USA > Pennsylvania > Prominent and progressive Pennsylvanians of the nineteenth century. Volume II > Part 17
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JOHN GUITERAS.
Here he proved himself an apt student, and by his ardent enthu- siasm and close application to study, rapidly won the respect and esteem of his instructors, while his genial manners and social nature gained for him hosts of friends among his fellow students, and formed him many friendships and associations that have con- tinued in after life. He graduated from those famous halls of learning after a four years' course, in 1873, and entered upon the practice of his profession. So thoroughly did he devote himself to it, and so unerring was his judgment in matters medical, that his fame and practice, which his ability as a student had fore- shadowed, came rapidly, and, in 1880, he was appointed to an office in the United States Marine Hospital service, which is charged with the especial duties, aside from looking after the health of the soldier marine, of protecting the country from epidemics and enforcing a quarantine against infected districts. This appoint- ment, won by so young a man, and he a native of a foreign land, was ample proof that that natural instinct which must be pos- sessed by a physician who hopes to attain eminence in his pro- fession was present in a large degree in Dr. Guiteras. Engrossed in his work, and recognizing the opportunities it gave him for practice and study, he remained in the service of the Government until 1889, when, notwithstanding the fact that honors and advancements had come rapidly to him, and the highest honors in the service seemed near, he resigned to accept the chair of Pathology at his beloved Alma Mater, the University of Pennsylvania, a place which he has since filled with distinction and ability.
The high honor of an appointment as Pathologist at the Phil- adelphia Hospital came to him in 1893, and, when the first Pan- American Medical Congress was convened, his knowledge of the healing art, as well as his linguistic attainments, eminently qual- ified him for the exalted position that he was selected to hold- that of presiding over the deliberations of one of its sections, a post which he filled with his usual ability and dignity. Although he severed actual connection with the Government service in 1889, the fact that he is the acknowledged authority on fevers in this country has frequently led the nation, in hours when it seemed
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that an epidemic of the dreaded Yellow Jack was inevitable, to call him to again take the field. Before the severance of his offi- cial relations with the Marine Hospital service, he had charge of the fight against the fever at Key West, Florida, in 1887, the Jacksonville epidemic in 1888; and so thorough was his knowledge of the disease, and so successful were his curative and preventive methods, that he was again called into the field by the outbreak at Brunswick, Georgia, in 1892. In 1897 he was once more requested by the Surgeon-General to proceed to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, when an outbreak was threatened. He obeyed the call, and performed most efficient service. With a view to preventing an epidemic by improved sanitary methods, he made an inspecting tour of the South under Government auspices in 1894, and again in 1895.
But one other thought shares a place in Dr. Guiteras' mind, and that is the sad condition of Cuba, his native land. For its freedom he long has hoped and dreamed. Foremost among those who have struggled to provide the battling patriots with food, ammunition, medicine and arms, and who have long and earnestly striven to secure recognition from this Government, he has, since 1896, been the agent of the Cuban Republic, and has had charge of its interests in Philadelphia, and in the State of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Guiteras was married in 1883 to Dolores Gener, also a native of Cuba, and the union has been blessed with one daughter.
HORATIO B. HACKETT.
İHİ ORATIO B. HACKETT, Register of Wills, of Philadelphia, was born in Lower Penn's Neck, Salem County, New Jersey, January 8, 1844. He was named for his uncle, Professor Horatio Balch Hackett, of Newton Theological Seminary, New- ton, Massachussetts. Richard Hackett, his father, was born in Haverhill, Massachussetts, and was a graduate of Amherst College, being, in his early manhood, a teacher at Winslow, New Jersey. There he married Miss Mary J. Davis, and Horatio was a result of this union. When he was three months old the family moved to Philadelphia, and, upon reaching the proper age, was sent to the William Gorgas Primary School. He went to the Morris Grammar School, but reverses of fortune made it necessary for the boy to begin the battle of life at an early age. He was but sixteen years old, working on a farm at Gibbstown, New Jersey, when the War of the Rebellion broke out. Of an ardent impetuous disposition, he con- cluded to fight in behalf of the cause of the Union, and on the same day that he announced his decision he enlisted in Company B, 8Ist Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. This was on July 25, 1861, and the soldier boy stood but four feet eleven inches in height and weighed but eighty-nine pounds. Shortly afterwards he was transferred to Company C, under Captain Philip R. Schuyler, who was killed at Antietam, and for whom Post 51, Grand Army of the Republic, is named. He then served in the Peninsular Campaign under General Mcclellan, as a private, but upon being taken sick, was relieved by the Colonel of the severer duties of the active soldier and placed in the drum corps. He remained there until after the battle of Reem's Station, Virginia, re-enlisting in the
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Horatio. B. Hackett
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winter of 1863. In the battles in front of Petersburg he was an active participant and for gallantry was promoted to the post of Orderly Sergeant. Being recommended to Governor Curtin for still further honors, in a short time he received a commission as Second Lieutenant. He afterwards was made First Lieutenant, and for honorable conduct and patriotic ardor in battle was advanced to the position of Captain. On April 7, 1865, during the last engagement at Farmville, Virginia, which was a particularly bloody one, his regiment escaped with only the colonel, two other officers, thirty-six men and the flag. Captain Hackett was captured by the Confederates, but was rescued by the Union soldiers two days after with Lee's army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. After the war Captain Hackett served for two years as brakeman on the Reading Railroad, and for efficiency was promoted to the post of fireman, where he served for three years. He began about that time to take an active interest in politics, and was appointed letter carrier by Postmaster Bingham, and subsequently was made a night inspector in the Custom House.
Mr. Hackett's thoroughness in office work and his full apprecia- tion of the duties attached to offices of political preferment, led to his being recognized as one of the most prominent members of the Young Republican party. For several years he was employed as a clerk in the office of the Register of Wills, and under General Kinsey he served in the office as State Appraiser. In 1887 Mr. Hackett was honored by his party with the nomination for the office of Police Magistrate, and his popularity and trustworthiness sufficed to elect him to the post. In 1892 and 1897 he was re-elected. In 1896 Magistrate Hackett was supported and urged by a powerful and influential portion of the Republican party to be a candidate for the office of Sheriff of Philadelphia, but political events and the demands of his party shaped themselves in such a way that he deemed it expedient and wise to withdraw his name from the contest, thereby winning for himself general admiration and esteem.
Mr. Hackett is essentially a Philadelphian, for ever since he was three months old he has lived in the same neighborhood, and
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for thirty years has resided in the Eighteenth Division of the Thirty-first Ward. For the past twenty-five years he has been a member of the Ward, City, and State Committees, and for two years has been Treasurer of the Republican City Campaign Com- mittee. He was an alternate delegate to the Minneapolis and Chicago Republican Conventions that nominated Harrison for President, and was a delegate from the Fifth District to the St. Louis Convention which nominated Major Mckinley. He was pronounced in his preference for McKinley, and was one of the two Philadelphia delegates who voted for him. In August, 1897, his thoroughness as a Republican and his long years of efficient service were recognized when he was unanimously nominated by the party for the office of Register of Wills, a post with the duties of which his years of service in the office had thoroughly familiarized him. At the November election he was the choice of the people of Philadelphia by a handsome majority, and is now serving in the office to the satisfaction of his entire community.
Mr. Hackett was married April 9, 1871, to Jane F. Lukens, and as a result of this union four children were born, three boys and one girl. He is a charter member of Post No. 51, Grand Army of the Republic, a member of the Pennsylvania Commandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion, War Veterans' Club, Lodge No. 3, Free and Accepted Masons, Germantown Chapter No. 208, Philadelphia Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar, Philadelphia Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Philadelphia Council, No. II, Royal and Select Masons, Lu Lu Temple, Arabic Order Knights of the Mystic Shrine, the New England Society of Pennsyl- vania, Knights of Birmingham, No. 16, Union Republican Club of Philadelphia, Vesta Club of the Thirty-first Ward.
AMOS H. HALL.
P ROMINENT among the self-made men of the Com- monwealth is Amos H. Hall, one of Philadelphia's manufacturers and leading business men. Mr. Hall is a manufacturer of vats and cedar tanks and numerous accessories of a similar nature which are useful in dyeing trades, the manufacture of paper, morocco, leather and brewing and fermentation. His productions have won a national reputation, and Mr. Hall's name is recog- nized everywhere as that of a typical American business man and one who keeps step with the advancement of the century.
AMOS H. HALL was born in Norwich, Connecticut, July 21, 1845. His parents were Estes Harrison Hall and Susan Jane Beebe. His father was a pistol maker in the old firm of Allen & Whee- lock, which, many years ago, was one of the representative Ameri- can manufacturing establishments in the United States. His father and mother were both American born and were people of highly patriotic impulses. His mother's grandfather was a large property holder in Norwich as far back as 1700, at which time the Colonies were just beginning to flourish and rejoice in the growth which afterwards made them independent States. In this development and in the subsequent revolution undertaken by the patriots to win their independence Mr. Hall's early ancestors were prominent participants. The history of the country for two cen- turies abounds with instances of this. Among his other interesting papers Mr. Hall possesses a deed that his mother's grandfather had for a thousand acres of lands in one grant.
Amos H. Hall was educated in a private school in Norwich, Connecticut, for a term of three years. After this he entered the
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Norwich Free Academy for the purpose of developing such knowl- edge as he had absorbed up until that time. This was in 1857 and he remained there until the following spring, when he began to work for himself. He was the youngest pupil that had ever entered the Academy up to the time he left, and he was also one of the most successful. His achievements as a scholar were fol- lowed later in life by his progress as a man of business and a participant in the chief manufacturing interests of his city. After leaving school, in 1857, he went to work on a farm, where he gained physical development on an equality with his mental attain- ments. He came to Pennsylvania, in 1859, and ever since that time has been engaged in advancing the business interests of the State, while, at the same time, achieving prosperity. His first entrance into business in Philadelphia was in 1868. Prior to this he had served for five years as a paper maker, learning the trade in its entirety. In 1865 he determined to enter the business field and three years later organized the firm of Fisher & Hall, to manufacture cedar vats and tanks. On January 1, 1877, the name was changed to the Amos H. Hall Cedar Vat and Tank Factory, and it has become under this name one of the most successful manufactories of its kind in the country. In fact, Mr. Hall's cedar vat and tank factory is now the largest and most complete in the United States. It is situated on Second Street, above Cam- bria, Philadelphia, and there are made all descriptions of vats, tubs, tanks and water boxes, in great numbers. One of Mr. Hall's specialties in the manufacturing line is tubs and chests for paper makers, and his knowledge of the latter trade has enabled him to attain perfection. For sixteen years Mr. Hall was established at 1143 to 1147 North Front Street, Philadelphia, and it had become one of the best known establishments in the city. However, when he removed to the new and commodious building, he indicated his progressive business methods by introducing the newest and most improved machinery and fully equipping the establishment in all modern details.
Mr. Hall is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows organi- zations and has held many positions of honor and trust in these
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societies. He is a Past Grand Patriarch of the Grand Encamp- ment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Pennsylvania, and was Grand Master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Pennsylvania during the years 1896 and 1897. In Masonic circles Mr. Hall is equally prominent. He is Past Master of the Blue Lodge, and Past High Priest of his Chapter. Mr. Hall also enjoys the distinction and the Masonic honor of being a Past Com- mander of Philadelphia Commandery, No. 2, of Masonic Knights Templar. He is Past Officer in all the bodies of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite and is now Commander-in-Chief of the Philadelphia Consistory, Thirty-second Degree, and will be until December, 1898. He is one of the few men who have received the grade of Thirty-third Degree of Masons, an honor which has been accorded him on account of his intense interest and active participation in the affairs of the order.
On December 31, 1868, Mr. Hall was married to Miriam Steel, of Roxborough. They have four children living. The oldest, a daughter, is married to George F. Eisenhardt, Superintendent of one of the departments of the Wharton Switch Company, of Phila- delphia. His other children are with him at home. His only son, a young man of twenty, is learning his father's business with him at the factory on Second Street. It is Mr. Hall's intention to fully instruct his son in the details of the trade, and to this end he is desirous of making him familiar with all the workings of the manufactory.
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FREDERICK HALTERMAN.
HILE he is not a Pennsylvanian by nativity, yet Frederick Halterman, the subject of this biography, has well earned a place among the prominent men of the Commonwealth by reason of his long and active career as a citizen and merchant. For upwards of forty years Mr. Halterman was well in the front of business affairs, and, during a large period of that time he was further identified with the advancement of the State and particu- larly of Philadelphia, the city of his adoption, as a leader of politi- cal thought. In Select Council he exhibited an active spirit in the conduct of municipal affairs, and as a Member of Congress he indicated the fact that he possessed ability as well as sufficient determination to adhere to the principles of his party and the interests of his constituents.
FREDERICK HALTERMAN was born on October 22, 1831, at Vegesack, on the Weser, which is a historic part of the old Hanse- town, Bremen, Germany. His parents were John Halterman and Meta, his wife, whose maiden name was Behrens. His parents were sturdy people who came of an honest stock, and they saw to it that their son, Frederick, received a thorough education. He was sent to the high school of his native place and obtained there a full course of instruction, so that when, in 1849, he emigrated, he was equipped for his battle for success in the New World. He arrived in Philadelphia in the fall of that year, and shortly there- after obtained employment in a grocery store. He worked here for about four years, and, in 1853, having thoroughly familiarized him- self with all the details of the business, and being well acquainted with the trade, he opened an establishment for himself at the south-
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Sveik Hackerman.
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west corner of Fifth and Callowhill streets. He gradually acquired success, and soon became known as one of the most prosperous merchants of the city. He carried on a large business without a hitch for thirty-eight years, establishing for himself a remarkable record of mercantile success and acquiring a moderate competency. In 1891 he retired from active participation in commerce and devoted his entire time to his other interests. As a merchant Mr. Halterman won much esteem throughout his section of Philadel- phia as one of the most honorable men, while at the same time his ability placed him in the front rank of Philadelphia's most progressive citizens. In the meantime he had attained a more sub- stantial recognition at the hands of his fellow citizens which exhib- ited itself in the form of several nominations to public office, all of which had a successful issue in a triumphant election.
In 1872 Mr. Halterman first came into public notice as a School Director from the Twelfth Section. His constituents had recog- nized in him a man mentally fitted for the arduous duties and important responsibility connected with the office of School Director, and as he himself was an example of what a thorough early train- ing could accomplish, he was elected to the care of the schooling of the rising generation. So well did he discharge these duties that he was re-elected time and time again, serving until 1881. After being out of the office of School Director for seven years, he was again elected to the Board in 1889, serving until 1895, supporting and advocating some of the most important resolutions and projects bearing upon the successful management of the edu- cational system of the city. But this series of services comprises only a single link in the political chain which tells the story of Mr. Halterman's public services. His dealings in business and his warm interest in municipal affairs marked him as a most admirable representative of the people, and so, in 1880, he was elected from the Twelfth Ward to Select Council, serving as a member of that body until 1883, and carrying out with the same honorable determination and high ambition the purposes of his constituents. He was the advocate, while a Member of the Select Council, of some of the most important measures introduced into
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that branch of civic government, and it is a notable commentary on his record as a Member of Select Council that he was always on the side of the people, while being a warm advocate of all improvements, public and otherwise. Because of his honorable administration of his section's affairs while in Council, and as a result thereof, he gradually came into a wider political notice and obtained the support and admiration of his entire party. As a consequence he was elected to the House of Representatives in the Fifty-fourth Congress, from the Third District of Pennsylvania, and in that large legislative body he served with distinction, honor and considerable success, representing the interests of his district with the same faithfulness and facility of progress as distinguished him during his course of municipal service. Mr. Halterman was elected in 1893, taking his office in 1894, and he put in two years of great activity in the halls of Congress.
On January 3, 1856, Mr. Halterman married Kate, daughter of John L. Schnabel. They have one son, Frederick J. Halter- man, who bids fair to follow in the footsteps of his distinguished father. Mr. Halterman himself now lives a quiet, retired life, having well earned a rest from the toil and strife in the work-a- day world, and, notwithstanding the fact that he is no longer an active participant in the business and political affairs of his city and State, he still takes a large interest therein, and his advice and counsel are frequently sought. Through a long and active career he has well earned his position among the progressive men of Pennsylvania.
AEFrancis & Ca.
EDMUND B. HARDENBERGH.
THE political movements which from time to time stir the Commonwealth and throw to the surface new and prominent figures with each agitation, undoubtedly mark off progressive steps in the general advancement of the State and its manifold interests. Politics have made many of our foremost men what they are in point of prominence and popularity; but no man has ever succeeded in the political fields who was not endowed with natural abilities and distinguished by those faculties without which no wave of good fortune could advance him to the front. Edmund B. Hardenbergh, the subject of this biography, is a self-made man in every respect. For twenty-six years he has served in a posi- tion on the Erie Railroad with integrity and success, and side by side with his work-a-day life he has advanced in his career as a public man to a very prominent place in the community. He has served as a member of the State Legislature in both Houses with considerable distinction throughout a number of terms, and has been identified for many years with the most active interests of the great State of which he is such a thoroughly representa- tive citizen.
EDMUND B. HARDENBERGH was born at Wilsonville, Wayne County, July 31, 1846. His father was George H. Hardenbergh, and his mother Harriet B. Hardenbergh, and in this parentage were united the traits of two great races, his father coming from Dutch forefathers while his mother's progenitors were English. However, Mr. Hardenbergh's predecessors had grown and flourished on American soil for several generations, and he inherited entirely patriotic ideas and sentiments. He was educated at the public
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schools and at Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York, the former only from time to time, as he was obliged to earn his own livelihood. His opportunities to secure an education were somewhat limited owing to that fact, but as he was possessed of a studious mind he employed his leisure hours in books and studies, with the result that he acquired a self-administered edu- cation. His first entrance into the business world was made at the age of ten years, when he was employed at Hawley, Penn- sylvania, by the Pennsylvania Coal Company, serving as a slate picker. In the spring of 1865 he secured a situation on the Hawley Branch of the Erie Rrailroad as brakeman, subsequently succeeding to the position of baggageman, when he removed to Honesdale upon the completion of the extension of the Branch Railroad in 1868. In February, 1870, he was promoted to the conductorship of the branch passenger train, which position he has retained ever since, carrying a record of over twenty years' con- tinuous and uninterrupted service with the Erie Railroad, during which time he has won the esteem and admiration of his employ- ers and associates through his integrity and his close attention to the duties of his post.
While he has been earning his livelihood from his young manhood up until the present time, in his responsible but some- what modest occupation on the Erie Railroad, he has been parti- cipating in both the making and the administrating of the laws of Pennsylvania. It is not necessary that a man should be born, figuratively speaking, with a silver spoon in his mouth, to gain recognition at the hands of his associates and fellow men, as is proven by Mr. Hardenbergh's career. In politics he is a Repub- lican, and has been all his life one of the staunchest. In the fall of 1884 Mr. Hardenbergh was elected a member of the House of Representatives by a big majority, and his efficiency and faithfulness in striving to secure legislation in the interests of his constituents were rewarded by a re-nomination and re-election by a majority which more than doubled that of his previous election. Indeed, so thorough was the service performed by him as a member of the State Legislature that he speedily attained a position in
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the front rank of the law makers at Harrisburg, and by his fore- sightedness and careful judgment, as well as his close adherence to the interests of his people, won still wider recognition in the poli- tical field. His elections to the House of Representatives were from his native county of Wayne, which was considered Democratic. In 1890 he was a candidate for the State Senate, a protracted con- ference resulting, from which he finally withdrew in the interest of harmony. In 1894 Mr. Hardenbergh was unanimously nomi- nated for State Senator from the Twenty-sixth Senatorial District, composed of the counties of Wayne and Susquehanna, securing his election by 2,958 plurality, and succeeding a Democrat. In the State Senate Mr. Hardenbergh's record has been even more brilliant than that which he made while a member of the lower body of the Legislature. In 1891 and 1892 Mr. Hardenbergh was Chairman of the Republican County Committee of Wayne, and he also represented the county at several State conventions. In 1896 he was a member of the Republican National Convention, at St. Louis, at which Mr. Mckinley was nominated for President. In 1895 he was a member of the Senate Committee appointed to investigate the municipality of Philadelphia. As a result of all this, and through the general recognition of his merits, he has been prominently mentioned several times as a candidate for the nomination for Auditor-General.
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