USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 36
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
OCKEFELLER, WILLIAM M., Lawyer and Judge, was born in the town of Sunbury, Penn- sylvania, August 18th, 1830. Ile is a son of David and Catherine Rockefeller, the former having been widely known in that section of the Commonwealth as a surveyor for upwards of fifty years. He is the eldest and the only surviving member of a family of five brothers, one of whom, at the time of his premature decease, possessed a rapidly growing reputation in the legal profession. He was educated at the Sunbury Academy, and, during his vacations or absences from this school, varied his occupations by working on a faim, or acting as clerk in the store of Ira Clement, then, as now, one of the foremost business men in the town, and also by instructing the youth of his neighborhood. In 1847, he entered upon the study of the law in the office of J. B. Packer, of Sunbury; and, upon the election of the latter gentleman to the Legislature, he transferred his studies to the office of Judge Jordan, in the same town, under whose chrection they were continued until his admission to the bar, in 1850. He commenced the practice of his profes- sion in Minersville, Schuylkill county, where he remained about one year, and then returned to his native town, where he opened an office, and where he has since re- mained. In early life, as is commonly the case with our countrymen, he entered the field of politics, and was a prominent member of the Democratic party. In the guber- natorial campaign of 1851, he was Secretary of the Bigler Club of Schuylkill County, and in 1852 was President of
klausun Coleman,
159
BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.
the Pierce and King Club of Northumberland County. IIe also held the office of Chief Burgess of the Borough of Sunbury for several years. In 1871, he was elected to the office he now holds, President Judge of the Eighth Ju- dicial District, one of the largest in the State. Although this district, which includes Montour and Northumberland counties, is strongly Democratic, it was carried, in this in- stance, by a Republican majority of over fifteen hundred. The Legal Intelligencer, at the time of his election, re- marked, that " our State Reports, from I Casey to 14 P. F. Smith, show that he has been counsel in the most im- portant cases from his district." An innate fondness for legal studies has, for some years past, inclined him to give these his almost exclusive devotion. He is married and has three children.
00
ORDAN, ALEXANDER, Lawyer, was born in Ayesburgh, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, May 19th, 1798. When four years of age, his parents removed to Milton, where they resided until their deaths, at a very advanced age. In. 1812, their son entered a store in Milton as clerk, where he remained for three years. While so engaged, the war of IS12 broke out, and the Governor of Pennsylvania, in common with those of other States, issued a call for troops, both militia and volunteers. Then about fourteen. years of age, he responded, and went with the former as far as Meadville, in the capacity of Deputy Commissary. After an absence of a few weeks, he returned, and resumed his duties in the store. In 1815, he repaired to Sunbury, where he became a clerk in the Prothonotary's office of Northumberland county, then held by Hugh Bellus. With the discharge of the requirements of the office just referred to, the latter gentleman, who subsequently achieved one of the foremost positions at the Northumberland bar, combined a successful practice of the law. While a clerk in this office, he determined to study under the direction and with the cordial interest of his superior, for the legal profession. The decision was attended with some irreso- lution, in consequence of a natural bias toward mechanical and artistic pursuits. The fondness and faculty for these latter survived his choice, and has afforded him, through life, a pleasant and useful recreation during his leisure hours. As his duties in the Prothonotary's office required all his attention during the day, he was limited to the night for his studies. It is a good evidence of diligence and earnestness in his studies, that, although they were prose- cuted under these circumscribed conditions, he exceeded, even with such disadvantages, the present demands in this respect for admission to the profession. After the resigna- tion of his patron from the position he had occupied, he continued to serve under his successors, Dr. George W. Brown (appointed by Governor Finley, and who lived but one year thereafter) and Andrew Albright. In 1820, he
was admitted to the bar, and most successfully practised his profession in Union, Northumberland and Montour counties. The bar of Northumberland county, at this time, was composed of some of the most distinguished law- yers of the State. Hall, Bradford, Bellus, Greenough, IIepburn and Man, all belonged to a high order of legal acquirement and ability. In 1850, he was elected Presi- dent Judge of the Eighth Judicial District, without oppo- sition. At the close of his first term (of ten years), he was urged by his friends to become a candidate for reelection, and he consented; and obtained a handsome majority over his opponent. He was likewise solicited, when his second term was ending, to be nominated for the third time, but declined .on the score of feeble health, He was married May 11th, 1820, to Mary, daughter of Daniel Hurley; and a second time, October 13th, 1850, to Hannah Rittenhouse, of Philadelphia, but has no children.
OLEMAN, G. DAWSON, Iron Manufacturer, was born in Philadelphia, January 13th, 1825. His parents, as also all the rest of the family, be-
- longed to Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. He attended the best schools in Princeton, New Jer- sey, and Philadelphia, and graduated in the Col- legiaie Department of the University of Pennsylvania, in the class of 1843. . On his attaining his majority, he en- tered into the manufacture of iron, and erected furnaces at North Lebanon, and named them the " Lebanon Furnaces." In this enterprise he was associated jointly with his brother, who remained with him until 1852, when he retired, and since that period has resided in Paris. He has given, in all these years, except when absent in Europe, which he has twice visited, his undivided attention to the furnaces. In fact, he is in the fourth generation of those of his family who have made this their calling. His great-grandfather followed it in Lancaster county. His grandfather made shot, shell, and steel for Washington during the Revolution, receiving " prisoners of war " in payment, who were after- wards redeemed by the British in coin, which they paid to him. His father was one of those who supplied the United States Government with the same description of "iron castings" which were made use of in the " War of 1812" with Great Britain ; and he himself, during the Rebellion, followed in their footsteps, not only in supplying the Gov- ernment with these deadly missiles, but in largely contribut- ing of his private means towards furnishing the men who would use these same " castings." For one regiment alone -the 93d Pennsylvania-he expended over $10,000 to equip them. He has passed five years in the Legislature, including three years in the Senate, having been elected thereto, i.1 1857. He is also prominent as an agriculturist, having a large farm and one of the finest dairies in the State. Ile pays likewise great attention to the improve-
160
BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA.
ment of cattle, and is the owner of a large number. A | Michigan, and to travel for nearly three years. In 1865, herd of one hundred cows furnishes an ample supply of he established himself at Titusville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, where he took charge of an oil company, in- cidentally occupying himself with legal business. In Oc- tober, 1872, he was elected to represent the Twenty-ninth Senatorial District in the Constitutional Convention of the State in which he resides, and in that body has faithfully fulfilled the duties imposed upon him by his constituents. In politics, he was originally a Whig; but, by a natural transition, has since become a Republican, having been an active member of the latter party from its commencement. He is a man of scholarly tastes, devoting a great portion of his leisure to literary and scientific pursuits. In 1850. he was married to Mary Broughton. milk to the cheese factory which is in operation on the estate. He is likewise much interested in the manufacture of Bessemer steel, and is a large stockholder in the Penn- sylvania Steel Company. He is, furthermore, an able financier, and for some time past has filled the position of President of the First National Bank of Lebanon. In re- ligious matters he takes a deep interest, having been for many years a pious and devoted churchman. For the ex- press accommodation of his many work-people, he has erected a fine chapel on the estate. He has also, in Phila- delphia, donated the lot-formerly occupied by the house where he first saw light-together with a large sum of money, to St. Peter's Church. It is situated at the south- west corner of Front and Pine streets, and in the present year (1873) there has been erected a substantial three-story plain brick edifice, together with a commodious basement, which is called " St. Peter's House." The first floor is oc- cupied by a spacious hall, fitted up for the accommodation of the Guilds, and other religious and charitable societies belonging to the parish. A tablet on the wall attests to the munificent act of the donor, while a large memorial window of beautifully-stained glass at the eastern end serves to adorn the apartment. The upper rooms are in- tended for the accommodation of seamen and others who. may be under the care of the parish. He is a member of the Board of Charities of the State of Pennsylvania, and has been indefatigable in his labors in this capacity, seeking by every means in his power to secure satisfactory manage- ment in all the charitable institutions of the State. Be- sides this, he takes a prominent part in providing for the wants and attending to the comforts of the poor and in- sane. In every good work he is "ready to give, and glad to distribute." He was married, in 1852, to Miss Brown, of Philadelphia. and has a family of seven children living.
ROSKEY, HENRY, Merchant, was born in Phila- delphia, November 15th, 1815. Ifis father was a lumber merchant in prosperous circumstances, and when he died, in 1829, his son, though ouly fourteen years of age, succeeded to a very exten sive business. Although so young, yet he was peculiarly adapted to the position in which he was placed. He had always been fond of study, and his attainments, coupled with his disinclination to mingle in the sports of companions of his own age, led to his being familiarly known as " the old boy." Thus, when he found himself suddenly called forth into active life, he did not shrink from the responsibility, but took hold of business with a manful confidence and earnestness. He met with some re- verses at first, but these were mingled with and counter- balanced by successes in other quarters; and, in 1842, his keen business faculty enabled him to make a stroke which brought to him a signal triumph. He had long perceived that a proper division of labor had not yet been effected in the lumber business, the manufacturers not only felling the trees and preparing them for market, but disposing of them directly to the retail dealers, thus uniting in themselves the double character of manufacturer and wholesale merchant. He determined to change this, and initiated another divi- sion or branch of the business, not only conferring a great benefit to trade, but laying the foundation of his present success. His first wholesale operation was a cargo of lumber, which he sold on commission for Bernard Tay- lor, and the knowledge of the state of the market, which his devotion to his own particular branch of the trade en- abled him to obtain, caused him to effect a profitable sale. At other times he received a remunerating commission from similar transactions, and has continued this business for a long series of years. He has always manifested a re- spect and devotion to religious matters, and in 1857 was baptized and became a member of the Tabernacle Baptist Church, of which Dr. Brantley was pastor. He now holds
INOR, SAMUEL., Lawyer, was born in Wood- bury, Litchfield county, Connecticut, March 27th, 1823. This town was settled by his ancestors, and the deed of cession from the Indians was witnessed by one of them, John Minor, in 1659. IIis father, Matthew Minor, was a prominent lawyer and member of the State Senate of Connecticut. Ilis family was of English origin.' He himself received a liberal education at Yale College, where he graduated in 1844. Ile also entered the Yale Law School, and gradu- ated in that institution in 1847. After completing his studies, he travelled through the West, for about a year, and, in 1848, settled at Sandusky, Erie county, Ohio. Here he commenced the practice of law, which he con- tinued till 1861, when failing health, produced by over- work in his profession, induced him to remove to Detroit, | the offices of deacon and treasurer in the church of which
.
: Philadelphia,
Henry, Broskey
.
Lim. Bartholomew
2
161
BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.
the Rev. J. Wheaton Smith is pastor. In the latter position he has labored most indefatigably, manifesting great finan- cial abilities, and enjoying the highest confidence of the members of the congregation. The wealth he has acquired in business has been bountifully used in furthering the in- terests of religion, and there are few charitable schemes which, when laid before him, have not received the aid of his helping hand. His benevolence is, moreover, as quiet and unostentatious as it is considerable. He has labored earnestly in the cause of education ; has been for ten years a Trustee of the University of Lewisburg, and on several occasions has contributed to its fund. The great confi- dence that is placed in his ability, integrity and financial probity, has caused him to be selected as trustee of the fortunes of many persons in private life. IIe has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Consolidation Bank ever since its foundation; and for a long time was president of one of the city passenger railway companies. On his retirement from the latter position, he received, in token of the appreciation in which his valuable efforts were held by the company, a handsome silver service. He has always abstained from politics, and never sought any office.
ARTIIOLOMEW, LIN, Lawyer, was born at Brookville, Jefferson county, Pennsylvania. He is the third son of Benjamin Bartholomew, of Philadelphia, also a lawyer, who was a member of the State Legislature in 1846, representing the district of which Jefferson county was part, and afterwards District Attorney of Schuylkill county, to which place he had removed with his family. He is em- phatically an American and a Pennsylvanian. Ilis family, both on the paternal and maternal sides, at a period long antedating the Revolutionary war, became residents of the Colony of Pennsylvania. The Bartholomews claim a French Huguenot origin, whilst the Pretner, or maternal ancestry, were amongst those Swedes who disputed with the Holland Dutch of New York about colonial boundary lines, long before William Penn claimed his wide domain under the authority of the grant of an English king. Dur- ing the war of the Revolution, both by the immediate and collateral branches of the family, the cause of the Colonies was earnestly espoused. Benjamin Bartholomew the elder, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was in active ser- vice from the beginning to the end of the war, was a cap- lain of horse, was severely wounded at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and from the effect of wounds received at Germantown afterwards died. He was a member of the Order of Cincinnati, was on intimate terms with Washington, and had close friendly relations with Knox and De Kalb. Ilis grandson received a liberal education, mainly at the Pottsville Academy, then
under the charge of Elias Snyder, well-known throughout Eastern Pennsylvania. The celebrated Daniel Kirkwood was at that time one of the professors. As a boy, after leaving school, he engaged in active business as an em- ployer for a short time, but, under the advice of friends, and following the bent of his inclination, he commenced the study of law in the office of his father, and was admit- ted to the practice of his chosen profession in the several courts of Schuylkill county in the year 1857. By force of circumstances and education, he had connected himself with the Republican party in its inception, and very soon after his admission to the bar, by ability and inclination, he occupied a prominent position in county politics. He was an aspirant for the office of District Attorney in 1859, but failed to secure the nomination of his party. In 1860, however, he was nominated and elected a member of the lower branch of the Legislature, and served on the Com- mittee of Judiciary (General) and also Ways and Means during that critical juncture in the nation's history when South Carolina and sister States passed ordinances of Se- cession, when Fort Sumter was fired upon, and when the storm of civil war first burst upon the country. In 1861, he received the commission of Aide-de-Camp to Brigadier General Wynkoop, from Governor Curtin, and, in pursu- ance of his appointment, served in that position at York, Pennsylvania, and Cockeysville, Maryland. His commis- sion was annulled by the War Department under a general order revoking and restricting appointments of that nature by State authority. He was then appointed by the Secre- tary of War, General Cameron, to the prominent and re sponsible position of Private Secretary, and served in that capacity until some time after the first battle of Bull Run, when he resigned and returned to Pottsville to resume the practice of his profession. In September, 1862, he was at the battle of Antietam, and in 1863. when the State was invaded by the Confederate Army, under command of General Lee, he served in the 27th Regiment Pennsylvania Militia, Colonel J. G. Frick. Whilst not an aspirant for office, he has been for years an active politician of State reputation, has served as a delegate to a number of State conventions, and was, in 1868, a delegate at large from the State of Pennsylvania to the Chicago Convention, and there a supporter of General Grant for the Presidency of the United States. In October, 1872, he was elected one of the members at large to amend the Constitution of Pennsylvania, in which convention he served on the Ju- diciary Committee, and also as Chairman of the Committee on Schedules. He is well known throughout the State as . a political speaker and as a lawyer. He is possessed of a fine flow of language, good perceptive faculties, under- stands human nature, and has a keen sense of humor. He is forcible as a speaker, and sometimes rises to eloquence ; is a good debater, ready in argument, and quick at repartee. Although a general practitioner, his greatest forensic tri- umphs have been won in the criminal courts.
1
21
.
1
162
BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.
ROWN, FREDERICK, Pharmaceutist, was born peatedly solicited to act as President of the same, invariably refused, on account of other important and urgent business matters. He was one of the four founders of Laurel Hill Cemetery, and his name will long be associated with those who have beautified and adorned the city of his birth. Politically, he was an Old Line Whig, and on the breaking out of the great Rebellion, was foremost among his fellow citizens in sustaining the Government. His father died in 1815, when he was but nineteen years old; and from this time the care of his mother and of a younger sister devolved entirely upon him. In 1833, he married Charlotte Augusta Hoppin, of Providence, Rhode Island. His summer resi- dence was located in Burlington, New Jersey, where he had an ample opportunity to gratify his taste for horticul- ture. Ile died February 27th, 1864, leaving a widow, daughter and three sons, all of whom are still living. His eldest son, and the one bearing his father's name, has suc- ceeded to the large and prosperous business, having tho- roughly prepared himself by the usual studies pursued at the College of Pharmacy, to the success of which his father had contributed so largely. in the city of Philadelphia, March 12th, 1796. On his father's side he was of English descent, one of William Penn's followers being of that name, and the founder of the American branch of the family ; while his mother traced her line- age from a French family of the Reformed faith who fled first to Holland and thence to the New World, to escape the prevalent religious persecution. His early education was in schools under the care and patronage of members of the Society of Friends, of which he was likewise a mem- ber, and he continued to attend their meetings for some years after he attained his majority, when his interest in religious matters underwent a change, and he became con- nected with St. Andrew's Episcopal church, of which he was an attendant for over thirty-five years. When he had attained his sixteenth year, he was indentured as an appren- tice to learn the apothecary's art in the drug and prescrip- tion store of Charles Marshall, whose establishment was one of the most prominent in the city, having been founded by one of the same family long anterior to the Revolutionary war. It was located at (old) No. 56 Chestnut street, be- tween Second and Third streets, and was the frequent re- sort of many of the leading physicians and citizens of the day. His fellow-apprentices were young men of talent, who AGGART, COLONEL. DAVID, Lawyer, was born in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, May 28th, 1822. Ilis parents, John and Hannah Iluston Taggart, were of Scotch-Irish descent, their an- cestor having settled in Northumberland upwards of a century ago. His maternal grandfather, . Matthew Huston, was an officer in the army during the War of Independence, a member of the State Legislature, and for many years clerk of the State Senate. He himself commenced his education under the tuition of Rev. David Kirkpatrick, at Milton, Pennsylvania, and subsequently studied law in the office of Ebenezer Greenough, at Sun- bury, Pennsylvania, being admitted to the bar in 1843, after which he immediately entered upon the duties of his pro- fession in his native town. In early life he became much interested in political matters, associating himself with the Whig party, of which he became an active supporter, re- maining a member of it till its dissolution, when he joined the Republican ranks. From 1847 to 1859, he represented his party in many important conventions. In 1848, he was a delegate to the Whig National Convention, and during the presidential campaign of 1852 was Chairman of the Whig State Committee. In 1854, he was elected to the Senate of Pennsylvania, in a district composed of Dauphin and Northumberland counties, by a majority of 3000 votes ; his majority in his own county, then strongly Democratic, being over .1200. In 1856, he was elected a delegate to the National Republican Convention, and in the following year, by an almost unanimous vote, was made Speaker of the State Senate, defeating his Democratic competitor, the have since made themselves, as he likewise did, masters in their profession ; among them may be named Dillwyn Parrish and Charles Ellis. He remained for ten years in this establishment, and having obtained the confidence of his instructor during his years of tutelage, continued with him for some time after his apprenticeship had ended, and for a considerable space officiated as the chief manager of the business. On March Ist, 1822, he commenced on his own account in a store at the northeast corner of Chestnut and Fifth streets, where the business has been conducted ever since. The building which formerly occupied this site was familiarly known as the old " War Office," having been used by the War Department during the Presidencies of General Washington and the elder Adams, and is in the immediate vicinity of old Independence Hall, and the buildings then occupied by the two Houses of Congress when in session. Here he prosecuted his calling with di- ligence and fidelity. He was one of the first to adopt the modern method of conducting the business, and his estab- lishment always enjoyed a high reputation, which was in no small degree owing to his personal popularity with his patrons. He possessed more than an ordinary ability, and secured success and independence by uniting enterprise with cautiousness. He was one of the earliest members of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and took a warm interest in its useful and progressive career. In public life he was connected with the banking and other institutions, among the latter chiefly those of a benevolent character. For the period of twenty-six years he was one of the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Hospital, and although re -: Hon. William Wilkins. In this latter position he pre-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.