USA > Pennsylvania > The Book of Prominent Pennsylvanians; a standard reference > Part 18
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The Thompson Distilling Company was purchased by A. J. Sunstein in 1889. This distillery makes only pure rye whisky, which is sold in all parts of the THOMPSON country. Sam Thompson is one of the old- DISTILLING est brands of whisky produced continuous- COMPANY. ly in Pennsylvania. The distillery was es- tablished in 1844. It is located on the Monongahela river at West Brownsville. The Sam Thompson whisky is pro- duced exclusively from choice rye and malt. There is no purer, better flavored or richer bodied whisky manu- factured.
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A. J. SUNSTEIN.
JOHN FRANCIS HOWLEY.
Business and horse fancying do not usually go together. The two occupations make what is frequently regarded as a bad combination. However, there are a few rare instances on record in which business men attended to their business and their pleasures, too, without making a failure of either. One man who has done this and is still doing it is John Francis Howley, of Pittsburgh. Mr. Howley is now the vice-president of the Pittsburgh Provision & Packing Com- pany, and the vice-president of the Pittsburgh Union Stock Yard Com- pany. In addition to that he is known as the owner of a fine string of horses and a breeder of choice stock. It was by slow degrees that he worked his way up in life until he reached the eminence he now enjoys.
The son of John C. Howley and Mrs. Catherine (Malloy) Howley, Mr. Howley was born in Pittsburgh January 6, 1869. He began his studies at the public schools, attended high school, and entered the Iron City Business College, where he graduated in 1875. His first position was obtained two years later with the Crescent Tube Works, located in the Fourteenth ward, Soho. This firm had formerly been the Evans, Dalzell Company, wrought iron tube manufacturers. Mr. Howley began work there as a timekeeper and paymaster. He remained steadily with this company until it was absorbed by Joshua Rhodes & Co., which merged it with the National Tube Company.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company next claimed his attention. He applied for and obtained a position with that corporation in June, 1882, and was put in the account- ing department of the lines running west of Pittsburgh. Two years later he was made traveling auditor, with headquarters in Indianapolis. He remained in this position for ten years, and during that time he was married to Miss Anna Norton, of Louisville, Kentucky.
June 15, 1894, he resigned his position with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and accepted the position of secretary and treasurer of the Pittsburgh Provision & Packing Company. Later he was made a director and vice-president of this concern. October 2, 1909, he was elected to serve in the same capacity with the Pittsburgh Union Stock Yards Kentucky.
Mr. Howley is known as a lover and judge of a good horse, and can be seen almost any fine day driving a blue ribbon winner on the boulevards. He is known as a breeder and owner of some of the best and fastest trotting horses bred in the State of Ken- tucky. He is the owner of "Prince Axworthy," and his daughter, Miss Frances Howley, has placed some of his stock in the Sewickley Horse Show and the Schenley Horse Show and has drawn prizes in both.
Even though his business connections take up most of his time, Mr. Howley finds oc- casional hours for his clubs. He belongs to the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, the Pittsburgh Driving Club, Schenley Matinee Club, the Pittsburgh Press Club, the Chamber of Com- merce and the Pittsburgh Board of Trade.
187
EDWARD E. BAKER.
Edward Enzer Baker, founder and president of the Baker Office Furniture Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., was born on a farm near Morgantown, W. Va., March 18, 1860, the son of Henry C. and Eliza J. Baker. At the age of 17 Mr. Baker began teaching in the coun- try schools during the winter seasons; during spring and fall he attended the West Virginia University for several years. At the age of 21 he came to Pittsburgh and later went on the road for six years. On January 1, 1889, Mr. Baker came back to Pittsburgh and started the first office furniture store, for the exclusive sale of office furniture and specialties, in this country. He has invented a number of articles that are now on the market in his line of busi- ness. Mr. Baker is numbered among the few expert office furniture men of the country. He is a member of the Cham- ber of Commerce, the Pittsburgh Ath- letic Association and the Duquesne Club. He is a Knight Templar, a thirty-second degree Mason and a Shriner.
CHARLES A. GLOEKLER.
First class dealers the country over have the Gloekler products-enamel fixtures-in stock, and their popularity contributes in no small measure to the good name of Pittsburgh as a manufac- turing city. The Gloekler store, Penn avenue, Pittsburgh, handles exclusively the goods brought there from the Gloek- ler factories. Between the factory and the store there is no middleman, so that people dealing there enjoy the good for- tune of carrying the jobbers' profits away with their purchases. This big store is known far and wide as the Bernard Gloekler Company, and was founded some years ago by the father of the present president of the concern, Charles A. Gloekler. Mr. Gloekler is a Pittsburgher, and has all the "push" and "go" in him for which Pittsburgh- ers are generally noted. He was born in the Iron City, July 19, 1864, and after the business on Penn avenue had been established he worked there under his father. When the elder Gloekler died his son took charge.
188
WILLIAM H. MOORE, Manager, Pittsburgh Branch, The White Company, Craig Street and Baum Boulevard.
189
A career varied and interesting is that of Edward Judge Thompson, of Pittsburgh. Beginning as a
printer he has also been a lumberman, EDWARD soldier, a leading man of drama, oil pro- JUDGE ducer and automobile builder. Mr. THOMPSON. Thompson was born December 9, 1871, at Logansport, Indiana, a son of Charles F. and Eliza- beth Twells Thompson. With his father and brother he developed timber lands in Wisconsin, traveling the Great Lakes on the company's lumber vessels when very young. After serving with honor in the National Guard of Illinois and Wisconsin for seven years he entered upon a dramatic career; after which he oper- ated in the oil fields of West Virginia for several years. He came to Pittsburgh, where he is now president and general manager of the E. J. Thompson Company, manufacturing automobile equipment at Forbes Field.
Thomas F. Dunn, automobile dealer, is the son of Richard Dunn and Mary Dunn. After spending a few years on the farm with his father Mr. THOMAS F. Dunn engaged in the bicycle business, DUNN. and was one of the pioneer racing men on the Eastern Circuit in both track and road racing. Mr. Dunn entered the automobile business with the Mobile Company of America at Tarrytown fifteen years ago. In the season of 1906-1907 Mr. Dunn brought fame to Pittsburgh by making perfect scores and winning all track races which he entered. He has never been defeated in an automobile race or tour. He belongs to the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, the Columbus Club, the Rotary Club and the Automobile Club. The Painter-Dunn Company, of which he is the vice-president and general manager, has been entirely successful.
Prominent among the numerous automobile deal- ers of the Pittsburgh district, and known as a man in-
WILLIAM terested in the development of the auto- NIMICK mobile industry, is William Nimick
MURRAY. Murray, president of the Packard Motor Car Company, of Pittsburgh. For years Mr. Murray has been known to Pittsburgh- ers and automobilists, not only for his affiliation with the Packard Company, but because of his prominence in the Automobile Dealers' Association, of which he is president. Mr. Murray is a son of Anthony Short Murray and Mary Bailey Nimick. His connection with the Packard Company brings him into contact with automobile men all over the United States, espe- cially with officers of automobile companies and deal- ers' associations, so he has a wide acquaintance throughout the country. He is a member of the Pitts- burgh and Duquesne Clubs.
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HERMAN H. MAY
ROBERT P. MCCURDY
EDWARD C. MCCURDY
MCCURDY-MAY COMPANY.
The McCurdy-May Company, Pittsburgh sales agents for Pierce-Arrow pleasure automobiles and commercial trucks, was established in June, 1909, by Robert P. Mc- Curdy. The present members of the firm are Robert P. McCurdy, president; Herman H. May, treasurer, and Edward C. McCurdy, secretary. The firm commenced business at Baum and Euclid avenues, and two years later purchased a lot at Negley and Center ave- nues, where a sales and service building was erected at a cost of $100,000. The Mc- Curdy-May building houses a sales and service organization complete in every detail.
Robert Perry McCurdy, president of the company, was born in Philadelphia. His parents were Robert H. McCurdy and Mary A. McCurdy. He was educated in the public and industrial schools. He belongs to the Masonic order, the Duquesne Club, the Oak- mont Country Club, the Pittsburgh Athletic Association and Pittsburgh Automobile Club. He entered the automobile business in March, 1899.
Herman H. May, vice-president and treasurer of the company, was born in Buffalo, N. Y., September 24, 1874. His parents were Adolph May and Caroline May. He was educated in the public schools. Mr. May was employed for 14 years by the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company in Buffalo, N. Y. He was superintendent for Banker Brothers Com- pany in Pittsburgh for one year. He belongs to the Automobile Club of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Athletic Association and the Masonic Order.
Edward Collins McCurdy, secretary of the company, was born January 13, 1873, in Philadelphia. His parents were Robert H. McCurdy and Mary A. McCurdy. He was graduated from the Central high school and the Drexel Institute, both of Philadelphia. He sold steam automobiles for the Mobile Company of America for four years. He was with Banker Brothers Company, automobile dealers, as sales manager for three years. He has been with the McCurdy-May Company since its organization. He is a member of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, the Automobile Club of Pittsburgh and is a Mason. He belonged to the Pierce-Arrow crew which won both the Glidden and Hower trophies in the Glidden tour of 1909.
19I
James Ottley Corbett, president and treasurer of the Corbett & De Coursey Company, of Pittsburgh, was
born in Scott township, Allegheny coun- JAMES ty, Pa., January 9, 1883, and after a OTTLEY CORBETT. course in the Park Institute of Pitts- burgh, he entered Pennsylvania State College, but left there in 1903. He served six years in the United States government engineering service, and had charge of the building of Dam No. 2, over the Allegheny river, in 1907. He also assisted in the build- ing of Lock and Dam No. 2 in the Monongahela river in 1906. He spent eight and one-half years in the Pennsylvania National Guard, and was a commissioned officer in the Fourteenth Infantry. Mr. Corbett is the district sales manager for the various manufacturers the company represents. He is a Mason, a member of the Jovian Order, of the Pittsburgh Press Club, the Washington Infantry and the Pittsburgh Rotary Club.
William Leigh De Coursey, secretary and manager of the Corbett & De Coursey Company, and district of- fice manager for the various manufac- WILLIAM LEIGH turers which the company represents, was born in Pittsburgh March 31, 1880. DE COURSEY. After passing through the academic and commercial departments of the high school, he spent eight years in the employ of the Carnegie Steel Com- pany. Four years ago he entered into his present part- nership with J. O. Corbett. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Field Club, Pittsburgh Credit Men's Association, the Brotherhood of Magicians and the Jovian Order. Mr. De Coursey successfully appears in the role of a magician, as an incidental business, at social affairs, including ban- quets, church affairs and lodge entertainments. As an entertainer he excels in presenting clever feats of legerdemain interspersed with a touch of humor.
Joseph A. Glesenkamp was born in Pittsburgh, his parents being Lewis and Mary Riley Glesenkamp. He received his early education in the JOSEPH A. GLESENKAMP. public schools, afterwards graduating from Newell's Institute and attending Duff's College. Mr. Glesenkamp entered his father's business firm of L. Glesenkamp, carriage builders. Here he thoroughly acquainted himself with the busi- ness. He now is senior member of the firm of L. Glesenkamp Sons & Company. Mr. Glesenkamp was one of the originators of the Country Club and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, as well as a founder of the old Pittsburgh and Allegheny Matinee Club. He has always been exceedingly fond of horses, and won dis- tinction as a marksman by gaining the championship among the live bird shooters of Pennsylvania. Mr. Glesenkamp is known as an all-round athlete.
192
THE PITTSBURGH BREWING COMPANY.
One of the large industries that enters into the making of industrial history in Western Pennsylvania is that of brewing; and of the various companies identified with that industry the name of the Pittsburgh Brewing Company stands out most prominently.
Not a great many years ago the breweries in this part of the State were many and with as many standards of quality, and as many "best beers" as there were breweries. In February, 1899, twenty-one of these independent breweries united, forming the pres- ent Pittsburgh Brewing Company.
The purpose of this combination was to bring the various products under one stand- ard of purity and excellence, to better them through scientific and mechanical improve- ments in the various plants and to offer to the people under one general name the best beer, ale and porter that it is possible to make.
Although the Pittsburgh Brewing Company as a corporation is only 14 years old, yet the history of the individual breweries covers a much larger period, and the names of the men connected with the present company are well known to all who are familiar with the brewing industry of earlier days. The following is a list of the present officers and directors of the company :
Wm. Ruske, President; E. J. Vilsack, Vice-President; W. P. Heckman, Secretary; E. H. Straub, Treasurer; A. F. Steigleder, Assistant Treasurer; Herman Straub, General Superintendent; C. H. Ridall, Manager Sales Department; William Ruske, Joseph A. O'Neill, A. A. Frauenheim, E. J. Vilsack, Herman Straub, Edw. Gwinner, J. Z. Wain- wright, Alois Winter, F. H. Bruening, Directors.
Several of the original twenty-one breweries were discontinued shortly after the in- corporation, and at the present time fourteen breweries, located in Allegheny, Westmore- land and Fayette counties, are being operated. These are as follows: Iron City, Straub, Eberhardt & Ober, Wainwright, Keystone, Phoenix, Winter, Baeuerlein, Mt. Pleasant, Connellsville, Uniontown, Latrobe, Mckeesport, Jeannette. The first nine of these are located in Allegheny county. The Iron City Brewery has the distinction of being the . largest in the State, its annual capacity being 400,000 barrels. The capacity of the four- teen breweries is 1,500,000 barrels per year. Every precaution is exercised in the manu- facture of this immense output to guarantee absolute cleanliness and purity. Only the finest ingredients are permitted to go into the making of Pittsburgh Brewing Company's products. This is to insure that the highest quality be maintained without exception, and it is this unvarying high quality that has made Pittsburgh Brewing Company's beer the standard of goodness among beers.
As a taxpayer the Pittsburgh Brewing Company is an important factor. For every barrel of their products that goes out of the breweries the treasury of the United States receives $1. This amounts to many thousands of dollars annually. In addition to this in- ternal revenue tax, the Pittsburgh Brewing Company has large property holdings for which they pay into the coffers of the counties and cities in which they are located an- other large amount.
Of the various Pittsburgh Brewing Company's products probably the best known and most widely sold is Tech Beer. Every effort is put forth to make this the premier of beers, and it really is a masterpiece of the brewing art. None but the choicest grains, hops and purest water enter into the making of Tech, and the same high standard of cleanliness that is found in all the Pittsburgh Brewing Company's breweries prevails in the Iron City Brewery, where Tech is made. Tech Beer, and, in fact, all of the beers made by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company are splendid beverages for the home. They are high in tonic and health building qualities, and their absolute purity and careful brewing make them appreciated by all the family.
The Pittsburgh Brewing Company is a home industry.
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WILLIAM RUSKE.
William Ruske, president of the Pittsburgh Brewing Company, was born in Germany October 21, 1842. His father, Johann Ruske, sent his son to the public school and a commercial col- lege. He acquired a knowledge of book- keeping. He came to the United States in 1867. The following year he came to Pittsburgh, and has made this city his home ever since. From the time he ar- rived till 1871 he worked as a book- keeper. In 1871 he became a member of the Birmingham Fire Insurance Com- pany and was elected secretary. This lasted till 1887, when he became secre- tary and treasurer of the Keystone Brewing Company. In 1897 he became president. In 1899 he was made secre- tary of the Pittsburgh Brewing Com- pany, and since March, 1912, he has been the president of that concern. He is also a director of the Birmingham Fire Insurance Company and the Peo- ple's Trust Company. Mr. Ruske is a member of the German Club of Pitts- burgh.
JOHN JOSEPH FLAHERTY.
John Joseph Flaherty, art photo- grapher, is the son of Patrick Lee Fla- herty and Margaret Marie Flaherty. His residence is the Kenmawr hotel, Pittsburgh. Mr. Flaherty has been as- sociated with the R. W. Johnston stu- dios since 1907 and has been the lead- ing spirit in making these studios a suc- cess. He has taken a great interest in making a special collection of old nega- tives of prominent persons and places of Pittsburgh and vicinity. He has fur- nished many of the rare photographs reproduced in this volume and has acted as art adviser for the publishers. Mr. Flaherty is secretary and treasurer of the R. W. Johnston Studios Company, a member of the Photographers Associa- tion of America and director in the John C. Crawford Company. A natural artistic perception and appreciation of form and shading together with keen insight into human nature and a pleas- ing personality are largely responsible for Mr. Flaherty's success in the diffi- cult field of photography, both from a commercial and artistic standpoint.
194
FREDERICK W. MUELLER.
With the death of Frederick William Mueller, for 12 years president of the Pitts- burgh Brewing Company, at the Passavant Hospital, Pittsburgh, February 17, 1912, there passed out of the business world one of its ablest representatives, and from the city of Pittsburgh a philan- thropic and patriotic citizen. Mr. Muel- ler came to the United States well equipped for a successful business ca- reer, for he had had a university train- ing and had little difficulty making him- self felt in the commercial world soon after his arrival.
Mr. Mueller was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1847, whence after gradu- ating from college and occupying an of- ficial position in the German army, he came to the United States in 1873. For a brief period of time he lived in New York and then he went to Cincinnati. Later he went to Hamilton, Ohio, where he remained for twelve years. He spent a portion of that time as a teacher in the public schools there. Later he be- came identified with the Cincinnati Brewing Company, and served that con- cern as secretary and treasurer. In 1887 he was sent to Pittsburgh to estab- lish an agency of his company in that city. He remained with the Cincinnati company until the formation of the Phoenix Brewing Company, of which he was elected president. In 1899 he aided in the forma- tion of the Pittsburgh Brewing Company, and was immediately elected its vice-president. Upon the death of the president of the Pittsburgh Brewing Company in 1900, he suc- ceeded to the highest office in the company.
The new president not only exhibited a rare technical knowledge of the brewing business in all its branches, but excellent executive ability also, and during the twelve years of his presidency the Pittsburgh Brewing company acquired a position of promi- nence among the leading industries of the State. Mr. Mueller was a man of sound hon- esty and strict integrity, and enjoyed the confidence of financial institutions wherever his name was known. Among brewers his counsel was always eagerly sought, and he served several terms as vice-president of the State Brewers' Association, and was a regular at- tendant at the executive meetings of that organization. He was also an active member of the German Club of Pittsburgh. He possessed great literary talent and was a musical critic of recognized ability.
Mr. Mueller's health began to decline several months before his death, but he had attended to his duties to within two weeks before the end. He passed quietly away at 1 o'clock in the morning. The funeral services were held February 19, 1912, at his home, and were conducted by the Rev. Carl August Voss, of the German Lutheran Evangelical Church. Besides his widow, Mrs. Louise Mueller, he left eight children, namely: John F. Mueller, assistant to the president of the Pittsburgh Brewing Company; Mrs. C. D. Wettach, Paul H. Mueller, of the firm of Mueller & Kusen, of Pittsburgh; Miss Marie E. Mueller, Karl E. Mueller, Miss Augusta H. Mueller, William F. Mueller and Robert G. Mueller, the latter two local representatives of the American Locomotive Works.
195
W. S. McKINNEY.
William Smythe Mckinney was born in Troy, New York, August 11, 1844, the son of Robert and Mary Mc- Kinney, who moved to Cincinnati in 1861. There he engaged in the manu- facture of hardware in partnership with his father and Miles Greenwood. At the age of 20, after the sudden death of his father, he assumed entire charge of the factory. Later, together with his brother, J. P. Mckinney, he built a small works for the manufacture of hardware. Recognizing the advantages of Pittsburgh, he removed the factory to Allegheny and organized the McKin- ney Manufacturing Company, of which he was president until his death. His engineering work was confined mainly to the designing, building and improv- ing of machinery adapted to the manu- facture of heavy hardware. He died at his home in Pittsburgh August 30, 1911. Mr. Mckinney was educated in Doctor Bull's School, Troy, New York. He was a member of the Duquesne, Mononga- hela and Country Clubs of Pittsburgh.
J. P. McKINNEY.
James P. Mckinney, president of the Mckinney Manufacturing Company and of the Columbia Plate Glass Com- pany, was born in Troy, New York, the son of Robert Mckinney and Mary Mc- Kinney.
When a boy his parents moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was edu- cated in the public schools of the city. Mr. Mckinney located several years ago in Pittsburgh.
Aside from his industrial interests and his banking affairs, Mr. McKinney is a man of philanthropic spirit and a member of important clubs.
He is a director of the Mckinney Manufacturing Company, of the Colum- bia Plate Glass Company, the Humboldt Fire Insurance Company, the Union- dale Cemetery, the Niles Benert Ford Company, New York, and a director of the Diamond National Bank and the Diamond Savings Bank of Pittsburgh. Mr. Mckinney is also a member of the Duquesne Club of Pittsburgh and of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association.
196
JACOB LOUIS KENDALL
Jacob Louis Kendall, lumber operator and coal producer, has been one of the prominent figures in the development, during the last thirty years, of the natural re- sources of Pennsylvania. Particularly is he known as a lumber operator and developer. He has also been connected, for a number of years, with the large coal companies in Somerset and Fayette counties, being president of the Meyers- dale Coal Company, operating two mines at Listie, Somerset county, Pa., and a director in a number of the coal and coke companies in Fayette county.
Mr. Kendall is an example of the self-made man. He was born in Green- ville, Somerset county, Pa., on Decem- ber 29, 1861. His parents were John C. Kendall and Elizabeth Miller Ken- dall. He was determined to make good, and while he was working in the fields on his father's farm he was planning how to get the best education he could with his means. He worked on the farm while he attended the common schools, and after completing those studies worked his way through the normal school of the district, working in the summer on the farm. In 1881 he made his first business venture, choos- ing lumber as a route to wealth and prominence. Though just twenty, Mr. Kendall, at that time, possessed a rare business head and he worked hard to accomplish the plans worked out by his active brain.
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