USA > Pennsylvania > Prominent and progressive Pennsylvanians of the nineteenth century. Volume II > Part 28
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THOMAS MCKEAN.
Delaware Canal Company, and he is also Director in several other organizations of that kind. On September 24, 1863, Mr. McKean was married to Elizabeth Wharton, daughter of George M. and Maria Markoe Wharton. They have four children : Henry Pratt Mckean, Jr., Thomas Mckean, Jr., Maria Wharton Mckean and Phebe Warren Mckean. Mr. Mckean, while he is chiefly occupied in attending to the duties connected with his positions in his various corporations, yet takes a great interest in the general prosperity of the country and in its larger political affairs.
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JOHN C. McNAUGHTON.
NE of Pennsylvania's greatest industries is its lum- 0 ber trade, and John C. McNaughton, the subject of this biography, has a complete knowledge of its various details, having been connected with its advancement for a number of years. He is a Pennsylvanian by birth, residence and industrial interests, and among the progressive sons of the Commonwealth is numbered a thoroughly representative man.
JOHN CALVIN McNAUGHTON was born in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, in 1841. His father died when he was yet a young man, leaving a widow, four daughters and a son, upon whose shoulders fell the burden of their care. He met the responsi- bilities bravely and not only looked after the welfare of his family, but carved out the way of success for himself. He came from a good old Scotch-Irish stock who settled early in Juniata County, and he had both pluck and ability to a large extent. After an ordi- nary schooling he entered a store in Thompsontown as clerk. He left this humble position to accept one on the Pennsylvania Rail- road. He had among his friends some of the leading officials of the railroad who admired the young man's determination, and one of these was Charles E. Pugh. Major Postelthwaite, who was subsequently Controller and General Land Agent of the St. Paul and Northern Pacific Railroad, joined him in business in that city in 1868 and is now again Vice-President of Mr. McNaughton's Company. Mr. McNaughton numbers among his staunchest admirers some of the most prominent railroad men of the country. When he decided to start in the lumber business he made up his mind to devote his entire energies to that trade and to
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master it in every detail. He so thoroughly acquainted himself with all the branches of the business that he is to-day one of the foremost lumber men of the United States. The McNaughton Lumber Company, which has its Philadelphia office at No. 303 Bourse Building, is known not only widely in Pennsylvania, but over an extended territory. Mr. McNaughton is President and the principal stockholder of the Company, which has also a large mill in the South. While he, therefore, gives by far the larger part of his time to the management of his immense lumber busi- ness, yet he is interested to a considerable degree in steam and electric railway construction. He is a director in several com- panies, and in all his offices, whether of a public or semi-public nature, he is both painstaking and thorough. Few men starting out with his limited resources have brought themselves so thoroughly to the front. In all his views Mr. McNaughton is broad and generous and he has a warm place in his heart for his fellow men. He is active in social life and numbers among his intimate friends some of the leading men of the city and state. In his business he is fully progressive and at the same time conservative. He is a man of good judgment and a careful and reliable manager.
Twenty-three years ago, Mr. McNaughton married Jennie E. Kraft, whose father was a pioneer and largest manufacturer of gasometers in the country and a leading citizen of Philadelphia. Their home life at the cosy and beautiful residence, 2034 Race Street, Philadelphia, is perfect in its conjugal happiness. Four daughters are the result of the union, their ages ranging from ten to twenty, and after the cares of a business day Mr. McNaughton takes his chief delight in his domestic felicity. In a political way his views are as broad and liberal as those characterizing his other interests, and upon all questions relating to the welfare of his city and State he is entirely independent, owning himself bound by no party ties whatever. At the same time, however, he is a Democrat in the truest sense of the term, and while he has never taken an active part in the affairs of his chosen political party, is usually an advocate of the principles of Jefferson and
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Jackson. Personally, Mr. McNaughton is a gentleman of fine, commanding presence, of genial manners, and has entire grasp of any subject upon which he may be called to converse.
He is "the best husband, the best father, the best son, the best brother and the best friend," in the estimation of those who know him best. Indeed, he is a man of high character and sterling worth, and the many lovable traits which have earned for him such encomiums have brought him success in business, prominence in citizenship and happiness in home life.
JAMES P. McNICHOL.
ITS splendid streets are Philadelphia's crowning glory. The city has magnificent municipal and government buildings, stately residences, commodious warehouses and immense factories. It has more private houses than any other city in America, fine parks, and the best and most approved methods of rapid transit, but the smooth, even surface of its highways constitutes one of its chiefest charms. In this particular the Quaker City is excelled by no American municipality. For the most part straight as an arrow, they stretch away for miles and carry the traffic of the city smoothly and quietly. A large part of the praise for the excellent condition of Philadelphia's thoroughfares belongs to James P. McNichol, one of its prominent and public-spirited citizens, and the contractor who laid a large portion of its splendid pavement. Though still a young man, the thoroughness with which he has carried out all contracts entrusted to him, whether from public or private sources, has gained for him a prominent place among Philadelphia's busi- ness men.
JAMES P. McNICHOL was born in the Tenth Ward of Phila- delphia, in 1864. His parents, James and Catharine McNichol, were of Irish descent, and from his hardy Celtic ancestors he inher- ited his quick and ready wit, staunch fidelity and sterling reliabil- ity. His early education was acquired in the public schools of his native city, in which he applied himself to his books and soon became known as an earnest, conscientious and hard-working student, bent on winning his way in the world and making the best possible use of the opportunities that the city's educational institutions afforded. In due course of time he graduated from
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the Northwest School, after having made an enviable record as a pupil. Then, realizing that he was not fully equipped for the battle of life, he took a course in Peirce's Business College, in which he applied himself as closely as he had done in the public schools and soon won the appreciative applause of instructors and fellow students. It was in this excellent institution that he acquired the knowledge of business forms and methods that his progress in the commercial world has proven him to possess. Indeed, he attributes not a little of his success in life to the care- ful training of his Peirce College course. His first entrance into the business world was as a member of the firm of W. J. McNichol & Brothers, twelve years ago, and with this one establishment he has ever since remained connected. Upon the death of the senior member of the firm, however, the name of the concern was changed to Jas. P. McNichol & Brother, in which style it has since remained. As a member of this firm, Mr. McNichol has been active and progressive and has kept fully abreast of the go-ahead spirit of his generation. With an impetuous enthusiasm he has so guided the establishment of which he is now the head that to-day they are among the best known contractors in the city, and have spread their handiwork on many of the city's most promi- nent thoroughfares. Mr. McNichol has done the paving of Balti- more Avenue, Haverford Avenue, Lancaster Avenue, Market Street from the Delaware River to Thirty-third Street, all of Lehigh Avenue, Fourth Street, Seventh Street, Eighth Street, Ninth Street, Arch Street, Race Street, Vine Street, and the larger portion of Fairmount Avenue. The excellent work the firm has done and their high standing in business circles in 1897 won for them , the contract for all the city's repaving, as well as all necessary work on the country roads in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Mr. McNichol has long taken great interest and an active part in political affairs. He has always been an earnest and ardent Republican, and has made himself heard in the councils of · his party, in which he has long been a leader. Mr. McNichol is a member of the Republican City Committee, a prominent factor in the Leaders' League and a member of the William R. Leeds
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Association. Through all these varied political ties, added to his high standing in the business world, he could readily have secured high places in the city government, but though he has always been a conspicuous figure in political affairs he has steadfastly refused to accept public office, preferring rather to remain in the ranks or direct with an unseen hand.
Mr. McNichol was married on the 15th day of April, 1884, to Miss Anastasia A. Fasy, of a well known Philadelphia family, and from this union eight children have resulted.
His chief interests at the present time are centered in his business of contracting for paving, curbing and excavating. This demands the bulk of his attention, but, being of a domestic turn of mind, and a great lover of the home circle, much of his leisure is devoted to his charming family and to fostering the hopes and ambitions of his children. As a business man, Mr. McNichol, by the exercise of sound judgment, indomitable energy and concen- trated effort, has been eminently successful and has won the respect of the business world and the esteem of his fellow citizens for the faithful carrying out of his contracts. He is still a young man, and it may readily be believed that the continued use of the methods that have won him his past successes will yet gain for him an even greater recognition.
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MARLIN EDGAR OLMSTED.
HE laws relating to corporations have in latter years received the attention of some of the most eminent legal lights of the Pennsylvania Bar. Of necessity, the man who can build up a suc- cessful practice among corporations whose inter- ests involve millions must possess peculiar attainments and the highest erudition. On the other hand, the large amount of money frequently involved in their suits, and the thoroughness with which their cases must be investigated, makes such a practice decidedly lucrative. Among the most successful attorneys in this high branch of the profession in the State is M. E. Olmsted, the subject of this biography, who for years has been recognized as having a thorough knowledge of this department of legal juris- prudence, and a practice extending throughout the State. His manifest abilities and active and conscientious work have made him eminent in his profession, respected in the community, and prominent in the political world.
MARLIN EDGAR OLMSTED was born in Ulysses Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania, of old and distinguished stock, from which he inherits many of the qualities which have contributed to his success. He is the son of Henry J. Olmsted, a prominent and respected citizen of Potter County, which he for twenty-two years served as Prothonotary and Clerk of its courts, obtaining his office both from the appointing hand of the Governor and being seven times elected by the people, besides having been offered the nomination for State Senator, which he declined. The mother of the subject of this sketch was Evalena Theresa Cushing, daughter of Lucas Cushing, a resident of West Oswego County, New York,
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since the early days of the century. Both the Cushings and the Olmsteds are descended from families of English origin. Mr. Olmsted's mother and father were born in the State of New York, but, their parents having moved to Pennsylvania, they there formed the acquaintance which resulted in their marriage.
The son was educated in the common schools of his native county, completing his course at the Coudersport Academy. His early inclinations were not in the direction of the Bar. He turned his thoughts in another direction, and through the influence of his uncle, Judge Arthur G. Olmsted, was appointed, while but scarcely more than a boy, to the position of Assistant Corporation Clerk in the office of the Auditor-General, John F. Hartranft, afterwards Governor of the State. At the expiration of a year, he was pro- moted to the post of Corporation Clerk, with entire charge of the assessment and collection of the State's vast revenues from cor- porations, although the youngest employé of the office, both in years and in service in the department. On the accession of Gen- eral Harrison Allen to the Auditor-Generalship, Mr. Olmsted was re-appointed, and served until May, 1875, when the administration of the office passing into the hands of the Democrats, he was removed from office. So excellent a record had he made as a public official that he was then offered three different political positions, besides the cashiership of one of the largest national banks in the interior of the State, but, changing his intention regarding the legal pro- fession, he began the study of law in the office of John W. Simon- ton, now President Judge of the Twelfth Judicial District, and was admitted to the Bar, in Harrisburg, on November 25, 1878. He remained with Judge Simonton for a few months after his admis- sion, but soon established an office for himself. His long expe- perience in the Auditor-General's office had made him a recognized authority on the intricate tax laws of the State, especially as they related to corporations, and it is in this line that a large portion of his practice has since been developed. He was admitted to the Supreme Court of the State in May, 1881, and to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1884, before both of which tribunals his extensive practice frequently carries him. Mr. Olmsted is now
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President and General Counsel for the Beech Creek Railroad Com- pany, and also of the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad Company, and Counsel for the Lehigh Valley; Delaware, Lackawanna and Western; New York Central and Hudson River; Lake Shore and Michigan Western Railroad companies, the Lehigh Coal and Nav- igation Company, and Fall Brook Railway system, the Western Union Telegraph Company, Pullman's Palace Car Company, the Central Railroad of New Jersey, and many other of the most important corporations in the country.
His high reputation as a lawyer, and the many estimable qualities which have marked him out as a representative citizen, led to his election from Dauphin County to a seat in the proposed Constitutional Convention of 1891. He was elected to represent the important State Capital district in the Fifty-fifth Congress of the United States, as a Republican, by the largest majority ever given to any candidate for any office in the three counties comprising the district, and in legislative halls, as at the Bar, has made his abilities felt in committees and on the floor. He is unmarried, fond of society, and well known in the social circles of both State and national capitals. He is a lover of good horses, and drives and rides frequently. When he is not devoting himself to performing the duties which his Congressional position demands of him, his . attention is devoted to the vast corporation practice, which con- centrated efforts and constant attention, not less than especial apti- tude, have gained for him.
JOHN C. O'DONNELL.
RANY of Pennsylvania's most eminent sons possess the proud distinction of being self-made men ; their life histories are a series of chapters of advancements made single handed and unaided. One of these men is John C. O'Donnell, Post- master of Pittsburg, and in this great Iron City there is none who is entitled to more praise for his earnest endeavors to rise in life than the subject of this biography, who to-day enjoys the esteem and honor of all who know him. His father was Jacob O'Donnell, who lived on a farm in Butler County, Pennsylvania, one mile east of Millerstown, now Chicora.
JOHN C. O'DONNELL, was born January 30, 1835, and when he was five years old his father died, leaving a family of five, of which John was the youngest. His mother and her children moved to Brady's Bend in 1846. There young Mr. O'Donnell attended the public school. At the age of twelve he obtained employment in the iron works at that place. In 1854 he went to Pittsburg to seek a wider field and worked in the different rolling mills as roller and puddler, where he came into notice among his fellow men by his activity in assisting in organizing the Sons of Vulcan, one of the earliest organizations among mill workers. It was started in 1857 and Mr. O'Donnell was its second President, serving from 1858 to 1860. He was elected President several times afterwards, and held that office when he resigned from the Order to go into business in 1866. Leaving the rolling mill in 1866, Mr. O'Donnell opened a grocery store at No. 3340 Penn Avenue, Pittsburg, where he continues in the same business at the present time. His capacity for organization was again shown in 1888, when he was
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largely instrumental in forming the Grocers' Protective Association. He was its first President and was re-elected several times. He is a Director in the Pennsylvania National Bank, and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburg.
It was in politics that Mr. O'Donnell became generally known in Pittsburg. He was always locally active as a Democrat in his own ward and was a Delegate to many City, County and State Conventions. Finally he became a candidate for Select Council at the solicitation of his many friends. He was elected three times and his period of service in that body was from 1877 to 1884. He was later elected to Common Council and served from 1890 to 1894. Mr. O'Donnell attracted a great deal of attention in Coun- cils by his advocacy of reform measures, and his persistence in this particular made the issue in the city campaign of 1893, resulting in the election of a Democratic Mayor and a Reform Controller, nominated by a Convention over which Mr. O'Donnell presided. The issue came as the result of a resolution Mr. O'Donnell offered in Common Council calling for an audit of the accounts of the city of Pittsburg. At first the resolution was not successful, but after having been discussed in the newspapers, and in the political con- ventions which were held after the resolution was introduced, it became popular. Mr. O'Donnell's resolution was finally passed by both branches of the City Councils. The Democratic City Com- mittee endorsed it strongly and elected Mr. O'Donnell Chairman of the City Committee to lead the campaign. He did this in a forcible manner, and the Democratic candidate for Mayor, Bernard McKenna, and the Republican, H. I. Gourley, who was the Demo- cratic candidate for Controller, were elected and the audit was made. All through this campaign the strong leadership of Mr. O'Donnell was manifest. His activity in local politics made him the especial target of his political opponents, and when he came up for re-election to Common Council, in 1894, he was defeated, but the bitterness of defeat remained with him less than a month, for then President Cleveland appointed him Postmaster of Pittsburg. In this position Mr. O'Donnell withdrew from politics entirely, and devoted himself exclusively to the duties of his office.
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He entered upon his new work on April 1, 1894, and was a progressive Postmaster in every sense of the word. He introduced the street car mail service, quickened the special delivery system, extended the city distribution to trains coming in from the West, and secured the same work on an additional Eastern train. He extended the free delivery districts, and in many ways worked industriously to give Pittsburg a mail service second to none in the country.
Mr. O'Donnell lives at 3454 Penn Avenue, Pittsburg. In 1863 he married Miss Margaret Byrne and they have seven children. His home life as well as his political career has been a happy and successful one, and socially, too, he is a favorite. With wide busi- ness experience and a thorough understanding of public affairs, and with all the advantages of his high standing in the community, Mr. O'Donnell now figures in the history of Pennsylvania as one of its most promising, as well as its most progressive sons.
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PLUMMER S. PAGE.
MONG the monuments reared to the energy and progress of the leading men of Pennsylvania are not a few which have been self-created; for some of the most notable sons of the Commonwealth have been architects of their own fortunes and have left in the fields of commerce a lasting memorial of their worth and progress in establishments which are clearly identified with the prosperity of the State, inasmuch as they represent some of its greatest business interests. Plummer S. Page is one of the best known citizens in Scranton, and as a public-spirited man has made a reputation which is thoroughly expressive of his character and disposition, while as a railroad contractor and an active pro- moter of business interests he is widely known throughout the State.
PLUMMER S. PAGE is the son of Augustus Page, who was born in England, and when a young man emigrated to Orange County, Vermont, where his son was born, on an old farm, near Fairlie. When a lad of only ten years Plummer Page went to St. Lawrence County, New York, and worked at farming until he was seven years older, at the same time attending district schools. He evinced a warm desire to attain whatever knowledge he could, and to the end of still further educating himself and completing his knowledge of business and commerce, he went, in the winter of 1859-1860, to Eastman's Business College, on the Hudson, where he took a commercial course. Afterwards he went to Alexandria, Virginia, and from there to the oil regions in Penn- sylvania, where he engaged in business. In 1865 he obtained a position as General Manager for the contractor in the construction II .- 25 385
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of what is now the Delaware and Hudson Railroad, then building a line from Scranton to Wilkes-Barre. With that company he remained for more than a year, and acquired, through his careful attention to the details of the work, a reputation for trustworthi- ness and ability which was of great advantage to him as his career progressed. At the close of the Delaware and Hudson operation he went into business for himself as a contractor of grading, paving and turnpike work. He was successful in this, and, about 1869, obtained a contract on the Boonetown branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. He carried this work through to completion, going to various points, as his duties demanded, and adding greatly to his knowledge of contract work, especially as identified with railroad construction. The elevated road in New York City next claimed his attention, and he then contracted to complete the connection between the New York Elevated Road and the New York City and Northern Rail- road. His next operation of note was the Binghamton extension of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western from that city to Buffalo. Shortly after the Binghamton extension he took a con- tract on the Erie and Wyoming branch between Pittston and Hawley.
With his wide experience Mr. Page now sought to interest capital in the Wilkes-Barre and Western Road. It gave promise of splendid development and afforded an opportunity for highly successful investments, and, accordingly, Mr. Page spent some time in bringing the merits of the plan to the notice of the cap- italists. In company with R. T. McCabe he bought the People's Street Railroad of Luzerne County, and afterwards absorbed the Scranton Passenger Railway and the Suburban Street Railway, putting in the latest system of electricity. After about thirty miles of track had been laid and everything was in fine order, they sold out to the Scranton Traction Company. At Cortland, New York, Mr. Page, in connection with C. D. Simpson, built the Cortland and Homer Traction Company's line, and of that organi- zation he is now Vice-President. His knowledge of the details of surface transportation made him a valuable man in administrating
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