred cases annually, while in every other branch of the law he held the same proportion. In 1872 Mr. Wilson formed a co-partnership with George A. Jenks, of Brookville (afterwards Assis- tant Secretary of the Interior and Solicitor-General of the United States) under the firm name of Wilson and Jenks-to which, later, John W. Reed, Esq., was admitted-which continued until dissolved on the election of Mr. Wilson as President-Judge of the Eighteenth Judicial District. During the existence of this partnership the firm stood at the head of the profession in Western Pennsylvania. They were employed in many important cases, their services being in demand both within and without the dis- trict. The discovery and production of petroleum in large quantities greatly augmented their business. As an instance of this it may be mentioned that from one bank in the county, which had sufficed for a number of years, seven more were organized and doing business, and Wilson, Jenks and Reed were
attorneys for seven out of these eight institutions. They were recognized universally as safe counsellors, experienced in their profession, always accessible, and ready to attend to the interests of their clients. Among the most important cases they undertook was the indictment against the Standard Oil Company, they being first retained by the Producers' Union, of which B. B. Campbell was President. The indict- ment was against John D. and William Rockafeller, Jabez A. Bostwick, Daniel O'Day, William G. War- den, Charles Lockhart, Henry M. Flagler, Jacob J. Vandergrift, Charles Pratt, George W. Girty, et al., and charged them, as the Standard Oil Com- pany, with conspiracy to produce a monopoly in the purchase and sale of petroleum, to make forced sales, to extort unlawful and unreasonable rebates, discounts, and commissions from railroads, pipe- lines, and common carriers, to impoverish and ruin the Allegheny Railroad in its business, etc., etc. This was the first attempt made in the direction of correcting the alleged grievances imposed by this colossal monopoly and therefore attracted general attention throughout the United States. Before the case came to trial, however, necessary con- cessions were made and a compromise effected, whereby both parties to the action were satis- fied and the settlement approved by the Court. The practice of the firm in the Supreme Court of the State was large and important and embraced many cases outside of their own district. The United States Courts at Pittsburgh also received a share of their attention. It was seen with apprecia- tion that all cases undertaken by them received the most careful and methodical attention, even to the minutest details, a fact which resulted in gaining the entire confidence of the business public. Mr. Jenks took part in all jury trials, being seldom at the office except during such trials, the regular and special terms of court, and argument courts. The reputation of the firm for quick incisiveness of understanding was remarkable. No client found it necessary to give them instructions about getting cases ready for trial ; neglect was never imputed to them ; their office papers were always models of neatness and accuracy. The late Justice Trunkey, of the Supreme Court, presiding at a special court in Clarion, remarked that nowhere in the State had he found the standard of excellence up to the man- ner and forms of practice adopted and in use by the firm of Wilson, Jenks and Reed. A rigid ad- lierence to the rules of court and practice estab- lished for them a record quite exceptional. With regard to their ability, probity, fidelity to their clients, and kindred qualities, the well known rec- ord of this firm speaks more emphatically than
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could any ordinary words of eulogy. During the continuance of this copartnership, Mr. Wilson was also engaged in extensive outside business trans- actions, for which his early education and experi- ence gave him exceptional advantages. In com- pany with a practical man as partner, he bought five thousand acres of the best pine timber land in Clarion and Jefferson Counties, and employed large numbers of men in manufacturing lumber. At first he attended simply to the financial part of the busi- ness, the purchase of supplies, etc., but finally bought out his partner and conducted the business alone for many years, adding to it the manufacture of coal boats for the transportation of bituminous coal from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. He also held large interests in oil production, which he managed successfully. A big-hearted man, recognizing the value of the men that served him, his relations with them were always kindly and congenial, and it is a remarkable fact in his life that he never had a law- suit with one of his employees. Generous as well as just in all his dealings with men, his benevolence was proverbial. His purse was always open to any charitable object and his name led the subscription lists for church and other charities with the largest sum. One simple but most thoughtful instance of his character in this regard, out of many that may never be known, may be properly given here. Hearing of the sudden and imperative need of the people of a neighboring town, which had been de- stroyed by fire, he sent to each of more than fifty families, a barrel of flour; a munificent gift, the adequacy and wisdom of which will be readily con- ceded. Being a Republican in a Democratic county, giving a majority usually of eighteen hun- dred, Mr. Wilson had no opportunity for political preferment-though he controlled the State and Federal Republican patronage for more than twenty-five years, and generally either went as delegate to the Republican Conventions or was rep- resented in them by his friends. In 1882 he was specially selected to present to the Republican State Convention the name of ex-Senator Greer, of Butler, as a candidate for Secretary of Internal Af- fairs, who was nominated on the first ballot. In 1879 the Legislature passed a Judicial Apportion- ment Bill, erecting Clarion into a separate Judicial District. As soon as the bill passed, the members of the Clarion bar and the officers of the court, without distinction of party, in a strong petition to the Governor recommended Mr. Wilson for ap- pointment as President-Judge. No other name was presented. The bill, however, was afterwards ve- toed by Governor Hoyt. In the last Judicial ap- portionment, Clarion County was made a separate
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