USA > Pennsylvania > Lancaster County > Portrait and biographical record of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88
1
undoubtedly one of the most popular men of his party in Lancaster. In educational work our sub- ject has always been decidedly active, and to his zeal was due in a large measure the erection of the line new buildings for school purposes, one at the corner of Duke and German Streets, and the other at the corner of Mulberry and Vine Streets. In many local enterprises he is interested, being an attorney for the Electric Light Company, in which he is a Director, and has lent his substantial influ- ence to the development of everything pertaining to the betterment of the city. Fraternally he is a member of the Royal Arcanum and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Of the latter he is Past Master, and has served as representative to the Grand Lodge. He wasappointed by the State Su- perintendent in 1893 to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Millersville Normal, his Alma Mater.
On the 6th of January, 1874, Judge MeMullen was united in marriage with Miss Sue E. Lightner, who was born in Lancaster County. Mrs. McMul- len's father, Peter E. Lightner, was a well-to-do farmer of Lancaster Township, and died in 1868. Two children have come to bless the home of the Judge and his estimable wife, their names in order of birth being Mary and Emily. They are mem- bers of St. James' Episcopal Church, in which Judge MeMullen has been Treasurer for fifteen years, and Vestryman for four years.
March 2, 1892, Judge MeMullen was appointed to succeed .Judge Patterson, who had recently died. lle acted in that office until the next general election, being appointed by Governor Pattison, S AMUEL EVANS, one of the old settlers of Lancaster County, whose home is in the borough of Columbia, was a valiant soldier during the late war. Ile is a very well read and educated man, and has served in various official capacities to the satisfaction of all concerned. Dur- ing the Greeley campaign he was editor of the Columbia Democrat, and has at various times con- tributed interesting articles to the daily and weekly and was Judge of the Court of Common Pleas un- til January, 1893. An active partisan and sup- porter of the Democracy, he has taken a leading share in its local work, and was at one time can- didate for District Attorney on the ticket, and though not elected, reduced the Republican major- ity from nearly nine thousand to three thousand votes. In the fall of 1892 he came within twenty- five hundred votes of being elected Judge, and is | papers of the county and state. When the history
157
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
of Lancaster County was published in 1881, bis services were brought into requisition in the bis- torical department, and altogether he has accom- plished a great deal in a literary way.
The birth of Samnel Evans occurred January 20, 1823, at the "Mansion Farm" in Donegal Town- ship, his parents being Alexander Lowrey and Hannah (Slaymaker) Evans, the latter a daughter of the late Hon. Amos Slaymaker. In tracing the ancestry of the Evans family, we find that one John came with his parents from Wales to Phila- delphia about 1695, and located in a Welsh settle- ment in Newcastle County, Del., near Wilming- ton. Later he removed to Chester County, and in London Britain Township, took up a large tract of land comprising about one thousand aeres, which was surveyed to ex-Governor Evans, of Pennsyl vania. Ilere he located and built a flour and saw - mill. In 1700 his son Jolin was born, who on ar- riving at maturity married a neighbor's daughter, Miss Jane Howell, in 1722. In 1716 his father pur- chased a farm of four hundred acres on White Clay Creek, where he opened up a mill, and afterward bought land at Newark, where he died.
Evan Evans, the great-grandfather of our sub- ject, was a son of John and Jane Evans, born in 1732, and a brother of John Evans, third Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Evan Evans, the great-grandfather, married Margaret Nivan; they had ten children. He died in 1794, having previously been a counselor of Chester County, a member of the Legislature, and a mem- ber of the Convention at Carpenter's Ilall, Phila- delphia, in June, 1776. At the opening of the War for Independence he organized the Second Battalion, which he commanded at the battle of Brandywine, and in the same battle the great- grandfather of our subject on the maternal side, Colonel Lowrey, commanded the Third Battalion from Lancaster Connty. Ilis Grandfather Sam- uel Evans was born in 1758, and during the Revolutionary War was Captain in his father's battalion, afterwards served in the Legislature and was appointed by Governor Mifflin as Associate Judge of Chester County. He was a very promi- nent and wealthy man, active in politics, and had a collegiate education. He belonged first to the
Baptist Church and later became a Presbyterian. In April, 1793, he married Frances Lowrey, who was born February 1, 1775, Of their seven children, Jane married Ilon. Jasper Slaymaker, a prominent citizen of Laneaster; Evan R. wedded a daughter of Mr. Collins, whose daughter became the wife of Assistant Attorney-General Alfred McCalmont, under President Buchanan in Washington, D. C.
Alexander L. Evans, the father of our subject, was born in March, 1793, had college advantages and was a strong Federalist. He gave a great deal of attention to legal work, and at one time was in the volunteer service as a member of the militia. He was married, but only had one child, the sub- ject of this biography. The death of the father occurred July 1, 1839, when he was yet in the prime of life. Ann married Mr. MeElderry, of Baltimore. Margaret married Jacob Zell, and Elizabeth married Mr. Doogewerff, of Baltimore.
Our subject attended the public schools and academy at Marietta until the spring of 1838, wlien he commeneed learning the carpenter's trade, and became a master builder. Later he conducted a lumber trade in Colombia, and was also a contrac- tor for many years. In 1853 he was elected Jus- tice of the Peace, and four years later was elected Clerk of the Quarter Sessions of Lancaster County. In the spring of 1861 he enlisted in Company K, Fifth Pennsylvania Reserves, as a private, but was soon promoted to the position of First Lieutenant and Quartermaster of his regiment. Afterwards he was Acting Quartermaster and Assistant Com- missary of the brigade, serving as such for a year and a-half, and during a portion of the time hav- ing charge of that department in the entire divis- ion. In the spring of 1864 he was First Lieuten- ant and Commissary, having charge of one thou- sand head of cattle, and issuing supplies to de- tachments of troops at General Grant's and Gen- eral Warren's headquarters, and to destitute citi- zens in Virginia.
At the end of his three years' term our subject was mustered out and returned to his home in Col- umbia. He had taken part in the battles in which the Pennsylvania Reserves were engaged from Dranesville, Va., to Bethsada Church, Va., June 30, 1864, and after his return to Pennsylvania sent a
158
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
substitute, and also one for his wife, to serve dur- ing the remainder of the eonthet, and paid these men out of his own pocket voluntarily. He then took up his duties as Justice of the Peace, and has served ever since as such, for a period of about thirty-six years altogether. In addition to this he has been Clerk of Quarter Session Court, and has served in other offices, doing good work for the Republican party, with which he has been identi- fied since its organization.
1
Mr. Evans has traveled to a considerable extent and especially in the west. Ile belongs to the His- torical Society of Philadelphia, to the Sons of the Revolution and to the Society of Seoteh-Irish Americans. December 26, 1857, Mr. Evans wed- ded Mary, daughter of Benjamin W. Shoch, who resided in York, and was a successful teacher. Of this marriage were born three children: Fan- nie, deceased; Samuel, who died at the age of three years, and Lilian S., who was Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution, belonging to Donegal Chapter. She is much interested in the work of the society, and represented the chap- ter to which she belongs in the convention which convened at Altoona, Pa., in 1894. and at the Na- tional Congress of the society which met in Wash- ington, D. C., in 1893 and 1894. Mrs. Evans is a lady of superior education, and is the author of several articles and writings, both prose and poetry, possessing considerable merit.
ILLIAM D. SNYDER, manager of the Keely Stove Company in Columbia, was born February 13, 1843, in Chil- lisquaque, Northumberland County, this state. His parents were John Frederick and Mary (Dehart) Snyder, also born in the Keystone State. The pa- ternal grandfather of our subject, John B. Snyder, was born in Montgomery County, where he spent i the greater part of his life following the trade of shoemaker. lle was a Democrat in politics and
1
understood well the political issues of his day, and took an active part in local affairs. For three years he was a member of the Town Council, for eight years served as Overseer of the Poor of Milton. and in numerous other positions aided in the up- building of his community. lle was a true Chris- tian gentleman and was greatly interested in the progress of the Reformed Church, of which he was a member. fle participated in the Black flawk War, serving as Captain of a company which was sent to the front.
The paternal grandmother of our subject was prior to her marriage Sarah Elizabeth Rumer, a native of Northampton County, this state. She became the mother of three sons and one daughter, of whom J. Frederick, the father of our subject, was the eldest. The other members of the family were Peter; Albert, who was killed during the war, and Sarah. The grandfather died in 1875, when sixty-seven years of age.
J. Frederick Snyder was born in Montgomery County, where he made his home until his mar- riage, prior to which event he was given a good education in the public schools. When reaching mature years he began clerking in a store and con- tinued to act as salesman from 1842 to 1860. Af- ter that he followed boating on the Pennsylvania Canal, which occupation he abandoned in order to accept work offered him in a sawmill, for which he received better pay. lle departed this life while residing in Milton, in 1887, when in the sixty-fifth year of his age. Ile was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The father of our subject was twice married. By his first union there were born five children, of whom William D. was the eldest. His sister Sarah, who was the next in order of birth, is deceased; Mary is the wife of Jeremiah Datesman and resides in Milton; and the two remaining members of the family, twins, are deceased. The wife and mother passed to the land beyond in 1850, at the age of thirty-one.
William D. Snyder received his primary educa- tion in the common schools of Milton, after which he took a course in the high school. Hle further received instruction from Rev. A. G. Don, pastor of the Reformed Church of Milton, studying Eng-
159
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
lish grammar, rhetoric and geometry. Having com- pleted his education at the age of eighteen. young Snyder engaged in boating until apprenticing him- self to learn the trade of a tinsmith a short time thereafter. Mastering the business in three years, he followed it with fair success until 1872. when he formed a partnership with a Mr. Overpeck, the firm name being Overpeck & Snyder. They carried on a good trade in tinsmithing and sheet iron work until the death of the senior partner in 1876, when the style was changed to W. D. Snyder & Co., and continued as such for the following three years. At the end of that time our sub- ject disposed of his interest in the business, re- maining with the new firm, however, until 1881, when he went to Middleton and became Superin- tendent of Raymond & Campbell's mounting es- tablishment, in that place. Remaining there only a short time, however, we find him located in this city in the employ of the Keely Stove Company. On Thanksgiving Day. 1891, Mr. Snyder was elected to the position of Manager of the concern by the board of Directors, and is now working in that capacity to the satisfaction of all concerned. Ile is a thorough business man, and whatever he un- dertakes is bound to succeed. The factory is a large structure, two stories in height, and is lo- cated on Maple and Second Streets. They have also a salesroom on the corner of Second and Race Streets, Philadelphia, and at No. 21 South Charles Street, Baltimore. The firm are doing a paying business, transacting 8220,000 of business each year, and give employment in all departments to about two hundred men.
In his political views Mr. Snyder is a Prohibi- tionist, and believes that the time will soon come when that party will elect a President. He has been very active in church work for the past thir- ty-five years, and has served for twelve years as Superintendent of the Sunday-school and eight years as Deacon. In social affairs he is a promi- nent Odd Fellow, belonging to Mutual Lodge No. 84, at Milton; and Milton Lodge No. 256, F. & A. M.
.
William D. Snyder was married in February, 1865, to Miss Sarah E., daughter of Peter Smith, of Milton, and to them has been born a daugh-
ter. Mary, who is now the wife of Edward Fager, of Columbia. Mrs. Snyder died in 1867, and the lady whom our subject chose as his second com- panion was Miss Naney C .. daughter of James MeClosky, of Clinton County, this state. To them have been born four children: Zella, deeeased; William Lloyd. Jennie B., and one who died in infancy.
H ENRY C. BURROWES. In Lancaster, where he was born and in which enty his life has been principally passed, the sub- jeet of this sketch is well known as a genial gentle- man and energetic business man. Sinee 1890 he has filled the position of Superintendent of the Penn Iron Works, in which capacity he has been instrumental, not only in increasing the prosperity of that enterprise, but also in promoting the wel- fare of the people of the city and county.
The name of Burrowes is one of the most hon- ored in the Keystone State, where three genera- tions bearing that name have resided. Grandfa- ther Thomas Burrowes was born in County Cavan, Ireland, and was educated for the ministry of the Episcopal Church, but did not enter the pulpit. In 1784 he emigrated to America and settled in Delaware, whence three years later he came to Pennsylvania, and established his home in Stras- burg, Lancaster County, where he engaged in me- chanical pursuits. He and his wife, who was a native of County Monaghan, Ireland, were the parents of thirteen ehildren, of whom seven at- tained years of maturity.
The death of the elder brother of Grandfather Burrowes required the presence of the family in Ireland, to which country they returned in 1810, to take possession of the family property. Seven years later they again crossed the Atlantic, this time settling in Quebec, in Lower Canada, where they continued to reside until 1822. They then
160
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
went back to the Emerald Iste, where they dis- posed of the family estate, and in 1825 finally came back to the United States. In the various removals of the family our subject's father, Thomas Henry Burrowes, participated. He was born in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pa., November 16, 1805, and was a child of five years when he went to Ireland. For three years he was a private pupil of Rev. William Craven, a kinsman of his mother, and a clergyman of the Church of England. Dur- ing the five years spent in Quebec, he attended the classical and English schools of that city. Return- ing to Ireland, he was for a year a pupil of Rev. James Thompson, a Presbyterian minister of Ft. lIenry, County Cavan, and during a part of the two following years was a student in Trinity Col- lege, Dublin. In addition to the ordinary branches of a liberal English education, he acquired a good knowledge of the Latin and French languages, as well as a fair acquaintance with Greek and Ger- man. While he gained much through his collegiate course, his character was largely moulded by his environments, by observation through extended travel, in which ways he gained an enlarged view of the world and habits of self-reliance. In after years he was often heard to say that whatever of self-reliance, of directness of purpose, and of power to foresee distant results cleared from the mists of the present, he might possess, had been mainly conferred by the accidents and peculiarities of his whole education, modified, restrained and im- proved, as it was, by a constant moral and relig- ious home training.
İ
On his return to Pennsylvania in 1825, our sub- ject's father selected for his profession that of law, and in January, 1826, entered the office of Amos Ellmaker, of Lancaster, where he continued his studies for two years and a-half. In the summer of 1828 be entered the law school of Yale Univer- sity, where he remained one year. Admitted to the Bar in the autumn of 1829, he soon afterward commenced the practice of law at Lancaster. HIe soon gained considerable prominence in his dis- triet, and in 1831 was elected to the State Legis- lature, where, owing to the fact that his party was greatly in the minority, he was not chosen upon any important committees. However, when the
party became successful through the election of Joseph Ritner to the office of Governor, in 1835, Mr. Burrowes. as a recognition of his valued polit- ical services, was appointed Secretary of the Com- monwealth, the chief office in the gift of the Ex- ecutive. In December, 1835, he entered upon the discharge of the duties of this position. At this point begau his first connection with the educa- tional interests of the state, with which his name is now inseparably associated. At that time the common school system had just been introduced, but educational matters were in a chaotic condi- tion, and a deplorable lack of system was greatly injuring the cause of the public schools. The school law enacted in 1834, he found inadequate and practically inoperative, and it was necessary that there should be immediate improvement. He drafted another law, which, as revised by himself, was passed by the Legislature in 1836, and con- tinned in operation until 1849.
A change in administration was followed by the retirement of Mr. Burrowes to private life. On his return to Lancaster, he settled upon a farm and devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits. In 1845 he resumed his legal practice at Lancaster. About that time he published in the Lancaster In- telligencer a series of articles pointing out the defects of the school system, and urging the ap- pointment of County Superintendents. For a num- ber of years he served as Director of the city schools of Lancaster, a position in which he ren- dered valuable service. In 1847 he published "The State Book of Pennsylvania," which was afterward used in the schools of the state. In 1852 the Lan- custer County Educational Association passed a resolution recommending the publication of a paper in the interests of the schools of the state. The plan was carried out, the Pennsylvania School Journal was founded, and Mr. Burrowes became its editor, continuing in that capacity until shortly before his death. In 1855, responding to the re- quest of the State Superintendent and other otli- cers, he published the Pennsylvania School Areni- tecture.
In 1858 Dr. Burrowes (for by this title he was usually called) was chosen Mayor of Lancaster, but two years later was promoted from city to
161
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
state office, being elected in 1860 State Superin- tendent of Common Schools. During his three years' incumbeney of the office he was instrumental in still further advancing the cause of education and contributing to the progress of the schools. It was, however, a time of great national distress, and the good he might have accomplished in time of peace, was rendered impossible by the disturbed condition of the entire country. In 1865 he be- came Superintendent of Soldiers' Orphans, and while thus engaged organized and placed upon a working basis the system of schools for orphans of the war heroes. In 1869 he was elected President of the State Agrienitural College, and was the in- eumbent of that office when called from earth, February 25, 1871. llis remains lie in the church- yard of St. James' Episcopal Church of Lancaster, near the home so dear to him and in the shadow of the house of worship whither he had so often come.
Many were the tributes paid to the memory of Dr. Burrowes. Friends from all parts of the coun- try, realizing the debt of gratitude they owed to him, delighted to reeall the grandeur of his life, the loftiness of his intellect and the strength of his character. During the annual meeting of the State Teachers' Association held at Williamsport, in July, 1871, memorial services were held in honor of him, and the following resolutions were adopted:
"WHEREAS, Since the last meeting of this Asso- eiation it has pleased Divine Providence to remove by death Ilon. Thomas H. Burrowes, LL. D., one of the earliest friends and warmest advocates of onr common school system; therefore
"Resolved, That the death of Dr. Burrowes is to us a source of profonnd sorrow.
"Resolved. That as a man, as a citizen, and as an educator, the deceased deserved well of his fellow- men.
"Resolved, That in a special manner, as a body of teachers we recognize the following as among the great services of the canse of education: The prae- tieal organization of our common-school system, as its head in 1836, '37 and '38, and the putting of it into full and successful operation; starting the School Journal, and editing it nearly nineteen years; valuable assistance in founding this Asso-
ciation in 1852, and in promoting its interests in subsequent years; framing the normal school law in 1857; three years of educational work as State Superintendent of common schools from 1860 to 1863; and carrying into effect the plan for the es- tablishment of a system of schools for the educa- tion and maintenance of the destitute children of soldiers and sailors, orphaned by the War of the Rebellion, and supervising for three years the sehools thus established.
" Resolved, That we pledge our active co-opera- tion in any effort that may be made by those more intimately connected with the deceased, to express in some suitable way our gratitude for services rendered by him to the cause of popular education. and to perpetuate the memory of his good deeds."
The lady who for many years was the devoted helpmate of Dr. Burrowes, bore the maiden name of Salome Jane Carpenter; she was born in Lancas- ter, and died in this city in 1888. Iler father, Dr. John Carpenter, was a son of Abraham, a na- tive of Lancaster County, whose father had come hither from Delaware. To Dr. and Mrs. Burrowes fifteen children were born, of whom our subject is the eighth. One of his brothers, Maj. Thomas B., was in the United States service for twenty-seven years, and served through the late war as a mem- ber of the Ninth United States Infantry, being wounded at Jonesboro. The other brothers are, Isaac, who served in the One Hundred and Twen- ty-second Pennsylvania Infantry during the late war, and is now engaged in gold mining in New Mexico; Frank, a United States engineer, stationed at Cleveland, Ohio, and John C., who is commis- sary agent for the Pullman Palace Car Company, with headquarters in Chicago and New York.
The subject of this sketch was born in Lancas- ter, September 8, 1849, and attended the high school of this eity, from which he was graduated in 1866. Ile then entered the Polytechnic College at Philadelphia, where he took a mechanical and civil engineering course nntil within five months of graduation. Ile then accepted a position as assistant in a flour mill in Wilkes Barre, Pa., where he remained two years. lle then became Superin- tendent of Oliver's Powder Mill, which had a ca- pacity of ten kegs a day, and was comparatively
162
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
new. When he left in 1887. the works had been enlarged so that they had a capacity of one thou- sand kegs per day. For one year he was with a powder mill company in New York City, and from there returned to Lancaster, where he has since been Superintendent of the Penn Iron Works. In Dixon. Ill., he married Miss Mary Dimock, a na- tive of that city, and an estimable lady, who, with her husband, holds membership in St. James' Epis- copal Church. While not active in politics, Mr. Burrowes is thoroughly posted concerning the great questions of the age, and uniformly supports the principles of the Republican party. lle is a liberal spirited citizen, stanch in his advocacy of aggressive measures and a warm supporter of en- terprises calculated to benefit the people. In social and business eireles he is highly esteemed, and among the citizens of Lancaster occupies an influential position.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.