Biographical sketches of leading citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, Part 26

Author: Biographical Publishing Company. 1n
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Buffalo, N.Y., Biographical publishing company
Number of Pages: 682


USA > Pennsylvania > Lawrence County > Biographical sketches of leading citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania > Part 26


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Our subject in his political affiliations was a stanch and unyielding Republican, but was never an aspirant for office of whatever descrip-


JOHN W. TAYLOR, the superintendent of the New Castle Water Company, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., March 26, 1828. His boyhood years were spent in Brownsville, Pa., and the only thing that distinguished him particularly from his associates in school and out of school, engaged in pastimes or work, was his liking for machinery, which amounted well-nigh to a fas- cination. At the age of eighteen years he took up the trade of a machinist, spending two years in Brownsville, and finishing his apprenticeship in the city of Pittsburg. He then went West and was a steamboat engineer on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers until 1853, when he returned to his native State and located in New Castle. He followed his trade in the large mills of the city until 1881, and since that time has been su- perintendent of the New Castle Water Works,


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the year 1881 marking the establishment of the present plant. He is a thorough mechanic and a competent engineer.


Mr. Taylor is a son of John and Mary (Walker) Taylor. Our subject's father was born near Washington, D. C., where he grew to man- hood and married his wife, who was a native of Wilmington, Delaware. They crossed the moun- tains in 1813, and settled in Brownsville, Pa., where Mr. Taylor worked in a paper mill, having mastered his trade before removing from his native place. After a few years he moved to Pittsburg, where he made his home a number of years; subsequently he secured a financial in- terest in a paper mill at Brownsville, and so re- turned to that place, and continued in business there until compelled to retire on account of the growing infirmity of old age. He accordingly disposed of whatever interests as would prevent him from enjoying a calm and untroubled old age, and passed the remainder of his life in New Castle, dying there at the age of seventy-eight years. He was an old-line Whig and then a Re- publican in his political attachments. The fam- ily were attendants of the M. E. Church. Eight children were born to our subject's parents, as follows: Sarah A. (Davis); Elizabeth (Tilton); Jane (Crowell); Harriet (Coburn); Thomas; John W., our subject; Mary (Lynn); and Will- iam E.


Our subject is a member of the Mahoning Lodge, No. 243, F. & A. M .; Shenango Lodge, No. 195, I. O. O. F .; Lawrence Encampment, No. 86; A. O. U. W .; and R. T. of T., Free Will Council, No. 29. He has acted as treasurer of the Shenango Lodge for twenty-six years. In his politics, he is a Republican, and proud of


the fact. The New Castle M. E. Church includes Mr. Taylor and family among its very regular worshippers. In 1856, Mr. Taylor married Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Thomas and Chris- tiana (Luper) Smith. Thomas Smith came from Meadville, Pa., in 1830, to New Castle, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits and died at the age of sixty; his wife lived to be eighty-five years old. Eight children were born to them: Ann (Vogan); Daniel; Isabella (Harlan); John; Porter R .; Elizabeth (Taylor); Martha (Sim- mons); and William. The union of our subject and his inestimable wife has resulted in three children: John W., Jr .; Isabel H .; and William E.


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WILLIAM F. DOUDS, deputy sheriff of Lawrence Co., Pa., residing in New Castle, was born in Centerville, Butler Co., this State, Nov. 8, 1832, and is a son of John and Sarah (Gil- more) Douds.


Our subject's grandfather was born in the northern part of Ireland, and emigrated to America, settling first in Maryland, and then in Pennsylvania. John Douds, his son, was born in Franklin Co., Pa., and learned the black- smith's trade by serving an apprenticeship, and later devoted his whole life to edge-tool making, becoming an expert in that line of work. In 1844 he came to New Castle, and went into busi- ness for himself, putting in a trip-hammer, and doing very nice and finished work. He was a very hard-working man, and broke down his ex- ceptionaly strong and vigorous constitution, and died at the age of sixty-seven; his wife lived to be eighty-two years old. It is worthy of men-


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DAVID C. MARSHALL.


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tion here that his father was a charcoal-burner by trade, and .our subject's father accordingly burned the charcoal which he used exclusively for heating the metal he worked. He was a Democrat and then a Republican in politics. His children who grew up were: Elinor; David; Hugh; Wiliam F .; George; and Perry.


William F. Douds served an apprenticeship in the Lawrence Foundry as a moulder, and worked there thirty-three years, and was en- gaged in that work when he was elected sheriff of Lawrence County in 1882, and filled that office with eminent satisfaction; since 1886 he served as deputy sheriff, a position he now holds.


He married Margaret Davis, daughter of Archibald Davis. She died in 1865 at the age of thirty-four, leaving two children. Agnes H. married Thomas P. Kennedy, and has a family of two children-John and Elinor. John W. died at the age of seventeen. In the late war Mr. Douds enlisted in 1863, in Co. A, 55th Reg. Pa. Vol. Inf., for three months service. He owns real estate in the town.


DAVID C. MARSHALL, a highly esteemed citizen of Wayne township, who is practically re- tired from his occupation of farming, and is liv- ing on his estate near Chewton, was born in Lawrence County, in Little Beaver township, December 20, 1815 . His parents were John and Elizabeth (Clark) Marshall, and his grand- parents were Hugh and Hannah Marshall.


Hugh Marshall was born in northern Ireland, and with his wife and children started out to make a home in the new country that offered


such attractions to them. They stopped at Pitts- burg, and in company with a Mr. Crawford, Mr. Marshall set out for what is now Big Beaver township. They made a small clearing, but were hindered by the Indians to a great extent and made little progress until William Penn pur- chased the territory of the red men, and peace was established between the wild denizen of the forest and the advancing heralds of civilization. There were four sons in the family, and when Mr. Marshall died he left the task of carrying on his work to his eldest son, John.


In time John Marshall became the owner of 400 acres of land, and gave to each of his sons a good farm of large dimensions. He was a stir- ring, hard-working pioneer, and brought about all the increase in his worldly possessions by his own efforts. He lived to the age of seventy-five, while his wife was seventy-eight when she was called to lay down her earthly burden and enter into rest. Their children were: David C .; John; Marvin, who lives on the old farm; Mar- . garet; and Hugh James. Mr. Marshall during the War of 1812 was a private, stationed at Fort Erie.


David C. Marshall spent his boyhood and youth at home, and on attaining his majority bought the Robertson farm of 104 acres, a greater portion of which he cleared in the sub- sequent years of his occupancy. In 1857, he built a home on it, and gradually gave a spirit of thrift and prosperity to the whole place, adding extensive barns in 1873. Mr. Marshall had had large interests in sheep-raising, but of recent years, because of the unprofitableness of that in- dustry, he has paid more attention to dairying, and to grain producing. At the present time,


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because of the weight of his years, he leases the farm to responsible parties, but still lives in the house that he built there.


Mrs. Marshall was once Margaret Davidson, and her father was a native of Ireland. She was born in Beaver Co., Pa., July 1, 1816, and died July 5, 1895. Our subject's children are as fol- lows: Elizabeth Jane, who is housekeeper for her father, and has devoted herself to the care of her parents in their last years; John is spoken of elsewhere in this volume; Sarah Margaret married I. T. Spangler and is demised; Andrew died at the age of six; William Hillis is treated under a sketch bearing his name as the title; Mary M .; and Rachel Nannie, who died in girl- hood. In the earlier days of political parties, Mr. Marshall was a Whig, but ever since the stirring campaign that put Abraham Lincoln in the President's chair, he has been a Republican. He has held various offices of trust in the town- ship, and is a strong, virile character. He takes a great interest in educational matters, and considers it the duty of every community to look after the younger members, who in time will fol- low in the footsteps of those who are passing away. It is scarcely necessary to say that this upright man and good citizen is receiving his just reward in the appreciation of his many friends and neighbors. In illustrating this Book of Biographies, the publishers have limited them- selves to presenting only the portraits of lead- ing citizens who are representative of some sec- tion or of some distinct walk in life. With this in view, we have presented Mr. Marshall's like- ness on a preceding page, for he holds an indis- putable position of prominence among the suc- cessful agriculturalists of Wayne township.


SAMUEL FOLTZ, deceased, ex-president of the First National Bank of New Castle, was born in Butler Co., Pa., in 1830, and was a son of Norbert Foltz, who was born in Strausburg, Germany, Nov. 4, 1774, and died at the age of ninety-five at his home in Butler County.


Norbert Foltz learned the trade of a cabinet- maker, and followed the same throughout his life; he emigrated to this country when a young man, and settled in Butler, Pa., where he met and married Elizabeth Riddle, in 1825. Natur- ally industrious, he was a hard worker, and saved with true German thrift most of what he earned, and became a wealthy man for those times and that section of the country, being one of the largest land owners in Butler County. Norbert Foltz and his good wife reared to man- hood and womanhood seven children, as fol- lows: Mary; James Madison; Samuel; John Adams; Francis Marion; Julia; and Horatio Nelson.


Samuel, the third child, was born in 1830, and was brought up and received an education in his native town. At an early age he formed a desire to become a lawyer, and so studied the funda- mental principles of legal procedure under the direction of his wife's uncle, Charles C. Sullivan, and was admitted to the bar from that gentle- man's office. Our subject became interested in the iron business in the fifties, and with his father-in-law, William Stewart, owned and oper- ated the Margaret and Will-Roy furnaces in But- ler and Lawrence Counties respectively, until 1865, when Mr. Stewart moved to Pittsburg, and Mr. Foltz came to the city of New Castle, where he made his home until death, which resulted Oct. 22, 1878, from injuries he received in a run-


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away accident. During all the years of his resi- dence in New Castle he retained large interests in the various industries that are related to the manufacture or iron. In 1873 he organized the private bank of Foltz & Long, and a year later bought stock in the First National Bank of New Castle, becoming president of the latter bank, and remaining in that position until his death. He married Amanda G. Stewart, daughter of William Stewart, and their union was blessed "with the following children: William Stewart, Le Roy Sullivan; Margaret Stewart (Brown); Samuel; Richard; David; and Mary Amanda, the last three deceased. His business interests did not suffer from being handled by strange hands, but were taken up where he left them, and ad- mirably looked after by his three sons-William S., Le Roy S., and Samuel. They were asso- ciated with him in the private banking business previous to his death, and afterwards carried on the Foltz Bank until 1883, when it was consoli- dated with the First National Bank. Upon our subject's death, his oldest son, William S., was elected president of the First National Bank, in which capacity he is still retained; Samuel is connected with the same institution as cashier.


William Stewart, who has been mentioned above as our subject's father-in-law, and also business partner for a number of years, was born on Squirrel Hill, now the city of Pittsburg, Pa., Oct. II, 1802, and was a son of William and Elizabeth (Caughy) Stewart, both natives of Glasgow, Scotland. William Stewart, Jr., en- tered the employ of the Butler Sentinel at the age of fourteen years, and worked there for a period of several years. He married Margaret Sullivan, daughter of Charles Sullivan, a soldier


of the American Revolution, who settled in But- ler County. In 1848, William Stewart engaged in the iron business, at first operating the Mar- garet Furnace in Butler County, near Center- ville, and later the Will-Roy Furnace in Law- rence County; subsequently he returned to Butler County, purchased and operated the Winfield Furnace. In 1865, he moved to Pitts- burg, where he lived until 1884, when he came to New Castle, where he continued to live until his death, June 29, 1888. His wife, bright and active, enjoyed almost perfect health to the day of her death, which occurred May 20, 1884, aged eighty-seven years, having been born March 30, 1797, at Chartiers, Allegheny Co., Pa. In poli- tics Mr. Stewart was a Whig and later a Repub- lican; in his younger years he served very acceptably as cashier in the State Treasury De- partment under State Treasurer Gilmore; he also was honored with an election to the State Legislature, representing Mercer, Butler, and Lawrence Counties as one district. He was a man of excellent judgment and business qualifi- cations and was a regularly ordained local minis- ter in M. E. Church for forty years. In view of the steady rise he made from an humble begin- ning we feel certain that the term self-made ad- mirably describes him and his career in business. His first business venture was the building of a portion of the Erie Canal. He was well-posted not alone to his immediate surroundings and walks in life, but also in a broader sense; read- ing was almost his sole recreation, and he made it also a source of great profit. He possessed strong personal characteristics, was stern in his decisions and positive in his opinions. He was director of the First National Bank of New Cas-


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tle for several years prior to his death, that event terminating his office. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart were blessed with five children, as follows: Elizabeth; Mary (McKee); Amanda (Foltz), the wife of our subject; Melissa P. (McKee); and Charles William, who died in infancy. No man was ever held in higher respect by those he em- ployed than Mr. Stewart.


J. SETH WADDINGTON, a representative mechanic of the city of New Castle, whose resi- dence is at No. 116 South Jefferson Street, is the superintendent of the Vulcan Iron Co., whose works and office aresat Nos. 406-420 Mor- avia Street. He was born in East Brook, now in Lawrence County, but then a part of Mercer County, Nov. I, 1837, and is a son of Benja- min C. and Nancy (Burnley) Waddington, the latter a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Holmes) Burnley. Joseph Burnley was born in England in 1766, and came to America in 1832; he was a woolen manufacturer, and died about 1851. Our subject's grandfather on his father's side, Ben- jamin Waddington, Sr., spent his whole life in England, where he was engaged in the woolen mills during the active years of his life, his death occurring in 1845. Our subject's father, Ben- jamin Waddington, Jr., was born at Eccles Hill, Yorkshire, England, in 1799, and died at Ft. Wayne, Ind., Feb. 29, 1876; his body was sent back to East Brook, this county, where it was interred in the family plot. He was a member of the M. E. Church. In politics, he was a Democrat. He was a woolen-spinner by trade,


and was employed many years in the mills at East Brook.


Our subject was reared in the village of East Brook until the age of nine, when the family became residents of New Castle, in which city they lived two or three years, and then moved to Fallston. Until about fourteen years of age, he attended the schools of the various cities of which he was a resident, and at that age began to learn the machinist's trade in the Ohio & Pennsylvania R. R. shops at Allegheny City, where he remained some three years and a half. The following year and a half were spent at Crestline and Gallion, Ohio, in the shops of the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Crestline R. R. Then upon his return to Allegheny City, he worked in the shops six years and a half, after which he came to East Brook, where he took up his resi- dence, and was for two years engaged in a store with his brother. Again returning to Allegheny City, he resumed his old place in the railroad shops and continued in the employ of the com- pany through the years 1863-66. In the latter year, he came to New Castle, working some six years for the New Castle Manufacturing Co. In 1872, he became a partner in the Shaw, Wadding- ton & Co. concern, machinists, in connection with his brother and Mr. Shaw. This partnership lasted until 1881, when he leased the New Cas- tle Manufacturing Co.'s works, which he oper- ated for two years. In 1883, he leased the Shaw shop and ran that three years and in 1886 he established a shop of his own, which he operated for a year or two, and then sold to the New Cas- tle Plow Company, and assumed his present position as superintendent of the Vulcan Iron Co., which has its works on Moravia Street.


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Mr. Waddington was married March 21, 1860, in Allegheny City, to Sarah J. Howard, daugh- ter of Aaron and Esther (Hennessey) Howard, and to him and his wife have been born five children: Emma, who married R. D. Kissinger of Beaver Falls, and has borne him one child, Earl; Linnie, who married Albert Evans, an en- gineer of Mahoningtown, and has borne him four children, Roy, Jessie, Joseph and Zelda; Fannie, who married Frank Bellews of New Brighton, to whom has been given one son, Carl; Cora; and Howard. Mrs. Waddington is a member of the Baptist Church. In politics, our subject is strictly independent, and party allegiance has no hold on him. He is a member of New Castle Lodge, No. 6, Protected Home Circle. An uncle of Mr. Waddington, John Burnley by name, participated in the battle of Waterloo.


T. LOGAN HENRY, for many years past a prominent and prosperous farmer of North Beaver township, was born at Mt. Jackson in that township, in the first dwelling-house erected in the village, Jan. 16, 1824. Mr. Henry is a son of William and Jane (Logan) Henry, and a grandson of the old pioneer Francis Henry, who in the early days moved from Washington Co., Pa., and settled near Poland, Mahoning Co., Ohio, where he died at a ripe old age. Francis Henry was well-known throughout that section as an upright, industrious citizen, and he was a fitting founder of a family whose history has been inseparably linked with that of their chosen abiding places.


William Henry, son of Francis and father of the subject of this sketch, was born east of the mountains, moved with his father to the Ohio home, and settled on a farm near Poland. Here death claimed his first wife, a Miss Gray, whom . he had married when a resident of Washington Co., Pa., just prior to going to Ohio. She left him as a precious legacy two daughters-Mar- garet and Matilda. After a few years had elapsed, William Henry married Jane Logan, who became the mother of the subject of this notice. Following his second marriage, Mr. Henry and his wife moved to North Beaver township, buying and settling on the farm owned later on by Mr. Dunnon. Here Mr. Henry, alive to the demands of a thriving young com- munity, opened the first store in the township. When the village of Mt. Jackson was laid out, he was one of the first investors. He bought three lots, and on one of them erected the first dwelling-house in the place. The store was also provided for, which Mr. Henry stocked with staple articles of merchandise and conducted many years. The dwelling, referred to, stood where the residence of John F. Pitts is now lo- cated, and the site of the store is now occupied by D. M. Weddle's store. William Henry was an American to the core. He loved a good horse and made frequent trips on horseback to Philadelphia, where he purchased supplies for his store. In 1817, Mr. Henry was appointed postmaster in the now thriving town, a position he held many years with honor to himself and advantage to his fellow-citizens. The year 1832 found him a prosperous merchant and an exten- sive owner of real estate in and about Mt. Jack- son-there being besides many smaller proper-


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ties the J. Dixon farm, the Mrs. Magill and the Van Atta farm. About 1840, Mr. Henry brought his successful mercantile career to a close, and built the residence on the McGill farm, which he occupied, and which is now the home of the subject of this sketch. The balance of his life was devoted to agricultural pursuits, and to the care of the property which his indus- try and good management had accumulated. Many evidences of his correct methods may be seen to-day in the improvements he made on the farms that were under his immediate control. William Henry, besides being endowed with varied business talents, stood high among his fellow-citizens. Many men knew him as a friend ever realy to extend a helping hand. He was a devoted Christian; a member of the Presbyter- ian Church, and one of the prime movers in building the present church edifice of that de- nomination in Mt. Jackson. He died in 1872, mourned by all who knew him. Eight children were born of the second marriage: John J .; William Harrison; Francis Brown; Eliza; T. Logan, the subject of this sketch; Mary; James; and Matilda.


T. Logan Henry received the very best edu- cational advantages which the schools of Mt. Jackson could give. He was from boyhood his father's right-hand man and helper, even down through the latter's declining years. The meth- ods of the father became those of the son; as the burdens grew too heavy for the older, they found a ready and trained bearer in the younger. Success, which was certainly won by the pioneer, has been retained and maintained by his worthy successor. T. Logan Henry inherited the old home place and 250 acres of land, all of which


with the exception of a small plot he still owns. This farm has been brought to a high state of cultivation, and every improvement, which mod- ern ideas suggest, has been added. Acres of bearing orchards, invariably loaded down with fruit, with everything in the best of condition, show the care and foresight of a practical man who understands very detail of his business. In 1878 a handsome barn, 44x66 feet in dimensions, with a high basement, was built, and the old home enlarged and remodeled. Many out- buildings have been added from time to time as they were needed.


Early in life, the subject of this sketch was married to Miss Ellen Bushnell, daughter of the Rev. Wells Bushnell of Mt. Jackson township; she died at the age of forty-eight, leaving two daughters-Jennie and Minnie. Miss Jennie is a graduate of Percers College, and is well known in teaching circles. Minnie is the wife of Samuel Hoffmaster of Mt. Jackson.


T. Logan Henry has always been an active, public-spirited and valued citizen. While not a politician, he has often been heard with telling effect in the councils of his chosen party. He was originally a stanch Whig, and when the question of human slavery merged that party into the Republican party, he became an enthu- siastic Republican, and an advocate for equal rights for white and black. There was no stur- dier champion of Liberty and Union than he, and his faith in the ultimate result never wav- ered. To the blue-coated soldiers in the field or to the children left behind he was always a friend. Mr. Henry has never sought office, but the willing, hearty votes of his fellow-townsmen have often placed him in public positions. He


HERMAN E. MCMILLIN, M. D.


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has been clerk, supervisor, school director, ber of the United Presbyterian Church. Our assessor and overseer of the poor in turn. He has always been an active churchman, being a member from youth of the Presbyterian Church. Though now well along in life, Mr. Henry re- tains the marks of his rugged American ances- try ; active, clear-headed and acute as of yore he brings all the ripe experiences of the days gone by to bear upon present-day problems. Re- spected by all, he is rounding out a life that has been well-lived and useful to all who have come within its influence. subject's mother was born near New Castle, and was a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Mouk) McMillin. Mary Mouk was born in Westmore- land County, Pa., a daughter of Daniel Mouk, a native of Pennsylvania, and a blacksmith by trade, who attained the age of eighty years. Joseph McMillin, grandfather of Dr. McMillin on his mother's side, was born in Washington County about 1814, and was killed at the age of sixty-nine by being thrown from his carriage in a runaway accident. He was a tinner by trade; his father, John McMillin, was a farmer by occu- pation, and was born in the eastern part of Pennsylvania somewhere in the vincinty of Philadelphia.




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