USA > Pennsylvania > Lawrence County > Biographical sketches of leading citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania > Part 32
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65
Our subject, after completing his education in the common schools of Harlansburg, engaged in the mercantile business with his father, and was associated with the latter until his death, when John H. took charge of the business, and for the past six years has ably conducted it alone. Success has come to him, and he is ever engaged in enlarging and bettering his stock, which is to-day worthy of the best general store in the county. He is a Republican, and has con- siderable influence and a good standing among his fellow-townsmen; he has been rewarded for his active interest in behalf of Scott township by being given several of the important township offices.
In 1878, he was joined in wedlock with Tillie Dunbart of Harmony, Pa., and by this union became the father of four children-William B., Francis H., Mabel E., and John E. Mrs. Wil- kin died in 1893, and our subject in 1895 united himself with Lillie McKee of New Castle, Pa. The family worship at the Baptist Church. So- cially, Mr. Wilkin is a member of the Foresters of America.
THOMAS MARTIN resides in Plain Grove township, Lawrence Co., Pa., on a farm which he purchased many years ago. He has his life through followed the vocation of cultivating the soil, and has attained by means of thrifty ways and correct manners of life a prominence and standing which places him easily in the front rank of Lawrence County's prosperous and solid men. Mr. Martin was born in Washington township, this county, Feb. 19, 1832. He at- tended school and worked on his father's farm until he was twenty. Upon his marriage at the age of twenty-three Mr. Martin received from his father a 100-acre plot of land in Washington township, which he held for several years, ulti- mately selling it and buying a farm of 190 acres in extent in Plain Grove township. This is the property on which he now resides. It is located in an especially desirable position, and has been developed to the highest point attainable by modern methods. A large and very well-venti- lated barn belongs to the estate, and a comfort- able and commodious farm-house serves as our subject's residence. The orchards, grain fields, and meadow land will compare very favorably with the best in Lawrence County, a section of the State which is noted for its fine farms.
Mr. Martin is a son of William Martin, who was born in County Armagh, Ireland, in 1796. He had learned the carpenter's trade while still a lad, but when he came to this side of the stormy Atlantic when yet a young man he be- gan farming. He worked for three years in Chester Co., Pa., and then in 1817 returned to Ireland, was married, and returned to the States with his wife. The lady, whom he married, was Agnes Martin, born Martin, in County Armagh,
333
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
May 4, 1793. The young couple settled to en- counter the stern duties of life in Washington County; they lived three years in Washington borough, and then moved into Lawrence Coun- ty, locating in Washington township. They both reached a good old age, Mr. Martin departing this life Dec. 12, 1870, at the age of seventy-four, and his wife March 5, 1874, aged eighty-one years. During life they were very active mem- bers of the Seceder denomination, and were otherwise well known in the social and religious life of the township. As a citizen, Mr. Martin was no less energetic than as a farmer. He was a strong Democrat, wielding much influence in local circles, and served his fellow-citizens in several public capacities, among them being that of constable. He was an upright man, a good farmer, and a worthy citizen. Through hard labor, directed by a good head, he prospered exceedingly and died esteemed by all who knew him.
Thomas Martin, the subject of this history, on June 10, 1853, wedded his first wife, Maria Jor- dan, whose parents were Michael and Rebecca (Ramsey) Jordan, members of a very prominent and representative Washington township family. To this union three children were born, two of whom survive. They are Agnes Rebecca and Margaret Elvira. Elizabeth Ann was the name of the daughter that died. Agnes Rebecca be- came the wife of Renwick Nelson, who is the proprietor of a large furniture store in Mercer, Pa. Nine children came to them, of whom the following seven are now alive: Maria M .; Mar- tha; James; Bessie J .; Thomas M .; Grace A .; and Elsie. Margaret Elvira is the wife of Dr. Alexander B. Hamilton of Laramie City, Wyo-
ming. Some time after the decease of his first wife, on Sept. 23, 1879, in Plain Grove township, Mr. Martin contracted a matrimonial alliance with Mrs. Martha McCune, the widow of James D. McCune. She was born in Plain Grove town- ship and was a daughter of John and Margaret (Patterson) Offutt. Of this marriage one son was born, James David McCune.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin were formerly members of the Presbyterian Church, and are very well known in all circles of social and religious life in the township. Mr. Martin's politics are of the Democratic school. In that party his advice and counsel have much weight and influence. Be- sides his farming interests, he is a member of the firm of Offutt, White & Co., leading under- takers of New Castle, and has a number of other business affairs that take up fully his extra time.
DAVID ELLIOTT DOUGLAS, an es- teemed resident of Mahoning township, who for many years past has occupied a prominent posi- tion among the well-to-do tillers of the soil of Lawrence Co., Pa., was born in Franklin town- ship, Allegheny Co., Pa., on the 21st day of October, 1848. He is a son of John and Eliza (Wilkins) Douglas, and a grandson of William and Martha (Crawford) Douglas.
The grandparents of the subject of our history were both born in Scotland. Not many years after their union, they immigrated to America, where the thrifty habits of their native land, which they possessed in abundance, stood them in good stead. They reached the age of seventy-
334
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
five and ninety-five years respectively, and founded a family that has ever since wielded much influence in this part of the State.
John Douglas, the father of David E. Doug- las, was a man of learning and of indomitable will. He was born in Allegheny County, in 1822, and died at New Castle, Lawrence County, Aug. 14, 1889. Being naturally of a studious bent, his parents humored him with superior educational advantages, so that when it became time for him to go to work to support himself, he took naturally to school-teaching. Instruct- ing the youth in those days was not the plain sailing that it is now. It was quite the proper thing for a school-room full of children to be as unruly as an equal number of colts, and the teacher who aimed to instruct usually had a goodly amount of "breaking in" to do before he could commence on the three "R's." Mr. Doug- las proved to be very proficient in both depart- ments of the educational system of that day. Such a reputation did he acquire for good gov- ernment as well as good teaching, that he was often sought after to subdue and instruct some school which had run away with some less effi- cient master. No school, no matter how turbu- lent and unruly it had been, ever tried more than once to get the better of Mr. Douglas. He came into Lawrence County in 1870, and at times fol- lowed the carpenter's trade. He retired from active labors some time before his death, which occurred Aug. 14, 1889. In politics, Mr. Doug- las was a Republican of no uncertain or waver- ing type, while in religious matters he was a Presbyterian, as is also his entire family. Eliza (Wilkins) Douglas, the wife of John Douglas, was a native of Sewickley township, Allegheny
County, and was born in 1822, a daughter of David and Anna (Aikens) Wilkins, both Scotch people. There were eight children in the family of our subject's parents, as follows: an infant, who died young; David E., the subject of this biography; Mary E., the wife of John W. Broth- ers, an engineer on the Pennsylvania R. R .; John Harvey, who is employed by the P. & L. E. R. R .; James A., a conductor on the Ft. Wayne line; Martha; Joseph L., a brakeman· on the Erie R. R .; and Effie.
David E. Douglas learned the carpenter's trade when a young man, and followed it until 1877, the last five years of that period being spent in New Castle. In 1877, he abruptly took up farming, and has since continued in that line. In 1881, he purchased the A. Kelso farm in Ma- honing township, and a little later on added to it a piece of land adjoining, making altogether a property of eighty-seven acres extent. In time he tore down the old buildings and built up new ones, so that now he has as fine and conveniently an arranged set of buildings as any farmer in Lawrence County. Orchards have been con- stantly set out and tended carefully, and im- provements of all kinds have gone on no mat- ter what the season was, until the estate has be- come the equal of any in this part of the Key- stone State.
Mr. Douglas married, as his first wife, Eliza Patton, daughter of John Patton. She was born Oct. 24, 1845, and died March 5, 1890, leaving two children-Anna J., born Aug. 23, 1879, and Jesse E., born Oct. 14,' 1883. A few years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Douglas con- tracted a second marriage with Mrs. Mary J. Matthews, who was a daughter of John Patton,
ISRAEL N. GRIFFITH.
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY. 337
and a sister of his first wife. Mr. Douglas in politics is an active and sturdy Republican; he has always been a prime mover in the affairs of the party, and on several occasions has been elected by his fellow-citizens to responsible offi- ces. He was retained for three consecutive years in the position of township supervisor, and performed the duties of that office faithfully and well, with a due regard to the rights and wishes of the taxpayers. He is a member of the United Presbyterian Church, among the adher- ents of which organization Mr. Douglas num- bers many of his warmest friends.
ISRAEL N. GRIFFITH, yardmaster of the Pennsylvania Company at New Castle, and re- siding at No. 23 West North Street, was born near Centerville (now East Bethlehem) Wash- ington Co., Pa., Jan. 31, 1844. He is a son of Joel and Eliza A. (Nixon) Griffith.
Our subject comes of the famous old Griffith family of the Monongahela Valley. This family was descended from one of three brothers, who came over to this country with William Penn in J682, and settled in New Castle County, Dela- ware. William Griffith, the great-great-grand- father of Israel N., was a son of one of these hardy pioneers; in early life he took a journey up into York Co., Pa., in search of land, and after encountering the severest hardships, and enduring many privations, he selected the loca- tion for his future home. Returning to Dela- ware to secure horses, farming utensils, etc., he married a Puritan maiden named Esther Davis,
and made his home near Warrentown, in the famous valley of the Susquehanna. Jacob Grif- fith, son of William and Esther (Davis) Griffith, married Lydia Hussey, and their fourth born child, Israel, who saw the light of day in York Co., Pa., in 1784 became in course of time the grandfather of our subject. The family moved to the western part of Pennsylvania in 1791, set- tling in Washington County, where Joel Grif- fith, the father of Israel N. Griffith, was born Oct. 13, 1809.
Joel Griffith learned the carpenter's trade, and also followed the trade of a miller, his father having built a mill on Pike Run, a mile and a half from Centerville, a mill that is still standing and in operation. Joel Griffith's father, Israel Griffith, as noted before, was born in York County, Pa., in 1784, the 28th day of December ; his life came to a close in 1864. The old house in Washington County, where he lived over a century ago, is still standing, and is the home of the widow of a grandson, Oliver R. Griffith. Joel Griffith died May 27, 1870. He married Eliza A. Nixon, who was of Irish descent, a native of Washington County, and a daughter of Adam and Nancy (Brinton) Nixon. Adam Nixon was a farmer by occupa- tion, a Presbyterian in regard to his religious views, and a Whig partisan in politics; he was born April 5, 1789, and died October 19, 1842.
Of eight children born to his parents, Israel N. was the third in order of birth. He lived in his native county until reaching his majorty, at- tending district school until he was seventeen, and, when not in school, working with his father in the mill from the time he was twelve years of
.
338
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
age until 1865. In April of that year, he enlisted in the Union Army, and served six months in the Shenandoah Valley and West Virginia, being stationed much of the time at a sort of headquarters at Winchester, where he had a great deal of hard riding On his return from the army, he did not take up the milling busi- ness, but .rather went into a machine shop, where he remained three years. He then be- came traveling salesman for an agricultural com- pany, and was on the road one year, when the company failed. On Jan. 1, 1871, Mr. Griffith was appointed brakeman on a passenger run of the Ft. Wayne, Pittsburg & Crestline R. R., and "broke" on passenger and also freight trains until September, 1872, when he became conductor, serving in that capacity until 1881. In the spring of that year, he became yard-master for the Pennsylvania R. R. at New Castle.
Mr. Griffith was married July 14, 1870, at Al- liance, Ohio, to Loretta E. Day, a native of Deerfield, Ohio, and a daughter of John M. and Sarah A. (Smith) Day. Three children have been born to our subject and his wife: Bessie L., the wife of Charles Pleas, foreman and man- ager for The Edwin Bell & Sons Co. of New Castle; Stella J .; and Paul E. Mrs. Griffith is a member of the Phesbyterian Church. Our subject is a stanch and unyielding Republican, and casts his vote uniformly with the caucus choice. He has taken Masonic Orders, holding memberships in the Blue Lodge, No. 491; Chap- ter No. 41; and the Council of Alliance, Ohio. Mr. Griffith's portrait we have presented in con- nection with these notes of his life on a preced- ing page.
WILLIAM CURRY. This respected resi- dent of Perry township, Lawrence County, has an interesting life-history, replete with sugges- tions to the young man, who would rise above his fellows, and enjoy the comforts of an inde- pendent competency in his old age. Mr. Curry has the distinction of being both a railroad man, although now retired, and a landed proprietor. Beginning at the very bottom round with hardly a cent to his name, he has risen and made money, and saved it, at whatever employment he was engaged.
He is of pure Irish parentage and birth, as he was born in Ireland in 1832. Growing up as a lad he attended school, and worked for a farmer until 1848, when he left his native shores to seek his fortune in the Western Republic. Landing in Massachusetts, he remained in that State for a period, working for a dairy farmer and doing other kinds of labor for two years; then, seeing a chance to better his condition, he bought a team and began grading on the railroad, receiv- ing $2.50 per day wages. It was not so very long until another opportunity to rise presented itself, and Mr. Curry signed a contract to lay ninety-six miles of track on the railroad; finding this business profitable, he employed himself for three years in railroad contract work. Minne- sota was the next objective point, and in that State, Mr. Curry took up sixty acres of land, built a substantial house thereon, and bought in addition two sections of improved land, adjoin- ing his own. This property remained in his hands for one year, when he realized from it in hard cash, making the sum of $1,000 by the transaction. He then returned to the East, and settled in Pittsburg, Pa., where he again entered
339
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
railroad work as a section foreman on the Penn- sylvania Company's tracks, the position yielding the income of $30 per month. By the time · eighteen months had passed, Mr. Curry had out- grown his station, his merit was given due rec- ognition, and he was promoted to be foreman of track-laying for the same company, and his services were then valued at $75 per month. Having amassed wealth, whatever his occupa- tion, Mr. Curry was able to acquire a choice strip of territory in Perry township, where he resides. With his customary executive ability, improve- ments have been made on the house, and grad- ually, for such things require time, the whole farm has assumed a prosperous air under his supervision, and reflects strongly the owner's habits of thrift and method.
Mrs. Curry is also of Irish parentage; she was Martha McKinney, her father's name being John. Of the eight children, born to our sub- ject and his wife, three-Robert, David and Mary-are deceased. Those living are: John, who allied himself with Caroline Siegler and has a daughter, Bessie; William H., who wedded Lilly Hamilton, and is the father of one son, William; Rebecca, who became Mrs. William B. Smith, and bore her husband two children- William J. and Ruth; Anna, who married Charles Hamilton, and has a daughter, Mabel; and Harry, who resides at home with his par- ents, who are now getting well along in years. Mr Curry is a stanch Democrat, and the family attend the United Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Curry's father, W. C. Curry, was a native of Ireland, who earned his living by the sweat of his brow in tilling the soil; his death occurred at the age of sixty. He espoused Jane Doug-
lass, daughter of James Douglass, and their en- tire family of six children reached mature years. They were: David; John; Sarah; Elizabeth; Nancy; and the William whose personal history we have endeavored to outline.
Mr. Curry is a typical product of the circum- stances that make it possible in the United States for the advancement of enlightened work- ingmen, who will observe the cardinal principles of thrift, economy, and self-education. He has risen from being a day-laborer to a position of a man of independent wealth, and has been the architect of his fortune in the truest sense of the word. His wide knowledge of railroad affairs renders him an authority, and he can converse for hours in an instructive way on his favorite subject-the railroad.
REV. JOHN McCOMB will be remembered among the people of Lawrence Co., Pa., for many years to come as a man who in his clerical labors and in his work as a citizen was all that a man should be. He is now advanced to that stage in life's journey where he can look back over the many changing years and out of their teachings can well instruct the rising generation. Mr. McComb has ever been a many-sided man. He has had intimate knowledge of so varied human interests that he could never be narrow in his ideas on the great subjects of life. He is a na- tive of the State founded by William Penn, being born in Mahoning township, June 15, 1814. He was a son of John and Sarah (Hanna) McComb. The father was a native of Washington County,
340
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
and was during his allotted time a worthy and thrifty farmer. He was one of the pioneer set- tlers of Mahoning township, Pa., but had for- merly owned a fine tract of land near Parks- town. In his political views, he was originally a Democrat, but when the lines became closely drawn on the slavery question he cast in his lot with the then young Republican movement. John McComb, the father, was married to Sarah Hanna, whose parents were of Scotch nativity, she being born during their voyage to America. Mr. and Mrs. McComb were the parents of eleven children: George and Martha, twins; Samuel; Jane; Joseph; John; Sarah and Eleanor, twins; Andrew D .; Hugh D .; and one that died in infancy. The family were in religious belief Seceders, but later on became attendants of the U. P. Church.
Rev. John McComb, our subject, received the elements of his education in the common schools of Mahoning township. In those days the school-houses were log structures, into which the light of day was strained through windows of greased paper. Heated by means of immense stone fire-places, fitted with wooden chimneys, made tight with plastered clay, these old-fash- ioned temples of learning certainly filled their destiny, and turned out to the world men as well equipped, or better, for the struggle of life as do our modern palatial school edifices. Our subject took his high school course at an academy near Lowellville, Ohio. After its completion, he worked at farming for a while and then was licensed to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This was in 1847. In 1850 he joined the Erie M. E. Conference, and as a teacher and preacher of the precious truths of the Christian religion,
as they are interpreted by this denomination, he has spent all the years of his manhood. Mr. Mc- Comb bought the farm he now owns and occu- pies in 1883. Farming has with him been rather a diversion and a rest from the active work in the Master's service. His best strength has al- " ways been given to doing his part to make the world better. A passage, which shows the im- pelling force of his very nature is this: "Christ so loved me, that he gave his body in ransom for me."
Our subject united his life with that of Miss Sarah Wallace, Feb. 2, 1837. She was a daugh- ter of Robert Wallace of Plain Grove township, and was born April 23, 1816. To them have been given nine children, all but two of whom are now alive. The record is as follows: Rob- ert W .; William R .; Elizabeth J .; Sarah H .; Mary A .; Lydia A. and John W. They are located as follows: Robert W. at home; William R. married Clara A. Hoy, and became the father of four children: Frank, Jessie L., George W., and Mary; Elizabeth J. is the wife of Samuel Holliday, and is the mother of two children- John and Martha; Sarah H. married Andrew K. Uber, and has one son, Daniel W .; Mary A. is the wife of William Kerr of Harlansburg, Pa., and is the mother of seven-Robert W., Will- iam, Samuel G., Catherine, Mary, Charles, and Anna R .; Lydia A. married J. M. Dennison and has four children-Sarah, Clark G., Martha E., and May Belle; and John W., who first married Margaret Johnson and then Clara Blair. John McComb, Jr., had one child, William P., by his first wife, who died in 1887, and a few years later he contracted his second marriage, from which union resulted one child, Arthur L.
341
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, LAWRENCE COUNTY.
As has been stated, Mr. McComb is very alert to all which has to do with the betterment of mankind. He believes that a minister of the Gospel should have a living interest in secular as well as spiritual things, and he is a warm ad- herent to the principles of the Republican party. Though now an aged man, he is full of the spirit and fervor of Christianity. Still a pleasing and forcible talker, he has a fund of information and pointed anecdote with which to show a moral and expound a well-presented truth. Of kindly disposition and upright life, he is looked up to and loved by all who know him. When sorrow comes he is a sympathetic comforter, whose hand ever points upward to that fair and happy land beyond the skies. It is the influence of such men as he that makes life worth living to very many, for through him they receive hopes for that better and more peaceful state on the other side of the river.
MCCLURE HARTSELL, dealer in lumber and owner of a prosperous blacksmithing busi- ness, is a resident of Plain Grove township, who, though not yet past the meridian of life, has by his methods of business built up a heavy and profitable mercantile enterprise, and has at the same time reached a position of leadership and of prominnce in Lawrence County.
Mr. Hartsell entered upon this life July 7, 1853, In Clarion Co., Pa. His education was re- ceived in Clarion and Lawrence Counties, and his first labor was performed upon a farm, where he worked until he was twenty-two years of age.
In 1876, he began learning blacksmithing in Fayette, Lawrence County, a trade in which he became very proficient in two years time. In 1878, he came to Plain Grove township, and commenced working at his vocation. Success following his efforts, and being alive to every op- portunity, he embarked in the lumber business, but still continued blacksmithing. The year 1886 found him extensively engaged in the wholesale hardwood trade, and also dealing in car stock and railroad ties. He has followed his two lead- ing lines of business with uniform success since that time and at present is a heavy shipper of the lumber which goes to the Buffalo Car Works, and to the plant of Wheeler & Holden. He also sends large orders to Berwick, Pa. As a side line to the blacksmithing business, he han- dles a complete stock of carriages, and keeps himself in close touch with the best sources of supply.
Mr. Hartsell's parents were Henry and Cerina (Hartsell) Hartsell, the former a native of the Keystone State, and the latter also a native of the same State, her birth having occurred in Clarion Co., Pa. Henry Hartsell was in his day a lumber dealer and a raftsman, at one time having a business that was second to none in this section. The most of his life was spent in Clarion Co., Pa., where he raised a large family that was a credit and honor to him. He was al- ways an important factor in the sections where he resided. An ardent Republican, he worked hard for the welfare of his party, but never sought any public position. He was ever a good tactician and a man whose counsel could be act- ed upon with safety. He married Cerina Hart- sell, a distant relative, and to them were born
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.