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Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company
| Name | Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company |
| Ortssitz | Philadelphia (Penns.) |
| Art des Unternehmens | Eisenbahngesellschaft |
| Anmerkungen | Hauptstrecke von Pottsville nach Reading und weiter nach Philadelphia, längs dem Schuylkill River, Länge: 93 Meilen. Ab 1871 mit der Tochtergesellschaft: "Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company", die Anthrazit-Kohlenbergwerke in der Region erwarb. |
| Quellenangaben | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 240] |
| Zeit |
Ereignis |
| April 1835 |
G. A. Nicholls wird Vermessungsgehilfe bei der Philadelphia & Reading-Bahn |
| 1836 |
G. A. Nicholls wird Ingenieurassistent bei der Philadelphia & Reading-Bahn |
| 1837 |
G. A. Nicholls wird Haupt-Ingenieurassistent bei der Philadelphia & Reading-Bahn mit Dienstort in Reading |
| 1838 |
G. A. Nicholls wird Betriebsleiter für den Transport bei der Philadelphia & Reading-Bahn |
| 1846 |
G. A. Nichols leitet als Zivilingenieur den Betrieb der Philadelphia & Reading-Bahn |
| 1846 |
G. A. Nicholls wird Chefingenieur und General-Superintendent bei der Philadelphia & Reading-Bahn |
| Juni 1857 |
William Augustus Church tritt in die Dienste der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" |
| Okt. 1858 |
Albert Foster tritt in den Dienst der Philadelphia and Reading Railroad |
| 1861 |
Mit der Pacht der Nebenbahnen im Schuylkill County durch die "Philadelphia and Reading Company" (1861 - 1883) wird Henry Kuhl Nichols zum Chief Road Master der Gesellschaft ernannt |
| 1864 |
Franklin B. Gowen eröffnet ein privates Rechtsanwaltbüro, wobei er die Reading Railroad vertritt |
| 07.07.1864 |
Daniel Jones tritt als Angestellter bei der Reading Railroad Company ein |
| 12.08.1864 |
Clinton G. Hancock tritt als Angestellter in der Abteilung der Fracht-Rechnungsprüfung der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" |
| 1867 |
Nachdem Franklin B. Gowen die Leitung der Reading Railroad in Philadelphia mit seinen rechtlichen Schritten für die Bahn, einschließlich dem Sieg vor dem höchsten Gericht über die Pennsylvania Railroad, beeindruckt hatte, wird er nach Philadelphia eingeladen, um die Rechtsabteilung der Bahn zu leiten. Er verläßt Pottsville und verkauft sein Haus an George DeBenneville Keim, einen Rechtsanwalts-Kollegen und persönlichen Freund, der eine bedeutende Rolle bei Gowen's künftiger Präsidentschaft bei der Bahn spielt. |
| 27.05.1867 |
Daniel Jones wird zum Joint Way-Bill Clerk bei der Reading Railroad Company befördert |
| 1869 |
Franklin B. Gowen gewinnt das Vertrauen des Präsidenten der Reading Railroad, Charles E. Smith, er wird auf Schmiths Vorschlag in den Aufsichtsrat gewählt |
| Juli 1869 |
Clinton G. Hancock wird General Ticket Agent bei der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" |
| Jan. 1870 |
Nachdem der Präsident der Reading Railroad, Charles E. Smith, aus gesundheitlichen Gründen nicht zur nächsten Aufsichtsrats-Wahl im Januar erscheinen kann, wird Franklin B. Gowen zum Präsidenten gewählt |
| 02.05.1870 |
Daniel Jones wird zum General Freight Clerk bei der Reading Railroad Company befördert |
| 1871 |
William Augustus Church wird assistierender Finanzleiter der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" |
| 02.01.1871 |
Daniel Jones wird zum Assistant Auditor bei der Reading Railroad Company befördert |
| Febr. 1871 |
G. A. Nicholls wird Assistent des Direktors der Philadelphia & Reading-Bahn, verbunden mit dem Umzug von Reading nach Philadelphia |
| 01.11.1871 |
Daniel Jones wird zum Second Auditor bei der Reading Railroad Company befördert |
| Dez. 1871 |
William Rice Taylor beginnt seine Arbeit bei der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" |
| 1872 |
Albert Foster wird Sekretär der "Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company" |
| 01.04.1872 |
Daniel Jones wird zum First Auditor bei der Reading Railroad Company befördert |
| 1873 |
G. A. Nicholls wird Vizepräsident der Philadelphia & Reading-Bahn (1875 und 1876 wiedergewählt) |
| 15.01.1873 |
Daniel Jones wird zum Assistant Comptroller bei der Reading Railroad Company befördert |
| 1874 |
de Benneville Keim zieht nach Philadelphia in Verbindung mit der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" und der "Coal and Iron Company" |
| 1876 |
William Rice Taylor wird Stenograph bei Franklin B. Goven, Präsident der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" |
| Juli 1879 |
Beförderung von Clinton G. Hancock zum General Passenger Agent bei der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" |
| 21.06.1881 |
Daniel Jones erhält die Stelle als Comptroller bei der Reading Railroad Company |
| Jan. 1884 |
de Benneville Keim wird Präsident sowohl der der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" als auch der "Coal and Iron Company" |
| 1884 |
William Rice Taylor ist von 1884 bis 1885 auch Stenograph bei George de B. Keim, Präsident der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" |
| 1884 |
Nach dem Ausscheiden von Samuel Bradford als Finanzleiter wird William Augustus Church dessen Nachfolger bei der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" |
| Jan. 1884 |
F. B. Goven tritt als Präident der Reading Railroad zugunsten seines Freundes George deBenneville Keim zurück |
| März 1885 |
H. K. Nichols wird zum Chief Road Master der "Philadelphia and Reading Company" ernannt |
| April 1885 |
William Rice Taylor scheidet bei der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" aus und arbeitet im Rechtsanwaltsbüro von Franklin B. Goven |
| Nov. 1885 |
F. B. Goven versucht erneut, die Kontrolle über die Reading Railroad zu erlagen |
| 1886 |
Archibald Angus McLeod übernimmt die Leitung der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad" |
| Jan. 1886 |
Als F. B. Goven Präsident der "Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company" wird, wird Mr. Taylor zum Sekretär ernannt |
| 17.09.1886 |
F. B. Goven scheidet endgültig als Präsident der Reading Railroad aus |
| 1888 |
Nach Ende der Konkursverwaltung wird de Benneville Keim Direktor der Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company und Präsident der "Coal and Iron Company" |
| Okt. 1890 |
Präsident A. A. McLeod ernennt A. Foster zum General Purchasing Agent für die gesamte Bahn |
| 01.10.1890 |
Präsident McLeod der Philadelphia and Reading Railroad ernennt Charles Ridgway Deacon zum Presseagenten der Bahn |
| Produkt |
ab |
Bem. |
bis |
Bem. |
Kommentar |
| Eisenbahnverkehr |
1839 |
Beginn |
1891 |
[Philadelphia (1891)] |
|
Zeit = 1: Zeitpunkt unbekannt
| ZEIT | 1891 |
| THEMA | Beschreibung |
| TEXT | The Reading Railroad is one of the leading factors in the prosperity of both this City and State. Pennsylvania can justly boast of being one of the richest of the commonwealths in the Union; and among the many things to which the inhabitants of the Keystone State can point with pardonable pride and satisfaction are the splendid railway systems which gridiron the territory embraced within its borders and which have done so much to develop its great natural resources. One of the most important of these lines is the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, the history of which company is so closely allied and interwoven with that of the State itself that one would be incomplete without reference to the other. This great highway, with its numerous branches and connections, forms a perfect network of steel in Eastern Pennsylvania, reaching almost every city in that portion of the State and carries to market the products of the vast and important industries that are located on or adjacent to its lines. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company was incorporated in 1833, and the first train was run over its tracks between Philadelphia and Reading in 1839. By successive extensions and acquisitions it has grown from a small coal road and local line of less than sixty miles in length to its present magnificent proportions and taken its rank as one of the most important of the great transportation lines of the country; operating, at the present time, a system covering 2.344 miles of tracks, its tonnage mileage in 1889 having been over fifteen hundred million tons. The success of the company is very largely due to the fact that those at the helm believe that "what is worth doing at all is worth doing well," and the manner in which the business of the Company has been conducted and the improvements which have been inaugurated or consummated within recent years, are an evidence that it is the determination of the management, to place and keep the Reading in the fore front with the great transportation lines of the country. The first annual report of the Company in which the receipts were given was that for the year ending December 31, 1842, when they amounted, as therein stated, to but 200.000, while for the year ending November 30, 1890, the combined receipts of the railroad company and the coal and iron company were over 41.000.000. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company maintains and offers to its patrons a service strictly first class in every particular. The locomotives in use for passenger service burn clean, hard, anthracite coal exclusively and thereby insure immunity from the dense clouds of black smoke and the flying cinders that are so annoving to the passengers on roads which use soft coal. The coaches, which are models of the car builders' art and inventive genius, cannot be surpassed in attractiveness, elegance of furnishings and real comfort, by anything running on wheels. It is an indisputable fact that the trains of the Company run at a higher rate of speed than those of any other line in the country, but this is done consistently with safety, the perfect system of running trains, the use of improved devices for safety with which all trains are equipped, and the employment of none but experienced, careful and intelligent train men. The main stem of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad extends from Philadelphia to Williamsport. Reading is the hub of this vast railway system. From this point the various branch roads reach all parts of the great State, penetrating a rich agricultural section as well as the coal producing region, running to Pottsville, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Columbia, Gettysburg, Pine Grove, Brookside, Allentown, Easton, Phillipsburg, through the Schuylkill, Mahanoy and Catawissa valleys ; in fact, touching a thousand and one points. The East Pennsylvania branch connects at Allentown with the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Lehigh Valley for Mauch Chunk, Wilkes-Barre, and other points, traversing a territory that cannot be surpassed for the beauty and attractiveness of its scenery. Many miles of new road have also been recently constructed or acquired, the greater portion passing through rich agricultural or mineral sections, the products of which help to swell the volume of the road's traffic. The region which is thus traversed by the Philadelphia and Reading railroad, rich in mineral ores and containing the immense anthracite coal fields of the State, offers a field of enterprise to the capitalist that is rarely equalled even in so wealthy State as Pennsylvania. The road also connects at Slatington with the Lehigh Valley and the Pennsylvania, Poughkeepsie and Boston railroad via the bridge over the Hudson river, and also by the way of Allentown with the Central Railroad of New Jersey to Philipsburg, forming the Poughkeepsie route to Boston. This is the only direct route to Boston without change of any kind, and passes through the very garden spots of Connecticut and Massachusetts, the time consumed being only fourteen hours, and it has become very popular with travellers from the west and south, as it does away with the annoyance of crossing to New York City by ferry and making connections at the Grand Central depot, which cannot always be promptly accomplished. Another important division of the Philadelphia and Reading system is the line from Philadelphia to Bethlehem with branches extending to New Hope and to Doylestown. This line passes through a hilly but rich agricultural section and along it are located the summer residences of many of Philadelphia's leading citizens. At Bethlehem connections are made with both the Lehigh Valley and the Central Railroad of New Jersey for all points in the scenic and historic Lehigh and Wyoming Valleys, and for Buffalo, Niagara Falls, the West, Northwest and the Canadas. The Germantown and Chestnut Hill and the Norristown branches run to Chestnut Hill and Norristown respectively and both lines pass through numerous and attractive small towns that are inhabited by persons who are desirous of escaping from the noise, turmoil and discomforts attendant upon a residence in the city, and of enjoying the quietude and health-invigorating life of the country while still partaking of the advantages of the city which they are enabled to do owing to the fast and frequent train service operated on both branches. One of the most important branches of the system is its New York line, formerly termed the Bound Brook Route. This line is conceded by eminent railway authorities to be the finest piece of railroad in the United States, if not in the world. It is equipped, as are all other portions of the system, with the heaviest and best steel rails laid on a stone ballast fully two feet deep, thus allowing the highest speed with little or no oscillation. It is on this division that the fastest regular train in the United States makes its daily trip. This is the one leaving Ninth and Green streets, Philadelphia, at 7.30 a.m., and arriving at New York at 9.30 a.m. This train has a record of making one hundred and thirty consecutive trips and being only nine times late in reaching its destination, while on these few occasions the delay was not more than a few minutes in each instance. This fast train service between New York and Philadelphia is thoroughly appreciated by the public, and with the establishment of the Terminal Station, at Twelfth and Market streets, in Philadelphia, the time between the two cities will be reduced to the minimum. The short distance and increasing travel between the two points demand frequent and fast runs, and the two hour trains of the route which now meet the demands of the business men will soon have to give way to much faster ones. The branch now forms the middle liuk iu the rapidly becoming famous "Royal Blue Line", which is composed of the Baltimore and Ohio, Philadelphia and Reading, and the Central New Jersey Railroads, and covers the distance between the Metropolis and the Capital of the country, in the short space of five hours, connecting them with Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore, through which cities the line runs. One of the most popular of the lines operated by the Reading system is the Atlantic City Railroad, known so well and favorably throughout the whole as the "Royal Route" to the sea. This is the great short route between Philadelphia and that justly celebrated and most popular seaside resort for the people of the North and West, Atlantic City. A ride to the seashore over this line is not only made with the highest speed but also with the greatest safety, comfort and convenience possible in railroad travel. The distance of fifty-six miles, on a line almost as straight as the crow flies from the Delaware to the sea, is traversed in a little over an hour. This rate of speed is maintained with perfect safety by the large and powerful locomotives used, as the line is free from curves, the roadbed in the most perfect condition, being ballasted with slag, double tracked the entire length and with no grades to speak of. New ferry boats and new and commodious stations in both Philadelphia and Atlantic City, in addition to the other advantages, have made this the finest and most popular route to the City by the Sea, the enormous business transacted evidencing the appreciation of the public of the efforts made for their accommodation. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company also controls the line to Brigantine Beach, and which is known as the Brigautine Branch. This line leaves the main tracks of the Atlantic City road a short distance from Atlantic City and runs to the new resort of Brigantine. It is the intention of the company to operate on this branch a service equally as good as that which has made the Atlantic line so justly popular with its patrons, and there is no doubt but that Brigantine Beach will in the near future prove a formidable rival to some of the older and more widely known seaside resorts. To those who do not care for the seashore the Philadelphia and Reading affords access to mountain resorts at Eagles' Mere, Highland Lake and Lake Mokoma, via the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad, and Wernersville, via the Lebanon Valley branch, all of which points possess attractions for the pleasure seeker, and for those in search of rest and health, that are not only unexcelled, but are such as no other localities can present. Three very important additions to the Philadelphia and Reading system are the Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburg Railroad, the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad, and the Port Reading extension. By the Philadelphia. Harrisburg and Pittsburg branch the Reading will be enabled to reach the line of the Baltimore and Ohio, which will give the company a through Western connection, and doubtless result in largely increasing the volume of its traffic. The acquisition of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad gave the Reading direct access to the famous battlefield and largely the control of the excursion business to that point. The Port Reading extension from Bound Brook to the new terminus of Port Reading, located on the Arthur Kill near Perth Amboy, gives the Philadelphia and Reading an outlet upon New York Harbor, and enables the company to have complete control of its extensive coal business there, instead of being at the mercy of competing carrying companies, who naturally give preference to their own business. The completion of the road will enable the company to effect a saving of at least a quarter of a million dollars annually in the cost of handling its coal shipments at that point, besides greatly facilitating its business by doing away with the vexations and expensive delays attendant upon it when handled, as previously, by companies whose own interests are naturally first considered. This gives the Reading Company an independent outlet and terminal facilities unsurpassed at the very door of the commercial metropolis of the country. The recent acquisition by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company of the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad will result in largely increasing the traffic of the East Pennsylvania Railroad, by which the Reading system connects with the newly acquired road at Alburtis, and which is one of the most profitable of the leased lines controlled by the Reading. The East Pennsylvania extends from Reading to Allentown, a distance of thirty-six miles, and runs through an exceedingly prosperous region, which is not only a fertile agricultural section, but is rich in mineral resources. By securing control of the Catasauqua and Fogelsville road, the Reading has not only obtained direct access to the numerous furnaces situated upon the line, to which it will supply the ores produced on the line of the East Pennsylvania, but it also gains a heavy coal trade heretofore controlled by the Lehigh Valley Railroad, in supplying the dozen or more towns on the line and the country tributary thereto annually with 100.000 tons or more of coal required for domestic and manufacturing purposes besides that which is consumed by the furnaces. It will also have the hauling of the product of the furnaces to a market, the result being a very considerable increase in the traffic of the East Pennsylvania branch, which is the outlet of the trade. The East Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Lebanon Valley-branch, with which it connects at Reading, forms almost an air line between Allentown and Harrisburg and will probably be used in the near future as a short line between New York and the West. It was by this route that the Pennsylvania shipped its heavy freight to and from New York before that company secured control of the United Railroads of New Jersey. The passenger service of the East Pennsylvania is being constantly improved, and there will be extra trains added as the business will warrant it. The need of terminal facilities near the business quarter of the city of Philadelphia was a great drawback to the local traffic of the Reading Company, and it was a most difficult and tedious matter to overcome the adverse interests which were opposed to granting the privilege: but the press and the people were convinced that it would he a great benefit to the public as well as to the company and its accomplishment resulted. The establishing of the Terminal Station at Twelfth and Market streets is hailed as one of the greatest improvements of recent years, and the benefit certain to accrue to the general welfare and the commercial interests of the community as well as those of the railroad are almost beyond computation. Among some of the important matters which were taken in hand by the present management of the company upon assuming charge of its affairs were the improvement of the road-bed, the rolling stock and the train service. Even the ordinary layman, inexperienced in railroad management, well understands that a good road-bed is absolutely necessary to insure speed and safety of trains and the comfort of passengers; and when the services of Mr. A. A. McLeod, now president and general manager of the road, were secured by the company, his practical experience in, and knowledge of railroading, led him to inaugurate a system of reformation which was necessary to place the road in a condition to meet the requirements of the time and compete with the other great carrying companies for freight and passenger traffic. Under his intelligent supervision and energetic direction, fast trains leaving stations and arriving at designated points on schedule time were among the improvements established, and he has always insisted upon a rigid maintenance of the schedule and a strict compliance with the rules of the company. |
| QUELLE | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 240] |
| |
| ZEIT | 1891 |
| THEMA | Archibald Angus McLeod |
| TEXT | Among the men whose names shall adorn the chronicles of Philadelphia, Archibald Angus McLeod, President of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and Coal and Iron Companies, is no inconspicuous figure. Coming but a few years ago, almost unknown, into this most conservative of communities, he is now regarded as one of its foremost citizens. Entering but recently upon the stupendous task of saving from total ruin and disintegration the great interests of the Reading Railroad system , he hasso succeeded that he is now recognized as one of the ablest and most sagacious railway managers in the country. Mr. McLeod was born in the year 1848, and is consequently one of the youngest men who ever attained sovereignty among the rulers of the railroad world. After acquiring a fair academical education he fitted himself for the profession of his choice, that of civil engineering. His railroad career began before he had attained his majority, his first service being performed in the capacity of a rod-man upon the surveys of the then uncompleted Northern Pacific Railroad. His force of character, executive ability, and devotion to duty, so commended him to those with whom he was brought in contact, that he was rapidly advanced through the several gradations of the service until, in "18S6, the management of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, then passing through the throes of a most desperate struggle for the continuance of its existence and the retention of its vast and valuable franchises, found Mr. McLeod occupying the responsible but comparatively inconspicuous position of General Manager of the Elmira, Cortlandt and Northern Railroad. He had, however, displayed such admirable qualities in the handling of men and affairs, that he was selected to lead the herculean effort about to be made for the Reading's rejuvenation. And right nobly did he justify the sagacity and faith of those who chose him for this great task. Possessing a physique of phenomenal vigor and endurance, sustained by an indomitable will and invincible courage, he threw himself into the fight for the life of a great corporation with a degree of energy and pertinacity which amazed those who watched the seemingly hopeless contest. His minute personal knowledge of practical railway construction and operation, was skilfully and unstintedly devoted to the institution of economies and reforms in the service, while the confidence which he inspired in the world of finance, won and held the support of the moneyed interests, without which Reading's reorganization had failed. Seeing that vast improvements, developments and extensions were necessarv to enable his corporation to claim and maintain the position in the country's transportation system to which it was rightfully entitled, Mr. McLeod directed his earliest efforts to the perfection of discipline, the enlargement of terminal facilities, the betterment of roadway and equipment, and, finally, as a resulting concomitant of these, the invasion of new fields and the acquisition of new traffic. How admirably he has succeeded is attested by the present splendid physical condition of the properties of these twin corporations; by their constantly improving financial standing; by their enormously increased earning powers, and by their prospects of future prosperity. That much of this is due to Mr. McLeod's powerful and magnetic personality cannot be doubted. On one day throttling a great and vindictive strike with armored and relentless grip, he is the next day as tender-hearted and sympathizing as a woman to some humble subordinate who approaches him with a story of suffering or injustice. His kindness in the treatment of employees has made the great army of workers under his command his willing and intelligent co-laborers, and this fact alone has played no small part in Reading's regeneration. Having done so much to better Philadelphia's transportation facilities and enhance her industrial and commercial importance; having perfected a new and great through line between the East and the South; opened a truly "Royal Route" to the sea, and extended the ramifications of his system in every direction, Mr. McLeod is now in Philadelphia's behalf reaching toward New York Bay on the one band, and to Pittsburg and the West on the other, with the culmination of his most notable achievement in view — the extension of his lines into the city's very centre by means of the Reading Terminal. For these, his manifold and successful labors for his city's good and his corporation's prosperity, he well deserves a place among Philadelphia's worthies. |
| QUELLE | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 241] |
| |
| ZEIT | 1891 |
| THEMA | George deB. Keim |
| TEXT | George deBenneville Keim, ex-President Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company and of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, was born in Reading, the eldest son of George M. Keim and Julia C. Mayer his wife, and was named after his grandfather, General George deB. Keim. He received a preliminary education in the local schools, and passed one term in the Georgetown College, while his father was a member of Congress from Bucks. He was admitted to the Sophomore Class, Dickinson College, in 1846, graduating in 1849. He then took up the study of chemistry in the laboratory of Dr. Charles M. Wetherill, with special reference to the analysis of minerals. In 1850, returning to Reading, he read law in the office of Charles Davis, Esq., and was admitted to practice in April, 1852. In 1855 Mr. Keim located at Pottsville, Schuylkill county, where there had begun very great activity in the development of coal lands. Here he was retained by the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, and was placed in very close relations to their vast undertakings, purchasing many thousand acres of land and numerous collieries, paying many millions of dollars therefor, and though the work included numerous and difficult complications, it was well done and not an acre of the vast property acquired has ever been lost or impaired by reason of any defects in the title passed upon by him. In the year 1874 Mr. Keim removed to Philadelphia in connection with the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company and Coal and Iron Company. He has filled the offices of General Auditor, Vice-President, President pro tem, and Receiver pro tem. In January, 1884, he was made President of both Companies, and when they passed again into a receivership, he was appointed by the Circuit Court of the United States to that position, in conjunction with Mr. Edward M. Lewis and Mr. Stephen A. Caldwell, two well known gentlemen of high personal and business character. This receivership terminated in January, 1888. Under this receivership the gross earnings of the companies were about $150.000.000, and the requirements of the management of the business under all the difficult surroundings and circumstances were very laborious and constant. Upon the companies resuming management in 1888, Mr. Keim was made a Director in the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company and President of the Coal and Iron Company ; the latter position he resigned in January, 1891, believing that the interest of the Railroad Company and the Coal and Iron Company would be promoted by placing the management in one and the same person — Mr. A. A. McLeod, President of the Railroad Company. He has long been connected with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and one of its Vice-Presidents. By appointment of the Governor of the Commonwealth he served with Simon Cameron and the Hon. Daniel Ermentrout on the Commission which selected General Peter Muhlenberg and Robert Fulton as subjects for the statues to be presented by the State to be placed in the Capitol at Washington. Mr. Keim married Elizabeth Cooke Trezevant, only daughter of Louis Creiger Trezevant, M. D., of South Carolina, and of his wife Elizabeth Marion, daughter of Buller Cook, Esq. Mr. Keim's family consists of his wife and daughters, Julia Mayer Keim and Susan Douglass Keim. |
| QUELLE | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 242] |
| |
| ZEIT | 1891 |
| THEMA | William R. Taylor |
| TEXT | William Rice Taylor, Secretary of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, was born in Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill County, Pa., May 22, 1856. His father was of Scotch ancestry, and his mother was descended from the early Dutch settlers of the State. When he was but two vears of age his parents moved to Philadelphia and located in Kensington, where he attended the public schools until he was nearly fourteen years of age. After some desultory employment he entered the employ of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company in December, 1871. He was first given a position in the office of the President and Secretary of the company. In 1876 he was appointed stenographer to the President, Mr. Franklin B. Gowen, in w^hich capacity he served that gentleman until his resignation in 1884. He held the same position under Mr. Gowen 's successor, Mr. George deB. Keim until April, 1885. Mr. Taylor had previously determined to read law aud was registered as a student under the tuition of Mr, Gowen. In April, 1885, when Mr. Gowen opened a law office, upon that gentleman's invitation Mr. Taylor left the service of the railroad company and took employment under Mr. Gowen with the intention of completing his legal studies, but upon Mr. Gowen again becoming President of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company in January, 1886, Mr. Taylor was elected Secretary of the Company. In February, 1887, Mr. Taylor was appointed Secretary of the Board of Reconstruction Trustees, and acted in that capacity until the duties of the trustees ended with the adoption of a plan of reorganization. Mr. Taylor was married in 1882 to Sarah T. Wilbraham, a daughter of the late James Wilbraham, and they have one child, a daughter. |
| QUELLE | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 242] |
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| ZEIT | 1891 |
| THEMA | William A. Church |
| TEXT | William Augustus Church, the Treasurer of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, was born at Albany, N. V., February 16, 1834. He is of English lineage, being a descendant in the seventh generation of Richard Church, one of the original settlers of Hartford, Connecticut, who came from England to that place in 1636. Hon. Sanford E. Church, the noted jurist, and Frederick E. Church, the well-known artist, are descended from the same progenitor. Mr. Church was very young when his father came to Philadelphia as agent for a large New York dry goods house, and he received his education here, principally under the tuition of his brother-in law, Dr. A. T. W. Wright, to whom the city of Philadelphia is largely indebted for the establishment of the Girls' Normal School. The Rev. Thos. K. Beecher was also at one time one of his instructors. But the greater part of his acquirements have been the result of reading and study since he began his business career. Mr. Church entered the service of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company in June, 1857, as one of the coal traffic accountants. He was some time afterwards made assistant to the Treasurer, and in 187 1 was appointed Assistant Treasurer, which position he held until 1884, when Treasurer Samuel Bradford, who had held the office about forty-six years, having retired because of advanced age, he was elected Treasurer of the company. Upon Mr. Corbin assuming control of affairs he was made Treasurer of the Coal and Iron Company, as well as of many of the affiliated companies. Mr. Church's association with the company has extended over the most interesting period of its history. When he first entered its employ the business of the general office was so small as to have ample accommodation upon one floor of the building at No. 227 South Fourth street, then but about one-third its present size, and the force consisted of but ten or twelve persons; while at the present time the large building, which is entirely occupied by the offices of the company, is not spacious enough for the employes engaged in the work of the general office, who number at least six hundred; and the miles of track controlled by the company have increased from a very moderate figure to a quantity well nigh sufficient to span the continent. The period of his service with the company covers the war of the Rebellion, with its large returns for the coal carriers (before and during which, as well as long after, the English firm of McCalmout Bros. & Co. held enough stock to virtually control the company); the presidencies of Mr. Cullen (who was sent out by the McCalmonts to protect their interests), Mr. Whitney, Mr. Smith, Mr. Gowen, Mr. Bond (during a contest), Mr. Keim, Mr. Corbin and Mr. McLeod, and the terms of the two receiverships with their almost interminable law proceedings. He has been with it through good and evil report, and now, by the building of the Terminal at Twelfth and Market streets, and the assertive yet conservative administration of the present discerning and able management, he believes a new era of prosperity has dawned upon the great corporation to whose interests he is devoted. Mr. Church has been connected with various boards and associations of a public and benevolent nature, but his duties not permitting him to give to them the time which he deemed necessary, he has severed his relations with most of them. The only connections he now holds of such a nature being those of a Manager of the American Sunday School Union and one of its Committee of Publication, and the Presidency of the Board of Trustees of St. Stephen's Methodist Episcopal Church, of Germantown. Mr. Church married Miss Elizabeth Inskeep Barker, who is of English Quaker descent. They have four sons and a daughter. The latter is the wife of William Morris Longstreth. Two of the sons are married and arc engaged in business, the other two are students, the elder at the University of Pennsylvania and the younger at the Penn Charter School. |
| QUELLE | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 243] |
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| ZEIT | 1891 |
| THEMA | Clinton Gillingham Hancock |
| TEXT | Clinton G. Hancock, General Passenger Agent of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad system, was born in Philadelphia, November 18, 1845. His father, the late Samuel P. Hancock, was a member of a prominent and well-known Quaker family, whose settlement at Salem, New Jersey, antedated the arrival of William Penn and his colonists in this State. He was a highly respected citizen, having served as Comptroller of Philadelphia with honor and credit. Mr. C. G. Hancock was educated at the public schools of his native city, taking a two years course at the Central High School, and on August 12, 1S64, while in his nineteenth vear, he entered the employ of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company as clerk in the Freight Auditing Department, remaining in that position until July, 1869, when he was made General Ticket Agent, which title he held until July, 1879, in which year he was made General Passenger Agent as well, and has capably and acceptably filled the position to the present time. Mr. Hancock is an indefatigable worker, conservative and methodical in his business habits, yet constantly on the alert to be up with the times in his branch of railroading, and his genial manners and pleasant bearing win for him not only the hearty cooperation of his subordinates but most agreeably impress those patrons of the road who have business relations with him, while his thorough knowledge of the details of his department insures him a respectful hearing when brought in contact with the able men who fill similar posts with the other great transportation companies at the frequent meetings of the Passenger Agents of the Trunk Lines of the country. |
| QUELLE | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 243] |
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| ZEIT | 1891 |
| THEMA | Henry K. Nichols |
| TEXT | Among those most active in directing the great undertakings of this busy age, there arc none who haveattained a more distinguished position in his special field of labor than Mr. Henry Kuhl Nichols, Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. This expert in engineering and railroad construction was born in Pottsville, Pa., August 24, 1S30, and is a descendant of an old and honored family. His father, Francis B. Nichols, was a midshipman during the war of 1812, and was attached to the historic frigate Chesapeake, commanded by Captain Lawrence, participating
in the memorable encounter with the British frigate Shannon. His grandfather was General Francis Nichols, a gallant officer of the Revolutionary War, and his great-grandfather was Michael Hillegas, first Treasurer of the United States. At the age of sixteen years, Henry K. Nichols was appointed a cadet to the LTnited States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, but the sudden death of his father compelled a change in his plans, and on August 9, 1847, ne began the study and work of engineering as rod-man on the extension of the Mill Creek Railroad to the New Boston coal fields in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, and such was his aptitude for the work, and such a knowdedge of the science did he soon acquire, that he was made Assistant Engineer, which position he filled until the work was completed. On the 1st of January, 1850, he accepted the position of leveler on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad in Virginia, and continued in that service until the completion of the location of the line. During the winter of 1850, 1851, he was leveler ou preliminary surveys for the Lebanon Valley Railroad Company; and in December of the year last mentioned he was Assistant Engineer in the enlargement of the Union Canal in Pennsylvania. In 1852, 1853, he was Assistant Engineer in laying out lateral railroads in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. And the following year was appointed to the same position in the construction of the North Eastern Railroad of South Carolina. In 1855, 1856, he again was engaged on lateral lines of railroad in Schuylkill County. And in the spring of 1857 he was appointed Principal Assistant Engineer by the Federal Government in the construction of the Fort Kearney and Honey Lake Wagon Road in Nebraska and California, which included the first preliminary survey for a Pacific railroad to California. In 1859 he became Chief Engineer of lateral railroads in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. When they were leased by the Philadelphia and Reading Companv he became Resident Engineer from 1861 to 1883, when he was appointed Chief Road Master of that company, and in March, 1885, he was advanced to the position of Chief Engineer of the road, a position which he now fills with distinguished ability. |
| QUELLE | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 243] |
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| ZEIT | 1891 |
| THEMA | Albert Foster |
| TEXT | Albert Foster, Purchasing Agent of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, was born in Philadelphia, July 14, 1842. His parents were English, coming from Surrey and settling in Philadelphia shortly before his birth. He completed his schooling at the Lawrenceville Academy, Lawrenceville, N. J., and after a short interim entered the service of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company in October, 1858, working his way through the various grades of the accounting department until he was appointed chief clerk to the secretary and auditor, in which capacity he served for several years. About 1867 he was elected secretary of the numerous branch and lateral corporations controlled by the company. In 1871 he was engaged with Mr. Franklin B. Gowcn, then president, in the matter of the purchase of the large area of coal land acquired by the company, and in 1S72, when the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company was organized, was elected secretary of that corporation, which position he retained until January, 1883, when he was elected secretary of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Co. When the company's affairs were again placed in the hands of the Receivers in June, 1884, he was appointed as their secretary, acting in that capacity during the existence of the receivership. In January, 1888, the financial reorganization of the company being assured, he was appointed first register of the company, havamong other duties the entire charge of the preparation and exchanges of the various securities required in effecting the same, amounting to upwards of $125,000,000, and so accurately were his duties performed that Mr. Austin Corbin, then president of the company, in his annual report officially complimented his department upon the fact that this had been accomplished absolutely without an error. In October, 1890, President A. A. McLeod appointed Mr. Foster general purchasing agent of the entire system, a position of great responsibility and trust, involving the expenditure of many millions of dollars per annum. Mr. Foster is married to one of the daughters of Mr. Stephen Flanagan, a well known citizen of Philadelphia, largely engaged in shipping and building interests. |
| QUELLE | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 245] |
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| ZEIT | 1891 |
| THEMA | Daniel Jones |
| TEXT | Comptroller of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, was born at Glenmore Manor, Kent county, Maryland, July 3, 1846. His father. Daniel Jones, was born October 10, 1796, married November 27, 1821, Catharine Tylden Ireland, and died April 23, 1865. Daniel Jones, St., was the son of Jacob Jones, Jr., and Elizabeth Gale, a daughter of Rasin Gale and Martha Moore, who were married in 1756. Rasin Gale was the son of John Gale and the grandson of George Gale, who was born in 1670, in Kent county, England; came to Maryland in 1690, and died in August, 1712. Jacob Jones, Jr., was High Sheriff of Kent county, Maryland, in 1783, and was the son of Captain Jacob and Elizabeth Jones. His mother, Mrs. Catharine Tvlden (Ireland) Jones, was born November 23, 1804, died September 26, 1858. She was the daughter of John Ireland, who was born March 9, 1767, and married December 28, 1801, Mary Tylden. John Ireland was the son of Joseph Ireland, who was born June 17, 1727, near Halifax, Yorkshire, England, settled in Shrewsbury Parish, Kent county, Maryland, and married July 10, 1761, Alethea Comegys, daughter of William and Ann Cosden Comegys. Mary Ireland was the daughter of Dr. William Blay-Tylden, who was the sou of John and Catharine (Blay) Tylden. Mrs. Catharine (Blay) Tylden, who married July 27, 1722, John Tylden, was the daughter of Colonel William Blay, and his wife, Isabella Pearce, daughter of Judge William Pearce. Colonel William Blay was the son of Colonel Edward and Ann Blay, of Blay's Range, Kent county, Maryland. John Tylden was the son of Charles Tylden, the second son of Marmaduke Tylden, who was a very large land owner in Kent, perhaps the largest. He owned at one time, in 1709, 31.350 acres. Marmaduke Tylden was the son of Marmaduke, who was the sou of Sir William Tylden, of "Great Tyldens", Kent county, England. Mr. Jones received his education at the county schools and at Washington College, Kent county, Maryland. His first employment was as a clerk in the service of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, which he entered July 7, 1864. His promotion to his present position has been regularly through the intermediary grades. May 27, 1867, he was appointed Joint Way-Bill Clerk; May 2, 1870, General Freight Clerk; January 2, 1871, Assistant Auditor; November 1, 1871, Second Auditor; April 1, 1872, First Auditor; January 15, 1S73, Assistant Comptroller, and June 21, 1881, to the position of Comptroller, which position he has since filled. Mr. Jones was married to Miss H. E. Rush on October 2, 1873, and has one child, William Rush Jones. |
| QUELLE | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 245] |
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| ZEIT | 1891 |
| THEMA | Frank G. Odenheimer |
| TEXT | Frank Gilliams Odenheimer, private secretary to President A. A. McLeod, of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, was born in Philadelphia, August 17, 1856. He is of German descent on the paternal side and of English extraction on that of his mother, whose Southern blood accounts for the cordiality of his disposition and that genial warmth of manner which impresses so favorably the people of "all sorts and conditions" with whom he is constantly brought in contact in the fulfilment of his duties. He received his education in the various grades of the public schools of his native city, and graduated with honor from the Central High School, after' which he entered the employ of J. B. Lippincott & Co., and later that of John Lucas & Co., the members of both of which firms he counts among his warmest friends. After leaving the employ of John Lucas & Co., he became secretary to George R. Kaercher, Esq., General Counsel of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, remaining as such until the appointment of Mr. McLeod as General Manager of the company when that gentleman made him his private secretary, and upon his election to the Presidency placed Mr. Odenheimer in the position now held bv him; and every one who has business with his chief can bear witness to the good judgment shown in his selection as evidenced by his peculiar fitness for the delicate and responsible position he so capably fills. Of course with the enormous amount of business requiring his attention it is out of the range of possibilities for President McLeod to see each and every one who calls and it is the business of the private secretary to see that his chiefs time is not consumed and frittered away by useless or unnecessary interviews. It is for him to decide, unless special arrangements have been made to the contrary, who shall or shall not see the president. He listens to what the caller has to say and at once makes up his mind whether the subject is one which demands the attention of the president, or should be referred to some department which has such matters in charge. All who come are received courteously, and their requests receive prompt and due attention. The subjects brought before him for decision are as varied as those wdiich fill the advertising pages of one of the great dailies. Some one enters and expresses a desire to exhibit to the president a patent device for coupling cars. Another has a means of heating, which will do away with the life-destroying stove. Another has a patent platform which will insure immunity from danger in the event of a collision. Another has a fuel saving invention for the use of locomotives, and so on through the whole category of inventions applicable to railroad use. At the end of the year the secretary becomes a perambulating patent office catalogue, which would make him valuable to the United States Government. Then some poor woman comes with her sad story of how her husband, son or some near relative has either been maimed, or lost his life in the performance of his duty. Now follows a committee from some township that desires to have an extension of the line made through their district with the view of developing its resources. Then some large operator in coal or iron
is anxious to consummate a deal in his specialty, which may reach into the millions. All these people are seen, their requests duly-heard and promptly attended to, the major portion of them not requiring the attention of the president, but calling for the exercise of careful judgment on the part of the secretary. From this brief sketch one can readily see that Mr. Odenheimer has but little spare time on his hands; but however busy he may be all callers are sure of a cordial reception and polite treatment, and whether successful in accomplishing the object of their visit or not they are impressed with the fact that he is possessed with an earnest desire to faithfully serve to the best of his ability his big and brainy chief, for whom he has a sincere and enthusiastic regard. |
| QUELLE | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 245] |
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| ZEIT | 1891 |
| THEMA | Charles R. Deacon |
| TEXT | Charles Ridgway Deacon, Press Agent of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and Secretary of the Clover Club of Philadelphia, was born January, 23, 1845. on a farm near Burlington, New Jersey, where his father was largely engaged in horticulture. His parents were members of prominent Quaker families and descended from the early English settlers of the State. Mr. Deacon was educated at Gummere's School, Burlington, Westtown Friends' School, near West Chester, Pa., and at the Dowingtown, Pennsylvania, Academy until his sixteenth year when he was apprenticed to the printer's trade at the office of the Saturday livening Post, then owned by Deacon & Peterson. Shortly after reaching his majority he was employed in the office of the Public Ledger, but subsequently engaged in the sewing machine business in Baltimore as general agent for the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company, remaining there until 1876, when he returned to the employ of Mr. Childs on the Ledger. Here he remained until 1884, when he became business manager of the Daily News, but shortly afterwards withdrew and took the management of the American Biographical Publishing Company and completed the publication of a valuable work entitled "Prominent Pennsylvanians". Mr. Deacon has acted as correspondent for a number of prominent newspapers anil is a frequent contributor to the local journals. On October 1, 1890, President McLeod of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad appointed him press agent of that corporation, and he has since that time looked after the interests of the Company in connection with the press. Mr. Deacon has demonstrated his capacity for the work in which he is engaged by the manner in which the merits of the Reading Terminal were presented in the newspapers, as he had the entire handling of that matter after his connection with the road. He is in touch with all grades of newspaper workers and they are always glad to do him any reasonable favor. Mr. Deacon's long connection with the newspaper business has made him well known in Philadelphia, while his work as secretary of the Clover Club has brought him in contact with a great many prominent men from different parts of the country. Mr. Deacon married Virginia the youngest daughter of the late George Sturges, who was for many years connected with the Survey Department. They have two children, a son and a daughter, both nearly of age. |
| QUELLE | [Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians (1891) 245] |
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