USA > Pennsylvania > Lawrence County > Biographical sketches of leading citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania > Part 28
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supervisor many years, such is the high esteem for integrity and good judgment in which he is held. He has been for twenty years a member of Welcome Lodge, No. 65, A. O. U. W., of Chewton, this county, and was formerly affiliated with the I. O. O. F. Our subject and his wife are a highly esteemed and respected couple, who labor in all ways to advance the interests of the community, and to show forth in their daily lives the precepts of that noble religion taught in the life of the Redeemer, and the citizens of Taylor township hold them in the highest repute for their consistent goodness and nobility of char- acter. In 1885 he engaged in the mercantile business, in which he was very successful, remaining in trade until 1890. He then sold out at good advantage and returned to his farm. He is now enjoying the fruits of a well-spent life. We are indeed pleased to be able to present such an excellent likeness of Mr. Pitzer, as adorns a preceding page, and we feel sure that it will be viewed with interest.
GEORGE BOOK, a farmer of Mahoning township, Lawrence Co., Pa., who is held in high esteem wherever he is known, and who is a fair example of the kind of men who have built up this part of the Keystone State, was brought into this world Jan. 1, 1829. He was born on the farm now known as the Ripple Place, and was a son of Jacob and Martha (Mc- Comb) Book, and a grandson of Michael and Elizabeth (Stillwagon) Book.
Jacob Book, the father of the subject of this article, was born on the paternal farm. He early learned the arts of the woodsman and the pion- eer, becoming when still a youth his father's right hand helper. He inherited 209 acres of the home place, and built a log-cabin on the site of the residence of Alva Book. He at one time and another owned and cleared other tracts of land, but finally retired from active pursuits, re- siding until the close of his life at the age of seventy-six at Lowellville, Ohio. His wife, who had been a Miss Martha McComb, reached her sixty-sixth year, before she was called from this world to receive the rewards for a life well and nobly spent. Jacob Book's children were: George, the subject of this personal history;
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Elizabeth, who became the wife of Mr. Steel; William, now deceased; Ferdinand, who now lives on a farm adjoining George Book's prop- erty; Agnes, who married Mr. Downey; and Sarah and Lydia, both of whom died in infancy.
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George Book became the owner of ninety acres of the old farm. On this he built a small house, which in 1853 he enlarged to suit his in- creasing needs; the resulting structure was again remodeled in 1872 into his present commodious residence. The barns were rebuilt about 1861. As time went on, the subject of our article pros- pered, so that he was enabled to buy an eighty- acre farm from his brother, and also the sixty- acre Roberts farm. When the discovery was made that a part of Mr. Book's land was under- laid by a fine bed of limestone of a quality much in demand for fluxing iron ore, Mr. Book leased certain sections to Grist & Graham, quar- rymen." These gentlemen connected the quar- ries with the main line of railroad by a spur track, and are now doing a very successful busi- ness, a considerable profit coming to our sub- ject. Mr. Book has set out a great many fruit trees, and is the proud owner of some fine bear- ing orchards on his estate. He has brought the land into a high state of cultivation, and through good and careful management has prospered greatly. In addition to the place described above, he has a fine stock and grain farm on the Youngstown road, to which he devotes a large amount of time and attention.
Washington Co., Pa., in 1797, and was a son of John Book, who was born in Philadelphia, but early settled in Washington Co., Pa. In 1804, he came to Lawrence Co., and settled on a farm, now called the Cunningham Place, and here he lived until his death at the age of eighty. His wife died at the age of eighty-four. Their chil- dren were: Jacob, John, Isaac, Annie, Peggie, Susan, Nancy, and George, deceased. Jacob Book inherited a portion of his father's estate, amounting to thirty-nine acres, and increased it, as the years went by, by subsequent additions until he was the owner of 180 acres. In 1838, he built a frame house, and opened a country store. He also purchased the necessary apparatus, and distilled a very good article of whisky, which he sold in Cleveland for 15 cents per gallon; this was about the only method available to the early grain-raisers for turning their surplus wheat, corn and rye into ready cash. Jacob Book died in 1874 at a good old age, and his wife, who was born in 1803, survived him three years. The children that blessed their union were: John C .; Abram; Susan, the wife of our subject; Isaac; Mary; Wilder; Jehiel; Lyman B .; and Betsey.
Three children were born to our subject and his wife, who were as follows: Wilder Mc- Comb, who married Ora Martin, and now su- perintends his father's farms; Dala, now de- ceased, who was the wife of L. Roher; and Ora, the wife of Charles Wright.
Mr. Book was married to Miss Susan Book, George Book has always been a man of sound judgment and good understanding, and has ex- erted a marked influence in his section. He has become a prosperous citizen as a natural result the daughter of Jacob and Mary (Armitage) Book, and a very distant relative. The Jacob Book, here referred to, though having the same name as the father of our subject, was born in of his thrift and industry. Along social and
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political lines he is very energetic, and is a man whose ideas and opinions are sought for as hav- ing real weight. He was originally a Whig, but on the formation of the Republican party, he cast his vote and influence with the supporters of Abraham Lincoln. On religious subjects, Mr. Book has always been liberal and broad- minded. He is now filling out his allotted time in the way a man of his abilities and character- istics should.
DAN NYE, a respected citizen of Wayne township, and a resident of Hazel Dell, where he is engaged in general teaming, was born near the bank of Conoquenessing Creek, where the "Circle" of Ellwood City is located now. In his early manhood he felled trees in the virgin for- est, where now the well-populated city stands. His parents were Thomas and Pernina (Pettit) Nye, and his grandparents were Andrew Rose and Rachel (McDonald) Nye, who came to this section of the State from Philadelphia, and set- tled for some time at Peter's Creek, but after- wards removed to Lawrence County, where they received a patent for four hundred acres of new land. They built thereon a log-house in 1793, near the site of the Presbyterian Church, and lived many years to prosper and to delight in their splendid family of children. Andrew Nye was born Jan. 6, 1750, and died March 1, 1821, and his wife entered this life Nov. 10, 1760, and departed it Dec. 16, 1847. Their children were: Richard, born Nov. 1, 1776; Eleanor, Dec. 25, 1777; Catherine, March 5, 1780; Nancy, Nov. 9, 1781 ; John, Oct. 2, 1783; Michael, Oct. 2, 1785;
Hannah, July 21, 1787; Jordan M., March 10, 1789; Mary, Feb. 12, 1791; Margaret, July 13, 1792; Susan, Feb. 27, 1795; Andrew R., Dec. 22, 1797; Dan, March 19, 1800; and Thomas, Aug. 30, 1802.
Thomas Nye, the youngest of a family of four- teen, farmed with his father, and labored at agri- cultural pursuits all his life On April 10, 1828, Mr. Nye was united in the bonds of matrimony with Pernina Pettit, who was born Nov. 15, 1804. The Nyes lived in the true pioneer days, when there was plenty of game for the snaring of it, and settlers' cabins were few and far be- tween. They worked hard at clearing the land, and suceeded in wresting sustenance and a com- fortable livelihood from the soil. Their children were: Dan, our subject, born Feb. 10, 1829; Alvah and Avery, twins, Jan. 25, 1830; Aaron, Jan. 26, 1835. Mrs. Nye laid down her duties and closed her eyes on life on July 10, 1836. After the lapse of several years, Mr. Nye con- tracted a second matrimonial alliance with Mrs. Eliza McElwain, whose maiden name was Mil- ler. By this union five more children were added to the family: Jordan M., born Nov. 7, 1847; Pernina, Nov. 27, 1849; Hannah, Nov. 23, 1852; Nancy, Aug. 11, 1854; and Celia, Aug. 16, 1857. Mr. Nye held various minor offices at the hands of his townspeople. He owned 130 acres of land, but little dreamed that his meadows should one day furnish building sites for many happy and comfortable homes. The grand- father, Andrew, lived in a log-house where the residence of brick and frame now stands, and there were only two families in the vicinity for miles and miles, and these were the Renyons and Hazens. Mrs. Nye was often left in the log-
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house with the children when her husband was at work, and she would be often forced to fire a rifle from the door and to resort to other similar expedients to frighten the wolves, and keep them from molesting the place.
Dan Nye, our subject, helped his father clear the farm, and worked on the paternal estate un- til his marriage, Sept. 3, 1850, to Mrs. Mary Ann Gow, widow of John Gow, who was born March 15, 1817, and died at thirty-eight years of age, leaving to the care of his relict two children- Isabel and John A., both of whom are now de- ceased. . Mrs. Nye was born April 2, 1826, and was a daughter of George and Jane (Steen) Owrey, both of whom were natives of Crawford County, Pa. George Owrey was a blacksmith, and his last work was done in New Castle, this county. Of the immediate family of Dan Nye, Thomas, born Feb. 7, 1852, and Pernina, both died in infancy. George A., born March 5, 1853, is a stone-cutter of Hazel Dell; he married Rebeca Duncan, and they have four children: Dan, Mary E., Charles, and Grace. Nathaniel P., born Dec. 6, 1854, is an engineer at Ludlow, Ky .; his wife was Maria Fowler. Margaret J., born Feb. 17, 1857, wedded Madison Maine of Leetonia, Ohio, and has a son, Martin. Alvah L., born March 4, 1859, is a stone-cutter of Ell- wood City; he took for his wife Florence Mar- shall, and their children are Nellie and John. James M., born July 21, 1861, is a stone-cutter of North Sewickley; he married Martha Smiley, and the children in their household are Mar- garet, Ann, and Martin, having lost two sons, James and William. Dan, Jr., born May I, 1864, died Sept. 12 in the same year. Thomas, born May 18, 1866, is also a stone-cutter of Ell-
wood City; he joined his fortunes with those of Carrie Garwick, and they have four children- Freddie, Mary, Betsey, and Florence.
Mr. Nye had the homestead and a goodly portion of the paternal estate, where he lived and carried on general farming and teaming un- til 1890, when he disposed of the farm to the pro- jectors of Ellwood City, and since 1892 has re- sided at Hazel Dell, where he has been engaged in teaming. Alvah Nye, a brother of the subject of this article, has always resided with Mr. Nye, and he it was who constructed the house they occupy in 1892. In their religious preferences the Nyes are Baptists. The family is noted for its longevity and fine constitutions. Mr. and Mrs. Nye are very good company, merry and fond of jokes, and very entertaining conversationalists. They have a wide acquaintance through the county, and in fact no family is more generally known than theirs. Mr. Nye is a member of the Ellwood Lodge, I. O. O. F., where he is es- teemed an influential and worthy brother.
DR. WALTER E. MILLER is a leading physician of the city of New Castle, where he has been very successfully engaged in the duties that pertain to his profession since 1894, in which year he received his diploma as an M. D. from the Western Pennsylvania Medical College of Pittsburg, Pa. His boyhood days were spent in New Castle, attending school and leading the usual life of a young lad full of youthful spirit. Before attending the Medical College in 1891, where he obtained his professional knowledge,
WINFIELD S. TURNER.
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he was enrolled for one year as a student in the State Normal School at Edinboro, Pa. Having acquired a liking for the medical profession in his younger days and having directed his studies in that direction, it seemed the natural thing to our subject's friends that he should have fully decided upon a physician's career and perfected himself toward that end, and that his skill and learning should be so widely recognized as of the best.
Dr. Miller was born in the city of his present residence, and is a son of Joseph and Caroline (Long) Miller. Joseph Miller was born in New Brighton, and when a young man engaged in boating with his father, but later learned the glass-maker's trade, and has followed that pur- suit ever since, his connection with that indus- try spanning a period of over thirty years. Tech- nically and in a factory-sense he is a flatterner; the intense heat from the molten glass prevents the glass-worker from laboring in the summer, and so our subject's father works in the winter, when the temperature is more agreeable. Dur- ing the summer months, Mr. Miller acts as su- perintendent of the Rock Point Picnic Grounds, which are located about thirteen miles from New Castle; the ground is owned by the Pennsylvania R. R. Co. Mr. Miller is a Democrat. He mar- ried Caroline Long, a daughter of John Long, a native of Lawrence Co., Pa., and five children were born to them, namely: Walter E., our subject; Addie, deceased; Ella M .; Bessie C .; and Alfred I., deceased. They are members of the Disciples Church. Mrs. Miller died in 1891, aged forty-six years.
In the month of June, Dr. Miller was joined in the bonds of matrimony with Pearl A. Phil-
lip, daughter of J. T. Phillip of New Castle; our subject was called upon to mourn the death of his beautiful young wife but a few short months later, the date of her decease being Dec. 15, 1896. It was a severe blow to her husband and to her many devoted friends, who were never tired of praising her charming traits of charac- ter. Dr. Miller is a member of the Lawrence County Medical Association.
WINFIELD S. TURNER, postmaster at Hazel Dell, Wayne township, and also the pro- . prietor of the largest general store in the town- ship, located at the above village, was born in Monongahela Co., W. Va., April 5, 1852. His parentage is traced back through Olridge and Sarah Turner to Olridge and Olive Turner. The grandfather, Olridge, Sr., was a native of England and a tiller of the soil, whose first home in the United States was in Preston County, West Virginia, where Olridge, Jr., was born. The boy Olridge learned the wagon-maker's trade, and followed that until his death, which occurred in 1853, when our subject was but a year old. This sad fatality, caused by a fall from a bridge, left six children to the mother's care; they were named-George W., James N., William R., Winfield S., Martha W., and Cora, all of whom are living. Mrs. Turner's maiden name was Sarah Keifover; the burden of sup- porting and educating all of the children was so great that after several years of widowhood she married James Walford of Fairmont, West Vir- ginia.
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Winfield S. Turner followed agricultural pur- a man who wins golden opinions of his com- suits for several years, and then, learning the car- panions and associates in business and in other walks of life. He is just in his prime, and has before him many years of usefulness to Law- rence County, and the grand old Keystone State. Ambition and self-confidence wins, where doubt halts, and Mr. Turner is one who will never disappoint the confident hopes of his friends, either in business, social or political life. Socially he is a member of I. O. O. F., Glen Park Lodge, No. 1016, of Ellwood City, Pa. In religious belief he and his wife are Methodists. penter's trade, settled in Mount Morris, Greene Co., Pa., where he employed himself in work associated with his trade until 1896, when he came to Hazel Dell, and bought from J. N. Marshall that gentleman's stock of general mer- chandise. In January, 1897, Mr. Turner bought a lot on Main Street, and erected thereon a fine building 36x40 feet, making a double store, with dwelling rooms in the upper story. In March he moved the stock into the new building, and now offers to the public as neat and attractive a display as can be found in Lawrence County. Mr. Turner has a clear title to a leading place among Lawrence County's merchants, and it is as a representative of commercial circles that we place his portrait on a preceding page. Mr. Turner's business has grown, and there is reason for it in the fact of his wide popularity, aside from the self-evident superiority of his stock, that includes dry goods, men's ready- made clothing, hats, caps, boots and shoes, gen-' eral notions and in addition a line of grain, hay and feed. In his community he is held in high esteem, notwithstanding his comparatively short residence, being affable and genial in his man- ner, attracting friends on all sides, and the natural result has been an unusually successful start in business.
Mr. Turner married Margaret McCausland, whose father was William McCausland of Alle- gheny Co., Pa., and the Turner household has had four children born into it; the record is as follows: Gertrude, deceased; Grace; Winfield S., Jr .; and Virginia. Mr. Turner is a Republi- can of the deepest true-blue dye, and his fidelity and business ability was suitably rewarded on Jan. 16, 1897, when he was appointed post- master of Hazel Dell. There was merit to prompt such a recognition, and Mr. Turner is
JACOB S. ALLEN, a prominent farmer and dealer in lumber, residing in Chewton, Wayne township, was born in the above township July I, 1847, and was a son of Davis and Mary (Van Emanen) Allen, grandson of Jacob and Eleanor (Munson) Allen, and great-grandson of George Allen. The last-named gentleman came from New Jersey to the Genesee Valley, New York State, and from there came to Chewton, where he took up a settler's claim, which property never passed out of the hands of the Allen fam- ily, and is now the estate which our subject occupies and farms. He was thrice married, to a Miss McCullon, Miss Newton, and a Miss Dal- dine. His first wife bore a son, Jacob, during the family's residence in New Jersey. This son grew up in the Genesee Valley, married his wife
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there, and brought her with him to Chewton, settling where B. W. Cunningham lives. Jacob Allen later owned the James Guy place, and the first store ever opened in Chewton belonged to him. Mrs. Allen died in middle life, and Mr. Allen, the grandfather of our subject, reached the age of sixty-two before his demise in 1825. They left a family, consisting of George, John M., Joseph, Daniel, Susanna, Zabina M., Davis. There were others in the family, but they did not live to grow to maturity. Mr. Allen was in the War of 1812, and was present at the engage- ment with the British at Black Rock, which is now a part of the City of Buffalo, N. Y. He was a man of good character, strongly religious and possessed in short all the characteristics of an excellent law-abiding citizen. He was a Pres- byterian, and was one of the founders of the Slippery Rock Church.
Davis Allen, father of the present scion of the Allen family, whose life-history we have under- taken to briefly outline, bought a farm at Chew- ton, where he entered upon a life of toil near to nature's heart, but was summoned to the bet- ter country while in his early manhood, leaving a wife and four small children to mourn his de- parture from their midst. Jacob S. was the eldest; Ann Eliza married William Kirkland of West Bridgewater, Pa .; Mary and David died in childhood. Mrs. Allen lives with her son, and has seen the passage of seventy-two years, fraught with mingled joy and sadness.
Very early in life, Jacob S. Allen became em- ployed in the lumber business, and in 1873 bought fifty-three acres of the Egner farm, that he chose for a family residence, and set about improving and beautifying the place. For many
years he has been associated with William Kirk- land, his brother-in-law, in the lumber business; their mode of procedure is to buy tracts of tim- ber, cut down the trees that are suitable for good lumber, saw the lumber with portable mills, and place the finished product on the market. They have operated both in Lawrence and Beaver counties, and have always been attended with successful results. Mr. Allen married Mary Irwin, daughter of Nathan Irwin, and she had two daughters, Cora and Grace, and passed away at the age of twenty-nine. Edna Groover became the wife of our subject, and she left a son Howard, at her death when twenty-two years old. Mr. Allen a third time contracted a matrimonial alliance, the bride being Clara Beck, daughter of Christian Beck. Mr. Allen follows the bent of the family in religious views and is a Presbyterian, while in political affairs also he adheres to the faith of his fathers and is a strong Republican, decided in his opinions and courageous in the utterance of them.
WILLIAM S. BINNING, who resides with his brother George J., at No. 105 Elm Street, New Castle, was born in Allegheny City, Oct. 6, 1840. His mental training was obtained in the Third Ward school of the latter city, which he attended until he was seventeen years of age; he then accepted a clerkship in a hat store and later went into the grocery business. But machinery and the mechanical arts proved more attractive to him than a prospective business life, so he turned to the railroads to satisfy his
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natural bent, and preferring the trade of a machinist, he secured a place in the railroad shops. In October, 1861, he went to Pittsburg, and became one of the most trusted employees of the government works at Fort Pitt, and had the honor of finishing the first twenty-inch gun ever turned out by the government under the direction of the superintendent. The second gun was turned out under the management of Mr. Binning, who had the entire responsibility for its successful completion. Prior to the turn- ing of the guns, he also helped to make the huge machinery on which the guns were finisherd, and assisted in placing the guns in position. For three years, from 1877 to 1880, Mr. Binning was a member of the fire department of New Castle, and in May, 1880, departed for the West, finding work at his trade in the State of Colorado. Dur- ing the fifteen years he lived in the Centennial State, he was foreman in the shops of the Den- ver & Rio Grande R. R. at Pueblo, Salida, Lead- ville, and Grand Junction, having entire charge of the shops at the latter place throughout the last seven years of his sojourn in the West. William S. Binning was married at Gunnison, Col., May 21, 1882, to Miss Catherine Lynch, a native of Brady's Bend, Pa., and. to them were born three children: William S., Jr .; Bertha; and Joseph C., who is attending the schools of New Castle. William S. Binning is a member of Macy Lodge, No. 55, F. & A. M., of Grand Junction, Col.
James J. Binning, the father of William S., was born in Philadelphia, and in early life learned the shoemaker's trade. He was a son of John and Jane (Hopkins) Binning, both of Philadelphia, and grandson of Jacob James Bin-
ning, a native of Scotland, who married a Miss. Castile. Our subject's father, when a young man, came to Allegheny City, where for a time he followed his trade, and made buskins and slippers in a shoe factory; then for five years he was engaged in the grocery business. After leaving the grocery business, he entered upon a river life, and eventually became captain of craft plying on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, com- manding at various times the Julia Dean, Clara Fisher, Clara Dean, Clipper No. 2, and others. During the summer season the run would be from Pittsburg to St. Louis, and through the winter, when ice obstructed the Ohio River, he would work down stream to New Orleans. In 1851, he discontinued river life, and in the fol- lowing year became a conductor on the Ohio & Pennsylvania R. R .; but displaying marked and very exceptional ability in railroad affairs and exhibiting such a judgment as entitled him to more consideration, he was appointed general freight agent for the Fort Wayne & Indiana R. R., which position he acceptably filled for four years. In 1856, he was tendered a similar position with the Pennsylvania R. R. and its leased lines, and accepted, continuing in this service until his death, which took place in Alle- gheny City, April 8, 1860. He possessed a wide knowledge of human nature and business meth- ods, and was prominent in public affairs, and, with the exception of a term as notary public while living in Crestline, Ohio, he would never accept office, but was always a zealous sup- porter of his party's nominees. In the early months of 1860, before his serious illness, he was an earnest advocate of Stephen A. Douglas as a candidate for the Presidency, and had he lived,
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