USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 50
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time. The goods made are chiefly all wool, Kentucky jeans and doeskins, while the material used is entirely new, no shoddy being allowed to enter the factory. In addition to the above-named conveniences, there is a wharf (built in 1855) with a fine frontage on the Delaware river, re- quired by the large amount of business transacted. He has prospered remarkably in this factory, and' on the Ist of January, 1857, he associated with himself two of his sons, James and Amos, who are members of the present firm of Benjamin Gartside & Sons. IIe has another son (John) who also carries on the weaving business at Chester, in a factory of his own. Since his residence in Chester he has been intimately connected with the interests of the city. He has been for six years Councilman of the borough, and has held many other positions of trust and honor in the city. He was an originator of the First National Bank of Chester, and has been one of its directors since its organiza- tion. He was also an originator of the Chester Rural Cemetery, and has ever been a promoter, by his liberality and influence, of every project calculated to be of benefit and to assist in building up the city of his adoption. IIe belongs to the Baptist Church, of which he is one of the foremost and oldest deacons. Though in his eightieth year, he is still hale, hearty, and well preserved, and seems as active in his business as in his younger days.
AGENMAN, JEREMIAH, Lawyer and Judge, was born at Phoenixville, Chester county, Penn- sylvania, February 6th, 1820. His parents were Jeremiah F. and Mary II. Hagenman. ITis pri- mary education was obtained at Phoenixville, and followed till he was sixteen years of age, when he became a school teacher, and continued so for a short time. IIe afterwards removed to Reading and attended the public schools, at that time much inferior to what they now are, being neither well conducted nor properly system- atized. At nineteen years of age, he left school and be- gan the study of law in the office of Peter Filbert, of Read- ing, occasionally teaching school during the intervals of his legal studies. In the spring of 1842 he was admitted to the bar, and in the following fall opened an office in Reading for the practice of his profession, which he con- tinued till 1850, when he was elected Prosecuting Attorney for the city and Berks county, an office to which he was re-elected in 1853. Ile subsequently declined holding that position for another term. Ile then resumed the regular duties of his profession, which from that time forward in- creased rapidly till 1869, when he was elected additional Law Judge of the Twenty-third Judicial District of Berks county. In politics, he belongs to the Democratic party, and his prominent position, together with his well-recog- nized ability and popularity, have frequently led to his being
requested to allow his name to be put forward for nomina- tion for many important public offices, but such honors he has constantly and steadily declined. He occupied for some time the responsible position of one of the counsel for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, where his legal acumen and research found a fitting field for their display. In the year 1850, he was married to Louise E. Boyer, of Reading. ITis career, while being profitable and honorable to himself, has been higlily beneficial to the community.
HOMSON, CHARLES, the " Perpetual Secre- tary " of the Continental Congress from 1774 to its dissolution, was a native of Ireland, where he was born in 1729, but came to America when but eleven years of age. His father died on the voyage, and he was thrown on his own resources. He was educated in Maryland, and was noted for his stu- diousness, having on one occasion walked the entire dis- tance from Thunder Hill, Maryland, to Philadelphia and back to procure a copy of the Spectator. Having finished his education he came to Philadelphia, and conducted an academy under the patronage of the Society of Friends. He was an ardent Republican, and was made Secretary of Congress in 1774. For the whole period of its existence he retained this position. Ile was the messenger selected by the first Congress under the Constitution to notify the Father of his Country of his nomination for President. He was one of the best classical scholars in the country. He made several translations of the Bible, and these he perfected from time to time. In person he was tall, well-proportioned, and of primitive simplicity of manners. ITis integrity was so great that the Indians called him " the Man of Truth." Ile died in 1824.
CMANUS, JOIIN, Iron Manufacturer, was born in September, 1808, in County Fermanagh, Ireland. Ile received a liberal education in his native county, the classical portion of which was ob- tained at Purtuna College. In 1827, he emi- grated to the United States and was soon after- wards engaged in business. His first step in this direction was his engagement as assistant in a store in Philadelphia, where he remained for a time. After leaving that employ- ment he sought occupation on the public works, making his first essay as a contractor on the Morris Canal, following that business till the year 1840. IIe subsequently removed to Reading, and, in 1842, purchased an interest in the Reading Iron Works in that city, where he has continued to reside till the present time. During his residence in Reading he has been conspicuously identified with the pub- lic interests of the city. He has frequently filled the office
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of bank director, evincing much talent and aptitude for business in that position, and has also served as director in the Kansas Pacific Railroad. In 1839, he was married to Caroline Seyfort, of Reading. In a business sense, he is a self-made man, having raised himself by his unaided exer- tions to his present. prominent position, and may be justly termed the architect of his own fortune.
above noticed. It was a most laborious undertaking owing to the difficulty of systematizing the language. The work proved very successful in a pecuniary point of view, and many copies have been sent abroad for examination by lin- guists, philologists, etc. In 1871, he was complimented by his alma mater with the degree of D. D. Early in 1873, he dissolved his pastoral connection with the First Church, which had much increased during his ministry, insomuch that it was deemed necessary that a second congregation should be formed. Placing himself at the head of this col- ony, he founded the St. Paul's Reformed Church of Read- ing, which was duly organized under his auspices. It has now a membership of over four hundred, and occupies one of the finest edifices in the city. He is a faithful pastor, an able editor, and an indefatigable worker. He commands much influence in his adopted city, and is beloved by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.
AUSMAN, BENJAMIN, D. D., Clergyman, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, January 24th, IS24. He is a son of John Bausman, a farmer in that county. IIe received his elementary education at several academies, and finally gra- duated at Marshall College. Having resolved to devote himself to the work of the Gospel ministry, he en- tered the Theological Seminary of the German Reformed Church, and after the usual course of study took his de- gree. IIe soon received a call to become the pastor of the First Reformed Church of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, which NABB, JACOB, Journalist, was born in Union township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, August 2Ist, 1817. ITis parents were Jacob and Hannah Knabb, of Oley township, in the same county. His early education was received in a school in his native place, and he afterwards commenced to learn the printing business in the office of George Getz, proprietor of a weekly paper called the Berks and Schuyl- kill Journal, where he remained until he was sixteen years of age. He then, for the purpose of completing his education, attended the Litiz school, in Lancaster county, at that time superintended by the celebrated John Beck. Here he made great progress in his studies; but left the establishment to enter Lafayette College, at Easton, Penn- sylvania, where he finished his collegiate course. His next step was to undertake the publication of the Reading Gazette, in 1840, and after conducting that enterprise for about three years he removed to Harrisburg, in 1844, during the memorable " Clay campaign." While in the latter city, he started a political journal called the Clay Bugle, which he continued for some time. On the Ist of January, 1845, he returned to Reading to take charge of the Berks and Schuylkill Journal (at that time a nine-column paper), editing the same with remarkable skill and ability. In the years 1868-'69, he became proprietor of the Reading Times, which was published under that name for one year, when he increased it by the addition of the Dispatch, combining the two under the title of the Reading Times and Dispatch. Although his time was much engrossed by the responsibili- ties pertaining to the before-mentioned journals, he was able, nevertheless, to attend to his other duties as a citizen, and has filled several public offices of trust and honor. IIe was Postmaster under President Lincoln, and Delegate to he accepted, and, in 1853, was formally installed in that office. During the years 1856 and 1857, he made a tour through Europe, in addition to which he visited the Holy Land and other Eastern countries. On his return home he wrote Sinai and Zion-published by Lindsay & Blakis- ton-which gives a more popular idea respecting those points of interest to Christian and Jewish readers than is to be found in Robinson's Biblical Researches in Palestine, which is principally of a scientific character. Dr. Baus- man's work has passed through several editions, and another is in course of preparation. In 1858, he was appointed one of the editors of the Reform Messenger, and, in 1859, was pro- moted to the post of editor-in-chief, which chair he filled for two years. In 1861, he was called to the pastorate of the First Reformed Church of Chambersburg, where he remained until he received, in the month of November, 1863, an invitation to become the pastor of the First Reformed Church of Read- ing, Pennsylvania, in which he was settled for over eight years. In January, 1857, he became editor of the Guardian, a monthly magazine published in the interest of the young. About this time, also, finding that the German population in Berks county was almost entirely destitute of religious reading, owing to their inability to understand the English language, he started, edited, and still continues to publish the Reformirte Hausfreund, which has been quite success- ful and effective in its purpose. IIe thus supplied an im- portant want for the benefit and religious welfare of those who' were acquainted only with their native dialect. In IS70, he edited and prepared for the press a volume of poems entitled Harbaugh Harp. This was purely an ex- perimental work, the poems being written, in what is known as the peculiar dialect of the Pennsylvania Germans ; and was designed to meet the same exigencies as the paper the Chicago Convention of 1860, at which the latter was
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nominated for the presidency. He is a Director in the Reading Library Company, etc. In politics, he was a firm Whig till that party was merged into the Republican, when he united with the latter, and has since been a consistent supporter of its principles. Earnest in the advocacy of his political tenets, and indefatigable in the discharge of his editorial duties, he has been a useful and valuable member of the society he lives in. He was married, in 1846, to Ellen C. Andrews, of Reading.
ALE, EDWARD C., was born in Philadelphia, February 21st, ISO1. He was a son of Com- modore Richard Dale, of Revolutionary fame. During his life time he held several offices of trust and honor both from the hands of his fellow citizens, from private corporations, and the Na- tional Government. For some time he filled the office of President of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad Company ; presided for a long period over the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad Com- pany ; and was also Vice-President of the Franklin Fire Insurance Company. In 1847, he was elected Prothono- tary of the District Court, having been nominated to thất office by the old Whig party, to whose fortunes he had long adhered. During the Fillmore administration he was nomi- nated and confirmed by the Senate as Director of the United States Mint in Philadelphia, where he introduced many innovations so valuable that they were retained for many years after his retirement. He was one of the Inspectors of the County Prison, visiting it frequently with the sole object of ameliorating the condition of the inmates. He died December 18th, 1866, leaving a widow, a son and a daughter, the son inheriting a membership in the " Cincin- nati of Pennsylvania," of which Commodore Dale was one of the original members.
duated at the Princeton College, and subsequently studied theology at the Theological Seminary, where he also gra- duated in the year 1838. He was licensed to. preach by the Presbytery of New York in the same year, and eventu- ally moved to Reading, where he settled in 1846. There he received a call from the First Presbyterian Church, and accepting the responsibility became its pastor. For more than twenty-five years he occupied the position of minister in the same church, whose congregation largely increased and developed under his fostering care. When he entered upon the duties of his charge the congregation numbered only 160 members ; but during his pastorship he admitted upwards of 500 new members to the church. Ile died March 25th, 1872, universally esteemed and regretted by his flock, leaving a void among them not easily filled. Hle was ever a firm advocate of the principles of peace, and steadily deprecated disputes and contentions arising from whatever source. As a minister, he was not only beloved by his own congregation, but was remarkably and deservedly popular with other denominations.
RAMER, SAMUEL, Merchant, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, October 3d, ISTO. He is a son of Henry Kramer, and his paternal grand- father also bore the same name. He was edu- cated in Robeson, Berks county. When seven- teen years of age, he was engaged by his brother to assist him in the Windsor Furnace at Hamburg, Penn- sylvania, and also in the store which was attached to the same. While at this place he learned moulding. In 1829, he removed to Chester county, and effected an engagement with the proprietors of the Warwick Furnace in the capa- city of moulder. In IS32, he purchased a little store by means of the savings he had made, and went into business for himself. By the practice of the severest economy and untiring industry he throve apace. For a period of four years he remained at this point, and then sold his establish- ment and removed, in 1836, to Phoenixville, where he pur- chased a house and lot with eight acres of land, and again engaged in the store business. At first he was in partner- ship with Mr. Yeager, and afterwards with Mr. Nyse. In 1844, he disposed of his interests in the concern and re- moved to Philadelphia, where he remained for about a year. Finally, in 1847, he purchased his present business location, and as far as residence is concerned has remained station- ary. From a very small beginning he has gradually but surely increased until now he commands a very extended line of business. He is no politician, although he takes a deep interest in whatever promotes the success of the right. During the War of the Rebellion he contributed free'y to the cause of the Union. He has served as member of the
ICHARDS, ELIAS JONES, Clergyman, was born January 14th, 1813, in the Valley of the Dee, in the west of England, not many miles from the town of Llangollen, in Wales. He was the son of Ilugh and Jane Ellis Jones Richards. In early · life he emigrated to the United States, and re- ceived his primary education in New York city. He after. wards entered the Bloomfield Academy, at Bloomfield, New Jersey, where he studied for about two years, and then, in 1831, removed to the Princeton College, New Jersey. Here, while yet an undergraduate, he was offered the choice of his life's work. He had the option of either adopting 'a mercantile career or of studying for the legal or minis- terial profession. His inclination and qualifications, fortu- nately, led him to adopt the last-named. in 1831, he gra- | Council of the borough during several terms. From 1857
Samuel, Poneamery
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to 1861, he was one of the Board of Directors of the Ches- ter County Bank. He was a Corporator, and a Director of the Phoenixville National Bank ; a projector, and now a Direc- tor of the Morris Cemetery. Although frequently solicited to accept public office, he has ever refused, believing that his proper sphere is in attending to his mercantile concerns. In this he is very strict, conscientious and just; besides being remarkably prompt in all his payments. He is en- tirely opposed to the credit system, and invariably purchases for cash, believing that the safest plan to pursue. He there- fore stands high in the estimation of his fellow citizens, and is noted not only for his strict integrity in business matters, but also for his liberality to the poor, his generosity and benevolence towards charitable objects. Ile has also done much towards the improvement of the town. He was married first, in 1831, to Keturah Oliver, of Berks county, who died leaving two children, one of whom is now asso- ciated with him in the store, and a daughter at present the wife of J. B. Pennypacker. His second wife, to whom he was united in 1835, was Asenath Oliver, sister of the first ; she has also died, leaving six children now living, one of whom, James M. Kramer, is an Engineer in the Philadel- phia Water Department, a very able and respected man. Ilis youngest son is also interested with him in the store.
INTZER, BREVET BRIGADIER-GENERAL WILLIAM M., Soldier and Engineer, was born in Pottstown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, June 7th, 1837. He is the son of Henry and Rebecca Mintzer, of the same place. Ile was engaged on a farm until twenty-one years of age, when he entered a machine shop, in Pottstown, where he served an apprenticeship of four years. At the expiration of this term, and soon after the commencement of the civil war, he joined the army, enlisting as a private in the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment. After the retirement of that regi- ment he entered the 53rd Pennsylvania Regiment, as First Lieutenant of Company A, and was shortly promoted to be captain of the same. On the 2nd of June, 1862, he was raised to the rank of Major, and on September 29th, 1864, received his commission as Lieutenant-Colonel. He served with his regiment during the whole of the war, principally in the State of Virginia, and was slightly wounded at the battle of Frederick ; but not sufficiently to oblige him to leave the field. At the battle of Five Forks, near Petersburg, his regiment was hotly engaged with the enemy, and he was temporarily placed in command of a detachment, which he handled so skilfully that his conduct attracted the notice of his superiors and gained for him the rank of Brevet Brigadier-General, for meritorious actions on that and other occasions. On the 20th of June, 1865, he, with his regiment, was mustered out of service, when he
returned home. He was married, February 5th, 1863, to Amelia Weam; and, in May, 1869, was appointed l'ost- master at Pottstown, being re-appointed to the same office, March 12th, 1873. He continues to retain this position, which he has filled since the commencement, whh satisfac- tion to all.
ACHIE, FRANKLIN, Physician and Scientist, great grandson of Benjamin Franklin, was born in Philadelphia, October 25th, 1792. He received his education at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1810. Ile shortly after entered the United States army as Surgeon's mate, and in 1814 was commissioned full Surgeon. Two years later he resigned, and settled in Philadelphia, where he speedily gained a large and lucrative practice. He at different times filled the positions of Physician to the Wal- nut Street Prison; Professor of Chemistry in the Franklin Institute; Physician to the Eastern Penitentiary; Professor of Chemistry in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and Professor of Chemistry in Jefferson Medical College. Ile . was also for several years the President of the American Philosophical Society. IIe wrote and edited a number of very valuable works on medicine, chemistry, prison disci- pline; and was a frequent and highly esteemed contributor to various periodicals. In connection with Dr. George B. Wood, he prepared The Dispensary of the United States, the first edition of which was issued in 1833, and superin- tended the publication of the subsequent editions. He also aided in revising the different editions of The United States Pharmacopoia. He died in 1864.
IMPSON, REV. MATHEW, Bishop of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, was born June 21st, 1811, in Cadiz, Ohio. . He is the son of James and Sarah (Tingley) Simpson; the former being a merchant, in that town, of noted activity and ability. Ilis primary education was received at Cadiz, where he studied the classics. He afterwards entered Madison College, Pennsylvania; but subsequently changed to Allegheny College, in the same State, where he graduated and received the degree of A. M. He also studied medicine, and graduated at Cadiz, in 1833. In the same year, being then twenty-two years of age, he went into the ministry and joined the Pittsburgh Conference. In IS35, he was ordained Deacon, and Elder in 1837, being also appointed, in the latter year, Professor of Natural Sciences and Vice-President of the Allegheny College, serving for two years in the latter capacity. He was elected President of the Indiana Asbury University, in 1839, and fulfilled the duties of that office till 1848, when he became
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editor of the Western Christian Advocate, in Cincinnati. He was elected Bishop, in 1852, and received the degree of D. D. at the Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Con- necticut ; and subsequently, that of L.L. D. in the same institution, in the year 1871. He was stationed in the city of Pittsburgh, from July 1834 to July 1836, and during his residence there was married (in November, 1835) to Ellen II. Verner of that city. During the war of the Rebellion he was sent for by the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, then Secre- tary of War, for the purpose of conferring with him respect- ing the Freedmen in the Southern States; the Secretary desiring that he should accept a commission to visit the Freedmen, and to devise a plan for their education and ele- vation. This offer he was under the necessity of declining, as the duties connected with the church fully occupied his time, and demanded his closest attention. He has earned a well merited reputation, as an orator, being especially noted for the chaste and elegant language which he has at his command. Ile was a delegate to the Evangelical Alli- ance, which met in New York in October, 1873, and has throughout his life been distinguished for his broad and liberal views; also for his labors for the promotion of Christian unity.
IIITAKER, WILLIAM,. Manufacturer, was born at Cedar Grove, Twenty-third ward of Philadel- phia, on August 12th, 1813.' His parents emi- grated from England to this country in the year 1810, and eventually settled at Cedar Grove in IS13. This settlement, as it then might have been aptly termed, though situated at the short distance of six miles from the centre of the city, was virtually as far removed as is New York at the present day. It was, in fact, an isolated place, and still contrives to retain a portion of its solitary character. Ilis education was obtained in the neighborhood of his home, with the exception of about six months, passed in Burlington, New Jersey, where he at- tended school. At eight years of age he entered the cotton factory of his grandfather, Henry Whitaker, continuing his studies for several years subsequently. From that time to the present his business life has been identified with the scenes of his childhood. After conducting this business for a number of years, his grandfather disposed of it to one of his sons, an unele of the lad's, and the new proprietor con- tinued to carry on the concern till the time of his death. On the occurrence of this event another uncle took posses- sion of the premises, having rented them from the surviving daughter of his deceased brother, who was at that time a minor; but who, on attaining her majority, sold the property to the present owner. When the latter entered upon the business, it was comparatively small; but, since that time, hats continually developed itself and increased so as to necessitate successive enlargements of the original premises
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