USA > Pennsylvania > Prominent and progressive Pennsylvanians of the nineteenth century. Volume III > Part 23
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equipments renewed and the general facilities improved, in order to keep in the front rank of the advancement in the typographic and lithographic arts, as well as to efficiently meet the requirements of a constantly growing patronage. The establishment is one of the oldest and most extensive among the printing concerns of the United States, and its operations embrace all branches of printing, lithography and publishing. On April 1, 1893, the Burk & McFetridge Company was incorporated under the laws of Pennsylvania, with a capital stock of $ 150,000, and became the successors of the firm, William M. Burk retiring from the business and Mr. McFetridge being elected to the Presidency.
Cognizant of his superior executive ability and untiring energy, and in appreciation of his zeal in promoting the interests of the craft, Mr. McFetridge was, on April 10, 1890, chosen President of the Phila- delphia Typothetæ, an association consisting of the leading master printers of Eastern Pennsylvania, his predecessor being Col. Clayton McMichael. Mr. McFetridge was retained in the position year after year until he insisted on being relieved, whereupon, in April, 1897, Col. M. Richards Muckle was selected as his successor. In 1894 the United Typothetæ of America, embracing local Typothetæ throughout the United States and Canada, held its annual sessions on the grounds of the World's Fair at Chicago, at which John R. McFetridge was unanimously chosen the President. He has also been a Delegate to the conventions of the general body held at various times.
Besides his wonderful activity in the printing lines, Mr. McFetridge also brings from the management of various other business enterprises, with which he is connected, that sterling integrity, enthusiastic devo- tion and sound judgment, accompanied by genial qualities and a cordial disposition, that have accomplished remarkable results in his individual affairs. He is a representative citizen of his native city in more ways than one, and is as notable for his public spirit as he is highly respected by all who come in contact with him. He was among the first to advocate the erection of the Philadelphia Bourse, the only institution of its kind on the Western Continent. He was a liberal contributor and a hard worker to the consummation of the movement, and is now one of the Directors and also a member of the Executive
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Committee. He is also a Director of the Manufacturers' Club, of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and of the Franklin Reformatory Home.
Mr. McFetridge is no less conspicuous in the Masonic Fraternity than in the business world. In the various branches of that Order he is, and has been throughout his manhood, an indefatigable and ardent worker. He has the honor of being the initiate member of Potter Lodge, No. 441, Free and Accepted Masons. He was a Worshipful Master in 1881, and is now the Treasurer, to which position he was elected shortly after completing his term as Master. He has since been re-elected annually. He is a member of Harmony Chapter, No. 52, Holy Royal Arch Masons, and of St. Alban Commandery, No. 47, Knights Templar, of which body he was Eminent Commander in 1888 and 1889, continuing for over eight years to officiate in that capacity in conferring the Order of the Temple. He is also actively identified with a number of other associations of a business, social and benevolent character.
PATRICIUS McMANUS.
ELDOM has the assertion that some men are born to a particular avocation had a more truthful or forceful exemplification in this community than that furnished in the highly successful career of Patricius McManus, the subject of this biographical sketch. Through direct heredity, it might be said, he is a contractor and builder of railroad lines and canals, for many of his forebears were engaged in the same business.
PATRICIUS McMANUS was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, on the 22d day of November, 1847. His mother was Anna McGovern, a Pennsylvanian by birth and a daughter of Thomas McGovern, who was a pioneer contractor in the eastern part of the United States. The latter helped to devise and took a most prominent part in the construction of the Erie Canal, the Hudson River Railroad and the old Portage Road Canal, of Pennsylvania, and other large operations of the times. The father of the subject of this sketch was John McManus, a native of County Fermanagh, Ireland, and who came to this country when a young man, beginning life as a contractor and builder in a minor way, and, through devoting his energies conscien- tiously to his work, became one of the greatest contractors and builders of his day. Young Patricius received his early education at the Macungie Institute, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, and, while still in his teens, he entered the public schools of Lancaster County, where he very creditably passed the highest examinations. His first step in the world of business was taken under the direction of one of his grandfathers and an uncle, who were at that time among the most prominent contractors in the State of Pennsylvania. As early as 1866, when only nineteen years of age, Mr. McManus entered into a 308
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contract to build eleven miles of the Sunbury and Lewistown Railroad. This was his first venture single-handed in the wide and difficult field of railroad construction, and it was rapidly followed by many important and intricate operations, such as the building of the Philadelphia Stock Yard, the construction of the entire track system of the Pennsylvania Railroad in connection with the Centennial grounds, and the comple- tion of the track-laying at the Pennsylvania Railroad Station at Thirty- second and Market streets.
Mr. McManus once held the position of Roadmaster of the Pitts- burg and Lake Erie Railroad, and later supervised the building of the double track system to Atlantic City for the Philadelphia and Reading Railway. He also built sixty miles of the double track of the Williams- port Division of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway, besides the mason work for two bridges across the Susquehanna River. Mr. McManus took a most active part in the reconstruction of roadbed and waterways at South Fork and Johnstown just after the Johns- town flood, and has been chiefly instrumental in doing some of the heaviest work in the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, such as the changing of the line of the roadbed at Conewago, Hillsdale, Bixler, Bennington and Newton-Hamilton. One of his greatest feats in the line of railroad construction, and a work that stands forth as an invari- able guide and a source of instruction to other contractors, is found in the magnificent Philadelphia terminal system of tracks at the Broad Street Station of the Pennsylvania Railroad. At that busy place hun- dreds of trains arrive and depart daily without confusion or the slight- est hitch, and even within a few seconds of one another. This very gratifying result is conceded to be primarily due to the perfect track system devised and constructed by Mr. McManus, who has also made his mark on other railway lines. The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad tunnel, under the main tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the West Philadelphia yard, was constructed under his supervision, and he built the tunnel under the New York Division tracks at Thirty-fifth Street, Philadelphia. He has also done consider- able macadam work in and around the city of Philadelphia.
From 1884 until 1894 Mr. McManus was in partnership with James B. Reilly, his half brother, doing business under the name of
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McManus & Reilly, general contractors. In 1894 Mr. McManus bought out Mr. Reilly's interest and conducted the business in his own name until March, 1897, when he organized his business into a stock company, known as the McManus Construction Company, of which he is the President and General Manager. He is also President of The Glen Mills Stone Quarrying and Crushing Company. He is a member of the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia, the Athletic Club of Philadelphia, and the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, of Philadelphia. At present he is engaged in reconstructing the old Dis- mal Swamp Canal in Virginia and South Carolina, making an inland waterway between the Chesapeake Bay and the Albemarle Sound. He is also, at present, engaged in building the temporary track system on the Philadelphia and Reading Subway, Philadelphia.
Mr. McManus was married, in the spring of 1867, to Mary Jane Swengle, by whom he had four children, Regina, John A., Ed. J. and Josephine. He was married the second time on January 4, 1888, to Elizabeth McGovern, by whom he has had six children, Herbert, Anna Marie, Joseph, Leo Patricius, Elizabeth and Gertrude.
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ROBERT M. McWADE.
R' OBERT MALACHI McWADE was born at Belfast, Ireland, December 25, 1850. His father was James D. McWade, a North-of-Ireland man, and his mother Susannah (Rae) McWade, a Scotch Highland maid. They were in comfortable circumstances and had determined to give their son a good education. Mr. McWade's father was anxious that Robert should enter the priesthood and, with that view, directed his studies. He was instructed by a private tutor and was sent to the school of Hugh McEntee, who was a Belfast teacher of note. He then went to St. Aloysius College at Glasgow, where he remained for a short time. Illness interrupted his studies, and it was at the age of sixteen years that a trip to this country was suggested as being beneficial. He was already well advanced in his studies and for his years was highly accomplished. His teachings had included Greek and Latin, and in these branches he was particu- larly bright. Mr. McWade was so well pleased with America that he determined to make it his home. He returned to Ireland with health restored and resumed his studies, passing the concursus for philos- ophy. During his next two years he studied theology, but his great desire to return to this country finally prevailed. He was about twenty-one years of age when he reached Philadelphia. Mr. McWade, immediately after his arrival in Philadelphia, commenced writing for the newspapers. He wrote consecutively for the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Times, and did editorial writing for the trade papers in Boston. He also did much local reporting and, in 1874, was made City Editor of Forney's Press. Towards the close of 1876 Mr. McWade became a reporter for the Public Ledger, soon rising to the position of Night City Editor, and finally to the City Editorship
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of that newspaper. Mr. McWade, in order to wage an aggressive warfare upon the old political rings in Philadelphia, started the publication of the evening and Sunday Leader. These he con- ducted for two years, still continuing on the staff of the Public Ledger. Their suspension followed his retirement from their editorial management. Mr. McWade also founded the Delaware County Citizen at Wayne. He published the "Translation of Demosthenes" in 1880, a work that was highly commended by the critics, and wrote "The Great Irish Struggle," and "The Uncrowned King," both of which had a phenomenal circulation in Great Britain and Ireland and the Australian and Canadian colonies, as well as in this country. Mr. McWade enjoyed the close confidence and friendship of George W. Childs, and on many important occasions represented the great philanthropist. He also was a representative of the city in the matter of investigating the condition of people and communities that were said to be in distress. He organized the famous Citizens' Permanent Relief Committee of Philadelphia, the only institution of its kind in the world, and is its Vice-President. As a member of the Citizens' Relief Committee, he visited the yellow fever districts of the South, and also went on a tour through the Western districts, where there were great sufferings on account of the floods. With Doctors M. S. French and E. O. Shakespere, he was active in affording relief to the sufferers by the great fires at Clarendon and DuBois, and indivi- dually rendered service at the fire at Milton. His services were also demanded when the typhoid epidemic occurred at Plymouth and Sugar Notch. Doctors Shakespere, French and Child were also in attendance, and, after the great work of conquering the epidemic was completed, they prepared a report of their work, which was widely circulated.
Mr. McWade performed other valuable services for the com- mittee, making a tour, with Doctor French, through the wilds of West Virginia, where the people were reported to be suffering from diseases and death from the drought. Perhaps the most exciting of his trips on mercy bound was in connection with the visit to Charleston, South Carolina, following the great earthquake. While there he experienced nearly a score of seismic shocks. He assisted very greatly in the
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raising of a fund for the relief of the Johnstown flood sufferers, wrote the majority of the appeals that were issued by the Citizens' Relief Committee, and was President of the Siberian Exile Relief Associa- tion. He has for years been prominent in Irish affairs in America. He assisted in the formation and was Secretary of the Citizens' Irish Famine Relief Committee in 1889, of which ex-Postmaster-General Wanamaker was Chairman. He took a prominent part in the old Land League and in the Irish National League in America. He was one of the organizers of the League in 1883, and was elected President thereof in June of that year.
He was a member of the committees of reception to Charles Stewart Parnell, T. P. O'Connor, M.P., Father Sheehy, Timothy Healy, and to Dillon and O'Brien. He was very active in all the great Irish movements and in the meetings held in Philadelphia during the past twenty-five years, including the raising of a $10,000 Parnell Defense Fund in 1888. Mr. McWade is a member of numerous societies, including the Robert Burns Society; the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick ; the Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia ; the National Association of American Manufacturers ; the American Catholic Historical Society ; the American Statistical Association ; the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Red Cross Society. A few years ago Mr. McWade retired from the Philadelphia Ledger and all active news- paper work, but is still a contributor to the newspapers whenever occasions of interest to him arise. He is now extensively engaged in the manufacture of automatic sprinklers, and has been, for the last five years, President of the Universal Automatic Fire Extinguisher Company of Pennsylvania, a position which he still holds.
Mr. McWade and Rosina Lenox were married in Scotland, in 1872. Their handsome residence at Wayne was destroyed by fire several years ago and they, immediately thereafter, secured another home in that delightful suburb, which they made their country resi- dence, Mr. McWade then, as now, owning a fine residence in the fashionable part of Philadelphia. Mr. McWade's wife died January 5, 1895, leaving him with five sons and one daughter.
WILLIAM J. NEAD.
W ILLIAM J. NEAD was born in Philadelphia on the 15th day of November, 1835, of that sturdy Irish stock which has contributed so much to the material prosperity of the New World. His father was a representative citizen of Philadelphia for many years and widely known as one of the most able and experienced railroad contractors in the Commonwealth, this important field having occupied his time for a third of a century, during which he executed contracts on many of Pennsylvania's most important lines. The son became a regular attendant at the educational institutions of his native city, both public and private, at an early age, and rapidly advanced into scholastic knowledge, and laid a most excellent foundation for that superstructure which he has since acquired in the great field of experience, adding also to the education therein acquired whatever information he could glean from books within his reach. At the age of seventeen he left school and entered the commercial world in the employ of James H. Orne, who then had a large carpet-house located at 638 Chestnut Street. For four years he remained with this estab- lishment as chief bookkeeper. The work proving too confining, he decided to leave the employ of Mr. Orne and engage with his father in the more active occupation of railroad contracting. He continued this business, however, for but a short time, again accepting a place as chief bookkeeper, this time with the wholesale dry-goods firm of William G. Chittick & Company. This firm, some time afterwards, removed to New York, where it engaged in the business of importing dry-goods under the name of Lindsay, Chittick & Company, Mr. Nead remaining in their employ there for two years. His health was endangered by the confinement and arduous duties incident to his
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employment, and, for the joint purpose of improving himself physically as well as mentally, he severed his connection with this firm and made a tour over Europe, of several months' duration, during which he visited the World's Fair, which was held in London in 1862. On his return from his travels he again engaged in the railroad contracting business in connection with his father, the firm taking the partnership title of James Nead & Son. He continued in this business as a mem- ber of this firm, and later, upon his own account, until 1885. During this time he was engaged in work for the Pennsylvania Railroad, straightening the line between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, and after this Company leased the Camden and Amboy Railroad, he cut the road through Bergen Hill to Harsimus Cove. This kind of work had previously been avoided by contractors, as it was of the hardest nature, the ground being composed of crystalline trap rock. Mr. Nead successfully fulfilled the terms of the contract by the use of steam drills and special machinery, completing the work within contract time, to the surprise of those versed in the difficulties of such undertakings. This was rendered doubly noteworthy by the early date of its accom- plishment, the year 1872. This was one of the first operations in which the defects of the steam drill, then in use, became apparent, and, as a result thereof, many improvements have since been made. On this work the holes were drilled thirty feet deep and four inches in diam- eter, the whole operation being conducted with a skill and energy previously unknown. The last work engaged in by Mr. Nead was in building a portion of the Schuylkill Valley railroad and bridge work. Among the latter was the bridge which spans the Schuylkill River at Phoenixville.
Mr. Nead's prominent position in public affairs has naturally led to his identification with partisan politics. He served a term in Com- mon Councils and, although a Democrat, represented the Republican Twenty-eighth Ward, running 1,100 votes ahead of his ticket. He was selected by a committee composed of Lewis C. Cassidy, James Campbell, John O. James, and others of the best known citizens of Philadelphia, as a candidate against P. A. B. Widener on the latter's nomination for his second term as City Treasurer of Philadelphia. The selection was promptly endorsed by the Democratic Convention.
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The high esteem in which Mr. Nead is held by his party has been evidenced many times. He has been selected by a Democratic Con- vention for the office of State Senator and as the Representative of his Congressional District for Congress of the United States. But, of course, he was unable to overcome the immense Republican majority in his district. Mr. Nead served for seven years as Guardian of the Poor, having been elected three times to this position by City Councils.
On the 17th day of June, 1885, he was married to Susannah E. Amer, daughter of William Amer, one of the most extensive morocco manufacturers of Philadelphia. After his marriage he made three tours of the world, having visited every part of the inhabited globe, with the exception of South America and the Sandwich Islands. Mr. Nead has kept a record of the trips, and it shows that he and his wife traveled 207,000 miles abroad. Mr. Nead makes his residence at Atlantic City, New Jersey. He has been Vice-President of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick for two terms (1882-1883) and twice President (1884-1885).
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HENRY M. NEALE.
D URING the latter half of the present century the med- ical interests of the State have been advanced along the most progressive lines, and the members of this distinguished profession have acquired so thorough a knowledge of its needs and of the details of skillful practice that they stand pre-eminent in the ranks of men of progress. Pennsylvania's schools of medicine are justly noted for their superi- ority, and the opportunities offered the student for the development of his professional inclinations, and, after graduation, for the increase and embellishment of his knowledge, are so large and varied as to afford a remarkable scope for the enterprising and ambitious. In the practice of medicine and in the business details of the profession, one of the most prominent men in his section of Pennsylvania is Dr. Henry M. Neale, the subject of this biography. In Upper Lehigh he is a leading citizen, and none of his colleagues has attained a more brilliant success than he. Doctor Neale has kept pace with the advancements in the medical profession. With all the modern methods of pathological treatment and surgery he is thoroughly conversant. In Upper Lehigh he enjoys a prominence which comes to him as one of its most progressive citizens and professional men.
HENRY M. NEALE was born at New Haven, Connecticut, July 27, 1856. His father was Martin Hubbell Neale, and his mother was Martha Marion Neale, her maiden name being Hitchcock. His father's parents came from Tyrone, Ireland, and his mother's people reached American soil on the " Mayflower," to the early colonists from which vessel she traces her ancestry. After a primary education, which prepared him for an academic course, Mr. Neale entered the Lewis Academy, at Southington, Connecticut, from which he graduated.
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He was then tutored for three years by Prof. F. A. Brackett, of Hart- ford, Connecticut, preparatory to taking a medical course upon which he had determined. The young man decided that in the profession of medicine he would find that outlet for his energies that was most suited to his temperament, and for the purpose of acquiring the edu- cation necessary to admission to practice, he entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in September, 1877. He studied earnestly, and, in March, 1880, was graduated with honors. He was appointed Resident Physician at Blockley Hospital for one year, after passing a competitive examination which put the applicants for the post to a severe test. The fact that Doctor Neale was chosen indicated his superior attainments and his thorough fitness for an active part in the practice of medicine. Doctor Neale located in Upper Lehigh, Penn- sylvania, where he shortly established a paying practice. In the medi- cal affairs of his section of Pennsylvania he became a recognized figure, and in Upper Lehigh's business and social life he almost at once took a prominent part. The middle coal-fields recognized in him a thoroughly progressive man, and he soon became identified with its leading business organizations and municipal institutions. He is a member of the Freeland Board of Health, and is one of the Board of Trustees of the Hazleton State Hospital, having been appointed by Governor Beaver. He is a stockholder in the Mount Jessup Coal Company and the Moosic Mount Coal Company. Doctor Neale is a Director in the White Hall Land and Improvement Company and the Chapman Standard Slate Company ; he is also a Director in the E. N. Welch Clock Company, Forestville, Connecticut ; a member of the Clover Club, Philadelphia, Westmoreland Club, Wilkes-Barre, and the Pen and Pencil Club, Philadelphia. While these business interests occupy his attention to a considerable extent, yet his liveliest ambitions and his chief energies are centered in the practice of medicine and its higher development.
On March 4, 1884, Doctor Neale was married to Ada Leis- enring, of Upper Lehigh, Pennsylvania. They have three children- Mahlon Kemmerer Neale, Joseph Hawley Neale and Gertrude Leisen- ring Neale. In the social affairs of the middle coal-fields Doctor Neale takes an active part, and in all the movements of a public
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nature, particularly such as are identified with the advancement of humanity, he is a prominent participant.
Doctor Neale never misses an opportunity of securing the latest data in reference to the progress of the profession of medicine. His extensive associations in the social and business circles of Philadelphia and the Upper Lehigh section are of immense value in developing his many excellent qualities. In public life he is as conspicuous for his thorough progressiveness as he is widely noted for ability in his chosen profession. His rank among prominent Pennsylvanians is exalted to a large degree.
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