USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 53
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was the principal owner until it was superseded by railroads and abandoned. At this time he was the creditor of the enterprise to the extent of $1,100,000. Elected to Congress in 1843, he removed to Wash- ington with his family, and threw himself with characteristic ardor into the work of legislation. His pet scheme was the improvement of the harbor of Erie, for which he secured an appropriation of $40,000. His merits and abilities were speedily recognized in the National Legislature, and he en- joyed the friendship of his most distinguished asso- ciates, including Webster, Adams, Wright, Benton and Douglas. In the vast domain of railroad enter- prise he was both a pioneer and an enthusiastic worker. To the Lake Shore Railroad, commenced in 1849, he lent valuable assistance, furnishing the iron required and also a great portion of the equip- ment. Being the heaviest stockholder in this corpor- ation, he wielded a controlling influence in its affairs and was its President for a number of years. In all the region round about the Lakes his efforts were plainly visible, as he employed his ample wealth liberally in promoting every means of transport and inter-communication, including stage lines, canals, steamers and railroads, witli rare courage backing each enterprise in its turn as fully as its needs de-" manded. It is to this sagacious boldness that his splendid success must in truth be largely ascribed. His public spirit was equally as great as his enter- prise and boldness. A monumeut illustrating it is the Reed House, "in which he invested hundreds of thousands of dollars with little hope of return." The famous Erie Water Works and also the great iron rolling mill at Erie, each of which was built with the capital lie furnished, are additional evi- dences of his fidelity to the interests of the city. The cause of charity found in him a generous bene- factor at all times; and in cases of extraordinary and pressing need as, for instance, the great fire at Pittsburgh, in 1845, and that at Chicago, in 1871, he set a noble example of promptness and liberality. A professing Christian, he was connected with St. Paul's Church (Episcopalian) from its organization in 1827, until his death, and was a liberal subscriber to all the religious work of this large and influential congregation. He was the main contributor to the present edifice and at his own expense furnished the bell and tower. General Reed's health began to fail many years previous to his death, and for some five or six years preceding that event he was unable to walk without assistance. The cause of his physi- cal prostration was incessant work, but this did not affect his intellectual faculties, which he retained unimpaired and unclouded to the very last. His funeral, which took place from St. Paul's Church,
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Erie, was attended by the leading representatives of the pulpit, bar and bench of Erie, and by many dis- tinguished citizens from other places. Bishop Spaulding preached the funeral oration, in the course of which, after eulogizing his deceased friend as a Christian gentleman, he said: "Had he given his life to such studies, he would have been among the greatest of statesmen. He had in him the ele- ments by which he might have become one of the first political economists of his time. Ile would have administered with grand success the finances of an empire." In the sphere to which he largely confined his activities he was unexcelled in his day and generation. The system of low rates of freight and fare, originally adopted and always advocated by him, did more to build up the Northwest than any other single agency in operation before the in- troduction of railroads, and the history of that sec- tion must always bear testimony to this fact. Down to the very last days of his existence he took an ac- tive interest in passing events and aided in carrying out business projects of importance, one of the lat- est being the building of a new route to the But- ler County coal fields. His judgment was almost unerring and guided by it he rarely made a mistake in his plans or investments. He became one of the exceptionally rich men of the country, his fortune at the time of his death being estimated at from seven to ten millions. General Reed's mental quali- ties were of a very high order. He had read and studied a great deal and was fully abreast of the time in a wide range of subjects. On all matters of passing interest he was more than ordinarily well informed. His conversational powers were extra- ordinary, and, super-added to his kindliness of manner, made him at all times a most agreeable companion. His friends were found in all circles, and his virtues were universally admitted. The head of a family which for three generations had held position as the leading family of Northwestern Pennsylvania, a life-long resident and known to every inhabitant of Erie, he easily ranked as its first citizen. His remains repose beneath the shadow of a stately monument in the Erie cemetery, which now marks the resting-place of four genera- tions of the name of Reed, which must always be held in honored and affectionate remembrance by those at all familiar with the grand achievements and good deeds of the able men who have borne it. General Reed married, in 1838, Miss Harriet W., daughter of Luther Gibson, Esq., of Watertown, New York, who bore him seven children, of whom three died in early infancy. One of his daughters (Mrs. Rawle wife of the Hon. Henry Rawle, Mayor of Erie,) died two years preceding her father's death.
The surviving members of the family are the widow and two sons : Charles M. Reed and Lloyd G Reed. The first mentioned son was twice Mayor of Erie, and has long been prominent in the councils of the Republican party, and is also identified with a num- ber of important railroad interests in the State.
WILLIAM A. HERRON.
WILLIAM ANDERSON HERRON, an honored and public-spirited citizen, and one of the leading business men of Pittsburgh, was born August 7, 1821, at Pittsburgh, in the house which is still stand- ing at the corner of Penn Avenue and Eighth Street. Mr. Herron comes of Revolutionary stock, his ancestry being Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. His paternal great-grandfather, Francis Herron, was born in County Antrim, Ireland, came to America in 1734, and with his younger brothers David, Wil- liam and James and his two sisters Mary and Eliza- beth, settled on what is known as Herron's Branch (named after him) in Franklin County, Pennsylva- nia, in 1745. Francis Herron married Mary Mc- Nutt, also of a Scotch Presbyterian family, and had issue three sons and two daughters, viz. : John, James and William, and Mary and Sarah. He was a farmer by occupation and died in 1755. James, the second son of Francis, and grandfather of Wil- liam A. Herron, was born in 1754. He married Nancy Davidson, and had issue four sons and two daughters, viz. : John, (William A. Herron's father), William, Davidson and James, and Nancy and Sarah. He was an ardent patriot and brave soldier, and was made Major in the American army during the Revolutionary War. He died in 1829, leaving behind him an excellent record as a Christian gen- tleman and a soldier. John, his eldest son and father of our subject, was born at Herron's Branch, April 3, 1792. In 1812 he went to Pittsburgh, where he engaged in the lumber business. Having a fair education and being industrious, energetic and sa- gacious, he prospered, and in a few years became owner of a large saw and grist mill on what is now `Eighth Street, below Penn Avenue, besides acquir- ing other property. He was always fully abreast of the times, as is evidenced by the fact that he was among the first to utilize steam power, having put the second steam engine in use west of the Alle- gheny Mountains, in his mill on Eighth Street. He also owned a farm, coal lands, and other properties of value, at Minersville, now the Thirteenth Ward of Pittsburgh, and was largely engaged in contract-
William A. Herron
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ing and building, making brick, coal mining and farming. He superiutended all his enterprises aud kept almost constantly employed a number of clerks and a small army of men, in whom he took a friend- ly interest. He was geuerous and charitable and al- ways stood ready to succor the needy and unfortu- nate. He was kind and considerate and it was said of him that he knew most of the children in Miners- ville by name. Indeed, he was generally loved and respected by all. He married, in 1817, Miss Clarissa Anderson, daughter of Major William and Nancy (Cann) Anderson. Major Anderson, the maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was one of the pioneers of the notable Pittsburgh family of that name. In the History of Allegheny County reference is made to him as follows :
" He came to America wheu the cry of liberty had lately arisen among the colonists, and with all a young man's ardor he entered heartily into the revo- lutionary spirit of the age. It was between 1775- '80, when he first put his foot upon the soil of the country that was so soon to shake off the thrall of the tyrant of the old world. He first settled in Car- lisle, Pennsylvania, but soon joined the army under General Washington, taking the rank of Major, and serving with distinction throughout the war."
At the close of the war hie resumed the building business and in competition with others was awarded the contract for building the Executive Mansion (the " White House ") at Washington, D. C., the excellent condition of which at this day, more than a century later, is a splendid testimonial to his honesty and judgment. "Stout, hearty and vigorous, he possessed remarkable executive ability and was honored with the friendship of some of the greatest men of his time, including Washington himself. As an instance of his physical strength as well as his determined will, it is related that at one time, on account of sickness iu his family, he walked from Washington to Carlisle in twenty-four hours." Major Anderson removed from Carlisle in 1795, go- ing first to Huntingdon and afterwards to Bedford, Pennsylvania, in each of which places he erected public buildings. In 1797 he took up his residence in Pittsburgh, on Penn Street near Pitt (now Fourth) Street, in a house built of logs. He built the second grist mill put up in Pittsburgh, and the first steam saw-mill west of the Allegheny Moun- tains. Buying logs from the Indians round about he did a large business in lumber, his mill often running day aud night to supply the demand. He was an intimate friend of Colonel James O'Hara, and with him took an active part in all public en- terprises. He built a number of the principal edi- fices of Pittsburgh, including the First Presbyterian Church on Wood Street, which was built over the old log structure " the logs being taken out of the
windows of the new church." He died in 1821, being then a resident of Mercer County, Pennsylva- nia, where he owned a large tract of land and whither he had removed in the preceding ycar, hav- ing retired from business. His remains were buried in the churchyard of the First Presbyterian Church at Pittsburgh, beside those of his wife, a native of Carlisle, aud whose maiden name was Mary Ann Cann. From the foregoing brief account of his family, it will be perceived that Colonel William A. Herron, the subject of this sketch, springs from ancestors distinguished for their love of God, love of country and love of work. From their advent in the New World they enjoyed a high degree of prosperity and the respect and favor of their neighbors and fellow- citizeus. The patriotic instincts of the family are remarkable and have continued unabated from the Revolution down to recent times. Three of Mr. Herron's uncles served in the War of 1812, under General Harrison. Three of his brothers and oue of his sous served in the Union Army. One of the former, Francis J. Herron, now of New York City, rose to the rank of Major-General, when but twen- ty-six years old, and enjoyed the distinction of being the youngest General officer in the Uuion army. William A. Herron started his business career with a good education, beginning early in life as a clerk for A. Way & Company, dry goods merchants, at Pittsburgh, but finding indoor life too confiuing and not agreeing with his health, he gave up his position and went into the coal business to assist his father, who was then operating a large number of mines in Minersville, now the Thirteenth Ward of Pittsburgh. In 1846 he became a member of the coal firm of Herron, Brown & Company, of which his father was the senior member. The firm owned an extensive tract of land on the Mononga- hela River near Turtle Creek, and filled large con- tract s for iron mills, factories and gas works in Pittsburgh, besides shipping large quantities of coal to Cincinnati, Louisville, Cairo and New Orleans, in flat boats. Owing to failing health Mr. Herron was compelled to discontinue business for a time, and he then devoted two years to general travel and rest to recuperate, after which, with his brother-in-law Richard Sill, he engaged in the lumber business. He shortly afterwards had partnership interests in a brass fouudry, the manufacture of glass aud cot- ton batting, besides being part owner of a large tract of coal land near Pine Run, on the Mononga- hela River, which was operated under the firm name of Herron, Blackburn & Company. This firm did an extensive business, building a coal railroad to supply the trade. Mr. Herron also formed a part- nership with Mr. Hercules O'Connor, and together
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they purchased the steamboat "George Albree" and some model barges and took contracts to supply the gas works at St. Louis with coal, running the cargoes to Cairo in flat boats and reloading there in model barges to tow to St. Louis. In 1855 Mr. Ilerron engaged iu the banking business at the cor- ner of Wood Street and Sixth Avenne, where the Germania National Bank is now erecting its fine new building. In 1860, perceiving the need of greater banking facilities in Pittsburgh, he took an active part in founding the German Bank, (now the Ger- man National) and later on he helped to organize the Iron City Trust Company, which subsequently became the Second National Bank. He also co-oper- ated in the formation of the Third National Bank 'and the Mechanics' Bank, which, like the others named, are to-day among the strongest financial in- stitutions of the city. In 1863 he, with two other
well-known citizens, secured a charter and organ- ized the People's Saving Bank, of which he became the first President, and which has become one of the most successful institutions of its kind in the city. In 1860 Mr. Herron was induced to accept the nomination of Clerk of the Courts of Allegheny County. He was elected by a flattering majority and served with eminent satisfaction to his fellow- citizens until 1866 (being re-elected in 1863) when he retired, owing to the condition of his health, al- though he could have been again re-elected had he cared to continue in office. Freed from the cares of office he next engaged in buying and selling real estate, and so continued for a number of years. In 1877 he took his youngest son John W. Herron in as partner, and still later, in 1883, his son, Rnfns H. Herron, the business being carried on under the name of William A. Herron & Sons. The firm does a large business, second to none in the city, and holds a high rank. Rufus H. Herron and John W. Herron have since risen to prominence in Pittsburgh business circles, and the latter is Vice-President of the Commercial National Bank, in that city. Dur- ing the progress of the Civil War Mr. Herron was active and indefatigable in his services to the Union cause. Although prevented by ill health from tak- ing the field, he accomplished a great deal of good work at home and aided liberally with his means and influence in upholding the supremacy of the National government. At several crises during the war his services proved of the utmost valne. He was appointed a Colonel on the staff of Governor Pollock and an aide-de-camp to Major-General J. G. Barnard, U. S. A. Some years after the war Gen- eral Barnard wrote as follows of Colonel Herron's service, the letter being intended for historical pur- poses :
Colonel W. A. Herron :- At the time of the inva- "WASHINGTON, March 26, 1879.
sion of Pennsylvania by the Confederate army under General Lee in June, 1863. great anxiety was felt as to the safety of Pittsburgh, whose inanufac- turing establishments in iron, machinery and other objects of great importance to the country, not only in a commercial sense but as supplying the material of war, offered a strong inducement to a powerful raid, if not as a direct object of the enemy's cam- paign. At the solicitations of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and her representative in Congress, Gen- eral Moorhead, I was sent to Pittsburghi by Mr. Stanton, Secretary of War, to dircet the efforts of her citizens in fortifying the place. The great man- ufactories were, for the time, mostly closed, and nearly all the working forces of able-bodied men- several thousand-were, the very first day of my ar- rival placed at my disposal. Without previous knowledge of the surrounding country and with but a single engineer officer (Major Craighill) to assist me, the reconnoissances and the putting intelligently at work such a large body of men, with no previous organization, was an arduous and embarrassing task.
ially of the proprietors of the large iron works, The intelligent aid of many of the citizens, espec-
enabled me to surmount the difficulty. But to your- self I was more particularly indebted. Placing your services entirely at my disposal, you consti- tuted yourself virtually an aide-de-camp and an ad- jutant-guiding me with your intimate knowledge of the localities, in my reconnoissances-pointing out before hand the salient features of the sur- rounding country, thus furnishing the indispensa- ble clues to a proper location of field works and en- abling mc to send out my working parties to proper points, before I, myself, had been able properly to reconnoitre them. I cannot too highly speak of the value and importance of your services in those critical days. I am very respectfully,
Yours most obediently,
J. G. BARNARD,
Colonel of Engineers, and Brevet Major-General, U. S. A."
Mr Herron was never a politician, but in 1879 he was appointed Pension Agent for Pittsburgh by President Hayes, who was his warm friend, and he held that office four years. His health failed him during his term as Pension Agent, and since leaving that office he has not taken any very active part in business outside of a general oversight and interest in the purchase and sale of real estate. It is proper to state here that at the end of his term of office as Pension Agent he was warmly complimented by the authorities at Washington for the careful and prompt manner in which he conducted the business of the office. Within a few months after his retire- ment the Government was able to close his account and sent him a certificate in full to that effect ; a fact all the more remarkable when it is understood that it usually requires several years to settle the ac- counts of a retiring Pension Agent. Mr. Herron is an influential member of the Pittsburgh Chamber of
Henry Nice
Photo l- Aufrecht,
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Commerce, with which he has been connected a number of years, and also a member of Select Coun- cil of the city for several years. In religious and charitable work he has always taken a leading part. Since his fifteenth year he has been a professing member and active worker in the Presbyterian Church, has held the office of Elder and Trustee for many years, and has done excellent work in the Sabbath-school at Minersville, of which he was Su- perintendent for a long period. In 1888 he was a delegate to the Centennial General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, held at Philadelphia. He has also at various times been a delegate to the Synod and Presbytery, representing the Third Presbyter- ian Church of Pittsburgh. In charitable matters he has likewise taken a warm interest. Since 1863 he has been an active member of the Board of Di- rectors of the Western Pennsylvania Hospital. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of Dixmont Asylum for the Insane, Vice-President of the Homeopathic Hospital, Vice-President of the Blind Asylum of Western Pennsylvania, and a Di- rector in the Young Men's Home, and also in the Young Men's Christian Association. In educational work he has always taken a deep interest and for many years held the office of Director of the Public Schools. Mr. Herron is still one of the active and busy men of Pittsburgh, interested in its welfare and development and prominent in all movements of a public charitable character. Although an- noyed by ill health in early life, he is to-day a vigor- ous specimen of manhood, erect and sturdy, and capable of no end of hard work. His family have long been noted for their kindly natures, and he is no exception to the rule. Indeed, it has been as- serted of him that " he has probably more friends to the square mile than any other man in Western Pennsylvania." His wife, formerly Miss Louisa J. Hills, daughter of the late Dr. Rufus Hills, a physician of note of Erie, Pennsylvania, and a native of Ames- bury, Massachusetts, is one of the most estimable and respected women in Pittsburgh, where she has been active for many years in religious, charitable and philanthropic work. Her splendid executive ability was recognized by her election, in 1865, as the first President of the Woman's Christian Asso- ciation of Pittsburgh, of which she was one of the principal organizers. She has been President since 1875 of the Association for the Improvement of the Poor, one of the most beneficial organizations in Pittsburgh, which she was the means of organizing, and which relieves and assists thousands of the worthy poor annually, without regard to color, na- tionality or sect. She likewise renders valuable as- sistance in almost all the other charitable work of the
city. Of her it has been written that "she is the personal friend of every needy family in the city." Mr. and Mrs. Herron were married October 23, 1843. They have had seven children, of whom three survive, viz. : Rufus H. Herron, Sarah (now Mrs. Ogden M. Edwards) and John W. Herron. In speaking of Mr. William A. Herron, one who has been intimately connected with him for many years remarked :
" Mr. Herron is an exemplary man, a Christian gentleman of the highest type ; always kind to and thoughtful of those around him, never forgetting a friend but always ready to forgive an enemy ; strictly temperate, scrupulously honest and of such superior ability that had nature given him health and strength he must have risen to distinction among the chief men of his day, for he is a man of great natural parts."
He loves nothing so well as to talk about the city that he has seen grow, almost from a village, to the most important manufacturing centre in the Repub- lic. As it is, even with the great drawback of deli- cate health in earlier life, Mr. Herron has carved a name for himself among the most active and ener- getic men of Pittsburgh, which will long endure.
HENRY HICE.
HON. HENRY HICE, a leading lawyer of Beaver, and formerly Judge of the Thirty-sixth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, was born in Hopewell township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, January 24, 1834. He is a son of the late William Hice, of said county, a farmer of means and influence, and a grandson of Henry Hice, a native of New Jersey, and one of the pioneer settlers of the Ligonier Val- ley, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. In 1857, having completed an academic education, he began the study of law as a clerk and pupil in the office of the late Col. Richard P. Roberts of Beaver, and in the summer of 1859 was admitted to the bar in Beaver County. Being a young man of much more than ordinary promise, he attracted the attention and won the respect of his preceptor, who offered him a partnership in his law business. This offer he gratefully accepted, and the association thus begun terminated only with the death of Col. Roberts, who was killed in 1863, at the battle of Gettysburg. Mr. Hice continued in the practice of law at Beaver un- til 1871, when he transferred his office and residence to Beaver Falls. In 1874 he was appointed Judge of the Courts of the Thirty-sixth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, whereupon he returned to the village of Beaver, where he has resided ever since. Judge
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Hice's term of office expired January 1, 1885. He | inherited the intellectual tastes of his father, and as then resumed the practice of law, and having 110 political ambitions to gratify, has devoted to it his whole time and energy. His skill as a lawyer has given him an extended reputation and his clientage, one of the largest in the county, is drawn from a wide extent of territory. During his more than thirty years of activity, both at the bar and on the bench, Judge Hice has been an industrious and honest worker, zealous in the interests of his clients as an advocate and counselor, and impartial and just in his rulings as a judge. No man in the county is held in more sincere esteem and few are more deserving of the respect of their fellow-citizens. Judge Hice's first wife, whom he married April 3, 1860, was Miss Ruth Ann Ralston, a granddaughter of John Roberts, of Frankfort Springs, Pennsyl- vania. She died in 1872. On July 25, 1877, he mar- ried Mrs. Sarah H. Minis, daughter of Hon. Daniel Aguew, ex-Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Pennsylvania.
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