Standard history of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Part 128

Author: Wilson, Erasmus, 1842-1922; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926. cn
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : H.R. Cornell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1192

USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Standard history of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania > Part 128

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He was an intimate friend of Mr. John A. Roebling, the engineer in charge, who afterward became so widely known by the building of the railroad bridge over the Niagara River, and the Brooklyn Bridge. When the disastrous lesson of the fire of 1845 stimulated renewed interest in insurance, Mr. Jackson took an active part in organizing the Western Insurance Company, the original capital of which, $225,000, has since been increased to $300,000. He was an incorporator of this company, and was always zealous in promoting its interests. He was public-spirited to the last degree, and all his life entered heart and soul into what- ever promised helpfulness and usefulness to the city of Pittsburg or its people. When the best class of citizens looked upon it as a sacred duty to man the fire- 'engines of the town, he was a member of the "Eagle," now known as "Engine No. I," and for a time was captain of the company. When a young man he took considerable interest in local politics, and represented the Fourth Ward in the council. In 1845, the year in which a fearful conflagration "destroyed the best half of the city of Pittsburg." he was president of the Select branch of the Council, and after the fire he was one of a committee of three, in whose hands was placed the pecuniary aid, amounting to more than $160,000, which was contributed from all sources for the relief of the suffering people of the desolated city. A Democrat in early life, Mr. Jackson passed in time from that party into the ranks of the Republicans. Previous to the election of Buchanan, he had identified himself prominently with the colonization movement, taking an active part in sending

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settlers to Kansas, and giving freely of his time, influence and ineans to promote the cause. In 1856 he was sent as a delegate to the convention held in Buffalo, at which John C. Fremont was nominated for the Presidency. "His loyalty to the Union and the Constitution was unswerving and unqualified" to the time of his death. He was an uncompromising foe to all jobbery, and utterly incapable of descending to meanness or trickery to increase his fortune. His kindness of heart was not the least distinguishing of his many excellent characteristics and was well exemplified by his active interest in the House of Refuge of Western Pennsylvania, the Western Pennsylvania Hospital, and other eleemosynary insti- tutions. The care of the insane was a subject near his heart, and he was one of the most outspoken advocates of the erection of the hospital for the insane, now known as "Dixmont," and a firm supporter of the late Dr. Reed. His religious connections attached him to the Episcopal Church, and in early life he attended Trinity Church, but afterwards St. Andrews. He was married in 1836 to Mary, daughter of the later Peter Beard; she is described as a tall, handsome woman, noted for her natural goodness and kindness of heart.

Mr. Jackson was not in good health during the last years of his life. He died at the comparatively early age of sixty-one, being taken in the midst of his activi- ties and usefulness. His death was widely regarded as a public loss. In a lengthy and admirably conceived obituary notice in the Pittsburg Dispatch, under date September 23, 1862, this worthy man's character and deeds are exhaustively reviewed. The notice concludes with the following summary: "He was in the truest sense a good citizen. Possessing large means, he employed them with judicious enterprise and liberality to advance the material prosperity of the com- munity. We have often heard him spoken of as a kind landlord, suffering many losses from the dishonest and unworthy rather than cause distress to unfortunate tenants. He was indeed in all his relations to his fellow men not merely just, but merciful and charitable. He conducted an extensive private business success- fully and honorably. * In short, George W. Jackson was an unassuming, humane, fearless, enterprising, sincerely honest man, and his death is a most serious calamity."

Henry John Heinz. The subject of this sketch was born in Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania, October II, 1844. He can trace his ancestry back along the paternal line directly to Lorenz Heinz, who was born in the latter part of the seventeenth century, in Kallstadt, Province of Rheinfalz, Bavaria, Germany, and who was a prosperous wine producer, a State official and a church trustee, which latter office is regarded an honorable distinction in Germany as the Church is under the control of the State. The father of the subject of this sketch, Henry Heinz, was born at Kallstadt, and came to the United States in 1840, locating in Birmingham, now South Side, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Early in 1843 there came to America a young woman, Anna Margaretta Schmitt, a native of Cruspis, Kurfuerstentum Hessen, near Hershfeld, Germany, and a daughter of Johann Jacob Schmitt, burgermeister of that place. She also settled in Birmingham, met Henry Heinz and was married to him on December 4, 1843. They lived happily together, and became the parents of nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the eldest. They were members of the Lutheran Church, of singularly devout and Christian lives, of strictest integrity, and the highest sense of honor. Mr. Heinz attributes his success in later life largely to their precepts fand example, and especially to the moral principles imparted by his mother, to whom he has always been attached by a devotion as beautiful as it is steadfast. Her wise counsel in matters of a purely business character as well as in questions involving right and wrong, has been of great assistance to him, and although she is now quite advanced in years, he still highly appreciates and often seeks her

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advice, and guards with fidelity and care her interest in the business of which he is the head. In 1850 his parents moved to Sharpsburg, a suburb of Pittsburg, where the father embarked in the business of brickmaking, and later added building and contracting. With characteristic German thrift, a flourishing pri- vate garden was cultivated for home use, in which Henry lent a hand, being early trained to the duty of assisting his parents. As it yielded more bountifully than the needs of the family required, Henry engaged in the business of disposing of the surplus products among the residents of the village, first carrying them around in a basket, until his increasing list of customers required the use of a wheelbarrow. His education was not being neglected in the meantime, as he was attending private and public schools, and his religious training was also care- fully looked after. It was about this time, when twelve years of age, that Henry earned his first money for himself, it being the first and only time he ever worked away from home, and at the same time gained a success that perhaps gave him as much satisfaction as any of his later and greater achievements. A neighboring farmer hired about twenty hands to dig potatoes in a field that is now a part of Aspinwall, the very same land at this time being owned by the Aspinwall Land Company, of which Mr. Heinz is president, and which he helped to organize. The usual wages for boys was 25 cents a day and board. As an inducement to greater work, he offered one day three prizes of 25, 123 and 62 cents. The result was that the foreman took first prize, an older boy the second, and young Heinz the third. He was a proud boy that day as he claimed his prize, won in a contest with grown men as well as boys. His parents had intended him for the ministry, but observing his business sagacity in disposing of their garden products to advantage, they allowed him to follow his natural bent, and further encouraged him by sending him to Duff's Business College in Pittsburg. At about the age of sixteen he became his father's bookkeeper and practical assistant, and also began to put up horseradish in bottles, which he sold in connection with the garden products. The garden had by this time grown to four acres, requiring the keep- ing of a horse and wagon to market its products. When he was seventeen years of age, he sold in one summer produce to the value of $2,400 from the four-acre garden, so richly had he fertilized and kept it. It was one of his sayings that one must be willing to put gold into the ground in order to take diamonds out. Upon reaching his majority his father gave him an interest in the business. He soon evinced his ability by introducing methods by means of which the brick- yards, heretofore idle in winter, were enabled to run the entire year. Not satisfied with being restricted by the limitations which a small place put upon the business, he obtained his father's consent to a dissolution of the firm, and, in 1869, formed a partnership to engage in the brick business at Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Later in the same year he engaged in the pickling business at Sharpsburg. This business has continued to the present time, first under the firm name of Heinz &

Noble, then Heinz, Noble & Co., and finally H. J. Heinz Co., the present style of

the firm name. On September 23, 1869, Mr. Heinz was united in marriage with Sallie Sloan Young, a daughter of Robert Young and Mary Sloan Young, who were representatives of highly esteemed and prosperous families of County Down, Ireland, and were members of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Heinz was a woman of buoyant spirits, cheerful, of remarkable energy and charitable disposition. She was not only a member but an active leader in many charitable institutions estab- lished in the interest of the young. To her buoyancy and happy disposition in the hour of severe trial Mr. Heinz attributes a large measure of his success. To them were born five children, as follows: Irene Edwilda, Clarence Noble, How- ard Covode, Robert Eugene (who died in infancy), and Clifford Stanton. Mrs. Heinz was a faithful companion and a true mother, the light and life of her home,

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and the heaviest blow with which her devoted husband and family were ever inflicted was her death, on November 29th, 1894.

No sketch of Mr. Heinz would be complete without some reference to his religious work. There is as much need of consecrated men in the busy marts of trade as in the pulpit. He has been a member of the Methodist Protestant Church for more than twenty-five years, and has been very active in all forms of church work. Mr. Heinz has often been a delegate to the annual conference of his church, and in 1888 was a delegate to the General Conference. He is a mem- ber of the Board of Foreign Missions, and also of the Board of Trustees of Adrian College, Michigan, one of the leading schools of that denomination. Kansas City University, recently founded under the auspices of the Methodist Protestant Church at Kansas City, Kansas, is an institution in which he has taken great interest for the past five years. Dr. D. S. Stephens, its present chancellor, and Mr. Heinz were its original promoters. He is the president of its Board of Trustees, and has given liberally of his time and means, donating funds for the erection of a Memorial Hall in memory of his wife, besides other munificent gifts. For more than twenty years he has been a progressive Sunday School super- intendent, and, during these busy years, scarcely has a Sunday passed, whether the was at home or 'abroad, that did not find him at his own school or a visitor at another. He is now a director of the State Sunday School Association, and vice- president of the County Association, and he has been a delegate to the last three International and World's Conventions. He has been active in Y. M. C. A. work, and is also connected with many charitable and benevolent organizations. He has been prominently identified with several public measures and enterprises in this community. One of the founders of the Western Pennsylvania Exposition Society, he has always been a director in the same, and in 1897 was elected its . president, which honor he declined because of the many other responsibilities resting upon him: he is a member of the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce, and was one of the leading spirits in the Greater Pittsburg movement, which led to the passage of the Greater Pittsburg bill. He was one of the promoters of the Cen- tral Accident Insurance Company, and is its vice-president. We cannot pass over some of the business methods and rules that have always characterized his life and work. He has always aimed to be fair and frank in all his business transac- tions, as well as in everyday life, and his motto is "Make all you can honestly, save all you can prudently, give all you can wisely. He that enjoys the two former and deprives himself of the latter privilege denies himself the greatest enjoyments of life." Every employé is made to feel that in his employer he has a friend. He keeps closely in touch with the younger men of the firm, to give them encouragement and enthusiasm, impressing upon them and all heads of departments the important truth that it is only by the development of the men in their charge that they themselves will develop, and that this spirit be made to permeate every department of the business. He always seeks to win the hearts of his men, one of his favorite remarks being that "Our business is run by heart power." He takes pride in the fact that they have never had a strike at their factory or at any of their branches. He attributes this largely to the principle of keeping close to the hearts of his men. Every head of department has instilled into his mind the need of keeping in touch and sympathy with those under his control: they in turn are taught the same lesson, and this same spirit passes in an unbroken line from superior to subordinate, permeating every department of the business and unifying every interest. He firmly believes that by keeping in touch and sympathy with the men, any differences between employé and employer can be settled before sun-down on the day they arise. He appreciates the suggestions of others, and believes that "in a multitude of counsel there is wisdom." In ac-

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cordance with this idea he has instituted a system of daily meetings, held by the younger members of the firm and the heads of departments. At this meeting questions of importance that arise from day to day are received, discussed and acted upon. Mr. Heinz is a pioneer in the industrial convention movement, regarding it as an efficient means to the great end of keeping in close touch to the hearts of the men, and has accordingly for a number of years past arranged annual conventions of branch house managers and of salesmen to discuss mat- ters pertaining to their respective departments. The esteem in which he is held by his employés is further increased by the adoption of all practicable means which contribute to their comfort and happiness, such as lecture hall, library, bath- rooms and lunch rooms, adorned with over one hundred pictures of historical scenes and landscape views, which lend a cheerful and refining influence to the surroundings. His fine artistic taste has been employed in the origination of attractive bottles and labels that have done so much to popularize their goods, and which have helped to justify their claim of being originators and not imitators. He resided in Sharpsburg until 1890, when he removed to Pittsburg, and is now . living in the East End. For many years he has traveled extensively, not only in the United States, but also in Mexico, Bermuda, The West Indies, Europe, Egypt and Palestine. In his travels he has gathered together a large and valuable collection of antiquities and relics, in which he takes great pride. The collection is scientifically arranged and catalogued, and is the largest private collection in Western Pennsylvania, occupying one entire story of his residence. Every age of the world's history and almost every inhabited part of the globe have con- tributed to it. Like every self-made man, Mr. Heinz has devoted himself in- tently to the details of his business, but has not permitted this to narrow his sympathies. He is broad, liberal and public-spirited. While taking no active part in politics, yet any movement, private or public, having as its object the bet- terment of his native city, has always met his hearty approval and support, and the same energy which has characterized his business career has been as freely expended in the cause of philanthropy, education and religion.

H. J. Heinz Company. Several of the great manufacturing enterprises of Pittsburg present such unique and distinguishing features, and are such perfect models of system and organization, that they require something more than mere mention. One of these worthy of special mention is H. J. Heinz Company, the well-known manufacturers of pickles and pure food products. This business was established by Mr. H. J. Heinz in 1869. One room of a small two-story building in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, constituted the entire plant. The same year he as- sociated with himself in business Mr. L. C. Noble, and the firm name became Heinz & Noble. The first year three-fourths of an acre of horseradish was culti- vated, grated, and sold in glass. In 1870 Mr. E. J. Noble, a brother of the above, was admitted into the firm, which then became Heinz, Noble & Co. In 1871 the firm commenced the manufacture of new articles, celery sauce, and pickles, both in glass and wood, which soon became the leading products of the business. By reason of these newly added food products, it soon became necessary to look for larger quarters, so that three rooms, and a small additional building were re- quired, instead of one room. By 1872 the business had so grown and prospered that the firm concluded to remove to Pittsburg, in order to take advantage of the greater facilities afforded by the city, and leased a large four-story building on the south side of Second Avenue, between Grant and Smithfield streets. At this time they were using the product of 100 acres of the most fertile land located just above Sharpsburg, on the Allegheny River. The business continued to be con- ducted by the above named partners until 1875, when the partnership was dis- solved, the Nobles retiring. The firm was then reorganized, Frederick Heinz, a

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cousin, and John H. Heinz, a brother of H. J. Heinz, acquiring an interest. John H. Heinz continued in the firm until 1888, when he retired. The demand for the goods had so increased that it became necessary, in 1877, to rent an adjoining building on Second Avenue, extending through to First Avenue. Again be- coming cramped for room, a vinegar factory on the site of their present plant, was purchased in 1882. The continued growth of the business made it again necessary to enlarge the manufacturing facilities, and, as no suitable grounds or building were to be obtained in the part of the city where they were then located, a large factory site on the North Side was purchased in 1890, adjoining their vinegar factory. Here they began the erection of a group of buildings that is being added to continually, and at the present time contains over nine acres of floor space. The acreage of vegetables has increased in a corresponding propor- tion, as they are now using the product of over 10,000 acres annually, cultivating through their own agencies large vegetable farms at Aspinwall and Harmarville, Pennsylvania, La Porte, Indiana, and Muscatine, Iowa. One member of the firm devotes his entire time superintending these gardens. All vegetables not cultivated directly are grown under contract in various localities throughout the United States where the soil and climate are adapted to their perfect growth. An- other reason for growing vegetables in various localities is, that the supply may not be affected by a crop failure in any one locality. The necessity of curing vegetables when fresh has led to the establishment of salting houses in the dis- tricts where the vegetables are grown, as follows: At La Porte, Indiana, 1880; Walkerton, Indiana, 1882; Plymouth, Indiana, 1890; Hicksville, Long Island, New York, 1892; Muscatine, Iowa, and Benton Harbor, Michigan, 1893; Ke- wanna, Indiana, and Cutchogue, Long Island, New York, 1894; Wooster, Ohio, 1895; Holly and Saginaw, Michigan, and Grovertown, Indiana, 1896; and at Holland, Michigan, Monterey and La Paz, Indiana, 1897. One member of the firm is constantly engaged in superintending these salting houses, and in over- seeing the planting, raising and harvesting of crops, grown under contract, from seed furnished by the firm. This latter precaution is taken to insure only the choicest varieties. In addition to what is produced in this country, this house is a large importer of the best cauliflower from Holland, raisins and olives from Spain, currants from Greece, fresh fruits from the West Indies, and the best quality of mustard seed from England, France and Italy. To partially relieve the main plant in preparing these food products for the market, branch factories have been established at La Porte, Indiana: Hicksville, New York, and Musca- tine, Iowa, which are operated in connection with salting houses at those points, while kraut factories have been located at Aspinwall, Pennsylvania; Hicksville, New York; Saginaw, Michigan, and Muscatine, Iowa. A horseradish factory has been operated at Sharpsburg ever since the removal of the firm to Pittsburg, occupying for this purpose the same building in which the business was com- menced, to which additions have been made from time to time. These branches, with the main plant and the salting houses, constitute the largest concern of the kind in the world, and have a combined floor area of over nineteen acres.

The company uses enormous quantities of bottles, mostly of their own de- sign, and which have been patented. To better meet the requirements in this particular, a glass factory with a ten-pot furnace has been established, where about one-third of the glass supply is made. To facilitate a thorough canvass of all parts of the country, as well as to insure the prompt delivery of goods, branch houses have been established in most of the large cities of the United States, as follows: New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, Albany, Baltimore, St. Paul, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louisville, Kansas City, Chattanooga, Buffalo, St. Louis, Cleveland, Columbus, Jersey City, Denver and San Francisco, and within the

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last year a branch house has been established in London, England. Over 275 traveling salesmen are employed by the firm at the various branches, and traveling from these points in all directions have made familiar the name of "Heinz's pickles" the world over. In addition to the branch houses, the distribution of goods is further increased by means of agencies located at Toronto, and Montreal in Canada; Bluefields, Nicaragua; Buenos Ayres, South America; Liverpool, England, and in the Bermuda Islands. Some few figures may give a conception of the magnitude to which this business has grown. During the year 1896 they used 7,000,000 bottles, 300,000 oak barrels, 20,000,000 labels, 500,000 bushels of tomatoes, 100,000 bushels of beans, 600,000 bushels of apples, mostly for cider vinegar, 500 carloads of cabbage for kraut, 200 carloads of salt and 6,000 barrels of granulated sugar to preserve the various products. The pickles used, 500,000,- 000, if placed in a row, would make a line 20,000 miles long, almost enough to girdle the globe. H. J. Heinz Company employ from 1,500 to 2,000 people, but during the summer season the labor of 20,000 people is required to care for the crops grown especially for their use. The buildings of this firm at the home plant are equipped with every device of a mechanical or scientific character that may be used to advantage. To illustrate this, in the vinegar department the ordinary process of nature in making vinegar is assisted by ingenious mechanical devices of their own invention, consisting of large rotary cylinders which expose the liquid to the oxygen of the air, thereby making acetification more speedy and complete, and the product more perfect. This process is carried one step further than that of nature, in that the vinegar is sterilized and every barrel is tested to insure its purity and required strength before reaching the market. The pickle bottling department is one of the most interesting. Here are long rows of bright, active girls, all neatly uniformed, seated at tile-covered tables, skillfully arranging in bottles, by means of a curved stick, the pickles that have been previously pre- pared. A recently added department of great importance is that one in which baked beans with tomato sauce are put up. The beans are first baked in large lovens, and are then filled into the cans dry. Each can is weighed separately so that the proportion of beans and sauce will be uniform. After weighing, the sauce is added. Not only is this factory equipped with an idea of utility, but the health, comfort and convenience, and even enjoyment of the employés have been considered. A restaurant is operated in the building where employés can get a meal or lunch at actual cost. The sanitary arrangements are modern and per- fect. For the use of the girls a commodious dressing-room has been provided, which is a model for cleanliness, convenience and comfort. Each girl is provided with an individual locker for her clothes, and connected with the dressing rooms are bathrooms and a temporary hospital. They also enjoy the privilege of a special dining-room, decorated with over one hundred etchings, photo-gravures and water colors of historical and landscape scenes, which tend to increase the at- tractiveness and cheerfulness of the surroundings. A large orphenion, imported from Germany, furnishes music during the lunch hour. Other features are a circulating library, lecture hall, and a roof garden with a fountain. The power house is pronounced one of the finest in the country. It has a floor of Alhambra tile, marble wainscoting and pillars, and doors and interior woodwork of ma- hogany. The entire plant is operated by electricity. All visitors are most forci- bly impressed with the extreme cleanliness everywhere apparent; no house- keeper is more exacting in this respect in her own kitchen. Every department of this establishment is open to inspection by the public. The stable is one of the buildings recently completed, and consists of three stories and a basement, 80 by 100 feet. It is constructed of vitrified, mottled, pressed brick, with Ohio sand- stone trimmings, and provides accommodations for 100 horses. The interior

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Standard history of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Part 128

Author: Wilson, Erasmus, 1842-1922; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926. cn Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Chicago : H.R. Cornell & Co. Number of Pages: 1192

Author: Wilson, Erasmus, 1842-1922; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926. cn
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : H.R. Cornell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1192