USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 30
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works, kindly care has been taken of the injured." The extensive annexes to the Car Works deserve a few words of mention, since each in itself is a large and complete establishment, capable of indepen- dent existence. Probably first in importance is the Harrisburg Foundry and Machine Works, which had its origin in a brilliant counter-stroke made by Mr. Hildrup to offset the effect of the hard times consequent upon the panic of 1857. The universal distress prevailing over the whole coun- try exerted a most depressing effect, as is usually the case, upon the railroads, and the car-building industry was one of the first to be affected. In this emergency, when his employees were actually being forced out of work, Mr. Hildrup saved the day by devising a new employment for them, viz: the manufacture of machinists' tools, which his fa- miliarity with general manufacturers and me- chanics enabled him to take up and manage with success, thus vitalizing the plant which otherwise might have remained in idleness, and keeping his skilled hands at work in spite of the depression in their regular occupation. When the business af- fairs of the country had regained their ordinary equilibrium and the car works were again called into operation to meet the heavy demands made upon their facilities, the machine shop had reached a degree of development which made it policy to continue it; but as there was no room now in the works for this branch of manufacture, a plot of twenty-two acres of land was purchased in another part of the city, large and commodious shops were erected thereon and equipped with first class ma- chinery, and thither the new and promising indus- try was transplanted. These works, which were given the name mentioned above, have enjoyed universal prosperity, and for some years have been doing a flourishing general foundry business, large numbers of oil tanks and the company's celebrated Ide engine and a great variety of machine and boiler work being manufactured. The saw-mill owned and controlled by the Car Works Company is a new structure, conveniently located, very large and finely equipped with all the most recent im- provements. It is one of the most active branches of the company's works. The planing mill, also, is a complete and separate establishment, having a capacity entirely adequate to the demands made upon it. On April 25, 1872, sparks from a passing locomotive set fire to the main car works and in an hour's time building, lumber, cars and everything combustible were in flames, ınaking a total destruc- tion of the great plant. But the executive talent of Mr. Hildrup proved entirely equal to the emer- gency. The fire began shortly after noon. That
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
night the saw-mill was put in operation preparing lumber for the erection of a shop for building cars at the foundry and machine works, and carpenters were at work the following morning, framing the same. With the facilities afforded by the Foundry and machine works and the Planing Mill, five box cars were daily erected in the temporary structure during the rebuilding of the car works. The amount of work performed at this time by Mr. Hil- drup was prodigions, and nothing save the highest enthusiasm could have sustained him physically during the task. The fire gave him the oppor- tnnity of a life-time. The old works had been com- menced on a small scale, with no conception of their future development, and had been added to from time to time as greater capacity became necessary ; bnt the arrangement was not entirely satisfactory to the skillful manager. The total destruction of the works admitted plans more snitable to the plant and gave Mr. Hildrnp such a splendid opportunity to improve the works that in some senses the con- flagration was a blessing in disguise. It may seem incredible to many, but it is a fact nevertheless, that within ninety days' time, connting from the day of the fire, the present great collection of buildings comprised by the Car Works was erected, with shafting and machinery pnt in place, and was in actual operation, turning ont ten finished eight- wheel cars daily. Mr. Hildrnp has great reason to be proud of his achievement in connection with these works. Starting with bnt a small capital, and having at command a primitive plant and only ernde and unskilled labor, he has, by his personal labors, energy and brains, bnilt np one of the largest and most flourishing industries of the State, over which he still untiringly presides as working director and manager. Nothing has severed him from his self-appointed task, and thongh political and other honors might have been his, he has steadily declined them all in the interest of his life work. His reward has been great, for not only has he carried a valnable industry from its inception to a remarkable development, giving steady employ- ment to hundreds of men, but he has so improved the condition of those under him, throughi recog- nizing the mntnal inter-dependence of employer and employees, that he deserves the name of publie bene- factor. A man of wealth, he is also a man of feeling, and even the humblest of those nnder him have noth- ing bnt words of praise and thankfulness to bestow upon him both as an employer and a man. A sin- cere Christian (attached to the Episcopal church) he has practically illustrated in his business life the truth of the doctrines of his faith, which from a worldly point of view as well, he has found to be
wise and profitable when exemplified in daily life. Hle exercises great weight in the affairs of the city in which he resides, and is widely esteemed and loved for his many admirable personal qualities, wholly apart from those which in a business way have made him in a degree famons. Mr. Hildrup married, in early life, Miss Harriet E. Esseltyne, of Cape Vincent, New York, daughter of John B. Es- seltyne, a prominent citizen of that place, and niece of the Hon. Orville Hungeford, of Watertown, New York. Three of his children by this marriage snr- vive : one, a son, W. T. Hildrup, Jr., being associ- ated with him as Secretary of the company and Superintendent of the department devoted to the car-wheel manufacture. Left a widower by the death of his first wife, Mr. Hildrnp married, in 1876, Miss Emma J. Piper, of Philadelphia, a lady of cul- tnre and refinement, who is deservedly esteemed in the high social cireles which she ornaments.
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JOSEPH A. BUCKWALTER.
JOSEPH ADDISON BUCKWALTER, President of the Buckwalter Stove Company, of Royersford- known also as the Continental Stove Works-Pres- ident of the Home Water Company of that place, and for several years First Burgess of the borongh, was born at Royal Springs, near Kimberton, Chester Connty, Pennsylvania, June 25, 1836. His mother, whose maiden name was Rachel Orthip, was also a native of Chester County, but his father, Abraham Buckwalter, was born in Montgomery Connty, across the Schnylkill. The latter was a mill-wright by occupation, and under his supervision, Joseph, after completing his common-school edneation,- which was received at the schools of the district in which he was born,-learned that trade. In 1860, having then had a few years practical experi- ence as a workman, he joined in partnership with his elder brother, Henry L. Bnckwalter, and the two started a small machine shop and foundry at Royal Springs. Their capital at that time con- sisted mainly of ideas, but with the facilities then at their command for testing the worth of these they were not long in developing one, at least, into practical shape. This was the Bnckwalter cherry- seeder, now so well known all over the land; and for several years the mannfacture of this nseful in- vention gave them their chief ocenpation. In the latter part of 1865 Mr. Bnekwalter and his brother-partner removed to Royersford, Mont- gomery County, where, in conjunction with Mr.
J. a. Buchwalter
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
C. S. Francis, Mr. Henry Francis, and Mr. John Sheeler, they organized the firm of Francis, Buck- walter & Co., which went into operation January 1, 1866, as proprietors of the Continental Stove Works, then founded by them at the place named. For such an undertaking their capital was small, but they were nearly all young men, and what they lacked in money they more than made up in skill and enterprise. What is somewhat unusual in the case of inventors, the Buckwalter brothers pos- sessed excellent business qualities, and the result was soon apparent in the rapid increase of orders for their wares. At the start the company em- ployed about fifty workmen, and in addition to stoves, manufactured agricultural implements, and also the now celebrated Buckwalter cherry-seeder. In 1871 Mr. C. S. Francis withdrew from the busi- ness, but no change was made in the style of the firm. In the following year the firm, finding the capacity of the works too limited for their growing trade, erected additional buildings which had the effect of nearly doubling it. In a short time even these additional facilities were taxed to the utmost. In 1874 Mr. Henry Francis retired from the busi- ness, selling his interest to the remaining part- ners, who now changed the nanie of the firm to Sheeler, Buckwalter & Co. The demand for the manufactures of the house continued to grow in the most surprising way, and in 1875 it was decided that new works were necessary. In 1876 the pres- ent extensive establishment was built. The next incident of note in the history of the firm was the death, in 1876, of Mr. Sheeler, whose health had been failing for several years preceding his demise. The remaining members of the firm, the Messrs. Buckwalter, purchased Mr. Sheeler's interest from his heirs, aud continued the business under the firm name of Buckwalter & Co. The employment of the best material, the most approved methods and the most skillful workmen, was steadily oper- ating to give greater value to the products of the Continental Works, and was carrying them to the most distant parts of the country. The steady in- crease of the population of the country was also having its effect. These causes of prosperity were aided by the energy of the Messrs. Buckwalter in anticipating demands upon their resources, thus keeping themselves in a position to fill all orders, however unexpected. Under their management one hundred and twenty-five men were steadily em- ployed and through improvements in the plant the output of the works was nearly four times as great as when but fifty men were on the pay-roll, a result due almost entirely to the inventive ability of the brothers Buckwalter. In 1882 the subject of this
sketch had the misfortune to lose his elder brother and partner, by death. He continued the business, style unchanged, until October, 1887, when the pre- sent corporation-the Buckwalter Stove Company -- was formed. Mr. J. A. Buckwalter is President of this corporation; Mr. I. N. Buckwalter, Vice-Presi- dent; Mr. William S. Essick, Secretary ; Mr. T. D. Buck walter, Treasurer ; and Mr. William M. Staufer, Superintendent. The company increased their plant, in 1888, by the addition of a five-story brick warehouse, seventy by seventy-five fect in dimen- sions. The annual capacity of the works at the present time (1890) is in the neighborhood of twenty thousand stoves and ranges. The demand still shows a steady increase. The company has sales-agencies in several of the largest cities of the Union, including Philadelphia, New York and Chi- cago, that in the first named handling its wares exclusively. The reputation of the company for fair dealing, enterprise, trustworthiness of product and inventive ability, is not surpassed in its line. As the head of the Continental Stove Works, and one of its original founders, Mr. Buckwalter is known all over the United States as one of the fore- most of American manufacturers. He wears his honors in this regard with that degree of modesty which is nearly always characteristic of the genuine worker and man of affairs. He prosecutes with dil- igence all that falls to his hand and leaves the re- sults to speak for themselves. He would be more (or less) than human did he not take an honest pride in his splendid achievements, which have not only brought him honor and fame but fortune as well. In Royersford, where he has resided since 1866, he is a man of the first prominence, interested in every public movement of value or advantage to his fellow-citizens, and with equal promptitude taking hold of and pushing those of a social, edu- cational, or philanthropic character. Like his father he was early in life identified with the anti- slavery and temperance movements. He was one of the prime movers in the matter of incorporating the borough of Royersford, was elected to the hon- orable position of First Burgess of the Board of Bur- gesses, and was re-elected to the position three successive terms, serving in all four years. He is President of the Home Water Company, of Royers- ford, organized in 1889 for the purpose of supply- ing the borough with water, which is to be obtained from artesian wells. Mr. Buckwalter married, in 1862, Miss Mary Hamor, an estimable young lady of Chester County, Pennsylvania. His married life has been blessed by the advent of eight children : three sons and five daughters, all of whom are now living.
146
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
WALTER HORTON.
WALTER HORTON, of Sheffield, Warren Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, was born in Sullivan County, New York, October 17, 1832. On the paternal side he is descended from Barnaba Horton, of Mousely, Leicestershire, England, wlio came to America in 1636 or '37 and settled on Long Island. William Horton, a lineal descendant of this emi- grant, was one of the early settlers of Colchester, Delaware County, New York. He was a man of means aud prominence, and stood high in the es- teem of his fellow citizens, by whom he was chosen Judge, being the first to hold that office in the county. For many years he carried on lumbering and tanning in a small way. His youngest son . Isaac located at Liberty, Sullivan County, New York, and was for many years engaged in the same business. His eldest son Homer, the father of the subject of this sketcli, was a tanner and lumber- man, and during his life was engaged with a num- ber of associates in that line of business. The wife of Homer Horton and mother of Walter, was Jane Davidge, a native of Somersetshire, England. She came to America from her birthplace with her father, James Davidge, in 1815, and was brought up at Liberty. The eldest son of his parents, Walter Horton received a fair education, which began in the local public schools and was continued after his twelfth year at the Liberty Academy, in which he remained a pupil until his seventeenth year. During his pupilage the institute was under the management of Prof. John F. Stoddard, who was at that time engaged in compiling aud bringing out his celebrated series of "Practical and Mental Arithmetics," a labor in which young Horton ren- dered him much valuable and highly appreciated assistance. At the age of seventeen Walter closed his school studies, and for the next three years was occupied in assisting his father in the tanning and other business. At the age of twenty he entered the employ of Allisou, Davidge & Co., tanners, at Hancock, Delaware County, New York, and re- mained with this firm three years, acquiring in that time a practical mastery of the trade. He was next employed as Superintendent of the tauning property then being established by Thomas Smull & Sons, of New York City, extensive manufacturers of sole leather, at a point near White Haveu on the Lehigh River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. This prop- erty, which became known as the Lehigh Tannery, was built and put in operation under Mr. Horton's management, and was successfully established at a time when a number of similar enterprises were springing up in the same region. One of these en-
terprises was the Gouldsboro Tannery, situated twenty miles above on the Leligli, and owned by Messrs. Pratt and Gould, Mr. Jay Gould being then General Manager. In the latter part of 1856 Mr. Horton started in business on his owu account, pur- chasing the interest of his uncle, Mr. John Davidge, in the firm of Allison, Davidge & Co., his old em- ployers at Hancock, Delaware County, New York. The firm was then reorganized under the style of Allison, Crary & Co., with Mr. Horton as junior partner. Although owning but a small interest in the firm, aud being heavily in debt for that, the young man took his place proudly and hopefully. The panic in the following year was a serious mat- ter to the firm. The price of stock fell greatly, and for some time the outlook continned very gloomy. Business went from bad to worse, and May 12, 1862, as if to extinguish what little hope remained, a woods fire communicated to the establishment, and the tannery with all its contents and a large and valuable stock of bark were totally destroyed. For- tunately, the leather in the vats was saved, also a quantity of hides stored in outbuildings. The insur- ance, covering only about one-third of the loss, was paid to the firm after some delay caused in part by a most thorough investigation of the origin of the fire, conducted by the expert insurance adjuster, Mr. J. B. Ames, of New York, assisted by Mr. Wm. Palen, now said to be the most successful leather broker iu this country. A further complication in the business of Messrs. Allison, Crary & Co. arose from the fact that just previous to the fire it had entered into a new enterprise, with Mr. John Davidge as managing associate, in building the Lake Como Tannery, in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, thus heavily increasing its indebtedness. To add to this embarrassment, Mr. L. H. Allison, the capital- ist of the concern, was incapacitated for business by a sudden access of nervous illness, and, after a few months, died. As all the members of the firm were experts in their business, and were widely known as men of energy, those to whom they owed money did not press for an immediate settlement of their claims. Mr. Horton sold his interest in the Lake Como Tannery, situated in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, to his brother Lucien, in order to bring what money he could into the firm. Finally, under the cousiderate backing received from Messrs. Bullard & Co., a large leather house in New York City, the most pressing debts of the concern were paid, and within five months from the date of the conflagration the tanuery was rebuilt and again in operation, the firm as newly organized consisting of Messrs. H. H. Crary, Walter Horton and George H. Allison, son of L. H. Allison. It so happened that
Haller Horton ٨
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
while the firm was wading through the series of disasters and drawbacks alluded to, the exigencies of the Civil War, then raging, had so greatly en- hanced the price of leather, that the value of its un- finished stock in the store in New York, together with that of the untanned leather which escaped destruction lying in the vats at the tannery, and the hides stored in the barns, proved more than suffi- cient to cover the losses sustained by the fire. With
the steady increase in the price of leather, which, as gold rose to " two seventy-five," advanced from eighteen cents per pound and under, to fifty cents per pound and over, the profits of the firm for a period of two years or more were very large
and there was a corresponding improvement in
the business done by it. Towards the close of
1863 Mr. George H. Allison, who was not a resi- dent partner, being desirous of sccuring a greater
share in the very profitable business of the firm,
transfer was finally made in January, 1864, Mr. Although Mr. Crary opposed the sale at first, the proposed to purchase the interest of Mr. Horton.
Horton agreeing to take the former into partner-
ship in any new enterprise hc might originate. Be-
companied his uncle, Mr. Webb Horton, now of ing now out of business, Mr. Walter Horton ac-
Middletown, Orange County, New York -- who had
just previously sold out his interest in the tanning
business at Narrowsburg, Wayne County, New
hemlock forest regions of Western Pennsylvania. York-on a prospecting tour through the principal
After an inspection covering several weeks, they decided to establish a business at Sheffield, Warren
County, Pennsylvania, and as a foundation bought
from one to five dollars per acre, and taking time Forest and Mckean Counties, at the low price of bought several thousand acres of land in Warren, the Bowers property on that place. They also
in their selections, became the possessors of many
lock, but to some extent with pine. In the fall of desirable lots, heavily timbered mostly with hem-
1867 the firm of W. & W. Horton, composed of Mr.
Walter Horton and his uncle, sold a part of their
a lumberman from Callicoon, Sullivan County, New Binghamton in that State), and Mr. Wm. McNair, of Hancock, New York, (but now a resident of interest in this property to Mr. Horace H. Crary,
York, who married Miss Elizabeth Horton, the sis-
ter of Mr. Walter Horton. With these partners the
firm was reorganized on November 1, 1866, under
the style of Horton, Crary & Co., and before the
Tannery and was actively at work. Started at a close of the next year had completed the Sheffield
period when the business was in a most flourishing condition, this tannery has proved a profitable one
from the beginning, and at the present day is one of the most prosperous in the State. Shortly after this enterprise was launched, the youngest brother of Horace H. Crary, Mr. Jerry Crary-who had been wounded at the battle of Resaca, Georgia, in 1864, and was then recovered sufficiently to undertake clerical work-was given the position of book- keeper with the firm, but upon more fully recover- ing his strength he was admitted to partnership. Mr. George Horton, a young cousin of Mr. Walter Horton, and now a partner, joined the firm as fore- man of the Sheffield Tannery, in 1867. With a view , to harmonizing the tanning interests at Sheffield, Messrs. Horton, Crarys & Co. bought about this time a controlling interest in the sole leather tan- nery founded at that placc by Mr. J. F. Schoellkopf, of Buffalo, before their own enterprise was launched. With this gentleman they formed an independent partnership under the style of Schoellkopf, Horton
& Co. Mr. Charles Sigel, who became a partner in 1873, is still managing and supervising the interests of Messrs. Schocllkopf, Horton & Co., in this busi- ness. Another enterprise in which Messrs. Hor- ton, Crarys & Co. put their capital, was the Tionesta
Tannery, built by them in association with Mr.
John McNair, (also a brother-in-law of Mr. Walter
Horton,) and Mr. C. W. R. Radiker. They also
bought the Brookstown Tannery, situated eight
miles from Sheffield, and started under the firm name of the Forest Tanning Company. Later they
firm built the Tionesta Valley Railroad from Shef- Clarion River, Elk County, Pennsylvania. The purchased the Arroyo Tannery, at Arroyo, on the
field to Spring Creek, which opened up connection with the Pittsburgh and Western Railroad. Later
enty-five miles of roads and switches, of special road, and it now controls and operates about sev- the firm bought the Cherry Grove and Garfield Rail-
service to its own business in moving lumber and bark, and of great value to the region through which it runs for transporting passengers as well as
freight. In 1875, upon the death of Mr. William
McNair, his interests in the business were sold to
Messrs. Isaac Horton, (youngest brother of Mr.
Walter Horton,) and George Horton and George
Dickenson. In 1886, owing to failing health, the last named gentleman sold his interest to Mr. James H. Horton, youngest brother of Mr. George Horton, and Mr. Lane B. Schofield, son-in-law of the late Mr. William McNair, and removed to Dakota, where
H. Crary associated with Mr. James Horton, brother near Fargo. In 1873 Messrs. Walter Horton and H. he is now extensively engaged in wheat farming
of the former, and Mr. Edson G. Davidge, under the firm name of H. H. Crary & Co., and built the
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Westfield Tannery at Westfield, Tioga County, Pennsylvania. In 1880 the two first named gentle- men associated with Messrs. W. G. Garrett and L. R. Johnson, and built the Harrison Valley Tannery, at Harrison Valley, Pennsylvania, the firm thus formed taking the style of Walter Horton & Co. This firm also started a leather house at 107 South Street, Boston, Massachusetts, and another at 80 Gold Street, New York City, the latter doing busi- ness under the style of Horton, Crary & Co. In 1888 they founded a tannery at Salamanca, New York, under the firm name of James Horton & Co. The combined interests in tanning in which Mr. Walter Horton is now concerned produce about four thousand sides of sole leather daily, consum- ing in the same period two thousand heavy hides. The firm has a very large export trade, which in the year 1888, to Europe alone, comprised 243 per cent. of all the leather going out of the port of New York. This amount exported equalled about one- third of the firm's total product. In 1875, in drilling for oil, Messrs. Horton, Crary & Co. struck the largest gas well developed in the Sheffield region. They immediately commenced using the gas for fuel, introducing it in the town of Sheffield for that purpose, and are entitled to the credit and honor of being the first parties so employing natural gas. In 1881 Mr. Walter Horton and two of his partners, Mr. Jerry Crary and Mr. Charles Sigel, drilled a test oil well about three miles from Sheffield, and struck the first oil which had been produced within fifteen miles of that point. Subsequent drilling de- veloped large quantities of oil and the barren lands of the firm, which, stripped of timber, had been deemed of little value, became a new source of wealth. Nearly the whole of the Cherry Grove Oil Field was on land owned by Horton, Crary & Co., and the firm realized a large revenue from it. More recently they have been producing oil in large amounts from lands purchased at the beginning of their operations in Sheffield. Their gas lands like- wise yield them a considerable revenue. Viewed in any light Mr. Horton's experience has been a most remarkable one. While good fortune has en- tered largely into it, the wealth and success he has won has been owing mainly to his own unvarying integrity, and to a restless activity which has kept him constantly planning and working, conquering in one field only to enter another in search of new victories and successes. In all the years of his business life and in all the multiplicity of operations in which he has been engaged with many partners, and under many varying circumstances, he has never failed to pay every dollar of liabilities incur- red by himself or partners. It is worthy of note that
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