|
biography
|
|
Pitcairn, Robert, the general agent and superintendent of the Pittsburg Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad,
was born May 6, 1836, in the village of Johnstone, near Paisley, Scotland, son of John and Agnes Pitcairn. The father, who was an expert mechanic, emigrated to this country with his wife soon
after their marriage. They returned to Scotland some time later; but subsequently, in 1846, came again to the States, and took up their residence in Pittsburg, feeling convinced that their
children would have better opportunities of improving their circumstances in America. Both parents were members of the church of the New Jerusalem. In politics the father supported the Republican party.
At their death they had reached a good old age. Their children are: Robert, the subject of this sketch; John Pitcairn, of Philadelphia; Dr. Hugh Pitcairn, United States Consul at Hamburg;
Mrs. Alexander Pitcairn, of Pittsburg; and Mrs. M. P. Sharkey of Philadelphia.
Robert Pitcairn received his earlier education in the public schools of Scotland and of this country. It was necessarily meagre, as the circumstances of the family compelled him to go to work
as soon as he was capable of earning anything; but he did not suffer from the disadvantage long, as subsequently, by private study and attending night school whenever the opportunity offered,
he qualified himself for the struggle of life as thoroughly as the majority of the boys of his time. He earned his first dollar serving in a variety store. In 1848 or 1849 his friend Andrew Carnegie,
then a messenger boy in the employ of the Atlantic & Ohio Telegraph Company at Pittsburg, obtained for him a similar position. This occupation took him into association with a number of bright,
hardworking, ambitious boys employed in the same way, all of whom have since made honorable records. Among them he soon showed himself as bright and ambitious as they were. Referring to these lads
and to Robert Pitcairn, James D. Reid, the pioneer manager and superintendent of telegraph lines in this country, in his interesting book, "The Telegraph," writes: "In Pittsburg were
five messenger boys who merit special record, each of whom made a record of his own; . . . but Robert Pitcairn, he bore his character in his face, gentle, steady, prompt, true." While discharging
his duties as messenger, Robert availed himself of every opportunity to acquire the art of telegraph operator. His pluck and persistence carried him to success, and he was one of the first persons
who took telegraphic communications by sound. In due course he was promoted, by being sent to Steubenville, Ohio, as assistant operator and line repair man, returning to Pittsburg as operator on the
Lake Erie telegraph line for a period. Then he entered the employment of the Atlantic & Ohio Railroad here in the same capacity. When in the service of the Atlantic & Ohio line, much railroad
business passed through Mr. Pitcairn's hands, and he became desirous of engaging in railroading more intimately. In 1853 he succeeded in entering the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as
telegraph operator and assistant ticket agent at the Mountain House, near Hollidaysburg, Blair County. In February, 1854, when the company had completed their track over the Alleghanies, he was
transferred to the general superintendent's office at Altoona, there to wait an appointment to one of the mountain way stations then about to be opened.
About this period Mr. Pitcairn conceived the idea of becoming the superintendent of the Pittsburg Division of the road. Fortunately for this object, he was found so useful in Altoona that he was not
sent to a mountain station, as was contemplated, where, there being no field for his abilities, he would very soon be forgotten. Excepting a period lasting about a year, spent upon the Western Division
of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, while the road between Ptymouth and Chicago was in course of construction, he was retained in the superintendent's office at Altoona, filling different
positions until 1861. In this year he was appointed superintendent of the Middle Division, which is the section of road lying between Conemaugh and Mifflin. Soon after, the four divisions into which
the road had been divided were reduced to three, leaving Mr. Pitcairn without a division. But it was far from the company's intention to dispense with his services. At the same time a new department was
created, that of transportation, and he was appointed its superintendent. In this capacity he organized the record system and the system of car mileage, besides conceiving and carrying into effect other
of the methods with which the business of this department is conducted at present. During the Civil War his skill and energy were severely taxed by the large bodies of troops and immense stores of supplies
for which he had to provide transportation. In 1862, after the battle of Antietam, in addition to the transportation of troops, he had charge of the general traffic between Harrisburg and Hagarstown, and
at the same time was superintendent of the division between Harrisburg and Altoona, and of the Pittsburg Division, between Altoona and Pittsburg, and in charge at Harrisburg and divisions west during the battle of Gettysburg, 1863.
Although by 1865 his services and standing in the company's employment entitled him to aspire to a higher post, Mr. Pitcairn was content to seek and obtain that of superintendent of the Pittsburg Division,
thereby realizing his long-cherished ambition of returning, as the highest local official of the great corporation he served, to the city in which he had broken ground as a humble messenger boy.
Ten years later his duties and responsibilities were largely augmented by his appointment as general agent at Pittsburg. He has filled these offices since greatly to the satisfaction and advantage of both
his employers and the public. Mr. Pitcairn is also largely interested in other than railroad enterprises. He is the resident vice-president and a director of the American Surety Company of Pittsburg, and
the second vice-president and a director of the Fidelity Title and Trust Company. He was one of the first directors of the Masonic Bank; is now a director of the Citizens' National Bank of Pittsburg,
and of the First National Bank of Greenburg, and also of the Western Pennsylvania Exposition. Mr. Pitcairn assisted George Westinghouse, Jr., in introducing his celebrated air-brake, was one of those who
organized the company engaged in its manufacture, and is now the vice-president of that company. He also assisted in the organization of the Philadelphia Natural Gas Company and of many of the corporations
known as the Westinghouse plants, and is a director in each.
On July 26, 1856, Mr. Pitcairn was married to Miss Elizabeth E. Rigg. Mrs.Pitcairn is a daughter of John Rigg, who was a respected resident of Altoona, having previously come from Lewistown, Pa. By the
marriage Mr. Pitcairn became the father of four children. These are: Mrs. Omar Decker, Mrs. Charles L. Taylor, Miss Susan Blanche Pitcairn, and Mr. Robert Pitcairn, Jr., all residents of Pittsburg.
An earnest Presbyterian, the father takes a lively interest in the project of establishing a church and Sabbath-school in the vicinity of his home. While not in any sense a politician, he has been an unwavering
Republican since the creation of the party. He was the secretary of the first Republican convention held in Blair County. His connection with fraternal societies includes a membership of long standing in the
Masonic order, in which he once held the rank of Grand Commander of the Knights Templar of Pennsylvania. Now comparatively wealthy without having desired more than a competency, Mr. Pitcairn feels a justifiable
pride in having been the architect and builder of his own fortunes. He is satisfied in having reached the goal he set for his career forty-five years ago in Altoona, and in having seen railroad construction
conducted on scientific principles and develop to the vast dimensions it has not attained. Mr. Pitcairn is one of the leading authorities on railroading in this country today.
Biographical review: containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburg and the vicinity, Pennsylvania. Boston: Biographical Review Pub. Co., 1897, Author: Anonymous.
|