USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 18
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has acquired considerable distinction: At the same timed:the Gospel. . At his death, he left handsome benefactions to the. Episcopal Hospital, the Northern Home for Friend- less Children, and the Asylum for the Blind. His decease occurred March 19th 1870, at the ripe age of seventy-six years.
ARCROFT, STACY BROWN, Merchant, was born in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, January 29th, 1795. The family was originally from the county of Chester, England, where it held con- siderable landed estates, and numbered among its members several who belonged to the English baronetey. About the year 1740, a younger branch emi- grated to this country and located in, Hunterdon county,
- New Jersey, where they purchased lands, some of which are still retained by their descendants. The subject of this sketch, having obtained a common English education at the district schools, commenced, while still a boy, a small store in the town of Kingwood, in his native county. Here he continued for several years, until his success in commer- cial pursuit, induced him, in 1817, to embark in the broad current of city life in Philadelphia. In May of the follow- ing year, he opened a dry-goods jobbing house, with David Bray. Under the varied styles of Bray & Barcroft, Bar- croft, Beaver & Co., and Barcroft & Co., this house still continues to stand at the head of its line of trade, after weathering the financial storms of more than half a century. The firm often changed its membership, but its honored founder stood uninterruptedly at its head until the time of his death. Under his prudent hand it steadily progressed, and extended its connections in this country and in Europe. Nor did he confine his view merely to the welfare of his own establishment. Recognizing the advantages which the growth of the city would confer upon all, he was a liberal subscriber to steam-ship and railroad enterprises, and to whatever other undertaking he felt convinced would re- dound to the benefit of the city. During the war he was a faithful supporter of the Government, and was also one of the " Soldiers of 1812." For, though but seventeen years of age when that struggle broke out, he shouldered his musket, and was one of those volunteers who remained at Camp Dupont: until the danger of invasion had passed. An unostentatious Christian, he took deep interest in pro- jects of charity and benevolence, and in the propagation of
USSELMAN, N. C., Bank President, was born near the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Decem- ber 7th, 18344, his ancestors, for several generations, being Pennsylvania Germans. He was educated in the Grammar Schools and the Central High School of Philadelphia. His business career be- `gan at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where, as an employee of the Deposit Bank, he developed and displayed the financial abilities for which he has since become distinguished. He served the bank for three years, rising from one position to another, until he attained that of cashier. He removed to Philadelphia in 1858, and was employed by the Union (now the Union National) Bank, then just commencing opera- tions. In this position, his industry, integrity, and talents secured him steady advancement, until, in January, 1865, he was elected cashier. In 1868, all the banking insti- Itutions of Philadelphia were upon the national basis,
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which the events of the preceding years had made so suc- cessful and popular. A few business men of the city, be- lieving that the time had come for the re-establishment of State banks, applied to the Legislature for a charter for a bank without circulation. The proposition met with vigor- ous opposition both without and within the Legistature, yet it was ultimately successful, and in consequence "The Union Banking Company " was organized. To this pro- ject the subject of our sketch had given his untiring ener- gies, and as to his efforts its success was in great measure due, it was fitting that he should be a sharer in its benefits. The State banks, once the popular medium of finance, were again, to a certain extent, renewed, and there are now ten within the limits of the city of Philadelphia, while others are contemplated. The Union Banking Company, with its efficient presidency, has grown to be one of the prominent financial institutions of the city and State. Its capital at starting was $50,000, which has been increased to nearly $200,000, while its deposits amount to not far from $2,000,- 000. He is a man of progressive ideas and liberal spirit, while his industry, will, and energy of character, have raised him to a high rank among financiers.
IMS, HENRY AUGUSTUS, Architect, was born in Philadelphia, December 22d, 1832. He was intended for the profession of a Civil Engineer, and went to Canada in 1851 to prosecute that study. Subsequently he was engaged on railway works in a subordinate capacity for several years, in Canada, Georgia, and Minnesota. IIe commenced the study of Architecture in 1856, and practised it with con- siderable success at Ottawa, Canada, from 1860 until 1866, when, desiring a more extended field, he returned to his native city. Since his return he has executed several im- portant works, among which may be named the Second Presbyterian Church, at Twenty-first and Walnut streets, the Montgomery County Alms-house, a small chapel at the corner of Twenty-first street and Columbia Avenne, another at Mercersburgh, Pennsylvania, a number of country houses of size and importance, and other buildings for individuals in and around Philadelphia. In conjunction with his younger brother, J. P. Sims, who studied under him, he is erecting the new Court House at Hagerstown, Mary- land, the extension of the Montgomery County Prison at Norristown, Pennsylvania, and many buildings of a private character. , The firm are acting as consulting architects on · the new Girard Avenue Bridge, in course of erection, and are designing its ornamental features. He is the Secretary for Foreign Correspondence of the American Institute of Architects, and in this connection his name is well known to the architects of Europe. Ile is also one of the Vice- Presidents of the Philadelphia Chapter of Architects.
OWELL, SAMUEL BEDELL, M. D., Physician and Scientist, was born in Camden, New Jersey, September 20th, 1834. His father, Richard W. Ilowell, was widely esteemed as a sound lawyer, a man of high moral worth and a Christian gen- tleman ; in various offices of trust, held for many years, he manifested distinguished usefulness as a citizen of the town and the State. The family on the father's side originally came from Wales, settled on the Delaware, and for two or three generations, has held the estate between Red Bank and Gloucester. One of his uncles, after whom he is named, belonged to the medical profession, and occu pied the chair of Anatomy and Physiology in the Princeton College, New Jersey, until his death. Another uncle, Joshua Howell, was a lawyer in good standing in the west- ern part of Pennsylvania; on the outbreak of the war he raised a regiment, was afterwards made a Brigadier-General of Volunteers, and was killed before Petersburg, Virginia. His brother went out with the New Jersey volunteers, and was killed at the battle of Fair Oaks, when General McClellan's army retreated to Harrison's Landing. His mother is a direct descendant of Samuel Carpenter, one of the original proprietors in Philadelphia with William Penn, and through her, in direct and collateral lineage, he is con- nected with a large circle of relatives embracing many names of worth and note. Ilaving passed through the usual course of school training in his native town, and in the city of Philadelphia, he was prepared for college by Rev. Dr. Knighton, formerly tutor in Princeton. He carly developed a strong taste for the natural sciences, studying them in all the works he could obtain, and in the fields and in the mountains; he also showed some natural taste for drawing and painting. While preparing for college, his health began to fail, and he was sent off on a pedestrian tour through the New England States, spending a season camping and gunning through Maine and into Canada. Returning home with improved health, he resumed his studies, availing himself always of every opportunity for practical investigations in the laboratory of a neighboring chemist and mineralogist. In the contemplation of the evidences of the slow and silent working of the forces modifying the face of nature, he was guided by one who was a practical mineralogist and geologist, and enthusiastic lover of nature. Manifesting these tastes it was natural that he should choose medicine for his life work. . He matriculated in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and though interrupted in his studies by uncertain health, he persevered and graduated with honor in March, 1858. By the advice of his uncle, Dr. James Carpenter, he began practice in the Schuylkill mining re- gion, where constant exercise in the mountain air conferred health and strength, permanently establishing his constitu- tion. Appointed, soon after, physician and surgeon to the mining towns of the Hickscher collieries, an extensive field of usefulness opened before him. During his resi-
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dence in this region, he earnestly pursued his studies in practical geology. In 1865 he removed to Philadelphia, and began practice in that larger sphere, availing himself also of the peculiar local facilities for studying chemistry, mineralogy, and geology. Ile had been a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences since 1855, and in 1868 he was elected its secretary, an office he still holds. For some years he has manifested a strong interest in the welfare of the freedmen of the South, and the colored men of the North, holding a liberal Christian culture to be the best means for elevating them to a comprehensive conception of their own interests and responsibilities, In 1868 he was appointed by the Board of Trustees of Lincoln University, Chester county, Pennsylvania, professor of the Natural Sciences, the duty of forming and developing the depart- ment of science, including medicine, being entrusted to him. In this University, which possesses in real estate and invested funds over two hundred thousand dollars, some two hundred students are resident. IIis services to this admirable institution have been of a distinguished charac- ter. In September, 1868, he was elected to fill the chair of Chemistry and Materia Medica, formerly held by Pro- fessor Henry Morton, and afterwards by Professor Leeds, in the Philadelphia Dental College. In the preceding April he had been made a fellow of the time-honored College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and in 1872 he was a delegate therefrom to the American National Medical Association. On December 4th, 1872, he was chosen to occupy the chair of Mineralogy and Geology, in the auxi- liary department of the University of Pennsylvania, vacant by the resignation of Professor F. V. Hayden, United States Geologist. He was married on April 13th, 1859, to the daughter of the late Rev. William Neill, D. D., of Phila- delphia, formerly President of the Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, He is a member and ruling-elder in the Presbyterian Church,
EVEREUX, JOHN, Shipowner and Merchant, was born in Philadelphia, August 10th, 1Soo. Having received a good general education, he, at sixteen years of age, entered the counting-room of a mercantile house, largely engaged in the foreign and coastwise commerce of the country. In 1823 he was sent out by the firm as supercargo in one of their vessels to Brazil, He continued in that capacity for six years, and gained an experience that proved very use- ful to him in after life. After 1829 he became extensively engaged in the trade between Brazil and the United States, and was instrumental in introducing many reforms for the purpose of facilitating the commercial intercourse between the two countries. Among other matters he caused a change to be made in the mode of shipping sugars. They had been shipped in unwieldy cases, which, while offering
no especial protection to the commodities themselves, had proved a source of much annoyance and delay. He sub- stituted barrels and bags, and the change at once com- mending itself to other shippers, soon came to be generally adopted. In ship-building he became largely engaged; in 1836 he built the largest freighting ship, both as to tonnage and capacity, ever constructed at the Port of Philadelphia up to that period. IIe was for many years a large ship- owner, and kept up extensive and varied relations with South America, Great Britain and other parts of Europe. His integrity and marked business ability led to his services being sought by many public institutions. Thus he served as a director for many years in two of the banks of the city ; was a director in the Delaware Marine Insurance Company, and acted as its President for some time, but de- clined to accept that position permanently, on account of other business engagements. Since its commencement until now he has been a director in the Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad Company. In municipal affairs he has always manifested a large and intelligent interest. In 1843, previous to consolidation, he was elected a member of Councils, an honorable position at that time, the municipal government being conducted so admirably as to elicit commendation from all outside communities. He was among the warmest advocates of the purchase of the Lemon Ilill estate, the nucleus of the present Fairmount Park, and one of the select committee to consummate that purchase on behalf of the city. For several years he served as a member of the Board of Port Wardens, discharging his duties with signal efficiency. His long career as a ship- owner and merchant rendered him fully sensible of the ad- vantages of keeping open the port of Philadelphia through- out the year. From this manifestation of interest, and his prominent position, he naturally was chosen a member of the Board of Trustees of the City Ice Boats. Ilis fitness for the office soon gained him the election as President of the Board, and for twenty-four years out of the twenty- eight during which he continued a member of the Board, he retained that position. It was by his advice and under his immediate supervision that the present iron ice boats were constructed. During the war he was a strong supporter of the Union cause, and took an active in- terest in all schemes designed for its assistance. Thus he aided greatly to promote the success of the great sanitary fair held in Philadelphia in 1864, having from the first par- ticipated so warmly in the movement as to be appointed a member of the Executive Committee. At present he is President of the Pennsylvania Fire Insurance Company, of which corporation he has been a director for twenty-four years. As a financier and merchant his abilities are of a high order. Enterprising and far-sighted, he is also gifted with administrative powers of an unusual quality. A shrewd and successful business man, a valuable citizen, a culti- vated and courteous gentleman, he commands the respect and esteem of the community.
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19 SOULD, JOHN HENRY, Manufacturer, was born in Plymouth, Devonshire, England, in IS25, and is a son of Captain James Gould, of the British army. Ile carly conceived an idea of earning his own livelihood, and employed the savings of his youth to purchase, when but fourteen years of age, a small stock of goods, which being obtained, and no more than he could well carry, he started off on foot to obtain purchasers. Having sold his stock at an advantage, on his next expedition he went by stage to find his market. As he conducted his operations on a purely cash basis, he had no debtors or creditors to prevent or retard his success. He finally adopted the plan of making his purchases in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, or some such centre of trade, shipping his goods to the place where he first intended operating, inviting the trades-people to meet him at the hotel, and after disposing of a portion of his stock, proceed- ing to the next town or wherever the market seemed pro- mising. There was scarcely a town in the United King- dom, which he did not visit in this way, and in the. course of two years, or when he was but sixteen years old, he had made about {1000 ($5000). He now thought of emigrating to America, as he had met one of its citizens who was engaged in selling land, and of whom he purchased a large number of acres, after being informed by the American Minister, Hon. Edward Everett, that the land agent was a man of the strictest integrity. In company with this per- sonage he left England, and proceeded as far as Buffalo, on their way to Milwaukee; but his companion eloped, carry- ing off not only the purchase money, but also the title deeds to the tract of 5000 acres. He had not trusted however to being enriched by the sale of his lands, but prior to leaving England, had shipped a lot of goods to Montreal. Thither he proceeded, obtained his wares, but finding a better market in the States, had them forwarded to Buffalo. Here they were seized by the customs officers for non-payment of duties, but being assisted by some influential friends, they were released on payment of the duties. By dint of hard trading he managed by degrees to convert his stock into money, and having closed out his wares, started on a pro- specting tour through the Canadas and Western States. Returning to New York, he took up his residence in the family of a picture dealer. One day he stepped into an auction store, where he purchased an old painting for seven dollars and a half, and having cleaned it, sold it to his. landlord for $400. Finding it to be a genuine " Moreland," the picture dealer was enraptured, and offered his tenant a partnership in his store, without requiring him to invest any capital in the business, except his talents. He accepted the proposition, and the new firm met with success, their trans- actions becoming more and more extended and lucrative, when the 'great fire occurred, their entire establishment was destroyed, and the stock not being insured, he was again adrift. While visiting Philadelphia, he was called home by family bereavement, and having his mother's pro- | children, seven are now living.
perty to look after, remained abroad, and went into business in London, shipping goods to and from the United States. Ile was but eighteen years old when he left the States. Before two years had elapsed he had so arranged family matters that he felt at liberty to return to America. He at once established himself in Philadelphia, and became partner in a firm engaging in the manufacture of furniture from the hard white Canada maple. But the business did not prove profitable, and the financial revulsion of 1857 occurring, his partners were quite willing and ready to dispose of their respective interests to him, on condition that he would assume their liabilities. In 1859, he sold out, paid the creditors in full, but had nothing left. He now borrowed some money, and opened a retail furniture store, at an excellent stand in one of the best business streets in the city, and undertook at once to compete with the large dealers. His perseverance, energy and ability soon began to attract attention, and one large firm especially became afraid of him. This latter con- cern discovering that he did not own the property where his store was located, quietly purchased it, and ordered him out ; $15,000 worth of furniture was put into the street at nightfall, and there remained till morning. The blow was well aimed ; . but proved the turning point in his career. He purchased the Madison House for $40,000 and put $16,000 into improve- ments on the property. The treatment he had received from the rival house became generally known-in fact, it was as good as the best advertisement ever printed in the papers-and his patrons were numbered by hundreds. The only result of their " friendly move" was to heighten his popularity, increase his business, and give him a fair start on the high road to success. Sales then amounting to $40,000 per annum have risen to over $400,000. In place of one store he now has five large establishments and an ex- tensive manufactory in various parts of the city, all connected with each other, and with his residence by means of the electric telegraph. He understands well the value of printer's ink, and the importance of advertising. In the latter, he introduced a new feature by ordering eight wagons, for the delivery of goods, to be built ; had them painted with the national colors of " red, white and blue," and on their com- pletion, turned out and driven through the streets headed by a brass band. On the following morning he had published in the Philadelphia Inquirer the largest advertisement which ever appeared in the columns of a Philadelphia newspaper, occupying two pages and a quarter of that journal. Among other novelties, he has introduced saleswomen to attend to the wants of his lady customers, an experiment never before attempted in Philadelphia among furniture men. He is an active member of the Episcopal church ; is a Royal Arch Mason ; a member of the Board of Trade; the St. George and Albion Societies; the Historical Society ; the Fairmount Park Art Association ; the Reform Club; and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He was married, in 1850, to Amelia Gustard of London, and of his ten
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SHIMEAD, GEORGE L., Lawyer, was born in | Porter, and it has been matter of remark, that the office of Philadelphia, on July 2d, 1809. He is a direct descendant of John Ashmead of Cheltenham, England, who came to Philadelphia in 1682, and settled on land which he purchased from William Penn, and named Cheltenham, now in Montgomery county. One of his ancestors was Captain John Ashmead, who served with distinction during the war of the Revolution; and another ancestor by the maternal line was Doctor George Lehman, who was a surgeon also in the Revolutionary army. By intermarriage the Ashmead family became-connected with that of Governor Mifflin of Pennsylvania, and also with that of the distinguished and phi- lanthropic Doctor Benjamin Rush. His father, Thomas Ash- mead, now deceased, held for forty years, under every successive change of administration, an important position in the Custom-house at Philadelphia, and was universally respected for his integrity, kindness of heart, courteous and gentlemanly deportment. He himself received a liberal education, and was noted for intense application to his studies. When about twenty years of age, he commenced the study of the law, and was admitted to practice in 1832, obtaining a very creditable certificate from his examiners, among whom were the late venerable Charles Chauncey, and the late Hon. John K. Kane, the learned and distin- guished Judge of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. By close atten- tion to business, uuwearied devotion to the interests of his clients, uprightness of character, and thorough knowledge of the principles of law, he acquired an extensive practice in nearly all branches of law; but his predilections and tastes led him to prefer practice in the civil courts. In the course of his professional life he has participated in a num- ber of important causes, among others, the cases of " Com- monwealth vs. Gill," for murder, " Commonwealth vs. Von Vliet," for larceny, in which he was associate counsel with David Paul Brown and the Hon. William B. Reed; " Potts vs. Hertzog," a celebrated ejectment case, in which property valued at several hundred thousand dollars was at stake, being therein associated with George W. Biddle, William L. Hirst, and other well-known and distinguished members of the Bar, one of whom said to him at the close of the case, " Mr. Ashmead, this cause was gained in your office ;" and the well-known case of " The United States vs. Hanway," indicted for treason, in which he was one of the associate counsel for the United States. Shortly after his admission to the Bar, he was elected a director of public schools; at a subsequent period, he was elected Solicitor for the large and important District of West Philadelphia, and while in this office he made and published a " Digest of the Laws and Ordinances pertaining to the District," which was remarkable for its completeness, clearness of arrangement, and accuracy. After the consolidation of Philadelphia, he was selected as First Assistant City Soli- citor, under the administration of the Hon. William A.
City Solicitor has never been administered more ably nor faithfully than then. Mr. Porter, before the close of his term as City Solicitor, was appointed a Judge of the Su- preme Court of Pennsylvania, and it became necessary for City Councils to elect a successor for the remainder of the term. He became a canditate, and was opposed by Wil- liam L. Hirst, who was elected by a small majority. Having been an opposing canditate to the new Solicitor, he deemed it proper to send in his resignation as First As- sistant, but at the urgent request of Mr. Hirst, he continued in office to the end of the term. At the time of the first nomination of the Hon. James R. Ludlow as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, his name was prominently before the Judicial Convention, and it was believed by his friends that his prospects for the nomination were very fair; but these prospects, whether fair or otherwise, were suddenly closed by the fact that a friend, who had been requested to present in his behalf to the Convention the usual pledge of candidates to abide by the nomination, neglected so to do, and under party rules, his name could not then be con- sidered. In political life he is and always has been a Demo- crat, except that during the war of the Rebellion he deemed it his first duty to support men and measures to uphold the integrity of the Union. He is still in the vigor of manhood, and continues to manifest an active interest in public affairs. In his profession he ranks among our ablest and safest counsellors. During the intervals of professional toil, he has found leisure to indulge his scholarly tastes, and his conversation discloses a knowledge of general literature, familiarity with the best authors of the day, and classical attainments of a high order. Starting out in life with a proper estimate of the exalted duties of his profession, he adopted a code of ethics no less stringent in its practice than the rules which govern judicial decrees. The purity of his life has been regulated by the severest discipline, his integ- rity is undoubted, and his clients all trust and honor him. In the practice of his profession, he has taken labor as the means of opening up the intricacies of his cases, and of draw- ing truth from the deepest wells. When he has finished the examination of his points, and matured his judgment and prepared for trial, there is nothing left undone. IIe has gone over the case and has seen all its points weak or strong. He is thus fully equipped for the contest. Ilis style in pleading is clear, earnest and forcible. Disdaining all flights of oratory, he confines himself to the statement of facts in the simplest language, following this up with the support of the evidence, and so presenting his positions as to satisfy both judge and jury that he, at least, fully be- lieves in the justice of his canse. From beginning to end he has an air of business, and is never betrayed into levity of manner or nndue excitement. Ambitious of success, but too proud to seek it by tortuous means, he has won honor- able distinction in his professional, public and private relations.
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