USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 35
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merits of his goods, that he supposed that all he had to do was to offer them to railway men, and that his sales would only be limited by the number of railway purchasing agents that he could visit. In
this he was disappointed, inasmuch as he found sales hard to make. So hard did he find it to intro- duce a new article to the railway trade that he was often discouraged, and sometimes as nearly hope- less as men of his temperament and determination ever become. In addition to the fact that sales were few and far between, they had not sufficient capital to carry on the business and pay the balance due Mr. Hendricks. Therefore the situation was be- coming critical. But before their obligations to Mr. Hendricks matured, Mr. Miller was so fortunate as to secure the business of the Union Pacific Railway, which was at that time the greatest railway of the country, and this rendered the outlook more en- couraging. Returning from a business trip to New York, still uncertain as to whether success or ruin
would be the outcome of their new enterprise, he met Mr. R. L. Cochran, then cashier of what was known as the Plumer Bank of Franklin. Mr. Miller and Mr. Cochran talked about the business of manu- facturing and selling railway lubricants, until Mr.
Cochran decided that he wanted an interest in the business, and the partnership of Miller, Cochran & Co. was formed, and Point Lookout Oil Works were established. The new firm continued the manufac- ture and sale of Galena Oils, and business was fair. Notwithstanding the depressed state of the dry goods business, they had until now continued in both, so that in case the oil business failed they would still have the dry goods business, and vice versa ; but now the sale or closing out of the dry
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
goods store was determined upon. Mr. Miller acted in the capacity of auctioncer until most of the goods were disposed of, but at prices so low that their loss amounted to $11,000. In January, 1870, Mr. Cochran sold his interest in the oil works to Mr. R. HI. Austin, and the firm of Miller, Austin & Co. was organized. The business of the company continued good until August, 1870, wheu Point Lookout Oil Works were destroyed by fire. The insurance on the works amounted to but little, and when the business was adjusted, the two original partners, Milller & Coon, found themselves liable for $32,000, with assets amouuting to only $6,000. Still determined and hope- ful, the three partners of the firm of Miller, Austin & Co. took iu a new partner, viz. Col. H. B. Plumer, who is now Naval Officer of the Port of Philadelphia. With the four partners, Miller, Coon, Austin and Plumer, Galena Oil Works were organized, the four gentlemen being equally interested. They purchased au old oil works kuown as the Dale Oil Works of Franklin, and within thirty days of the organization they were shipping oil from their new works. From that day until now the business of Galena Oil Works has been successful. It has been the aim and ambition of the company to manufacture oils superior to auything that had ever been offered for the lubrication of railway equipment; and so well have they succeeded that to-day the equipment of more than 75 per cent. of the railway mileage of the United States is lubricated with Galena oils. One
may leave Bostou or New York and go by rail to the Pacific Coast, aud from there go to the Gulf of Mex- ico and come back to New York, and find that upon every mile of the way Galena oils are in exclusive use. In the fall of 1878 Messrs. Austin, Plumer and Coon sold their respective interests in Galena Oil Works to the Standard Oil Company, Mr. Miller re- tainiug his interest. Mr. Miller was made President and given exclusive control and management of the company. While the business had prospered before, it may be said that it flourished like a green bay tree from this on, so that to-day it is the largest lubri- cating oil house in the world, supplying, as before stated, over 75 per cent. of the railway mileage of the United States. The house deals in railway lubri- cants exclusively, and its sales are made to railways direct, thus saving to the consumer the profits usual- ly paid salesmeu and middlemen of other classes. All this trade is due to the influence and energy of the President of the company, Mr. Charles Miller.
While a great worker, he has always made his work a source of pleasure to him ; knowing that his goods are first class; and believing that they are un- equalled by auything offered by any one else, he has succeeded in presenting the claims of the house in
such a straightforward, honest manner, that rail- way managers have learned to look upon him as authority in matters pertaining to railway lubrica- tion. Ilis acquaintance with railway officials is perhaps more extensive than that of any other man in the United States, and his acquaintances are al- mnost without exception his personal friends. Mr. Miller is also interested and a Director in numerous other manufacturing enterprises. He is a stock- holder and Director in the First National Bank of Franklin. He is serving his fourth term as Presideut of the Northwestern Association, Department of Pennsylvania, Grand Army of the Republic, having been elected four times in succession. He served as ordnauce officer on the staff of General James A. Beaver when the latter commanded the Second Bri- gade of the National Guard of Pennsylvania ; and when General Beaver was elected Governor of Penn- sylvania, and General John A. Wiley succeeded to the command of the Second Brigade, Major Miller was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General of the Brigade, which office he still holds. As in business and matters military and of State, so is he in mat- ters pertaining to the church, always in the foremost ranks, among the most active workers. He became a member of the Baptist Church in the town of Bos- ton, Erie County, New York, in December, 1865. Coming to Franklin in 1866, he was one of the con- stituent members in the organization of the First Baptist Church of that city. In this church he has been a deacon since its organization, having been elected to that office at the age of twenty-four. For sixteen years he has been Superintendent of the Sun- day-school of his church, which has an average attendance of between four and five hundred. He also teaches a class of one hundred young men in the Sunday-school. In the morning he teaches a class of thirty in the Third Ward Mission School, of which he is also Superintendent ; so that with him Sunday is a busy day. He is President of the Young Men's Christian Association of Franklin ; and Pres- ident of the Pennsylvania Baptist Association, in which capacity he is serving his fourth successive term. While successful in business, Mr. Miller has been more than liberal with his income; and calls upon him for charity, while numerous, have not caused him to become impatient or unfeeling toward the unfortunate. He has a great interest in aud love
for young men, which he manifests in various ways. More than one prosperous mau of to-day can say
truthfully that he owes his start iu life to Charles Miller. His last effort in behalf of the young meu of his city is the establishment of a night school for the young men of his two Suuday-schools. This school has but recently started, with a nightly at-
MW. Bronson
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
tendance of upwards of eighty pupils. The rooms are rented and furnished, and the teachers selected and paid by Mr. Miller, and all the expenses of the school are borne by him. There is no movement that has for its object the betterment of men that does not meet with encouragement and substantial support from Mr. Miller. It may well be supposed that one with so much to demand his time and at- tention has bnt little time for pleasure or recreation ; and yet these are not altogether neglected by Mr. Miller. He and his brother-in-law and associate in business-Hon. J. C. Sibley-are the sole propri- etors and owners of the famous Miller & Sibley stock farm. This enterprise originated in a desire for recreation more than anything else, and as both part- ners are great admirers of finely bred stock, the farm is a source of satisfaction to them. They have paid the highest prices and thereby procnred the best, both of horses and cattle; and their stock is known and admired by stock men from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. They have sold to every State and Territory in the Union, and the names of their most famous animals are familiar to every American in- terested in fine breeding stock.
WILLIAM W. BRONSON.
WILLIAM WATTS BRONSON, a prominent citizen and business man of Carbondale, was born in Putnam Co., N. Y., April 4, 1816. His father, Bushnell K. Bronson, a native of the State of New York, was a successful trader, mainly in cattle and horses, and carried on an extensive business dnring the early years of his life in New York, and after- wards in Pennsylvania. He married Miss Saman- tha Fowler, the daughter of Major Fowler, a highly respected farmer of Putnam County. He died at Carbondale, in 1874; his wife having deceased four years previously. The subject of this sketch was the eldest of two children. As a lad he was equal to the average youth, took kindly to his books, and willingly lent a hand to help his father as occasion demanded. His educational advantages were much above the average, as his parents fully appre- ciated the valne of good mental training, and took pains to secure it for him. In cousequence he was kept at school until he was sixteen years of age, the last four years of his school life being about evenly divided between a select school near Syracuse, New York, conducted by a Mr. Parker, and a public academy at Danbury, Connecticut, the latter con- ducted by a Mr. Starr, who was a teacher of ac-
knowledged excellence. In 1832, his parents re- moved to Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and from that year dates Mr. Bronson's entrance into active busi- ness life. Leaving school he joined his family, who were among the pioneer settlers in the Carbon- dale region, and thereafter until he started in busi- ness for himself, took a man's part in assisting his father. The chief business of the latter was deal- ing in live stock and horses, but he also conducted for several years a meat market. In 1835, Mr. Bronson assisted his father, who was then pro- prietor of the Mansion House-one of the first hotels built in that section. In 1837 he removed to Philadelphia and engaged in the business of buy- ing and selling horses on quite an extensive scale and independently of his father. He also opened at Rising Sun, Pennsylvania, a hotel known as the Rising Snn Hotel, which he conducted until 1840. In 1846 he sold out his business in Philadelphia, and returning to Carbondale, became a hotel and stage proprietor and mail contractor, besides deal- ing extensively in horses. He continued his stage- lines until the Delaware and Hudson Railroad com- mnenced carrying passengers, and the Erie Railway was completed. His various enterprises were man- aged with success, and proved highly profitable. In course of time, Mr. Bronson invested largely in land, some of which he improved; selling again from time to time at good prices. In this business he remained until recently. In 1860 he went again to Philadelphia, bonght large livery stables and carried on an extensive trade in horses for about a year, when he sold ont and returned for the second time to Carbondale, where he resumed the personal management of his varied business, in which he in- clnded, from 1857 to 1861, a general merchandising traffic, conducted in company with Hon. D. K. Morss. In 1857 he was associated with the late Samuel Allen, of Honesdale, in stage lines and mail contracts, and in building the fine hotel at that place known as the Allen House, which still re- mains the leading hotel of that section of the State. In 1855, he built the Bronson Hotel at Carbondale, which was destroyed by fire two years later. Mr. Bronson has a firm faith in railroad securities, and for some years back has invested freely in them. Among his favorites are the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Co., the New York, Lacka- wanna and Western Railroad Co. and the Dela- ware and Hudson Railroad Co., in all of which he holds considerable interests. He is likewise a stockholder in the First National Bank of Carbon- dale, which he aided in fonnding in 1866, and of which he became Vice-President about 1875, and President in 1888. Mr. Bronson has been married
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
twice. By his first wife, Miss Ellen Bilger, daughter of Jacob Bilger, of Rising Sun, Pennsylvania, whom he married November 19, 1838, and who died Novem- ber 5, 1875, he became the father of four children, of whom two only are now living, viz : a son, Jacob B. Bronson, a railroad engineer, who resides at Dunmore, Pa., and a daughter, Sallie, the wife of Mr. L. Egerton, of Cortland, New York. In March, 1877, Mr. Bronson married Mrs. Anna M. Bilger, of Philadelphia. As a business man of pro- gressive ideas, fully abreast of the times, Mr. Bronson holds a worthy place in the thriving city of Carbon- dale. Hale and hearty despite the weight of years, he is still warmly interested in all that pertains to local history and development, and maintains an ad- vanced position in the ranks of those laboring ear- nestly for the general prosperity of the place and the welfare of its inhabitants, respected by all who value enterprise and honor in business life, and highly regarded for his manliness, generosity and true kindness of heart.
HUGH H. CUMMIN.
HON. HUGH HART CUMMIN, a leading mem- ber of the Lycoming County bar, and late President- Judge of the Twenty-ninth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, was born at Liverpool, Perry County, Pennsylvania, May 25, 1841, and died at Cresson, Pennsylvania, Sunday, August 11, 1889. He was the son of Dr. William and Mary Cummin. Dr. Cummin, his father, was an active practitioner of medicine at Liverpool for many years. Born in Ire- land in 1804, he was educated partly at Belfast Col- lege, Belfast, Ireland, and at this old and reputable seat of learning he began the study of medicine. In early manhood he came to America and continued his scientific studies at Jefferson College, Philadel- phia, receiving from that institution the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He died at Liverpool, Penn- sylvania, in 1846. The mother of Judge Cummin is living in Williamsport with her daughter Mary, wife of Henry W. Watson, Esq. She is a native of Juniata County, Pennsylvania. Her father, Hugh Hart, was a farmer in Tuscarora Valley, Juniata County. The subject of this sketch supported him- self from early boyhood. After having mastered the English branches, he taught school during sev- eral winters. Atother seasons of the year he found employment of various kinds in the vicinity of his home. He was intelligent and obliging, and most conscientious in the discharge of his duties. He was apt at accounts, wrote a good hand, and at
York Commercial College acquired a thorough knowledge of book-keeping. In 1862 he removed from Liverpool to Williamsport, and began reading law in the office of the late George White, Esq. IIis preparation for the bar occupied him fully two years, and he supported himself during that time by working as a clerk in the various county offices. In August, 1864, he was admitted to the bar of Lyco- ming County, and at once established himself in practice at Williamsport, where he had ever since resided. The young lawyer brought to his professional work several admirable qualities, any one of which alone would have ensured him both business and reputation. IIe was above all, painstaking, methodical and energetic. Every case entrusted to his professional care, whether the hon- orarium was large or small, was conscientiously prosecuted. There was a quiet dignity in the way he practiced. No attempt at the fabrication of re- nown ; no bid for political office; no sycophantic truckling to the politicians. Fourteen years were passed thus, and at the expiration of this period Mr. Cummin, who was then only in his thirty-sev- enth year, stood among the foremost members of the Lycoming County bar. In the fall of 1878 he was elected President-Judge of the Twenty-ninth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, the boundaries of which are those of Lycoming County. No elec- tion had been held for ten years or more so impor- tant to the residents of Lycoming County, or that awakened such a degree of popular interest. Al- most with one voice the people of the county united in supporting Mr. Cummin. Over two thousand of his fellow-citizens, among them the greater number of his colleagues at the bar, joined in presenting lıim a formal letter setting forth the facts in the case, and requesting him to be their leader in the fight in the judicial department of the District. In making the request, men of all shades of political opinion forgot, for the time at least, their partisan prejudices, feeling the prime importance of keeping the judiciary as much as possible above all mere po- litical prejudices. The tone of this letter was singu- larly complimentary, but those who drafted and subscribed to it were personally aware of the high character of the gentleman to whom it was ad- dressed, and from long observation of his career at the bar, as well as of his private life, they knew that it was merited. Mr. Cummin's letter of acceptance thrilled the heart of every law-abiding citizen, and his cause was championed by all the leading papers throughout the State. His success was the one great aim of the best men in all parties, for it was believed that the election of Mr. Cummin to the bench would give the Lycoming Court high stand-
Hugh Hloumu
Allan Fi ishma & Engraving Co NY
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
ing. The following extract from the widely circu- lated address to the voters of the district, prepared by a committee of leading lawyers, attests the pre- vailing estimate of his moral and mental worth :
" In regard to his moral character, he stands high above reproach, and for honesty, integrity and up- rightness we know of no superior. He is a man of strong and cultivated mind, and in professional knowledge and skill he stands in the front rank of the lawyers of his own age, and he has deservedly won the esteem and confidence of his associates at the bar, and of the entire community. But in ad- dition to all these points of character, he possesses that peculiar combination of qualities which is ne- cessary to fit any one to attain to eminence upon the bench."
It is now a matter of record that the high expec- tations of cven the most sanguine of his fellow-citi- zens and supporters were realized to the letter. The same purity of character, exactness of method, and scrupulous regard for duty which had marked his honorable career at the bar, remained conspicuous during his term on the bench. His charges to the Grand Juries were noted as models in explaining their duties and responsibilities. In his charges to juries in the trial of causes, his language was so plain and distinct that in no single instance was he ever misunderstood ; and during the whole period he wore the ermine, not once was a jury discharged for failure to agree. Judge Cummin signally dis- tinguished himself by the prompt manner in which he discharged all judicial business. When he donned the ermine the civil business of his court was about two years behind. By a rare display of diligence and activity he succeeded within two years in overcoming this vast and embarrassing ac- cumulation, and having once brought the business down to date kept it there while he remained upon the bench. In the criminal courts, two years of his prompt administration of justice produced effi- cacious results. In 1882 a local journal of promi- nence, referring to the man, his election and the re- sults following it, said :
" It was a fortunate day for Lycoming County when the Hon. Hugh H. Cummin was elected Presi- dent-Judge of this Judicial District. From the day he entered upon his official duties, he has proven to be all that was claimed before his election. Of irreproachable character and acknowledged integri- ty, his decisions are eminently just, and command the respect of the entire community. More than that, he has inspired such a dread of the law among the criminal classes, that the criminal cases have steadily decreased during the last two years, with a great saving to the county. The court records show that there was a decrease of more than one hundred cases during thic ycar 1881 over 1880. Much of this decrease is due entirely to the ability and sternness with which he administered justice upon offenders."
With a view to preventing needless expenditure or waste of the public money, Judge Cummin kept accurate statistics of all trials and the expenses of trials, and by this means was enabled to institute many needed reforms. His success in this direc- tion was as startling as it was satisfactory to the tax- payers. In 1880 the expenses of the Court were re- duced more than one thousand dollars below those incurred the preceding year ; and in 1881 they were reduced more than seven thousand dollars below those of 1880. The following statement, originally published in the Williamsport Daily Sun and Banner, May 8, 1888, gives the precisc figures covering nine years of Judge Cummin's term, and it is not with- out interest :
From the tabular statement of statistics and ex- penses of the Courts and the cost of detection, ar- rest and punishment of criminals in Lycoming County for the past ten years, being nine years un- der Judge Cummin, and one year under his prede- cessor, the following interesting results are obtained:
Costs of the several Courts in the past ten years.
Criminal.
Civil.
Argument.
1878
$5,312 79
$4,363 29
$181 50
1879.
4,475 45
4,905 73
265 50
1880
4,740 71
3,975 89
258 00
1881
3,659 71
3,973 38
198 00
1882
4,116 09
2,950 17
315 00
1883.
4,175 24
2,548 47
384 00
1884.
3,745 86
3,815 09
387 00
1885
4,297 72
3 629 55
345 00
1886
4,254 71
3.958 46
300 00
1887.
3,687 48
2,538 31
333 00
" By adding to the costs of Criminal Courts, the Penitentiary bill and the bills of the Sheriff, Clerk, and District Attorney, and the Commonwealth costs paid by the county each year, we have the cost of detection, arrest, trial and punishment of criminals :
1878
$20.161.34
1879.
17,687 78
1880.
17,517 67
1881.
10,396 61
1882.
12,612 58
1883.
12,211 52
1881.
15,316 89
1885.
15,334 48
1886.
14,720 61
1887
11,515 61
" By adding the costs of Civil Courts and Argu- ment Courts to the cost of the arrest, trial and pun- ishment of criminals, we have the following totals for each year :
1878.
$24,706 13
1879.
22,859 01
1880.
21,751 56
1881.
14,567 39
1882
15,877 75
1883.
15,043 99
1884.
19,518 98
1885.
19,309 03
1886
18,979 07
1887
14,386 92
While on the bench Judge Cummin disposed of five thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight cases which had been regularly set down for trial. Many of the cases tried before him were of great impor-
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
tance. One of these, which excited deep interest throughout the country, particularly in Catholic circles, was that between Father Stack and Bishop O'Hara. In this celebrated case the decision of Judge Cummin was affirmed, and the matter finally disposed of. Of the large number of cases tried before him, during his ten years term, only one hun- dred and twenty-four were carried to the Supreme Court. Only in a few of these were his decisions modified or reversed. Judge Cummin's judicial carecr was marked by high moral courage, aided by a quick perception and a keen sense of justice. In his deportment he was calm, firm and dignified. He was methodical in the arrangementand despatch of public business, and discharged his duties with- out fear, favor or affection, faithfully redeeming his pledges to the people. Besides greatly advancing the cause of public morality, he effected a decided saving to'the over-burdened tax-payers of the coun- ty. Jndge Cummin's eminent fitness for a seat upon the Supreme Bench of Pennsylvania was very gen- erally acknowledged. In referring to liim as a pos- sible candidate for this distinguished honor, the American Volunteer, of Carlisle, used the following emphatic and complimentary language:
"There is no donbt but that no better nomination could be made. He is fully capable and has proven by his course npon the bench, that he is one of the ablest and most popular judges iu the State."
Other newspapers of local infinence were equally outspoken in their advocacy of his nomination, prominent among them being the Enterprise, which in 1878, on political grounds, had opposed liis elect- ion as President-Judge, but which during his term candidly admitted his ability and the great valne of his services, saying :
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