USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 40
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entered Harford Academy. He acted for some years as teacher and merchant's clerk ; but, finally, commenced the study of the law, at Berwick, and was admitted to the bar of Columbia county, in 1843. In 1844, he settled at Bloomsburg, where he still resides. He was appointed prose- cuting attorney of his native county in 1845, which office he retained till 1847. In 1850, he was sent to the State Senate, was re-elected in 1853, and again in 1857. Ile was appointed Commissioner for the exchange of the ratifi- cations of the treaty between the United States Government and that of Paraguay, and, in 1856, was elected a Senatorial Presidential Elector. IIe was chairman of the State Demo- cratic Committee in 1857, and in the same year received the appointment of Commissioner to revise the penal laws of the State of Pennsylvania. He resigned his positions as Senator and Commissioner, in 1858, having been appointed by President Buchanan resident-minister to Ecuador. He re- sided at Quito with his family for three years; but, on the breaking out of the Rebellion, in 1861, he returned to this country. Although a staunch Democrat, and remaining so during the whole of the war, he never evinced the slightest sympathy with the rebels. In 1863, he was elected to the United States Senate, by a bare majority of one vote, suc- ceeding the Hon. D. Wilmot, Republican ; his colleague in office during the first four years being the Hon. E. Cowan. At the expiration of his term, in 1869, he was succeeded by the Hon. John Scott. During his senatorial course he served on numerous committees ; such as that on Indian Affairs, Post-offices, Postroads, Foreign Relations, etc., etc., but was not a frequent speaker, believing the times too unsettled for the development of his favorite idea of " pro- portional representation." In his first notable speech, de- livered February 21st, 1865, on the Basis of Representation in Congress, he regretted that the affairs of the war should be allowed to absorb all other topics, interfering with matters of civil policy which demanded immediate atten- tion ; and, at the same time, strongly urged the necessity of restoring the Southern States to their representative rights. The whole tenor of his senatorial career was of a decidedly Democratic character. He was opposed to the granting of suffrage to the negroes in the District of Columbia, being undesirous of multiplying the votes of igno- rant persons, liable to improper influences. He steadfastly opposed the Civil Rights Bill, the Freedman's Bureau Bill and the Military Reconstruction Bill. In 1870, at the expi- ration of his term in the Senate, he was once more elected to the State Senate for three years, which terminate in 1873. He considered his position as State Senator a favorable one for bringing strongly before the public, through the Senate, his favorite doctrine of minority representation, and lost no opportunity of putting forward his views on the subject ; but, whether from indifference regarding this innovation or from the interest excited by party strife, he found few per- sons willing to listen to him, and still fewer ready to be
UCKALEW, CHARLES ROLLIN, Lawyer and Politician, was born in Columbia county, Penn- sylvania, December 28th, 1821. IIe is of French descent, his ancestors having been Huguenots, who fled to this country on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. His grandfather, John Bucka- lew, resided in Maryland, and as a miller furnished the Re- volutionary army with flour ; and his father, John M. Bucka- lew, was also engaged in business, being a millwright. He himself lived on a farm till the age of fifteen, when he convinced, but he persevered, and to some extent has been
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successful. In the session of 1870, the State Legislature showed its willingness to allow the experiment to be tried, by passing an act relative to the town of Bloomsburg, Co- lumbia county, in which he resides, defining its boundaries, completing its organization, and giving full scope to the principle of " cumulative voting," which it must be admitted has thus far proved successful. In 1871, he was chairman of the committee on Constitutional Revision and Reform. In 1872, he received the Democratie nomination for Gover- nor of his native State, but the election resulted in the re- turn of the Republican candidate. In the same year he was chosen a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, in the place of Colonel John G. Freeze, who resigned for that pur- pose, in November, 1872. IIe has fully identified himself with the labors of that Convention, not omitting to urge upon it his favorite theory. During the terms of the State Legislature of 1871 and 1872, he obtained the passage of. several bills embodying this principle, and has also fre- quently made public speeches on the subject. Throughout his political course he has steadfastly adhered to the principles of Democracy, laboring zealously and inde- fatigably in the cause; but, even in the State Senate, his bitterest enemies have never been able to accuse him of a single act of venality or corruption. His great native talent has been judiciously cultivated and his pleasing manners and oratorical power have rendered him universally popular. Ile was married, in 1549, to Parmelia Wadsworth, of Lu- zerne county, by whom he has had two children.
LEASANTS, GENERAL HENRY, Soldier and Civil Engineer, was born in Buenos Ayres, South America, February 17th, 1833. He is the son of John Pleasants, merchant, of Philadelphia. He arrived from South America in 1846, and entered the Philadelphia High School, where he graduated in 1851. Ile commenced the practice of railroad engineering with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and afterwards went into the service of the Collinsville Railroad Company. In 1857, he began to practise mining engineering in Potts- ville, and continued to follow that branch of the profession till 1861, when he entered the army, being mustered in on September 11th of that year for a term of three years' ser- vice. He was promoted from Captain of Company C, to be Lieutenant Colonel, September 20th, 1862. In June, 1864, he was commanding the Second Brigade of the Sec- ond Division of the Ninth Army Corps, then stationed in front of, Petersburg, and there he rendered a most efficient service, which became memorable in the annals of the war as the Petersburg Mine. As this was said by General Meade and Major Duane, Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac, to be the first work of the kind ever at- tempted, it is worthy of record. Opposite his position, the enemy had constructed a strong redoubt, which could not
[ be taken by assault without an enormous sacrifice of life. He conceived the idea of exploding a mine underneath this work; and, having obtained permission of General Burnside, commenced operations on June 25th, under the most unfavorable circumstances, being unprovided with the necessary tools and materials, which he had to improvise as he best could, and also against the convictions of all the officers of high rank (General Meade included), except those belonging to his own corps. He, nevertheless, per- severed, and, in spite of obstacles which would have dis- couraged a less determined man, completed the work by July 23d, and on the 27th commenced putting in the powder (four tons). The mine was fired on the 29th, pro- ducing results far beyond his expectations. 'For this service he received a letter of congratulation and thanks from General Meade himself. On October Ist, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and on December 18th, was mus- tered out. his, term of service having expired; but, on March 13th, 1865, he was advanced to the rank of Brevet Brigadier-General. On his return to Pottsville, he re- sumed the practice of his profession, and when the Phila- delphia and Reading Coal Company was formed, he accepted the position of Chief Engineer to the company, which office he still retains. His career, previous to the war, during its course and since its termination, has ex- hibited a more than ordinary talent and practical acquaint- ance with the details of his profession.
OOKE, LEVI, M. D., Physician, and Iron Manu- facturer, was born in East Nantmeal township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, July 22d, 1826. Hle is the son of James and Mary (Murray) Rooke, both of these being of English descent, and both members of families thoroughly iden- tified with the agricultural interests of the country. He enjoyed the best educational advantages the neighborhood afforded; he attended the grammar school of Benjamin Tucker, and subsequently the Unionville Academy, then presided over by John Gause. On leaving the latter insti- tution, he taught school for a period of two years, and then entered the office of Dr. Stephen M. Meredith, for the study of medicine. Afterwards he matriculated at the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, and attended the usual courses of lectures there. On the completion of his studies, he graduated in the spring of 1848 with the degree of M. D. For three years thereafter he practised his profession, but abandoned it and removed to Union county, Pennsylvania, where he commenced the manufac- ture of iron, at the " Berlin Iron Works," on Penn's creek, four miles west of Huntingdon. Later he entered into a partnership and erected a large anthracite furnace, known as the " Union Furnace," situated on the Susquehanna river, four miles below Lewisburg. As one of the
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proprietors, and also acting as superintendent, he has con- ducted these works for the past twenty years. He has also been engaged in the manufacture of iron in Snyder county, and has been interested at other points in similar works, as well as in the manufacture of lumber. His talents for inaugurating and conducting large establishments having become well known and recognized, he has been constantly solicited to undertake new enterprises. He has accordingly been chosen a director of the different companies in which he is pecuniarily interested : most of them incorporated banking companies. It may be said that he was the first to thoroughly inaugurate the iron business in both Union and Snyder counties ; for although many persons had at- tempted it, even so far baek as 1824, yet after a brief season of labor, during which disaster after disaster occurred, it would be abandoned, again and again, until at last no one could be found bold enough to hazard another attempt, until he appeared and carried out the enterprise success- fully. He is very popular among his employés, some of whom, if not a majority, it is believed, have been in his ser- vice for the long period of twenty years. As a practical iron- worker he stands deservedly high ; and was one of the first Pennsylvania iron-masters who undertook the immediate control of the working of an iron furnace. His long ex- perience and continued success as an iron founder gives to his opinions much force and weight, with those of his ac- quaintance who are engaged in the same undertaking. IIe is no politician, and has always declined office, but has ever been an active supporter of his party. He was originally a Whig, a warm advocate of a protective tariff, thoroughly opposed to slavery and the extension of its territory ; when, therefore, the former party was disintegrated his transition to the Republican views was an easy matter. In sustaining the principles of the latter, he has aided it materially with his purse and his personal efforts. In 1872, he was elected a Delegate to the. Convention called for the purpose of Amending the Constitution of the State. In this body he has been bold and progressive, advocating the most im- portant reforms of the day. Ile is a widower ; was married, in 1849, to Elizabeth II. Church, of Churchtown, Lancaster county, who recently died, leaving four children. She was a woman of most excellent judgment, and her husband attributes much of his success to her counsels and advice.
NDREWS, ALEXANDER J., Merchant, was born in Upper Oxford, Chester county, Penn sylvania, on May 9th, 1812. The place of his birth had been settled by Scotch and Scotch- Irish Presbyterians, and his parents, as well as his grand-parents on both sides, were of Scotch descent. Both grandfathers served with distinction at Brandywine, Chadd's Ford, Germantown and Trenton, during the Revolutionary struggle, and his father partici-
pated in the engagements near Baltimore during the War of 1812. He enjoyed the educational advantages of aca- demic institutions in Newark and Delaware as well as Dr. Magraw's Academy, near Rising Sun, Cecil county, Mary- land. After leaving school, he was for two years an assist- ant in a country store, and then for a like period served as clerk in the Henrietta Iron Works, in Northampton county, Pennsylvania. He removed to Philadelphia in 1832, and learned the engraving business, after which he went to Providence, Rhode Island, and engaged in business for him- self. Hle was married on June 5th, 1838, to Amelia D. Van Amringe, of Philadelphia. He enjoyed an unusually pros- perous career until he sold out, in 1847, and returned to Philadelphia, where he associated himself with an estab- lished machinist, and embarked in the manufacture of machinery and steam engines. This enterprise proved un- successful, owing to the betrayal of the trust he reposed in others, and having lost all his previous accumulations, he closed the concern, in 1851. In 1856, he commenced the grain business, at Thirty-first and Market streets, and since that time his course has been one of uninterrupted prosperity. In 1863, he built a larger establishment, on Market above Twenty-first, and continued there until 1868, when he sold that property and, in 1869, erected a capacious and con- venient warehouse and grain elevator for storage and mer- chandise purposes at the southwest corner of Thirtieth and Market streets. He then associated with him his only son, Frederick II. Andrews, under the firm name of Alexander J. Andrews & Son. Beside this son, he has two daughters, the elder of whom is married to Rev. II. Augustus Smith, pastor of the Presbyterian church Thirty-fifth and Bridge streets, West Philadelphia, of which he himself is a much esteemed elder. His striet integrity has won for him the confidence and appreciation of the business community, while his energy and executive ability have secured for him an ample store of material prosperity. Kind and courteous in manner, and benevolent in disposition, he is respected and esteemed by all who know him.
ODGE, II. LENOX, M. D., Physician and Sur- geon, was born July 30th, 1836, in Philadelphia. His ancestors settled in this country as early as 1730 ; his grandfather served in the army during the War of Independence, and his father was the well known physician Dr. Hugh L. Hodge, lately deceased, whose services during the cholera epidemic of 1832 are still remembered by many. His mother, Mar- garet E. Aspinwall, was of New York city. He received a collegiate education, which terminated in 1855, in his native city, and afterwards studied medicine at the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, where he graduated, in 185S. In the fall of the same year, he became Resident Physician of the Pennsylvania Hospital, retaining that office till the spring
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of 1860, when he began the practice of medicine in the | cess until 1868, when he returned to his native city. Here, house where he was born, at the corner of Ninth and Wal- nut streets. IIe was appointed Demonstrator of Surgery in the University of Pennsylvania, and, in 1861, commenced giving instruction to private classes, on Chestnut street, be- tween Ninth and .Tenth streets, and subsequently lectured, in Chant street, on Anatomy and Operative Surgery. In 1870, he was appointed Demonstrator of Anatomy in the University of Pennsylvania, and has been, for nearly ten years, Attending Surgeon at the Children's Hospital. At the opening of the Presbyterian Hospital, in 1872, he was appointed Attending Surgeon to that institution. He was married, in 1869, to Harriet Roosevelt Woolsey, of New York city. During the war of the Rebellion he did very active service on the medical staff. He served in the volun- teer call of surgeons attached to the Saterlee Hospital, at West Philadelphia, and also joined the Pennsylvania Re- serve Corps of Surgeons. He accompanied the Army of the Potomac at the time of General Mcclellan's advance on Richmond ; was engaged, professionally, in the campaign of Pennsylvania during the invasion of Lee, and was pre- sent at the battle of Gettysburg. He also served under General Grant, during his advance on Richmond, and was with the army at the battle of Fredericksburgh, besides doing good service on minor occasions. On his return from the war, he resumed his practice, in the house where he was born, in Philadelphia, with success, and is at present a member of many medical societies and associations in that city.
ICIIARDSON, JOSEPH G., M. D., Physician and Author, was born in Philadelphia, January Ioth, 1836. IIe is of English descent, his an- cestors immigrating in the time of William Penn, whose signature attached to an original grant of land is still in the possession of the family. At an early age he evinced a strong predilection for the medical profession, and laid a substantial foundation for a compre- hensive knowledge of its secrets by graduating with first honors at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, in 1857, and engaging for some years in the occupation of a pharma- ceutist. In 1862, he received the diploma of the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and was elected Resident Physician to the Pennsylvania Hospital, serving for several months as Acting Assistant-Surgeon, in charge of some of the first sick and wounded soldiers of the war of the Rebellion cared for in Philadelphia. The following year, in compliance with an urgent invitation, he entered upon the practice of his profession at Union Springs, Cayuga county, New York. In 1864, he married Mary Randolph, daughter of Oliver Parry, of Philadelphia. He soon acquired a large and lucrative country practice, the laborious duties of which he discharged with marked suc-
in the following year, he was elected Microscopist to the Pennsylvania Hospital, and Assistant Physician to the Episcopal Hospital. These distinctions were followed, in 1871, by his election as Lecturer on Pathological Anatomy in his Alma Mater, the University of Pennsylvania. His professional reputation rests principally upon his microsco- pical discoveries in regard to the salivary globules and the red and white corpuscles of the blood, particularly as con- cerned in inflammation, and as connected with the detection of blood stains in criminal trials; also upon his researches into the pathology of Bright's diseases, of which he has made a special study. He claims to have been the first to demonstrate, by actual personal experiment, the fact that minute fungi, analogous to those producing the potato rot and the vine blight, may when taken into the stomach pene- trate its minute veins, and be carried thence by the blood into every part of the human system. He has also advanced the doctrine that all hereditary and diathetic diseases are parts of the conservative workings of a grand law of nature, which he formulates as the Extinction of the Unfit ; this, if established, will doubtless lead to important results in modifying municipal or even national sanitary regulations. In authorship he has engaged a large portion of his time. His most considerable effort in this direction is his Hand- book of Medical Microscopy, published in 1871, which has been conceded standard rank. In addition, he has contri- buted numerous papers to scientific periodicals, commenc- ing with his Inaugural Thesis, which appeared in the Journal of Pharmacy, for 1857, and including various articles and reports in the Transactions of the National Medical Association, Pennsylvania Hospital Reports, Ame- rican Journal of the Medical Sciences, Philadelphia Medi- cal Times, New York Medical Record, and other journals.
ILAND, WILLIAM, Soldier of 1812, was born in Berks county, near Reading, August 19th, 1793. Ile is the son of Andrew Riland, a mil- ler. He was brought up on a farm, about twelve miles from Philadelphia, and, at the age of six- teen years, went to work at the trade of black- smithing, at Chestnut Hill. In 1812, he entered the army in the Thirty sixth Regiment of Pennsylvania, with the drafts from Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, commanded by Colonel Krickbaum and Captain William Richardson. His company acted as Coast Guard along the Delaware river. In 1814, on peace being proclaimed, he returned to Philadelphia and continued at his trade, till 1838, when he commenced farming, following that occupation till 1861. In that year he was appointed Collector of Taxes, and has been reappointed to the office for the last thirteen years. Ile now resides in Pottsville, and, at the advanced age of eighty years, is still hale and hearty, retaining all his facul-
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ties, both mental and physical, perfect and unimpaired. He performs the duties of his office, as collector of taxes, better than a younger man, as, being held in high esteem in con- sideration of his age and past history, the citizens flock to his office to save him physical labor. On the breaking out of the war with the South, though sixty-eight years old, the martial ardor still burned in his breast, and he did his utmost to participate in the struggle. After shaving his beard, he went to Harrisburg and offered himself as a recruit. Standing up straight as a ramrod, he sought to deceive the authorities ; but, to his grief and chagrin, was detected and dismissed. When Lee invaded Pennsylvania, however, he was permitted to serve in the Governor's body- guard at Harrisburg. He had three sons, James Munroe, Richard Rush, and William II., in the late war. Richard lost his life in his country's service, and his two brothers bear honorable and serious wounds. The fine old fellow talks with much feeling of his past life, and tears flow from his aged cyes when he speaks of his darling boys, especially of the one he has lost.
ALSTON, JAMES GRIER, D.D., L.L.D., Cler- gyman and Preceptor, the third son of Samuel Rabton, who married the daughter of John Grier, April 30th, IS11, was born December 28th, IS15, in Chester county, Pennsylvania. Ilis family originally came from Scotland, and his grand- father took an active part in the Revolutionary struggle, being a delegate to the Congress that met in 1774. IIe was also a member of the Provincial Council of Pennsylva- nia. Ilis great grandfather, on his mother's side, was from the north of Ireland; two of the sons, Nathan and James, were prominent Presbyterian ministers; another son, Joseph Grier, was a colonel in the War of 1812. John Grier, the grandfather of James Grier Ralston, was a farmer of wealth and sterling integrity ; he also had a son a clergyman, and another a physician. The family have always been Pres- byterians. After attending the schools of Chester county, he prepared for college at the New London Academy, and graduated with honors at Washington College in 1838. Ile then taught for two years in the " Grove Academy," at Steubenville, Ohio, beginning the study of Theology with John W. Scott, D.D., of Steubenville. From early youth his inclinations had drawn him to the ministerial profession ; and, having completed the full course at Princeton Theo- logical Seminary, he was licensed to preach by the Presby- tery of New Castle. IIe was at once commissioned by the Presbyterian Board of Domestic Missions a missionary to thẻ Winnebago Indians, then on their reservation in Wis- consin, but failing health prevented him from entering upon that duty. Being laid aside from the ministry, he became Principal of the Female Seminary at Oxford, Pennsylvania, and so continued for four years, meanwhile preaching as frequently as his health would permit. He was ordained an
evangelist in 1845; but being entirely disqualified, by hem- orrhage of the lungs, for the arduous duties of his chosen profession, he resolved to devote his life to teaching. He accordingly purchased a property at Norristown, Pennsyl- vania, the same year, and opened the Oakland Female In- stitute, which, in a few years, grew from a school of four pupils to one of about two hundred. To meet the demand for the accommodation of increasing patronage, he added year by year to the original building until it grew to its present handsome proportions. Nearly 2500 pupils have been educated in this school, many of whom completed the course, receiving the diploma and merit medal. . These graduates have represented every State in the Union, also Canada, South America, Cuba, Great Britain, Germany, and Greece. Thus the fame of " Oakland," with that of its able and conscientious proprietor, has become wide spread. IIe received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Lafayette College in 1865, and in 1868 Washington and Jefferson College gave him the degree of D.D. He is a member of many literary and scientific societies, and to him science is indebted for the discovery of a mineral among the cryolite of Greenland, which bears his name. Among his published literary efforts are numerous sermons, addresses, and jour- nalistic articles of a scientific nature. He has been a dili- gent student, and his research has brought to light many valuable hidden truths. His life has been one of singular usefulness in his peculiar field of labor and of devotion to the cause of science and general knowledge.
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