History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 141

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216

USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 141

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He has been especially interested in the educa- tional institutions of the county. For many years, perhaps almost since its organization, he has been a member of the board of trustees of the Washington Female Seminary, and since 1834 a member of the like board of Washington, now Washington and Jef- ferson College. At the annual meeting of the board of trustees of the college in 1879, that body addressed a letter to Mr. Ewing, which was printed in the public press and is here.copied :

1 The corporators of this, among the carliest railroads projected, and called the Washington and Pittsburgh Railroad Company, were Thomas H. Baird, T. M. T. McKennan, James Ruple, John K. Wilson, Isaac Leet, John Watson, and John HI. Ewing, of Washington County ; and Christopher Cowan, William Len, James Herriot, John Mckee, Francis Builey, and Ross Wilkins, of Allegheny County. (See Charter, Peun. L. 18C1, p. 145.)

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

" WASHINGTON, PA., July 1, 1879.

"HON. JOHN HI. EWING :

" Dear Sir,-Your fellow-members of the board of trustees of Wash- ington and Jefferson College desire you to accept their congratulations on this occasion. Your membership in the corporation of Washington College, extending from the annual commencement in 1834 to the union of the colleges in 1865, and thence coming down by unbroken continu- ance in the board of Washington and Jefferson to the present time, has completed a period of forty-five years. An active and influential con- nection with collegiate education, surpassing in length all precedent in the history of this institution, and seldom equaled by that of any other in our country, deserves emphatic recognition, both for its tokens of providential goodness to yourself and for the great service which it has enabled you to render.

"Your brethren of the board rejoice with you . in your continued health, in the signal preservation of your bodily and mental faculties, and in the multiplied mercies which gladden your age. You have by renson of strength been carried beyond the limits of fourscore years, yet by a seeming suspension of nature's decline your strength has not turned to labor and sorrow. The companions of your early manhood have been called away, or else have sunk into decrepitude, whilst your eye is not dim nor your natural force abated. We joyfully recognize as still abiding the same clear judgment, firm purpose, inflexible rectitude, and generous kindness from which the institution of our common care, as well as all other interests intrusted to your management, have through past vicissitudes so largely profited. And whilst we record our thanks in our own behalf, as well as in the behalf of our community and country, for the educational and other benefits secured in part by your vigilant energy, we cannot but hope also that for years to come you may be kept for like usefulness by the same heavenly care.

"We trust, honored sir, that you will accept this joint expression of personal regard and official recognition, the offering of which affords us so much- pleasure. Years of intercourse, under the struggles and so- licitudes incident to the guardianship of a college, great at once in its history and prospects, have led us more and more to appreciate the practical justness of your views, and the characteristic urbanity with which they have been maintained. The college and community, as well as ourselves, owe you a large debt of gratitude. Your earthly reward must come largely in the self-approval of conscious duty, and in the grateful remembrance of the rising generation. Long may you live to fulfill the trust of your high position with the energy which your juniors have both admired and envied, and may your life's evening be illuminated with a cloudless sunset.

" With high regard, we remain as ever your friends and well-wishers, "Charles C. Beatty, President ; Jas. I. Brownson, Vice-President; Thomas McKennan, Secretary ; A. T. Baird, Treasurer ; D. S. Wilson, Solicitor and Trustee. James Allison ; Jolin N. McDonald ; Samuel J. Wil- son; A. W. Acheson ; Robert Alexander; R. Sher- rard, Jr .; A. S. Richie ; Alexander Wilson; Alex- ander M. Gow; W. W. Smith ; T. D. Ewing; John C. Hervey; D. C. Houston; V. Harding; C. M. Reed, Sr."

Since 1852 Mr. Ewing has been a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church of Washington, enjoying the most pleasant relations with its pastor, Rev. J. I. Brownson, D.D., and the congregation ; indeed, in all relations of life he has been peculiarly fortunate and happy. One feature of his personal history is worthy of special mention.' In old colonial times, by the authority of law, "peace-makers" were regularly appointed to compose the differences of litigants, though not thus specially commissioned under any legal appointment ; perhaps no other individual has so often and so successfully intervened between pår- ties in legal contests and brought about satisfactorily the compromise of their controversies. Called in for the purpose by the friends of the parties, his excellent judgment and good sense and good humor have always

made his intervention acceptable. May his worth as a friend and his usefulness as a citizen remain with us yet for years to come.

MRS. SARAH R. HANNA.

Among the persons connected with that public life of Washington County that enters into its proper history is Mrs. Sarah R. Hanna. Besides being prominent because of her strong force of character, she was for many years conspicuous as the principal of the Washington Seminary for young ladies, which under her management grew into an institution of far more than local interest. It is proper, therefore, that in a history of the county there should be some account of her life and work.

Mrs. Hanna, whose maiden name was Sarah R. Foster, was born in Hebron, Washington Co., N. Y., Nov. 10, 1802. Her parents belonged to the class known as Scotch-Irish, a class that so largely pre- dominated in the settlement of this part of Western Pennsylvania. Their life was a plain one, but was marked by sound practical sense and thorough integ- rity. It was also adorned by earnest piety. Mrs. Hanna refers but sparingly to her home and friends, but if she does speak of them it is to mention their Christian influence and the part it had in fashioning and determining her life.

When quite young she engaged in teaching in the country schools. The work was hard and the com- pensation slight; it awakened in her a wish, however, to gain a better education. When this was suggested to her parents they did not agree to it. It was at a time when the education of girls was not so common as it is now. Her father thought she knew enough for the work she was then doing, and could not fore- see that she would ever do anything better. Some time later, however, when the death of her mother had changed the home life, and softened perhaps the disposition of the father, he made no objection to her proposals, and she therefore, in 1833, entered the ladies' seminary at Troy, N. Y.

This institution was under the care of Mrs. Emma Willard, who was one of the foremost educators of girls in the country. Miss Foster conceived a great admiration for her, and yielding herself implicitly to her care, felt the power of her strong nature in all her intellectual and moral life. In her later years she spoke affectionately of her, and, ranking her among the best women who had ever done a public service, was ready to pay her the tribute of a pupil's gratitude.

Having spent two years in Troy she sought a situ- ation as teacher, and was recommended by Mrs. Wil- lard to the trustees at Washington. They, however, had made an engagement with another lady, Mrs. Biddle, who is mentioned in the history of the sem- inary as one of its principals. Though thus inter- rupted, she persevered and came West, and stopping at Cadiz, Ohio, she there opened a school and offered

S. R. Fr. Har ville .

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her services to the public. They were to some extent appreciated. Her school grew in size and interest. Acting upon the impulse that guided her in so much of her subsequent life, she, at her own expense, added rooms to the school building, and still increasing the : making them successful, but they were failures. The money was lost and her expenditure was without re- turn. In giving advice to her pupils after she had been taught by that experience, she warned them against attempting more than one school at a time.

strength of the school, challenged the citizens to establish a seminary ; they hesitated, and finally de- clined.

Just then she received an invitation from the trustees of Washington Seminary to become its prin- cipal. This she accepted, and entered upon her duties in the spring of 1840. The school was not then pros- pering. It was in that condition of half hope and half despair that required unusual effort not only to make it successful, but to save it from utter failure. With characteristic energy she began her work. The conservative spirit of the community and trustees was strong, but she resolutely, yet with a woman's adroit- ness, began to oppose it. " Just let me try," she would say when some of her innovating plans were pre- sented, and the result would be that her point was gained and her wisdom justified.

As the excellence of the school increased its popu- larity extended. It grew to be known as one of the foremost institutions in the West. The names of Mrs. Hanna and the Washington Seminary were among the most respectable in connection with the cause of education. Though the town was a secluded one and difficult of access, pupils came from a great distance and from many directions, attracted by the reputation of the school and the character of the principal. Business in the town was slow ; its life was not ener- getic. The college did a good work, but it gathered little strength. No commercial enterprises attracted the eye of the public. The surrounding country, though picturesque in a varied scenery, was destitute of objects and places of interest such as excite local pride and the curiosity of strangers. But there were the seminary and Mrs. Hanna; they were always interesting. Governors, senators, Presidents, and all other visitors of distinction were taken to see them. It has been related of one of these guests, a then President of the United States, that he said Mrs. Hanna was the only woman whose strength of per- sonality made him lose his presence of mind.

In connection with her school in Washington she established and tried to manage two others of a sim- ilar kind, one in Xenia, Ohio, the other in Wheeling, Va. She devoted money and energy to the effort of

Mrs. Hanna was a large woman, of unusual physi- cal strength and of commanding presence. When in her prime she moved and acted like a queen. Her walk on the street indicated the strength of character that appeared in her conduct of the school. Earnest, resolute, energetic, noble, she bore herself as if she felt the worth of her womanhood and the importance of her mission. Kind to all, she yet demanded the respect due her character. For herself as a woman she asked nothing, but for herself as a person and as one doing the world's work she required all proper acknowledgment.

Intellectually she was strong, though her mind was not of that finer mould that shows itself at its best in work strictly literary. She did indeed pub- lish a book, but it was a compilation from the Scrip- tures rather than a product of her own. Several pamphlets printed under her name were of the same general character. She was not widely read, and in no department of study could she have been claimed as an authority. Her life was not given to effort in that direction. It is hardly possible, perhaps, to tell what she might have done in literature, for her life was so greatly occupied with matters of administration that she had little time for other pursuits to which she might have been adapted. As she was her strength was not in the more graceful accomplishments, literary or any other, but rather in that firmness of purpose, that strength of will, that determination, skill, sagacity, and consecration to a single aim that characterized her in all her work. She was less contemplative than active and enterprising. Her mind was of the heroic cast, and a gentleman who knew her intimately was accustomed to say that he often thought her admir- ably fitted for commanding an army and conducting a campaign.

In 1848, Miss Foster was married to the Rev. In religious character Mrs. Hanna was strong in Thomas Hanna, pastor of the Associate Church at ; her convictions and devout in her observances. Hav- Cadiz, Ohio. He, subsequent to the marriage, changed ing been reared in the Associate Church, she remained a member of it till it became the United Presbyterian through union with the Associate Reformed. She is still in the same communion. It was a maxim with her that her charity to other churches was best ex- hibited by loyalty to her own. While, therefore, strictly true to her profession, she sacredly respected the convictions of all others, and in private life and in her public capacity she gained the respect of all who knew her for intelligent fidelity to her faith. his residence to Washington, bringing with him his five children, where he was chosen pastor of a con- gregation in the Associate Church, of which church also Mrs. Hanna was a member. The girls of the family enjoyed the advantages of the school, some of them growing into useful teachers afterwards, while Mr. Hanna, by appointment of the trustees, officiated as superintendent. The motherly relation thus estab- lished was of the pleasantest kind, and was marked, as respected the conduct of Mrs. Hanna, by many acts of special generosity.

Mrs. Hanna's influence in the community was 1 greater perhaps than that of any other citizen. This

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was due not solely or chiefly to her position, but to her character and strong personal force. She made her- self felt upon the people. She made her home in the seminary a place of social power as well as of mental instruction. It was the centre of advanced social influences. Her hospitality was generous and dignified. She understood the moral and practical benefits of an attractive table, and how to make her guests feel amidst liberal festive enjoyments the in- finitely greater pleasure of cultivated social inter- course and well-bred courtesy. It was only natural that having such a character as she possessed she should surround herself with teachers sharing her spirit, and thus increase the influence that made the seminary for many years a place of social power for all the community.

But her life was felt in other ways. In all her dealings she was fair and open, up to the point of magnanimity. Nothing so excited her disgust .as personal meanness. In her business transactions she sought to teach a lesson in good morals. She wished people to learn how to be both honest and generous. Her whole life was a protest against pettiness. A gentleman who knew her habits in this respect always failed in language when he came to speak of them, but looking off to the horizon and with a full sweep of his arms expressed his admiration. It was by putting this disposition into her work that she succeeded in accomplishing so many things in a com- munity that responded but slowly to appeals in be- half of enterprise. When she advised street-cross- ings, she set the example of putting down some herself. When she sought the establishment of the cemetery, she enforced her counsel by liberal help. When the congregation of which she was a member hesitated about building a new house of worship, she urged it on and was foremost with her contributions. Few people, perhaps, realize the extent to which her influence was given in the earlier days of the town to its improvement; fewer still appreciate the prac- tical aid she gave to all its enterprises.

Mrs. Hanna's graduates are living in all parts of the country, and many of them are missionaries in foreign lands, but no matter where they reside they remember her with the affection of children. "Upon all of them she left the impression of her noble life.

As time went on the infirmities of age gathered upon her, and though very strongly attached to her school and its work, on the 28th of March, 1874, she resigned her position as principal. When released from her duties she retired to private life. The rest to which she was so well entitled came almost too late, for broken health has caused her much suffer- ing. Without being burdened by its care she has interested herself in establishing missionary societies in the church in which she has her membership, and has thus been instrumental in beginning a work that promises to be widely useful. Taken all in all she has been one of the most useful and conspicuous of

Washington County's citizens, and the undimmed honor with which her age is crowned is a becoming tribute to a well-spent life.

HON. WILLIAM HOPKINS.

The history of Washington County would not be at all complete without a sketch of the life of William Hopkins.

It was well said by the Rev. Dr. Brownson that "in sympathy, purpose, activity, and achievement he be- longed to Washington County. Few, if any, of her sons have commenced in an earlier or continued to a later age in her public service. No one of her citi- zens, it is believed, has given more years to the ser- vice of his native State."

The grandfather of our subject, John Hopkins, with his brother Richard, came from Scotland and settled in Maryland. John married Ellen Wallace; daughter of Howard Wallace, of his adopted State. From this union sprung eleven children. One of the sons, Thomas Hopkins, was a major in the Revolutionary army. Subsequently he removed to Washington County, Pa. He was a member of the Legislature when it met in Lancaster.

Maj. Thomas Hopkins married Catherine Hurd, who was born near Londonderry, Ireland. Catherine was brought to America by her father when she was about fifteen years of age, and she was married to Thomas Hopkins about a year afterwards. She was a woman of strong character, of good education, of great ami- ability, and of renowned piety. For many years she was an active and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

To this couple were born ten children. The fifth, William Hopkins, was born in Washington County on Sept. 17, A.D. 1804. Although he received only such education as the schools of that day afforded, he was a reader, an observer, and a thinker, as his career fully showed. After leaving school he learned the trade of a tanner, and carried on that business for some years successfully.

Col. Hopkins' public career commenced at the early age of twenty-three. In 1827 he was commissioned by Governor Shultze as justice of the peace for Pike Run township. "In that comparatively humble office his capacity for public employment soon attracted the attention of his fellow-citizens."

In 1831 he was elected county auditor.

In 1834 he was elected to the State Legislature, and was re-elected in 1836, 1837, 1838, and 1839. He was Speaker of the House in 1838, 1839, and 1840. He was first chosen Speaker of the House at a time of the greatest public excitement, known as the Buckshot war. Military surrounded the State-house, and a bloody collision was imminent. Referring to Col. Hopkins in this connection, Hon. George W. Wood- ward, in the Constitutional Convention, said, " You, sir, and most of the members of the Convention, will

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refer to a period in our civil and political history of great interest, when but for the wisdom and firmness of this man, our Commonwealth might easily have been involved in the horrors of civil war. I have always felt that the public owed more to those quali- ties of that individual man for averting those calami- ties than to all other influences which were in opera- tion at the time."

In 1840, Col. Hopkins was appointed commissioner of the Cumberland road by Governor Porter, which of- fice he filled until 1842, when he was called into Gover- nor Porter's cabinet as Secretary of the Land-office.

Subsequently Col. Hopkins held the office of com- missioner of the Cumberland road for five years.

In 1844, and again in 1848, Col. Hopkins was a candidate for Congress. Although there was a large Whig majority in the district, Col. Hopkins was so popular that he came within fifty-eight votes of being elected in 1848.

In 1852 he was elected Canal Commissioner, and served in that capacity for three years with that abil- ity and integrity for which he was distinguished.

When not employed in more enlarged spheres of usefulness, Col. Hopkins was always interested and | active in local affairs, and never refused his services to his friends and neighbors. In 1849 he served as a mem- ber of the Borough Council of Washington. In 1850 he was elected burgess. In 1857 and 1858 he served as assistant burgess. In his later years he was engaged in the banking business. He was deeply interested in the public school system, and served as school di- rector.

In 1861 he was again elected to the House of Rep- resentatives, and was re-elected in 1862. In 1863 he was elected to the State Senate, and for three years was recognized as a leader in that body. He was through life an ardent Democrat.

In 1872, Col. Hopkins was elected a member of the convention to revise the Constitution of Pennsylva- nia. He was chairman of the committee to revise and report amendments to the declaration of rights. It was he who penned the preamble, which was unanimously adopted, in these words : " We, the peo- ple of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, recogniz- ing the sovereignty of God and humbly invoking His guidance in our future destiny, ordain and establish this Constitution for its government."

While a member of the Constitutional Convention, Col. Hopkins started for a short visit to his home. On the cars he contracted a severe cold, which settled upon his lungs in the form of pneumonia, of which he died on March 5, 1873, after only a few days' illness.

The marriage of Mr. Hopkins at so early an age proved an exceedingly happy one. No household was ever presided over by a more affectionate wife and devoted mother. Much of Col. Hopkins' success in life was due to the fact that he had a wife " whose price was above rubies."

There were three children born to this couple. An- drew, the eldest, for many years was an able and promi- nent journalist, having edited at different times papers in Washington, Pa., in Pittsburgh, Erie, Wil- liamsport, and Harrisburg. The only daughter, Kate M., is at home, the solace of her aged mother. James Herron, the youngest son, is sketched elsewhere in this volume.

The most marked traits of the character of Col. Hopkins are thus grouped by Rev. J. I. Brownson, D.D .: "Such a man could not but be extensively known and respected. In fact his mental force, dis- criminating judgment, urbanity, integrity, and kind- ness, joined with his facility as a writer and speaker, rising above the defects of early education, were a continual pledge of public favor and success. He was very firm in adhering to his own views, but consider- ate also of the opinions and feelings of others. In co-operation or in opposition he commanded respect. In private life, also, it was impossible not to realize the power of his politeness and his delicate regard to the sensibilities of all about him. His fondness for children seemed to increase with his years, showing itself both in a desire for their enjoyment and for their good. His fine business capacity was often taxed for the benefit of others, especially widows and orphans. In the hallowed circle of home he was the central object of uncommon reverence and affection, answering to his own peculiar love and tenderness within his domestic relations. But better than all is the witness he leaves behind him in his confession and life as a disciple of Christ, and in the repose of his heart upon the divine promises when called down into the valley and shadow of death."

Another said of him, "His judgment was remarka- bly sound and accurate, and, with his inflexible honesty, made him in public a leader of men, and in private life a trusted and confidential adviser and counselor. Few men in this county, or indeed in the State, have managed so many trusts, public and pri- vate, as were committed to him during his long and eventful life, and still fewer have discharged so many trusts so skillfully, so judiciously, and so successfully."

In the Constitutional Convention Judge Black, re- ferring to the death of Mr. Hopkins, said,-

" I do not underestimate the very high qualities of my surviving associates in this body. I do not think, indeed, that any man here appreciates their various abilities and virtues more than I do; but I devoutly believe that there is no man in this convention that we could not have spared better than him who has gone.

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History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 141

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1216

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216