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 48
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Mr. Love married, in October, 1884, Nellie C. Cullin, who was born in Westfield, Chautauqua county, New York, and they are the parents of two children, John and Lucille. Fraternally Mr. Love is a member of Jonathan Lodge, I. O. O. F., and of the Royal Arcanum.
THOMAS D. WILLIS AND SETH H. WILLIS. In the prominence and variety of its relations to the agricultural, as well as business inter- ests of Erie county, the Willis family has maintained the strength and adaptability of its English blood. Thomas Willis, who founded it in that section of Pennsylvania, was born in the world's metropolis July 16, 1795. and was a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Evans) Willis. The family came to the United States in 1803, locating at Philadelphia, where the parents spent the remainder of their lives. The Thomas who became the father of Thomas D. and Seth H., first changed his residence to Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and in 1817 located on the old Brown farm, now within the city limits of Erie. At a later date he purchased a place on the Ridge road, and there died on the 24th of May, 1875. The main interests of his life
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were centered in agriculture, but his practical abilities and his pro- nounced religious tendencies were shown in his efficient discharge of various public duties and by his earnest work for the Seventh Street Methodist church. He served as county poor director for nine years and held numerous township offices. Thomas Willis was twice married, first, to Miss Mary Weidley, who was survived by four children-Frank, Matilda, Martha and Edwin, now all deceased. His second wife was Marrillia M., daughter of Jeremiah Osborn, a native of Nova Scotia, who bore him two sons, Thomas D. and Seth H. The mother passed away on the 29th of December, 1902, in her eighty- third year.
Thomas D. Willis, president of the Erie County Milk Associa- tion and a leading citizen, was born on the old farm in West Mill Creek township, in the year 1845. On August 22, 1862, when only seventeen years of age, he enlisted in the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and received an honorable discharge after a service of three years. He conducted the old farm until January, 1901, when he as- sisted in the organization of the Erie County Milk Association, of which he was chosen president. In order to give his most efficient service to the promotion of its progress he became a resident of the city at that time. On September 26, 1876, Mr. Willis married Miss Anna J., daughter of John McKee, and the children born to them are as follows: Gussie B., who married Herbert J. McCreary, now a teacher in a Brooklyn (N. Y.) high school; Thomas C., still residing on the old farm, who married Miss Nellie Tuttle: and Harvey M. and Frederick Willis, both living with their parents.
Seth H. Willis, the second son of Thomas Willis by his marriage to Marrillia Osborn, was also born on the Mill Creek farm, April 8, 1847. He received a thorough education in the public schools, Erie Academy and the State Normal, at Edinboro, and continued as a suc- cessful farmer and dairyman until March, 1894. Mr. Willis then was appointed secretary of the Harbor Creek Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany, with headquarters in the city of Erie. While a resident of West Mill Creek township, he was influential in its public affairs, serving for nine years as a school director, and since coming to Erie he has been an active member of its Chamber of Commerce and of the Simpson Methodist Episcopal church. By his marriage to Miss Adella. daughter of Andrew Nicholson, an old citizen of Erie county, he has become the father of one child, George A., who is now paymaster at the Erie City Iron Works. The latter married Miss Mabel Heiss, daughter of William Heiss, a well-known grocer of Erie, and they are also the parents of one son, Richard H. Willis.
ANTHONY S. PINNEY. Conspicuous among the native sons of Erie county, noted for their integrity, ability and worth, is Anthony S. Pinney, of Erie, who for nearly four decades was prominently identified with the mercantile growth and prosperity of that city, and is now serving as city treasurer of Erie. Universally respected and esteemed, there is no more popular man in the community than he. In manner frank, cordial and amiable, making friends with all with whom he comes in contact, it is a pleasure to meet him. for he is ap- proachable, and ever ready to forward beneficial enterprises. A son
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of Horace L. Pinney, he was born, March 23, 1845, in Belle Valley, Green township, Erie county, coming from honored New England ancestry.
Horace L. Pinney, a son of Elijah and Mahala (Grant) Pinney, was born in Connecticut, in 1815, and died, in Erie county, February 20, 1848. With the Pinney family he came to Erie county in 1838, locating on a farm in Mill Creek township. To all intents and pur- poses he was a farmer throughout his entire life, but having acquired an excellent education in Connecticut, his services were in demand after he came to this county as a teacher, and for sixteen winters he taught in the public schools of Erie county. Buying land in Green township in 1844, he carried on general farming successfully, and for a quarter of a century served as justice of the peace. He married, in 1842, Mrs. Sarah Shannon, daughter of William Saltsman, a pioneer of Erie county, and the widow of Samuel D. Shannon. She survived him, passing away in March, 1892, aged eighty years. Six children were born of their union, namely: Sarah Ellen lived but eight years ; Elijah N., of Case City, Michigan, and Anthony S., the subject of this sketch, twins; Alexander of Erie; Rose, and Catherine.
Laying a substantial foundation for his future education in the schools taught by his father, Anthony S. Pinney afterwards attended the public schools of Belle Valley and Erie City, completing his studies in the old Erie Academy. Desirous then of beginning his business career, he entered the hardware establishment of McConkey & Shannon as a clerk, and showed such aptitude in that capacity that the firm, in 1867, placed him in charge of a branch store at No. 1525 Peach street. Energetic, wide-awake and ambitious, Mr. Pinney met with most satisfactory success in the management of affairs, and in January, 1869, purchased the branch store, and embarked in mercan- tile pursuits on his own account, beginning on a modest scale. In order to meet the demands of his large and increasing patronage, he added to his stock, and in February, 1893, having outgrown his orig- inal quarters, he moved to No. 724 State street, where he put in a complete line of hardware, and continued business for a number of years. In 1904, after a long and highly successful experience as a hardware merchant, Mr. Pinney retired from business, having by per- severing industry and honest thrift acquired a competency. In 1905 he was elected city treasurer, and has since served in this capacity with ability and fidelity, having been re-elected to the office in 1908.
Mr. Pinney married. March 4, 1869, Mary E., daughter of the late Allen A. Morse, of Erie, who was a cousin of Prof. Samuel F. B. Morse, distinguished as the inventor of the telegraph. Mr. and Mrs. Pinney have one child, Sarah Ellen, wife of William F. H. Nick, of Erie. Politically Mr. Pinney supports the principles of the Democratic party by voice and vote. He belongs to a number of fraternal organizations, including the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, and the Knights of Pythias.
JOIN L. WELLS is ex-county treasurer of Erie county, and for many years leading pension attorney of Erie, and it can truly be said that whatever he undertakes to do is well done. In public life he has faithfully performed his official duties, while his military record in the Civil war was a distinguished one, reflecting honor and credit upon his brave and gallant conduct during the many hard-fought battles and
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campaigns in which he participated. He was born, in 1841, on a farm in Harbor Creek township, Erie county, being of pioneer descent on both sides of the house. Ilis parents, Jarvis and Polly (Chambers) Wells, life-long residents of Erie county, reared four children, namely : James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, twins; John L., with whom this sketch is chiefly concerned ; and R. Eliza.
Brought up on the home farm, John L. Wells received a practical education in the rural schools of his neighborhood, in the meantime having the usual training of a country boy. In 1861, before attaining his majority. enthused by patriotic ardor, he enlisted in the One Hun- dred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Captain Braden, and served under Colonels Schlaudecker, Cobham and Walker. He received a lieutenant's commission, and on being transferred to another company, commanded the same until the close of the war, rendering efficient service as its captain. He was at the front in many of the more important engagements of the contest, in- cluding the second engagement at Bull Run ; the battle at South Moun- tain, Georgia, where his bravery won recognition, the general and Governor Gerry giving him as a souvenir for a daring act a special commission ; the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg. Wauhatchie, and Lookout Mountain; and was also with General Sherman in his famous march to the sea. Near the close of hostilities, Captain Wells was captured at the battle of Peach Tree Creek, confined as a prisoner in the famous rebel prison at Anderson- ville, from which he made an almost miraculous escape. He earned the rank of lieutenant colonel by acting as a scout on one occasion and discovering the position of the enemy. thereby saving his entire division from capture. His own capture and subsequent retention in prison, however, prevented him from bearing his well deserved promotion, hence his testimonial from the governor. Receiving his honorable dis- charge in 1865, he returned to his home in Erie, where he has since resided.
In 1883 Captain Wells was elected to the office of county treasurer of Erie county by a flattering majority, and served with such ability and faithfulness that he was re-elected at the expiration of his term to the same office. On leaving the office, the Captain engaged in busi- ness as a pension attorney, and has continued in it successfully ever since, having added thereto a line of fire insurance business, in which he has established a large and remunerative patronage. Fraternally Captain Wells is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and of the Loyal Legion.
Captain Wells married, in February, 1867. Adele S., daughter of Stewart Chambers, of Erie, and of their union three children have been born.
FELIX F. CURTZE. President of three of the largest metal indus- tries of Erie and an industrious and progressive member of the com- munity since he was fifteen years of age, Felix F. Curtze has earned a most substantial standing in the practical activities and the honorable citizenship of northwestern Pennsylvania. His father, Frederick Curtze, who was a city pioneer of 1840. was also a man of varied and quite remarkable capabilities, being a skilled silversmith, a thorough linguist, and a successful oil-cloth manufacturer. The elder Mr ..
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Curtze was a native of the German province of Waldeck, where he was born on the 11th of March, 1813, a son of the Rev. Ludwig Curtze, a clergyman of the Lutheran church. Frederick Curtze received a liberal education, becoming proficient in the Latin, English, Spanish and French languages. In accord with the typical and sound German cus- tom, he also learned a trade-that of a silversmith-and after spending some time in Europe, including a residence in Vienna, in 1836 he emi- grated to the United States. The first two years of his residence in this country were spent in New York City, followed by a year each in Boston and Philadelphia. the entire time being passed in the prose- cution of this trade. When he became a resident of Erie, in the spring of 1840, he commenced to make printing molds for the manufacture of oil cloth. at the same time giving private lessons in German. Five years later he began the manufacture of oil cloth himself and continued in that industrial line for about five years. For the succeeding six years he resided on his farm in Fairview township, returning to Erie in 1858. In that year he was elected a justice of the peace and served contin- uously in that office for a period of twenty-five years, his death occur- ring on the 14th of April, 1891. The conclusion of his active life as a justice of the peace for a quarter of a century established his position as a widely popular and a highly honored citizen-a standing which was doubly assured in view of his long leadership in the religious and social matters of the German-American community with which he was identi- fied for so many years. In 1844 Frederick Curtze married Miss Mary A. Beckman, daughter of Abraham Beckman, a Fairview farmer, and to them were born the following children: Caroline, who married Louis Albracht ; Louisa, who became the wife of Captain Jacob Feigler ; Fran- ciska, now Mrs. Henry V. Claus ; Herman J., Charles A. and Adolph ; Felix F., of this biography ; Julius, Oscar, Mary, who married F. War- noth ; Sabine, Mrs. Frederick Mertens, and Adelia, who became the wife of Charles Stohlman. The mother of this family died on the 25th of October, 1864.
Felix F. Curtze, before mentioned, was born in Erie, March 5, 1858, soon after the family had returned to the city from the Fairview farm. After obtaining a public school education, as a youth of fifteen he became an office boy in the Erie Dime Savings Bank, and, after thirteen years of continuous and progressive service, in 1886 was appointed treasurer of the institution. Mr. Curtze held that position for a num- ber of years, and in 1894 became financially interested in the Globe Iron Works, upon the incorporation of the business being elected president of the company. He is still the active head of its affairs. as well as president of the Stearns Manufacturing Company and of the Heisler Locomotive Works and interested in other important industries. He is also a director in the Erie Trust Company and a strong and far-sighted financier. On June 30, 1885, Mr. Curtze was married to Caroline J., daughter of Frederick and Julia (Pfarre) Stohlman, residents of New York.
JOHN BENNETT is one of the leading agriculturists of Venango town- ship, where he was born on his father's homestead July 24, 1845. Colonel John H. Bennett, his father, was born in Delaware county, New York, July 8, 1808, and he was sent by his father, John Bennett, to Erie county to collect debts from men who owed him. This was in 1827, and while Vol. II-22
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discharging his duties as his father's collector he was offered a horse by a man in payment for his debt. This young Bennett accepted, ex- pecting to ride it back to Delaware county, but before he set out he received word that his father was coming and advised the young man to stay in the new country. Trading his horse then for forty acres of land he settled here permanently and in time became one of the large land owners of the county. He was joined in the following year by his father and his family, and in time this John Bennett and his sons owned about four hundred acres of the finest land, and after the death of the father the son, Colonel John H. Bennett, became the possessor of this large tract. After an eventful and useful life John Bennett passed away in death on December 28, 1851, in the seventy-eighth year of his age and his wife followed him in 1864 aged over eighty-three years. Colonel John H. Bennett was a colonel of a militia regiment, a strict disciplinarian, and he also held the office of collector of his township. With his father he purchased the saw mill of Nims and Ball, located on the east branch of French creek, and there they manufactured lumber and shingles and also ground apples. He married Mary E. Foote in January of 1883, and to the union were born the following children : Frances A., Helen M., Lucia J., Victor H., John, Betsey and Daniel, but of this number John alone survives. Colonel John H. Bennett was a large-hearted man whose friends were as numerous as his acquaint- ances, and he died in 1887, long surviving his wife, who passed away in 1851.
John Bennett has been a life-long agriculturist, and when lumber was to be had on his or his neighbors' land he operated a saw mill in conjunction with his farming. He now owns and operates in his own name nearly four hundred acres of fine dairy land, the place being well stocked and worked with the best and most approved machinery. When his country was in war he offered his services to the northern cause and was enrolled as a private in Company F. One Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, on the 24th of November, 1863, and becoming a member of the Army of the Cumberland he participated in the entire campaign with Sherman on his march to the sea. His services were meritorious and honorable, and he was discharged from the ranks in July of 1865. On the 5th of November of the same year he was happily married to Miss Elvira Stewart, born in Amity township April 2, 1842, a daughter of Truman Stewart. To this union there was born a daughter, Addie J., on the 24th of October, 1869. She became the wife of T. Ramsdale on February 21, 1891, and the mother of three children. Harold, John and Florence Nightingale. She was called from this life on the 21st of February, 1909.
Mr. Bennett is independent politically and will vote for the best man fitted for the office. Fraternally he is a charter member of the I. O. O. F. in Wattsburg and has passed all the chairs. He is also a member of the Mason Lodge, and a member of the Grange.
ROBERT WESLEY LAWRIE. The various stages in the career of a successful business man are readily traceable inasmuch as, step by step, he progresses, each time making a sure footing and bringing to bear upon the situation such ability and judgment as enables him to make good present opportunities and, little by little, availing him- self of them, enlarge his business chances, thereby mounting upward on the strength of his own merits toward a final and substantial goal.
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The career of Robert Wesley Lawrie is no exception to the rule. He is in every sense of the word to be numbered among those men who may be denominated as successful and whose success has not been won on the ground of outside influences or aid, but simply on the excellent judgment of the man himself and of that degree of care- ful management which enabled him to coerce forces and arrange cir- cumstances in such a manner as to make them work to his own ad- vantage, all the while observing thorough and honorable business methods and at the same time preserving unassailable relations as far as concerns the commercial world. Without doubt he is one of the leading as well as progressive business factors of the city of Erie, being the owner of one of the largest and most complete furniture establishments in this part of the state. At the same time he is the proprietor of an extensive undertaking and ambulance enterprise at No. 1207 State street, which is a lucrative department of his business. Mr. Lawrie is a man of excellent parts and strong qualities of char- acter, whose stalwart powers do not permit cowering in the presence of adversities, but which, on the other hand, make apparent defeat a victory and a stepping stone to high attainments and thus he has gained the prominent position in which he stands in the commercial and financial circles of the city.
A native of Canada, Mr. Lawrie was born at Bowmanville, Ontario, September 8, 1872, a son of James and Mary (Drinkle) Law- rie. The father, a native of Scotland, during infancy was brought to Canada, where he spent his life, death calling him in 1904, while the mother, also a native of Canada, now resides there. In his native town of Bowmanville and at Oshawa, Robert Wesley Lawrie was reared, acquiring his educational privileges in the common schools, leaving his text-books when in his eleventh year and at that tender age, entering the employ of a commercial establishment. His first step in the business world was as a messenger boy, in which position, although it was humble, he was honest in the performance of his du- ties, considering his post as one of trust and in this way prepared himself for a higher step in the business, his next position being that of a clerk and as such he worked for a period of five years. At that period of his life, deeming it advisable to become familiar with the trade, thereby thinking that he might have a better showing for suc- cess in life, he became apprenticed to a wood finisher at Oshawa, with whom he became an artisan in that kind of work. Later he repaired to Woodstock, where he plied his craft to advantage until 1892, dur- ing which year he located in this city. Upon his arrival here he ac- cepted a position in the Shaw Piano Works as a finisher and in the prosecution of his craft he displayed a measure of skill which rapidly gained him recognition as a man unsurpassed in his department of mechanics. Following his trade until the year 1896, in the meantime through economical habits having saved the greater portion of his earnings, considering himself able to embark on a business venture on his own account, he engaged in the furniture enterprise on a small scale at West Eighteenth street. There he conducted business suc- cessfully, all the while extending his popularity until 1891 when he transferred his business site to the fifth floor of the Mayer block on South State street. which quarters, being much larger than his former location, allowed him to enlarge his business according to his popu-
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larity and the demands made upon him in his particular line of trade. About the time of the removal he was joined by his brother, William J. Lawrie, and the firm became known under the tile of Lawrie Brothers. The partnership, however, was of short duration, the brother who entered into business relations in April withdrawing from the concern in the following September. Nevertheless, by mutual agreement, the firm name, Lawrie Brothers, was still maintained and under this title the business has since been transacted. Since locating in the Mayer block the enterprise has witnessed rapid growth and Mr. Lawrie has added to his furniture lines, carpets and rugs, and also a line of shoes, in all of which commodities he conducted an increas- ing trade, although recently he has ceased to deal so much in these added lines, but has supplanted them by other commodities, such as stoves, etc. Moreover, in addition to the above named merchandise he carries a stock of men's clothing, paying some attention also to ladies' tailoring and millinery, in which he has gained a wide reputation, while in addition to these he also engages in the undertaking business. His enterprise was in the height of prosperity and in a flourishing con- dition, being one of the largest in the city when total destruction came upon the establishment, his entire stock having suffered in the fire which destroyed the Mayer block on September 28, 1908. In this con- flagration Mr. Lawrie suffered the total loss of his stock, which was estimated at above forty-eight thousand dollars, inasmuch as he did not carry insurance upon his goods. Previous to the fire he had ne- gotiated for the occupation of the new Baldwin block on State street and the deal for the new quarters was closed on the afternoon on which the fire occurred and he was to assume occupancy on Decem- ber 1, 1908. The building, which is a three-story brick structure hav- . ing a floor space of twenty-eight thousand square feet, was completed at the specified time and Mr. Lawrie, in accordance with his contract, assumed occupancy and again resumed his business. Although the conflagration swept from under him his belongings, his business meth- ods before the catastrophe had been such as to recommend him highly as an honorable and able man in commercial lines and his credit both here and elsewhere was as good as his word and he was not at all hampered in supplying his new store with a new line of goods. With- out a doubt he carries the largest stock in the line of commodities he handles of any house in the city and since occupying his new quarters, having brought to bear that firm resolve and business ability which heretofore characterized him, he has maintained his popularity as a business man and tradesman and is now carrying on an enterprise which far exceeds the proportions of his former one and which is one of the most valuable assets to the commercial life of the city. The fact that Mr. Lawrie has recuperated in such a short period of time after such great losses is ample recommendation of his superior busi- ness judgment and determination as well, of the fact that the busi- ness methods upon which he conducts his enterprise are such as in the eyes of the business world are bound to insure success and to this extent explains the high reputation in which he is held, not only here but throughout the country.
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