USA > Ohio > Genealogical and family history of eastern Ohio > Part 34
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The marriage of Mr. Gardner was celebrated in 1890, when Miss Ger- trude Mitchell became his wife, and they now have three children, Mary E., Ivor W. and Ruth. In his fraternal relations Mr. Gardner is a member of
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the Masonic fraternity, and he was formerly connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. The home of our sub- ject and wife is a happy and attractive one, where warm-hearted hospitality is always to be found by their numerous friends. In politics he is a Repub- lican, and cast his first presidential vote for James A. Garfield.
JERUSHA TAIT.
This estimable lady is a resident of Boardman township, Mahoning county, and is known not only for her own virtues but as the widow of one of the most prominent farmers in the county, who for many years was a suc- cessful stock-raiser and general farmer. Benjamin L. Tait was the son of John and Catherine (Lane) Tait, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Warren township, Trumbull county, Ohio. Benjamin followed farming all his life, and notwithstanding that he suffered much from rheumatism, he lived to be seventy-three years old, passing away on September 17, 1893. He was married to Miss Jerusha Detchon, February 9, 1862, and their only son, William J., born June 16, 1863, lived only sixteen months. Mr. Tait was a member of the Disciples church, as is his wife, and was much respected in the community.
Mrs. Tait's family is a very interesting one and has some very promi- nent members. Her father was William Detchon, the eldest son of Oswald Detchon, the oldest in a very wealthy English family. William was brought to America in 1798, when nine years of age, and grew up in this country and was one of the largest land-owners in this part of Ohio, having over nine hundred acres of different tracts; some of this came into Mrs. Tait's pos- session, and she is still residing on the property and in the house into which she and her husband moved in 1865. Mr. Detchon was married about 1821 to Miss Hannah Jones, who was born in Warren township, Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1800, the first white female child born in that place; she died in 1839, while he lived to be nearly seventy, passing away in 1859. They were the parents of nine children: Horace Detchon, who died in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1898, leaving two daughters, one of whom is a gifted actress and lecturer; Mary Fankle; Edward, who died in childhood; Samuel D .; George died at the age of four; the sixth in order of birth is Jerusha; Eliza is the wife of George Baldwin in Boardman township, this county ; Julia Wirt left at her death five of her six children; Hannah Maria lost her mother when only ten days old, and she died at the age of eighteen months. The survivors of this family are all most excellent people, and their high character is well exemplified in the lady of this biography, Mrs. Tait.
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J. J. HAMILTON.
The Youngstown bar has always been noted for the ability of its mem- bers and has furnished to the state some of the most eminent men of the legal profession. From this school of practice have been graduated not only able jurists and lawyers, but men who made their names in the councils and legislative bodies of the state, as well as in the halls of congress and high offices both of the national and state governments. It has therefore always been considered an honor to be a member of this bar in good standing, such a position being a stepping stone to preferments both at home and abroad. Though only in practice at Youngstown for ten or eleven years, Mr. J. J. Hamilton has taken rank among the industrious and successful members of the bar and enjoys the esteem of court officials and clients as well as of the public at large. The founder of his family in this country was Robert Ham- ilton, who came from county Down, Ireland, in 1795, locating first near Ches- ter, and later in Blair county, Pennsylvania. He was a farmer by occupation and reared a number of children, of whom the only survivors are John Ham- ilton, a resident of Altoona, Pennsylvania, and William Smith Hamilton, who since May, 1901, has been living at Youngstown. The latter was born in Blair county, Pennsylvania. March 5, 1818, and during the whole active period of his life was engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1857 he was married to Margaret, daughter of James and Mary (McCreary) Miller, and they had eight children, of whom the five survivors are as follows: Ralph T., James M., J. J., May and Albert B.
j. J. Hamilton, third in the list of the above enumerated children, was born on a farm in Blair county, Pennsylvania, August 30, 1862. In 1870 his parents located in Lawrence county of the same state, where he remained for the next eighteen years, meantime receiving his education at the county schools. He also attended the Grove City (Pennsylvania) College, and the Washington and Jefferson College at Washington, Pennsylvania. After the termination of his educational career in 1888, Mr. Hamilton came to Youngstown and obtained employment as clerk in the office of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad Company. During his two years' contin- uance in this occupation he employed his leisure time in the study of law under the efficient preceptorship of General A. W. Jones, but in 1891 he obtained his admission to the bar, immediately thereafter entered into prac- tice and from that time up to the present has continued the prosecution of his profession at Youngstown. On June 1, 1902, he became a member of the firm of Wilson, McNab and Hamilton, of Youngstown.
June 26, 1895, Mr. Hamilton was united in marriage with Miss Sarah
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L., daughter of Benjamin and Margaret (O'Connor) Fownes, of Youngs- town. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, and is an active member with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Though his political affiliations are with the Republican party, and he is an earnest advocate of its principles, Mr. Hamilton has never been a seeker or holder of office, but devotes all his time to business.
ALBERT S. HUGHES.
The industries of the United States, and more especially the present magnificent transportation system, are perhaps more indebted to the Irish than to any other class of foreign immigrants. It was the strong right arms and tireless muscles of the children of old Ireland which dug the ditches, bored the tunnels, piled up the embankments and laid the ties of the great railway systems, whose extent and splendor are now the wonder of the world. These busy artisans have for generations been found in close touch with every internal improvement of importance,-on the public pikes, the great drainage works, "down in the coal mines," in the industrial shops, on the farms and along the canals; in fact, it is difficult to see how Uncle Sam could have got along at all without the sturdy industry, the unwearying labor and the daunt- less courage in meeting every difficulty, that were displayed by the great army of the sons of Erin who did so much to build this great empire. In the army and the navy, too, and in all the higher departments of human endeavor the genius of this wonderful people has contributed more than its due share to the development and glory of the mighty republic of the west.
Among the communities which have been enriched by this valuable class of industrial emigrants is that of East Liverpool, whose industries owe much to the representatives of the famous Emerald Isle. A number of these are noticed throughout this volume, and another is now to be added to the list in the person of Albert S. Hughes, the well known president of the Na- tional Brotherhood of Operative Potters. His father, James Hughes, was born in Ireland in 1825, emigrated to America twenty-one years later and located at Wheeling, West Virginia, where he engaged in work and spent most of his active years of life. He was a fine specimen of the Irish laboring man, faithful to his employers and conscientious in the discharge of all his duties. He worked for twenty-eight years after his arrival in the United States, or until the time of his death in 1874. He was married in Wheeling to Bridget O'Hara, and this union resulted in the birth of seven children : Catherine, wife of John Ferguson ; Mary J .; John L .; James F .; Daniel V .; Albert S .; and Fannie C., wife of Ignatious Braennen.
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Albert S. Hughes, sixth of the above enumerated children, was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, May 25, 1862, but like other children of poor parents, had too little opportunity in childhood for obtaining an education. When fourteen years of age he was compelled to begin work to help support the family, his first employment being in one of the glass factories of his native city. After an apprenticeship there of two years, he got a job with the Wheeling Pottery Company, which he held from 1881 until 1889. In the last mentioned year he secured employment with the Chelsea Pottery Com- pany and remained with that concern until July, 1892, when he was elected president of the Brotherhood of Operative Potters and removed to East Liverpool for the purpose of establishing his headquarters. He has since made his residence in that city and has been re-elected to the presidency of the brotherhood at every recurring annual meeting of the order up to the present time. This fact furnishes ample evidence of his standing with his fellow workmen, and shows the esteem in which he is held by the organized potters. Mr. Hughes has always been an earnest upholder of union labor. and having himself been a workman from childhood, thoroughly under- stands and appreciates both the needs and the aspirations of his brethren In his incumbency as president he has done much to increase the membership, as well as the efficiency, of the organization over which he has presided with such good judgment and zeal in the cause.
In 1890 Mr. Hughes was married at Wheeling to Miss Anna Hasenauer, and they have three children : Joseph V., Eva M. and Catherine. The fam- ily are members of the Roman Catholic church, and Mr. Hughes has always been a Democrat in his political affiliations. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Mutual Benevolent Association; takes an active part in the affairs of these orders and lends a zealous support in assisting to carry out their philanthropic purposes.
WILLIS M. DAVIDSON.
For a young man less than thirty years old, Mr. Davidson has had rather varied experience and his full share of the ups and downs of life. Driver of an express wagon at fifteen, passing through various grades in a glass factory until he became shipping clerk, then a police patrolman, and finally clerk of the city,-this summary marks the dividing periods of our subject's career up to the present time. There is enough in it to show that Mr. David- son is not deficient in what the Americans call "get-there" traits, and that he is not only able to hold his own, but has a reasonable assurance of further successes and honors as the accumulating years ripen experience. His father,
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James H. Davidson, was born in St. Clair township, Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1833, and devoted his life principally to farming. He made an excellent military record during the Civil war, serving three years as a mem- ber of Company C, One Hundred and Fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and after the termination of hostilities resumed the peaceful pur- suits of agriculture. He married Sarah Moon, by whom he had three chil- dren : Willis M .; Mary, wife of George Stevenson; and Clyde C.
Willis M. Davidson, eldest of these children, was born on his father's farm, St. Clair township, Columbiana county, Ohio, September 9, 1872. When he was ten years old, his parents removed to East Liverpool, where Willis attended the common schools and a business college. At the age of fifteen he obtained employment as driver of a private express wagon and retained that place for the next three years. He then secured a job in the glass works and remained with the company for eight years in different capac- ities, having risen to the position of shipping clerk at the time the factory's destruction by fire threw him out of a position. Securing a place on the police force, he served for three years as patrolman, during which time he made acquaintances and acquired a popularity that led to political preferment. In the spring of 1902 the friends of Mr. Davidson obtained for him the nomi- nation as candidate for the city clerkship and at the ensuing election he suc- ceeded in being chosen to that position. As he has the faculty of making friends, possesses a pleasing address and shows an aptitude for business, the admirers of Mr. Davidson predict for him further honors in the political world.
THOMAS McDONALD.
Practical industry wisely and vigorously applied never fails of a due meas- ure of success. It carries man onward and upward, brings out his individual character and powers, and tends to greatly stimulate the action of others. It is this unflagging spirit of industry that has brought to pass the magnificent industrial and commercial prestige of our nation, and everywhere in our broad land are to be found men who have worked their way from obscurity and small beginnings to places involving marked responsibility and association with en- terprises of great scope and importance. Of this valued type of citizenship is the subject of this brief review, who is incumbent of the position of general superintendent of the Ohio works of the National Steel Company, the great plant of which he thus has charge being located in the city of Youngstown, where he has maintained his home for nearly a decade. It is consistent that he be accorded definite recognition in a compilation which has to do with
This Mir Viadel,
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the representative business men of Mahoning county and other portions of Eastern Ohio.
Thomas McDonald claims the old Keystone state of the Union as the place of his nativity, and he is a representative of stanch old Irish stock. He was born on a farm in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, on the IIth of No- vember, 1848, being a son of Patrick and Christiana (Foster) McDonald. Patrick McDonald was born in the north of Ireland, in 1823, and about five years later accompanied his parents on their emigration to the United States, the family taking up their abode in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, where the grandfather of our subject devoted the remainder of his life to con- tracting. Patrick McDonald and his estimable wife, who was also born in the north of Ireland, county Down, a daughter of Richard Foster, now reside in Youngstown, being known and honored as people of sterling character and having lived honorable and useful lives. To them, fifteen children were born, Thomas having been the second in order of birth, and it is worthy of particular note that only twice has death invaded the family circle, the parents and thirteen of the children still living. Patrick McDonald manifested his sturdy loyalty and patriotism in August, 1864, when he enlisted as a volun- teer in Company E, Fifth Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, with which he was in active service until the close of the war of the rebellion, when he received his honorable discharge, having made the record of a valiant and faithful sol- dier of the republic. He was deprived of a father's care when he was a mere child, his father having died a few years after coming to America, and he was reared in the home of Robert Black, on Deer creek, Allegheny county, and in that county he devoted the major portion of his active life to the great basic art of agriculture.
On the homestead farm in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, Thomas Mc- Donald grew to maturity, gaining strength and vigor through the sturdy discipline involved, while his early educational advantages were such as were afforded in the public schools of the locality and period. In his youth he learned the carpenter's trade and for several years followed the same as a vocation in his home county. In 1875 he was employed in the steel works of the Carnegie Company at Braddock, Pennsylvania, and he continued with this great corporation until 1889, having gained distinctive advancement during his term of service, and being night superintendent of the converting depart- ment at the time of severing his connection with the concern. In the year last mentioned he assumed a similar and responsible position in the Alle- gheny Bessemer Works, at Duquesne, Pennsylvania, and there he was a faithful and trusted employe until 1893, when he came to Youngstown to
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assume his present office as general superintendent of the Ohio works of the National Steel Company, the enterprise having been conducted under the title of the Ohio Steel Company until its absorption by the great corporation named. His wide experience in connection with the iron and steel industry, his intimate knowledge of all the scientific and mechanical principles and methods involved, his distinctive executive ability and his inflexible integrity of purpose eminently fit him for the responsible and exacting office of which he is in tenure, and his administration of the duties of his position has been most creditable to him, gaining him the confidence and respect of his superior officers and the esteem of the large corps of operatives of whose work he has the general supervision.
Mr. McDonald is essentially progressive and public-spirited as a citizen and business man, and is well known and highly esteemed in Youngstown. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, of whose cause he is a stanch advocate, though he has never had political ambition of a personal nature. Fraternally he is identified with the time-honored order of Free and Accepted Masons and is deeply appreciative of the teachings and privileges implied. On the 27th of November, 1878, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of James McClary, of Braddockfields, Pennsylvania, and this happy union has been blessed with five children, namely: Edna, Irma, James Harlan, Louis and Isabel.
JOSEPH A. McDONALD.
In the preceding sketch, touching the life record of Thomas McDonald, brother of our subject, sufficient reference has been made to the genealogical history to render a recapitulation unnecessary at this point, while from the foregoing article, also, may be derived an idea of the great scope of the en- terprise with which the two brothers are so intimately identified, Thomas McDonald being superintendent of the Ohio works of the National Steel Company at Youngstown, while Joseph A. is incumbent of the position of assistant superintendent, both being business men of distinctive ability and being thoroughly equipped for the discharge of the responsible duties which devolve upon them in connection with this great enterprise.
Joseph Anderson McDonald was born in the village of Swissvale, Alle- gheny county, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of December, 1864, and was there reared, receiving his early educational training in the schools of his native town and in those of Braddock, Pennsylvania. He early became dependent largely upon his own resources, since at the age of fifteen years he entered upon a clerkship in a grocery store in Braddock, where he was thus employed
Yosepah & m'SQuand
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about a year, at the expiration of which he came to Ohio and located at Bel- laire, Belmont county, where he secured employment as a "blower" in the Bellaire nail works, and within seven years he had familiarized himself with the various details of manufacturing and had risen to the position of fore- man. In 1894 he came to Youngstown, where he entered upon his duties as night superintendent of the converting department of the works of the Ohio Steel Company, now known as the Ohio works of the National Steel Com- pany, and this incumbency he retained until 1899, when he received deserved recognition of his ability and fidelity, being then promoted to the position of superintendent of the department mentioned. having full charge of operations. In 1901 Mr. McDonald was also placed in charge of the rolling mill, thus becoming superintendent of the two departments, while in February, 1902, he was given his present responsible office of assistant superintendent of the entire plant, in which capacity he has manifested the same executive ability, punctillious care and thoroughly efficient discipline which insured his ad- vancement in former years. He holds the confidence and esteem of those over whom he is placed in charge and his success is well merited, while it also proves that true value is appreciated and that advancement comes to the man who works faithfully and shows a capacity for added responsibilities.
While duly mindful of the duties of citizenship, Mr. McDonald main- tains an independent attitude in political affairs, not being an active partisan, and fraternally he is a popular member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. On the 10th of September, 1900, he was united in marriage, in Youngstown, to Miss Clara Momeyer, the daughter of Lewis and Stella (Small) Momeyer, the former of whom was a soldier in the Civil war, having been an officer in his company, which was a part of one of the Pennsylvania regiments of volunteer infantry. Mr. Momeyer died in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1876, and Mrs. Momeyer is now a resident of Youngstown, Ohio.
LOUIS N. McDONALD.
The foregoing sketches indicate in a significant way to how great a de- gree success has crowned the well directed efforts of the two brothers of our subject, and that he also has made the most of opportunities and has forged to the front in connection with his chosen vocation is shown in his tenure of the position of superintendent of the Bessemer department of the Ohio works of the National Steel Company. He has been dominated by the same energy, discretion and good judgment which have gained the advancement
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of his brothers to places of trust and responsibility, and the record of the three redounds to their credit, and to the honor of the name. Further mention of the parentage and genealogy need not be made, since a due outline has al- ready been given in the sketch of Thomas McDonald, and thus we may pass on and enter a brief resume of the more individual career of the capable young business man and popular citizen of Youngstown whose name forms the cap- tion of this paragraph.
Louis N. McDonald, like his brothers, claims the old Keystone state as the place of his nativity, having been born near Braddock, Allegheny county, on the 23rd of August, 1870, and there he was reared to the age of seventeen years. He prosecuted his studies in the public schools until he had attained the age of fifteen, when he gave early inception to his practical business career and gained his initial knowledge of the industry with which he has ever since been identified, by securing employment in the Bessemer depart- ment of the Edgar Thompson Steel Works and Furnaces at Braddock, Penn- sylvania, where he remained for two and one half years, while at the time of leaving the employ of this concern he was incumbent of the position known as regulator, showing that advancement had rewarded his discriminating and faithful efforts even while he was a lad. At the expiration of the period noted Mr. McDonald went to Benwood, Marshall county, West Virginia, where he secured a position as "blower" in the Bessemer department of the Wheeling Works, and in this capacity he served for two and one half years. His next position was in the Allegheny Bessemer Steel Works at Duquesne, Penn- sylvania, now the Carnegie Steel Works, where he was employed from 1890 to May 1, 1902, adding to his practical knowledge and gaining valuable ex- perience which further fortified him for higher preferment in connection with the practical work of this great line of industry. At that place he held the position of foreman in the Bessemer department, and he resigned the same on the date noted and came to Youngstown, where he entered upon his duties as superintendent of the Bessemer department of the Ohio works of the Na- tional Steel Company, in which capacity he is rendering the most excellent service.
In politics Mr. McDonald has been a stanch and uncompromising ad- vocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party from the time of attaining his legal majority, and he has taken an active interest in the cause. While he was residing in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, he was elected to the office of city auditor, in which he served for one term, with marked effi- ciency. He is a member of Vesta Lodge No. 352, of Duquesne, Pennsylvania, Knights of Pythias. He is a young man of alert mentality and unbending
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