USA > Pennsylvania > Lawrence County > Biographical sketches of leading citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania > Part 35
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John Y. McAnlis was educated in the schools of Big Beaver township, and has followed agri- cultural pursuits all of his life so far, until 1885 in Big Beaver township, and since that time on his farm of ninety-two acres in Hickory town- ship, which property he acquired by purchase. The property is well-improved, with a fair amount given over to tillage, and a goodly quan- tity left for pasturage with running water con- venient at hand for watering the stock; the farm is located about three miles from the center of the city of New Castle, and is easy of access in every season.
In 1870 his nuptials with Hannah Wilson, daughter of James Wilson of Big Beaver town- ship, this county, were consummated, and they have resulted in the birth of five children, four of whom survive, as follows: Edwin M., who is a clerk in Kirk & Smith's hardware store in New
course in the Slippery Rock Normal School, graduating in the Class of 1897, July 2; J. Wil- son; and Chauncey R. Mrs. McAnlis is a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church, while Mr. McAnlis is somewhat liberal in his views. He is a Republican in his politics, and has held the office of school director and road su- pervisor, and is now attending to the duties of the office of poor director. He is popular and companionable, and counts his friends by the score. In his business dealings, he is distin- guished by his square and honest methods, and conscientious scruples against taking the least advantage of anyone with whom he may chance to have business. In the community at large he is known as the best of citizens, whose every en- deavor has been to bring about needed improve- ments, and to elevate the moral tone, and keep it fixed on a high standard.
JAMES S. WOOD, a prosperous citizen of Pulaski, Lawrence Co., Pa., was born in his present home on Sept. 18, 1858. He is the son of Dr. William and Grace (Scott) Woods. After attending the district schools in Pulaski town- ship, he spent two years in Villa Maria, and when his school days were over at thirteen years of age, he began clerking for his uncle, James F. Scott. For the first year he worked as an ap- prentice, and received no pay, but the second year he had ninety-six dollars as wages, and that increased to one hundred and ninety-two dollars the third and to four hundred dollars the fourth year, and at that time he was considered well-
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paid. The next move was to Bradford, Mc- ful physician, competent to deal with any case Kean Co., Pa., where Mr. Wood went into the that came up in a general practice. He never laid down his work, but clung to his profession until his death on July 3, 1863. Dr. Wood was a Whig and afterwards a Republican; his time, however, was never wasted on vain aspirations for public office. The doctor was bound by mar- riage ties in 1854 to a daughter of James Scott of Pittsburg, and two children were the issue of the union: Margaret, on whom the hands of Death were laid when she was six months old; and James S., whose name is the title of this biography. The family held to the Presbyterian faith. Mrs. Wood was a native of County Down, Ireland, and was called to her last home on Dec. 3, 1884. oil business, giving his time to that until 1884, when he was recalled to Pulaski township, and has since continued to be a resident of Lawrence County. He worked for his uncle until the death of that person in 1889, when Mr. Wood branched out for himself, and carried on a store until 1893, when he disposed of his interests in the mercan- tile line to Porter & Terrill. Another employ- ment was the opening of a mineral well in 1891 on the Donaldson farm west of Pulaski, in which he reached the depth of eight hundred feet with his well-boring apparatus. This well he dis- posed of to J. Renwick Davidson of Connells- ville, Pa. Since that time he has been busy set- tling the estate of his uncle, James F. Scott. Mr. Wood is a stanch Republican, and a thorough man of affairs, well-liked and possessed of a wide acquaintance in social and religious cir- cles. He is a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.
Mr. Wood pledged his faith in wedlock with Fannie Francis, daughter of T. H. Francis of Bradford, Pa. Two winning children aie in their home: Grace W., born Feb. 8, 1889, and Ken- neth G., born July 8, 1881. Mrs. Wood is a communicant of the M. E. Church.
Dr. William Wood, the father of the subject of this personal history, was a Pennsylvanian by birth, and received the rudiments of a common school education; he then read medical books for a year, and entered the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, from which he gradu- ated. He began to practice in Pulaski, and as the years went by his practice grew to large proportions, and he was thought a very success-
Rev. William Wood, grandsire of James S., was of an English family, and was born March 27, 1776. He was a Presbyterian minister, and settled in Mercer County, in what is now Pulaski township, Lawrence Co. He was widely known and respected as a God-fearing servant of the Lord, whose daily life exemplified in the fullest way the teachings of his Master; he was never idle, as he operated a farm, besides preaching the Gospel, and his farm is now the property of John Byler. He was married May II, 1798, to Margaret Donald, an English lady, who was born Feb. 17, 1781. Their household consisted of these members: John D., born Jan. 28, 1800; Isabella, Feb. 7, 1802; Rebecca, Feb. 15, 1804; Samuel M., July 1, 1806; William, Jr., father of James S., Sept. 20, 1808; Marquis, Dec. 5, 1810; James H., March 28, 1813; Joseph S. and Ben- jamin, twins, July 3, 1815; Margaretta J., Jan. 15, 1818; Elizabeth M., Nov. 10, 1820; and David E., born Dec. 10, 1823. The worthy parents re-
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mained with their children and reared them to be noble men and women until Mr. Wood's death July 31, 1839, and Mrs. Wood's de- parture on April 20, 1842, for her home in the far country. Our subject comes from good stock, and may be well proud of tracing his an- cestry back into the last century. It is the men of sound principles and high ideas of patriotism, who have made the country what it is, and it rests with the men descended from such to keep our land the home of good citizens.
MILTON I. BUCHANAN is a wealthy far- mer of Pulaski, Pa., and owner of the Shenango Valley Stock Farm. He was born in Lawrence County, Nov. 18, 1854. He was a son of, John P. and Elizabeth (Irvine) Buchanan, the former of Pulaski, and the latter a native of Mercer Co., Pa.
Robert Buchanan, the grandfather of the pres- ent scion of the Buchanan family, was a native of Wilmington, and redeemed a farm from the wilderness of its natural state, and brought it into such excellent condition that it yielded bountifully under his management and labors. The farm not only provided sustenance for the family, and all the necessaries and not a few of the luxuries of life, but also produced with so lavish a hand, that Mr. Buchanan was enabled to lay by a comfortable competency for his old age. The wife of Robert Buchanan was Anna Piper, a daughter of John Piper of Mercer County, and she bore two children, of whom Mary A. died at thirty years of age, and John P., born Dec. 18, 1822, who lived to be the father of Milton I. Po-
litically, Mr. Buchanan was a follower of Jeffer- son and an admirer of Jeffersonian principles. During the War of 1812 he enlisted at Erie, Pa. as a private. He and his family were Presby- terians.
John P. Buchanan, the only son of Robert, went to school in Pulaski township, and in this day of cheap glass, and its wide and extended use, it is quite difficult to imagine the lack of it, but it is a fact that the school which he attended had greased paper for the glazing in the windows. After he left school, he took up the pursuit of agriculture, and prospered as had his father be- fore him. Beside his farm, Mr. Buchanan oper- ated a saw-mill. He was a Democrat, and had his worth recognized by elections to several dif- ferent offices in the township, but he did not aspire to higher political honors. Mr. Buchan- an won the hand of Elizabeth Irvine in marriage; she was born Sept. 13, 1823, a daughter of Will- iam Irvine, and their family numbered six, of whom the eldest was Milton I., whose name ap- pears as the title of this personal history. Mary T., the next in order of birth, married Henry Hartman of Neshannock Falls, and has a family of five children-Frank, Vida, Harry, Clarence, and Eva. Emma R. became the wife of William Lostetter of Erie, Pa., and the mother of Edna, Clifford, and Helen. The other three children of the parental family died in infancy. The fam- ily were consistent members of the Presbyterian Church, and regular attendants at the services. Mr. Buchanan was gathered to his fathers in 1888, at the age of sixty-six. Mrs. Buchanan pre- ceded her husband across the River of Death to rejoin the countless throng of those gone on be- fore, dying Aug. 5, 1886.
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Milton I. Buchanan, whose ancestral history has just been recorded, was under the tutelage of village school-masters until he was a well-grown youth, and then he went to work in earnest on the homestead, as he was the only son that grew up, and he now has 259 acres of fine, arable land. He not only keeps up the ordinary indus- tries of the farm, but makes a specialty of breed- ing standard stock, and it is all registered, being of such first-class varieties as Short-horn cattle, Shropshire sheep, and Poland-China hogs. Mr. Buchanan is just the man who has at his tongue's end an inexhaustible fund of informa- tion, and he is able to answer any query from general rules down to minute details in regard to the care of stock. He owns the celebrated Scar- let Neck Bull, register number 117645, the dam of which was imported from Scotland.
On December 29, 1880, occurred Mr. Buchan- an's union with Hannah F. Cox, daughter of Charles Cox of Wilmington township, Lawrence County, and they have a family of three children, John P., Nellie L., and Robert B. In religious belief they incline to the Presbyterian doctrines, and are members of that church. Mr. Buchanan has held his quota of the township offices and is now school director. He is just attaining mid- dle life, and already he is able to look about on broad acres, well-filled barns, and see on every hand evidences of his prosperity. He can give his children many advantages and assure them a place in the community, where his antecedents are well-known, and where the Buchanan name is highly esteemed. Mr. Buchanan's renown as a skilled agriculturist and stock-breeder is not confined to his immediate neighborhood, but ex- tends throughout Lawrence County.
JAMES P. BROWN, an affluent and influen- tial farmer of Pulaski, Lawrence Co., Pa., was born in the above township, June 25, 1826. His father, James Brown, came from Mercer Coun- ty, and his mother, who was Elizabeth Malone before her marriage, came from the eastern part of the State. The Brown family are Pennsyl- vanians from away back. John Brown, the grandfather, came from east of the mountains toward the close of the last century, and pre- empted 500 acres of land, which he found as na- ture left it, a wilderness of forest; in the first year he cleared a part of this tract, and dressed the soil for the reception of the seed for the new crop. Thereafter from year to year he em- ployed his spare time in felling the forest trees, and performing such other labor as was neces- sary to put his farm in first-class condition. He was a man of some importance in his time, and served in the War of the Revolution, possessing a captain's commission at its close. He became the head of a family, and his wife brought into the world: Joseph; Jehu; James; William; and John. The family held liberal views on religious subjects.
. James Brown, the father of James P., the pres- ent representative of that name, enlisted in the War of 1812, when his school-days were scarcely over and served until the war was over as a pri- vate. When he had received his honorable dis- charge, he labored for a while in Ohio, and then bought the farm in Pulaski township that is now the property of his son. At that time the land was a part of Mercer County. By thrift and good management, he laid by property, and gave to his surroundings an air of prosperity that led him to be accounted one of the best agricultur-
PROF. WILLIAM PARSONS.
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ists in the community. He wedded Elizabeth Ma- lone, and their only child was James P., whose name figures as the heading of this article. Po- litically, our subject's father was a Demo- crat. He obeyed the summons of death before he reached middle life, at the age of thirty- five, in 1826.
James P. Brown was given an ordinary school- ing in the district school, and after serving a full apprenticeship at the carpenter's and joiner's trade, worked at his trade in Ohio, and then came to Lawrence County, where he had considerable employment as a builder; he was considered a skillful workman, and ranked among the best artisans in wood in Western Pennsylvania. He is an uncomprom- ising, loyal Republican, and has been a school director, although he has not aimed at office- holding. In 1851 were celebrated the nuptials of James P. Brown and Lorena W. Corning, daughter of S. L. Corning of Hartford, Conn. She was born in Brookfield, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and has borne Mr. Brown a family of five sons: Carson C .; Frank N .; Wells A .; Dawson A .; and James Alpheus. The eldest son, Carson C., wedded Margaret Judy of Pulaski, and they have two children-J. Burton and Charles A. Frank N., the second son, was a promising young lawyer of New Castle, who died in 1893 at thirty-five years of age, after a successful prac- tice of four years succeeding his admission to the bar. Wells A. married Lottie Browlee of New Bradford, Pa., and they have two children living-Stewart and Ronald. Dawson A. was united in the bonds of matrimony with Daisy Shields of New Bradford. James Alpheus, the youngest son, chose Grace Johns for his wife,
and lives in Pulaski; one son, James Russell, has blessed their marriage.
In religious belief, Mr. Brown holds liberal views, and Mrs. Brown is a member of the Dis- ciples Church of Pulaski. Mr. Brown is one of the foremost farmers of Pulaski township, and has an unlimited amount of farm lore, which is the result of his long experience. He is a good, substantial citizen, interested in the welfare and growth of the county, and merits the recogni- tion that is accorded by the best citizens to his worth.
PROF. WILLIAM PARSONS, the leading music-teacher of New Castle, band and orches- tra director, and accomplished cornet player, was born in Cornwall, England, Dec. II, 1865 ,and is a son of Jabez and Susanna (Sweet) Parsons, and grandson of Joseph and Rebecca Parsons.
Our subject's father was born in Cornwall, England, and in early life learned the shoemak- er's trade, but later in life also worked at min- ing. After his son came to America, he became anxious to see this glorious country, and to be- come a resident of it, and so in 1887 he followed with his family, and has since lived in Hazelton, and Salem, Ohio, and now lives in Ellwood City, where he carries on shoe-making. He is also a skilled teacher of music, and is leader of the Ell- wood Band of twenty-four pieces, and of the Wampum Band of twenty-three pieces. Twelve children were born to him and his good wife; of this number two died as infants, those living are: Alice, the wife of Richard Thompson of York- shire, England; Prof. William, the subject of this
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sketch; Annie, the wife of Asa McDonald of Greenville, Ohio; Bessie, the wife of E. Rum- mel of New Castle; John, a machinist; Jennie, the wife of R. Raber of Salem, Ohio; and Tillie, Harry, Elena and Arthur, who live at home.
Prof. Parsons in his youth worked at the Pease mines in Yorkshire. When a boy, he exhibited a passionate love for music and a natural musi- cal ability, such that his father, who was confi- dent of the latent skill developing into something far above the average, placed him under the in- struction of the best music teachers of the cor- net, and the result soon convinced him that his hopes were well-grounded, for William acquired such a knowledge of the instrument and ease in handling it, as to place him in the front rank of performers. At the age of twelve years, he took part in a public contest of seven cornet players at Spinnymore, England, and won the first prize. In 1884 and 1885 he entered six different con- tests in Yorkshire and Durham, England, and won five out of the six. At this time he also was a member of the Skinniegrove Band, which was the best in Yorkshire. Having an uncle who was living in New Castle, he decided to come to this country and locate in Lawrence County and make the teaching and performing of music his profession, having been instructed by the best teachers of the art. The people in the county in which he lived having received a notification of his intended departure for the new world, with the people of Skinniegrove, Yorkshire, England, presented him with a richly hand-engraved B flat cornet from the workshop of F. Besson & Co., of London, Eng., which took thirty-one medals at the London and Paris Expositions. He also took as a letter of introduction and as a
testimony from Prof. Robert Bell of Skelton, R. S. O., Yorkshire, a graduate M. C. O., the following: "I have the greatest pleasure in tes- tifying to your ability as a first-class musician, and also a performer on the cornet of the first order, and capable to take any orchestra, brass- band, or musical society in hand, and to conduct and teach the same. (Signed) Prof. Robert Bell, M. C. O." Our subject arrived in New Castle in 1886, and soon established himself with a very good patronage, and has not only taught per- formers on the cornet, but has also given in- struction in playing the piano and in other musi- cal instruments. In 1894, he organized and in- structed the Elwood City Band. His labors in . the advancement of the musical interests of the city, and in furnishing the best of music for vari- ous functions have won him the generous sup- port and good will of a large part of the citizens. In 1892, he bought a vacant lot, then covered with timber, at No. 109 Pearson Street, cleared and brought it to grade, and on it erected a beau- tiful home. He also owns a choice building and lot adjoining his home.
Mr. Parsons is an expert paper hanger and gives considerable time to that business, having decorated many of the walls of the most prom- inent homes in this section.
Prof. Parsons married Valina Lorena Rum- mel, daughter of Jacob Rummel of New Castle, and has two children: William Otto, born Dec. 25, 1889; and Florence Adelia, Aug. 6, 1893. Our subject invariably supports the Republican party. He belongs to the Knights of the Golden Eagle, is a member of the K. of P. Lodge, Musical Union of the United States, and is a member and manager of the Mendelssohn Or-
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chestra of New Castle, Pa. His orchestra fur- nished the music for the opening season at Cas- cade Park, season of 1897. Prof. Parsons filled six seasons as cornet soloist with the famous Toerge Orchestra of Pittsburg, at Bedford Springs, Pa. He has also played with the lead- ing bands and orchestras of this section of the country.
Prof. Parsons is at all times prepared to fur- nish on short notice bands or orchestra music of the highest order for parties, receptions and other engagements. His portrait, found on a preceding page, is the likeness of a man who has cultivated the musical and ethical side of his nature, and risen to a place of prominence by reason of his superior talents, and the hard work that was necessary to bring them into the per- fected state.
JAMES L. WELCH is a flourishing, thriving merchant of Pulaski, Pa. He was born in Coits- ville, Ohio, July 18, 1824, and was a son of John and Charity (Lyons) Welch. The father was from Washington Co., Pa., and the mother was a native of Hubbard, Trumbull Co., Ohio, her people coming there from New Jersey. After going to school in Hubbard, Mr. Welch learned the harness-maker's trade, and that included car- riage trimming and trunk making; after his ap- prenticeship was ended he worked on his own responsibility until his health began to fail and he was forced to consider a change. This was in 1859, when with a comparatively small amount of capital he began to deal in merchan- dise; by judicious buying and attractive display
of his goods he managed to continue in business and to gradually extend his operations, so that now he possesses a fine, large stock of dry goods and groceries. He is a man of business talent, as is evidenced by his rise from humble beginnings, and he has good standing among the business men of Pulaski, where in his dealings he has made a host of acquaintances, and where socially he is a person of importance. Mr. Welch is a Mason and in the line of political offices he has been overseer of the poor and school director.
Mr. Welch was wedded in 1848 to Eliza John- son, daughter of A. Johnson, and they have three children. Ellis L., the eldest, is in the employ of the Pennsylvania R. R., in the freight depot at Youngstown, Ohio; he married Susie P. Lee of Poland, Mahoning Co., Ohio, and is the father of three daughters-Flora, Grace, and Mabel. Florinda is deceased. John E. married Elizabeth T. Foley of Reynoldsville, Pa., and they have one daughter, Helen M. John clerks in his father's store.
John Welch, father of James L., was educated in the common schools of Trumbull County, O., and learned the shoemaker's trade in Youngs- town. He located in Hubbard, Ohio, and spent the rest of his active period there. His wife was Charity Lyons, daughter of Barnabas Lyons, and they were faithful members of the M. E. Church. They had these children: James L .; William; Plympton; Margaret ; Bascomb R .; and John W., who died while in the army. The father was called home to his rest in Brookfield, Ohio.
James Welch, the grandfather, for whom the present James Welch was named, was Irish by birth; after his marriage to Margaret Welch he
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came to America, and made his home in Wash- ington County, Pa., and later removed to Trum . bull Co., now Mahoning Co., Ohio. He was a tailor and worked at that trade for several years until he had saved enough to buy a farm, where he went to spend the rest of his life. He was for that time a man of means. He and his wife were the parents of Samuel, James, Robert, Isa- bell, Margaret, Lydia, and two children who died in infancy. They were adherents of the M. E. Church. Mr. Welch's life closed in 1833, when he was sixty-eight years old.
James L. Welch has attained his present pros- perity in the way open to all by hard work and presevering endeavors, and he is eminently de- serving of greater good fortune. We find just such men in the front ranks of every business and among every community, whose success has been independent of another's assistance.
JOHN J. MILLER, now deceased, was for many years a successful traveling salesman, and - made his home in Pulaski township, Lawrence County. He was born in Armstrong Co., Pa., Feb. 28, 1840, and was descended from John and Priscilla (Miller) Miller; the father was from Armstrong County, and the mother's home was in Butler County.
John Miller, the father of our subject, had the usual education that boys received in his day, and learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked during the years of his activity. He was the father of five children, who grew to adult age: Mary; Catherine; Margaret; William; and John J. The eldest daughter, Mary, became the
wife of James Johnson of Wilmington, Pa., and has borne him Charles, William, John and Anna. Catherine, the second child of John Miller, mar- ried Phillip Conrad of Youngstown, Ohio, and these children gathered about their fireside and partook of their affectionate care: William; Wal- ter; Harriet; Catherine; Dorothy; Margaret; and Elizabeth. Margaret, the next child in order of birth, married Mr. France of Ohio, now de- mised; their children were-George, Kate, An- nie, and Ida. After the death of her first hus- band, being left with quite a family of children to rear and educate to their proper position in the world, she accepted the hand of John Grey in marriage and went to live with him in Wil- mington, Pa. William has a wife and family, and lives in Kansas City, Missouri. Both of our subject's parents are deceased, the mother pass- ing away in 1889. In religious belief they were Lutherans.
John J. Miller had the ordinary school advan- tages, which he improved to the best of his abil- ity, distinguishing himself then among his schoolmates, as he did afterward among his as- sociates in business, by a fixedness of purpose and general earnest bearing that proved so valu- able to him in his business career. He learned the carpenter's trade, and was employed at that trade for a number of years until he secured a position as traveling salesman for a farming im- plement house. He was a cordial, approachable man, and met customers in a manner that filled his book with orders. His death was caused by an injury inflicted in an accident at Wampum, Pa. He never recovered his former health, and the light of his life, after flickering feebly for many months, went out at last in 1890, and his
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