USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 14
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fested in every calling he fills, claiming for him the good will and esteem of all with whom he is associated.
ORRIS, ISAAC, Lawyer, was born in Philadel- phia, on the Ist of February, 1802. Ilis family is an old and respected one, and has long been well known in the history of Philadelphia. His ancestors are English in the male line, and ori- ginally came from the Isle of Wight. Thomas Norris, one of them, established himself in London and there became an eminent and wealthy merchant. He left London on account of the religious persecutions of his time, for he had joined the Quaker sect, which had then just sprung into existence, and removed to Jamaica, where he afterwards perished, with almost all his family, in the terrible earthquake of 1692, which destroyed Port Royal. His son Isaac, then a youth, abandoned the island which his father had selected for a residence, and which proved to be the grave of nearly all his family, and removed to and settled in Philadelphia, where he married Mary Lloyd, a daughter of Governor Lloyd ; and from this Pennsylvania branch of the family the present descendants in Philadel- phia have sprung. In the early days of our city this Isaac Norris purchased " Fair Hill," a tract of several hundred acres of land, in the vicinity of the city, and built a large country house on. it. : To it he removed from the old and well known " Slate: Roof" house in Second street, around which cluster so many historical reminiscences. During the War of the Revolution the original Fair Ilill mansion was burned by the British army, after the battle of German- town. It was then occupied by John Dickinson, who was styled the rebel Dickinson, and who had married a daugh- ter of Isaac Norris, the Speaker of the Colonial Assembly, and on its soil many of the British sokhiers, who died of their wounds, are buried. This destruction of the house originated from the bitter hostility against Dickinson, who was known as one of the leaders of the Revolution, and who was supposed to be the owner of Fair Hill. Fair Ilill has descended in the Norris family from father to son until it came into the possession of the late Joseph Parker Norris, the father of the subject of this sketch. This country seat, which for several generations has been the residence of different members of the Norris family, now forms a large portion of the Nineteenth Ward of the city, which has advanced and spread rapidly in that direction. Streets have been laid out, opened and paved through it, whole squares of ground have been covered with dwelling houses, two large and noble public squares on the estate have been laid out and generously given to the city by the family, and, in a word, the old country seat and home of the Norris family has been converted into a densely built up town plot, until its landmarks are no longer observ- able. This fact will be evident, when it is stated that
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nine large and handsome churches now stand on its soil. [ braced the first opportunity that was presented to enter From this good old stock the present Isaac Norris, the sub- ject of this sketch, was born, in the old Norris house, which some of our readers will well recollect as standing on Chestnut street, and which was pulled down in 1818 to make room for the building of the Bank of the United States-now the present Custom House of Philadelphia- on its site. He received a liberal education, and after be- coming a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, read law with the late Ilon. Joseph R. Ingersoll, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1825. Under his good tutorship he learned habits of industry and devotion to business. He continued assiduously to practise his profession until the death of his father in 1841, when he had become an active practitioner at the bar; he then relinquished his profession to take the charge and management of the Fair Ilill estate. This estate, which he has managed with great integrity, prudence, and judgment, has grown up under his fostering, care into a very large and responsible business, which' now engrosses all his time and attention in its conduct and further development, requiring not only skill and judgment, but also a ready knowledge of real estate law. in its mul- tifarious transactions. In political ¿principles he has always been a Republican-sincerely siding. with the worker, and sympathizing with his honest cause, knowing, that of such the pride and wealth of the nation are formed, and be- lieving that in the best direction of labor consists the most certain and rapid development of his country. He has never been in active political life, although he is an in- terested observer in all the movements of the day. He married a daughter of the late George Pepper, and has a family of five children now living. He has been, like those from whom he is descended, beloved and honored by his family and friends, and greatly esteemed by the public.
HILLINGFORD, HENRY II., Merchant, was born in Upper Darby, Delaware County, Penn- sylvania, on October 11th, 1815. His father, James Shillingford, was a black and white smith and edge-tool maker ; his mother's maiden name was Mary Hoofstitler. He enjoyed no advan- tages for obtaining an education beyond those afforded by the common schools of his native village. At the age of ten he commenced to learn a trade under his father's super- vision, and remained with him until he was eighteen. But during all these years he devoted every leisure moment to the study of such useful books as fell in his way. The result of this reading was his selection, as soon as he had com- pleted his trade, as an assistant teacher in one of the village schools, and the duties of this position he was enabled to discharge satisfactorily to all concerned. But he had by this time developed a taste for mercantile pursuits, and em-
upon his chosen field of labor. He soon found employ- ment with Stephen Pancoast, who kept a small country store, and subsequently with William Eaves, who conducted a similar business, at Nether Providerce, in Delaware County. In both of these situations he was industrious and diligent, and to both employers he gave entire satisfaction. Led by an ambitious spirit to seek a wider sphere of opera- tion, he came to Philadelphia in 1836, where he secured a position as errand boy in the paper and rag warehouse of Samuel Eckstein. A few months afterwards he entered the office of the Saturday Evening Post as mail writer. The manner in which he discharged his duties here ob- tained, him a better situation with Smith & Hartshorn. In 1837 hie was employed as chief salesman in the estab- lishment of Shoemaker & Love, jobbers in woollen goods. Here he manifested great interest, and displayed such ex- cellent business qualifications that, on the retirement of the senior from the firm, he was admitted into the concern as junior' partner, the house being conducted under the name of Love, Smith & Shillingford. On the subsequent dissolution of this co-partnership, he was prevailed upon to accept the agencies of several prominent English houses, for whom he, transacted a large and constantly increasing business in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Richmond, These agencies he continued to hold until 1858, when he was compelled to relinquish them, to devote his time and attention to the interest held by himself and his brother in-law, George Howell, in the Clearfield Coal and Lumber Company. At the breaking out of the Rebellion, he was Secretary and Treasurer of the Tyrone & Clearfield Railroad Company, of which General R. C. Hall was at the time President. General Hail was soon appointed Quarter Master General of Pennsylvania by Governor Curtin, and he himself was commissioned as Assistant Quarter-Master General, with the rank of Colonel, with his headquarters in the city of Philadelphia. Immediately after the battle of Williamsburg, accompanied by other prominent Philadelphians, he proceeded to York- town with supplies for the sick and wounded in the army. 'On their report of their operations, and at the suggestion of George HI. Stuart, of Philadelphia, the Christian Commission, which accomplished so much good by its operations throughout the remainder of the struggle, was organized and placed in working order. He wrote the first army pass for a member of the Christian Commission, which was given to Mr. Stuart. He also introduced the use of Jamaica Ginger into the army. The army surgeons at first condemned its use, but they subsequently had good reason to change their views on the subject, and immense quantities of the article were forwarded to the soldiers in the field by the Christian Commission. At the time the war broke out, in addition to holling a responsible position in the Tyrone & Clearfield Railroad Company, he was acting as Secretary and Treasurer of the Atlantic and Ohio Tele.
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graph Company, and also as a Director of the Western Union Telegraph Company. He has, however, devoted his time of late years to the development of the coal and lum. ber interests of the State. When, in IS58, he assumed the management of the affairs of the Clearfield Coal and Lum- ber Company, that concern had become a total wreck. But by his shrewd management this company has been merged into the Moshannon Land and Lumber Company, with a capital of $500,000. Ile is now President of this corpora- tion, and also of the Kittanning Coal Company, which he organized and put into active operation in IS62, in con- nection with II. N. Burroughs, its working capital being $500,000. Both of these important companies are now' highly successful, their prosperity being largely due to his excellent business qualifications, large experience, and care- ful mode of conducting such extensive operations, and in no small degree to his affability and geniality of manner.
AMMOND, JOIIN W., Merchant and Capitalist,: was born in Carthage, Jefferson county, New York, May 6th, 1829. At an early age, his father, John D. Hammond, a civil engineer, died, leaving a large family in rather : straitened circumstances. John W., then a mere child, at
once realized the position of affairs; and decided upon seeking work, eventually succeeding in his design. When in his seventeenth year he left . his home for Utica, where he entered the grocery establishment of Caleb Watkins, then one of the largest dealers in that city. . Here he remained two years, during which time he succeeded in gaining the entire confidence of his employer, and acted
in many responsible undertakings and positions. In 1848-'49, the memorable Gold Fever seized upon the general community, and, participating in the excited ex- 'odus, he, while still under twenty years of age, started for the Pacific coast. The party with which he was con- nected consumed several months in accomplishing the journey, but finally arrived there in good health and spirits. Immediately commencing their mining operations, the associates met with fair success; while John subsequently engaged in the sale and transit of provisions and supplies to the mining regions, situated near the head-waters of Uha. river. In the spring of 1850, he began operation, on the American river, but here his efforts were attended with comparative failure. On returning to Sacramento, in the following August, he found that the great scarcity of ice was a constant source of discomfort and complaint ; acting shrewdly upon this observation, he invested largely in the needed article, and secured quick and profitable returns for the money laid out. Subsequently he trafficked in horses and mules, and in that essay also added to his prosperity. Late in October of 1850, he decided to return eastward, and remain in New York ; and his voyage thither was attended | plimentary offers were declined, however, as he preferred
by many perils and severe hardships, although ultimately he landed in safety at the desired port. In I851, he com- menced business in the above-named city, dealing in foreign and domestic fruits. That trade proving very profitable, he rapidly grew into excellent repute as an able, reliable, and enterprising merchant. In the winter of 1860-'61, he visited the Oil Regions, and there became interested very largely in oil lands, refineries, and the various enterprises connected with the petroleum industry. Hle afterward associated himself with John Fertig, and established the well-known firm of Fertig & Hammond, who are among the largest operators in that region, pur- chasing interests, sinking wells, and producing and refining oils; they were also the sole proprietors of the famous Fertig & Hammond Wells. Later the partners became the most extensive operators in real estate in Titusville, and in the adjacent country ; and it is reliably stated that one-tenth of all the titles to city property in Titusville bear the signature, in conveyance, of " Fertig & Ham- mond." John W. Hammond was among the first to build a refinery in Erie, and, owing to his enterprise, many other refineries have, since that period, been erected there. From 1362 to IS70, he resided alternately in Pennsylvania and Utica, New York, and in both places . his impress and beneficial influence are felt and recognized in innumerable things. In the latter city, he was a prime and energetic mover in all the enterprises looking to its welfare; and the magnificent Opera House in that city owes its existence almost entirely to him and to his abilities, he having been the projector, and. the principal man to carry forward to completion this elegant structure. In the interest of the Utica Mechanics' Association, he solicited and received subscriptions sufficient in the aggregate amount to pay for the entire cost. It is but just to say that, without his efforts, it would very probably never have been developed into a reality. In return for his generous exertions, he possesses the esteem of the entire community; and many were the expostulations and regrets when he decided to leave for Erie, and there live permanently. While residing in Utica, he was Chairman of the Grant and Colfax Club of Oneida county, and assisted materially in carrying the county for his favorites, it having been conceded to the Democrats, being the home of Seymour; he was also tendered many positions attended with honor and emolu- ment, but such he always firmly declined to accept. In 1870, his failing health obliged him to seek other and more restorative climes, and he sailed for Europe; after an extensive tour abroad, he returned home, and moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, where he is now a permanent resident. Here, as in Utica, and wherever he has tarried, he takes a high rank among the most useful, enterprising, and in- fluential citizens. On two occasions he has been called upon to accept the nomination for Mayor, once by a call signed by 1200 citizens, irrespective of party; the com-
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I. M Hammond
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the leisure and tranquillity of a private life to the checkered | Joseph Richardson founded the works in 1813. After the career of a public character. Through his tireless exer- tions, the fine Fair Grounds and buildings, in Erie, were erected and arranged; taking in hand the flagging work, he solicited subscriptions, aided generously from his own private fortune, and superintended their construction. For the past twelve years he has been largely and importantly identified with the Erie manufacturing interests, and is always ready to start a new enterprise if his efforts will but furnish employment for the many who seek it. In addition to his interests in the Oil Regions-extending from Erie to Millerstown-he is a Director in the Erie Dime Savings Bank, and in the Keystone National Bank ; is President of the Foxborough Savings Bank, and also of the St. Petersburgh Savings Bank; in all of these responsible trusts he possesses the entire confidence of those interested in their well-doing, and daily increases his renown by the constant and energetic exercise of those admirable qualities which have enabled him to attain to such a high and honorable position among his fellow-citizens. He was married, in 1857, to the grand- daughter of Caleb Watkins, of Utica, the proprietor of the grocery establishment in which he first found employment in that city.
establishment was purchased by the Lewises, it was en- larged from year to year, as their energy developed the trade, until, in 1848, a removal to the present site was judged advisable. A high reputation was established by the old firm by the purity and general excellence of their white lead, and this reputation has been fully maintained by their descendants and successors. As an evidence of it, it may be mentioned that the supply of nearly ten million pounds per annum is scarcely sufficient to meet the demand for the paints bearing their trade mark. Like his progeni- tors for several generations, he was in early life a member of the Society of Friends, but he is now an Episcopalian, and holds an honored position in that church. In May, 1850, he married Maria, second daughter of the late John M. Scott, of Philadelphia, a lawyer of considerable emi- nence and high social standing, at one time mayor of the city. Public-spirited, he is director and manager of several institutions. During the war he was a staunch advocate of and laborer for the Union. In the great Central Fair, held in Phil- adelphia in 1865, he took a prominent part as a member of the Finance Committee; and by his judicious labors contri- buted materially to its grand result, no less than $1,200,000 being realized for the benefit of the Union soldiers. He was director and secretary of the Academy of Fine Arts for a num- ber of years, and is now treasurer of the Pennsylvania Hos- pital, in which his ancestors, on both sides of the family, have been actively interested from its foundation in 1752. He fol- lowed his father in the treasurership, at his death in 1841, who succeeded his brother, Joseph S. Lewis, in 1826, who in his turn received the office from his father, Mordecai Lewis, in 1799, that gentleman having been elected to the position in 1780. So that there has been an unbroken family succes- sion in the office extending over no less than ninety-three years. Not only have these members of the family given their services, but they and their relatives have always been libe- ral contributors to the funds of the institution. In the early days of its existence the signers of the paper money for the Province gave to it the commissions they received for that duty. Mordecai Lewis was one of these signers, and in this manner alone contributed to the hospital nearly a thousand and fifty dollars.
EWIS, JOHN T., Merchant and Manufacturer, was born in Philadelphia, December 12th, 1811. Ilis ancestor, William Lewis, came from Glamor- ganshire, South Wales, to Pennsylvania, in 1686. ITis father, Samuel N. Lewis, was a member of the well-known firm of M. & S. N. Lewis, ship. owners and shipping merchants. He himself received his education partly at the Friends' School on Fourth street, below Chestnut, afterwards at the Episcopal Academy on Locust street, above Ninth, and at the Classical Academy of Samuel Jones, on the northwest corner of Seventh and Chestnut streets. He also enjoyed the advantage of private lessons in French and Spanish. Having completed his edu- cation, he entered his father's counting room, and in course of time succeeded to the business, the firm being re-or- ganized under the style of John T. Lewis & Brothers. The counting-room of the house is at 231 South Front street, being the location in which the firm commenced business in 1807. Thus for sixty-six years the same premises have ILLIAMS, GEORGE, City Railway President, was born in Philadelphia, February 25th, 1814. His parents were natives of Delaware, in which State the family had resided for several genera- tions. He received a sound education in the schools of Philadelphia. Ile commenced his business career in the counting house of his father, where he learned the lumber business, in which he continued until January Ist, 1863, except for a period of four years, during which he was engaged in farming and in cutting been uninterruptedly occupied by the original co-partnership and its successors, a circumstance worthy of note from its great rarity. At present he is associated with his brothers, Saunders Lewis and George T. Lewis, and his nephews, Samuel U. Lewis, John T. Lewis, Jr., and William F. Lewis, in the manufacture of white lead and its accompani- ments, on an extensive seale, in the Eighteenth ward, Port Richmond. This branch of business was entered into by the old firm' of M. & S. N. Lewis in 1819, in premises on l'ine street, between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets, where I timber in the State of Delaware. From their first intro.
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duction into Philadelphia, he always manifested a deep in. terest in city passenger railways. In the promotion of the scheme of the Tenth and Eleventh Street Railway, he took an active and prominent part; on the organization of the company, he was elected its President, and has continued to hold that position ever since. By his capable manage- ment, the road occupies a position in public estimation, whether as a travelling convenience or an investment, that will compare favorably with that of any other in the city. On the institution of the Board composed of the Presidents of the several Passenger Railway Companies, Mr. Williams' record pointed to him as the most suitable person to occupy the responsible office of Chairman. He was elected, and has continued to act in that capacity ever since. Politi- cally, he has always been counted as a member of the Democratic party, and he has on several occasions been honored with its confidence in election to places of trust and honor. He has held several municipal offices, among them that of Guardian of the Poor, and that of member of Select Council. During the war his sympathies were actively engaged on behalf of the Union cause. IIe is a citizen of liberal and progressive ideas, and has always ex- erted considerable influence in the promotion of city im- provements and the advancement of good government. He is widely esteemed as a shrewd and energetic business man, a kindly and courteous gentleman.
ACARTHUR, JOIIN, Architect, was born at Bladenock, in Wigtonshire, Scotland, May 13th, 1823. His ancestors on the father's side came originally from Oppen, Argyleshire, in the South Highlands, and those on the .nother's side from Ayrshire. He came to Philadelphia when only ten years of age. As soon as he was old enough, he was apprenticed as a carpenter, and served out his term. While learning this business, he employed his evenings in study- ing drawing and architecture. His uncle kindly offered to defray the expense for his liberal education ; but this favor the nephew declined to take advantage of, preferring to educate himself. In connection with the study of archi- tecture, he acquired a common school education in the evenings at the school in the old Carpenter's Ifall, where he learned drawing and designing, for which he had al- ways felt a strong taste. So assiduously did he apply him- self to these studies that he soon attained extraordinary skill. And this skill soon met with publie recognition; for in 1848, he was awarded the first premium for his plan for a new House of Refuge, and was entrusted with the entire charge of the erection of the building. In 1849, he served as foreman for his uncle, who had secured the contract for the erection of the west wing of the Pennsylvania Hospital. About a year later he was appointed Superintendent on the cast wing of the same hospital. These successes may be I States Treasury department, at Philadelphia.
said to have fairly started him in the profession in which he has since won so much distinction, and of which he is one of the acknowledged leaders. Philadelphia abounds with monuments to his finished art. Among the more prominent buildings erected by him may be mentioned the Continental, the Girard, and the La Pierre hotels; the mansions of the late Dr. Jayne, and George W. Childs; the Ledger Building, which is admitted to be one of the handsomest piles in the city ; the elegant and commodious marble buildings on the north side of Chestnut street, be- tween Sixth and Seventh streets; the okl Post Office in Dock street, afterwards occupied by Dr. Jayne, of whose estate he is the architect ; the three noble marble stores on the corner of Ninth and Chestnut streets, built upon the Bird estate; the marble building adjoining the Continental, occupied by Porter & Coates, and owned by John Rice; the singularly beautiful edifice of the Presbyterian Board of Publication, and the range of splendid stores recently completed on Market street, below Seventh, owned by William Weightman, of Powers & Weightman. But not only in Philadelphia may illustrations of his genius be met with. He designed and superintended the erection of Jay Cooke & Co.'s extensive banking house at Washington, District of Columbia. Ile is the architect of the Pardee Building at Easton, Pennsylvania, which when completed will be known as Lafayette College. This institution has been munificently endowed by Mr. A Pardee, and the Col- lege will be a magnificent structure. Indeed his work is to be found in almost every State in the Union. IIe was architect for the War Department for hospitals and other Governmental buildings in and around Philadelphia during the Rebellion, and, after its suppression, for the Navy Department, for which he built the naval hospitals at Philadelphia, Mare Island, California, and Annapolis, Maryland. He is also the architect for the State Asylum for the Insane, at Danville, Pennsylvania, and for the new public buildings just commenced in Philadelphia, where he will superintend the construction of the United States Post Office and Law Courts. He works in all styles of architecture, and manifests in his drawings a very pure and classical taste. Especially does he show regard for the fitness of things in his designs, whether for public in- stitutions, business structures, or private residences, never overlooking any considerations which should legitimately operate to modify the character of a building. Not less remarkable than his artistic skill, are his unswerving in- tegrity and indomitable energy. The first has won him the entire confidence of every client, while to the second may, in great measure, be attributed his success in life. Hle has made his way to the front rank of a profession in which eminence is peculiarly difficult of attainment, in spite of obstacles that might well have seemed insur- mountable. He is at present the representative in Phila- delphia of the Supervising Architect's office of the United
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