USA > Pennsylvania > Prominent and progressive Pennsylvanians of the nineteenth century. Volume I > Part 7
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He became the nominee of his party in the Twenty-fourth District in 1892, but in the Democratic landslide of that year he was defeated. In 1894, however, he was again honored with the nomination and was this time elected to Congress. In 1896, when his term had expired, he was once more nominated and elected, and is now representing the Twenty-fourth District of the State in a faithful and comprehensive manner. One of Congressman Acheson's most particular efforts in behalf of the advancement of Pennsylvania's interests were centred in his advocacy of the abol- ishment of tolls on the locks of the Monongahela River, which forms the eastern boundary of Washington County. He is a mem- ber of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the Fifty-sixth Congress, and in that capacity has been connected with many important improvements. Always a strong believer in the protec- tion idea, he was one of the most energetic supporters of the Dingley Bill among the Republicans of the House, and in its construction and final adoption was ever watchful of the interests of his constituency. He is a Director of the Citizens' National Bank of Washington and is Trustee of his Alma Mater, the Wash- ington-Jefferson College.
In 1882 Congressman Acheson was married to Miss Janet Stewart, of Washington, Pennsylvania, and five children constitute their interesting family, brightening the home life to which Mr. Acheson, caring little for social diversions, devotes all of his leisure time.
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Josiah RAdame
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JOSIAH R. ADAMS.
W HILE the enterprise of Pennsylvania, as represented in its leading men of all generations, has been pretty evenly distributed throughout the various professional and industrial interests, yet it would seem that the Bar has been more than ordinarily favored in its attainment of great men. Josiah R. Adams, the sub- ject of this biography, is one of the best known lawyers in the State and a man identified with high social circles.
JOSIAH R. ADAMS was born in 1848, during the period in which his father, Rev. Dr. E. E. Adams, represented, in France, the Ameri- can and Foreign Christian Union. Dr. Adams was a prominent minister of the gospel, who was instrumental in spreading the cause of Christianity throughout a considerable portion of the globe. Mr. Adams' years of early education were followed by a period devoted to school teaching, during the course of which occupation he fitted himself for college by earnest and untiring home study. He matriculated at Princeton College in 1869, dur- ing the first year of the Presidency of Dr. McCosh. In 1873 Mr. Adams graduated from Princeton, receiving first honors in oratory and literature, his superiority being indicated by the unusual dis- tinction of the award of four gold medals and a monetary prize. During his last year in college, having determined to adopt a pro- fession for which he was suited, Mr. Adams registered both at law and medicine. However, he finally turned his attention solely to the study of the law, and was admitted to practice in the courts of Philadelphia in December, 1874. Strengthened mentally by his collegiate courses, and possessed of undoubted natural abilities, Mr. Adams speedily rose to a position of prominence in his profession.
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In his early legal career he became a counselor in bankruptcy, com- mercial and maritime law, in which branches he evidenced a remark- able grasp of details. He was counselor in the case of the Commonwealth vs. Harris, an equity suit to enjoin the building of a large bay window projecting into Walnut Street by the defendant; on the occasion of the Bi-Centennial celebration, when a number of persons were injured by an explosion in Fairmount Park, he became counsel for several of the sufferers, and recovered for them substan- tial damages, and in land damage and railroad accident cases he has had unusual success, and has obtained very favorable verdicts for a number of clients. Upon many occasions he has served under appointment of the courts as Examiner, Auditor and Receiver. As Receiver of the Penn Safe Deposit and Trust Company, he col- lected $86,000 for the depositors by suits against the Spring Garden National Bank and against the Directors. He is now Receiver for Pennsylvania of the Granite State Provident Association, and the important interests thus entrusted to his care have been so well cared for, and the judicial powers displayed so considerable, that his reputation as a lawyer and student has greatly increased and widened. More than once his name has been mentioned among his associates as a candidate for judicial honors.
As auditor in the Remington estate, Mr. Adams supervised the distribution of a quarter of a million of dollars. One of the most notable of Mr. Adams' recent cases was that of Worrall vs. Bailey, the celebrated suit in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, in which he won a decision by the judgment of the court resulting in the overthrow of a deed for property valued at $35,000, on the ground that it was obtained without consideration by one who had been in a fiduciary relation to the grantor, who was an invalid. A number of estates of descendants in England have been settled by Mr. Adams, who has obtained inheritances and legacies for claimants here, and in commercial and banking circles he is recognized as one of the most competent legal authorities. Out- side of his professional reputation, Mr. Adams enjoys a growing popularity socially and among clubs of which he is a member. While his duties in the practice of law occupy most of his atten-
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tion, he yet finds time for the development of those genial quali- ties which largely tend to make him highly esteemed in the community. He is a Director and one of the most active members of the Lawyers' Club of Philadelphia, and is one of the founders of the University Club. Mr. Adams is also a member of the Art Club, the Philadelphia Yacht Club and the Clover Club. Not only has Mr. Adams a large clientele in his profession, but he has a number of friends both in and out of it, for his genial dis- position and kindly nature assure him of the friendship and regard of all who know him.
J. SIMPSON AFRICA.
SIMPSON AFRICA was born in the borough of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, September 15, 1832, and is a son of Daniel Africa, who served two terms as Deputy Surveyor of Huntingdon County and for more than two decades as a Justice of the Peace. His paternal ancestors were German, his great-grandfather, Christo- pher Africa, having emigrated about the middle of the last century from Hanover, now a part of Prussia, and settled first at German- town, and later at Hanover, York County, Pennsylvania. His son, Michael, married in York County, but became a resident of Hunt- ingdon in 1791, where Daniel Africa, father of the subject of this memoir, was born, March 19, 1794. In the maternal line Mr. Africa's ancestors were from Scotland. In this line, his great- grandfather, James Murray, was brought to America about 1730, when he was an infant, by his parents, who settled in what was then Lancaster, but is now Dauphin County. James Murray took an active part in the defense of the Colonies in the struggle that resulted in independence, and served as captain in one of the Lan- caster County companies in the War of the Revolution. Another ancestor was John Simpson, a native of Bucks County, who was also a soldier of the Revolution. Mr. Africa has, among his many valuable possessions, documents bearing the dates of 1775, 1776, 1777, indicative of the services rendered by his patriotic forefathers in the cause of the country. Besides these he has many works and manuscripts relating to the early history of Pennsylvania.
He received his education in the public schools and in the academy of his native borough. In the pursuit of his chosen profession, surveying and civil engineering, he received practical
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Jumpon africa
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J. SIMPSON AFRICA.
training under the instruction of his father and his uncle, James Simpson. In January, 1853, he became a member of the engin- eering corps of the Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Rail- road, on its organization under Samuel W. Mifflin, chief engineer, and assisted in the location of the road. The friendship between the chief engineer and his young assistant remained unbroken until the death of the former. Mr. Africa had just passed his twenty-first year when he was elected to his first public office, that of County Surveyor of Huntingdon County, in October, 1853. He was the Democratic nominee, and although the normal Whig majority was over six hundred, he obtained a majority of one hundred and sixty-five. In 1856, a Presidential year, he was again a candidate, the vote resulting in a tie, but the Court, six months later, appointed his opponent. In the meantime he was assiduous in his profession as a surveyor and came to be recognized as one of the most competent in central Pennsylvania. In 1853 he and Samuel G. Whittaker established a weekly newspaper called the Standing Stone, and for nearly two years he was the proprietor and one of its editors. In 1883 he edited the "History of Hunt- ingdon and Blair Counties," a work of much value. In public addresses, newspaper articles and in various other ways, he largely contributed to the history of the Commonwealth, and especially to that of the Valley of the Juniata.
During the sessions of the Senate of Pennsylvania in 1858 and 1859 he served as Journal Clerk. In October, 1859, he was elected a member of the House of Representatives, serving during the session of 1860. During the Civil War, while he did not for- sake the Democratic organization, he patriotically supported the Gov- ernment. When the office of the Monitor, the organ of the Demo- cracy of Huntingdon County, was wrecked by a mob, he was among the first to join in a letter publicly denouncing the out- rage, and he took an active part in re-establishing the paper. In May, 1875, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of Internal Affairs, serving until May, 1879. The department was created by the Constitution of 1873, and its organization devolved upon Mr. Africa. In 1880, at the request of William A. Wallace, then
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United States Senator, President Hayes appointed him Supervisor of the Census for the Seventh District of Pennsylvania, embracing fourteen counties in the central part of the State, the duties of which he discharged with a thoroughness that won him many expressions of praise. Soon thereafter he was chosen Cashier of the First National Bank of Huntingdon. Having been elected Secretary of Internal Affairs in 1882, he resigned the cashiership, April 1, 1883, so that he could assume the duties of Secretary in May following. His official term of four years expired in 1887.
Mr. Africa was one of the incorporators of the Union Trust Company, of Philadelphia, in October, 1882, and has been a Di- rector ever since. October 13, 1887, he was chosen President, a position he yet holds. He is also a Director of the First Na- tional Bank of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and of the Fidelity Mutual Life Association, of Philadelphia.
He is a member of Mount Moriah Lodge, No. 300, and of Standing Stone Chapter, No. 201, at Huntingdon. He served as Grand Master of Masons of Pennsylvania during the years 1891 and 1892, and is now a member of important standing com- mittees of the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter. He also holds membership in the Engineers' Club, the Franklin Institute, and the Pennsylvania Scotch-Irish Society.
On January 1, 1856, Mr. Africa married Dorothe C., eldest daughter of Joshua Greenland, then Sheriff of Huntingdon County. She died November 15, 1886. Of five children, three sons sur- vive: B. Franklin is Manager of the Gas and Electric Light Works at Huntingdon; J. Murray, a Civil Engineer, also resides there. He graduated at the Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, and is a member of the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia and of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Walter G., a Gas and Electric Engineer, resides in the city of Manchester, New Hampshire, where he is Agent and Mana- ger of the People's Gas Company, Treasurer of the Manchester Electric Light Company, and Director of the Merchants' National Bank. All the sons are married and have children.
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Lemuel Umerman
LEMUEL AMERMAN.
L EMUEL AMERMAN, who was for many years one of the leading attorneys of Scranton, was identified with the advancement of professional and business interests in the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys for a quarter of a century. He was born near Danville, Montour County, Pennsylvania, on October 29, 1846. His paternal ancestors emigrated from Holland with the early Dutch settlers and reached New York in 1695. For many years thereafter Derrick Amerman ran the ferry between New York and what is now Hoboken. The great-grandfather of the subject of this biography, Albert Amerman, settled in New Jersey, near Monmouth, and in the Revolutionary War was one of the bravest soldiers. His son, Albert, came to Pennsylvania, where he farmed; his son, Henry, locating in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The latter's wife was Susan Cook, a native of Pennsylvania, and of English descent. Their son was Jesse C. Amerman, who was the father of Lemuel. He was a farmer and merchant and a man of ability. In 1873-74 he was a member of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania. The mother's ancestors were German, and settled in Pennsylvania before the Revolution. Lemuel Amerman was brought up on a farm, attend- ing school during the winter. At the age of seventeen he taught country school, preparing himself at the Danville Academy for college. He entered Bucknell University, at Lewisburg, and gradu- ated with honors in 1870. He was a teacher in Lewisburg Acad- emy and the State Normal School at Mansfield. In the latter school he was one of the instructors from 1871 to 1874 in the Department of Ancient Languages and English Literature. In
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this field Mr. Amerman won great distinction. However, he felt himself cut out for larger work, and, selecting the law as his pro- fession, entered the offices of Hon. Lewis C. Cassidy and Pierce Archer. He was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar in 1875, and went to Scranton in 1876, where he continued in the profession of law until his death, October 7, 1897.
Mr. Amerman's natural abilities and professional skill brought him into prominence in the city of Scranton, and, in 1878, he was made County Solicitor for a term of three years. In politics he was always a Democrat. In 1880 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives, and his service at Harrisburg was so excellent that he was elected for a second term. He was made State Reporter of the Supreme Court, and reported five volumes of the Pennsylvania State Reports, which he compiled in an admir- able manner, including Volumes III to 115. He was elected City Comptroller of Scranton in 1886 and served two years, during which time he organized many reforms in auditing and disbursing the city's moneys. He was elected a member of the Fifty-second Congress, and while at Washington advocated many important and popular measures. He took an active part in the passage of the bill requiring railroads to equip their cars with air-brakes and automatic couplings, and was active in defeating the "Free Coin- age of Silver " bill. Mr. Amerman's identification with the busi- ness interests of Scranton was considerable. With others he pro- moted and built the Spring Park Water Supply Company's works, in which three hundred miles of water pipe are used for a pro- duction of 25,000,000 gallons of water daily. He was one of the promoters and builders of the Scranton and Pittston Traction Com- pany's road, and also of the Lackawanna Traction Company's line. He was one of the promoters and builders of the Economy Light, Heat and Power Company's steam plant. He was one of the most interested men in Scranton in the matter of its affairs and had great faith in the prospects of the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys. Mr. Amerman always declined to engage in any business outside of those interests mentioned for the reason that he could not give full personal attention to them. To the
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interests enumerated Mr. Amerman gave his entire time, save such as was taken up in the advancement of charitable or social work. He was a Baptist in religion, while respecting thoroughly the entire freedom of worship and creed.
Mr. Amerman was married in 1879 to Susan T. Wallazz, who died four months after the marriage. In 1883 he was married to Mary C. Van Nort, who died in 1886, and, in 1890, he was mar- ried to Ella M. Van Nort. As a result of his second marriage he had two children, Ralph, born in 1884, and Mary T., born in 1886. On October 7, 1897, Mr. Amerman died suddenly of neu- ralgia of the heart, at Blossburg, Tioga County, Pennsylvania. It is probable that never in Scranton a similar instance of a death announcement created such a general shock and such deep, unfeigned regret. Everywhere there were expressions of sadness over the removal of one whom the community could so illy spare. The Bar Association held a meeting and voiced the sentiment of the community in resolutions which set forth the general deep regret at Mr. Amerman's demise, and detailed his professional value and his private virtues.
THEODORE ARMSTRONG.
T THE Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company is one of the best known corporations of the kind in the country, and is counted one of the leading enterprises of the State. Its President, Theodore Armstrong, has been identified with its progress ever since his youth, and he is now at the helm of this great industrial organization.
THEODORE ARMSTRONG was born in New York City in October, 1844, and was one of seven children. His parents, descendants of well known French and Swedish families, removed to Brooklyn, where they resided for many years, his father being a contractor and builder, and a man noted for his sterling integ- rity. Mr. Armstrong's paternal grandfather was born in Ireland and his grandmother in Scotland. His great-grandfather on his mother's side was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and his grandfather served his country in the War of 1812. True to the patriotic impulses thus endowed upon him, when the War of the Rebellion broke out, in 1861, he, with two brothers, enlisted in the cause of the Union, serving until 1864, when they were honorably discharged. Mr. Armstrong's mother is still living, and remembers well those troublous times. Although nearly eighty years old, she is hale and hearty, being the sole survivor of her branch of the De Ronda family which came to this country shortly before the Revolutionary War. Mr. Armstrong in his youth received a public school and academic education, the science of mathematics having a particular interest for him.
When he left the army he became connected with the Internal Revenue Department of Philadelphia, auditing the accounts of 84
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collectors of the first and second districts respectively. During the latter part of 1865 he became associated with the Pennsyl- vania Salt Manufacturing Company, the main office of which concern was in Philadelphia. His knowledge of mathematics practically fitted him for an important position in the Company's employ, and in the early part of 1866 he was appointed chief accountant at their factory, located at Natrona, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He spent seven years there mastering the details of the many chemical processes, and his experience afterwards proved invaluable in conducting the Company's general affairs. In 1873 he was appointed auditor of the Company, and transferred to Philadelphia, for by that time he had so thoroughly improved the opportunities afforded him that he was counted among the most valuable adjuncts to the organization's success. Very shortly afterwards he was elected to the office of Secretary; then he was made Treasurer, and, still urged on by ambition, backed by natural ability, was made Vice-President. Eventually he became President. He is not a director or officer of any other corporation, although he has been tendered these posts upon several occasions. In consequence of the multiplicity of duties connected with the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company's large interests, all his time has been absorbed in his office of President. One of Mr. Armstrong's most notable improvements in the Com- pany's affairs, and one unequaled in its particular sphere, was the system of accounts by which the chemical process involved in the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company's work is followed. So exact is the system that the cost of every article produced is known to the thousandth part of a cent per pound. Of this method, Henry Pemberton, a gentleman of the highest scientific attainments, for many years vice-president and general superin- tendent of the Company, has said that its adoption made practical the only thorough-going course in the arrangement of the Com- pany's affairs. The operations of a chemical and metal works, embracing at least sixty acres of buildings, are necessarily com- plicated, but with the system introduced by Mr. Armstrong the technical and commercial branches move along with marvelous ease.
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Although the discovery of new chemicals and improvements in the making of alkali, both by the Le Blanc and ammonia pro- cesses, have proven threatening innovations to the kryolith indus- try, Mr. Armstrong, as President of the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company, has met all competition triumphantly. The introduction into the United States of cupreous sulphur ore from the Rio Tinto mines, in Spain, whereby the cost of sul- phuric acid has been extraordinarily reduced, is due to the efforts of the present administration of the Company. The wet extrac- tion process for treating the cinders resulting from Spanish ore, carried on at the Company's works in Natrona, is the only one of the kind in the United States. Copper, iron and the precious metals, the latter at present in limited quantities, are obtained from the cinders. A large number of other improvements have been inaugurated by this Company, many of which have been the work of Mr. Armstrong.
Mr. Armstrong is a member of the Union League, Manufac- turers' Club, the American Chemical Society, the National Asso- ciation of Manufacturers, the Geographical Society of Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Bookkeepers' Association of Philadelphia. Mr. Armstrong is also a member of the Veteran Corps, First Regiment Infantry, National Guard of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Fairmount Park Art Association, the Mercantile Beneficial Association and the Civil Service Reform Association. He has enjoyed remarkable health, having had little or no sickness during his entire life of fifty-three years.
Mr. Armstrong was married, in June, 1867, to Miss Fannie Karr, daughter of Daniel Karr, of New York. They have six children and three grandchildren, all living. One daughter, Mary, is married to William Moyn, Jr., of Philadelphia; another, Clara, is married to Howard Townsend Alexander, of Elizabeth, New Jersey. They have four sons: Edward, William, Robert De Ronda, and Theodore, Jr.
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WILLIAM H. ARMSTRONG.
ILLIAM HEPBURN ARMSTRONG was born September 7, 1824, at Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. His father, James Arm- strong, was born in Berks County, February 15, 1794. The family removed to Milton, Pennsylvania, early in the present century, and James Armstrong, while still a young man, went to Williamsport, where he studied law and was admitted to the Bar. He practiced until his death, August 13, 1867, having filled a place upon the Supreme Court Bench of the State. He married Sarah Hepburn, daughter of James and Mary Hopewell Hepburn, of Northumberland, Pennsylvania, who was born in 1801, and died in 1829. From this union three children were born: William H., the subject of this biography, Mary Hopewell and Sarah Emily Perry. William H. Armstrong graduated at Princeton College in June, 1847, being one of the foremost members of his class. He was admitted to the Bar in 1849, having studied under his father. While still a student he was appointed Clerk of the United States Court at Williamsport, which office he held until 1854, when he resigned and removed to Philadelphia, opening an office in the Mercantile Library Building, then at Fifth and Library streets. At the outset of his career, June 3, 1851, he married Annie, daughter of Robert Earp, then residing in "Girard Row," now 1107 Chestnut Street. In 1856 he was suddenly taken ill, and for more than two years was compelled to retire from active life. During his convalescence he traveled in Europe and Egypt, and on his return entered into partnership with his father, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. In 1860 and 1861 he was elected as a Republican to the Legislature I .- 7.
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