Background
Thomas McElrath was born on May 1, 1807 at Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
(This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
https://www.amazon.com/Magazine-Mineralogy-Metallurgy-Chemistry-Applications/dp/1346977097?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1346977097
Thomas McElrath was born on May 1, 1807 at Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
After an early apprenticeship on the Harrisburg Chronicle, he pushed on to Philadelphia, finding employment in a book-printing establishment. He later returned to Williamsport and studied law.
Equipped for a struggle with fortune, he went to New York City, where he was employed as proof-reader and head salesman by the Methodist Book Concern, and subsequently he engaged on his own account in the publication of school books and religious works. In 1828 he was admitted to the bar, formed a partnership with William Bloomfield and Charles P. Daly, and entered upon a lucrative practice. In 1841 McElrath became business manager of the New York Tribune, then in its uncertain infancy.
Although the business manager did not share every enthusiasm of his partner's flaming pen, the steady course of the Tribune as a publishing concern insured a constant enlargement of its influence and prosperity. When muscular men of the "bloody sixth" ward, in resentment of plain language, swore to wreck the Tribune building, McElrath did his share to put the office in a state of defense. When he withdrew from the Tribune in 1857, to become corresponding secretary of the American Institute, the paper had risen to a position of social and political leadership. McElrath had numerous official trusts. He was a master of chancery for New York City in 1840; state director of the Bank of America in 1841; New York alderman in 1845-46; appraiser-general of the New York district in 1861, by appointment of President Lincoln; custom-house officer in 1866; United States commissioner to the Paris Exposition in 1867; commissioner to the Vienna Exposition in 1873 and superintendent of American exhibitions; general executive officer of the New York state commission at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876; and commissioner of the World's Fair in New York in 1884. In 1864 he had resumed the post of publisher of the Tribune and was associated with Greeley in the publication of works issued by the firm. He himself was the author of a standard work of reference, A Dictionary of Words and Phrases Used in Commerce (1871).
(This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)
Elected as a Whig to the New York Assembly, he won attention by a minority report on the petition for removing the state capital from Albany to Utica, his report closing with a recommendation to transfer the seat of government to New York. During the same session he presented for the judiciary committee an adverse report on a petition for the abolishment of capital punishment. He was also among those who protested against the action of Congress in resolving to table without debate, printing, or reference, all petitions affecting slavery.
His ability and attractive personal qualities brought him advancement.
McElrath was twice married. He married his first wife Ann in 1829. In 1833 he was married to Elizabeth Price of New York City.
