USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 52
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Upland on the 19th of May following, but retained posses-
sion of West Branch and Crozerville. In April of the same year he had erected a temporary building at Upland for Church and Sunday school purposes, and in November 1850, completed an academy at Chester at a cost of $15,000, besides responding liberally to the calls from the University at Lewisburg. In January, 1851, he resolved to erect a
church edifice at Upland, and the building was commenced in April of that year. It was completed at his own expense, and dedicated March 28th, 1852. It was " consti- tuted " October 9th, 1852, and he was elected deacon thereof on November 6th of the same year. In February, 1853, he again responded liberally to the call for aid from Lewis- burg, and secured a large sum in addition to his own mu- nificent contribution, for its endowment. In July, 1856, he offered to endow it in the further sum of $50,000, providing it should be removed to the vicinity of Philadelphia, but his offer was declined. In 1857, he commenced the erec- tion of a Normal School at Upland, which was completed
in 1858, at a cost of $45,000, and opened in the following September. He had been made Vice-President of the Pennsylvania Baptist Education Society in 1852, and its President in 1855. During his connection with it, he endowed seven scholarships of $1500 each ; besides con-
tributing liberally to the general fund. He succeeded
Bishop Potter as the President of the Pennsylvania Train-
ing School for Feeble-minded Children, to which he had contributed over $10,000. He was also President of the Home for Friendless Children ; of the Women's Hospital of Philadelphia; of the Pennsylvania Colonization Society ;
of the American Baptist Publication Society ; and an officer and generous supporter of various other benevolent institu- tions, besides contributing largely to the American Sunday School Union (and one of the board of managers), Asylum for the Insane, Bible Societies, Tract Societies, etc. In
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1861, he enlarged the church at Upland, at an expense of $Sooo; and during the hour of the nation's peril, gave it sympathy and aid, investing largely in the national loans; converting the spacious edifice erected for a Normal School into a United States Army Hospital; and assisting to raise troops. In November, 1861, in company with George II. Stuart of Philadelphia, he represented that city at the first meeting of the Christian Commission in New York, and from September, 1862, to its final dissolution, in June, 1866, he was a working member of its executive com- mittee. Ilis contributions to the Union cause amounted to $20,000. In connection with the American Baptist Publi- cation Society he established by a donation of $10,000 a fund known as the John P. Crozer Sunday School Library Fund for the assistance of indigent Sunday Schools. Hle also contributed $5000 to the same society, to aid pas- tors of feeble churches, to secure necessary theological books. In April, 1866, his wife and children placed in the same hands the sum of $50,000, known as the John P. Crozer Missionary Memorial Fund, the income of which is to be devoted to the improvement of the religious condition of the colored people. In July, 1865, he contributed $20,000 to the University at Lewisburg, as his portion of the endowment of $100,000, which he had proposed to raise. With several members of his family, he started, February Ist, 1866, on a tour through the South and Southwest, but was obliged to return from Petersburg, Virginia, and gradu- ally sank until his death, on March 11th, 1866. For nearly forty years he had been superintendent of a Sunday school, and his loss was deeply mourned by his family, friends, and the whole Christian community. The incidents of his life afford noble illustrations of the power for good eman- ating from a liberal heart and consecrated wealth ; and one of the most fitting monuments erected to the memory of this great and good man was the donation by his family, November 2d, 1866, of the munificent sum of $275,000 (including the value of the property erected for a Normal School, and then occupied by the Pennsylvania Military Academy), for the establishment and endowment of the Crozer Theological Seminary at Upland, to which have since been added large sums by the same family. He was married, March 12th, 1825, to Sallie L. Knowles, who sur- vives him, with a family of seven children.
with a view to a professional career, but, at his death, his widow and nine children being left with an estate greatly embarrassed, it became encumbent on the eldest son to relinquish this hope and devote himself to business. As there was a fine site for a paper mill on the stream which gave the name to the family place, the choice was soon made, and Samuel was apprenticed to a paper maker. Here, while faithfully performing his duties, he neglected no opportunity of pursuing his studies, especially in mathe- matics. At the age of twenty-one he took possession of the family estate, assuming, as was the custom, the payment of the shares of his brothers and sisters. He built the pro- posed paper mill from his own designs, and was shortly after married to Rebecca Dodd of Bloomfield, New Jersey. IIe early began to take an active part in politics on the Democratie-Republican, as opposed to the Federalist, side, and in 1805 was elected to the State Legislature. He was returned for the two following years, declining a re-election. After the declaration of war, in 1812, he was elected to Congress, taking his seat at the May session of 1813, and was again elected in 1814 and 1816. During his second and third terms he was chairman of the Post-Office Commit- tee and a member of the Committee of Ways and Means. At this time, the finances of the country being greatly deranged in consequence of the war, the labors of the latter committee were most severe. It was proposed by many of the members to create legal tender notes. This he successfully opposed, and carried through the committee a substitute, which Congress adopted, providing for the issue of treasury notes not bearing interest, but fundable in small amounts at such a rate of interest as would withdraw from circulation the redundant issues. The restoration of peace prevented a full trial of this scheme, but so far as tried it was successful, the treasury notes fundable at seven per cent. circulating more freely than those bearing interest. In 1818, he resigned his seat on account of his wife's illness, and accepted the position of Prothonotary of his native county, which he held till after her death in 1819. In Oc- tober, 1819, he was appointed, by Governor William Find- lay, Secretary of the Commonwealth. In 1822, he married Debora Kay Hall, of Salem, New Jersey; and in the same year was again elected to Congress. Ile resumed his place on the Committee of Ways and Means, and at the head of the Post-Office Committee, and held them in each succes- sive Congress until the close of the session of 1829, when he became Secretary of the Treasury under President Andrew Jackson. During his long Congressional service he ranked among the business men of the House, and his strength was in the laborious sphere of the committee rather than as a debater on the floor. His work was of the kind which tells rather than shows, and while he was the ac- knowledged peer of the able men with whom he lived, little trace of his influence appears among the reports of
NGHAM, HON. SAMUEL DELUSENNA, was born, September 16th, 1779, at Great Spring, in Solebury township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. Ile was the eldest son of Dr. Jonathan Ingham, a physician of eminence in the county, who died October 7th, 1793, of yellow fever contracted in attending, as a volunteer, upon the sick in Philadelphia during the dreadful pestilence of that year. The Doctor, an accomplished linguist, had directed his son's studies the Congressional Debates. In 1831, the Cabinet was
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broken up by the resignation of all its members. The [ and 1869, and at the adjournment of the latter session was reasons for this step were not made public at the time, but elected Speaker, and re-elected at the opening of the ses- sion of 1870. He exercised the functions of that office with dignity and general acceptance, leaving a worthy record of his short public carcer. He declined the posi- tion of Additional Law Judge of the Courts of Bucks and Montgomery counties, tendered him by Governor John W. Geary in 1871. He was one of the originators of the First National Bank of Norristown, and has been its solicitor since its organization in 1864. He is active, public-spirited, diligent in the practice of his profession, and has been in- strumental in securing the passage of many beneficial local measures. now it is known to have been caused partly by the inter- ference of the President in a question of social etiquette between the families of some of its members, and partly from his hostility to the friends of John C. Calhoun, then the Vice-President, and his most formidable rival for the succession. After this he retired from public life and de- voted himself to the retrieval of his affairs, which had suf- fered greatly from neglect. He took an active interest in the internal improvements undertaken by the State, and was one of the first to perceive the value of the coal fields of the Lehigh. He was among the originators of the Beaver Meadow and Hazleton Coal Companies, and to his energy and perseverance under difficulties much of the success of those corporations is due. In 1849, he sold the estate, which had been for 120 years in the family, and re- moved to Trenton, New Jersey. He died on June 5th, 1860, surrounded by his family, and in the enjoyment of the respect and esteem of all who knew him, Ile was buried in the churchyard of the Solebury Presbyterian church.
TINSON, HON. CHARLES HENDERSON, Lawyer, was born in Norritton township, Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania, June 28th, 1825. His father, Robert Stinson, was an excellent man, and a member of the Legislature, on the anti-masonic ticket, in 1835. Ilis mother was Elizabeth Porter, daughter of Stephen Porter, and niece of General Andrew Porter, of Norritton township. Ilis education was commenced in the common schools, but, about the beginning of 1840, he entered the select school of John McNair, at Abington, where he prepared for the freshman class in Dickinson College. Thence he gradu- ated with high honor in 1845. Having travelled for a few months for the benefit of his health, in the winter of 1845-'46 he became a private tutor, and devoted himself to the preparation of pupils for college. He commenced the study of law with his brother, George W. Stinson, of Nor- ristown, Pennsylvania, in the autumn of 1847, and con- tinued with him until his death in 1848, when he pursued his studies under the direction of Addison May. IIe was admitted to the bar May 220, 1849, and has since been en- gaged in practice at the Montgomery county bar. IIe served as a private in the Gettysburg campaign in 1863, and was an ardent supporter of the Union cause thoughout the war. He refused the nomination of the Republican party of Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware counties for the State Senate in 1864, but in 1867 was induced to accept, and was elected for three years as the colleague of Dr. Worthington of West Chester. Ile served on the General Judiciary and other important committees in 1868 | refitted, greatly enlarging their capacity, and largely aug-
TKINS, CHARLES MINER, Manufacturer, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1827. Ilis father, William Atkins, of the same place, was a miller. After obtaining his education in the common schools of the district, he served an apprenticeship, of two and a half years, to the tanning trade. On the conclusion of his term he was placed in his father's transportation office, at Columbia, in which position he remained for about six years, and gained, during that time, the severe mercantile training which served him so well in after life. . In this place were raised many of the railroad magnates of the country, who were all engaged, sooner or later, by the Napoleon of railroads, J. E. Thom- son. The transportation office having been abolished by the progress of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, the employés of the concern were under the necessity of apply- ing to the company for positions, or of seeking new fields of labor. Charles M. Atkins, preferring the latter course, moved to Pottsville in 1853, and in connection with his two brothers, purchased the property now known as the Pioneer Blast Furnace. The firm was originally composed of Han- son . E. Atkins, Charles M. Atkins, and William Way Atkins. The senior member was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1820, and died at l'ottsville, in 1870. In early life he had been engaged in the transportation busi- ness between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but, for the eighteen years preceding his death, was an active member of the above-named firm. The junior partner was also born in Chester county, in 1829, and died in 1863 at Dun- cannon, Perry county, where he had the management of the works operated by the firm. At the time of the purchase of the Iron Works at Pottsville, the business carried on there was comparatively small, but, by the able manage- ment of the firm, it rapidly increased, requiring successive and important additions to the premises, which enabled them to turn out annually from this establishment a product of nearly a million of dollars. About 1864, the firm bought the Pottsville Rolling Mills, which they rebuilt and
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menting their business. These extensive operations did | Henlopen, whence he made his way to Philadelphia, and not, however, satisfy the activity of the firm, who bought, the " Lexington " having been retaken by the crew, was again attached to her. He was taken prisoner several times after this, but always managed to make his escape; once by donning the full uniform of a British officer and boldly walking out of prison, the sentinel on duty not recognizing the captive. He proceeded to London, where he succeeded in obtaining a passport for L'Orient, where he joined, as master's mate, the celebrated John Paul Jones, who, after a three months' thorough acquaintance with him, promoted him to the rank of first lieutenant. He was his executive officer on the " Bon Homme Richard " in the celebrated engagement with the " Serapis " frigate, and to his skill and prowess the victory was in no small degree due. In July, 17SI, he sailed from Philadelphia in the " Trumbull " frigate, which had the misfortune to be taken by a superior vessel a few days after. He was severely wounded in this encounter, and was liberated on parole ; towards the close of the year he was exchanged and returned to Philadelphia. After the termination of the war, he returned to the mer- chant service. In 1791, he married a lady of Philadelphia, named Crathome. In 1794, he was selected by President Washington as one of the six captains of the Navy. Ob- taining a furlough, he again returned to the merchant ser- vice. In ISoI, he commanded the squadron of observa- tion in the Mediterranean, and by his care and vigilance effected the dispersion of the Tripolitan piratical fleet. Ile was an eminently pious man, and a member of the Protes- tant Episcopal Church. Ile was also interested in religious efforts for seamen ; and had a large sail-loft fitted up as a chapel, known familiarly as " Dale's Chapel." He died February 24th, 1826. in conjunction with some other parties, the Montgomery Furnace at Port Kennedy, in 1861, which, under their skilful management, was raised from a financial failure to a prosperous and profitable undertaking. The firm of Atkins Brothers eventually sold out their interest to the other partners. In 1854, C. M. Atkins was married to a daughter of the Rev. Mr. Prior of Pottsville, the marriage resulting in a large family. He has eight children still living, one son, William, having just commenced his busi- ness life in his father's office. Since the death of his brothers, Charles M. Atkins has had the sole management of all the business of the firm, and it is no flattery to say that so vast a responsibility would severely tax the powers of the most competent man. He has always taken a lively interest in political matters, and, though his father was a Democrat and a member of the Society of Friends, he heartily embraced the Republican cause, at the outbreak of the Rebellion, and did as much as any other man in the locality for the maintenance of the Union. Ile aided in raising and organizing troops from the county, giving much time and money for that purpose ; equipped and sent out a number of young men, and made ample provision for all the families of soldiers in his employ, keeping their situa- tions open for them on their return from the war. Ile has never allowed himself to enter into outside speculations, strictly confining his energies to his legitimate business, which has engrossed all his time and attention. He is one of the most successful and leading men of the region he inhabits. He obtains his coal and iron from his own mines, and is probably the largest individual proprietor in the State. The annual toll he pays to the Reading Rail- road amounts to about $200,000, and the total product of his two establishments in Pottsville may be set down at about $2,550,000. He is a worthy and liberal citizen, a tender and affectionate parent, a kind and considerate em- ployer.
CILVAIN, WILLIAM, Manufacturer, was born in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, July Ist, 1807. Ile is a son of James Mellvain, a prominent agriculturist of. that section, who also paid parti- cular attention to the improvement of the breed of cattle, especially sheep. He was among the carliest and largest importers of the celebrated Merino sheep, paying sometimes as high a price as $500 for the male, and $200 for the female; but he was far in advance of his times. His son was educated at the schools of the neighborhood, and worked on his father's farm until he had attained his majority, when he changed his occupation, and commenced working in a quarry, in a locality not far dis- tant from his home. In 1836, he went to Berks county, and there effected an engagement as superintendent of an iron-ore mine, which occupied his attention for ten years. In 1846, he purchased an interest in the Gibraltar Iron Works, belonging to Simon Seyfert, the business being car- ried on in the name and style of Seyfert, Mellvain & Co.
ALE, RICHARD, Commodore United States Navy, was born in Norfolk county, Virginia, November 6th, 1756. When but twelve years old he went to sea, and continued in the mer- chant service until the Revolutionary War. In 1776, he was lieutenant of a ship of war belong- ing to Virginia ; but shortly afterwards, while on public duty in a small craft, was captured by the British, and im- prisoned. Regaining his liberty in a few weeks, he was created a midshipman in the United States Navy, and or- dered to the brig " Lexington," Captain Barry. In De- cember, 1776, this vessel was captured by the frigate " Liver- pool," and, with a few others, he was removed from the vessel, and subsequently landed by the British at Cape | He remained in this partnership for ten years, when he dis-
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posed of his interest to HI. A. Seyfert. In 1856, he com- menced the erection of the present establishment of Wil- liam Mellvain & Sons, designed as a Rolling Mill for the manufacture of boiler plate. It has very materially in- creased since its original construction. It went into opera- tion in July, 1857, with a force of about twenty men, and it produced, during the first year of its existence, 338 tons, valued at about $38,000. In April, 1862, they commenced working " double-turn," by which the increase in the amount produced was very perceptible. The average quantity manfactured during the first period of five years, July 1857 to July 1862, inclusive, was very nearly Soo tons per annum. During the period embraced between July 1862 and July 1867, the average was a little exceeding 2240 tons; and during the five years ending July, IS72, though it had not quite reached the last named figures, yet the amount turned out in the year ending with July, 1872, reached 2764 tons. The works employ at present a force of over 100 hands, and the value of the products may be stated roundly at about $700,000. They have the capacity of rolling sheets seventy-four inches wide, and from the thickness of one inch down to No. 16 wire gauge. In the year 1864 he erected a forge in the Susquehanna Valley at Duncannon, which still continues in active operation, and is employed in producing the best boiler iron, used in locomo- tives. He is no politician, and though frequently solicited to allow his name to be placed before nominating conven- tions, for positions of trust and importance, has always de- clined. During the war of the Rebellion he yielded a : hearty support to the cause of the Union, and contributed freely of his means for its preservation and the triumphs of its arms. Ile is an earnest churchman, and takes a deep interest in the various organizations under the patronage and control of the Episcopal Church. He was married in 1834, to Sarah C. Morton, of Delaware county, a lineal de- scendant of John Morton, signer of the Declaration of Independence. He has four children now living : Morton C. and William R. are at the present time associated with him in the business, and are those to whom its duties will soon wholly belong, as the senior partner has almost en- tirely retired from active business life.
then discontinued mercantile pursuits, and in 1846 and the following year was the manager of the " Bristol Copper Mine," in Connecticut. In 1548 and 1849 he was the manager of the " Perkiomen " Copper Mine, Pennsylvania, and from 1850 to 1857 was general manager and part owner in company with E. F. Sanderson, John J. Palmer, and others, of the " Wheatley Silver Lead Mines," discovered and opened by him. These mines have yielded the richest metallic salts ever obtained in lead mining; and thousands of tons of rich silver-lead ore. He has been mining also in Pennsylvania and in California on his own account, and is now occupied, in connection with his partner, James Harvey, in smelting copper ore, in Phoenixville, Pennsylva- nia. They were the first parties, in Pennsylvania, to suc- cessfully reduce copper ores. During the first year of their operations, they produced 130,000 pounds of that metal by the old Swansea process. lle is a most ardent student of geology and mineralogy, and has gradually brought together an admirable library, in which works on these subjects oc- cupy so prominent a place, that a high authority has ques- tioned whether the collection does not place within reach of the geological student a more complete apparatus for in- vestigation, than any of the great libraries of New York accessible to the public. He possesses also one of the most complete mineralogical cabinets in the country, of over six thousand specimens, most of them of great beauty and rarity. In leisure hours has he acquired his knowledge, col- lections, and library, having inherited no wealth, and having always had to rely solely upon his own industry and economy. He was elected a member of the Lyceum of Natural IIis- tory, New York, 1840; treasurer of the same from 1847 to 1853; corresponding member of the National In- stitute, 1843; honorary member of the Troy Lyceum of Natural History, 1843; member of the Association of Naturalists and Geologists; 1846; member of the Ameri- can Association for the Advancement of Science, 1848; member of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadel- phia, 1850; member of the Geographical and Statistical Society of New York, October 1856; and corresponding member of the Elliot Society of Natural History, Charles- ton, South Carolina. Vale College conferred on him the honorarium of " A. M." on June 29th, 1858. From 1836 to 1858 he made an extensive collection of minerals and shells, valued by Professor J. D. Whitney at $25,000, which were purchased by E. C. Delavan, and presented to Union College, Schenectady, New York, to be kept as " The Wheatley Cabinets " forever, subject to the control of the University of New York. He published a Catalogue of the Shells of the United States, in 1842-'45, the only one of this description ever written. He received a silver medal at the exhibition of 1855, for specimens shown from the Wheatley mine, the jury, in their report, speaking in the highest terms of the superior excellence of the speci- mens and prepared materials, the fulness and exactness of
HEATLEY, CHARLES MOORE, Geologist and Mineralogist, was born in England, March 16th, 1822, and is the son of John Wheatley, a merchant, who emigrated to this country while his son was yet a child. . His primary education was received in New York ; he entered upon a mercantile life in 1835, and was subsequently with John M. Catlin. In 1837, he became a member of the Mercantile Library, was elected a director of the same in 1841, 1842, and IS43; and recording secretary in 1844 and 1845. He |the plans of the mining operations, drawings of machinery,
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