USA > Pennsylvania > Prominent and progressive Pennsylvanians of the nineteenth century. Volume III > Part 4
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
III .- 3
SOLOMON B: BOYER.
RIDE in the progress of one's place of nativity is a most worthy trait in human nature, and becomes all the more commendable when individual efforts have received laudatory recognition. In the growth and development of the eastern part of Pennsylvania, Solomon B. Boyer, the subject of this sketch, has been a prominent factor, and is still a conspicuous figure, in the northwestern Schuylkill section. He was yet in his early manhood when the present site of Mahanoy City was a wilderness, and he easily remembers when there was only a stage station where the towns of Mt. Carmel and Ash- land are now located. An old log cabin and a saw-mill were his first acquaintance with what is now known as Shenandoah. In fact, Mr. Boyer has seen that entire district grow up step by step, from hamlet to village, from village to town, and from town to centers of great business activity and industrial pursuits, where once all was barren. He possesses a remarkable memory, and his relation of the scenes and incidents in the growth of the Keystone State, as witnessed by him, is as interesting as it is instructive to the present generation. He was a toddler of about four years when anthracite coal was dis- covered in Shamokin, giving that community its first great impulse.
SOLOMON B. BOYER was born, January 4, 1829, in what was at that time known as Little Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County, now known as Cameron Township. His father was John Boyer, a native of Maxatawny Township, Berks County, and his mother was a native of Schuylkill County and a member of the Bixler family, whose ancestors originally came from Germany at an early date. His grandfather was John Boyer, who also emigrated from Germany with a number of hardy pioneers who settled in Pennsylvania. Following
34
مندمه
f. B. Boyer
35
SOLOMON B. BOYER.
the line of his ancestors, who were all engaged in agricultural pur- suits, he was reared on a farm. During his boyhood days Mr. Boyer's father opened a country store in conjunction with his farm. At the age of sixteen years he visited Philadelphia for the first time to purchase goods for the country store. The nearest railroad depot at that time was at Pottsville, twenty-four miles away. He worked in the store for nearly five years, doing a general trading business in Pottsville and surrounding country. Shamokin at that time had not more than a dozen houses. He began his early education in 1837 at a private German school in the Mahanoy Valley, but the tuition was brief, as the school was only open three months in the year. Yet he devoted his long vacation to study, and when the first English school was opened in that section in 1843, he quickly availed himself of its advantages. The course here, however, only lasted three months, and, in 1844, he took up the trade of cabinetmaking, working indus- triously at it for several years. Later he started in business for him- self, besides conducting a small farm. He made his first entrance into professional life when he was elected in 1850 as Justice of the Peace, holding that office for five years. This position awakened in him a love of law, the study of which he commenced in 1856 with H. J. Wolverton, and two years later he was admitted to the Bar of Northumberland County. His examining committee consisted of ex-Governor Pollock, William I. Greenough and William C. Lawson, and his examination was conducted in the presence of Presiding Judge Alexander Jordan of the Eighth Judicial District. He was a member of the Pennsylvania State Militia during the Civil War, and was stationed at Hagerstown, Maryland, while the battle of Antietam was in progress. His company was mustered out, however, after only twenty days' service. He made his first entrance into public life as a member of the Town Council of Sunbury in 1862, and a year later he was elected Mayor of that place, holding office for two years. He was a Democrat, but during the first term of President Lincoln he was appointed United States Revenue Collector for Northumberland County. Since his admission to the Bar of Northumberland and sur- rounding counties, he has given his undivided attention to his large law practice, with headquarters in Sunbury. He has been exceptionally
1200334
36
SOLOMON B. BOYER.
successful in the handling of criminal cases. In a record of thir- teen murder cases he secured ten acquittals, and sentences in the other three of murder in the second degree. He is also well versed in civil law, and long ago was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and in the District and Circuit Courts of the United States in Eastern and Western Pennsylvania. He is the author of " Boyer's Criminal Digest," a work which is looked upon as of great value to the legal profession both in this State and through- out the country. As an evidence of the high esteem in which he is held by his colleagues, he possesses a magnificent watch-charm, pre- sented to him by the members of the Northumberland Bar on his sixty-second birthday, which event marked the expiration of thirty- three years of continuous law practice.
He is a Past Master of the Free and Accepted Masons and Past Grand Master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Pennsyl- vania. He was married in August, 1850, to Esther Haupt, who was born and reared in the same valley as her husband, her parents being Benjamin and Mary Haupt, who were Germans and among the pio- neers who settled in Pennsylvania at an early date. Two children were the result of that union, a daughter, Amelia Boyer, now the wife of J. H. Devitt, who read law with Mr. Boyer, and one son, Francis, deceased.
Of Carroll Brewster
F. CARROLL BREWSTER.
HEN the "Mayflower" brought its liberty-seekers to W the New World, one of the pilgrims was William Brewster, the ancestor of the subject of this sketch. The elder Brewster had been educated in Cambridge University in England, and, coming to this country, was the first acknowledged teacher in the little colony. He brought with him to Plymouth his wife and four children. Their descendants were numerous and spread through the Eastern and Middle States. Among them was Francis Enoch Brewster, born in Deerfield, Cumber- land County, New Jersey, who was the father of Judge F. Carroll Brewster.
FREDERICK CARROLL BREWSTER was born in Philadelphia on May 15, 1825. In boyhood he was regarded as particularly promising and was sent to the old Friends' Select School, going from there to the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1841, at the age of sixteen, with all the honors of the institution. From that day to this he has always maintained an active interest in the University, and was, for several years, President of the Society of the Alumni, resigning in 1871 and being succeeded by Judge Sharswood. He was the orator at the laying of the corner-stone of the present edifice, which is the home of the University. In testimony of the esteem in which he was held, this institution, a few years ago, honored him with the degree of Doctor of Laws.
On leaving school he at once began the study of law in his father's office, developing a remarkable aptitude for the profession, being admitted to the Bar, September 20, 1844, before he had attained his majority. In his profession he has achieved marked success, rapidly rising to a foremost position at the Bar of Pennsylvania. Many
37
38
F. CARROLL BREWSTER.
important cases, not only of a criminal or business nature, but con- nected with political affairs, received the young attorney's closest attention, but he held no political office until local issue forced his nomination by the Republican Party as its candidate for the office of City Solicitor. An independent movement outside of party influence was at once organized to elect him, and he received a large majority at the polls, giving to the position of City Solicitor an importance which it had never before attained. To Mr. Brewster is due the credit for the successful defense of the Girard Will. This victory was followed by his carrying to a successful conclusion many other of the most celebrated cases in the annals of legal jurisprudence in Penn- sylvania. At the close of his first term as City Solicitor, Mr. Brewster was re-elected, but his second term was very brief. An additional judge was required in the Philadelphia courts, and the Legislature pro- vided for the election of another member of the judiciary. To this position Mr. Brewster was elected, and his rulings were noted for their justice and clearness. After serving for more than three years with great satisfaction to the people of Philadelphia, Judge Brewster was appointed by Governor Geary Attorney-General of the Common- wealth, filling this office during the years 1869, 1870, 1871 and 1872. While occupying this responsible post he was called upon to conduct many cases of great importance and some involving the determination of constitutional questions. He recommended the establishment of the Board of Pardons, and during the term of his office as Attorney- General the number of pardons granted was conspicuously less than had occurred for a like period for years before.
Tried in every walk of his profession and in almost every position to which an advocate may be permitted to aspire, he has always been found equal to and honored in them all. To a knowledge of the science of jurisprudence at once profound and extensive, he brings a clearness of arrangement and logical simplicity that seems to deprive the "dark study" of all its mystery. His style of argument, not florid or loaded with ornament, never hard or dry, always lucid, admirably chosen and refined, has been pronounced by critical auditors almost the perfection of forensic oratory. His personal manner before judge and jury and in the treatment of witnesses is patient, courteous and
39
F. CARROLL BREWSTER.
considerate. Nothing is labored, nothing strained, and everyone who has heard him has been conscious of a reserve of strength. Judge Brewster has published a Digest of Decisions, Blackstone Commen- taries, a Treatise on the Rule in Shelly's Case, four volumes of Reports of Decisions, two volumes of Common Pleas Practice, two volumes of Orphans' Court Practice, and two volumes of Equity Court Practice, Life and Annotated Works of Disraeli, Life and Annotated Works of Moliere, and a volume of travels "From Independence Hall Around the World."
Judge Brewster is now, and has been for many years, Solicitor of the Girard Estate, and is President of the Lawyers' Club. Many honors have come to him, and the Club of University Graduates has paid tribute to his worth by taking the title of the F. C. Brewster Law Club. Several banquets have been extended to him by the Bar, the last one on his attainment of the age of seventy years. As President of the Lawyers' Club he presided over the banquet given by the Bar in honor of Judge Thayer.
FRANCIS MARK BROOKE.
RANCIS MARK BROOKE was born in the old F Welsh Township of Radnor, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1836, and is the fourth child of Hugh Jones Brooke and Jemima Elizabeth Long- mire, his wife. His mother came of purely English stock, being the daughter of Nathaniel Longmire, a lace manufacturer of Nottingham, England. The father came of a long line of Ameri- cans, of English and Welsh descent. Many of his forefathers held positions of trust and honor and in each generation served as soldiers in their country's wars. His great-grandfather, Benjamin Brooke, of Gulph Mills, was commissioned Captain of a company of infantry in the Sixth Battalion, Pennsylvania troops, in 1776, and served through the whole Revolutionary War. Hugh Jones, another great-grand- father, of "Brookfield," near the present Bryn Mawr, served in the " Pennsylvania Line," and James Hunter, another ancestor, was a Captain in the French and Indian Wars, and was a son of John Hunter, who, under William of Orange, distinguished himself at the Boyne Water.
Mr. Brooke's youth was spent in Radnor, where he attended school. At the age of sixteen years he entered Haverford College, his course there being suddenly terminated by a severe illness. In 1857, having recovered his health, he commenced the study of law in the office of Edward Hopper, a leading member of the Philadelphia Bar, attending at the same time the lectures of the Law Department of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1859 he was admitted to the Bar, and began the practice of his profession at Media, where his ability and industry soon won for him a lucrative practice. Upon the breaking out of the Rebellion, his father, summoned by the Secretary
40
Francis morning
41
FRANCIS MARK BROOKE.
of War to assist in conducting the Commissary Department of the Army, left him in charge of varied interests ; but when Pennsylvania was invaded, he enlisted and served as a private in Company I, Twenty-ninth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia. In 1863 he was elected to the office of District Attorney of Delaware County, to which he brought the same untiring energy and devotion to his work which has ever marked his life. This zeal, with the increased duties, again impaired his health and he was forced to resign his position and to relinquish the practice of law. Active business life holding a pros- pect of less confinement and consequently of better health, he embarked, in 1864, with his brother, Hunter Brooke, in the grain trade, establishing the house of F. M. & H. Brooke, which has become one of the leading firms in that branch of commerce. In 1865 he decided to make Philadelphia his permanent home. From his start in business life, Mr. Brooke has taken a prominent part in the various associations formed for the purpose of developing the city of his adoption. He was one of the first to urge the consolidation of all the business interests of Philadelphia into one great trade organiza- tion. As a member of the Commercial Exchange, the leading trade institution of the city, his ability and energy were promptly recognized and, for a long time, he continuously served his fellow-members on its committees or in its active administration. Especially has he been useful in those matters affecting the welfare of the trade and commerce of Philadelphia, where representatives were needed to con- fer with the City Councils, the State Legislature and the National Congress. In 1878, after serving the Exchange as Director and Vice- President, he was chosen President, and in the celebrations of the National Centennial in 1876, the city's Bi-Centennial of 1882, and the National Constitutional Centennial in 1887, he actively participated as a representative of the Exchange.
In many financial, industrial, charitable and other organizations Mr. Brooke takes more than an active interest. He is President or Director of a number of such corporations and is also a member of various scientific, historical, patriotic, hereditary, social and other organizations of the city and the State. In politics he is a Republi- can, but, with the exception of the District Attorneyship, has always
42
FRANCIS MARK BROOKE.
declined the use of his name for political office whether elective or appointive. On July 21, 1862, he married Adelaide Hunter, daughter of William Hayman Vogdes, of Philadelphia. Mrs. Brooke, who died November 28, 1888, was a descendant of the Maris, Hayman, Wayne and other old families of Pennsylvania. Of the five children who were born to them, four are still living.
Mr. Brooke was the first to call attention to the fact that the camp-ground at Valley Forge, where the private soldiers of Washing- ton's Army endured untold sufferings during the long dark winter of 1777-78, should be preserved as sacred ground. He originated, had drafted, and by persistent effort and personal influence secured, in the Pennsylvania Legislature, the passage of the Act of May 20, 1893, entitled " An Act to acquire, maintain and preserve forever the Revo- lutionary Camp-ground at Valley Forge for the free enjoyment of the people." In recognition of his interest in the work he was appointed one of the Commissioners by the Governor, and the Commission has since continuously elected him its President.
000
OU
80
WILLIAM M. BUNN.
00000000000O
ILLIAM MALCOLM BUNN was born in Philadelphia, W on January 1, 1842, being the seventh among eleven sons, born of parents well known in the vicinity of Third and Poplar streets. He received his early education in the public schools; but at the age of eleven years his studies were interrupted, when he went to work in a cotton mill in which his father was employed as a spinner. He remained there three years and was then taken in hand by an uncle, an Episcopal minister, who conducted an academic institute at Havana, New York, for young men and boys. Under the latter's tutorship young Bunn secured a useful education, which he afterwards largely extended by a variety of reading and through his happy faculty of quick acquirement. At the age of sixteen years his father secured him a place with John Frost, a Philadelphia wood engraver, in order that he might learn that trade. It had been intended that he should thoroughly acquire the art by remaining there until he had attained his majority; but at the end of a year he became dissatisfied with his opportunities and joined an elder brother who had established a wood-carving business. Mr. Bunn became very proficient in this line and later in life attained wide note for his admirable cartoon productions.
At the breaking out of the Rebellion he promptly enlisted, though not yet twenty years of age, and joined Company F, Seventy-second Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was severely wounded at Savage Station, Virginia, June 29, 1862, and was subsequently taken prisoner, being confined at Richmond for several months. When con- valescent, he was released by exchange, returning to Philadelphia, where he suffered a relapse. After his honorable discharge he returned
43
44
WILLIAM MALCOLM BUNN.
to the army as Sutler's Clerk, in which position he made many friends. Meanwhile his studious qualities were shown in his poring over every book that found its way into camp. He resumed the wood-engraving business, becoming a partner with his brother, and they prospered steadily through their faithful attention to the details of their work.
In 1866 Mr. Bunn began to take an active interest in politics. He was elected from the Sixteenth Ward as a Delegate to the City Convention. He was a staunch Republican, and the same year he was nominated for School Director, but failed of election on account of his ward having a formidable Democratic majority. He was, the following year, nominated for Common Council, but sacrificed himself to heal feuds existing in his party at that time. Later he founded an organization of a politico-social nature, which retained harmony in the party and wielded the most potent influ- ence in the ward for many years. The following year he received the nomination for Representative in the State Legislature. He found it necessary to contest the election, which he accomplished successfully and later took his seat in the legislative body. He was re-elected for the succeeding term by a good majority. Mr. Bunn next cast his eyes upon the office of Register of Wills, which at that time was a very lucrative one. The youthful poli- tician was bitterly opposed by several factions and his candidacy seemed an almost hopeless undertaking. Nothing daunted, how- ever, and buoyed up by his confidence and the encouragement of his friends, he entered upon the fight, won the nomination, and was elected with his ticket by a handsome majority. In 1875 he was elected as Guardian of the Poor, an office without profit, and was re-elected in 1878, at the end of which term he declined to submit his name again for that position. He has repeatedly been a Delegate to National, State and county conventions. During this period he entered a new field, having purchased the con- trolling interest in the Sunday Transcript, in 1878, of which paper he became editor and proprietor. A few years ago he gave the property to his son, Benton S. Bunn. He introduced new ideas into the paper, and it brightened and flourished. His keen epi- grammatic paragraphs have attracted wide attention, and his bold
45
WILLIAM MALCOLM BUNN.
defense of the people's cause against their oppressors, a decade ago, led to his selection for a seat in the State Senate ; but through untoward and corrupt influences he was, for the first time, defeated for nomination. He remained at the editorial desk until his selec- tion by President Arthur to fill the Gubernatorial chair of the Territory of Idaho. His confirmation by the United States Senate was unanimous, and within a month of receiving his appointment he departed for his new field of labor. His record in Idaho is acknowledged to be a very component part of the history of the great West. He did much good work for the advancement and improvement of the Territory, and had passed by the Legis- lature an Act disfranchising polygamous Mormons-the hardest blow Mormonism ever received. This Act made the Territory Republican, made it a State, and gave the Republican party two United States Senators. Socially Mr. Bunn enjoys a wide circle of friends, his brilliant qualities having made him one of the most attractive of men. He is a member of the Lawyers' Club and of the famous Clover Club of Philadelphia.
J. DONALD CAMERON.
IN the Cameron family the warp and woof of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has possessed one of its strongest human threads, and the statesman- ship, sagacity and brilliant attainments of its leading members have left an indelible impress upon the history of the Keystone State. As the worthy son of a distinguished sire, J. Donald Cameron, the subject of this biographical review, is deserving of recognition among the leading men of the latter half of the century ; but it is still more for his own intrinsic worth, and because of the important part which he has played in the political history of Pennsylvania and in the development of its higher interests, that he is known to contemporaneous fame. His term in the United States Senate was marked by all those quali- ties of mind which made his father, Simon Cameron, one of the strong figures of American life.
JAMES DONALD CAMERON was born in Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, May 14, 1833, and he was the eldest son of Simon Cameron and his wife, Margaret Brua. It was, perhaps, but a natural thing that the Camerons, father and son, should attain to such high citizenship, for they came of a stock which gave to Scotland one of the most interesting chapters of its history -the Clan Cameron. J. Donald Cameron received the best of local educational advantages, and the home influences which moulded his early life were strong and vigorous. He was sent to Princeton College in the class of 1852, with which he graduated. Upon leaving that institution he entered the Middletown Bank as a clerk, and, beginning with this early start in life, at once brought into play all those admirable qualities which have helped him to
46
一
ThePsn y andlEryto Phr
47
J. DONALD CAMERON.
success. He was made Cashier of the bank, and finally President -quite a series of advancements, but one which by no means suited the ardent and ambitious nature of the son of Simon Cam- eron. Becoming interested in railroad affairs, he identified himself with the Northern Central Railroad, of which he served as Presi- dent from 1863 to 1864; so it was with banking and railroad interests, both of them among the most important factors in the general development of his State, that J. Donald Cameron was first associated. As President of the Northern Central, during a portion of the Civil War, he rendered great service to the National cause, largely through his influence in keeping open a means of communication between Washington and Pennsylvania, to which project he gave his earnest attention and care. But while from his young manhood to the present time Mr. Cameron has con- tinued to evince a decided interest in those affairs of finance and commerce which are calculated to enhance the prosperity of his native State, yet it is undoubtedly as one of the bright lights of public life that his name will be remembered in years to come.
He entered public life as a Delegate to the National Republican Convention at Chicago in 1868. Prior to this, to be sure, he had evidenced his appreciation of the political situation in his own com- munity, and, following in the footsteps of his father, who at that time was one of the most prominent public men in the United States, had exhibited upon many occasions a marked acquaintance with the tenets of his party, together with a wonderful amount of foresight and sagacity. As a member of the Pennsylvania State Republican Convention, which met in Harrisburg in 1876, Mr. Cameron further distinguished himself, and during the eight years previous he had taken part in all the important political movements of his section. It was on May 22, 1876, however, that Mr. Cameron attained the first high position which his merits deserved. He was on that date nominated by President Grant as Secretary of War. He was elected United States Senator from Pennsylvania in 1877, and served con- tinuously from then until March 3, 1897, giving to his country twenty years of his most active and honorable career.
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.