USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2 > Part 63
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mustered out of the service, June 27th, 1865. Returning to his home, he was received with mingled affection and pride; for during his campaigns he not only had won golden opinions by his bravery and soldlier-like qualities, but also by his mild and temperate disposition. Ile was throughout temperate, virtuous, pure, falling into none of the gross vices which too often stain the soldier's life. Ilav- ing faithfully and honorably served his country, his predi- lections for scientific pursuits soon manifested themselves, and in September, 1865, he recommenced his studies at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he graduated with the degree of Civil Engineer, July 2d, 1867. Subsequently, he devoted nearly a year to the further study of analytical chemistry, which no doubt aided him in the management of a large oil refinery which he undertook soon after return- ing from the Institute. In October, 1869, he entered as a partner the firm of Dilworth, Harper & Co. Ilere he brought the same earnestness and ability that had characterized him as a soldier and scholar. Ilis business career was brief; on the foth of December, 1871, he was taken with typhoid fever, and died after an illness of four weeks. Numerous tributes were paid to his memory. The officers and mem- bers of the 139th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers unani- mously passed a resolution in which they recorded their hearty testimony to the brave and soldierly qualities of one who through trying scenes bore himself as an intrepid soldier, an ardent and zealous patriot, and a gentleman in the truest sense of the word, and declared : That in the death of their late comrade they had sustained a shock to many pleasant and fraternal ties; his country had lost a true patriot, society the pattern of a perfect gentleman and citizen, and his family an affectionate son and brother. The Pittsburgh daily papers with one accord te tified grace- fully to his good qualities. He was unmarried. In 1874, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, where he graduated, had a magnificent memorial window erected to his memory in the library of the institution, on which are inscribed the various battles he was engaged in during the war, and the badges of literary societies and army corps, etc., to which he belonged.
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and his Caesar's Commentaries, with English Notes, were published in 1814. He became Editor for the Association of Philadelphia Booksellers for the Publication of the Latin and Greek Classics. He published his Practical and Pro- gressive Latin Grammar in 1859, likewise various inter- linear translations of the Latin and Greek Classics. IIe died in Philadelphia, April 28th, 1860. Ile never married.
EARSON, ROBERT WEST, D. D., Clergyman, was born in Manchester, England, in 1839. Ilis education was acquired chiefly at Owen's Col- lege of the University of London. In 1866, he left his native country and embarked for the United States, arriving in Massachusetts in 1866. In the following year he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court ; and, subsequently, was actively occupied in the pursuit of his profession in both Massachusetts and Montreal, Canada. IIe was thus engaged until called to the ministry of the Baptist Church in the last-named city, where he was ordained in 1869. He was afterward, from 1870 until 1873, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lafayette, and alo acted as President of the Franklin Col- lege. In 1873, as a mark of recognition and grateful ac- knowledgment for valuable services rendered, that institu- tion conferred upon him the honorary degree of D. D. At the present time he is the esteemed' Pastor of the Fourth Avenue Baptist Church of Pittsburgh, where he officiates with marked zeal, industry and ability. A man of refined culture, and possessing a clear, acute and vigorous intellect, his various literary essays have won him considerable repu- tation, and elicited much comment from the local and general press. Ilis volume of Sermons recently published contains many wholesome truths arrayed in scholarly and impressive language, while his papers on Chemical Analysis evince a thorough acquaintance with the principles and details involved in that subject.
would-renowned " Noble well," probably the largest that has ever been struck. It flowed at first for many weeks at the rate of 3000 barrels a day, and its entire production, as shown by the books of the company, was 480,000 barrels. In 1864, he removed to Erie, where, in the following year, he established the Keystone National Bank. Ile was elected Mayor of the city, in 1868, and filled the office for four successive terms, being elected three times almost without opposition. Under his administration the City Water-Works were erected, at a cost of $800,000. Ilis name has been connected with nearly every project of local enterprise since his residence in Erie, and many of her most flourishing in- dustries owe their establishment to him. He is a Director in the Dime Savings Bank, the Second National Bank of Erie, and the Foxbury and St. Petersburg Savings Banks in Clarion county. He was the projector and half owner of the first elevator in Eric, and is largely interested in " the Bay State Iron Works," " the Erie Paper Mill," and the blast furnace of Rawle, Noble & Co. Ile is President of the Alps Insurance Company, and of the Erie Street Railway Company. He is, in the strictest sense of the ex- pression, a self-made man. Starting in life with nothing but his two honest hands, and having enjoyed only the most meagre opportunities for an education, he has acquired a large fortune and attained a most respectable position in a very intelligent community. It redounds to his credit and characterizes the spirit of the man to remark that he got the principal part of his education by doing chores for his board while attending the winter term of the academy in his native county. At the age of twenty-three he married Minerva Reed, of North Granville, Washington county, New York, by whom he has had six children, two of whom only are living, Theodore F. Noble and George Henry Noble, residing in Erie.
OBLE, HION. ORANGE, Farmer and Oil Ope- rator, was born in Washington county, New York, April 27th, 1817. ITis father was a farmer in humble circumstances, and he followed the same pursuit himself up to the age of thirty-five, com- bining with it the business of cattle dealer and general speculator in live stock. In 1852, he removed with his family to Randolph, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, where he purchased and cultivated a large tract of land, and three years later, in company with Hon. George B. Delomater, engaged in mercantile and manufacturing business, which was continued till 1863. The partners em- borked in the oil business soon after the first development of petroleum in 1859, and, on May 27th, 1863, struck the member from his State, which shows the extent of his per-
ILL, IION. THOMAS II., Lawyer, Legislator and Banker, son of Captain Richard Sill, who served in the Revolutionary War, was born at Windsor, Connecticut, October 11th, 1783. Ile graduated from Brown University, Rhode Island, in 1804, and after studying law with the Hon. Jacob Burnett, of Cincinnati, Ohio, began the practice of his profession at Lebmon, in that State, in the year ISog. The failure of his health soon induced him to relinquish business for a time, and after travelling for a year he re- sumed the practice of law at Erie, Pennsylvania, where he remained till death. From IS16 till 1818, he was Deputy United States Marshal for the District, and, in 1819, De- pnty Attorney-General for the State of Pennsylvania, open- ing the first court in Warren county. In 1823, he was elected to the lower branch of the State Legislature, and, in 1826, succeeded the Ion. Patrick Farrelly in Congress. In IS28, he was re- elected, being the only anti-Jackson
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sonal influence with his constituency. Ile declined nomi- | most extensive property-holder in Warren. He was mar- nation for the following term, and, in the year 1837, was ried, in 1830, to Eliza K. Kackney, of Warren. Though advanced in years he is still active in business, prompt in the discharge of his duties as a citizen, and warmly inte- rested in all matters pertaining to the good of his section and society in general. made President of the United States Branch Bank at Erie, a position he held till the close of the institution. He was a member of the Convention that revised the State Consti- tution in 1836, and attained a marked influence in that assembly. In IS48, he became Presidential Elector, and in the college voted for Taylor and Fillmore. From 1848 to 1853, he was Postmaster at Erie. He was an able and eloquent advocate. Among contemporaries of the most respectable posts he was a man of note and influence. And while the qualities of his mind commanded the respect of all, the amiability of his disposition procured him their affection. He took a lively interest in most public matters, especially the cause of education, and for more than thirty years was a Director of the Erie Academy. IIe died on February 7th, 1856.
ALL, ORRIS, Merchant and Capitalist, was born in the town of Dover, Windhame county, Ver- mont, September 22d, 1804. Ilis parents were both of the best blood of New England. His father, William Ilall, was a gallant soldier of the Revolutionary War, and a man of influence in his section. His mother, Abigail P., was a worthy help- mate for such a husband. The son was afforded by his intelligent parents every facility for the acquirement of knowledge within their power to grant him. His education was obtained at the schools of his native neighborhood. Immediately upon quitting his own teachers he entered upon the profession of instructing others, and going to Jamestown, Chautauqua county, he taught school in that place, and also in the town of Carroll, in the same county, during the winters of 1825 and 1826. Ile then moved to Warren, Pennsylvania, and there also for a year was en- gaged in his profession of Instructor. In 1827, he engaged in mercantile trade, dealing in dry goods, groceries and general supplies ; in the course of business, as conducted in those days, he was led, in the way of trade, to dealing extensively in lumber. Ile continued his general commer- cial transactions until 1835, when he abandoned all busi- ness except that connected with his lumber interests, to which he devoted his entire attention, and in the proscen- tion of which he still continues. His business, owing to the active and intelligent attention which he has ever devoted to it, has steadily increased during all the years which he has conducted it. Ilis manufactories now turn TANTON, HON. EDWIN M., LL.D., Lawyer, Attorney-General and Secretary of War, was born at Steubenville, Ohio, in IS14. He was of Quaker descent, his grandparents having been prominent and widely respected residents of New England, and noted for their anti-slavery opinions. His early education was acquired chiefly at Kenyon College, ont an annual product of over a quarter million of dollars; his transactions in Iumber in the rough, extending along the Allegheny river and its tributaries, are among the most extensive in that section. The same region is thickly built up with mills of his erecting; he is also the proprietor of large saw-mills upon the Juniata river. He is the owner of a great quantity of vahtable real estate, being reputed the 1 which he left in 1832, when advanced in his Junior year.
OTTS, DAVID, JR., Iron Master and Congress- man, was born in Pottstown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, November 27th, 1794. His father, David Potts, was a prominent and influential business man of Chester county, Pennsylvania ; his mother's maiden name was also Potts. He received a thorough and classical education in his native place, and, upon attaining his majority, succeeded his father as Manager of the Watwick Furnace, located in Chester county, Pennsylvania ; in this capacity he continued to act with great ability and success until his decease, an event which occurred June Ist, 1863. In 1823-'24-'25, he was a member o. the Legislature for the above-mentioned county, and during his terms was noted for his incorruptible integrity, his industry and his well-directed energy. From 1830 to 1836 inclusive, he was the Congressional member from the same place ; and throughout the lengthy period, during which he was zealously occupied in caring for the interests of his county and constituents, he distinguished himself by marked ability and public spirit. Many of the most important improvements in his district are mainly and directly attributable to his shrewd foresight and effective efforts; while, when living, he was ever a foremost and energetic mover in all matters having for issue the welfare of his State and fellow-citizens. In politics he was stead- fastly opposed to the Jackson and Van Buren administra- tions, and in the support and vindication of his own views, actions and opinions always evinced true loyalty, an unde- viating uprightness of mind and heart. Ile was noted for his scholarly attainments, and a large fund of useful and varied information; and was warmly interested in the prompt development of the educational advantages of Mont- gomery county. Ile was married, March 4th, 1819, to Anna Nutt May, daughter of Robert May, one of the most exten- sive operators and largest iron-masters in Pennsylvania. He died at Warwick, Chester county, June Ist, 1863, and was buried in the family burying-ground at Coventryville.
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He then pursued a course of legal studies, and, upon its completion, became a member of the Ohio bar, and later a resident of Pennsylvania. Prior to the administration of Buchanan he secured, by the able exercise of talents natural and acquired, a wide and honorable reputation as a scholarly, enterprising and energetic citizen and practitioner; in 1860, under the above mentioned administration, he was appointed Attorney. General of the United States. At the outbreak of the Rebellion he advised the Government to institute with- out delay prompt and decided measures; when consulted by Buchanan before the meeting of Congress, he advised him to incorporate into his message the doctrine that the Federal Government had the power, and that it was its duty to coerce seceding States. It was well for the country that, at this momentous period, he hekel the Attorney-Gene- ralship, for a true and fearless patriot was greatly needed in the Government at that time. After taking the oath of office, he said to a friend : " I have taken the oath to sup- port the Constitution of my country ; that oath I intend to keep both in letter and in spirit." Ably did he keep his pledge amid the ensuing treasons and perils that environed the Union ; unveiling treacherous officials, he blasted them with his stern rebukes; in the Cabinet he constantly and earnestly advocated swift and decisive action, denouncing the unwise temporising spirit manifested by several high officers fearing to commit themselves too openly ; was often closeted in council with General Scott; advised ably the members of the Peace Congress; and leaguing himself with the Republicans in Congress, kept them well informed concerning the councils of the administration. The mem- orable resolution introduced into the House by Mr. Dawes, regarding Toucey, Secretary of the Navy, was inspired by E. M. Stanton, who believed that he was guilty of treason in endeavoring to subvert the Government, During this time he was constantly surrounded by agents anxious to frustrate his loyal parposes, and, on one occasion, while conversing with Sumner, led him away from the office, not during to speak candidly while watched by the vigilant emissaries of secession. When Floyd, enraged by the loyal conduct of Colonel Anderson at Forts Moultrie and Sum- ter, entered the Cabinet, and charged his associates with violating their pledges to the Southern people, it was E. M. Stanton that rose and with fierce loyalty abashed him. In 1862, under the administration of Lincoln, he was, notwith- standing the opposition of Montgomery Blair, appointed Secretary of War. Immediately he occupied himself in a thorough examination of the Government forces ; met the Military Committee of the Senate in their room at the Capitol, and laid before them the result of his prompt and exhaustive labor and researches. More than one hundred and fifty regiments, many only partially complete, were dis- persed throughout the country ; these bodies he proposed to bring together and consolidate; and, after explaining to the committee his reasons for' acting in this manner, was strengthened by their commendation and support. The pre-
Į parations for the active campaign of 1862 he pressed vigo- rously, and, very often through the entire night, was occupied in attending to the military and civil exigencies of the State; sending important telegraph communication to all parts of the Union, and proffering needed and shrewd counsel to the various officials with whom he was brought into contact. Throughout the entire war he devoted him- self to the cause of the Union with an earnestness and un- selfishness only equalled by his masterly ability, untiring energy, never-failing resource, undaunted courage and grand confidence in the triumph of right. . When Lincoln ex- pressed to several members of the Cabinet his intention, should Grant secure a victory at Richmond, to permit that officer to negotiate terms of peace with the Confederate Generals, he steadfastly opposed such a measure, declaring bluntly that no one had the right to attend to such matters but the President ; from this resulted the order to Grant in- structing him to hold no conferences with Lee except on questions of a purely military nature. Subsequent to the surreader of Richmond, Lincoln was about to permit the assembling of the rebel Legislature of Virginia by General Weitzel ; Stanton, however, apprehending peril, opposed it earnestly, and the permission was recalled. When the Legislature of Indiana was dissolved, in 1863, and no ap- propriations were made to assist the State Government or the Union forces, Governor Morton looked anxiously to the Secretary of War for sorely needed succor. Upon his own responsibility, the latter drew bis warrant upon the Treasury for $250,000, to be paid from an unexpended appropriation made formerly for raising troops in States in insurrection. " If the cause fails," said Morton, "you and I will be covered with prosecutions, and probably imprisoned, or driven from the country." " If," replied Stanton, "the cause fails, I do not wish to live." Finally, the quarter million of dollars was accounted for by Indiana in its ulti- mate settlement with the general Government. When the news of Lee's surrender was received at Washington he tendered his resignation to Lincoln, saying that now that the great work was ended he would abandon his laborious position. The President, however, induced him to recall his determination, and he consented to remain in the War Office until the disbandment of the army. He was a cordial supporter of the Christian and Sanitary Commissions, and assisted materially the management of the Freedmen's Bureau in its commendable endeavors to ameliorate the condition of the newly- emancipated race. December 20th, 1869, after his retirement from office, he was nominated by President Grant, and confirmed by the Senate, an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States; but he was not to enjoy long the honor attached to that office, dying suddenly, December 24th, 1869. Prior to this event, a testimonial fund of $100,000, to repair the losses occasioned by his devotion to the interests of his country, was refused by him in the firmest manner, and with peremptory curt- ness. Subsequently, the same amount was contributed for
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the support of his family. His name appears to several publications. He prepared the Reports of Cases Argued and Determined .in the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio, in Bamne, December Term, 1841, December Term, 1844, Columbus, 1843-'45, 3 vols. (vols. xi, xii, xiii, Ohio Re- ports) ; also Reports as Secretary of War, 1862-'68.
ATES, JABEZ, Merchant, was born January Ist, 1825, at Germantown ; his parents being Horatio Gates, of American descent, and Adele B. (Bevue) Gates, whose family were French, but had long resided in the West Indies, He re- ceived his education at the Germantown Academy, and on his father's death, which occurred when he was about eighteen years of age, left school in order to take charge of his business, which was that of a general mer- chant and dealer, and which had at that time been estab- lished about twenty years, being one of the oldest business houses in Germantown. In addition to the business re- sponsibilities of the establishment, the care of the family and the education of his brothers and sisters also devolved upon him. Ile has continued this business up to the present time (1874), and has extended and developed it considerably. Ile occupies a prominent position in his native town, and is a Director of the National Bank of Germantown, and of the Germantown Insurance Company, also a Trustee of the Germantown Academy: IIe.is also one of the Commissioners of Highways of the Twenty- second Ward, and during the war was Chairman of the Committee for filling the quota from that ward. In 1862 and 1363, and again in 1868 and 1869, he was the repre- sentative of the ward in Councils. In politics he is a Republican. He was married, in 1867, to Isabella M., daughter of the Rev. T. Sovereign, of Burlington, New Jersey.
RAIG, HON. ALLEN A., Associate Judge of Erie county, was born at Lebanon, New York, August Sth, IS20. Ile is of Scotch-Irish descent, and his parents were in humble circumstances. Though a man of rare cultivation he enjoyed, when a youth, only the most meagre advantages for an education. Early apprenticed to the trade of cabi- net-maker, he took up the study of the classies, and with- out any regular teacher became proficient in Latin and Greek, and pursued mathematics, for which he had a peculiar aptitude, to the higher branches of abstract cal- culation. By intuitive learning, from a cabinet-maker he became a draughtsman and pattern-maker, being an en- thusiastie student of mechanical philosophy. He moved to Erie in IS42, and, in 1844, he married Sophronia Bliss, of that city, by whom he has had a family of nine children.
For two terms, beginning with 1853, he was Justice of the Peace, in Erie, and, in 1856, he was a Delegate to the Convention that nominated Fremont and Dayton for the Presidency. In 1861, resigning the Justiceship, he was elected Sheriff of Erie county, and, in 1864, was ap- pointed Paymaster in the United States Army, a position he held till 1865, when, by reason of injuries sustained in a railroad wreck, and which have permanently impaired his health, he was forced to resign. After his return from the army he engaged in mercantile pursuits for a time in Erie, and, in 1871, was elected Associate Judge. Ile was one of the first to cut loose from the old Whig organiza- tion. All his life he has been a student, and has made himself familiar with nearly all modern sciences. Though he has never applied for admission to the bar, his legal reading has been as extensive as that of many lawyers. Ile has also read much in the science of Medicine. In 1866, Allegheny College conferred on him the degree of Master of Arts. Of direct and simple manners, quick dis- cernment, broad humanity, unusual cultivation, and attrac- tive speech, his mind is calculated to win upon others, and with more ambition he could not have failed of rare politi- cal influence. IIe sustained intimate acquaintanceship with Horace Greeley, Henry J. Raymond, William II. Seward, and many of their prominent contemporaries; and declined appointment to the United States Consulate, at Hong Kong, when offered him during the administra- tion of Seward in the Department of State. Ile is life- member of Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons; mem- ber of the Grand Chapter of Holy Royal Arch Masons ; has received all the orders of knighthood conferred by the Grand Commander of Knights Templar, and is an Odd Fellow passed chairs. Ilis eldest son, a fine mathema- tician, is General Accountant of the Toledo, Wabash & Western Railroad.
TELL, EDWARD T., Merchant, was born in Philadelphia, January 6th, 1835; and is a son of Robert and a grandson of Thomas Steel. Ile is of English descent, his ancestors being members of the Society of Friends, who cmi- grated from Great Britain, and landed at Phila- delphia, in 1683, one of them being Treasurer of the Commonwealth under the proprietary of William Penn. Ile attended various boarding schools in New Jersey and Pennsylvania during his boyhood, and finished his educa- tion at Abington, which he left in his fifteenth year. Re- turning to Philadelphia, he entered a wholesale notion house, September 9th, 1849, and has ever since been en- gaged in mercantile pursuits. Ile remained in this estab- lishment until the close of January, IS51, when he passed to the cloth store of William Jackson & Co., at Market and Second streets, and there became thoroughly ac- quainted with that business in all its branches. Ile con-
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