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 58
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Our subject is a living example of what one man can accomplish by beginning life in a proper manner, with an ambition to achieve succes -. Whether as a clerk in New York City, working on board an ocean steamer, running a sawmill, or digging gold with the famous old "Forty-niners" in California, or in his counting-room, making large sales of lumber and coal, he is the same care- ful, considerate person, of whom the world has none too many.
AMES W. DOWNEY. a member of the firm of Downey Bros., builders and manufacturers, was born in this city in 1845. He is the son of David Downey, whose birth occurred in the North of Ireland in 1819, and the grandson of Samuel Downey, who, on emigrating with his family to America, located in this county, where he was the proprietor of a good farm, and resided until his death, in 1856.
The father of our subject was a shoemaker by trade, but during the later years of his life engaged in dealing in stock, shipping to Philadelphia. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, and died in 1872. In politics he was a decided Democrat, and for several terms served as a mem-
ber of the Common Council from the Ninth Ward. He was married to Eliza 1. Downey, his second cousin, who was also a native of this city, and who died March 1, 1892, when in the sixty-eighth year of her age.
The parental family of our subject included six children, thee sons and three daughters, of whom James W. was the oldest member. He was edu- cated in the public schools and would have grad- nated with the Class of '63 had it not been broken into by the Civil War. He belonged to the mil- itary cadets of Lancaster, under Captain Young, and in 1864 enlisted in Company E, Fiftieth Penn- sylvania State Militia. with the three months' men. On the expiration of his term of enlistment. lie again offered his services to his country, and was mustered in as Lieutenant in a company, enlisting for nine months. He was not permitted to go to the front, however. his father compelling him to stay at home.
In 1864 Mr. Downey went to Philadelphia and was taken into the firm of J. G. Rouse & Co., dealers in carriage hardware and trimmings, their place of business being located on the corner of Fourth and Arch Streets. In 1889 he disposed of his interest in the business, and returning to this city, engaged in trade with his brother, Charles E., under the title of Downey Bros. They bought the old carriage bolt works, which they converted into a shop for the manufacture of carriage wood- work. It is two stories in height. 33x164 feet in dimensions, containing storehouse, drying rooms, ete. Their shop is supplied with a fifty horse- power engine, and all the machinery necessary for the successful carrying on of their business. They manufacture all kinds of shafts, poles, spokes, hubs, bows, etc., used in making carriages. Since the summer of 1890 the brothers have operated a sawmill in Baltimore County. Md. It is a port- able structure, and can be moved npon the timber- land which they purchase in different portions of the county, and manufacture the oak, ash and other varieties of lumber on the ground. Downey Bros. ship the product of their factory to all points in the United States and Canada.
Our subject was married February 16, 1875, in Edgewater Park, N. J., to Miss Ella F., daughter
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of Davis W. MeClellan, a native of Philadelphia, where he was engaged in contraeting and building. To Mr. and Mrs. Downey there have been born three children, William H., Frank D. and Marian G.
In social affairs our subjeet is a prominent Ma- son, holding membership with Lodge No. 369, in Philadelphia. Ile also belongs to Robert Morrison Lodge No. 29, 1. O. O. F., in the same eity, in which he has passed all the chairs. He is a mem- ber of the First Presbyterian Church, and in poli- tics is an unswerving Democrat.
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OHN C. BALDWIN. Among the worthy old settlers and respected citizens of Strasburg Township is this gentleman, who has been a witness of and has assisted in the prosperity and development of this region. In his earlier days he was a very active politician and has fre- quently been called upon by his friends and neigh- bors to serve in publie positions of responsibility and honor.
Our subjeet's paternal grandfather, who bore the given name of Anthony, was a member of the So- eiety of Friends, and passed his entire hle in the state of Delaware. By occupation he was a man- ufacturer of buckskin gloves and breeches. He married a lady of English descent, Mary Harland by name, and by their union twelve children were born, in order of birth as follows: Worthel, Will- iam, Robert, George, Joseph, Harland, Hezekiah Thomas, Stephen, Rachel. Elizabeth and Mary.
The father of our subject, Anthony W., was born in Delaware, April 25, 1784, and in his early manhood went to Chester County, Pa., where he learned the trade of clock and watch making. On coming to this county, which he did in the first years of this century, he worked at his voca- tion in New Holland and was for one year in Stras- burg with the Hoff family. Later he settled in Lampeter, where he engaged in business for him- self, and followed bis trade successfully there up
to the time of his death, which occurred in 1857. He was a Whig, and during his last year of life be- came affiliated with the Republican party. He married Maria Bowman and by her had a family of fifteen children. John C., Eliza, Mary, Anthony W., Levi, and William were all that grew to ma- turity.
The birth of John C. Baldwin, who was the eld- est of his father's large family, occurred in New Holland, this county, November 1, 1808. He at- tended the schools of West Lampeter Township for only thirteen months in all, which was the ex- tent of his advantages. To his own efforts he owes his education, for he was thrown upon his own resources and learned the trade of clock and watch making, which business he followed for some time.
Mr. Baldwin has served as Township Supervisor and Assessor and has also been a School Director on different occasions. Ile was elected Clerk of the Orphans Court in Lancaster in 1863 and as such served for three years. In religious belief he is a Mennonite.
On the 9th of March, 1811, was celebrated the marriage of John C. Baldwin and Elizabeth Herr, a native of Providence Township, Lancaster County, and by her marriage she has become the mother of ten children: Mary E., who became the wife of Henry Shaub; Adeline, who married Amaziah Baldwin; Henrietta, now Mrs. Frank S. Hoak; Alpheus, Elizabeth, Elmyra. Benjamin F., John C., Jr., Martin and William.
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D R. JAMES P. WICKERSHAM, one of the distinguished educators of Pennsylvania, is.worthy of special mention, for he has left his impress upon the times. He was born in Newlin Township, Chester County, Pa., March 5, 1825, and after a long and useful life died in Lan- caster, March 25, 1891. Ile was a son of Caleb and Abigail (Pyle) Wickersham, and was deseended from a long line of honorable ancestors, among the best of the Society of Friends, early settlers in
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eastern Pennsylvania. He was trained from child- hood in the tenets of their belief, and early learned the high appreciation of all that is good, and de- testation of evil. His father, a farmer, was a man of strong convictions and intellect, and his mother took delight in training her children to habits of industry and self-reliance. His primary education was obtained in country schools, after which he entered Unionville Academy, and there among his fellow-students were such men as Bayard Taylor, Hon. J. Smith Futhey and others who became prom- inent in after years. When only fifteen years old, Mr. Wickersham took charge of a school, and in 1845, then only twenty years old, was induced to become Principal of the Marietta Academy. At the time it had been his intention to read law at West Chester, but his parents, as members of the Society of Friends, opposed his entering the legal profession, and urged his acceptance of the posi- tion in the Marietta Academy, which he finally accepted. This school, which had met with great reverses, was held in a rented room, and comprised only twenty pupils. He succeeded so well that in 1852 there was a membership of over one hun- dred pupils, who pursued their studies in a fine building of which the Principal was the owner, and which had a library comprising over five hun- dred volumes. December 25, 1847, Mr. Wicker- sham married Emerine I. Taylor, one of his early schoolmates; she was a young woman highly gift- ed, a devoted Christian, and a loving and faith- ful helpmate to her husband. He remained Prin- cipal of the academy until the spring of 1854, and while there was very active in organizing the Lancaster County Educational Society, of which he became President.
In 1854 Dr. Wickersham was one of the delc- gates from the last-mentioned society to the Ameri- can Association for the Advancement of Educa- tion at their meeting in Newark, N. J. He was on the committee for the first County Institute, being one of its first Vice-Presidents. When the Pennsylvania State Teachers' Association con- vened in 1853, he was very earnest in his advocacy of a memorial to the Legislature, praying for the appointment of a State Superintendent of Public Schools, and to create the office of County Super-
intendent. The following year the Legislature passed the Act providing for a County Superin- tendent, and the Doctor was elected to fill this position with a salary of $1,500. Too much can- not be said in praise of the pioneer work done by him for the best interests of the schools of this county. In Harrisburg, July 12, 1854, occurred the first meeting of County Superintendents, and the Doctor was very active in the transaction of work done by this meeting. During his entire oc- cupancy of the post of County Superintendent he was at the front of various educational institutes and meetings, and in the spring of 1855 held a Normal Institute at Millersville, of which he was Principal, and was later appointed to serve per- manently as such by the Trustees. In order to take this position he resigned his office of County Superintendent in the fall of 1856, and several times had conferred upon him in the years which followed high positions, such as President of the State Teachers' Association, etc. During the sum- mer of 1863 he raised a company of soldiers, many of whom were students in the Normal, and he was elected Colonel of the Forty-seventh Regiment. In 1866 Gov. Andrew G. Curtin appointed the Doctor State Superintendent of Schools of Penn- sylvania, and he was re-appointed by Governors Geary, Hartranft and Hoyt, serving his state for fourteen years and a-half in that capacity.
Dr. Wickersham was the author of several very able works, among these being one on "School Economy" and another on "Methods of Instruc- tion." They were rapidly introduced into the best institutions of learning in this country, and have been translated into Spanish, French and Japanese. He had the degree of Master of Arts conferred upon him by Washington (Pa.) College, and his degree of Doctor of Laws came from La- Fayette College. On account of his able service as Superintendent of Public Schools he became very popular, and when his nomination came up for confirmation in the Senate for a second term, it was unanimous, every one of the Senators voting in his favor. During the session of 1867 he was instrumental in securing the passage of the Act, one section of which gives the Board of Directors the right of "Eminent Domain" in the selection
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of grounds for school buildings, and another sec- tion provides that teachers' institutes shall be held in every county, and the commonwealth is required to aid them financially. Many other important provisions regarding elections of superintendents, teachers' certificates and other matters of great moment in the educational world were introduced in this bill, the effect of which has been far-reach- ing and of incalculable good. In every possible way the Doctor supervised and counseled. planned and executed reforms and made many visits to every county in the state during his term of office. Great interest was aroused by his intelligent and earnest presentation of topies under discussion in educational meetings at county institutes and else- where.
In 1870 Dr. Wiekersham became joint owner of the "Pennsylvania School Journal," with Prof. John P. MeCaskey, and its eirculation and useful- ness were greatly increased. By an Act of Legis- lature the Soldiers' Orphans' Schools were placed in his hands and remained there until he retired from office. In frequent conferences with the President of the convention that framed the Con- stitution of 1871. Dr. Wickersham appeared before their committees and in other ways advanced his views as to the educational provisions which he thought the Constitution should contain. Many of these plans were subsequently carried into effect. In 1876 at the Centennial celebration at Philadel- phia, the Keystone State made a creditable show- ing in the Educational Department which was under his management, and for his labor much credit was given to him both at home and abroad. In 1867 the Minister from the Argentine Republic spent some time in the state studying its meth- ods of managing schools, and endeavored to get the Doctor to resign his position and become Su- perintendent of the public schools of his coun- try. After the C'entennial the Doctor decided to visit Europe in order to study systems of educa- tion, and was appointed Commissioner by the Gov- ernor of the state, making his official report in 1878. President Arthur appointed him Minister to Denmark on account of his distinguished serv- ices and he at once repaired thither, assuming the duties of the office, but on account of his wife's
poor health he resigned the charge. In 1886 he issued from the press of the Inquirer Printing and Publishing Company, of which he was President, "A History of Education in Pennsylvania," a very valuable work of nearly seven hundred pages.
While in no sense a politician, Dr. Wickersham was an earnest Republican. After the war he was a candidate for Congress from this district, and many of his friends were anxious to see him serv- ing as Governor of the state. He was also in- terested in Franklin and Marshall College, of which he was a Trustee, the Farmers' National Bank, the State Insane Asylum at Harrisburg, and he was a member of the Lancaster City School Board. Fra- ternally he belonged to Lodge No. 43, F. & A. M., and to Post No. 84, G. A. R. In every walk of life Is chief aim was to do what he could to bene- fit humanity, and he was conscientious and intelli- gent in carrying out his convictions of duty.
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HAROLD WICKERSHAM, of Lancaster, son of the above, is President of the Wickersham Printing and Publishing Company, which was instituted by his father. This concern was organized in 1873, with a capital stock of $65,000, and May 1, 1891, the name was changed to its present style. It is one of the large enter- prises of the city, and they have a large business in publishing books and pamphlets, and in their bind- ery and electrotyping departments. The office is situated at No. 53-55 North Queen Street, which building is owned by the company.
The birth of our subject occurred in Marietta, Pa., February 21, 1856, and his boyhood was passed at Millersville and in Lancaster, where he received good publie and high school advantages. He was graduated from the latter in 1872 and at once entered the Freshman Class of Franklin and Mar- shall College, where he remained for three years. The next two years were passed in Yale College, and in 1877 he received from that institution the
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degree of Bachelor of Philosophy on his gradua- tion. On beginning his active life work he entered the old Inquirer Printing and Publishing Company in a subordinate position, and by his enterprise and ability steadily worked his way upward until he was made general manager, a position he has held ever since. After his father's death the name of the company was changed to the one it goes by now, and our subjeet was made its President. Em- ployment is given to about eighty persons, and the business transacted by the firm brings in a large income. They have a regular book office and ten large book presses. The building which is oeenpied by the company is owned by the same and is four stories in height; it has a frontage of forty feet and a depth of one hundred and forty- four feet. Mr. Wickersham is a Director in the Farmers' National Bank and also a Director in the Lancaster Gas Light and Fuel Company.
The pleasant home of our subject was ereeted by him, and is situated at No. 505 North Duke Street. lle was married in Ft. Wayne, Ind., in 1880, to Miss .Jessie, daughter of John Hough, formerly an attorney, but now deceased. In his political faith our subjeet uses his ballot in favor of the Republi- ean party. As a business man he has shown good ability and is numbered among the best citizens of Lancaster.
B ENJAMIN F. W. URBAN. M. D, a vete- ran of the late war, has been an official or deputy at the court house longer than any other man in Lancaster County and has had much experience as clerk of the sessions, being very familiar with the county records. The Doc- tor comes from an old family of Pennsylvania, their ancestry being traced back for many gener- ations. Three brothers of the name came to Amer- iea from Lombardy and Venice by way of New Or- Jeans and Baltimore, and they were the founders of the American branch. The grandfather of the Doctor, whose Christian name was Joseph, was
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born in Conestoga Township, where he followed farming, as had his forefathers for generations. Ilis death occurred when he was nearly eighty-five years of age. His son, Joseph R., was born in the same township, and for forty years was a success- ful school teacher, both before and after the com- mon school system was inaugurated. At various times he served as Tax Collector, Assessor and in local offices, and politically was first a Whig and later a Republican. His death occurred when he had reached the ripe old age of eighty years. When young he united with the Methodist Epis- copal Church as a convert from the Lutheran Church and became a elass leader and preacher, es- tablishing Sunday-schools in different places and being a great worker in the southern and central part of the county. A strong anti-slavery man, he was one of the conductors on the Underground Railroad system.
Joseph R. Urban married Elizabeth Sourbeers, a native of the same township as himself. Her father, Conrad, was a farmer and cooper by trade, and lived to a very old age. The Doctor is one of seven boys, six of whom served in the late war. Abner now resides in western Ohio; Alfred E., who was in the One Hundred and Ninety-fifth Penn- sylvania Regiment, on his return became a con- tractor in Columbia, where his death occurred; Amos, also of the One Hundred and Ninety-fifth Pennsylvania, was a prominent builder and owner of a planing mill in this city, where he passed his last years; Joseph R., who was in the Ninth Penn- sylvania Cavalry. is now interested in the Harris- burg Iron Mills; John W., of the First Pennsyl- . vania Reserves, was wounded at White Oak Swamp, being a prisoner for eleven months, in later years he wrote the work entitled "Battle Field and Prison Pen." and is now a resident of Conestoga. Rev. Abram L., now an Episcopal minister at Seranton, Pa., was only a boy during the fore part of the war, but enlisted and served as soon as he had reached the regulation age.
Dr. Urban, of this sketch, who was next to the youngest of his parents' family, received a general education in Conestoga, where he was reared, and in the spring of 1862, when fifteen years old, vol- unteered his services and became a member of
W. E. LANT.
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Company D, First Pennsylvania Reserves. being mustered in at Phoenixville, Pa .. as a private. At the expiration of two years he was made a Hospi- tal Stewart. serving as such until the close of the conflict. Hle took part in the battles of Fredericks- burg. Rappahannock and Gettysburg and in all of the engagements of the Third Brigade until the capture of Richmond. He was never away from his regiment nor was he ever wounded. but in the spring of 1865 he was taken with malarial fever and has suffered from its effects ever since, his physical condition having been practically poi- soned. Ile was mustered out in June. 1865, and returned home. After taking up his studies for a time young Urban was examined and took the best second grade certificate. after which he taught for three terms in his native township. Then with Dr. P. S. Clinger he began the study of medicine. and in 1867 entered the University of Pennsyl- vania. He graduated two years later with the de- gree of Doctor of Medicine.
The Doctor began his professional practice in Conestoga, where he remained for four years, and in the spring of 1873 became Deputy Clerk of the Quarter Sessions with his brother, John W. For three years he was in the department under A. S. Clair, and in the fall of 1878 was elected Clerk of the Quarter Sessions on the Republican ticket. He ably filled that responsible place from January, 1879, to January, 1882, when his term expired. Afterwards he was engaged in the drug business and built a store at No. 312 South Queen Street and there he continued for several years. also start- ing a dry goods business. In the year 1888 he was made Deputy Clerk for Mr. Killian, Clerk of the .Quarter Sessions, and in 1890 was again elected to the latter position, his term running until January. 1894. M. S. Fry, the present incumbent, made him his deputy, and thus it is about sixteen years that he has been either Clerk or Deputy Clerk, the longest to hold any similar position in this portion of the state.
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In September, 1868, the marriage of Dr. Urban and Kate A. Hess was celebrated in Conestoga Cen- ter, where the lady was born and where her father, Jacob Hess, was an old settler. blacksmith and ag- rieulturist. Nine children have been born to our
subject and wife. Mary A .: James C., formerly a pharmacist and now a plumber; Lilla L .. a hook- keeper: Frank G., an architect: Bertha K., who is now clerking; Emma C .. Edna M .. Mabel F. and Ilarold II.
Socially Dr. Urban is a member of Lamberton Lodge No. 476, F. & A. M .. is an Odd Fellow and a member of Admiral Reynolds Post No. 405, G. A. R. Besides the organizations mentioned he is identified with the Union Veteran Legion and the Artisans' Order of Mutual Protection. For six years he was connected with the old Lancaster Planing Mill in company with his brother Amos and Ilenry Burger, and was formerly interested in the promotion of many local industries. A stal- wart Republican, he has been a member of the County Committee from his ward. Religiously he is one of the Trustees of St. Paul's Methodist Epis- copal Church. is Secretary of the Board and has been Sunday-school Superintendent.
ILLIAM E. LANT is a retired busi- ness man and one of the liberal and publie spirited citizens of Lancaster. Ile was born in Blairsville and is of French de- scent. Ilis paternal grandfather, Scott Lant, who was one of the early architects and builders in Center, Ohio, built the First Catholic Church in that place, and the first mass celebrated in C'in- einnati took place in his house, in which he had built an altar.
The father of our subject, Edward Lant, was a native of Hamilton County, this state, and his fath- er having died when he was quite young, he was early obliged to make his own way in the world. Ile learned the painting, graining and decorating trade, becoming proficient in the various branches of the art. His residence for some years was in Ohio, after which he removed to Pittsburg. Later he located in Blairsville, where he continued in business until his death, at the age of sixty-five years. His wife, Elizabeth ( McAfee) Lant, was born in Unity Township, Westmoreland County, near the village of Latrobe. She was of Irish par-
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entage. Iler father was born on the Emerald Isle, and on his removal to America engaged in farming in l'nity Township until his death.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Lant became the parents of nine children, four of whom are living. Two brothers, James and JJohn, participated in the War of the Rebellion, and the latter was a prisoner for several months in Libby Prison. At the present time he is making his home in New York State. James departed this life at his home in Akron, Ohio. The mother of these children died when about sixty years of age.
William E. Lant is the third in his parents' fam- ily, his birth taking place in 1810. In company with his father he learned his trade, and for a time subsequently was engaged in railroad contracting. For three years he was with Patrick Me Avoy, King of the Irish of Philadelphia and the most prominent contractor of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Afterward, Mr. Lant turned his attention to various pursuits, coming to Lancaster in 1871. For some years he was engaged in the manufacture of picture frames on North Queen Street, but now he has retired from active business, being indepen- dently well off and having enough to occupy his time in looking after his property investments.
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