USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 42
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Forty-ninth Congress, as a Republican, by the largest majority ever given a candidate in the dis- trict. He was re-elected, and served until March 4, 1889. His district was composed of the counties of Beaver, Lawrence and Washington. He was a member of the Committee on the Public Lands dur- ing his entire service, and in addition was specially interested in the subjects of Tariff and Pension Legislation, taking an active part in the hearings before the Ways and Means Committee, and in the House in favor of a protective tariff, and against the Morrison and Mills bills. He was one of the members selected to deliver memorial addresses in Congress, on the life and services of General John A. Logan. Colonel Jackson is an active Grand Army man, having held important positions in his Post, and in the department in his State. During his terms in Congress lie was an energetic and use- ful friend of the rights of his soldier comrades, and advocated and urged more liberal pension laws, in- sisting that they were not just to the soldier, and should be amended, that he might obtain justice from the Government he helped to save. Colonel Jackson's speeches in favor of a building for a Na- tional Library, also for a better government for Alaska, and against President Cleveland's vetoes of pension bills, commanded much attention, and were largely circulated. In his profession he ranks high, and is widely and favorably known through- out the State. He has never married.
JAMES CALLERY.
JAMES CALLERY, one of the most active and enterprising business men of Pittsburgh, and, since 1885, President of the Pittsburgh and Western Rail- road Company, was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, in 1833, and died at his residence, Stanton Avenue, near Hiland, East End, Pittsburgh, April 5, 1889. Although of Irish birth, he was thoroughly American in all the qualities which contribute to elevate the name of American citizenship. He be- longed to the farming class, and came of a most re- spectable but humble Catholic family in Roscommon, Ireland, and was well trained in his boyhood and early youth in those principles which, with virtuous and religious people, are esteemed of more impor- tance than anything wealth can bestow. Actuated by the same motives that have prompted millions of his race to leave the cherished land of their birth, he came to America in his sixteenth or seventeenth year, and proceeded without delay to lay the foun- dation of his future fortune, by learning the trade
of tanning, spending several years at Newark, New Jersey, for that purpose. When thorough master of his trade, he proceeded westward until he reached Pittsburgh, where he took employment as a jour- neyman in one of the smaller tanneries then in oper- ation at that place. He was steady and industrious and likewise temperate, and being at heart a reli- gious man, he avoided the temptations which us- ually beset the young mechanic, and saved what is too often thrown away carelessly in early life, only to be deplored ever afterwards. Although not trained to business, he appears to have shown great aptitude for it from the beginning of his career. Very soon after settling at Pittsburgh, and whilst continuing to work as a journeyman at his trade, he gave evidence of his ambition, and he purchased an interest in and finally operated a small tannery at Bakerstown, Pennsylvania, which was the begin- ning of his enterprise. In 1860 he purchased the Duquesne Tannery from Taggart Brothers. It was located in the present limits of Allegheny City. He operated it very successfully, and to its fullest ca- pacity. The Civil War broke out, and the demand for leather, harness, saddles, etc., so enormously increased that the works were taxed to their fullest capacity. In 1868 the Pittsburgh Tanning Com- pany was organized by a number of local capitalists, and Mr. James Callery was elected President. The works of this company, together with his own Du- quesne Tannery, were entirely destroyed by fire in the year 1870. Instead of rebuilding this tannery, he purchased the extensive plant of Hays and Stew- art, and named the works " The Duquesne Tannery." In purchasing this establishment, Mr. Callery suc- ceeded to the prosperous business established for 'nearly a century by Messrs. Hays and Stewart, and he soon enlarged and improved it, and finally con- solidated it with the Duquesne Tannery. Placed at last in a position to fully test his powers in this en- larged field of operation, he proved himself to be one of the most sagacious business men of his day. As has been stated, when the Civil War broke out, Mr. Callery was doing a modest business at his tan- nery in Duquesne Borough, then a suburb of Alle- gheny City, and the sudden demand for leather, consequent upon the equipping of large armies, gave an impetus to the tanning trade, such as was never dreamed of before. His tannery was operated day and night during this period, and he made a great deal of money, and laid the foundation for his subsequent large fortunc. By judicious pur- chases, additions and improvements, he built up his tannery into one of the largest establishments of its kind in the country, its capacity of late years averaging three thousand sides of leather
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weekly. As he became a capitalist, Mr. Callery invested his money with judgment, and reaped large rewards for his enterprise. Ile was in full sympathy with those active and energetic men who courageously invaded the domain of nature, and wrung wealth from the bosom and bowels of thic earth, and he did not hesitate to back up his sympathy with his money. He camc prominently into the field at a time when money was being made as if by magic, and boldly took his place among those whose brains and activity were as important factors in producing wealth as their limited capital. He was endowed by nature with the qualities neces- sary for business success, and to these qualities, and not to mere luck, his fortune must in justice be at- tributed. His investments were in many interests, and he watched them with unceasing care until the growth of the enterprises in which they had been made, rendered grcater care almost unnecessary. Only a few days before his death he is reported to have said that of all his many enterprises, he placed the Pittsburgh and Western Railroad first, and the City Savings Bank next. It was largely due to his ability and unremitting work that the road namcd became the success it is to-day. He became inter- ested in it before it entered Allegheny, and was one of its most efficient Directors. It was mainly through his efforts that the right of way for this road was secured through Allegheny. It was at this time a narrow gauge road, and was called the Pittsburgh, New Castle & Lake Erie Railroad. When the road became involved in financial diffi- culties, his brother Directors looked to him for a solution of the troubles in which the company found itself, and elected him President, realizing the fact that a strong man was needed at the helm if the en- terprise was to be successful. When he assumed the duties of President, one of his first acts was to have the road made with the standard gauge. Then it was extended from Callery Junction-which is called after him-to Butler. Beginning in Alleghe- ny, the road was extended to Wood's Run and then to New Castle. The company, under his direction, purchased the Parker and Karns City Railroad, and the Pittsburgh and Bradford Road, thus establishing connection with the Bradford oil region ; and leascd the Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Toledo. The busi- ness of the road under its new President increased rapidly, and at the time of his death was one of the best paying roads entering Pittsburgh. During his long and successful business career in Pitts- burgh, Mr. Callery was prominently identificd with a number of the leading local interests. Onc of these was the City Savings Bank, of which he was first a Director, and at his death, President. It was
under his able management that the bank paid its first dividend. Mr. Callery was also Director of the City Insurance Company, of thic West End Pas- senger Railway Company, and President of the Union Bridge Company, of the Troyhill Incline Plane " Company, and Director of the Pittsburgh and Fair- port Coal Company, and a leading stockholder and Director in the Second Avenue Passenger Railway Company, the Excelsior Express Company, and the Standard Cab Company. Ile also held extensive interests in the Shaver Gas Coal Company. Every enterprise that was connected with the growth and development of Pittsburgh appcaled to him with irresistible power, and a large number of them found in him their most clear-headed and liberal supporter. Mr. Callery was quite a power in local politics. He was an unswerving Democrat, but his relations with citizens of all other parties were al- ways pleasant. When the Eighth Ward, Allegheny, was known as Duquesne Borough, Mr. Callery was its Burgess, and upon its annexation to Allegheny City he was its representative in Select Council, not- withstanding that the ward was overwhelmingly Republican. He was the only Democret in Alle- gheny Councils who was ever Chairman of the Fi- nance Committee, and it is the strongest evidence of his high character that he was elected to that posi- tion by the votes of the Republican members. His regard for the ancient faith of his ancestors was not shown by a nominal observance of the duties it im- poses. With him it was a vital thing, which he car- ried into his every day life, and for which-accord- ing to the testimony of his closest friends-he cared more than for any of his business enterprises. No pressure of business obligations ever tempted or compelled him to grow careless of his religious duties. He was for many years one of the leading members of St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral, (Roman Catholic) was at the head of the building commit- tce when the original structure was built, and also when the new edifice was erected after the old one had been destroyed by fire. He was also the trusted counsellor and adviser in business matters of the Bishop of the Diocese, and of various religious orders requesting the benefit of his great experience. Hc was one of the incorporators of St. Mary's Cem- ctery and also of New Calvary Cemetery, near Hazelwood. In the welfare of the orphans in the various institutions of the city, he took the kindliest interest, and was a gencrous giver to their funds whenever called upon, but more especially to St. Paul's Orphan Asylum, of which he was one of the most liberal contributors. His entire life in Pitts- burgh and Allegheny was really a part of the history of the Catholic church, and he had the love and
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esteem of the leading clergymen of that faith in both cities. Of his benefactions the truth will never be known, for he made no display in his giving, al- though he dispensed lavishly to all worthy objects and persons. He recognized first of all the claims of the needy and destitute. In the welfare of those employed by him he took a fatherly interest, and no workingman ever appealed to him without being granted a hearing, and no complaint of injustice ever reached his ears that was not investigated and the evil rectified. It has been said of him that no capitalist in the State of Pennsylvania cared more for the interests of those employed by him, than did James Callery. As a consequence he had their respect and best endeavor. His nature was kindly and social, and his friends were found in all walks in life, and he never lost a friend once made. Mr. Callery always retained the warmest regard for the land of his birth, and on two occasions in recent years visited the home of his childhood, and spent happy days with his aged mother, who is still living on the family farm in County Roscommon, and who could never be persuaded to leave it to cross the sea. In his family circle he was a loving husband and kind father, and one of the most genial and hospitable of hosts. His wife, who survives him, is a sister of the late Mr. John E. Downing of Pitts- burgh, and, like her honored husband, she has al- ways been noted for her earnest piety and devotion to works of charity. Mr. Callery's family consisted of four children, all now living : viz., Mr. James Dawson Callery, for some years past the partner of his father in his extensive tanning industries, and the sole manager of this department of his business ; Mr. William Callery, Mr. Charles Callery, and Miss Rose Callery. Shortly preceding his death Mr. Callery removed from Allegheny to Stanton Avenue, near Hiland Avenue, East End, Pittsburgh, it being his intention to build a magnificent residence on North Hiland Avenue, near by. In his eulogy of the deceased, Bishop Phelan, who conducted the obsequies, and whose voice was tremulous with grief, said :
"I can scarcely trust myself to speak of the one whose body now lies before me. In condoling with the family, I can say that I, too, have met with the loss of a friend. I will not for a moment compare my loss with that of those who have lost a husband and a father. If an honest man is the noblest work of God, which no one can deny, a true friend for years is the holiest gift of God. * * * When I
came to this city first, I was a stranger, almost with- out an acquaintance. I looked around for a long time for advisors, and for men whom I could trust. I immediately saw in James Callery a man who I knew I could trust with anything. I am not a pessi- mist, but friends of this kind are not so numerous that they can be spared. My trust in him was so
great, that had he done one wrong act of any kind, my faith in human nature would be forever broken. Our affection was not sentimental, but was founded on esteem. I did not love him as a member of my congregation, but as an honest, honorable, upright man. There were no dark corners in his mind that anyone could not see. He was open, frank and honest in his dealings with all men. He was so scrupulously honest, that when he was in doubt about some business matter, he would come to me and ask my advice in regard to it. Upon one occa- sion, I distinctly remember, he said that if a certain transaction was not right, he would let his family go to bed without their suppers before he would do it. What some other men in business thought were sharp business methods, he would consider a sin, and refrain from. His family relations were so deli- cate that I am afraid I should not do justice to touch upon them. His real, manly, Christian affec- tion for the ones of his family brought more happi- ness than this unreasonable so-called affeetion. He never had any trouble, and God has blessed him for his noble nature. * * * To you who are left
He has here, let his life be an example. * * left to the members of his family an inheritance of * a good name and an unspotted reputation. He was a true Catholic, broad minded and liberal in his views, and because persons of Protestant belief held an honest difference of opinion against his belief, his nature was so magnanimous that he would not allow this to interfere in extending the hand of true friendship. He thought everybody was what he had always been-honest in everything."
Although apparently removed in the midst of his usefulness, Mr. Callery has accomplished far more than falls to the lot of most favored men, and he died leaving an example worthy of emulation in the city where he lived and labored so long and earnest- ly, and whose people he loved so well.
JOSEPH S. HYDE.
JOSEPH SMITH HYDE was born in the little village of Tamworth, Carroll County, New Hamp- shire, August 30, 1813, and died at Ridgway, Elk County, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1888. His life presents a remarkable illustration of the possibili- ties of our country. The history of his early strug- gles, his laborious youth and final success is preg- nant with meaning to every young man on this continent. His parents were Jacob and Comfort Hyde. He was one of a family of nine children : Asenath, Joseph, Adaline, Maria, Eliza, Catharine, Jacob, Portland and Henry. At the age of nineteen the subject of this sketch, owing to his father's busi- ness embarrassments, brought about by injudicious endorsement for friends, was constrained to quit the parental roof and seek a living for himself. He went to Bangor, Maine, where he secured work on a saw mill at a salary of thirteen dollars a month.
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IIc remained in that vicinity, working in mills and in the lumber woods, for a period of nearly five years, during a large portion of which time his wages were remitted to his father to aid his struggles at home. In the fall of 1836 he went to Baltimore, where he remained a year. In 1837 he came for the first time to Elk County. Hc remained a short time at Caledonia and then drifted to Ridgway, where lie secured work digging on an embankment for Enos Gillis. He then secured a contract from Mr. Gillis to run his mill, but this not proving profitable he removed in 1840 to St. Croix, Wiscon- sin, where he worked as a common laborer in the lumber woods for about a year. He was here taken with a severe spell of illness, and thoroughly dis- heartened and discouraged, decided to return to Ridgway, where he again went to work in the lum- ber woods. His sister Adaline at this time came on from New Hampshire and kept house for him in the " Red House," an old landmark well remem- bered by the older citizens of Ridgway. Mr. Hyde's stories of his poverty at this time, and the makeshifts to which at times they were reduced in order to make both ends meet, were both laughable and pathetic. On the 25th day of July, 1842, he married Jane, daughter of Enos Gillis, and niece of Hon. James L. Gillis. They lived at Montmorency about two years and then moved to Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, where their oldest child, Eliza, widow of the late Hon. John G. Hall, was born. He there found some work about the foundries, but not enough to keep him busy, and in 1846 he re- turned to Elk County, determined to cast his final lot there. Enos Gillis, his father-in-law, had in the meantime moved by wagon to Marshall, Michigan, and when Mr. Hyde returned he took up his quar- ters at the Gillis & Mckinley mill, now owned by B. F. Ely. The following year he bought the mill and about four hundred acres of land adjoining, on credit. This marked the turning point in his busi- ness career. Prior to this time it had been a hard struggle for existence, but from this date his untir- ing industry was rewarded, and his indomitable will commanded success. He lived there three years, at the end of which time he was worth three thousand dollars. He then opened a small store, from which he supplied the country people with goods in exchange for shingles and other products of the camps. He also began to buy timber lands as fast as his credit extended, and tract after tract, mill after mill, were added to his possessions, until he became the leading lumberman of the county. In 1862 he built the residence on the home farm at Hellen, where he has since resided. From this time forward his history has been to a large
extent the history of the county. At his death he was undoubtedly the wealthiest man in Elk County. His wealth consisted in timber and coal lands, fac- tories, stores, mills ctc., in the county, and in large real estate interests in Louisville, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Freeport and other cities. Hc was sa- gacious and enterprising in business affairs, as the numerous enterprises of which he was the pro- jector will abundantly testify. He despised dis- honesty and idleness, but loved the honest and faithful, however lowly. He was a man of the peo- ple, with a profound contempt for pride of wealth or position. IIe was extremely tender hearted and could not bear to look upon a human being in pain. He was a large employer of men, and his funeral services held at Ridgway, previous to his removal to Painesville, Ohio, where he was interred by the side of his wife, were characterized by the large at- tendance of laboring men, a tribute to one who, as an employer, would do without food and sleep rather than that any man in his employ should lack them. In his last sickness he was full of charity for all, excusing the shortcomings of others and thoroughly resigned to the death whose coming he knew was imminent. He was a man of magnifi- cent physique and fine personal appearance, and up to the time of the illness which caused his death was wonderfully well preserved for his years. He was never a candidate for office, but was strong in his political convictions, and throughout his entire life was an earnest Democrat of the Jacksonian type. He was a man of strong prejudices and imperious temper, a necessary adjunct to that sturdy and courageous New England character which eventu- ally made his name synonymous with the material prosperity of Elk County. His life was a well rounded one, and he died full of years and honors. He was the very type of the courageous, hard- working, tenacious, brainy New Englander, and his career is a monument to tireless industry and clean-handed business integrity. Mr. Hyde's health begun to fail in the spring of 1888. On an exami- nation made by his physicians it was found that he had acute cystitis, and after some weeks of patient suffering his system gave way under it. He died at his residence in Ridgway, Pennsylvania, at ten o'clock on Saturday night, June 30, 1888. On the following Monday, July, 2, the impressive services of the Episcopal Church were conducted over the remains by the Rev. C. J. Shrimpton. At the con- clusion of the services the funeral party took a special car for Painesville, Ohio, where, by the request of the deceased, he was interred by the side of his first wife. The pall-bearers, chosen by Mr. Hyde himself, were Messrs. Andrew Kaul, Hiram
Eng by The Financier Cr.
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Carman, Hezekiah Horton, W. P. Murphy, Thomas Calhoun and Hon. George D. Messenger. Mr. Hyde was twice married. By his first wife,-who died August 31, 1864,-he had four children, all of whom survive him, viz; Mrs. John G. Hall, Mrs. Esther L. Campbell, Mr. W. H. Hyde and Mrs. J. K. P. Hall. In 1866 he married his second wife, Mrs. Nancy B. Campbell, a widow, who died in January, 1882, and by whom he had no children.
WILLIAM R. WARNER.
WILLIAM RICHARD WARNER, a leading citi- · zen, business man and pharmaceutical chemist of Philadelphia, and head of the widely-known house of William R. Warner & Co., of Philadelphia, New York and London, was born in Caroline County, Maryland, December 25, 1836. His father, Richard Priest Warner, a gentleman of Southern birth and good family, died in 1847. His mother, Mary Hcs- ter Warner, who was a member of the Pratt family of Caroline County, also died while he was a mere child. Mrs. Warner was possessed of considerable literary attainments, and had quite a local reputa- tion as a contributor to newspapers, magazines, etc. A number of her poems which have been collected and preserved in a family scrap-book, evince much more than ordinary merit. It is worthy of note here that on both sides, the subject of this sketch is remotely related to George Washington. The re- cent centenary of Washington's Inauguration had the effect of directing special attention to, and elicited many facts regarding the Washington family, and was the means of bringing out the genealogy of nearly every person living, who claimed kinship with the illustrious "Father of his Country." The traditions in Mr. Warner's family were thus given publicity. It appears that Mr. Warner's father traced his descent in a direct line on the male side to the Rev. Richard Warner, of Warwickshire, England, who lived about the mid- dle of the eighteenth century, and who was of kin with Mildred Warner, who married Lawrence Washington, and was the great-grandmother of George Washington. Mr. Warner's maternal grand- uncle was Dr. George Washington Pratt, who also was remotely connected with the Washington family, and proudly bore the name of its immortal son. At an early age death robbed the subject of this sketch, not only of his father and mother, but also of his two sisters. A kind aunt, Mrs. Annie Elizabeth Warner, endeavored to supply the great void thus created, and took the young orphan to
her home to bring him up and cducate him. Under his uncle's roof the boy had a kindly shelter until death again stepped in and deprived this new home of its loved and respected head. Before this oc- curred, however, the little orphan had been able to securc a very good education, which, begun in the common schools, was nicely rounded off by a short term at Easton Academy in Maryland, under the distinguished Prof. Samuel T. Rogers. Upon leav- ing the Academy, he entered the drug house of Messrs. Chamberlain and Anderson, at Easton, Maryland. Blessed with a fondness for books, and regarding it as no hardship to devote his whole leisure to study, young Warner made rapid progress in his task of acquiring knowledge. It happened that an extensive library, the property of a scholarly gentleman named John Boznan Kerr, was stored for safe keeping in a loft over the store in which he was employed, and having free access to this fount, he drank his fill. The works on natural science scemed to have a strange fascination for him, and he mastered their contents with avidity, thus acquiring rapidly a very thorough knowledge of geology, botany, palæontology, and also an ac- quaintance with other departments. Chemistry had a peculiar charm for him, and in a boyish way he equipped a small laboratory in the attic of the building, and there often remained until quite late at night, experimenting. As may be surmised, he met with an occasional accident, having no one to guide him or to teach him the properties of the chemicals which smiled so harmlessly around him in boxes and bottles ; but the usual experiences of the tyro developed his caution, particularly on one evening, when an explosion nearly wrecked the building, and almost cost him his life. But the gratification of his tastes for reading and experi- menting did not bound his activity. He thirsted to inform others of his discoveries, and in the pages of the Easton Gazette of that early time, may be found most creditable productions from his maiden pen. He was but from sixteen to eighteen years of age at this time, yet his writings were logical and inter- esting, far beyond what might have been expected of one of his youth and limited experience, and this par- ticularly applies to his contributions on the fossil remains of the Mastodon, a theme which he treated in a most scholarly manner. Like the true natural- ist, also, he sought to give others the benefit of his knowledge by forming cabinets. One of these, con- taining an unusually interesting collection of birds' eggs and other curiosities, was presented by him to the town, and was on public exhibition in the town hall at Easton when destroyed by fire. As an ama- teur taxidermist he was remarkably expert, his
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