USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 33
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cupied some important positions of trust in Philadelphia. In 1871, he was elected President of the Commercial Ex- change Association, and continued to discharge the respon- sible duties of that office with entire acceptability to all the members of the association until the beginning of 1873, when he retired therefrom. He is also Vice-President of the Girard Life Insurance and Trust Company. Although he has never manifested any deep interest in politics, he has always performed his duty to the country as a consistent member of the Republican party. During March, of 1872, the office of the Collector of the port of Philadelphia being vacant through the retirement of Colonel J. W. Forney, he was appointed by the President to fill the vacancy. Having as a business man been long and favorably known to -the community, the news of his appointment was received with much satisfaction by the merchants of Philadelphia. A well-deserved compliment was paid to the sterling integrity and high reputation of the appointee by the United States Senate, the nomination being unanimously confirmed. The able and impartial manner in which he has so far discharged the duties of the position eminently justifies the Presidential choice. With natural advantages, improved by a superior education, and combined with wide experience in business and knowledge of the world, he is thoroughly qualified for public positions of trust. He is very systematic in his business habits, and possessed of remarkable adminis- trative ability. As a speaker he has won honors of no mean degree. On the occasion of his inauguration as President of the Commercial Exchange, again on the reception of President Grant at the Chamber of Commerce, and on his retirement from the office of President of the Exchange, he delivered addresses evidencing a full appreciation of the commercial position and prospects of Philadelphia.
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owner of a very large body of coal lands in the western part of Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. At that time this portion of the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania was undeveloped and in a state of comparative wilderness. Al- most wholly unaided, he grasped the project of developing this portion of the coal field. Its accomplishment by the construction of a railroad and the erection of colliery im- provements necessarily involved the outlay of a very large amount of capital and a delay of years of time. Nothing daunted, this work was undertaken. The Swatara Rail- road was commenced with him as president. The Donald- son Improvement and Railroad Company was organized with the same president. The town of Donaldson was laid out on the property. Soon the railroad was finished which connected these and vast bodies of other coal lands with the Mine Hill Railroad and Union Canal, while nume- rous extensive and costly collieries were erected on the land. Machine shops, hotels, churches, and houses to accommo- date a population of several thousand inhabitants, now make up the town of Donaldson. The borough of Tremont, one mile south, and of about equal population and industries, was also the direct result of these improvements inaugurated and carried to completion by the same leadership. Thus a wilderness was converted into a productive territory that affords support to thousands of inhabitants by his almost single-handed efforts. He remained in the control of the Swatara Railroad Company and of the Donaldson Improve- ment and Railroad Company until 1863, when he retired from their management. While at Danville, he was ap- pointed an Associate Judge for Columbia county by Gover- nor David R. Porter, entirely without solicitation on his part or that of mere personal friends. This appointment was confirmed by the Senate unanimously. In politics up to this time, and for a long period afterwards, he was a Democrat of the "old school," but never sought office. He and the late Justice Grier of the United States Supreme Court participated in the first meeting in support of General Andrew Jackson for the Presidency ever held in Danville. Afterwards he co-operated with the Democratic party until about 1848, when he was made elector on the " Free Soil " electoral ticket. Since then he has been a member of the Republican party. . Since 1863 he has almost entirely re- tired from actual business pursuits-of a very active mind and temperament, he has not however been by any means idle. No truer or firmer friend ever lived, and in the de- fence of what he believed to be right he has always been unyielding and uncompromising. His family consists of a son and three daughters. The eldest married Theodore Garrettson, the second James B. Beatty, both coal operators, and owners of extensive collieries, and the youngest Colonel II. K. Nichols, resident engineer of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company. He has been for over fifty 'years a member of the Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons, of Pennsylvania. The charter for the Danville Lodge, No. 224, was granted to him as Worshipful Master. which he has ever since been President. In connection 4
Ile still retains his place as a member of that lodge. IIe is an active participant in the affairs and management of the Presbyterian Church. The congregation at Pottsville, or- ganized in 1857, and now under the pastoral charge of the Rev. Dr. Smiley, formerly of the Rev. Dr. Plummer, re- ceives his especial interest and support. It is known as the Second Presbyterian Church.
RODHEAD, CHARLES, President of the Beth- lehem and Stroudsburg Railroad, was born at Conyngham, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, Au- gust 4th, 1824. Hle is descended from Daniel Brodhead, of Yorkshire, England, who was a captain of grenadiers under Charles II., and joined Colonel Nichols' expedition which took possession of the New Netherlands, in 1664, after which event he settled in Ulster county, New Jersey. Ile had a son, Richard, born in 1666, whose son, Daniel, born in 1693, removed to Brodhead's Creek, near Stroudsburg, and died at Bethlehem in 1755. Another son, Garret, was an officer in the Continental army during the Revolutionary war, while a third son, Albert Gallatin, the father of the subject of this sketch, still living at Bethlehem, was a prominent merchant at Congham for many years, and was a mem- ber of the Pennsylvania State Legislature from 1832 to 1834. Charles Brodhead graduated at Lafayette College, then under the control of President Junkin and Professor You- mans, after which he entered the law office of his uncle, Richard, then a Representative in Congress from the Tenth District. Having completed his studies in the office of David Hoffman, of Philadelphia, he was admitted to the Northampton bar, in 1846, and continued his practice at this place until 1849, being Solicitor under Sheriff Hillman. Ilis uncle, Richard, being elected to the United States Senate, in 1850, Charles entered into a law partnership with him, but retired after three years and located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1854. Foreseeing the future importance of this valley, he bought from Mr. Joseph Hess what was known as the Jacobi farm, consisting of one hundred and three acres, for which he paid $200 per acre. He also bought ninety-seven acres from the old Duekenback farm, and extended Mr. C. A. Duckenback's plan of Augusta, changing the name to Wetherill, in honor of Colonel Samuel Weth -. erill, founder of the Prince works at that place. Excepting seven acres given to Lehigh University, all of this land is now covered with the streets, manufactories, and dwellings of south Bethlehem, the main avenue from the university to the railroad depot being named Brodhead. In the sum- mer of 1858, he married Camilla, only daughter of General Conrad Shimer, a State Senator, and the largest owner of farm lands in the county where he resided. In 1862, he projected a railroad from Bethlehem to Stroudsburg, of
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with A. Wade and William Chapman, he, in 1864, organ- ized the Chapman Slate Company, which has produced more slate than any other company in the country. He was also an original corporator of the Bethlehem Iron Company, one of the largest rolling mills in the State, and the founder of other successful industries which have added greatly to the population, wealth and power of his section and State. He is a consistent and resolute Democrat, but was never a candidate for office until 1871, when he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania. He is a man of eminently progressive ideas, of great industry and enterprise. Probably no one has done more than he to develop the resources of the section in which he resides.
ANDENBERGER, MARTIN, Manufacturer, yas born at Ebengen, Germany, in 1818. His father, who was engaged in the same business, at. Wur- temburg, was able to give his son a good educa- tion; and, believing it to be for his children's benefit, emigrated to this country and. established himself at once in Philadelphia, where he apprenticed, his. son to M. Drenshaw, a native of France, who was carrying on the manufacture of hosiery, in Delaware., After remainz. ing there two years, he entered the employment of Joseph Button, of Germantown, who was the proprietor of the first factory ever established in the vicinity of Philadelphia; With him he worked steadily and industriously; and, by the year 1843, had saved from his wages sufficient money to buy himself a loom, and began business on his own ac- count. That was a period of " hard times," and, though he felt the pressure, he was not disheartened, but redoubled his activity, and was rewarded, at the end of one year, by having to employ three journeymen in his business. The panie of 1847, which proved so disastrous to some others, was a source of benefit to him ; for, having cash on hand, he took advantage of the depression in the wool market to make extensive purchases, and found his investment to be eventually a most profitable one. In 1849, in order to meet the increasing demands of his business, he moved into a new building, containing eighteen looms, and at the same time built a house for himself and family, opposite to the factory, having been married three years previously. Although his means at that time were insufficient to enable him to introduce steam power into his establishment, he still continued to prosper, his business increasing annually, till, in seven years from his taking possession of the new premises, he found them too small for his needs, and he also felt the imperative necessity of employing steam power. Accordingly, in 1856, he purchased the site on which the present factory now stands, and erected upon it one of the most commodious and extensive stocking factories in the country. The building is forty five by two hundred feet,
four and a half stories high, and complete in all its details. About this time he admitted into partnership Charles Wyler, and his two sons, Martin and Charles Landenberger, the present name of the firm being Martin Landenberger & Co. Besides the factory above alluded to, two others are owned by the firm, which they purchased in 1862. These branch mills are situated at Landenberg, Chester county, and are driven by water power, which, at that place, is as good as at any point in the State. In the comparatively brief space of thirty years, this business has increased enor. imously ;“ the manufacture, which, during the first year, amounted to $1000, now reaches to near $1,000,000, and the three mills employ from 1000 to 1200 hands. All the # fsales are effected through the agency of a commission house in New York.
EST, BENJAMIN; Artist, was born at Spring- · field, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, on October roth, 1738. He came of Quaker parentage, and retained his connection with the Society of ... Friends through the whole of his life. When quite a small boy, he astonished his family by decided evidences of strong artistic talent, and he received su'ch commendations for his untutored efforts that he deter- mined, in opposition to the wishes of many of his friends, toz become a painter Attthe early age of seventeen, he removed to Philadelphia and commenced to paint portraits, and was measurably successful, although his performances were very crude and uncultured. As there were abso- lutely no facilities for the proper study of art on this side of the Atlantic, so soon as he could obtain the means, he went to Europe, and in 1760 found his way to Rome, for the purpose of studying the masterpieces of Raphael, Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and other great artists, there preserved. Shortly after his arrival in Rome, he made the acquaintance of Raphael Mengo, the distin- guished German artist, and speedily a warm friendship sprung up between the two. Mengo aided the young American very materially by directing his studies and by giving him good advice. From Rome Mr. West proceeded to London, where he opened a studio, and in a compara- tively short time won his way to the favor of the most aristocratie: picture-buyers, who purchased his works at liberal prices. Ilis picture of Agrippina Landing with the Ashes of Germanicus having met the eye of George III., that monarch became much interested in him, and finally made him the Court Painter. The honor of knighthood was offered him by the king, when he succeeded Sir Joshua Reynolds as President of the Royal Academy, in 1792, but the Quaker principles of the artist would not permit him to accept. The king, however, continued to be a generous patron, purchasing pictures at large prices himself, and in- ducing others to do so. The work which brought him prominently into notice as an alle and original artist was
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his Death of Wolfe. In this he departed from the absurd custom of the historical painters of the day, of representing modern heroes in antique garb, and he endeavored to give a spirited and faithful representation of the actual scene. The picture, which was a wonderfully fine piece of compo- sition, was a brilliant success, and it not only made the artist's reputation, but it completely revolutionized the art of historical painting. The favor with which this work was received encouraged him to undertake another elabo- rate composition, and he accordingly painted his. great picture of Christ Healing the Sick, which is now in the British National Gallery, and a copy of which, presented by the artist, belongs to the Pennsylvania Hospital. His large picture of Paul and Barnabas, now in the possession of the Academy of Fine Arts, was presented by his son to the city of Philadelphia, and was given by the city to the academy in exchange for Mr. Sully's portrait of Lafayette. The academy also possesses one of his most elaborate and important works, Death on the Pale Horse ; also a fine full length portrait of himself, painted by himself. The Battle of La Hogue ; Regulus a Prisoner with the Carthaginians; The Departure of Regulus ; Penn's Treaty with the Indians ; The Death of Sir Philip Sidney ; Pylades and Orestes ; The Death of Bayard; Hamilcar Swearing the Infant Hannibal at the Altar ; King Lear ; and Hamlet and Ophelia are the subjects of some of his most important works. He died in London, in 1820, at the ripe age of eighty two. He was a man of extreme amiability of dis- position, spotless purity of character, and was greatly beloved by all who had the honor of his acquaintance. He was especially cordial with young artists, and such as had merit could always command his assistance in their efforts at advancement. He had an originality and vigor of con- ception far superior to any of the English artists with whom he was associated, but he was not always successful in giving his ideas expression. His knowledge of drawing was imperfect, his style of painting thin and poor, and he frequently burdened himself with tasks beyond his powers. It was unfortunately the fashion during his time to paint huge pictures filled with life-size figures, under the errone- ous idea that grand effects could only be produced on large canvases, and it is certain that his reputation of to-day would be much higher than it is had he painted smaller pictures and different subjects. His genius did not natu- rally incline to the heroic, but to the idyllic; and some of his minor works, upon which he placed but a small value, are now prized more highly by connoisseurs than his elabo- rate compositions. Had he lived in this time, he would doubtless have been a genre painter of great excellence ; but as it was, his talents were to a great extent wasted. In spite of their defects, however, his large pictures have merits of no common order, and his painting of Death on the Pale Horse, in particular, has a certain- grandeur of conception that even the feeble execution of a large portion of it cannot altogether obliterate
EAGLE, JOHN, Artist, was born in Boston, on the 4th of November, 1799. His parents were Philadelphians, and were on a visit to Boston when the future portrait painter came into the world. At a very early age he conceived a great fondness for art, but most likely had but little idea originally of adopting it as a profession. He selected coach painting as the trade by which he proposed to make his living, and it is probable that the manipulation of colors stimulated his natural tastes and encouraged him to study for the purpose of becoming an artist. In 1818, he began to paint portraits in Philadelphia, but his efforts did not meet with the desired pecuniary success, and he accord- ingly removed to Lexington, Kentucky. There he con- tended for a long time against many adverse circumstances, until at length he achieved a lucky hit with a portrait of a wealthy sitter, who urged him to go to New Orleans, where he would undoubtedly be able to find abundant patronage. In New Orleans he made both reputation and money, and when he returned to Philadelphia, in 1820, he was in a position to command his own prices. He there married a daughter of Thomas Sully, and settled down for life. A certain vigorous picturesqueness of style, combined with an extraordinary faculty for catching a likeness, in- duced many eminent persons to sit for him, and to the end of his life he remained one of the most popular portrait painters in the country. His best work is his portrait of Pat Lyon, the Locksmith, now in the possession of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. It is an exceedingly fine specimen of truly artistic portraiture, and had an im- mense effect in extending the painter's reputation. This picture was painted in 1826. Another notable work is his portrait of Henry Clay, in the possession of the Union League Club, of Philadelphia. This is the best portrait of the great Kentucky Statesman in existence, and it gives a most spirited representation of him as he appeared when at the height of his popularity. In addition to the portrait of Pat Lyon, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts also possesses one of Mrs. Wood, the singer, in the character of " Amina," in the opera of " La Sonnambula." A por- trait of Washington, from his pencil, is in Independence Hall. Among the distinguished persons who sat to this artist may be mentioned Matthew Carey, Dr. Chapman and Commodore Barrow. His death occurred in 1865.
OMLY, JOSHUA W., Lawyer, was born in Phila delphia, November 16th, 1810. ' His parents, Charles and Sarah Wright Comly, were members of the Society of Friends, and his primary edu- cation was received at the school of Isaac Taylor, a teacher connected with that body. His father having removed to Milton, Northumberland county, the boy was placed in the school of J. D. Byles, of that town,
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but afterwards entered the academy of David Kirkpatrick, under whose tuition he was prepared for his entrance into Princeton College. In 1826, he joined the Junior Class in advance, in that institution, where he graduated in the fol- lowing year. On leaving college, he commenced the study of law, in the office of Samuel Hepburn, of Milton, and was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county November 17th, 1830. He began the practice of law at Orwigsburgh, Schuylkill county, continuing to reside there till 1834, when he returned to Milton. In 1835, he re- moved to Danville, which has since been his residence and place of business. In 1851, he was nominated to the Judgeship of the Supreme Court of the State, but failed to obtain an election. At the commencement of his profes- sional career, he experienced many difficulties, and was obliged to struggle hard to obtain the position which he subsequently won, that of one of the most eminent barris- ters of Central Pennsylvania. His practice, at the present time, extends to all the courts, and comprehends a wide circuit. He is the brother of S. I. Comly, Collector of the Port of Philadelphia. In private life, he is distinguished for his scholarship, cultivated taste and the generosity of his character.
ETERSON, T. B., Publisher, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was born in that city on January 14th, 1823, of American parents. His first busi- ness experience was obtained in a dry-goods store and as clerk in a shipping house on the wharf; but, being dissatisfied with his prospects, he fortunately resolved to learn the printing and stereo- typing business. He made such rapid progress in these arts that, when in his twentieth year, he became foreman in the office of the Saturday Evening and Spirit of the Times, a journal published by George R. Graham and C. J. Peterson, the latter his elder brother. He retained that position for two years, when he determined to commence business for himself. He began, in 1845, in a small store at No. 302 Chestnut street, with a capital of less than ten dollars, and, in the following year, issued his first regular publication, The Divorced, by Lady Charlotte Bury, at twenty-five cents, when the London edition cost over seven dollars, and from that time to the present has continued publishing and stereotyping most of the popular American and English books. In 1853, requiring more room, he re- moved to the large store at No. 306 in the same street, where his business increased largely, and was still further leveloped, in 1858, by the admission into partnership of his younger brothers, George and Thomas, who had been trained in his store. The firm now became T. B. Peterson & Brothers, and, under the judicious guidance of the senior member, combined with the strenuous exertions of the juniors, has grown to be the largest publishing house of cheap books in the country. The firm owns the copyrights
and stereotyped plates of over one thousand works, in varions departments of literature, which they are con- stantly republishing. This immense collection of plates cost over half a million of dollars, and, for safety, is kept in fire-proof vaults under ground. Their stock of books, bound and unbound and in sheets, is also very large and valuable, and, on an average, mimbers about a million volumes-new editions of works being seldom reprinted under a thousand copies. The house publishes twenty-two different editions of the works of Charles Dickens, at prices ranging from ten to one hundred dollars a set, and is also the sole publisher of the novels of Ann S. Stephens, Mrs. Southworth, Charles Lever, Alexander Dumas, and many others: in fact, hardly any novelist of repute is unrepre- sented in its publications. The founder of the house did not achieve this eminent success without the most unremit- ting industry. For years after the commencement of his enterprise, he was constantly at his store, from 7 in the morning till 9 at night, or even later, and examined manu- scripts at home after business hours.
AWRENCE, GEORGE V., Farmer and Poli- tician, was born in Washington county, Penn- sylvania, in the year 1818. Hle sprang from a family eminent in public service, his father, Joseph Lawrence-long in political life in Penn- sylvania-having been sent to the Legislature from 1819 to 1826, and from 1834 to 1836, appointed State Treasurer in 1837, and in Congress for two terms. In 18.42, he died, while serving his term in Congress. Ilis uncles, John and Samuel Lawrence, were sent to the Legislature from Beaver county. Having obtained his education in the best schools the country afforded, with the addition of one year at Washington College, from which he retired on account of ill health, he applied himself to farming, doing much of the labor there with his own hands, and directing the scientific cultivation of the soil. In 1844, the citizens of his district elected him to the Legislature, and a second time, in 1847. So well satisfied were they with his actions, that they urged him to accept the nomination for the Senate, in 1848, to which he con- sented, was elected, and served faithfully for three years. In 1858, he was again elected to the Legislature, and re- turned in - 1859, when his brother, William C. Lawrence, was Speaker, having been elected three terms successively from Dauphin county. He was elected to the Senate from Washington and Greene, in 1860, overcoming 1000 Democratie majority, and served until 1863, being Speaker during the session of 1862. His brother, Samuel Law- rence, was in the House as a member; during part of the last term in the Senate. In 1864, he was elected to Con gress from the Twenty-fourth Congressional District, com- posed of the counties of Greene, Washington, Beaver and
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