USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 40
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ing. Shortly after his marriage, General Cameron offered to sell at alow price, a desirable property for a home, which Mr. Young purchased for cash, and which is the homestead to the present day. But before this, about 1850, Mr. Young bought the first
real estate he ever owned, two acres of land near the northern bank of the Swatara, and east of the railroad in Middletown. A part of the property was an old abandoned brick-yard, in a wet and swampy place; but it was fully reclaimed, and four or five years afterward eight acres were added to it. At that time Mr. Young said he felt more like a real estate owner than he has since, notwithstanding the subsequent acquirement of hundreds of acres. Sev-
During the construction of the Pennsylvania Rail- was being extensively prosecuted at that time. nection with the work of building railroads, which eral business opportunities were offered him in con-
road he did a large business in furnishing supplies.
during the war, he furnished all the ties and wood And for eight successive years, and part of the time
used by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company be- tween Harrisburg and Philadelphia. He also fur- nished all the wood and ties to the Northern Central
demands upon his facilities growing out of the before and during the war. When the increased Railway Company, under contract, for ten years,
exigencies of the Civil War inade a second track on this road necessary, he took a contract for lay-
ing a portion of it and was thus engaged during
a large part of that struggle, having previously given up the lumber and coal business, in which he
had been more than ordinarily successful. Having
become widely known, even before the war, for his industry and enterprise, he was tendered and ac-
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
cepted a commission upon the staff of Governor Bigler as Colonel, and subsequently mustered into service. During the emergency which existed in Pennsylvania in 1863, Colonel Young was largely instrumental in recruiting a squadron of cavalry, which he commanded, both before and after its services were tendered to and accepted by Gover- nor Curtin. Mr. Young purchased in 1859 a valua- ble limestone quarry at Lcaman Place, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and from it was supplied a large amount of stone for building the bridges and abutments for the Pennsylvania Railroad. This quarry was operated continuously for more than twenty-five years, and yielded its owner a handsome, revenue. It was finally sold by him in 1886. The various enterprises named are but a few of those which have engaged Mr. Young's efforts during his long and busy career. Early becoming through his own efforts the possessor of a small capital, he utilized it to such excellent advantage in the man- ner already indicated that he became the possessor of large wealth. His place in the ranks of the self- made men of America is indisputable, for althoughi he comes of good family and from ancestors who possessed means as well as position, he has been the architect of his own fortune. His advance to the leading position lie occupies in the American business world has been made with no undue ra- pidity, but it has been marked by no departures from the strictest line of honorable conduct. His prudence, economy and industry in youth have met their legitimate reward in a glorious and abid- ing success, attained with a stainless record. For many years Mr. Young has been a prudent investor in real estate, and is to-day the owner of many val- uable pieces of property in Middletown. Among his possessions are the Washington Hotel in Mid- dletown, once conducted by his father, and also the scene of his early labors ; which for a long time he was particularly anxious to own. In 1857 the country at large had a disastrous panic, Colonel Young being at the time interested in the bank at Lebanon, where they were heavy losers,-the part- ners in this bank were Simon Cameron, G. Dawson Coleman, George Gleim, Levi Klein and George Smuller. Colonel Young then and there resolved, if he got through without losing everything, that he would thereafter be found, when panics came, the owner of real estate. He then purchased his first farm, against the advice of older heads,-one man, since very eminent, saying he was very foolish for going into farming when he understood lumber- ing and such matters much better. But one day, when this same friend observed that a new barn had been constructed, he expressed a desire to see
it. On visiting the place he said, " Young, how much do you owe on this ?" "Not one cent," was the reply. " Well," said the distinguished gentle- man, " you have done well." And ever afterward to the day of his death he was one of the warmest admirers of Colonel Young's farming projects. As carly as 1858, as already stated, he became the pur- chaser of a farm of about two hundred acres, situ- ated near Middletown. To this tract he has gone on adding, year after year, until his farming prop- erty now exceeds fourteen hundred acres, exclusive of four hundred acres of pasture land, known as the "Round Top," his main farming tracts com- prising land formerly occupied by thirteen farms ; and agricultural experts deem it one of the finest bodies of highly cultivated land in America, Colonel Young has given a great deal of attention to the breeding of fine cattle. His herd of Jersey cows is reputed to be one of the finest known. "Perhaps nowhere in the United States," writes the historian of Dauphin County, "are there to be found a series of farms which for all that represents farming in its highest order in every detail equal those located near the borough of Middletown and owned by Colonel James Young of that place. A faithful chronicler of the county could certainly not afford to omit proper and full notice of these examples of indomitable perseverence, enterprise and energy. * * * It has not been an uncommon thing to have visitors almost every week from even the most remote States and Territories of the Union, comprising Presidents of the United States, Gov- ernors of States aud distinguished men in almost every walk in life; while they have been viewed, admired and appreciated by the titled nobility of Europe," notably by the Duke of Sutherland, who visited the farms during his tour of this country in 1878, and exclaimed, "This is the most attractive and interesting place I have seen in the United States." Colonel Young is a heavy stockholder in the American Tube and Iron Company, of which he is also President. It was through his efforts that the works of this corporation were re-established at Middletown. A similar enterprise had been at- tended with failure, but Colonel Young felt that able management could ensure success, and he bent his efforts to the task. Under the skillful direc- tions of Messrs. Matheson and Spowers, the com- pany began operations in 1880, and it has had an almost unexampled career of prosperity. In 1885 the works at Middletown proved wholly inadequate to meet the increasing demand for the company's product. After due deliberation it was determined to establish a plant farther west, and Youngstown, Ohio, was selected. At this place a second estab-
Viram L. Richmond
Atlantic Publishing & Engraving Co NY
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
lishment was set up, only a little smaller than the original, and both are now worked to their full capacity. The American Tube and Iron Company is one of the largest iudustries of the kind in the country,-in fact the second largest iu the world, -and to the guiding mind of Colonel Young uo small credit is due for its great and growing suc- cess. As an illustration of its powers to accom- plish well and quickly what is eutrusted to it, a car load of iron was recently received early iu the moruing, worked into tubing during the day, and shipped in the afternoon to New York City, to be loaded immediately for some point in Russia. During Colonel Young's active career he has been a Director of the Lochiel Rolling Mill Company. For thirty-two years he has been a Director of the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mount Joy and Lancaster Railroad Company. He is a Director of the Far- mers' Bank of Middletown, and still holds the posi- tiou of Director of the First National Bank of Leb- anon. He was one of the incorporators and is still a Director in the First National Bank of Steelton ; also, of the Merchauts' National Bank of Harris- burg. He is a Director of the Harrisburg Rolling Mill Company, of Lochiel, and President of the Cameron Furnace Company, also a large stock- holder in the Pennsylvania Steel Works. In finau-' cial circles he is universally regarded as a man of the soundest judgment and the strictest probity, and in every iustitution with which he is connected he is looked up to as a guide and leader. Quick to perceive the merits of an enterprise, whatever its character, he has lent valuable assistance to a large number which have proved of incalculable advan- tage in the development of the wealth of the State. While carefully guarding his large interests from injury or loss, and in this work stern and inflexible, he is withal a mau of generous heart and marked public spirit, freely aiding the really deserving, and never withholding liberal support from promising enterprises in the hands of capable men. While political offices have uever had any charm for him, he has not neglected his duties as a citizen, and has regularly and unfailingly sustained the Republican party since its organization. Politics, both State and National, interest him greatly. Sustained as he would be by his numerous friends and his large body of workmen, almost any office to which he might aspire might come to him if he wished it; but the only one he has ever held, and which has no semblance of being a political one, is that of member of the State Board of Agriculture, to which he was appointed by Governor Hartranft in 1877, when the State Board was organized, his distin- guished example and success, no less than his thor-
ough acquaintance with the science and ability to serve its interests for the good of the Common- wealth, doubtless promoting his selection for this representative and important position. Colonel Young is still a hard worker; and even now, al- though he has reached almost three score and ten, is as indefatigable iu whatever he undertakes as if he were twenty-five years younger. His circle of friends is large, and is composed of individuals in the most diverse walks of life, by all of whom he is highly esteemed. He is a regular attendant and a liberal supporter of St. Peter's Lutheran Church of Middletown-in the establishment of which his maternal grandfather played so important a part.
HIRAM L. RICHMOND.
HON. HIRAM LAWTON RICHMOND, JR., the subject of this sketch, was born at Meadville, Penn- sylvauia, October 14, 1839. His father, the late Hon. Hiram L. Richmond, Sr., who died February 9, 1885, was one of the most prominent lawyers of Western Pennsylvania, and served one term as Con- gressman from his district. He was born in Chau- tauqua County, New York, where he resided till 1834, when he removed to Meadville, Pennsylvania, and there married Maria P., daughter of Daniel Shryock of that place. Mr. Richmoud, the subject of this sketch, and the eldest of a family of eight, was educated at Allegheny College and was gradu- ated from that institution iu 1860. In November, 1862, after having spent about two years studying law iu his father's office, he was admitted to the bar. Shortly afterwards he was elected Second Lieutenant of Company "F" Fifty-eighth Regi- ment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and took the field with his company, and after many wcary weeks spent in the inactivity of camp life, was ordered to active duty in the Department of the Monongahela. In July, 1863, Mr. Richmond's company engaged in the pursuit of the notorious rebel raider Morgan, who was captured near New Lisbon, Ohio, on the 26th day of the same month. Companies " A " and "F" conducted the prisoners to Columbus, aud as all danger of an invasion of Pennsylvania was over, they were mustered out of service. Mr. Richmond then resumed the practice of law and has made rapid strides toward fame iu his chosen profession. He is considered one of the ablest counselors and practitioners at the bar. He also has a practice in the Supreme Court and in the United States Circuit Court, as also in patent claims. Having always taken an active part in politics, he has served eight
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
consecutive years in the City Council, and in 1874 was elected Mayor of his city and served one term, during which some of the most notable improve- ments to the city were made, among which might be mentioned the opening of Park Avenue, now one of the finest streets in the city, and the crection of the Meadville Water Works. In 1876, as Chairman of the Executive Committee having the matter in charge, he took a leading part in organizing and carrying on the Centennial Celebration in Meadville. IIe was also clected Chairman of the Republican County Committee the same year. In 1880 he was elected a Delegate from his Senatorial District to the Republican State Convention, and the same year was chosen as Alternate Delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago. The city of Mead- ville is largely indebted to his initiative for its fine public library, of which he has been a warm friend and supporter from its beginning. Heartily co-oper- ating in every movement which has tended to ad- vance the business and commercial interests of his native city, he has taken an active part in the pro- ceedings of the Board of Trade and also in the Board of Industry, with which he has been connected since its inception. He was prominent in the or- ganization of the Meadville and Linesville Railway, and has served as its Secretary sinee its organiza- tion. The Meadville Water Company was also organized with his assistance and he was its Secre- tary for several years. His high professional ability was officially recognized by his appointment as City and County Attorney-an office in which he served with conspicuous zeal and with manifest advantage to the municipality. He was elected a member of the Executive Committee of the Meadville Cemetery Association-to which is entrusted the laying out and beautifying the grounds of the Association-and at present is still a member. In 1889 he was ap- pointed a member of the State Central Committee, which position he still holds. Mr. Richmond was married to Virginia L., daughter of Joseph E. Vance, of New Lisbon, Ohio, in June, 1881, and has one son, to whose future he naturally looks forward witlı much pleasure. Mr. Richmond was associated with hisfather in the practice of law until the latter's death, and still occupies the same suite of offices.
EDWARD P. DARLING.
EDWARD PAYSON DARLING, an eminent member of the Luzerne County bar, was born in Robeson township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1831, and died at his residence in
River Street, Wilkes-Barre-of which city he had been an honored resident for upwards of a genera- tion-on Saturday, October 19, 1889. In his interest- ing work entitled "Families of the Wyoming Valley," Mr. George B. Kulp, the learned and pains- taking "Historiographer of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society," refers at some length to the gencalogy of Mr. Darling, and to the pages of that work this sketch is largely indebted for the particulars on this point herc given. The family of Darling is of English origin and its American founder was one of the early settlers of New Eng- land. Thomas Darling, who was either this early settler or his immediate descendant, and who was the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketcli, married Martha Howe, a niece of General Sir Wil- liam Howe, one of the commanders of the British forces in America during the Revolution. A son of this marriage, Eliakim Darling, born in New Hamp- shire, in 1767, removed in early life to Buckport, Maine, where he espoused Ruth Buck, the daughter of the principal resident of the place. This lady, who was born in 1775, lived until 1855. Eliakim Darling "became an extensive ship-builder and owner, in which he drove a thriving trade with several foreign countries. During the War of 1812, he was captured by the British while attempting to run the blockade of the New England coast, but as it was after peace had been declared, although not known at the time in this country, his ship and its contents were soon after released. He died at the age of sixty-six, in good circumstances." His son, William Darling, who was the father of the subject of this sketch, was born at Buckport, but in his youth removed to Reading, Berks County, Pennsyl- vania, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He rose to prominence in his profession and held "a leading position in the courts for many years " and before his fortieth year, when he retired from active work, owing to failing health, served for a short time as President-Judge of the Berks District. He was a man of more than ordinary parts, and, indeed, acquired international distinc- tion through a series of addresses he delivered in 1851, at Exeter Hall, London-the Earl of Shafts- bury presiding-on the relations of England and America, he being present in that eity at the time as a United States Commissioner to the World's Fair at Crystal Palace. He was one of the founders of the American Sunday-School Union, and was Vice-President of it from its organization until his death, which took place in his seventy-eighth year. The wife of the Hon. William Darling was Margaret Vaughan Smith, daughter of John Smith, a leading ironmaster of Berks County, Pennsylvania, and
Leaving
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
owner of the "Joanna furnace" in that county, which was inherited by Mrs. Darling and afterwards operated by her husband. This furnace was a most valuable property and quite a large one, as, accord- ing to the report of the Auditor-General of the State in 1832, it was then employing a force of one hun- dred and sixty-eight men. Mrs. Darling's grand- father, Robert Smith, of Chester, Pennsylvania, a prominent and a patriotic supporter of the Colonies during the Revolution, was born at sea, as his parents, John and Susanna Smith, were on their way to America, in 1720, from the north of Ireland. Al- though bearing the name Smith, the family were of the clan Macdonald, and were a "part of the earliest Scottish emigration across the North Channel into Ireland in the time of James I. of England." In an article published in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, the author, Joseph S. Har- ris, Esq., gives the following account of the change of name in the family referred to above :
"Near the end of the seventeenth century, Robert Smith's grandfather lived in the northeastern part of Ireland. Just before the battle of the Boyne, as the soldier-king. William III., was personally recon- noitering the locality whichi was soon to become famous, his horse cast a shoe. There was, of course, no farrier in attendance to replace it, but Macdonald, in whose neighborhood the accident occurred * * * shod the horse, and so enabled the King to proceed. His neighbors, who, like himself, were in sympathy with the cause of which William was the champion, dubbed Macdonald the 'Smith.' Such a change of name would not now be considered a compliment, as Smiths are so numerous that the name confers no special distinction, but in that district there was a surfeit of Macdonalds; all the possible changes had been rung on the name, and still there were hardly enough names to individualize the members of the clan. Smith was a novelty, and the branch of trade it represented has always been an honored one, especially in primitive society, and this particu- lar Scotchman, proud to have his name linked with that of a great man and a decisive battle, as that of Boynewater was soon known to be, accepted the cognomen, and handed it down to his posterity as the family name."
It may be mentioned here that accompanying Jolin Smith and his wife Susanna on their voyage to America, was Mary Smith, the sister of the first named, who later married Alexander Fulton, and became the mother of Robert Fulton, " who has in- dissolubly linked his name with the history of steam navigation." Edward Payson Darling, the subject of this sketch, enjoyed in his youth all the advantages which usually fall to the son of a wealthy man. Next to religion his parents esteemed educa- tion, and they carefully superintended that of all their children. Edward received his preparatory training at New London Cross Roads Academy-founded in 1743-and when about sixteen years of age entered
Amherst College, where he received his degree in 1851. Deciding upon the profession of law as a life vocation, he began a course of legal study in Read- ing, in the office of Hon. William Strong and John S. Richards, Esq., and was admitted to the bar of Berks County, November 10, 1853. After practicing at Reading two years he removed to and was duly admitted to the Luzerne County bar, August 13, 1855. Polished in manners, possessing many accomplisli- ments, and well trained in his profession, he rose rapidly to a prominent place at the bar. The per- sonal qualities for which he was distinguished at- tracted acquaintances and these soon ripened into friends. It is said that when he first announced to his father his intention of studying law the latter said :- "Edward, do you think you are honest enougli to be a lawyer?" The reply made to the worthy Judge is not recorded, but every act of the young lawyer's professional life went to show that no man could be more firmly intrenched in the principles of true honesty. That he inspired confi- dence was one of the secrets of his success. Every- body trusted him. He never even seemed to think of himself in his professional work, and, unlike inost of those who rise in his profession, he rarely stipulated that his services were to command a cer- tain price. It could truthfully be said of him that he was an ideal lawyer, since it is a fact that. he was the friend and adviser of his clients wholly irrespective of any personal profit. For years, per- haps during his whole professional career, he never sent a client a bill for services rendered. He ex- tended to those who consulted him the same degree of confidence they reposed in him, and he was always willing to accept their estimate of his ser- vices to them. It seldom happened that any one took advantage of this, for the income he received was ample to permit of his amassing a comfortable fortune. Mr. Darling was devoted to his profession and its duties were always a delight to him and never a burden, even when they overtaxed his pliysi- cal strength. The civil branch of his profession attracted him most, and on all phases of the law of estates, of the status of corporations, of the validity of titles and of civil law generally, he was an authority. He made it a matter of principle to keep his clients out of litigation and he had rare success in doing so, as his advice and suggestion were highly respected by all. Once having undertaken a case he was unremitting in his services, giving his personal attention to the minutest details and never leaving a stone unturned that might conceal some knowledge or indication of value to his client. In 1874 he formed a partnership in the law with his younger brother, J. Vaughan Darling. As the senior
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
member of this firm he assumed charge of the con- sulting portion of the business, leaving to his junior partner the business of attending the courts. This allotment of labor was entirely to the liking of Mr. Darling notwithstanding the constant, and at times, inordinate demands it made upon him, and despite the fact that in time it began to undermine his health. A large portion of Mr. Darling's business lay in the administration of estates, for which his services were greatly in demand. At the time of his death nearly forty distinet properties were nn- der his managemeut, many of them of large extent, including the Hollenback and Laning estates. Many widows and orphans looked to him with im- plicit confidence and depended entirely upon his suggestions in the management of their property. These very talents made him a most desirable cor- poration lawyer, aud for many years his firm had a large portion of the business in that section of such powerful organizations as the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company, the New York Central and Hudson River Company, the Lehigh Valley Railroad Com- pany and the coal interests of numerous other cor- porations. But for every corporation he represented, it is said he watched the interests of fifty individuals, many of them widows and orphans. For at least twenty years preceding his death there was no man of law in the State whose advice was esteemed more valuable than his. His offices were constantly thronged with students, who acquired therein not only a thorough knowledge of the law, but many charming graces of conversation and deportment, for, to use the language of one of his ablest colleagues at the bar, " he combined the manners of a Chester- field with the learning of a Coke." Mr. Darling possessed a fine knowledge of monetary affairs, which was highly valued in Wilkes-Barre and very largely depended upon by at least three prominent financial institutions. He was a partner until his death in the banking-house of Messrs. F. V. Roeka- fellow & Co., and Vice-President of the Wyoming National Bank and of the Miners' Savings Bank. He was also, for a number of years, a Director of the Wilkes-Barre Gas Company. Besides holding these business positions he was a Trustee of the Wilkes-Barre Academy, a Trustee of the Wilkes- Barre Female Institute, and a Trustee, under the will of the late Isaac S. Osterhout, of the Osterhout Free Library. At the time of his death he was also one of the Trustees of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation building fund, "out of which is projected the early erection of a commodious and convenient structure on Main Street." In all these various trusts and projects, his integrity and judgment proved of the highest value to his associates. Mr.
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