USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 52
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wire mats, steel picket fence and gates, steel picket automatic drive gates, and steel picket tree boxcs. The company's products have found a ready mar- ket in all parts of the United States and in every civilized country in the world. Branch offices have been established at New York, Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Atlanta and San Francisco. In an ex- tended article on some of the industries of Beaver. Falls, the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette of Novem- ber 22, 1889, gives the following account of the Hartman Manufacturing Company :
" With the same finger of pride with which he designates the improvements already mentioned, the Beaver Falls citizen points to the Hartman Manufacturing Company, who, having finished the construction of their buildings in July, 1888, occu- pied them at once, not getting their machinery and all appliances ready for practical use, however, till late in the year. The property was purchased from the Economites, and is considered the best site on the river, being provided with thirty-five shares of water-power, or more than one-sixth of the entire motive power of the Beaver at this point. The buildings are spacious, iron-clad and two-story; and a japanning department, 40x80 feet, has just been completed, this structure being iron throughout. In the night the water-power of the Hartman Man- ufacturing Company is utilized for generating the electric power in the plant of the Beaver Valley Electric-Light Company, whose dynamo-room is built on the ground floor of the Hartman works, making it one of the few electric-light industries run exclusively by water-power. The plant con- sists of three dynamos, two arc and one incandes- cent, and the company have a five years' contract to light the city, besides a demand for more lights than they have capacity to supply. Their lines also extend through New Brighton, and it is their inten- tion to carry them to Beaver and Rochester next season. The products of the Hartman works are patent steel-picket lawn fence and the Hartman flexible steel and brass wire mats. Some idea of the growth of this business can be gleaned from the fact that during the first six months of the present year over one hundred and fifty miles of the picket fence were sold, having been shipped into every State and Territory in the Union. "The capacity of the fence department has been quadrupled since it was started, little more than a year ago; and while this alone is an incontrovertible argument in favor of the Hartman fence, the company are in receipt of hundreds of testimonials proclaiming its merits from the best citizens in Uncle Sam's doniain. The mat department has produced over five hundred wire mats in a single day. These mats have al- ready an international reputation, and are exported to every civilized country, which is such an extraor- dinary accomplishment, since it has all happened in such a short period, that it almost seems like an in- credible story, notwithstanding that it is an irrefut- able truth. The export business alone constitutes a large percentage of the output; and a great fea- ture of the mat department is the bar and counter mat, which can be made one hundred feet long if necessary. These mats roll up like a bale of carpet, and are absolute perfection. Their sanitary fea-
tures alone commend them to the best trade, and the leading physicians indorse them as a sanitary invention of immeasurable worth. The special machinery in both the fence and mat departments is ingenious and novel in the highest degree and shows evidence of having been planned by the very finest mechanical talent. The company have dis- tributing agencies of their own in Boston, New York, Chicago, Kansas City and Atlanta; while their special agents are Hicks & Dickey, Philadel- phia; Talbott & Lupton, Cincinnati; and Baker & Hamilton, San Francisco. The interior of the works of the Hartman Manufacturing Company presents an advanced industrial scene and illus- trates quite forcibly what brains and enterprise can do."
But Mr. Hartman's activities are not limited to this company. He is also President and General Manager of the Rochester, Bcaver Falls and Wes- tern Railroad Company, of the Beaver Water Power Company, and of the Pittsburgh Company-who are about to found a large manufacturing town on the Beaver and Camaquenessing Rivers, where they have seven hundred acres of manufacturing prop- erty and enormous water power. He is likewise President of the Valley Water Company, and the Union Drawn Steel Company, and is a Director in a number of other leading corporations. At the Union Drawn Steel Company no less than in the other industries with which Mr. Hartman is inter- ested, is to be witnessed a scene of superlative achievements in mechanism. Besides these here mentioned Mr. Hartman is interested in several , companies producing oil and natural gas. Since becoming a resident of Beaver Falls he has inter- ested himself specially in improving the water power of the Beaver River and its tributaries, and in building connecting railroads between the trunk lines in that region. Mr. Hartman is a brilliant example of the successful American. Beginning life without money or influence, he has, by the sheer force of his character and energy, mounted to a . commanding position in the great industrial life of his native State, and stands to-day a representative man among the leading spirits of a region, which, in point of bustling activity, intelligent effort and wealth, has probably no equal on the globe. His life teaches what may be accomplished unaided by any man of good natural parts who throws himself with resolution and vigor into the struggle for busi- ness success, and it will long remain an inspiring example to all right-minded and honorably ambi- tious young men. In his social and domestic rela- tions, Mr. Hartman has been especially happy. Al- though weighted down with business responsibili- ties of grave moment, he has never been indifferent to the duties and obligations imposed upon him by his success and position, and his cheerful discharge
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of these duties has made many additions to the al- ready large circle of his friends. In 1876 he mnar- ried Miss Mary Holliday, of Hollidaysburg, Penn- sylvania. They have two interesting sons : Holliday Ellwood, aged six years, and Henry Waters, aged three years.
HUGH M. NORTH.
HUGH MOALISTER NORTH, LL.D., an eminent citizen and lawyer of Columbia, President of the Lancaster Bar Association, ex-member of the Penn- sylvania House of Representatives, late Presidential Elector, and since 1873 President of the First Na- tional Bank of Columbia, was born in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1826. On both sides he is descended from the sturdy and thrifty Scotch- Irish race which has made such an indelible im- pression upon the history of Pennsylvania, and has woven itself imperishably into the material prosper- ity and political life of the " Keystone State." His father was the late John North, a prominent mer- chant of Juniata County, and still remembered by the old inhabitants as a man of sterling probity and pure character. The wife of John North, and the mother of the subject of this sketch, was Jane Hous- ton McAlister, a daughter of Major Hugh McAlister, one of the original settlers of Juniata County and the founder of MeAlisterville, who won his military title fighting for the independence of the thirteen colonies under Washington. Mr. North was educa- ted at the excellent academy at Mifflinburg, Penn- sylvania, where he was graduated with honor when about twenty years of age. Choosing the profession of law, he prepared himself for the bar by a long and thorough course of study under Judge Joseph Casey, a prominent lawyer of Union County, who was elected to Congress in 1848 and rounded out a brilliant career as Chief Justice of the United States Court of Claims. Of a studious turn of mind nat- urally, young North worked assiduously over his Coke and Blackstone, and in March, 1849, success- fully and creditably passed the required examina- tions, and was admitted to the Union County bar. On the 30th of August following he was admitted to the Lancaster County bar, and choosing the vil- lage of Columbia, twelve miles from the county seat of Lancaster County, as the theatre of his oper- ations, he entered upon the practice of his profes- sion. His beginning was unaided by patrons or patrimony, but it was courageously made, and in- stead of being cast down by the fewness of his clients, he took advantage of his leisure to study
and prepare himself for the highest work, should he ever be called upon to undertake it. Habits of study acquired during his academic training made this a comparatively casy task, and as the months rolled by, although briefs were few, knowledge ac- cumulated, and when the demand for it was made, the response was ready and satisfactory. In a few years he had conquered fortune, and was holding a prominent place at the bar where he first began practice, a novice and almost a total stranger. Ear- ly recognizing the value of breadth of knowledge in his profession, Mr. North did not limit his studies to law and precedent, but ranging in an orderly manner over the whole field of literature, he made himself by degrees master of its beauties and re- sources, and developed tastes which have remained with him all through a wonderfully busy career, and which still continue a fountain of intellectual strength and an unfailing recreatiou. Mr. North identified himself from the first with his surround- ings. He mingled freely with the people, came to understand them, and took an interest in everything of a publie nature. His fellow-citizens were not long in recognizing his worth, character and abil- ity, and he was called to fill successively several minor offices in the borough, the duties of which he discharged with eminent satisfaction to the peo- ple, irrespective of party views. In 1854 he was the candidate on both the Democratic and Independent tickets for the House of Representatives of Penn- sylvania, and was elected by a large majority, serv- ing the term with great benefit to his constituents. In 1860 he was elected a delegate to the National Democratic Convention held at Charleston, South Carolina, in which he served upon several important committees, including that on credentials, which more than any other, perhaps, called for the exer- cise of rare tact, judgment and discretion, owing to the peculiar and momentous condition of political affairs at that period. In 1864 he was placed in the field by his party against Thaddeus Stevens for Congress, and, though unsuccessful in the contest, ran far ahead of his ticket-no mean compliment in that year, perhaps the most stirring of the Civil War. In 1872 he was again nominated for Congress by the Democrats of his district in opposition to A. Herr Smith, the Republican nominee, who was elected by a small majority. Iu 1874 he was a can- didate at the State Convention of his party for the office of Lieutenant-Governor of the State, and fell only a few votes short of the nomination, polling the second highest number cast. Two years later he was a Delegate-at-Large to the Democratic Na- tional Convention at St. Louis, where his voice gave forth no uncertain sound. Mr. North's name has
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been frequently mentioned for judicial station, but he has always declined to entertain any such over- tures, and his decision has remained unalterable. In the National election of 1884 he was a Presidential Elector on the Democratic ticket. An important part of Mr. North's legal practice for many years has been as solicitor for a number of leading corpor- ations, including railroad companies, the two Na- tional Banks of Columbia, and several iron and in- surance companies. His thorough knowledge of the wants and resources of the State, no less than his well tried legal knowledge, make him a desir- able acquisition also to the directory of several large companies. In 1873 he was elected President of the First National Bank of Columbia, and his administration has been characterized by wise, pru- dent and vigorous measures, which have materially advanced the prosperity of the institution, without in any way jeopardizing its interests. Mr. North has long been distinguished for his active interest in the cause of education, which he has zealously pro- moted both as a legislator and a private, but influ- ential citizen. In grateful recognition of this fact, and also in compliment to his talents and learning, Franklin and Marshall College, of Lancaster, Penn- sylvania, conferred upon him, in May, -1887, at the annual commencement, the honorary degree of Doc- tor of Laws. A professing member of the Episco- pal faith, Mr. North lias attended regularly for many years St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Columbia, of which for some years he has been a vestryman. He is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. He has always been a generous contributor to church work, charitable and otherwise, and a helpful, sym- pathizing friend to the poor and overburdened among his fellows, whatever their creed. In pub- lic movement he enrolls himself or is enrolled among those spirited men who unselfishly seek the general good, and stop at no labor or expense to secure it. This well known fact has made him many staunch friends. His success at the bar has been marked, and has been achieved by genuine merit, and an ex- traordinary capacity for work. In fact, of all his characteristics, this capacity for work is the most remarkable, and to it may be attributed, more than to any other circumstance, his brilliant success. That Mr. North has achieved both distinction and success at the bar of Lancaster County, is in itself a matter of no slight moment. It was at this bar that Buchanan, Stevens, Franklin, Frazer, Hiester, and other brilliant advocates and jurists won unfa- ding laurels, and for a century or more it has been distinguished for the erudition and skill of its mem- bers, the fame of many of whom has become na-
tional. Mr. North's place among his contemporaries is in the front rank of the ablest and most gifted. This is attested by the fact that upon the formation of the Lancaster Bar Association, organized in 1880, for the improvement of the law and of its adminis- tration, he was the unanimous choice of the charter members for President, and was elected. In the succeeding elections which have been held since then, he has been annually re-elected. Years ago he became a member of the American Bar Asso- ciation, the membership of which includes the ablest of the legal profession in the country, and since 1883 he has been a member of the Pennsylva- nia Council of this distinguished and representative body. In a sketch of this character and limitations, no reference can be made in detail to Mr. North's great cases. It must suffice, therefore, to say that he has been retained in almost every great case brought up for trial in his district for nearly forty years, and in many other celebrated cases tried in other sections of the State. As an erudite jurist and wise counsellor he has few equals. In his pre- sentation of argument to court or jury he is clear,
logical and convincing, wasting no time or effort in dealing with unimportant details, but reserving his strength and knowledge for the essentials. He is a master of argument, and employs this power when necessary with remarkable results. His strength lies not in rhetorical embellishments nor declama- tory power, but in lucidity of explanation and the air of candor and conviction with which he invests his statements. His methods are simple, and are based upon a thorough knowledge of the case on his own part, and a belief that when it is clearly presented to those before whom it is tried, they may be brought to see it in precisely the same light as it appears to the counsel presenting it. He prefers the colloquial style in addressing a jury, although quite capable in any other. In the examination of wit- nesses he displays rare powers of judgment. He scdulously avoids stirring up obstinacy or awaken- ing suspicion. His manner is friendly, yet digni- fied and always sagacious. By clever questioning he elicits from the witness a series of replies cover- ing all important details, which follow each other in such a manner as to compel the attention and hold the interest of the jury. He conducts his cross- examinations in a more severe style, but always with a becoming regard for the rights and privi- leges of the witness interrogated, while fully con- scious of his own and the interests of his client. His arguments addressed to the court always evince a clear understanding of legal principles, and a thorough knowledge of the salient points of the case in hand and of the law applicable thereto. His
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memory, earefully traincd and developed by carly study and exercise, is prodigious, and enables him to cite law and precedent in a manner that invari- ably surprises those who listen to him for the first time. There is an absence of flurry or excitement about even his most earnest appeals, which is often in refreshing contrast to the impassioned but occa- sionally ludierous harangnes of less skillful oppo- nents. Ilis office business is very large, and in its management he exhibits the same easy, dignified but pleasant manners which characterize his unpro- fessional intereourse. His younger professional brethren recognize in him a warm, helpful, sympa- thetie friend, and consult him frecly, being as well aware of his commanding ability as of his eordial good will. His politeness is unfailing, and has been known to stand the severest tests. Although he is always weighted down with business, he is ever ready to lend a few minutes to a friend or client, and to give consolation or counsel as may be re- quired. It is said of him that he has never been known to treat any one with asperity or harsh ness. In ordinary intereourse his manner is charming, combining the qualities of the seholar, the gentle- man and the experieneed man of affairs. His eirele of friends is extremely large, and by all he is re- vered and respeeted as a learned and worthy man of gentle instinets and the purest character. His home is one in which the arts and graees are cultivated, and within it he finds well earned relaxation in the higher literature and in the exereise of a delightful hospitality. Mr. North's wife, to whom he was mar- ried December 23, 1868, was formerly Miss Serena M. Franklin, whose father, the late Hon. Thomas E. Franklin, LL.D., was one of the leading eitizens of Pennsylvania, and twice Attorney-General of the State. Two eliildren have been born to this mar- riage, a daughter, Miss Serena Mayer North, and a son, Hugh M. North, Jr.
CHARLES M. REED.
HON. CHARLES M. REED, a distinguished and wealthy eitizen and business man of Erie, at one time a Representative in Congress from the Erie distriet, and widely known throughout the whole Lake region and contiguous sections as one of the pioneers and most successful promoters of inland transportation, was born at Erie, April 23, 1803, and died there, December 16, 1871. For elose upon a century the family of which he was, for years pre- ceding his death, the honored head, has been domi- eiled at Erie, which was founded by his grandfather,
Colonel Scthi Reed, in 1795. The latter, a native of Rhode Island, was a physician by profession, and resided at Uxbridge, Massachusetts, about the time of the Revolution. In the struggle for independence he distinguished himself by his devotion to the cause of the colonists. He took the field at the out- break of hostilities, participated as a Colonel in the battle of Bunker Hill, and throughout the long and desperate struggle which culminated in the emanci- pation of the Colonies was noted for his bold and manly defianee of the British. Immediately after the close of the Revolution he acquired an exten- sive tract of land in Ontario, New York, which was known as the "Reed and Ryekman Location." In 1795 he disposed of this tract to advantage and with his wife and family, then consisting of four sons and two daughters, removed to the harbor of Presque Isle, which had been aequired by Pennsylvania some three years previously. Having brought with him a large stoek of Indian supplies, he established a trading post on the site of the old Presque Isle stock- ade, which had been desolated, long before, by the bloody Massasawba massacre. The father of the sub- ject of this sketch was Rufus Seth Reed, a son of Colonel Reed. A contemporary writer has de- clared that " his eareer is so identified with the early growth and prosperity of Erie, that the record of either is the history of both." He died June 12, 1846, leaving only one ehild, the son of his second wife, born Agnes Irwin. This son, Charles M. Reed, a mere outline of whose life is here recorded, beeame one of the most remarkable men of the epoch in which he lived, and ranked among the greatest finaneiers of America. Growing up amid the stirring seenes of frontier life, in daily inter- eourse with the hardy patriots whose courage, dar .. ing, and unconquerable confidenee in the sueeess of right and their own prowess had just given birth to a nation, his character early developed great force and as it matured, made him a leader of men. Sup- plementing a thorough collegiate education by a eourse of legal study under Horace Binney, of Philadelphia, he was admitted to the bar. But the energies of his nature demanded a more comprehen- sive work, and in wrestling with the great natural and financial problems confronting those engaged in developing the resources of the country and pro- moting intercourse between its various parts, he found eongenial, absorbing and highly remunerative occupation for his magnificent capabilities. His powers and resources were those of a master mind, and were as versatile as they were wonderful. "To supervise the stores, the mill and the farms of his father was not employment enough for his energies. Cradled upon the shores of the Great Lakes, he saw
Atlantic Poliste &-1-170CONT
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that the interior of the continent was to be reached by this channel; as the country stretching to the Mississippi was to be peopled and its commerce opened." His masterly intellect readily perceived the grandeur of this opening and liis giant energy recognized in the opportunities it presented a con- genial task. The problem, as presented to his mind's eye, was simple. "The West was open, hostilities had ceased, and the Indian title liad been extinguished; the genius of Fulton had adapted steam to navigation, and Clinton had connected the Hudson with Lake Erie. To extend the line to the verge of the inland seas, and thus bear forward the standard of civilization, was the duty of the hour." To the accomplishment of this purpose he bent all his powerful energies, and the results which he achieved were colossal in their magnitude and im- portance. He began by purchasing and completing the "Peacock," a small steamer which its projec- tors were unable to finish on Lake Erie, and with this vessel as a basis, proceeded to lay out a line of operations which included the establishment of wharves, wood-stations and warehouses, at salient points here and there along the shores of the lakes, then, so far as navigation was concerned, an almost trackless waste of waters. As new harbors were discovered new settlements followed and new sta- tions sprang up. On the new and then unrivalled steamer "Jefferson," which he had just purchased, he made a trip to Chicago in 1834, to attend the Government land sale. His keen discernment im- mediately saw the advantage of the location, al- though at the time there was not even a wharf at the place and his steamer had to anchor in the harbor. He purchased largely of the lots offered for sale and soon had a wharf and warehouse in process of con- struction, which, long known as Reed's Wharf and Reed's Stores, were the pioneer structures on the now famous " South Side." Stcamer after steamer was added to his line as fast as circumstances war- ranted, and from 1850 to 1853 his fleet consisted of at least twelve vessels which were "a synonym for elegance, reliability and speed," and which formed the first daily line between Buffalo and Chicago. They were the pride of the Lakes, and worked won- ders in developing the trade of that vast region. In 1837, being then a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature, he earnestly advocated the construction of a canal from the Ohio to Lake Erie; and several years later, when the work was given over to private enterprise, after the failure of the State to complete it, he resolutely took hold of it, and " by euergetic efforts and large advances " pushed it to comple- tion. Of this great waterway, by means of which through communication was established in 1843, he
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