USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 8
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President of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, and always advocated the complete medical education of women. The Polytechnic College of the State of Penn- sylvania almost owes its existence to his liberality and energy. For thirty-four years he was an active Trustee of the College of New Jersey, at Princeton. Especially interesting in the midst of bis active life was the consistent Christianity which he early, and always cherished. In 1832, he united himself to the Central Presbyterian Church, of which he was for many years a Ruling Elder, a Deacon, and a Trustee, as well as General Superinten- dent of the Sabbath School. He was also Trustee to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and for twelve years its Treasurer. Official trusts in the Boards of Publication, Education and Domestic Missions, were also confided to him, and the Pennsylvania State Sabbath School Association elected him its President. His mar- riages were in May, 1817, to Jane Reese Stroud, who lived but twenty-one months; in July, 1821, to Margaret, daughter of George Heberton, by whom he had eight children, only one of whom survived him; and in July, 1846, to lletty M., daughter of Edward Smith, of Phila- delphia. A firm faith, the memory. of a well-spent life, and a conscience at peace with itself, sustained him to the last moment of a life which closed on his seventy-fourth birthday, May 31st, 1868.
REWSTER, BENJAMIN HARRIS, Lawyer, only son of Francis E. Brewster and Maria Hampton Brewster, was born October 13th, 1816, in Salem county, New Jersey. His family connections in New Jersey were of the oldest landed interest. His grandfathers, Brewster and Hampton, both surgeons in the Revolutionary army, and his kinsmen, the Carrols, Harris', Duvals, Newcombs, Wescotts, Carpenters and Elmers, even to remote branches, were men of estates, professional men, and men holding positions under the crown. The Brewsters are also a direct branch of the older Brewsters of Plymouth Colony stock, and the Hamptons are a branch of the South Caro- lina Hamptons. He graduated at the College of New Jersey, Princeton, in the class of 1834, receiving the degree of A. B., A. M. and LL. D. In the same year, he entered the office of Eli K. Price, of Philadelphia, as student of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1838. In 1846, he was appointed by President Polk as commissioner to adju- dicate the claims of the Cherokee Indians against the United States Government. This appointment, conferred upon one so young in the profession, was a high mark of distinction, as well as a recognition of his ability and keen intelligence. Although ever a welcome guest in society, which his brilliancy and courtesy adorn, his life has never- theless been occupied with the practice of the law, and
devoted to literary pursuits. Among his many efforts pub- lished from time to time, the most conspicuous are his lecture upon " Frederick the Great," delivered in 1872; "Address before the American Whig Cliosophic Societies," in 1853; "Speech delivered at the Cooper Institute," in 1868; also " Review of Milton's Select Prose Works," for the Boston Quarterly of July, 1842; " Review of Talfourd's Life," and " Writings of Charles Lamb," 1841; "Address before the Law Academy of Philadelphia," in 1857-as well as his memorable argument before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, of Sharpless, Hebler vs. the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia. In 1861, on the breaking out of the Rebellion, he was most zealous in support of the Government, and did good service on the rostrum. In 1857, he married Elizabeth Von Myrbacke de Reinfeldts, a Prussian lady, who died in 1868. In 1867, Governor Jolin W. Geary appointed him Attorney- General of Pennsylvania, and during his career he closely watched the interest of the State, and with untiring energy strangled the Gettysburg Lottery, which he deemed a scheme to rob the public, under the pretext of helping the orphans. He also corrected the abuse of remitting the sentences in the Criminal Court of this county, an infringe- ment upon the pardoning power, by means of which, unknown to the people, the convicts were let loose from their cells. From the office of Attorney-General of Penn- sylvania, he retired in 1869. In the summer of 1870, he married Mary, eldest daughter of Robert J. Walker, a lady distinguished for her beauty and refinement. A son, the offspring of this marriage, is his only child. He has been a close student of belles lettres, is a versatile and brilliant assayist, a correct, original, and profound thinker, a graceful, eloquent and forcible speaker. He is noted for his high sense of professional dignity, and unbending hostility to trickery and jobbery. Last, although by no niea".s least, he is known in private as a man charitable in speech, and as a true friend.
NOWDEN, JAMES ROSS, LL. D., Lawyer and Author, was born in Chester, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, in 1810. He comes from one of the oldest families in Philadelphia, his great grandfather, John Snowden, having reached Philadelphia in 1685. He was employed in various public offices, and in 1715 was appointed one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks county. It is believed that he was the first ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church in the Colonies. He held that office in the old Market Street Presbyterian Church, and was elected and ordained in 1704. This church is now the First Presbyterian Church, located on Washington Square. Isaac Snowden, son of the above named John Snowden, was born in Philadelphia, in 1732. He was an active and
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useful citizen, a member of the City Councils, and a county commissioner during the Revolutionary war, in which also he acted as a commissary for supplying the army. After the war he was for many years Treasurer of the city and county of Philadelphia, and a member of the Select Council, a trustee of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), an elder in the Second Presbyterian Church, a member of the Com- mittee, presided over by Dr. Witherspoon, that prepared the Form of Government of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, and the incumbent of various other positions in the State, as well as in the Church. Rev. Nathaniel Randolph Snowden, son of Isaac, was born in Philadelphia, in 1770, graduated at Princeton College in 1787, was an excellent scholar, and had charge of several collegiate and . classical institutions in Pennsylvania. It was under his instruction chiefly that his son, whose career is about to engage our attention, received his education. IIe was, however, for some time a student at Dickinson College, at Carlisle, before that institution passed into the hands of the M. E. Church. The advantages thus given him were well improved, and he became in early life an excellent scholar, with a decided taste for science and literature, which has been indulged, notwithstanding the absorbing duties of his profession, and that of the various public offices which he has accepted. Turning his attention to the study of law, he was called to the bar early, and com- menced the practice of his profession in Franklin, Venango county, Pennsylvania. Soon after his admission, he was appointed Deputy Attorney-General ; and subsequently, and on repeated occasions, was elected to the Legislature of Pennsylvania. In 1842 and 1844, he was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. It is a singular mark of the ability with which he discharged his duties, that no appeal, during the three sessions he presided, was ever taken from his decisions. The votes of thanks on these several occasions were unanimous, and were offered by Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, a member from Adams courty, who stated, with great emphasis, that the Speaker had the highest characteristics of a good presiding officer, prominent among which was " his full and entire impartiality." In 1845, he was named by his friends for the office of United States Senator; and in the preliminary meeting of the members of the Legislature, he had on the first ballot the highest number of votes, but not a majority : this was sub- sequently cast for another eitizen. But such was the estimation in which he was held, that at the meeting of the members to nominate a State Treasurer, he was, although no candidate for that office, nominated by a large majority, on the first ballot. He was subsequently elected, and re- elected, and for two years discharged the duties of the office to the highest satisfaction of the public; and by his energetic measures, the credit of the Commonwealth, before . that time tarnished by non-payment of the interest on the public debt, was restored and maintained. A reference to the newspapers and periodicals of that period will show
the important work which he performed in maintaining the credit of the Commonwealth, and restoring her ancient reputation for integrity and faithful performance of her obligations. After the surrender of the office of State Treasurer to his successor, he was appointed Treasurer of the United States Mint, and Assistant Treasurer of the United States, at Philadelphia; this was in 1847. These offices he held for several years; and in 1853, he was appointed, on the death of Judge Pettit, who held the office for a brief period, Director of the Mints of the United States, and held that important office until 1861. When Ex-Governor Pollock was appointed to that office in May of that year, there being a vacancy in the office of Pro- thonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, he was unanimously elected to that position by the Judges of the Supreme Court. This office he has held by successive re-appointments, until the present time. IIe gives place, however, to his successor on the Ist of September, when he will, we understand, resume the practice of his pro- fession in this city as a lawyer. During these active duties, Mr. Snowden has found time to cultivate his taste for literature and science. Besides taking a prominent part in historical and other kindred societies, he has pre- pared and published several works, evincing peculiar learning and research. In 1860; he published a Descrip- tion of Ancient and Modern Coins in the Cabinet Collec- tion of the United States Mint; a new edition of the same, with plates, was issued in 1869. Another of his works, which called forth commendatory notices from the most critical reviewers, was a Description of the Medals of Wash- ington ; of National and Miscellaneous Medals, and of other objects of Interest in the Museum of the Mint, with Fac-Simile Engravings and Biographical Notices of Direc- tors of the Mint, from 1792 to 1861. He also published, in 1864, The Coins of the Bible, and its Money Terms; and in 1867, The Cornplanter's Memorial, an Historical Sketch of Gy- Ant-Wa-Chia, the Cornplanter, and of the Six Nations of Indians, with the Report of Samuel P. Johnson, on the erection of the monument at Jennesdaga, to the memory of Cornplanter. One thousand copies of this work were published by order of the Legislature of Pennsylvania. In 1868, he contributed the articles on Coins of the United States to Bouvier's Law Dictionary. He has also, at different times, published addresses, pam- phlets on currency, coinage, and other subjects; seven annual Reports of the Mint, and numerous papers in periodicals. His works have been upon a subject which few men could undertake. Apart from their value to the numismatist, they are beautiful specimens of the printers' and engravers' art, and are universally acknowledged to be valuable additions to the scientific literature of America, and, indeed, the civilized world. There is one pamphlet from his pen which possesses peculiar interest in view of the subsequent action of the General Government on the subject. It is entitled, A Measure to secure to the People a
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Safe Treasury and a Sound Currency (published by Ben-| jamin F. Mifflin, 1857). Among the suggestions in this pamphlet was one adopted by the United States Govern- ment, in 1864, providing for the issuing of Coin Certificates. Mr. Snowden's proposition was to issue certificates on the deposit of gold bullion, as well as of coin. When specie payments are resumed, the policy of extending the certifi- cates to the deposits of bullion will, he believes, be apparent, and that measure will then receive a favorable consideration. Ile has always manifested a deep interest in the subject of international coinage, has published several papers on the subject, and some years since carried on a very remarkable correspondence with Lord Monteagle, formerly Chancellor of the British Exchequer, in reference to the decimalization of the British coinage. His plan for assimilating the British and American coinage, as simple as effectual, was subsequently taken into consideration by a British International Commission. Notwithstanding his taste and profession were in a different direction, yet he early manifested an interest in military affairs. Soon after his admission to the bar, at Franklin, Venango county, he organized a company of volunteer infantry, of which he was Captain; and subsequently, on the formation of a regi- ment, he was elected Colonel. Ile presided at the State Military Convention, which met at Harrisburg, in 1845; and was the writer of several papers and memorials, showing the necessity of a more efficient military organiza- tion than did then exist. During the late rebellion he was the Lieutenant-Colonel, and usually the commanding officer, of the First Regiment of the Infantry of the Phila- delphia Home Guards. The regiment was offered for active duty in the field, but their services were not accepted by the Government. In 1845, he received the degree of A. M. from Jefferson College; and in 1872, the Trustees of Washington and Jefferson Colleges conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Ile has recently prepared a work, not yet published, proving the truth of the Scripture testimony by the coins and money terms of the Bible, and by other ancient coins. Portions of this work appear in a series of articles which are published in the New York Observer. He married a daughter of the well known and distinguished Philadelphian, Major-Gen- eral Patterson.
UMMINS, DANIEL B., President of Girard National Bank, was born in Kent county, Dela- ware, of highly respectable parents. Early in life, he came to Philadelphia, became a wholesale dry goods merchant, and acquired a handsome fortune. For many years he was a Director of the State Bank of Camden, New Jersey; and in 1858 became President of the Girard Bank, a position he still occupies. When he was first called to the management of this bank, he found its affairs in a very precarious
and embarrassed condition, but with his indefatigable energy and financial skill, he soon succeeded in restoring it to a healthy condition; and at this day it holds a deservedly high position among the leading moneyed insti- tutions of Philadelphia. This important change was chiefly due to the prudence and good management of its President, and reflects the greatest credit upon him. He is among the active old Directors of the Western Saving Fund Association, one of the most prosperous institutions of the kind in Philadelphia. He is also a Director in the Amer -. ican Steamship Company, an enterprise in which he has taken an earnest and lively interest from its inception. The line of steamers owned by this Company is the only one now crossing the Atlantic flying the American Flag. As a prosperous citizen, intrusted with important interests, he has always been ready to encourage and lend his assistance to all measures and enterprises tending to the public good. Added to his other merits, it deserves to be mentioned that he has assisted, by advice and loans of money, many young men commencing business, and others who had been unfortunate in their first efforts. In making loans to these, he always exacted a promise from them that all their personal expenses should be paid in cash, com- pliance with which rule, he regarded as affording a good security for re-payment. He has been heard to say that he had never lost a dollar of loans made under such condi- tions, and that the borrowers had always been successful in business. Ile was an ardent and effective supporter of the Government in the late rebellion; and in the darkest financial period, whilst most of the individual capitalists in the country hesitated to invest largely in Government Securities, he united with those at the head of other bank- ing institutions in Philadelphia, New York and Boston, in taking Government Bonds to an extent which exceeded the amount of their combined capital. In bringing about this well-timed support of the Government finances, he was very active. He is widely and very favorably known as an upright, skilful, and intelligent banker, and a gentleman possessing those social and moral qualities which render intercourse with him agreeable, and friendship desirable.
EWIS, ELLIS, Judge and Lawyer, was born May 16th, 1798, in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, a town named in honor of his father, Eli Lewis. This gentleman, who was a person of means, influ- ence and literary tastes, died when the subject of this sketch was four years of age. During a long minority his inheritance was dissipated by misman- agement, and he was early thrown upon his own re- sources. He became a good practical printer and editor, studied law, and was admitted to the bar at twenty -four years of age. At this time he married Miss Josephine Wallis, daughter of Joseph Wallis. Two years later he was
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appointed Deputy Attorney-General for Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. In 1832, he was elected to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, where, his conspicuous talents attracting the attention of Governor Wolfe, he became Attorney- General for the State in 1833, and later in the same year was appointed President Judge of the Eighth District. In 1843, he became President Judge of the Second District, composed of Lancaster county. In 1851, he was elected Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and in 1855 became its Chief Justice. In 1857, he declined the unani- mous nomination of the Democratic Convention for re- election to the Supreme Court, and retired to private life. In 1858, he was chosen one of three commissioners . to revise the criminal code of Pennsylvania. Outside of his judicial labors, which are a valuable legacy to the legal profession, Judge Lewis published a volume entitled, An Abridgement of the Criminal Law of the United States .. The honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine was conferred on him because of his knowledge of Medical Jurisprudence, and he received from two universities the degree of Doctor of Laws. He was a ripe scholar, a profound thinker, and a public-spirited and benevolent man. He died March 19th, 1871.
INNOTT, JOSEPH FRANCIS, Merchant, was born in Killybegs, county. Donegal, Ireland, February 14th, 1838. ' He is the son of John and Mary Sinnott, whose ancestors came from Normandy, France, and. settled in the county Wexford, Ireland, at the time of William the Conqueror. He received his education at the schools of Gweedore, a few miles from his native place. In July, 1854, at the early age of sixteen, he embarked from Lon- donderry, Ireland, and arrived in Philadelphia the follow- ing month. Here he engaged with Watkins & Weaver, Custom House Brokers, and remained with them, at a salary of one hundred and fifty dollars a year, until 1856. In January of this year, he entered the office of John Gibson, Sons & Co., Distillers, as assistant book-keeper, receiving two hundred and fifty dollars per annum for his services, which salary was gradually increased until April, 1861, when he enlisted as a private in the Washington Greys Company, Philadelphia. After three months of active, service in Western Virginia, under General Patterson, he returned to Philadelphia, and in August, 1861, was sent to Boston by the firm of Gibson, Sons & Co., to establish an agency there. He had advanced very rapidly in his knowledge of commercial business, and in the establish- ment of the branch house in Boston displayed remarkable practical talent, which, with his close application and rigid integrity, won for him the entire confidence of his employ- ers. Ilis successful management of the business attained for him a partnership in the Boston hon s, and in 1866 he returned to Philadelphia, and became a partner in the
entire business of the firm, which is the most extensive in the United States. In April, 1863, he married a Philadel- phia lady of great refinement and intelligence, and has an interesting family of children. He has been Manager of the St. John's Orphan Asylum, and a Director of the Beneficial Savings Fund for the past three years. His whole career since boyhood has been marked by activity, integrity, enterprise and liberality. Generosity is one of his most conspicnous traits; and, perhaps, his success in life is due as much to his broad liberality as to his skilful management and strict devotion to business. His dona- tions to the Catholic Church, and his aid in the erection and support of new churches, have advanced materially the cause of religion in Philadelphia. A reasonable por- tion of the ample means he has accumulated, he has con- ceived it his duty to appropriate to religions, benevolent, and other institutions. Personally, he is a quiet, una>- suming gentleman, distinguished for his geniality and hospitality; a steadfast friend, and a highly esteemed citizen.
ARMAN, HENRY M., Professor of Ancient Lan- guages and Literature in Dickinson College, was born in Anne Arundel county, Maryland, March 22d, 1822, .. The benefit of early scholastic train- ing was in' great measure denied him, and it was - not until the age of twenty-three that he found himself enabled. to enter the Freshman Class at Dickinson College. 'At the end of the first session, he was advanced to the Sophomore Class, and graduated in 1848, supporting himself by teaching while he prosecuted his studies. After graduation, he taught school in Maryland, where for two years he was Professor in the Baltimore Female College, and for ten years was associated with Dr. Morgan, in a Mathematical and Classical School in Baltimore. The University of West Virginia then gave him a call to a pro- fessional chair, which he accepted, but resigned at the end of a year, in order to make a tour through Europe, Egypt, and the Holy Land. The observations he made on this journey were subsequently (1872) published in book form, in a volume entitled, A Journey to Egypt and the Holy Land in 1869-70, which has been received with much favor by the public. His professorship in Dickinson Col- lege was conferred upon him soon after his return, and he fills the chair with marked ability. Ilis intimate acquaint- ance with Biblical and classical languages and literature, has been repeatedly displayed in articles contributed, at various times in the last twenty years, to the MMethodist Quarterly Review, and other periodicals. One of the large publishing houses of our country has secured his services to prepare an exhaustive Introduction to the Ohi and New Testament, a labor of vast extent, and which now occupies. much of his attention. In 1843, he was licensed to preach in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is now a member
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of the Baltimore Conference. Ilis language in the pulpit | ing at Harrisbarg the first anthracite furnace built in that is simple and forcible, and his sermons abound with prac- tical applications of the truths of religion to the daily life of his hearers. This practicality, indeed, is a conspicuous trait in his acquirements, as he is not merely a theological critic and teacher, but a skilful surveyor and astronomer as well. His marriage took place in 1872, and his residence is now permanently located in Carlisle. The title of Doctor of Divinity has been, with great propriety, conferred upon him, and he ranks among the most prominent men in the clergy of the Methodist Episcopal Church .of Pennsylvania.
portion of the State. His success was commensurate with the enlightened intelligence he devoted to this leading branch of industry; but in the severe financial reverses of 1857, he shared heavily in the misfortunes which pros- trated all industrial pursuits. They were borne, however, with a dignity and fortitude which corresponded to his firmness of character, and though well advanced in years, he did not yield to discouragement. The war of the Rebellion interested his sympathies strongly on the side of the Union, and he rejoiced that one of his sons, General Horace Porter, had been able to take part in so many of its conflicts. He lived to witness the success of the Union cause, though in declining health. He died on the 6th of August, 1867, in the composed certainty of a Christian's departure, and surrounded by the sorrowing members of a devoted family.
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