USA > Pennsylvania > Prominent and progressive Pennsylvanians of the nineteenth century. Volume II > Part 12
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Upon returning home, Mr. Elliott, after a season devoted to rural pursuits, entered a store in Williamsport as clerk, and later one at Canton, Missouri. After this experience he returned to his father's farm, and was there when the first shot at Fort Sumter startled the nation. Among the first to respond to the call for troops, he enlisted as a private in Company A, Eleventh Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, and was present at the battle of Falling Waters, Virginia. Having served his term of enlistment with a good record he was honorably discharged, and, returning from the war, embarked in the mercantile business, which he carried on success- fully for five years. He then went to Oil City, and, prospering in his operations, returned to Williamsport, where he engaged in real estate transactions, and, in 1870, erected the Academy of Music, one of the finest blocks in that city, at the corner of West Fourth and Pine streets. For over twenty years it was the city's principal play house, being conducted by Mr. Elliott himself with great success ; but, a few years ago it, was abandoned as a theatre and the building re-modelled into one of the finest office structures in the interior of Pennsylvania. In 1872 Mr. Elliott became ex- press agent for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company at Williamsport, which post he held until 1879, when he embarked in a new industry, the manufacturing of asphaltum paint, an
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establishment that has grown into the National Paint Works, one of Williamsport's most important industrial enterprises. The prod- uct of this plant is in demand by railroad and bridge companies, and orders from Central and South America and Australia, as well as every State in the Union, are numerous. Aside from this, Mr. Elliott is interested in other business enterprises.
Politically, William G. Elliott has met with many honors at the hands of the people, for he is generally admired for his integ- rity and his many sterling qualities. In the spring of 1893 he was nominated for Mayor by the Republican party, and was elected by a handsome majority. The vigor and aggressiveness of his administration tended to bring about many public improve- ments. Many of the city's most important public works were established during his term, including the erection of the City Hall, one of the finest municipal structures in the State, which cost $70,000. When he retired he had won the confidence, respect and esteem of the entire community.
In 1862 Mr. Elliott married Emily N. Ellis, and they have three children, May E., Norman and Wistar N. His domestic life has been most happy, and his family are members of the First Presbyterian Church. His home, one of the finest in the city, is located at the corner of West Fourth and Elmira streets.
HENRY C. ENGLAND.
HE manufacturing interests of Pennsylvania have engaged the serious attention of the most thought- ful and energetic men in all sections of the State, and they have shown at all times remarkable boldness and comprehensiveness in their enter- prises. Their successful operations have merited much public praise, and, though urged to let their virtues and accomplishments be reflected before the world, they have preferred to go onward and upward in a quiet manner without ostentatious display. Henry C. England, the subject of this sketch, can be truthfully classed amongst such men.
HENRY C. ENGLAND was born at Swedesboro, Gloucester County, New Jersey, November 17, 1844. His parents were James and Ann Elizabeth England, who descended from an eminent family of that State, contributing some of the most distinguished men in its history. He attended the common schools until he was fifteen years of age, and by that time acquired a fair educa- tion. He was then obliged to assist in supporting his parents, and secured employment in a general store at Swedesboro, New Jersey, in a year finding an opportunity to improve his situation in a similar store at Paulsboro, New Jersey. While engaged in the latter place, the Civil War broke out, and, in September, 1862, he enlisted in the Twenty-fourth Regiment of New Jersey Volun- teers. Though only eighteen years of age, he was selected as Third Sergeant of his company, and mustered into service for a term of nine months. He participated in the battles of Fred- ericksburg and Chancellorsville with great bravery, at the end of his term being honorably discharged and mustered out of service.
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Shortly afterward he went to Philadelphia, and was employed by the Biddle Hardware Company, as salesman for the State of New Jersey. He remained with this firm for eight years, until July, 1872. During this time he became thoroughly familiar with the business, and on account of his great success in extending the trade and influence of his firm, was recognized as a man of great worth and promise. He was made Manager of the sales depart- ment, and, accepting this position, he removed to Reading.
Mr. England at once exhibited marked ability in the manage- ment of this department, and it was so highly appreciated by the men who constituted the company, Matthan Harbster, William Harbster and William M. Griscom, that he was given an interest in the profits. This was within a year after he had been engaged. He increased his zeal for the welfare of the company, and by the year 1880 was so highly valued that he was permitted to acquire a one-fourth interest in the firm. In 1886 he was elected Treas- urer, and he still holds this responsible position to the entire satisfaction of all the stockholders. In the year 1888 almost the entire plant, situated in the southern section of Reading, near the River Schuylkill, valued at a million dollars, was destroyed by fire. Notwithstanding this great loss, the finances of the company were managed by the policy of Mr. England in such a manner as to preserve a first-class credit. The plant was greatly enlarged, and the trade annually extended until the present time. Its busi- ness relations now reach out over the world, and its productions in design, finish and excellence equal those of any other hardware establishment. Much of this can be attributed to the Treasurer.
Since his removal to Reading, in 1872, Mr. England has been recognized as a man of great public spirit on account of his con- stant and increasing interest in its general welfare. Reading is one of the most prosperous manufacturing cities in the United States, and its rapid development in population, wealth and influence can be attributed to the earnest efforts of business men like him. Mr. England has been prominently identified with banking inter- ests in Reading for a number of years. When the Reading National Bank was organized, in 1893, he was elected as one of its Direc-
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tors, which he still is. Previously, for a number of years, he had been a Director of the Citizens' (State) Bank. The United Trac- tion Company, at Reading, selected him a Director in 1896, and he is still officiating in that capacity. After being a member of the Board of Trade for several years, he was chosen one of its Vice-Presidents, and served for two years. In 1896 Mr. England assisted in the formation of a company for the extensive produc- tion and sale of bicycles. The result of his efforts was the Reading Cycle Manufacturing Company, and he was elected President, which position he still occupies. Mr. England is Treasurer of the Reading Screw Company, Philadelphia; Vice-President of the Wilder Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia; President of the Norristown Wire Company, Norristown, and President of the Auburn Bolt and Nut Company, Auburn, Schuylkill County. These companies were organized chiefly by his suggestion and financial encouragement. Owing to Mr. England's wide and suc- cessful experience, he is frequently consulted, and investors feel that if he encourages an enterprise it can be relied upon.
While at Paulsboro, a young man starting out in the busi- ness world, Mr. England became acquainted with Sallie Jessup Gill, of that place, whom he married in 1874. They have a refined and promising daughter, Mary, and reside in a beautiful home on Perkiomen Avenue, Reading. Mr. England has now resided at Reading a quarter of a century, and in this time he has come to be thoroughly known, appreciated and respected by every business man of the city. In his social affairs, as in his business, he is straightforward, frank and honorable.
The Rembrandt Eng Co. Philt George lt Evans.
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GEORGE W. EVANS.
MONG the members of the minor judiciary who con- stitute Philadelphia's magisterial body George W. Evans is recognized as a thoroughly representative Philadelphian. Connected with the progress of the Thirty-fourth Ward ever since its creation, when it was given birth by the division of the Twenty-fourth Ward, he has always taken a warm interest in all matters of municipal improvement which tend to advance the material welfare of his section of the city. Mr. Evans served through the War of the Rebellion with distinction, and at its close he entered into the less sanguinary but more varied experiences of warfare on the field of politics. His election to the post of Magistrate of the Twenty- fourth District Court of Philadelphia was a public recognition of his worth, and so well did he fulfill the duties of the post that in February, 1895, he was re-elected for a second term.
GEORGE W. EVANS was born in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, February 25, 1846. His parents were Nehemiah and Eliza Evans, the former being a native of the same county and of Welsh descent. His mother's maiden name was Lodge, and she was born in Philadelphia county, being of English descent. George W. Evans received his early education at the Academy at Lower Merion, and his family removing to Hestonville, now the central portion of the Thirty-fourth Ward, when he was six years of age, he finished his scholastic training in that section, being admitted finally to the Boys' High School. At the conclusion of his studies, he entered his father's employ to assist him in the office work necessary to the management of his extensive lumber, flour and feed business. He was given a
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thorough training in all the branches of the business, but, on the death of his father, the establishment passed into the hands of his brother, and George W. Evans, who had been a prominent member of the Monroe Engine Company of the Old Volunteer Fire Department, became a District Engineer in the Philadelphia Paid Fire Department, which had just come into existence. Here he displayed his usual executive ability and energetic temperament, and was frequently consulted by his superior officers in perfecting the new system. So thoroughly did Mr. Evans enter into the spirit of this work that he attracted the attention of the higher authori- ties and won recognition as an expert on all plans connected with the proper establishment of the department. He displayed much intelligence and skill, and this, as well as his fearless conduct in time of danger, marked him as a man worthy of much higher office. For many years George W. Evans was one of the Twenty- fourth Ward's most active political spirits, and he was among the first to agitate and demand the division of the ward, maintaining that if the suburban portion were made a separate ward, public improvement would be further bettered by the Councilmen elected from that section than by men coming from the eastern portion of the ward, where the streets were well paved, adequate schools provided and all municipal improvements made. His untiring energy in behalf of this movement drew many adherents, and finally the project was successful, the ward being divided. This time the public spirited citizen was rewarded with the nomina- tion by his party for Magistrate, receiving the vote of every delegate in the convention from the new ward. He was elected to the minor judiciary by a large majority at the February elec- tions of 1890, and entered upon the duties of the office, provided with a natural ability and skill successfully to conduct it, a fact which has since been affirmed in a number of instances. In his community, aside from the general recognition of his merit as an important official, he was greatly respected both in social and mer- cantile circles. In December, 1894, Magistrate Evans was a candi- date for a second term. His nomination was almost unanimous, and he was re-elected by a good majority in February, 1895.
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Magistrate Evans is known not alone for his capability as an official of the minor judiciary, but in business circles, particularly where real estate interests are concerned, and his thoroughness in this latter branch is equally recognized. When he was but eighteen years of age he had already won his spurs in the field of battle, having enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Ninety- sixth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and serving until the close of the War. He passed through the service with much honor, and after returning to Philadelphia, when the civil strife had reached its close, he entered with the same activity into politics. He became interested in the material welfare of that portion of West Philadelphia in which he resided, and through his instru- mentality the western portion of the Twenty-fourth Ward was advanced and improved in a large degree. The result of George W. Evans' public spirit is manifested in many fine dwellings, churches, school-houses and the municipal improvements which through his agitation and constant care have been brought about.
Mr. Evans is a prominent Freemason, being a member of the Oriental Lodge, Ancient York Masons, No. 385, Harmony Chapter, Mary Commandery. He is a member of the Penrose Republican Club, the Thirty-fourth Ward Republican Club, the M. S. Quay Republican Club of the Thirty-fourth Ward, and other representa- tive political organizations. Mr. Evans is an aggressive and active leader in the Republican party throughout West Philadelphia, and the numerous demands made upon his time by the organization, together with his duties in his magisterial office, occupy his entire attention to the exclusion of all other interests. However, he is well known socially and enjoys the reputation of being a genial companion and a delightful host.
Mr. Evans has been twice married, his first wife having been Maggie J. Daly, who died about two years after their marriage, leaving one child, who is now a charming young lady, about eighteen years of age. For sixteen years he remained a widower, and then, in 1895, was united in wedlock to Annie G. Duffy, an estimable Philadelphia lady.
JOHN E. FAUNCE.
PROMINENT member of the Philadelphia Bar and A long the leader of his party in the halls of the State Legislature, John E. Faunce, one of Phila- delphia's most distinguished jurists and lawmakers, has had a busy career. Like many of our most sagacious statesmen, he had a long preliminary training as a lawyer, during which time he acquired an intimate knowledge of the statutes of the State, their defects and insufficiencies. With such experience he was particularly fitted to enter the chambers of legislation, especially when his gifts of mind were abundantly supplemented by a personal charm and magnetism that made him hosts of friends, and a frank but forcible manner that inspired conviction.
JOHN EGNER FAUNCE was born on October 26, 1840, in Millersburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Samuel Faunce and Sarah Barry. His father was a native of Maryland, but had for years resided in this State. His mother was a native of Lancaster County. While the subject of this biography was but a small boy and residing with his parents in his native town, his father, a staunch Democrat, was nominated for Sheriff. The normal Whig majority was a large one, and the nomination was regarded merely as a compliment, as a Democrat was considered to have no chance for election. So great was the popularity of the elder Faunce, however, that he was triumphantly . elected after a spirited personal canvass, and had the honor of being the first of his party elected as Sheriff of Dauphin County. The duties of the office necessitated the removal of the family to Harrisburg, the county seat, where the early boyhood of Mr.
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Faunce was spent. After a preliminary course in the public schools he continued his studies at Williamsport-Dickinson Col- lege, where he graduated, leaving behind him an enviable record for application and scholarship. Mr. Faunce was a student at Williamsport when, in 1863, the Confederate Army invaded Penn- sylvania. Laying aside his books for the weapons of war, he volunteered and went to the front, serving in the Nineteenth Cav- alry under Colonel Wincoop and in the First New York under Colonel Boyd.
Upon his graduating, his inclinations running in the direction of law, he returned to Philadelphia and registered as a student in the offices of Hon. Chas. Ingersoll, a prominent barrister of that period, also entering the Law Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and graduating in 1865, having shown an aptitude for mastering the intricacies and an appreciation of the delicate points of legal practice that gave abundant promise of the emi- nence he has since attained.
Immediately upon his graduation he was admitted to the bar in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, and, at the same time, in the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth, and at once entered upon the practice of his profession. He associated himself in business with the late Judge Greenbank, and soon built up a large and lucrative practice.
Always an ardent and enthusiastic Democrat, he early made himself heard in the councils of his party, and, as early as 1868, was sent as a Delegate to a National Convention. In 1874 he was elected to the State Legislature, remaining a member of its House of Representatives for fourteen years. Scarce had he taken his seat when he began to make his impress upon that body. His invincible powers of argument, backed by an eloquence that was exceptional, soon gained him hearers whenever he rose to speak, and he was soon recognized as the Democratic leader on the floor. At the sessions of 1877, 1879 and 1881 he had the honor of being selected as the minority candidate for the Speaker- ship and, in 1883, when his party had the ascendancy, he was almost unanimously selected to preside It is a remarkable fact
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that during the long session of eleven months following, Speaker Faunce was not absent for a single sitting. That he has not labored without results is evidenced by the many measures that owe their place on the statute books of the State to his support. During his legislative membership Mr. Faunce had control of and secured the passage of laws bearing upon the prevention of cruelty to children and the abducting of girls under sixteen years of age. He also took an active interest in securing appropriations for the State University and other educational institutions. That his public services have won the approval of the State at large is proven by the strong support, by press and public, accorded his candidacy for the nomination for the Lieutenant-Governorship in 1890.
He is married to Miss Sarah Pearson Hatfield, a daughter of the late Dr. Nathan L. Hatfield, a prominent physician of Phila- delphia, who was a graduate in the first class of Jefferson Medical College and President of its Alumni Association. They have one child living.
Mr. Faunce is now giving his attention to his widely diversi- fied interests, the most important of which is his extensive law practice, although he is also interested in several corporations, among them the Clearfield, Conemaugh and Western Railway Company, of which he is a Director.
Mr. Faunce comes from a sturdy race of people, long-lived and hardy; his mother is living at the advanced age of ninety- six, her faculties clear as when she was a young girl. As Mr. Faunce takes most excellent care of his health, this would seem to indicate that he has many years of usefulness before him.
A.E .LI'Is Em
JOHN FERTIG.
L ESS than half a century ago, when the discovery of oil in the great petroleum fields of Pennsylvania created a fever stronger in its intensity than that which attended the finding of gold in California, a large portion of the best youth of the State flocked to the oil regions to develop one of the greatest sources of wealth the Keystone State has known. John Fertig, of Titus- ville, Pennsylvania, was one of the first to embark in the new enterprise, and that he won lasting success is due not alone to opportunity, but to his ability and readiness.
JOHN FERTIG was born March 17, 1837, in Venango County, Pennsylvania, on a farm, below Gas City. His father was one of the early settlers of the county and he reared a family of twelve children, of which John was the third. As soon as his age would permit, he was sent to a neighboring school, and there pursued such studies as were afforded by the then incomplete system. Young Fertig grew to manhood, working with his father upon their little farm until he was sixteen years old, when he engaged to a nearby farmer. At the age of seventeen, with almost nothing for his capital, he started out for the great lumbering regions of the Susquehanna River, more than one hundred and fifty miles from home, and, after performing the journey on foot, reached his destina- tion late in the fall of 1855. He remained there until 1856, when he resolved to educate himself, and securing books he studiously applied himself. So rapid was his progress that a year later he was placed in charge of a district school in the vicinity of Niell- town, Pennsylvania. During four years he attended an academic institution at Nielltown and greatly increased his studies in higher
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courses, until, during the fall and winter of 1859 and 1860, when the wonderful oil developments attracted general attention and inspired Mr. Fertig to ambitious efforts in that direction. He was without capital, save his winter's salary, but backed up by deter- mination and willingness to work, he obtained a sub-lease on five acres in wholly undeveloped territory. This was his first oil enter- prise and it was a failure. However, he was not discouraged, but continued his operations, afterwards with more success. He experi- mented with different wells until he secured the most successful ones, one of which, strangely enough, was that which he had origi- nally abandoned and which finally yielded a flow of three hundred barrels a day. This was in the spring of 1861, and Mr. Fertig formed a partnership with John W. Hammond, of Erie, Pennsyl- vania, and together they conducted some of the most successful operations in the oil regions.
The firm of Fertig & Hammond operated at different sections with success, carrying on a refining plant and establishing a bank at Foxburg. Not alone to the profitable business of oil producing did Mr. Fertig give his attention, but, having plenty of energy and capacity for work to spare, he became interested in other business fields, and in Democratic politics. He established himself in Titus- ville, where his firm had offices, and there shortly became one of the largest property owners of the city, as well as one of its most prominent and enterprising business men. He built what was at that time one of the largest structures in the city, the "Fertig Block " and was also part owner of a large flouring mill and several other enterprises. He bought a number of building lots, many of them now situated in the heart of the city, and in other ways evi- denced his progressive spirit. In April, 1873, Mr. Fertig was nominated for the office of Mayor by the Democratic Party, his opponent being Doctor W. B. Roberts, one of the most popular men of the Republican Party. The contest was a sharp and deci- sive one, but success smiled upon Mr. Fertig, and his majority was about five hundred, the largest ever given to any candidate in that city in a contested election.
Mr. Fertig was re-elected Mayor of Titusville twice. He was
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also made School Comptroller. He was elected Senator on the Democratic ticket in Crawford County in 1876, the balance of his party's candidates being defeated by a majority of about one thou- sand. In 1878 he was the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant- Governor. When the Commercial Bank of Titusville was organ- ized, in 1882, Mr. Fertig was elected Vice-President, and he has served ever since in that capacity. He is President of the Titus- ville Iron Works, a very successful industrial enterprise, and he is at the head of the National Oil Company, and was also chief officer of the Union Refining Company, which was an association of refining companies. For three years he was its Treasurer, from 1892 to 1895, and, in 1893, he tided the United States Pipe Line Company over a financial crisis which threatened its ruin.
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