REA,
SAMUEL: Railway official; born at
Hollidaysburg.Pa., Sept. 21, 1855; son of James D. Rea and of Ruth (Moore) Rea,
daughter of Thomas Blair Moore of Blair County, Pa., and is a grandson of John
Rea, of Chambersburg, Pa., Revolutionary officer and member of the 8th, 9th,
10th, 11th and 13th Congresses, and great-grandson of Samuel Rea, who came from
Ireland to Pennsylvania in 1754 or 1755, and finally settled in what is now
Franklin County. He was educated in common schools and academy. He married in
1879 Mary M., daughter of George Black of Pittsburgh. In 1871 he entered the
engineering department of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as chainman and
rodman on the Morrison's Cove, Williamsburg and Bloomfield branches; was with
the Hollidaysburg Iron & Nail Company, 1874-1875: in engineer corps of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, assistant engineer on construction of the
suspension bridge over the Monongahela at Pittsburgh, 1875-1877; assistant
engineer, Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, 1877-1879; returned to
Pennsylvania System, 1879, as assistant engineer in charge of construction of
the extension of the Pittsburgh. Virginia & Charleston Railway, and also,
1879-1883, engineer in charge of surveys in Westmoreland County and for revision
and rebuilding of the Western Pennsylvania Railroad to make it an active
low-grade freight line; transferred to Philadelphia, 1883, as principal
assistant engineer; assistant to second vice-president, 1888; resigned, 1889,
and became vice-president of the Maryland Central Railway and chief engineer
Baltimore Belt Railroad Company, and located and put under construction a
comprehensive surface and underground double-track railroad through that city
for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.; resigned on account of ill-health.
1891, and spent a year in rest and travel; appointed assistant to president of
the Pennsylvania Railroad, May 25, 1892; first assistant to president, Feb. 16,
1897; fourth vice-president, June 14, 1899; third vice-president since Oct. 10,
1905. Mr. Rea was sent to England by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1892,
to make a study of terminals and the underground railways, then operating and
proposed, of London, and as the result of that investigation was identified with
the inception and has had from the first direct charge of the work of the
Pennsylvania underground railways, river tunnels and terminals now in course of
completion in New York City; he has also had supervision of the promotion and
construction of all new lines of the Pennsylvania System, east of Pittsburgh and
Erie, He is also third vice-president of the Northern Central Railway,
Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad and West Jersey and Seashore
Railroad Companies: director of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, Baltimore
& Ohio Railroad, Norfolk & Western Railway, Long Island Railroad and
other companies, is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the
Institution of Civil Engineers of London. Address: Broad Street Station,
Philadelphia.
Source: Who's who in Pennsylvania: A biographical
dictionary of contemporaries edited by John W. Leonard, 1908, Submitted by Nancy
Piper
WILLIAM ROSEBURG, ofPittsburg, who has been connected with the bank of
Pittsburg for
nearly half a century, has been a resident of this city since his birth, which
occurred June 15, 1824, at the foot of Wood Street. His maternal grandfather
located here in 1791, and his paternal grandfather two years later. The latter,
John Roseburg, a native of Ireland, who emigrated to the United States in early
manhood, settled at first in New York, where he was engaged as a contractor for
several years, and where he married. In 1793 he came to this city, bringing a
large family, and here rounded out a long life, having been more than fourscore
years of age at his death. Samuel Roseburg, the father of William, who was born
in York City, Pa., learned the carpenter's trade from his
father. After settling in Pittsburg, he prosperously followed the
business of contractor and builder until his demise, March 15, 1855. He also
served the city as Postmaster for four years, and was the Recorder of Allegheny
County during two sessions. Both he and his wife were members of Dr. Bruce's
church on Seventh
Avenue, of which his father
was the first Ruling Elder. After coming to this city, he married Miss Isabella
B. Miller, who was born in Pittsburg. She was a daughter of Alexander
Miller, who came from Scotland, his native land, in 1791,
and at once located in this place. The site of Pittsburg was almost in its primitive condition
of wilderness; and he was obliged to carry a gun to protect himself from the
Indians, who were numerous and unfriendly. Mr. Miller was a mechanic and
manufacturer, and until his death, at the age of seventy-five years, one of the
most influential residents of the district. Samuel Roseburg and his wife had
seven children, of whom there are now living: William, the subject of this
biography; Annie R., the widow of the late John B. Herron; Agnes G., the wife of
George A. Kelley; Emma B., who lives in Lawrence, Kan.; and Jennie, the wife of
Alexander R. Banks, of Topeka, Kan. William Roseburg received his early
education under private instructors in one of the select schools of the city.
Afterward for some years he attended the Western University of Pennsylvania, and
in September, 1842, was graduated from Jefferson College, Pennsylvania. During the succeeding five and a
half years he worked in his father's office at the court-house. In 1848 he
accepted the position of corresponding clerk in the bank of Pittsburg. In this capacity he showed such
efficiency and zeal that he was soon made exchange clerk. In March, 1866, he was
promoted to the post of cashier, which he has since held, performing his
responsible duties with fidelity and ability, and to the satisfaction of all
concerned. Mr. Roseburg is a stockholder in several leading railway companies of
the country, and was at one time president of the Etna & Sharpsburg Railway
Company. He is a stanch Republican in politics, and has been closely identified
with that party since its formation.
In 1856,
December 31, Mr. Roseburg was married to Miss Margaret J. Watson, daughter of
Robert and Margaret Watson, of Allegheny. He has four children living, namely:
Samuel L., a dealer in glass, doing business in
Pittsburg; William Roseburg, Jr., who is engaged in
business in
New
York; Margaret, who is the wife
of D, B. McClelland, of
New
York; and Robert,
who is in
South
Carolina
. Mrs. Roseburg died in Allegheny, at the family
residence on
Allegheny
Avenue
,
November 10, 1886. She was a member of the Episcopal church, of which Mr.
Roseburg is also a
communicant.
