USA > Vermont > Genealogical and family history of the state of Vermont; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol I > Part 97
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A NEW STATUE OF GRANT.
A commemorative bronze statue of General Ulysses S. Grant was unveiled in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, on April 27, the seventy- seventh anniversary of the birth of the great commander of the Union armies. President Mc- Kinley, with many distinguished officers of the nation and state, took part in the ceremonies.
Promptly at the hour set for the departure of the line of carriages from the Bellevue, in South Broad street, a squad of mounted police appeared,
followed by the First City Troop, under com- mand of Captain John C. Groome ; and when the start was made this troop acted as the President's escort. The carriage containing Mr. Mckinley, John II. Converse, president of the Fairmount Park Art Association, Secretary Gage, and Mr. Charles C. Harrison, was drawn by four black horses. Secretary Long and Secretary Hitch- cock, with President Thompson of the Pennsyl- vania Railroad, and President Darlington of the Union League, occupied the carriage immediately following. Attorney General Griggs and Secre- tary Cortelyon came next, and among the persons in the other carriages who were objects of special interest to the great crowd thronging Philadel- phia's streets were General Miles; Admiral Casey : Captain Clark, formerly of the Oregon ; M. Jules Cambon, the French ambassador; Cap- tain Coghlan, of the Raleigh; Daniel C. French and E. C. Potter, sculptors of the statue; Gov- ernor Stone and his staff ; and in the last section of carriages, which was devoted to the use of ladies and members of the reception committee, Mrs. Grant, Mrs. McKinley and Miss Rosemary Sartoris, General Grant's granddaughter. When the head of the procession reached the statue a salute of twenty-one guns was fired. A military procession passed over the same route half an hour later. This was marshaled by General Snowden ; sailors and marines from the Raleigh, led by Lieutenant Commander Phelps, were given the place of honor; then followed the First Bri- gade of the Pennsylvania National Guard, a di- vision composed of cadet commands, and repre- sentatives of the Grand Army of the Republic, carrying battle-flags of the Civil war. The un- veiling exercises opened with a prayer by Bishop Whitaker. Mayor Ashbridge delivered a short address, and Mr. Converse formally presented the statue to the commissioners of Fairmount Park. At the conclusion of Mr. Converse's address, Miss Sartoris mounted the steps leading to a small platform, to which ran the cord which con- nected with the top of the red, white and blue covering of the statute. When she pulled this cord, and the bunting fell to the base of the statue, two flags ran out on a line on each side, a salute of seventeen guns was fired, and a great cheer arose from the crowd. General Snowden received the statue on behalf of the commission- ers, and the sculptors were introduced. Imme- diately after the review the President and cabinet officers, escorted by the City Troop, dove to the Union League Club, where they were dined by Mr. Converse. In the evening a great audience
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in the Academy of Music listened to speeches by the President and Hampton L. Carson.
The statue is of heroic size, its height from the bottom of the plinth to the top of the rider's hat beig fifteen feet, one inch. Of the two artists mentioned, Mr. French designed the figure of Grant, and Mr. Potter designed the horse. Their motif is a moment when Grant was surveying a battle-field from an eminence, intent upon the operations of his own forces and those of the enemy.
Mr. Converse's summer home at Rosemont includes an art gallery which contains examples of the work of some of the world's greatest artists. Himself an amateur of music, and an executant (as are also the members of his fam- ily), he has always been among the foremost in efforts to promote the development of music in Philadelphia. He was vice-president of the Philadelphia Music Festival Association in 1883- 1885, which contributed largely to subsequent musical advancement in that city and vicinity. For several years he was vice-president of the Utopian Club of Philadelphia, which was com- posed of musicians and amateurs.
From the University of Vermont he received the degree of LL. D. in 1897. He is president of the Alumni Association of the University of Ver- . mont, a member of the chapter in that college of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and a trustee of Princeton Theological Seminary.
He has always been deeply interested in re- ligious and charitable work, devoting his time and means thereto without stint. He has for some years been one of the Citizens' Permanent Relief Committee of Philadelphia, whose aim is to relieve the distress of the poor. He has taught a class in Sunday-school for some thirty years ; is an elder of the Presbyterian church at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, one of the trustees of that church, and for many years president of the board of trustees; president of the board of trustees of Calvary Presbyterian church, Phila- delphia ; and president, in 1898-1899, of the Presbyterian Social Union of Philadelphia. In connection with the missionary work of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian church he built and donated a hospital at Miraj, India. He is a trustee of the general assembly of the Presbyterian church ; a member of the Presbyterian board of publica-
tion ; a trustee of the Young Men's Christian As- sociation, of Philadelphia; one of the honorary directors of the Presbyterian Historical Society ; and chairman of the Presbyterian Evangelistic Committee of Philadelphia.
The building referred to in the "Ariel" as having been donated by him to the Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia is the large central building called the Administration Building. The building referred to in the "Ariel" as in contem- plation by him as a donation to the University of Vermont was completed in 1895. It is a handsome large dormitory building and is called "Converse Hall." In 1899 he founded and handsomely endowed the department of econom- ics and commerce in the University of Vermont.
He was for several years president of the New England Society of Pennsylvania, and vice- president for Pennsylvania of the National As- sociation of Manufacturers, an organization whose object is to develop the foreign commerce of this country.
The public interest in addresses by him on "Citizenship and Technical Education," deliv- ered at Lehigh University on Founders' Day in 1896, and on "The Twentieth Century Uni- versity" at the University of Vermont, before the alumni, in 1898, led to their publication, and they have attracted considerable attention, especially among educators.
In addition to his membership in the organ- izations of which he is an officer, hereinbefore specified, he is a member of the following: The Bryn Mawr Citizens' Association (and president of same) ; the Neighbors' Club of Wynnewood, Haveford, Bryn Mawr; and vicinity (and ex- president of same) ; the Free Library of Eco- nomics and Political Science of Philadelphia ; the American Academy of Political and Social Science ; the American Forestry Association ; the American Philosophical Society; the Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; the Vermont Historical Society ; the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia ; the Union League of Philadelphia ; the Art Club of Philadelphia; the Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia : the University Club of Philadel- phia : the Engincers' Club of Philadelphia; In- dian Rights Association : the New England So- ciety of Pennsylvania : Pennsylvania Horticult- ural Society ; the Geographical Society of Phila-
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delphia ; the Philadelphia Country Club ; the Rad- nor Hunt ; the Vermont Antiquarian Society ; the Philadelphia Society of the Archaeological Insti- tute of America ; the University Archaeological Association : the Lake Champlain Yacht Club ; the Merion Cricket Club; the Pennsylvania Society Sons of the Revolution : the Sons of the Ameri- can Revolution in Vermont.
The following sketch is from the May 11, 1809, issue of The Presbyterian Journal of Phila- delphia :
MR. JOHN II. CONVERSE.
We are gratified to be able to place on our front page the portrait of Mr. John H. Converse, the president of the Presbyterian Social Union of Philadelphia. Mr. Converse is one of the most esteemed citizens of Philadelphia. He has quietly and by force of character put himself in the front rank of the honored and trusted men of whom Philadelphia is proud.
Mr. Converse is a fine specimen of sterling New England stock, a native of the Green Moun- tain state, and the son of a minister.
He was educated in the University of Ver- mont and has received the degree of Doctor of Laws from his alma mater. His early life was spent in Burlington, Vermont. He was a dili- gent student, and devoted himself for a time to journalism. Being a ready shorthand writer, his services were appreciated by the legislature of his native state, and, in this limited field, he did good foundation work.
But the coming man soon threw off the re- straints of such local service. The man destined for so much more important work soon became restless in such environments and, taking Gree- ley's advice. went west. Dr. Edward H. Will- iams. another honored son of Vermont, who knew and valued Mr. Converse, was already prominent in railroad affairs in the west. The career of Mr. Converse is very considerably linked to the fortunes of Dr. Williams, and the two men are close confiding friends. Mr. Con- verse first found a start in Chicago. Whatever his hands found to do he did with his might. The value of Dr. Williams as a railroad manager was soon discovered by the Pennsylvania Rail- road, and he was put in charge of affairs at Al- toona. Ever mindful of the capacity and worth of his young friend. Dr. Williams induced Mr. Converse to turn his face east again. It was not without a struggle that he decided to leave Chi-
cago, thinking that he would have a better chance in the west. But his conscience determined his course at this critical moment, as always, and he began the movement that was to bring him suc- cess. Later Dr. Williams found his crowning triumph in his connection with the Baldwin Lo- comotive Works. And, following the lead that has proved so successful, Mr. Converse was soon applying his remarkable energy, and all the fine qualities of his character, to the wonderful de- velopment of this powerful corporation. For twenty-five years he has been the determining spirit of this magnificent enterprise. Fortune has forced itself upon the man. He has constant- ly scattered with a liberal hand, and his fortune has grown as by magic. He is the master of money, and has never allowed money to master him. While other men have dreamed of gener- ous purposes, after so many millions have been accumulated, Mr. Converse has seemed deter- mined to be his own executor. Nobody talks about the millions he may be worth, everybody recognizes his lavish generosity. He seems to take no thought about accumulation, but seeks opportunity to be helpful to every good cause.
As a citizen he is universally appreciated ; financial institutions are anxious to have the use of his good name and the advantage of his good judgment. The Philadelphia City Trust, recog- nizing his integrity, has claimed him as a mem- ber. In every movement, for the public good or for the public honor, the co-operation of Mr. Converse is sought. But none of these things that his character draws to him seem to excite any ambition for personal preferment.
Mr. Converse is not the sort of man that poli- ticians are looking for, and he is not the sort of man that stops to consider the favor of those who determine office-holders. There may come a landslide some of these days that will give a patient public the luxury of seeing such a man in some place of honor, long disgraced by little politicians, but it will be a divine Providence, rather than a human purpose, when it comes. It is refreshing to find men great enough not to seek their own glory, just great in goodness and in true worth.
As a loyal, faithful, generous churchman, Mr. Converse is pre-eminent. He is a thorough Presbyterian, but will help any Christian enter- prise. His hand is never off his purse. Plenty of schemes of doubtful desert impose upon his generosity. But any poor minister, any poor church, any poor Christian can share what the
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Lord gives him. As a university man he is keenly awake to all educational projects.
The Presbyterian Hospital is greatly lovcd and favored by Mr. Converse. He is a trustee in this institution and for many years has acted as its secretary. He devotes himself to the de- tails of hospital work with as much diligence as he shows in his own business affairs. The beau- tiful administration building was his gift, and he is constantly seeking the success of this benevolent institution.
Other institutions have shared bountifully in his benevolence, and missionaries in hcathen lands are supported by him.
But the man is better than his abilities or his gifts. In the quiet walks of life he wins his friends and makes his friendships by the true heart-throbs that reveal the secrets of influence and success. Any man is favored who has the confidence and friendship and gentle fellowship of John H. Converse.
The following reference to him in the Decem- ber 27, 1898, issue of The Philadelphia Call is part of an article on prominent citizens of the Quaker City, entitled "Philadelphia Million- aires :"
Associated in the management of the Bald- win Locomotive Works are at least four mil- lionaires, threc of whom began life as clerks and have risen by sheer ability and character. Their names are William C. Henszey, John H. Con- verse, George Burnham and Dr. E. H. Williams. Burnham, who is the head of the establishment to-day. was one of the original young men as- sociated with Mathias W. Baldwin, the founder of the enterprise, and after the death of the lat- ter, established the firm name of Burnham. Will- iams & Company. Dr. Williams graduated from the University of Vermont, and started life as an engineer on a small railroad in New England. Since he has acquired wealth, he has developed into a great traveler.
The most interesting figure in this group, and one of the most thoroughly self-developed men in the United States, is John H. Converse. who is likewise a graduate of the University of Vermont, and started life just as did Dr. Will- iams, in the great railroad shops at Altoona. He has been president of the New England Society and of the Manufacturers' Club, is a patron of the fine arts, and probably the best after-dinner speaker in the Quaker City. Art lovers will re- member him as the donor of Ridgeway Knight's
famous picture "Calling the Ferry" to the Phil- adelphia Academy. He is far and away the most prominent personality in the town since the death of George W. Childs.
The following sketch of him appeared in The Philadelphia Press of May 14, 1899:
JOHN H. CONVERSE, philanthropist and man of business .- Personal side of one of the leading Citizens of Philadelphia, who is foremost in seeking the good of the city and the welfare of its people.
Fifth series of "Men Who Are Prominent in Affairs of City and State."
It is difficult to say how John H. Converse, of Philadelphia, is most widely known, as one of the heads of the great Baldwin Locomotive Works, as a philanthropist, or as a Presbyterian.
In each he stands at the forefront. In each he has won fame. He is to-day one of the active, hardworking, wealthy Philadelphians, identified with most of the great movements, either for bettering the city or helping its people.
If the place of his birth were to be of impor- tance in the study of his character, we should describe him as a Yankce. for he was born in Burlington, Vermont, fifty-nine years ago, De- cember 2, 1840. If climate and early environ- mients had a determining influence upon his character, it would be fair to assume that his New England birth was responsible for that thrift without greed, that frugality without par- simony, which has marked his career.
It is safe to assume, and those who have known him longest say it for him, that he was never a bad boy. He was not too good, however, to play pranks in his early school days, and he always insisted and fought for his rights in those days, as he has since.
He was studious and well prepared in his lessons, rather than brilliant, and never allowed a problem to conquer him if patience and inflex- ible determination could enable him to master it.
After the usual preparatory course, Mr. Con- verse was admitted to the freshman class in the University of Vermont in 1857, and he was grad- uated from that institution in 1861.
During his college life, he paid more atten- tion to the practical things in the course of study than to the merely ornamental. He took special delight in mechanical drawing, and during his four years at the university learned to be an expert stenographer, when' stenography was a much more unusual study than it is to-day.
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THE STATE OF VERMONT.
To these two elements in his rudimental edu- cation, he probably owed the determination of his future life work, and to them, in a measure, Philadelphia is indebted for his business and philanthropic life.
Mr. Converse set out to make a career for himself at once. His first ambition was to be- come the maker of a great newspaper, and he accordingly became a journalist.
Mr. Converse is too modest to talk about himself, and he leaves us to infer that what lie (lid in that direction was done with conscientious care. but circumstances induced him to give up editorial work after a period of three years. He was an editorial writer on The Burlington Weekly and Daily Times from 1861 to 1864, when he received an inducement to enter one of the departments of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway with an office at Chicago.
Although Mr. Converse possessed literary at- tainments of a marked character, his new em- ployment was more suited to his temperament and disposition, and to those qualities of mind which have made his business career so signally successful.
It was about the time that Josiah Penham was making the effort to build the railroad from Lake Superior to Puget Sound, which) subse- quently developed into the Northern Pacific Railroad, that Mr. Converse entered the North- western road's employ. It was a good time to study railroading in the west, and he made good use of its advantages to learn a good deal about it.
He remained in Chicago for two years. dis- playing decided ability, and. had he remained in the west, probably would have been one of the prominent figures in the organization of the great systems of railroad which have since grown to such magnitude in the northwest. Mr. E. H. Williams, who had come out of New Eng- land also, and had known Mr. Converse in his school days, and who had observed his talent, had become general superintendent of the Penn- sylvania Railroad. He needed just such a man as Mr. Converse with him and accordingly wrote out to Chicago and offered him an important position.
At that time Mr. Converse had made up his mind that his field of work was in the west, and. notwithstanding a very strong inclination to be with Mr. Williams, he decided to decline the offer and so wrote to that gentleman. Over night. however, . Mr. Converse fortunately changed his mind and also his determination.
He telegraphed Mr. Williams to disregard the contents of the letter.
Thus the business association of these two men who have ever since been closely allied, be- gan, and has culminated in their joint control and management of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. As Mr. George II. Burnham and Mr. Williams have of late years given up much of their active work in the firm, Mr. Converse has become practically the head of the concern.
He remained four years with the Pennsyl- vania Railroad, and was in the way of becoming one of the leading spirits of that gigantic corpo- ration, when Mr. Williams retired from his po- sition and was admitted into the firm which controlled the Baldwin establishment. Mr. Williams at once induced Mr. Converse to ac- cept a post of great responsibility in the works, and the way was thus open for that advance- ment which has given him a place among the financial and industrial leaders of the country.
Naturally Mr. Converse has become the pos- sessor of large wealth, which he dispenses largely in work of philanthropy and benevolence. His business talents and his financial wisdom are not confined in their operation to the management of the department of the Baldwin Works, which is his special charge. He is a director in the Phil- adelphia National Bank, the Philadelphia Trust Company, the Pennsylvania and Northwestern Railroad Company, the Real Estate Trust Com- pany, of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Saving Fund.
All these offices receive his active and constant attention, and are by no means merely an indication of honor. It would seem such heavy business responsibilities are more than one could well carry, but Mr. Converse brings to them a well trained mind and a wonderful apti- tude in the conduct of financial matters.
Mr. Converse is a modest man. While he would shrink from no public duty which oc- casion might demand of him, he would be re- pelled by the necessary publicity in' connection with it. His is not a mockish modesty.
"He is," remarked one of his business asso- ciates, "a true man, a most sincere man, in ear- nest in whatever he does."
One gets an impression of this from him al- most at sight. His eyes look at you with force. You see character and candor there, sternness at times. but never without reason. He is direct in speech, deliberate in his manner.
His forehead is high and although not unus-
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ually broad, gives one an idea of power and great capacity for mental work. The nose is prominent, the mouth rather large, with a very full underlip. His head is well poised, and the physique and general bearing of the man is of one who is self-contained, sure of himself, toler- ant but firm.
His mouth, when you come to look at it closely, impresses you with that rare combina- tion of a strong will, but a tolerant disposition.
His judgment upon matters is deliberate and always sound. It is to the possession of this quality that he owes his business success and the confidence of his associates.
Said a distinguished professional friend of his: "I can rely! almost implicitly upon Mr. Converse's judgment. I fancy that I have a pretty strong mind of my own, but I should very seriously consider a course, in business or in other affairs, in opposition to a conclusion reached by him. In a long and close personal relation with him I have scarcely ever known him to be wrong in judgment."
Mr. Converse rarely if ever jumps at a con- clusion. He examines every phase of a ques- tion, looks at it from every possible standpoint, and turns it over carefully in his mind. He never says that he knows a thing as a matter of fact until he is absolutely sure of it. This is as true in small matters as in more important ones. No detail is too trifling for him to look at.
The failure to keep an engagement, and that promptly, without the most sufficient cause is a cardinal sin in Mr. Converse's eyes. I quote another friend of his :
"Mr. Converse never broke an engagement in his life which it was possible to keep. I am quite sure of this. If he should tell me six months in advance that he would meet me at the corner of a certain street in London, say on a certain day at a certain hour, I should find him there as sure as he was alive and able to get there, or a messenger from him explaining why he could not come. The importance of the en- gagement or the non-importance of it would not be considered by him."
There is another characteristic trait of Mr. Converse. He never forgets about a business statement. Indeed, he rarely ever forgets about any matter of fact that he ever had knowledge of. To remind him of a thing which he had agreed to or had not agreed to, or was an essen- tial thing in any way, and have him say, "I for- got," would astonish any intimate friend of his.
He takes careful note of all business affairs, church affairs or home affairs, when necessary, but those things which he does not make a memorandum of he stows away neatly and con- clusively in his memory, as though it had been put on his calendar.
But, withal, Mr. Converse can be stubborn ; not an obstinate stubbornness, but with an al- most inflexible belief in his own opinion. He is by no means an unreasonable man, and is open to argument, and when convinced of an error, will frankly confess it, "But," re- marked one of his most uncompromising ad- mirers: . "He is dreadfully hard to convince when he has once made up his mind, probably due to the fact that he thinks out his conclusions more carefully than most men.'
He is a devout Presbyterian, deeply relig- ious, charitable, generous. He has probably given half a million dollars to his church and to others, and to broad schemes of philanthropy. He has given not only much of his money to the Presbyterian Hospital, but devotes much of his time to it.
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