The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2, Part 31

Author: Robson, Charles. 4n; Galaxy Publishing Company. 4n
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Philadelphia : Galaxy Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 894

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EDELL, GREGORY TOWNSEND, D. D., the first Rector of St. Andrew's Church, Phila- delphia, was born on Staten Island, New York, on October 28th, 1793. His father, Israel Bedell, was a man of exalted purity of charac- ter, who died in his eighty-first year, after having witnessed the eminent usefulness of his son. His mother was a sister of the Right Rev. Channing Morse, the elo- quent Bishop of Virginia. Losing his mother when only nine years old, his elder sisters assumed the entire charge of him and of his education. The failure of his father, soon after his mother's death, seriously impaired the pecu- niary ability of the family, and rendered it for some time a problem whether he would ever be able to attain the thorough education which it was the wish of the family he should receive. Through the intervention of a relative, whose means were by no means large, he was sent to the Episcopal Academy at Cheshire, in Connecticut, then under the care of Rev. Dr. Smith. Remaining there two years, the means for his support failed; and his weakness of constitution rendering hard and continuous study ex- ceedingly irksome, he was strongly tempted to abandon his project of a classical education. In this he was over-ruled, and, entering Columbia College, New York, in IS07, he prosecuted his studies with an ardor which overcame the feebleness of his constitution. Soon after his graduation, in ISII, he commenced his theological studies under Rev. Dr. Horr, an assistant minister of Trinity Church, New York, and was ordained to the Diaconate on November 4th, 1814. Ilis first sermon produced a powerful sensation for its rare beauty and the impressive eloquence with which it was delivered. His delicate constitution induced him to visit the Southern States during the following winter and spring, and on his return he entered upon his first parochial charge, in Hudson, New York, June 4th, 1815.

On October 29th, 1816, he was married to Penelope Thurs- ton. The son of this marriage is now the Right Rev. G. Thurston Bedell, Bishop of Ohio. In July, ISIS, le was ordained a Presbyter, and in October removed to Fayette- ville, North Carolina. After four years of successful labor in this place, his attention was called to the advantages of a residence in Philadelphia, by the Rev. Benjamin Allen, rector of St. Paul's Church. His wish was to settle in New York city; but as he came North, on his way to New York, he was urged to remain, at least for a few weeks, in Philadelphia. As soon as he had arrived, he was met by an invitation from a number of gentlemen to remain and attempt the organization of another parish, they making themselves responsible for his support for one year. Ile accepted the invitation, though it cost him the sacrifice of his most cherished plans. During the summer, he preached among the different churches, and the organization of a new parish, to be known as St. Andrew's, having been per- fected, a lot on Eighth street near Spruce was secured, and in the middle of September, 1822, the corner-stone of the new church was laid by the venerable Bishop White. Ile commenced the services of his new parish in the Masonic Hall, in the autumn of that year, but subsequently ac- cepted the generous offer of the vestry of St. James's Parish to use their church on Sunday evenings : at the close of this series of services, he was permitted to make a collection in the church for the benefit of his new organization. Ilis ministry had already attracted great attention, his services being always participated in by vast crowds, attracted by his peerless cloquence, by a style of ofatory superior to any thing then known in the pulpits of the country, and by his fervid and faithful exhibition of the gospel. A new era was inaugurated in the opening of St. Andrew's, on the first Sunday in June, 1823. Ilis ministry in Philadelphia was eminently successful from the commencement. It was a matter of course that on every Sunday the church was crowded, even throughout the aisles, and the good accom- plished under his earnest preaching is incalculable. In 1834, his feeble constitution began to show symptoms of specdy decay. Visiting Bedford Springs, he found him- self growing much worse, and, on his return home, he died in Baltimore, on August 30th, 1834, leaving behind him a memory which remains green and fragrant now when more than a third of a century has passed.

EWTON, RICHARD, D. D., Clergyman, was born in Liverpool, England, July 25th, 1813. In early childhood, he came with his parents to the United States, and settled in Philadelphia, where he received such education as the schools of that day afforded. Ilaving determined to study for the Christian ministry, he entered a manual labor school near Wilmington, Delaware, when he was about sixteen

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years of age. After due preparation, he matriculated at the | spected practitioner, who remained his coadjutor in the law University of Pennsylvania, whence he graduated in June, until his decease. Ile was unvaryingly an active mover and worker in the prevailing polities of the day ; and, by his energy, perseverance, and commendable qualities of mind and heart, signalized himself as a valuable ally and assistant. At first a Democrat, he became, when the famous Fremont campaign agitated the country, an in- flexible and warmly interested Republican. Subsequent to this stirring period, he invariably sided with the latter party, worked persistently for its interests, and in all times endeavored to strengthen and uphold it. He was a man of sterling character, great firmness and probity, and i- swerving rectitude. As an incorruptible citizen, De gained the respect and admiration of all that knew him; as a politician, the esteem of honest men, and the fear of evil- doers; as Governor of Kansas, he was the recipient of countless encomiums and plaudits. He died, July 5th, 1864, and was buried in the cemetery of that Easton, where he had gleaned his first laurels and his last. 1836, and engaged in the study of theology at the General Seminary, in New York. He was ordained a deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church, July 4th, 1839, and shortly afterward took charge of a parish at Westchester county, Pennsylvania. After the retirement of Dr. May from the rectorship of St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, he accepted a call to become its pastor, and for twenty-two years minis- tered to that congregation with great acceptance, and con- tributed much to the temporal and spiritual prosperity of that parish. In the spring of 1862, he accepted a call from the Church of the Epiphany, of Philadelphia, where he has since labored assiduously and effectively. Ile received the honorary degree of D. D. from Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, some twenty years ago. He is an author of marked ability, and has given to the public many volumes of in- structive and entertaining, moral and religious matter. His writings are peculiarly adapted to the wants of youth, and find a place in the Sunday school libraries of almost every denomination. Among them are, Rills from the Fountain of Life, The Best Things, The King's Highway, The Giants, and Hlow to Fight Them, with very many others of familiar title. He is also a regular and valuable contributor to various Sunday school papers and periodi- cals, and in every possible way manifests his decp interest in the welfare of those institutions. He is a man of strong moral sentiments and great depth of thought. As a speaker, he is clear and accurate in expression, while his discourses abound in choice sentiments and graphic illustrations. Socially, he is a man of warm sympathy and the kindliest . feeling, and is much endcared to the circles in which he moves.

EEDER, ANDREW HI., Lawyer, and Governor of Kansas, was the son of Absalom Reeder, who, originally of Trenton, New Jersey, came to Easton, Pennsylvania, about 1770. After re- ceiving a thorough general education in Law- renceville, New Jersey, Andrew HI. settled in Easton, and there pursued a course of law studies with the well known General Peter Ihrie. On the 18th of Novem- ber, 1828, he was admitted to the bar under the most favor- able auspices, and in this place practised uninterruptedly and successfully during many years. Later, he resided in Kansas, and, while there, succeeded through his varied attainments and courteous affability to rich and poor, in winning the affection and esteem of all around him. In September, 1854, he was appointed by President Pierce, Governor of the State, and fulfilled his numerous and arduous duties with honor to himself, and to those who had chosen him to occupy this high position. Upon re- turning to Easton, he resumed active practice, in July, 1857, connecting with him Henry Green, a worthy and re- |National Convention, at Baltimore, which nominated Henry

RANKLIN, THOMAS E., Lawyer, was born in Philadelphia, April 20th, ISIO. His father, Judge Walter Franklin, was at that time Attorney- General for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Ilis mother was a daughter of James Ewlen, a well-known and highly esteemed preacher of the Society of Friends. His parents removed to Lancaster soon after his birth, and there he received the rudiments of education. In 1822, he was placed in the mathematical school of Joshna Hoopes, in Downington, Chester county, where he remained for abont a year. In September, IS24, he entered Vale College, and graduated with honors, in 1828. Ile was also admitted into the societies of " Phi, Beta, Kappa," and " Chi, Delta, Theta," mem- bership in which was then considered an honorable distinc- tion, an evidence of superior scholarship. After leaving college he commenced to study law, both in the office of his father, and in that of his brother-in-law, W. Hopkins. In 1831, being but twenty-one years of age, he was ad- mitted to the bar, and at once commenced the practice of his profession in Lancaster, He quickly established an extensive and lucrative practice, which has continued for more than forty-three years. In February, 1833, he was appointed District Attorney for the Mayor's Court of the City of Lancaster, which position he held for about thice years, In April, 1851, he was appointed; by Governor Johnston, Attorney General for the commonwealth of Penn. sylvania, and held the position until the end of the admin- istration, in January, 1852. In 1855, he was reappointed by Governor Pollock, and continued the office until IS55, retiring again with the Governor. In 1844, he was a delegate from the Whig party, of Lancaster county, to the

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Clay for the Presidency ; and, in 1848, to the National Convention, at Philadelphia, which nominated General Z. Taylor for the Presidency ; and again, in 1864, in conjunc- tion with the late Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, to the conven- tion at Baltimore, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for re-election. In 1847, he was Chairman of the Whig State Central Committee. In IS61, he was one of the delegates appointed by Governor Curtin, to what was popularly known as the " l'eace Convention," at Washington. The degree of L.L. D. was conferred upon him by Franklin and Marshall College, in June, 1874. lie was one of the original Directors of the Harrisburg & Lancaster Railroad Company, and also its solicitor. He has been for many years a Director of the Farmer,' National Bank, of Lan- caster, and President of the Lancaster Fire Insurance Com- pany, since its organization; and is on the direction of several other public companies. Ile was married, Novem- ber 7th, 1837, to a daughter of Colonel George Mayer, who served in the War of IS12, and. was subsequently a prominent merchant of Lancaster.

OHNSON, DR. WILLIAM N., Physician, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, May 10th, 1807. Ilis father, John Johnson, who built the present family mansión upon the site of the Ger- mantown battle-ground, was the great-grandson of Dirk Jansen, who came over from Delft, Holland, in 1683. The name was anglicised in the next generation. Dirk Jansen, as he . was then called, was a Friend, and probably one of those who were converted to that faith by William Penn, on the occasion of his visit to Germany, and who afterward came to this country for the freer exercise of their religion. Ile bought large tracts of land in Germantown, from the Frankfort Company, London ; and a house built by him in 1689, is still stand- ing. As intimated, the battle of Germantown was fought (October 4th, 1777,) upon the well known Johnson and Chew property ; the British cannon being placed in position in front of the site of the present Johnson house. Thirty years after this memorable' epoch, William Norton, the eldest son of nine children, was born on this famous battle- ground; and in due time was fitted for college at the Ger- mantown Academy. "Ir 1824, he entered the Junior Class at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1826, sharing the first honor with two others, who graded equally in scholarship with himself. Ile im- mediately began the study of medicine under Professor

vivid and picturesque home letters of those stirring and eventful times. He subsequently extended his travels through Italy, Germany, England, and Scotland, when he returned home, and immediately began the practice of his profession in his native town. Here, his life was filled up with professional usefulness. 'Ile was the benefactor of the poor and needy, and a kind ministrant to all who sought his counsel. Ile died, June 22d, 1870.

URGESS, JOIIN CHANDLER, Banker and Hotel Proprietor, was born in Waitsfield, Wash- ington county, Vermont, January 9th, 1811. Ile was one of a large family of W. B. Burgess and Hester (Williams) Burgess, of Pittsfield, Massa- chusetts. Ilis father was a blacksmith and bridge builder, and, while he himself was an infant, moved to Troy, New York ; after remaining there some four years or more, he settled in Pittstown, in the same county and State. During two years he resided here, and in which time he built the iron bridge across the Iloosic river. From Pitts- town the Burgess family emigrated to what was then called the Black river country, in Oneida county, New York. Ilere John received what primary education could be ob- tained from the log cabin schools of those days; working on the farm in summer, attending school in the winter. This life he led until nearly twenty-two years of age, when, travelling to Hartford, Connecticut, he was employed as clerk by E. Fessenden, the proprietor of the Eagle Hotel. After serving creditably during four years in this establish- ment, he secured an engagement as clerk at the City Hotel, in the same town; in this house also he remained for the same length of time. Ile then went to Morristown, New Jersey, and leased for himself the hotel formerly erected by W. Gibbons; this establishment he conducted for two years, when he returned to Ilartford, and leased for five years, (1846-1851,) the City Hotel, where, in earlier days, he had been a clerk. Pecuniarily, his experience in hotel keeping had been eminently successful; so much so, that, at the expiration of this lease, in 1851, he retired from active business. A year later, however, he was solicited by a number of New York capitalists to take charge of the Wyoming House, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This was the first hotel blending comfort with elegance that had been established in the town, and its great success and popularity was due to the able management and courteous business- like tact evinced by its chief. At the expiration of three years, he negotiated for the purchase of the house, and it years; but before three years had elapsed, he was again its host and director. While the hotel was managed by him, many of the prominent men of the valley made it their home, while all the leading business men who frequented that country, found there every requisite of a first-class

George B. Wood, of Philadelphia; and, in 1829, took his became his property. A year later, he leased it for five medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania. Ile . soon after went to Europe, and for two years attended clinical leetures at the hospitals in Paris, Ile was present at the Revolution of July, 1830, which drove Charles X. from his thuone, and his fruitful pen furnished a series of

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establishment. Also it is a fact well worthy of note, that the success and reputation sustained by the Wyoming Ilouse, is due entirely to the talents and shrewd sagacity displayed in so many ways by its proprietor; while the vending of liquors at the " bar" contributed little to its income. In fact, he has, during his long experience in hotel keeping, endeavored to prove that a house, second to none in every point, could be made to yield a remunera- tive income without relying upon the traffie in intoxicating liquors. In this he has been successful, as in all things che; and in repressing wisely an occasionally objection- able feature in this species of business, while devoting his attention especially to its more important features, he has found honor and fortune. In 1866, owing to the demand for further accommodation, a large wing was added to the house ; and again, in 1872, one still larger, the latter ad. dition giving thirty five additional rooms, under which are two spacious and handsome stores; it has all the appurte- nances of a thoroughly first-class hotel. In 1869, John Ilandley, an attorney in Scranton, appreciating the solid integrity and reputable sagacity of Mr. Burgess, solicited him for permission to use his name, and together they in- stituted a banking firm known as " Handley and Company." So rapidly did their business prosper and increase, that, at the expiration of two years, they re-organized and con- verted it into a State bank, and received a charter under the name of the Merchants' and Mechanics' Bank of Scranton : John Ilandley, President; John Burgess, Vice- President-positions still filled by them. IIe has ever taken an active part in all general improvements concern- ing Scranton, and was the foremost man when the im- portant question of the introduction of drainage and sewer- age was under discussion. He was one of the prime movers in organizing and building up the Episcopal Church of the town, and has been closely connected with that sect since his residence in Hartford. In 1844, he was married to Marie Adelaide Amblairde, one of a worthy French family, then residents of Springfield, Massachusetts. To this estimable lady he attributes a large share of his success in life ; while hier active aid, politie counsel, and untiring attention to household duties have helped greatly to cheer and enrich him. In 1865, there was an interesting gather- ing, at Cleveland, of the Burgess family, and on that occasion, the festivities were of a character at once joyous and affecting.

PRAKE, JOILN, Merchant, Easton, Pennsylvania, was born near Ashbury, Warren county, New Jersey, December, 1So3. Ilis father, a farmer, was in comparatively limited circumstances, and hence all the education received by the son was acquired by attendance on a country school during the winter months. Of German and Scotch descent, he inherited those traits of character for energy and perse-

verance which pre-eminently belong to the people of those nationalities, and which tend to, so frequently, render them successful in the business of life. Leaving his father's farm at the age of twenty-five, he settled in a village called Broadway, in his native county, where he opened a hotel, and also a small country store, In about three years he removed to Townsbury, where he continued merchandising, and also started a saw mill. At this place he remained about two years, when he moved to Bridgeville, and turned his attention entirely to commercial pursuits. About this time he formed the acquaintance of, and employed Derrick IInlick, who afterwards became his partner in business, which relationship continued, as Drake & Ilulick, until the death of the junior partner, in 1872. The business is still conducted under the old firm name, by the sons of the original partners. His several removals within a few years seem to have resulted greatly to his advantage, for his business and means steadily increased. In 1836, he left New Jersey, and located in Easton, Pennsylvania. At this period Easton was a small town with its business confined to the immediate vicinity, not even extending to the limits of the county: llere he opened a retail store, associating with him his former employe, Derrick Hulick. With men of their energy and business tact, the operations of a retail store in a small country town were too circumscribed. It was not long before the retail was converted into a whole- sale business, and the trade formerly confined to the town and its immediate vicinity was extended throughout the fertile valley of the Lehigh, the counties of Eastern Penn- sylvania, and even into Southern New York. The establish- ment of this firm being before the construction of the many railroads which now traverse those rich sections of Penn- sylvania, developing as much if not more substantial wealth than the same aren of any other portion of the United States, Drake & Hulick gathered into the town of Easton, and transported thence to the great marts of trade, New York and Philadelphia, the produce of the country by means of wagons. These were under the superintendence of the junior partner, while the senior managed the mercantile and financial branches of the business at home. Under such management as this it was not long before the firm not only did a thriving business, but also monopolized the trade of the surrounding country. The capacity and probity of the senior partner was soon established and acknowledged by the community in which he lived, and he was, early in life, regarded as one of the leading business men of that section. Active and public spirited, he was closely connected with every improvement looking to the advancement of Easton. He was a large stockholder in, and director of, the principal bank of the town. Ile was heavily interested in the iron trade in the Lehigh valley, and was a controlling director and originator of the Thomas and the Carbon Iron Companies. He was also one of the (five) owners of the Delaware Rolling Mill. He was not only an intelligent, active, and successful business man,

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but he had few superiors in the faculty of conceiving and managing large operations. In 1828, he married Margaret, daughter of Samuel S. Stewart, of Warren county, New Jersey. lle had no especial taste for politics, but always adhered to the Whig and Republican parties. He died in April, 1873, and his remains repose in the cemetery of the town whose prosperity he so materially advanced. Com- mencing life with no capital but energy, probity, and good judgment, he ended a life of usefulness, having amassed a fortune estimated at half a million of dollars, and leaving a record wholly honorable.

OFFIN, JAMES HENRY, LL. D., Scientist, was born at Williamsburg, Massachusetts, September 6th, 1So6. His father had at one time been wealthy, but suffered reverses through the war of 1812, and in consequence the lad was com. pelled to learn a trade. Hle selected that of musical instrument maker, but had hardly commenced, when, through the suggestion of his cousin-who afterwards became the founder of the American Tract Society-he determined upon an entirely different course of life. Trough without any means of support, he matriculated at Amberst College, and throughout his four years' course there carned sufficient to meet his expenses, while still vigorously pursuing his studies, and notwithstanding he encountered a serious obstacle in the shape of an attack of blindness, through which he lost one year's time. IIc graduated in 1828, and was engaged for some time as a teacher. In this position he was remarkably successful; being deeply interested, and even enthusiastic in the work himself, he seldom failed to awaken the zeal of his students. One of his earliest undertakings of public importance was the establishment, at Greenfield, of the Fellenberg Manual Labor Institution. Ile subsequently hecame Principal of the Ogdensburg (New York) Academy, and, in 1839, a member of the Williams College Faculty. In 1846, he assumed the chair of Mathematics and Astronomy in Lafayette College, at Easton, Pennsylvania, and retained the same until his death, which occurred at that college on February 6th, 1873. Ilis labors in the cause of science were chiefly devoted to the department of meteorology, and the development of the theory of the winds. Ile was one of the committee of three, appointed to memorialize the United States Government to establish the Signal Service, known as the " Probabilities " bureau. le invented several self-registering weather instruments; and his in- vestigation», made with great minuteness, form the chapter on Climate in the Natural History of New York, published by the State in IS45. The Results of Meteorological Ob. servations, a quarto of over one thousand pages, which is a standard work on the climate of North America, was pre- pared under hi, supervision. On the subject of the theory

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The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2, Part 31

Author: Robson, Charles. 4n; Galaxy Publishing Company. 4n Publication date: 1874 Publisher: Philadelphia : Galaxy Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 894

Author: Robson, Charles. 4n; Galaxy Publishing Company. 4n
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Philadelphia : Galaxy Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 894