USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, comprising a historical sketch of the county > Part 30
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On August 18, 1878, Mr. Bowen was mar- ried to Martie W. Rose, a danghter of Henry W. and Sarah Rose, of Camden, New Jersey, who has since borne him two children, a son named John Lawrence and a daughter, Flor- ence Rose, both of whom are living at home with their parents. A year after this marriage William A. Todd, proprietor of the Evening
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News, died; and when the newspaper was offered at public sale Mr. Bowen, with two other gentlemen, purchased the valuable plant and assumed the management of the paper. One of these partners died shortly afterward, and the other disposed of his interest later on, leaving the subject of this sketch sole owner of the business. Under his able management the paper grew rapidly in circulation and in fluence, and new and faster presses were re- quired, and an enlarged plant made necessary by reason of the increased business. During these years Thomas V. Cooper, with whom Mr. Bowen had learned his trade, became a silent partner, but relinquished all his interest in 1891. The business had now assumed such proportions under the energetic management and editorial influence of Mr. Bowen, that it was found expedient to form a co-partnership for the purpose of still further strengthening the paper, and F. T. Cooper and Horace F. Temple were associated with Mr. Bowen, the firm name then becoming Bowen, Cooper & Temple, as it stands to-day.
In addition to his successful labors as an editor and publisher, Mr. Bowen is something of an inventor. In early life he invented a device for pulling stumps and lifting rocks, which is in nse in various parts of this coun- try, and he has only recently invented a flat-bed type-web perfecting printing press, for a pat- ent on which his application is now pending at Washington. Mr. Bowen is decidedly do- mestic in his nature, and all the time he can spare from the demands of his prosperous business is spent with his family at their de- lightful country home at Ridley Park, three miles from Chester. He has a devoted wife and two interesting children, of whom he is immeasurably fond. His tastes and habits are quiet, his requirements modest, and his disposition remarkably affable and pleasant. He never cherishes resentment toward any one, and would not intentionally injure a liv- ing creature. No editor is ever more ready to set any one right before the community, if
unjustly accused, and none take a greater de- light in chronicling the worthy achievements of his fellow citizens or spreading the knowl- edge of any noble deed done in any quarter of the globe. These distinguishing character- istics of Mr. Bowen are no doubt largely due to the Christian influences under which he was reared, and especially to the tender care and early instructions of his amiable mother, who was a devoted member of the Methodist church and a fine example of earnest Chris- tian womanhood.
W ILLIAM PROVOST, jr., a promi- nent contractor and builder of Chester, who has erected a large number of the finest residences and business houses that adorn this city, is a son of William, sr., and Cathar- ine ( Pearson) Provost, and a native of Symrna, Delaware, where he was born October 15, 1853. The Provosts are of French extraction, and trace their ancestry back to the times of the Huguenot persecutions, when they left their native land to find more congenial surround- ings and fuller freedom of conscience in the new world. The paternal grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch, whose name was also Wil- liam Provost, was born and reared in the State of Delaware, and died in the city of Wilming- ton, that State, in 1885. when well advanced in his eighty-fifth year. He was a cooper by occupation, married Sarah Peterson, and reared a family of four children, one of whom was William Provost, sr. (father), who was born in the city of Wilmington, Delaware, May 24, 1824. There he grew to manhood and received his education, after which he learned the trade of cooper, and for many years successfully followed that occupation, though he has been retired from all active business since about 1890. He resides in the city of Chester, Del- aware county, where he has lived continuously since 1868. During the civil war he saw active military service as a member of the 5th Dela- ware infantry. Politically he is a stanch re-
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OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
publican, and in religion a member of the Madison street Methodist Episcopal church. In 1845 he wedded Catharine Pearson, a daugh- ter of John Pearson and a descendant of one of the old colonial families of Delaware, in which State she was born in 1824. She is of English descent, and a member of the same church as her husband. They had a family of nine children, four sons and five daughters : Clarinda, Sarah Catharine, Oscar, William, Gertrude, Samuel, Emma Jane, Ida Eliza- beth and Robert Pearson. John Pearson, maternal grandfather of William Provost, jr., was a native of Delaware, and served as a soldier in the revolutionary war. The family owned large estates, including the whole of Bombay Hook Island. When the British fleet came up the Delware river he was wounded and taken prisoner, but survived the war and died at his home in Delaware at a good old age.
William Provost, jr., was reared in his na- tive State until he had attained his fifteenth year, when he came with his parents to the city of Chester, Delaware county, Pennsyl- vania, where he has resided ever since. He acquired an excellent education in the public schools of Wilmington, Delaware, and in the city of Chester. Having completed his studies he learned the carpenter trade, and was em- ployed in that vocation until 1886, when he engaged in building and contracting on his own account in this city. From that time to the present he has been actively employed in conducting a constantly increasing business, and during this period has erected a large number of the most important buildings in the city, among which may be mentioned the Delaware County National bank, Delaware County Trust Company's building, the two large stone mansions of Robert and Richard Wetherill, the Aberfoyle mill, the Arasapha mill, the Lincoln mills, and many other large buildings. Indeed his operations have in- cluded the erection of nearly all the large buildings put up in this city since he began 144
business. In addition to his extensive busi- ness as a contractor, Mr. Provost is financially interested in a number of mills and manufac- turing establishments, and owns considerable real estate in the city of Chester.
On the 11th of January, 1883. Mr. Provost was united in marriage to Lizzie T. Birtwell, a daughter of H. B. Birtwell, of this city. To them has been born one child, a daughter named Jennie.
In political sentiment William Provost, jr., has been a life long republican, earnestly sup- porting the cardinal principles of that great party, and doing what he could to secure the adoption of its policy in National affairs. In religious matters he also adheres to the tradi- tions of his family, and for a number of years has been a leading member of the Madison street Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as a trustee since 1890. He is a member of Chester Lodge, No. 236, Free and Accepted Masons ; Chester Chapter, No. 258, Royal Arch Masons ; Chester Command- ery, No. 66, Knights Templar ; and of Lulu Temple of the Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia.
JOHN W. ARMSTRONG, the subject of our sketch, is a son of James and Sarah (Pierson) Armstrong, and was born March 12, 1841, in the town of Newark, New Castle county, Delaware, and received his education in the public schools of Newark and Newark academy. After leaving school he worked with his father at the harness business until Angust 11, 1862, when he enlisted as a pri- vate in Co. A, 4th Delaware infantry ; served as commissary sergeant of the regiment until Angust, 1865; was mustered out of the ser- vice as first lieutenant of Co. F, of the same regiment. During his term of service in the army he participated in a number of important battles, before Petersburg, Five Forks, and Weldon Railroad, and after the war closed he returned to Newark, Delaware, where he en- gaged in the harness business. In 1872 was
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united in marriage to Miss Martha Hender- son, youngest daughter of the late Capt. John Henderson, of Cecil county, Maryland.
In 1873 Mr. Armstrong removed to the city of Wilmington, Delaware, and engaged in the coal trade. On July 1, 1876, he entered the employ of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad company, and in August, 1876, came to Eddystone station as passenger and freight agent, and has occupied that posi- tion ever since. He is also Adams Express agent, and has been postmaster since June, 1889, at which time the postoffice was first es- tablished. Mr. Armstrong is an ardent repub- lican, and has served as school director and a member of the borough council of Eddystone. He is a member and treasurer of the Eddy- stone Methodist Episcopal church, and also member of L. H. Scott Lodge, No. 352, Free and Accepted Masons ; Chester Chapter, No. 258, Royal Arch Masons ; and Commandery, No. 66, Knights Templar ; and is now com- mander of Wilde Post, No. 25, Grand Army of the Republic, at Chester.
ISAAC F. HENDRIXSON, a popular carpenter, contractor and builder, of Lin- wood, this county, is the eldest of the seven sons of Isaac and Maria D. (Holston) Hen- drixson, and a native of Lower Chichester township, this county, where he was born April 16, 1835. The family is of Swedish de- scent, and was planted in Pennsylvania by the paternal great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who came from Sweden with two brothers and settled on a large tract of land lying partly in Delaware and partly in this county. On some of this land the villiage of Marcus Hook now stands. The name was then spelled Hendrickson, but was changed to the present spelling many years ago Isaac Hendrixson (grandfather) was a native of Delaware, and died at Linwood, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, in 1856, aged eighty years. He was a carpenter by trade, and
served as a soldier in the war of 1812. He married Prudence Enochs, and had a family of six children, one of his sons being Isaac Hen- drixson, father of Isaac F. The father was born at Caymont, Delaware, in 1808, and was reared and educated in that State. Scon after marriage he removed to Lower Chiches- ter township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and continued to reside there until his death in 1878, when in the seventieth year of his age. He was a carpenter and builder by oc- cupation, and carried on that business in this county for many years. In politics he was a whig and republican, and at one time or an- other filled nearly all the offices in his town- ship. He was a man of good judgment, and was frequently consulted by friends and neigh- bors in regard to their business affairs. He married Maria D. Holston, a native of Wil- mington, Delaware, and a daughter of William and Rachel Holston. To their union was born a family of seven sons : Isaac F., whose name heads this sketch; William H., now living in Chester ; Richard K., a resident of Montgomery county ; James, died in child- hood; Louis T., now residing in the city of Philadelphia ; Andrew, deceased at the age of thirty; and Charles W., resides in Lower Chichester township. Mrs. Maria D. Hen- drixson was a devoted member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church nearly all her life, and died in 1884, aged seventy-two years.
Isaac F. Hendrixson was reared in his na- tive township of Lower Chichester, where he now resides, and obtained a superior English education in the public schools. Leaving school he learned the carpenter trade with his father, and worked at that business until twenty-seven years of age. He then formed a partnership with his father and began con- tracting and building, which they continued together until his father's death, since which time Mr. Hendrixson has carried on the busi- ness alone and in his own name. He has erected a large number of houses since then, including some very fine buildings.
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OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
In December, 1860, Mr. Hendrixson was united in marriage with Lovenia J. Morris, a daughter of Joseph Morris and a native of Sussex county, Delaware. To them was born a family of four children, only two of whom now survive : Lillie, who married George R. Crossgrove, of Linwood, and S. Maria, living at home with her parents.
For many years Mr. Hendrixson has been a prominent member of the Methodist Epis- copal church at Linwood, which he is now serving as trustee and steward, and for some time was president of the board of trustees. He is also a member of the Farmers and Mechanics Lodge, No. 185, Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, of which he is secretary ; and Wawasset Tribe, No. 172, Improved Or- der of Red Men. Politically he is an ardent republican, and has been frequently called upon to serve in official positions, the duties of which he discharged with ability and fidel- ity. He is now surveyor for the Delaware County Mutual Insurance Company, in which capacity he has acted for a number of years.
ONRAD K. DOLBEY, a leading mer- chant of Morton, this county, where he is also engaged in the real estate and insurance business, is a son of Abram and Catharine (King) Dolbey, and was born February 16, 1834, in Uwchlan township, Chester county, Pennsylvania. His boyhood days were passed on a Chester county farm, where he secured a good practical education in the public schools, and at the age of seventeen he went to Phila- delphia to learn the carpenter trade, at which he served an apprenticeship of four years. He afterward worked as journeyman for some time and then engaged in contracting and building on his own account. In 1868 he embarked in the mercantile business in West Philadelphia, and after remaining there two years removed to Angora, Philadelphia county, where he conducted a prosperous trade for some four years. He then came to Delaware
county and opened a store on Darby creek, where he remained in business until 1876, when he removed to his present stand at Mor- ton, this county. Here he met with gratify- ing success from the start, and now has a fine trade, owning a handsome store which con- tains a large and valuable stock of general merchandise of all kinds. Mr. Dolbey is also engaged in the real estate and fire insurance business at Morton, where he represents a number of the leading insurance companies of Philadelphia, and has made some important deals in realty. He owns considerable real property at Morton and some in the city of Philadelphia. For several years he has been connected as a stockholder with the Faraday Heat, Power & Light Company, of Morton, and at one time its treasurer, and is also a stockholder in the Media Title & Trust Com- pany of Media.
On December 8, 1859, Mr. Dolbey was united in marriage with Mary E. Lewis, a daughter of Thomas B. Lewis, of West Phila- delphia. To their union was born one child, a daughter named Ada Ione. Politically Mr. Dolbey is strictly independent, voting for the men and measures that in his judg- ment are most likely to subserve the public welfare. He served as school director for two years in Upper Darby township, and was postmaster at Morton for ten years. For nearly a quarter of a century he has been prominently identified with the building asso- ciations of this section, having been instru- mental in the organization of the Morton Building & Loan association, of which he is now a stockholder, and also organized the one at Folsom, this county, of which he is now treasurer. He is treasurer and deacon of the Ridley Park Baptist church, a member of Ham- ilton Lodge, No. 274, Free and Accepted Masons, of Philadelphia, and a past high priest of Media Chapter, No. 234, Royal Arch Masons, of Media. Mr. Dolbey has been quite a traveler in recent years, having visited all but thirteen of the States and territories
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in the Union, and made himself familiar with the different sections of our vast country.
The family from which Conrad K. Dolbey is descended is of Welsh origin, and was planted in America by Thomas Dolbey, a na- tive of Wales and paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch. He came to the United States about 1780, and settled in Uwch- lan township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he resided until his death. He was a farmer by occupation, and reared a family of two children. His son, Abram Dolbey ( father ), was born at the Dolbey homestead, in Chester county, in 1789, and died there in 1879, at the remarkable age of ninety-one years. His life was entirely devoted to agricultural pursuits, in which he became very successful. In pol- itics he was a Jacksonian democrat, and for many years a prominent member of the Bap- tist church at Uwchlan, Chester county. In 1811 he married Catharine King, a native of Uwchlan township, that county, and a daugh- ter of Conrad King. They had a family of eleven children, five sons and six daughters, only seven of whom are now living : Abel, born 1812; Sarah and Catharine, twins, 1817 ; Selinda, 1822; Lewis, 1825; Melvina, 1830; Conrad K., 1834. The deceased were : New- lin, died 1891; Eliza, 1888; Thomas, 1829. Mrs. Catharine Dolbey was a devoted mem- ber of the Baptist church nearly all her life, and died in 1886, in the ninety-fifth year of her age, greatly respected and beloved by all who knew her.
C OL. PERRY M. WASHABAUGH
was born in the town of Bedford, Penn- sylvania, on the 4th of July, 1847, and is a son of Major Daniel and Sarah ( McLaughlin) Washabaugh, of that place. The family on the father's side is of German ancestry, but was settled in this State prior to the Revolu- tionary war, in which they took part, and have always evinced a military and patriotic spirit. Henry Washabaugh (great-grandfather) came
from Germany about the year 1760, and set- tled in that part of Pennsylvania now known as Franklin county. He served as a captain of volunteers in the Continental army during the struggle for Independence, and after peace was declared returned to his farm. David Washabaugh (grandfather) was born on this farm in 1770, and also became a farmer and soon owned one of the finest farms in the county, adjoining the town of Chambersburg. He was at one time high sheriff of the county when that office was considered one of the most dignified and important positions a citi- zen could hold. He held other important offices of trust and responsibility in the county, and was among the first to organize troops for the defence of the country during the war of 1812. His son. Daniel Washabaugh, father of the subject of this sketch, was born Octo- ber 17, 1803, and educated at Chambersburg, a town always noted for its excellent schools. He had a military turn of mind and decided to enter the army, and, to this end, by his own efforts, he secured an appointment to the United States Military academy at West Point, but his father would not consent to his going there, saying he had better use for his oldest boy than making a soldier of him. So he had to live and work on the farm until he was of age. In September, 1826, he married Sarah McLaughlin, daughter of Henry Mclaughlin, a wealthy planter and slave owner, whose large plantation was at State Line, Washington county, Maryland. The young couple re- moved to and took up their residence in the town of Bedford, and for over sixty years their home has been noted for its beauty, comfort and hospitality. No man of distinction in religious, political or social circles has ever visited old Bedford Springs without being the guest and frequently enjoying the hospitality of the major and his family, and here amoug their numerous friends and surrounded by forty-four children and grandchildren, they celebrated their golden wedding September, 1876, and the sixtieth anniversary of the event,
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September, 1886, was spent at the elegant home of the youngest daughter, Mrs. W. P. Barndollar, in the city of Baltimore. There were twelve children born to this couple, three of whom died in early childhood. William H. Washabaugh, the oldest son, a member of Co. E, 76th regiment Pennsylvania volunteers, was killed in battle during the assault on Fort Wagner, Morris Island, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, on the morning of July 1I, 1863. The other eight children, six girls and two boys, are all living in the United States, loved, honored and respected wherever known. Major Washabaugh, during the Mexican war of '47-'48, and for years afterward, held the office of brigade inspector of the military dis- trict consisting of five adjoining counties, with the rank of major. Being a strict disciplina- rian, a handsome man of pleasing address, pas- sionately fond of good horses and always superbly mounted and equipped, he was ac- counted one of the finest officers in the State. During the war of the rebellion, although an old man, he was offered and accepted the colonelcy of a fine regiment of volunteers, but before going to the front was induced by his old friend, Governor Andrew G. Curtin, to accept the position of assistant adjutant-gen- eral on his staff. This position he filled ac- ceptably with honor and credit during the whole eight years of the old war governor's administration, and it was under his personal supervision nearly all the vast army of Penn- sylvania volunteers were organized, armed and equipped. Major Washabaugh, though in his ninetieth year. is still living and enjoying good health, with the use of all his faculties. He has a good memory, and having lived a very active and eventful life, his fund of reminis- cences, both of persons and events, is inex- haustible, and fortunate is he who has the opportunity to enjoy his society. His wife died October 31, 1889, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. The attendance and in- cidents at her funeral from the old church she loved so well, attest the universal love and
respect of all classes for this noble woman. Both the Major and his wife have been active and consistent members of the Presbyterian church at Bedford ever since they came to the town, and he has served as a ruling elder for over half a century. The true history of old Bedford county since 1826 cannot be written without including the name of Major Daniel Washabaugli and his family in every patriotic, public, religious, social or charitable enterprise.
Perry M. Washabaugh was the second son and the eleventh child. He was sent to school in Baltimore in 1858, where he remained until the war broke out, when he was sent home.' He remained in Bedford, attending school at intervals, when not campaigning with the vol- unteer troops in that part of the country. After the battle of Gettysburg his father found him with the Ist New York regiment of cav- alry in the town of Chambersburg. He was at once taken and placed in charge of Col. Theo. Hyatt, president of the Pennsylvania Military academy, with instructions to keep him there. This put an end to the young man's war experience and escapades. Here he graduated with honor in 1865. The acad- emy was removed from West Chester to Ches- ter the same year, and he was employed as an instructor until 1869. While he was teaching he studied law under the Hon. John B. Hink- son, one of the ablest and most successful practitioners at the bar. In June, 1869, he appeared before the board of examiners, con- sisting of the Hon. William Ward, John Hib- bert and R. E. Hammond, esqs., and passed a very creditable examination, but as he was not twenty-one years of age yet, could not be sworn in until the next term of court. The same year he was induced to go into the oil country to learn the business and practice law. He located at Parker City, Armstrong county, and was there all through the excite- ment in that vicinity, enjoying a large and pro- fitable practice, until the fall of 1873, when all the excitement there was over, he returned
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with his family to live in Chester. Here he has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession ever since, having a large and profitable business in the orphans' and com- mon pleas courts. In 1891 he was private counsel for the defence in the celebrated Fitz- meyer murder case. He attended all the pre- liminary hearings and managed and arranged every detail for the defence, though he took no active part in the trial in court. This is admitted to have been one of the most im- portant cases ever tried in the county, as there were two lives at stake on the issue, and will ever be cited as a case clearly demonstrat- ing the fallacy of so-called expert testimony. Colonel Washabaugh, by his untiring energy and able management of the case, with his very able and learned associates at the trial in court, cleared his clients, and established a re- putation as an expert criminal lawyer second only to his previous standing as a civil prac- titioner. In 1885 Colonel Washabaugh asso- ciated Garrett Pendleton, esq. (see his sketch), in partnership with himself under the firm name of Washabaugh & Pendleton, and these gentlemen are now enjoying a large and lucra- tive practice. Colonel Washabaugh was sent to England in June, 1892, to settle a large estate. After successfully attending to that business, he spent several months traveling through England and on the continent. This was his second trip to Europe, having visited the Paris exposition in 1889.
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