USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2 > Part 35
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ICKESON, WILLIAM T. W., M. D., Physician, and Scientist, was born at Woodbury, New Jer- sey, January 4th, 1828. Ilis father, although a native of the United States, was of Norwegian extraction, his immediate ancestor having emi- grated to this country with a colony of that peo- ple, in 1776, and settled as a farmer at Salem, New Jersey. Ile received his preliminary education at the primary schools of Woodbury and the Presbyterian Academy of that place. The classical studies of his early manhood he subsequently completed under a private tutor in Philadel- phia, in 1846 .: Having chosen medicine as his profession, he entered the, University of Pennsylvania, and was gra- duated from the Medical Department in 1849. Deciding to remain in . Philadelphia, immediately after graduating he-commenced the practice of his profession. - He met with more than average success, and remained in that city until 1853. Hle then moved to Greensboro', North Carolina, where for three years he was actively employed in practice, and also as Superintendent of mines during the gold and copper excitement which enlivened that region for a time. Returning to Philadelphia, he devoted himself with ardor and success not only to medicine but also to the manifac- ture of petroleum oil -. In pursuit of the latter interest he established a factory at Powelton, then a suburb of Phila- delphia, which, in 1860, was consumed by fire. After this
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misfortune he abandoned the walks of commercial life and confined himself strictly to the business of his profession. In 1861, shortly after the commencement of the Civil War, he offered his services to the State, and was commissioned as Assistant Surgeon. He was assigned to duty with the 4th Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserves, and ordered to Camp Washington. Soon after he was promoted to the full rank of Surgeon, and connected with the 99th Regi- ment of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. With this com- mand he remained for about two and a half years, when he retired from the service and located at Media. He has through life devoted much of his time to the study of the classics and natural sciences, as well as to the higher and more abstract departments of his profession. With survey- ing, mining and engineering, he is equally familiar. Geo- logy and surgery have ever been his favorite studies. To these sciences he is passionately attached. In 1852, at the early age of twenty-four, he occupied the Chair of Pro- fessor of Agricultural Chemistry in the Wagner Free Insti- tute of Philadelphia. In 1854, he was married to Eunice, daughter of Jabez Burchard of Philadelphia, United States Commissioner for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In 1863, he entered into a second marriage with Emily J., daughter of J. Snider, Jr., wine merchant, and inventor and manufacturer of Snider's rifle. He still continues active in the practice of his profession at Media. Preferring sur- gery to general practice, his connection is so extended as to give him little time apart from that devoted to the de- mands of his patients, though he still feels and exhibits a warm interest in every discovery tending to advance the sciences to which he is devoted.
ANLEY, CHARLES DE HAVEN, Lawyer, was born in the township of Radnor, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, December 20th, 1807. His father, Benjamin Manley, was a farmer and mechanic, residing in the county of Delaware, near Chester; his great-grandfather was a mem- bei of a noble family of Ireland, and his mother, a De- Haven, "of the Dellavens of Schuylkill," was of German extraction. His preliminary education was received at the country schools of the neighborhood, after which he was sent to boarding school for about one year. After having received a fair English education, he, at the age of seven- teen, commenced teaching school in Chicster. He continued at this occupation for four years, applying himself diligently during his leisure hours to the study of law, and by eco- nomy contriving to save a considerable sum of money. But his health beginning to evidence signs of failure, in consequence of too intense application to his studies and business, he abandoned teaching and assumed a clerical position in the Bank of Delaware, located in Chester. In this capacity he remained about sixteen months, when he
entered into the mercantile business as one of the firm of Eyre & Manley. In this connection he continued for the four years succeeding, when, abandoning commercial pur- suits, he again turned his attention to the law. Ile entered the office of P. II. Engle as a student, continued there for some time, and finally, finishing his legal reading under the tuition of E. Darlington, was admitted to the bar, in 1848. Establishing himself at first in Chester, he there practiscd until 1850, when he removed to Media, then just commenc- ing to be settled as a town. Here his professional business rapidly and steadily increased ; it was not confined to the State courts, but included much and important business in the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1856, he was elected to the State Legislature, and was subsequently the Democratic nomince for Congress in the district in which he resided. He has always been a Democrat in politics, and while he is not aggressive or offensive in his opinions, he has always been firm in his adhesion to the principles of his party. Having since his admission to the bar confined himself almost exclusively to the business of his profession, he is looked upon more as a conscientious lawyer than as an aspiring politician. He has always taken an active in- lerest and given substantial aid to any movement tending to the advancement of the town of Media, and has re- peatedly been a member of the Town Council. In 1838, he was married to Margaret Worrall, a member of an old and well-known family of Delaware county. In religion, he is an Episcopalian, a member of the vestry of St. Paul's Church at Chester, and has always manifested a deep in- terest in the religious denomination with which he is con- nected, as well as in all questions of private and public morality at home and abroad.
EARSOL, JOHN HARPER, Journalist, was born at Cambridge, Chester county (now Lancaster county), Pennsylvania, January 12th, 1818. His father was of Welsh descent, and was a soldier in the (Regular) United States Army. His mo- ther, who was of Irish extraction, was killed when he was quite young. At the age of seven years he was re- ceived by IIugh Maxwell, of Lancaster, into his printing office as errand boy. At the close of one year he com- menced setting type, for which he had always manifested a fondness, and in six months' time became the most rapid compositor in the office. Subsequently he obtained the reputation of being one of the fastest compositors, if not the fastest, in the United States. At the age of fourteen he re- moved to Mount Joy, in order to attend store for his sister. In this occupation he continued for two years, when he re- turned to the types, having obtained employment in a print- ing office in Marietta, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. IIe remained there one year, and on the failure of his employer . made his way to Philadelphia, and entered the office of
Joi Casey
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Riggs & Young, Printers, on Jayne above Sixth streets, with whom he worked until he attained his majority. After spending some time in different offices in Philadelphia and New York, he returned to Lancaster and entered into the employ of Colonel John W. Forney, who was then publishing the Lancaster Intelligencer and Journal; here he served as foreman of the office. On August 19th, 1839, he associated with him Bryson and Wimer and commenced the publication of a literary and temperance paper, called the Semi-weekly Gazette. The firm was not very long lived. The paper was disposed of, but the amount for which it was sold was never received on account of the failure of the purchasers. On February 10th, 1843, he commenced the publication, on a borrowed capital of $500, of the Weekly Express, a temperance paper. Ile con- tinued to issue the Express as a weekly, until 1856, when he associated with him J. M. W. Geist, and started the Daily Express, now the oldest paper in Lancaster county. Ilis paper is outspoken in the cause of temperance and public morality, and is independent on all subjects. Ile confines himself closely to his business, and has per- sistently refused to accept any office, honor, or emolument. Ile has always taken a great interest in worthy young. men, and has, even at personal sacrifice, advanced the fortunes of many such. Being a champion of the"temperance cause, he aids it by every means in his power. Ile is President of the Committee of Forty-five,"to suppress the sale of Liquor on the Sabbath; is Vice-President of the Young Men's Christian Association, of Lancaster, and Chairman of its Board of Finance; and is also active in many other good works tending to the improvement of public morality. During the late Civil War he was .a strong supporter of the government and dedicated his only living son to his country's service : his boy was killed upon the field when but seventeen years of age. He was mar- ried, in 1844, to a daughter of Benjamin Ober, a wealthy and prominent merchant of Lancaster, and seven children have been born to him, three of whom are living. lle is an active member of St. Paul's German Reformed Church, and is Superintendent of the Sunday-school connected therewith. Believing and acting on the principle that true greatness lies largely in a rigid adherence to truth and duty as a man understands them, he is a highly respected and influential member of the community in which he resides.
ASEY, HION. JOSEPHI, Lawyer, Ex-Chief Jus- tice of the United States Court of Claims, was born in Ringgold's Manor, Washington county, Maryland, December 17th, 1814. llis father, Joseph Casey, was born in Wicklow, Ireland, July 12th, 1771 ; was educated as a Physician, at the University of Edinburgh, and emigrated to the United States in 1792. Ile married, in 1804, Rebecca, the
daughter of Thomas Mclaughlin, of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, who was of Scottish descent and who had served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Joseph was next to the youngest of nine children, and was born while his father, a man of great learning in the ancient classics and literature, was engaged as tutor in preparing the sons of General Ringgold for college. The father, after a time, re- moved to Pennsylvania, and lived at Newville and Shippens- burg, in Cumberland county, until his death, in IS41. Prior to that date, the family, through misfortune, were obliged to separate for a time. In 1819, Joseph was hired to a black- smith named Henry McDermond, at Newville, and here he remained until his fourteenth year, when he returned to his father's home, in Shippensburg. Up to this time he had attended school but three months in his life. Not- withstanding, he was by no means illiterate, every oppor- tunity for the acquirement of knowledge having been eagerly seized by him. Ile was very fond of books and devoured all literary matter that fell in his way. From the age of five years he attended Sunday-school, mostly at the Big Spring Presbyterian Church, of Newville, and so strong and tenacious was his memory that he early com- mitted the greater part of the New Testament and most of the Psalms ..: In this manner was laid the foundation of the moral, and intellectual character which now distin- guishes him. After: leaving his blacksmith tutor he at- tended school for about one year, and thus acquired the rudiments of a fair. English education. His father's means being insufficient to afford him further scholastic advan- tages, he, in 1831, entered as an apprentice, a hat manu- factory in" Shippensburg. Ilere he remained for over a year, when he engaged himself, in the same business, to Samuel Culbertson, at Williamsport, Maryland. Through the friendship of the wife of Ambrose M. C. Cramer, a merchant of that town, he was enabled to procure books and encouraged to pursue his reading and studies. But hard work and close application to books began to under- mine his health. He returned to Newville, and there he remained, engaged at his trade, teaching school, and con- tinuing his studies, during the years 1834-35. He then entered the employ of the late William Heyser, of Cham- bersburg, as clerk and assistant manager of a large manu- factory. The active employment, and outdoor exercise fully re-established his health, and in the autumn of 1836, he entered, as a student, the law office of the Ilon. Charles B. Penrosc, at Carlisle. During the two years of the course he taught school in order to defray his expenses, and devoted his leisure moments to the acquirement of legal knowledge. lle was admitted to the bar at Carlisle, in November, 1838. Ile then settled at Bloomfield, Perry county. In IS41, he was married to Mary A. Kreftle, of Carlisle-three children were born to him, all of whom are dead. In the spring of 1845, he removed to New Berlin, Union county, where he at onee assumed a leading position at the bar of that region. In 1848, he was nomi-
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nated by the Whig party for Congress, in the old Thirteenth District of Pennsylvania, as the successor of Governor Pollock. The contest was a very fierce and determined one, and, though the district was strongly Democratic and his opponent championed by the most able men of that party, yet he was elected by a handsome majority. Ile declined renomination in 1850. In Congress, as elsewhere, he was liberal and conservative in his views and votes. He supported, in the main, the administrations of Presi- dents Taylor and Fillmore, and voted for Clay's Compro- mise Measures of 1850, except the Fugitive Slave Law. In 1851, the new amendment to the Constitution making the Judiciary elective, he was nominated by the Whig party for President Judge of the district composed of the counties of Mifflin and Union. Owing to a division in the party, he was defeated. In 1855, he removed to Harrisburg, where his reputation had preceded him. At the solicitation of Governor Pollock, he accepted the appointment of Com- missioner, under an Act of Assembly, to settle the contest between the State and certain New York and Ohio railroad corporations, known as " The Erie Railroad War." While thus engaged, the office of Reporter of the Decisions of the Supreme Court becoming vacant, it was tendered to him by Governor Pollock, and was accepted. He reported twelve volumes, known as Casey's Reports, which gave general satisfaction both to Bench and Bar. During all this time he also attended to an increasing and important practice. During his official connection with the Court, the Bench was occupied by Judges Lewis, Black, Wood- ward, Lawrie, Knox, and others. Ile enjoyed the friend- ship and confidence of them all. In May, 1861, he was appointed to the Bench of the United States Court of Claims, by President Lincoln, and in 1863, upon the re- organization of that court and the extension of its authority, he was appointed its first Chief Justice. This position he held until December Ist, 1870, when, in consequence of ill health and the demands of private business, he resigned, and resumed the practice of law in Washington, District of Columbia. The records of the Court over which he so long presided are substantial evidence of his high character as a Judge. The post was one of uncommon difficulty and delicacy; the track an unbeaten one. The judicial rela- tions of the citizen with his government, regarding business transactions, had not been defined. How far the ordinary rules and principles of law, which regulate the intercourse between individuals, were modified in their character or application, by one of the parties being a sovereign nation, were unsolved problems. Judge Casey and his friends can refer, with pride, to the record of his discharge of these high and responsible duties. Freedom from prejudice, and fearlessness in the right, ever characterized his decis- ions and opinions. Resuming his practice, after his resignation, he was soon overwhelmed with business, which continues, of the most extensive and lucrative nature. In politics, he has long been identified with the
Republican party, though, in 1872, he supported Horace Greeley for President. In his religious connections, he is a Presbyterian, a member and elder in the New York Avenue Church. He is free from all sectarian bigotry or bias, believing in the united efforts of all Christians for the elevation and regeneration of mankind.
ALDY, PETER, Merchant, was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, March 2d, 1789, thirteen years after the Declaration of Independence, and when Pennsylvania was little more than a virgin wil- ยท
derness. The family was of German extraction, and upon the paternal side were seven brothers, all of whom were soldiers in the American ranks when the Revolution was unfolding itself. Opportunities for educa- tion in those days were rare and meagre in Pennsylvania, and Peter's humble rank in life prevented him from acquir- ing aught save a very limited share of school discipline or learning. When sixteen years of age, he entered his father's blacksmith shop, and became an apprentice to the trade, continuing in this occupation until he was twenty- one, or " free," according to the custom and language of the time. ' The over-ruling desire for pecuniary competence and independence, which has been, in so influential a degree, the distinctive trait in his career, was at an early date noticeably prominent. In place of giving to profitless pursuits his leisure time, as was the general habit of boys at his age, it was devoted to extra work, therefore to extra earnings. Thus, when he had attained his majority, he had not only well fitted himself for an active life by economical habits and steady labor, but had also accumulated a sum of money not usually found in the possession of one of his age and trade. The blacksmith's shop scemed to be a sphere too circumscribed for his aspirations ; and his atten- tion was turned to mercantile pursuits, wherein he resolved to hazard a venture. Borrowing the sum of $$50, he set out for Philadelphia, where, obtaining further credit, he bought goods to the amount of between two and three thou- sand dollars. With these he returned to Danville, and established himself at once in business. In those days, there were no railroads in Pennsylvania, and a journey to Philadelphia was a tedious and costly affair. He was soon pleasantly assured that his undertaking was a success; the borrowed money was promptly repaid, and prospects were encouraging. Shortly after, his store became one of the principal centres of trade for all the surrounding country ; farmers brought to him their wheat and produce, which they exchanged for merchandise adapted to their require- ments ; this produce was floated on arks to Philadelphia, where it was again exchanged for fresh supplies of commo- cities. In this business he continued to amass wealth, until the year 1845, when he withdrew from mercantile pursuits to enjoy leisure and tranquillity. Owing to the
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enhanced value of large tracts of land bought when ex- | has ever since been an active worker in that organization. tremely cheap, his income has doubled and redoubled itself since his outset in life, thus justifying many of his early and oft-repeated prophecies. He is distinguished for strength of will and great energy of character; business tact and capacity; exactness in his dealings, and a willingness to aid the poor and deserving. Ile was married, February 17th, 1818, to the daughter of Daniel Hurley, and he has had a family consisting of three sons and as many daughters. Edward Il. Bakly, a prominent lawyer of Danville, is one of these sons; the second is a clergyman ; the third a thriv- ing merchant. Two of his daughters are married to worthy and talented lawyers, and the third is the wife of a clergy- man loved and esteemed by all his parishioners.
ADDELL, IION. WILLIAM B., Lawyer, was born September 21st, 1828, in the city of Phila- delphia. ITis father, Robert Waddell, was Irish by birth, but came to this country when quite young. Ile was an intelligent mechanic - a carver-and occupied a respectable position in the social circle in which he moved. His mother, Mary Bell, sister of Hon. Thomas S. Bell, late Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, was a woman of marked characteristics. When seven years of age, the family re- moved to Trenton, and here the son lived until he was thirteen years of age, when he was sent to attend school at the Academy at Westchester, Pennsylvania. This school was considered at that time one of the best in the country, and it was here that the foundation was laid which enabled him to subsequently rise so rapidly in public estimation. After leaving the Academy, he went to Princeton College, New Jersey, where he was graduated, with a good position in his class, in 1849. When at college, he was quiet, un- assuming, and attentive to his studies, but did not exhibit any marked traits of character. Immediately after gradu- ating, he entered the office of Joseph Hemphill, of West- chester, and commenced the study of law ; he was admitted to the bar of Chester county in March, 1852. Besides having the advantage and benefit of an attendance at such schools of learning as the Academy at Westchester and Princeton College, he made a wise selection when he entered the law office of Joseph Hemphill, a well-known and most excellent lawyer, pleasing in his manners and scrupulously conscientious. Immediately after his admis- sion to the bar, be assumed a prominent position, which he has maintained ever since. Ilis practice has been confined principally to the courts of Chester county and the Supreme Court of the State, in which he has always had a large share of bushiess. Originally a Democrat, and a warm supporter of Stephen A. Douglas for President, in 1861, when the second great political revolution swept over the country, he entered the ranks of the Republican party, and
During 1865-66-67, he was a member of the General As- sembly of Pennsylvania, in which body, in 1866, he was Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, one of the most important committees in the House of Representa- tives, and, in 1867, he was Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means. In 1872, he was elected to fill the un- expired term of II. S. Evans, in the Senate of the State; in this body, as in the Lower House, he occupied a promi- nent position. In the cause of education he has always been deeply interested; as President of the Normal School Board, his services and influence have been marked with beneficial results. He has been for many years a director of and counsel for the National Bank of Chester county. In 1856, he married Mary Jane Worthington, of West- chester, niece of Dr. Worthington (deceased), late State Senator. Ile occupies a prominent position in Chester county ; has earned, by faithful and valuable services, the esteem and confidence of the community, and is quoted as an attentive and safe lawyer, an honorable, enterpris- ing, and influential citizen.
ERRIFIELD, HON. WILLIAM, Merchant, Legislator, and Judge, was born at Pine Plains, Dutchess county, New York, April 22d, 1806. IIis parents, Robert Merrifield and Catharine Wilsey, were both natives of New York State. Ilis early life was spent upon the farm of his father, and what education he received was acquired at the common schools of the neighborhood. In 1819, his parents removed to Hyde Park, Pennsylvania, then known as and called Providence. Here he was apprenticed to learn the trade of a carpenter, at which he worked about four years. After this, he engaged in mercantile business at Centre- moreland, in Luzerne county. At the end of one year, he returned to Hyde Park, where he recommenced business, in which he continued for thirty years. In 1835, mainly through his instrumentality, a post-office was located in the town of his residence, and he was appointed Post-master, a position which he retained for twelve years, In IS43, he was elected to the State Legislature, and served in that body during the sessions of 1844-45-46. While a member of the Legislature, he was Chairman of the Committee on Banks, was a member of the Committee of Ways and Means, and of several other important committees. In politics, he is a Democrat of the old school, and a strong believer in the principles advocated and promulgated by Jefferson. Ile was ever regarded by his party in the Legis- lature as a safe adviser, his opinions being frequently sought and much respected. In 1856, he was nominated for and elected an Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne county, and occupied, for five years, a seat on the Bench with the late Judge Connyngham, Presi-
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