USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2 > Part 15
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tracted great attention at the time, as being without a parallel in the history of railroad transportation. Locomo- tives designed and built by Eastwick & Harrison for the Beaver Meadow and other companies burned anthracite coal successfully as early as 1835 and 1836, and in regular business over the roads surmounted higher grades than had ever before been performed in either America or Europe. The reputation already acquired by the firm of East- wick & Ilarrison attracted the attention of two eminent Russian engineers, who were sent to the United States by their Government to examine and report upon the Ameri- can railway system. On the return of these gentlemen to Russia, it was proposed that Joseph Harrison should be sent for, to undertake the construction of the locomotives and other rolling stock for the St. Petersburg & Moscow Rail- way, a line about 400 miles in length, then about to be con- structed. In December, IS43, the firm, together with Thomas Winans of Baltimore, concluded a contract with the Russian Government, the amount being three million dollars, the work to be completed in five years. One of the conditions was, that this work was to be done at St. Petersburg, by Russian workmen, or such as could be found on the spot. With employes entirely unacquainted with the work to be performed, without knowing the language, or the peculiar manner of doing business in a foreign land, the firm of Harrison, Winans & Eastwick set about the diffi- cult and apparently almost impossible task of complying with the terms of their contract. But they commenced their business in a straightforward manner, and only asked not to be hindered ; so well were their plans arranged and carried out, that all the work contracted for was completed to the entire satisfaction of the Russian Government, and paid for more than a year before the term expired. During its progress orders reaching nearly two million dollars were added to the original amount, including the completion of the great cast-iron bridge over the Neva-the largest and most expensive in the world. To finish this structure an- other year was added to the original term of the first con- tract ; and prior to the close of the first term a second agree- ment was entered into for the further period of twelve years, for establishing in running order the rolling stock of the St. Petersburg & Moscow Railway-the parties to this contract being Joseph Harrison, Jr., Thomas and William S. Winans. This second contract was carried on and finished to the satisfaction of both parties, in 1852. On the opening of the great bridge over the Neva, in IS50, the Emperor Nicholas, as a mark of esteem, bestowed upon Joseph Harrison, Jr., the ribbon of the order of St. Ann, with a massive gold medal attached, bearing on its face a portrait of the sovereign, and on the reverse the motto, in the Russian language, " For zeal." Returning to Philadel- phia, in 1852, he set about employing his wealth in the adornment of his native city. He erected numerous and costly buildings, some with original features, not heretofore seen in this country, and established one of the finest and
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most extensive art galleries in Philadelphia. HIe next turned his attention to the means of improving steam genera- tion, more particularly with a view of preventing explo- sions. The result of his efforts is now before the public in the " Ilarrison steam boiler," for which his first patent bears date October 4th, 1859, though it has since been con- siderably improved ; it may be said to be absolutely safe against destructive explosions. Ile manufactured them in Philadelphia, where a number are in operation, but they are far more extensively employed in New England. This boiler was thoroughly tested and approved by a Commission appointed by the Franklin Institute. It received the Lon- don World's Fair first-class medal, in 1862; a medal from the American Institute, New York, in 1869, and, about 1872, was awarded the " Rumford Medal " from the Ameri- can Academy of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, Boston, as a mechanical invention of great benefit to man- kind. Ile was a master of the whole subject of steam boilers, and of the locomotive engine ; and his " Essay " on the former and his " Lecture " on the latter-and particu- larly of Philadelphia's share in the invention and produc- tion of the modern locomotive-are two of the most valu- able contributions to the literature of the steam engine. Not only was his leaning towards the science of mechanics, but he had broad likings for literature and the fine arts. In the latter he was a connoisseur of considerable accom- plishments, and was a liberal patron of our home artists. Ile likewise took great interest in the beautifying and adorn- ment of Fairmount Park, and offered to place some fine works of art in the public gallery erected within its limits. Ile was married, December 15th, 1836, to Sarah Poulterer, and leaves six children, three of whom were born abroad. Ile died March 27th, 1874.
ENRY, SAMUEL, Financier and Soldier, was born in Blair county, Pennsylvania, January 29th, 1843, and there received such education as the common schools of the district afforded. He resided there until he attained his eighteenth year, when he was appointed Assistant Agent of the Pennsylvania Railroad at Johnstown, to which town he removed ; this position he filled for two years, with credit to himself and the company. In 1862, and at the age of . mineteen, he enlisted in the 21st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers-a cavalry regiment-as a private soldier, and served all through the War until the contest was over. Soon after entering the service he rose from the ranks and became Second Lieutenant, and subsequently was promoted to First Lieutenant. Not long after he had reached this grade he was appointed Adjutant of the regiment, the ar- duous duties of which office he fulfilled with great credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his superior officers. Ilis regiment was actively engaged in some of the hardest
fought hattles of the war, and in the operations in front of Petersburg, and throughout, he conducted himself with such honor and gallantry as to merit a further promotion to the rank of Captain. After the close of the Rebellion he re- turned to his home in Blair county, with the proud satisfac- tion of having fulfilled his duty to his country, and, above all, of having risen from the ranks and won his commissions by merit only, not by favor. At this time he was tendered a position in the banking house of W. M. Lloyd, of Al- toona, Pennsylvania, which he accepted and filled for one year, manifesting such financial ability, combined with the strictest integrity, that he was offered the Cashiership of the Ebensburg Bank -- owned by Levy & Co .- the respon- sible duties of which he assumed, and retains to the present time. In political faith he is an unswerving Republican, and such was the confidence reposed in his honesty, straight- forward, outspoken sentiments, that his fellow-citizens no- minated and elected him, in 1871, a member of the Legis- lature ; and recognizing the ability that he displayed in this new sphere of action have re-elected him for three succes- sive terms as their Representative. The sound judgment he displayed in all matters of finance, and in connection with his extensive business experience, was the means of bringing his name prominently before the public as a can- dlidate for the office of State Treasurer. His social nature has won for him a wide popularity, and his legislative ability is freely acknowledged by his fellow-members.
ARLINGTON, RICHARD, Teacher, was born in West Marlborough township, Chester county, , Pennsylvania, August 13th, 1834. He was a descendant of Abraham Darlington, who emi- grated from England to Chester county, in 1705. llis mother, Edith, was the daughter of Thomas Smedley, a minister of the Society of Friends. Having had a preliminary education in his native county, he gra- duated at Harvard University and commenced teaching, at the early age of eighteen, in Highland township, Chester county, Pennsylvania. Subsequently he filled more im- portant positions in the Friends' High School at Westfield, New Jersey, and in the Central Friends' High School in Philadelphia. In 1859, he purchased Ercildown Seminary, Chester county, where he had received a part of his early education, and assumed the management of this old and worthy institution of learning, which position he has filled for more than forty years. During this time more than one thousand young ladies have been received as pupils under his care, and many of these now fill positions of trust and responsibility for which they were trained by him. Ilis fitness for the calling which he has chosen is widely acknowledged, and has gained for the institution over which he presides an enviable reputation. The interest he takes in the general subject of education has been shown
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in the debates of many educational assemblages; and on frequent occasions he has delivered public addresses on this and cognate subjects which have commended the science of education to his auditors. In 1861, he married Lizzie 1. Alexander, a former teacher in Ercildown Seminary.
GORDON, GEORGE FLEMING, Artist and Con- tractor, was born in Philadelphia, in 1818; is . the son of George Gordon, and of Scotch extrac- tion. Ilis parents had designed him for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, and his edu- cation was commenced with that view; circum- stances, however, changed the current of his life, and while pursuing his stu lies, he learned the trade of a marble-worker and sculptor with his father, in New York and Philadelphia. After the completion of his apprenticeship, he entered into business with his father. In 1838, he went to the Western country, and visited Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis. Ile established a branch of the business at Cincinnati, where he resided for three years. Ile then returned to Philadel- phia, and subsequently went to Iowa, and to the Galena lead region, prospecting for marble and "mincral." In 1842, he proceeded to New Orleans, and remained in that city for four years, engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 1846, on the outbreak of the Mexican War, he entered the 2d Regiment of Louisiana Volunteers, and was elected an officer of Company F. He passed his three months' term of service on the line of the Rio Grand del Norte. Returning thence, he once more reached Philadelphia, and in 1847 purchased a monthly magazine called, The Christian, of which he assumed the editorial management. He enlarged the serial and it became The Christian Pearl, a dollar magazine, thoroughly unsectarian in its views. Ile had, at an early age, become a member of the Associate Reformed I'resbyterian Church, to which his parents belonged, and in it he continued for some time an active, zealous member; but becoming dissatisfied with the narrowness of its dogmas, he left its communion and joined the religious society then under the pastorale of the Rev. Thomas II. Stockton, known as the Methodist Protestant sect, and was licensed as a local preacher. Ile was active in the organization of the Brotherly Love Society, and when Rev. T. II. Stockton went to Cincinnati, he was unanimously elected its Presi- dent-its object was religious, missionary, and benevolent. In connection with it, he established a Sunday school of over
. 500 members, which he personally superintended for about four years. Hle afterwards organized another Sunday school in connection with the Church of the New Testament, now under the care of his former pastor, Rev. T. II. Stockton, and continued its Superintendent for many years. Ile then became the head of the Union Sunday School; and is now a member of the Immanuel Presbyterian Church. After his editorial connection with The Christian Pearl ceased, he
became identified with the National Protestant Reporter, and afterwards The Young Christian-and in connection with his magazines, carried on the printing business for some years. In 1850, he became Missionary Agent of the American Society for ameliorating the condition of the Jews, and organized a Jerusalem Union in Philadelphia-its object being to aid a pioneer settlement in Palestine. In 1856, he was elected a member of Councils from the Fifteenth Ward, and thus began his active political career. As Chairman of the Committee on the Poor, he inaugurated many reforms in the Alms House, including the bettering of the condition of the insane in that institution. Ile was Chairman of the Committee which introduced the first steam fire-engine into the city, and was subsequently an eloquent advocate of the establishment of a Paid Fire Department. Ile took a great interest in the public schools, urged large appropriations for their benefit ; besides advocating loans for the erection of proper buildings, and was the author of the first Loan Bill passed by Councils. Ile also was the leader in the matter of appropriations for street drinking fountains, and designed several, two of which are in Fairmount Park. During this period of service in Councils, he became a student of law, under the preceptorship of the late James Goodman. Among other things, he advocated the issue of City Warrants, which could be. uscd. in payment of taxes ; a plan for a City In- surance Department, the profits of this business to pay the expenses of the city government; the establishment of Libraries in Police Stations, and, in his own ward, com- menced by donating a book-case containing one hundred volumes. He has been a School Director of the Fifteenth Ward for over fifteen years, and through his instrumentality many new features of discipline, etc., have been introduced. Among these may be named : regular examinations of pupils through all the grades ; the introduction of music, drawing, and physical exercises ; the organization of a Teachers' Asso- ciation, and of school principals into a Board of Teachers. Ile also took a prominent share in the erection of the first public statue-that of Washington, which now stands at the entrance of Independence IIall-and delivered the oration when the same was unveiled. Ile has been endeavoring for several years to establish a course of winter lectures in all the grammar schools of the city, as well as to have public libraries attached to cach individual school.
ICKERSIIAM, JAMES PYLE, LL. D., State Superintendent of Common Schools, was born in Newlin township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, March 5th, 1825, and is the son of Caleb Wicker- sham, the fourth in descent from Thomas Wicker- sham, who came to Pennsylvania about 1700, settled in the then wilderness of Chester county, and built the first house west of the Brandywine, which is still standing. Ilis mother was a daughter of James Pyle, also
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descended from Quaker stock. Ile was brought up on his father's farm, laboring and studying alternately until he went to the Unionville Academy, where he was at the age of sixteen an assistant teacher; he afterwards taught in one of the common schools of the district. While an in- structor of youth he was himself a student, and the greater part of his education was thus acquired. Ilis success as a teacher was marked from the beginning. In 1845, he be- came Principal of the Marietta (Pennsylvania) Academy, where he remained ten years, the institution prospering greatly. IIe relinquished it to accept the position of Su- perintendent of Schools in Lancaster County, and shortly after assuming its duties he founded the Normal , Institute at Millersville, out of which was eventually developed the First State Normal School, and, in fact, the whole Normal School system. In 1856, he became the Principal of this school, which he made one of the most flourishing institu- tions in the country. He remained there ten years, when he accepted the position he at present holds, that of State Superintendent of Common Schools, tendered him by Gover- nor Curtin, and twice thereafter by Governor Geary, his nomination being unanimously confirmed by the Senate, Under his administration the school affairs of the Common- wealth have made great progress, and Pennsylvania is the peer, in this respect, of any of her-sister States .: . He has been repeatedly offered-since his occupancy of this office -- similar positions in other States and abroad ; also a portfolio as Cabinet Minister by President Sarmiento of the Argen- tine Republic. Ile has assisted in establishing the Lan- caster County Teachers' Association',' and also those of the State and National Associations, of which he has been.at various times the President. IIe was also, in. 1869, elected President of the National Superintendents' Association. Ilis address before the National Teachers' Association, in 1865, on Education as an Element in the Reconstruction of the Union, was published by some liberal and patriotic Bos- tonians and broadly circulated throughout the country. His inaugural before the same body, 1866, on An American Education for the American People, besides being widely circulated at home, was translated into several foreign lan- guages, and scattered broadcast in Europe and South America. Professor Laboulaye, of the University of Paris, characterizes it as " the best exposition of the American idea of popular education that has ever been written." HIe is also the author of School Economy and Methods of Instruction, which are well known in the United States and in Europe; the first-named work has been translated . into Spanish by order of the Argentine Republic. At the request of Governor Curtin, he prepared the original bill providing for the destitute soldiers' and sailor,' orphans, and, in 1871, the Legislature entrusted to him the entire management of the Soldiers' Orphans' Schools. Since IS70, he has edited the Pennsylvania School Journal, the most important and widely circulated educational periodical in the Union.
GNEW, D. IIAYES, M. D., Physician and Sur- geon, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsyl- vania, in ISIS, and is the son of Dr. Agnew, an eminent physician of that section. His classical education was commenced at the Moscow Aca- demy, a flourishing institution then under the supervision of the Rev. Francis Latta, and located in Chester county. Ile next studied at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and finally completed his education at Newark College, Delaware, where one of his relatives-the Rev. John Holmes Agnew-was Professor of Languages. Ilis medical training was obtained at the University of Pennsyl- vania, and he entered upon the practice of his profession in the rural districts. After some years he removed to Phila- delphia, where he continued his practice, and commenced to deliver a course of Lectures in the Philadelphia School of Anatomy, in College avenue. At the date of the break- ing out of the Rebellion, his class in this time-honored in- stitution numbered two hundred and sixty-five students, representing every State in the Union. ITe also established at the same place the Philadelphia School of Operative Surgery. Ile was elected, in 1854, one of the Surgeons of the Philadelphia Hospital, and in that institution he founded the present Pathological Museum ; and for some time acted as its Curator. In 1863, he was appointed Demonstrator of Anatomy, and .- Assistant Lecturer on Clinical Surgery in the Medical .Department of the University of Pennsyl- vania; about the same time he was elected one of the Sur- geons of Willy' Ophthalmic Hospital. In 1865, he was elected to a similar position in the Pennsylvania Hospital, and likewise in the Orthopedic Hospital. In 1870, he was chosen to fill the Chair of Operative Surgery in the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, and in the year that followed he be- came Professor of the Principles and Practice of Surgery in the same institution. Ile is a most skilful, rapid and efficient operator in every department of general surgery, which is his speciality ; and his reputation is world-wide in this respect. Ile is at present, and has been for some time past, engaged in preparing for publication a large and ex- haustive work on Opcrative Surgery, the first volume of which is now (May, 1874) in press, and will be soon in the hands of the profession. He married a member of the Irving family of Chester county, a name well known in that section as being largely interested in the manufacture of iron.
UCHANAN, JAMES, Lawyer, Statesman, and Fifteenth President of the United States, was born near Mercersburg, Franklin county, Penn- sylvania, April 23d, 1791. Ilis father, James Buchanan, was a native of the county of Donegal, Ireland, and one of the earliest settlers of Franklin county, having emigrated thither in 1783. Ils mother, Elizabeth Speer, was the daughter of a respectable farmer
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of Adams county, a woman of remarkable native intellect, and distinguished for her masculine sense and rare literary taste. In 1798, James Buchanan, the ekler, removed to Mercersburg, where his son received his academical educa- tion, and made such rapid progress in his studies that his father determined to give him the benefit of a collegiate course. Ile entered Dickinson College at the age of four- teen, and during his entire term of four years outstripped all his classmates in the acquirement of knowledge. He graduated in ISog. In December of the same ycar, he com- menced the study of law with James Hopkins of Lancaster, the leading attorney at that bar. IIe was admitted to prac- tice, November 17th, 1812, and at once took the front rank in the profession. When but a lawyer of four years stand- ing, he was selected to conduct, unaided by senior counsel, the defence of a distinguished judge, who was impeached before the Senate of Pennsylvania. Ilis defence on this occasion was a masterly display of legal acumen and forensic ability, that at once gave him a wide reputation ; and from that period business poured in upon him. So successful was he, that when but forty years of age he had acquired means that enabled him to retire from the profession. IIe carly displayed his patriotism by enlisting as a private in the company commanded by Captain Henry Shippen, which marched from Lancaster to the defence of Baltimore during the War with England, in 1812-'14, and with which he served till honorably discharged. In October, 1814, he was cleeted a member of the lower House of the State Legis- lature, and re-elected in 1815. His next step upward was his election, in 1820, as Representative to Congress. Ilis first elaborate speech was made January 11th, 1822, and was deemed so important as to be published verbatim; it at once enrolled him as one of the ablest men in the nation, and gave him a national reputation. Ile was constantly re-elected to Congress, and although originally a Federalist, he changed to the Democratic faith and supported General Jackson for President, in 1828, being himself re-elected to Congress during the campaign, and made Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. On March 3d, 1831, he voluntarily retired from Congress, and was soon afterwards appointed United States Minister to Russia by President Jackson ; in this position he concluded the first commercial treaty between the United States and Russia, securing to our sea- nien important privileges in the Baltic and Black Seas. In I833, on his return to the United States, he was elected United States Senator, taking his seat December 15th, IS34. Ile advocated Texan independence, and its recognition by the United States, and afterwards the admission of Texas as one of the States of the Union. On the opening of the 24th Congress he was made Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations. During Van Buren's administration he advocated the "Sub-treasury Act," and aided the passage of the bill; and while Tyler was President he opposed the Fiscal Bank bill, and advocated the Independent Treasury. For four years, from March 4th, 1845, or during the Polk I youth, he resigned his office to accept a Lieutenancy in the
administration, he was the able head of the State Depart- ment, and then retired to private life. When Pierce suc- ceeded Fillmore, March 4th, 1853, he was recalled from his retirement and created United States Minister to England. On his return to the United States he was nominated and elected to the Presidency, and inaugurated March 4th, IS57. IIis administration was begun under adverse circumstances, the country laboring in the throes of that great conflict which broke out shortly after his term expired, and which has passed into history under the name of the Great Rebel- lion. After March 4th, 1861, he retired to his residence at Whcatland, where he died, June Ist, 1868.
UAY, MATTHEW STANLEV, Lawyer, and Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was born in Dillsburg, York county, Pennsylvania, September 30th, IS33, and was named after Gene- ral Matthew Stanley of Brandywine Manor, Chester county. He is descended on both sides from one of the oldest Scotch-Irish families in the State, his ancestors making their appearance in this country during the carly part of the eighteenth century, having settled in Chester county in 1715. A sturdy and loyal attachment to their rights and religion has ever been a distinctive attribute of this race; and the record of his family in the early In- dian and Provincial Wars, the Revolution, and the War of IS12, shows how truc its members were to their tradi- tional instincts. In the year 1840, his father, who was a clergyman in the Presbyterian Church, and whose ministry was widely and favorably known throughout that denomi- nation, removed to western Pennsylvania, taking up his abode finally in Beaver; and the son, after several years preliminary instruction, was sent to Jefferson College, Can- onsburg, where he graduated with distinction at the age of seventeen years. Proceeding at once to Pittsburg, he com- meneed the study of law in the office of Penney & Sterrett, the latter an eminent judge at the present time in Allegheny county. However, before he had completed his studies, he became desirous of travelling, and was also in quest of a suitable place to locate. Ile accompanied a college friend to his home in Mississippi. After a sojourn of two years in that State, Louisiana, and Texas, during which time he ' taught school, lectured, and acquired much valuable infor- mation, he returned to his home in Beaver, where the im- press of his strong and well-balanced mind was soon to be made, not only upon the politics of his county, but on that of the whole State. Immechately after his return he re- sumed his legal studies with R. P. Roberts, in 1854, and was admitted to the bar ; and, in IS55, was appointed Pro- thonotary of Beaver County. In 1856, he was elected to the same office, and re-elected in 1859. In 1861, moved by the same patriotic spirit that possessed so many of our
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