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 40
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99
214
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
business at Titusville, Pennsylvania. Returning to Erie in 1861 he took up the study of law and after a thorough preliminary course of reading was admitted to the bar in 1864. For almost a third of a century there- after he continued in active practice and his ability and learning carried him into important professional relations. He was associated with many of the leading cases tried in the courts of the district and, possess- ing strong intellect, indomitable courage and energy, his force of char- acter and natural qualifications enabled him to overcome all obstacles and write his name upon the keystone of the legal arch. When he put aside professional interests in 1896 he became associated with the Barber Asphalt Company as counsel and continued in a similar capacity with the General Asphalt Company when that combination was formed. In pursuit of his duties as such he traveled extensively throughout the United States, the South American republics and Mexico. He was hold- ing that position at the time of his demise, which occurred in the Homeopathic Hospital at Boston, Massachusetts, May 19, 1901. While in general practice of law in Erie he occupied a prominent position at the bar of western Pennsylvania and for years was attorney for the school board, while at one time he served as secretary of the board. He also manifested his deep and abiding interest in the welfare of the city through the active service which he rendered in other connections. For a term he was clerk of the city council and was also a leading member of the board of trade.
On the 6th of October, 1864, Mr. Griffith was married to Miss Ella C. Richards, the only daughter of the late Captain Thomas Richards of Erie. Their son, Thomas Richards Griffith, born in Erie in 1865, prepared for college in this city and later accepted a position with the Barber Asphalt Company with which he remained for several years. He next read medicine and graduated from the Boston School of Hom- eopathy, practicing at Cambridge, Massachusetts, with success until failing health compelled him to seek a change of climate in California. He is now practicing in Riverside, that state. He married Miss Florence Pier of Cambridge and they have a son and daughter. Thomas Richards and Eveline. By a former marriage one child was born, George Perry, III. George P. Griffith, the younger son and his father's namesake, was educated in Erie and at the age of eighteen years entered the employ of the Barber Asphalt Company, with which he continued for several years as superintendent. He then took up an independent contracting business in Tacoma, Washington, and afterward became a member of the large contracting firm of Fairchild, Gilmore & Wilton Company of Los Angeles, California. He wedded Mary J. Matthews of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and they have two sons. Richard Matthews and George Perry, IV.
The father of Mrs. Griffith was the late Captain Thomas Richards. a well-known and prominent citizen of Erie, who for some time was a captain on the lakes. He was born in this city, a son of the late John and Anna ( Hinton) Richards, natives of Wales. At an early age John Richards left his home in the little rock-ribbed country of Wales and went to sea. After sailing for a number of years he located in New York City and learned the trade of ship building. At the beginning of the war of 1812 he was sent to Erie with others by a ship-building firm in New York to construct war vessels which afterward constituted Perry's fleet. Pleased with Erie he continued to make his home in this city, at various times sailing the lakes, while eventually he concentrated his energies permanently upon ship building and for many years was
215
IHISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
in charge of the construction of all the noted Reed line steamers plying the lakes. The Hinton family from which Mrs. Griffith is descended, were among the early settlers of Erie. John Richards died in 1845 while his wife. Mrs. Anna ( Hinton) Richards passed away in 1874.
Captain Thomas Richards. the father of Mrs. Griffith, early became employed in the ship yards with his father while later he began sailing on the lakes and in time become one of the prominent captains and the right hand man of General Charles M. Reed. He sailed many of the leading vessels of the Reed line and became known at every important lakeport as one of the leading lake captains of the time. During the winter of 1848-19 he superintended the building of the fine steamer "Keystone State" at Buffalo, New York, and upon its completion took command of that vessel. While on her maiden trip and in port at Chicago Captain Richards was forced to leave the vessel on account of illness and his death occurred in that city from typhoid fever July 13, 1849. In January, 1840, he had married Maria Louise Clarke, the daughter of Captain George and Mary ( McDonald) Clark. Her father was com- mander of a vessel on the high seas. Mrs. Richards was born in Water- ville, Maine, January 18, 1814, and spent much of her girlhood in the city of Bath, that state. Her brother, John Clarke, was a pioneer of Upper Michigan and it was while visiting him in the west that she met Captain Richards to whom she afterward gave her hand in marriage. Her death occurred in Erie March 16, 1896. She had long survived her husband and devoted her life to her two children, Mrs. George P. Griffith and William L. Richards. Macaulay has said that the history of a country is best told in the lives of its people and therefore the life record of George Perry Griffith constituted an important chapter in the annals of Erie. While his life work was that of an extremely able and success- ful lawyer, he at no time neglected his duties to the public but was interested in all progressive measures for the city and state and on many occasions was an active factor in their advancement.
HARVEY BRAKEMAN, a successful architect of Union City, was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1871, and is the son of B. C. and Amanda J. Brakeman. He was educated in his native county, and having a natural taste for architecture, decided later to take a course of study in this branch, and accordingly entered upon a course with the International Correspondence School, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, which well fitted him for the position he now occupies. In 1894 he began the practice of his chosen profession, and has since been successfully en- gaged in the same, each year adding to his stock of knowledge and expe- rience, and by his close attention to details, and thorough mastery of the subject, has become well known. He has commissions throughout his own state, as well as frequently receiving a call for his skill from nearby states, thus enjoying a constantly enlarging patronage. He spent the first three years in Union City, where he opened his first office, and in 1894 removed to Pittsburg, where he spent nine years. In 1906 he returned to Union City, where he has since occupied an office.
Mr. Brakeman has a large circle of friends and acquaintances, and is a public-spirited and useful citizen. He is a member of the Baptist church, and is also affiilated with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and their Encampment.
216
IHISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
He married. July 9, 1885, Bertha A., daughter of John B. and Lola E. Young, and they have been blessed with two children, namely: Rena Grace and Helen Baneta.
JAY L. HAMILTON is a worthy young business man of Union City, a dealer in books, stationery, papers, periodicals, confectionery, etc., on North Main street. He has been identified with the interests of this city since the year of 1893, when he came here to engage in the manu- facture of chairs, and from that time to the present he has been associ- ated with a commercial life. He continued his work as a chair maker in this city for about four years. He has been identified with his present line of work since 1908.
Mr. Hamilton was born in Behinont. Allegany county. New York, and the educational training which he begun there was completed at Ripley, of the same state. He is a son of LeRoy and Isabella Hamilton, to whom four children were born .- Jay L .. Jessie B., Mrs. T. L. Manley and S. T. Mr. Hamilton, the father, died in the year of 1818, but his widow is still living and resides in Union City. From his maternal grandfather, George Mickle, a veteran of the Civil war, Jay L. Hamilton inherits his patriotic spirit. and when the Spanish-American war was inaugurated he quickly enrolled his name as a member of Company A, Sixteenth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, on the îth of May, 1891, and served until the 28th of December, 1898, when he received an hon- orable discharge. In 1909 he was happily married to Miss Bertha E .. a daughter of William Pullan.
DR. HARVEY H. BATES, one of the foremost and most successful dentists of Union City, was born in Indiana, August 18, 1867, and is the son of Dr. J. H. Bates, a medical practitioner of Chicago, and a grad- uate of Long Island Hospital, in the class of 1820. Dr. Harvey H. Bates received his early education in the public schools of Indiana, later removing to Chicago, Illinois, where he entered the office of Dr. A. C. Wallace, while yet in his teens. A. C. Wallace, D. D. S., was a skilled member of the profession, and the time Dr. Bates spent in his office and under his supervision was of great value to him. He later entered the Chicago College of Dental Surgery, from which institution he graduated, March 29, 1889. He first opened an office in Chicago, which he occupied until 1905, at which time he removed to Union City. Dr. Bates occupies a handsome suite of rooms, fitted with modern appliances, and has acquired a large and lucrative practice in his profession.
Dr. Bates has been twice married, first, November 21, 1881, to Anna H. Lomax, by whom he had one son, Chester H., a young man of consid- erable promise, now studying law. Dr. Bates married, second, Mrs. M. Hitchcock Butler July 29, 1901, and they have no children. He is a men- ber of the Baptist church, and an earnest and valuable worker in the Sun- day school.
M. F. JONES, an enterprising and public spirited citizen of Union City, one of the two joint owners of the Union Iron Works, was born in Prospect, Oneida county, New York, April 21, 1858, and is the son of Martin and Mary A. (Fanning) Jones. Martin Jones was a native of Oneida county, New York, and died in Union City, in 1891; for eighteen years he conducted a grocery business in Union City. His wife, a native of Herkimer county, New York, is now living. Their only child was M. F. Jones.
217
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
After receiving his education in the public schools of his native town and Union City, M. F. Jones learned the trade of mechanic in the old Union City Iron Works, where he became an expert in his line, and followed this work for thirty-five years in Union City. His present partner, Thomas Gardner, is also an expert mechanic, and their shop, covering an area of thirty-two by seventy-two feet, is equipped with mod- ern machinery. They do a line of repairing, but make a specialty of the manufacture of the Westcott-Brown lathe. They have met with pleasing success in their enterprise, and their dealings with their business patrons are satisfactory to all concerned.
Mr. Jones married Ida, daughter of E. Donaldson, and their only child was Carrie, now the wife of Mr. Marsh. Mr. Jones is considered one of the reliable and representative citizens of Union City, and takes an interest in its public affairs. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Maccabees, and the Coleman Hose Company.
THOMPSON J. LININGER. Throughout his active business life Thompson J. Lininger has been actively identified with the agricul- tural interests of Summit township, and he was born within its borders on the 17th of March, 1819, a son of Jolin P. and Katherine Lininger, the father born in Erie, Pennsylvania, and the mother in Wittenberg, Germany, but she came with her mother to Erie in the year of 1829. On the paternal side he is a grandson of John Lininger, who came to Erie from Lancaster county. John P. Lininger, the father, first worked at farming for others, but later on he bought a farm in Mill Creek township, and from there after a short time he came to Summit town- ship and bought a heavily timbered tract. This section of the state was then in its virgin wildness, but in time he cleared his land of timber, placed his fields under an excellent state of cultivation, and lived on his farm there until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Lininger had a family of five sons and seven daughters: Eliza, Matilda Veit, Joshua (deceased), Clark, Isaac, Maranda (deceased). Washington, Frances, Thompson, Susan, Carrie, and one who died in infancy. Two of the sons, Clark and Washington, enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and took part in many of the hard-fought battles of the Civil war. Washington was killed at the battle of Gettysburg on the 4th of July, 1863, and Clark was taken a prisoner at the same en- gagement.
Thompson J. Lininger was reared in his native township of Sum- mit, and he has been a farmer thus far on his life's journey, his present estate consisting of one hundred and seventy-five acres of rich and fer- tile land, and it also contains a valuable stone quarry. He married in 1815 Miss Anna Cummins, a daughter of James and Susan ( Stoddard) Cummins, who came to this country from Ireland and in an early day located in Erie. From there they afterward came to Summit township. Mr. and Mrs. Lininger have had the following children : John Herbert, Lloyd, Mary (deceased). Cora, Scott, Harry (deceased), Robert (de- ceased), Susan, Thomas E. and Oscar F. Mr. Lininger is a Democrat and was road commissioner for years. Mrs. Lininger is a member of the St. Mathew's Catholic church. Mr. Lininger belongs to the Pro- tective Association.
E. A. WILLIAMS. One of Wayne's prosperous agriculturists and dairymen, E. A. Williams, was given birth in Amity township, this
218
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
county, August 4, 1871, and is a son of Thomas and Harriet E. (Rath- burn) Williams, the first named of whom was a native of Albany, New York, while the mother was born in Amity township. Of their seven children, only E. A. Williams survives. The father expired February 2, 1889, and his wife on May 18, 1898.
Mr. Williams, of this sketch, was reared in his native township, where he attended the common schools and worked on the parental farm in his youth, supplementing his elementary schooling with a course at Wattsburg academy, upon the completion of which he fol- lowed carpentry for about six years. Later, he engaged in farming, purchasing the place on which he now resides (formerly known as the "C. W. Parker Farm") in the year 1899; and the thrifty and attrac- tive appearance of both farm and homestead speaks the energy and enterprise of the owner. It is largely devoted to dairying, Mr. Wil- liams having an excellent heard of fifteen milch cows, among which are several Jersey thoroughbreds, to which breed he hopes to eventu- ally confine his stock. He is also the possessor of an apple orchard of some four hundred trees and a grove of about five hundred sugar ma- ples, both of which contribute to his handsome competency. Mr. Williams' substantial and honorable standing has been reached as an industrious, determined and intelligent man, who has relied only upon himself, confident from the first that constant and persevering labor, guided by straightforward and manly principles, would eventually earn him independence and honor. Besides, nature had endowed him with superb health and strength, both of body and mind, and he has been able to carry his labors with undiminished vigor and zeal.
In the year 1895 Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Miss Hattie M. Sweatland, who has become the mother of four children, two of whom are now living : Ruth M., born May 19, 1898, and Nelson C., born September 13, 1902. Mr. Williams is a prohibitionist and firmly believes in the doctrine of temperance. He and his wife and children are members of the United Brethren church, and Mrs. Wil- liams is a member of the Ladies' Aid. The Sunday School of this church is the most progressive and largest in the county. Mrs. Wil- liams has been a teacher and her husband treasurer of the Sunday School. They are both members of the Wattsburg Grange.
J. GEORGE KRUG is well known in the business circles of Erie as a shoe merchant, and he has been identified with this line of business throughout nearly his entire industrial career. As a boy of twelve he began work in a printing office in Erie, but a short time afterward, in the year of 1868, he became connected with the shoe merchant J. A. Eichenlaub and remained with him in the capacity of a clerk for ten years. In 1828 he became the proprietor of a shoe store at 1015 Parade street. and in 1883 erected the brick building in which he is now lo- cated, at No. 912 of the same street.
Mr. Krug was born in Peskeag, Passaic county, New Jersey, August 18, 1855, but his parents. George and Marie L. (Uhlein) Krug, were from Baden, Germany. They were married in their native land, and coming to the United States in 1853 they located first at Peskeag. New Jersey, where the husband had charge of a farm for several years. In 1860 the family moved to Emporium, Pennsylvania, then known as Shippen, where he began work for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
279
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
in the construction of the Sunberg & Erie line, now known as the Phil- adelphia & Erie, and from there they came to Erie in the spring of 1864 and located first on East Twelfth street. There the husband and father died on the 12th of August, 1864, at the age of forty-five years, and three months previous, May 12th, occurred the death of his oldest son, Frank Joseph, who was killed at the battle of the Wilderness while serving with Company G, Fifty-third Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil war. Mr. Krug was twice married, and by his first union he had three children, Frank Joseph, Catherine and Anthony J., all living but Frank Joseph. His second marriage was in 1853 and resulted in the birth of seven children: J. George; Barbara, now wid- owed, living in the West: Mary, a widow living in Erie; Charles J., of this city ; William, whose home is in New York City ; Matthew A., also of Erie ; and Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas L. Austin. Mrs. Krug died in 1899, at the age of seventy years. Both were members of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church in Erie.
J. George Krug married Eleonora Brinig, who was born in Buf- falo, New York. Her father, Theobald Brinig, a merchant tailor, moved from Buffalo to Erie in 1868, and he is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Krug have the following children: Eleonora A., Edward G., Edna Louise and Lorena Marea. The family are members of St. Mary's church, and Mr. Krug is also associated with the Knights of Columbus. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce in Erie, and is an inde- pendent Democrat in politics.
HUGH COMPTON LORD was born January 23, 1867, at Mantorville, Minnesota, being the son of Samuel and Louisa M. (Compton) Lord. His father, Samuel Lord, was a native of Meadville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, emigrating while a young man to Minnesota. He served as a member of both Houses of Legislature and at the time of his death in 1880 was serving a second term as president judge of the Fifth Judicial District of Minnesota. Louisa Compton Lord was born at Ypsilanti, Michigan, but spent the greater part of her girlhood in Erie county, Pennsylvania. She died in 18+9.
Hugh C. Lord's paternal and maternal ancestors were early New England settlers. The emigrant ancestor of the Lord family was one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut, the descendants forming the branch to which Hugh C. Lord belongs moving to Lyme, Connecticut, and from Lyme to Meadville, Pennsylvania.
After the death of his father Hugh came east and after short residences at Edinboro, Pennsylvania, Dunkirk, New York, and Mead- ville, Pennsylvania, came to Erie in 1884, and entered the Erie high school. He was graduated in 1887, and afterward took a post-grad- uate course in the same institution. He read law under the preceptor- ship of Judge E. A. Walling. While a student he was appointed dep- uty U. S. marshal and also taught in the public night school of the city of Erie. He was admitted to the bar in 1890. In 1892 he asso- ciated himself with the late John K. Hallock, making a specialty of patent law and trade marks, and since that time has confined himself to this practice. He served one term (1902-1906) as member of the Select Council, presiding over that body the last two years of the term.
280
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
Ile married June 2, 1893, Rena, daughter of the late Richard M. and Cecelia (Partridge) Slocum. Five children have been born to them, two of whom are living.
JOSEPH A. HAMILTON. A man of versatile talents, intelligent, ca- pable, and far-sighted, Joseph A. Hamilton holds a foremost position among the respected and valued citizens of Wattsburg, Erie county, where, in addition to carrying on an extensive printing business, he has a general repair shop, in which he successfully treats clocks, watches, and. in fact, any thing made of iron, brass, tin, silver or gold, that needs repairing. A Pennsylvanian by birth an! breeding, he was born, in 1818, in Saxton, Bedford county, a son of W. G. Hamilton.
W. G. Hamilton removed from Johnstown to Erie county in 1881, and is now a resident of the city of Erie. A practical machin- ist, expert in the use of tools, he was for forty years in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railway Company, from which he now draws a pen- sion, being on the retired list. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Annie Reed, six children were born, namely: Frank; Lillie, wife of W. W. Bole; Maud, wife of W. Klemm ; Frances, Carrie, and Joseph A.
After completing his studies in the common schools of Erie county, Joseph A. Hamilton served an apprenticeship at the printer's trade, and for a while thereafter was employed on the Erie Daily Times. Locating in Wattsburg in 1899, Mr. Hamilton worked first on the Wattsburg Sentinel, then edited by Maurice Duncombe. Becoming familiar with the printer's art, he then opened a printing establish- ment of his own, and to this has added, as above mentioned, a general repair shop, in these lines of industry being kept busily employed. His ambition and energy being apparently unlimited, however, Mr. Hamilton looks after the local telephone lines, keeping them in repair, and furnishes acetylene gas to several business houses of Wattsburg. In his business career, Mr. Hamilton has been especially prosperous, now owning his own building, a two-story structure. with a basement, and a hall twenty-seven feet by sixty feet.
Mr. Hamilton married, May 16. 1906, Lizzie J. Parker, daughter of Cephas and Julia Parker. Fraternally Mr. Hamilton is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows: and of the Patriotic Order Sons of America. He is actively interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of town and county, and now, in 1909, is serving as president of the borough council.
RUFUS W. SWIFT. Numbered among the industrious, progres- sive and enterprising agriculturists of Erie county is Rufus W. Swift, whose energy, ability and business tact have gained him success in the industrial world, placing him in an assured position among the leading farmers of Edinboro. A son of George W. Swift, he was born in Summit township, Erie county, July 11, 1865. His grandparents, Julius and Laura (Shove) Swift, were comparatively early settlers of Summit township, moving there from New York state in 1844. He was a farmer, and died on the homestead that hie cleared and im- proved in May, 1815. Julius Swift was three times married, and was father of eleven boys and of an equal number of girls.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY!
A TORLENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
281
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
George W. Swift was born May 10, 1835, in Otsego county, New York, and began life for himself as a farmer in Summit township. He married, May 8, 1861, Lucinda A. Graham, who was born in Summit township, a daugliter of Capt. John C. and Saralı A. (Cook) Graham. Her grandparents on the paternal side, Hugh and Margaret Graham, migrated from Center county, to Erie county, locating six miles south of Erie, on a tract of wild land containing one hundred acres. There her grandfather cleared and improved a homestead, and in addition to tilling the soil was for many years keeper of the toll gate. Capt. John C. Graham was but a small child when he was brought in his moth- er's arms, on horseback, to this county. As a young man, he engaged in farming on his own account, buying land near the parental home- stead, and there spending the greater part of his life. He was a soldier in the War of 1812.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.