USA > Pennsylvania > Prominent and progressive Pennsylvanians of the nineteenth century. Volume II > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38
90
GEORGE BRADFORD CARR.
As his practice had been a miscellaneous one in the Court of Common Pleas and the Orphans' Court, he again turned his attention to that field, and with a success that to his friends seemed more than surprising. It took him but a short time to recoup his fortunes and re-establish himself in his profession. Shortly afterward he became interested in the celebrated law suits concerning the Danville, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad, which ran through the great coal fields, and in which he was a Director from 1877 to 1883. He drew the contracts between that company and the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, to whom the road is now leased, which became the subject of litigation, and which, as yet, remains undetermined. In 1896 he removed his law offices to the Girard Building, where he enjoys a large and lucrative practice. On the Ist of July, 1896, he was appointed by Amos H. Mylin, Auditor-General of Pennsylvania, Special Attorney for the Commonwealth, to represent him in what are known as mer- cantile license cases in Philadelphia, which position he now holds. His duties bring him in constant contact with the City Treasurer and include the rendering of opinions to the Department in all disputed matters relating to all mercantile license cases and all lawsuits ensuing from these. The position is one of great respon- sibility, involving, as it does, the collection of revenue for the State, which amounts to over $1,000,000 a year from Philadelphia alone.
Mr. Carr was married, in 1880, to Rebecca Corson, a woman of wonderful mental endowments and accomplishments and one who has been in full accord with his life's ambitions. Mr. Carr has always been a stalwart Republican and has been doing cam- paign work since 1872. He was brought up in the Methodist Episcopal Church, but has no especial religious preferences, at the same time believing in the tenets of the Christian Church. Indeed Mr. Carr probably owes his rise in life to his trust in Divine Providence, coupled with his own indomitable will.
JOHN G. CARRUTH.
R EPRESENTED in John G. Carruth, who is known in the industrial world as one of its most pro- gressive figures, are three generations of man- ufacturers, and the development of an admirable commercial instinct. The Endurance Mills of John G. Carruth & Company, where worsted and cotton goods are manufactured, are among the most productive in Philadelphia, and the notable success which has attended the affairs of the establish- ment is directly due to the able management of Mr. Carruth, who has gained a place in the manufacturing world, which, in itself, tells the story of his energy and progressiveness; he is what we would call a self-made man.
JOHN G. CARRUTH is one of that Scotch-American type, who are among the most successful and enterprising men of the Com- monwealth. He was born in Paisley, Scotland, February 25, 1851, his parents being James Carruth and Jean Greenlees. Both liis father and grandfather had been manufacturers, and it was only a natural result of his training that he should enter into the same business immediately upon leaving school. His first position was with a large manufacturing concern in Scotland, where he remained for three years, when he decided to come to America, and so resigned his position to cross the seas, and reach a country where there were more opportunities for the development of young men. This was in 1867, and he was but a short time in Philadelphia when he procured a situation in the office of a large and promi- nent manufacturing establishment of this city. It is a remarkable commentary upon Mr. Carruth's character that of fifty applications for this position he was chosen. His employers soon discovered
91
92
JOHN G. CARRUTH.
that he was a young man of wonderfully progressive tendencies and industrious inclinations, and his advancement with his firm was very rapid, in fact, so much so that in a remarkably short time he had full charge of all the office work.
Mr. Carruth's knowledge of the textile industry and his sound judgment as a manager came into good play, and he was promoted from one post to another, until he was entrusted with the buying of all the different materials required for the manufacture of the various fabrics which his house produced. His services in this capacity having proven entirely satisfactory, he was still further advanced by being assigned to the position of General Manager, which he held when he decided to embark in the manufacturing business on his own account. He was led to this conclusion by observing the great development of Philadelphia's industrial resources, and taking note of the opportunities which were afforded for a participation in the commercial sowing and reaping. There- fore, in 1876, he presented his resignation to the firm with which he was employed, and, after it had been reluctantly accepted, entered into the manufacturing field in a modest way on his own account. He had experience, technical knowledge, ripe judgment, and, above all, an energetic and zealous temperament to help him on the road to success, and, before long, the leading manufacturers of Philadelphia recognized that in John G. Carruth they had had a notable addition to their ranks.
He began business with fifty power looms, and continued to increase his business to such an extent that from time to time he added new and improved machinery, so that within a few years he occupied a prominent place among the manufacturers of his chosen city. Before long he found it necessary to add a second mill, and then a third. Finally, lacking the necessary room for additional machinery and greater facilities, he sold out his smaller mills, and combined his entire business in the new Endurance Mills, which were erected in 1894, with every known improvement and thoroughly modern appliance for his particular branch of man- ufacturing, at Indiana Avenue and Rosehill Street. So great has his business become that Mr. Carruth's establishment now has six
93
JOHN G. CARRUTH.
hundred broad and narrow looms, with all the other necessary machinery, and he is again so crowded for room that other improve- ments are contemplated. The finest lines of goods are manufac- tured, and sent all over the civilized world. The Endurance Mills have branch offices in New York, Boston, St. Louis and Chicago, and the products of the establishment are noted for their standard excellence, and have gained a well merited and enviable reputation.
While Mr. Carruth has strictly adhered to the interests of his large business, he has still found time to participate in the man- agement of other enterprises, particularly of a financial nature. He was one of the founders of the United Security Life Insurance and Trust Company of Pennsylvania, and is now a Director in that organization. He is Vice-President of the Industrial Trust and Savings Company of Philadelphia, and is a Director of the Ninth National Bank. Always interested in the advancement of the city's business affairs, he was one of the originators and first stockholders of the Philadelphia Bourse. However, he devotes most of his time to the business of his own establishment, and is constantly introducing improvements.
On November 5, 1874, Mr. Carruth was married to Annie McAlpin Kerr, whose father was also a manufacturer. They have had three children, two sons and one daughter. Both sons are now deceased. Mr. Carruth has been an active member of the Union League since 1878, and of the Manufacturers' Club for a number of years. He is a member of the Columbia Club, and of the Trades League also.
J. N. CASANOVA.
MONG the many Pennsylvanians who are natives of stricken Cuba, one of the best known is J. N. Casanova, for many years one of Philipsburg's most public-spirited and deservedly popular citi- zens. Although born on the long-suffering Gem of the Antilles and still deeply interested in the future of the isle on which he first saw the light, he was educated in the United States and has long been numbered a soldier in the grand army of progress. After a life of the highest usefulness, Mr. Casanova has now laid aside the cares of the business world and, living in well-earned retirement, can enjoy the fruits of labor well per- formed.
J. N. CASANOVA was born on the 23d day of May, 1838, in Cardenas, Island of Cuba. His father was Ynocencio Casanova, one of the most prominent Cubans of his day, who had married Petrona Rodriguez, the daughter of an old and aristocratic family. Mr. Casanova laid the groundwork of his present liberal educa- tion in the schools of his own country, but, at the age of ten years, he was sent to the United States to attend school in New York. He afterwards took a course at Bolmars', in West Chester, Pennsylvania. At both of these institutions he applied himself to his studies with assiduity, improving every opportunity that pre- sented itself. During these years of his schooling the whole bent of his talents seemed to tend toward the professions, a fact which led to his matriculating at the Polytechnic College of Troy, New York, where he took up a thorough course in civil engineering under Professor B. F. Greene and graduated at the age of twenty- one years. Soon after completing the course of instruction at this
94
In Casanova
95
J. N. CASANOVA.
well known educational institution he was appointed Consul of the United States Government at Guayaquil, Equador, where he spent two years, serving with entire satisfaction to the Govern- ment and resigning this office, in 1861, on account of the Civil War which was then raging between the States. Mr. Casanova afterwards traveled extensively throughout Europe. Having pur- chased large interests in coal lands near Philipsburg, Pennsyl- vania, he settled there in 1872 and, investing largely in town property, has since made that place his home. The esteem with which he was held by his fellow citizens is evidenced by his elec- tion, as long ago as 1878, to be Burgess of Philipsburg. While he has never been a candidate for any other political office, he has long been known as a prominent Democrat and one who gave freely of his time and means for the success of the cause which he had espoused. Although he has never accepted any other place of political preferment, he has been frequently a Delegate to the State conventions and was a Delegate to the National Conven- tion, at Cincinnati, in 1880, which nominated General Winfield Scott Hancock for the Presidency, and the General had no more enthusiastic supporter at the Convention nor during the campaign which followed.
But of Mr. Casanova's career in business and in corporation circles much could be said. For fifteen years he was General Manager of the Derby Coal Company, and, until his retirement, in 1897, in which year he suffered the loss of his estimable wife, he was President of the Water and the Electric Light, Gas, Power and Heating companies of the city in which he made his resi- dence. In the organization of these companies he took a particu- larly prominent part, as well as in all other matters of public interest. He has extended his interests in corporation circles as far west as the Rockies, being identified with the management of the Water, Light and Power Company of Ironton, Uray County, Colorado.
Mr. Casanova was married, on the 8th day of February, 1861, in Washington, D. C., to Miss Eleanor C. Harding, of Frederick City, Maryland. They have no living children.
96
J. N. CASANOVA.
Mr. Casanova is of a sanguine temperament, and when inter- ested in any cause works entirely for its accomplishment with a self-abnegation that craves no reward beyond that of a satisfied conscience. As a citizen he has been of inestimable value to the town in which he has made his home, and the people of Philips- burg thoroughly appreciate his efforts and willingly accord him the highest praise for his labors in behalf of their public improve- ments. In addition to his interests in this country, Mr. Casanova long owned and successfully operated a large plantation in Cuba on which he usually spent the winter months, for he never lost his love for his native land, and during the ten years' war for independence which Cuba waged against Spain he spent a large fortune to forward the cause of his country, and it was largely through his patriotic efforts that the celebrated "Hornet" and " Florida " expeditions were equipped and sent out. That the Gem of the Antilles is still dear to his heart is amply proven by the prominent stand he has taken in her last effort to throw off the yoke of Spain. No one more sincerely mourns at the news of a Spanish victory nor feels a keener or more patriotic joy when the wires flash the tidings of an insurgent triumph than does he who still retains much filial love for sun-kissed Cuba.
A. E.Francis &t .
J.g. Clark
JAMES A. CLARK.
T HE roll of Pennsylvania's prominent and progres- sive sons includes the names of scores of men who have gained, on the field of political battle, victories which have incontestably identified them with the modern spirit of enterprise. In western Pennsylvania the legislation and administration of State affairs have engaged the services of some of the most ambitious mnen of the generation. James A. Clark is one of them. As Democratic Commissioner of Allegheny County, he is known in his district for his high integrity, great administrative powers and executive ability. In the Democratic Party's affairs he has, ever since his youth, played an important part. His success in later life is due entirely to his progressive temperament and his zealous care for the interests of his people and the State at large.
JAMES A. CLARK was born December 2, 1860, in Barnesville, Belmont County, Ohio. His father was John C. Clark and his mother Catharine Gailey Clark. His father served in the Union Army during the War of the Rebellion, participating in some of the most important engagements of the four years' strife. After the surrender of Lee, Mr. Clark left the army and obtained a situa- tion as a locomotive engineer on the Middle Division of the Penn- sylvania Railroad. He subsequently engaged in the business of hotel keeping. His son, James A. Clark, was educated in the public schools of the city of Pittsburg, where the family finally took up their residence. He attended the Third, Nineteenth and Twenty-first wards schools, and, after receiving his education, entered the steel works of Park Brothers & Company, of Pittsburg, to learn the trade of hammerman. He served some time in this
II-7
97
98
JAMES A. CLARK.
apprenticeship, mastering the details of his trade, and then entered the works of Anderson & Woods. Later, he was in the railway mail service for a brief period. Mr. Clark then obtained a posi- tion as Assistant Inspector of Gas Meters, at which he served for four years, and following this, for a period of two years, was collector for a large business establishment. He served as Treas- urer of the Keystone Paint and Color Company, in which capacity his close attention to business and the enterprising methods which marked his administration of the affairs of the office won him considerable commendation. As President of the Carlisle Club, one of Pittsburg's well known social and political organizations, Mr. Clark attained great popularity and it was probably the high esteem in which he was personally held that enabled him to so successfully gain the support of his party in the contest for the nomination for County Commissioner of Allegheny County. That was one of the greatest party triumphs witnessed in the Iron City in many years.
Mr. Clark's interest in politics dates back to a comparatively distant period. Although but a young man, he has occupied quite an important part in the administration of the affairs of the Dem- ocratic party in Pittsburg and the surrounding districts, and such successes as have been attained by the Democratic organization have been due, in no small measure, to his personal efforts and popularity. In 1890 he was a candidate for the State Senate from the Forty-fourth Senatorial District, but he was defeated by William Flinn, the Republican nominee. This defeat, which was encoun- tered through great odds prevailing against him, did not in the least daunt his courage or dismay him. On the contrary, Mr. Clark entered into the spirit of political warfare in a still more aggressive manner. In the councils of his party his voice was many times heard advocating such measures as were calculated to advance its interests. His good work was finally rewarded when, in 1896, after one of the bitterest party contests known in many years, he was nominated for County Commissioner by the largest Democratic Convention ever held in Allegheny County. Mr. Clark battled again long before the primaries were held, and con-
99
JAMES A. CLARK.
tinued his warfare until election day. Despite the efforts of the opposing faction of the Democratic party, he was declared by the courts the regular Democratic nominee and received the Democ- racy's united support at the polls. He was elected, and his chief interests to-day are found in the duties of the office of County Commissioner. In this capacity he aims to give his constituents a thorough business administration, and the reputation for integrity which he attained while engaged in his work-a-day occupations has been added to by every official act of his incumbency.
In 1881, Mr. Clark was married to Josephine Barnett, of Scott- dale. She died in 1884. In April, 1889, Mr. Clark was married to Sadie Bell Younkins, of Pittsburg. They have three children, two girls and a boy. Mr. Clark's home life is a very happy one, and, notwithstanding the political duties incumbent upon him, he devotes most of his time to the enjoyment of domestic felicity.
JOSEPH R. CLAUSEN.
is rare, in these days of specialists, that a man is so well endowed by nature, either intellectually or physically, that he is enabled in the height of his career to achieve pronounced success in both the professional and business walks of life. But Joseph R. Clausen, A.M., M.D., the subject of this biography, has attained that distinction, bothi as a physician and as a promoter of industrial enterprises in his native city, which marks him as a man of versatile ability and of the most progressive type.
JOSEPH R. CLAUSEN was born August 6, 1840, in Philadel- phia. His parents were Christopher and Elizabeth A. Clausen, the father having been a native of Philadelphia, and the mother of Charleston, South Carolina. His father's family were of Ger- man descent, while his mother's ancestors came from England. Both are people of high attainments, and the son received from them the benefit of their own superior traits as well as a careful early training. He was sent to the Philadelphia public schools, and later took a course of study in pharmacy. He had decided, while still at school, that he would like to follow the drug busi- ness, and, in 1857, he obtained his first occupation by entrance into this line of endeavor, continuing therein until 1865. During the eight years of his employment he gained a complete know- ledge of all the details of the business, as well as a wide acquaint- ance with the professional scope of the pharmacopoeia. In 1865, however, he left this employment to engage in mercantile pursuits, and, in 1876, he succeeded in establishing himself on an indepen- dent basis as a business man. With the influence of his early train- ing as a pharmacist still strong upon him, he began, in 1879, the
100
JosephR Clausen
IOI
JOSEPH R. CLAUSEN.
study of medicine, and as he was already, to a certain extent, prepared for the hard work of a medical course, he advanced rapidly, and after his entrance into the Jefferson Medical College he became assured of the fact that he was in every way suited for his chosen profession. He graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1882, and has ever since continued to advance steadily in his chosen field of professional work and practical labor. While study- ing for and practicing his profession as a physician, Dr. Clausen still retained his interest in the mercantile enterprises with which he was connected, first as a member of the firm of Simons & Clansen, which interest he later resigned to take the eastern agency of the Akron Sewer Pipe Company. This has since formed a combination with other companies, making it the largest corpor- ation of its kind in the country. This corporation is still repre- sented by Dr. Clausen, and he is also senior member of the firm of J. R. Clausen & Son, with establishments at 2014 Market Street and Twenty-seventh and Diamond streets, Philadelphia.
Dr. Clausen, from his youngest manhood, has always been a thorough and exact student of medicine and its relative branches, but notwithstanding this fact his energetic nature has found ample scope for growth in the various business occupations with which he has remained connected. In this direction he became widely known as a thoroughly representative promoter of industry, and along parallel lines his prominence as a physician increased. The firm of J. R. Clausen & Son are extensive operators in coal, and their coal yards at Twenty-seventh and Diamond streets are among the largest and most completely fitted in the city. Dr.
Clausen is also manager and principal owner of that well known medical journal, The Medical Times and Register, published in the Betz Building, Philadelphia. That he possesses literary ability as well as a thorough technical knowledge is amply demonstrated in his publication. In 1890 Bucknell University, at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. In 1893 he was appointed by Mayor Stuart one of the Civil Service Examiners for the city of Philadelphia, and so well did he per- form the duties of the office that he remains a member of that Board,
IO2
JOSEPH R. CLAUSEN.
and is Chairman of the Committee for Schedule E. The Doctor's varied scope of knowledge makes him a specially successful exam- iner, and one to whom such important interests may well be entrusted.
Dr. Clausen has been a prominent member of the Masonic Order for a number of years, and is Past Master and also Trea- surer of Philadelphia Lodge, No. 72, Free and Accepted Masons. He is a member and Past Master of Columbia Mark Lodge, No. 91. His prominence in social organizations is further indicated in his membership in Columbia Chapter, No. 91, Royal Arch Masons, in which he is also a Past High Priest. He is a member of St. Alban's Commandery, No. 47, Knights Templar, and is a member of the Scottish Rite, Thirty-second Degree Masons. Dr. Clausen lias been connected with the old Spruce Street Baptist Church since 1861, and has been Church Clerk since 1864, a post in which he has, from time to time, come in contact with the most important church work in his community. For the past twelve years he has been President of the Board of Trustees of this church, and for the past seven years Vice-President of the Hillside Cemetery Company, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, -in a word, he is one of the most respected as well as the most energetic citizens of his section of the city. Dr. Clausen is a member of the Union League, and has been for a number of years. He is also an active member of the Engineers' Club, of Philadelphia. He has been twice married, his present wife being the daughter of Isaac Smith, a former business partner. He is one of the most popular citizens of Philadelphia, and as a profes- sional and business man is numbered among the thoroughly pro- gressive sons of the Keystone State.
Somblement
SAMUEL M. CLEMENT.
S a thoroughily Philadelphia product, and as the A individual result of what the public school system of his city may accomplish, Samuel M. Clement, the subject of this biography, is a prominent figure. Born and raised in Philadelphia, and the descendant of a family a large number of the members of which were raised in Pennsylvania, he is admirably suited to represent as a type the spirit of progress and enterprise which has animated the people of Pennsylvania during the latter half of the century. Mr. Clement has received several offices during his active career from the hands of the people of his city, and in all of them he has served their interests with an integrity and thoroughness that have marked him as a conscientious official, as well as a repre- sentative citizen.
SAMUEL M. CLEMENT is of Quaker ancestry, a direct descendant of Gregory Clement, wliose home is connected with one of the most important events in English history-he was one of the leading members of the Long Parliament, and one of the judges who sat in condemnation of the conduct of King Charles I. He was also a connection of William Penn, a contemporary and com- panion of Oliver Cromwell, Algernon Sydney and others, who were prominent among the men who placed the English govern- ment on its new basis. Upon the return of Charles II. to England, Gregory Clement was put to death, together with General Thomas Harrison, Adrian Scroop, John Garow, and others, who were also judges of Charles I. This event depriving the family of their possessions, they were driven, in the year 1670, to America. They settled 011 Long Island. At this point they divided, some going
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.