The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2, Part 67

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

USA > Pennsylvania > The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2 > Part 67

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was the model business man of the town, as also the ex- ample to be imitated in habits of industry, honesty and morality. Ile was plain and simple in his manner of life, and furnished a standard of economy in all his expenditures. And notwithstanding he was by far the man of greatest wealth in his county, the horses which drew his carriage also plowed his fields; his furniture, his apparel, and his mode of living, all exhibited a plain and wholesome fru- gality ; eminently utilitarian in every aspect of life. This sketch cannot he better closed than in the following extracts from an obituary notice of Colonel Ilollenback, written at the time of his decease :

" It may be remarked that the lives of the two Hollen- backs, father and son, extend over the entire history of our valley. Both together they have been identified with Wyoming from the time of its first settlement down to the present. In all the eventful progress which reclaimed a savage wild, and made it the glory and boast of a great Commonwealth, they bore a distinguished part. Matthias Hollenback was the compeer of our leading men of the past-Butler, Fell, Welles, Franklin, the Bowmans, Shoe- maker, Dorrance, Ross, Catlin, etc. The son links us with the lights of a period less remote. Ile was the associate of Scott, Denison, Miner, Mallery, Cist, Beau- mont, Chapman, Murray, and many others who left their impress upon the community they adorned. In his per- sonal bearing he was always a gentleman. For him the low vices and vulgar indulgences of men had no charm. ITis salutation, his language, his bow, his cheerful smile, his respectful attention, were all types of the well-bred man. Ile was wholly free from the exhibition of ostentation, ego- tism, and the pride of display. We had no man among us more plain and unpretending. He was a man whose re- lations with his fellows were characterized by justice and probity, whose friendly intercourse with the community was ever respectful and decorous, whose domestic life passed in strict attention to his business affairs, and the frugal en- joyment of abundance, and whose public career has never been blotted by the pen of censure. A man rich without contumely, elevated in the estimation of his countrymen without indulging the weakness of pride."

Ile was married, September 23d, 1816, to Emily Linds- ley, of Lindsleytown, New York ; this lady died in the year 1851, after which he was again married to the lady who survives him. He died suddenly on the 7th of November, IS66, in his seventy-sixth year, and was buried in the ceme- tery which bears his own name, and which was the gift to the public of his bounty, leaving no children, but a name unsullied and a large fortune to his kindred.

AVIS, HON. WILLIAM, JR., Judges was born September 7th, 1812, in Crawford county, Penn- sylvania. Ilis parents were James Davis and Mary Cotton, and kept a farm. Ilis grandfather, James Davis, was one of the early settlers of Crawford county, coming from Franklin county about 1795. William was educated in private schools in Crawford county. He first started in the shoe and leather

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business, in Meadville, continuing thereat till 1863. Ilis public life began in 1840, when he was returned to the Borough Council for three years; subsequently, he served a second term. In 1846, he was Burgess of Meadville, and served three terms; being subsequently the successful candidate for County Treasurer. In 1863, he was elected Associate Judge; re-elected in 1868; and again, in IS73, making three successive terms. Ile is a self-made man. Ile has always been interested in public education and religion, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. The agricultural and horticultural societies of Crawford county know him as a valuable member. On April Ist, 1834, he married Mary Johnson, of Crawford county, and has had nine children, six of whom survive. One daughter is married to Dr. Colton, of Meadville; another to Dr. J. P. Hlassler, of Cochranton. One son is Cashier of the Jamestown Banking Company; another, Henry L., is Superintendent of the extensive oil refinery of Warden, Frew & Co., Philadelphia. One daughter remains un- married, and the eldest son is engaged in coal business, in Meadville.

OBERTS, DR. WALTER BROOKS, Dentist, Operator in Oil, and ex-Mayor of . Titusville, Pennsylvania, was born in Moreau, Saratoga county, New York, May 15th, 1823. His an- cestors were distinguished. both in military and diplomatie circles. Ilis great-grandfather on the maternal side, Andre Everard Van Braam, was the second Embassador of the Dutch East India, Company to the court of Pekin, China, perfecting in this capacity that treaty with the Chinese Government which enabled the people of Ilolland to control exclusively, for a time, the commerce of the Chinese; he also published one of the earliest books in the French and English languages, illns- trating the habits and customs of that peculiar race. Ilis great-grandfather on the paternal side, Colonel Owen Roberts, was a native of Wales, Great Britain, and, at one period, an officer in the British Army; at the outbreak of the Revolution, he resided in Charleston, South Caro- lina, and at once sided with the patriots against the mother country. When the struggle commenced, he was com- missioned a Colonel of the 4th South Carolina Artillery, and subsequently, was killed during the action at Stono. Ilis grandfather, Richard Brooks Roberts, when but eigh- teen years of age, held a Captain's commission in his father's regiment, and, after the termination of the conflict, received from General Washington a commission as Major in the Regular Army. Ilis father, Lucius Quintins Cin- cinnatus Roberts, thus named in consequence of his inti- mate and peculiar connection with the Cincinnati Society, in which he was a prominent and influential member, was widely known and respected for his many admirable quali- ties of mind and heart. The early education of Walter

was acquired at the district school in his native place ; meanwhile, at the proper seasons, he was occupied in agri- cultural labors connected with his parents' farm. When in his seventeenth year he became a clerk in a banking office, in Albany, New York, but shortly after, owing to enfeebled health, abandoned that situation, and returned to his home. In 1841, desiring to qualify himself for teaching, he entered the academy at Evans' Mills, in Jefferson county, New York. Subsequently, he was ap- pointed to take charge of a district school in Northumber- land, Saratoga county, at a salary of eleven dollars per mouth. The next four winters he was thus engaged, while during the summer months he pursued a course of mathe- matical studies at the Glens' Falls Academy, and began the study of medicine also, under Dr. Sheldon, of Glens' Falls, New York. Afterward, he devoted his attention almost exclusively to the science of dentistry. Travelling, in the summer of 18.45, through New Hampshire, practising with marked success in New Hampton, Meredith, and elsewhere, he returned, at its conclusion, to Poughkeepsie, New York, purposing to establish himself permanently in the business of dentistry. In February, 1850, while suffering from hemorrhage of the lungs, he sailed for the West Indies, and remained for a few weeks on the Island of Cuba; upon his return, late in the summer of 1850, 'he sold his interest in the establishment organized by him- 'self and Dr. C. HI. Roberts, and practised his profession in the principal towns of Dutchess county, taking much outdoor exercise, in order to reinvigorate and strengthen hình. . In - 1853, he visited Nicaragua, Central America, and became engaged in the purchase and shipment of deer skins and cattle hides; after a short stay, he returned to New York, and 'organized a commercial and trading com- pany, under the firm-name of Churchill, Roberts, Mills & Co., being himself one of the principal partners and man- agers. Reliable agents were then sent to Grenada to purchase the needed commodities and ship them to the States, and, in a very short time, the business of the house became wide-spread and flourishing. Later, in connection with his brother, Colonel E. A. L. Roberts, he opened a finely appointed dental office, in New York city, New York, finally purchasing the entire interest of the estab- lishment, and locating himself in Bond street, where he remained in active and remunerative practice, until 1868. While thus occupied, he was also editor and proprietor of the New York Dental Journal; received the first medal awarded by the American Institute for the best artificial teeth; and was one of the foremost movers in the establishment of the New York Dental College, of which institution he is still one of the Trustees. Ile after- ward revisited Nicaragua, in order to close the commercial relations sustained by his company with that country, and, after many severe hardships, was successful in the accom- plishment of the object of his mission. In 1863, he was appointed by the Rev. Dr. Bellows to visit General Ilun-

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ter's Division, then at Beaufort, South Carolina, and ex- | began the practice of law, however, in his native county, amine into its sanitary condition; this mission, sent out by the National Sanitary Commission, he ended in the most efficient and creditable manner. He then, in con. nection with Colonel E. A. L. Roberts, became interested in the manufacture of torpedoes for blasting oil wells to increase their productiveness, and, in the spring of 1865, the Roberts' Petroleum Torpedo Company was organized ; in 1866, he became its Secretary, and, in 1867, it> Presi- dent, which position he holds at the present time. In the former year, he had been elected to the Common Council of the city of New York, and ably served his constituents throughout the term. In the summer of 1867, he made the tour of Europe, and, in 1868, returned, and, removing to Titusville, abandoned his practice in New York, in order to devote his time and attention entirely to his in- creasing interests in the former place. In March, 1872, he was the candidate for the Mayoralty, and, after a stoutly contested canvass, was elected. Ile was an earnest op- poser of the South Improvement Company, and did much to hasten the destruction of that huge monopoly which threatened the prosperity of the oil-producing interest. When the Buffalo & Thusville Railroad was inaugurated, he assisted it by subscribing to its capital stock in the sum of $50,000, and, subsequently, was unanimously chosen President of that corporation. January Ist, 1872, in con- nection with E. A. L. Roberts, John Potter, of Meadville, and L. B. Silliman, of Titusville, he organized, at the last- named place, a banking firm under the name of Roberts & Co .; at present this is one of the most esteemed and reliable monied institutions of Pennsylvania, and its affairs evince in their management the. exercise of great caution, shrewd enterprise and high integrity. On one occasion, solicited by large numbers of citizens, he accepted the nomi- nation for the Assembly on the Republican ticket of Craw- ford county. While residing at Titusville, he has erected a large number of spacious and elegant houses and stores, which add greatly to the appearance and prosperity of that town. Ile is now a candidate for the Legislature, having, after a warm contest, received the nomination of the Repub- lican party, of which he is an able and zealous member. Ile was married, in 1858, to Emily W. Titus, daughter of Erastus Titus, of New York.

for which he was appointed District Attorney, from 1848 to 1850; and, while acting in this capacity, he evinced much ability and legal learning, also marked integrity and judy- inent. In Montgomery county, he rapidly acquired an ex- tensive and remunerative practice, and repeatedly was solicited to fill various judicial positions, but invariably declined to accept the proffered honors. In polities he was a Whig until the dissolution of his party, when he associated himself with the Democracy, soon attaining a prominent and influential position among his coadjutors. In 1856, he voted for James Buchanan for President, against John C. Fremont, the Republican candidate; and, since that date, has invariably cooperated with the Demo- cratic party. In 1860, he was an active supporter of Judge Douglas for the Presidency, and aided substantially in es- tablishing a campaign newspaper, entitled the National Democrat; of this journal, widely known as the organ of the Douglas Democracy of his county during the Presi- dential campaign of that year, he was, until after the elec- tion, the principal editor, and worked ably and persistently for its interests. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, he strongly advocated the advisability of reconciliatory measures; when, however, a conflict proved inevitable, he became an earnest and fearless Unionist, urging con- stantly the suppression of the Rebellion by force of arms. In many addresses to the people of all parties, and also in spirited communications to the loyal press, he supported energetically the cause of the Government, and furthered the prompt enlistment of volunteers. Twice during the war, when Pennsylvania w-s invaded by Southern soldiers, he raised a company of volunteers for the emergency, and, as Captain, served with them in the field; on one of these occasions, through over-exertion and exposure, he con- tracted a serious illness which nearly terminated his life. In 1864, he was elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress, serving with such marked ability and skill that, in 1866, he was re-elected, securing a large majority of ballots. While thus publicly occupied he has ever maintained, with zeal and shrewd rectitude, the Democratie view of the prominent questions which have come before that body. In the Fortieth Congress, March 3d, 1867, a joint resolu- tion being under discussion in the House, For the Relief of the Destitute in the Southern and Southwestern States, he was noted as one of its warmest advocates. In the second session of the same Congress, he was a member of the Select Committee to investigate the New Orleans riots, and upon that subject made the minority report. Ile was the defender of President Johnson in his resistance to the reconstruction measures of Congress, and, in an address published under the title of The President and Congress - The Impeachers Impeached, elaborated a strong, pointed and eloquent defence. Two of his later speeches, de- livered in the House of Representatives, were extensively

OVER, HON. BENJAMIN MARKLEY, Law- yer, was born in Montgomery county, Pennsyl- vania, January 22d, 1823. Ile was for some time a student in Lafayette College, at Easton, Pennsylvania, but afterward graduated at the University of Pennsylvania. He then pursued a course of legal studies, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, under the able instruction of the late Judge Reed; and, upon its completion, was admitted to the bar at that place. He ! circulated by his party as campaign documents, viz. : that

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on the Admission of Alabama, delivered March 17th, 1868; and that on The Public Expenditures, delivered June 30th, 1868. Both of these speeches were widely copied through- out the Union, and quotations from them appeared in most of the prominent journals of every section of the country. In the Democratic National Convention, in 1868, hc ad- vocated the nomination of General Hancock for the Presi- dency ; and, as a Delegate from the State at large to the Democratie National Convention, in 1872, he opposed the nomination of Horace Greeley. As a writer, he com- mands a fluent, polished, and vigorous style, and upon the subject to which he devotes his attention he lavishes much learning, wit, and striking power of expression.

POMENEC, RIGIIT REV. M., Bishop of Pitts- burgh, was born in Spain, in 1816. On the maternal side, especially, he is connected with many of the Spanish nobility, his mother's name, De Variana, indicating with sufficient clearness the worthiness of her origin. His preliminary education was acquired in Madrid; but, owing to various difficulties and inconveniences arising from events connected with the Carlist war, he was, when quite young, obliged to leave his native country. He then crossed over to France in order to accomplish safely and uninterruptedly the com- pletion of his studies, and for a time was a student in one of the colleges of the south of that country. He subsequently visited Paris, there pursuing his studies with indefatigable perseverance and energy. After a residence of several years in that city he embarked for the United States, in 1837, in order to join the Catholic Mission located in this country. Upon arriving here he was sent by his superiors to the Seminary of St. Mary, situated in Perry county, in the State of Missouri. There he became the recipient of all the sacred orders, and, in June, 1839, was made Priest. Tt is a fact worthy of note, that he was then the youngest priest ever ordained in the United States. Thereafter, he exercised the holy ministry in the wild woods of Missouri from 1839 until IS45, evincing commendable ability and great fervor in the discharge of his responsible duties, and winning the love and esteem of all brought into contact with him by his generous solicitude for their welfare, his learning and Christian deportment. Subsequently, he was sent by his superiors to Philadelphia, having been appointed to fill a Professorship in the Theological Seminary of that city. While acting in this important capacity, and engaged in expounding the doctrines of the church, he was also attend- ing the church of St. Stephen's, situated at Nicetown, in the vicinity of Philadelphia; eventually, he built up the Catholic church at Germantown, and, becoming its pastor and director, was constrained, owing to the onerous duties connected with this charge, to sever his connection with the Theological Seminary. While in that locality he dis.

tinguished himself by his zealousness and his liberal and charitable actions, and by all, Catholic and Protestant, was admired and respected. Later, the Bishop of Pittsburgh having, on account of the precarious condition of his health, resigned his position, the Right Rev. M. Domenec was, in 1860, appointed Bishop of that see. While accepting the appointment to this high office, he deeply regretted leaving his flock in Germantown, and at his departure the residents of that place testified abundantly to the sorrow which they experienced in losing one who was at once a valued friend and a venerated pastor. The consecration services were performed by the late Archbishop Kenrick, distinguished by his pious life and exemplary labors in the cause of the church, the ceremony taking place on the 9th of December, 1860. During the progress of the late Rebellion, in 1862, when the Spanish Government was upon the point of recognizing the Confederacy, he embarked for Madrid, was granted several interviews with the Queen and her chief ministers, and ultimately succeeded in pre- venting the recognition by Spain of the South as a bellig- erent and separate power and government. This highly important mission was undertaken at the instance of Arch- bishop Hughes, who had been deputed by the United States Government to arrange that serious difficulty, but who was prevented by sickness from accomplishing his purpose. The Archbishop was often heard to declare that " Bishop. Domenec, of all those who had been sent by the Govern- ment of the United States to arrange this matter, was the only one who had ever really succeeded in his mission." A high compliment this, when the delicate and perplexing nature of such an crrand is taken into consideration. His life and works are well known throughout the country, especially in western Pennsylvania, where he is universally recognized as a laborious and untiring director, and as one of the most learned theologians and divines in the United States. In all matters concerning church history, usages and precedents, he is an admitted authority. Apart from his theological attainments he is unusually conversant with the general literature of both the new and the old world, and is an carnest student in many and various departments of knowledge. Ilis works and labors have won him notable encomiums and marks of favor from various high dignitaries of the church, by whom he has repeatedly been cited as a churchman worthy of all imitation.

REW, J. LEWIS, Chemist and Petroleum Mer- chant, was born in Richmond, Virginia, February 28th, 1830. Ile attended the Richmond Acad- emy-a military school-where he received a fine classical edneation. Much of his carly learning 6 he owes to his excellent mother, a won an of culture and method, his father having died when he was but two years of age. Although born and brought up

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among the slaves, he was early convinced that slavery was a great wrong. At the age of fourteen he was sent to West Town Boarding School, an institution under the care of the Society of Friends, where he remained two years, receiving the best of instruction, beside being methodically trained in the straightforward, honorable and steady habits of that respectable society. Ile afterwards proceeded to Professor Gummere's Academy, in Burlington, New Jersey, where he tarried nine months. On January Ist, IS47, he became an apprentice to the drug business, in Philadelphia, entering the store of his brother, James II. Crew, at Fifth and Callowhill streets. In August, 1848, his brother, being obliged by severe illness to relinquish the business, he con- tinued for a short time by himself. About January Ist, 1849, he associated himself with his brother, B. J. Crew, under the firm of B. J. & J. L. Crew. In 1851, he himself was troubled with a pulmonary disease, and was ordered by his physician to the West Indies. Returning in eight months, he sold his interest in the firm to his brother and partner, B. J. Crew. In December, 1852, he started the same business, individually, at the corner of Frankford road and Phonix street, in the old district of Kensington. Ile remained there until 1859, when he again associated with his brother, B. J. Crew, first to build a factory for the manu- facture of, chemicals, and afterwards by purchasing the interest of Mr. Griffith, his brother's partner in a similar manufactory at the corner of Sixth and Oxford streets. Early in 1861, he began, individually, to experiment in oils, with a view of discovering the best method of refining petroleum. lle remained at this place as one of the firm of Crew Brothers & Co., until 1862, when, relinquishing the manufacture of chemicals, they removed to Arch and Twenty-third streets, where they operated an oil refinery. In May, 1864, they were burned out. Subsequently to this date, they admitted Joseph Newhouse to an interest, and selecting a new location on the line of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, built the Belmont Oil Works, putting up a most substantial building, replete with every convenience, and at that time pronounced the most perfect oil refinery in the United States. Its capacity was large, for the time, reaching 1500 barrels per week. The oil manufactured there was superior in quality, as was proved at the Paris Exposition, where it received the honor of a Medal of Merit. It always commanded two cents per gallon more than any other. The establishment continued in operation until it was purchased by the Park Commission, and absorbed by Fairmount Park. During the negotiation for its purchase, it ran for a short time as a manufactory of gasoline. The firm was necessarily dissolved when the refinery ceased operations, In the same year-1868-he embarked in the mercantile business, individually, in Margaretta street, whence, in 1870, he removed to Water street. At the beginning of this last-named year he received into partner- ship Lewis J. Levick, thus constituting the firm of J. L. Crew & Co. In this locality they continued but a short

time, as their increased business required a more extended space. In December, 1870, they removed to South Second street, and added John W. Moore to the firm, which now became Crew, Moore & Levick. Here they rested two years, but then, needing larger premises, purchased the present location on Arch street. Although so successful a merchant, Mr. Crew has ever held aloof from all speculative movements, never allowing himself to be tempted to risk a dollar in any ephemeral or specious undertaking, and adhering to the principles instilled into his mind while a pupil at Friends' academies. IIe is a member of the Board of Managers of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Franklin Institute, College of Pharmacy, etc., and has interested himself to procure legislation on the subject of Cattle Transportation. IIe is prominent in all the benevolent enterprises of the day. He was married in January, 1854.

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The Biographical encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2, Part 67

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