USA > Pennsylvania > Prominent and progressive Pennsylvanians of the nineteenth century. Volume III > Part 11
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was near the home of his wife, who was the eldest daughter of Gen. Asa Fuller, of Somers, Connecticut. They had married soon after his return from Texas, and a son and a daughter had been born to them. Both wife and children are long since dead. Mr. Gillett located in Chicopee, then a part of what is now the city of Springfield, Massa- chusetts, and spent some time in the law office of Charles R. Ladd, since Auditor of the Commonwealth. In 1847, however, he entered upon the vocation to which the greater part of his life has been devoted-insurance. He was among the earliest, if not the actual pioneer, in the starting of a general insurance agency system. His enterprise was rewarded from the start and he soon had the agency of half a dozen fire and life companies. His business prospered largely because of his judicious use of advertising. In this direction he con- ceived the idea of establishing a journal devoted to the interests of the insurance business, and, accordingly, issued, on March 6, 1850, the first number of the Insurance Advocate and Fournal, the first insurance publication in the United States, and, so far as known, in the world. This same year Mr. Gillett yielded to advantages offered him, and, desiring to enlarge the field of his activity, came to Pennsylvania, and, settling in Philadelphia, began the business of underwriting. His energy, industry and ability soon attracted the attention of such strong Philadelphians as Joel Jones, first President of Girard College ; Chief Justice George W. Woodward, Judges Loring and Strong, Judge Cunningham, Furman Sheppard and Swain, Abel & Simmons, publishers of the Public Ledger, and many others of similar worth and reputation. Backed by these able financiers, he organized the Girard Fire and Marine Insurance Company, whose charter was granted in 1853, with a capital of $200,000. This corporation has now over $2,000,000 in capital and assets. Joel Jones was made the first Presi- dent, George W. Woodward, Vice-President, and Mr. Gillett became Secretary and Treasurer. Besides those previously mentioned, the stockholders included such men as Thomas Craven, Chambers Mckibben, Gen. Reuben C. Hale, Sylvester Dana, S. D. Shoe- maker, John M. Cunningham, of Wilkes-Barre, and M. C. and C. I. Du Pont, the well-known powder manufacturers of Delaware. From 1853 to the present time Mr. Gillett's history has been largely that
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of the Girard Company, and part of the history of insurance in Philadelphia.
Mr. Gillett is a Republican, but has never been an active worker in the political field. His favorite method for acquiring information has been to travel. Many of his trips, while undertaken primarily for business, have been utilized for his own mental profit and pleasure, but not a few in this country and in Europe have been taken solely for recreation and education. Domestic in his tastes and habits, despite his love of travel, soon after he had returned from a dangerous trip to the Pacific Coast, over a then almost untraveled country, he married his second wife, Ellie Gratz, daughter of the late Edward Gratz, of Philadelphia, and a member of this well-known family, which has for generations enjoyed the highest social relations in the Quaker City.
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J. E. GILLINGHAM.
OSEPH E. GILLINGHAM has been, for nearly fifty years, prominently connected with many great indus- tries, usually holding the office of President of such concerns. His recognized ability as a business man and financier, grounded upon knowledge gained largely by experience, immediately finds for him a place at the head of affairs in which he is interested.
JOSEPH E. GILLINGHAM was born, July 6, 1830, near Holmesburg, Philadelphia, now the Thirty-fifth Ward. His father was Samuel H. Gillingham, and his mother, Lucy (Eddy) Gillingham. He was sent to the Philadelphia public schools, to a private school and to the High School, and subsequently to the Friends' School on Race Street, finishing at that place of learning July 5, 1847, thus leaving school just one day before the seventeenth anniversary of his birth. He went to Carroll County, Ohio, where he was employed for a time as clerk in a country store. He was not long to remain in such a minor position, however, for he soon bought out a store and operated it for himself. The breadth and variety of the business then conducted by him was indicative of the breadth of his mind. He dealt in all things that are usually found in country stores of importance, and handled grain, wool, produce, and horses and cattle as well. In 1852 Mr. Gillingham returned to Philadelphia and assisted his father in building and running a saw-mill at 943 Richmond Street. The latter died February 10, 1854, and during the next year Mr. Gillingham man- aged the large business alone, although only twenty-four years of age. In 1855 he formed a partnership with David R. Garrison as Gilling- ham & Garrison. The firm afterwards changed to Gillingham, Garri- son & Company, Limited, Mr. Gillingham being President of the
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concern, which still exists. The business of this firm increased and expanded rapidly. A new mill was bought in Camden, New Jersey, and the company also went extensively into the timber and lumber business. Large tracts of timber were purchased in various sections of the country, cut and transported to their own and other mills. They also secured great quantities of timber from Cambria, Clearfield, Elk and Jefferson counties, Pennsylvania, and in Michigan, Oregon and the South. Millions upon millions of feet of timber have been brought to the Delaware River by Gillingham, Garrison & Company, and worked into bridge and ship lumber. In 1861 Mr. Gillingham was chosen President of the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Streets Passenger Railway Company, and continued as the Executive of that company for twenty years. He assisted in the building of the Twelfth and Sixteenth Streets Passenger Railway Company, and was elected President of that corporation. He is a Director of the West Philadelphia Passenger Railway Company. Mr. Gillingham became deeply interested in the canal business, since in the bringing of rafts of lumber from the timber districts the canals are largely used. He was made a Director of, and later President of, the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company, an office which he has held for many years.
There are numerous other concerns in which Mr. Gillingham is interested. He was President, and is still a Director, of the Mortgage Trust Company, of Pennsylvania ; Director and Vice-President of the Investment Company, of Philadelphia. He was one of the founders of, and is now President of, the Veterinary Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and is also a Manager of the Pennsyl- vania Hospital. He is also a Director of the American Fire Insurance Company, and holds a similar office in the Philadelphia Bell Telephone Company. He is a Director of the Lancaster Avenue Improvement Company, and assisted in the construction of the first good road in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He was President of the Bryn Mawr Hotel Company, and for two terms served as Judge of Elections in Montgomery County.
Mr. Gillingham is a member of the Union League, Art Club, Historical Society and many of the charitable societies of Philadelphia. He lives, during seven months of the year, on his beautiful farm at
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JOSEPH E. GILLINGHAM.
Villanova, Montgomery County, an estate of over four hundred acres, which he finds time to manage, notwithstanding his many other important interests. Mr. Gillingham and Clara Donaldson were married August 23, 1865.
JOHN P. S. GOBIN.
JONORED throughout the nation as the Commander- in-Chief of the greatest organization of war veterans the world has ever seen; high in the ranks of the Keystone State's citizen soldiery; an efficient mem- ber of the upper body of the Pennsylvania Legislature ; eminent and successful at the Bar, and possessed of abilities of the highest order as a financier, the subject of this review is justly regarded as one of the most sterling and successful citizens that the Commonwealth of Penn- sylvania has ever produced.
JOHN P. S. GOBIN was born at Sunbury, Pennsylvania, on the 26th day of January, 1837. His ancestors on both the paternal and mater- nal sides were prominent in the affairs of their section and occupied conspicuous positions in the annals of the Keystone Commonwealth. The father of the subject of this sketch was Samuel S. Gobin, whose father was Capt. Charles Gobin, of Company B, Sixth Regiment of Pennsylvania Militia in the War of the Revolution. John P. S. Gobin's mother was formerly Susan Shindel, whose father was Rev. J. P. Shindel, a celebrated clergyman in the early days of the century. John P. S. Gobin attended the public schools and academies in his section of the State, where he acquired an excellent education and a substantial groundwork, to which an intelligent reading of a wide variety of subjects has added much. After completing his early educational course he sought an active occupation in the printing business, which he learned thoroughly ; and with this trade to fall back upon in case of need, he felt safe to embark on the study of law, meanwhile teaching school as a means of support. As soon as he was twenty-one years of age, he procured ready admittance as a member of the Northumberland County Bar, and actively practiced
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JOHN P. S. GOBIN.
his profession with increasing success, until the call to arms came at the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion. Being one of those men with whom the call of their country had but one answer, he entered the service of the Union on the 19th day of April, 1861, under the first call for troops issued by President Lincoln, and was made the First Lieutenant of Company F, Eleventh Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, in which position he served with all the ardor of his impetuous nature, until the completion of his term of enlistment, when he re-entered the service as Captain of Company C, Forty- seventh Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. Here his conspicuous ability and thorough grasp of the principles of military science carried him through the successive ranks of Major, Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel of the regiment, finally winning for him the high honor of being brevetted Brigadier-General of the United States Volunteers. He was mustered out of the service on the 9th day of January, 1866, and returned to his home to resume the practice of his profession. His love of military life soon led him into the National Guard of Pennsylvania, which he joined in 1870. He now commands the Third Brigade, and is the senior Brigadier-General in commission by the State. It is but justice to say that the wonderful efficiency of Penn- sylvania's National Guard is as largely due to General Gobin's ability and popularity as to any other operative cause. No officer in the ranks stands higher in the esteem of his associates and subordinates, and none has fulfilled the duties of command with more intelligence or faithfulness. The high position which General Gobin holds in the estimation of his fellow-veterans of the Union Army is conclusively shown by the position he occupies in the Grand Army of the Republic of the United States, of which he is Commander-in-Chief. General Gobin is also a Mason of high degree and is a Past Grand Master of the Knights Templar of the United States.
General Gobin is a Director in the First National Bank of Lebanon, of the Lebanon Gas Company, the Mount Lebanon Ceme- tery Company, the City Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and is Solicitor of the Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad Company. But his service to his State and Nation has not been confined to deeds of arms. He has always taken a sincere interest in the Legislative affairs
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JOHN P. S. GOBIN.
of the Commonwealth, and with forwarding the principles of the Republican party, with which he always has been allied. In 1884 he was selected by the people of his district to represent them in the Senate of the State of Pennsylvania, and so thoroughly and satis- factorily has he occupied the place of Senator, that he was successively re-elected in 1888, 1892 and 1896, in 1894 receiving the additional honor of being made President pro tempore of the Senate. During the month of March of the present year (1898), General Gobin attended the encampments of the Louisiana and Mississippi Departments of the Grand Army of the Republic, at New Orleans, Louisiana. From there he visited Castle Pickney, at Charleston, South Carolina, where it is proposed to locate a Sanitarium for Soldiers of the Volunteer Army and Navy. During his stay in Charleston he was the guest of the citizens of that city. General Gobin is prominently mentioned as a candidate for the Lieutenant-Governorship at the forthcoming election in Pennsylvania for State officers.
On the 12th day of October, 1865, General Gobin was married to Annie M. Howe. They have no children.
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JOHN C. GRADY.
VETERAN in the ranks of public service and a stead- fast friend of the progress of his State, Senator John C. Grady is one of Pennsylvania's most prominent statesmen and a man who has carved his career out of rough material, unassisted but undismayed. His distinction has been in both professional and public life, and, as a con- scientious student and a disciplined lawyer, he outlined in his advance- ment and ambitious tendencies his latter course as a representative of the people, in the government for the people. One of the most frequently honored members of the governing body of the State and a man of earnest loyalty, he has won the friendship and interest of his fellow-lawmakers as well as the admiration and fealty of a large constituency. Senator Grady served during several sessions of the State Senate as its President and was, from time to time, elected to the chairmanship of some of the most important committees which trans- acted the business of the Legislature. During the past five years or so he has come into greater prominence than ever as a public man.
JOHN C. GRADY was born at Eastport, Maine, October 8, 1847, his parents being hard-working people of limited means, but with tendencies that led them to give their son as good an education as possible. He was taught first by his mother and then trained in the common schools. Being of a studious nature and desirous of advancing himself as far as possible, he enlarged his knowledge by his observation of men and conditions. Casting his eyes about for a good opening, he decided to come to Philadelphia, where he began his career as a bookkeeper in the employ of Gould & Company. While there he decided to study law and used all his leisure time to acquire the rudiments of that profession. By self-denial and exactions of a
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courageous nature he gained his ambition's meed and was admitted to practice in the courts of Philadelphia in 1871. Within a short time he gained a standing as an attorney of considerable power and talent. When he entered the law he also entered politics and determined to gain success in both, if possible. In 1872 he made himself felt in his district, when Horace Greeley drew to the ranks of his followers many Republicans. Mr. Grady was elected President of his district organ- ization and shortly became one of the most powerful political factors in Pennsylvania. In 1874 he was tendered the nomination for the Legislature, but declined. In 1876, however, when matters had shaped themselves more favorably, he took the standard of his party and was elected State Senator from the Seventh District, under the new four- year-tenure provision. He entered the Senate, the youngest man in the body, but was soon recognized as a leader, his term being marked by enlightenment and sagacity. He was re-nominated in 1880 and elected unopposed.
It was in his second term that he came prominently to the front as a leader. When the caucus nominee for United States Senator had been rejected by a faction, and when every form of warfare was applied, Senator Grady took a hand in the deadlock, with the result that he saved a United States Senator to the State and the party, an achievement which was pronounced a masterpiece of diplomacy. Shortly after this, Senator Grady was selected by the party leaders to visit President-elect Garfield to talk of the coming administration. The result of this was shown later, when Garfield selected Grady to fill the post of Surveyor of the Port of Philadelphia, which the Senator, however, declined. Senator Grady represented Pennsylvania at the Yorktown Centennial Celebration, and a still more conspicuous service was his management of the investigation of the Standard Oil Company's methods. Recognizing his brilliancy and the value of his services, his constituents nominated and elected him for the third time, in 1884. He was made Chairman of the Judiciary Committee by his colleagues in the Senate and for several succeeding sessions was given that important chairmanship. Senator Grady, during his ser- vice on this committee, brought to solution some of the very gravest problems which have ever confronted the State, and which, in many
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instances, involved the happiness and safety of its citizens. Upon the statute books of the Keystone Commonwealth Senator Grady's performances in the line of public duty are recorded as monuments to his worth and intelligence.
The next step in Senator Grady's progress was his election, at the close of that session, to the seat of President pro tempore of the Senate. He served as its presiding officer during the following session. This course of public and political action briefly outlines the career of a man who is recognized to-day as one of the foremost citizens of a great State. Senator Grady has been to his friends a steadfast partisan and to his adversaries he has shown consideration and high- mindedness. His zealousness for the promulgation of the principles of his party has been a marked characteristic of the man in politics, while, on the other hand, in social life his genial disposition, good sense and traits of kindness have made him a valued member of his community, and have won him the admiration of all with whom he has come in contact. To him belongs the distinction of the longest con- tinuous service in the history of the State.
GEORGE S. GRAHAM.
NDELIBLY written upon the pages of the history of Phila- delphia, and especially on the records of criminal juris- prudence, is the name of George S. Graham. Unyielding, straightforward and positive is District Attorney Graham; he is a mental giant. The innocent have no need to fear him ; the guilty are justly in terror. Through his years of experience as a prosecutor of the pleas, he has invariably attacked the guilty and protected the innocent with all the vigor and resourceful power at his command. During his many years of extremely active work as Dis- trict Attorney of Philadelphia, he has, knowing his duty and seeing it clearly, done it well. If, personally, he has doubted after carefully dis- secting the evidence, he has never pressed for conviction. His word goes further with the courts, and deservedly, than would the declara- tion of many other eminent lawyers, because it is known that he care- fully analyzes all the evidence at his command and weighs it with the utmost care before instigating a vigorous prosecution. When once convinced, however, of a man's guilt, he is uncompromising in his prosecution. Mr. Graham is, in fact, a terror to evil-doers. An orator of great power, an analyzer of testimony without a superior, and possessed of a knowledge of human nature to a remarkable degree, he is eminently fitted for the office which he so capably fills.
GEORGE SCOTT GRAHAM was born in Philadelphia, September 13, 1850. His father, James Graham, was of Irish birth and came to this country in early life, engaging in business in Philadelphia. His mother, Sarah Scott Graham, was also born in Ireland and was a woman of superior character. The rudiments of his education were received at the Philadelphia public schools, and he afterward continued his studies under private tuition and at the University of Pennsylvania. Having
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GEORGE SCOTT GRAHAM.
decided on the law as a profession, he was registered as a student in the office of George W. Derrick and subsequently in that of John Roberts. To complete his education, he also took a course in the Law Department of the University of Pennsylvania, receiving his degree as Bachelor of Laws, and was admitted to the Bar in 1871. Mr. Graham very quickly became a factor in the politics of Philadelphia. Energetic to a marked degree, vigorous, emphatic and capable, he early in his professional life entered the field of politics and made his way. His talents as a public speaker at once engaged the attention of those who were prominent in the management of the Republican party, and his services were almost constantly in demand. At the very outset of his career Mr. Graham forced his way into notice as a rising lawyer, his mental force and knowledge of the law gaining for him a profitable clientele as well as a very wide circle of friends and admirers. He has filled the chair of Professor of Criminal Law in the University of Penn- sylvania for more than ten years. In 1890, Lafayette College bestowed on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Though highly suc- cessful in the practice of his profession, his success in the political field was even more marked. Enthusiastic and untiring, no call for his services as a speaker or adviser was made without a prompt response. His activity and energy greatly assisted many of the candidates of his party, and the same qualities carried him through on his own first polit- ical contest. Opposed to the methods employed by those who were in control of his party's affairs in the Twenty-ninth Ward, Mr. Graham was nominated by the Independents for Select Council. It was a hard fight, but Mr. Graham was elected, having a majority over both his opponents. He at once became active in the body to which he had been chosen. His knowledge of affairs, and his acquaintance with the questions of municipal government then before the people, backed by a determination to do his full duty, enabled him to accomplish much in fighting for what he believed to be the best interests of the people. Cogent in argument, ready in debate, forcible in manner and fired with energy, his influence was powerful. He rapidly forged to the front and was soon made Chairman of the Committee on Law. He was also appointed to membership on the Committee of Finance. Mr. Graham's friends endeavored to secure for him the nomination of his
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party for the office of District Attorney in 1877, but were unsuccessful. At the election, however, they supported the compromise candidate, who, notwithstanding, was defeated by the Democratic nominee. The factional fight then within the party was the cause of the Democratic victory ; but by 1880 this spirit had largely disappeared, and Mr. Gra- ham was again urged to become a candidate for the office of District Attorney. He assented and was made the nominee and elected by a large majority. Only thirty years of age when he assumed the control of the very important office, he was the youngest ever elected to fill . the position. His work has given such entire satisfaction that, since 1880, he has been re-elected at the expiration of each term of office, and, with one exception, without opposition, having been nominated or endorsed four times by both the great political parties. The faithful, fearless and courageous manner with which he had fulfilled every public duty compelled his political opponents to endorse him or to make no real contest against him, knowing that such a course would be hopeless.
He was married in 1870, to Emma M. Ellis. Four children resulted from this union, two of whom are deceased ; the first-born, a noble and promising son, died in his fifteenth year, while preparing to enter the University.
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MATTHEW J. GRIER.
KNOWLEDGE of the curative effects of electricity A and its widespread application to the uses of the medical profession has come only of recent years; but the value of this mysterious agent has long been suspected by a few bold searchers, to whose untiring efforts the world is largely indebted for its successful appli- cation. One of the best known of these investigators is Dr. Mat- thew J. Grier, the subject of this sketch, who has devoted his life to electro-therapeutics and won wide renown as a specialist in the treatment of nervous diseases.
MATTHEW JAMES GRIER was born in Philadelphia, March 8, 1838. His father was James Grier, a prominent manufacturer. His mother was Jane Bell, of Philadelphia. The Grier family is of Scotch-Irish origin, the name having originally been MacGregor ; but when the MacGregors were disbanded, those who settled in France called them- selves MayGrier, and, settling later in Ireland, dropped the May and brought the name to its present form. At the age of five he entered the public schools of his native city, passing from them with very rapid progress to the Central High School, from which he was grad- uated in 1854, at the age of twelve. Having at this time several years to spare before he was eligible as a student in medicine, he temporarily entered a dry-goods house for a year's recreation from book studies, but remained altogether five years in the business, at which time it became necessary to determine whether it should be commerce or medicine, an ambition to enter that profession dating back to childhood. His choice settled on medicine, and, in 1860, he was enrolled as a student in the Medical Department of the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania. In June, 1862, while still pursuing his studies
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