USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Biographical review : v. 24, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and the vicinity, Pennsylvania > Part 17
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Mr. and Mrs. John Ayres Anderson had six children: John Miller; George Henry, now in the employ of the city, in the Department of Public Safety; Ida, widow of Robert Lock- hart, who left two children; Clara, wife of John C. Hillman, of Pittsburg, with three children; William N., who married Molly Packer, of Allegheny, and has two children; and Catherine, a teacher in Pittsburg. The family are all members of the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Catherine M. Anderson still survives.
Her son, John Miller, was educated in the Fourteenth Ward schools of Pittsburg, and graduated from the high school in the class of 1872. During his vacations he followed the mill business, learning roll turning; and after graduating he went into the mill of Moore- head, McLean & Co., where he was a boss roller for seven years. In the meantime he took a night-school course in mechanical drawing and a two years' course in analytical chemistry in the University of Western Penn- sylvania. He then went to Brownsville with Magee & Co., and superintended their exten- sive iron works, eventually leaving this posi- tion to go into the Canonsburg Iron Works as
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superintendent over a large number of men employed in making black plate of a high grade. Three years from this time he became superintendent of the building of the Penn- sylvania Natural Gas Line from Washington to Covington and through Ohio to Allegheny City, crossing the Allegheny River eight times to reach Pittsburg.
Mr. Anderson married Miss Clara Cecelia Steel, niece of Thomas Steel, who was for many years Collector of the Port of Pittsburg, and in 1861 was City Controller, and daugh- ter of John R. Steel, formerly of Pittsburg, but later of Brady's Bend, where she was born. She was educated at Brady's Bend, and at the Fourteenth Ward School, where she was graduated in the class with Mr. Anderson. She taught in the Wickersham School until the time of her marriage, June 9, 1881. They have had two children, and have one son now living, Christopher Magee Anderson. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Anderson is a Republican, and has al- ways taken an active part in local politics. In 1882 he was elected to the Select Council from the Fourteenth Ward, and he remained a member of the Council until he resigned in 1896. He was during this entire period a member of the Finance Committee; and he introduced the natural gas ordinance, under which the city is working to-day. He was also on the Park Commission, and has always been an advocate for good parks and rapid transit. He was an assignee of the Second Avenue Railroad, which he controlled for two years. Mr. Anderson was for two years clerk in the office of the County Treasurer, then Dr. A. E. McCandless; and from that position he was appointed Bond Clerk Controller with Mr. Josiah Speer, and Department Controller under Mr. James A. Grier, where he remained
for six years. He is a member of both County and City Republican Committees, and is an active worker in both. In the general election of 1896 Mr. Anderson was elected Treasurer of Allegheny County. This is the second largest county treasury in the State, having a daily balance of five hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the most important office of trust in Western Pennsylvania. Mr. Anderson is a member of Lodge No. 45, F. & A. M .; Brownsville Chapter, No. 164, R. A. M .; and Brownsville Commandery, No. 7, K. T., having taken all the degrees.
LVIN K. LYON, M.D., a popular physician of Millvale borough, resid- ing at 115 Hooker Street, is a na- tive of Millvale, and was born August 14, 1864, son of Henry B. and Mary A. (White) Lyon. On both the maternal and paternal sides he descends from ancestors who were early settlers of Butler County. The Lyon family has been here since 1765. Dr. Lyon's grandfather, Thomas Lyon, was of Scotch-Irish descent.
Henry Lyon, son of Thomas, came to Mill- vale about 1860 from Etna, though originally from Glade Mills, Butler County. He was a real estate and loan agent in Millvale, and for a time after the Civil War he was Sealer of Weights and Measures. A prominent and highly respected man, he was Justice of the Peace for many years. He died in Millvale, November 21, 1884, at the age of sixty-five. Both he and his wife were devoted Presbyte- rians. Their children, thirteen in number, were: Mary, Addison, William, Henry Harris, John A., Lauretta A., Walter, Lu- cilla, Chalmer McQuaide, Edwin B., James S., Alvin K., and Carrie M. Mary is now Mrs. Andrew Thompson; Addison was killed
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at the second battle of Bull Run; Walter is the present Lieutenant Governor of Pennsyl- vania; Lauretta A. is the wife of Robert L. Maxwell; and Lucilla is the wife of Cooper Maxwell. Dr. Lyon's maternal grandfather was William White, a native of Pennsyl- vania and a descendant from the Scotch-Irish settlers. He died at about the age of eighty years.
Alvin K. Lyon passed his boyhood in Mill- vale, attending the public schools of the town and later Pittsburg Academy. He then began the study of medicine with Dr. T. M. Fife, and subsequently entered the medical depart- ment of the Western University of Pennsyl- vania. After graduating in 1891 he was the resident physician at St. Francis Hospital for the ensuing year. Then he opened his pres- ent office at 115 Hooker Street, which is also his residence. Dr. Lyon has won for himself quite a reputation for skill in his general practice. A part of his practice comes through his duties as surgeon to the Pittsburg & Western Railroad Company. A member of the Presbyterian church, he is devoted to the interests of that denomination. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, and a member of the Knights of Pythias, the County Medical Society, and the Western Pennsylvania Alumni Club. In politics he is a Repub- lican.
OHN H. CROSKEY, of Pittsburg, who has been connected with the man- ufacture of glass in various capacities, especially as an inventor, was born January 17, 1841, in Union Vale, Harrison County, Ohio, son of the late John Croskey. He comes of good Scotch ancestry. His grandfather, John Croskey, Sr., was born and reared in Scotland, whence he emigrated to Ireland and thence to the United States at the beginning of the pres.
ent century. In 1800 he settled in Ohio, buying a tract of wooded land in Harrison County, where he reclaimed a good farm from the wilderness. His wife, in maidenhood Catherine Frye, was a native of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. They had a family of thirteen children, John, Jr., being their first- born.
John Croskey, Jr., was born April 19, 1802, in Harrison County, Ohio, and there spent his entire life, dying October 20, 1867. He worked at his trade of blacksmith both in Union Vale and Hopedale, and was considered one of the best mechanics in the county. In- dustrious, temperate, and a faithful member of the Christian church, he was held in high esteem. On March 18, 1839, he married Miss Elizabeth Long, whose children by him were : John H., the subject of this sketch; Cather - ine, the widow of James B. Sheplin, late of Harrison County, Ohio; Albert Benton, a railroad machinist at Topcka, Kan. ; William Frye, a farmer living near Manchester, Ia. ; Mary Elizabeth, the wife of Morris Jolly, of Abilene, Kan. ; and Sabrina Belle, who died July 24, 1864, aged six years and eight days. After fourteen years of widowhood spent in devotion to her children, the mother passed away on January 24, 1882, at the age of sixty- four years, six months, and ten days.
John H. Croskey was brought up to the blacksmith's trade. Having a natural apti- tude for mechanics, he turned his attention to the machinist's trade in later years, working at it in Pittsburg from 1871 until 1876. In that year, becoming associated with George Dun- can & Son, Mr. Croskey established himself in the glass business, in which he has since been constantly engaged. He has made and patented many devices, among them being a wired glass for sky lighting, fire protection, etc., and an underground conduit for electric
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wires, especially for those transmitting high- tension currents. He has also more than fif- teen patents on glass machinery, all useful and practical.
On May 16, 1865, Mr. Croskey married Miss Eleanor Hoobler, who was born March 17, 1845, daughter of Jacob and Cena (Cham- bers) Hoobler. She is a descendant of a Pennsylvania family noted for its longevity. Catherine Hoobler, at this writing (1896), is one hundred and two years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Croskey have one child, Alma Virta. In politics Mr. Croskey is a sound Republi- can, but he takes no active part in local affairs. He cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. He is a member of the A. O. U. W. Both he and Mrs. Croskey, with their daughter, are members of the Bap- tist church.
ICHAEL J. EHRENFELD, a prominent builder and real estate man of Pittsburg, was born at Lilly's Station, Cambria County, October 20, 1856, son of Michael and Louisa (Veigel) Ehrenfeld. The father, born in Würtemberg in 1819, and a member of the titled and wealthy family of Von Ehrenfeld, was highly educated and talented. In the army both he and his brothers occupied places in the front rank, being of splendid physique, six feet tall and well proportioned. Considerable romance is connected with his coming to this country. He paid court to a girl, the daughter of a neighbor who was less wealthy than his own family; and his parents were strongly opposed to the match. Miss Veigel, then but seven- teen years old, left her home and came to the United States, where young Ehrenfeld soon joined her; and they were married about the year 1845. He was then twenty-one years of age. They went up into the Alleghany Moun-
tains in Cambria County; and here he learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed during the rest of his life. He opened a shop of his own, and took a contract to do repair work on the old Portage road which crossed the mountains. His trade grew to be extensive, and he had work on contract for all the neigh- boring coal banks. He acquired considerable property before his death, built many houses in the locality, and was one of the oldest and most respected men in the mountains. Of his nine children these are now living, namely : John, who is now one of the oldest employees of the West Penn Railroad, and with whom he has been since his return from the war; Henry, manufacturer of soap in Lilly, Pa. ; Catherine, now Mrs. Eli Tyler, living at Pueblo, Col .; David, who is also with the West Fenn Railroad; Michael J., the subject of this biography; Mary, the wife of Freder- ick Weldon, of Cambria County ; and William and Fred, likewise employees of the West Penn Railroad. The father died February 23, 1874. The mother still lives, being now seventy-three years old, and making her home for most of the time with her son Michael. Both parents were members of the Lutheran Church of Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
When but three years old Michael J. Ehrenfeld came to Pittsburg with his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Sitzler, who brought him up and sent him to school until he was old enough to go to work. He was apprenticed to a barber at an early age, served his time, and at the age of eighteen opened a shop of his own, and subsequently con- ducted a successful business for twenty years. Then he went into real estate, and, having been fortunate in his investment, devoted his entire attention to that business, trusting his barber shop, which he recently sold, to hired men for a time. He has built largely for sale ;
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and not long since he erected a fine house and office for himself at 1922 Forbes Street, where he now resides.
On April 6, 1876, Mr. Ehrenfeld married Miss Laura V: Moon. She was born Novem- ber 24, 1854, daughter of Andrew J. Moon, a native of this county and belonging to one of the oldest families of Pittsburg. Mr. Moon was a brick manufacturer, and also spent fifty years in the city's service. Now seventy-four 'years of age, he is a policeman in Schenley Park. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Ehren- feld are : Lillie A. and Arthur G. Mr. Ehren- feld, has been since his youth a member of the Second Methodist Protestant Church, and for a number of years one of its officials and a member of the Board of Stewards. He has also long been associated with the Sunday- school, and feels that to his religion he owes his worldly prosperity. In politics he is a Republican, but not an office-seeker. His business life has been one of the most straight- forward honesty, and he is one of Pittsburg's respected citizens.
D R. CHARLES EUGENE WADE, of Pittsburg, son of Charles Arte- mas and Laura Estel (Gillespie) Wade, was born here, July 30, 1871. His grandfather, Levi Wade, is a retired merchant and capitalist of Allegheny, Pa. His grand- mother, A. Annie Rogers Wade, was a daugh- ter of Artemus Rogers; and her mother was a Snell, descended from Colonel Snell of the Colonial army, who distinguished himself by gallant services during the Revolutionary War. Some of her ancestors came to America in the "Mayflower," and were pioneers in New Hampshire, where they were especially active in bringing about the separation of that terri- tory from Massachusetts. Upon her father's
side Grandmother Wade was descended from John Rogers, the martyr, who was burned at the stake in the sixteenth century. She was a woman of rare accomplishments and a poet- ess. In the family is preserved as a keepsake a volume of her writings composed at different times in her life. She was prominent in society, her- brilliant accomplishments receiv- ing recognition at the hands of all. When Kossuth visited this country, she composed and sang odes in celebration of the event. Her talents were always in demand on such an occasion. Among her other poems are the well-known verses, "My New England Home." She was a valued contributor to papers and magazines. A most charitable woman, she was constantly employed in doing good. She was one of the projectors and founders of the Pittsburg Association for Relief of the Poor and of the Allegheny Home for the Friend- less, was president of the Friedman Aid So- ciety at the close of the war, and during the war, by concerts and other means, she aided the cause of the Union so efficiently as to elicit official thanks from War Governor A. G. Curtin. She died January 28, 1893. She was a delightful companion, a reader, and well-informed, in person commanding and dignified. She was a member of the Baptist church. Her husband, after acquiring a fort- une in the oil business, retired from active life.
Charles Artemas Wade, who was educated at the college at Lewisburg, was practising dentistry in Pittsburg at the time of his death, in January, 1877, being still a young man. Besides his wife, who still survives, he left two children - Charles Eugene and Nellie Louise. Mrs. Laura Wade is a daughter of Dr. M. E. Gillespie, one of the first dentists of the city. He was the founder of the Dental Depot business, to which Lee S. Smith has
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succeeded, and the president for a number of years of the Dental Association, in the organ- ization of which he was a prime mover.
After receiving his early education in the graded schools and high school of Pittsburg, Charles Eugene Wade pursued further courses at Curry Institute and the Pennsylvania Col- lege of Dental Surgery at Philadelphia, grad- uating from the latter in 1892. Then he opened an office in his native city, where he has since followed his profession. On August 28, 1890, he married Lillian Jane Flann, daughter of Joseph Flann. Born of this union are three children - Byron Gillespie, Charles Leslie, and Lillian Estel. Dr. Wade belongs to the Odontographic Society and to the I. O. O. F. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of Bellefield Presbyterian Church.
HARLES FRANCIS BINGAMAN, M. D., one of the leading homco- pathic physicians in Pittsburg, was born in Lionville, Chester County, Pa., De- cember 7, 1847, son of Frederick and Amanda (Philips) Bingaman. His great-great-grand- father was Frederick Bingaman, first, who came from Germany, and settled in Chester County at an early date. He married the daughter of Garrett Brownback, a member of one of the prominent old families. By this union he had two sons: John, who went to Virginia; and Frederick, second, Dr. Binga- man's great-grandfather, who served in the army of the Revolution, and afterward resided in Montgomery County. He married Eliza- beth, daughter of Cassimir Missimer, of that county. He died in 1832. His two children were: John and Mary. John Bingaman, the next in this line, born September 23, 1783, married February 21, 1809, Mary, daughter of Judge John Ralston, and lived in Coventry.
He died December 27, 1825. His widow sur- vived him, living to the venerable age of ninety-eight years. They had seven children - Joshua, Eliza, John Ralston, Frederick, Robert, William, and Levi.
Judge John Ralston, the maternal great- grandfather of Dr. Bingaman, was born in Vincent township, Chester County, November 4, 1744. His grandfather Ralston was a native of the north of Ireland. He was in the battle of the Boyne under King William in 1690, and emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1728, settling in Pikeland township, Chester County, accompanied by his son Robert, the father of the Judge. Robert Ralston was a member of the State legislature for several years. He died February 19, 1814, at the age of ninety- one. John Ralston, afterward Judge Ralston, was on the side of American independence in the war of the Revolution, both as Captain and Colonel. When General Washington was about to remove his headquarters from Yellow Spring to Reading, he sent for Captain Ral- ston, who was then home on a furlough, put- ting in his crops, and engaged him to pilot them part of the way. The Captain guided them as far as the falls of French Creek, when another guide took his place, and he returned to his home. His dwelling was burned by the English, and at three different times he was obliged to secrete himself in the barn to save his life. The various public employments intrusted to him bear testimony as to his char- acter and ability. He was for forty-one years an active and useful magistrate, and all of the law transactions in that part of the country in some manner passed through his hands. He took his seat on the bench of the Chester County Court in November, 1784, the courts then being held by the Justice of the Peace, and continued in that position till the ratifica- tion of the Constitution of 1790. August 26,
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1791, he was again commissioned Justice of the Peace by Governor Mifflin, and in 1802 he was appointed by Governor McKean Associate Judge of the courts of the county, the duties of which office he performed with fidelity for twenty-three years. His life of usefulness has rarely been equalled. He died at his home in Vincent township, September 1, 1825, having almost completed his eighty-first year. At a meeting of the court and members of the Chester County bar, resolutions of respect and esteem were unanimously passed by the mem- bers. Judge Ralston's wife was Catherine Miller. They had five sons and two daugh- ters; and their daughter Mary, as mentioned above, married John Bingaman.
Frederick Bingaman, son of John and Mary, was born November 12, 1815, in Coventry, Chester County, and there grew to manhood. Following his father's vocation of farming, he also owned and conducted a general store in the village. He was a well-known and prom- inent citizen, was Justice of the Peace almost continuously, served on the School Board, and, as was then the custom, had a prominent part in the affairs of town and county. He married Amanda Philips, daughter of Joseph Philips, one of the early residents of the place, and of Welsh origin. The Philips ancestor came from Wales in 1755 with his wife Mary and five children, David, John, and Josiah settling in Chester County, and a fourth child, Joseph, being born there. He was a weaver by trade, and with his sons carried on an ex- tensive business. They were among the origi- nal members of the Vincent Baptist Church, He died May 18, 1792. The family had many patriots in the war of the Revolution. Two of them were David and Captain John, who were taken prisoners in New Jersey; and another was Josiah, a Lieutenant. Josiah Philips, the grandfather of Amanda, Mrs.
Bingaman, settled on the old homestead in Uwchlan township. He had five sons and four daughters. He died March 1, 1817. Joseph, Mrs. Bingaman's father, one of these children, was a farmer in his native township. A characteristic of the family was the remark- able longevity of its members. Its strong re- ligious element was also noticeable. Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bingaman, and five of them now survive, namely : Joseph P., of Pittsburg; John R., of Altoona; the Doctor ; Ellen A. ; and Marian E. The father and mother are both living, and are earnest members of the Baptist church.
Charles F. Bingaman, after attending the public schools of his native county, went to the military academy at West Chester, and subsequently began studying medicine with Dr. Jones, of the same place, his earlier vaca- tions having been spent on his father's farm, and the later in his father's store. He en- tered the Hahnemann Medical College of Phil- adelphia for his lectures, and was graduated with the class of 1871. During the following year he pursued his studies further, and in the spring of 1872 located in Pittsburg, at 922 Penn Avenue, where he has built up a practice equal to any of his school in the city. He began in partnership with Dr. Cote and Dr. Rousseau, and this arrangement continued until the death of Dr. Cote in 1878.
Dr. Bingaman has a large general practice, and stands high in his profession. He is a prominent and valuable member of numerous well-known medical societies, among them the Homoo-Medical Society of Allegheny County, of which he has been president; the Homco- Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania, in which he has filled the chair, as also in the American Institute of Homoeopathy. He has twice been delegate for the latter society to the International Congress, at its meetings held
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in London, England, in 1881, and again in 1896. He is a member of the staff of the Homoœ Hospital, a leading institution of the kind in Pittsburg; and is also a member of the Board of Censors in the Cleveland Univer- sity of Surgery and Medicine, a homoeopathic school in which he has declined a professor- ship. He is a member of the Franklin Lodge, F. & A. M.
Dr. Bingaman married Miss Esther Mc- Kinnie, daughter of Henry McKinnie, of Hotel Anderson. She died without leaving children. The Doctor is a member of the Baptist church in his native town. He is examiner of the Provident Life and Trust Company, and also State Examiner for the Royal Arcanum. He is a member of the Allegheny County Ana- tomical Society, and also has served a term on the Pennsylvania State Board of Medical Ex- aminers, who examine applicants for a State certificate to practise.
APTAIN JOHN M. PHILLIPS, United States Inspector of Hulls for the district of Pittsburg, was born in Baldwin township, Allegheny County, Pa., October 20, 1848, son of Robert and Eliza (Mackey) Phillips. Thomas Phillips, his grandfather, who was a native of Scotland, mi- grated to County Antrim, Ireland, where he married and had a large family of children. He lived to the age of ninety-one years. Two of his sons, Robert and John, who were vege- table gardeners, came to Pittsburg.
Robert Phillips was born in County Antrim in IS11. There he received his education and learned the business of vegetable gardening. Crossing the Atlantic, in 1842 he settled first at Passaic Falls, N. J. ; and from there in the following year he removed to Pittsburg by way of the canal. He located first in what
was then Manchester, now the lower part of Allegheny City, and engaged in raising garden vegetables. He sold his produce in the old market till it was burned in 1845. He re- moved from Manchester to Baldwin township, and in 1850 to Nevile Island, where he bought a farm of John Craig. His business soon became the most extensive in the section, and in order to produce vegetables out of sea- son he added a large amount of glass and hot- beds to his establishment. He was one of the first to occupy the new market in Pittsburg, and was also owner of one of the oldest stands in Allegheny City. In this business he con- tinued throughout his active life, taking the greatest interest in his work, priding himself upon the raising of new and improved varieties, and introducing asparagus and egg plant. At the time of his death, in 1883, he was one of the largest property owners on the island, and in his business was assisted by his sons. He invested largely in real estate, owning in Pittsburg, Allegheny, West Virginia, and Iowa. He was known as the lone Democrat of Nevile Island, but was formerly a Whig. He married Miss Mackey, of Boston, Summit County, Ohio, daughter of James Mackey. Her father was born in Ireland, near Belfast, was an old neighbor of the Phillips family, emigrating some years before them and set- tling in Ohio, where he was a farmer. By his wife, Mary, he had : John, Thomas, Will- iam, and James, all of Boston, Ohio; Mary, who married David Kennedy ; and Eliza.
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