Col. Eli Slifer 1818-1888

Eli & Catherine [Frick] Slifer

When Eli Slifer died on May 26  1888, the Philadelphia Times called him "one of the few unobtrusively great men of Pennsylvania."  

Eli Coulter Slifer was born  May 23, 1818, the son of Abraham Jr. and Mary (Coulter) Slifer, in Chester County Pa. Here the biographies differ a bit, and I am not certain which is true.  One states that he was orphaned at a young age, and sent to live with his aunt, raised in a german speaking household.

Another states that the family moved to Lewisburg, then the parents died (by some estimations, Eli may have been nearly a teenager when he was orphaned) and was then sent to live with his aunt.

In either case,  "At the age of 16, Slifer walked 100 miles back to Lewisburg, where he reunited with his brother, found work as an apprentice hat-maker, and learned to speak English. Eventually, he opened a boat-building business that supplied the nearby canal. He eventually became a leading investor in commercial enterprises in his adopted community."

Family

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Eli Slifer married Catherine Motter Frick, 1814-1886, of Northumberland, Pa., in 1840. Two of their children died in infancy: John F., at the age of 22 months in 1842; and John E., at the age of 19 months in 1851. Three sons and three daughters married and reared families. Eli Slifer had eight children and twenty-eight grandchildren.  

In 1878, Eli Slifer Jr traveled on the disastrous Collins Expedition to built a railroad in Brazil.  Eli spoke about the trip on his return, you can read what he had to say here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/10/eli-slifer-jrs-account-of-his-time-on.html

On September 22 1879, William "The Second Son Of Col Eli Slifer" was killed while quarrying stone on his farm in kelly twp.  "Mr Slifer was a hard working young man, and one held in high esteem by those who knew him.  He leaves a widow and five small children to mourn his loss.  His age was about 32 years."

Business

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apprenticed, hat-maker; 

entered, canal cargo business; 

boat and barge building, Northumberland engaged, boat building partnership, brother-in-law William Frick;

 managed, barge company, moved, business, Lewisburg, 1845;

 engaged lumber transportation business;

engaged banking, founder, director, Lewisburg Dimes Savings established, Slifer, Walls, Shriner and Company, a consortium managing the Central Foundry, producing farm equipment, 1860

Other Affiliations

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He was a life long member of the Methodist Episcopal Church; 

1865 President of the Lewisburg National Bank; 

President of the Lewisburg Water Company; 

President of Bridge Company

charter member, Lewisburg, Centre, and Spruce Creek Railroad Company, 1853; 

selected, board of managers, Lewisburg and Mifflinburg Turnpike Company, 1858; 

co-founder, Lewisburg Gas Company, 1859;

 Board of Curators, University at Lewisburg (Bucknell) 1854-1882, 

Secretary, University at Lewisburg (Bucknell)  1861-1867; 

founded, 1865, Union National Bank, president, Union National Bank, 1869;

charter member, president, Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad, 1879; 

president, Lewisburg Water Works, 1883

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Let Me Die In The Spring Time 

By Col. Eli Slifer

Published in the Lewisburg Chronicle, April 16 1875

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Politics

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"A successful businessman, Slifer gave no thought to politics until he was called upon to speak at a rally in 1848. A local newspaper labeled the effort "the speech of the day." "Although a young man," the correspondent concluded, "he has the talent and the true heart to make a public speaker whose influence shall be potent for good."

The local Whig journal in noticing the meeting said, " But the speech of the day was by Eli Slifer of the firm of Frick & Slifer boat builders.  Following a half dozen other speakers yet he entered on a new path and in fluency of language earnestness of manner and manliness and force of thought did himself marked honor. Although a young man he has the talent and the true heart to make a public speaker whose influence shall be potent for good. "

"During the 1850s, Slifer won several elected offices. He resigned as state treasurer in 1861 to take up the post of Commonwealth Secretary, charged with organizing the state's wartime mobilization under Gov. Andrew Curtain. Like Curtin, he was known for his tireless commitment to the war effort."

First serving as a member of the State Assembly, then as Whig senator of the State Senate, Slifer resigned from his three-term position as treasurer of the Commonwealth in 1861 after being named secretary of the Commonwealth by Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin. Slifer’s new position, only second to that of the governor, required him to raise and deploy troops and supplies from Pennsylvania to the Union Army and at times placed him in charge of state affairs during Governor Curtin’s periods of illness.

 "He rarely spoke at all and never made a set speech but he was recognized as a sagacious and safe leader and he retired from the Legislature second to none in prominence and influence."

Secretary Of The Commonwealth

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" There were a full dozen of able and very worthy friends of Curtin who were desirous to fill the position of secretary of the commonwealth and Curtin was exceedingly embarrassed in his efforts to solve the problem.  He delayed his decision until a short time before his inauguration and difficulties multiplied upon him with each succeeding week.  He finally summoned several of his trusted friends who were not applicants for any position under him to a conference on the subject and I was one of the number . The various expectants were very frankly discussed but the selection of any one of them seemed to threaten serious complications.

 Eli Slifer was then State treasurer and serving his third term He did not seek a cabinet appointment but was expecting to reach congressional honors in his district.  After a protracted discussion of the qualities of the various men named for the secretaryship the men who had been called into conference with Curtin unitedly decided that Slifer would be altogether the best man for the position and with one accord they urged Curtin to tender him the appointment.  Slifer was a very earnest friend of Curtin and Curtin would have been more than willing to accept him but for the many disappointments which must result from the choice. After reviewing the whole situation he finally decided in favor of Slifer and the next morning his appointment was announced in the public press.

 Slifer accepted with some reluctance as it changed the political plans of his life and called him to six years of the most exacting and wearing public duties which left him hopelessly enfeebled physically. There are very few people living to day who have anything like a just appreciation of the services rendered to the Curtin administration to the State and to the nation by Eli Slifer.  He was a man of the most quiet and unassuming manners and one of the most tirelessly patient of thinkers and workers.  In all the vexatious complications which arose from the countless new problems presented by civil war the one man whose judgment was always deferred to was Slifer.  He was an entirely self made man of limited education but a great student and an energetic intelligent business man who acquired the highest position in his community and abundant wealth garnered by the most conscientious business methods.

 He had served two sessions in the Legislature a decade before he entered the Curtin cabinet and in 1851 just when he was closing his service as a representative we met as conferees in a senatorial conference for the district composed of Union Mifflin and Juniata. " - Old Time Notes of Pennsylvania,  McClure1908

The following paragraph taken from Chronicles of Central Pennsylvania, Vol. I, p. 367, by Frederic Godcharles, Litt.D., further expresses the esteem in which Eli Slifer was held by his fellow Pennsylvania citizens; and the appreciation of the outstanding services he rendered his State and Nation during the difficult years of the Civil War: "Governor Curtin ranks with the greatest of loyal war governors. He was particularly fortunate in the selection of his cabinet for this trying period. His Secretary of the Commonwealth was Eli Slifer of Lewisburg, Union County, who was then State Treasurer. Few men of the Civil War did more to guide the affairs of State. Secretary Slifer was the ablest advisor of the Governor. His keen perception and comprehensive mastery of every problem made him the ideal man for this important post."

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Letters From The War

Slifer and his wife Catharine were married nearly fifty years. Their wartime letters, now available among Slifer's papers at Bucknell University, tell a poignant story of separation and mutual anxiety. "My heart is sick when I see our utter failure," Slifer wrote as Confederates first crossed the Potomac River in 1862. "I fear that I shall not be able to get home, things are looking very badly." 

Twelve preserved letters from Eli Slifer to his wife, Catharine, dated March 7 to December 30, 1861  express the growing fear and mutual anxieties of husband and wife after

Slifer departed. 

"Always addressed to “My Dear Catharine” and signed “Affectionately Yours,” the romantic lines of Slifer’s letters provide insight into the progress of the war and its effects on religion and life at home. Slifer discusses in his letters his position as Secretary of the Commonwealth, travel and health, and longing to be back at the farm with his family"  - Jessica Owens, for the Union County Historical Society

The Slifer Home, 1867 Decorated for the homecoming of Slifer upon his retirement as Secretary of the Commonwealth.

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The Slifer House

Just prior to the civil war, Slifer hired architect Samuel Sloan to design a house overlooking the Susquehanna River. The 21 room mansion was built on the Delta Place property, a 188 acre farm purchased by Slifer from Joseph Musser.  

"Walls recalled the comfort of Delta Place with its richly laden dining table, its preening peacocks on the lawn, the flocks of guinea hens in the fields, and the stable of fine Kentucky thoroughbred horses." - Union County Pennsylvania, By C.M. Snyder

Eli Coulter Slifer  was returning home from town when his horses were spooked by the train.  Slifer was thrown from his carriage, and he never recovered from his injuries.  He died May 26th 1888.  News of his death was published in papers across the nation.

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In 1908, the Slifer house was sold to Dr Lamont Ross, who established his medical practice in the home.

In 1926, the Evangelical Association founded the first hospital in Lewisburg on the grounds of the Slifer estate. In time, residential and nursing care apartments were constructed, as well as a skilled care facility – a complex now known as the Riverwoods Senior Living Community.

The Slifer House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 26 1975.

The following year, the house was opened to the public as a museum.