USA > Pennsylvania > Lawrence County > Biographical sketches of leading citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania > Part 16
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Henry Edwards married Margaret Clark, a daughter of David Clark; she died at the age of forty-eight, leaving him five children: Mary, who married John Hoffman of Philadelphia, Pa .; Joseph, who married Essie Eckles, and is a prominent railroad contractor; Jane, who is the wife of Thomas Graham of New Castle, Pa .; Jessie, the wife of L. Cross of North Beaver township; and Harry, who is his father's helper and co-worker.
As has been stated before, Mr. Edwards is a man of high attainments and varied accomplish- ments. Being a ready speaker, and the posses- sor of a mine of information, he has never been worsted in a political debate or argument. He is extremely active, of a cheery, genial disposi- tion, and has warm friends by the hundreds, wherever he is known. No social gathering is so complete as it is when he is present. For keen judgment either in politics or in business he is unexcelled. As an adviser, he is much sought, and his advice has the very pleasant fea- ture about it that it can be relied on. Few men have suclr a fund of experience and anecdote. An out and out Republican since the days of
John C. Fremont, he is proud of the record of the Keystone State-a record that men of his stamp are certainly responsible for. Bright, hale and happy, with a constitution strong and unim- paired, he stands surrounded with the fruits of his life work, a true example of the best Amer- ican manhood.
CHESTER L. WHITE, head bookkeeper in the office of the Shenango Valley Steel & Iron Co. of New Castle, was born in November, 1838, in Windham, O. Our subject is a son of Dr. Newell and Mrs. C. N. (Porter) White, both of whom were natives of Massachusetts, the for- mer of Plainfield, and the latter of Worthington.
Dr. Newell White has for nearly half a cen- tury been practicing medicine in the city of New Castle, but is now retired from active work, and is almost the only one left of a long list of physi- cians, who practiced in New Castle and its vicin- ity in the forties and fifties. His parents were direct descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers, who laid the foundations of the New England States. He was born in Plainfield, Mass., Nov. 30, 1807, and after becoming proficient in the studies taught in the district schools at that time, taught school for a number of years, in which line of work he met with gratifying success. How -. ever, preferring the profession of medicine to that of any other vocation, he directed his studies in that direction so assiduously that he was en- abled to graduate from Berkshire Medical Col- lege in 1831. In 1834, shortly after his mar- riage, he located in Windham, Ohio, where he
WILLIAM H. LESLIE.
MRS. AGNES LESLIE.
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remained until 1840, when he relinquished his practice at Windham and moved to Warren, Ohio, where he remained for a period of five years. Subsequently, he returned to Windham, and in 1850 came to New Castle, Pa., where he has labored with an eminent degree of success, and it is with pride and full satisfaction that he recounts the last forty-seven years spent as a resident of New Castle, engaged in the practice of the only philosophical system of medicine. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. Dr. White is a gentleman of a very evenly balanced disposition, conservative by na- ture, especially in the acceptance of new theories and doctrines, but the most genial and good- hearted man that it is ever one's occasion to run across. He is one of the oldest and most re- spected members of the First Presbyterian Church of New Castle. Chester L. White com- menced his education in the city schools of New Castle and was advanced through Iberia College of Iberia, Ohio. Shortly after having completed the education thus outlined, the Civil War hap- pened to break out, and in response to the call for troops for three months' service, our subject enlisted for that period in April, 1861. After his term of enlistment had expired, he enlisted in the 2nd Reg. Ohio Vol. Cav., in which he re- ceived the commission of lieutenant. After three years' service he resigned on account of ill health and after his return from the front he secured a position in the accounting department of the Pennsylvania R. R., and later entered the em- ploy of Indianapolis & St. Louis R. R. at In- dianapolis, Ind., and still later entered the em- ploy of the Missouri Pacific R. R. at St. Louis, at which latter place he remained until 1880. In
that year, he returned to New Castle, and ac- cepted a position with the New Castle Wire Co., remaining with that corporation until 1892, when he undertook to fulfill the duties of his present position as head bookkeeper of the Shen- ango Valley Steel & Wire Co. In 1897, Mr. White married Miss Sarah D. Forrest of New Castle, Pa.
WILLIAM H. LESLIE, one of the oldest and most widely known residents of North Bea- ver township, now leading a somewhat retired life on a splendid farm, was born April 27, 1822, on what is now called the McMurray farm in the above township. This place is about two miles distant from where Mr. Leslie at his marriage settled, and has ever since lived. Our subject is a son of John and Nancy (Gilmore) Leslie.
John Leslie was of Irish birth and parentage, born in Donegal, County Down, but with his brothers George and James, emigrated to Amer- ica shortly after the Revolutionary War. He had received a training in the wheelwright's trade, and on settling down in Westmoreland Co., Pa., followed that calling. In 1802, he lo- cated in North Beaver township on a farm which he bought with his accumulated earnings. This was new land, so the first work of the sturdy settler after coming into possession was to make a clearing, build a log-cabin and sow small plots of grain. He then returned for his wife, a Miss Nancy Neil, whom he had married not long be- fore, and who was born in Allegheny County. On their return they labored together until the place was cleared of the forest and brought un-
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der cultivation. In 1814, the first wife died, leaving five children: James, born March 19, 1789; George, May 19, 1792; Jennie and Adam, twins, July 6, 1795; and John, Oct. 22, 1800. After a few years, John Leslie married again, and three children resulted from this second union, namely: Nancy, born March 6, 1818; Martha, April 27, 1820; and William H., the subject of this sketch. Besides clearing 110 acres of forest and faithfully attending to all the arduous duties of a pioneer farmer, John Leslie found time to work at his trade of wheelwright, and found considerable employment in that line in the newly settled country. He brought up his large family in the way they should go, all being regular attendants and members of the Seceders Church. He assisted in building the first log Seceders Church in 1797. John Leslie lived to the good old age of seventy-three, dying Jan. 15, 1835.
William H. Leslie, the youngest of the large family of children, was given the best education- al advantages the early schools could afford, and in his boyhood days profited largely by being continually thrown in contact with his sturdy father. Industry, thrift, honesty and sobriety were the watchwords of those old days. The early settler's struggles with nature, and the daily cares and obstacles to be overcome, gave a training that developed a hardy manhood. Our subject was married Nov. 30, 1843, to Agnes, the daughter of John and Margaret Wither- spoon, who were neighboring pioneers. Agnes Witherspoon was born on the farm, which after- wards became the home of herself and husband, Jan. 25, 1824. No children have ever blessed their union, but through all the years in which the
now venerable couple have lived together in per- fect confidence and unanimity, they have ever looked to the welfare of others. Scores of near and dear friends, and many appreciative people, who have been the recipients of their willingly- bestowed favors, attest on every hand the high esteem in which Mr. Leslie and his wife are held. Mr. Leslie soon became the owner of the farm on which he settled at the beginning of his mar- ried life. Constant care and hard work have made it an ideal home place. In its virgin state, the farm was heavily timbered; with axe, wielded by brawny and sinewy arms, he hewed down the kings of the forest, built a new house and barns, sowed the fields to grain, and set out many acres of fruit. The apples, peaches, plums and pears raised on this farm are famous. It is safe to say that in all this section, there is not to-day I28 acres of land in finer condition, or more care- ' fuly tended, than that of Mr. Leslie's.
In 1893, rich in years and prosperous in worldly affairs, Mr. Leslie and wife celebrated their golden wedding. This auspicious event brought many friends from miles around, who had grown to know and love the aged and re- spected couple. No home in their neighborhood is oftener visited, and no cheery hospitality is better appreciated in general than that offered by Mr. Leslie and his wife. Their latch-string is ever out, and the good things of their larder are always ready to minister to the refreshment of their friends and acquaintances.
William H. Leslie in his long life has never sought office; his political connections have, however, always been strong and well grounded. His advice in public affairs is much sought, and his ripe experience has been drawn upon by the
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leaders in the party of his choice. Mr. Leslie was originally a Whig, but about war-time he cast his lot with the Republican party, of which he has ever since been an ardent supporter. Both Mr. Leslie and his wife have been life-long members of the United Presbyterian Church. They are true Christian people, and bring the teachings of their Master into their daily life. In the fulness of their years they can look back upon the past, and in memory link the forests of the old days with the changed conditions of the present. There are few people living now- adays, who have watched the building of our State and Nation step by step, and still fewer, who have taken an active part in bringing out the developments seen at this end of the nine- teenth century. Mr. Leslie and his beloved wife are of this now fast-disappearing class. Their home, their friends, and their life-work all testify that they have borne their part faithfully and well. On preceding pages the publishers have placed the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie, who both represent, as few others can, the pioneer element of the county, that has grown up with this section, and is now so fast disappearing.
HENRY BOOKSING, widely known through Western Pennsylvania as the superin- tendent of the Bessemer Limestone Quarries, located at Bessemer, North Beaver township, Lawrence County, was born on th 14th day of February, 1851, near Hesse-Cassel, Germany. His father, Jean Pierre Booksing, was an expert smith by trade, and in his native land had ac- quired, even before his early death at the age of
forty-six, no mean reputation as a skilful and reliable mechanic.
Henry Booksing spent his first years in the schools of his Fatherland; than these schools none are better on the face of the earth. At seventeen years of age, the lad, whose sole cap- ital was a good head, a willing heart, and a ready hand, came to the United States. His first posi- tion was in the planing mills at Youngstown, Ohio. It took the young man but a short time to master the carpenter's trade, and to become ยท a proficient worker in wood. Turning his atten- tion to mechanics and engineering, he soon was familiar with the practical part of those sciences, so that on coming to Bessemer in 1887 he was qualified to take charge of the locomotive used in the quarries. He followed this line of work for nine years. Such was his faithfulness to duty, and to such good use had he employed his pow- ers of observation, that in 1896 the company made him their superintendent. This position Mr. Booksing is now filling with credit to him- self and to the entire satisfaction of the com- pany, whose headquarters and main office are at Youngstown, Ohio. Mr. Booksing believes that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. When you enter a pursuit, study its details from every standpoint, and learn all there is to learn about each one of them. Study your engine from the largest casting down to the smallest screw or bolt. Know your business in its every element, whether it be great or small. These principles have placed our subject in the posi- tion he now holds.
The Bessemer Quarries were first opened in 1887. Here is found a high grade of limestone, which is quarried and shipped to iron furnaces
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ly familiar with his work, he makes a faithful and reliable officer for his superiors. As a citizen and as a man he is public-spirited, and high minded. The respect in which he is held shows the influ- ence which he wields personally. He is a kind father, a good neighbor, and a stanch friend. Those who go to him for counsel find him pos- sessed of keen judgment and a true knowledge can devise, are in use. Mr. Booksing is conduct- . of men and affairs. He is an eminent, worthy, ing one of the largest industries of its kind in the United States.
far and wide; its purity and evenness make it of the greatest value to the iron-master. Mr. Book- sing has charge of a force of 150 men at these quarries, and for the housing of these men the company has erected a small settlement of four- teen double and twelve single tenements. An immense and powerful stone crusher, and every other sort of machinery that modern ingenuity
Our subject was married several years since to Miss Lizzie Myers, daughter of Michael Myers of Sodom, Ohio, and six children have blessed their union, of whom three are living at the present time. The names of the living chil- dren are: Willie, Lillie, and Cassie May. The dear ones, whom death claimed were: Freddie, Barbara, and Christina.
Henry Booksing comes from a notable ances- try. Far back in the history of the family, the name 'was spelled Boucsein. The family as the name indicates was of French extraction. When the persecutions of the Huguenots, the Protest- ants of France, were instituted by the Catholic Hierarchy, and rebellion ensued, the forefathers of our subject were among the thousands who were forced to flee for their very lives. They found a refuge in Protestant Germany, where they were permitted to pursue their peaceful vo- cations, and worship their Creator as their con- sciences dictated.
Mr. Booksing is truly a self-made man. Being thoroughly acquainted with the conditions that surround the workingman, he is a fair and good master, and no complaint is made by those un- der him of unjust dealings with thein. Perfect-
and useful member of society in the locality which he has chosen for his life work.
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SILAS STEVENSON, M. D., the leading physician and surgeon of Ellwood City, Wayne township, this county, is well known as a man of professional and business ability, with a great store of enterprising activity, that has done much toward materially helping in the growth of Ellwood City. His career has been marked by energy and thrift, and his professional talent has been the solid foundation for his excellent reputation among his brother-members of the medical fraternity. He was born in Mahoning township, Feb. 18, 1845, and was a son of Silas Stevenson, and a grandson of James Stevenson. James Stevenson was born in Ireland, but sought his fortune in this country, the adopted home of many an Irishman who has felt the heel of the oppressor; he served in the Revolu- tionary War with honor, and at its close settled. in Mahoning Co., Ohio, where he cleared a large farm, that is a spot of local celebrity, known at Mt. Nebo. His sons were Elijah, James, Samuel, Silas, and Elisha M.
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Silas Stevenson, the elder, married Sarah Cracraft of Poland, Ohio, and settled near Hills- ville, Lawrence County, where he was a wagon- maker and acquired some village property. In 1857, he removed to a farm near New Bedford, Lawrence County, where he followed agricul- tural pursuits; two years later he was elected sheriff of the county. His first wife had died at the comparatively early age of forty-five, after giving birth to the following children: James; Joseph; Nancy J .; Albert G .; John H .; Silas; Mary A .; Martha M .; and Samuel. Of this fam- ily only Joseph, John H. and Dr. Silas are liv- ing. About 1855, Silas Stevenson, Sr., was mar- ried to Mrs. Eliza Sample, and they became the parents of five children: Charles; James; Will- iam M .; Francis B .; and Edwin S.
Dr. Silas Stevenson attended the district school when a lad, and fitted himself to study medicine in the office of Dr. A. R. McClure. The preservation of the Federal Union of the United States being involved in the somewhat doubtful outcome of the Civil War, and the calls for more volunteers becoming more and more urgent, Dr. Stevenson left his studies in 1863, and enlisted in the 55th Reg. Pa. Vol. Inf. This regiment saw no battle. Feb. 16, 1864, he enlist- ed in Co. K, 100th Pa. Vol. Inf. He was wound- ed two months after joining the army, being shot in the right shoulder by a sharpshooter before Petersburg. Having received a serious wound in the head from fragments of a bursting shell at Fort Thedden, he was taken to a hospital where he remained until May 15, 1865, and then dis- charged.
War had strengthened the doctor's sympathies without blunting his sensibility in the presence
of death and great physical suffering, and when he entered the Cleveland Medical College he made very satisfactory progress, graduating in 1868. He located at New Bedford, Pa., and by careful and thorough exercise of his skill built up a large and paying practice. He laso owned a drug store there, and held the office of post- master for the period of twelve years. He also represented Lawrence County in the State Leg- islature in 1885-87. On his arrival in Ellwood City in October, 1891, he proved himself to be the right man for the town by investing his money in local real estate, and by exhibiting a spirit of active interest in city affairs. He has a great faith in the future of Ellwood City, and has been since becoming one of its residents one of the foremost promoters of business enterprise, and a leader in every movement that is started for the purpose of booming the town. He has served as school director, president of the school board, and presi- dent of the council, having been one of the first councilmen. In 1893-94 he built a very handsome brick block, 26x72 feet in dimensions on the ground, and three stories high; the first floor is occupied by Chamber & Co. as a gro-' cery store; the second floor is used for offices and for tenements; and the entire third floor is divided off into apartments for tenement pur- poses. He also had constructed after his own elaborate plans and specifications an elegant residence on the corner of Seventh Street and Park Avenue, and he also put up the edifice on Lawrence Avenue, where he has his physician's office, fitted out in the most complete method; this structure is 18x32 feet, two stories high, and contains one store and two tenements. The
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doctor also owns some desirable building lots hearty interest in improvements of all kinds, and about the town, which are rapidly increasing in identifying himself with the best and most pro- gressive element of the place. He married Mar- garet E. Love of Sharon, Pa., and they have a pleasant home on one of the prettiest streets, where they perform their full share of social functions. In 1897, Mr. Phillips was elected school director, and is rapidly gaining for him- self a reputation for earnestness of purpose and full endeavor in making Ellwood City's schools inferior to none in the county. value with every passing year. He is about to build a brick edifice for office and tenement pur- poses. Among the citizens of Ellwood City, Dr. Stevenson is respected and admired for his scores of qualifications for a successful business man, in addition to his enviable position at the head of the medical fraternity. He has countless friends among his patients, and wins more al- most daily by his skill and kindness in the treat- ment of their ills. As a physician of good stand- ing in Lawrence County, his reputation is unex- celled.
In 1870, Dr. Stevenson allied himself in the married state with Sarah E. Robinson, daughter of Samuel Robinson of Mahoningtown, this county. No children came to cheer their hearts, and being fond of young people, they took a lit- tle girl to live with them, Miss Myrtle Stewart, who grew up to a beautiful womanhood, and married Robert A. White, a contractor and builder, to whom she bore one child, Leona. From 1888 to 1892 the Doctor served as U. S. Medical Examiner of Pensions in the Lawrence and Beaver County district. He is now president of the borough council.
JAMES R. PHILLIPS is the secretary and general superintendent of the Ellwood Tinplate Co., of Ellwood City, Pa. He is English by birth, as he was born near Dudley, England. He became associated in 1894 with the Ellwood Tinplate Co., and to-day is one of Ellwood City's leading and influential citizens, taking a
The Ellwood Tinplate Co. was established in 1894, with H A. Bishop, president; A. W. Brown, vice-president and general manager; Charles Babcock, treasurer; all of the above resi- dents of Cleveland, Ohio; and James R. Phil- lips, secretary and general superintendent. In the same year the factory was built in the west- ern part of the city, and following are some of the departments: hot mill department, 200x250 feet; tin house No. 1, 100x50 feet; tin house No. 2, 75x50 feet; assorting room, 45x90; ware- house, 35x250. A part of these buildings were erected in 1894, and the work immediately com- menced, three hundred men being employed, and a weekly output of 3,500 boxes being aver- aged. All kinds of roofing are manufactured and tin of all grades, for which the company has gained an excellent reptutation over a wide stretch of territory, the product, however, being shipped principally to eastern markets. The business is placed on a solid financial basis, and has grown to the extent that in 1897 more space was needed, and the following rooms were added: a pickling room, 55x75 feet, an annealing house, 75x100 feet, a cold rolling department, 65x75 feet. The hot mills were increased from
SAMUEL MOORHEAD.
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four to five, and the cold mills from four to six. By these additions the company was enabled to raise the weekly product to 4,400 boxes, and give employment to 100 more men. This is up to the present day one of the most prosperous and most firmly established firms in that line in the United States. Mr. Phillips has devoted energy and good judgment to furthering the in- terests of the company and of all connected therewith, and the success of the firm is attribu- ted in a large measure to his untiring efforts.
SAMUEL MOORHEAD, an extensive contractor of New Castle in the construction of sewers, and in street grading and paving, resides at No. 201 West Washington Street. He was born in Neshannock township, Mercer County, on a farm, that is now included within the limits of the borough of West New Castle, Aug. 18, 1837, and is a son of John and Jane (McCleary) Moorhead. Our subject's mother was born in New Castle, May 10, 1816, and died there Dec. 12, 1889; she was a daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Gordon) McCleary, who died at the ages of forty-four and sixty years respectively. Sam- uel McCleary was a stone-mason in early life, and it is claimed that in 1812 he erected the first two-story building in New Castle, building it on the plot of ground where the Y. M. C. A. Build- ing now stands. He was also a large farmer, and owned a valuable tract of 400 acres, now located in the borough of West New Castle. In addition to his other lines of business and occu- pation, he kept a large store, where the Rink
Building is now located on Beaver and Wash- ington Streets. He was a man of unusual busi- ness tact and energy, and although he died at the early age of forty-four years he had accumu- lated a fine fortune for those days.
John Moorhead, our subject's father, was a son of James and Katherine Moorhead, and was born on the same farm as was his father-a tract bought by his grandfather, William Moor- head, between New Castle and Mahoningtown, now within the city limits. William Moorhead was born in what was then Westmoreland Coun- ty, and came to Beaver County, prior to 1775, and purchased three or four hundred acres of rich farming land in the river bottoms. He fol- lowed farming all his life, and was finally laid away to rest in Greenwood Cemetery. A cherry tree some six feet in circumference is growing above him, and has crowded from its pedestal the moss-grown slab, on which is carved in quaint old letters: "Beneath this stone lies the body of William Moorhead, who died May 27, 1819, aged seventy-one years." James Moor- head, his son, died in 1857, at the age of eighty- two years; his wife was a Miss Christy. He was engaged in pursuits of an agricultural nature all his life, and owned in addition to the ordinary farm buildings a still-house, as it was the custom in those days for every well-to-do farmer to util- ize his surplus crop of rye in the manufacture of spirits. Everyone kept a decanter of "old rye" on the sideboard, and its contents were as free as water. When our subject's father came to the age of choosing a profession or of being ap- prenticed to a trade, his father bound him out to a hatter on Beaver Street, with whom he served his three years of apprenticeship; after
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