USA > Pennsylvania > Prominent and progressive Pennsylvanians of the nineteenth century. Volume I > Part 3
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Major Wells was born on the farm which he now owns, and, after an excellent family training, was sent to the village schools. Upon this foundation was built wider knowledge at the Le Rays- ville Academy and the Wyoming Seminary. When but seventeen he began to put to practical use the education thus acquired, and for ten years he was a successful teacher, devoting his winters to the schools and his summers to farming and stock raising. Being determined to advance himself, and to utilize all his spare time, he became a surveyor. In 1861 Mr. Wells became a member of the Twelfth Reserve Band and went to the front. After five months' service he was discharged and returned home, but, in 1863,
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LEVI WELLS.
became Captain of Company G, Thirty-sixth Regiment, Pennsyl- vania Militia Volunteers. In 1864 he was commissioned Captain of United States Volunteers, serving on General Duval's staff during Sheridan's famous Shenandoah campaign. In 1865 he was assigned to the staff of General Ramsey, Fourth Brigade, First Division, Second Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. Here he carried out his general line of service in a faithful manner and added fresh laurels to his already honorable reputation. He was with General Ramsey until the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, except for a short time when he was a prisoner of war. After Lee's surrender until his discharge, in August, 1865, he served on the staff of General Pierce, a provisional corps organized for duty in the South, wherever the exigencies of the times might demand their presence. He was appointed, May 18, 1864, Com- missary of Subsistence, with the rank of Captain. He was brev- etted Major August 9, 1865, for efficient and meritorious service.
Major Wells had the honor of standing for the Bradford County Republican organization in 1890 as candidate for sheriff, but it was a disastrous campaign, and he met with defeat, as did the entire party. In 1895 he was appointed Dairy and Food Commissioner, and in this position he has given notable evidence of ability and earnestness. Mr. Wells is a practical dairyman, which fact instances his special fitness for the post. He owns a large farm on Spring Hill, which contains about two hundred and fifty acres, two hundred of which belong to the old homestead which for generations has been known as a part of the family's possessions. He takes just pride in his dairy, of which he makes a specialty. In 1871 he began using Jersey cattle, and is a pio- neer of the breeding of this stock in the county.
On January 21, 1861, Mr. Wells was married to Helen S. Jones, daughter of Edward Jones, of Pike Township. They have had six children : Norval J., who assists in the direction of the farm; Chester, a graduate of the Annapolis Naval Academy, and now an officer in the United States Navy; Guy, also in charge of the farm; Maud, residing with her father, and Fanny and Harry, deceased.
THOMAS J. EDGE.
T HE importance of Pennsylvania's agricultural inter- ests cannot well be over-rated, for what concerns the prosperity of the producing belt of the country intimately relates to all the commercial and indus- trial pursuits as well. In the care and development of these interests Thomas J. Edge, the subject of this biography, has been actively engaged nearly all his life, and in his latest official capacity, that of Secretary of the State Department of Agriculture, he renders invaluable services to the State at large, and especially to those branches of progress which are closely allied with the farming interests of Pennsylvania.
THOMAS J. EDGE was born at Midway, near Coatesville, Chester County, Pennsylvania, August 13, 1838. His father was Joshua P. Edge, who was a well known agriculturist of Chester County, and a man greatly respected and liked in his community. His mother was Sarah Ann Hewes, who descended from an old Pennsylvania family. He received his education at family schools, and then went to the West Town Boarding School, Chester County, where he took a thorough course. He next went, for the purpose of completing his education, to the Friends' Select School in Philadelphia. After passing through this institution he returned to his father's farm, where he spent much of his time. Early in life, following out the natural instincts of his family, he developed a strong liking for agricultural pursuits and the development of land. In these occupations he was engaged for several years, giving to them the greater part of his youth, a course which resulted in excellent bodily vigor and a strong mentality. In 1857 his father's family moved to a farm in New Garden Town-
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ship, Chester County, and he accompanied them and remained there until called into active public life. In the development of his fine property Mr. Edge was an active factor, and to-day owns this family farm, having resided there until his selection as Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture.
From his school days Mr. Edge had a decided leaning towards pursuits of journalism, and so rapid was his scholastic progress that he was capable of becoming, at the age of sixteen, one of the paid correspondents of the Germantown Telegraph and County Gentleman. His thorough acquaintance with farm and garden matters, combined with his ability as a writer, fitted him for a more important journalistic post, and he afterwards became Agricultural Editor of the Philadelphia Age and the Philadel- phia Times. He also served as Assistant Editor of the Journal of the Farm, and other agricultural publications. Through a considerable period of years Mr. Edge continued both as practical and theoretical worker, and, while writing largely on these subjects, also put his own suggestions into use, so that when the Eastern Experimental Farm was located at West Grove, Chester County, he was unanimously selected by the Chester County Agricultural Society to be one of the committee of three to manage it. He gave excellent service in this capacity, continuing in his position until he resigned for more profitable work.
When the act to create a Pennsylvania State Board of Agri- culture became a law Mr. Edge was unanimously elected to represent the Chester County Agricultural Society on the Board, and was unanimously re-elected to the same position for twenty years, when, the Legislature having made him an ex-officio member of the Board, he resigned his place. In February, 1877, at the first meeting of the Board of Agriculture, he was by acclamation elected Secretary of the Board, and in a similar manner was re-elected to the same position for twenty-one years without a competitor. The duties of the Secretary of the Board of Agricul- ture were of a numerous and exacting nature, and it was a notable tribute to Mr. Edge that he was elected to fill such a post for so many consecutive terms. He brought into the management of
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the Board's affairs both a broad knowledge of agriculture and a capacity for managerial work, and it made him an ideal official. This fact was indicated in the entire absence of any and all can- didates to oppose his re-election, for it was generally conceded that he was the most satisfactory secretary obtainable. When the bill to create a State Department of Agriculture became a law, on March 13, 1895, in view of the intelligent and faithful manner in which Mr. Edge had performed the duties of Secretary of the State Board, and in recognition of the thorough knowledge he possessed of all matters relating to this important branch of public service, Governor Hastings at once appointed him Secretary to the new department, and commissioned him for four years. The importance of the Agricultural Department is indicated in the fact that the Farmers' Institutes, State Dairy and Food Commissioner, Forestry Commissioner, Economic Zoologist and State Veterinary Surgeon are under its control. In the management of the office of Secretary of such an important State commission Mr. Edge finds congenial employment, being particularly fitted for such duties. While he gives most of his time to this department he still holds his office as Secretary of the State Board of Agricul- ture, and is also Vice-President of the State Live Stock Sanitary Board. Mr. Edge takes considerable interest in educational matters, and is one of the Trustees of the Pennsylvania State College. His most active concern is in all matters pertaining to agriculture and horticulture, and he has been identified with every movement looking to their advancement.
On March 18, 1863, Mr. Edge was married to Elizabeth D. Linton, and, on December 23, 1884, he married Rebecca J. Johnson, having two daughters, Edith A. and Sarah M. Edge, by his first wife, and none by the second. Mr. Edge is widely respected as one of the most progressive of Pennsylvanians, and as a practical agriculturist he is known for his depth of thought and his com- plete and successful administration of his thoroughly able views.
A.E Franc : KLO-
John A . marion -
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JOHN W. MORRISON.
ENNSYLVANIA'S history, so far as the political chapter is concerned, points out the striking fact that a war record in a large majority of instances is the best recommendation which a citizen can have, once he enters the political field and endeav- ors to win its honors. A point in illustration is afforded in the career of Captain John W. Morrison, ex-State Treasurer of Penn- sylvania, and at present Deputy Commissioner of Banking. Cap- tain Morrison was one of the bravest soldiers in the army, where he entered the ranks as a private and fought his way through three years of strife and carnage into honor and glory. He won his spurs, as well, in the field of business, and, possessing such excellent records, when he was nominated for the important office of State Treasurer, it was but a reasonable result that he should have been triumphantly elected.
JOHN W. MORRISON was born February 15, 1841, in Phila- delphia. His parents were John and Hannah Morrison, of Scotch- Irish descent, his mother being a collateral descendant of Sir William Wallace. From his parents John W. Morrison absorbed many traits of a high character, and this was supplemented by a thorough education received in the public schools of Philadelphia. He was ready for admission into the Central High School in the year 1854, but his parents moved to Mercer County, and there he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for several years, in the meantime being employed as a clerk in a country store nearby. This led him to consider mercantile life as an outlet for his energy, and ambitious to extend his knowledge in this direction, he availed himself of an opportunity in Pittsburg, in 1858, and I .- 3.
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removed to that business centre, where as an errand boy he began a business career which culminated in the proprietorship of the same establishment. This attainment came by gradual stages, and his first position of importance was that of salesman with the same firm in whose employ he entered as an errand boy. When the war broke out he left his business, and, returning to Mercer County, enrolled, with his two brothers, in the One Hundredth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, better known as the "Round- heads." He did not wait for the tender of a rank in the army, but entered as a private in Company E of that regiment, and with his brothers in arms endured all the hardships of an active ser- vice. However, he was quick to learn and was soon promoted to a higher rank, being made Sergeant-Major in March, 1863, and in May of the same year Second Lieutenant of his company. His term of service extended over a period of three years in the very heart of the Rebellion, and he had a large part in making the history of that period. Beginning with the campaign of South Carolina, in November, 1861, he was engaged in many battles of the war until June 16, 1862, when the battle of James' Island, in sight of Charleston, was fought. In fact, through all the great engagements of that period, Captain Morrison was an active par- ticipant and a brave soldier, and he won the recognition of the entire army and of all who had the preservation of the Union at heart. In the brilliant campaign of Burnside in east Tennessee, the "Roundheads " had a full share in both the work and the glory culminating in the siege of Knoxville. This regiment re- enlisted in December, 1863, and afterwards formed a part of the grand Army of the Potomac. In the campaign of the latter organ- ization Captain Morrison was again prominent.
On his return from the army Captain Morrison resumed bus- iness in Pittsburg. Prior to the Republican campaign in 1891 he was prominently mentioned for the office of State Treasurer. Before this he had already served his State in official capacities, having taken an active part in matters political for many years. He was a member of the lower house of the Pennsylvania Legis- lature in the sessions of 1881 and 1883, representing the Fifth
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JOHN W. MORRISON.
District of Allegheny County. Subsequently he served as Journal Clerk and Chief Clerk of the House. Having already been highly honored by his party, and being possessed of such a brilliant war record, as well as business qualifications which rendered him an admirable man for the administration of the State's affairs, it was only natural that he should be selected by the Republican organ- ization as the man most fit to represent it at the polls for the important office of State Treasurer. Accordingly, he was nomi- nated, and, in November, 1891, was elected, serving a term with great credit to himself and his party. When elected, he sold his business in Pittsburg to his brother and nephews, who still carry it on.
Captain Morrison was married to Jerusha C. Burchfield, the only daughter of James M. Burchfield, late a dry-goods merchant of Pittsburg. They have had three daughters and one son. Cap- tain Morrison is now chiefly interested in military organizations and in the business of his office of Deputy Commissioner of Bank- ing, to which he was appointed after his term as State Treasurer had expired. He is a member of the Abe Patterson Post, No. 88, Department of Pennsylvania; also of No. 6, Union Veteran Legion, of Allegheny, and the Loyal Legion. In the State Militia he has held a commission in the Fourteenth Regiment, National Guards, and was Captain and Aide-de-Camp on the staff of General Beaver.
MATTHEW STANLEY QUAY.
SERVICE in public positions that dates almost from the days of his boyhood, a natural sagacity and a quick grasp and keen insight into questions of national interest have won for Matthew Stanley Quay high rank as a statesman and pre-eminence as a party manager. Trained at the Bar in the intricacies of statutory law, and having filled, with distinguished ability, many positions of honor and trust in the service of his State, his eleva- tion to the halls of national legislation found him peculiarly fitted for the duties of the position, and during his long and distin- guished career in the Senate of the nation he has always been found keen and alert to protect the interests of Pennsylvania and of the country at large.
MATTHEW STANLEY QUAY was born at Dillsburg, York County, Pennsylvania, on September 30, 1833. He was named after General Matthew Stanley, of Chester County. When young Quay was six years old his father, who was a Presbyterian clergy- man, left the mission in York and Franklin, going to Pittsburg, and from thence to Beaver County. Senator Quay received the rudiments of his education from his father and in the common schools. Before he was sixteen years of age he had made such progress that he entered Jefferson College, Washington County, graduating with honors just as he was completing his seventeenth year. He almost immediately began the study of law in Pittsburg, with Judge Sterrett. The desire to see more of his country soon overcame him, however, and he started for the South, where he spent nearly a year. The anti-slavery agitation then being at its height, he declared his intention of going to Louisiana and start-
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MY Quay
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MATTHEW STANLEY QUAY.
ing a Union paper. The objections of his mother, however, restrained him, though he soon returned to the South, and settled in Texas, where, after a short career at lecturing, he began to teach school. After many exciting experiences, he decided to return home and resume his legal studies. In 1854, ten days after attaining his majority, he was admitted to the Bar, and the next year was appointed Prothonotary of Beaver County. In 1856 he was elected to succeed himself, and was re-elected in 1859. At the outbreak of the Civil War he resigned his Prothonotaryship " and enlisted in the Tenth Pennsylvania Reserves, soon being made a First Lieutenant. Before his regiment went to the front Governor Curtin appointed him Assistant Commissary-General, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. His mastery of details soon attracted attention, and gave him such a high place in the esteem of the authorities that, when the military staff of the Governor was abolished, Governor Curtin made him his private secretary. After serving a year in this capacity, Governor Curtin recognized his efficiency by appointing him Colonel of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Pennsylvania Infantry, and he assumed command in August, 1862. After an active service of several months Colonel Quay was stricken with typhoid fever, and was so reduced in vitality that, by the earnest solicitation of his friends, he was induced to resign his commission. The battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, occurring a few days after his discharge from service, he participated as a volunteer in the attack by Humphreys' Division upon the stone wall at Marye's Heights, and received from the War Department the Congressional Medal of Honor for personal gallantry. On his return to Pennsylvania he was appointed Military State Agent at Washington, and the following year was made Military Secretary to the Governor. In 1864 he was elected to the Legislature for Washington and Beaver coun- ties, and served in that body for several terms. In 1868 he was made Secretary of the Republican State Central Committee.
Always having a taste for journalism, during the campaign of 1869 he established the Beaver Radical, which soon took a lead- ing position among the papers of the State. The prominent part
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he took in the contest which resulted in the election of General John F. Hartranft as Governor led to Colonel Quay's selection as Secretary of State, which position he held until he was made Recorder of the City of Philadelphia. After a brief experience as Recorder he resigned that office and again served as Secre- tary of State, this time under Governor Hoyt. In 1885 he was elected State Treasurer by nearly fifty thousand majority, and, while still the incumbent of that office, he was, in 1887, chosen United States Senator, and, being re-elected in 1893, still serves his State with zeal and ability. While a member of the upper body of the National Legislature he was selected for the Chair- manship of the Republican National Committee and also of the Executive Committee of that body, in which positions he had charge of the canvass of his party which resulted in the election of General Harrison to the Presidency. At the National Republican Convention of 1896, Senator Quay was honored with the solid vote of the Pennsylvania delegation, for the Presidential nomination, with a number of votes from other States, but when his strength was necessary to insure Mr. McKinley's nomination, he threw his votes to the distinguished Protectionist. As a statesman few men prominently in the public eye have attained wider fame than the distinguished Senior Senator from Pennsylvania, and not many legislators in the Upper House of the National Congress have made a deeper impress upon the history of their time.
AE.Francis & Cu
Bores Perose
BOIES PENROSE.
N O man who has been elevated to high public offices has enjoyed a more consistent training for the duties of statesmanship or has shown greater fit- ness for the exalted positions in which he has been placed than has the subject of this sketch. Endowed by nature with talents of a high order, he was carefully educated in the branches which would be useful in a political career and has had the additional advantage of a thorough pre- liminary training as an orator while an active worker in those campaigns through which his party has passed. Equipped, besides, with the experience as a parliamentarian and debater born of a long legislative service, Boies Penrose's election to the Senate of the United States, to represent his native State, found him amply equipped to battle for the interests of his party and the Common- wealth which had done him such signal honor.
BOIES PENROSE was born at his present residence, in the Eighth Ward of Philadelphia, on November 1, 1860. He is the son of Professor R. A. F. Penrose, M. D., LL. D., of the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and a nephew of Judge Clement Biddle Penrose, of the Orphans' Court of Philadel- phia. He is a direct descendant of William Biddle, a close friend of William Penn and one of the proprietors of the then province of New Jersey. On his maternal side he is descended from one of the oldest families in New England, having among his pro- genitors Philip Thomas, who was private secretary to Lord Balti- more and the founder of one of Maryland's best known families. His great-grandfather, when a mere lad, assisted in the erection of breast-works the night before the famous battle of Bunker
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Hill. The early education of Boies Penrose was had at the Episcopal Academy, of Philadelphia, and under the tuition of private instructors. He proved himself an apt scholar, making such rapid progress in his studies that at the early age of sixteen he was enabled to enter Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1881, being one of five from a class of nearly 250, who by competitive examination were chosen to deliver an oration on Commencement Day. His subject was "Martin Van Buren as a Politician." He also received honorable mention in political economy, the affairs of government even thus early being particu- larly attractive to him. Selecting law for his profession, he began his studies under such eminent legal lights as Wayne MacVeagh, who has held the post of United States Attorney-General and been the Minister of his country at the Court of Italy; and George Tucker Bispham, Professor of the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania. Senator Penrose was admitted to the Bar in December, 1883, and soon after formed a partnership with S. Davis Page, who has served as United States Sub-Treasurer at Philadel- phia, and Edward B. Allinson, under the firm name of Page, Allinson & Penrose, for the practice of law. Always intensely interested in economics and political subjects, Senator Penrose naturally enough drifted to the political arena, where his eminent abilities and imposing personality soon gained him many positions of prominence. In 1884 he was nominated on the Republican ticket and elected a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representa- tives from the Eighth Ward of Philadelphia, succeeding Hon. William C. Bullitt, a Democrat. While on the floor of the lower house he took a particularly active part in the passage of the Bullitt Bill, the reform charter for the city of Philadelphia, and he was interested in many other important measures now on the statute books of the State. His services meeting with the approval of his constituents, in November, 1886, he was promoted to the upper house, being elected from the Sixth District, which com- prises the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth wards of Philadelphia, to the State Senate, representing thus a district which embraces the heart of the city and is one of the richest and most influential in
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the State. Mr. Penrose's grandfather formerly represented a por- tion of the same district in the State Senate, and on his death, which occurred during his term of service, was succeeded by Samuel J. Randall.
As a member of the upper house, Mr. Penrose always took an active part in the debates and deliberations, both on the floor and in the committee room, taking an especial interest in the great question of reform in municipal government. The reputa- tion which he had achieved as a State Senator, his ability and his eloquence, were recognized by the people of Philadelphia in his re-election to the Senate continuously from his first service until 1896, when his public career was crowned and his eminent services rewarded by his election to succeed J. Donald Cameron in the Senate of the United States, for the term beginning March 4, 1897.
In collaboration with his partner, Mr. Allinson, in 1886, he wrote "A History of the Government of the City of Philadelphia" at the request of the Faculty of the Johns Hopkins University, of Baltimore. They have also contributed largely to the literature of their profession, and have won wide recognition by reason of their work as authors on legal subjects.
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