USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 53
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etc., and especially noticing that the exhibition was the result of mining operations due entirely to the labor and skill of the exhibitor, and constituted a positive addition to previous knowledge of the resources of the country. In the course of his explorations he discovered a remarkable fissure or cave near Port Kennedy, on the Schuylkill River, front which he took many specimens of fossil remains. An ac- count of these was read before the American Philosophical Society, April 7th, 1871, by Professor E. D. Cope, after whom one of the species entitled " Megalonyx Wheatleyi " was named. Professor Cope says : " This species is dedi- cated to Charles M. Wheatley, of Phoenixville, to whom Natural Science in the United States is under many obli- gations. The expense and much labor requisite for the proper recovery and elucidation of the remains contained in the cave are entirely due to his liberality and exertions. Similar devotion to science has preserved to us the finest series of fossils of the triassic period of the Northern States in existence, and the finest collection of fresh-water shells in America."
EIDY, JOSEPH, M. D., LL. D., Physician and Naturalist, is of German extraction, but was born in Philadelphia, September 9th, 1823. He studied medicine and graduated at the University of Penn- sylvania in 1844. In the same year he com- menced to practise his profession, but soon relin- quished it for other pursuits. In 1846, he was appointed Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Franklin Medical College, and from that period until 1852 delivered courses of private lectures on anatomy and physiology. In 1853, he was called to the chair of Anatomy in the University of Penn- sylvania. His accurate and extensive knowledge of the science of anatomy, both human and comparative, has made him celebrated ; but while pursuing its study, he has de- voted a great amount of time and research to natural his- tory, especially to the branches of zoology and paleonto- logy, and to these studies he may perhaps chiefly attribute his present celebrity among scientific men. Since 1846 he has been Chairman of the Curators in the Academy of Natural Sciences, and the valuable results of his labors during this time have been given to the public in a large number of papers. The third volume of the Catalogue of Scientific Papers, compiled by the Royal Society of London, gives a list of one hundred and eleven of his published papers up to 1860, and they have since been supplemented by many others. His works, all invaluable to scientific men, are too numerous for detail in this connection, but with his contributions to various scientific periodicals. they embrace a wide range of subjects comprising anatomy, physiology, paleontology, entomology, helminthology, and many other kindred branches of science. Those which will chiefly at- tract the general reader relate to the extinct mammalia and
reptilia discovered in North America. The most important of his publications, however, appear to be those on the Fauna and Flora existing within living animals, and the Ancient Fauna of Nebraska, published by the Smithsonian Institution. Since 1860, he has published an Elementary Treatise on Human Anatomy, besides a large number of scientific papers, among them, is the Cretaceous Reptiles of the United States (Smithsonian Contributions, vol. xiv., 1865). The first volume of Professor Hayden's final Report of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories, re- cently published by the Government, was prepared by him. The work is entitled, Contributions to the Extinct Verte- brate Fauna of the Western Territories, quarto, 37 plates. Ilis contributions to scientific literature have been so nu- merous, that it is utterly impossible in a limited space to give a just idea either of their value or character; but his anatomical details of the species, coupled with dissections and drawings, in Dr. Amos Binney's Terrestrial dir- Breathing Mollusks, are so remarkable that the following is quoted from the preface to that work : " They constitute the most novel and important accessions to science contained in the work, and are honorable evidence of a skill and in- dustry which entitle him to a high rank among philosophi- cal zoologists." A proof of the esteem in which he is held in this country and abroad is found in the following list of the learned societies of which he holds membership : Na- tural Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia; American Academy of Arts and Sci- ences, and the Natural Historical Society of Boston ; Ly- ceum of Natural History, New York; Academy of Science, St. Louis; Imperial Society of Naturalists, Moscow; Im- perial Leopold Carol Academy of Sciences, Jena; Royal Zool. Bot. Society, Vienna ; Royal Academy of Sciences, Munich ; Royal Bot. Society of Prague; Biol. Society, Paris; Geol. Zool. Linnean Societies, London; Natural History Society, Dublin.
CKERT, HENRY S., Iron Manufacturer, was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1829. "He is a son of Isaac Eckert of that city, a sketch of whose life appears in another part of this volume. He received a liberal education, and after the usual curriculum graduated at Marshall College, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. As it was his father's inten- tion that he should at some future period succeed him as the operator and one of the proprietors of the iron works he then controlled, he immediately entered the establishment in order to become fully acquainted with the various manipu- lations and processes therein effected ; and he shortly be- came the active and able manager of the same. He re- mained in this position until July Ist, 1873, and on that day formed a copartnership with his brother, under the firm name of Eckert & Brother, who thus at that time succeeded
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their father, who retired from active participation in the the war he labored incessantly at home, both with his enterprise. Previous to this date, however, he had also means and by his personal efforts, to support the Union cause. He is one of the vestrymen of Christ Church Ca- thedral, and is prominent and zealous in the cause of reli- gion, and in the advancement of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He was married, in 1857, to Carrie, daughter of Nicholas Hunter, of Reading, and has four children ; two of these are attending the High School, keeping them in the line of his devotion-the free schools. been engaged in a separate enterprise, as a member of the firm of Eckert, McHose & Co. in the rolling mill business. It will be remembered that the financial troubles of the country culminated in September, 1873, but two months after he had become one of the firm of Eckert & Brother. The operations of this firm, however, have been continued as though no panic whatever had taken place. They neither reduced their force of operatives nor diminished in any degree the amount usually produced at the works, but con- tinued to turn out 250 tons of pig-iron as heretofore. Neither is the firm dependent on any outside party for the supply of material. They have acquired the possession of extensive mines and beds of iron ore, both by purchase and lease of grounds, and thus mine their own ore, believ- ing this the most judicious course they can adopt. They employ in their mines and works together a force of about 250 men. Henry S. Eckert has always taken a lively interest in political matters, especially as the prin- ciples of protection to the iron and coal interests of the State are due, in a great measure, to a rightful application of such doctrines by the party which has always advocated them, and which now controls the destinies of the nation. During the war, and towards its close, he was the Republi- can candidate for Congress against J. Lawrence Getz. He carried the city of Reading against the latter, after a very hard-fought and bitter contest ; but the district outside the city being intensely Democratic he failed to be elected. Ile was, in 1872, presented as one of the " Congressmen- at-large," but inimical operations against the West defeated the object and cut the district out. In local politics he has taken a very prominent and important part, and is now serving his second term as President of the Board of Con- trol. He is also at present representing his district in the Select Council, and was elected, in 1872, the President of that branch of the city government, which position he still retains. He was the author of the plans to fund the city debt, which he succeeded in carrying after much opposition had been made thereto. Ile is prominent in all matters affecting the welfare of the general public, more especially on financial topics, of which he has made a long and pro- found study. His efforts and influence in this direction have been productive of much good, and his labors are con- stant and unflagging. In the Berks County Railroad, which forms the connecting link with the Delaware River at Wilmington, he has been very prominent, and has served as one of the Directors of the Company since it was first projected. This improvement is nearly completed, and it is expected that the road will be in full and successful ope- ration early in the spring of 1874. He is a Director of the Farmers' National Bank of Reading. Ile is, to some ex- tent, interested in military matters. At the time of General Lee's invasion, he volunteered and marched with the " emergency men " for the defence of the State; and during
OGERS, EVANS, Merchant, was born near the town of West Chester, Chester county, Pennsyl- vania, January 14th, 1792. His paternal and maternal ancestors had long been residents of that part of Pennsylvania, and were members of the Society of Friends. Before attaining his ma- jority, he came to Philadelphia, and entered the mercantile house already established by his older brothers. By the retirement of the latter, he became the head of the house at an early age. Ile was an active, enterprising merchant, and was gifted with remarkable foresight. He saw the ad- vantages that would accrue to those who would embark in the same line of business in another locality, and himself established a flourishing branch of his house in New Or- leans, in which city he resided for several winters. He was, in reality, the pioneer in building up the hardware business in the southwest on an enlarged and liberal scale. Another house was subsequently established in St. Louis, Missouri, by graduates of the Philadelphia concern, which is still the most important firm in that city. Early in his con- nection with the West, he had the sagacity to discover the many advantages there offered for the investment of capital ; and throughout his whole life his transactions with that region were on a large scale, and contributed, in a marked degree, to the development of the city of St. Louis. After a short but very active business career, he retired from mercantile pursuits in 1830. He was an active Democrat, and during the administration of President Jackson took a prominent part in the movement against the United States Bank. On the breaking out of the Rebellion, true to the principles of the great chieftain who first combated the leaders of " Nullification," and who uttered the sentiment that the " Union must and shall be preserved," he went with his whole heart into the cause of that Union, contribut- ing to its cause largely with his means and by his labor and influence. He was one of the Philadelphia Associates of the United States Sanitary Commission, and contributed to its success in alleviating suffering on the battle-field and in the hospitals by every means in his power. Although he avoided political office, he filled many positions of trust and honor on boards and commissions; and, at the time of the re-organization of the Board of Prison Inspectors, was appointed by the Court a member of that body, and dis-
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charged the duties thereof with great zeal for many years. Ile was married, in 1830, to a daughter of Colonel Gideon Fairman, a well-known resident of Philadelphia. Ile died October 6th, IS70.
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ELFRIDGE, GENERAL JAMES L., Merchant, Soldier and Politician, was born in Berks county. Pennsylvania, September 22d, 1824. His father, General Matthew Selfridge, was a Scotch-Irish- man, and an extensive merchant and miller of Allentown, Pennsylvania, whither he had re- moved during the infancy of his son. The latter, after a preliminary training in the schools of that borough, passed several years at a private academy, at Plainfield, Connecticut, and subsequently, in 1840, entered Lafayette College, Eas- ton, Pennsylvania, where he continued until after his father's death. Ile left this institution in 1843, and engaged in the study of the law in the office of Hon. Henry King, but at the expiration of a year was induced to go to Philadel- phia as the Agent of the Lehigh Transportation Company, of which his father had been one of the projectors. In 1847, he became a clerk in the commission house of Perot & Hoffman, and afterwards, 1852, engaged in business on his own account on Delaware avenue. This he continued until 1857, when he removed to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and opened an office for the purchase and sale of real estate, and also for the sale of coal on commission. At the out- break of the Rebellion, he raised a company of volunteers and reported to Governor Curtin on the 18th of April, four days after the surrender of Fort Sumter. On the 20th, he with his command was mustered into the service for three months, as company A First Pennsylvania Regiment. Their time expired on the eve of the first battle of Bull Run, and in response to his earnest appeal they remained, with three or four exceptions, about ten days over their time in order to meet the crisis. Immediately after his re- turn home, he was tendered a Colonel's commission by Governor Curtin, and began to recruit a regiment ; but being very impatient to take the field, he took part of a regiment to Harrisburg and united with a body of men under Joseph F. Knipe, afterwards General Knipe, and the 46th Regi- ment of Pennsylvania Volunteers was thus constituted, of which he became Lieutenant-Colonel. The regiment was organized on September Ist, 1861, and left Harrisburg for Washington, District of Columbia, on the 17th of that month, whence they were ordered to join General N. P. Banks at Darnstown, Maryland. In appreciation of his merit he was, commissioned Colonel on November 29th, 1862, and, as the leader of his regiment, was conspicuous for gallantry and for his brave conduct at Peach Tree Creek, Georgia, July 16th, 1864. He was appointed Brevet Brigadier- General March 13th, 1865, receiving his full commission as Brigadier-General at a later date. His command never moved without him, and he shared with them the perils of
every encounter in which they participated. IIe was at- tached to the Twelfth Corps of the Army of the Potomac until after the battle of Gettysburg, when he was assigned to the Twentieth Corps, under General Hooker, and parti- cipated in all the important movements in Tennessee, and the celebrated march of Sherman's army from Atlanta to the sea. After a service of four years and four months, he was mustered out of the same, August 25th, 1865. Though in the service, he received the Republican nomi- nation, in 1864, for Congress in the Eleventh District of Pennsylvania, but the district being largely Democratic he failed to be elected, although he ran largely ahead of his ticket. He was appointed Assessor of Internal Revenue for the Eleventh District of Pennsylvania before he was mustered out of the military service, and took charge of the office September Ist, 1865. Declining to join the " new departure " under the leadership of Andrew Johnson, he was decapitated politically by that President, September 16th, 1866. He was appointed by Governor Geary, of Pennsylvania, one of the commission to investigate the ex- penditures at the Antietam and Gettysburg cemeteries, with instructions to report to the Legislature ; and he was also by him appointed and commissioned a Major-General of the National Guard of Pennsylvania. He was nominated in the Seventh Senatorial District of Pennsylvania as the Republican candidate for State Senator in 1867, but though running far ahead of his ticket failed to be elected. In January, 1868, he was elected chief clerk of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, which position he still holds. He became proprietor of the "Old Lehigh Hy- draulic Cement Works," at Siegfreid's Bridge, Pennsylvania, in September, 1872, which he still continues to operate. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and one of the old members of the Artillery Corps of Washing- ton Greys, of Philadelphia, in which latter organization he attained a great knowledge of military affairs, eminently fitting him for his future military position. In the service of his country he left a pure and noble record, and in the public and private walks of life his actions have challenged the admiration of all. His generous hospitality and kindly sympathy attract the good of every station in life, and win the encomiums and esteem of his fellow men.
OTT, ABRAHAM, Coal Miner, was born at Oley Forge, Berks county, Pennsylvania, May 20th, 1799. IIe is a son of John Pott, the founder of Pottsville. The family is of German origin, and springs from two brothers who came to this country in 1732. John Pott was one of a large family, all of whom became residents of Schuylkill county. About the year 1804, he purchased the " Physick Tract," upon which Pottsville is now built, beside other large par- cels of land, including the site of the present town of Port
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Carbon, his intention being to engage in the manufacture | from these reports he undertook to construct one, devising of charcoal pig iron. In 1806, he erected a furnace in that even the car to run on the road, and the style has never been altered. This was the first railway laid down in Schuylkill county, and was of forty inch gauge. The building of the railway necessitated the erection of a schute or bin to hold the coal, and this he also constructed. When the canal was finished the directors of the company visited the work, and were amazed to see a single horse drawing a train of eight or ten loaded cars with ease, and the inge- nious device for dumping the coal into the bin. The pro- jector was proud of his work, and advised the directors to enlarge their canal, and at the next session of the Legis- lature to have railroad privileges added to their charter --- but they treated the matter as chimerical. In 1829, he went into partnership with Burd Patterson in the mining of coal on the Mayfield tract, and was also connected with him in his early experiments in the manufacture of pig-iron with anthracite coal. Rev. Dr. Geisenheimer believed in its practicability, and he with Abraham Pott succeeded at the Valley Furnace in manufacturing some thirty pigs, but the machinery of the furnace was defective and only one casting was made ; but to Rev. Dr. Geisenheimer and his coadjutor is due the credit of having made the first anthracite pig- metal. The latter is still living, a hale, hearty old man, universally loved and esteemed. He is almost the last of the old pioneers of this region, and on account of his long practical experience, his judgment as to location of coal veins is still highly regarded. Possessed of pleasant man- ners, and a memory singularly accurate, many a pleasant hour is passed in his company by the young men of the present generation, in learning the history of the past from one who part of that history was. part of Pottsville now known as the " Orchard," at the northwest corner of Coal and Mauch Chunk streets. A forge was built shortly afterwards near the present location of the Pioneer Furnace. The ores used were bog ore, procured in the neighborhood, and ball ore gathered from the surface of the ground, the latter being the richest in quality. These remained in operation until 1827, when John Pott, the elder, died. It was demolished to make room for the canal basin. The Pott family moved to the furnace in ISIo, at the time the Centre Turnpike was ap- proaching completion. The present site of Pottsville was in a state of nature, except a log-house with a half acre of cleared ground. The iron, as run from the furnace, was cast into hollow ware and stoves, and traded to farmers, generally from the Susquehanna for grain, etc. This was ground in the " Shollenberger Mill" which John Pott erected, and in digging for the foundation the outcrops of coal veins were struck, but this was not regarded as of any value. One David Berlin, a blacksmith, however, con- ceived the idea that it might be used in a blacksmith's fire, and did so use it for four months during the erection of the mill. Hle built his fire with charcoal. Some others fol- lowed his example. It was not until 1816 that the method of burning it in stoves and grates was understood, and then Abraham Pott, who slept in the mill, discovered it by ac- cident. On a bitterly cold night during that winter he built a roaring fire with hickory staves, and on this threw. some small pieces of the anthracite and retired to rest, but was awakened about four A. M. by the intense heat, and found the stove red hot. He was much alarmed and ran for his father, who came; an investigation was made, and the true mode of using the coal in small pieces, and not in the large lump, was made apparent. At this time the Schuylkill Canal was being built, but it was designed for the benefit of the lumber trade. Coal was taken to Philadelphia in 1821 on flats by Abraham Pott, also in 1822 and IS23, two or three trips being made each year. The first boat built for the canal was by the company called the " Pioneer." Abraham Pott shortly after built the " Stephen Decatur." They each carried about twenty-eight tons. In 1824, they started on their first trip to Philadelphia, but only proceeded as far as Reading. In 1821, the speculators in land began to arrive, and during this year Abraham Pott started mining coal from the Salem and Tunnel veins, continued it for four years, and then operated and worked coal from Guinea Hill. In 1826, he took a contract from the North American Coal Company to deliver coal for $1.70 per ton into boats at the mouth of Mill Creek. The canal at this time was just being completed from Mount Carbon to Port Carbon. Hle had been a diligent reader of William Strickland's Reports on English Railways, and appreciated the fact that coal could be moved cheaper by this mode than by wagons to the canal. Though he had never seen a railway, yet
HIOMAS, MOSES, Publisher, Bookseller and Auctioneer, was born in Frankford, Philadelphia county, in the year 1787. While quite young his parents removed to the city, where he received a liberal education. Ile commenced his business life as a clerk in a bookstore in Baltimore, where, however, he did not remain very long, but on his return to Philadelphia became a clerk in the bookstore of Samuel Bradford, where he acquired a full knowledge of the busi- ness. He had barely attained manhood when he opened a store on the southeast corner of Chestnut street and IIud- son's alley, for the sale of books, and commenced the pub- lication of The Analectic Magasine in 1813, which he continued with great regularity for a series of years. It was edited for some time by Washington Irving, with whom he had long been a correspondent, and with whom he was on terms of intimate friendship. During the War of 1812 particular attention was drawn to the naval and military heroes of the day, and the magazine furnished its readers with biographical sketches of the most noted, adding occa.
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sionally portraits, which were so faithfully drawn that they have been repeatedly copied to embellish the pages of more modern works. The first American edition of Scott's Waverley was published by him ; also Johnson's quarto Dic- tionary, which proved a heavy loss ; likewise other nume- rous and popular works. At this period he took an active part in the Fire Department, and was an active member of the " Resolution " Hose Company. In 1828, in connec- tion with his brother, he founded the celebrated Auction and Commission house of M. & S. Thomas. The first stand was at (old) No. 87 Chestnut street, where it remained for many years. Having long understood the wants of book publishers and dealers, he originated the annual " Trade Sales," receiving consignments from the various publishers throughout the country, which were publicly sold to the many dealers who were attracted by this then novel method of disseminating and developing trade. For a long series of years these trade sales were carried on to the entire satis- faction of his patrons. But although the foregoing was his specialty, the business transacted embraced every descrip- tion of goods, and by the means of able assistants it was carried on in the name of M. Thomas alone, his brother having retired. The firm of M. Thomas & Sons succeeded, two of his sons assuming a share in its cares and responsi- bilities. Business demanding more extended space, it was found in the present establishment, five stories in height, on Fourth street, below Chestnut. Here are conducted sales of furniture, books, pictures, coins, and invoices of fancy goods and articles of vertn. At the Philadelphia Exchange weekly sales are held of stocks of all descriptions, loans, bonds, mortgages, ground rents and real estate, to the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The long establishment of the house and its admirable direction have caused it to become known all over the country and in Europe. As a private citizen, its founder was possessed of many admirable qualities. He died August 15th, 1865.
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