USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 37
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REV. RALPH J. PETITT has devoted his life to the work of the ministry and to agricultural pursuits. Ile was ordained a minister of the gospel in the Christian church of the Erie conference August 8, 1869. and was connected with that denomination as an active and efficient worker for fifteen years, and during that time he served as the pastor of the Pine Valley church and of the Oak Hill church. In September of 1899 he transferred his church relationship to the United Brethren denomination
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and was admitted to a membership in the Erie Annual Conference of that church. He is now serving as the pastor of the Lowville United Brethren church, where his friends are many, for he has been thoroughly earnest and sincere in all his thoughts, words and deeds, and his noble life has proved an inspiration to many. Since 1886 his home has been upon his farm of fifty acres, which is devoted to dairy purposes.
Rev. Ralph J. Petitt was born in Chautauqua county, New York, September 8. 1838, and there he was reared and received his educational training. He is a son of Ralph and Julia (Lyons ) Petitt, both of whom were born in Vermont but moved to Clymer in Chautauqua county, New York, in 1826, where they resided during the remainder of their lives, owning a farm there of two hundred acres. Ralph Petitt held several important township offices, and was held in the highest esteem by all who knew him. His children were: Justus, Clarissa, Lovina, Polly, Ralph J., William, Charlotte, James, Amanda and Burous. Ralph Petitt, the father, born in 1803, died in 1886, and Julia, his wife, born in 1806, died in 1883.
In November of 1857, Rev. Mr. Petitt was married to Lucinda Rhodes, who was born April 8, 1838, a daughter of Joseph and Ada (Church) Rhodes. The seven children of this marriage union are: Al- mira. Elvin E., Edith, LeRoy, Otis, Martin and Elmer, but the two last mentioned are deceased. Rev. Mr. Petitt is independent in politics and formerly was a member of the Masonic order.
DR. ADELLA B. WOODS is a medical practitioner of Erie, who, dur- ing the past thirty years, has established an excellent reputation and practice. She was born in North Springfield, this county, and is de- scended from pioneer families, which were active in developing the natural resources of the new country.
Matthias Brindle, her paternal grandfather, was a native of Cumber- land county, Pennsylvania. He married Miss Elizabeth Hassler, a native of York county. In 1800, he took up four hundred acres of land on the banks of Lake Erie, in Springfield township. Erie county. Here he reared his family, and with their help established a homestead, on which he spent the remainder of his life. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and his conduct was in keeping with his faith. He was promi- nent in local political affairs and served in various township offices, and was an incorporator of the East Springfield Cemetery. He served in the War of 1812. He died in 1845, his wife having died in 1840. The old homestead, which the grandfather established, remained in the family from 1800 until a comparatively recent date, when it was sold to the Carnegie Company. Matthias and Elizabeth Brindle had thirteen children, eleven of whom lived to maturity. One of these children, Samuel H. Brindle, was the father of Adella B. Woods. He was born November 11, 1802. and died in January, 1898. He was married to Miss Mary Ebersole in 1846. Mary Ebersole was one of the four children of Joseph Ebersole and Catherine Wagner Ebersole, natives of Pennsylvania and Virginia respec- tively, who after their marriage, settled on a farm of forty acres on the Buffalo road two and one-half miles from the City Park. All of their children were born in the house still standing on that farm, and now occu- pied by John A. Brindle.
Mary Ebersole was born October 30, 1820, and died August 10, 1904. Dr. Woods' maternal great-grandfather was Christian Ebersole (also written Eversole), a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, who
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with his wife and eight children, came to Mill Creek township in 1801, and bought from the Commonwealth. Reserve Tract No. 50. part of which later became the Erie County Fair Grounds and part of which still remains in the possession of Dr. Woods. Samuel H. Brindle and Mary Ebersole Brindle had four children; Catherine Virginia, who died in infancy; Samuel E., who died in 1882; John A., who resides on the old homestead, and Adella, the subject of this sketch.
Dr. Woods supplemented her elementary education by a course in the Erie high school. graduating with the first class in 1869. She then devoted three years to teaching in the city schools, spending a portion of that period as a preceptor in the high school. The doctor commenced her professional studies in the medical department of the University of Michigan, and completed them in the Woman's Medical College of Penn- sylvania, and received her degree in 1876. Her theoretical knowledge was then put into practice as an interne in the Woman's Hospital, which is connected with the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. In 1877 Dr. Woods was married to Arthur A. Woods of Erie, from whom she separated in 1897. Immediately after her marriage, she began the practice of her profession in Erie, and has conducted it with success. She is affiliated with the Erie County Medical Society, for which she served as secretary for two years. She is a member of the Woman's Club and the College Woman's Club, now serving as president of the lat- ter. Dr. Woods is the mother of two daughters, who, through her efforts, have had the advantages of the best schools in the country. Bertha Ruth is a graduate of the Erie high school, and of Wellesley College. She is now a preceptor in the high school at Trenton, New Jersey. Ethelreda graduated from the Erie high school, completed a course at Drexel In- stitute, Philadelphia, and on April 29, 1909, was married to Dr. Jesse Glenn Humphrey. They now reside at Tidioute.
Dr. Woods recently received a public honor, being the first woman to be presented as a candidate for school director in the city of Erie. The civic department of the Woman's Club brought her forward as a candidate in the First ward ; later she received the regular nomination of the Republican party, and at the election in February, 1909, she car- ried her precinct by a rousing majority, although she was defeated in the entire ward by ninety- one votes.
DAVID A. SAWDEY. Few names are more familiar in connection with the civic and industrial annals of Erie county than that borne by the subject of this review, who is a native of this county, a scion of one of its honored pioneer families, and himself a representative member of the legal profession in this favored section of the old Keystone state. He is engaged in the practice of law in the city of Erie and is the owner of the old Sawdey homestead farm, which is recognized as one of the finest in northern Pennsylvania and which is one of more than a little historic interest, as further data in this article will reveal.
David A. Sawdey was born on the old homestead just mentioned and the same is situated in Conneaut township, whose attractions are practically unrivalled by those of any agricultural community in the Union. He is a son of Captain David and Eliza A. (Bond) Sawdey. Captain Sawdey was a native of Providence, Rhode Island, and was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth Sawdey. He gained his early education in his native state and was sixteen years of age at the time of the family
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removal to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he was apprenticed to the blacksmith trade. The art of Vulcan seems not to have appealed to the young man, however, since he soon "bought his time" from his employ- er, and went forth on a voyage made by a whaling vessel. A seafaring life proved sufficiently alluring to invoke his allegiance after this initial experience, and he shipped on a merchant vessel in the then important trade with the East Indies, to which tropic islands he made several voy- ages. Gradually he gained promotion until he became captain, and eventually owner and commander of his own vessel, with which he car- ried on independent operations as a merchant trader. On one of his return voyages from the East Indies, during the French and English war. his ship and cargo were captured and confiscated by the English and he himself even suffered the indignity of being cast into prison. His release was finally effected through the insistent intervention of the United States government.
After retiring from his long association with the "merciful, merci- less sea" Captain Sawdey located in Paris, New York, where he was engaged in the mercantile business until 1821, when he disposed of his interests there and came to Erie county, Pennsylvania, as one of the pio- neers of Conneaut township, where he purchased a large tract of land, upon which he took up his residence in the following year. This home- stead, which for four score of years has been known as the Sawdey farm, was originally designated as the town of Lexington, which comprised six hundred acres laid out in town lots in 1797, by Colonel Dunning McNair. Of this original town, representing over-ambitious plans on the part of its promoter, Captain Sawdey originally purchased about three hundred acres. The little village of Lexington was on this land and at the time it had two or more distilleries, two hotels, a general store and a blacksmith shop. All of these were purchased by Captain Sawdey, who thus rose to the dignity of owner of a "ready-made" town. In 1823, in connec- tion with the work of improving and cultivating the broad acres of his farm, he also engaged in the general merchandise business in Lexington village, where he was appointed postmaster in the same year. This position he retained until the removal of the office on the completion of the Erie and Beaver Canal. In early days the Sawdey farm was the military training ground for the people of the northern part of Crawford county and southern portion of Erie county, and the records indicate that many interesting events there occurred when he populace gathered for the "training days,"-important features of the pioneer epoch. Or the farm today are standing, in good preservation and still in practica. utilization, buildings which were erected by Captain Sawdey fully three- quarters of a century ago. At the present time this fine property is owned by David A. Sawdey, whose name initiates this sketch, and who is now the only living representative of the immediate family. It is uniformly conceded to be one of the finest farms in northern Pennsyl- vania, and is one of the "show places" of Erie county, attracting many vis- itors each year. It now comprises five hundred acres of most fertile land, whose topography is attractive and whose beauty is enhanced by many fine old trees,-veritable monarchs of the primeval forest. Originally walnut timber grew in great profusion on the land, and the soil is com- monly designated as "walnut soil," implying superior excellence and long-continued integrity of the elements making for productiveness.
Captain Sawdey was a man of strong individuality and well forti- fied opinions, so that he naturally wielded a marked influence in public
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affairs in his community. He was one of the first commissioners of Con- neaut township, and in 1832 he was elected to the lower house of the state legislature, where he ably conserved the interests of Erie county. In 1841 further token of popular confidence and esteem was accorded him, in that he was elected to the office of county commissioner, of which he continued incumbent for three years. He was a man of generous im- pulses and utmost kindliness, and his name merits an enduring place on the roll of the sterling and honored pioneers of Erie county.
Captain Sawdey was twice married. The maiden name of his first wife was Zerviah Smith, and she was a member of a fine old Quaker family of New Bedford, Massachusetts. She died in 1847, leaving no children, and in 1849 was solemnized the marriage of Captain Sawdey to Miss Eliza A. Bond, of Fredonia, New York, where her parents were honored pioneers, as well as representatives of well known colonial fam- ilies. To this union were born two children,-a girl who died in child- hood and David A., to whom this sketch is dedicated. Captain Sawdey passed to the life eternal December 5, 1859, in the fulness of worthy accomplishment and well earned honors. His wife survived him by many years and continued to make her home in Erie county until her death, which occurred May 30, 1895.
David A. Sawdey secured his rudimentary education in the dis- trict schools of his native township, and was prepared for college at Fredonia, New York, which was then the seat of a college of no incon- siderable note. After due preliminary study he was matriculated in the celebrated University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, an institution which today takes precedence over all other state universities in the Union, and there he was graduated as a member of the class of 1876, with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. Somewhat later he began reading law under effective preceptorship, and on the 1st of December, 1881, he was ad- mitted to the bar of his native county, where he has since been suc- cessfully engaged in the general practice of his profession, with residence and headquarters in the city of Erie. He gives a general supervision to his farm, which is now devoted largely to dairy purposes, in which line it is a veritable model.
His interests and affections center in the city and county of Erie, and all that tends to forward their welfare receives his earnest support and co-operation. He takes a loyal interest in public affairs, though he has never sought political office of any description. He is one of the most active and prominent representatives of the Masonic fraternity in his native state. He has passed the chairs of all the Masonic bodies in Erie and has attained to the thirty-third and final degree in the Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite of Masonry. Upon the death of John J. Wads- worth, in 1893, he was chosen district deputy grand master of the grand lodge of Free & Accepted Masons, for the twenty-fourth district. He is a member of the committee having in charge the affairs of Masonic hoines in Pennsylvania, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Thomas R. Patton memorial orphanage for boys. His charities and benevolences in general are extended with discrimination and without ostentation, and his course in life has been so directed as to gain and retain to him the unequivocal confidence and esteem of his fellow men. He is essentially one of the representative citizens of Erie county, and is a worthy scion of one of its sterling pioneer families, as the text of this article clearly indicates.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOM, LENOX TILLEN FOUNDATIONS
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MELVIN J. SMITH. The Smith family, of which Melvin J., com- missioner from Wayne township, is a strong representative, has been a recognized force in the progress of the agricultural and governmental affairs of Erie county for more than a century. Its ancestors, who were from the north of Ireland, were Scotch-Irish, and the paternal and maternal grandfathers, Samuel and William Smith, emigrated to Wayne township in the early portion of the nineteenth century. Thus they be- came among its earliest pioneers. James D. Smith, the father of Melvin J., was born in the township named in the year 1817 and died in 1900, while his mother ( nee Emeline Smith ) was born in 1819 and died in 1898. They were both life-long and active members of the Presbyterian church, and the husband was prominent in the public affairs of the town- ship, holding various offices, such as that of justice of the peace, for many years.
Melvin J. Smith, of this sketch, was born on the old ancestral farm in Wayne township, August 28, 1861, and he was reared on the home- stead which is a part of the original tract of land taken up by his grand- father fully a century ago. He received a thorough education in the district schools of the township, at the Corry high school and the Com- mercial College. Ile has applied his industry and his trained mind to the mastery and application of agriculture-than which, under modern sci- entific and business methods, there can be no more satisfying or honor- able avocation, or one which more thoroughly proves individual ability and enterprise. His personal successes have brought him public prefer- ment, and he had efficiently filled various township offices when on May 10, 1906, he was appointed county commissioner to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Norman T. McClellan. The appointment was quite un- expected, but his service was so satisfactory that his Republican friends and supporters elected him to the office for the regular term in November, 1908.
Mr. Smith's wife was Miss Marion Turner, born in Corry, Penn- sylvania, daughter of James and Anna (Purdy) Turner, the former of whom was a native of England and the latter, of Scotland. Both are deceased, Mr. Turner being well remembered as the able and faithful foreman of the Climax foundry at Corry for a period of twenty-eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Melvin J. Smith have become the parents of Marian Emeline and James Turner Smith, and the mature members of the family are active in the work of the local Presbyterian church.
WILLIAM SPENCER. A dominating figure in connection with finan- cial, business and civic affairs in Erie county is this native son of the county, and he is not only a worthy scion of sterling pioneer families of this favored section of the old Keystone state, but also bears a name which has been conspicuously identified with the general development and progress of Erie county. He has well upheld the high prestige of his patronymic and is one of the influential business men and honored citizens of Erie, where he has the distinction of being president of the First National Bank, an office in which he succeeded his father, who was its first president. His aid and co-operation have been given in the support of many important enterprises and measures which have con- served the upbuilding and material prosperity of this native city, and his personal and genealogical records merit a place of honor in every publication touching the history of Erie county.
William Spencer was born in the city of Erie, on the 14th of June, 1848, and is a son of Judah C. and Lavina S. (Sanford) Spencer, both Vol. II-17
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of whom were members of influential and honored pioneer families of Erie county. Judah Colt Spencer left a record of large and worthy achievement. Ile was one of the pioneer bankers of Erie and a man of wide influence in both civic and business affairs. He ordered his course upon the loftiest plane of integrity and honor, and his name merits an enduring place upon the roll of the founders and builders of this city and county. He was born in Hadlyme, New London county, Connecti- cut. on the 1st of July, 1813, and was a son of William and Deborah (Selden ) Spencer. He was reared and educated in New England, where he continued to reside. until 1829, when he came to Erie to assume a clerical position in the land office conducted by his uncle, Judah Colt, who was one of the early settlers of Erie county and executive head of the Pennsylvania Company, which historic corporation had much to do with the settlement and development of northern Pennsylvania, where it became the owner of large tracts of land, which were placed on the market and attracted the best class of settlers. Judah Colt died in 1832, and his nephew and namesake, Judah Colt Spencer, succeeded to much of the business of the land company mentioned. He continued in general supervision of the affairs of this corporation until the enterprise was brought to a close by him. about twenty years later. Within this period thousands of acres of land were sold through his instrumentality, and he thus did a most beneficent work in forwarding the development of northern Pennsyl- vania. As a resident of Erie he took a loyal interest in all movements advanced for the upbuilding and civic prosperity of the city, and he identified himself with many early industrial and commercial enter- prises, whose success was furthered by his wise counsel as well as his capitalistic support. He was secretary and treasurer of the Erie & Northeast Railroad Company. until its consolidation with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company. His was a broad mental ken and his heart was attuned to sympathy and tolerance. so that his benevolences and charities were invariably well ordered and fruitful. In a more public department of necessary provision, it should be stated that he was one of twelve citizens who, more than sixty years ago, formed an association and literally subscribed the funds for the purchase of what is now the beautiful Erie cemetery, and he was the first secre- tary of the association, of which he later became manager and finally president, of which last mentioned office he continued incumbent for many years. For more than a score of years he was secretary of the Erie County Agricultural Society, and its interests were substantially promoted through his effective labors.
In 1852 Judah C. Spencer engaged in the banking business in Erie, and with this important line of enterprise he here continued to be promi- nently identified during the remainder of his long and signally useful life. He was one of the first to apply for and avail himself of the privi- leges of the law authorizing national banks, in which connection he was the founder of the First National Bank of Erie, which was the twelfth bank in the Union to be incorporated under the new law. He became the first president of the institution, and continued in tenure of this office until his death. Under his discriminating administration the bank gained the highest prestige and it has ever remained as one of the sylvania. Amid the exactions and cares of a signally active business most solid and prosperous of the financial institutions of northern Penn- carcer Mr. Spencer ever maintained a high appreciation of his steward- ship as a man and a citizen, and it was his to aid his fellow men in
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many unostentatious deeds of kindness and charity. His life was guided and governed by the most inviolable integrity, and he left the heritage of noble thoughts and noble deeds,-a bequeathment far greater than that which he was able to devise through the results of his pronounced success in connection with the productive activities of life. His politi- cal allegiance was given to the Republican party, and he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church. He was for many years a . member of the board of trustees of Park Presbyterian church, and was a member of the building committee when the present beautiful edifice was erected.
In May, 1832, was solemnized the marriage of Judah C. Spencer to Miss Lavinia Stanley Sanford, daughter of Giles and Laura ( Good- win) Sanford, of Erie, where her birth occurred on the 1st of Septem- ber. 181%. Mrs. Spencer was a woman of gentle refinement and played a gracious part in the social life of her native city, where her memory is held in affectionate regard by all who came within the sphere of her influence. Mr. Spencer died on the 1st of September, 1885, and his widow survived him by only one year, as she was summoned to eternal rest on the 29th of September. 1886. Their children are as follows : William, of this sketch, is the youngest ; Lavinia D. is the wife of the late Rt. Rev. J. F. Spaulding. Episcopal bishop of Colorado; Miss Frances L. remains at the old homestead in Erie and is a prominent and popular figure in the church and charitable work of the community, as well as in connection with social affairs of a representative order; Catherine who died in 1897 was the wife of Rev. Robert S. Van Cleve, a clergy- man of the Presbyterian church and a resident of Erie.
William Spencer was reared to maturity in Erie, and after availing himself of the advantages of Erie Academy he was prepared for col- lege in an excellent school at Princeton, New Jersey. In due time he was matriculated in Princeton College, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1870, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After his graduation he made an extended foreign trip, in which he visited Great Britain and various countries of the European continent. and upon his return to Erie he assumed a clerical position in the First National Bank. He was promoted gradually from one position to an- other and was an executive officer of the institution for a number of years prior to the death of his honored father, whom he succeeded in the presidency, an office of which he has since been incumbent. The bank was organized in 1863 and it is worthy of particular note that. in its history it has had but two presidents,-father and son. This is a record probably not duplicated in the history of any national bank of comparatively equal age in the entire Union.
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