Biographical Sketch of Byron P. MOULTON; Philadelphia Co., PA

Contributed to the PAGenWeb Archives by Diana Smith 
[christillavalley@comcast.net] 

Copyright.  All Rights Reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm
*********************************************************


"Philadelphia, A History of the City and its People; A Record of 225 Years"
Publisher:  S. H. Clark; Philadelphia; 1912.     Vol. 4, page 548
Author, Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer
 
BYRON P. MOULTON

     At times active in the business circles of Chicago, again the promoter and 
manager of home interests in Philadelphia, Byron P. Moulton possessed those 
qualities which made him a successful competitor of the enterprise and 
aggressiveness of the west and an able exponent of the conservatism and 
substantial methods of the east.  His adaptability as well as his keen insight 
and ready recognition of the opportunities of large cities was one of the strong 
elements in his  progress and prosperity.

     He was born in Greensboro, Vermont, on the 5th of May, 1836, and when death 
called him had passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey.  His 
parents, Noah and Ruth Moulton, were also natives of the Green Mountain state.  
His early education was acquired in the neighborhood of his father's home.  For 
a time he was associated with the firm of Reyburn, Hunter & Company, of whom the 
senior partner was the father of the present mayor of Philadelphia.  After four 
months spent in this city Mr. Moulton removed to Chicago to become manager of 
the western branch of the business and remained in the latter city for sixteen 
years, engaged in the iron and banking business.  In 1886, when he returned to 
Philadelphia he retired from active business.

     His splendid business ability enabled him to see and utilize advantages 
that others passed heedlessly by.  He seemed to know just how to coordinate 
forces so as to produce the most harmonious results and his close study of trade 
conditions enabled him to meet the demands of the moment and look beyond the 
exigencies of the passing hour to the opportunities of the future.  His splendid 
business ability enabled him to accumulate a large fortune and while a resident 
of Chicago he was not only resident partner of the firm of Reyburn, Hunter & 
Company, but was also largely interested in a number of other business 
enterprises.  He was prominent in the club life of the city and closely 
connected with various public institutions there.  He owned a magnificent home 
on the south side that is now occupied by the daughter of George M. Pullman.

     Mr. Moulton was united in marriage in 1868 to Miss Elizabeth R. Hunter, a 
daughter of Edmund A. W. Hunter, a native of New York and at one time a member 
of the firm of Reyburn, Hunter & Company.  The consensus of public opinion 
placed Mr. Hunter with the prominent and representative business men of 
Philadelphia, where in his later years he was identified with the commission 
business of Hunter & Drennen, No. 37 South Water street.  He was a member  of 
the Unitarian church and passed away in that faith in 1895 at the age of 
seventy-nine years.

     Mr. Moulton spent his last days at his beautiful home at Ardmore, where he 
passed away in 1909.  He belonged to the Union League of Philadelphia and was 
one of the proprietary members of the Merion Cricket Club.  His political views 
accorded with the principles of the republican party and charity and benevolence 
figured strongly in his life.  Few men have realized more fully the obligations 
and responsibilities of wealth nor with more liberal spirit have extended a 
helping hand.  In his later years when the cares of business had been laid aside 
he found time and opportunity to reach out into the broader realms of literature 
and art and of liberal culture, and he found his associates among men in whose 
lives the intellectual forces are potent.  He was one of the founders of the 
Fourth Unitarian church of Chicago, president of the Western Unitarian 
Conference and active trustee of the Chicago Athenaeum and treasurer of the Old 
Peoples Home of that city.  It was under his encouragement, direction and 
generous support that the "Channing Club Rooms" were opened, which became the 
first permanent headquarters of Unitarianism in Chicago.  He gave his means 
without advertisement and without thought of return, so that it is almost 
impossible to form an estimate of the amount of good that he did.  There are 
many persons who are happier and who will always remember the name of their 
benefactor, who gave quietly and without ostentation his aid to those whom he 
felt were needy.  The memory of his private character will live in the hearts of 
many, who will remember him long after the work which he has accomplished in the 
world of industry has been forgotten in the world of circumstance.  In business 
life he was a man of ability and energy, firm in all his dealings with his 
fellowmen and a devoted friend who will be missed by all with whom he came in 
contact.