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biography
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Scovel, Charles Woodruff, a prominent life insurance manager of Pittsburg, Pa., son of the
Rev. Sylvester F. and Caroline (Woodruff) Scovel, was born in Springfield, Ohio, August 16, 1862. His maternal grandfather was Charles Woodruff, a successful hardware merchant of
New Albany, Ind., who lived to an advanced age.
Mr. Scovel's paternal grandfather, Sylvester Scovel, D. D., was the son of a Rebolutionary soldier, and was born in New England. He was well known in religious circles, being one
of the first secretaries of the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions. By his untiring efforts were established many churches in the Ohio valley, then a frontier. His wife left a
luxurious home to go with him through the wilds of that State, undergoing the perils and privations of the early pioneers. He preached in Pittsburgh many times during its early days.
At the time of his death he was president of Hanover College, Indiana. His wife, Hannah Matlack, was related to the well-known Kennedy family of Philadelphia. She survived him until
the summer of 1896, dying at the age of ninety.
The Rev. Sylvester F. Scovel, D. D., father of Charles W. Scovel, was born in Hamilton, Ohio; and his wife was a native of New Albany, Ind. Five children were born to them, namely,
Minor; Charles W.; Amy, now wife of Walter J. Mullins, of Wooster, Ohio; Sylvester H.; and Elizabeth D. The father is a man of letters, now holding the honorable position of president
of Wooster University. This call was accepted by him in 1883, after a pastorate of eighteen years in the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, where he is remembered with veneration.
In early life he preached for one or two years in New Albany, Ind., and for five years in Springfield, Ohio. While residing in Pittsburg, Dr. Scovel was associated with every kind of
religious work, at that same time laboring in behalf of every cause promoting the public welfare. He was trustee of the Western Theological Seminary, the Western University of Pennsylvania,
and the Pennsylvania College for Women. He was chosen to be the first president of the Art Society, as well as of the May Festival Association, and was frequently made delegate to religious conventions in this country and abroad.
Charles W. Scovel was but three years old when his parents took him from Springfield to Pittsburg, where he has since made his home. Here he attended the public and private schools,
finishing his course in the Pittsburg High School in 1880. Immediately entering the Western University of Pennsylvania, he graduated there in 1883 with honors, being the valedictorian
of his class; and in 1886 he received from this instruction his degree of Master of Arts. Upon graduating, he registered as a law student in the office of William Scott, and for one year
attended the Columbia Law School in New York, where he became a member of the famous law fraternity, Phi Delta Phi. Desirous of more advanced study, Mr. Scovel spent the winter of 1884-85
in taking special courses of law in the University of Berlin, Germany. Upon his return he re-entered the office of Mr. Scott, and in 1886 he was admitted to the bar. He was engaged in
active law practice for upward of eleven years, chiefly as an office lawyer, though some of his best professional work was done as master, auditor, and so forth, under court appointment.
The Allegheny County Bar Association elected him secretary for three successive terms - 1895, 1896, and 1897. This office he resigned when, in August, 1897, he withdrew from the active
life of the profession to accept a very flattering offer to become manager for Western Pennsylvania of the great Manhattan Life Insurance Company of New York.
He is a stanch Republican, but a man interested rather in music, art, and literature than in the life of the local politician. He is an amateur organist, and has since 1885 been a leader
of musical opinion of Pittsburg through his weekly newspaper articles. His interests and ties outside of business are many. The Art Society, of which he was for three years secretary and
a director twice as long, owes its growth and development in a large degree to Mr. Scovel. This is also true of the Pittsburg Orchestra, which was founded by the former organization at his
instance. He personally solicited the original three years' guarantee fund for the orchestra. Some years before, he raised the money to buy the Karl Merz musical library for the Carnegie
Library of Pittsburg, then only a prospect. It 1893 he was appointed as a Phi Delta Phi to a position on the Advisory Board of the World's Fair Congress of College Fraternities. He is a
member of the Alumni Association of the High School and Western University, college department, and has served in various offices, including the presidency of each. He was chosen (1897) the
first president of the General Alumni Association, including all departments of the University, and also secretary of the Board of Trustees of that institution.
He married June 24, 1886, Sara Wilson Butler, who is a daughter of John Williamson Butler and Sarah Greer (Wilson) Butler. They have three children - Sylvester B., Sara W., and Caroline W.
Biographical review: containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburg and the vicinity, Pennsylvania. Boston: Biographical Review Pub. Co., 1897, Author: Anonymous, Submitted by C. Anthony.
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