History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 121

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372

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formed Church, and Rev. Dr. Robert Cath- cart, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, paid high tribute to his worth and influ- ence as a man and a christian who had uti- lized his best efforts to promote the public good.

PHILIP ALBRIGHT SMALL, senior member of the firm of P. A. & S. Small, from 1831 to 1875, was born at his paternal home on North George Street, March 6, 1797. During his boyhood he attended the York County Academy, a flourishing and popular institution in which Thaddeus Ste- vens, afterwards the great American states- man, was then one of the instructors. Philip Small improved rapidly in his studies and as a school boy became a leader among his classmates. He had inherited strong intel- lectual endowments, and early in life dis -- played those marked characteristics which made him a leader among the business men, not only in the borough of York but throughout southern Pennsylvania and the adjoining state of Maryland. He entered business as a boy in the store of Penrose Robinson, a prominent merchant of York, and at the age of seventeen became an em- ployee in the mercantile firm of Schultz, Ko- nig & Company, in the city of Baltimore. Taking advantage of all the opportunities afforded a young man in a business house

George Small continued to be active and influential in the affairs of the community in which he lived during his whole career. In 1808 and during the succeeding thirty years he was one of the trustees of the York County Academy. Early in life he was in- terested in music, was secretary and later president of the Orphean Society, was leader of the choir of the German Reformed Church of which he was a member, super- intendent of the Sunday School and also filled the responsible position of treasurer of the German Reformed Synod of the United States. He attended to his business affairs until the end of his life. On Sep- tember 4, 1838, he rode on horseback to his mill in Springgarden Township. On his way home, he was taken suddenly ill, of a large city, Philip A. Small, early in life, and shortly after dismounting from his learned from his superiors the manner in which a prosperous business was conducted. horse died along the roadside. His death resulted from apoplexy. His wife died At the age of twenty-two he became a partner in the wholesale and retail business of his father, George Small. He was alert and enterprising and was a useful assistant to his honored father in developing the mer- cantile business of George Small & Son. The diversified interests of his father at this time required the assistance of a compe- tent partner. . Philip A. Small, both by training and inheritance, was fully equipped to increase and expand a trade of what was destined to become the leading business house in the city of York. He was faithful and diligent in the performance of his duty and displayed unusual aptitude for business, possessed excellent judgment, and beyond all, was careful and judicious in all his trans- actions. soon afterward. They were both buried in the German Reformed churchyard on North Beaver Street and later were re- moved to the lot of their son, Dr. Alex- ander Small, in Prospect Hill Cemetery. George Small was a man of great strength and force of character. He was known throughout southern Pennsylvania and Maryland, as a man of most exemplary busi- ness rectitude. His genial nature and af- fable manners, as well as the deep interest he showed in the welfare of his fellow men, made George Small universally popular in the community where he had exerted a helpful influence through a long and pros- perous career. The eulogies pronounced by his pastor, Rev. John Cares, of the Re-

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

The fertile valleys of York County have always been widely known for the produc- tion of a fine quality of wheat, rye and corn. This firm began to purchase these cereals soon after the erection of their first mill, a short distance southeast of York. Fol- lowing the erection of this, a large flouring mill was built on the Codorus, northeast of York, the Myers mill, farther down the the stream, the Hartman mill, south of York, and finally the large four story flour- ing mill at Goldsboro. The Loucks mill, north of York, for a long time was operated by this firm. All of these mills were fitted up with the most improved machinery for the production of the best flour that could be made. For many years the firm of P. A. & S. Small purchased one-third of all the wheat grown in York County, and when the grain trade was at its height, a line of wagons, often waiting to be unloaded, ex- tended from Centre Square down George . Street to the railroad. The flour manufac- tured at their mills found a ready sale. Through the ingenuity of Philip A. Small, a large quantity of their flour was shipped to London, England. Later their trade was extended to Brazil, where as many as 90,000 barrels of flour were shipped yearly.

In 1843 the firm of P. A. & S. Small built the Sarah Furnace, in Harford County, Maryland, and also the Manor Furnace in York County.

When the firm of P. A. & S. Small was tensive business was done here in the man- founded in 1833, Philip A. Small became its ufacture of pig iron for a period of thirty head. His capacity and training eminently years. fitted him for the position. Through his The successful business experience of Philip A. Small called into requisition his talents and ability in the promotion of va- rious corporations and other interests. For a period of forty-five years he was a trustee of the York County Academy and served as president of the board. Being in- terested in public internal improvements, he served as director of different turnpike com- panies through York County, and in 1835 was one of the incorporators of the York & Wrightsville railroad which, when com- shrewdness and foresight, the mercantile establishment of P. A. & S. Small extended its trade, enlarged its business and became the leading firm in the purchase of grain, manufacture of flour and in the wholesale and retail hardware and grocery business. Their patrons, without the employment of traveling salesmen, extended over more than a dozen counties in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The amount of goods and pro- ducts, including their iron industries in Maryland, equalled one-sixth of all the pleted, formed a transportation line from freight moved over the Northern Central Railroad between Baltimore and York.

Philadelphia through Lancaster and York to Baltimore. He was a director in the York County Bank, was chosen its presi- dent in 1858, and was the financial head of that institution from that date until 1875. It was during his presidency that the bank gave up its state charter, accepting the pro- visions of the act of Congress of 1863, and became the York County National Bank. Through his wise management it was a suc- cessful institution. He was also president of the York Gas Company.

During his whole life he was interested in agriculture, frequently visiting the nu- merous farms owned by the firm. He was one of the promoters of the York County Agricultural Society in 1853, and for a long period was one of the most active members of its board of managers.

Throughout his entire career Philip A. Small showed remarkable capacity for the transaction of business. He possessed ex- cellent judgment, superior executive abili- ties and was one of the most successful men York County has produced. He was fre- quently consulted by merchants and busi- ness men of York, and was universally re- spected by his fellowmen. For half a cen- tury his name was a synonym for honor and integrity.

Philip A. Small was married September 25, 1822, to Sarah Latimer, daughter of William Latimer, of Philadelphia, who was a lineal descendant of William Latimer, brother of Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Wor- cester, England. The children of Philip A. Small and Sarah Latimer, were Anna Ma- ria, George, Sarah Bartow, Cassandra Mor-

About 1847 they joined the Pattersons, of Baltimore, in erecting the Ashland Fur- naces near Cockeysville, Maryland. An ex- ris, William Latimer, Elizabeth Latimer,

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THE CITY OF YORK

Susan David, Samuel, Philip Albright and terprises. Samuel Small was the constant Mary Campbell Small.

Philip A. Small died April 3, 1875, and his eldest son, George, succeeded him as head of the firm of P. A. & S. Small. His wife died November 16, 1876. During nearly the whole of their married life Mr. and Mrs. Small resided in a mansion at the and money matters in the community of northwest corner of Market and Duke which he was a leading citizen. Streets.

associate and adviser of his brother in all the efforts put forth by their mercantile house, the large milling business and the purchase and sale of grain. As a financier he was shrewd, cautious and far-sighted and became an authority on business operations

Small's store became a familiar name to SAMUEL SMALL, Sr., the second son all the citizens of York and the country for of George and Anna Maria Albright Small, a distance of thirty miles in every direc- and a member of the firm of P. A. & S. tion. Besides being a center of trade, it was Small for a period of sixty years, was born a place where farmers and merchants met at York, July 25, 1799. His boyhood was for the transaction of business. Owing to spent in his native town and for several the financial credit of the firm and its suc- cess in all its efforts, the counting room of P. A. & S. Small became a depository for many thousands of dollars placed there on years he was a diligent student at the York County Academy. At the age of sixteen he began his business career with the firm of Schultz, Konig & Company, large whole- call by the farmers of York County. After sale merchants in the city of Baltimore. By the death of Philip A. Small in 1875, Samuel diligence and close application he soon dis- Small, Sr., continued a member of the firm played unusual talent for the mercantile until his death in 1885.

business. In 1818 Samuel Small opened a branch store at Pittsburg which then had a

In the management of Manor Furnace in York County, Sarah Furnace, in Harford population of 10,000. The trade along the County, and the large iron industry of the Ohio Valley was developing and his experi- ence as one of the wholesale merchants in the Iron City was a success. A year later he was directed to open a branch store at Cincinnati. This was before the time of railroads and successful steamboat naviga- tion ; so with flat boats he conveyed his mer- chandise down the Ohio to the place of des- tination. He found a ready sale for his goods to retail merchants in new towns sit- uated in the Ohio Valley. Ashland furnaces near Baltimore, Samuel Small took an important part, showing marked ability in conducting their business through all the trying periods of financial depression. After the death of William Coleman, the great iron master of Lebanon County, Samuel Small became the guardian of his two minor children, heirs to a large estate. This required him to look after the interests of the iron deposits and furnaces at Cornwall. He displayed marked executive ability in directing this business and when the children reached their majority a few years later, their inheritance had increased nearly one-half million dollars.

In 1822, after having acquired an experi- ence valuable to a young man in the mer- cantile business, he returned to York, formed a partnership with George S. Morris and engaged in the dry goods trade on Mar- In his early manhood Samuel Small was treasurer of the Codorus Navigation Com- pany. In 1853 he was a director of the first building association in town, and the same year became a director of the York and Cumberland Railroad Company, a line extending from York to Harrisburg and now a part of the Northern Central Rail- way. He served as a director of the York Water Company and for a number of years its president. ket Street, three doors east of Centre Square. Two years later he withdrew from this business and in 1825 became a partner in the firm of George Small & Sons. In 1833, with his brother, Philip A. Small, he founded the mercantile establishment of P. A. & S. Small. During the succeeding years of his long and successful life, Samuel Small devoted his best energies to develop- ing and expanding the business of this firm, both of whose members had inherited re- Samuel Small filled a conspicuous place markable capacity for carrying out the de- in the history of York. He was always rec- tails and managing the affairs of large en- ognized as a successful merchant and finan-

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

cier, but was best known to the community matics and the ancient and modern classics. for his benevolence. In 1865 he established a home for the orphans of soldiers and, with the co-operation of Charles A. Morris, erected a building on East Philadelphia Street for this institution, later he built a modern school building. At his death he gave to it $8,000, and his widow $30,000. He was always charitable to the poor and was_ a liberal contributor to the York Be- nevolent Society which he established and which distributed needed support among the worthy poor. Feeling the need of a hospital in his native town, he purchased the grounds and buildings and founded that institution in 1879. For many years he was a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church. The York Collegiate Institute is a monument to his philanthropy. This in- stitution he founded in the year 1873 and endowed it liberally. His widow also be- queathed $30,000 to its support.

Mr. Small was married March 26, 1834, to Isabella, daughter of David Cassat, for thirty years, a leader of the York County bar, and a cousin to the late A. J. Cassatt, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. They had no children. During fifty years of their married life they resided in his mansion at the northeast corner of Market and Duke Streets. Mr. Small died July 14, 1885. During the time of the fu- neral service, as a high tribute to his mem- ory, all the stores and factories of York were closed for several hours. Mr. Small possessed a kindly disposition. He was universally beloved by all with whom he had social or business relations. His ster- ling integrity, high sense of honor and dig- nified bearing left an impress upon the com- munity which has had a lasting effect.

Mrs. Small survived her husband until January 17, 1890. She was a woman of rare intellectual accomplishments and possessed many excellent qualities of mind and heart. In her will she bequeathed large sums to charitable and benevolent institutions.

GEORGE SMALL, the eldest son o Philip and Sarah Latimer Small, and from 1885 to 1891 the head of the firm of P. A. & S. Small, was born at York, December 13, 1825. In his boyhood days George Small displayed unusual mental and physical vigor. As a student at the York County Academy he excelled in the study of mathe-

When he reached the age of eighteen he de- cided to follow a mercantile life, and spent four years in the store of his father and uncle. In 1846, at the age of twenty-two, he went to Baltimore, where he opened a commission house for the sale of grain, flour and other products. He soon controlled a large trade. The shipping interests of Bal- timore at this time were developing rapidly, and George Small, taking advantage of this opportunity, entered into commercial rela- tions with South America. He prospered in this effort and was soon enabled to annually ship to the ports of Brazil ninety thousand barrels of flour, made at the Codorus mills, near York. Owing to the excellent quality of the flour the trade of his firm with South America has been continued with unabated success. Mr. Small succeeded his father, P. A. Small, as president of the Ashland Iron Company in 1875 and became the di- recting spirit in the management of its busi- ness. He continued in this position until his death, during which time vast quanti- ties of iron were produced. Being favor- ably known as a man of remarkable capacity he was called upon to fill other positions of trust and responsibility. For many years he was a director of the Northern Central Railroad Company, the Baltimore and Poto- mac Railroad Company, Baltimore City Passenger Railroad Company, Consolidated Gas Company, of Baltimore, Pennsylvania Steel Company and the First National Bank of Baltimore. As a director in these large corporations, George S Small exerted a strong influence and he became one of the most conspicuous men in the city of Balti- more, widely known for his superior judg- ment and his comprehensive grasp of the details in the management of large busi- ness operations.

George Small was married on January 13, 1852, to Mary Grant Jackson, daughter of Colonel William A. Jackson, of Fredericks- burg, Virginia, whose ancestors emigrated from England in 1730. They resided in a stately home at Mt. Vernon Place, Balti- more, where they shared a large hospitality. At this residence Mr. and Mrs. Small enter- tained many noted people, among them President Grant, who several times was an honored guest. They also owned a resi- dence a short distance south of York, which

Quale

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THE CITY OF YORK

was called Grantley and where they spent their summer months. Mr. Small died at his home in Baltimore April 11, 1891. Mrs. Small died in March, 1907. They had no children.

WILLIAM LATIMER SMALL, second son of Philip A. and Sarah Latimer Small, was born October 30, 1830. He obtained a liberal education and throughout his whole life was a devoted student of books. Dur- ing his early manhood he was employed in the counting house of his father and uncle, and in 1862 joined the firm of P. A. & S. Small, of which he was an honored member the remainder of his active business career. Mr. Small had inherited the executive abil- ity and far-sightedness of his father whom he succeeded in the management of the ex- tensive milling industry and the numerous farms owned by the firm. He was a man of vigor and enterprise, ready to take advan- tage of every opportunity to advance the interests of the firm, and the material de- velopment of his native town. He travelled extensively and was widely known among the business men of Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Having acquired a broad and compre- hensive knowledge of the business affairs of the community, his counsel and advice were called into requisition on many occa- sions, and his ability as a financier caused him to be chosen as a director of numerous corporations. He served as a director of the York National Bank, the oldest financial institution of the City, the First National Bank, the York Gas Company, the York Water Company, the Columbia Water Company and Spring Garden Plank Road Company. Recognizing the necessity of increased railroad facilities as a prerequisite to municipal growth and progress, he as- sisted in the organization of the York and Peach Bottom Railroad, now the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad; and was one of the incorporators of the Baltimore and Har- risburg Railroad Company whereby the Western Maryland opened new fields and added new markets to local manufac- turers. Being deeply interested in the cause of education he served for a long period as a trustee in the York County Academy. In1 1873, when his uncle, Samuel Small, founded the York Collegiate Institute, he became a member of the Board of Trustees, and lent

his best efforts to the support of that insti- tution. After the building had been de- stroyed by fire in 1888, together with his brothers George and Samuel Small, he erected the present building, more imposing and better equipped than its predecessor. Mr. Small was one of the founders of the York hospital, and was a liberal contributor to the Union Missions in his native city. For a period of forty years he was a vestry- man in St. John's Episcopal Church, of which he was a devout member. For sev- eral years he conducted a men's Bible class at Bethany Chapel, East York.

Mr. Small was first married June 19, 1860, at Grace Church, Baltimore, to Mary S. Wilson, daughter of William Wilson. Mrs. Small died in 1874. They had three chil- dren, Philip Albright, Anna Maria, wife of John C. Schmidt, and Mary D. Small. Mr. Small was married second to Kate M. Reilly, of Winchester, Virginia. Their children are George, Katharine Latimer, married to Redmond C. Stewart, of Balti- more, and Cassandra Morris Blair Small. Mr. Small resided on the northwest corner of Philadelphia and George Streets, and spent the summer months at Grantley. He died February 27, 1903.

SAMUEL SMALL, third son of Philip A. and Sarah Latimer Small has been the head of the firm of P. A. & S. Small since I903. He obtained his education at the York County Academy and became a mem- ber of the firm July 22, 1866. Since that time he has devoted his energy and ability to the financial and business interests of P. A. & S. Small. He has also served as pres- ident of the Spring Garden Plank Road Company, president of the York Benevolent Society and Children's Home, vice president of the York County Agricultural Society and of the Pennsylvania Bible Society ; trus- tee of the State Hospital for the Insane at Harrisburg, life member of the Pennsyl- vania Historical Society, and life member of the Historical Society of York County. In 1888, in association with his two elder brothers, Mr. Small erected the present York Collegiate Institute, of which he is president of the board of trustees. He has given much time and attention to this suc- cessful institution of learning which was founded by his uncle in 1873.

In 1859 Mr. Small was married in the

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

First Presbyterian Church at York, to with them religious teachings which they Frances Ann Richardson and resides at had received in the Fatherland. By the middle of 1733 a large number of German Lutherans had taken up lands in the Co- dorus and Kreutz Creek valleys. After clearing strips of land they built log cabins for their future homes. 128 East Market Street. He and his fam- ily spend the summer months at Sinking Springs, a delightful residence a few miles east of York. Mr. and Mrs. Small have had seven children: Sarah Latimer, married to Walter M. Franklin, a member of the Lan- caster County bar; Mary Richardson, mar- ried to George S. Schmidt, member of the York County bar; Isabel Cassatt, George, deceased, Frank Morris, Samuel and Helena Bartow Small.

In 1905 the varied interests of the firm of P. A. & S. Small were incorporated. The large wholesale mercantile interests have since been operated as the P. A. & S. Small Company, of which Samuel Small is presi- dent ; P. A. Small, vice president; Samuel Small, Jr., treasurer; George Small, secre- tary. The P. A. & S. Small Land Company was incorporated at the same time with Samuel Small, president ; P. A. Small, vice president ; Samuel Small, Jr., treasurer ; George Small, secretary. The P. A. & S. Small Milling Company was incorporated Shortly thereafter he visited the with Samuel Small, president; Samuel Christ German Lutherans west of the Susquehanna and laid plans for Small, Jr., vice president ; P. A. Small, sec- retary and treasurer. In 1906 a large and commodious five-story business block was erected on North George Street for their' Evangelical Lutheran Church on the Co- wholesale mercantile house.

CHAPTER XXXL. RELIGIOUS HISTORY.

Lutheran-Reformed-Moravian-Episco- pal-Friends -Presbyterian-Catholic- Methodist-United Brethren in Christ- United Evangelical-Baptist Churches- Hebrew Congregations-Y. M. C. A.

The area now embraced in York County and the region west of it had not been pur- chased by the heirs of William Penn until a conference was held with the Indians at Philadelphia in 1736. Permits had been granted, however, for settlers to cross the Susquehanna as early as 1733. Soon after this a large number of Germans, who had recently crossed the ocean from the Pala- tinate, settled west of the Susquehanna on the fertile lands, extending southward from the site of Wrightsville to Hanover and be- yond. These people were Lutherans, Ger- man Reformed and Moravians who brought

In September, 1733, they were visited by John Casper Stoever, a missionary of the Lutheran Church, born at Frankenburg, Germany, in 1707. He had landed in Philadelphia in 1728 and spent one year preaching in Montgomery County. In 1730 he settled at New Holland, northeast of Lancaster, and during the next few years organized several Lutheran churches in Berks, Lancaster and Lebanon counties. In 1731 Pastor Stoever crossed the present area of York County and held religious ser- vices among the Lutherans and baptized several persons then settled in the vicinity of Hanover under Maryland grants. He was ordained in Montgomery County dur- ing the early part of 1733 by Rev. John Christian Schultz.

Lutheran Church. the organization of what be- came known to history as the dorus, later Christ Lutheran Church. The organization took place eight years before the town of York had been founded. Re- ligious services were at first held in the houses of members by Pastor Stoever, who visited them about once a month from his home thirty miles away. Meantime, he was the pastor of several other congrega- tions east of the Susquehanna. The names of persons baptized at this early date by John Casper Stoever will be found on page 144. Soon after Pastor Stoever arrived in 1733 the members of the new congregation raised money for the purchase of a record book. The first page of this historic book, now in the possession of the vestry of Christ Lutheran Church at York, contains the fol- lowing names of the contributors for this book, together with the dates of the arrival of some of them in this country :

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History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 121

Author: Prowell, George R. Publication date: 1907 Publisher: J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1372

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372