Henry Burk (September 26, 1850 – December 5, 1903) was a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and Philadelphia businessman.
Private life
Henry Burk was born in
Knittlingen
Knittlingen is a town in the Enz district in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.
It lies at the eastern edge of the Kraichgau in the centre of a rectangle that is formed by Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Heilbronn, and Stuttgart.
The centre of Kni ...
,
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, son of David and Charlotte Reinman Burk; Henry was the fourth child of eight. David, a shoemaker, made the decision to leave Germany because of unacceptable political views. The family
emigrated
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1854 and settled in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. Henry attended school only a few years, but then began to work to help his family; he was reputed to have a natural engineering ability. He became a repairer of
shoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...
machinery and subsequently engaged in supplying this machinery to the trade. He was engaged in the manufacture of
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...
and in 1887 invented the
alum
An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , where is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium or a ...
and
sumac
Sumac ( or ), also spelled sumach, is any of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' and related genera in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, including Eas ...
tawing process, which revolutionized the tanning industry. The company he founded with his two brothers
Alfred E. Burk and
Charles D. Burk,
Burk Brothers and Company
Burk Brothers and Company, also known as Diskmakers, was a historic factory complex located in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The complex consisted of 12 interconnected brick and reinforced concrete buildings, bu ...
, is now listed as a
Registered Historic Place. He also helped to establish a meat packing company in Philadelphia with the same brothers and two others, William and Louis; this company was known variously as Burk Meats and Louis Burk & Co. ("Burk's Franks" were known throughout the Delaware Valley well into the 1950s). He became president of the
Manufacturers’ National Association in 1895. He travelled around the world for his leather business, from Europe—visiting his birthplace in 1894—to India.
Family
Burk married Ellen Carney (1851–1914) on August 18, 1873, in Philadelphia; they had six children: Mary, Charles Henry, Henry Jr., Helen, Gertrude, and Charlotte. Burk was grandfather to character actor
Henry Jones (1912–1999), and great-grandfather to actress Jocelyn Jones.
Congress
Burk was elected in 1901 as a Republican to the
57th Congress and served from March 4, 1901, until his death in Philadelphia.
During the time that Burk served in Congress, the
Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
was raging in South Africa. Burk supported the Boers against the British. However, the United States sold the British preserved meat and hay, as well as mules and other supplies. Burk moved in the House that "mules, remounts, and other supplies be declared contraband", but by this time the war was practically over.
He died on December 5, 1903 and was interred at
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in
Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania
Cheltenham Township is a Home Rule Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule township (Pennsylvania), township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Cheltenham's population density ranges from over 10,000 per square mile (25,900 per squa ...
.
See also
*
References
External links
*
Henry Burk, late a representative from Pennsylvania, Memorial addresses delivered in the House of Representatives and Senate frontispiece 1905
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burk, Henry
1850 births
1903 deaths
Burials at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
German emigrants to the United States
Tanners
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
19th-century American politicians