USA > Pennsylvania > Portraits of the heads of state departments and portraits and sketches of members of the legislature of Pennsylvania, 1893-1894 > Part 22
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240
House of Representatives.
JOHN X. DENCE is the son of a miller and carpenter, and was born in Muncy, Lycoming county, on May 12, 1857. He descended on his mother's side from the Lawrences, who were of revolutionary stock and who founded the town of Milton, on the West Branch of the Susquehanna, in 1710. When quite young the parents of Mr. Dence moved from Muncy, Lycoming county, to Ashland, Schuylkill county,, and when their son John attained the proper age he attended the public schools. After spending a short time in them he was sent to the coal breaker to pick slate, and for a few years worked in and about the mines at Ashland. He subse- quently attended the parochial schools to further advance his education, and LEVYTYPE CR PHILA. from there entered St. Vincent's College at Latrobe, after which he went to Mount St. Mary's at Emmittsburg, Md., where he finished his education. When he returned from college he became assistant agent and telegraph operator for the Lehigh Valley railroad at Girardville, a position which he held until he was elected clerk at the State hospital, where he remained four years. He then started in the leather business and subsequently in the manufacture of boots and shoes, being a partner in a factory. Mr. Dence was always fond of athletic sports, par- ticularly base ball, and was a fine player himself, and for a couple of seasons was a member of the Ashland base ball team when it belonged to the State league. He was always a Democrat, and though taking a very prominent part in the poli- ties of his neighborhood at all times, never held office until elected to the Legisla- · ture, and although his district is considered a close one, having been carried several times by Republicans, Mr. Dence's majority was a very large one. He was a dele- gate to the State convention at Scranton, which nominated Robert E. Pattison for Governor. Mr. Dence is serving on the following committees : Fish and Game, Retrenchment and Reform, Accounts and Compare Bills. He presented only one bill, and that was for an appropriation for the Ashland hospital.
241
House of Representatives.
W ARREN T. FOLLWEILER was born at Tamaqua, Schuylkill county, November 11, 1864, and is the youngest member sitting in the House of Representatives. His ancestors fig- ured prominently in the war of the revolution. It was a relative of Mr. Follweiler who hauled the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to Allentown in 1777, and part of the vehicle that carried the bell at that time is still in the posses- sion of the Follweiler family. The subject of the present sketch was edu- cated in the public schools in the bor- ough of Tamaqua, and when but a lad was appointed messenger for the West- ern Union Telegraph Company. He soon became an operator and went to New York city with the Western Union, on Broadway, where he gained the dis- tinction of being the youngest telegraph operator in their employ in the city. After leaving the Broad way office he was employed by the Philadelphia Press bureau in New York, and from there went to Philadelphia office and worked for the Press until 1887. In 1888 he went to Texas, but was not long there when the yellow fever broke out in Florida, when he went to Jacksonville to take a position on the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West railroad. After serving there for some time he returned to his native home, where he was employed in the trainmaster's office. He was elected for two terms on the advisory board of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Relief Associa- tion. He was also elected one of the borough auditors, which office he held until elected to the present session of the Legislature, receiving then the largest ma- jority ever given to any candidate in the district. He is serving on the follow- ing committees of the House: Bureau of Statistics, Iron and Coal, and Centennial Affairs.
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242
House of Representatives.
G EORGE WASHINGTON KEN- NEDY was born in Philadelphia, February 22, 1844. His birth occurring on Washington's birthday he was named for the father of his country. Mr. Ken- nedy's parents came from Ireland, where his father learned the business of manu- facturing linen, but when he came here engaged in the manufacturing business, which he carried on the many years while located in Philadelphia. He is now living a retired life with his daughter near Wilmington, Ohio, hav- ing attained the ripe old age of ninety years.
Young George was sent to the public schools in Philadelphia, but when the war of the rebellion broke out he evinced a desire to go out and battle for the Union. Not being of age he was for a time hindered in this direction. Before reaching his eighteenth year he enlisted in company G, Third Pennsylvania reserves, and soon after being mus- tered into the service participated in the battle of Antietam. At the second battle of Fredericksburg he was wounded in the left leg and was discharged from the army in April, 1863, on account of the wound. In July, 1863, he enlisted again in the Second Coal regiment and served the term for which the regiment was re- cruited. In December of the same year he re-enlisted as a private in company E, One hundred and eighty-seventh regiment Pennsylvania volunteers, and took part in every battle engaged in by this regiment. He was promoted to corporal and then first sergeant of his company, and subsequently became the hospital steward · of his regiment, which position he held when his regiment was mustered out after the close of the war. On his return from the army he went to Pottsville, Schuyl- kill county, where he accepted a position in a drug store, having prior to his en- listment in the army served three years as apprentice. Spending some time there he went to Philadelphia and entered the College of Pharmacy, from which he graduated in 1869, and located in Pottsville, where he is now doing business for himself. He served as president of the Alumina Association of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1876. He was the first vice president of the State Phar- maceutical Society and afterwards became its president for a term. For eighteen consecutive years he has served as secretary of the Council of the American Phar- maceutical Association, and has written more than sixty papers pertaining to pharmacy and chemistry. He has been a member of the Pottsville borough school board since 1876, and for six years was the secretary of the board. In the same borough he is the president of the Beneficial Society, manager of the Children's Home and also treasurer of the Atheneum. Mr. Kennedy is serving his second term in the House as a Representative from Schuylkill county. He served on the following committees : Military, Judiciary Local, Public Health and Sanitation, Library and Federal Relations. He introduced bills relative to the uniformity of . proxies, the pharmacy and medical bills, giving the right to county auditors to employ counsel in extraordinary cases, extending the law in regard to the aban- donment of canals and an appropriation to the Children's Home of Pottsville.
243
House of Representatives.
SAMUEL ALFRED LOSCH, of Schuylkill, was born December 19, 1842, at Uniontown, Dauphin county. The paternal line came from England, where the great-great-grandfather was associated with Stephens, the inventor of the tramway. Jacob Losch, his son, came to America, and, prior to the revo- lution, was engaged in the manufacture of gunpowder at Germantown. His works were destroyed, involving his financial ruin as a result of the war. Mr. Losch's father was a miller. When the Mexican war began he started with an independent company for Vera Cruz. The ship foundered on the voyage and all were lost. The mother of Mr. Losch was a daughter of Dr. Frederick Gess- ner, of Hanover, Germany, who, after serving as surgeon in the German army, came to America, settled for a time at Bethlehem, then moved to Gratz, Dauphin county, where he was soon engaged in an extensive practice, which he continued until his death.
Mr. Losch was educated in the public schools. When the civil war broke out he joined company C, Fiftieth regiment Pennsylvania volunteers, as a pri- vate. The annals of the war glisten with the recital of valor performed by this regiment. They served successfully in South Carolina under General I. I. Stevens, in the Army of the Potomac under Generals MeClellan, Pope and Burn- side, under General Grant at Vicksburg and Jackson, and formed part of the be- sieged at the memorable siege of Knoxville, finally joining Grant in the Army of the Potomac and participating in the terrific contests that culminated. in the sur- render at Appomatox. Throughout these campaigns Mr. Losch proved himself a gallant soldier, and for distinguished bravery was promoted from time to time as vacancies occurred. Until the close of the war he was first lientenant of his company, which was finally mustered out July 30, 1865. After the close of the war Mr. Losch was commissioned to serve on the staff of Major General J. K. Seigfried, with the rank of major in the National Guard of Pennsylvania. He was elected a member of the Legislature in 1874 and served in the sessions of '75 and '76. He was chief clerk of the State department under Governors Hartranft and Hoyt. In September, 1884, he was appointed secretary of New Mexico by President Arthur, which position he filled with credit to himself and the nation until 1885, when he was removed by President Cleveland. Mr. Losch was elected chief clerk of the House of Representatives in 1887. He has been a delegate to almost every State Republican convention from Schuylkill county since 1871. In 1880 he was a dele- gate to the National Republican convention, being one of the memorable 306, who voted for General Grant's nomination for the Presidency. He is an active mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic since its organization, and was elected senior vice commander, Department of Pennsylvania, in 1876. On July 4, 1865, when the corner-stone of the soldiers' monnment at Gettysburg was laid, the Fif- tieth Pennsylvania regiment was selected by General Grant to represent the armies of the United States. In recognition of his services, Mr. Losch was se- lected to command the color company of the regiment on that occasion. In 1875 Mr. Losch introduced a compulsory arbitration bill in the House of Representa- tives, which was the first bill of this character introduced in any Legislature in America, and another arbitration bill introduced by him has passed both houses.
244
House of Representatives.
SAMUEL SANDS COOPER, one of the Republican Representatives from Schuylkill county, was born in Pottsville August 22, 1854. His father was a coal miner, and the son has ap- plied himself to the same occupation, working about the mines when he was but eight years old and continuing in the business meanwhile. His educa- tional opportunities were not of the best, but he made good use of those afforded him in the schools of Schuylkill county. He has for many years taken an active part in politics and was a dele- gate to the Greenback-Republican Con- ventions of Schuylkill county from 1877 to 1888, a combination formed to defeat the Democratic local candidates, includ- ing that party's nominee for Congress. This union of Greenbackers and Repub- licans has frequently resulted in the election of the Greenback and Republican local candidates and member of Congress. Mr. Cooper has always worked for the welfare of the laboring man and has held vari- ous positions of trust in labor organizations. He took a prominent part in the strikes of 1869 and 1875 and was sent as a delegate in 1888 by the Knights of Labor to New York State to solicit aid to push the labor grievance to a successful termination. He was elected to the House in 1890, and so well and satisfactorily were his duties performed at the session which followed that his party renomi- nated and elected him in 1892. Mr. Cooper is a very industrious legislator and when necessary intelligently discusses public subjects with which he is familiar. His devotion to the interests of the workingman was recognized by Speaker Thompson in his appointment as chairman of the Committee on Mines and Mining. He was also placed on the Committees on Labor and Industry, Constitutional Re- form, Bureau of Statistics and Public Buildings. He was the author of the eight- hour bill introduced in the House, applying to men employed in and about coal mines, and had the satisfaction of seeing it pass that body by the large majority of 132 yeas to 32 nays. Mr. Cooper is a descendant of the Sands family, which can be traced back in English history for seven or eight centuries and which had a re- markably interesting history.
245
House of Representatives.
E EDWARD WILLIAM TOOL first saw the light of day on Staten Island, June28, 1851. He attended the common schools of his native place until he ar- rived at the age of twelve years, when his parents both died. An orphan and alone he came to live with his uncle. Edward Tool, at Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Here he commenced the struggle of life as a slate picker boy and driver in the Empire breaker and mines. His treat- ment was such as a boy of his spirit could not undergo without serious pro- test, and he concluded to make a break for liberty. The canal boats then, as now, were loaded with coal at Nanti- coke, and in 1866, at the age of fifteen, we find this young boy engaged in the business made illustrious by the la- mented Garfield. For some years he tooted the festive horn at the locks, tended the boat motors and performed such other duties as the position of boatman required of him during the open season. During the winters he learned and fol- lowed the trade of monlder and various other things, until he had accumulated enough money to attend the Missionary Institute at Selinsgrove. During these years he also taught school, and, having become a disciple of Esculapius, studied medicine. In 1881 he graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore. He came back to Snyder county, settled at Freeburg and engaged in the practice of his profession. Like many another doctor he entered the domain of politics through the coroner's door, to which office lie was elected in 1883. For one term he investigated the causes of mysterious deathis, and at the expiration of his term as coroner he was made chairman of the Republican County Committee, which office he filled during the years 1886-88-89. For the same length of time he was a school director at Freeburg and is now, and has been for some years vice president of the Freeburg Academy. In 1889 he was appointed examiner on the Sunbury Pension board over a number of applicants. This place he resigned in 1890 to take his seat in the Legislature at the session of 1891, to which body he was elected by a handsome majority. In 1892 he was again elected by a majority of 763, a very flattering endorsement. In the session of 1893 he was appointed on the Committees on Elections, Health and Sanitation, Appropriations, Fish and Game, Judicial Apportionment, and made chairman of the Committee on Labor and Industry. He introduced and had passed, after much opposition, a law per- mitting the fishermen to put in racks for the purpose of catching eels during cer- tain seasons of the year.
Dr. Tool is one of the most active members of the House, and, as will be seen, has reached his present position over no royal highway. His life has been one of trials and struggles and no man ever sat in our Legislative Halls who has won the distinction more fairly. He is a very warm friend and admirer of Senator Quay, and when the scheme of submitting to popular vote the choice of Senator was adopted in 1892, it was largely through his efforts that Senator Quay was so hand- somely endorsed in Snyder county, which was the first county to endorse him in the state.
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246
House of Representatives.
JOHN C. WELLER, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, was born in Somerset, Pa., August 31, 1852, in the old stone jail (his father, John Weller, serving as sheriff of the county at the time). He was educated in the common schools and at the Millersville Normal school, Lancaster county, from which institution he grad- uated in the class of 1875. He taught school in Somerset county for a num- ber of terms before and after he grad- uated, and in 1881 he was elected su- perintendent of the common schools of Somerset county. Mr. Weller filled this position creditably and successfully for six years, and since the expiration of his term of office he has devoted his entire attention to his farm, which is one of the prettiest in Somerset county. Mr. Weller was elected to the Legisla- ture in 1891, and re-elected two years subsequent. Recognizing his familiarity with agricultural matters and the needs of the farmer, Speaker Thompson se- lected Mr. Weller for the chairmanship of the Agricultural Committee, a position which he is thoroughly competent to fill. He is also a member of the Committee on Congressional Apportionment, Compare Bills, Centennial Affairs and Bureau of Statistics. Mr. Weller is a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party, and has for many years been one of the local leaders of his party in the county in which he resides. He was elected for three successive terms as justice of the peace in Milford township, and in 1888 was a delegate to the State Repub- lican Convention, by which Judge Mitchell, of Philadelphia, was nominated for justice of the state supreme court. Mr. Weller's father was a member of the House of Representatives in 1867, 1868 and 1869, and voted for the late General Simon Cameron for United States Senator. In 1891 Young Mr. Weller had the honor to cast his ballot for the son of the man for whom his father voted for United States Senator-J. Donald Cameron. Mr. Weller was married to Miss Laura B. Elliott in 1887. They have two children.
247
House of Representatives.
EPHRAIM D. MILLER, one of the two Republican Representatives in the House from Somerset county, was born in Milford township, that county, May 9, 1847. His ancestors were farm- ers and came from the counties of Lan- caster and Dauphin. Representative Miller's education was confined to what he received in the public and Normal schools of his county. After he had left school he taught for nine years, six of which in Grantsville, Maryland. In 1870 he abandoned teaching and em- barked in the mercantile business at Rockwood, Somerset county, continuing in it for eighteen years. He was post- master at Rockwood, where he resides, under the administrations of Grant, Hayes and Garfield, covering a period of fourteen years. When Cleveland was elected he resigned the position because he believed in the principle that the victors should have control of the political offices. He was school director for fifteen years in his district but never was a candidate for a higher place until he decided to make a contest for member of the House in 1890. There were six candidates in the field for the Republican nomi- nation, and he had a higher number of votes than all the candidates combined except Mr. Weller, who was nominated at the same time. He was elected by a large majority and two years subsequently was re-nominated without opposition and again easily elected. As Somerset county was entitled to but one chairman of a committee, Mr. Miller agreed that his colleague should be placed at the head of the Committee on Agriculture while he would be satisfied with a position on the Committee on Appropriations. He was also appointed on the Committees of Federal Relations, Legislative Appportionment, Judiciary Local and Library. Mr. Miller introduced the bill relative to fraternal beneficial associations, defining their status, exempting them from taxation, and the operations of the insurance laws and requiring them simply to file statements of their business with the in- surance department. This bill received the approval of the Governor soon after its passage and is now one of the statutes of the state. It effects such associations as are not organized for profit but for protection of their members, like the Royal Arcanum, Heptosophs, etc. Mr. Miller also introduced a bill to appropriate $1,500 to repair the great stone bridge across the Youghiogheny.
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248
House of Representatives.
M ARSHALL J. LULL, of Sullivan county, is a Democrat and was born at Hartland, Vermont, September 24, 1850. When six months old his parents moved to Tunkhannock, Wyom- ing county, where he received his edu- cation in the common schools. In 1864, at the age of fourteen, he left his home and entered the Union army, connecting himself with the New York Mounted Rifles. He was very large for his age and encountered no difficulty in becom- ing a soldier. From 1865 until 1869 he followed the canal, and later did break- ing on a gravel train. Subsequently he was a conductor on a freight train, and since 1880 has been a passenger train conductor on the Lehigh Valley rail- road. Before coming to the Legislature he had charge of a train running be- tween Towanda and Lopez, four miles from Bernice, his home. He was a dele- gate to the State Convention of 1882 which nominated Governor Pattison the first tine, and after having supported Simon P. Wolverton and Eckley B. Coxe voted for the winner. In 1888 the Democratic party of Sullivan county nominated him for the House, but he was defeated by Mr. Waddell by a small majority. In 1892 he was again honored with the party nomination and was elected by about five hundred majority, while Cleveland carried the county by less than 400. When Grant Herring was nominated for State Senator Mr. Lull was a candidate for the office with the conferees of his county at his back. Finally he instructed his delegates to throw thoir votes for the Columbia county candidate, and he was made the Democratic nominee. In the House Mr. Lull was a member of the Committee on Mines and Mining, Federal Relations, Military, Corporations and Elections. He was also on the sub-committee which investigated the Andrews-Higby contest and submitted the minority report declaring Mr. Higby, the sitting member, entitled to his seat.
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249
House of Representatives.
PHILO BURRITT was born April 11, 1840, at Uniondale, Susquehanna 1 county. His father was born in Connec- ticut and he is of Puritan extraction, being related to Elihu Burritt, the learned blacksmith of New England, who has been made famous by the local historians. On his maternal side, the subject of this sketch also can claim de- scent from New England stock. The parents came to this state many years ago, and the father became a farmer. Mr. Burritt was sent to and received his carly education in the common schools of his native town, but later he went to Wyoming Seminary to finish his studies, after which he taught school in Luzerne county for several terms. Mr. Bnrritt is a Republican and centers actively into all the political contests of his party, and has frequently been honored with po- litical place both by appointment and by election. He has been chairman of the Republican county convention of his county; has held the office of school director for twelve years, and has been assessor, poormaster, supervisor, town clerk and auditor. Since the incorporation of the town of Uniondale into a borough he has been secretary of the borough council. For many years he has taken great inter- est in church affairs, and has held a prominent place as a member and trustee in the Presbyterian church in Uniondale. In the fall of 1890 Mr. Burritt was elected one of the representatives from Susquehanna county to the State Legislature, re- ceiving a majority of only 250 votes over that of his political opponent. In 1892 he was re-elected by 1,078 majority. Mr. Burritt seldom indulges in the debates of the session, except when some measure is under consideration which affects his constituency, and then he is found on the side of the people who elected him. At the session of 1893 he was assigned to the Committees on Appropriations, Con- gressional Apportionment, Retrenchment and Reform, Labor and Industry, and Iron and Coal.
250
House of Representatives.
H UMPHREY J. MILLARD, of Sus- quehanna county, was born De- cember 24, 1843, in Lennox, Susque- hanna county. He was thrown upon his own resources by the death of his mother in early life. He attended as much as possible the district schools and private seminaries until eighteen years old. In 1862 he enlisted in con- pany H, One hundred and forty-first regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers, and served in the United States service until the close of the war. He participated in all thirty engagements, the most im- portant of which were Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anne, Cold Harbor and all the battles in front of Petersburg. He was also present at the surrender of Lee at Appomatox. At the close of the war Mr. Millard returned home and contin- ued his studies under the personal instruction of Jolin H. Harris, L. L. D., now president of Bucknell University, Lewisburg, for two years. In 1870 he was or- dained to the ministry, in which he has been very successful, especially in evan- gelistic work. Throat and lung trouble some time ago compelled him to throw aside active pastoral work. In connection with his professional duties he has for the past twenty years owned and managed a farm in Rush township, Susquehanna county. Mr. Millard was elected a member of the Legislature in 1892, and is a member of the Committees on Agriculture, Vice and Immorality, Health and Sanitation and Geological Survey. He is an active member of Bissell Post No. 406, Grand Army of the Republic, and for a number of years has delivered the address at different places on Memorial Day. While not a politician he has always taken an interest in politics. He is a firm believer in the principles of the Re- publican party, and cast his first vote in front of Petersburg when Abraham Lin- coln was a candidate for re-election. At the same time he served on the election board. Mr. Millard was married September 12, 1866, to Miss Baldwin of New Milford, Susquehanna county, Pa., and his family consists of two sons and one daughter.
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