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 61
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He was a personal friend, and attorney and counsellor, for over a quarter of a century, of the veteran circus man, Dan Rice, whose name is held in pleasing memory by the older generation throughout the most diverse sections of the Union, and who was one of the most loved and loyal citizens of Girard until a short time before his death.
Mr. Hinds may be said to be a birth right member of the Republican party, of whose principles he has been a stalwart supporter from the time of attaining to his legal majority, and in whose cause he has ren- dered yeoman service in the campaigns of many years. His first vote was cast for General John C. Freemont, the first presidential candidate of the Republican party.
When his partner, Mr. Cutler, became a candidate for the State Senate, Mr. Hinds assumed the management of his campaign, and he marshalled his forces with consummate skill and ability, showing well his power of leadership in the domain of practical politics; though he, himself, has never been ambitious for the honors or emoluments of political office, and never was a candidate.
Mr. Hinds has never joined any church, or fraternal body. He says lie only belongs to one society-the human family-and was born into that. He is a man of strong religious convictions-the religion of being good and doing good-but cares nothing for the dogmas of the churches, and has little, if any, respect for their creeds. He has reflected a great deal upon religious subjects, and is what may be properly called a free- thinker. He believes there is nothing infallible but the truth, and has but little faith in the popular religion of the times based on the assumed infallibility of men, and their writings, however hoary headed with age. He has a broad conception of the goodness and power of the Eternal, and feels sure that the author of our being whether called God or Nature will deal mercifully with poor erring humanity in the future world. He says, while he pins his faith to no man, ancient or modern, he derives some satisfaction in knowing that his conclusions harmonize with those of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and other like men who have done the most to promote human liberty, and the general welfare of mankind.
On the 20th of October, 1856, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hinds to Miss Elvira M. Cutler, who was born on the 29th of December. 1833, a daughter of Hon. George H. Cutler.
Concerning the children of this union the following brief data are entered : Lawrence C., who is superintendent of the Central Power Com- pany at Kremmling, Colorado, married Miss Clara Hay of Girard, Penn- sylvania. They have no children. Bertha E., is the wife of Francis J. French, of Collinwood, Ohio. They have three children, Mabel, who is the wife of Ray Cross, of Collinwood, Ohio; Vira, now deceased ; and Clara who remains at the parental home. Vira, the third child of Mr. Hinds, is the wife of William H. Wallace, of Cincinnati, Ohio, general southern agent for the Nickel Plate Railroad, and they have two chil-
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dren, George Cutler and Bruce Hinds. Mr. Hinds has one great-grand- child-Charlotte Louise-daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Cross.
Mrs. Hinds died on the 6th day of February, 1864; and on the 27th of May, 1868, Mr. Hinds was united in marriage to Miss Frank Stewart, a cousin of his deceased wife, who was born in Syracuse, New York. on the 12th of August, 1849, a daughter of Henry and Maria Stewart, who were long residents of the city of Syracuse. The children of the second marriage of Mr. Hinds are: Fannie is the wife of Dr. H. M. Soult, of Philadelphia. and they have one child, Calvin Hinds Soult: Harry S. Hinds, who resides in Vicksburg, Mississippi, is identified with the government department touching the navigation of the Mississippi river and its tributaries. Belle Stewart Hinds is now the wife of Andrew J. Aiken, Naval Inspector of Engineering Material for the United States government. They reside at Beaver Falls, Pennsyl- vania, and have one child. Lawrence Stewart Aiken; Calvin J. Hinds. Jr., is an attorney at law of Ardmore, Oklahoma ; John Donald Hinds resides at Trenton, state of New Jersey. He is a graduate of the School of Industrial Art of Philadelphia, and has been professionally employed by the Trenton Potteries Company for the past four years ; and for two years has been one of the faculty of the Trenton Art School. Stewart Cutler Hinds graduated last June at the School of Industrial Art of Philadelphia : and expects soon to locate in Trenton, New Jersey.
It is with a sense of appreciation and gratification that the publishers of this work present even so brief a review of the career of one of the honored and venerable citizens of Erie county and one whose name well merits a place of distinction in the perpetuating here of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon the county to which this history is dedicated. No citizen of Erie county has a more secure place in popular confidence and esteem than Calvin J. Hinds, a vet- eran and distinguished member of its bar.
EARL T. BOGART. One of the prominent and progressive citizens of Elk Creek township is Earl T. Bogart, who was born on the 22d of March, 1874, a son of Malen Bogart, who was long numbered among the business men and farmers of this community, his death occurring here in 1821, when forty years of age. Before taking up the vocation of a farmer he was a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi river, but abandoning the fascinating life of a steamboat officer he was from that time on a resident of Elk Creek township, one of its substantial and well known farmers and business men. He had married in his early life Rhetta Fuller, who survives her husband and is living in Platea. an honored and revered lady of seventy years.
After the death of his father Earl T. Bogart was reared by an uncle, with whom he remained until he had attained the age of twenty- one, and after the completion of his school days he worked at the car- penter's trade, covering a period of five years. Since then he has been employed in the capacity of a yardman at present time by the Bessemer Railway Company. He married October 31. 1897, Miss Stella Payne, who was born on the 3d of September, 1877. and their union has been without issue. Mr. Bogart is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Platea. Lodge No. 1146, and he is also a member of the B. of R. T. at Albion. A Democrat in his political affiliations. he has served as judge of elections.
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Mr. and Mrs. Bogart are young people who are held in high esteem by all who know them. Mrs. Bogart was a student at the Edinboro State Normal in Scientific Department in the year of 1895. She is a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Brotherhood of R. R. Train- men, and is pianist of the order.
ARCHIE ADDISON ARMES. A tried and trusted employe of the United State Government, Archie Addison Armes, of Albion, Erie county, Pennsylvania, has been associated with the Rural Free Delivery service of this vicinity for the past six years, and has performed the duties devolving upon him in this capacity with commendable prompt- ness and fidelity. A son of the late Orris Armes, he was born, March 21, 1883, in Elk Creek township, Erie county. His grandparents, Mat- teson and Sarah Jane (Wait) Armes, migrated from New York state to Pennsylvania about 1858, settling on a farm near Wellsburg, Pennsyl- vania, Erie county, where both spent their remaining years, his death occurring August 16, 1823, when sixty-five years old, while her death occurred in 1859, at the comparatively early age of thirty-five years,
Born in New York state, August 18, 1851, Orris Armes was a young boy when the family came to Erie county. He remained at home, assisting his father on the homestead until seventeen years old, when he began working for wages, for four years being employed in the old Sears Creamery, after which he carried on general farming until 1888. Going then to Erie, Pennsylvania, he was there employed in the produce business as a salesman until his death, August 12, 1901. He was a man of sterling integrity and worth, and an esteemed member of Albion Lodge, No. 416, 1. O. O. F. He married, in 1875, Lovina Castle, who was born September 21, 1858, in Ashtabula, Ohio, a daughter of Sanford Castle. Her father, a native of New York state, followed his trade of shoe- maker in Ashtabula, Ohio, for a number of years, residing there until his death, in 1895, at the venerable age of eighty-five years. Mr. Castle married Hannah Boyd, who was born, in 1815, in Vermont, and died, in Ohio, in 1891. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Orris Armes, namely : Sadie, born in 1896, married E. D. Chapin, a machinist in Erie, and has two children, Isla and Mildred ; Arthur, of whom a brief sketch may be found on another page of this volume, was born in 1880, married Miss Iva Boyce, and lives in Albion ; and Archie Addison, of this brief biography.
After completing his early education, Archie A. Armes was for four years in the employ of the F. R. Simmons Cold Storage, in the city of Erie. In 1903 he was appointed a mail carrier on one of the Rural Free Delivery routes leading from the Albion Post Office, and is filling the position most satisfactorily.
Mr. Armes married, May 21, 1902, Agnes Abel, who was born in Erie, and they are the parents of four children, namely: Lillian, de- ceased ; Elmer, Ronald. and Dorothy. Fraternally Mr. Armes is a mem- ber of Moose Lodge, No. 66, of Erie.
HUGH V. BALL. A natural mechanic, and a man of unquestioned ability and energy, Hugh V. Ball is prominently identified with the in- dustrial interests of Erie county, and as one of the leading blacksmiths of Albion is carrying on a substantial business. A son of George H.
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Ball, he was born, May 9, 1869, in Elk Creek township, this county, and there received a practical common school education.
From the time he was seventeen years old until becoming of age, Hugh V. Ball was employed as a farm laborer receiving in return for his labor the munificent sum of six dollars per month. The ensuing five years he worked for the Bessemer Railway Company, after which he was with the Nickel Plate Railroad Company for two years, being then lo- cated at Conneaut, Ohio, in the company's machine shops. Returning then to Bessemer, he was again with the Bessemer Railway Company for a year, giving up his position there to go to Conneaut, Ohio, where he spent three years with E. G. Smith, learning from him the trade of a blacksmith. Becoming proficient in his chosen trade. Mr. Ball opened his present smithy in Albion, and as a general blacksmith and a skilful horse-shoer has established an excellent and remunerative patronage, his work coming to him from all parts of the town, and from business men of all classes.
Mr. Ball married, in 1887, Dora A. Sprague, who was born Jan- uary 3, 1863, in Albion, a daughter of William Henry and Ellen ( Pike) Sprague, natives of Sheffield, Ohio, where for many years her father, now living retired from active work in Albion, was an engineer. Five children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ball, namely: Mabel, wife of Luther Story, of Conneaut, Ohio, and has one child, Mabel ; Tessie : Floyd: Edward; and Velma. Politically Mr. Ball uniformly casts his vote in favor of the Republican party, but he has never had a desire for public office.
Mr. Ball has three brothers and one sister, as follows: George, en- gaged in farming in Elk Creek township: Roscoe, a stone mason in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania ; Sprinkle, a machinist in Albion : and Martha, wife of R. Taylor, who is in the employ of the Bessemer Rail- way Company.
FRANK E. HURST. Among the younger generation of Erie county's successful business men is Frank E. Hurst, proprietor of a well-estab- lished meat market in Albion, where he has already built up a substantial trade. He is a man of good financial ability, and in his business trans- actions pays strict regard to veracity and honor. A son of Thomas Hurst. he was born, December 18, 1819. in Cranesville, Erie county, of English ancestry. His great grandfather, Daniel Hurst, born near Man- chester. England, was a farmer by occupation.
Samuel Hurst, grandfather of Frank E., was born in England in 1815. Emigrating to America in 1845, he settled in Conneaut township, where he at first worked at his trade of a carpenter. He subsequently bought land near Cranesville, purchasing it in 1859, and was there en- gaged in agricultural pursuits the remainder of his active life. He mar- ried, Ann Beaumont, who was born in England, April 1, 1816, a daughter of Thomas and Alice ( Goddard) Beaumont. She died on the old home- stead, near Cranesville, March 24, 1887.
The only surviving child of the parental household. Thomas Hurst was born, May 22. 1847, in Conneaut township. Erie county. He was early initiated into the various duties and labors that fall upon a farmer's son. his help when out of school being needed by his father. On a - taining his majority, he learned the carpenter's trade, after which Tie spent two years in the oil region. Locating then in Cranesville, he was
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there engaged in business for fourteen years as a manufacturer of sashes, doors, and blinds, subsequently carrying on a substantial business as a general merchant for ten years. Assuming possession then of his pres- ent home, near Albion, he has since lived retired from active pursuits, an honored and respected citizen. Politically he affiliates with the Republi- can party, and has served ably and acceptably as a member of the local school board, and as township auditor. Fraternally he is a member of the Elk Creek Grange; of Lundy's Lane Lodge, No. 497. K. of P .: of the Knights of the Maccabees; and of State Police, No. 51.
On December 22. 1820. Thomas Hurst married Mary A. Martin. She was born January 27. 1848, a daughter of Franklin and Anna ( Mor- ris) Martin, members of the farming community of Elk Creek township. Seven children have been born of their union, namely : Anna May, born in 1811, married M. D. Thrasher, a farmer in Cranesville : Eugene \\ .. born in 1843, is a barber in Albion: Clyde L., born in 1811. resides in Pittsburg : Frank E .. the special subject of this sketch ; Earl T .. born in 1881, salesman in a meat market in Lorain, Ohio: Alice, born in 1884, and Grace L., born in 1888, are telephones operators in Albion.
After his graduation from the high school Frank E. Hurst was for awhile employed as clerk in a grocery store in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, afterward being similarly employed in Albion. When ready to start in business on his own account. he bought his present market, and has since won an excellent and lucrative patronage as a meat dealer, the clean, neat appearance of his establishment, and his upright dealings with all, attracting a good line of customers, and gaining their con- fidence. Mr. Hurst is yet single, mayhap imagining that he enjoys the freedom from domestic care and tribulations.
MAJOR ISAAC B. BROWN. A man of public spirit, integrity and worth, Major Isaac B. Brown. of Corry, comes from distinguished an- cestry on both sides of the house, and during the Civil war fought in defense of his country. For many years he has been actively identified with the best interests of city, county and state, and holds a position of prominence among the best known and most influential citizens of his community. Well informed on the leading questions of the day, his views being practical and thorough, and his actions independent and energetic. he has been a conspicuous figure in state and national poli- tics, as a public official rendering valuable service to his constituents. A native of Elk county. Pennsylvania. he was born at Rasselas, February 20, 1848, a son of Rasselas Wilcox and Mary Potter Brownell Brown, both of whom were descendants of Thomas Brownell, the emigrant, who settled at Portsmouth, Rhode Island, about 1630.
At the age of sixteen years, relinquishing his studies for a time, Isaac B. Brown enlisted, in 1864, in the Union army as a private. and served until the close of the war in the Third Division, Ninth Corps, which formed a part of the Army of the Potomac. Returning home, he studied a year at the Smethport Academy and three years at Alfred Uni- versity, from which he was graduated in 1869. Subsequently, while employed as a school teacher in Ridgway, he began the study of law, and in 1876, at Corry, was admitted to practice at the bar of Erie county. Eminently fitted to become a leader among men, Mr. Brown soon entered, at the request of his fellow citizens, upon a public career, in 1880 being elected, on the Republican ticket, to represent Erie county Vol. II-28
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in the lower house of the state legislature, a position to which he was re-elected in 1882, and again in 1884. During the three terms in which he served as Representative, he easily held a leading position among his co-workers, and won distinction as an earnest laborer and a reliable man. In 1887 he was appointed deputy Secretary of Internal Affairs, and in 1891 was reappointed to the same office. In January, 1895, Mr. Brown was appointed by Governor Hastings Secretary of Internal Af- fairs to fill the unexpired term of Thomas J. Stewart, who was then appointed Adjutant General of Pennsylvania, and the following May was appointed to the same position. In 1897 he was made president of the National Convention of Railway Commissioners at St. Louis, Missouri, and has since taken great interest in everything connected with the transportation service of the United States. In 1902 Mr. Brown was the Republican state nominee for Secretary of Internal Affairs, and was elected by a majority of more than two hundred and four thousand votes over his Democratic opponent, while he received sixty-three thou- sand more votes than did Samuel W. Pennypacker, the Republican candidate for governor on the same ticket. In 1906 he was again a candidate for the same high position, but having publicly condemned the powers that controlled state legislation and had the management of affairs relating to the erection and furnishing of the new capitol build- ing, he was defeated through the influence of United States Senator Penrose and his followers. From the time of its organization until 1904. he was a member of the State Forestry Reservation Commission, and assisted in the purchase of nearly a million acres of land for forestry reservation.
Two of Major Brown's brothers, the late Hon. J. L. Brown, of Elk county, and Hon. W. W. Brown, of Mckean county, now Assistant Attorney General of the United States, served in the Civil war, and all were Representatives in the state legislature. In 1881 and 1883, the former Hon. J. L. Brown and the subject of this sketch were colleagues in the House, while the latter Hon. W. W. Brown represented the Williamsport District in Congress. During the legislative session of 1885 the Major introduced and secured the passage of the bill for the establish- ment of the Pennsylvania Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Erie, and during the same session was chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs.
Since its organization, Major Brown has been an active and promi- nent member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and has served on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, and many times has been a dele- gate to the National Encampment. His military career has been long and honorable. For thirteen years he served in the National Guards of Pennsylvania, being second lieutenant and captain in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth regiments, and was brigade judge advocate, with the rank of major, on the staff of General James A. Beaver, commanding officer of the Second Brigade of the National Guard of Pennsylvania. During the memorable riots of 1877, he was commander of a company in the National Guards, and rendered excellent service to the state in that capacity.
By virtue of the services of four of his ancestors, Col. William Pendleton of Westerly, Rhode Island, Capt. William Pendleton of Iste- boro. Maine, Capt. Isaac Brown of Stonington, Connecticut, and Isaiah Wilcox of Westerly. Rhode Island. Major Brown is a member of the Pittsburg Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and
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was a member of the Battlefield Commission, authorized by Act of As- sembly for the erection of a monument in Cumberland county, Pennsyl- vania, to the memory of soldiers of the Revolutionary war. He was likewise a member of the Board of Trustees of the Soldiers' and Sail- ors' Home at Erie: and of the Soldiers' Home at Brookville; and was president of the Battlefield Commission of the Third Division, Ninth Corps, Army of the Potomac, for the erection of the monument at Fort Mahone, Petersburg, Pennsylvania, commemorating the services of that division of Pennsylvania volunteers in the Civil war. The unveiling of this monument occurred on the 19th of May, 1909, in the presence of Hon. William H. Taft, the governors of several states and a great concourse of people, and the oration was delivered by Major Brown.
Taking much interest in state and national transportation, Major Brown was for ten years chairman of the executive committee of the National Association of Inter-State and State Railway Commissions, and for some time was superintendent of the Bureau of Railways for Pennsylvania. During the time thus employed, he prepared and read miany papers relating to "Common Carrier Corporations" among others being the following named: "The Introduction of Electrical Power on Steam Railways," read before the National Convention of Railway Com- missioners at Washington, D. C .; "Federal and State Supervision of Transportation Companies," published in the Executive Documents of Pennsylvania ; one read before the Denver Convention of Railway Com- missioners relating to the agreements between Railways and traffic ar- rangements under the "Sherman Act"; one relating to "Railways and Prosperity," published in the Pennsylvania Railway Report ; and one on "Government Control or Government Ownership." read before the alumni of Alfred University at its commencement in 1902, the institution, which, in June, 1900, conferred upon Major Brown the degree of Doctor of Laws.
Major Brown has filled many positions of trust and responsibility in a manner reflecting credit upon himself, in fulfilling of the duties of his many offices showing discretion, sound sense and good judgment. In addition to the positions above mentioned he has served as president of the Medical Council of Pennsylvania : as secretary of the Pennsylvania Forestry Commission ; president of the Wilcox Manufacturing Com- pany ; president of his Alumni Association ; trustee of the Pennsylvania State College, and of the State Normal School at Edinboro: as chair- man of the Committee on Legislation, National Association of Railway Commissioners ; as a member of the Board of Pardons of Pennsylvania ; and as president of the Board of Property of Pennsylvania. For twenty years, from 1881 until 190}, he edited the "Annual Pennsylvania Report on Railroads."
Through John and Priscilla ( Mullins) Alden, Major Brown is a Mayflower descendant, his lineage being traced through the Cheese- brough. Dennison, Palmer, Pendleton and Wilcox families. On June 25, 18:0, he married Miss Hannah Partington, of Providence, Rhode Island, and to them three children have been born, namely : Lillian, born at Rasselas, April 16, 1871, was graduated from the Harrisburg high school on June 26, 1891, and died, in Harrisburg. September 28. 1891 : Sara Mary, born at Corry, November 24, 1881, was graduated from Wellesley College in 1902, and married. October 25, 1905, Harold Arthur Gilbert, of Williamsport; Rasselas Wilcox, born in Harrisburg. De- cember 15, 1887, was graduated from Bordentown Military Institute.
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in 1906, as Senior Captain of its Corps of Cadets. The Major, and his wife and children, are members of the Episcopal church. Since the expiration of his last term of public service, in 1907, Major Brown has resided in Corry, where, in addition to the management of his business affairs, he has devoted himself to the practice of his profession, making a specialty of corporation law, in which he is well versed.
WILLIAM FORBES. The Forbes family of Erie county has long been connected with its agricultural and business development, the old home- stead in which its activities centered for so many years being just south of Albion. William Forbes, of this review, was born in that locality on the 5th of October, 1885. His grandparents were Merritt Forbes, who died in 1899, aged eighty years, and Mary (Cornell) Forbes, who passed away in 1887, at the age of fifty-seven. Joel R. Forbes, the father, was born in Conneaut township, this county, in 1858, worked on the homestead near Albion until his marriage, and since then has been engaged there both in lumbering and agricultural pursuits. His living brothers and sisters are as follows: Giles, a farmer of Conneaut town- ship ; Viola, who married J. B. Wickwire, and Melinda, who became the wife of R. S. Randall, both agriculturists of that township. In 1882 Joel Forbes married Miss Eunice Pelton, who was born in Conneaut township, August 29, 1860, daughter of Christopher C. Pelton and Matilda (Randall) Pelton. The husband is still living at the age of eighty-seven years, the wife and mother dying in 1893, aged sixty-eight. Besides William, there is one child living-Flossie, who was born Jan- uary 30, 1889, married Carl Chaffee and is the mother of Merle, Mil- dred and La Vone. Joel R. Forbes and his wife are members of Elk Creek Grange, No. 997, located in Wellsburg, Pennsylvania, and Mr. Forbes is a member of the State Police, No. 66.
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